How fast can you build a PC?

[Beta-brain]

The sport of geeks.

Speed computer building, it's true 8)

One guy did it in a little over four minutes, probably not the neatest of wiring though and I wouldn't buy it off him :D (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12335960)

[TheGreatSatan]

Even after all these years, I have to take my time with it. I don't waste my time with gloves or wriststraps or mats though

[diluzio91]

if i do a slop job? aka, my version, with some wires exposed, about 15 min. if i go whole hog? well... i just finished blue storm after a year of tinkering ect... any cable that is exposed is wrapped or sleeved, i'll have to get some pics when i finally get the last part back from my friend who is painting it for me.

[AmEv]

About 15 minutes.
With decent cable management.

I don't worry about sleeving.

[Twigsoffury]

lol i can do it to in four minutes if i dont use half the screws, who cares about thermal paste, and cable management means getting the cables inside.

electric or hand screw driver?

[Indybird]

Its looks to me like the motherboard, processor, heatsink and PSU were already mounted in the computer. So they just had to hook everything up :facepalm:

I might even be willing to bet money I could beat 4 minutes in that case. :rolleyes:

A regular build from opening up the boxes to a completely built and cable managed PC takes me about 45 minutes: I like to savor the moment ;)

[slaveofconvention]

I know I've done way less than 10 minutes in the past (it was nearly 6 years ago and I THINK I hit about 7 mins and 40 seconds) - when I was working in a shop in Australia and a buddy and I had a race - and that was INCLUDING opening all the boxes etc - but the end result (which worked fine) wasn't pretty... It wasn't much of a PC tho - everything onboard, one stick of ram, one HD and one Optical - but it WAS a complete PC

[dr.walrus]

Well, it all depends on what the parts are: if it's the same spec every time and you're building 50, they'll be a few minutes each.

If it's a one-off, you sepnd time figuring out the CPU fan clamps, the case layout (how do I squeeze this power supply in?!), the toolless clips (labour saving? in theory...), allll that stuff is what takes the time. For example, when I first fitted the h50 alone it took me an hour - i was very cautious of the flex on the hoses and didn't trust that it was as robust as it was.

So familiar parts, with practice? 10-15 minutes, fine. Unfamiliar parts, a really neat cable job, a couple hours...

[AmEv]

OK, if it's just hook everything up, no management, 30 seconds.

[x88x]

Looking at the video footage, it looks like they only have to put in the ODD, GPU, RAM, SSD on mount, and two add-in cards (one looks like an X-Fi or Killer). Putting those parts in, assuming let's say two screws holding on the SSD mount, two screws for the ODD, one screw for each card and two screws for the side panel... I would say probably around 4-5 minutes with a power screwdriver, 5-6 with a manual. This is assuming I was familiar with the case and mounting positions. It would look like crap, but it would work.

As for how long a build normally takes me personally? As in, the case is done to my satisfaction and all I have to do is fill it up.....really more like 4-5 hours. The cable management alone can take me a few hours. And of course add another hour or two on if it's a water cooled system...plus another 8-12 hours to bleed out any air in the system. :P

[Twigsoffury]

Looking at the video footage, it looks like they only have to put in the ODD, GPU, RAM, SSD on mount, and two add-in cards (one looks like an X-Fi or Killer). Putting those parts in, assuming let's say two screws holding on the SSD mount, two screws for the ODD, one screw for each card and two screws for the side panel... I would say probably around 4-5 minutes with a power screwdriver, 5-6 with a manual. This is assuming I was familiar with the case and mounting positions. It would look like crap, but it would work.

As for how long a build normally takes me personally? As in, the case is done to my satisfaction and all I have to do is fill it up.....really more like 4-5 hours. The cable management alone can take me a few hours. And of course add another hour or two on if it's a water cooled system...plus another 8-12 hours to bleed out any air in the system. :P

I've done pallets and pallets of computers in one week, i think over 80 gateways. averaged it out to 45 minutes a computer.

But that was pulling them out of the stock rooms, seeing if they work. swapping the hard drives out with what they wanted, putting in a new CD/DVD-rom cleaning it up (inside and out) putting the SoftPOS software on, then setting it on the burn in table overnight.



If its someones computer or my own, i'm with you, it'll take me a hour or more to do it right, but i'd rather spend that extra time making sure everything is perfect and it'll boot the first time (hopefully) and function perfectly for years and years to come.

[x88x]

Yeah, if I'm just putting something together it won't take me anywhere near as long, but if I'm building my own system or doing a build for someone specific, I get really anal about all the wiring being perfect, everything aligned just right, parts in optimal locations to minimize visible wiring, and so on.

[dr.walrus]

Yeah, if I'm just putting something together it won't take me anywhere near as long, but if I'm building my own system or doing a build for someone specific, I get really anal about all the wiring being perfect, everything aligned just right, parts in optimal locations to minimize visible wiring, and so on.http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KD-iaq6UprY/TVhiTmEQ_CI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/2wHU1hT8fTo/s1600/obsessive.jpg

[slaveofconvention]

Bear in mind heh - the original question was "How fast can you build a PC?" as opposed to "How long does it take you to build a PC?" When I did the case review on the Bitfenix Colossus it was probably (definitely) the longest build of my life. Again, when I put together that i7 rig we were all discussing a couple weeks ago, actual build time was well over an hour and probably pushing 2....

[DynamoNED]

When I worked for my county's school district as an IT intern in 2007, my first assignment was to inspect & reassemble about 45 HP Compaq P4 refurb's that were being deployed to a junior high school. It typically involved popping off the cover, swapping out the HDD & ODD, checking all the cable connections, and buttoning it back up to go on the imaging/burn-in bench. The first one took me almost an hour. Why? Note to computer case engineers: while locating the HDD/ODD next to a non-removable case panel may optimize airflow, it is also prone to induce rage and foaming at the mouth of technicians asked to replace said HDD/ODD since most screw drivers won't fit in 7/16" spaces. After finding a workaround though, I was able to knock one out about every 8-10 minutes. The end results were substandard (by my building standards), but were "good enough for government work," which was literally what my supervisor at the time told me we were aiming for.

[Beta-brain]

So generally it takes a bit longer when building for yourself with parts bought with your own hard earned, not that surprising really :D

[dr.walrus]

So generally it takes a bit longer when building for yourself with parts bought with your own hard earned, not that surprising really :D

Also bear in mind your own is a one-off, whilst if you're making two dozen on a production line type basis....

[x88x]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KD-iaq6UprY/TVhiTmEQ_CI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/2wHU1hT8fTo/s1600/obsessive.jpg

*twitches* ...capitalization...not....consistent....
Aaagh!
http://i428.photobucket.com/albums/qq3/x13931x/tweek-296x300.jpg



....as a side note, while searching for that picture.....good grief I never realized there was such a thing as South Park yaoi fanfic. o_O The Internets: Raping your childhood, one day at a time.