How hard is it to screw up building a pc?

[GrandBandit]

I was incredibly worried my first build, but really, I laid all the parts out on my desk and looked at it. I watched a ton of videos (even before discovering Linus) and just put it together like I was building lego's way back when. It's nothing to be worried about, seriously, just watch videos and get a feel for how it's going to go together. 

[DeViLzzz]

Take extra precautions if you are worried about building one OP.  Buy an anti-static wrist strap on the cheap.  Also when building it take it slow and steady as slow and steady wins the race sometimes.  Uhmmmm refer to videos, manuals that come with your pc hardware and more as you build it and don't say "**** it" and be impatient and have it cause you to do something stupid.  I also have to say don't be afraid to use some force putting some hardware in place as despite what someone else said before getting things right sometimes requires a little more elbow grease to get the part seated properly. Lastly the thing that annoys me the most is the front panel connection process.  Oh the horror.  It hurts my hands tremendously to connect the case wires for various things to this.  It is easily the most time consuming thing for me when putting a pc together now.  

[CowsGoRoar]

It's really hard to screw up your build, but it's wayyy too easy to make tiny mistakes.

 

I think I forgot to put in the standoffs on the motherboard tray...  :unsure:

[79wjd]

Not really sure what you mean. All I was saying is if a standoff is in the wrong place, there is nowhere to even thread that corresponding screw into (even if you tried to use the wrong screw). Someone building a computer would notice if there is just a hole under the mobo where a screw is supposed to go. The mobo would then need to be powered.

 

If there are 9 screw holes holes on an ATX mobo and only 8 have a place to thread in a screw into, obviously something is not right.

 

Of course the important thing is that a misplaced standoff can most definitely short the board. The part that gets me is someone would have to not care/notice that a screw hole had nothing under it and then fire it up. I'm sure it has happened plenty of times though.

 

OP, personally I found mounting the cooler and organizing the cables to be the most time consuming. An extra set of hands would have made the cooler-mounting a snap, and a modular PSU would have made the wiring much much easier because you only have to manage the wires you actually use. Go for it!

My point is, you could easily just assume you screwed in all the screws as there doesn't have to buy an extra screw in plain sight (it could be amongst a whole bunch of other screws).

[KeltonDSMer]

My point is, you could easily just assume you screwed in all the screws as there doesn't have to buy an extra screw in plain sight (it could be amongst a whole bunch of other screws).

I see what your saying now, makes sense.

[AMD Lover]

building a computer really does look harder than it is, Paul from newegg did a VERY good how to guide like 3 years ago its a little outdated but the principle and what to do has not really changed

 

 

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Thats the videos I started out on, helped me a lot

[PirateCoffee]

Just do not do a lot of what this person does and you should be fine..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM7FoiieMms&list=UUQMEms3zgX-dmS2mttSJEYw

 

No freaking way.

NOT THE CARPET WOMAN!

OH GOD SO MUCH THERMAL PASTE

 

NO ONE EVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THIS

IF YOU VALUE YOUR PARTS.

 

 

I ALSO THINK SHE'S A HIPPY.. MAN...?

O_O

 

Taken from Comments

 

 

-working on carpet

-mITX mobo on a mid-tower(thank god you didn't get the 900D)

-1 ton of thermal paste on the cpu

- giant cpu cooler on a cpu that is cool and CAN'T be overclocked

-cable management non-existent on a perfect cable management chassis

-1500w power supply on a rig that can't use more than 450w(this is the most stupid thing you've done in this video)

 

[Syraz]

No freaking way.

NOT THE CARPET WOMAN!

OH GOD SO MUCH THERMAL PASTE

 

NO ONE EVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THIS

IF YOU VALUE YOUR PARTS.

 

 

I ALSO THINK SHE'S A HIPPY.. MAN...?

O_O

 

Taken from Comments

 

 

The carpet plus JUST SOCKS ON HER FEET!! 

[HJX2]

i have a carpet floor. i will be working on a wooden desk and have an anti shock strap.

 

is the carpet still of concern? i can always work in the kitchen i guess if carpet is a no go...

[Syraz]

i have a carpet floor. i will be working on a wooden desk and have an anti shock strap.

 

is the carpet still of concern? i can always work in the kitchen i guess if carpet is a no go...

 

I have worked on carpet with no issue, for me its the socks + carpet. Socks cause a lot of static most times with carpets

[PirateCoffee]

i have a carpet floor. i will be working on a wooden desk and have an anti shock strap.

 

is the carpet still of concern? i can always work in the kitchen i guess if carpet is a no go...

 

Carpet should be fine I believe if you have an antistatic wriststrap while you're working on the desk.

[Savant]

Unless you're a total dunce with tech, it's really hard to screw something up that's fatal.

