We recommend high reliability is very important for any system, even for the cheapest entry-level PC. If the system is unreliable, all the features loaded become immaterial. We should always be looking to achieve best reliability in systems we design for ourselves, however sometimes price and other factors force us to opt for the second best. The best mass-market systems may not that high reliability.

A reliable system means a system that doesn’t crash or corrupt data. It runs for several years with only an occasional cleaning. Most of the system crashes blamed on Windows are actually because of the marginal or failing hardware.

There are a certain principles for designing a reliable system. First, use only top quality parts. NO need to be the fastest available, to be true, high-performance parts frequently get hot and therefore are less reliable than mid-ranging ones but top-quality parts may be a full order of magnitude more reliable than others. Use a motherboard built around a reliable chipset and made by a top manufacturer. Use a first-rate power supply and the best memory available. Avoid using poor quality cables. Keep the system cool and make sure keep it neat by cleaning after a period of time. It can make your system a little expensive but much more reliable.