u/NightCityStoic

Hey everyone,

I currently use a Logitech Pro X Wireless for gaming and AirPods for casual music. I’m upgrading my PC setup and thinking about upgrading my audio too.

Budget is around $1,000 USD total for headphones, DAC/amp, mic, and boom arm/stand. I don’t need to spend the full budget if there’s a better-value setup.

Planned setup:

Sennheiser HD 490 PRO

Desktop DAC/amp around $200, preferably with mic input

Separate mic:

USB dynamic mic on boom arm

or 3.5mm attachable boom mic into the DAC/amp

Main use:

PC gaming

Music

Discord

Some FPS, but not esports-only

Long sessions, so comfort matters

What I want:

Better detail/separation for music

Better mic quality

A proper dedicated desk audio setup

Concerns:

My PC fans get loud while gaming. Would open-back headphones like the HD 490 PRO be annoying?The PC is around 2 meters away from my desk chair

Is a desktop DAC/amp necessary for the HD 490 PRO, or is motherboard audio enough?

Is this a big enough upgrade over a wireless gaming headset to justify the price?

Would you go USB dynamic mic or 3.5mm attachable mic?

With a $1,000 budget, would you build this differently?

This is for a PC gaming/music desk setup, not a full speaker-room audiophile setup. Curious to hear from anyone who moved from wireless gaming headsets to open-back headphones.

Thanks.

Hey all,

I’m planning a new AM5 build with the ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi II / X870E-E R2, and I noticed that X870/X870E boards don’t seem to be officially supported yet in the stable SignalRGB device list.

That said, I’ve seen some forum and Reddit comments claiming that the SignalRGB beta version can detect/control some of these newer ASUS X870 boards.

Does anyone here have direct experience with this board, or any similar ASUS ROG X870/X870E board, working in SignalRGB beta?

Main things I’m wondering:

Does SignalRGB actually detect the motherboard RGB zones?

Do the onboard 5V ARGB headers work properly?

Any issues with ASUS Aura/Armoury Crate conflicts?

Is beta stable enough for daily use?

Where/how do I actually download the beta?

Would it be better to just use a dedicated controller like a Nollie instead of relying on motherboard ARGB headers, I'm already getting a Nollie 16 for lianli fans to connect to signalrgb without delays

I’m trying to build around SignalRGB from the start, so I’d rather know before buying/setting everything up.

Thanks.

Hey everyone,

I’m upgrading my main PC to AM5 and wanted a final sanity check before ordering. I’m not really asking “should I upgrade or not.” I’m already doing the upgrade. I mainly want to verify that the parts make sense together, everything fits, and that I’m not missing anything obvious.

For context, I recently upgraded to a Ryzen 7 5800X3D and also upgraded my GPU to an ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080. The 5800X3D is still a great CPU, but I want to go full AM5/DDR5 now and build out a more final high-end platform around the RTX 5080.

Current build:

CPU: Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 Aorus Pro WiFi

RAM: 32GB DDR4

GPU: ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080

Storage: Samsung 970 EVO 1TB NVMe

Case: Lian Li O11 Dynamic XL

Monitor: Samsung Odyssey G9 / 49-inch super ultrawide

Main uses:

Gaming

Battlefield

MSFS 2024

Single-player games / open-world games

Discord streaming

General multitasking

Some networking/lab stuff

3D printing/design/slicing

Planned upgrade:

CPU: Ryzen 9 9950X3D

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi

RAM: KLEVV DDR5 48GB, likely 6000MT/s

AIO: ASUS ROG Strix LC III 360 LCD

SSD: considering Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB as the new main drive, with my Samsung 970 EVO 1TB reused as secondary storage

Case: keeping my Lian Li O11 Dynamic XL

Fans: considering Lian Li reverse-blade fans for bottom/side intake and one normal rear exhaust fan for cleaner aesthetics/cable management

RGB controller: considering a Nollie 16 RGB controller because I want to use SignalRGB for lighting control instead of having multiple separate RGB apps

Planned layout:

Top: 360mm AIO as exhaust

Bottom: 3x reverse-blade intake

Side: 3x reverse-blade intake

Rear: 1x normal exhaust

GPU: ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080

Questions:

1. Does the ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E work well with the 9950X3D and KLEVV DDR5 48GB 6000MT/s?

2. Any known issues with KLEVV DDR5 on ASUS AM5 boards?

3. Is 48GB DDR5 a good choice for gaming/MSFS/multitasking, or should I go 64GB?

4. Is the Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB worth using as the main drive, or would a cheaper Gen4 2TB SSD make more sense?

