Any PC Builders Out There?

4TB Seagate would be a SATA HDD with spinning platters, 3.5" form factor.
If you are still looking to find out how much RAM, once the computer is booted open up windows explorer on the computer (windows key plus E), right click on This PC on the left side, and choose properties. Under System, you will see Processor followed by Installed Memory. That will list out how much RAM is installed. Alternatively, if you don't have an account or the password for the computer, you can enter the BIOS while the computer is at POST. Usually it will tell you to hit DEL, ESC, F2, F10, or some other key to enter BIOS. The BIOS method might be better, as it will also give you the speed of the RAM. Prospective buyers, especially gamers, would want that info as well. If you have the original packaging, it would likely be listed on there as well.

As a word of caution, I would make sure to scrub any of your friends data from the drive if you do sell it. Or pull the drive and tell the buyer they will need to supply their own. If you have the windows key, you can wipe the drive and re-install the OS fresh, or just wipe the drive. Give the key to the buyer and let them install windows fresh themselves.

 

These pictures of vintage PC's remind me of my first gaming build in 2003...
P4 3.06 with O.C.
Asus p4G8x deluxe MOB
Originally Radeon 9700pro 8xAGP upgraded to a AIW X800XT (seen here)
Soundblaster Audigy soundcard...
4x128mb sticks of RAM...that's 512MB baby!!! and the first hard drive was a Quantum Bigfoot 5.25" 19.2GB...Upgraded to a 30GB drive I got a P.C. expo for like $7 a GB
This gaming rig suffered from the soundblaster "SCREECH" issue where you'd be playing Battlefield and the sound would skip and then stutter and then SCREEEEECH...and you had to reboot...
Oh and NOTE the custom heat sinks on the underside of the video card ram

 

I sure don't miss the IDE cables. Those things were a nightmare. At least you had the rounded ones. Those flat cables were such a nightmare. And horrible for airflow.

 

If anyone has any old cpus laying around, I would be interested in possibly picking up a cheap 8700, 9700, or 9900 non K versions. I need the lower wattage for upgrading my NAS, but not necessarily right away. I've been eyeballing the 8700s on ebay, but not really worth paying $200 for one at this point. I may just have to hold off for another year or two and wait for them to drop a bit more in price.

I did manage to scoop up a 5600x from my local microcenter with a x570 aorus pro wifi board and 32GB 3200MHz RAM. This will be the base for my new plex server I am building. Already had a p2000. Had to upgrade the cooler on the p2k, the stock one was loud and inefficient. Also just ordered the last two 12TB drives to complete the RAID. Once they arrive I'll install those. Already got the system built with a SSD boot. Prime95 ran for about an hour and all tests passed. 5600x initially boosted up to 4.65 on all cores, stayed there a while, then eventually settled at ~4.2. Package wattage reported at max of 76 watts, but typically was pulling about 70. I think the max processor temp was listed at 69C, but was regularly hovering around 64C. CPU cooler is a Noctua NH-U12S with just the single fan installed. If anyone needs a stock Ryzen wraith cooler, hit me up. I can send you a never used one.

Anyone know any good GPU stress test software? Would like to see how the new cooler holds up. I'll post pics once everything is done. Cable management is kind of crap. The case I have combined with all the cables for the hard drives has made it difficult to keep cables bundled neatly.

I was also able to grab a MSI 3070 trio for my former sister in laws husband. I helped him build a new system but he was just missing a GPU. He borrowed a 970 from a buddy until he could find something. He paid a premium for it, but at least it went to microcenter and/or the tariffs, instead of the scalpers.

 

It's amazing what plex direct stream can accomplish with Fiber...

 

Oh and for stress test...
https://techguided.com/best-tools-to-stress-test-p-cpu-ram-gpu/
I use Core Temp on my Plex server to record MAX it peaks at when I'm not looking...It's an older HTPC that's been replaced by a TLC Roku 4k UHD tv that streams plex better than the PC plays with it's video card so it's now just a 6TB server...
and for testing always Prime 95...

