|OT| The PC Hardware Thread -- Buy/Upgrade/Ask/Answer

ISee

Oh_no!
Mar 1, 2019
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Sadly, to make use of Gsync in the LG OLED panels would mean upgrading my GPUs as well
The 27" equivalent of the 65" BFGD is 2500€. You'll probably be a able to get a LG OLED, a 2080Ti, x570CH8 Wifi and a r9 3950X for the price of the 65" variant alone. Maybe you will even save 1000 bucks. The LG Oleds are also supporting FreeSync, just in case you are on an AMD card.

I'm not saying the BFGD is a no go, or that gsync/free sync support is good on the LG Oleds. I'd need to see it myself and to compare the HDR with a Gsync Ultimate Display. High HDR brightness levels could also be problematic on an OLED because of burn in. I get the appeal of the 65" BFGD, but it is too expansive for me.
 
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JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
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Alright, here are the planned upgrades for my recent build:

  1. EVGA RTX 2060 XC GAMING: Was interested in 2060 super but non super is fine for me. I also picked dual fan for better cooling.
  2. Antec Prizm ARGB 120mm 5-pack: I felt that 5 fans for my Eclipse 350X should get the airflow job done.
  3. Another pack of this these T-Force Vulcan 16GB DDR4-3200 ram sticks for better multitasking.
  4. Another hard drive which is an 2TB Seagate Barracuda for storing more games, maybe I will keep the main HDD as storage for my college work.

I'm also planning to build a PC for my mom this October. I used this build guide from TechBuyersGuru as a reference. I changed a few things from the guide (such as the mouse because fuck Cherry for making fun of female Chinese gamers), so here it is:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.08 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME B450M-A/CSM Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($78.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($65.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial P1 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($66.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 570 4 GB RS XXX Video Card ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill FBM-X1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($32.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12III 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link Archer T6E AC1300 PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: HP VH240a 23.8" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Microsoft ANB-00001 Wired Slim Keyboard ($11.99 @ Monoprice)
Mouse: Logitech G300S Wired Optical Mouse ($19.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $765.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-26 13:16 EDT-0400



And here is the list for my new mini-ITX build:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($194.79 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 I AORUS PRO WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3733 Memory ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P1 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($66.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB SC ULTRA GAMING Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($83.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1150.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-09-26 13:19 EDT-0400
 
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rybrad

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Apr 22, 2019
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I could use some extra opinions on X570 motherboard options for a 3700x. In my initial research, it seemed like the Asus TUF 570-Plus and Gigabyte Aorus Elite are the best value relative to price. I have some concerns (and internet commenter induced concerns!) and am not against other boards, would just prefer to stay under $300 if possible.

Asus TUF Gaming
  • Realtek LAN (the internet tells me this is bad compared to Intel LAN)
  • No front panel USB-C header which my case has
  • Potential issues with 3 fan GPU hitting chipset fan
Gigabyte Aorus Elite
  • Potential issues with 3 fan GPU hitting chipset fan
  • Potentially loud chipset fan
  • No rear USB-C
  • Sounds like BIOS is a bit sketchy but they have been cranking out updates

Other, more expensive, boards I heard somewhat good things about is the Gigabyte Aorus Pro Wifi (ATX, not the ITX with a similar name) and the Asus Prime X570-Pro. Any opinions on the boards would be welcome. I should also add that I am not against getting a good X470 board as long as I can update the BIOS without a CPU as I don't have an old one. Other than waiting for a video card I want to be stocked at a non-gouging price, I think the mobo is the last piece to sort out.

Edit: After more research, I kind of feel like getting something like an X470 ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero makes more sense as it has more features I want and I really don't care too much about PCIe 4 right now.
 
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ISee

Oh_no!
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The r5 2600 non X is just $5 more expansive, has two more cores and is overall the better CPU. Don't get the 2400G, especially as you are going to use a discrete GPU anyway.
The 2400G is based on zen+ (Ryzen 2000) just as the r5 2600


Just a warning: 3733 on Ryzen 3000 is not a guarantee. The Mainboard might not get it, the memory controller might not be good enough or the infinity fabric might not be stable at 3733MHz. It is possible, but not guaranteed. It's much more easy (and likely) to get 3600 at a lower latency.

