First Boot Checklist: What to Do in the First Hour of a New Build

The fans spin, the screen lights up, and your new build posts for the first time. It’s a genuinely great moment. But powering on is the start, not the finish — the first hour is when you set the machine up properly so it runs well from day one. Here’s the checklist to work through before you dive into installing games.

Step 1: Get into the BIOS/UEFI

Before installing anything, enter the BIOS/UEFI — usually by tapping Delete or F2 during boot. This is where a few important settings live, and it’s easiest to handle them now.

Check everything is detected. Confirm the BIOS sees your CPU, the correct amount of RAM, and your storage drive. If the RAM amount is wrong or a drive is missing, power down and reseat it — better to catch it now.
Enable your memory profile. This is the one people forget. Turn on XMP (Intel) or EXPO (AMD) so your RAM actually runs at its rated speed instead of a slow default. Leaving this off is leaving free performance on the table.
Check the boot order. Set it to boot from your Windows installer USB for now.

Step 2: Check temperatures at idle

While you’re in the BIOS, glance at the CPU temperature reading. At idle it should be reasonable — if it’s alarmingly high right after boot, your cooler may not be mounted properly, and it’s far easier to fix now than after everything’s installed. Our guide on why a PC runs hot covers what to check.

Step 3: Install the operating system

Boot from your Windows (or Linux) installer USB and follow the prompts. Install onto your fast primary SSD. This part is mostly waiting — the installer handles it. Our full walkthrough on installing Windows 11 on a new build covers the details if you want them.

Step 4: Install drivers

Once you’re at the desktop, the single most important driver to install is the graphics driver. Windows installs a basic one automatically, but you want the latest full driver from Nvidia or AMD directly — this is what unlocks your GPU’s real performance and features. Also grab your motherboard’s chipset drivers from the manufacturer’s site. These two matter most; Windows Update handles most of the rest.

Step 5: Run Windows Update

Let Windows fully update. It’ll pull security patches and many device drivers automatically. Run it, reboot, and run it again until it reports no more updates — a fresh install usually needs a couple of rounds. Getting this out of the way now saves interruptions later.

Step 6: A quick stability sanity check

You don’t need a full stress-test marathon on day one, but a quick check is wise. Watch temperatures under a bit of load, make sure the system doesn’t crash, and confirm fans ramp up and down sensibly. If you want to be thorough, our guide on stress testing a new build walks through validating everything properly — worth doing in the first day or two.

Step 7: Set up the essentials

Now the machine is genuinely ready. A few finishing touches:

Sign into your accounts and set up your browser.
Install the basic free software you rely on.
Set up a fan curve if the defaults are too loud or too aggressive — see our fan curve guide.
Enable a backup routine so you’re protected from day one.

The first-hour checklist

Enter BIOS; confirm CPU, RAM, and drive are all detected.
Enable XMP/EXPO so your memory runs at full speed.
Check idle temperatures look sane.
Install the OS onto your primary SSD.
Install the latest GPU driver and motherboard chipset drivers.
Run Windows Update fully, rebooting as needed.
Do a quick stability and temperature sanity check.
Install your essential software and set up backups.

Spend this first hour deliberately and your new PC starts life set up correctly — full memory speed, latest drivers, verified stability, sensible cooling. It’s the difference between a build that just works and one that quietly underperforms because a box was left unticked. Then, and only then, go install a game and enjoy the machine you built.