Build Your Own Computer

Is it possible to build your own computer and save a bundle? Of course you can. While this website focuses on Rikomagic’s line of Android Mini Pc computers that hook up to your television, these options are not always the best choice. Especially if you want to run Microsoft Windows applications locally installed on the computer.

I built this excellent fanless mini pc that I just love. It also hooks up to the HTDV like the Rikomagic devices. What’s great if you build your own computer is that you get to decide what you want. In order to decide what you want, first you need to think about what you want to do with the computer.

I wanted to have a small form factor pc computer to hook up to my HDTV. I already have two Rikomagic Android Mini PCs, so I knew I wanted a Windows based PC, that I could dual boot into a Linux OS. I wanted to use the computer to browse the web and use email. I also wanted to connect to my NAS to watch video files on my HDTV, in addition to watch YouTube videos. Most of these things I could already do on the Rikomagic Android Mini PCs, but I wanted a Windows box to play with.

Armed with what I want to do with my new computer, I started researching my options. If you build your own computer, you need to match your needs and research to your budget. This is what I came up with:

I wanted to dual boot into Windows 7 and Linux. I first loaded Windows 7 and installed all of the updates. Then, I installed Ubuntu Linux. When installing Ubuntu, it asks if you want to run Linux alongside of Windows. That is what I selected.

Installing Linux on the Foxconn fanless pc was very easy. It pretty much recognized all of the hardware and set everything up for me. I was able to install a whole lot of free applications, too.

The performance of the Foxconn Mini PC is pretty impressive for what it is. It is a quad core small form factor pc. It runs everything I need it to run just fine.

It’s easy to build your own computer, but opening this bare bones computer to install the ram and hard drive was little challenging. After taking out the screws on the corners, you need to pry it apart. If you can get a tiny screw driver under the seam, you can carefully take the cover apart to access the inside. This was the only part that was a little challenging. All you need to do next to build your own computer, is to put in the hard drive and snap in the ram chip. You need no screws to do this. It just plugs in. It is that easy! Put everything back together and you can pat yourself on the back. See how easy it is to build your own computer! How cool is that?

You need to connect the foxconn NT535 to a display, and plug in the dongle for the wireless mouse and keyboard. After doing so, you would want to install your operating system. To do so, I used an external DVD drive and connected it to the USB port on the computer.

It can be fun and rewarding to build your own computer. This Foxconn is a great alternative to the Rikomagic MK802iv or MK902 Android mini computers, if you require a Windows based pc. You can see by reading this article that to build your own computer has never been easier.