Wait… My GPU is a Sound Card? - Probing Paul #51

[@paulshardware]

Probing Paul #51 is here! Thanks for stoppping by today everyone 🙏 ►TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:33 What is the maximum amount of RAM you can have? 8:06 What audio device does your GPU’s HDMI-out use? 13:07 Water cooling pros and cons - AIO vs hardline vs soft tubing 16:19 Why is it hard to find coolant reviews for custom liquid cooling? 18:11 What about front panel USB ports for audio, are they OK? 19:13 Other Gaming PC streaming options - Parsec and Rainway 20:29 Are you excited for the new Bill and Ted movie? 21:01 Positive feedback is always appreciated! 22:05 Probing Paul twice as fast 22:48 Probing Paul twice as often

[@yazmo109]

Paul i have a quick question, and cannot find the culprit, my game as i move i can see texture appearing as i get closer. its annoying, not very far bth, so it get me worry i just build that PC over amazon durng covid RMA my card PNY 2060 super, , i have i7 8700k 32 ddr4 3600 g.skill on NVME drive aorus z390 ultra on windows 10 64-bit i do not have spare memory to swap or a CPU, the card got send back to me they told me its pass all the test for what that mean. its seem like shadow is the problem! any thought. try different monitor LG 27GL650 27" and i also try 1060GTX 3gb but i do get those problem as well with this card.

[@Fincher123]

Hello Paul i like to know if i could get the Audio Signal from my GPU to my M-Audio Fast Track Hub which has a input over USB Type A Thank you =)

[@Z0idberg100]

Even according to the definition you showed on screen, bimonthly can also mean every other month. You might want to avoid using it since it has two meanings.

[@Doobie3010]

Paul's Hardware Great bunch of questions in there,and super replies.

[@granthampson5917]

Toslink support "It supports uncompressed PCM stereo audio, and 5.1/7.1 Dolby Digital and DTS multichannel audio for people with surround sound systems. It does not support SACD, DVD-A, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X or high-definition audio such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio."

[@ChemicalArts]

At $16,278 per stick of RAM, you think they'd offer free shipping with that.

[@TheMartinScott]

Delivered in a small car, which is also the packaging you get to keep. :)

[@ChazzerB31491]

I had the exact same thought when I saw that

[@MandoMTL]

You get a "free" mail order bride with each one.

[@Discarded_Youth]

Hey Paul!! It never wins the straw polls but is always asked. Please address audio production pc builds. There is a lot of confusing information out there, such as single core vs multi core importance and whether you actually get any benefit from a GPU for a PC that is only used for Music Production. Please!!! Love the channel sir!

[@javiersantana5910]

Question: Thanks Paul, love your work, I would like to know what is the relationship between the PSU and an UPS wattage? Do the UPS need to have the same wattage that the one in the CPU + monitor? or can it be that we can use a UPS (watts) < CPU + Monitor (watts); UPS (watts) > CPU + Monitor (watts); UPS (watts) = CPU + Monitor (watts); and the only thing that would be affected is the duration of the charge hold by the UPS. Again, thanks for your time.

[@AngryChineseWoman]

Yep a sound card that emits a sound called 'coil whine'

[@emperorSbraz]

that't the sound of engineers crying in marketing.

[@Safetytrousers]

No coil whine on my GTX 1050, and none on my water blocked 2080ti.

[@AngryChineseWoman]

@@Safetytrousers Lucky man, my 1080 ti of 2017 had it, and my 2080 ti has it. But as long as my pc case is closed (basically 100% of the time) I don't hear it

[@christophervanzetta]

My 2070 super doesn't have coil whine. I also don't mess with the voltage ;)

[@dayspoiler4608]

@ThaReal CLo but you literally just told us you have coil whine. since when is that ok lol

[@GreatnessRD]

Part that blows me is that $16,000 ram had the audacity to charge you $15 for shipping.

[@mini-_]

My GPU can be whatever it wants it to be. As long as it delivers the frames, meanwhile!

[@xbyxenos3200]

It can be whatever you want... Ponyboy😉

[@ashansomasiri2098]

Lol

[@chrisohanlon69]

It can be whatever it wants to be, as long as it's happy, that's all that matters.

[@Thomfer12]

Gpu LGBTq+

[@saricubra2867]

Nah, AMD Threadripper 3990X (CPU Master Race), can render Crysis by itself.

[@bangincrazy]

Paul killed the memory question and then kept beating it with a stick

[@ThunderKat]

There aren't many benchmark/KZbinrs doing proper testing to what's best. Server level CPUs are build to handle more RAM not by limitation of a number but less bottlenecks when addressing too much stuff load on it. I always seen the maximum amount of RAM for a specific CPU the same way a GPU has a maximum amount given they can't drive so much data efficiently pass a certain point, you need to upgrade the CPU at that point and same goes for a GPU (bigger the size the more speed and channels of communication you wanna have/need). I do wonder what happen if you put 128GB of a very weak CPU and load it with bunch of statics programs on it, then compare the performance with a high end CPU both pushing a game or something as you have the ram fill with 100GB of static crap on it. And this is the reason I say, I haven't seen anyone do proper benchmarks for this things other than dual slow vs quad slots just stressing the memory controller and they endup with the conclusion dual-slot rams are better for speed, stability and overclocking...

[@finalmage6]

Kept waiting for Wendell from Level One Techs to show up when you used the magic summon word of "Linux". I guess the current pandemic is impeding his ability to respond in a timely manner!

[@BuzzKiller23]

For the longest time I thought the "EXCELLENT" at the beginning of the video was from Wayne's World

[@joer8854]

That article said that the 256gb is a hardware limitation. the theoretical maximum ram supported by 64 bit Linux is 17 billion GB.

[@biv_ky]

Me: blinks Also me “welp guess I have 7 petabytes of images now.

[@joer8854]

@@biv_ky I have to admit, even on the server side I can't imagine what one would do with 17 billion GB of ram.

