---
title: 'This Upgrade is Dangerous - AMD $5,000 Ultimate Tech Upgrade'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=QAA7b1Av0jM'
video_id: 'QAA7b1Av0jM'
date: 2026-07-20
duration_sec: 1535
channel: 'Linus Tech Tips'
---

# This Upgrade is Dangerous - AMD $5,000 Ultimate Tech Upgrade

> Source: [This Upgrade is Dangerous - AMD $5,000 Ultimate Tech Upgrade](https://youtube.com/watch?v=QAA7b1Av0jM)

## Summary

This video follows the LTT team as they spend $5,000 from AMD to upgrade a colleague's home setup, including building a new PC, installing a robot vacuum, and testing a high-end espresso machine. The upgrade also features a custom screwdriver, a motorcycle seat, and a TIG welder, showcasing a mix of practical and indulgent tech purchases.

### Key Points

- **AMD Sponsorship and Giveaway** [00:01] — AMD gave $5,000 for an ultimate tech upgrade. They are also giving away two bundles including a PowerColor Red Devil AMD Radeon RX 9700 XT GPU and a custom AMD light.
- **Flare Espresso Maker Upgrade** [02:04] — Robert has a Flare Espresso maker (Plus 2 model) worth about $700 US. It features electric preheating and uses a standard size basket for accessories.
- **Custom Screwdriver Development** [04:10] — They are creating a screwdriver that uses long bits with an autolocking mechanism to reduce wobble, designed for PC building in tight spaces.
- **PC Upgrades for Terra** [07:46] — Terra's PC gets 64 GB of DDR5 RAM (ordered 16 GB by mistake), a Ryzen 5 7600X CPU, and a Noctua NH-L9AM5 cooler with a fan duct kit for fresh air intake.
- **Noctua Fan Duct Kit** [11:12] — The NFD1 kit includes spacers and gaskets to fine-tune the seal between the CPU cooler and side panel, improving airflow in small form factor cases.
- **EPOMaker Galaxy Keyboard** [16:37] — A heavy mechanical keyboard with Japanese keycaps, chosen for aesthetic reasons despite the user not typing in Japanese.
- **TIG Welder and Motorcycle Seat** [20:11] — Robert demonstrates a TIG welder, using it to create barbell weights from old wheels. He also installed a new multi-panel seat on his motorcycle.

### Conclusion

The video showcases a variety of tech and hobby upgrades, from PC building to welding, highlighting the fun of spending a sponsored budget on personal interests.

