Fixing a Viewer's BROKEN Gaming PC? - Fix or Flop S4:E17

[@michaelthompson9798]

Tbh, these prebuilt/OEM PCs are the perfect candidate for the Fix or Flop series as these are genuinely the pc users who need the most help and don’t always have the know how or time to trouble solve with busy lives and / or have kids wanting to play on their computer and pester parents until it works.

[@oussama7132]

we need europe to enforce the ATX form factor or something so these abominations stop being created

[@ResidentWeevil2077]

There are always places for prebuilt PCs, however the proprietary nonsense OEMs like Dell and HP seem to be extremely fond of needs to be rightly ridiculed.

[@SidDTheSimschannel]

If you want a pre-built choice a IBM clone this should allow you to upgrade them later on, as the IBM clone are standized office towers that allows for upgrades in the future.

[@Mirra2003-f9s]

In Europe not many buy OEM systems. If you want a gaming prebuilt you can easily find prebuilt custom PCs in basically any big electronics retailer.

[@babalonkie]

True... but there are also people that cant even afford to upgrade/replace to prebuilds lol.

[@andrasladanyi9190]

At 2:37 in the video you can see that there is a broken usb 3 connector that coud be shorted, in my opinion the 5v power supply on the motherboard preventing the system from powering on because of the short circuit.

[@ledidier15042000]

Shorted front USB port on the MB preventing it to power on and cut the power supply. I can see it when you showed the front of the case. Worth a try in my opinion 😊

[@Vykno]

went back in the video after reading this and also saw at the 4 minute mark that completely mangled USB port

[@samimermer1982]

I can assume he unplugged everything putting before putting in the ram and hastily plugged it back in.

[@JeffDeWitt]

That's a good catch. BAD things can happen with USB ports. At work we had someone manage to get the cable of a mouse into the arc of a welder, that computer was destroyed. When I got done fixing everything I put in a touch screen monitor, a keyboard with a touchpad, and a "No Mice" sign.

[@eimantasmatuzas]

At the 9 minute mark he said he could smell burning probably from the mangled usb connector getting hot and melting plastic in the connector. or the burning 12v to 5v buck converter killed by the shorted port since that psu only supplies 12v.

[@MenkoDany]

Shit, I see it 03:57 it's completely destroyed lmao (the top one)

[@charlesk7687]

9:00 thermal camera would work wonders here

[@akr4s1a]

It's possible that they fried the motherboard doing the upgrade themself but I'm very glad the viewer got it fixed, we've all been novice builders making mistakes and the poor kid was saving up money to pay for a fix, really really sweet thing to do it for free.

[@Epsilonsama]

It's very unlikely he did. Florida is pretty humid so static electricity is extremely rare and modern Motherboards are pretty sturdy. This was a defective unit which I'm surprised it wasn't under warranty but maybe it's an old build.

[@JasonSaeler]

I've run into several older HP systems that died after simple ram upgrades and I've been building since 92. Everything except the motherboards were good for use in pother systems.

[@unknown14191]

@@JasonSaeler Could be the circuitry for the RAM being tailored for the proprietary board, causing other models of RAMs being totally incompatible and destroying the board. In short whether it's design issue or quality issue it is simply planned obsolescence to keep people buying new stuff to "circulate" the economy.

[@akr4s1a]

lol what @unknown14191 there are standards for RAM, it would cost so much money to reengineer your DIMM slots and traces to kill the board unless a specific DIMM was inserted, no one has ever done that. They’re just key it differently

[@ihateeveryone8161]

@@akr4s1a There's standards for literally every PC component, doesn't mean theyre followed. AFAIK you're correct about no one changing RAM layouts before but your arguement as to why is as sturdy as a wet paper bag.

[@EXOWill]

I do like content creators that actually diagnose and repair pc components, but on the other hand, I never miss the Fix or Flop series which I enjoy more than anything else computer wise. Your generosity puts you at the top of the list.

