The Hotdog Laserhouse

Don’t buy cheap. “Mid-range” hardware is the lowest you should deal with; buying low-end inexpensive parts just means you’re going to have to replace them sooner (like once a year).

Try not to be afraid of it. As long as you follow the directions and keep skin touching the “chassis” (the metal interior of your PC case, which should be grounded against electro-static discharge), you should be fine.

More and more computer stuff is color-coded these days, and even if it’s not, most computer hardware will only fit in to the slot it was designed for. Really, the only fiddly bit these days is configuring jumpers for case lights and whatnot, which can be a bit of a pain in the butt. It is difficult to plug something in where it does not belong.

Push hardware in firmly, but do not force it. Pushing too hard and you risk breaking something.

Buy a can of compressed air and spray down the interior of your PC every 2-3 months to get rid of dust. Obviously, make sure the PC is turned off, first. I have lots of airflow in my case, so dust ends up building up in there pretty quickly.

If you have more than one HDD, try to make sure there’s at least one “space” between them. Like my current HDD cage inside my case has enough “slots” for four HDDs, but I only use the top and the bottom slots - HDDs get warm and stay warm for longer periods of time than anything else in your system, so it is occasionally important to make sure they have room to breathe.

Also consult somebody else because seriously I have been having near-constant computer hardware problems since like 2007. I feel like I am cursed or doing something wrong!