## Transcript

It's amazing what you learn about somebody when AMD gives them $5,000 US to spend on an ultimate tech upgrade. For instance, Robert Lao here has been a product designer at Creator Warehouse for just about 3 and 1/2 years, and I
only just now learned that he might have a car floor mats. Wow. [laughter] a car floor mats. Wow. [laughter] He listens to music and he makes food to like that exotic bean beverage everyone's talking about. [laughter]
>> But in all seriousness, Robert also has some stuff that is a little unusual. TIG, MIG, stick, plasma cutters, multipprocess welders. What am I looking >> It melts metal. >> Cool. Are we going to melt some metal
>> Yeah, >> that sounds metal AF. Hi, we were just going to talk about you. We're going to be deploying this robot vacuum for pet hair management, of course. And of course, we'll be upgrading Robert's PC
with some AMD technology. This is a lot to do. Ultimate tech upgrades, especially when we get to help AMD give back to you, our
community. And this time around, they're giving away two bundles. Each includes a power color redevil AMD Radeon RX970 XT GPU as well as this custom AMD light to
bring a bit of extra personality to your room. The 970 XT is a great gaming card with 16 gigs of VRAM, perfect for your gaming needs, and it has quiet fans that use temperature detection so they only spin when your system needs it. Plus,
this card features a dual BIOS mode builtin with a switch for easy swapping between your profiles. So, get started on your own AMD Ultimate Tech upgrade by entering the draw by following the link that we've left in the description. Good
that we've left in the description. Good luck.
build your PC by getting this Flare Espresso coffee maker out of the way. Espresso coffee maker out of the way. you uh you have a flare espresso maker, >> but this one's the plus two. For real though, the difference between this one
and the one we already have is that this one has electric preheating, so it heats hot water into it two or three times before we make an espresso. It also uses
a more standard size basket. [music] So, the standard size basket means we can buy more standard accessories like tampers or other [music] fancy espresso already have. >> Oh, I'm afraid to ask. So, what's a
flare plus two worth? >> I think this one was something in the ballpark of 700 Canadian. >> 700 US. >> Oh, 700 US. $700. >> You don't even know how much you spent
on it. That's crazy. Okay. As a not coffee drinker, why >> So, espresso lets you make different kinds of drinks than drip [music] use to make, say, a latte or a cappuccino. You pull in espresso and you
steamed milk to it. Terra actually drinks lattes more often than I do. I >> So, all that and you're just going to drink drip coffee in the morning anyway.
>> This is an upgrade for our kitchen. Nice. Would you believe I've never tried >> Have you? Really? >> I'm not a cocky guy. Um, should we make >> I can't believe you already have a flare. You know what? It doesn't matter.
PC. >> All right. Okay. You kind of got me >> But you already have a CPU and a GPU. Why [laughter] do you need a new All Why [laughter] do you need a new All right. Okay. Fine.
If only there was some tool that could drive things that had screw threading on drive things that had screw threading on them. Some type of screwdriver. them. Some type of screwdriver. Wait, Robert's working on something. Let
>> Yeah. Yes. Oh, dude. Okay. This is called the >> It only probably doesn't wobble. >> Yeah, it Well, it wobbles a little.
Don't worry about that. That's a minor detail. Basically, we do completely recognize that not every application for a screwdriver can accommodate the large multi-bit interface at the end. This especially comes up in PC building when
you're trying to install a heat sink or install a PCI card through a slot that install a PCI card through a slot that has a very narrow and deep opening. So, has a very narrow and deep opening. So, we're creating the
together will behave almost like a standard one piece screwdriver. so that when this bit gets inserted, it autolocks and it kind of locks down with a tapered mechanism inside and it removes as much wobble as we could with
these [music] long bits. No ratchet on this one because no matter how good your little bit of slop. And our objective here was to have this be as close to a fixed shaft screwdriver as possible, but every fixed shaft screwdriver that you
will probably need. Also, this bit case freaking rocks. It just feels so good. We seem to have found a feels so good. We seem to have found a small glitch in the matrix.
even a line of size countertop or anything like that. This is just really >> Sorry. >> We have a preheated basket. >> Mhm. Mhm. >> Okay. We have the bean powder.
>> That seems like a lot. >> Tamp it. That compresses the coffee. We pour the water in here. >> And then you lift the handle. >> And then when you lift the handle, it pulls the water into the chamber.
