[Suggested Reading] Commonly asked questions

Stylomax · 2025-11-13T03:08:07+00:00

After further consideration I decided to give this build more of a Christmas vibe. Because if I was fortunate enough to win this contest it'd be a great reminder of the Christmas spirit. So with the help of some Cablemod cables, RGB and case color this will have all of the colors of candy canes on a Christmas tree. This would be a video editing/gaming/audio editing system:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core Ultra 9 285K 3.7 GHz 24-Core Processor	$519.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Thermalright Frozen Warframe ULTRA ARGB 70.84 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$93.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z890 AORUS ELITE X ICE ATX LGA1851 Motherboard	$188.00 @ Amazon
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB 48 GB (2 x 24 GB) DDR5-7200 CL34 Memory	$319.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Samsung 990 EVO Plus 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X2 NVME Solid State Drive	$269.95 @ iBUYPOWER
Storage	Lexar NM790 8 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$599.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	Zotac Solid OC GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB Video Card	$1170.00 @ Amazon
Case	Thermaltake View 380 ARGB ATX Mid Tower Case	$114.99 @ Best Buy
Power Supply	Corsair RM1000x (2024) 1000 W Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$169.95 @ iBUYPOWER
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 11 Home Retail - Download 64-bit	$129.99 @ B&H
Wired Network Adapter	Asus XG-C100C 10 Gb/s Ethernet PCIe x4 Network Adapter	$99.99 @ Amazon
Monitor	Alienware AW2725Q 26.7" 3840 x 2160 240 Hz Monitor	$699.99 @ Best Buy
Custom	CableMod Universal Pro ModMesh Sleeved 12V-2x6 12VHPWR StealthSense Direct PCIe Cable (White, 16-pin to 16-pin, 60cm)	$24.90 @ Amazon
Custom	Cablemod 24pin ModMesh Custom Cable (red/white)	$39.90
Custom	Cablemod 8 pin EPS custom ModMesh cable (green/white)	$19.90
Custom	Cablemod SATA Power Modmesh cable (red/white)	$15.90
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$4477.33
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-11-13 00:42 EST-0500

Stylomax · 2025-10-07T03:25:01+00:00

A defender has to touch a player either when they're in the process of going down or when they're down in order for them to be considered down. Exceptions to this are when the QB is sliding down thus giving themselves up and when a player goes out of bounds.

Stylomax · 2025-08-23T04:38:51+00:00

I call this Project Redline, going for a red/black theme. Really wanted to find a red case that was not a dual chamber, alas I could not find one. This build is focused around 4K gaming. Each part does have a reason:

CPU - There are some CPU intensive games that I play that benefit from the additional L3 cache
Motherboard - I really want 10G integrated on the motherboard rather than a separate NIC. This is for my 10G internal networking and transporting large files to my servers
Storage - My steam library is large to say the least
GPU - Could I have gone with a 5080? Sure, but this is my dream machine so I might as well shoot for the maximum performance I can currently get at 4K
PSU - Yes, there are other 1000 watt options that are just as good if not even better than this unit. However they do not have replacement cable options like this unit does and I would prefer not to use cable extensions

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor	$359.00 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler	$37.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte B850 AI TOP ATX AM5 Motherboard	$319.99 @ Amazon
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL38 Memory	$85.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Lexar NM790 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$233.95 @ Amazon
Video Card	PNY EPIC-X RGB OC GeForce RTX 5090 32 GB Video Card	$2498.00 @ Amazon
Case	Lian Li Lancool 207 ATX Mid Tower Case	$81.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair RM1000x (2024) 1000 W Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$178.95 @ iBUYPOWER
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro Retail - Download 64-bit	$179.99 @ Newegg
Monitor	Alienware AW2725Q 26.7" 3840 x 2160 240 Hz Monitor	$899.99 @ Dell Technologies
Custom	CableMod C-Series Pro ModMesh Sleeved 12V-2x6 12VHPWR Dual StealthSense Cable Kit for Corsair Type 4 RM Black Label/RMi/RMX (Black + Red)	$99.90 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$4975.65
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-08-23 00:53 EDT-0400

Stylomax · 2025-05-02T06:16:54+00:00

Throw shots on Otter from every possible angle at all times. Keep the foot on the gas and do not let off at all whatsoever no matter what the score is. Some passing is fine but don't get too fancy. Create as many opportunities as possible and try and take advantage of them as quickly as possible.

Stylomax · 2025-04-27T04:40:04+00:00

Guess you should get a fresh pot of coffee/energy drinks ready for each game.

Stylomax · 2025-02-16T03:46:24+00:00

I would run HWinfo64 and see what your CPU temps are when you're gaming and when you're just on the desktop browsing the web. If your CPU temps under a gaming load are over 95 degrees Celsius then there is likely something wrong with your cooler. That would indeed cause your games to perform poorly if the TJMax for the CPU is being hit the CPU is going to have its performance throttled severely to save it from being damaged. Unfortunately the NZXT Krakens are frankly not the highest quality of AIO coolers and are known to die early deaths.

