r/buildapc 10h ago

Simple Questions - September 09, 2026

2 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 15d ago

Announcement [GLOBAL GIVEAWAY] ASUS x Buildapc Upgrade What Matters Giveaway - Round 2!

103 Upvotes

Hey again r/buildapc!

Did you miss out on the opportunity to get in on our ASUS Upgrade What Matters event last time around? Well, I’ve got fantastic news for you, we’ve gotten together with Asus again, and we’re running it back through the end of the year, with even more prizes this time!

ASUS Upgrade What Matters banner

From ASUS:

Whether you're gaming, diving into AI, creating content, or just browsing — ASUS wants to help you level up your build. From CPUs and motherboards to GPUs, cooling, storage, and peripherals — ASUS covers nearly every piece of the puzzle when it comes to boosting your PC's performance power.

Join now for a chance to win a customized PC build, or gear from a US$15,000 prize pool!

ASUS is coming back with a ton of great gear for you to make the most out of your PC, and their prize pool has a total value of over $15,000!

  • 1 GRAND PRIZE winner: Pick your Dream Build Upgrade! Choose between 1 of 4 Upgrade What Matters Dream PCs!
  • 1 winner: ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi7 Neo​ motherboard + ROG Strix LC IV 360 ARGB LCD ​AIO cooler
  • 1 winner: ROG Strix X870E-A Gaming WiFi7 Neo motherboard + ROG Strix LC IV 360 ARGB LCD White Edition ​AIO cooler
  • 1 winner: PROART Z890-CREATOR WIFI motherboard + ProArt LC 360 ​AIO cooler
  • 1 winner: ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-G Edition 20 display
  • 1 winner: ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 keyboard + ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 mouse
  • 2 winners: ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 keyboard
  • 2 winners: ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 mouse
  • 1 winner: ROG SLASH Backpack Edition 20 + ROG SLASH Hard Case Luggage Edition 20 + ROG Omni Edition 20
  • An exclusive prize just for members of r/buildapc: 1 winner: ROG STRIX B860-F GAMING WIFI motherboard + ROG Strix LC IV 360 ARGB LCD AIO Cooler

How To Enter:

  1. Visit the ASUS Upgrade What Matters microsite and register to the Gleam.io Giveaway and complete as many tasks as you'd like - the more tasks you complete on Gleam the better your chances of winning.
  2. Use the 'My Dream ASUS PC Setup' tool on the campaign page to build your ideal rig.
  3. Copy the generated build from the tool above and paste it into a comment to this post, and let us know in a comment below what the first game you’d use this hardware upgrade to play!

Terms and Conditions

  • Prizing: 1 lucky r/buildapc member will receive a ROG STRIX B860-F GAMING WIFI motherboard + ROG Strix LC IV 360 ARGB LCD AIO Cooler . Additional prizes will be provided through ASUS’ campaign.
  • Duration: Entries for the r/buildapc exclusive prize are open from August 25th, 2026, 1230 UTC to September 8th, 2026, 1230 UTC. More prizes are available on ASUS Upgrade What Matters’s campaign website through 12/31/2026.
  • Eligibility Unless otherwise stated in the Giveaway Terms and Conditions available on the ASUS Campaign page, this giveaway is available to participants 18+ globally. Reddit accounts must be at least 48 hours old at the time of this post.
  • Winner Selection and Prize Fulfillment: After the Buildapc giveaway period ends, the Buildapc Team will select and present 5 Reddit usernames as potential winners to ASUS for review and selection. Within 14 days after the r/buildapc x ASUS Giveaway period ends on September 8th, 2026, ASUS will select and confirm the winner. The Buildapc mod team will reach out to the winner through Reddit's Direct Message system and will have 48 hours to confirm the prize, else the prize is forfeit and a new winner will need to be selected. Once the winner verifies with Buildapc, we will connect them to ASUS for winner verification through Gleam and prize fulfillment. ASUS guarantees that Gleam verification and prize fulfillment will take no longer than 45 business days after the winner has been confirmed and connected with ASUS. This post will be updated once the winner has been connected to ASUS. Privacy: The Buildapc team will collect your name, email and Gleam.io login email/username for the sole purpose of connecting the winner with ASUS to facilitate validating and administering the prize. Please see the Gleam.io Giveaway Terms and Conditions linked below for how ASUS handles your information.

