Fixing a Viewer's BROKEN Gaming PC? - Fix or Flop S2:E3

Hey, everyone! Thanks for the continued support on this channel. Your viewership allows us to continue doing what we're doing for our community. To that end, we've also started a Clip-Share Shorts channel for super-cuts of videos like these as well as organic 9.16 content for mobile devices. We've hired an editor and will be adding videos on a near daily basis: bit.ly/3HchXou

This series just took a crime documentary turn with the weird transition to the shady parking lot deals for older tech. Love it.

The fact Greg went and found some replacement parts from the era speaks volumes about how far he's willing to go to get something working, that I can respect.

The HDD might be salvage-able if there is important data on there. HDDs have protection diodes (TVS diodes) to protect the sensitive components from power surges, usually causing the diode to fail but everything else to be saved. With some basic soldering tools the diode can be removed and the drive works again, though it no longer has any protection, so better get the important data off of it quickly.

It's amazing how often PSU's are overlooked in builds, ending up being considered last and cheapen'd out on, but they are the most important, and critical, component of any computer.

I really love how old hardware is transformed so easily by upgrading the case, a 2012 blue LED heatsink and the blue ram heatsink with modern RGB fans really makes this build pop.

Just wanna say Greg this is the only set of youtube videos I truly look forward to watching these days and I really mean that, I always love the opportunity to learn something new so I thank you very much :)

Love watching the fix or flop videos… even got my 17 year old son into it who’s planning on going on to collage for computer programming/coding and he has his own gaming pc he loves messing with and wants to upgrade it…. Your channel is great with such good information and knowledge to share… keep up the great work man

Reliable PSU is a MUST. Thanks again, Greg. Enjoying this series and seeing people get upgraded. Love to see that MSI is supporting this series!

You are so generous for fixing these builds for free, even upgrading when needed. I just hope you're aware that it's possible people could be taking advantage of said generosity for free fixing/upgrades.

I'm not saying this to lay it on thick or anything, but you're a damn good guy for doing a series like this. Some would argue "but he makes money from the videos!" and why shouldn't you? You're doing a real valuable service for these viewers. Good on you, man!

Love how dedicated and 100 you keep it with every type of build that is thrown at you. Great video as always!

I love this series. As a professional PC/Net Tech for 20 years who started on Win 98 machines (well, before that, but not in a professional capacity) I certainly became overly familiar with FDISK'ing all day long, pluging in every darn wire individually including that darn USB's before they had plugs with each wire already inserted, and well before mass header plugs. I swear, I used ot have _"Red, White, Green, Black"_ nightmares. Anyway, being spoiled over the last decade I've certainly gotten lazy, trying to skip steps to the problem I _know_ it is, just to be wrong and move on to the next one I _know_ it is because it is just so easy to neglect the fundamentals, which often take longer on an individual basis if it happens to be the last thing you try, but more often than not it isn't, and over the long haul certainly saves time. Though this doesn't quite take me back to early modern Windows PC's, it's certainly reminded me of a few _good_ habits_ to get back into like _"If a restart after resetting the RAM, GPU, and re-plugging all the power wires doesn't work, unplug it all and work up until it no longer boots which I always seem to do as a last resort now as opposed to one of the first ones. Bad habits lead Ed Sheeran to late nights sleeping alone. They lead me to late nights not sleeping at all!
SO thanbks for the reminder that no, I'm really not that smart and though things have certainly advanced a ton, troubleshooting and bringing a PC back to life has not.
Oh, and I have one of those _Ultra_ cases. Not that one in particular, but me second non-Voodoo gaming PC uased one. I still have it in my closet or basement. Loved that case. My first acrylic side panel case as well. They were Tiger Direct's stoe brand. I got mine with a PSU for $50 USD, including the 650 Watt (It was a 750 Watt but listed 650 as the _preferred_ operational draw or something weird on the side of the unit). I bought it when Ivy Bridge first released and that darn thing lasted all the way up until about 9 months ago when it finally *popped,* just as this guy described, after 15 or so years of being on almost 24/7, 2 years of a 2700 and a 580, 2 years of the 2700 and a 5700, then 9 months of a 5800 along with the afore-mentioned RX5700. That thing was a tropper. Heh, I've been through 4 units since, though 2 were because Thermaltake is apparently pretty loose with their modular wiring and sent me 2 Power Supplies, each with a bum aux board power wire which fried one board and the other fried the PSU. Then I grabbed a Corsair 650, but saw an EVGA something-or-other 850 Platinum that was a tier 2 for $90 and just grabbed it since I figured I'd have to get one when the new GPU's released anyway. I guess that's technically 5 PSU's, though 2 worked fine, and 2 were probably fine Unit-wise but somehow ended up with mislabeled or mismatched wires, which even for the same brand and model is a no no with modular supplies.
Anyway, love the series, and thanks for reminding me of the basics. Also, I love what you've decided to do with a lot of your excess components. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with TT'ers selling their samples when they no longer need them, or keeping them all for further testing until thy're completely obsolete, or mining with them, whatever, but it's really nice to see someone with the integrity and kindness to put them in your fans PC's as free upgrades. Whether it's something small like a $50 case or major like a $500 GPU, idk, it just gives off a great vibe, something we definitely need more of right now.

