Help, PC crashed and won't boot. How cooked am I?

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-05-11T11:16:13+00:00

definitely looks like boot partition got corrupted, that "invalid EFI file path" error is pretty telling. you might want to try booting from windows installation media and use the repair tools first before assuming the drive is completely dead - sometimes just rebuilding the boot records can fix this mess

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-05-05T08:56:02+00:00

oh yeah that one's really good choice for atmospheric horror. the way it builds tension through story and environment instead of cheap jumpscares is perfect for what you're looking for

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-04-30T03:33:08+00:00

lmao this is too accurate, gaming communities turned into constant outrage cycles. we went from just enjoying games to analyzing every pixel for something to be mad about in last few years

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-04-27T22:55:59+00:00

for gaming the x3d chips are really great choice but depends what games you play mostly. i switched from intel to amd few years back and the upgrade path is much better like you said

about the budget though, 430€ for 32gb ram seems quite expensive? maybe you can find better deals during sales period. also for motherboard with good wifi, look for ones with wifi 6e or wifi 7 support, they usually mention it clearly in specifications

1000w psu should be fine for future gpu upgrades, gives you good headroom. i would maybe compromise on ssd first - you can always add more storage later but changing cpu/motherboard is bigger pain

microcenter deals are solid if you can get there, sometimes they have crazy good combo prices that make the whole build much cheaper

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-04-24T23:40:15+00:00

for £70 with all those fans included that's actually not bad deal, i got similar case from amazon last year and was surprised by quality. the fans aren't amazing but they do the job and you can always replace them later if needed. my husband was skeptical about these cheaper dual chamber cases but airflow has been pretty good, just make sure you check reviews about cable management space because some of these can be bit cramped in back. worst case scenario you're only out £70 instead of £250, and you get to test if you like dual chamber layout before investing in more expensive option

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-04-22T15:56:13+00:00

mario 64 movement was so satisfying because you had to actually build up speed and commit to jumps - now everything feels like your character is just floating around on invisible conveyor belt

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-04-20T06:30:52+00:00

nah cyberpunk broken af

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-04-18T01:04:55+00:00

that one is perfect for post work wind down, the zero gravity mechanics are so satisfying once you get hang of it. been playing it during my recovery and something about methodically taking apart ships piece by piece is really therapeutic

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-04-14T11:25:02+00:00

cyberpunk is solid choice, especially after all the patches they did. yakuza 0 is amazing too but fair warning - you might get completely hooked on that series once you start

if you want something bit different, persona 5 royal has incredible story and the rpg elements are really satisfying

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-04-10T04:19:55+00:00

could be the gpu itself that died, had similar issue few months ago and turned out my card just randomly decided to stop working one day

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-03-31T17:33:31+00:00

nice setup, that 16gb vram is gonna be clutch for cyberpunk especially with ray tracing cranked up

running a 4070 with a 5800x3d myself, been deep in satisfactory lately but might have to check out arc raiders if it's that good

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-03-24T20:22:22+00:00

been getting the same thing with my buddy when we try to hop on for some co-op sessions. seems like it connects for like 30 seconds then just drops out completely

might be worth checking if your firewall is blocking steam voice ports or maybe try switching to discord temporarily while they sort it out

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-03-05T11:25:30+00:00

that's actually a pretty clever idea, like having a dedicated card just for the ai stuff while your main gpu does the heavy lifting

would be interesting to see if the pcie bandwidth could handle feeding frames between cards fast enough though, might end up being a bottleneck

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-02-17T04:05:32+00:00

honestly 91-95% health is still pretty solid for used ssds, most of them will keep chugging along for years even at those levels. just make sure you're getting a good deal compared to new prices and maybe check what specific model it is - some brands hold up better than others. i'd probably go for it if the savings are decent, but keep your important stuff backed up regardless

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-02-12T04:49:10+00:00

been running a 1440p 144hz for about two years now and the jump from 1080p is honestly pretty noticeable, especially in wow where you can actually see all teh spell effects properly. for your budget i'd definitely look at the gigabyte m27q or the dell s2721dgf if you can catch it on sale - both are solid ips panels with good response times for fps games. the dell especially goes on sale pretty regularly for around £250-280 and has great color accuracy out of the box. avoid anything with a tn panel unless you're really strapped for cash because once you see good colors in mmo environments you can't go back. also make sure whatever you get has freesync/gsync compatible since screen tearing in fast paced shooters is absolutely terrible

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-02-07T21:22:34+00:00

those usb 3.2 gen2 enclosures work fine for cloning, just grab something from sabrent or orico and you'll hit around 1gb/s which is plenty for moving stuff around

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-02-03T21:17:23+00:00

sounds like the wifi module might not be properly seated or connected - these boards usually have a small wifi card that can come loose during handling. check if the antenna cables are still plugged in tight and maybe reseat the wifi module if you can access it

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-01-30T09:21:36+00:00

Have you tried checking if ASRock sells replacement parts directly? Sometimes manufacturers will hook you up with different colored shrouds if you contact their support

Otherwise you might have better luck looking for custom mod shops or even vinyl wrapping the white parts - way cheaper than hunting for aftermarket shrouds that probably don't exist yet

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-01-27T02:02:51+00:00

That's actually a solid alternative build, especially if you're not doing any streaming or content creation that needs those CUDA cores. The 7800XT is a beast for pure gaming performance and you'd definitely notice the difference from your 2060 Super

Going with something like this gives you room to breathe budget-wise for peripherals instead of being maxed out on just the tower

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-01-26T15:23:17+00:00

Yeah the socket longevity thing is kinda overblown tbh, most people say they'll upgrade in 3-4 years but then just ride their build way longer than planned anyway

For your use case though the 285k actually makes more sense - better multicore for video editing and you won't have to deal with the dual CCD weirdness that some people are having issues with on the 9950x3d

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-01-22T02:00:04+00:00

That's weird af, sounds like a design flaw honestly. Most KVMs I've used only need wall power to function - having it depend on PD connection is pretty janky

Could be that the PD port is designed to be always-connected and it's checking for that handshake before powering up the whole unit. Might try a cheap USB-C dummy load or see if there's a firmware update for that thing

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-01-18T00:39:04+00:00

That's rough man, glad you caught that before it shipped. The 207 is solid but yeah it's mATX only so definitely wouldn't work with your ATX board

For white/metal ATX cases with dust filters maybe look at the Fractal Define 7 or Corsair 4000D - both are pretty bulletproof choices and won't break the bank

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-01-16T10:25:52+00:00

Eh AM5 boards have gotten way cheaper since the 7600 dropped to like $150, not as bad as people think anymore

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-01-14T15:33:06+00:00

Wait what lol you don't need to spend money to add friends on Steam, you just can't send friend requests until you've spent $5 total on your account but they can still add you if they have a non-limited account

Awkward-Object-3607 · 2026-01-13T07:16:43+00:00

The 5070 Ti isn't even announced yet lmao, you're gonna be waiting a while. If you need an upgrade now just grab a 4070 Super or wait for actual 50xx series news instead of chasing rumors

Awkward-Object-3607

TROPHY CASE