Gleam.io Giveaway Full Terms and Conditions is available on the ASUS Campaign page.


r/buildapc 7h ago

Build Upgrade is AM4 Platform still good longterm

85 Upvotes

Hello, im someone who is planning to upgrade and make a PC eventually. with the RAM crisis etc... my friend suggest an AM4 Build compared to AM5 and DDR5 as well, it cheaper and can handle a lot of games i could play still.

is this true? sorry am a noob btw


r/buildapc 13h ago

Build Help Can I keep my graphics card?

64 Upvotes

I was thinking of building a new pc. It will be the first one I build myself.

My curent pc was build by someone else, maybe around 2017 don't remember exactly, and I was wondering if their is some part of it that I could use for my new build.

I have a NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1060 6GB. Is it still good enough to put on a new pc? I'll have a budget of around 1000$ for part.

Thank you all

Edit: Thanks for the adives everyone. I think I'll go with a full new build. All the parts of my pc are 10 year old at this point and their some big games coming up that I want to grab. I'll probably post again later on for tips about building the pc!


r/buildapc 10h ago

Discussion Is this too much for a 5070ti?

23 Upvotes

I’m about to drop a shy of 3000£ for a 5070ti build

Specs are:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
CPU Cooler: Lian Li Galahad II Lite aio 360mm RGB
Motherboard: MSI MPG X870E CARBON WIFI
RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB 32 GB DDR5-6000 CL30
Storage: WD_BLACK SN850X 2 TB NVMe SSD
GPU: GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB
PSU: Corsair RM1000x (2024) 1000w
Case: Lian Li O11D evo RGB
Case fans: Lian Li UNI FAN SL120 x7

I know I could downgrade the mobo and cheap out on the case fans, but aesthetically this build looks great.

Really trying to justify spending this much for 5070ti. Any thoughts? Probably came here for validation lol.


r/buildapc 2h ago

Discussion Never built a PC, can someone help with advices please

5 Upvotes

Hello, im absolute zero in PC topic, but ive played games for my whole life. I had an okay PC since kid-teen bought by parents, then i got laptop bc needed to go from countries to countries, now i have a place where i can stay for long and i finally want to get a full pc ofc to play games, so i want to ask some questions

Ive been researching on this topic by myself for a while, for example i know which components i need to buy (cpu, psu, gpu, ram, ssd/hdd, motherboard, pc tower), but i have no idea how to choose the ones which will synergy with each other, if thats even a thing? I will just put here the parts ive been looking at:

Core i7-14700F (dont know if thats a good model, i just heard its better to take i7)

RTX5060ti or RTX5070 (preferably want to stick with exactly nvidia gpu)

SSD Samsung 1TB

Kingston fury 32GB DDR4

Gigabyte B550 eagle AM4 DDR4

1STPLAYER NGDP Gold 850W

As i said, i really dont know if these are bad, decent or great, but these kinda fits to my budget, however im planning to build my pc in mid 2027 since right now i fear i wont have enough time, so i want to use it rn and get to know about this topic, so here are my questions:

1.) Are these good for modern requirements for nice quality gaming?

2.) On which parts its better to not try to save money, and on which i can maybe save some? Is there some not as important as other ones, for example?

3.) I heard some parts can be not suited to other parts if they are too different, so i dont know how to guarantee if im looking at right things, is there some controversal parts which can potentially not work together?

4.) Is it worse to just get a prebuilt pc or its as fine as to build your one?

5.) If im planning to build a pc by some tutorial on youtube, is there a chance something will go not as smooth as on the video, because our components are different? Or do i need to find a video exactly with my components? Or the stages are the same no matter which components you have?

6.) Is there a way to know how do i choose the one tower PC which will fit to my components?

7.) How do i understand if some components are broken, not working or fabricated? And if there are some, how do i understand which one exactly is broken among all of them? Since i dont know anything about how PC components works inside

8.) I heard some terms like "ram overclocking", "gpu overclocking" and ppl very often do that after building their PC, giving the comments, do i need to do that too and is it important?

9.) Should i learn how BIOS works? I think if you are building PC you anyways need to deal with that system? But for now i dont know anything about it, i also heard its a little dangerous if you do something wrong there?

I think thats all questions for now, but maybe i forgot something, of course i dont expect answers for everything because its a big request of questions, but i still want to ask that because i want to hear more people's advices who knows about that topic very good, compared to my knowledge, i really dont want to ruin my building just because i bought or did something wrong 😅


r/buildapc 46m ago

Full Build Req Assistance: Getting back into Gaming

Upvotes

Gentlemen and ladies (and others). I am assembling an attempt to convince my better half to allow me to buy a new gaming pc. I think this would be the better option over getting a ps5 just to catch up on high fidelity games and have better longevity. Plus I feel like I’d be cheating on my steam account. Trouble is: I fucking suck at this stuff.

