Build Guides
Entry Level Gaming PC (500$)
Today is your chance! Here, you will learn the basics and steps
of making your very own personal computer. There are lots of
parts to a working computer and it can seem overwhelming at
times. Make sure you have all the tools in the items list ready
to limit scrabbling around at the last minute. For the entry build, our
budget will be $500. With this computer, you should be able to
do everyday task with ease, and play games on low to medium
settings at very playable frames per second. This build will
even be able to handle video and sound editing.
Overall, this build is a great choice for anyone that doesn't
want to break the bank on thier machine, but still wants
excellent performance for the price they are paying. If you are
willing to invest a little more money into your computer, we
would recommend putting it into your storage as the base 480 GB
can be used up rather quickly after installing drivers and OS
(Operating System).
Part list
- Intel Corei3-9100F (CPU)
- Intel Stock CPU Cooler (included with CPU)
- MSI B365M PRO-VDH Micro ATX (Motherboard)
- Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16GB (2x8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (RAM)
- Patriot 480 GB Burst 2.5” Solid State Drive (Storage)
- Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 4 GB GAMING Video Card (GPU)
- Cougar MX330-G ATX Mid Tower Case
- Cooler Master MasterWatt 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified (Power supply)
Item List
- Phillips-head screwdriver
- 7 thumbscrews (included in case)
- 10 screws (included with case)
- I/O Shield (included with motherboard)
- USB 3.0 Cable (included with motherboard)
- USB 2.0 Cables (included with motherboard)
- HD Audio Cable (included with case)
- Front Panel Cables (included with case)
- SATA 6GB/s Cables (included with motherboard)
- Power Cables (included with power supply)
- Fan Cables (included with case)
Make sure you have a clean work space free of static electricty
Instrcutions
Step 1: Unbox the Cougar MX330-G case and unscrew the 2 thumbscrews to remove the side panel.
Step 2: Unbox both the CPU and motherboard. Place the motherboard on it’s box as a workbench. Leave items included with the motherboard in a safe place for later use. Lift the lever on the side of the CPU socket. A square black cover should pop off. Leave it somewhere safe so you can remove your CPU from your computer sometime in the future if needed.
Step 3: Remove the CPU for it’s plastic shell and carefully line up the triangle on the edge of the CPU, with the triangle on the edge of the socket. Place the CPU gently in the socket. Onced it is lined up, pull the lever back down. DO NOT PUSH DOWN ON THE CPU!
Step 4:Take the cooler out of the CPU box and remove the plastic on the bottom of the heatsink. Once removed, the pre-applied thermal paste should be revealed. Place the cooler over the CPU making sure to line the 4 tabs with the 4 holes on the motherboard.
Step 5: Push each push tab into its designated hole on the motherboard. If you are having difficulty trying to push one tab in, then going directly to the tab diagonal from it.
Step 6: Unlock the clips on 2 of the RAM slots. Take your 2 T-FORCE RAM modules out of their packaging. One at a time, line up the module with the small groove in the middle of the slot and push down on both sides of the module. The clips should pop back into place securing the RAM. Repeat this for the second RAM module.
Step 7: Your motherboard will come with a rectangular metal piece that will fit over the I/O of your motherboard. Simply snap this into the rectangular slot in the back of your case.
Step 8: You can now transfer your motherboard to the case. Lay the case on it’s back and place the motherboard on the 4 rubber standoffs inside the case. Secure it in place with 4 screws. Make sure you don’t tighten these screws too much as they can damage your motherboard.
Step 9: Remove expansion slot covers by popping then out. Next, take your RX 570 GPU and push it down into the PCIx16 slot (Biggest slot on your motherboard). Once it clicks into place, secure the expansion slot with 2 thumbscrews.
Step 10: Take your SSD and screw it into the drive bay with 2 screws. Make sure the connectors are still visible so you can connect them later.
Step 11: Remove the 3 thumbscrews securing the power supply bracket. Push the power supply along with it’s cables through the slot until it is flush against the panel. Secure it to the case with 4 screws and also twist the 3 thumbscrews back into the bracket.
Step 12: Attach the blue USB 3.0 cable that came with your motherboard to it’s connector on the board located on the right side of the motherboard.
Step 13: Attach the USB 2.0 cable to it’s connector located along the bottom of the motherboard.
Step 14: Attach the HD audio cable into it’s connector located beside the RAM and GPU.
Step 15: Connect all the Front Panel cables into the JFP1 connector located in the bottom right of your motherboard.
Step 16: Connect a SATA 6GB/s cable to the SSD and connect it to your motherboard via one SATA connector located along the bottom right of the board. This is also a good time to connect the SATA power cable to the SSD as well. The cable can be found on the power supply by default.
Step 17: Connect main PSU power cable to connector ATX_PWR1 located along the right side of the motherboard beside the RAM (This is the biggest cable coming out of your power supply).
Step 18: Connect the CPU power cable to connector CPU_PWR1 which is located on the top left of the motherboard.
Step 19: Now connect your CPU fan cable which should be dangling off your cooler into the CPU_FAN1 connector located along the top of the motherboard.
Step 20: Locate your single system fan and connect it’s cable to the SYS_FAN1 connector near the middle of the board.
Step 21: Finally, retrieve the 6-pin PCIe cable from your power supply and connect it to the 6-pin port on the graphics card (GPU).
Step 22: Plug your power supply into the wall, flick the switch and you have a working computer😃! (Just need Windows 10)
Excellent Gaming PC (1000$)
This build is for those that require a little extra power in the
their workspace. Unlike the entry level build, the Excellent
build is aimed at a audience that is interested in going all in
the PC building scene. The build will run you 1000$. Don't be
fooled by this high price though, because you are getting a lot
for what you pay for. You will be able to run games at high
settings, with very good FPS. This computer will be able to
tackle all your audio, video and graphical rendering with ease.
Overall, this build is a great choice for anyone that wants to
get a powerful machine for a reasonable price. This computer
should still be a beast even after a couple of years, so the one
time investment will be worth it. Due to the inflex in GPU
demand after the crypto mining craze, some graphic card prices
might have soared by the time you see this. Our pricing is based
off of before the craze. Prices should return to normal after a
couple months. Instructions for building the excellent build are
very similar if not identical to that of the entry level. That
is because mostly all computers are built the same way.
Part list
- AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (CPU)
- AMD Stock CPU Cooler (included with CPU)
- GIGABYTE B550 (Motherboard)
- OLOy 16GB (2x8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (RAM)
- Crucial MX500 1TB (Storage)
- XFX 5700 XT (GPU)
- AeroCool Cylon Mid Tower Case
- MasterWatt 650 Watt Semifanless Modular Power Supply (Power supply)
Item List
- Phillips-head screwdriver
- 7 thumbscrews (included in case)
- 10 screws (included with case)
- I/O Shield (included with motherboard)
- USB 3.0 Cable (included with motherboard)
- USB 2.0 Cables (included with motherboard)
- HD Audio Cable (included with case)
- Front Panel Cables (included with case)
- SATA 6GB/s Cables (included with motherboard)
- Power Cables (included with power supply)
- Fan Cables (included with case)
Instrcutions
Step 1: Unbox the AeroCool Cylon case and unscrew the 2 thumbscrews to remove the side panel.
Step 2: Unbox both the CPU and motherboard. Place the motherboard on it’s box as a workbench. Leave items included with the motherboard in a safe place for later use. Lift the lever on the side of the CPU socket. A square black cover should pop off. Leave it somewhere safe so you can remove your CPU from your computer sometime in the future if needed.
Step 3: Remove the CPU for it’s plastic shell and carefully line up the triangle on the edge of the CPU, with the triangle on the edge of the socket. Place the CPU gently in the socket. Onced it is lined up, pull the lever back down. DO NOT PUSH DOWN ON THE CPU!
Step 4:Take the cooler out of the CPU box and remove the plastic on the bottom of the heatsink. Once removed, the pre-applied thermal paste should be revealed. Place the cooler over the CPU making sure to line the 4 tabs with the 4 holes on the motherboard.
Step 5: Push each push tab into its designated hole on the motherboard. If you are having difficulty trying to push one tab in, then going directly to the tab diagonal from it.
Step 6: Unlock the clips on 2 of the RAM slots. Take your 2 OLOy RAM modules out of their packaging. One at a time, line up the module with the small groove in the middle of the slot and push down on both sides of the module. The clips should pop (literally) back into place securing the RAM. Repeat this for the second RAM module.
Step 7: Your motherboard will come with a rectangular metal piece that will fit over the I/O of your motherboard. Simply snap this into the rectangular slot in the back of your case.
Step 8: You can now transfer your motherboard to the case. Lay the case on it’s back and place the motherboard on the 4 rubber standoffs inside the case. Secure it in place with 4 screws. Make sure you don’t tighten these screws too much as they can damage your motherboard.
Step 9: Remove expansion slot covers by popping then out. Next, take your XFX 5700 XT GPU and push it down into the PCIx16 slot (Biggest slot on your motherboard). Once it clicks into place, secure the expansion slot with 2 thumbscrews.
Step 10: Take your SSD and screw it into the drive bay with 2 screws. Make sure the connectors are still visible so you can connect them later.
Step 11: Remove the 3 thumbscrews securing the power supply bracket. Push the power supply along with it’s cables through the slot until it is flush against the panel. Secure it to the case with 4 screws and also twist the 3 thumbscrews back into the bracket.
Step 12: Attach the blue USB 3.0 cable that came with your motherboard to it’s connector on the board located on the right side of the motherboard.
Step 13: Attach the USB 2.0 cable to it’s connector located along the bottom of the motherboard.
Step 14: Attach the HD audio cable into it’s connector located beside the RAM and GPU.
Step 15: Connect all the Front Panel cables into the JFP1 connector located in the bottom right of your motherboard.
Step 16: Connect a SATA 6GB/s cable to the SSD and connect it to your motherboard via one SATA connector located along the bottom right of the board. This is also a good time to connect the SATA power cable to the SSD as well. The cable can be found on the power supply by default.
Step 17: Connect main PSU power cable to connector ATX_PWR1 located along the right side of the motherboard beside the RAM (This is the biggest cable coming out of your power supply).
Step 18: Connect the CPU power cable to connector CPU_PWR1 which is located on the top left of the motherboard.
Step 19: Now connect your CPU fan cable which should be dangling off your cooler into the CPU_FAN1 connector located along the top of the motherboard.
Step 20: Locate your single system fan and connect it’s cable to the SYS_FAN1 connector near the middle of the board.
Step 21: Finally, retrieve the 6-pin PCIe cable from your power supply and connect it to the 6-pin port on the graphics card (GPU).
Step 22: Plug your power supply into the wall, flick the switch and you have a working computer😃! (Just need Windows 10 OS)