Mr. Fox

As annoying as this fella can be sometimes, this is pretty interesting. It's unfortunate that there are no high-end DDR4 Z690 motherboards for sale. I'm confident it will improve in time as the new memory technology matures, but at the moment DDR5 certainly seems like snake oil. (And, then we will all be stuck with crappy old DDR5 poorly performing "beta" memory modules nobody wants that cost us three times more than DDR4, LOL.) It kind of reminds me of the old AMD CPUs that would overclock insanely high long before 5.0GHz became very ordinary, but they still ran like dog poop compared to an Intel CPU.

That is a really nice score, Brother @johnksss. Can you post a screenshot of what settings you are applying with the Classified tool? I'd like to see if my GPU is even capable of running those clocks. I serious doubt that it will.

yes, it is

It seems like they have chosen to accept and celebrate their defects rather than mitigate them, which is fitting with the modern way of skirting and excusing issues.

The really sinful part of it is there shoud be NO SUCH THING as a crappy binned FTW3, K|NGP|N, HOF or any other special built product designed for overclocking. It's either a horrible mistake that the manufacturer should feel morally obligated to correct for free, or it is a dishonest business practice. You don't charge anyone top dollar for a crème de la crème product, give them a piece of dung, and then expect them to just suck it up and hope for better luck next time unless you are a dishonest company that isn't shy about screwing their customers. They should be more carefully screening quality and chasing down any that accidentally slipped through their QC and offering to refund or replace it with a product that meets an extremely high standard that matches the extremely high price tag.

Not all bad, just mostly bad. I don't use display scaling if I can avoid it. It helps but has issues. Not everything scales correctly. I choose a laptop with the screen of the proper resolution for comfortable viewing without any scaling. I like 100% on everything. I think the idea of having a 4K screen on a laptop is idiotic. It is way too small. On 15 inch or less, 1080p at 100% is good. On 17 inch 1440p at 100% is good. I buy OEM Windows keys really cheap and activate using hardware ID. So, it doesn't cost much. I have never purchased a retail version of Windows and never have paid more than about $25. Usually about half that much for OEM keys. I realize even suggesting something requiring enough technical skill as a format and reinstall terrifies the average computer user even though it is not a difficult task. It makes me sad to know many are held hostage due to their own fear. Some believe having the newest OS version means they already have the best option. This is a dead giveaway that they are ignorant and lacking in technical strength.

A NUC is a dumber idea than a laptop in many ways. You get to enjoy all of the same functional (power and thermal) benefits limitations of a turdbook minus the portability offered by the built-in keyboard, pointing device and screen.

It is true that better thermals won't do enough for lousy silicon samples. Like putting lipstick on a pig. I wonder if the double-density GDDR6X chips are more resistant to overclocking due to their 100% increased capacity per IC? System memory works that way and doesn't overclock as well. Might be true for graphics memory as well.

The ones difficult to identify are the shows/movies with an overtly biased subliminal message. Some folks are susceptible to brainwashing, while others simply want to know what garbage to avoid to inflict financial deprivation and hinder success of the creators releasing their woke agenda/green crap propaganda. The reviewers seem to intentionally avoid calling attention to those bits, either because they share the dimwitted point of view or they are afraid of the cancel culture thought police coming after them.

With room temperature thermal throttling nonsense, none of it matters a lot unless you can stay well below ambient temperatures for overclocking. Having a GPU running cool isn't good enough to hold the clocks where you put them. It has to run freakishly cold, and an AIO is not going to do that for you unless you put the box outside during the winter and you live in a place like Norway or Alaska.

I did not really expect the KS to be a different product as much as a binned sample of an existing product. So, there is some basis for disappointment. However, taking the glass is half full view, buying a KS might be the best way to avoid being dealt a tragic ticket in the silicon lottery. That's not a bad thing per se, but paying $200 extra for something that isn't as good or better than a superior 12900K silicon sample is where the basis for disappointment comes in. It's more like damage control or loss prevention than an upgrade. You have to decide whether it is better to roll the dice on a K and hope for a win, or pay extra for something that is, at least, pretty good... with potential to be better than pretty good. If the chips are now being culled in favor of KS branding, then the chances of winning with a K might be drying up as old stock gets sold and replaced with stock representing the culled chips that didn't make the KS cut.

Speaking of undesirable change... looking back can be helpful in identifying how much things have declined. It also helps identify how long things have been allowed to remain screwed up because people tolerate crap. (Example is the crummy Start Menu that has sucked on every version that followed Windows 7.)

I can certainly see the logic of that, and for the average user that is probably more their speed in terms of technical skill. But, it is still a hell of a note to learn to put up with crap when you have other options available that work better. Learning to live with it instead of rejecting it helps facilitate the dumbing down of the product because the Redmond Retards expect everyone to put up and shut up. We can expect things to degrade more than they already have if that is the common approach. And, sadly, it seems to be. The same problematic approach has also been extremely harmful to those with higher expectations on the hardware side of computing. It is certainly easier to go with the flow than it is to take a stand.

