Let me get one thing straight, I really enjoy building PCs. Since starting with Thermaltake, I’ve built around a dozen systems, and the feeling of that first boot up never gets old. However! With anything, there are elements that really grind my gears. So, here are 10 things about PC building that suck.
1. Wiring up the front I/O headers
Why are those cables so DARN TINY! It’s like they think we all have the daintiest hands and fingers and can plug those little guys in no trouble. But for those of us (like myself) that are more in the stumpy, chubbier fingers departments, it is honestly one of the parts of the build process I despise. Thank GOD for the invention of those little cable adapters that make this chore far easier, but unfortunately, not every case comes with them so it’s still pretty rough out there for us fat fingered folk.
2. I/O Shields
These things can just go straight into the trash. In my experience, I either install them first time no trouble, or I’m there for twenty minutes stuffing around with it. Often there is also just no rhyme or reason why it won’t insert properly, it just won’t until suddenly it will. I’ll also mention sometimes these bad boys can even cause you to cut yourself, so please be safe out there!
3. Dropping Screws/Difficult screw placements
The sounds of a screw disappearing int the ether that is your PC case, haunts every PC builder. But it’s made even worse when its due to an unreasonable screw placement. Sometimes, motherboards just want to make you suffer, and losing a screw in the abyss that is your chassis must be one of the most frustrating parts of PC building.
4. Cables galore
Some people find cable managing relaxing. Those people are wrong. Cable management has to be one of the most frustrating parts of building a PC, made even more frustrating when cables are extra-long or the case you are building in is extra small. Cable ties can only do so much for me, and sadly, it’s never enough.
5. Not plugging storage drives in properly
I cannot even begin to list the amount of stress storage drives can cause me at times. Sometimes its simply forgetting to both plug in into the PSU and the motherboard, or having to figure out which SATA DATA slot is being occupied already so my M.2 actually is picked up. It just feels like it could be so much simpler.
6. The BIOS
While the BIOS screen has gotten less terrifying over the years, it’s still sort of terrifying. A lot of them feel very scary to navigate, and the looking fear you might press the wrong button and break everything you worked so hard on is also incredibly nerve wracking. At this point, I only use it to enable XMP then endeavor never to touch it again.
7. 1 Dodgy RAM Stick
Trying to trouble shoot your PC not booting can be the biggest pain. The pain is only intensified, when it turns out that its something as simple as 1 dodgy RAM stick that causing all the problems. It’s also tough to figure this out, as it requires multiple reboots, changing one thing each time to figure out exactly the issue. This is made even worse of course, with 4 sticks.
8. Running out of Cable Ties
I know I kind of slagged them off before, but cable ties are very useful. However, they are finite and there’s nothing worse than being half way through your cable management only to release you’ve run out. Then you end up doing some heinous stuff to try and get all of the cables in properly, and overall, it just becomes a mess. Always ALWAYS get more cable ties then you think you need.
9. Smudging your tempered glass
The build is almost over, you sliding on that final glass panel and you step back and release all your hard work is completely overshadowed due to your sweaty hands. Then comes the painstaking attempts to remove the glass, clean it, put it back only to see you missed a spot. And the process begins again and again and again until you give up.
10. Realising all your mistakes after the fact and how easily you could have avoided them
Hindsight is a hell of a thing. But mistakes just mean you’re learning and you’ll be able to do better next time! (Or, you might just forget everything and make them all again, who knows!)
So, there were 10 things about PC building that suck.
Did I miss more things about PC building that suck? Share them in the comments below! And while you’re still here, why not check out the rest of our Tech posts, or head over to our YouTube channel for more awesome content from us!