[@timmooney7528]

The initial process is the same whether it's new or old hardware. Reduce things to it's most basic configuration, then verify operation of the critical components. I also like watching older hardware being diagnosed, but modern circuitry is more highly integrated into advanced chipsets.

[@MetaphysicalEngineer]

What a difference! So wholesome to see (hear?) the reaction to the build! I always like to keep a thermal imager on hand when troubleshooting, both to see what components heat up and to track down the source of the burning smell if anything lets the smoke out.

[@GregSalazar]

Didn't even think to use the FLIR cam. Will have to remember that for the next time!

[@MetaphysicalEngineer]

@@GregSalazar Mine's built into my phone and my prior life working HVAC means it's the first tool I deploy when confronted with any type of misbehaving equipment. Also think the IR images would be cool to include in the video when you're showing the system does a POST and that the CPU is warming up.

[@arc00ta]

@@GregSalazar low voltage injection + thermal camera is one of the quickest board-level troubleshooting tools for shorts. Whatever heats up is usually the problem!

[@merdusk237]

Not only did you help a needy person out, you gave them a beatiful looking system. Keep up the great work, I think this is my favorite series.

[@jandrewanntwonn8666]

If I had to guess what the issue was: the top USB port on the front IO at 2:40 is definitely broken. When I was a repair tech for a gaming PC company I saw that short systems all the time. Fortunately, if you unplugged it from the MOBO the PC would be able to power back on. Looks like the front IO is attached to the MOBO in this case. Would love to see if that's actually the issue!

[@milescarter7803]

Easy fix too, just put some insulation on the pins and a sticker over the port so it won't get used. Maybe little pieces of heat shrink tube for example. I liked your comment so maybe he sees this

[@GraveMakerLP]

First thing I noticed too.

[@PreztoPH]

Great job Greg, it feels christmasy for giving all those components. Thank you Gigabyte and Be Quiet for the sponsorship!

[@narius_jaden215]

Really happy for the guy to get a nice looking pc now haha. thanks for always helping others, greg.

[@chrisamon5762]

Fantastic video Greg! And Gigabyte showing out with the freebies! Love their boards!

[@GregSalazar]

Thanks for watching!

[@shadowwolf3098]

