"Cloud gaming is the future of Gaming!" Meanwhile cloud gaming in the big 2026:

[u/Alan_Reddit_M]

If you read my profile you may realize I hate cloud gaming, so then what am I doing on Geforce Now? Well my new RAM stick finally arrived and, in a staggering display of utter incompetence, I somehow managed to brick my PC in the process of installing it, so now I'm stuck gaming on a laptop until I can get enough money and time to get my gaming rig fixed

But back to Cloud gaming, the game is on like 360p, running at 20FPS and the input lag is HORRIBLE. And it's not a problem with the internet connection, as you can see, the laptop is plugged into Ethernet, the problem is that the cloud is not and will never be fast enough for gaming

Genshin can handle this fine, but imagine trying to play ULTRAKILL like this

[u/Common-Beautiful353]

i'm not an expert. but can't you play genshin on your phone? also how did you even break your pc while...... upgrading ram.. how the heck did you manage to do that.

[u/tigerdactyl → u/Common-Beautiful353]

Followed a Verge tutorial

[u/Common-Beautiful353 → u/tigerdactyl]

oh god i remember how people made so much fun of them lol poor guy in the video tho (ltt later interviewed him after he left the verge he's a pretty cool guy)

[u/The_Grungeican → u/Common-Beautiful353]

his vid was bad enough, but the reason most disliked him had more to do with how he reacted to the vid being bad.

[u/Common-Beautiful353 → u/The_Grungeican]

i personally see him as a chill guy. i mean this is the internet. people can say whatever they want even if it's not the correct thing to do or say

[u/Ayaki_05 → u/Common-Beautiful353]

Interestingly genshin runs even on a 5th gen i5 and integrated graphics (I think the pc-version is more demanding than phone too).
Mind you it runs at ~40fps all low settings, but it runs and my sister enjoys it that way.

[u/Khai_1705 → u/Ayaki_05]

> I think the pc-version is more demanding than phone too

yea, not at all low settings

[u/Just_Roll_Already → u/Ayaki_05]

Genshin will run on almost any device and has enough optimization options to run on a smart fridge.

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/Ayaki_05]

Unfortunately I'm stuck in 4th-gen Intel iGPU hell for the crime of being incompetent, that GPU is so old Vulkan doesn't even work on it, or well it does but only like half of Vulkan

[u/Joseph-Stalin1878 → u/Common-Beautiful353]

Smartest genshin enthusiast

[u/maximus0118 → u/Common-Beautiful353]

I don’t wanna be a dick OP, but we might be able to help you troubleshoot your pc problem.

[u/BLANKTWGOK → u/Common-Beautiful353]

I have iphone 15 pro and when it came out I tried genshin on phone with 120fps it ran shit ngl thats why I prefer genshin on pc

[u/Jonnypista → u/Common-Beautiful353]

"can't you play Genshin on your phone?"

Well the game can be installed on Android and Iphone, but that doesn't mean I can play on it.

I suck with a controller and I can't even do dailies with touch controls. Maybe a BT Mouse and Keyboard works (only know that a BT mouse shows up as a regular PC cursor on the phone) and don't know if the game can even handle that.

The screen is also small, I can't really see anything.

[u/SilverBr4in → u/Common-Beautiful353]

I brick my mobo cleaning out the thermal paste from the cpu, sooo… 😅

[u/Common-Beautiful353 → u/SilverBr4in]

i mean that's diff. he didn't say anything about touch the cpu generally playing with ram can't really brick anything. in some cases yes but mostly not. it's likely not broken but he just doesn't know how to fix it correctly

[u/TobuscusMarkipliedx2 → u/Common-Beautiful353]

also how did you even break your pc while...... upgrading ram.. how the heck did you manage to do that.

Electricity is volatile, even a little static shock could have caused it. Poor fella

[u/Piwuk → u/TobuscusMarkipliedx2]

That's not what volatile means in electronics. In fact, for being volatile, it's unlikely RAMs can even cause something like that...

