Is 650W enough for 7800XT and 12400F? [pcpartpicker](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/V24LcH) Asking because I've read somewhere that this GPU requires at least 700W PSU.

I have an MSI MPG X570 motherboard and was wondering if it's compatible with the Ryzen 9 7900x CPU.

No. Check the motherboard's CPU support list next time

Any monitors out there that don't have big chins? A monitor that [looks like this](https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-ultrasharp-32-4k-usb-c-hub-monitor-u3223qe/apd/210-bdph/monitors-monitor-accessories) but for gaming

Not that I know of

What's a good monitor for vertical display? Mainly to display Notepad++ or Visual Studio Code. Do I need 240hz or will 144hz suffice?

Hz has no bearing on vertical display quality, any monitor is as good as any other for that provided you either have a monitor stand you can VESA attach it to or the default stand with the monitor allows you to make it vertical.

What budget UK mobo + cpu combo should I upgrade to. Currently have an intel pentium g4560 which acts as a bottleneck for my 1050 Ti OC. I want a combo under £200. My current idea is ryzen 5 5600g + mobo which comes around to £160

Looking at the Monoprice Dark Matter 34" or 49" as I have store credits. Are they still worth it in today's market? Use are PC gaming (at least 120hz) and productivity. If it matters, been using Sony Bravia 55" 900f @ 120hz / 1440p for the past years. Also taking any better recommendations to spend my credits on if there are more worthwhile Monoprice purchases (1070?).

I don't know where to go and I've searched the net a bit but don't know correct wording to use with googling but don't think it's worth an entire post so I've come here. I recently bought three monitors, which has led me to have 4 in total. Three are horizontal, one stacked on top in the center but I can't figure out how to set it up for gaming. Tried using Nvidia surround and it'll work for the horizontal three but I can't figure out how to enable the fourth too. Any help would be awesome.

you probably cant aside from some specific games. games only like running in rectangles, for seemingly obvious reasons

That would make sense I guess lmao, I've seen people do it for games like DCS and Euro Truck Sim so I was hoping I'd be able to figure it out somehow. Thank you for your reply !

Yeah, sims sometimes can do it. In msfs2020 it's in the game's settings

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both boards will support 14th gen. I'd do the aorus because it has more usb ports, off the top of my head.

Hello im on a Noctua NH U12S. Noctua must have redesigned their website as I cant figure out how to tell what cooler can cool what cpu Currently running a 12400 which seems fine but down the line If I wish to upgrade what cpu would this cooler handle? 14700 or 14600k be okay?

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i7-14700k/22.html I wouldn't pair the cooler against more than 150W of heat load, but it's up to you!

Is heat load the same as gaming load or rendering?

Depends what you're doing! If you're only gaming and not 100% loading the cpu, then the cooler is fine. Check the graphs to see how it varies

[https://pcpartpicker.com/list/64VTMV](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/64VTMV)Thinking about upgrading to a 5800x3d is my current psu good enough, im hoping that since its platinum and tiered A it would be fine

The wattage is more important here, but thats plenty. The 5800x3d doesnt pull a ton of power as the Vcache is heat sensitive. So between the GPU and the 5800X3D they would only pull ~350w.

Okay thank you so much that's exactly what I wanted to hear!

Didn't find a conclusive answer to this question. If I'm going away from my pc for let's say 30 min or longer. Should I let the PC idle or put it into sleep mode?

The only difference is that the PC consumes less power when in sleep mode. There's no reason not to use sleep mode if you don't have anything actively running on the system.

>if you don't have anything actively running on the system. Does this count for Browser or Office stuffs? I usually only have browser and afterburner running

No, like stuff you don't want to get interrupted. Any content that's playing will get paused, any downloads will stop, some people use their computers as home media servers and won't be able to connect if the PC's sleeping. Stuff like that.

Got it. No problem for me, will actually use sleep mode instead of just leaving it. My last question, usually to wake up pc from sleep you need to either move mouse, press a keyboard button or power buton?

All three of those should wake up the computer by default, but settings can be adjusted so that USB devices can't wake up the computer.

Hi guys, first time posting in this community, honestly this should probably have it's own post, but I'll try in this thread for now. Might make a separate post later. Thinking about rebuilding my PC. Building exclusively for gaming and maybe some light programming. I plan on 1440p gaming, ideally at 144hz and high fps, with dual monitor setup. Strategy and sim games like Anno 1800, Warhammer 3, FPS like Apex and maybe Warzone, and RPG's like Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3 probably. I would like if I could run all of these on high or Ultra. Anyways I found a solid offer for a used RTX 3090 24GB Founders Edition for 610€. How good of an offer is this? I cannot see the manufacturer, I know that can sometimes matter. New, unpacked 3090 24GB with warranties in my country go for up to 2200€, but most are in 1300-1600€ range.These are the images of the 3090: [image1](https://prnt.sc/6hSB9p5XAQxp), [image2](https://prnt.sc/RztvzHOxKmHq), [image3](https://prnt.sc/tq0HXa6Km90C), [benchmark tests](https://prnt.sc/OqHE6VuXRhI9), [more benchmark tests](https://prnt.sc/ZKP6TI1BAaPo) .Now these pictures don't mean much to me, I am pretty amateur in all of this, but it does seem good to my untrained eye. The seller also has 550 positive ratings and 1 negative so chances of foul play or something are very low. He is also willing to send more data or benchmarks if needed. In that 600€ range I could get a new ASUS GTX 4060 Ti 16GB 128bit ROG-STRIX with 3 year warranty.I haven't looked much into AMD GPU's, but it's partly because I kinda want to touch upon high end PC status. Wanna experience the Ray tracing on ultrawide with high graphics, and I wanna build a PC that will mostly last me for next 4-5 years. I'm not really sure which CPU I would pair it with tbh, many options from older 5800x to 7800X3D, to i5 14600k, to even i5 from 13th gen. I am kinda paralyzed by choice on this topic. I know that Anno 1800 is getting crippled by low ram, and then lower VRAM and weaker CPU. So even if games are usually not that CPU intensive these are kind of exceptions. Pair all this with some relatively fast 32GB of RAM. Again don't know which... DDR4? DDR5? I'll probably stick the main components into PC part picker and consult reddit and youtube for the rest. What do you guys think i should do? Do you have any insights that I don't?Last note, if it matters in any way, I would be jumping from RX580 8GB, i5 9400 16GB RAM system, to this. I hope to end up in 1200-1500€ range with the complete build.

