MANY OF US use computers every day, but never really get into the guts of how they work. Sometimes, it’s nice to make something with your own hands that you'll use every day. That’s what this guide is about how to build a PC from scratch.It can be disheartening for the first time you are gonna build a PC for yourself as it’s quite expensive, complex & things can get really messy in just a matter of seconds. In this article, I will share with you my thought process when I first built my own PC which I am currently using to write this article.

What components you will need and how to decide?

I used a website called PC Builder/ to exactly sort the components that I used.Use a Notes app or the traditional Pen & Paper for the components and peripherals that you are gonna need.In order to get a list of components together, no matter what your experience level is, you should use PCPartPicker. Not only does it have everything you need to buy, but it also lets you build your PC piece by piece right on the website and makes sure all your hardware will play nicely together. It even has a few example builds you can tweak to your liking. Additionally, I recommend keeping a list of what you want, what you have, and what your budget is. I do this in Notes on my phone, with the title of each build right up at the top. It comes in handy to keep track of things. All the PCs require the same set of components. It doesn't matter if you are building it for home, office or gaming use.List of components required -

Motherboard

This is the house of all the components that you are gonna buy. Motherboards come in different sizes and configurations. There are two sockets for the motherboard: LGA and AM. They are listed as “LGA1200” or “AM4”. The numbers after the LGA and AM portions of these socket names indicate which generation of Intel or AMD chips they support. Motherboards also come in different sizes, like - ATX (full size), Micro ATX, and Mini ATX. They come in different price segments too like Budget and luxurious ones. When narrowed down the differences come to only the ports they are gonna have in them. Having 2 M.2 slots is great but beyond that is just for luxury. 2 RAM slots are great as most of us are gonna use 16GBs of RAM, but if you are the exceptional then I will recommend going for 4 RAM slots rather than 2 as it will increase the scope of further upgradation.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)



This is the brain of your system. It is laid directly into the motherboard, and it is the most important component of your PC build. This is the one that handles most of the processes on your PC. It is like the brains of the whole operation. Getting the latest Gen processor is always preferred as it will give a good performance than the old ones.

Storage Drive

It is where you store all your files, games, movies, documents, photos and everything else. For installing Windows, an SSD(Solid State Drive) is recommended as it is blazing fast compared to the HDDs(Hard Disk Drive). The speed difference is shown in the image below where the left one is HDD and the right one is SDD.



Graphic Card

It is a specialized processor that’s designed and optimized for running visual data like graphics in Games, 3D Modeling, Video and Photo Editing and other graphic-intensive tasks. GPUs are designed for sequential processing, not for parallel processing. GPU can process millions of things at the same time. For a standard home or office PC, any cheap GPU from the past years should perform well for you. But for a Gaming or a Professional PC, you will need to dump most of your budget into a good GPU as it is the one that is gonna help you build some great graphics.



Power Supply Unit

It is the unit that distributes power to all of your components. You must get a little more than you are actually gonna need, if your PC requirements are 450W then go for 500W as later on if you wanna upgrade something then you don't need to upgrade the power supply too. Don't go for the cheap one that comes with the case pre-installed as it is not good and can harm your PC components.

RAM

It is the place where all your software runs. The minimum recommended is 8GBs, you can go up to 16GBs but anything more is just overkill for a normal user. But if are setting up a proper Video Editing PC then 32GBs is recommended.

Cabinets & Coolers

Your case is just the house for your components. Make sure that your case matches with the kind of motherboard you are gonna buy. Adding additional Coolers and fans is optional as it completely depends on the type of PC you are building. If you are building a gaming or production PC then you are gonna need an AIO cooler which is basically a special AC for your CPU so that it doesn't heat a lot and lose some of its performance.

Monitor

This is the one that you are gonna stare at for the rest of your PC's life. They are a little costly so buying a good 23-inch LED display is always good as they last very long. A normal user doesn't need a 144Hz display that is what Gamers need. A good 60Hz or 75Hz display is gonna do just fine.

Keyboard and Mouse

The keyboard and mouse are the ones that you are gonna use to give input to the whole PC. So getting a good combo for them is always good. Go for HP or some other company and not with the sketchy Chinese brands.

Getting Ready with the installation

Now I consider you must have got some knowledge of this whole PC building this. So now is the time to build one!Once you have hands-on all the PC parts, you can start assembling them one by one by following the guide below -

1. First, get a clean table that is big enough to lay down all the components that you have bought. You’ll need a Phillips-head screwdriver.
   Note - Most of the components you have bought are going to come with instruction manuals; keep them handy.
2. The first box that you are gonna open is the Motherboard box, Open the box, tear the packing and then put the motherboard right on top of the box it comes in. Along with this prepare the CPU that you have bought and don't touch the pins at the bottom as they are very delicate and even a little pressure can bend them which will make your PC just a paperweight!
3. Depending on the kind of CPU you purchased (Intel or AMD), the chip will have either little prongs on one side (don’t touch them) or little golden contacts on one side (don’t touch them too).
   At the centre of your motherboard, there will be a square or rectangular blank space where you have to place the processor. Notice that there is a triangle at the corner of the processor that you have to align with the motherboard triangle and then just gently lay it down without any pressure and lock it in its place.

4. Then open an injection-type thing in the box of the processor or motherboard (Don't eat it, it doesn't taste good and you can trust me on this). Apply a hefty amount of the paste on top of the processor and then just try to even it out with the top of this injection. After that align the CPU fan with the screws at all 4 corners of the processor block. Upon confirming, lightly press it and then install it. Along with this there will be a wire coming from the Fan there will be a point marked Don't the motherboard as CPU fan, just install it there and you are good to go. If you are not able to find the point then you can check the manual that comes with the motherboard.
   With this, the hardest part of the whole thing is done!!
5. Next you have to install the storage, If you have an M.2 then there is a place to install the M.2 just below the processor or you can check the Motherboard manual you to get a SATA cable that would be present in the motherboard box, connect it to the SATA 1 port on your motherboard which is mostly present at the right-hand side bottom corner of the motherboard. Make sure to connect it with the SATA 1 as it has a little better speed than other ports.

6. Next just open the RAM box and there is the place at the right of the processor where it can go. First, just try to push it a little with your fingers, if it doesn't fit then rotate it 180 degrees and try again. After you think that it is going into its place you can just press it a little harder and that's it is now installed.

7. This is an optional step if you have a Graphic Card, open the Graphic card and then just check the Motherboard manual where it will go, handle this with care as this could be the most costly part of your whole PC build and then put it in place and make sure that you get a click sound to ensure proper fit.
8. Now, you have to move to the cabinet and install the motherboard on the cabinet. For this lay down the cabinet and then open it from both sides first install the motherboard with the screws provided and don't add less, add as many screws as required.

9. Now, the final step is to install the PSU. There will be a lot of wires coming from that, don't worry you just need a few of them. Just check the motherboard manual and then connect them accordingly. After this, you are all set to rock and roll with your PC

Congratulations on building your first PC build. Told you that it will be a very easy process and it is. Now you can do all the important tasks like playing GTA V for the whole day. XD. Just enjoy the build and if this article helps then share this with your friend who is struggling to build their PC.