X470 ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero
I'm on a X470 CH7 WiFi and it is a good board. But for that kind of money take the Asus X570 Strix F. It has similar features, the VRM are equally overkill, it's a x570 board.
The only reason I'm on the CH7: I already bought it last year with my 2700x, I didn't want to spend another 270€ and go through the trouble of rebuilding everything.
 

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
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Brooklyn, NY
The r5 2600 non X is just $5 more expansive, has two more cores and is overall the better CPU. Don't get the 2400G, especially as you are going to use a discrete GPU anyway.
The 2400G is based on zen+ (Ryzen 2000) just as the r5 2600




Just a warning: 3733 on Ryzen 3000 is not a guarantee. The Mainboard might not get it, the memory controller might not be good enough or the infinity fabric might not be stable at 3733MHz. It is possible, but not guaranteed. It's much more easy (and likely) to get 3600 at a lower latency.
Thanks for the suggestions. For the second one, I chose this GSkill Ripjaws V.
 
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ISee

Oh_no!
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Thanks for the suggestions. For the second one, I chose this GSkill Ripjaws V.
Was looking up a nice Samsung B-die kit for you, because they are pretty good and consistent at hitting 3600 cl14. But since ryzen 3000 arrived everybody is buying them and prices are a bit high.

3600c19 will allow you to hit 1800 infinity fabric clocks, but latency will still be pretty high. You might even get better results with a 3200cl16 kit, despite a lower IF clock.

I'm on 4x F4-3600C16D-8GVK and able to hit 3600c14, but as said price went up and they are very expensive now so I wouldn't recommend them anymore.

maybe take a look here and see if you're able to find something that fits your budget.

 

JackPineSavage

crazy drunken bastard
Jun 2, 2019
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Was looking up a nice Samsung B-die kit for you, because they are pretty good and consistent at hitting 3600 cl14. But since ryzen 3000 arrived everybody is buying them and prices are a bit high.

3600c19 will allow you to hit 1800 infinity fabric clocks, but latency will still be pretty high. You might even get better results with a 3200cl16 kit, despite a lower IF clock.

I'm on 4x F4-3600C16D-8GVK and able to hit 3600c14, but as said price went up and they are very expensive now so I wouldn't recommend them anymore.

maybe take a look here and see if you're able to find something that fits your budget.

F4-3600C14Q-32GTZN was quite expensive indeed
 
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Kvik

Crossbell City Councillor
Dec 6, 2018
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Downunder.
The 27" equivalent of the 65" BFGD is 2500€. You'll probably be a able to get a LG OLED, a 2080Ti, x570CH8 Wifi and a r9 3950X for the price of the 65" variant alone. Maybe you will even save 1000 bucks. The LG Oleds are also supporting FreeSync, just in case you are on an AMD card.

I'm not saying the BFGD is a no go, or that gsync/free sync support is good on the LG Oleds. I'd need to see it myself and to compare the HDR with a Gsync Ultimate Display. High HDR brightness levels could also be problematic on an OLED because of burn in. I get the appeal of the 65" BFGD, but it is too expansive for me.
You made me curious about the price of upgrades if I were to upgrade my rig today. My living room setup is an i7-5930K/16GB so I think this will keep for a little while longer. The GPU is a GTX 980, so upgrading it to 2080Ti will cost me about $1700 AUD. To get an LG C9 OLED in 55", it will cost me $2700 AUD. All up, it's $4400 AUD. This is roughly the equivalent of 2700€.

Now, to get the 65" BFGD in my city, it will cost me $7,000 approximately.


So yeah, theoretically getting an OLED panel is a more attractive value proposition because even if I decide to go with a 65" OLED panel, it will cost an extra $1800, bringing the total cost to $6200, a saving of $800.
 
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madjoki

👀 I see you
Sep 19, 2018
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Finally going to do storage upgrade

I gotta say it kind of feels weird. to buy brand new products only to break them instantly.
But when it saves like 300€-ish... Though no warranty, though somehow I was able to take all three apart without breaking those tabs, who knows if they could even tell.



