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I love that board. Looks retro and cool. I swear I had a board that looked just like it back in the day. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FH173B3C?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback&th=1 -- CL28 at $440 https://www.newegg.com/klevv-32gb-2-x-16gb-ddr5-6000-pc5-48000-cas-latency-cl30-desktop-memory-white/p/N82E16820101096?Item=N82E16820101096 -- CL30 at $419 with code https://www.newegg.com/klevv-32gb-2-x-16gb-ddr5-6000-pc5-48000-cas-latency-cl30-desktop-memory-black/p/N82E16820101095 --CL30 at $419 with code The CL28 are SK Hynix A-Dies and the 6000 CL30 should also be A-Dies. At 1.35v with CL28/CL30, you should have no issue pushing CL26 at 1.45v if you want to manually tune them. I believe this is SK Hynix own branded ram. I think I'd probably go with the sure thing CL28s as they're probably slightly better binned.

If any of yalls are interested in a really good AIO, I just got the new Noctua 420mm AIO and I'm blown away by the performance of the AIO. I had my Corsair 420mm AIO before this, using the same exact Noctua Fans and Thermal Grizzy Kryonaut pad. I tested a before and after run in CB23 with 300w power limits and the improvement is shocking. Best of all, no longer need Corsair iCUE garbage on my system. Just a clean, no RGB AIO and I love it. Same Noctua 140mm Black Fans, Same Thermal Pad, Same Fan Speed. Noctua 420mm AIO Corsair 420mm AIO I've been on a bit of a spending spree lately lol. Picked up the new MSI MPG Ai1600TS PCIE5 power supply with current monitoring and dual 12v2x6 outputs. Finally running native cables and being able to monitor the current on each pin with my HOF 5090D is awesome. No need for a fancy GPU to do this, I can do it with the MSI PSU and monitor all of it in HWINFO64 and MSI Afterburner. Can also overlay it in an OSD so I can keep an eye on it at all times if I want. Then picked up this Noctua AIO and very happy I did. The cooling improvement and headroom it provides me for Nova Lake is very cool. My system is Nova Lake ready lol. Grabbed the Logitech Pro X2 mouse with haptic triggers. It's a total game changer for me. I've never done better in games and just using the mouse on the desktop with a clean and satisfying mouse click. Also it's basically silent, so if my wife is in the office and I'm gaming, my trigger click is dead silent. No more annoying the heck out of her while I click away lol. Think I need to cool it for awhile lol.

9900K (updated since rolled back to 1.3.2 BIOS and needed CPU without later e-fuses burned) 64 GB RAM at 2666mhz (don't try and code in 2667) 1.9.3 BIOS update since trying to fix AGA 5080 RTX "bad handshake" PCIe defaults. Still have to unplug/plug in Win10 to work.

I was on 1.3.2 but updated to 1.9.3 to try and fix the bad BIOS handshake with the AGA 5080 RTX. No improvement.

@electrosoft Thanks for sharing the memory kit. Crazy that $699.99 is considered cheap these days for an enthusiast ram kit. Lol. @Mr. Fox If you did not already own a 9950 class chip, would you consider buying a 9950X3D2? Are these generally be better bins than a regular 9950X3D1? Money wise, the value doesn’t seem crazy to me. My thought process is, the 9850X3D is $499.99 8/16, and the 9950X3D2 is 16/32 for $899.99. So in my mind, it doesn’t seem all that crazy. I might just grab CPU+Board for now, and wait a bit longer on memory. I suppose the X870 Apex is probably the one I’ll get with a x3D2 on top lol. 😂 The Dark Hero looks good too though. Decisions, decisions. This may seem silly, but the ROG Crosshair 20th anniversary edition is the only thing holding me back. I love the way it looks. It’s that retro blue/white/copper. Not going to lie, this board alone lured me in to this whole idea. I was in the hobby running an overclocking AMD Athlon XP 3200 and AMD 64 3000 systems in 2006 😂

LOL... my WTB thread was 1 year ago today... 6/18/2025. FreakFreak is hunting unicorns. He posted this today. I wish him better luck than I had (which was none). What he is asking for is even more rare that what I was looking for. An X3D with a strong IMC and high core clocking capacity is even more unlikely. What he is asking for is also less relevant... X3D CPUs are largely memory clock agnostic in terms of the effect on performance. The benefit of memory bandwidth is mostly negated by the cache.

