Wohaaa

if the power supply worked and passed the paperclip test then it might've just been a bad socket. you could try a socket tester or plugging something else in there (while being careful). the circuitry in the rest of the system doesnt cause a breaker to trip because all that depends on the power supply's DC conversion, and the power supply is the thing that would cause a load on the wall.

To check if the power supply works you have to do the paperclip test. Though be careful with that since I can't remember if current actually flows through that paperclip. I'm on mobile right now so can't link it, but you can google it. If the fans spin fine then it's not the power supply but if not then it's the power supply.

Is it still able to boost (I think intel calls it Turbo) to the frequency its rated at? Which is 4.9 GHz for the P cores and 3.6 GHz for the E cores That's really the only concern. An app like HWMonitor and also Task Manager show that frequency, so if it hits those numbers or approaches them, then all my concerns are gone and I can save a hundred dollars for him. This is the info I'm unable to find on the internet, and you'd be helping tremendously if you could test this

I can try that, though those are really just sidegrades. I'm still just trying to figure out if a B660 board is fine for a 13600k because if so I can save at least a hundred dollars. And I also wanted to ask here to see if there's just anything else that's useful to know about

I'm recommending a build to a friend, already had a lengthy discussion on his requirements, what he does, how long he wants to use it for, etc. He wants to make sure the build is perfect, and he'll be making the purchase over this weekend because of Black Friday sales. I put together two build configs, just wanna ask if there's any improvements that can be had without budget being affected too much. Budget (including currency): 1500 Canadian Dollars (He's willing to spend more if it's worth it but it's gonna be more difficult to. 1600 was the most he could stretch) Country: Canada Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Triple A Games, Video Editing, A lot of Blender, Programming Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): Existing parts lists given below, upgrading from a laptop, no on the peripherals it's just the desktop, buying over this weekend with black friday, uses a 4k monitor and isn't competetive. Just wants a good singlelpayer gaming experience and powerful everyday machine. Here's the first list, I dubbed it "Big Beefy Boi" https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/7WHDFg Here's the second list, I dubbed it "The little guy" https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/6s9QY9 The costs is apparently volatile, there was a Corsair RM850x (2021) on there for 140 CAD, which jumped to 180 when I woke up today. He's asleep or occupied as of typing this, he did say he wants to add hard drives in the future. The mini-itx build only allows one hard drive. So that second build might end up being non-practical depending on his answer when he's able to tell me. On pcpartpicker the closest NVidia offering was an RTX 3060 for 480 CAD, which might have better features like an NVENC encoder and also be great for RTX titles and also be incredibly good at Blender because of Optix (I use blender too hence why I know the guy), but he told me he wants the better option for Triple A gaming, which is why this was the card of choice after watching some benchmarks. It gets much better fps. He wants wifi. Portability isn't a concern, the mini-itx build only exists because the Z690 board was cheaper than the closest ATX option that also had wifi (at least on pcpartpicker). I'm also unaware of whether or not it's ok to pair an i5 13600k with a B660 or H670 board. Youtube videos do tell differences in features and USB slots and PCIE lanes and stuff but I wasn't able to find one which properly benchmarks the 13600k. He's not gonna do any form of overclocking, it'll just boost on its own. But I haven't worked with Intel's latest stuff so I have no clue whether or not they're paywalling a Z series board. Again. So really just wanna ask for any possible improvements, and also wanna know if a 13600k can be paired with an H670 or B660 board. Technically yes, but how much of a compromise is there? Because if there isn't a major compromise then a B660 board or H670 board with wifi would be plenty.

@Caroline @RollyShed @An0maly_76 @Guest 5150 @wanderingfool2 @Needfuldoer @Rusty Proto @Imbadatnames @mr moose @Kizoto @InstantNewt @kenblu24 I'm sorry to tag you all like this I just wanted to give an update (I hope I typed the names correctly and that it's not against the rules? If it is I apologize) I bought the outlet tester, it took a few days to arrive. It didn't have a manual so I went online and saw a video that explained in detail what it is, how to use it, and how it works. Found one for the exact model I had. So turns out, that outlet that was giving me buzzing on the metal cover of my laptop, despite having a grounding wire inside of it, did not have an actual grounding connection. And the other socket in my room does in fact have a grounding connection. So I've rearranged my room (that took a while...) so that my setup uses the outlet that does have the grounding on it, there's no more buzzing in any way. Thank you so much for all your help, I don't know if there's a way to close the forum or anything but further replies aren't needed, and I'll mark the reply that suggested an outlet tester as the correct answer because MY GOD, this thing is so useful. I never knew how much I needed this. Have a nice day/night/timezone!

Ok I've found one from a very reputable electric equipment company, it's been ordered and is expected to arrive within the next few days. Then we'll have our answers and I'll tag everyone the results if they're worth sharing. I'm very very sure that the previous outlet just didn't have grounding and this one does, we'll know soon. Thank you so much for your replies and help.

ill see if i can find these. wasn't saying stuff cuz i was busy with uni admissions so, sorry for the silence everyone

The 12600 has zero e cores, while the 12600k has 4 of them. So unless you get that and a z690 board you're better off with the 12400f and the 3060 ti. The point I just wanted to make was that the 3060 is still a very powerful card, and going with it is not that bad if you do need to reduce your spending, but that's it. If you want to stick to the 3060 ti, and can afford it, then go with it, it's better. The reality is the 3060 ti is an overall better value and very very close to the RTX 3070, especially in productivity. It's definitely gonna last you longer than the regular 3060.

