fordy_rounds

Capitalization matters. Is it 300-400 Mb/s, or 300-400 MB/s? if the first, that's not great (45-50MB/s). If the second, that's pretty good. Also, how were you measuring the speed? I'm not familiar with Epic's optimizations, but is it possible that it was downloading at that speed into RAM, then saving it to HDD more slowly?

I think we need more info. What headset, what's the splitter look like (is it going from two jacks on the laptop to one for the headset, or two from the headset to one on the laptop?), is it color coded, etc. And are you even using the splitter? If you are using the splitter, have you made sure that you aren't mixing up which end is which? If not, have you made sure that your headset is plugged in all the way? TRRS connectors can be finicky.

I'm considering adding an SSD to my old laptop (which currently has a 500GB 5400RPM spinner). However, because drive sizes are weird, there's a possibility that I could get a 480GB SSD (though it's still up in the air, as it'll probably be a month or two before I buy). Which leads to my question: If I clone (so that I don't have to reinstall a few years' worth of various software), can I select certain partitions to clone, and leave others on the spinner? I have 3 major partitions (plus the little system partitions that Windows creates, and a swap partition for Linux): one for Windows, one for Linux, and one that is a shared storage partition. I'm thinking I'd clone the OS partitions, but leave the storage (and once I've verified the clone, expand the storage to take the whole HDD). Is this doable? Would it be ok that the target drive is smaller than the source, since I wouldn't be cloning the entire source? And what software would be best for doing this?

When it was made, you probably could have used it to watch TV on your PC. But it was built for analog TV; everything (at least in the US) has switched over to a digital signal, so, without a digital-to-analog converter box, the card won't be able to understand the signals it gets, it'll just be noise.

This might sound unrelated, but what are your system temps? Are they increasing over that time? I'm using a USB Wi-Fi dongle with my desktop right now, and I've found that when it gets hot it starts having problems. I'm thinking yours might have a similar problem.

This is pretty normal for 4-pin fan splitters. The pins are, in order: ground, 12V*, sense, and PWM. The sense pin is actually for your fan to send a signal back to the motherboard about how fast the fan is spinning. When your fan control software gives you an RPM, that's how it knows. However, because it's from the fan to the motherboard, it would be a problem if two fans tried to connect to it at the same time. They'd end up just giving garbage information to the MB. So, the splitter has it pinned through to what you might call a "master" fan; only this fan gets to report its RPM. The other fan(s) on the splitter don't get to report their speed, but they can still be controlled by PWM (which is connected to all the fans, on pin 4). Note, too, that I put an asterisk on the 12V pin. Some fans don't have a PWM connector; these have to be controlled by voltage control instead, which is that, rather than providing a steady 12V and controlling speed with a separate signal, the MB actually changes the voltage on the 12V line to be less than 12V in order to run at a slower speed. Note, though, that the fan can still send its RPM over pin 3 (unless it's on the disconnected side of a splitter). If you mix PWM (4-pin) and Voltage (3-pin) fans on a splitter, the 3-pin fans will run at full-blast all the time. That's not recommended.

The system is built, although there's still room for improvement (details after build pics). Here's all the parts I needed for this, except the case. (Also, I've been using the PSU already, so it's not new; I just included it here for thoroughness. That beautiful Ryzen CPU slotted into place. This is the best CPU I've ever owned, and I'm super excited about it. A single 8GB stick of T-Force Vulcan Z 3200MHz RAM. I plan to double (or more) this eventually, but this is all that fit in the budget at the moment. Also, using the stock cooler (subject to change, see my discussion of thermals later). Added the GPU to the bench build so I could make sure it all worked before installing into my case. It posted, and into the case it went. Beginning the install into my case, so the GPU had to come out (temporarily). And, the final build (pictured with side panel off to avoid reflections in the glass). It performs pretty well, and so far I've been pretty happy with it, though I haven't had a ton of time to play with it. However.... I installed Folding@Home. I set it to fold on High, and my CPU hit thermal limits. I set it to medium, and I was still well into the 90s. Even on Light, I get into the 80s. So yeah, that's gonna be a problem.... Right now, as you can see in the pics, I have only one case fan, set as an intake; since, on the old build, the GPU consistently got warmer than the CPU, I put it down low to blow fresh air toward the GPU. In this setup, I think (for the short term) I need to move it up to blow fresh air over the CPU (or change it to exhaust from the CPU area, though I like the idea of having it positive-pressured), as I think the problem is that the CPU cooler (in addition to being the stock cooler) is just recycling hot air around itself, so the air never gets a proper chance to cool down, resulting in quickly rising temps. The longer term solutions, of course, are to add case fans and upgrade the CPU cooler. I'm thinking of going with a liquid AIO, purely for aesthetic reasons. I don't like the look of most aftermarket air coolers, as they tend to be big and bulky; I just like how comparatively sleek and sexy liquid cooling can be, though I don't want the expense or trouble of going with a custom loop. On the other hand, they're also more expensive—though I can get a cheap AIO for about the cost of some decent fans and air cooler, and it includes the radiator fans (which would also act as the case's intake fans; this case only supports a front-mounted radiator, as there's just not enough clearance between the top and the MB). So, things to consider. Any advice or recommendations?

A quick Google of the full model number, "WD3200AAJS-56M0A0" shows, from multiple sources (all retailers, but it's a good sign that they all agree), that it's 7200RPM.

No new pictures (yet), but I still have an update. I got a KVM from work to ease WFH; it's got DisplayPort connections, though. It turns out that a DP->DVI/HDMI/VGA conversion is actually pretty straightforward, but DVI/HDMI->DP is really expensive (and also hard to find). That means that my GT 430, which only has DVI and mini-HDMI, isn't compatible with this switch. I can still switch my keyboard/mouse, but I have to push both the KVM switch and monitor buttons to switch completely, which is... inconvenient. But hey, the 1650S has a DP jack! Too bad I can't use it with this motherboard.... So, with this in mind, I took a look at Micro Center's website. The nearest MC is about an hour from me, so not close enough to just browse, but close enough to pick up an order. I had a budget of about $275, though I could flex it by about $10. Turns out, they were running a bundle with a R5 3600 (which comes with the Wraith Stealth cooler, which I'll use for the time being; I don't have budget for an aftermarket cooler right now) and Gigabyte B450M DS3H for about $250, tax included. I jumped on it. Their RAM selection wasn't great, though.... So I ordered an 8GB stick of Titan Z 3200MHz online for $30, and drove to MC this morning. I now own a modern-ish motherboard (I say -ish because it's B450, not B550) and CPU, and as soon as my RAM comes in the mail, I'll be able to build this thing! I'm so excited! And then I just have to get fans, and better peripherals. (I just got a brand new keyboard from work, so I might wait a while on that, but I want a nicer mouse than I could get from work, and a new monitor too, possibly a 1440p.)

You'll cover both of your x1 slots, but other than that, I don't see why not.

That's likely because they require the full shutdown, rather than the partial shutdown. You can disable fast boot to get them install each time, but then you slow down your normal boot time. I recently upgraded an old desktop to a sata SSD. Even though it's still limited to Sata 2 (300 Mbps) by the MB, it's amazing how much of a difference it made to the speed, both on boot and in general use. If you go with sata, there's no reason to wait for the next desktop. SATA SSDs are plug-and-play replacements (with either an OS re-install or a drive clone) for SATA hard drives, in both desktops and laptops (with the caveat that some old desktops only have 3.5" mounts, so you might need some double-stick tape to mount it). I highly recommend it.

This. If you do Shut Down then power on, you get fast boot. If you use Windows' Restart option, you don't get fast boot. This is by design. Shut Down (unless you change it) saves its state, similar to hibernating/sleep, so that it can power on again quickly without having to complete reload the OS. Restart doesn't, because it's often used as part of troubleshooting, driver installs, or (in a multi-boot setup) OS switching, where a saved state can be a problem. OP hasn't said how they're measuring/timing their boot times, so this might not be the entire difference, but it's a good start. And really, 18 seconds isn't terrible. I've had computers (thanks to crappy HDDs) take minutes to boot.

AFAIK, almost every B450 and B550 motherboard, including mATX and mITX boards, has at least one M.2 NVME slot. Some of the mATXs even have 2. Here's a list to start from: https://in.pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#X=0,1400000&s=33&c=133,145&f=7,8&E=1,5

Doesn't look like there's a ton of ventilation, but otherwise yes. That appears to be an ATX MB (though I could be wrong), so it can probably be easily replaced. PSU mounts up top, HDDs in their little cage on the right, the 5.25" bays are wasted space, and I recommend an M.2 SSD since there's nowhere to put a 2.5".... But yes, most likely.

It's not a cable, just a coupler, but could something like this work for what you want?

I'm using the Silverstone PS15 right now. It's got a mesh front and top, with a separate bottom intake for the PSU. Fits 3x2.5" drives and one either 2.5 or 3.5 (though I'm using that space as a cable basement instead of a drive bay). Has a tempered glass side panel, and comes in black or white. https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Micro-ATX-Computer-PS15B-G/dp/B07N1HL5PR/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=ps15&qid=1596666679&sr=8-4 (comes only with a rear exhaust fan) or https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-SST-PS15B-RGB-Micro-ATX-PS15B-RGB/dp/B07SNFQVYS/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=ps15&qid=1596666719&sr=8-2 (with extra (RGB) fans).

Good luck with this. The USB standard only allows one device to be host at a time. A hub that supports two hosts would be out of standard, and could lead to all sorts of collisions and possibly data corruption. I don't recommend this. The right solution here, as suggested by @Windows7ge, is to connect the HDD to just one computer, then share it over the network. It might run slower on the secondary PC, though, so be aware of that (especially if you are wirelessly networked). On the other hand, if it's spinning disk, it's likely to be slower than your LAN speeds anyway....

Yeah, the 570 isn't going to handle 4K well. It's not about the VRAM (8GB is plenty), it's about the GPU itself. As stated above, 4K has 9x the pixels of 720p. That means that your GPU has to do somewhere around 9 times the work to generate everything. If it's not up to the challenge, of course it's going to slow down. You need a card with a better GPU (e.g. AMD 5700XT, Nvidia 2070 or better); if it has more VRAM that's a bonus, but you don't need it. A short term solution is to run your games at 1080p. But then you're not using the full potential of the screen, so I don't recommend that in the long run (because it means you overbought on your screen).

That probably depends on which pins and, if they are bent, how much (i.e. is it enough to short pins together). For example, there are lots of ground pins; if one of them is gone, it's no big deal, it can ground elsewhere. But if you're missing a data pin, or shorting pins together, you could be SOL.

Well, the GT 430 came in Saturday. I got it plugged in, installed drivers, and it works! This is, despite being a card from 2010, light-years ahead of the integrated graphics. I'm very happy with it. Some pics: Started out by re-casing the motherboard, since I already had the PSU cables loosely run through the PS15. Unboxing the 1650 Super. And installed. Too bad it wasn't compatible. The $15 GT 430. The two cards, for comparison. Styles sure have changed. Finally, the working GT 430 installed. This is how things are going to stay for a little while. The cable management is messy; I can't plug in the USB 3 cable into this motherboard, since there's no header for it, and I don't want to zip tie all the cables into place until I have my final parts, in case header locations are different. I ran Civilization 5 on medium-high settings, and got about 31FPS in normal mode. (By comparison, I was getting 20 in strategic mode and 1ish on normal mode, all on lowest settings, on the integrated carp.) I ran Civ 6 on lowest settings (I'm technically a little under spec for CPU, GPU, and system RAM) and got 30FPS. I ran Hue (admittedly not a graphically intense game, but an interesting little platformer) and got over 100FPS (though anything over 59 is overkill, since my monitor's refresh rate is 59Hz...). I'm really happy with this, and can't wait to see how the much better, much more modern 1650 Super will do. About that.... I planned to return the 1650 Super and use the money to get my next motherboard, RAM, and CPU, which I would then use with the 430 for a few months until I could afford the better GPU again. Unfortunately, between restocking fees and shipping, I realized I'd lose about $45 if I did so. I decided that wasn't worth it, so it's going to sit on my shelf for a few months. I went ahead and submitted for a rebate on it, so that decision is irreversible.

PCPartPicker Part List Type Item Price CPU AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor $99.99 @ Amazon Motherboard Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard $72.99 @ Best Buy Memory Kingston HyperX Fury 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 CL16 Memory Storage Seagate Barracuda Compute 1 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive $47.99 @ Amazon Case NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case $69.99 @ Best Buy Power Supply Thermaltake Smart 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply $50.99 @ B&H Custom Wigbow 1 Pack - 2 Grams Thermal Compound Paste, Carbon Based High Performance heatsink Paste, Thermal Compound CPU for all Cooler computer PC Fan $6.99 @ Amazon Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts Total $348.94 Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-27 15:23 EDT-0400 Converted it to PCPP on behalf of OP. OP: I wouldn't call these good parts, but they're not terrible. Within a $450 budget still, here's what I'd do: PCPartPicker Part List Type Item Price CPU AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor $149.88 @ Amazon Motherboard Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard $72.99 @ Best Buy Memory G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2666 CL15 Memory $37.99 @ Newegg Storage Silicon Power A55 512 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive $48.99 @ Amazon Case NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case $69.99 @ Best Buy Power Supply Thermaltake Smart 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply $50.99 @ B&H Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts Total $430.83 Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-27 15:27 EDT-0400 Changes I made: I upgraded you from the 3200G (4C4T, Vega 8 graphics) to the 3400G (4C8T, Vega 11 graphics) for better performance. I kept your RAM at 8G, but swapped a single channel to stick to a pair for faster dual-channel use. I dropped your storage down to a half-terabyte (still plenty for your stated use case) but upgraded it to SSD. As a person who recently bought their first SSD, I can tell you, it makes a world of a difference. Nobody should have their boot drive on spinning disk in 2020. If you still want a terabyte, you can add another half-terabyte of HDD for around $25. I got rid of the thermal paste completely. You don't need it. The 3400G's stock cooler (and pretty much all stock coolers) comes with thermal paste pre-applied, and it's plenty, you don't need more. If you buy another cooler later on, consider getting some at that point (but first make sure the cooler doesn't come with it pre-applied. No sense spending money you don't need to.)

It should be, though I don't recommend overclocking with it. But for stock settings, 4-pin is just fine. Just be sure to check the MB manual for where to connect it. Some are picky about which part of the 8-pin connector gets used for 4-pin.

Well, not content to just wait it out a few more months, I "sprung" for a $15 used EVGA GT 430 1GB. It's from 2010, the EL1358G is from 2010-11, so I'm hoping that, being from the same era, they'll work together. It's not as large of an upgrade as the 1650 Super, but it's still a definite step up from the integrated carp, and it'll get me by for a few months. I will return and report once it comes.

Thanks! Unfortunately it didn't work. I think it's just this motherboard/bios is too old.

Well, the GPU still isn't working. I suspect it just isn't supported by the motherboard, and there's probably nothing I can do about it. I posted about it in the troubleshooting board, but have only gotten one response. I did go ahead and splurge on the SSD, though, picked up a WD Blue 500GB (2.5") for $70 (tax included) at Walmart. Yes, there's cheaper half-terabyte drives out there, but I wanted it now as opposed to waiting for shipping.