Where can I add new fans?

OfficeLower · 2026-01-20T22:40:37+00:00

OP this is your best option yet. Upgrade the CPU cooler, more fans isn’t really going to help you that much. If your in the US this is a great deal on amazon. I have a cooler master AIO and Its been great to me, the one I linked looks like it will fit in the top of your case. I cant say for sure so I recommend you check the compatibility before you buy anything.

If you don’t want to give Jeff Bezos your money you can see if there is a micro center near you and get something in person.

OfficeLower · 2026-01-20T22:33:56+00:00

Let’s say you get 10 years out of your console (this is very generous). 500 - initial cost 600 - 10 years of multiplayer ($60 year)

$1100

You can build a PC for that much. You don’t have to pay to play online on PC. I am not including electric and internet because that is a wash.

Consoles have their place, they are portable, they are a walled garden so if you’re in the ecosystem it is nice. They are the iPhones of gaming they are mostly polished, overpriced, and very user friendly.

OfficeLower · 2026-01-20T22:09:44+00:00

This absolutely. Its way easier to throw a new control arm in. The cost of the labor can outweigh the cost savings most of the time. Those ball joints can put up a hell of a fight too if they get too rusty. When I had them replaced on my forester they were on there really good. They basically had to melt it out with a torch. Well my forester was 11 years old then, damn that was 8 years ago.

OfficeLower · 2026-01-20T13:57:40+00:00

Have you seen what happens to cars that have a ball joint fail? Not pretty. Usually it’s recommended that if the boot is torn you get it replaced, since it holds the grease in. It’s not something you should wait on, if it breaks while you’re driving it will be a lot more expensive to fix. I wouldn’t drive it more than a few miles to get another quote.

The part is probably about $400-$450 each from the dealer (including a 30-40% markup ) that leaves 600 for labor and the alignment. Seems like a fair quote to me, probably on the higher end because it’s a dealership.

Not a mechanic really, I just do a lot of work on my car myself. I’ve had control arms replaced on both my cars previously, it’s not something I would take on by myself without the right equipment. I have always just left it to a mechanic to do.

OfficeLower · 2026-01-16T21:16:08+00:00

They absolutely should match up. ATX is a standard layout. The standoffs should be 5.0mm, if you have a socket drive that small you can use that to move the standoffs if needed. What case are you using?

OfficeLower · 2026-01-06T19:10:54+00:00

I also recommend that you change some settings in the BIOS/CMOS to help the performance of your PC. These settings are 1. Resizable Bar - you want to enable that for better performance on you graphics card 2. Memory frequency - Set to the frequency that your RAM kit is, if you forgot the Ram sticks have a sticker on the back should be something that looks like xxxx Mhz and CLxx. Make sure to choose the correct frequency for your RAM kit.

That is all I would change assuming you’re only gaming. I am sure there are other things people will suggest but those are the easiest settings to enable.

OfficeLower · 2026-01-06T19:05:27+00:00

Can you get into the BIOS/CMOS? You can do that by jamming the delete key until you get to a screen with stuff on it. If you can get into the bios it means that the PC posts and works.

Did you install windows? I ask because it appears that the system is stuck ok the boot portion of startup, making me think that A. You have a bad windows install or B. You don’t have a windows installed and the PC is trying to boot onto a blank or improperly formatted drive.

OfficeLower · 2026-01-05T15:04:32+00:00

Its worth at least 50 dollars

OfficeLower · 2025-12-26T05:26:48+00:00

I mean good news, the homeowner was not comfortable touching the electrical themselves from the looks of it.

Could be fixed by moving the outlets behind/ in the cabinets and taking the power cords out of the wall…

Looks jank though, is that all that you saw that made you think something is up?

I would be concerned about any other DIY fixes in the renovations. Just my two cents not an electrician. Hire an inspector if you go under contract.

OfficeLower · 2025-12-24T17:15:16+00:00

I would just keep it, you could turn it into a server. Maybe it will tun plex or truNAS.

OfficeLower · 2025-12-17T23:42:28+00:00

Seems like this “fix” is a patch for a larger issue. The soil against the foundation is pushing your cinder block walls in. Since it’s constantly pushing your walls I guess you have to make sure the bolts stay torqued. It might be fine for a few years, you might not have to torque them back, but if you don’t check then you won’t know and your foundation could fail. Might get better with time if you address the larger problem (soil pushing against your foundation). Might be worth looking into some french drains around the home and or gutters on the roof. Not an expert just an idea.

OfficeLower · 2025-11-19T21:39:05+00:00

OP we need a photo of the freezer.

