fillasophy

So I shut down my less than 2-month-old build before going to bed, and about 7 hours later it wouldn't turn back on. RGB elements in the mobo were lighting, though, so I figured it might be something wrong with the power button. To cut to the chase, I ended up pulling the CPU (a Corsair RM650x), did the paperclip test and psu fan wouldn't start, so probably dead. To verify I pulled the PSU from my old build, a Seasonic S12II 620W (non-modular), and computer seems to be running fine. Switched back to the Corsair and nothing, so yea, PSU is definitely toast. I just submitted an RMA to (hopefully) get a replacement, but in the meantime I would like to use the computer... so I have some questions for you all... 1) Would my old PSU be able to support the power needs of my new build? (https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gJ2Jcq This includes the Seasonic as the psu. Also, sorry this is a link instead of in-line... I'm trying to make this work on my phone...) The Seasonic is over 6 years old (I wanna say 8 or 9 by now), so I'm just worried if power consumption spikes during a game session or whatever that the agedness of the psu might fry more of the computer, but in theory the 620W should still cover needs... 2) How/Why on earth does a psu just give out like that? Is it possible it's something that could have been prevented? While I have a lot of tabs open I tend to use sleep more than shutdown, so it hadnt been restarted in a week or two, but I've never had that be an issue before...? 3) It occurs to me that the mobo needs a small amount of power at all times to check for the power button being depressed, so was that power what caused the rgb elements to stay on (they actually stay on at all times on this mobo, but luckily they're not very bright). My original thought was that the psu wasnt able to supply power to specifically the cpu since the rgb was on, but is that even possible? Now that I think about it, power wasnt passing through to other usb devices, either, so what does that say? Thanks in advance for the info.

Yea, looks like the Commander Pro is about $75, and that's waaaaaaay out of the price range I was going to consider. Even $40 would still feel steep... Thanks for the idea though.

Cool! But considering I'm in an ASUS/Coolermaster environment, what controller hardware (and I suppose software) would be most appropriate for my needs?

I ordered a Coolermaster Masterfan MF120 Halo, and it got lost in the mail. So I got a refund and reordered the fan, only to have BOTH arrive on the same day a while later. So I now have 2 of these aRGB fans, with one currently installed in the rear of my rig. I'm also using the ID-COOLING SE-234-ARGB CPU cooler and an ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Plus (Wifi) mobo. I'm trying to give a Portal theme to the case, and now that I have 2 of these I think it'd be cool to have one in the back and one in the front, with one each blue and orange with some added lighting effects (maybe have a white/brighter led spiral through the primary color). Thing is, there's only one aRGB header on my mobo, so I'd have to daisy chain them and wouldn't be able to customize the color. One workaround I'd thought of was to make a spinning ring of half blue/half orange, and just rotate one so it shows orange while the other shows blue, but even if I could get that working I'm concerned that I'd overload the 3 amp limit on the header if I added the 2nd fan in, as the header is currently accommodating the cpu cooler (which doesn't have a stated argb amp load in ID-COOLING's materials...) and the 1st fan. To be honest, I'm a little worried it's already at or over load... So basically what are my options for a controller, or is there some simple way (like a converter, though I guess that's kinda what a controller is on some level?) to use the 2 12V RGB headers that won't burn out the aRGB fans? I like the physical design of the HALOs, so treating them like RGB fans wouldn't be bad if it were possible. I'm a bit confused, but it also sounds like at least some of the controllers should integrate with my mobo's Aura Sync, but I'm not sure if I can customize each fan if I do that... Also, budget is a bit of a factor, as this is purely for aesthetics, so I'd hope to find something on the cheaper end that's still quality... And for a bonus opinion question... is it just me, or for customization does ASUS Aura Sync kinda...suck? Maybe I'm just not aware of how to get it to do what I want, but it seems like anything outside of the limited presets is rough to use...

I would agree, I'm not supposed to be able to, but apparently on the right machine I can. And no, I built and moved to a brand new system, though maybe the older system is using some old drivers. I've been trying to dig into settings in chrome and zoom but with no luck. This is why I think it might be hardware related...but that seems like a reach. I'll put together a parts list for the old rig in case that might be part of it.

