I put off buying additional storage and now I'm regretting it. However, I had a kernel error and realized I needed reliable backup.

However, an M.2 2tb drive I bought for $120 two years ago now goes for $215?!?!?!?

Should I still buy the Silicon Power 2tb or are there better options for that price?

I’ve been “about to build a new PC” for probably a year now.
Current system is a Ryzen 5 3600, RTX 2070 Super, 16GB DDR4 and a couple of SSDs. I built it in 2020 and at the time I assumed I’d get maybe 4-5 years out of it before something started feeling painfully outdated.
Well... apparently nobody told the PC.
I play at 1440p. Most of what I actually play is stuff like Baldur’s Gate 3, Helldivers 2, older RPGs, strategy games and whatever random indie game steals two weeks of my life. I’ve had to turn settings down in newer games, obviously. I’m not pretending a 2070 Super is secretly a 5080. But I launch a game, change a couple settings, and then... it works.
And that’s the problem.
Every few months I get the upgrade itch. I watch benchmarks, build a parts list, convince myself that this is finally the year. New CPU would be nice. 32GB would be nice. A modern GPU would be REALLY nice. Then I look at the total, go play something on my current PC, and within five minutes I’m thinking “wait, what exactly am I trying to fix?”
Well...kinda funny that I can afford a new build now much more comfortably than I could when I built this one. I actually want to build one. Half the fun for me is picking parts and putting the thing together.
But spending a few thousand dollars just to turn settings from “high” to “ultra” and watch an FPS counter become a bigger number feels harder to justify than I expected.
I always thought upgrading would happen because my old PC became unusable. Instead it’s slowly turning into this weird negotiation where the old bastard keeps doing just enough to survive another generation.
I’ve even caught myself almost rooting for something to finally struggle badly enough that I can upgrade without feeling stupid about it.
For now I keep closing PCPartPicker tabs and telling myself “maybe next generation,” which is exactly what I said last generation

I was just thinking that during the RAM crisis it'd make sense for 24gb RAM to become more common as a viable in-between as 16gb is often not enough but 32gb costs your first born child, but I looked into it and it's just kind of a pain to find 24gb plus I've never seen anyone talk about it

Hi! I've been fantasizing about building a gaming PC for nearly 5 years now and have been saving up for it.

This is my planned build so far, I've spent the past weeks ping-ponging between tons of sites and consulting with AI, I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.

About the individual price parts, I've compared them to other sites in my country, my country is just super expensive; these are prices if I buy from a VAT-free location.

Name --- Price (Converted to USD):

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D AM5 Tray --- $488
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK PRO 3 Black --- $56
Motherboard: Asus PRIME B850-PLUS WiFi --- $229
Memory: Klevv DDR5 32GB (2x16GB) 6000 CL30 BOLT V Grey --- $593
Case: Fractal Design Pop 2 Air - Black TG --- $125
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A12x25 G2 PWM 120MM Fan --- $39
PSU: Corsair RM1000e 1000W ATX 3.1 Gold Modular --- $193
GPU: Palit GeForce RTX 5080 GamingPro OC 16GB --- $1766
SSD: Samsung SSD 2TB 990 PRO NVMe M.2 --- $418

For a monitor, I was eyeing the Gigabyte 27" QHD 240Hz 0.03ms USB-C OLED Gaming Monitor but the site I'm using to buy the parts from stopped displaying any monitors larger than 24.5", so I'll buy monitors from somewhere else....

What are your thoughts? What should I change if my main goal is better performance at roughly the same price range?

I recently built my wife a new PC. I was going for a smaller, mATX form factor so it’s all inside a Lian Li A3.
After running the PC for a few days with no issues, I realized that I had installed the fans in backwards and were intaking when they should be outputting and vice versa. An easy fix, so I unplugged the PC, popped it open, fixed the fans, and then plugged the PC back in and turned it on to test the fans. Zero issues, everything ran great.

When it came time to plug the peripherals back in, however, I let my wife help with that. Here’s where I think I fried the PC. After the PSU was already plugged in and everything, my wife was plugging peripherals into the MB I/O panel and mistakingly also plugged in a 65w usb-c charging cable (brick to usb-c) for her laptop that was also plugged into the wall. It was after this that the standby light on the motherboard turned off.
Now I didn’t realize it at the time, so where I suspect I made it worse was I kept turning the PSU on and off to get the standby light to stay on all while the usb-c charger was still plugged in.
What would usually happen is the standby light would turn on, flicker, I’d hear a buzzing noise, then I’d get freaked out and turn the PSU off. Eventually the standby light would only flicker occasionally or not at all.

