I am planning on either replacing or adding to my existing 2TB Seagate Barracuda drive because it is running out of space. It has started to get some Reallocated Sectors warnings in my Crystal Disk Mark and practically ran out of space so I wanted to replace it.
While searching for a replacement drive, I realized that my current drive is a 7200RPM **SMR** drive with a 256MB cache, and currently I have two options:
A 6TB WD Black for $126, that is 7200RPM and 128MB of cache or A 4TB WD Blue for ~$80, that is 5400RPM but has 256MB of cache
both drives are (i think) CMR.
Thing is, it took me about 2 years to actually fill out my 2TB hard drive, and I do admit, some of the stuff on there can still be deleted to make more space. So is the $40 dollars worth it to get an extra 2TB and the increased RPM? Would I a decreased cache size matter much? Would the downgrade to 5400RPM be very noticable as compared to my previous drive, given that I'm technically "upgrading" to a CMR drive? Also, I heard that the WD Black can get loud sometimes, (spec sheet confirmed it's about ~10dB louder on average).
I will be using this drive mostly for storing files, some unimportant executables and maybe sometimes running very light games (very rarely, as I have an SSD for that).
Or is there a completely different option that I can buy?

I am trying to save up for a new gaming pc build and selling my current pc would be a good start.
i will ship or you can buy local with cash zip code 91606.
buy price= 840$
pc image here also comes with wifi adapter
The pc specs are:
gpu PowerColor Fighter AMD Radeon 6500 XT 8GB GDDR6 Graphics Card
cpu AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 8-core, 16-Thread Desktop Processor with AMD 3D V-Cache Technology
motherboard Gigabyte X570 AORUS MASTER Desktop Motherboard
cpu cooler Corsair iCUE H150i Elite Capellix Liquid CPU Cooler, RGB Pump + Fans, 360mm for Radiator
ssd Seagate Firecuda 520 1TB Performance Internal Solid State Drive SSD PCIe Gen4 X4 NVMe 1.3 for Gaming PC Gaming Laptop Desktop (ZP1000GM3A002)
memory/ram Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3600MHz C18 LED Desktop Memory - White 32GB (4x8GB) (Pack of 4)

psu CORSAIR - RMx Series RM850x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply - Black

case Corsair iCUE 4000X RGB CC-9011205-WW White Steel / Plastic / Tempered Glass ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
if you have any questions about preformace in specific games feel free to ask
i personally play asseto corsa with mods on high settings and get around 60-85 fps in a optimized server
temps are really good pc is very quite

Our budget is under $2300 lower if possible he loves modded city skylines and is the type to make big cities. I want him off my computer so im building him his own
So far i have this build in the cart and parts picker reckons its fine. Estimates 472 watts
Msi tomahawk b550 mobo Ryzen 7 5700x Asus 7800xt G skill 32gb x2 16gb Deep cool LT520 liquid cooler CrutialP5plus 500gb Seagate barracuda 2TB Msi gold80+ 750w PSU fully modular
Comes to $2200 with case and keyboard and mouse hes getting my old speakers and monitor for now Does anyone see any issues here, im not sure if im missing something or if this is a good beginner computer for city skillines 2 (and the og game). I know asus has bad support but in my country less of an issue. Im also aiming to not have something too stupid he wont use/need, he doesnt care about overclocking, I would have gotten a Msi gaming plus b550 if available still where i am (its what i have) but at least the tomahawk is on sale, i also built mine with editing and graphics in mind so not sure if the memory i have is necessary and it would be better to just have the crutial( but get a higher GB one) and turf the seagate. The cpu is my last point of contention, i dont think he needs much more especially in terms of saving money, the next step up seems marginally better but $100 more but if someone has better option ill look into it.

Motherboard: GIGABYTE B550 Gaming X V2 CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X HDD: Seagate Exos E - 7E8 OS: Windows 11
I recently built a PC and wanted to add another HDD but it is not getting recognized by Windows. It is connected to SATA3 0 - slot. I have already tried other SATA3 slots (I have 4) as well as a different SATA cable. According to the manual, there is no disabling of the slots in any way.
When I check the BIOS settings, everything important is already enabled and SATA mode is set to AHCI. However, further down it says "Chipset SATA Port0-4 [Not Installed]".
So how do I install these chipsets? I already downloaded the newest AMD Chipset Driver from Gigabyte and installed it, didnt fix the problem. I really don't know what to do next, please help...

Hi! Tired of my 8 year old laptop not being able to keep up. I compiled this build list from the Microcenter website as I have one not too far from me. I've done some preliminary research but am definitely new to custom PC knowledge. Would really appreciate people's thoughts on this list of parts.
I primarily play single player RPGs and would like to play at high performance levels. Most recently had issues with BG3, Cyperpunk 2077 and Elden Ring. Not concerned with streaming games, and while multiplayer is fun not the primary goal here.
CPU – AMD Ryzen 7 7700X Raphael AM5
Motherboard – MSI B650 Pro
RAM – G Skill Flare X5 Series 32GB (2x16) DDR5-6000
Video – ASUS – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Pro triple Fan 16GB
SSD – Crucial P3 Plus 1TB Gen 4x4
HHD – Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 7200 RPM
Case – Montech X3 Mesh Tempered Glass
Power – Corsair RM850e 850 Watt 80+ Gold
Cooling – Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU heatsink
Cooling – Deepcool FC120 Hydro bearing Case Fan x3
I also like that this comes in slightly under $1500, and I would prefer to keep the cost in this realm.
Thanks!

LUTZ — They can’t be kept off the dock.
So they might as well jump.
Eager, energetic dogs are anxious to get a running start and jump as far as they can looking to make a splash at the dock diving pool at Courteous Canine. The training and swimming facility in Lutz holds several competitions yearly, just as it did on May 4.
Dozens of dogs, of all sizes and breeds, came out to the two-day event to try to set personal bests in competitions governed and sanctioned by North American Diving Dogs (NADD).
The owners love it just as much as the dogs do, Courteous Canine dock diving instructor Joe Souza said. “Any dog, of any size, can come and learn to dock dive, because we’ve got Chihuahuas up to great Danes out here jumping, which can be just for fun or for competitions.”
Souza, who has up to four dogs that dock dive in competitions, says the levels of competition are determined by length. Novice is up to 10 feet, while the top jumpers are in the premiere level, which is 28 feet or longer.
The NADD limits the number of dock diving facilities, so they can be no closer than within 100 miles of each other.
Courteous Canine, which also specializes in dog training for younger dogs and provides boarding services, holds 4-5 competitions a year, with dog owners coming from all over the state to compete. In the latest competition, dogs from Apollo Beach, Riverview and even from Jacksonville were present.
“It is quite popular,” Souza added. “These all-day events always have a great turnout. Plus, the dogs that come here love the water. Sometimes there’s no getting them out.”

