所以你听说你可以建造一台PC，但你不知道怎么做，如果你应该这样做，以及（从字面上）创建你自己的电脑需要什么。好消息是，构建自己的计算机既简单又有益，但并不适合所有人。
假设您以前从未构建过计算机，我们将以尽可能合乎逻辑的方式处理这个相当重要的主题。
台式机还是笔记本电脑？(Desktop Or Laptop?)
如果您不知道，计算机世界正在被笔记本电脑接管。上诉是完全可以理解的。我们现在过着更加移动的生活，简单地购买一个完整的便携式计算机是继续您的生活并完成一些工作的最简单方法。
您应该选择购买笔记本电脑而不是制造台式电脑吗？老实说，如果您购买了不错的中档笔记本电脑，大多数用户都会对现代笔记本电脑感到非常满意。甚至更多以预算为导向的笔记本电脑在办公室工作、浏览网页和玩休闲视频游戏方面的性能都绰绰有余。这是一些人甚至将笔记本电脑转为平板电脑的原因之一。通用(General)计算不再需要任何类型的特殊计算机。
高性能计算机仍然是台式机的领域，特别是因为高性能笔记本电脑非常昂贵并且有很多妥协。那么对于大多数人来说，笔记本电脑将非常好。
话虽如此，构建 PC 有一些很好的、令人信服的理由。以下是一些最重要的：
- 它通常比类似规格的笔记本电脑便宜。
- 某些计算机（例如家庭媒体服务器或共享计算机）不需要便携性。
- 您现在可以构建一台基本计算机，以后再进行扩展。
- 随着时间的推移，您可以更换和升级单个组件，以延长计算机的使用寿命或对其进行维修。
- 您可以完全根据自己的需要自定义计算机。
如果这些原因听起来对您很有吸引力，那么在我们开始着手构建计算机的业务时，请为探索之旅做好准备。
一开始：决定你的愿景(In the Beginning: Deciding on Your Vision)
计算机有各种形状和大小，这应该取决于您为计算机设想的用途。
- 您想要一台可以运行Word等应用程序并进行网页浏览的办公机器吗？
- 您(Are)是否打算将 PC 用于某种媒体工作，例如视频或音频编辑？
- 也许您想构建一台连接到电视的媒体 PC，紧挨着您的控制台和 AV 接收器？
无论您想用未来的计算机做什么，都会影响您选择哪些部件以及如何分配预算。因此，在您做出任何需要财务承诺的决定之前，请花点时间考虑一下这台计算机的用途。
请记住(Bear)，本指南面向想要构建通用计算机的用户，但您可以调整基线建议以满足您的需求。如果您正在专门寻找构建一个踢屁股游戏 PC 的指南，请帮自己一个忙，看看我们的游戏玩家专业指南(specialized guide for gamers)。
设定预算(Setting Your Budget)
这很可能是 PC 构建过程中最重要的部分。您必须在 PC 构建上花费的总金额就是一切(everything)。它决定了您可以承受的整体性能水平、需要做出多少牺牲以及在某些情况下您是否必须依赖使用过的零件。
首先确定您的预算(Decide on your budget first)，然后根据您的优先级将其分配给各个组件。我们将分别讨论每个组件的明智预算决策。
使用 PC 构建规划工具(Using a PC Build Planning Tool)
值得庆幸的是，现在有很多非常直观的在线工具，您可以在其中“在纸上构建”您的计算机，并确保所有部件都能协同工作。
对于我们来说，PC Part Picker是首选。使用此工具，您可以玩弄您的构建，确保您的组件能够真正协同工作并为每个组件获得最优惠的价格。
这也是向可以帮助您做出正确决定的朋友展示您的潜在构建的好方法。事实上，对于本指南中的示例系统，我们将使用他们的预算家庭办公室构建(budget home office build)。
购物清单：每个组件版(The Shopping List: Every Component Edition)
现在，您对想要构建什么样的系统有了一个很好的了解，并且有了一个工具来帮助您在购买零件并开始组装之前组织它们。现在我们必须实际选择构成计算机的部件。
我们将按逻辑顺序浏览它们，并讨论您可能有的各种需求的关键考虑因素。每个部分中的建议部件取自上述PC Part Picker构建。
案子(The Case)
机箱（有时称为机箱）是计算机的物理框架。设备的所有部件都安装在这个项目内。我们为什么要从案子开始？我们认为在您选择其他任何东西之前，有几个很好的理由来选择一个案例。
首先(First)，您需要选择一个适合您需要的尺寸和形状的箱子。您不希望笨重的全塔式机箱仅用作媒体服务器或办公机器。您也不想要一个无法处理您可能需要的未来扩展的案例。
