PC Building Guide and Discussion #14

[SniperHF]

they just up and died. A lot more often than not,

Generally speaking I kinda lean more toward board myself without troubleshooting other issues.
I've seen PSUs with flaky 12v rails do all sorts of of weird stuff.

If they have a flaky 5v rail (which the USB uses) they kinda tend to just not work at all. The 5v rail has a lot less margin for error.

And just in general IMO the PCB/circuitry quality of boards has gone down in the last decade.

 

[RandV]

Generally speaking I kinda lean more toward board myself without troubleshooting other issues.
I've seen PSUs with flaky 12v rails do all sorts of of weird stuff.

If they have a flaky 5v rail (which the USB uses) they kinda tend to just not work at all. The 5v rail has a lot less margin for error.

And just in general IMO the PCB/circuitry quality of boards has gone down in the last decade.

I guess my builds are few and far between so I don't have nearly as much experience for how much I've been doing this, but I think I've had more PSU's fail than mobo's.

Though I think the mystery is solved here and I have nothing to worry about. Had my Roccat keyboard plugged into my work laptop today (since its extra keyboard is now in my desktop), and after working most of the day it just up and died a little while ago.

 

[SniperHF]

Though I think the mystery is solved here and I have nothing to worry about. Had my Roccat keyboard plugged into my work laptop today (since its extra keyboard is now in my desktop), and after working most of the day it just up and died a little while ago.

Power supplies definitely die more often, I find random misbehavior is more likely to be the motherboard though.

Most failing power supplies, if they haven't already died outright, will croak out under load (real load like a game or compiling something) but still work properly at desktop conditions.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Just updated my Bios. Which was a massive risk because I only updated it using a USB drive to fix a bug with Ryzen...that causes USB drives to constantly eject when transfering files. Holding my breath the whole time but it was time to bit the bullet.

 

[Osprey]

FYI, that ray traced DOOM project now supports AMD. Actually, it's supported it for a couple of weeks, but I just learned about it and thought that I'd pass it along for any AMD GPU users here.

Releases · sultim-t/prboom-plus-rt

Contribute to sultim-t/prboom-plus-rt development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Don't know where to put this, so I'll put it here.

I might be getting a job offer that requires significant WFH in the short-term. I will need a very, VERY highly-specced gaming laptop because I'll be using the Unreal Engine and Unity on it for work and I need MAX performance. The CTO at this company has said to me, verbatim "Pick your laptop...ANY laptop" so budget does not appear to be a constraint here whatsoever.

So what would you recommend, if money weren't an object and you had to build a gaming laptop?

 

[guinness]

Don't know where to put this, so I'll put it here.

I might be getting a job offer that requires significant WFH in the short-term. I will need a very, VERY highly-specced gaming laptop because I'll be using the Unreal Engine and Unity on it for work and I need MAX performance. The CTO at this company has said to me, verbatim "Pick your laptop...ANY laptop" so budget does not appear to be a constraint here whatsoever.

So what would you recommend, if money weren't an object and you had to build a gaming laptop?

Start with the GPU, and go from there?

I think at the moment, that's the 3080 Ti.
Razer 15.6" Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model RZ09-0421PEF3-R3U1 B&H (bhphotovideo.com)

There's a 17" one as well.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Start with the GPU, and go from there?

I think at the moment, that's the 3080 Ti.
Razer 15.6" Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model RZ09-0421PEF3-R3U1 B&H (bhphotovideo.com)

There's a 17" one as well.

This is a good candidate. I am not sure that I'll want the 17'' but I'll think about it; I worry about the battery life at that point.

One of the decisions I need to weigh is display resolution v.s. refresh rate, and I'm inclined at the moment to err on stressing the latter, given what I need to do, but I don't really play video games anymore so I'm trusting you all on this one.

EDIT: Windows 11 Pro is preferred over Home (not that I really like having to use Windows in the first place, but w/e.)

EDIT #2: Any thoughts on AMD v.s. Intel, or is that a theological argument?

 

[guinness]

I like the new 12th gen Intels, but the rumored specs of the upcoming AMD's sound nice as well. Although you can get the current Intels right now. In terms of threads/cores, I don't think you'd be hurting with something like that Razer, which I think has an i9.

It or something of that class should run all the things. I don't mind Windows 11, but some people don't like it.

However, I have no personal experience, as my desktop is old, and my new laptop is a MBP. A MBP could run UE 5 too, but something like Razer would honestly run circles around it for that use case.

Others here may have more experience with the current Intels or GPUs.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Upgrading my main rig always seems to involve problems.

Got a new, larger case, and after transferring everything over the computer won’t even respond to the power button. Tried the power button from my other case, reset buttons, shorting, nothing.

Seems like I have shorted my mobo but don’t know how. Oh well, I’m pretty sure the thing was several years old by this point.

