If you have never built a gaming PC because, you've never done one before, or you're afraid of messing up or damaging your parts, then you clicked on the right video. Building a PC is very simple. I'm gonna guide you to the process from start to finish. By time you finish watching this video, You will know how to build a gaming PC. I'm even gonna show you guys how to: - Install Windows operating system, Download and install the drivers, and I'm even going to show you how to overclock the CPU and the GPU to get that extra performance. Now these are the parts I'll be using in my build that cost around a $1000 that includes the R(yzen) 3600, which is a six core twelve thread processor; We're also going to throw in 16 gigs (GB) of ram and the RX 5700 XT. This is the best PC you can currently build right now for around $1,000. It crushes 1080p gaming, you can pretty much max out any game, and you can even play 1440p above 60FPS. But if you guys want to see full gaming benchmarks of this build, i'll leave a link to it down below (in the description). Now you guys don't need to have any of the same parts as I do to follow along you guys can use your own set of parts and still follow the build guide and build yourself a gaming PC. But if you guys do want to pick up these parts and follow along with me, Then I'll drop a link to everything down below (in the description). Alright, so before we get started there's a few things we all need: obviously a screwdriver being one of them so that we can install the components, a large flat surface area to work on, and a small container to hold the screws that way they don't roll around and get lost. The only thing I have here at the office is a mug. So I'll be using this instead. You're also gonna need an empty flash drive with at least 8 gigabytes of space so we can install the Windows operating system in. And finally: This is optional, but a Wi-Fi adapter will help connect to the internet so that we can download the files because you can't connect the new PC to the internet without installing the drivers first. But if you guys have another computer or laptop that does have internet access, then we can hook up the USB to the laptop, download the drivers on this, and then transfer the files to the new PC once we're done building it. And that's pretty much everything you need. So with that said, let's begin building the PC! Alright, so Step One is to grab the following stuff out of the motherboard box; you will need: the i/o shield which goes in the back of your case, and 1 SATA cable for each storage device that you are connecting. Next, go ahead and grab your motherboard from the sides and place it on top of your motherboard box. If you have an M.2 SSD, now (is) the best time to install that in the M.2 slot on your motherboard, which is typically in the center. Make sure the gap on the M.2 matches the notch on the connection and slide it inside. There's only one correct way of inserting this inside, so don't worry if it's incorrect. Afterwards, you can hold the card down and screw it in place using the tiny screw that comes in your motherboard box. Next we're going to install the CPU. So make sure you're grabbing the CPU from the sides, whatever you do do not touch the surface or the backside with the pins. Otherwise, you can damage it. Locate the tiny triangle which is in the (bottom right) corner of the CPU because we're gonna match that with the triangle from the motherboard socket (It is the bottom right no matter what CPU you have). So go ahead and lift up the lever and gently place the CPU down on its socket, but do NOT apply any pressure or move it around as it can damage the pins. It should fall in naturally like you see here. Afterwards proceed to lower down the lever and lock the CPU in place. Now, it's time to install the CPU cooler. If you're installing a different cooler, Make sure to read the instructions on the manual to ensure correct installation. If you're installing the stock cooler like I am in the video, then first we need to remove the two brackets on the motherboard, and screw them both and store them away in the motherboard box. That way it doesn't get lost. Before lowering the cooler down, make sure the AMD logo is facing on the left side. We don't need to add any thermal paste since the cooler does come with some already pre-applied. Gently lower the cooler down while aligning the pins with the four holes from the bracket, and you can slowly begin to tighten it with a crisscross pattern. Don't fully tie in each screw just yet, just a couple of hand turns for each screw, one by one until they are all tightened evenly, Once you're done tightening all four screws, grab the cable from the cooler and plug it in the CPU fan header on the motherboard. Which should be located near the top. Next it's time to install the memory. If you're installing two sticks like I am, then you need to install them in the correct slots. Most motherboards let you know which slots to install them first through a diagram right on the board itself. You can also find this in the manual. Now most boards will require to install the sticks in A2 and B2, So that your Ram is taking advantage of dual channel. Pop open the tabs for both of the slots by pressing them down, and make sure to align the gap in the RAM sticks with the notch on the RAM slot. These only go in one way, so don't worry if you think you're putting them in the wrong way. Gently lower the RAM stick evenly and press down with both hands so that the tabs lock in place. Do the same for your other Ram stick. Once again, make sure that both the tabs are fully locked down. Alright, so now we're ready to put the motherboard inside the case. So go ahead and remove both of