Recently upgraded my build to the following:
Mobo: ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 APEX ENCORE
CPU: Intel i9-14900ks
RAM: G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series 48GB (2 x 24GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 8200 (PC5 65600)
GPU: GIGABYTE Gaming GeForce RTX 4080 16GB GDDR6X PCI Express 4.0 x16 ATX Video Card (used in my last build)
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1650W
Cooler: NZXT 360 Elite
Case: Hyte Y60
Fans: LianLi SL120 (3 on top mounted radiator (exhaust), 3 on side (intake), 1 on back (exhaust), and 3 120mm NZXT fans on bottom as intake.
Disks:
Primary -Samsung EVO 970 Plus (installed on m.2_2 on the motherboard because M.2_1 was causing PCI_1 below x16).
Others - Samsung 860 EVO and Seagate FireCuda 3.5 SSHD (ST2000SX002-2DV164) both in via SATA.
OS: Windows 11
Micro stutters will start in game after gaming for a while or after computer sits idle for a while. A reboot will fix it temporarily. They also will randomly go away even without a reboot sometimes.
Nothing is overheating as I monitor the temps of everything while gaming:
CPU = 68c (sometimes lower), GPU = 60c, Ram = 38c, Evo 970 = 46c (only drive used for gaming).
I don't know what to do to fix this issue. I've disabled gamebar completely using youtube guides and I've removed temp files. I've set the CPU to stock limits/recommended settings by Intel in the BIOS, updated the BIOS, and XMP profile 1 (8200) is enabled in BIOS for the RAM.
I've installed Samsung NVMe drivers, I've tested the 970 plus using Samsung's software and it came back fine. I ran the performance benchmark and I did notice the sequential write speed was slower than the read speed by about 2000 one run and about 1500 on another. Most recent run shows Read 3468 and write 3062. Samsung Magician shows drive as healthy.
I'm out of ideas here because the system is stable other than the micro stutters that show up. Is my EVO 970 going bad? Is there something in Windows 11 causing this? Is it antivirus software (BitDefender)?
I need advice on this...it's driving me insane.

Former Colorado Buffaloes F Tristan Da Silva declared for the draft and is 100% committed: https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/1785032667370832128 It's his birthday today...he is 23 years old. Born in Germany to a Brazilian father and German mother, with a brother who also played in the States at Stanford (Oscar), Da Silva made the jump from Bayern Munich's youth academy to Colorado. He improved every season of his four year career and now is headed to the professional ranks.
Da Silva measured in at 6'8.25 w/out shoes and a 6'10.25 wingspan at the combine. 217 pounds. He's got the height/length you're looking for from a combo forward, although he's on the thinner side. He doesn't have the widest frame but I do think he can gain muscle from where he currently is. He already has year to year and it's something that'll be important for him to continue to add as strength concerns are one of his biggest question marks as a prospect.
Da Silva's athleticism is something that has been called into question. I've read the posts about him in recent days on here, which is somewhat why I saved him for last of the three Colorado guys. I wanted to cut to the chase and really see what people think and think he is someone that seems to elicit a lot of debate. I think he's a better athlete than some think he is, but obviously, he isn't a standout athlete either. His lateral quickness is viewed in a negative light by some but it really isn't bad. His lateral quickness is above average. He can hang with guards on switches. He can hang with most forwards in isolation. His length really aids him on switches against smaller players. He has the mobility to stay linked and will contest/block when they put a shot up.
Da Silva's issues athletically are that he doesn't have great balance and doesn't have great flexibility. On a straight line drive, Da Silva fares well laterally. He can handle a crossover, he can handle some counters and stick with guards/wings. But it's when he's really forced to make a quick change of direction and reaction where he has his struggles. His biggest issue athletically is that he's not the quickest twitch. He's mobile, he has good feet, he's coordinated, but he's not the most fluid and he's not the quickest twitch. His defensive footwork is very good when he's not being handsy, but unfortunately he does get handsy at times on the drive.
Defending quick rips closing out defensively for example is something he struggles with. He doesn't react consistently well to initial moves. He often does, but not consistently. You can get by him defensively with a quick initial move. His all around defensive awareness is worse than some people seem to think it is...ball watches a ton, back cut a ton, misses out on rebounds, misses out on rotations. When he's focused and dialed in, he's a fantastic rotater. He makes on time, sharp rotations. He helps the helper. He hustles and flies around defensively and is active shoring gaps. But he doesn't do that consistently. He loses focus way too much, for a guy who is billed as a 3/D player. His screen navigation is pretty substandard for a veteran. Just does not navigate traffic well enough and strength sees him bumped off spots when navigating screens. He doesn't get taken out of plays, but he does end up behind plays. He can recover with length and hustle at times, but not always.
His lack of strength hurts his ability to defend the post. He can be a little too upright defensively in general and while he will battle in the post at times, he can be pretty weak down there. Not being down in a stance possession to possession means you can drive into him from the post and the perimeter. Were a few possessions he actually fell down with drivers going into his chest, and he couldn't maintain his balance. He is generally good at closing out on balance and in a disciplined way but not always...he gets jumpy on defense. He overhelps a lot defensively, ends up in no man's land, and gives up open 3's or drives off closeouts...one of his biggest negatives on the defensive end.
He does use his length really well on contests when he stays in front of drivers, he defends PnR ballhandlers well, and he uses his length well in passing lanes. He isn't a major event maker defensively but will break up passes and generate steals with his length and activity off ball. When he's locked in, he's a very good team defender. He's simply not always locked in and he just does not have the physical tools to not be locked in every single possession, either on the perimeter or post. He's one of those guys who's versatile defensively but in a tweener way. He's not really an elite option on anyone, but he's capable. He doesn't have the instincts or the toughness to be a guy who can switch up the lineup, but he is capable against 2/3/4 positions.
Da Silva is a pretty mediocre rebounder for his size which is another red flag surrounding him as a prospect, he's not a bad one but also not someone who's necessarily pursuing balls aggressively by any means. He will be expected to be a contributor on the boards as a swing forward and not being able to do so will undercut his value.
Da Silva has a unique blend of skills on the offensive end. His jump shot is his best trait. He was awesome as a midrange shooter this year and he shot 39% from 3 on 5 attempts. 83.5% from the line, and has shot at least 37% on increasing numbers of attempts the last three seasons. His shot is for real...great mechanics. Great extension, great balance. No wasted motion. He makes shots off screens, and he's an elite C&S guy who does a good job creating space for himself off the catch when coming off screens and when relocating on the perimeter. He has some movement shooting ability, but for the most part he's someone who works his way off flare screens, out of DHO's, off-ball screens and leaking out to the perimeter, and catches and fires. He's a very good pull up shooter. He likes the pull up out of the PnR, off curls and off DHO's in the midrange. He will duck in and find himself open around the FT line and take the FT jumper; he's good at finding gaps for himself for jumpers all over the court. He has a little bit of PnP ability. He sets solid screens himself to open teammates for 3's. He does a very good job slipping screens and diving to the basket or leaking out to the perimeter and obtaining easy looks from the outside. He's always catch ready and he's quick into his motion as a shooter across the board which along with his size makes him hard to contest.
Da Silva will find rollers and cutters out of the PnR. He finds the dump off guy when cutting to the rim. He moves the ball and will make the right read within the flow of the offense. He will bring the ball up and can facilitate and get his team into offense. He's not really an advanced playmaker but has some drive and dish ability and can make solid reads as a live dribble passer, but he also overpenetrates and turns the ball over with bounce passes that don't hit the target. He turns the ball over a lot that way. Gets cut off on drives and attempts a dump off bounce pass to get himself out of trouble. Picks up his dribble at inopportune times. He's not an amazing ballhandler overall...he's a bit gumby like with his movements, he's a bit herky jerky, long strides, has a spin move he likes, and he has a good crossover that does gain him space, but he doesn't have incredible burst nor a special first step and he does not have a ton of advanced moves. He accelerates well and he will get to the rim off his own creation but he isn't always gonna create separation with his handle, and he can lose the ball while looking to create, he will have the ball stripped, and he's not always strong with the ball. He is good with the hostage dribble and keeping defenders on his back...he overall does a nice job with pace. He understands pace, he understands taking rhythm away from defenders, he does have an in-and-out move and he has pretty good control on these moves. He works his way to his spots both in the midrange and inside, in a somewhat deliberate way while still being decisive, but he will be stonewalled in the paint and on drives.
His cutting really is a special part of his game. He has awesome instincts as a cutter---he reads his defenders, and has great timing in concert with the offensive flow of the possession. He dives quickly to the basket. He's good for a few baskets a game as a cutter. He moves well off the ball in general and keeps the offense humming. Off ball screens, weaving through the defense, he stays active on the offensive end which helps keep defenses off balance.
Da Silva has an excellent ball fake. He draws fouls with it down low, and he freezes defenders with it on the perimeter which allows him to get past. He also has a jab step. He will change his stride length and draw contact on drives. He will change speeds and explode to the rim. He has a behind the back counter. He doesn't have a ton of dribble moves but does have a diversity of tools he will turn to, to get inside the paint. He overall has very good timing as a driver, which is what allows him to get inside. He uses the glass well and has opposite hand finishes in his disposal. He drives with both hands. Sometimes he'll try to bait a foul and throw up poor shots with no real chance of a finish. He will be swallowed up around the rim at times where his lack of elite athleticism/strength/ability to create space can come back to hurt him.
Da Silva really likes to use spinners, floaters and hooks around the rim. He gets good extension, has a lot of range as a finisher and will take shots from pretty far out and make them at a high rate. He has very nice touch on these shots. For a guy without tremendous halfcourt explosiveness, this is a very good skill for Da Silva to possess because it gives him an ability to beat contests and an ability to score at the rim even if he isn't able to get directly to it. He has a jump stop, eurostep at his disposal. He has a lot of craft as a creator and around the rim which allows him to be a solid overall finisher but not an elite one.
His comfort with the ball makes him a good transition player. He does well getting to and finishing against defenses that aren't set, at the rim. It also makes him good against closeouts. He can be a little passive at times, which is a drawback many have had of him over the years. When decisive, he does a good job taking advantage of scrambling defenses in both the halfcourt and in transition. The coordination with the ball and the fact he takes long strides allows him to get to the rim quickly in these possessions. It also aids him as a PnR ballhandler.
Da Silva will use his size to his advantage in the post. He turns some drives into post-ups. He will find cutters and shooters from the post as a passer. He'll hit turnarounds, he'll turn in and finish with layups, he'll turn to the middle and take hook shots and floaters. He has nice touch on these shots and has nice footwork in the post and doesn't get rushed. He's someone that can take advantage of switches down low which is an important wrinkle for a forward these days.
Tristan Da Silva has elicited a lot of conversation on this board the last several days. I see him as a guy who is underrated and overrated from person to person. The truth is usually somewhere in the middle. He's an interesting talent, and he's got the framework of a player who has the skills teams look for in a swing forward today, but not every dot connects. But with his shooting and all around versatile skill set on the offensive end and he having real switchability possibilities defensively, he's someone who is viewed by most as a guy with a pretty high floor.
I'm a little bit...I'm not sure what to think honestly. I'll leave it to y'all. Are you all Thumbs Up, Down, or Across on Tristan Da Silva?

