Was a dumby now my computer is fried and need help picking parts or choosing a prebui

[Kagthul]

where are you getting a legit key for that little?

There are a number of sites. I wont link them here because those sites ALSO sell stolen keys for games.

The Windows Keys, though, are almost entirely legit. They are simply purchased in bulk (OEM) in countries where the local currency makes them super cheap. Since MS decided with Win 10 not to region lock the keys, they all work.

You can even do it yourself if your credit card supports foreign currency transactions. Youll probably have to use a VPN these days as MS seems to have set up most of their websites overseas to detect if you are from elsewhere and set the price at an equivalent to your local cost. But you can buy straight from MS if for whatever reason you wont patronize the grey market.

As for wether or not they can legally be resold, the answer is yes. EU law requires it, and MS decided (like Valve did, with Steam refunds, which are required by EU law) to just make that policy world wide, rather than try to have two (or more) policies.

But, as Chazus said, dont buy anything else on the grey market. It was likely stolen or bought using stolen credentials. The Windows keys *used* to be that way as well, until people realized it was just as easy to do it legally (buy a 1000 OEM keys in bulk for 8$ USD equivalent each, resell them for 15$, pocket profit for virtually no effort).

And as to whether MS cares - they dont. Paul from Paul's Hardware did a video about it, where he straight up called MS and had them on the phone. They dont care. A Windows key is a windows key is a windows key as far as theyre concerned. If its an OEM key they wont give you more support than activating it, but they dont care.

And, as i said in the previous post...

You can also just install Windows and never activate it. The Watermark will be there, and you cant change a bunch of settings, but it works just fine. And MS literally does not care.

[Temp name]

There are plenty of times where it's just fine to buy prebuilt if you know what you're looking for. Not having to buy an OS key already puts you ahead $140.

Eh, that depends on the person.

I've built a couple of gaming PCs myself (was kind of fun actually), but my most recent is a pre-built machine and it is an absolute monster. Would it have been a bit cheaper to build myself? Sure. But it absolutely blows any PC I've ever had out of the water, by a mile, so I'm more than satisfied with the money spent.

I wouldn't say thats true.

You're almost always going to pay more, yes. But that doesn't mean the extra isn't buying you something worthwhile.

And, for a while there when GPU and RAM prices were kicked sky high (due to Miner demand and price collusion, respectively), you could actually get pre-builts from NZXTs BLD service cheaper than you could build them (because they were getting GPUs at their wholesale MSRP directly from companies before they could hit the market and get gouged).

If you're the type of person that just doesn't like working on his own computers (somedays, when im diagnosing something terrible, i think about perhaps making my next rig a pre-built), services like BLD are a good deal. You're only paying ~200-250$ over MSRP in total, and you get a comprehensive, shipping-covered warranty (no dealing with individual companies, NZXT just fixes it), same-day shipping, and very good build quality. And that's WITH them gouging you for full price on Windows (which i *think* you can avoid, i remember reading that you can call and ask them to configure it with Linux, and then you could simply install WIndows yourself when you got it, but ive never verified this).

And DEFINITELY if you're pinching pennies, then building it yourself is going to save you a significant amount of your budget (because while NZXT only charges you MSRP + 100$, they dont offer truly "budget" parts, so you're going to be up at 700-800 no matter what).

But its not a 100% truism that its always better to build yourself. Just depends on the circumstance and if paying the extra 100$ + full price for Windows is worth it to you to not build it yourself.

OP specifically asked if he'd get more power building it himself. You will always get more power doing that, except in very specific circumstances. Is right now one of them? Nah. I wouldn't say so, but it's getting kinda close.

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Yep me either, I'll definitely be swapping them out every 3 years now for safety.

I thought it over and ultimately i decided to buy a pre-built

Cyberpowerpc gamer master w/
amd ryzen 7 3600 3.6ghz
Nvidia geforce rtx 2060 6gb
16gb memory
240 gb ssd 1 tb hdd
Wifi and windows 10 64
For $962 after tax
I think my ram and hdd and sdd still work so i might be able to bump that up quite a bit so for that price it didnt seem much more expensive than building myself and seems to be better or at least on par with my old build.

