General Inquiry: Risks of self-building

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Army_Man92 I hope I die before I get old... Resident Neo total posts: 2612 since: Sep 2004	Jul 16, 12 at 8:34am ^ General Inquiry: Risks of self-building
	Log in to remove this sponsored message Don't you guys who build your own computers get worried that if you mess something up, you'll have just wasted $500-$1000 for nothing? Yeah you can save a couple hundred bucks instead of buying from a retailer, but at least then you get 3 year warranty plus online and phone support for years to come. I mean what happens if you put everything together (I have no idea how you know where to put what) and it just doesn't start? Like what do you do? Who do you call? You're pretty screwed if it just doesn't work... Especially since there are no really good guides on how to build your own computer. The one here is almost 5 years old. I just wouldn't know where to attach everything and how to lay out my computer. Maybe you guys can provide some insight? Do you have superior knowledge of how to build them or is it really that simple? This is coming from someone who would love to build on his own but is just frightened by the task. ------------------- A tactical, intellectual FPS that's developed by the U.S. Army and is free to play: Check out America's Army 3.
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Dynamite supermod ReQuests, Feedback and Suggestions since: Feb 2002	Jul 16, 12 at 9:11am ^ re: General Inquiry: Risks of self-building
	quote Army_Man92 I mean what happens if you put everything together (I have no idea how you know where to put what) and it just doesn't start? Like what do you do? Who do you call? You're pretty screwed if it just doesn't work... In most cases, you diagnose the component causing it not to start, RMA the item, get a replacement and go from there. Individual components themselves are usually covered by a warranty and can be replaced. It's added hassle, sure, but not really difficult to exchange faulty components. There's actually lots of guides to help you with building a computer. Videos too. ------------------- --[ReQuests, Feedback and Suggestions]--[Site/Forums Help and QA]--[Forumwide Rules]--[Forumwide FAQ]--[Supermods on Duty]--[@NeoDynamite]--
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VeGiTAX2 editor since: Apr 2001	Jul 16, 12 at 9:11am ^ re: General Inquiry: Risks of self-building
	Building a PC is pretty simple, you need time, steady hands and patience also some screwdrivers. Outside of that you're set. Everything in the system is only designed to go in 1 way, if you line up the pins / arrows / clips it just goes in and you're set to roll. There's no "if you flip it this way and tap it 3 times it'll go in" magic to it. As long as you buy components properly there's no real issue as they specify everything on the packaging. Unless you're insanely careless about building there's no real way to botch things. No one would pair a board that says socket 1155 with a chip that says socket 2011 required. If they do it's because they're really not trying at this process and even then they can just return it, take a hit on restocking if it was purchased online and get the chip they need. Built a system for a friends dad and it took about 20 minutes to install it all and get windows setup booted. These days there's so little difficulty in building there's no massive risk unless you're doing it in a rain storm -------------------
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hiigaran Sajuuk awaits beyond the Gate of Balcora Elite Seeker total posts: 31942 since: Dec 2005	Jul 16, 12 at 1:00pm ^ re: General Inquiry: Risks of self-building
	worst case scenario is that you pay a little extra on shipping if you do have an issue. well worth the risk...if you can even call it a risk. -------------------
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harbin Legendary Seeker since: Aug 2006	Jul 16, 12 at 1:54pm ^ re: General Inquiry: Risks of self-building
	Most retailers if an issue is found with a faulty product, will cover the shipping cost... if it's a return due to you ordering the wrong item, or returning it because it's not what you thought then you pay the cost of shipping. As Vegitax2 said, putting the components into a board is simple, since they all only fit one way. People say that touching the circuitry will kill the component but if you've taken enough precaution to ground yourself, then touching the circuits will not kill the item, only if it's turned on, and it's harder to kill stuff than people make out. Just remember not to cut RAM so it'll fit... some people did that and wondered why it didn't work Mine did take half a day to assemble TBH mainly because I spent too much time messing about with cables, which are still a mess. Troubleshooting self-builds is easier aswell, since a dead component can be sent of individually instead of having to send your entire PC off. My first motherboard which failed after about three weeks or so, was sent off and replaced within a week. The retailer covered shipping so it cost nothing for me to replace, whereas an entire PC would've been alot harder to fix. Even if you make a build, there are quite alot of tech websites around that can give you a final opinion, on compatibility, where money can be saved or parts can be improved. If you do your homework, you'll find it is hard to get a build 'wrong'... and even if you don't trust the opinion of users on that one website, you can get second opinions from anywhere on the web.
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Army_Man92 I hope I die before I get old... Resident Neo total posts: 2612 since: Sep 2004	Jul 17, 12 at 1:18pm ^ re: General Inquiry: Risks of self-building
	Interesting replies, but you make it seem so easy to figure out which part isn't working. If it just doesn't start you have no idea. It could be the processor, it could be the MB, it could be the graphics card. It could be the power supply isn't working. And constantly returning items is a total pain in the ass, you guys must have high levels of patience to risk all that money hoping they send you the correct part back or that the new replacement one still adapts to your MB. I just feel like there is a million and one things that can go wrong on such a variety of levels and if you fail there's no recourse. It's your own money so you'd have to just return everything unless the return deadlines are passed (Which they always are because the sites give you like 20 minutes until it expires) in which case you have a $200 graphics card sitting around being useless. Maybe I'm just a pessimist? Lol I haven't had the best experience with computers working properly so I suppose that's a factor. ------------------- A tactical, intellectual FPS that's developed by the U.S. Army and is free to play: Check out America's Army 3.