[@doctorthee]

@@joer8854 you can finally run multiple chrome tabs

[@JuryDutySummons]

@@joer8854 Run a huge database fully in memory for insane access speeds.

[@joer8854]

@@JuryDutySummons gigabyte needs to make an epic motherboard that can use a ton of EPIC processors and 17 billion GB of ram. Gigabyte should do it just because of their name. Imagine the supercomputer you could build with that.

[@wangruochuan]

many years later, future people digging through artifact and found this video. future people laughing at our primative technology that cant have memory more than 16EB

[@A_Class216]

😂😂😂

[@lucasrem]

Tuzz Nation First the find the iPhones, then a gaming PC, just a bigger version, who needed it be that big!

[@wangruochuan]

@@cyrilmonkewitz dude, do some math. linking computer is easy to say but 2^32 and 2^64 is not 2 times more but expoentially larger....we are like, really really far away from that limit

[@wangruochuan]

@@cyrilmonkewitz well, ram and storage is different. you dont link storage directly to the CPU or the computer cores/matrix network. like you said. as for now, most of our supercomputer have rams somewhere around 500-1000TB. thats like 0.05%-0.1% of an exabyte. we can physically for the sake of just stacking it to reach the number but theres not point on doing that. plus, using supercomputer efficiently is another topic. you have to have a big foot to fit the big shoe.

[@wangruochuan]

@@monmc6129 maybe im just AI studying of a human neuro network. or simiulating big bang in real time

[@Reavesuppercut]

Question: when I build a new system, I see the motherboard manufacturers splash screen when the system posts, yet all youtubers I watch seem to show American Megatrends in their vidoes. Is it some kind of standard practice to disable that splashscreen before showing the boot to the camera? Just wondering

[@baggle8203]

From what I understand (through a quick look at Wikipedia), America Megatrends produces (or helps produce, I’m not sure) BIOS’s for motherboard manufacturers. I usually see the motherboard manufacturers logo splash afterwards, leading me to believe that it comes beforehand to display basic information about the computer. (This is all a guess from me, and I would love to see Paul answer with a more researched explanation)

[@PaulTheFox1988]

It's often disabled to enable the user to see error messages or see what the system is hanging up on, or to verify that the CPU is correctly detected and if all the RAM is detected, and while the splash screen is pretty, it doesn't convey any useful information to diagnose issues. I generally disable it when testing or during initial build, but then enable it again once I've verified everything is functional. It's entirely up to you what you prefer, although having that information available is extremely helpful if something should go wrong.

[@TonyParkinson]

I recently built my "Lockdown Gaming PC" after following your three detailed guide videos, and only had to use Google once about the CPU power cables that came with my PS, so thanks for that. The last PC I built had a dual core Pentium CPU and 128MB of RAM, and things have gotten a lot more advanced since then, but also a lot of the complicated manual stuff has been made much easier. It's a great time to build a PC!

[@Atlessa]

12 year old me is so jealous of your 128MB of RAM right now. xD

[@kingofthenerds4708]

literally one of the worst times to build a pc with new hardware releasing in a week, power supplies in short supply and pricing at a premium on them...

[@TonyParkinson]

@@kingofthenerds4708 Back in April, the prices were still good. I got a better motherboard, case and power supply than I really needed, and saved money by getting a good-but-budget CPU and GPU, knowing that those 2 things would be the first upgrades when the next gen comes out at the end of the year.

[@BeeWhere]

Awesome as always, but there was something special about this episode ❤. Fun Fact: TOSLink is short for Toshiba Link optical fiber connector system based on the S/PDIF "Sony/ Philips Digital interface" software layer digital audio interconnect.

[@willg955]

Damn, Paul. For someone who is probably 12, you sure took their RAM question seriously, lol.

[@lucasrem]

willg955 The KZbin users, are they smarter then a 12 year old?

[@-werksmith2078]

Paul, a Yamaha receiver I have has the HDMI (several actually) into the receiver first then out to the monitor.

[@stephanhart9941]

Hey Paul, Love Ur work. Doing an Asus X570-E build I have 2 Sabrent 1TB NVMe Gen4 SSD's. I want to run them in raid0. Will it work? 2 M.2 Gen4 slots on the board I know 1 slot traces to the CPU directly and 1 runs through the chipset. What I understand is there are only 16 available PCIe Gen4 lanes on 3rd gen Ryzen(3900X). so 2 NVMe's @4X would be the max, leaving 8X for the Graphics card(5700XT for now....waiting). I bought an ASUS Hyper M.2 X16 PCIe 4.0 expansion card, I couldn't find a Dim.2 Module Thinking of going top slot since it's probably the one traced to the CPU. Plus it will probably cut off my airflow to the GPU if on the bottom, It's the same length and width. Will I even need it? ??? Chances for more PCIe Lanes on Ryzen 4TH Gen?? Non-Threadripper. Thank You

[@EmblemParade]

TOSLINK is truly optical and digital but in many cases it will not get you the best sound quality. If you have a high-end motherboard with good audio electronics (or a sound card, like EVGA Nu Audio), you're better off using their coax output, which makes good use of the excellent (and expensive!) on-board amplifier. TOSLINK is a good idea if you're in an environment with electrical interference, which could be an issue with very long cable lengths, which is probably rare. It's also a good idea if your on-board audio electronics suck -- pump it with TOSLINK to your high-end amp that would be able to do something good with it. By the way, TOSLINK *does not* bypass your onboard DAC, so it can't fix it. Bottom line: 1) *Don't* use your GPU for audio-over-HDMI if you have good motherboard audio, and 2) audio cards do make sense, yes, even in 2020, to beef up mediocre motherboard sound.

[@d0x360]

Starting with my 290x and continuing with my 1080 and 2080ti I've used HDMI out from the GPU, it goes into a atmos receiver and then to my LG OLED. You would think it adds tons of latency however I tested it using the tried and true mouse click and LED method. It added 38ms of latency not including the 9ms of latency the TV adds. It's not noticable during gameplay. I've been playing this way for... 7 years.

