Mistakes are common in any field. Do you know, these 13 mistakes will cause significant damage to your computer? Don’t worry, you are at the right place to know how to avoid these mistakes.
If you don’t know about these mistakes, you make them when building your PC, and the results, your PC won’t turn on or it is giving a poor performance. Nobody wants a slow-performing PC. Right? So, you need to know these mistakes to avoid them.
From the beginner’s point of view, I consider these are the 13 common mistakes that a beginner can make. Let’s see what they are…
Here the list is in order so that you can understand the topic clearly and easily remember it while building your PC. Here is a guide to building a PC step by step.
Selecting incompatible PC components:
This is the very first and major mistake that most people can make. Especially for a beginner, it is a hard task to select the compatible parts of the computer.
Incompatible computer parts are useless. Your PC wouldn’t even turn on after the build. This incompatible problem mainly occurs with the five components. These are Motherboard, Processor, Stock cooler, RAM, and Graphics card.
For example, a motherboard supports an Intel i5 processor, but you bought an i7 processor. Then we say that a processor is not compatible with the motherboard. And the wrong selection of PC components is a complete waste of money and time.
Like this, all five components must be in sync within a PC build. Also, you need to check whether the motherboard is compatible with the SSD and M.2 storage.
Choose the matching port in both the Graphic card and monitor. This will help you connect the CPU to the monitor by not using the adapter or converter. High-frequency monitors must have an HDMI port.
Lack of Quality focus:
We all want to build a PC with the best specifications at a cheap cost as much as possible. This is a good wish and I agree with that. But some people focus on money only rather than the quality of the product.
For example, a normal Seagate 2 TB hard disk costs around $100. But in local areas, some hardware solutions sell the same hard disk for $30 or $40. There are various reasons for the fake products that are available at a cheap cost.
In 90% of cases, the local hard disk is fake, or it is an old and outdated hard disk compared to the new product in the market. And it leads to problems like crashing system files, Blue Screen of Death, etc.
Some of you may think this, “The same product comes with a cheap cost. Why should I waste my money on buying the product at a high cost? Here I can get two hard disks at that price. So I prefer to buy the product in the local store.”
Here is just my example. And my opinion is that not all the local stores are bad. But you need to be careful when buying the product in a local store.
Some people think about the quantity of the PC components, but not the quality. Always remember, quality is the priority in computer parts because a PC is a long-run machine we use every day.
Required parts not available by the time:
Collecting all the required parts for the PC build is necessary because it helps to do uninterruptible work when building the PC. Also, you get the cost of your complete PC build.
Just think, you have the complete parts which are required for the PC build, except an HDMI cable. We use the HDMI cable for connecting the CPU to the monitor. So, in this situation, you may turn on the CPU, but not monitor means the computer build was incomplete.
Without a monitor, we don’t know what’s going on within the computer.
My primary intention here is to say, each part is important in a computer. And keep all the compulsory parts in one place while building your PC. It helps you to be focused on your work without distractions. Here is the list of compulsory parts of a computer.
Touching the processor on the copper or circuit side :
This is the most problematic mistake among all these 13 mistakes. Maybe you can rectify your mistakes and get a solution in other cases. But in this case, the processor is a highly efficient and delicate electronic device.
A single processor has billions of circuits. Engineers in companies like Intel and Ryzen designed these circuits using Integrated Circuit Technology.
If you touch the circuit side of the processor, then the Integrated Circuits on your processor may get damaged by changing their positions. And also chemical reactions might be done with the microparticles on your hands. This will cause the entire processor to get damaged. In the worst case, both the motherboard and processor will get damaged.
To avoid this serious damage to your PC, don’t touch your hands or other things on the circuit side of the processor.
Thermal paste applied unevenly:
The thermal paste acts as a mediator. And we use this thing for contacting the processor and the stock cooler. In the entire PC, no element is hotter than the processor and no element is cooler than the stock cooler.
We use stock cooler massive cooling to control the temperature of the CPU. But direct contact is not useful because energy transfer through the thermal paste is more effective than direct contact.
But applying too much paste will cause a problem while locking the stock cooler on the motherboard. And also less paste will get you in trouble while using your PC and cause overheating. This is also a reason for the blue-screen error.
So, applying a drop of thermal paste in the middle of the processor is recommended. Do you know how often to replace the thermal paste on your PC? Here you can find it.
