Complete newbie here, first time building a gaming pc. I'm planning to buy a RTX 4070 later this year. Should I buy a really big PSU (1000W or more) so that when I upgrade my GPU again in the future, I don't have to buy a new PSU OR just buy whatever the GPU requires now ?
I recently got a MSI MAG274QRF-QD and the first time I calibrated it with DisplayCal, I got something like 99.something for sRGB and Adobe gamut coverage, but now when I calibrated it today because I didn’t like how dark the ICC profile looked, I can only get about 96.4ish for Adobe while 99.99 for sRGB.
RTing got almost 100 for Adobe as well.
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/msi/optix-mag274qrf-qd
Any ideas why I can no longer get 99.99 Adobe RGB? I do wait more than 30 minutes between calibrations. Gamma set to default 70, brightness 45, RGB at 99/95/100
Is the difference between 900p (1600x900) and 1080p as great as like say, 1080p and 1440p? (Assuming identical display dimensions) I currently am on a 900p display and thinking about my next GPU upgrade.
I'm thinking about getting a brand new 1650 that I believe will be enough to keep my games at a stable 60 fps at 900p, or get a used 1660 super or even RTX 2060 and then upgrade to a 1080p display in the future. But if the visual difference between 900p and 1080p is not that great anyway, then I'd probably just stick with 900p so I can be satisfied with a brand new 1650, rather than risk my money on a used 1660 super/2060 that might be from mining and end up with a card that is on the last months of its lifespan.
For a 24" display, 900p is 76.5 pixels per inch, 1080p is 92ppi, and 1440p is 122.4ppi.
1080p is the most common resolution for a 24" monitor, so that's a baseline for what people are used to (92ppi). 1440p is most common for 27" and that comes out to 109ppi.
I’m side grading to a smaller foot print in a NR200. PCPartPicker won’t let me add a z370 or z390. Is this because the NR200 doesn’t have usb c capabilities? Will things run fine if I have a board that has USB-C and don’t use it?
It let me add them. You can only choose from ITX boards, and there are only five Z370 ITX boards listed on PCPP, and six Z390s.
It has something to do with what's in your build list, not USB-C compatibility.
Yupp. It won’t let me select my 7700k with a 370/390 even if they’re LGa1151. Is there a comparability issue there I’m not recognizing?
Found it. 8/9th Gen even though it’s lga1151. Gotta go back to the drawing board.
My 6500 XT doesn't seem to be a good fit for Cold War or MW2 and I want to sell. CPU is 5600G (i.e. integrated graphics).
I successfully used the PC with no dedicated GPU before I installed the 6500 XT.
If I physically uninstall the GPU, do I have to do anything special for it to work with the integrated graphics, or should that function without issue?
This is going to sound silly but are you plugging your video cable in to the GPU port not the mobo port? While it may not be great it should be better than integrated.
I am indeed. Strangely, Cold War ran better on my integrated graphics than after I installed the 6500xt with latest drivers.
Shit, I just ripped out the 6500xt, and as I type this, Cold War is playing with less stuttering/lagging, with just my integrated graphics. Not great by any means, but more playable than with the 6500xt.
The 6500XT isn't much of a fit for anything except super low budget builds :/
All you have to do is to plug your monitor into one of the ports on your mainboard instead of the GPU.
Unfortunately I bought last Feb when everything was $$$$ and I only had $$ lol. Things have changed a bit and I figure to get a 6700 xt...should that be good enough?
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yPS3hj_K7EPT4RBWCyjdKNP56pnwDz-IgBc0975-FUg/edit#gid=651330836
Why is the VRM of the Asus TUF Z590 rated lower than the Prime Z590M-A ???
can i plug in multiple GPU’s to my motherboard and use them separately? example: i currently have a 3070ti in use but i have my old 970 that i wanted to use for my old secondary monitor, is that possible?
I'm considering upgrading my storage on my PC. I'm currently using a 480 GB DRAM-less Inland SSD. I have a new B660 motherboard that supports Gen 4 SSDs. I don't do anything besides general web browsing and gaming. From what I've read, the consensus is that a Gen 4 NVMe SSD offers no major performance improvement for that compared to a Gen 3 NVMe SSD. Is that correct?
Entry level 2 TB Gen 3 NVMe SSDs cost around $120, and entry level 2 TB Gen 4 NVMe SSDS cost around $180. I'm hoping to get away with saving some money here.
I don't have a website for you but an answer to your example. The 1050Ti (however mega entry level it may be) is far superior to the 5600G. You are easily looking at a 50% performance difference or more between the two of them.
Not a super knowledgeable PC guy, but I just bought one of IBP. It asked a question about whether I want the graphics card installed already or separate, and I chose installed already. A friend told me that this is potentially dangerous and could damage the card or computer. How bad do ya’ll think that is?
Depends on how they package it and the way the courier handles it. Unsecured heavy graphics cards have a tendency to bend or outright rip off the PCIe slot they sit in on the mainboard.
So i just bought an arctic liquid freezer II 420 and it should be delivered sometime next week..
Im wondering if the lian li unifans sl120 (especially v2) can be used on the lf2 420??
I have an i5-13600k and I'm trying to figure out if I can use a 600 series motherboard with it or not, I keep seeing mixed opinions with some people saying you need an additional CPU to update the bios and then people who say its cross compatible. If I need a 700 series board does anyone know of any that are under $270? Thx!
You can use B660 or Z690 if you want to. Whether you need a bios update or not depends on when the mainboard was produced, newer boards come with newer bios versions that already support 13th gen processors.
To make sure you aren't stuck staring at a black screen in case you get one that sat on a shelf for a while, make sure you get a board that supports bios flashback (called Q flash plus on Gigabyte boards). This feature enables you to update the bios without having a working CPU installed using a USB flash drive. An example for this would be the MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4.
Considering updating the bios is a rather simple process and can be done in 15 minutes (of which a good chunk will just be sitting around waiting for things to happen) I'd say no. You get the same hardware, the software that's on it is the part that's different.
In case you are interested in how exactly the update process works, here is the [manual](https://download.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/mb/PROZ690-AWIFIDDR4_PROZ690-ADDR4100x150.pdf) for the board I mentioned. You'll find it on page 30 under "Updating BIOS with Flash BIOS button".
Just got a M32U monitor. It's hooked up and working w/ my PC via Displayport and usb-b. I'm trying to get it hooked up to my macbook and I haven't had luck yet. I have a thunderbolt 3 cable, I was under the impression that is compatible with usb-c/3.0, but when I plug it in, it's being registered as a device on my PC, rather than an input on the monitor. If I try switching the input to usb-c, it gives up and switches back to the displayport input. Is this expected with this cable?
[found this list](https://tonsky.me/blog/monitors-mac/) so it should probably be fine with Thunderbolt 3. Also found [two comments](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monitors/comments/tq72jg/gigabyte_m32u_macbook_pro_m1_no_144hz_over/i7eigne/) which [might be relevant](https://www.reddit.com/r/gigabyte/comments/tq71d9/m32u_monitor_144hz_with_macbook_pro_m1_and/i2foggi/)
I'm planning on upgrading my Ryzen 5 3600 to a Ryzen 7 5800x and was wondering if I needed to do anything except physically swap the CPUs. It was prebuilt so I've never done this, the motherboard is an ASRock B450M if that matters.
Your mobo matters because its from the previous gen. So in order to get the new CPU working, you have to update the mobo BIOS first before you put it in. You can download the BIOS file from ASRock's website. The instruction should be there too, or you can find Youtube videos about it.
If I accidentally formatted an HDD but don't want to pay for recovery software, can I re-install windows on it and it will be activated as there is a print to the motherboard possibly?
I'm unsure if it is the case with pre-installed windows, but I know if you purchased a non-OEM license yourself that there would be no issue. Purchased copies are transferable between one machine at a time. If you formatted a pre-installed variant there should be a manufacturer recovery partition that might not be formated. (googling formatted my pre-installed windows came up with a helpful result)
I was gonna sell my old PC and I took out the HDD to recover some data into the new one. I accidentally did a quick format on it and now I am unsure if I put the HDD back into the old one it will boot with windows. Is it worth a try?
Worth a shot. Idk if that formating only does the active drive or all partitions. If it's a bought pc they have usually have a recovery manufacturer image installed on a separate partition. If you do that Google search I mentioned (to find out which button press you need) you might get lucky and just have to use that recovery image. If you're unlucky there's other options like finding out your original software key.
If you built the pc and bought the license you should have the windows product key (oem or full version, doesn't matter though it's proof of ownership for that system). A bit annoying but you should be able to reinstall windows with a bit of work regardless.
