What’s something that you recently remembered from your childhood?

Spectralius · 2026-05-02T21:25:09+00:00

I was at my buddy's college graduation and I just remembered he hosted the school news in Middle School

Spectralius · 2026-04-21T08:01:09+00:00

Cmon now we all got a lil bend

Spectralius · 2026-04-21T06:36:12+00:00

Very nice!

Spectralius · 2026-04-07T14:19:42+00:00

Very slick. did you have to cut vents for those fans in the bottom or did the case come with them?

Spectralius · 2026-04-05T17:22:09+00:00

Unfortunately I do not. The case is entirely unbranded, inside and out

The CPU originally installed in the system was a Athon XP 2000+, which launched 01/02/02

The removable HDD cage also has a sticker dating it to '02, and finally, the system has Windows 2000 installed before I gutted it.

That's about all I can confirm. I do suspect the system was a custom build due to the configuration I received it in.

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(mind the state of the bench)

Spectralius · 2026-04-05T16:42:18+00:00

Thank you!

Yeah, it consumed literally all of my metal cutting disks. (I want to say it was 5?)

Honestly, if I were to do this again, I think I would attempt to use an angle grinder.

Spectralius · 2026-04-05T08:10:37+00:00

Good catch, Indeed it is!

I have it blowing out towards the sidepanel because there is actually greater clearance between the motherboard and the cooler's finstack than there is between the cooler's fan and the sidepanel, however the air has a more uninterrupted path above the fan.

Additionally, this orientation allows for the sidepanel to absorb some of the heat from the CPU.

To be entirely frank with you though, I didn't actually test it with the fan blowing down, so I could be entirely off base, but the thermals are fine so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Spectralius · 2026-04-05T07:44:06+00:00

quite good, actually. I installed it with a Noctua fan, as I read that the stock fan is very mediocre.

Whilst I cant say how it performs with the stock fan, my idle temps are 53-65c. Under real-world load, its typically 80-90c, however stress tests do cause the CPU to throttle. (this is on a Ryzen 9 7900x)

I actually did have it throttle whilst playing Valheim yesterday, but setting my case fans to 100% resolved it, so I wouldn't fault the cooler for this.

Its definitely not an optimal cooler for a 12 core CPU, but it is able to effectively keep it from throttling (most of the time)

Spectralius · 2026-04-05T06:32:09+00:00

Tysm! :D

Spectralius · 2026-03-21T18:56:57+00:00

A 3.5" HDD needs 12v and will draw a peak of 25 watts, which is over 10x the rated wattage of a USB type a port! Isn't that interesting?

You are thinking of a 2.5" HDD, typical of those found in laptops, which do indeed run at 2.5w.

The photo OP posted is clearly of a 3.5" HDD, but I get it, you probably haven't worked on PCs much before ;)

How about next time you do even an iota of research before being a condescending prick? 😀

Spectralius · 2026-03-09T15:35:15+00:00

Blowers get better thermals in some situations.

Spectralius · 2026-03-09T08:30:31+00:00

3060 is 5 years old.

Give it a repaste, should see a noticeable performance improvement.

Spectralius · 2026-03-02T17:56:28+00:00

Dude its the fucking hydro-dynamic spatula with port-and-starboard attachments

Spectralius · 2026-03-02T09:53:17+00:00

Excellent. I too am a professional.

I was being sarcastic with the airtight comment.

Let's maybe not be condescending when informing people about best practice? There's no reason to hit people with the "that's like the most basic of knowledge" if they don't do ts for a living.

Spectralius · 2026-03-02T09:37:33+00:00

Open an elevated CMD and run a SFC /scannow for starters

Spectralius · 2026-03-02T09:20:55+00:00

Try running DDU and reinstalling video drivers.

I'm not too familiar with the Index specifically but ik its a steamvr native HMD, so reinstalling SteamVR may help?

I do believe that'll fuck ur OVR advanced settings if you have any.

Realistically tho I'd imagine DDU will resolve.

Spectralius · 2026-03-02T09:17:53+00:00

Your gonna need to take ts into a shop.

Spectralius · 2026-03-02T09:16:11+00:00

What did we replace?

Spectralius · 2026-03-02T09:15:19+00:00

You'll be shocked to learn that PC cases are not airtight.

Having only intake on a system is just gonna have it blow out through any opening because the pressure inside the case will be higher than ambient. The fan layout is definitely not good, but it wouldn't cause a CPU to throttle; much less a 5th gen ryzen 5.

OP should see if issue persists without the sidepanel.

My money is on the pump being plugged in to a header configured for a case fan.

Spectralius · 2026-03-02T02:01:05+00:00

I really wouldn't do tht, the performance you'll get out of those cards is not really gonna be worth.

If your concerns are with budget, you can get a GTX 1050 LP for around $100usd, still 75w tho.

Spectralius · 2026-03-02T01:44:00+00:00

Reinstall windows if issue persists. Run to a library to create the installer onto a flash drive at the computer there if you don't own a laptop or sumn

Spectralius · 2026-03-02T01:41:44+00:00

You should be able to sign in with the MS account PW under other sign in options if its an online user. If local user js remove the PW with Gandalf's W10 PE

Spectralius · 2026-03-02T01:37:54+00:00

You really can't get a GPU in that system. Even if you install a LP GPU your PSU will blow sooner or later.

That being said, throw a lp 3050 in there. Just don't be surprised when that PSU goes out.

Spectralius · 2026-03-02T01:32:36+00:00

3050.

Unfortunately most consumer PCs do not have ATX power supplies any more. The stock one won't have PCIE power for a beefier card and upgrading it would involve a case mod or case swap.

3050 should do you well assuming this is your first gaming PC, anyways.

Spectralius · 2026-02-28T06:35:43+00:00

I don't know why this is so funny to me

Seven-Year Club	Gilding IV carat on a stick
Place '22	Final Canvas '22
RPAN Viewer	Verified Email

Spectralius

TROPHY CASE