I recently swapped motherboards between two builds. One went well but the other is being very finicky with detecting the CPU. Right now its laying on its side like a beached whale with the left side panel open. The heatsink is simply sitting on the CPU, no mounts, no fans. Sometimes I can strap the heatsink down, stand up the box, and close the case, but never with the fans on. Its like that's too much weight and some connection is broken. Is anyone familiar with this problem?

I had this issue previously with a different motherboard and fixed it by using a stock heatsink. But this is a fairly simple CoolerMaster 212. Its not massive. I feel like its a problem with the board or the socket.

More details: when uninstalled the old motherboard in this build, it had the same CM212 heatsink in it. When I removed that heatsink the CPU (Ryzen 5700) came out with it to my horror. Neither that CPU or that motherboard are in this build though. But that CPU was supposed it be. It did have bent pins and I did try to install it before discovering the bent pins. After straightening them the CPU still didn't work so i switched to an old Ryzen 1600, which is currently being finicky. Maybe I damaged the motherboard socket?

The motherboard in my old home server died whilst moving house and I have recently acquired a Dell Poweredge 2900 Tower Server.

It is great as a NAS but I would like to add some GPU power so I can do some video encoding.

I know I'll need a PCIe 8x to 16x adapter to get something reasonable to work with.

Would something like a Quadro K5200 work in this or would I be better off with something older such as a quadro 4000 or is that still too new?

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I'm thinking about building a modest Bazzite HTPC with a bunch of spare parts lying around the house. Here's what I've got:

• Intel 4770k
• Asus Z87-A LGA 1150 Motherboard
• NVidia GTX 1060 3gb GPU
• 16GB DDR3 RAM
• 640W Corais PSU
• SilverStone Grandia GD09 HTPC case

I'm assuming that the Nvidia GPU with a lackluster 3gb VRAM is probably the weakest link of the whole system, but I don't know what a reasonable upgrade might be for an older system (that probably doesn't support stuff like resizable bar, which I think is needed to get optimal performance of newer GPUs?).

What do you think? What would be the best bang-for-the-buck upgrade to a system like this, assuming the main use case would be gaming and media consumption? What would you do if you happened to have this set of parts lying around in the spare parts bin?

I plan to have two m.2 drives. One with Windows, one with Linux. I'm hoping to only use Linux, but I've had issues in the past trying to switch to Linux. Either way, I think I would prefer to have the Linux drive in the 'primary' slot.

I am running an AMD CPU AM5 processor, which has 24 PCIe5 lanes, but both of the drives are actually PCIe4. The motherboard has three m.2 sockets. The first one is Gen 5, the second one is Gen 4 and the third one is Gen 4 but shares with a Gen 4 PCIe4 slot I do not intend to use, so I'm cool using it for a drive, but it does go through the chip set.

So I figured I would put the Linux drive in the second slot and the windows drive in the third slot. But because Windows is an actual operating system (go with me in that one). I thought maybe it should maybe NOT go through the chipset but instead be in slot 2 and the Linux drive should be in slot one. Slot one should be backwards compatible and since it has 24 lanes, it shouldn't affect the GPU, right?

So which configuration should I use?

Thank you in advance. I hope to get feedback before Lemmy deletes this, which they always do. Never knew how to use Reddit either.

I am looking to have a physical switch installed in my living room to control the PC.

• Is it a possibility to have that, are there issues to be considered?

• I am thinking a fancy looking wood and press clicky switch with good travel. Suppliers?

• Volume would also be great to have.

Any avice appreciated.

My current 5900x seems to be on the brink of death, randomly refusing to boot and crashing despite having disabled C-States already. I'm using as an excuse to upgrade to AM5 while taking with me as many components as feasible.

While I did already quite some research I am sure if there are things I have overlooked, so someone looking a this build (I included my old components I plan to still use) would be helpful.

I have read that the AM4 coolers are still compatible I am unsure about that particular one, or if I should replace it since it is 5 years old already...

PCPartPicker Part List

Firstly, don't think I am loaded here this is an ideal list that I will chip away at over time - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xVL9kf

I am looking at getting a fractal desigm north xl second hand, I presume there is no danger in that other than standard non new concerns.

