v0id

What @GoodBytes said is good info
 
You can also do a full reset within Windows via the Settings - it'll download the latest version and reinstall it for you, eliminating all apps that didn't come with the PC and resetting the settings to their defaults. Windows Update can take care of most of your updates to your PC's hardware, but you can always override those and fetch them individually from the web (ie GPU). If you're short on time and want to start fresh, I'd say go that route.
 
Last I heard, your license key should reactivate just fine since you're not updating any hardware, but I think you have an extra layer but having it under your Microsoft account (I personally use a local account)

What @GoodBytes said is good info
 
You can also do a full reset within Windows via the Settings - it'll download the latest version and reinstall it for you, eliminating all apps that didn't come with the PC and resetting the settings to their defaults. Windows Update can take care of most of your updates to your PC's hardware, but you can always override those and fetch them individually from the web (ie GPU). If you're short on time and want to start fresh, I'd say go that route.
 
Last I heard, your license key should reactivate just fine since you're not updating any hardware, but I think you have an extra layer but having it under your Microsoft account (I personally use a local account)

I almost always use a fresh image from Microsoft. I can't stand the sixteen partitions some manufacturers feel like they need to put on there, and a bunch of bundled software I'll never use. Give me the minimum and I'll build from there.

A firewall is more important than an antivirus. It's your first line of defense and doesn't take that much performance

Found this for the spec sheet...it says it can do 10/100/1000 via its WAN and LAN ports.
 
OP can you give a screenshot of your speedtest result?
 
Also...shot in the dark here...have you verified if you're running half or full duplex?

Found this for the spec sheet...it says it can do 10/100/1000 via its WAN and LAN ports.
 
OP can you give a screenshot of your speedtest result?
 
Also...shot in the dark here...have you verified if you're running half or full duplex?

What kind of cabling is coming to your home? Coax or fiber or something else?
 
Your quoted speed from your ISP is very rarely ever achieved, especially if you're sharing the line with your neighbor (which happens with traditional cable).
 
Check the cabling on the outside of your home if possible, check for frayed or old wiring. There could be 'noise' on the lines if they are loose or damaged. The signal could also be too high or too low, depending on the use of splitters and total length of the cable. You can also call your ISP and verify your account has the right speed listed (speed can be limited via firmware in the router, especially if they provided it).
 
We also must be careful when using megaBITS and megaBYTES. If you're getting 900 Mbps down from your ISP, then you should expect downloads to be above 100 MB/s during non peak hours.
 
EDIT: Former Comcast technician here, which is an ISP here in the States

really I don't want to buy the special edition since I already have the old one. But I actually found a fix now, it seems its in the nvidia control panel all this time. Wasted like 5hrs of googling about mods and fixes when nvidia has the feature already. Good to know. Anyway thanks.  
 

This may have been true 10-15 years ago, but not with current technology. There are voltage regulators on both the phone and the brick to prevent overcharging and overheating. Doesn't mean you should leave it plugged in for days and days, but overnight is completely safe and causes very minimal wear. I think even Linus did a video on it not too long ago, can't think of it at the moment.

I've actually decided that I might go CyberPower. I know reviews are mixed, but it seems like a much more generic system this way in terms of future compatibility/upgrade paths.
 
Would love your thoughts!
Case: Corsair iCUE 220T RGB High Airflow ATX Mid-Tower Gaming Chassis W/ Tempered Glass + SP120 RGB PRO Case fans CPU: AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900X 3.7GHz [4.8GHz Turbo] 12 Cores/ 24 Threads 70MB Total Cache 105W Processor  Additional Case Fans: 6X 120mm Phanteks SK120 Digital RGB PWM FAN CPU Cooling: CyberpowerPC MasterLiquid Lite 360mm ARGB CPU Liquid Cooler with Dual Chamber Pump & Copper Cold Plate GPU: RTX 3080 Storage: 1TB WD Blue SN550 Series PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD Memory: 16GB (8GBx2) DDR4/3600MHz GSKILL Trident Z RGB Motherboard: ASUS TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (Wi-Fi) ATX PSU: 750 Watts - Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 Series 750W 80 PLUS GOLD Ultra Quiet Full Modular Power Supply

Most of your main components are generic enough to be swapped at your leisure (CPU, RAM, GPU, PSU). You shouldn't have an issue when you mix brands and different types even if it is a prebuilt as long as you're making sure the motherboard supports whatever you're changing. Neither brand have stated outright that you can't swap components on their respective pages. You may lose some ROG/Alienware specific perks (RGB sync for example) if you put a different branded part in, but you should be find otherwise. Your only issue might be a motherboard swap because of size...but I couldn't find any info on either system if they have specific motherboards for those cases or if they're just standard ATX/mATX.
 
So in essence I think you'd be fine in that department for whichever brand you went with, neither is really better than the other. At least in my opinion, maybe someone else has more experience than I and can weigh in. I'm certainly not a subject matter expert.

No, 3000 series GPUs on Amazon are going for nearly $2000...that's your entire budget. And it ain't getting any better until next year at the earliest (so I've heard).

nope. the gpu alone is selling for well over double msrp in a desktop.

thats even worse. Stick to something thats reliable, like Corsair CX Gray label, Seasonic Focus, or Super Flower Leadex Gold lineup.

