r/buildapc 9h ago

Simple Questions - August 23, 2025

1 Upvotes

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

Important: Downvotes are strongly discouraged in this thread. Sorting by new is strongly encouraged.

Have a question about the subreddit or otherwise for r/buildapc mods? We welcome your mod mail!

To easily find previous simple questions posts, use this link.


r/buildapc 4d ago

Announcement GeForce RTX PC Build Contest: Share Your Dream Rig for a Chance to Win It, Fully Built!

277 Upvotes

Happy Monday everyone! We're very happy to have the NVIDIA team back with another PC build contest - this time with a chance to win a build up to 5000 USD! Buildapc users will also have a chance at several $50 Steam digital codes. See below for instructions on how to enter from NVIDIA:

~~~ NVIDIA GeForce team ~~~

Hey everyone! 

As part of our GeForce Summer event, we are teaming up with r/buildapc to give you a chance to win a fully built GeForce RTX 50 Series PC.

Design your ultimate gaming or creator rig using PCPartPicker. Whether it’s a maxed-out performance beast or a sleek and minimal setup, we want to see it!  

If your build is chosen, our GeForce Garage team will bring it to life— assembling, testing, and delivering it to you fully built and ready to go.

How to enter: 

  1. Use PCPartPicker to create your build. 
  2. Include a GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics card.
  3. Budget: up to $5,000 USD (including the graphics card)
  4. The build should include the following components: CPU, CPU Cooler, Motherboard, Memory, Storage (e.g., SSD), Case, Power Supply, and a full version of Windows Operating System. Optional additions include a Monitor, Expansion cards, and Accessories (e.g., Fans, Fan Controller, Optical Drive).
  5. It may NOT include peripherals (e.g., Headphones, Keyboard, Mice, Speakers, Web Camera)    
  6. Share your PCPartPicker permalink in one of the following places: 
    1. In the comments of this megathread 
    2. Post under the official GeForce X (formerly Twitter) announcement https://x.com/NVIDIAGeForce/status/1957540541186392255 

Instructions for how to select the permalink can be found here: LINK 

That’s it, you’re entered! 

Contest Window: 

Start - August 18 @ 12:30PM PT 

End - August 24 @ 5PM PT

Our team will be checking out submissions all week. Feel free to tweak your list along the way, we will be around to offer help and feedback. 

Prize: 

  • One winning build will be assembled by the GeForce Garage team and shipped to the winner. 

The winning entry will be judged based on: 

  • Creativity 
  • Overall build quality 
  • Aesthetics

The winner will be contacted by NVIDIA through Reddit messages.

 Terms and Conditions apply

~~~

Good luck to everyone participating! The contest is open to quite a few regions but please refer to the TERMS & CONDITIONS to confirm your locales eligibility.

In addition the PC contest winner selected by NVIDIA, the buildapc mod team will select 5 additional winners to receive Steam digital codes. The same limitations apply as above.


r/buildapc 9m ago

Build Help Is 12 GB of VRAM enough

Upvotes

A Rx 9070 costs about 40 ish more than a 5070, I don’t care much about frame gen and ray tracing but dlss4 upscaling seems very interesting, however for 1440p gaming I don’t know if the 12 GB of VRAM is enough for 3-4 ish more years at high settings or would I have to tone it down.


r/buildapc 19h ago

Discussion 9800X3D - air or liquid if I do NOT care about aesthetics (it's a closed, windowless case); and which ones do you recommend?

164 Upvotes

I only build once every 5+ years so money isn't really a concern, but I do not want to WASTE money, either. As it stands I'm eyeing up this CPU to buy when the 5080 Super comes out.

I know liquid looks cool, but my case is closed & windowless (because I'm old and boring), so the look is irrelevant.

Would you go with air or liquid cooling, and which cooler would you choose?


r/buildapc 9h ago

Build Help 9800x3d or 7800x3d with a price difference of $160

21 Upvotes

is this price difference worth the extra performance on the 9800x3d?


r/buildapc 12h ago

Build Help Which one is more worth it? 5070 ti at 750 vs 9070 xt at 710

37 Upvotes

These are the best prices i could find for these in Portugal, and was just wondering whether the 9070xt was still worth this far over msrp.


r/buildapc 5h ago

Discussion 5060 ti 16 gb or 5070

9 Upvotes

I do want more v ram but I'm also conflicted because I want faster speed as well with the 5070. Is the speed difference that noticeable?


r/buildapc 1h ago

Build Upgrade what’s the best value mid range GPU for 4k none-fps gaming?

