Mr. Fox

Amazon and eBay are like the new gangster's paradise. It's not a new problem, but it is always sad and painful to see such idiotic prices, and even more painful to know there are imbeciles that actually pony up for absurd prices. Just look at this ridiculous poop-for-brains nonsense.

Thanks brother. There was no doubt in my mind that I could count on you for that. I knew you'd be happy to do it for me and I almost called you. At the time they had several models of 9070 XT in stock that interested me based on the higher power limit and boost clock that were priced around $600. Rather than acting on impulse I just waited a bit and decided I didn't need to spend that money on a GPU downgrade, especially since I've never owned an AMD GPU that I actually liked much. Basically I had logic kick in and I got cold feet LoL. I went back a few hours later out of curiosity and everything good was sold out and the only thing left were the models that had less to offer at a higher price. But they hadn't jacked up the prices to take advantage of customers like their skanky competitors had already done. Their inventory was the only source that had not increased prices to grossly unrealistic values within a couple hours.

Too early to know. Maybe, but not unless I see strong evidence that they overclock the core higher, not voltage-capped to protect the cache and have a stronger memory controller. The X3D part is of no value to me, but better silicon quality would be.

In the grand scheme of things it doesn't affect me in the slightest in the short-term. I mean, I have two 4090s, a 3090 Ti FTW3 and sitting on a shelf I have a Strix 1080 and a tired old Titan. The real problem, for all of us, is the precedent that is being set will haunt us well into the future. What is in motion now is bad for the world today and the world tomorrow and everyone will ultimately end up suffering because of what is being tolerated today. What makes me bummed out more at a human level are a couple of things. Recent GPU launches have shown us how extraordinarily stupid a larger than expected segment of our respective gaming and overclocking hobbies are. It is deflating and demoralizing to see that such a huge deficit of common sense exists in what I once thought to be a society of the smartest people around. It has highlighted how incredibly messed up, evil and dishonest the companies are that we give our money to. What is happening today with the 9070 XT is straight out of what we would have called the "NVIDIA playbook" and a repeat of the idiocy we saw from the Green Goblin less than 90 days ago. We are surrounded and outnumbered by stupid people that are willing to spend any amount of money indiscriminately to posses whatever they want, even when doing so has no logical answer or rationale to support it. I wasn't excited about RX 9070 XT as a product because it is inferior to the GPUs I already own and use daily. What I was optimistic about was the prospect that AMD was telling the truth about GPU stock available and already in-store waiting to purchase, with "plenty of 9070 XTs to go around" for everyone that wants one, and a price point that actually realistically resembles its performance level. I was pleased that the 9950X wasn't another regrettable "second chance" example of poor judgment on my part. (I have always wanted them to be successful, but they never did anything well enough in my eyes before.) Given the 9950X was acceptable to me, I was eager to give AMD another chance to show me that they actually can do things right. I fully expected it would be the first AMD GPU that I did not hate. But, the availability lies and unrealistic pricing is putting them in the same class of untrustworthy clowns that NVIDIA has earned its way into. As much as I want AMD to be rewarded for doing something right, there is no way I am going to pay $800 for a mediocre mid-range consumer GPU.

The Microcenter in Tustin had 3 ASUS Prime 9070 XT OC for $599.99 this morning and I almost reached out to @johnksss to see if he would be able to grab one for me. I'd buy them all day long for $600. That's a fantastic deal, but it's approaching the edge. I decided to not ask him to when I paused to consider CA sales tax being higher than normal and shipping would have to be added, so that would take it from being a pretty decent purchase to being a poor value prospect. I think the value of this GPU is lost above about $700. This was built with the intent of it being a reasonably-priced average gamer GPU. It is not a flagship product. It's not an enthusiast or high end product no matter how you look at it, and should not be priced as if it were. I was satisfied with the 3060 Ti just for gaming. It was good enough. That is the category this product falls into... good enough, reasonable price. Being good enough is entirely predicated on the price remaining below the $700 to $800 range including tax and shipping. Otherwise, it is not good enough and not worth buying.

