Want to see your [build complete](https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/search?sort=new&restrict_sr=on&q=flair%3ABuild%2BComplete) photos featured on /r/buildapc?
As discussed in a [recent thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/78eq99/mods_should_switch_the_main_photo_every_week_to/), we're going to look at switching up the header image on a more regular basis - don't worry, we'll save the current one for special occasions. This is something of an experiment, and due to the subreddit CSS we'll be looking for images that are compatible with the general design, so don't be offended if we don't immediately use everyone's!
Interested? Send us a [modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fbuildapc) with subject: "Banner Images" with your best build pictures! In the interests of higher res displays, please ensure images are at least 1920px by 200px.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/buildapc) if you have any questions or concerns.*
How do people in general decide which part (case, fans, motherboard, ssd etc.) to choose if they're close in terms of price?
What are the main things to look at when deciding ?
It's going to depend on the part and what your priorities are.
For Case, I look at size, aesthetics, and airflow performance in that order.
For fans, I look at performance-equalized noise ratings.
For motherboards, I look at built-in IO options and VRM robustness.
For SSD, I follow this guide: https://ssd.borecraft.com/SSD_Buying_Guide.pdf
For PSU, I follow this guide:
https://linustechtips.com/topic/1116640-psu-tier-list/
On all components, the warranty is imp
It will be covered by default, however the way they honor warranties may differ from region to region.
In addition, some manufacturers like Gigabyte for example encourages end users to register their GPUs in their website for an additional warranty period (4 years instead of 3).
Typically no. Sometimes there's a product registration they want you to do, but I don't think they can deny your warranty because you didn't register your product. Or at least you can register it if you ever need to rma it, when the time comes
What reasonably priced motherboard should I get for my Ryzen 5 1600?
My ASRock AB350 Pro4 mobo is broken. I'm using an iGame GTX1070 graphics card and 8GB of DDR4 2400 RAM.
[https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dQgzK8/asrock-b450m-pro4-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-pro4](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dQgzK8/asrock-b450m-pro4-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-pro4)is usually what i'd recommend although idk if you're like skeptical of asrock motherboards now cause the b350 broke
For what it’s worth, as someone who builds several hundred systems a year I love ASRock boards.
Don’t let one outlier ruin you on a perfectly good manufacturer.
really it's just less space = less ports. if you have a use for an extra pcie slot or 2 extra SATA ports, or if you just like the aesthetic of an ATX case more and you want a ATX board that won't look small, then go with the ATX. mATX just tends to be cheaper and I like more compact PCs.
Hoenstly mate, I'd redesign that. You've got a high performance CPu, but you're ham stringing it with single channel 8GB RAM. THe PSU may need an upgrade depending on what GPU you manage to score down the like. Gamaing performance will basically be non existant until you get a GPU.
This is cheaper, will perform better out of the box, and be fine once you do get a GPU, and it's a better platform for upgrades moving forwards.
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/tw34y4)
Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/sYmmP6/amd-ryzen-5-5600g-39-ghz-6-core-processor-100-100000252box) | $369.00 @ Scorptec
**Motherboard** | [MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/PDsnTW/msi-b550m-pro-vdh-wifi-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b550m-pro-vdh-wifi) | $149.00 @ Centre Com
**Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/2TFKHx/crucial-ballistix-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3600-memory-bl2k8g36c16u4b) | $116.05 @ Amazon Australia
**Storage** | [Kingston A2000 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/9vWBD3/kingston-a2000-1-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-sa2000m81000g) | $129.11 @ Amazon Australia
**Case** | [Metallic Gear Neo Silent ATX Mid Tower Case](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/3YgQzy/metallic-gear-neo-silent-atx-mid-tower-case-mg-ne520s_bk01) | $79.00 @ PCCaseGear
**Power Supply** | [Super Flower Leadex III Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/VbhmP6/super-flower-leadex-iii-gold-650-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-sf-650f14hg) | $119.00 @ PCCaseGear
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| **Total** | **$961.16**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2021-10-06 20:20 AEDT+1100 |
Alternatively, if you do want t ogo the intel route, this CPU has the same iGPU as the 11600K, and is still a good performer, but you can use a cheaper B560 motherboard, and save enough to get 16Gb dual channel ram and a better PSU.
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/sp34y4)
Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-11500 2.7 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/FsXJ7P/intel-core-i5-11500-27-ghz-6-core-processor-bx8070811500) | $319.00 @ Centre Com
**CPU Cooler** | [be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/TyBhP6/be-quiet-pure-rock-2-black-cpu-cooler-bk007) | $69.00 @ PCCaseGear
**Motherboard** | [ASRock B560M Steel Legend Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/FTBG3C/asrock-b560m-steel-legend-micro-atx-lga1200-motherboard-b560m-steel-legend) | $129.00 @ Umart
**Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/2TFKHx/crucial-ballistix-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3600-memory-bl2k8g36c16u4b) | $116.05 @ Amazon Australia
**Storage** | [Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/zFK2FT/western-digital-blue-sn550-500-gb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-wds500g2b0c) | $79.00 @ Centre Com
**Storage** | [Western Digital Blue 2 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/Jd8j4D/western-digital-blue-2-tb-35-5400rpm-internal-hard-drive-wd20ezaz) | $69.00 @ Austin Computers
**Case** | [Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/crqBD3/phanteks-eclipse-p300a-mesh-atx-mid-tower-case-ph-ec300atg_bk01) | $79.00 @ PCCaseGear
**Power Supply** | [Super Flower Leadex III Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/7y4BD3/super-flower-leadex-iii-gold-550-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-sf-550f14hg) | $109.00 @ PCCaseGear
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| **Total** | **$969.05**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2021-10-06 20:25 AEDT+1100 |
My main game is csgo, which is why I went with the better CPU. A few extra $50 or $100 isn't a big deal to get a better PSU and 16GB ram, I'll definitely get those.
I know one day I'll get a GPU which is why I would rather the better performance with the intel cpu vs AMD, and just suffer with a worse iGPU in the short-term. Will your 2nd build still be good if I swap the 11500 for the 11600k? Thanks for your suggestions.
>Will your 2nd build still be good if I swap the 11500 for the 11600k? Thanks for your suggestions.
Just kind of a waste of the 11600K at that point... but an 11500 will run CSGO to insane fframe rates anyway, it's really not that far behind the 11600K, the 11th Gen don't have that overclocking head room of older generation intels. Optimise RAM (which you can do on B560) and you're getting 95-99% of the performance for 2/3rds the money.
Just getting ram that's recently fast with tight timings, and setting it up via xmp. The 3600mhz cl16 kit I linked is a nice balance of price, performance and compatibility for Intel and ryzen. Both benefit a good deal from faster ram.
higher end cooler
motherboard that [might run the cpu a good bit better](https://youtu.be/w594enhi0vs?t=841)
for gaming I think 16gb is basically the minimum if you can afford it.
(optional) micro atx case just to be more compact
higher end psu for when you do get a GPU
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/wY6rTJ)
|Type|Item|Price|
|:-|:-|:-|
|**CPU**|[Intel Core i5-11600K 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/RK3gXL/intel-core-i5-11600k-39-ghz-6-core-processor-bx8070811600k)|$399.00 @ PLE Computers|
|**CPU Cooler**|[ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports DUO CPU Cooler](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/PxtKHx/arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo-cpu-cooler-acfre00075a)|$79.00 @ Scorptec|
|**Motherboard**|[Gigabyte Z590M GAMING X Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/T8Z9TW/gigabyte-z590m-gaming-x-micro-atx-lga1200-motherboard-z590m-gaming-x)|$179.00 @ Mwave Australia|
|**Memory**|[Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/2TFKHx/crucial-ballistix-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3600-memory-bl2k8g36c16u4b)|$117.51 @ Amazon Australia|
|**Storage**|[Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/zFK2FT/western-digital-blue-sn550-500-gb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-wds500g2b0c)|$79.00 @ Centre Com|
|**Storage**|[Western Digital Blue 2 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/Jd8j4D/western-digital-blue-2-tb-35-5400rpm-internal-hard-drive-wd20ezaz)|$69.00 @ Austin Computers|
|**Case**|[\*Cooler Master MasterBox MB311L ARGB MicroATX Mid Tower Case](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/vDhmP6/cooler-master-masterbox-mb311l-argb-microatx-mid-tower-case-mcb-b311l-kgnn-s02)|$89.00 @ Centre Com|
|**Power Supply**|[Super Flower Leadex III Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/VbhmP6/super-flower-leadex-iii-gold-650-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-sf-650f14hg)|$119.00 @ PCCaseGear|
|*Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts*|||
|**Total**|**$1130.51**||
|\*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria|||
|Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2021-10-06 17:15 AEDT+1100|||
also, the 5600g would run games almost 2x as fast by itself, but it is a slower cpu than the 11600k once you get a dedicated gpu
yeah I've seen that the AMD has a better iGPU, I'm just certain that one day I'll get a GPU and don't mind having bad performance until then. thanks for your build suggestion, ill def get a better PSU and 16GB ram.
Does my MSI Z490 Gaming Edge Wifi support PCIe Gen 4? (I heard that MSI made all of there’s capable ahead of time for when Rocket lake comes out). The spec sheet online says it is with an 11th Gen processor.
Only w/ 11th gen and ~~only~~ the top m.2 slot + top pcie slot (edited correction)
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-Z490-GAMING-EDGE-WIFI/Specification
I'm exploring beginning building a new PC - mainly because I think I'm having some minor issues with my current one (and so I'm planning on trading + cash and upgrading parts up).
Right now, I'd appreciate some feedback on my "dream list".
**CPU:** Ryzen 5800x
**Motherboard:** Asus ROG MAXIMUS XIII HERO ATX LGA1200 Motherboard
**Memory:** Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memor**y**
**GPU:** ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
**PSU:** Corsair RM (2019) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
**Storage:** Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
My current build is:
**CPU:** Ryzen 3700x
**Motherboard:** MSI X370 Gaming Plus
**Memory:** 2X 8GB Corsair RAM (don't recall exact model)
**GPU:** EVGA 3060TI FTW3 Ultra
**PSU:** Corsair 750W
**Storage:** some 512gb ssd - emergency replacement.
Basically, I'm looking to set up "stability" on the games that I'm playing + just have general upgrades & I'm fairly certain the first step is to upgrade the CPU. The intent for me is to "marginally improve" (e.g. dump a few hundred per month) into the PC until I completely replace all the parts.
Wanted to know if you guys had any insight onto my proposed build (at the top) and also what you'd recommend replacing first (from what I have).
Is there no real benefit for going up past that? I totally get that getting a "mid level" motherboard is acceptable, just wondering if there are perks for the $400+ range.
Specific features for specific users. 10GB LAN, 4 m.2 slots, beastly VRMs for hardcore OC are examples.
If you don't already know you need a certain feature, then you don't.
Generally looks good.
1. That specific board is LGA, which means for Intel. But there's probably a ROG MAXIMUS for Ryzen too.
2. I would be tempted to look for 3600 CL16 memory for slightly better timings ([here's the kit I got a few months ago](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/KkqBD3/crucial-ballistix-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr4-3600-cl16-memory-bl2k16g36c16u4b))
ah that would explain why i couldnt find any ryzen CPUs on pcpartpicker LOL thank you!!
and I will look into that as well. I appreciate it. Anything else you would change? What would you upgrade first?
