50 PC Build Tips in Under 10 Minutes

Complete with full transcription and links to related articles

  1. Don’t overthink thermal paste, recommend Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut for K / X, Hydronaut for non-K / non-X.
  2. 6-cores is the sweet spot for gaming, spare cash is better spent on GPU, or another component.
  3. Stream using NVENC, it’s way more efficient than X.264 with no FPS impact.
  4. Don’t overtighten.
  5. Mounting pressure on CPU matters.
  6. PCPartPicker.com is your best friend.
  7. PC assembly order matters.
  8. Avoid water pumps in the top position.
  9. Always keep the pump fed in a custom loop and use minimum pump speed without negatively impacting thermals e.g. 20%
  10. Easy soft tube installation method
  11. Always leak test your loop
  12. Lower GPU utilization at lower resolution
  13. Invest in a proper toolkit with a PH2 to prevent stripping
  14. Always prepare a fresh windows installer the day of build to avoid wasting time on updates. See How to wipe and reload windows
  15. Avoid sharing boot drives or reusing old installs
  16. Update BIOS and enable XMP
  17. Improve memory compatibility with voltage and frequency
  18. SLI and crossfire are dead, do not buy multiple GPUs
  19. ITX cases can house epic gaming builds
  20. Graphics card cooling differences
  21. Stick to one RGB ecosystem
  22. Improved Fan & RGB Control for Gamers
  23. Ready up drivers on a USB
  24. Avoid common motherboard bloatware
  25. Correct DRAM DIMM slot installation, typically 2 and 4
  26. Clean your GPU drivers with DDU
  27. Aim for balanced PC case airflow
  28. Negative pressure generally works better for ITX, positive for ATX
  29. Skip Nvidia’s 12VHPWR adapter
  30. Use a coolant sensor if custom loop watercooling
  31. Overclocking sucks in 2023
  32. lower temps = higher clocks
  33. Avoid premium coolers on budget GPUs
  34. toggle off startup apps for a cleaner launch
  35. Disable windows mouse acceleration
  36. Choosing the right PSU for your build
  37. Do not overspend on motherboard
  38. Noctua NF-A12x25 = king 120mm fan, Arctic P12 PWM same noise and performance for much better value
  39. Air vs. liquid coolers
  40. Plug in cables before mounting large air cooler
  41. Avoid PCI gen 3 risers for gen 4 cards
  42. CableMod ModMesh cables are worth it
  43. Do not mix cables between power supplies
  44. Intel i5 14400 = midrange gaming king
  45. GPU undervolting for lower temps & noise
  46. HWinfo = ultimate PC monitoring
  47. Generally avoid DDR kits >3600MHz for Ryzen AM4
  48. RAM sweet spot in 2021
  49. CPU stock coolers are limiting
  50. Choose M.2 nVMe drives, avoid SATA