Heya guys!
A while back, a friend of mine offered to build me a Plex server. When he handed it over – a PC running a Linux server with Docker and 4x16 TB hard disks – it was riddled with problems. Being a noob with PCs and networking, I couldn't figure out how to fix it. My friend was often unavailable, so I decided to take matters into my own hands...
I reinstalled everything, opting for Windows instead of Linux. While I'm not great at this, I managed to set up a basic Plex server with SonarRadarr, Usenet, Torrents, and the whole shebang. It worked… for a bit. But I kept running into problems: driver errors and hard disk disconnects. As a self-proclaimed noob and an Apple user, I didn't have the time or expertise to troubleshoot it all. So, I set out to build a server I understood and could rely on...
I bought a refurbished Apple Mac Mini (M1) and an external RAID enclosure, only to realize my drives don’t fit. Turns out, I have SAS drives instead of SATA. I returned the enclosure and now I’m stuck, not knowing how to proceed.
Here’s what I have:

• 1x Apple Mac Mini M1 512GB
• 4x Seagate Exos X18 16 TB SAS drives
• 1x USB mouse and keyboard
• 1x simple monitor + HDMI

That’s it. No other gear. I've considered the following:

• Buying an external enclosure/bay that fits SAS drives, but I can’t figure out how to connect it to my Mac. They don’t seem to have a simple USB connection or anything...
  
• Selling the 4 drives on the marketplace for a lousy price and buying new SATA ones.
  
• Burning everything and accepting that I'll never figure this out.
  

Please, for the love of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, help me out! Thanks!!

i need some help because how do i have a gaming pc i can barely game on😭 i play a bunch of games from osu, call of duty, valorant, minecraft, need for speed... but i cant play some of them. nfs crashes shortly after startup, cod crashes on startup, osu runs fine, minecraft is very very framey, valorant i can run pretty much fine but it might randomly crash after a couple hours of gameplay.
my pc spec: msi geforce rtx 4070 gaming x trio 12gb intel core i7-13700kf msi pro z690-a wifi atx motherboard corsair vengeance 2x16gb 5600mhz ddr5 ram corsair force series mp600 1tb seagate 2tb barracuda hardrive corsair rm850x 80 plus gold modular psu
anything else lmk
YES, i have tried to run these games optimised, unoptimised, downloaded n redownloaded all the drivers - express AND clean. reinstalled all the games. ive also been into the bios, one of my mates knows someone whos good w pcs and even he couldnt figure it out.
nothing seems to work.
i was overclocked, tried without and still nothing - hasnt been overclocked since.
this has all happened after i got stuck in a bios loop so hardrive failure or smth? ive been told it might be the power supply but havent had the money to get another one.
any help PLEASE let me know, bought this pc almost a year ago now so should be working fine. i do have warranty and i have contacted them about it but the process is tedious and i dont have a way to ship my pc.
appreciate any of the upcoming tips🙏