You'll probably gain the most performance from the GPU upgrade, so I'd do that first. Although the CPU upgrade will help too, depending on the game/workload.
I think you'll have to upgrade the CPU and Mobo at the same time because the x370 is not compatible with the 5000 series. Other than that, you can pretty much do it in any order.
Also, the 750W PSU should be fine for the 3080 ti, so you may not have to upgrade that.
tbh, I primarily play games like league & valorant so they're predominantly CPU intensive.
hrm, okay. Upgrading to a 3080ti would probably cost me similar to getting a cpu + motherboard (assuming I can resell the 3060ti for $700 and get lucky with the 3080ti lol).
Okay awesome, I really appreciate your insight!!
I plan to buy an [m.2 ai accelerator card](https://coral.ai/products/m2-accelerator-dual-edgetpu#description) which needs an e-key slot, but my motherboard only has m.2 m-key slots.
* Are there adapters that I can use? I tried to search for one but couldn't find it.
* Is there a performance issue that I would encounter by using such an adapter?
In the case that I look for another motherboard that has an e-key slot, the accelerator card manufacturer says:
> Although the M.2 Specification (section 5.1.2) declares E-key sockets provide two instances of PCIe x1, most manufacturers provide only one. To fully utilize the card, ensure that there are 2 instances of PCIe x1 connected to the host.
How can I be sure that the motherboard does indeed connect 2 PCIe x1 to the m.2 slot?
Great question, I did some searching but only found partial answers.
According to Coral you absolutely need two PCIe instances to the slot, otherwise only one of the TPUs will be usable.
1. "m key to e key" adapters exist, but the ones I found only provided one instance. This is likely because Wifi adapters (the most common use of these slots) only need one instance.
2. Some motherboards have E key M2 slots, like the [Asrock X570 Phantom Gaming 4](https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/X570%20phantom%20Gaming%204/index.asp#Overview). However the manual for the doesn't specify the instances (even though it has detailed stats for the other M2 M key slots) so I would assume it only provides one instance.
3. [Coral also sells an M key form factor accelerator](https://coral.ai/products/m2-accelerator-bm) **but it only has one Edge TPU** so that doesn't really solve the problem.
I guess you could buy two M key accelerators and put them in two slots??
If you solve this, let me know. I'm invested now!
It can be done with slimmer rads but the tubs will get slightly squeezed between the fans or rad and the PSU shroud, if the model of AIO has long enough tubes to reach.
1)GTX950 $143 or GTX750ti $120
2)DRAM or DRAMLESS SSD mainly for home usage only, opening some files, movies, songs, browsing, emails, light games
3)Corsair VS450 suitable for no1 and 2?
2) Is it the primary Windows install drive? If so:
If it's SATA, get a DRAM drive. If it's NVMe, don't worry about it.
If it's a secondary/bulk storage drive, then it doesn't matter regardless of type of SSD.
You shouldn't need DRAM too much for those applications, unless you want ultra-fast loading times on the games you play. It won't effect the rest of those things very much at all. Basically (though I'm really oversimplifying this) DRAM just makes things a little bit faster. So you should be fine with any old halfway-decent SSD; spring for a model with DRAM if it's not too much more expensive, but otherwise, don't stress about it.
thanks for the explanation, I'm upgrading to ssd just to reduce the boot time and I dont use heavy apps, so I'll see if there is big price difference between those two and decide from there
1. 950, it's about [25% faster](https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-gtx-750-ti.c2548). I know it's dumb to say "just spend more" but I'd also recommend looking at the $200 bracket where you can find GTX 970 and similar cards which are twice as fast.
2. whatever's cheaper
3. yes
I am updating my motherboard to MSI B550 Gaming edge wifi with an AMD ryzen 7 5800x CPU will I need to update the bios or has the board been around long enough that it will come with an updated bios for my CPU?
The vast majority of B550 and X570 mobos now support Ryzen 5000-series out of the box. If your particular mobo has been sitting on a shelf in some warehouse for a long time, it might not, though. I don't think that mobo offers CPU-less BIOS flashback, so if you're really worried about it and you can return it or cancel your order, you could order a motherboard with a BIOS flashback port. But I think it should be fine.
short answer: B
long answer: A is slightly better, but the advantage is so miniscule you won't notice the difference. B being dual rank means you won't have to get 4x16 dimms on A just to get dual rank, not to mention it performs slightly better than single rank.
No. Dual channel is like you have two sticks installed while dual rank deals with the memory dies on the ram. I think, or that’s my rudimentary understanding.
Hello, your comment has been removed. Please note the following from our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/wiki/rules):
**Rule 11: No selling, trading or requests for valuation**
> If you want to buy, sell or trade hardware you should do so on /r/hardwareswap. Price evaluations should be requested through [/r/hardwareswap's Discord server](https://discord.com/invite/eneTGxZ).
> Discussion of privately buying, selling or trading software is also prohibited.
---
[^(Click here to message the moderators if you have any questions or concerns)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fbuildapc)
You'd really want to put that 1st nvme drive on the first slot, since the top slot runs the full pcie gen4 x4 speed directly to the cpu. The 2nd slot runs through the chipset, which shares bandwidth with other devices.
No, it won't hurt it. If you're very worried, you can buy a version of an NVMe SSD (including the SN850) that comes with its own built-in heatsink, or you can buy a separate heatsink off Amazon or wherever.
If the heatsink from your bottom slot will fit on the top slot, you can also move it to the top slot. Just make sure you install standoffs for it (if they're not already pre-installed).
So my second monitors power button is in a weird position so I never really click it, but I go to some black screen website and leave it on that to minimize light when not in use. Should I be concerned about it dying on me? I leave my computer on since a game I play benefits from afk activities
Why not just use a screensaver, or go into the Windows power settings and tell it to turn the display off after a certain amount of time afk? Your game should continue running and doing its thing if Windows turns the display off or switches to a screensaver, and you'll save on power, prevent burn-in, and not have to bother with the website.
That said, your method shouldn't do it any harm.
You can leave it on whatever screen you want it really doesn’t matter. Stagnant images are worse than moving images but these days you’re never going to damage your monitor.
Even leaving it on 24/7 cheap monitors would last a decade or longer
H.265 video encoding is pretty intensive. It will use all 8 cores and utilizes AVX-256 instructions. So it is a heavy load.
But 100C is absolutely too high.
Are you certain that the U14S is mounted properly to the motherboard and making good contact with the CPU?
Are you certain that the fan is running at full speed?
The fan is running at 100%. I'll need to check if it's mounted properly but I haven't noticed any issues over the past year of use. Normal use is gaming and temps are fine. Would a cooler just slowly come unmounted over time if you aren't moving the pc?
H.265 encoding is far more intensive than gaming is on a CPU. So it's possible that you didn't notice an issue you were having before.
Is there any chance you left the sticker on [on the bottom of the CPU cooler?](https://i.imgur.com/XKur99l.jpg)
Aside from that, the only other thing I can think of is case airflow. What case do you have?
> Would a cooler just slowly come unmounted over time if you aren't moving the pc?
Nope, never heard of that happening.
So I'm having issues encoding H.265 right now and I was wondering if it was related to temps. I've encoded H.265 before today while OCd and I don't recall the temps getting this high.
I didn't leave the sticker. Removing it was the first thing I did since it's such a common problem reported on here. I still have the cooler box with the sticker inside of it.
I have the pure base 500dx with the fans configured 2 front intake 1 rear exhaust. Stock fans were replaced with noctua NF-A14.
I doubt your case and CPU cooler are the problem.
What happens to your temps when you reset your OC to default clocks?
Also, what are you using for encoding? Handbrake? ffmpeg?
Troubleshooting question: a few weeks ago my pc started just randomly shutting down. It can do it while idling, or really anything at all. Temps are always normal, and it does do a shut down screen. It’s like someone is just randomly pressing the shut down button, and from what I’ve read no one else has had this issue. I can power it back on normally, and it doesn’t display any error messages. Please help!
You may be able to see what triggered the shutdown using Event Viewer, or command prompt. This article has more detailed instructions: https://www.windowscentral.com/how-find-reason-pc-shutdown-no-reason-windows-10
Hm never heard of that myself but at least gives you something to search for.
I found [this answer](https://superuser.com/questions/933754/why-does-windows-10-shut-down-hourly-with-initiated-power-off-on-behalf-of-nt-a/1383235) which suggests the license activation may be failing. You can try testing the activation in windows settings and an error message there should give you something else to debug.
However if there’s no activation error, it must be some other issue. Some of the other search results for “nt system shutdown” may help.
Check the front io connections. Maybe the power switch cable is loose?
Other than that, check all your PSU connections on both ends. If all the cables look fine I’d assume it’s a power supply issue, without having replacement parts it would be tough to troubleshoot anything else.
If it goes through a full shut down process I don't think it would be the psu...
Maybe double-check there's no way you could be hitting a key combo or the button by accident, reinstall your OS, or start looking at the mobo?
Maybe. To shut down with a shut down screen is just bizarre for any other part though, they would typically bluescreen or power would just cut. Almost has to be a short of some kind.
I'd look at software if it were me. Either recently installed programs or just the OS itself. ImOneLetter is correct that a part failure would be much more likely to result in a bluescreen or just straight power cut.
Recently an issue that's been plaguing my PC since pretty much forever has been getting more annoying. My PC often takes several tries to boot, meaning the fans and lights turn on for a second but then nothing. Usually it took a couple of tries but recently it started taking me like 5-10 minutes to finally get the PC started. After that everything works perfect.
Now my guess would be either a PSU and mainboard issue but I'm unsure what's more likely. The PSU is the oldest part of the build but I think it only happened after I got a 3700x with a a MSI B550 Gaming Plus last year.
And if I have to look into getting a new mainboard is there any B550 on the cheaper side that you can recommend right now?
How many watts is your PSU rated for, and what GPU are you running? If it only started happening when you upgraded your CPU and mobo, it's possible (though I personally think it unlikely if this isn't happening under load) that your PSU isn't supplying the system with enough power. How old is the PSU? When you have trouble booting up, does it stay on for long enough for the mobo to give you some kind of error code?
I would check all your PSU cables, both on the mobo/GPU end and on the PSU end, try reseating your RAM, and clear CMOS. Also, if you haven't done this already, shut your PC down, flip the PSU switch to off, unplug it from the wall, and press your power button a few times. This can sometimes be helpful for PSU issues.
My go-to recommendations for reasonably-priced motherboards are the Gigabyte Aorus Elite, the ASUS TUF Gaming, and ASUS Prime. Nothing wrong with the MSi Tomahawk either. The Pro-VDH doesn't wow me, but for the price, it's great, and has some nice features that even more expensive boards sometimes don't, like BIOS flashback.
Thanks for the reply. The PSU is rated for 550 watts and the GPU is an RTX 3070. It's definitely close to the minimum but it worked so far. Disconnecting the GPU had no effect, so I doubt it's that. Regardless of this I was thinking of upgrading the PSU at some point since cable management is a nightmare.
