Were you nervous on your first build?

[PianoPlayer88Key]

So far I've built two computers, one in 2008 and one in 2015.  Yes, I waited that long before upgrading - in my case it was lack of funds.  (My build in 2008 was a budget build, so if I'd had the money I would have built a system around the i5-2500K when it was out, and may have still been using it now.)

 

I don't remember being particularly nervous, I just was careful for the most part.  In the most recent build, the room I was building in was carpeted, but we have a plastic floor mat sitting by a desk.  I did most of my building on that mat, although I did have to walk across the carpet frequently.  I forget whether or not the humidity was below 20% (not unheard of around here), but I didn't kill any parts.

 

Also installing my 212 Evo on the most recent build was the first time I've installed an aftermarket CPU cooler with a backplate.   (In my 2008 build, I used the stock cooler.  Also that case had no cable management behind the tray whatsoever.

 

It's AFTER building that I've had a couple "uhh what's going on?" moments.  First time I saw my CPU hit 100°C in Prime95 (28.7 small FFT) was one, and another recent one was a BSOD with WHEA_UNRECOVERABLE_ERROR when trying to push my CPU multiplier to 47 (on my 4790K, all other settings at defaults, using ASRock Tuning Utility).  Also I've had occasions where my GPU drivers would crash.  I did some research at the time and they suggested disabling Intel HD, but that's the only GPU I have right now.  The problem has since resolved itself, but I had thought I might need to get an emergency cheap GPU, like a GT 720 if new, or a GTX 460, 275, or 9800 GT if used.  (I am planning to get a GTX 1070, pending reviews and Polaris info.)

 

And, around February / March 2012, my 2008 build's motherboard passed away.  I didn't have the money to replace the platform (and at that time getting a new board that supported the Athlon 64 X2 4000+ wasn't practical or possible), so I used my dad's laptop (Dell D830 with Core 2 Duo T7250, 2 GB RAM, etc - he's STILL using it now!) and my Android smartphones until I built my current PC.

 

Oh, I guess I've kinda "built" a third, if you count my Clevo P750DM-G barebones laptop.  Bought it barebones around Nov/Dec 2015, installed the CPU, RAM, HDD, SSD (later), Windows, WLAN Card (later), etc.  Oh, and cleaning the thermal paste off the GTX 970M (cause I took the heatpipe assembly off so I could install the i3-6100) and reapplying paste (I used the stuff that came with my 212 Evo) felt like a learning experience.  Thankfully I didn't mess anything up.

 

[cummerou1]

To avoid static electrity build the computer naked......

[Tosa]

17 hours ago, OnionRings said:

I don't even have a wrist band or anti static mat, one of my friends said to just plug in my PSU make sure its off and just touch it here and there to transfer out static, will that work? If not where can I get a wrist band cheap locally, would walmart have them? I have a jar full of quarters lmfao.

The difference between using wrist band and just touching the case is that the wrist band has a little electrical resistance in it so you won't get shocked. 

[Godlygamer23]

17 hours ago, Pesukarhu said:

Anything that is metal and properly grounded will work for discharging static. Anything with a 3 prong plug and a metal case basically. Just touch it regularly.

Some paint on power supplies is non-conductive. Touching the outside may not work. 

[Godlygamer23]

17 hours ago, OnionRings said:

Oh jesus. Oh yea that made me want to ask, are all cpu coolers (high end ones anyway, not stock) huge with thermal pipes and shit? Can you just buy a really good fan for like 20$? I don't even plan to overclock so I doubt I'll need the huge thingy.

Depends. You can also get water coolers, but that just moves the size from the CPU area to the case area(due to the radiator). When you're talking about dissipating heat, you may need something that large, and when you want to dissipate heat, the physical sizes of the coolers may increase for the additional cooling capacity. 

[Citadelen]

It was the second most stressful thing I've ever done.

[Fraknus]

Was I nervous? I started my first build shaking a lot. I was so nervous, I thought I was gonna break every component. And don't get me started on how scared I was mounting the cpu cooler. I started building at 8pm and finished at 6am.

[OnionRings]

Well if amazon hurry's the hell up with my ram and keyboard I'm ready to build, everything else arrived today.

[Mihle]

I was nervous, but I don't do anything to prevent static electricity.

 

Nothing died.

[OnionRings]

6 hours ago, Mihle Gaming said:

I was nervous, but I don't do anything to prevent static electricity.

 

Nothing died.

Congrats, I'll take pre cautions cus im poor and if I lose a part well... rip

[Godlygamer23]

9 hours ago, Mihle Gaming said:

I was nervous, but I don't do anything to prevent static electricity.

 

Nothing died.

Static electricity will not necessarily cause problems at first - the overall reliability of the assembly may be reduced. Additionally, it depends on your environment. Static electricity is less likely to develop in high humidity environments as I find consistently when getting out of my car. 

