Build your own computer

[sonia]

I have a friend who is building their own computer, as guided by the website Logical Increments, which has a beautiful colorful chart of compatible parts to build many different levels of computers, from Destitute ($279) through Modest up to Superb and all the way to Extremist and Monstrous ($3786). (I thought I posted this link before, but didn't find it in a search.)

When I was a kid, my dad built a stereo receiver from a HeathKit, and sometimes he let me bring the solder to the tip of the solder gun as he held it. I loved watching the shiny solder form a new sealed connection around the wires. I wanted to get a HeathKit computer and build it, but he never agreed. As I look back, it might have been far too complex a project for me, but it would have been cool once I was done.

These days, I'm happy with my sealed MacBook Pro and have no desire to put my own set of parts together, much less solder the wires myself, but I admire my friend for doing it. They don't even have a technical background, but they're solidly good at figuring things out and making them work.

Comments

[altamira16]

I think I built one of the Elenco multimeter kits back in the day.

[sonia]

Very cool! That must be so satisfying. I feel geek pride in just owning and using a multimeter. I bet that goes double when you built it yourself.

[silveradept]

Most PC building these days is slotting components together and making sure nothing is stomping on something else's space requirements. There's some cable management and some applications of screws, pipes, and paste, but for the most part, PC component manufacturers are doing their best to make their components eminently and easily swappable. With, perhaps, the exception of the power supply and the case.

For people who are interested, I would recommend building a desktop computer as a learning experience. Not so much a laptop, portable, or miniature PC, as those are often designed in a way that maximizes the use of space and prevents a lot of those swapping capabilities, but full-size desktops are still eminently buildable, even by people who haven't done it before.

[sonia]

Yes, they’re building a desktop computer.

[jesse_the_k]

Oh the folks at Logical Increments have fun with their instructions. In re the monstrous solid state drive

8TB is a monstrously huge capacity, with a price to match! Enjoy the massive boost to your ego that this drive is sure to bring, but also make sure to backup your important data too.

I'm also impressed with the site design. My default zoom is 125% with extra large fonts, and that site was actually usable! Most sites that host tabular comparisons, with horizontal scrolling, are illegible with my defaults.

[sonia]

Funny! I didn't read it in that much depth. Glad to hear it's accessible too!