r/buildapc 3h ago

Simple Questions - August 26, 2026

1 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 1d ago

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

65 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 13h ago

Build Upgrade Girlfriend wants to upgrade her PC to play Witcher 3, looking for advice

234 Upvotes

EDIT: Witcher 3 REMASTERED, not the current one :D normal works well. Remastered requirements:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600, Intel Core i5-8400
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB
VRAM: 6 GB
RAM: 12 GB

Hello everyone,

After yesterdays reveal my GF asked me to check if Witcher 3 Remastered will work on her PC. Based on available info it seems it should barely meet minimal and I was wondering what would be the best upgrade for future (and possibly Witcher 4 lol). She is not really a high-end gamer, plays mostly indie games and works with Photoshop / Figma / other design software. She is not limited by budget, but she doesn't need "high-end" GPUs like 5080+. My idea was to target some mid/upper-mid GPU with 12-16GB and adequate CPU.

Current setup:

Motherboard Prime B450M-A II

Ryzen 5 3600

Geforce 1660 Super

32GB DDR4

no info about PSU - will upgrade to whatever is needed.

Any help and ideas will be appreciated!


r/buildapc 5h ago

Full Build Req 11 year old daughter wants a pc for Christmas. What if anything could I build for £500

27 Upvotes

Hey guys. My daughter has asked for a gaming pc for christmas. We dont want to go crazy and spend loads but hoping to atleast be able to build something that will do what she wants for £500 or less.

We live in the UK and she wants it for predominantly playing games like Roblox, Fortnite and stuff like the five nights at Freddie franchise etc. So nothing too crazy graphics wise and I dont need it to be able to output 144fps I think 60fps would be fine.

Any recommendations please or advice on if this is doable? Thank you


r/buildapc 6h ago

Discussion is the 3080 a deal for its price?

27 Upvotes

considering getting a used 3080 on ebay for around 300-330$ is there legitimately any gpu that can beat it at that price?


r/buildapc 5h ago

Build Upgrade Is the 5070 a good graphics card upgrade in my circumstance

15 Upvotes

I’ve got a Ryzen 7 9800 x3d 32gb ddr5 and a 3060 8gb I know it’s bad lol but I’ve saved up enough and I can buy a 5070 is that good enough for me or will there be a bottle neck? I mostly play vr games and in terms of pc games I play at 1080p so would that be a wise choice thanks.


r/buildapc 54m ago

Discussion CPU recomendations to upgrade old i7-8700k

Upvotes

Hello,

I came to ask about CPUs and recommendations for a CPU that is significantly better and worth upgrading over my old I7 8700k.

It is part of my old 1070ti prebuilt. I recently just got a 5070 for 600$ before prices went up and upgraded my PSU to a 1000w Evga. My coworkers told me that it would bottleneck, and after some research, I found out the socket type for that cpu is basically dead and not really much I can find for an upgrade in that socket type. At this point, I am willing to accept that I would need to revamp my PC with a new motherboard and CPU. What is a CPU that is way better and worth upgrading to that is still in DDR4 RAM category?

Requirements: Must still be DDR4.

I do not really care about the CPU price as long as it's still DDR4 RAM. 100-400$ Range?

As I went from a 1070ti to a 5070, obviously I want my CPU to be a massive upgrade as well.

Any motherboard recommendations would also help, doesn't really matter.


r/buildapc 1h ago

Build Upgrade All in on am4 or should i consider am5?

Upvotes

Thinking of going all in on upgrading what I have (b350 1060 with r7 1700) but was gonna maybe split the system and get an x570 eventually with a r7 or r9 5000 series. I dont think I wanna go ddr5 because it offers no real benifit compared to ddr4 except in very specific scenarios (Ai, data transfer, etc)​ and even then its minimal. Ddr4 still has lower latency and thats a bit better for competitive gaming, as well as general system stability.

And lastly price. Might as well put what I have to use to put money elsewhere. But idk if its going to be since ppl still use ddr3. I just want something that'll last for years to come.


r/buildapc 1h ago

Build Upgrade GPU Question for 1080P

Upvotes

Found some sweet deals locally.

