electrosoft

@win32asmguy someone wrote an article for 2026 for WoW CPU performance and X3D. Article pushing for X3D superiority for WoW. I agree with some of his points, but two things: #1. There is NO WAY his "friend" was keeping a consistent 165fps+ in Dorongal or Raids even on X3D at 1440p 7 settings. No, just no. Maybe spikes here or there or nights with low to no players in town but on average? No.... #2. Properly tuned, a 13th and 14th gen Intel chip is competitive vs X3D while providing better overall even lows. With Midnight, I'll end up retesting this on the wife's rig (SP109 14900KS tuned B-die at 59/45/50) when she plays, 14900KS is locked at 5.9ghz everywhere vs 9800X3D vs tuned 270k when I get time. I recently gave her SP109 14900KS the yearly, "is it degraded" test with Intel's tool, OCCT and tons of decompression and shader compiles and it is running just as crisp and right as ever. Then again, it was tuned from day one. I really want to take each GPU I have (5090, 2x 9070xt, 1x B580) and CPUIs I have (14900KS, 9800X3D, 265k/270k) at 1440p and 4k through the Twin Dragon's fight especially for this: WoW in the twin dragons encounter has a moment it puts a beating on the GPU and CPU to the next level. I've seen the 5090 at stock (which this is for both GPU and CPU) hit 596w and the CPU pull 80w+ which in WoW for a 9800X3D and mostly single threaded is rather juicy let alone actually seeing near capped GPU utilization..... --------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm shocked..... (not). I would be curious to see how much is in the AI sector vs consumer sector for GPU failures and how much are card related vs power connector related. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm still running 1.36. I'll snag it....

There is an issue. For some reason, I figured @johnksss opted for a white one when he went to Microcenter knowing of the issue.....don't ask me why. 🤣

What was the top frequency your card was able to sustain with a +460 offset in GPU-Z render? 3400+ is good. 3500+ is god mode. Better bins fall somewhere between 3450-3500. Some are untamed (Asus 2000w XOC), while others are actually good. Right now, the Matrix 800w vBIOS is the sweet spot overall for D2D unless you're going to shunt and/or slap on the 1500w+ variants floating around. I know the Asus XOC gives you 1.15v and you will need to adjust down. @Papusan was running the big boy Asus XOC before so he might be able to give you more insight. I know @Mr. Fox is shunted with an EVC2, but not sure what vBIOS he is cooking with atm.

That's a damn good offset. Where does it top out in a GPU-Z render test frequency wise nudging that offset?

Unless things have changed, for stock bios cards the trick is adjusting your VF curve since SN keeps smashing into the 600w limit on the regular. Once you either shunt mod or use the XOC bios, that is no longer needed. You could also run the Matrix 800w / Lightning 800w/1000w as that also helps alleviate needing to adjust the VF curve. VF curve tuning you should be netting over 16k+ For raw OC using MSI AB and pushing offsets and voltage to max (I'll assume your card does +3000 no problem), how high of an offset can you set for runs? What is the max voltage? EVC2 can alleviate some voltage headaches, but higher voltage cards do tend to overall be better samples after a year+ of testing in the OC forums.

Holy $#!+..... So glad I stocked up on SSDs, RAM, have my 5090, 2x 9070xt's, 1x B580 and a few laptops to ride out this storm..... But serious, whoa... Now the question is, what is the Siny new Astral 5090 replacing?

Does ram matter for X3D? Conclusion, frequency is irrelevant (as I found out in WoW several months ago testing 4800->8000), but EXPO and especially tuned timings definitely matter..... For WoW, best bet is to run 2000/6000 and get those timings as tight as possible or 2133/6400 and tight depending on quality of ram (which is what I'm doing). Fallout 76, again, is X3D dominant but tighter timings definitely help too. Does RAM Matter For AMD Ryzen X3D CPUs? - YouTube

Asus is raising prices across many of their laptops too. We had 9070xt's at $599.99 and even as low as $569.99 last August/Sept. Microcenter had the Challenger at that price point and the reaper back down to $599.99 but, well,......like the 5090 that pricing is long gone now. Some of these GPUs are hitting a hard reality with these price increases with every card being in stock everywhere. Just like DDR5, you can yell and scream about shortages, but customers are only going to pay so much. Problem is MSI is only offering the 800w and 1000w variants of their vBIOS and locking down the 2500w version for availability, so the best way to get the most out of your card is to run the 1000w and shunt mod. Imagine paying ~$5400 after tax for a 5090 that still requires a shunt mod to get it running fully open and unfettered?