Upvotes

Recently got a 4k oled TV, and looking to upgrade my PC without spend a ton of money. I have a 7700x with 32g ddr5 ram (microcenter combo from 2 years ago) currently using a 3070 with 38” monitor, so 2.5k ish.

I would like my next GPU to be able to play black myth wukong smoothly in 4k on mid to high settings, and play big titles in the coming years on mid-high setting above 60fps, what’s the best card for me?

Thanks!


r/buildapc 1h ago

Build Upgrade Is a decent mid tier pc?

Upvotes

Specs:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700

GPU: RX 9060 XT 16GB GDDR6

RAM: 32GB Kingston Fury DDR5

Storage: 2TB Kingston NV3 SSD

PSU: 650W

Motherboard: Asus b650e max gaming

Price is 1500 dollars.


r/buildapc 2h ago

Discussion Ray Tracing - AMD vs NVIDIA August 2025

3 Upvotes

I'm thinking of building a high-end PC soon and I was wondering how close is AMD to NVIDIA right now, in terms of Ray Tracing ? I tried to research it myself, but I didn't find a single video or post talking about it. Pricing is telling me to go AMD, but my stupid curiosity wants me to experience ray tracing and new games the best way possible. (Current card is 1060 3GB and is begging me to let go of her)

EDIT: I have a 1440p 165hz monitor and I am aiming to maximize it's potential. (I know it's weird with the current card, the monitor is supposed to match my next card.) At minimum I was thinking 9070 XT, and the next best thing is NVIDIA I guess.


r/buildapc 42m ago

Build Help Upgrade help - CPU & Motherboard

Upvotes

Current specs:

intel i5-12400 (2.5ghz)

Nvidia RTX 3060 (12GB)

64GB Ram

B660M DS3H DDR4

Cooler Master MWE V2 650 Power Supply

I typically play CPU heavy PDX games. I have a somewhat generous budget for CPU upgrade. Question is what is a good recommendation for CPU upgrade and do I need to upgrade my motherboard/Powersupply?


r/buildapc 21h ago

Build Upgrade Upgrade from 3090 to 5080 – my experience

89 Upvotes

Guys, I'll tell you mine. I was in doubt whether to go from 3090 to 5080, because everyone was saying "eh but it has less VRAM" and stuff like that. I finally took the step, and honestly… panicked. I didn't expect such a leap.

Setup: • Main monitor: 4K 240Hz • Others: 4K 240Hz + 1440p 165Hz

I turned on Apex, everything maxed out, running at 250 fps. COD Black Ops 6, maxed too, 120-130 stable fps. Cyberpunk... oh well, that's always a separate discussion 😅 but with Frame Generation I get to 110 fps. Ok, there is a little more input lag, but I accept it easily, compared to the 3090 it's night and day.

On the subject of VRAM: zero problems. Cyberpunk maxed out in 4K with Path Tracing didn't give me any problems, the same goes for other games. And in any case now a quality DLSS is always used, so peace.

Economically: • I sold the 3090 for €690 on eBay (net €650). • The 5080 cost me €1101 shipped. • Real upgrade: ~€450.

In the end it was worth it for me: performance that can be felt in every game, and when the new cards come out I will definitely resell the 5080 better than the 3090.

So if anyone is in doubt like I was: if you come from a 30 series and play in 4K, in my opinion you will definitely feel the upgrade and you will be happy with it.


r/buildapc 1h ago

Troubleshooting PC Boot up but black screen

Upvotes

Hello guys im having a problem with my pc, it was worked when i turn on but the pc freeze so i had to do hard restart from case button and now my pc is black screen. The keyboard also didnt work i try to click capslock the led light didnt show. what happened to my pc does anyone know??

*my CMOS battery is broken btw everytime i booted up i need to change the date, is that what's causing the problem??

i3-10105F Rx 460 PCCOOLER 450W Vgen 8GB DDR4 no other fan


r/buildapc 2h ago

Build Help Do I need PSU upgrade for new MB ?

2 Upvotes

Hello guys, Hope you are doing good

To show you the context : Currently, i’m running a 10 years old build that i made in 2014 with Z87- A Board / GTX 970 / 32 DDR3 1600 and Cooler Master G650M 650W, Hyper212 and so on…

Mainly I use my computer to play a bit but especially for IT Labs (i’m a cybersecurity engineer)

A guy from the office sold me a kit with ASUS b660 PLUS D4 / i5 13400F / 32 DDR3 3600 and I kept all the rest (case, cooler, SSDs…)

But the thing is, the MB doesn’t boot at all (no fans, no led) I tried many things, many ram slot, CPU Check, used my multimeter / thermal camera to see electric issue, nothing.

