First off, make sure you have EVERYTHING you need, if you are missing something, bad things can happen, or it wont work. Heres a basic list of what you would need for a computer.
***=Maintain ground at ALL times to reduce the risk of damange by static shock.
» Case with Power Supply
» Motherboard w/CPU that is supported
» Video Card (AGP/PCI/PCI-E-its a matter of your motherboard)
» RAM (the more the better, make sure your motherboard supports the RAM)
» Cooling (be it water [experts] or fans, you NEED this unless you want to fry it all)
» Hard Drive (bigger allows more games, videos etc..higher rotational speeds are faster at loading)
» CPU Heatsink and Fan (may come with cpu if bought retail-thermal paste is usually pre-applied, get some just in case)
» CD-Drives
» Floppy drives (should you want them)
» Operating System CD(s) (so you can play in windows, or cruise in Linux)
» Sound card/integrated sound (sound cards are better, but not necessary)
» Screwdriver
» The afternoon off
» Patience
Ok, you may have some extra PCI cards or other gadgets, but they arent important at this step. Now for the step by step instructions on how to build your own kickass gaming machine (or slightly lame internet surfer, or whatever you can afford).
1.***Take motherboard out of box and place on top of static bag on wooden workbench or tile.
2.***Remove CPU from packaging and line up with slot by lifting ZIF (zero insertion force) socket bar to the up postition.
3.***Place CPU in socket and close bar, it may be a little stiff when going down, don't worry, it will only go in one way.
4.***Get heatsink out and check that it has either a thermal pad on the bottom or pre-applied paste. If not, apply a THIN layer to top of CPU core/heatspreader. The layer shouldnt be very thick as it will transfer heat to the heatsink.
5.***Place heatsink on the cpu socket and secure either by a slide on clip or a screwdriver clip onto the socket itself.
6.Take the case out and remove the side. Clear all the widgets from inside it except the powersupply.
7.Get the standoffs out of the screw bag and line them up in the case where the motherboard screwholes will sit (varies from board to board) and secure them.
8.***With the case on its side, place the motherboard on the standoffs and place screws through the holes, use the correct size screws or else something bad may happen or the motherboard will fall out. DO NOT overtighten screws, stop after a bit of resistance.
9.***Open RAM and place in appropriate slot(s) (varies by board or maker)
10.***Open video card and place in its appropriate slot and secure it.
11.***Connect main ATX 20-pin power connector and ATX-12V line (some motherboards do no have the square 4-pin ATX12V line).
12.***Wire the front power switch and turn computer on to verify that all basic components work by entering BIOS. Enter BIOS at boot by pressing delete or f2.
13.If all componets work properly, shut down and move back to workstand for the next part of setup.
Now you have a computer that works (or you found out you didn't). Now its time for the peripherals.
1.***Install Hard drives into their slots, this may vary from case to case and each case may use a different system.
2.***Install the Optical drives and floppy driver, once again each case is different, refer to case manual if you have one.
3.Install case cooling fans and wire them to the needed power source, dont touch the motherboard.
4.***Install any PCI components that you feel you need or any other case widget that you desire.
5.***Wire all the hard drives to the slots which they fit, for PATA(IDE) connect to the “primary” channel and make sure jumpers are correct.
6.***Wire the optical drives following the same thing as step 5, except the “secondary” channel.
7.***For SATA, connect to SATA port.
8.Wire power to all components that need power.
Now its time for the real test, break open your opterating system and on boot, put it in the cd drive. Let the computer boot to the cd, install your opterating system (get some lunch while it formats). Once in your opterating system, follow these last steps and you are ready to frag for a long time.
1.Install motherboard drivers and reboot.
2.Intsall video card drivers and reboot.
3.Go to www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com and get all availible updates.
4.Install anti-virus and spyware removal software.
5.Install your desired software.
6.Install your desired game.
7.FRAG!!!
as simple as that :D