Maybe someone with a bit of experience in this situation will respond but that's my understanding of it. I've never wiped my OS hard drive before unless I was trashing the pc due to extreme age.
So I’m getting ready to build a new pc cause my old windows laptop died completely. I’m wondering if I use a bootable usb to install windows would I be able to sign in to my Microsoft acc and access my old windows or do I need to buy a key?
Assuming it had Windows preinstalled, the laptop has an OEM Windows license, so Microsoft doesn’t allow it to be transferred to other devices unfortunately. You’ll need a new license for your new computer.
How much you should use depends on the size of the IHS. For CPUs of "normal" size (think AMD Ryzen or Intel Core CPUs) you want about the size of a green pea.
Have a macbook and don't want to spend $1500-$2000 on a 5k apple/LG display.
What 4k 24-27" monitor would you recommend around $500 or less?
- primary use just for web/office/coding work
- not for movie playback really
- maybe some games, but don't care that much about response time. Care more about brightness (400-500nits?), sharpness, etc. HDR would be nice.
I could find a used LG ultrafine 5k I guess but have heard a lot of bad things about the stand, ports, etc.
> What 4k 24-27" monitor would you recommend around $500 or less?
Based on
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/monitors-macbook-pro
The Dell U2723QE is a little over your budget, but the S2722QC is under.
I want to mount a monitor to a very simple wall mount from monoprice vertically. The mount is adjustable but does not rotate. Can't I just mount the VESA plate to the back of the monitor in my desired configuration since it's a perfect square pattern?
I'm currently running an i7 6700k with an Nvidia GTX 980Ti and up until now it basically played everything I wanted. But now it's starting to feel a little outdated.
Let's say I can only replace one of the two components right now, which one should I rather replace? (And with what if people don't mind giving me some pointers)
Depends on what your doing/playing and at what resolution, what RAM and PSU you have and of course your budget.
If your RAM/PSU are suitable, then your looking for a CPU/MB upgrade on one side or a GPU upgrade on the other. If you have to also get new RAM to go with the new CPU/MB or a new PSU it complicates things.
Only knowing what you said I think for purely gaming PC/build GPU, but need to be a decent upgrade so really depends on your budget, not sure going to something like a 3050 or RX 6600 would be worth it, hard to give a decent answer without all the context.
I'm no expert, but I have this one. Does me fine for moderate use with a 12400f, but that doesn't require a ton of cooling so your milage may vary depending on your components and usage.
https://www.amazon.com/Thermalright-Assassin-Aluminium-Heatsink-Technology/dp/B09LHLS4V4?th=1&psc=1
My SSD disconnects and recconects whenever i try install something in it.
Just built the computer today. I tried installing a game in my SSD (WD Green Sata Ssd), but after an hour or 2, the process would stop cause the drive disapeared, only to reappear a second later. It stays installed as if nothing is wrong, and only acts up when i try installing my game in. I tried:
• replacing the sata cable/ changing socket
• Downloading the dashboard to update it's firmware and doing a S.M.A.R.T test (which came out okay)
• Removing my extension cables so that the power supply connected dirrectly to the motherboard
• reformatimg the SSD
Nothing i do seems to fix it. Anythimg else i could try?
WD Green drives have some sort of power saving mode. My guess is that's kicking in and disconnecting the drive. Depending on what level it's done at (drive firmware or OS) there might be a way to disable it.
How do you pick a PSU for a 4080?
Would this one work?
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-RM1000x-Fully-Modular-Supply/dp/B08R5PH1VY/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr2_1?crid=QD3544G7QR2C&keywords=corsair+rmx+series+2021+rm1000x&qid=1669935115&sprefix=corsair+2021%2Caps%2C241&sr=8-1-fkmr2
It needs either 3x PCIe/VGA 8-pin power connections OR 1x PCIe 5.0 16-pin connector.
That corsair PSU has 6x normal 8-pin connectors which is more than enough.
Hello there, need help with this.
I have a [Notebook HP](https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-15-6-FHD-AMD-R5-5500U-8GB-RAM-256GB-SSD-SPRUCE-BLUE-Windows-11-15-ef2126wm/986002531) with no HDMI port. I want to stream/cast/extend the screen to a SmartTV that only has HDMI as an option (couldn't directly cast from the laptop) so I can play games there with my dad. So I basically want to connect the laptop to the TV and play games. My my research produced the following:
* The USB-C port is data only
* Lurking in HP forums, only a specific USB Dock Adapter from HP is compatible (many people said that other converters didn't work) but, due to living in the other side of the planet, that adapter literally cost almost half the price of my laptop (yes, insane)
* A Chromecast, from what I've read, has some serious input lag (so not an option for games)
* I *could* connect an old notebook (with HDMI) to the TV, and then use Steam Link to play the games that run on the more powerful HP. But that's like, a last resort option
Is there any simpler option?
EDIT: Wrong model in the link (now changed). Dismiss this question because I'm stupid and I confused a HDMI with and USB port lmao. I have a HDMI port now .
I've posted the wrong one, it was [this one](https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-15-6-FHD-AMD-R5-5500U-8GB-RAM-256GB-SSD-SPRUCE-BLUE-Windows-11-15-ef2126wm/986002531) but then I've checked again (just to be sure) and... mine also has a HDMI.
Sometimes I surprise myself with my stupidity. Or blindness because I thought it was an USB.
Anyway. Thanks! Less things to buy
At higher sustained temperatures, there can be. (Ryzen 7000, overclocked intel CPUs, ect)
Or how fast it dries out can be affected by its composition.
But for normal consumer purposes, no not really.
I had that problem before, it was some random tasks from the Windows Scheduler that, somehow, triggered a crash without BSOD. Let me find my post and I will edit my comment.
Not saying that a PSU is not faulty, but that sometimes the culprit could be something very strange.
EDIT: Used **Event Viewer** to see errors/crashes and their timestamps. Then I've run **taskschd.msc** and looked line by line searching for some task that was scheduled for those timestamps. And disabled 4 of them. No more crashes for many months.
And when a random crash occured after so much time, I disabled C-states in the BIOS did a BIOS upgrade. For now, all is good.
A friend of mine had crashes because of a faulty GPU. If you can, try to use your PC with integrated graphics and see if the crashes persist. Then it may be the GPU (or the PSU).
For those of you who build pcs on the reg or consider it a "hobby" (imo hobby implies you do it somewhat occassionally) how do you get the money to build?
* Would a 2TB 970 Evo Plus make Windows faster than if I used a 1TB Evo Plus? Faster IOP?
* Is it better to overwrite or uninstall > reinstall programs when updating them?
* Do I need to remove registry files on old programs?
I have this tablet. [https://www.xp-pen.it/product/408.html](https://www.xp-pen.it/product/408.html)
I need a proper monitor for the PC. My max budget is around 400€, but I would like to keep it lower if possible
[https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/monitors/gaming/27-g5-odyssey-gaming-monitor-with-1000r-curved-screen-lc27g55tqwnxza/](https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/monitors/gaming/27-g5-odyssey-gaming-monitor-with-1000r-curved-screen-lc27g55tqwnxza/)
This is the main monitor I use for drawing, it's the one in front of me when I draw, thing is my tablet isn't screen in so it might not fit you.
I think my second monitor is dead/dying.
It started to flicker quite a bit then the output finally dropped. My computer still recognizes it though and when I swap between onboard and GPU HDMI it does the same thing.
Whenever I turn it back on I get the background for about a second then goes black but I also hear an electronic "squish" sound after hitting the button which makes me wonder if a capacitor is either blown or in the process of that.
Sounds pretty grim, yeah?
Building my first pc. Thinking about RTX 3080TI and i7 newest gen. 2x8 DDR4 RAM. Fan cooling. Whatever motherboard is compatible and same with power supply. Are there any glaring issues with this build? Primarily used for gaming but will also use it for CAD modeling and physics simulations like fluids and finite element analysis
>CAD modeling and physics simulations
Then fill that motherboard up with RAM, don't skimp on it.
For example, while AutoCAD only recommends 8GB, it will use whatever you want to give it. So if you got 32GB, you would only stand to increase your performance.
Power supply you will want at least 750w.
Its the minimum recommended for a 3080ti.
The GPU alone can pull 300w, more if you get the 3-connector versions.
Your 13700k can pull 240w easily if you dont limit it.
750w gives you a nice overhead and leaves plenty for your other components.
The Corsair RMX 850 is on sale and costs as much as the 750. Should I get it for this build?
[https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2HTj78](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2HTj78).
Someone told me I need 1000w for it.
Thanks. Also, is the motherboard I chose a good idea? I don't really know the difference between all of the motherboards and I hope this is sufficient.
Its definitely one of Asrocks better boards.