[@runescapep2pfan]

I need some help, I'm upgrading my computer from a 5600 xt to whatever can handle 3 freesync 144hz monitors and need some advice. I only want to spend about $700 I was thinking of a 2070 super or wait for the new GPU's this year but I'm unsure. Im running a 2600 w/ 16gb of DDR4 3200 Mhz.

[@granthampson5917]

Toslink supports 7.1 - "It supports uncompressed PCM stereo audio, and 5.1/7.1 Dolby Digital and DTS multichannel audio for people with surround sound systems. It does not support SACD, DVD-A, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X or high-definition audio such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio."

[@metachuko]

I don't think that's true. As fair as I know, Dolby Digital only supports 5.1

[@granthampson5917]

@@metachuko that's what I thought too but seems there was some sort of update to Toslink. HDMI still king though as toslink cant do the same features or standards like Dolby Digital Plus etc

[@lucasrem]

S/P DIV Link out is the cheapest way to get good sound! The receiver can be cheap $200 Sony Yahama, not getting Atmos, $1k to get ATMOS etc.

[@inbedwithhomer]

The dolby digital compression is sub mp3 quality though, so stop using toslink for multichannel. It's terrible.

[@metachuko]

@@inbedwithhomer You can get uncompressed PCM multichannel through toslink if you're using ADAT rather than SPDIF, which is what I'm doing in one of my setups

[@AMJayz]

Hi Paul, is it normal to have a sustainable 84c when at 90~100 usage on a blower style 1080ti ? ( ASUS TURBO)... And a side question what method you prefer pea, x, verge?

[@loucipher7782]

*i used my Dell monitor as the DAC lol works well atleast better than my crappy motherboard's onboard sound by having HDMI from the GPU to my Dell monitor and from monitor to my speaker and headphone. I can also connect 3 input sources via 2x HDMI + DP and play through the same speaker and headphone depending on which input source that im using. No need for any receiver*

[@nyk2977]

A few years ago I was considering getting a pre-built gaming PC because I didn't have the best track record when it came to working with my hands in the past. I found your channel and your comprehensive build guides, part picking guides and reviews gave me the confidence to try building my own PC. Throughout the entire build process I referenced your build guide whenever I was unsure of something. I really appreciate the work you put into making these vids.

[@skoopsro7656]

Just to be SUPER CLEAR you CANNOT use 12dimms of 256gb Ddr4 in that dominus extreme with a 3175x (the only CPU that currently makes sense for that board)

[@paulshardware]

Thanks for the clarification, since I was just theorizing I did not do much verifying for compatibility 😁

[@haifai3916]

THANK YOU! I just got into a discussion with an old-timer who claimed that the on-(motherboard) sound device handled the HDMI audio output for a discreet GPU. This video really helped!

[@aidanglass7256]

Is there anyway you could chat with me. Just made a 700 dollar pc build and my arorus b450 Motherboard shows a solid red light for the cpu. I don’t know what to do because I can’t use it until it is fixed.

[@fragalot]

Damn near ANYTHING is a sound device. There really isn't much to them these days. Even Xbox controllers have an audio device in them. Also audio can pass though Display Port and USB 3.x on a USB-C connector since both HDMI and Display Port are purely digital the audio is encoded with the video stream. The monitor will decode audio if it has speakers. Heck my video card (2070 Super) has a USB-C connector on the back of it.

[@tron.d98200]

Maybe this has been asked before, but~ I was wondering if there was a type of GPU stand (like as a trophy) that could power the lights/fans to set on my desk. (Low power) I'm really bad at putting together my own electronic stuff so I was hoping I could buy one and not brick one of my old cards. Enjoying the content Paul! Keep up the questions and answers :)

[@jturquette]

I agree with Roman. I used Paul’s 3 part pc building video series to build my first gaming PC. I built PCs back in the mid 90’s and there are a lot of differences. Thank you so much Paul for this service!

[@kght222]

9:03 it is a sound card the same way that your cpu is a sound card. it is just passing along digital sound data. the dac processes it. hdmi and even some dvi, let alone thunderbolt or display port have dac signal built into their standard, it doesn't mean that your device has a sound dac, it means that the end device can run a sound dac off of your signal. your videocard doesn't have a soundcard, but that hdmi tv does, because today a soundcard is just a dac. it used to be a midi blasting synthesizer, but we don't need that anymore, it is a dac. a digital analog converter. hdmi or anything like that is just passing the digital signal on to the dac.

[@declangallagher1448]

UwU Let me probe you

[@paulshardware]

lol this was the first comment I saw

[@declangallagher1448]

@@paulshardware First comment posted to the video too :p

[@Chiquitito1201]

Anally????😳😳😳

[@dam8697]

I got an XFX rx 590 recently and i heard the thermal paste dries quickly should i replace it or is this a rumour

[@hammerheadcorvette4]

7:38 This is inaccurate. If you have a PAE enabled kernel, you can actually address 64GB. but a single process can only address 4GB.

[@KieranTully]

Yes, and similar bank switching would allow us exceed even 16 EB.

[@OVERKILL_PINBALL]

GPUs do NOT include "sound cards" built in... this is incorrect. They simply "pass-through" digital audio.

[@0LoneTech]

It's a little debatable. There's nothing in the GPU to make it actually be audio, but there's support for the data stream that is passed through the HDMI subchannel for digital audio. That shows up as a sound card, as far as OS drivers are concerned, but the distinction they compared to for front or rear audio literally isn't there. It operates like a portion of e.g. Intel's HD Audio controller, not like the audio codec chip e.g. RealTek ALC892. As far as audio circuitry goes, the digital to analog conversion is typically done in the monitor, or the receiver, a dedicated DAC, or amplifier, if using e.g. audio return channels or S/PDIF. The point that mainboard audio is not involved with GPU AIB video connector audio output remains. In effect, the GPU's audio subchannel support represents slightly more of a sound card than a USB controller with its more generic isochronous data streaming.