机箱有不同的标准，这些标准决定了它们兼容的主板类型。接下来我们将解释您需要了解的有关主板的知识，但给定的 PC 机箱将支持特定的主板尺寸。您最有可能遇到的三个（从大到小）是ATX、Micro ATX和Mini ITX。这些尺寸标准还有其他变化，但它们与典型的家庭用户无关。
设计用于容纳ATX主板的机箱通常比设计用于容纳较小标准的机箱大。这不一定是真的，但这是一个很好的经验法则。有时ATX机箱也会有安装点以适应较小的主板标准，尽管没有太多理由将微型主板放在巨型机箱中。
就实际机箱尺寸等级而言，最流行的构建 PC 的样式是中塔机箱，例如这款。
Mini ITX系统也越来越受欢迎，特别是因为您可以购买一个配备全尺寸扩展卡并具有出色散热性能的系统。
选择案例时有很多考虑因素，但我们将其归结为以下几点：
- 适合您拥有的空间并在该特定环境中看起来不错的入围案例。
- 确保(Make)机箱有足够的驱动器托架和扩展槽来满足您当前和未来的需求。
- 免工具设计和模块化驱动器托架等功能是一个不错的功能，但并非必不可少。
关于 PC 机箱，我们为您提供的最后一条建议是避免使用带有电源的机箱。我们将在本文稍后部分单独处理电源，但在这里值得一提。最好单独购买电源，这样它才能完全满足您的需求，而且机箱中包含的电源通常是一项糟糕的投资。
这里建议的案例是Thermaltake Versa H15。
主板(The Motherboard)
主板是将所有其他计算机组件连接在一起的组件。由于您已经选择了上述机箱，因此在缩小主板选择范围时，第一个主要过滤器是您选择的机箱可以容纳哪些主板类型。
接下来我们要看看您的主板将支持哪个品牌的CPU 。如今，选择是在接受AMD CPU(AMD CPUs)的主板和支持Intel的主板之间进行选择。在撰写本文时，AMD提供了最佳的每美元性能价值，并(and )正在向英特尔(Intel)挑战性能冠军。
过去在主板上的大多数重要性能组件现在都在CPU本身上，因此您需要做出的最重要决定更多地与主板允许的扩展程度有关。换句话说，它有多少个USB端口？它们是什么类型的？有多少个 PCI Express(PCI Express)扩展槽？选择符合以下条件的主板：
- 适合您选择的外壳
- 尽可能支持最新的CPU(CPUs)
- 具有(Has)足够的可扩展性，为您提供升级路径
对于通用计算（甚至是高端任务，例如游戏），更便宜和更昂贵的主板之间的性能没有重要差异。
您不必花钱购买与超频、炫彩灯光或任何装饰性功能相关的功能。您可能想多花一点钱来拥有更厚的PCB（印刷电路板）、固态电容和更多电源相的主板。然而，总的来说，任何一个好品牌的主板都可以。
这里推荐的主板是华擎 B450M-HDV R4.0(ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0)。
中央处理器(The CPU)
CPU是计算机的主要大脑和关键性能组件。现代CPU(CPUs)是多核的，这意味着它们实际上由多个CPU 合二为一(CPUs)。四核CPU(CPUs)现在被认为是通用计算的主流标准。您的预算甚至可能允许使用六核或八核CPU。特别是如果您选择使用 AMD 最新的Ryzen CPU(Ryzen CPUs)。
如今，时钟速度（以Ghz为单位）并不那么重要，因为即使是入门级四核CPU(CPUs)也可以动态提高其速度以匹配手头的任务。只要(Just)确保您选择了所选主板支持列表中的CPU 。你的CPU还应该配备一个备用冷却器，这对大多数人来说都很好。
这里建议的 CPU 是AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 四核(AMD Ryzen 3 2200G Quad Core)。
记忆(Memory)
RAM – Random Access Memory ，是您的(Random Access Memory)CPU直接访问的高速存储空间。拥有大量RAM意味着CPU不必等待较慢的存储赶上。但是你应该有多少？
这些天来，绝对最小值是 8GB 的 RAM。无论您使用计算机做什么。这将与您想要削减的一样低。然而，16GB 是目标的主流数量。现代(Modern)操作系统非常擅长使用空闲内存来加速系统，因此您不会浪费任何内存。
构建 PC 时应该获得什么内存？如果价格差异不大，则值得购买您选择的主板支持的最快内存。您的主板将支持特定范围的内存模块，并且还有固定数量的插槽用于放置它们。大多数主板使用“双通道”内存配置，这意味着模块成对工作以提高性能。
还存在三通道和四通道设置，您需要分别安装三个和四个一组的内存模块。最好您的所有内存模块都是相同的品牌、容量和型号，以确保一切顺利。至少每组匹配的模块应该是相同的。
您可以(can )在计算机中运行单个模块，以牺牲一些性能为代价来节省资金。当您的主板上只有两个插槽时，这是最有意义的，因为您以后可以通过在打开的插槽中添加另一个模块来使内存容量翻倍。