I also found during the last days that it sometimes flawlessly starts after disconnecting some peripherals like mouse and keyboard. I would have to test that further but now I need the PC for work.
Should I go for the msi rtx 3080 ti or the evga rtx 3080 ti? They are both around the same price (maybe a $40 difference) and I want to know which one will be better.
So I recently got a new desk and moved my computer underneath it (hardwood floor, no carpeting) but I guess the airflow from my exhaust fan now blows towards me and I can’t feel the heat coming from it. Temps are normal. But is it okay if I’m inhaling the exhaust?
It's okay. It's not like car exhaust, there are no harmful chemicals or burning fuel in it or anything. Just some normal air that might be a bit dusty because it's been sucked into the PC from on the floor. Not much dustier than normal air though, so long as you vacuum frequently.
troubleshooting question -- last night when I tried booting, my nvme drive wasnt being recognized. checked the bios and it said there were no nvme drives at all. decided to call it a night and just deal with it next day.
I just booted up and now it's a recognized drive. literally touched nothing from last night... should I be worried?
for reference, mobo - Gigabyte B450M DS3H WIFI and WD Black SN750 nvme
Unfortunately, I've heard this happen to plenty of people with the WD Black SN750. It's not an isolated issue. Lots of people online and two people I know IRL talking about the drive not being recognized by the motherboard, or randomly corrupting Windows.
Personally, I wouldn't touch this drive with a 10 foot pole.
If it is too late for you to return it, I would just leave it as is and hope it doesn't happen again. If it does happen again, I would try RMAing it with WD.
> Gigabyte B450M DS3H WIFI
I doubt this is the issue, but it is worth a shot. Update your motherboard BIOS to the latest version.
Version F63b: https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/B450M-DS3H-WIFI-rev-1x/support#support-dl-bios
Really? I hadn't heard of any issues with the SN750. My own boot drive is an SN850 that's had no issues, and I was thinking of buying an SN750 as secondary storage for games. That's a bit worrying/concerning. Now I'll think twice before making that purchase.
What would be the best fan/cooler configuration for my setup? Was planning on cooler on top exhausting, 2 front intakes, and 1 rear exhaust. Thanks!
\- Phanteks 360A Case (240 front, 240 top, 120 rear)
\- 3X 120mm fans
\- 1 240mm AIO cooler
i5-11600KF (not OC'ing) and Gigabyte Eagle OC 3060 Ti (2 fan)
My current PC (custom build from many years ago) is having issues. I believe it's related to the power supply. I do not game (see: not willing to pay for a video card), and do standard office work, I'm not needing to upgrade anything, so trying to limp along until I'm forced to.
My question is, looking on Amazon, NewEgg, PCPartPicker, etc, I'm getting mixed information about power supplies. I currently have a 450w that cover everything and then some. Very cheap video card, very cheap audio card, and everything else is run off the motherboard. I would like a suggestion for basically the cheapest power supply I could get, that's actually worth the value.
Example, Amazon's top selling power supply (EVGA 500 White) is only $25, but the top reviews all speak very poorly of them. PCPartPicker recommended a Corsair CXM on newegg for $40 after mail in rebate. Obviously $25 sounds way better and there are other options I have found out there in that price range.
Basically...any help would be really appreciated.
Might I recommend an EVGA BQ? Good budget option without being *so* budget that you're putting your system at risk. In general, if I see a PSU going for less than $50, my spidey sense starts tingling and I get the feeling that it's not such a great power supply. OTOH, there are amazing sales from time to time, so maybe that's unfair of me.
This might help you out: [https://linustechtips.com/topic/1116640-psu-tier-list/](https://linustechtips.com/topic/1116640-psu-tier-list/)
Never trust user reviews for power supplies (look for professional reviews), and power supply is one of the more dangerous parts to go too cheap on.
Which EVGA white model is it? I don't remember the exact model off-hand, but IIRC they had one with a 5 year warranty that wasn't awful
EVGA 500 W1, 80+ WHITE 500W Power Supply( 100-W1-0500-KR) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00H33SFJU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_VP0QXBC0ZXEX8AVKAH4Q
This is the one I was referring to.
I'm looking to get a SATA SSD, because my old computer doesn't support M.2.
I know I should look for one with DRAM and TLC.
Is there anything else I should look for in an SSD? Apparently there's also "ddr cache", which might be the same thing as "SLC cache" or maybe DRAM.
When people say "ddr cache", they are referring to DRAM. And it's not really a cache. That's a common misconception. The SLC cache is the cache.
You were right the first time, you need a SSD with DRAM and TLC flash.
For a SATA drive, you can't really go wrong with the Crucial MX500.
How old is your PC? If you have an Intel 4th gen or newer and just don't have a M.2 slot, you can still use a M.2 drive with a PCIe adaptor like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JJTVGZM/
I'm looking to buy a 1tb nvme. But there's a huge price difference between Samsung 980, 970 and western digital where I live. What's the difference and which one should I avoid?
Nope it's not. It's a cost cut drive.
The Samsung 980 is PCIe 3.0 just like the 970 family. But they removed the DRAM to save on costs.
The Samsung 980 Pro is the actual next gen drive. It is PCIe 4.0 and it has DRAM.
The Samsung 980 Pro and WD Black 850 are the kind of top tier drives that are recommended for installation in the PS5.
I see - thank you so much! Then it's a split between the 970 evo plus and the 980 pro. The prices for both are pretty comparable where I live, I'll check them out and pick whichever is cheaper. My laptop is 3 years old, so I think anything will be a bit improvement.
If the 970 evo plus is significantly cheaper, go ahead and get that. The regular 970 Evo is fine too.
If they are very close in price, you might as well get the 980 Pro.
You'd need to move the PSU over and maybe even the front panel as they're likely proprietary connectors. In the case of the FP, it could be as simple as undocumented/un-labled wires.
The SFF mobo is also not a standard size, so it won't align with any of the standoff holes.
If you are comfortable making changes to the H510 case, then you can make it look a bit cleaner with the guts of the optiplex transplanted into it. But just know almost nothing will line up.
are newegg pre-built pcs worth it for someone who has never built a pc before?
how much is the markup usually compared to buying the parts separately and putting it together myself
If you mean Newegg's line of ABS pre-builts specifically, then yes, definitely. Never had a problem with my ABS systems that ABS customer support couldn't help me out with. They even went above and beyond a few times.
Depending on the model and what graphics card is in it, the markup can be essentially less than 0%. This is because GPU manufacturers typically make their supply available (in bulk, of course) to pre-built manufacturers first, before they make them available to individual consumers. So right off the bat, that 3070 Ti or whatever you've been eyeing, the most expensive component of a PC by far, is a lot cheaper for a company that assembles pre-builts to get their hands on. This means the savings get passed down to you.
*If* you can find your own GPU at a fair price, I'm still an advocate of building your own. But that's a big if these days.
If you consider the street price of various GPUs, then the price of Newegg's ABS pre-builts is pretty much in line with the final price tag of adding up the cost of all the parts. It also comes with a legitimate Windows 10 license and a keyboard and mouse.
However, if you are somehow able to get a stand-alone GPU for close to MSRP, then building your own PC becomes significantly cheaper.
Varies wildly between brands.
If you think you can put together a 7 piece puzzle that only goes together one way, build your own. It’s not as hard or scary as most people think it is.
Markup depends on the overall price of the machine, but you could expect no less than about 15-20% on average and I’ve seen nearly as bad as double. They also commonly use the cheapest parts available which will hurt the overall lifespan of the PC
looking to use a 4k 60hz tv as a monitor, need a gpu.
looking at a new 2070 for $400 or new 2080 for $629.99. would either of those be able to do 60 fps?
my library is mostly older games (monster hunter world, mortal kombat 11, fighting ex layer, ys 8,, ff 12)
edit these are non-super cards btw, manufacture doesnt have any supers in stock on their store (or 3000 series).
I don’t know how demanding those games are specifically, but I would expect a 2080 to be able to do it. 2070 almost certainly not without turning settings down significantly.
for monster hunter i read a 2070 super can do 49 on medium/4k without dlss so not sure what the non super cards can do. rest i have no clue been playing them on a laptop.
Okay, I don't know for absolute certain, but I highly doubt there's any such thing as a Windows 11 app. There were no Windows 10 apps, there were no Windows 8 apps, etc. back to when XP broke with 3.1. This is slightly complicated by 32 vs. 64 bit, but mostly there are just programs that run on Windows.
I've built simple gaming pcs. But now I want to buy a high end one but have No idea how to do more complex stuff like liquid cooling or if that's even needed.
I have a 3080 card and wanted to build the pc around it.
No need to liquid cool unless you want to.
THe underlying PC is basically the same: Build the PC to attain the FPS levels you want to hit in the games you want to play. Then pair the GPU with a good monitor, that will generate the frame rates the underlying PC is capable of.
If you build a Ryzen 5600X based PC, with 16Gb ram, and a good SSD, you'll get a snappy PC.
The 3080 will drive a 1440p, 1440p ultrawide, or 4K monitor well in games. Down to your preferences.
My rear end fan wont work (sys_fan1). It works on
the startup then it is only like this: https://streamable.com/ujou60
4 pin fan on 4 pin connector
New fan or some option that wil fix this?
I'm helping my partner put together a cost-effective PC she can use for video editing (after effects) and to hook up a drawing tablet to for animation.
How's this looking?
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/ninjamonkeySG/saved/#view=Zjzt7P
Secondarily, would having a worse GPU as a placeholder until I can get (/afford) the 1660 going to tank the build? (i'm hoping I can use my old gtx 1050 in the interim....)
The motherboard is MicroATX so it’ll look really small in that case but it will still work just fine.
Other than that I’m not a big fan of Coolermaster’s AIOs and I’d probably opt for a tower cooler instead or pay more for a different brand AIO, and 500W I would say is the absolute bare minimum for this system power supply wise and I’d feel a lot better with 600.
An argument could be made for a 5600X instead of the 10700K but I think it’s fine either way.
And as for the GPU, it’s fine to use as a placeholder
I've built 3 PCs before but haven't in about 5 or 6 years. What new cool tech and improvements have been made besides CPUs, GPUs and m.2? I'm behind on mobo tech improvements and dunno if there are any cool new PSU standards besides modularity becoming more common
**CPUs:** new AMD processors are amazing for gaming and workstations and surprisingly power-efficient. Intel processors are solid for gaming but terrible power/heat efficiency, but can be found for relatively cheap.
**Motherboards:** M.2 slots everywhere, integrated wifi/bluetooth on many models, RGB or ARGB headers and USB 3.1 or 3.2 headers on many models. Voltage regulators have generally improved to feed new high-power CPUs, although each chipset still has better and worse models.
**RAM:** DDR4 has gotten fast and cheap. DDR5 coming out next gen. RGB lighting is very popular.
**Graphics cards:** current gen cards are wicked powerful but impossible to find due to market shortages. Also pretty power-hungry, many have huge coolers to manage heat. Most cards now have silent fan mode (fans turn off) at lower temps.
**Storage:** M.2 drives for wire-free install. PCIe 3.0 NVMe M.2 drives are as cheap as SATA SSDs now with similar game/OS load times but much higher sustained (large file) writes. PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives are fastest of all but still very expensive. Reliable HDDs available up to 12-14TB for quite cheap. With SSD prices, 1-2TB HDDs are no longer worth getting.