Recently, my somewhat outdated PC started bluescreening once per day. After lots of diagnostics, I figured out it was something to do with my HDD. There were no issues with storage of personal files on the HDD...I am new to learning about PC's but I presume it was something to do with retrieving OS files smoothly. The diagnostic software from the manufacturer of the HDD never found any specific issues with it, but sometimes the hard drive checks would 'abort.' Anyways, I upgraded to an SSD and it's been smooth sailing ever since.
I have been wanting to set up a Plex server for movies & various media to share with my household. As I am on a budget, I'm thinking of temporarily using the old HDD for it, since it never seemed to have issues storing media, it just glitched out when running an OS. While I would not like to lose my files, I am also not too concerned with the prospect of it crapping out eventually, because most files hosted on it would either be things that can be redownloaded and/or things that I didn't pay money for...plus, I would definitely upgrade to a new drive when I have the budget to do so. My question is, would it be at least somewhat safe and reliable as auxiliary storage based on my situation?
Various specs/info if relevant:
HP Omen 870-2xx, factory build except for new SSD
It has multiple drive bays and I have the cords needed to add the HDD back into the build
New SSD: Samsung 870 Evo
Old HDD: Seagate 1TB Desktop HDD Sata 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive (ST1000DM003)
BSOD error I was getting: system_store_exception

Cpu : Amd CPU RYZEN 7 7800X3D
motherboard : AMD B650, Asus ROG STRIX B650E-F GAMING WiFi
Ram : Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 RAM 32GB (2x16GB)
GPU : Sapphire Nitro+ AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16 gb
power : CORSAIR RM850e (2023)
storage : seagate barracuda 2TB
case : MONTECH King 95 Pro
i tried using pcpartpicker , this is a good gaming focused pc for 2024, maybe even 2025?

I'm not referring to builds & perks, I'm referring to your jumper's spending habits in-jump. I'm honestly just curious, because I tend to think of jumpers as real people and real people spend money on stuff.
It's pretty easy for the RIGHT kind of jumper to not need to spend money on anything. I have a jumper, Lucas, who if not for the stipulations of Generic Cubicle, could easily fuck off into the woods and never buy anything for the rest of the jump. He has Gamer Body & HP System from Generic Gamer so his bodily needs are non-existent (though he still needs to breathe), so if not for Generic Cubicle's whole deal he'd easily be able to vibe in nature and never spend another dollar. He will buy things, he only has the free tier of the apartment item so he needs to spruce it up.
What my jumpers tend to buy usually depends on how self-insert-y they are. My more self-insert jumpers (which tend to be my ones that begin their chains physically disabled), tend to buy one particular thing over and over (until they get it fiat-backed somehow): The House in Alfama (more specifically a copy of it that we just place elsewhere).
So The House in Aflama is a famous, though not purposefully so, liminal space house in Alfama Portugal. If you're a liminal space fan you've PROBABLY seen pictures of it. It's above and beyond my favorite house in the world, and is a pretty generic architectural project, a renovation of a much older building, by Matos Gameiro Arquitectos. I'll post a few pictures, including one of the more well-known ones down below.
https://preview.redd.it/xip38j9k4m0d1.jpg?width=667&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e03f02436bea583caefe7b1beb3bbd41cb861af
https://preview.redd.it/e0bocc4o4m0d1.jpg?width=667&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=76a3990e82d04f6602ee96a2790613ef96f623d7
https://preview.redd.it/dshwchus4m0d1.jpg?width=667&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=44fede23aaec03ce16d3681dd177f2d9c38f01d3
https://preview.redd.it/hy2nobkz4m0d1.jpg?width=1400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3842c5872a68190f0f174369ba379149232e2cc3
It may shock you to learn that I have an affinity for water and water spaces. I spent several of my formative years in a house with a pool and it was very nice, and after I was a disabling car crash water being put on my knee was one of the few ways I could lower the passive pain I was in. So I like this house. I promise it IS a house, not just a big set of connected waterways, but the waterways HELP and my jumpers tend to quickly become aquatic so they always appreciate a good home that lets them flex their odder mobility things. I'm also JUST partial to European & South & Central American architecture, I was raised in South & Central America so the style of homes feels familiar to me.
My jumpers also tend to just like liminal areas. They tend to have mobility STUFF in general, be it teleportation or speed, or abilities just in the SPHERE of motion, so having spaces like that is good for them. It helps them relax. I've had jumpers who will sometimes buy abandoned malls and stuff and just hang out in them. They use some of the areas as stuff like homeless shelters or other such things, but they just love the vibe of abandoned malls and will relax in them like some sort of multiversal creepypasta character.
I also like diners and my jumpers tend to buy them when they have money they can just throw around. Oh and cabins, in woods. I usually just get a Cabin in the Woods item when my jumpers CAN, but that isn't always fast. My jumpers don't tend to value money very much, or even USE it all that often aside from in the context of the things I just mentioned.
What do your jumpers like to buy?

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-in-zane-in-the-membrane
Header Image ^[Imgur]
It’s not a Cypress Hill song, it’s a new issue of Canon Fodder!
By now, you’ll no doubt have made headway through the latest Operation in Halo Infinite —titled “Banished Honor”—which was accompanied by a new Waypoint Chronicle based around a simple question: “What would the story of a Spartan who joined the Banished be?”
We had the perfect character lined up to tell that story, one who hasn’t been seen since the end of Hunt the Truth's second season all the way back in 2015.
Welcome back, Ilsa Zane.

THE THIRD LIFE

Our ninth Waypoint Chronicle has arrived, which follows on from the concluding events of Hunt the Truth where a Guardian awakens on the colony world Laika III. Broadly, these events are concurrent with the story that unfolds in Halo 5 as Cortana lays claim to the Mantle, rallies AIs to her cause, and sets about imposing an imperial peace upon the galaxy.
Where Hunt the Truth saw the mantle of narrator pass from journalist Benjamin Giraud to undercover ONI agent Maya “FERO” Sankar in its second season, that torch is once again passed on to a character who made her presence felt in this story... the rogue Spartan known as Ilsa Zane.
Halo: The Third Life is available here on Halo Waypoint, as a free PDF, and in audiobook format on YouTube.
“October 2558. After being taken prisoner by the Banished as chaos erupts across the galaxy, Ilsa Zane’s hunt for the truth leads her to a new stage of life she never expected...”

