Posts by lonetrucker15

crimsonstag84 said:You’ve gotta hop into your BIOS, find that X.M.P. profile set for 3000MHz, and then just hit save and exit. Once you've got that loaded up, you can actually try to manually nudge it up to 3200MHz if you're feeling adventurous 😛 ...honestly, those profiles are usually tuned pretty conservatively anyway.

Got it working! 🙂 thanks.

Alright, here’s what my benchmark scores turned out to be:
https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/12480153
So, I noticed something a little funky—my BIOS is showing my memory frequency at a measly 2133MHz, even though I'm running a 2x8GB kit of Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 paired with an MSI B450 gaming Pro carbon AC motherboard.

Does anyone happen to know how I can bump that up to 3000MHz?
I already went ahead and flashed a newer version of the BIOS.
I also double-checked the RAM compatibility with the board, and honestly, everything looks like it should be totally fine.

Right now, I'm just rocking this old Samsung SyncMaster 2333 that runs at 59Hz, though I've been thinking about maybe treating myself to a much nicer monitor sometime next year.

Anyway, quick question—what kind of cooler should I grab for this CPU?
Is the Freezer 33 cooler actually the way to go?

That Gigabyte Aorus GA-AX370 gaming K5 motherboard was on sale, but it looks like they’re all sold out now, which is probably why the link is dead. 😢
Now I'm looking at this MSI B450 gaming Pro carbon AC, an AM4 board for $350.
Or maybe just something else in that same price bracket so I can drop in a beefier CPU in two or three years.

So, basically, should all these RAM sticks be compatible with both the processor and the motherboard?
And will that CPU hold its own with a 1070ti? Also, is the motherboard actually good enough, or am I overdoing it?

Peter Green said:Man, this guy picked up a Phanteks Eclipse 350 x. Honestly, I'm so stoked on that case that I almost pulled the trigger on one for myself. It's kind of hilarious how cheap you can get a chassis like that.

It looks awesome. Way cheaper than that other one I was eyeing at https://www.newegg.com/nzxt-s340-e...-blue/product/

Hey everyone, so I'm currently in the middle of putting together a new build powered by a Ryzen chip—probably leaning towards the 1600X.
I was eyeing this motherboard here:

1. I saw online that this board supports SLI, so my little dream is to toss in a 1070 Ti to start, and then maybe grab a second one used down the road if the stars align.
Could someone walk me through how that actually works on this specific board, and honestly, is it even worth the headache?
Plus, I’ve got an old GTX 960 just sitting around at home, so I was wondering if it's even possible to run two different cards in SLI, like pairing a 960 with a 1070 Ti.

2. Also, I'm curious about which RAM would play nicest with this Ryzen setup. I'm looking at getting two 8GB modules. I've been reading some horror stories online about certain memory sticks being totally incompatible with Ryzen, and I really don't want to mess this up.

3. Any suggestions for a solid, good-looking case with a glass side panel for under $267 that won't turn my components into a literal oven? I need decent airflow.

Thanks a ton!

Kimberly Gomez34 said:Try searching online for your specific case model—maybe check the official manufacturer's site. It’s crucial to know the max CPU cooler height and the maximum GPU length allowed before you buy anything.

Intel Core i7-4770K under $367
Cooler Master Hyper 212 (by the way, that's the cooler) $57, though a lower-profile, weaker one like the Hyper 212 is about 80-$32
For a power supply, say an EVGA 600-700W unit—roughly $480/$180
Regarding graphics cards—if you're looking at something under three slots like a GTX 970, you'll mostly find blower-style Palit models, Gainward cards, or single-fan ITX Gigabyte versions. From the R9 390 tier up, you have EVGA options for $927 in the center; that one would work too if you upgrade your PSU.

On the budget side (but still excellent for 1080p), you could grab an R9 380x for roughly $700 +/-

For your current setup, you might be able to pick up $133 for the GPU and at least $100 for the CPU (those are realistic market prices), so do your own math based on that.