这里建议的内存是这个8GB Patriot Viper 双通道套件(8GB Patriot Viper dual-channel kit)。
内部存储器(Internal Storage)
内部(Internal)存储描述了保存您的操作系统、应用程序和常用数据的驱动器。这些天的规范是使用SSD或固态驱动器。它们比机械驱动器更快、更强大，甚至可以为普通的计算机带来巨大的性能提升。
它们现在也很实惠，所以把SSD作为你的主驱动器，如果你需要大容量存储，添加一个便宜的机械驱动器作为你的辅助驱动器。例如，您可以获得一个 500GB 的主驱动器，然后添加一个 4TB 的机械驱动器，以实现两全其美。
此特定版本的建议内部存储是TEAMGROUP GX2 512GB 2.5 英寸 SATA III 内部固态驱动器 SSD(TEAMGROUP GX2 512GB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal Solid State Drive SSD)。
图形处理器(The GPU)
GPU是一种专用处理器，可以处理您在屏幕上看到的漂亮图片。您可以购买具有集成GPU的 CPU，也可以共享相同的RAM池。如果您不需要使用使用详细 3D 图形的应用程序，而只想做一般工作并可能观看一些Netflix，那么您现在获得的集成GPU(GPUs)非常好。特别是在AMD CPU(AMD CPUs)上。
如果您确实需要专用GPU卡的强大功能，请查看我们关于该主题的详细指南。(detailed guide)
由于我们从PC Part Picker中提取的构建使用(PC Part Picker)CPU上的内置GPU，因此这里没有单独的部分。
电源(The Power Supply)
您应该决定的最后一个组件是电源。为什么？因为这部分需要有足够的汁液来安全地为所有东西供电，并且有足够的开销。
最简单的方法是使用电源计算器(power supply calculator)，然后购买符合或超过推荐电量的优质电源。特别是如果您想在将来添加组件而无需更换电源。
构建：当一个计划结合在一起时，我喜欢它(The Build: I Love it When a Plan Comes Together)
现在我们已经拥有了所有的部分，下面是如何将它们组合在一起。
首先，按照制造商的说明将CPU和CPU冷却器安装到主板上。此时您还应该安装RAM模块。如果您的主板支持M.2 SSD(M.2 SSDs)，它也直接插入主板，您现在也应该在主板放入机箱之前将它们连接起来。
将电源安装到机箱中，只需几个螺丝即可固定。这就是电源的去向。
现在您应该一方面拥有机箱和电源，另一方面拥有带有主要组件的主板。
现在所有这些组件都在主板上，我们可以将其放入机箱中。首先(First)，拧入随附的主板支架，与主板上的相应孔对齐。
然后您所要做的就是将主板随附的 IO 护罩安装到机箱中。然后将 IO 端口与它对齐。现在将主板上的螺丝孔与支架对齐并固定主板。
接下来，您需要将主板接头连接到机箱。这是他们应该在的地方：
检查您的主板手册和机箱手册以了解这些位置。然后插入机箱USB、电源开关、复位开关、LED指示灯和额外的音频连接器。
现在，将电源连接器从电源连接到主板。这应该包括通常由 24 针组成的主电源连接器。它通常还包括一个用于CPU的 12 针电源连接器。这是一个例子：
最后，我们需要安装任何存储驱动器，将它们连接到主板并连接它们的电源连接器。如果您还需要安装GPU卡，请在此处查看(here)我们的详细指南。
应该是这样！连接屏幕、鼠标、键盘和电源线后，计算机应启动并准备好安装操作系统。如果它没有启动，请再次打开它并确保所有东西都插入到它应该在的位置。当您构建 PC 时，很容易错过一根对一切都至关重要的小电缆。
How To Plan a Custom PC Build – The Ultimate Guide for Dummies
So you’ve heard that you can build a PC, but you have no ideа how to do it, if you should do it and whаt (literally) goeѕ into creating your own cоmpυter. The good news is that building your own computer is both very easy and qυitе rewarding, but it isn’t fоr everyone.
