What was your first computer?

[LemonSpice]

First PC I built is my current one. My recommendation for new builders would be to spend a LOT of time researching, and ask around on forums, it really pays off.

Thats the way most people should go about it along with spending much more on their gpu than cpu if they are planning to do any type of gaming

[AllstaRawR]

Oh another tip is don't build computers like I do, you wont have the same luck.

 

I build on my carpet, with no antistatic wristband, usually with a diet coke sitting very close to where I'm building.

 

Built at least 15 times by now, I pretty much always lay everything on the carpet and assemble it there. Haha.

[LemonSpice]

Built at least 15 times by now, I pretty much always lay everything on the carpet and assemble it there. Haha.

i do it on the floor with my dog running all over the place as she walks all over the parts

[SeriouslyMikey]

My first one had an AMD processor that I cant remember the name of and a 6870. 

Always replace the thermal paste and never touch it. I did and I found my CPU over heating a fair bit. 

[_wky]

My first one is in my sig.

Numerous problems, parts arriving DOA, parts dying for no reason.

 

Made my own lighting which was probably more hassle than it was worth.

[LemonSpice]

My first one had an AMD processor that I cant remember the name of and a 6870. 

Always replace the thermal paste and never touch it. I did and I found my CPU over heating a fair bit. 

also buy isopropel alcohol that stuff is godlike at removing thermal paste

[SeriouslyMikey]

also buy isopropel alcohol that stuff is godlike at removing thermal paste

 

I have none of that. I use some stuff from ActiClean. It smells nice. Not that I recommend sniffing the CPU.

[LemonSpice]

I have none of that. I use some stuff from ActiClean. It smells nice. Not that I recommend sniffing the CPU.

also microfiber cloths are really nice to finish off the left over pieces of toilet paper

[Fgtfv567]

Oh another tip is don't build computers like I do, you wont have the same luck.

 

I build on my carpet, with no antistatic wristband, usually with a diet coke sitting very close to where I'm building.

Are you hacking life?

[GuestForeverX]

I built my first almost 1 year ago(Late November). The only problem I had was a defective gpu which luckily I had a cheap $30 one from the last pc to test with. Neweggs RMA process was quick and easy though, so I was gaming next week.

 

My regrets are:

I should have gotten an Open Air GPU since the 230mm side fan would actually benefit it greatly. (Reference EVGA GTX 660)

I probably should have gotten a cheaper case since I don't need Five 5.25" Bays.

Since I don't have any new Demanding games (BF4, Titanfall, Ect) and not really planning on getting them for a bit. I probably should have gotten a Better 2GB Graphics Card Instead of a lower 3GB card. 

Also I regret buying a $90 gaming headset. I recommend buying a $7 mic with some decent headphones, and plugging into back with virtual Surround software. SO MUCH BETTER.

[Diederik_Gr]

Yea what case did you use

Its a Coolermaster K-380. Really liked the looks of this case, but i didnt do alot of research on this case and was left disappointed. I heard good things about coolermaster, and i expected this case to somewhat represent the quality, which people have told me that they delivered. I'm looking around for something around €100 now, and the Fractal Design R4 is one i've been hearing alot of good news about.

[LemonSpice]

Its a Coolermaster K-380. Really liked the looks of this case, but i didnt do alot of research on this case and was left disappointed. I heard good things about coolermaster, and i expected this case to somewhat represent the quality, which people have told me that they delivered. I'm looking around for something around €100 now, and the Fractal Design R4 is one i've been hearing alot of good news about.

yea thats a very nice case you should try also looking at the h440 it has better cable management and airflow but its all up to looks for you

[Chillstice]

The first computer that I built was for a home computer replacement as well as functioning as a server machine for media and game servers.

 

No matter what I did, I couldn't get it to boot into windows for more than one session. Restarting the computer would cause it to start and instantly shut down. Replacing the CPU in the socket was the only clear, short-term solution as it would give 1 more session. It was total bs. Just one day it started working.

 

It was never operating at optimal performance compared to it's specs, so I decided to replace the TIM and check the CPU. Upon further inspection, there was a bent pin on the mobo. I used this video to bend it back, and now there are no more problems.

[Keudn]

First PC i built was this one (it has gone through some major upgrades). The only problem I had was my PSU was faulty and would randomly shut off for no reason. Took me a week to figure it out, but got a new PSU and everything works great. 