I had that same Z77 Extreme4 motherboard and i5 3570k in my build I built back in 2013 after graduating from high school! Man, seeing that brought back memories! Really solid stuff that lasted me until I upgraded summer 2020.

New subscriber! I always like these types of videos for education. I know alot of stuff but it's always easy to miss a point or 2 and it's just pure fun to watch the successes of fixing broken pc's!😁

These videos are just amazing after doing a build yourself. It's like endlessly feeling the triumph of FIXING something, again and again

Great video Greg, thanks for tip on checking if hard drive is bricked - feeling the disk drive to see if it spins
What sucks about this situation is that you had to give him practically a new computer as the only thing salvageable is the Ram, thats a bummer

I LOVE this series and you literally saved me HUNDREDS of dollars tonight! My computer did a normal windows update before I shut it down for the night. Then I noticed it started back up with a black screen. VGA light was on the mother board. I was about to lose it and try all kinds of trouble shooting, then I remembered your words... clear the CMOS. Of course I tried reseating the GPU first but you saved me time, sanity and MONEY! Thank you so much!! ❤️❤️❤️

Amazing how a case can make crappy components look great! Great clarity on the issues ... your channel is very visual and informative.

Love watching this series! It teaches a lot and I learn a lot about pc’s from this series! Also glad I’m early to this video

I really like this series, it's very entertaining to watch while I eat, am bored, or while i'm doing online school. On top of that, you've been pumping out episodes really fast for S2 so far, and that's really nice to see as well. Been watching the channel for a while, and have watched you grow. I still love your content all the same, and I think it's definitely gotten even better. Keep up the great work man :)

As a IT and Computer technician I found this much more informative, fun to watch and much more reliable than my own notes that I study 😂 I love this series and thank you for the great learning experience Greg wish you all the best!

I love this series. It's a change up from the build videos and reviews your peers make, plus it keeps your content fresh and engaging. Though I do find it interesting that there's enough busted PCs in your area to make, at least, 2 seasons worth of content.

This series is so satisfying to watch, Greg, you're so organized with fixing rigs and I have learned something new in every of your videos. Keep up the good work.

I'm new to your channel but have watched about four of your videos now, and I have to say I'm pretty stoked with your knowledge and troubleshooting skills. I've seen so many other channels that I'm unhappy with because of little quirks. Thank you Greg!

You are a really good hearted man for doing that sort of thing Greg. Love your content.

If I ever became a prof that teaches about computer, I would definitely use this series as an education material thingy. You're really informative and you replicate the problem which is the one of the most important thing in troubleshooting.

I love how amazing the old tech looks with a few changes like the case and power supply.

YOUR AWESOME Greg I so wish this world had more like you not selfish and/or greedy the world would be such a better place. props go to you keep up the good work man.

You really go above and beyond for these builds! Love to see it.

Great episode, Let it be a good lesson to any would be builders, Never skimp on your PSU! It's the heart of your system.