My last build was green and black so i called it the dragon zord. This one is all rainbowy and flashy so ill name it the jawbreaker

Stimulus check for kumpoter achieved.

I do hope to build my own pc again in the future but last time when i built my baby it was very stressful and it took a long time and i was proud of having forged it up myself but for now ive got enough stress id rather just wait it out. Also power sources are expensive af right now

Yeah if you don't want to deal with the stress then it's fine to go pre-built.

I did a custom build for my wife last week with the same budget. Got all my parts at microcente, didn't bother shopping around.

Motherboard: MSI B450 Tomahawk Max $115
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 $160
Ram: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB $125
GPU: ASUS GTX 1660 Super $230
Case: Corsair SPEC-02 Redshift $65
PSU: Corsair - CX650M $100
SSD: Inland Premium 1TB M.2 $130

Total $925

The tomahawk isn't available at MSRP right now (Think it was about 200 dollars), and 32gb of RAM is hilariously overkill for gaming, especially on that budget. Add to that that at 125 dollars it's some pretty shit RAM, likely at 2666, you're losing a lot of performance over a 3600c16 kit.. Yeah.

[Yizu]

Sorry but how?

You can even get them LEGIT for 3$ in my country, if you are resourceful enough. A lot of tech/gaming influencers on youtube or websites like guru3d even advertise cheap windows keys AS BLOG entries, im surprised people still dont know this. Just go to guru3d website and theres an entry there like 4rd most recent post. Its not the cheapest you can get from the internet (13$ if you use the discount code), but thats one example.

[Logwyn]

Yep tried every way and trick i saw online and no luck. My motherboard had a small flashing blue led and the power button on the board would flash but nothing would power otherwise and the power good light never came on

Ok. Sorry to hear. I once had a AC window unit cause too many power surges in a outlet a computer was plugged into. More or less fried the PC.

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Since you can get Windows keys for about 10-15$, no, he's not.

And you can also install and use Windows literally forever without getting a key, as long as you dont care that you cant alter some settings.

If you're just gaming, though, itll work just fine.

I prefer to have a fully functioning legit computer than one with pirated OS and software.

[Kagthul]

I prefer to have a fully functioning legit computer than one with pirated OS and software.

Except... you know, it isn't pirated.

At all.

Its almost like you didnt even read why and how they are obtained and how they are completely legit keys.

And then spouted off like someone who is completely ignorant.

Weird.

[Immitis]

OP specifically asked if he'd get more power building it himself. You will always get more power doing that, except in very specific circumstances. Is right now one of them? Nah. I wouldn't say so, but it's getting kinda close.

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Yeah if you don't want to deal with the stress then it's fine to go pre-built.


The tomahawk isn't available at MSRP right now (Think it was about 200 dollars), and 32gb of RAM is hilariously overkill for gaming, especially on that budget. Add to that that at 125 dollars it's some pretty shit RAM, likely at 2666, you're losing a lot of performance over a 3600c16 kit.. Yeah.

So if my ddr4 ram is still good I'll probably have a huge amount of ram in my new pc. Im not super versed in what each individual part does other then expensive graphics card make computer go brrr but what benefit exactly does having ram at overkill do for me?

[Temp name]

So if my ddr4 ram is still good I'll probably have a huge amount of ram in my new pc. Im not super versed in what each individual part does other then expensive graphics card make computer go brrr but what benefit exactly does having ram at overkill do for me?

Nothing.
Having too little RAM will make your computer feel sluggish and unresponsive, due to your computer using your hard drive or SSD as spare RAM, or unloading certain things from RAM. As soon as you have enough that the PC don't need to do that anymore, you no longer get any benefit. 16gb is the sweet spot for general consumer use. At 8gb you risk having too little sometimes, and at 32gb you just have too much.

To give an idea of usage: While playing RDR2 with Discord and firefox open, with music in the background I'm using ~12gb.

[Yizu]

I prefer to have a fully functioning legit computer than one with pirated OS and software.

Thats dumb seriously. Its not any different from buying a 60$ game in russia or a 3rd world region for 20$, isit unethical, i guess because some of these keys are basically the keys given away by microsoft for free on poor countries or schools/universities, but it doesnt make it pirated. Youtubers and tech sites even advertise sites like urcdkey themselves and give discount codes for windows and office keys.

