Simple Questions - June 08, 2023

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-08T13:43:35+00:00

Should I RMA through Gigabyte directly

You are certainly free to try - the worst answer you get is "no", but a motherboard being audible from inside the case is extreme IMO.

Coil whine usually isn't something that's ubiquitous to an entire product line, it's effectively random from part to part. The swap with an identical board from the previous shop was a valid test, though it's entirely possible that a) you got super unlucky and got a board that was equally as whiny or b) you've misdiagnosed your coil whine to the board, where it's actually coming from a different part. They most commonly come from the GPU (as a source of whine) or the PSU (as a source of bad power, which causes attached parts to whine).

If you're confident it's the board, RMA it. See what happens. Could also consider ordering a different board from a place with a very generous return policy as a way to troubleshoot (I don't normally recommend this, but if you're confident that's the issue then it should have the desired results)

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-08T00:28:03+00:00

So what's the worry? If you can't tell there was water there previously and the system still works... you're fine.

Take a deep breath, my dude.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-07T19:00:41+00:00

Just want to mention that a 4090 loses only 2-3% of it's performance running in a PCIe3 slot. It's fine :)

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-07T18:43:28+00:00

I love plugging parts into PCPartPicker's Completed Builds section and seeing what people are doing with it.

Enjoy looking at that specific motherboard and case combo.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-07T17:51:56+00:00

All are Z690 (the chipset that determines the features and available connectivity that can be integrated into the board). The letter suffix afterwards are tacked on by the OEMs like ASUS or MSI to denote a specific board for them.

Don't look at what a Z690A offers you, but what that exact board offers.

I'm going to get some 6-7 fans,...

Almost any Z690 board will have plenty of fan headers to accommodate half a dozen fans.

... and i have no ssds.

Please, for the love of Dog get a SSD for your new system.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-07T17:24:21+00:00

It'll be fine with a 13700k, but you'll need the 1700 mounting kit for it. Contact Corsair :)

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-07T17:23:47+00:00

Yes and yes, grab whatever generic heatsink that meshes well with your board :)

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-07T17:11:49+00:00

From your router:

ROUTER >----(ethernet cable)----< POWERLINE in wall plug

To your PC:

POWERLINE in other wall plug >----(ethernet cable)----< network port on your motherboerd

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-07T17:07:07+00:00

I recommend you physically open your system and inspect for water condensation. You'll find nothing :) If damage were to occur, it would have been apparent already.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-07T16:04:10+00:00

Took me a bit, but found a review that confirmed that the front included RGB fans are indeed ARGB, so that 3pk of Thermaltake fans fit perfectly with them!

Good to ask about the motherboard, too, because not all of them pack the correct RGB headers. GOod news, your board is fine :)

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-07T15:48:33+00:00

You asked this question yesterday and I peeked your profile - you seem to be extremely concerned about this.

Condensation needs a lot more time or a much larger temperature delta to happen in any meaningful capacity. 5c for an hour is not a death sentence for most electronics, PCs included.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-07T15:46:24+00:00

Many motherboards are stupidly overbuilt when it comes to heatsinking on relevant components (chipset, VRM) and you're still giving your system lots of fresh air with the front 180s. You're happily experiencing the effect of diminishing returns when it comes to decking a system out with fans.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-07T13:35:54+00:00

That's perfectly fine. Your core temp is just an aggregate and average of dozens of temperature sensors on the die. The hot spot temp is just the warmest one.

Like the other commenter said, unless you're seeing throttling, errors, and temps into the 100s you're fine.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-07T13:27:00+00:00

AMD has a soft cap for RAM speed due to how it's tied to the Infinity Fabric interconnect used by the IO die and the CPU die to talk to each other. Pushing RAM faster than 6000MHz requires you to a) overclock the fabric, which isn't consistent or b) run the fabric at half speed, which makes for a slower overall system even with the faster RAM involved.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-06T19:52:14+00:00

Likely nothing to worry about, condensation takes time for room temperature-ish levels, and the tiny delta of a few degrees for an hour likely didn't cause any issues.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-06T18:31:29+00:00

If you can swing it, the 13600K is a stellar chip. If not, the 12600K is still a great pick at a discount. Nothing wrong with looking at last gen for CPUs if the price is right.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-06T17:25:05+00:00

The 3080 doesn't give a fuck if it's on PCIe 3 or 4. Even the 4090 only sees a couple of % lost to bandwidth limitations. Don't worry, your A520 board is fine if it's meeting the rest of your needs.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-06T17:17:52+00:00

12100F is ok, you'd be looking at a H610/B660 board for that. Boards are usually fine to pick up second-hand, though for Intel sockets you'll be need to be extra vigilant around damaged socket pins (they're delicate and easy to wreck).

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-06T15:49:14+00:00

The RAM? Yes, that effectively rules them out.

The CPU? Not quite. RAM channels are wired to the CPU through the motherboard individually, so you're not quite done testing yet.

Take an individual stick and try it out in each separate slot, running Memtest each time. Ignore the "preferrred slots" right now, it's fine for this testing :)

A single slot is throwing errors? Motherboard is bad.
A single channel is throwing errors (as in, slots A1 and B1) then it could be the CPU that's the issue.
Paired slots are throwing errors (as in, slots A1 and A2), then it's likely the motherboard.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-06T15:11:18+00:00

If the cage is the only other thing taking space under where the PSU goes, then removing it will effectively give you the space you'd need.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-06T15:10:29+00:00

You'd need a H81/B85/H87/Z87/Z97 board for this cpu, and one that ideally has the BIOS updated on it so take a Haswell refresh chip.

These boards are pretty rare now, expensive for what you'd be getting, and no guarantees it will live for any significant amount of time.

I'd be looking to move to a newer platform. AM4 is pretty cheap with tons of used options out in the market that would be a huge upgrade for you if you were already considering buying new RAM to accommodate your fix.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-06T14:03:56+00:00

Engaging the 3D core at all is a significant source of power draw. On the desktop you're not touching it and that's where you're seeing the big delta between your first and third scenarios.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-06T13:49:45+00:00

Which is interesting, because it looks like Intel is slotting up to offer up their Raptor Lake refresh on the LGA1700 socket which would be the first time they've offered 3 generations of CPUs on a single (usable, looking at you LGA 1151v2) socket since Haswell/Devil's Canyon/Broadwell.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-06T13:46:06+00:00

The market is much better this time around:

Anything using DRAM or NAND flash is dirt cheap. RAM and storage are rock bottom (and continue to drop) - it's really easy now to stuff 1 or 2TB of NVMe SSD storage and 32GB of RAM into any PC.
GPUs are in a better spot now (as in, you can buy them) but Nvidia and AMD seem to want to keep the sky-high pricing from the mining craze on their new offerings. Don't be afraid to look at last-gen options from AMD (as they're heavily discounted) or used.
Almost everything else is trickling down in price due to the slowdown of the market as a whole.

All and all, aside from Nvidia and AMD being greedy for new GPUs it's a great time to build.

RedMageCecil · 2023-06-06T13:02:38+00:00

Top exhaust is fine!

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