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So I got an ssd a while ago (kingston sv3 120gb) and I installed into my system and left it there for a while. Now I want to put it to use by putting windows 10 onto it via free upgrade. I know I need to initialize and format it first (I need help with that), then I don't know where to go after that. I feel pretty dumb right now and I hoped you guys know what to do. Any help would be much appreciated.

I'm going off to college soon and I was looking for an affordable laptop that I can use with some gaming capabilities. After watching a lot of different reviews on many different laptops, I was going to go with the base model of a Dell Inspiron 7000 series laptop. I wanted an SSD in the laptop but in order to get the SSD i'd have to upgrade to the 4k display and it would cost an extra $400... so since it has a free m.2 slot I was going to just add an SSD. So my question is, if I add an SSD to the laptop, how would I set it as the boot SSD? Am I going to need a new Windows license if I want Windows on that SSD and not the pre-added hard drive?

So, im currently using my computer with the following components: GPU: MSI GTX 970 OC CPU: AMD Phenom X4 II 965 RAM: 8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 MOBO: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula CASE: Zalman Z3 Plus (White) My current PSU seems to be faulty, though i could be wrong so an answer to that question would be nice too. My Computer randomly gets a Blackscreen, theres no sound at all, and sometimes i can even see my cursor. The fans are still spinning. The only way to make the computer work is to do a hard restart of it. Expecting this is my PSU doing this. Also, since my CPU is rather old. I was now thinking about upgrading that too, while im looking at a new PSU too. I came across an upgrading packages containing the following: CPU: Intel i5-6400 Skylake MOBO: ASUS H110M-A, Socket-1151 RAM: Crucial DDR4 2133MHz 8GB (2x4GB) Now, i dont have alot of knowledge when it comes to what components are best compatible with each other, and how much you need of this and that to make it optimal. So i thought i'd ask you guys what PSU would be optimal for a build with: GPU: MSI GTX 970 OC CPU: Intel i5-6400 Skylake MOBO: ASUS H110M-A, Socket-1151 RAM: Crucial DDR4 2133MHz 8GB (2x4GB) CASE: Zalman Z3 Plus (White)

hey guyz... I got a core i3 530 Gigabyte H55-S2V DDR3 2gb 1366x768 monitor... i know its a horiible rig, I plan on upgrading it.. but since i'm tight on cash i would be upgrading it piece by piece, first piece being a GTX 960, followed by a i7 6700 and finally a full HD display. my question would there be a big bottle neck fixing a gtx 960 to my i3 sys, it would be temporary....how can I minimize it. also when buying the i7 i plan on buying the cheapest motherboard out there would that be a problem too? I 've heard motherboard doesn't affect fps, but also heard otherwise. so summing up.. i3-530+gtx 960 bottleneck and i7 +crappy motherboard for gaming...

Hello, Right now I have elitebook 840 G1 with i5 4200u and got an opportunity to replace this laptop with nevier i7-4600u model elitebook 840 g1. the issue is can I just move my ssd from old to new laptop without having any issues ? wont there be any hardware slowdowns due driver differences or anything else that could slow down the laptops ? Regards!

Hello everyone! I'm interested in seeing what peoples views and opinions are on this general topic. I would really appreciate if I could get as many people to take this as the data will be more reliable. Please participate, the survey is very short and is generalization looking over a few, though please avoid spamming choices, guessing, using profanity and other irrelevant contributions. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GK6LSLW It only takes 30 seconds to complete Thanks in advance! Not 100% if alternate survey sites are allowed against the poll system here however this site allows me to process and read the answers much better.Sorry if its not. Really hope this gets some contributors :^)

I'm upgrading a tablet, that uses the only USB entrace as both I/O and charging. I'm afraid charge wont last installation. On the second stage is it safe to remove the stick and plug in to charge or is it still using the pen drive? Thanks in advance.