Are case models universal or will I need a specific motherboard and then specific cpu/gpu etc.?

Probably not the right community for this, but I've been searching for a new 2TB SSD for my Thinkpad T14 G1, It's only PCIe gen 3.0, so both are going to be limited by that anyway. I specifically need resonably fast sustained write speeds, and both of these can write at >1GB/s for 15 minutes. The Samsung seems to be the better choice, but I remember them having some data loss issues a while back and that is worrying me, and the P510 is quite new, so not much time for any issues to be found. I can get both of them for the exact same price, which of these is the better pick? The P510 also seems to use a bit more power, so maybe not a good idea for a laptop?

EDIT: Thanks for the help, ended up getting the Samsung 990 pro

Christmas is coming, and I'm thinking a family PC is on the cards from santa.

It would need to run minecraft and Lego city undercover and that sort of thing.

I already have a spare TUF 750W bronze rated power supply (that I bought one time I was troubleshooting).

I will also probably upgrade my RX5700XT graphics card so put that in this build (suggestions welcome for a good bang for buck replacement that's good for a server running Mint and ollama (needs high VRAM) as well as used for gaming).

Everything else would be new. Suggestions for monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers too please!

Let's aim for a ballpark of $1000USD (I'll be purchasing in New Zealand).

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys,

here's a build I've slapped together on PPP:

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/p8wjdb

What do you think? Any obvious blunders? Anything I could do better? I'll run Mint on it and I want to do some gaming, AI work and general PC stuff.

Hello, can you sanity check my build? The case and the video card are already bought.

I am going to mostly use it for TV and VR gaming.

Any concerns here? I am slightly worried about the AIO 280mm fitting in the case.

Thanks!

The Framework Desktop is a deep disappointment to me. Framework, the company that got into the business with an explicit purpose of building modular and repairable computers, went into a space where that was the norm (desktops), and introduced a PC that was none of those things, at an exorbitant price. When they debuted it, it was marketed specifically as a gaming machine. As much as I want to support them, I cannot reward them for this specific product, as it abandons their fundamental tenets.

Here's the build. You can see similar builds featured on many YT channels at this point with the new NV10 case and 5060 LP GPU.

Here's one from ETA Prime

And another from "MRGUI on PC"

This build: ~$1100

Comparable Framework build: ~$1700

I will concede the Framework is still better at a few things:

• Efficiency (I'm not sure that this is to any degree that's worth being factored in)
• Being that it's more efficient, it's also quieter
• Local LLMs (which no one should care about or be using)
• A bit thinner due to not have a dGPU

I've been pricing out components for my first new build in 20 years. (I've bought many ebay servers and a few mini PCs in between).

The parts are around $2k. But then I look at the amd ai max+ 395 PCs that are out or coming out shortly and I think I might be buying an already obsolete platform. For the same price I'd get 16 cores and over 2x the memory bandwidth.

Hey all. I'm exploring the idea of building a desktop PC optimized for running LLMs locally. My two primary use cases are I'd like to be able to add local documents and then talk to my files; I'd also like to use it as a coding assistant. Lower priority use case but something I'm tangentially interested in is image generation using stable diffusion. I don't plan to do any model training, I'll leave that to the pros.

One of the decisions I'm currently working through is whether to create this as a desktop workstation (like a PC build) or as more of a homelab environment (like a "local cloud"). On one hand, I believe a desktop workstation would be easier for me to wrap my head around b/c I've built several gaming PCs, whereas I have no homelab or self hosting experience beyond running a local-only Jellyfin instance on an old laptop. On the other hand, I like the thought a separate, atomic AI hub as like a local cloud if you will, similar to how I think of the NAS as a separate thing. What I like about the separate local cloud thinking is In both cases, the AI hub and/or the NAS can be accessed from any device.

I would like to strike the right balance between budget, power efficiency, and speed. I don't need to set any land speed records, but I would also like to avoid waiting several minutes for responses. I can probably spend up to $2,000 on this project, and I'm located in the US.