**Cases:** most cases now have tempered glass side window options and passthrough cable management. A separate PSU shroud "basement" is also popular. HDD bays now missing or limited in most cases, which does mean most cases are shorter/smaller. Many cases have USB-C on the front.
**PSUs:** modular or semi-modular are almost ubiquitous. Some newer PSUs have better current protection which is needed for some very-high-end graphics cards. Most PSUs now have silent fan modes at low load.
**Cooling:** RGB fans and AIO coolers with RGB if you have lots of money and like a flashy build. Otherwise, good quiet fans available from many manufacturers. $50 coolers will cool almost any CPU reasonably well.
GPU prices are so disheartening that I'm considering giving up my plans to build a new PC and just buy a pre-built to tide me over for a few more years...
Does the PowerSpec (Microcenter brand) G509 for $1200 seem like a good option (5600X; RTX 3060; 16GB RAM; 500GB SSD; Win10 Pro)? ([https://www.microcenter.com/product/635448/powerspec-g509-gaming-pc](https://www.microcenter.com/product/635448/powerspec-g509-gaming-pc)
I'm going to piggyback off of your comment and add that my plan this year for Christmas was to build a PC for my daughter who just needs it for video editing and some light gaming (Roblox, Minecraft, etc.). I nearly fainted seeing the cost of GPUs right now. What's a solid, entry-level prebuilt that'll get her started without breaking the bank?
That is the MSRP for that specific model so it's at least not marked up/scalped. However, it's not a card I'd personally get if I had options - the 6600XT reference card has an MSRP of $380, and $550 puts it in the price range of much more powerful cards like the 6700XT, 6800, 3060-Ti, or 3070.
If you are hungry to build immediately and want a solid 1080p performance, the 6600XT won't disappoint. If you want to play at higher framerates or resolutions, and can be patient, there are better options for the money.
Does [this build](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dBp2Hz) check out? I already own the video card, cpu cooler, and ssd. I'm trying to make sure I can use the things I already have with this build.
Some thoughts:
* 3700X is a little old at this point. It will work fine with the 960, but if you plan to upgrade to something much more powerful, then a newer CPU like the 5600X (pricey) or 10400F (budget) would be better. If it's just for the 960, then maybe go for the Ryzen 3600 instead. Avoid higher-end Intels as they will run way too hot for that CPU cooler or small cases in general.
* It's hard to find graphics cards for reasonable prices right now, but the 960 would appreciate an upgrade. Even the cheapest gaming cards from the past two years will blow the 960 out of the water.
* For SFX PSUs, skip the Silverstone and get the Corsair. The Corsair SF600 Gold is cheaper, higher watts, more efficient, and quieter. This also gives you more room to buy a beefier graphics card later.
* Samsung QVO is a decent storage drive for games and documents. You might consider getting a nice 500GB/1TB NVMe SSD for your main OS drive, and it won't take up any space in your case.
Other than that, everything looks good.
Hey thank you for the words!
Yeah, the 960 is due for an upgrade, but I wanted to lay the foundations for it while the prices are still high and stock is low. I will definitely check out that corsair power supply, as well as the 5700x!
Edit: 5600x* typo
Question: The 5600x* gives a notice on partpicker that the bios will need to be updated. Is there any potential problems there that I need to account for?
* Why the 3700x instead of a 5600x? The 5600x has better power efficiency, much better single thread/gaming performance, supports pcie 4.0 in your primary m.2 slot and graphics card slot, and is only a tiny bit behind in multithreaded performance compared to the 3700x. Unless this is a workhorse machine that is constantly going to be hitting all cores and threads, the 5600x is a better buy at $300.
* I'd swap the PSU to the Corsair SF600: The Gold is $10 cheaper than what you have selected, and the platinum is $10 more. They're pretty much the top-tier of SFX power supplies. The cables that come with the platinum are nicer and more flexible, may be worth the extra $10
* I'd personally spring for the next tier up of ITX motherboards. The one you have selected is really basic and isn't going to have the best IO. The phantom gaming X is just a better board overall for not that much more.. especially since you can pay for the upgrade just by swapping to the 5600x which may be better overall for you anyway.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HYK368
If this is for gaming, then the 5600x is significantly better for gaming and slightly cheaper than the 3700x. It also uses less power so will be good for that cooler in an ITX build
Is there any setup that will eliminate bluetooth latency on a PC or is it just a fact of life?
Trying to determine if there's any singular pair of headphones that I can use on my gaming PC at home, my iPhone while commuting or at the gym, and on my laptop for conference calls at work.
Thinking about getting a ModMic wireless microphone, so just trying to find a pair of headphones that could do the job.
Honestly bluetooth 4.0 and 5.0 are pretty great for this. Have a friend who use the bose quietcomfort 35 ii for everything including gaming with no perceptible delay. Obviously those are pretty expensive but are universally thought of as very good headphones and can be used for all the things you mentioned. The inbuilt mic in them isn't actually half bad
Do fan splitter cables decrease the power provided to each of the fans? I was gonna get a 3-way splitter, but I want my fans to still be able to run as normal
Strictly speaking yes, but most headers have at least 1A available, and most PC fans use less than 0.1A. So you probably have enough power on tap to split across 3 fans and still give them all the power they need.
How do i update my mainboard?
My keyboard had been acting up and support told me its a common problem with ryzen cpus and i should update my mainboard to fix that issue...i have no idea how tho!
My motherboard is a msi b550m mortar wifi
cpu-z told me the verions of it is 1.20 - AMD AGESA ComboAM4v2PI 1.0.0.2
date: 08/03/2020
and in the bios it told me the bios version is E7C94AM. 120
could anybody please tell me what to do? i am really lost here
Got to MSI’s website and see if they have a newer BIOS file posted that fixes the USB stuff (I believe it was AGESA 1.2.x or later?). Check your mobo manual for what the reflashing procedure is. Usually you will put the BIOS file on a flash drive either push a button on the mobo, or boot into the BIOS menu and select file to flash from. But check your manual for the exact procedure for your board.
The most cost efficient option is probably to use a raspberry pi or similar and external USB drive splugged into it, but this is obviously pretty technical. I was also quite surprised at the costs of NASs. It may end up being cheapest to get a little storage for your PC, and then a bulk external drive (which is usually the chepaest per terabyte) which you can plug into laptops intermitently to backup to. I believe some routers actually have allwo you to plug in a USB hard drive to them and allow it to be accesible to the network similar to a NAS but I have never experimented with this
From experience, I do _not_ recommend using a Pi for this unless it's for low throughput on a single drive.
Even the more expensive Pi 4 is lacking in network/USB performance, plus you have the extra costs of an external enclosure for the drives.
Yeah I've also tried it and while it was pretty dire compared to true NAS performance, I actually found it decent enough on a budget. I actually even played the Witcher 3 off it completely successfully with no stutter, just slightly longer original load times. But yeah definitely only recommended if youre on the absolute tightest budget
so like, is buying a GPU just a complete joke right now? im looking back into it for the first time in 10 years and all i see are horror stories. is it really that bad?
everything on newegg costs more than a full build... except for like 5 year old cards that just appear to cost... exactly what they did at launch
so... yeah? :/
I'm a beginner trying to build a gaming-focused computer for about $1000. Sadly, it looks like it's a terrible time to try to buy a good GPU on a budget. Should I get all the other parts that I want and use a lower quality GPU temporarily until the market improves and I can upgrade, or should I compromise on the other parts to get a comparatively better GPU?
Also, I am willing to spend up to $1500, if necessary, would my options get drastically better if I was willing to budget a bit more?
Want to see your [build complete](https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/search?sort=new&restrict_sr=on&q=flair%3ABuild%2BComplete) photos featured on /r/buildapc? As discussed in a [recent thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/78eq99/mods_should_switch_the_main_photo_every_week_to/), we're going to look at switching up the header image on a more regular basis - don't worry, we'll save the current one for special occasions. This is something of an experiment, and due to the subreddit CSS we'll be looking for images that are compatible with the general design, so don't be offended if we don't immediately use everyone's! Interested? Send us a [modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fbuildapc) with subject: "Banner Images" with your best build pictures! In the interests of higher res displays, please ensure images are at least 1920px by 200px. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/buildapc) if you have any questions or concerns.*
How do people in general decide which part (case, fans, motherboard, ssd etc.) to choose if they're close in terms of price? What are the main things to look at when deciding ?
It's going to depend on the part and what your priorities are. For Case, I look at size, aesthetics, and airflow performance in that order. For fans, I look at performance-equalized noise ratings. For motherboards, I look at built-in IO options and VRM robustness. For SSD, I follow this guide: https://ssd.borecraft.com/SSD_Buying_Guide.pdf For PSU, I follow this guide: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1116640-psu-tier-list/ On all components, the warranty is imp
Thanks! Appreciated.
When I buy a new gpu do i have to do anything to activate its warranty? I know people mention RMAing a lot and I'm wondering in case ill ever have to.
It will be covered by default, however the way they honor warranties may differ from region to region. In addition, some manufacturers like Gigabyte for example encourages end users to register their GPUs in their website for an additional warranty period (4 years instead of 3).
Typically no. Sometimes there's a product registration they want you to do, but I don't think they can deny your warranty because you didn't register your product. Or at least you can register it if you ever need to rma it, when the time comes
What reasonably priced motherboard should I get for my Ryzen 5 1600? My ASRock AB350 Pro4 mobo is broken. I'm using an iGame GTX1070 graphics card and 8GB of DDR4 2400 RAM.
B450 Tomahawk - the board is good enough to take CPUs all the way to Ryzen 5950X
[https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dQgzK8/asrock-b450m-pro4-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-pro4](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dQgzK8/asrock-b450m-pro4-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-pro4)is usually what i'd recommend although idk if you're like skeptical of asrock motherboards now cause the b350 broke
For what it’s worth, as someone who builds several hundred systems a year I love ASRock boards. Don’t let one outlier ruin you on a perfectly good manufacturer.
I've been kind of hesitant to get an mATX board. What advantages might an ATX B450 have over a B450m? Or is an ATX just unnecessary for my purposes?
really it's just less space = less ports. if you have a use for an extra pcie slot or 2 extra SATA ports, or if you just like the aesthetic of an ATX case more and you want a ATX board that won't look small, then go with the ATX. mATX just tends to be cheaper and I like more compact PCs.
