What odds and ends do I need to assemble my system?

[fullmetal1288]

I know I need thermal paste. Do I need to buy sata cables for the hdd and blu-ray drives?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Your motherboard should come with a couple of sata leads supplied normally, use those or try egay for longer ones if needed
A phillips screwdriver should be all you 'need' for a build though
Moto

 

[g-unit1111]

I know I need thermal paste. Do I need to buy sata cables for the hdd and blu-ray drives?

Your motherboard should come with plenty of SATA cables. You'll need some extra 3-pin to PSU fan connectors if your case has lots of fans. You'll also need mounting brackets if you use any 3.5" drives, and it's not crucial to get but if you can get a flash memory reader - the 3.5" readers are fairly inexpensive, but I'd go for AFT's Pro-55U.

 

[g-unit1111]

Some people suggest anti static wrist bands but I prefer leaving the psu power cable plugged into the psu with the switch turned to off. The psu acts as a ground so touching unpainted metal on the case = grounding yourself as long as the psu is plugged in (power switch on it can stay off).

You only need anti-static bands if you're going to be building anything outside of your case, or testing any of the equipment before hand. I've built like 12 systems and performed hundreds of upgrades over the years and never had the need for one.

 

[Outlander_04]

wear cotton clothing . Jeans and a t-shirt .
A wooden floor and table can help , but are not essential.

I do not use an antistatic strap either . But before I pick up a component Im going to put in the case I touch the case with the same hand , which eliminates electric potential differences between your hand and the case .
I dont believe leaving the case/psu plugged in and thus earthed helps at all . The static charge is on you so if you pick up and item that then gets close to the case you have created a path to earth and that may be what destroys your component .

Insert the processor in the board , then the heatsink , then RAM

then touch the case

then use the heatsink as a handle to maneuver the board in to the case , checking the stand offs are in the right place as you go .

 

[boiler1990]

wear cotton clothing . Jeans and a t-shirt .
A wooden floor and table can help , but are not essential.

I do not use an antistatic strap either . But before I pick up a component Im going to put in the case I touch the case with the same hand , which eliminates electric potential differences between your hand and the case .
I dont believe leaving the case/psu plugged in and thus earthed helps at all . The static charge is on you so if you pick up and item that then gets close to the case you have created a path to earth and that may be what destroys your component .

Insert the processor in the board , then the heatsink , then RAM

then touch the case

then use the heatsink as a handle to maneuver the board in to the case , checking the stand offs are in the right place as you go .

And don't wear socks! I do all of my building on carpet and have never had any ESD problems. I always wear shorts so there's no friction between my pants and the ground. I also discharge every time I move away from the work area.