nervous about building a PC...

I'm pretty sure i'm going to buy some parts in the next few weeks (all at one time). I am just worried about getting the CPU in the motherboard and then connecting the heatsink/fan. Also getting all the cords hooked up and finally the hard drive and OS set up. This may sound like about everything, but I have upgraded my video card and ram before and that was a no brainer. I have been looking at building guides for a while, but am unsure if I can do it. Im 20 years old and a smart guy if that counts. Is it as harfd as I make it out to be? I'm throwing down 1200 dollars on it and it is an upgrade, so ill be tearing apart my current PC. Is this something I can do? thanks for any positive input!nervous about building a PC...
It's easier than it looks. For practice, take apart your current PC and put it back together.nervous about building a PC...
dude, what if I break it, i can't just replace it, im on a tight budget! I guess once I get the parts I can try that, then if it doesn't work i can move to the new stuff or get someone else to do it.
its really really easy! (if you know how to do it) lol, first time CAN get complicated, but thats what were (the forum ppl) are for,im only 16 and Iv got 6 of'em, only a couple of themare built, the rest are bought from staples (never doing that again) lol its not hard, dont worry.
You say you've read guides, just don't be clumsy and you won't break anything ;) I'm pretty sure a manufacturer will replace something if you did happen to damage it :P
[QUOTE=''X360PS3AMD05'']You say you've read guides, just don't be clumsy and you won't break anything ;) I'm pretty sure a manufacturer will replace something if you did happen to damage it :P[/QUOTE]so are the manufacturers good about warranties? I hope nothing would go wrong and I know all the parts im getting are compatible, but you never know. I guess the only thing that im still stuck on is the gluing of the heatsink onto the cpu. sounds kinda iffy, I like putting everything in a plug cus then I know it works, but what if I got too much or not enough glue, will the CPU burn out on the first power up?
it automatically shuts itself off at a high but safe temperature
Nope, it will get extremely hot and probably shut down. That was the part i was nervous about first, but it's really easy. You put the CPU in the slot (it has a gold triangle on one corner to match it up with the slot) plus you can usually tell by the way the pins are aligned. If it doesn't fall right in, don't force it, it should just drop in smoothly. Then you pull down the latch and make sure it's locked in place to the side of the bracket. I just used about a rice grain of thermal paste right in the middle of the CPU. You can spread it with a plastic bag around the CPU or just leave it for the heatsink to spread it, that's what i did. Depending the heatsink it will go in a certain way or not, but you just line up the clamps and pop it into place. Wasn't as bad as i thought it would be and i even had to put a custom bracket because i bought an aftermarket heatsink to OC :D /rant