electrosoft

I don't blame Intel for cancelling B770 at this point of the current GPU cycle with skyrocketing memory prices for consumers and inflated costs for VRAM. I just don't think it is viable right now. I would also redirect short term efforts to suck up all the AI $$ they can while they continue to refine and make substantial gains in the mobile market both CPU and GPU wise and introduce a serious architecture advancement with Nova in the fall. I'm in total agreement with every decision Intel has recently made recently (which is rare) and I think they could be the dominant hand held and mobile laptop force this and next year. Tack on Nova and their own X3D along with serious gains in MT performance? Yeah, things are looking good for Intel IMHO. They're hungry again and clawing their way back with a vengeance. Ironically, it is AMD who is stagnating at the moment as @Mr. Fox video from Jay lets us know..... No surprise here..... Nvidia, AMD and Intel are going where the massive profits are and that is all things AI and all things data centers atm....they are behaving *exactly* as I would expect them to. Like I've said since the old forums, corporations are NOT your friend. It is a transactional scenario each and every time. They offer a product you want at a price you will pay. You buy it. End of story. Now it looks like the 6000 series could slip into 2028 Memory prices are rumored to have a significant bump sooner than later SSDs continue to rise.... https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-geforce-rtx-50-super-pushed-back-rtx-60-mass-production-could-move-to-2028 Right now, if you're in the market for GPUs, RAM or SSDs, (in that order), it is not a good time to buy. Better to stalk the used market or as noted before, get a Microcenter bundle if you need new hardware.

Cracks in Nvidia's armor starting to emerge.... "Exclusive: OpenAI is unsatisfied with some Nvidia chips and looking for alternatives, sources say" OpenAI wants to move to SRAM based inference (Like Apple uses FYI for their M architecture) and exploring alternatives... Google is already turning inward using their own custom designed chips.... AMD is starting to chip away at Nvidia's AI marketshare.... Microsoft questioning the profitability of AI..... I can smell that change in the air ever so slowly....

So I must have forgotten just HOW BAD AMD GPUs and to a slightly lesser extent Intel CPUs are for Fallout 76..... Also Intel is always behind that X3D cache...for now I was doing some of my standard static bench runs on the 265k + 9070xt and just going, "why is it so bad?" Problem is I've been playing Fallout76 the last 5 months on a 9800X3D + 5090..... I dug out all my old data from benching in the exact same spot reaching back to the 7900XTX and 13900KS/7800X3D and yeah, now I remember.... 7900xtx vs 4090: 9070xt vs 5090 (9800X3D unable to let 5090 hit anywhere near 100% Utilization or it would have been even more of a blood bath of ~155-160fps+): 7800X3D vs 13900KS w/ 4090: Ultra 7 is even worse as expected than that 13900KS. I wish I had a 5090 when I had my 14900KS as my main driver before switching to a 9800X3D. At least the blood bath wouldn't have been so bad. I might have to re-appropriate the wife's rig for some testing. Unlike her old EVGA DG-77 case, the Vanguard 5090 will fit quite nicely in her Antec Flux Pro. Just swap GPUs and swap in a test NVMe for a night of testing.....She has a 1000w Seasonic in there. Ultra 7 265k + 9070xt is literally the worst of both worlds. Weakest CPU and weakest GPU for FO76. Plays WoW rather nicely and smooth, but this initial Fallout 76 data is about in line as expected with this combo for FO76: Again, for the umpteenth time, if you are a serious Fallout 76 player, GPU has to be Nvidia and CPU has to me AMD X3D. I can't wait to test a Nova Lake chip with bllc (aka Intel X3D) onboard with Fallout 76....

