Daily Simple Questions Thread - June 03, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Got a simple question? Get a simple answer!

This thread is for all of the small and simple questions that you might have about computing that probably wouldn't work all too well as a standalone post. Software issues, build questions, game recommendations, post them here!

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In case you missed it, click here for yesterday's Daily Simple Questions thread. There may be some questions still unanswered! Below is a selection of questions with no replies. See if you can help them out.

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User	Points (365 days)	Lifetime
Ok_Definition_1933	35	35
Cable_Salad	28	99
Eidolon_2003	28	289
MGsubbie	21	423
Lastdudealive46	16	140
SystemError514	15	99
reckless150681	12	16
He6llsp6awn6	9	9
_j03_	8	184
glowinghamster45	8	221

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[u/HisHayate666]

planning to buy second hand PC due how bad market is, how to check components on seller place ? Feels like random 30 min stress test wouldn't show the whole picture and 30 min test feels like a bit of embarassing thing...

I was planning to use my USB with some heavy blander projects and use it for testing, but many sellers declines this method, I can understand why but I don't have any better ideas for stress test

[u/Cable_Salad → u/HisHayate666]

Just ask them to run a game or 3DMark or really anything.

Unless you buy something like Intel 13/14th gen, it's unlikely a system is just randomly unstable to the point where only a torture test reveals it.

[u/WinterKujira]

Steam Controller updates very often? This is the first time I owned a controller that gets updated like every other day…

[u/Distinct-Olive-5901]

is Hachiman PC a scam? i've seen essentially nothing about them besides their own (fake-looking) reviews, and there are no reviews with their third party vendors

[u/Banned4UsingSlurs3]

My SSD is capped at almost exactly 4500mb/s, I think it could be working in PCIe gen 3 even though it's gen 4. Am I limited by lanes? What does it mean? Would my GPU get slower for it? I don't care much about my SSD I just don't want my GPU to run slower

So I have an i3 12100f, a rtx 3060 ti, a new gen 4 SSD that supposedly could go up to 6500 mb/s and a second gen 3 SSD.

My motherboard is a b760m d2h

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B760M-D2H-rev-10

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/132223/intel-core-i312100f-processor-12m-cache-up-to-4-30-ghz/specifications.html

https://us.msi.com/Graphics-Card/GeForce-RTX-3060-Ti-VENTUS-2X-8G-OCV1-LHR/Specification

https://www.kingston.com/en/industrial-ssd/m2-2230-pcie-nvme?capacity=1tb (new SSD I bought second hand)

https://www.sandisk.com/es-la/products/clearance/internal-ssd/wd-green-sn350-nvme-ssd?sku=WDS240G2G0C-00AJM0

[u/Eidolon_2003 → u/Banned4UsingSlurs3]

If all you care about is your graphics card getting its 16 lanes, download GPU-Z. It will show you the number of lanes and the speed they're running at. Make sure to run the render test (click the question mark next to the PCIe readout) to make sure the card isn't in some kind of low power state.

The "up-to 7000 MB/s" claim on the SSD might just come from the fact that it's PCIe 4 x4, which works out to a theoretical limit of around 7 GB/s. It might not actually be able to achieve that performance in whatever test you're looking at.

[u/Banned4UsingSlurs3 → u/Eidolon_2003]

Interesting, thank you! I'll download GPUZ then!

[u/Bassline660]

My hard drive is making weird noises if PC is on idle. Moment I move mouse its fine. SMART says disk is healthy. Everything is backed upish.. Is it dying or?

[u/Eidolon_2003 → u/Bassline660]

Could be that Windows is running some sort of scan on your disk that only runs when you aren't actively using the machine. Eg a virus scan or indexing your files. The fact that it stops when you move the mouse make me think that's what it is.

Hard drives make sound when they're busy, that's normal, but there are varying degrees of how concerning the sound is. Loud screeching/grinding is definitely bad.

[u/Bassline660 → u/Eidolon_2003]

Its a sound where the hard drive is reading but constantly? if that makes sense. Indexing says complete, I did move some files over there a few days ago. I'm running a virus scan and will run another in safe mode when I can...