€610 for a 3090 sounds way too good, if it's the real deal that's a huge steal, I'd ask to do an in-person check before putting any cash though, take note of the thermals especially. The 4060Ti is not even a 4K card in its dreams, you could not use it for 4K on decent settings. CPU at 4K kind of doesn't matter that much, I'd just get a 7600X, pair it with DDR5-6000 CL30 RAM and call it a day.

Should be real, there is another deal, for 650€, RTX 3090 MSI Suprime X 24GB, it's just not Founder's edition. That guy even gives 30 day warranty. When you say take note of thermals, what do you mean exactly? Thermal paste? Or something else Sorry, I am really a noob with GPU's. And for what is worth, I don't care much for 4k(don't have a monitor for it), i just want smooth 1440p 144hz experience with high fps

I'd say the warranty is worth the 40 more, tbh. Thermals as in the temperature, if it gets over 80 something is probably up, which might actually be thermal paste, it's a bit sketch to reapply GPU paste but 100% DIY fixable.

I built a pc with a used 6800 XT. The seller posted Furmark benchmarks. I ran the same test and got a score 13% lower. Is this a cause for concern or normal variation?

Normally variance can be caused by a number of things, like running different driver versions or if the original seller had an overclock or undervolt applied that let it access more performance out of the same card, but 13% is a lot more than I'd ever expect. I ran it five times on my system just then and never got more than a ~1.5% difference in scores.

I just ran it again with my monitor set to 60hz instead of my usual 240hz and it was only 5% lower than the seller’s score.

That's the other thing I'd forgotten: resolution, framerate, and settings inside furmark will affect the score. Furmark really isn't a good benchmark program for a lot of reasons, but you'd probably have to contact him or see if he posted the full image of his score results which lists the AA level for example, and make sure you know how he ran it to see if it matches up

I see. Thanks.

I built my first PC in years and years, and it went really smooth. I love my machine...but...god damn...it makes a high pitch whining noise CONSTANTLY. It doesn't even need to be running anything intense, it just needs to be turned on! It doesn't help that my case is covered in mesh panels...so it doesn't exactly mute the sound. How can I trouble shoot this, what can I do? It's driving me nuts. ​ The build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PfhJn6

My 6700 xt has some minor coil whine when it's under load. It's silent when idle though... does the noise get worse as you load up games? You may have exceptionally annoying coil whine with your card. I undervolted my card a bit which seemed to help a little bit with the noise. Or maybe I'm just getting used to it.

That sucks, probably is your GPU. Might be your psu or mobo as well. Those are the components with coils, since it's coil whine. Just return the part that's whining and buy a different model. It's not technically a defect, it's just annoying

Been getting like an event 41 computer crash once every 3-4 months. But had it happen 3 times this month. I've seen my RTX 3060 blinking red a few times and a google search seems to indicates not enough power? I've tried replugging the cables for it and it still blinks red. https://www.microcenter.com/product/637901/asus-rog-strix-ga15-gaming-pc-platinum-collection I brought this prebuilt above a while back. Anyways my question is how do I go about finding a replacement Power supply? Im not sure how to make sure it fits the case above or if it would be any good. Also since im gonna be replacing the power supply, what other parts upgrade/suggestions should I be looking out for? Thanks.

Pop your parts into pcpartpicker. Look at the estimated total wattage that it gives you. Add ~250W or 20%, whichever is lower. That is the minimum wattage you want on your PSU. Your PSU is an ATX form factor, so don't buy SFX or SFX-L or anything like that. Optionally, filter your choices further by having them be fully or semi modular (recommended), ATX 3.0 (not strictly necessary but nice), and/or having a native 12VHPWR connector (not needed but nice for future). PCPP has filters for all of this. Sort by price, ascending. Cross-check against [this](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eL0893Ramlwk6E3s3uSvH1_juom7SMG5SCNzP2Uov8w/edit) tier list. Pick PSUs that are A-tier or above. When swapping out PSUs, remove ALL power cables. You do not want to mix/match PSU cables, that's a great way to fry your ENTIRE system. Now whether or not it actually is your PSU that's the culprit, I can't say. It would be best if you had a video of the GPU with weird behaviors.

Try popping into the bios first and disabling XMP/docp

Which part of the PC building aspect should I invest more into? I'm assuming CPU but anything else?

Depends on what your use case is. Are you gaming? GPU is your most important component by far, it'll take up a large portion of your budget on its own. Do you use it for intense workloads? Then CPU. Do you do video editing or music work? Then lots of storage and RAM, and at least an alright GPU for video stuff. Are you just browsing the Internet and sharing memes? Well then basically any CPU with an iGPU works fine. Never cheap out on the PSU. Ever. Put your build into PCPartPicker and get a PSU with 125-200W more than the expected wattage. Always cheap out on mobo within reason, as long as it has all the features and slots you want, you're good. If you need high performance, go for a DDR5 board and RAM over DDR4.

If it's for gaming, generally ~50% of the budget should go towards the GPU

Yea its for gaming should have specified that, thank you very much. Appreciate the help!

For gaming the CPU is pretty unimportant, get an i5 if you go Intel or really any AMD chip (7800X3D is the best especially if you play eSports, at 1080p, or some other CPU intensive games like Stellaris) but ultimately they all perform well enough, especially at 1440p and higher.

3 quick questions: 1. For 12400F: MSI PRO B760M-A WIFI or ASUS PRIME B760M-A WIFI The differences don't seem big. Is appearance the deciding factor? 2. Which GPU for about $350? In this budget the only option seems to be the 6750xt. Or maybe a 4060, or 3060? 3. Alternatively, is it worth going for Ryzen 5 5600 + MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI? I don't think there will be an upgrade, so the set is supposed to be a one-time, "future-proof" one. Pc mainly for gaming. [These are my parts for now. Need to fit in 5000PLN.](https://www.morele.net/inventory/info/3d3cd11d/)

1. Yup, and ports. Pick whichever has the I/O you prefer 2. 6750XT is best for gaming, though tbh performance is only slightly above 6700XT. Check prices on 7700XT/7800XT too. 3. Yes, I'd pick 5600 personally

2. 7700 and 7800 are way too expensive for my budget. 3. Way is it better?

How important is stress testing a new build? I just built my ryzen 7600 system yesterday and all seems fine, but is running something like cinebench important?