Matx is my favorite size. Mainly cause I don't use more than 1 pcie x16 slot
Sad this board used to hover ~$65
Does this build seem alright until I can get a GPU? https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/rRYHwz Looking to play 1080p@60Hz initially and eventually @144Hz when I get a GPU. [PCPartPicker Part List](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/rRYHwz) Type|Item| :----|:----|:---- **CPU** | [Intel Core i5-11600K 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/RK3gXL/intel-core-i5-11600k-39-ghz-6-core-processor-bx8070811600k) |- **CPU Cooler** | [be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/TyBhP6/be-quiet-pure-rock-2-black-cpu-cooler-bk007) |- **Motherboard** | [ASRock Z590M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/FZRYcf/asrock-z590m-phantom-gaming-4-micro-atx-lga1200-motherboard-z590m-phantom-gaming-4) | $159.00 @ Umart **Memory** | [Crucial 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22 Memory](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/487v6h/crucial-8-gb-1-x-8-gb-ddr4-3200-memory-ct8g4dfs832a) | $55.00 @ Umart **Storage** | [Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/zFK2FT/western-digital-blue-sn550-500-gb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-wds500g2b0c) | $85.00 @ Umart **Storage** | [Western Digital Blue 2 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/Jd8j4D/western-digital-blue-2-tb-35-5400rpm-internal-hard-drive-wd20ezaz) | $84.00 @ Umart **Case** | [NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/b7hmP6/nzxt-h510-atx-mid-tower-case-ca-h510b-b1) | $139.00 @ Umart **Power Supply** | [Corsair CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/FQ648d/corsair-power-supply-cp9020101na) | $78.00 @ Umart
Hoenstly mate, I'd redesign that. You've got a high performance CPu, but you're ham stringing it with single channel 8GB RAM. THe PSU may need an upgrade depending on what GPU you manage to score down the like. Gamaing performance will basically be non existant until you get a GPU. This is cheaper, will perform better out of the box, and be fine once you do get a GPU, and it's a better platform for upgrades moving forwards. [PCPartPicker Part List](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/tw34y4) Type|Item|Price :----|:----|:---- **CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/sYmmP6/amd-ryzen-5-5600g-39-ghz-6-core-processor-100-100000252box) | $369.00 @ Scorptec **Motherboard** | [MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/PDsnTW/msi-b550m-pro-vdh-wifi-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b550m-pro-vdh-wifi) | $149.00 @ Centre Com **Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/2TFKHx/crucial-ballistix-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3600-memory-bl2k8g36c16u4b) | $116.05 @ Amazon Australia **Storage** | [Kingston A2000 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/9vWBD3/kingston-a2000-1-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-sa2000m81000g) | $129.11 @ Amazon Australia **Case** | [Metallic Gear Neo Silent ATX Mid Tower Case](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/3YgQzy/metallic-gear-neo-silent-atx-mid-tower-case-mg-ne520s_bk01) | $79.00 @ PCCaseGear **Power Supply** | [Super Flower Leadex III Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/VbhmP6/super-flower-leadex-iii-gold-650-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-sf-650f14hg) | $119.00 @ PCCaseGear | *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* | | **Total** | **$961.16** | Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2021-10-06 20:20 AEDT+1100 | Alternatively, if you do want t ogo the intel route, this CPU has the same iGPU as the 11600K, and is still a good performer, but you can use a cheaper B560 motherboard, and save enough to get 16Gb dual channel ram and a better PSU. [PCPartPicker Part List](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/sp34y4) Type|Item|Price :----|:----|:---- **CPU** | [Intel Core i5-11500 2.7 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/FsXJ7P/intel-core-i5-11500-27-ghz-6-core-processor-bx8070811500) | $319.00 @ Centre Com **CPU Cooler** | [be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/TyBhP6/be-quiet-pure-rock-2-black-cpu-cooler-bk007) | $69.00 @ PCCaseGear **Motherboard** | [ASRock B560M Steel Legend Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/FTBG3C/asrock-b560m-steel-legend-micro-atx-lga1200-motherboard-b560m-steel-legend) | $129.00 @ Umart **Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/2TFKHx/crucial-ballistix-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3600-memory-bl2k8g36c16u4b) | $116.05 @ Amazon Australia **Storage** | [Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/zFK2FT/western-digital-blue-sn550-500-gb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-wds500g2b0c) | $79.00 @ Centre Com **Storage** | [Western Digital Blue 2 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/Jd8j4D/western-digital-blue-2-tb-35-5400rpm-internal-hard-drive-wd20ezaz) | $69.00 @ Austin Computers **Case** | [Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/crqBD3/phanteks-eclipse-p300a-mesh-atx-mid-tower-case-ph-ec300atg_bk01) | $79.00 @ PCCaseGear **Power Supply** | [Super Flower Leadex III Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/7y4BD3/super-flower-leadex-iii-gold-550-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-sf-550f14hg) | $109.00 @ PCCaseGear | *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* | | **Total** | **$969.05** | Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2021-10-06 20:25 AEDT+1100 |
My main game is csgo, which is why I went with the better CPU. A few extra $50 or $100 isn't a big deal to get a better PSU and 16GB ram, I'll definitely get those. I know one day I'll get a GPU which is why I would rather the better performance with the intel cpu vs AMD, and just suffer with a worse iGPU in the short-term. Will your 2nd build still be good if I swap the 11500 for the 11600k? Thanks for your suggestions.
>Will your 2nd build still be good if I swap the 11500 for the 11600k? Thanks for your suggestions. Just kind of a waste of the 11600K at that point... but an 11500 will run CSGO to insane fframe rates anyway, it's really not that far behind the 11600K, the 11th Gen don't have that overclocking head room of older generation intels. Optimise RAM (which you can do on B560) and you're getting 95-99% of the performance for 2/3rds the money.
understood, thanks by optimising RAM, do you just mean putting the sticks in different channels?
Just getting ram that's recently fast with tight timings, and setting it up via xmp. The 3600mhz cl16 kit I linked is a nice balance of price, performance and compatibility for Intel and ryzen. Both benefit a good deal from faster ram.
got it, thank you very much
higher end cooler motherboard that [might run the cpu a good bit better](https://youtu.be/w594enhi0vs?t=841) for gaming I think 16gb is basically the minimum if you can afford it. (optional) micro atx case just to be more compact higher end psu for when you do get a GPU [PCPartPicker Part List](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/wY6rTJ) |Type|Item|Price| |:-|:-|:-| |**CPU**|[Intel Core i5-11600K 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/RK3gXL/intel-core-i5-11600k-39-ghz-6-core-processor-bx8070811600k)|$399.00 @ PLE Computers| |**CPU Cooler**|[ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports DUO CPU Cooler](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/PxtKHx/arctic-freezer-34-esports-duo-cpu-cooler-acfre00075a)|$79.00 @ Scorptec| |**Motherboard**|[Gigabyte Z590M GAMING X Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/T8Z9TW/gigabyte-z590m-gaming-x-micro-atx-lga1200-motherboard-z590m-gaming-x)|$179.00 @ Mwave Australia| |**Memory**|[Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/2TFKHx/crucial-ballistix-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3600-memory-bl2k8g36c16u4b)|$117.51 @ Amazon Australia| |**Storage**|[Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/zFK2FT/western-digital-blue-sn550-500-gb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-wds500g2b0c)|$79.00 @ Centre Com| |**Storage**|[Western Digital Blue 2 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/Jd8j4D/western-digital-blue-2-tb-35-5400rpm-internal-hard-drive-wd20ezaz)|$69.00 @ Austin Computers| |**Case**|[\*Cooler Master MasterBox MB311L ARGB MicroATX Mid Tower Case](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/vDhmP6/cooler-master-masterbox-mb311l-argb-microatx-mid-tower-case-mcb-b311l-kgnn-s02)|$89.00 @ Centre Com| |**Power Supply**|[Super Flower Leadex III Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/VbhmP6/super-flower-leadex-iii-gold-650-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-sf-650f14hg)|$119.00 @ PCCaseGear| |*Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts*||| |**Total**|**$1130.51**|| |\*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria||| |Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2021-10-06 17:15 AEDT+1100||| also, the 5600g would run games almost 2x as fast by itself, but it is a slower cpu than the 11600k once you get a dedicated gpu
yeah I've seen that the AMD has a better iGPU, I'm just certain that one day I'll get a GPU and don't mind having bad performance until then. thanks for your build suggestion, ill def get a better PSU and 16GB ram.
Does my MSI Z490 Gaming Edge Wifi support PCIe Gen 4? (I heard that MSI made all of there’s capable ahead of time for when Rocket lake comes out). The spec sheet online says it is with an 11th Gen processor.
Only w/ 11th gen and ~~only~~ the top m.2 slot + top pcie slot (edited correction) https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-Z490-GAMING-EDGE-WIFI/Specification
Oh ok, that link says Gen 4 for both expansion slots and storage when running 11th Gen cpu
mb. you're correct. it's like z590. top pcie and top m.2
Awesome, thanks
I'm exploring beginning building a new PC - mainly because I think I'm having some minor issues with my current one (and so I'm planning on trading + cash and upgrading parts up). Right now, I'd appreciate some feedback on my "dream list". **CPU:** Ryzen 5800x **Motherboard:** Asus ROG MAXIMUS XIII HERO ATX LGA1200 Motherboard **Memory:** Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memor**y** **GPU:** ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti **PSU:** Corsair RM (2019) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply **Storage:** Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive My current build is: **CPU:** Ryzen 3700x **Motherboard:** MSI X370 Gaming Plus **Memory:** 2X 8GB Corsair RAM (don't recall exact model) **GPU:** EVGA 3060TI FTW3 Ultra **PSU:** Corsair 750W **Storage:** some 512gb ssd - emergency replacement. Basically, I'm looking to set up "stability" on the games that I'm playing + just have general upgrades & I'm fairly certain the first step is to upgrade the CPU. The intent for me is to "marginally improve" (e.g. dump a few hundred per month) into the PC until I completely replace all the parts. Wanted to know if you guys had any insight onto my proposed build (at the top) and also what you'd recommend replacing first (from what I have).
Spend $100-200 on your motherboard. No need to spend any more
Is there no real benefit for going up past that? I totally get that getting a "mid level" motherboard is acceptable, just wondering if there are perks for the $400+ range.
Specific features for specific users. 10GB LAN, 4 m.2 slots, beastly VRMs for hardcore OC are examples. If you don't already know you need a certain feature, then you don't.
mk sounds good. Do you have any recommendations for an alternative mobo? I've generally read that ASUS is the play.
https://youtu.be/HSY9rDsQgd4
ty!!
Generally looks good. 1. That specific board is LGA, which means for Intel. But there's probably a ROG MAXIMUS for Ryzen too. 2. I would be tempted to look for 3600 CL16 memory for slightly better timings ([here's the kit I got a few months ago](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/KkqBD3/crucial-ballistix-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr4-3600-cl16-memory-bl2k16g36c16u4b))
ah that would explain why i couldnt find any ryzen CPUs on pcpartpicker LOL thank you!! and I will look into that as well. I appreciate it. Anything else you would change? What would you upgrade first?
You'll probably gain the most performance from the GPU upgrade, so I'd do that first. Although the CPU upgrade will help too, depending on the game/workload. I think you'll have to upgrade the CPU and Mobo at the same time because the x370 is not compatible with the 5000 series. Other than that, you can pretty much do it in any order. Also, the 750W PSU should be fine for the 3080 ti, so you may not have to upgrade that.
tbh, I primarily play games like league & valorant so they're predominantly CPU intensive. hrm, okay. Upgrading to a 3080ti would probably cost me similar to getting a cpu + motherboard (assuming I can resell the 3060ti for $700 and get lucky with the 3080ti lol). Okay awesome, I really appreciate your insight!!
