Hardest piece of hardware to buy?

HossHuge · Mar 19, 2015

Which piece of hardware do you spend the most time on choosing?

rtwjunkie · Mar 19, 2015

Definately the Motherboard, but a close second would be the case and PSU.

TRWOV · Mar 19, 2015

GPU for me.

neatfeatguy · Mar 19, 2015

Case was my hardest one to pick out. I read through tons of reviews on cases that caught my attention and then I painstakingly dwindled down my list of cases based on price, material used in the case, room for hiding cabling, exterior apperance, and so on.

PSU was a close second.

RCoon · Mar 19, 2015

Motherboard and case, too many variations for both and weird differentiation of features!

qubit · Mar 19, 2015

I can never quite decide on a motherboard, so it tends to take longer than the other components.

Case can take a while too.

Sasqui · Mar 19, 2015

I had to think about that one! The case for me, as it has always hosted so many of different of the other things, and can have a huge effect on performance (cooling)... upgrades and general system workability!

Frick · Mar 19, 2015

Definitely monitor. Most components are associated with numbers: features, price, performance... Some things are getting harder because the market is oversaturated (like PSU's and GPU's), but generally it's only about getting the best thing for the money you have. Cases could have been harder, but for some reason I don't find them to be.

Monitors are harder because there are so many of them and the local shops don't carry a whole lot of them, and many aspects of the monitor are subjective. My monitor is sort of OK for me, but some users here would probably get a headache from it. And even if they have the same specs the panels differ and even if they have almost the same panel the variation can still be very big, and only about 10% (maybe) of the monitors out on the market today are ever reviewed.

Kaynar · Mar 19, 2015

I spend a lot of time on the RAM, a lot of eshops have terrible pricing, a lot of brands ask too much and hide timings to hide a low end product with high price.

searching for the ideal RAM has saved me a lot of money on different systems i made for myself or friends, for example buying 2x8GB 2133mhz 11-13-13-2T kit for 90GBP, or 4x4GB 2133mhz Corsair dominator platinum for 170GBP.

But I also spend a lot of time reading reviews to find a nice case and a good monitor, but those usually last more than 5 years.

EarthDog · Mar 19, 2015

None are hard to me I have to admit... a lot of people waste a lot of time spinning their tires or sillyness.

That said, I suppose the most time I spend picking something out is a motherboard. I need to make sure it has the features I may need. Otherwise, CPU/GPU/PSU are no brainers if you know what you are doing.

64K · Mar 19, 2015

For me it's the mobo. I fuss over that the most.

Frick · Mar 19, 2015

EarthDog said:
Otherwise, CPU/GPU/PSU are no brainers if you know what you are doing.

It gets complicated if you have a specified budget, at least when looking at PSUs. Should you go for a PSU that has 1% better efficiency or one that has 0.2% better voltage regulation? Should you sacrifice modular for slightly better efficiency? There are so many great PSU's out there now in every possible price range.

AsRock · Mar 19, 2015

rtwjunkie said:
Definately the Motherboard, but a close second would be the case and PSU.

Totally it has to so many things right with it for me to be happy.

For example

Enough SATA connections
SATA connections pointing on side of board
Network card ( intel \ broadcom
Ability to have good idle power usage and give decent overclock ability ( the x38 Maximus mobo was great overclocker but terrible at idle).

Ebo · Mar 19, 2015

Spend most time choosing Ram

the54thvoid · Mar 19, 2015

If I know I want a component, I'll do my research on it and buy what makes the most logical sense. That being said, my next tech move is to 4K and I have no idea which way to go for the monitor. I use my PC monitor for TV playback as well as gaming. Then I need the right OS and good enough GFX hardware to boot. Budget's aren't too much of an issue but I don't want to spend for the sake of it.