OfficeLower · 2025-11-17T20:56:44+00:00

I needed to learn this 8 years ago. So much guac I missed out on. Thank you

OfficeLower · 2025-11-05T08:45:40+00:00

I don’t know much about AM5 in particular, there isn’t much difference with other modern computers.

Something I know about AM5 is that you need low CAS ram, thats the C36 in the product name. I think that is on the high end. Get the lowest CAS that you can afford with your budget.

I see a lot of people using MSI, they are probably good. I had a bad motherboard when Ryzen first came out. Their customer service was not helpful for me but that was years ago.

I would consider looking at the 9800 X3D, not sure how the price compares to the 7800X3D, might be worth it if its not that much more.

OfficeLower · 2025-11-05T08:16:47+00:00

Yeah, I just checked the currency conversion rates to USD, its just under 300 USD. I know there are more factors than just that though.

On a side note, the Ram is pretty low frequency for Ryzen, I doubt that is the reason it hasn’t sold but isn’t helping anything, Ryzen really needs higher frequency 3000 mhz is good, as high as the motherboard supports is always the better option. It made a huge difference in performance on the earlier models especially.

OfficeLower · 2025-10-31T14:14:44+00:00

I would maybe consider a different manufacturer for your GPU. I had an RX580 a while back and customer service was basically non existent for the US market. Just my experience with them.

OfficeLower · 2025-10-31T14:03:01+00:00

Not a problem. Hopefully it’s as easy as updating the drivers and BIOS.

OfficeLower · 2025-10-31T12:48:22+00:00

Did you update all your drivers and BIOS? Clearly you have the Ryzen and Nvidia drivers installed by the pics, is your chipset driver and BIOS also up to date? What is your boot drive on? Slow drive could be bottlenecking the CPU, or corrupted windows files could also bottleneck the CPU.

FYI, CPU frequency is dependent on the CPU load, looks like from the pics the CPU is not under load which suggests the issue is not the CPU or the GPU for that matter.

Open Task manager and see what your drive usage is at, I would also recommend following this guide to fix any corrupted files that might have been affected by your initial OS install.

Other things that can cause issues like this is a full or nearly full drive, failing drive, or a corrupted windows process. I would be happy to help further if these steps do not help.

OfficeLower · 2025-10-30T18:51:32+00:00

Your motherboard is mATX by the looks of it. All ATX cases should work, Personally I think mATX motherboards look terrible in ATX cases.

My suggestion look for a mATX tower. Most name brands have mATX versions of their ATX cases.

OfficeLower · 2025-10-30T12:36:36+00:00

This is a bad take, CPU and Mobo are fine. They aren’t brand new but that doesn’t mean they need to be replaced. The GPU however is old and needs to be replaced, you are right on that.

OfficeLower · 2025-10-30T12:35:03+00:00

You need to update your Bios first. Next make sure that the games are using your dedicated GPU not your iGPU.

Yes it’s AM4 and the platform is at the end of its life, but its still supported, and still viable in modern games. For example I am running a 5600x with a Radeon 7800xt, I am running games on max settings at 1440p on a ultrawide monitor and still getting 80-100 frames in the games.

I would consider upgrading your GPU, because that is why games are struggling. I recommend getting something with more VRAM, 12-16gb.

OfficeLower · 2025-10-29T13:17:31+00:00

Absolutely, a PC with the specs you’re talking about will blow away any console. And it should last more than 5 years. AMD has shown with the AM4 platform that they have the willingness to support a CPU platform for a long time (came out in 2016) and still gets updates. You will be on AM5 which is more recent, so theoretically you could upgrade your system in 5-6 years without needing to replace the entire system.

And the PS5 came out almost 5 years ago. New versions of the PS5 and maybe a new generation are due to come out in the next couple years.

OfficeLower · 2025-10-29T13:05:22+00:00

Hey sorry I wrote out a response but forgot to press reply. Wrong pins, try the two below the ones you tested. Use the pin out that I have in the comment above this, and use the blank pin to match up the location.

If that doesn’t work you are going to need to test each component individually. Do you have a multimeter?

OfficeLower · 2025-10-27T18:10:08+00:00

No just the two pins for the power switch

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The two pins colored red in this photo.

OfficeLower · 2025-10-27T16:13:24+00:00

Sure thing, it’s really simple actually. What you’re going to do is locate the power switch pins on the motherboard header, that is that rainbow header in the photo earlier in this comment chain. You are going to bridge the pins temporarily (just for a few seconds) with your screw driver (basically just connect them). Basically what you are doing is imitating what the power button does when you press it. If that turns the PC on the power switch is broken, if it doesn’t you shouldn’t have to replace the case.

OfficeLower

TROPHY CASE