>> Are you supposed to go fast or slow? >> Slow. When you pull down, we watch the pressure gauge >> to see how fast we're going out. So, >> Uh-huh.
>> And then after about 10 seconds, we pull. And it looks like we ground it too fine because nothing's coming out. >> While Robert's figuring out the coffee machine, I'm going to figure out what's going on with these PCs. I assume based
on the cleanliness that this one is yours. I've seen his desk at work. It >> It look Yeah, it looks like that. You're protect You're protect. You cleaned this shot. >> There is a whole bin of stuff that came
>> Anywh who, >> don't look. Terra's is appropriately going in the Fractal Terra. And then Robert's machine is getting an upgrade and going in a cute little John's bow case. So, I
you tidied it up, but you left a bunch of stuff on the top of it. >> You know what, though? I get it. This clutter all makes sense because you need War Land 4 at [music] your fingertips. >> You can tell how often I play it.
>> Some of this though, I couldn't live without fidgeting with. Are these metal work. >> Shut up. Um, are you supposed to do >> Shut up. Um, are you supposed to do that?
the dining table. Maybe we could unbox something that comes in a big box so that we could lay some cardboard down so we don't scuff this table over there. >> Um Oh, sure. Floor mats. All right. In that
case, here's a quick shot of these going into the car. There. Now they're done. Weather tech. Question for you. You're going all the way from some random mismatched DDR3 to 64 gigs of DDR5. Uh, do you have any
idea how much this is worth right now? Does she need 64 gigs of DDR5? What do you do with your system? >> Uh, you do use Word documents once in a while and Excel. And I play games sometimes. I play games sometimes.
That's about it, though. >> I also didn't know we got 64 gigs. Is that actually 64 gig? You ordered 16 gigs. >> Well, I can see where the RAM budget came from. An A series chipset
motherboard with 64 gigs of RAM on it. There's a first time for everything. There's a first time for everything. This is plenty of PCIe and USB for one slot. And it even has 2 and 1/2 gig LAN and a 10 GB USB port. Well, this is
and a 10 GB USB port. Well, this is fine. Just fine. Wait, it has Wi-Fi 6E. The only thing I'm missing is PCIe Gen 5 then. And I don't even need that. Not for a machine that uh What games did she say she plays?
>> Word docks. >> For the rope light, the idea was kind of to have it squiggle up the wall over here. We can always change this whenever stickies and we have a few little anchoring points on the wall.
about their choices when they lead with We can always change it. >> You can always [laughter] change it. But anyway, let's turn it on. cool, right? Not bad.
>> Cool. >> Some late night gaming. We We don't stay >> Now we just need some coffee to help us stay up later. If only [music] Robert >> I mean, it's only been a couple of
>> Is this the Are we on the third attempt or the fourth? >> Just so that I'm clear, when you pull on the thing, coffee is supposed to come >> Yeah. Okay. I [snorts] heard we got close on our fourth attempt.
embarrassing. So, we were using this before, which if you look only has the surface to pull through here. We switched to just the regular one and didn't change anything else and it it pulled. Okay.
things, Yeah. >> Uh I'm going to keep working on this supposed to be helping me work on the computer. Are you usually the PC builder >> So, not your first rodeo then? >> Not my first.
>> All right. Excellent. That'll make this easier. >> Although this is my first time building in a case this small. >> All right, that'll make this harder. We went with a Ryzen 5 7600X. Why did we
choose this one? Because it's pretty much the entry level on the AM5 platform, and it will be plenty for Terra's needs. This thing whips up word documents like you wouldn't believe. This is actually going to be a way more
reasonable size for an, you know, efficient office PC [music] that has 64 gigs of RAM in it for some reason. I thought the coffee maker was going to be the bougiest thing in this setup. >> Terra, we until we figure it out, you
can have so many tabs open. >> Oh my goodness. >> I actually do have a number on that. Uh, she could handle about a thousand or so >> technically that RAM is still cheaper than the coffee maker. All right, cooler
time. We've gone with the Noctua NHL 9AM5 9AM5 because it's low profile and quiet. This is interesting. I didn't know Noctua made this. The NFD1
fan duct kit. Basically, it's a thing of spacers and gaskets, I guess, that you can use to [music] sort of fine-tune the height of
the seal between your L9A and the side panel of your case, [music] which will allow your CPU fan to draw fresh air in rather than recirculated hot air, which is a big deal for small form factor cases like the Terra.
Very cool. Literally, don't laugh at that. Don't don't don't encourage me. Team effort. >> That's it. Don't go. Yeah, it's not too tight. Ah, you know that I I I do these