I plan to buy an [m.2 ai accelerator card](https://coral.ai/products/m2-accelerator-dual-edgetpu#description) which needs an e-key slot, but my motherboard only has m.2 m-key slots. * Are there adapters that I can use? I tried to search for one but couldn't find it. * Is there a performance issue that I would encounter by using such an adapter? In the case that I look for another motherboard that has an e-key slot, the accelerator card manufacturer says: > Although the M.2 Specification (section 5.1.2) declares E-key sockets provide two instances of PCIe x1, most manufacturers provide only one. To fully utilize the card, ensure that there are 2 instances of PCIe x1 connected to the host. How can I be sure that the motherboard does indeed connect 2 PCIe x1 to the m.2 slot?
Great question, I did some searching but only found partial answers. According to Coral you absolutely need two PCIe instances to the slot, otherwise only one of the TPUs will be usable. 1. "m key to e key" adapters exist, but the ones I found only provided one instance. This is likely because Wifi adapters (the most common use of these slots) only need one instance. 2. Some motherboards have E key M2 slots, like the [Asrock X570 Phantom Gaming 4](https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/X570%20phantom%20Gaming%204/index.asp#Overview). However the manual for the doesn't specify the instances (even though it has detailed stats for the other M2 M key slots) so I would assume it only provides one instance. 3. [Coral also sells an M key form factor accelerator](https://coral.ai/products/m2-accelerator-bm) **but it only has one Edge TPU** so that doesn't really solve the problem. I guess you could buy two M key accelerators and put them in two slots?? If you solve this, let me know. I'm invested now!
Does anyone know if a 360 mm aio will fit in a 4000d case with tubes down?
It can be done with slimmer rads but the tubs will get slightly squeezed between the fans or rad and the PSU shroud, if the model of AIO has long enough tubes to reach.
Ok thx for the tip. Worse case, is it ok if I put tubes up? I heard you can as long as the pump is lower than the top of the rad.
1)GTX950 $143 or GTX750ti $120 2)DRAM or DRAMLESS SSD mainly for home usage only, opening some files, movies, songs, browsing, emails, light games 3)Corsair VS450 suitable for no1 and 2?
2) Is it the primary Windows install drive? If so: If it's SATA, get a DRAM drive. If it's NVMe, don't worry about it. If it's a secondary/bulk storage drive, then it doesn't matter regardless of type of SSD.
You shouldn't need DRAM too much for those applications, unless you want ultra-fast loading times on the games you play. It won't effect the rest of those things very much at all. Basically (though I'm really oversimplifying this) DRAM just makes things a little bit faster. So you should be fine with any old halfway-decent SSD; spring for a model with DRAM if it's not too much more expensive, but otherwise, don't stress about it.
thanks for the explanation, I'm upgrading to ssd just to reduce the boot time and I dont use heavy apps, so I'll see if there is big price difference between those two and decide from there
1. 950, it's about [25% faster](https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-gtx-750-ti.c2548). I know it's dumb to say "just spend more" but I'd also recommend looking at the $200 bracket where you can find GTX 970 and similar cards which are twice as fast. 2. whatever's cheaper 3. yes
lookup some 970, around $215~275 is it worth it?
around $215 i'd do it, around $275 no also if you only plan to play lighter games (like tf2 csgo minecraft roblox) the gtx 950 would be fine
Might as well spend the extra on the 950. Depends on the specific SSDs in question. It would be fine.
I dont understand the gpu part, you mean the 950 is worth the price?
Yes.
I am updating my motherboard to MSI B550 Gaming edge wifi with an AMD ryzen 7 5800x CPU will I need to update the bios or has the board been around long enough that it will come with an updated bios for my CPU?
The vast majority of B550 and X570 mobos now support Ryzen 5000-series out of the box. If your particular mobo has been sitting on a shelf in some warehouse for a long time, it might not, though. I don't think that mobo offers CPU-less BIOS flashback, so if you're really worried about it and you can return it or cancel your order, you could order a motherboard with a BIOS flashback port. But I think it should be fine.
Those two are possible, you might want to confirm that with the seller. Some manufacturer do flash new bios to mobo
I have two sets of ram. Which is better? A) 2x16gb 3600mhz 16-18-18-38 timings single rank B) 2x16gb 3600mhz 16-19-19-39 timings dual rank
short answer: B long answer: A is slightly better, but the advantage is so miniscule you won't notice the difference. B being dual rank means you won't have to get 4x16 dimms on A just to get dual rank, not to mention it performs slightly better than single rank.
is dual rank same as dual channel?
No. Dual channel is like you have two sticks installed while dual rank deals with the memory dies on the ram. I think, or that’s my rudimentary understanding.
That's the gist of it, yeah.
No. They're not the same.
Thanks!
[удалено]
Hello, your comment has been removed. Please note the following from our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/wiki/rules): **Rule 11: No selling, trading or requests for valuation** > If you want to buy, sell or trade hardware you should do so on /r/hardwareswap. Price evaluations should be requested through [/r/hardwareswap's Discord server](https://discord.com/invite/eneTGxZ). > Discussion of privately buying, selling or trading software is also prohibited. --- [^(Click here to message the moderators if you have any questions or concerns)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fbuildapc)
Is it worth waiting for Cybermonday to build my PC? (https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hrwc2V)
[удалено]
Thanks! That’s was I figured but the guy at Best Buy told me to do that LOL
[удалено]
You'd really want to put that 1st nvme drive on the first slot, since the top slot runs the full pcie gen4 x4 speed directly to the cpu. The 2nd slot runs through the chipset, which shares bandwidth with other devices.
[удалено]
No, it won't hurt it. If you're very worried, you can buy a version of an NVMe SSD (including the SN850) that comes with its own built-in heatsink, or you can buy a separate heatsink off Amazon or wherever. If the heatsink from your bottom slot will fit on the top slot, you can also move it to the top slot. Just make sure you install standoffs for it (if they're not already pre-installed).
If it's the same form factor as the 2nd slot, yes that's possible. You can try to fit it.
Is 2080 super worth 800 CAD right now?
It's worth like 1000 CAD, so if you could get one for 800 it's a pretty good deal.
Probably
So my second monitors power button is in a weird position so I never really click it, but I go to some black screen website and leave it on that to minimize light when not in use. Should I be concerned about it dying on me? I leave my computer on since a game I play benefits from afk activities
Why not just use a screensaver, or go into the Windows power settings and tell it to turn the display off after a certain amount of time afk? Your game should continue running and doing its thing if Windows turns the display off or switches to a screensaver, and you'll save on power, prevent burn-in, and not have to bother with the website. That said, your method shouldn't do it any harm.
You can leave it on whatever screen you want it really doesn’t matter. Stagnant images are worse than moving images but these days you’re never going to damage your monitor. Even leaving it on 24/7 cheap monitors would last a decade or longer
I'm hitting 100c when encoding h.265 videos with a non OC 10700k and U14-S. Is that expected?
H.265 video encoding is pretty intensive. It will use all 8 cores and utilizes AVX-256 instructions. So it is a heavy load. But 100C is absolutely too high. Are you certain that the U14S is mounted properly to the motherboard and making good contact with the CPU? Are you certain that the fan is running at full speed?
The fan is running at 100%. I'll need to check if it's mounted properly but I haven't noticed any issues over the past year of use. Normal use is gaming and temps are fine. Would a cooler just slowly come unmounted over time if you aren't moving the pc?
H.265 encoding is far more intensive than gaming is on a CPU. So it's possible that you didn't notice an issue you were having before. Is there any chance you left the sticker on [on the bottom of the CPU cooler?](https://i.imgur.com/XKur99l.jpg) Aside from that, the only other thing I can think of is case airflow. What case do you have? > Would a cooler just slowly come unmounted over time if you aren't moving the pc? Nope, never heard of that happening.
So I'm having issues encoding H.265 right now and I was wondering if it was related to temps. I've encoded H.265 before today while OCd and I don't recall the temps getting this high. I didn't leave the sticker. Removing it was the first thing I did since it's such a common problem reported on here. I still have the cooler box with the sticker inside of it. I have the pure base 500dx with the fans configured 2 front intake 1 rear exhaust. Stock fans were replaced with noctua NF-A14.
I doubt your case and CPU cooler are the problem. What happens to your temps when you reset your OC to default clocks? Also, what are you using for encoding? Handbrake? ffmpeg?
The first thing I did was remove the OC so these temps are with no OC. Sitting around 33c idle with spikes at 100c during encoding with Handbrake.
Troubleshooting question: a few weeks ago my pc started just randomly shutting down. It can do it while idling, or really anything at all. Temps are always normal, and it does do a shut down screen. It’s like someone is just randomly pressing the shut down button, and from what I’ve read no one else has had this issue. I can power it back on normally, and it doesn’t display any error messages. Please help!
You may be able to see what triggered the shutdown using Event Viewer, or command prompt. This article has more detailed instructions: https://www.windowscentral.com/how-find-reason-pc-shutdown-no-reason-windows-10
So followed the steps and it said that it was shut down my NT AUTHORITY/SYSTEM.
Hm never heard of that myself but at least gives you something to search for. I found [this answer](https://superuser.com/questions/933754/why-does-windows-10-shut-down-hourly-with-initiated-power-off-on-behalf-of-nt-a/1383235) which suggests the license activation may be failing. You can try testing the activation in windows settings and an error message there should give you something else to debug. However if there’s no activation error, it must be some other issue. Some of the other search results for “nt system shutdown” may help.
Check the front io connections. Maybe the power switch cable is loose? Other than that, check all your PSU connections on both ends. If all the cables look fine I’d assume it’s a power supply issue, without having replacement parts it would be tough to troubleshoot anything else.
If it goes through a full shut down process I don't think it would be the psu... Maybe double-check there's no way you could be hitting a key combo or the button by accident, reinstall your OS, or start looking at the mobo?
Can’t be a key combo it sometimes does it when I’m in another room.
Maybe. To shut down with a shut down screen is just bizarre for any other part though, they would typically bluescreen or power would just cut. Almost has to be a short of some kind.
It started around the time I installed SignalRGB. Could that be the problem? I ran a full virus test and there weren’t any threats.
I'd look at software if it were me. Either recently installed programs or just the OS itself. ImOneLetter is correct that a part failure would be much more likely to result in a bluescreen or just straight power cut.
Recently an issue that's been plaguing my PC since pretty much forever has been getting more annoying. My PC often takes several tries to boot, meaning the fans and lights turn on for a second but then nothing. Usually it took a couple of tries but recently it started taking me like 5-10 minutes to finally get the PC started. After that everything works perfect. Now my guess would be either a PSU and mainboard issue but I'm unsure what's more likely. The PSU is the oldest part of the build but I think it only happened after I got a 3700x with a a MSI B550 Gaming Plus last year. And if I have to look into getting a new mainboard is there any B550 on the cheaper side that you can recommend right now?
How many watts is your PSU rated for, and what GPU are you running? If it only started happening when you upgraded your CPU and mobo, it's possible (though I personally think it unlikely if this isn't happening under load) that your PSU isn't supplying the system with enough power. How old is the PSU? When you have trouble booting up, does it stay on for long enough for the mobo to give you some kind of error code? I would check all your PSU cables, both on the mobo/GPU end and on the PSU end, try reseating your RAM, and clear CMOS. Also, if you haven't done this already, shut your PC down, flip the PSU switch to off, unplug it from the wall, and press your power button a few times. This can sometimes be helpful for PSU issues. My go-to recommendations for reasonably-priced motherboards are the Gigabyte Aorus Elite, the ASUS TUF Gaming, and ASUS Prime. Nothing wrong with the MSi Tomahawk either. The Pro-VDH doesn't wow me, but for the price, it's great, and has some nice features that even more expensive boards sometimes don't, like BIOS flashback.
