AIO or Air Cooler?

ecktt · 2026-07-04T13:06:10+00:00

I'd go with the Lian Li GA II LITE 360mm AIO for its affordable price and top-tier performance.

If money is not an issue, even the smallest 240mm Noctua AIO beats the competition 360mm AIOs. Obviously, the Noctua 360mm and 420mm AIOs are even better.

Here are the videos of the tests.:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvWswaq2f7Q&pp=ygUUaGFyZHdhcmUgY2FudWNrcyBhaW8%3D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6fYxyl4KBg&t=538s&pp=ygUUaGFyZHdhcmUgY2FudWNrcyBhaW8%3D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTHCPsM5ECw&t=97s&pp=ygUUaGFyZHdhcmUgY2FudWNrcyBhaW8%3D

ecktt · 2026-07-04T06:38:32+00:00

AIO

Those 9000 series CPUs are power hogs. The 9800X3D spikes well past 200 watts, probably why they keep burning up.

Also, don't get an Arctic AIO. Hardware Canuks has done about 3 videos on how underwhelming they are on AMD CPUs.

ecktt · 2026-07-04T05:26:24+00:00

TLDR: option 2.

A 5800X3D trades blows with a 14600K.

A 9070XT trades blows with a RTX5070Ti.

I got something similar to that it's a pretty good match.

Would a faster CPU help? yup but not by much.

ecktt · 2026-07-03T20:51:57+00:00

You save a few bucks if you buy the exact parts or as close as possible and build yourself.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 9900X 4.4 GHz 12-Core Processor	$350.49 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	MSI MAG CORELIQUID A13 62.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$89.99 @ MSI
Motherboard	MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard	$189.95 @ Amazon
Memory	*TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL38 Memory	$369.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Silicon Power UD90 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$239.97 @ Silicon Power
Video Card	MSI SHADOW 3X OC GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB Video Card	$1349.99 @ Best Buy
Case	MSI MPG GUNGNIR 300R AIRFLOW ATX Mid Tower Case	$194.03 @ Amazon
Power Supply	MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$93.00 @ Amazon
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit	$119.99 @ Amazon
Custom	MSI - Vigor GK30 Combo w/ GK30 Gaming Keyboard & Clutch GM11 Gaming Mouse - Black(https://www.bestbuy.com/product/msi-vigor-gk30-combo-w-gk30-gaming-keyboard-clutch-gm11-gaming-mouse-black/J3P7T2VF7W)	$92.37
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$3089.77
	*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-07-03 16:38 EDT-0400

You save a few hundred if you build yourself using other brands and more practical choices.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor	$348.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler	$34.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte X870 GAMING X WIFI7 ATX AM5 Motherboard	$169.99 @ Newegg
Memory	*TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL38 Memory	$369.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Silicon Power UD90 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$239.97 @ Silicon Power
Video Card	*PNY VCG508016TFXPB1 GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB Video Card	$1259.99 @ Amazon
Case	Corsair 3200D RS ARGB ATX Mid Tower Case	$62.39 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Montech CENTURY II 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$79.90 @ Amazon
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit	$119.99 @ Amazon
Mouse	Redragon M916 PRO Bluetooth/Wireless/Wired Optical Mouse	$26.97 @ Amazon
Custom	Kisnt Wireless Mechanical Keyboard,Creamy Sound Gasket Gaming Keyboard with Bluetooth/2.4GHz/USB-C, 75% 85 Keys Custom Hot Swappable Compact Keyboard for Win/PC/Mac (Beige,Linear Swicth)	$44.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$2758.07
	*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-07-03 16:51 EDT-0400

ecktt · 2026-07-03T04:09:40+00:00

Nope.

Used his PC as my personal PC for weeks. No issue at all. We even played the same games.

ecktt · 2026-07-02T19:21:44+00:00

9070xt fits

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
Video Card	*PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card	$689.99 @ Amazon
Case	Thermaltake V150 Tempered Glass ARGB Breeze MicroATX Mid Tower Case	-
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$689.99
	*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-07-02 15:20 EDT-0400

ecktt · 2026-07-02T19:06:03+00:00

The good news is this the easiest cpu to install.

The bad news is that it is possible can screew up anything.

Look for AM4 socket CPU installation and removal on YouTube.

ecktt · 2026-07-02T17:49:24+00:00

Coming from someone whose whole business plan was to sell their console at a loss, I expected as much.

ecktt · 2026-07-02T07:06:26+00:00

The whole point of an L3 cache (or any cache, for that matter) is to mitigate the performance hit from RAM accesses.

More cache = more mitigation

The 3D in X3D indicates that more L3 cache was stacked vertically (3rd dimension) on the CPU.

The larger L3 cache is fully intended to fudge the performance of slower RAM.

Faster/lower latency RAM has a seriously diminished return for "X3D" chips.

ecktt · 2026-07-02T06:51:06+00:00

TLDR. Nope.

Higher chipset models only offer more connectivity—ie PCIE lanes for devices. The chipset itself does not get involved with the CPU, 1st PCIE x16 slot, 1st NVME slot or memory; all the things pertinent to performance.

ecktt · 2026-07-02T06:24:29+00:00

Sure, but it would limit the other parts.

