TheWitt

Budget (including currency): Money to spend. USD Country: USA Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Upcoming Starfield, Valorant, Diablo IV...I basically buy and play most mainstream games. Other details: Motherboard: "MPG X570 GAMING PLUS" with latest BIOS installed CPU: Ryzen 5 3600 w/stock cooler (Thermals have been healthy even under load, but this is my bottleneck) GPU: EVGA FTW3 ULTRA GAMING GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB Video Card PSU: Corsair RM750x 750W 80+ RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB (2x16GB) DDR4 3600 Storage: Crucial MX500 500GB, WD Black SN850X 1TB, Samsung 980 Pro 2TB Case: NZXT H710 ATX Mid Tower Case Cooling: Stock fans + (3) Noctua NF-S12B REDUX-1200 PWM fans Peripherals: G Pro Mouse, Ducky One2 Mini Keyboard, WH-1000XM4 headphones, Shure MV7 XLR microphone, EVO 4 preamp, Elgato Streamdeck + I tried to upgrade my PC about 1 1/2 years ago during covid and had the budget to better everything but the CPU. I am now running into MAJOR issues with my CPU just not handling my workload. Should I upgrade to the Ryzen 5950x and stay AM4 OR should I upgrade to current gen AM5 and have the ability to stay up-to-date with products. The benefit of the former is that I only need to buy another CPU + cooler, since anything higher than my 3600 would need aftermarket cooling. However, I would HAVE to upgrade Motherboard, RAM, and CPU next time I want to upgrade. The benefit of the latter is that I become up-to-speed NOW and can upgrade easily later IF I desire. Does the Ryzen 5950x still hold up well enough to justify spending that money now, or should I just try to sell and rebuild everything up with current gen AMD parts?

I am currently working with a decent 240Hz TN panel for my more competitive games. However, the colors are extremely flat and underwealming. I am looking for a second monitor in general, but I would like to have the option to use the second monitor for less competitive scenarios than CS:GO/Valorant games. Stuff more like Horizon Zero Dawn and No Man's Sky where something like the ASUS ProArt line (https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-PA278QV-DisplayPort-Anti-Glare-Adjustable/dp/B09HDFLGKZ?th=1) would show off the stunning vistas and stronger blacks. My question is if there are any known issues with ProArt line for casual gameplay and media consumption, or if there are other options that would be worthy of a look? Thanks!

Allow me to preface this post with my current build. CPU (Ryzen 5 3600) CPU Fan (Stock) Motherboard (MSI Performance Gaming Micro-ATX Motherboard (B450M Gaming Plus) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F7WQDZJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 RAM ((2x16) Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3600MHz C18) Storage ((2x500Gb) Samsung SATA III 860 Pro) GPU (Nvidia GTX1060 6Gb) Case (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PDDMN6S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)) Monitor Acer XF250Q (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G3GRFSZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) I am looking at upgrading my motherboard from this B450M to a one with more bells and wistles. Specifics of what I am looking for is one with preferably Wifi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 and greater. I have a VR headset that desperately needs a bluetooth connection for my Sony XM4's to take the cordless VR experience up to the max. My build, as you can see, is going on three years old. Likewise, it wasn't anything crazy...rather middle of the pack actually. I have been out of the tech news stream for a bit now, so I am looking for motherboard recommendations. I don't want to simply search google for "bluetooth 5.2 and Wifi 6 AMD motherboards" and buy the first one that meets the criteria not knowing if it's actually terrible or great. I would prefer I be led to the slaughter by you, the more tech savy person.

I, like thousands of other college students, got sent home with the corona pandemic. However, I am going from fiber optic at college to a pathetic 15mbps down and 1.5 up. My sisters stream videos a ton, which honestly wasn't an issue if they turned down their quality. However, Disney Plus has no option to control quality - it uses the highest quality possible, which is stupid considering how data caps in households are a thing still. Anyways, I am going to get a new router that has dynamic QoS, but I'm tentative in jumping on one, because I keep hearing customers saying that the QoS doesn't actually work in certain scenarios. I came across the NightHawk XR500's method of control, which sounds perfect except for the massive price tag. Here is the video for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzPWRTMgZM0 Do you guys know of a router that would offer the ability to assign priority to my device's data and throttle back other devices bandwidth to combat the data-guzzling application that is Disney Plus? My budget would realistically be upwards of $150, but I could stretch it a bit more if that meant have a much less stressed next 5 months till school starts up again. Thanks,