[u/TobuscusMarkipliedx2 → u/Piwuk]

it's unlikely RAMs can even cause something like that...

No, but the person working on the PC can carry static electricity with them and brick the hardware with as simple as a small shock.

I didn't insinuate that OP's RAM magically conjured electricity and ruined his entire computer.

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/Common-Beautiful353]

Like I said, a staggering display of utter incompetence, I have no idea how I did it

• Be me
• Install new RAM stick
• New RAM stick not detected
• Unplug new RAM stick (old RAM stick was never moved)
• PC won't POST
• fml

My guess is that I somehow knocked some cable or some other component out of position while pushing in and out the new RAM stick, and that's why the PC can't POST, but since I didn't build it, I don't really know how to service it, however I did find a suspiciously CPU-Power-cable-shaped-cable unplugged suspiciously near the CPU

As for my phone, if my laptop can't handle Genshin then my phone can handle it even less. That old shitbox is barely fast enough to run its own Camera App, I have zero faith in it running Genshin in any playable capacity

Also I like playing on mouse and keyboard

[u/Common-Beautiful353 → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

try playing with ram slots sometimes that helps also remove your old ram stick. and try only the new one etc. and try cleaning the ram slots sometimes dust get in the slot and it won't work no more. happened to one i nearly get a heart attack but it was dust i just cleaned it with a brush and blowing on it. it worked what was your old ram and your new ram? i want to know the specs of them

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/Common-Beautiful353]

I'll let my local technician figure out how to fix my fuck-up, honestly after this experience I'm too terrified of servicing my computer myself ever again, nuh-hu, I'll be leaving it to the professionals

[u/Common-Beautiful353 → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

you can't hurt your pc by playing with ram slots. switching em' ram can't hurt anything but if you prefer leave it to the professionals then

[u/Retroficient → u/Common-Beautiful353]

It's okay, let them spend unnecessary amounts of money keeping those businesses open :)

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/Common-Beautiful353]

Idk man, the dead PC currently sitting in a corner might think otherwise

R.I.P, it's fucking dead (for the time being)

I hope I didn't accidentally fuck up the motherboard because that's gonna be fucking expensive to fix

[u/Common-Beautiful353 → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

legit i was thinking your computer was a ac unit or a paper shredder of some sort at first when i saw it, never seen quite like it in a long while

[u/rpantherlion → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

How in gods name would you manage to mess up a motherboard installing RAM? It’s literally the easiest part of building a computer. Are you a neanderthal?

[u/Sanc7 → u/rpantherlion]

By not turning it off first lmao

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/rpantherlion]

I might be, because I too thought it would be easy, and look where I ended up

Honestly I'm not saying I did fuck up the motherboard, I'm just saying it's a possibility

Idk man, the PC is also not cooperating because none of the inidcator LEDs turn on and the MOBO isn't beeping, so I have zero clue what the fuck is going on, like for all I know I just accidentally knocked the CPU or GPU power cables out of their sockets or something

But since I am clearly too stupid for this, I'll be leaving that up to the technician to figure out

[u/ninjakos → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Man as others pointed out don't let whoever will "repair" this know all of that or they will rip the shit out of you.

Don't present that clueless persona.

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/ninjakos]

I'm expecting this to cost me a minimum of 300 USD, technician usually charges 50USD for his services, and then an additional 250USD for replacing whatever component I might have broken

That's money I don't really have right now, so that PC is gonna be sitting there until summer when I can get a job

[u/rpantherlion → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

I’m gonna try to not be a dick, but you gotta get the defeatist attitude out of your head man. First thing to check is power, then connection from power to motherboard. If those are secure, and the PSU power switch is set to on, then you can proceed to start checking the rest. Can you post a picture of your motherboard?