 

• Watch reviews on cases and power supplies
• Use PCPartPicker!!!
• Use cpubenchmark.net to see where the CPU you are looking at sits
• Find the game benchmarks of the games you want to play for the GPU you are looking at
• Get 8GB+ of RAM (unless you are on a really tight budget)
• Don't skimp on storage space, I got a 1TB drive and with a steam library at around 500GB now it is almost full
• Get an SSD if you have the budget for it
• Try to color match your motherboard, RAM, GPU, fans/CPU cooler, and case, it will look MUCH better, especially if the case has a window
• Don't get a Z77/87/97 board and a K cpu if you don't ever plan on overclocking!
• If you do get overclockable parts OVERCLOCK them, seriously its free performance even if its a moderate overclock
• When you build the computer follow a video guide, I personally used NewEggs how to build a PC videos but there are TONS of videos that explain step by step how to build it
• If you have problems do a Google search, if that fails post here someone will help

[questman]

What gpu where you using

an evga geforce gtx 660 superclocked

[LemonSpice]

Pcpartpicker is one of the best tools you can use for building a new pc as long as you arnt using socket 2011 because they do not have cpus or motherboards for those parts and motherboards

[LemonSpice]

put most of your budget towards your graphics card

[Camcognito]

My fist pc I built is the one I have now, and the only slight problem I had was the standoffs. My advice would be to try to have clean cable management, and do some research and post on the forums.

[Lynx]

my first built was for gaming and it was kinda stupid; intel core i5 760, MSI P55, AMD HD5670, 2GB RAM, when building it i didn't seat the RAM correctly because i worried it would break if i push it to hard, so of course the PC would not boot in, and only after i ask some help to my friend i realised my mistake, lol. and the PSU was a generic PSU that came with the cheapo case, i even tried to OC the cpu, well luckily no part get burn and the motherboard always reset to default setting when my OC gone wrong. also after playing Crysis for long period of time it would shutdown and won't turn on for a while thanks to the crap PSU.

 

When building your first PC, it's better get some direct help/recommendation from someone to make sure that you didn't skip in any part/step, and give some troubleshooting in case if something wrong, it could save you alot of time and headache.

[JoaoPRSousa]

My first build was the one I currently use, the one on my sig

[mariohead123]

I just recently built my first PC, one major tip is don't freak out if you're computer doesn't turn on or something happens that's not supposed to. It's probably just something really simple that you can fix if you have patience and are willing to. Example: I just tried to put in a dvd drive and in the process knocked my 24pin power connector loose, I didn't know that it was loose and I thought that I had shorted my motherboard haha.

[LogicalDrm]

I built one today for a friend. We had following troubles:

- Tight PSU cables. The Silverstone Strider PSU had really tight cables so we had couple of hickups while trying to get it started with loose cables.

- Quality faulty screws on 212. One of screws on 212 was faulty and resulted to removing almost installed cooler, cleaning it and reinstalling it.

- Insufficient screwdrivers. My friend had only too small screw drivers. This made tightening all screws bit hard. And loosening them too.

- SATA cables. If you get mobo with 90dec SATA ports, go for cables that are straight on both ends or have atleast half of them.

 

I'm slow and careful builder overall so I rarely have major issues while building.

[HectorPunch]

My first build was back in 2004 (I think) and had a single core AMD sempron, 512mb ram, ATI 9550, 80gb hdd I think, and I reused a case from an old family computer. Since then I've only built about 12 more for myself and friends. It's an expensive hobby but I can't see myself giving it up easily!

My tips would be: you can never do too much research, have a clear large enough space to work ( anti static etc) don't rush and keep calm at all times.

[LeopardChurch]

My first build was the one I’m using right now.

Processor:  I7 2600,

RAM: 8 GB Kingston value ram (kvrD3N9 1333Mhz)

 Motherboard: MSI Z77A-GD65,

 PSU: XFX Black pro edition 1000W

 CPU cooler: Cooler master’s TPC 812

SSD: Kingston v200

HDD: Western digital green

GPU: MSI 660TI PE/OC

Case: Cooler master's HAF XM 932

Just by looking at that you could say that back then I had a poor judgment. I think you’re right, still regret nothing. As far as troubles while building I had none, just clumsy hands when installing the CPU cooler and applying the thermal compound.

For future builders I would say: work in a table with plenty of room, use ESD protection, keep all tools at hand’s reach and make sure you’ve got a bloody OS install media, I will never forget I put it together and had to take the SSD off, put it on my sister’s notebook and install windows on there because I only had a install disc and no thumb drive.

[Almercenary]

Top tip that you shouldn't be dumb enough to make if your not me: Plug the monitor, into the GPU, not the motherboard.

Also don't cheap out on stuff like PSU's and cooling.