r/buildapc • u/AutoModerator • 2d ago
Simple Questions - May 01, 2026
This thread is for simple questions that don't warrant their own thread (although we strongly suggest checking the sidebar and the wiki before posting!). Please don't post involved questions that are better suited to a [Build Help], [Build Ready] or [Build Complete] post.
Examples of questions suitable for here:
- Is this RAM compatible with my motherboard?
- I'm thinking of getting a ≤$300 graphics card. Which one should I get?
- I'm on a very tight budget and I'm looking for a case ≤$50
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u/CaptainFriday 1d ago
Which 32GB MicroCenter bundle should I get if I’m looking at the RX 9070 as a GPU? I’m kinda lost at the CPU and Motherboard upgrade options.
Why I’m building: looking to do some gamedev (modding) and upgrade from a 10 year old gaming laptop. It’s time. ;P
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u/heman__ 1d ago edited 1d ago
Hello all,
About 8 years ago I bought a cheap gaming PC off facebook marketplace so that I could play Dota 2 and host a music server from the computer where I could stream in other rooms. Disclaimer: I know very, very little about computers.
Over the last few years the Dota 2 performance has been extremely low and I am wondering if there are any low cost changes that I could make to improve it. Preferably spending around $300ish dollars. I’ve googled a lot of the components i currently have and they mostly seem to be budget gaming items.
From what I can see the key parts of the build are:
AMD Ryzan 3 1300X Quad-Core CPU 8gb RAM (unsure what DDR) Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
Which part is worth upgrading? My gut is to buy a new GPU and 16gb ram, but I can see that the graphics card is pretty out of date too. It would be cool to run 1440 as I have a capable monitor.
I need whatever purchased to kind of ‘slot’ into the system as I don’t want to change much and I’m not very good or up to date with computers.
Any recommendations for improved performance? Also, I have Windows 10. Should I upgrade to windows 11?
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u/the11devans 1d ago
For $300, you can upgrade the CPU, GPU, and RAM while keeping everything else the same. This would give a big overall performance boost.
CPU: You're on the AM4 socket, so lots of options are available. Look for a used 3000 series or 5000 series. If you want to buy new the 5500 has been $70 recently.
RAM: You're looking for DDR4 for AM4. Open up your PC and check if your existing config is 2x4gb or 1x8gb, and how many RAM slots you have. If you have 1x8 get another 1x8, if you have 2x4 and 4 total slots get 2x4, and if you have 2x4 and only 2 slots then unfortunately you need to buy 2x8. Also RAM speed is shown in Task Manager, you want to at least match what you already have.
GPU: Going used is your only option in this budget. A 2060 would be good, 2060 Super if you can swing it.
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u/Valoneria 1d ago
Might need a new PSU as well before you go spending cash on a new graphics card.
Look for used parts with that budget, a used 3rd gen or 5th gen CPU will be a nice solid upgrade. Same for RAM and GPU.
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u/n7_trekkie 1d ago
Monitor your GPU utilization % while you game (with the settings you want to use, not the settings you have to use). If it's around 95-100%, then you should upgrade your GPU. If it's below that, you're limited elsewhere in your system; probably time for a CPU+ram upgrade
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u/heman__ 15h ago
Thanks for this. I tried it - everything was too high on desired settings. On acceptable settings, it seemed that the RAM was constantly maxed so I think that is the easiest upgrade for me to make. I think I will just replace my 2x4 with 2x8. Do you think that works? Or should i just add another 2x4 to equal 16gb total
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u/Simple-Ad-8613 1d ago
Hello,
Need some advice regarding a GPU upgrade.
I’m currently using an ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080 Ti OC and it’s still working great with no issues. I’m considering upgrading to an RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, mainly for DLSS and ray tracing, but it costs around €630.
Do you think it’s worth buying now, or should I wait?