100%. I have not seen them priced that low for a LONG time. (I paid like $300 before the AI-retarded nonsense ruined everything.) @tps3443 better get them before they are gone or go back to $1200+ again. Edit: Good find Brother @electrosoft. Those are the "H" variant with 1.450V but the advice is still the same... 2x16GB. The Amazon listing appears to include typos or conflicting info as to whether they are G or H but the voltage indicates H. The G variant is 1.350 or 1.400V with the same timings. To add to my previous comments about older Intel XMP kits on Ryzen, the default SPD timings are not good for Ryzen as I mentioned, but the ODT values are also wonky and don't work well. So, you are chasing not only Ryzen-friendly timings but also different ODTs for Ryzen versus Intel. ASUS Crosshair mobo firmware sets all of the right ODTs specifically for these 6000 CL26 G.SKILL kits.

@tps3443 Those sticks with G are available on Amazon for $699.99 direct from G.Skill: F5-6000J2636H16G: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F1WX47YD?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback&th=1 $799.99 for the 2x24GB variants $1299.99 for the 2x32GB variants If you want a set, might want to snap them up now.

You could move to 4K 240hz which is what I run with fps capped to ~175fps so I don't get a monster differential between 1% lows and fps for more consistent game play experience. Yeah, a lot of those kits can crank 8000. I'm still stuck in Arrow Lake mental land where everything is 8800+ or bust and tuning around 9066 G2 atm while fighting the urge to bin some more boards.... If you're mainly looking for gaming, get s 9850X3D and call it a wrap. If you want the best of both worlds, get a 9950X3D (or Epyc like @Mr. Fox alluded to) and call it a wrap. If you absolutely do NOT care about value and want the best of the best, get a 9950X3D2 which I can't see being worth it but good for testing. Either way, when I ran a 7950X3D, I just took the 20 seconds it took to enter the bios and enable my profile that turned the non X3D CCD off when gaming and had the X3D CCD tuned up. No muss, no fuss. This was my preferred way of gaming after dealing with M$ and even PL. Them: "Hey, here's some software so you can properly park and/or manage core isolation" Me: "Or, I can just shut it down completely and fine tune around the X3D binned CCD only for gaming and it takes a hot few minutes tops to just enable that user profile" You will need absolute Sugi level binning to find a super unicorn golden chip to hope for the 8800 he's running properly on his rig. You're most likely going to do 8000 for proper sync and either board can handle that. 14900KS is still a viable option and like I've said numerous times, that SP109 14900KS dialed in still at 59/45/50 (on an AIO no less) running crisp and cool running on the wife's system with my original launch edition Asus Z690-A Strix and 2x16GB G.Skill B.die tuned at 4133. She'll run that thing into the ground as I don't see anything coming out that will hinder it anytime soon at 4k. If you DO stick to 4k gaming, Arrow Lake is also a very viable platform vs AMD and testing has shown it matches X3D and actually can have better lows too on top of it if that is something you'd want to entertain. It is also different enough to present a new challenge and fun OC'ing and tuning. Not as radically different as AMD vs Intel, but enough vs Intel to make it fun. One thing to keep in mind X3D is a, "better to have it and not need it vs need it and not have it," tool in your arsenal. It really is a game by game situation. One game will show nothing and another will have insane results. If you go dual CCDs, you can even enable and disable them back and forth to really see the difference in certain titles which is what I did with Fallout 76 and the 7950X3D vs my 13900KS tuned because I just wasn't believing the performance gains X3D was bringing but they were valid. In WoW? Not so much....

The only truly excellent memory kit for a Ryzen 9 CPU is a G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo 6000 CL26 EXPO kit. You cannot find them when you need to, and now they are going for like $1,200 or more. But, essentially 100% of the impressive memory overclocking on AM5 involves one of those kits. There are two variations. The one with "G" in the part number is slightly better. I have the "H" version and it needs a little more voltage and won't clock quite as high due to that. The part numbers in question are F5-6000J2636H16G and F5-6000J2636H16H. I have one in my Apex and it is definitely head and shoulders above all others, and ASUS has specifically tuned the firmware FOR THOSE sticks. But, even with one of these memory kits you're going to need to source one of the dozen good bin quality Ryzen CPUs in existence to do anything impressive with the memory kit. What I have right now is about is good as it gets with AMD CPU and memory overclocking and it is very mundane compared to what I was used to with Intel. Whatever memory you get, be sure it is EXPO. Older Intel XMP kits are crap on Ryzen, even when manually tuned. The XMP SPD timing values left on Auto often malfunction and it is a pain in the butt to find stable settings unless you are starting with an EXPO kit. Ask me how I know. Painfully time-wasting and frustrating when you don't start with an EXPO kit.

Shareholders are suing Microsoft, accusing the company of overspending on AI, inflating its stock price, and suffering its biggest drop in years. Big Tech represents the world's largest technology companies, all of which are based in the United States. We're all familiar with Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and Apple, as these companies control various market sectors and...

