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Nicholas Tyler Rood

Period 1
CP English 12
11/17/15
Senior Project Research Paper
Introduction
For my senior project I decided at first that I wanted to do something in Civil Engineering
but I wanted to research something in Engineering that had a more technological setting. So I
have changed my senior project to build a computer to reflect my interest in Computer
Engineering. One of the many problems I expect to face when building a computer would be
choosing the parts to build the computer with. The other would be, building the actual computer.
The last problem to arise would be how to troubleshoot faulty parts and software issues if they
arise after the build. During my senior project I plan to prepare before encountering these
problems in the future when I am building my computer.
Research
The importance of building a computer is choosing parts that will match the performance
desired. When building a computer there will be several parts that can alter performance. Some
of the parts to look for would be the processor, motherboard, ram, the graphics card, hard
drive(s), power supply, the optical drive and lastly to fit it all in, the tower. When picking out a
processor, or CPU in this case, there will be two kinds of processors, Intel and AMD. Intel and
AMD both have different price points with many options to choose from, the loser in this case
would be AMD because of its pricing for gaming CPUs. The motherboard is the central circuit
board for the computer so it can fit other components as well as information that it needs a for a

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computer to function. For motherboard however one needs to make sure it has the correct
number and sizes of sockets for the CPU, memory and other cards (Barber). Next up is RAM, or
random-access memory, the things to be looking for in RAM would be how much of it can be
supported by the motherboard. Another thing to look at would be how many channels to get, the
motherboard will support either dual, triple, or quad channel RAM (Gordon). Moving on to
another part, the graphics card, when choosing a graphics card the components to look for are,
screen size and power required, which brings the subject to power supply (Crosse). Power supply
is an essential choice in a computer build. When deciding on a power supply unit, there are some
factors to be decided, wattage, efficiency, different cable types and lastly noise (Gordon). On
basis of memory, the choice is what kind of hard drive the computer can support. Hard drives
like every other component depends on the slots the motherboard supports up to as well as the
towers drive bays. The most crucial of this build will be the tower, or case, because it houses all
of the components needed to run the computer, as well as durability of the computer and how
cool it will stay (Proximon). To sum it all up, everything inside of a computer has a lot of factors
to consider before purchasing and each factor is not to be taken lightly.
After choosing the parts required to create a computer, it is time to build the actual
computer. In preparation to building a computer some tools will be required into installing all of
the parts in the correct orientation. Some of these tools include a Phillips screwdriver which is
essential, a needle-nose plier and a small flashlight which might come in handy ("Build Your
Next Desktop"). Once the tools are ready for preparation, the first step of building a computer
will be to mount the motherboard. To mount the motherboard of a computer, one will have to
take out the I/O shield, a metal plate that protects the ports on the back of the motherboard
(Gordon). Next, is to simply line up the motherboard ports and secure it to the case with the use

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of the screw holes on it. After mounting the motherboard the next step is to equip it with a CPU.
To equip the CPU, one will have to simply unlock the guard of the CPUs frame, match the
notches of the socket and CPU and lower the frame and relock it ("Build Your Next Desktop").
After equipping the CPU, the CPU cooler is connected to the mainboard. To this simply use,
thermal paste and check to make sure it is secure ("How to Build a Personal Desktop
Computer"). The next step in equipping the motherboard would be to install the RAM. To install
the RAM of the computer is very simple, look for the RAM sockets on the motherboard, pull
both clips down on the sides and attach the RAM stick into place (Gordon). After installing the
RAM, one of the final steps to equipping the motherboard is attaching the graphics card. To do
so, find the longest of the case slots and align it with the the motherboard and clip it in ("Build
Your Next Desktop"). Now that the motherboard is attached, the rest is simply wiring the power
supply up, equipping the hard drive and mounting the optical drive.
Now that everything is situated inside of the computer the final step in completing the
computer build can go one of two ways, easy and hard. The easy way is, the hardware got
installed correctly inside of the computers case and boots up correctly. The hard way is, the
hardware or software failed and the only way to fix it is to figure out what went wrong. Before
jumping to conclusions and assuming the hardware is the issue, would be a issue in itself. First
troubleshoot and determine whether or not the computers software failed and not the moving on.
To do so, first ensure that the computers power is plugged in and boot it up. If it does not boot
up the first go around or crash, start up Startup repair, or go through updating hardware before
drivers. (Hoffman). If it failed at all then it is a hardware issue. Once it is determined it is a
hardware issue, one must check for issues in the following hardware components just installed,
the hard drive, RAM, CPU and power supply ("How Can I Test for Hardware Failures in My

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Computer?"). To identify which hardware component is failing in the computer, some options to
search through the blue screen error message, check RAM, heat levels and swap out hardware
parts (Hoffman). If all hope fails, see a professional to take a look at the computer. Checking for
faults is a good way to ensure that the computer will remain durable.
Conclusion
In conclusion the importance of my senior project teaches me, that there will be many issues that
will arrive when building a computer. In the line of a computer engineering job, solving these
issues will be critical in ensuring the computer can be sold to customers. Choosing parts for a
computer also, determines the performance, which in fact will increase the price of a computer.

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Work Cited
Barber, Nick. "How to Build a PC." PC Advisor. N.p., 24 July 10. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"Build Your Next Desktop." How To Build Your PC: A Step-by-Step Guide. Ed. John
Burek. Ziff Davis, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Crosse, Alex. "What to Look for in Your New PC." PCWorld. IDG Creative Lab, n.d.
Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Gordon, Whitson. "Whitson Gordon." Lifehacker. N.p., 30 Oct. 14. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Hoffman, Chris. "How to Identify Which Hardware Component Is Failing in Your
Computer." HowTo Geek RSS. N.p., 21 Oct. 13. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Hoffman, Chris. "What to Do When Windows Wont Boot." HowTo Geek RSS. N.p., 17
Oct. 13. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"How Can I Test for Hardware Failures in My Computer?" How Can I Test for Hardware
Failures in My Computer? N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"How to Build a Personal Desktop Computer." WikiHow. N.p., 13 Nov. 2015. Web. 19
Nov. 2015.
N/A, Proximon. "Guide to Choosing Parts." Tom's Hardware. N.p., 20 Oct. 2008. Web.
19 Nov. 2015.