So, I have an old pc, like 5 years old. And now I'm planning on upgrading it! But I am really scared of buying parts that don't fit because that have happened too many times. So what I have right now is an Asus aspire M5811 build (link http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/acer/aspire_m5811_desktop_pc/336717/ it's the I5 500w and 8GB ram) and now I have found a new case, new graphics card and 2 motherboards(I've just not decided which one yet) so it's a D480 black case (link http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353085&ignorebbr=1) and a msi GeForce gtx 950 2G (link https://www.msi.com/product/graphics-card/GTX-950-GAMING-2G.html#hero-overview) and the two motherboards (http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4958#ov and https://www.msi.com/product/motherboard/B85-G43-GAMING.html#hero-overview wow a lot of links) So I would really wanna know, if it's possible for me and which solution is best in your opinion. Thank you for reading this, good day

Hello! First off, I want to apologize the numerous posts about my upgrade plannings in the past, but FINALLY I have the money to do it! and I want to do it goood! So, I am planning to upgrade my GPU and PSU and some other parts not so important like the case and maybe adding memory. I am currently running on this build: CPU: Intel i5 4570 3.20Ghz Motherboard: ASUS H97-PLUS GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2Gb RAM: 8Gb Kingston HyperX Fury, DDR3 1866MHz PSU: LC-Power 700W semimodular (Really old and not sure about the model but maybe LC8700 V2.2 Hyperion. Bought it back in 2007-2008 I think). SSD: Kingston 120Gb V300 HDD: 1Tb Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm OS: Windows 10 64bit Looking to upgrade to these: GPU: Asus Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II OC, 4Gb PSU: Not sure what. I want to have reliable, good for electricity bills and sufficient PSU. Also gonna style the build a bit (sleeved cables) so modular cables are a plus. RAM: Another kit of the same set I have but is it a overkill? I'm using a 1440p monitor right now for my work but my PC is hooked to my 1080p TV. Soon I'll be having both my computers hooked up to the 1440p monitor so I need a system to run most games on high/ultra 45-60+ fps for the near future. I haven't landed on the GTX 970 yet and I'm asking for advice for this 1080p/1440p gaming. I've considered even the R9 390/390X or the GTX 980 but I am worried about the AMD power consumption. If I would go for the 390X would my bills increase significally or not so much that I'd notice? :D:D I just need a GPU that runs for me the next 2-5 years at high fps for 1080p/1440p monitor but is reliable. Same goes for the PSU. I need it to cover my rig's power consumption but have no idea how to calculate it or choose a quality one. I would order my components from http://www.mindfactory.de/ because of the cheaper prices (I live in Finland) allthough there is now a offer for the GTX 970 at my local store: Asus Strix GTX 970 DirectCU II OC, 4Gb + Samsung 850 EVO 250GB + Download codes for The Division and Far Cry Primal for just 399€ If you could suggest a GPU and PSU for me for this build for this use, I would be hugely appreciative since I could spend my money knowing I got every bang for the buck. My budget is flexible but want to keep it at value. Thank you so much!

So I've had my PC for a while and I mainly use it for video editing. Tried to put some 4K footage into my editor today, and although it worked, it is certainly time for an upgrade. My current system is as follows : Corsair Carbide 500r Case Corsair 850M PSU Asus P9X79 Mobo Intel Core i7 3820 Corsair Hydro H80 Corsair Dominator 16GB 1866mhz (4x4gb) Asus Geforce GTX 670 I'm planning on replacing the GPU for a Geforce GTX 980 TI, but I wondered if I stuck that straight in the machine, would it bottleneck with all the other components? If yes, any suggestions on what to upgrade, or should I just scrap the whole machine, sell it for parts, and buy a completely new build? Many thanks!

Hi, I am a semi-noob when it comes to computer parts. I want to upgrade my current computer, which I built but I haven't decided on the parts yet. My current build is this https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/mvmijares/saved/#view=RtBmP6 on the right hand side. I'm debating between spending money on a GTX 960 or spend a bit more for a GTX 970. The reason for the GTX 960 is because I want to get more RAM, storage, and a new power supply. I still have to get a new power supply because the power supply listed on the build isn't the actual one I'm using, I had to get a place holder one because that one busted due to constant power outages around my area. Also if anyone knows should I replace all my RAM or just get an additional 8 gigs of RAM (If I get an additional 8gigs does it have to be the same as the current one im using) if I want to upgrade? Its primarily for school / work since I'm a Game Dev.