I started with an hp omen prebuilt because I didn't understand pcs that well when i ordered it. Got it around 2017. Started out with i7 9700 (non k), gtx 1660 super, 1x8gb sk hynix 2666 ram that was locked at 2400 for its entire life (the motherboard didn't support xmp), and 500w psu (no idea of the rating). Thankfully nothing was proprietary except the motherboards plug layout. The placements were a bit weird according to other tech youtubers, but the plugs were all the proper shape/size. Won the lottery there i feel. First upgrade was another stick of ram to bring me up to 2x8gb, about 6 months later. Just being dual channel felt massive because i no longer had stutters in vr gaming. By this time i was discovering my passion in pc build/repair, so i knew quite a lot more about pcs. Second upgrade was GPU which spiralled into GPU, case, and psu. upgraded that warm, loud, single fanned 1660 super to a 3070, upgraded the 500w unrated gpu to a corsair 850w gold, and the oem case to a nzxt h510 flow. That upgrade felt incredible, finally having rtx support. I also made sure the psu could support future upgrades, which is why i got 850w instead of 650w which the gpu reccomended as a minimum. About a year after the gpu upgrade i finally got myself a 1440p 165hz monitor. While the upgrade from 1080p165 to 1440p165 isnt thaaaat noticable to me truthfully, i can definitely feel it and i feel like it was worth it. I run a dual monitor setup so having both at a similar refresh rate is also nice. Truthfully the best part of that monitor upgrade was going from an extremely ghosty va pannel to a silky smooth ips pannel with a (slightly) better viewing angle. in my opinion and in my year or so of having this combination of cpu/gpu, i think i can say that 3070 and 9700 is the PERFECT 1440p combination of hardware. 1080p gave me a slight cpu bottleneck, 1440p used them both equally in the games i played. (medium to high graphics, apex, minecraft with shaders, dying light 2, no mans sky, as examples) In about a year after my gpu upgrade, i went all in. Told myself to go big or go home and got one of the best current cpus (as of 2023). got a ryzen 7 7800x3d, upgraded ram to 2x16gb ddr5 6000, and got a gigabyte x670 aorus elite ax, and got a wd black 850 2tb nvme ssd. And MY how i can tell you, having a usable bios is incredible, thats probably my favorite upgrade here. the BIOS. and the better sound card this motherboard has, since I'm a minor audiophile. this boards sound is incredible. the audiophiles and sound nerds will know what i mean by this, but this motherboard has much clearer sound, clearer bass, and the highs aren't absolutely painful. I thought i had sound sensitivity, it turns out i have bad audio quality sensitivity. I now have a massive gpu bottleneck because 7800x3d is an absolute OVERKILL cpu but i cant see myself upgrading it for maybe 5-10 years. gpu sits chugging along at 90-100% usage while cpu is at a measly 30-40%. In the games i play (at 1440 medium to high graphics to clarify, starfield, apex, minecraft with shaders, minecraft modpacks which btw went from about 60 fps in rlcraft at 8 render distance to 120+ at 32 render distance) My pc is now fully custom built, everything has been upgraded, theres not an oem piece left inside it except for the nvme ssd i have windows installed on. And the best part? Since nothing was really proprietary, I run the original pc as a pihole/droppy server sitting in a cabinet in the corner of my room. Been going strong for about 3 months now. And the painful part about the server pc? Its running off a 2tb external usb hdd. I dont know why i do this to myself. I have extra sata ssds. But no i use an external 5200rpm EXTERNAL USB3.2 HDD.

[@gamingtalent2888]

as a previously keen and once noob in computer kid, i can tell you that the viewer might have tried to replace the RAM without powering off the power supply or immediately after powering it off(without discharging the capacitors by holding the power button) because the same thing happened to me once. I tried to take out the RAM without shutting off the power supply and ended up killing the RAM slot on my motherboard. Although, my pc still worked surprisingly with just one slot detected.

[@Xironium]

I recently upgraded my CPU thanks to your Fix of Flop series. I just wanna say thank you, you make PC tech so much more easier for someone like me (with autism). Before upgrading me own CPU, i've cleaned several pc's (no deep clean tho), and you make it easy to follow, what to do, and how to do it. Hell, i got a iFixIt kit just because i felt comfy doing it. So thank you Greg, you're an inspiration to alot of people, and it needs to be said sometimes :)

[@eyekona]

Found it before troubleshooting even started. 2:37 - top USB port is shorted. Will prevent system from turning on.

[@Anthony-fd8mh]

LOL love the peek by the wife lol. It's nice that you upgraded his stuff I think that was pretty awesome especially when you do it for someone who is not really expecting it and also when they don't really know a whole lot about computers.👍

[@Zomnus25]

The outro was unexpected but great to see how important your repairs are to people. It's easy to forget that a PC could be a great source of comfort for anyone who has it and that was clearly shown by how happy the guy was when seeing not only the repair but an upgrade. Thanks for putting the customer first greg!

[@NorthernerInSpace]

00:13:06 - An infiltrator! That HP system looks a whole lot better now!

[@AAjax]

Used oem builds often are tremendous value, but are only an option if you don't need to upgrade - otherwise they become a money pit of half-baked power adapters, lesser value gpu choices, and guerilla modding. Sunk cost fallacy sets in really quick. My mother-in-law greatly appreciated the cute little 6th gen i5 optiplex micro that I picked up for not much more than $100. For the gamers in my life, I started them off right with decent cases and power supplies, even when I couldn't sink a whole lot of money into the platform.

