Mr. Fox

Walmart does that as well. It is harder for them to track if you pay for everything using cash. Not sure if that has any effect at Best Buy, but it obviously would not on Amazon because you can't use cash online. Amazon has done that to me as well. In fact, if I return this second CPU I am expecting a nasty-gram from them. They have done that to me before when I returned two GPUs that had crappy memory overclocking. I return worthless garbage made in China that doesn't work right fairly often, but it is cheap stuff.

I almost never shop at Best Buy because they rarely sell anything I am looking to purchase. I seldom purchase any kind of electronics, appliances or anything else they sell, and they generally do not offer enthusiast-grade PC components. Other than a 12700KF a few years ago, I have purchased a TV and JBL soundar in 2015, a TV in about 1998, and maybe a dozen USB flash drives from them. I will wait to hear from Brother @Talonand find out if the SP96 has strong E-cores and MC. I will probably be past the return window for the 14900KF when the KS drops, so if his is better than this I'll probably buy it and get my money back on this horrid sample.

I am wondering if I buy a 14900K from Best Buy if they will give me any pushback if I return one or more garbage samples. Or, if I buy three at once and one or none are good and I return the trash samples (or all three).

Doing further testing, it cannot even run 8200 stable the IMC is so goofed up. And, it needs 1.325V to run 55x on P-cores stable and still hits 101°C. I'm going to have to send it back. Seems there might not be any more "normal" 14900K/KF. I am skeptical now that the KS will be any better than some of the better 14900K. My SP108 13900KS puts this to shame.

Thank you. Hopefully, it's something much better than this 14900KF, which SADLY, is better than both of the 14900Ks that I returned.

It won't work. It's too weak. I've already done extensive testing with manual voltages and it's just a turd. This is the extent of its capabilities.

The memory controller on this CPU is also crap. Looks like it maxes out at 8200. It freezes and blue screens with "Memory Management" STOP error running TM5 above 8200 even with sloppy timings and 1.650V. I may end up putting this into the mini-ITX system since the most its cooling system can handle is 56xP/46xE/8000 and move the SP108 13900KS back into the Apex. I think the likelihood of buying a decent 14900K right now is equal to a snowball's chance in hell and I am not paying more than new retail price for a good used one.

I cannot find any EPDM rubber tubing for as little as I pay for my clear tubing. I pay less than $1.75 per foot for the good stuff and about $1.50 per foot for the stiff industrial stuff that I use to run long lengths of tubing to the chiller. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-2-in-I-D-x-3-4-in-O-D-x-10-ft-Clear-Vinyl-Tubing-T10006011/304185143 Everbilt industrial tubing @ $1.25/ft https://www.performance-pcs.com/water-cooling/water-tubing-soft-hard/pvc-soft-tubing/mayhems-ultra-clear-tubing-1-2-x-3-4-13-19mm-tubing-mct13-19-30.html Mayhems Ultra Clear tubing @ $1.49/ft I returned both of the worthless garbage 14900K for refunds. I ordered a 14900KF and it is better on P-cores and MC is OK, but the E-cores seems to be pure trash (SP70). They run at 46x fine, but system locks up with 47x even with an ungodly amount of voltage. So, I guess this turd is going back, too. I could get by with this for the P-core, but the E-core issue is just trash. I don't know what to do at this point. Don't know if I should order another and return this if the next one is not as bad, or just delid it and go bare die and live with garbage E-cores. Edit: I just discovered it cannot run my 8600 memory profile. Not going to keep it. Amazon is getting it back. Or, worse case scenario it will go into the mini-ITX since it can't run 8600. @Talon is your SP96 14900K as good on P-cores and better on E-cores? What are the individual SP ratings? If so, if you want to sell it send me a PM to let me know what you want for it and I may send this back.

This is only a matter of personal preference. They don't need to be "close" and I am not sure how to even measure that. I want clear tubing and I don't want to pay a lot for it. EPDM rubber tubing costs more than I am willing to spend. EPDM doesn't make my system faster, run cooler, or provide any other benefit that I can measure. I would buy it if I wanted my tubing to be black and not see-through. It's not that I do not like it. I do like it. I think it looks really good. But, it's just as simple as I want clear tubing so I can see what is happening in any part of my loop. And, I like how clear tubing looks. And, I like not spending a lot of money on tubing.

What @Papusansaid. The range of "acceptable" is too broad and includes too many samples that are us such poor quality they are nearly unusable due to extreme low quality silicon that needs tons of voltage. These should be culled and sold at a lower price, or relabeled as an inferior product. Normal price should only apply to those in the median/average range and higher. The silicon lottery should net you nothing, ever, below median/average when you buy the flagship model of anything. This should apply and be legally required of Intel, AMD and NVIDIA.

