If you followed the official, How Do I Build a Computer thread, you likely have found out that building a PC is relatively painless, and thanks to connectors and parts being keyed, they only go in one way.
In fact, it's gotten to the point that people call it Lego's for adults. There's never been a better time to build a PC than now.
However, while the thread does a great job in selecting parts, and putting it all together, it doesn't really go over some common traps you're likely to fall into.
So let's go over these pitfalls to make your build experience hassle free.
What my posts aim to do, make things convenient.
DON'T CHEAP OUT ON YOUR POWER SUPPLY:
With modern PC components being more powerful, and more power efficient, I feel it's prudent to start with a pitfall on power supplies. I've seen far too many builds by newbies trying to save a buck by going with an El Cheapo power supply. This is likely to end in pain.
Your cheap ass PSU when it fails.
The reason why is that cheap power supplies from no name brands often don't have efficient internal components that can't even deliver the amount of power that they're advertised to deliver.
The reason why this is a path to the Dark Side is that if you use a power supply calculator, you may discover that your system only requires 350W to run, and then thinking it's okay to go with a bargain bin special power supply, that's not even 80+ certified from a brand you've never heard of.
Now, if you do find a deal on a power supply from a reputable manufacturer like Corsair, Cooler Master, EVGA, Thermaltake, and the like, that's at least 80+ certified than great! But if it's something from a brand you don't trust, that's not 80+ certified, don't trust that power supply to supply your system with power.
The real danger is that when a power supply fails, it often takes something with it, and in some extreme cases, the whole system.
Don't be cheap on the power supply. Buy a good quality one from a reputable manufacturer that's at least 80+ certified. EVGA, Cooler Master, Corsair, SeaSonic, and Thermaltake make top notch quality power supplies.
This is my power supply, and while you can't see her, she's beautiful, and she knows it!
IF YOU WANT TO RUN MORE THAN ONE NVIDIA CARD, LOOK OUT FOR SLI CERTIFICATION:
So you bought a baller power supply, because you want to run multiple video cards, and you checked the motherboard manufacturer and the CPU to make sure it has enough PCIe lanes to allow for this. So you should be good to go right?
If you plan to run multiple Nvidia video cards in SLI, you have to check if the motherboard you plan on using is certified for SLI in the specific configuration you plan to use.
On the AMD side, things are a little easier for you, as Crossfire (AMD's version of SLI) only requires the aforementioned PCIe slots. Still check to make sure that your motherboard is SLI and Crossfire supported before you plan to go this rout.
SCREW IN THE GRAPHICS CARD:
This is a simple thing to overlook, as motherboard manufacturers these days are offering reinforced PCIe lanes to accommodate large and bulky graphics cards that tend to sag a bit more than previous models.
Modern problems require modern solutions!
While sag is something that case and motherboard manufacturers are offering solutions for these days, and as you can see, there's more fun ways to combat GPU sag, this doesn't mean that you avoid screwing in the graphics card after you inserted it into the PCIe slot.
Even if the slot is reinforced, you should still finish the installation and screw it down.
Ron Swanson giving sage advice!
BALANCE YOUR BUILD:
So you've purchased a baller graphics card that can crunch numbers and blast rays, and is the cat's pajamas (with the price tag to match), and you think you're good to go. But, unfortunately, due to the price of the GPU, you skimped a bit on the CPU, and bought an El Cheapo Intel Pentium, because it's all you could afford.
But, you were told that the GPU matters more in a gaming system, so you figure it'd be okay right?
Not so fast.
Imagine your GPU is Usain Bolt. Now imagine that cheap Pentium as a ball and chain tied around Usain Bolt's ankle. Do you think that Usain Bolt can run as fast with a ball and chain around his ankle? Naturally, Usain Bolt is effectively crippled in this scenario.
If you paired a $500 graphics card with a $50 CPU, this is effectively what you've done to your GPU. It won't be able to run at peak performance because the CPU is bottlenecking its performance.
If you needed a meme to drive this point home, here you go.
Thus the best way to avoid this is to balance your build, and buy parts that will logically work with each other. If you buy an AMD Threadripper 2990WX (a CPU that costs in the neighborhood of $1600+), don't pair it with a cheap $39 graphics card and expect that CPU to run as fast as it's able to. If you plan to overclock Threadripper, don't rely on stock cooling solutions (and Threadripper doesn't come with a stock cooler anyways), as it will likely overheat and start to throttle, capping its performance. If you plan to overclock your baller CPU, buy a cooling solution to allow you to do it.
If you plan to use an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (a video card with a hefty $1200+ price tag), pair it with a CPU that won't cramp its style and will aid it at running at peak performance.
Speaking of which....
PLUG YOUR MONITOR INTO THE GRAPHICS CARD:
This is something so easy to forget to do, that I've seen posts from some newbies on r/pcmasterrace complaining about their GPU being crap, and lo and behold, they plugged their HDMI into the motherboard, with the GPU basically sitting there with its thumb up its ass.
Don't be that guy, plug your monitor into the graphics card to get all of that juicy performance you likely spent good money on.