 

[SniperHF]

Seems like I have shorted my mobo but don’t know how. Oh well, I’m pretty sure the thing was several years old by this point.

Try removing power and popping out the CMOS battery, then re connect power and boot.

Had an old X99 ASRock board that was "fixed" via this method, same symptoms no response on power on, (the board had a known design flaw and eventually failed completely)

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Try removing power and popping out the CMOS battery, then re connect power and boot.

Had an old X99 ASRock board that was "fixed" via this method, same symptoms no response on power on, (the board had a known design flaw and eventually failed completely)

No dice. PSU unplugged and off, battery removed, does the same thing. Just the motherboard flashing once when I turn the PSU on and no response from either switch.

I know power is getting to the outlet because my light flickers ever so slightly whenever I press the power button.

What sucks is I have an i5-9600k which apparently isn’t compatible with virtually any morherboards that I can get locally.

 

[Osprey]

Upgrading my main rig always seems to involve problems.

Got a new, larger case, and after transferring everything over the computer won’t even respond to the power button. Tried the power button from my other case, reset buttons, shorting, nothing.

Seems like I have shorted my mobo but don’t know how. Oh well, I’m pretty sure the thing was several years old by this point.

Make sure that you connected power to the extra 12 or 16-pin connector on the motherboard, usually in the upper-left corner (near the I/O panel and CPU). I've forgotten to do that once or twice.

Also, if you haven't yet, try reversing the pins for the power button.

Next, if you meant that you connected the power button from the old case while the motherboard was still installed in the new case, then I'd remove the motherboard and put it back into the old case and see if it works again. If it does, then double check all of the motherboard standoffs in the new case (especially making sure that enough are installed) and carefully re-install the motherboard, making sure that no metal is touching the board where it shouldn't.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Feels good to see the GPU situation get under control just as the GTX 1080 is nearing its end as a 1080p card. It can still do 1080p but for a lot of games its in the 45 fps range. Its time is almost done.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Make sure that you connected power to the extra 12 or 16-pin connector on the motherboard, usually in the upper-left corner (near the I/O panel and CPU). I've forgotten to do that once or twice.

Also, if you haven't yet, try reversing the pins for the power button.

Next, if you meant that you connected the power button from the old case while the motherboard was still installed in the new case, then I'd remove the motherboard and put it back into the old case and see if it works again. If it does, then double check all of the motherboard standoffs in the new case (especially making sure that enough are installed) and carefully re-install the motherboard, making sure that no metal is touching the board where it shouldn't.

I did try those options but there was no response, unfortunately.

I managed to find the same motherboard for relatively cheap, so thankfully the PC won't be down for too long.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

I've wanted to replace my 4TB HDD for the last year or so and I finally got to order something that's not only fast but of good quality and space:

https://www.amazon.com/Silicon-Power-4TB-XS70-SP02KGBP44XS7005/dp/B09T2WNKNZ?th=1

When this was in stock (it's not showing the 4TB for some reason), it was $550 for a very good quality PCIe 4.0 NVMe. Also, this will help me when I move to a SFF build for RTX 4080/Zen 4.

 

[Knave]

I'm thinking of picking up a graphics card now that they're reliably in stock.

What makes sense to you guys?

$1000-1200 for a 3080 10GB
$1300-400 for a 3080 12GB
$1500-1600 for a 3080 ti 12GB

The 3090 and 3090 ti are still above $2000 CAD so I've kind of written them off. I'm thinking 3080 ti because the extra GB of VRAM does have a few use cases for me and the 3080 12GB is so close in price I might as well go a bit further for a bit more performance?

 

[Osprey]

Apparently, the 3080 Ti runs 10C cooler in most games than the 3080 12GB (link), so that's another reason to go for the Ti (especially in the Summer; it's 96C right now where I am ). You might want to just make your decision between the 3080 10GB and the 3080 Ti. If you plan to use it for the next 5+ years, the Ti might be the better option.

Just something to keep in mind, though: the 4000 cards are coming out later this year and even the 4070, expected in December, should have 12GB, be as fast as the 3080 Ti (if not faster) and cost only CAD $800-1000. If you might have buyer's remorse that you spent $1500-1600 now, then maybe the cheaper 3080 10GB would be better. You could also put the saved money towards a 4070/4080 and then sell the 3080 to make up the rest. You could even see if you can get by for 6 or 7 months on the card that you have now, which is what I'd probably do (though there's some risk in that, since they may be hard to find for the first few months). If you don't care to do either of those and don't mind paying extra to get the upgrade over with and not have to worry about doing it again for 5+ years, though, then the Ti might be the way to go.

 

[Knave]

Apparently, the 3080 Ti runs 10C cooler in most games than the 3080 12GB (link), so that's another reason to go for the Ti (especially in the Summer; it's 96C right now where I am ). You might want to just make your decision between the 3080 10GB and the 3080 Ti. If you plan to use it for the next 5+ years, the Ti might be the better option.