Before they vaporized the prices changed, went from $599.99 to $800 within about 5 minutes of launch and then there were no more. I purchased an XFX Mercury OC on NewEgg for $719 direct from NewEgg and completed the checkout, got a confirmation email. About 5 minutes later an email arrived notifying me it was cancelled due to no stock. I went back to the product page and it said 8 in stock for about $825 and I tried to add that to my cart and it said no longer available, so the scalping is being facilitated at the retailer level. The same thing basicaly happened on Amazon. Loaded my cart several times with several diferent models and when attempting to complete the checkout process they were "out of stock" but going back to the product page it was still there at a higher price. So, they can stuff it. It's a fair (not great) value for $600 or $700 for a better SKU, but beyond that the value becomes as poor as a 5070 Ti and the purchase is pointless. All of these PC part scalpers need to be rounded up, shot in the head and their carcasses left for buzzards to eat.

They are all in the hands of scalpers and posted on eBay for double or more their retail value now. So, the only people that will own them are of the same caliber of idiocy as the NVIDIOT fanboys that are willing to get screwed. Microcenter has them, but that does most people no good since their market areas/reach are so limited.

So much for the lies about AMD having good 9070 XT stock available. Another paper launch. I purchased one on NewEgg, checked out and got a confirmation email. A few minutes later a cancellation notice due to insufficient stock. Checked out twice at Amazon and same thing. And, scamming already happening. Prices increased in the past hour. So, eff them all. They can keep their janky overpriced lackluster GPU trash and kiss my hind end.

It is very puzzling and disappointing that ASRock and Sapphire both built an AMD card with the fragile NVIDIA fire-starter 12VHPWR, aka 12V-2x6, aka POS-made-by-idiots-for-idiots, connector. Pretty hard to find any respect for either brand for having made such a deliberately stupid decision. Unless there is something lurking in the shadows with higher power limits that we do not know about, looks to me like one of the XFX Mercury models with 340W TGP and 3100 boost are the only good (least gimped) purchase options. https://www.amazon.com/shop/golfsgadget/list/M3B465V04BYO Well, based on those side-by-side clips it seems like there isn't really anything special to write home about in terms of performance. Looks like a pretty lackluster product and very closely matched with the equally mediocre 5070 Ti that offers an unimpressive experience at a higher price. It is interesting see that the word "awesome" is being misdefined to mean that something qualifies as special on the basis that "it sucks less" than the alternatives. I am not seeing anything, anywhere, that fits the traditional definition that I plan to continue using. While it doesn't look like anything awesome, it does suck less than 5070 Ti on the basis of price.

😂🤣 Great news. Let's hope they lose at least that much more before the weekend. Jensen needs to retire. He is worthless and needs to be replaced with someone that aggressively looks for ways to bring economic destruction and famine to China instead of sleeping with them.

I would have guessed that. We are close to the same age and think much the same. And, we both remember what awesome actually meant. Now anything that doesn't suck really bad qualifies as being awesome. Welcome to modern turdbook hell. You paid for it, but they still own it and decide everything for you. So, in that way they own you, too.

Bigger laptops and bigger desktops are always the best choice. For many years this was the only computer case I would use. I still like them a lot. And, they were extremely heavy steel. Built like a Snap-On mechanic's toolbox that needed to be empty or use a forklift to move it with tools in all of the drawers. You could beat on it with a hammer and barely hurt it. https://www.newegg.com/black-chieftec-dragon-atx-full-tower/p/N82E16811160027

Awesome. Happy to hear you are feeling better. I hope the wife having the energy to balk is a sign she is feeling better, too. Looks really good, bro. If you are thinking about another case, the be quiet! Light Base 900 LX has caught my attention. I love that it offers more than inversion. The horizontal motherboard option is always the best when it is available. I came close to buying one on an impulse and decided not to. But, if I needed a case I probably would just for the horizontal orientation option. Jay's video shows it in the horizontal orientation I would choose. Most of the other videos do not, but it is Tom Logan's favorite case. As usual... black looks best to me.