Since updating my rig (new rig below) I can no longer screen share certain things (eg: Netflix, Disney+) like I've been doing for a while on my old rig. Normally I'd chalk this up to "security" measures from the source to prevent streaming (and on some level it probably is), but I was and still am able to screen share from my older rig. Both were running Windows 10 and Chrome (and thanks to my Chrome login, should have the same extensions), but things like Zoom, Discord, and OBS don't register those videos at all on the new rig. So my options are one of a change in settings, drivers, or hardware that's causing this. I'd originally thought it might be because of the 5600xt, as it's apparently had issues with black screen and rendering, but since the issue is only for certain things and not while gaming or doing things in full screen I don't know. Anyone got any ideas? PCPartPicker Part List Type Item Price CPU AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor Purchased For $167.00 Thermal Compound ARCTIC MX-4 2019 Edition 4 g Thermal Paste Purchased For $9.49 Motherboard Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard Purchased For $189.99 Memory G.Skill Trident Z Neo 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory Purchased For $114.49 Storage ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive Purchased For $139.98 Video Card Sapphire Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB PULSE Video Card Purchased For $283.98 Case Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case Purchased For $104.98 Power Supply Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply Purchased For $104.19 Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 Home 32/64-bit Purchased For $139.00 Keyboard Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard Purchased For $99.99 Custom Cooler Master MasterFan MF120 Halo Duo-Ring Addressable RGB Lighting 120mm Fan, Absorbing Rubber Pads,4-Pin 12V PWM Static Pressure for Computer Case & Liquid(MF120 Halo) Purchased For $29.99 Custom ID-COOLING SE-234-ARGB CPU Cooler AM4 CPU Cooler 5V Addressable RGB Cooler 4 Heatpipes CPU Air Cooler 120mm PWM Fan, Intel/AMD Purchased For $39.99 Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts Total $1423.07 Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-24 15:10 EDT-0400

Got it. I've not tinkered with fan curves in BIOS before, much less for a Ryzen that can spit that much heat. What's a reasonable rpm % for the 70C mark? Also, fun fact, I just realized that the CPU cooler doesn't provide any info on the LED amps, so I probably shouldn't add the extra fan without a controller. My mobo 5V aRGB header can accommodate 3A, and the MF Halo is 1.4A, so I'm hoping it's not more than 1.6A. I've emailed them for more info. If it is over 3A, any chance that could cause the change I saw?

I put this build together in the last week. I got a Mechify C because I liked the balance of price, look, and thermals, and a single Cooler Master Halo fan to mount in the rear (in pics of builds I liked the look of it most when mounted as exhaust). CM Halo fan got lost in the mail, so I ended up building the rest while waiting for the replacement, and put the two stock fans in the front anticipating the CM fan to go in the rear spot, so pure positive pressure. Everything was running fine (eg: Modern Warfare on basically max settings with ~120 - 140 frames at 1080p; no thermal issues on longer play sessions). Replacement CM Halo arrived yesterday and I installed it as the exhaust. At the end of a shorter play session right after the fan install I noticed the fans were getting LOUD. Like, reved up and wooshy, but in a rise and fall pattern like the temps would lower at max fan speed so the fans slowed down, but that would cause the heat to rise so they'd spin up again. Turns out the CPU was getting up to like 70C, and after tinkering with the fans in the bios, I realized it's the CPU cooler fan that makes the most noise when cranked to max. Also noticed the stocks fans are DC and max out at ~1200 rpm, while the CM Halo and CPU cooler hit around 1800 or so. So...now that story time is done...questions: 1) I cannot for the life of me think of why adding the fan would make the temps higher. I need to do a few more play sessions before I get actually worried, but I'm starting to notice the CPU cooler "sags" a little. It's got one of those replacement mounts where the screws are left/right. Basically it's making me paranoid that there's a small gap between the CPU and the heatpipes. As an aside I'm worried I might have put a tad too much thermal paste on, but I'd think that'd would've been an issue right away if it was going to be an issue, and if anything it would be a benefit in this situation. So yea...please just tell me I'm being paranoid...lol As a bonus, the CPU cooler is fairly new on the market, and besides a few favorable reviews I haven't seen much of it, but I really like the aesthetic so I thought why not give it a try. Anyone happen to have thoughts on it? 2) When the replacement fan showed up the fan that was originally lost did too (go figure...), so I now have a fourth fan. I'm thinking of moving one of the stock fans (probably the lower one in the front) to the top and replacing it with the CM Halo. Unless there's something I'm not considering (PSU is mounted down, btw) I'd think this would create neutral pressure, which should help with heat ever so slightly and should make the fans run a bit slower, no? Thoughts? Also, the mobo only has 3 headers explicitly for case fans, so I'd need to attach the 4th fan (whichever I decide that is) to the CPU_opt header (or I suppose AIO-pump header, but I'd rather not have wires to the middle of the board if possible). Can anyone think of a problem with doing that? To get a bit more creative with the aRGB I'm starting to entertain the idea of a controller (solo aRGB header on board = sad face), so maybe this won't be an issue... PCPartPicker Part List Type Item Price CPU AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor Purchased For $167.00 Thermal Compound ARCTIC MX-4 2019 Edition 4 g Thermal Paste Purchased For $9.49 Motherboard Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard Purchased For $190.44 Memory G.Skill Trident Z Neo 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory Purchased For $114.49 Storage ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive Purchased For $139.98 Video Card Sapphire Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB PULSE Video Card Purchased For $283.98 Case Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case Purchased For $104.98 Power Supply Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply Purchased For $104.19 Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 Home 32/64-bit Purchased For $139.00 Custom Cooler Master MasterFan MF120 Halo Duo-Ring Addressable RGB Lighting 120mm Fan, Absorbing Rubber Pads,4-Pin 12V PWM Static Pressure for Computer Case & Liquid(MF120 Halo) Purchased For $29.99 Custom ID-COOLING SE-234-ARGB CPU Cooler AM4 CPU Cooler 5V Addressable RGB Cooler 4 Heatpipes CPU Air Cooler 120mm PWM Fan, Intel/AMD Purchased For $39.99 Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts Total $1323.53 Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-12 00:15 EDT-0400

Thank you for the reply! (PS - nice reddit...so much info!) Based on what you're saying about the small (albeit likely unnoticeable) performance benefit of the m.2_1 slot, and from what I've seen about nvme drives generally wanting to run on the warm side, I'll go with m.2_1. So, now to the follow-up question... The drive comes with a small plastic piece with a 3M adhesive backing what looks to be for affixing to the SSD, I would assume for tidying up the appearance like I'm aiming for (see pics). If/since I'm using m.2_1, I'm inclined to use it, but will it potentially cause thermal issues to the point it might start throttling the ssd or melt the adhesive? I'm using a tower cpu cooler, so there's a decent chance the ssd will be visually obstructed and this is moot, but in case I do use it I wanna know what I'm getting myself into. Thanks again!

I'm waiting on the parts for my new rig to arrive (https://pcpartpicker.com/list/q37q27), so thinking over the build. While the system is compatible with 4.0, I went with a 3.0 nvme ssd, which I believe should work in either of the board's two m.2 slots, top (m.2_1) and bottom (m.2_2). Now, I'm new to m.2, but I've heard that the m.2_1 slot connects to the CPU, while the m.2_2 slot routes through the x570 chipset. I just have no idea what this means or implies...lol. I was hoping that 1) someone could help me understand what the concepts of lanes is, how each routing path impacts this, and what this looks for my system, and 2) get thoughts on which m.2 slot to use. I would note that the m.2_2 slot has a heatsink, so in terms of cleaning up the system visually that would be my preference, but is there an advantage to performance or stability by using one slot over the other in my setup (including when considering the heatsink, which looks to only work with m.2_2)? Thanks!

Just picked up a Meshify C, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't accommodate 140 mm for rear exhaust... unless you meant rear top? If a 140 mm can be made to work in the rear exhaust I'd be interested to know how