I agree, they let me know my old PSU was indeed failing when I asked and an RMA exchange was authorized and on the way. Didn't expect to open the box and find a Titanium. I only sent the PSU back, so now I have a massive swath of P2 1600w cables. I'll have to check to see if they're compatible with the T6. I know they're compatible with my EVGA P2 850. Sounds about right for EK.... I am genuinely curious to see what the 9950X3D2 can do but the fact they're not really touting it has faster than the 9850X3D is pretty telling. That was a good pick up I saw over there. Hope you had a good Easter brother @Mr. Fox! Love seeing the 12 core monster get slowly unraveled and working on real Z790 boards....hopefully you get over that cold on your YT video sooner than later bro. Probably a bit of fear of voltage issues again if left to run on consumer boards that allow it to overclock and push more voltage. The 13th/14th overvolting issues really did some damage to their name brand and consumer confidence. As @Talon showed, that industry level board he tested the Bartlett on initially was locked down like crazy. They need these P core chips to slot in and run locked in. On the other hand, Intel is boasting that Raptor Lake is alive and well and more boards both DDR4/5 are on the way.... https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-says-raptor-lake-is-not-going-anywhere-hints-at-more-ddr4-ddr5-hybrid-boards Now they need to officially support Bartlett Lake-S on current and future boards and open the floodgates. Depending on where it eventually lands, I wouldn't be adverse to picking one up. A 12 P-Core only chip is just yummy. What a cool rabbit hole you've gone down @Reciever on many fronts from the AC ducting to using a 9070xt for FG support. Which model did you swap the 3090ti for? Nice! All that's left is to block the GPU..... Industrial white with all black is always the slickest look IMHO. ------------------------------------------

Forgot to follow up on the EVGA PSU RMA... I ended up having to pay return shipping. It was a snafu in the original RMA saying a prepaid label would be provided. Ah well..... So I got my EVGA replacement PSU in today and in MSI fashion (which replaced my AI1300 platinum with a MEG AI1600T), they sent me a SuperNova 1600w Titanium T6 to replace my Platinum 1600w P2 which I've never even heard of before. It has 9x PCIe connectors. Model #220-T6-1600-B1 (but with the 10yr warranty still intact). Has anyone heard of this particular model? -------------------------- 9950X3D2 runs toasty or EK trying to pump up business? EK is recommending water cooling to extract full performance....

https://videocardz.com/newz/chinese-memory-stockpilers-start-to-panic-as-falling-prices-leave-them-stuck-with-modules "Reports from Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei market say traders and resellers that bought DDR5 in bulk during the run-up are now struggling to clear inventory, with some sellers cutting prices quickly to avoid being left with stock that keeps losing value. Yicai says some new 16GB DDR5 sticks that..." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Microcenter with 270k "coming soon" already marking down the $349 to $329 while still not putting stock out (they haven't been listed for sale yet since launch) to push as many combos and in house prebuilts as possible.....yuck. I cancelled my combo deal as it made no sense as all I want is the damn CPU and no desire for another MB or trash 2x16GB DDR5 memory. I'll just wait till they drop back to $299.99. Newegg is flush with them now as is Amazon as expected after that initial FOMO rush.... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top end mobile Nova Lake HX will finally differentiate core count wise from desktop for the first time since 11th gen due to the sheer size and power draw of all those cores. We're moving into Nvidia mobile land now but what else can you do? Mobile Nova Lake HX will have half the overall P core count as top end Nova Lake Desktop (8 vs 16) and 28 cores overall vs 52 on desktop. " The new leak suggests Nova Lake-HX will not mirror the desktop configuration. As previously reported, Nova Lake-S for desktops is rumored to scale up to 52 cores, combining 16 P-cores and 32 E-cores. The mobile variant is said to be more conservative, topping out at 8 P-cores and 16 E-cores. " --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Looks like iBOT does tinker with the binary code of applications.... https://videocardz.com/newz/geekbench-says-intel-bot-rewrites-benchmark-code-geekbench-6-7-will-detect-optimized-runs I'm ok with this for non benchmark applications and Intel finding ways to optimize games and applications over time, but "optimizing" benchmarks is a grey area I'm not too comfortable with if this is true....

