This is a very basic run-down guide on what to do when building your computer. It's missing a bunch of things, which I will have to add here eventually.
First things first
GROUND YOURSELF.
You should also never have your PSU plugged into the wall until your entire build is finished.
Picking your parts
To build a functioning computer, you will need the following:
- A CPU
- A motherboard
- RAM
- A PSU
- A HDD with a OS
- A case, or tower
Optional things:
- Case fans
- A GPU
- An optical disc drive
- A CPU cooler
All of these things can't be random parts, they have to be compatible with each other. Here's the order you should be looking for parts in:
- Motherboard (now you know what CPU to get to fit the socket, how many GPUs you can have, how many RAM modules you can get, and how many HDDs you can have)
- CPU
- HDD
- RAM
- GPU (optional)
- Case/tower
- PSU
Building your computer, Step 1
When all your parts get delivered, the first thing you'll want to do is throw packing peanuts everywhere and toss all the part boxes on the floor. Don't do that.
Before opening the boxes, take a picture of all of them in the condition they came in, what the part number is, and any other data on it. Then line up all the boxes and take a picture of that, everyone loves box shots.
First, take the case out of its box, and open the side panel. Set the panel aside somewhere safe, I usually reccommend the box it came in, or just set it down on your bed.
Take out anything that shouldn't be in there, like a box of screws, foam blocks, stock fans, etc.
LISTEN CAREFULLY, THIS NEXT STEP CONCERNS YOUR MOTHERBOARD.
Open the top of your motherboard box. The first thing you'll see is usually a shiny plastic bag surrounded by foam. That shiny bag is a anti-electrostatic bag, it's valuable, so keep it. DO NOT RIP IT IN HALF.
Remove the entire foam block with the shiny bag still in it, and set it down on your table/whatever. Close your motherboard's cardboard box.
Before you open the shiny bag, read the red text at the top of this page if you forgot already.
After you've grounded yourself, carefully cut the very top the bag off. Carefully.
Put the anti-electrostatic bag on top of the motherboard box, and set the motherboard on top of that.
Now you can install your CPU, RAM sticks, cooler. Don't put in your GPU yet. If you do, when you go to put it in the case and you tilt the a little bit, the GPU's PCI slot connector could snap.
After you've installed everything on your motherboard, set that whole mess aside, and you can unwrap your PSU.
Mount your PSU in your case, usually in the bottom back corner of the case. Don't apply any cable ties or anything like that yet.
Unwrap and install your HDD, or multiple HDDs into your case. If you have a good quality case, chances are it has it's own HDD mounting sleds and bays. Screw in your 2.5"/3.5" drive(s) into the drive sleds/bays.
By now, you should have the following:
- Your motherboard with your CPU, RAM, and cooler installed on it.
- Your case with your PSU installed in it, along with your HDD(s)
At this point you can turn your case sideways on it's side and locate the holes your motherboard will screw into. (Some cases support multiple motherboard sizes, so find the ones that fit yours)
Open up the box/bag of screws that came with your case (if it did) and find your motherboard standoffs. They should look like a two-sided screw with a six-sided middle. There are to put under your motherboard when you install it so you can access your cooler's backplate for future upgrades.
GPU installation
To install your GPU, locate your x16 PCI slot on your motherboard. It should look sort of like a RAM slot, but they shouldn't be all close together if you have multiple PCI slots.
On your case, remove two or three expansion slots that are in front in the PCI slot you chose.
Get your GPU and line up the end with the DVI/HDMI/displayport ports to the expansion slots.
Once you've got those all in place, line up your GPU's PCI slot with the motherboard and make sure it goes in all the way. (heh)
Once you have your motherboard screwed in, you should be able to start connecting cables of all kinds now. First, connect your motherboard's 24-pin and 8-pin power connectors, your SATA power, your GPU's PCI power connectors, and your fan's 4-pin connectors into your motherboard.
This part can be tricky depending on your case. On the front panel, there will be some wires coming out of that into the case. There should be a power button wire, a reset button wire, audio jack wires, and a/some USB wires. Connect all of these into your motherboard.
Final step
At this point you should have your computer fully built, and it's time to plug in your computer into the wall and POST, Power On Self Test. Provided you have a monitor, and a DVI/HDMI cable for that, plug in your computer's external power, your monitor's power, and turn them on.
If you made your computer right the first time, the computer may make a "beep" noise. This is good, it's the "System OK" noise. Basically, everything's good.
After the beep, your computer's fans should come online and start spinning, and your monitor should start displaying your system BIOS. This is your computer's basic functions before you load an OS onto it.
IF, your computer did NOT do any of the following when you pressed the power button on the front of your case, check the following list:
- Is your front panel IO wires connected?
- Is your PSU plugged into the wall and switched on?
- Is ALL of your internal power connected? (Motherboard, GPU, HDD, fans, cooler, etc)
- Do you even have a HDD plugged in via SATA cable?
- Is your GPU/motherboard plugged into your monitor correctly?
After checking all of the above, and your computer works, congratulations! You've built your own computer and sidestepped the reason I sell them!
