So I’ve bought almost all the bits needs for her computer, I had the idea that:
I buy compatible bits
I send the individual bits to family members (they pay me of course!)
they wrap them up
She gets the individual parts on christmas day
I help her build it
She’s keen on tech and has been asking if she can have a computer for around 2 years now (consistently every month!)…money had to go else where at first, but I’ve had enough money for the last few months. Who needs food eh. She has previous build experience with me - I had a very old dual core AMD that she helped me re-build.
So, should I put it together and test first, or just see how it goes on Christmas day?
Thanks!
Chris
Spec if interested (went Intel so she doesn’t break a CPU pin!):
CPU
Intel Core i3 10100F
Motherboard
ASRock B560M Pro4 Micro
Memory - RAM
Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 16GB 3200MHz DDR4 Memory Kit (LN116855)
Better being tested, than letting refund / exchange window expire, to find something ain’t workin’
Most parts can be put back in packaging and look like nothing happened [outside of stickers]
This depends upon how deep you want to take the educational experience. Troubleshooting your first build is itself a learning opportunity. I say, know your audience. How tolerant would she be if something inadvertently didn’t work? Also, there’s something to be said for the magic of unboxing new hardware the first time that should be considered. That said, if it would be a severe inconvenience to help her (maybe due to distance) should something be wrong, verifying everything can be a piece of mind.
I don’t think it’s necessary since most of the parts are re-used, in turn previously tested.
Maybe slap together CPU, MoBo and RAM for a quick test, if you’re really unsure. If you have a spare PSU you wouldn’t even need to take the new one out of the box.
Such a great gift of both knowledge and materialistic value!
You know, this is the thought I had - it’s like being given a car that never goes wrong or at least needs the oil changing. It’s a conflict, in some ways I want it to go as smooth as possible (i.e. burning it in before hand), to avoid her losing enthusiasm for tech. However with my help, if some part should be faulty, with my guidance I can show her how to systematically diagnose the issue, then we buy a replacement part (though I hope not!).
I think that as her wanting a PC is so great, I think she would be quite tolerant of issues.
Like you say, having a ‘brand new thing’ with all it’s packaging, does provide a feel good experience. She’s a kid that’s not had many brand new things, so I really want her to experience the unboxing
Luckily she lives with us (computer will stay at our home) and only see the father 2 days every two weeks, the only thing is that she’s going away shortly after christmas and I expect it’ll take around 4 hours to slowly get her to build it (worst case), then she can play on it and have fun for the remainder of the day.
What should help is that in the past, and a little to this day, I help elderly computer users get to grips with computing. So I do have patience…though oddly, not with my own parents
Well, in fairness only the GPU and potentially the SSD is going to be used parts, do let me know if that changes your thoughts?
Smart move, just making sure the basics work, I do have a spare low capacity SSD that I can use as a test as well. I’m sure I have a spare PSU I can use as well, that’ll help with maximising the ‘brand new’ experience. Nice one chap
Really glad it appears to be a good idea, thank you
Only because I’m re-using my old GPU and SSD, the cost is a reasonable £523 / $700, which isn’t so bad, I’ve cut my spending where possible (making and not buying food, etc.). I’m getting £150 / $200 from my wife / daughters mother and £150 / $200 from her dad. The mother keeps pestering me about how much it’s costing in total, but if I say it, she’ll just make a face that I’d rather not see - as I’m only thinking about how happy a young teenager will be
Ahh, I know you’re right. I’ll see if I get time before now and then. I can’t do it in my office, it’s way too dusty as I’ve not finished building it yet!
That’s a great move, but as I’ve got a spare SSD, I’ll use that
Thank you all again for your input. In the end I veered away from sensible caution - she’s going to enjoy the unpackaging and untested install!
And, it’s happening today, as it’s her birthday - it was originally going to be christmas day, but thought it was more special if she had a dedicated day for just her
She just opened stuff, she is very happy and can’t stop smiling (even after I told her about the GPU price issues! )
So we sat down at the dining table, she and her friend unpackaged everything and laid it out nicely.
I then told her the reason why we build it on the motherboard box.
She put the CPU and cooler, RAM, GPU in, then connected the SSD.
I told her about the PSU and what it’s doing
She unpacked the monitor (I told her to peel the plastic once the OS is on!
Everything was connected, I only connected the powersupply to the Mobo.
…ahhh poo, monitor is HDMI, my P2000 GPU is only DisplayPort…LUCKILY I had 2 adaptors and EVENTUALLY found them!
Then, we turned it on…
…hmmm…
…nothing displayed
I thought it might be the GPU, only because I haven’t used it for at least 6 months. So I had 2 spare ones, one of them was pulsing the GPU fan so I thought, “ah poo, it’s the motherboard”.
I thought I’d check everything: re-seated CPU, RAM and unplugged everything not needed.
Fired it up again…and boom, we have BIOS!
Plugged in everything else now, OS loading…I’m having a quick cuppa before I go back in.
I’m so glad it’s working, my heart sank when it didn’t POST.
Boy that’s the spice of building a PC. Surely you’d hope for everything to go well since it’s a gift, but it happens so often to troubleshoot a new build.
In my life I’ve worked on a few PCs and only one, weirdly and it wasn’t mine lol
As a general rule, and especially if you already booted the motherboard with a different processor/memory combination, it is good practice to clear CMOS before the first boot, as there’s a fair chance the bios settings (and XMP settings) you used for the old combo will cause it non POSTing for the first few tries.
Depending on the mobo/BIOS it may self recover once it detects post failure or it may not until you clear the CMOS …
Still, reseating the RAM/checking cables is always a good thing to try as well.
Well done!
It is indeed, in the end it didn’t phase her and I think it gave her time to catch up with birthday greeting messages, so it kind of helped!
Cheers though, yeah just got to tidy up…a lot!
You got that right for sure! And cheers!
Thanks for that Matt, yeah I should have done that for sure. Although the gear was brand new, you never know if QA took it aside and fiddled with it.
Like you say, I think I’ve had a few boards that would auto clear after a certain number of failed POST’s.
I’m glad it worked out in the end…phew! I’ve yet to sort out the RGB bits, it has a controller on the case and I’m sure I haven’t plugged it into the board (which has plenty of RGB ports fortunately!
Far from the final setup…which I might either do while she’s with her dad, or may be we both sort it out. Means she gets to use a drill, which she likes doing!
A bit better now, I’m not OCD about cables, but it was worth drilling some holes to make a bit tidier. Might do it better if she’s bothered or snagged important ones!
She has previous build experience with me - I had a very old dual core AMD that she helped me re-build.
