r/buildapc 21h ago

Simple Questions - August 31, 2026

3 Upvotes

This thread is for simple questions that don't warrant their own thread (although we strongly suggest checking the sidebar and the wiki before posting!). Please don't post involved questions that are better suited to a [Build Help], [Build Ready] or [Build Complete] post.
Examples of questions suitable for here:

  • Is this RAM compatible with my motherboard?
  • I'm thinking of getting a ≤$300 graphics card. Which one should I get?
  • I'm on a very tight budget and I'm looking for a case ≤$50

Important: Downvotes are strongly discouraged in this thread. Sorting by new is strongly encouraged.

Have a question about the subreddit or otherwise for r/buildapc mods? We welcome your mod mail!

To easily find previous simple questions posts, use this link.


r/buildapc 7d ago

Announcement [GLOBAL GIVEAWAY] ASUS x Buildapc Upgrade What Matters Giveaway - Round 2!

86 Upvotes

Hey again r/buildapc!

Did you miss out on the opportunity to get in on our ASUS Upgrade What Matters event last time around? Well, I’ve got fantastic news for you, we’ve gotten together with Asus again, and we’re running it back through the end of the year, with even more prizes this time!

ASUS Upgrade What Matters banner

From ASUS:

Whether you're gaming, diving into AI, creating content, or just browsing — ASUS wants to help you level up your build. From CPUs and motherboards to GPUs, cooling, storage, and peripherals — ASUS covers nearly every piece of the puzzle when it comes to boosting your PC's performance power.

Join now for a chance to win a customized PC build, or gear from a US$15,000 prize pool!

ASUS is coming back with a ton of great gear for you to make the most out of your PC, and their prize pool has a total value of over $15,000!

  • 1 GRAND PRIZE winner: Pick your Dream Build Upgrade! Choose between 1 of 4 Upgrade What Matters Dream PCs!
  • 1 winner: ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi7 Neo​ motherboard + ROG Strix LC IV 360 ARGB LCD ​AIO cooler
  • 1 winner: ROG Strix X870E-A Gaming WiFi7 Neo motherboard + ROG Strix LC IV 360 ARGB LCD White Edition ​AIO cooler
  • 1 winner: PROART Z890-CREATOR WIFI motherboard + ProArt LC 360 ​AIO cooler
  • 1 winner: ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-G Edition 20 display
  • 1 winner: ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 keyboard + ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 mouse
  • 2 winners: ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 keyboard
  • 2 winners: ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 mouse
  • 1 winner: ROG SLASH Backpack Edition 20 + ROG SLASH Hard Case Luggage Edition 20 + ROG Omni Edition 20
  • An exclusive prize just for members of r/buildapc: 1 winner: ROG STRIX B860-F GAMING WIFI motherboard + ROG Strix LC IV 360 ARGB LCD AIO Cooler

How To Enter:

  1. Visit the ASUS Upgrade What Matters microsite and register to the Gleam.io Giveaway and complete as many tasks as you'd like - the more tasks you complete on Gleam the better your chances of winning.
  2. Use the 'My Dream ASUS PC Setup' tool on the campaign page to build your ideal rig.
  3. Copy the generated build from the tool above and paste it into a comment to this post, and let us know in a comment below what the first game you’d use this hardware upgrade to play!

