By Stephen Bucaro

Why would you want to build your own computer? Not to save money. With a decent manufactured computer costing less than $400.00, it will cost you more to buy parts to build your own. There are five advantages to building rather than buying.

1. Most manufactured computers are build using proprietary components. When (not if) your computer breaks down, you can’t use off-the-shelf replacement parts. You have to pay a lot more for manufacturer's proprietary replacement parts.

2. Low cost manufactured computers use cheapest components. These components are marginal or below specifications. When you build your own computer, you select quality of each component.

3. When you have built your own computer, you are more knowledgeable and capable of performing your own troubleshooting. You don’t have to pay $75.00 per hour for a service technician.

4. When your computer becomes outdated, you can easily upgrade it yourself. You will be a better judge of when its more logical to build a new computer from scratch, or to update old one.

5. You will feel pride and confidence of having built your own computer. And, you will have proof that you really are smarter than your friends!

Yes, you can build your own computer. Today’s plug-and-play mother boards with on-board video, sound, and network circuitry make it easy. You can build your own computer in 90 minutes. 30 minutes to build computer plus an hour of waiting while installing operating system.

When I build a computer, first component that I consider is case. Here is what to look for in a case:

* The form factor

Make sure your case style matches form factor of available motherboards. Most motherboards today are ATX form factor. You should buy an ATX style case. Do not buy an AT style case. The AT style case has been obsolete for years. Some computer component providers are trying to unload their obsolete AT style cases to inexperienced computer hobbyists.

* The power supply

Don’t buy a case with only a 200 or 250 watt power supply. A 300 watt power supply should be sufficient, but if you plan to install a lot of expansion cards like 3D graphics accelerators, multiple hard drives, CD burners, etc. then you need to consider a case with a more powerful power supply.

Cancer is an awful disease. One in four of us will at some time suffer from cancer. The high mortality rate, suffering experienced by patients from side effects of existing treatments, and high costs of treatment all contribute to making cancer a priority for drug research.

A landmark research project began several months ago. The project allows people to make a real difference in fight against cancer. And it is easy for you to be involved. The research involves analyzing proteins for their potential use in development of drugs. But to do analysis requires computers.

You have a computer and you could be a contributor. The project is based on using spare capacity of computers. A tiny piece of software is downloaded to your PC. When you’re not using your PC software is busy analyzing cancer molecules. The analysis involves extensive mathematics. Once an individual molecule is completed results are sent across internet back to research project, and a new molecule for analysis is sent back to your computer.