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this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2025
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In theory, this is how it should work, but is often not the case.
If you just buy interoperable components without taking into consideration if they're compatible, you're running a risk of things not fitting.
What immediately comes to mind is GPU clearance to the case, as well as to the CPU cooling solution. The CPU cooler may not also fit the MOBO you want to use, protrude too much in the case, or have clearance problems with RAM. RAM could fit, but may need to be low profile accommodate the CPU cooler. Power supplies nowadays aren't as straight forward in compatibility as they used to, since some GPUs may require a special plug(s).
Once that's sorted, you can assemble like a Lego set, until something doesn't work. You're your own support person, so you need to know how to troubleshoot correctly. Did you switch the power supply on? Are the components seated properly? What do the debug LEDs say?
I'm no beginner PC builder, but my current build (first AM5 system) was a nightmare. Everything worked beautifully until I seated the GPU, which was the last item to arrive. MOBO debug LED said VGA issue and no output. Long story short, and two AM5 builds instead of one, it turned out to be a faulty CPU (9800X3D).
Had I gone with what the Internet forums suggested, and with no other AM5 system available to verify, I would have sent the GPU back and still have the issue. Luckily AMD RMA process is pretty straight forward (don't throw away your boxes until some time after you're done with the build!) The new CPU worked as expected, but that was the first time I've ever had an issue with a CPU. It worked fine via on-board HDMI, but no GPU in any possible configuration with the faulty CPU using two PCs worth of components would provide output. Everything is good now, and a family member made out with a decent 7800X3D system as a present :)
It's opening the hood where I start sweating behind the knees.
I’ve always described it as just playing with expensive legos.
Have you seen the cost of Lego nowadays? Those adult sets aren’t far off the cost of a PC!
Good point, the lego death star costs more than I paid for my pc. I guess it’s like playing with slightly cheaper electric legos.
This isn't building a PC, this is plugging one in.
Psu cable goes in psu :-D
turns on
finds out that cable was in fact not from that psu
The only real times where I have to stop and think is when plugging in the case components (like the power button). But many a times have I seen people put a heat sink on a processor with no thermal paste, thankfully sellers have gotten better with packaging to make it obvious so people don't get hundreds of dollars of components now.
Hmm, maybe I didn't plug that SSD back in. Everything is connected prop... Oh no...
The complexity lies in the when and why, not the where, what, or how.
I mean, when I tried to fit my corebooted Dell Precision T1650 board into a new case and noticed the messed up proprietary front panel terminals, the where/what/how quickly became a factor..
Had to pull 3V from the TPM before to power an LED, but that one doesn't have a port, so I had to solder an adapter.
The round peg goes in the...that's right! It goes in the square hole
You mean the ethernet shaped hole?
USB cable goes into the USB hole (doesn't work turn it around).....USB cable goes into the USB hole (still doesn't want to work you just didn't want to fiddle enough the first time).....while I'm quite proficient at building computers (haven't bought an off the shelf one in a few decades) saying it looks like it goes where it says it does doesn't always work for beginners. Also the colours were for the end user not the builder, green being the speaker output? Not the sound card installation.
Sorry for spoiling the joke but that's gotta be what this comic was meant for. There's no coloured indicators on the inside are there? Maybe I overlooked them cause I just know where they go, cause I never wanted to fry a new board.
But I thought this was a slot for X?
Yeah, my current (aging) motherboard also has gotchas like that you have to choose in the bios where to allocate PCIe lanes, so you end up not being able to use some of the SATA drive connections if you want to use both M.2 slots. And there's the thing about putting the RAM sticks in the right slots to run in dual channel mode. And the switches and LED connectors for the case are all just random 2mm header pins in a clump, so you have to look up how the cables are supposed to tetris in there.
I'm not saying it's challenging; it really is pretty straightforward. But it's definitely not just "that's right! it goes in the square hole!" level stuff.
Then there was mine that you had to put the M.2 in the second slot not the first or it would share bandwidth with the GPU making the GPU only run on 8 instead of 16 lanes. To make it less clear they put the extra cooling for the M.2 on the one you shouldn't use!