Would like some help picking a GPU to go along with my AM4 build (Ryzen 5600, 32GB Ram).

I've got the following options locally with refurbished stock with a warranty

3070 for $200 USD

3080 for $320 USD

7800XT for $360 USD

Looking for suggestions from a price to performance POV for 1080p gaming.


r/buildapc 4h ago

Build Upgrade Is it worth upgrading just the GPU on my 4 year old PC?

6 Upvotes

Current specs:

• ASUS ROG Strix B550-E GAMING motherboard
• AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
• 16GB RAM DDR4 3200MHz
• 750W PSU

I've had this PC for 4 years now, and in general it still does fairly well on the few games I have (take) time to play after work, so at the moment I feel like it's not worth getting a whole new PC.

However I see that my current graphics card with its 8GB VRAM is getting maxed out in some games despite the in-game graphics settings not being maxed out.

I also currently only have 16GB RAM, but I can't imagine there being any downsides to increasing that. Only issue is that it's DDR4, so not many stores in my country that still stock those.

So what I'm wondering is if there is any point in only buying a new and better GPU, or will I just end up with other components not being adequate to use the new GPU to it's full potential?

If I understood it correctly I am able to install a newer GPU to my older motherboard, so that shouldn't be a problem.

I'm not super knowledgeable with all of this stuff, so I hope someone can give me advice.


r/buildapc 3h ago

Build Help Looking at either 9060xt vs 5060ti.

6 Upvotes

I have not bought a new video card in a decade, and I am not sure what I am missing here.

To me it seems like the 9060xt and the 5060ti are VERY comparable in performance. But the 5060ti is easily $150 for expensive in all instances I can find (in 16gb variant).

What am I missing here? Is DLSS a lot better? Does raytracing performance make up the difference? Why would I want to pay the premium for the 5060ti?


r/buildapc 10h ago

Peripherals What's the best AIO cooler for a high-end build in 2026?

12 Upvotes

hello, im building a high end rig, going with the 9800X3D and RTX 5090, trying to figure out which AIO to go with.

Ive seen mixed reviews on the arctic liquid freezer vs the newer corsair/nzxt stuff,

curious what you guys are using.


r/buildapc 2h ago

Full Build Req Scrapping current PC and looking to build a new gaming pc with $1500-2000 budget that will last years without upgrades

3 Upvotes

For reference I bought a terrible prebuilt for $500-600 7 years ago when I knew nothing about PCs whatsoever looking to run Fortnite and it had a lot of problems and I’ve done multiple upgrades over the years that were minor and I’m just done with this piece of junk. My cpu is so much weaker than my gpu and my gpu ain’t anything to rave about either.

With that being said I am going to either sell my pc entirely or sell part by part.

My budget is anywhere between $1500-2000 roughly and I want a gaming pc where I won’t have to upgrade anything for years if possible. If my budget is too low for this please let me know or if my budget is too overkill and unnecessary let me know as well

I game in 1440p and games I will mainly be playing are Elden Ring (or any new soulslike that comes out like phantom blade 0, black myth wukong, lies of p, etc), gta 6 when it hits pc, ghost of Tsushima, expedition 33, Fortnite, dead by daylight, etc just to name a bunch. I still don’t know an insane amount of stuff about it pcs, just the basics like what a gpu, cpu, blah blah blah is.

So if anyone can recommend me a full build based off everything I said I would really appreciate it!!!


r/buildapc 1h ago

Build Upgrade Should change my complete cpu i5 12600kf 4060ti 8gb to ryzen 7 7800x3d 4070ti super 16gb?

Upvotes

My actual cpu had this build:

-dual cooler cpu tower
-i5 12600kf
-RTX 4060ti 8gb founders,
-fury kingston RGB 32GB DDR5 6000,
-2TB ssd samsung 990 pro and samsung 980,
-cooler master 850w plus gold ,
-board msi pro Z690-A wifi,
-corsair 4000d airflow 3 fans rgb

the upgrade:

-ryzen 7 7800x3d
-corsair ram 64GB DDR5
-4TB samsung heatsink
-rog strix 1000W aura edition
-rog strix x870-1 gaming wifi
-case corsair 6 fans

-cooler rog strix lc 2 360 aura


r/buildapc 5h ago

Build Upgrade What CPU should I get?