I honestly use that as a barometer in the exact opposite manner intended. The chance that I will like a movie with positive reviews is very slim. The possibility I will love, purchase and re-watch something "professional" reviewers do not like is huge... probably 98% chance I will love it, because movie reviewers are just weirdos that I have nothing in common with. Come to think of it, that kind of applies to PC tech reviewers as well. The selection of likable things in PC tech is a lot smaller, with a much higher disappointment and failure rate than movies though. But, the failure rate of reviewer opinions is probably about the same as it relates to their inability to discern the difference between good and garbage.

Just happened to catch this before heading for bed. If that fella can afford $4500+ for two of those graphics cards and crazy expensive motherboard, certainly he can afford a better case to house them. Or, maybe he can't because he doesn't have any money left, LOL

Dealing with Micro$lop is like having to put up with feral cats and stray dogs screwing up your stuff. Part of you feels bad for them, but eventually the day comes that you terminate them because being humane and sympathetic is no longer an option. Stopping the damage is the only thing that matters, even if it means becoming harsh and brutal to prevent them from screwing up more stuff. They are expendable and a nuisance, and patience is limited.

Mrs. Fox and I am enjoying watching Blindspot. Good series. I watched the first episode of Halo and liked it. I prefer to binge watch things, so I will wait until a month or two passes so I can do it that way. All caught up on 1883 and Yellowstone, so waiting for the next season on each of those to surface. I am waiting for more episodes of Blacklist so I can return to binge through season 9. That has been an awesome series, but I think season 9 might be a good place to end it. It is starting to lose its shine now, with Elizabeth dead and Dembe and Reddington going different directions. Enough is enough.

I second the recommendation on the driver reset. I know if I switch vBIOS modes I usually have to reinstall the GPU driver or the changes in voltage and power limits go unrecognized. I seldom do that. As a general rule, I just always leave it on the 1000W XOC vBIOS Vince provided, but I have observed that issue the few times I have tried using a different vBIOS.

It is really inexcusable that they would even sell K|NGP|N or FTW3 cards with so much variance. They should have a much tighter control on binning and not sell crap samples for the same price as golden samples. It's a hell of a note to pay extra for something that is supposed to be awesome only to find out you bought a fancy piece of dung. They are pre-binning their KPE and FTW3 GPUs, so they already have the process in place to identify the garbage samples. If they are going to sell the crap samples they should identify them clearly by grade and sell them for a lower price with full disclosure. I'd even go as far as calling it dishonest to leave K|NGP|N and FTW3 buyers at the mercy of luck. They should all be very tight with little or no variance if they are being sold for the same price. I know I am not alone in saying that I would willingly pony up an extra $200-$300 for top bin quality. I'd also take a pass on something less to save money. Nobody likes getting screwed over because somebody them sold something the manufacturer knew was inferior before it left the factory.

What might be more fun, and interesting, is waiting for the used GPU market to get screwed up for 3090 owners looking to sell/upgrade so that one can be grabbed for a fraction of current going rate, then shunt mod it and force flash modded firmware to see if it can keep up with or beat the 3090 KPE. If it is anything like it has been with the 2080 Ti FTW3, then I suspect it will vaporize the performance difference and ultimately be better because of the wide variety of options available for third-party water blocks and back plates. I really love how the K|NGP|N cards are over-built, but at the end of the day I am no longer convinced that is matters that much. And, the proprietary form factor is, without question, an impediment where options and freedom start to matter. It's too bad it can't be overbuilt without so much disruption to physical compatibility. The nice thing about benching obsolete hardware is you can often swoop in and steal rank from people that previously set high scores when the hardware was current after it is too late for them to return and try harder because they no longer own the hardware and can't re-enter the competition. It is like playing the role of a sniper. You are patiently waiting in the distance while the battle rages, hiding in shadows... silently waiting until the opportunity for a stealth headshot surfaces. Nobody sees you and the moment they let their guard down *BAM* ...game over. Brother @Papusan has figured that out and pretty much mastered the art of it.

This Asian drummer-girl really rocks...

I ran out of fittings, so until I get some additional fittings the chiller is not connected, but I finally received the EK manifold for the Level 20 XT. This is super convenient and I wish I would have had one even using the Wetbench. All of the QDC fittings are at the terminal/manifold and nowhere near any part of the computer, so a drip or drop is not going to even matter. I still cannot get over how gigantic this case it. I really like how easy it is to access everything, almost the same as an open bench. Nothing anywhere is a tight fit. I put a 1/8th inch thick aluminum plate in the space designed for the second PSU and have the water ports to the case there with pass-through fittings. It worked out really clean. The manifold also upped the flow rate from about ~90L/H to ~160L/H. I also like having it positioned parallel to the width of the desk. It is nice having the rear I/O ports within arm's reach while sitting at the keyboard without having to reach behind the chassis to fiddle with cables. That MSI Tuning Panel being stuck to the rear panel with magnets also puts power, reset and other tweaking buttons at my fingertips... super convenient.