3x8TB for sweet ~16TB of space.
 

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
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Brooklyn, NY
Finally going to do storage upgrade

I gotta say it kind of feels weird. to buy brand new products only to break them instantly.
But when it saves like 300€-ish... Though no warranty, though somehow I was able to take all three apart without breaking those tabs, who knows if they could even tell.



3x8TB for sweet ~16TB of space.
 

madjoki

👀 I see you
Sep 19, 2018
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First converted to internal successfully (still on going testing tho, first tested it as external, then via dock and finally once more after copying some data over, you can never be too careful :p)

Getting tape right to bypass "DRM" preventing usage as internal was annoying. Why do this WD.
Also the enclosure has DRM preventing it's use with another drive, would've been 3 free cases. Also DRM also protects you from accessing your data if enclosure breaks. So you really don't want to use these externally.

Also every hard drive should have unique identifier on side with connectors. So hard to know which drive you should pull out. (My case doesn't really have visibility to top of drive and especially not back where WD has serials) /end of rant.
 
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OMEGALUL

Junior Member
Apr 15, 2019
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I want to upgrade display card for my PC.

Specs

MSI MS-7758
8GB DDR3
GTX 670 2GB
InTel (R) Core i7-3770K CPU @ 3.50 GHZ (CPUs)

I built this PC in 2013 and it was considered an OK model at the time, now I need an upgrade. Will a gigabyte GTX1660 TI OC GDDR6 be a good upgrade to last for the next couple of years? I only play stuff at 1920x1080 with maybe 60FPS (I'm cool with 30FPS). no VR or 4K. I don't have much of a budget to work with.
 

ISee

Oh_no!
Mar 1, 2019
3,220
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Will a gigabyte GTX1660 TI OC GDDR6 be a good upgrade
Yes, it's a huge upgrade.

In my part of the world (and I know that things are very different elsewhere) The Gigabyte 1660Ti costs 300€. You can find reference AMD RX 5700 models for just 15€ (+5%) more, but they are ~20% faster and have more memory (which will come in handy in ~2 years). Both the 1660Ti and 5700 lack Ray Tracing features. In the end, the 5700 is the way better option in the 300€ price range, imo.
So if you can find one for a similar, or even slightly higher price: Get the 5700 over the 1660Ti. People don't like reference models, but the 5700 is a cool and low energy part (still with great performance). The blower design isn't a big disadvantage here.
 

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
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The saga of the PC Case is over! The Saga of the New PC Case begins!

Hopefully i'll be retiring my slightly small Fractal Design R3 with a Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic tomorrow. You are a star R3 but i need a new case with more internal space. The R3 is a fantastic case and has served me well but i don't use the drive bays and they are non-removable and in the way of the cabling and airflow now i have larger components.
I also picked up an Elegato Stream Deck thingy as i'm doing more stuff with Macros lately and really, i've always wanted to fiddle about with them.


Edit: Basically i was looking at £200+ cases and decided that was a bit much so i'll see how this one goes. My housemate has two or three old-school Lian Li cases you could park trains in but i don't need that!
 
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EdwardTivrusky

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Dec 8, 2018
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It turned up and it's nice... however make sure you check the measurements for GPU/CPU/PSU etc as i have now found that my Dark Rock Pro 4 is too big for the case so i either put the Stock Ryzen RGB Wraith? Cooler on there but that'll be later as it's in storage or buy a different cooler. 7 flipping mm too tall! 155mm case clearance and 162 cooler height.



It will be great when i can sort out the cooling but until then i'm sticking with my trusty Fractal Design Define R3 Arctic White.
 

EdwardTivrusky

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Dec 8, 2018
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My own fault for not checking dimensions, oh well. I'll give the Cooler that came with the CPU a go and see how it does. I don't overclock so i should be fine and it has RGB so i can look like a total twat :)
 
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Dec 5, 2018
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This is not entirely a hardware issue but anyways.

Does anybody know if it's possible to treat the front panel and back panel audio as different with Realtek Audio Console (since I need to use it for some reason), so I can swap directly on windows withou having to unplug my headset ?
 

