PC Building

[mengelag]

I know I usually have a routine of things to install and uninstall and stable overclocks I like to do. I'm curious to know what other people in the community do?

[SubtleIQ]

Wow 2 likes even tho there are zero tips listed, and zero replies...weird.

Bios Level

Optimized Default, XMP Profile if memory supported

Windows

Turn off every auto start that I do not want running.  Aka Adobe Update, Browser of choice update,  almost every windows app aka Cortana, One Drive, XBox Game bar

Every windows task that I do not want running, typically auto updaters

Registry Auto Starts that I do not want running.

Services that I do not want running

 Usaully auto updaters, they hide them everywhere.  I'm perfectly fine with updating when I open an app.

Windows Update I tell it to only install when I know my computer is off, so it will not update video drivers or mb drivers.

Video settings Maximum Power / Performance options

Phys X run on GPU, because Im convinced its designed to run on 

GPU with zero GPU impact. (But I honestly do not know)

Make Everything Visble in the Notification Area, cuase I only want minimal things running while Im gaming.

[dryden]

I backup all my important files regularly, so when a clean install of windows is needed, I'm not worried about starting from scratch. Over time, from installing and uninstalling software to config changes, Windows can get slow, bloated imo. I do a clean install at least once a year for PCs I use often. 

There are multiple ways to backup your important files: network, cloud storage, external HDD/SSD, internal HDD/SSD, USB flash drive.

Uninstalling programs you don't use or old programs use haven't used in a while.

Install the latest relevant drivers.

Adjust Windows advanced system settings for best performance, or turn off visual settings that you don't mind being off. System Properties > Advanced tab > Performance Settings > Visual Effects

Remove unnecessary start-up programs.

[johnnyenglish]

In the software side, less is more, don't fill up your PC.

- Don't have your desktop folder full of stuff, this is a tip more for the enterprise world but still valid for home users.
- Don't let your main drive get full, delete unwanted update history, cache, restore points and temp files. They can be silent over time.
- Go to the event viewer and check for warnings/errors, sometimes you may have uninstalled something but some registry key or startup proccess could still be there.
- Some say that CCleaner is no longer useful but I like my registry clean of stuff I no longer have it installed.
- A good user may not need a AV/malware but do some ocasional FULL scans to be sure.
- Check carefully whats running, monitor your CPU, idle means idle, 1% or 2% CPU usage.
- BackUp your stuff with redundancy!! NVME is cheap now but your precious memories are expensive, sometimes you won't get another chance to take that picture again.

There are plentyful more tips, as soon as I can, I'll drop them here.

But to put things in perspective, I haven't formated/reinstalled my computer for over a decade.
From Windows 7 to 10, 3 boards, several graphics cards and CPU's. Still running like a charm.

Good maintenance is all you need.

Hardware wise

I'm very curious, I'm always tweaking and messing things. 

- Undervolting is a common thing today, it helps with cooling a lot! Do that!
- Curve Optimizer is also a "undervolt" but much more elaborate and helps with performance, you can even use it along side with offset undervolt.
- EXPO/XMP/DOCP, if you run them stable, enable them. Don't forget about Freesync and SAM.
- Don't fill up your case with fans because its pretty, most of the time people don't even plan ahead and airflow end up being bad. Make a good plan and check airflow.
Remember more intake=positive pressure and less dust inside as long as you have dust filters. More exhaust=negative pressure and could be better in some situations but dust will find its way trough unfiltered crevices in your case.
- Keep it clean! Its easier to clean the computer frequently with a batttery operated blower when the dust haven't settled yet than later.
- Keep your build balanced, don't over purchase things unless you are certain of a side upgrade down the line.
- Don't save your pennies on the PSU or Cooling. More watts doesn't mean better PSU, get a 80+ Gold or more.
- Don't pair a top CPU with a cheap board or vice versa, happens more than you think.

There are obvious other tweaks to be made, but this are some of the most basic.

Good Luck with your builds

[dryden]

I'm envious. I haven't been so lucky. Last week I had to do a clean install because my Edge browser would not launch at all. Not sure if it was due to the optional Windows updates that I had just installed or when I was messing around with Powershell. Luckily, I also use Chrome so still had Internet access.  

[otacon]

I always overclock my RAM as much as I can but I leave my CPU clocks alone, as the gains are not nearly as easy to get.

For storage, I over-provision my SSDs. I leave about 20% unallocated. I'm not sure how necessary it is for modern drives, but I imagine it still benefits the wear levelling .

With software I don't let anything that isn't critical run on startup. I don't let launchers run in the background either. For a browser I use Firefox. Edge has far too many features and pop-ups for me. Chrome can be a bit of a resource hog.

[BigAl01]

Depending on how the new build will be used, you don't need to copy over your entire history of photographs to a gaming machine that's just used for gaming.  Keep a gaming machine free of clutter and optimized for games, such as M.2 drives or SSD SATA drives to hold the games.  I've moved away from HDD's unless they are there for backup use, except in cases where the HDD's hold my Steam games already.  As for over-clocking, I leave the CPU alone now (used to over-clock the AMD Athlon XP chips quite a bit) and just use the XMP profiles or whatever RAM profiles there are for the memory.  I do try to use the latest BIOS update when building a machine, but then I generally leave it alone unless there is a known reason to update it - like compatibility with a new CPU series.

