Mr. Fox

Thank you. No problem with the late reply. It's the thought that counts, not the timing. Have a great weekend, Brother.

I think that has been the case for 2 or 3 years. I've been hearing chatter about it for a very long time. I do not use either one and deliberately disable G-stink. There is a differnce between the hardware G-stink and the software G-stink/Freesync, but I do not pay any attention to either one. I do recall some of the people that spent extra for monitors with special G-stink hardware got kind of emotional about everyone else getting it for free on cheap monitors, and I suspect NVIDIA wasn't happy about it.

I believe that 100%, and I also believe the entire pandemic was a planned crisis driven by a number of politically-motivated idealists (many of them very wealthy tree-huggers) that have gone off the rails on the lunatic fringe. Many of them black-hearted elected bozos and self-anointed gurus on mythological ideaologies like climate change and over-population. We have allowed the world's governments, including the US and Canada, to fall under the control of utterly insane and unfathomably evil totalitarian elitists. Big tech and big pharma have their fingerprints all over it, as well as the mainstream media muppets that are assisting with the fleecing and brainwashing of the zombie sheeple that are too damned stupid to recognize what is happening.

If you want a decent gaming GPU at a reasonable price while you wait for stupid to wear off current generation stuff, grab yourself a 3060 Ti. Honestly, I am super-happy with the one I have in terms of gaming performance. Literally everything is around 100 FPS. I like it far more than I expected I would and for the price it has no rival. Overall, great gaming performance (better than a 6900 XT with ray tracing enabled) and for $200-$300 less. I bought mine as a B-stock from EVGA and it is flawless. I am not sure what kind of cosmetic blemish it had, but whatever it was I could not identify it. https://www.evga.com/products/ProductList.aspx?type=8&family=GeForce+30+Series+Family

If they can stop being so idiotic about the price it will be a respectable option for people that don't want to (or cannot afford to) spend a crap ton of money on a GPU. This should be priced around $450-$550. If it hits $650 it becomes a stupid option. Bottom line: If your case does not allow you to configure your system exactly the way you want it, you made a mistake and chose the wrong case. We all make mistakes. That is part of being human. Deliberately spending money in a way that requires compromise or settling for something less than what you want really diminishes the pleasure of PC ownership. When you do that, it suggests that your standards are either set low, not important enough to call them standards, you lack the financial resources to do what you want, or you didn't really want what you thought you wanted nearly as much as you thought.

Case in point...

We have seen the Green Goblin do this in the past with messed up drivers. Did you also test with NVIDIA Inspector to see if it is locked? They never care about how their decisions affect owners of older GPUs. They stopped pretending to care about 9-series product owners when 10-series GPUs were released. They only pretend to care about current generation GPUs. If people do not continue throwing money at new GPUs they are no longer valued. Even when they do keep feeding the pig, it is open for debate whether or not they actually value the people feeding them.

Very nice. Congratulations, Brother. I wish I had your luck on having abnormally good CPUs drop in my lap. Maybe it's good that I do not. It would be more difficult to keep my priorities in check, and that is already hard enough. The price makes it easy to hate on it. If it were priced like a 3060 should be, then there would be no basis for hate or disappointment. It would be a mediocre product at a mediocre price. Nobody likes getting raped, unless they have some sort of untreated mental illness. This is an Arc A770 competitor and should be priced like one. I'd buy an A770 for $350 if I needed a GPU, but I certainly wouldn't pay more than double for this.

100%. It will never stop as long as we continue to go with the flow. Refusing to pay more than a certain amount (even below MSRP) will bring prices down even during a shortage. Product rotting on store shelves because nobody is willing to pay the asking price will be reduced.

It looks great. I think it is the best tower case money can buy. As Brother @Rage Setpointed out, the Level 20 XT with the top and sides removed is like an open bench. I guess that is what sold me on it the most. I might paint the silver pillars black at some point. Having the motherboard horizontal on a removable tray and the GPU in the upright position makes working on things very easy. Laying flat is also really nice for liquid metal on the CPU. Something off topic, but kind of cool. If you have any old mSATA SSDs that you want to put to good use, check this out.