In short.... dunno, I buy what i want but it takes a lot to impress me.

peche · Mar 19, 2015

about 1 hour chossing GPU... because that day internet conection was pretty bad and i was looking some info for the current GTX 760!
as earthdog said... there is people that wastes to much time on this...
i spent plenty of my time watching cases for future upgrades .. also im needing a new one and looking for reviwes of 2 possible options

Regards,

MrGenius · Mar 19, 2015

If I had to decide which is hardest to choose, I'd have to say processors. But that has a lot to do with the way I build. Always trying to get the bestest for the cheapest. Price is my major concern. And I usually buy used CPUs. So their availability, or lack there of, can cause them to be a little harder to shop for sometimes. You never know what's going to pop up on ebay...or not...or how much it's going to cost. So, yeah, takes me a little while sometimes....to find the right one.

GreiverBlade · Mar 19, 2015

it should be a option : none of them

i choose all independently of any brand or loyalty, i jump on any "good price occasions" (just like my new mini itx build) and everything is easy to choose (specially CPU), if you lurk around TPU and have access to the info you needs (ie the wonderful review we find here

)

TL : DR : none of them?

EarthDog · Mar 19, 2015

Frick said:
It gets complicated if you have a specified budget, at least when looking at PSUs. Should you go for a PSU that has 1% better efficiency or one that has 0.2% better voltage regulation? Should you sacrifice modular for slightly better efficiency? There are so many great PSU's out there now in every possible price range.

If you (royal you, LOL, not YOU) could do basic math, you can figure out that unless you mine/fold/ run 24/7 that paying more for efficiency will, in the vast majority of cases, not pay off over the life of the PSU.

I wouldn't sacrifice modular for better efficiency (see previous sentence). VR doesn't matter for 99% of people in here. So long as its in spec (5% for the record), it will work just fine.

The hardest part is knowing what is a quality or crap PSU. But if you can google, you can figure that out pretty easy too.

I can see how things can get complicated, but... when you know, you know, and its easy breezy. I do see what you are saying though.

peche · Mar 19, 2015

EarthDog said:
But if you can google, you can figure that out pretty easy too.

looking for reviews... thats te best way to know what are you getting...
amazon and shopping sites have reviews... but many of them are pure crap... look tech sites like TPU, overclockers, tom's hardware... etc...

Regards.

HossHuge · Mar 19, 2015

Frick said:
Definitely monitor. Most components are associated with numbers: features, price, performance... Some things are getting harder because the market is oversaturated (like PSU's and GPU's), but generally it's only about getting the best thing for the money you have. Cases could have been harder, but for some reason I don't find them to be.

Monitors are harder because there are so many of them and the local shops don't carry a whole lot of them, and many aspects of the monitor are subjective. My monitor is sort of OK for me, but some users here would probably get a headache from it. And even if they have the same specs the panels differ and even if they have almost the same panel the variation can still be very big, and only about 10% (maybe) of the monitors out on the market today are ever reviewed.

I choose monitors as well for all the reasons that Frick talked about plus the fact that if you are going to spend say $300+, that opens up looking into televisions as well. There are just so many options. I am looking into buying a monitor and that's why I started this poll.

Toothless · Mar 19, 2015

I hate picking out the PSU...

Schmuckley · Mar 19, 2015

GPower

Countryside · Mar 19, 2015

Non for those who know what they are buying. And if you have doubts what to pick ask Techpowerup members to help :toast:

CAPSLOCKSTUCK · Mar 19, 2015

My next build is going to be Xeon based, i will purchase the CPU first then Mobo.

For previous builds i have usually chosen Mobo first based on specs vs suitability vs cost.

PSU takes some time and is the least pleasurable part of the search. (for me ).