Here’s my component list in case it helps:
MB: ASUS ROG STRX B850-G mATX
CPU: Ryzen 7800X3D
RAM: 32GB DDR5 Corsair vengeance (I had to sell a kidney for that)
GPU: Radeon ASUS 9060XT
SSD: Samsung 9100 pro 2TB n.vme
PSU: Lian Li SP750
4x Lian Li case fans
AIO: NZXT kraken 240mm

I have already tried unplugging everything from the PSU and MB except the 24-pin connector that connects the two to try and run power to the MB. When I did that, I would occasionally get a flicker of the standby light but that’s about it. I also got a red blinking light which I believe is the MBs way of indicating there’s no power going to the CPU.

Be honest, am I cooked? I’d really like to salvage this build if possible but if not then it’s not the end of the world. Any and all advice or ideas for how to fix the problem are welcome.

I’ve decided to build a pc and I know this is the worst time to build one lol but I don’t think the prices will come down anytime soon. I’m on a budget and my brother gave me a 1x16gb ddr4 3200mhz and I just found out about single channel performance losses after getting all the parts. I would really like to not have to spend an extra $130-$140 on ram so I’m wondering how bad it’ll stutter. I got a ryzen 5 5600x, ASUS b550m-a WiFi II, and a rtx 5050.

I need to upgrade my old PC really bad. My new PC will be for work with rendering, 3d stuff and editing. I will also play a lot of video games on it as well as using it to study and for school work. My work thing requires me to get 64 or 128GB of RAM, which in today’s prices is few thousand USD. I will need some more storage which also cost more now. Same goes for GPU. I will need a 5080 or 5090 to do the job and currently 5090 goes for absurdly high price. Other than that I am getting new monitors and any other necessary hardware and accessories. So should I spend few thousand now or wait for better prices?

On an extremely tight budget. I purchased a optiplex 3050 MT for $45. I want to upgrade it to be a somewhat decent 1080 gaming experience for her as we would mainly play friendslop games. I have had a 32 GB stick of RAM collecting dust and will throw that in there. What are your thoughts? I know I will need to dish out another $50 for a SFX ATX PSU & a conversion cable which leaves me only maybe $50 left to budget for a used gpu.

hello, i've recently built a PC with a Fractal Design Focus G ATX, which has room for an optical disc drive - i have one lying around, but it's a slimline and also kind of old, so i'd rather get a newer one at a proper size - what's the market like these days?

i don't need something super fancy, just capable of burning/ripping CDs at a decent speed... i also have very little desk space, so i do not want an external drive

(additionally, if anyone could recommend an australian retailer so i don't have to pay 10 billion dollars shipping, that would be greatly appreciated!)

I came across a corsair rm850e gold on Best Buy clearance for 72.99. I’m wondering if the golds are good or should I just get the rm850x for 139.99. My sons pc has the rm850x in it and I’m building mine similar to his ( 9800x3d and 5070 ti with 32 g ddr5 )

FInally finished my first ever build to no POST. Turns out the motherboard I selected (ASUS B650e Max Gaming Wifi) does not feature q-led diagnostics. Ok, thats fine, it's supposed to output to the power led. My case (Phanteks XT Pro Ultra) doesn't have one. Inconvenient, but whatever, I'll just buy one of those beep code speakers on amazon, only a few bucks and a 5 days to ship, no problem. Doesn't support that. Just 'cause I guess?? So I'm at a total loss for how to try to diagnose it. Should I just cut my losses and take it a shop?

I have an Rtx 2080ti by PNY, and i love it so far but I’m not crazy about the looks and since it’s blower style it gets quite loud. I was thinking about buying one of those reproduction 2080 cyberpunk 2077 shells and replacing the one on my current gpu, would it be as simple as tearing it down and placing it on or would the design of the pcb cause issues and whatnot?

Originally posted to PCmasterrace, couldnt crosspost, so also sharing here. Sorry if rulebreaking.

I wanted to share what i've acquired over the last year on the 2nd hand market, as opposed to going new. Everything is in USD.

Purchase 1 Asking was 1,000. Bought for $900 - Velka 7 SFF build (7.1L because stand), 5800x3d, Alpenfohn Lp Cooler, 16gb 3400, 1tb WD Blk SN750, Reference model AMD 6900xt(16gb), Coolermaster v850. It also came with peripherals, LG 4k 144hz Nano IPS Display(27GN95B), Razer Deathadder Mouse, Wooting 60HE(BIG SCORE), Edifier 1280DB. All for $900, I had sitting around a 32GB(2x16 3200) kit I threw in there. And then acquired a 2TB 990 Evo Plus for 150 or 160, i cant recall. Then Acquired a Gigabyte 9070xt OC ICE, Brand New for 620(Need new case, to thicc so it's sitting).

