electrosoft

My end game has always been ~144fps locked everywhere, but playing at 4k Ultra 10 RT max, that is always a pipe dream. With the new engine enhancements (again) and The War Within Xpac, Blizzard has again pushed the performance bar up for max settings. The lows are what I focus on since 144fps is fairly modest for the highs. WoW is pretty reliable until you get bombarded with player data and the CPU starts to have to focus elsewhere. 5090 is pretty near end game for 4k Ultra 10 RT max and unlike the 4090 which could hit 99% util and almost hit 144fps in pure render spots (IE, no player data) at 135fps, the 5090 now surpasses that pretty handily with room to spare and leaving the 9800X3D gasping for breath even with no player data, so focusing on the lows now becomes the next holy grail. Honestly, 100fps lows everywhere is good enough for smooth gameplay. My initial goal is 100fps+ for 1% lows, 144fps for highs. But like I said before, the jump from the 5080 -> 5090 immediately cleared up that stutter/chunk from hitting close to 60fps in some scenarios and those are the avg so you know the 1% is dipping below that. As I was flying over to test my go to spot, seeing 300fps+ in some spots in Hallowfall (newest Xpac zone) at 4k Ultra 10 RT max was pretty awesome.... 5090's are pricey AF, but there is no doubt they are monsters. Crazy part? I didn't hear any coil whine while I was basking in those 300fps with my speakers at low (wifey is watching "The Equalizer" in the other room)...

Yeah houston we have a problem with WoW and 5090... 5090 with a basic OC (max GPU/MEM sliders in GPU Tweak III from default settings but nothing else) and now the GPU utilization has dropped to 80% (vs 92% before) vs 99% capped with the 4090 and 5080 in my former "Can cap out any GPU" spot of choice. This is with the frequency basically matching my 4090 which had to be pushed to 1.1 and max power and max fans with the 5090 not having to touch any of that (yet). ~170fps is all the 9800X3D can give since GPU utilization was already at 92% before a basic OC. So ~135fps on the 4090 99% GPU utilization at +1500 on memory and max power/volt fans on max +225 max = 3135mhz vs ~170 (+/- 3) fps on the 5090 80% GPU utilization at Max GPU Tweak 3 mem/boost sliders (2838/32202) fans on pure auto = 3127mhz Max idle stock default clocks for the Astral = 2955mhz Max idle stock OC clocks (no power adjustments) for the Astral = 3217mhz Just using GPU Tweak III atm, but will switch to AB for the next level boom boom. 5090 is pretty beastly..... ----- Fallout 76 testing is as expected.... X3D was already maxed out with the 4090 in 4k Ultra settings so upgrading from a 7800X3D to a 9800X3D shows the performance gain of going from one to another and not really allowing the 5090 to do much of anything since the 7800X3D was already massively tapped out and my 4090 was CPU bound (IE, GPU Util = 70%), so the 5090 just took that to the next level and is sitting at sub 50% util even with clocks dropping down to ~2ghz.....

Congrats brother! I have amassed a pile of gear that will be getting listed soon enough. Unlike hardware that comes and goes, that Mo-Ra and chiller are the gift that will always keep on giving for CPUs, GPUs and RAM. Diminishing returns with boost algorithms? Sure, but you will never get the same benchmarks and scores like you expect. Still debating on the 5090. Those low dip stutters being gone from the 5080 kissing off of low 60fps vs 90-100fps on the 5090 are very telling..... I hate the fact I have zero complaints about this Astral 5090 besides the useless pack ins and price lol....

Day 3 still available lol...... I would really like to see some data on 3rd party (aka cablemod), included 12v-2x6 cables with PSUs and the included tentacle data collected for comparison. They should have just stuck with the 8-pin connectors or at least went with dual 12v-2x6 connectors... But I am taking a tiny bit of morose pleasure seeing Nvidia stumble, Intel have a winner on the low end and AMD knocking it out of the park in the mid with the 9070xt. Discontinuing PhysX for no good reason and drivers being hot garbage for 4000 series is the icing on the cake. 9070xt's continue to sell out everywhere and the thing is once people switch to AMD and it is relatively problem free, you gain a potential customer for next gen (or gen after) doing that. Maybe the tide will turn a bit here and let's be honest. The only reason Nvidia pricing in the mid tier is as it is is because of AMD and the 9070xt. If Nvidia had no competition we know they would price their entire stack like a dumpster fire. Imagine in a few years if AI cools off and all the damage they have potentially done and gaming customers they've lost to AMD? I'm down for that. It CAN happen.... ....just look at Intel. 🤣 Really liking this guy's channel:

6k Combo Astral 5090 "deal" has been available since yesterday and has not moved..... https://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails?ItemList=Combo.4769864

This. I mean I did see a few 4090s go for $1300-1500 but $1000? I think we've reached a tipping point that just about nothing is going to be, "good value" because technology has hit a point that except for rare instances (ampere to ada) we will never receive the performance uplifts of yore but what we will receive are hefty price increases depending on the market. In this case, it is GPUs followed by Motherboards. CPUs haven't increased on the scale of GPUs or motherboards. 9900k launched at $500 for example. 285k's are $600. Nvidia is solely responsible for just accelerating prices upward on their GPUs in one of the greediest fashions I've ever seen and on the upper end there really is no competition and mid to lower they barely moved the meter in regards to performance but in their defense prices remained the same or actually went down. Then we have the AIBs...... Asus would clearly drown a nun for an extra 1% in profit..... MSI has suddenly gotten extremely greedy.... I guess like you said, you're trying to not engage but you have purchased all the newest tech with an Apex on its way. 🙂 It's just the 5090 that gave you pause. I hope you win the internal battle, but I suspect seeing all these results might break ya @Mr. Fox! 🤣 (while still benchmarking and collecting data on my Astral 5090) "Stay strong brother!" 🤑 4090 HOF along with the few 4090 EVGA cards are what I would call keepers. I agree with all the pack in items. I agree. The Astral is not a bad card at all, but they can get rid of all this pack in nonsense and knock 10-20% off the price..... Literally opened up the Astral 5090, took the card out and the tentacle and left everything else in place and intact. I looked at the (still sealed) GPU bracket and tossed it back in too. Same with the x870e crosshair. Pulled out the MB and that was it. I'm sure down the road whoever buys this stuff from me will be real excited and appreciative that all the tchotckes and swag is sealed and brand new.....kinda like when I sold my 4090 Liquid and the mouse pad was still sealed.

I can't recall anybody in our circle selling a 4090 for $1k lol. I sold mine for $2100. Picked up a 5080FE for $1k and reaped the bulk of the performance at half the cost 🙂 I don't think I saw anybody over on the other forums sell that low either, but I'm sure there were idiots who rushed out and sold theirs for dirt cheap. You're going to hold onto your 4090 HOF along with your Atral 5090 LC @Papusan?

3+ hrs of WoW on the Astral 5090 pure stock: That power draw had to be transient spikes of some sort as during actual gameplay, it was usually sub 400w or lower with fps locked to 140fps. Same problems with the 5080/4090 exist with the 5090 but more severe. In raids, you get more fps than the 5080/4090 but the CPU is taking a pounding with all that player data and GPU utilization can sink lower than 50% in some areas because the 5090 is just a beast but when it really counts it is being under utilized with the 5090 same as with the 4090 and 5080. Still seeing fps drop below 100fps into the high 80s and 90s but that's better than the low to low 60s with the 5080 in some moments. I cap my fps in WoW and FO76 to 140fps because it's all about the lows (plus the engines can have problems with too high of frame rates especially FO76 which goes bonkers past ~175fps). So has performance been better? Absolutely, but the CPU being the bottleneck during raids and outdoor bosses in TWW is still a problem. Everywhere else, 144fps locked but I was getting that (or close to it) with the 5080 and 4090 anyhow. The lows have definitely improved and for me they mean much more than the highs and former areas that could get a little rough are now buttery smooth but $2516.35 worth of differences (difference between 5080 FE and Astral 5090)? Hmmmm..... Onward to FO76.....

Looks so industrial, metallic and slick! Do you still use a laptop or do you pack up your sff and take it with you? Looking forward to it. 🙂 Yeah, I am looking at some GPU sag brackets. I could order the official Asus one here while I get my Asus gamerz hat and shirt with built in RGB for full effect going..... Just looking at the bulk of reported cases, the tentacle seems to be the safest route but more importantly if something happens at the GPU point, the entire burden of responsibility falls on the AIB. Outside of aesthetics, I'm trying to see the downside. I do plan on rerouting my cables from the top OR finding some wider/nicer velcro ties to clean it up though.

The Suprim is the last card I'm curious to see in action so awaiting the magic. 🙂 I gotta admit, the GPU sag thingy was very underwhelming for the Astral. Lots of other swag in the box though in classic Asus style. lol, 9950X3D..... I mean I'm running the classic ~5450 OC on my 9800X3D and I thought maybe the 5090 would also cap out but watching it dance down to even 92% lets you know there's even more fps in the tank! Now I go exploring for some new benchmark locations but that particular spot has a nice bit of RT shadows and a mix of textures devoid (usually) of other player data to remove that burden from the CPU. It is an absolute monster in size and I'm here for it lol. Yeah, even value wise against the 5080FE the 5090FE is a bad buy price:performance and it just gets worse after that but looking at all the 5090FE data over the last couple of months, the Astral obviously runs cooler, quieter, clocks higher and does have the extra pin functionality while being an absolute tank. The only problem is you're paying for it. Seeing it boost to 2900+ topping out at 2955mhz out of the box stock and even when hit hard never going below 2857mhz was very nice to see. Memory temps are much better than many other cards I've seen capping out at 72 and GPU at 65 on Timespy runs. I always hold my breath during that first run of anything waiting to see where my GPUs land coil whine wise. You should have seen me testing 7900xtx's.....coil whine central except for the MSI. I hate it when a very pricey item doesn't give me easily objective reasons to return it (underperformer, overheats, coil whine, excessive fan noise, defective, ugly, etc...) so then it really comes down to price only because I have zero complaints everywhere else. 🤣 I thought the same thing. It is the first GPU to look at home in my monster sized Phanteks case. When I was picking it up, the sales rep who checked me out was also the same one who unloaded it from the truck. His exact words: "Oh, you're the one who got the first Astral this store has seen, awesome bro! When I unloaded this from the truck all I could think was 'this thing is heavy af, sheesh!'" He's rocking a 7800X3D + 4090 prebuilt. I asked him if he was going to upgrade and he said, "dude, I'm still paying off this desktop! lol" Makes me wonder how much he has paid in interest so far..... I can hold onto it for ~60 days before my return window runs out so I can get plenty of testing in. Like I told @tps3443 above, zero problems or issues with the card means it boils down to a cost issue and seeing it boost up to 2955 out of the box at stock is pretty righteous and all the temps look good (yes, yes I know a block would take it to the moon 🙂 ) but $3582.59 out the door is pretty expensive vs a 5090FE at 2132.49 out the door = ~$1450.10 difference. That's a major chunk of change but the card does deliver and then some. I actually like the cut off around the backplate going back to the Strrix 3080 and pretty much most of AMD's GPUs. I will say that performance vs quiet mode with the vBIOS update is noticeable when under load I think the fans up to ~40% sound about the same to me but after that something changes and while the performance mode isn't an issue (and I'm picky mind you), quiet mode drops the harmonics down nicely but I did notice temps are slightly higher. I will stick with performance mode. Oh, I saw the red light on before powering up where it turns off........for now. 🙂 ------- For everyone who ran a 4090 and/or run a 5090, my main question is, why don't the vast majority run the included cable with the GPU? Is it an aesthetics reason? Or? The vast majority of burned out cables tend to be running 3rd party or PSU included cables vs the AIB included 4-headed tentacle.....

Astral installed.... This card is a CHONKER. Easily the largest GPU I've ever owned and it is HEAVY. I had to fish around for a sag device as I don't want to open up the other if I'm going to end up returning it. I just took out the card and the tentacle. Everything else is sealed and intact. Absolutely beautiful card. I like the look of it just as much as the FE. Initial WoW tests has it pulling ~537w and hitting 2857-2865 out of the box. Timespy has this thing pulling ~610w but temps are good. During the first test it was hitting 2900+ GPU out of the box and never went below 2857mhz on this dirty run after GPU install. As expected, the fans are a big 'ole nothing burger. Either that or Asus has corrected them in the interim. I left it running playing wow with audio muted (while testing for coil whine) and I sat there listening to them and just, "that's it?" Like I said, I've heard much louder and worse on many other cards. Is it there? Yes, but common..... Coil whine is on the same level as my MSI 4090 Liquid which is super quiet. You need a silent room to hear it at all. With any level of audio it is non-existent. Not as quiet as my 5080 FE which is basically silent but as close as you can get. Score another win for the EVGA 1600 P2..... Preliminary quick tests in my "cap out" spot in WoW (gonna have to find a new spot now...boooo!): 5080 = 125fps GPU bound (99%) stock 2718mhz 4090 = 135fps GPU bound (99%) at OC 3135mhz 5090 = 184fps NOT GPU bound (92-95%) at stock 2857-2865mhz Looks like the 9800X3D even at 4k Ultra RT at max has met its match. Question now over the next week is.....is it worth it?

