Mr. Fox

Wow, that is an even bigger change than I saw. Massive change, in fact. Interesting that firmware can change something that much. In a way, it tends to dilute confidence in the reliability of the SP measurement. It can be manipulated if ASUS is influenced by external forces or ever decides to take on an agenda of some sort. I bet that CPU Brother@Clamibotpurchased from me would also have a really high SP rating now compared to what the firmware said it was when I last checked it. ASUS must have some sort of backdoor telemetry gathering data from all of the systems connected to the internet with a relevant mobo/chipset. If that is the case, I wonder what other data they are gathering. If not, then it begs the question of how they are getting the information that would cause the change over time. Glad to see you are on the mend. You must be starting to feel better now if you were able to muster the time and effort for this.

Huge improvement. More than a 30% reduction in maximum temperature and enough to make the difference between passing memory stability tests and failing them. As you can see in that screenshot, I ran TestMem Pro for 1 hour (200%) and maxed out at under 35°C at 8000MHz and 1.500V on the memory. Without the waterblock temps are generally around 42°C. With your normal gamerkid RGB memory with the fancy heatsinks heating blankets I would see above 55°C at 6800 and 1.450V. Memory errors begin to occur and you start losing stability around 45°C on DDR4 and DDR5. DDR5 gets hotter and gets hotter faster because of the much higher clock speeds compared to DDR4. I knew that about you. Even your wife is a WoW fan if I remember correctly. It is awesome that you've been a fan and playing since launch. I am much the same way with the Crysis Franchise. I used to be with CoD as well, but they strayed from the path enough that I am no longer interested in the last couple of installments to the franchise.

Indeed. And, that is with the 7900 XTX core clock roughly 500 MHz higher than the 3090 Ti. Is it because of the passion you have for WoW and FO76, which makes it particularly meaningful on a personal level, that you look specifically for those comparisons; or, something about those particular titles that taxes a GPU in a "Can it run Crysis?" kind of way? The generic green M-die was also vastly superior to the retail craptastick options. I thought that one of my pairs of M-die was slightly better than the other (which would not be surprising) and did more testing with the 13900K back in the Strix Z690-E and they're actually extremely close to the same. I got a good deal on a 13900KF for the Strix and will be selling my nice 12900KS sample that was the same SP92 rating as the one @Papusanhas. I saw no improvement whatsoever in memory overclocking, which was the reason I bought it. Well... as it turns out, the 6400 brick wall is actually a physical limitation of the Strix mobo. I never looked at the documentation until yesterday. And, yup... dammit... that is the highest supported RAM speed. It will boot and run (benchable) up 7200, but not stable to matter what voltage or timings I have tested. Stablity goes out the door as soon as I move from 6400 to 6600. I knew it was a gamerboy product and it is totally fine for my work computer, for sure. But, I was surprised to find 6400 is the maximum supported memory clock. Also interesting, my 13900K SP rating is higher than I thought. When I originally tested it in the Strix mobo it was SP95. Now it is SP103 with a significant improvement on the E-cores (from 73 to 83). The 13900KF is almost identical at SP102 (both are SP113 on P-cores, with SP81 on the KF E-cores). So, that was my real Christmas present. I wondered why my 13900K seemed so good with a mediocre SP rating. Apparently the BIOS on the Strix at that time was not dialed in correctly for 13900K. It was the first BIOS version for 13th Gen when it told me my CPU was only SP95.

OK, I think I got this dialed in now for my 24/7 overclock. It's so easy to run these generic green A-die sticks at 8000 MT/s. It's ludicrous in light of how many retail kits I RMA'd with RGB rainbow vomit and sloppy loose gamerkidz XMP profiles that cost double, were pure garbage and would barely even boot at speeds like this. Consumers are getting screwed real hard.

Yes. Yes, they are. So are the people testing and reporting on the "progress" LOL. Plenty of Kool-Aid to go around... bottomless supply of it for the bottom feeders. Their graph shows PL1/PL2 set at 253W. Why? Maybe because they only want partial performace? Or, maybe because it lowers the bar so that Windows 10 and 11 look equal? What would the graph look like with 4095W for PL1/PL2, and why do people even care about setting power limits? The answer to that question is the same as the answer to the question you asked.