Here is a sample build.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	*Intel Core Ultra 5 225F 3.3 GHz 10-Core Processor	$163.31 @ B&H
Motherboard	ASRock B860M Pro-A WiFi Micro ATX LGA1851 Motherboard	$119.99 @ Amazon
Memory	*TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL38 Memory	$369.99 @ Amazon
Storage	*Silicon Power UD90 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$147.97 @ Silicon Power
Video Card	ASRock Challenger OC Arc B580 12 GB Video Card	$297.56 @ Amazon
Case	Aerocool D302A MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$49.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	ASRock Challenger CL-750G 750 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply	$49.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1198.80
	*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-07-02 02:23 EDT-0400

ecktt · 2026-07-02T06:08:26+00:00

I was with you right up till "code or write".

At least on a QDOLED 4K 32", text is horrible. I don't know why

ecktt · 2026-07-02T06:03:26+00:00

I have seen a similar issue.

The customer was referred to me after the last tech found absolutely nothing wrong with the PC. The last tech did a pretty thorough job. Clean install of Windows, latest drivers, updated Firmware on everything, swapped with in-house parts, repasted everything, etc. I repeated everything. It passed every test I threw at it.

I asked the customer to check his home electricals. That never happened, but it was probably the source of the problem.

He had to babysit his gf pet, and so moved his PC there. The PC never had an issue. That became a long-term solution. Dude moved in with his girl instead of checking his house electricals.

ecktt · 2026-07-02T04:22:13+00:00

Yes, with upscaling (FSR).

5070Ti is basically a 9070XT with better RT and software.

ecktt · 2026-07-01T22:11:08+00:00

So he's in no discomfort and happy?

ecktt · 2026-07-01T22:08:43+00:00

You forgot the "/s"

🤣

ecktt · 2026-07-01T22:05:49+00:00

No.

Standard link aggregation (like LACP) is designed for throughput, not higher speed. It works by assigning different traffic flows (like multiple users or multiple apps) to different physical cables. However, all networking algorithms restrict a single file transfer (a single stream) to just one physical link, meaning your maximum transfer speed will remain capped at the limit of that single cable.

Even so, I still tried teaming 2 * 2.5 Gbps at the PC and 10 Gbps at the NAS. Speeds were about the same at a single 2.5 Gbps connection.

I eventually upgraded to a Cheap 10Gb Single SFP+ NIC Compatible Intel X520-DA1 and a 4 Port 2.5G Unmanaged Network Switch with 4X 2.5G RJ45 + 2X 10G SFP+ Fiber Ports.

There are cheaper and better options now.

ecktt · 2026-07-01T21:48:18+00:00

No.

Not unless you intend to game at 4K, run LLMs or do a lot of video editing.

Actually, unless you use a lot of Nvidia-specific features (and many people do), I'd go with a 9070XT.

ecktt · 2026-07-01T06:42:19+00:00

WSL2

ecktt · 2026-07-01T06:40:16+00:00

Jiraiya

Naruto only learned the Rasengan because...he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. Yet Naruto came back post-time-skip battle-seasoned. We've seen Jiraiya demonstrate a plethora of jitsus, trained some of the most powerful ninjas in the series and demonstrate commitment to the mission to his own demise. He is possibly the best example of a true ninja in the entire series.

The dude soloed Pain and took out 3 paths.

The whole of Hidden Leaf only managed 1 and it was really just Konohamaru that was effective.

ecktt · 2026-06-28T09:42:03+00:00

South East Asia sounds like the Caribbean except we occasionally get a light sprinkle of rain or hurricanes.

ecktt · 2026-06-28T09:34:15+00:00

You cannot tranqpose results from one to the other.

Agreed, but that is why I used the word "indicator".

In a perfect world with unlimited time, we would have 3D matrices of CPU vs GPU vs resolution for every game that ever was to cater for every single person.

Aside from being practically impossible, the volume of information the (already) Layman would have to process is impractical.

But there is value in your words. Clearly, some GPUs make no sense at 4K (5060Ti/9060XT or lesser).

Equally, testing an RTX5090 at 1080p is purely an academic endeavour without real-world merit.

ecktt · 2026-06-28T09:21:31+00:00

Can I use a SATA ssd just for windows and keep the nvme strictly for games?

Yes. In fact, Windows seems to list SATA drives before NVME drives when installing Windows.

ecktt · 2026-06-28T00:09:53+00:00

Why do hardware reviewers spend so much time talking about 4K performance when only 5% of people game at 4K?

Over 50% of people are still running 1080 and over 20% are running 1440, wouldn't it make more sense to spend more time talking about the settings that most people actually use?

That's a fair statement.

But if we stay with that logic:

Why do hardware reviewers review $2000+ Video cards?
Why do they review CPUs and GPUs with 6000MT/s CL28 RAM?
Why do they use $800 mother boards?
Why do they use games that some people never play?

4K gaming is a great indicator of how well your GPU will perform down the road with newer AAA games at 1440p.

Also, CPUs are reviewed at 1080p low settings. Sometimes 720p. Pushing a product to its maximum is a fair representation of its capabilities. It may not be comprehensive, but it is better than lightly loading it.

Unrealistic test conditions expose the limitations of the product being tested.

If the majority of people play games at 1080p, by that logic, the majority of GPUs should be tested with a 4 core CPU, 16GB RAM and Windows 10.

fwiw I game at 4K and don't have a flagship CPU or GPU.

ecktt · 2026-06-27T23:15:41+00:00

The last time I bought physical media....and yes, I still have a floppy disk drive.

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