Just curious, why not? Additionally, you were hella extensive about your new specs but didn't list anything about your monitor nor what cables you're using or if you've tried other types. I understand it may the same one from your previous build, but I experienced some stuttering and boot issues because my GPU firmware was out of date and couldn't communicate with my monitor very well. And Geforce Experience and Windows Update do NOT provide this update, it had to be fetched separately. I don't know if it'll work for you cuz your GPU is recent, but check this out, might get lucky:
 
https://www.nvidia.com/content/DriverDownload-March2009/confirmation.php?url=/Windows/uefi/firmware/1.0/NVIDIA_DisplayPort_Firmware_Updater_1.0-x64.exe&firmware=1&lang=us&type=Other 
 

Had the same issue, fixed it by doing nothing for approximately 2 weeks, I seem to be good at having issues that should have never happened and fixing them in ways that should have never worked.

Last update.
 
I got determined AF to find a solution so I scoured the web again and stumbled across a different thread here on LTT. I must have missed it before. Well, long story short, I finally got it to work. Apparently my GPU needed some kind of firmware updater that's separate from GeForce Experience and regular Windows Update. With a simple update everything POSTs properly and I can get into BIOS no problem. I feel stupid that it was something as easy as an update, but honestly I had no idea this tool even existed. Thanks again to all who tried to assist. I listed the tool in case others might have issues as well.
 
Tool: https://www.nvidia.com/content/DriverDownload-March2009/confirmation.php?url=/Windows/uefi/firmware/1.0/NVIDIA_DisplayPort_Firmware_Updater_1.0-x64.exe&firmware=1&lang=us&type=Other

No.
 
If you don't want to go through Windows install again then you will need to clone all of the partitions from your HDD to your SSD. Many ways to do it, lots of software out there but IMHO the most newb friendly way is to use Marcium Reflect https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree. I am in no way affiliated with that company, I just find that piece of software handy and user friendly, has a free tier (which is enough for average users).They have step by step guides and video tutorials on their blog.
 
 
Since you are upgrading a laptop, easiest way would be to take out the HDD and then put that and the new SSD in a desktop to do the cloning. If you don't have a desktop then you will need to buy an external enclosure for your new SSD so that you can connect it to the laptop via USB, when you are done you can use that enclosure for the old HDD and use it as an external drive.

No, 70% isopropyl alcohol is ideal for use on your hands, and for disinfecting stuff - the water helps the alcohol enter cells of bacterias, viruses, microbes etc and break them apart.
 
You can use it as a solvent on electronic components, to clean them, but there can be residue left caused by various additives and perfumes companies may add to the mix... and that residue can be slightly conductive, which is not good if it's gonna stick to the circuit board.
 
So if you want 97% or better for electronic use, ideally 99.7% or better.  You won't see 100% because isopropyl alcohol is hygroscopic, it absorbs humidity from air, and even from plastic containers it's in ... 
 
In the meantime, you could look for acetone ... or nail polish remover (but without perfumes and additives). Acetone is a bit stronger than isopropyl alcohol, it's very good solvent, just avoid wiping plastic sleeves, or areas with printed text (it's solvent enough that the paint / ink of printed text could be smudged) ... if you don't care about that, then you can use it anywhere.
 
Here's an example: https://www.amazon.com/Acetone-Nail-Polish-Remover-Ounce/dp/B014FPMOZY/
 
You may find it in pharmacies or beauty / women sections.
 
Oh and as it's a bit stronger solvent, if you use it for a long time, try to open the windows a bit after you use it or ventilate your room ... the fumes can make you dizzy and they're not good for you ...
 
 

Tempered glass is fine. Image quality is hardly affected, at least on the ones I've used, and they come in packs of like 3+ so you just swap them if they chip or crack. I don't know what kind of phone you had, but Gorilla Glass is generally pretty tough but in the end, as a bald Youtuber always says, glass is glass and glass breaks. Save your money, don't spend more than $10 on a pack of tempered protectors.
 
As a side note, you could a film protector instead, those won't chip and they handle scratches pretty well. They also provide a buffer, transferring shock to the screen glass in a reduced state. I used to use them and found them pretty good all around. So there's that.

*cries into diploma* 😭

It will boost by itself to around 1300MHz but settle in around 900MHz for most titles I play, and the highest real world temps I've seen hover around 65C with the GPU usage at 99% for a couple games. So I'm pretty satisfied with what it can do, and frankly with the market the way it is I don't wanna push her anymore than I have to, hence my concern with the high idle clocks. I understand needing a bit more horsepower to drive more displays, but I guess I wasn't prepared for the uptick. I'm just afraid that those clocks might 'wear' down the card faster? Maybe? I don't know, I'm ignorant on this matter.
 
Yeah I'm not into OC, don't wanna touch it frankly at this stage with its age and the market so volatile. And honestly I want my clocks to come down if anything, especially at idle. But as you mentioned previously, looks like that ain't going to happen.
 
I'll leave this thread up for a little bit in case anyone else has other ideas on what I can do, or if it's not really harming the card I can just deal with it for as long as the card will chug along. Thanks all.

Core should idle down to 135Mhz and Mem to 405Mhz (as reported by msi afterburner). There are reasons why it wouldn't clock down fully but somewhere midway if you use multiple monitors and lets say one is 60Hz and another is 144Hz, or some similar odd mismatch in refresh.

Try just one connected at 60Hz to test I guess.

that is normal. 3500mhz is 7000mhz effective
2x3500mhz is 7000mhz.
GPUZ will show your VRAM at 1750mhz. 4x1750=7000
 
It depedns on the software you use