upgrades with people who work in very very different fields even though they all obviously work for our group of companies. Um, so I'll find myself menplaining to engineering folks how to tighten a bloody bolt pattern. I'm like,
tighten a bloody bolt pattern. I'm like, "Nope, guideline is nope. Might as well explain principles of sewing to a lama day. >> Oh, >> then we screw in these little posts.
>> the tubes go on that >> and the tubes go a little something like that. However, >> We will have to trim them to length. They seem a little bit on the long side
right now. This worked out great. Look at that. So, we've got a nice little like Pentium 4 era style wind scoop here. We go ahead and close the system. And that means we're drawing perfectly
fresh air to our CPU. I love it. Now, we can throw in our power supply, a 750 W SFX unit from Corsair.
today because when I'm not doing anything to it, it's fine. But when I but I got like a big bruise. >> Did you Did you eat it at Edmonton? >> No. No, actually, it's a it's so much dumber. Um I was checking the garage to
see if Ivonne was home. And right as I went out to see if her car was there, it like I should hide somewhere and sneak up on her and like give her a big hug or up on her and like give her a big hug or whatever. Um, and so I went to scoot
across my garage and I have epoxy floors and I absolutely ate sh. So I come out, I'm like, look at me go. Boom. Got him. >> That was a That was a big ball. >> Just like feet out from under me.
>> Wait, where did you get a coffee? >> Wait, did you do another one while I was >> Okay, now hold on just a gosh darn second here. [laughter] >> This is the poll. Don't panic. Don't panic. This is the poll. Okay. Are we
>> I think I've been ready all day. [laughter] we'll dial it in. >> So, if I had never tried a latte before,
>> Uh, >> so what would be a good what would be a >> to foam? Well, the foam is just going to taste like milk. >> Uh, so Definitely get underneath the foam. You
>> Okay. Get underneath the foam >> cuz the foam is is a part of the fun. ratio. Okay. Here you can take this. >> Let's see if you like it or not. >> that's okay. Go ahead. >> The odds seem slim.
Huh. Interesting. >> Mhm. >> Wow. >> And you didn't like it, but that's okay. really glad that other people like it. Their happiness makes me happy.
[laughter] I'm going to go build computers. soon to come water bottle design. >> That's the side that we need the long bit for.
>> The long bit for Oh, we're going to use the no wobble. >> Oh, yeah. This is a perfect example of what you need the no wobble for. [music] >> This screw in this corner. >> Yeah. if only magnetizer TBD. But there
we're talking about. >> So, what do you think? >> Oh, it's so cute. >> It's way better. There's no reason for me to have something like this tall just
>> This is great. I like the color, too. Front IO. Yeah. I mean, I think this was >> I did. This is one of the things I picked right on the computer. [music] Yeah. >> This is the seat for my motorcycle.
fairly plain just kind of vinyl seat >> that is quite stiff. >> Yeah. So, I found this company from Australia and they make a very nice looking multi-panled seat.
>> So, got some padding on there. >> So, it'll dress up the bike a little bit comfortable, too. >> Nice. >> Thanks. >> I'll go build a keyboard.
There's a lot more foam. This thing is freaking heavy. Epoaker Galaxy. >> I didn't check the weight. I don't know how much it weighs, >> man. Like,
sense of the weight? Like she, you know, she's heavy. Like she, you know, she's heavy. She's a heavy boy.
all of the key caps. Not a tedious task at all. >> Do you type in Japanese often? >> No, I don't. I just like the way they caps. [laughter] >> Ooh, that's a lot more padding.
>> Here, I'll stick this back on the bike and then when we go to the garage later, we can get another look at it. >> All right, big moment. Here it comes. Goodbye, Rose.
Hello, EPO maker. >> Wow. Uh, hey, did you want to move these monitors around? >> I'm thinking about it. My one concern is just I don't think this old monitor goes high enough to be even close to the
>> You would want to put this on this >> cuz it's a nicer monitor. It'd be nice. me show you the vision. So, the vision is I sit here and I do my stuff and I
here, [music] >> I just slide it right underneath. Uh-oh. >> Oh, shoot. The volume knob is too high. >> It doesn't fit under her monitor stand anymore because of this volume knob.
>> Yeah. >> Doesn't need to be metal. >> I mean, yeah. >> Well, what the >> We are getting close here. All that I've got to do is move Robert's big tower
from this Fantex case to this cute little John's bow one. And then we couldn't help noticing, Robert, this is a bit of a weird build. [music] >> Yeah, the internals of this PC are actually from the Christmas party last
>> And I transplanted it into a case I already had because I thought that this with. And then I realized it's an MATX build inside this giant tower. Took up nothing. >> Right. Tara uses Word documents.