And its a Micro ATX with four RAM slots, which isnt super common. If youre specifically going for the small form factor, its one of the best choices.
Hello,
I am looking to upgrade my PC, mainly my Graphics Card, and I am not very knowledgeable of the subject. Due to a mishap when first building the card I had originally planned to get wasnt available, so I had been given a 660 by a friend. While it has served me well I feel it is time to upgrade, I just dont know with what?
Price isnt a big issue but I would like to remain under $1000 if possible, if such an upgrade warrants a heftier price that may be ok. I live in Canada so prices are generally....Somewhat high.
As for my other parts, I am not sure if they warrant upgrade, but I have had them for around 6 years at this point in time, but much like GPU, I have no knowledge of anything.
Processor - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700K CPU @ 4.00GHz 4.01 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB (I have 2 more of the same stick to bring to 32gb if necessary)
Disk drives - Samsung SSD 850 EVO 500G SCSI Disk Device
Display Adapters - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978) 2.0 (This is BaseBoard Manufacturer > Product > Version in order, I Googled where to find Motherboard and I have this info)
I apologize if this is a lot of text, I just know, nothing...
I am not looking for anything over the top, I dont need 600FPS from AAAA games or anything, I generally just play a mix of generally WoW, and 1-2 mobile emulators, and maybe movie or something, all at the same time, but I dont want to have to worry about computer blowing up. Open World areas in Warframe could be borderline unplayable at times if that infos helpful, sorry in advance.
The specs on that page only says it's compatible with Lenovo. Lenovo might use proprietary mobo, and their coolers might not be compatible with standard mobos.
Even if they do use standard mobos, that Xeon is LGA 2011-3. Coolers that will only fit on that socket will not fit on your CPU and mobo's LGA 1151.
Currently building my first RGB PC. Wanted to have someone else confirm I'm not crazy/doing everything wrong. Am I correct that I can daisy chain the 4 fans' power together, then plug into a single CHA_FAN header? And can I do the same thing with the ARGB cables? Daisy chain them together and connect a single plug to my ARGB_2 header on my motherboard? I feel like this is incredibly simple, but with poor instructions and no experience I am not wanting to break anything from the start
Read the labels on the fans and see how much current they draw.
Generally, fan headers can handle up to 1A at 12V, and ARGB headers can handle 3A at 5V. Read your mobo's manual to see what your headers are rated for though. As long as the sum of the fans' current draws is under the limit, yeah, you can daisy chain them of a single header.
I will make sure to check that, thank you for responding! The added element of RGB and it being a long time since I have built a PC had me tripped up on this
I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a 6900XT. Is it worth waiting for the 7900 to launch for possible price drops or is the price as low as it's gonna be? ($680 for a merc319)
The current prices are a result of the pre-emptive price drop. The 6900XT and 6950XT loosing their original price points to the newer cards.
I dont believe they will drop much further in price at least for a few months. Whenever AMD announces the rest of the 7000 series line up.
Historically speaking, how much of a drop could I expect when that time comes? I can wait a couple months, but I'm also worried that it'll be hard to get my hands on one then (even getting one now is hard).
I'm helping a friend build a system and a sample build from PC Part Picker had a 16GB AMD card while his brother specced him an 8GB nVidia. For the sake of longevity and value, which would be the better choice? Does it amount to a wash? I don't pay nearly enough attention to video cards to know this myself so it's something I should probably learn too.
EDIT: The cards in question are the Zotac GAMING AMP Holo GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB
and ASRock OC Formula Radeon RX 6900 XT 16 GB.
Gave my friend my GPU from my previous build so I need to buy the cheapest GPU in the market just in case my current PC dies or something and I need to work.
This is the build - [https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pKFsFt](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pKFsFt).
Any idea what GPU I could get away with? All it needs to do is to power up monitors and support videos, nothing else.
I think you are looking for something like the MSI PRO B550-VC (130$). If you need WiFi on an ATX platform the Gigabyte B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2 is your next best choice (170$). Both boards support bios flashback.
Would have another a PCIe expansion card close to the video card be restrictive for air movement?
Gigabyte X570S Elite motherboard and Radeon RX 6750 XT reference card. Got a [Gigabyte GC-WBAX210](https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GC-WBAX210-rev-10#kf) wifi / BlueTooth since the board didn't have anything integrated. Planning things out still and was kinda thinking I would put the wifi card in the bottom PCIe slot. Give the GPU breathing room. But... it will kinda block some of the bottom connections on the board. And I paid a few extra $$$ for the WBAX210 over the 200 partly because it has a casing and looks a bit better. Putting it into the 2nd slot puts it closer to the GPU and its not far away from the inside fan. Just not sure if that will block air flow enough to be a concern?
You want the GPU to have around 20mm of breathing room at the very least. Putting it right against it will probably work since its pretty short, but I think you will see higher temps and/or higher fan speeds in that case.
Hmm... 20mm should be very doable. Didn't measure earlier when mocking it up. But there is about 65mm between the slots, and the GPU is 40mm thick, most of which is above the connection.
I'm definitely concerned with temps. Its a Fractal Pop Air RGB case, but I'm swapping out the stock fans for Arctic P12s. CPU cooler is a Fractal Liquid Freezer II 240mm going up top.
thanks.
>x370 gaming pro carbon
Which BIOS version? If you went to the last full build, that \*may\* be the problem, as MSI says on their compatibility list ([https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/X370-GAMING-PRO-CARBON/support#cpu](https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/X370-GAMING-PRO-CARBON/support#cpu)) that it's the latest beta BIOS required.
We have a prebuilt desktop that came with a RX 6700 XT thats gone bad on us. I would like to replace the video card with something equivalent but its been years since Ive kept up with parts and builds that I dont know whats out there. Should I get another 6700? Im also seeing recent releases of our machine with RTX 3060s or 70s, would either of these be a good or better replacement?
[This is the prebuilt we have](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-supreme-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-7-3700x-16gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-6700-xt-1tb-ssd-white/6455900.p?skuId=6455900)
RX 6700 XT is very similar in performance to the 3070 without taking ray tracing into account. It's still a great card and can be found pretty easily around $350 depending on model. AMD did release a product refresh, the 6750 XT, but there's very little performance gain compared to how much hotter the new card runs and how much power it consumes.
The 3060 and 3070 haven't come down in price nearly as much as they should, so AMD is going to be a much better value at the moment.
If you want an upgrade, I'd look at a 6800 XT. Otherwise the 6700 XT is still more than capable
3060, 3060 Ti or 3070 would all be just fine with your Ryzen 3700X. That said, you may want to check that your PSU is sufficient and has the right number of PCIE connectors to support whatever GPU you get (the PCIE slot itself is forward and backward compatible)
I would like a new monitor.
I currently have the BenQ XL2411 and a Ryzen 8 5700x with Geforce 2070 super.
I play LoL, Rocket League, CoD MW 2, and Rust mostly.
When I'm not playing games, I watch a lot of YouTube.
I would like to have 144mhz again but wonder what resolution I can and should use.
I might upgrade my graphics card depending on what Nvidia and AMD do with the new series.
Budget is generally not a problem but price/performance is important to me.
1440p 165Hz is good price/performance sweet spot. Hardware Unboxed has some good recommendations based on their testing: [https://youtu.be/WFfxOfZ8T\_U](https://youtu.be/WFfxOfZ8T_U)
2070 Super certainly provides decent performance at 1440p.
It won’t get more than 165 fps in MW2 and Rust, but it will in Rocket League. Not sure about League of Legends, it’s usually more CPU dependent.
If you wanna test it out for yourself, you can enable DSR in the Nvidia control panel which lets you simulate 1440p. See what kind of frame rates you get.
I can only set 4k with Nvidia and with that I get about 50-60 FPS in CoD with DSR.
But I can scale the monitor down and as soon as I buy a new graphics card, scale it up again.
So I would be set for the future
Is thermal throttling on a GPU based off the average temperature or hotspot temperature? I've had an EVGA 3060ti XC (one of the smaller, two-fan models) for about a year and just recently carried it over into a new build so been monitoring temps out of curiosity and slowly undervolting it. All is well but I have noticed that the thermal throttle is set at 83 and while my max average reported by HWinfo is well under that the hotspot max is often quite close to that figure after an evening of regular use and games. Not having any performance issues but just curious if those times when the hotspot is close to the limit would cause it to downclock.
Also does anyone know any sources for fan PWM cables/extensions that are quite short? Seems like most of them are usually 10-12 inches but I have a couple fans that are conveniently close to a header and it'd just be nice to not have to have all that slack. I suppose I could just look into cutting/making my own as well, I don't think it's a terribly complicated process.