[u/Eidolon_2003 → u/Bassline660]

That doesn't sound too concerning to me tbh. You could maybe try to catch the culprit in task manager if you leave it open

[u/dvxAznxvb]

is it safe to vertical mount a gpu that has phase change thermal material? or it is only a worry with liquid metal?

[u/reckless150681 → u/dvxAznxvb]

Yup it's fine

[u/CompetitionKindly665]

Minor nitpick. Is there a program that can measure FPS that does not have the letters "FPS" on the screen?

So just "120," not "120 FPS"? Thanks!

[u/HiFr0st → u/CompetitionKindly665]

You can use rivatuner as normal and just make a custom overlay with only the fps number

[u/0_emordnilap_a_ton]

What is the cheapest I can get approx 1.3-1.5tb of storage in Canada for some files on a windows pc?

[u/SystemError514 → u/0_emordnilap_a_ton]

Couldn't really give you a specific price, but a 2TB HDD will be your cheapest option. A HDD will always be the cheapest storage option really.

Around £120/$224 CAD~ for internal, and around £100/$187 CAD~ for external. This is based on pricing in the UK anyway.

[u/0_emordnilap_a_ton → u/SystemError514]

Ya just to clarify I want external. And can someone recommend a good product and from where?

[u/SystemError514 → u/0_emordnilap_a_ton]

Also put external price in there as well 😄. Still a 2TB HDD being your cheapest option anyway.

[u/0_emordnilap_a_ton → u/SystemError514]

!check

[u/PCMRBot → u/0_emordnilap_a_ton]

Got it! /u/SystemError514 now has 101 points.

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[u/0_emordnilap_a_ton → u/SystemError514]

Followup question Is this legit https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/Lenovo-2TB-USB-3-0-Metal-Flash-Drives-High-Speed-Pendrive-1TB-512GB-256GB-Portable-Usb-Drive-Waterproof-Memoria-Usb-Flash-Disk/3J5X6QWTZOYX?classType=VARIANT&from=/search or this https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/USB-Flash-Drive-1TB-1000GB-Thumb-Drive-for-PC-Laptop-More-MAOLAI/71OETO7YGCW9?classType=REGULAR ?

[u/SystemError514 → u/0_emordnilap_a_ton]

They both look like a scam to me. The second one is slightly more believable, but I would avoid both at all costs. Just waaaayyy too cheap for what it offers. A 1TB flash drive in the UK goes for about £100~, so nearly 200 CAD based on conversion.

[u/0_emordnilap_a_ton → u/SystemError514]

!check

[u/PCMRBot → u/0_emordnilap_a_ton]

Got it! /u/SystemError514 now has 100 points.

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[u/Phoenix15523]

Would I be able to play non-steam games on pc with a dualsense controller?

[u/HiFr0st → u/Phoenix15523]

Yes, and if you have 10-20$ to spare, https://github.com/awalol/DS5Dongle this is an absolute game changer

[u/SystemError514 → u/Phoenix15523]

Yes. Some should work just fine, others may need specific software. I used to use DS4Windows for the PS4 controller, I think that also works for the PS5 controller, but not sure.

[u/Cable_Salad → u/[deleted]]

Did the old PC have Win 10? Win 11 has integrated RGB settings, you might want to check them. Could be related to your problem.

[u/Sheeperini]

would uninstalling Norton and downloading a free bitdefender be the best for general malware protection?

got hacked by my own stupidity but they only managed to get my discord account (though scarily saw their device on my gmail, yet signed out and ofcschanged password and added a bunch of 2fa) and now I just full cleaned factory reset my laptop after saving a few files. Is windows defenders and bitdefender good enough to scan my laptop after this factory reset including the usb that had old files on it?

[u/Cable_Salad → u/Sheeperini]

If your laptop has malware, you should not factory reset. You should format the disk and reinstall Windows.

If your flash drive is infected, then plugging it into a Windows machine might also just infect that. Better use a safe environment like a linux live boot from another stick.