[@chrispittmanComputing]

I love that you help people that would otherwise not have a gaming PC if you didn't fix their system.

[@gamertrem1884]

You could hear how genuine he is in that clip. Glad he got his PC fixed. Good stuff!

[@Dauntless62]

Nice one, 100% agree board level repairs on motherboards often cost more than a new board.

[@fatherof4kids]

If something doesn't work and you replace a part or parts, then it works means you have "fixed" it. I have been a computer tech for over 28 years, and I think Greg does a great job.

[@ttcustompcs]

Aesthetics over everything 🤣🤣 sweet looking parts, Tylercan upgrade cpu/gpu/storage/ram at will now!

[@warpspeedracer]

Dude I love it. This kid is going to enjoy this computer for years to come. I bet he's going to get the itch and start upgrading the rig. Before long he will be an expert and start rattling off all the different CPUs, GPUs, and chipsets.

[@lastinline1958]

Multiple kudos for boosting the kid's pc. Always highly satisfying to see someone do a solid for a young person.

[@slayerkhan01]

Its good to know that someone was happy today cause of you... You make people smile.. thanks for that..

[@conradbishop5697]

I started buying Be Quiet components for PCs I build because of your videos using them. I use Gigabyte boards as they are good value for features. So big thanks to both BQ and GB for continuing to sponsor fix or flop. Never miss an episode.

[@STRET24]

Good man Greg...that's one lucky customer (yet another one!). Great stuff.

[@napstablook3935]

this was very heartwarming, definitely one of my favorites of the series now!!

[@Energizer37]

Thanks to all your sponsors! People being good to people is getting rare these days!!

[@timberw1lly]

Super happy you got the owner's reaction. It's too bad people still complain about the "fix" process. I really enjoy this series, and PCDC.

[@coferniecus]

Wow. Watched this before going to bed I'll be sleeping with a smile on my face because of this video. Good job Greg. That kid will be very happy.

[@ricardorevuelta3057]

Hey Greg!! I feel you’re highly regarded in the PC building and repairing community. I thank you for what you do and I really enjoy learning with you. Keep it up.

[@seliasthemage]

It is great to see you helping people get their computers back up and running, and it is great to see the companies who make components help.

[@gabereyes4926]

The interaction at the end was so wholesome wow! Awesome content man, keep it up

[@The_Last_Emperor777]

I have SO MUCH respect for what you do! You made that kids holiday by fixing and upgrading his PC. You do this kind of thing for so many people and it's very wholesome to see these acts of kindness. Sacrificing your time and energy to make someone's day. I have no idea how anyone can watch a video like this and say a negative remark, but please know that you are appreciated and what you do for random people is admirable 🙏🏽. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones 🎄🎅.

[@roadk88]

You are the best. You helped someone out you did not know and who did not know any better and bought a pre-built. You made his day when you brought him his new pc. Learned my lesson. The first gaming pc I bought for my kid was a Acer pre-built. After it stopped workin, I realized I could not repair it because of the priority parts in it. After looking around I realized I could build a better pc for less money than buying another pre-built. I will never buy a pre-built again. If something fails, just go to Micro Center and replace that one part. Have a great new year.

[@emanueldumea8217]

I'm so glad for the kid. Rx 5500 may not be the most powerful card but sometimes eSports games are all you need to have fun and he now has a great way to upgrade.

[@MikeRota]

Good job. Thank You for taking care of this kid. He should enjoy this fix or flop!

[@paulcohee5869]

Great stuff man, wish there were more people out there like you!

[@viperrcr]

Greg I am sure he is now a fan for life after that sweet upgrade for him! Great job!

[@Dmachine2000]

Trying to upgrade my Dell computer back in 2000 got me into building my own for just the reasons you illustrated here. It's so much easier to build and configure a PC now than it was back in the ancient millennium days. Anyway, thanks for the video and triggering a trip down memory lane.

