How to build a PC (Indepth Guide)

First of all, i'd like to say that building a PC is easy. It's really simple. As simple as pluging things and slotting things into something else. The trick is not to panick is something doesn't work when it should. I have built probably over a thounsand PC's and i've had occasions where i've been totally stumped and then realised it was something simple. I taught my girlfriend how to do it and she's blonde , and she can do it now in about 20 mins. If a blonde can do it so can you (sorry to all the blonde lasses in the forum

WHAT YOU NEED

Ok, now because PC components are electric, you can't get ANY static on them as this will cause them to break so try and get an anti static mat or anti static gloves.

A philips head screw driver is essiential for obvious reasons, it will be uses alot.

Most screws will come with the components you buy so no worries there.

THE COMPONENTS

A case obviously




A Motherboard or main board




The CPU(central Proccessing Unit)


Graphics Card or GPU(Graphical Proccessing Unit)



Memory or RAM(Random Access Memory)



Sound Card(This IS NOT necessary; optional)^_^



Hard Disk Drives or HDD



Heat Sink Fan Or HSF(One comes with the CPU as standard but they are quite frankly rubbish)



Power Supply Unit or PSU(Sometimes one comes with the case but you need a good PSU, as it that break it could take out everything it's connected to which isbasically your whole PC)



Cable Ties(to keep things tidy)





CHOOSING YOUR COMPONENTS - COMPATABILITY

This revolves around the motherboard mainly. When choosing your parts you need to make sure they all work together.

For example, everything has to work with the motherboard. If you buy one online, the website will tell you it's specifications.



This is the specs for a motherboard. What you need to really focus on is the CPU and RAM compatability. Just by reading that i don't think i need to explain the CPU part apart from the MAX BUS SPEED, this is important and you need to make sure your CPU bus speed is faster than your motherboards max bus speed, it can cause crashes.

The RAM part is fairly easy to understand:laugh: . Obviously don't put in more RAM than your board can take which is quite easy to find in ANY sites specs details. The type of RAM is a little more tricky. There are different types on ram, DDR, DDR2, DDR3 etc etc, but it goes even deeper than that. How fast the RAM goes is very important to the mobo. As you can see above it says the board supports DDR2, so that means it will support almost any DDR2 RAM you throw at it. If you find things like DDR2 1066/800, This means it will support DDR2 RAM at 1066MHz and 800 MHz, and it will probably support everything below that. The specifications on the RAM's web page and/or manual will tell you exactly what it is so make sure it's compatable with your Motherboard.

Graphics cards are easy also. I asume everyone has gone to PCI-E but if they havn't, check the board supports AGP. And to clear something up, most you know about PCI-E 2.0 graphics cards. THEY WILL WORK ON MOTHERBOARDS THAT ONLY SUPPORT PCI-E 1.1 WITH NO LOSS OF FRAME RATE. And make sure you check how big your card is to how big your case is as some cards are rather large.

Everything else will be compatable.

I will talk about PSU compatability later on.


THE BUILDING

PSU

Prepare your Case is essential, get to know everything

The PSU will go in first as it's the messiest bloody component. GET A MODULAR PSU. They are so much easier. This is an example of a modular PSU


The older PSU's just had all the plugs on a PSU and there were LOTS of left over plugs you didn't need. With these you plug in the plugs you need and leave it at that

So to sum up, put the PSU in first and screw it into place.


Just to be clear the PSU can go at the top or bottom of the case depending on the case.

Hard Drive(s)



This is very simple. As simple as slotting it in and screwing it in. If your using more than one HDD, make sure you put them one slot apart like the ones in the picture. You do this because of heat issues.

The HDD will probably be SATA or SATA2, i hope nobody is still going to use IDE on a newly built PC.

DVD Drive(s)

This is also as simple as slotting it in and screwing it in. They usually go right at the top and you have to put it in from the front of the case going inwards.



Motherboard

Be careful taking this out of it's packaging as it can easily break. This is also as simple as screwing it in one you have the screw hole lined up with the holes in the case.


Some motherBoards have a removeable tray, some don't but having a removable one makes it easier. Line it up with the hole on the motherboard tray and screw it in, it's as simple as that but it can be tricky.

There's one other thing. Theres a 'panel' you get with your motherboard like this.