Replacement PSU as finally arrived. This box is a chonker.....thank you MSI for the upgrade especially considering the original AI1300P was an open box Amazon Warehouse pickup for $144.55 to my door. Every (and I do mean EVERY) RMA I've ever had to deal with MSI has gone perfect. Only knock would be the turn around time which I could see being a problem if it is a critical component. If they had a cross shipping service for RMA parts (not sure if they do?), they would be near flawless. Time RMA generated to replacement/repair received is on par with others before. RMA Generated 1/8 Original PSU shipped 1/9 Marked Received by MSI 1/22 Out of stock and replacement agreement outreach 1/23 (Friday) Replacement shipped 1/26 (Monday) New unit received 2/2 I will continue to recommend MSI for many reasons one being their service and support. ------------------------------------------------------------ Testing out the lower 265k + Z890 AYW tuned up at 8000 rock solid with the Red Devil 9070xt and putting an open box Corsair SL1000 SFX PSU through its paces. I can see why the Corsair SL line of SFX PSUs are the goats. Very cool, quiet and the very thin, soft, properly measured modular cables makes this thing a class above the Lian Li and Coolmaster SFX models I've tested so far. I'll be using the Corsair in my own, personal SFX build outs moving forward.... What makes the Red Devil stand out is how quiet the fans are even under load. That along with very low coil whine makes this thing crazy quiet even running Timespy or testing WoW/FO76. Clocks were boosting max out of the box up to 3275mhz ~100-150mhz higher than the gaming 9070xt out of the box. It is also much quieter both coil whine and fans under load than the Gaming 9070xt but this is to be expected since the Red Devil has a much better heatsink. ~30k stock is about right for the three 9070xt's I've tested so far that were all 3x 8pin designs. -------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm no fan of AIBs overall, but they can only sell what Nvidia gives them and without the OPP program in place from Nvidia, you have the perfect storm of quantity + higher prices overall right from Nvidia. It is disingenuous to keep comparing AIB pricing to Nvidia MSRP pricing. The correct comparison will always been initial MSRP pricing of individual AIB model pricing versus their pricing now. With the lack of supply, I wouldn't be surprised if many of these limited edition cards are nearly impossible to get especially with small runs. 1000 Matrix cards? 1300 Lightning cards? That's nothing and they get snapped up pretty quick especially the Lightning cards. I had zero desire for a Matrix, but that Lightning is much more tempting but I still wouldn't drop $3k+ on a 5090. If you're in the market for a GPU right now? Whew, I don't know what to tell buyers. AMD is still the best value atm even with inflated prices. I'm not a huge fan of the Challenger 9070xt having owned one briefly. Compared to the Gaming 9070xt and Red Devil 9070xt, it felt light, cheap and only had 2x 8 pin leads and clocked much lower out of the box than the other two but bang:buck it is at this moment the best buy for $699.99 at MC and everywhere else it is now $719.99. When it was $569.99 at MC, that was just a killer deal......

5090's back in stock shipped and sold by Newegg reflecting the beginning of new pricing insanity incoming when they are stocked..... In their defense, Walmart is selling shipped and sold by Walmart the PNY EPIC 5090 for 4299.99 so this is the way things are going for 5090s..... MSI Liquid 5090 is also listed on MSI's site at $3699.99 too....

The most logical path considering they want that memory for AI which is much more lucrative but they can't just flat out put a full on "pause" on their consumer section but they sure can clamp it to a trickle... If there was ever a time for the 5070ti on down crowd to switch to AMD, it is now..... It is brutally cold (relatively speaking) for us right now coming off of that snow storm which just left everything frozen over. Right now it is a balmy 4f (~ -16c) here.... When I was younger, I loved the cold and looked forward to it. Now? I can see why people move to warmer, more even tempered states. Stock has either dried up and/or baseline prices are getting a bit slap happy. Lowest prices on part picker: PNY 5070ti = 969.35 Asus Prime 5080 = $1364.99 Gigabyte Aorus Stealth Ice 5090 = $3579.98 Gigabyte Gaming 9070xt = $719.99 So glad I snagged that Red Devil earlier this month for $683 ($879.98 on PPC) and Vanguard 5090 $1971 (Basically Unobtanium status) back in August from Microcenter. That Vengeance 2x24GB 9200 kit I managed to snag in December for $389 is now $969.99 I picked up a couple of Samsung 9100 Pro 1TB drives w/ heatsinks when I saw the writing on the wall for ~$149.99. They are now $229.99 Luckily, CPUs, Motherboards, cases, PSUs are suffering the most in the pricing downturn and their prices have stayed the same or fallen a tad. Anyone looking to build out in the US, Microcenter bundle deals are just crazy good value atm. CPU, Motherboard and DDR5 memory in many configs and priced fairly even before the Ramapocalypse.... I'm set for hardware now till Nova and even then I will just need a MB and CPU..... Good call not waffling..... Unfortunately the big players will take the hit on the books and pass it along to us in the long run. The Googles and Microsofts will just keep it moving. AMD will take a minor chip on the chin. Hardest hit will be AI focused entities and Nvidia. I look to the day Nvidia has to come to us on bent knee, hat in hand, tail firmly tucked between their legs asking for our forgiveness.... I will never use any Micron consumer products again even if they fire back up the Crucial brand post AIB (AI Bust).

