Upgraded my PC

TransAmDan

Forum Admin
Staff member
With the crypto mining cosing more in electric than the rewards I have turned off all of the graphics cards.

This meant I have 2 x RTX3090's(really powerful cards demainding 300W each) just sitting there doing nothing. So lets upgrade my PC and get them in there.

Manage to get the 2 large cards in there and powered.
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The 850W power supply wasn't quite enough to run both cards when they are under load.

There is a special link connector you can link the two cards together, called an Nvidia NVLink. I get one of these these but the cards need to be 1 slot futher apart.

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My mother board dosn't alow me to be one extra slot apart, and even if it did, there would be no room in the case.

So then I start thinking i need to do some upgrades.
To get a new motherboard i need a new case. Checking all motherboard that are the Intel Z490 series to allow me to use the same processor and also the same DDR4 ram dosn't allow me to get the correct slot spaceing.

So I need a new motherboard, new case, new CPU and new DDR5 ram.

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New CPU fitted, it has 1700 contact points with the motherboard.
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Heatsink fitted
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Loads more room in the new case.
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New testing all went really well. Suprised how quick it went together and how little problems i encpuntered. Realy enjoyed putting this together.
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Bringing up what each CPU load is like, its listing 32 CPUs. Its really only 24 CPU cores, and 8 of those CPU's are running 2 threads. Its a 5.8Ghz CPU, and I'm running 6ghz RAM. certanly feels quick.
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Ideal for checking emails, lol.

Took the NVLink connector apart, the plastic around it was stopping te connector clicking in correct into the RTC3090fe. It just unclips and held in with double sided stick tape. Also added in some more fans along the top. Also have a hefty 1200w PSU in there. so plenty of power to run it all.
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So this is why there is not much progress on the Camaro, also been working quite a bit on PCB design work. so wanted to post something.

Build list is
  • Gigabyte Z790 Gaming X Motherboard
  • Intel 13900k cpu, 24core 5.8Ghz unlocked
  • 32gb of DDR6 (6000)
  • 1200w Corsair PSU
  • Fractal X7 Case
  • 2 x RTX3090 founder edition cards
  • Nvlink SLI connector
 
Blimey! I thought tech was meant to get smaller not bigger.
 
lol yeah, I know what you mean. The CPU is probably 2inch x 2inch, but can generate around 200w in heat, so needs a huge heatsink and fans in the case to try to keep it under control.
 
I thought heat would be a factor here due to the amount of fans you have there.
 
All that heat is adding to global warming how many natural resources are in there like copper gold metals that have to be dug out of ground lol.
Poor camaro no love.lol
 
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need to get back on the Camaro then i will be able to understand what i am reading
 
I totally get the thrill of seeing those new specs and imagining all the possibilities ahead!

As for whether you can upgrade your PC yourself, it sounds like you're already on the right track with the case and cooler swap. If you're comfortable diving into the guts of your machine, why not give it a whirl? Sometimes you just have to roll up your sleeves and take the plunge! If you need any more help, there are tons of resources out there. Maybe give https://starla.uk/ a peek for some more tips!

I'd love to hear what others think about your upgrade adventure! Anyone else here a fan of DIY upgrades? Share your stories and tips! Let's keep this conversation rolling and see what other PC adventures we can dream up!
 
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I totally get the thrill of seeing those new specs and imagining all the possibilities ahead!

As for whether you can upgrade your PC yourself, it sounds like you're already on the right track with the case and cooler swap. If you're comfortable diving into the guts of your machine, why not give it a whirl? Sometimes you just have to roll up your sleeves and take the plunge!
Thanks. It was great fun, something I have done many times in the past. This was a big upgrade. When you start browsing for parts, then thinking, well its only a little more for something better, then getting DDR5 ram instead of DDR4. Before you know it, over £2k has been spent (excluding GPU's), but you know its going to be a good spec for a long while to some.

Same I had when the car engine had issues, ended up replacing every moving part in the engineso it was all new, bored and stroked it. It was great doing that.

You dont want to do half a job, so I like to get the best I can at the time of the upgrade.
 
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