The Digital Trends PC Build Guide
- Choosing the right components
- Putting the hardware together
- What to do if your new rig won’t boot
Building a computer used to be a complicated process, where careful selection of delicate parts was a necessity. When that collection of components finally booted for the first time, it was a triumphant experience. Knowing how to build a computer made you quite the tech-head.
Nowadays it’s easier than ever, with clear standards of compatibility, obvious choices for performance and value, and an actual building process that’s straightforward and well documented. That said, there are pitfalls to avoid and assumptions experienced builders make that newcomers won’t know.
To help out new PC builders and experienced enthusiasts alike, we’ve compiled this handy step-by-step guide that will take you from a pile of parts to a working computer in just a couple of hours.
Getting started
This guide is all about putting your components together. If you haven’t selected and purchased all the hardware you need, stop reading and go check out our PC build guide, which outlines recommended components for a variety of builds.
Have your parts? Good. Let’s get started.
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Before you dig in, ensure there’s a clean workspace with plenty of room to open boxes and put parts together. Hopefully there’s already a pile of them in front of you, but if not, our PC build guide can walk you through that process.
There are a couple of safety issues to discuss before we actually start ripping open those boxes.
You can feel it
There’s an invisible risk when building a computer that can crush the most powerful system: Static electricity. The same force that lets you shock your friends when you wear wool socks can also fry components in a heartbeat. Fortunately, it’s easy to all but eliminate with a few simple steps.
One easy solution is to purchase an anti-static wristband. One end wraps around your wrist, and the other clips somewhere on the computer case, keeping the wearer constantly grounded. Touching the case frequently with the PSU plugged in, but turned off, achieves the same effect.
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Apart from that, it helps to build in a room with a bare floor — carpets generate a lot of static — and wear rubber-sole shoes rather than socks. Many components are packaged in anti-static bags, and it’s a good idea to leave them there until just before installation.
Need help? Just ask
Building a PC for the first time can be a little tricky, but the good news is there are many resources to help. People who like building computers don’t often get the opportunity. If you have an enthusiast friend, they may jump at the chance to help put it together.
This guide is meant as a general overview of the process, and the instructions your parts came with may vary from our suggestions. When they do, default to the included instructions, and use our guide as a road map for the whole project.