[Jarymaine]

Once I spilled something I was drinking all over my laptop. The liquid went through the keyboard and that laptop was history. I have learned to be cautious with handling liquids near my computer.

What was the hardest lesson that you've learned about your computer hardware?

[Invictium]

First time I built a computer I bought Corsair Dominator Platinum RAM - which is unusually tall.
I also bought a Dark Rock Pro 3 air cooler, which has a very low RAM clearance.

I'm sure you can guess what happened next.
Decided to go all out and grabbed a water cooler instead. Happy it happened - the cooler I've got now is holding up very well.

[Chris⌁]

I have learned that keeping my PC safe in a proper spot will help with ventilation. I no longer have overheating issues.

[webdev77]

What was the hardest lesson that you've learned about your computer hardware?

Never share what your hobby actually costs if you don't want the female types to get mad at you. This applies to things well beyond computer hardware.

[Edge of Nowhere]

Always put your side panel back on your box.

You never know when you'll put your feet up on your box to watch a movie and rip out your video card because it snagged your sock.

[Gt403cyl]

Unplug your pc during a thunderstorm.

Or use a surge protector strip.....

@OP Never tell your significant other how much you spent on your PC. Ouch it still hurts.

[Bastille]

Punch a computer does not mean that will fix a problem.

[Treebeard_]

Too much thermal paste is a real and awful thing. Learned this on my very first build. Even worse with liquid metal.

[Edge of Nowhere]

Too much thermal paste is a real and awful thing. Learned this on my very first build. Even worse with liquid metal.

I've seen that so many times on PCs I've fixed throughout the years.

[TheGoldenRelik]

Don't try to repair something that is already broken. It doesn't worth it, just change it.

[Blue Moon]

Spending the extra money to buy a portable gaming rig (laptop) is not worth it. I can build a PC with similar stats as my laptop for about half the money.

[The_Right_Stuff]

Too much thermal paste is a real and awful thing. Learned this on my very first build. Even worse with liquid metal.

No its not* Too much is never going to cause issues (assuming non conductive paste) while going too little can.

*Unless your the Verge and use a Cement Truck to pour Paste and mix 2 pastes. Liquid Metal it can cause issues, but paste no it won't.

[sh4moon]

when your ram fills up your computer crashes. I have a raspberry pi. filling up the ram is easier than I would like.

[Pharcyde]

Do NOT fucking cheap out on the power supply.
I did it on my first build, oof.

[Kappa]

Hardest lesson would be to never expect things to go as planned, there's always something when it comes to hardware that surprises you at some point lmao.