Then Today, I was supposed to buy a new LG 34GX90SA-W. Brand New, in factory sealed box for $450. But after agreeing they ghosted me. i would have came up to $500. But instead I bought a LG 34 Ultrawide, They advertised it for $50 and 160hz, So i didnt care about model til i bought it. Turns out it was a LG 34WP65C-B (3440x1440, 160hz VA Panel)

And then the BIG SCORE! Also today, I bought a SteelCase Gesture WITH THE FACTORY HEADREST! Date of Oct 2021 On the Chair. The Seller said it was used as Display Furniture at a business. Seating is very much in tact. oh, did I forget the price? Listed for $400, Last min i asked if he'd take 350 and Done deal. To the same seller I mentioned looking for a Hayworth or Steelcase(non Solo) desk and he said he has a steelcase Ology 3, Which is the right desk i'd want from SC but the wrong width at 48", Looking for a 66"+ x 30"+ desk. and we already agreed to 250 if it comes up. So here's to hoping.

So i'll be selling some of the extras displays and ram and 6900xt soon which'll help recoup some costs and drive down my end purchase even further. For what i'll be selling im expecting 7-900 dollars back.

Just wanted to share that you can get a great set up on the 2nd hand market if your patient and know how to negotiate.

In fact Ive been scoring such deals, that i've resulted to buying and selling, but that's another story.

I'm selling my old spare pc that I have laying around, its half decent, 3900x & 2080ti, but I'm keeping my old case.

I'm looking for some suggestions for cases that are cheap, flashy, and a bit of eye candy. Something that would catch the eye of someone looking to buy a used $600 system.

And by cheap, i mean under $100, under $75 better, is $50 possible?

I know i'm not going to be getting my money back buying a case for the parts, but want something a bit eye catching if anyone has any suggestions.

no real requirements other than it needs to be ATX compatible.

Some background information - my local Microcenter currently has a deal for this specific cpu + ram + motherboard for $500. I'll be looking to run games such as GTA VI (when it releases on PC), minecraft, warframe, black flag remastered, forza, etc at 1440p 60+ fps med-high settings. I will also use it as a workstation so I'm looking for something that's a little more low profile size wise. Budget is ~$1600. Let me know if there's anything I should change.

[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TTmzXf)

Type|Item|Price

:----|:----|:----

**CPU** | [Intel Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus 4.2 GHz 18-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/b4WmP6/intel-core-ultra-5-250kf-plus-42-ghz-18-core-processor-bx80768250kf) | $167.00

**CPU Cooler** | [Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition 42 CFM CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/HyTPxr/cooler-master-hyper-212-black-edition-42-cfm-cpu-cooler-rr-212s-20pk-r1) | $39.99 @ Amazon

**Motherboard** | [Asus PRIME B860M-A WIFI-CSM Micro ATX LGA1851 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/X29nTW/asus-prime-b860m-a-wifi-csm-micro-atx-lga1851-motherboard-prime-b860m-a-wifi-csm) | $167.00

**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/XsqPxr/gskill-ripjaws-s5-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr5-6000-cl36-memory-f5-6000j3636f16gx2-rs5k) | $167.00

**Storage** | [Silicon Power P34A60 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/VxfFf7/silicon-power-p34a60-2-tb-m2-2280-pcie-30-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-sp002tbp34a60m28) | $215.97 @ Amazon

**Video Card** | [ASRock Challenger Radeon RX 9070 16 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/KXkqqs/asrock-challenger-radeon-rx-9070-16-gb-video-card-rx9070-cl-16g) | $699.99 @ Amazon

**Case** | [Phanteks XT V3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/WvYfrH/phanteks-xt-v3-microatx-mini-tower-case-ph-xt325v_dbk01) | $59.99 @ Newegg

**Power Supply** | [MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dbCZxr/msi-mag-a750gl-pcie5-750-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-mag-a750gl-pcie5) | $79.99 @ Newegg

| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |

| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1606.93

| Mail-in rebates | -$10.00

| **Total** | **$1596.93**

| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2026-10-17 00:23 EDT-0400 |

Hi guys,

Looking to get into Wow:Forever at launch after playing classic Wow years ago. Have not gamed on PC in a longtime. Was looking to ask for recommendations on the most budget friendly option was out there for a gaming PC. It will litterally only be used for Wow:Forever. Based out of UK, budget is £600-700 Thank you in advance!

