Assemble Your Gaming Rig Under An Hour

The first step is to take the cover off the case. Then take the motherboard out of the box & put it in to the case. There are holes for screws that ought to match the ones in the case. To make positive that it is in right, there ought to be USB ports, & audio ports protruding of the back of the case that will slide in to position as you attach the motherboard to the case.


You have ordered the different parts, & they are now prepared for assembly. But where do I start? It would take hours to look through all the individual manuals. I am going to show you how to assemble it in less than an hour.
Make positive that you put in all of the screws, & hand tighten them but not tight, you would detest to must pay for a new motherboard in case you split it tightening the screws tight.

10 Simple Steps to assembling Your Computer in under an Hour
1. Attaching the Motherboard

Now on the motherboard you will notice the slot where the processor slides in. There is usually a tiny clip that pushes the processor down, & you will require undoing that & exposing the "socket" as it is referred to, to continue.

When you take it out of the box, there will be a face that has writing on it telling you which processor it is, & another side with tiny pins protruding. Make positive that you don't touch the pins when you take it out.
2. Processor
With the motherboard now securely attached to your new computer's case, you are now prepared for the next step. Look for your processor & take it out of the box. In case you have no idea which part this is, it will either say INTEL or AMD on it.

When the processor is in the socket, then re-close the mechanism that holds it down, & then attach the fan. You may require applying thermal paste (a tiny tube of glue like stuff that came in your processors box, to the top of the processor before placing the fan on top.

Now that you have the socket exposed, do not put the processor in. in case you look at the front side of the processor, there ought to be an arrow one of the corners. Match this arrow with the on the motherboard & place it gently onto the socket. Now it is important here not to press down hard, because in case you bend any of those pins, you will require buying a new processor, so tread lightly on this part.

Times the fan is on, there is a tiny cable that gives it power. Take a lovely look at the finish of the cable, & find the appropriate tiny socket for it to attach to which ought to be around the processor. It is most often a tiny black or white plastic box, & it ought to not be hard to find.

Alright, the processor is the hardest part so don't get discouraged, you will have your computer up & walking in a couple of minutes. The next step is to find your RAM or memory. Depending on how much RAM you bought this may get tricky, but in case you only have stuck of memory this is a breeze.

3. RAM

Now when you pick up the memory you will notice that there is a groove on the side that goes in to the motherboard. Make positive you align this appropriately, & as before, don't ever force it. It ought to slide in gently & fundamentally with a tiny small tiny small bit of pressure.

In case you look at the motherboard, you will notice a few slots for memory, in case you cannot distinguish them, then look back at your memory, & then look for something that matches that exactly. It ought to be simple to find.

Now all you require to do is match the groove, & slide it in. Some memory sockets have a release mechanism, & before try to force it in, check around the memory area for any levers or anything like that.

As a lovely rule of thumb, in case you have over stick of RAM, make positive that those are the same brand & speed. This ought to be simple to see in case you look at it.

4. Graphics Card

In case you have a dedicated (not integrated) graphics card, then you will require putting in that as well. Most low-end computers have an integrated graphics card; if this is you then skip this step. In case you are not sure if this is you or not, take your monitor cable (ought to be either a blue, white, or HDMI plug) & try to plug it in to the back of your case. If there is no appropriate plug, then you require doing this step.

Times you take your graphics card out of the box; you will require putting in it near the back of the motherboard (towards the back of the case.) In case you don't know which is the graphics card it will probably say either NVIDIA or ATI on it. Now it’s important to find the right slot here, because there are few that are similar. In case you graphics card is a high-end card, and then you are going to require to look for a blue socket, not the white. The white sockets will be used later on in this guide.

When you slide the graphics card in, the port goes towards the back, protruding the case. When it slides in, on the inside of the case, there ought to be a hole for a screw to go in. Screw this in (the screw ought to be either with the motherboard or the graphics card) & you are lovely this step.

5. Hard Drive(s)

This step can receive a tiny bit tricky, for older computers. When you take the hard drive out of its box, take a glance at the back of it. There ought to be either or cables that came with the hard drive & you will require these for this step.

Unless your computer is before 2005, you ought to be using SATA connection. There ought to be cables (sometimes) that came together along with your hard drive. Plug these cables in to the corresponding slots on the back of the hard drive.

When you plug them onto the motherboard, keep an eye on tiny numbers next to the slot where you slide them in. It ought to say something to the effect of SATA, SATA, and SATA...and so on. You require plugging your hard drive in to SATA. In case you have over, plug the second in to SATA, respectively.

6. CD/DVD Drive

The last part of this step is to attach the hard drives to the case. Now every case is different but there ought to be a "holder" for the hard drive near the front of the case where the cod drive will be (not in the cod drive.) There will be either screw holes, or some kind of plastic securing device. Make positive the hard drive is secure before continuing.

Most sound cards are integrated in to today's motherboards, but I will include this step if yours is not. Also, some audio designers & audiophiles put high-end sound cards in to their computer, this step is for you.

Times again, make positive that the cable is plugged in to the CD drive, & onto the motherboard. The CD Drive will slide in to the slot on the case where there is a cd drive opening on the front. It will be secured with either screws, or some kind of plastic secure device.

Next is the CD Drive. This plugs in the exact same as the hard drive does, except if it is an older CD Drive.

7. Sound Card
The sound card ought to slide in to the white slot, & the audio ports ought to be protruding the back of the case, similar to the graphics card.
8. Wireless Card

The wireless card ought to slide in to a white slot similar to the sound card. There ought to be anywhere from 2-5 of these slots on your motherboard. If there is, you are going to require picking between a sound card & a wireless card. Another option would be to upgrade your motherboard to with more PCI slots.
Do you keep in mind the blue slot where you put your graphics card in to? Ok, not that. The white that looks similar to it, but not the same.
Now for the wireless card. If there is antenna attached to the card when you take it out of the box, you will require removing these while you install it (you can put them back on times you finish this step.)

Times you slide it in, reconnect the antenna, & put the screw through the top to fasten it securely in place. Make positive that you hold onto the CD that came with the card because only a few motherboards support wireless cards without first installing the drivers by CD.

Be cautious with this step. All parts ought to be installed (minus the power that is this step.) There ought to be a huge box with0 or so cables protruding. In case you cannot find it, it ought to be about 6 inches x inches & have anywhere from 250 Watts to 1000 Watts written on top of it.

9. Plugging It All In

Do not plug the box in to the wall. Make positive you install the box to the computer first, & then & only then plug it in & give it power. On the back of the case (with all of the graphics & audio ports protruding), towards the top of the case there will be a huge hole that ought to match the size of your power box. To put it in to the box, you are going to require putting in it from the inside & box ought to slide in to place.
10. Final Steps of Assembly

Now to reassemble the case. First check out your installation. Make positive there is nothing loose inside, & that all the cables are where they require being before you reassemble the case.
Times you finish that, reset the case on its side with the motherboard visible. Now look through the cables the come out of the power box. Find with the largest adapter, & there ought to be a match for that adapter on the motherboard. If it doesn't slide in on first try, flip it around & try it that way. Times again, don't force it. There may be or more plugins for the motherboard. If your computer is older, you must plug in separate parts individually. You will still must plug in the CD drive, & possibly the hard drive. In case you have a high-end graphics card, you must give it separate power.

When you power it on for the first time, the first thing you are going to require to do is insert your Windows (or Linux) Installation CD.

Slide the cover back on the case, & stand the case upright. Plug the power cable first in to the back of the box on the computer & then in to the wall.