My questions for those the community who've gone before me:

• Has anyone build built a desktop workstation and then wished they built it as a server?
• Is there actually much of a difference between a desktop workstation versus a homelab environment when it comes to hardware for AI tasks?
• What other questions I should be asking myself to decide which way to go?

Thanks!

I'm thinking of building a pc to play a few demanding games (e.g. PEAK, Satisfactory, Stellaris) at 1080p@60. It'd be under Proton/DXVK on Linux.

GPU prices in Australia are kinda fucked atm so that would probably have to be a used card, but would anyone have any advice on what I have so far?

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/rtGxzP

(Disclaimer, I realize I'm asking a question that everyone will have their own answer to and my answer is dependent on me and my situation, just curious to hear other's perspectives.)

I've been rocking my GTX 1080 since a few months after launch, and it's held up incredibly well at 1440p ultra wide. However I'm finally at the point where I have a decent number of games I'm waiting to play until I have hardware that can run it (Oblivion remaster, Borderlands 4 in a couple days, GTA VI in four years when it comes to PC). However I'm stuck on what card to get. The 9070XT would be my immediate choice, if the MSRP was not 600 and the cheapest available cards selling at 720+.

Now if the MSRP was 700 I'd feel more comfortable buying the card at that price, as even at the inflated price it seems to offer the best performance in that price range. However if people have been able to get their hands on it for 100 bucks cheaper by being vigilant and waiting, I can't really justify the scalp fee.

The 5070 is the only card available to purchase at the 550-600 range, and while I'm not strictly opposed to it, I'd rather an AMD card since I've been on Linux mostly these days.

I guess long story short, is holding out for an MSRP 9070XT even viable, or is it pretty much guaranteed not to happen before the next gen comes out in a year or two? And would you pay the extra price for the 9070XT over the 5070?

Accidental dup of: https://sh.itjust.works/post/45493802 .. or cross post? idk.

Link: https://www.walmart.com/ip/XPG-CYBERCORE-ATX-Modular-PSU-1000W-80-Plus-Platinum-26-Connectors-Intex-ATX-12V/724286138

PC Part Picker Link: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/rtD7YJ/adata-xpg-cybercore-1000-w-80-platinum-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-cybercore1000-bkcus

.. why is this PSU so cheap? It's on at least one tier list as being A+ rated. It's 80+ Platinum. No idea if it has the latest connector for Nvidia, but I don't really personally need or care about that.

Sold and shipped by walmart.com, so should be a legit seller. Has a 10 year warranty. Returnable in store. What am I missing? lol

(I acknowledge there are some bad reviews.. but still sold and shipped by walmart. Maybe a bad batch?.. but come on that price still)

Why is this so cheap?

I currently am using a wired Corsair iron claw, but it's rubber sides are starting to become bald from wear, and Corsair doesn't sell replacement parts. I love a mouse with side buttons, a wing, and a DPI toggle. But finding mice that are big enough to be comfortable is pretty rare. I've loved the Logitech g602 and Ironclaw so far.

Anything similar to the above, just without rubber? I prefer wired mice.

Trying to max out a pc I inherited to give to another family member but having problems trying to confirm what memory I should purchase and trying to work my way through it but just need some clarifications or maybe I'm missing something. (trying to make this purchase and "finish" this pc to it's max capabilities before prices start to spike)

The pc in question is the HP 280 G3 Microtower. Originally I got the tag FX-ISL-4 off of the MoBo but couldn't find specs so with CPU-X it pulled up a HP 8350 (1) MoBo that I could get specs from (am I missing the 8350 on the board or is cpu-x style programs the only way to get the info?). H110 intel chipset LPC/eSPI controller.

Has an Intel Core i3-7100 (2) with integrated Intel Mesa HD Graphics 630.

Currently it's running 2 - 4GB ddr4-2400Mhz. This all started with trying to figure out the right CAS latency to get as a site listed different ones and I wanted to make sure the more-expensive/low-latency one would even be worth it or would be reduced and ineffective to get the better one. All of the sites also suggest a 32GB kit with 2 - 16GB ddr4-2400/2666/3200 (newegg,kingston,crucial) with the CAS Latency all over the place (I know it's a formula, gonna have to go back and refresh my mind on that I think).

