First time I assemble a PC right from step One, even mounting the motherboard, I thought that sharing this experience may be useful in case someone hesitates.

If you are not absolutely irrelevant, terrified even at the simple thought of configuring a machine, go on, it is fun and it develops a hand-made sense, adding to the joy of having a computer that is not identical with any other, a unique combination covering your specific needs and expressing your personal taste.

I needed 5 hours — counting also the time to browse manuals and watch YouTube videos; considering this, it’s not a lot of time. Add also lunch and brakes… It was 2 pm when UPS delivered the components, and I pressed the power button for the first boot at 9 pm.

First thing was to browse for a while the manual of the (Asrock Z77 Extreme 4-M) motherboard; then I opened the (Fractal Design Define Mini) tower, 3 pm already.

Not being sure how to place the motherboard, I watched a YouTube video. It proved extremely easy!

Then I connected the (Intel i5 3570k) CPU to the motherboard, which is easy, but not obvious. You will find a lot of videos on YouTube.

By 4.30 I had the cables of the motherboard and the tower (front USB, audio, power, etc) connected, along with the fan controller that comes with the Fractal Design.

By 7 o’clock, after a nap, the (CoolerMaster Silent Pro 620) PSU and the CPU fan were connected, hard disks removed from the old PC, some cable management (Fractal lets you pass the cables to the side back of the motherboard in order to have a cleaner interior), and connection of the DVD RW.

Note that CPU fan placement is also easy but not obvious; again, three minutes on YouTube were enough.

Time for lunch.

In an hour, from 8 to 9 o’clock all my hard disks were connected, the (Corsair Vengeance) RAM and the (ATI Radeon Fanless) Graphics card; the tower was closed and the PC ready to rock!