Questions tagged [computer-building]

For questions regarding the assembly of computers from individual components and problems you might face.

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Gigabyte B360N BIOS flash failed, can't boot from backup

I built a Gigabyte B360N WiFi-based computer the other day. It came up fine into BIOS, and then I went to install Debian on it. I had to enable CSM to get it to boot from the USB stick on which I had ...
Rick's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
118 views

New PC - Disk Spiking to 100%

I've recently built a new PC. Everything's working great, except that when I turn on the PC the disk performance will spike to 100% for 2-3 minutes. It also spikes when I open any programs. The main ...
Laurie's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
8k views

Motherboard with ATX 12V 4 pin power connector does not turn on

I have a motherboard that only was a 4 pin ATX 12V power connector to energize the CPU and nothing else. My PSU is thermaltake smart 650w and connecting the 4 pin 12V does not turn on the computer ...
user1657666's user avatar
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1 answer
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Building wall mountable PC

I'm building a wall mountable PC with an ATX mobo and PSU. What I'm doing is using wood with carbon fiber on it and screwing the parts directly. However, I read somewhere that carbon fiber is a ...
Hammad Ul Haque's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
26k views

8 pin CPU power connector has different form on one end

My motherboard requires an 8-pin CPU power cable to be connected, other than the 24-pin main connector. My PSU (which is modular) has the same exact 8-pin connector, under which it is written CPU. My ...
F. Alessandro's user avatar
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1 answer
35 views

Malfunctioning fan controller

My PC case has a fan controller on the front with two slide switches that you can use to control fans with 3 pin connectors. You can set each one to high, low or off. I was trying to install another ...
Rob Kwasowski's user avatar
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0 answers
131 views

Multiple restart during boot + bios reset

I recently built a computer but am running into an issue. Everytime I start the computer, it restarts itself during boot multiple times and when it finally comes up properly, BIOS did reset to default ...
arvenyon's user avatar
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-1 votes
2 answers
155 views

Laptop upgrade possibilities. How and why (or why not)? [closed]

I own an Asus K45VM that comes equipped (on-board) with an Intel i7 3610QM Processor (Turbos at 3.2GHz) and an NVDIA GeForce GT 630M (2gb VRAM). I'm already going to upgrade from an HD to SSD and ...
Caio Fleury's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
413 views

Home-built PC will beep with no problems and display the Gigabyte logo, but I can't get to BIOS setup or anything

Parts: Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P FX Power source: Jupiter 600 watt 80 plus bronze Hard Drive (HDD, not solid state): Seagate Barracuda 1TB CPU/Processor: AMD FX 6300 Graphics Card/GPU: GTX ...
Stormblessed's user avatar
-3 votes
2 answers
999 views

Will my RAM be compatible with my motherboard? [closed]

I'm trying to buy some RAM for my PC and I have noticed that when buying it is named BLT8G4D26AFTA whereas on my motherboard's compatibility list it says BLT8G4D26AFTA.16FAD would the .16FAD on the ...
Matthew Miles's user avatar
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Is my CPU compatible with my motherboard?

Would an AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3.2ghz CPU be compatible with an MSI B350 Tomahawk motherboard with windows 10 home ?
Minerals2016's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
177 views

LVDS is not a full-pin connector?

Rather than SubD a LVDS can have different sizes because the adapter I bought is too big. Before I cut the cables and melt sinker and solder them directly, I have to ask a question: There is a gap ...
Grim's user avatar
  • 201
-1 votes
2 answers
107 views

PC rapidly turning off and on [closed]

So I just bought a bunch of components for my computer: Ryzen 3 2200G HyperX 8GB 2666MHz AsRock AB350M motherboard I installed it in my old case, but when I plug it in (Not even touching the power ...
Simon V.'s user avatar
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1 answer
93 views

Graphic card lights up but newly built PC won't turn on

This is my first time of and I assembled my new PC and it is not starting for some reason. Though, strange my GPU is lights up but nothing else. I've checked the compatibility of each devices and they'...
Helloworld238745's user avatar
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1 answer
654 views

Integrated Graphics VS GPU Performance

I'm building a PC. I'm using an Intel i7-8700 as my CPU, which has Intel Iris 630 UHD integrated graphics. I'm getting 16 GBs of RAM. I have an EVGA GeForce GT 730 2GB dedicated GPU. Which should I ...
Ethan Cannoy's user avatar
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1 answer
65 views

System building: two Asrock boards in a row with defective RAM?

I am still working on my new build 8700k with an ASRock Fatal1ty Z370 Gaming K6. The full story is documented here a long with a complete parts list but there's not much more to it other than "won't ...
DMCoding's user avatar
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1 answer
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Windows 10 PC won't sleep

I built my first PC and installed Windows 10 on it. Performs fine except for one recurring issue. Often times, when I try to sleep my system, the peripherals will shut off but other aspects of the ...
user420507's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
6k views

Why is airflow always front in, back out?

