How To Build A gaming PC? Step By Step Guide 2023

Building your own PC is all about adopting the most versatile way of gaming than being rigid with what manufacturers of prebuilt gaming PCs could offer you. It opens the door to new explorations of fun and entertainment and a sense of satisfaction a user might not have with a computer he buys from the market directly. We have dedicated this guide fully to beginners who want to know how to build a gaming PC.

How To Build A Gaming PC- Step By Step Guide

Make a checklist first and pen down the major components to build a PC before getting started.

PC case
Graphics card
Processor
Motherboard
CPU cooler
The RAM stick(s)
Hard drive (SSD/HDD)
PSU
Monitor, keyboard and a mouse
Operating system (in a flash drive or any other medium)

We want you to start with your PC case because it’s the foundation of building a computer and the rest of the components highly depend on it. There are four main PC cases you have to choose from. See our guide on “how to choose the right PC case for gaming?” which will help you out and put you on the right path to begin.

Precisely telling you about the connection between the case and the motherboard, there are four types of motherboards, they are Standard ATX (can be housed in full and mid-tower cases), Extended ATX (for only full tower), Micro-ATX (for full, mid, and mini-tower), Mini-ITX (for small form factor case only).

Further, to build a computer for gaming, you need a powerful GPU depending on the need of what type of gaming you intend to play. Playing games at high frame rates is a sweet spot for every gamer. We hope you must have decided which GPU (Intel or AMD) you want to go for, though when building a computer, the size of the GPU is a major concern here. Make sure the GPU you intend to buy (or have bought already) must be easy to get into the case.

The CPU, motherboard, RAM (memory) and SSDs are the four components you have to install together and then mount in the case under their bracket. For this, you need to read carefully about what sizes of the motherboard that PC case you have purchased can accommodate.

Note: It is highly important to pull out the PC case manual before getting started so the rest of the procedure of choosing the right components becomes easy. Although we suppose you have chosen full or mid-tower because they are an ideal pick for gaming.

The manual of the PC case will look like this, giving every necessary information even telling how each of the components will get installed in the chassis. Keep the manual alongside, it will be a great help for you from the start to build a gaming PC till it finishes up.

Step #1 Connect CPU with Motherboard

Bring out your motherboard, CPU, CPU cooler, graphics card, RAM, and PSU. Assemble them on your working table and put aside everything else you have for a while. These components are the first to be put together outside the case then you need to fix them within the case to make the process easy. As this part of the construction needs very delicate handling, no hits or forceful screwing is tolerable here.

Look at the motherboard first, you can see a place for a CPU chip where you have to fix the CPU very gently without damaging the connectors of the board. A small hanger needs to lift up into the direction of the arrow must be mentioned there and then place the chip and secure the bracket again into its place.

Step #2 Installing RAM sticks on the motherboard

On the right top side of the motherboard, you can see 2 to 4 (depending on the board) enclosures for RAM sticks. You simply need to sit your RAM stick(s) there. Be careful when pressing it down, don’t stress out to fit it.

Step # 3 Installing SSD on the motherboard

Remember when it comes to storage drives, SSD is the most popular drive which always fits directly on the motherboard. Whereas, in case you have an HDD, it never sits on the motherboard but is situated in the drive bay given in the case.
Back to the SSD drive, you can easily find M.2 slot on the motherboard. Just fix one side on the slot and push the stick down. At one end, there is a half screw hole given, screw the stick from the end and don’t forcibly tight it.

Congratulations! You are in half the process of building a gaming PC. Everything is done till now that needs to take place outside the case. Now it’s time to bring your PC case to the table under the spotlight.
You have a motherboard connected with a CPU, RAM in its place, and SSD is also installed.

Inspect your PC case and must carry a flashlight, it will help you to understand the proper location where the motherboard along with its other components needs to fix. You will see the place at the back of the case from where the I/O ports of the motherboard can protrude. There you need to fit the motherboard though be careful when you bring in the motherboard and try not to bump it within the case.

Step #4 Installing the graphics card

For a gaming PC, a graphics card is the main factory to let you experience quality gaming. With the help of a torch or flashlight, look for a PCI Express x16 slot on the motherboard and note it. Then bring your GPU in the case, keeping its I/O ports in the direction of the back of the case, and if needed (if ports are obstructed to protrude) unscrew the I/O port section of the case to fit in the I/O ports of the GPU from there and connect the PCIe x16 slot (located earlier)of the motherboard and GPU together.

Step #5 Installing CPU cooler on the CPU

In particular, a CPU cooler is essential (some may rule this out for ordinary PC) to have in a gaming PC because the processor produces excessive heat under overclocking while playing intensively. To install a CPU cooler, bring out the manual and retrieve the box it came to look for tiny screws and a mounting bracket (it may not come with a bracket too, depending on the CPU cooler).

