cpugeek21

Yep crystal clear, thanks for the long response! I've read a bit online and the consensus seems to be that Unifi wouldn't work very well with other manufacturers, so Unifi router --> Asus mesh node (in AP mode) --> Asus mesh node (wireless) in one VLAN wouldn't work very well. Would you agree with this assessment? If yes, would it be best to just bite the bullet and revamp the entire home network by going full Unifi? Buying something like the Dream Machine Pro (which includes a security gateway) as well as a couple of Unifi mesh APs? Yup, already studying for + about to take AWS SAA soon.

Hey all, I'm trying to break into cloud DevOps and I read that one of the best ways is to demonstrate my interest and expertise with a homelab. Work aside, I have also found homelabbing really fun and would like to explore this rabbit hole further. However, I realised that my home network's status quo is not ideal. Current Setup (Mesh Wifi provided by Asus ZenWifi AX6600; apparently does not support VLANs) After some research, I think a good setup to aim for would be this. Desired Setup Reasoning for the above setup: I'm torn between purchasing a second Internet connection (from the same ISP, using the same ONT) so that I can homelab without any worries of the current Internet going down, versus setting up VLANs. On the one hand, I know that I can set up a router using pfSense and create VLANs and connect it to the ONT. On the other hand, the setup above ensures that the main network always stays up and secure, with the tradeoff being an additional Internet connection bill per month (for my homelab network). The end goal would be to create an end-to-end homelab that I can use to demonstrate expertise, including but not limited to the following services / domains: - Firewall (probably pfSense) - Networking (setting up of route tables ,security groups) - Security (deploying a SIEM like Security Onion / Wazuh + OpenVPN / Cloudflare Tunnels) - Cloud (AWS --> ALB, EC2, S3...) - Docker (self-hosting some services like Plex on the servers, including a self-hosted Wordpress instance hosting my resume site) - Kubernetes (for orchestration of the Docker containers) - Terraform (to demonstrate expertise of cloud) - Ansible So here are some questions: Firstly (and most importantly), does my reasoning above look sound? Anything I should change? Anything I can improve? Firewall: should I just buy something like a mini PC (e.g. Beelink, 2nd hand Intel NUCs) and download an open-source router software like pfSense to start messing around with it? Or should I get a security gateway appliance with an actual firewall on it (like those Netgear security gateway appliances)? I was originally thinking of going with Unifi but I think those are usually used residentially and not in professional settings, so I'm a bit hesitant (from a build-up-my-own portfolio perspective). On the other hand, Unifi seems to be much easier to set up and troubleshoot. I believe many of their product also offer support for VLANs as well. Homelab servers: I currently do not have a single server on-hand. So far, I have been getting by with just a laptop that I turn on and off every single day to learn networking (i.e. no 24/7 uptime) and automation (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes, Ansible, Terraform etc.). So far, it is still going fine for learning purposes but it is a pain to have to restart the Docker containers every single day. I'm wondering if I should go the cloud route and just spin up some AWS EC2 instances (using Terraform) or I should bite the bullet and just purchase a couple of physical servers. This was a long post, so thanks everyone for your suggestion and advice in advance! Look forward to hearing from the kind folks in this community.

Hi thanks for attaching the links, really helpful! I think I should also clarify that I'm using normal earphones with the mic, so I don't have a separate mic input. I'm a little confused though. Seems like there's 2 methods to do it now. I can either: 1) Buy 2 extension cables (which support both mic and audio). Plug it into the green and the pink port on the back of my PC, and then plug in my audio cable splitter. 2) Buy just 1 extension cable (which supports both mic and audio). Plug the audio cable splitter to the green and pink ports on the back of my PC, and then plug in the extension cable to the audio cable splitter. May I know which solution you're suggesting? Or do both work?

I play games, which means that I usually want to have both mic and audio input. Since the ports at the back of the PC are split into green (audio) and pink (mic), I got a audio cable splitter. But after getting that, I realised that the cable isn't long enough. Would a 3.5mm extension wire (supporting both audio and mic) solve my issue? Or would it interfere and degrade the audio / mic output?