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hiigaran Sajuuk awaits beyond the Gate of Balcora Elite Seeker total posts: 31942 since: Dec 2005	Jul 17, 12 at 1:50pm ^ re: General Inquiry: Risks of self-building
	quote Interesting replies, but you make it seem so easy to figure out which part isn't working. If it just doesn't start you have no idea. It could be the processor, it could be the MB, it could be the graphics card. It could be the power supply isn't working. And constantly returning items is a total pain in the ass, you guys must have high levels of patience to risk all that money hoping they send you the correct part back or that the new replacement one still adapts to your MB. possible hardware that can fail, and how to test them: PSU: simple to test. if it is dead, unplug all cables, but keep it plugged in to the wall socket. get the 24 pin motherboard power cable (the largest one), and create a circuit with the green wire, and any of the black wires (such as with an unfolded paper clip...anything metal...its safe to touch) DVD: well youll know if this doesnt work if it isnt reading your disks, opening its tray, or lighting up. HDD: if you hear strange sounds from the hard drive, see very slow loading times, or windows just isnt booting up, this is most likely at fault. motherboard could be another possible problem source, but that can be verified by trying different SATA ports on the motherboard. if none of the ports work, its the hard drive. if only one doesnt work, its the motherboard. CPU: almost never is a problem, but if you suspect heat related issues, take out the CPU and see if there are any burnt contact points on both the chip, and the socket. Video Card: test this in another computer if you suspect the video card is the problem. if you have onboard graphics, remove the card, and connect the monitor to the onboard display port. if it works, the video card is the problem. if not, something else is the problem...likely either the motherboard or CPU RAM: usually you will have two or more sticks of RAM. highly unlikely that all sticks would be dead, so remove all but one stick of RAM and see if it works. if not, try another stick of RAM. if it still doesnt work, try different slots on the motherboard with different sticks of RAM. if none of the sticks of RAM seem to work, the motherboard is more likely to be the problem. Mobo: the motherboard is one of the most likely components to fail, along with the PSU. the mobo is difficult to verify directly as the cause of your problem, so you have to rule it out by the process of elimination. if you can verify all the other parts are working, then it will be the motherboard. of course, you might rule it down to the CPU and motherboard, and the CPU is also difficult to determine whether or not it is dead, but the probability of the CPU being the problem compared to the motherboard is astronomically small. quote It's your own money so you'd have to just return everything unless the return deadlines are passed (Which they always are because the sites give you like 20 minutes until it expires) in which case you have a $200 graphics card sitting around being useless. you can RMA anything as long as it is within the warranty, which is usually a few years. also...20 minutes? wut? -------------------
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VeGiTAX2 editor since: Apr 2001	Jul 17, 12 at 5:58pm ^ re: General Inquiry: Risks of self-building
	quote Army_Man92 Interesting replies, but you make it seem so easy to figure out which part isn't working. If it just doesn't start you have no idea. It could be the processor, it could be the MB, it could be the graphics card. It could be the power supply isn't working. Users run the same diagnostics that any tech would run through when servicing your system. System wont start: PSU - Check the motherboard light, use the jumper method mentioned by Hiigaran, if doubting the output potential remove power to basic devices to test if you've exceeded the threshold. Motherboard - newer boards are incorporating post codes or debug codes, these inform users of failure points including CMOS failure. Even if this isn't the case if you can clear the PSU point you've likely cooked the board at some point. Check for swollen capacitors as an extra level of attention. CPU - Rarely the case unless you're overclocking heavily, in which case you know you fried your chip and there's no real reason to continue on. Memory - Remove a stick and test various slots to see if you get a response, if both sticks fail and the rest of the system reaches a clear post until the memory check you'll generally get a failure response. If the memory is only partially damaged there are programs like memtest that will give a detailed examination. Video - Pretty easy, if you can reach post on the rest of the items and the system continues boot it means your card is cooked, also many cards for the past 6-7 years have used LED indicators to show when there are problems with the GPU itself. quote Army_Man92 And constantly returning items is a total pain in the ass, you guys must have high levels of patience to risk all that money hoping they send you the correct part back or that the new replacement one still adapts to your MB. Haven't had a case where I needed to constantly return anything jumping to assumptions on this one I'd say. If a company fails to send the right part back they're now liable for the botched shipment and they're obligated to send you an equivalent replacement product. they have stockpiles of repaired or unsold product in most RMA cases for legacy parts. quote Army_Man92 I just feel like there is a million and one things that can go wrong on such a variety of levels and if you fail there's no recourse. There aren't, if you're horribly inept to basic care and can't even write your own name it might prove problematic but I've been building systems since the early 90's and installations are a heck of a lot easier now than they ever were before. quote Army_Man92 It's your own money so you'd have to just return everything unless the return deadlines are passed (Which they always are because the sites give you like 20 minutes until it expires) in which case you have a $200 graphics card sitting around being useless. Not sure where you got this from? I get newegg shipments even on eggsaver within 2 days time easy enough to return them if by some screwed up mistake I manage to get the wrong card. There's a reason people double and triple check their builds before they go through with actually buying them. Just like why the build wishlists or order lists online to be sure they get it right. It's not rocket science and very few end up in a situation that you've outlined. quote Army_Man92 Maybe I'm just a pessimist? Lol I haven't had the best experience with computers working properly so I suppose that's a factor. Honestly this felt like a potential mac rant in which case if people feel that unsafe with their own coordination then maybe they should run off to a box system that has nice pretty colors to pick from. :/ All the worries you've expressed are ones I have never hit and have never known others to hit. -------------------
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