Not colour labels on the inside but actual labels on the plugs (cable) & sockets (motherboard), especially for the case LEDs and buttons.
The case connections are always the worst for me, mean maybe there's some standard and if you're not old you can read the tiny print on the board....but I always end up following the manual to be sure. Especially the cases with the single + or - for the device ugh out of all things that aren't standardized why is it the damn case connections?
Actually out of my decades of doing computers that's the part that makes me wonder if the computer will turn on when I press the button first level alone the HDD activity light going properly. I couldn't care less about that but I did like watching it to know my computer was doing something in the 90s.
I-Is this secretly a joke about guys not putting it in the right hole? 🤔
Yeahhhh.... It's suuuuper easy!
Nothing can possibli go wrong....
I usually use a razor blade to scrape all those fuckers off anyway. Don't want any spikies poking my motherboard!
SMORT!!
Was there, used a plier.
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Yeah they've gotten so simple simians can assemble em. Pre 2000, nothing was colorcoded and there was no USB, nor DVR, and so peripherals were limited to the hard interrupts on the chips. Good times
also you had to configure all your disks using jumper pins, and your RAM had to be in matched pairs
I built my first PC at about 12 years old, while watching a youtube tutorial, with no prior knowledge or experience whatsoever. So I think I can safely say it is pretty easy and straightforward.
Similar story here. Just no YouTube.
My only mistake was buying the motherboard first, without actually thinking about it or considering what components would go in it. I knew the components needed to match, but I didn't think "what's the best performance for the money".
I was a kid, so I went on eBay and bought the first motherboard I saw, and then researched what components I would need to make it work.
I'll spare the specifics, but let's just say I ended up with a system that was significantly aged and underpowered for its time and how much I spent.
Good learning experience though.
Built mine about 12 years old before YouTube existed. Honestly can't remember where i learned. I think i just guessed. I'd previously taken apart my parents because i was that kind of kid so that's probably it. There's not many things that can go in the wrong place and cause damage.
My dad saw me doing it and quit his job as a butcher to start a business doing pc repairs and sales. This was around 2001.
I built my PC in 2006ish so YouTube existed but I doubt anyone was doing PC building tutorials then. The thing that pushed me over the edge to building vs getting a pre built was seeing an episode of How It's Made where they were building PCs and I was like damn that looks easy as shit, I was not wrong.
My kid has a marketable skill. I should quit my job and exploit it.
Gamer move right there
The complicated (not really) part that some people skip is doing cross referencing of motherboard and what hardware it supports, and memory tested to work with it.etc. So many posts about "Ive plugged in my ssd drive now my nvme doesn't work ( or vice versa). Where the motherboard document clearly shows that nvme and sata port may be a shared on certain boards, so you have to use the other sata ports etc.
Or buying a GPU that is too long for the case, or a power supply that doesn't have the outputs you need, or any of the rest of it.
90% of PC building are the choices you make before anything even goes in your cart.
Especially true if you don't just care about compatibility but are doing research to get the best performance and value for your money.
Once the boxes arrive it's just Lego :)
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I call it "assembling" a PC instead of "building" because I feel like I'm lying otherwise...
There was a glorious time in the 90s when PC building had enough stuff going on and not yet enough safeguards that I could actually put things in wrong and start a small fire.
Those were exciting days. And sometimes expensive.
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I had a job that was just plugging in new checkout lanes for a grocery store chain and not one of my fellow co-workers could understand the simple, color-coded plugs. The red cable goes in the red hole, the green cable in the green hole, etc.
I'd be finished installing my lanes in like 15-20 minutes and then I'd spend the rest of the time helping the network dudes make cables and setup the network, since I was the only other person on the team with actual IT knowledge and, at that time I was also still CISCO and A+ certified.
Since it was not an hourly position (at least, not for my contracted ass), it didn't make any sense to stall for hours. The faster I get done, the faster I can leave and I get paid the same either eay.
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