If your number one reason for building a computer is to save money, than you need to Plan to Save. An old Indian proverb says "All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today." The flowers that you seek are a highly functional computer that by building it saves you money. Well, you are in luck. I just so happen to have 4 seeds that I am going to give you. All you need to do is water these seeds and nurture them.
Create a budget
Have you ever tried to save money without first setting up some ground rules to spending? Well, if you are Bill Gates, this article isn't for you. For the rest of us, we need to create some sort of budget. The budget is used as a guideline to spending. It makes us aware of how much we spend and what we are spending it on. Ok, enough with the Personal Budget 101 course (if you haven't taken this course yet, I highly recommend you contact your local college and get enrolled). I just wanted to point out that in order to effectively save money; you need to be aware of what you are doing with your money. This way, you can adjust your spending accordingly, in order to accomplish short term and long term financial goals.
Know what you need to buy
Well, the same principle of budgeting can be applied when building a computer. In order to not over spend on a project, you need to focus specifically on what you need to buy and how much it costs. Let me help you out. Here is a list of what you need to buy:
Processor
Motherboard
Power Supply
RAM
Computer Case
Hard Drive
Optical Drive
DVD ROM
Monitor
Keyboard/Mouse
Operating System
This is just what you need to buy. You still have to consider what you want to buy. Now that you have a general idea of what you have to buy, now you have to think about what you want to budget for this project. $200 $300 $1000 It's solely up to you.
How will the computer be used?
Next, you need to think about what you expect from your computer; not just what you want it to do today, but as far out as 3 to 5 years from now. You should always build a computer with future upgrades in mind. Do you plan on using it for word processing and internet surfing or for intense gaming? This will help you to determine how much RAM you need and how fast the CPU will be.
Put it all together
Now, this part is just like creating a personal budget. Either use an excel or equivalent spreadsheet, or a sheet of lined paper and write on the top the name of this project (Billy's Computer Build) and how much money you've allocated for the project. Next, list all the components you need and want to buy. Beside each, write how much you want to spend on that particular component. Your motherboard, power supply and processor are your most important parts and I suggest you not short change these. Also, you should do some research on each component, so you have an idea of its cost.
This budget or plan will help you to stay within the funds you allocated to the project. If you have $50 allocated for your case and you catch a deal after rebate for $29.99, then you have $20 that you can re-allocate. Also keep in mind shipping and handling and taxes. This is money that you are spending too, so it should be posted against your budget.