Wow, I really like how the black one looks. It's a bit small for my taste, but it looks like a engineering masterpiece. It would not work well for a custom loop due to lack of space. SSDs: This one is a bit subjective, so take this as personal opinion. I always have, and probably always will, go for cheap and capacity. Being the fastest doesn't matter to me one iota. As long as the brand is known to be reliable, even a SATA SSD is fast enough. I can't "feel" any difference of SATA SSD or NVMe SSD. I can measure it with a benchmark, but that's about it. I see no personal benefit spending more for a popular overpriced brand. Silicon Power, Sabrent, TeamGroup, etc. are all perfectly fine and very reliable. Don't waste money spending extra for Samsung, Western Digital, etc. RAM: Unless you are a rainbow puke fanboy that likes overheating memory modules that are overclock limited due to thermal issues, just get generic Hynix DDR5 modules and tune them yourself. My generic Hynix M-die and A-die memory modules overclock better than any retail kits I tested (and there were too many). They run cooler and you can put your own heat sink on them. No need to install RGB cancer software to stop the rainbow puke because there is not any. Regardless of what route you take, avoid Micron DDR5 like a plague. It sucks at overclocking. Samsung B-die was great for DDR4. It maxes out around 6400 for DDR5. Only buy Hynix M-die or A-die modules. You will have to do research to determine what IC the retail kits have on them because most of the brands do to provide any information about their choice in IC. DDR5-6000 is frequently Samsung B-die. 6200-6400 is usually Hynix M-die and 6800+ is usually Hynix A-die. There is a crappy variant of A-die that has a default SPD clock of 4800 like M-die. The good A-die has a default SPD clock of 5600. Anything less than DDR5-6000 is at risk of being Micron IC. It is dependable, just has little capacity for overclocking. CPU: Intel ONLY. 12th or 13th Gen i9. Save yourself the frustration and grief that goes hand-in-hand with owning something from AMD. Overclocking is lackluster and the CCX chiplet thing is stupid. Memory overclocking is limited, latency high due to infinity fabric, and FCLK needs to be set low enough to impair memory performance to avoid WHEA errors. (This is my opinion based on past experiences. Others may not agree, but this is framed in the context of overclocking because that is your expressed goal.) If you are going to run stock or do very modest overclocking, you can save money on an AMD CPU. The question is, can you afford a high-end AM5 motherboard? They are overpriced. AM5 is a much better product because it has no pins to get bent or broken like AM4. It's past due for AM4 to be retired, so only go with AM5 if you plan to go with Team Red. Interesting. I never thought of Dmitry from Hardware Canucks looking like Chris Pratt, but I can see the resemblance. Especially so at a glance. They could pass as being relatives for sure.

EVGA Z790 Dark (first choice) or ASUS ROG Z790 Apex (second choice) or Z690 Unify-X (third choice). These are all 2-DIMM motherboards best suited for CPU and memory overclocking. They have the traces, phases and VRMs needed. The gamerboy motherboards are not suitable for it and will fall short. Avoid 4-DIMM motherboards if you care about memory overclocking. These products are designed to deliver the best for both CPU and RAM overclocking. From a QC, service and warranty perspective, ASUS is the least desirable option. Custom loop with (minimum) two 360MM radiators (or larger) internally mounted, but ideally with either an Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 1080MM Nova radiator or MORA-3 radiator mounted outside of the case with at least two D5 pumps. An AIO is convenient but restrictive and usually less effective. If you decide to take the easiest available path with an AIO, go with no less than 360MM and try to go with a modular option that can be upgraded and serviced more easily than one with sealed and fixed lines that are a one-size-fits-all solution. Fans in push/pull will help, so choose the case carefully or you won't have adequate space to configure fans that way. Most cases are simply too small and poorly thought out, so they do not have enough space above the motherboard, or they lack space for a big GPU if you install the radiator with push/pull fans mounted in the front panel, or they lack space in both places. An AIO works great if you live in an area that is cold and you can push freezing cold air through the AIO. If you live in a hot environment, the AIO will struggle because it is more easily influenced by ambient temps. OptimusPC Foundation or Aquacomputer Cuplex Kryos NEXT CPU block. (Obviously not applicable if you go the AIO route for cooling.) Minimally. I have 10 of them on my benching rig and still pushing 260+ L/H. The slight impact is more than offset by the massive uplift in convenience. It would be a massive inconvenience to have to drain my system every time I wanted to mess with it, or switch over to chiller without radiator configuration. (Exactly why hard tubing is a massive "hell no" option for me.) What takes only seconds turns into an inconvenient project without the QDC fittings.