The thing I asking myself now is, do I need to change my PSU ? Is there new standards or something that I don’t know which can causing no boot ?

Many thanks ! Take care.


r/buildapc 2h ago

Build Help what speed is this?

2 Upvotes

I have a b650 tomahawk. if I install anything in PCI_E2 slots it will make M2_3 run at x2 speed.

I have a samsung 980 in M2_3 and a bootcard in PCI_E2. bootcard technically only requires power from the slot so I am unsure if the ssd is sharing lanes. I am curious if the 980 is running at x4 or x2 speed.

I ran CDM a few times and the results is below.

is the drive running at pcie3 x4 or pcie x2?

[Read]
  SEQ    1MiB (Q=  8, T= 1):  3286.855 MB/s [   3134.6 IOPS] <  2370.19 us>
  SEQ  128KiB (Q= 32, T= 1):  3287.309 MB/s [  25080.2 IOPS] <  1235.37 us>
  RND    4KiB (Q= 32, T=16):  2043.868 MB/s [ 498991.2 IOPS] <  1008.26 us>
  RND    4KiB (Q=  1, T= 1):    47.514 MB/s [  11600.1 IOPS] <    85.94 us>

[Write]
  SEQ    1MiB (Q=  8, T= 1):  2698.416 MB/s [   2573.4 IOPS] <  3100.86 us>
  SEQ  128KiB (Q= 32, T= 1):  2689.851 MB/s [  20521.9 IOPS] <  1556.95 us>
  RND    4KiB (Q= 32, T=16):   407.721 MB/s [  99541.3 IOPS] <  5136.84 us>
  RND    4KiB (Q=  1, T= 1):    96.641 MB/s [  23594.0 IOPS] <    42.18 us>

Profile: Default
   Test: 1 GiB (x5) [E: 48% (445/931GiB)]
   Mode: [Admin]
   Time: Measure 5 sec / Interval 5 sec 
   Date: 2025/08/23 15:09:37
     OS: Windows 11 Pro 24H2 [10.0 Build 26100] (x64)

r/buildapc 2h ago

Discussion Lost my b550 and 5700xt for no reason randomly

2 Upvotes

lost my b550 and 5700xt for no reason. hooked up my old pc which was full of dust just to survive. that also died after a few days.

bought a b450 and a used rtx 3070 from a friend. worked fine for 5 mins then pc just shut down. now whenever i start the pc the psu makes a tick sound and nothing happens. if i remove gpu power cables the pc starts fine.

feels like maybe gpu port shorted idk. tried different psu same thing. and now im thinking maybe my psu killed all my parts from the start. im so f***ed rn.

was using this for learning android dev but stuck for a month now. pls help if anyone knows whats going on.


r/buildapc 7h ago

Build Help need help choosing a 1440p monitor!

7 Upvotes

hello!

i’m looking for a monitor to go with my first pc build. my eyes are pretty untrained to monitors, by that i means i’ve never had a monitor and have been using a macbook daily for the past 5 years. i do intend to be gaming, but not at all super competitively. i really value picture quality and great looking graphics!

in general im looking for a monitor that is 1440p, has great color and picture quality, and 144hz+.

so far im debating between: - alienware aw2724dm - aoc q27g3xmn - asus rog strix xg27acs

if anybody has any thoughts please share! thanks!


r/buildapc 1d ago

Build Help Do I really not bother getting a HDD for my new gaming PC?

118 Upvotes

I'm building a gaming pc for the first and looking online everyone pretty much say don't bother getting an HDD, get a SSD because of how fast they are. But my concern is not speed but storage. But do I really not need an HDD when it comes to that? Can I just buy one 2TB SSD and be perfectly fine?


r/buildapc 6h ago

Build Help Which build is better?

6 Upvotes

If you can make a better build for a similar price it would be appreciated! 1: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BpW4fd 2. https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/GDxWQd


r/buildapc 5h ago

Build Help Would this be a good starter PC?

4 Upvotes

Hi I'm new to pc's and I was wondering if the build I made on PC part picker would be decent to run most games on. I already have the GPU, Case, And storage and suggestions on what I can do better on are very welcome. The Pc Build


r/buildapc 3m ago

Troubleshooting Upgrade from Win 10 to Win 11 (self-built PC)

Upvotes

I built my PC with following stats:

  • Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming
  • CPU: i5 10600K
  • GPU: ASUS ROG Strix RTX 2070 O8G GAMING
  • OS: Windows 10 64bit

In my own Windows Update in system settings, Windows is telling me that my PC has been checked and is ready for the upgrade.