Under the assumption that you have never built a computer before, we’re going to approach this rather weighty topic in as logical a way as possible.
Desktop Or Laptop?
If you didn’t know, the world of computers is being taken over by laptops. The appeal is completely understandable. We live a more mobile life now and simply buying a complete, portable computer in a single package is the easiest way to simply get on with your life and get some work done.
Should you opt to buy a laptop instead of building a desktop computer? To be honest, if you buy a decent mid-range laptop, most users are going to be perfectly happy with a modern laptop. Even more budget-oriented laptops have more than enough performance in reserve for office work, browsing the web and playing casual video game titles. It’s one of the reasons some people are even dumping laptops for tablets. General purpose computing just doesn’t take any sort of special computer anymore.
High-performance computers are still the domain of desktop machines, especially since high-performance laptops are super expensive and come with plenty of compromises. For most people then, a laptop is going to be perfectly fine.
That being said, there are some good, compelling reasons to build a PC. Here are some of the most important ones:
- It’s generally less expensive than a laptop of similar specifications.
- Some computers, such as home media servers or shared computers don’t need portability.
- You can build a basic computer now and expand it later.
- You can swap out and upgrade single components over time, to extend the life of the computer or repair it.
- You can customize the computer exactly to your needs.
If that’s a list of reasons that sound appealing to you, then prepare yourself for a journey of discovery as we get down to the business of building a computer.
In the Beginning: Deciding on Your Vision
Computers come in all shapes and sizes, and that should be determined by the purpose you envision for your computer.
- Do you want an office machine that will run applications like Word and do some web browsing?
- Are you going to use your PC for some sort of media work, such as video or audio editing?
- Maybe you want to build a media PC connected to your TV, nestled next to your console and AV receiver?
Whatever you want to do with your future computer will have an influence on which parts you choose and how your budget is allocated. So before you make any decisions that require a financial commitment, take the time to think about what job this computer is meant to do.
Bear in mind that this guide is aimed at users who want to build general-purpose computers, but you can tweak the baseline advice to fit your needs. If you’re specifically looking for a guide to build a butt-kicking gaming PC, do yourself a favor and have a look at our specialized guide for gamers.
Setting Your Budget
This is quite possibly the most important part of the PC building process. The total amount of money you have to spend on your PC build is everything. It determines what overall level of performance you can afford, how many sacrifices you need to make and whether you’ll have to rely on used parts in some cases.
Decide on your budget first and then allocate it to various components according to your priorities. We’ll talk about sensible budget decisions with each component individually.
Using a PC Build Planning Tool
Thankfully, there are now quite a few very intuitive online tools where you can “build” your computer on paper and make sure all the parts will work together.
For our money, PC Part Picker is the premiere choice. Using this tool you can play around with your build, make sure your components will actually work together and get the best prices for each component.
It’s also a great way to show your prospective build to a friend who can help you make good decisions. In fact, for the example system in this guide, we’re going to use their budget home office build.
