These are the WORST things you could do for your PC...

Summary

As home computer builds surge in popularity, this video offers novice builders useful advice to avoid common mistakes in their systems. It begins with warnings against improper airflow that traps dirt or overheats components. Additional tips cover researching cases and motherboards to ensure compatibility without limiting performance. Further advice touches on avoiding bloatware in the OS while warning against overreliance on antivirus software. The host also cautions matching components improperly or using the wrong RAM slots. Overall the video aims to prepare first-time builders with practical tips for a successful system.

Takeaways

• 😀 Don't set your PC directly on carpeted floors, use a stand for better airflow and less dust buildup.
• 🌬️ Ensure adequate airflow and space around components, especially for vertical GPU mounts.
• 🔬 Research cases thoroughly before purchase for optimal cooling and performance.
• 🚫 Avoid software bloat that slows your system - use Windows 10 Debloater.
• 🤝 Don't mismatch powerful components with weaker ones in bundles.
• 📚 Read motherboard manuals to optimize RAM slot population.
• 💰 Balance component spending to avoid overspending on some parts.
• 🔒 Windows Defender + common sense browsing is often enough security.
• 🛠️ More antivirus or cleanup software often hurts more than helps.
• 👨‍💻 Seek advice from PC building communities to avoid beginner mistakes.

Q & A

Why should you not place your computer on carpet?

Placing your computer on carpet can restrict airflow and allow more dust and dirt to be sucked into the system. It's better to place it on a solid surface like a piece of wood or furniture feet.

What are some cons of tempered glass side panels?

They look nice but can restrict airflow to components like the GPU if mounted too close to the glass. This can lead to higher temperatures.

What should you research before buying a new computer case?

You should research the case's airflow design and cooling capabilities. Some cheaper knockoffs focus more on aesthetics over proper engineering and cooling.

How can software like antiviruses impact system performance?

Too many concurrent antiviruses or system utilities can overload resources and slow down your system. Stick to the built-in Windows Defender in most cases.

What's an example of mismatched PC hardware?

Pairing an overclockable high-end CPU with a motherboard that doesn't allow overclocking. This wastes money and potential performance.

Where should you install RAM sticks in the motherboard?

Consult your motherboard manual on which slots to use. Improper configuration can reduce bandwidth and performance.

How has the growth in PC gaming popularity impacted case designs?

More focus has been put on aesthetics sometimes at the cost of proper airflow and cooling capabilities.

What tool is recommended for removing bloatware from Windows 10?

The Windows 10 Debloater tool allows you to easily uninstall unnecessary default apps and services.

What retailer practice was called out when bundling PC hardware?

Pairing leftover/excess stock of high-end hardware with low-end components to make combo deals.

How much space should a vertically mounted GPU have from a glass side panel?

At least 1 inch (24mm) of space is recommended between the GPU and glass panel for proper airflow.

Outlines

00:00

😱 Don't Set Your Computer on Carpet

The paragraph explains why you shouldn't place your computer directly on carpet. Carpet traps dust and dirt which can get sucked into the computer, clogging fans and cooling. It recommends putting the computer on a solid piece of wood or using furniture feet to raise it above the carpet.

05:01

😬 Issues With Poorly Designed Vertical GPU Mounts

The paragraph discusses issues with some cases that have vertical GPU mounts placed too close to tempered glass side panels. This restricts airflow and causes overheating. It recommends having at least 1 inch (24mm) of space between the GPU and side panel for adequate cooling.

10:02

😡 Don't Just Buy a Case Based on Looks

The paragraph warns about buying computer cases solely based on aesthetics without considering cooling performance. Many knockoff cases copy the style but lack engineering, leading to thermal throttling. It emphasizes researching cases thoroughly before purchasing.

15:03

🤯 Windows Bloatware Can Slow Down Your PC

The paragraph advises removing bloatware from Windows 10 to optimize performance. It recommends using a utility called 'Windows 10 Debloat' to easily uninstall unnecessary default apps and features. Less software running in the background improves speed.

20:04

❌ Don't Mismatch Your Hardware Components

The paragraph cautions against mismatching hardware components when building a PC. Retailers often bundle an expensive motherboard with a basic CPU to move old inventory. This wastes money and limits performance. It emphasizes balancing spend across CPU, GPU, RAM, etc.