Hello, I have some cash laying around and was wondering what component I should upgrade next. Here is my build. CPU: Intel core i5 4690k (currently no overclock, planning to soon) GPU: MSI r9 380 Gaming 4g (also no overclock) MOBO: MSI Z97s SLI Krait Edition RAM: 8gb (2x 4gb sticks) of Corsair Vengeance DDR3 (1333 MHz I think?) CPU Cooler: Cryorig H7 HDD: Western digital blue 7200 RPM (1 TB) SSD Samsung 850 EVO (250GB) Case: NZXT S340 Fans: Stock (the ones that came with the s340

Hello, I am generally new to computers and I want to know a few things about upgrading my computer: 1: How do I find parts(cpu,gpu,RAM,etc) that fit my motherboard 2: How do I find parts(cpu,gpu,RAM,etc) that are all compatible with the other components 3: How do I find the proper cooling for the components Does anyone have any "upgrades" that would be good for my computer, (I don't want something that would be like 2000$ ) and I would want to know why it's a good choice for my pc. Sorry If I sound really pushy or anything , Thank you, Liam PC : HP Pavillion 530 Specs: CPU: AMD A10-7800 12 Computing Cores(8C + 4C) @ 3.5 GHZ GPU: Radeon R7 + R7 240 DUAL Graphics DUO RAM: 8G DDR3 @ ~1100 MHZ OS: Windows 10 64 BIT MOTHERBOARD: HP 2B35 ALL AIR COOLED

Hello! I bought a Lenovo H50-50. I was thinking if i can upgrade the GPU to a 750ti or something better. I'm of course going to change the PSU to a 450w. Also, i would like to put an another fan in it. Would it work?

Hey everyone, I am new to the community and this is my first post ever. I do apologize if i sound like a total nub considering this will be my first time upgrading. At first, I was considering buying a new gaming PC from Alienware because they let you sorta customize what you want in there and assemble it without the hassle, and I was thinking about the Alienware Area 51 with some changes. I never had experience building one and this is the closest i gotten. My first ever Gaming PC was an Alienware and it was a gift for my college graduation. Its about that time where I feel this PC had reached its limits with the recent games I been playing. I have opened my PC up and I know took a few parts out and place them back in just to have a feel for where things do go. So, I started thinking instead of buying a new Gaming PC that will cost me 2k to 3k why not upgrade mine if possible and safe potential money. Here are the Specs for my current Computer. My graphics card is AMD Radeon HD 6870 So, I started thinking about buying a new graphic card, and also buying more Ram. Is there other things I should consider upgrading by any chance? Also, a side note I never understood even though I have 6 GB Ram only 3.99 is usable and when i went for more information it stated 2GB is hardware reserve. Is this because my system needs it? Is this Normal? I only started asking these questions once I started getting curious how things work in computers regarding my experience for my gaming. I don't want to be another person who just takes things as face value and not be aware of what potential benefits i could be getting by choosing correct things for my gaming experience. Any help will be appreciated and thank you in advance for taking the time to read this.

Hi, my laptop cpu isnt that good... So i want to upgrade it. Anyone know of a cpu with same socket that i can replace my A8 chip with?

---This is my first post on LTT forums so if I somehow disregard an etiquette I am unaware of, I am sorry and I will strive to do better... enjoy the paragraphs!--- So its been roughly 3 years since I built my Haswell rig (the first PC have ever owned), which consists of an i5 4670K, GTX 770 Lightning, 16GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, 750W PSU, and a Z87 Sabertooth mobo... has the time come to upgrade? The reasons I ask are as following: I recently started streaming to twitch, upcoming games will definitely become harder to run, its been 3 years (does this even count?) and I spend upwards of 3 hours per day on my PC so the upgrades would not go to waste. At first I thought about getting a GTX 1080 (when they're released), so that I would be able to run everything at high settings, but I run two 1920x1080 monitors, and that would be overkill... would it not? Then I wondered if it would be better to upgrade my CPU to a i7 4770K for that hyper-threading goodness, which would help processing for my stream... from here I considered getting an i7 6700K CPU, which would require a new mobo on top, but also raises the question of what else would I have to upgrade if I updated my chipset? AND finally, I thought about scrapping the whole PC upgrade, and focussing on buying a high quality microphone solution for the audio dream (I realise that this could mean investing in a stream that never takes off). But here I am in my insecure little head, panicking over my upcoming GCSEs, and wondering why on earth I dont have the entirety of twitch following my stream... Kappa Anyways, what do you think? I would really appreciate your help on this one, Daniel