[@josephlalock8378]

if it requires a driver, then it's a sound device. but lets go back many years to where video cards had spdif headers to grab digital audio from a mobo header or a soundcard equipped with an spdif header because videocards had no audio device but used the signal from the header to passthru digital audio thru hdmi.

[@TheMartinScott]

When dealing with digital, like you mention, it is more complicated than calling it a sound card. Most GPUs do support audio resampling up and down and combining, which if it was happening as analog instead of digital, it would be considered a 'sound card'. And then again, CPU digital audio processing, also makes this all confusing in having clear definitions. The days are gone of having a dedicated card/interface with a hardware DAC that was clearly a sound card. :)

[@OVERKILL_PINBALL]

Everyone is technically correct :) I realize that one's definition of a "Sound card" is in itself debatable... I'd like to propose a clarification... I think there are really only 2 choices: (A) A device that "Processes/Manipulates" audio. (B) A device that passes audio (pass-through). I think that no matter which audio implementation we reference, it will either do one or the other or both. AMD GPUs cards seem to actually be able to process audio in addition to passing it through so they would fall into the "both" (A) and (B) category. An NVIDIA GPU will only pass the audio through. There are no audio controls whatsoever except enable or disable audio. The driver is simply required to tell the O/S that there is an output available (and details about the output such as # of speakers and bitrate allowed).. that in turn can be addressed by the O/S and utilized by software. The O/S can process the audio before it is sent through the GPU also (room correction, etc) but is independant of the output used. An NVIDIA GPU is not processing or manuipulating the audio in any way so it falls into the (B) category. The concept of pass-through audio in this case has more in common with the old school CDROM audio cables as it was essentially just a "wire" connecting 2 devices together. Good stuff, stay safe everyone :)

[@Azlehria]

@@0LoneTech I would personally be quite surprised to find a DAC performing AD conversion.

[@Cloudax_]

Discovered your channel today and love your content. Immediate sub

[@tjstwocents9654]

I plugged a pair of speakers behind my monitors using its 3.5mm jack on the back of the monitor and the sound is coming from the DP cable connected to my graphics card lol

[@JonToyCars]

Same here, but in my case i have a stereo system.

[@Bhupender-Singh]

Hey Paul. First of all thank you for making straight to the point and well though out videos. I am thinking of really cheaping out on the case. Can this cause the power button and USBs to fail prematurely? I am performance minded but don't want a headache while turning on my pc.

[@Bhupender-Singh]

Anybody is free to answer! Hey Paul, if you can't include this question to your video due to some reasons, then please take a moment to answer it here itself.

[@zCaptainz]

I could be like "First" ...But I just started watching the video

[@krandeloy]

Only hardtubing technical benefit that the other two water-cooling methods don't have is permeation is typically a lot less. There is no permeation in hard tubing, only leaks. Lots of leaks. So many....

[@P4NCH1]

Loved the extended answers on the first 2 questions. Interesting topics. Keep it up! ;)

[@strik3r2000]

Hey Paul long time lurker/fan. Binge watching you being probed. I always fully turn off my PC every night. During the work week I turn off after only a couple hours of usage. Is it more stressful on the hardware to be turning on and off frequently? I know of some folks who never fully shutdown their PCs. Thanks.

[@Supersonic_Supernova]

When I update my Nvidia Drivers, do old remnants of my older drivers stay on my system and if so do they affect performance?

[@QuentinStephens]

The transition from 32 to 64 bit? Some of us remember the transition from 8 to 16 bit. :) Keep up the good work.

[@nulious]

Quite a few of us do, I suspect.

[@usoppbarbosa981]

@@nulious and 16 to 32 :) I feel old now, having used 6502s..

[@Wsmith247]

I remember it taking 2 days to get a sound card working 25yrs ago. I helped my daughter build her first computer( Really just talked her through it). Man we have it mad now.

[@Atlessa]

I still remember... Port 220, IRQ 5, DMA 1. I still don't know what those numbers mean, but ALL the games needed them if I wanted sound to work. :D

[@gogolapeter]

GPU --> receiver --> TV - this is the best order

[@DadlyShadow]

imagine spending 16K on ram and it dont have free postage

[@virtualtools_3021]

imagine its free postage but its USPS and the interference with it makes your package never arrive

[@chriswhited]

what's this guy talking about? he talks about 128g's of ram actually being necessary..........then he talks about the i9 10900k being MAINSTREAM............what money raining world does this dude live in?

[@ThunderKat]

Still can't believe the GPU has a DAC on it... Sure ain't just the digital signal and there is a DAC inside the Monitor/TV to drive the speakers? Wouldn't make sense to send analog information via HDMI when they are use mostly for TVs and they have their own DACs for the job.

[@stevengittleson7833]

HI Paul!. Thank you for this video. You do 95% address my question @ 8:06 Can my Nvidia 4090 connect directly to my Denon AVR-X3800H, for Dolby Atmos 9.4 (some of my games support ATMOS). Then directly from 4090, connect to my monitor to get 4K/ 175FPS. ( don't want to connect from my AV to the monitor since AV limit is 4K/120FPS. How can I do this? Thanks!

[@TurboLoveTrain]

I love my Soundblaster X4. I've had 5.1 computer audio since the late 90s and just switched to a 7.1 system. Component out is still going to give you the cleanest and most versatile audio out which is why I chose the X4. HDMI multiplexes the signal and uses software to clean everything up where as component out is dedicated out per channel.. basically HDMI adds another processing step into the sequence where component doesn't.

[@JonToyCars]

Another solution is to get the audio signal thru the HDMI on your monitor and from it, if it has an audio out to your audio system (cause its better). I have an HDMI splitter, with ins from PS, PC and XBOX all going in the monitor and from it audio to the stereo system. I also have wireless headphones (Logitech F540) so i have sound there when i want to use them from the stereo system, thru the headphones out and on the PC thru the USB from the receiver of the headphones.

