Damn, I certainly did not know any of that. Motherboards are a very weak point of mine, like I can't tell the difference between my model and newer models apart from like DDR4 or DDR5. Jeez, one really needs to appreciate people who really know about this stuff. I would be completely clueless if left alone.

Done some work. Took the cooler and CPU off, cleaned the thermal paste from it (it seems that I have applied a bit too much of it and some of it leaked to the side, but I understand this isn't a massive issue because it isn't conductive). None of it fell into the socket, though, which saved me a lot of trouble. I did, accidentally, got some thermal paste underneath my i7. So I went to look for some videos on how to properly clean off thermal paste, I found this one to be pretty useful as the guy makes a whole mess out of it and cleans it (even though it's not intel). So I used some alcohol, a toothbrush and began to clean off the thing very carefully, I didn't have some of these blue wipes so I used soft paper tissue, I hope this doesn't bring me any issues. Regardless of this, I didn't notice any bent pins.. I placed it under a light and used a magnifier to look for the little bugger but there was nothing.

I reseated the cooler afterwards using the method you recommended, put the RAM into the A2 socket and it booted, first telling me that a new CPU was installed. Now it appears to be fine, but I don't know. Earlier today it failed to boot even at B2 which did boot yesterday.

We shall see, it will remain under observation. I truly hope this is just a case of badly seated CPU+Cooler, maybe the guy who built it first didn't seat both things properly (after all, the pump was connected to the wrong pins and he told me replacing the liquid wasn't necessary), maybe when I replaced the Pump I failed to seat the cooler like it should. I will hold my breath for now.

I will continue to look for new ~~old~~ boards regardless, I will ask around my friends if they know about any offers. If I can't find a good Z270 I'll make an offer to the guy that sells the Maximus X Hero, we will see.

Roger that, will do as you said. I did said I struggled a bit with the cooler installation, I don't have those standoff screws which I think are used to hold the base support in place (that goes on the back), something the pump had, so I had to hold it with my hand. Maybe I did messed up during the installation and the whole thing is uneven, working but uneven. Or maybe the whole board is messed up and I'm just coping lol. We'll see tomorrow.

The Z370 is not compatible with the 7700K, even though it's LGA1151.

Alright, thanks for the advice. Now that I've calmed down a little knowing that I can boot my system by using the B2 slot, I have some time to think and work. I will do the following: Check on the CPU pins once again tomorrow and see if I can spot a bent one I must have missed on the first time, I will use a magnifier this time to see better. I will reseat the CPU evenly, so that it all comes down at the same time. I will do the same with the cooler, reseat it as evenly as possible and try not to force the screws too much. I've been reading a lot of people who complain some of their DIMM sockets don't work and every time the first answer they get is to check on the CPU for bent pins or poorly seated CPU/Coolers, they will cause memory issues. Here's an example, same board model, almost same general setup and pretty much same issue.

If this is not solved this way, I'll look into fully replacing my motherboard then. I have seen this Z270, it doesn't say if it's used and if so, how many years and in what capacity, and it appears it's about to be sold to some guy. There's also a Maximus X Hero that is a bit cheaper than the Z270-P with "6 months of use", but yeah, I could be getting into the same issue. There's this Asus Prime Z370 which doesn't have awful pricing , it just says it's "in perfect state and functioning" but it doesn't include some metal backpanel for the casing, don't know how bad is that. And that's it, basically, for now at least. The issue with most motherboards is that they're sold in "combos" alongside RAM and CPUs, which completely skyrockets it's price. You can try to negotiate for the board separately but sellers don't like that.

I'll keep looking.

Forget everything I said. It's the Motherboard. I've had it again.

I turned it off before going to work, when I came back around midnight I was hoping for some fun. But I knew something was off, something was not right. I know I changed the cooler for a new one and got rid of the pump, but something about the RAM was making a lot of noise inside me.

There is no pump now, and the POST thing flashes an orange light, indicating a RAM issue. Stick is installed on A2.

Desperately googled for a solution, found a guy who runs a very similar setup as mine with the same issue, and he said the system would boot normally if the RAM stick occupies the B2 slot. So I changed it to B2, started it but shut down immediately only to start and boot to Windows again. The Motherboard is fucked, it has been fucked for years and now I know for real.

