Video summary

Guide: What to do AFTER building your computer...

Main summary

Key takeaways

Technology

Overview

This video is a hands-on “after you build the PC” guide focused on:

  • Installing and getting Windows fully usable
  • Updating drivers
  • Tuning core settings for performance and stability

Goal and Assumptions

  • Assumes you’ve already assembled a new desktop (“first tower”), it powers on, and you’re stuck at the “what do I do next?” stage.
  • Emphasizes that the hard part isn’t building hardware—it’s getting everything properly detected, installed, and configured.

Windows Install Media (Keep It Up to Date)

  • You’ll need Windows install media (USB at least 8GB).
  • Instead of using old shelf/legacy install media, create new installation media using the official “Windows install media” tool to avoid long update/download times during setup.

BIOS Checks Before Installing

  1. Enter BIOS (example: mash Delete).
  2. Use the BIOS “easy mode”/dashboard view to verify:
    • All RAM sticks are detected and running at base clock
    • Avoid enabling OC/XMP/XMP-like profiles during install to maximize stability
    • Both storage devices are visible:
      • SATA drive (or drives)
      • NVMe drive (may appear under a different BIOS section; e.g., Peripherals → NVMe)
  3. Safety step for drive selection:
    • Unplug the SATA drive power while in BIOS to reduce confusion during Windows setup and avoid formatting the wrong drive.
    • Then use BIOS boot override to boot from the intended drive containing/receiving Windows.

Windows Installation Steps (Fast + Correct Drive)

  • Boot the Windows installer via BIOS boot override.
  • Use USB install (not DVD); USB/SATA/SSD installation is much faster than optical discs.
  • During setup, choose:
    • Windows key entry
    • Accept license
    • Custom install (clean install)

Partition Selection Guidance

  • If other drives are unplugged, only the target drive appears (e.g., NVMe may show as “Drive 0 unallocated space”).
  • This helps prevent confusion and accidentally wiping the wrong storage if extra drives/partitions are present.

Offline Account Trick During Install (Avoid Forced Microsoft Sign-in)

To avoid being forced into a Microsoft online account:

  • Don’t connect internet during setup
  • If the installer prompts for EULA/online account steps, restart and try again with internet removed

Then continue using the “limited setup” flow so Windows creates a local/standard account without immediately requiring an online Microsoft account.

Post-Install: Drivers and Storage Detection

Internet Connection Timing

  • After reaching the desktop, the guide suggests:
    • Windows installs basic drivers first (chipset; basic audio/video may be missing or generic)
    • Then connect to the internet to trigger Windows Update and additional driver installs

Common Problem: “New SATA Drive Not Showing”

Workflow shown:

  • Use Disk Management (disk management) to detect a newly connected/uninitialized drive.
  • Explain that the drive may appear “black/unusable” until partitioning/formatting.

Fix:

  • Right-click → New Simple Volume
  • Assign a drive letter
  • Format as NTFS
  • Quick format, then the drive should appear in Windows

Why Update First (Before Manual GPU Drivers)

  • Install Windows updates before manually installing GPU drivers because:
    • Some GPU/feature sets require certain Windows versions
    • Chipset/driver compatibility can affect performance features (e.g., AMD performance features, Nvidia RTX feature unlocks) depending on Windows/driver versions
  • Multiple restarts may occur while updates install in the background.

Manual GPU Driver Update (Fresh Install)

After Windows Update:

  • Compare installed GPU driver version vs the latest available.
  • Download the latest Nvidia driver from the vendor site if Windows-installed driver is outdated.

During installation:

  • Choose a clean install option to remove the old driver version rather than “install over top”
  • Avoid accumulating old-driver remnants that can cause issues

GPU Settings Tuning for Performance

In Nvidia Control Panel:

  • Set power/management to Prefer maximum performance
    • Performance-focused (may raise idle heat)
  • Set Texture filtering quality to High performance
    • Claimed performance benefit

Refresh rate tuning:

  • Use Windows Display settings → advanced display/adapter/monitor settings to set Hz (example: 59 → 144 Hz)
  • Restart the display after changing Hz

Entry into UEFI BIOS via Windows

Instead of mashing keys on boot:

  • Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → UEFI Firmware Settings → Restart

RAM Speed: Enable XMP/DOCP-Equivalent (But Only After Stability)

  • RAM may run at base speed by default after install (e.g., ~2133).
  • In BIOS memory settings:
    • Enable the memory profile:
      • XMP (Intel terminology)
      • DOCP (AMD terminology)
    • Note from the guide: XMP can still work on AMD (based on their experience)
    • Example result: memory goes to 3200 MHz

Why caution:

  • Avoid enabling memory overclock/profile earlier during OS install.
  • Do it only after Windows updates/drivers are stable to reduce the chance of BSODs.

Motherboard-Specific Drivers/Software

Final recommended step:

  • Visit your motherboard manufacturer website and download latest drivers for:
    • Chipset
    • Ethernet
    • Sound
    • Optional RGB software (e.g., ASUS/Mystic Light, MSI/Cam/NZXT CAM-type equivalents)

Optional Utilities Mentioned

  • MSI Afterburner: monitoring and (safe) overclocking features with safeguards (works with AMD and Nvidia).

Main Speakers / Sources

  • Jays $0.02 (primary speaker/host)
  • Mentions Corsair (sponsor/ads for an A500 air cooler + ML120 fans) and vendor websites (Windows, Nvidia, motherboard manufacturer) as informational sources.

Original video