[SOLVED] advanced tips to increase PC life??

[Grealish01]

hello, as already mentioned in other threads I have to buy a PC for a person. The use will be programming, 3D design and some gaming. The fact is that for several reasons he needs the PC to last them a lot (more than 7 years) and he told me (as a non-hardware expert) not to focus so much on performance as on durability and longevity. now I ask you: taking into account the use that this person makes of it (programming and design) do you have any general advice (perhaps not too trivial since I also understand a bit) to make a fixed PC last longer? so for the long duration I refer both to the hardware components, but above all to that via software.

 

[Zerk2012]

Nothing really you can do on the software side since he must use the programs he needs.

Not much on the hardware side either other than buying a motherboard with adequate power delivery for the CPU, a good quality power supply, and having adequate cooling for everything.

Just buying the most expensive parts you can find is also not a answer, any part of a PC can fail at any time nothing you can do about it.

 

[USAFRet]

1. Good airflow. AKA - Don't let the components get too hot.
2. Don't knock it off the desk.
3. Avoid malware, with good PC practices.

Other than that, there is no magic.

 

[USAFRet]

Add to the above - 4. From Day 1, start a comprehensive backup routine.

 

[geofelt]

Some good comments ^^^^^

A pc is more likely to become obsolete before it will fail.
As an example the graphics card may, in the future become inadequate for gaming.
Or, the currently envisioned apps might change.

One key item is to include a Quality psu. It should have a 7 to 10 year warranty.
If possible storage should be a ssd, with no moving parts it can be expected to be more reliable.

Puget systems has a report on hardware reliability:

Most Reliable PC Hardware of 2021

Here at Puget Systems, our goal is not only to provide the fastest workstations possible, but the most reliable as well. As a part of our constant drive to offer only the highest quality components possible, we track and regularly review the failure rates for each part we carry. Today, we want...

www.pugetsystems.com

Lastly, while failure rates are small, failure does happen.
There should be plans in place to handle not only hardware failure, but malware, ransomware, viruses, and even operator error.
External backup should be planned for.

You might also want to include a good UPS and surge protector.
They are not cheap.

 

[kanewolf]

Stable power input -- Quality UPS with automatic shutdown
Stable power internally -- High quality power supply

 

[Inthrutheoutdoor]

All those things already mentioned, PLUS....

Just be sure to keep the insides clean & free of dust build up everywhere, which will cause components to overheat & DIE, DIE, DIE much sooner than normal

Also, since this will be a somewhat upper-end build, go with solid state drives, either SATA or preferably nvme, as both have zero moving parts inside and therefore will be one less potential point of failure to worry about, at least from a purely mechanical perspective anyways......(although they can & will eventually fail too, but hopefully only after a long, productive life)