Hello all, I'm considering fully switching from console gaming to PC gaming. I have an outdated PC a friend helped me build from exactly 10 years ago, and it has never been upgraded. I currently have a Nintendo Switch and Xbox (360, One, and most recently Series X). I did this mainly because I liked physical games, such that I have kept boxes, manuals, and discs for my games. However, I have been getting more and more frustrated with console gaming as the years progress and am thinking of switching to fully PC, including emulation up to Switch of older game systems. I know nothing about building a PC, the one I had in college was for games technically but was not top of the line even then, and I mostly used it for torrenting, CAD modeling, and old emulation (up to Nintendo 64 at the time). I'm thinking of transitioning that fully to a NAS if possible as I build out my media library, and build a new one from scratch for gaming. Any advice on what a price range would be and components to look for would be appreciated! I see secondhand builds on Facebook marketplace or similar but don't have a good feel for if they are even good deals or not. For what it's worth, I will probably need new everything (hardware, case, and peripherals like mouse, keyboard, and monitors). So, if anyone could help guide to me what a good price I should be expecting would be and some benchmark specifications that I could keep an eye out, that would be lovely.

Edit: for what it's worth, I generally play games a few years after release when they go on sale, unless they came up on Xbox game pass or I received it as a gift to play. Additionally, I had an Oculus Rift hooked up to my PC but it struggled with many things on it, so I plan to upgrade that at some point with maybe the Valve Index system. That doesn't need to be an immediate buy as I'd rather my money go into the computer hardware itself first.

I have the T.16000M FCS HOTAS (throttle and stick) like this one linked on Amazon. When I search Amazon for "dust cover for hotas" I get listings that say "for Thrustmaster Warthog." Does anyone have the T.16000M, and if so, can you recommend a dust cover for those? Doesn't have to be custom fitting, any generic dust cover will do, my main concern is keeping dust from collecting in the ball joint of the stick and the rail of the thrust slider. Thank you!

EDIT: I'm thinking about getting this or this, or just going cheap with some clear plastic bags.

My 5 year old notebook is starting to show it's age, so I want to finally build a "real" PC. I rarely play games, so this is probably overkill - But I don't want my PC to be what's stopping me. I also expect it to last a while.

I chose all AMD because I'm running linux, and AMD seems to still be the best choice for that.

I found a couple similar posts on which I based this list, so most of the parts are probably fine. I'm unsure about the cooler: How much headroom should I leave? This one is rated just 10W higher than the CPU TDP, so it might be cutting it too close.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price :----|:----|:---- CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor | €385.00 CPU Cooler | be quiet! Pure Rock Slim 2 CPU Cooler | €23.94 Motherboard | MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard | €160.24 Memory | G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory | €99.89 Storage | Crucial P2 500 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | Purchased For €0.00 Video Card | ASRock Challenger OC Radeon RX 7600 8 GB Video Card | €255.00 Case | MSI MAG FORGE 110R ATX Mid Tower Case | €54.85 Power Supply | Gigabyte UD750GM 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | €75.43 Case Fan | be quiet! Pure Wings 3 49.9 CFM 120 mm Fan | €9.32 Case Fan | be quiet! Pure Wings 3 49.9 CFM 120 mm Fan | €9.32 | Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | | Total | €1072.99 | Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-09-04 20:37 CEST+0200 |

So I recently upgraded every component in my PC to be fairly high end, except I didn't have the money to upgrade my GPU at the time so I was running with my old GTX 1070 for a while. Today I had some extra money so I finally got around to picking up a RTX 4070 super.

While installing it I just discovered a slight hitch in my plan. My primary monitor is 4k and uses display port so it isn't an issue. But my secondary monitor is an ancient 1080p monitor which only uses dvi and vga. The 4070 super only has display port and HDMI slots. I've been running with two monitors for so long that I don't know if I can stand going back to a single monitor.

