Building My First PC

I use a Mac for all my software development needs, but recently I decided I wanted to build a PC. I had a Laptop one sitting around for the occasional game, but it was like 4 years ago when I was in college. Also, the performance is slightly drops than when I first used it.

Lately, I’ve wanted to do some extracurricular projects outside of programming. Building a PC seemed like a fun project, as I’d learn a bit about how a computer works under the hood, it’s inspired me to set up a battlestation and get some decent gear, and I’d have a much better machine for when I do play games or if I want to do anything with AI things. So I went ahead and built one.

After having built one myself now, I can say I’m really glad I decided to do this. For anyone who uses a PC for any reason, not even just games or development, I’d highly recommend building your own as well. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve used a computer with Windows, but in my experience of buying pre-built PCs, they were always loaded up with all the crapware and antivirus software that the hardware manufacturers ship along with Windows. I’m amazed at how fast and clean it is when you do it all yourself.

There was a bit of research I had to do and lingo I had to learn to get up to speed to doing this, so I’ll share with you all the components needed, the ones I got, how much they cost, and how to set it up. I am by no means an expert, and as a result my write up might be most helpful for absolute beginners.

#Getting Started

When building a PC, PCPartPicker will be helpful. You can browse through builds others have made, pick from recommended builds for your needs, and create your own part lists. I was overwhelmed by all the parts, what I should get, what build I should go with, and whether or not the parts would be compatible with each other, and the final build I went with ended up varying a bit from what I started off with.

The questions that will determine your part list are:

• What will you be using the PC for?
• What is your price range?

I set the budget around IDR 15 million or below, and I was going to use it for casual gaming, music, build AI model, or development work. I ended up paying less than IDR 15 million for the PC alone, but the peripherals (monitor, keyboard, webcam, speakers) and other necessities (Windows) made the whole package cost quite a bit more.

I put off pulling the trigger and doing a build for months and months because I wasn’t sure if it was going to be worth it or if it was just going to be an extra thing I don’t use since I prefer Macs. I realized I play games with friends enough to make it worth it, especially during quarantine.

You can really build something decent for IDR 4-6 million if you don’t care about gaming at all. The Build Guides on PCPartPicker have a lot of recommended builds, so I used the mid-performance for gaming build as a base for mine.

#Parts

There are 6 essential parts every build needs. There are some additional things you can add, like custom cooling systems and optical drives, but I didn’t need any of that.

• CPU - the central processing unit, the primary component or "brains" of a computer. AMD and Intel are the main brands.
• Motherboard - the main printed circuit board that connects all the parts of a computer together. CPU, RAM, graphics cards, storage, drives, etc. will all hook into the motherboard.
• Memory - the RAM (random access memory) is where a computer stores and retrieves data on a short-term (volatile) basis.
• Storage - long-term (non-volatile) storage for a computer. These used to be stored in spinning hard drives but now frequently use SSD (solid state drive).
• Video card - the GPU (graphics processing unit) or graphics card, responsible for rendering images to the screen. AMD and NVIDIA are the main brands.
• Power Supply - the PSU (power supply unit) converts power from the source (outlet) into the correct format and voltage. This is what plugs into the wall.
• Case - technically not required (I've seen PC builds that are just a bunch of random parts on the wall) but most people want a body to put it all inside.

Okay, that’s not too bad. I think all the parts make sense - power, long-term data storage, short-term memory, graphics, processing, and the One Board to connect them all.

#My Choices

Here are the choices I made and why.

• CPU - Intel i5 12400F - honestly, I asked a friend whether or not to go with Intel or AMD, and they recommended Intel. I doubt there's much of a different ultimately. This one was highly rated.
• Motherboard - Colorful CVN B660i Gaming Frozen V20 - the motherboard and CPU go together, so you choose based on that compatibility. This one has 6 USB ports. Note that although it has an HDMI port, you will use the HDMI port on the graphics card, as the Intel CPU that I choose not have integrated graphics and instead relies on the graphics card.
• Memory - Teamgroup Ram Delta RGB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3600 - the ram I selected is with RGB. More it aesthetic, why not?
• Storage - Samsung 980 NVMe SSD 1TB - a solid state drive is the only option, and this NVMe M.2 style was supported on the motherboard and extremely convenient to set up, and I plan to upgrade the SSD since, the SSD that I upgrade for my laptop.
• Video card - GeForce RTX™ 3060 Ti EAGLE OC 8G - I aim to buy RTX 3000 series, and I am found in online shop that sell second-hand RTX 3060 Ti, I saved around IDR 3 million than the new one.
• Power Supply - NZXT 650W Gold Fully-Modular ATX PSU - I got a fully modular power supply, meaning you can connect only the parts you need.
• Case - NZXT H210i Case - I got a second-hand case that still looked new with cheaper price than the new one and had nice airflow. I realized it's kind of big and I could have gone with a smaller case, but not really a big deal.