When I ran into the Mobo datasheet (1) it states "Supports up to PC4-21300 (DDR4 2666), Supports 4 GB and 8 GB DDR4 UDIMMs" (making only 16gb total possible). The cpu (2) says ddr4 with "Rated Speed: 2400 MT/s" making all of the other ram recommendations overpowered.

I know from a previous Mac Book pro upgrade the manufacturer specified only 8gb but you could actually install 16gb with updates and changes. I can't find any documentation or articles but the memory sites are very adamant I can install 32GB worth on the HP and I'm very tempted to pull the trigger on that with the lowest CL I can find.

Any suggestions or steps I'm doing wrong? Really want to be confident with identifying my parts, understanding the specs and interactions, and being able to be confident that the parts are compatible. I have a bunch of others I've been staring at to work on similarly but I always hesitate, helps when it's not going to be your computer to actually do the thing.

Hi everybody, I got a used laptop for cheap but the former owner kept the SSD. So I'm searching for a new drive.
I don't have any specific requirements otherwise since the device is just for office/browsing/streaming/etc

Edit: I'm currently looking into Gigabyte Gen4 4000E, Acer FA100 or Intenso MI500.

As a 1080p 21' monitor user, when I got my first Mac laptop seeing it's HiDPI sharp text I was instantly hooked. Thing is, I still need to do my work on a PC. So I started my search for a higher resolution than usual monitor.

Recently, Dell dropped s2725qs which is a steal at 300 euros. It's 4k 27 inch 120hz and 99% SRGB. I set it at 150% scale on KDE Plasma. It works well. Compared to Cinnamon where text was a bit fuzzy at 150% (fractional scaling duh...). Optimal scenario would be 5k so you can use 200%, hence no fractional scaling, but you can't complain at this budget. My eyes are really happy now. I love it. Speakers are surprisingly decent. 120hz is very nice addition, actions like scrolling or playing a game make it so enjoyable.

I know this is technically not a HiDPI monitor, since they start usually at 200+dpi. This Dell is 161dpi, but works for me.

If you have any questions, let me know!

Update: Bad news, I redid the thermal paste on GPU and CPU and still having the crashes.

Good news, I got my tax refund and the OK from my partner to up the budget so I have put together another proposed build with a few comments from my post last week in mind as well as a higher budget.

I like ASUS and it has done me well so I changed the MoBo to another ASUS and changed the GPU and CPU to ones suggested in the comments.

[https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/6J2Tcx](higher budget build)

Please let me know what you think of this new proposed build. I figured I would just start fresh with everything new as I really don't know why the system is crashing. It already crashed once just while making this post. I'll only put in my old hard drives for access to all my media files.

Before anyone says it, I already have Fedora in another drive (which I will remove to install windows, dont worry) so no need to suggest linux.

Basically the last time I tried 24H2 was earlier this year from a forced update and it sucked balls, major performance issues in most games. I heard that a fresh install could fix this but I really couldnt be bothered so I reverted and blocked updates. But now thanks to my shitty chinese NVME that died with 30TBW with 2 years of use, I have an opportunity to install windows fresh. Should I even try 24H2 again? Better to install 23H2 offline and block feature updates again?

Hello,

I’ve recently assembled a new PC with the parts listed below and I am having problems with the initial install of Windows 11 Pro.

• MSI B850 Tomahawk Max WiFi
• AMD Ryzen 9 7900
• Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 64GB
• MSI GEFORCE RTX 5070ti
• NZXT Kraken 360
• Samsung 990 Pro 4TB
• HYTE Y70 Touch Infinite case

I’ve downloaded the .iso and burned it to an USB stick and after booting, I get a window titled “Windows 11 Pro Install Driver to Show Hardware” and the option to browse for the needed driver. At the bottom of this window, it reads “A media driver your computer needs is missing. This could be a DVD, USB, or Hard Disk Driver.”

I’ve downloaded and flashed the BIOS to the version 7C91v29 dated 2025-07-04. It’s been a while since I’ve built a PC and it seems like most of the hardware now comes from the manufacturer’s website with its own exe that would be run to install the driver. This is my only Windows computer so I’m not sure how I can get the drivers installed. Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!