I would not recommend a 9950X3D2 if you are focused on gaming. You will not benefit from it in gaming. It's really for work like content creation. It will be the same or worse as a 9950X3D, but costs several hundred dollars more. If you want some extra FPS for gaming just go with the 9950X3D or EPYC 4585PX (same CPU, different name and usually better silicon quality than 9950X3D). The 9950X3D is the same as 9950X except for the 3D cache, but the silicon quality of the X3D CPU is not very consistent in comparison. Some run hotter and need more voltage, and have weak IMCs and do not handle memory overclocking as well. If you decide to go with a 3D cache CPU, do not rely on Windoze to manage it correctly for gaming. Some people burn a lot of calories on chipset driver updates and keeping XBOX bloatware updated and still does not work right all of the time. The solution is simple and effective. If you are gaming, use Process Lasso or CPUSetSetter and tell the game which CCD to use. Flawless execution 100% of the time and not reliant on a crappy OS like Windoze 11. After owning both and using them side-by-side, I'm not overly impressed with the 3D cache CPU. I have a better sample (returned a horrible one) but it doesn't perform anything better than my 9950X, other than getting some extra FPS in some games when I go to the extra trouble of making sure it is working. It is hit or miss and not enough extra to matter to me considering the added cost. My next build will likely be Intel. AMD products are overall mediocre and kind of boring. That said, the current platform is the only AMD platform that I didn't hate. It doesn't suck, it is just boring. Golden Ryzen samples are about a rare as unicorns. And, if you are lucky enough to get one you won't be able to max it out due to thermal constraints unless you delid it and run bare die with liquid metal. It will be thermally limited and run about the same as the average CPU samples with the soldered IHS. Even a 6-core 9600X will hit 95°C in Cinebench with a maxed out overclock with the soldered IHS on it. No there is not. The Apex motherboard might have some subjective benefits, but your CPU won't be able to leverage them fully in terms of overclocking. I have not been able to achieve higher memory clocks or tighter timings with the X870E Apex than I have been able to achieve with the X870E-E Strix or X870E Carbon or X870 AORUS Master. Memory overclocking sucks on Ryzen overall unless you have an above average CPU sample, and even then it's not wonderful. A lot of what you know about overclocking and tuning from your experience with Intel will no longer be relevant. That transition from Intel to AMD has been similar to moving to Linux from Windoze, but more frustrating than the change in OS because you are dealing with hardware limitations (capped core ratios, power and current limits) and goofy silicon quality randomness rather than purely a learning curve. Out of the many AM5 motherboards I have owned, the X870E AORUS Master was the best overall. The firmware on ASUS is better, but the Master motherboard was overall the best. Gigabyte motherboard firmware sucks though, no question about that. (Really stupid stuff, like no way to disable the onboard WiFi and Bluetooth module in the BIOS.) If I could have a do-over I would have kept the Z790 Apex and Apex Encore. The Ryzen 9 only beats a Core i9 in Cinebench. For just about everything else, Intel is the winner. A nicely binned 14900KS that is tuned properly is right on the heels of a 9950X3D in terms of gaming. In some things the 14900KS is better in spite of the 3D cache.

Im really curious to test that and see the gains in 4K compared to my current setup. I feel like my current setup performs well. But, I’m considering moving away from the 4K/120hz. It’s pretty big. I still run my 48” OLED Aorus panel. Thing has like 4,500+ “panel on time hours now” lol. 😂 Probably gonna run maybe a 27” 1440P. I didn’t hang on to any DDR5, I would only run one set at a time back then anyways. Other than the set that’s in my son’s rig, he has some nice 2x16GB Gskill 6400 Mdie sticks. I’m sure those can crank 8000+ If I made the switch, I do have a lot of DDR4 Bdie to offload and maybe recoup from. I have a 16x16GB set of Gskill Bdie 3200c14. The 9950X3D may not make sense, so maybe just a 9850X3D would be fine. Is there a significant different with the X870 Apex, and just a regular X870 Crosshair black? I’m not going to run a delid setup. Probably just pretty mild OC. Setup, grab a block, and swap it in to my current case with 3x480MM GTX, 4x D5.

It's not even available yet. Unknown ETA and it'll be more expensive than the A5500 for sure

After seeing this, i checked my own machine and secure boot certificate updates have also been applied - I'm running XMG (1.07.09RTR6) weirdly i haven't made any updates nor changed my bios since asking for help in my previous post. Maybe windows are rolling out the updates but how would that work?

Okay, then I'll take this one. Thank you so much for the support and the clear explanations and quick responses.

