How long for my first build?

[roomwithamoose]

So after a lot of advice and help from all you guys, I have almost all my pieces for my first build. My ram was supposed to be here on Friday, but it won't show up till Monday. Really frustrating, since I am very excited for my first build. Should I go ahead and start building tomorrow, or should I wait unitl I get my ram on Monday. I'm assuming that it will take more than one day to get the parts all together, and I would really like to start working. What's the average time for a build? More importantly, whats the average time for a first build?

[Amirsan]

I think that building a computer only takes a couple hours... if you dont run into any big problems... am I right?

And I know how you feel... I havent even started buying my parts sinse I need money.

[RJ]

Well, you can't use the computer without RAM, but I would just go ahead and start assembling that machine, so that when your RAM arrives you just need to stick it in and can start working (assuming you have the other necessary parts too).

You need at least these parts to start working:
case, psu, mainboard, cpu + hsf, ram, hard drive, optical drive, and the operating system

Hard to tell how long you're gonna take to assemble it. You could do it in 15 minutes, you could also need an hour for that.
And installation of Windows takes about an hour.

RJ

[roomwithamoose]

Yeah, I have everything except the ram. I was thinking about going and buying some ram tomorrow, but I need to practice patience, I guess. But I'll put everything else together tomorrow, then just throw the ram in and really get working. Thanks!

[Mesaeus]

Mmmm, I'd advise to wait until you get the ram. One of the big problems of any newly built machine is that it often has problems booting the first time, so I suggest you follow a simple procedure. When you have every part, install your cpu, heatsink, mb and memory in the case, together with the video card, NOTHING else. (You can mount the drives but do not connect them yet). See if this can boot (if you can get the POST screen on your monitor). If this works, connect the other peripherals and hard drives/cd/dvd devices. The point is : if you try to "work up" from already working bare configs, it's much easier to deal with problems. If you don't mind to take a huge chance, you can install everything right away and try only the completed system, but I myself almost never had one that worked right away YMMV

[TwoRails]

I always like to say at least a day on a first build, assuming no great prior experience. And it varies as to what you call "build." Examples: you can "slap" things together pretty quick, mechanically-wise, or spend over an hour just routing your cables to perfection. Loading Windows can easily take 45 minutes without problems, but if you're setting up SATA or RAID, it can take longer. Installing the vid card is a snap in process, but do you have the latest drivers so chances of conflicts / problems are minimized? Same with your sound card. Are you going to do a "quick" hard drive(s) format, or full format which can take hours by itself? Just loading some of your favorite software can easily take 1/2 a day, and so on... And, of course, it can depend on how many cold ones you have while doing it

[amk1369]

When I did a build for the first time, I found that putting the MOBO, Drives, GPU and RAM in was fairly simple. What took me a lot of time to get right werre the LED connectors, USB connectors etc etc. I guess my hands are a little big and clumsy for that .

In hours, probobly as a first time about 1 hour to get it all together, and then 1 hour to put windows in, the probobly 1 hour to get all your software in and setting up your personal settings.

You could start putting everything in now, but I find it hard putting RAM on the board when its in the case (once again probobly a product of big clumsy hands). Thats your personal choice.

[New Guy Jr]

i Built my first PC last month. It took me about three hours on a weekday night after work including installing Windows and the time it took to format the hard drive. The hardest part was the case leds. The connectors are so dang small. The paranoid factor was high....I didn't want to fry anything! Just be carefull with the standoffs for the motherboard and have fun. I wish I had a Saturday to take my time but I wanted to see what the the new toy was going to have under the hood! Another suggestion is to keep another PC up and running to the internet so you can reference this board and any on line tutorials. That way if you are unsure of anything, you aways have a reference!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by roomwithamoose Should I go ahead and start building tomorrow, or should I wait unitl I get my ram on Monday.

I know you're excited, but it's better to wait till you get your RAM.

Originally Posted by roomwithamoose I'm assuming that it will take more than one day to get the parts all together, and I would really like to start working. What's the average time for a build? More importantly, whats the average time for a first build?

Assembling the parts really doesn't take that long...there aren't that many parts to begin with. For a first time build I think you can expect to take somewhere between 1 and 2 hours. Just don't rush...when you rush, you make mistakes and you don't want to damage anything in your new computer, right?

When your RAM arrives, get the motherboard and place it on the box it came in (directly on the box, don't use the antistatic bag or the foam liner). Then install the CPU, heatsink, RAM, video card and PC case speaker (if the motherboard doesn't already have a built on piezo speaker already). Then remove the power supply from the case and hook up the motherboard power connector(s). Connect your monitor to the video card. Look for the front panel header (where all the little wires from the front of the case hook up...check your motherboard manual for location) and note where the POWER SW pins are. Plug the power supply into the wall outlet (or UPS or surge suppressor) and flip the switch on the back to I (if it has one). Then get a small screwdriver and momentarily touch the 2 POWER SW pins on the front panel header, that will start the system up. If everything is connected properly you should see the fans start spinning, hear a single beep and see an image on the monitor. If all this happens, shut it down and begin to transfer the parts to the case. If all this doesn't happen, either the parts aren't installed right or one of them is defective and you'll have to troubleshoot to find out which one is causing the problem.

Read the motherboard manual while you're waiting for the RAM to arrive. Read it several times and get familiar with the motherboard layout.

And most importantly...don't rush! Take your time while you're assembling your computer and double check your work along the way. Rushing usually leads to problems or mistakes.

Cricket

[roomwithamoose]

Cool you guys. It does sound like I should wait to do everything at once. One last question: when is the system stable? I'm assuming that if I get Windows loaded and no problems, then it's stable. But I would think that it would be wise to have a couple days to just let the computer run before I start putting games and music and other programs on it. Should I do that?

[yellohut]

there are different benchmarks and tools use can use to 'stress' the system... some people like setting 3dmark2001 on a loop for a couple of hours...
nowadays if you have the latest drivers installed and use quality hardware you won't reallt have to worry about it not being stable.
I usually just load everything up and use ot like I normally would for a couple of days to see if it crashes. the up side is if it works you're already ready to go.. but if it doesn't you have to spend the time reloading everything.

[kram 2.0]

Remember it's best not to put building into timeframe - it will make you rush and possibly amek an error. It took me about 5 hours total over the course of two days - no errors, booted correctly except for the minor slave/master mingling on the Opticals. Take as much time as you need...remember that.

Hope that helps,
kram