11 April 2023

Tips for building a PC yourself

It's 2023, and even now there's not a single website that provides all the necessary selectors or an AI which can help users identify, compare and select PC parts based on what has been successful in the market and based on which of those parts are actually in stock at retailers or wholesalers.

There are however some tools and tips I'd like to share, which can help newbies. My old Gigabyte motherboard (bought in 2012) stopped working recently for no apparent reason, when I resumed it from suspend mode. There were no POST beeps, and the CPU fan would twitch, but wouldn't start. 

If I rotated the fan by hand, it'd continue spinning on its own lazily. These problems probably started after an automatic BIOS update (which probably happened because of Windows 10 being present), and the motherboard's sudden stoppage appeared to be due to planned obsolescence. There are quite a lot of other people posting similar problems on Tom's Hardware forums. 

So the PC upgrade began with a new SMPS. 

Buying an SMPS/PSU

It is said that the length of warranty a manufacturer provides, is an indicator of the quality of components used in an SMPS. Check for overvoltage protection and short-circuit protection. There's no need of going more than 150W above your power needs. A bad PSU can erupt in fire.


On researching various available brands, these were some points I noticed from various reviews:

There are published lists of the quality/efficiency of PSU's:

You can verify the 80+ certification of a PSU (a lower wattage SMPS is more power-efficient when idle, so you can save electricity by getting the correct wattage instead of a higher 80+ rating):

There are websites that offer an SMPS power calculator (many may not be very accurate):

Observations from reviews:

  • Ant ESports: Said to be of cheap quality. Unstable voltage.
  • Antec: Reviews say it has bad customer support, missing cables, damaged cables, and the SMPS blew up for one person.
  • CoolerMaster: Not necessarily good, but may have some good models.
  • Corsair: Was said to be good earlier, but suspected to have cheap parts now, since more than one customer reported a sparking noise and for one person it failed in a year. The plugs are not meant for India (I don't understand why they can't supply a different plug), so you need an adapter. Said to have good customer support (which is handled by a franchisee in India).
  • Zebronics: It blew up for at least one person. Couldn't handle sustained load. The higher power SMPS actually had an 80+ certification.
  • Artis: One of the cheaper quality PSU's. A user had trouble waking from suspend. No fluctuation protection.
  • NZXT: Said to be good. Acro Engineering in Bangalore is the service centre franchisee. They were responsive. Comes with a ridiculously huge 16A power plug which won't fit into any of your 6A sockets. However, even their official customer support in Spain was helpful and responsive. They confirmed that for my power needs, I could use an old 6A power cord I had.
  • Asus: Good quality and good warranty. However the Bangalore service centre does not handle SMPS servicing.
  • EVGA: Said to be good and said to honour their warranty.
  • MSI: Could be good. Service centre was responsive, but background noise at the centre didn't allow me to confirm if they handled SMPS servicing.
  • Seasonic: Among the best. But expensive. One User said his SMPS failed within a year and he had to ship it to Kolkata to get it replaced. But the entire process of replacing it took just one week.
  • ThermalTake: Among the best. But prohibitively expensive.

Precautions:

  • Make sure you buy from a reputed brand that offers a 5+ year warranty (Seasonic and ASUS sometimes offer 6+ year warranties). A stable voltage supply, various power conservation features and part quality matter, when it comes to keeping your motherboard and peripherals safe.
  • For the wattage, seek out an SMPS whose wattage number is "continuous" (steady maintenance of that wattage) rather than "peak" (can reach that wattage only for short periods). 
  • A multi-rail SMPS is advised if there's high voltage fluctuation in your area. There are three basic rails: +3.3V (PCIe/AGP, chipset and some DIMM), +5V (PCI/AGP, low voltage motors, SIMM), and +12V (PCIe/AGP, high voltage regulators, motors). SB is Standby voltage.
  • See if it helps to plug the SMPS into a voltage stabilizer.
  • Understand and verify the documentation about the pin connections that are required for your motherboard. I remember a person who had to put his 600W PSU for sale online because he didn't check the number of power connections his motherboard required.
  • Check for the number of SATA power connectors and molex connectors.
  • PSU's like Seasonic and NZXT come with a 16A plug, which won't fit into any 6A sockets in your room. See the pic below (the service centre said it's ok to use a 6A power cord, and online reviews say that you shouldn't use a 6A adapter with a 16A cord, since the current and wire thickness difference can cause overheating). If you will be doing a lot of high performance computing, it'd be worth hiring an electrician to install a socket which can support the 16A plug. Don't take risks with electricity.

Buying RAM

Don't be tricked by the RAM frequency shown. For DDR4 RAM, the base frequency (the frequency it runs at during normal operation) it runs at is 800-1600MHz. The effective frequency (when you enable XMP in BIOS) is 1600-3200MHz.
 