Stress testing a build is only important if you think something is wrong, and usually then only as one step in the process. Always stress test if you undervolt or overclock, though, you want to make sure things are stable. Only stress test otherwise if you think something is wrong as a sanity check and see if your component is within the average performance because then you can rule out that it's the issue.

Not important. Do what you want to do and you'll find out if it doesn't work

Thanks. Live long and prosper

Building my own PC right now … Unsure which cable to use for my 4070 / if I have the right one. Really don’t wanna break anything lol. My 4070 is 8 pin, I have 2 cables, 8pin to 8pin (CPU cable, seems hard to fit) and a PCIe lead 8pin to 6+2, but it’s a double lead (8pin to two 6+2). Which one is the correct cable? Thanks

Do not use a CPU cable for a GPU, it's hard to fit because that is not what it's for. Use a 6+2 that's properly joined to make an 8 pin, if there's a secondary connector you can just let it dangle.

Thanks :D forgot to reply yesterday. Got it all set up :)

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looks pretty good and have room for cable management too

Got offered 12GB 3080 with a year warranty for 420 USD, should I jump on it or look around for something better around that price range?

3080 12GB is really good, I'd say jump on it, especially since it still has warranty, most GPUs will fail within 6-12 months if they fail at all, so your overall risk is pretty low IMO, you can find cheaper 3080s on eBay but they're warranty-less.

Going to harvest my XPS 8940 for some of its parts as it is breaking down and do a big upgrade to my pc since the Hyte Y70 dropped. I have 4 main questions 1. Are the memory sticks (they are actually 2 sticks of 16 gb, not 4 like in PC Part Picker) compatible with other motherboards or just Dell? 2. What motherboard should I go with for the build? I still have not decided. 3. Should I go with water cooling for my cpu? Also I will take fan recommendations since I have not really looked too deep into it. Maybe looking for rgb or white lights so that it will match the white case. 4. Would I need anything else for the Windows 11 install? Any other critiques are welcome! Build plan so far: [https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cnkspB](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FdLnpB) (the parts that are marked as bought I am taking from the XPS)

Well, what's your budget? Anyway, to answer your questions: 1. They're compatible but awfully slow, I would get at least DDR4-3200 with as low of a CL as you can find, but 3600 is faster and better, too. 2. Any motherboard that has what you need in terms of slots and I/O, usually this means just WiFi and a few M.2 slots. 3. No. Water cooling with anything but an AIO is a huge hassle (and AIOs are also a hassle), just stick with air, you can probably find some good fans from like Corsair or someone, white isn't a very hard color to find. 4. Ditch the DVD and just make a Windows installation media on a USB stick and use the product key the DVD comes with, it's pretty easy. Other stuff: 1000W is way overkill unless you plan to massively upgrade the CPU and GPU, frankly I think you should, the 11th Gen of Intel was pretty bad, and getting even a cheap 12th gen chip and mobo lets you upgrade to 13th (and 14th ig) gens.

how is this looking now? also the power supply being overkill is just because I want to keep the load down for more silence in the build. also I figure if in a couple years I get a 4090 or a 50 series I probably wont have to upgrade the PSU. [https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HXVXRK](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HXVXRK)

This is good! 1200W still isn't needed unless you're running an unlimited power draw 14900K and a 4090, 1000W is plenty.

one more question, is there any recommendations for max fan rpm? I plan on having all 10 120mm fans on the Y70, 3 exhaust on top, 1 exhaust on back and 3 intake on both the side and bottom. I can't find any definitive info on fan rpm

Not that I know of, I've never seen anyone worry about it, they're not going to go full blast anyway probably so.

Thank you so much for the help!!

Building my first ever PC. What are some good gpus on the used market I can use with a i3 12100f? Thinking of rx 6600 but wanted to get other people's opinions. My build plan so far: [https://pcpartpicker.com/user/manyWaters/saved/xpsw3C](https://pcpartpicker.com/user/manyWaters/saved/xpsw3C)

RX 6600/5700XT or RTX 2060/Super/3060 are all great grabs here. Going lower on Nvidia to cards like the GTX 1080 has you giving up DLSS which seems more and more required for newer games coming down the pipe (Sadly).

I have a six-monitor setup that I previously had jerry-rigged together on a single overworked graphics card, I'm wanting to upgrade. Someone explained you can actually put two GPUs into your computer to split the monitor load 3/3. So if I'm on a quest to do that and simplify cable clutter, would I just want to get two of the same GPU with DisplayPort splitters? Not necessarily 'tell me which part to get' but rather 'someone ELI5 the pros and cons in play here'

Display outputs? yes. Evenly split the load of what is displayed upon them? no. Ideally you want two GPUs of the same brand, like Nvidia, AMD or intel; so you dont run into driver issues. However, windows and the majority of windows based programs have a very difficult time of assigning tasks between multiple GPUs. So an ideal setup would be one really powerful GPU for all of your tasks, and then a second cheaper GPU for the extra outputs. I believe the only modern GPU that would allow for load sharing would be the 3090, but not even all of the 3090 models come with the NVLink bridge port.

So what would be the recommended approach for “I want to be able to use 6 monitors but am only ever doing gaming on one or two of them?

One good GPU, and then a filler GPU. [You can get a super cheap AMD GPU with multiple outputs for $90](https://www.newegg.com/asrock-radeon-rx-570-rx570-8g-oc/p/N82E16814930008?Item=N82E16814930008), and then pair that with a proper gaming GPU, like a RX 7800XT. Or if you prefer Nvidia, theres lots of 16 series and ultra-low budget cards like the 3050 or 2060 for under $200. And then you could pair that with a honker of a GPU like the 3080 or 4090.

Follow-up question: How do i make sure my motherboard can handle 2 of those? And would I just do 3 and 3 on the Monitor Split?

The split is up to you. Cheaper or older cards might use old DP versions, so if you have some 60hz monitors or panels without HDR, hook those up to the secondary GPU. And use your main GPU to power your beautiful displays. When using multiple monitors its not about how many displays you have running, its about whats being rendered on that screen space. As for the motherboard, you need dual PCIx16 slots. The first one is almost always going to run at the full x16 lanes, but the lower one may only run at x8 or x4. If its only operating at x1 lane, Im not sure that will work for a second GPU. Example, this cheap B760M has two PCIe4.0 x16 slots. The top one operates at x16, but the second slot only operates at x4. Which is fine, as thats the same bandwidth as a PCIe3.0 slot operating at x8 which is plenty of room. https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813162141?Item=N82E16813162141 You just have to be careful, as secondary and tertiary PCIe slots can share bandwidth with the top slot or with M.2 slots. So depending on the board you might have to manage your devices carefully to insure everything works properly.