Seeing as every motherboard is different you need to unclip the one that comes with your case and clip in the one that came with your motherboard, simple as.

Now your motherboard is in place, you need to start hooking it up. You should already have your PSU in place and attached the cables you need if it's a modular PSU. First thing you need is the big 24pin. You can't miss it really. It comes with ANY PSU. Look at the picture below, it's the one with the black circle around it, simply plug the 24pin from the CPU into the mobo and make sure you put it in the right way, the little clip tells you were.


Now you need to get the CPU in. You have to be VERY careful with this, if you break the little pins at the bottom which connects it to the mobo, it's useless. In the picture circled in red, this is where you need to put the CPU, simply flip back the lever, then flip back the second protector, and place it in VERY carfully, if you don't know which way round to put it have a look at the bottom. THERE IS NO PUSHING IN NEEDED, IT WILL SLOT IN VERY EASILY.


Now the RAM needs to go in, this is very easy. Just pull back the little levers and slot them in. You need to make sure they are going in the right way. In the picture below, the RAM slots are circled red. You will also notice the ram slots are coloured orange and black, if you have two RAM sticks and put them each in a black coloured slot, they will run in dual channel which makes them go faster in some ways.


Now you need to put the Heatsink Fan above the CPU. Most of these fans come with a preapplied layer of thermal paste. If you look at the picture above of the HSF, you will see little clips, it has four of them to be exact and if you look at the motherboard pictures around the CPU, there are four holes, you simply put the clips into the holes on the mobo and turn them so it locks into place.

After that you need to fit the 4pin CPU jumper. Some mobo's have an 8pin instead of 4pin, so you need to make sure your PSU has an 8 pin. Most will have 4 as standard. Below the 4 pin is circled in red.




SATA CABLES AND POWER.

Now you have your HDD's and your DVD Drive. IF your DVD drive is IDE, then you need to plug that into the IDE slot on your Mobo, which is next to the 24pin slot. Some new mobo's don't have IDE slots. Below is where you should plug your SATA cables to connect your HDD to your motherboard. You get SATA cables(the red cables) with your motherboard when you buy it. You Also need to power them. The other picture is an example of a SATA power plug on your PSU.


*NOTE* YOU NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL WITH SATA CABLES AS THEY CAN SNAP EASILY.






FRONT PANEL

I can't really help you too much with this as it's just to difficult to explain But it's you connecting the button that turns on your PC and HDD light to the mobo. Check your motherboard manual to see where it goes


Graphics card

This is simple to install. You simply slot it into the PCI-E slot and screw it down. Look at the blow picture for examples. FYI a mobo can have more than one PCI-E slot.


Some Graphics cards need even more power from the PSU, there will be a little plug at the back of the card, either 6 pin or 8 pin or both.




And you can use more than one card if you have two or more PCI-E slots. To use them both asuming you don't want dual moniters on seperate cards, you need the little bit of hardware. You connect this bit of hardware to the top of each card.




SOUND CARD

This goes in one of the little white slots next to eachother in between the PCI-E slots, they are called PCI slots.

FANS

Alot of fans these days use the old IDE HDD power, they are called MOLEX connectors.




Some need to connect to the motherboard.



Your HSF will need to be connected to your mobo fan connectors.

And thats about it

YOUR DONE!!!!!!

Your PC should power up now You need to tidy everything up so your PC has maxium airflow.

Plug in your moniter, keyboard and mouse. You need to go into the BIOS by pressing F10 or HOME or something like that(it tells you) at the POST screen and then check that your RAM, CPU, Graphics cards and all that are at the correct speeds, that nothing is to hot and they are all recognised. Then just install your Operating system.

IF IT DOESN'T POWER UP

Make sure everything is plugged into the the right places and make sure it's all the way in.

*****NOTE******

I havn't completely finished this yet but it requires everything to power up a PC and get it working.


edit by superman: credit goes to http://www.xossip.com/showthread.php?t=386883

 

I know you said you haven't finished yet but this could use some serious work. You're very brief on a lot of the compatibility issues, which is what fusses most people about building a PC. They think to themselves if only they could know what goes together that they could probably figure the rest out. I'd focus on this and the building section more than you currently have.

Also, I think this might be the wrong section.

 

Yea I looked over compatibility, and you didnt mention making sure that the motherboards socket type matches the cpu's socket.

