serious question how hard it for someone with limited mobility and poor motor function to build a PC? I'm not talking idioms like "It's so easy anyone with 2 braincells...." I'm talking like actual logistics. I'll be frank. People talk to me how much cheaper it is to build it yourself but that's kind of a no crap kind of thing that could be applied to anything. The problem is i'm not certain I have the physical mobility to do it.
Without knowing the specifics, the main physical issues will probably be getting the heatsink onto the motherboard, plugging in the mb power supply and connecting the front panel to the mb.
The heatsink is tricky because it can take quite a bit of force to turn the lever that tightens the catches. At least that's the case with older AMD boards. It's best to put it on before you put the mb into the case (don't forget to put the CPU in first). You might want to use pliers to help with this, depending on what your physical issues are. The mb power supply can also take some force, but if you do it before putting the board in and have something solid behind it it shouldn't take much. The front panel connectors are just fiddly and awkward. There will typically be a power switch, reset switch, power LED, and disk LED. Sometimes there will be a speaker to connect to, though some mbs have them built in. There will be a small, hard to see arrow on one side of the tabs for the wire coming from the case which connects to the positive pin on the mb. This doesn't matter for the power and reset buttons as they're just completing a circuit.
Going by memory, the order I'd suggest putting a PC together, step by step, would be:
0. Place the case on its side with the left side panel removed. Make sure you've protected against static either with an anti-static bracelet or by earthing yourself. I've never bothered with the bracelet, just touched the case and a radiator at the same time.
1. CPU and heatsink. Put the motherboard on the anti static bag and that on top of the thin layer of foam padding it comes packaged with so you don't have the solder and pins on the back being dragged across a hard surface. Make sure there is a hard surface under the foam so the board can't bend much. The CPU will have a small arrow on one corner that lines up with another one on the mb socket. It should take no force to get the CPU in, it should just drop right in. Make sure you don't accidentally wipe off the thermal paste on top of it. Put the heatsink on, make sure all the clips around it are in place and turn the lever to tighten it. The packing foam underneath the board means you can apply some (but no much) force to hold the heatsink in place while turning the lever. Make sure to plug the fan power cable onto the board too.
2. Motherboard and CPU power. The power supply should still be outside the case at this point. There are 2 cables for this, one with either 4 or 8 pins (the CPU) and one with 24/28 pins (the motherboard itself). Most power supplies will fit both and have a block with the extra pins next to the main connector. There will be a plastic tab built in to the connector that holds the extra pins in place once you've started plugging them in. The pins themselves are shaped so they'll only go in when they're right way around, so you don't need to worry about that. If the CPU one doesn't fit you might have it mixed up with the graphics card one. At this point you might also want to connect the SATA cables you'll be using to the board. (Thick ribbon-like cables with a ~1cm stretched L-shape connector on both ends. Sometimes one end is bent 90 degrees.)
3. Memory. This part is easy, just make sure you take advantage of the dual channel. If there are 4 slots, place the sticks in 1 and 3 relative to the CPU. They'll usually be the same colour or will be labeled (put the RAM sticks in the matching color ones). If you only have 2 slots or one RAM stick, don't worry about that part. Make sure the clips on the end are firmly in place. Again, they'll only fit in in the correct orientation. You might have to push a little bit to get them in, but not much.
4. Connect up the front panel. This isn't always possible before putting the board into the case, but if it's the first part that's actually connected to the case it should be manageable. They'll have HD LED, pwr, reset, pwr led, and spkr written on them. Make sure the little arrow on the tab lines up with the + on the board, but otherwise they're a bunch of small, delicate pins you have to slide into a fiddly little tab with wires attached. There will also be one or two 10(?) pin connectors with USB written next to them that connect to any USB sockets the case has. These will be shaped so they'll only go in the correct way.
5. Getting ready to put the mb into the case. Make sure the back cover that came with the motherboard is in place and the right way up. Remember, it's put in from inside the case, pushing outwards. They can be awkward to fit. In the past I've used the back of the screwdriver to bash each of the corners and make sure it's all the way in. Remove the covers for whichever expansion card slots you'll be using from the case. If it's a cheap case that's just stamped metal you might need to hold the tip of the screwdriver against it hit the back to get it started (like a hammer and chisel, only the screwdriver is the chisel and your palm is the hammer). More expensive cases usually have them held in place with clips or screws that are easy to remove. Make sure the risers are screwed into the case — if in doubt, measure them so you know they line up with back cover compared to the sockets and screw holes on the mb. They look like small, hexagonal, long-headed screws with another screwhole in the top.
6. Put the motherboard in. Once the risers are screwed in, the back cover is in place, and you've removed the tabs you'll be using, carefully lower in the board. You might need to twist it around a bit to get it past all the cables that are attached while holding the power supply over it so you have enough slack to move it. You can use the heatsink as a handle for this, which makes it much easier. Be careful not to drop the board or scrap the back against the risers as this could damage the it. Aim to get the block of sockets at the back lined up and pressed up against the cover you put in, then lower the board onto the risers. Once the mb's screwholes are sitting on the risers, screw it in firmly, but not tightly (as a rule, don't screw harder than you can manage using only your fingertips).
7. Put in the power supply. It'll either go at the top or bottom of the case. Make sure the vents on the power supply line up with the vents in the case. Screw it in from the back of the case.
8. Hard drives. Depending on how much room you have in the case you might want to do this before putting in the board, but that can leave the drive sticking out which makes getting a complete mb in even more awkward. They'll go in sliding front to back or side to side, depending on the case. Cheap cases are usually front to back which does mean the motherboard can get in the way of putting it in. Once it is in, connect the loose SATA cables from the board to the drive and the power cables from the power supply. You'll probably need to take off the other side panel from the case to screw the drive in properly or to plug in the cables if the disk goes in side to side. The DVD drive (assuming you get one) is mostly the same aside from needing the cover to be taken off the front of the case first. This does mean you can slide it in from the front, rather than needing to manoeuvre past the motherboard.
9. Add the peripherals. This usually just means the graphics card for most PCs. Hopefully you took out the (probably) 2 tabs on the back of the case — and they were the correct tabs. For a graphics card, you just push it into the large slot nearest the CPU. At worst you might need to push the tab at the back of the slot that holds it into place. Connect it to the power supply, the pins will be shaped so they only fit in the correct way.
10. Arrange the cables so they don't obstruct the fans and aren't too loose, put the sides back on the case and plug the peripherals in (keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, network cable, plus any extras). After that you can install an OS of your choice either from a DVD or a USB. You might need to sit there tapping the delete key when it starts up to get into BIOS and tell it what to boot from.
I've tried to make it as comprehensive as possible, I don't think I've missed anything but I am going off memory. This is intended for a cheaper first build so more elaborate stuff like watercooling and dual GPUs isn't included. Anyone else wants to point out stuff I've missed, please go ahead.
