Build a Gaming PC

• 1). Place an antistatic wrist strap around your wrist and clip the end of the strap to a grounded metal object such as a filing cabinet. The strap will prevent you from destroying computer components through inadvertent static electric discharges from your body.
  
  
• 2). Place an antistatic pad on your worktable where you intend to build the computer. Place the motherboard onto the center of the pad. Mount the CPU with fan and heat sink to the motherboard. Raise the lever next to the CPU socket on the motherboard and then remove the protective CPU cover. Align the arrow on your CPU with the arrow on the CPU socket and place the CPU into the socket. Lower the lever to secure the CPU. Peel off the paper covering from the coolant patch on the bottom of the combined fan and heat sink. Place the heat sink onto the motherboard, gently pushing the four columns on the bottom of the cooling unit into the four holes surrounding the CPU socket. Turn the small levers on the columns in the direction of the level arrows to lock the fan/heat sink into place. Attach the power cord from the fan to the small 2-pin fan socket next to the CPU.
  
  
• 3). Mount the three RAM sticks into the RAM slots on the motherboard. Align the notch on the bottom of the chips with the notch in the chip socket and then slide the RAM into the socket. Press the levers at each end of the chip against the chip to secure the chips.
  
  
• 4). Push the motherboard aside and place the PC case into the center of the workspace with the case cover upwards. Remove the case cover by removing the two screws holding the cover in place from the rear of the case. Slide the cover about 1-inch towards the rear and then lift it free from the case. (Case design can vary.)
  
  
• 5). Remove the I/O foil piece from the rear of the case cover by popping it out. Insert the I/O foil piece that came with your motherboard into the vacated spot. Each foil piece has openings that allow the inputs for your motherboard such as USB ports, VGA socket, and Ethernet ports to stick out of the rear of the case for easy access.
  
  
• 6). Place the motherboard into the case, with the I/O ports of the motherboard extruding from the holes in the I/O foil piece at the rear of the case. Note the positioning of the mounting holes in the motherboard. Remove the motherboard and screw the small metal motherboard mounts that came with your case into the mounting holes. The mounts look like hexagonal screws that have screw holes instead heads where you can place a screwdriver. Return the motherboard to the case and secure it in place by screwing case screws through the motherboard into the holes of the installed motherboard mounts.
  
  
• 7). Mount the 750-watt power-supply to the case. Place the power supply against the power supply hole in the case body with the holes in the supply aligned with the mounting holes in the case. Secure the supply in place using case screws.
  
  
• 8). Install the two graphics cards into the first two PCI-E slots on your motherboard. The slots are at the rear of the board near the bottom of the case. Remove the bars covering the slot holes at the end in the case at the end of the two slots. Align the notch at the bottom of the card with the notch in the PCI-E slot. Push the card into place and then secure with a screw through the metal bar at the rear of the card into the small ledge atop the slot hole. Place the connection card across the top of the dual graphics cards to link them together.
  
  
• 9). Connect the case cables from the front of your case to the motherboard. These cables include the power, reset, drive LED and power LED cables. Consult your motherboard manual for the location of the connections on the motherboard.
  
  
• 10
  
  Slide the SATA hard drive into an empty 3½-inch drive bay until the holes in the side of the drive match those in the side of the bay. Secure the drive with case screws through the mounting holes. Slide the SATA Blu-ray drive into a 5¼-inch drive bay, aligning the mounting holes and then securing the drive into place with case screws. Attach SATA data cables to SATA slots on the motherboard and then attach the cables to each of the drives. Attach SATA power cables from the power supply to the power sockets on the drive.
  
  
• 11
  
  Connect the power supply to the motherboard, any system fans and to the graphics cards.
  
  
• 12
  
  Replace the PC case, screwing it shut. Attach the power cord to the power supply in the rear of the case.
  
  
• 13
  
  Move the computer to the desk in your gaming area where you intend to set it up. Arrange the surround sound speakers around your gaming area so that they all center on where you intend to position yourself while gaming. Set the monitor up in an easily visible spot. Attach your monitor to the top graphics card of the dual cards. Plug the surround sound speakers into the speaker jacks of the motherboard. Attach the key board, and mouse. Lastly, plug your network connection into the Ethernet port at the rear of the system. This ends the build, and your computer is ready for the installation of the Operating System of your choice, followed by the games.