I like making cases and that process can take weeks.
Cost is always a prohibitive factor but also an enjoyable part of the build...."the bang for buck"

Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Motherboard	MSI B450 Gaming Plus
Memory	GSkill 8GB Dual Channel DDR4-2800
Video Card(s)	MSI GamingX RX580 4GB
Storage	Kingston V300 240GB SSD + WD Green 2TB
Display(s)	ACER K212HL 27" + Haier 55" + Lenovo Explorer Mixed Reality Headset
Case	Enermax Ostrog (Red)
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA B2 750W
Software	Win10 64bit

System Name	Bayou Phantom
Processor	Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard	ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling	All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory	2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s)	EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage	1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s)	HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case	Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster Z
Power Supply	Seasonic X-850
Mouse	Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard	Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)

System Name	Dell-y Driver
Processor	Core i5-10400
Motherboard	Asrock H410M-HVS
Cooling	Intel 95w stock cooler
Memory	2x8 A-DATA 2999Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s)	UHD 630
Storage	1TB WD Green M.2 - 4TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s)	Asus PA248 1920x1200 IPS
Case	Dell Vostro 270S case
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Dell 220w
Software	Windows 10 64bit

System Name	Personal / HTPC
Processor	Ryzen 5900x / i5-4460
Motherboard	Asrock x570 Phantom Gaming 4 /ASRock Z87 Extreme4
Cooling	Corsair H100i / stock HSF
Memory	32GB DDR4 3200 / 8GB DDR3 1600
Video Card(s)	EVGA XC3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti / EVGA RTX 3060 XC
Storage	500GB Pro 970, 250 GB SSD, 1TB & 500GB Western Digital / 2x 4TB & 1x 8TB WD Red, 2TB SSD & 4TB SSD
Display(s)	Dell - S3220DGF 32" LED Curved QHD FreeSync Monitor / 50" LCD TV
Case	CoolerMaster HAF XB Evo / CM HAF XB Evo
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G35 headset
Power Supply	850W SeaSonic X Series / 750W SeaSonic X Series
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Black Microsoft Natural Elite Keyboard
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64 / Windows 10 Pro 64

System Name	HP Omen 17
Processor	i7 7700HQ
Memory	16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s)	GTX 1060
Storage	Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s)	1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s)	Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply	230W
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD+
Software	Win 10 Pro

System Name	Quantumville™
Processor	Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard	Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14
Memory	16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage	Samsung 850 Pro 256GB \| WD Black 4TB \| WD Blue 6TB
Display(s)	ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) \| Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case	Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply	Corsair AX1600i
Mouse	Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard	Yes
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

System Name	Senile
Processor	I7-4790K@4.8 GHz 24/7
Motherboard	MSI Z97-G45 Gaming
Cooling	Be Quiet Pure Rock Air
Memory	16GB 4x4 G.Skill CAS9 2133 Sniper
Video Card(s)	GIGABYTE Vega 64
Storage	Samsung EVO 500GB / 8 Different WDs / QNAP TS-253 8GB NAS with 2x10Tb WD Blue
Display(s)	34" LG 34CB88-P 21:9 Curved UltraWide QHD (34401440) FREE_SYNC*
Case	Rosewill
Audio Device(s)	Onboard + HD HDMI
Power Supply	Corsair HX750
Mouse	Logitech G5
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe RGB & G610 Orion Red
Software	Win 10

System Name	Black MC in Tokyo
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB \| WD Black SN750 2TB \|WD Blue 1TB x 2 \| Toshiba P300 2TB \| Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case	Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s)	Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
VR HMD	Acer Mixed Reality Headset
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

System Name	My PC
Processor	i7 4790k @4.4ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte z97m-d3h
Cooling	Corsair H105
Memory	4x4GB Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133-9-11-11-31-1T
Video Card(s)	GTX970 Stric oc
Storage	Samsung 840Pro 512GB
Display(s)	Asus ROG SWIFT
Case	Lian Li 359
Audio Device(s)	Denon DA-300USB / Denon AH-D5000
Power Supply	Corsair AX860
Mouse	Roccat Kone Pure Optical
Keyboard	Corsair K70
Software	Win10 64-bit home

Processor	i7 7700k
Motherboard	MSI Z270 SLI Plus
Cooling	CM Hyper 212 EVO
Memory	2 x 8 GB Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2070 Super
Storage	Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB and WD Black 4TB
Display(s)	Dell 27 inch 1440p 144 Hz
Case	Corsair Obsidian 750D Airflow Edition
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNova 850 W Gold
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Logitech G105
Software	Windows 10

Processor	AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard	ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling	D15
Memory	Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s)	eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage	Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s)	Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case	Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse	Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard	Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores	Meh benchmarks.