Keywords

💡airflow

Airflow refers to the movement of air currents through a computer case and components. Proper airflow is essential for cooling the CPU, GPU, and other hardware. The video emphasizes researching cases to ensure adequate airflow, avoiding restricted intake fans, and allowing room between components and side panels.

💡overclocking

Overclocking refers to pushing hardware like CPUs and GPUs to run faster than their stock or advertised speeds. It requires compatible components like motherboards designed for overclocking. The video warns against mismatching overclocking CPUs with basic motherboards.

💡dust

Dust buildup inside a computer can clog fans, heat sinks, and ventilation, reducing cooling performance. The video recommends raising cases off carpets where dust collects and emphasizes filters or mesh panels to reduce dust.

💡thermal throttling

Thermal throttling is when components get so hot they automatically slow down to avoid damage. Poor cases and airflow design can cause throttling. The video emphasizes research to avoid buying inadequate cases.

💡vertical mount

A vertical mount positions the graphics card vertically instead of horizontally. Cases increasingly have vertical mounts but often position cards too close to glass panels, choking airflow.

💡bundle deals

Retailers create combo deals, often pairing premium items like GPUs with inadequate components like cheap motherboards. This video warns to avoid these mismatches when buying components.

💡bloatware

Bloatware refers to unnecessary background software on Windows 10 that slows performance. The video recommends a debloating tool to remove this software and improve speed.

💡chipset

A motherboard chipset manages communication between components like the CPU, RAM, and peripherals. Overspending on one component while cheaping out on an incompatible chipset hampers performance.

💡cooling

Cooling refers to heat dissipation from components like GPUs and CPUs. Many concepts in the video relate to ensuring adequate airflow, surface area, and ventilation for cooling.

💡capacitors

Capacitors are components that store and regulate power on devices like motherboards. Overclocking unsuitable motherboards can cause capacitors to swell and explode from excess heat or power.

Highlights

Don't set your computer on carpet

Tempered glass side panels are very trendy but can restrict airflow if GPU is too close

Vertical GPU mounts can improve cooling if properly spaced from side panel

Research cases thoroughly before purchase - aesthetics often chosen over proper engineering

Solid front panels restrict airflow - balance aesthetics and performance

Don't overload antivirus and cleaning software - leads to conflicts and slowdowns

Windows 10 debloater is a useful tool for removing bloatware

Don't mismatch hardware components - leave performance on the table

Balance budget across CPU, GPU, motherboard - don't overspend in one area

An overclocking CPU on a cheap motherboard risks damage from inadequate power delivery

Tons of motherboard options now - do research to avoid getting the wrong features

If not filling all RAM slots, install in proper channel order based on motherboard

List in comments other significant tips for new PC builders

Don't bother commenting about AIO mounting locations

Ask for video suggestions related to optimizing RAM configurations

Transcripts

so a couple weeks ago we went to micro

center to pick up parts and stuff for my

daughter's build if you guys haven't

seen that video make sure you go check

it out because it turned out great and i

wish i kept it and no kid needs a

powerful computer like that which is why

it's awesome

but we realized something we were there

there might be more people buying and

upgrading computers

today than i think i've ever seen in the

last

eight years of running this channel it

has been wait what's day's date

oh it's the 28th my eight year

anniversary was two days ago i missed it

today we're going to talk about things

you should never do to your computer

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so these are not in any sort of

