PC Builds - The Easiest Gaming Pc Build Ever
Building a pc can be hard if it's your first time
Even with all of the guides we've created over the years, building a computer can still be pretty challenging if you've never done it before. Our goal with this build, then, was to create a gaming PC that is not only darn near impossible to screw up but that you can build yourself in less time than it would take to drive to the store and buy a console.
Micro Center stepped up and sponsored us then to give you the foolproof PC. So grab a screwdriver, preferably one from {886}, and follow along. after slipping an ESDB bracelet over my ankle. We will start, as always, with the motherboard, an ASUS ROG Strix B660i, and I can already hear you saying, the small form factor is hard.
You've got to trust me. An itx motherboard might not have as much room for expansion, but it also has almost no room to screw up. Which memory slots do I use for toys? The only ones where do I get it? Obviously, see below.
Cpu install
The box will serve as a handy building surface; just unlatch the retention arm and pull it open, then orient your unboxed LGA 1700 CPU using the golden triangle on the CPU and on the socket cover, or by lining up the notches on the top and bottom. We went with Intel's core i5 12600k because it offers great gaming performance and we like the value that those efficiency cores bring to the table for multi-threaded workloads.
Once it's in, give it a little wiggle to make sure it's seated correctly, then push the lid down until the top latch grabs hold of the lid. Push the retention arm down so you can really give it here and tuck it under its holder. The socket cover should pop off on its own. Set that aside in case you ever want to recycle or sell your motherboard.
Ssd time
The next step is to install our SSD on a Samsung 980 Pro. It is pricey, but Samsung regularly performs very well in Puget's reliability reports and it's a really fast drive that can truly take advantage of Pcie gen4. The rear slot goes in like this and needs this screw from the motherboard box to secure it.
I'd prefer to use this one for now since this slot is going to be harder to access when it's time to upgrade. When that time comes, the front slot will be under the motherboard armor. Take out these three screws. A number one phillips will do the trick. Then lift it off and set it aside. Peel off the film covering the thermal pad and slide in the SSD until it clicks into place.
Push it down and check this out. Asus calls this the M. q-latch, and it makes SSD installation as simple as rotating this little plastic doodad. I love it at this stage. You can just not bother putting the armor back on if you want to save some time. It's really unlikely to affect performance, but if you like the look, peel the film off the underside, place it over the drive, and screw it back down into place .
Cpu cooler
For the CPU heatsink, the lga 1700 socket is still pretty new, so any cooler that's been sitting on the shelf for a year might not include the right hardware, but if you reach out to Noctua with proof of purchase, they will send you a free mounting kit.
This is a potential extra step in our foolproof PC, but thankfully, this kit makes it impossible. To screw up your mount, we went with the NHU 12s for its excellent performance, compatibility, and ease of use. It's available at Micro Center, but another solid option the community seems to really like is the Scythe Mugen 5 Rev b.
Pick up your motherboard with one hand by the IO shield and push the back plate into place through these holes. It's symmetrical, so the only thing that really matters is that the holes correspond to where the screws are sticking through the socket, so easy right Place the board back down on top of the box, slide the plastic spacers over the bolts like so, then install the two mounting bars over top of the spacers with the bars curving outward.
Don't stress that noctua includes non-conductive. They use non-capacitive paste with all of their coolers, so it won't hurt anything to put on some extra. For these longer lga 1700 cpus, we're going to go with the thin line down the middle technique, and it can be about the width of an uncooked grain of rice.
Then remove the fan from the heatsink by pulling out these two wires, and place the heatsink over the two mounting points and tighten it down until the screws bottom out. They'll even do hardline water cooling for an upcharge.
Ram
Let's We move on to ram. DDr5 installs exactly the same as DDr4, and we only have two dimm slots, so you can't put them in the wrong one. We've also chosen a lower spec DDr5 to ensure that we don't run into any instability or compatibility issues when enabling XMP. We also considered the size of our modules.
You might choose to mostly follow our parts list, but maybe you'll change your cooler. For example, these corsair vengeance 5200 mega transfer per second cl38 modules will fit in just about anything. Push down the tabs on the top end of the dimm slots, then align the notch of your memory module with the notch on the slot.
Slide the first module into the rails, then guide it to the bottom. Press firmly with two thumbs until you hear a click on each side. Do it again for the second module, and then you are all set.
Cpu cooler fans
So now that our memory is installed, we can attach our fan to our heatsink with the side clips like so and then plug the cable into the grey fan header at the top.
This is your CPU fan header, and the one directly next to it is the AIO pump header. We'll get to our case selection in a second, but for now, since we know that it comes with two case fans, we're going to use a handy y-splitter and plug it into the chassis fan header up here near the CPU power connector.
If you don't want to pay the extra few dollars, that's okay. You can use the pump header for your second chassis fan. It just might require a little bit of extra configuration to get it to properly ramp up and down according to your system temperatures .
So much space! for activities!
All right, remember when I asked you to trust me? A small form factor is hard, but we're not building a small form factor. Our biggest trick today is the Jake Tyvee special: putting an itx board in an atx case, specifically the h510 flow from nzxt.
Ah, so much room for activities. Okay, we're going to do this in sort of a weird order, but you'll thank me later. Starting with our power supply.
Psu install + cable management
Yes I know fully modular power supplies are a super cool upgrade for experienced builders, but while it's hard to put cables in the wrong way, it's not impossible and it does add extra steps, so we went with an EVGA 700 GD.
