Question: I've just read an article in a computer magazine showing how to put together a computer from components and I'd really like to give it a try. I replaced the CD-Rom in my own computer once. Can you tell me what the pitfalls might be? Do I need special skills? Are all the components available off the shelf in Bermuda? I don't want anything really fancy, just a good computer that is perhaps a bit faster than my current one which is a 733mhz Dell.

Answer: Actually the components for an ordinary desktop computer aren't too intimidating to assemble and certainly they are all readily available at stores in Hamilton. You have to be careful, neat and not in a hurry. It isn't rocket science but there is usually only a single correct way to connect the vital bits. I don't think of myself as a pocket protector type nerd but I must admit I really like building computers from scratch and do it at every opportunity. All my computers except the first one were made this way. I can tell you that you get a lot of satisfaction out of a custom PC you've made yourself.

To proceed, you have the article in the computer magazine to go by and there are several sites on the web which will more or less lead you through all the steps so I'll confine most of my comments to my own experiences buying and assembling PC's locally.

Because I run ComputerWorks using computers I build myself, they have to be reliable. My customers don't want to hear that I can't fix their PC's because mine are having a bad day. Also, I often temporarily store the data from customer machines when their hard drives are being replaced or re-formatted. This means I prefer robust designs and therefore tend to buy Intel motherboards and processors.

The motherboard is the big main board inside the computer at the back onto which most of the others are slotted at right angles; they're the daughter boards. Various brands of motherboard like Abit, Asus, Soyo and Tyan are available in town.

These can be very impressive in their theoretical capabilities as well as fancy and expensive. Features such as RAID drives, RDRAM, 800MHz FSB, Serial ATA, 8X AGP, and 6 Channel Audio are great but can add hugely to the complication of the project and could leave you stumped first time out. You might want to save all that for your second project.

After you decide which motherboard you want, make sure to buy the correct processor and memory for that board.

Intel has an excellent, if understandably self-serving, site with lots of compatibility information located at http://www.intel.com/home/customize/build/index.htm?iid=Homepage+Within_Home_build&

Before you buy, ask the people in the shop which processor, also known as the CPU, fits the motherboard and check that it's available too. Make sure they can provide the correct memory as well. If they seem vague go somewhere else where they know what they are doing.

There are two main brands of CPU, Intel and AMD. They are not interchangeable and you have to make sure that you have the correct one for your choice of motherboard.

A variety of cases are available now too. Cases are the boxes around the components. Remember when they were all beige? Now the fancy ones are aluminum or even clear acrylic with interior lighting. Most come with the power supply included, that's the bit that converts the AC to various DC voltages to power the components. If you are building a Pentium 4 computer, make sure you have a 350W power supply or more. I've seen them in town rated as high as 500W. Make sure you get a couple of internal case fans to keep things cool.

The actual motherboard brands mentioned here are all pretty close in quality of construction but some of them have really (sub)minimal assembly instruction manuals (Intel) while others are excellent (Abit). Tricky bits can end up being the supposedly simple things like snapping in the heat sink carrier on socket 478 designs. I've seen grown men reduced to shambling wrecks because they couldn't match up the front panel switches to the appropriate pins on the motherboard.

When it comes to choice of operating system, definitely install Windows XP on your new computer, because it is very good at recognising drivers and a variety of components and will simplify the whole process enormously. If you're buying a new copy of XP for your project machine, and remember you're not supposed to install any copy of XP on more than one computer at a time, consider saving some money by buying the OEM versions which are made to be purchased at the same time with motherboards, processors and hard drives.

As far as components, at a minimum you will need a CD-Rom drive, since there's no other practical way to load the XP operating system. You'll also need a modem to connect to the Internet. You can re-use your old monitor and most old keyboards and mouse (mice?). You can certainly wipe and re-use an old hard drive but if you're going to all this trouble get a new hard drive. Nowadays with mp3's, photos and video storage, I wouldn't bother with anything much smaller than 40 gigabytes in capacity. XP will format it for you. Choose NTFS as the file system since it has certain advantages. If you have a choice of drive speed, 7200 is better than 5,400RPM.

When you get it up and running, set up an Internet connection, you'll be prompted to activate your installation of Windows with Microsoft, otherwise it'll shut down in thirty days. After you've done that download all the updates at the Windows Update site (http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp) especially Service Pack 1 which makes many important changes to the operating system.

Install a virus checker or as sure as night follows day a virus will come along and ruin all your lovely work. I envy you because I've used up all my excuses for building new computers!

James W. Lapsley is the founder of ComputerWorks, specialising in PC repairs, upgrades and advice for the home and small office user. ComputerWorks welcomes your questions and comments

Send your PC questions by e-mail to computerworks@logic.bm or by phone to 293-0992.