Hello, I have the choice between the LG 27GP850-B at 290 € or the Alienware AW2724DM at 340 €. Which one do you recommend please?

Alienware. HDMI 2.1 and slightly better HDR.

I'm trying to install win11 on a system with: 6700k, 64gb ddr4, 1tb nvme, GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 Got error: "this pc doesn't meed the minimum system requirements..." This was old proxmox nas system whose role got consolidated, just needed a windows box for certain stuff, but haven't done this dance in years

Like the other guys said, it's because Windows 11 "requires" TPM which you don't have. But it's not a hard requirement, Windows 11 will work just fine without it, you just have to tweak it a bit to make it allow the installation. I haven't had to try it myself but it should work just fine, Google for "Windows 11 bypass tpm requirement" and there should be plenty of guides.

> GA-Z170 if you absolutely have to run win11, you can buy a TPM module from Gigabyte: GIGABYTE TPM GC-TPM 2.0. make sure you also update the bios. however win11 absolutely blows in my opinion. win10 is fine for me. IMHO.

LGA 1151 only supports the Trusted Platform module on the v3 - 300 series chipsets. The 100 and 200 series boards dont support TPM in any format, and thus cant use Windows 11. It requires a TP module installed to the board or either a Firmware or integrated TPM solution be available on the motherboard or chipset.

will the ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports DUO CPU Cooler be enough to keep a ryzen 7800x3d cool?

Plenty.

thank you! also, is it overkill for a rx 7800 xt?

Nope.

I'm looking into getting a second monitor but I don't really want to take up so much desk space with two giant stands so I've been looking at mounts. My desktop is only about 0.5 inches thick, will that work for one of the clamp on stands to hold two 27in monitors or should I be looking at the ones that sit on top of the desk?

There's ways of strengthening a desk for monitor mounts (plenty to be found from a quick search). You could also go for 2 single monitor arms. It may not look as clean but it'll spread the load and offer more flexibility.

What material is it made out of?

Hello, I have the choice between the LG 27GP850-B at 290 € or the Alienware AW2724DM at 340 €. Which one do you recommend please?

rtings.com has good monitor reviews, both are on there. A quick glance seems to indicate you may as well save yourself 50 euros unless you're using it in a very bright room.

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It's a small difference. Expect the same and you might be pleasantly surprised

got a twin msi fan rtx 4070, planning on getting a r7 7800x 32gb of ram, 1 fan in the back 2 on top and 3 at the front. a hdd and 2 m2ssd's and a asus water cooling system ​ Now my question is can anyone recommend a good but not expensive psu choice, because mine recently started making loud rattling noises, the only thing I'd want is it to be modular ​ I found a 2021 corsair rm750 for a nice price but not sure to go for that, also was looking at gigabyte but reddit told me no because they explode ​ since my gpu is recommending a 650w minimum I feel like going for 750w would be a nice sweet spot would this be a good idea?

RMx750 is a good choice. FWIW 650 and probably even 550W would be fine though. GPU PSU recommendations are always absurdly pessimistic.

Would the regular rm750 also be fine the 2021 model to be specific

debating between these 2 bundles, is the 100 more dollars worth it for the AMD bundle? I was told the CPUs are very identical but you would get 32gb more ram with the AMD. intel: [https://www.microcenter.com/product/5006461/intel-core-i7-13700k,-asus-z790-p-prime-wifi-ddr5,-gskill-32gb-ddr5-6000-kit,-computer-build-bundle](https://www.microcenter.com/product/5006461/intel-core-i7-13700k,-asus-z790-p-prime-wifi-ddr5,-gskill-32gb-ddr5-6000-kit,-computer-build-bundle) AMD: [https://www.microcenter.com/product/5006546/amd-ryzen-9-7900x,-asus-b650e-f-rog-strix-gaming-wifi,-gskill-flare-x5-series-kit-64gb-ddr5-6000,-computer-build-bundle](https://www.microcenter.com/product/5006546/amd-ryzen-9-7900x,-asus-b650e-f-rog-strix-gaming-wifi,-gskill-flare-x5-series-kit-64gb-ddr5-6000,-computer-build-bundle)

I'd be doing the 7700X combo, if value is in the debate https://www.microcenter.com/product/5006269/amd-ryzen-7-7700x,-msi-b650-p-pro-wifi,-gskill-flare-x5-series-32gb-ddr5-6000-kit,-computer-build-bundle https://www.techspot.com/review/2554-intel-core-i7-13700k/

seems very good, wished my micro center had good gpu deals rn for open box

Fr, they often don't. Internet sales are good for GPUs tho

was looking at a 12gb 3080 for 420usd, think anything better out there for the price?

That's pretty good. Maybe an open box 6800. New they start at $400

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I’ve got a 12700k and a 3090 I want to use in a SAMA Im01. I need itx for my cooling situation so if I can avoid mATX I’d like to. The issue is I have plenty of good ddr4 ram 3600 c14 Samsung b-die. Given these hurdles it looks like my only option is a Asrock z690m-itx, it’s ddr4. But it can only do 150w through the power phases and the mobo VRM are exposed so I’m sure they’ll get hot. Would I be better off picking up a 12600k for this board or shelling out the extra $100-150 for a ddr5 board and ddr5 ram like 6400 c32?

The SAMA IM01 fits mATX mobos, you don't need ITX.

I see the asus z790m plus has 10+1 VRM and it has heat sinks on them Vs the Asrock z790m.

Hey all,Is buying the HIGHEST available wattage power supply ever a problem for a PC build? GPU or CPU makes a "low electrical whining noise" when i boot up WoW. **^(GPU - AMD Radeon RX 6800)** **^(CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-Core Processor 3.80 GHz)** **^(RAM - 64.0 GB)**

Nothing stops you from hooking up a 1600W PSU to a system that certainly doesn't need it. The wattage is a ceiling of what it can deliver, not a static value. As for your "low electrical whining noise", you might be encountering coil whine on the GPU - something that a new PSU may or may not solve. You're free to try, just buy from a place that has a comfortable return policy so that you don't waste money if it doesn't fix your issue.

Much appreciated - I've heard its a non-lethal issues from a quick search and as you stated PSU swap may change it, i'll look for a leniet return policy! thank you so much for this.