The Shopping List: Every Component Edition
Now you’re armed with a good idea of what sort of system you want to build, and have a tool to help you organize the parts before you buy them and start assembly. Now we have to actually choose the parts that will make up the computer.
We’ll go through them in a logical order and discuss key considerations for the various needs you may have. The suggested part in each section is taken from the PC Part Picker build mentioned above.
The Case
The case (sometimes referred to as the chassis) is the physical framework of your computer. All the parts of the device are mounted within this item. Why are we starting with the case? We think there are a few good reasons to choose a case before you pick anything else.
First of all, you need to pick a case that’s the right size and shape for your needs. You don’t want a hulking full tower case just to act as a media server or office machine. You also don’t want a case that can’t handle future expansions you’re likely to need.
Cases come in different standards, which dictate what type of motherboards they are compatible with. We’ll explain what you need to know about motherboards next, but a given PC chassis will support specific motherboard sizes. The three you’ll most likely encounter (from largest to smallest) are ATX, Micro ATX and Mini ITX. There are other variations on these size standards, but they aren’t relevant to typical home users.
Cases designed to house ATX motherboards are generally larger than those designed to house the smaller standards. This doesn’t have to be true, but it’s a good rule of thumb. Sometimes ATX cases will also have mounting points for smaller board standards, although there’s not much reason to put a tiny motherboard in a giant case.
In terms of the actual case size classes, the most popular style to build a PC is the mid-tower case, such as this one.
Mini ITX systems are also becoming popular, especially since you can buy one that takes full-sized expansion cards and has great cooling.
There are lots of considerations when choosing a case, but we’ve boiled it down to the following:
- Shortlist cases that will fit in the space you have and look good in that specific environment.
- Make sure the case has enough drive bays and expansion slots to accommodate your immediate and future needs.
- Features such as tool-less design and modular drive bays are a nice feature, but not essential.
The final piece of advice we have for you when it comes to PC cases, is to avoid cases that come with a power supply. We’re going to deal with power supplies in their own right a little later in the article, but it’s worth mentioning this here. It’s better to buy the power supply separately so that it fits your needs exactly and the ones included with cases are more often than not a poor investment.
The suggested case here is the Thermaltake Versa H15.
The Motherboard
The motherboard is the component that connects all of your other computer components together. Since you’ve already chosen a case above, the first major filter when narrowing down your motherboard selection is which motherboard types your chosen case can accommodate.
Next we want to look at which brand of CPU your motherboard will support.These days the choice is between motherboards that accept AMD CPUs and ones that work with Intel. At the time of writing, AMD offers the best performance-per-dollar value and is challenging Intel to the outright performance crown.
Most of the important performance components that used to be on the motherboard is now on the CPU itself, so the most important decisions you need to make have more to do with how much expansion the board allows. In other words, how many USB ports does it have? What types are they? How many PCI Express expansion slots are there? Choose a motherboard that:
- Fits the case you’ve chosen
- Supports CPUs as recent as you can afford
- Has enough expandability to leave you with an upgrade path
For general purpose computing (and even high-end tasks, such as gaming) there’s not an important difference in performance between cheaper and more expensive motherboards.
You don’t have to spend money on features that relate to overclocking, fancy light or any of those decorative features. You may want to spend a little more to have a motherboard with a thicker PCB (printed circuit board), solid capacitors and more power phases. On balance however, any motherboard from a good brand will do.
The suggested motherboard here is the ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0.
The CPU
The CPU is the main brain of your computer and the key performance component. Modern CPUs are multi-core, which means they actually consist of multiple CPUs in one. Quad-core CPUs are now considered the mainstream standard for general computing. Your budget may even allow for a six- or eight-core CPU. Especially if you’ve chosen to go with AMD’s latest Ryzen CPUs.
The clock speed (measured in Ghz) isn’t all that important these days, as even entry-level quad-core CPUs can dynamically ramp up their speed to match the task at hand. Just make sure you pick a CPU that’s on your chosen motherboard’s supported list. Your CPU should also come with a stock cooler, which will be perfectly fine for most people.
The suggested CPU here is the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G Quad Core.