Also you dont even need to pirate windows 10 because its fully functioning forever even if you don put a key on it, putting a key just removes a watermark.

[Demsi]

Nothing.
Having too little RAM will make your computer feel sluggish and unresponsive, due to your computer using your hard drive or SSD as spare RAM, or unloading certain things from RAM. As soon as you have enough that the PC don't need to do that anymore, you no longer get any benefit. 16gb is the sweet spot for general consumer use. At 8gb you risk having too little sometimes, and at 32gb you just have too much.

To give an idea of usage: While playing RDR2 with Discord and firefox open, with music in the background I'm using ~12gb.

how much does ram speed matter? i have 16gb ddr4 2666mhz ram, would upgrading to 3200mhz give much of a performance boost or?

[Logwyn]

Except... you know, it isn't pirated.

At all.

Its almost like you didnt even read why and how they are obtained and how they are completely legit keys.

And then spouted off like someone who is completely ignorant.

Weird.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...9-b480756c7156
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...4-ecfa469167bb
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/is-it...-do-they-work/
https://www.reddit.com/r/windows/com...ndows_10_keys/
https://www.howtogeek.com/392080/che...-do-they-work/
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...d-b05f2cd7f081

Do I need to provide you with more references?

It seems its a violation of TOS or outside the intended use of the key.

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Thats dumb seriously. Its not any different from buying a 60$ game in russia or a 3rd world region for 20$, isit unethical, i guess because some of these keys are basically the keys given away by microsoft for free on poor countries or schools/universities, but it doesnt make it pirated. Youtubers and tech sites even advertise sites like urcdkey themselves and give discount codes for windows and office keys.

Also you dont even need to pirate windows 10 because its fully functioning forever even if you don put a key on it, putting a key just removes a watermark.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...9-b480756c7156
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...4-ecfa469167bb
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/is-it...-do-they-work/
https://www.reddit.com/r/windows/com...ndows_10_keys/
https://www.howtogeek.com/392080/che...-do-they-work/
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...d-b05f2cd7f081

Do I need to provide you with more references?

It seems its a violation of TOS or outside the intended use of the key.

[Yizu]

[url]
It seems its a violation of TOS or outside the intended use of the key.

I bought 2 keys ive been using since 2016 on my laptop and pc, the same key also worked after i switched to a totally new ryzen system last year. I could also copy paste testimonials from people who have been using the keys for a long time. I just wouldn't suggest someone who only has a small 1000$ budget for a pc to buy a ~150$ OS to remove a watermark.

[Temp name]

how much does ram speed matter? i have 16gb ddr4 2666mhz ram, would upgrading to 3200mhz give much of a performance boost or?

Depends on the CPU you use.
Intel 6000-9000 you'll probably see a 5% performance bump in memory bottlenecks (like video editing, or 3d rendering)
Intel 10000 you might see a small bump in gaming, and up to ~8% in bottlenecks
AMD Ryzen 1000-2000 you'll probably see upwards of ~5% in gaming
AMD Ryzen 3000 same thing, but another ~5% going to 3600mhz

[Fahrenheit]

You're never better off buying pre-built. Ever.

What resolution are your monitors? Do you do anything other than gaming? Just fill out the list in this thread: https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...-build-Read-me!

In fairness, NZXT BLD is pretty damn close to what you'd pay buying parts individually and they usually ship in a few days. The price gap between pre-built and putting together piece meal isn't what it used to be.

[Kagthul]

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...9-b480756c7156
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...4-ecfa469167bb
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/is-it...-do-they-work/
https://www.reddit.com/r/windows/com...ndows_10_keys/
https://www.howtogeek.com/392080/che...-do-they-work/
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...d-b05f2cd7f081

Do I need to provide you with more references?

It seems its a violation of TOS or outside the intended use of the key.

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https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...9-b480756c7156
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...4-ecfa469167bb
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/is-it...-do-they-work/
https://www.reddit.com/r/windows/com...ndows_10_keys/
https://www.howtogeek.com/392080/che...-do-they-work/
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...d-b05f2cd7f081

Do I need to provide you with more references?

It seems its a violation of TOS or outside the intended use of the key.

Rocket Assisted Goalposts, ACTIVATE!