A Viewer Sent Me Their Broken Gaming PC...

[@MrSamadolfo]

😃 yay, Fix or Flop, Season 1 Episode 1 😊

[@RandomGaminginHD]

😁

[@ANGRYWOLVERINE2060-ft2nc]

@@RandomGaminginHD Your version ?

[@Mini-z1994]

​ @RandomGaminginHD I don't think those are the right modular cables for the be quiet powersupply, they should have all black connectors so any off color ones there are for a different powersupply & can risk damaging components. I bet the pci-e cable that was included there that has the wrong pinout so it's shorting out ground to 12v preventing the pc from starting entirely luckily. Modular powersupply cables are NOT universal between brands & sometimes not even between models within the same power supply brand, do ask the pc owner if they have the black pci-e cable for the powersupply or can buy a set of cables that are meant for that powersupply model.

[@MrSamadolfo]

@@Mini-z1994 yes those are very good points, be careful =)

[@FunBunChuck]

In the UK! Cool!

[@lucahategan]

"hello, everyone, and welcome to another video" is becoming your catchphrase (if it didnt already) it just makes my day so much better holy cow

[@jonnyc429]

Has been for many years!

[@3ofSpades]

It just makes you get a better pounding from 12 cows.

[@Thurgosh_OG]

'Becoming' his catchphrase? Hasn't Steve been using that for years at this point?

[@John-jr5hj]

Prayer With You: Heavenly Father, Your Son Jesus Christ, born crucified resurrected For us ,Family ,Friends. Forgive Our Sins Give Us Eternal Life. In Jesus Christ's name.Amen

[@inkredebilchina9699]

it's also what derbauer and hardware unboxed use. not much original, but I don't mind it. 😊

[@deadpain2483]

the problems that you mentioned, I've face them in the past. the problem differs in every situation 1. motherboard problem and power supply is a common problem 2. sometimes using dual channel ram caused this issue once because one became faulty. 3. sometimes heat issue due to bad cooling system or keeping in a space where airflow was lacking. 4. if you have voltage issue in your house then this will occur in every few months.

[@Thurgosh_OG]

We don't generally get voltage issues in homes in the UK due to regulations and regular inspections/modernisation. Also the National Grid works most of the time.

[@stragulus]

The best strategy here IMHO would be to stress test the cpu, gpu and memory. Especially memory I'd just let cycle through the fuil suite of memtest86 tests for a few days on end. Usually it will fail within a run or 2, rarely (have seen it once) it will take a few more runs for errors to appear.

[@arx117]

My cheap case causing static if i put IO shield. So it won't turn on

[@komikop]

@@stragulus for psu testing i use the occt power tester thingy

[@kbm0709edits]

It’s an amazing pc, and I love how cool that person is for just sending it to you! Glad you could fix it!

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Thanks! Yeah some nice parts here!

[@m3gAnac0nda]

Get a life

[@m3gAnac0nda]

@hyperix-deadsave yourself

[@lolder2]

Plz try reflashing the BIOS, this helped me a lot of times with unstable Mainboards. The Glitching should be gone.

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Ah good point I’ll see if there’s an update too

[@lolder2]

Even if it is the newest one, simply so a reflash ;)

[@Rapscallion2009]

Also. Sometimes a quick CMOS battery out and power-drain then reprogram everything seems to help. Keep in mind you'll need to suspend bitlocker first, if the system uses it.

[@smyth0109]

Yeah Gigabyte motherboards are always a bit shit

[@WayonHardee]

Literally though of this the moment he said it looked glitchy.

[@smate1990]

If the BeQuiet PSU starts working after a month there is a short on the board somewhere... I'd start with a BIOS flash (probably corrupted) before it tries to kill this PSU as well... There are some boards that when shorted starts drawing insane amount of wattage

[@sig3ldunc4nI]

Sounds like a possible short. Seeing as it happened with both PSUs. The new and old one might have fried itself due to the short. Wiggling the usb would cause it to power on tells me it might be the case also. If you run into issues you might try to case transfer and see if the problem persists. Great vid HD.

[@jensenambrose3333]

Was thinking that it might be something cause the current to surge. Bit weird for 2 PSU to die so quickly. I wonder if the be quiet is dead or simply the fuse in the plug has gone.