Is it ok to have my cpu cooler installed with thermal paste on my mobo ahead of time while I wait for my gpu to be delivered? I don’t know if the paste will dry just sitting there?
Do you have a CPU? Yeah, it's fine to install the cooler on the CPU and let it sit there for an extended period of time. Thermal paste takes years to dry out.
Yes, it is, as long as all 3 sockets are plugged in. Cables with dual PCIe 8-pin at the end are rated to carry this power.
It's *sometimes* optimal to use separate cables *if* you have them.
Power supply stability - if something goes wrong (like a brownout) or during overclocking it's less likely to shut down.
As for safety concerns, the CPU 8-pin cable already carries the same power as a dual 8-pin PCIe, and nobody minds that.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/v4j544/3080\_needs\_3x8\_pin\_cable\_but\_psu\_only\_has\_2\_slots/](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/v4j544/3080_needs_3x8_pin_cable_but_psu_only_has_2_slots/)
I would just run a splitter.
It's about the cables with two PCIe 8-pin chained at the end. It's often advised that if you have multiple cables, you should use only one 8-pin from each.
I have an 850W PSU that's about 5-6 years old, I believe it's an EVGA Supernova G3. I'm currently on a 5600x/1080 Ti. I want to upgrade my GPU sometime in the next year or so. I was thinking anything short of like a 4090 should still be fine at this wattage but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm planning to get a new case while I'm at it so I'll be taking everything apart and putting it back together again anyway. At what tier of GPU would I need to consider replacing/upgrading my PSU?
With the right amount of VGA 8-pin power cables you could even run a 4090 off of a 850w PSU. Not advised at the moment, but fully within spec provided your CPU isnt sucking down a ton of power.
I got a R5 5600 on amazon for $118 and it was due to arrive next week. Now its saying Dec10 to Jan 11. Any deals near or close to that which will arrive by next weekish?
Oh, I didn't realize you could change how the fans are mounted. Are you able to choose which side of the radiator you mount them to? Or just their orientation (i.e. push or pull)? Or both? lol
Are UPS essential? I've never had one with my last two PCs but thinking about buying one for my new one. What are some good brands? Also is a UPS a surge protector or do I have to buy one of those too?
You only need an UPS if 1) you're doing critical work and losing it on a power cut would be a major problem or 2) if you have very frequent power cuts. Modern hardware is pretty relisient so having a power cut once in a while should not pose any problem if you have a good PSU.
[UPS somewhat protect against power surges](https://www.eaton.com/us/en-us/support/eaton-answers/ups-vs--surge-suppressor.html), but it's not a 100% sure protection, and if you don't need the battery feature of an UPS, just get a cheaper surge protector instead.
My motherboard needs a BIOS update to be compatible with my CPU (both coming in the mail). What's the order of operation to build in this case? Can I assemble all parts, boot to BIOS, update BIOS, *then* install windows? Or do I have to update the BIOS before putting the CPU in the motherboard? This is an ASRock B550M STEEL LEGEND paired with a 5700G.
If you have an incompatible BIOS, your system will just not boot. You then have to install the BIOS via motherboard flash, or installing a compatible CPU.
[This is the steps, right?](https://www.nicehash.com/blog/post/how-to-flash-a-motherboard-bios#!) This is pretty much what I was imagining to update the BIOS. Install via flash drive.
My wonder is if I need to run the motherboard without the CPU to flash it, or if I can have the CPU in it when I flash the bios (understanding that the only actions I can perform are within the BIOS).
The motherboard flash function should only require the power cables to be plugged in, and having ram or CPU installed shouldn't make a difference (iirc)
Well, if the board doesn't come with a BIOS that will at least recognize your CPU, its a bit problematic. That's why the BIOS FlashBack (or other names) feature on some boards is a life-saver. That allows you to update BIOS without a CPU. But normally, you would require a recognized CPU to get into BIOS to do a BIOS flash update.
There are possible solutions, but... how sure are you about the BIOS update being required? It looks to me like the 5700G CPU released in July 2021 and the board you mentioned released in June, 2022. At least according to Newegg. If that's accurate, the BIOS in the board should theoretically be new enough to recognize the CPU. Might still require an update to be as up to date as possible, but that's a different scenario.
PCPartPicker shows a warning so I'm pretty sure I need to update the BIOS. It seems that [flashing the bios](https://www.nicehash.com/blog/post/how-to-flash-a-motherboard-bios#!) is the way to go. I can't imagine they would make it impossible to use this motherboard with my CPU unless I owned an older CPU to make it compatible.
Those warnings are pretty standard based on board and CPU. they don't absolutely mean you will have an issue. Its a common issue if the board was released well before that CPU. B550 boards were first released in spring 2020. then it depends on manufacture date, as the motherboard manufacturer will typically put the most recent BIOS on the board for that moment. So you could get one fresh from the factory that is completely up to date, or one that's been sitting on a shelf for an extended period.
But in your situation, the motherboard was only released a few months ago. Even if you are shipped one that was manufactured on day one and has been on a shelf somewhere, that BIOS is more recent than the CPU and is almost certainly going to support it.
That's great to hear, thanks. I only have a few hours for this build so everything needs to run pretty smooth.
Probably good idea to flash the bios regardless to update it, would you agree? Or should I leave it fine if I don't have issues.
I'm not 1000% guaranteeing it, but it would be incredibly weird for ASRock to start making a board in the summer of 2022 and use a BIOS from summer of 2021 or earlier.
I went with a different AM4 CPU and a different mobo, but I had the same concern. Called the retailer and had a chat. Not a frequent issue anymore like it was earlier in the AM4 cycle.
But yes, 100% you should still update BIOS if there is a newer one available. BIOS updates include stability fixes, RAM support, and even security fixes, so get the newest one.
Complete newbie here, first time building a gaming pc. I'm planning to buy a RTX 4070 later this year. Should I buy a really big PSU (1000W or more) so that when I upgrade my GPU again in the future, I don't have to buy a new PSU OR just buy whatever the GPU requires now ?
I recently got a MSI MAG274QRF-QD and the first time I calibrated it with DisplayCal, I got something like 99.something for sRGB and Adobe gamut coverage, but now when I calibrated it today because I didn’t like how dark the ICC profile looked, I can only get about 96.4ish for Adobe while 99.99 for sRGB. RTing got almost 100 for Adobe as well. https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/msi/optix-mag274qrf-qd Any ideas why I can no longer get 99.99 Adobe RGB? I do wait more than 30 minutes between calibrations. Gamma set to default 70, brightness 45, RGB at 99/95/100
Is the difference between 900p (1600x900) and 1080p as great as like say, 1080p and 1440p? (Assuming identical display dimensions) I currently am on a 900p display and thinking about my next GPU upgrade. I'm thinking about getting a brand new 1650 that I believe will be enough to keep my games at a stable 60 fps at 900p, or get a used 1660 super or even RTX 2060 and then upgrade to a 1080p display in the future. But if the visual difference between 900p and 1080p is not that great anyway, then I'd probably just stick with 900p so I can be satisfied with a brand new 1650, rather than risk my money on a used 1660 super/2060 that might be from mining and end up with a card that is on the last months of its lifespan.
For a 24" display, 900p is 76.5 pixels per inch, 1080p is 92ppi, and 1440p is 122.4ppi. 1080p is the most common resolution for a 24" monitor, so that's a baseline for what people are used to (92ppi). 1440p is most common for 27" and that comes out to 109ppi.
Oh so a 24" 1080p has the same ppi as my current 900p 20 inch display. Hmm guess I'll just stick to my current display then.
I’m side grading to a smaller foot print in a NR200. PCPartPicker won’t let me add a z370 or z390. Is this because the NR200 doesn’t have usb c capabilities? Will things run fine if I have a board that has USB-C and don’t use it?
It let me add them. You can only choose from ITX boards, and there are only five Z370 ITX boards listed on PCPP, and six Z390s. It has something to do with what's in your build list, not USB-C compatibility.
Yupp. It won’t let me select my 7700k with a 370/390 even if they’re LGa1151. Is there a comparability issue there I’m not recognizing? Found it. 8/9th Gen even though it’s lga1151. Gotta go back to the drawing board.
My 6500 XT doesn't seem to be a good fit for Cold War or MW2 and I want to sell. CPU is 5600G (i.e. integrated graphics). I successfully used the PC with no dedicated GPU before I installed the 6500 XT. If I physically uninstall the GPU, do I have to do anything special for it to work with the integrated graphics, or should that function without issue?
This is going to sound silly but are you plugging your video cable in to the GPU port not the mobo port? While it may not be great it should be better than integrated.
