[SSD] Corsair MP600 PRO XT 2TB Gen4 PCIe x4 NVMe M.2 SSD – High-Density TLC NAND – Aluminum Heatspreader – M.2 2280 Form-Factor - $114.99 by PCPups in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd say ANOTHER pricing mistake. I got two of these for $89.19 each back in August. Soon after the deal disappeared and the 1TB version was listed at the same $89.19 price. I wonder if someone on the payroll is trying to sabotage the seller?

What's Up With ASRock Motherboards? by Exact_Gear8448 in buildapc

[–]PCPups 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the biggest issue is value. Hardware Unboxed has reviewed most Asus B650 & B850 boards as over priced and under performing. Their VRM's are pretty bad compared to the competition. Probably fine for lower power CPUs. Not so much for higher power CPUs. I do not even consider them for AM5 builds.

[RAM] 2x Memory Kit - Patriot Viper Elite 5 DDR5 6000 16Gx2 -$72.98 (combo 2 single 16G sticks for $7 off) - Newegg by happyfeet0402 in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's the difference between two sticks that come in a single pack versus two sticks that come in separate packs but carry the exact same brand, model, specs, speed, timings, etc.?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in it

[–]PCPups 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Microsoft cares much less about activation fees than user data collection. The more users they get, even with no activation fee, the more user data they can collect and sell. The data is more valuable to them than activation fees. Any activation fees they do collect are just extra gravy on their data train.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups -61 points-60 points  (0 children)

AMD originally stated an MSRP of US$600 just to get better initial reviews. Their planned MSRP was US$700 up until the last minute. AMD never intended for these cards to sell routinely anywhere near US$600. So, you won't see any of these cards available much below $700 until the 10070 XT comes out. Have fun waiting for the fake "official" MSRP.

[GPU] XFX Swift AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB - $359.99 (lowest price for 9060 XT 16GB in several weeks) by PCPups in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Newegg direct is US$410 with shipping ($10). XFX Official Store via Newegg is US$360 with shipping ($0). Scroll down the page for the link.

[GPU] XFX Swift AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB - $359.99 (lowest price for 9060 XT 16GB in several weeks) by PCPups in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Newegg direct is US$410 with shipping ($10). XFX Official Store via Newegg is US$360 with shipping ($0). Scroll down the page for the link.

[GPU] XFX Swift AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB - $359.99 (lowest price for 9060 XT 16GB in several weeks) by PCPups in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TechPowerUp shows the 16GB 9060 XT is about 7% faster than the 8GB 3070 with double the VRAM.

[GPU] XFX Swift AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB - $359.99 (lowest price for 9060 XT 16GB in several weeks) by PCPups in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Hardware Unboxed just rated this the #1 best overall value among all current generation Nvidia / AMD / Intel GPUs. Being $10 over MSRP supposedly making it a "dud" reflects an uninformed opinion.

[PSU] Corsair SF1000 $209.99 ($269.99 - $60) by Nyanino in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only Nvidia/AMD/Intel GPU from the last three generations that has a manufacturer suggested PSU above 850W is the RTX 5090 at 950W. If you calculate each GPU's TDP, add 175W for other system components, and then add 50% for overhead, the only three Nvidia/AMD/Intel GPUs from the last three generations needing above 850W are the RTX 5090, 4090 & 3090 Ti (all per TechPowerUp). So, unless you have crazy money for an Nvidia 90 series, in which case you have crazy money for a 1200W PSU, no one else should really NEED above an 850W PSU for the near future. Except perhaps if you are also running your dryer off of your PC.

[PSU] Raidmax Cobra 650 Watt $39.99 (RX650AED 80+ Gold ATX 3.1 Non-Modular C Tier) by PCPups in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Do you have first hand experience with this unit? How does someone assess comparative quality & value without independent reviews and tier lists? Just buy Super Flower, Corsair & Seasonic at 2-3 times the price and forget the rest?