Precautions:

  • Also, be aware of RAM latency. Check the CL number printed on the RAM.
  • Make sure the motherboard you choose, supports the RAM version and frequency.   

Some RAM brands:

  • Corsair (likely a good brand. Origin: Taiwan)
  • GSkill (probably a good brand. Origin: Taiwan). They were one of the first and probably only brands to ensure Rowhammer safety.
  • Crucial (probably good, but these usually have a higher CL number, so are likely to be slower, so don't go by just the price)
RAM usually works well for very long, unless overclocked frequently. So even if you can buy second-hand RAM, it's ok.
 

Buying a processor

I used to think that Intel processors were superior, but I was wrong. AMD seems to be manufacturing better processors. When selecting a processor, it helps to make a table containing the processor price, name, speed (normal/boost), socket type, L1/L2/L3 cache sizes, wattage (base/max), cores and threads per core, launch date, maximum RAM and maximum channels. The smaller the nm of the processor, the more transistors they can fit into a chip, and the more power efficient the processor will be. If you aren't into serious gaming, it also helps to have a processor with an integrated GPU (called APU).
To understand how defective CPU's are classified, watch this video. 
Note: People say that you need to change the thermal paste often. That's probably a myth like how dentists say you need to visit them every 6 months.

Buying a motherboard

Search for "motherboard nomenclature", and you'll see articles mentioning what the "Prime", "TUF", "ROG" etc. portions of the board name means. For example:
MSI PRO boards are lower quality compared to MSI MAG boards. The order is as follows, with the names on the left of the less than sign being worse quality.
  • PRO < MAG < MPG < MEG.
Same way, for ASUS boards it is:
  • Prime < TUF < ROGStrix < ROG.
The names mentioned above are the board series names. Strix E is the best. Strix F is the second best. Strix G is a Micro-ATX and Strix H is ATX. With motherboards designed for Intel chips, the G means it is GPU optimized, and S means it is storage optimized.
The Z790, B650 etc. are the chipset names.
The model names are P, Gaming, ProAX, etc.

Precautions:

  • Select the right chipset which matches the processor. Motherboard manufacturers usually publish a processor compatibility list.
  • If you choose a motherboard that does not support overclocking, you don't need to select a processor that supports overclocking (unless you plan to switch the processor to a different motherboard later).
  • The boards with WiFi are generally not worth the extra money unless you will actually use WiFi and Bluetooth. The alternative is to buy a separate WiFi card when you need one.
  • Go to the official motherboard specifications page and ensure it has all features you need. These include NVMe, PCIe, onboard speaker, USB ports, display ports, LAN, audio and PS2 port if you ever need it.
  • Have a look at the number of pins required for the CPU power, and ensure that your SMPS provides it. 8 pins is the standard, but some have a second optional power connector with 4 pins for people who want to overclock.
  • Check for XMP support (also called AMP, EOCP or DOCP).
  • LED boot lights are helpful.
  • Check if the processor has integrated graphics. Also called APU for AMD processor. These are CPU's with GPU's built in. Some can be so powerful, that you won't need an extra graphics card. For example, the Ryzen 5 5600G has an APU that's equivalent to an NVIDIA GT 1030.
  • Check for warranty duration and service. 
  • Check for whether they have a history of stable BIOS updates.
  • Check for BIOS flashing and BIOS reset options. 
  • Be aware of the DPC and R terms.
  • Look through reviews and posts on forums for complaints about particular motherboards.

Customer support

This is an essential part of selecting a product. The customer service centers should ideally be in your city, else you'll have to ship it to another city. Before buying the product, it also helps to call up their customer support number or email, and ask some question to see how they answer it.
  • ASUS: Said to have good service. Their Bangalore customer support is handled by F1 Infosolutions at Cunningham road.
  • MSI: Bangalore customer service at F1 Infosolutions, Kalyan Nagar. They said they'd probably have to send the motherboard to Delhi for inspection. Their website has a page for registering the product.
  • ASRock: Bangalore customer service at Smartlink network systems, Jayanagar.
  • Coolermaster and Crucial: Bangalore customer service at Kaizen Infoserve at NR road, near Majestic. 
  • Gigabyte: Service center is in Chennai.
  • NZXT: Bangalore customer service is at Acro engineering, near Lalbagh. The service person was responsive and helpful.