[@findmi2708]

i just realized, how luck those people who are able to fix their unit to greg, this is one of the reason why i sub to you, man, if only i lived near to you greg, i would love to ship my unit to you for fixing

[@cryptothedawg1160]

NIce - That kid should be super happy - I know I would be

[@ajaxghosts2127]

i am an intermediate level technician but i still watch your fix or flop series and still discover new things.

[@christophert320]

Greg, you're the man. I love this series so much. The things you do for the tech community mean the world to so many people. I'm thankful for the opportunity to watch and learn in the process. Thanks for being you.

[@_Sn0_]

Not sure how I Missed this one... Very clean re-build!

[@PCTechHustle]

Good on you Greg for taking care of him! He should be well setup for years to come!

[@johnt.848]

Beautiful Case and I like those NZXT AIO coolers.

[@GamerErman2001]

7:18 OK that flash of Linus made me laugh.

[@Wizk306]

My favorite series of this channel (FYI I was a computer noob too, but I learned A lot by watching these vids and now I'm comfortable troubleshooting my own rig) THANKS GREG and TEAM of this channel! Keep the series going strong!

[@llwellyncuhfwarthen]

Nice to see :) With the HP systems, a very VERY common issue with them is the bracket/case mounting, when you take out cards (ram/cpu/video etc) and put in new/replacements the motherboard can often short to the backing case, they are VERY poorly designed with proper separation and flex allowance.

[@linuxares]

13:06 hello mysterious person!

[@zeusbrutus4040]

i bet this this kid is super happy with the outcome, awesome video

[@fatherof4kids]

The last two proprietary computers I worked on had bad motherboards. That kids is going to love his new computer. Great job.

[@groggyme]

Love that you do this for the community. You are a rock star!

[@MS1andOnly]

This is my favorite series on KZbin, I love seeing people buying new pcs and learning from watching a video I’ve showed my newbie friends this series and they enjoy it, Thanks Greg.

[@travisvaughn101]

I'm so glad I decided to build my own when it came down to it and didn't get stuck with an OEM build. The quality of life in any changes and the knowledge I gained building it was more than worth it

[@nbrowser]

Greg has a heart of 80 Plus Gold, he has always Ryzen to the occasion to Fix the Flops that come across his bench...even if it means rebuilding the Viewers Broken PC to this point, once again vanquishing the Pre-Built with Vengeance.

[@bktebeau]

Great that you could help him. Thank you.

[@whiskeredgundam7765]

I love that you do this stuff to help people out. And I love that there are companies that are wanting to sponsor this.

[@brodeypurifoy1932]

i know im late but greg killed this build it looks awesome

[@meatsamples]

That looks so much cleaner than the prebuilt. I am digging the Be Quiet case and that aio. Looks super clean.

[@BiggestMichael]

You should look at the top USB port on that motherboard. There might be a pin short to ground as it looks damaged.

[@milescarter7803]

Thank you, I saw it clearly in a couple spots too!

[@TheSyledor]

Love the contrast between the case/aio and the components

[@Nataz06]

I love when you can tell it went to someone who deserves and appreciate it which you can tell is this case. Love your channel, thanks for all you do!

[@tubecoatue]

Excellent video Greg. You really fixed this guy up nicely. I'm sure he'll be thrilled.

[@dashkatae]

That was very nice. Glad you were able to help him out. Hopefully, he can pick up a better GPU in the future and I feel he'll be all set for years to come.

[@AntonioCunningham]

I'm guessing the people complaning about you swaping out parts are either assuming you're a Louis Rossmann type content creator who they expect to do component level repair OR a perseon overly concered about E-waste. I'm *glad* you added that part in the video so everyone can be more informed. Content creators are different... And that's a *good* thing. Thank you for producing this kind of content:-)

[@antoniom.andersen6704]

Awesome outcome. Glad that the guy gets to game again and on something that even has a upgrade path. Never been a fan of white cases but that black/white style on this build turned out great.