EMPTY THRONE

Last issue, we gave you a totally legitimate look at the cover art of Halo: Empty Throne. Art is in the eye of the beholder, and unfortunately the powers that be decided that we could do better than a screenshot made in Halo 3's Forge mode in ten minutes with some crudely edited-in elements... it was a close call, really, but we ultimately pivoted towards something with the vibe of it having come from an incredibly talented and brilliant artist—namely, Will Staehle, whose other work you can check out here.
So, here you go. Here’s the official cover art for Halo: Empty Throne, coming later this year.
Pre-order your copy of Halo: Empty Throne here!
Cover art of Halo: Empty Throne illustrated by Will Staehle depicting a young girl and a Spartan emerging from a blue explosion coming from a Forerunner structure
“2559. It has been a year since the rogue artificial intelligence Cortana seized control of the Domain, an otherworldly dimension housing a vast information network. With an array of Forerunner weapons at her disposal, Cortana set out to enforce an authoritarian peace on the civilizations of the galaxy. But as the United Nations Space Command flagship Infinity prepares to strike against Cortana at Zeta Halo, another plan has also been set in motion.
An ancient access point hidden on a seemingly insignificant human colony has become the focus of a parallel effort to claim the Domain and its immeasurable capabilities. The UNSC, however, needs a key: a living, forsaken product of an old war. As a new generation of heroes rise to meet this challenge and Cortana's pursuit of control reaches a desperate and sudden crescendo, a cunning, ruthless warrior emerges from the shadows of the Banished, who has vowed to fill the new power vacuum by any means necessary....”

THE BANISHED SPARTAN

ILSA ZANE
Cropped profile image depicting Ilsa Zane surrounded by fire and Banished banners ^[Imgur]
RANK: Bloodstar BIRTH WORLD: Kholo DATE OF BIRTH: June 11, 2528 APPEARED IN: Halo: Initiation, Hunt the Truth, Halo: The Third Life
Born on the Outer Colony world Kholo, Ilsa Zane was just eleven years old when she lost her parents and everyone she had ever known as the Covenant descended upon her home and reduced its surface to glass. Taken to the remote colony Asphodel as a ward of the state, Zane remained largely silent and solitary until coming of age in 2547, where she was conscripted into UNSC military service.
In 2550, Zane was selected as a candidate for the prototype phase of the SPARTAN-IV program. Though she survived the augmentation process, additional experimental cocktails caused severe neurological damage to Zane. After escaping the facility, she was recovered by Admiral Mattius Drake and integrated into the rebel group known as the New Colonial Alliance.
In the immediate aftermath of the Covenant War, Zane led a group of operatives who attempted to commandeer the UNSC Infinity —securing it as the flagship of the New Colonial Alliance and to prevent the UNSC from deploying it to police independent colonies. This plan was thwarted by Spartan Sarah Palmer, who ejected Zane into space where the rogue Spartan was once more rescued by Drake, who was on standby in a nearby Prowler.
Following this, Zane served as an acquisitions specialist for weapons and materiel, as well as a ruthless instructor for mercenary and rebel groups that joined the New Colonial Alliance, forging them into a veritable fighting force in preparation for a large-scale strike against the UNSC. However, the awakening of the Guardians in 2558 waylaid these plans, leaving Zane as a prisoner of the Banished—with whom she ultimately came to find both common cause and brotherhood.

BANISH THY HONOR

Halo: Tales From Slipspace - Hunting Party
Image ^[Imgur]
What does it mean to be Banished?
To be Banished is to seek to liberate oneself, to pledge loyalty not to false promises of divine ascension but to the fearsome might and will exemplified by Atriox.
Service is welcome from any species, of any previous affiliation or loyalty—from the lowliest Unggoy thrall to the mightiest Sangheili warrior, and all between and beyond.
Power is its own end. In the wake of the Covenant War, opportunity is rife to carve up the remnants of the fallen empire’s vast resources and obtain technology that furthers the prime directive of the Banished: to never bow again, a “reclamation” all their own of freedom.
Following decades of calamitous conflict that has left even the most capable commanders war-weary, it is the Banished that are energized and fortified in purpose and will. Payment for those who share common cause with Atriox comes in blood and sport and spoils.
But those who would choose this path must unshackle themselves from ties to the past—unbind themselves from old masters, cast off their piety, and banish their sentimental devotion to honor.
Only then can one become a true vessel for victory.
Only then is one truly Banished.

THIEVING MITTENS

Halo: Escalation Issue #3 page depicting a showdown between Spartan Scruggs, who has taken Admiral Hood hostage, and Spartan Palmer, Chieftain Lydus, and Arbiter Thel 'Vadam ^[Imgur]
Why would a Spartan go rogue?
It’s an apt question. After all, Spartans are meant to represent paragons of humanity in both strength and spirit. But across the generations of Spartans, there have been traitors, rebels, or those who simply wanted to leave the UNSC behind to live on their own terms.
For the Spartan-IIs, these examples came as a result of their training—of recognizing and rebelling against the horrific context of their situation.
In the “Homecoming” episode of Halo Legends, Daisy-023 and several of her fellow candidates sought to escape the program following the augmentation procedures that killed or maimed many of their brothers and sisters, but were ultimately brought back into the fold.
Likewise, in the Halo: Evolutions short story “Pariah,” Soren-066 was left disfigured by the augmentations and was gradually radicalized by a technician named Partch, eventually attempting to escape Reach and join the Insurrection. Indeed, the Spartan who sought to apprehend Soren was Randall-037, who later appeared in Halo: Nightfall where we learned that he had evaded the UNSC after the Battle of Vodin in 2532, even starting a family before ONI eventually caught up to him over a decade later, "reversing" many of his augmentations in exchange for release from UNSC service.
Looking to the Spartan Field Manual, originally released back in 2018, we can gain further insight into the risk of rogue Spartans as it applies to the SPARTAN-IV program:
STOLEN GAUNTLET
Nevertheless, the SPARTAN-IV selection process is not foolproof. Spartan-IVs are soldiers with preexisting philosophies and loyalties, and even the most carefully screened candidate can react to their augmentation and training in unexpected ways. Individual Spartans represent a strategically significant level of combat power and pose a major security threat if their loyalty is compromised.
The STOLEN GAUNTLET fail-safe protocol has been created to provide training and permissive rules of engagement for special agents tasked with tracking down and swiftly neutralizing rogue Spartans.
~ Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual, p. 86
Rogue Spartans
Halo Mythos artwork by Isaac Hannaford depicting Mickey's betrayal of Buck and Romeo in Halo: New Blood ^[Imgur]
Ilsa Zane represents the earliest example of this manifesting as a critical issue for the Spartan-IV program, and she is far from a singular example.
In Halo: Escalation, we see Spartan Vladimir Scruggs—another New Colonial Alliance defector—attempt to sabotage the peace talks between Arbiter Thel ‘Vadam and Chieftain Lydus.
Another prominent example is Michael Crespo in Halo: New Blood, who became disillusioned with being sent to kill other humans in the wake of the Covenant War and defected to the United Rebel Front with fellow Spartan Rudolf Schein.
Of course, defecting is one thing, but what is it about the Banished that would be attractive to a rogue Spartan? That is something wholly contingent upon the individual, and at present there is a specific example we can examine: Ilsa Zane.
Having been discarded by the UNSC after falling victim to experimental augmentation cocktails that ravaged her body and mind, she was eventually left for dead by Admiral Drake as well—she was herself “banished” from the places she had sought to belong. This, in combination with her proclivity for violence and a ruthless mindset, led her to discover a certain kinship with the Jiralhanae on Laika III, leading her to willingly pledge herself and the New Colonial Alliance to the Banished.
In the words of Spartan Scruggs: "I am a Spartan. But what you fight for isn't always the same as who you fight for."