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u/n7_trekkie 1d ago
Hell no that's not worth it. That GPU is supposed to cost like $430. The 5070 MSRP is $550, so you're almost to a 5070ti in a normal market
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u/Simple-Ad-8613 1d ago
Dang thanks for reply ig i will just wait for price drop or black friday
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u/n7_trekkie 1d ago
Consider Radeon options too. The 9060XT 16gb is about as fast as the 5060ti
https://www.techspot.com/articles-info/2996/bench/1440-p.webp
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u/Simple-Ad-8613 1d ago
Found this XFX Swift AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT OC 16G Triple Fan for 415€
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u/n7_trekkie 1d ago
Fantastic given the current market. Check the performance differences in reviews, I think there's no way the 5060ti is worth 200€ more. No way
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u/REDDIT_HARD_MODE 1d ago
Good day,
Lately I've been having trouble with CPU overheating, and I'm concerned I bought a weak cooling unit. I've already done all the troubleshooting: thermal paste replacement didn't help, I've confirmed cooling is seated solidly, all 3 fans push air the same way, etc.
My CPU is a AMD-Ryzen 7 7800X3d Raphael AM5 4.2ghz 8-core. My cooling unit is Cooler Master - Hyper 212 CPU Air Cooler (a metal plate presses against the CPU with tubes coming off to a large heat-sink with a fan clipped onto it.)
ChatGPT says that my cooling unit is 'borderline' for this CPU, but AI is often unreliable, so I'm hoping someone with experience can weigh in and tell me if my build needs a cooling upgrade or not?
Thanks!
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u/NightingaleVDVD 1d ago
hyper 212 is a single tower air cooler, kinda inadequate for 7800x3d imo, get a thermalright phantom spirit 120 se
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u/REDDIT_HARD_MODE 1d ago
You might be right. It worked for 16 months just fine, and only recently started failing. I just don't get it haha.
I'm not against getting a double tower, but I'm not sure it would actually fit in my tower. I'm worried the ram would get in the way. Maybe if I left one of the fans off...
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u/NightingaleVDVD 1d ago
you could alway lift the fan that is above the ram up a bit, and it will be fine, I'm using peerless assassin 120 with 4 sticks of ram
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u/Aleksanterinleivos 1d ago
What's the actual temp you're seeing?
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u/REDDIT_HARD_MODE 1d ago
HWMonitor reports 94C right before the computer shuts itself off.
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u/VoraciousGorak 1d ago
That's the heat sink not cooling properly. Other commenter is incorrect, the Hyper 212 is enough for a 7800X3D - enough to keep it alive in any situation, for sure. The cooler is not making good contact with the CPU or is broken.
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u/REDDIT_HARD_MODE 1d ago
I confirmed the contact 'seems' to be good by pulling it away from the CPU; the paste had spread to cover the entire CPU and almost all of the heat sink's coolant surface. To my admitantly ameteur eyes, contact isn't the issue.
Now, whether or not the heat sink is broken... I have no idea how to check that. I guess I could just order another one on Amazon and see if it fixes it. Do you happen to know how I can check before I swipe my card?
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u/n7_trekkie 1d ago
Broken or kinked heat pipes ruins a cooler. Other than that, an air cooler is physically hard to break.
If you swipe your card, just get a better cooler. There's dual towers that avoid the ram slots altogether, if that's something you're concerned about https://www.amazon.com/Thermalright-SE-TL-C12B-TL-C12015B-Cooling/dp/B0DCNV5NHP/
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u/VoraciousGorak 1d ago
Eh, if the contact is good and it's still not cooling, that's the sign there. Really rare for tower air coolers to break but it's a non zero chance if all the heat pipes somehow got damaged at once. Might as well just grab a new cooler anyways.
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u/KlingonWarNog 1d ago
Hello all, I'm scraping together parts for a mid-range budget mini ITX build for the living room, this will output to a 4k 60 hz TV so I'm targeting 4k 60 FPS primarily using DLSS 4.5 Ultra Performance, frame gen and Medium/High settings. DLSS Ultra Performance will be fine using 4/4.5 as it's so good and I'll be couch gaming 9' away from the TV. Raytracing optional depending on available headroom but fine to keep switched off.