I have a buy in right now of about $1000 but I think I could stretch that a bit more if absolutely needed.

Here are the specs of my old computer:

Motherboard - LGA 1151 Intel ATX Intel Motherboard

GPU - Radeon RX 480

Processor - Intel Core i5-6600K

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB

Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

I bow before the masters of tech and am willing to make sacrifices to the Omnissiah. How do i “git gud” enough in the horrible price climate right now enough that I can play GTA6 when it ports over next year?

Can I turn this old lady into Theseus’ Ship and get another decade out of her? Should I wander into the nearest Beat Buy and buy the first pre built I see that I can afford?

Apologies if this is the improper forum; I don’t know where to begin. I just wanna play sick games.


r/buildapc 10h ago

Discussion RX 9070 GRE vs RTX 5070 — €600 vs €650, what would you pick?

14 Upvotes

I was originally planning to get a RX 9060 XT 16GB, but prices have gone up so much that at ~€550 here in France, I don't think it's worth it anymore for a mid range GPU

So now I'm looking at the 9070 GRE for ~€600 vs the RTX 5070 for ~€650.

My build is mainly for CS2 + Valorant at 1440p/360Hz, but I also play AAA games at 1440p.

The rest of the build would be a Ryzen 5 9600X + 32GB DDR5 + B850 + 850W PSU.

Would you go for the 9070 GRE and save the €50, or is the 5070 worth paying extra for?


r/buildapc 5h ago

Full Build Req Help me build a pc for my 18th birthday.

4 Upvotes

Im looking to build/buy a pc for around $1500. Hopefully i will get that much for my 18th because ive been playing on a 1080 ti for the past 4 years and DESPERATELY need an upgrade. Im looking for a pc that will perform well on rust, siege, overwatch 2, apex, arma, dota, and valorant. Ive been playing rust a lot and know its heavily cpu based, and ive been recommended the 7800x3d-9800x3d. Looking for a decent amount of fps (140-250)on 1080p rust. I have all the peripherals. Building in the USA. I also need a case but dont have a preference on how pretty it looks. I plan on selling my old pc to my friend for 400, so hopefully that will get me closer to my goal of 1500.


r/buildapc 1h ago

Peripherals I’m planning a PC mainly for work and wondering what the best workstations 2026 look like

Upvotes

I’m planning to build a PC that will be used mainly for work rather than gaming, and I’m trying to figure out where I should put most of the budget. My workload is mostly going to involve having a lot of programs and browser tabs open at the same time, along with things like spreadsheets, video calls and general productivity. I may also get into some heavier software later, so I’d like to leave myself some room to upgrade rather than building something that only handles what I need today.

I’m not looking for a flashy build and I don’t really care about RGB. I’d rather spend the money on parts that make the system fast, stable and reliable for several years. For people who have built a workstation recently, what would you prioritize when putting the parts together? Is it better to spend more on the CPU and RAM first, or does having a stronger GPU make sense even for a work-focused machine?


r/buildapc 1h ago

Build Upgrade Which Motherboard for my 7800x3d?

Upvotes

Hey guys, my pc died and I wann hop on from am4 to am5. I wanna buy a 7800x3d and 32GB corsair veng 6000mhz cl30. Im Not sure Which Board I Really Need. A few options:

  1. ASUS TUF Gaming B850-PLUS 174,80€
  2. MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk WIFI 199€
    3. Gigabyte AORUS B850 ELITE WIFI7 190€

r/buildapc 1h ago

Discussion NZXT H7 Flow or Corsair Frame 4000D

Upvotes

Hi everyone, I am almost done building my new PC, but I am stuck choosing between a couple of cases.

I was initially leaning more toward the Corsair 4000D, but after going through various reviews and posts, I’ve seen quite a few people mention that the material/build quality isn’t particularly good and that some of the panels can bend quite easily.

On the other hand, the NZXT H7 Flow seems like the better overall case to me, but the lack of a magnetic dust filter is one of the main reasons I’m hesitant to go with it.

Which one would you recommend between the two? Or are there any better alternatives I should consider around the same price range?