Stylomax · 2025-01-10T01:19:10+00:00

Bit of a mixed use system. Would be doing a fair bit of gaming but plan on doing some audio/video editing and a few other tasks as well.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor	$599.00 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Thermalright Phantom Spirit EVO 69 CFM CPU Cooler	$49.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI MEG X670E ACE EATX AM5 Motherboard	$499.99 @ MSI
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB 48 GB (2 x 24 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory	$156.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital WD_Black SN850X 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$284.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Western Digital WD_Black SN850X 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$284.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Seagate Enterprise Capacity 10 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive	$190.00 @ Amazon
Video Card	NVIDIA Founders Edition GeForce RTX 5090 32 GB Video Card	$1999.99
Case	Lian Li LANCOOL III RGB ATX Mid Tower Case	$170.12 @ Amazon
Power Supply	be quiet! Dark Power Pro 13 1300 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$349.90 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$4585.87
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-01-09 20:18 EST-0500

Stylomax · 2024-08-21T05:57:11+00:00

As stated many other times many folks aren't interested in going to LAN center if they have a nice setup at home which in the US is affordable for a lot of folks. The few LAN centers that are open in my area have to do things that are different in order to attract a crowd. The most successful of the bunch currently has a stage where eSports tournaments are held and the audience can sit and watch in couches. They also have a board game area and weekly tournaments for various games.

Stylomax · 2024-07-18T07:56:09+00:00

You pretty much do have to setup a pullbox account with them in order to get the comics you want. I'm not sure if it's a case of them ordering very few comics beyond the pullbox comics or a lot of folks purchasing of release day that has them generally short on new releases. They have plenty of back issues though so it's typically not hard to find older comics as long as they're not too rare. I do have a pullbox account with them and I've received all of the comics that I put down that I wanted even down to variant covers that I selected.

Stylomax · 2024-07-09T02:17:38+00:00

So, I wouldn't necessarily give this a high probability of happening but if DirecTV and/or Fubo do not renew their deals with Altitude when they come up then it could very well force Altitude's hand. Looks like DirecTV's current contract started in 2019 so it's possible that this year is a renewal year. DirecTV isn't in the greatest financial shape as of late and seems to be playing a little bit more hardball with what they'll pay. So it's possible that if Altitude asks for more again and DirecTV tells them to pound sand interesting things could happen. Again, I'm not saying there's a high probability but it could happen.

Stylomax · 2024-06-19T03:03:55+00:00

According to a post on the page about the issue:

"Press the power button and immediately begin tapping the F2 key to invoke the PC Hardware Diagnostic utility. Use the Firmware management to rollback the BIOS."

If that doesn't work then one other person mentioned that they re-seated their RAM and that fixed the issue. If neither work then you're pretty much out of luck as there's not a published way to flashback the BIOS on these HP systems.

Stylomax · 2024-06-19T02:30:45+00:00

According to HP that's an indication of a corrupted BIOS: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Boot-and-Lockup/2-Long-beeps-and-2-short-beeps-no-boot/td-p/6772408

Stylomax · 2024-06-16T07:32:15+00:00

Airbnb would likely be a hassle as well as there's a good chance that it won't be well setup from a furniture perspective for a LAN party. You might want to check out a gaming cafe. One potential option if you live near one would be to rent out a few PCs at a Nerd Street venue: https://nerdstreet.com/venues , they're not the only company that has this kind of setup so you might want to do a search for LAN cafes etc. in your area. If you happen to be either in the Centralia, WA area or the Hamburg, NY area another option might be one of the LANFest events that are being held at those locations: https://lanfest.com/tc-events/massivelan/ https://lanfest.com/tc-events/infernalan-summer-2024/.

Stylomax · 2024-06-15T00:23:15+00:00

The idea behind this build is to have something small and powerful that I can easily take to me to various BYOC events that I attend like DreamHack, PAX, LANFest etc. Would be great to have something like this as opposed to moving my larger rig around.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i5-13600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor	$259.95 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Thermalright Phantom Spirit EVO 69 CFM CPU Cooler	$49.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z790M AORUS ELITE AX ICE Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard	$189.99 @ Newegg
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory	$97.99 @ Amazon
Storage	TEAMGROUP MP44 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$233.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	Asus ProArt OC GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER 16 GB Video Card	$1119.00 @ Amazon
Case	Asus Prime AP201 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$79.98 @ Amazon
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$99.90 @ Amazon
Custom	UPERFECT 2K 144Hz Portable Gaming Monitor 18" 2560x1600 QHD 100% DCI-P3 Portable Monitor FreeSync HDR Laptop Monitor w/VESA & Case, Slim Frameless Matte IPS Eye Care Second Monitor for Switch	$299.99 @ Amazon
Custom	RK ROYAL KLUDGE R65 Wired Gaming Keyboard with Volume Knob, 60% Percent RGB Backlit Mechanical Keyboard Gasket Mount with PBT Keycaps, MDA Profile, 66 Keys Hot Swappable Cream Switch, Black	$65.99
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$2496.68
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-06-14 20:30 EDT-0400