[@kalliste23]

@@jensenambrose3333 it's definitely worth changing plug fuses they age and cause problems even if they aren't blown.

[@singledad1313]

My first thought was to check and make sure the back of the motherboard isn't shorting against the case some where.

[@kasimirdenhertog3516]

3:51 pinout for the PCIe power cable looks wrong. If I look up the beQuiet! pinout, the 12V pins should be next to each other at the short side, and another one at the opposite corner. This cable you can see 2 yellow wires (so presumably 12V) on the long side (PSU connector). As someone else commented, PSU cables are not always interchangeable and this one obviously came from the cheap PSU.

[@yeetus59]

I immediately noticed those weren’t the original cables on that bequiet psu, im almost 100% that was the cause of everything.

[@mruczyslaw50]

4:25 I actually once fried a motherboard by trying to start it with a screwdriver, that poor board had buzzer/speaker pins very close to the power button pins and I shorten the buzzer pins when the motherboard started, it shut down immediately and never powered on again.

[@malvinchau2056]

This type of issue wouldn't happen anymore on newer motherboards, especially if you have a good psu with overcurrent protection. You can literally dump water on a mobo and it'll just shut off and no damage would be done as long as you clean it afterwards.

[@mruczyslaw50]

@@malvinchau2056 Yeah, that was on old AM2 board, ASUS M3N-H/HDMI to be exact, I don't remember the PSU but it probably was some trash one, it did survive though

[@infinity2z3r07]

yes, those pins are so close i don't trust myself. one mistake and game over.

[@mruczyslaw50]

@@infinity2z3r07 I'm pretty sure that I did that accidentally multiple times on newer motherboards but nothing like this happened so I think it's safe, or maybe as long as the motherboard itself is well designed and isn't cheap e-waste. From what I've seen that fried asus motherboard also had a bit different io pin layout that modern motherboard has, with power and hard drive LEDs on the left, power and reset buttons on the right bottom, and speaker/buzzer at right top.

[@Babbages]

rofl did same thing almost but put in on the usb header not paying attention caused me like 3 hours of troubleshooting with a multimeter to find 2 resisters that fryed took same ones off a even older board n bam went back to working.

[@grimmpickins2559]

I enjoyed seeing you tinker rather than just benchmark - it's a nice change, and I hope you enjoyed switching it up a little.

[@Valfaun]

the biggest treasure in that box is those sick blue Corsair Vengeance DIMMs. those are kinda rare

[@nunyabeeswax3012]

Hey mate, the label on the PSU is a bit misleading in that the 12V rail can only deliver 55 amps for 660W on 12V, so that is more accurately its capacity. This sort of thing is unfortunately rather common with group regulated power supplies, though given that this particular line is from 13 years ago, I can't fault them too much. It's impressive that it lasted as long as it did given what it is. I appreciate the video as always, it's always nice to see old tech getting a new life

[@loganmitchell1382]

2:28 I didn't expect to see an identical case to mine here lol

[@rickh8380]

Thanks Andy for sending over this PC to troubleshoot. I enjoy these 'Fix or Fail' type videos. That system stills has some life in it still. Thanks for sharing. Take care all. Cheers

[@Validoleech]

Never ever leave GPU in slot if you're mailing your PC anywhere

[@RonaldoFan-de6sg]

Why so?

[@KenzertYT]

@@RonaldoFan-de6sg snapped PCB or PCI-E port. Heaviest component other than CPU tower cooler if you have one.

[@shrishpotdar343]

​@@RonaldoFan-de6sg if the pc experiences shocks during shipment then the PCI-E slot on the mobo or the PCI-E connections of the GPU might bend or get snapped

[@paulgarrett9322]

Great vid-hope too see you do some more troubleshooting stuff,a nice change,well done

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Thanks!

[@lharsay]

Funny enough Elden Ring lists the i5 8400 and GTX1060 3GB as the minimum spec on Steam.

[@andipajeroking]

Funny enough it works decent on a 3rd gen i5. The times we live in ❤

[@RANDOMNATION907]

Cooler Master N400 case has always caught my eye, when 'window shopping' for cases. It's nice to see one inside and out, with a system in it. I can get a better idea of what it's all about. They're only $75 usd on Amazon (us) right now, too. As far as having multiple PSUs failing, I'd be concerned that the wall outlet might be the problem. Maybe a mouse has nibbled on some wires inside a wall somewhere?

