Three weeks later...

...and alot of tomorrows. Things got really busy for a bit, but I'm back and on to Step Three.

OK, you've decided what to buy and you've bought it; Step Two A is... wait. In a few days your parts will arrive. (if you bought them at a store, you already have them.)

Step Three: Arrival. Once you have your parts, inspect them. (If you bought them at a store, you already know what you have.) Make sure that what is on the packing/shipping list is what you bought and is what is actually in the box.

If there is a discrepancy, follow the directions you were given on how to return items or how to contact the reseller.

Make a clean work area that you can spread the parts out on. A large desktop (or workbench) that is clean of papers and other objects is best. A kitchen counter can also work, or you can use the top of a bed as a last resort. If you use a bed, spread a clean light-colored bed sheet across the bed so that you can see all the parts and screws.

Step Four: Pre-Assembly. Once you have your work surface ready, lay out out your parts in the order in you will need them.
Case and the parts that came with it.
Motherboard and its attendant parts.
CPU and fan
RAM
Hard drive(s)
Video and sound card(s)
Optical drive(s) - These are CD and/or DVD drives.
Additional optional hardware such as additional case fans, watercooling, etc.

Unfortunately, I did not have the time to photograph the system I was building so I could demonstrate the process of assembly.

Next time, hopefully I will have more time, and I will revisit the actual steps of the assembly process.

As for Steps 5, 6, and 7, they are Assembly, Installing the OS and Finishing Up.
I will address these in the next posting.