It's already too late to run out and pick up an adapter so my plan for now is to install both GPUs in my PC and just pull the 1070 back out whenever I get around to getting a new secondary monitor or an adapter. Will a RTX 4070 super and a GTX 1070 both work in the same PC or am I just stuck with one monitor until I can get an adapter?

I remember typing on the HP XT keyboards from 1992 or so. They were soft touch with no click, you just go all the way down smoothly if you push hard. This would allow one to type silently without causing the keyboard noise.

Where can I find such type of keyboards?

EDIT: I bought the Dell KB216 and presently am happy with it. Let us see how it ages.

Greetings buildapc!

I built my current rig during the parts drought during the pandemic or whatever, I scraped together whatever I could find and then stopped keeping up with PC parts for a few years. Looking to build a new rig, PCPartPicker attached, just looking for some double checking for any details I missed.

Use case: Linux and Linux only. It's gonna run some FreeCAD and some LibreOffice and a lot of Firefox and a lot of Satisfactory. I'm trying to build it in time for Satisfactory's launch on September 10, I've heard tell of a Ryzen 7600X3D coming imminently that I don't want to wait for.

I have a Gigabyte M34WQ monitor (1440p ultrawide 144Hz FreeSync) that I'd like to take full advantage of in Unreal engine games like Satisfactory, the upcoming Subnautica 3 and such.

My budget is $1500, I can exceed that but for every $100 over I'm going to read you a vogon poem.

This is to be my first desktop AMD GPU. My current rig (Ryzen 3600/GTX-1080) is Nvidia, it was all I could get my hands on, and the 1080 predates a lot of the whiz bang acronyms like DLSS RTX OMG LOL, I have no idea how well any of that from AMD or Nvidia works in Linux, I don't particularly care about raytracing. Word on the street is AMD is less of a pain in the head to deal with on Linux and Wayland stands a chance of running, so...

thoughts/suggestions/donations?

Update: Sub in a 7700X CPU and a 7900GRE GPU and...IT'S ALIVE:

!

Everything but the case arrived so I decided to go ahead and test bench it.

I hope I'm not in the wrong community but I really wanted to get some opinions on that.

In short, it may be a it of an unpopular opinion, but I really hate the gaming aesthetics with all the RGB lights and glass and in general how modern 3rd party PC cases look like. On the other hand I really enjoy the look of a most of the recent Lenovo ThinkCentres and ThinkStations as well as Fujitsu's Esprimos. There is just something about this industrial matte black with red accents I can't resist.

What I would love to do is to take some cheap Lenovo Thinkcentre, slap a GPU in it and have a budget Linux gaming PC, but the problem is most of the parts in these office systems are proprietary. It seems that I can't easily upgrade the PSU to handle a proper GPU, nor can I swap the motherboard for a new one if I wanted to.

Does anyone have any idea on which models of ThinkCentres/Stations are easily upgradeable or of any cases that have this understated industrial office look to them? The only case I kinda like is the Fractal North, but I get really discouraged when I compare their prices to a fully equipped Lenovo office PC and it just doesn't look as good.

Also, I've looked into Lenovo Legion and HP Omen prebuilts, and while they're not as bad a 3rd party cases, I just don't like them as much as say a P520, which unfortunately comes with some awful proprietary motherboard supporting only Xeons from 2017.

Anyway, I'm sorry for the rant. I'd love to hear your opinions and suggestions.

UPDATE: I fixed it!! It was the PSU.

So I just built my first PC in like 20 years. Everything was going fine, I was installing Windows and got to the network setup step and my wifi was having trouble staying connected. I figured it was because I hadn't set up drivers yet, so I thought whatever, no problem, I'll just move it by my router and plug in an ethernet cable.

So I powered off and moved it, and...dead. Nothing is happening when I hit the power button. No fans, no lights, nothing. I've made sure no cables got jiggled loose or anything. Maybe I shorted something somewhere on the motherboard? I can't see anything without fully disassembling and having to rebuild it. I really don't want to do that, but I guess I'll have to unless I'm missing something obvious. I'll test the PSU tomorrow but I doubt it's that, these are all brand new parts.