If it's only for 1080p and you won't be getting a better monitor in the future then you can easily cut down to an RTX 3060, it's not as strong as the 3060 Ti but it's about as strong as a 2080 super, so it can definitely run games at high or max settings at 1080p with ease, and also has more VRAM so definitely future proof. I don't know the cost of it for where you are though. The only reason at 1080p a card like a 3060 Ti or stronger would be better if you were a competitive gamer (you play singleplayer so, that's definitely not it) or if you were gonna get a better monitor later. I wouldn't recommend cutting down on the motherboard because that basically is the determining factor of the future upgradability of a build, but if it's absolutely necessary to take as little money as possible, then sure.

Well there could be more than one problem then. One thing at a time, my sister's laptop also had the same thing where it wouldn't turn on if the battery was plugged in. So immediately bypassing that and plugging it into the wall you run into another issue where it turns off as it loads into windows, hence why I theorised a faulty install. It's uncommon but depending on the age of the laptop it could definitely be more than one issue, especially if the battery being faulty caused something else to go wrong. The only way to know would be fair testing. If I were you I'd try another boot drive with the battery unplugged and the laptop running off the wall to see if I can log into windows. If so then I'd try again with the original drive, if that one fails it means there's a drive issue. Then I'd try that new drive with the battery plugged in (but do be careful as, if the battery is faulty it could affect this new drive as well). It's all about fair testing and narrowing down the problem using fair tests

Yeah all of them are like this. Again he basically fired the electrician halfway through his work so, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. The higher class education is extremely expensive and people don't bother with it. It's a very big gap. Yes it is a former EIC territory but, fine, if it helps to actually solve this issue, Pakistan. My dad does intend to have solar hooked up within the next couple of months because of extreme electricity costs and heat in the summer, and I'm assuming the people that work on those things are significantly more capable because a solar solution is quite expensive, so I could maybe ask them about the overall situation, or just hire someone else who's actually properly qualified and knows what they're doing without being difficult to work with. But again, they're rare to come across, or expensive, if not both. So until now after back and forth discussion with everyone the conclusion has been: Yes it can be dangerous, not necessarily for the device but for the user, and this kind of thing is not to be taken lightly, even if I've been using computers and all forms of electronics completely fine for over a decade, And that there's flaws in the electricity running in my house because testing another socket had zero buzzing, while the one I use daily which my setup is on does give buzzing. Other sockets have yet to be tested whenever is convenient for me but the solution to all this is, The grounding is (most probably) incomplete and someone (actually qualified) has to figure out the mess and finish the job.

If you mean last a long time as in you don't wanna upgrade or spend more on it, this is a very solid build and for both production work and gaming it's gonna last at least 5-6 years. The only time a machine gets outdated is when it can't provide a good experience. Heck I still use 11 year old hardware for budget system 1080p gaming today. If however you mean last a long time as in, you still want to have the option of upgrading down the line, then this build isn't very good for that, or well not yet at least. It might be possible to upgrade to 13th gen but we don't know yet, and it's also DDR4. If upgradability is what you're after you'll wanna wait until 13th gen and Ryzen 7000's releases so we have more info. It's a beast of a computer and could easily last 10 years assuming 4k doesn't become the standard for resolutions in that time, just that the upgradability of it isn't that much, but to be honest by the time you even need an upgrade you'll have enough for a full system so, don't let it hold you back from the purchase, I just wanted to inform you of it.

Ok I was absolutely not expecting this to work since I expected all the outlets to be wired the same. I definitely should have tested this sooner I guess but it was a hassle to try, but all the concerns raised made it clear that it was not something to take for granted. Anyways, same room, different outlet, same experiments as on the first post. But there's zero buzzing, no matter if the switch is on or off. Putting it back in the original outlet brought the buzzing back and it was the same pattern as on the first post. No other power brick supports this machine. Just say Woha, I did 3 a's because it was taken lmao. Anyways yeah the wiring requirements are indeed quite relaxed. Or well maybe they're strict but just not followed or reinforced by people who are in charge. It's 230v AC 50hz, and the monthly bill does mention two things to measure from, one 3-P listing (So I assume, 3 phase?) and one regular listing. The thing is the house was built from scratch on a purchased plot of land from my dad, but man the stories he'd tell of the difficulties he had with the people he was working with. Apparently the contractor couldn't even read or write in English and yet was making millions off this business. Some of the house's wiring is incomplete because my dad was just so infuriated with them that he immediately cut ties with them because they did half assed jobs of everything, and today I guess I discovered that as the other outlet I just tested doesn't have buzzing, so I think that one's grounded but the one I've been using my laptop with is not. We have a full working dam for electricity production yet at the same time most of the electricians that exist here don't have a degree and are just self trained people. Most of the time it gets the job done but they're not the kind of people to go that extra mile for safety or following the manual. Or know English that well even. That's a third world country for you, and political international matters are the reason I'm not very comfortable with revealing it because I'm just not proud of the things my country has done and I'm embarrassed to say I'm a part of it, but that's another matter. For now, it'll ruin my setup and stuff I spent hours to establish but I think I'll go around testing different outlets to see if I get buzzing, to know how many of them are grounded or not, and not just with wiring. Because the one that does give the buzzing does have the wiring inside of it for grounding, and yet it still gave me buzzing.

Ok immediately from the thumbnail, we don't have those things. All we have is this, and a panel at the back of the house with a bunch of circuit breakers. I didn't realize other countries had such measures.