The motherboard on my gaming computer recently died, leaving me with a lot of functional components that just need a new mobo/cpu, so I'm taking this opportunity to 'build'(/rebuild) my first PC. As ...
Charamei's user avatar
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1 answer
639 views

Is condensation on the outside of a custom water cooling loop an issue?

I recently built my first custom water cooling loop (never done any water cooling before) with copper pipes, and have gathered a bunch of comments from know-it-alls, suggesting various doomsday ...
kirayatail's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
874 views

Crackle/Popping Sound When Playing Audio + Stuttering Video Games

I just built a PC: ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-H GAMING Intel i7 8700k EVGA Geforce GTX 1080 FTW 8 GB Corsair RMx Series, RM750x 750w Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD Seagate 2 TB FireCuda Gaming SSHD Corsair ...
Synchro Theus's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

Possibility of incorrect install of CPU - would system boot/OS install?

Having build a system with (amongst others) Supermicro X10SRL-F Intel xeon E5 1620 v4 I am about 80-90% sure I placed the triangle-corner in the correct orientation. But there is a slight ...
nick88's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

NVMe on which Ubuntu is installed seems to disappear while running

I made a custom build desktop, which is turned on 24/7 and serves as server. Today I experienced for the second time that the machine turned unresponsive. Hooking up a screen does nothing. Inserting a ...
Martijn Courteaux's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
659 views

PC not turning on propertly and ethernet port always needs reset. Motherboard Issue?

I have been having some issues lately with my PC. Mainly, 2 things have been occurring: My computer will turn on (i.e. the LEDs turn on and I hear the fan running), however, other components (...
ddrossi93's user avatar
  • 183
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1 answer
8k views

Problems Inserting Wireless Card into Mini PCI express port.

I'm new to computer building. I have everything working except my wireless card. In the question section of this Intel wireless card, it says it works with any computer with a mini PCIe slot, which my ...
setholopolus's user avatar
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1 answer
86 views

Do people who don't do video editing or gaming need anything more than an entry level CPU? [closed]

Someone asked me to help him pick a laptop to buy, he doesn't play games or do video editing. He will only use it to do office work (PowerPoint and Word), browse the internet and watch movies, I don't ...
Ahmad Hani's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
11k views

Is it safe for the bottom of a hard drive to be touching or almost touching a metal drive bay?

I'm installing a new hard-drive, and have mounted it on something like this. After screwing the HDD down onto the drive adapter, I've realised there's very little clearance between its metal and the ...
Hashim Aziz's user avatar
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2 answers
60 views

Is it worth just upgrading my CPU / GPU or should I just create an entirely new machine? [closed]

I recently noticed that I'm not having a smooth gaming experience on my machine anymore. Last time I upgraded some pieces was atleast 3 years ago I think and if I recall correctly I think my CPU is my ...
Nicolas Decroos's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
3k views

Intel Optane Memory vs Optane SSD [closed]

I haven't found a good source to answer this question which deals with Intel's Optane products. I'm looking to build a new gaming computer primarily but I also do use my computer for the occasional ...
Jeremy's user avatar
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1 answer
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What are the implications of "strain on the memory controller"?

Numerous articles and postings advise using as few memory sticks as possible, and/or using registered memory for configurations with many sticks, citing "strain on the memory controller". I am ...
Stonecraft's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
173 views

Windows, Linux won't boot from any disk, were working before

I'm having a really strange problem. About a month ago I built a new computer. I installed Windows on it and later I bought another SSD and installed Fedora there. Everything has been working ...
José María's user avatar
17 votes
5 answers
28k views

What exactly is the cause of RAM incompatibility?

I'm looking at rather short QVL lists from manufacturers, and I'm wondering what is the underlying cause of RAM incompatibility aside from the obvious: Obvious Reasons for Incompatibility RAM ...
Ehryk's user avatar
  • 300
0 votes
2 answers
164 views

AMD Ryzen 1600x for gaming in 1440 x 900

I want to build a PC for casual gaming. Here is my list: CPU: AMD Ryzen 1600x RAM: Two DDR-4 Ram Modules ( 2400 MHZ ) Do I need to buy a graphic card or Ryzen 1600x has a built-in one?
Ali Bahraminezhad's user avatar
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0 answers
93 views

using hdmi and vga on pc for extending windows

I am building a new pc. There is a situation I need to handle. Here I am going with the R7 240 2GB DDR3 XFX card which has both HDMI and VGA outs. I have an old monitor HP w15e which has only VGA port....
Doc's user avatar
  • 111
0 votes
1 answer
930 views

boot-device LED on Asus Rampage V Edition 10 motherboard and will not POST

So I just got an ASUS Rampage V Edition 10 motherboard and built my computer. This is like the 4th computer I have built, so I have done this a few times. I am having trouble getting the computer to ...
krishnab's user avatar
  • 103
0 votes
1 answer
223 views