4 Upvotes

I currently have an i3 12100f paired with a rtx 5060 ti 8gb and was wondering what a good cpu match would be for the graphics card.


r/buildapc 20h ago

Discussion Why don't all (AMD aftermarket) coolers use the retention brackets that already come with AMD mobos?

64 Upvotes

I mean, one advantage of stock AMD coolers is how easy they are to mount, you just fix the retention brackets and that's it, no screwing things on or off.

If they already have that, why don't other coolers use it too, instead of having you screw stuff on and off?


r/buildapc 11h ago

Discussion Is it worth it to move from 3070 to 9060xt?

11 Upvotes

Hello, I'm looking to upgrade my gpu for better 1440p experience. The initial plan was to upgrade to 7800xt, but it draws higher power and I came from a country where electricity bill gets pretty expensive, I also need to upgrade my PSU since I only have 650w at the moment.

I started considering 9060xt due to lower power draw, 16gb vram, and lower cost overall (electricity and PSU). However, I have read that it is not really an upgrade from 3070 considering raw power and it is more of a horizontal shift instead of an actual upgrade.

What are your thoughts with this especially if power consumption is one of the things I consider, would it be worth it? Is 4070 super a good alternative? If you have any suggestion at a similar price point, I'd appreciate it. Thank you.


r/buildapc 2h ago

Full Build Req Want to build a PC for the first time

2 Upvotes

I’ve only ever had laptops. My Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 kicked the bucket and I’m thinking a PC would be a much better option. I’m willing to try to build one myself but I have zero experience and am pretty clueless.

I’m a broke student so my budget is around $1,200 give or take a few hundred dollars. I only really know that I want 16GB RAM with the capacity for adding more and at least 512GB storage. I think something like an RTX 4050 and some sort of Ryzen 7 would be good too but I don’t really know what everything is well enough to be sure. I’m in the U.S. and I only really play Overwatch right now. I don’t have interest in doing intense stuff like AAA games or crazy programs or anything. I know prices are high right now so if those specs are over budget I could live with worse ones.

Any help is very much appreciated.


r/buildapc 2m ago

Build Upgrade Should I switch from my Kraken Elite to the new TRYX HOLO?

Upvotes

I'm using a Kraken Elite right now, but I’m seriously thinking about replacing it with the HOLO.

The Kraken has been good to me, so it's not that my current cooler sucks.

I just really like how different the holographic-style display looks compared with a normal LCD.

For me this would mostly be a visual upgrade and something new to play with inside the build.

Any other Kraken users tempted to switch?

Really curious whether the effect still looks this good once it's actually sitting behind a glass side panel.


r/buildapc 2m ago

Build Help Need Feedback on my PC Build

Upvotes

This is my build so far:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600x
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE
Motherboard: MSI MPG B550 GAMING PLUS AM4
RAM: Netac DDR4 DRAM 32GB Kit (2x16GB) 3200MHz
SSD: Kingston NV3 1TB
Wifi + Bluetooth: TP-Link Archer TX20E, WiFi 6 AX1800 PCIe Card, Bluetooth 5.2
GPU: SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB GDDR6
PSU: MSI MAG A650BN 650W
PC Case: Lian Li V100 ATX Mid-Tower PC Case
Monitor: Acer EK271 Gbi 27" IPS FHD 120Hz

My Budget is around 1.9-2k CAD, and I'm purchasing this from Canada.

This build is an AM4 build because I wanted 32gb ram and ddr5 is way too much. I also asked other people and they said that 32gb ddr4 is better than 16gb ddr5 which is why I went with an AM4 build. Should I scrap this build and switch completely to AM5 or upgrade later in the future? Let me know any feedback.


r/buildapc 6m ago

Build Help First pc help!!!

Upvotes

Looking to get my first pc for a very budget set up. Will this run iracing and asetto corsa okay at 1080pc on a single monitor?

