electrosoft

First of all, congratz on getting two great chips! Second, have you tested their core strength and not just the IMC? Third, How are you testing? This is a situation I would throw Karhu at both of them and see what rises to the top for their IMCs Lastly, quite honestly to me, 8000+ is end game now for AM5 if only marginally so because while 6600 is nice the real end goal for AM5 is 2200+ and 8000+. I've upended all my timings and settings centered around 8000+ because at worst it performs the same as 6400 while at best it actually does a smidge better. The problem also is if you can only run 2167 then that throws out of sync a bit matching 2200:6600. Test both of them at 8000, 8200, 8400 and see which one rises to the top next. Real testing TM5 Extreme at least or Karhu if you want that end game verdict of where they stand realistically. I'm absolutely fine with powerhouse versions and this is exactly what I plan to pick up their 50 core + monstrosity. But with that being said, as long as they attach that cache to their 7 and 5 skus (or whatever they're going to call them), that will more than cover competing against AMD's 10850X3D (or whatever it ends up being called) along with the 9850X3D. I expect Intel to take the same approach as they did with Socket 1700 and to a degree 1851 and just come out blazing.... Keeping the same socket will also do much for longevity and good will. They finally realized the best way to keep customers locked in is making upgrades as easy as dropping in a new CPU. AMD figured this out a long time ago especially if your objective is to, well, sell CPUs?

I enjoyed this video. He states a lot of known truths from memory makers purposely constricting supply. Honestly I don't blame them with past precedent showing over production = collapsed markets. I think they know the AI market is tenuous at this point and to go all in could result in a massive collapse. I do think they are spring boarding off of the AI bubble with tightly controlled production to um "re-imagine" the consumer market pricing by overly constricting supply. There has to be a balance in there somewhere. Time will tell because right now memory is in stock everywhere in droves. Consumers aren't buying at these prices. Nvidia marginalizing gaming into edge computing because AI is the big thing right now I hope it bites them in the arse down the road but I suspect it won't because Nvidia is branching out into serious CPU production and other markets. Nvidia will be the final push that starts to seriously effect Intel and AMD's CPU production segment. All I'm saying is Intel better stay the course with their GPU division like AMD has to fall back upon. They need a two pronged attack while they continue to figure out a way to get their legacy x86 architecture modernized to compete against the M and M like chips coming into their own. "The craft builder is not really going anywhere because their reason to build was never the price and you can't price out a reason that was never about price." This is spot on. We build and tinker for the love of it. His comparison of craft builders vs necessity builders was very valid. He is also on point with the crowd that buys pre built because they just want to plug it in and go and how many who used to like to tinker have transitioned to this crowd. I have SO many life long friends and gaming buddies who used to get in the trenches to build and tweak their rigs to play Quake and Unreal Tournament and early days of WoW who just don't have the time or updated skill sets to build and tweak anymore and when problems arise they get immediately flustered and frustrated and usually turn to me for help where before we shared knowledge and ate our own chow. I think I have one friend left from the early days (circa 90s) who still insists on building his own rig. The rest either go pre-built, a laptop or have switched to Apple. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anyone who doesn't think 13th and 14th can still bring the pain where applicable is in denial. Dufus is stuck on bad testing and data gathering while asking us to "trust me bro" on the "feel" of games and a lack of consistency. I'm not saying there isn't some validity to what he is claiming, but he has built his entire brand around dry humping Socket 1700. But, as someone who still runs all three and routinely swaps and tests with them even now, Socket 1700 is showing its age. The most recent updates to Agesa (ugh) and gaming as a whole, all that dippity dip dip in WoW is basically gone at this point and remember, I was one of the early ones who was calling it out in the old forums and maybe even here with the 7800X3D vs 13900KS in WoW where there was some absolutely atrocious spots of it that are now gone. Even when I go back to my old "dip" spots to test that is streaming in assets at a high volume, the dip is no longer present. Best case, Socket 1700 is still a ripper in games that can't take advantage of X3D and doesn't pull a lot of power. Worse case, it is a very hot and heavy running CPU that gets left in the dust in games that love X3D while pulling 200w+. Intel badly needs a light and nimble 8 core / 16 thread large cache enabled CPU that doesn't suck down a metric ton of power to game and own. That's it. No more ; no less. I do think we will get that with Nova Lake as even Intel finally realizes they can't compete overall without a big 'ole chunk of cache. Nova Lake new architecture + bLLC is going to be an absolute wrecking ball. It is literally the #1 reason I am holding onto these Corsair Vengeance 9200 sticks to pick up a MB + CPU as soon as I get the ok from @Talon 🤣 ------------------------------------------------------------ Nvidia keeps pushing up pricing to protect margins and profit because quite honestly if the margins aren't there they won't stay engaged in even supplying to the gaming sector since we're now a blip in edge computing to them. Their objective is to keep pushing AI till they're blue in the face.... What's the alternative? People aren't buying 9070xt even though it is competitive against both the 5070ti and 5080. If the current pricing travesties won't push buyers to AMD, nothing will.

Temps are even better by 3c lower after a few adjustments down to ~71c vs 9800X3D sitting at ~80c. Not apples to apples though. #1. I didn't follow my own classic LM rule and actually apply a little extra on first application versus subsequent touch ups which I use less. I saw a few flat/dull spots and just added a touch more and reflowed the surface amount and redistributed on the heat spreader. #2. I added nylon flexible washers to the bottom plate. Something I've done on the regular in the past to not only compensate for any potential Z-height height issues (if any) but more importantly give a little flexibility to tamping down screws to auto compensate for any thermal expansion if I'm not using the ILM which I have sometimes removed for better/direct pairing and relied on hand cranked mounting pressure with a torque adjustable driver. I had initially opted to bypass this step but added it back in this time around. It provides more value on laptops that support desktop CPUs overall with all the various pairing issues and such. I ordered a few custom cut shims ~2mm that will arrive next week for some comparison data vs no washers vs several AIOs especially the ID Cooling Frost Flow x 280 which has zero compensation/extended range when tamping down the CPU block vs my EK CR240 or Lian Li II Performance Lite 360 which both give extra headroom for pairing and can somewhat compensate for the loss of the 2mm z-height with the TG Heatspreader. I do think TG should have offered a normal height heatspreader or at least present their data showing core temp differentials between both versions tested in house. Maybe it is floating around out there on the Internetz somewhere. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- What a great advertisement for the TG WV II Pro....... seriously, Roman sits around and thinks of the stuff HE would want as an enthusiast, former high level OCer and just lover of tech. Not sure why he doesn't have or used GPU Tweak III to see how it responded.... Watching it immediately pick up that load imbalance and spit out a warning was nice to see. Hook in the auto off wire function and it would even immediately shut down your system for you too. That's two be quiet! PSUs involved in meltdowns in the matter of a few days. One using the 12vhpwr and the other using 4x PCIe 8 pin. I don't think it is be quiet's fault at all. Just an odd coincidence but more importantly burns and failures completely away from the 12vhpwr connector on the GPU itself but instead the PSU and/or PSU cabling. I'm sure they're going into damage control mode though as a precaution. be quiet Dark Power 13 (This is HUB, I'll assume the 1600w model) be quiet! Dark Power 13 (Club386 burned at both ends) be quiet Straight Power 11 Platinum 1200w (Tech Notice) (time stamped at PSU ID) Just a trash connector....it really is......

So glad everything is working out this time around! Last time, you had three points of failure to try and diagnose (MB, Mem, CPU), and returning it all was the right call and paid dividends nicely. 6600 is super golden as is 8800 like on Sugi's setup which is bonkers. Makes ya wonder about the second one you have at this point..... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This 9850X3D can do 6600 but fails during TM5. 2233 flat out won't boot but 2200 on stock is just fine. Temps are the problem as they were fine the first few days (~74c under CB23 looping load) and now are hitting 95+ from the jump so I will need to pop the Thermal Grizzly Heatspreader and check the liquid metal application. I needed to install some nylon washers on the backplate anyhow to help with the ~2mm z-height differential anyhow for more AIO options as the eK cr240 Nucleus was the only model that allows a deeper hand torque to somewhat compensate but once offset temps will plummet even moreso. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Still fighting the urge to install my 270k in my main rig and eat my own chow till Nova or Zen 6 since even on this Dark Hero with a 9850X3D, it is still more of the same just a bit better..... 🤣 I know if installed as my main, it will get real time tuning and TLC....

Looks awesome @Reciever! You've really switched into that next gear with hardware and cooling! Do you have another platform to test it with the block on real quickly to see if it boots with a display out?

That makes sense and good to know they should work on the MSI and Gogabyte boards. The KingBank sticks being problematic on your former X870E Apex adds a nice bit of validation to the problem since we ordered them within a week or two of each other from da zon.... That also means that even with a BIOS update the HP 35L most likely would work with them as HP uses their own custom boards and cancerware. My problem is/was having 2x Asrock boards and 2x Asus boards. Asrock having problems with their sticks from the jump and Asus developing issues after this latest Agesa update (could be more even on the slightly older BIOS, but I didn't FAFO enough to see)....yet Corsair, Teamgroup and Kingston (HP) Rage sticks keep on truckin'..... I could get one stick of the KingBank to kinda, sorta sporadically post on the Dark Hero but then it would immediately freeze at the Asus logo screen. On the other hand, KingBank absolutely flawless on Intel and an absolute joy to use. Was able to get my 14900KS to post 8800 and the 270k pass TM5 up to 8933 in G4.... -------------------------------------------------------- Nice to see you in the 18k club! More importantly not needing the external hardware but software (as it should be) to use your GPU properly. If it turns out Nvidia is purposely going out of their way to neuter mVolt+, we'll be stuck with older drivers going forward just to be able to use our GPUs as we want.

So the AM5 and KingBank issues persist but I'm pretty sure I've narrowed down what is going on even further. I tried to pop them in the Dark Hero for heatsink / air cooling testing only to be met almost immediately with an "A6" error code and a bright yellow dram error light. AIO fans kept revving up and down in the oddest pattern. I know they work in my x870e Hero since I just posted and booted with them last month right? So I popped them in there and exact "A6" error code and bright yellow dram error light along with AIO fans revving up and down. I drag out the Microcenter combo deal Asrock B850 board and of course they don't post in there as expected but why not throw another data point on the pile..... They did post in the HP Omen 35L w/ 8400f but that drive is wiped atm so no further testing..... As a final checksum, I pop them into the 270k build and of course they not only boot right up but blew through TM5 looking at me like I'm the nut job in this scenario 🤣 I KNOW these sticks posted and booted in my x870e Hero last month, but in the interim I had updated my BIOS as I was running 2103 from March. Updating to 2402 updated Agesa from 1.3.0.0a to 1.3.0.1b. The HP is actually running a BIOS from earlier this year. The Dark Hero I updated upon initial install as it was running 0502 to the newest so it too is running 1.3.0.1b. I'm thinking if/when HP updates to a newer BIOS supporting 1.3.0.1b those sticks might stop working in that system too. On a whim, I rolled back the Asrock BIOS from 4.43 to 4.10 which supports 1.3.0.0a and the sticks still gave me a big middle finger but with the reported incompatibilities with these sticks on Asrock boards, I wasn't expecting them to work. Last gasp I popped in my TG sticks and set a loose 6000, 8000 and JEDEC profile and saved all three and sat there loading in each profile on the TG sticks then trying to get the KingBank sticks to boot using those known, working profiles but nope right to "A6" DRAM error light on both boards..... Can't roll back on the Asus boards but at this point I wouldn't anyhow. I'm just done with these KingBank sticks on AM5. I'll stick with the Vengeance 9200 and TG 8200 sticks which continue to work like butter no matter what. I picked them up June 2025 and outside of some quick testing on the x870e Hero at the time, they were primarily used in benching and testing my SP109 14900KS before I sold off the Z790i lightning and moved the 14900KS into the wife's system. It is only recently they're getting attention as they were slated for my SFF build. I know in my 270k they could post up to 8933 (maybe squeeze more out of them better cooled) so I'm just going to tune them up there around 8400-8600 and keep it moving or look to trade them for a set of 6000-6400 CL26 sticks or similar. Fun times!

Hopefully some 8000+ sticks under those heatsinks.... Yeah, I didn't expect it to perform as well as it did. I was pleasantly surprised. I really like this board. Would I recommend someone with a Hero to upgrade? No, but if it was my first board pick for an AM5 build and I wanted an upper tier MB, I would go with the Dark Hero. DUDE! Nice! Best Buy pulled an Amazon! 😂 Hopefully one of those is a beast 2200/8200/6400 and you can sell off or trade the other one for some killer ram if this kit is a bust and send in a monster payment or apply it elsewhere. Make sure to post up both so we can see what you're packing. I never get lucky from best buy. I'm the same one who: Received an empty box with no camera in it A 7950X instead of a 7950X3D in the box Three lost GPU orders that suddenly went missing at my local Best Buy (IE, "we're preparing your package for pickup" = It has arrived at our local store) then POOF gone....coincidentally, they were very well priced, routinely out of stock GPUs I managed to snag. Good thing my 5080FE was sent directly to my door..... Seriously though..... As predicted from Nvidia the anti-hobbyist police. When they needed us, they let us do almost anything but as what happens the bigger they got, the more control they exerted. They forgot who got them to where they are today to be able to dry hump the AI bubble..... As for memory, there will be no easing. There is zero reason to open up or expand other fabs. As long as AI demand is sufficiently met (which it is), the residual trickle leftover can continue to be marked up to disgusting levels for normal consumers... Until companies realize the race to AI doesn't need to be done at the current pace and still be viable, Nvdia will continue to capture record level income and profits along with AMD and now even Intel which contrary to many reports, is very much alive and well and profitable....

I was wondering if you were gonna catch that reference 🤣 Looks like that monster SP chip is working out quite nicely! 5.9 benching and 8800 locked in tight....nice. I know your rig would provide some bleeding edge data for WoW out in the Xpac where it counts (I'm looking at you Eversong Woods). Just spectacular results @Mr. Fox! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yet again, do not sleep on the 9070xt:

I put up a video comparing ram air cooling via 4.5 different methods. Stock sticks = 76c. Asus 60mm fan = ~49c Noctua top shelf performance quiet 60mm fan on Asus bracket = ~49c Thermalright ram cooler = ~42c I've mastered the art of posting videos when I'm battling the flu or covid, lol. Sometimes I don't realize how under the weather I am till I watch something back and can hear it in my voice and a smidge of labored breathing. 🤣

Whew when the nvidia approved (he was using the 5090FE OEM version from his 5090FE) tentacle goes boom...... Tentacle at fault? PSU side at fault? The fact three of them melted down makes me think it was a cascade failure of some sort but damn.... My response is always, "please show me where you can get this for even close to this price and we can talk," Somehow their mindset is stuck 12-18 months in the past. I can respect not wanting to pay the new prices and opting to either wait for the market to correct after the eventual bust or just resigning from the PC enthusiast scene. What I can't respect is catching an attitude or some sense of entitlement to previous pricing or even less because you feel a certain way and belittle sellers. One of my biggest pet peeves is still when someone feels the need to poo poo over seller's threads on forums because they don't like the pricing, the person or sometimes both (exhibit A: OCN FS forums). ------------------------------------------------------- Remove case specific games that love X3D and the 270k is a beast...an absolute beast when properly tuned. 14900KS which had been tuned every which way beat the 270k but once I dialed it in memory and 5.6 just like that it was neck and neck with the 14900KS in WoW in CPU limited scenarios. Seriously, expecting some major magick from Intel with Nova and bLLC to level the playing field in those case specific games that love that cache.

Thanks! I can see some areas to flesh out, but once I started tightening up my Corsair Vengeance 9200 sticks even at 6000 temps shot to 76c and errors so I plan on testing no fan (obvious overheating) vs with the included ram fan to see where it tops out vs the 140mm blaster master. Corsair heatsinks are just the worst.....followed by Patriots. Middle of the pack are G.Skill heat blankets and Kingston (HP). Best I've seen so far are KingBank and TeamGroup. Good call. That setup was just not delivering. Did you check Gear 4 just to remove the MB from the equation? The fact it was open box always leaves a "why was it returned?" on the table. 2200 fclk, 6400 and 8000 are the minimum entry bar for being "acceptable" in my book. I've binned ~7 9800X3D CPUs and sent back 4 and sold off 2 to guildies who don't care about that criteria. You would have to really remove the GPU wrong and it would take at least 50-60+ insertions and removals to notice anything. If you picked up the newer revision with the AIO power connector on board, it has been corrected on that model. It sucks that we sometimes have to parts fish, but for us PnP doesn't cut it. I assume you kept the Astral? Time to play around with mVolt+ with that big 'ole heatsink on it. I've been working with the eval x870e Dark Hero for ~3 days now and 2200/6400 and 8000-8200 is no problem on this delidded 9850X3D. I can't stabilize 8400 but I'll keep trying but I'm asking for unicorn magic sooo....yeah. I really like this motherboard as it is basically the Extreme bones underneath this time around vs the normal Hero and it shows. I may kick it into gear 4 so I can see if the Dark Hero can truly do 9200 since it is rated up to 9600 and I've already tested these Corsair sticks up to 9066 on the z890 Strix-A once in Gear 4 I do the no fan vs included Dark Hero fan vs 140mm fan tests as outlined above. On the other hand, I am also a firm believer that eval and review samples may get an extra bit of QC too..... Hopefully this 9950X3D2 is a 8400+ monster!

That was quick delivery. Are they available stateside for the wired version? Do you happen to have your best AM5 6000 2x24GB zentimings tune on hand? I'm in the process of tuning the Vengeance 9200 2x24GB sticks at 6000 now so I want to see how they stack up while dialing them in. I'll then take a small break to benchmark the 9070xt's and 5080 for comparison to the 14900KS / 270k data I've collected in WoW and FO76. Then head on to 2133/6400 and 8000 after. My ETA for actual Hero to Dark Hero swap is probably a week to ten days from now.

So far testing this 9850X3D, it is a slightly better sample than my 9800X3D. 9800X3D can do 2133/6400 but at 1.29 VSOC while the 9850X3D does it on auto no problem. 9850X3D can boot 6600 but fails TM5 even at 1.30v. 9800X3D isn't booting 6600 no matter what. 6600+ stable (let alone booting) is unicorn territory. 9850X3D can do 8200 on auto no problem but eventually fails at 8400. 8400+ is unicorn status so I wasn't expecting it to pass if it even managed to boot. 9800X3D can do 8000 but fails 8200. 8400 won't boot at all. 9800X3D = SP113 (solidly average) 9850X3D = SP120 (slightly above average) I'll end up tuning 2000/6000, 2133/6400 and the as always in sync 8000. I've never fully tuned all three sets of DDR5 around AM5 so this should be fun! Might do a 8200 profile since this chip can fully support it. ------------------------------------- Out of the box quick benching, it is literally identical to the 9800X3D running CB23 but we'll see where that goes down the road after I wrap up memory testing and lock down all three sets of DDR5 to really dial it in and as always do a static vs test for shiggles. I haven't done any game benching/testing yet. That will be in a few days once I get at least 2000/6000 locked down on the 9850X3D. Realistically I expect the CV 9200 sticks to reign supreme as they did testing on the 265k/270k but those are slated for Nova Lake later this year so I'll want to make sure to have the KingBank or TeamGroup on standby 🙂

Man that is purdy. I said it before and I'll say it again. That industrial blue and off white with the black and just that TINGE of red from the Q-Code display always has that blend of blade runner meets Neuromancer. I might have to go with some Noctua or Arctic 140mm aRGB fans ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No surprise here.....bots be botting trying to scarf up any type of hardware deal possible to regurgitate it back on the market at higher prices....#winning ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Instead of watching paint dry..... Gonna hit up that area with Fitz one more time.... Like IT and The Shining, I need the SHINE.... Watched a good Stock vs Expo vs ULL vs tuned DDR5 shoot out. instead.... As always, tuning your own ram rules the roost: I like this guy a lot. He's really passionate and grinds out a lot of good data.

As was I watching this head to head shootout from Jarrod seeing the traditional Asus PBO overclocking controls: I'll make sure to run it through the ringer, but for that price I just had to grab it if only for comparison and data analysis when it arrives. That's a good approach. If 6000 just isn't working, optimize in the opposite direction and tighten timings and find the sweet frequency to really lower VSOC. What is the most the 9955HX3D can pull in the MSI? I know in the Asus, it can pull up to 75w performance mode, but like the MSI balanced is 55w. I'm fingers crossed with G-Helper but probably because of the tailored, specific nature of their laptops, I don't have my fingers crossed. X3D, especially in laptops, just gives the business to Intel depending on the games you play good for WoW and especially Fallout 76. Really? Well, that sucks. Maybe down the line for next gen they will, but if there is no 3D-Vcache on their mobile chips, X3D will continue to reign surpreme. Hopefully on desktop that bLLC is going to level the playing field and then some for Intel. I know I'm definitely picking up a Nova setup once @Talon grabs his on day one and gives the early "yeah, this rocks," feedback. 🤣 Sad you had to jump through all those hardware mods just to use your damn GPU and eventually someone broke through and let you do in software what it should have done all along. Bring on the Chiller.

Direct from the bowels of Asus..... I've been running the x870e Crosshair Hero since January 2025 so ~1.5+ years with a 9800X3D and I have to say I've had no real problems with it outside ebb and flow with various BIOS updates trying to constantly extract as much performance as possible and the LCD display starting to flicker on the lower right corner. Functionally irrelevant but aesthetically an issue which after the swap I'll most likely RMA it. The much maligned Q Latch was much ado about nothing so I am expecting a continuation....but then again for free I'm only going to complain so much.... I do like Asus moved away from sharing the primary PCI-E with the aux M.2 on the Dark Hero and is getting with the program like most other MB makers. One reason I didn't populate the secondary slots. Nice ethernet updates to Wifi 7. Power delivery has been upgraded to the glacial levels. RAM fan included with the ability to position as needed that mounts from the top. Another nice little upgrade. I'm sure I'll find more QoL enhancements as I dig into it during the next week. Basically, it is an Asus Extreme board without the fancy LCD displays..... Decent comparison between the Hero and Dark Hero: JCustom's unboxing video: Nice refinements and updates overall and I do like the new LCD panel and "Crosshair" lettering. Having just eval'd a TUF laptop refresh and now the Dark Hero, I am liking Asus's new boxing / accessories approach. If everything goes as planned, this will be my new main board with the delidded 9850X3D. I plan on running it on the test bed for several weeks while I re-tune all three sets of my memory and see where this 9850X3D can go. It is still sitting on the shelf sealed up waiting for this board to arrive so all new adventures.... At that point, the 9800X3D will go in the SFF unless somehow the Asus G16 w/ 9955HX3D + 5070ti works out then I'll end up selling off everything (9070xt x 2, 9800X3D, Hero after RMA, etc...) and stick the 5080 in the wife's system. Also swapping her to the 9800X3D + Hero and selling off her 14900KS SP109 which still rocks on an AIO running at 5.9 and runs nice and cool, MB and DDR4 is also on the table at that point. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Happy birthday @Papusan! Hopefully it is a good one and shout out to Mrs Papusan! -------------------------------------------------------------- 4k only WoW testing to see if I wanted to upgrade/switch the wife's SP109 14900KS + 4000 Bdie tuned at 4000 vs 270k + KB 8400 tuned at 8400 (both passed TM5 Extreme). Tuned up the 270k at 5.6ghz with the KingBank 8400 sticks ran some vs tests with the same settings as the wife's 14900ks DDR4 tuned system and the 270k officially equals the 14900ks at 4k with the exact same CPU bound results even with a 9070xt in areas (fixed spots out in the world devoid of player data, namely Eversong Woods) dropping to 91-93% whereas the 9800X3D can lock it down to 100% on those same 9070xt cards. This is setting up two platforms and the 270k running the Powercolor 9070xt Red Devil and hers running the Gigabyte OC Gaming 9070xt. Swapped cards back and forth, basically the same results. In same scenarios, Red Devil runs 3200+, while the Gigabyte runs 3100+. Red Devil pulls ~18w more stock for stock too. Gigabyte = SK Hynix Red Devil = Samsung Overall, even in raids, scary just how powerful the 5090 is and how much Blizzard has improved their optimizations for GPUs but they really do need to to where I can cap out the 9070xt easily in raids on X3D at 4k and even push the 5090 close to cap out many times even with all the FX going on and seeing 70-98% utilization depending on encounter and situation. I must reiterate how much the Intel anything + 9070xt is dogwater for Fallout 76. Running the 270k + 9070xt again is just the worst...... ------------------------------------------------------------------- Couldn't resist and picked up an open box Asus G16 9955HX3D + 5070ti for $1800 from Amazon Warehouse to do some testing especially in Fallout 76 since the Alienware 275hx + 5070ti was grossly underfeeding the 5070ti in spots in QHD most likely due to the architecture and inability to tune memory / support much higher speeds. Need to see if the 9955HX3D caps it out properly at QHD and at what fps. Pros: The Asus bios for AMD supports full Overclocking options for AMD versus the Intel counterpart. This model is known to run dead silent on light/ no load for desktop use Actually has a lower sound profile under load than the Alienware Cons: No out of box BIOS level memory tuning for the 32GB of DDR5 5600 memory (2x16GB). If the 9955HX3D caps out the 5070ti in Fallout 76 in QHD, which I expect it to do considering a 9800X3D caps out a desktop 5070 in QHD, it gives more weight to a potential 9955HX3D+5090 laptop. @win32asmguy how goes the Raider tuning and testing? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Still waiting on Asus to send the X870e Dark Hero so I can set up a test bench with it with the delidded 9850X3D and collect more WoW/Fallout 76 data testing all my cards: 5060, 9070xt x 2, 5080, 5090, 6000. It's the linchpin to start moving other parts around and get the SFF going too. ------------------------------------------------------------------- @tps3443 Titan Rig has a nice open box sale on an Astral GPU block if you want to block your beast: https://www.titanrig.com/openbox-alphacool-core-geforce-rtx-5090-rog-astral-gpu-water-block-with-backplate.html

Basically a stack shift to shoe horn in a very poor card where a 9060 should go while those former prices have all shifted up and will most likely continue to shift upward. This card is bad for the price. If it was $199.99 it suddenly becomes an ok budget card but $280? And this was the 8GB version..... I can imagine the 4GB version is just going to be extreme trash versus just normal trash on this one. WOW......I mean I'm glad to see the fuses doing their job but damn..... Hopefully this will be a quick and easy fuse swap and upgrade, but yikes.

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.....