Not gonna say I regret my RAM and Cooler purchases, because these two hold good value for the future.. and the pump was fucked because otherwise I shouldn't have gotten a CPU Temperature Error. But fuck me, I didn't want this. To make it worse the dude who had this issue had his Maximux IX Hero replaced with a new one and he had the same issue. I feel robbed, I can't even ask for a refund at all lol.

Fuck me. Tell me one good reliable Motherboard that is DDR4 friendly and has the same CPU socket as this one. I need something that works and does its job well, not this piece of garbage whose RAM sockets lasted for two years top.

I'm going to start moving all the shit I want to save to my second drive, a 2TB HDD which is used only for storage, that way if needed I can format my Windows-installed M.2. I do have a spare non used SSD which I bought two years ago to keep it as a reserve. If I change my Mobo to a new one, I have to format my main disk.. however, can I put in the blank SSD, install Windows on it, make the M.2 "it's slave" and access it from the SSD?

Someone will make a compilation and analysis of all filmed attacks on IOF tanks/APCs soon I bet, or at least after the ground offensive in Gaza is over. That will give us a clear-ish picture of the IOF tank losses in Gaza, divided in total losses (like the recent M113 footage released where it's completely torn apart) to mobility kill or just damaged.

But I think it's very hard for Qassam to fully destroy Merkavas or Namers, they're well protected and they're firing at them with RPGs. Sure, these are RPGs with powerful modified warheads, but these are not 125 mm HEATFS or Kornet ATGMs with bigger warheads and penetration potential. The damage can be significant, but it's pretty much "localized". That said, pretty much all the footage we've got from Al Qassam shows them using RPGs at near point blank range (due to the nature of Gaza, the need to make their shots count and to avoid Trophy from activating), we got very little footage of them using proper ATGMs apart from a few videos (recently surfaced the HJ-8 footage). Maybe urban scenarios are not good for ATGMs and should be used in the countryside? I guess we'll see how these perform against Trophy-equipped Merkavas and Namers when the IOF inevitably goes to die against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Still, we've seen all kinds of footage. In some it is very clear the crew was hit and died, for example there's that video filmed very early on the ground invasion where a group of Qassam fighters are inside a ruined building by the coast, you can see the RPG-man slowly approaching his firing position while a third shouts orders. The cameraman then peeks over some rubble and there it is: A fucking Namer barely 20 meters away from them, moving but slowly coming to a stop, totally oblivious of what's going to happen to them. The RPG fires at near point blank range and hits it squarely by the driver's position, I think you can even hear the engine shut off. That is a kill, even if the vehicle can be recovered and put back into service... whoever was inside is no more.

But in other videos the hit is either absorbed fully by the armor (like some hits done to the turret, which is strong) or just misses. Can't blame them at all, firing a heavy unbalanced RPG with nothing but iron sights is super hard, all while you're about to be spotted by the enemy.

Still, there is no doubt the IOF is taking a lot of casualties. Serves them right.

listen jack, this is a bunch of malarkey

FUCKING DIES ON CAMERA

It's almost as if... capitalism had a number of internal contradictions

Here, worker, I will offer you these commodities. Wait no, you can't actually afford them lmao

Yeah, some countries have it worse like ours. It is common practice in Argentina to go on vacations to Paraguay or Chile and buy tech shit there, like I know people who went to Santiago and bought like three or four iPhones because they're not as heavily taxed as they are here. You can also buy cheap shit on Ciudad de Este, Paraguay, things like Smart TVs and stuff. You just gotta get past border police or bribe them if they ask around too much, but it's almost always cool.

Excellent! I will be receiving the 212 today at some point, I hope this is it!

As for the casing, thanks, I was certainly worried this thing is shut in indefinitely lol. I will pry it open with a flat screwdriver then.

EDIT: Alright, I'm pretty happy to say that I'm posting this from my PC!

212 arrived and installed. Installation was a bit complicated for my liking due to me having the keep the backpanel support thing in it's place using my own hand, but it is what it is. Applied some paste, put the thing in (removed the plastic cover, of course), screwed it firmly in place and it's all set and done. Only worrying thing is that the fan is so big it makes using the A1 RAM socket impossible, but that shouldn't be the case (cuz I'll be using B2 next time I buy some more). I was also worried the whole thing wouldn't fit in my casing, but it's all good with some distance to spare, not a lot but it's good.

