How hard and stressful is it to build a PC from scratch for the first time?

[MrCanEHdian]

My friend is telling me it's both very hard, and very stressful, especially applying the aftermarket fan to the CPU.
Is it hard/stressful? Most people make it out to be easy(ish) and cost effective. I want to do it, but I'm afraid.

 

[RazerZ]

I watched a few youtube videos, and after that I was good to go. Took me a few hours to build and it was painless. It's a lot easier than you'd think. The only reason it took that long is because I forgot to plug in some cables here and there and after I got that all sorted out it was fine.

If your planning to build a gaming pc at home go for it. You learn how a computer works, get better parts, and save money.

 

[Lucas Iemini]

Well, it is not hard, just like playing LEGO actually: just make sure everything will fit (CPU and motherboards should have the same socket) and it will go flawlessly... And as for the stress, just make sure you dont need to RMA anything and that you buy high quality products

 

[i7Baby]

You have to have an interest and be willing to put in a lot of time to determine parts, budget, compatibility, build technique, checking, etc. - a lot of research.

But when you're done you end up learning a hell of a lot. The you can not only help yourself save time and money but you can help people on Tom's forums too.

 

[MrCanEHdian]

Well, it is not hard, just like playing LEGO actually: just make sure everything will fit (CPU and motherboards should have the same socket) and it will go flawlessly... And as for the stress, just make sure you dont need to RMA anything and that you buy high quality products

Haha, with more expensive parts lmao. I'm becoming less fearful of it, HOWEVER, people warn me of static and that it can damage the system. How are you supposed to deal with static? Build naked on a wooden floor?
What does RMA mean?

 

[MrCanEHdian]

You have to have an interest and be willing to put in a lot of time to determine parts, budget, compatibility, build technique, checking, etc. - a lot of research.

But when you're done you end up learning a hell of a lot. The you can not only help yourself save time and money but you can help people on Tom's forums too.

I would say I have a pretty keen interest. I'm planning on building in August, and have already put dozens of hours into question asking, reading/researching, learning about parts and compatibility, and watching videos. I still need to look at build technique though, good call, I haven't watched someone put a build together yet.

I have found prebuilt PCs are very competitive in pricing, but always have low end motherboards. Is that the catch? You get awesome components, but a cheap motherboard that won't allow you to upgrade or use the full capabilities of your components?
Yes, I've asked so so many questions on here, and have received so so much support from the community, I couldn't do it without the community at Tomshardware. I would love to contribute and offer my help to others when I'm finished my build.

Thank you!

 

[RazerZ]

Well, it is not hard, just like playing LEGO actually: just make sure everything will fit (CPU and motherboards should have the same socket) and it will go flawlessly... And as for the stress, just make sure you dont need to RMA anything and that you buy high quality products

Haha, with more expensive parts lmao. I'm becoming less fearful of it, HOWEVER, people warn me of static and that it can damage the system. How are you supposed to deal with static? Build naked on a wooden floor?
What does RMA mean?

Static is the least concern when building if you're using a solid friction less surface. RMA is basically the return policy.

 

[MrCanEHdian]

Well, it is not hard, just like playing LEGO actually: just make sure everything will fit (CPU and motherboards should have the same socket) and it will go flawlessly... And as for the stress, just make sure you dont need to RMA anything and that you buy high quality products

Haha, with more expensive parts lmao. I'm becoming less fearful of it, HOWEVER, people warn me of static and that it can damage the system. How are you supposed to deal with static? Build naked on a wooden floor?
What does RMA mean?

Static is the least concern when building if you're using a solid friction less surface. RMA is basically the return policy.

So nothing to worry about too too much. So RMA is like "Return to Manufacturer" or something?

 

[coastie65]

Once you get your parts, you may feel a bit intimidated. The best place to start is prepping your case. Replacing the I/O shield, putting in the standoffs and addding any extra fans you may have. Read the Manuel that comes with the case to familiarize yourself with things. After that, I usually move to the Motherboard and get the backing plate for the cooler in place ( I do not like those push pin things ). After that it is pretty much putting stuff together. For me, the nusiance stuff is wire / cable management.

 

[RazerZ]

Well, it is not hard, just like playing LEGO actually: just make sure everything will fit (CPU and motherboards should have the same socket) and it will go flawlessly... And as for the stress, just make sure you dont need to RMA anything and that you buy high quality products

Haha, with more expensive parts lmao. I'm becoming less fearful of it, HOWEVER, people warn me of static and that it can damage the system. How are you supposed to deal with static? Build naked on a wooden floor?
What does RMA mean?

Static is the least concern when building if you're using a solid friction less surface. RMA is basically the return policy.

So nothing to worry about too too much. So RMA is like "Return to Manufacturer" or something?

Exactly.

 

[coastie65]

Actually RMA is : "Return Merchandise Authorization". You need to call and get a number before you return something. I build my stuff on a ceramic Tiled table. As long as you are not wearing wool or silk and standing on carpet, you should be fine. Also make contact with an unpainted steel part of the case from time to time. Hard to stay in contact with thing the whole time.

 

[MrCanEHdian]

Once you get your parts, you may feel a bit intimidated. The best place to start is prepping your case. Replacing the I/O shield, putting in the standoffs and addding any extra fans you may have. Read the Manuel that comes with the case to familiarize yourself with things. After that, I usually move to the Motherboard and get the backing plate for the cooler in place ( I do not like those push pin things ). After that it is pretty much putting stuff together. For me, the nusiance stuff is wire / cable management.

I'm going to reference this comment again later, thank you so much for a starting point. Wish I could give you the best answer/solution now, this is great! I was looking at pre-built PCs, but they all have cheap motherboards and from what I've read, their BIOSs are usually locked, and they have other nuisances.