electrosoft

Suddenly getting random shutdowns on the Z890 Apex during memory or CPU stress tests. Even at JEDEC / Stock. Culprit? MSI Ai1300P PSU. I had swapped it in when I switched to the APEX from the Coolmaster V850 SFX I had on the table from ITX testing and subsequently had used with the Z890 Strix. Swapped back to the CoolMaster and all the shutdowns went away. Swapped back to the MSI, shutdowns returned. Incoming RMA..... This is the same PSU I picked up open box for $142.99 back in May 2024 along with @Talon --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is the industry seriously shocked no one wants AI? A solution looking for a generalized problem. In pockets, it has its value, but overall? Once the bean counters realize it isn't anywhere near as profitable as they hoped, the bubble will burst and Nvidia and AMD will come crashing back down to reality. First thing I do after every install and update is review add/remove and jettison anything M$ decided to add I originally did not want. One of those is OneDrive. It is literally the first thing I uninstall on first boot to the desktop.

Holy moly.... Those Corsair Vengeance 9200 2x24GB I was able to get for $390 while they were $790 are now $970 direct from Corsair.... wth? -------------------------------------------------- Yeah, trying to push higher and heat is my main enemy now. They hit 70c+ and things get very precarious with these heatsinks especially on the Vengeance 9200. Anything 8800+ even with lower tREFI is pushing the temps 60 70c+. I will be pulling out a case fan to put on top for some more testing sooner than later at this point. Apex does come with a ram heat fan thingy though so that's something.... You could always pick up a dirt cheap 265k and a board to play around with. I'm going to assume you have DDR5 on the shelf and didn't sell it off with your 1700 rig. --------------------------------------------------------- Well, while you're there on Asus's website, you might as well click the notify me on the Matrix 5090 'cause I know you want one @Papusan 🤣 CES was just AI fest. My favorite was Jufus's take of AMD's booth:

@tps3443 on a whim I asked AI "sample ddr5 8800 timings" as I compare these three sets and their XMP profiles vs my spelunking 8800->9200 for shiggles and guess who popped up in the search? Yep, YOU brother! 😁 ----------------------------------------------------------------- I guess PSU makers now realize this connector is here to stay and it makes sense to add protection mechanisms AND provide another reason for consumers to purchase yet another PSU.....$$$ As for the Matrix, I said it on launch day it was available on the US Asus website for pre-order for well over 6hrs as I kept checking and it finally went out of stock so it wasn't like they sold out in a flash here because consumers realized the $4k cost was insane for that. I had it in my basket and at the "click to order" state each time to verify. Still wondering what the MSI Lightning Z is going to clock in at...... ---------------------------------------------------------- Rubin slated for second half of 2027 which is inline with adjusting back to a fall release cycle IMHO so almost three years between cycles..... ------------------------------------- 5090 prices are trending up hardcore. All sellers are mainly out of stock. Expect future restocks to be priced accordingly..... Amazon SHIPPED and SOLD BY Astrals are now $4199.99! Price hikes are incoming....

Asus Z890 Apex arrived a day early. Brand new Box damage Had the original launch (August 2024) 503 BIOS on it .....here's hoping to a decent board or back it goes.... Flashing it to the newest BIOS as I type then off to the races. I already boxed up the Z890 Strix but for a board that tops out at 8667, it isn't bad especially for the price but still Asus advertised it as supporting 9066 memory... If my pictures look different, I recently switched from using my iphone to a shiny new Canon Powershot V1, so I'm still getting the hang of it while I make the transition from my iphone to it and a GoPro Max 2 for all my shooting adventures going forward. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tiny, finicky, connector + users treating it like a dodge ball = recipe for failure. More failures of course for the dodge ball players. Definitely can't wait to get mine if not for the D2D warranty than real external hardware pin monitoring. It really does remove the last useful thing from the Astral. The auto shut off is a nice peace of mind functionality and the beta software is only going to get better. I am very curious to see how the MSI yellow dragon flame edition is actually balanced....

Sheesh, normal OC mode = 800w, Extreme OC mode = 1000w and that is normal. 40 phase design dual 12v2x6 connectors and I LOVE the AIO design...but if it is anything like the MSI 5090 liquid, that means it may have issues flashing other vbios 1300 units limited run. I am sure the price is going to be insane... I would take this over the Matrix anyday of the week though. https://videocardz.com/newz/msi-launches-geforce-rtx-5090-lightning-z-worlds-first-gpu-beyond-1000w --------------------- Let the fun times begin!!

