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🖥️ Build Your Developer PC

🎯 Educational Objective​

Discover and understand the internal components of a computer by building a PC tailored to the needs of a software developer. The goal is not to maximize raw performance, but to make informed and justified choices based on typical programming use.

🧩 Procedure (Total Duration: 2 h 30 min)​

1. Individual Work (1 h 30 min)​

Each student designs a virtual computer configuration intended for a software developer. Tools like PCPartPicker and BuildMyPC are presented at the end of the page to assist you.

For each component, the student must:

  • Choose a compatible part (processor, motherboard, RAM, disk, case, power supply, etc.)
  • Justify their choice in a few lines: why this model? what need does it fulfill?
  • Stay within a reasonable price range and especially consistent with the rest of the build.

You can save your choices on a site like PCPartPicker or BuildMyPC, or record your choices in a Word document, for example.

Would you like explanations on a particular component?​

You may have questions about certain components. For example:

But what is the purpose of the motherboard?

If despite your research, you would like an explanation in the next class, write them down in this shared Word document. The link is available until the end of week 1.

2. Sharing in Sub-groups of 4 (30 min)​

Each student presents their build to the other 3:

  • Highlights their main choices
  • Explains the logic behind their choices (balance, scalability, cooling, etc.)
  • Briefly compares with others' choices

The other group members must:

  • Ask questions
  • Provide constructive feedback (strengths, areas for improvement)
  • Identify one or two learnings they take away from the other builds

3. Final Synthesis (30 min)​

Return to the large group:

  • Each group shares a common idea or problem observed in component choices.
  • Short discussion on best practices in configuration for developers (SSD vs HDD, 16 GB vs 32 GB of RAM, importance of multi-screens, etc.)

✍️ To Submit​

There is nothing to submit, but keep your document of part choices and record your reflections. This will be very useful for TP 1.

Sites to Plan and Build Your PC​

  • PCPartPicker - A site to plan and compare prices of PC components. It ensures that the chosen parts are compatible with each other.
  • BuildMyPC - Another site to plan and compare prices of PC components.

Canadian Websites to Buy Computer Parts​

Reddit​

  • r/buildapc - A subreddit to ask questions and get advice on PC building. It is very useful for beginners looking to build their first PC.