10 steps · 2 common mistakes · an ATX board in a mid-tower case
How to build a gaming PC: interactive 3D guide
Building a PC is mostly plugging the right part into the right slot, the right way round. Every step from the processor to the first power-on, in 3D. Press play to watch a step, drag to look around, or switch to Drawing for a manual’s black lines.
What you need
An ATX case, an ATX motherboard, a processor, an M.2 NVMe drive, two DDR5 memory sticks, a tower cooler with thermal paste, a graphics card and a modular power supply. Tools: a No. 2 Phillips screwdriver, and a No. 0 for the M.2 drive’s tiny screw.
- Work on a big table, not on carpet, and touch the bare metal of the case now and then to let any static go.
- Keep the motherboard’s manual open: it shows its own memory slots and connectors.
All 10 steps
- 1Fit the processor
Lift the socket’s lever and open its load plate. Hold the processor by its edges, line up the gold triangle on its corner with the triangle on the socket, and lower it straight in: it fits only one way and needs no force. Close the plate and push the lever down under its hook; the socket’s plastic cover pops off.
- 2Fit the M.2 drive
Slide the M.2 drive into the top M.2 slot at an angle: once it is fully in, it stands up about 35 degrees. Push its free end down to the standoff and fix it with its tiny screw.
- 3Fit the memory in A2 and B2 common mistake
With two sticks, use the second and fourth slots from the processor, A2 and B2, as most boards’ manuals say. Open the latches, line up the notch, and press each stick straight down until both latches click shut. Common mistake: The slots come in pairs: A1 and A2 are one channel, B1 and B2 the other. With both sticks in A1 and A2 they share one channel, so the memory runs in single channel, with half the peak bandwidth it would have in dual channel. Two sticks go in A2 and B2.
- 4Fit the cooler common mistake
Squeeze a dot of thermal paste no bigger than a grain of rice onto the middle of the processor. Peel the clear film off the cooler’s base. With its fan unclipped, set the cooler on and tighten its four screws a little at a time in a cross pattern, so it presses down evenly and spreads the paste; a long screwdriver reaches them past the fins. Then clip the fan back on. Common mistake: Most coolers come with a clear plastic film over their base to protect it. Left on, it sits between the paste and the metal and stops the heat getting into the cooler: the processor runs far too hot and slows itself down to protect itself. Peel the film off before the cooler goes on.
- 5Fit the board into the case
Check the case’s brass standoffs line up with the board’s holes: an ATX board takes nine, and there must be none where the board has no hole. Lower the board onto them, its ports into the back’s opening, and screw it down with nine screws, firmly but not too tight.
- 6Fit the power supply and route its cables
Set the power supply into its place at the bottom of the case, its fan facing the case’s vent, and screw it in. Plug the cables you need into it and lead them behind the tray and through the rubber grommets: the 24-pin to the board’s side, the 8-pin to its top corner, and the card’s cables up through the shroud.
- 7Fit the graphics card
Take out the two slot covers at the back level with the top PCIe x16 slot, the longest one. Line the card up with the slot and push it straight down until it clicks, then screw its bracket to the case.
- 8Plug in the power cables
Plug the 24-pin cable into the board’s side, the 8-pin processor cable into its top corner and the PCIe cables into the graphics card, each until its clip locks.
- 9Plug the monitor into the graphics card
Plug the monitor’s cable into one of the graphics card’s display ports, in the row of slots at the back, not into the video port in the board’s panel above it.
- 10Power it on
Switch the power supply on and press the case’s power button. The fans spin, and the firmware’s screen shows the memory in dual channel and the card in its x16 slot.
What you need
- Phillips screwdrivers · a long No. 2, and a No. 0 for the M.2 screw
- A big table · not on carpet
- The motherboard’s manual · for its slots and connectors
- Cable ties · to tidy the cables
Questions
Which slots do two memory sticks go in?
On most boards the second and fourth from the processor, A2 and B2, as ASUS’s FAQ says for its boards. Check your board’s manual: it marks the slots to use.
How much thermal paste should I use?
Intel’s guide says a dot no bigger than a grain of rice in the middle of the processor: the cooler’s pressure spreads it.
How many standoffs does an ATX motherboard need?
An ATX board usually takes nine screws, so nine standoffs where its holes are, and no extra ones under it.
Where do I plug the monitor in?
Into the graphics card’s ports, at the back in the row of slots, not the video port on the motherboard’s panel.
Do I need force to fit the processor?
No. Intel’s guide says it fits only one way and needs no force; only the socket’s lever may need a firm push.
Safety
Unplug the power supply before you work inside the case, and never open a power supply: it holds a charge. Static can damage the parts: work on a hard floor and touch the case’s bare metal before you handle them.
About this guide
This guide shows an ATX motherboard with an LGA socket, two DDR5 sticks, an M.2 NVMe drive, a tower cooler, a graphics card and a modular power supply in a mid-tower case. The steps follow Intel’s guide to building a gaming PC; the memory slots are the ones ASUS’s FAQ gives for two sticks on its boards. Your board’s manual has the final word on its own slots and connectors.
The temperatures on the readings are illustrative.
Sources: Intel: How to build a gaming PC, ASUS FAQ: which memory slots to use.
The 3D models, drawings and text are our own.