[@jayb2705]

I'd love to see more of this type of content. Viewers who live near you can get you to help fix their PCs, it's more of a challenge to get older stuff up and running again.

[@JohnChrysostom101]

Awesome sweater! It looks just like old TV static

[@slater3374]

Man I’ve gotta say I’ve loved catching up on all your vids after a couple years out of the pc world. Thanks for still being here with my favorite content on YT ❤️

[@ivanshapli1827]

As someone who works in a shipping warehouse usually it seems like the damage doesn't happen from us throwing it. all the packages are way up high on a conveyer belt to go across the warehouse and then the belt slopes down and ends up at waist level. When everything slides down some heavy package will crush everything else or push it all down or off the belt.

[@Vile-Flesh]

Nice video. I love the 1060 3gb, served me well for over 6 years.

[@veeeks2938]

Your video reminded me of the time over 20 years ago I sent *most* of a PC to a bloke in New Zealand. I felt bad and wanted to donate an early 2000s PC, but the shipping rates were a killer. I ended up removing most of the metal case, thus losing the weight and keeping only the crucial parts. One of the most infamous bits was wrapping the CPU, RAM and Mobo and encasing it in a towel with a bunch of protective packaging. The machine actually made it to NZ and the guy called it the 'Scottish' as that is where I'm from and used it as a cheapo server for some years running an IRCd. Anyhoo, that's my batshit story lol.

[@vicolin6126]

Besides re-flashing the motherboard BIOS (as others have pointed out, also try replacing the motherboard battery. This will ofc also reset the BIOS (which is good anyway), but sometimes a bad or failing coin-cell battery may cause the system to act up.

[@abesmissioncontrol2013]

A Cooler Master N400, the big brother of my case (Cooler Master N200). Very good airflow with the unusual dual off-side fan mounts.

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Yeah it’s a really nice case :)

[@wazza-au]

Yep, I'm using an N400 at the moment. Excellent case, has gone from an i5-4690 up to now an R9 7900x.

[@michealbrockel2972]

great to see you got it working love the fact that you focus on more budget hard wear not everyone can afford rtx 40s and top end cpus keep up the good work

[@oskarniklas5061]

I've been watching you for quite some time now, like 3 years or so, and always wanted to send you some of my older computer hardware that wasnt working perfectly, but it would probably kill those components since they would have to somehow survive the trip from Poland To UK, and we know how those couriers are treating packages 😅 On a side note, I seriously wasn't expecting the 3GB 1060 to put up such a great fight against modern titles, very impressive

[@JimNichols]

A "well packaged computer" never has the GPU in the slot. There are to many variables in shippers handling to trust them. The computer I ordered from Bangkok (*I live in Thailand*) arrived with a note to remove the side cover re-install the GPU and remove all the packaging INSIDE the case. Fans were cushioned and the GPU was wrapped in bubble wrap then sat on some foam cut for the occasion and topped with foam, then the entire volume of the case was packed with bubble wrap. A very professionally packaged product that made me feel much better about the quality of the build.

[@rhobson]

From my experiences in the past, a shorting ground could cause several if not all of those symptoms. I've dealt with PC's that misbehaved until they were completely disassembled and each piece tested individually successfully. After reassembly, everything worked just fine...

[@DRACO_TALIX]

I love these kind of videos their is a lot to learn from these as PC builders. Kindly make a series out of it...

[@framebot]

That case was my first custom PC case. I've since moved on from it, but wish I kept it, almost every case having a window (and being expensive) is getting a bit old now lol

[@StompySan]

OK, possibly crazy idea to the problems, but I think it fits. Dirty power from the wall. I have seen it pretty regularly at my previous bench tech job. If there is bad electrical in the house, the power supply would have a much more frequent job trying to clean everything up. This system went through two power supplies pretty quick, and with the other oddities being explained, it fits.