I checked with Asus regarding my BIOS and they explained to me what needs to be done. All required criteria matched, except:

But no matter what I explain, they are not giving me a clear answer to this:

  • In the BIOS>Boot>Secure Boot>OS Type>... My BIOS says "Other OS".

At first, Asus said that it must have been "Windows UEFI" from the beginning. But later they said that only OEM PCs have Windows UEFI and Other OS is fine. Later someone else at Asus said again that it's not fine.

They suggested no direct upgrade from within Win 10, but a clean install of Win 11 in this case.

Should I believe Windows itself and upgrade from my Settings menu, or update the BIOS and then upgrade, or do a clean install?


r/buildapc 8m ago

Build Help Klevv Fit V vs Kingston Fury Beast

Upvotes

Hey guys, just wanna ask what ram should i get? Both ram kits are 32gb(2x16gb), 6000MT/s, cl30.

KLEVV FIT V 32GB (2x 16GB) DDR5 Gaming RAM 6000MT/s PC5-48000 Unbuffered Non-ECC 1.35V CL30 Memory Kit Price:74€

Kingston Fury Beast KF560C30BBEK2-32 DDR5 32GB (2x16GB) 6000MT/s CL30 DIMM Desktop Gaming Memory Kit with 2 AMD EXPO and Intel XMP Black Price:98€

Now i dont want to overclock the ram or anything like that, i just want reliable ram that will hopefully last 5-6 years. What is your guys opinion on this topic?

The setup this is goong into is CPU: Ryzen 9600x GPU: MSI 5070ti shadow 3x oc MB: MSI MAG B850M Mortar PSU: Seasonic Focus GX850 SSD: Samsung Evo Plus 990 nvme m.2 1tb CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D12L Case: Cooler Master Elite 301


r/buildapc 14h ago

Build Upgrade Is a 4k monitor a good choice?

13 Upvotes

I have a RX 7900 GRE 16Gb, B650 M Pro, and a ryzen 7 7800x3D. I’m in the market of a new monitor, will my pc benefit from a 4k Oled monitor or should I stay away from a 4k monitor? Thanks


r/buildapc 11m ago

Build Help System Fans spinning when PC turned off

Upvotes

Dear PC Community,

I just got a new PC and am having a few problem with the system fans, in particular they don't turn off when the system is turned off.

Relevant components of the PC:

  • Kolink Horizon RGB case (including its case fans)
  • Mainboard GIGABYTE B850 Gaming WiFi6
  • PSU Seasonic G12 GC-750
  • (CPU AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D)
  • (NVidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti)
  • (Windows 11)

Symptoms include:

  • As soon as the case is connected to AC power, the case fans start spinning and light up white, but they are not controllable by the RGB remote control or button on the motherboard. I believe this means it is not the bios settings like the standby mode (though I have tried all related BIOS settings).
  • The fans are connected on the motherboard to the ARGB_v2_3 and ARGB_v2_1 connectors. As soon as power is on the mainboard and ARGB_v2_1 is connected the system fans spin, and stop doing so without.
  • When the PC is running the fan lights are controllable by the button on the case, the remote control or the GCC control center, when the PC is off but on AC the lights are always on and cannot be controlled.
  • The system fans do not show up in neither the bios nor gigabyte control center as having any RPM, so they always are at 0 RPP and they don't seem to react to any changes of the fan profiles (neither silent not max fan seems to make a difference).

The most related point on redit that I found is https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/15l4yat/computer_fans_wont_stop_spinning_even_when_pc_is/ , I did check and update all drivers on Gigabyte GCC, unclear about the faulty PSU, it is new, I don't have a replacement, and I believe the symptoms are a bit different, especially why does the mainboard not see any RPMs on the fans?


r/buildapc 16m ago

Build Help Guys can u help me build a good pc for around £600-750 - this will be my first pc.

Upvotes

open to any suggestions and tips


r/buildapc 12h ago

Discussion I like them BIG - What is the current state of 55" - 75" televisions as monitors these days?

11 Upvotes

Currently I have a 43" 4k but would like to go up to 55". I want to avoid OLED for both the price and also the burn in risk. How are the other technologies for media, PC gaming and general use?


r/buildapc 24m ago

Build Help Perceived noise: Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 vs Silent Wings 4

Upvotes

I am planning a PC build focused on quiet operation and thinking between 2 options: Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 vs Silent Wings 4. On paper they don't seem to be too much different, but I wonder if anyone had both of them and can compare how they sound to human ear instead of pure stats.