I have options here which can get me a better card (according to a hiearchy chart) which are: -GTX Nvidia 480 (1.5 GB)​$80 -GeForce GTX 750 TI (2GB)​$100 -EVGA GTX 560 TI (480 cores ultra)​$100 -Asus GTX 750 TI (2GB)​$100 -Radeon HD 6850 (1GB)​$80 -ASUS EN7800 GTX​$70 -GeForce GTX 470 (1020mb)​$100 -GeForce GTX 960 (GIGABYTE GT Gaming)​$100 -EVGA GeForce GTX 560 (1024mb)​$70 -EVGA GeForce GTX 560 TI(1024mb)​$100 -Nvidia GTX 550TI (1GB)$80 -Asus GeForce GT 610(1GB)$50 -GTX 550 TI(2GB) ​$30 (he lowered price for me from $50) I do not know where to head off to I want to get the best one for the money I'am going to spend

So my PC was prebuilt by a shop years ago, around 2006 to be clear, and since then the only upgrade that I managed to do( a couple of days ago) was upgrade my CPU, from a E160 to a Q6600, so CPU is done, I will also get 8GB RAM, so call that done too, but then comes the GPU.Now I want a 750 TI, because it's cheap and pretty good, and I will hopefully get 150 $ by the end of this summer, but then I figured out it might be a bit overkill.Why? CPU is powerful but it is and will get even older, my monitor is an old Samsung SyncMaster 920NW, with 1440x900, and the 750TI can get much better than that on many games.So is it worth it to get a 750TI or should I get something cheaper and get a new case and more storage?

Hey folks, well i have a new GPU and it's nvidia upgrading to a newer gpu, what do i do?? uninstall drivers, then changing gpu, then install them again? or is there another step im missing?, i'll appreciate if you help me with this Thanks in advance.

Hello gentlemen/nerds of Linus Tech Tips. I've been thinking about upgrading lately, and since my base system is over 4 years old (2011) the reasons for waiting are getting smaller and smaller, so I thought I would ask you (most likely more experienced) PC builders out there on what your thoughts are. My system I have at the moment is based on the Sandy Bridge CPU which I bought back in 2011, my specs are: Intel i5 2500K @ 4.5 Ghz (Bought 2011) with a Corsair H70 MSI Z77A-G43 Motherboard (Bought 2014, my old Asus P8P67 Pro died in early 2014, and I had to find a replacement). 16 GB (4x4) DDR3 (1600Mhz) RAM, (2x HyperX and 2x Corsair Vengeance) Evga GTX 970 SC (Purchased early 2015, replaced my old GTX 590 - Planning on keeping this until I upgrade to 4K/1440p) SDDs: Old 2011 Crucial 64 GB SSD (Still used today as my OS Drive), a not-to-expensive 240GB Kingston SSD for steam games HDDs: Old 2007 WD Raptor drive (10K RPM) at 74 GB that I still use for programs, and 2 old 1 TB drives I use as storage bought also around 2007/8 that I used in my previous system before this. Corsair TX850 Watt PSU Antec 900 Case Random Bluray Drive 2x BenQ 24'' cheapo 1080p screens 1x BenQ 24'' XL2410T 120Hz screen (my main gaming monitor) I saw Linus' review of the skylake (or was it Lukes?) and I think he recommended that it could be time for an upgrade if you have a Sandy bridge CPU or older model due to the skylake being 30% (I think it was 30%, I'll find the video later if needed) better overall. I've clunged on to mine this long because it still works fine for my use so far (games like csgo, basic editing, little bit of streaming) but it's been freaking 4 years now since I first bought the heart of my system, and I do not want it to suddenly go old and be unable to handle the future, like gaming at 4K, using the Oculus Rift adequately etc. etc.. Whatever happens I am not planning to pull my old PC apart to use for my new system, mostly because some of the items are from 2006 and I plan on building a complete new system, so maybe the title of this topic is a bit wrong... Then I can retire this PC as a backup system/server of some sorts. I might steal the 240GB SSD but that's about it. I already got a fair bit of money saved up for my upcoming PC (Ca 14ishK USD next month, been saving up for 6ish months) and on my wishlist so far is a PCI-E NVME based SSD (512GB+ maybe) a regular HDD for storage (or turn my old system into a NAS), G-Sync Monitor, 4-Core (or greater ) CPU (Maybe cannonlake will introduce cheaper 6-Core/8-Core Enthusiast grade CPUs) +++ So I come to ask you guys the main question of this topic. Should I start planning to upgrade my computer now? Like try to get a skylake based system, or should I just wait until next year for coby lake or even futher (late 2017) for cannonlake? My hands are itching to buy something which compelled me to make this topic (I cannot control what they do sometimes lol). TLDR: Want to upgrade my daily-driver PC which I have had since 2011 (except for a few parts listed above), not sure if it is worth it yet, need opinions.