Should definitely expect bugs. Winduhz 11 is a buggy mess, and if AMD does that we should not be surprised if things get goofy. If that happens it will be interesting to see how long it takes them to fix it.

This is new behavior. At least it feels like it. They're never going to win when they hire losers. Second fiddle products should have second fiddle prices. This is not new. This is status quo. They're just more emboldened. They're not even trying to conceal their dishonesty anymore.

Thank you. I finally got lucky on the memory silicon quality I think. Even at 8200 with 1.600V on water the sticks are hitting only about 35°C during the memory stress testing.

Yes, we agree on so many things. 🙂 Not the least of which is the preference for black everything. A few chrome fittings look nice with black though. I have learned the hard way that the black QD fittings stick because of the black finish. The nickel plated QD fittings are slippery and do not have the sticky valve issues. (The auto antifreeze has also helped with that issue, as it is a lubricant.)

The Meshify 2 XL is a great choice. If tons of room is important, I really love my Level 20 XT. It has space for everything but the kitchen sink. It is beyond ridiculously massive and with an external radiator setup or your Ice Giant you'll have more space than you can use. It has two HDD caddy's that hold three 3.5 inch HDD sleds each, and there is a removable tray for a 7th 3.5 inch HDD above the PSU on the underside of the mobo tray. In one of the caddy's, I have an optical drive, one HDD and three 2.5 inch SSDs. The second caddy is in my closet. https://www.newegg.com/black-space-gray-thermaltake-level-20-xt-e-atx-cube-case/p/N82E16811133378 Absolutely ludicrous cavern. And, the horizontal mobo orientation and removable mobo tray is wonderful. All thumbscrews and tool-free. It is so massive I didn't like it at first. It just barely fits on my desk. The feet on the case are very wide (thankfully) and the front feet overhang the front edge of my desk by half of their width. I have two 200MM fans in front and two 200MM fans in the top, one (included) 140MM fan in the back. The measurements shown in the last image are totally inaccurate. The accurate measurements (using my tape measure) are 15 inches wide, 25.75 inches deep and 20 inches tall. In terms of aesthetics, my favorite case is what Brother @Papusan has, but it is insanely expensive. In my price range, I also really like the 7000D Airflow. I think it is gorgeous. https://hwbot.org/submission/5162885_ https://hwbot.org/submission/5162883_ | https://valid.x86.fr/4mgpby

Good points. Forgot about the hulk signing scam thing.

Yeah, it has changed. It's not required, but it does improve game graphics quality and lends a higher sense of realism. If you're not into that, or you're not into gaming, then it doesn't matter. If you're primarily a Linux user then you are better off with an AMD GPU. Recent kernel misbehave badly with NVIDIA GPU for some weird reason.

If you're a real pro overclocker, (or a reviewer shill,) then you'll get cherry-picked parts, and sometimes for free from your sponsors, before any of the pions can buy them. If you're a pion it is predestined and there is nothing you can do about it. You are not "special" and you haven't been selected for the anointing. You'll have the privilege of paying top-dollar for the chance to roll the dice in the silicon lottery. It is a lot like a pre-arranged boxing match except that you don't get paid to lose when it is your turn to be the loser and someone else is chosen to play the part of the winner. You're just a loser funding the sport with your own money, and nobody is rooting for you because you are a nobody. If you get lucky and land a knock-out punch and take down one of the champs, then you are accused of cheating or your legit victory gets dismissed as a fluke that is declared to not be a valid win. It can't be, because you were not chosen and didn't have the blessing of the ringmaster. Ain't that right, Brother @johnksss?

That is a totally loaded question. It really depends on what you want and what you intend to do with it. There is no single right answer. Gamers that don't care about overclocking buy things like an AMD X3D CPU, drop it in a gamer motherboard, run it stock or with an undervolt, then decide how much they want to spend on a GPU. As long as it plays the games they want to play at a decent framerate without overheating or throttling, they're good to go. This does not require the best and most expensive parts to do that well as long as they are healthy parts. The GPU is the most important component to that type of person, and they generally need less than what all of the marketing hype would suggest. If they buy a high end halo GPU like a 4090 today it should last them at least 4 or 5 years before it struggles with gameplay, longer if they don't expect to max out every available setting. If they go cheap on the GPU, they'll need to update the GPU (with something new or used) every year or two and keep using the rest of the system until a component fails and has to be replaced. Gaming doesn't require expensive CPUs, motherboard or bleeding edge memory. Fast storage and a mid-range GPU will get the job done. If you're an overclocker that love chasing numbers, there is still no single "right" answer. If you are always trying to beat yourself and set impressive scores, it is a never-ending pursuit of the cutting edge parts that you can push to the edge of functionality. If you are looking to set records for specific hardware, you can do that with old parts and collect hardware points. For example, if you grab a GTX 690 GPU and do hardware/firmware mods and go to great lengths to keep it freakishly cold and install that in a modern high end motherboard with a wicked CPU overclocked to the edge of functionality it will blow away all of the old high scores for a GTX 690 GPU. If you are a cutting edge hardware junky that craves the best of the best and feel compelled to stay current whether you actually use that hardware for something important, or not, just because that's what floats you boat, then you're just screwed... real bad. You're either filthy rich and blow money without a care in the world about it, or you're in bondage to an addiction that you can't afford. If you're in this last category there is nothing that will ever be good enough because nothing remains static. Today's most insanely expensive parts will be obsolete tomorrow and worth a small fraction of what you paid for it yesterday.

One more added to the list... based on the benchmarks, at least in this video, the 7900 XTX doesn't really offer much benefit over the 7900 XT (in some cases less to offer) and the 4070 Ti appears to be a closer match to the 7900 XT/XTX performance than the 7900XT/XTX is to matching the 4080 FE. It is interesting that we don't see comparisons to 3090 because the difference between 3090 and 3090 Ti is too small to matter and the 3090 Ti is/was nearly irrelevant in terms of market share. The bottom line is, if you own a 3090 or 3090 Ti, there is no point in spending any money whatsoever on a GPU upgrade for gaming. There is nothing to be gained from it for gaming. Gaining 10 or 15 FPS when you are already north of 100 FPS for $800 to $1000 is truly idiotic. If you want to run benchmarks and legitimately feel like you are benefitting from spending a buttload of money, then the only real option for a 3090/3090Ti owner is to blow a significant portion of your monthly income (more than what is disposable income for most people) on a 4090. If you own something less than a 3080, then any of these GPUs are a legit but overpriced upgrade. It is unfortunate that we don't see any AIB options for NVIDIA GPUs with 3 or 4 of the legacy 8-pin power connectors. I don't want an AMD GPU, but I like the fact that they did not adopt the new 12-pin cable.

I have not tested streaming with Steam games, but I will. I suspect it will work as well as, or probably much better than, a Steam Link or NVIDIA Shield (both of which are utterly anemic products in terms of computing power). So, you shoud be able to use it fine for remote-play gaming in that manner, even with more demanding AAA titles, as long as the host PC is powerful and you have a strong network connection. I have this for use with the TV and it is also a really good option that costs very little, especially with the 20% off code. The entire top surface is metal and it feels solid and heavy. It is a much better product than the similar Logitech keyboard+touchpad it replaced. The Logitech device was flimsy plastic garbage. I hate using a touchpad, but for the limited scenarios like punching in a password using a TV it is way better than pressing buttons on a remote a bazillion time to navigate an idiotic on-screen keyboard. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FSKZVRG That looks really nice. I have liked that case since the first time I saw it. It looks great. The only thing that holds me back from buying one is the limited space at the top. I have been tempted multiple times, but I remind myself that I have the same issue with the 5000D Airflow. I do not understand why the stupid people that design enthusiast and gamer focused PC cases cannot see how detrimental it is to limit that space in such an idiotic way. If someone is worried about it being "too big" they would not be looking at a full tower case. I find that not being able to install a fat 360mm+ radiator under the top panel sandwiched between fans in push/pull and still having plenty of space for reaching in to connect fan, RGB and EPS cables with ease is just inexcusable from a design standpoint. But, it seems to be a very common lack of intelligence among many brands and models.

Thanks. If you already have a monitor or plan to use it on a TV set for audio and video and web browsing, I can't identify a cheaper option for no-frills basic computing. Using something that sucks is less painful when it costs so little. The normal pricing of a NUC is absurd and not a good value. But, for less than $200 including tax it is hard to find too much to complain about as long as you're not expecting anything amazing.

If you're going to go BGA, best to go cheap. It's the only way of getting more than you expected. This one costs less than half what most of these little turdboxes typically sell for at $169 with $30 coupon applied, LOL. Make your TV a PC. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0BMX9NK6Y