PC Build - Likelihood of epic fail?

[stuartbisset]

Hi Guys

I asked for help a few months ago in putting together a spec for a machine, which you helpful people duly provided. I haven't yet plucked up the courage to build it. As a newbie, what I'm wondering is, what is the likelihood of me buying the parts listed and the machine just not working?

There's a few things that I worry about but I don't know how much I should be worried, if that makes sense. It's a lot of money to spend without having complete confidence of a successful outcome.

- are there physical parts not on the parts list that I should know about but I don't. eg thermal paste wasn't on the list but i picked that one up. But are there others lurking?
- will there be software & drivers that I need to have lined up and ready to install (over and above drivers supplied with the parts purchased). Stuff that experienced PC builders just DO as a matter of course without having to think about it.
- are they any configuration checklists that I could/should read to get max benefit from each part. Eg I accidentally spotted someone on a forum saying "remember to enable XMP on your motherboard BIOS otherwise it will run at a measly 2133MHz default" which I would not have known.
- are there any PC builder bibles out there that newbies should just have, before starting?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts

Kind regards

Stuart

 

[thx1138v2]

Likelihood of an epic fail is very low.

The thermal paste is included with the cooler. If you want to totally understand the machine you're building before you start download and study the manuals for each part listed.


Software and drivers you will need will come with the operating system you install. There may be a few drivers that need updating but automatic update should find and install them.

There's nothing that an experienced builder does that they don't think about. That's key while you are building your first machine. Take it slow and understand what you are doing before you do it.

By the time you have a bootable machine you will understand a lot more. Max benefits can wait until you have your machine up and running and are comfortable with it. The you can start working on maximizing the hardware/software you have.

The more analysis you do up front, the easier it will be to fit it together in your head before you start. There are gazillions of "PC builder bibles" on the web. Search "How to build a PC". By necessity they are fairly general because of all the different possible combinations of components. That's why you need to look at all the manuals for the specific parts you buy.

Here's one builder's guide. A lot of it is about selecting parts which is already done for you but it's worthwhile just for the information and there are specific building instructions near the end.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-your-own-pc,2601.html

An important point to remember is that if you do run into a problem once you have the parts in hand you can always come back here to clarify the issues. But you'll need to have the parts in hand so you can relate what is said to your specific build.

 

[stuartbisset]

Thank you

 

[smorizio]

pick up a Phipps screw driver that has a magnetic tip. the tip hold the screws on when you screw down the mb without dropping them into the case. on the mb read what comes with the mb. for sata cables. some mb have one some time they have more then one and there lenth. i would order 4 cables 2 18 inches and 2 24 inches long. you dont want to stress the sat ports there thin and can snap. your better off having a little extra cable lenth. if your case is a tall case the 8 pin cpu power cable may be too short. may have to by a 8-12 inch pci power extention cable. with nothing on the mb line the mb up with the standoffs in the case. dont put the io shield in at this time. after you line up the mb and standoffs put the io shield in and then with the mb flat on the table put the cpu/ram and cooler on. then move the mb into the case. with just the mb and ram in power up the mb if your mb has onboard video. go into the bios and watch your cpu temps and voltages. let the pc sit there for 20 min or so if the temps are fine (30-40c). if the temps are fine check the bios rev of the mb at this time. if it old download the newest bios to a usb stick..reboot back into the bios and use the bios updater inside the bios. after you flash the bios and it reboots. set the bios settings. (xmp prifile on...if your going to use a gpu set the display to pef/pci. make sure the sata ports set to achi mode. at this time keep fast boot off..after you cable the pc you have to go back into the bios set the boot to usb first to boot off usb stick. if your going to have ssd and hard drive. dont plug in the hard drive at this time. it easer to see one drive in windows set up then seeing more then one drive and trying to install windows on the right drive. the drivers on the mb cd will get you up and runnning but they mayh be 6 months or more old. check the age of the drivers on the mb vendor and intel or amd web page and the other chipset vendor web page. (ethernet/sound). put the newest drivers on the windows installer usb stick in a folder called drivers. when you get into windows install the newest drivers. then run windows update. if everything is installed there should not be any misisng drivers under system devices. two mistakes new builders make is tossing out the boxes and not sending in the warranty cards/registered there products. if your product does fail you want the box to ship the part back without it getting shipping damage. one big killer of pc we see here on toms is food/bev into the top of pc. if your going to do a lot of long gaming and eating/drinking..try using long cable and keep the pc away from drinks/spills. use spill proof cups. i lost a few keyboards to coffee spills.

 

[stuartbisset]

Thanks Smorizio, finally got round to buying the gear and building today. Your notes are very helpful