Yeah, I continue to look and it will take something major to pry this free Alienware 18 out of my hands because it runs so quiet and only comes to life under gaming/heavy loads and even then it is quieter than the previous MSI. I was wondering how the newer Raider did under load conditions and when pressed. How were the CPU/GPU temps? Memory temps look absolutely dismal. I'm sure under those conditions it was extremely loud. On paper, it looks ideal with a 285hx, 5090, 1600p but if it uses anything close to the same fans as the previous iteration.....yikes. You know they always say couples who WoW together......Does the media center have it on display to see or is it hidden away behind a panel? I contemplated picking up the Midnight darker edition for a build out they look so cool for the wife who immediately loved the darker version for her case. She passed her 5 year anniversary back in September (she started playing during the pandemic out of sheer boredom) playing WoW and is officially more hardcore than I am. She routinely clears ALL the content weekly and that is with working a full time job too. Weekends she is locked into Azzeroth with laser focus lol...she gets up before I do, so I make her cafe con leche the night before and place it on her timer warming pad so she's able to get up and rock and roll the Saturday and Sunday mornings...

Intel and even AMD have before and now are offering CPU optimization tools to compensate primarily for scheduler issues with these hybrid chips and then the next level is re-ordering (aka optimizing) execution for optimal performance dynamically. We are basically talking drivers here. I don't see a problem with these drivers / tools Instead I see a problem with Windows and to a lesser degree developers making trash, bloated, unoptimized software. It's like when you run Timespy or Steel Nomad and you can see a certain performance delta between AMD and Nvidia so that sets a performance bar. We know the 5090 is heads and tails more powerful than the 9070xt / 7900xtx, yet you will suddenly see titles where the performance narrows to an insane level not reflective of benchmarks. You then go into games and literally the performance varies anywhere between 20 to 90% depending on the game being tested not only AMD vs Nvidia but even Nvidia vs Nvidia and AMD vs AMD. The variance and bloat is insane. This can extend even to CPU performance. Some games have horrific CPU optimizations. It was no shock that WoW was on the Intel APO short order list of games. WoW is guilty of this and needs a major overhaul. Player physics absolutely tanks performance regardless of the CPU and leaves the GPU twiddling its thumbs. Fallout 76 is guilty too and needs a major overhaul. The differential in X3D vs Intel for performance is insane. So many console ports relying on the grunt of the CPU/GPU and not optimizing properly need it too. Watching Vex's take on Crimson Desert and some truly great scaling and optimization vs so many bloated corpses masquerading as competent game engines. Basically this........... I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth and NOT accept CPU or GPU makers doing what they can to optimize and present their products in the best light to my benefit no matter the scale or exclusivity. I do get rankled a bit when they have the ability to backport the technologies to previous CPUs/GPUs but don't trying to push current iterations as hard as possible though....but that's for another day. 🙂

