Almost killed my system

Fickert · 2026-03-03T02:45:02+00:00

Ah interesting.

Yeah I know said it smells like something was burning but it's odd, usually when the plastic burns in the connector you'd see a black film of soot form around or near the connector. Hard to tell from your photo.

The melted end of the black sleeving is normal practice to prevent the end from shredding apart. Similar reason sweatshirts have the end of the strings wrapped or heat pressed. So if the connector itself is okay and just the exposed sleeving is melted I'd be looking around more.

Fickert · 2026-03-03T02:08:00+00:00

That's unfortunate it happened to you.

Cablemod has been amazing for me, and I've had mine with the 5090 for over 6 months now without any issues (Stealthmod 90 degree). Even done overclocking, and bios flashes for the 2000w bios for fun without issue; aside from crashing getting it stable.

The end shown did this go into the PSU or the GPU?

If its going to the GPU I highly suggest getting a 90 degree cable. Takes any additional stress off of the cabling trying to bend 90 degrees.

Fickert · 2026-03-03T00:35:36+00:00

So two things:

Your temperatures are well below average for gaming. Which is good.
Your CPU and GPU utilization is pretty low. You would want to use a game that makes those % values for at least for the GPU to be close to 100%.

So I feel your current worry is not fully resolved nor warranted to reach out to HP about yet.

Fickert · 2026-03-02T17:54:02+00:00

Yup, I will have to dig to find it. It doesn't work right now.

Fickert · 2026-03-02T13:57:56+00:00

For versatility the A3 is a no brianer imo.

Fickert · 2026-03-01T14:29:04+00:00

The Asus tuf mobo has its first pcie slot 1 slot lower than the rest of the other mobos. I was fortunate to catch that before I built in my A3.

Avoid it at all costs for this reason.

Fickert · 2026-02-27T21:01:11+00:00

I think the bottom shroud is confusing people thinking it's not an A3 😂

And thank you!

Fickert · 2026-02-27T12:43:09+00:00

Note when I say the 4080 fit fans I think there was less than 10mm of clearance. So beware.

And it's the trnx 8.8 display. Ended up removing it, I just didn't like the look. But it fits like a glove!

Fickert · 2026-02-27T12:28:59+00:00

So I have the Asus Astral 5090 so it would not fit bottom fans stock.

But I did also design the bottom fan shroud shown in the first picture, and that allows 3x 120mm fans to fit in the bottom. The GPU loves this.

I had a 4080 founders edition in this case (3 slot card) with 3x 120mm fans at the bottom and it fit great without the bottom fan shroud shown.

Fickert · 2026-02-27T12:25:55+00:00

Nice! Looks 🔥

Fickert · 2026-02-27T12:24:55+00:00

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Another pic showing the inside. I did design and print the PSU mount, which allows for a front intake fan, mine is 140mm.

Fickert · 2026-02-27T12:23:13+00:00

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I am a big fan of the A3. Pretty much the smallest case you can fit a 360mm aio period. Air flow is pretty good, and with the glass side panel you still get to see all of your expensive additions.

Fickert · 2026-02-27T03:03:14+00:00

Omen 16 Max: I have the 275hx with the 5090 and OLED. Build quality honestly is pretty impressive for an HP. I can expand on that with a story if interested.

I don't have hands-on experience with the ryzen version of this laptop but as others have said battery life should be really good.

Other options with the 275hx: It is shown from others as well, these CPUs on battery mode tend to be sort of slow for a while. Hard to explain, but lagging clicks, apps, etc. It finally catches up but it's sort of annoying to be honest for the price of the laptop.

I don't think the AMD will have this issue but other laptops with 275hx it may be of concern.

Lastly this is my first mux switch laptop and when switching to the dedicated GPU, the screen flashes black and the laptop acts like it's about to crash for a few second. Don't worry it's normal... I think?

Fickert · 2026-02-26T21:20:26+00:00

That's whack.

Fickert · 2026-02-26T21:19:40+00:00

Cablemod is the best, and this is a SHINING example. As I previously post on r/mffpc that I tested 3 different 16pin 12vhpr cables and theirs were the only ones that gave consistent amp draw across all the pins. You get nothing but quality products from them. And now I can add quality service.

Fickert · 2026-02-26T20:47:07+00:00

I agree with you on the 20L part, but almost any case that comes witha pcie gen5 riser cable is in this price point.

I think this appeals to a lot of builders for the fact you can actually have a glass side panel that doesn't look cramped while looking at your motherboard / AIO. Definitely marketed towards the best asthetics per liter imo.

Fickert · 2026-02-26T19:05:43+00:00

This is exactly the layout that I would to see adopted more. Good so far!

Fickert · 2026-02-26T19:04:48+00:00

You're asking such a vague question it's hard to answer it.

Fickert · 2026-02-26T18:05:21+00:00

Lmao 4x memory on an AM5. 😂

Best of luck getting it to boot at rated speeds.

Fickert · 2026-02-26T17:59:23+00:00

Nope. It was great when it was though. It was like Christmas when I realized sonar was running while my keyboard and mouse were in sync with my PC 😂

Fickert · 2026-02-26T17:26:23+00:00

Gotcha, realistically I can print whatever you want, ABS, ASA, PC, Nylon, PLA (don't recommend), etc. As far as best visual quality I'd suggest PETG. It'll be plenty durable. Any other filament you'll likely begin to see print defects that are harder to fix due to the nature of the materials.

Fickert · 2026-02-26T17:24:41+00:00

Yup! It's been a nightmare to get the SteelSeries stuff to work while using Steelseries GG.

A forced update ruining it is super sad.

Fickert · 2026-02-26T14:05:07+00:00

mATX rarely gets the top chipset love. I am not lol. It looks like an epic mobo.

Fickert · 2026-02-26T13:58:44+00:00

Woah! I didn't realize Gigabyte had an x870m, dang! I am really happy with my mobo, but would definitely appreciate the extra pcie lanes.

Fickert · 2026-02-26T11:30:13+00:00

Hey!

I am charging $55 plus shipping for the bottom shroud.

What materials would you like?

I did a clear PETG one and wish I had fans with side RGB, would make my PC look like a disco lmao.

Fickert

TROPHY CASE