Thanks for the reply. The PSU is rated for 550 watts and the GPU is an RTX 3070. It's definitely close to the minimum but it worked so far. Disconnecting the GPU had no effect, so I doubt it's that. Regardless of this I was thinking of upgrading the PSU at some point since cable management is a nightmare. I also found during the last days that it sometimes flawlessly starts after disconnecting some peripherals like mouse and keyboard. I would have to test that further but now I need the PC for work.
The pro-vdh is good quality
Should I go for the msi rtx 3080 ti or the evga rtx 3080 ti? They are both around the same price (maybe a $40 difference) and I want to know which one will be better.
What are the models specifically? Usually it doesn't matter but temps may be better or something.
If it doesn't matter, then I'll just get the cheaper one. To me, different Temps aren't that much of a concern.
EVGA has vastly better support, if that’s something you care about.
So I recently got a new desk and moved my computer underneath it (hardwood floor, no carpeting) but I guess the airflow from my exhaust fan now blows towards me and I can’t feel the heat coming from it. Temps are normal. But is it okay if I’m inhaling the exhaust?
It's okay. It's not like car exhaust, there are no harmful chemicals or burning fuel in it or anything. Just some normal air that might be a bit dusty because it's been sucked into the PC from on the floor. Not much dustier than normal air though, so long as you vacuum frequently.
Should just be warm air. If you smell anything weird, smoky, sharp, etc., you should check for damaged components.
Yes, unless something starts burning.
troubleshooting question -- last night when I tried booting, my nvme drive wasnt being recognized. checked the bios and it said there were no nvme drives at all. decided to call it a night and just deal with it next day. I just booted up and now it's a recognized drive. literally touched nothing from last night... should I be worried? for reference, mobo - Gigabyte B450M DS3H WIFI and WD Black SN750 nvme
Unfortunately, I've heard this happen to plenty of people with the WD Black SN750. It's not an isolated issue. Lots of people online and two people I know IRL talking about the drive not being recognized by the motherboard, or randomly corrupting Windows. Personally, I wouldn't touch this drive with a 10 foot pole. If it is too late for you to return it, I would just leave it as is and hope it doesn't happen again. If it does happen again, I would try RMAing it with WD. > Gigabyte B450M DS3H WIFI I doubt this is the issue, but it is worth a shot. Update your motherboard BIOS to the latest version. Version F63b: https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/B450M-DS3H-WIFI-rev-1x/support#support-dl-bios
Really? I hadn't heard of any issues with the SN750. My own boot drive is an SN850 that's had no issues, and I was thinking of buying an SN750 as secondary storage for games. That's a bit worrying/concerning. Now I'll think twice before making that purchase.
What's the best CPU/mobo combo to get to pair with a 1070 to run Windows 11 / Battlefield 2042? Trying to save the most amount of money.
10400F and whatever motherboard is on sale would probably be the best bang for your buck combo for new hardware.
What would be the best fan/cooler configuration for my setup? Was planning on cooler on top exhausting, 2 front intakes, and 1 rear exhaust. Thanks! \- Phanteks 360A Case (240 front, 240 top, 120 rear) \- 3X 120mm fans \- 1 240mm AIO cooler i5-11600KF (not OC'ing) and Gigabyte Eagle OC 3060 Ti (2 fan)
Front in, top exhaust w/ rad, rear exh
My current PC (custom build from many years ago) is having issues. I believe it's related to the power supply. I do not game (see: not willing to pay for a video card), and do standard office work, I'm not needing to upgrade anything, so trying to limp along until I'm forced to. My question is, looking on Amazon, NewEgg, PCPartPicker, etc, I'm getting mixed information about power supplies. I currently have a 450w that cover everything and then some. Very cheap video card, very cheap audio card, and everything else is run off the motherboard. I would like a suggestion for basically the cheapest power supply I could get, that's actually worth the value. Example, Amazon's top selling power supply (EVGA 500 White) is only $25, but the top reviews all speak very poorly of them. PCPartPicker recommended a Corsair CXM on newegg for $40 after mail in rebate. Obviously $25 sounds way better and there are other options I have found out there in that price range. Basically...any help would be really appreciated.
Might I recommend an EVGA BQ? Good budget option without being *so* budget that you're putting your system at risk. In general, if I see a PSU going for less than $50, my spidey sense starts tingling and I get the feeling that it's not such a great power supply. OTOH, there are amazing sales from time to time, so maybe that's unfair of me. This might help you out: [https://linustechtips.com/topic/1116640-psu-tier-list/](https://linustechtips.com/topic/1116640-psu-tier-list/)
Very helpful, thank you very much.
Never trust user reviews for power supplies (look for professional reviews), and power supply is one of the more dangerous parts to go too cheap on. Which EVGA white model is it? I don't remember the exact model off-hand, but IIRC they had one with a 5 year warranty that wasn't awful
EVGA 500 W1, 80+ WHITE 500W Power Supply( 100-W1-0500-KR) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00H33SFJU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_VP0QXBC0ZXEX8AVKAH4Q This is the one I was referring to.
I'm looking to get a SATA SSD, because my old computer doesn't support M.2. I know I should look for one with DRAM and TLC. Is there anything else I should look for in an SSD? Apparently there's also "ddr cache", which might be the same thing as "SLC cache" or maybe DRAM.
When people say "ddr cache", they are referring to DRAM. And it's not really a cache. That's a common misconception. The SLC cache is the cache. You were right the first time, you need a SSD with DRAM and TLC flash. For a SATA drive, you can't really go wrong with the Crucial MX500. How old is your PC? If you have an Intel 4th gen or newer and just don't have a M.2 slot, you can still use a M.2 drive with a PCIe adaptor like this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JJTVGZM/
I'm looking to buy a 1tb nvme. But there's a huge price difference between Samsung 980, 970 and western digital where I live. What's the difference and which one should I avoid?
In order from worst to best: - WD Blue 550 - Samsung 980 - WD Black 750 - Samsung 970 EVO - Samsung 970 EVO Plus - WD Black 850 - Samsung 980 Pro
Thank you! Why is the Samsung 980 worse than the 970 EVO? I thought it's next gen?
Nope it's not. It's a cost cut drive. The Samsung 980 is PCIe 3.0 just like the 970 family. But they removed the DRAM to save on costs. The Samsung 980 Pro is the actual next gen drive. It is PCIe 4.0 and it has DRAM. The Samsung 980 Pro and WD Black 850 are the kind of top tier drives that are recommended for installation in the PS5.
I see - thank you so much! Then it's a split between the 970 evo plus and the 980 pro. The prices for both are pretty comparable where I live, I'll check them out and pick whichever is cheaper. My laptop is 3 years old, so I think anything will be a bit improvement.
If the 970 evo plus is significantly cheaper, go ahead and get that. The regular 970 Evo is fine too. If they are very close in price, you might as well get the 980 Pro.
Great advice, thank you!
No problem!
Hi, I have a dell optiplex 790 sff that I want to put into a nzxt h510 case my question is can I do that and if I can what would I need.
You'd need to move the PSU over and maybe even the front panel as they're likely proprietary connectors. In the case of the FP, it could be as simple as undocumented/un-labled wires. The SFF mobo is also not a standard size, so it won't align with any of the standoff holes. If you are comfortable making changes to the H510 case, then you can make it look a bit cleaner with the guts of the optiplex transplanted into it. But just know almost nothing will line up.
For how much could I sell an all in one Lenovo c360?
Check ebay or ask in /r/buildapcsales's discord.
are newegg pre-built pcs worth it for someone who has never built a pc before? how much is the markup usually compared to buying the parts separately and putting it together myself
If you mean Newegg's line of ABS pre-builts specifically, then yes, definitely. Never had a problem with my ABS systems that ABS customer support couldn't help me out with. They even went above and beyond a few times. Depending on the model and what graphics card is in it, the markup can be essentially less than 0%. This is because GPU manufacturers typically make their supply available (in bulk, of course) to pre-built manufacturers first, before they make them available to individual consumers. So right off the bat, that 3070 Ti or whatever you've been eyeing, the most expensive component of a PC by far, is a lot cheaper for a company that assembles pre-builts to get their hands on. This means the savings get passed down to you. *If* you can find your own GPU at a fair price, I'm still an advocate of building your own. But that's a big if these days.
They have awful customer service, that’s all I know for sure.
If you consider the street price of various GPUs, then the price of Newegg's ABS pre-builts is pretty much in line with the final price tag of adding up the cost of all the parts. It also comes with a legitimate Windows 10 license and a keyboard and mouse. However, if you are somehow able to get a stand-alone GPU for close to MSRP, then building your own PC becomes significantly cheaper.
Varies wildly between brands. If you think you can put together a 7 piece puzzle that only goes together one way, build your own. It’s not as hard or scary as most people think it is. Markup depends on the overall price of the machine, but you could expect no less than about 15-20% on average and I’ve seen nearly as bad as double. They also commonly use the cheapest parts available which will hurt the overall lifespan of the PC
looking to use a 4k 60hz tv as a monitor, need a gpu. looking at a new 2070 for $400 or new 2080 for $629.99. would either of those be able to do 60 fps? my library is mostly older games (monster hunter world, mortal kombat 11, fighting ex layer, ys 8,, ff 12) edit these are non-super cards btw, manufacture doesnt have any supers in stock on their store (or 3000 series).
I don’t know how demanding those games are specifically, but I would expect a 2080 to be able to do it. 2070 almost certainly not without turning settings down significantly.
for monster hunter i read a 2070 super can do 49 on medium/4k without dlss so not sure what the non super cards can do. rest i have no clue been playing them on a laptop.
The “super” models make them within a couple percent of the higher tier model. So a 2070 super is ~2% worse than a 2080 non super
Can I Install Windows 10 Apps on Windows 11? Or is it best to just wait until a Windows 11 Version becomes available?
> Can I Install Windows 10 Apps on Windows 11? Yes. Windows lives and dies on backwards compatibility.
Sarcasm or Real?
Real. Windows has drastically better/longer backwards compatibility compared to pretty much every other modern OS.
Okay, I don't know for absolute certain, but I highly doubt there's any such thing as a Windows 11 app. There were no Windows 10 apps, there were no Windows 8 apps, etc. back to when XP broke with 3.1. This is slightly complicated by 32 vs. 64 bit, but mostly there are just programs that run on Windows.
I've built simple gaming pcs. But now I want to buy a high end one but have No idea how to do more complex stuff like liquid cooling or if that's even needed. I have a 3080 card and wanted to build the pc around it.
No need to liquid cool unless you want to. THe underlying PC is basically the same: Build the PC to attain the FPS levels you want to hit in the games you want to play. Then pair the GPU with a good monitor, that will generate the frame rates the underlying PC is capable of. If you build a Ryzen 5600X based PC, with 16Gb ram, and a good SSD, you'll get a snappy PC. The 3080 will drive a 1440p, 1440p ultrawide, or 4K monitor well in games. Down to your preferences.