 

That's about $400ish worth of new ram, depending on the CAS latency. I'd throw it up for $350 and take the first offer around $300 if you don't want to wait.

Unfortunately ram is still relatively plentiful so folks aren't paying a premium for it yet. The 20% loss rule applies on most hardware if its under 6 months old and you have the receipt.

 

I remember paying $50 for a good round IDE. Crazy times.

 

Cinebench R20 is the go to for CPU stress testing now. All you do is set it up to loop runs over and over again, then leave it until temperatures are stable.

 

My bad lol.

CAS 17 3733 is bascially CAS 16 3600 and CAS 14 3200. That's the problem. Most folks smart enough to look at your ram will know that they could probably get some decent, slightly cheaper, CAS 14 3200 Samsung B-die ram to hit 3733 at around your timings. So you're waiting for someone who doesn't want to put the effort into overclocking, which might take a little time. Depends on your market. If Intel has really good supply on Rocket Lake maybe you'll strike gold as ram runs short. The only thing preventing a ram shortage right now is a shortage of Ryzen processors and Intel fanbois holding off buying until Rocket Lake drops.

 

Yup. I saw that and didn't really comment for that reason. You aren't out to lunch at all.

 

Big rumor this weekend is that AMD will be launching the 5000XT CPUs on the same day Intel drops Rocket Lake. Early leaks show what could be a 5900XT boosting to 5.5 GHz.

 

Will it be a paper launch?

 

All launches will be. Supply is down about 20% and demand is the highest ever. Everything from now until supply catches up post Covid will be a paper launch.

 

I direct stream everything on my local LAN with near zero load on my current server. Most of my family arent what you would call technology oriented, so asking them to change to direct stream on remote quality is like speaking another language with them. I even made a go-by, to no avail. Plus some members of family are out in nowhere, where they are lucky to have a DSL or very slow cable connection so they actually need to transcode or they suffer from buffering.

Thanks for this, will check it out. Prime 95 was always my go-to back in the day for burn in testing, but been a while and wasn't sure if there were better options out there. This CPU did well with Prime 95, so I am comfortable it is fully functioning.

Also thanks. Have heard of this one. This is the one that pops the little squares up starting in center and working outward? If I am thinking of the right one. I am not really into overclocking, I just like to build and have it work. I did set the XMP on my RAM, but other than that no other BIOS tweaks. I do tend to go a bit overboard on cooling though. I like to make sure my components aren't going to cook themselves into early retirement. Even my home theater receiver and UHD player have USB powered 120mm fans to cool them while playing movies.

If this is true, then

 

Thinking about getting back into PC gaming. Haven't played on one in about 10 years when I built my last one. Just wondering if you guys could help me out and tell me whether or not this build would work or what you would do different. Not looking to spend a ton, but also looking for something that will run games at higher frames. Thank you for any help.

Amd Ryzen 5 3600
GeForce RTX 3060ti
Msi b450 gaming plus
Corsair vengeance lpx 16gb (2×8)
Wd black 1tb 7200rpm
Corsair tx-m series tx650m
Nzxt h510

 

Are you buying a premade or building. It's not a bad system depending on the price and if you are mostly gaming at 1080p.

I'd ditch the 1tb mechanical drive and go with either a nvme drive or a 2.5" ssd. You can get either one for about just a bit more money and it'll be quite a bit better.

 

Going to be building it myself. I will look for a ssd

 

I just build a ryzen 3600 system, like turned it on a couple days ago just built hah. I went for a b550 mobo, it was $10 more than a comparable b450 and was worth it to me. The other thing I did was get a 500gb NVME drive and a 2tb spinner. NVME for fast windows and game loads, spinner for long term storage things. Each were around $50.

Also, has to be said, but good luck finding a video card right now haha

Did 9200ish points on Cinebench R23 with the 3600 on 16gb of 3200mhz ram (yeah yeah, I know it wasn't R20 haha)

 

I will look at the b550. And yes I see everywhere I have looked has been sold out on video cards. Maybe I'll get lucky