Any ideas?

Specs:

AMD 7800X3D

ASRock B650E PG Riptide WiFi

Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 7800 XT

2 x 16GB Crucial DDR5 RAM

Seasonic GX-850 PSU

Heya,

I could use some help, as I am looking build a PC for the first time in 10 ish years.

I'm looking to convert my current system from a gaming/creative workstation into purely a creative work station and then build a new pc for gaming.

I have a ROG Strix RTX 3080 OC that is ready to go into the new gaming pc, but I need to get everything else.

I have a good 180hz 1440p screen, so high fps 1440p is my goal.

These are the parts I've put together currently. I lean towards AMD for CPU as that's what's served me well with my workstation.

I went with something that is likely overkill for CPU cooling, but my hopes are to upgrade this PC little by little as time goes on.

PSU is also overkill, but that is because I hope to snag a 2nd hand 4090 within too long, or potentially new 5090 further down the line.

I would probably also need some case fans, but I am unsure which or how many.

I would appreciate any guidance.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dv4F7R

During the pandemic, I rebuilt my computer but with GPU prices being insanely inflated, I decided to limp along with my old GPU (a GeForce GTX 760). The issue is that I have a 4k monitor and my current card can barely handle my desktop, never mind a game.

I have heard that prices are coming back down to a sane level, so I am looking for part suggestions. I am not looking to play new games or ultra high settings, but I would want to at least be able to handle older/indie games, on medium settings, at a steady 30 FPS.

Current parts: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/DhFPy4

I'm working on 3D printing the Kubic case, but would like some guidance on hardware to buy for it.

I currently have an old laptop running some Docker containers, including the .arr stack and Plex, plus Immich for photo backups, and a few other odds and ends. Don't want to break the bank, but I'm looking for something to at least handle transcoding video for Plex.

Needs:

• ITX Motherboard
• Discreet GPU (Max 210mm long, 2 slots thick (max 41mm))
• SFX Power Supply
• 140mm chassis fan (Max 30mm thick)

Thanks in advance!

It's my first time building a computer. I also haven't really done much PC gaming in the past 15 years, except on my Steam Deck. Actually, it is the Steam Deck that has convinced me to invest in a desktop PC with some more power. I like the Linux experience on Steam Deck and would like to stick with that if possible. I haven't used Windows in 15 years either, as I tend to use Mac OS and a bit of Linux for personal and work. Windows seems to just get worse and worse and I'd like to avoid it if possible.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/zr2ZVW

In any case, I went with an AMD CPU because I've heard about Intel's recent corrosion issues. And, chose an NVidia GPU since I'd like to take advantage of ray tracing. I've heard the driver support can be a bit mixed on Linux, but I'm open to trying to make it work unless folks think it really is terrible. Any feedback is helpful.

Mobo is MSI Pro Z790-P

Cooler is Aorus Waterforce X360

Tried orienting the radiator so the tubes go toward the front vs back of the case - both orientations land that tube joint right in the path of the closest RAM slot. The lines are too stiff to enable much wiggle room in either direction.

Never used a liquid cooler before... I've got 4 brand new RAM sticks, so I'd hate to drop one, but I don't see any options other than just flipping the radiator around, and neither position does the trick.

Any tips?

*trying to upload a pic, but it won't let me... Will try later.

Win 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC, 10.0.26100, AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D processor, 64gb RAM, ASUS ProArt X670E-Creator mboard, AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT graphics card.

All other drivers except the graphics card driver be up-to-date and working correctly; they have been updated directly from the manufacturer sites.

