Essential tools in the comp builder's toolbox - tips and tricks

I never use a wrist strap. Never killed any components either.

As for stuff:

IPA
AS5
Various screwdrivers on hand, preferably magnetic
Stuff for cable tidying like tape
Jumper pin remover

im an electrician to trade and i just seem to carry static with me...strap is an essential to me
 
Cammy, Buddy, Sparkie or not, Its a fact, Should you touch an Earthed item or a bare metal item within your case you are able to ground yourself and remove any static charge you may carry.

An AntiStatic Strap is just a gimmick to boost confidence.
 
1 magnetic screwdriver, 1 standard (small as possible)
pair of pliers for those annoying screws that wont come out
lots of cable ties
 
Cammy, Buddy, Sparkie or not, Its a fact, Should you touch an Earthed item or a bare metal item within your case you are able to ground yourself and remove any static charge you may carry.

An AntiStatic Strap is just a gimmick to boost confidence.

i know mate and im not saying that im some sort of generater but i fried a couple of boards about 10 years ago and i vowed once i realised why it happened always to wear a strap......if im swapping out a component i will touch the radiator pipes but if im going to work on it for a bit then i just strap myself for safety...remember you are most likely experienced in building as are others in here but a lot of these guys are new to it and making them feel like they cant run with the cool kids if they wear a strap putting there parts at risk is most likely the wrong advice :)
 
A small, delicate cross-head screwdriver for installing things like motherboard and HDDs.

A larger screwdriver for installing the tougher stuff like spring-loaded heatsink screws and fan screws.

Needle-nose pliers - plugging stuff in, pulling stuff out and picking screws out of tight spaces.

daylight - it really does help to build during the day if you possibly can. Obviously loads more light and you are less likely to be tired.

A hearty meal - you will want to get the build done in one go, so you can stay in the zone. Don't let a grumbing stomach put you off and eventually force you to break your flow.

Entire backup system/spare parts - if something is suspected to be DOA, it is invaluable to have another system right there (or key components like PSU) to test with so you can quickly determine the root of the problem.

Second pair of eyes- often invaluable, for obvious reasons.
 
The only essential thing is a medium size posi drive screwdriver, for most my builds I've never needed more, that being said Andi's post above would not be amiss
 
a screw driver with a detachable head, with a set of different heads like star keys ect
magnetic posi
lots and lots and lots of cable ties
spanner
pliers
hammer (never know when something may need hammering back into place)
thumbscrews
thermal paste (mx3)
double sided sticky tape :)
lots of screws, different sizes
thats about it for me
 
I use the following (though some things are only slightly unnecessary for the average build...):

-3 sizes of Phillips screw drivers (one 3.8mm for smaller screws/GPU cooler removal, one 5.8mm for the majority of case screws, one 5.0mm for when the 5.8 is buried and I can't see it)
-Needle-nosed pliers
-Adjustable spanner - for watercooling
-2.0mm Allen driver
-2.5mm Allen driver
-Pin removal tool
-Scalpel
-Curved scissors
-Kitchen scissors (great for cutting through tubing)
-Massive pliers (used on watercooling fittings that don't use nuts)
-Motherboard standoff nut driver
-6.5mm nut driver
-Heat gun
-Drill
-Dremel
-Lots of Dremel cutting discs
-Double sided tape
-Velcro tape
-Cable ties
-Massive mess (essential this one)
-Not enough desk space
 
An old orange screwdriver, was my father's now he lost it :p and I found it ;)
Seems to have Peugeot written on it. That's the only tool I need really,use it as a hammer if needed as well :cool: , everything else is done by hand.
 
- A selection of Phillips Screwdrivers of different sizes
- A selection of flat heads, generally good for holding things in position
- Needle nose pliers
- Magnetic stick for when you drop screws and the suchlike in difficult places
- Cable Ties
- A good selection of the various screws required
 
Screwdriver, stanley knife, cable ties, alternative internet access, time.

The big reason why things are much easier now than they were when I first started mucking about inside PCs (a very long time ago) is that we now have wifi and devices which connect to it. It used to be the case that there was only dial-up or broadband connected directly to the only internet capable device in the house, which you had in bits. Because of that I always felt I rushed to get it finished, and when things didn't work there was nowhere to turn. Now if it falls down I have 2 other PCs, a laptop and a phone to turn to.
 
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