Choosing Computer Components

Real-world use case

You want to build your own PC without making mistakes: here's how to identify your needs before choosing components.

The computer and its components

Building a computer is extensively documented on the Internet, making it easy for anyone to do it. The method has barely changed since 1970. A computer is made up of three main categories of circuits:

• Inputs/outputs, which let the computer communicate with the outside world.
• Memory, which stores the data to be processed.
• A processor, which processes information and produces a result.

Here I'll identify the components, briefly explain them, and highlight common use cases for a computer to help you choose the right type of computer for your needs.

Table of contents

1. The components of a computer
2. How to choose your components?
3. Conclusion

The components of a computer

To assemble a computer, I often compare it to a puzzle or a Lego set. Here are the essential components when building a PC:

1. The motherboard
   It has specific characteristics: it only supports certain types of processors (called a socket), as well as certain memory types and frequencies, and it also has a chipset that coordinates everything.
2. The processor
   It's compatible with a specific socket; we care about its cores and threads, as well as its clock speed and cache, along with other features such as VT-D, VT-X, and so on.
3. Memory
   It runs at a specific frequency and comes in a specific form factor that must be selected based on your motherboard or computer type, for example, the laptop format differs from a desktop PC.
4. Storage
   It stores the user's data but also holds the operating system (e.g., macOS, Windows, or Linux). A hard drive, SSD, or PCIe NVMe are storage components.
5. Peripherals
   They enable communication with the outside, for example with the user, who interacts with the operating system via a mouse and keyboard. External peripheral devices like a printer and a graphics card let you print in one case and connect a monitor in the other.
6. The power supply
   It powers all the computer's components electrically, and it must be chosen based on the power consumption needed.
7. CPU cooling
   Cooling is essential for the processor, which, via a thin thermal paste layer, a heatsink, and a fan, helps maintain a proper operating temperature.

How to choose your components?

I encourage you to clearly identify your usage and needs, here are a few common profiles:

• You're someone who browses, communicates, and regularly uses on-demand video on the internet? And who occasionally processes and prints a few invoices using a word processor? You're a beginner internet and computer user.
• You're someone who easily uses the web and downloads music/videos? Who likes to polish videos and photos with an editing tool? And/or regularly uses an office suite and an email client? You're an experienced internet and computer user.
• You're someone who uses the web and regularly downloads and installs programs? You back up your system and data regularly? Video games are an occasional source of entertainment? You're an advanced internet and computer user.
• You're someone who's proficient in everything mentioned above but also does audio/video editing and/or visual publishing? You're a graphic designer.
• You're someone who's also proficient in everything above, but where video gaming dominates all your usage? You're an advanced gamer.
• You're someone who isn't necessarily proficient in the points above, but who doesn't want to deal with waiting and latency in your tasks? You're a power user.
• You're someone looking above all for a lot of computing power to be able to solve any type of calculation? You're a user who needs a dedicated workstation.
• You're someone who uses their operating system and programs mainly for development? Then your setup will be defined by your development focus and software requirements. You're a developer.

Take my case for example: I'm proficient enough with the internet in general, occasionally do video editing, create documents, and often play video games. I back up my system every day with software, and I sometimes have heavy workloads to run on my computer, particularly for mining cryptocurrencies.

My usage defines my component choices

Finally, here's my personal usage sorted in ascending order of resource consumption:

1. Heavy cryptocurrency workloads.
2. Video games.
3. Video editing.
4. My system backup software.
5. Web browsing and internet usage.
6. Document creation.

To be able to handle the heavy computing workloads related to cryptocurrencies, graphics requirements for editing and gaming are needed, since I need one (or several) graphics card(s). I also need a sufficiently robust processor to recompute video conversions and handle the demands of my graphics cards. Not to mention I need enough memory to meet the software requirements of my programs: backups, office suite, operating system, web browser, antivirus, as well as the video games that need RAM. Everything needs to be sufficiently powered and cooled.

Finally, here's the hardware I decided to buy between September and December 2017:

Case: NZXT S340 Elite.
Motherboard: MSI M5 Gaming Z270 in socket 1151.
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 7700K @4.5GHz in socket 1151.
Memory: Dominator Premium – Corsair 16GB DDR4 clocked at 3200MHz.
CPU cooling: NZXT Kraken X62 compatible with socket 1151.
PCIe NVMe01: Samsung SSD 960 EVO – 256 GB for the Linux system.
PCIe NVMe02: Samsung SSD 960 EVO – 256 GB for the Windows system.
Graphics card 1: INNO3D iChiLL GeForce GTX1060 X3 V2 6GB.
Graphics card 2: MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Ti AERO 8G.

I previously also owned the following hardware:

Hard drive: Samsung HD204UI – 2 TB for games.
Monitor: Dell U2414H dual-monitor with Dell MDS14 stand.
Headset: Sennheiser PC 320 Gaming.
Keyboard: Razer DeathStalker.
Mouse: Logitech G700.
Mouse pad: Sharkoon Fire Ground.
Chair: DXRacer FORMULA (ref: OH/FL08/NW).

Conclusion

Component choices vary depending on your usage, and some features cost more than others, such as NVME storage support. Chip performance is also something to factor into the price (processor, chipset, and graphics card).