Are most system builds nowadays plug and play?

[labler88]

I just finished the first computer I've built myself in over ten years. Except for the embarrassing (and comical!) mistake I described in another thread, it was pretty easy. I regularly read complaints in Amazon and NewEgg reviews of BSODs, components that die after a week, stuff that doesn't work without BIOS and driver updates, but I didn't run into any problems like that.

Maybe I was lucky. Maybe I fared well because my system is modest, without overclocking or a bleeding edge GPU.

That said, my impression is that build-your-owns have gotten easier over the years. The hardware vendors seem to have gotten with Microsoft's program, and Windows versions from XP on have been much better at recognizing hardware, dealing with hardware changes.

What do the rest of you think? I'm no one to judge, really; I just built my first system in 10+ years, and know that many here build systems regularly. Is it true that in 2014 the parts are likelier to work together than in years past, or do I just think that because I had good luck with the parts I used?

 

[ssddx]

my first build from 2005 (xp) went together just as smooth as my current computer from 2010 (7) and as smooth as the one i made for a relative earlier this year. as long as you make sure to pick compatible parts there normally isnt an issue. of course you could get a DOA part here or there however i've never seen one myself in the 4 builds i've made.

i think many people have trouble because they do not double check part compatibility, do not assemble it correctly or read up on a how-to and what-not-to-do, or use inferior parts such as cheap no-name power supplies which have been known to fry components.

your first build-it-yourself is always a bit daunting but with propper preparation it really is no big deal.

typically all of the included drivers work as well so its typically build, power up, install os, install drivers, good to go. however, in some cases such as the new gtx770 i bought the drivers on disk were bugged so i had to download them from the asus website and then everything worked perfectly fine. i think the user who had the card before me (it was an open box item) returned it because the drivers on the disk didnt work right. his loss and my gain (i got a $380msrp card for $260).

 

[labler88]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, ssddx. I just took a look at the Windows timeline -- http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/history#T1=era0 -- and realize that my last system build was farther back than I'd thought. I know that Windows XP wasn't available when I did the work, and see from the timeline that XP has been available since 2001!

In the 1990s, I watched a professional, full-time clone maker spend close to an hour trying to get a replacement graphics card to work in Windows NT. A liver transplant wouldn't have been much harder!

 

[ssddx]

i just replaced my graphics card the other day. i went from a gtx470 to a gtx770. until i had everything sorted out it was about 30-40 minutes.

it took 10 minutes longer then normal since the on-cd drivers didnt work right and i had to download and install from the website instead but other than that... no issues.

its quite easy to waste an hour working on a pc i spend that much time just blowing out my case, cleaning the filters, wiping down the desk and cleaning all the other electronics on my desk.

--

now i have had problem cases.... and there will always be problem cases... but in general working on a build it yourself pc is rather easy. when dealing with prebuilts and laptops however sometimes it gets tricky!

 

[Outlander_04]

If computers were as hard to set up today as they were in 1990 no one would be bothering with forums like this because there would be no home builders , and pc's would be $500 more expensive to pay for the set up time