Popping noises are always fun to hear from a pc! 😂

Need a whole 52 weeks series of this fix or flop. is one of my favorite things to watch on Clip-Share keep up the good work

Loved this episode! It shows how important quality parts are, especially the power supply! And what can happen when it goes bust. While the CPU was a tiny downgrade and the SSD wasn't the same capacity as the bricked drive, it's no cause for complaint. Bet the owner was happy to receive a much faster booting WORKING computer! Good job Greg!

Really enjoy this series, keep on making them.

I am immensely enjoying your videos having experienced few of the issues myself over the years. You have to include reaction videos. I'm dying to see how they react to the upgrades.

HI Greg, just wanted to say thank you for all that you do on your channel! I learn a lot from the PCDC and Fix or Flop videos. Love how thorough you are. You explain every step of the way and why.

I encounter weird and uncommon problems watching these series which increases my knowledge on troubleshooting PCs. 👍

Honestly love watching your videos, learn about the dos and donts and realize my build isn’t as bad as I thought. It’s amazing how you break stuff down to simple terms for us thank you

Love this series. Not only do I learn something, but I enjoy seeing people being helpful.

Love this series. Very helpful and definitely helps people troubleshoot their own build. Keep it up!

Thank you for another great video! Showing the whole process comprehensively is very relatable but also very interesting content in those tricky situations. Keep up the work Good Sir!

id love to see a series identicle to this, but for fans. fan covers shipping and return label, you pimp their old builds get a few sponsors to handle the hardware if it's an option. and then have the fan FaceTime you when the new pc arrives for their reaction and then for you to further explain what you've done to it

This is the first episode of FoF where I feel uneasy about this PC. It's not totally impossible for all those components to go bad at the same time. I've seen it happen before in my line of work. There were just a lot of small red flags that this viewer staged this setup for a free upgrade. Seems like a lot of these parts could've been all put together with the knowing that they're broken.

the z77 board you had would have been a spiffy upgrade for that possibly damaged board. It also with the most recent bios update supports nvme boot.

Pretty much created an entirely new build! Greg, you are a generous man!

dude you are amazing for doing this... its amazing you are fixing these PC's for people for free.... you are a good person dude!

Something seems strange. Im not quite convinced his new PSU fried his cpu and motherboard. Whatever was found between the cpu and motherboard pins takes my vote for frying his system. Maybe the viewer also changed his cpu and didnt check for debris when installing? Im not sure

Congrats on 800k subs Greg. I am hooked to you're videos ever since trouble shooting an issue with my Memory cards. Now I do most pc mods myself thanks to your content

This build was such a glow-up, it was such a good work. When I was a child, my dad and me found out the hard way that a bad PSU fries all the components... we went through two CPUs, so you can bet the lesson was learned. The people who fixed our PC never changed the PSU, and until it fried up, we really had no idea why it was happening.

Just finished watching one of your other episodes and I gotta say that seeing your videos keeps things interesting, you are very thorough with your work and they way you present everything makes things simple for others that don't know much about computers. Keep up the great work bud.
Toronto viewer.

One of my very first builds was with this z77-ud3h motherboard and a Gigabyte GTX 680 Super Overclock. (Card was wild back in the day)
The more you learn the more confused you get with PC repairs. I find myself saying WHAT WHY more now than I did 10 years ago.
Very entertaining content and I enjoy watching all the videos in this series!

I absolutely love seeing you trying to revive old hardware. Back in the day I was right there with that guy... Needing to keep the old boy running. Thank you for the valiant attempt.

Really enjoyed this episode of fix or flop! Full of new info I didn't know before. And the dark blue and black color scheme is soooo nice

It's stuff like this that I fear will happen to the systems that my wife and I have at some point. These videos give me more and more reassurance that I can diagnose and fix them when and if anything occurs. Funnily enough just before the time of posting this comment, my wife's PC had a rough time trying to post, but we got it up and running again.

Always loved your series, a great escape from being stuck at home thanks to Covid!

This is such a great concept. And I love how you are just straight up honest on how you make money. New sub.

The new case made this looks like a beast of a build!