There are more PC Building Pitfalls, my dear readers, so stay tuned!
In fact, it's gotten to the point that people call it Lego's for adults. There's never been a better time to build a PC than now.
However, while the thread does a great job in selecting parts, and putting it all together, it doesn't really go over some common traps you're likely to fall into.
So let's go over these pitfalls to make your build experience hassle free.
What my posts aim to do, make things convenient.
DON'T CHEAP OUT ON YOUR POWER SUPPLY:
With modern PC components being more powerful, and more power efficient, I feel it's prudent to start with a pitfall on power supplies. I've seen far too many builds by newbies trying to save a buck by going with an El Cheapo power supply. This is likely to end in pain.
Your cheap ass PSU when it fails.
The reason why is that cheap power supplies from no name brands often don't have efficient internal components that can't even deliver the amount of power that they're advertised to deliver.
The reason why this is a path to the Dark Side is that if you use a power supply calculator, you may discover that your system only requires 350W to run, and then thinking it's okay to go with a bargain bin special power supply, that's not even 80+ certified from a brand you've never heard of.
Now, if you do find a deal on a power supply from a reputable manufacturer like Corsair, Cooler Master, EVGA, Thermaltake, and the like, that's at least 80+ certified than great! But if it's something from a brand you don't trust, that's not 80+ certified, don't trust that power supply to supply your system with power.
The real danger is that when a power supply fails, it often takes something with it, and in some extreme cases, the whole system.
Don't be cheap on the power supply. Buy a good quality one from a reputable manufacturer that's at least 80+ certified. EVGA, Cooler Master, Corsair, SeaSonic, and Thermaltake make top notch quality power supplies.
This is my power supply, and while you can't see her, she's beautiful, and she knows it!
IF YOU WANT TO RUN MORE THAN ONE NVIDIA CARD, LOOK OUT FOR SLI CERTIFICATION:
So you bought a baller power supply, because you want to run multiple video cards, and you checked the motherboard manufacturer and the CPU to make sure it has enough PCIe lanes to allow for this. So you should be good to go right?
If you plan to run multiple Nvidia video cards in SLI, you have to check if the motherboard you plan on using is certified for SLI in the specific configuration you plan to use.
On the AMD side, things are a little easier for you, as Crossfire (AMD's version of SLI) only requires the aforementioned PCIe slots. Still check to make sure that your motherboard is SLI and Crossfire supported before you plan to go this rout.
SCREW IN THE GRAPHICS CARD:
This is a simple thing to overlook, as motherboard manufacturers these days are offering reinforced PCIe lanes to accommodate large and bulky graphics cards that tend to sag a bit more than previous models.
Modern problems require modern solutions!
While sag is something that case and motherboard manufacturers are offering solutions for these days, and as you can see, there's more fun ways to combat GPU sag, this doesn't mean that you avoid screwing in the graphics card after you inserted it into the PCIe slot.
Even if the slot is reinforced, you should still finish the installation and screw it down.
Ron Swanson giving sage advice!
BALANCE YOUR BUILD:
So you've purchased a baller graphics card that can crunch numbers and blast rays, and is the cat's pajamas (with the price tag to match), and you think you're good to go. But, unfortunately, due to the price of the GPU, you skimped a bit on the CPU, and bought an El Cheapo Intel Pentium, because it's all you could afford.
But, you were told that the GPU matters more in a gaming system, so you figure it'd be okay right?
Not so fast.
Imagine your GPU is Usain Bolt. Now imagine that cheap Pentium as a ball and chain tied around Usain Bolt's ankle. Do you think that Usain Bolt can run as fast with a ball and chain around his ankle? Naturally, Usain Bolt is effectively crippled in this scenario.
If you paired a $500 graphics card with a $50 CPU, this is effectively what you've done to your GPU. It won't be able to run at peak performance because the CPU is bottlenecking its performance.
If you needed a meme to drive this point home, here you go.
Thus the best way to avoid this is to balance your build, and buy parts that will logically work with each other. If you buy an AMD Threadripper 2990WX (a CPU that costs in the neighborhood of $1600+), don't pair it with a cheap $39 graphics card and expect that CPU to run as fast as it's able to. If you plan to overclock Threadripper, don't rely on stock cooling solutions (and Threadripper doesn't come with a stock cooler anyways), as it will likely overheat and start to throttle, capping its performance. If you plan to overclock your baller CPU, buy a cooling solution to allow you to do it.
If you plan to use an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (a video card with a hefty $1200+ price tag), pair it with a CPU that won't cramp its style and will aid it at running at peak performance.
Speaking of which....
PLUG YOUR MONITOR INTO THE GRAPHICS CARD:
This is something so easy to forget to do, that I've seen posts from some newbies on r/pcmasterrace complaining about their GPU being crap, and lo and behold, they plugged their HDMI into the motherboard, with the GPU basically sitting there with its thumb up its ass.
Don't be that guy, plug your monitor into the graphics card to get all of that juicy performance you likely spent good money on.
There are more PC Building Pitfalls, my dear readers, so stay tuned!
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