Building a PC

Today I will share my PC build with you and explain some helpful tips that might aid you if you are building your own. All the way from the thermal paste to the wiring, aswell as a link to the parts I used and tools I used. Lets get started!

(Optional/Depending)

1 Cotton swab or 1 Gauze pad

Isopropyl Alcohol

A paper towl

This section all depends on your budget. I had a good budget so I put the money into where it counts, Here is my part list:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/qNcxvf

For tools I only used a bit box and a driver, If you are interested in getting the one I have here is a link:

https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Mako-Driver-Kit...

I would strongly recommend this bit box if you are looking for one.

Prep:

It all starts with the brain. When beginning your build pull out your motherboard first and lay it ontop of its retail box. You do this to protect the back of the board from scraping or potential damage. Before pulling out the CPU raise the little metal lever next to the square at the top of the board from the resting position to a standing stance.

Next pull out your cpu, look for the gold arrow on one of the corners of the CPU and align it with the gold arrow on the lip of where it will be installed on the motherboard. Once you spot both all it takes is a simple drop in since you are just setting the pins in place. DO NOT force anything, just drop into place and check all edges to make sure its flush. Once squared away, lay down the metal lever and walla you just installed a CPU!

The easiest part of the whole build!

Find your main M.2 slot (usually the one farthest up) and use a philips head screw driver to take off the protective plate. Once done grab your M.2 and get ready to install. Mine came with a massive heatsink but I didnt need it nor want it so I took it off. Make sure to look out for the little ridged piece within the hole for the M.2 and allign it with the gap on the edge of the M.2. You want to go in a motion of the tale end up and slowly bring it down until its inserted. Make sure it is snug but dont break the M.2. Lastly grab your screws and allign the holes properly (especially the one that will hold down the ssd to the board) and screw everything back on.

Now for the ram, a similar process to the M.2 but way easier. Grab your sticks and consult your manual for the best channels if you have two sticks. If you have four skip this step. Find which slots work best for your motherboard, min was slot 2 and 4. Push down on your slot clamps before anything then find the little ridged piece along the slot and align it with the gap inbetween the pins of your ram sticks. This wont be a good feeling but it must be done right, push down into the slot with force until the clamps clamp fully onto the edges of your ram. When doing this you will get worried and nerveous seeing your motherboard flex a little bit, but remember it is so that you wont run into problems later on from poorly seated ram. Technology can take a beating so dont fret.

Before doing anything with the aio make a quick mental note. The water within the rad wont work like you think it does. Gravity doesn't affect the vacum sealed water chamber so it goes as it pleases. Make sure to try and have the copper plate facing somewhat upwards on the water block and not down when it is resting. In the picture you can see how I had it if you cant imagine it.

Now to the good stuff. Install your fans to the rad whether its the ones that came with it or like I did with aftermarket fans and imagine how you want to run the wires before that. For example I made sure to aim the wire portion of the fans towards where the rad will be against the wall of the pc when installed for a cleaner look (aka hidden from the front of the side panell). Now install the fans when your mind has been made up. I only used 2 bolts rather then 4 since the fans were snug and not going anywhere. I felt 4 was a bit over kill for my fans atleast. Once I installed the fans I had a friend help me with routing the cable to the back of the case through a pocket at the top of the case above the motherboard mounting area. Once done with that I set the rad on its back and put it in rest position and moved to the thermal paste.

My application type was the best in my opinion but my execution could of been better as you see towards the bottom right. I would recommend doing the X application if you are stumped to find a style of applying since logically when the water block is installed it covers mostly everything on the CPU.

Once done with both of these steps, get ready to install your waterblock to the motherboard. When setting make sure you are evenly pressing down across the cpu, you do not want air bubbles between the cpu and water block. when set flat onto the cpu get your mounting screws and screw them in snug, not hand cranking tight. You gotta remember to much pressure onto the cpu can be bad, so you will want to turn it at somewhat of a weak twist untill you cant go anymore with said twist. After doing this move onto your case!

Begin with the motherboard. Lay the motherboard ontop of the standoffs within the case and prop the radiator of the aio on its side this time. Try and make it stand up on its side so that the hoses have some slack then grab the screws that came with your case. Screw the motherboard to the case using the holes you see on the motherboard. When done witht hat go around and make sure all the screws are secured. Then move onto the radiator. Pull it into the case and begin (using the screws that came with the rad) screwing it to the top of the case or the front (whichever you would prefer). When installed to the case give it a little tug to make sure its on there and stand your case up. You just installed the most key components to the build!

Now lay your case back down on its back and install the graphics card. Make sure you've unscrewed the screws for the 2 slot plats for the graphics card (area you will plug your hdmi in) and then pop the plates off. Set the screws aside and install the card to the top pci slot, make sure you align it right with the ridged piece within the slot so you dont break any pins and push the card in until you dont see pins and it is flush with the area you unscrewed the plates from. Use the same screws to screw the card to the back of the case and stand your case back up. If everything is solid move onto your power supply!

This step seems daunting and scary, but step back and look at what it really is and you will be good to go. Not all wires with your power supply will be utilized.

For my rig I only used 4 cables. You will need your 12 pin cable for your mother board, CPU cable to power the cpu, sata cable to power hard drives or other things, and a GPU cable to power your gpu. Uninstall the back to the power supply shroud, plug said cables into the power supply, then fit the cables into the basement of the case (bottom) and make sure your power supply fan is aimed downwardes when doing so. You dont want it upwardes to where it takes in the hot air from the case. Once put in route all your cables to their destinations before locking the psu down to the case. When routed and plugged in secure your psu to the case and then that step is done!

Plug your pc into a wall or a wall and monitor near by. Make sure everything is on and works and see if it boots. When I booted mine the fans didnt illuminate so I had to go and redo my daisy chaining and retry. Thats why you test it first. If your pc boots and works good grab your scissors and zipties and go to town with cable management!

Congrates, your rig is now complete! You now can say you built your own PC and learned a new skill/process! Make sure to download windows 10 on a usb from a different PC and watch videos on what drivers you'd need once windows is installed. I will link a video that helped me when I reached this point after building my rig. Good luck with your new PC!

Link: https://youtu.be/RYYoCXh2gtw