There is no "one answer" here and what also applies is substandard wages and gross profiteering. The erosion of the middle class is alive and well. This is a byproduct thereof. I've had countless conversations with financial planners and debt lawyers and those in the trenches lean towards other factors than "personal planning or accountability." The world we live in today @Mr. Fox is financially a far cry than even 20 years ago let alone 40. "Picking one's self up by the bootstraps" and "self made" no longer generally apply like it did when we were young. With that being said, are there those who lack common and financial sense? Absolutely. I know quite a few including a few family and friends even but it is not the core of the problem. Remember, we do have plenty of these walking around:

Good on you brother! Nothing is as frustrating as "comfortably getting by." Just enough where life is comfortable, but not enough if something were to go sideways or you suddenly wanted to take a break or do something else but can't really afford to do that....cruise control has its pros and cons. Almost 2 out of every 3 people live paycheck to paycheck in America now. It's a somber reality. Here's wishing you all the luck and success in the world man....now go get it. 🙂 My dad used to tell us all the time, "You know the people who both lose and win the most at life still equally die right? Immortality is not in the prize pool."

@tps3443 up and sold off his 5090 for some real life adventures.... 😁 https://www.overclock.net/posts/29553159/ Fantastic price at that too!

Yeah, I just saw his for sale (now sold!) 5090 listing over on the OC forums. Congrats @tps3443 and good luck on your new adventure brother! Keep us in the loop with how it goes! This thread clearly transcends just computer hardware for us. 💙 You can always repurchase later or just wait till the 6000 series as priorities are elsewhere atm. That's just how life is sometimes. I remember selling off a large chunk of hardware several years ago for a new roof.

I feel like if cable makers really didn't cut corners it would at least put a nice dent into many of these problems. Watching that brand new Corsair cable be absolute trash was alarming from its loose fit to its readings. It seems like Cablemod learned their lesson that first time around and all the issues with 4090 cards and really came back with a high quality cable with a snug fit and good amperage distribution. Trash connector that needs perfect conditions to properly thrive Trash AIBs shaving pennies on quality adapters even to their own detriment Trash end users treating it like it is as robust as 8-pin and twisting and pulling it with reckless regard.... I DO think this connector is here to stay, but I do feel like with a few more refinements it will be declared "safe" lol, I tried to avoid that club! 🤣 lol, well I'm going to let you know it doesn't get any better in your 50's! 🤣 I turned the corner today and my fever finally broke after 4 days but I know this wet cough and general malaise is going to be with me for at least another week. Speedy recovery brother! -------------------------------- @Mr. Fox It's like we talked it up..... 3090ti vs 5090. 5090 is two generations newer and fully 66 to 133%+ faster than a 3090ti with a lot of that on the low end being an inability to fully utilize the 5090 even at 4k....it would be even worse with a 3090. 5090 is just a beast. I am glad we were able to get ours at a somewhat sane (in the realm of 5090s) price... --------------------------------- Zotac first out letting us know massive price hikes coming specifically to the 5060 and 5090 and kind of throwing Nvidia under the bus but they are the reason so.....yeah.....

More Sapphire Nitro+ burning issues yet the Taichi with the same 12v2x6 connector seems to be ok? One problem with the Sapphire is the rear back mounting which has no choice but to twist and bend the cable in all scenarios. It is unavoidable. Another is it is directly in the line of fire of exhausting heat..... https://videocardz.com/newz/sapphire-rx-9070-xt-nitro-adds-two-more-burned-blue-tipped-12v-2x6-adapter-reports-and-issues-with-rma