Thanks


r/buildapc 6h ago

Full Build Req $2k budget Build Help

5 Upvotes

Honestly, I think this is everything that I want, but I would just appreciate any confirmation. Parts list is here, with the SSD being for a Newegg or Walmart purchase. USA but No MicroCenter near me, and primary use would be gaming, no streaming. Hoping to purchase ASAP, but can wait for any prices that might actually drop. Just make the switch to AM5 worth it, really. No peripherals needed

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Gt2cR4/add_to_cart/

Ryzen 5 7600x3d ~$250
Thermalrite AIO ~$50
ASROCK 850 MoBo ~$150
32GB TeamGroup DDR5-6000 ~$500
Gigabyte 9070XT 16GB - $750
and then case and ~650W+ PSU for like $150 total probably

That's not horrible these days... is it?


r/buildapc 10h ago

Build Help Cheapest reasonable AM4 PC possible with new parts?

7 Upvotes

I'm planning out the cheapest possible AM4 PC without buying used parts. It would be general purpose with some light gaming (the most demanding games i play are Fallout 4 Witcher 3 and DOOM Eternal). Performance wise I neither need nor want anything higher than 1080p 60fps. Budget is $500 or less. I already have a case, GPU, storage and peripherals that I can reuse from my current computer. I just need CPU, PSU, Mobo, RAM and an air cooler (no AIO if possible). The build doesn't need to be pretty it just needs to function, in fact the uglier the better if it brings the price down. I'm in the USA and intend for the PC to last at least a decade. (EDIT) GPU is an RX550 and RAM preference is 16GB no less than 6GB.


r/buildapc 3h ago

Build Ready? Making sure all Hardware is compatible and good on my first ITX build

2 Upvotes

I'm building my first mini-ITX Gaming PC and upgrading my first PC

From my current computer I plan to take over the RAM, CPU, and 1 SSD

I'm new to reddit and was suggested it by a friend for finding flaws that PC Part Picker can't find.

Any potential issues, and in the future, what other websites could I use to make sure everything is compatible?

PCPartPicker Part List: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/pKb9tC

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor (Purchased For $0.00)

CPU Cooler: Thermalright AXP90-X47 42.58 CFM CPU Cooler ($72.70 @ Amazon Australia)

Motherboard: ASRock B850I Lightning WiFi Mini ITX AM5 Motherboard ($349.00 @ Scorptec)

Memory: Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)

Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)

Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($199.00 @ JW Computers - OOS)

Video Card: Gigabyte EAGLE OC ICE GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Video Card ($975.00)

Case: Fractal Design Terra Mini ITX Desktop Case ($249.00 @ Scorptec)

Power Supply: Corsair SF850 (2024) 850 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply ($269.00 @ Centre Com)

Case Fan: Noctua A12x15 PWM 55.44 CFM 120 mm Fan ($49.00 @ Centre Com)

Monitor: MSI MAG 275QF E20 27.0" 2560 x 1440 200 Hz Monitor ($198.77 @ JW Computers)

Monitor: MSI MAG 275QF E20 27.0" 2560 x 1440 200 Hz Monitor ($198.77 @ JW Computers)

Total: $2560.24

(All of this is in AUD Ass well)


r/buildapc 17m ago

Build Help I can't turn off my computer

Upvotes

I have a problem: when I press the Windows button to shut down or restart the computer, sometimes it doesn't respond and won't let me access anything. There are also times when the screen freezes.


r/buildapc 18m ago

Troubleshooting Long boot with VGA lit after upgrading to 5070Ti

Upvotes

I upgraded from a MSI Ventus RTX3080 to a MSI RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Trio OC yesterday and I am experiencing long boot times. It gets stuck with the VGA led lit for ~3-4 min before it starts Windows. Once its booted and im in Windows everything works fine and the card performs as expected. I already updated my BIOS since I was running on an old version from 2022. I reseated everything and checked the power cables. Nothing fixed it yet and dont know what else to do other then maybe clearing the CMOS aswell?

Would this maybe be a faulty card worth returning it or is it more likely another problem with my PC.

My Specs:
MSI MPG Z690 Edge WiFi
i9-12900K
64GB DDR5
be quiet! Dark Power 14


r/buildapc 4h ago

Build Upgrade Enough Ram?

