Just bought all my components...build time tomorrow

mikey1090 · 14 Mar 2011 at 14:27

Just bought all the components for my new high performance PC. I bought -

Product Name Price Qty Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE Shogun 2 Game £159.99 1 £159.99
Asus P8P67 PRO Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £116.66 1 £116.66
Coolermaster HAF X Gaming Tower Case - Black (RC-942) £110.82 1 £110.82
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8) £89.99 1 £89.99
Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1) £83.32 1 £83.32
Antec TruePower New Modular 750W Power Supply - With FREE 3D Mark 2011 Advance £69.99 1 £69.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £66.66 1 £66.66
Microsoft SideWinder X6 Gaming Keyboard - Retail (AGB-00006) £32.49 1 £32.49
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM 1yr Warranty (ST31000528AS) £31.66 1 £31.66
Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3) Out of stock £30.82 1 £30.82
TP-Link 300Mbps High-Gain Wireless-N USB Adapter (TL-WN822N) £14.16 1 £14.16
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.66 1 £11.66
Sub Total : £818.22
FREE SHIPPING (DPD Next Day) Shipping : FREE
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £163.64
Total: £981.86

I also bought the GTX480 2 weeks ago when it was on offer.

Now here comes the slight problem! I have never built a PC before in my life! But I am a technically minded student and a quick learner.

So if you have any advice that would be great.

Any good youtube videos for me to watch?
Any good online tutorials to follow whilst I'm building?
Do I need thermal paste or will the CPU or cooler come with it?

Any advice from other newbies who recently built their PCs for the first time would be much appreciated, and alike from the pro's who've been at this for year!

Thanks,
Mike

Shibbzy · 14 Mar 2011 at 14:35

CPU cooler should come with it on. Do you have an anti static wrist band or similar thing? Have always used mine, I don't dare not!

How I build (maybe not the best way but it works)

Put mobo in, remember to use the pins that raises it from the back of the case or you'll short it out. Put PSU in, connect it to the mobo. Then I usually start conecting other shizzles too, no particular order for me lol. gfx card, ram, hdds, dvd, i always do the cpu last for some reason as it's the one i'm most frightened of.

Probably doesn't help you much, but hey I tried.

it's quite hard not to know how to build a PC, being a smart ass like you say you are, just don't jam, or ram any cable in where it shouldn't go. other then that it really is quite simple. haven't looked into your PSU, but don't assume you have to use every cable, because you don't.

topshot · 14 Mar 2011 at 14:38

You cant really go wrong. Its only a case of slotting cards together. Just double check the cables are all connected. Plan your cabling a bit so you can try keep it tidy, will look better and help airflow.
Cooler should have thermal paste on.

Shibbzy · 14 Mar 2011 at 14:39

Your fan aswell, I believe should point towards your DVD/HDD. Some people place in different ways, but think that's the best.

Guess it depends whether your fan sucks or blows. Heh

mikey1090 · 14 Mar 2011 at 16:18

Shibbzy said:
CPU cooler should come with it on. Do you have an anti static wrist band or similar thing? Have always used mine, I don't dare not!

I've not got one no, is it necessary?

topshot said:
You cant really go wrong. Its only a case of slotting cards together. Just double check the cables are all connected. Plan your cabling a bit so you can try keep it tidy, will look better and help airflow.
Cooler should have thermal paste on.

Apparently the CM HAF X case I have is brilliant for cable management, so I should be OK if I take my time and do it logically.

I've changed/upgraded my PCI cards, GFX cards, blu-ray player, HDDs and RAM plenty times in my current PC. The only thing I've never done is build/assemble the MOBO/case/CPU/Cooler before.

Shibbzy said:
Your fan aswell, I believe should point towards your DVD/HDD. Some people place in different ways, but think that's the best.

Guess it depends whether your fan sucks or blows. Heh

Haha! You mean the CPU cooler?

Shibbzy · 14 Mar 2011 at 16:23

Yes the CPU cooler, although it's down to preference, do a little research on cpu fans. Really either way has pros and cons so I hear. I would say it's better to be safe than sorry, static can cause problems with hardware, if i remember my old computing A level

mikey1090 · 14 Mar 2011 at 16:40

Was planning on building the PC on the wood floor or the glass kitchen table and keeping it away from the carpet! Good enough?

Hagar · 14 Mar 2011 at 16:50

Wood floor is OK.
My method.
PSU in case.
CPU into motherboard, heatsink fitted, Ram fitted.
CPU Fan connection to mobo.
Fix motherboard into the case.
Have a cup of coffee and rest.
Power connections to mobo 24 pin and 8/4 pin.
Power switch, reset, LED and fan connections to mobo.
USB connections to mobo
Install graphics card.
Install drives, only one HDD initially
Attach keyboard, mouse, video and power external connections.
Switch on at wall and also at PSU.
Boot and test.
Have a cup of coffee and rest.
Install other cards.
Install windows and drivers
Attach additional HDD if required.
Attach other external peripherals.
Install additional drivers if required.
Play

The build should take 40 mins to a couple of hours depending on skills and tidyness of cable routing etc.
Installing software is much the same.

If it doesn't work, read the manual.

I have built a few.

Lastly as it is the first and it is a good habit, collect all the invoices, manuals etc. notes and photographs of the build if any and put into a binder. This will save searching drawers etc. for guarantees, configuration settings.

~Mike~ · 14 Mar 2011 at 16:51

mikey1090 said:
Was planning on building the PC on the wood floor or the glass kitchen table and keeping it away from the carpet! Good enough?

I believe glass can be static???

Do you have wood table? If not then use the wood floor, make sure its clean first.

Carpet is bad for static.

lttlejoe · 14 Mar 2011 at 17:01

I'd never built a computer until very recently so, I can understand your concerns. Just keep earthing yourself on a nearby radiator to avoid any static build-up and place and assemble all the components on large piece of cardboard!

For mine I installed the two optical drives, hard drive and the card reader first. Then the mobo stand-offs. After which I assembled the CPU & cooler and RAM onto the mobo and then installed the completed mobo into the case, after which I wired everything ( including installing the PSU) and it worked first time! Case design may change the order of assembly but it's all pretty simple
If you've added or changed components in your old PC you shouldn't have any probs! Just refer to the mobo handbook and the scematics for where to put the connectors!

Skellig · 14 Mar 2011 at 17:26

Having just built my rig from scratch I understand how you feel. However, I have been modifying it like crazy (cpu cooler, graphics, HDDs) so I've practically have done a full build previously.

Best advice: take all the time in the world and go ultra slow. Grab what manuals and cables you need and read. Your mobo manual is going to be your bible.

Skellig · 14 Mar 2011 at 17:27

Oops sorry

maj · 14 Mar 2011 at 17:37

This thread might help you.

King Damager · 14 Mar 2011 at 18:20

Take everyone's advice above basically, but I'd probably install the CPU/RAM/Heatsink into the motherboard before installing it in the case.

Just as a side note, make sure your RAM fits with that CPU cooler...

kd

mikey1090 · 14 Mar 2011 at 18:49

Hmm I ordered this at 2 PM and it still says in warehouse queue. Won't get it tomorrow now will I?