Thanks, guys.
I also took the opportunity to remove the CPU fans/heatsinks from both motherboards while I had them out then clean up and apply new thermal paste (just a grain sized 'blob' of paste in the middle of the CPU before reattaching the heatsink/fan is what is recommended).
Also replaced the 3 volt 2032 'button' batteries on the motherboards which retains the BIOS and time settings when the PC's are turned off and disconnected from mains power - had to go into the BIOS and adjust the settings (just optimized defaults for me) when I powered up the PC(s) for the first time after I finished the builds.
I always shut down my PC and turn the power off at the UPS (uninterruptible power supply aka battery backup for mains power cuts) and the wall switch when I'm not using the PC for a while.
The newer (3 and a half year old) Gigabyte motherboard now in the new case has 32GB RAM (4 slots, 8GB each slot) and the older (5 year old) ASUS motherboard in the old case which I'm using right now has 16GB RAM - it only has 2 slots with 8GB sticks in each.
One thing I've
ALWAYS hated about building my own PC - and I've been doing it for nearly 20 years - is those pain in the rear end connectors for the front panel where they plug into the motherboard. I almost need a magnifying glass to see what I'm doing, even with my reading glasses on.
This article is over 13 years old but nothing seems to have changed since:
@#&$%! front panel connectors
https://techreport.com/blog/12098/front-panel-connectors/ This sort of thing should have been standardized years ago with just a single plug to handle all of the connections.
Oh, I should have mentioned in my earlier post that if anyone is cleaning out their PC with an air compressor, air duster (like I've bought) or even a tin of compressed air, make sure you stop the CPU and other fan blades from spinning with a pen or pencil or something similar while you're 'blasting' them with air or they can spin so fast you risk damaging or destroying the fan bearings.
Also, its a good idea to use a water trap attachment if you're using an air compressor to avoid condensation from coming out with the compressed air which can happen sometimes - which is also the main reason (apart from the cost) why I don't like those tins of compressed air.
Bobby. wrote on Nov 16
th, 2020 at 9:56pm:
I worry about warranty claims when you build it yourself?
Hi, Bobby.
There wouldn't be any warranty for a self built PC of course but I'm sure the warranties for the individual components (power supply, motherboard, graphics card, etc.) would still apply.
You'd probably need to prove that it wasn't something you did (errors during assembly, etc.) that caused the component(s) to fail but I imagine the manufacturers would be able to determine what happened when the item is returned for warranty claims.
The only component I've ever had to claim warranty on in nearly 20 years was a very expensive NVIDIA graphics card that blew up 12 years ago after about a month's use in one of my self built PC's (I still remember the loud 'POP' sound inside the case followed immediately by the monitor going black).
The PC kept running but because I couldn't see anything I had to shut it down with the power button.. lol..
Upon inspecting the graphics card the cooling fan had somehow come loose from its mount and jammed against the surrounding 'shroud' causing the fan to stop spinning which then caused the card to overheat and fail.
I returned the card to the computer store where I bought it and they immediately replaced it for me after their 'in house' tech looked at it - they didn't even ask me to wait for it to be returned to the manufacturer.