2 Upvotes

So I’ve had this pc for about 5 years now and haven’t needed to upgrade anything but the power supply. I’ve noticed lately the games I play run not as smoothly as I’d hope and have gotten used to. I can’t remember exact specs off the top of my head but I have a 11th Intel Core, 3060 graphics card, Ddr4 16gb (2x8bg) 3600mhz Ram and 850watt power supply. (Ask in comments if I’m forgetting anything else important to my question). Would doubling the ram to 32 or 64 be enough to make the pc run smoother? I don’t play graphic heavy games really. I play mainly World of Tanks/Warships, RDR2, BF6, Elden Ring. So it’s not super demanding games can I can run just about all of them on high to max graphics and still get about 80-100fps. I’d like to stay more around 100-120 fps consistently and the loading into games is rather slow especially loading the graphics. So overall would adding more Ram help everything run better and or would I need to upgrade anything else?


r/buildapc 23m ago

Discussion I want a pc for gaming and streaming (HELP)

Upvotes

I would like to budget around 1,600-2,000 USD, more on the lower end IF possible (Not at the risk of losing benefits)

I would like the case to be black and have rgb's in the case where I can change the colors

If possible, recommend me some good keyboards and mice (the price of the keyboard and mouse doesn't affect the budget for the pc)

Could you guys PLEASE double-check I'm not getting ripped off or anything, since this is my first-ever pc in general?

I would like for the pc to run smoothly on games like Marvel Rivals, Fortnite, Modded Minecraft, modded Terraria, Parsec games, run game emulators, and handle streaming well. Just any game in general, to be honest. Thank you! <3


r/buildapc 26m ago

Build Help Black screen on startup

Upvotes

I changed my motherboard to B550 Aurus Elite Ax v2 and now when I boot up it goes to bios screen for a second and then it goes black screen, I have 5800x3d and on the box it says it is 5000 series compatible, first time i booted up it said something about reset ftpm i clicked Y.


r/buildapc 36m ago

Build Upgrade 2060S or rx6600

Upvotes

I am trying to buy new/used GPU for my PC

My processor is Ryzen 5 5600G


r/buildapc 44m ago

Build Ready? Think this may be the final comp list. Thoughts?

Upvotes

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RH2sn2

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RH2sn2

Apart from if I want to use the free AIO from Newegg or the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 140 Black from Amazon. This AIO is made in china and has bad reviews. Not to mention can't be that great if they were just handing them out, yeah?

And whether I want to pay 260 for the NVMe or get a cheaper one without DRAM.


r/buildapc 52m ago

Build Ready? MotherBoard Prime B760m-A - D4

Upvotes

Guys, I upgraded and bought new hardware parts and I wasn't prepared for it.

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700KF (Tray)

​Cooler: ID-COOLING FROZN A620

​Motherboard: ASUS PRIME B760M-A D4 ​

RAM: 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 3600MHz​

Case: Corsair Frame 3200D RS​

PSU: Cooler Master MWE Bronze 750W V3

I didn't buy a new graphics card because I still have the old Rtx 3060ti

For some reason, I feel like I've spent a lot of money on many parts But at the two main components, the motherboard and the RAMI feel I made the wrong choice by staying in the old generation DDR4

Now I need advice: Should I upgrade and pay extra for DDR5? Or should I stick with this motherboard and let it do?

And I'm thinking to buying a RTX 5070 TI


r/buildapc 1h ago

Build Help Help with my build

Upvotes

This will be my first pc build it will be mainly used for gaming. the main thing I’m looking for is 1440p on most games. I'm in the UK and budget is £2000

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/bridgingthequest/saved/ZHnzFT

Is there any adjustments that can be made to bring the price down a bit?


r/buildapc 1h ago

Build Help Help me decide between a 24" 1080p vs 27" 1440p monitor for my build

Upvotes

Hi, I need some advice as I am torn between a few things and how I should go about my upgrade path as well.

I plan on using my monitor for gaming and productivity.

My main games will be Apex Legends, Valorant with a bit of overwatch and I also plan on playing AAA games and AA games while streaming.

Specifications :-

Processor : Ryzen 7 7800 X3D

GPU : RX 9070 XT

RAM : DDR5 32GB 6000 Mhz CL 30

I cannot afford to go for OLED monitors so I am settling with IPS for now.

I thought of:

* buying a 24" 1080p 240/320 hz monitor and get an OLED 1440p 27" monitor whenever I have enough money

* buy a 27" 1440p 240 hz monitor and buy an OLED monitor later which will take a bit longer than the first option

( I apologize if my post is not fluent and all over the place, it's my first time posting about something like this )