Intel Windows install to amd

Is it possible to take a Windows installation on a HDD that was installed with an Intel cpu, and transfer the HDD to an AMD build? Aka I have an Intel pc, then I take the HDD with win10 on it and ...
Venya's user avatar
  • 119
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

Non-existent 0d LED debug code AX 370 Motherboard

Putting together my first PC, just got everything hooked up and running into my first errors. When the computer starts up, I get two LED debug codes: Pre-memory North-Bridge initialization is started, ...
Slater Victoroff's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
430 views

What should I upgrade first – CPU or GPU?

I have an HP desktop for gaming and I wanted to upgrade it to suit games like GTA V, Witcher 3, Fallout 4, and games like that. My specs: AMD A6 6400k AMD R7 240 2GB VRAM 8GB RAM 1TB HDD 60 Hz 1680×...
Alladin Fawakhiri's user avatar
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0 answers
668 views

Will a mini-ITX board fit in a micro-ATX case?

For example, this kind of case: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353061&ignorebbr=1 and this kind of board: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=...
iammax's user avatar
  • 221
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Windows 10 Activation when swapping hard drives

I'm in the process of building a new PC but slowly, as I only buy the components when I have extra cash due to overtime but because of this, it could be a few months before I have everything together. ...
Stephen's user avatar
  • 600
0 votes
0 answers
2k views

Is it a good idea to use 3 sticks of RAM?

I would like to populate only 3 of the 4 RAM slots on my motherboard with 8GB sticks since my forth stick is not working. I am aware that the sticks work in pairs and should be inserted into specific ...
N00b101's user avatar
  • 151
0 votes
1 answer
180 views

Can an "abnormal" RAM stick interfere with the working sticks?

I have 4 8GB sticks of RAM in my machine and 3 are working fine. The forth is declared "abnormal" by my bios and only 4GB of the 8GB are recognized by my OS, giving me a total of 28GB of RAM. I would ...
N00b101's user avatar
  • 151
9 votes
3 answers
25k views

Mixing RAM sticks with different CAS Latency and timings?

I currently have 2 of the following RAM sticks on my PC: Value 8Gb 240P DDR3 1600 Pc3 12800, G.SKILL, F3-1600C11S-8GNT, 8 Gb I decided to add more so I bought those: G.Skill 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3 PC3-...
onlyforthis's user avatar
-5 votes
1 answer
380 views

Why do new games need new graphics cards? [closed]

PC games from 2013 barely look any different from PC games in 2017. Why don't game developers use the same coding styles and guidelines from a previous time to today's. Why do they need better GPUs ...
answerSeeker's user avatar
  • 1,612
-4 votes
1 answer
58 views

I am finally planning on moving from console based game to PC gaming and have a few questions [closed]

How often will I need to buy a new nvidia gpu How can I make my new pc future proof to play any new games. Reason for asking is that I've had a friend who built a nearly a $4000 PC back in 2012 in the ...
answerSeeker's user avatar
  • 1,612
0 votes
1 answer
75 views

Multi-GPU Compatibility

I was just wondering... if I was only able to afford a $50 GPU or so, could I disconnect that $50 GPU and connect like an RX580 back into the PC without killing anything? (Once I could afford it, I'd ...
Ben's user avatar
  • 101
0 votes
1 answer
196 views

First PC Build - Screen gets no signal

I just finished building my first PC and wanted to install the OS. As I turned it on, the fans started spinning, LED's on the motherboard light up, but no signal on the display. Even the LED's on my ...
Jay Weber's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
3k views

Missing screw holes in Seagate 8 TB hard drive

The screw holes on 8 TB Seagate hard drives look like this (upper half. The lower half is a “normal” hard drive): The hard drive trays of my case only provide holes for the front and middle screw ...
viuser's user avatar
  • 105
1 vote
1 answer
315 views

How to improve cooling of my ASUS ROG?

I have a notebook ASUS ROG g551jm-cn102h and it has high temperatures, from 50° to 55° when I switch on it but when I open Google Chrome or YouTube, the temperature reaches about 70° or over 80°. What ...
user238173's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
26 views

Petals on Motherboard prevent ports panel to adjoin tight

please help me to figure out, trying to install MSI B250M Gaming motherboard into a computer case, but I've 2 "petals" near the ports, can see on the photos: To be honest I've no idea what are they ...
Mike's user avatar
  • 567
1 vote
2 answers
183 views

Kabylake without BIOS update

I am going to build my first PC soon and I need to know will the MSI z270 A pro mother board work with a i3 7100k Without bios update. - thanks
FionnGaming's user avatar

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