[STRMfrmXMN]

Well putting the CPU in for the first time might be scary, but other things are easy. Just dont drop that hard drive!

Like when I dropped my Core 2 Quad putting thermal paste on it... It still works today but I practically sh*t myself...

 

Also, I've dropped my Seagate laptop drive so many times and it just keeps on going. Hard drives these days are much better than they used to be.

[Kingofpants]

How To Build a Computer:

I'm almost 32% sure you won't get your dick stuck in a toaster.

[wozzard]

the first pc i put together is bumpt into the socket with the cpu and the pins where bend(mobo wrecked), cause i tried putting in the cpu while the mobo was already in the case, so make sure you have anough room to do the delicate jobs with ease

so my pro tip: put the cpu in when the mobo is out of the case

[MeepLikesToBuildPc's]

 

 

You have to literally be mentally impaired to screw up building a computer. You have to wrench on your motherboard with your hands, you have to be in constant contact with a running Van De Graff generator in your bedroom, take a hammer to that PSU, make sure the golden triangle is going the other way, put toothpaste between your CPU and cooler and most importantly you have to wail that hard drive so hard against a wall.

If you don't do any of these things you will be fine.

Building a PC is way, way, WAY easier than most people think it is. All it requires is a sliver of common sense and patience. If you need any assistance, well, that's exactly why we're here. 

Good luck!

i might have done the toothpaste thing........ but it works fine!!

[IdeaStormer]

The screw up usually is minor and sometimes keeps you from starting up. Mainly,

 

* Not pre-measuring components, a video card that's too long, even if advertised to be a particular length the builder forgets to account for the power cords or another component (drive) bumping up against it

* Heat sinks which again advertise a specific dimension but the builder forgets that the side panel has a support beam/bar directly over it,

* Case power/audio/USB cables don't reach to that motherboards pins

* Case with the miss-aligned motherboard stand off holes where everything ends up tweaked and nothing fits right

* Power cords that don't reach or don't have the right plugs (mainly needing SATA and there's only molex or vice versa).

* Other mount point screw holes not lining up and causing secondary issues with other components like side panel not closing.

[Space Monkey]

It's easy to do it badly and hard to do it well. Like when I got my nice Coolermaster case, Enermax fans, Hyper 212 Evo, 250gb Samsung EVO and a R9 280X, nice QX 2710 120Hz 27" monitor - put it all together and, what do you know, it works great.

 

Then I look at the GPU temps in MSI Afterburner and it's cooking in there, it's so hot it's throttling itself and screwing up my fps. And then I proceed to just underclock it and forget about it for a year (yeah I procrastinate).

 

Yesterday I realised that the fans on the front were pulling air in... and the exhaust fan was... pulling nice hot dusty PSU/floor air directly into my case and the heat was pooling around my expensive 280X resulting in temps of 94 degrees. 

[LessThanSatisfactory]

Unless you do something really stupid, its really hard. The easiest part to screw up in is when you put in the cpu and as long as you have steady hands, its pretty easy. Just follow common sense and don't force anything. Never force anything. 

[Leonard]

It is very easy to screw up a PC build for a new builder. Just with plain old static electricity you don't even have to plug anything in.

[KemoKa]

It's easy to do it badly and hard to do it well. Like when I got my nice Coolermaster case, Enermax fans, Hyper 212 Evo, 250gb Samsung EVO and a R9 280X, nice QX 2710 120Hz 27" monitor - put it all together and, what do you know, it works great.

 

Then I look at the GPU temps in MSI Afterburner and it's cooking in there, it's so hot it's throttling itself and screwing up my fps. And then I proceed to just underclock it and forget about it for a year (yeah I procrastinate).

 

Yesterday I realised that the fans on the front were pulling air in... and the exhaust fan was... pulling nice hot dusty PSU/floor air directly into my case and the heat was pooling around my expensive 280X resulting in temps of 94 degrees. 

you know what they say, if it works perfectly the first time you've done something wrong

[Keudn]

some things are pretty hard to screw up, others like static electricity or pushing the cpu in place is pretty easy if you don't know what you're doing

[Real_PhillBert]

Unless you do something really stupid, its really hard. The easiest part to screw up in is when you put in the cpu and as long as you have steady hands, its pretty easy. Just follow common sense and don't force anything. Never force anything. 

This is true.

 

If you have a basic knowledge on what your doing, take your time, and don't rush, you will have no problems.

[Prokart2000]

Just dont drop that thun thun thun

lol, (btw plz answer have you oced ur cpu)

[Trik'Stari]

The hardest part for me was organizing things, knowing where to start etc. The scariest part is putting your cpu in for the first time, I still do it with one hand gripping my other wrist to steady it.

 

It's basically just, go slow, don't force things, don't forget the cpu cooler, don't forget to plug things in, don't pinch wires between metal, etc.