ARMORY INFINITUM

The Ravager was a new weapon introduced to the sandbox in Halo Infinite, though it made its fictional debut in Halo: Shadows of Reach.
“The cacophony of gunfire was replaced by the sizzle of shock rifles and the thump-hiss of ravagers.”
~ Halo: Shadows of Reach, Chapter 21
Featuring a semi-automatic, three-round burst and a charge ability that can create a burning pool for area-of-effect damage, the Ravager quickly became a favorite tool of Jiralhanae warlords for its capacity to flush out garrisoned infantry.
A unique version of the weapon, the Rebound Ravager, can be found in the possession of Captain Arthoc—a high value target the Master Chief encountered on Zeta Halo. Rounds fired by this weapon have the ability to bounce, to which the words of Agent Washington from Red vs. Blue may come to mind: “It bounces? Who designs a gun that bounces?!”
Halo Infinite screenshot of Arthoc ^[Imgur]
ARMORY OF RECKONING CAPT ARTHOC FWD: RAVAGER
The Armory of Reckoning—it is a fitting name for the tools of conquest and destruction birthed from its forges.
When we advanced on the human remnants that had sought shelter within their crashed ship, I requested of Commander Bannix an augmented version of the plasma tossers produced by the Forge of Torograd.
Where we have mastered both spike and spear in our weaponry since before the Immolation, infusion matter remains an object of study for our alchemists. I was informed by the Screecleaver that there is a great savant stationed on Oth Liqattu who has sought to unlock further secrets of this fetid power, applying it to our own troops and many of our vehicles.
It is said that prolonged exposure to this corrosive bile can addle the mind and rot the body... that is good, for there are many small spaces in human ships. The capacity for this weapon to launch projectiles that bounce before erupting into toxic piles was of great use in flushing our foes from cover. How they flailed and danced to our battle song!
It is my understanding that pure infusion matter is pumped throughout Forerunner facilities, so we must dedicate resources to finding these wellsprings within the substructures of this ring. I shall bring this to Tremonius once he has returned from investigating a disturbance at his outpost.

MERIDIAN SLOANCOMING

Last month saw the arrival of Halo: Battle Born's rerelease, featuring two new short story “adjuncts” which we took a closer look at in our previous issue.
On April 30, the rerelease of Halo: Meridian Divide hit the shelves and—as folks have noticed—there's another adjunct in this one as well!
MERIDIAN HOMECOMING
Halo 5 screenshot of a Promethean Knight on Meridian ^[Imgur]
Completing the trifecta of new adjuncts in these rereleases is “Meridian Homecoming,” which is set in the immediate aftermath of Cortana’s final sacrifice on Zeta Halo in December 2559.
With the leader of the Created dead, the future of this fledgling faction has been thrown into doubt. High Auxiliary Sloan has returned to Meridian where he occupies a Promethean Knight’s carapace and wanders the vast glasslands of his home to find his own fate.
Of course, fans who followed the Precipice short story series last year (which accompanied Halo Infinite's recurring FIREWALL events) know that Sloan has emerged as a new leader within the Created and set into motion the creation of the Executors. “Meridian Homecoming” gives us a small moment in time with Sloan as he contemplates what the concept of home means to him, Cortana’s unfulfilled promise of salvation, his regrets over how he departed from Meridian, and the memories held within a Promethean Knight that set him on a new path.

COMMUNITY LORE CORNER

For this month’s Community Lore Corner, we kick things off with GammaCompanyMark who has put together a media order for the Halo series if you really, really want to experience it in some form of “timeline order.”
The fine folks at JumperScape have been adapting some of the lore and stories we’ve put out for Halo Infinite, beginning with the Intel drops we did for Season 2: Lone Wolves. (If you can believe it, it’s just passed the two-year mark for when this season launched!)
We recently discovered Lore VoidCat while checking out the latest Halo lore content on YouTube, and he has put together a fantastic series of videos about various expanded universe aspects—from every blade of the Covenant, to recounting the stories of various games and books, and more. Here’s one of his latest!
Would it be surprising if you learned that Covenant Canon has put out a new video featuring some... you guessed it, Covenant canon? In his latest release, we take a look at every known Arbiter throughout the Halo universe’s history.
Every now and then, the nostalgic longing for those halcyon days of 2007 return, which is exactly what you will feel when watching Meaning In-Between and Frogarchist's exploration of how mystery was a core thematic pillar of Halo 3.
And finally, David and Ian of Podcast Evolved have done a new “book club” episode on one of our previous Waypoint Chronicles: Saturn Devouring His Son.
With that, it’s time to sign off for this month’s issue.
If you haven’t already checked out Halo: The Third Life, be sure to do so—and if you have, well, go and read or listen to it again! Let the gears of speculation turn for what is depicted on the cover art for Halo: Empty Throne (don’t forget to secure your pre-order), and you can get your in-game Ilsa Zane cosplay sorted by completing the Banished Honor Operation Pass!
We depart with our favorite Ilsa Zane comic panel for your entertainment.
Halo: Initiation panel of Ilsa Zane shutting of the UNSC Infinity's original AI, Aine, saying "Quiet you." ^[Imgur]
This post was made by a script written and maintained by the Halo mod team to automatically post blogs from Halo Waypoint. If you notice any issues with the text output or think this was posted by mistake, please message the mods.