the side panels and place the screws in your tray or cup, that way they don't get lost. Remove the bag or box from the case That's holding all the screws because we're gonna need that for the rest of the build first. We need to install the i/o shield. So I'll grab that from the motherboard box and make sure to position it so that the text on them is not upside down. Make sure the text is facing the correct side. Simply apply pressure from the inside of the case, (you will probably have to focus pressure on each of the corners until the i/o shield snaps in place). Depending on what size motherboard you have, you will need to install additional standoff screws in your case If you want to know how many standoffs your motherboard needs, just simply count the number of holes it has. My case comes with only six standoffs already installed, but my motherboard needs nine. So I'm going to have to install three additional standoffs. Make sure to install the standoffs and he correct places inside your case, so that the holes from the motherboard are aligning with all the standoffs from the case. Gently lower the motherboard down while making sure it sits perfectly on each of the standoffs. Next we're going to use these tiny screws to tighten the motherboard in place, You're gonna need one for each standoff. for most regular ATX boards, You will need nine, of them next we're going to install the power supply so locate the part of your case that has a rectangular cutout in the back, and make sure to position the power supply towards the ventilation, so make sure the fan is facing down. Gently slide it in and align the holes of the power supply with the holes in the back of your case, and use four of these screws to tighten it in place. So before we move on and install the storage devices, you will need to know what cables are needed to connect. You will need this cable from the power supply which is the SATA power cable and that connects to the larger connector in the back of the hard drive or SSD. The SATA cable is the smaller cable and that connects to the smaller connector behind the hard drive or SSD. The other end of the SATA cable connects to the SATA ports on your motherboard and you can find those typically on the right side. This is very important you guys. Some SATA ports are disabled once you install an M.2 SSD. So make sure to check your manual to find out which ones they are. In my case, SATA ports 5 and 6 are disabled when installing an M.2 SSD. So in this case, it's the top two SATA ports. Which means I have to use the other ports instead. If you have a hard drive to install then follow along Otherwise you can skip to the SSD portion (skip to 7:54). So first go ahead and locate the hard drive cage. For this case, the hard drive cage is in the back and the only way to get access to it is by removing the two screws on the bottom of the case. Make sure to position the tray so that the connection ports are facing towards the back of the case. Afterwards we're gonna align the holes from the hard drive cage with the hard drive itself and then screw them in using these same screws we used for the motherboard. You don't have to screw in all of them. Just two on each side should keep it nice and tight. Now if you have an SSD, the process is very similar. But first, you need to figure out where you want to install it. This case has an SSD tray in the back and one more tray in the front. I decided to install it in the front so that the PC doesn't look weird with an empty SSD tray So go ahead and remove the thumb screw for the tray and position the SSD with the connector is facing the back once again. There are two ways of securing the SSD. Either installing the screws from the side, or from the back. It doesn't matter which way you do it as long as SSD is secured to the tray. Before we slide the tray back in the case, make sure to pull out the cables needed from the hole in the back so it's easier to hook them up. Remember, we need one SATA power cable from the power supply, and one SATA data cable that comes with the motherboard. Proceed to hook them up in the back of the SSD and then you can slide the SSDback In the case and tighten it with a thumb screw. Now it's time to install the fans in your case. Now if you're planning on keeping the fan in the back, then you can leave it in the case, but if you have a different set of fans that you want to use that way the old match together, then you can go ahead and remove it. Before we continue, We do need to figure out what fan configuration works best for your case. I always recommend adding at least two fans in the front for intake and at least one fan as exhaust either in the top or the back of the case. Doing so will help keep a positive airflow in your case and will help cool the components down. Obviously, I recommend going with a four fan configuration like I am that way you can put two fans as intake in the front and then two as exhaust on the top and back. Take this time to install all of your case fans. Remove any part of the case that you need in order to access the mounting bracket. For this case, we have to remove the front cover by pulling it off and also the dust filter from the top. Each fan requires four of these screws to mount them in your case. Make sure to position the fans in a way where the cable is facing towards the back of the case, that way you can easily route them in the back and keep it hidden from view. For the exhaust fans, you will need to screw them in from the outside of your case. So make sure the fans are facing the correct position, and use your other hand to hold it in place while you screw it in. If you have any RGB strips, now is a good time to put that in the case as well. I do have