Your advice please, custom build from OCUK arrived yesterday but one issue :

Sharpy_1 · Wednesday at 13:56

Hi all,

My new pc arrived yesterday from OCUK

New PC for £1000 -1500, your expertise please.

Was just about to order the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless as reviewed here - https://www.pcgamer.com/best-gaming-headset/ Whilst your suggestion is more expensive, is does seem superior and doesn't look like a kids toy! If you don't need wireless, and high end audio quality or positional isn't...

forums.overclockers.co.uk

Upon setting up windows, it wouldn't let me proceed without an internet connection but I found a way to boot without

However, I am having a problem connecting to wi-fi, I went on the GIGABYTE website via my laptop and downloaded all the drivers (everything under audio and chipset) to a USB stick

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B850M-DS3H/support#support-dl-driver

Upon opening these files on the new pc via USB, it keeps saying access is denied (I can open the .zip file but it won't extract it) which is incredibly frustrating. £2000 PC and connecting to wi-fi is being a pain.

Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to extract the zip file first?

Gray2233 · Wednesday at 14:12

Try right clicking the zip file and opening it as Admin.

SonicSW20 · Wednesday at 14:16

What location are you trying to extract the files to?

I am surprised that a functional driver is not preinstalled.

Tetras · Wednesday at 14:27

B850M DS3H does not have wifi. Only AX versions of Gigabyte motherboards have wifi.

Sharpy_1 · Wednesday at 14:52

Tetras said:
B850M DS3H does not have wifi. Only AX versions of Gigabyte motherboards have wifi.

wow thank you. I mean, as much as I appreciate the advice when it came to purchasing, almost feels like some kind of sick joke. Why in 2025, would anyone recommend a motherboard that does not support WiFi.

I'm not sure what my options are now, move my modem upstairs the only viable one? Not even sure if that is possible as I live in a flat and it's connected to the wall

Can i buy an adaptor of sorts? I get I should have double checked it but pffffffffffffffffffffft

rare · Wednesday at 14:56

USB WiFi adapter might be the quickest, easiest and cheapest route

Sharpy_1 · Wednesday at 15:03

Thank you, do you have any recommendations please?

tamzzy · Wednesday at 15:05

Sharpy_1 said:
I mean, as much as I appreciate the advice when it came to purchasing, almost feels like some kind of sick joke. Why in 2025, would anyone recommend a motherboard that does not support WiFi.

because you didn't state you needed wifi?? :confused:

we're not mind readers (at least, i'm not)

Sharpy_1 · Wednesday at 15:11

tamzzy said:
because you didn't state you needed wifi??
we're not mind readers (at least, i'm not)

It's a caveat I'd assume one would add as opposed to expecting me make it clear that it's essential. Most people's preference / the norm would be to have a motherhood that supports it no? For sure, ethernet is better if possible but for many people, just not viable. Anyway, pointless debate, just got to focus on finding a solution.

Tetras · Wednesday at 15:11

Sharpy_1 said:
Can i buy an adaptor of sorts? I get I should have double checked it but pffffffffffffffffffffft

USB is the easiest, as mentioned ^^

PCIE is often superior in my experience, but you'd have to check there's enough space between a free PCIE slot and the graphics card. They also often need a free USB 2 header on the motherboard if bluetooth is required.

I can't see any problems with PCIE lane sharing from a brief look at the specs.

I'd suggest cards that are Intel based, since I don't have much experience with the alternatives. I have a couple of these and they work fine.

tamzzy · Wednesday at 15:14

Sharpy_1 said:
It's a caveat I'd assume one would add as opposed to expecting me make it clear that it's essential.

if it was essential, you'd have said it, no? rather than a caveat for someone faceless of the internet that won't know what you're looking for if you dont say

tamzzy said:
we're not mind readers (at least, i'm not)

^

Sharpy_1 said:
Anyway, pointless debate, just got to focus on finding a solution.

indeed.

SonicSW20 · Wednesday at 15:15

Sharpy_1 said:
It's a caveat I'd assume one would add as opposed to expecting me make it clear that it's essential. Most people's preference / the norm would be to have a motherhood that supports it no? For sure, ethernet is better if possible but for many people, just not viable. Anyway, pointless debate, just got to focus on finding a solution.

WiFi is not a standard thing on desktop PCs because they are usually in a fixed location, and most people will use ethernet.

A USB WiFI adapter would be the simplest solution. You could go for a PCI Express WiFi adapter - it goes inside the case and doesn't take up a USB slot. You have a spare slot but you'll need to make sure it physically fits if you have a small case / large GPU. You could also try Homeplug adapters. These plug into your electricity sockets and send a network signal over the power wires. These can give better performance than WiFi, but in my experience they are very hit and miss. In my flat, they are useless perhaps due to poor wiring.

tamzzy · Wednesday at 15:15

Tetras said:
PCIE is often superior in my experience, but you'd have to check there's enough space between a free PCIE slot and the graphics card. They also often need a free USB 2 header on the motherboard if bluetooth is required.

I can't see any problems with PCIE lane sharing from a brief look at the specs.

I'd suggest cards that are Intel based, since I don't have much experience with the alternatives. I have a couple of these and they work fine.

agreed, and also because the pcie lane spacing is 3 away (ie physically) it won't infringe on the GPU cooler/airflow

tamzzy · Wednesday at 15:18

just had a look at ocuk's wireless adapter range, they're not great and expensive
i'd just get a usb one ***from elsewhere*** for simplicity's sake tbh

Tetras · Wednesday at 15:23

Another alternative to USB is you can buy an access point and plug it in with a LAN cable.

TP-Link do a few that aren't badly priced. This would avoid messing around inside the case.

Sharpy_1 · Wednesday at 15:31

Thanks, I'll get a USB adaptor for now and read through the additional suggestions a bit later. This evidently isn't an area of expertise for me so takes me a while to interpret correctly.

tamzzy · Wednesday at 15:33

Sharpy_1 said:
Thanks, I'll get a USB adaptor for now and read through the additional suggestions a bit later. This evidently isn't an area of expertise for me so takes me a while to interpret correctly.

how far is the router away from the pc, and how many floors and walls does it have to go through? (the wireless signal, that is)
easy way to check is if you can get a decent wifi signal on your phone then a wifi dongle should be okay

SonicSW20 · Wednesday at 15:38

Get a USB WiFi adapter, its as close to plug and play as you can get. If you're anywhere near a big box electronics store (not that many are left now!) they'll probably have one you can get today.

Tetras · Wednesday at 15:44

tamzzy said:
how far is the router away from the pc, and how many floors and walls does it have to go through? (the wireless signal, that is)
easy way to check is if you can get a decent wifi signal on your phone then a wifi dongle should be okay

Yeah, a super cheapo wireless-N adapter can have a problem even going through one wall/floor

If wireless is important, I'd just get something like Archer TX3000E (Intel AX200), or Gigabyte's WBAX210 (Intel AX210).

Gray2233 · Wednesday at 15:55

Depending on your broadband speeds a TP-Link TL-WA850RE can be had for around a tenner, it's a plug/booster that comes with ethernet ports so you could just plug it in next to the PC and run the cable into NIC.

Might be a faff to setup if you're not used though, a wireless adapter is by far the easiest solution.