 

Wrong Section? This section is for informed DISCUSSION, not guides.
Ask a mod to move it.

 

4/10, you missed some important stuff. Putting in standoffs if I didn't know what I was doing and read this I would just screw the MOBO straight into the case without realising. there's usuaaly arrows on the CPU telling you which way to put it, sound cards aren't always PCI, they can be PCI-E. Since when are every PCI slot white?

TBH the guide isn't very good.
Text based guides aren't very good to explain it anyway, if you're interested in a guide go on youtube.

 

Wtf why TWC? Went through your post history trying to find out why and you don't even use the market so lolwat

Anyways yeah Noodles raises a good point, forgetting standoffs = enjoy your fried motherboard and possibly other components too. I'm thinking of pulling together a comprehensive guide myself to correct some of these errors + I'm just bored.

 

Dunno, I've posted a dispute, still waiting. Pretty devo bout it. D:

You gotta be specific when making guides like this, a lot of things can go wrong, and if it does you could be anal'd.

IE. one example, set it up outside of the case first to test everything works, if your motherboards screwed upon delivery you'd much rather have it sitting on the mobo box then having to take it out of the case.

 

Well I really though most of the users on syth had basic knowledge about building A pc and maby for the noobs this further enhanced there knowledge.

you could say Nice tuturial! This is for noobs when it comes to building a computer, so it's gets really helpful when I include pictures of the various parts and processes. can be really good for ppl who have no idea what the are doing. straight to the point instructions.

But now i see that most users hear do need me to put every little detail into this because they know nothing. like "compatibility" i would say do more research on the companys site then rather taking it from me.

of course then again most 14 year olds just like to troll on.
thanks again.

 

Tbh I have never done the whole set it up outside first thing, and my new mobo even had a power button right on the mobo. It's really not that bad to take it outta the case, just power down and unscrew it. It's more convenient I guess but definitely not required or anything. It's mostly personal preference.

Lol this is a Runescape forum, not OCN. You're writing this guide to a specific target audience, full of mostly 12-16 year old boys. Most of which have never even seen the inside of a computer.. and we're not trolling you, more like giving constructive criticism. Neither of us are 14 years old either...

Got like half of my guide written. It'll probably be up in the next few days, I'll add more to it when I get bored here and there. Expect friendly competition.

 

I'm 15 tyvm.

If it's for noobs you'll need to explain the use of standoffs, you can't just say a slot is the white one, motherboards have different colour patterns. You have to explain it in-depth.

Keen to see your guide Ivy!
I would write one, but my practical experience is only a P3, 128mb ram shit. haahaha.

 

Yes, as long as understand that was my main goal. And me I started to build pc's when i was 12. I am now at a tech school. The reason i would make a Guide like this on a "Rs" fourm as you say, like me maby someone would want to make a Bot pc for there army? maby just me, the again you are 100% right "most never even seen the inside of a computer" Exactly why I made this.

Speak (as you are not one) for your self most from what ive seen around this site are trolls. I thank you for the "constructive criticism" bro

I just hope someone get's some kind of use out of this
And i hope the best with your guide, i see no point in Guide competition.
Noodles...your just a idiot sorry to say. Ive seen your post's
hope to see you around ivy

 

very informative. But I've never heard of a SATA cable snapping? maybe I'm just too careful.

 

What would you say the average price for a very good PC? Something that could run any game high quality?

 

Any game in highest quality would be like 6000-7000 SEK, which converts to about 900-1000 USD, but the taxes are extremely high over here, in Sweden, so i'd guess it would be cheaper to build in the U.S

I don't mean to be rude but that is pretty incorrect, as 1 pc doesn't really give much in term of a botnet, and i, myself wouldn't pay hundreds of dollars for one single zombie pc.

 

I don't see how the bog standard CPU coolers are rubbish, unless you are overclocking.

 

whats the best graphics card nowadaiis for gaming? i need to replace an existing one stuck with q geo force 6400

 

great indeph guide and also post above get a HD nvidia graphic card they are expensive tho better of buying of ebay

 

Epic facepalm. Who said anything about a botnet? He was referring to a RuneScape bot army, not a botnet.

 

this has helped me to at least become somewhat familiar with the idea of building my own pc thanks

 

thanx