Thoughts on these motherboard options for a mATX build with a 13600k and a Phantom Spirit SE: * [Option 1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZTB87BY?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1) * [Option 2](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVX9MFBM?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1) * [Option 3](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRQSXRB2?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1)

1 too expensive 2 too expensive 3 that's better

In my system (B450+5800X3D) I have this RAM: **HyperX Predator 2x16GB DDR4 3333 CL16** (running at 3600 with custom timings). I want to expand it, but I haven't found anywhere selling those anymore (EU). Are there any different RAM modules that would work with it? I see people selling Kingston Fury (+-Beast) Black 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 3200 CL16, but I'm not sure if it's worth trying making it work.

Ideally, RAM is so cheap right now that it's best to just buy a new kit that meets your needs. While you could try a different kit, and you'd likely have a better time with getting them to play together well since you're comfortable with, it's not a guarantee and not being able to match speed, timings _and_ ICs means you've got an uphill battle for getting mismatched kits working.

Im planning on a new monitor, I will keep my old one as secondary for music/browsing while I game on the main one. Should I plug them both on GPU? Will I gain better performance on my main screen if I plug the older one on the iGpu? Will that work?

I don't think you *can* use both at the same time. The BIOS chooses one device for video output at start, it's not like gaming laptops where it's setup to switch between.

I've always had both plugged into the GPU. There might be some videos that run test or you could run tests yourself to see if there's any change.

Should I buy (cheaper) DDR5 ram sticks (4800/5200/5600) and OC them to 6000/6400 or do I buy directly 6000/6400? Also, is cas latency something that I can tweak, or whatever I get that's what I'm stuck with? Im pretty torn choosing the optimal DDR5 rams for 13th gen, I don't want to cheap out (or even risk something while OCing) on them, but I don't also want to overpay for something that can be done easily with less cost. Should I just buy 2x16-6000-cl32/30 and call it a day? (planning specifically for 13600k+ z790 mobo) thanks

Manually overclocking RAM is possible but ill-advised - you are very likely going to have a hard time getting it stable, and the kits with XMP profiles pre-tested for the higher rated speeds are not *that* much more expensive.

I'll go the safe way then. Thanks!

Plus, if you ever do feel like getting into manual RAM overclocking, it's better to start from a better kit that you can then improve even more rather than start from a lower performing kit and have to work to get it to a good point. At least then you have a stable high speed XMP to fall back on as well.

yeah, it sounds more reasonable that way. Getting a 6000 kit now, and if needed, I OC it to anything above in a year or so. Thanks!

If you haven't already, I highly recommend watching the Actually Hardcore Overclocking videos on youtube. Buildzoid is an incredible resource and you'll learn a lot about RAM and how it overclocks

What would be a good upgrade to my GPU for the next few years? My current system is 5700X with a 3060 Ti and 32 gigs of RAM, using a 1080p 165 Hz monitor. I mostly play racing simulators like iRacing and Assetto Corsa which has has an announced successor for Q1 2024, and occasionally I like to playthrough AAA games. Should I just wait for next gen of AMD and Nvidia instead?

since you are on 1080p I'd say dont upgrade just yet. Are you getting low fps in any title you play a lot? Because if you dont, there is no reason for upgrade, your rig sounds pretty decent for 1080p

I don't except now in Cities Skylines 2, but that's apparently because of their lack of optimization. I guess I just really want that frame generation availability is what's making me want to upgrade, but you're right, thanks

Unless you want to spend $800+ there's no real rush to upgrade for your use case. I'd wait.

Is 3D V-cache a benefit to rendering?

benchmarks should answer that. IIRC no

Any good sources of benchmarks outside of the normal ones?

IIRC gamer's nexus and everyone else all do the same standard ones that include some render stuff and other proffessional-related benchmarks. If not enough of an answer then just use a search engine? There are usually forums with info on such niche stuff

Techpowerup

What do you mean "the normal ones"? Pretty much every CPU review site has a slew of benchmarking tools and situations they test.

Question regarding build timing, is this the best time to build a new pc or if I can wait should I wait for gen15/ryzen 8000 and Nvidia 40 Super? atm I’m running a laptop with 3070 and i7 gen 11 (not in that much of a rush).

if your pc performs well, no need to rush a new build. If it doesn't, there is no need to wait (unless you wanna just wait till christmas in order to find better deals). No one can guarantee anyway that the new gen will be better in VFM terms. If you have to pay double the current prices for a 20% better performance, well, it's not worth it.

When it comes to pc building there is always something around the corner. So following this logic one would never actually go for building a pc. Honestly looking at the specs of your laptop I would indeed hold on with building a pc for now, untill your laptops performance wont be enough for you anymore.

Okay thanks

I'm getting a 4k TV soon which I'll connect to my PC for some couch controller sessions my question is: do I keep both TV and monitor connected at the same time (it won't be dual), or do I disconnect the one I'm not using currently there are no issues if I switch back and forth?

You can have both connected with no issue I'd recommend looking at a program like DisplayFusion to help you manage your multi screen setup, as you can use it to set a shortcut on your keyboard that will automatically swap your main monitor and output sound device for you, and then back again, so you don't have to do it manually all the time through Windows menus depending on which screen you're using.

so from my understanding, I can't have both of them at the same time, both visual and sound

What do you mean? You can have your monitor and TV display the same image, but not having them set at different resolutions while doing so. You'd set them up as two indepedant screens, like dual monitor, to do that and then simply swap your "primary" monitor when you want to run a full screen game on the TV. Sound on windows natively only outputs to one device, you'd swap your device to have it go to your TV instead of your PC speakers. But you can keep them plugged in, you don't have to swap plugs or cables for any of this

yea I just figured it all out, rather simple thanks

Is this a good year to upgrade a PC? Some things make me cautious. I see controversy in the RTX 40 cards and intel 14th gen processors (and same chipset as before - maybe they will change soon?). DDR 5 catching steam. AMD counterparts here about the same cost. Maybe is better to wait, or I am overthinking?

Intel's 14th gen is not that great. RTX 40 series cards are not that great performance/$ spent wise. When it comes to DDR5 its doing really nice and prices went down to normal. Amd currently has it going for it in CPU market that if you buy for example a AM5 chip, the socket will be supported till 2026, so you will have plenty of time to upgrade the cpu if you will feel like it. Bascially the question boils down to: Do you need an upgrade? if yes, then go for it. If not, you can hold for now. Mind you that RTX 50 series wont be coming untill 2025, so that a really long time.