I currently have an Asus RT-AC66U B1, which is one of their mid-tier routers supporting Mesh Wifi. But the Wifi is horrendous at certain corners of my house, hence my need for Mesh wifi. I don't need balls-to-the-walls, but I also want a decent router. For reference, I can't receive a signal from my router 2 rooms away, with my current router having to pass through 2 concrete walls (if that helps). So my questions are as follows: 1) If I have an Asus router already, should I just dive into the Asus ecosystem and set up their proprietary Asus Mesh wifi system? Or are there better options out there? 2) If I do decide to get another Asus router, I'm not too sure on recommendations for a new primary router. I currently got my eyes on the RT-AC86U, which is the direct upgrade of the AC66U (I believe). Would this be an ideal pairing? I have done a bit of research, but networking is just a whole rabbit hole that takes hours to even scratch the surface, so I would really appreciate some help. Thanks!

Would like to ask if anyone with this configuration has any clearance issues? I don't have my computer on hand with me now, and pretty sure it will work since my RAM is low profile, but better to be safe than sorry.

I've tried numerous utilities to check SSD health and test for bad sectors, but they all show 100% health. So as per question, after a BSOD, computer does not detect my SSD, only the CD-ROM drive that I still keep in my computer. So to get around it, I have to force shut down using the power button. Only then does my SSD show up. Due to this force shut down, I believe that Windows is unable to record my BSOD log to the Event viewer. Hence, I can't find any information to proceed with troubleshooting. What can I do in this case?

I see... Got it. Again, understand that prices are different where you're from, but i guess we can do some cross-country relative comparison. What higher-end cooler would you recommend? Looking for air only though. I was actually thinking of noctua d15 but not sure if it would be overkill.

Interesting... Many ranking sites do crown it as the best budget air cooler though. The only thing that sucks is their am4 mounting upgrade kit is basically non-existent. I do have an older 212 lying around but can't use it. With that said, what other coolers would you recommend?

Just gave the Arctic fans a look, and wow they do look pretty good for the price point. Think I'll grab a couple of them. Thanks! With that being said, should I buy enough to complement my Fractal fans, or buy enough to complement them? This are the specs I got from the Fractal Design website regarding the included fans: Fractal Design Dynamic GP-14 fan @ 1000 RPM I don't have much experience with fans, but I'm guessing 1000RPM is pretty bad and can't push much air?

So, I have had a Fractal Design Define R5 for a couple years, and recently upgraded my components. However, my CPU crashed on me two times, and I realised that it's (most likely) because of my temps. They are bad, like really bad. AMD tends to run higher at idle, but I didn't expect CS:GO to push my temps to 90+ degree Celcius when I'm running 1280 x 960 stretched. Is this normal, considering the restrictive nature of airflow of the R5? So anyway, I made up my mind to get a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo for the air cooler. But I would like some recommendations for the fans and fan placement. I currently have the 2 included 140mm fans in the front and a 120mm Bitfenix fan from eons ago in the back. I'm thinking of doing a fan placement like this. 2 intake at the front (removing the HDD cages), 1 intake at the bottom (in front of the PSU) and 1 exhaust at the back, along with the CPU air cooler. I'm thinking of swapping the 2 front fans to put at the bottom and at the back, and then get 2 new ones for the front intake. Would this be recommended? Also, what fans would be appropriate? I have a feeling the answer is going to be the noctua a14s, but they seem to be a little expensive where I'm from, so I wonder if there are any comparable ones.

1) Fast Boot is disabled on my comp. 2) Sry, which article are you referring to? 3) Yup, I'll be getting a new aftermarket cooler, the cooler that comes with the 3600 seems to be barely adequate from online reviews anyway. 4) I see, I'll look into updating CS:GO too in that case. 5) I checked the BIOS version I had though, as well as the current BIOS version offered by Asrock. It's only 2 versions behind, and seems like there aren't any improvements offered by the more recent BIOS-es, so I really don't want to update the BIOS in case I brick the computer entirely. But I'll try to reinstall the OS and drivers and see how it goes. On that note though, ever since I stopped playing CS:GO since 2 days back and started monitoring my temps using Ryzen Master, I haven't been getting any BSODs, so fingers crossed.