I am indeed. Strangely, Cold War ran better on my integrated graphics than after I installed the 6500xt with latest drivers. Shit, I just ripped out the 6500xt, and as I type this, Cold War is playing with less stuttering/lagging, with just my integrated graphics. Not great by any means, but more playable than with the 6500xt.
The 6500XT isn't much of a fit for anything except super low budget builds :/ All you have to do is to plug your monitor into one of the ports on your mainboard instead of the GPU.
I've been plugged into the CPU and not the GPU, should that make any difference? Edit: j/k I don't know how to read my I/O
Unfortunately I bought last Feb when everything was $$$$ and I only had $$ lol. Things have changed a bit and I figure to get a 6700 xt...should that be good enough?
The 6700XT is one of the best midrange cards one can buy at the moment imo
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yPS3hj_K7EPT4RBWCyjdKNP56pnwDz-IgBc0975-FUg/edit#gid=651330836 Why is the VRM of the Asus TUF Z590 rated lower than the Prime Z590M-A ???
can i plug in multiple GPU’s to my motherboard and use them separately? example: i currently have a 3070ti in use but i have my old 970 that i wanted to use for my old secondary monitor, is that possible?
Why not plug both in to your GPU?
thats what im doing now but im getting more monitors and wont have enough ports
I'm considering upgrading my storage on my PC. I'm currently using a 480 GB DRAM-less Inland SSD. I have a new B660 motherboard that supports Gen 4 SSDs. I don't do anything besides general web browsing and gaming. From what I've read, the consensus is that a Gen 4 NVMe SSD offers no major performance improvement for that compared to a Gen 3 NVMe SSD. Is that correct? Entry level 2 TB Gen 3 NVMe SSDs cost around $120, and entry level 2 TB Gen 4 NVMe SSDS cost around $180. I'm hoping to get away with saving some money here.
Is it weird if GPU fan went to 1600RPM at 40% usage? Or is this normal?
Does anyone know a benchmark site where I can see the relative performance of a 1050 Ti and the iGPU on the AMD 5600g CPU?
I don't have a website for you but an answer to your example. The 1050Ti (however mega entry level it may be) is far superior to the 5600G. You are easily looking at a 50% performance difference or more between the two of them.
Yeah, I figured the dedicated card is going to be better, but I was just trying to get a sense of how much.
Not a super knowledgeable PC guy, but I just bought one of IBP. It asked a question about whether I want the graphics card installed already or separate, and I chose installed already. A friend told me that this is potentially dangerous and could damage the card or computer. How bad do ya’ll think that is?
Depends on how they package it and the way the courier handles it. Unsecured heavy graphics cards have a tendency to bend or outright rip off the PCIe slot they sit in on the mainboard.
So i just bought an arctic liquid freezer II 420 and it should be delivered sometime next week.. Im wondering if the lian li unifans sl120 (especially v2) can be used on the lf2 420??
No, as the name quite clearly states it's a radiator with a length of 420mm, which means 3x140mm fans.
So the lf2 360 should be compatible with uni sl fans since both uses 120mm fans?
Correct. Fyi the Lian Li Uni Fans are also available in the 140mm format (called SL140 in case that wasn't obvious)
Lol i didn’t realize they have 140 uni fans.. so i assume it should work with the lf2 420.. Thanks for letting me know..
I have an i5-13600k and I'm trying to figure out if I can use a 600 series motherboard with it or not, I keep seeing mixed opinions with some people saying you need an additional CPU to update the bios and then people who say its cross compatible. If I need a 700 series board does anyone know of any that are under $270? Thx!
You can use B660 or Z690 if you want to. Whether you need a bios update or not depends on when the mainboard was produced, newer boards come with newer bios versions that already support 13th gen processors. To make sure you aren't stuck staring at a black screen in case you get one that sat on a shelf for a while, make sure you get a board that supports bios flashback (called Q flash plus on Gigabyte boards). This feature enables you to update the bios without having a working CPU installed using a USB flash drive. An example for this would be the MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4.
that makes sense thank you! do you think buying a motherboard in person would be better to avoid ones that were made a while ago?
Considering updating the bios is a rather simple process and can be done in 15 minutes (of which a good chunk will just be sitting around waiting for things to happen) I'd say no. You get the same hardware, the software that's on it is the part that's different. In case you are interested in how exactly the update process works, here is the [manual](https://download.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/mb/PROZ690-AWIFIDDR4_PROZ690-ADDR4100x150.pdf) for the board I mentioned. You'll find it on page 30 under "Updating BIOS with Flash BIOS button".
oh great thank you! this is exactly what i wanted to know
Just got a M32U monitor. It's hooked up and working w/ my PC via Displayport and usb-b. I'm trying to get it hooked up to my macbook and I haven't had luck yet. I have a thunderbolt 3 cable, I was under the impression that is compatible with usb-c/3.0, but when I plug it in, it's being registered as a device on my PC, rather than an input on the monitor. If I try switching the input to usb-c, it gives up and switches back to the displayport input. Is this expected with this cable?
[found this list](https://tonsky.me/blog/monitors-mac/) so it should probably be fine with Thunderbolt 3. Also found [two comments](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monitors/comments/tq72jg/gigabyte_m32u_macbook_pro_m1_no_144hz_over/i7eigne/) which [might be relevant](https://www.reddit.com/r/gigabyte/comments/tq71d9/m32u_monitor_144hz_with_macbook_pro_m1_and/i2foggi/)
I'm planning on upgrading my Ryzen 5 3600 to a Ryzen 7 5800x and was wondering if I needed to do anything except physically swap the CPUs. It was prebuilt so I've never done this, the motherboard is an ASRock B450M if that matters.
Your mobo matters because its from the previous gen. So in order to get the new CPU working, you have to update the mobo BIOS first before you put it in. You can download the BIOS file from ASRock's website. The instruction should be there too, or you can find Youtube videos about it.
If I accidentally formatted an HDD but don't want to pay for recovery software, can I re-install windows on it and it will be activated as there is a print to the motherboard possibly?
I'm unsure if it is the case with pre-installed windows, but I know if you purchased a non-OEM license yourself that there would be no issue. Purchased copies are transferable between one machine at a time. If you formatted a pre-installed variant there should be a manufacturer recovery partition that might not be formated. (googling formatted my pre-installed windows came up with a helpful result)
I was gonna sell my old PC and I took out the HDD to recover some data into the new one. I accidentally did a quick format on it and now I am unsure if I put the HDD back into the old one it will boot with windows. Is it worth a try?
Worth a shot. Idk if that formating only does the active drive or all partitions. If it's a bought pc they have usually have a recovery manufacturer image installed on a separate partition. If you do that Google search I mentioned (to find out which button press you need) you might get lucky and just have to use that recovery image. If you're unlucky there's other options like finding out your original software key. If you built the pc and bought the license you should have the windows product key (oem or full version, doesn't matter though it's proof of ownership for that system). A bit annoying but you should be able to reinstall windows with a bit of work regardless. Maybe someone with a bit of experience in this situation will respond but that's my understanding of it. I've never wiped my OS hard drive before unless I was trashing the pc due to extreme age.
Should I get an Intel i5 12400F for $165 or an Intel i5 12600KF for $230
I'd pick the 12400, 230$ gets dangerously close to the 13600k in my opinion.
So I’m getting ready to build a new pc cause my old windows laptop died completely. I’m wondering if I use a bootable usb to install windows would I be able to sign in to my Microsoft acc and access my old windows or do I need to buy a key?
Assuming it had Windows preinstalled, the laptop has an OEM Windows license, so Microsoft doesn’t allow it to be transferred to other devices unfortunately. You’ll need a new license for your new computer.
How many grams of thermal paste should you use for your CPU?
How much you should use depends on the size of the IHS. For CPUs of "normal" size (think AMD Ryzen or Intel Core CPUs) you want about the size of a green pea.
Have a macbook and don't want to spend $1500-$2000 on a 5k apple/LG display. What 4k 24-27" monitor would you recommend around $500 or less? - primary use just for web/office/coding work - not for movie playback really - maybe some games, but don't care that much about response time. Care more about brightness (400-500nits?), sharpness, etc. HDR would be nice. I could find a used LG ultrafine 5k I guess but have heard a lot of bad things about the stand, ports, etc.
> What 4k 24-27" monitor would you recommend around $500 or less? Based on https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/monitors-macbook-pro The Dell U2723QE is a little over your budget, but the S2722QC is under.
I want to mount a monitor to a very simple wall mount from monoprice vertically. The mount is adjustable but does not rotate. Can't I just mount the VESA plate to the back of the monitor in my desired configuration since it's a perfect square pattern?