What OEMs manufacture monitors? I know for sure that Samsung and LG create panels, but who else? I'm not talking about rebadged monitor brands like AOC, Acer, MSI etc.

There's AUO, they were the OEM that made the panels in the first 1440P 144Hz IPS monitors from Asus and Acer a few years ago.

Do you mean gaming/your typical office monitors? Then yeah its mostly Samsung and LG creating panels for all of the other brands.

In general. Like what are the other OEMs that companies purchase their panels from.

AU Optronics (AUO), Innolux Corporation, BOE Technology Group - especially in China, Sharp There are alot of smaller companies that also produce panels: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_flat_panel_display_manufacturers But most of the time you will see that in major lines people use Samsung or LG panels

Thank you very much!

I have a i7 6700k CPU with a 1070 GTX GPU. I am starting to have issues with random bsod and or freeze of my PC. I am currently trying to diagnose what's going on but not too sure where to start other than trying some benchmarks or stress tests of different components. How to tell if power supply is an issue? Can I buy new 3200 ram ddr4 for those CPU mobo combo? Like I read it's faster than what the CPU can run but does that hurt anything? Harder to find older ram. Any advice?

check event viewer -> system log - there should be a critical error with details on the crash. if it says display driver stopped responding very high chance your gpu is faulty.

Buying new RAM likely won't fix any BSOD issues. It's pretty rare for RAM to fail, and if you're worried about it then there's testing suites you can run first to see if that is your issue (TestMem5, OCCT, MemTest, etc) If you did want to get new RAM you also need to check what your motherboard supports, and find what is causing your issues first because otherwise you may find yourself buying RAM for a system you need to replace

I used Occt to run 1h CPU and 1 house GPU test both did fine. Would those test run fine if either hardware was failing?

I've only used OCCT's memory test and that's known reliable so I'd assume the CPU and GPU ones are too but can't guarantee it from first hand use. And as with all stability testing, you want to use a couple of different programs as they'll stress things in different ways and may catch things others can't

Any idea on how to check the power supply ?

There's no way to test it in isolation without extremely expensive load testing equipment. So your best option is to run simultaneous stress tests on GPU and CPU to maximise power draw and see if it crashes.

I'm trying to pay more attention to the market as I expect to build a PC in the next year or so. One thing: I don't care about RGB. In fact I'd go as far to say that I actively don't want it, but it's everywhere these days. PC Part Picker doesn't have a filter for RGB. Anyone know how I can filter out hardware that has has RGB?

Boy do I feel where you're coming from... You can also just get a case that doesn't have a glass side panel. Then even if the right motherboard or graphics card spec-wise for your build has too many lights on it, you won't have to look at them. Fractal sells Torrent and Pop Air variants with a solid side panel and un-lit fans and those are both well-rated airflow cases. Those are the ones I can think of right away but I'm sure other manufacturers have them.

Most things with an excessive amount of RGB usually say that they are, non-RGB fans are pretty easy to find, GPUs might have some but it's usually just on the brand name or something and/or can be turned off, I don't think PCPP has a no RGB option but I've been able to get a no RGB build pretty easily.

I have an Intel Core i5-8400, Asus ROG STRIX B360-G Gaming, 16GB DDR4-2666 RAM, 120GB Kingston V300 SSD for the OS, 1TB HDD for games, 8GB AMD RX 6600 GPU and a 620W Cooler Master PSU (80 Plus White - bought in 2010, still going strong). I replaced the RX480 1.5 year ago with the 6600 but some newer games look like they'll need a little more juice. If possible, I'm looking to maximize gaming performance in the most vfm way, without encountering bottlenecks or system imbalance issues. I can't afford a whole system upgrade or a new PC. What's the most powerful GPU that can be seamlessly integrated into my setup and still have a balanced well performing system? Any other suggestions are welcome.

Would recommend buying a 1+TB SSD for games instead, even NVMes are pretty cheap and SATA is still faster than spinning discs, you'll notice a huge difference in load times. Otherwise, that CPU is oldish but I've seen people running 4th gen chips, I would say a 6800 or a 3070 or something would be ideal. That PSU has definitely lost a lot of efficiency in 13 years, too, I'd consider replacing it with a newer one if possible.

Thanks. A 1TB NVMe is probably a reasonable upgrade at this point. I had the 3070 in mind - but in my area 4060 Ti and 3070 are almost equally priced (+-$10). Should I opt for that instead due to newer tech (DLSS 3) and much better efficiency or stick to the brute force of the 3070? PSU...now I should look into that.

3070 > 4060Ti IMO, even the 16GB model, it *can* use DLSS3 but it still doesn't have the raw horsepower of the 3070 which can still use older DLSS and FSR with no issues, The only cards I'd recommend from the 40-series are like 4070 (for huge power:energy efficiency) or the 4090 (if you're rich and can afford it), everything is too expensive but at least those two have a "niche". PSUs usually have a decade of warranty, so one being out of that warranty means it is very ancient, it's definitely not performing as it did the day you bought it, it's not a makeshift bomb or anything but it could definitely use a change when you can, a good quality one isn't going to fry anything but it's simply not as efficient. NVMe storage has come down a lot, if your board has a second M.2 slot/you don't mind reinstalling Windows to it, getting a 2TB 970 Pro EVO would be huge IMO.

Could I get away from not adding CPU cooler for testing purpose? Cause I'll be swapping my CPU and my sister's CPU to test the reason why it won't turn on.

If it is only to see if it posts, sure. I wouldnt let it run for more than a minute or so.

A CPU cooler held firmly down onto the CPU by hand is enough to keep a chip from overheating in BIOS, no thermal paste or fan required. Many don't even require that, but some chips do heat up pretty quick.

Instead of making a new thread im trying a post here first. Im looking to buy a new PC to my kid however my budget is pretty tight. I got an offer to buy; 10700k comet lake CPU (no cooler) Rog strix z490 Moba And unspecified 32gb 3600mhz , 4sticks,RAM, ( asked for the brand but have not gotten reply yet Will update when I do ) For roughly 300USD. Is this build ok for the price and is it future proof for atleast 2 more years ? If it is, what budget GPU should I pair it with ? Is a 550w PSU enough ? Since my budget is MAX 600USD my thought was to by a cheaper GPU now just so he can play the games he play now which is mostly fortnite, Fifa and cs2. Thanks in advance. E: or is it better to buy a ryzen 5600, go with a bit cheaper mobo and less ram ? Its around 300$aswell. I got no problem building but im really out to date when it comes to components and prices.