ISee

Oh_no!
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I like this kind of design. Especially the ability to mount a case fan on top of the GPU. 3 fans in (2x front, 1x side), 2 fans out (1x back, 1x top) and you got a pretty descent cooling solution for your system. I know, I'm old but -5°C GPU and CPU temp makes me more happy than all the LEDs in the world.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
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I will have to put my config here but my next planed upgrades will normally be GPU then Monitor. The plan being a 2070 and playing at 1440p. High refresh rate would be cool too. Gsync too... with the state of my finances it will be a long wait..
 

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
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Look at this shit. Just look at it.
I LOVE my Define R3 especially the all white design. I wanted another Fractal Design but i don't like the front panels on their cases with large internal space and the drive bays take up a lot of room which i don't use anymore. My CPU Cooler touches the panel and after 8 years i wanted a change too. The idiot thing is that the new case won't fit my Dark Rock 4 either as it will only take coolers <155mm so i have to get a smaller Air-Cooler or go for an AIO Water Cooler.

I've found 4 air coolers that will should fit but their performance is not as good as the Dark Rock so i am tempted to go for an AIO about £120 with two 120mm Fans of some sort. No clue which though so i think i'll email Overclockers and Scan and see what they suggest.

edit: Li Kao I feel your pain. I saved for ages and upgraded my i5 3570k to a 2700X late last year, then picked up an RTX 2070 which meant i needed a new monitor early this year and now i've bought a new case and need to look at cooling. It's taken nearly a year to slowly upgrade but i should have a system that will last a good few years soon.
 

teezzy

formerly 'deftones r cool'
Apr 19, 2019
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I will have to put my config here but my next planed upgrades will normally be GPU then Monitor. The plan being a 2070 and playing at 1440p. High refresh rate would be cool too. Gsync too... with the state of my finances it will be a long wait..
Ha, we're in the same boat, friend.

Upgraded my GPU to a 2070 in like March... I'm finally only a couple weeks away from playing 1440p Gsync 144hz

I'm drooling, it's been so long. Life keeps getting in the way of things.
 

EdwardTivrusky

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Dec 8, 2018
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I went to the Storage place and pulled out the CPU Cooler that came with my 2700X and although HardOCP say it's supposed to be 159mm the box is only 130mm tall so i'm going to give it a shot this week. I'm not overclocking so it should be fine, it won't touch the Dark Rock 4 i doubt but i'll keep an eye on things and if it's not throttling i'll leave it in.
 
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rybrad

Junior Member
Apr 22, 2019
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I just finished my 3700x build today. Well, mostly, I have some cranky ram settings that I need to sort out but I will call it close enough to done! I hope one day those thermal pads are as good as paste because I hate doing that shit.

I'm curious if it is worth spending the time and effort trying to OC it. I don't really enjoy tinkering, but will do it if the difference is perceptible. From my limited research it seems like the consensus is there isn't much headroom for OCing on the 3000 series.

If I don't end up overclocking, I might look into undervolting. I use my PC for work and gaming so on some days it could be 15 hours of fairly heavy use. My old OCed 4770k died after about 4 years and I would like to get 5 years out of this PC if possible.

Any other settings I should think about tweaking?
 

EdwardTivrusky

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Dec 8, 2018
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From the minuscule info i know about modern overclocking there's not that much headroom on components these days. AMD kit does seem to enjoy a little under-voltage so they can hold boost clocks for longer without throttling but whether it's worth it i couldn't say. I know AMD kit is quite responsive to memory timings so it may be worth looking at tweaking memory clocks and voltage too.

Edit: WooHoo i know have the old machine stripped down and have partially transferred the bits to the new case with the stock RGB Wraith Cooler. I now have to fit approx 200 meters of cabling into a shoe-box. I hate cable management but hopefully tonight i'll have a working PC again.
 
