Image: Newegg
How fast can you assemble a PC? I’ve seen The Full Nerd crew do two pretty hairy SFF builds in three hours, and I don’t think I’ve ever done one in less than four. But Newegg found some speed demons at MegaCon Orlando over the weekend. The fastest time, according to Newegg’s social media? Just 4 minutes and a hair under 10 seconds.
“Alan H” scored the win, along with a $1,000 Newegg gift card, an Intel Core 7 Ultra processor, and a new B580 graphics card. Other runner-up winners were almost as fast at 4:18, 5:20, and 6:07.
That’s the time to get the motherboard, processor, RAM, and power supply inside a case and initiating a pre-OS boot. It’s pretty bare-bones as far as PC builds go, without setting up a cooling system (aside from an air PC cooler), graphics card, serious cable routing, or a lot of other things you might expect from a “full” PC build. You can see two “pro builders” going through the process in this time-lapse video:
Watching the video above, I’m not sure exactly what the full process entailed on the show floor. Those two look like they had the CPU and cooler ready to go on the motherboard, and the one on the right put in a graphics card as well. So if you’re looking to beat that record, maybe you’ll have to track down Alan H and ask what steps there are. We might be on the cusp of a new sport… an extremely nerdy one.
Though I’ve built a lot of PCs over the years, I think I’d be terrified to do it on a convention hall floor with an audience. I’d be too afraid to pull a Zuckerberg (move fast and break things). And as PC Gamer notes, I don’t think I’ve ever done it without dropping at least one screw down into the bowels of the case.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he’s the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop “battlestation” in his off hours. Michael’s previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he’s covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he’s always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.