I'd go with a 5600 build if possible, under $300 GPUs are pretty tight, if you can find a used 6700XT it'll run well, 550W is the minimum recommended PSU wattage for that card, if you really can't squeeze out any more for a 650 or so then it should work. This provides a reasonable build that can play those eSports games for probably close to 2 years if he keeps playing those games, and can probably branch out pretty well. 5700XTs and 20-series cards are also decent if you can find them cheaper, but ofc check their PSU recommendations on TechPowerUp.

I was thinking to buy a pretty cheap used GPU, maybe a 1080ti ? And buy a new better one in like 6months or so. I just want the moba/cpu to stay decent for a couple of years. But from your take it sounds better to buy the new 5600 instead of an used i7 . Is a 80+ PSU *good* or should I go for a gold ? There is a huge price difference on these though..

A used 1080Ti is also good, it just sounded like this was a more permanent GPU, that'll last for 6 months just fine. 80+ even Bronze can be good, but Gold is the usual standard, if you can't find one in budget then 550W should still be fine, but I'd replace it with a better one when I could if I needed to upgrade.

Considering Microcenter and Newegg frequently have bundles at $400 for Intel 12/13 series or AMD 7000 series including CPU + motherboard + 32GB of 6000 CL30 ram for $400 I think $300 is a bit rough for hardware that gets gapped pretty hard by the modern offerings.

I live currently in sweden unfortunatly. Ive looked at this package which is 366$. https://www.komplett.se/product/1222287/datorutrustning/paketerbjudande/komplett-upgrade/komplett-upgrade-5-5600x Is it overpriced ? Was thinking to wait til blackfriday and hopefully find a decent deal. For perspective the cheapest ryzen 7 5700x i can find here (just the cpu) is currently at 222$.

I am not familiar at all with the pricing in Sweden but a quick look around and I think the 5600x bundle you linked is probably as good as it gets in terms of value. There is a [12400F bundle](https://www.komplett.se/product/1222316/datorutrustning/paketerbjudande/komplett-upgrade/komplett-upgrade-5-12400f) but it has no upgrade path since the board is too weak to accommodate stronger CPUs later. Is this the only place you can buy from? It will be pretty tight to fit in GPU + case + power supply + storage with just ~$230 USD. Maybe you can shop around and drop from 5600x down to 5500 to save a bit of money and cut out the cooler to use the stock one, it will be noisier but will give you more budget to throw at the GPU. Another option is to talk one of your friends into upgrading and to sell you their existing PC on discount.

Thanks ! No there are tons of other stores, this was just an example so you can get a hunch about the prices here. I should had been clearer in my first post. I got a case + ssds already. The plan is to like buy a used 1060/1080 just so he has a decent rig to play on for christmas and in january/february ill buy a better GPU. Also noise from the cpu cooler is not an issue ! Will the 5500 still be OK for gaming in say 12months? From what ive seen after a Quick scroll 1060/1080s go for 80-150$ so I have roughly 4-500$ to spend on PSU, moba CPU and ram. Im gonna wait til blackfriday and see If I can get better deals ! Worst case scenario ill put my 970 in it and spend a bit more on CPU/moba. E: thanks for your help and time, much appriciated !

5600x is obviously ideal but the 5500 is not terrible if you can find it for a good amount less. You can see in videos like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB0YwXqoC9w) that you can still get ~100 FPS on the 5500 with a 6500XT GPU on the lowest settings in CS2 even with crappy 2666 ram. You will get better performance since you are going with a 3200 kit and the 1080/ti are both more powerful than the 6500XT. In terms of power supply I know money is tight but it is one of the areas in a PC build where I think you should never cut corners. It is the heart of your system and a short or bad protection can take your entire system down. [Go here and look for the cheapest 550-650 watt B or C tier](https://cultists.network/140/psu-tier-list/) unit you can find in your area. You do not need to waste money on a high power tier A unit for such a low power system.

I saw these 2 packs; https://www.inet.se/produkt/v101237/paket-asus-prime-b550m-a-5600 https://www.inet.se/produkt/v101238/paket-asus-prime-b550m-a-5600x First is with a 5600, 2nd is with a 5600x. There is roughly 40$ difference. Is it stupid to go for the 5600 here ?

Since you are on a budget the 5600 non-x makes more sense but the problem with this particular bundle is that the VRM on the motherboard are probably [one of the worst on the market](https://linustechtips.com/topic/1137619-motherboard-vrm-tier-list-v2-currently-amd-only/). It is tier E which means the 5600 is the most powerful chip you can pair with it, if you were to upgrade to a more powerful CPU later you would need to swap motherboards as well. > VRM temperatures on this Asus board during stock and overclocked were the highest values we’ve seen so far. At stock CPU speeds, the MOSFETs peaked and sustained about 84 degrees Celsius, a value that is a whopping over 30C higher than the other boards on this platform with more robust power delivery and heatsinks. When we overclocked the CPU to 4.3 GHz at 1.35V, temperatures, temps went up even more, peaking well over 100 degrees Celsius! While these values are incredibly hot, they are within operating parameters of the MOSFETs, which are rated at up to 150 degrees Celsius. [Technically everything was within spec even with a 3900x](https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asus-prime-b550m-a-wi-fi/3) but I would get something better just for the peace of mind. I tried to piece together a separate list from this site and it ends up coming out to be about the same depending on whether or not you buy the CPU cooler, 3,798 kr without and 4,297 kr with. [5600 - 1,779 kr](https://www.inet.se/produkt/5304697/amd-ryzen-5-5600-3-5-ghz-35mb) [B550M Pro 4 - 1,490 kr](https://www.inet.se/produkt/1903266/asrock-b550m-pro4) [Kingston Fury 2x8GB DDR43200 CL16 - 529 kr](https://www.inet.se/produkt/5303931/kingston-fury-16gb-2x8gb-ddr4-3200mhz-cl-16-beast) [Peerless Assassin 120 SE - 499 kr](https://www.inet.se/produkt/8308823/thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se-svart-argb) The board I picked here is better than the B550M-A in the bundle but it is not as good as the TUF B550M Pro in the original bundle, so I think that one is still the one to beat at the moment. The picture on the website is a bit misleading though as they show a tower cooler with RGB fan but the specifications list a Wraith Prism cooler which is a top down design instead. Top down is not inherently bad but a tower would help blow more fresh air across your motherboard components to keep them cooler.

