pio

Okay, so I can confirm its the motherboard.

Swapped SSD's out this evening, and it still won't run without freezing completely.  I was able to get Windows installed (all settings auto / stock), but it froze during installation of programs.  

I could swap RAM out, but I really REALLY doubt its RAM.  It's not BSOD'ing or crashing.  It's locking up completely.

Yup, looking like after Christmas I might be ebay searching for another good AM3+ board now.  I don't trust the Gigabyte I have with an FX (besides, its running my Phenom II 1100T happily).  FX was definitely a part of my "collection".  Sigh. -_-  

So let this be a lesson guys, be wary of cheap adapters for HDMI things. -_-  I'm 99.9% sure that backfeeding HDMI cable is what caused my Sabertooth's failure here.

I had completely forgotten about flash video.  Good idea.

Also.....Amazon store listing for the device in question (found on french Amazon), claims the following:
"Format vidéo: AMV / AVI"

So I would shoot for amv format, more info about .amv format:
 

Otherwise, maybe just shoot for a standard mpeg compression in an avi container maybe?

I mean I did tell you hours ago on Steam, the RPM reading is accurate still.  But hey, glad you got it sorted.    😛  

Here's where I'd start at personally if I were building myself a new setup.

SMSL AD18 DAC / Amp / Headphones Amp:
https://www.amazon.com/S-M-S-L-AD18-Amplifier-Bluetooth-Subwoofer/dp/B071JN7GXN
 
Dayton MK402X Speakers:
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-MK402X-4-2-Way-Bookshelf-Speaker-Pair-300-465?quantity=1
 
$225 ish total cost there + whatever subwoofer you choose.  I'd also grab some 12-14ga speaker wire, maybe some banana plugs, and however long of a subwoofer RCA cable you'll need to reach wherever you want to place your sub at.  Parts Express will have all of that stuff in stock with the speakers, and you'll save with the free shipping that way. 🙂

You can literally add any subwoofer you want to that setup, and you might find that you might not even need a subwoofer with the MK402X's.  You probably will though.  There's tons to choose from.  Monoprice and Dayton both have good budget options to get you going.  

Again, if you want more functionality than the SMSL AD18, you can always look at a used (or new) receiver as well.  But that'll be about the same functionality, but a tiny desktop footprint.  That's why I chose it.
 

Note:  I've never tried cleaning a mousepad, I just replace when mine get gross and I use cheapie ones.  So take ANY advice I give with a huge grain of salt.......
 
I don't imagine a little bit of Dawn would hurt.  You could start off with just simply a damp towel.  If you're getting fibers stuck on it like you mentioned in your OP, you might try a microfiber towel.  I'd try just a damp microfiber first.  I'd grab a bowl of water or something, try that.  If that doesn't do it, add a drop of Dawn to the bowl.  Try again, and keep adding Dawn (a drop at a time) till you're clean.  I'd try to keep the solution as diluted as possible, but strong enough to clean.

Then again, I've never done this so it could potentially ruin your pad.  I truthfully don't know.  I would certainly IMAGINE so long as you're not soaking the thing, it'd probably be just fine though.

Figured it out......
 
Opened Macrium Reflect
Existing Backups tab, browse for image, opened old image.
Right click the path, "browse image", so I could open it in Explorer.
When choosing the drive letter to mount out of the image, chose drive C.
 
This is the trick here
"Enable access to restricted folders" & "Make writeable" both needed to be checkmarked.
 
Now I have access to my old user profile folder.  I got my Minecraft world back!

That's gotta be it.  I just did a search on Amazon, looks like they have one for just about every top tier card too.  Now LordXeb here has me wondering the same question, to buy one for my 6900XT or not.........

Note:  I've never tried one of these AIO's.
 
With that said, Alphacool has been around for a long time.  AIO's have been increasingly getting better and better over time since the first H50's hit store shelves.  I'm happily running an AIO on my CPU.  I see these as a fancier, higher end version of an old school Thermalright or Arctic Accelero.  Better than the cooling you'd get stock (assuming you piece it together, get a reference block for a reference card for example).  But not QUITE as good of performance as you'd get with a proper full water loop.  Granted, with modern AIO's, you might get pretty close to proper loop temps too anyway.

My 2 cents on it, if it helps at all. 🙂

Of course.  This is why I'm obsessing over building all these......for the lol's. 

This.  Unless you're REALLY paying attention to your minimum framerates, you'll notice zero difference in gaming.  With 1080Ti's, you won't notice a single bit of difference at all anyway, the minimum FPS differences would come with a faster GPU.  At 3440x1440, you desperately need a GPU upgrade (for gaming).  The 1080's are still decent cards, but at 1080p today, regular 1080p.  I'm at 5120x1440, and my 6900XT (which is between a 3080Ti / 3090Ti ish?), is not QUITE enough to literally max everything either.  Granted, if I were at 3440x1440, I'd probably be much happier with my framerates than I am now.  Forza games run beautifully though.  So you might consider a 3090 or 3090Ti perhaps?
 
Now, if its for hwbot or just because, by all means the 5000 series are great CPU's and I have no complaints about my own upgrade.  I'd feel confident putting a 4090Ti or a 7900XTX paired with my 5800x, whereas I do think there'd be more of a bottleneck IPC wise with a Ryzen 3000 series.

5900x3D?  I doubt it.  I haven't heard any rumors of one, but I COULD very easily be wrong on that.  AMD is now on the Ryzen 7000 series, I don't see why they'd release new processors for last generation.  They might, but I just don't see why they would.

1.  You want better control over the subwoofer you'll have to change the amplifier. All sub controls are usually tied to the amp. Some are in the receiver or speaker amp / dac, but 90% of sub controls are on the sub amp. The z5500 doesn't have those controls on the stock amp. I would NOT recommend a new amp, instead I'd look at a proper sub. The z5500 doesn't extend very low to begin with. Changing amps will not fix the enclosure tuning. 
 
2.  Make it easy on yourself and look at home theater receivers. Unless you have limited space, a receiver is the best bang for buck. Good dac, possible surround sound or 2.1 just depends on the amount of speakers you have, crossover controls, and good speaker power output. All in one package. If you have limited space and require a t amp we can figure that out too. 
 
3.  Nope. I'd start at a receiver plus a proper sub and go from there. 
 
4.  The reason the z625 sounds different is room placement and enclosure tuning. If it's tuned higher, which it is, it will sound louder at higher frequency than the one that's tuned lower since it's tuned higher. Your tuning frequency is where the sub sounds loudest at with same volume (most of the time). The z5500 needs a higher gain to get the 60hz range of the z625 set. Neither set is really proper since a sub should be 30hz or lower (lower the better) and upwards of 80-120hz on the high end. All those frequencies SHOULD be similar volume, but they're not in your instance. It's a fault of keeping the system stupid simple for gamers. A real sub fixes that.