Seems alright to me. In the meantime, like you mentioned, I'll replace the SATA cables. Anything else I should take note of?

I found the memory.dmp file, but does it make sense that the date modified is in 2019? Also, can I ask, what about 2 tells you that it's a problem with the mobo? Reason being, as I mentioned, I tried running CS:GO just now, and it went all the way up to 90+. This tells me that it's probably a lack of cooling from the 3600 included cooler that could be causing these issues. What do you think? I also installed Windbg to read the .dmp file, mind helping me take a look and tell me what to make of it? Microsoft (R) Windows Debugger Version 10.0.19041.685 X86 Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Loading Dump File [C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP] Kernel Bitmap Dump File: Kernel address space is available, User address space may not be available. ************* Path validation summary ************** Response Time (ms) Location Deferred SRV*C:\Windows\symbol_cache*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols Symbol search path is: SRV*C:\Windows\symbol_cache*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols Executable search path is: Windows 10 Kernel Version 18362 MP (4 procs) Free x64 Product: WinNt, suite: TerminalServer SingleUserTS Built by: 18362.1.amd64fre.19h1_release.190318-1202 Machine Name: Kernel base = 0xfffff802`76800000 PsLoadedModuleList = 0xfffff802`76c475b0 Debug session time: Wed Sep 25 15:19:20.862 2019 (UTC + 8:00) System Uptime: 1 days 0:41:51.542 Loading Kernel Symbols ............................................................... ..............................................................Page 103aa1 not present in the dump file. Type ".hh dbgerr004" for details .Page 11092e not present in the dump file. Type ".hh dbgerr004" for details . .Page cd7 not present in the dump file. Type ".hh dbgerr004" for details ..................................................... Loading User Symbols PEB is paged out (Peb.Ldr = 00000091`79fe2018). Type ".hh dbgerr001" for details Loading unloaded module list .................... For analysis of this file, run !analyze -v 0: kd> !analyze -v ******************************************************************************* * * * Bugcheck Analysis * * * ******************************************************************************* DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (d1) An attempt was made to access a pageable (or completely invalid) address at an interrupt request level (IRQL) that is too high. This is usually caused by drivers using improper addresses. If kernel debugger is available get stack backtrace. Arguments: Arg1: 0000000000000080, memory referenced Arg2: 0000000000000006, IRQL Arg3: 0000000000000000, value 0 = read operation, 1 = write operation Arg4: fffff8027e64c01e, address which referenced memory Debugging Details: ------------------ Page 103aa1 not present in the dump file. Type ".hh dbgerr004" for details Page 103aa1 not present in the dump file. Type ".hh dbgerr004" for details KEY_VALUES_STRING: 1 Key : Analysis.CPU.Sec Value: 3 Key : Analysis.DebugAnalysisProvider.CPP Value: Create: 8007007e on DESKTOP-U1A65V1 Key : Analysis.DebugData Value: CreateObject Key : Analysis.DebugModel Value: CreateObject Key : Analysis.Elapsed.Sec Value: 12 Key : Analysis.Memory.CommitPeak.Mb Value: 64 Key : Analysis.System Value: CreateObject BUGCHECK_CODE: d1 BUGCHECK_P1: 80 BUGCHECK_P2: 6 BUGCHECK_P3: 0 BUGCHECK_P4: fffff8027e64c01e READ_ADDRESS: 0000000000000080 BLACKBOXBSD: 1 (!blackboxbsd) BLACKBOXNTFS: 1 (!blackboxntfs) BLACKBOXPNP: 1 (!blackboxpnp) BLACKBOXWINLOGON: 1 PROCESS_NAME: svchost.exe TRAP_FRAME: fffff802796759b0 -- (.trap 0xfffff802796759b0) NOTE: The trap frame does not contain all registers. Some register values may be zeroed or incorrect. rax=0000000000000078 rbx=0000000000000000 rcx=0000000000000000 rdx=0000000000000000 rsi=0000000000000000 