How easy is it to build a pc for a complete novice ?

How easy is it to build a pc for a complete novice ? + Components advice.

Ive never built a pc before and have no expertise with PC's, i'm fairly mechanically minded so the assembly bit i think would be ok if i took my time but the thing that daunts me is the cable side of things, what goes where etc.

I'd be feared of blowing something by not connecting something in the right place lol, its something ive always wanted to have a go at because it would be a good buzz to know that you have built your own pc.

Any help, advice or useful links would be appreciated.

For starters, you wont blow anything by plugging it in to the wrong connections as they are all different and will only fit into the correct slot.

All connections will be labeled and instructions will come with the motherboard manual so you really cant go wrong.

The hardest part about cabling is the cable management, which isn't a huge issue, just makes it look better.

Connecting the components is easy. Motherboards manuals give all the connections.

The Matrix said:

Ive never built a pc before and have no expertise with PC's, i'm fairly mechanically minded so the assembly bit i think would be ok if i took my time but the thing that daunts me is the cable side of things, what goes where etc.

I'd be feared of blowing something by not connecting something in the right place lol, its something ive always wanted to have a go at because it would be a good buzz to know that you have built your own pc.

Any help, advice or useful links would be appreciated.

Click to expand...

It is all rather easy until you get to the cables, also be careful with the thermal paste, and wear rubber gloves to avoid static.

Be gentle with it and you can't go much wrong. Most parts are quite durable.

It is fairly easy actually. There are plenty of online guides on the subject it would be a good idea to read / watch a few of them. Read through all of your instructions before you start. Cabling wise it is difficult to do anything majorly bad as the connectors on the cables are made for set points on the motherboard and other components.

Would it be best starting off with something fairly cheap build wise to get used to where things go and if i feel comfortable after that then move onto something better ?

Unless you have a dedicated use for the computer that you build then I think it will just be a waste of money that can be spent elsewhere.

Don't forget the standoffs.

Building is easy. The problems come when the thing doesn't work. Diagnostics are difficult if you don't have spares to test components.

There are procedures, but as long as you have assembled the parts right, then there's a good chance it will run without too much aggro. At least my last did. Most problems come from human errors rather than dodgy components.



Most important things as far as not 'messing up'.

- if you test outside the case, make sure you're not setting the motherboard on a conductive surface, and discharge electrostatics regularly (touch the case).
- Check for bent pins on the motherboard before you insert the CPU.
- Make sure the CPU is installed in the right orientation.
- Most things just click into place. Nothing should be forced, although the CPU socket retention bracket, and sometimes the memory slots can be pretty stiff.
- Make sure the PSU is switched off.
- make sure you put the io plate before you put the motherboard in.
- make sure you have the motherboard stand offs at the right places, and none where they should not be any.
- make sure you turn your SATA mode to AHCI, to optimise SSDs.
- plan your cable management. Check where the cables will goand see where you can tie them to the case.
- take your time with the front panel connectors. that's the more fliddly part of the build.

Can people suggest a spec and shopping list for me if i explain what the PC will be used for.

I'm not a gamer but i may try some games at a future date, the PC will mainly be used for web browsing, watching blu ray movies and TV as well as a bit of streaming and downloading etc.

Ideally i'd like a quiet PC as its one that i use in a bedroom for watching movies late a at night etc, also a sound card to be based around listening to music.

I'll need an optical out as i have the Z906 speaker system, good connections on the graphics card like HDMI, ideally dual DVI, display port etc, the AMD ones seem to be best suited to my needs but which version i aint got a clue lol.

The case i like is the HAF X, it seems to get very good reviews on here for internal space and air flow as well as good cable management.

So if you could suggest some components to go in that, ideally i'd like the motherboard to be future proof, i don't mind spending extra on that for a top motherboard.

Budget around £800 - £1,000

I doubt you would need to spend £1k on a rig for those purposes, I'm sure someone could spec you in the region of £700 for a decent rig

Do you need keyboard, mouse, monitor, and operating system?

If you need a monitor what size? Do you want 3D?

Socrates470BC said:

Do you need keyboard, mouse, monitor, and operating system?

If you need a monitor what size? Do you want 3D?

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Ive got a 23 inch Samsung LED at the min, i plan on changing to a 3D monitor at some point. Got decent mouse and keyboard etc, i'll be buying windows 7 ultimate to go with any build.

The Matrix said:

Ive got a 23 inch Samsung LED at the min, i plan on changing to a 3D monitor at some point. Got decent mouse and keyboard etc, i'll be buying windows 7 ultimate to go with any build.

Click to expand...

I think what Socrates wanted to know if uve accounted for your OS in the budget or are you purchasing that separately?

scwba06 said:

I think what Socrates wanted to know if uve accounted for your OS in the budget or are you purchasing that separately?

Click to expand...

The budget is for the build, anything else like upgraded monitors etc i'll be buying seperate.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Club3D HD 6950 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (CGAX-69548A) w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £179.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive - (MZ-7PC128B/WW) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £69.98
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 600W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £65.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £49.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £39.95
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £24.79
Total : £784.66 (includes shipping : £12.50).




Tada!

I made the base error when I bought my first parts of letting my mates do it for me.

They made a hash of it and it wouldn't boot up. To be fair they did it in a pub where one of my mates worked.

So I then braved my first build, it went ok. Cabling was a mess for ages but I didn't mind.

On the first build don't worry about the cabling too much, it will be difficult to get it neat the first time. Buy a case with lots of cable holes which should make it foolproof to make it tidy.

ALSO ONE THING, BUY EXTENSION CABLES. 2x PCI E x6 extensions and 1x 24 pin extension. ESSENTIAL for a neat build.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Sapphire HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ Nexuiz & Dirt Showdown PC Games £173.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £169.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) £83.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive - (MZ-7PC128B/WW) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £78.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £69.98
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 520W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £62.99
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £41.99
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler (Socket LGA2011/1366/1155/1156/775/ AMD AM3/AM3+/AM2/AM2+/FM1) £29.99
1 x LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £873.88 (includes shipping : £12.50).



no point getting win7 ultimate, waste of money
6950 is also more expensive than the 7850, (and the 7850 is arguably a slightly better gpu)
saved 10 quid by getting oem cpu
matterhorn pure is a cheap and good heatsink (better than the tranquillo, but also 5 quid more expensive)

I really appreciate the input so far and the baskets that people have helped to pick out, ive got some nice food for thought and some good advice so far.

The Zalman Z9 plus tower which has been suggested above by a couple of people looks good and seems to be good value as well.

the z9 comes with 4 fans (more than most if not all other cases) a temp reader and a fan controller as standard. pretty smashing deal for south of 50 quid if you ask me ;p