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.
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.
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.
My friend bought a GPU that he had to mount externally bcausr he didn’t check case compatibility. So yah you are right some people make their mind up on choices before research and end up with incompatibility.
Another person ordered nvme and confused why it doesn’t work in m2 sata slot. I had to explain m2 is the form factor not the protocol…and their response is its the same connection it should work. Smh.
I feel like your example is quite contrived, and having been in the trenches often, I feel like this is rare, and probably not even worth it for the average pc builder to know outside of when they need to know.
Even then, thats more of a “people should really try to search before posting for help” than anything else, and that exists everywhere.
You have to remember that what you are basing your image of the common PC builder on, contains massive selection bias.
People who are just building their pcs silently, or who run into issues, but solve them themselves aren’t going to be posted.
That leaves the people willing to put forth the least effort outside of posts asking for opinions on builds (as well as completely reasonable people who are stuck).
I do think many people don’t really learn about everything that would be necessary, but thats largely one of the benefits of humanity; people not having to learn about everything.
I think people often ask a tech person they know for opinions, and sometimes that communication is muddied or that person doesn’t know as much as they profess, but I doubt that a sizeable portion of people are just completely yoloing.
However, anecdotally, I do know a few people that spend tons of time researching the absolute hell out of stuff before purchasing (because they want the best of everything) but skip some important details that creates a no build situation.
But Yes, I will concede there are silent people out there doing stuff you never hear about.
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.
I think where it gets complicated and sometimes frustrating is with troubleshooting.
That, and picking out the parts can take ages, especially if you obsess, or have one idiot friend who is stuck in 2013 and still think its intel or nothing.
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.
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 read that as you took apart your parents because it was missing the possessive.
Gamer move right there
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.
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 :)
My friend bought a GPU that he had to mount externally bcausr he didn’t check case compatibility. So yah you are right some people make their mind up on choices before research and end up with incompatibility.
Another person ordered nvme and confused why it doesn’t work in m2 sata slot. I had to explain m2 is the form factor not the protocol…and their response is its the same connection it should work. Smh.
I feel like your example is quite contrived, and having been in the trenches often, I feel like this is rare, and probably not even worth it for the average pc builder to know outside of when they need to know.
Even then, thats more of a “people should really try to search before posting for help” than anything else, and that exists everywhere.
No, it was a common question on reddit PC building subs. Or why is my sata ssd slow now I have added an nvme.
Or buying a memory brand that isn’t compatible with the hardware.
Or in my friends case buying a GPU that he had to mount externally because it didn’t fit in the case.
People just order stuff and hope for the best it seems
You have to remember that what you are basing your image of the common PC builder on, contains massive selection bias.
People who are just building their pcs silently, or who run into issues, but solve them themselves aren’t going to be posted.
That leaves the people willing to put forth the least effort outside of posts asking for opinions on builds (as well as completely reasonable people who are stuck).
I do think many people don’t really learn about everything that would be necessary, but thats largely one of the benefits of humanity; people not having to learn about everything.
I think people often ask a tech person they know for opinions, and sometimes that communication is muddied or that person doesn’t know as much as they profess, but I doubt that a sizeable portion of people are just completely yoloing.
This is a good point.
However, anecdotally, I do know a few people that spend tons of time researching the absolute hell out of stuff before purchasing (because they want the best of everything) but skip some important details that creates a no build situation.
But Yes, I will concede there are silent people out there doing stuff you never hear about.
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.
I think where it gets complicated and sometimes frustrating is with troubleshooting.
That, and picking out the parts can take ages, especially if you obsess, or have one idiot friend who is stuck in 2013 and still think its intel or nothing.