two of them that came with the fans so I placed one on the top closer to the side panel and the other strip in the back. If you're using any extension cables, now's the time to connect those to the existing power supply cables, and these only plug in one correct way, so don't worry about connecting them the wrong way. Just match the extensions with the corresponding power supply cables it's very simple. Now. Let's plug the cables into the motherboard. We're going to start off with a 24 pin cable, which looks like this, we're gonna go ahead and route it behind the case and plug it into the 24 pin socket right on the motherboard. It's very important to make sure that the cable is fully seated, if it's not your PC won't turn on. Next cable is to power the CPU socket. And this one plugs in the eight pin socket on the top left of your motherboard. Some lower end motherboards only have a four pin socket instead of eight, in that case, just plug in the four pin cable instead. If your case has a USB 3 port in a front panel, then you should have a cable like this with a blue tip. This connects to the JUSB3 header on your motherboard. And this is always on the edge of the motherboard either on the right side or way on the bottom. Be very careful when installing this cable so that you don't bend any of the pins inside the motherboard. Next, let's install the cable that says USB that way we can power the rest of the USB ports from the case. This plugs into any USB header on your motherboard labeled: 'JUSB'. If you have more than one it's usually labeled 'JUSB1' or 'JUSB2' and so on. It doesn't matter which one you plug this in. Next cable is the one that's labeled HD audio and this is to give power to the audio ports in the front of the case This plugs into the header labeled 'JAUD1' which is usually on the bottom left side of the motherboard. We have to give power to the RGB lighting in the front of the case. So grab the (male) SATA power cable that (is) connect it to the case and plug this into the female SATA cable from the power supply. If you're using a different case that doesn't have this cable, then you can skip this step. While we're connecting SATA power cables, Make sure that all your storage devices have power. If you didn't connect them earlier in the video, then make sure your hard drive or SSDs are connected via SATA power cable. These next set of cables are for the front panel connector of your case. There are usually five different cables that you see here. Some cases don't have all five and instead have three or four. These cables connect to the 'JFP1' header on your motherboard, which is typically on the bottom. Now pay attention you guys, this header has 4 pins on the top row and 5 pins on the bottom row. And it's important that you connect these the right way otherwise, you will have problems turning on your PC. The smaller cables go on the first row on the top. The power LED+ goes in the first pin and the power LED- goes right next to that. The Power SW(Switch) cable plugs next to those in pins number three and four, (And it doesn't matter which way you plug these cables and by the way). The HDD LED plugs into the first and second pins on the bottom row, and the reset switch plugs right next to that in pins number three and four, however, Make sure that the words four HDD LED are facing down, Just like in the video. And finally we can go ahead and plug in all the fans, These cables plug directly into your fan headers on the motherboard and usually have four pins and it could be labeled any of the following. Now if you're using the same LED fans as I am in this build, then just connect the fans and RGB strips to the hub that came with it. The fans plug into the fan slots and the RGB strips plug into the LED slots. Of course, we got to give power to this device. There is a tiny molex cable that comes with the hub. So once you plug in one end to the hub, grab the other end which looks like this and plug it into the male molex connector from your power supply. All this does is give power to the hub which will then power on the fans and the RGB strips. If you're not using the same fans, then you can skip this step. So this is what your PC should look like so far. Everything is connected and ready to go. You can take this time to cable manage if necessary since you now know where all the cables connect. You can disconnect and route them in a better path so that your build looks very clean. The last step is to plug in your graphics card, but we need to install it in the top PCI slot to get the most performance out of your GPU. So go ahead and remove the two corresponding PCI brackets in the back of the case, Some are attached with screws which you can easily remove and others you're gonna have to break off, (depending on what case you're using). If you're using the same case as I am then just play with the bracket by moving it forward and back until It snaps off. Grab the GPU from the bottom and carefully insert it in the top PCI slot until you hear it snap in place. While holding up the GPU with the other hand, proceed to secure it by tightening the screw in the back. We have to get the GPU power. So grab the cables labeled 'PCIe' and route them from underneath the PSU shroud and plug them into the GPU. Different GPUs require different PCI cables so count the number of holes your GPU has and match them with the appropriate PCI cable from your power supply. For my graphics card, I need an 8 pin and a 6 pin PCI cable to power it. So after you plug those in you have officially finished building your gaming PC. The only thing left to do is install Windows, Download the drivers, and overclock your system and you'll be ready to game in no time. To install