Every time I try to install the most recent graphics drivers (amd-software-adrenalin-edition-24.7.1-minimalsetup-240718_web), I get about 48% of the way through the installation, and then get a BSOD, with the stop code KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE. I've already tried using the AMD removal tool, rebooting in a clean environment and safe mode to reinstall, and had the same issue. Their driver installation tool gives me the option of installing PRO 24.Q2 (which appears to be for their PRO W and PRO WX series of graphics cards, rather than the RX 7000 series; it's listed as a downgrade), but gives me a 195 error when I try. I've just sent the DxDiag.txt and MSinfo32.nfo to AMD tech support.

Since I'm not running games yet, this isn't impeding much of anything. However, I am having issues with my Meta Quest 3--specifically the link software--but I don't believe that those are directly related; I think that's a problem with my home network. The software is telling me that my system doesn't meet minimum spec though, which is not good.

Any ideas?

My PC constantly freezes if I'm not playing a game or have a game running.

✅ If I'm playing a game, it's fine.

✅ If I have a game running in the background while doing other stuff, it's fine.

❌ If I leave my PC while playing a game and the lock screen pops up, it will freeze.

❌ If I do anything other than gaming, such as browsing the web or digital art, PC will freeze.

❌ If PC goes to sleep overnight, it will freeze.

The frozen PC will typically show no error code and display will show "no input" until I hard reset.

If I hard reset, it often won't successfully turn back on unless I move the mouse while it's resetting, otherwise it will freeze again on the windows loading screen.

Sometimes I will actually get a blue screen with the error code of DPC_Watchdog_Error or something like that.

Anyone know where I should look first to try and fix this? It's been happening for weeks now and it's driving me crazy. I can't figure it out.

Here are some things I plan to keep from my current build:

• Corsair Vengeance C70 case
• EVGA SupaNOVA NEX650G 650W 80+ Gold Certified power supply
• 4 HDD + 2 NVME + 1 SSD

Here are some things I plan to get new:

• AMD Ryzen 7800X3D 4.2GHz 8-core processor
• be quiet! Pure Rock Slim 2 CPU cooler
• 32 GB (2*16GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR5-7200 RAM
• Asus TUF Gaming OC Radeon 7800 XT graphics card

Should I consider anything else?

Everything seems to work out in PCPartPicker with two exceptions.

It seems like most motherboards will need to be updated to support the CPU. I don't know if it's possible to do this without a CPU or how likely I am to get a board with an older BIOS version.

It also says the RAM requires 1.45V more than the recommended maximum voltage of the CPU (1.35V).

I plan to upgrade the RAM, cooler, and CPU first and do the GPU later when there are more sales. I don't think this should be an issue. I was thinking about upgrading the RAM later but my computer currently has DDR4 and I think the CPU only supports DDR5.

I recently built a computer for someone. It was just for general use, not gaming or anything, so I went with fairly simple specs. Because they wanted an insanely quiet computer, I went with an NHD15S. The problem is that cooler causes flexing in the motherboard that makes the CPU not make contact with the socket. Is there a not overly janky way that I could fix that without getting a smaller cooler? I know flexing is the issue because it works for a while with the big cooler, but eventually won't boot after being shut down, or crashes in weird ways and then won't boot, and the mobo lights always show a CPU and dram light. The box cooler has no issues, but is louder under load.

Edit: it does boot with the large cooler if the system is on it's side. I followed the mounting instructions carefully.

Edit 2: Solved. I was overtightening.

I'm currently using an AMD 5950x and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 LHR, pushing video to a Dell U4021QW, which is a 40" monitor running 5120x2160@60hz. A few of the games I play are pretty challenged at that resolution, so I'm thinking of upgrading at least the video card. Is there any reason to build a new system with a newer CPU as well?

For my Ryzen 9 7950X3D, should I get a 360 AIO liquid cooler or a Noctua air cooler?

I'm looking for a standalone liquid cooler (not a custom loop) that can keep a 7950X3D cool. I would prefer if it had one of those customizable screens that displays the temperature and for it to not break the bank since I'm already over budget.

