Have you ever had the desire to ditch your console and build your own PC that can run any game at Ultra 144Hz. If that thought has come across your mind, then you’re at the right place today. We understand that it can seem overwhelming to build your own pc as one mistake can fry the entire system and that wouldn’t be so cash-money. However, there are multiple benefits of making a PC by yourself as you can personalize it and PC components come in various shapes and colors to complement the Warzone posters you have in your room.
In this guide, we’ll be covering the fundamentals of building PC from choosing the right parts to assembling all the components by yourself through an easy step-by-step format.
Introduction:
As you would expect, the performance depends on the parts you choose unlike Consoles where you just have an option of 2 variants at most. Therefore, it is important on decide on a budget so you can map out how much you are going to spend on a certain component.
While building a PC aimed at gaming, you ought to prioritize the Graphics Card (GPU) and your CPU, as those two components dictate the entire performance.
In this guide we will not only be focusing on the raw performance, but we’ll also be creating an aesthetically pleasing build.
The components:
A PC requires a CPU, Motherboard, RAM, GPU, Storage, and a PSU to function. Cooling is another aspect that is important to take into consideration because not only can your system overheat, but lower times also technically increase your performance. The parts chosen for this build include:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- Motherboard: Motherboard: MSI B550 – MAG Tomahawk
- RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 3600Mhz
- GPU: RTX 3070ti
- Storage: Samsung 870 Evo 1TB
- Case: Cooler Master NR 600
- Power Supply Unit (PSU): XPG CORE REACTOR 750w
To get started:
Safety Precaution
Before you start working on your rig, you must make sure you have enough space around you as there are multiple box and parts to work it and it can get cramped. Furthermore, components can instantaneously die due to static electricity, so ensure you’re not working on a carpet or wearing woolen clothing due to accidentally sending a static discharge
Tools required:
- Philips Head Screwdriver
- Zip ties or black electric tape
- A pair of scissors or strong canine teeth
Building time:
To make this entire process as easy as we can, we have streamlined it in 11 easy steps.
Step 1: The Motherboard: MSI B550 – MAG Tomahawk
The first part of the building process is to remove the motherboard from the box and unwrap the anti-static bag and lay the motherboard on top of its box. This provides a safe platform for you to install the CPU, RAM, and cooler.
Step 2: The CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
This is the hardest part for first time builders as a slight mistake can potentially break the CPU. First of all, unbuckle the lever found on the motherboard and slowly lift it up. Thereafter, take out the CPU from the box, but be mindful to not touch the golden pins underneath. Hold the CPU from the plastic sides. Take a close look at the CPU socket (the lever you just lifted) and you will notice a small triangle on one side, most probably it will be on the bottom left. You will also see a very tiny triangular dot on the CPU. So, align the CPU so it corresponds with the aforementioned triangles and slowly lower it down into the socket. Once you feel it’s completely in, give it a slight wiggle to see if its properly seated. Once you’re certain that’s its fine, pull the lever down again. You have no successfully installed the CPU.
Step 3: The CPU Cooler
In this step, you will be installing the stock cooler on the CPU. It is the fan that came in your Ryzen 5 3600 box. First of all, you have to unscrew the pre-attached brackets:
Once you have removed the aforementioned brackets, please take your cooler out and remove any plastic covering it may or may not have below on the copper heatsink. The thermal compound comes pre-applied on these coolers, so just check if it has a grey patch underneath, if so, mount the cooler on the 4 standoffs you opened up by unscrewing the bracket. The correct orientation of the cooler is when the AMD logo is facing towards the rear IO (The USB holes on the back of the motherboard). Once the cooler is in place, tighten the screws in a cross-section method to apply even pressure.
Lastly, there should be a wire coming out of the cooler. Please carefully connect it to the CPU FAN header on the top of the motherboard.
Step 4: The RAM: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 3600Mhz
This is by far the easiest step while building a PC. All that you have to do is, unclip the mounts on the RAM slots.
However, it is important to note that you have to install one ram stick on the far-right hand and the second one in the middle. This is known as running your memory in dual channel.
Now look inside the slot and you’ll see a raised bump and there should be a matching hole on the ram stick.
Lastly, place the stick in the highlight slot and apply a considerable amount of pressure using your thumbs until you hear a click sound and see the mounts latch onto the ram.
