Part 1 – Picking the Parts
We teach you how to pick and your build your first PC!
I'm guilty. I am one of those PC enthusiasts that thinks everyone knows how to build a PC. Everyone has done it before, and all you need from the tech community is the recommendation for parts, right? Turns out that isn't the case at all, and as more and more gamers and users come into our community, they are overwhelmed and often under served. It's time to fix that.
This cropped up for me personally when my nephew asked me about getting him a computer. At just 14 years old, he had never built a PC, watched a PC be constructed – nothing of that sort. Even though his uncle had built computers nearly every week for 15 years or more, he had little to no background on what the process was like. I decided that this was perfect opportunity to teach him and create a useful resource for the community at large to help empower another generation to adopt the DIY mindset.
I decided to start with three specific directions:
- Part 1 – Introduce the array of PC components, what the function of each is and why we picked the specific hardware we did.
- Part 2 – Show him the process of actual construction from CPU install to cable routing
- Part 3 – Walk through the installation of Windows and get him setup with Steam and the idea of modern PC gaming.
Each of the above sections was broken up into a separate video during our day at the office, and will be presented here and on our YouTube channel.
I would like to thank Gigabyte for sponsoring this project with us, providing the motherboard, graphics card and helping work with the other vendors to get us a great combination of hardware. Visit them at Gigabyte.com for the full lineup of motherboard, graphics cards and more!!
Part 1 – Picking the Parts
Selecting the parts to build a PC can be a daunting task for a first timer. What exactly is a motherboard and do you need one? Should you get 2 or 4 or more memory modules? SSD vs HDD? Let's lay it all out there for you.
The specific configuration used in Austin's PC build is pretty impressive!
Austin's First PC Build | |
---|---|
Processor | Intel Core i5-6600K – $249 |
Motherboard | Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming 5 – $189 |
Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4-3200 – $192 |
Graphics Card | Gigabyte GTX 970 Gaming Xtreme – $374 |
Storage | Corsair Neutron XT 480GB – $184 Western Digital 3TB Red – $109 |
Case | Corsair Obsidian 450D – $119 |
Power Supply | Corsair RM550x – $117 |
Keyboard | Logitech G910 Orion Spark – $159 |
Mouse | Logitech G602 – $51 |
Headset | Logitech G933 Artemis Spectrum – $192 |
Monitor | Acer XB280HK – $699 |
OS | Windows 10 Home – $119 |
Total Price | $2054 (not including the monitor) – Amazon.com Cart |
Clearly the boy is spoiled. But if your uncle owns a hardware review website, that seems like a likely outcome. A couple of comments worth noting though.
- I would probably have recommended moving to a 2x8GB configuration for system memory. It tends to be a little bit cheaper and gives you the option to upgrade down the road should you need it.
- Adding in a second Western Digital 3TB drive would give peace of mind if you configure them in a RAID-1 array for data redundancy. But this is a complication I didn't want to introduce quite yet.
- The Corsair RM550x power supply doesn't have additional power cables for a second GPU that requires two connections. Upgrading to a 650-750 watt power supply should allow you to upgrade to multiple GPUs in the future if you want.
- The Acer XB280HK monitor is a 4K G-Sync display and likely overkill for the GTX 970 graphics card we chose for his build. As it stands, for modern games, we'll likely have to configure the rendering output at 1920×1080 and allow it to scale up to 4K. That's a totally workable solution, but a 2560×1440 monitor might have been a better selection to pair with the GPU.
- A $2,000 PC build might seem extravagant, but if you remove the keyboard/mouse/headset combination that totals over $400, a system price of around $1,600 is more in-line with expectations.
Part 2 – Building the Computer
Now that we have the components laid out, let's dive into the construction process.
Obviously if you select different hardware the process will be changed to some small degree, but in general, this is the order that makes the most sense to us. If you go with an AMD platform, or want to delve into the world of small form factors, hit up the PC Perspective Forums to find some like minded people to help you out!
