How To Build A PC - Do's & Don'ts

This guide is a quick whip up if for my readers if they're thinking of building a PC, this is not the actual 'HOW TO' but a guide that should help you in those little things, that would later cause frustration and possible financial loss.

First we'll be going over the steps that you should AVOID at all costs, or try to minimize them as much as possible. So lets get cracking!

Things not to do:

• Don't buy a cheap PSU, avoid getting one which is way more than you need, for most gaming build and especially for daily usage, a 400 watt-600 watt PSU is more than enough.
• Avoid cheap PSU brands, get a Corsair, Gigabyte, Seasonic, Antec, XFX, Silverstone PSU.
• Don't rely on stock heat sinks if you're going to be over clocking your CPU.
• Don't buy cases with poor air flow, a cheaper case will serve you better than an expensive one with poor airflow.
• Don't over tight the screws
• Don't forget to wipe you're HDD, you should always do a fresh install of the OS and the drivers.
• Don't buy a large case, unless you'll need the several expansion slots.
• Don't plug in anything while he computer is turned on.
• Don't install too many fans, a few large ones do a better and quieter job than half a dozen small ones.
• Don't attach your fans in such a way that they blow air in the opposite direction.

Things to do:

• Plan your build,
• Check for compatibility
• If you're not sure, try asking online, on forums like Tom's Hardware Forums.
• Use PCPartPicker to get a rough idea of the total, and a 'check' list of the components
• Hunt for online retailers with cheap prices and look out for sales (such as NewEgg or Amazon).
• Get dual channel memory
• Get new parts
• Build the PC out of the case to make sure everything is working, place the motherboard on its box, made of cardboard
• Buy everything at once, or as close as possible. This way, if something is faulty you can get it replaced once you've checked it.
• Remove static, by touching something metallic or using a static wrist band.
• READ THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL, if this is your first time.

Things you might want to do, should do:

• If this is your first build, ask a friend to help you out. Or have atleast some method of getting online for help in case something goes wrong.
• Don't defragment an SSD
• Plug the RAM in alternate slots if the motherboard has four, and you have two RAM sticks.
• Make sure the CPU pins don't get bent, same goes for sockets that have pins in them.
• Make sure the output is same as the maximum monitor resolution.