windows, you'll need a flash drive with at least 8 gigabytes of space and a computer with internet access. Plug in your USB Drive and visit the Microsoft website (which I will link below). Once you're here, Click on the 'Download tool now' and once it's finished downloadin,g launch the program and accept the license terms. On the first page, we're gonna select the second option to create installation media and then hit next. Make sure the language and architecture is correct (For gaming PCs, choose 64-bit architecture), and then hit next again. On this page, We're going to select USB flash drive and on the next page, we're gonna select the flash drive that you plugged in. This next part takes anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes depending on your internet connection, so once the files are downloaded to the USB Drive, you can hit finish and remove the drive from your PC. Take the power cable that came with the power supply and plug it in the back of your PC and flip the switch so that the straight line is selected. You can also plug in your keyboard and mouse and connect your monitor to the back of your graphics card with an HDMI cable instead of a display cable, at least until we install the drivers. Take the USB drive and plug it into the new PC that you just built, and turn it on. The PC should recognize your USB Drive and take you to the Windows installation screen. After you accept the terms, it will take you to the screen to enter your CD key. If you don't have a CD key, you can buy one as low as $12.50 from 'urcdkeys.com', just make sure to use the code: 'TSS2' to get that discount and I'll drop a link to the website below. If you don't have a CD key for now, you can click on the 'don't have a CD key' option on the bottom, But you will need to activate Windows in the next few days. This next screen is important. This is where you have to select a version of Windows you want to install. This HAS to match the correct version of the CD key that you bought (or are going to buy). For example in my case I bought the Windows 10 Pro CD key, so that's the version that I'm going to install. After that, we're gonna select wherever you want windows to be installed in. Select the 'custom' option on the bottom and you will see a list of storage devices That are connected to your PC. Always make sure to install Windows on the fastest drive. So if you have an M.2 SSD or a regular SSD, make sure to select those over the hard drive option. In my case, I'm going to install the operating system on my 960 gigabyte SSD. A quick note, if you are using an older drive with existing files, You can actually format and delete your drive from this screen. Just simply click on the drive you want to erase and click 'format'. If you have lots of problems at your PC and it's constantly crashing or freezing, a fresh install of Windows usually solves these problems. So it's something you can consider later down the line If it does happen to you. You can also feel free to bookmark this video that way you can find it easily. So anyways, after the operating system was installed on the drive you selected, it's gonna reboot a few times. So make sure to follow the setup instructions until you get to the desktop screen. So before we do anything else, we need to activate your other drives. If you have more than one drive and they don't show up on Windows Explorer, then it means we need to activate them. As you can see, we only have two drives showing up, but we connect that three instead. The hard drive is not coming up. So we're gonna go ahead and click the start button and type in 'hard disk' to bring up the disk management window. Over here you will see a full list of the storage devices that are hooked up to your motherboard. As you can see, we have three disks showing up. Our SSD with the operating system, which is in the middle our M.2 drive on the bottom, and the hard drive up top. But notice that the hard drive has a black bar above which means that the hard drive itself is un-allocated. Basically, it just means that it's not being used currently. So we're gonna right click and select 'new simple' volume. We're gonna hit next a couple of times; Over here you can assign a drive letter if you wish, I'm just gonna put 'H' for hard drive. And then hit next again. Over here, you can actually name your drive. So I'm just gonna go ahead and label it 'hard drive' and then hit next and finally on the last page, we're gonna click on finish. As you can see the black bar turns blue, and when you open Windows Explorer, the hard drive is now visible and you can start using it. You can do this to any storage device that doesn't show up on Windows Explorer. Now if your drive still doesn't show up even after all of this, that means it's not connected properly. So, please refer to the bottom timestamp to double check. Also while we're still here, let's click the Start menu again and type in "power". Select the option and lets you choose a power plan and always make sure that "high performance" option is selected for your PC if you're planning on overclocking. Now it's time to download the drivers for your motherboard. So search up the motherboard that you are using and visit the manufacturer website and then click on the support tab. Over here, we're gonna select driver and select the operating system that were using. These are the drivers we need to download. Regardless if you're using AMD or Intel, you have to download the chipset drivers to ensure your system is running normally. The next driver we need are the audio drivers, and it's usually from Realtek. So click the link that says either "universal driver" or "Realtek high-definition audio driver". The third required driver is