@electrosoft is right on the Dell/Alienware extended warranty paying for itself over and over again. It's not likely that you will get the same level of service with another brand. As many things as they do half-assed or poorly, their warranty service is probably still the best. Unfortunate that their products are not the best, but at least you don't have to worry about getting jerked around as much. For every 5 year extended warranty I have owned (from Dell/Alienware) I had parts replaced for free numerous times and complete system exchanges (usually upgrades) multiple times. YMMV when it comes to dealing with scummy companies like ASUS, Acer, Gigabyte and MSI. Getting prompt and good quality service it not likely, but having your out-of-pocket costs covered is still wise. I used to never buy extended warranties, but anything that is expensive to replace with electronics that you plan to keep longer than the standard warranty is frequently going to pay for itself. Even household appliances. We have purchased expensive Maytag and Kenmore front-loading washers and driers for many years and always purchase the longest extended warranty. Ever time it has paid for itself. The Maytag Neptune washer we owned for like 10 years had the electronics motherboard replaced like 4 or 5 times and the cost of the warranty for 5 years was less than paying out of pocket for it one time. The Neptune drier never needed to use the warranty. We also purchase a home warranty each year and that pays for itself almost every year with a failure or repair of HVAC, kitchen stove, water heater or something else. If you get the better packages they cover normal wear and tear, even for things like your garage door breaking or the garage door opener failing, water heater failing, etc. They cover the parts and labor (or replacement) minus a small deductible, just like an insurance policy. So many things made today are "disposable" trash products with no parts available. We have often had easily repairable products replaced with new only because the parts are not sold or they are discontinued within a year or two and no longer serviced. The manufacturers only want to sell new products. They do not want to sell any parts to repair what they previously sold. Most people don't buy the extended warranty. That sucks, but the extended warranty allows you to take advantage of their dishonest approach to business. That's the world we live in now. As far as GPUs go, I am starting to feel like I am even more done caring their screwed up messes than I am with motherboards and CPUs. They are so grossly overvalued that what they have to offer in terms of features and performance no longer matters because the price is so out of scope with the value that it is foolish to pay for it. I am at the point that downgraded seems like the smart thing to do even though it goes against my natural inclination. Gaming and benching are fun things to do, but I would rather just turn down the quality settings and spend a more sane and reasonable amount for something merely adequate than to get screwed over paying out the nose to own the best because the price doesn't scale with value and performance level. If the price and performance do not scale at a similar percentage, or slightly higher on the performance side than the price the product instantly becomes a foolish purchase. If I am going to be dumb enough to spend 30-50% more for the flagship GPU it needs to deliver (at minimum) 30-50% more performance proportionally, in areas that actually matter, than the next best model or it's just a scam and a product that is not worth buying. Paying extra just for the satisfaction of claiming that you paid extra to own the best is simply not a good enough reason to buy it, and not a very intelligent way of doing things.

Hey guys. This could be fun. I have been playing around with AI-generated images. I haven't tried videos yet. My forum profile photo (below) is one of the fakes I created on NightCafe. Looks pretty good. This is for fun only and I don't intend to put a lot of effort into it. But, I think some folks might really enjoy doing this if they have an artistic streak. Some other samples of what I have done just farting around with a free NightCafe account can be viewed at my profile here: https://creator.nightcafe.studio/u/Mr-Fox

Maybe the bigger question is how you can tell if he is not lying. 🤣 Or, when does he ever tell the truth about anything? He seems to enjoy using scams and gimmicks to sell overpriced NVIDIA products. Here is something different to distract us from Jensen's nonsense.

You definitely should. Laptops are very unreliable compared to desktops and the chance that the motherboard will fail is extremely high. You may not be able to buy one and if you could chances are great it would cost more than the value of the laptop. I've seen this happen many times. I don't know why it is recertified but it's not unlikely that it already died once and got fixed, then sold to you. If you buy it you might never need it. If you don't you absolutely will need it and wish you would have.

Man, I will have your family in my prayers for a speedy recovery, brother. Some things like this were an annoyance when we were healthy young people and they hit us harder as we mature, even if we remain very healthy and strong. Our defenses are not as robust as they once were. It's a long shot, but rather than assume it is better to ask. By chance have you seen there is an updated version of MSI Afterburner? I did not know until recently because I disable the automatic checking for all OS, drivers, firmware and software updates and never check for updates manually for anything unless I encounter a problem of some sort. I just discovered a week or two ago that there was a more recent version that dropped after RTX 50-series launched. 4.6.6 (Beta5) Released : Feb 2025

I guess it makes sense to see paranoia and performance anxiety to start messing with a person's mind that spent twice (or or more) than a GPU's real worth in terms of its capabilities for nothing more than a perceived "privilege" of acquiring it. [link] The engineering defects and performance problems those privileged characters are experiencing, or worried about, is probably enough to give some of them a severe case of tachycardia.