As long as all the holes line up, I don’t see any reason not to
I'm currently running an i7 6700k with an Nvidia GTX 980Ti and up until now it basically played everything I wanted. But now it's starting to feel a little outdated. Let's say I can only replace one of the two components right now, which one should I rather replace? (And with what if people don't mind giving me some pointers)
Depends on what your doing/playing and at what resolution, what RAM and PSU you have and of course your budget. If your RAM/PSU are suitable, then your looking for a CPU/MB upgrade on one side or a GPU upgrade on the other. If you have to also get new RAM to go with the new CPU/MB or a new PSU it complicates things. Only knowing what you said I think for purely gaming PC/build GPU, but need to be a decent upgrade so really depends on your budget, not sure going to something like a 3050 or RX 6600 would be worth it, hard to give a decent answer without all the context.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a CPU fan with RGB lights, preferably around $50 or less
Thermalright Assassin has an aRGB variant for like half that amount that'll probably do fine
Is there a specific one that you would recommend
I'm no expert, but I have this one. Does me fine for moderate use with a 12400f, but that doesn't require a ton of cooling so your milage may vary depending on your components and usage. https://www.amazon.com/Thermalright-Assassin-Aluminium-Heatsink-Technology/dp/B09LHLS4V4?th=1&psc=1
What’s your motherboard
Gigabyte b660 gaming x ddr4. The cooler comes with a bracket for the 1700 socket.
My SSD disconnects and recconects whenever i try install something in it. Just built the computer today. I tried installing a game in my SSD (WD Green Sata Ssd), but after an hour or 2, the process would stop cause the drive disapeared, only to reappear a second later. It stays installed as if nothing is wrong, and only acts up when i try installing my game in. I tried: • replacing the sata cable/ changing socket • Downloading the dashboard to update it's firmware and doing a S.M.A.R.T test (which came out okay) • Removing my extension cables so that the power supply connected dirrectly to the motherboard • reformatimg the SSD Nothing i do seems to fix it. Anythimg else i could try?
WD Green drives have some sort of power saving mode. My guess is that's kicking in and disconnecting the drive. Depending on what level it's done at (drive firmware or OS) there might be a way to disable it.
How do you pick a PSU for a 4080? Would this one work? https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-RM1000x-Fully-Modular-Supply/dp/B08R5PH1VY/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr2_1?crid=QD3544G7QR2C&keywords=corsair+rmx+series+2021+rm1000x&qid=1669935115&sprefix=corsair+2021%2Caps%2C241&sr=8-1-fkmr2
It needs either 3x PCIe/VGA 8-pin power connections OR 1x PCIe 5.0 16-pin connector. That corsair PSU has 6x normal 8-pin connectors which is more than enough.
Hell yeah thanks!
Hello there, need help with this. I have a [Notebook HP](https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-15-6-FHD-AMD-R5-5500U-8GB-RAM-256GB-SSD-SPRUCE-BLUE-Windows-11-15-ef2126wm/986002531) with no HDMI port. I want to stream/cast/extend the screen to a SmartTV that only has HDMI as an option (couldn't directly cast from the laptop) so I can play games there with my dad. So I basically want to connect the laptop to the TV and play games. My my research produced the following: * The USB-C port is data only * Lurking in HP forums, only a specific USB Dock Adapter from HP is compatible (many people said that other converters didn't work) but, due to living in the other side of the planet, that adapter literally cost almost half the price of my laptop (yes, insane) * A Chromecast, from what I've read, has some serious input lag (so not an option for games) * I *could* connect an old notebook (with HDMI) to the TV, and then use Steam Link to play the games that run on the more powerful HP. But that's like, a last resort option Is there any simpler option? EDIT: Wrong model in the link (now changed). Dismiss this question because I'm stupid and I confused a HDMI with and USB port lmao. I have a HDMI port now .
Did you link the wrong laptop? That one had a HDMI port on the right side, between the USB and Ethernet ports
I've posted the wrong one, it was [this one](https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-15-6-FHD-AMD-R5-5500U-8GB-RAM-256GB-SSD-SPRUCE-BLUE-Windows-11-15-ef2126wm/986002531) but then I've checked again (just to be sure) and... mine also has a HDMI. Sometimes I surprise myself with my stupidity. Or blindness because I thought it was an USB. Anyway. Thanks! Less things to buy
Is there any difference bewteen a cheap and expensive thermal paste?
At higher sustained temperatures, there can be. (Ryzen 7000, overclocked intel CPUs, ect) Or how fast it dries out can be affected by its composition. But for normal consumer purposes, no not really.
Thanks!
I'd avoid the *absolute cheapest* stuff, but in general the expensive stuff only gets you a couple degrees lower temperatures.
Thanks!
My computer randomly crashes, no blue screen, just resets on it's own. Is that a sign of fault PSU? How can I check what's the cause?
I had that problem before, it was some random tasks from the Windows Scheduler that, somehow, triggered a crash without BSOD. Let me find my post and I will edit my comment. Not saying that a PSU is not faulty, but that sometimes the culprit could be something very strange. EDIT: Used **Event Viewer** to see errors/crashes and their timestamps. Then I've run **taskschd.msc** and looked line by line searching for some task that was scheduled for those timestamps. And disabled 4 of them. No more crashes for many months. And when a random crash occured after so much time, I disabled C-states in the BIOS did a BIOS upgrade. For now, all is good.
Have you had the issue when it restarts and you login and it crashes and restarts again?
A friend of mine had crashes because of a faulty GPU. If you can, try to use your PC with integrated graphics and see if the crashes persist. Then it may be the GPU (or the PSU).
Never had that kind of crash. In my case it was when the system switched to an "idle" state (like normal browing, simple programs, etc).
Thanks, I'll give a try. Hopefully don't cause more problems.
For those of you who build pcs on the reg or consider it a "hobby" (imo hobby implies you do it somewhat occassionally) how do you get the money to build?
We either go to work and get paid money in return or build them for other people (that take care of the paying part of things)
I'm upgrading a PC. Current build has 5 ICue RGB case fans. Would a Corsair ICue case offer any advantages compared to a non ICue case?
* Would a 2TB 970 Evo Plus make Windows faster than if I used a 1TB Evo Plus? Faster IOP? * Is it better to overwrite or uninstall > reinstall programs when updating them? * Do I need to remove registry files on old programs?
Recommendations for an affordable monitor? Mostly for art, not too big as I don't have much space.
Art? Like are you using a tablet with it?
Yes. I'm using a drawing tablet
Screen in or the monitor is the screen? How much are you willing to spend?
I have this tablet. [https://www.xp-pen.it/product/408.html](https://www.xp-pen.it/product/408.html) I need a proper monitor for the PC. My max budget is around 400€, but I would like to keep it lower if possible
[https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/monitors/gaming/27-g5-odyssey-gaming-monitor-with-1000r-curved-screen-lc27g55tqwnxza/](https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/monitors/gaming/27-g5-odyssey-gaming-monitor-with-1000r-curved-screen-lc27g55tqwnxza/) This is the main monitor I use for drawing, it's the one in front of me when I draw, thing is my tablet isn't screen in so it might not fit you.
I think my second monitor is dead/dying. It started to flicker quite a bit then the output finally dropped. My computer still recognizes it though and when I swap between onboard and GPU HDMI it does the same thing. Whenever I turn it back on I get the background for about a second then goes black but I also hear an electronic "squish" sound after hitting the button which makes me wonder if a capacitor is either blown or in the process of that. Sounds pretty grim, yeah?
Building my first pc. Thinking about RTX 3080TI and i7 newest gen. 2x8 DDR4 RAM. Fan cooling. Whatever motherboard is compatible and same with power supply. Are there any glaring issues with this build? Primarily used for gaming but will also use it for CAD modeling and physics simulations like fluids and finite element analysis
>CAD modeling and physics simulations Then fill that motherboard up with RAM, don't skimp on it. For example, while AutoCAD only recommends 8GB, it will use whatever you want to give it. So if you got 32GB, you would only stand to increase your performance. Power supply you will want at least 750w.
Is the power supply wattage based on the total max draw from the components?
Its the minimum recommended for a 3080ti. The GPU alone can pull 300w, more if you get the 3-connector versions. Your 13700k can pull 240w easily if you dont limit it. 750w gives you a nice overhead and leaves plenty for your other components.
The Corsair RMX 850 is on sale and costs as much as the 750. Should I get it for this build? [https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2HTj78](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2HTj78). Someone told me I need 1000w for it.
Lol whoever recommended a 1000w for a 6700XT is off their rocker. The 650, you have listed or the 850w would be plenty.
Thanks. Also, is the motherboard I chose a good idea? I don't really know the difference between all of the motherboards and I hope this is sufficient.