particular order they're just things

i've kind of accumulated over the

my i'm building computers now since i

was five i don't know how much that

counts i put together a computer mouse

five when i was about the age of 10

i truly started building computers for

like my parent my dad's company and

stuff like that um

so i've got nearly 30 years experience

of building computers wow i'm old okay

anyway moving on um so

i just figured with the amount of people

that are probably building a computer

for the first time getting ready for

some major title releases later later

this year we know cyberpunk

is going to bring a lot of people to pc

we know fall guys has brought a lot of

people to pc because you can run it on a

potato not to mention that people look

like potatoes and fall guy but that's

fine i figured i'd just kind of prepare

you guys for some things that maybe you

should not

do to your computer so here's one i'm

gonna start off with that i think is

fairly obvious but i don't think a lot

of people really think about this and

that is

don't set your computer on carpet now i

know a lot of people are gonna be like

why what the heck okay

most of the time you're going to find

people installing power supplies with

the fan face down

that way it can get its own fresh air

supply and then exhaust it out the back

so it really doesn't

depend on the case to supply air to it

but not all cases have a big enough

foot system if you will or any sort of a

riser system built in some have really

decent amounts of rise built into the

bottom of the case the lean lead dynamic

011 dynamic is actually one of them a

lot of times you're dealing with maybe a

half inch maybe

12 13 millimeters of height and that's

not a lot of room

if you think about carpet now i know a

lot of europeans right now are probably

watching this going

carpet who puts a computer on carpet who

has carpet right because

i guess carpet is really more of a north

america thing i don't know if that's

true but

a lot of people i've always seen in

europe be like why is there so much

carpet in american homes well

that regardless that's the fact and if

you set

a computer down on carpet and you start

to plug up those holes with that carpet

if you have plush carpet especially not

like office carpet where it's real thin

but like the thicker stuff

then you'll find that it'll plug up that

hole a little bit you're going to have a

lot less reduced airflow to your power

supply but more importantly than that

it's going to be carpet is where dust

and dirt and

pet hair and dander and all that stuff

just dandruff probably

is where that stuff just accumulates and

if it's picking it up

off of those intake fans on the bottom

or your power supply

then it's going to be circulating that

into your system so what i highly

recommend you can do this for

really cheap and i will put a link to

the the stuff i'm going to recommend in

any of these videos

in the description because i always get

people like where do i buy this stuff

um i recommend getting yourself just a

small piece of wood

you can go down to your hardware store

and you can find those pre-made shelves

which are already like white

brown wood toned and they're all like

laminate and stuff

and put one of those on the floor and

set your computer on that

that's the super basic way to do it and

what's going to happen here is you're

going to give your computer a nice solid

surface to sit on you're going to create

a barrier between a lot of that dust and

dirt so it can't be picked up into a

system

and it's just going to be overall more

friendly to the airflow

and actually the stability of your

system sitting on something solid now if

you want to make it prettier you can

make it a pedestal

by going onto amazon and buying some

furniture feet you can get them in only

a couple inches all the way up to like i

think eight inch tall furniture feet

uh like you'd find on the bottom like

chairs and stuff and you can make a

little pedestal to get it even farther

up off the ground

and the farther away from the ground it

is the less likely it'll be for the

intake fans on the front to also pick up

dirt

off of the floor remember as dust and

dirt falls out of the sky it settles

down low

and that if your computer is down low

that's where most of it is going to

accumulate

and it's going to be sucked into your

system and may just make it a kind of a

cleanliness nightmare

so that's one i would definitely

not do to your system if you care about

it now something else we've also seen is

a very trendy design in cases these days

is tempered glass side panels if we go

back

geez probably only five years or so

you'd find that there were a lot more

solid side panels or plexiglass panels

but a lot of them had ventilation built

into them perforations honeycomb or even

fan mounts on the side

to allow direct air to blow right onto

your graphics card

now that's great for cooling not great

for aesthetics and it seems like there's

been this this design trend over the

last few years

where aesthetics seems to rain supreme

over

function and what's happening now is

you're seeing a lot of companies now

integrating

vertical mounts for your graphics cards

into these cases

now vertical mount itself is not a

problem in fact

there's a lot of data that supports

having a gpu vertically mounted

can actually improve its cooling

capability

and the reason for that is if you have

fans pointing down

that are pulling air up into the

graphics card that air has then got to

go through the fins and make kind of a