Step 5: The Casing: Cooler Master NR600
It is time to finally install the motherboard inside of the casing. Unbox your casing, remove both of the side panels by unscrewing the thumbscrews. One panel is made out of tempered glass and the other one is the metal one behind it. Once you’ve removed both the panels, lay your casing down flat with the glass panel side up. First of all, grab the metal IO shield that came in the motherboard’s box. Take a look at your motherboard’s rear IO and then quite literally smack it inside of the cavity present at the back of the casing.
The IO shield is installed from inside of the casing since it has raised edges that latch onto the casing. Furthermore, make sure the orientation of the IO is correct based on the motherboard.
Now you will see 9 raised screw stand-offs on the inside of the casing. Slowly lower your motherboard inside of the casing over the aforementioned stand-offs. Make sure the rear motherboard IO is firmly seated with the IO shield you just installed.
If the motherboard is perfectly aligned with IO Shield and the standoffs, proceed to tighten it up with the screws found in your motherboard’s box
Step 6: The PSU: XPG CORE REACTOR 750w
Installing the power supply is relatively simple, however routing the cables can be challenging for first time builders. Lift your PC back up once your motherboard has been installed, turn it over to face the rear side.
The PSU will go in the bottom right compartment and you will screw it in from the back side of the pc. Once the PSU is firmly in place, proceed to route the cables coming out of the PSU.
- The 24-PIN (THICC cable) will go towards the top routing hole (Highlighted in White)
- The PCIE/VGA 6+2 PIN will also go in the top routing hole. (Highlighted in Red or Yellow depends on your preference)
- The CPU 8-PIN cable goes in the top routing hole (Highlighted in Blue)
- The SATA power cable will remain at the back to power up the HDD/SDD
Step 7: The GPU: Nvidia RTX 3070
In terms of difficulty, it is both extremely easy and possibly quite risky. You unbox the GPU and remove the plastic wrap. Once you’re done, remove the PCIE slot covers from the back. You are going to remove the first 3.
Thereafter, you’re going to align the PCIE strip on your GPU to the PCIE slot on the motherboard. It is the silver slot right above the round battery cell.
You will slowly push the GPU inside of that slot while making sure it aligns with the PCIE dust cover slots you opened at the back of the casing.
Once it is firmly in place, tighten the screws on the PCIE dust cover as illustrated in the picture below. Furthermore, you will now connect the 6+2 PCIE/VGA cable that you routed earlier.
Step 8: The Storage and Front I/O Cable
By this point I’m sure you must have noticed a bunch of wires coming from the front of the casing. Well, those wires belong to the power button, restart button, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and lastly your audio connectors.
To connect these, you will have to refer to the manual you got in your motherboard’s box.
Furthermore, you will also have to attach the USB 3.0 connector, which is slightly difficult given how easy it is to bend the pins. However, the USB 3.0 connect has a pronounced bump that you align to the hole present on the board.
HDD
Installing and connecting the HDD is very simple. The aforementioned SATA-Power cable will connect at the back of your HDD installed in the Hard Drive cage. The excess wires can be jammed packed into the PSU compartment. Thereafter, you will need a SATA USB connector
that came in your motherboard’s box, connect it to the back of your HDD and route it through the lower routing hole.
Step: 9 Booting the System up
Quickly check all of the cables and points to make sure everything is in place. Once you’re satisfied, plug the PC, check the PSU power switch, and then press the front panel power button. If you don’t see lights starting showing up or if the PC is visibly off, take out the PSU cable and readjust the front panel connectors to ensure it is connected to the right port. If the PC starts up and you stumble upon the MSI Splash screen, turn it back off since you’re good to go for now.
Step 10: Windows
If your current storage doesn’t have windows already, you will have to make a bootable USB drive using a different computer to install the operating system. Visit this link and download the Windows 10 ISO file: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/softwaredownload/windows10. Once you have followed the installation wizard, plug that USB into your PC and start it up. It should show give you a prompt to install windows. There will be onscreen instructions so this won’t be difficult.
Step 11: Drivers
Windows 10 will automatically download drivers for your GPU, but most probably it won’t be the latest one. Therefore, head on over to Nvidia’s site to download the latest driver: https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx.
Therefore, it isn’t difficult to build your own PC. You simply just need to do a lot of research and be confident while assembling the parts.
Choose the best PC Case for your build from here: Best PC Cases in Pakistan: 2020