Memory
RAM – Random Access Memory, is the high-speed storage space that your CPU accesses directly. Having lots of RAM means the CPU doesn’t have to wait for slower storage to catch up. But how much should you have?
These days the absolute minimum is 8GB of RAM. regardless of what you use your computer for. That’s going to be as low as you’ll want to cut it. 16GB is however the mainstream amount to aim for. Modern operating systems are very good at using idle memory to speed up the system, so you won’t be wasting any of it.
What memory should you get when you build a PC? If the price differences aren’t large, it’s worth buying the fastest memory that your chosen motherboard supports. Your motherboard will support a specific range of memory modules and also have a fixed number of slots within which to put them. Most motherboards use a “dual channel” memory configuration, which means modules work in pairs to improve performance.
Triple- and quad- channel setups also exist, where you need to install memory modules in sets of three and four respectively. It’s preferable that all your memory modules be the same brand, capacity and model to make sure it all works smoothly. At the very least each matched set of modules should be the same.
You can run a single module in your computer to save money at the cost of some performance. This makes the most sense when you only have two slots on your motherboard, because you can then later double your memory capacity by adding another module to the open slot.
The suggested memory here is this 8GB Patriot Viper dual-channel kit.
Internal Storage
Internal storage describes the drives that hold your operating system, applications and frequent data. The norm these days is to use an SSD or solid state drive. They are much faster and robust than mechanical drives and give even modest computers a massive performance boost.
They are also pretty affordable now, so get an SSD as your main drive and, if you need mass storage, add a cheap mechanical drive as your secondary. For example, you could get a 500GB main drive and then add a 4TB mechanical drive for the best of both worlds.
The suggested internal storage for this particular build is the TEAMGROUP GX2 512GB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal Solid State Drive SSD.
The GPU
A GPU is a dedicated processor that handles the pretty pictures you see on screen. You can buy a CPU that has an integrated GPU, and also shares the same pool of RAM. If you don’t need to use applications that use detailed 3D graphics and just want to do general work and maybe watch some Netflix, the integrated GPUs you get these days are quite good. Especially on AMD CPUs.
If you do need the power of a dedicated GPU card, then have a look at our detailed guide on the subject.
Since the build we pulled from PC Part Picker uses the built-in GPU on the CPU, there’s no separate part here.
The Power Supply
The last component you should decide on is the power supply. Why? Because this part needs to have enough juice to power everything safely, with enough overhead.
The easiest way to do this is by using a power supply calculator and then buying a good-quality power supply that matches or exceeds the recommended amount of power. Especially if you want to add components in future without having to replace the power supply.
The Build: I Love it When a Plan Comes Together
Now that we have all our parts, here’s how to put them together.
First, install the CPU and CPU cooler as per the manufacturer’s instructions, into the motherboard. You should also install the RAM modules at this point. If your motherboard supports M.2 SSDs, which also slot directly into the motherboard, you should also attach them now, before the motherboard goes in the case.
Install the power supply into the case, it should only take a few screws to secure it. This is where the power supply goes.
Now you should have a case and power supply on one hand and a motherboard with its main components on the other.
Now that all these components are on the motherboard, we can put it into the case. First, screw in the included motherboard standoffs, in line with the corresponding holes on your motherboard.
Then all you have to do is install the IO shield that came with your motherboard into the case. Then line up the IO ports with it. Now line up the screw holes on the motherboards with your standoffs and secure the board.
Next, you need to hook up the motherboard headers to the case. This is where they should be:
Check your motherboard manual and case manual for the locations of these. Then plug in the case USB, power switch, reset switch, LED indicator lights and additional audio connectors.
Now, hook up the power connectors from the power supply to the motherboard. This should consist of the main power connector which usually consists of 24-pins. It will also usually include a 12-pin power connector for the CPU. Here’s an example:
Finally, we need to install any storage drives, connect them to the motherboard and also connect their power connectors. If you also need to install a GPU card, head over to our detailed guide here.
That should be it! After connecting a screen, mouse, keyboard and power cable, the computer should boot up and be ready for its operating system to be installed. If it doesn’t start up, open it up again and make sure everything is plugged in where it’s meant to be. When you build a PC, it can be easy to miss one small cable that’s crucial to everything.