Looks like I might have to RMA sometime soon. x870e Hero LCD display is starting to go on the fritz and flash random colors in patches. Google search shows this is a known problem and eventually it will die flat out, bummer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yeah, I remember when they did that on my 11th gen XPS laptop from them after I altered the cfg values to enable TS support a subsequent BIOS update locked it down even further. It's problematic so that's why I was asking about your experience with Smokeless. A 5070 is just a bit too under powered on the laptop scene for me at this point. 5070ti is the bare level entry level 😞 All I want is an 18" laptop with full BIOS control and at least a 5070ti+ with a super beefy cooling system and space to mod.....am I asking too much? 🤣 Yeah seems to be the new thing with adding new features to the newest products at the time. Intel potentially pulling an AMD and Nvidia move. This isn't new as APO really didn't go anywhere. Luckily it had WoW support and I still enable it on the wife's system for her SP109 14900KS. I wouldn't expect IBOT to have long, far reaching support that builds upon Arrow Lake and continues to extended to it and Nova in the future but you never know. Either way, if Intel is able to dynamically reorder execution instructions to extract better performance, I'm here for it. Nice! Still crazy how Apple silicon ST scores are pretty bonkers now but I'm so glad to see Intel making the right moves lately from Battlemage to returning to mobile dominance to enhancing and lowering the prices of Arrow Lake and not doing a cash grab of a 290k. All reports show Nova is going to be a monster. I haven't picked up a 270k individually yet as prices shot up but I did snag a combo deal on hold from Microcenter for $617.50 to contemplate with a 270k, MSI Z890 Tomahawk and 2x16GB Crucial DDR5 6400 that I would just use in my Z20 Jonsbo mATX case. Still mulling it over if I want to pick that up, suck it up and pay the current $349.99 price tag or just wait till the first wave hype dies down and prices return a bit. Kinda want to play around with an MSI z890 board though too for comparison.... ----------------------------------------------------------- In before the "Well, max tuned chip vs chip I think the 14600k would be better blah blah blah" crowd pipes up...not realizing 99% of users aren't going to touch their settings at all and even just enabling XMP is scary to them....🤣

Offloading frame gen to a secondary card via which method? In regards to just generically picking amongst that group, it would be the 9070xt but depending on how you're offloading and executing FG, it would come down to potentially best bang for the buck too. Did you ever give Smokeless a try on your Alienware 18 or Dell Max 18 before sending them back? How much flexibility do you have on your Lenovo? I really wish they had an 18" version of the Hydro. 😞 I'm content with my Alienware 18 275hx/5070ti primarily because it was free so bang for buck is undetermined since buck == 0; 🤣 I haven't had much time to play around with it lately though. I've been plowing through Midnight at 4k Ultra settings and I think I can safely say we've reached end game with the 5090. Numerous spots can get into the mid to high 80s utilization but nothing so far can cap it out. This shows a 5080 or 4090 would still hit walls in some spots due to the high utilization spots on the 5090 As I'm sure you've experienced, Silvermoon, like Dorongal is an instant player physics frame killer.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ AMD officially dropping the 9950X3D2 April 22nd...... I don't think this is going to do much of anything for gaming overall with the same fabric limitations which will be greatly enhanced in Zen 6 but you never know..... I'll be keeping an eye out on this one as I skipped the 9850X3D as it seemed a silly bin bump that can't even sustained its rated speeds in many scenarios vs the 9800X3D which is rock solid. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Official confirmation of the 290k being scrapped (which we knew already) 270k officially available but showing up for $349.99 not $299.99 shipped and sold by Newegg and Amazon. Microcenter also has it listed for $357..... Shenanigans! Of course it is popping up in combo deals already as Newegg (and soon Micro$enter) tries to bundle and move stagnant hardware.... I'm going to hold off and let the air clear a bit as this SP83 265k is doing well enough atm.... --- Cheapest GPU prices: 5060 8GB........$349.99 5060 16GB......$699.99 (?) 5060ti 8GB.....$379.99 5060ti 16GB....$539.99 5070...............$629.99 5070ti.............$913.99 5080...............$1289.99 5090...............$3799.99 (You have TWO kidneys....you'll be ok!) 9060xt 8GB...$329.99 9060xt 16GB.$439.99 9070..............$599.99 9070xt...........$699.99