Mr. Fox

I might take you up on that. Turning loose of hardware that I am not using is painful and I have kind of a stupid fear of not having spare parts available as backups. But, I need to learn to let things go. I sure do like how this 2080 Ti Waterforce GPU looks. It has a chunky and menacing look to it that makes me feel like smiling. I know it doesn't mean something works well just because it looks nice. In fact, we see too many examples of things that look very nice and do not work very well. But it's extra good when you can enjoy both.

It the fault of Brother @tps3443 but I've got another nicely binned 13900KS incoming.

It seems like I get better overall results using the Galax vBIOS. I'm not sure why. Maybe something with the I/O peculiarity with the ASUS GPU (extra HDMI port and I/O mapping quirks unique to ASUS). Just a guess. So, this finally arrived. Will see how it compares to the Supercool direct touch RAM blocks when I find the spare time to install them. So far I have been impressed with the IceMan direct die block and the IceMan Dual D5 pump housing I added to my 5-gallon chilled water tank. Seems like the IceMan stuff is very good quality. This will be installed on the RAM in the Apex Encore. The Supercool RAM blocks are on the RAM in the Apex. Both are clocked at 8600. The Apex has the more elaborate cooling system, so it will not be a precise comparison, but it will also show how it compares to the Byski RAM jackets and block current installed on the Apex Encore memory.

I didn't flash it. All I did was turn off the PC and move the slider switch to the stock vBIOS position and restarted. That is why I think it is simply a change made in firmware. I also do not think that it means the memory is defective, only that you set an overclock that was unstable and with the stupid ECC feature enabled it (hopefully) does nothing more that save the mapping in the firmware/NVRAM. Now, I don't know if reflashing the vBIOS will overwrite the IFR table to make it "clean" again. I don't see any reason that anyone would not to want it to do so. I would hope so, and I would view that as being no different than clearing the Windows Event log. No, I don't think so either. You'd see it near the SATA ports if it did The Z690 Dark has a U.2 port, but I never used it due to not having a U.2 drive to test it with. I am glad I saved the old 2080 Ti firmware. The 2kW XOC vBIOS still works fine. SMI CLI power limit command does not work with newer drivers. I had to downgrade the drivers to an older version.

It changes from 1 error with the Galax 1KW vBIOS to no errors with the stock vBIOS. So, I'm not sure it is accurate that it physically remaps memory. Maybe only a change is saved in firmware NVRAM that has no effect on the actual hardware.

Too bad some things can't be unseen. It would still be hard knowing it how nasty ugly-looking it is behind the pretty black mask. Beauty is only skin deep. Ugly goes down to the bones.

Lovely. Another pointless change in form factor. Just what we needed. Repulsive and disgusting rubbish. What in the world is wrong with these people?

That is a politically correct definition for dumbing down. We sometimes forget that any number multiplied by zero has a product of zero.

NVIDIA call it "what the market bears" but that is not it at all. It's a science figuring out how much customers are willing to be screwed. Knowing when they are going to pull their pants up and walk away is key. They also need to know how many are fundamentally stupid. I think maybe we should stop worrying about China's technical capabilities and focus on something more effective and easier to control. Something like cutting off their food and crude oil supply and banning travel into China or travel out of China. They can't eat silicon or AI. They need fuel to function. In an absence of fuel there is no production. Starving enemies that lack the essentials needed to sustain life are seldom a threat. Combine that with banning the purchase and import of products that originate in China, refusal to share any knowledge or resources, and you neutralize the threat. No food + no exports + no imports + no money to buy things = third world poverty and famine. https://chinapower.csis.org/china-food-security/ https://www.cfr.org/article/china-increasingly-relies-imported-food-thats-problem

Yes, I agree with that. The Dark mobos have a triple BIOS. There should be a minimum of two. I will have to check that out when I get home from my business trip.

I am happy to find that RGB adjustments seem to be permanently saved to the GPU. It arrived with green LEDs turned on. I installed Gigabutt Control Center on my trash OS to change to white and it has survived multiple reboots and BIOS changes. It stays white no matter what OS is loaded. This should be a legal requirement for all products with RGB lighting. It is totally sinful and unacceptable that stupid expensive motherboards like the Apex, Encore and all the others from ASUS lack this important feature.

Speaking of two 8-pins, which there is nothing wrong with whatsoever. Or, three, or four of them. It arrived. Here is a quick stock run before I leave town for 4 days, LOL. See you guys when I get back. https://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/16150989 Everything working as expected. No issues.

New video (not a new song) from Disturbed.

That's why I like the chair I have so much. It is very big and roomy, and comfortable. I sit in it about 10 to 12 hours a day without feeling it. In the other kind of office chairs, including the gaming chairs, I would feel like somebody had beat me up. It is like sitting in a car seat, not an office chair. The only problem with this is that it's so comfortable it is too easy to fall asleep.

I know @Rage Setsaid no "gaming/racer" chairs so I did not respond to that. But, after thinking about it, if they have not discontinued them DXRacer has a very large and super comfortable office chair that is not like the gamer chairs. I have one that I purchased in 2015 or 2016. It is built like a tank and has held up well. It is designed to support weight up to 300 pounds. I was only getting a year or less use from office chairs before I bought this one. The offerings at places like OfficeMax and Costco are generally garbage. Looking at their web site, the exact model I own is no longer made. Looks like this is their new "biggest and best" chair. https://www.dxracer.com/products/gaming-chairs/craft?sku=GC/XLCF23LTA/N

I'm in the Braxman camp. "Security" software is a gimmick. If you behave yourself you're in no more or less danger. Stupidity is what kills. While accidents can happen, if you stay on the right side of the railroad tracks, chances are great everyting will be fine. If you go to the wrong side of the railroad tracks, the expectation of safety is naive, at best.

They probably extorted the kickback (hush money) they were looking for, maybe arranged a sizable anonymous campaign donation, so maybe NVIDIA can do whatever they feel like now. Even if it is not legal, they won't be bothered with compliance.

Yes if you mean the generic 16GB A-die. Sold with the CPU and mobo package.

Hey, you're in our thoughts and prayers, Brother @ryan

LOL... so stupid, but actually worked better than I expected with the water in the can. As cool as a gaming turdbook TBH.

6800 with the Unify-X, but that was early in the life of DDR5 using M-die. I'm sure it could do better with better quality memory available now. A-die did not even exist back then (mid-2022) and everything has changed for the better in terms of firmware and memory IC quality. It's getting closer! I'm looking forward to seeing how the Arc B980 works out.

I think grabbing a 4080 Super for $999 (if you can actually buy one for that) is a really good purchase. It does not surprise me that the 3090 Kingpin is still kicking. Probably the most bulletproof card one could have purchased. It is getting to the point of being so stupid that I think even people that love rainbow puke are starting to get a gut full on the idiocy. I agree with your comments. The default should be OFF. If they can't do that, then it should be white LED. And, having the ability to save the settings and have them persist without RGB software running (even after uninstalling) should be mandatory. The settings should be saved to the DEVICE, not system NVRAM.