System Name	the little fart
Processor	AMD Ryzen 2600X
Motherboard	MSI x470 gaming plus
Cooling	Noctua NH-C14S
Memory	16 GB G.Skill Ripjaw 2400Mhz DDR 4
Video Card(s)	Sapphire RX Vega 56 Pulse
Storage	1 Crucial MX100 512GB SSD,1 Crucial MX500 2TB SSD, 1 1,5TB WD Black Caviar, 1 4TB WD RED HD
Display(s)	IIyama XUB2792QSU IPS 2560x1440
Case	White Lian-Li PC-011 Dynamic
Audio Device(s)	Asus Xonar SE pci-e card
Power Supply	Thermaltake DPS G 1050 watt Digital PSU
Mouse	Steelseries Sensei
Keyboard	Corsair K70
Software	windows 10 64 pro bit

Processor	Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard	MSI MAG Mortar B650 (wifi)
Cooling	be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
Memory	32GB Kingston Fury
Video Card(s)	Gainward RTX4070ti
Storage	Seagate FireCuda 530 M.2 1TB / Samsumg 960 Pro M.2 512Gb
Display(s)	LG 32" 165Hz 1440p GSYNC
Case	Asus Prime AP201
Audio Device(s)	On Board
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure POwer M12 850w Gold (ATX3.0)
Software	W10

System Name	Athenna
Processor	intel i7 3770 Dellided
Motherboard	GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Rev. 1.1
Cooling	Thermaltake Water 3.0 Pro + Tt Riing12 x2 / Tt ThunderBlade / Gelid Slim 120UV fans
Memory	16GB DRR3 Kingoston with Custom Tt spreaders + HyperX Fan
Video Card(s)	GeForce GTX 980 4GB Nvidia Sample
Storage	Crucial M4 SSD 64GB's / Seagate Barracuda 2TB / Seagate Barracuda 320GB's
Display(s)	22" LG FLATRON 1920 x 1280p
Case	Thermaltake Commander G42 Window
Audio Device(s)	On-board Dolby 5.1+ Kingston HyperX Cloud 1
Power Supply	Themaltake TR2 700W 80plus bronce & APC Pro backup 1000Va
Mouse	Tt eSports Level 10M Rev 1.0 Diamond Black & Tt Conkor "L" mouse pad
Keyboard	Tt eSports KNUCKER
Software	windows 10x64Pro
Benchmark Scores	well I've fried a 775' P4 12 years ago, that counts?