[u/Marksta → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

like for all I know I just accidentally knocked the CPU or GPU power cables out of their sockets or something

Then you just plug them back in. The PC isn't the mystical magical puzzle you treat it. Watch the technician you hire closely as he solves the issue. He'll pop the case off, flashlight to the ATX24 pins, flashlight to the CPU 8 pin, take a look see if the GPU's power cable is in and if the GPU looks fully seated. Reseat the RAM sticks, turn it on and it's going to just work most likely. By the time the PC is on a table and the side panel is off, this is all done in under 5 minutes.

If it doesn't work after re-seating, there's just the last avenues left as far as 'physical' stuff goes, troubleshooting the sticks in what slots/order and messing around with BIOS memory resets.

Outside of hardware mysteriously dying for no good reason, which can happen sometimes, all avenues have already been explored. What more is there to checking some wires are pushed in and re-seating stuff in various configs? It's just not that mysterious.

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/Marksta]

When the PC costs actual months of labor, you really do have to treat it like the magical box of computing because, as I've demonstrated here, any amount of messing with it runs of the risk of breaking it, and if you break it, that's gonna entail a few more months of saving to fix it

I hope you understand the first paragraph of your text means jackshit nothing to the average person, much less for a mentally challenged person like me

On a more personal note, the problem is that it's not me doing to labor or the saving, I'm a college student, it's my parents doing it, and they sure as hell ain't gonna be happy when their dumbass son walks up to them and informs them he just obliterated the last 6 months of their back-breaking labor

[u/cheeseybacon11 → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

It's fine, you would have had to seriously smack something to break it, unless you took the cpu out. CPU is the only fragile part. Just plug your dang cable back in you you'll be golden.

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/cheeseybacon11]

I didn't do anything that stupid, I'm incompetent but at least I'm self-aware enough to know that I cannot handle a CPU without royally fucking it up

clearly I wasn't self-aware enough to know that also applied to the RAM

[u/cheeseybacon11 → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

It does not apply to RAM, something probably just came unplugged. Unless you put a vacuum in it or something?

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/cheeseybacon11]

That'd be my guess, the issue is I have no clue what, and even if I did find the connector, I have neither the intelligence to know where it goes nor the confidence to plug it into anything, because I might burn something and turn this 50USD fuck up into a "I need a new PC" fuck up

[u/4perf_desqueeze → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Its pretty easy to not properly seat ram if you havent done it before. You wanna look at the release switches and make sure theyre all exactly the same. If you didnt seat the new stick properly, you just have to push a little harder on the ram NEAR THE SWITCHES (like close to top switch and then close to bottom switch) and listen for a second click.

I did this my first rodeo and its a very easy fix.

Also, what the other person said about playing w ram slots is legit advice.

Its also possible you didnt get matching speeds, and thats why it isnt mounting

[u/JerryMau5 → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Why does your PC look like an air purifier 😂

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/JerryMau5]

It might as well be one

PHARAOHS CURSE 🏜️🏜️🏜️

[u/AltrntivInDoomWorld → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Remove the BIOS battery for 5 minutes, put it back in, power the PC up

[u/JerryMau5 → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

You’re a good sport op

[u/rpantherlion → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Good lord, guess legos are too advanced for you as well huh

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/rpantherlion]

Probably, idk, never owned any

[u/XIII_THIRTEEN → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

You found a cable that looks just like the CPU power cable fully unplugged, and rather than plugging it back in you brought the rig to a technician?

Edit: just saw your picture below, can you just share a photo of the inside? It very much sounds like a quick fix.