Love watching your videos Greg, been playing on laptops for years (mainly for the portability) and finally got a PC a few months and have been trying to learn everything that I can and your videos are very helpful. Keep up the good work!

Love your series. This is the 2nd episode I've watched and I'm hooked. I've learned a lot from the two that I've watched. Keep up the great work! It's really nice to see someone focused on helping his local community. You're a good person.

Seeing this video pop up on my home page this morning instantly made my mood brighten, amazing videos! Thank u for this experience Greg.

Had a power supply pop on me recently, so I've been looking forward to an episode like this! Fortunately for me, the build works just fine after getting the RMA'd PSU.

I think it would be a great ideia if u make a video rating components as power supplies and etc based on it's quality according to price, take care!

you've definitely taught me some troubleshoot skills appreciate the knowledge

Im currently using the core i7-3770k. An 12600kf is on the way. Almost 10 Years on 1 CPU and its still powerfull enough for most games! Hopefully the new one turns out to be as good of a buy.

Great job, Greg! You did that PC's owner, a solid!
I'd say, the step down to an i5 is non-consequential, as the i7 was borked... wasn't any hyperthreading, happening with that chip 😩 Having used, a system older than this one, for many years, watching youtube, playing retro games, and being able to operate a small, eBay store, with it, I can understand the usefulness of having access to even, the most basic of computers. It's really cool, what you do with this Fix or Flop series, Greg, because you never really know, what these people's situations are like...some people never even have access to $250 to fix their broken pc or buy an affordable laptop from Staples....

At thee beginning the owner stated he bought the new power supply because he bought a new video card that needed the 8 pin power. He went on to say he swapped out the new card with the one he sent you. With what you provided to him he should be good to go with his new video card. Good video. I look forward to these posts. Keep up the good work.

Wow, blown CPU's are a rarity, in fact the only times I've seen CPU's get destroyed is from Lightining damage/Surge from storms and 1 instance of a cup of coffee going down the top vents (Yes they placed coffee on the top of the computer). Great video! I still have a 3770 the non K version and that i7 will still run anything, the Z77 platform is what limits you by not having those modern frills.

Great job Greg! The video brought back memories of when I had a power surge in a thunderstorm and it took out my motherboard and power supply. Amazingly the cpu was still ok and nothing else was damaged. Had to buy another motherboard and psu and also most importantly a surge protector. Learned my lesson, surge protectors installed everywhere in the house now lol.

Great job. I love your series. This happened to me when I put a fan hub in. It burnt out everything and I'm just now getting my rig up and running. This was also possible because of your video on updating bios as I was staring at a black screen for three days. X570 boards aren't compatible with Radeon graphics out of the box.

i feel so much better about my gaming rig now lol enjoying the series

Omg what a trip was this episode, I Love the series, please don’t stop!
Great job!

Check the caps on the old MB, especially on the older boards, a lot of them use the non solid caps, so you usually see the caps that failed due to them bulging or popping at the top. Capacitors are easy to replace and dirt cheap. If you can't find the except size capacity, just make sure you get the same voltage and while the capacity can be same or above to a degree. *Oh and don't forget the polarity/direction. And lastly if there are any small fuses on the MB, you will seem the either shattered or black.

hey man i really love your vids. as you said, there is almost no content like this, that can help out ppl not knowledgeable of pc components and how to fix it. i loved working arround computers my whole life and want to make a channels similar to yours but in spanish (My main language). keep the good work, am really loving this series

This guy got really lucky. Kind of you to make this kind of effort.

Seriously, please keep these videos coming. Truly look forward to these since I built my first pc.

Hey, great content. It is an unfortunate thing that the psu took other main components with itself :(. When you exchange someones case, are you trying to keep the new case dimensions to the orignal case dimensions to avoid that the person cannot place it where the old case was?

Hey Greg just wanted to say love the videos, they really help me, I'm pretty new to the whole pc thing, and these videos really help me figure stuff out.

Just started watching, and I can't wait seeing the result! Love your videos

I like this series.
Keep it up, Science Studio^^
Too bad so much got fried.
Threw me back to that scenario.
*powerbutton**pop-vent**fuuuu* dead board

Hi Greg, do you think a power surge could have caused all of the issues? I had something similar happen about ten years ago, I managed to fix my hard drive but the CPU and motherboard were toast.

