Beginners guide to building a pc?

You don't have to have a static wrist strap, I've built hundreds of computers in my days, never used one, and never shocked a component either...

All you have to do is touch the power supply or another piece of grounded metal, and all the static in your body will be discharged instantly, just make sure you touch the PSU or a piece of metal before you handle components..

PLANNING IS EVERYTHING!!!

Make sure ALL components are compatible and more importantly ensure that the power supply has enough wattage for all the components you will be using, or not supplying enough voltage & amperage to your computer can kill components fast! If you don't know where all the wires go, read your motherboard manual, not placing the correct connector of a Power Supply in the proper place has caused more motherboards to fry than any other factor alone!

I recommend that you thoroughly read the motherboard manual and use it as a definite guide for setting a computer up, especially the Motherboard Diagram, as this tells you were everything should be plugged in, because if you plug in a 1394 connection to a USB connection (or vice verse) you will damage your motherboard!

If you don't do research and select a part, what you will end up with is low quality or a faulty part, expect the worse always, and it's very important to get a second opinion about a manufacturer, some of them have a horrible warranty policies or customer service, and some often have multiple bad products as well!

A few quick tips:

• Make sure all the parts will work together
• Don't purchase 64 bit version of your OS for a 32 bit machine
• Make sure you use some sort of anti static tool (such as an anti static wristband) to prevent doing damage to the parts

TheNewBoston who is a awesome YouTuber also put together a series of videos that teaches you most of the stuff you need to know when you build your computer.

I have a link to "How To Build A PC Step By Step" that was put together by Maximum PC for all of the attendees of Comic-Con 2009 that I have referred to several people in the past. http://vimeo.com/5685229

As the saying goes - A picture is worth a thousand words, how much more so is it for a no nonsense step-by-step computer building video from Will Smith of Maximum PC. Enjoy! It should certainly be enlightening enough to answer some good questions.

Check out this video.. It's very good.

If you wear ANY rings (wedding ring or bracelet/wrist chain) TAKE IT OFF. My wedding ring was on while I had the tower opened up for something, and I had the machine on at the time, and went to tuck some wires in so I could put the side cover back on, and my ring came up on the underside of the video card and....well....POOF!

I've been doing this for years, and you think I would've thought about that? Psh....

When you pick your parts do your research on their products and the quality then build your machine around that. Always narrow your choices down to two or three and pick from there. Stick to your budget and have fun.