If the cooler you bought has a mounting bracket, see the area around the CPU on the motherboard carefully. If it has a preinstall bracket there, then unscrew that one and screw it coolers bracket there. After fixing the bracket, it’s optional to use thermal paste although sometimes the cooler has its own thermal paste already applied to it. Then place the cooler pump carefully on the CPU and mount it under the bracket with soft hands.

You can see the cooler pump is attached to the heat pipes, and these pipes are connected to the fans and a radiator. Immediately lift up the fans in your hand so that the pressure didn’t build on the cooler pump that you have attached to the CPU. Meanwhile, examine the case, if the rooftop of the case has vents then these fans should be attached there. But if not, then the only option you have is to attach these fans and radiator at the back of the case.

Note: It should be noted that if you intend to buy a CPU cooler, then the case you have bought should have top grills that viable CPU cooler fans from it. Otherwise making its place would be very exhausting.

Step #6 Installing PSU

This is another easiest part of installing, i.e. the PSU (Power Supply Unit). This piece of hardware has its very obvious place, mostly at the bottom of the case. Now the thing you need to do is, examine your case, does it have a vent in the PSU mounting bracket or not? If it has a vent, then place the PSU in a way that its fan faces downward. If it has no vent then mount the PSU in a way that its fan faces upward.

Note: To avoid any inconvenience, make sure the case you buy has a bottom vent in the PSU section.

Step #7 Installing the hard drive/SSD

Recall the old computers in your school in which the front of the PC case looks so boring, having external bays we used to think what are they for. Yes, they were for optical drives, hard drives and any other expansion one might want in a computer.

Since now we are building a gaming PC here, the front of the case usually has vents, fans, or RGB lighting, because of which the bays are shifted within the case behind the front panel a little far from the fans and vent. You may locate them easily as they look like trays or racks. If not, then see the manual of the case and find them in no time.

A full tower PC case normally has 4-8 hidden (mix of) 3.5 inches or 2.5 inches racks to welcome the SATA drives. This is where you need to house your storage drives. Remember, whatever the type of drive you have bought, don’t fret by looking at the size of the bays. A 2.5-inch SSD can easily fit in a 3.5-inch tray (though need to screw it) but a 3.5-inch drive wouldn’t fit in a 2.5-inch rack.

Step #8 Managing the cables

This is the ugliest phase of PC building, things might look very nasty because every cable will be just passing and making its way from components to PSU and PSU to components or in between. The thing you need to do after plugging and wiring the hardware is to make a neat track loping every cable in a manageable way. Use wire ties or any cable wires to tighten up and keep it in a lane routing it nicely to its destination before you plug in the system to the power outlet.

Technically, every wire gets routed behind the motherboard and then passed back to PSU, it might not look great even after tying them up. Don’t worry, this is the way it always happens. The only thing you need to do is keep the cables away from the fans as much as you can with the help of ties and routing it neatly to let the case breathe and not be exhausted. Although every piece of hardware comes with its own power cable but in case you don’t have one or you might need something very sophisticated, then buy a cables kit, like Corsair Premium sleeved cables.

Final Step

Power up the system from the DC outlet nearby via a power cable and PSU. Connect your monitor to the PC via an HDMI cable. Hit the button start and you are all done. The last thing that remains is installing the Operating System. But before doing this, connect your keyboard and mouse to the USB port of the PC to make it workable.

You might have your operating system already ducted into a flash drive otherwise you need a laptop to do this for you. Generally, installing the operating system is more convenient with a flash drive, hopefully, you have chosen the same route. Follow the steps the OS is showing you on the screen and install it in an SSD drive.

Q1. Why do I need to build a PC when I can buy a prebuilt computer?

Yes buying a “ready-to-use computer” is a time and effort-saving exercise but building your computer by yourself is more entertaining and most of all it’s a rational thing at this time. For example, a consumer will have to pay for the desktop as one unit in which he is not aware of the prices of each component. Whereas, while building up a PC he has to pick each piece of hardware by itself and acknowledge the cost of them too. He can also bargain or pick items from the sale individually, which often reduces the overall cost of the finished computer at the end of it.

Q2. How much will it cost to build a gaming PC?

The cost of building a PC for gaming depends on the type of gaming computer you tend to have. Let’s divide and simplify the category of a gaming PC and the price that you might have to pay for it.

The above-given components to build a gaming PC are estimated costs (the prices may fluctuate). This will give you a rough idea of what type of gaming desktop you want to build and the associated cost you may have to face when starting to collect the hardware.

Conclusion

The procedure of building a gaming PC is a bit complex if you are new but is not something that is impossible. Rather experiencing a few times of failures is worth giving a try than remaining dependent on what computer manufacturers pack and send you.

After finishing the whole process and getting a computer that you have made by your hand you can add whatever perfections you want to have to your PC. For example installing extra fans, upgrading memory, expanding the components, or replacing them with the latest hardware, is up to you.