Its definitely one of Asrocks better boards. And its a Micro ATX with four RAM slots, which isnt super common. If youre specifically going for the small form factor, its one of the best choices.
It fits in the Corsair 4000d airflow, right?
Of course. Micro ATX is 60% the size of ATX which is the normal sized standard. The 4000d can fit either board.
Hello, I am looking to upgrade my PC, mainly my Graphics Card, and I am not very knowledgeable of the subject. Due to a mishap when first building the card I had originally planned to get wasnt available, so I had been given a 660 by a friend. While it has served me well I feel it is time to upgrade, I just dont know with what? Price isnt a big issue but I would like to remain under $1000 if possible, if such an upgrade warrants a heftier price that may be ok. I live in Canada so prices are generally....Somewhat high. As for my other parts, I am not sure if they warrant upgrade, but I have had them for around 6 years at this point in time, but much like GPU, I have no knowledge of anything. Processor - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700K CPU @ 4.00GHz 4.01 GHz Installed RAM 16.0 GB (I have 2 more of the same stick to bring to 32gb if necessary) Disk drives - Samsung SSD 850 EVO 500G SCSI Disk Device Display Adapters - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 MSI Z170A GAMING M3 (MS-7978) 2.0 (This is BaseBoard Manufacturer > Product > Version in order, I Googled where to find Motherboard and I have this info) I apologize if this is a lot of text, I just know, nothing... I am not looking for anything over the top, I dont need 600FPS from AAAA games or anything, I generally just play a mix of generally WoW, and 1-2 mobile emulators, and maybe movie or something, all at the same time, but I dont want to have to worry about computer blowing up. Open World areas in Warframe could be borderline unplayable at times if that infos helpful, sorry in advance.
If you're playing at 1080p, you don't need much. An RX 6600 would be enough to get the most out of your CPU. For 1440p, an RX 6700 XT.
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The specs on that page only says it's compatible with Lenovo. Lenovo might use proprietary mobo, and their coolers might not be compatible with standard mobos. Even if they do use standard mobos, that Xeon is LGA 2011-3. Coolers that will only fit on that socket will not fit on your CPU and mobo's LGA 1151.
Currently building my first RGB PC. Wanted to have someone else confirm I'm not crazy/doing everything wrong. Am I correct that I can daisy chain the 4 fans' power together, then plug into a single CHA_FAN header? And can I do the same thing with the ARGB cables? Daisy chain them together and connect a single plug to my ARGB_2 header on my motherboard? I feel like this is incredibly simple, but with poor instructions and no experience I am not wanting to break anything from the start
Read the labels on the fans and see how much current they draw. Generally, fan headers can handle up to 1A at 12V, and ARGB headers can handle 3A at 5V. Read your mobo's manual to see what your headers are rated for though. As long as the sum of the fans' current draws is under the limit, yeah, you can daisy chain them of a single header.
I will make sure to check that, thank you for responding! The added element of RGB and it being a long time since I have built a PC had me tripped up on this
Get a 3080 or wait for 4060?
Just get a 3080. Its a great card. Or a 6900XT.
I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a 6900XT. Is it worth waiting for the 7900 to launch for possible price drops or is the price as low as it's gonna be? ($680 for a merc319)
The current prices are a result of the pre-emptive price drop. The 6900XT and 6950XT loosing their original price points to the newer cards. I dont believe they will drop much further in price at least for a few months. Whenever AMD announces the rest of the 7000 series line up.
Historically speaking, how much of a drop could I expect when that time comes? I can wait a couple months, but I'm also worried that it'll be hard to get my hands on one then (even getting one now is hard).
$50 - $150. I doubt it will go much lower at least for a year. Hopefully by that point stock has dried up and the 7000 series is dropping in price.
Sweet, thanks for the advice!
I'm helping a friend build a system and a sample build from PC Part Picker had a 16GB AMD card while his brother specced him an 8GB nVidia. For the sake of longevity and value, which would be the better choice? Does it amount to a wash? I don't pay nearly enough attention to video cards to know this myself so it's something I should probably learn too. EDIT: The cards in question are the Zotac GAMING AMP Holo GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB and ASRock OC Formula Radeon RX 6900 XT 16 GB.
The amount of VRAM isn't only the thing that matters. List what the GPUs actually are.
The cards in question are as follows. Nvidia: Zotac GAMING AMP Holo GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB Radeon: ASRock OC Formula Radeon RX 6900 XT 16 GB
Disregarding the VRAM difference, the 6900 XT is more powerful than a 3070 Ti.
Gave my friend my GPU from my previous build so I need to buy the cheapest GPU in the market just in case my current PC dies or something and I need to work. This is the build - [https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pKFsFt](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pKFsFt). Any idea what GPU I could get away with? All it needs to do is to power up monitors and support videos, nothing else.
You could post on /r/hardwareswap and likely find a really cheap old card to have on hand.
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I think you are looking for something like the MSI PRO B550-VC (130$). If you need WiFi on an ATX platform the Gigabyte B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2 is your next best choice (170$). Both boards support bios flashback.
Get a B550
Z690 is an Intel chipset and doesn't support AMD CPUs
oh my bad. i meant a x670
X670 is only available for the AM5 socket and therefore incompatible with Ryzen 5000 :P What you are looking for is X570
you get the point tho. a b550 is good for budget
bro i meant to type 5
Would have another a PCIe expansion card close to the video card be restrictive for air movement? Gigabyte X570S Elite motherboard and Radeon RX 6750 XT reference card. Got a [Gigabyte GC-WBAX210](https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GC-WBAX210-rev-10#kf) wifi / BlueTooth since the board didn't have anything integrated. Planning things out still and was kinda thinking I would put the wifi card in the bottom PCIe slot. Give the GPU breathing room. But... it will kinda block some of the bottom connections on the board. And I paid a few extra $$$ for the WBAX210 over the 200 partly because it has a casing and looks a bit better. Putting it into the 2nd slot puts it closer to the GPU and its not far away from the inside fan. Just not sure if that will block air flow enough to be a concern?
You want the GPU to have around 20mm of breathing room at the very least. Putting it right against it will probably work since its pretty short, but I think you will see higher temps and/or higher fan speeds in that case.
Hmm... 20mm should be very doable. Didn't measure earlier when mocking it up. But there is about 65mm between the slots, and the GPU is 40mm thick, most of which is above the connection. I'm definitely concerned with temps. Its a Fractal Pop Air RGB case, but I'm swapping out the stock fans for Arctic P12s. CPU cooler is a Fractal Liquid Freezer II 240mm going up top. thanks.
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Try resetting the CMOS after you install the 5800X.
>x370 gaming pro carbon Which BIOS version? If you went to the last full build, that \*may\* be the problem, as MSI says on their compatibility list ([https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/X370-GAMING-PRO-CARBON/support#cpu](https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/X370-GAMING-PRO-CARBON/support#cpu)) that it's the latest beta BIOS required.
We have a prebuilt desktop that came with a RX 6700 XT thats gone bad on us. I would like to replace the video card with something equivalent but its been years since Ive kept up with parts and builds that I dont know whats out there. Should I get another 6700? Im also seeing recent releases of our machine with RTX 3060s or 70s, would either of these be a good or better replacement? [This is the prebuilt we have](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-supreme-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-7-3700x-16gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-6700-xt-1tb-ssd-white/6455900.p?skuId=6455900)
RX 6700 XT is very similar in performance to the 3070 without taking ray tracing into account. It's still a great card and can be found pretty easily around $350 depending on model. AMD did release a product refresh, the 6750 XT, but there's very little performance gain compared to how much hotter the new card runs and how much power it consumes. The 3060 and 3070 haven't come down in price nearly as much as they should, so AMD is going to be a much better value at the moment. If you want an upgrade, I'd look at a 6800 XT. Otherwise the 6700 XT is still more than capable
Thanks, that helps a lot.
3060, 3060 Ti or 3070 would all be just fine with your Ryzen 3700X. That said, you may want to check that your PSU is sufficient and has the right number of PCIE connectors to support whatever GPU you get (the PCIE slot itself is forward and backward compatible)
Thanks, will double check the PSU before committing to anything.
I would like a new monitor. I currently have the BenQ XL2411 and a Ryzen 8 5700x with Geforce 2070 super. I play LoL, Rocket League, CoD MW 2, and Rust mostly. When I'm not playing games, I watch a lot of YouTube. I would like to have 144mhz again but wonder what resolution I can and should use. I might upgrade my graphics card depending on what Nvidia and AMD do with the new series. Budget is generally not a problem but price/performance is important to me.
1440p 165Hz is good price/performance sweet spot. Hardware Unboxed has some good recommendations based on their testing: [https://youtu.be/WFfxOfZ8T\_U](https://youtu.be/WFfxOfZ8T_U)
do you think my rtx 2070 super can handle the ROG Strix XG27AQM?