Terms and Conditions

  • Prizing: 1 lucky r/buildapc member will receive a ROG STRIX B860-F GAMING WIFI motherboard + ROG Strix LC IV 360 ARGB LCD AIO Cooler . Additional prizes will be provided through ASUS’ campaign.
  • Duration: Entries for the r/buildapc exclusive prize are open from August 25th, 2026, 1230 UTC to September 8th, 2026, 1230 UTC. More prizes are available on ASUS Upgrade What Matters’s campaign website through 12/31/2026.
  • Eligibility Unless otherwise stated in the Giveaway Terms and Conditions available on the ASUS Campaign page, this giveaway is available to participants 18+ globally. Reddit accounts must be at least 48 hours old at the time of this post.
  • Winner Selection and Prize Fulfillment: After the Buildapc giveaway period ends, the Buildapc Team will select and present 5 Reddit usernames as potential winners to ASUS for review and selection. Within 14 days after the r/buildapc x ASUS Giveaway period ends on September 8th, 2026, ASUS will select and confirm the winner. The Buildapc mod team will reach out to the winner through Reddit's Direct Message system and will have 48 hours to confirm the prize, else the prize is forfeit and a new winner will need to be selected. Once the winner verifies with Buildapc, we will connect them to ASUS for winner verification through Gleam and prize fulfillment. ASUS guarantees that Gleam verification and prize fulfillment will take no longer than 45 business days after the winner has been confirmed and connected with ASUS. This post will be updated once the winner has been connected to ASUS. Privacy: The Buildapc team will collect your name, email and Gleam.io login email/username for the sole purpose of connecting the winner with ASUS to facilitate validating and administering the prize. Please see the Gleam.io Giveaway Terms and Conditions linked below for how ASUS handles your information.

Gleam.io Giveaway Full Terms and Conditions is available on the ASUS Campaign page.


r/buildapc 8h ago

Discussion Realistically, how long does a build last?

275 Upvotes

New to PCs, coming from consoles where I can expect 5-6 years before the next gen

I have a 5070 ti / 7800x3d / 32gb DDR5 RAM build. How
long will this spec last realistically before I will need to upgrade it?

I’m hoping longer than 5-6 years considering how things are going today + it’s still 4x the cost to build over console.


r/buildapc 4h ago

Build Help Is AM4 still a reliable option in 2026?

40 Upvotes

I want to build a pc, and I am unsure on whether I should go with an AM4 system, I would like to be able to easily upgrade my system in the future, will AM4 hinder my ability to do so?


r/buildapc 8h ago

Peripherals Best gaming monitor on market rn? Is OLED worth it?

42 Upvotes

ok so budget is between 900 and 1000 for a new monitor, not really trying to go lower

main thing i wanna know is if oled is actually worth it or if burn in is still a real issue. never owned one myself and ive seen so many ppl posting about their taskbar or hud burning in after a few months which kinda scares me off. i mainly use the monitor for gaming and some browsing

specs wise i care about response time and refresh rate (240hz or higher). running a 4060

if oled is actually fine now which brands are worth looking? and if its still risky what should i get instead in that 900-1000 range

any recs appreciated


r/buildapc 5h ago

Discussion What was up with that 2010-2018ish period where there were some PSU brands with near 100% DOA units?

20 Upvotes

Nowadays there are still bad brands but I had a good group of builders as friends back then and anytime someone would cheap out on a PSU they'd (correctly!) point out that it outright wouldn't work when it arrived.

Raidmax's bottom tier units were big ones as Newegg (old/good Newegg) kept tossing them in their super-combo sales. Apevia and Logisys come to mind too.

There would be return loops where a builder would go through 3 of these units before finally being convinced to just spend a bit more (usually landing on the Corsair Builder that at least survived 2 years, if I remember the meta back then correctly).

This largely doesn't exist to the same extent as far as I can tell and there's no near-100% dead PSUs on the market in any serious volume. But that era lasted for sooo long and you'd have a swarm of people coming to forums like this to reveal that they learned their lesson the hard way. What *was* that? Did any lawsuits come out of it? Did anyone go under? It was so normalized.


r/buildapc 4h ago

Discussion What graphics card is comparable to the PS5 Slim’s GPU?

16 Upvotes

What NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards are comparable to the PS5 Slim in terms of performance?


r/buildapc 14h ago

Build Help is the RTX 3080 (10GB) worth it at $390?