If you do end up trying another, the only logical model is the Red Devil. You get the highest phase design, 3x8pin and I would say one of the best and quietest air coolers, but we know you would rip that off ASAP. Even though it is a kick in the performance sack, I wouldn't be adverse to running a KPE3090 again if it came to that and a 3090 is where you wanted to go. We didn't realize that was truly the last of a magical time in GPUs. 😞 Based upon how AMD implemented mobile considerations with their effectively transplanted desktop chips, I think you are better off with the 275hx. I have yet to encounter an AMD laptop that doesn't have poor fan tables and fans revving up vs the now three 275hx based laptops I've tested. Even the hot box Acer Nitro 15.6" with 5060 and 275hx that thermal throttles under heavy load runs relatively even and quiet vs the Acer 16" AMD OLED, Acer AMD 7325 + 4050 15.6" and my former Raider 7945HX3D. Unless AMD changes something in their mobile implementation, I am going to stick with Intel moving forward. Since the launch of their Ultra chips both true mobile and desktop shoehorned into laptops, they just run quieter and more even for D2D use than AMD....at least in my testing/use cases. We only ended up with a paltry 6 inches of snow. So disappointing..... (Sorry @Papusan! 🤣) I was wondering if you had a preferred card one over the other, but as Nvidia stock dries up there's plenty of 9070xt cards available even though prices jumped. Hopefully AMD can make some more inroads. lol, thanks! It really is the best model on paper out of the 9070xt lineup for several reasons. I didn't even really give it a serious look till you went with one and I went "Hmmm, if @Rage Set is going with it, maybe there's more to it that I missed," and then read some reviews, watched some videos and realized it is the best 9070xt this time around overall IMHO. Ugh, Thursday night after the gym I had a scratchy throat and itchy sinuses. I woke up Friday feeling like someone hit me with a baseball bat. High temp, throat feeling full of glass shards. By Saturday, it had moved down into my lungs and chest was hurting and nose flowing like the nile. Sunday temp spiking to 103+ and now a tight, juicy cough with lots of green stuff that would make even Slimer proud. Took a home test and yep, Flu A. I skipped my flu shot this year too and this was a nice reminder why I shouldn't skip it. My wife got her flu shot and she picked up Flu A from me and besides some mild sniffles, she's fully functional while I am coughing and hacking up all types of stuff with spiking fevers going on day 4 and I'm just wiped out.....luckily I have enough energy to at least play FO76 and WoW 🤣 Like you, and I am sure the bulk of us married, I dunno how we would survive without our significant others. I will say this though, I will take the flu over Covid any day of the week.....Covid wrecks me in a way no other sickness ever has and I'm down for the count for 6-8 weeks depending on how close I contract it to my vaxx window and even after I am weakened for quite awhile. I've had Covid 5x now in the last 6 years (including on "launch" in early 2020). My wife caught it with me last February and it was the sickest she's ever been in her life. In her words, "I now see how this crap can take someone out...." I think one reason I tend to skip my flu shot from time to time is because even at its very worse it is maybe a 5/10 vs covid for me. Oh, and you're relatively young. You're what? In your 30s? Yes, it gets worse as you get older.... 🤣

Congrats! Lenovo really makes nice laptops that consistently place towards the top in Jarrod's laptop ratings. 64GB of 6400 DDR5 is awesome not just for capacity but it running no problems at 6400 on your laptop. I've actually held off opening back up my eBay store for a massive selloff of items till February because of tax return season. I'm in SNJ, so we're getting this quasi freezing rain thing with maybe 4" of snow atm. It's just sad.... 🤣 How are the Red Devil 9070xt and Prime 5070ti working out for you? We knew prices were going to trend up. This is most likely just the beginning.... If used market prices hit $4-5k, I can almost guarantee you I will sell my 5090 and ride this 9070xt or whatevewr to what comes next...... Like I said, I returned the Nitro+ 9070xt brand new in box because I just couldn't stomach that oddly placed 12v2x6 connector and replaced it with a Red Devil 9070xt which has the most phases off all models available AND a 3x8pin power setup. 3090 is just a wee bit too underpowered for me to regress that badly....

Might want to login to your FedEx account and check (you would need to anyhow to see the documents portion of the program). If you don't pay online within 4 days, they will mail you a physical invoice which is what I'm going to wait for till it arrives..... The actual customs duty is $17.70. The Disbursement Fee is a FedEx shakedown charge since they made it convenient for you by them paying the fees directly. The fact the disbursement fee is almost the same as the customs duty is highway robbery. In the end, it's the cost of a small order of chinese take away but its the principle for myself and just another 15% tax no matter how you slice it up going right into the government's pocket and then FedEx profiteering on top of it resulting in a ~22% overall fee.

