windowscentral[.]com/how-build-pc-ultimate-step-step-guide
Decent article with pictures, it also leaves out some stuff -- I guess I not only want to point out the article, but make a note of where it may be a bit off for those finding the article on their own.
Notes – Exceptions – Possibly difference of opinions
Parts…
Case… The bigger the case, the more room for your hands connecting stuff inside. If you decide to go all SSD [no conventional hard drives] you can find designs that don’t devote almost ¼ of the interior space for mounting those larger drives. Better yet in terms of efficient use of space, use SSDs that mount to M2 sockets on the motherboard. Sturdy matters if you plan on taking things apart somewhat regularly, e.g. to upgrade components. If you’re not going to be moving the PC around a lot, and only plan to pull the case door once a year to blow out dust bunnies, a cheaper case will most likely be just fine. Do Pay Attention to airflow. If you’re going to use air cooling for the CPU, more of a wind tunnel effect, front to rear helps – if you’re planning on water cooling, a fan on the door blowing in, and lots of venting might be a better choice.
PSU… There are all sorts of PSU [Power Supply] calculators online to help you determine what wattage you need. Try to find a review that actually tears down the PSU, as well as measures electrical characteristics. Fraud has been rampant, many otherwise name brands simply go with the cheapest bid from would-be suppliers, and testing or certification labels may not mean much. Remember that this is the one component that can burn your house down. Some feel that the plug connections used with modular cables are a weak point that can go bad. Without modular cables however, you may have this huge ball of thick wiring you have to somehow cram inside the case.
Motherboard & RAM… READ USER REVIEWS, along with the professional ones. Every major motherboard brand makes one or more models every year that are disastrous. User reviews should tip you off to models that you’re much better off avoiding at all costs. Professional reviews might be more useful when it comes to design faults, &/or pluses, and may help with choice of RAM brand/model. At the Very Least, make sure that the RAM is advertised to be compatible with the motherboard chipset. Do Not fully rely on any brand/model RAM list from the motherboard manufacturer.
GPU… If the CPU you choose has a built-in GPU, then adding a graphics card is optional, but note that not every CPU has a built-in GPU. You can always use the CPU with GPU option and add a graphics card later, which can be useful to delay that extra expense. A graphics card may make the most demands on the PSU however, so make sure you buy one with high enough wattage to support the graphics card you’ll eventually buy.
Installing RAM… Make sure that the motherboard is on a piece of cardboard or similar, so any component leads etc. poking out the back of the board don’t get mashed, and that the board is evenly supported on a flat surface. That’s because you may have to use what feels like an abnormally high amount of force to insert the RAM sticks into their sockets. Or you may not – it varies. We’ve had more that we really had to force than boards where the RAM went in easily.
Installing the motherboard… Partly depending on how expensive the case was, the threaded holes for the stand-offs may not take a great deal of force when tightening those stand-offs. I use pliers to get them snug, but no more than that. The I/O shield usually has spring metal fingers that press against the plugs or sockets on the motherboard to make sure they make good electrical contact for grounding. When you place the motherboard to line up the screw holes, you’ll usually have to be pushing against those springs with one hand, trying to start at least one of the screws with the other. Having an extra set of hands can help. The most common mistake is if/when one or more of those spring fingers gets pushed down and bent so that it blocks a plug or socket. Also, installing the CPU heatsink or water cooling block may work out better with the board mounted – if you’ve got a large radiator permanently attached to the cooling block you’ll mount over the CPU, it’s common sense that it’ll be a PITA to try and hold that radiator with one hand while trying to mount the board with the other. BUT, note that if you’re using a 3rd party or add-on CPU cooler, it *may* require replacing the OEM backplate, which often cannot be done with the board mounted, so make sure you read through All the directions 1st, not just as you need them.
Case Fans… It’s common to have one case fan blowing out at the rear of the case, and that usually must [or should] be installed after the motherboard is in place, because it overhangs the board. No big deal. But very many cases must be partially disassembled to install front &/or top fans, and it’s usually easier to do that when the case is empty. It may only be possible when the case is empty.
Power Up… [The first step may be offering whatever sacrifices to whatever deities :) ]. You need to read through the motherboard manual on the BIOS settings and determine which of those you need to set before you go beyond the initial BIOS setup when the PC boots for the first time. You can usually use the default settings for most stuff, and then slowly optimize the settings, making a change or two, then using [testing] the PC to make sure it’s stable. But there are often settings that Must be made before you go any further. When you look at potential motherboards you might buy, it doesn’t hurt to Google on that brand/model, and for some you’ll find a complete list or how-to that someone has kindly put together on what BIOS settings to make. If you buy a board where that sort of thing is available, That’s NICE. Almost every motherboard has BIOS settings that don’t work like they should, or at all, and it could take you hours to find out the specifics if no one’s warned you beforehand. The settings in today’s BIOS can also be overwhelmingly complicated – it really does help to know which ones to ignore, and how to set the others.