Nice way to kick off the GPU new year! 🤣 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5090s are drying up fast in the US Lower tier/priced 5080s are gone Best buy is completely sold out of 5090s including 3rd party sellers....that's a first Cheapest 5080 in stock is $1300 Newegg only has two 5090 models in stock $3299 MSI Liquid 5090 and $3539.99 PNY 5090 Cheapest 5080 is the $1200 MSI Shadow Amazon has no shipped/sold from Amazon 5090s in stock Cheapest 5080 is the $1399 Gigabyte 5080 Gaming OC shipped/sold by Amazon My closest 7 Microcenters only has one card in stock (MSI Liquid 5090). One had a lone Asus 5090 LC for $3719.99. Cheapest 5080 from them is $1299.99 MSRP 5070ti's are starting to dry up everywhere but MC still has some in stock ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The upper end 9070xt's have started to trend back up in price, but some of the bottom tier 9070xt's can be found for great pricing at Microcenter. Brand new Asrock 9070xt Challenger (which has the same PCB as the Steel Legend, but a weaker cooler) can be had for $579.99 brand new. It is a 2x PCIE model and doesn't clock great, but it is still a 9070xt and will get the job done.

The $431.99 one is sold by Kova Trade and shipped by Amazon. Shipped and sold by Amazon is $441.99. With these types of products via Amazon, I tend to lean towards both shipped and sold by Amazon just to be safe unless the price difference is meaningful. That is $70+ in my pocket 🤑 for picking up an open box new and worse case scenario is I return it and pick up the $441.99 variant. Most times open box new is box damage with Amazon so we will see. First thing I'm going to do is check G4 9200 on down to see where it gives up the ghost . Hopefully this one is a good one though! If it isn't, welp, back it goes.... ----- I was waiting for the refresh after reading about the node refinements, IO improvements and better IMC incoming. I'll just continue to double down around this 265k atm while sorting out the memory end of the DDR5/MB combo and then go from there. Worse case I tune it around 8400 unless it is an OC dud on top of that then off to eBay it goes... Nova with latency refinements and bllc could clock in as a legit AMD gaming killer. I would be ready for a return to Intel's glory days but remember....this IS modern day Intel we're talking about. We might want to lower our expectations......

Yeah I just couldn't do the MSI Unify Z890 even at $399.99 knowing I've been sitting here working with Asus BIOS for the last several weeks with the Strix. Asus is such a greedy dog water company, but their BIOS is the best for my use cases atm across several in the house and gets the most love and engagement in the forums too while I finish sorting out the memory side of this equation first (as I always do since 12th gen / AM5). -------------------------- Updated and same as before. DOS status update progression bar on PD_Update and auto exit then delayed silence on ASMx4242 till it popped up with the "Update or erase successfully. Reboot now?" Window. I don't recall getting that window last time and checked processes to make sure it had completed.

So I bit the bullet (the itch wouldn't stop itching) and picked up an open box new Z890 Apex from the zon for $371. This gives me the Z890-A Strix and Apex for motherboards along with 3x of memory on hand atm (TG 8200, KB 8400, Corsair 9200) along with this open box 265k which I am 99% sure is capped out at 8400 at G2 but we'll see. I'll also be able to verify the Z890-A Strix capping out at 8667 in G4. Z890-A Strix is rated to 9066 but two review I've seen now show it capping out sub 8800 under stress test so this isn't a surprise as mine will boot 9200 G4 just fine but falls apart about 5 minutes into the stress test (TM5 1USMS 90 min). Return window is Jan 26th for the Z890-A Strix or I'll hold onto it and the 265k for the Hyte White Y40 I have. ------------ w00t! That bodes well for my ship window thank goodness and it will be in your hands sooner than later to start getting some data. Thanks! I just grabbed it. I'll patch it in a few...

