This is actually very helpful.
One of the things that has put me off of building a gaming PC (what I want is essentially a dedicated console-like computer that I assemble myself) is how intimidating it seems to break into. I am moderately techy, and have a basic understanding of how various components work, but absolutely not enough to understand what I would need, how to make it work with other parts, and how to assemble them properly.
Basically, I lack the confidence.
PC Players really know their stuff. They are fluent in the language and are used to talking to other PC Players who also have a really strong grasp on components and construction. So when I, like a curious child, enter PC threads, it's a really esoteric environment.
Even a lot of beginner guides I've read seem to assume more knowledge of the reader than I apparently have.
I don't have the money to build a PC right now, and I am happy with my PS4. But I have had a working list of PC games I've wanted to play, and have been forward-thinking enough to build a Steam library, because eventually I'm going to make the leap to learn everything I need to know and get started on my own machine.
That's why I'm here looking at cases. Cases, in theory, are easy to understand. I know that things go in them. [*thumbs up*]
Right. It's actually super easy mate and you won't have any issues if your doing a fresh build.
So you buy all your bare minimum parts.
Motherboard
Processor
Graphics Card
Hard Drive
RAM
Case
Power Supply
The only parts that need to be compatible will be Motherboard, Processor and RAM. Start by looking at Processors and picking one that you like the look of, The processor will have a "socket type" all this really mean is that it will only fit in the socket on specific motherboards so now you pick a motherboard that it will fit with. Now you have those look at what RAM the motherboard supports and grab a few sticks to get your desired RAM specs.
Now you need a graphics card, In some rare circumstances you will need to make sure your motherboard has the right slot for the graphics card but any modern motherboard should hold any modern card.
With your card chosen you now have a rough idea of what power supply you will need, get an appropriate one. websites like PCpartpicker will calculate your power supply requirements.
Now get a hard drive of your desired size and a case that fits your motherboard size and you are good to go.
When it comes to building it's super easy. You unbox your motherboard and processor (which will come with a cooling fan). place the processor in the correct slot on your motherboard careful not to bend any pins. It's essentially just put this square in this square, youtube is full of tutorials and the processor and motherboard has an arrow in a specific corner to align them correctly. The fan just slots over the top and pops into a few little holes. The fan has a wire that goes into a CASE FAN port on the motherboard close to the processor.
Then screw your motherboard and power supply into your case. This is basically line up the holes and screw them in. Connect the wires from all the case buttons to the corresponding slots on the motherboard. Both the motherboard and the wires are labeled and again a video on youtube will be handy should you need it. Connect the power supply to your motherboard.
Graphics card will likely only fit in one slot so put it in making sure to remove the small bit of cover on the back of the case so your ports are visible from the outside. Connect another cable from the power supply to the graphics card should you need to.
RAM slots into the slots. It can only fit one way. Just push it in and wait for the plastic clips to click closed.
Put your hard drive in the dedicated area for it and screw it in. Connect a power supply and the SATA wire which goes from motherboard to hard drive. Again this will only fit in the correct slot.
Press power and hope it turns on. If you wired everything correctly you will have no problems. The BIOS which is essentially the operating system of your motherboard will already be installed and so you just need to install windows to the hard drive. You can do this with a disc if you have a disc drive installed but I find it much easier to use a bootable USB drive with windows on.
That is literally everything you need to know. On your first install you might not have some drivers set up. Head to the website of your graphics card marker and your motherboard maker and grab all the drivers you can find and install them. Quick restart and you are ready to go.
