Mr. Fox

It would initially be painful and difficult, but in the long run I think a world without participation from China would be a better place. Without the rest of the world buying their crap they would simply return to being a third-world country with nothing to contribute. They would just dry up and blow away. Wouldn't hurt my feelings any. They've worn out their welcome as far as I am concerned and they have only themselves and their unacceptable behavior to blame for it. Let 'em rot in their own sewage.

Here is how I always did it... Use some needle-nose pliers and bend the crap out of the spring arms at the base where they attach to the heat sink so they end up at about a 45° angle from the point where it intersects with the point of attachment. Just be careful to not bend it inside of the area where it is attached to the heat sink so it doesn't break off. This is where using needle-nose pliers is beneficial. You can avoid putting pressure on the point of attachment while bending it. By bending it upward like that it will take a comparatively tremendous amount of force (which is not saying much since there is almost none on a stock heat sink) to push the arm down far enough to engage the screw into the threads on the x-bracket standoff. You want the bend to be increased only within the area marked with the yellow ovals.

More irrefutable evidence of their unquenchable love and kindness toward us all... First Batches of NVIDIA RTX 40-series Sitting in Warehouses Since August: Report The first batches of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40-series "Ada" graphics cards were in production since Q2-2022, and have been sitting in warehouses in Taiwan since August, reports Tweaktown. NVIDIA probably decided against launching them sooner, as the crypto-currency crash left it with heaps of unsold high-end RTX 30-series graphics card inventory, forcing it to delay launch of the RTX 40-series, to allow time for the market to digest this inventory. It is now at a point where its retail partners have to clear out high-end SKUs such as the RTX 3080-series and RTX 3090-series at a third the street-price they commanded in the thick of the GPU shortage caused by crypto-mining through 2021; so NVIDIA could start pushing those RTX 40-series cards. The company is widely expected to announce the RTX 40-series later this month. Besides aggressive pricing, NVIDIA has been bundling its high-end RTX 30-series cards with AAA games. The best way to profit from demand is to limit the supply.

Finally took time to tighten things up on the Z690 Strix D4. It has some redeeming qualities, but DDR4 overclocking is DEFINITELY not one of them. I ran this memory at 4500 CL16 on the Z490 Dark and Z490 Strix sold to Brother @Reciever but it can't run stable above 4000 for some reason on Z690. I can run it at 4200, but not stable. I tested the 12900K and both 12900KSes and it is either ASUS cheaped out on the mobo or just Z690 doesn't like DDR4, not sure which.

Go EVGA, GO. Bring on the Revolution! Jolly Green Giant needs to learn the Golden Rule.

Yes, he is the proud owner of that rare gem.

I suspect it will hurt NVIDIA. We could see other AIB partner decide to follow in their shoes. Revolution has a side benefit that it usually grows stronger once someone with the gonads has the gumption to draw first blood. I'd kind of like to see it, too. I don't love NVIDIA, but I like AMD less. I am all for inflicting severe, long-lasting and catastrophic financial or devastating physical harm on big companies and governmental bodies that abuse their power and don't do exactly what the people that allow them the undeserved luxury to exist want done. I see it as justice working itself out. EVGA says they are not going to work with AMD, so we will have to see if that holds true. I can see reasons where they would not want to. They are probably no easier to get along with than NVIDIA. I might consider giving AMD another shot if EVGA were building them. One of the biggest issues, secondary to crap drivers, I have had with AMD has been sketchy reliability. EVGA is known for quality and if anyone were to affect that in a positive way it would be them.

This is very sad. I have purchased EXCLUSIVELY the EVGA brand in video cards since I ceased having an interest in AMD GPU trash. Not sure what I am going to do because ASUS, Gigabutt and others produce garbage with absolutely HORRID warranty service. Buying defective junk likely to fail, and difficult to get replaced is a bad way to live.

Looks like the seller I bought from now has two more sticks of SK Hynix M-die for sale Here is more info on A-die. Generic SK Hynix HMCG78AGBUA081N module part number. The memory IC part number for A-die is H5CG48AGBDX018. The JEDEC clock speed for A-die is 5600 versus 4800 for M-die and it seems like the increase in overclock headroom is similar. A-die is not in full production yet and modules using the IC are difficult to find and very expensive. https://www.igorslab.de/en/second-generation-ddr5-ic-sk-hynix-16-gbit-a-die-2x-16-gb-modules-review-with-overclocking-and-gaming-benchmarks/

I am eager to see Brother @Papusantemps as well. While not convenient, my Velocity2 block does every bit as good a job, perhaps slightly better, than the OptimusPC CPU block in terms of keeping the CPU cool. I am impressed with the appearance and results, but slightly put off by the inconvenience of the rear mounting hardware, much like I was with the Crosshair EK monoblock and the pain that was. However, I say that the monoblock was far worse because you had 4 additional screws for the VRM area that COULD NOT be accessed unless the motherboard was removed. The Velocity2 hardware is easily accessible as long as the hole in the motherboard tray is large enough. Both of mine are, but I have seen cases where the hole in the tray would not be large enough and difficult to access.

I find the mounting arrangement very inconvenient. Accessing the back of the motherboard while it is installed is easy on either of my cases but I know for some people that may not be true. Some motherboard tray are poorly designed and in some cases other things get in the way. But it is not convenient having to access both sides to remove the water block even when access is not impeded by other things. That being said, it looks good and the temperatures are very good. Then convenience is less problematic given that I'm using it on my work computer and I'm not frequently taking it apart and experimenting with different things like I am my benching rig. Did it help temperatures in your case? Same answer as Fire Strike. Buggy software and spastic laptops. Swings in scores and inconsistent results are expected and normal. K5 Pro offers no resistance to compression when used in place of a thermal pad, so it will not interfere with contact in any way. As long as you apply enough that it squishes out between the contact surfaces you'll be good to go, and the contact pressure would be the same or better (expect better) at the die when using K5 Pro versus thermal pads. K5 Pro is not better than pads as a TIM, and in some cases not as thermally conductive, but using it eliminates the possibility that thermal pads are interfering with contact and it maximizes contact on the surfaces where it is applied. That is the reason it is a good option. Given the haphazard and sloppy manner in which laptops are manufactured it covers a multitude of sins. Using shorter screws won't change anything. On the GPU you tighten the screws until the tension arm bottoms out against the X bracket. It's not going to get any tighter than that unless you increase resistance to tightening the screw by making the tension arm resist being pressed down against this standoff on the X bracket. Getting rid of the springs on the CPU and using ordinary screws will let you increase contact pressure on the CPU die. You have to pay attention to what is happening and not break anything, but you'd have to be kind of reckless to create a problem with over-tightening.

Buggy software. I have seen overstated Fire Strike scores that were totally impossible to achieve or replicate using the hardware they are run on, but validated by 3DMark due to glitches in the benchmark that skewed the results. Sometimes the overall score makes no sense, but it is calculated based on an algorithm that gives the most weight to one of the component sub-scores and ignores or discounts stellar performance to another component. Fire Strike is guilty of that. You can get a better overall score on a less powerful system with a strong GPU because Fire Strike doesn't give much credit for having a monster CPU. The combined score can bring down the overall score. You can have an insanely good graphics score and a sucky overall score if the combined test glitches out, and the combined test often glitches and can vary widely by GPU driver version. A laptop that "balances" power draw when the CPU and GPU are both under heavy load will commonly suffer in the combined test, which makes a big hit on the overall score.

Yes, Sabrent is a newcomer to market with RAM. They are the same M-die chips as what is found on my TG Delta and generic OEM modules and they overclock the same. It seemed odd at first, but I actually like not having any XMP profiles better. This was common on laptops, most of which couldn't benefit from XMP, but the generic Hynix sticks are the first desktop sticks I have owned with no XMP profiles since XMP was invented. Manual overclocking is always better because the XMP programming is usually half-assed, and the added cost of memory with XMP profiles added seems like a waste of money now. The Sabrent modules are my second pair without XMP. In light of how that sucks, as does the pathetic fake heat sink/no cooling garbage, on retail gamer memory trash, there is no point in leveling up with a brand name. You're actually leveling down and flushing your money down the toilet on nothing.