Good job bro. Glad there is great peeps helping others in the tech world 🌎

I think it would be awesome to see you hold a limited class on fixing computers!!

I'm so jealous of this man right now haha these 2 parts are the only msi part missing on my build... I have the MOBO, graphic card and AIO.

People be like: gather all the old dead components from your old builds in a case and send them to Greg, he'll swap them with new working ones.

I am about to move my old system to a new case and these video helps a lot. Keep them coming Greg!

In these cases, perhaps it would have been worthwhile to check the power rails on the og board for shorts and inspect the board and caps for damage.
Replacing the old board with another one is less interesting from the perspective of learning if it's feasible to try and repair these kinds of issues.

Thank you for doing these Greg! I recently upgraded my PSU to a EVGA SuperNova and upgraded my graphics card to a 3080 and shortly after those upgrades my new PSU bricked. I followed the steps you do to find the issue with it. You aren't kidding either when you say buy a reputable PSU, otherwise I am sure my entire system would have gone down with it. But luckily everything is currently running smooth with the addition to a new PSU.

So, basically, you didn't fix the viewer's PC, you just replaced it completely. Thats much more convenient when you deal with such major issue. lol. I subscribe to this channel because you're one of the very few Clip-Sharers that actually really contribute with greatly helping his viewers with a part of his videos income. Tha's very much to be apreciated and I support channels like this. Respect!

fixing is more intresting and teach me things better than pc cleaning keep going good job man 👍

Love watching your content Greg, you are such a nice person and a pleasure to watch. However I think your good nature has been taken advantage of here for free upgrades. I cant believe that system was in everyday use, more like old components thrown together to see if they could get a new system for free. Hope im wrong about that.

This Fix or Flop playlist shows that not everybody has a really highend gaming pc that we see in instagram feed. I really like that!

This is the build I started with a few months ago. The i7 3770 but I had a gtx 950. I upgraded the gpu to a 3060, and it ran my games great. Wasn’t quite strong enough for warzone, cpu was only at 50% usage, but I kept getting packet burst, maybe limited by the ddr3. But just bought a asus prime b560m and an i5 11600k and a case to go with the 3060. Took a couple months but I got basically the exact system upgraded to those specs for about $600.

I first looked at the case and was wondering if you were going to give them an upgrade, glad you did!

As a tech too, I couldn't agree more with the issue of buying a decent power supply. It never pays to save a buck, then have to weather the fallout of it failing spectacularly. Very glad you emphasized this :).

Excellent task list work here!!! Who would think the motherboard dying would happen at the same time as a hard disk... But, yeah, the common denominator with all 3 parts is ONLY the power supply. And on that note, I was just about to get an old platform put together from some spare parts, and I need only a new case and power supply.... And where I am, MANY shady sellers with some of those galvanized metal boxes such as the one shown here, are the go to for a cheap solution... HOWEVER cheap right up until you plug it in and cook the rest of the parts.... Thanks and great timing for this content for me. I will be upgrading my choice to well known name brand components for the critical parts.

When you see hard drive bays in the front of your case you know your in for a treat.

You are more thorough than me. I was hoping you were going to do a deep clean on it using a power washer and foam cannon.

That's really sad that so many parts died all at once. But something for the future you maybe didn't know before: I wouldn't recommend testing a CPU you still want to use in a motherboard that is potentially dead after a PSU blew something up. If the board is in fact damaged it could also take the CPU you're putting in there later with it (if something in the VRM area shorted out for example). Maybe get an old Pentium or something like that from a scrap pile and use that for testing if you can.
Anyway I still love the series and am looking forward to the next episodes.

Thanks for showing an older build! It was great to see. This is basically my current build but with a newer gpu. It’s getting to the end of its life but still runs the latest stuff at 1080p all be it with lower settings. Also this is why you never cheap out on the psu. Always go with a quality company and a bit of overkill power wise. Future proofs your build and gives you that extra head room.