64 Upvotes

The RTX 3080 sits around $350-$390 on the internet right now and i’m thinking of picking it up to pair with a Ryzen 5 5500 (will be upgraded) for streaming, video editing, & 1440p AAA gaming in high settings. Would the RTX 3080 be a good option or can I find better around this price point? All in the United States btw.


r/buildapc 1h ago

Build Upgrade Should i get the r5 5500x3d or the r7 5800x3d??

Upvotes

So, i need to upgrade my cpu (5700G) because i get around 40-50 unstable fps at worst on blade and sorcery, a heavy physics based game

I can buy the 5800x3d but i wonder if its worth it over the 5500x3d for the price, i want 90 stable fps at best

Also the gpu is not the bottleneck, i play vr at 1832x1920 per eye, i play at high graphic quality setting and i get the same fps as if i play all low


r/buildapc 35m ago

Build Upgrade Ram crisis and only the GPU upgrade.

Upvotes

Hello,
My current specs;

MB: Asus B550M-K
CPU: Ryzen 7 5700x
GPU: GTX 970
RAM: 32 GB DDR4
PSU: 750W+

Due to current RAM crisis, RAM prices have skyrocketed. Consequently I don't want to perform a complete upgrade of the MB, CPU and RAM. I'm considering buying only the RX 9060 XT 16 GB. Do you think this card would be compatible with my current system? I'm very worried about bottleneck, would my cpu and mb cause any issues? I am aiming for 1440p gaming btw if I get this card.


r/buildapc 11m ago

Build Upgrade AM4 upgrade vs switching to AM5?

Upvotes

Hey everyone, I'm currently on a tight budget and looking to upgrade my rig, but I'm torn between maxing out my current build or making the jump to AM5.

My current build:

  • CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
  • GPU: RTX 3060 12GB
  • RAM: 16GB DDR4
  • Mobo: Gigabyte B450M DS3H

  • Option 1 (Stay on AM4): Update my motherboard BIOS, drop in a Ryzen 7 5700X (or maybe a 5700X3D), and buy a new 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 kit.

  • Option 2 (Jump to AM5): Buy a brand new B650 motherboard, a Ryzen 7000 series CPU, and 32GB of DDR5 RAM.

The issue is that moving to AM5 will cost me about 2 to 3 times more than simply upgrading my current AM4 setup. Since I plan on keeping my RTX 3060 12GB for the foreseeable future, is the performance difference of AM5 and DDR5 actually worth the massive price gap?


r/buildapc 1d ago

Discussion Is it even worth to buy a PC right now?

406 Upvotes

It's been a while since I've been on the loop. All I know is that everything is more expensive.

Should I buy a pre-build or put one together like the old days? My current desktop is dying after a decade, and I'll need to think of a replacement soon.

I'm so overwhelmed by everything, and I'd appreciate some guidance.

Edit: Holy shit, thanks for all the support guys. I'm from Mexico and I have around... 1200 bucks. Ideally I wanted to get a 1440p gaming and basic work build (before the AI boom), but I doubt that's possible. Gaming wise, my bad boy is on its last legs, but for day to day tasks it still gets the job done.

It's an i5-6500 (locked clock speed), rtx 2070 (ik it bottlenecks, it was a used bargain when I got it), 8GB RAM.

I'll try to answer as many messages as I can when I'm home. Still, I've been reading all your helpful comments and I'm gaining a lot of insight.

Edit: rtx 2070 lol sorry


r/buildapc 5h ago

Build Upgrade Would I be crazy to upgrade from a 3060 ti right now?

8 Upvotes

General core specs: MAG B550 TOMAHAWK, 32GB of RAM (3200MHz), Ryzen 5 5600x , zotac 3060 ti OC Twin Edge thing

I built this thing I swear in either 2020 or 2021, it's still chugging along great but damn I feel like im itching or due for an upgrade

I was thinking of jumping to a 9060 xt - but perhaps the difference isn't big enough. But at the same time I'm like with all the AI noise , GPU's are not getting cheaper , so buy it while I can still justify the cost lol

I was really hoping to enjoy witcher 3 remastered or silent hill 2 remake on like close to max as I can afford. My main limitation is that 8GB of VRAM , so getting upto 16GB would be peak.