Improper locking of the stock cooler to the motherboard:
The too much thermal paste applied to the CPU is one reason for the improper locking of the stock cooler on the motherboard. Some people just ignore or forget to lock properly.
Nobody likes a weird sound coming out from the CPU. If you don’t fix the lockers properly, you may get this sound. It may lead to hardware damage in the long run.
So perfect locking is important while installing the stock cooler.
Forgot to place the IO shield:
Forgetting the IO shield while building the PC is one of the common mistakes. Most people don’t know the use of an IO shield in a CPU. And they simply ignore or forget this thing to place.
Mainly, the IO shield is used to protect the CPU from dust.
Along with the other uses, I provide information on how to place an IO shield in a CPU cabinet. You can find that information in the link below.
- Useful Read: Why do we need an IO shield in a CPU case?
Inserting RAM sticks unusually:
The RAM stick insertion is easy. But as a beginner, you may make the mistakes listed below.
- Touching the copper lines with oily and dirty hands
- Inserting in a reverse direction
- Forgot to lock the RAM unit
The first two things are the hard things to do, and they may lead to damage to the entire component. The third one, forgetting the lock system, doesn’t affect much.
Always remember, if your PC shows nothing when turning on, then there might be a problem with the RAM stick insertion. So, avoid these mistakes and insert the RAM stick properly.
Improper motherboard connections:
Motherboard connections are simple but important. Front panel connectors are the most important and confusing connections on the motherboard.
If you made a wrong connection, your PC won’t turn on. Here you can find how to connect front panel connectors properly.
There are so many parts in the motherboard, and it is difficult to understand them all. But, as a desktop PC user, at least you need to know the complete basics.
If you make any wrong connections, then there is a huge possibility of your motherboard getting damaged. Do nothing blind in this step. Sorry to say that, but you need to care a lot to make the motherboard connections.
Follow your motherboard manual carefully to understand all things about it.
To be frank, I didn’t find any complete informative guide related to motherboard connections on the web. Sites like tomshardware, computerhope, and others provide information in parts.
I provide the links here.
- Useful Video: Front Panel connections
- Useful Read: Motherboard parts
Bad PSU selection:
We all know that all the PC components are working with the power supply unit. Things like the Monitor and keyboard have different power sources. But in the CPU case, all the components are working with a source of Power Supply Unit (PSU).
If you have a bad quality power source, every component is at risk while using your PC. Let’s see some common errors with the bad PSU.
- Blue screen error occurring continuously (One of the reasons is bad PSU)
- The display will freeze while using – Fix here
- Unwanted application closings
- CPU vibration
All these are the symptoms of a bad PSU. So, avoid these errors by selecting the good and right PSU for your PC.
Reverse fan direction:
You know that fans are used to cool down the temperature inside the CPU. But this is not possible when you don’t know the airflow direction through the fan.
Always remember, the grill side is the side of exhaust air or outgoing air.
Along with the fan direction, the airflow direction in a CPU case is also important. You can find the detailed information in the next mistake.
Not provide enough cooling through fans:
You should consider PC cooling as one of the primary things in a PC built. Because without proper cooling, your computer is unstable. Even if you turn on the computer, you may get a lot of problems while using it.
The fans and the stock cooler are the two things we used to cool down the CPU. I want you to install the best stock cooler (liquid recommended) for your PC. And also install the fans as many as your cabinet supports. Each fan helps to gain more cooling.
- Useful Read: Guide for your PC Airflow Optimization
Using a low-quality flash drive to install OS:
Even if you complete the hardware setup, the PC build is incomplete without the Operating System. We use a flash drive for installing an OS on the computer.
If you are using a low-quality flash drive, you may get a problem while installing the OS on your PC. It’s just as horrible as you think. So avoid using a low-quality drive for Windows loading.
I didn’t mean all the cheap cost products are low-quality ones. But I’m sure of one thing, all the low-quality products are a waste of time and money.
Conclusion:
This is the complete list of the common mistakes that a beginner can make. I hope this information will help you with your PC build. Again I’m saying, don’t touch the processor on the circuit side.
Not only the processor but all the parts are also sensitive because of the technology used in them. So handle them carefully.
If you have any problems while building a PC, let me know with your comment. I’m glad to help you.
Also, check out my channel on YouTube for tech videos. I’ll catch you guys with one more useful article.