System Name	main/SFFHTPCARGH!(tm)/Xiaomi Mi TV Stick/Samsung Galaxy S23/Ally
Processor	Ryzen 7 5800X3D/i7-3770/S905X/Snapdragon 8 Gen 2/Ryzen Z1 Extreme
Motherboard	MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk/HP SFF Q77 Express/uh?/uh?/Asus
Cooling	Enermax ETS-T50 Axe aRGB /basic HP HSF /errr.../oh! liqui..wait, no:sizable vapor chamber/a nice one
Memory	64gb Corsair Vengeance Pro 3600mhz DDR4/8gb DDR3 1600/2gb LPDDR3/8gb LPDDR5x 4200/16gb LPDDR5
Video Card(s)	Hellhound Spectral White RX 7900 XTX 24gb/GT 730/Mali 450MP5/Adreno 740/RDNA3 768 core
Storage	250gb870EVO/500gb860EVO/2tbSandisk/NVMe2tb+1tb/4tbextreme V2/1TB Arion/500gb/8gb/256gb/2tb SN770M
Display(s)	X58222 32" 2880x1620/32"FHDTV/273E3LHSB 27" 1920x1080/6.67"/AMOLED 2X panel FHD+120hz/FHD 120hz
Case	Cougar Panzer Max/Elite 8300 SFF/None/back/back-front Gorilla Glass Victus 2+ UAG Monarch Carbon
Audio Device(s)	Logi Z333/SB Audigy RX/HDMI/HDMI/Dolby Atmos/KZ x HBB PR2/Edifier STAX Spirit S3 & SamsungxAKG beans
Power Supply	Chieftec Proton BDF-1000C /HP 240w/12v 1.5A/4Smart Voltplug PD 30W/Asus USB-C 65W
Mouse	Speedlink Sovos Vertical-Asus ROG Spatha-Logi Ergo M575/Xiaomi XMRM-006/touch/touch
Keyboard	Endorfy Thock 75% <3/none/touch/virtual
VR HMD	Medion Erazer
Software	Win10 64/Win8.1 64/Android TV 8.1/Android 13/Win11 64
Benchmark Scores	bench...mark? i do leave mark on bench sometime, to remember which one is the most comfortable. :o

System Name	Some computer stuff
Processor	Mostly Intel or AMD
Motherboard	ATX or mATX
Cooling	Bong Cooler
Memory	DDR2-4
Video Card(s)	A few
Storage	Plenty Platters or SSDs or USBs
Display(s)	Samsung 23"
Case	5 on the floor
Audio Device(s)	There's one for my M7 Gene, Oh I have 3-4 PCI 5.1 ones.Sabrent! lol
Power Supply	750-1000W
Mouse	cheap
Keyboard	Used ps2 from garage sales
Software	Yeah
Benchmark Scores	http://hwbot.org/user/schmuckley/#Hardware_Library http://valid.canardpc.com/rbjpbg

System Name	Veral
Processor	5950x
Motherboard	MSI MEG x570 Ace
Cooling	Corsair H150i RGB Elite
Memory	4x16GB G.Skill TridentZ
Video Card(s)	Powercolor 7900XTX Red Devil
Storage	Crucial P5 Plus 1TB, Samsung 980 1TB, Teamgroup MP34 4TB
Display(s)	Acer Nitro XZ342CK Pbmiiphx + 2x AOC 2425W
Case	Fractal Design Meshify Lite 2
Audio Device(s)	Blue Yeti + SteelSeries Arctis 5 / Samsung HW-T550
Power Supply	Corsair HX850
Mouse	Corsair Nightsword
Keyboard	Corsair K55
VR HMD	HP Reverb G2
Software	Windows 11 Professional
Benchmark Scores	PEBCAK

Processor	11700
Motherboard	TUF z590
Memory	G.Skill 32gb 3600mhz
Video Card(s)	ROG Vega 56
Case	Deepcool
Power Supply	RM 850

System Name	Party On
Processor	Xeon w 3520
Motherboard	DFI Lanparty
Cooling	Big tower thing
Memory	6 gb Ballistix Tracer
Video Card(s)	HD 7970
Case	a plank of wood
Audio Device(s)	seperate amp and 6 big speakers
Power Supply	Corsair
Mouse	cheap
Keyboard	under going restoration

Hardest piece of hardware to buy?

Hardest piece of hardware to buy?

Processors

Graphics card

Motherboard

Monitor

PSU

Case

Ram

Hard drive

Sound card

PC Gaming Enthusiast

Overclocked quantum bit

Fishfaced Nincompoop

Fishfaced Nincompoop

TPU addict

Intoxicated Moderator

Thermaltake fanboy

Thermaltake fanboy

Tech, Games, and TPU!

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