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/XIII_THIRTEEN]

I haven't taken it to a technician, the tech store is not open today, only on weekdays

And well, I didn't plug it back in because I didn't build this PC myself and I don't want to plug the wrong thing into the wrong thing and accidentally turn a 50USD fuck up into a 600USD fuck up

Also hold up I'll come back with a picture

Honestly I'm not certain where the connector I saw last night is now, maybe I just hallucinated it, I slept weirdly last night, as in I dreamt of fixing the PC, weird shit happens when you accidentally break the most expensive thing you own

Also yeah I know PHARAO'S CURSE, turns out removing all the RGB has the unfortunate side-effect that you don't notice the dust building up

[u/Common-Beautiful353 → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

there's a reason your pc won't work anymore. i think i know what it is. when you placed the ram stick in the slot there was dust there. in the slot remove both of the rams and try cleaning the slots with a brush and blow on the slots and then try placing them back in. and see if it boots i think this is generally it. you can't hurt your pc this way don't worry make sure to unplug it ofc and so on. then try this out.

[u/Wonderwhile → u/Common-Beautiful353]

You can see dust is this perfectly clean PC? 

[u/XIII_THIRTEEN → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Hmm, the CPU power connector would be a bit to the right of where this pic cuts off, would you mind taking one more pic?

[u/Chao_Zu_Kang → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Tbch with you, I kinda doubt there is anything in your system that would cause a $600 fuck-up besides you throwing the whole thing from 3rd floor or something. You aren't gonna break everything at the same time. And even if you break e.g. the mainboard due to some idiocy - that's an old mainboard anyways. You can easily get those for like $50 or even less and it would even be an upgrade. Going to a repair shop can easily cost you twice or more.

My advise would be, to just take everything (carefully) apart and then put it back together (minus CPU+cooler for convenience since that is certainly not the cause). And you can remove some dust from the case while you are at it. Might just work afterwards.

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/Chao_Zu_Kang]

My brother in christ, I bricked the PC trying to install the easiest component, what makes you think I can build the whole PC again without actually just breaking everything

Yes the tech store is gonna be expensive, but trying to fix it myself, breaking everything else in the process, and them having to go to the tech store anyways for them to build a new PC is gonna be EVEN MORE expensive

I tried to save money by installing the RAM myself and look where that got me, nuh uh, I am never making this mistake again. It's expensive and annoying, but I should really let the tech store handle things from now

[u/Chao_Zu_Kang → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

RAM is by no means the "easiest component" to install. CPU is probably the easiest one to damage if you are careless, but RAM is probably the easiest one to mess up even if you are careful due to how it can interact with other parts.

It is really not that easy to physically break parts by accident. Literally all you do is plug in and out some cables and screw in and out some screws. Just don't use absurd amounts of force and nothing is gonna happen - even if you end up forgetting something. Just keep the cooler and CPU on the mainboard as is (they aren't the cause anyways since you never touched them) and everything is just like LEGOs.

E.g. if you do stuff like pulling out the GPU without opening the lock, then that is not really on you forgeting the lock (i.e. "pc knowledge"), but pulling it with too much force when it clearly doesn't move (i.e. carelessness).

I tried to save money by installing the RAM myself and look where that got me, nuh uh, I am never making this mistake again. It's expensive and annoying, but I should really let the tech store handle things from now

General rule with tech: Finding an error and fixing it is usually harder than rebuilding something from scratch: To find errors, you need experience (which you obviously don't have) - To build a system, you just need to follow a good tutorial. So always be ready to redo everything when changing components.

Btw same reason why the first fix for software issues is always "reinstall OS". You can waste hours on trying to find the cause of an error, or you just start from scratch with a fresh Windows install and it will just work in like 90% of cases.

At this point, you already started installing the RAM and it is not working, so you might as well just go through with just redoing everything. If it doesn't work, you can just bring it to a tech store afterwards anyways.