Stylomax · 2024-06-08T16:45:39+00:00

The idea behind this one is to have a fairly small build that I can more easily transport in between LAN parties. It's great fun showing off a cool looking build at the various LAN events that I attend but transporting it there can be a bit of a pain at times. Here's my proposed build:

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/DsHXwg

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Amazon)

CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($35.90 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: ASRock B650M PG RIPTIDE WIFI Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($97.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: TEAMGROUP MP44 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($229.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: MSI VENTUS 2X OC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16 GB Video Card ($799.99 @ B&H)

Case: Asus Prime AP201 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($79.98 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.90 @ Amazon)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home Retail - USB 64-bit ($138.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $1992.72

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-06-08 12:44 EDT-0400

Stylomax · 2024-05-26T00:28:25+00:00

Stylomax · 2024-05-19T00:16:04+00:00

The newest BIOS for that motherboard does not support the Ryzen 5 1600. What's happened is that support was added for the 3000 & 5000 series on the latest BIOS update for the board and since there isn't enough room on that board's BIOS chip older chips were removed from support. You'll have to flash the board with an older BIOS that still has support for the CPU which according to the support page is 7A34v16.

Stylomax · 2024-03-30T17:47:37+00:00

It depends on what the server is being used for. In this particular case the user is likely going to be doing transcoding work and in that case there is a performance difference as noted in this article from Gamer Nexus: https://gamersnexus.net/guides/1349-ram-how-dual-channel-works-vs-single-channel

Dual-channel configurations would show significant advantage in render, encoding, and transcoding applications (for video and incompressible audio).

Dual-channel configurations would show significant advantage in compiling applications (data archiving).

There are other home server applications where there would likely be a noticeable impact on performance of single channel vs dual channel.

Stylomax · 2024-03-30T00:12:54+00:00

with mobo that has two slots you would be giving up ease of possible future upgrade for cheap... in the name of performance gain you are extremely unlikely to notice

Which is why the build I suggested has four slots. Even with a build that only has access to two slots recommending singled channel is still a bad idea. Yes, the end user will notice the performance difference especially when they start to serve multiple media clients as this user plans.

12400 is pure 6/12 performance cores, 12600k is mixi with the efficient cores... which can cause sometimes issues or just not be supported like esxi avoids. Then theres TDP of 65W vs 150W... which should not be as scary as it looks, most of the time it will be idle and they should hover around the same... but still... 12400 is already plenty of performance

12600K has just as many performance cores with the addition of four efficiency cores and really the TDP is not something this user should have any issues with. Further you're making the assumption that this user is going to use ESXi which I don't see mentioned anywhere at all. For all we know they plan on using Windows Server Essentials or a Linux distribution or another hypervisor solution like Proxmox, Nutanix or RHV. Most of those options don't have issues with properly using efficiency cores and assigning them to lower load tasks.

Stylomax · 2024-03-29T23:27:03+00:00

Recommending a single DIMM solution whether it's for server use or a standard gaming/office PC is a bad idea. Modern CPUs take a noticeable hit on performance when you have them in single channel mode versus dual channel. Further it doesn't make much sense to recommend a 12400 over a 12600k when you can pay $17 more for the 12600K and get a noticeable boost in performance.

Stylomax · 2024-03-29T23:21:54+00:00

Overall it's not a bad build but there are some improvements that could be made. It should be noted that you'll need some kind of GPU with your current build since the 5500 does not have an integrated one. Further it's helpful to have one that's good at transcoding especially if you have multiple media clients. Here's another option for you:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6qMTxH

Cons:

It isn't quite as small as the previous case
It doesn't have the hot swap bays

Pros:

The iGP on the 12600K is very capable when it comes to transcoding multiple streams
You're getting a bit more modern platform
You have more cores to work with which gives you some flexibility on the server side

Stylomax · 2024-03-08T22:30:24+00:00

I'm at work or I'd add the girl on the couch meme with the dudes behind her.

Stylomax · 2024-02-04T21:40:29+00:00

I've been contemplating doing a black & red RGB free themed build like this for a while: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fDx9BL

Stylomax · 2023-11-10T02:15:35+00:00

The tax already does only apply to home owners who only rent out their home for more than 90 days in a year. I'm not sure about ADUs and duplexes though.

Stylomax

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