You would be the first of us in this group to run a 9950X3D2. I was looking at Freaky's delidded 9950X3D2 over on the OCFs but being an SP117, but $800 I'd rather spin the wheel and bin some myself if I went that direction and only PP FF. I'd need a bit of protection to make sure the delidded chip was 100%. But if you wanted to look for a decent deal regardless of chip bin and get it delidded and ready to go, that wouldn't be a bad option. Depends on if you're looking to run 6000+ or 8000+ (or hope to get some decent 6000 sticks to push to 8000+). Best Buy has a limited selection. Prices are what they are unfortunately. The sell 4 sets of 8000 sticks and they're marketplace from Newegg so.....plus no 2x24GB kits all 2x16 or 2x32. Checking PCpartpicker, good smattering of 8000+ kits all starting at 600+ for 2x24GB. Good board selection (yeah I'm not biased at all) 🤣. There are some good 1DPC boards out there if you're looking to really push ram. I take it you didn't hold onto any of your DDR5? 9950X3D2 bundles from MC are bleh..... Either way, AMD or Intel are going to definitely outclass your current rig and push your 5090 nicely.

Try looking for a older version of HWINfo

The M15x is not cursed by an Insyde bios. You can use literally any 970M/980M even G-Sync Clevo models and it will work. i have a G-Sync Clevo 980M in my M15x, no mods needed besides INF.

I’m thinking about trying an AMD system, I’m going through BestBuy only for my parts for easy return/exchange options if needed. I’m looking at a 9950X3D2, and a X870 Crosshair Dark Hero, I am struggling on which ram to get. Any tips?

I wish I had waited lol, I would've grabbed an mxm 5090 if I hadn't just bought the a5500

ASUS ROG 20th Anniversary bundle PC priced at $16,580 in China ASUS ROG 20th anniversary full PC parts bundle gets China pricing. Full special edition PC and ASUS tax🤢🤮🤢

That's an early ZRT card as you can see on the sticker. I mean they all look the same to be honest.

well ill be damned, here i thought i had the only 5090 with max core 1.02V in existence LOL (actually 1,025V but whos counting....) good to see it was user fault and not something that went awry due to the board or connector design. lulz @samsung, bitching about "costly bonus war" when the employees only wanted their fair share of the insane amount of profits....how dare they! still chugging along nicely here with black myth wukong, got 27h into the game, lotsa fun 🙂 correction on my previous claim of getting 70+ FPS at native 4K: seems like the graphics settings sometimes dont stick, so need to reapply and restart the game. settled at 89% 4K res (BMW can actually finetune exact percentages for scaled resolutions, pretty nice), which gives me solid 60-70 FPS, everything else maxed. this is on the matrix vbios btw. havent encountered any more connector imbalance issues on the amperage front, all good for now *fingers crossed*

If you still own a 4090 from launch, you are definitely getting your money's worth and can STILL sell it for more than you bought it.....crazy. But it is priced much higher than the lower tier 5080s available too. I can go grab a brand new 5080 for $1200 right now. (actually an open box for $1124 = $1067 with MC card) ....speaking of Microcenter....yeah I saw our local MC had 5 of those in stock last night and as of right now, they still have 2 which means 3 people gleefully went there and paid $5617 after tax for one of those.....insane. There is absolutely nothing "special" about that card outside of the Tron like design. No dual connectors. No extra beefy cooling. No 800w+ support from what I can see. Out of all the premium cards (Matrix, Lightning, Astral XL, Infinity), Infinity is the weakest of them all. I'd go Lightning first because of dual connectors followed by Astral XL then Matrix and finally Infinity. -------------------------------------------------------------- @jaybee83 Suprim 5090 gets the Northwestrepair treatment finally! (Along with Tony's usual dose of negativity) As we already knew, Vanguard and Suprim are basically identical. He's all hopped up over lack of fuses as always..... 1.020 voltage.... -------------------------------------------------------------- KingBank and Gloway switching to China made memory modules for some of their sticks.....curious to see how they stack up against SK and Samsung.... https://videocardz.com/newz/chinese-memory-brands-move-to-china-made-24gb-ddr5-chips --------------------------------------------------------------- No one not even CLOSE to Nvidia in AI performance.....so dominating it's downright scary.... https://wccftech.com/nvidia-blackwell-sweeps-mlperf-6-0-benchmark-no-competition-in-sight/ "Whether at massive scale or modest configurations, NVIDIA consistently outperformed the competition, often delivering results that rivals couldn’t even submit. With continued software optimizations and the upcoming Vera Rubin platform on the horizon, NVIDIA’s leadership in AI training remains stronger than ever." ------------------------------------------------------------------- A glimpse into the AI master plan..... https://wccftech.com/samsung-bets-on-unmanned-fabs-by-2030-to-break-its-unions-leverage-after-a-costly-bonus-war/