PC booted like a champ, no Fan Speed Error, no weird thing. Directly to Windows. Checked temps and it's hovering about 20C. It's also very quiet. Too many colors for my liking, but this is what it is nowadays.

I followed a guy who shows you how to install it on YouTube and his model came with a controller and a plug for the RGB, but mine didn't. Not that I care too much about it, I think RBGs are controlled through a program.

As for the pump, I'll be cleaning it and putting it in it's actual package. Don't know what to do with it. Can I repurpose it's fans? Looks like I can't but I could use an extra one now.

So I think that wraps it up! I'm happy to get this thing working, will do some more testing as I come home after work like playing video games and such. I'm also super happy to have 16gb of RAM once again...! Will try to buy an extra 16gb stick to get this thing properly working. It doesn't sound like a lot but I've been struggling with just 8GB for years now, so it is!

And of course, many thanks comrade. Without your help I would have been clueless and desperate.

Here, this belongs to you now:

To be brutally honest, tech prices have always been this high for a good while (for a decade easily). Now the situation is worse because this piece of shit crashed the economy and destroyed our buying power. But all imported tech goods are heavily taxed and such taxes are not being lifted by the Mr. TAXES ARE THEFT guy.

I got my GTX1080 by "smuggling it" from the US. One of my best friends went on vacation to the US, Orlando I think it was, he bought it from a BestBuy or something, put it inside one of his bags and went past customs at Buenos Aires airport without any issues. I don't remember how much I paid but it wasn't a lot compared to what I had to pay for it here.

@[email protected]

Yo, got some news.

I have reasons to believe that my water pump set is dying or just fully dead. Here's what I got: I've read people online who complained their Corsair pump systems developed a red light error, the one I get during startup. Pretty much all cases turned out to be faulty pumps which needed replacement. Some argued that they developed high CPU temps and I even found one with the CPU Fan Sped Error. I also found out which model I own (found the box), it's a Corsair H80i v2, old model it seems.

Now, I feel like I want to remove it, and this will make sense in a bit. I want it replaced with a normal air cooler. My issue now is that I can't open the front panel of my Thermaltake Versa H35 chassis lmaoo, it's just a piece of metal grid with plastic around it. I found a french guy on YT that reviews it and he basically opens it by sheer force, same method as he closes it. Not good. I need to remove this panel to fully unscrew the radiator unit of the pump and I just can't, it's super shut in and I don't have the strenght to force it open plus I'm afraid I'll break it.

Regardless of that, I bought a brand new 16GB Corsair DDR4 RAM stick from a friend very very cheaply, well below market value. I couldn't let it pass. I got it delivered two hours ago, and I said "fuck it, lets put it in the A2 socket and try". And believe it or not, it worked. The system booted, past BIOS even without showing the CPU Fan Speed Error! The fuck!

However, after some time I began to hear the PC was getting overworked. Some fan was spinning faster. I opened MSI Afterburner to check on temps and it showed 17C, but the PC became more grindy sounding after I opened some windows. I restarted it to check temps on BIOS and then got the CPU Temperature Error or something, it was heating up it seems. This, I think, points towards the Pump as the culprit. I didn't go ahead, I just shut it down to avoid damage.

Should I go ahead for an air cooler? What should I be looking for? I mean for something compatible with my current socket. Is this one good enough, for example?

Feels like I'm reaching the end of this..

Understood! Tomorrow I will ask a friend who has a pretty beefy "backup" PC if he is willing to lend me his "spare" power supply unit to do some testing. Much cheaper than buying one outright and finding out it's not a power related issue lol.

I hope it's not the motherboard because I will be fucked then. That shit is super expensive here (Argentina) as imported goods are heavily taxed. If that turns out to be the case, I'll @ you for model recommendations, I found some DDR4 compatible ones that dont seem to be so bad but I dont know how they compare to mine. That is after I can secure a decent budget, so hard in our difficult times.

If it's the Pump then I guess I'll just swap it for a conventional cooler, hope I can just do that.

One final thing. Given my specs, what range should the power unit be in? 600W would be enough? Less than that is dangerous territory?

Many thanks for your patience, time and effort. I am truly grateful, without "personalized" help one is totally lost. Googling this kind of issues sends you deep into rabbit holes, PC related issues are almost always unique to each case.