How hard is it to build your 1st pc?

my advice is always the same for first time builders.

follow the motherboard manual from the first page to the last page!! it will walk through hooking up every piece of the pc one at a time. if a page has something you are not using, then skip it and go to the next. this way you won't miss anything and can avoid a lot of time trying to figure out why the audio is not working or other random issue.

if you need more info on a part, then consult it's manual to verify before moving on. if you follow the manual page for page you can't miss anything and will have a very high success rate.

if you get lost, no biggie, come back here and ask anything you need clarified. overall it really is pretty easy and hard to mess up if you read the directions and follow the manual.

have i said to FOLLOW THE MANUAL PAGE FOR PAGE yet? seriously this is the secret to doing it right.


edit: oh and mighty fine build you got there.......

It's really not that bad!

Antistatic wrist bands can usually be purchased at stores like bestbuy/officedepot, or online at Amazon for a few dollars (~$5). Clip it to the case and wear it around your wrist, generally of the arm you use less so it doesn't get in your way as much.

Order of Operations-
Generally there is some method to how you install things, and when. Thankfully, your build is pretty simple and nothing too complicated. I'm not very familiar with your case, but installation should go something like this.

Install the CPU on the motherboard, followed by the CPU cooler.
Install the RAM on the board next.
Install the motherboard into your case.
Install the Drives you have (HDD, SSD, Optical).
Install the PSU and route the cables to the needed places, making use of any cable management in the case (holes to route cables behind the scene).
Install the GPU.
Connect your cables (PSU to mobo, drives, cards, and your sata cables an case connectors, etc).

In a nutshell, that's it. Some people like to do a test run outside of the case in the event something doesn't work. This is something you can do, but by no means do you HAVE to. While you have your wristband, try and remember not to scoot around, and hold or touch the side/back of the case often to ensure you stay grounded and prevent discharge.

Manuals are nice to read up on as well, just so you understand what's going on, but because they are sort of lego pieces, many things only fit in one way. Based off your build, and that it's your first, I would guess you might be at it for an hour or so, but if you watch a few videos and get to know what the parts are better before hand, it'll go faster.

Luckily, there are TONS of youtube videos that use the different parts you have selected, so finding a how to install part X video shouldn't be too hard. Even if it's not the exact part, the basics should be similar enough. Otherwise, you still have sites like here or partpicker than can help you out if you can provide some information of the issue and maybe a picture or two so we know what we're looking at.

When you apply the thermal paste to the cpu cooler, don't overdo it. You don't want it squeezing out and getting all over the cpu socket. Some thermal paste kits come with a little plastic card that can be used to spread a thin layer. If your kit doesn't, a thin credit card could work. It is possible that your cooler may already have the paste applied and all you have to do is remove a protective cover. As has already been mentioned, read all manuals carefully.

For me the hardest part is getting all of the little wires that come from the front panel of the case (power, led, audio, etc.) plugged into the correct pins on the front panel header on the motherboard. Maybe you will be lucky and all of the sockets will be joined together so there is no guesswork involved. On a build I did a couple of years ago, I had a couple of the wires on the wrong pins and nothing happened when I pressed the power on button on the front of the case. Double checked with the case manual, and made the correction.

Good Luck!

The fan that comes with the case is to remove the heat that builds up inside the case from all of the components. Your CPU will come with a "fan", known as a CPU Cooler. I was not referring to a liquid cooler. If you are not going to overclock, then the stock cooler that comes with the CPU will be sufficient, but you will still need to mount it onto the CPU, which is where the thermal paste comes in. If you installed a CPU without a CPU cooler, or without properly applied thermal paste, it will overheat and possibly damage itself.

When you get your parts, if you still are unclear about mounting the CPU cooler, let us know. In the box containing the CPU and CPU cooler there will be instructions on proper assembly and installation, and hopefully a small tube of thermal paste.