For now im just cleaning fans and reapplying thermal paste and other small upgrades , maybe I'll get new fans or a PSU instead idk

any thoughts are welcome.

Would I get a bigger bump if I upgraded from a 5600x to a 5900x or 5950?


r/buildapc 8h ago

Full Build Req 14 Years Old building my first PC

9 Upvotes

Hello. I'm 14 and I'm trying to build my first gaming PC.

I'm trying not to go too expensive, but I also want something that will perform well now and give me plenty of room to upgrade in the future. I've put together this list so far:

CPU: Ryzen 5 7600X — £127.30

Motherboard: MSI B650M Gaming Plus WiFi — £137.53

RAM: Crucial Pro 32GB (2×16GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 — £329.99

GPU: ASUS Dual RX 9060 XT 16GB — £408.32

SSD: Crucial 1TB NVMe — £103.66

CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE — £27.90

PSU: MSI MAG A850GLS 850W 80+ Gold — £79.99

Case: Montech AIR 903 MAX — £69.99

OS: Windows 11

Total: £1,284.68 + Windows 11

I'm going with AM5 because I want the option to upgrade the CPU and other components later rather than having to replace the whole PC.

If you have any tips, advice, or things you think I should change, please feel free to let me know. It is my first PC so even if you think the advice isn't good, it would still be very helpful to me.


r/buildapc 2h ago

Discussion Where to download chipset driver for motherboard (B850) ?

3 Upvotes

Hello everyone, quick question just like the title say, should I download them from AMD site or from the manufacture site ?


r/buildapc 51m ago

Build Upgrade PC for multicore computing first, gaming second

Upvotes

I want to upgrade my pc (AMD 5 5600). I often find myself doing multicore physics simulations locally on my pc for testing purposes (I'm in the field of CFD). What processor should I look for to upgrade? At the moment, I am looking at the 9000 series (I am counting on a motherboard replacement). What would you recommend? Or would there be better options in the 7000 series?

EDIT: I didn't consider that an upgrade to DDR5 would be required for AMD 7000/9000. What would be alternative options when I want to stay on DDR4?


r/buildapc 54m ago

Build Help nvme ssd choice?

Upvotes

Hi, I was looking for a decent 1 tb nvme ssd for under 275 CAD(200 USD), hopefully a bit lower if possible. I essentially just play games, so as long as it will last me a while and relatively fast for everyday use and gaming, i'll be fine. thx guys


r/buildapc 57m ago

Build Help Is 7600x & 4070 for $530 a good deal in 2026

Upvotes

Hi !

I recently found a second hand 7600x & 4070 combo selling for about $530 total. I felt this was a pretty ok deal, so I'm thinking about finally upgrading my 9y/o build (GTX 1070)

Am I correct to think this is a good deal ? Can I have you people's opinion on the following build https://pcpartpicker.com/list/F9MCFP With local pricing, I would be looking at a total of $1k8. I don't game a much as I used to, so I'm not looking to spend much more than that. I'm looking ideally to be able to go for high/mid settings @ 60fps for the next 2-4 years. Will probably hunt the second-hand market again when AM6 comes out

It's been a while since I've followed PC hardware news, so I'm navigating a bit in the grey here

Appreciate it 🙏

Country of purchase: Switzerland
Peripherals needed: none


r/buildapc 1h ago

Full Build Req Building my first pc, not sure how

Upvotes

Hello beautiful builders! im looking to build my first pc now that i have a job, but this is completely new territory for me and i know next to nothing about pc building. i currently have a case that came with one fan already installed and a “TOUGHPOWER series power supply GX2 600X” (im not sure how good it is). I want to play games like modded minecraft, ffxiv, ena, and general multiplayer games to play with friends, while avoiding lag best as possible. My budget is in the 1000-1500 range and im US based. Only peripheral i need recommendations for would be a monitor, since i dont mind too much about a fancy keyboard or mouse lol. Thank you!


