How to Build a Gaming PC: Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Building your own PC is rewarding and lets you choose every part. With a bit of method, a first build takes 2 to 3 hours.

What you need

• A Phillips screwdriver (PH2) and ideally an anti-static wrist strap.
• A large, well-lit table and the motherboard and case manuals.
• Your parts: CPU, motherboard, RAM, SSD, graphics card, power supply, case and cooler. Our PC configurator checks compatibility before you buy.

Step 1: prepare the motherboard outside the case

1. Install the CPU: lift the socket lever, align the gold triangle, drop it in without force, close the lever.
2. Install the NVMe SSD in the M.2 slot and secure it.
3. Install the RAM in the slots recommended by the manual (often A2 and B2).
4. Mount the cooler; thermal paste is usually pre-applied.

Step 2: mount the motherboard

Check the standoffs, fit the I/O shield if needed, and screw the board in without over-tightening.

Step 3: power supply and cables

Install the PSU, then connect the 24-pin motherboard cable and the 8-pin CPU cable.

Step 4: graphics card

Remove the slot covers, insert the card into the top PCIe x16 slot until it clicks, screw it in and plug in its power cable fully.

Step 5: front panel connectors

Power button, LEDs, front USB and audio: follow the motherboard manual’s diagram carefully.

First boot

• Plug the monitor into the graphics card, not the motherboard.
• The first boot can take up to a minute while memory trains.
• Enable EXPO (AMD) or XMP (Intel) in the BIOS, then install Windows and the latest GPU drivers.

Prefer a ready-to-play machine? Our gaming PCs are assembled, cable-managed and tested before shipping.