[@slaydog5102]

I agree i deal with eletrical input lag

[@arencorparencorp2189]

this kind of... weird on off issues could also mean a short/damage on the front pannel connectors, that with just a little movement it "fixes" or breaks itself, giving you the erratic behavior, its always worth checking that thing

[@wolffangalchemist]

i have had this same case for a few years now as i still use dvd's and cd's, i had to modify it a bit to fit my 6950xt when i got it last year, but it's been great and gets good air flow only issues are the radiator side mount being a but cumbersome to install the rad into, and cleaning the metal mesh grill can be a bit of a ordeal.

[@GregMurch]

I would reload the BIOS on the mainboard to rule out a slightly corrupt image

[@TheSpotify95]

This has to be the start of the UK equivalent of Fix Or Flop - good video :)

[@justin6731]

First time i have seen the same case as i have. Very under rated iv had it for years and its brilliant. I hate RGB so bonus. It just blends in and has great cooling. I did take the fine mesh for better airflow. And what a diffrence that made. Never had a temp problem and summer here is very hot.

[@dylanlindsay1993]

good job fixin it! since you said that the motherboard splash screen was glitched id try reflashing the bios to see if that goes away!

[@Slaiyen]

Been watching Fix or Flop eh? Good Shit.

[@blackmuel]

uuuuh love that case, had the matx version once

[@AndreiB617]

The PSU cables don't look right. They might be custom ones that are not compatible. Try finding legit bequiet ones compatible with the PSU and check it with a PSU tester, it's pretty cheap.

[@tordoff80]

love troubleshooting stuff

[@RobHickman]

It'll be fine at your house, is my guess. Probably dodgy power extension leads or something breaking it

[@MUSiCK9]

It has to be shorting out. I'm willing to bet its a loose cable touching something it shouldn't. In my case taking everything apart, and I mean absolutely everything apart and give it a serious clean can solve the issue. Also check for things that are a red flag like broken or cable sleeving ripping apart.

[@kuyache2]

Using the very same system spec right now, indeed sometimes there are graphical glitches that are harmless (i hope) and is still perfectly usable on almost all games and emulators. PSU is AQTIS brand AP-700GTX 700w bought from Japan back in 2008 yes 16 years old and still running like a champ.

[@JustMyFish]

From what you have said about the problems it sounds like the motherboard is making contact with the case.

[@itsmrotaku]

Good video mate! Andy is a legend! Should stick an Rtx 2060 12 GB in it if you have one in stock!

[@RandomGaminginHD]

I might look out for one of those would love to test one!

[@electricindigoball1244]

You should always put the graphics card in a separate box (ideally the box it came in) for shipping unless you can use that expanding foam that system integrators use. As for the BIOS if I saw glitchy behaviour inside the BIOS even with the optimized defaults loaded then I would try flashing the latest non-beta BIOS or re-flashing it if the board was already using the latest one.

[@chupacabra0_098]

Great sweater for static 👌

[@danielktdoranie]

Love this channel

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Thanks!

[@GrainGrown]

Is that an order? No, I won't love this channel, I will only like it. That'll get you.

[@Captain_Char]

I just have a PSU tester, It plugs into the main motherboard connector and runs a basic test on the rails

[@varsoth]

I'm using two of the exact same ram sticks, they're not failing me even after like 6 or more years. Great choice :D

[@ThePhoenix198]

Harsh.

[@burrfoottopknot]

I had a similiar issue lately, I put it down to a bad PCI E slot for the GPU, the pins in the slot were the issue and I lost 3 GPU's because of this even though the board was a brand name and a higher end one. Tried different PSU's different GPUs and differeing RAM and SSD and HDD's and even tried re installing several times. I lost a AMD 7950HD 3GB and a AMD 570 4GB and a 1080 Strix due to this - even tried different cabling for the monitor and HDD adn SSD etc

[@mirteoda]

yoo i have the same case! stole it from work 7 years ago along with a ryzen 7 stock cooler from back then. they still work great other than an usb port on the case

[@fragalot]

if a person's PSU keeps dying every few months needing to be replaced, they may have bad mains wiring in their home, or the power coming into your home may have issues. You can mitigate some of this using a APC power strip that should condition the power a little better, but a power backup will be a better choice to clean "dirty power" that would be causing premature death of a PSU. Regardless you should contact your local power company to see if there's anything wrong on their end, and get a electrical technician to check your power at the breaker box, and in the walls of your home.