[@NeoFlite23]

Hi Paul. Been a subscriber of your channel for a few years now and have enjoyed your work. So my question pertains to this situation: I'm upgrading from this system below: Intel Core i7 6700K CPU Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming 7 motherboard 32GB G.Skill Trident-Z DDR4-3200 CL15 RAM eVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC video card To this over Labor Day weekend: AMD Ryzen 7 3700 X CPU ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero motherboard 32 GB G.Skill Trident-Z NEO DDR4-3600 CL16 RAM GeForce RTX 30 series video (when it comes out) I only plan on playing at 1440p, all eye candy enabled with AA locked and loaded as well. I'm trying to decide on either the RTX 3080 or the RTX 3070 for the new video card. At the resolution and specs of what I'll be playing (games like DOOM 2016, DOOM Eternal, Anthem, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, Titanfall 2, Elite: Dangerous and Cyberpunk 2077 as examples) am I better off with the 3070 or 3080? Thanks for taking the time to read this and until next time I am out!

[@mateiberatco500]

Again misinformation of 4GB vs 32-bit. Many sources were written by windows-only "experts". Misinformation is that they ignore that 2^32-bit applies only to applications and buses (PCI, AGP), as OS-es have evolved to use PAE, after Intels 1995 32-bit Pentium Pro, which could use 64GB of RAM (1st 64-bit CPU? 2001 for IA64, 2003 for AMD64...let's stick with x86 derivatives). The idea is that you can have lots of applications, each limited+full to 4GB. Also PCI device drivers had to ensure buffers were below 4GB (PCI addressing was also 32-bit limited). The 4GB RAM limitation in Windows is due to DRIVERS. I haven't checked personally, but XP SP2 was the 1st 32-bit Windows to limit to 4GB, because existing cheap/old drivers were not PAE-aware and malfunctioned (crashed) when 4GB or more was installed. Windows 2000 (no 64-bit ever) advanced server editions could use 8GB (datacenter, 32GB). Windows 2003 server (server XP), IA32, can use 64GB in Enterprise and Data Center editions. Because drivers are few, strictly-controlled, certified and PAE aware. All this makes me want to try XP SP1 on a virtual machine with 8GB or more.

[@PAoGDW]

Tnx for your video's...subscribed...but please switch off your terrible ( piano ) backgound music....it makes me crazy... 🥴

[@raymarquardt5157]

Threadripper supports up to 2TB, and supports 8 DIMMs, but 2TB/8 = 256GB, so with only 128GiB sticks, we can't currently max out a Threadripper CPU. 8x128==> 1TB, so half full. Still, that's almost $10,000 in ram, minimum, so... yeah. Samsung claims to produce 256GB DIMMs, but I couldn't find a price or way to easily order them.

[@forestR1]

My PCs audio (from AsRock z170 e4) has ALWAYS suffered from delay (maybe 200mS). -"OK" for normal games but IMPOSSIBLE for rhythm games, or mic side tone. Through 2.5mm/SPDIF/front panel/USB audio doesn't matter. But using my GPU (DP to RIFT S) the delay is not there. ...I wonder if there's a HDMI>USB audio out there. that's a GREAT idea! Thanks Paul. XD

[@EvWagz]

I was thinking about upgrading to the 3080 when it comes out for my mainly gaming PC. Just wondering if it will be worth it? My current setup is: Ryzen 7 2700 DEEP COOL NEPTWIN CPU Cooler MSi tomahawk max Gskill trident z neo 16gb 3600 (running at 3333) Evga rtx 2070 super xc gaming 1tb Samsung 860evo ssd 1tb wd black sn750 m.2 ssd 1tb wd blue 3D nand ssd Fractal design meshify c Or should I upgrade another component first? (Motherboard or CPU)

[@jameswang1725]

Paul, Thanks for all the great content, question for #52, I would like to play Microsoft Flight Sim 2020 on a 2014 desktop (because when you build the computer yourself, it lasts longer): CPU: Intel Core i7 4790K Mobo: Z97-PRO Graphics: RX 290 4GB RAM: 16 GB DDR3 Storage: Crucial 256 SSD Is it really as simple as updating the graphics card? or are there pitfalls for only updating a single component on this old of a desktop. Thanks!

[@WizardNumberNext]

128gb max on 2020 CPU? That is joke AMD Phemon II does support 64gb (released in 2010) and if quad rank x4 memory would be used, then 128gb is possible. And to make all this funnier. x4 memory is a lot cheaper, then x8 and hugely cheaper then x16. Most consumer grade ram is x16 Big modules are expensive as those are x8, which usually are targeted at Intel servers. Only AMD is capable (from 2001) of x4 RAM.

[@zekenzy6486]

Hey Paul. I'm looking for new build PC with ryzen 5 3400G or 2400G. which motherboard can work with 3400G or 2400G right out the box and no need upgrade flash BIOS ? and which RAM is work with 3400G or 2400G. This is not gaming computer. just for watch 4k youtube and movies online, web browser and words. Thank you.

[@RonI-qz2tz]

To your sound question. I was looking at getting the Creative SoundBlaster AE-9 or the EVGA NU Audio Pro 7.1. But it sounds like you would not recommend it. I'm running A 5.1 setup. One of my older computers I built long ago had a Creative Sound Blaster X-FI XTREME GAMER FATAL1TY. And I loved it. But do you recommend a DAC instead?

