When the postie comes, I’ll be building a PC for the first time in years. What are the do’s, don’ts and tips nowadays?
Obviously classics like RTFM, plan ahead and retrieve any dropped screws are evergreen.
Things I believe are true: tighten your CPU cooler screws evenly (like putting on a car tyre), all screws should be no more than finger tight, build in a dust-free environment.
What about grounding yourself? I remember reading that the danger of this was way overstated and e.g. anti-static wrist straps were a waste of money. Is building in a case that’s plugged in (but powered off) enough?
I’ve seen recommendations to build outside of the case first to test components - is this good advice?
Anything else?
If your motherboard comes with a separate IO shield, install that in the case as the very very first thing you do. Many mobos come with them permanently attached these days but some don’t.
Be very careful with the USB plugs, they can be kind of fragile.
Many CPU coolers come with a protective sticker over their contact patch. Remove this.