Here is some Sabrent Rocket DDR5. More to follow on this in a week or so. Another example of Hynix M-die overclockability. Note the DRAM:FSB ratio.

This fella has some hella electronics repair skills. Most people would have taken one look at it and decide it was over.

I always wanted a GTX 590 or 690.

I am not sure if I have seen an example of the stains you mention, but the issue I have always had getting a keyboard (desktop or laptop) to look like new is the fact that the keys are polished and have shiny spots from use. Nothing can be done to make it look new again on a laptop other than replace the keyboard. Same for touchpads, but mine generally stay looking like new because I refuse to use them unless I have no other alternative available. I loathe touchpads. I wish they sold laptops with a solid palmrest and no touchpad.

Everyone would be using a simple die frame, like a Rockitcool or der8auer die frame, built to specs provided by Intel, just like the ILM. Should be simple, easy, cost effective, produce superior results and be better for everyone involved. The fact that they haven't already done that is a little bit mysterious. The concept of having the IHS is kind of stupid IMHO. It is an impediment to heat dissipation and using one contributes to the thermal management woes of everyone that owns an Intel or AMD CPU built with an IHS. User-induced damage is not covered by warranty, so it wouldn't (shouldn't) matter to Intel (or AMD) if stupid, careless or inexperienced people crack the dies, etc. It wouldn't be their problem, nor should it be.

As long as they continue with sockets and not move to BGA filth, bare die should be the norm. It is the norm on laptops and there is no reason it can't or shouldn't be for desktops. It would not only work better, but it would reduce the cost of production and eliminate the hassles associated with delidding.

Bummer. I wonder how much AMD and/or NVIDIA paid them to stop competing? We didn't need them to be the best. We needed them to help keep the other two honest and keep the heat turned up on the quest to maintain market share. I was actually considering supporting them with my wallet once they got their driver issues sorted because I wanted them to stay engaged in the process.

I think the bigger issue for people that are keenly interested in overclocking is the fact that nobody makes extreme performance SFF products. That makes sense because it would be counter-intuitive to even pretend otherwise. SFF, by its very nature, is founded on a concept of compromise in one form or another... price, size, performance... all the above. Some people want that. For a person such as myself, the concept is totally incompatible with my interests.

All dressed up again.

What originally drew my attention was the generic Hynix A-die @Splave was selling on HWBOT. The module (not IC) part number was HMCG78AGBUA081N BA. These are DDR5-5600 16GB modules. I have requested he take a photograph of the actual memory IC so we can see the printed part numbers on the modules. If he is kind enough to do that, I will repost the image here for reference. See image of the part number decal in spoiler below. I searched for HMCG78AGBUA081N on eBay. By accident, I ordered module part number HMCG78MEBUA081N, which is DDR5-4800 16GB. It appears these have the same IC as the common good quality SK Hynix modules we are buying under branded names like G.SKILL, TeamGroup, Corsair and others that will overclock to 6800+ depending on silicon quality. So, while it wasn't the A-die that I intended to order, it was still a truly excellent buy at $80 USD per stick. It overclocks extremely well and will be better than paying more for a branded module that needs to have the heat sink (beauty shields) removed and replaced with legit heat sinks or run naked with a cooling fan to control the thermals. Unless you're into in, paying extra for RGB is a total waste and ultimately an unwelcomed physical impediment if you want memory modules that do not overheat with crappy original equipment "heat sinks" trapping the heat. Below are images of the modules and IC close-ups of the memory in my possession for anyone that wants to search for these or the A-die DDR5-5600 variant. As you can see from the Thaiphoon Burner data, the generic modules I bought on eBay look to be the same IC as what is on the far more expensive TeamGroup Delta RGB modules, and probably other brands like G.SKILL and Corsair.