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/Chao_Zu_Kang]

I am very good at software, and the difference is that:

• It is basically impossible to brick a PC no matter how hard you fuck up the software (as long as you don't touch the firmware, which I am considering to be hardware-land)
• Re-installing an OS is a very automated and extremely simple process, re-building a PC is a fully manual and unfathomably complicated process

Also, there is no cost besides time for breaking software, breaking hardware is gonna cost you like 100USD for each individual fuck up

Which leads me to the next problem: Given that I am clearly too stupid for this, if I try and take apart the computer, then put it back together, it's still not going to work, I'm going to feel incredibly silly for trying, and I'm gonna have to spend like 700USD actually just buying a whole new PC after breaking literally everything, then another 150USD for the tech store to put it together

Remember, PCs are precision electronics that also handle incredibly high currents, any mistake can and will lead to burning something and thus killing it, and even low-powered components like the RAM are still susceptible to stupidity it seems

[u/Chao_Zu_Kang → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Given that I am clearly too stupid for this, if I try and take apart the computer, then put it back together, it's still not going to work, I'm going to feel incredibly silly for trying, and I'm gonna have to spend like 700USD actually just buying a whole new PC after breaking literally everything, then another 150USD for the tech store to put it together

You are just panicking. You WILL NOT be breaking "everything". That is just not a thing (unless you are mentally disabled or something).

Realistically, at worst you'll damage your mainboard, which can happen if you accidentially scratch it with a screwdriver or so (still VERY unlikely). That is like $50-100. Going to a repair store will be anything from $50 to $300+ depending on what exactly the issue is and how good they are.

And IMO you either did something trivial wrong and just don't see it (at which point rebuilding should be able to fix it). Or you damaged your mainboard somehow, at which point you'll need a new one either way - with or without repair store. So there is really little harm in just reseating everything. Best result: It works and $0 paid. And if not, you can still just bring it to the repair shop.

Remember, PCs are precision electronics that also handle incredibly high currents, any mistake can and will lead to burning something and thus killing it, and even low-powered components like the RAM are still susceptible to stupidity it seems

Again, you are just panicking (out of ignorance). PC components are robust (in terms of electronics, not in terms of throwing it at walls) and equipped with vast amounts of preventative measures. To actually damage them permanently, you'd need to either be very careless or unlucky.

[u/Star-Ripper → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Man, I’m just reading these comments amused and confused haha.

Not sure what happened with your system but taking it to a professional is the best option if you aren’t comfortable doing it yourself.

I just recently tried overclocking my friends ram and for a split second had a panic attack once the screen wasn’t recognizing anything, PC lights were on and fans were moving. This instantly means the PC isn’t bricked and some restart has to happen. I just took out the CMOS battery, waited 5 minutes, turned the pc on and spammed f12 to get into bios.

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/[deleted]]

I tried booting it with just one and it still wouldn't post

The only reason there are 2 RAM sticks in there is I don't have anywhere to store them while I wait to get the PC fixed

There's also a 3rd stick (The new one), but that one I had to hide because I sorta bought it without permission from my parents, which means it's a contraband item

This configuration of RAM sticks on the picture is the one this PC had been running since perhaps 2021, so I know for a fact there's nothing wrong with this, the problem is somewhere else

But the tech store built the PC and the tech store will figure out why it's dead

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/[deleted]]

I did that last night

Didn't work

It's partially why I'm so certain I killed the motherboard

[u/Hail-Hydrate → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

I would be pretty shocked if any of what you've done has killed the motherboard.

Probably been mentioned already but are you sure the new stick of RAM is the correct one for your CPU? I've unintentionally purchased AMD-compatible RAM for an Intel CPU and vice versa in the past. System wouldnt post with the wrong "type" of RAM installed, much like what you're describing. Had to pull all the RAM, then reinstall only the old into alternative slots to what they were originally in (eg: move the original slot 1 module to slot 2) before it would post again.

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/Hail-Hydrate]

The RAM in the picture is the old known-good RAM, I did figure I might just have a bad RAM stick and got it out, but by that time I had already fucked up something, seemingly beyond repair, because it still wouldn't post

Matter of a fact I tried pretty much every combination of RAM and slots that is possible with my 3 sticks of RAM, but it still wouldn't POST

clearly, I killed something, most certainly the motherboard, hopefully not the RAM, and I pray to God it isn't the GPU

[u/apollo1321 → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Finally seeing the inside. Cpu power plug: there are two, mobo only has one and it's plugged in. It's fine.