[mengelag]

I actually now use a 2 TB NvME in a USB-C enclosure (with a backup). I plug it in when I want to sync important pictures or document folders and files. That keeps the PC, gaming or otherwise, clear of anything important. Makes for quick O/S reinstalls and setups. Game saves are cloud-based so it's basically: install O/S, drivers, games and voila! Good to roll in under an hour.

[BigAl01]

Show me a picture of that enclosure.  I use an HDD external backup drive to transfer stuff to new builds, but an NVME drive setup might be a wee bit faster.

[mengelag]

 

[BigAl01]

Interesting.  Thank you.

[johnnyenglish]

Those are nice, i got the gamerish looking enclosure from RoG. Freakin'Fast. 

[mengelag]

Yeah, I think these ones are 10g transfer rate (advertised).

[Doc_Gonzo]

Having not built a new computer for some time and switching to Windows 11, I found that the LAN / wireless drivers were not included (In the WIN 11 ISO).  I was also concerned about the amount of bloatware and 'telemetry' collecting included in a standard Win 11 ISO.

I found a handy guide that lets you add in any driver and remove anything you do not want - giving you your own custom installation of Windows 11.  You need to use a free program called NTLite and there is a handy guide here. 

I haven't got as far as overclocking / undervolting yet and have just concentrated on setting up airflow in my case. I have the AIO as an exhaust at the top and with 3 x intakes on the front, I wanted positive pressure inside to keep as much dust out as possible. To that end, I switched the rear 140mm exhaust to intake and my Temps dropped by 2C. 

[mengelag]

Rufus will also let you do some of that. Also, a handy tool for that situation is a USB WIFI dongle ($15 Amazon). Just have to plug it in during install.

[otacon]

I plugged my Android phone into my machine for USB internet tethering as my WiFi driver was far too new the Windows 10 image. It worked with no fuss.

[otacon]

Removing components from Windows, however unnecessary they seem is probably a bad idea long term. You will eventually run into software that needs some specific dll that isn't included in your system as most consumer Windows installations are identical.

If you want to tinker with an OS, Linux is far easier to work with. You can compile a kernel with only components and drivers that you need, and there won't be much pre-installed software other than basic system utilities if you install a minimal Debian or Arch Linux image.

[Doc_Gonzo]

I just removed things like the extra languages, Internet Explorer, the 'Wallet app', Cortana, Clipchamp, Feedback Hub, Films and TV, Get Help, Tips for getting started. Microsoft News, Microsoft People, Office, Alarms and Clocks. . . . 

Disabled remote assistance and Remote desktop server. Under 'Settings' I enabled / disabled things that I would normally have to do once Windows was installed. I am sure that there were a few more 'tweaks' and it depends on preference but I haven't run into any issues with the installation over the 6 months I've been using it.  I can't see that sort of tinkering  causing issues but will report back if I do run into trouble!

[mengelag]

@Doc_Gonzo That's the sort of stuff I do after an install as well. Get rid of the garbage Windows bloatware.

[tenzo23]

Must have - stats, monitoring, bench/stress, tuning software - CPU-Z, HWMonitor/HWinfo, Ryzen Master, Prime95, Memtest, Cinebench R23, Geekbench 6, FurMark, GPU-Z, Afterburner/Rivatuner

Ryzen CPUs -

PBO with manual PPT, TDC, EDC limits and negative Curve Optimizer. Ryzen Master's auto optimization for CO can show what each core is capable of, but not a complete indicator of stability.

When I did this process with my 5800X, RM told me I could set all my cores to -30 which I thought was great. Ran a few multi-core passes of CBr23 no problem, but when I ran Geekbench 6, the system crashed about a minute and a half in and rebooted. Started reducing the neg curve on the 2 fastest cores, benching each step until it stopped crashing, which for me was -27 (set to -26 for good measure). After CO was set, I started adding boost clock in 50MHz increments and found it stable at +200MHz. In the end, there was a nice improvement in benchmarks, gaming, and thermal performance! https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/2195095

Radeon GPUs -

Enable Above 4G Decoding and Re-Size BAR Support in BIOS to use AMD SmartAccess Memory if your hardware supports it.

For overclocking/undervolting, you can use Adrenaline Software or MSI Afterburner. What I generally do is increase the Power Limit of the card, then start with increasing GPU clock at default voltage. Do this in 50-100MHz inc's and use 3DMark and Furmark in between steps to test for crashing, driver timeouts, or artifacting. When you notice any abnormalities, reduce the overclock in small inc's until they stop. After GPU OC, you can do the same procedure for VRAM. Finally, you can start lowering you GPU voltage by 5-10mVs and test for stability b/w steps.

If you're not worried about all out performance, you can simply do a quick undervolt and be done with it!

RAM -

(Applicable up to Zen 2) You can search and download for DRAM Calculator for Ryzen. When you run it, it'll detect your CPU, motherboard, Memory type/manufacturer, etc and you can calculate Safe and Fast presets to try. Even though my CPU is Zen 3, I tried this anyway. Any attempt at Fast timings resulted in no boot. Safe timings would boot, but failed Memtest. Only passed Memtest with Safe preset when I left Termination Block and CAD_BUS Block settings on Auto in BIOS. I found a slight improvement in bandwidth and latency over default XMP settings.

Misc. -

Good thermal paste can make a big difference for better cooling and avoiding throttling. (Arctic MX-6 is great.)

Windows -

Enable Game Mode, but turn Off Xbox Game Bar and Captures (if not in use.)