Intel is beholden to shareholders just like any other company and it would be illogical to NOT go where the current profit stream is most viable. Just remember how quickly the dotcom boom and several cryptobooms imploded...... FYI, Intel is nowhere near close to going bankrupt. They just aren't printing money like they did for decades on end. I'm glad they've hit a wall though and need to get lean, mean and hungry again. As for the 9850X3D, with both their laptop and desktop refreshes, AMD is taking a classic play right out of Intel's handbook and giving us Granite Ridge+..... Zero chance I pick one of them up. Intel is actually bringing the heat in the mobile market which is very important. If Nova Lake tracks like it should, AMD is in for a rough ride unless AM6 is something special Productivity wise, I would pick an intel Ultra setup over an AMD one all day everyday And it isn't like Ultra can't game. Tuned, it can still bring the heat "Hold steady consumers while we milk the AI segment! We haven't forgotten you and we'll return to our regularly scheduled program sometime in the future!" ------------------- Just got my email for tariff duties owed on the TG WV2P..... $32.70 🤬 ------------------- @Talon Asrock is not supporting Bartlett. Has Asus confirmed support? https://videocardz.com/newz/asrock-confirms-its-z790-and-other-lga-1700-motherboards-will-not-support-bartlett-lake-cpus

THIS is why I love MSI...... MSI just contacted me about my RMA on the AI1300P to inform me they have zero stock of the newer revision (AI1300P PCIE5) and would the following PSU be an acceptable replacement: https://us.msi.com/Power-Supply/MEG-Ai1600T-PCIE5/Specification Uh, yes, that will definitely be a suitable replacement!! I'm going to wait till it gets here and then do my system with it along with the swap to Ultra 265k, WVP2 and custom 140mm fan cooling for the DDR5.

Whoa, 9070xt prices just jumped massively at Microcenter almost across the board. Probably a product of the expected price increases due to memory and 5070ti being sold out everywhere increasing demand for the 9070xt. The Red Devil I just picked up for $719 (MCC price was 683) is now $849. $780 on da Egg. Challenger which was $569 late last year is now $649.99 and the cheapest model available on PCPP is now $699 for the Hellhound. ------------------------------------------------------- RAM market is an odd beast atm. Lots of overpriced memory in stock. Plenty of overpriced (but not AS overpriced) new/used memory on eBay that is either not moving or taking quite awhile to move. End user demand is low because supply is grossly overpriced. SSD prices have jumped stupidly high but nowhere on the level of RAM but still..... I really feel like the AI boom is either going to crash or greatly recede sooner than later but we will see. Microsoft CEO openly questioned its profit viability.....May just be wishful thinking.... --------------------------------------------------------- WV2Pro arrived yesterday along with my brackets for DDR5 140mm cooling and Lian Li AIO. Piles of new parts everywhere for several projects/builds. First up is repairing my daughter's laptop though.... Just got an email from MSI they received my faulty Ai1300P PSU... --------------------------------------------------------- Yeah this is definitely the price/performance bundle that is going into my "I ran AM5 9800X3D for a year now let's give Intel's Ultra a fair shake till Panther" run unless it proves to be absolute trash (I'm looking at you FO76). $176 Strix Z890-A is hitting every criteria I need and the second $205 265k with some tuning now passes TM5 at 9066 G2 no problem which is the MB's limits and wouldn't be my D2D tuned settings anyhow so I'm good. I'll be keeping an eye on the Ultra refresh to maybe bin a few of them for shiggles.... WOW, didn't even know the 12 core Bartlett was up for order! I hope it is available and you can test one to compare to your AM5 and Ultra rigs. Did you hold onto your AM5 or jettison it? 🤣 -------------------------------------------------------------- @win32asmguy Midnight pre-launch 12.0 patch is definitely working with some secret sauce. When Tazevesh launched, performance was poor especially on the 9070xt but subsequent patches improved performance greatly along with Nvidia, but the 12.0 overhaul has now taken my fps in the exact same testing spot with the same drivers and rig as is from ~132 to frame locked 175 with the exact same settings. One thing I notice, though, is VRAM usage and CPU usage has increased drastically at 4k in the same spot from ~6.5GB to ~10.5GB. Not that players should be running WoW at 4k Ultra RT Max with 8GB or less cards, but they may be in for a reality check with the engine updates/overhaul. CPU utilization went up by 50% on basic reporting as did power draw so definitely some tinkering under the hood. RAM allocation is also up from ~13.5GB to ~20.6GB. Much more efficient, pulling less power and getting more fps than before. I've seen them do this in past xx.0 xpac pre-launch updates. GPU usage didn't even cap out with the 12.0 patch at frame locked 175fps. I'll need to go in there and remove that to see where it actually goes. One thing Blizzard does do is improve their graphics engine before, during and after launches. Before and after testing (note, both tests were at 8000 not 6400. Need to update AB descriptions). Of course Dornogal is an absolute sludge fest now on both my rigs and player data. Classic pre-launch patch Blizzard. Doesn't matter 14900ks + 9070xt or 9800X3D + 5090. It is absolute trash right now and chunky. Blizzard seriously needs to overhaul their CPU multithreaded utilization ASAP.