I just watched the video and yep, definitely looking forward to getting mine next month. Warranty only applies for it in stock configuration though which is how I would run it 99% of the time anyhow so that's a plus. But referencing my last post: You can clearly see how stress and movement on the cables can imbalance the load quickly in De8auer's video. I'm going to be very interested to see just how "bad" the MSI yellow adapter is and test it against whatever PSU I end up getting unless I can track down a quality 12v2x6 adapter cable for my EVGA P2 1600w to run. ----------------------------- We've reached that point where even the lowliest of Ultra chips can beat the 10900k in gaming:

Happy New Year brothers! ------------------------------------ Again, not that it makes it 100% safe, but even the makers are giving guidelines for connecting and routing your cables for the 12v2x6 dragon flame edition connector.... This is what I mean when you are not being proactive about giving the connector the best chance possible of surviving.... ----------------- As noted earlier, prices are slowly on the rise for the 5090 again and supply dwindling ever so slowly.... "Instead, we expect NVIDIA to ignore rising flagship pricing and either delist the Founders Edition or wait for the market to stabilize. One thing seems certain, though. As we approach the one-year anniversary of the RTX 5090, we do not expect the card to become widely available at MSRP, which seemed possible a few months ago but clealry does not anymore." ----------------- Ditto. All upside, no downside. I already dropped $2k on a GPU. I'm not going to squabble over $140USD for such a device and what it offers. This is exactly the approach to take when using a laptop. You are never, ever going to approach the flexibility or cooling of a desktop and that is just the nature of the beast and physics. Toss in all the added heat and component life and you just can't approach laptops like you do desktops. Your prioritization list is apt and on point for what most consumers need from their portable devices as they are tools to be used first and foremost for various tasks. Would I love to lug around something like the old mALX or even a Predator 21 and have a no compromises experience? Absolutely, but I know I am so very far into the minority of customers. Bean counters are very good at their job and know what the market wants and it isn't us. 😞 With that being said, I still love laptops! 🤣

I do think the 5080 is "better" value compared to last gen. Faster, new tech, less than the 4080 at launch (matching the 4080 Super price). With Nvidia having a lock on the market past the 5070ti, I'm surprised they didn't price it at $1199.99 You never used it on your P750 class Clevo laptop back in the day with the 8086k/8700k CPU? But yeah, Throttlestop has been a staple for me in various capacities since the Alienware M15x when pushing my 920xm/940xm chips back in 2010.... I think Kevin (Uncle Webb) still mains it and works on it even to this day. Such a blessing of a piece of software to have. I've lost count how many times it pulled locked down laptops out of the dregs of performance. When I was in MC the last time, I checked their 285hx/5090 Raider they had on display and the BIOS is still available. That really is their main selling point. Asus locks theirs down to a degree and only gives you UV. Dell has some OC controls but nothing like MSI and definitely not like Prema. Yep, laptops can be subject to degrading too with 13th/14th gen chips. Hopefully Acer released an updated BIOS to counter that if needed but the nature of Intel's HX chips from many makers limit top end voltage anyhow by design because they are really packing a desktop part in there now since the 12900HX just neutered down power wise. I'm not sure how well tREFI boosting would work out in a small, hot, confined box like a laptop especially without even decent heatsinks on the modules especially with some laptops clocking in at 6400+ now. Still would make a fun modding project. That connector is platform agnostic in the worse way. Sapphire Nitro+ 9070xt is probably the nicest looking card out of all the 9070xt's on the market and the hidden 12v2x6 rear design is slick but the very nature of the connector will require some cable twists and turns regardless of orientation. You also have the cables passing over the blow through portion of the heatsink fin stack basically blowing hot air on the cables/connector itself. I'm not sure if the active air flow helps or hurts in this scenario. Warm air or no air? Kobayashi Maru The higher end (340w+ rated) 9070xt's can also be subject to 500w+ transients. I do notice, especially in the MSI 5090 one, a serious bend on the cables in picture one meaning a lot of bend and downward pull/pressure. Not that it gives a pass to the piss poor excuse of a connector, but you can't just throw caution to the wind with this thing..... And yet again, advocating for light colored connectors to see scorch marks early on...... Always...ALWAYS give open box / returns a try. You have a full return window in place AND you can score some fantastic deals. I've literally saved tens of thousands picking up open box items for the last 30 years for personal and professional use. Yeah, you get some stinkers but you just return those for a full refund. Remember, I scored my 1.125v Vanguard 5090 for $1971 open box from Microcenter in August saving $600-800 off the original MSRP and now try finding one in the states for a not insane price. Open box 265k for $205 w/ BF6 code included Open box Z890-A Strix for $176 basically brand new That's over $1k in savings right there and that's just the tip of the iceberg of items I picked up open box / return /refurb. 5080 MSRP is ok value vs last gen in the face of same pricing, performance bump (however mild) and new technologies in the face of inflation. You are getting better for the same price. It is not good value compared to the 5070ti which at MSRP is the new "sweet spot" for Nvidia this cycle and only because the 9070xt keeps them honest. Cache is the blessing and the curse.....again. Overall, the 9800X3D is the winner (no shocker there), but if he ran this at 4k (or even 1440p), you would see that cache take a bigger hit and the results would start to flatten out a bit and I suspect in the lows especially the 14900k and 285k would take over. I would have preferred some 4k results and on a 5090 vs 1080p and 4090, but you take what you can get. 🙂 All bets are off as we head into the pricing unknown of 2026 but for the last few months, we've clearly been told about supply/demand and we have: TSMC raising prices TSMC booked up till 2027 and potentially beyond DRAM makers controlling output AI markets gobbling up memory DRAM makers booked up for at least this year Crucial flat out abandoning the consumer sector (I will never buy from them again even if they come back) Nvidia cutting back output on consumer grade GPUs to favor AI allocation I can't see prices going to $5k MSRP for a 5090, but I can definitely see supply on the fall and prices on the rise overall including the 5090. $2499.99 MSRP for an FE is not out of reach..... You simply tell work, "Look buds, I got to hook up this WV2 for my peeps in the Overclocking thread in NBT, so you'll be aight!" I am sure they will think about it for a few seconds and nod their heads in agreement and tell you it's ok and get those results to us ASAP! 😁