Especially when it's paid for and does everything you need it to do. "I'm going to buy a new sofa that is exactly the same color as the one I already have that's in immaculate condition. I need it just because it's new. I will sell the old one at a loss to help cover the cost."

They would if they were honorable and cared what people think about them. Oh wait... We're talking about a tech company... Nevermind.

Just a tiny uptick, but only enough to make you realize you got screwed on the 3090, thinking you were buying the best the generation had to offer. NVIDIA: "Surprise! Faked you out, stupid consumer!" Me: "Surprise! Kiss my butt and die, Green Goblin!"

I was going to share that and checked first. I just watched it and thought it was pretty interesting (and sad). Happy New Year everyone!

Even Intel motherboards are grossly overpriced. Just a mid-range Strix board will set you back $400-$500 depending on which one you settle for. The only ones priced decently are the chintzy crap models for gamer-kidz that don't care about overclocking. If you want a real enthusiast motherboard, they're generally between $600 and $1100. Asus is the worst at overcharging, which is ironic since theirs are the least reliable and have horribly poor warranty service.

No. Half-breed is a 16GB Quadro. Wheezer was 2060.

I haven't really even tuned them yet. Just took an educated guess at some of the settings and there it is. This is on the new EVGA 2.06 beta BIOS. I don't know if they will work this well on 2.03 or 2.05. Thank you. C'mon over. Will make some fajitas and guacamole and wash it down with Chelada. Yeah, I am not liking that idea about retiring later. I wish I could do it now, but can't afford to. And, Brandon has already destroyed a massive chunk (2-3 years worth of retirement income) of my nest egg with his retarded economic agenda. I have lost almost as much as I made on my 401K while Mr. T was in office.

I got the generic green A-die sticks from AliExpress today.

Oh, I really want one, but I don't want to spend the money. I don't think they are worth the price they are fetching, and won't believe they are even if temptation overtakes me. I turn 60 in a few weeks, and Sleepy Joe is making things to where retirement may need to be extended an extra 5 or 10 years beyond my planned retirement age of 70. Unless something changes in two years and things get back on track I will have nothing left to retire with and may end up working until I die or can't anymore, so blowing $2K+ on an overpriced GPU every two years probably isn't wise for me. But, yeah... I want one.

I think we are on the same page for the most part and you read more into my comments than I intended them to convey. I can understand the sensitivity due to your heritage. If you militarize the border and make illegal crossing nearly impossible and block it through any means necessary, including lethal force, people will stop crossing illegally because they do not want to be shot. They value their life and are not willing to risk losing it if chances are slim their illegal entry would be successful. In other words, the imminent threat and probability of it become the deterrent unless they are criminals with a death wish. I think legal entry with approved work visas after a through background check and consent to monitoring/tracking while temporarily here for work, and those pursuing legal citizenship should be an easier process than it is. If the people are willing to work, support themselves, become literate in English, and have something to offer all who are already citizen, yes... 100%. But, not illegally. To me it is just common sense. Gun control freaks want to outlaw firearms, and the states that are the most torn up by guns are those that have banned or restricted them. I live in an open carry state. It does not end all violence, but when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have them. If someone enters a home without permission, tries to rob a store, or anything else, it is good and just when an armed law-abiding citizen can take the life of the transgressor to preserve their own. They are heroes and should be treated as such. In many liberal states, if you defend yourself or your property using anything (sticks, rocks, knives, bats, guns, martial arts skills, etc.) and cause injury or death, you are subject to prosecution the same as if you are the instigator or perpetrator. In states that do not have such unconstitutional restrictions of personal freedom, you can legally defend yourself and stand your ground. This is a deterrent and it shows in the crime statistics. Criminals that are not stupid sometimes stop to think what might happen to them. Some are not willing to risk having their brains blown out. The stupid ones that have nothing to live for don't stop and think about anything.

@Talon Beta BIOS Updates for Z690 DARK K|NGP|N (2.06) / CLASSIFIED (2.06)

I suspect it will likely not be a straight across SP rating between K and KS. And, you are right. SP rating is not the definitive indicator of a strong CPU that overclocks well. It is a very useful tool, but it is possible to have a CPU with a lower SP rating that performs better and overclocks further than one with a higher SP rating, albeit using more voltage. It is not very likely that I will purchase one. I might if the price is close to the same as 13900K, but I probably would not be willing to spend much more than maybe $100 extra for it. Time will tell.

