Five Things You Need to Know when Building Your Own Computer
Whether you’re looking to build your first computer or your looking to try your hand at it again there are a few things you really need to know. With all the information across the internet and all the how-tos out there it is easy to forget about some of the most important parts of building your own machine. Not to worry though as I’m going to share with you my top five things that you need to know when building your own computer. I have built many over the years and these five things have always saved me a ton of time.
If you use an old hard drive all your saved data will be lost.
The first thing you need to know when building your own computer is that you can’t just plug in your old hard drive and get going. In rare cases a similar motherboard may recognize the drive, but in most cases you will have to format your drive in order to use it. If you would like to keep your data and avoid having to transfer it over to a new hard drive to save it, simply purchase a small hard drive to store your OS on and set your old hard drive as a slave. Another option is to transfer your files to an external and then re-upload them once you have your computer up and running, but the first option is much faster.
The ram compatibility tables for your motherboard are not always reliable.
When buying ram you should always go buy the motherboard compatibility specs, but also know that this isn’t a one hundred percent guarantee that the ram will work While a motherboard company may have it listed, there is a chance that the company could not actually work with the manufacturer to ensure that the two were compatible. To be certain that you get ram that works, call the manufacturer of the motherboard and ask them which ram has been tested and proven for compatibility.
Blue screens can be caused by loose or unplugged cables.
One of the worst things to happen when you are building your own computer is the dreaded blue screen of death. It’s beyond frustrating to spend all the time building your computer only to have it all come crashing down in a few seconds. Often times however, this can be fixed by simply checking all the connections in your machine and making sure that your ram and video card are properly seated.
All power supplies are not created equal.
When building your computer it can be easy to get the cheapest power supply for the wattage you need, but you should be careful when doing so. In the case of a power supply you should always go with a name brand and one that has a good reputation. A bad power supply can easily fry your entire system and improper voltages could damage your components overtime. Most name brand power supply companies not only offer great advanced RMA features, but they also insure your components up to two thousand dollars. This means that if their power supply is found to be the cause of your computer damage they will pay for repairs and replacement in full.
Water cooling doesn’t guarantee the lowest temperature.
While water cooling is touted as the best for system cooling, fan cooled machines actually tend to run cooler depending on location. The reason for this is due to the fact that water cooling is localized and even though it cools your direct components it doesn’t push out the hot air inside your machine. This will cause your internal temperature to be much higher then what you would have if you used fans instead. If you don’t have air conditioning or you want to overclock then water cooling is your best bet. If you do have air conditioning though, use it to your advantage and get fan control and have part of your fans push the warm air out and others bring the cool air in.