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Stevey

Gromlintroid
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My current setup is an ASUS ROG STRIX Z390F mobo with 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz DDR4 in 2 8GB sticks.
If I want to add another 16GB do I have to buy the exact same RAM and will my mobo automatically OC it to match the 16GB thats already in there?
 

rybrad

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Apr 22, 2019
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My current setup is an ASUS ROG STRIX Z390F mobo with 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz DDR4 in 2 8GB sticks.
If I want to add another 16GB do I have to buy the exact same RAM and will my mobo automatically OC it to match the 16GB thats already in there?
I can tell you from past experience that even getting the exact same sticks in separate kits is not guaranteed to work perfectly with what you have. Kits are tested together and using a single kit is one way you can avoid possible instability headaches. It could end up being completely fine, but if you try it just buy them from somewhere that allows returns and not just exchanges.
 
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Copons

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Nov 12, 2018
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I was poking around PCPartPicker, added a Ryzen 3600 and a B450 motherboard to my build, and it threw me a very interesting warning:

Warning! Some AMD B450 chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Matisse CPUs. Upgrading the BIOS may require a different CPU that is supported by older BIOS revisions.
Now... considering I don't have any spare AMD CPU around, I guess I should avoid the B450 altogether instead of hoping the one I buy has the updated BIOS.

What would be a similarly cheap alternative to the B450?
 

ISee

Oh_no!
Mar 1, 2019
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I was poking around PCPartPicker, added a Ryzen 3600 and a B450 motherboard to my build, and it threw me a very interesting warning:



Now... considering I don't have any spare AMD CPU around, I guess I should avoid the B450 altogether instead of hoping the one I buy has the updated BIOS.

What would be a similarly cheap alternative to the B450?
Yes and no. There are 450 boards with updated bios versions. They have ryzen 3000 ready stickers
You could also take the MSI B450 Tomahawk max. It is 100% ryzen 3000 compatible
 
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rybrad

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So I have a weird RAM issue I am dealing with for the past couple of days on my new 3700x build. I finally found some stable settings for my RAM at the rated speed (3600) and tested on the Google Stress test app for 2 hours with no hardware errors. The issue I have is that whenever I restart windows, I get a bsod after it restarts and gets to windows. If I do a complete shutdown it is totally fine on next boot. This doesn't happen if I run my ram at the stock speed of 2133mhz so it is something from my ram settings that I can't sort out. Any ideas on what to look at?
 

ISee

Oh_no!
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So I have a weird RAM issue I am dealing with for the past couple of days on my new 3700x build. I finally found some stable settings for my RAM at the rated speed (3600) and tested on the Google Stress test app for 2 hours with no hardware errors. The issue I have is that whenever I restart windows, I get a bsod after it restarts and gets to windows. If I do a complete shutdown it is totally fine on next boot. This doesn't happen if I run my ram at the stock speed of 2133mhz so it is something from my ram settings that I can't sort out. Any ideas on what to look at?
Sounds to me like Google Stress test isn't reliable enough in finding memory instabilities.
(But this is also the first time I'm hearing of it...)

Get a usb drive and make it into a bootable memtest86 drive.
You can get the free memtest version from here. USB boot maker is included in the download.
Boot into the drive from your BIOS and let memtest do its work. This will take a couple of hours.

If it finds any kind of errors (even one) your ram isn't stable.

Imo, the bootable memtest version is the best and most reliable way to test for memory stability.
 

Copons

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Yes and no. There are 450 boards with updated bios versions. They have ryzen 3000 ready stickers
You could also take the MSI B450 Tomahawk max. It is 100% ryzen 3000 compatible
Thanks!
It took me like 10 re-reads to finally notice the "Max", as the normal Tomahawk is not 100% compatible (it has the USB flashback, but it's not super trustworthy according to the Internet)!
Updated the parts list (even though, this is becoming a very expensive build - I guess mostly because I got a 4K screen for free, and so I kinda feel compelled to get a 2080 Super 🤔😁)
 
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rybrad

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Apr 22, 2019
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Sounds to me like Google Stress test isn't reliable enough in finding memory instabilities.
(But this is also the first time I'm hearing of it...)

Get a usb drive and make it into a bootable memtest86 drive.
You can get the free memtest version from here. USB boot maker is included in the download.
Boot into the drive from your BIOS and let memtest do its work. This will take a couple of hours.

If it finds any kind of errors (even one) your ram isn't stable.