[@michaeloneill1360]

Thanks for showing some Love to: Gigabyte AORUS Motherboards!! I've got the B450 Model & It's Rock Solid!!

[@P5YcHoKiLLa]

You should get an infrared camera, if, as I assume happened, a capacitor blew (that's what usually gives that (fishy) smell) you would see it on the infrared as it sits there baking. If it's not microscopic then you can usually find out the model and order a replacement. There's quite a few channels that do that although they usually DO have a microscope and mounting equipment/varied solder gear to replace them.

[@SmidgeXp]

i was thinking this too!

[@alexandruciordas4941]

it mostlikely was the shorted USB port at min 3.55😂

[@Hamzaalbeast]

Blessed this viewer with a good mobo, case, and psu

[@mowcowbell]

886K Subs... Greg, keep up the good work. Love the work you do and how you methodically sort out the issues and even show your goofs. Hoping to see you hit 1M subs in the near future!

[@markg1689]

Santa Greg!. Well done Sir!

[@noxproductions6851]

"you're not fixing it by swaping parts out" any mechanic ever: .....

[@nitt3rz]

Purely going by a couple of close-ups of the m/board, & the smell; either the guy shorted a cap on the board, or it decided to let-go when the board was turned back on. Always good to learn with you Greg, there's not really a right or wrong way to troubleshoot.

[@MrCravin8388]

Great job Greg, It's always good to see stuff go to those who cant do what you do!

[@polizi212]

Very nice transformation indeed. I consider this the best fix from an HP prebuilt. by the way was that Mrs. Salazar @13:05? That young man was so genuinely happy. thanks for doing so much for the PCMR!

[@ReqFam]

You are officially the guardian angel for people that are new to PCs ❤ much love Greg! 🙏🙏

[@Stigmakso]

Good stuff as always ! You made that kid's day (or even week/month)

[@steveseybolt]

Im @2:37 and just seen the jacked up usb in front WTH ! lets see what happens.

[@gregorypetka8799]

great job Greg, and so good to hear his gratitude, during this bad economic times, hearing his thanks is amazing

[@thecman26]

Great work Greg! You're providing a needed service in your area as well as entertaining the rest of us!

[@jameskoch939]

You may have not improved the performance that much but you did give him a pc to show off and sometimes that means the world. Keep up the good work!

[@BREEZYM6015]

What a nice way to bless someone! You're amazing Greg!

[@Juddinn]

Huge transformation! Congrats to the dude w this new build pretty much

[@jdnims]

awesome vid as always, luv the content. and was that a wife photo bomb, awesome when folks include the family into the mix as well!

[@ApexLodestar]

The ending was so wholesome. 😭❤️

[@Terry3Gs]

Great series & nice of you to do Greg !!!

[@GregSalazar]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@way2tired2]

That's awesome, Greg! Great episode as always!

[@OcDmn]

Major prop to Be Quiet, NZXT and Gigabyte for being a big part of this series. also with the PSU and mobo and RAM upgrade, the kid is set for very bright upgrade path what with AMD keeping AM4 updated still lol

[@KrastyoKrastev]

As always I will say how awesome Greg is! And yes, better to avoid proprietary systems like this. Better to build it yourself.

[@King.Anarchy]

I love this series, it's been so informative and when stories like this happen i really love those too! I could hear the joy in his voice just having his computer again.

[@Jules_Diplopia]

Nice work as always. One very happy "customer".

[@Houtka86]

The kid definitely deserved the upgrades! Glad he can enjoy gaming again. Good on him

[@theMick52]

What a job Greg! You are the man! I went with am OEM HP back in the day, was lucky to get pretty much a standard pc with HP on the front. Eventually the power switch went out and was able to swap everything over to an ATX mid tower and everything fit! Eventually replaced everything from that old DDR2 system!

[@mcjethrodelacruz6406]

Ahh good video before i go to sleep. Love from the Philippines.