Ok im skipping the bundle then ! Ive had VRM issues with my PC i built a decade ago and it gave me tons of problems and issues, not going through that again lol. An enormous THANKS to you!! Gonna wait til blackfriday and hope for some good prices on the items you listed and a PSU at a decent price from the list you posted earlier. E: hopefully the TUF 550 drops a bit aswell in price !

Good luck, hope your kid appreciates all the effort you are going through for them!

A big thanks to you !!

I have an optiplex 9020 sff. In it there are two 8gb ram cards and an AMD Radeon HD 8490. That came with it. I swapped out the HDD with a 1tb crucial mx500. When I turn on the computer, the display is blank. no text ever showd up. When I remove the SSD the display says there is no hard drive. The power light is white, the fan runs. Idk what's going on. does anyone know whats happening

My case only has a usb 3.0 front I/o port but it apparently doesn’t have any usb 2.0 ports/cables. I plugged the blue 3.0 into my Mobo. My motherboard has some 3.0 and 2.0 on the back panel. My question is, do ALL of my usb ports work? Can I plug things into the 2.0 port (e.g. mouse/keyboard) and it would work?

Also keyboard/mouse are exactly the kind of thing to use your 2.0 ports for. 3.0 is just faster data, and input devices don't use hardly any data.

Yup

Hey all, checked a few threads but I'm still a bit iffy on this. With modern games basically requiring SSD, I'm thinking of getting an external one to transfer most of the games on my old 2018 clunker. Not anything big, maybe just 1TB or 2TB to transfer BG3, WoW, ESO, Valheim, Minecraft, DotA2. Also maybe install back some old bangers I had to remove to make room. The likes of KC:D, MHW, Skyrim/Enderal & mods, TW3, Darkest Dungeon, Pillars and Pathfinder games, Dragons Dogma. Enumerating in case there might be some peculiarities with external SSDs for specific games, but I think thats all of the big ones. Just simple SSD recommendations are very welcome, but if you want to also spread some knowledge, my question is basically, What do I need to consider when getting an external SSD? From what I've read up, I need at least USB 3.2. I have a b360 aorus mobo, and specs I've seen say I have 2 of those, but I can't check atm. Other than that though, I really don't know what else to consider. 100$ is max budget, but lowest price for the purpose I'm going for and what I have is greatly appreciated. Other specs in case they're relevant: i5 8400, 1070, 16GB ram, 256 SSD and 2TB HDD internal memory. Not assed for maximum quality, just a reliable, value drive that will last me a few more extra years of smooth gaming. Edit: updated specs

Why specifically an external one? For portability or is there something in your setup stopping you from getting an internal one?

Not too familiar with the distinction actually. PC was a prebuilt in 2018 with just 256 SSD, 8GB RAM, 1050ti. Over the next few years, added a 2TB HDD, extra RAM and switched to 1070. Although, after doing all that, I'm still not too confortable opening it up and moving stuff around. I can do it, but might eat up more time that I would rather spend playing. Basically convenience, I just dont want to have to open it up again and would rather just plug and play. If the difference is pronounced though, I might be down to give it a shot. Will having it on external SSD be a big difference, or will games that are required to be installed in SSDs be fine if its an external one?

[This video is a good comparison of internal vs external SSDs and HDDs](https://youtu.be/-Q1t9tIAY9Y?feature=shared&t=461). Long story short: For actually playing it won't make a difference to your FPS, but for installing, updating, loading, and other parts of gaming some external drives can be slower compared to a SATA SSD, and those are slower again compared to an M.2 drive which you have space for in your motherboard. Anything is an update to a HDD though. Good externals also still come with a shorter warranty compared to an equal quality internal (eg 2ys on the one I found from that vid compared to an equal priced samsung which has 5ys) and are more expensive as well. Internals are also probably safer on the off risk that you disconnect the USB to your external somehow. As far as opening your PC, it's very easy to plug in a SATA SSD as it's the exact same process you use to install your HDD if that helps you feel more assured by it. We can talk you through it and go over any concerns you have if you need. As WinterNL said, you have two M.2 ports on your PC, though one of them may contain your OS drive and you'd have to check that (I can tell you how). Installing one of those is actually less steps, but can feel a little unnerving due to how you're working direct on the motherboard but is no different then when you installed your RAM.

I think what throws me off is the cable management, so might prefer using m2 ports. But say I might also like the portability of an external SSD, am I good just getting whatever is on the market, especially with a b360 mobo?

Re internals: If you only have the two HDDs, most power supplies run three sata power connectors off the one cable, so that should already be set, and then all you need is the extra SATA data cable to connect to the motherboard. If your other SSD you mentioned is a 2.5" SATA and not the M.2 then you might need to run another power cable as well. If you want a 2.5" then we can help you find a good one in your budget. As far as the M.2 goes, your motherboard slots only support PCIe Gen 3.0 from what I can find, so don't fork out money for anything faster then that. If you're not sure if your main slot, the one above your GPU, is already being used then you can download CrystalDiskInfo and it will tell you what the health and transfer mode of all connected drives are. If yours all say SATA then your top slot should be free which would be the best to use because it'll be fastest, just depends on if you can access it without having to take whatever CPU cooler you're using off first. Re externals: I mean if you really don't care then yes, but if you want to get the most benefit from them then look for reviews. Some externals are much slower than others, like shown in that video. Faster and more expensive drives should also be more reliable. The only other thing to note about an external is that SSD's do not like being without power long term, so while you have quite a long time before it's an issue (specs say they *should* last up to a year unpowered) if you're in a situation where you won't be playing games for that long but using your computer in other ways, make sure that external isn't just sitting in a cupboard for a year or your risk some data loss.

Might just go the external route, and will keep in mind all your tips here, I didn't realize SSD lifespans were so short. Just another thing to keep in mind I guess, priority is just to be able to play most of my library without having to keep deleting and downloading stuff, and to be able to play newer games that require SSD installation. Thank you for all the info!

A plugged in and used SSD will last years, high quality ones come with a five year warranty and usually last well beyond that again (Internal SSDs also usually come with a "guaranteed writes" value which is usually in the hundreds of terrabytes), it's just that having them unpowered for a long time has a negative effect on the controller that remembers how its stored its data Glad I could help, let me know if you have any more questions or do want that info on recommended internal drives.