Usecase

2k ultrawide gaming, programming with local servers running in background. all on linux. portable enough for air travel. Should last 4-5 years before part upgrades.

Parts

Type|Item|Price :----|:----|:---- CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor | $393.57 CPU Cooler | Deepcool Assassin 4S 61.25 CFM CPU Cooler | $75.00 Motherboard | MSI MPG B650I EDGE WIFI Mini ITX AM5 Motherboard | $255.39 Memory | G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory | $104.99 Storage | Western Digital Black SN850X 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | $149.99 Video Card | Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16 GB Video Card | $539.99 Case | Deepcool CH160 Mini ITX Desktop Case | $50.00 Power Supply | Corsair SF850L 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply | $149.99 Case Fan | ARCTIC P12 PST 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fans 5-Pack | $32.79 | Total || $1751.71

Lists

PCPartPicker List\ pcpricetracker list (indian)

Thank you!

Alternative Youtube Link

Trying to build a pink case for the wife that's relatively future proof. No gaming, just web browsing, music (not production), YouTube, and ms office stuff.

The problem is that I've only built two machines and this is the first time I'm doing a color scheme. Im also stuck between DDR4 and 5. I don't think she needs the power but if I don't get the 5 now I feel like I'd have to replace the mobo if she needs to upgrade.

If theres any suggestions yall have to make it more compatible, more pink, cheaper, or more powerful without spending much more, please roast me on it (don't change the case though she's set on that).

I'm in the process of building a PC and will be moving states next month. Ideally, I'd like to at least get it built and booted up before moving, because I'm moving to a more rural area without easy access to a MicroCenter or other store that sells components. It'll be a ~700 mile drive, the second half of which will be through smaller mountain roads. What is the best way to do this, so I can avoid damaging any components?

Edit: Thanks for the advice everybody, the consensus seems to be to remove and package separately the hard disks, GPU, and anything else heavy that sticks out from the board, then wrap the whole thing in towels and blankets and lay it on its back for the duration of the journey.

Hello!

I was unsure where to post this question, but I figure that this community is as good of a place as any. ___ I am looking for wireless mouse suggestions. I currently use a Lenovo ThinkPad Bluetooth mouse "MOBTC9LA". It is fine and serves its purpose, but it is horribly small and uncomfortable as well as wasteful in regards of using AA batteries.

My basic requirements are wireless and preferably rechargeable via USB C, but micro USB is okay if USB C isn't available. I would also prefer if it were Bluetooth. I see a few listed online, but I was hoping for a real human suggestion as opposed to sifting through paid off and fake reviews.

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

^{Mods if this is the wrong community let me know and I will move on.}

I am building a new PC. I want to run Linux and windows on separate SATA 2.5/3.5 SSD hard drives. I need windows (Winn11 Pro) for work. Linux will run all personal computing needs.

I have a horrible history with dual booting Linux and windows (grub getting murdered).

I currently plan to shut down the PC, switch power to the drives, and start up on the other OS.

Can i use a switch which only toggles power to each drive while keeping data cables attached to accomplish this? Will this be possible with windows on one drive?

Is there a smarter solution?

Example: https://www.amazon.com/Kingwin-Optimized-Controls-Provide-Longevity/dp/B00TZR3E70

Thanks!

BIOS version: 6332

Motherboard:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6FvZxr/asus-prime-a320m-k-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-prime-a320m-k

CPU:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Qk2bt6/amd-ryzen-9-5950x-34-ghz-16-core-processor-100-100000059wof

According to part picker the cpu should work with version 5862

So it seats nicely and machine powers on, but then the lights on my mouse/keyboard flash on, then off. Then after about a minute the PC turns off.

According to part picker my power supply can handle what I have attached with the new CPU, but I don't really know how to test that.

Already took out the cmos battery and reset.

Putting in my old cpu works just fine, so I didn't brick anything.

Any ideas?