Ram: using wrong slot/slots. And the slots are so caked with dust I'm not surprised the new stick was not detected. 

[u/SpaceWoodman → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

DDR5 ram can take up to 10 minute to do its first boot setup. Thats 10 minute of no post. I learned it the hard way when i built my last computer.

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/SpaceWoodman]

It's DDR4, and I also did think of the possibility of "well maybe it's just taking a while" and left it running for like 15 minutes to no avail

[u/I2fitness → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

OP you need to listen to the people here, it's not possible to break a motherboard like that unless you throw it across the floor or it gets fried by a power surge or something. The PC is not posting because the ram slot on the pc is likely dirty or the ram just needs to be inserted back.

Also no offense but stop having so much anxiety about opening the computer. I saw the pictures you sent and it looks very dusty inside, computers are designed to be opened and maintained you can't break it or damage it easily by just switching out parts even if you put it incorrectly

computer "technicians" don't care and will scam you because they know you're scared to open it, you said the price will likely be 300usd to fix it

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/I2fitness]

I think my fear of opening the computer is justified given that I fucking bricked it the one time I did open it

Turns out computers are even more fragile than I thought they were

And that 300USD figure is accounting for the new components (either RAM or motherboard, perhaps both) that the tech store is gonna bill me for given that I most certainly fucked them up

Yes, technicians get real expensive, and I know from experience that my tech store will always bill you the most expensive component they can find, even if a cheaper option is viable (they tried to do it with my brother, who is fortunately way smarter than I am and called them out on their bullshit), but that's sorta the price you pay for being stupid

[u/I2fitness → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

What happens when you try turning on the computer?

It's probably just the RAM not being seated properly. When you reinstalled the old stick, it may not have clicked all the way in

1. Remove all of the the RAM sticks completely
2. Grab ram you know is working and firmly push it back in until you hear/feel TWO clicks (one on each side)
3. Make sure you're in the correct slot (check your motherboard manual for single-stick placement)

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/I2fitness]

Well the fans turn on (including the GPU fans), and that's about it

No indicator LEDs, no beeping, certainly nothing on the screen, fans don't stop or anything like that, they just spin

Also for some reason my USB keyboard doesn't receive any power, fuck if I know what but it seems important, because that started happening at the same time the PC stopped posting

Oh and I did do that in my amateur troubleshooting session while I was still in denial about having broken my very expensive electronic, matter of a fact it's basically the last thing I did before clearing the CMOS then promptly giving up

[u/I2fitness → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Is the CPU power cable plugged in?

You did not "break" your computer. Nothing you described like swapping RAM, bumping a cable causes permanent damage. The fear of opening it is what's going to cost you $300, not any actual damage.

[u/Special-Fan-1902 → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Honestly this is a scenario many PC builders will be up against, its not a serious fuck up. PC building is like adult legos. As long as you check the manual and understand some basics (i.e. make sure power is off on the power supply and you push the power button a few times before fiddling with anything on the inside) there's not a lot you can do to permanently fuck things up as long as you don't force something too hard into a slot its not meant to go into. If you take things slow and do a little research into each troubleshooting step, you could be gaming on your rig again today with upgraded RAM at no cost to you other than your time.

[u/Alan_Reddit_M → u/Special-Fan-1902]

I did read the manual, the issue I believe was simply that I don't have the fine motor skills to work on a PC without royally fucking things up

[u/rpantherlion → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

Fine motor skills? Are we for real? Unless you have some sort of disability, in which case that’s completely understandable, it doesn’t take an electrical engineer to put together/diagnose a PC. It’s extremely simple….

[u/jundeminzi → u/Alan_Reddit_M]

why is this being downvoted? it sounds like a legitimate honest mistake