How to Build a Computer To build a computer you need to have a computer case where all the components of the computer will be stored. There are two types of computer cases. The first type is called AT case which is used for older computers, while the second is called ATX case which is used for resent computers. The cases also come in different sizes, colors and styles. The next part you need is a motherboard: All the computer components connect to the motherboard. Every motherboard comes with bus speed, the higher the bus speed, the faster the computer will run. There are two types of motherboards, one for Intel CPU and the other for Athlon CPU. After you get the motherboard, you need a central processing unit (CPU). The CPU is the brain of the computer. Without a CPU you don't have the computer even if you have the rest of the parts. All computer transactions go through the CPU. After a few minutes of operation the CPU becomes very hot. To cool it, a fan must always be connected. Without a fan, the CPU will burn out in minutes or even seconds. The next part you need is called random access memory, also known as RAM. RAM comes in several megabytes (mg). It starts from 16 mg and goes up to 528 mg on a stick. Ram allows the computer to run all its applications. The more RAM you have in your computer, the faster applications will run. After you get RAM, you'll need a hard drive. The hard drive allows you to store different types of programs, such as games, music, typing software, etc. There is a limit to the amount of programs you can fit on your hard drive, it all depends on the size of your hard drive. Today the maximum size of a hard disk is around 80 Giga. CD-ROM is also a very important part of the computer. It allows you to install different types of programs, listen to music CDs, watch films and copy information from your PC to the CD. Today the speed of CD-ROM is 56x. Modems and network cards play a very important role in a computer. A modem allows you to connect to the Internet, download music and browse the Internet.