r/buildapc 5h ago

Build Help R5 7500X3D vs R7 9700X for RX 9070XT

4 Upvotes

I'm currently planning a build around for 9070XT. So far my CPU options are 7500X3D and 9700X (they're literally the same price in my country) 9600X is 75$ cheaper and also can be considered. Main use would be 1440p/4K gaming. I do use a PC for work, but don't use CPU-taxing software, so either option works for me. Which CPU should I choose?


r/buildapc 12h ago

Discussion best used gpu for under 350?

15 Upvotes

Bought two 3080s on ebay and both ended up not working. Currently just using a temp 1080ti. What should I get?

I'd like the keep getting 3080s but getting two duds in a row is pretty annoying


r/buildapc 2h ago

Discussion Advice on how to move large PC to new apartment?

Upvotes

It is 55 pounds. I have never had a PC that heavy before. How do I move this? I had another PC I moved before and wrapped it in towels and blankets. However with this PC basically being twice the weight and it's got curved glass. I'm thinking I want to remove the glass possibly to make sure it doesn't break. Is that necessary? I feel like it is also risky because it's not protecting the internals of the PC at that point. But perhaps using slim fitting type towels around the pc to provide cushioning without having a comforter pressing into the inside of the pc.


r/buildapc 2h ago

Peripherals What is the difference between a commercial capture card VS consumer grade?

2 Upvotes

I have seen an internal capture card (pci-e connection) for sale secondhand from Decklink with hdmi and sdi (mostly used in commercial video broadcasting) and was wondering if this would be better than one from Delgato for example.

Would this be a bit too "overpowered" (too much power usage) for recording game footage from a gaming console or using it for a streaming cam for example? Would there be noticeable differences in quality and interference?

I'm not really familiar with professional or consumer capture cards so i'm looking to see what people who might have more experience have to say about it.


r/buildapc 3h ago

Miscellaneous Question about moving secondary HDD from old computer to new computer

2 Upvotes

I'm feeling fairly confident about this, but want to ask just to make sure before I do it as im not a pro when it comes to hardware tech.

I have an old computer that died. New computer is just about finished with the whole build. Windows 11 for both.

I want to pull my secondary hard drive from my old computer and move it to the new computer, also as a secondary drive. No OS or boot instalation on it.

Is it as simple as I am thinking, and just pulling it from the old comp, mounting it in the new one, and plugging it in? Will i need to do anything in the Bios? (E.g. register it, make sure boot order is correct, etc?) Is there anything else I should be aware of or prepared for?

I dont normally do hardware things anymore, and remember just enough from my younger days to be dangerous. LoL. So I really appreciate the help.


r/buildapc 11m ago

Troubleshooting gpu not working on my pc but worked in another pc

Upvotes

for context, i have a ryzen 5 5600g, 32gb ddr4 3600mhz corsair, biostar a520mt motherboard, rtx 5070 pny and a cooler master v2 750w psu.

The gpu in question didn't work on my pc so i took it to a specialist to test it if it's working since i bought it used and it worked. However, when i insert the same gpu to my pc there's no display with the hdmi, just gpu fans spinning and when i put the hdmi port in the motherboard, there is display. I used to have a 5060 ti 16gb and it worked just fine, but i'm suspicious of either the pcie slot or the psu because logically these two components are the only two having direct contact with the gpu or there's something i'm missing?

For the record, Bios is updated to the latest version, the primary video output is set to pcie in the bios and i used the 12vhpwr adapter that came with the psu but again only the gpu fans are spinning so i ordered another adapter just in case it is the problem. If you know anything about this problem i would appreciate some help here