Hi! A while ago I got my new pc after posting here, I was good advised. This new build is for a friend, he already has the 3080. What are your thoughts?

So your looking to build a low end computer. Something under 150 €/$/£ Well then here's what I recommend.

• CPU: I7 2600/3770 or Xeon 1230- V1/2

i7 2600s

These CPUs make for an exceptional performer. While power consumption is much to be desired. They tend to be quite powerful and found quite cheap.i think these are still decent budget offerings

• MB

• The mucai h61 is a pretty decent MB. Extremely cheap can be picked up for as little as £13 on alliexpress I can speak from experience having used my h61 for 7 months now

Mucai board AliExpress

• Intels own brand of MB can tend to be quite cheap and can be picked for as little as £15. Do research into the model of intel MB you'll be getting as these tend to be quite finicky from what I hear.

intel board

• GPUS

• I personally recommend the gtx 700 series 760s in particular can be picked up for as little as £18 and they're decent performers

Gtx 760 ebay

• If you've got a bit more to spend. I advice you go for the AMD Rx 480/570 or perhaps do what I did and save. I managed to get a gtx 980ti for a whopping £20.
• PSUS
• You should never cheap out on your PSU. Get a cheap name brand if possible. I recommend checking for old stock. And display items it's how I landed a Corsair CX550.for a whopping £27.58.

I feel like a case can really make or break a build. Or at least your enjoyment of it. My specs are below, but I sort of picked a case at random. I'm looking for suggestions.

My current build has served me since 2010 and it's time to upgrade the CPU, Motherboard, and case. Everything that can be replaced easily has been and it's really showing it's age. I mention this because it's likely the case I pick will be used for the next ten years of my life!

Stuff I care about

• Ease of opening for cleaning/assembling. Part of why I don't clean my current on as much as I should is how annoying it is to open.
• Ease of moving. I'm more interested in handles than weight, but I still don't want something stupidly heavy.
• Size. I'd prefer something a little too big rather than something a little too small. I don't necessarily want a full tower though. As long as I can get in easily and there is some extra room for the next GPU I'll inevitably buy in the next 10 years I'm good.

Stuff I don't care about

• Water cooling. I have zero interest in getting custom water cooling. Too much effort for me.
• Looks. I don't really want some crazy RBG thing, but I also don't specifically need some super minimalist thing either.
• Price. So, obviously I don't want to waste money, but if I need to splurge a little I'm willing to. Within reason.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price :----|:----|:---- CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor | $162.00 @ Amazon CPU Cooler | Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler | $64.98 @ Amazon Motherboard | MSI MPG B550 GAMING EDGE WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard | Purchased For $0.00 Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory | $54.99 @ Amazon Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory | $54.99 @ Amazon Storage | Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | $159.99 @ Amazon Storage | Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive | $64.98 @ Amazon Video Card | Zotac GAMING Trinity GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB Video Card | Purchased For $0.00 Case | Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case | $104.97 @ Amazon Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G6 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $133.99 @ Amazon | Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | | Total | $800.89 | Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-06-14 14:57 EDT-0400 |

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but thought it might help some people, or at least be entertaining.

This is partly a cautionary tale and partly a story of how I nearly got outsmarted by a tiny switch. I've been tinkering with custom-built PCs for over 10 years now, so I'm not exactly a newbie. I've followed all the troubleshooting advice, tried every step, and usually nailed down the problem quickly. But this time, a little thing decided to teach me a big lesson.

A few days ago, my PC was purring along perfectly. No hiccups, no warning signs, just smooth sailing. Then one morning, I hit the power button, the fans start spinning, the lights flash on, and... nothing. Nada. No beeps, no display, just a PC with stage fright.

Cue several hours of troubleshooting. I strip it down to the essentials: PSU, CPU, RAM, and motherboard. Still no love. I try the RAM sticks one at a time in different slots, like some desperate game of PC bingo. No luck. I swap in a different PSU. Same old story. Now I'm getting that sinking feeling; it's either the CPU or the motherboard, and I've got no spares to test with.