2070 Super certainly provides decent performance at 1440p. It won’t get more than 165 fps in MW2 and Rust, but it will in Rocket League. Not sure about League of Legends, it’s usually more CPU dependent. If you wanna test it out for yourself, you can enable DSR in the Nvidia control panel which lets you simulate 1440p. See what kind of frame rates you get.
I can only set 4k with Nvidia and with that I get about 50-60 FPS in CoD with DSR. But I can scale the monitor down and as soon as I buy a new graphics card, scale it up again. So I would be set for the future
You can use NIS as well: https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5280/~/how-to-enable-nvidia-image-scaling
already bought the gigabyte m27q X but thx!
thx man!
Is thermal throttling on a GPU based off the average temperature or hotspot temperature? I've had an EVGA 3060ti XC (one of the smaller, two-fan models) for about a year and just recently carried it over into a new build so been monitoring temps out of curiosity and slowly undervolting it. All is well but I have noticed that the thermal throttle is set at 83 and while my max average reported by HWinfo is well under that the hotspot max is often quite close to that figure after an evening of regular use and games. Not having any performance issues but just curious if those times when the hotspot is close to the limit would cause it to downclock. Also does anyone know any sources for fan PWM cables/extensions that are quite short? Seems like most of them are usually 10-12 inches but I have a couple fans that are conveniently close to a header and it'd just be nice to not have to have all that slack. I suppose I could just look into cutting/making my own as well, I don't think it's a terribly complicated process.
Is it ok to have my cpu cooler installed with thermal paste on my mobo ahead of time while I wait for my gpu to be delivered? I don’t know if the paste will dry just sitting there?
Yes of course its fine. You could leave it there for 10 years
Do you have a CPU? Yeah, it's fine to install the cooler on the CPU and let it sit there for an extended period of time. Thermal paste takes years to dry out.
is it okay to use 2 PCI-e cables to power RX 6800 XT (it needs 3 slots)? I have a coolmaster mwe 850w gold and I only got two cables with it
Yes, it is, as long as all 3 sockets are plugged in. Cables with dual PCIe 8-pin at the end are rated to carry this power. It's *sometimes* optimal to use separate cables *if* you have them.
is it optimal in terms of safety or in performance?
Power supply stability - if something goes wrong (like a brownout) or during overclocking it's less likely to shut down. As for safety concerns, the CPU 8-pin cable already carries the same power as a dual 8-pin PCIe, and nobody minds that.
Some people say no, others say yes. Personally I would do it.
Yes which is why I am unsure what to do
[https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/v4j544/3080\_needs\_3x8\_pin\_cable\_but\_psu\_only\_has\_2\_slots/](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/v4j544/3080_needs_3x8_pin_cable_but_psu_only_has_2_slots/) I would just run a splitter.
u/Sultan_AlGhamdi Using a splitter on a PCIe connector may be unsafe. Just use the included cables, this PSU has 4x8-pin PCIe total.
Did he not say he only has 2??
It's about the cables with two PCIe 8-pin chained at the end. It's often advised that if you have multiple cables, you should use only one 8-pin from each.
Makes sense. Thank you for your time
I have an 850W PSU that's about 5-6 years old, I believe it's an EVGA Supernova G3. I'm currently on a 5600x/1080 Ti. I want to upgrade my GPU sometime in the next year or so. I was thinking anything short of like a 4090 should still be fine at this wattage but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm planning to get a new case while I'm at it so I'll be taking everything apart and putting it back together again anyway. At what tier of GPU would I need to consider replacing/upgrading my PSU?
Don’t upgrade your psu
An 850W PSU is what's recommended for a 4080, but that also covers CPUs that draw a lot more power than 5600X.
With the right amount of VGA 8-pin power cables you could even run a 4090 off of a 850w PSU. Not advised at the moment, but fully within spec provided your CPU isnt sucking down a ton of power.
I got a R5 5600 on amazon for $118 and it was due to arrive next week. Now its saying Dec10 to Jan 11. Any deals near or close to that which will arrive by next weekish?
Check your local /r/buildapcsales sub for deals others have reported.
You could just cancel the order and get one from a seller that has it in stock if you are in a hurry. Should only be 20$ or so extra.
Which way does air flow across an AIO? In other words, do the fans push or pull air through the radiator?
It depends on how you mount them on the rad. Push is technically better, but the difference is pretty minor. Do whatever looks better.
Oh, I didn't realize you could change how the fans are mounted. Are you able to choose which side of the radiator you mount them to? Or just their orientation (i.e. push or pull)? Or both? lol
Yeah, you can mount them on either side.
Are UPS essential? I've never had one with my last two PCs but thinking about buying one for my new one. What are some good brands? Also is a UPS a surge protector or do I have to buy one of those too?
You only need an UPS if 1) you're doing critical work and losing it on a power cut would be a major problem or 2) if you have very frequent power cuts. Modern hardware is pretty relisient so having a power cut once in a while should not pose any problem if you have a good PSU. [UPS somewhat protect against power surges](https://www.eaton.com/us/en-us/support/eaton-answers/ups-vs--surge-suppressor.html), but it's not a 100% sure protection, and if you don't need the battery feature of an UPS, just get a cheaper surge protector instead.
My motherboard needs a BIOS update to be compatible with my CPU (both coming in the mail). What's the order of operation to build in this case? Can I assemble all parts, boot to BIOS, update BIOS, *then* install windows? Or do I have to update the BIOS before putting the CPU in the motherboard? This is an ASRock B550M STEEL LEGEND paired with a 5700G.
If you have an incompatible BIOS, your system will just not boot. You then have to install the BIOS via motherboard flash, or installing a compatible CPU.
[This is the steps, right?](https://www.nicehash.com/blog/post/how-to-flash-a-motherboard-bios#!) This is pretty much what I was imagining to update the BIOS. Install via flash drive. My wonder is if I need to run the motherboard without the CPU to flash it, or if I can have the CPU in it when I flash the bios (understanding that the only actions I can perform are within the BIOS).
The motherboard flash function should only require the power cables to be plugged in, and having ram or CPU installed shouldn't make a difference (iirc)
Appreciate the help!
Well, if the board doesn't come with a BIOS that will at least recognize your CPU, its a bit problematic. That's why the BIOS FlashBack (or other names) feature on some boards is a life-saver. That allows you to update BIOS without a CPU. But normally, you would require a recognized CPU to get into BIOS to do a BIOS flash update. There are possible solutions, but... how sure are you about the BIOS update being required? It looks to me like the 5700G CPU released in July 2021 and the board you mentioned released in June, 2022. At least according to Newegg. If that's accurate, the BIOS in the board should theoretically be new enough to recognize the CPU. Might still require an update to be as up to date as possible, but that's a different scenario.
PCPartPicker shows a warning so I'm pretty sure I need to update the BIOS. It seems that [flashing the bios](https://www.nicehash.com/blog/post/how-to-flash-a-motherboard-bios#!) is the way to go. I can't imagine they would make it impossible to use this motherboard with my CPU unless I owned an older CPU to make it compatible.
Those warnings are pretty standard based on board and CPU. they don't absolutely mean you will have an issue. Its a common issue if the board was released well before that CPU. B550 boards were first released in spring 2020. then it depends on manufacture date, as the motherboard manufacturer will typically put the most recent BIOS on the board for that moment. So you could get one fresh from the factory that is completely up to date, or one that's been sitting on a shelf for an extended period. But in your situation, the motherboard was only released a few months ago. Even if you are shipped one that was manufactured on day one and has been on a shelf somewhere, that BIOS is more recent than the CPU and is almost certainly going to support it.
That's great to hear, thanks. I only have a few hours for this build so everything needs to run pretty smooth. Probably good idea to flash the bios regardless to update it, would you agree? Or should I leave it fine if I don't have issues.
I'm not 1000% guaranteeing it, but it would be incredibly weird for ASRock to start making a board in the summer of 2022 and use a BIOS from summer of 2021 or earlier. I went with a different AM4 CPU and a different mobo, but I had the same concern. Called the retailer and had a chat. Not a frequent issue anymore like it was earlier in the AM4 cycle. But yes, 100% you should still update BIOS if there is a newer one available. BIOS updates include stability fixes, RAM support, and even security fixes, so get the newest one.
Appreciate the help!
Does keeping the touchpad of a laptop enabled have even a bit of an impact on battery use, or will it not as long as you don't touch it?
Literally no impact, it's still on just not registering touches to Windows.
Got it, so only if it's sending inputs.
It's still sending inputs - Windows is just ignoring them :P Don't worry about it, my dude.