Discussion Best Practices/Considerations/guidelines when doing a build or buying

[Torn Mind]

Just thought it would be a good idea to compile such things in a single thread.

IMO, it's best to complete a build without a GPU if possible and test drive the system for the "return period" to see if any issues pop up.


Patriot Memory should be avoided. I've had system instability from their sticks in the past.

Enterprise grade hard drives have superior longevity and are well worth the premium.

Acquisition
Choice of vendor. Factors deciding this include price versus convenience in case something is defective. Return costs and windows are another consideration. Amazon is quite flexible.

CPU
AMD currently has the perf/$ crown. Intel still has better supplying ability.
CPU generation compatible with OS. Windows has a generational cutoff to make it harder for old chips to be kept as a working computer.



Installation

Troubleshooting.

Intended User
Self vs others.
Others require more processing power, more reliability.

 

[In2Photos]

I always build the barebones system outside of the case to ensure that everything at least posts. So motherboard, CPU, RAM, M.2 drives (SATA drives are easier to replace unless it's an ITX system), PSU, and GPU. This way if something isn't working it's easier to troubleshoot and swap/replace parts. Once I see everything is at least working at this point I then begin to install it into the case. Of course this doesn't mean everything will work perfectly once finished, but it helps rule out DOA items or incompatibility before doing all that work putting it in the case.

 

[igor_kavinski]

test drive the system for the "return period" to see if any issues pop up.

I prefer to do the worst possible things to a system (making it sweat to the point of almost breaking) so if there is any weakness, it'll surely be exposed well before the return period. My company's IT guy tries to prevent me from doing this with company PCs/laptops and always goes into panic mode when I approach a system with the intent to even "benchmark" it. He pleads with me not to destroy the system. He is like that coz he came to be an IT guy purely for the money, not coz he has a passion for it. This is how lots of organizations end up making lousy and even incompetent IT purchasing decisions.

Same goes for the medical field. It's always easy to tell which doctor is in it for the money or which one genuinely cares about alleviating human suffering.

 

[igor_kavinski]

For anyone that intends to build an SP3 server system (coz sometimes you find these on the cheap on ebay), please be warned that you will need to read up on how to use a torque wrench and how to set it to the correct torque setting. I made do with a Philips screwdriver coz the CPU was already bolted in but even then, the heatsink screws were really weird coming from consumer platform. When I tried to turn the screws harder, they wouldn't go in properly. Then I remembered reading that you have to turn gently and slightly. Did maybe two or three turns on the screws and wow, the heatsink got clamped really hard, like immovable. I could've picked up the whole mobo by just lifting the heatsink. That was a weird experience. Then spent 20 to 30 minutes trying to the post the mobo coz the power button wouldn't work (not sure if it was the old P4 casing I was using or if I was shorting the wrong pins with the power connector). In the end, turned it on by touching the screwdriver head on the pins and voila! It came to life. Phew! It was nerve-racking considering it was the most expensive system I've ever bought. This despite it being a super great deal. Now, I can boast of having a 128 thread smasher of a Zen 2 Epyc with ECC RAM.

 

[Torn Mind]

One of the things that can screw up an OS install is the media's integrity. A USB Flash drive can be sufficient for mere storage like office documents, but have just a few bad sections that can ruin an install.

That happened to me with a Team cheap flash drive. Both the Windows and multiple Linux installs failed, proving the flash was defective. CD media can also deteriorate, so those old unburned discs may not be suitable for an OS, although the risk is lower.

 

[igor_kavinski]

multiple Linux installs failed

If you create the Linux USB with Balena Etcher, it verifies the written data with the ISO so you will know for sure if you have a bad UFD.

 

[Tech Junky]

pcpartpicker.com

AMD if you want longevity but Intel if you're cheap and don't mind paying more when its time to upgrade.

As to the failed USB installs.... I use to use Rufus and have yet to run into a corruption issue but, lately converted to using Ventoy instead since I can just dump multiple ISOs onto the partition instead of having to format / burn each image. However, I typically use better USB options and sometimes use an NVME in an enclosure instead for quicker transfers. In general though SanDisk / Patriot tend to suffice. The SD Extreme's run as an SSD when seen by the OS and push 400MB/s for a $50 drive it's not a bad deal for your pocket carry needs.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Ventoy

Ran into any particular ISO that refused to boot? Does it work well for both UEFI and CSM modes?

 

[Tech Junky]

Ran into any particular ISO that refused to boot? Does it work well for both UEFI and CSM modes?

I haven't 'tried CSM but works fine so far for everything on UEFI. I keep a collection of windows / linux / utilities on the drive. Right now just running them on a cheap SD $8 drive that hits ~75MB/s and is 32GB in size.

I have different drives though for different things. Like the SD Extreme is a good backup for windows in that you can run it from the drive if you wanted to. The enclosures offer higher speed recoveries / copies. One of them being TB can also run W natively but the other being USB doesn't.

 

[igor_kavinski]

One of them being TB can also run W natively but the other being USB doesn't.

Model?

 

[Tech Junky]

Model?

Acasis TBU401 - https://www.acasis.com/products/aca...me-ssd-universal-tools?variant=43694516601061

If I were buying now though I'd be looking at the Zike Drive https://ziketech.com/products/ziked...fastest-usb4-ssd-drive?variant=42809341608097 It has higher throughput if you have a USB controller like the ASM vs the Intel TB.

The thing about this stuff though is USB4v2 / TB5 are coming soon and double the speeds again.