Part 3 – Install the OS and Getting to the Gaming
After getting the hardware setup complete, it's time to power on the system. The first steps usually start in the BIOS or UEFI, the motherboard's software layer that sets up hardware and prompts the operating system to do its own thing. After setting a couple of specific things in there we dive into installing Windows 10 and then Valve's Steam software, the most common PC gaming market and management suite.
That's pretty much it! There is an entire world of exploring to do with your new PC on the gaming front and much more. Install some good anti-virus software (NOD32 is pretty good these days) and get to it!
I hope you found this article and set of videos helpful for your first steps into the world of enthusiast and DIY PC building. Let me know in the comments below if you have questions or would like to see anything added or followed up on. Thanks for reading and welcome to the community!
Reminds me of the time when I
Reminds me of the time when I built my first PC. Small mom and pop computer place did everything you did here, minus the youtube. 😛
Community is important, especially for things like this. Keep up the good work!
Ha ha, this build is a joke.
Ha ha, this build is a joke. DDR 4 RAM, really? Waste of money. Asus motherboard over Gigabyte any day. Thermaltake P5 open air case over the horrible airflow of the 450D. You get paid for this stuff, wow! Logitech G700s mouse, period. This article is garbage.
You understand that DDR4 is
You understand that DDR4 is required when using Z170?
Is the price really that much
Is the price really that much higher for DDR4 these days? There isn’t much performance difference with different speed memory, so you don’t need to go with super fast stuff if you aren’t an extreme overclocker. I would go with DDR4 at this point to get the most up to date platform. Z170 has a few new features.
I just bought 16GB (2x8GB)
I just bought 16GB (2x8GB) DDR42800 for $82 at Microcenter, so I would say that it’s priced pretty well at the moment. It runs perfectly alongside my OC i3-6100 (4.5GHz).
no, it’s just about identical
no, it’s just about identical in price to DDR3 now.
This person also failed to
This person also failed to notice your comment about selecting the components that you want or need for your task at hand.
Personally, I wouldn’t pick those parts for my build, but I also won’t use the PC the same way as Austin.
For a gaming PC, he’ll be good for most games for a few years. Maybe upgrade the GPU when needed. Overall, good system. It’s comparable to a low-end PC in the Extreme Gaming PC brackets.
Beats what I had at his age for that time period which was equal to a lower i3 CPU with integrated GPU (and fraction of the performance of other components). Worked for gaming and other task… but out dated.
False. I’m rocking a Z170
False. I’m rocking a Z170 with DDR3L.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty%20Z170%20Gaming%20K4D3/
Why?! To pair Skylake with
Why?! To pair Skylake with inferior memory and limited upgrade path?
Realize, that he’s using DDR4 3200, which is bloody expensive top-of-the-line (standard speed for DDR4 is 2133). And 4-channel for X99s to boot. I suppose this is because it’s sponsor gift.
I just scanned my favourite e-shop and baseline DDR4 2133 costs about as much as baseline DDR3 1600.
Just because you can doesn’t
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Skylake was built with DDR4 in mind, and if you build a Skylake system, you should use the fastest DDR4 you can afford. If you have DDR3 or choose to use it in a new build for whatever reason, stick with Haswell or an AMD processor if you prefer.
Asrock has a long history of building budget boards that allow the use of the older RAM standard with new CPU’s. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you use previous-generation memory on a new CPU, even if it’s supported, it always hobbles the CPU.
That’s not the only problem I
That’s not the only problem I see in his post.
That’s not the only problem I
That’s not the only problem I see in his post.
This Rig is kickass man. Your
This Rig is kickass man. Your crazy. It’s a very good balanced build and the 450D is an amazing case.
lol i think we know who the
lol i think we know who the joke is here anon 🙂
Calm down, there, chief.
Calm down, there, chief. You’re spraying jealousy all over everything. It’s disgusting.
I know what a troll looks
I know what a troll looks like when I see one.
