DIARIES OF A
PC NOOB
- I was
After years of contemplating it, this was finally it
a
going to get a PC. My initial thought was to go for
pect of
pre-built machine, but peer pressure and the pros
build
saving a significant lump of cash convinced me to
of asking
my own. Research for the parts mostly consisted
the Twitter hive mind what I should go for.
I
knew literally nothing
about PCs. It wasn’t just
that I didn’t know the
difference between an i5 or
an i7 processor, either – I had
no idea what components
I’d need at all. Luckily, a few
kind souls were on hand to
put the parts together on
PCPartPicker, and there it sat
while I saved up the money
for a few weeks. I took it upon
myself to find the differences
between the processors on
the market, deciding an i5
would be enough for what I
wanted, and I did the same
with the graphics card,
grabbing a GeForce 970 after
it was suggested by a dude in
the know.
22
mygeekbox.co.uk @mygeekbox
Although it was an expensive
purchase, the generosity of PC
gaming soon dawned on me.
The graphics card – being the
most expensive part – was one
of the last things I bought, and
I’m so glad it was; I managed
to catch it in a promotion
where I got keys for both
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and
Batman: Arkham Knight. PC
gaming, you’re alright.
I was in my element. Then all
the parts arrived. Although
I had watched a couple of
videos, it didn’t prepare me
for the mess of wires, the tiny
connectors and the fear of
snapping the motherboard.
Building the thing was one of
the most terrifying
experiences
of my life, but I got
there
eventually, with he
lp.
After a fair bit of tin
kering, I
soon realised it was
beyond
me to diagnose th
e issue.
It could have been
The motherboard w
a dead
as in place, PSU;
it could have been
screwed into the sid
that
e of the
something had sh
case that handily ca
orted; it
me with
could be that I was
built-in standoffs. Th
inept. It
e CPU
turned out to be th
was slotted into po
e latter. A
sition on
friend came to have
the motherboard, th
a look
e stock
and diagnosed the
cooler clicked in ab
issue
ove it,
almost immediate
complete with prely – I had
applied
put the wire from
thermal paste. The
the power
front fans
button in the mothe
were routed throug
rboard
h the PSU,
the wrong way arou
the back one was ho
nd. In
oked to
my defence, the w
the motherboard.