[@SkrovnoCZ]

If it is not a hardware failure then the glitched text sounds a bit like a BIOS issue. I have an ASRock Z87 Extreme6 motherboard which was lying around and dead around 5 years. It has a two 7 segment displays for showing the POST code but when turned on it was blank, just fans were spinning. It also has a dual BIOS solution with a switch to enable first or second EEPROM but none of them were working. So I've bought a BIOS chip flashing tool, flashed the latest BIOS on it and guess what? It turned on and it is now running Windows 11/Linux just fine paired with a i5-4690K and 16GB RAM. Also tried some games and it runs just fine. It is nice to have a spare testing rig.

[@jamiepaget9466]

My thoughts exactly..

[@pieru]

my first desktop built in 2015 used that case, cooler master n400. not very good but it did its job. i recommend buying any other case.

[@deamondeathstone1]

First thing I check when a pc does weird power related things is check if the cases power button is broken.

[@Gravarty]

I recently bought this case for my current PC to get back a internal DVD drive :D

[@AnonymousUser-ww6ns]

Yeah I would flash the newest UEFI on it and see if it does the same thing. I believe that be quiet PSU is toast since you tired it on another motherboard. Ideally I would just throw it out if it’s not under warranty because there are many risks with defective PSUs that can detory everything in your PC

[@Del_UK]

I would have a closer look at the motherboard. The key area, is bad solder joints. I would also look at the capacitors. Both these would give the symptoms described.

[@jasm817]

Your clue was it turned on and off itself. Then text glitched when looking around the settings. BIOS. Reflash it. And also I strongly disagree with not cleaning out the machine first thing... The reason is because static electricity can cause all kinds of problems. Always use the leaf blower and clean it outside before you do anything..

[@eagleeyei03]

Had similar issue with my pc but after trying alot of things i finally found the issue was with the 24-pin connector on the motherboard Gave it a little move and cleaned the port and it fixed the issue permanently

[@Thurgosh_OG]

Steve, hopefully you are aware that you can buy, cheap, twin wired pc power switches, which are really useful for testing MBs that don't have a dedicated power button on the board, which most older models of MB don't include.

[@KenzertYT]

Honestly, might be a good idea to rent a thermal imaging camera just to know for sure if the board has a bad component or a short

[@Cipher_XoF]

Flop or Fix.....that sounds like a catchy name 😅

[@kanyegaming5296]

47 seconds ago is crazy

[@Boogie_the_cat]

Last week some viewers were whining about wanting a free PC giveaway, thinking you are made of money. This week, a kind viewer sends in a PC for diagnosis and content production. It's nice to see not everyone is greedy. You know who you are, and you should be ashamed of demanding things from a channel that already gives you free videos.

[@rrcoster]

Nice of them and thanks for sharing. Something odd with motherboard as two psu in short period sound like hidden short and be quite nice psu not low end by any means

[@SpittingBritTeaEarlGrey]

Can you add Helldivers 2 in your test games

[@FigutativelySqueekin]

its the quad channel ram lol. It gives such issues very often. Test it with ycruncher or some avx2 load, it probably would fail in a long run because imc struggles.

[@sannyassi73]

Anytime I've ever sent a PC to someone (other than the first time), I send the GPU uninstalled and sometimes separately. I do the same thing with tall CPU coolers. I had the same thing happen with the very first PC I ever shipped- GPU ended up being bad because it came detached from the MB. Luckily it was a cheapy GPU and no other hardware was damaged so it wasn't a big loss. I kinda love how the sticky clear plastic protection stuff is still on the GPU fans! Triggers me when People don't remove that stuff :P That system could benefit a lot from faster Memory. I'll bet my CL9 2133 DDR3 scores higher than that stuff does on memory speed tests!

[@tech1m502]

one the best youtube channels

[@arudanel5542]

I have poor hopes for that Alienware. One, well, it is what it is. A sauna with a computer inside. But two is the PSU will likely gfo in that too. If two psus went bad, from my experience it's the wiring in the house itself. Both times I had a "motherboard" that was allegedly blowing up psus, it turned out to be said relative had shoddy DIY wiring in their home. I'd personally recommend a pure sinewave battery backup with a wiring fault indicator. If there is something dodgy in the electrical that would light up and tell you.