I have a build that I am simply upgrading from an i3-8100 with one of the super cheap H310M motherboards to an MSI B450M Gaming Plus and a Ryzen 5 3600. I have an EVGA 1060 6GB GPU, 16GB of RAM, an 80+ Bronze 450w PSU, and a typical samsung 850 500GB SSD. Like I said, I am just moving these parts from one motherboard to another and upgrading the CPU. Where I currently stand, the motherboard has been flashed to the latest version of its MS-7B87 BIOS with a newly formatted FAT32 16GB thumb drive with the file being renamed to MSI.ROM as stated in the manual. When I press the power button, the CPU fan, the two case fans, and the GPU fan turns on and stays on - except that the GPU fan turns off and on. The problem is that I cannot get the monitor to receive signal. When I plug in things such as my mouse, they power up. The EZ Debug light begins on the CPU and then quickly turns off before it switches to the VGA for a few moments longer in length. After that, it settles on the BOOT LED and stays on. What recommendations do you have? EDIT: I powered it off and on again and this time the LEDs cycled through the CPU, VGA, BOOT options three or four times before turning off entirely. However, the problem still persists. No signal to my monitor, which I have tested on another machine and have verified that the monitor and its cords are working normally.

Yeah, I am aware that the MAX variant is coming. However, I am competing in a $1500 tournament at the end of August and I cannot wait an unknown amount of time to get a motherboard that simply has a nice looking GUI. Given that you are with many others I've read - being that its only a few that are having Bios flashing issues, I'll go ahead and get the tomahawk then.

Considered...However, I don't quite have that budget. Went and got a Ducky One 2 keyboard.

That's a good point. I forgot that it was an MSI feature to be able to flash the BIOS updates without an older ryzen chip.

I purchased the Ryzen 5 3600 chip to replace my i3-8100, which should be a phenomenal upgrade in performance. However, I have not yet ordered my motherboard. I was looking at the MSI B450's for their price point and the fact that they are supposed to be compatible. However, I am seeing all over the MSI forums that the MSI B450s are having a very difficult time posting. From what I've gathered, the 16mb of storage for the BIOS is not enough for the new Zen 2 BIOS updates AND the GUI so they are stripping that down to make room. My question is whether it is just the MSI motherboards that are the issue or if others such as ASUS are functioning fine. If they are, should I go with them now or stick it out with MSI until they get this issue resolved since MSI seems to have the best B450 MBs on the market. Thanks,

Alright, sounds good. I was just asking about the motherboard i should snag. Thank you!

What would be a good motherboard to pair with that. I don't care for RGB and I don't really have anything that NEEDS stuff like thunderbolt 3 (especially since that is an intel product and won't be in AMD things quite yet).

I would probably sell the friend the motherboard for the same $50. Just save him shipping. At that point I would be willing to pour in a little extra. I could do like $300-330 I'd say. If something is really worth a few more dollars from there I'd consider.

I am also able to sell the motherboard to a friend and upgrade if I so desire. He is building a budget cpu and could use the savings wherever possible. Same guy I am selling the cpu chip to.

I got a dirt cheap one for budget reasons. → https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CMFZ51Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I already have a tower with an i3-8100, 16GB of memory, and 1060 6GB. The GPU is working great. The problem is my CPU cannot keep up with my workload. I am attempting to play games such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Fortnite, Halo Reach, BLOPs 4, etc.., stream, and have applications such as spotify and simple word documents up. My old laptop had the 1060 6GB, 16GB RAM, and an i7-6700HQ and that handled my workload well. Is there something comparable or better that I can invest in? I am selling my 8100 for about 80 to a friend, which I think is fair. What is a cpu chip that I should strongly consider. I've got about $250 dollars budgeted for it.

Bump - Finals week and computer does not work....

I purchased a MSI GS63VR during Amazon Prime day this summer and it's been great until about two weeks ago. Long story short, I have noticed that the laptop randomly "disconnects" from the adapter when the adapter is still completely plugged in. This started as rather infrequent in occurrence, but that quickly changed. Fast forward to the last 3 days, the computer has been a nightmare to deal with. I now have to situate the cord in such a way so that the laptop recognizes it and charges. Any bump at all and that connection is lost. I have tried to find different methods for a temp fix, such as propping the cord or having some simple tape hold it in place. However, even that no longer works. I few things I have noticed are:* The port seems loose. When I plug it in, I can move it up and down - when I lift the adapter up the connection is recognized and when I lower it down the connection is lost* The adapter and the charging port get VERY hot - which makes me believe that there is a bad connection some how between the two, which is causing an increase in the resistance in the connection and that creates more heat. * No visible damage is present on either the port or the cord throughout - again, it's only a semester old and I take good care of my devices.This leads me to believe that the problem does not lie in the cord but in the motherboard D/C female port. This has somehow become loose and no longer charges properly. The port looks something like the following: http://www.dcincable.com/msi-ms1757-ge702oc20c-ge702od20d-ge702oe20e-series-power-jack-connector-charging-plug-port-dc-in-cable-input-harness-wire-p-6389.html I am asking if this hypothesis is correct and what I can have done about it. It is still under warranty, so I will very likely have them do it, but they say that it will take upwards of a month before I get my computer back. As a college student, this is worrisome with classes resuming in 3-ish weeks. Also, would it be possible to request them fix multiple other minor issues when I send it in (the plastic clips holding the laptop back exhaust plate are nearly completely broken off and it can fall off with a simple lift with the finger.) Thanks,