Another ASUS fanboi, shame
Another ASUS fanboi, shame you got suckered into overpaying for parts. No doubt bought a 1200 Watt power supply for a system pulling less than 350 watts under load. n00b
The motherboard seems a bit
The motherboard seems a bit overkill. When looking at components for a friend a while back, the $140 to $170 price range for Gigabyte seemed to deliver all of the required features without having a lot of stuff that would never be used. I tend to stay away from Killer network chips and Creative sound chipsets though. I would go cheaper on the board and get a power supply capable of running dual cards from the start.
With a 4K display, upgrading to dual cards may be desirable, although the 970 would be held back at 4K resolutions by only having 3.5 GB of memory. At this point, it is unclear whether 4K by itself requires that much memory. I suspect the main concern is high resolution textures, but most people running at 4K want to crank up the texture resolution anyway. I think I would have recommended an AMD 390 or 390x with 8 GB of memory.
I would also generally always go for the larger memory modules and just fill 2 slots instead of all 4. There doesn’t seem to be too much of a reason to go with faster RAM anyway, so that is a good place to save some money. At this point, 8 GB modules are probably the most common and the best value.
I tend to be of the opinion that people should put more money towards the display than they seem to. I have seen a lot of people get super cheap displays, which usually leads to a bad experience. The display is what you are looking at all of the time and it is also a component that you may keep for quite a long time. The components in the case go obsolete quickly, but I have kept good displays for a long time. Although, given the state of the PC market, the components have been lasting a lot longer these days. The chosen display is pretty expensive for most people’s gaming budget, but it should last quite a while. I would see it lasting through a few video card upgrades at least. The upcoming 14 nm GPUs should be able to handle 4K much more easily, so it might be best to just plan on playing at 1080p until next generation cards are available, and not bother with the complication of dual cards. Not building with dual video card support can allow you to go with much cheaper components, but I would generally get a board with dual support anyway, to get higher end components (sound chipset, network chip, power delivery system, etc.).
Keep in mind some of these
Keep in mind some of these parts were likely either sponsored by the manufacturer (provided free), or were leftover parts they had received for testing and were not required to send back.
Austin, your uncle selected
Austin, your uncle selected great components for your first PC.
No kidding. Not counting the
No kidding. Not counting the C64 as a PC, my first gaming (DOS) PC was a hand-me-down 386 that I had to share. Then I vaguely recall having a Pentium Pro machine and a K6-2 machine. My first REAL gaming PC that I built myself was an overclocked Tualatin P3 and GeForce 256 DDR. I played so much UT99 that I almost lost my job!
I’m a grown man with a decent
I’m a grown man with a decent job and my computer is not as nice as Austin’s. I must be doing something wrong with my life!
Still, I hope Austin enjoys his build and hopefully he’s been bitten by the PC bug like me. Happy gaming, kiddo!
I lived at home until I was
I lived at home until I was 30 and had no bills other than a car and Internet while pulling in $3K a month after taxes. When I was a Sophomore in High School I was making $1,200 a month and spent every check on computer parts and videogames. Makes me wish I never moved out. 🙁
Just trying to say that it is not unreasonable for an enthusiast at Austin’s age to build a powerful system out of his own pocket.
So this is what 14yr olds
So this is what 14yr olds need to watch porn now a days.
Overkill.
Bitter, that is your mom and
Bitter, that is your mom and not the father, who has all your passwords?
The kid uses glasses. Getting
The kid uses glasses. Getting him a 4k monitor will just strain his eyes more at such a young age.
1440p would have meet his needs.
Why are people complaining
Why are people complaining about the parts when the article is not about the parts being put into the computer but more about how to build your first PC from start to finish?
Good job Ryan you have done well.
Because its his first time.
Because its his first time. Common sense is you don’t over spend on parts because you don’t know what they do.
It seem like Ryan just got free stuff and gave it to his nephew. Didn’t matter if they were more then he needed they were for FREE so that’s what he got.
The article should have been called. This is what you get if you want a free pc from PCPER. Not a first time build.
Again what does that have to
Again what does that have to do with the article which is about how to build your first computer? The article is not about what to buy for your first PC. The parts being used more than likely were parts he already had around the office, but the purpose was to build your first PC and describe what each part’s purpose is for. He could of built a PC that was $10K or $800 and still made the same exact article.
