General Considerations
Assembling your own computer parts from scratch is quite entirely another challenge than selecting the right parts and having them shipped to your door. It is strongly recommended that you ask a professional to install all of the components, at least for the CPU, motherboard and fans inside of the computer case. You should be able to find a local professional to install everything for you, for about 60$. While you’re there, ask them to install an Operating System (Windows or Linux) for you. Did you get everything you need? Assemble everything in one go, to save time. Check out our guide on selecting the optimal computer components.
CPUs are very sensitive to static electricity and their warranty will be voided instantly if they are not installed by a professional and they become damaged in the process. CPUs are notoriously fragile and they can fry instantly if they are improperly handled or incorrectly installed. In all cases, do not handle them with your bare hands, unless you have experience or professional supervision, and make sure to have an anti-static bracelet if you still decide to install the CPU on your own for the first time. There are also a great many number of tutorials online to guide you through the appropriate steps in more detail.
Common Computer-Building Steps:
For your guidance, we provide a list of steps you will be asked to perform during the assembly of your own computer from custom component parts. Different motherboards and case combinations may differ, so please refer to your instruction manual, and ask a professional to do it or show it to you, if you are new to this.
- Install the case and chassis fans inside computer case (except the CPU fan)
- Install the power supply (PSU) inside the computer case
- Install the CPU-fan back-brackets onto the back of the motherboard
- Install the motherboard inside the computer case
- Insert the CPU into the socket on the motherboard
- The RAM sticks are inserted in the memory slots on the motherboard
- Thermal paste is applied on top of the CPU
- The CPU fan is installed over the CPU, sandwiching the thermal paste for heat diffusion
- The hard drives, SSDs and optical drives are inserted in their trays
- The graphic card is inserted in the motherboard slot (usually a PCI-express)
- Any other PCI card (wifi, bluetooth, firewire, usb, sound card, etc) should also be inserted at this time
- Setup the wire connections:
- The PSU is connected to the motherboard using the biggest bunch of cables
- The computer case wires are connected to the motherboard (use the motherboard & case manual for reference)
- The hard drives, SSDs and optical drives are connected to the motherboard & PSU and fixed inside the case
- The graphics card is (usually) connected to the PSU via a 4 to 8 pin connector
- The computer fans are connected to the PSU
- The CPU fan is connected to the motherboard using a 4 pin wire (temperature and speed sensor)
- Organize the wiring out of the way of the fans, and attach them to the case sides using wraps or tie-wraps
- The AC power cord is inserted in the power supply of the computer and the into the wall outlet.
- Close the computer and put the covers back on both sides of the case, for proper ventilation flow
Congratulations! Your computer is now ready to be booted for the first time!
If you’ve done everything right, your computer will start up normally. Otherwise, recheck all your connections and consult your motherboard’s user guide ask. If you’re stuck, ask professional for help, or use YouTube as a guide for general manipulations and google for your help on your specific components.
You can then install your operating system of choice (buy Windows or download a free Linux distribution like Ubuntu) and setup the drivers for the components you installed into your motherboard. Finally, install your 3D software of choice (such as the free software: blender) to get started making 3D, right now!
You can follow our youtube tutorial channel for maya, if you’d like. Check out the playlist section.
Let the fun begin!
Go to the 'computer hardware' table of contents:
Guide on Finding the Optimal Computer Components
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