Imo, the bootable memtest version is the best and most reliable way to test for memory stability.
The Google Stressful App test requires Linux (WSL on windows works fine for it) to run which is why a ton of people don't use it. It is what Google uses to test their own servers. I saw it mentioned in a few spots but this is a general overview.

I ran Memtest86 from a flash drive before that and did 4 passes over 6 hours all of which passed as that is my usual first line of testing since it takes OS out of the equation. I have tweaked several voltages and settings now without being able to find something that will stand up to Windows restarts consistently. I seem to be having the opposite problem that most people have in that cold boots work perfect for me but not restarts.

I may give the Ryzen DRAM calculator another go with the safe option selected and see if it helps. I am running out of ideas here besides selling the ram (since fucking Newegg won't refund) and buying something on the QVL that hasn't been updated from last year since I got an X470 board but newer ram.
 

ISee

Oh_no!
Mar 1, 2019
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The Google Stressful App test requires Linux (WSL on windows works fine for it) to run which is why a ton of people don't use it. It is what Google uses to test their own servers. I saw it mentioned in a few spots but this is a general overview.

I ran Memtest86 from a flash drive before that and did 4 passes over 6 hours all of which passed as that is my usual first line of testing since it takes OS out of the equation. I have tweaked several voltages and settings now without being able to find something that will stand up to Windows restarts consistently. I seem to be having the opposite problem that most people have in that cold boots work perfect for me but not restarts.

I may give the Ryzen DRAM calculator another go with the safe option selected and see if it helps. I am running out of ideas here besides selling the ram (since fucking Newegg won't refund) and buying something on the QVL that hasn't been updated from last year since I got an X470 board but newer ram.
Stable in stress testing, stable during normal boot, stable with standard settings, not stable on reboot.

AFAIK, there is a difference between shutdown and restart in Windows 1o.
The normal shutdown writes memory data on to the systemdrive and when you repower your PC data gets written from this drive to the memory. It's some kind of long term hibernation. This function works, if I understand you correctly.

Windows Restart on the other side clears ram and does not read the state of the previous windows instance into memory. This leads to a BSOD?

Maybe it's not your ram? But you're not having the same issue with standard ram settings. Also but, you have no problems with programs and games.

I'd try to do a fresh windows install (no recovery), just to test if something is corrupted tbh. Buying new memory is expansive. I'd also play around with soc voltage just to be sure.

Edit: try turning off fast boot in windows and see if something changes.
 

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
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My PC is now back together and after some fiddling and restarts it's running nice and cool even on the stock cooler and since i removed the filter from the exhaust fans it's a hell of a lot quieter too. Now i just need to sort out RGB hell as it looks like i need at least 3 different applications to configure the LEDs on Mobo, GFX, Fans & PSU ffs.

As expected i lost patience and just crammed the cables in the back of the case. Preversely I've bought some more cables so i can actually do a tidier job of the SATA cabling. The one glitch i have left is that Device Manager says my Wifi dongle would work better on USB 3 ... but it is on USB 3. I swear if Windows has gone and fucked with my WIFI Drivers again i'll scream. Stupid Windows 10 1903, I need to disable Windows Driver Updates even if it moans about security. Windows Drivers are the worst.

Still, i'll start up some fullscreen games tonight and see how things go. For all the aggro and wishing i'd gone for a bigger Fractal Design Case again this Lian Li Dynamic is very nice.
 

rybrad

Junior Member
Apr 22, 2019
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Stable in stress testing, stable during normal boot, stable with standard settings, not stable on reboot.

AFAIK, there is a difference between shutdown and restart in Windows 1o.
The normal shutdown writes memory data on to the systemdrive and when you repower your PC data gets written from this drive to the memory. It's some kind of long term hibernation. This function works, if I understand you correctly.

Windows Restart on the other side clears ram and does not read the state of the previous windows instance into memory. This leads to a BSOD?

Maybe it's not your ram? But you're not having the same issue with standard ram settings. Also but, you have no problems with programs and games.

I'd try to do a fresh windows install (no recovery), just to test if something is corrupted tbh. Buying new memory is expansive. I'd also play around with soc voltage just to be sure.