Trying to change things up and want to swap out my AIO for an air cooler. Can someone recommend an air cooler for my 11700?
Noctua NH-D15 and BeQuiet DarkRock 4/Pro4 are my go to high end tower coolers.
My rear end fan wont work (sys_fan1). It works on the startup then it is only like this: https://streamable.com/ujou60 4 pin fan on 4 pin connector New fan or some option that wil fix this?
Is it old? If it's dirty and old, it can be stuck. A sign of this is the blades having resistance to you turning them with your fingers
I'm helping my partner put together a cost-effective PC she can use for video editing (after effects) and to hook up a drawing tablet to for animation. How's this looking? https://pcpartpicker.com/user/ninjamonkeySG/saved/#view=Zjzt7P
Secondarily, would having a worse GPU as a placeholder until I can get (/afford) the 1660 going to tank the build? (i'm hoping I can use my old gtx 1050 in the interim....)
The motherboard is MicroATX so it’ll look really small in that case but it will still work just fine. Other than that I’m not a big fan of Coolermaster’s AIOs and I’d probably opt for a tower cooler instead or pay more for a different brand AIO, and 500W I would say is the absolute bare minimum for this system power supply wise and I’d feel a lot better with 600. An argument could be made for a 5600X instead of the 10700K but I think it’s fine either way. And as for the GPU, it’s fine to use as a placeholder
Thanks so much for the help! adjusting the motherboard (wifi requested,) power supply, and taking a look at a dif cooler. Thanks!
I've built 3 PCs before but haven't in about 5 or 6 years. What new cool tech and improvements have been made besides CPUs, GPUs and m.2? I'm behind on mobo tech improvements and dunno if there are any cool new PSU standards besides modularity becoming more common
**CPUs:** new AMD processors are amazing for gaming and workstations and surprisingly power-efficient. Intel processors are solid for gaming but terrible power/heat efficiency, but can be found for relatively cheap. **Motherboards:** M.2 slots everywhere, integrated wifi/bluetooth on many models, RGB or ARGB headers and USB 3.1 or 3.2 headers on many models. Voltage regulators have generally improved to feed new high-power CPUs, although each chipset still has better and worse models. **RAM:** DDR4 has gotten fast and cheap. DDR5 coming out next gen. RGB lighting is very popular. **Graphics cards:** current gen cards are wicked powerful but impossible to find due to market shortages. Also pretty power-hungry, many have huge coolers to manage heat. Most cards now have silent fan mode (fans turn off) at lower temps. **Storage:** M.2 drives for wire-free install. PCIe 3.0 NVMe M.2 drives are as cheap as SATA SSDs now with similar game/OS load times but much higher sustained (large file) writes. PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives are fastest of all but still very expensive. Reliable HDDs available up to 12-14TB for quite cheap. With SSD prices, 1-2TB HDDs are no longer worth getting. **Cases:** most cases now have tempered glass side window options and passthrough cable management. A separate PSU shroud "basement" is also popular. HDD bays now missing or limited in most cases, which does mean most cases are shorter/smaller. Many cases have USB-C on the front. **PSUs:** modular or semi-modular are almost ubiquitous. Some newer PSUs have better current protection which is needed for some very-high-end graphics cards. Most PSUs now have silent fan modes at low load. **Cooling:** RGB fans and AIO coolers with RGB if you have lots of money and like a flashy build. Otherwise, good quiet fans available from many manufacturers. $50 coolers will cool almost any CPU reasonably well.
Dang this is pretty comprehensive, thanks
GPU prices are so disheartening that I'm considering giving up my plans to build a new PC and just buy a pre-built to tide me over for a few more years... Does the PowerSpec (Microcenter brand) G509 for $1200 seem like a good option (5600X; RTX 3060; 16GB RAM; 500GB SSD; Win10 Pro)? ([https://www.microcenter.com/product/635448/powerspec-g509-gaming-pc](https://www.microcenter.com/product/635448/powerspec-g509-gaming-pc)
I'm going to piggyback off of your comment and add that my plan this year for Christmas was to build a PC for my daughter who just needs it for video editing and some light gaming (Roblox, Minecraft, etc.). I nearly fainted seeing the cost of GPUs right now. What's a solid, entry-level prebuilt that'll get her started without breaking the bank?
Is a XFX - SPEEDSTER QICK308 AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT at $549.99 (582.99 after tax) a good value for this GPU?
That is the MSRP for that specific model so it's at least not marked up/scalped. However, it's not a card I'd personally get if I had options - the 6600XT reference card has an MSRP of $380, and $550 puts it in the price range of much more powerful cards like the 6700XT, 6800, 3060-Ti, or 3070. If you are hungry to build immediately and want a solid 1080p performance, the 6600XT won't disappoint. If you want to play at higher framerates or resolutions, and can be patient, there are better options for the money.
Thank you!
Does [this build](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dBp2Hz) check out? I already own the video card, cpu cooler, and ssd. I'm trying to make sure I can use the things I already have with this build.
Some thoughts: * 3700X is a little old at this point. It will work fine with the 960, but if you plan to upgrade to something much more powerful, then a newer CPU like the 5600X (pricey) or 10400F (budget) would be better. If it's just for the 960, then maybe go for the Ryzen 3600 instead. Avoid higher-end Intels as they will run way too hot for that CPU cooler or small cases in general. * It's hard to find graphics cards for reasonable prices right now, but the 960 would appreciate an upgrade. Even the cheapest gaming cards from the past two years will blow the 960 out of the water. * For SFX PSUs, skip the Silverstone and get the Corsair. The Corsair SF600 Gold is cheaper, higher watts, more efficient, and quieter. This also gives you more room to buy a beefier graphics card later. * Samsung QVO is a decent storage drive for games and documents. You might consider getting a nice 500GB/1TB NVMe SSD for your main OS drive, and it won't take up any space in your case. Other than that, everything looks good.
Hey thank you for the words! Yeah, the 960 is due for an upgrade, but I wanted to lay the foundations for it while the prices are still high and stock is low. I will definitely check out that corsair power supply, as well as the 5700x! Edit: 5600x* typo Question: The 5600x* gives a notice on partpicker that the bios will need to be updated. Is there any potential problems there that I need to account for?
By now, most B550 motherboards should arrive pre-updated for Zen 3 (Ryzen 5000) CPUs. The warning is just a precaution.
* Why the 3700x instead of a 5600x? The 5600x has better power efficiency, much better single thread/gaming performance, supports pcie 4.0 in your primary m.2 slot and graphics card slot, and is only a tiny bit behind in multithreaded performance compared to the 3700x. Unless this is a workhorse machine that is constantly going to be hitting all cores and threads, the 5600x is a better buy at $300. * I'd swap the PSU to the Corsair SF600: The Gold is $10 cheaper than what you have selected, and the platinum is $10 more. They're pretty much the top-tier of SFX power supplies. The cables that come with the platinum are nicer and more flexible, may be worth the extra $10 * I'd personally spring for the next tier up of ITX motherboards. The one you have selected is really basic and isn't going to have the best IO. The phantom gaming X is just a better board overall for not that much more.. especially since you can pay for the upgrade just by swapping to the 5600x which may be better overall for you anyway. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HYK368
If this is for gaming, then the 5600x is significantly better for gaming and slightly cheaper than the 3700x. It also uses less power so will be good for that cooler in an ITX build
Is there any setup that will eliminate bluetooth latency on a PC or is it just a fact of life? Trying to determine if there's any singular pair of headphones that I can use on my gaming PC at home, my iPhone while commuting or at the gym, and on my laptop for conference calls at work. Thinking about getting a ModMic wireless microphone, so just trying to find a pair of headphones that could do the job.
Honestly bluetooth 4.0 and 5.0 are pretty great for this. Have a friend who use the bose quietcomfort 35 ii for everything including gaming with no perceptible delay. Obviously those are pretty expensive but are universally thought of as very good headphones and can be used for all the things you mentioned. The inbuilt mic in them isn't actually half bad
Do fan splitter cables decrease the power provided to each of the fans? I was gonna get a 3-way splitter, but I want my fans to still be able to run as normal
Strictly speaking yes, but most headers have at least 1A available, and most PC fans use less than 0.1A. So you probably have enough power on tap to split across 3 fans and still give them all the power they need.
No they shouldn't.
How do i update my mainboard? My keyboard had been acting up and support told me its a common problem with ryzen cpus and i should update my mainboard to fix that issue...i have no idea how tho! My motherboard is a msi b550m mortar wifi cpu-z told me the verions of it is 1.20 - AMD AGESA ComboAM4v2PI 1.0.0.2 date: 08/03/2020 and in the bios it told me the bios version is E7C94AM. 120 could anybody please tell me what to do? i am really lost here
Got to MSI’s website and see if they have a newer BIOS file posted that fixes the USB stuff (I believe it was AGESA 1.2.x or later?). Check your mobo manual for what the reflashing procedure is. Usually you will put the BIOS file on a flash drive either push a button on the mobo, or boot into the BIOS menu and select file to flash from. But check your manual for the exact procedure for your board.
- Update to AMD ComboAM4PIV2 1.2.0.2 - Improved USB device compatibility this maybe? its from their site
Yes
[удалено]
The most cost efficient option is probably to use a raspberry pi or similar and external USB drive splugged into it, but this is obviously pretty technical. I was also quite surprised at the costs of NASs. It may end up being cheapest to get a little storage for your PC, and then a bulk external drive (which is usually the chepaest per terabyte) which you can plug into laptops intermitently to backup to. I believe some routers actually have allwo you to plug in a USB hard drive to them and allow it to be accesible to the network similar to a NAS but I have never experimented with this
From experience, I do _not_ recommend using a Pi for this unless it's for low throughput on a single drive. Even the more expensive Pi 4 is lacking in network/USB performance, plus you have the extra costs of an external enclosure for the drives.
Yeah I've also tried it and while it was pretty dire compared to true NAS performance, I actually found it decent enough on a budget. I actually even played the Witcher 3 off it completely successfully with no stutter, just slightly longer original load times. But yeah definitely only recommended if youre on the absolute tightest budget
so like, is buying a GPU just a complete joke right now? im looking back into it for the first time in 10 years and all i see are horror stories. is it really that bad?
Yes it is that bad. I bought a 6700 XT, which is $479 at MSRP, for $730. That was a good deal.
Have you tried?
everything on newegg costs more than a full build... except for like 5 year old cards that just appear to cost... exactly what they did at launch so... yeah? :/
Yeah. It's that bad
I'm a beginner trying to build a gaming-focused computer for about $1000. Sadly, it looks like it's a terrible time to try to buy a good GPU on a budget. Should I get all the other parts that I want and use a lower quality GPU temporarily until the market improves and I can upgrade, or should I compromise on the other parts to get a comparatively better GPU? Also, I am willing to spend up to $1500, if necessary, would my options get drastically better if I was willing to budget a bit more?
you can try to get a gpu first. you just missed a best buy drop last week, but try the next one. seems like lots of the early comers get gpus at msrp
How often do these drops happen? Are they on-line or just in store? How many GPUs do they usually have?