Got a little bit of saved up money to put towards new builds for my girlfriend and myself. We both have about 8 year old builds or a little older. Looking for advice on if I should change anything. I know the 64 gigs of RAM is quite overkill for most things but after doing some research it's what I went with for now. Builds are going to be used for heavy gaming and streaming, as well as editing including photoshop and video editing but mainly gaming and streaming. My build is all black her is all white.
Edit: I went with the 4tb hard drive along with the SSD mainly for things like photos as well as exported PSD projects.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My Build
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/z7yCh3)
TypeItemPrice
:----:----:----
**CPU** [Intel Core i7-14700K 3.4 GHz 20-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/BmWJ7P/intel-core-i7-14700k-34-ghz-20-core-processor-bx8071514700k) $399.98 @ Newegg
**CPU Cooler** [Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT 65.57 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3sYRsY/corsair-icue-h150i-elite-lcd-xt-6557-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-cw-9060075-ww) $249.99 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** [Asus TUF GAMING Z790-PRO WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/skqrxasus-tuf-gaming-z790-pro-wifi-atx-lga1700-motherboard-tuf-gaming-z790-pro-wifi) $279.99 @ Amazon
**Memory** [Corsair Vengeance RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/WTMMnQ/corsair-vengeance-rgb-64-gb-2-x-32-gb-ddr5-6000-cl30-memory-cmh64gx5m2b6000c30) $224.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/gTRYcf/corsair-mp600-pro-lpx-2-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-cssd-f2000gbmp600plp) $164.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/gTRYcf/corsair-mp600-pro-lpx-2-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-cssd-f2000gbmp600plp) $164.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Seagate BarraCuda 4 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jD3H99/seagate-barracuda-4tb-35-5400rpm-internal-hard-drive-st4000dm004) $79.99 @ B&H
**Video Card** [Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Hc7scf/asus-dual-oc-geforce-rtx-4070-super-12-gb-video-card-dual-rtx4070s-o12g) $609.00 @ B&H
**Case** [Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO XL ATX Full Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jwDQzy/lian-li-o11-dynamic-evo-xl-atx-full-tower-case-o11dexl-x) $219.99 @ Adorama
**Power Supply** [Corsair RM1000e (2023) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fxGhP6/corsair-rm1000e-2023-1000-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-cp-9020264-na) $159.99 @ Amazon
**Operating System** [Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dKkWGX/microsoft-windows-11-home-oem-dvd-64-bit-kw9-00633) $109.99 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 61.3 CFM 120 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2hzhP6/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-613-cfm-120-mm-fan-uf-slin120-1b) $29.99 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 61.3 CFM 120 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2hzhP6/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-613-cfm-120-mm-fan-uf-slin120-1b) $29.99 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/JpjBD3/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-727-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-slin140-1b) $29.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/JpjBD3/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-727-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-slin140-1b) $29.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/JpjBD3/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-727-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-slin140-1b) $29.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Case Fan** [Lian Li UNI FAN SL-INF Reverse Blade 71.6 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/CVQKHx/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-inf-reverse-blade-716-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-rs-slin140-1b) $29.85 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li UNI FAN SL-INF Reverse Blade 71.6 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/CVQKHx/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-inf-reverse-blade-716-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-rs-slin140-1b) $29.85 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li UNI FAN SL-INF Reverse Blade 71.6 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/CVQKHx/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-inf-reverse-blade-716-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-rs-slin140-1b) $29.85 @ Amazon
*Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts*
**Total** **$2903.39**
Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-05-15 11:15 EDT-0400
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Girlfriend's Build
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7GdR34)
TypeItemPrice
:----:----:----
**CPU** [Intel Core i7-14700K 3.4 GHz 20-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/BmWJ7P/intel-core-i7-14700k-34-ghz-20-core-processor-bx8071514700k) $399.98 @ Newegg
**CPU Cooler** [Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT 65.57 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6XLdnQ/corsair-icue-h150i-elite-lcd-xt-6557-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-cw-9060077-ww) $259.99 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** [Asus ROG STRIX Z790-A GAMING WIFI II ATX LGA1700 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/p8P8TW/asus-rog-strix-z790-a-gaming-wifi-ii-atx-lga1700-motherboard-rog-strix-z790-a-gaming-wifi-ii) $335.99 @ Amazon
**Memory** [Corsair Vengeance RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Nn9wrH/corsair-vengeance-rgb-64-gb-2-x-32-gb-ddr5-6000-cl30-memory-cmh64gx5m2b6000c30w) $229.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cXHqqs/corsair-mp600-pro-lpx-2-tb-m2-2280-pcie-40-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-cssd-f2000gbmp600plpw) $164.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cXHqqs/corsair-mp600-pro-lpx-2-tb-m2-2280-pcie-40-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-cssd-f2000gbmp600plpw) $164.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Seagate BarraCuda 4 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jD3H99/seagate-barracuda-4tb-35-5400rpm-internal-hard-drive-st4000dm004) $79.99 @ B&H
**Video Card** [Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/QksV3C/asus-dual-oc-geforce-rtx-4070-super-12-gb-video-card-dual-rtx4070s-o12g-white) $619.99 @ Amazon
**Case** [Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO XL ATX Full Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/zqNYcf/lian-li-o11-dynamic-evo-xl-atx-full-tower-case-o11dexl-w) $229.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Power Supply** [Asus ROG Strix 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MGzFf7/asus-rog-strix-850-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-rog-strix-850g-white) $168.99 @ Amazon
**Operating System** [Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dKkWGX/microsoft-windows-11-home-oem-dvd-64-bit-kw9-00633) $109.99 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 61.3 CFM 120 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bBBG3C/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-613-cfm-120-mm-fan-uf-slin120-1w) $29.45 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 61.3 CFM 120 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bBBG3C/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-613-cfm-120-mm-fan-uf-slin120-1w) $29.45 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/vDC48d/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-727-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-slin140-1w) $29.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/vDC48d/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-727-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-slin140-1w) $29.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/vDC48d/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-727-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-slin140-1w) $29.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Case Fan** [Lian Li UNI FAN SL-INF Reverse Blade 71.6 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cv7scf/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-inf-reverse-blade-716-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-rs-slin140-1w) $29.18 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li UNI FAN SL-INF Reverse Blade 71.6 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cv7scf/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-inf-reverse-blade-716-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-rs-slin140-1w) $29.18 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li UNI FAN SL-INF Reverse Blade 71.6 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cv7scf/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-inf-reverse-blade-716-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-rs-slin140-1w) $29.18 @ Amazon
*Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts*
**Total** **$3001.29**
Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-05-15 11:27 EDT-0400