Edit: try turning off fast boot in windows and see if something changes.
Your assumption on the shutdown and restart are correct which is usually the opposite of the issues I have found people having! I had just done my 3rd clean install of Windows yesterday after two times of it deciding to put part of windows on my hard drive and the other part on my SSD. Ended up having to disable the sata port for my hard drive to get Windows to quit being dumb and finally install on my nvme drive.

I ended up disabling Windows fast boot (already had the bios version disabled) per your suggestion and so far I seem to have clean tests and I could still restart ok afterwards. I will test it overnight to see if it holds up but this at least seems closer to the end of my long ram nightmare.

The interesting part about fast boot is it specifically says it has no effect on restarts but seems to have helped my issue with restarts. Computers are weird man.

Edit: I was reading up on this more because the fast startup thing didn't make a ton of sense to me. Apparently it makes the PC skip memory training during POST which can cause the instability if it is still trying to figure out the right settings under the hood.
 
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ISee

Oh_no!
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Happy it's working now.

Ended up having to disable the sata port for my hard drive to get Windows to quit being dumb and finally install on my nvme drive.
Yep. Did a fresh win 1909 install last week and had the same issue. Very annoying.
I was reading up on this more because the fast startup thing didn't make a ton of sense to me. Apparently it makes the PC skip memory training during POST which can cause the instability if it is still trying to figure out the right settings under the hood.
Interesting and good to know
 
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ISee

Oh_no!
Mar 1, 2019
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3600x or 3700x?
Budget question, without a universal answer imo.
Would going with 3600x or even 3600 allow you to get a better GPU?
Are you going from a zen+ to a zen 2 CPU and the $100 price difference isn't a big deal for you?

If you ask me: Go as high as you can easily afford, with weight on GPU over CPU (to certain degrees, there are exceptions). Both the 3700x and 3600 non x will give you similar performance, in most cases. But if you want to you can find some newer examples that show a slight performance improvements on eight core CPUs. Is this a sign of future things to come? Is future proofing even a thing? I don't know, you have to decide that for yourself.
 

NarohDethan

There was a fish in the percolator!
Apr 6, 2019
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Budget question, without a universal answer imo.
Would going with 3600x or even 3600 allow you to get a better GPU?
Are you going from a zen+ to a zen 2 CPU and the $100 price difference isn't a big deal for you?

If you ask me: Go as high as you can easily afford, with weight on GPU over CPU (to certain degrees, there are exceptions). Both the 3700x and 3600 non x will give you similar performance, in most cases. But if you want to you can find some newer examples that show a slight performance improvements on eight core CPUs. Is this a sign of future things to come? Is future proofing even a thing? I don't know, you have to decide that for yourself.
I'm going from a i5 8400 to a 3600x or 3700x
 
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rybrad

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Apr 22, 2019
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Well I am losing my god damn mind here as my RAM issues came back a couple days ago. I have been messing with settings the last few days for several hours a night and I can't even get this 3600 RAM 100% stable at 3000. I have reflashed bios and reinstalled Windows again with no improvements. I am starting to feel like I have faulty hardware somewhere but I don't even know where to begin trying to figure out which piece is bad. If anyone has some thoughts on next steps I would really appreciate it as I am running out of my return window soon.
 

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
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Put one stick of RAM in at a time and run MemTest from a USB boot stick i think is the preferred method. It's the only one people seem to post so whether it's just MemTest Fanboys flooding tech forums or there's other methods i don't know.
 
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Dec 5, 2018
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Guys I need some help.

My new pc (specs below), has been randomly reseting (like if someone pushed the reset button).

Code:
NEW
    CPU   : Ryzen 9 3900X
    MOBO  : Asrock Taichi X570
    RAM   : Corsair VENGEANCE® LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DRAM DDR4 a 3200 MHz C16
    Drive : Samsung 970 EVO Plus
    PSU   : Corsair HX750

OLD
    GFX   : GTX 1070
    Drive : 2x Samsung 850 Pro (256 GB)
    Drive : WD Caviar Black (1TB)

I don't know if it's either a faulty component or something that went wrong, and since it's just a reset I can't really don't know how to troubleshoot it.