Well, that's what I get for waiting a few days before ordering. I ordered my WV2 on 11/3. Looks like we both got pushed back, but myself ~3 weeks after yours. Well, that's a lot of data I'll get to soak in from you and @jaybee83 before mine arrives. 🙂 ---- Agreed on the GPU front. I think @Papusan noted several months ago (while I had my 5080FE before jettisoning it due to locked out vBIOS) the juice wasn't worth the squeeze vs the 5070ti in terms of cost MSRP vs MSRP and then obviously AIB models that completely went off the tracks especially for 5080s ($1800 for an Astral 5080?) and obviously 5090s (~$3800 for an Astral 5090 LC?). Then again, the way the market is going, next gen AMD is now rumored for mid 2027 (or later) and I suspect Nvidia will follow suit. I would not be surprised if we don't see 10k and 6k series cards from AMD and Nvidia till Fall of 2027 at this rate with the RAM market hopefully coming to its senses by fall 2026 enough for Nvidia to offer Super cards by Jan 2027. And we still have price hikes incoming. Along with scaled back production due to memory reallocation from Nvidia to more lucrative markets In other words, hug your 9070xt's and 5090's and hunker down..... Not the greatest 9070xt, but Microcenter has Asrock Challenger 9070xt in stock for $579.99 They also have several 5070ti models at $749.99 and one at $729.99 Bang for buck, that 9070xt can't be beat.... Even in RT only testing, the 9070xt trades blows with the 5070ti: 5080s are running off the rails with the lowest cost being $1300 at Microcenter.... Cheapest on the part picker is $1129.99.... For myself, I'd either scoop up a fantastically priced Challenger 9070xt for $550.99 after MC discount or pony up a bit more for the Zotac 5070ti for $693.49....

Yep sad a bit but that gives a little window for @jaybee83 to give his full assessment of it and if it gets his stamp of approval. @Mr. Fox were you batch 1 or batch 2? Any updates on your ship date? --- Do you plan on keeping both or picking one or the other? Both are good GPUs and basically in the same class of performance depending on game/program you're running. For that brief window in August to early September, 5090s were available in pockets on some models for $1999.99 and others had come down for a brief spell too, but that party is over. Asus never really dropped the prices on their Astrals except the LC at MC for $3399.99 for a bit for members. Suprims did come down to near MSRP (but never quite got there) and Vanguards haven't available for months now in the US and I'm not sure why. Fallout76 Clan member wanted one to match his Godlike Z790 MSI build for the aestheticsbut they're nowhere to be found in the US for months on end. He "settled" for a Suprim. ------ I have a stack of parts I'm holding onto because pricing is just going to get worse in the market and waiting a month or so will net you more on the reseller end as FB dries up as parts hunter (present company included) continue to hunt and bleed it dry. With Nvidia cutting back on consumer level production and GPU prices expected to rise, that 4070 TI will definitely go up in value. You could put together a decent gaming PC with that 4070 Ti and get some good scratch for it.

So plenty of stock but prices have gone back up....Not sure if that's a win but at least you have stock. We just have the higher prices for the stock we actually have. 🙂 ------ <Insert Sad Face HERE> I'll be waiting for a bit it seems.....*sigh*