[@alexgenato]

Thanks for the awesome content Paul. I've been an avid fan for the past few years and this is my first time sending a question. This might get long, but I'll try to summarize. I recently built a PC my wife for around 550 usd. I am in the Philippines and the prices and parts availabilitiy are not great. specs: MSI B365 Mortar, i3 9100F with the stock cooler, 16gb Kingston 2666 ram, GTX1050 Ti, WD Black 256 NVMe, 1TB Seagate, Neutron Colt (cheapest case available then), 500W 80plus Bronze Seasonic PSU She's a teacher and basically uses it for Excel/PowerPoint/Word, light video edits and Zoom classes. She says it's working fine, because she doesn't clean it. I clean it every month and it gets really dirty. That's probably the fault of the cheap case. So I wanted to get your suggestions and honest input on the longevity of this system. Is it wise to invest in a better case (with filters yes)? And what is your upgrade path suggestions? BTW, AMD is always out of stock here. I envy you guys. :)

[@frankenberry9670]

Biggest compliment I give to KZbinr = I continue to be subscribed. Maximum RAM you can have = ((Sum of cash you have) + (sum of credit you have) / (Cost per memory module you select)) + (Whatever you currently have).

[@JD-ef1jb]

Absolutely love your videos Paul. Only you can make backyard cleanup and house chores interesting. I have a video question for you. I'm helping a small church get setup for live streaming. I got them a Panasonic GH5s, an El Gato HD60, and a Ryzen3600/RTX2070 PC. Any tips/recommendations you can give me for the video/streaming side of things? I've never streamed before so any help/insight would be appreciated. Thanks and keep up the good work!

[@Qalibrated]

RAM got stupid cheap. I remember once, buying an extra 8GB kit of 1600mhz DDR3 HyperX Genesis for 50€ thinking "that's pretty cheap for RAM". Now i can get a 32GB kit of 3200mhz Ripjaws V for 110€. Kinda loving it though

[@Chris-op7yt]

Most games i play never use more than 1Gb (including windows 10 pro) from my Vega64 8Gb. Would it be more efficient if i was able to limit my GPU VRAM size?..this gets into GART/BAR, which is the addressable at one time part of the GPU VRAM. On linux it's just a matter of a parameter for the module. can't find a way to do it in win 10 pro. Found some size parameters in regedit for display device, but doesnt seem to do anything if i change.

[@juschu85]

For everyone who is wondering why 64 bit over 32 bit doesn't just give you double the amount of possible RAM: In binary, every addition digit doubles the possible amount of numbers you can have. Just like in decimal, every additional digit gives you ten times more the possible numbers (1, 10, 100, 1000, ...). In hexadecimal (16 different digits from 0 to 9 and then the "letters" A to F) you get 16 times the possible numbers when you add one possible digit. So from 32 to 64 bit, you're doubling maximum RAM 32 times and 33 bit would already give you double the amount of possible RAM.

[@Quaddragon]

I use a 120hz BenQ projector, and my audio path is out of my computer to my Denon x3600 doing 7.2.4 then to my BenQ TK800M. I don't quite understand how HDMI 2.1 and EARC plays into all that.

[@bosoxspider1]

I have a 4930K, 24GB 2133Mhz RAM, and a GTX 1070. I am want to upgrade to the highest end Ampere card when it comes out. I want to be able to get the highest frames with the best quality settings at 1080p-1440p. My question is, should I definitely upgrade my CPU and RAM or am I good for another generation of GPU's. Am I going to be bottlenecked?

[@titch310790]

Hey Paul, great content, keep it up! Hope my question isn't too late for the next video. I'm building for the first time and one of my concerns is airflow. I have the ASRock B550M Pro4 Motherboard and i'm planning on putting it in the Corsair iCue 220T case and pairing them with a CoolMaster MWE 550W PSU. The case comes with 3 fans already installed and Corsairs Lighting Node Core for pretty RGB-ness. I would like to add a couple of additional (exhaust) fans but i'm confused about powering them. I'm fairly certain that the Pro4 wont have the capacity to power 5 RGB fans by itself. What would be the best way (fewest cables/cheapest) to power these fans? (Electricity is hard man) Thanks in advance for any help!

[@Lishtenbird]

12:40 Modern audio-video receivers (AVRs) are usually supposed to be the entry point. You plug your GPU's HDMI into them, as well as also something like a CD/DVD/BD player or a console or whatever, and then pick which output goes to the TV from the remote. HDMI CEC sometimes allows you to even just use one remote for the whole setup, but that's often janky. And ARC is left for if Android/cable content is needed. If your priority is sound quality, your AVR should probably be the first thing to receive sound. Maybe if you're worried about latency (for gaming), it would make sense to feed HDMI to the TV first. And then there's a whole can of worms of playing music on the same setup: HDMI requires a video channel to output audio (so, a mapped desktop in OS), TV might not passthrough your audio when off, using SPDIF/TOSLINK for pure stereo is more convenient but might lead to marginally worse audio etc. etc.

[@CJvzla]

Hi! just wanted to share a short story and also there's a question at the end : i've been into photography for a few years and have been getting into video editing the last couple of months, so i wanted to update my 2013 i7 3770 pre-built pc with a new GPU (currently have a 1gb ddr3 nvidia GT610, lol) , my budget was very limited so when i decided to spend $150 on a new GPU, i reconsidered and went for a new case with enough space for a ATX size PSU (cooler master Q300L), a kingston 240GB SSD, 2 sticks of 8GB patriot viper DDR3 RAM (previously had 2x4GB), and a 430w 80+ psu, so i can have sort of the building blocks for an upgrade to a new motherboard, cpu, and GPU when i have the means to do it, i feel like i made the right choice? anyway your beginners guide for building a PC came extremely handy and even if i was just moving existing parts to a new location and adding a few new ones (AND getting the dust off), it felt very satisfying turning it on for the first time and getting a fresh install of windows on a SSD which i have never done before. ¿Do you think my next upgrade should be a new mobo/cpu or a new gpu in the 1650/1660 super range? also, ¿how about a giveaway for entry-level gpus? ; )

[@khanscombe619]

Using older X99 Mini w/ nVidia GTX-1060 & USB DAC for multi D/A in/out in SPDIf/Coax to a McIntosh 8ch receiver w/ descrete 8 and DTS in. Can I switch to the nVidia out for just movies/games and keep my USB DAC for A/V studio work as needed on the main side?