Sorry to hear that you and the wife are under the weather, brother. I hope it's gone soon and you get back to normal. That artifacting looks terrible. It looks a lot like the artifacting that occurs when you have overclocked the GPU too far for stability. I wonder if MSI Afterburner is somehow doing something goofy to the boost mode while it's running? Strange. Boy these sure are some crazy days that we're living in with things that are extremely overpriced not even functioning correctly. We had Ryzen CPUs getting burned, Radeon video cards with defective vapor chambers, Intel CPUs getting degraded by excessive voltage and opportunistic core boosting. 12VHPWR connectors melting, updated connectors melting, now Ryzen CPUs burning again, Intel moving to a suckier CPU design, now the most expensive GeFarts GPUs ever having missing ROPS, a mickey mouse performance increase, deceptive and misrepresented marketing, the next newest 12VHPWR power connector version update still melting, and a 50-series FE desktop GPU engineering abortion designed like something made to be installed in a turdbook. Blackwell Blackscreen Syndrome when using MFG, and now crap like this artifacting. We're getting shafted left and right. I hope that we never look back on this as the good old days because that's not a very encouraging future.

AI is the most useful tool ever for cybercriminals. One step forward, three steps backward. Security software and OS patches are not going to help. Totally a placebo.

I hope Intel pulls their head out of their butt next gen and focus on higher core count, returning hyperthreading and elimination of crappy smartphone cores and the retarded chiplet crap. If they release something equivalent or better than 14900KS in terms of core and thread count and overclocking (CPU and memory) prowess this will be my last AM5 setup. If not, then it might still be and I may stop spending money on computers. Reliability is something everyone can appreciate, but overclocking is becoming very mediocre. Without excitement in that area my interest in computers totally vaporizes. I was going to jump on an X870E Apex when it drops. I still might if the temptation is great enough. I am having second thoughts because I am not really seeing a lot of meaningful variance in performance on AM5. It really seems like AM5 overclocking (CPU and memory) limitations are more at the CPU design level than they are motherboard design. I think their CPUs reach the edge of overclocking functionality long before the motherboard capabilities start to be exhausted. We are living in one of the worst times I can remember for PC enthusiasts. Everything is pretty screwed up right now in terms of CPU and GPU performance, with extremely poor monetary value, stunted performance and stunted overclocking. I hope it doesn't get even more sucky, but I won't hold my breath. I suspect it will just continue on a path of regression, with less of what I want at a higher price for less than I am willing to embrace. Gaming is rapidly becoming a joke from every angle (hardware and software). Overclocking is swiftly becoming a joke as well. Computing in general is circling the drain. People love eating unhealthy garbage that makes them sick and purchasing compromised silicon trash so much that all there is to eat is garbage and the only things for sale are trash. The prices for both are exhorbitant. The consumer target markets are the idiots, ignoramuses and fools of the world that have access to money and shouldn't, and those groups of losers seem to have us outnumbered. As usual, we all get to have what the losers are willing to put up with. Idiots with access to money and an eagerness to spend gobs of it on trash really screws things up for the rest of us.

Same. My next GPU, whenever that is, will probably be Intel or AMD. I liked my Arc GPU. I haven't ever liked any AMD GPU, so that tells you something right there. I haven't ever liked AMD CPUs either, but I didn't approve of what Intel did with Core Ultra. So, I said screw 'em and so did lots of other people. It's not awesome, but also not terrible. Just kind of "meh" overall. But, the point is, Intel didn't get any money from me this time, and probably won't until they get their priorities straight and get back on track. I know none of them care what I approve of, but I get to decide how to spend my money and I am not going to reward them for having dung for brains. I'm hoping (against hope probably) that there are enough people left that think like I do and if enough of us do not approve and make a conscious decision to spend (less of) our money on inferior brands they will have an ephiphany and pull their heads out of their butts, or lose a fortune, tank their stock and start losing investors. It will be what they deserve for being arrogant imbeciles with a false sense of immortality. It happened to Intel. Nobody ever thought it would. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. NVIDIA is pushing their luck. It can happen to them, too. And, I hope it does... soon. Not so it can benefit AMD. I don't care about that. Just because they deserve it. They need to know what goes around comes around and it needs to cost them dearly with the only thing in the world they care about... money. They need to lose most of it and get a hard reset. With the burning wuss-boy power cables, missing ROPs, betting everything on fake frame DLSS, AI bullcrap and whatever comes next for their fake performance spoofs, (plus who knows how many other gimps and latent engineering defects are waiting to be discovered,) they'll probably need less help than it would have required a few years ago. I hope we all get to enjoy watching the Green Goblin's lair get burned to the ground together. It doesn't take a big cut to bleed to death. Lots of smaller cuts will do the trick. We need to stop behaving like lap dogs and start behaving like cunning wolves that hunt in packs, go for the jugulars, and take no prisoners.