Choose a Hard Drive, Case, and Power Supply For Your Custom PC Build

Posted on July 1, 2010 at 5:51 am

Previously, we covered several parts that you will need to purchase when building your own custom PC. Here, we will top off the list by giving advice for the hard drive, case, and power supply components of a PC. We will also go over some minor things that you may want to consider purchasing when doing a computer build.

Custom PC Build

Hard Drive

Choosing a hard drive for your custom PC build is fairly easy, but there are some definite points that you should consider before buying. When we get to the build, your hard drive will connect directly to your motherboard via SATA cable or IDE cable. Consider the following points about PC hard drives.

  • Capacity is a term that is used when referring to the storage space of a hard drive. Hard drives come in several different capacities, ranging from approx. 80GB to 1TB. Be sure to choose a hard drive with adequate storage capacity for all of your files, data, MP3 files, movies, etc… Capacity is measured in GB and TB. 1 GB will normally hold up to 250 average length MP3 songs.
  • As briefly discussed above, hard drives can be either SATA or IDE interface. Thus, make sure that you get a hard drive that is compatible with your motherboard.
  • There are several different speeds of SATA hard drives, but SATA 3GB/s and SATA 6GB/s are the most common.
  • RPM, or rotations per minute, refers to how fast the hard drive spins. A faster spinning hard drive, such as a 7,200 RPM drive, will read and write data much faster than a slower hard drive, such as 5400 RPM.

Western Digital 160GB Hard Drive

Case

The computer case is the part of the PC that holds the motherboard and other parts. Aside from the choosing a case that looks cool, there are some other more specific things that you may want to consider. Check out some of the following tips for choosing the right case for your PC build.

  • Computer cases come in a wide variety of different sizes: ATX Desktop, ATX Full Tower, ATX Mid Tower, ATX Mini Tower, MicroATX Desktop, MicroATX Mid Tower, MicroATX Mini Tower, MicroATX Slim Case, Mini-ITX Tower, Mini-ITX Desktop, and more… However, the two most popular and often used case sizes for custom PC builds are ATX Full Tower and ATX Mid Tower. Case sizes play a role in determining how much room your PC will take up, and also with how much room you have to work with inside.
  • Choose a PC case that is large enough to fit the motherboard that you chose for your build, or you may run into some problems trying to install the motherboard. For the most part, ATX Full Tower cases can hold any motherboard and ATX Mid Tower cases can hold the majority of motherboards.
  • Certain cases offer different features. For example, some offer more hard drive storage bays, some offer more front accessible CD/DVD drive bays, some offer front USB port connectivity, some offer better cooling, etc… Choose a case that has all of the features that you want for your custom PC.
  • Consider the build material of a case. Some cases are built from plastic, some from aluminum, some from a combination, etc… Usually, cases with better build quality are more expensive.

Cooler Master Case

Power Supply

The power supply is the relay between your PC’s motherboard and the AC cord, or the part that allows you to plug your computer into a wall outlet. For the most part, power supplies are very universal and most will work with any combination of parts.

However, there are some things to look for when choosing a power supply. Consider the following points when choosing a power supply for your PC build.

  • Choose a power supply that has enough wattage to support your custom computer build. The more parts, fans, lights, etc… that you plug into the motherboard, the more wattage you will likely need. The wattage listed on a specific power supply refers to the max power.
  • Power supplies come in different sizes to accommodate the case that they will be used with. Thus, it’s important to make sure that you get a power supply that will fit with your case and bolt in properly. ATX is the standard and most common size of power supply and there’s a good chance that your case will require ATX.
  • Usually, power supplies are also ranked in energy saving capacity. Thus, if you want to build a greener PC, you may want to consider purchasing an 80 PLUS Gold or Silver rated power supply.
  • The high majority of motherboards will take a power supply that is 24 pin, or 20+4 pin. Make sure that you get a power supply that will work with your motherboard.

Apevia Power Supply

Other things to consider adding to your custom computer build

Now that we have covered all of the parts needed to build a basic computer, you should be ready to start picking out compatible parts, purchasing, and preparing for the build. However, there are some other things that you may want to consider getting as well.

  • Thermal paste. Thermal paste is applied to the top of the CPU/processor, and is used as a heat spreading agent between the processor and heat sink. It’s always recommended that you get thermal paste. One very popular and reputable brand is Arctic Silver.
  • Wireless Card. You can equip your custom built-pc with a wireless card, which will eliminate the need to run an Ethernet cord to your router.
  • Upgraded Heat Sink. Most CPUs and processors come with a stock heat sink. However, many custom PC builders like to purchase a high end heat sink to make sure that the CPU stays cool. A high end or upgraded heat sink may be a good buy for people that plan on overclocking their PCs.
  • Extra case fans. Most cases come with a case fan or two, but like the heat sink, you can purchase better fans that will cool your PC more effectively. You can also add additional fans to dissipate heat.
  • Lights. Lights can make any custom PC build look awesome.

Aspire Case Fan

That concludes our checklist of parts needed to build your own computer. You should now be able to not only choose parts, but choose parts that are compatible and will work well with your build. Once you have everything needed to build a PC, you can get started on the PC build!

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  1. Install A Graphics Video Card and Power Supply For Your Custom PC Build Says:

    [...] you’ve been following along with the series, you have already chosen a case, power supply and hard drive for your PC. Also, you should have successfully installed the CPU, heat sink, RAM memory, and mounted the [...]

    July 3rd, 2010 at 5:40 am
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