1.

CPU and Cooler

CPU: Central Processing Unit, also known as processor, microprocessor

CPU Cooler: Also known as CPU heat sink, CPU fan, heat sink fan, HSF

CPU manufacturers Intel and AMD often bundle their CPUs together with heat sinks (with
certain exceptions such as Sandy Bridge Extreme processors). So when you buy a boxed
CPU, you are in fact getting a heat sink as well.

Recommended Motherboard CPU Combos

Budget Computer: Intel Celeron G1820 CPU + MSI H81M-E34 Motherboard
Mid Range Computer: Intel Core i3-4160 CPU + Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Motherboard
Gaming Computer: Intel Core i5-4690K CPU + MSI Z97-G45 Gaming Motherboard
Home Theater PC: AMD A6-7400K APU + MSI A88XI AC Motherboard
Click here for our buyer's guide to the best motherboard CPU combos.

2. Motherboard
Also known as mainboard, system board, mobo, MB

Most motherboards will come with an I/O (Input/Output) shield, SATA cables, user manual

and driver CD.

3. RAM
RAM: Random Access Memory, also known as memory, main memory, system memory

Recommended RAM
Budget Computer: Crucial 4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz
Mid Range Computer: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB DDR3 1600 MHz x 2

Gaming Computer: Corsair Vengeance Pro 4GB DDR3 2400 MHz x 2

Home Theater PC: Crucial Ballistix Sport VLP 4GB DDR3 1600 MHz

4. Power Supply Unit

Also known as power supply, PSU

Recommended Power Supplies

Budget Computer: Corsair Builder Series CX 430W
Mid Range Computer: Seasonic G Series 550W
Gaming Computer: Corsair Professional Series AX 760W
Home Theater PC: Seasonic M12II Bronze 620W
Click here for our buyer's guide to the best computer power supplies.
5. Hard Drive
Before we go any further, it's important to know that there are two distinct types of hard
drives:

1. Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

This is your (traditional) mechanical hard drive that stores data on spinning disks.
Compared to solid state drives, they are slower, drain more electricity and are more prone
to physical failures... but they make it up with bigger storage capacities and cheaper prices
(per MB)

2. Solid State Drive (SSD)

Solid state drives are the up-and-coming successors in hard drive tech. Driven by electronic
controllers (with zero moving parts), solid state drives read and write data faster, multitask
better and can survive harder knocks. The big downside is that they cost magnitudes more
and still run into occasional firmware problems (being a less mature technology).

For more details on the differences between them, be sure to check out our SSD vs
HDD article.

In the image below, we have a 3.5 inch hard disk drive HDD on the left, and a 2.5 inch solid
state drive SSD on the right:
Recommended Hard Drives
Budget Computer: Western Digital Blue 1 TB
Mid Range Computer: Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD + Western Digital Blue 1 TB
Gaming Computer: Samsung 850 Evo 500 GB SSD + Western Digital Black 2 TB
Home Theater PC: Western Digital Green 3 TB

6. Optical Drive
There are two choices for your optical drive when you are choosing parts to build a
computer: DVD drive and Blu-ray drive

There are a few different types of DVD drives, with DVD-RW drives being most common:

DVD-ROM Drive: Can only read DVD discs

DVD-R Drive: Can read and record/write data to DVD-R discs once
DVD-RW Drive: Can read and rewrite (record and erase) data to DVD-RW discs
multiple times.

7. Computer Case
Also known as computer casing, computer chassis