Ranking parts by difficulty to upgrade/replace

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motrcolt

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Jan 11, 2018
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TLDR: Can you guys help me with ranking different computer components by how difficult they are to change out for new parts.

Components such as: Processor, motherboard, graphics cards, power supply, storage, RAM, and fans.

I'm looking to buy a new desktop and I want to buy one that is a solid base, but which I can upgrade as I get more funds with which to work. I don't have any experience building one myself however and am going to by an Aventum 3 from digital storm as my base, paying extra for not only labor but support they can give me.

Anyways, my worry is that when I want to upgrade a component later on I will be hesitant to do so because of my lack of experience actually changing the parts. For this reason I'm more inclined to buy the final version of certain components that I currently want that are harder to change out such as the motherboard being difficult from what I understand. The harder a part is to upgrade the better one I'd currently want to get, but say a graphics card is easier to install, I'd probably get a cheaper one currently as it would allow me to get my base computer sooner.

Anyways thanks for any help and guidance!
 
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From most difficult to least

1) psu (you know, you spent so much time doing cable management, and now it’s all coming down)

2) gpu (unscrewing the pcie slot cover, and carefully taking out the gpu without toppling the system.)

3) cpu: You have to get it out of the slot cover and gently bring it out without damaging any pins

4) mobo (unscrewing the mobo without damaging the pcb)

5) fans (unscrew them...done)

6) ram (flip up a set of buttons, pull the stick out, done)

7) storage (push the edges of the caddy, pull it out, done)
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From most difficult to least

1) psu (you know, you spent so much time doing cable management, and now it’s all coming down)

2) gpu (unscrewing the pcie slot cover, and carefully taking out the gpu without toppling the system.)

3) cpu: You have to get it out of the slot cover and gently bring it out without damaging any pins

4) mobo (unscrewing the mobo without damaging the pcb)

5) fans (unscrew them...done)

6) ram (flip up a set of buttons, pull the stick out, done)

7) storage (push the edges of the caddy, pull it out, done)
 
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Solution


I would put the motherboard at #1.
You have to do ALL the cable management again
You may need to actually do a full reinstall of the OS and applications.
You have to swap all the other parts. CPU, RAM, GPU, often even remove the fans.

Basically, rebuild the whole thing.
 
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GPU, RAM, drives...all pretty easy.
However...buy the RAM you want now, as a full kit. Adding more RAM later may not work with the original ones.
 
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Can’t quote, but to USAFret’s comment, I didn’t notice. Thought mobo layouts were identical so I didn’t take cable management into play. I guess it would. I’d probably put it in #1 or #2 depending on the layout.
 
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Yes, motherboard layouts are 'mostly' similar.
But you have to take EVERYTHING else out to swap the board.
 
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