Got a little bit of saved up money to put towards new builds for my girlfriend and myself. We both have about 8 year old builds or a little older. Looking for advice on if I should change anything. I know the 64 gigs of RAM is quite overkill for most things but after doing some research it's what I went with for now. Builds are going to be used for heavy gaming and streaming, as well as editing including photoshop and video editing but mainly gaming and streaming. My build is all black her is all white.
Edit: I went with the 4tb hard drive along with the SSD mainly for things like photos as well as exported PSD projects.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My Build
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/z7yCh3)
TypeItemPrice
:----:----:----
**CPU** [Intel Core i7-14700K 3.4 GHz 20-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/BmWJ7P/intel-core-i7-14700k-34-ghz-20-core-processor-bx8071514700k) $399.98 @ Newegg
**CPU Cooler** [Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT 65.57 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3sYRsY/corsair-icue-h150i-elite-lcd-xt-6557-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-cw-9060075-ww) $249.99 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** [Asus TUF GAMING Z790-PRO WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/skqrxasus-tuf-gaming-z790-pro-wifi-atx-lga1700-motherboard-tuf-gaming-z790-pro-wifi) $279.99 @ Amazon
**Memory** [Corsair Vengeance RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/WTMMnQ/corsair-vengeance-rgb-64-gb-2-x-32-gb-ddr5-6000-cl30-memory-cmh64gx5m2b6000c30) $224.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/gTRYcf/corsair-mp600-pro-lpx-2-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-cssd-f2000gbmp600plp) $164.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/gTRYcf/corsair-mp600-pro-lpx-2-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-cssd-f2000gbmp600plp) $164.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Seagate BarraCuda 4 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jD3H99/seagate-barracuda-4tb-35-5400rpm-internal-hard-drive-st4000dm004) $79.99 @ B&H
**Video Card** [Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Hc7scf/asus-dual-oc-geforce-rtx-4070-super-12-gb-video-card-dual-rtx4070s-o12g) $609.00 @ B&H
**Case** [Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO XL ATX Full Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jwDQzy/lian-li-o11-dynamic-evo-xl-atx-full-tower-case-o11dexl-x) $219.99 @ Adorama
**Power Supply** [Corsair RM1000e (2023) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fxGhP6/corsair-rm1000e-2023-1000-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-cp-9020264-na) $159.99 @ Amazon
**Operating System** [Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dKkWGX/microsoft-windows-11-home-oem-dvd-64-bit-kw9-00633) $109.99 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 61.3 CFM 120 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2hzhP6/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-613-cfm-120-mm-fan-uf-slin120-1b) $29.99 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 61.3 CFM 120 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2hzhP6/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-613-cfm-120-mm-fan-uf-slin120-1b) $29.99 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/JpjBD3/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-727-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-slin140-1b) $29.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/JpjBD3/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-727-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-slin140-1b) $29.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/JpjBD3/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-727-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-slin140-1b) $29.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Case Fan** [Lian Li UNI FAN SL-INF Reverse Blade 71.6 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/CVQKHx/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-inf-reverse-blade-716-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-rs-slin140-1b) $29.85 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li UNI FAN SL-INF Reverse Blade 71.6 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/CVQKHx/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-inf-reverse-blade-716-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-rs-slin140-1b) $29.85 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li UNI FAN SL-INF Reverse Blade 71.6 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/CVQKHx/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-inf-reverse-blade-716-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-rs-slin140-1b) $29.85 @ Amazon
*Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts*
**Total** **$2903.39**
Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-05-15 11:15 EDT-0400
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Girlfriend's Build
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7GdR34)
TypeItemPrice
:----:----:----
**CPU** [Intel Core i7-14700K 3.4 GHz 20-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/BmWJ7P/intel-core-i7-14700k-34-ghz-20-core-processor-bx8071514700k) $399.98 @ Newegg
**CPU Cooler** [Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT 65.57 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6XLdnQ/corsair-icue-h150i-elite-lcd-xt-6557-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-cw-9060077-ww) $259.99 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** [Asus ROG STRIX Z790-A GAMING WIFI II ATX LGA1700 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/p8P8TW/asus-rog-strix-z790-a-gaming-wifi-ii-atx-lga1700-motherboard-rog-strix-z790-a-gaming-wifi-ii) $335.99 @ Amazon
**Memory** [Corsair Vengeance RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Nn9wrH/corsair-vengeance-rgb-64-gb-2-x-32-gb-ddr5-6000-cl30-memory-cmh64gx5m2b6000c30w) $229.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cXHqqs/corsair-mp600-pro-lpx-2-tb-m2-2280-pcie-40-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-cssd-f2000gbmp600plpw) $164.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cXHqqs/corsair-mp600-pro-lpx-2-tb-m2-2280-pcie-40-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-cssd-f2000gbmp600plpw) $164.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Seagate BarraCuda 4 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jD3H99/seagate-barracuda-4tb-35-5400rpm-internal-hard-drive-st4000dm004) $79.99 @ B&H
**Video Card** [Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/QksV3C/asus-dual-oc-geforce-rtx-4070-super-12-gb-video-card-dual-rtx4070s-o12g-white) $619.99 @ Amazon
**Case** [Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO XL ATX Full Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/zqNYcf/lian-li-o11-dynamic-evo-xl-atx-full-tower-case-o11dexl-w) $229.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Power Supply** [Asus ROG Strix 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MGzFf7/asus-rog-strix-850-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-rog-strix-850g-white) $168.99 @ Amazon
**Operating System** [Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dKkWGX/microsoft-windows-11-home-oem-dvd-64-bit-kw9-00633) $109.99 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 61.3 CFM 120 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bBBG3C/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-613-cfm-120-mm-fan-uf-slin120-1w) $29.45 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 61.3 CFM 120 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bBBG3C/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-613-cfm-120-mm-fan-uf-slin120-1w) $29.45 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/vDC48d/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-727-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-slin140-1w) $29.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/vDC48d/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-727-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-slin140-1w) $29.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Case Fan** [Lian Li Uni Fan SL-Infinity 72.7 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/vDC48d/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-infinity-727-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-slin140-1w) $29.99 @ Newegg Sellers
**Case Fan** [Lian Li UNI FAN SL-INF Reverse Blade 71.6 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cv7scf/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-inf-reverse-blade-716-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-rs-slin140-1w) $29.18 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li UNI FAN SL-INF Reverse Blade 71.6 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cv7scf/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-inf-reverse-blade-716-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-rs-slin140-1w) $29.18 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** [Lian Li UNI FAN SL-INF Reverse Blade 71.6 CFM 140 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cv7scf/lian-li-uni-fan-sl-inf-reverse-blade-716-cfm-140-mm-fan-uf-rs-slin140-1w) $29.18 @ Amazon
*Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts*
**Total** **$3001.29**
Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-05-15 11:27 EDT-0400

Hi everyone, I'm trying to upgrade from this setup:
* ASUS PRIME B365-PLUS LGA1151 ASUS TUF Gaming B650-Plus
* CPU: Intel Core i3-9100 3.6 GHz Ryzen 7 7800x3D
* GPU: Asus STRIX GeForce 1050ti
* 16GB RAM Corsair Vengeance DDR5 2x16GB
* PSU: LUX 550W
* Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM010 1TB
I'm keeping the GPU for now as I am trying to stagger the expenses. I would like to understand whether my PSU is still suitable, and I will upgrade it together with the GPU in the future. I tried two different calculators: - https://www.newegg.com/tools/power-supply-calculator : 500W

• https://pcpartpicker.com/ : 380W

Which one I should trust? And if I'm going for the higher estimate, would my current PSU be still OK?

Hi guys, I’m completely new to building PC’s and I finally was able to build one. But I cannot for the life of me figure out how to start up my motherboard. I tested my PSU and confirmed it was working, however, the PSU will not turn on when connected to the mobo, and neither will the mobo. No lights, no beeping, no fans on. The power switch was on. I did try jumpstarting the motherboard, but that did not work. I tried turning on the case button, didn’t work. I don’t know if maybe I messed up a cable somewhere? Or if the motherboard is damaged? Again im totally new to this so I’m hoping maybe I just made a little mistake.
Specs: NZXT H9 Flow Dual-Chamber ATX Mid-Tower PC Gaming Case ASUS Prime B650-PLUS Seagate BarraCuda 2TB Internal Hard Drive HDD AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D 8-Core Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE CPU Cooler XFX Speedster SWFT 319 AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT Core Corsair Vengeance DDR5 RAM 32GB Seasonic Focus V3 GX-850

Just made the specs for my pc, any upgrades for a 2.5k budget? (This is around 1.9k already but I want 2 monitors too)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Gigabyte AORUS WATERFORCE X II 360 72 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 GAMING X AX ATX AM5 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory
Storage: Kingston NV2 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Asus DUAL OC GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB Video Card
Case: Corsair iCUE LINK 6500X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power 13 850 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply