electrosoft

I used Asus Astral 5080 vBIOS before since it has a 450w limit on the MSI 5080 I had last year for a bit but all three fans worked. I'm going to end up flashing it again on the SFF OC like yours. That and Melon should open them up like a beast especially yours on water so a fan not working won't be an issue for you. I wonder if a different version might wake up the non working fan since there are three variants floating around for the Astral 5080 (Black, Noctua, White) The tight knit community is alive and well. Crazy how enhancements and QoL are being implemented Fast and Furious.....

Final (ish) analysis of the whole can't boot / memory problems: Motherboards: Asus X870E Crosshair Hero (still waiting for the Dark variant to be sent out) HP Omen 35L Prebuilt B850 tower (8400F, 5060, single Rage 6000 DDR5 stick, 512GB NVME) Asrock Phantom B850i Asrock B850M-C CPUs: 8400f 7500X3D 9800X3D Memory: Kingston Rage (Rage) DDR5 6000 1x16GB SR Teamgroup (TG) 8200 2x24GB Kingbank (KB) 8400 2x24GB Corsair Vengeance (CV) 9200 2x24GB --------------------------------------------------------------------- Rage memory boots and runs in every motherboard with every CPU TG, and CV boots and runs with every MB and CPU except the 7500X3D KB boots and runs in Hero and HP except with 7500X3D . Total no go in both AsRock boards. This is a two fold with conflation: KB known issue with Asrock boards so they're a no go atm....it was conflating an issue with the 7500X3D. 7500X3D has a dud IMC and can't handle 24GB sticks in single or double config. None of the 2x24GB sticks will post on Asrock boards in single or double sticks with the 7500X3D. They will post on HP and Hero but trying to get to desktop they keep getting BSODs and exception errors on the login screens over and over tested from 4800-6000 it doesn't matter. BSOD city on the MBs it can actually boot. It has no problem with a single stick of SR 16GB Rage memory. All MBs are functional. It was the KB issue and 7500X3D IMC being faulty causing all the problems. Returning the B850i Phantom (popping it in the mail tomorrow) and send the 7500X3D to AMD for an RMA or see if MC would allow a replacement but it will work itself out one way or the other. I plan on running the SFF with my 9800X3D now anyhow and put the 9850X3D delidded into the new Hero Dark when it arrives. In a "we're blessed" moment, Imagine not having a decent amount of hardware to swap and test to log data and diagnose problems all because of a flaky/dud IMC on the CPU and hidden but known compatibility issue with KB sticks with some AsRock MBs.....crazy. ------------------------------------------------- Smart play when you want a third decently powerful GPU in play since you run three rigs usually at all times. Odds of scoring a secondary 5090, unlike the 4090 days, for a somewhat sane price (less than $3k) have long flown the coop. $1100 is super close to MSRP. Did you snag a WF OC SFF or normal? Unlike some of the OCN forum members who continue to pick up new 5090s, that's too rich for me. I'm going to ride this Vanguard into the ground as my main rig gem. This. I'm more than content with my Vanguard since it is a 1.125v sample right out of the box, but the 5080 tops out at 1.040 so that is going to be major fun OCing the 5080 for funsies to see where it goes. Just hoping Jensen doesn't shoot us the bird right back and find a way to lock it out in a future driver revision. I can just imagine Jensen screaming, "THE MORE YOU SPEND THE MORE YOU BUY MOTHER%$*$)($S!!!" and smashing his keyboard against a bunch of GPU displays...... 🤣 ---------------------------------------------- Jensen right now watching everyone celebrating having control over our own hardware to push the voltage where we want:

"New" system coming out for 2026......rerelease of 2021 hardware.... https://www.bestbuy.com/product/acer-aspire-xc-1715_czn-ub13-desktop-amd-ryzen-3-5000-series-2021-8gb-lpddr5-512gb-usb-keyboard-and-mouse-black/JJ8V8HY7FJ/sku/6679698 Regression at its most finest to compensate for the AI gear hoovering atm.... --------------------------------------------- It makes you wonder why a 2-dimm board would introduce extra length to the traces and chance for signal errors at high/tight settings unless the spacing is compatible for a potential 4 dimm version too? Yeah I'm right behind ya with a Newegg RMA. I already got my RMA to send back the Asrock B850i Phantom. Basically shares the same BIOS as the B850M-C and both are trash IMHO that are having the exact same problems that extend beyond the whole KingBank fiasco. Even with a fan with an open case raining down AC cooled air, if my temps in my room rise....which they most certainly will with a 5090 at work.....an on the edge OC on my memory will crash and burn sporadically especially gear 2 8000+ Another reason a CPU/MEM loop has me interested. I've thought about a window AC unit to offset the fact my computer room routinely gets much warmer than the rest of the house to keep it a rock steady ~70 in here vs the inevitable temp creep when I'm gaming and the 5090 is a portable heater. Seriously, just like the 4090 but moreso, in the winter months I shut the door and use it to really heat up my room when I get cold.

TM5 is primarily Memory and some CPU. Windows Memory Diagnostics. I just toss it on top of the pile with MemTest when I'm just hitting it different ways but less intense than Karhu. If I can make it past TN5 extreme I'm usually good but many times toss Absolut on it for that extra lock down for at least 90 minutes on either.

Here's a crazy odd problem for ya courtesy of Asrock.... So remember that Asrock board that refused to boot with the $237.50 combo with the 7500X3D from MC? On the last return day to MC, I decided to roll the dice and keep it and see if it or even potentially the 7500X3D was truly defective or some other issue. I considered it a sub $250 fun project plus I didn't want to have to burn another $15-20 in gas.... I had ordered the B850i Phantom ITX from Asrock (<== major clue) and it wouldn't boot either. Swapped three different CPUs (9800X3D, 8400f, 7500X3D) and four different kits of memory. Same no post issues. Odds of two faulty motherboards is slim to none. Common denominator was Asrock. Had that HP Omen 35L HP sent me a few months back on the shelf (8400f, 5060, 16GB Rage memory, 500w PSU....such power) so I decided to open it up to use as a test bed in this "why won't Asrock work?" fiasco and of course everything works in there. 9800X3D? Sure. 8400f? Yep. 7500X3D? You betcha. KingBank memory? Boots right up no problem right along with all my other sticks. Did some googlin' and..... Issue turned out to be my KingBank 2x24GB sticks which I found out are known to have timing issues with Asrock boards even at Jedec. But wait, there's more. Testing those sticks first every time would load in the problematic timings and basically somehow wreck all the subsequent sticks I would test to the point I couldn't even blind flash the bios update on the B850i. Everything had to be completely reset/reseat and you could not start with the KingBank sticks or the same vicious "doesn't matter what sticks you put in here now, I'm not working" cycle would start again....even a single stick wouldn't boot. If I start with a known, working stick of memory and boot but then power down and install the KingBank sticks it won't work but I can at least go back to another set of sticks and they will eventually boot. It is only when I install a new/different CPU and start first with the KingBank sticks that everything goes to poo. This is with both boards running the newest 4.43 bios from Asrock.... Here is one chap with the problem, others who knew about it and Asrock offering a beta bios to fix the issue at least for his Nova board: I'm still testing and retesting to lock it down but either way, I won't be using the KingBank sticks in the Asrock boards. I'm going to swap out my TG 2x24GB 8200 sticks in my main rig and put the KingBanks in there even if they are overall inferior. If I can really lock this down and have total confidence in the MC combo for my C26 portable build, I'll send back the B850i, but we'll see as testing continues.....

Very nice! Chip looks to be a banger! When running on that edge, those little segues into instability from what was previously stable are frustrating. If I can't do at least 8000 I would stick with 6000 super tight (or as close as I could get to 2200/6600) but that's just me. 🙂 I keep a 140mm fan on my memory too but even with that at 8000+, temps are an issue in my AC cooled room hence contemplating a CPU/MEM loop. I know I would be paranoid about water dripping on my GPU and would most likely get a vertical riser kit so if water were to suddenly leak it would miss the GPU... Hey, at least the 12vfail is running nicely!

You're absolutely right CO can definitely trash your memory OC but we also had this to a lesser degree even back to 6th gen Intel I can recall experiencing having to adjust my memory OC to reflect core OC. Had to strike that synergy between memory and cores but back then I focused on clock OC then would shape my memory OC around it. Since the advent of AM5 and especially AL, I tune memory first and lock it down then lock down a D2D core OC shaped around that. As for curve optimizing, I tend to test static OCs first to try and get an idea of what can be done fixed then work with CO around that. I started doing that when testing 5800x chips and found static and CO all tended to lead to the same place but CO gives you better per core dynamic performance and you can have your cake (all core OC) and eat it too (even higher per core boosting).

Really depends on what level of stability you're seeking, but I usually start with a basic 90 min run of TM5 to kick off anything as that usually covers all my bases for basic D2D use. If I find memory errors or issues gaming pop up, almost like clockwork TM5 will flag errors. Just for first tier testing, I toss in WMD and even memtest and OCCT. If I can pass all four, for me personal needs that is usually good enough. I'm not going to subject my laptops to Karhu or similar but if you want to make things spicy you can give that a whirl.

You misspelled "God Mode".... 😂 Does 1.25 make it completely stable or is 6000 still problematic? Really looks like that 9955HX3D wants to settle in at 5800. Not the end of the world, but meh.....I know the 7945HX3D had no problems with 6000 in a similar dual die setup. It was a straight full assembly swap and not a panel only swap? Makes it much easier for warranty claims in the future to swap back easily but that is a strange bug too. I like the eventual @Mr. Fox drift to a new primary platform. Whenever you have two chips of the same ilk, that is the dominant platform. 270k has finally supplanted AM5, so it now rules the HenHouse. 🙂 Eventually AM6 and/or Nova will slowly move in and either AM6 will replace thje Epyc and/or Nova will replace the lesser 270k..... Yeah, I thank the stars daily for pulling the trigger when I did on various items especially memory. The upper tier stuff is disappearing completely or becoming bonkers expensive. I see you're well enough to lift those abominations into the box for a photo shoot @Papusan 🤣

Whoa, didn't see that coming, congrats @Reciever! Not sure you'll be able to handle all that power man!! That's a huge step up! Keeping it in the family is always a plus 💜 -------------------------------------------------------- Having delidded dozens of CPUs over the years, this is always the first thing that smacks you in the face the instant insane cooler running..... ------------------------------------------------------- Makes total sense with the price hikes and 5090s trickling in.....at least from Asus's perspective. Prices are in flux real time. There's no realistic backstock to fall back on.....thanks Nvidia! We know what's incoming..... Asus and Gigabyte raising prices by 20% in Chinese channels Gigabyte raising prices by up to 40% in Japan GPU Prices up by 30% in South Korea Prices are also on the rise 5080 on down. Microcenter has officially raised prices and something like the GB WF SFF 5080 I picked up open box for $983 less than three weeks ago is now officially "$1599.99" with some old stock marked as on sale atm or clear out, but this is a portend of things to come. 60% over MSRP......crazy. Cheapest 5070ti is $989 and those prices haven't been adjusted up yet but basically (may be worse but at least): 5080 $1599 new low price incoming 5070ti $1199 new low price incoming 5070 $699 new low price incoming 9070xt's are supposed to get a price hike soon but the problem is nobody is buying and they really should at a certain point with some of these prices. I seriously think AMD is the only reason Nvidia is somewhat not blowing up 5070 and 5070ti prices even more like they are doing with the 5080 and especially the 5090. --- With the contraction of the overall PC market, the logic here for MB makers is.....charge more because those who were going to buy will buy anyhow? Maybe Intel with Nova Lake, but AMD users will just keep their AM5 boards and upgrade their CPUs if they feel the need..... https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-gigabyte-and-msi-reportedly-plan-motherboard-price-increases-for-q3-2026 Don't forget memory is officially booked through 2027..... Good times!!

So Asus is sending me an Asus X870E Crosshair Dark Hero all shiny new to evaluate and add to my collection which is nice. I'm going to hold off on putting the 9850X3D delidded combo in the current MB in LM form and do it all up with the revamped edition. Glad I found out before I tore down my current system to install it. Still might pop it in but with just paste for now because that's quick and easy to collect some baseline data. Wonder if I can get sent one of their newer AIOs that interface directly to the MB connectors? 🤪 My original Crosshair Hero is solid but the LCD is flickering a little (common problem) so I could RMA it for a new one or at least a repaired one to then sell off with the 9800X3D. I could also just switch the wifey to AM5 and sell off the 14900KS SP109, much needed to be retired Asus Strix-A Z690 (loose USB ports in the rear) and B-die 2x16 G.Skill 4000 sticks. Does anyone in this thread still run a 13900k/14900k besides @Talon and I? -------------------------------------------------------- I saw that over there, congrats brother! Definitely looking forward to the lid and delid results! It's a top notch sample and best way, just like @Talon, to get the most out of it. I'm working on it, lol. I think I want my ram water cooled equally as much as the CPU at this point. Even with a fan, temps are an issue 8000+. I suspect they could even provide a little bit of help on the low end too. Still being able to game at 5.8 is damn nice and that is with just auto scaling and no fine tuning. Power and thermal reductions must be nice too. With credit flexibility, why not return it all and give a 270k a whirl to compare and contrast? Worse case, you return it and pick up another AM5. 270k would definitely be cheaper. At the very least, return the 9950X3D2 and try another one. Sorry the job situation hasn't resolved itself yet but at least you have a good side job that seems to be paying dividends atm. Man, that's a lot of cars lol. What do you do with them exactly?

Nice! How did 5.8 fare? 5.7 SP97 vs SP89 how much less heat and power draw assuming the Noctua could handle it on the SP89? I see Digital has dropped the price of that 270k down to $640 (or $655 PP FF shipped). Still not tempted atm as I am in the need of a major sell off of hardware to prepare for Nova with that lucious bllc (if it's anything like X3D, it is going to be a wrecking ball for Fallout 76 but we will see), but if there was ever a chance to snag a killer 270k for testing now would be it methinks.... Personally, I still think the problem with Nova Lake is even with superior SP ratings and silicon, we're just not seeing the insane clocks superior silicon provided with the likes of 13th and 14th gen. I'm only on an AIO, but 2x 265k and 270k all ended up at ~5.6ghz for me realistically. Even the poor first 265k SP77.... It gets close sometimes, but it still can't touch my SP109 14900ks in gaming. @Mr. Fox you delidded your 270k. Are you seeing appreciable gains in performance or does it hit a wall that isn't thermally and voltage related? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted though and the sooner it sells is the sooner the temptation is removed 🤣 Best scenario is one of us picks it up so I can at least ask questions and see results. ------------------------------------------ Smart play. These are but toys and fun things. Family always comes first. I still say you return the 9950X3D2 at the least and order another one or even step down to a 9850X3D unless you really want all those cores for gaming. You could get a 9850X3D + Strix open box for $753 vs the potential $1700+ you paid for the 9950X3D2 and Dark Hero if you're looking to shave a bit off the top and still retain gaming nirvana. No need to return the 5090 as it will keep gaining in value and you can sell it any time you want for what you paid for it and most likely more as time passes unless financial realities force a return and we've all been there.....

MONSTER SP98 270k for sale over on the OCN forums: https://www.overclock.net/threads/intel-core-ultra-270k-plus-sp98-p107-e95-mc64.1819986/?post_id=29603558#post-29603558 $755 shipped if one of you want to grab it and basically have prolly one of the best 270k's out there. Too rich for my blood and I'm content with the SP85 for a third of the price for my needs....but if someone wants an absolute beast mode of a chip, snag it fast! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have mastered the art of lost/delayed packages lately. My Noctua fans got lost in the mail from Amazon which were shipped by their own shipping services (they refunded it) . The reordered 120mm ones showed up but the AF9 top case fans for the C26 are running late AND now my conductonaut extreme has gone missing/delayed direct from so I'm sitting here with everything else ready to go (9850X3D, AM5 TG heatspreader, non conformal coating) and just need the darn LM to bring it home lol..... Also need it because I'll be delidding a couple of 13900k and 14900ks chips for a couple of guildies since I still have all my RocketCool delidding gear on the shelf. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That really would be the best approach for @tps3443 if he wants to stick with AMD. Tested, qualified components and a clearly better sample 9950X3D2 than the one he is rocking now especially at a killer price. I think you already tested CL26 6000 dual rank vs single rank before in gaming to see if there was any uplift like back in the day with dual rank DDR4 we found back on the forums with laptops? Still for someone running 6000 tight as possible, they could turn out to be the perfect set of sticks.

Definitely, the more I research, the more I am settled on EPDM. I need to locate that pump res combo you recommended I picked up for a good deal from PPC and res and fittings. I finally locked down on a new shelf to hold a large swath of my parts and boxes as the other room is full. Wife is giving me funny looks now..... 🤣 I like that you've tested each variant now with no X3D, 1xCCD X3D, 2xCCD X3D to see the progression (or regression) in regards to overclocking capability with X3D and peak stock clocks coming into play. I came to the same conclusion, outside of X3D beneficial games, that the 270k is actually one of my favorite CPUs on every level. Unfortunately for me, as always, Fallout 76 disproportionately loves X3D cache....scarily so even at 4k. I've tested and retested extensively the last 3 years and that massive chasm remains across the 14900k and 270k. Do you think the IMC on the 9950X3D2 you have is weaker than your other chips? Congratz on selling the HEDT rig over on OCN! Still a $1k+ difference now and I wouldn't rule out another price hike before we escape 2026. I've been testing my Windforce 5080 SFF back and forth against my 5090 in my main rig the last few days. I'm not unplugging the 5090 12vhpwr connector. I'm using the Corsair 1000w SFF instead externally to power the 5080 so swapping is quick and easy. 5090 is just a monster. WoW and even Fallout 76 keep the 5080 pegged at 99% outside of player heavy areas. Then again, there are many areas in WoW that keep the 5090 at 99% too even with a 175fps cap in place. As long as a GPU doesn't make that, deep seesaw screeching whine I can usually work with it. No GPU is truly silent under load and if I need to put my ear right next to it to hear it, to me that is effectively silent. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can touch that 3090FE whine I had. That was next level nauseating. Definitely keep the Astral. Still the most beautiful 5090 IMHO with that industrial slab look. I love the heatsink on that thang and prices are climbing and climbing. If I were you, I'd return the 9950X3D2 at a minimum to fish for a better sample or pick up a 9950X3D from Newegg which is on sale for $569.99 AND includes a free AIO or maybe see if @Mr. Fox wants to part with one of his samples OR return both the CPU and MB and see if @Talon wants to part with one of his 270k samples and go Intel. Of course going Intel you're going to want 8600+ capable G2 ram, cpu and MB at a minimum. If you want to stick with BB for their credit line, 270k is, oh, $600 cheaper than the 9950X3D2..... good deals on MBs and that helps compensate for memory costs. Damn, that's not good news if it can't even do 6000. MSI only guarantees 5600 on that model so you can't even send it in for a swap. Might have to just tune around 5800 or run a dirty OC that's "good enough" for gaming but still a major bummer. Silicon lottery strikes again.... Still a damn good deal though on the price and I'm not sure 5800 vs 6000 will even make any meaningful difference in gaming and you can maybe tighten up the timings even more. Do a dirty mem OC test 5800 vs 6000->6400 in games and go "meh....." Nice snag on the entire hood assembly so a small silver lining.... ------------------------------------------------------------ "Progress" = ~10% uplift.....

I think I might go with EPDM. Doing a lot of research and googling on clear soft tubing and it looks like a discoloration and problem long term nightmare. EPDM seems more cost effective with better longevity and never having to worry about not if but when the clear tubing clouds. Plus you get the Borg effect.... Nice! Now we'll get to see how it truly stacks up against your other two samples. The TG Die Mate Heater does really seem to be the way to go. No need to rock back and forth or use the oven method isolating that direct heat right to the heatsink/sTIM primarily.

Best Buy has officially raised prices on the two 5090s they have in stock. MSI 5090 Gaming is $4399.99 and the Astral black is $4829.99. Looks like that open box Astral 5090 you picked up @tps3443 is paying dividends! 🤑 Never imagined we would reach a point where even a mid to lower tier card like a 5090 gaming trio would be ~$4700 after tax at retail pricing..... Imagine ponying up $5149.97 after tax for an Astral now..... ----------- Full Nvidia stack price increases basically, but yeah....third increase this year.... https://www.techpowerup.com/351234/nvidia-rtx-50-series-gpus-could-see-another-20-30-price-hike-in-2026 I don't think we're going to make it out of 2026 without at least one more price increase at this rate and it is looking more and more like 2028 is the year of the 6000 series IMHO.... ---------- December 2025 article predicted $5k 5090s..... they weren't wrong.....they may have actually been a bit too conservative...we're just a month past the halfway point of this year with three price increases https://www.techpowerup.com/344578/leaks-predict-usd-5000-rtx-5090-gpus-in-2026-thanks-to-ai-industry-demand "If the publication's insider sources are correct, the NVIDIA RTX 5090, which launched at $1,999, will reach as high as $5,000 before the end of the year." ------------- If used 5090s start going for $5k by the holiday season......I don't know if I can turn down that $3k profit but I would fight it really hard! 🤣

Yeah that initial VSOC out the door to get it stable baseline was the initial red flag to me but even locking it down at 6000 makes it viable for D2D use but is a kick in the pills. I would be curious to see why it was an open box return and wouldn't be surprised if that was the reason. We can't be the only tech enthusiasts who immediately enable the enhanced BIOS and go to town on it. 🙂 Funny thing is I never even considered them but I've used them in the past to get various hard to find CPUs and motherboards. Did the upgrade to LM from PTM yield meaningful results or was the cooling system a limitation? I could see LM at least helping with idle ramp ups and low load fan noise though. I am like you and prefer my laptops at QHD so hopefully a display swap is a possibility. That is really odd with the quality level tamped down to a 1 it still has an odd bit of lag even frame locked to ~119fps in GFE/NVCPL? Yeah I should really complete the puzzle as they say. What would be the best source for clear tubing? I would probably want clear coolant too to be honest. Scary, right? Here's a funny story fresh off the phone as to why you DON'T wait.... I just finished talking to a gaming buddy in Philly who I was helping spec out a system and he was complaining about the price of the Asus ProArt 5090 because he wants one due to the USB-C support and compact size for a moveable VRRig and I told him Microcenter had a few in stock for $3999.99. He counters with, "yeah, but it was launched at $3099.99" and????? I told him literally YESTERDAY he should grab the single one they had in stock because prices are going to go up ASAP "Nope, I'll wait." Well he just messaged me pissed off because MC JUST raised their prices on several 5090s and obviously ALL of Asus cards. Astral is now $4829.99 for black, $4929.99 for BTF and white and 5090 ProArt jumped from $3999.99 yesterday to $4499.99 today..... I literally tried to warn him less than 24hrs ago prices were going to get real loopy again. Now he's lowered his expectations and is looking at the 5080 ProArt and comes back ranting because it went from $1699.99 YESTERDAY to $1899.99 TODAY...... I told him suck it up or quite honestly get a Gigabyte or PNY Compact 5080 for $1199/$1299 RIGHT NOW and just run his rig externally powered with an injection cable because eventually all prices are going to jump.....I've known him for years and I know he's going to freeze up because he can't stomach the now prices and when they jump again kick himself again.... I mean, I am the "hardware guru" amongst my many gaming and personal friends and family and I've lost count how many times I've said, "buy now or buy in X years....." and they don't listen then lose their marbles because of the pricing....even back during both cryptobooms and now the AI boom. This is clearly translating into memory and now SSDs.... The sad thing is this is a litmus test for AIBs to get an idea of what the market can sustain and while I do think prices will fall eventually when this AI thing hits a wall either through collapse or saturation for many reasons, prices will only adjust down to the point inventory flows again to expected levels. If you need it NOW, buy it NOW. If you see a great deal, SNAG IT NOW. This goes for CPUs, GPUs, SSDs, Memory.

5090's drying up fast.... Newegg is down to Astrals and a PNY starting at $4300 shipped and sold Microcenter has single digits in stock of several 5090s starting at $3779.99 Best Buy is down to the black Astral for $4329.99 Nvidia knows who and what is buttering their bread atm.... Now we move to the lower tiers as reported by @Papusan.... The retailers know what's coming with massive price increases on the horizon, better to profiteer off old current stock and pricing while they prepare for delayed / lower orders from AIBs because of new pricing to average out net income and profits for the next few fiscal quarters. Smooth out that bottom line.... Like I said before, most of us are set and ready to go with hardware on our shelves for current and future projects. Both sides use the, "for the children" rhetoric to push through draconian measures or push their political agendas and it is always disgusting to see. It usually comes down to which way a person leans to determine one side's implementation as "good and just," and the other side, "bad and anti American," when more often than not it is two sides of the same coin.... USA is not alone in realizing the dangerous, addictive and counter productive properties of social media on young and undeveloped minds and the problems it introduces socially among peer constructs in the real world. We all know it starts at home, period. Bad parenting continues to get worse. We also know corporations have targeted kids for profits for centuries. Remember candy cigarettes and bubble gum chewing tobacco to prime kids for the real deal when they got older and purposely putting sugar cereals on the eye level of kids? Yeah , that's just the tip of the iceberg... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's the funny thing, awhile back, I did pick up a pump/res combo recommended by @Mr. Fox, I do have a spare generic 360 rad in a box and enough fittings to kit out a full loop I picked up over on OCN but I stalled on researching soft tubing, leak testers and coolant choices....lol I have a metric ton of space in this Phanteks Enthroo2 for a 420 top, front and 360 on the bottom.... but yeah...i hear ya.... Any plans to delid your 9950X3D2 or keep it lidded? Have you tried a static OC? I usually find that brings the heat and thermals to life on AM4/AM5 chips. The itch to run a TG AM5 or 1851 HS has been gnawing at me for several months now, so I bit the bullet with a 9850X3D for delidded operation. I plan to push a static OC for shiggles to see where it takes me cooling wise at that point. I think @Talon is running the Noctua AIO (not sure 360 or 420)....they are pricey but they have $100+ of Noctua top end fans on them out of the box...

Ah, then that wouldn't work for me. I like to float between projects in flux and know I always have something to work on at any given time. I can see that approach would drive you batty. My wife is a completest to the point she can have problems falling asleep if something she is working on isn't completed. She'll lay there and think about it. She will be dog tired (even now) and can't stop till something she's working on around the house is completed. Me? I can shut down my brain and disconnect. I had to learn to do it years ago because as a programmer, I couldn't turn off my brain even after work. I would sit there or lay in bed with code just dancing through my head to the point I would have to get up and keep working. A lesser form would take hold in any hardware or software (or even gaming) projects I did back then. Took awhile, but I was able to translate that into everything I do and learn to shut down and then turn it back on the next day. Agreed, we didn't know how "good" we had it back then but AI and generated scarcity is driving record profits. Companies are charging these prices but I see everything in stock in abundance on the consumer side except 5090s which are in the single digits at MC so the wall has been hit for everything 5080 and below. Cheapest is the $3599 Ventus..... Those two Gigabyte Infinity OC 5090s at my local MC are still in stock after all this time at $5299.99. Biggest shock was I haven't checked Best Buy stock in quite some time. Only two 5090s in stock. The $3999 MSI gaming and $4329 Astral. Newegg cheapest in stock is $4149 TUF 5090 with a very limited selection.... I mean....sheesh.... 5080s? Plenty in stock everywhere but prices are still going to rise across the entire stack outside of the 5090 which does its own insane thing.... https://videocardz.com/newz/msi-and-colorful-announce-rtx-50-price-increases-for-distributors-rtx-5070-ti-now-starts-38-over-msrp Incoming MSI and Colorful price hikes: It will take a bit, but as always these prices will hit everywhere else and in the US prices will just adjust up with some retailers adjusting in the now even with current stock on hand because....profits.... Glad I snagged that $983 open box 5080 when I did last week. Same as snagging that $1971 Vanguard 5090 last August. The market is reaching a point where inventory is just going to stagnate because even at current pricing clearly cards aren't moving same as ram and storage. Crap tons of stock everywhere..... Something has to give and when this crashes, I hope it is spectacular...

Hopefully it's a ripper! Fingers crossed. No denying the 5090 is a monster. The problem remains the current pricing and with Nvidia looking to continue to raise CPU/memory packaging costs, they will just keep going higher....insanity atm. I didn't realize the frequency drop in the 9950X3D2 either, meh. Hopefully once you dig into it, it will show its worth... Personally, I love having numerous projects in the queue. I actually get antsy when I don't have at least two projects in front of me to work on.... You'll eventually get to the 270k delidded improvements. I'm hoping to see that extra cooling translates into at least a bin or two of uplift but we will see. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speaking of projects, I picked up a 9850X3D for a good price and I'm going to be running it delidded with a TG Heatspreader in my desktop. I cancelled my 7600X3D order from MC and decided not to pick up that 7800X3D on OCN and instead I plan on running my 9800X3D in my SFF Portable project instead especially after comparing my 9800X3D vs the 7500X3D at 1440p and 1080p in the Lightning B850i. 7500X3D can not cap out the 5080 at 1440p and especially at 1080p so on to the 9800X3D as my new portable rig CPU. Problem is I haven't used liquid metal in ~2yrs and my collection is pretty old. Somehow I lost my ( albeit 7yr old lol) Conductonaut vials and all I have left are ~6yr old Silver King vials from Thermalright. I do still have a bottle of non conformal coating but I think I'm just going to toss out everything and refresh with the big 5g kit of Conductonaut Extreme. Last CPU I ran with LM was my NH55 12900k I delidded and before that obviously dozens of CPUs from 6th gen through 10th gen. Still have plenty of Flitz's and tons of the high quality LM application Q-tips too along with silicon gasket sealant albeit I won't need that with the TG HS. Desktop 9850X3D delid and upgrade* SFF build out which is all over the place in a good way Still playing with the 270k build but it needs more love. I haven't had time to really dial down on it. Wife's system needs a major overhaul and clean install. Personally, I am not impressed with the AC LF III 360mm AIO. Very loud and cooling is.....ok. Not sure what I'm switching her to AIO wise but acoustics are priority #1 and switch her Gigabyte Gaming 9070xt to the Red Devil 9070xt which runs MUCH quieter and clocks higher. Basically, if you can't tell, she's complaining about how noisy her computer can get. Maybe even switch her case fans to Noctuas too. It's worth the cost to not have to hear about how loud her computer is every night at dinner. 🙂 *Really fighting the urge to give the Noctua 420mm AIO a whirl because reviews have been overall really positive. My Arctic Cooling Liquid Freezer II 420mm has been running for 5+ years now as my main AIO rig cooler. Might be time to set it out to pasture especially as the Noctua is even quieter and cools even better.

Good news: C26 arrived early Bad news: #1. MB is defective from the 7500X3D+Asrock B850M-C combo after much testing so I'll be heading back to MC this week. I ended up finding a good deal on an Asrock B850i ITX Lightning MB that I used for testing and I'm going to use that instead with a 7600X3D from MC for $199.99 + MB $130 = $329.99 vs $249.99 for the combo but much better MB quality between the two. I ended up trying 7500X3D, 9800X3D and 8400f along with 4 sets of DDR5 (TG 8200, KB 8400, CV 9200, KR 6000) and the MB would only post 1 out of 10 times and 0 times if trying from the onboard HDMI port. When it did manage to post it would eventually freeze randomly booting or even in Windows using it for a bit then restart and same instant lights. Tested all the CPUs and memory sticks on the Asrock B850i ITX and rock solid each and every time. #2. My order from Amazon with all my Noctua fans and a custom squeegee for my Armada was out for delivery on the 21st and disappeared. Amazon refunded me today for the "lost" package. Hope someone is enjoying 5x Noctua fans, and a sweet sweet custom telescoping squeegee with all the bells and whistles..... Helluva HTPC ya got there..... looks good though and perfect height for integration with the wood slats on the front. With the market predictions getting worse and worse, holding onto GPUs, DDR5, storage and even CPUs potentially makes sense if you want to have the flexibility to work on projects and fun stuff at sane levels in the future. A decent parts stash makes sense with prices really predicted to rise on GPUs, memory, CPUs and Storage even more. The poor victims in the contracting PC market are PSUs, cases and MBs. Nice! And someone we know will get the good data from such a high SP 270k to see how it compares to quite a few previously binned samples. What is the highest SP rated 270k you've seen out in the wild at this point? It will be nice to see the differentials in results from SPs low 80's to s 97 in regards to stock lidded clock OC's to really get an idea of how much you get. MCs can be a crap shoot but that SP97 looks to have a decent one that Digital didn't go out of his way to note in not so many words was "meh" at best like the SP96.

Yeah, but it will eventually sell. I'm going to assume you snagged that SP97 🤣. I saw it earlier just can't part with that $$$$ at this stage with so many toys in play atm. I need to downsize a lot of hardware and some other items at the moment to build back up the coffers. I've been slammed with all types of expenses this year on a level that has never happened in a 4 month period it is mind boggling lol.... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- FC running the spectrum of pastes, PTM and LM to see what rises to the top on his 5090. 1.040 max vcore on that thing.... Final conclusion: HY-P17 and MX-7 reign supreme for pastes with HY barely edging out MX-7 by what could be called margin of error in many cases. PTM is overrated for best temps at least LM as always rises to the top because it IS superior and a 4-5c differential still means it is ~8% better than the best paste in his arsenal. I actually picked up a few vials of MX-7 and have been using it in place of KPx and I've found it to be slightly better overall in my testing by 1-2c the last few months as CPUs get rotated and tested but as always YMMV. I like PTM and I've tried it a few times and I tend to agree with Dufus a bit on this one. I think many times it is user application error of thermal pastes and/or pump out that causes problems. PTM is as problem free and more consistent as it gets.... set and forget....

Some of the more compact cases allow full size (within reason) ATX PSUs, but once you start building into smaller, more compact rigs, the SFX (and even SFX-L) PSUs seem downright tiny in size and weight. Another plus is they usually come with much shorter, flexible and lighter cables making snaking them where you want easier. When builders are really pushing for as compact, light and streamlined as possible, they will even order custom length SFF cables to really clean up the insides and shave a few more ounces off the total weight. For your Lian-Li Dan, it will make it so much easier to work in even stationary. For myself I can't even imagine lugging around a mATX case with a full sized power supply in it. I'm trying to calculate every last bit of weight possible to keep everything sane in weight to cart around. Scoring the extended warranty is really nice. I know every time I've used MSI RMA going back to 2010 it has been pretty straight forward and always resulted in a great outcome. I had a hunch the IMC was a bit weaker needing that extra VSOC but as long as you can get 6000 going that's always a good baseline. I'll be interested to see how far you can push it or if it can go as far as the 7945hx3d which did ~6400. I had a chance to pick up a 5080 variant used for $2450 but I passed. I noticed BHPhoto has the 5080 version of this for $2999 out the door (free shipping and I have Payboo). 5080 is just too close to the 5070ti in the Alienware 18 to pull the trigger. I might be recalling incorrectly, but I think the 7945hx3d used a standard thermal paste so the newer fans and using ptm definitely will help. I have to go back to MC, so I am going to play around with their Raiders and Titan refresh they have on display to really ramp up the fans. How has WoW been on it even at 4k? Congrats Brother! I hemmed and hawed over that chip for days but decided to pass even at $960 but for that price you're getting retail pricing with a known, much better sample overall so that's a win/win. I just didn't want to spend $1k on a CPU at this juncture with so many toys in play. Looking forward to the results. I expect a delid incoming once it passes all the @Mr. Fox checksums. I saw that really nice SP96 270k on the marketplace over there but that IMC really took the wind out of my sails. If it could boot even 8800 I would have picked it up but it only boots 8400 at stock with an MC rating of 41. Feels like that initial 265k I had all over again that couldn't even do 8600 stable juiced and could only boot 8400 stock. The one I picked up from @Talon boots 9066 at stock no problem. The second 265k booted 8933 no problem both G2. That is a majorly insane temp reduction. Both on the same loop? See how much headroom it gives you now.

Well priced too. I think I'll pick one up for a proper "just in case" scenario. I went back to running the Matrix vBIOS because it keeps my game clocks steady over 3200 everywhere. Fallout 76 is no problem. I can even run stock settings, but WoW will trip the WVP2 without adjustments with the 800w bios. On the flip side, my hot spot differential is ~12c with the stock factory application so I'm good atm on that front. No native 12vhpwr on PSU? 🤣 Nice on the warranty just in case. How did the A-die fare in the 5080 variant for comparison? Would it boot at 1050mv VSOC? Let us know how stability testing goes... let's see how this 9955X3D in the 5090 variant compares to the returned 5080... How are the noise levels between the two?

I have this Jonsbo Z20 on the shelf, but I'm going to go with the Mechanic Master C26 for the SFF portable 2026 project. Z20 = ~20.1lL vs the C26 = 13.2l. Both support mATX.The C26 doesn't support an AIO but I was going to go with the Thermalright AXP-120-X67 I have brand new on my shelf anyhow or a max height ~130mm air cooler if needed. C26 supports up to ~310mm length GPU so the GB WF OC SFF 5080 should fit as it is exactly the length of the FE edition (304mm) and ~2.5 slots wide (closer to 2 than 2.5). Specs: MC 7500X3D + Asrock B850M Combo deal MC Open box GB 5080 SFF Corsair SF1000 Samsung 990 Pro 2TB KB 2x24GB 8400 sticks Thermalright AXP-120-X67 Noctua NF-A9 x4 Noctua NF-A12x25 G2 PWM Sx2-PP Mechanic Master C26 Then it comes down to the C26 or Z20 The downsize from 20.2L to 13.1L is pretty massive..... C26 weighs 6.6lbs (3kg) vs the Z20 11lbs (5.5kg)....again in the land of portability pretty massive The entire buildout in the C26 will weigh right around the Alienware 18 + PSU or a hair less actually and more importantly open up carrying case room for wireless KB/M and a 18-23" portable display and be much quieter under load vs any gaming laptop out there along with being able to tune every component with no restrictions. This type of build allows a 5090FE to slot right in but with a 1080p or 1440p 18-23" portable display that is overkill. The idea is lock in 120-165hz solid fps on the go\ as quiet as possible. This Windforce sff 5080 is much quieter under load than my Vanguard 5090. I'll probably end up with a Noctua NF-A12 on whatever cooler ends up end game on the CPU. I don't think a tuned 7500X3D will hold back a 5080 especially at 1440p, but if I do find it is a bottleneck, I will shift my 9800X3D into it and then sort out my desktop core system again. C26: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There's that positivity!! 🤣 Good set of baseline data though to see how it fares over the coming months/year. Are you going to routinely test the connection with a firm push check from time to time or leave it completely alone and see how the integrity potentially gives up the ghost? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Curious to see your results with the A die swapped in and hopefully the warranty extension can be applied to really bring it home. There is always the chance of a poor IMC even on a laptop unit so fingers crossed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Remember to pre-order your ROG 20th edition bundle to get the 20th edition 5090 Astral since it isn't being offered stand alone for only $5499.99...... "Only" $10,349.96 or $11k+ after tax.... https://eshop.asus.com/us/90yv0nf3-mvaa00-rog-astral-rtx5090-p32g-edition-20.html Don't forget you still need a CPU, memory and storage too.... might as push for a $15k build at this point....