rdi=0000000000000000 rip=fffff8027e64c01e rsp=fffff80279675b40 rbp=fffff80279675bc9 r8=fffff8027e9fbc90 r9=fffff8027e9a62e8 r10=fffff8027ea13060 r11=00000000008c3c36 r12=0000000000000000 r13=0000000000000000 r14=0000000000000000 r15=0000000000000000 iopl=0 nv up ei ng nz na pe nc atikmdag+0x15c01e: fffff802`7e64c01e 488b4008 mov rax,qword ptr [rax+8] ds:00000000`00000080=???????????????? Resetting default scope STACK_TEXT: fffff802`79675868 fffff802`769d2ee9 : 00000000`0000000a 00000000`00000080 00000000`00000006 00000000`00000000 : nt!KeBugCheckEx fffff802`79675870 fffff802`769cf22b : 00000000`ffffffff 00000000`00000000 ffffca8f`8bbbd000 fffff802`7e55eee8 : nt!KiBugCheckDispatch+0x69 fffff802`796759b0 fffff802`7e64c01e : ffffca8f`8e9c30c0 00000000`00000001 00000000`00000286 fffff802`76907bba : nt!KiPageFault+0x46b fffff802`79675b40 fffff802`7e63cddd : ffffca8f`8e9be000 fffff802`79675bc9 00000000`00000000 ffffca8f`8e6af938 : atikmdag+0x15c01e fffff802`79675b70 fffff802`7e63d15d : 00001f8e`72f4d403 ffffca8f`8e9be000 ffffca8f`8e7fbef8 00000000`00000000 : atikmdag+0x14cddd fffff802`79675c30 fffff802`7e674c42 : 01d57371`8cd5f1e5 fffff802`79675d59 ffffca8f`8e6af8c0 fffff802`79675d59 : atikmdag+0x14d15d fffff802`79675c70 fffff802`7e5de3f1 : ffffca8f`8e886f80 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : atikmdag+0x184c42 fffff802`79675ca0 fffff802`7e5deced : ffffca8f`8e886f80 fffff802`79675d59 ffffca8f`8e7e9718 fffff802`76865edc : atikmdag+0xee3f1 fffff802`79675cd0 fffff802`7e5e3b67 : ffffca8f`8e7ba5b0 00000000`00000000 ffffca8f`8e7bf280 fffff802`00000000 : atikmdag+0xeeced fffff802`79675dc0 fffff802`7e5ead15 : ffffca8f`8e7bb000 00000000`ffffffff ffffdd80`2a0b0b00 ffffca8f`89cce840 : atikmdag+0xf3b67 fffff802`79675e10 fffff802`7e5dba3b : ffffca8f`8e7bb000 00000000`00000002 fffff802`79675ed0 fffff802`7a6ed214 : atikmdag+0xfad15 fffff802`79675e40 fffff802`7e535d61 : ffffca8f`8b5858c0 fffff802`7ace33a9 fffff802`00400a02 00000000`00000018 : atikmdag+0xeba3b fffff802`79675e70 fffff802`7a6ed246 : 00000000`00000000 ffffca8f`89cce840 00000000`00000010 ffffca8f`89e74000 : atikmdag+0x45d61 fffff802`79675ea0 fffff802`7a976c2e : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000020 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000072 : atikmpag+0xd246 fffff802`79675ed0 fffff802`769141f1 : ffffdd80`2a0b0b40 ffffca8f`8b57a9d0 ffffdd80`2a0b0bf0 fffff802`00000002 : dxgkrnl!DpiFdoMessageInterruptRoutine+0x11e fffff802`79675f10 fffff802`768029e5 : fffff802`7a976b10 00000000`00006101 fffff802`79675fc0 00000000`00000008 : nt!KiInterruptMessageDispatch+0x11 fffff802`79675f40 fffff802`769c28bf : ffff9987`3a9e9550 ffffdd80`2a0b0b40 ffffb687`d2dd5070 ffffdd80`2a0b0b40 : nt!KiCallInterruptServiceRoutine+0xa5 fffff802`79675f90 fffff802`769c2b87 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`3a9e9950 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000101 : nt!KiInterruptSubDispatch+0x11f ffff9987`3a9e94d0 fffff802`76de917a : ffffb687`d3106720 ffff9987`3a9e9780 00000000`00000000 ffffca8f`89a940c0 : nt!KiInterruptDispatch+0x37 ffff9987`3a9e9660 fffff802`76e1b94a : ffffca8f`8f27f0c0 ffff9987`3a9e9b80 ffffb687`d2dd50a0 ffff9987`00000002 : nt!ObpCreateHandle+0x6aa ffff9987`3a9e9890 fffff802`769d2918 : 00000000`000002e0 ffff9987`3a9e9b80 ffff9987`3a9e9b80 ffffca8f`94053e10 : nt!NtOpenProcessTokenEx+0x1fa ffff9987`3a9e9b00 00007ff8`35c3c6d4 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KiSystemServiceCopyEnd+0x28 00000091`7a37edb8 00000000`00000000 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : 0x00007ff8`35c3c6d4 SYMBOL_NAME: atikmdag+15c01e MODULE_NAME: atikmdag IMAGE_NAME: atikmdag.sys STACK_COMMAND: .thread ; .cxr ; kb BUCKET_ID_FUNC_OFFSET: 15c01e FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: AV_atikmdag!unknown_function OS_VERSION: 10.0.18362.1 BUILDLAB_STR: 19h1_release OSPLATFORM_TYPE: x64 OSNAME: Windows 10 FAILURE_ID_HASH: {0252e3ed-fc29-a2ca-0f7a-b32a5492113a} Followup: MachineOwner ---------