You're apparently the actual computer user and she's got 64 gigs of DDR5 and user and she's got 64 gigs of DDR5 and you've got a single 16 gig stick. >> To be fair, her build was supposed to be a 16 gig build.
[laughter] I don't think her RAM is staying in there at all. >> No comment.
>> I should probably check. >> Good lord, this is even older. You have >> Okay. >> I'm not sure if I have backup set up though, so that that'll be on the list. >> There we go. You know what? For a case
with no freaking cable management, actually, it kind of comes together. Okay, let's give it a shot. We um
could have tidied Robert's desk for a nice before and after. >> Welder. >> The welder. Oh, it's welding time. >> And vacuum. [laughter] >> Not impressed, huh? It's really quiet,
old one? >> Yeah, it's a lot quieter. I think that makes a big difference. Okay, let's try out the welder. Woohoo. >> Since we're down here checking out the welder, I love the new seat.
>> Yeah, some extra padding. I think it breaks up the lines of the seat as well. >> Yeah, >> that's great. Okay, let's have a look at could end us. >> Oh, that's a lot of dials.
>> This is a TIG welder. Yeah, >> it can do a little bit finer, thinner >> Cool. >> But it takes a little bit more >> okay. >> So, I've watched a couple of YouTube
videos and played with it for 2 hours, so I'm basically an expert now. >> I'm going to need a helmet. >> All right. Rock on. And you've got a you >> That's pretty cool. >> Sweet looking mask from ESOB.
>> Sweet looking mask from ESOB. >> Why do I get the little brother mask? This is the torch that creates the arc for TIG welding. >> And there's a couple of adjustable pieces. [music] This pink piece is the
cup that helps direct the shielding gas coming out of that tank. >> And that protects the the weld area from too much oxidation. So this is argon. >> And then once that cup is in place, this
is a piece of tungsten that is what's connecting the electrical current from the welder and pointing it at the part. >> And that can adjust how far stickout and the size of tungsten, you you kind of tweak that.
>> I don't want to be that guy, but that's the LTC workshop jacket. And that is not >> like fire rated. >> The nice thing about TIG generally, it [music] >> It It pretty much is blocking the the UV
to give it to him. >> Oh, I do have another jacket. >> Yeah, you have a navy one. >> I have the uh the prototype of the that This is the one that's made out of the cargo pants material.
>> Yeah. >> And somehow it ended up at Rob's house. >> You know, I didn't think your name was literal.
>> And what are you making right now? >> Right now, I've got some parts that are going to turn old wheels into barbell weights.
So, you have [laughter] a $700 coffee machine, wheels. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> The wheels do have a story. We used to
>> The wheels do have a story. We used to have a van that came in as a super super >> right? And we refinished the wheels [music] and unfortunately that van is no that we spent a bunch of time repainting. You see [music] those old
timey bodybuilders lifting the wheels and the >> Okay. All right. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And we're going to And this will go on >> And this will go on here. And then so wheel studs go on there. And that bolts
to the wheel and the barbell goes there. >> All right. I like it. It took me a while to come around to it, but now I get it. I get >> This is steel welding wire. So, this is the filler that's going to melt into the
>> And then this torch is what creates the heat. So, the first thing we do to hold the materials in place is called tacking. So, in a couple of spots, we >> I think I get it. >> Okay. So, we pop that through there. And
nuts. >> Let me grab them. right. Oh,
that is uh what is this? So, like 160 lbs or so. >> I haven't weighed these wheels. Ready? No. What's your personal fitness goal like around this kind of is is the goal just
like you know you know deadlift this or is the goal like like >> this right now is probably a deadlift goal first and then we'll [music] see what we're going to get from there. >> Don't let your don't let your dreams be
dreams. You know [laughter] >> what an upgrade. We got a K swap for >> what an upgrade. We got a K swap for Robert. We got a new system for Terra in the Terara kitchen accessories, including the most challenging of coffee
makers. This manager of bear hair that uh good gravy already picked up enough hair to make another dog. Good job, buddy. And the Coobo Clara that we didn't even mention because when would Robert ever have time to read with all
these hobbies? The welder's pretty cool, not going to lie. And you know what else is pretty cool? AMD for sponsoring AMD $5,000 ultimate tech upgrade. We really guys are looking for something else to watch, maybe check out one from the
business team who makes all these upgrades possible. Mr. Steve Chan, businessman. That's not what he called himself in the video. He went Steve Chan Asian man. [laughter] >> Yeah, he said it, not me. Well, I said
it this time. Oh god, I'm going to leave. [laughter]