Among those who have the financial ability and knowledge to go about building their own gaming PC, doing so can be both a value-adding and rewarding experience. At the same time, if you’re attempting this process without the proper knowledge levels (or assistance from professionals who carry them), you could be exposing yourself to several mistakes that will risk the quality of your entire setup.
At Xidax, we’re here to help avoid this issue. We’ll work with you the whole way through the process while you build your own gaming PC, assisting you with all the proper part selections and other needs to ensure you don’t fall victim to any of the common errors we see made while building a gaming computer. What are a few of these mistakes, and how will we help you steer clear of them? Here’s a rundown.
For those building their first gaming PC, thermal paste refers to a thermally conductive chemical that’s used in gaming and other computer formats as an interface to maximize heat transfer and dissipation, plus create a better connection between your CPU and heat sink. Inadequate thermal paste usage is very common — on both ends of the spectrum.
Some beginner computer builders apply far too little thermal paste, and this leads to improper coverage that impacts the heat transfer ability. This can result in overheating, which can show itself through random game crashes and other problems over time.
On the other end of the spectrum, you also risk thermal paste application that’s too thick — especially on processor heat plates that are shoddily applied or designed with sharp edges. Thicker applications aren’t optimal, and they can create excess pressure that can result in even more heat-related problems. At Xidax, we’ll ensure you have the best working knowledge of proper thermal paste application to avoid either extreme.
The power supply is another area where mistakes are often made — usually due to ignorance about wattage requirements for higher-end units.
On the one hand, you could have a person who selects an underpowered power supply for their high-end machine — which can be just as serious as picking too low of wattage to begin with. This can result in performance issues that are similar to those created by using inadequate thermal paste, but it’s even more damaging due to the fact that you’re actually risking damage to parts of your rig.
A power supply unit that doesn’t offer enough wattage can lead to brownouts and other problems, which is especially true for those who decide to use multiple graphics cards or hard drives within their system. On top of performance issues, it can also risk damaging the motherboard, CPU, and other crucial components.
What makes it even worse is if you mix and match quality levels of power supplies. An older 500-watt PSU that just barely has enough wattage to run an economy-class graphics card could need more than 1,000 watts when powering a high-end model with two or more video cards. In this situation, using a lower wattage PSU could cause parts to burn up faster than usual — and in some cases, burning your house down in the process.
Motherboards will come with a varying number of RAM slots — any where from one to six. The last thing you want to do is try to force your memory modules into slots where they don’t belong, or skip slots that could benefit you in the long run. This will only result in problems when it comes time to install additional memory later on — and even worse, if you accidentally misalign your RAM, you could risk damaging it.
The average gamer will have no issue selecting the proper RAM slots when building their system, but if you get too ahead of yourself with overclocking, triple-channel memory configurations, or simply installing more hardware into your gaming rig, understanding how to properly install your memory modules becomes crucial. At Xidax, we provide lifetime support to our customers — so if you ever have questions about how to install your memory, just ask.
Another of the simplest and most common errors we see from first-time builders is incorrect installation of components.
Many people make the mistake of assuming that they can simply install their CPU and graphics card, then add all the other components afterward — but this isn’t a wise move, because it won’t allow you to see how your system runs. This will prevent you from identifying potential problems before they arise, such as conflicts with your CPU and graphics card, as well as simply not having a power supply with enough wattage to support the system.
With that said, it’s also important to avoid mixing and matching hard drive controllers, even if they’re from the same manufacturer. While the chances of this becoming an issue are slim, it can be something you’ll want to avoid in order to ensure the stability of your system.
The last possible mistake we want to mention is installing too many components at once — this can cause your first boot-up attempt after successfully assembling your gaming PC to fail, which means you’ll need to do some troubleshooting if it doesn’t work properly on the first try. The best way to avoid this issue is to start by installing the most crucial components, such as your CPU and power supply, before moving on to additional parts.
For more on the most common kinds of mistakes we see made during a custom gaming PC build and how to avoid them, or to learn about any of our gaming computers or workstations, speak to the team at Xidax today.
