Building my Computer Aug. 7, 2014 in Hardware, Photos
After a couple years using a terrible, old HP laptop, I decided it was time to build my own computer. After completing a computing GCSE, creating games, and studying electronics, I had decided I wanted to study computer science and needed a computer to match. With advice from reddit I chose components, then successfully assembled it piece by piece.
Choosing the Components
With help of r/buildapc I decided on the following components:
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor | £160.79 @ Aria PC |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler | £25.45 @ Scan.co.uk |
| Motherboard | MSI Z87M GAMING Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | £97.26 @ Aria PC |
| Memory | Kingston Fury White Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory | £56.69 @ CCL Computers |
| Storage | Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5” Solid State Disk | £84.95 @ Amazon UK |
| Storage | Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5” 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | £52.79 @ Aria PC |
| Video Card | MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card | £359.98 @ Scan.co.uk |
| Case | Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 MicroATX Mini Tower Case | £64.95 @ Amazon UK |
| Power Supply | SeaSonic EVO Edition 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | £77.70 @ Scan.co.uk |
| Other | Windows 8.1 Pro Student | £49.99 |
| Other | Pioneer DVR-221LBK 24x SATA DVD/CD Burner with Label Flash | £12.99 |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | Total | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-18 14:42 BST+0100 | £1043.54 |
Building my Computer
My monitor came first. Inside it’s not quite that frightening!
All the components have arrived, time to start building!
Not sure why, but this packaging amuses me.
CPU, memory, and fan have just been attached to the motherboard
Everything is now installed in the case, but there is a rat nest of cables needing to be tidied.
A little cable management later, now the rear panel can close
And it’s complete. Time to game.
2017 Update
Unfortunately this winter my GPU died. Since then, I have decided to wait a little while before replacing it, and am currently using my Lenovo U430p for work and gaming. I plan to either replace the GPU, or upgrade my laptop in the near future.
If I was to build a new PC, I would have chosen miniITX as opposed to microATX, picked a cheaper case, and a lower Wattage PSU. This would have resulted in a smaller, cheaper computer that would have been just as powerful. But, considering this was the first computer I ever specified and built, I think I did a good job.