Just something to keep in mind, though: the 4000 cards are coming out later this year and even the 4070, expected in December, should have 12GB, be faster than even the 3080 Ti and cost only CAD $800-1000. If you might have buyer's remorse that you spent $1500-1600 now, then maybe the cheaper 3080 10GB would be better. You could also put the saved money towards a 4070/4080 and then sell the 3080 to make up the rest. You could even see if you can get by for 6 or 7 months on the card that you have now, which is what I'd probably do (though there's some risk in that, since they may be hard to find for the first few months). If you don't care to do either of those and don't mind paying extra to get the upgrade over with and not have to worry about doing it again for 5+ years, though, then the Ti might be the way to go.

Hmmm. Maybe I'll hold out like you said and ride this current card into the ground. I'm getting the occasional black screen but it does recover. And sometimes the black screen extends to both monitors so I don't think it's a monitor or cable issue.

 

[Osprey]

Hmmm. Maybe I'll hold out like you said and ride this current card into the ground. I'm getting the occasional black screen but it does recover. And sometimes the black screen extends to both monitors so I don't think it's a monitor or cable issue.

It could be overheating. What card is it? If it's 3+ years old, it may benefit from you opening it up and applying fresh thermal paste and/or replacing the thermal pads. Also, even if you don't want to take it apart, undervolting may help. With the right settings, you should be able to lower your temperatures 5-10C without losing much performance.

 

[Knave]

It could be overheating. What card is it? If it's 3+ years old, it may benefit from you opening it up and applying fresh thermal paste and/or replacing the thermal pads. Also, even if you don't want to take it apart, undervolting may help. With the right settings, you should be able to lower your temperatures about 5C without losing much performance.

It's a 2080 ti FE. I don't want to overstate the problem though, it usually happens in bunches and stops for a while (days, weeks), I've been fine so far this week.

 

[Osprey]

It's a 2080 ti FE. I don't want to overstate the problem though, it usually happens in bunches and stops for a while (days, weeks), I've been fine so far this week.

That's a pretty nice card. I was imagining that you were struggling with a 1080 or RX 580. Yeah, I would just wait for the 4000 series if I were you. The most recent rumors that I read are that the 4090 is expected in October, the 4080 in November and the 4070 in December. I'm not sure, but I think that the 4090 is expected to have 20-24GB, the 4080 16GB and the 4070 12GB.

As for the black screens, it could be overheating only when the temperature outside rises. I'd enable the Nvidia in-game overlay or use MSI Afterburner and observe the temps. If it's near or above 80C even on mild days, then you may care to do a little reading up on undervolting. With my 3070, I was able to lower temps by about 10C in games at a cost of about 5% performance, which is totally worth it for room temp, fan noise, card longevity and peace of mind.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Took my computer in, was the result of a faulty power supply. PSU was replaced and the computer runs fine without a graphics card.

Installed my 3070 and power wouldn’t work. Replaced it with a GPU with only six pins and it runs fine. Also tried the 3070 on another computer (originally had the six-pin GPU installed) and that ran fine as well.

I assume it has to do with the PSU, but no clue what precisely is the problem. Can’t imagine anything else would be an issue when this exact build (other than the PSU) worked completely fine.

 

[Osprey]

Took my computer in, was the result of a faulty power supply. PSU was replaced and the computer runs fine without a graphics card.

Installed my 3070 and power wouldn’t work. Replaced it with a GPU with only six pins and it runs fine. Also tried the 3070 on another computer (originally had the six-pin GPU installed) and that ran fine as well.

I assume it has to do with the PSU, but no clue what precisely is the problem. Can’t imagine anything else would be an issue when this exact build (other than the PSU) worked completely fine.

Are you saying that, when the 3070 is installed and the power is connected to it, the whole computer won't turn on at all? If so, that's... weird. If the motherboard happens to have two PCIe x16 slots, make sure that the GPU is in the top/primary one. Also, make sure that you're not powering the GPU through just one cable that's split. Use two different cables from the PSU. I'd also try resetting the CMOS and, if that doesn't work, then boot without the 3070 and update the motherboard to the latest BIOS (unless you know for a fact that it's already on it).

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Are you saying that, when the 3070 is installed and the power is connected to it, the whole computer won't turn on at all? If so, that's... weird. If the motherboard happens to have two PCIe x16 slots, make sure that the GPU is in the top/primary one. Also, make sure that you're not powering the GPU with a splitter. Use two 4-pins that separately go to the power supply. I'd also try resetting the CMOS and, if that doesn't work, then boot without the 3070 and update the motherboard to the latest BIOS (unless you know for a fact that it's already on it).

Yep, I have no idea what the issue is. I used multiple cables in various combinations but no dice.

Gonna keep trying, but at the very least the computer is usable now.