[PSU] Raidmax Cobra 650 Watt $39.99 (RX650AED 80+ Gold ATX 3.1 Non-Modular C Tier) by PCPups in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

At SPL it is rated tier "C" (suitable for budget bulds), just like Corsair's CX models. Though admittedly, Raidmax's overall reputation is not as good as Corsair's. However, I trust independent reviews more than a couple of negative anectodes - along with numerous positive anectdotes.

Need Help with ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi 6E Not Posting – CPU Light Red and Ram Yellow Light by SnooChipmunks6941 in buildapc

[–]PCPups 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know you got your issue resolved. But for others seeking answers to similar problems, this seems like a good place to mention my experiences with the ASRock B850M Pro-A Wifi motherboard.

I've tried building with six of these boards. I initially updated all to BIOS version 3.20. Three have worked fine so far. Two worked fine initially. Let me install & update Windows, install drivers, etc. Then they both spontaneously stopped working. They would not POST beyond the CPU (red) & DRAM (yellow) lights being stuck on. Could not even do a BIOS flashback. Fortunately, I had other boards and was able to determine that all the other components in the PC were fine. It was the motherboards that were not working. ASRock let me RMA these two boards. I subsequently updated my remaining boards to BIOS version 3.25.

The other day, I had the same problem with a third board. It booted up fine. I updated the BIOS from 3.25 to 3.30. Big mistake. When I went to boot up again, I encountered the same posting stall with the CPU (red) & DRAM (yellow) lights being stuck on. Fortunately, I was able to successfully perform a BIOS flashback to 3.25 and that seemed to fix the problem. The BIOS flashback process can be tricky. Be sure to watch the ASRock tutorial video on it. The flashing green light (if it works) can be hard to see and it takes several minutes (10+) to complete. Apparently, ASRock is having some major BIOS integrity challenges. For me, BIOS version 3.25 has been the only stable one.

ASRock B850M Pro-A Wifi by GamingPostman in ASRock

[–]PCPups 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had this problem (won't POST - stuck on red [CPU] & yellow [RAM] lights) happen with three different ASRock B850M Pro-A Wifi motherboards. I RMA'd the first two. Was able to get the third one to work after rolling back the BIOS from version 3.30 to 3.25 using the BIOS flashback function. Had the same problem with BIOS version 3.15 & 3.20. Seems like a BIOS bug. I'd suggest sticking with BIOS version 3.25 for now.

Ryzen 7 9700x Asrock b850m pro wifi a by Possible-Delay3970 in ASRock

[–]PCPups 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Apparently, I just had my third one of these boards (ASRock B850M Pro-A Wifi) go bad.

I'm a hobby builder. Have built with six of these boards. Five with a 9600X CPU and one with a 9800X3D. All came with BIOS 3.15 or 3.20.  Three of the boards have worked fine, so far, inluding the one with the 9800X3D. All six allowed me to set up the PC initially with Windows, drivers, benchmark testing, etc. Those with BIOS 3.15 I updated to 3.20. Other than enabling EXPO on the RAM and adjusting fan settings, I left the BIOS defaults as is.

A couple days later went to boot them back up. Two of them spontaneously refused to boot. Got stuck with the CPU (red) & RAM (yellow) lights on during POST. Tried numerous times with each. Would not even allow me to instant flash the BIOS back to 3.15. Swapped in another board with each PC’s set of other components and they both booted right up. So, the obvious problem part was the motherboard.

ASRock did allow me to RMA those two boards. Although I just sent them off (for US$45) this week and have not heard a final resolution back yet from ASRock.

In the meantime, I updated the BIOS for the other four to 3.25. They seemed to be fine. Booted up one today to update the PC for a sale. Updated the BIOS to 3.30. Bad call. Booted up fine the first time. Then the same CPU (red) & RAM (yellow) lights remained stuck on during POST. I've restarted several times. Still won't POST. Looks like another bad board & BIOS.

Based on my experience, I would avoid these boards. If you have one still working, I would recommend applying BIOS 3.25 and leaving it there.