[@kingofthenerds4708]

thanks to videos from you, kyle and jay I built my first pc in probably 15-20 yrs. r5 3600 4.4ghz all cores @1.3 with an evga rtx 2060 ko ultra with +170 gpu/+1099 mem (gpu boosts to 2100mhz at the highest i've seen)and my first time using an aio. idle is 33C, under load is 58-67C. couldn't have done it without your vids and the other guys. thank you

[@biocomputers7076]

Marvel's Avengers free beta on Steam, i paid $130 for 2 rx580 8gb off Craigslist, listed at $75 each, bitcoined mined for 3 months i'm getting 30fps maxed out at 4k, and it runs smooth, looks fantastic everything on Ultra, ryzen 7 2700x, 32gb 3000mhz, 4k gaming Avengers for $130 bridge less Crossfire no overclocks, i turned every setting to max just to see what it would do, i get over 52fps at 1440p and 64fps at 1080p in heavy action

[@H3llb0und]

Are you people for real? Been using audio from the GPU since I can remember, specially with ATi/AMD. If you go to Device Manager > Sound, Video and Game controllers, you'll see your motherboard audio device (Realtek or something similar) and I'm sure you'll see Intel(R) Display Audio and AMD High Definition Audio or NVIDIA High Definition Audio. Duhrrr... Also, why didn't you mention DisplayPort also carries audio since forever? HDMI is just the mentally challenged brother of DisplayPort.

[@josephbhumphrey]

I know that you can over lock your ram’s factory timings, but if you were to buy 4400 MHz ram 19-19-19-39 do you think you would get better performance slowing the ram to say 3800/3600 MHz to get even tighter timings or should you just stick with 4400 MHz? On a R9-3900x

[@__trustan]

Hey Paul. Thinking of switching my AMD GPU to an RTX 3000 series. What's the best way to remove AMD drivers and is there anything else I need to do when switching from an AMD to an NVIDIA GPU?

[@cscg646]

Hello! the content in your channel is Excellent! *wink*. Question. What type of CPU cooling would you recommend when building a PC in an environment where temperatures can reach 40C (104F) in the summer. Air cooling or AIO? Can air cooling keep the CPU in the safe temperature range? To be more precise, I'm considering an AMD CPU for my next build. Thanks!

[@brokentrashman9999]

I have this product: upHere T3SYC3-6 What am I missing? I have 2 of these products that are doing the same. 5V 6-Pack 120mm Silent Intelligent Control 5V Addressable RGB Fan Motherboard Sync, Adjustable Colorful Fans with Controller. These fans have the 3pin fan & 3 pin RGB. 1. is plugged directly into the motherboard at the bottom of MB the others (4) are plugged into a controller that is then plugged into the MB the same way, but above the 24 pin. They are able to be controlled by the MB but one problem they stay Blue no matter the style that is chosen. Need help with this please. The lights are pretty when just using the controller to control the lights. And Yes bypassing directly to the MB instead of the controller gives the same results with one fan. Color will not change but the style will no matter how they are connected. Manufacture says it should work. Do you have any input here? 2. The motherboard I am using is the Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro Wi-Fi. RGB fans are not showing up in the software - RGB Fusion.

[@NC7491]

I don't understand the confusion. Right now I have an HDMI cable going from my computer to my Home Theater Receiver and then another HDMI cable going from my HDMI receiver to my TV. It works great! The real reason I want HDMI 2.1 is because HDMI 2.1 will make the time I switch between sources, i.e. from my PC feed and my cable TV instantaneous. The problem however is that I need to upgrade all three components; GPU, TV and Receiver.

[@angryglock]

I have 2 8GB DDR4-4000 Memory Module - G.SKILL Trident Z. I have two empty slots. How do I know exactly which memory to purchase. There are 4 different choices that match that information on the G.Skill site.

[@Safetytrousers]

My Onkyo 5.1 surround amp has HDMI inputs fed by my 2 PCs GPU outputs and Firestick, it outputs the audio out to my surround speakers and passes the video signal through to my screen. There are 4 HDMI inputs and the Onkyo remote selects between them. The Onkyo handily also strips the HDCP from the signal to the TV allowing 4k from the Firestick.

[@erikschiegg68]

HDMI from graphics card to the HiFi AVR and the AVR connects with HDMI to the TV. Always top sound. Copper tubing radiates heat, plastic tubing keeps the coolant warm. So give steam punk a try.

[@jonathanmoody8757]

I have a question about CPU's, I just started back at my college today and am taking a calculus class where we will have to render 3-dimensional graphs. I have a laptop with an i5-8250u that runs at a base clock of 1.8GHz and a max clock speed of 3.4GHz. It has 4 cores and 8 threads. I think we may also need to be on zoom calls at the same time. I ran the program on my laptop and with just two 3D graphs it was stuttering a lot. I'm thinking about building a desktop but was wondering if it would be worth it to get a 6 core CPU like the Ryzen 5 3600 or an 8 core like the Ryzen 7 3700X. I'm also considering something that would be future-proofed because I'm considering taking classes about Astrophysics that will have computer coding involved. I'm also not sure how computationally intensive that type of coding will be. Thanks in advance.