At his age I would have built
At his age I would have built a more powerful computer with dual Titan-X’s, but that was because I had nothing but disposable income at that age. The only people complaining are people jealous that they no longer have the time and money they used to.
Interesting selection. Myself
Interesting selection. Myself I would have spent WAY WAY less on keyboard,headset,memory and put that into GPU and maybe a bit faster cpu.
Video 1 – Not dumbed down
Video 1 – Not dumbed down enough for newbies :
The little aspect about the importance of CPU Memory, where it prevents your system from slowing down when you have a large capacity, is misleading. The importance is to provide enough cache that the software requires.
In other sense, desk space for you to work. Building a Lego Character vs. a Lego Castle. If you don’t have enough, the excess will fall on the floor (saved to the swap drive portion) which takes more time to retrieve. However, if your desk and room is too small (not enough Memory) your work space will get messy and your materials will get damaged (BSOD – Memory Exceeded Error).
The slow-down is mostly caused by the performance of the CPU and how the software is optimized to complete the requested task. In other sense, you are the CPU. You could be fast and agile, but the chosen method to complete a task could slow you down (software optimization).
Say you are doing the equation of 12 * 12 = x.
If you choose the less optimal method to solve this equation, you would start by adding 12 + 12 in groupings of 24. Then addition 24 + 24 in groupings of 48, and so on. This would bug/slow down your computer regardless how much desk space (memory) you have.
A faster CPU would allow you to add 12 + 12 by reducing the need to use your fingers to count.
This was fun, thank you.
This was fun, thank you.
Get this kit for DDR4 and put
Get this kit for DDR4 and put the $110 you saved towards a better power supply or in your pocket:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0134EW7G8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_10&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Or use that $110 towards the Acer XB271HU $759:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0173PEX20?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_11&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
The parts I listed earlier
The parts I listed earlier are far superior to the ones listed in this article, for equal or less cost. If this is the advice he gives on parts, he is a moron, and doesn’t know a thing about quality components. That is the problem here. Other young phleebs are going to read this garbage and run with it. Even for an overpriced build for some kid this rig is sad. Save money on peripherals and buy something better than a single 970 GPU. Especially when you over spent on a 4K display that you can’t even begin to take advantage of with the single weak 970 you bought. What a waste!!! Also, get a 4790K instead of that i5. Mine is overclocked to 4.8 @ 1.25v. You can buy Kingston Hyper X Fury DDR3 1866 RAM cheaper than the DDR 4 mentioned, and it’s still some of the best RAM for gaming, period. “I just bought 16GB (2x8GB) DDR42800 for $82 at Microcenter, so I would say that it’s priced pretty well at the moment. It runs perfectly alongside my OC i3-6100 (4.5GHz).” $82 for a 16GB kit of DDR4, that RAM must be trash. You’re in the same league as the bozo who wrote this article. And on top of that you overclock your i3, buah ha ha this is me laughing. Any of you who think that this is the best you can do for $2k are probably gaming on AMD chips, and Radeon GPU’s ha ha! GO Team Red, what a crock! Who forced you to buy Z170 anyway? That locks you in to wasting more money on DDR 4. Ever heard of the Thermaltake P5??? It’s open air, therefore it’s far better than the 450D in every aspect. Oh man, I can cut you up all day Ryan. You make it easy 😉
Your answers are found in the
Your answers are found in the previous responses. I see you don't listen very well at lectures.
Don’t think there is enough
Don’t think there is enough price premium to be complaining over DDR4, but someone should have encouraged uncle to drop some of the other crazy spending and put in a 950 pro. Just like buying a trillion dollar motherboard and not a power supply that can handle a second video card; I’m sure this is all stuff Ryan had lying around for free.
What’s the URL to your
What’s the URL to your highly-regarded and very popular technology site that competes with PCPer? I mean, since you so obviously know so much more than anyone else on this site, it should follow that you have your own site, where you do everything better, right? I’d really like to see how it’s SUPPOSED to be done, by an expert who knows everything, and you’re obviously that someone, right?