[@foamyflightmaster9385]

Not impossible that two PSUs would be faulty, but maybe the previous user has a bad (dirty) socket or mains loop. Also why not make yourself a remote power pin switch to save putting a very large metal objects in close proximity to the mb and other pins.

[@CataclysmZA]

If the splash screen is showing glitching, you may want to run Memtest for an extended period to look for memory errors.

[@conscience_cat1146]

Sounds to me like the original owner might have an issue with the power delivery to their home not being stable. i.e. power spikes and brownouts. These types of events can damage a PC (and other electronics) gradually overtime. It could be the reason two cheap(ish) psu's died and why the user kept experienced crashing. I had the same problem back in the 90's and it killed two PC's before I released what was going on. Putting a UPS between the wall and any new PC would resolve the issue longterm.

[@dexmiermaxime8583]

maybe it's time to inspect the outlets

[@albundy7718]

I looked it up the be quiet! Pure Power L8-CM 730W was first listed in late 2011 so in the worst case it's a 14 year old PSU.

[@EXMachina.]

Perhaps he might still have an issue from where he's powering on his PC because it's kinda odd a recently replaced high quality PSU getting faulty so quickly unless he hit the Unlucky Jackpot, i remember i was having power surges issues during a rainy month and my 3 month old EVGA PSU just died, thankfully it didn't damage anything connected to the motherboard.

[@valentin3186]

Compare the quality of that cooler master case and the current joke that they are trying to sell

[@Yuu_Touko]

Is this a new episode of Fix or Flop?

[@Vinterloft]

The chipset might have minor contact issues when cold, seen it before, kind of hard to diagnose and can cause all kinds of weird startup glitches that eventually go away

[@BReal-10EC]

I have a 3 GB 1060 in an old PC sitting... I am surprised it did so well! Maybe I should put it in a newer system for somebody to use.

[@Mariano.Bernacki]

After years of daily driving a Core 2 Duo E6550 + GT740 + 8GB DDR3 1333, it feels so weird to see computers worse than my current one on the internet.

[@AeiKei]

You should def make sure you're on the latest Bios

[@bilza111]

What I find strange is the fact that the be quiet unit worked for a while. Could the motherboard be killing the power supplies?

[@Thanos0001]

If it starts acting up again, may I suggest a reflash of the BIOS. I've had a problems with motherboards more than 10 years old with data rot.

[@OfSheikah]

after the broken graphics card? That is awesome!

[@jtenorj]

I don't think the graphics card was broken. It just got a bit dislodged(but not totally) from the PCI-e graphics slot on the motherboard at some point during the shipping process.

[@Gottemgotty]

smart people will always get a motherboard with an IGPU lol great video man keep it up.

[@yotoprules9361]

Motherboards haven't included iGPUs in quite a long time now

[@slaydog5102]

@@yotoprules9361hes talking about cpus with igpu

[@bryanwages3518]

Try updating the bios of the motherboard

[@LONETK]

Post or toast season one, episode one 😄

[@rickspoelstra7279]

So maybe you can reflash the bios or get a new bios chip to replace the old one.

[@DyoKasparov]

I've had a shit motherboard like this, sometimes it would just restart loop when I turn it on, with absolutely no issues once it POSTs. It would also break storage devices and, in some rare occasions, RAM, this happened every few months while PC is on. I changed everything so motherboard is the only logical reason for all this. May the PC gods have mercy on you

[@Durbanite2010]

Alienware is definitely a downgrade - their ancient case designs have little to no airflow (thank you GamersNexus) so everything just gets thermally throttled. Big, open cases like the one in this video are the way to go. Looking forward to seeing more content like this!

[@critica1err0rr35]

i halfway expected better numbers in stutternite from that 1060. what was i thinking :D

[@RandomGaminginHD]

Haha yeah it was a bit messy

[@critica1err0rr35]

it's a shame how some cards age compared to others really@@RandomGaminginHD

[@camotech1314]

The beginning of a series, definitely! 😂

[@sol-hb8zg]

I would update/ re flash the bios

[@bambinooo0420]

I thought you were Greg Salazar for a bit when I saw my notifs