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Building a machine is not difficult. It is a sequence, and doing it in the wrong order means undoing work rather than damaging anything. If you have not bought the parts yet, our first PC build guide covers that decision separately from the assembly steps below.
Work outside the case first
Put the board on its own box, flat, and fit the parts that are awkward to reach once it is mounted.
Processor. Lift the retention arm, align the marked corner with the marked corner on the socket, and lower it in. It drops in under its own weight. If it needs pressure, the alignment is wrong, and forcing it bends pins that are not economically repairable.
Cooler backplate. Fits from behind the board, which is exactly why this happens now.
Memory. Open both clips, line up the notch, and press firmly at both ends until the clips close by themselves. This takes more force than people expect.
Fast storage. One screw, and the standoff must match the drive length. That screw is a much smaller size than the rest of the build, which is why our list of the best PC building tools favours a kit with precision bits.
Into the case
Power supply first, with its cables already attached, because the connector block becomes unreachable afterwards. Then the board onto its standoffs — check the standoffs match your board format, since a spare one under the board can short it.
Then the front panel connectors, which are fiddly and much easier before the graphics card is blocking them. Then the graphics card, last. Its retention clip and its power connector are both worth checking before you force anything.
Before the first power-on
Confirm the processor power connector at the top of the board is fitted, not just the large board connector. Check no cable crosses a fan. Then switch on.
Expect nothing on screen for several seconds on a new machine: memory training on first boot takes noticeably longer than normal, and people reset perfectly healthy machines during it. If the board still will not recognise your processor once it has settled, see our guide to updating a motherboard’s BIOS.
Free tool PC Build Compatibility Checker — Will your GPU, PSU, cooler and case actually fit together?Questions people ask
What order should I assemble things in?
Processor, cooler backplate, memory and fast storage onto the board while it is out of the case and lying flat on its own box. Then the power supply into the case with its cables already attached, then the board, then the graphics card last. The principle behind the order is that everything which is easier to reach outside the case gets done outside the case, and the largest component that blocks access to everything else goes in at the end.
Do I need an anti-static strap?
It is cheap insurance rather than a strict requirement. Static damage is real but far less common than the folklore suggests, and the practical precautions matter more than the equipment: build on a hard surface rather than carpet, touch the bare metal of the case before handling components, and hold boards and cards by their edges. If you are working in a dry room in winter, or you are nervous, a strap costs very little and removes the worry entirely.
The machine does not start. What do I check first?
Work through four things in order. The power supply switch on the unit itself, which is genuinely the most common cause. The front panel power button header on the board, where a single misplaced pin stops everything. The processor power connector at the top of the board, which is separate from the large board connector and easy to forget. Then the memory: reseat it firmly until both clips close, because memory that looks seated frequently is not.