Oh, what’s that? You’re just a loser keyboard warrior in your dad’s basement, trying to prove your imagined superiority as an anonymous user in the comment thread of a highly-regarded and very popular tech site that you couldn’t possibly emulate, let alone compete with?
Gee. How surprising.
Video 2 :
Good one Ryan!
Video 2 :
Good one Ryan! Austin needs to pay more attention, otherwise he would have prevented you from NOT following your first rule “read and follow all instructions provided” 😛
Would it been easier to place the bracket through the heat sink before aligning it on the CPU with TIM?
I thought you had to install the Standoff screws before placing the motherboard in the case. Seems as thou this case came with them pre-installed.
Half through to the end, you could see Austin being interested in the PC. He must be a hands-on person than a theoretical person 🙂
I understand that Ryan
I understand that Ryan probably used the parts that they already had and this article is primarily about building and not the hardware but if someone had a $2000 budget for the tower, monitor, peripherals and OS would this be seen as a good build:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 ATX
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB
Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5″ 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390 8GB Nitro Video Card
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)
Monitor: Acer XF270HU 144Hz 1440p IPS Freesync 27.0″ Monitor
Keyboard: Logitech G710 Plus Wired Gaming Keyboard
Mouse: Logitech G602 Wireless Optical Mouse
Headphones: Kingston HyperX Cloud Pro Headset
Total: $2003.07
what a newb computer for
what a newb computer for $2k…. you are better off with an oculus ready pc (with nvidia), an nvidia shield running kodi for game streaming, a ps4, and a thrustmaster steering wheel.
Now you are a gamer… go buy some games
if i was spending $2 grand,
if i was spending $2 grand, i’d build the exact pc i just did (6600k, asus z170-a) but with a 980 ti. Anything less than a Fury X or 980 ti on a $2000 build is really doing themselves a disservice.
Loved your videos!
Just built
Loved your videos!
Just built my first pc from beginning through the install of Windows 10 Pro…and I’m 59 yrs.!
Way to go Austin!
What Blue Ray DVD drive did you use? I don’t see that on the list of components.
Thanks.
This is an amazing segment
This is an amazing segment and your nephew should be proud that you took the time to walk him through this process at such a young age. Everyone complaining about the parts have too much time on their hands. Keep up the good work!
Having time on your hands is
Having time on your hands is the point though or else we wouldn’t be able to visit the site, read articles, watch videos or comment.
DUH!!!
PCPER counts on people having too much time on their hands.
One comment as i watch the
One comment as i watch the videos: When installing the processor you talk about the notches to align it with the socket properly because it can only go in one way. Another thing to note is that the socket on the MoBo has corner/arrow (lower left in camera orientation) and the processor has a corresponding arrow/corner on its PCB. I find the arrows/corners easier to align than trying keep the notches aligned properly while handling the CPU. The notches obviously keep it physically aligned while seating it still, but i think the arrows are meant to be the quick orientation reference.
Great segment and everything,
Great segment and everything, however … That price. I like to build my PCs are much as everyone, but when HP is selling a custom desktop (i7-6700, 980Ti, 16GB Ram, 2TB HDD, 500W) for $1127 with coupon … Yeah.
http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/desktops/hp-envy-750se-desktop-n3g97av-aba-1
While i wouldnt have bought
While i wouldnt have bought the same components or operating system, its not a bad computer.
If someone is going to be playing a lot of games, security is likely going to be an issue. You definitely need more than a “good” antivirus, especially with windows 10.
Exploit mitigations like Malwarebytes Anti Exploit and MBAM premium for a gaming PC with all the Steam stealing/spreading/phishing that goes on. Please dont trust someones $2,000 PC with who knows how much in stealable items to just a “good antivirus”.
Might also want to turn off all the data collection and spend money on useful security software instead of an antivirus.
Nice but gtx 970 for 4k,
Nice but gtx 970 for 4k, 1440p would have been better for this build and the money saved on better gpu.