Carsten is a Repairability Engineer at iFixit in San Luis Obispo, CA, where he works with tech companies to make their devices easier to repair. In his spare time, he enjoys building computers, wrenching on cars, traveling, and taking photos of his cat.
Greetings! Welcome to the boundless universe of building personal computers. Proceed with caution—this hobby’s known to be…addictive. Whether your friend’s gaming rig makes your daily driver feel neolithic, you’re curious about VR, or you’re just looking to get your hands in some computer guts — PC building could be for you. But where do you even start?
Right here. Although the following is extensive, no guide to PC building can be perfect, exhaustive, or ever fully complete. Times change — fast, too — especially in tech, but the fundamental principles stay the same. Even if parts of this become obsolete, take heart in knowing that there is a flourishing online community ready to help. The PC building community is far reaching: there are dedicated YouTube channels and personalities, online forums, virtual help desks on Discord, enthusiastic and personalized assistance on Reddit, and detailed component compatibility checkers like pcpartpicker.com—just to name a few. Use them. Rely on them. And don’t forget your part manuals. This arsenal of information is all you need to prevail in your valiant quest.
In today’s vast world of disposable tech, the old school tower PC still stands strong as the gold standard of modularity and repairability—and its popularity isn’t waning. At iFixit, we confidently recommend PCs as a sustainable alternative. Building a computer from scratch—finding affordable parts, navigating what’s compatible with what, and handling delicate, expensive components—may feel daunting. Admittedly, there’s a lot here, but that’s a good thing. It’s direct evidence of a bona fide modular device.
In this article we’ll answer common questions, provide tools and resources, and give you the know-how to help you build the PC you’ve always wanted.
All images credited to iFixit, Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0, photos taken by Carsten Frauenheim