5 things you should check upon receiving your prebuilt gaming PC

So you’ve just purchased a prebuilt gaming PC. Congratulations on your new rig! There’s nothing quite like firing up a brand-new system for the first time and installing all your favorite games. Buying a prebuilt is a great way to get your feet wet in the PC world. While building one yourself does have its benefits, there’s nothing wrong with paying an expert to do it for you. A system integrator’s goal is to provide a great experience out of the box, but things can (and do) go wrong.

Whether it’s from a boutique outlet with custom components, or a more mainstream option using parts you could buy off the shelf, SIs can make errors throughout the process. Add to that the challenges of shipping a built computer, which can turn your dream PC into a nightmare. Here are five things to check after receiving your prebuilt rig.

5 Physical features

Check for any potential shipping damage

The outside of a computer can tell you a lot about what may lie behind its side panels. Inspect your unit for any obvious signs of shipping damage. If the box your build came in was in particularly bad shape, it could be a sign that it was mishandled during shipping. If this is the case, would advise taking a photo of the box damage prior to opening it, and also saving the box until after you’ve powered on the machine and ensured everything is functional, just in case you need to show customer support. However, before you power it on, open up the side panel and inspect the inside. Prebuilts often come with protective foam that is placed inside the chassis in an effort to keep everything together during shipping, but it’s not infallible.

What you’re looking for here are any loose cables, connectors, and screws, as it is not uncommon for these components to shake loose during shipping. Take a screwdriver and make sure all motherboard screws are present and snug. If there are any missing, or you hear rattling when moving the computer around, it’s a good idea to find that loose screw. If it were to wedge itself in the space between your case and motherboard, it could cause an electrical short, rendering your motherboard kaput. While you have your screwdriver handy, check the retention screws on your CPU cooler as well. Loose screws here can mean a bad cooler mount, resulting in compromised thermal performance.

Also, be sure to check that your CPU 12V power connector and 20+4 pin motherboard power are both fully seated. These can be typically located in the top left corner and right side of the motherboard, respectively. These are important to check even if your PC is able to boot, as many systems can fire up without all power connectors populated, and as a result, you could be leaving performance headroom on the table. If your system has drives using SATA, now is a good time to check those connectors as well.

4 XMP / EXPO

A must for gaming performance

XMP is a setting that is overlooked far too often and can be missed by even the most thorough of system builders. Turning XMP on allows your RAM to run at its rated speed, which is almost always going to be faster than the BIOS default. Not enabling XMP can leave a ton of gaming performance on the table, so it’s imperative you do so.

To enable XMP, boot into your BIOS and look for settings regarding overclocking or memory speed. You may be able to search using the F9 key, but it depends on your motherboard manufacturer. It may be called something different depending on your platform, such as DOCP or EXPO in the case of AMD systems. Once found, there are two possible profiles for XMP. XMP I enables your RAM to run at its rated speed and timings, and XMP II is usually your motherboard manufacturer’s recommended settings, but these vary per manufacturer.

3 Drivers

Your system may have shipped with out-of-date drivers

To streamline the building process, system integrators often “clone” machines using the same system image. This means they don’t have to go through and install drivers and tweak settings for each PC manually. It also means that there’s a chance your PC was shipped with drivers that are out of date.

In most cases, this means your system may only be behind by a few weeks, which isn’t egregious. However, if you bought a system that was built, packed, and put on a shelf somewhere for months before it landed in your possession, that could mean you’re quite far behind on driver updates. Windows Update will take care of most system drivers, but some, like your GPU driver, you’ll have to update yourself.

Your GPU drivers are most important for stability and performance in games. For the latest NVIDIA GPU drivers, check NVIDIA GeForce Experience or NVIDIA’s official driver download page. For AMD GPUs, check AMD’s Radeon Adrenalin software, or their online auto-detect tool. Intel ARC drivers can be found on their official website.

2 Fan curves

An easy win for your ears and your hardware

A poorly tuned fan curve can make your PC sound a lot louder than it otherwise needs to be. A fan curve is the relationship between the temperature of components in your system and fan speed, and while whoever built your rig should’ve adjusted the curves to optimize for noise and temperature, there’s a chance they left them at default.

Changing fan curves can be done in a variety of ways, and it largely depends on the manufacturer of your components. However, in most cases, you should be able to access these settings through your BIOS. Making your fan curve more palatable to your ears is as easy as adding a few more levels to the curve, so the rise in fan speed isn’t so drastic. Alternatively, if you game with closed-back headphones, or with any kind of noise-cancellation, you might not mind fan noise, in which case you can optimize the curve for strong cooling performance rather than noise reduction.

1 Startup apps

Improve boot times and remove unwanted bloat

Checking which applications are starting at boot and disabling undesired ones will not only help with performance, but will also give you an idea of exactly how much bloatware was installed on your computer before you received it. To check startup apps, open Task Manager and navigate to the Startup apps tab. Anything you rarely use or won’t need right at startup can be toggled off. Additionally, applications listed here that you don’t use at all are also likely safe to uninstall.

Take ownership of your hardware

There’s nothing wrong with purchasing a prebuilt, especially if you’re a novice PC user or short on time. However, it is important to familiarize yourself with your new machine. Getting acclimated with both the hardware and software will open the door to a better overall experience. If you do decide to perform an upgrade or even build a new system yourself, you’ll also be more confident with your shiny new hardware. This new machine is yours, so don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty!