› Roles
One of the benefits of building your own system from scratch is the ability to tailor it to your needs and budget. A computer built for Grandma so she can get online to read e-mail from her grandkids or see the latest family pictures needs considerably less computational power than one built for someone who's looking to play the latest games with all the bells and whistles turned on. Each member of your group will choose one of the roles below and custom tailor a PC to that particular demographic.
› Budget System Builder
If your needs are for basic word processing, e-mail, and web browsing then the budget system is a good fit for you. The ideal behind this system is to give you the most functionality for the fewest dollars. The budget system may sound cheap, but it's not. Inexpensive is the right word to describe this computer.
Budget: $750
› Midrange System Builder
The midrange system is all about the price/performance ratio: getting the most bang for your buck. This is not a system that uses exotic cooling systems or more than eight hard drives. Instead, this is a system for power users: developers, multimedia producers, 3D graphic artists and, yes, high-end gamers. Pick one of these demographics and build a system for them.
Budget: $2000
› High-End System Builder
The high-end system is the one every enthusiast wishes they could build. Again, this system could be geared towards software developers, multimedia producers, graphic artists or high-end gamers (pick one). The idea here is not to spend dollars for the fun of it but rather to buy the most computing power you possibly can for the money.
Budget: $5000
› HTPC Builder
Another interesting type of computer that has become popular recently is the Home Theater PC. This box is used for recording HD television, showing DVD's, and playing all manner of other media back in a home theater system. Some of the main goals of this build are quietness and beauty: no one wants a big beige box in their living room.
Budget: $1750
› Component Experts
Teamwork will be essential here as no one person can be expected to learn everything there is to know about every part of a modern computer. Working together, however, should enable you to learn enough to make educated decisions. You and your team members should each take a handful of component types to learn about so you can be a resource for all the members of your group. One of you may focus on CPU's, for example, so that the other members of your team can come to you for advice when making their selections. Of course, you will all need to be able to justify your individual selections so be sure to understand the reasoning behind the decisions you make! When in doubt, read, read, read, and then ask.
Continue on to the Process Page...