Why do most people forget the most important part when speccing a new build?

glenimp617 · 23 Feb 2010 at 10:59

over 90% of the 'Spec me a PC for £XXX' threads fail to include the most important part

when someone says, spec me a new PC because my five year old one has just died, hardly anyone includes this part

Can you guess what it is?

countessa · 23 Feb 2010 at 11:01

what still works

what specs the pc had
Phone a Friend

Soylent Red · 23 Feb 2010 at 11:01

What it's for?

skippy2421 · 23 Feb 2010 at 11:02

OS? Reason we don't is some people already have retail copies they can pull over, normally i ask if they need one before i spec however.

rhysduck · 23 Feb 2010 at 11:04

Who cares?

silworth · 23 Feb 2010 at 11:14

Thermal compound, either because the stuff on an OEM cooler is craptastic, or because you spec an aftermarket cooler and no TIM?

Soylent Red · 23 Feb 2010 at 11:15

Are we talking about what the OP misses or the speccers?

PhillyDee · 23 Feb 2010 at 11:22

Usually an OS. But then, most people say they have one.

Strawberry · 23 Feb 2010 at 12:08

The CPU?

........no idea.

Imo spec'ing an OS has nothing to do with spec'ing a PC since the OS is just software not hardware, and we all know where software comes from.

Thermal compound sounds more like it, personally I always have some at hand for whenever I need it. (I've used thermal compound and epoxy for more than just PCs)
Seems like something that the average newcomer might forget though.

Banzai_Joe · 23 Feb 2010 at 12:12

I don't think thermal compound need be specc'd unless overclocking.
Even then i've overclocked plenty of core2duo rigs with stock HSF and decent temps. It aint all about the thermal compound, building with sensible cable management and correct amount of fans helps greatly.
I do see a few specs include just the guts and no case though. Again though, doesn't HAVE to make a difference.

djarthur78 · 23 Feb 2010 at 12:15

A decent PSU??

sk3lph · 23 Feb 2010 at 12:16

I suspect you're on about the PSU, probably because its important as you need to make sure sure you get a good quality one, but its probably the dullest link in the chain so people can sometimes overlook it.

Tiamat21 · 23 Feb 2010 at 12:26

MOUSE AND KEYBOARD!
Or jsut get a laptop.

coffeehair · 23 Feb 2010 at 12:40

The ability to build a PC?

Xelene · 23 Feb 2010 at 12:42

cdrom at a guess, i dont really use them anymore.

rossk26 · 23 Feb 2010 at 12:45

Mouse and Keyboard is a good shout.

My guess was going to be monitor
or fairy dust
or magical potion

or who gives a flying ****

silworth · 23 Feb 2010 at 12:45

How about a screwdriver/toolkit?

I guess a newb might not actually have any tools with which to actually build, but then a lot of cases are now tool-less, including thumbscrews for everything (such as motherboard, drives, etc)

reflux · 23 Feb 2010 at 12:46

In before anti-static wrist strap.

Random Guy · 23 Feb 2010 at 12:59

I would say the PSU.

Kae · 23 Feb 2010 at 13:00

I built my new pc last night with a single philips screw driver and the crappy supplied spanner for the m'board stand offs.... No tools really required...

Case fans?