So I think, "Well, if I'm going to buy a new CPU or motherboard and risk guessing wrong, I might as well upgrade everything!" I go all-in and order a whole new setup: motherboard, CPU, cooler, and even DDR5 RAM since my new board demands it. Problem solved, right?

Fast forward to the next day, and the new gear arrives. I spend a couple of hours installing everything. Okay, maybe a bit longer because I forgot the cooler bracket and had to reinstall the motherboard a couple of times. But hey, that's normal, right? Finally, it's ready. I hit the power button, fans spin, lights come on, and... nothing. No beeps, no display. Again.

Now I'm thoroughly confused. Thankfully, this new motherboard has indicator lights to show boot progress. It shows the CPU is working, but it gets stuck on RAM and restarts. I go through all the RAM troubleshooting steps again. Still nothing. Then, in a fit of frustration, I don't push a RAM stick in all the way. Suddenly, a beep code! I look it up: "No RAM installed." I push the stick in properly, and the beep goes away.

So now I know the RAM isn't the issue. Then, it hits me. I reach beneath the GPU, yank out the CPU reset switch header, and power it up again. Single beep. I have never sighed so hard in my life.

Nowhere in all the troubleshooting guides or videos I've seen did it mention unplugging case headers. No one said, "Hey, maybe your reset switch has decided to go rogue and mess with you." But here I was, having just bought a bunch of shiny new hardware because of a pesky, broken reset button.

The moral of the story? If your PC fails to boot and gives you no beep codes, unplug the RAM. If you get a "no RAM installed" beep code, your CPU is fine. Then, check the case headers. You won't find advice telling you to try a different case, but sometimes, the smallest culprits cause the biggest headaches.

TLDR: My PC wouldn't post because of a faulty CPU reset switch on the case constantly restarting the CPU. This led me to think it was the motherboard or CPU and buy a bunch of new hardware unnecessarily.

Have been building up this PC over the past couple years. Runs well but am trying to figure out what the best upgrade would be at this point. My guess is memory, but I’m not sure. Budget is flexible but would like to stay under $300. Thanks!

edit to clarify this is a gaming rig

Hi everyone,

It's been many years since I've last built a PC from scratch or even upgraded any parts. I've been using a prebuilt Lenovo Legion Cube C530‐19ICB for several years now and I'm generally happy with it mostly because the case fits nicely in my living room cabinet (hooked up to the TV).

I have an option to purchase a new RTX 40 Series card in a few days for a decent price and I'm wondering which of these will be compatible to my existing PC:

1. 4060Ti (8GB)

2. 4070 Super

3. 4080 Super

I assume I need to check dimensions (not sure if everything has a standard like "full height" etc.) and PSU Watts (how strict are these requirements?). Not sure if there's PCI type/width issues or anything else I need to cover, or what do I get the info for both my PC and each card from.

If anyone can help guide me through figuring out which of these cards could be compatible, I'd appreciate it a lot!

Edit: Seems like the 4080 is too much for my current build (card length, PSU, etc.) but both the 4070 and 4060 could work. Thanks everyone for your advice!

Hello! I have chosen some parts for a PC based around a monitor I currently have. I have a 4k monitor and the games I'd like to play on it and the current PC I have isn't cutting it anymore unfortunately.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/3Vc2cH

These are the parts I've chosen, I already have 24GB of RAM, just wondering if there's anything cheaper I can get to lower the price and get similar performance. I don't have much experience in building PCs but I've done a bit of research

Currently would like to play Helldivers 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 on the 4k monitor with no issue.

Simply put I have built a gaming tower that I have no monitor that will connect with the machine only having a BIOS and no OS. As I understand it, I need something that will connect with an HDMI cable, but that seems to be either a traditional monitor or a tablet. I'm completely unsure which would be more stable, and therefore "better." I lean towards the normal static monitor over HDMI enabled tablets, but I am uncertain if that is just me being out of touch with the latest hardware.

