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[Q1] User Eraser: Is the i3-12100F I bought for 500 yuan on Taobao reliable? I see that the piece looks quite new, without pressure marks…
[A1] A price around 500 yuan for an i3-12100F is the normal market price. Considering that CPUs are not easily damaged, I even suggest you buy a cheaper second-hand piece, as most second-hand pieces are also quite new, with only minor scratches on the heat sink on the lid.
[Q2] User Benliu: What model of wireless network card can I install on the ASUS A520M-K? Can you recommend a few high-performance ones? The search results on ASUS’s official website are not helpful.
[A2] There are mainly three approaches to installing a wireless network card on a desktop: USB wireless network cards, PCIe wireless network cards, and M.2 wireless network cards.
The simplest solution is to install a USB wireless network card, which is plug-and-play. Most models do not even require drivers, and there are many high-performance products available. Low-end products are inexpensive and can be as small as a wireless mouse receiver. The downside is that it occupies a USB port, and high-performance products can be larger and unsightly when exposed; the second option is to install a PCIe x1 interface wireless network card. This product works similarly to the M.2 wireless network card, just differing in whether it is directly installed on the motherboard’s M.2 WiFi interface (which requires the motherboard to have this interface) or connected to the motherboard’s PCIe x1 interface via an adapter card. Even if the motherboard reserves an M.2 WiFi interface, it may not provide a pre-set antenna installation position or include an antenna shield, so when purchasing an M.2 wireless network card, you must also buy a shield and antenna.
If you want better performance, a PCIe card may be more suitable, but higher-end products are also more expensive, with representative products like AX200.
[Q3] User USS: I have an R3-3100 paired with a B450 mortar and GTX750Ti. My power supply is 550W, mainly playing online games (CSGO, World of Warships), occasionally GTA5 and Witcher 3. My budget is 1000 yuan; how should I upgrade?
[A3] If you want to upgrade to all new parts, then spend the 1000 yuan on an RX6500XT, which will significantly improve gaming performance, allowing for a good gaming experience at 1080P resolution for these games.
If you can accept second-hand parts, under the condition of updating the motherboard BIOS to the latest version, you can swap the CPU for an R5-4500 (about 350 yuan) or R5-5500 (about 480 yuan), and then replace the graphics card with a second-hand RX580 (about 280 yuan) or RX5600XT (about 550 yuan), which will also provide a significant performance boost.
[Q4] User M_SE: I see reviews saying that processors like the i7-13700K can easily reach 250W or more under full load. Do I need to pair it with a water cooling system?
[A4] Reviews often present results obtained by pairing with flagship motherboards and subjecting the CPU to high-pressure floating-point tests, at which point the CPU’s power consumption and heat generation are indeed alarming. However, this does not reflect the usage scenarios of home consumers. Most users of such high-end CPUs will likely not even reach half of the power consumption, and you can set the high TDP activation time length in the BIOS to protectively limit CPU power output. Additionally, if your motherboard’s power supply capability limit is only 150W, even paired with an i9-13900K, you can safely match it with a 4 heat pipe cooler. This is simple to understand: sometimes the cooler level is determined not by the CPU model but by the motherboard’s power supply ability.
[Q5] User RB_Kwok: I want to add an M.2 SSD, but the M.2 slots are full. If I buy a PCIe expansion card, will it cause the GPU bandwidth to drop to PCIe x8 or lower? Currently, my motherboard is Z370.
[A5] Generally, the first full-length slot on the motherboard is the dedicated graphics slot (most mainstream motherboards will reinforce this slot with metal for distinction), with channels coming directly from the CPU; other interfaces are provided by the motherboard’s PCH chipset.
For example, with the Gigabyte B760M GAMING X motherboard, the full-length slot closest to the CPU is the default dedicated graphics slot, with channels from the CPU. The lower full-length slot can also accommodate a dedicated graphics card, but its channels are provided by the B760 chipset, and the speed is mostly X4, making it very suitable for M.2 interface connections.
Of course, flagship models in the Z series may provide 2-3 dedicated graphics slots (the distinction method is simple: the motherboard explicitly states support for SLI, and the slots have metal reinforcement design/you can simply understand that full-length slots without reinforcement design are not dedicated graphics slots), with their channels coming from the CPU and needing to share the CPU’s 16 PCIe channels. If you install other cards in the second dedicated graphics slot, it will indeed affect the main graphics card’s channel bandwidth, reducing it to X8 + X8. Therefore, as long as you install other cards in PCH channel slots, it will not affect the graphics card’s bandwidth. The MSI Z790-A motherboard has three full-length slots, but only one is a proper dedicated graphics slot; the other two can be used for other cards.
[Q6] User Bingchen: My old computer is an Athlon II X4-640, the motherboard is ASUS M4N68TLEV2, with 4GB RAM and a GT430 graphics card. What can I do to ensure it runs smoothly without lag?
[A6] This is a classic AM3 interface platform AMD processor, specifically from the ancient K10 series architecture. The X4-640 is a standard Athlon quad-core, theoretically upgradeable to a six-core processor like the X6-1055T, but the cost is too high and meaningless, so there’s no need to bother with the CPU. I suggest adding another ordinary 4GB DDR3-1066/1333 memory stick (you can buy a second-hand piece), which costs about 15 yuan, and then adding a 240GB-256GB SATA SSD, priced around 80 yuan, which can significantly enhance system speed, sufficient for general office work and internet use.
[Q7] User (): How to upgrade a laptop with an i5-3337U processor?
[A7] As we know, Intel mobile processors ending in U or H use BGA packaging, which cannot be upgraded or replaced. Therefore, these laptops can only consider upgrading RAM or SSD, with no other options. Given that the i5-3337U is an old low-voltage dual-core CPU, it may be more meaningful to consider replacing the machine later.
[Q8] User Qingganlan: May I ask if I can mix standard memory and RGB memory of the same brand?
[A8] Regardless of whether they are of the same brand or standard or RGB memory, as long as they are general-purpose memory (not X platform exclusive or server REG memory), they can be mixed freely (though some memory may have compatibility issues). The overall memory frequency will be based on the lowest frequency stick; dual-channel can still be formed when the capacity and frequency are the same and properly positioned (1,3 or 2,4) for standard dual-channel (regardless of brand or chip type), while other situations can form flexible dual-channel.