All I am trying to do is find something like this switch in the image but have it so that the input is coming from 1 source and the output is going to three different sources at the same time. This switch is the other way around and only one of the three is outputting to the linked device. That is all.

The stereo the dvd player and the subwoofer all have inputs and the dvd player and the stereo have outputs but I am struggling to get them to output sound when I am also inputting sound to the same machine which was why I was asking if there was something available that could take the output of a device such as my laptop and then split it into three separate RCA AV inputs at the same time without having three long cords from different locations running into a crappy 3.5mm audio jack 3-way splitter. I found a "switch" that took the inputs of three different RCA AV devices and output it to one other device such as a tv or a laptop, but that would only output one device at a time, which is the complete opposite of what I am striving for. Hope that makes sense.

The stereo has "Rec" as the output, but I cannot get it to output to another device for some reason and I cannot find the exact manual for my stereo no matter how hard I try so I am not sure what is the matter. I do not see any "press this button to activate recording" or anything like that to toggle the output and it doesn't appear to be doing it automatically either. I will take another look. As for what I am doing right now, I am using three separate RCA to headphone jack adapters that are all 13ft because of where everything is situated and they all have to run through a crappy 3-way 3.5mm audio jack splitter that greatly decreases the sound output and clarity because of the fact that it has to split up the original sound three times. I am trying to find out if it is possible to get something that can connect all three of my "things" and then run just one cable to my desired input device such as a computer via an hdmi or usb since they are in digital format and thus not affected by "noise" the same as analog is. I can see why you mentioned just running everything through the stereo, but from what I can see is that there is only one L/R input and one L/R output for whatever setting I am set at (vid 1, vid 2, cd, tape, etc...) so I would only be able to plug in one of the two other devices I am using to power the sound. If there is a way to run things through just the stereo than I am happy to do so, but my initial testing hasn't been fruitful.

The systems are a tx-800 stereo system, a dvd player, and a subwoofer. All three use RCA AV input/outputs.

I have a few systems that I would love to link together, but they are all old enough that they do not have aux/usb inputs. The only inputs they have is RCA inputs. I am trying to figure out the best way to connect them all to one other device, such as a laptop, to play music through. However, this means that I have to (at the moment) use three different RCA to 3.5mm headphone jack adapters and then have my signal split thrice by a junky 3-way 3.5mm splitter. There has to be a better way to do this. Is there anything that can have three (at least) rca output connections on one end and a usb/hdmi/3.5mm jack input on the other end. I've seen these AV RCA Switches that can switch the input, but that is not what I want. I want something that does the opposite of that. This image is of a switcher that takes multiple AV RCA inputs (I want outputs) and then has the output on the other side (I want input on the other side and if it has to be usb to power it then fine) Sorry if this is confusing. I hate old technology sometimes.

So, I purchased a used Panasonic SA-HT700 from our thrift store. Everything appears to be in good condition. The bass and the speakers all work when I am playing DVDs. However, when I try to play music from another device through the stereo audio inputs, only the bass and the front speakers work, which makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, I am not looking for perfect sense. I am looking for a possible workaround to get the entire 5.1 setup to work when playing through the AV Inputs. Is there any possible solution? I hope my situation and question makes sense.

Are the 256 and 512 also m.2? The website wasn't clear on that. They make it look like only the 1TB is in the m.2 version.

I am buying my college computer soon and, from what I am seeing on the market, I am most liking the new Razer Blade With QHD+ and Touchscreen, but my budget does not allow me to purchase the 1TB version, which is what I really want. The main reason I want the QHD is for the touchscreen, but would it be better if I purchase the Full HD version and then purchase something such as the Neonode Airbar when the 14" version becomes available. Also, because I have a bit of a budget restriction (about $2,000), I am wondering if the SSD in the 256GB or 512GB versions are M.2 or standard SSD sizes and, if they are not, if it is possible to upgrade the internal storage by adding an M.2 SSD later on -- assuming the M.2 slot is still available?