Mr. Rossman thinks the way a lot of us do. It is absurd and unfortunate that product fanboys defend trash, and it's why the minority we are part of have to put up with garbage. Between fanboys defending incompetence and stupid consumers not having the ability to recognize it, that makes us appear to be the problem for having what they dismiss as unreasonable expectations. It's comical seeing fanboys (overclock.net) defend the defective 14900K CPUs that I am returning because they are of totally unacceptable quality and unfit for distribution. I don't care if the product is made by Intel, AMD, NVIDIA or some other company, we should call the balls and strikes and show no mercy in terms of rejecting their bottom-of-the-barrel garbage product samples. Return it and let an idiot that doesn't know any better use it, or let the retailer remove it from circulation (the right choice). Not my problem and I'm not using my money to pay for trash. Poor bin quality only victimizes end users because they sell the defective garbage for the same price as the average and better samples. I terminate employees routinely that deliver below average performance. And, they deserve it due to poor performance. Some of them are nice people, but the employer and its patrons spending money deserve something better than below average. There is no reason to treat an inanimate product better than a human being.

They really should. Portable AC units do. Instead of the evaporator cooling air blown through it, it cools water pumped through the evaporator. I agree with @electrosoft, nice place @tps3443. How close is the place to being ready for move-in?

Yeah, that is a really good idea. I agree. The reason I do not run my chiller 24/7 is because it puts out too much hot air. That problem would be eliminated and probably better in terms of prolonging the life of the chiller.

Only 400 l/h less with an AIO. What's not to love? My little munchkin PC with the 360 AIO is an efficient heat pump. I don't know how many BTUs it puts out. Just think of all the people in the world don't have a way to keep warm in the winter.

If the Amazon replacement is crap and ends up getting returned, I might be interested in buying the SP96 if you want to sell it. I will know sometime tomorrow if the replacement is trash or acceptable.

Orientation makes a difference. In a horizontal motherboard installation getting a large air bubble trapping in a GPU block or CPU block is less common than a traditional vertical position because the inlet and outlets to the block are "up" and air goes up. In a vertical installation if you have a CPU waterblock with the inlet and outlet ports on the left and right it is more common to get a trapped bubble in the block. If the inlet and outlet ports are one above the other it is less common. It is common for the outlet to be above the inlet port, with the inlet centered on the CPU core and the outlet above that. This is ideal. The air exits the block naturally in that port arrangement. Same is true for an AIO block/pump. If you have the ports above the CPU in a vertical motherboard installation it is less likely. If the lines enter from the side or bottom, you're going to have air trapped in the AIO pump/block unless you lay the case down on its back or turn it upside down so the bubble can escape. This is not difficult to resolve. It usually involves nothing more than temporarily changing the orientation of the case. The key is being able to see that you need to do something. Otherwise, ignorance is bliss.

Tiny little bubbles traveling through a loop that hasn't been in use long enough for them to go away (new system or freshly reassembled) is normal and will generally take care of itself. It is similar to how bubbles in carbonated water will go away on their own. The air from the millions of tiny bubbles will end up accumulating in a larger bubble situated in the highest point in the loop. If the system is built in an ideal manner, the highest point will be the top of a reservoir or a section of tubing higher than anything else in the loop. Ideally, a reservoir will be the highest point, and then you can top it off and have no measurable amount of air in the system. What will sometimes not resolve itself without user intervention is an air pocket. Water flow may not be enough to eliminate the air pocket unless you temporarily change orientation of the component where the air is trapped.

Same applies to waterblocks as lines, too. If you have a clear acrylic top you can see if there is a bubble trapped in the waterblock and takes steps to get rid of it. It's generally not difficult to resolve, but you need to see the problem to know it exists. A solid waterblock might be more aesthetically pleasing than a clear acrylic top, but you won't have a clue about whether or not it has an air bubble trapped in it. And, that is definitely the worst possible place to have an air bubble. They are not desirable anywhere, but being trapped in the waterblock has a more direct impact on thermal management. A clear waterblock also allows you to see if any trash particles are accumulating in the fins of the jet plate. You can't see that with an AIO or a solid waterblock.

Thank you, but that is not what I was asking. Sorry I wasn't clear with my question. I am looking for the post with the spreadsheet from actual forum member submissions, not a screenshot. Edit: Nevermind. I asked the person that posted the screenshot.

I have started the exchange process for the defective CPU from NewEgg. Will see what I get back. If it is better than the one from Amazon I will keep it and return the one from Amazon. If not, then I will keep going until they either give me a refund or send me a CPU that is not a below average piece of dung. I tested it with an Indium sheet and CPU frame, so it has no visible evidence of installation. No thermal paste and no scratches from the Intel ILM.

So, the one from Amazon isn't a defective sample like the piece of dog poop from NewEgg. But, it still looks like a below average sample to me. The voltage requirements seem to be worse than my mediocre SP108 13900K. I'm not sure either one is worth keeping. If I pay new retail I expect to get at least an average silicon sample and I don't believe the better one from Amazon is good enough to qualify as average. Here's what it looks like.

Where is this. I remember seeing it but could not find it again. I'd like to see more than the top 5 because that is not a relevant representation of the 14900K.

Yeah, it's a piece of trash. I hope the Amazon CPU is not horrible. If both are I will return both and look for a used 13900KS. I am not wasting money on rubbish. NewEgg.

Not very good. Disappointing. @tps3443

I used colored stuff one time and it permanently cured that mistake. It might look OK at first, but it gets old looking at colored water and it definitely is crap in terms of clogging things up and staining your parts. In a word, I found it to be a nightmare that will never be repeated again, LOL. The coloring material is like adding trash to your loop.