So I actually just upgraded my PC recently from Ivy Bridge to a 3600 and DDR4 ram etc... All's nice and dandy, but I've had 2 BSODs so far, both while playing CS:GO. There doesn't seem to be a pattern or fixed interval, it just happens. I'm also not sure if it's a CS:GO problem, or if it's because I spend so much time playing CS:GO that it just happens during CS:GO. Given that this is a new computer, I don't want to leave the BSODs hanging and would like to quickly RMA any faulty components as soon as possible. In fact, my GPU (which I didn't upgrade with the other components) has only 3 months of warranty left, so that's an issue. Problems encountered so far: 1) Computer sometimes flickers. Not a "screen goes off for 2 seconds and back on" kind of flicker, but rather like a "HDMI cable faulty" kind of flicker, if it makes any sense. Again, there is no fixed interval, and I don't think there's anything wrong with the HDMI cable. 2) During the 2 BSODs, computer very quickly shows the BSOD screen for like 2 seconds, but it doesn't even fill up the screen. So I can't tell what's going on. Then when it restarts and the AsRock startup screen turns up, it will then be followed by a "Reboot and select proper boot device" screen. So I actually tried going into BIOS straight during the second BSOD to select my boot device, and it seems that the SSD isn't even showing up in the boot order, until I do a forced restart (holding power button). This is obviously very bad for the components, which is another reason why I'm so worried about these BSODs. 3) As mentioned, I can't find the dump files anywhere. Tried downloading BlueScreenView after the first BSOD, but there have been no new entries in the viewer after the second BSOD. Tried going into Event Viewer as well, but it seems that the only error found by the system is me force shutting down the computer. Things to note: 1) I actually didn't do a clean reinstall of Windows after upgrading my components, and also just let the AMD software do its thing regarding upgrading of graphics drivers. Not sure if that could be a problem. 2) Some people are recommending playing CS:GO by disabling multicore rendering. I don't mind doing that, but it really makes no sense to me. That's like buying a Ferrari and running it at bicycle speeds. 3) I thought about testing individual components like doing Memtest for RAM etc., but not sure if that's necessary considering that these are all new components (except for the GPU and the SSD). But CrystalDiskInfo says that the SSD health is 100%. Not sure how I can test the GPU though. Would really appreciate any help, and please please do read through everything before replying to the thread EDIT: Ok, I decided to run the Ryzen Master software on a second monitor to monitor the temperatures while I was playing, and it seems like the temperature went up to around 90 at one point. The temperature limit is set to 95 in Ryzen Master, so I was wondering if that could be it. The moment I exited CS:GO, it went to a much more manageable 60 degrees. Just wondering if these are normal temperatures given that I'm using the Ryzen 3600 stock cooler, or my CPU has an issue.