[yourmomitouched]

lol I was extraordinarily stressed out. Who wouldn't be? You're putting together (in my case) about $1,000 worth of delicate components. But I just watched some videos and read some guides and everything went smoothly. Very happy with my PC now. And the static thing, yeah, I think the power supply idea is effective. Plug in PSU and turn it off, and keep touching it. I know sometimes people have outlets that aren't properly grounded, but messing around with a homemade radio experiment a while ago let me know that the particular outlet I was using was indeed grounded (long story).

[Tech_Dreamer]

of course , i had to look up several times to see that if i placed the CPU the right way, checked & rechecked again & again & making sure that orientation was exact it was nerve wrecking , the rest of the procedures was fairly easy

[david31160]

I was nervous when I built my first and current PC. I built it for some reason next to the front door and I installed the CPU and RAM in the kitchen. I was weird 9 months ago.

[boozetrodamus]

On 5/19/2016 at 4:45 AM, cummerou1 said:

To avoid static electrity build the computer naked......

You know this is probably to be funny, but it's what I did lol.  Figured metal glass table, anti static mat and no potential static clothes.  Even so, even watching tons of videos and reading the manuals I was still super nervous, I mean after all, I was using my own money.  It took, way longer than it should've, and I even posted here when it didn't work, though it was my fault, there was a fan out slot on the motherboard I decided to plug a power IN into, bad idea.  Still I'm not even 3 months later and I already feel the itch to upgrade, I bought gear based on my funds, but now with a raise, I want better, I have 8 GB DDR3 Ram, I just bought 16 GB more, I've got a GTX 950,  but now I'm thinking I need to go bigger.  I've got an Atholon 860k, but whats 4 cores when you can have 8?  About the only thing I don't feel like I need to upgrade is the 850 watt power supply.  My CPU came with a cooler which I attached and I havent had any issues, even running games on high settings while streaming on twitch and listening to youtube, and yet every video I see has some gigantic sized cooler on it.  I dunno though, I got the afterburner software and my PC rarely goes above 60c, I don't see a reason for a huge cooler, I dunno still learning I guess...  I've begun to ramble, eitherway, yes, was crazy nervous when I built this guy a few months ago, incredibly proud though.

[steezemageeze]

I wasn't nervous at all, but my dad was freaking out and paranoid about everything. It was super annoying because he kept doubting my knowledge and didn't trust me to do anything.

[OnionRings]

1 hour ago, steezemageeze said:

I wasn't nervous at all, but my dad was freaking out and paranoid about everything. It was super annoying because he kept doubting my knowledge and didn't trust me to do anything.

Dude I feel you my sister keeps doubting me. " So you're building it yourself? (yes) Ok..... " " Are you sure you know what you're doing? " 

[Rammix]

I remember the first time I unwrapped a motherboard I was handling it like a bomb. The worst part about my first few builds was the old style CPU heatsink clips sucked arse. I was always extremely nervous about putting screwdriver through the motherboard..   

[WolfDeville]

Nah not really

[OnionRings]

I just searched my area's humidity as per to the previous discussion about static, today is 90%

[Godlygamer23]

10 minutes ago, OnionRings said:

I just searched my area's humidity as per to the previous discussion about static, today is 90%

Static electricity is much less likely to be stored. 

 

The main thing about static electricity is not the amount of current, but rather the voltage. Walking across carpet can generate as much as 20,000V, and when you have sensitive electronics, it's easy to see how tiny components can be affected by it. 

[OnionRings]

8 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

Static electricity is much less likely to be stored. 

 

The main thing about static electricity is not the amount of current, but rather the voltage. Walking across carpet can generate as much as 20,000V, and when you have sensitive electronics, it's easy to see how tiny components can be affected by it. 

Right, well as said earlier I'll be doing this on wood floors on a wood table so I think ill just touch the PSU here and there, the most static I should build would be on clothes. I'll have to change my clothes first though cus there's a uh... kinda... cat in my lap, getting hair everwhere.

[Lurick]

9 minutes ago, OnionRings said:

Right, well as said earlier I'll be doing this on wood floors on a wood table so I think ill just touch the PSU here and there, the most static I should build would be on clothes. I'll have to change my clothes first though cus there's a uh... kinda... cat in my lap, getting hair everwhere.

Kitty cats are awesome expect when you're holding sensitive components and they decide it's the perfect time to rub against your legs

[OnionRings]

Just now, Lurick said:

Kitty cats are awesome expect when you're holding sensitive components and they decide it's the perfect time to rub against your legs

Lol right?

[OnionRings]

2 minutes ago, Jonnyswboy said:

A little, but it got worse once I plugged it in and powered it on to find the motherboard smoking. LITERALLY SMOKING! But Asrock sent a new one so it was all good.

Oh no don't say that. No smoke, nonononono.