So, what kind of case would you guys recommend for this setup? My current one is like 9 years old and definitely showing its age.

Thanks everyone for the help and all the answers!

fadedorca66 said:Most of the heavy lifting in a PC happens on the 12V rail. So, really, the most important thing about your power supply is how much juice that specific output can actually push. In your case, the 12V rail tops out at 360W (that's 30 Amps times 12 Volts), I guess.

Oh, okay, I get it now!
Thanks for breaking that down for me. I'm guessing all those big power hogs—you know, the CPU and the GPU—are pulling directly from that 12V rail, so now I'm starting to wonder if 360W is actually going to cut it.

crimsonstag84 said:Hey, you've only got 360W on the 12V rail. You're probably going to need to swap out the power supply too.

Intel Core i7-4770K (OC to 4GHz)
R9 380X
Cooler Master Hyper 212
Fortron Hyper M 600W
Patriot Blaze 120GB SSD

Man, I am totally lost here. Why does my power supply say it can hit 534W max when it’s only pulling 360W? Now I'm just sitting here scratching my head, completely confused. 🤔

Kimberly Gomez34 said:I’d honestly go ahead and swap out the CPU since you've already got that motherboard. You could probably offload the Phenom for maybe $50 at a worst-case scenario, which would leave you enough to add $233 an Intel Core i7-4770K. Throw in a Cooler Master Hyper 212 too, provided it fits in the case.

What kind of case are you running?

I wouldn't mess around with that power supply, even if you were just pairing it with a GTX 970. You can pick up a decent 500-700W unit from a place like Best Buy for pretty cheap. Once that's handled, you can decide whether to hunt for a beefier GPU or grab a solid SSD. It really all boils down to your budget—are we talking about a $300 upgrade or a $400 one? And are you planning on selling the Phenom to offset the cost?

So, I was just sitting here thinking about that whole debate we had earlier—you know, the one where everyone was losing their minds over whether the Cooler Master Hyper 212 is actually worth the hype or if it’s just some legendary piece of tech that we all collectively decided to worship. Honestly, what makes the Cooler Master Hyper 212 so freaking precious to us? It’s like that one reliable old car you’ve had since college; it might not be a Ferrari, and yeah, it definitely has its quirks, but it gets you from point A to point B without making a complete scene, you know? It’s become this sort of gold standard for budget builds, and I can't help but wonder if we're just being nostalgic or if there's actually something special about how it handles heat compared to those overpriced, flashy liquid coolers that look like they belong in a sci-fi movie.
Man, I’m looking at this thing and honestly? It’s just this massive black tower with "Mode Com" printed right there in front of the little LCD screen, and the whole beast is absolutely covered in fans—like, a ridiculous amount of them. Sadly, I haven't even figured out what model we're actually dealing with yet.

Honestly, I’d totally offload my old processor if I was picking up a new one, mostly because it's just gonna sit there gathering dust and taking up space since I won't have any use for it anyway.
Honestly, if I had to choose between picking up a decent GPU or just grabbing some mid-tier SSD, I’d take the better graphics card any day of the week. No contest.

Hey there,

So, I've got this rig running right now and I'm looking to throw about $500 at it to give it some much-needed love.

Intel B75 chipset
Intel Core i7-2600K QuadCore, 3.4 GHz
2x4GB DDR3 RAM: Patriot Memory 1333
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (1024 MB)
Seagate Barracuda HDD (931 GB, IDE)
Corsair GPS 550AB A
Dell UltraSharp Monitor (Analog) [23" LCD]

I haven't ever messed around with overclocking my CPU because, honestly, I'm a total novice when it comes to that stuff and I don't even have a decent aftermarket cooler to work with.

My gut feeling is that my GPU is basically acting as a massive bottleneck here, so I'm wide open to whatever suggestions you guys might have on what would be the smartest buy to freshen things up, since I'd really love to actually crank up the settings on newer games without everything turning into a slideshow.