Is it difficult to build a custom PC?
Looking to build one myself and I know more or less what parts I need so that the PC will be fully functioning but I've never put one together from scratch so I'm unsure of how to do it and generally anxious that I'd fuck it up and waste good parts.
Any advice / stories / tip on how to do it well and what to avoid?
Any parts that you'd consider essential to a good PC or ones that are over-priced and should be avoided?

tldr; OP never build custom PC and wants to, how do?

Also general PC thread

All you need is a screwdriver.
Other than that its basically a jigsaw puzzle. Youtube has plenty of tutorials to refer to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WQxr59KRto

The hardest part is making sure all the parts are compatible and even that's not too hard. go to /g/ or Tomshardware for what's hot and what's not. Decide on AMD or Intel, etc.

>>1
You need:

Case
Motherboard
CPU
RAM
HDD (preferably SSD)
Power Supply
DVD Drive (not really, as Windows/OS X/Linux can be installed from USB, but a DVD drive is $20)
Aftermarket Fan for the CPU because the stock ones suck.

Make sure case is made by someone worth it, like Coolermaster or Thermaltake. Don't spend too much, and if you can, go with a MicroATX Motherboard and Case.

Go Intel. Trust me AMD sucks. A dual core Intel will beat a QUAD core AMD in any single core use, and that's still 905 of the use of a PC.

The RAM will be DDR3 1600

The CPU should be an i5 or i7, preferably $200 for the best i5 or $300 for the i7.

Do not buy a $200 case like an idiot.

And finally, a video card. The GTX 960 is fine, and will play any game just fine.

Any questions, feel free to ask. I can recommend every part, and help in every way. I build these things for a living.

Follow a guide, Take your time, wear an anti-static wristband, and don't force any parts too hard and you will be fine.

Despite the common idea that computer hardware is super fragile, it's not. It's pretty robust actually. Just don't be retarded and make sure everything is compatible.

I learned how from a couple of YouTube and forum guides. Have built around 5 myself.

>>1
it's not difficult, but it's mostly for hobbyists. Which is to say that it requires a little investment of your time in order to understand the components you'll need, how to put them together, etc.

There are lots of resources which you can find by googling that will get you started.

Advantages of building your own: you get the computer you want, no crapware installed, etc. You save some money, though it's not like you get a good one for half-off or something.

Disadvantages: no warranty except for individual parts, no service, nobody to call if it stops working.

Unless you are going to be a semi hobbyist, it's probably not worth your time to fool with this.

its incredibly easy and really rewarding. watch the newegg series about building computers on youtube, i think its 3 videos and they have everything you need to know

Make sure whatever you do; you buy a shit tonne of LED's, bonus if you use different colours.

What's a good custom gaming PC for around £600 ($900) it will be my first custom PC. (Is £600 enough or should I go higher?)

Its easy, but similarly to cars, everything is the same but always a little different.

I built my computer and got no video output. Everyone online was saying all kinds of crazy or stupid shit, like immediately suggesting the GPU was shit. so I went and got a new video cord and than fixed it.

Not that my personal story is important but you will probably run into small problems that are fixable but frustrating.

Posting on a custom pc right now.

it was actually quite easy, there are a shit ton of tutorials and pro v con videos for about every piece of the building process out on youtube. the video I used to actually build was this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoTCG4zXWBI

>>10
My computer is $580 and can run star citizen on high graphics

$900 would be good

>>7
Confirmed for idiot. Calling PC building a hobby is like calling brushing your teeth a hobby. Building your own PC is far, far, far better than paying Dell a premium for a shitty warranty.

Dell gives 1 year warranty. Samsung and other companies warranty parts for up to 5 years.

>>13
Oh damn ok, should I drop the price down a bit then? Because I only want to play the latest games, don't care too much about high graphics, and can't exactly afford a PC at the moment.

Why not just get a mac? Are you too poor or something?

>>5
this is what I've got so far
any suggestions?

I'm not doing any hardcore gaming, but I want good performance for simple video encoding and some games on med-high settings

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.00)
Mobo: Asus Z87-Pro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($87.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
HD/SSD: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
GPU: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($120.00)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($50.00)
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($86.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $762.73

Hey guys I just have a couple questions
1. Are AMD systems no value?
2. How much could I sell my PC for? Its relatively brand new. CPU: AMD FX-6300
Mobo: Asus M5A78L-M
RAM: Corsair vengeance (blue) 8gb (2x4gb sticks)
PSU: Corsair CX500 (500w)
GPU: Asus Radeon R9 270x
Storage: Kingston HyperX SSD (120gb)
Case: Corsair 230t
Apparently the most I can get for it is $450 but I seriously cant believe that.. any opinions?

will I need to buy any extra cables or fans or thermal paste?
I've never built a computer before, so not sure what I need other than just the parts.

>>18
look up the parts online
on pcpartpicker, amazon, ebay, newegg
maybe you should sell them individually?

>>15
If it's not for gaming, you can build a monster fast PC for $400. That includes tax and shipping.

>>19
usually no. MOBOs come with sata and pretty much everything else you need hardware wise.

if you're using the stock cooler, thermal paste is pre applied. if it's an aftermarket cooler, just check the part makers site. sometimes it comes with a tube, sometimes it pre applied, and sometimes it doesn't come with it at all.

>>20
No its mainly going to be for gaming

>>17
That's a very good setup. I'd really try to get a newer vid card though, but yeah that's very good.

>>19
No, you don't need thermal paste.

Regarding cables, dunno. Your power supply should have enough cables to support everything unless you buy a shitty one.

Made the mistake once and bought a terrible PC case and the power supply didn't have enough cables for my GPU, still worked though...but it would shut down every now and then.

>>19
Thermal paste will come with aftermarket CPU heat sink. Cables depend on if you get oem stuff or not. Pick up a pack of sata cables in case. Fans, I would suggest at least having two fans that fit your case, one intake, one exhaust. You might need some 3/4 pin to molex converters and possibly fan speed controllers depending on the fan you get.

Personally, just go with the antec 3 series or whatever. They are 120mm fans with moles connectors and built in speed controllers.

Pretty much all other hardware and cables should come with it.

>>22
Add $250 to that number. $650 would be great, but as I said previously via the 'part picker' website, you're fine.

>>5
Trust this anon
Use SSD for your OS and Programs you frequently use and HDD for Data like Movies, Music, Pics,...
You will ask yourself how you could have lived without a SSD