[@chincemagnet]

High end Nvidia cards are waaaay better than any sound card. As long as HDMI is what you need. If you’re using a home theatre, hell yes. and if took forever for me figure this out, But if you have a TV that supports G Sync like the LG C9 OLED, and you’re passing through your TV via HDMI to your reciever, the only way to get 7.1 to work is by using E-ARC HDMI port and make sure your receiver supports E-ARC and Dolby Atmos and the TV and receiver both have e-arc pass through enabled, and in Windows 10 you have Atmos set as your default sound field. It’s the only way to get 7.1 working passing through a tv as far as I’m aware. You can always just use the optical port, but it’s hit and miss on whether it works half the time and you can only get 5.1

[@richlavigne1505]

Paul... I've been watching your videos for a few months now, but this is the first time I've commented. Between the GPU/Sound card topic and then Roman's positive comments, I felt I had to chime in. I would echo Roman's comments. I found your channel while investigating the possibility of building a custom gaming PC for SIM racing and it was your channel and videos that gave me the information and confidence to give it a go. Now, I'm racing on a machine I built myself with a Ryzen 3700X CPU, Aorus B550 Master motherboard w/ 32GB of ram, and EVGA RTX2070 Super GPU all in a Fractal Meshify C case. The machine has been performing amazingly well with the graphics all set in the highest setting. That brings me to my question, which sort of piggy-backs on the GPU/Sound card topic today. I'm currently using a Samsung 32" HDTV as a monitor because that is what I had. I'm using an HDMI cable from the GPU to the TV and that is giving me video and sound. I recently got a Buttkicker Gamer 2 to mount to my seat and that uses the audio from the green output on the motherboard into an amp which powers the Buttkicker. The problem that I've run into is that it seems the computer only allows for sound to be output via one source at a time so I've had to use some software to clone the sound to both output sources. Do you have any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance, your channel rocks.

[@hardware8181]

Hi This is Hariharan India. I need your help. Which motherboard built-in audio 7.1 high end quality produced. Which graphic card can be used for the best audio and video quality. I have used 7.2 channel home theatre system so I am planning for built good PC for only audio and video quality I am not play with any gaming

[@sanjaypayiri9641]

Hey Paul, love the videos! I have a i5-6400 and GTX-960(2gb VRAM) in my current setup and 8gb RAM, would upgrading GPU and RAM improve my gaming performance? Don't really have a budget for an overhaul

[@epobirs]

Back in the 8-bit days, when RAM refresh was left up to the CPU, there could be a real performance penalty for having the maximum RAM. This could be seen running a more intensive BASIC program on the minimum 8K Atari 400 and the same program on a 48K Atari 800. A game that played well on the low RAM machine would often be noticeably slower on the 48K (or 64K) machine. This, of course, stopped being a concern a long time ago.

[@neuroflare]

Hi Paul, I hope the family and you are still doing well! My question is if the recommended PSU for the 3000 series included a 10900k CPU, when using a Ryzen CPU with significantly less power draw would a lower wattage power supply be sufficient? Thanks Paul, you're the best!

[@xvikingkong]

I'm currently using a 1060 6gb and it's been running great for almost 3 years..30 series graphics cards are now waving.. and I was eyeing for the 3070 for an upgrade..but i guess the stocks will not be enough once it's released.. And I guess the price will not be exactly $499 once it hits Asia.. So I decided to go with the 2060 super instead as this is what I can afford.. now waiting for the graphics card to arrive.. 😅 Question: Did I made the right decision? is it a good buy or was I stupid not waiting for the 3070 or possibly 3060? 😹 Thank you!

[@upintheclouds1337]

No Paul. No. Do not use E-ARC as your primary audio source if you have a proper receiver. E-ARC is for soundbars with no video passthrough. For a proper receiver setup, do what 4k Blu-Ray players do. If you get a receiver that supports HDMI 2.1 and/or the full display spec of your TV, plug your Computer HDMI output into an input on the receiver, and have it take audio directly from your source device and forward only the video to your TV. If your receiver is not compatible with advanced display formats, then have a secondary HDMI output specifically for audio.

[@figfarmer]

Hey. Just listening to your dialog an memory. I have found that using a second drive with Windows which is faster than one's main drive for a swap file is just as good as adding RAM to a system which, like my HP Z200 is limited to 16GB of RAM. Even a silly little thumb drive will do the trick. Of course the point becomes moot with an SSD, as they are so fast anyway that you'll not get a faster drive. If you have a regular IDE or even SATA drive the improvement can be noticeable and easy to achieve in Windows. As far as RAM with Windows 10 goes in normal use I have not needed to go beyond 12GB. Just sayin'. Cheers.

[@akia16]

You should set up a home audio system with HDMI as follows PC/GPU -> Audio Receiver -> TV HDMI standard allows a device to pass a video signal as long as it does not have an HD display. HDMI prevents TVs from passing multi Chanel audio if they have a speaker. HDPC will work if set up as described with a TV and receiver that support it. Most receivers are also HDMI switches, good if you have consoles as well as your PC. I am typing this on a Home theater PC plugged into a 5.2 receiver then into a TV. Set up is HDR 4k ready but I cant afford a new TV yet for that.

[@joesterling4299]

Everything you said about GPU "sound cards" applies to DisplayPort as well as HDMI. I know because I'm listening to you through my DP monitor connection right now. Decent 2.1 speakers hooked up to the 3.5mm jack at the bottom of the monitor. (They used to be hooked up to the back of the PC.) Sound is vastly better than what I get from my consumer-grade motherboard's analog outs. Tighter, punchier, and no RF noise. To expand a bit, I think all the GPU card does is pass along the digital audio signal to the monitor, which if able (if it has the DACs) then converts it to analog sound. So, really, I think it's your monitor that may be a sound card, not really your GPU. Edit: Thanks for all the additional info on HDMI signal splitting to route the digital audio to a superior reproduction device. That was an education. Could I use the DP-out for video and an HDMI-out for audio from an Nvidia GPU?

[@ToddSauve]

Actually, you send your HDMI (via a cable) from you video card to your AV receiver, which decodes and amplifies all your audio. Then you connect the AV receiver to the HDTV via another HDMI cable for your video, and turn off the TV's sound. Bingo! You are ready to rock, or play your games or cruise KZbin. Simple as that. No need whatsoever for any digital light cables or any such thing.

[@djheckler92]

Hi Paul, love your videos. If the price difference is not an issue between a B550 Tomahawk and a X570 Tomahawk, which one would you recommend? I remember you saying you didn’t like having a chipset fan... Thanks!