Has anyone ever done this before? What's your experience. What would I need to know to do it?

I built my current computer, mainly because I didn't want to pay for pre-installed software and wanted the freedom to chose the configuration of my PC.

I have to admit that when I opened the box that contained all the pieces that were to become my computer it looked pretty scary! But when I turned on the PC for the first time it was a great feeling.

When you decide which parts you'll use to build a PC it's important to make sure they'll work well together. Some processors don't like certain other motherboards e.g. I had a friend who helped me out with that, but any PC shop should be able to provide you with the necessary information.

I used a "manual" from the internet that explained step by step how to assemble a PC from scratch, don't have it anymore though...

Good luck!

Did you save money? What type of configuration do you have?

My boyfriend has built a bunch of computers - and just 'cannibalized' another one to create a super-gaming computer while I was away for Thanksgiving.

For price, it's usually either the same or slightly more. However, a BIG part of this depends on what you want in your computer and if you're willing to cannibalize your old computers to use some parts.

For example, the last computer he built from scratch, my boyfriend used an old CD-ROM. He has an external burner, so just found a CD drive no one was using and put that in the computer.

If you want a computer for gaming, it will probably be cheaper to build your own. That's because the things that generally make a great gaming computer are bundled with a lot of other stuff that if you're playing games, you won't necessarily use or software you don't need.

One of the best video cards on the market is about $400 right now. It's unlikely you'd find a computer that came with it for under $1500.

If you already have a good monitor and motherboard, you could probably do well making your own.

But bear in mind that it is pretty hard to make your own computer (in a timely fashion with a minimum number of calls to friends who can help). I've started doing my own, a little at a time, so I can now install a new drive, video card and memory. But starting from scratch I'd be too scared to right now without someone standing over me to help!

And if you do home computer work keep in mind static electricity - you don't want your computer burning out soon after you build it.

Thanks! I never even thought of static electricity. What do you have to do to avoid it?

Everyone I have talked to so far as told me it's easy, but I can't even think of any friends that would be able to help me, so maybe this is a task I don't want to take on right now.

I just ordered a linux cd I'm going to try out, so that should help with the cost if I can get comfortable using linux as my OS.

I don't really want a gaming computer, just a basic ap machine.

My dad has a special mat (you put the computer on it) that is supposed to stop static electricity. It comes with a line that attaches to your wrist so you're always at the same potential as the computer.

My boyfriend doesn't use a mat, but he's very careful to always be in contact with the metal case. Usually he just leans his forearms on the case while he's working on it, making sure to touch the case before the computer parts.

Static electricity can be a pretty big problem with computers. My dad was saying he's seen some employees of computer stores working on computers and not taking precautions - I don't know if it's that they don't know or if they just don't care (as if the computer fails, it means the person will bring it back and more business for them).

I was trying to instal the memory on my parents' computer myself last week, but I was too scared I was pulling and pushing too hard, so my dad took over.

Just a basic machine should be easy. If you don't have a case, that should cost maybe $60 (for a pretty one , I got a 120GB harddrive for $62, 128MB video card for $30, 512MB RAM for $60. Motherboards are a little more expensive - maybe $100? - and same with processors. I don't remember how much my boyfriend paid for his last motherboard and processor, so I can't help you there, but I do know he got the best that the store had.

If you already have a monitor, you don't need another. Same for keyboard and mouse. So you'd just need the actual CPU parts and then an OS. If you're not going to use your old computer, you can call Microsoft and have them switch your license to your new machine (I believe) if you've bought Windows, they won't do it if the OS came with the computer when you bought it. However, you can get Windows for $100. Linux is good, but some programs and games still don't support it. I've never tried it myself, though (but always wanted to!).

I have always built mine over the years. It is not cheaper tho it does allow you to get what you need and not pay for what you do not need. You will have to spend some time learning what best serves your needs in BIOS, Mother board and processor. Every time I build one, every 3 or 4 years, every thing has changed. All the components are not so good with others. Read enough to know what is compatible with what.
I don’t game, so I don’t need the expensive video card, and sound means little to me so not much money there, but I do not want sound and video on the mother board. I do want a machine that will be useful in my business for the next few years. Not large HD but fast with sufficient cache to keep up.
Don’t skimp on Memory. Get good RAM memory. Popular brands are not always the most reliable. Do a little research. I do want Intel, but not Celeron.
I would recommend XP Pro too. Just cost a few dollars more. It is the only windows that I have been completely satisfied with.
Static electrify is not a problem if you are aware how to avoid it.
Jax

My computer's fairly new. I was going to build it myself but it turned out that the company that supplied it could build it for cheaper than I could buy the bits. This is what I considered to be a good spec. It's always possible to go better but I was a bit constrained by finances:

* Asus P4S800 ATX 400/533/800MHz fsb Motherboard.
* Pentium IV 3GHz (800fsb) hyper-threading processor.
* IBM 80Gb hard drive.
* Floppy disk drive.
* 512 PC2700 DDR333 memory.
* On-board sound.
* On-board 10/100 network connection.
* 16x DVD ROM drive.
* 52x32x52x CD-RW.
* Geforce FX5200 graphics card (128Mb on-board memory).
* Windows XP Pro OS (SP2).

Then, over a period of time, I added some other bits and pieces:

* WinFast video capture card.
* FUJITSU 10.2Gb hard drive that gets used for back-ups (someone gave me this).
* SCSI card (for scanner).
* Replaced the 52x32x52x CD-RW drive with a DVD rewriter.

Only an upgrade to 1Gb of memory to go

I've had very bad luck with Celeron as well. I would go with a high end AMD or Pentium 4. I can't really justify a new computer right now I guess. Here's my current one.

Dell Inspiron 5150
512 MB RAM
40 GB Hard Drive
CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
Windows XP Pro
Pentium 4
10/100 Port

I don't really want to replace it- I want to build a desktop to go with it. It does work fine, it justs gets a little annoying working on nothing but a laptop all the time. Don't get me wrong- I love my laptop.

What about getting one of those keyboards that attaches to a laptop?

For a cheap desktop, the recent Thanksgiving sales had one (complete w/monitor, I believe) for $200. You could go with one of the cheaper eMachines if you're just looking for a desktop to use so you're not so annoyed with your laptop.

I actually already have an external mouse, and I got the external keyboard too, but silly me didn't check first to make sure the keyboard was USB, and it wasn't, so it can't plug into my laptop. I thought about the Thanksgiving one, but half of why I want to build one is the experience. Thanks for the help everyone!