Can I safely reuse an opened tube of thermal paste?
A repair technician remounted my CPU cooler last year but apparently did not apply fresh thermal paste. I still have the Corsair thermal paste tube I used at…
PC maintenance
Is My i9-9900K Overheating Because of an Unmaintained Custom Loop?
I built a custom water-cooled PC about seven years ago with an Intel i9-9900K and an RTX 2080 Ti, using one loop for the components. While playing Wardogs,…
Will a White PC Case Yellow in a Warm, Bright Room?
I'm considering buying a used white PC that's about a year old, but I'm wondering whether its parts could yellow over time. My room has three windows, gets…
What’s the safest way to find and clean 600 GB in AppDataLocal?
I'm not very tech-savvy, but I do some troubleshooting on my own. My AppDataLocal folder is using around 600 GB, which seems unusually large. I've deleted a few…
What’s the safest way to find and reduce 600 GB in AppDataLocal?
I'm not very experienced with Windows maintenance, but my AppDataLocal folder is using around 600 GB of storage. I've deleted a few things before, but I don't want…
How hard is it to replace CPU thermal paste and add another intake fan?
My PC is about three years old and has started running unusually hot, with both the CPU and GPU temperatures higher than before. I'm planning to clean out…
Do PC components lose performance as they age?
Do CPUs, GPUs, and RAM noticeably lose performance after several years of normal gaming use, or do they generally perform the same until something starts failing? I bought…
I Dust-Cleaned My PC and Now It Won’t Boot
I only gave my PC a light cleaning by brushing dust off the fans with a small brush, but now it won't start. What should I check first?
My PC Won’t Boot After a Quick Dusting—What Should I Check?
I only gave my PC a very light cleaning by brushing dust off the fans with a small brush. Now it won't boot. What should I check first,…
Why Is My CPU Reaching 99°C and Causing Severe Game Lag?
My CPU temperature keeps climbing to around 99°C, and games become extremely laggy. Could the problem be old or dried-out thermal paste, a failing fan, dust buildup, poor…
Should I wipe my second SSD before reinstalling Windows?
I'm planning to completely wipe my PC, which has two SSDs, and perform a clean Windows installation. I've heard it's safer to disconnect any drive that won't receive…
Why is my gaming PC running 10–15°C hotter than it used to?
Over the past two months, my PC has started running noticeably warmer in games I play regularly. It used to stay around the mid-to-high 50s or low 60s,…
Is the Lian Li O11D Mini V2’s Unfiltered PSU Intake a Problem?
I'm considering the Lian Li O11D Mini V2 for a system upgrade, but I noticed the PSU intake doesn't appear to have a dedicated dust filter. Since the…
Are These CPU Temperatures High Enough to Justify Repasting?
My CPU reaches around 98°C under heavy load, while temperatures are much lower during normal use. The system was assembled in November 2016 with the stock cooler and…
How often should you replace CPU thermal paste?
I built my PC about four or five years ago, and its performance has declined noticeably. The CPU seems to sit around 70–80% usage, so I'm considering a…
How often should you replace CPU thermal paste?
I built my PC about four or five years ago, and its performance has gotten noticeably worse. The CPU seems to sit around 70–80% usage much of the…
PC Has Slow Performance, Black Screens, and Recovery Errors—Could the HDD Be the Cause?
I built this gaming PC in 2021 and have never cleaned the inside. Since around 2023, it has developed several problems. Windows usually starts normally, but sometimes I…
Is it safe to reinstall NVIDIA Game Ready Drivers without issues?
I have a bit of a silly question: if I reinstall NVIDIA's Game Ready Driver even though I haven't experienced any problems, could that potentially harm my PC…
Is it time to upgrade my old PC or just buy a new one?
I recently did a clean reinstall of Windows on my PC that I bought in 2023, hoping to refresh it after a couple of years of installing questionable…
Games Are Performing Poorly After Cleaning My PC with Compressed Air, Help!
I recently cleaned my PC using compressed air, and now I'm experiencing significant stuttering in all my games. I have a pretty solid setup with a 3070 GPU,…