5. Any issues with keeping the O11 Dynamic XL for this build?

6. Any concerns with the fan/radiator layout?

7. Any lane-sharing issues I should watch out for with the X870E-E if I use multiple M.2 slots?

8. Will the AIO, GPU, fans, and cable routing all fit cleanly in the O11 Dynamic XL?

9. Is the Nollie 16 a good idea if I want to control the RGB through SignalRGB?

10. Will the Lian Li fans, ASUS AIO, motherboard RGB, and case lighting all work properly with SignalRGB/Nollie, or am I creating unnecessary RGB compatibility headaches?

11. Anything else I’m missing before ordering?

I know some of the parts are premium/luxury choices, especially the ROG board/AIO and possibly the SSD/fans. I’m okay with that, but I want to make sure the build is technically sound, everything fits, and I’m not wasting money on something that causes compatibility or RGB-control issues.

Hey everyone,

I’m planning a new build and want to make sure I’m doing the RGB/fan wiring correctly before I buy the wrong cables or controllers.

Case is a Lian Li O11 Dynamic XL. Planned layout:

Top: ASUS ROG Strix LC III 360 AIO using the stock ROG radiator fans as exhaust

Side: 3x Lian Li SL-Infinity 120 Reverse Blade as intake

Bottom: 3x Lian Li SL-Infinity 120 Reverse Blade as intake

Rear: 1x Lian Li SL-Infinity 120 normal as exhaust

I originally wanted to use the new TL fans for my radiator, but from what I can tell they only come in the wireless ecosystem now. Because of that, I’m leaning toward sticking with the SL-Infinity setup and keeping the ROG AIO fans on the radiator for their static pressure performance. I’d also prefer to avoid going wireless since I really like the SignalRGB integrations and want to keep everything as compatible and straightforward as possible.

What I want:

Motherboard controls fan speed/PWM

SignalRGB controls RGB only

Possibly using a Nollie16 ARGB controller for all RGB

I read that the Lian Li controller can have laggy/less smooth real-time effects in SignalRGB, and that using a supported controller like Nollie can give smoother SignalRGB performance. Is that actually correct?

My understanding is that the Lian Li SL-Infinity triple packs use the proprietary 7-pin cable/controller setup. If I want to bypass the Lian Li controller and avoid L-Connect, I would need the special SL-Infinity 7-pin to 4-pin PWM + 3-pin 5V ARGB adapter cables.

Is this correct?

Would the wiring be:

SL-INF side cluster → 7-pin adapter → PWM to motherboard, 3-pin 5V ARGB to Nollie16

SL-INF bottom cluster → 7-pin adapter → PWM to motherboard, 3-pin 5V ARGB to Nollie16

SL-INF rear fan → 7-pin adapter → PWM to motherboard, 3-pin 5V ARGB to Nollie16

ROG AIO fans → PWM to CPU fan header/splitter, ARGB to Nollie16

Also, do the SL-Infinity triple packs include those direct motherboard/Nollie-friendly adapter cables, or do they only include the Lian Li controller cables?

I found normal 5V 3-pin ARGB extension cables on Amazon, but I assume those only extend normal ARGB and do not convert the Lian Li 7-pin connector.

Basically, am I doing this the right way, or is there a cleaner/better method for this setup?

Has anyone here done SL-Infinity fans with a Nollie16 and SignalRGB? What exact cables/adapters did you use, and did it improve smoothness compared to the Lian Li controller?

Hey everyone,

I’m currently running an ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC with a Ryzen 7 5800X3D, 32GB DDR4, and an X570 AM4 setup. My main display is a Samsung Odyssey G9 / G93SC 49" super ultrawide, so I’m pushing a pretty wide resolution.(5120x1440)

I’m considering moving to AM5 and upgrading to either a Ryzen 7 9800X3D or Ryzen 9 9950X3D, paired with a Gigabyte X870E motherboard and 32GB DDR5.

My question is mainly for people who had a similar setup:

Did you upgrade from 5800X3D / DDR4 to 9800X3D, 9950X3D, or another AM5 X3D CPU while already having a high-end GPU like the 5080?

And if so:

1. Did you actually feel the difference in real gameplay?

2. Do you think DDR4 / AM4 was holding back the 5080?

3. Was the upgrade worth the money, or would you say the 5800X3D is still good enough unless I just want the latest platform?

I know the 5800X3D is still a strong gaming CPU, but with the RTX 5080 and super ultrawide setup, I’m wondering if I’m leaving performance on the table, especially in CPU-heavy games and sims.

Right now I’m leaning toward AM5 because it feels like the final big upgrade to properly match the 5080, but I’d rather hear from people who actually made this jump instead of just looking at benchmarks.

Thanks.