Posts by fadedorca66

It’d probably be easiest to run some tests using that Intel stock cooler if you haven't tossed it yet

Maybe your cooler just kicked the bucket—like, the heatpipe leaked its gas or something—or maybe your motherboard is just reading the temps wrong...

Shouldn't this be in Software or maybe somewhere further down 🤔

Exactly, there's really no point in upgrading the whole platform. If you're actually going to bother with an update, it only makes sense if you're moving up to an i7 or a Ryzen 5/7. Since you've already got liquid cooling and an unlocked CPU, I guess you could just overclock it, slap in a new GPU, and call it a day.

You probably need to pop the case open and check if all the connectors are actually seated right. Honestly, it’d probably be best to just tear the whole PC down and rebuild it from scratch.

I talked it over with the author via DM. I noticed he had linked his personal Photobucket albums, which basically meant anyone could snoop through his private photos and find his personal info, so I gave him a heads-up. He agreed to pull the links and said he'd upload some new ones instead.

Regarding that laptop build, are you even sure about what you need? 😁

So you grabbed an adapter like this and it's a dud? I guess your only real options now are picking up an active converter or just buying a whole new monitor...

Honestly, I’d just grab the AMD Radeon RX 470 and a decent PSU right away; that’ll run you about $600. Then maybe in a few months (or a year 😬) you can upgrade the whole platform. You’ll still have a solid GPU that’s probably a bit more future-proof than an RX 460 or a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050.

If you’ve got some old LGA 775 socket setup gathering dust somewhere with a decent motherboard, you might want to check out this thread:

http://forum.pcekspert.com/showthread.php?t=255611

Just toss in a cheap Intel Xeon you pick up from one of those overseas sellers on Amazon and you'll get pretty decent performance. I'm not saying you should blow your budget on it, but it's a fun little project if you just want a secondary PC.

If you're mostly worried about gaming performance, maybe prioritize the GPU and PSU first. An AMD Radeon RX 470 should fit fine, along with this Hexa-core setup. I guess the Athlon won't fully max out the GPU, but it'll be a massive jump from the 740, and having 6GB of RAM is plenty.

Maybe down the road something more interesting like a 4-core Ryzen will pop up.

Either way, I don't think you can really go wrong with any of these options.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/30cm-PWM-Fan...sAAOSwzrxUu0HU

Just looking for a 4-pin PWM fan splitter, I guess.

You can grab some splitters on eBay that turn one fan header into two, so you could probably hook up two fans (assuming they're both PWM) to that single PWM connector.

As for the power supply, it's pretty mid-tier; it'll hold up for now, but who knows how long it'll actually last.😬

Also, just a heads up, that board is pretty mediocre. 😁 ASRock and MSI didn't exactly hit a home run with their AM3 boards, and this one isn't any different. Officially, it's supposed to support all the FX chips:

https://www.msi.com/file/test_report/TR19_2743.pdf

I'd suggest picking a more power-efficient chip and maybe try an undervolt. You should also grab a cooler that actually blows air upward instead of just dumping heat onto the VRM components like a stock cooler would—something like the LC-CC-95 or LC-CC-120 would probably be your best bet.

Plus, once Ryzen drops, those FX processors are going to be dirt cheap. I guess you could just hang tight for a few days and pick up a used one; these CPUs aren't exactly known for dying on you anyway.

EDIT: crimsonstag84 beat me to it, and I think we're on the same page.

You can control fans in two ways: through voltage or via PWM. If you've got a 4-pin connector, it means it supports PWM control.

Now, some motherboards might allow voltage control on 3-pin connectors, while others can handle both PWM and voltage on the 4-pin ones. Looking at the manual for that A75M-HVS, it seems you can only adjust the speed for Chassis fan 1 in the BIOS. Even then, it'll probably only work if the fan is 4-pin/PWM capable since there isn't an option to toggle between PWM and voltage control. You could try, but I guess a 3-pin fan will likely just run at 100% all the time.

Ideally, you’d put one intake fan in the front and one exhaust fan in the back. Side fans usually do more harm than good—they mess with the airflow, and if the case is cheap, the whole side panel might vibrate and rattle. Just stick to two for now.

If you don't want them running at full blast, your best bet is to grab a fan controller or wire them to a Molex connector and try tapping into the 5V or 7V lines.

http://forum.pcekspert.com/showthread.php?t=22347

I reckon you should check the plug on that adapter first, because it probably won't fit our outlets. You can likely find something similar at a Best Buy for about the same price, which might be easier since you could just return it if it's a dud.

Maybe try using a USB hub that actually has its own power supply plugged in

Is it a 2.5" or a 3.5" drive? And does it take one USB or two?

It's alright, but since this is for gaming, I'd probably lean toward an RX 460 with 4GB (modern titles are absolute memory hogs). Or maybe just stretch the budget a bit for a 1050Ti

You didn't miss anything; I guess Alvin tested it on his younger brother's rig and it's actually a pretty decent PSU:

I mean, people will chase whatever deal they want, but if I were actually spending the money, I’d probably just go with Hex. It’s a better unit and you get an extra year of warranty anyway:

Just order it to Cleveland and call it a day...

If you want to spend $17 more at Home Depot (they have one in Cleveland too), you could grab this XFX instead. You’ll be set for five years, maybe even longer:

I guess I really helped save some cash there 😬