Moving my parts into a new case and installed a new matx mobo 850 instead of my old b650 ATX. Anything I need to do or change in bios or settings?

Hi I'm thinking of doing a pc upgrade and need some thoughts as to what to buy...

Current Specs
AsRock 320M Motherboard
Ryzen 3 2300x Cpu
Radeon 570 Gpu
32gigs DDR4 (Thankfully)

I don't exactly know what to upgrade into and was thinking about upgrading both my Cpu and Motherboard for a start.

List of Maybes..??
Ryzen 5 5600x3d
B550M Motherboard
Keep Gpu
Keep Ram

I know I have enough Ram and my old motherboard won't support cpus past 65 watts so I just need some input on what I'm thinking about buying or what else I could buy...
(I also do know my gpu isn't good I just want to start off upgrading these parts first before looking at Gpus I want to buy )
Help would be appreciated please and thank you!

Title is self explanatory.

My current pc is pretty obnoxious, I bought a bog standard 3060, prebuild machine sometime 3 or 4 years ago, it came with not one, not 3 but SIX rainbow seizure fans (I can't turn off the RGB) These days I don't really game outside of Minecraft, a bit of TF2, and very rarely a game of Warhammer. As well internet browsing and other tasks, therefore, I really don't need an excessive amount of cooling, although, I am unsure how much a 3060 needs on its own.

they are coolmoon fans, from some chinese company. A while ago my desk and sleep locations were separate rooms but now they live in the same room, and im getting a bit tired of having to turn off my PC every night, and then having to unplug it, as the Coolermaster power supply still keeps its fan on after power off I have researched this issue, but so far no conclusions have been made.

So, this post boils down to, best quiet budget fans, and quantity of fans, im aiming for no more then 40 dollars at maximum, and also my aforementioned question: How do you turn off the fan to the PSU after shut down? Its a coolermaster 80plus gold variant, regardless im tempted to sell it and use that money to buy a different powersupply, so suggestions for that are also open.

So long story short, my SSD basically got fried a couple months ago, the computer tech I took it to reinstalled windows onto my hdd, wiping everything like a complete moron, and now my computer is pretty much handicapped.

So, I picked up a new ssd (crazy expensive now btw) and I plan on putting Windows onto it. So, what I was going to do is turn off my computer, unplug everything, then unplug both of my hdd's, then install windows onto the ssd, then plug the hdd's back in.

My question is, is this the best way to do it? And also, will all my programs function like normal after plugging back in the hard drives?

I'm growing a little concerned with CPU prices following the trend of RAM and memory prices exploding due to AI horseshit. My original plan was to wait until end-of-life AM5 and upgrade to a -800x3d at that time. However, after playing RE4 Remake for the first time on a 7500f w/ 9070xt, I have finally experienced the single digit 1%-lows that I see folks (understandably) complaining about.

I see a couple listings for 7800x3ds on AliExpress around $285-ish vs. Amazon at $350, but they don't appear to currently allow shipping to the US (due to tariffs?).

I purchased a 7500f via AiiExpress last year and it arrived without issue. My overly optimistic hope is to catch a coupon-stacking/Rakuten deal and walk out the door with a $225 (or less) 7800x3d. I'm aware of the risks of getting a dead chip, but I've never had an issue with credit card chargebacks for similar online purchase issues.

Just curious if anyone has had recent luck going this route?

I have almost zero experience with upgrading pcs, but could someone tell me which specs I should upgrade first?

Sorry it's in french also, but I think you can tell which specs they are.

Processeur Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700K CPU @ 4.00GHz 4.01 GHz

Mémoire mémoire vive installée 16,0 Go

Stockage 466 GB SSD WD_BLACK SN770 500GB, 1.82 TB HDD ST2000DM006-2DM164, 1.82 TB WDC WD20EARS-00MVWB0

Carte graphique NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (8 GB)

Système d’exploitation (OS) 64 bits, processeur x64

With their announcement and the discontinuation of disks, I'm finally going to move away from consoles and build a PC. I am so ootl it's not even funny. The last PC I owned, I was playing Unreal Tournament, lol.
So, find the holes in my build, please.
I'm big on fps and single player open world games, but want as few restrictions as possible.

PCPartPicker Part List

I’ve just built my first PC and curious what are some essentials you always make.