turn

bounce off the sidewall and then go out

the top of your case or the back your

case and if you vertically mount it

heat rises and not only that you're not

going to be having the bottom of the

graphics card which has also got air

coming out of it sitting against the

motherboard blowing heat down onto the

motherboard

so you can actually get that heat away

from the motherboard and use the natural

convection of heat

plus the fans pushing air through the

fins allowing a more efficient rise of

heat more efficient airflow

due to graphics card the problem is many

of these manufacturers

set that graphics card far too close to

the glass side panel or the plexi side

panel or whatever type of side panel it

might be

then what you're getting is instead of

having a nice giant cushion of air

underneath the graphics card feeding it

you're going to have a very

thin slot of air between the fans and

the glass or the side panel

choking it off giving you the opposite

effect of causing

inadequate or inefficient cooling to

your graphics card now back in the day

you couldn't even put a three slot card

which is very common and looks like it's

going to be very common in the next

launch of graphics cards

up against a vertical mount because they

were only supporting two slot but now

you have a lot of cases supporting three

slot

which is going to make the problem even

worse if it's too close to the glass

panel now i would recommend having at

least an inch or about 24 millimeters of

space between the face of

your card and the panel to make sure

that you have adequate airflow

if that's the case then you're fine if

that's the case get it if that's the

okay whatever um i find it's fine as

long as you have that much airflow but

i'm not kidding when i say some of these

vertical mounts in these cases

do literally put the face of the card

practically touching

the glass side panel now the easiest way

to determine whether or not you would

have a problem with airflow is to just

look at your case if it doesn't require

one of those conversion plates to

basically rotate the where the gpu would

mount

and it's got some that are already

basically built into the case you can

see what that gap is going to be from

the

the most outward slot to the side panel

and you can just kind of take a

measurement there

and if it looks like you have plenty of

room at that point then go for it now to

go vertical amount though some cost is

usually involved with needing a riser

card so if you

already have the stuff you need to do a

vertical mount

just try it if your temps suffer just

put it back

it's not it's not a good idea to choose

aesthetics and looking at the face of

your graphics card

and putting that ahead of actual

performance and temperature because we

all know high temperatures over time is

also what can degrade your hardware

leading to instability crashes and just

overall

death yeah just try it you could die

what's the worst i could if you died it

was a bad idea

so while we're on the subject of cases

why don't we go and talk about the worst

thing you can do for your computer being

not researching the case before you buy

it unfortunately there's a lot of monkey

c monkey do in this industry

and as computers become way more popular

remember we are literally i think at the

pinnacle

of pc gaming live streaming and all of

that it is it is

it is a massive multi-billion dollar

industry right now

as you've got more people that are

becoming famous on twitch and on youtube

everyone wants to be like everyone else

and i want to i want a

game i want to be do this i want a live

stream we have so many people

buying and building computers today it's

insane and like i said what we saw at

micro center just a couple weeks ago

really shocked me because i've been

shopping micro center for 15 years and

i've never seen it look like it does

today

things are out of stock they're selling

hundreds of cpus per

day it is absolutely bonkers as to

what's going on

so what will happen is you'll get these

companies that will make a case that

looks like a famous case or a popular

case or one that's just trendy

and they won't actually put the same

level of engineering into it

as the brand they're knocking off now

that's true for pretty much every

industry

i mean every industry has its knockoffs

but with cases

it can literally lead to a

less than desirable and or worse

performing system than you

anticipated because of airflow issues

now a real common trend right now is to

have solid front panels whether it be

solid

steel solid glass just aesthetic doesn't

matter

now that's not a problem as long as

where the

front fans pick up air is well thought

out whether it be giant openings on the

bottom perforations on the side

proper airflow testing is done to find

the right balance between aesthetics and

performance because

no no front solid panel case is going to

perform like a mesh case no matter how

much you try it's not going to happen

now i know people like steve at gamer's

nexus hardware canucks they've done a

lot of chassis testing they're like they

are the kings in that space when it

comes to

just those types of reviews and to be

honest we don't go to that level of

degree where we're like this case is 0.2

degrees celsius hotter than this case at

normalized fan volume we don't do any of

that crap around here

we are the we are no i'm serious we are

the phil's laughing back there because i

said we don't do that crap now it's not

crap

it's just we are the average consumer

type of reviewer

we bought this case we put these parts

in we played these games this was the

temp we got

if you're okay with that buy it if not

go somewhere else that's literally the

way we

we approach things it works for me it's

the way i shop

it's the way i share but what you're

gonna find is that

sometimes you can have a case that looks

the part

but will literally thermal throttle your

hardware your graphics cards your cpus

heck even your ssds if you've got

one of these guys the fiery rgbs

so do your research before you buy your

case don't just buy your case based on

that one's pretty because sometimes

you're going to find that one's pretty

hot that one's pretty bad there's always

some sort of a descriptor after the

pretty

pretty itself is at that point of

descriptor is more of a measurement of

the word after it which

then becomes this was pretty much a

waste of money and it's happened and

unfortunately it happens

all the time now that you've got too

many people out there copying each other

and not doing the same due diligence and

engineering which is why we always

support

the brand that engineers not the brand

that copies

now sometimes the worst thing you can do

for your computer has nothing to do with

the hardware at all it's about your

software

and windows 10 was designed to be an

ultra lightweight os to run on tablets

and and

back when microsoft is really trying to

compete with the ipad with you know

lightweight can run on a potato and

that's fine it means it's going to make

everyone's computer faster but over the

years microsoft being microsoft lost its

way and has bloated the crap

out of it and so now you find a

situation where

um you can through your os alone really

kill

your your overall pc experience now we

found a great tool

to use called windows 10 deep d bloater

not deep loader d bloater like just gets

rid of all the bloatware on your system

now we're not going to do a tutorial on

how to use it you can screw some things

up by like making windows store not work

again

but it's worth checking out it's very

easy to use it's got

you know a gui on there we can select

what stuff to uninstall

how to reinstall the stuff too if you

screw something up but the reason why

i'm even bringing this up

is windows defender is good for probably

90 to 95 of the stuff out there that you

would

could potentially get infections from

but long gone are the days of

free antiviral antiviral antiviruses

where they actually did something good

for your computer now what they tend to

do is simply slow it down

they run constant scans trying to slow

your computer down making you think you

need to buy the premium versions to get

your computer

you know running right when all it's

going to do is basically put it back to

where it was

virus definitions are constantly updated

on windows defender we've not had any

problems on our systems

by not running any of those third-party

anti-virus software

now there are good antivirus software's

out there don't don't get me wrong on

that i'm not saying that it's not a

necessary thing

but you know what i've seen in the past

and i'm going to use my my late father

as an example

he would tell me my computer's running

slow i don't know what's happening i

click on something and it won't load or

it's just ridiculously slow and i'll go

in there and he'll have like two

different registry

like cleaning software going he'll have

like two different virus softwares

running

and then he'll have like this other like

windows not windows defender but like an

online defender program that's like

sniffing all the packets as they come

and go and just

because every time something didn't work

he tried another one but never took off

the other one

so it would stack and then they would

conflict and they would fight each other

for control of the system

and it doesn't take much to saturate

your your storage

when you're constantly scanning like

that so it's one of those things where

i think less is more when it comes to

your operating system

if you're not going to sites that are

that are

sketchy if you use some common sense

about

inspecting an element before you click

on it and seeing where it's going to

take you and it's not a spoofed link or

a

you know some sort of a redirect

you'd find that your system will run a

lot better without loading any of that

crap on it

and then getting rid of all the crap

that already comes on it by using

windows 10 deep loader

now we're going to move back to hardware

here because that's what i know and do

phil's the software guy you can talk

about software

um don't mismatch your hardware it's

easy to get caught up in bundle deals

and you know what a lot of these people

will do when it comes to bundle deals

and my

bundle deals i mean a lot of these

online retailers and stuff micro

center's actually pretty good about not

doing what i'm about to say

that is making these combo deals with

stuff that

doesn't move or sell you'll find them

taking

high-end overclocking motherboards

because they're too expensive sometimes

and they don't move

like they don't move that often and

they'll give you like

a stupid amount off and pair it with a

locked cpu

now this really only applies to intel

honestly because every amd cpu is

unlocked

but intel will have their unlocked skus

and their over you know their

overclocking excuse and then their

non-overclocking skus

and you'll find this real bad pairing

where you'll have this really overkill

motherboard

that a really underwhelming cpu put

together because they're trying to move

products and that's how they come up

with a lot of these bundle deals

or what they'll do is they'll they'll

start to pair it with ram that's just

not good for the combo like let's say

taking a 10 900k

and then pairing it with like a 2400

megahertz stick of ram or two sticks of

ram or whatever it is

the worst thing you can honestly do is

not do due diligence when it comes to

preparing for the parts it is easy

to accidentally leave some money on the

table or put money into the wrong

component

if you have a thousand dollars to spend

on your main components

it's easy to be like okay i'm gonna

spend 500 on the graphics card i'm going

to send

spend 300 on the cpu and i'm going to

spend 79

on the motherboard giving you the

opposite situation where you have an

overclocking cpu

and a bare bones low-end chipset

non-overclocking

non-japanese solid capacitor non-robust

vrm delivery system

meaning that you can't take any

advantage of the features of the cpu you

just bought

because the motherboard doesn't allow it

because it's locked

the motherboard itself being locked in

that you can't do anything with it

because of the fact that it's not

designed to handle it and heaven forbid

the motherboard manufacturer bios does

allow it and you

physically cause damage we're talking

about uh

swelling and exploding capacitors we're

talking about vrm's

literally catching on fire because of

the fact that you were allowed to

overclock something that this power

delivery wasn't

capable of handling i think that that's

probably

the worst thing you could do for your

computer it's it's it's

i guess an analogy would be something

along the lines of putting an

undersized fuel system in a race engine

kind of a deal right where you're going

to

start having massive engine destruction

because of a

fuel mixture being off and you really

want to keep that mixture of your

components

balanced it's easy to get caught up and

and overspend here and under spend there

and it's confusing for a lot of new

people i understand that trust me as

someone that

still every now and then has to do my

own research on wait a minute what

exactly

am i leaving on the table with this and

that there are so many parts and so many

skus now

do you remember when phil i'm talking to

you directly now back when you might

have one or two motherboard options per

chipset

a high end and a mid-range and then

maybe a third like a low end entry level

and that was it

remember how asus used to be like blue

is the mainstream and red was the gaming

and then like

yellow or whatever other color was the

overclocking it was literally

color-coded

so you knew what you were getting again

the popularity of pcs being what they

are you now have motherboards on launch

day that will have like 17 motherboard

skus

i mean how many times have i been like

was this the rog strix 37

maximus formula g3 or whatever and

you're like no no it's the g2 oh okay

cool

or you'll have a wi-fi version and a

non-wi-fi version where the only

difference is they stripped wi-fi out of

one

you know and you and you and you needed

wi-fi and you like

didn't catch it so i think the worst

thing

you could possibly do is just not do

your research

it's confusing but trust me nothing

sucks more than getting the wrong parts

exchanging them and finding out there's

a restocking fee on almost everything

electronic these days

at least here in the united states i

don't know about other places but a lot

of places if you go to return a

motherboard or something they can charge

you like 15 percent just to take it back

but one other thing we'll talk about

here um it's kind of an honorable

mention

is ram slots now we're talking about

hardware and optimizations

a lot of times people will buy excellent

ram good motherboard good cpu

and then they don't investigate the

proper ram slots

to put your ram sticks in now this only

applies if you're not filling all of the

ram slots if you're refilling all of

them doesn't matter it will

automatically default to dual channel or

quad channel or whatever it may be based

on the platform

but i see too many times pictures that

people will share with me of their

system and the ram slots

are in the incorrect ramp uh slots you

there's a specific order to where the

ram should be based on the channels

and sometimes it might default back to a

dual a dual channel if you put it in the

wrong two slots

but you'll find that it will run in a

reduced speed or potentially different

timings and it's it's really weird ram

is a

man that's a whole video subject matter

on its own on just optimizing it

so rtfm or read the freaking manual and

look at

where it says your ram should be based

on your configuration how many sticks

that you're running so obviously we

could sit here for a solid week

telling you things you should and

shouldn't do as a new builder

my assignment to you your homework since

we're back at school now

school's in session comment down below

with what your

number one thing you should never do

to your computer no let's keep it

realistic right yeah you shouldn't set

it on fire

you shouldn't drag it behind your car

you shouldn't drop it from the second

story

real things that people can actually

learn from and then

don't bother putting on there anything

about the aio locations because

[Laughter]

steve's video covered all that most

people didn't bother to watch the whole

thing and it's nothing but

misinformation alley now

just put your tubes where they go all

right guys thanks for watching

but youtube subscribe i'll show you

where i'm gonna put my tube