Must MUST protect precious cargo on the way home!!!!! 🤣 In case anyone else wanted a GPU from my BB, here is there massive selection: **SCORE**

I thought so too. Only thing I could see maybe doing is some thermal putty on the backplate for extra cooling but the overall look and everything is top notch. I initially thought the rubber gasket came with the astral but realized it did not. I wonder if it comes with the WB, but either way it is nice. One reason I was hesitant before pulling the trigger was the LM possibility. I'm sure Asus only hires the best bean counters 🤣 Not yet......but close. 🤑 What's the ETA on your Suprim?

Spot on with that link to Reagan speaking about the pitfalls of tariffs and how to properly use them. Look, the US has been here before. When we went to economical war with Japan in the late 80s/early 90s we were successful because of not only us but other countries bringing balance to global trade and leveling out participation in the economy. Focusing on China only and making sure we have allies in the fight world wide is the right approach if that's the goal to thwart another country from achieving economical dominance like the US has enjoyed for decades. But this Liberation Day nonsense in tandem? No. I will reiterate, I hope it succeeds, but all the signs are it is going to cause catastrophic damage and the vast majority will be a tax on citizens in the US and other countries if they retaliate which I expect can and will happen. I'm just not seeing the end game here dropping an economical nuke on the world and not expecting retaliation. I'm sure @Reciever is going to want to steer the convo back to tech (rightfully so), so this is all I'll speak on about the tariffs and how our hobby is going to get much more expensive sooner than later. ------ If more and more businesses, both small and large, start to use 5090 for AI server needs that will compound pricing on top of everything. It would also harken back to mining farms and lots of GPUs being sold en masse. For 5090 flag ship cards, it's a potential problem, but for all the cards underneath I expect supply to continue to flow in both AMD and Nvidia. If you're content with 5080 on down, you should be good to go soon. Yeah, that 10900k was one of those CPUs on the desktop the SP113 when pushed to 300w the SP113 was clearly the winner hitting 5.5+ pretty easily, but in the X170SM-G? I just kept comparing R23 runs going, "this can't be right" because it was running so much better than all the previous ones I tested and all the ones after I tested. Yeah, you and @tps3443 run 14900hx chips while mine runs a 7950x3d. He has an Acer while you and I have MSI variants. I did swap out the stock drive for a heatsink equipped 990 Pro 2TB. I'll have to check the memory temps. I've been using this since 2016 and if I'm away for awhile, I will pack it in my laptop bag. It works fantastic.

Astral disassembly and block. I thought the Astral used LM. Kind of glad to see it doesn't after the Matrix.

