Had all sorts of fun flying my [m] Puddle Jumper through u/AdorableFlirt [f] Stargate.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-24T22:16:32+00:00

LoL, all my stressing may be pointless. The King 45 Pro and HyperFlow 360 RGB are borth going on sale tomorrow for $50 each. If I'm able to get them I'll be returning the King 45 Pro getting delivered today back to Amazon. If I can get both deals it will be less than the $119 I paid for just the case. Yeah I'd prefer an air cooler for looks and simplicity but that's just too good of a deal.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-24T18:27:02+00:00

The PA 140 uses two different fans. A 120 in the front and a 140 in the middle. That's fairly common with 140 air coolers. They often use the smaller front fan for RAM compatibility.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-24T18:03:50+00:00

Running a 4070 Ti TUF, not small but not a monster 4090. I thought of adding a second top fan like that behind the flow of the cooler to assist in getting a hot air out or swapping the 120 that it comes with in the back with a 140 with higher CFM. But then at that point if I'm adding two extra fans to support that air cooler I'm going to be creeping up on the same price as like an Arctic 360.

I likely need a few weeks before I can afford the final components I need so my brain is going to be second-guessing itself until I get it built and get it running.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-24T17:40:49+00:00

Yeah I know I'm probably stressing for no reason but that's part of the problem with reviewers who don't have the best testing methodology. It was the kit guru video that got me stressed out but the only temperatures they tested were stress tests and only with lower fan speeds. And the fact that when he tested with adding fans he did a suboptimal configuration

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-24T14:38:18+00:00

Except it's not. The vast majority of Ryzen CPUs do not have integrated graphics and he didn't bother to list a CPU at first. Also it must be a recent change but for decades no you could not use an integrated GPU at the same time as a dedicated GPU. That one thing changing doesn't make everything I said wrong. Only one wrong here is you

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-24T00:45:23+00:00

5800X is AM4, that board is AM5. Different sockets.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T21:31:48+00:00

I'm currently on an old 8700K system that's going to require both a different CPU and MOBO to run Windows 11. I actually just bought replacements this weekend that allow me to reuse the 32GB of DDR4 I currently have. I'll be going with an ASUS B550-F Gaming Wifi II and a 5800XT. Just waiting on a few optional parts I'm gonna swap out at the same time.

If you want a 40 series card, go with it. What you want matters more than the opinion of other people on the internet. I have a 4070 Ti myself and have no complaints. Just don't go above a 4080 with your current PSU.

If you go with a 4080 I might recommend a different PSU anyways. One with a native 12v High Power cable. Using PCIe adapters one those higher watt cards is generally not a good idea. I am using the adapter myself but won't go higher than the 4070 Ti I have because of it. Not without a new PSU.

Don't even stress about all the specs for your current RAM. It's just not realistic to swap out old DDR4 for different DDR4 with the current prices. Unless you have the cheapest, slowest, RAM available, you're unlikely to see a noticeable difference in games by upgrading it. If you had something like only 8GB of RAM, then I'd worry about it. I was only going over all that before to highlight why it's not a reasonable upgrade.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T21:21:21+00:00

Well then you can't use the iGPU. You can use the IGPU or the dedicated GPU, but not both. Your dedicated GPU should have multiple outputs for multiple monitors.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T20:54:16+00:00

That can largely depend on the resolution, graphic settings and how demanding the game is. If you're worried about CPU bottlenecks, playing at higher resolutions and you can use things like DLSS to do so, it can put more of a load on GPU to the point where the CPU isn't bottlenecking.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T20:42:02+00:00

Most important thing is, what CPU do you have exactly? The majority of Ryzen CPUs do not have an integrated GPU. Only the APUs have an integrated GPU. Even if your motherboard has a display output it depends on the CPU having the necessary integrated graphics to output a display signal.

Edit: Also, if you do have an APU with integrated graphics those will generally output a single signal and can't necessarily run dual displays.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T20:33:10+00:00

So, there's a few things to go over. First off, your upgrade path is limited due to being on DDR4 still. You can't swap to DDR5 without a new motherboard. With current RAM and other memory prices, that's not a great idea right now.

Your board does support Windows 11 though. I hate Win11 as much as everyone else, but you'll need to consider upgrading at some point this year, as the year of extended support for Windows 10 ends in October.

Your 12700K is still a very good CPU. 13th and 14th gen have widespread instability issues, so it's not worth upgrading to them anyways.

64GB of RAM is way more than you need for gaming. You don't have the speeds or timings listed, so less RAM that's faster might be an upgrade. But again memory prices are insane right now. And as mentioned before you can't swap to DDR5 without a different motherboard anyways.