This is the build list I used, except I doubled the RAM to 64 GB of the same type.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mykt4M

Thank you very much, in advance.

Hey all,

I took a gamble on a "for parts" 5800x3d that had a few bent pins. I currently have a 5600x with an ASUS TUF x570-Plus WiFi and thought this would be a nice upgrade.

The problem I'm seeing, is that the system won't post with the 5800 and hangs with the orange/yellow DRAM LED on the motherboard.

I thought to update the BIOS with the old CPU, but I already had a version that would support the new one. After that, I tried swapping RAM modules and only using one, then the other. Eventually I updated the BIOS to the most recent version and resetting with the jumper, but it still won't post.

Looking at the pin layout and considering the bent pins were all in one corner, I am wondering if the original owner tried to install this CPU rotated 90° and delivered some high power where it shouldn't've gone.

Any fun ideas, or did I just pay for a nice learning experience?

I'm currently waiting for all the components for my PC upgrade to arrive. Got the motherboard today and immediately upon opening, I noticed that the CMOS battery was not in its slot but just kind of next to it loose on top of the board. The slot seems fine, it seems to fit securely in there. No scratches on the board either. But now I'm a bit worried - could the battery have shorted something on the motherboard? It holds a charge after all. What do you think - should I return it for a new one untested or are the chances of the battery harming anything so miniscule that I should just go for it and use it in my build?

... caused by my own tinkering.

Edit: SOLVED! simply disconnecting the drives and then adding them one by one (starting with the windows drive, dont know if thats important) did the trick

(Sorry if this is the wrong community for HELP ME posts like this, couldnt find one that fit the bill better)

So recently i made up my find about switching my self-build from 2018 from win10 to linux mint, though i first wanted to try it out in dual-boot. I created a bootable usb and started the installation process to a partition on an ssd thats seperate from the hdd that holds my windows installation. Installation worked out fine, PC powered down from live usb mint and booted into mint from my petition (worked fine). Afterwards i powered it down to check if i could access windows.

After turning it on, instead of showing the GRUB OS selections screen, it just showed a GRUB command window, and my keyboard wasnt recognized.

Powered down, disconnected the ssd in hopes of forcing windows to start, no luck. Entering BIOS via f2 or del on startup didnt work either (probably because fast boot was enabled), tried every available usb-port for the keyboard to either get into BIOS or at least get GRUB to respond. Nothing.

After shopping for solutions online, i cleared CMOS via the button on the mobo. I hoped it would either help the keyboard get recognised by GRUB, or at least deactivate fast-boot. But after powering the pc on again, my screen stays blank and the indication LEDs DRAM and BOOT are glowing.

I already tried taking out one of the two ram-sticks and placing the remaining one in each of the slots, then did the same withe other stick. No effect on the DRAM LED.

Im not quite at wits end here, but i thought before i continue to haphazardly apply fixes found online (and probably making it worse) i would look wether anybody here has good ideas for what steps to take next.

Here is my hardware:

Mobo: nzxt n7 b550

cpu: amd ryzen 5 5600x

gpu: amd rx 580 sapphire nitro+

psu: be quiet pure power 11 500W

ssd: kingston 240gb (linux boot)

hdd1: barracuda 1tb (win10 boot)

hdd2: wd blue 2tb (mostly games and stuff)

Anyone got any recommendations or warnings about specific hdd / ssd / storage brands or models at the moment? Thinking about buying another drive instead of being smart and cleaning up my files. I've been pretty happy with Samsung but I've heard they had a clunker of a drive with high failure rates lately. HDD, SSD and I think I have an extra spare M2 nvme slot on my motherboard, so all recommendations are welcome. Price isn't a huge concern, but I don't feel the need to drop a thousand dollars on a single 22TB drive, anything 5TB and above will do fine for now.