the LAN drivers. If you're using an AMD motherboard, It's most likely Realtek, And if you're using Intel then it usually says "Intel gigabit drivers" now if your motherboard has Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity, make sure to download those as well. Since this motherboard doesn't have either, we can skip this step. If you are using an AMD GPU, then we need to download and install the AMD graphics card driver instead. Go ahead and visit the website and click on the "download now" link and install it once it's complete. If you're using an NVIDIA GPU, visit the Nvidia website and download "GeForce Experience", and install that. I'll drop a link to both of these down below for your convenience. To install all of these drivers, you have to simply open the folder and always search for the file name that says "setup". That's the file you have to open up. If you need to extract the files, then click on "extract" and search for the setup file once again. The next step before we start overclocking is to enable XMP in the BIOS so that your rRAM is running the max speed. So go ahead and restart your PC and hit the delete key on your keyboard repeatedly until you are into BIOS. Navigate to the overclock menu and set the XMP profile to "Enable". You can leave the DRAM frequency to auto which will then match the frequency of your RAM or you can set it manually. The RAM I used in my build is rated at 3600 megahertz so I set it at 3600 megahertz in the BIOS. Afterwards, make sure to hit "F10" on your keyboard to save changes and restart your PC. if you don't want to overclock any of your parts, then you are officially done and you can begin clapping noobs online with your new PC. However, if you want to squeeze extra performance out of your GPU and CPU, feel free to follow along if you're using a Ryzen processor, Make sure to download Ryzen Master to overclock the CPU. And to overclock the GPU, We're gonna download two programs MSI Afterburner, and Heaven Benchmark. They are all free to download and I'll drop a link to them down below for convenience. Open up Ryzen Master and click on "Profile 1" and then select the "manual" tab up top. Now if you're using the same processor as me, then just copy my settings. We're gonna click on the red icon over here so that the overclock gets applied to all the cores, and then we're gonna click on the first box over here and change the frequency to 4.2 gigahertz, and then press "Enter". The voltage is set pretty high by default. So we're gonna go down to the voltage control and lower it to 1.375 volts. Afterwards, we have to hit "apply and test" so the system does a quick stress test to make sure the CPU can handle those settings. And if it passes, you can save the profile and minimize the program. This is a very simple and stable overclock for the Ryzen 5 3600. If you have a better cooler, you could even go back and increase the frequency and test the system again. If it crashes, you'll have to increase the voltage by clicking the up arrow button once and then we testing it again. You can repeat the process until you find a stable overclock. Now if you're using Intel you can do this exact same process, But through the BIOS instead. the best way to find out how much you can overclock your CPU is by Googling it. You can see what settings other people have used to achieve their overclocks and you can go from there. That's usually how I overclock my CPUs. Overclocking the GPU is a lot more simple. So we're gonna open up MSI Afterburner and the Heaven Benchmark in windowed mode. Afterwards we're gonna press "F9" so the benchmark is running on Heaven while we have MSI Afterburner open up top. So we're gonna start off by dragging the power limit bar all the way to the right. If you're using an NVIDIA GPU, You need to drag both the power limit and the temp limit all the way to the right. So we're gonna start off by increasing the core clock. So let's double click on the number and increase it to "2050" and hit the 'Save' button. If the benchmark doesn't crash after a minute, we can go back and increase it again. I like to do 25 megahertz increments until I get to a point where the benchmark crashes. So now we're gonna go ahead and add another 25 megahertz and hit 'Save' again and wait until the benchmark finishes. I know for a fact that I can reach up to 2100 megahertz on this GPU because I tested it already. Anything past that and it becomes unstable. So I'm gonna keep the core clock at 2100 megahertz and move down to the memory clock. The same exact concept applies here. Increase it by 25 megahertz until you get to a point where the benchmark crashes. Sadly, I was only able to add 25 megahertz on the memory coming from 875 to an even 900 megahertz. Your GPU will vary especially if you're using an NVIDIA GPU because those tend to overclock a lot more on the memory clock. If for whatever reason your PC crashes or freezes during gameplay, then that means your overclocking settings are too high and you have to go back and lower the frequency and voltage. Make sure your CPU temps are not exceeding 85°C (185°F) and your GPU temps over 95°C (203°F). Reference AMD cards with lower design tend to get pretty hot. So if your card is peaking at 90°C (194°F), don't panic that is completely normal these cards are designed to take the heat. If your PC doesn't start or has issues, I do recommend watching my troubleshooting video, it's a step by step guide that's gonna help you figure out what's causing the problem and I'll drop a link to that down below. If this build guide was helpful to you guys, please consider leaving a like and subscribe if you enjoy these types of videos, thanks so much for watching and I'll see you in the next one!