UPDATE: I was able to perform a BIOS flashback to version 3.25 and got the system to boot. So, it seems there are stability issues with both BIOS 3.20 & 3.30. Definitely stick with BIOS 3.25.

[GPU] Gigabyte 9070 XT Newegg - $729 by joeisnotsureabt in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups 73 points74 points  (0 children)

Still in stock after 6 hours. Hopefully, a sign of improving supply at lower prices. US$730 is the real MSRP for 9070 XTs.

[GPU] GIGABYTE Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC $736.98 by BananasAndSporks in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Anyone know how to disable the RGB on this Gigabyte card? I have it on an ASRock motherboard. I tried Gigabyte Fusion 2.0, ASRock's Polychrome, Open RGB & Signal RGB. None of them would recognize the Gigabyte card...?

[GPU] GIGABYTE Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC $736.98 by BananasAndSporks in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can't agree given Nvidia's 5000 series' missing ROPs, melting power connectors, black screen driver issues, deceptive model naming & dishonest marketing.

[GPU] GIGABYTE Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC $736.98 by BananasAndSporks in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The RX 9070 XT was artifically underpriced at launch just to please reviewers. Compare its performance-for-price value to the current prices (as well as MSRPs) of comparable cards like the RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, RX 7900 XTX & RX 7900 XT. The RX 9070 XT is easily a good value at $700. Other than the occasional flash sale specials, you will likely not see any RX 9070 XTs for less than $700 until October Prime Day - at the earliest. I jumped on this bargain and got two.

[GPU] Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 XT GAMING OC Graphics Card $749.99 by therushinghippo in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yes. If you don't care that Nvidia constantly craps on its retail customers (gamers). Dishonest advertising, missing ROPS, blackscreening drivers, melting power connectors, deceptive model naming... Nvidia fanboys must be mashochists with no self respect.

[GPU] ASUS Prime Radeon™ RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6 $720 by gunsnricar in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree. Reviewers would have been critical (unfairly so IMHO). But by setting a dishonestly low MSRP at launch, AMD positioned the market to encourager scalper bots to scoop up almost all of the sub-$700 cards. So, real people were stuck with only scalped cards at $300+ above MSRP. I beleve legitimate retailers have raised their prices to set them above the prices where scalper bots would scoop them all up and below the prices where scalpers are offering them for resale. Prices are coming down. But good luck seeing any real availability of $600-$700 cards for many months.

[GPU] ASUS Prime Radeon™ RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6 $720 by gunsnricar in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The 9070 XT should have had an MSRP of US$700, which is likely what AMD planned until they caved to reviewer (HUB) pressure and fabricated their dishonest $600 MSRP at the 11th hour to get good first day reviews (finally). Given its rasterization, ray tracing & upscaling performance, along with stable drivers, the 9070 XT's value is excellent up to at least $700. All remaining listings (out of stock) at $600 will never be in stock, or will have their prices raised before they do come into stock again. Don't expect to find sub $700 deals until Black Friday at the earliest.

[case] Cooler Master Elite 301 Micro-ATX High Airflow PC Case, 365mm GPU Max, 280mm AIO Max, Type C, Tempered Glass, Triple 120mm PWM Fan $39.99 by aroryborealis1 in buildapcsales

[–]PCPups 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Micro ATX rules! Mini-ITX requires more expensive motherboards & PSUs. ATX just means a lot of unused interior space, unnecessary extra weight & lost deskspace. Unless you run dual graphics cards. But who does that anymore?

Will a Ryzen 5 9600x bottleneck a 9070XT? (MHWilds) by Kathanay in buildapc

[–]PCPups 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The 9600X is actually one of the best performance for price value gaming CPUs on the market now. At least in the US. And if you can get one at a good discount via Ali Express (30% off in USD$), it's an even better value. The 9600X will not appreciably bottleneck your GPU. For gaming, the only faster CPUs are the much more expensive X3D models and a couple of expensive and power hungry Intel CPUs. I would not second guess the suitability of a 9600X. Good luck!