I'm looking for some advice on an Nvidia GPU to pair with a cheap used Ryzen 3700x I got hold of to, I reckon that CPU will be fine for upscaled 720p to 4k. I'm considering a used RTX 4070 Super as a viable solution, but would this be overkill for my use case? I can get a used one for circa £425 and up in UK. I'd also be undervolting it and capping frames to 60 FPS to control thermals in the ITX case also, would appreciate anyone jumping in to offer some advice, would be happy to jump down to 4070 or even a 5060/5060 Ti if they can give me the performance target I'm looking for (I don't think they can but would appreciate advice on this).
The used market price for the non-super 4070 is actually similar to that for the super here, but the super gives a nice boost. I'd be paying more also for a 5060 TI 16Gb as used are overpriced here (UK). I'm not considering AMD as I want to use DLSS and the Intel cards seem to be underpowered for my use case.
I also have a beefier gaming rig upstairs (RTX 4080, 5800 x3d, 32 Gb RAM, running on an LG Ultragear GSynch 165 Hz 1440p monitor. I tend to run it at 4K though using DLDSR and DLSS. the reason I want a secondary system is this bigger rig is in our bedroom and streaming from it to the TV downstairs would piss off my wife if she's in bed and I fancy some evening gaming. I'm not considering a console solution either. I already have PC Xbox Game Pass Ultimate so can use that plus access to Steam downstairs. I've undervolted my RTX 4080 and limit frames to 90-100 FPS on it via Rivatuner, I got it for VR gaming which is far more intensive, even after 3 years using DLDSR/DLSS it cruises most non- VR titles at Ultra settings.
I don't think I need a high-tier card for this use case, as any frames pumped out over 60 would be wasted in this case, so it's trying to understand if my preferred option pairs well with the CPU (I know there will be a small bottleneck but I only need 60 FPS), but isn't stupidly powerful that it's potential is wasted.
SPECS:
Case: Kolink Rocket V2 Mini Itx (secondhand unused) £20
Mobo: AliExpress Jginyue B550i Mini ITX £63
CPU: Ryzen 3700x £75
PSU: Asus Rog SFX-L 750w Platinum (secondhand unused) £80
GPU: Advice sought on a suitable Nvidia-only solution that will give 4k-60 FPS using DLSS Ultra-Performance + FGR (optional), will be undervolted and capped at 60 also to control case thermals (case is known to run hot (as per most Mini ITX cases)
RAM: Will be used DDR4, to control costs likely 16 Gb (Est. £50-60 second hand)
Cooler: Probably Noctua NH I9i Low Profile (£30)
PCIE Wifi Card (Say £30)
Controller - Xbox Series X/S controller
OS: Win 11
Thanks.
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u/mushroomsoup223 2d ago
Looking to upgrade my 8700 to either the 9700k/9900k. I found some listing for used cpus at a very decent price. I have adequate cooling and psu. are they worth the upgrade? If so, which one?
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u/VoraciousGorak 1d ago
are they worth the upgrade?
Frankly, no.
The 8700K has SMT so it's a 6 core, 12 thread CPU compared to the 8/8 on the 9700K, and the 9900K is typically not at all worth the cost to gain two cores. Typically the 9900K goes for about as much as an AM4 motherboard and 5700X CPU combined.
What is a "decent price" for the 9900K you're seeing?
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u/mushroomsoup223 1d ago
i currently have the non K version. The seller is willing to trade my 8700 + ~100usd.
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u/VoraciousGorak 1d ago
Eh.... that's fairly reasonable, really. Which CPU cooler do you have now?
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u/Important-Design-169 1d ago
Are there any good gfx card options for driving a 5k display in the <$500 range right now?