The sweeping tariffs announced today across ALL countries basically and increasing China's tariff rate to 54% is mind boggling. The <$800 loop hole is also closing too. I wish we would just focus on China at the moment but alas.... "Liberation Day" 🤑🤮 With the way things are going, buy any hardware you want now if you're in the US as much higher costs and a recession is almost guaranteed along with a lot of US based businesses going under because US buyers can't or won't buy their goods at those costs. If this sticks, expect computer part prices to skyrocket in the US. I don't even know where GPUs are going price wise at this rate.... It's a game of chicken at this point and I'm not really sure China will blink let alone the sheer amount of damage we are doing to our relationships with all the other countries in the world including those we call (or called) friends and allies. As always, my main concern is making sure exemptions are placed on necessities required to exist. I really am not as concerned about the top end Lincoln Nautilus going from 80k to 120k+ as I am the cost of necessities from food to household items jumping from $10 to $15 across several ranges that add up quickly for those barely getting by or even those slightly above that. "Hey, tariffs have made the price of already unaffordable American made items cheaper than previously affordable but now extremely unaffordable imports....are we winning yet?" Imagine in the USA where ~11% are classified as poverty level and some studies showing 50%+ live paycheck to paycheck suddenly everything goes up in cost by 10% or more because of tariffs which are known to be another form of taxation. I don't care how you sugar coat it and wrapped it in false patriotism and puffery......tariffs = tax on citizens. Do you think companies are going to suck that up? Nope, they're going to pass as much of it as they can right along to consumers. trump is betting big with house money. I truly hope he knocks it out of the park, but if he doesn't, this could be catastrophic for the US. With today's announcement of 54% tariffs on all imports from China and Liberation Day, these prices may seem cheap in a few months..... Looks like Saturday it should be ready for pick up now and I'm going to pick it up. Worse case scenario, I return it if it has too much coil whine and/or that 4th fan @Papusan is proclaiming sounds like Darth Vader's breathing system at the end of Return of the Jedi after the emperor tunes him up before taking a swan's dive sounds thusly so back it will go..... $3999.99 isn't crazy out of range for the 18 Raider with the 285HX, 64GB 6400 memory, 5090 and 2TB SSD and a mLED display though. but a heck of a lot more than I paid for mine. After tax that is ~$2k more than I paid. No thank you. Nope, when I got home from Florida we got sick with Covid pretty quick and it sat in the bag till last Friday when I updated it for an out of town trip for a family member's wedding where it handled gaming nicely and now (lol) it's back in the bag again. I always use a set of old school "laptop balls" on all my primary laptops for keyboard angling and better cooling. Next time I bust it out, I'll collect some before and after OC data from it. I know you asked me before a week or so ago, but it was still in the bag....

Oh Nvidia......you rascally rabbit you! 5070ti is really shaping up to be the sweet spot for Nvidia when MSRP settles down to $749.99.....

I'm looking forward to your results! I always follow the X170 threads (along with NH55 of course) to see what new results pop up. I just know when all was said and done, I tested that 10900k against many off the shelf variants and 4 specifically targeted binned chips including an SP113 I borrowed for a few days and it was still better for laptop use. It was better stock IHS than all the others including the delidded ones. It was just a great chip in the X170SM-G. Last cash grab as the market normalizes to a degree and all the heavy hitters move out. Hmmm, who was it that said everything would settle down a bit by the end of April? 🤣 FOMO makes people do crazy things. Finally the Apex is arriving. I think what we've seen is latching onto a very valid reason (tariffs) and using that as a means to increase prices as much as possible even beyond and trying to at least touch off of scalper prices to maximize profits with the ability to lower costs when needed. I will be curious to see when sales drastically slow and prices have to come back down, how that suddenly "works" with tariffs still in play. I have no problems with AIBs charging as much as they want. It is up to the consumers to say no. I know for many, even $3k-$4k still isn't much to them as they spend much MUCH more elsewhere on their hobbies and leisurely pursuits but still.... As for the FE, it is compact and elegant. The fact you can slap a full tilt 5090 in a SFF 2 slot design is pretty awesome. It is not for those who want to overclock but want full 5090 power out of the box that isn't ginormous. It does run warm but well within spec and doesn't throttle. It is also priced the best easily at $1999.99. I fully get why it exists but also why certain segments have no desire for it. Yup, the early adopters with better spending/worse common sense are drying up along with a steady trickle of inventory coming in. You also have scalpers slowing down as it is past the "easy money" stage of the program. Monitoring a few stock bots, other brands are bringing cards to the market somewhat regularly too but they are usually snapped up pretty fast (or were). The real question will be how the market and companies respond going forward. -------------- Remember the outlandish prices for 5090 laptops announced? Discounts already on MSI and Asus models. Nobody in their right mind is going to pay those prices. On another note, I didn't realize MSI went with the 285HX in their Raider. I thought only the Titan was getting it so that's nice to see. Basically no real difference real world but still.... Unfortunately the 9950X3D variant for MSI is still sitting at $5099.99 atm, but we will see....

I'm so glad a board member picked it up especially @1610ftw. Hopefully he gives it a whirl in his X170SM-G to see how far it can flex especially compared to the SP101 I sold him that was my best sample I had including vs my golden sample like yours but your SP106 was rated higher I think than my LTX sample. --- And yeah, supply is trickling in steadily now but more importantly demand at those higher price points is waning fast. The fact those combo deals which aren't even that bad (Sub $3k w/ a z890 Motherboard) for a gigabyte shows something is going to have to give especially for perceived "B" tier cards. I'm thinking of cancelling my Astral 5090 pickup at the end of the week. I just am having problems stomaching a $3.5k 5090 purchase. I know it's an Astral and all that, but the price just seems crazy high. But on the other hand, Astrals have been binning pretty nicely overall but I know me and I'd be just as content with a $2k FE or a $2.2k PNY and keep it moving. I'll continue to mull it over mentally. 🤣 I could always just play with it and see if that justifies the purchase. I do have a 60 day return window but still that isn't realistic considering I have to pay for it within 30....

What's in the box? (In my Brad Pitt from SE7EN voice) --- 5090 sales are definitely slowing down and everything else Nvidia is seriously slowing down..... Gigabyte, Zotac and MSI combo deals on Newegg have been up all day with some even sub $3k for the Gigabyte combos still available for the $2639 Windforce and Z890 MB combo for $2939. That includes a free Star Wars Outlaws Gold Edition key (~$109 value). Like I said, Pre-builts are available everywhere now for order. Upper end 5070, 5070ti and 5080 (aka the stupidly overpriced versions) cards are in stock. (shipped and sold from NE only) and some on BB too. The real question is with tariffs in play, will the prices remain the same (IE, MSI just raised their prices again), continue to go up or fall? What is the actual breaking point? 9070xt's are all out of stock atm on NE (shipped and sold from NE only) and BB.

Absolutely awful deal no doubt about it. If I don't like it, it will be going right back. I have a 60 day return window. I wonder if you could have even picked up the LC on their site at the old price..... Astral $1649.99 vs $999.99 = ~65% markup over MSRP Astral $3359 vs $1999.99 = ~68% markup over MSRP Ugh.... I agree. While I do like my 32" Alienware OLED, I find I still prefer the picture quality of my benQ 10-bit 32" IPS display overall in every aspect but it is capped at 60hz. Everytime I'm working/tuning/building a system with it and launch some games for testing, it just re-affirms my love of its display. I might try one of BenQ's 10-bit 32" 144hz displays. I have a few Asus Vivobooks here with Ultra 7 and Ultra 9 CPUs with 15.6" 1080p OLED displays and they're nice, but I always preferred the displays on my X170KM and SM along with even the P870TM I had. I thought those 144hz displays were great. It is starting to show its age though. I moved my SP109 14900KS into the wife's system and I suspect that is where it will stay for the next 2-3 years or beyond. It's running great, boosting to 6.2 in WoW, temps under 70c and pulls under 1.4v within the Intel recommended limits coupled with a dialed in LLC and UV. Still a banger of a platform though. --- Like above, OLED is nice, but I find myself really preferring the picture quality and colors (after both were calibrated) of my BenQ 32" 10-bit IPS display. ---- 5090 demand is definitely leveling out at least in regards to overpaying past MSRP and scalping. Pre-builts are in stock everywhere now and combo deals are lasting a lot longer on da egg even simple combos like Gigabyte 5090+MB only. But MSRP keeps creeping up...... MSI also looks to have raised prices across the board with the Liquid and Suprim now costing $3k+ in the US and even the damn Ventus clocking in at $2949.99.

Binning is Winning especially when you're trying to push beyond factory specs (which is really all you're guaranteed).

I listened to it with headphones and again, I'm just not seeing all the uproar or whining especially post vBIOS update. Compared to my Powercolor 7900xtx or 5700xt that is nothing. It truly isn't. Maybe it needs to be heard in person? Maybe I'll pick up my shiny, new Astral on Thursday or Friday, slap it in, play some games and immediately go, "oh hell no!" and back it goes if it is that bad. ....OR I'll plug it in and run some tests/games and go, "People will whine and complain just about anything these days..." 🤣 I guess we'll see soon enough. ----- I was wondering especially at $3k+ that is no small bit of change. You'll get no arguments from me @Papusan. Look at the crazy pricing over here.....

Thursday!

After der8uer's video, I actually spent time hunting down YT videos of the card in action and even before the vBIOS update, it wasn't bad at all. Nobody complains in the forums about it either. I actually put headphones on to really listen and the overall sound profile of the Astral is better than half the cards I've owned in the past easily. ---- But having owned your LC for a bit now, are you overall happy with it or are you going to return it?