If you love technology you’ve probably considered building your own PC – so what’s stopping you?
If you’ve got the knowledge then why not give it a try? With so many companies such as XP Power offering an array of components to help you create your ultimate PC, and with some foreshadowing the end of the PC era, now is the perfect time to start building.
Here are our top five tips.
Plan Before Building
It goes without saying, before doing anything, make sure you plan. This applies to building a new PC too, because the last thing you want is to get all the way to the end and realise you’ve forgotten something essential – resulting in you having to take the whole thing apart just to start again. So, although it may sound obvious, make yourself a checklist beforehand and tick everything off as you buy it before you begin.
Test Before You Build
Now that you’ve got everything, you’ll want to ensure it works, which is why testing is highly important. The chances of receiving a part that doesn’t work upon arrival is very rare, but can still happen, which could result in a nasty surprise if you get to the finish line to discover your PC doesn’t work. As you won’t know which part it is, you’ll have to take the whole thing apart, start again and re-test them anyway – so make sure you do it first time around.
Keep Thermal Paste Under Control
This may sound a bit silly, but you’ll be surprised at the number of people who argue about this simple step. So, what is the best way to apply thermal paste? The most efficient way is to apply a small pea-sized blob or a thin line the width of a grain of rice in the middle, then insert in your heatsink and start screwing. The pressure of this will spread the paste for you.
Airflow is Essential
Making sure your computer doesn’t overheat is essential – it’s probably something you’ve known since owning your very first PC. Therefore, ensuring your fans are facing the right directions when being inserted is highly important – you’d be surprised at the number of people that get this wrong.
Do You Need Those Driver Discs?
All those important parts such as the motherboard and video card probably came with CD or DVDs containing drivers and software. You can probably skip putting these in, as they’ll often be outdated by the time the computer is built and also contain software you don’t want.
These are just a few things to keep in mind when building your computer, but the most important bit is acquiring the perfect parts to ensure your build stands the test of time.