Useful sites

Building the PC

  • Do not keep the motherboard on the anti-static bags. It is made of conducting material. You can however keep it on cardboard that has no print on it. 
  • When tightening or removing the screws of the cooler, remove the screws diagonal to each other first. If you remove the screws adjacent to each other, the spring action can make the cooler whip outward, possibly ripping the processor out and damaging the pins.
  • Before removing the cooler, run the CPU for a while to get it hot. This will make the thermal paste a bit more fluid.
  • It's ok to have XMP enabled for the RAM in the BIOS. But it's also necessary to run Memtest for a few passes to check if the RAM is functioning right, because if the RAM isn't at the right frequency, it'll cause the PC to crash at random points of time. Even if Memtest passes during the first pass, it can detect RAM failure during the next pass. So make sure you let it run for at least 3 passes. If it detects errors, you can go back to the BIOS and lower the RAM frequency and run Memtest again. Do this until the tests pass, and that's the stable frequency you can settle for.

HDD vs. SSD

Definitely buy an SSD instead of an HDD. If you have an old HDD, then install your operating systems on the SSD and attach the HDD as a secondary backup storage. There are options like NVME/SATA/M2 that you can consider.

DVD/BluRay writer

If buying any of these, buy one that can be connected to the PC via USB, because then it allows you to connect it to a laptop or any other computer easily.

Selecting a UPS

There's the ordinary "Online UPS", the "Line interactive UPS" and "Standby UPS". Choose carefully, based on your voltage stability needs.

Pre-built configurations

The shops selling PC parts may also have some pre-built configurations that you can choose if you don't want to go through the hassle of choosing parts. There are also plenty of PC building online forums where you can ask for advice, you can post your proposed PC configuration and ask if it's good enough. There are websites where you can check if the parts you are buying are good enough for the games you plan to play.
 

Final tips

  • Don't be in a hurry to buy. Plan it out well, and based on exactly what your needs are.
  • Buy more RAM and storage space than what you estimate you'd need. It's always worth it. 
  • Buy a large computer cabinet. It helps when you want to install a large modern graphics card even if you may install it only later. 
  • Think of what other accessories you'd want. A mousepad with good grip would be good. A computer cover isn't really necessary since it's simpler to cover the computer with a table cloth.
  • Do your research about mechanical keyboards and try buying one of those (there's a difference between the ones which internally have blue, red and brown keys). Search for the ones that have Cherry MX keys instead of the cheaper Chinese alternatives. Also look for ergonomic keyboards. If buying a membrane keyboard, the quality of Microsoft keyboards may be a lot better than others.
  • Check if you really need an extra graphics card or whether an APU (integrated GPU) is sufficient. You always have the option of buying a graphics card later if you really need it. 
  • Search for computer cabinets that may have an extra slot for inserting SD cards. Also, test every slot of the cabinet before bringing it home. Once I got a cabinet where the front mic and speaker connectors didn't work. 
  • Since dust may enter computer cabinets, there are certain kinds of filters that can prevent dust from entering. I'm not sure if it is useful. A few searches and asking around on forums can help you figure it out. 
  • Search other websites for anyone planning to sell off their computer. Some people try selling it off just because they are leaving the city, so if the person is reliable you may get a good PC and it gives you a great chance to bargain.
  • When going to places like SP road, first ask around in multiple shops for prices. The shops will generally give you a quotation for each part you want to purchase. Search online for which shops are good, and go to those shops. Going to good shops matters a lot so that you don't get cheated, and if there are any issues, the response of the shop owners matters. Decent owners will be helpful. Shady ones will tell you to get lost. I have had trouble with defective/fake items from unreliable shops.
  • Ask your friends if they also plan to buy something. First talk to the shopkeeper saying that only you plan to buy, and ask if he could give any discounts. Then ask how much more of a discount he could give if you ask your friends also to purchase from his shop. Try strategies like these to get a good bargain. Ask an AI to give you more tips.
  • At SP road, some shops do the PC assembly at the shop itself, and some of them outsource the assembly (done for free) to another shop. The other shop is usually a cramped up messy place where the assembly is done in a very amateurish way, so make sure you insist that the assembly be done at a safe place.
  • Ask the shopkeeper if there's any advantage in getting the PC assembled at their place and if there's any discount if you choose to do the assembly yourself. Also, whether they'd replace the parts then and there if found to be defective during assembly.
  • You could take the parts home and try building the PC yourself, but I'd recommend having some experienced person guide you. 
  • It's always better to buy a PC instead of a laptop, because you get much more performance for the money you spend. If mobility really matters, it's usually better to spend lesser to buy a tablet or one of those tiny laptops which have no fan requirement. Any heavy processing can be done on the cloud. 
  • Go to the shop well prepared, and with all necessary technical terms in your mind. If people see that you don't know your stuff, they are more likely to charge higher or trick you. 
 
Remember: When you pay for something you have the right to get it done the way you want.
 
All the best with building your PC!!!

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