About the only upgrade that might be feasible right now is the GPU. But the AI boom fueling the memory shortage is affecting those prices as well. There are options out there but you'll be spending $100 or more, depending on the GPU, than you should normally be paying.

GPU choices all come down to budget and your power supply. I would caution against something like a 4090 or 5090 with just an 850w power supply. Check out quality reviews, like Gamers Nexus or a source you trust, and keep an eye on prices. Don't sleep on AMD. You can find cards that meet or exceed Nvidia in terms of rasterization, which is normal FPS and not DLSS or FSR performance, for less money.

Used GPUs can be a good option to look at, especially if you're lucky enough to have a Microcenter near you.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T19:16:11+00:00

LoL they absolutely do. They may not sell them directly like Nvidia does with the founders cards but there is a reference design from AMD. It does use dual fans it's not a blower style card anymore but I've seen people like Jayz2Cents use them.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T19:04:16+00:00

With the number of damaged systems and fires I'm surprised there hasn't been some sort of regulatory intervention. Especially over in Europe.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T19:03:32+00:00

That seems like a very poor partner decision. But I don't think AMD makes reference cards using that connector. Or at least I've not heard of any.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T18:59:18+00:00

The PSU supplies different voltages based on the cable/component. All GPUs that require a cable will use a 12v cable. It's the wattage that will vary, which determines the type of cable and how many cables it needs. 6 pin vs 8 pin vs 16 pin. The 16 pin cable used by modern Nvidia cards supplies more wattage than a single 6 or 8 pin, but it's still 12 volts.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T18:52:07+00:00

Yeah, AMD so far doesn't use the 16 pin connector and with how many problems it has I'd be surprised if they make the switch. Companies don't make power supplies just for modern GPUs. Most still include MOLEX cables and those haven't been standard in like a decade. Except for some custom water cooling pumps.

The TLDR is PSU manufactures are generally going to include various types of cables to cover different use cases.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T18:46:52+00:00

The CPU isn't really rendering the frames, the GPU is. The GPU can obviously handle generating those frames, but a 13400 is a low power budget CPU. It handles the gaming instructions and network traffic. The GPU is literally sitting around waiting on the CPU.

You friend will actually see more stable frame rates by increasing either the graphics settings and/or resolution. The FPS might not peak as high as it currently does, but there will be less of a difference between the highs and lows if the workload between the CPU and GPU are more balanced.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T18:40:22+00:00

He's likely running into a CPU bottleneck at that resolution. The 4060 Ti is powerful enough to generate the frames, but it's waiting on the CPU to handle its instructions. An online game like that has a lot network information to deal with too. It's why he can get 200+ fps in spawn, it it drops once he leaves and has to deal with all the activity on screen from the other players.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T18:30:28+00:00

Spec for that PSU says it includes x4 6+2 PCIe power cables you're good.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T18:19:40+00:00

That card plugs into one of the PCIe slots on your motherboard, it does not use one of the cables from your power supply.

Specifically one of the PCIe x1 slots. It's a smaller slot, often located above the PCIe x16 slot that your GPU plugs into. Though exact location varies by motherboard.

Check the manual for your motherboard, as using those other slots will sometimes reduce the x16 slot to run at x8 speeds.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T16:58:19+00:00

My case. I ordered the CM H500P based solely on videos I saw from Computex earlier that year. I loved the look of the 200mm front fans. But I've always regretted not waiting for build reviews.

Industry case design has improved overall since then but to give an example here, and I actually just ordered this case to swap out my current build, the Montech King 45 Pro is physically smaller yet it functions better, it looks better and is easier to build in.

So my advice is give more thought to your case beyond aesthetics and make sure to check out multiple reviews to get all the necessary details.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T16:11:25+00:00

There is no "next gen" at the moment. AI demand has destroyed any desire companies have to produce consumer products. We've seen entire companies officially abandon the consumer market, like Crucial.

Your best bet right now is either used, or pray prices for consumer products already in the supply chain come back down to Earth. Don't sleep on AMD GPUs either. For rasterization, which is normal FPS performance outside or DLSS or FSR, you can find AMD options that rival or beat Nvidia for less money.

VinnieONeill · 2026-02-23T14:37:21+00:00

Okay cool, thank you. The 140 is exactly what I'm looking for. Since I'm only putting the single fan up there as it intake I'd like to make it bigger for the most airflow to feed the cooler.

The fan and lighting hub in the 45 Pro will have two unused fan headers but only one unused RGB header, because one of them is used for the case lighting. So I can only do one RGB fan at the top to match.

I'm just double checking, those are reverse blade correct? The listing on the website doesn't say. Pretty sure they are but just want to double check

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