Al said:
In what % of times would a first-time builder put together a computer and
have it turn on and function the first time you turn on the switch?
OTOH, what are the major pitfalls that produce failure? Are most failures
able to be overcome without having to replace parts? Thanks.
You'll have about, I'm guessing only from experience, 0% success rate.
You'll have the floppy cable on backwards, lights wired up with incorrect
polarity, the machine shut itself down because the heatsink isn't properly
seated, or something will have gone wrong. It's all part of the experience.
Now, if you mean how likely are you to have defective hardware, or a serious
mishap that fries hardware, I'd say lady luck is definitely in your favor.
I've yet to have a bad board, CPU, memory, graphics card, HDD, CD/DVD,
floppy, PSU, or any other piece of hardware. I've built 6 computers now,
and haven't had a major hardware issue to speak of. I have had to do some
troubleshooting, as I've outlined earlier, and you will too.
You can avoid a lot of troubles by following this advice: you get what you
pay for, usually. I see people on here all the time spending oodles of
money on the latest/greatest processor, motherboard, graphics card, or
whatever, and put it in a case that cost them $40 with a 500 watt power
supply included. What do you expect will happen with such a bargain power
supply? You got it - trouble...
So keep this in mind:
* Get a case that has plenty of cooling, and lots of room to work in there.
You don't necessarily need a case that has a removable motherboard tray, or
drive rails, or anything fancy. However, quality cooling fans with, at
least, the option of adding more should be considered a minimum.
* Get a quality power supply. A quality 300 watt PSU will usually actually
give you more juice, and less fluctuations in current, than a cheap 600
watt PSU. Good brands are Fortron and Antec. I, personally, like Antec
because I can get a good case and a great power supply together cheaper
than I buy them separately.
* Quality, name brand components will ensure a good, trouble free build.
Buying a PC Chips motherboard will almost guarantee you more trouble than
an Asus motherboard.
* Buying the latest/greatest motherboard isn't always the best idea.
Usually, boards go through revisions that stomp out problems and change
some parts either to upgrade them or get rid of problematic parts. Also,
new technology is sometimes untested for flaws, and later implementations
are often more stable and perform better.
* Buy parts that have some life expectancy. It's kind of silly to buy a
Socket A motherboard to build a new system, when AMD is ending its life
cycle. Socket 939 boards are the way to go, since you'll be guaranteed that
you can upgrade your processor for sometime in the future.
* Assess your needs before you buy. If you don't plan on either gaming or
designing 3D graphics, it's just plain dumb to go out and buy an nVidia
6800 Ultra graphics card, since 2D performance will see no improvement over
a much cheaper FX5200 card. However, consider what you _MIGHT_ do with it
in the future. You may not be into editing video, but maybe you'll have a
kid next year and get excited and buy a digital camcorder and want to do
it. If you didn't have the foresight to buy a motherboard with built-in
Firewire, you'll have to spend money to add that feature in, or upgrade
your existing hardware. So, maybe you'll find yourself into PC gaming down
the line, and maybe a 6800 Ultra is silly to buy, but possibly springing
for a 6600GT would be a good idea.
* OEM parts will save you money, but you only get a factory warranty with
retail parts. That's important, because some retail houses are difficult to
RMA parts to. Factory warranties are usually longer than OEM store
warranties, too.
* Buy from reputable dealers. Personally, it's rare that I buy anything over
the internet from someone other than either
www.zipzoomfly.com or
www.newegg.com. They simply have the best service to price relationship.
Sure, I can get on
www.pricegrabber.com or
www.pricewatch.com and find a
cheaper price somewhere else, but a bargain is not always a bargain.
Usually, I get 2nd day shipping free from either ZipZoomFly or New Egg, so
that usually offsets the artificially low price you'll see on those price
hunting websites.
* Take your time, and follow the instructions that come with your
motherboard. Make sure all motherboard risers have a hole and all holes
have a riser. Make sure the IO panel doesn't have any metal that contacts
internal pins on any of the back ports it comes in contact with, before you
turn on the power. Make sure all cards are properly and completely seated
in their corresponding slots. Make sure the processor seats correctly when
you install it, and the heatsink is properly and completely seated. Once
you build, mentally go through a checklist to see if you forgot to do
anything, before you turn it on. Keep your cables tucked under and out of
the way, and make sure the path for air to circulate from the bottom of the
front of the case to the top of the rear is free of any obstructions.
* Last but not least, cross your fingers and hope for the best as you flip
the switch...