#Putting it Together

Of course, I had no idea how to put it all together, so I looked it up. All you need is a regular screwdriver. I followed this video: How To Build A PC - FULL Beginners Guide + Benchmarking. I was lucky enough that he was using basically the same CPU, motherboard, and storage type as me, and the rest doesn’t matter. I also felt good that the video was only a few months old and using the parts I chose, so I know I got some decent stuff.

The steps were as follows:

1. Put the CPU in the motherboard - the step entails putting the tiny little CPU chip in the right slot on the motherboard and locking it in.
2. Attach the fan to the CPU/motherboard - a fan came with my CPU, and I just had to unscrew four screw and screw in the fan in their place.
3. Attach the motherboard to the case - just find where all the ports are facing outwards, put it in the right slot, and screw it in.
4. Install the RAM - there are four slots for RAM, and I put it in slots 1 and 2 since I using itx motherboard.
5. Install the SSD - it goes into a slot and screws in with one tiny screw.
6. Install the GPU - I took two segments off the side of the case for the display ports, and the GPU just clicks in to one long slot.
7. Install the PSU - find all the cables you need and put them into the right slots - CPU, graphics, motherboard. Then you have to hook them up to the correct pins on the motherboard. One important note is that the video I watched had SATA, and my build did not need to use the SATA at all. Also install the fans into the pins and anything else that needs to be hooked up.

The whole thing probably took 2 hours or so, but it was also my first time doing it and I was learning where everything is.

#Turning it On

At this point I had little to no confidence that this was going to turn on, as it seemed crazy that this could work on the first try and I didn’t plug something into the wrong slot. I connected the keyboard, mouse, ethernet, and monitor, I flipped the power switch, clicked the on button, and it booted up!

Since I using my old SSD that already have installed windows, so I don’t need to prepare usb for installing windows in fresh SSD

PC finished !!!

After that was all set up, I was really blown away by how fast it was. Everything worked great, the computer starts up in 3 seconds and is ready to go, and there’s no additional start up software. For this reason alone, I’d recommend anyone who uses a PC to build their own for the next one.

#Peripherals

Another aspect to consider is the peripherals - keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, mic, webcam, headphones, etc. I didn’t know anything about that stuff, as I was using the cheapest stuff Walgreens could offer until now.

• Monitor - I have a gaming monitor that was 24" wide, Full HD resolution, and 144Hz frame rate. I didn't really know what any of that meant until I did a bit of research, but I'm happy with the LG Ultragear 24GN650 Monitor for both work and play.
• Keyboard - I also have the Ducky 3 One Mechanical Keyboard as I wanted something that would work with the Mac and wasn't too far off from the tiny clearance on the chiclet keyboard I'm used to. I still prefer just using the MacBook Pro keyboard and trackpad for working. It's just so much more convenient than a separate keyboard and mouse - I never have to move my arm back and forth to the mouse.
• Headphones - I already had a Steelseries Arctis 5, high-quality wired gaming headphones, which I use for listening to music, watching movies, and games.
• Mouse - my mouse is a cheap mouse for gaming Steelseries Rival 3.

For the first time in my life, I have decent gear and a cool set up. It took me months and months - almost a year - of working from home all day long to realize I should set up an actual office area, get an office chair, get a monitor, etc. It’s still a work in progress - I’m planning on building a desk and setting it up nicely as well, so I don’t have a cool “battlestation” to show off yet.

#Conclusion

I’ve really enjoyed creating a little space for myself. We’re all home a lot these days. Once again, I would really recommend anyone who uses a PC to build their own, even if they’re not a gamer or a developer. It takes a little bit of research and time, but you can really create something that’s your own. Hopefully this guide helps out some other beginners with the overwhelming world of PC building.