Or it could be (but, hopefully not) better than average. Hopefully, it is a poor sample. A minor improvement should not result in more than a minor price increase... but, I expect we will see more than a minor premium for the "S" variant. This is probably going to suck for people that paid a premium for used 13900K CPUs with a superior bin quality.

If the results from Igor's binning are an accurate example of the norm this is an improvement. Not massive, but still better than average. That said, it would have to be or they would not be able to justify the new SKU. We also do not know if that person has a poor, average or superior 13900KS sample. If it is a poor sample, a good or great sample might be truly amazing in comparison. I guess the price, along with all-P+E core, ring and memory overclocking capacity, will tell us whether or not it represents a good value. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out once they are widely available for purchase. Probably "scalper" if it ends up being priced as I expect it to.

It took me a few days to adjust, so I understand. I did not like it at first but now I love it and wish my Predator monitor was curved. I do have them mounted on a tri-screen pedestal and raised 9 inches from my desktop surface so it is close to normal eye level. I would really hate using a monitor at a lower height and doing so would cause neck strain and fatigue. I have my 27 inch 1440p Predator monitor raised 9 inches as well. It used to be that the OC version was actually a different GPU, but looking at the specs for most of them today it seems more like a scam, with the power limits and voltage in the firmware and hardware build seeming to be exactly the same from what I can tell. It looks like you are just paying extra for a vBIOS with maybe a 50MHz higher boost clock. There might be some OC versions with different hardware, but I have not noticed any. It's unfortunate that the OC versions do not have a 200-500MHz higher default boost clock.

This is not "fake news" no matter how you slice it. It is a live recording of direct conversation. If you don't watch the whole thing, at least listen to the first 2:48 and pay attention to what Rand is describing. It really outlines the degree to which government has become overreaching and abusive of power as it relates to the mistreatment its own citizens.

4K is nice with a big screen and 100% scaling. Only sucks on smaller screens and with scaling ovee 100%. But, I really like 1440p and that is a very good monitor you have. I think the G-Sync is a gimmick if your framerate is as fast or faster than the refreshrate above 120Hz. I doubt you would be able to tell a difference. I can't and have never been able to. I would say it boils down to deciding what you want to do and just do it because you want to. I suspect you will be happy either way. You will adjust (eyes and brain) to the new resolution and it will become the new normal in a few days. Although they are 1080p, I really like my curved monitors in a triple-wide array. It look me a short time to adjust to the curve, but going forward I only plan to purchase curved monitors. Especially nice with two or three because they will fit in a smaller space width-wise and once you adjust it is easier on your eyes and more ergonomically pleasing. If they were flat, I would not be able to fit the triple-screen setup on my desk. It would overhang the sides too much and interfere with placement of other things, including my mid-tower case on the right side and tall cabinet on the left side. Edge-to-edge is 54 inches. If they were flat the same array would be 63 inches wide. Huge difference in the amount of space flat panels would require and they would be harder to use for 10-12 hours per day. I noticed the delayed ship time, but also "free shipping today" and wasn't sure which was accurate. But, I'd be fine with waiting if it meant spending $300-$500 less and the shipping was free. It would give me time to sell other things to help stop the hemorrhaging of my wallet before I got billed for the frivolous self-indulgence.

If you really want one, I saw the PNY 4090 at TigerDirect Business for $1600 a day or two ago. It was tempting, but I managed to avoid it.

100%. If I were going to buy a 4090 it would be the Zotac Amp Extreme AIRO. I probably would not even bother looking at other options. Short of that option, it would be an MSI GPU. I would end up wanting to block it for sure, but I think Zotac also has the best aesthetic of all of the air cooled options. The ASUS trash is overpriced and the warranty service too shoddy and shady to even consider it, and the Gigabutt options are pretty lackluster and I think theirs are uglier than any other GPUs except for the gaudiness of the Galax HOF (hard to match tacky looking tech on that order of magnitude). I think I would just save $400-$600+ and settle for a PNY 4090 XLR8 before I would give my money/scalp to the goons at ASUS or Gigabutt.