Hardest bit of a PC Build

prospect

Okay, I have just completed my 3rd build, (all using ThermalTake cases), and am about to embark on my 4th, using a Fractal Design case.


All is going well, but so far the most annoying part of the build for me is getting the motherboard interface block to fit snugly into the tin/aluminium punch out sheet at the back of the case. Each time it has gone pear shaped on me. Am I missing something obvious?

Anyone care to share some tips/annoyances they have learned/gathered from experience building PC's?

Skerries

for me the worst part is tidying the cables, so now i just can't be bothered and just shove them anywhere as long as they're not in the way

VenomIreland

Heatsinks, I hate installing heatsinks.

Always afraid I'll break something, ended up needing the help of my 12 year old brother to install the Mugen 3 in my last build.

Burgo

Yeah cable management can be a nightmare, especially if you have an old or just a smaller case and a non modular psu, not fun times.

Monotype

VenomIreland wrote: »

Heatsinks, I hate installing heatsinks.

Always afraid I'll break something, ended up needing the help of my 12 year old brother to install the Mugen 3 in my last build.

I think this is probably the worst thing in recent builds. Smaller and stock ones are fine but the mugen takes nearly as long as the rest of the system (*checks fingers to see if any signs of red marks are still there*).

I'm getting really sick of installing and setting up windows. Before, I'd have everything nicely sorted but now everything gets thrown into default folders. ninite gets used a bit more now too. Thankfully windows 7 sorts out a lot of drivers so there's much less work. Even linux is good these days.

Calibos

VenomIreland wrote: »

Heatsinks, I hate installing heatsinks.

Always afraid I'll break something, ended up needing the help of my 12 year old brother to install the Mugen 3 in my last build.

I was second guessing myself about my build last night and wondering had I done the right thing in ordering a Corsair H100 water cooler instead of the cheaper Mugen or Noctua D14 heatsink and fans. Was re-watching all the review youtube videos for all three again last night. The H100 at best equaling the D14 but louder. Was really starting to think about popping off an email to HWVS to change the order. Then I came across the video that reminded me why I picked the H100 in the first place. Not because it was any better or quieter but because its easier to setup, doesn't hide all the other beautiful components on the mobo (Wanna do a windowed side panel on the Corsair 600T) and isn't the weight of a bag of spuds hanging off the i5 2500K . Found another video which was a tutorial for building. The Noctua quite literally took up 3/4 of the surface area of the mobo and stood as tall as the mobo was wide. Comical looking!

ED E

@OP: I hate removing that blanking plate to fit the mobo insert, always a pain to get out.

5uspect

****ing plastic intel pushpins. Recently installed a Noctua NH-D14 in my cramped Antec 300. Lovely and easy to install considering the size of it.

Cable management can be a chore but you really have to take your time with it and plan it as you add components.

Burgo

Installing the CPU, always think im going to break something, "press lightly on the load lever" yeah right!

deejer

Calibos wrote: »

Then I came across the video that reminded me why I picked the H100 in the first place. Not because it was any better or quieter but because its easier to setup, doesn't hide all the other beautiful components on the mobo (Wanna do a windowed side panel on the Corsair 600T) and isn't the weight of a bag of spuds hanging off the i5 2500K . Found another video which was a tutorial for building. The Noctua quite literally took up 3/4 of the surface area of the mobo and stood as tall as the mobo was wide. Comical looking!

I think if you choose the right after market air cooler it can look well (probably needs to be a big enough case too). Some of them, like the D14 do a great job of cooling but do take up alot of space. I like the the Akasa coolers also like the Venom with the cap on top.

I had to get this adapter for my Megahalems cooler. It made it expensive but putting it on and off is easy. Which is good considering its size.

I was thinking of something like the H100 when building - based on the fact that I thought they would be quiet. Glad I didnt go with it now considering its not!

*Back on topic*
Cable management is a bitch. When I set out to do my build I had hoped I could get mine to look like this (go to about 4.30min). Ya right! Put together another build lately for a home server and I just didnt have the patience. Put ALOT of hours into cable management on my last build and just not sure I got the return I had hoped for.

stephenmarr

hardest part
picking the components

deejer

stephenmarr wrote: »

hardest part
picking the components

its also the most fun

af_thefragile

Hardest part for me was the cable management.

PSU power cables and SATA cables are really not flexible and you really need to bend them and shape them to fix around your case neatly. It helps if you get an expensive case with good cable management, like a Corsair Obsidian case, but if you're on a budget and get a cheap case, it really can be a pain to get it all neatly organised.

The tip I'll give you is to not leave it for later. Do the cable management as you're putting together the components. If you leave it till later after the build, you'll have an almighty mess of cables in your case which will take your forever to organise and will possible require you to rebuild your system properly again.

So take your time while building the PC, don't rush it and make sure you're thinking about the cable management and organising the cables while you're doing it. It'll free you of a lot of pain and frustration later!!


Apart from that, I found building PCs to be fairly straightforward. Just make sure you read the instruction manual that comes with your case to know which cables are for what and how you're to install the mobo, fans etc. Its very easy to cock it up and not install the mobo properly with the wrong mounting screws/nuts and such, a very common newbie mistake and if you're not careful you can damage the mobo, I almost made this mistake but then I rechecked the very vague instruction manuals of my case and got it right and saved my mobo from getting damaged.

Calibos wrote: »

I was second guessing myself about my build last night and wondering had I done the right thing in ordering a Corsair H100 water cooler instead of the cheaper Mugen or Noctua D14 heatsink and fans. Was re-watching all the review youtube videos for all three again last night. The H100 at best equaling the D14 but louder. Was really starting to think about popping off an email to HWVS to change the order. Then I came across the video that reminded me why I picked the H100 in the first place. Not because it was any better or quieter but because its easier to setup, doesn't hide all the other beautiful components on the mobo (Wanna do a windowed side panel on the Corsair 600T) and isn't the weight of a bag of spuds hanging off the i5 2500K . Found another video which was a tutorial for building. The Noctua quite literally took up 3/4 of the surface area of the mobo and stood as tall as the mobo was wide. Comical looking!

That is one reason why I went with the Antec cooler myself and not a big Noctua cooler. The big Noctua cooler would completely obscure my pretty ROG mobo and then it would be a bit pointless spending the extra cash for the prettier looking mobo. Hence I went with the Antec cooler which only covers the CPU heatsink so you can see a lot more of the Asus ROG mobo in its cool black and red colours! Also the small heatsink of the CPU means I don't have to worry about heavy cooler hanging off the mobo while transporting or moving around the PC. Also although a bit noisy, I get excellent cooling with my Antec 720 cooler. Still have it running sock and idle/light load (internet and such) temps are around 30-35c (room temp around 25-27c as its summer) and on a prime 95 stress test, the max temp I've seen it about 56-58c. So I've got atleast 10c of headroom for overclocking!!