Kevin Hill shares some suggestions:
The SQL Server installer has gotten better: tempdb configuration, MAXDOP, and even max memory can now be configured during setup.
But don’t be fooled: there’s still a post-install checklist that can make or break your environment over time. If you’ve ever inherited a server that “just ran” for years and started getting slower over time you’ve likely seen what happens when this list gets ignored.
These are not in any particular order, but some do require a restart of the server or the SQL Server Engine service to take effect:
Click through for several tips. Most of them I agree without reservation. For a couple of them, like backup compression, there are specific circumstances in which I’d recommend against turning it on, namely when working with storage subsystems that deduplicate your data automatically. In that case, you might want to think harder about backup compression (or backup encryption, for that matter) before turning it on.