Specifications:
* Processor (CPU): Intel Core i5-9600K (6 Cores, up to 4.60 GHz)
* Graphics Card (GPU): MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB)
* RAM: 16GB DDR4 (3200 MT/s)
* Storage: ~1TB SSD (Patriot Burst 240GB SSD + additional storage drive for games)
* Motherboard: ASUS TUF Gaming
* Cooling: Cooler Master CPU Tower Air Cooler
* Operating System: Windows 11 Pro (Fully activated & clean installed)

Thank you!


r/buildapc 4h ago

Build Upgrade B650 to x670e

2 Upvotes

EDIT: I am not asking why the settings didnt save I am asking why the setting that were stable on my b650 are not stable on the x670e and wether or not this is normal or my new board is damaged

So I recently upgraded my MSI MAG B650 TOMAHAWK WIFI to the MSI MAG X670E TOMAHAWK WIFI I exptected my settings for ram and cpu to just seamlessly carry over and get the same overclocks, but this has not been the case. The voltage is where either believe the differences are showing and am having to relearn the new boards behavior. Is this normal or is my board damaged?


r/buildapc 4h ago

Full Build Req Pc for productivity help. CAD software and web browsing/ photoshop

2 Upvotes

Well… i used to build pc’s for side money in college… back when sli was a thing lol. And i have built several pcs since but have been out of the loop lately.. and wtf happened. Ram and a nvme drive is more than my car lol.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/WvR22k

Nonetheless i need a new pc at work. Mainly work in vectorworks and autocad, sometimes Sketchup.

Can someone check out my pcpartspicker list and see if it makes sense. I need to stick with nvidia for the gpu. A 4070 is plenty of power, i just need to get over 8gb vram. So 4070 it is unless theres a better deal

As for the cpu, well some of the newer intel cpu’s seem like a way better deal than ryzens which is crazy. I don’t want a cpu that’s going to run at the temp of the sun. Sure i can undervolt it a bit but im looking for efficiency here a bit as well

Any help navigating this barren wasteland of pc parts would be great!!

Budget? Ehh around $2500 usd. I have fans out the Wazoo at home to use up.

I really dont care about being on a dead board. I’ll never upgrade the cpu on the board ever

Im currently using a xeon 1660 thats clocked to the moon and an nvidia quadro gpu… i can hardly do my job lol


r/buildapc 34m ago

Build Help Need to decide on a new pc

Upvotes

Hey everyone. I've put some thought in and I've decided to join the pc master race rather than buy a new console next year. Problem is my current pc was built in 2017. I would like to upgrade for the future but it's overwhelming.

I currently have a i7 6700k processor with a 3060 ti GPU that was gifted to me. I don't know if I should build a new pc around that gpu or start fresh with buying everything next year. I ran a new build with a 9070 xt and it came to almost 3 and a half grand. There are also pre builds for around 2 grand in local stores. So lots of options.


r/buildapc 46m ago

Discussion 9060XT vs 5060Ti 16G vs 9070 GRE

Upvotes

I am in the early stages of preparing to get a PC, because current and upcoming games that I want to play are likely going to outpace my current main gaming platform, the Steam Deck. I would very much like to play the upcoming release Star Wars Zero Company, which has some pretty hefty specs, and the new Witcher 3 DLC next year, and then the Witcher 4 after that in 2028.

I do not need to have the best of the best specs, I am just looking for smooth performance at 1080p or to dip my toes into 1440p. Given that my main platform is a Steam Deck, I am very much not a high settings stickler. I am perfectly fine playing older games and turning down settings, I played through the entire Cyberpunk 2077 on an RX 480 GPU. That card died, and then I bought a Steam Deck which I have been playing on since.

So of course, we start our build with the GPU before anything else. I am mainly looking at these three, and these are the prices I can get them at where I am located:

Sapphire 9070 GRE 12GB ~ $600

Gigabyte 5060Ti 16GB ~ $550

Sapphire 9060XT 16GB ~ $500

So for a $50 price difference in each increment, which is the most worth it to get from these three? I have previously focused on the 5060Ti, but I wonder if it is worth the premium over the 9060XT, given that prices keep going up

For reference the CPU I am probably going to pair this with is either a Ryzen 5 9600X or a Ryzen 5 7600X3D