Hi, I'm Sean. I'm a graphic designer, 3D Modeler, gamer and music producer and I'm planning on upgrading my system but I don't know what would be best for me. The graphics card I have gets really loud pretty quickly but at the same time it's great for 1080p gaming. Since I upgraded from 8gb of ram to 16gb of ram my render times have dramatically improved however is my CPU the bottleneck in this case? Or would upgrading my GPU help with 3D modeling/rendering? Note: I am on a budget of $350 for this upgrade. (any suggestions must work with a mini itx motherboard) thank you. CPUAthlon 4x 750k (overclocked 4.1GHz) MotherboardASRock FM2A88X-ITX+ RAMCrucial 16GB - DDR3 1600 GPUR9 285x (ITX Edition) CaseSilverstone SG13B StorageSamsung 850 EVO 500GB (SSD) PSUSilverStone 500W SFX-L Form Factor (80+GOLD) Display(s)Samsung S27D360 CoolingCorsair H55 (Hydro Series) KeyboardCorsair Gaming K70 RGB MouseLogitech MX Master Wireless Mouse SoundUR22 (audio interface) - KRK Rokit5 Operating SystemWindows 8.1

My friend is getting a new free PC (Hard to Believe!) soon and I want to tell him what he should upgrade next. I can't figure out what to recommend to upgrade first because the parts are low to mid spec parts. His system is a Intel Core g3260 (2 core 3.3Ghz) CPU Asus H81M-Plus 8gb kit (2x4gb) DDR3? 1600Mhz Gt730 2gb GPU Asus Patriot Ignite 240gb SSD Aerocool vx400-v3x Case with 400w PSU What do you guys think? He's gaming with it on Heavily Modded Minecraft and some other games like Battlefeild 4 and such.

This is what i currently have: -Asrock z68 pro 3 -i5 2500k @4.5Ghz -Asus HD 7950 2gb -Chieftec 550w CTG-550-80P -2x DDR3 4 GB 667 MHz Budget:1000€ Im not changing the cpu,just getting a new motherboard for PCI 3.0. Im going to most likely get a 980 4gb.I want to play at 1440p 100hz monitor. These are the parts that i have chosen,any thoughts?Some parts that are as good but cheaper? http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/8WCJhM Parts that dont have prices,i already own.

So I have some money so decided to upgrade my pc and I can't decide what to buy. 1'st I'm buying is: HDD SATA III 2 TB SEAGATE Barracuda, 3,5", 7200rpm, 64MB, ST2000DM001..... I need more storage. But then I can't decide on a GPU. And I am playing on 1080p. So I have two options: Option 1: RADEON R9 380 DD XXX OC 990MHZ 2GB DDR5 Option 2: RADEON R7 370 DD BLACK EDITION OC 1040MHZ 2GB DDR5 + SSD 240.0 GB KINGSTON SSDNow V300, SV300S37A/240G My current PC spec is: CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-3350P MBO: Asus P8B75-V GPU: AMD Radeon HD 4870 PSU: OCZ Fatal1ty 550W OS BOOT: Seagate Barracuda ST250DM000 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB