Things I Learned From Building My First PC

• Invest in a good case: it looks nicer and makes the rest of the build easier
•  You probably don't need a Optical Drive.
• You probably don't need a (huge) Hard Disk Drive.
• Invest in a good Motherboard.
• Buy the biggest SSD you can afford.
• Play it safe when buying PSUs.
• Test your overclocks with multiple benchmarks.
• Don't trip your circuit breaker.

Many computer builders opt for a small SSD as a boot drive and buy a HDD to store documents. I opted to save the money from the HDD and bought a bigger SSD instead. You can always put big files in an external hard drive or even the cloud. If you require fast access to large files, this may not apply.

Before buying a DVD/Bluray player, ask yourself, how many times last month did I use optical media? If the answer is less than two, you're probably better off saving that money for something else. There's almost nothing today that a optical disk drive can do that an internet connection/USB drive can't do better. Most video games, software, and movies can be downloaded as digital copies. Booting from a USB drive to install Windows is way faster than installing from a disk.  If you have a slow internet connection and can't buy digital goods, an optical drive may be necessary for you.

A good computer case will have built in fans and extras that you will find handy, like removable hard drive slots, tool-less entry, and good cable management. Unlike other components, a PC case can last you through multiple PC builds. I opted for the NZXT Phantom 410 case for my build.

Lastly, I would recommend that PC builders take a careful look at their goals/requirements for a PC and recognize the limitations of such goals. For example, I knew I wanted to play games and run certain applications on my desktop, but I didn't know exactly which games and what applications I wanted to run. You may build a PC with one goal in mind, but don't forget that you will likely own the PC for more than a year and may have different needs then. Make sure your rig is adaptable to your future needs.