Addendum to 4k response as I don't think I gave you enough data for reference (sorry): Oh and zero thermal throttling anywhere and CPU utilization on any of the cores at any given time is never more than 50-60% using this approach which is designed to allow you to stress the GPU to 100% load really taking the CPU out of the equation. If Blizzard could figure out a way to load balance player physics across a true multicore design versus still really stuck in a single threaded model it would work wonders. One of the reasons I threw FO76 in the mix was to see if it was the same, but you can clearly see the uplift from JEDEC to 6400 Tuned and 8800 Tuned which might negate some of the X3D potential blame in WoW. -------------------------- Here's a screen shot I took of my exact chosen place to benchmark in Tazevesh so I know exactly how to position my toon and distances for future benchmarking on the 265k and you can see all the relevant data. Neither the 5090 or 9800X3D are overclocked for these tests on purpose to control all variables at stock. I plan on going back in and testing this exact same spot after the Midnight patch on Tuesday to see if anything has changed. If you want to benchmark here, make sure to get your toon and camera angles the exact same. You know you have it right when you have the small cat pat in and out in the lower, right corner. GPU at 100% CPU usage 16% (of course based on 8 cores, but you get the idea it is low) Temps are low on both even with the GPU fully maxed and 500w+ but the Vanguard Heatsink is ridiculously good along with the Suprims. Fans are at their lowest speed (33%) on auto. Voltage at only 1.085 (max of 1.125v).

I'll retest at 1440p Ultra just to see if memory (and CPU) comes more into play removing player physics as a constraint as we both know tanks GPU utilization quickly and when pushed to 100% GPU utilization even on a 5090 does memory settings on AM5/X3D make any difference because at 4k it means nothing even at JEDEC which was surprising. It could be with zero player physics at play, WoW can sit in the cache comfortably but with raids, PVP, city the cache exhausts pretty quickly. I could swap in this 9600x I have here in my ITX setup and test that theory. I haven't tested the 265k yet. I am just wrapping up dialing in memory tuning at G2 8600 on the test bench and then will OC dial in once this new AIO comes in on Thursday. This is my ghetto current memory tuning setup..... I have some custom brackets coming in to set up an adjustable 140mm fan over the DDR5 memory (this will carry forward regardless of what CPU/MB is installed) along with ordering a singular Silent Wings 140mm Pro fan for it for two tiered speed adjust-ability. Apparently the new king of AIOs is the Lian Li Galahad II Lite which in several reviews is the top dog and for ~$100 so I ordered one. It even beats down their former Trinity Performance model at a much cheaper cost, easier hook up and better designed pump. I ordered one of these to slap on the test bench with the 265k and if I like what I see, I'll move it into my case too replacing the AC LF II 420 that's in there now along with the 265k after my DDR5 fan parts and WV2 arrive but want everything tuned up and ready to go before the transplant.

TG just let me know my WV2 shipped, woot! -------------------------- As soon as China saw the "procedures" being enacted by the US government for AI hardware to ship to them , they balked and are slowly, but surely, turning to in house advancements on both the CPU and GPU front for the future. If they ever decide to invade and annex Taiwan they will become the front runner in technology pretty fast. There is a reason the US and other countries are all in diversifying production and fabs away from China and China adjacent. Those "procedures?" Well, Nvidia chips have to be shipped from Taiwan to the US, go through a series of validation steps over here and be assembled in the US before being shipped to China and 25% of the sales go right into the US government's pockets.....yeah I don't blame China for basically saying forget that and continue to use back channel ways of piping in same or similar hardware into their country. If China produces an ASIC specific computing device (as rumored) for AI that is more efficient and less expensive than using GPUs, the GPU market will crash harder than the Cryptobooooooom and I'm 100% here for it. Personally, removing China from their sales is a win for us and will start to bring Nvidia back down to reality and demand will plummet enough to offer more products to consumers but that really doesn't address the ram crisis as GPU, CPU or ASIC based AI will still require godsmackingly large amounts of ram for those ever growing LLMs.... Producing 1 card a year is still technically "in production" 🤣 But seriously..... Nvidia is still providing the entire GPU / Memory package for now, so unless they decouple it they will most certainly be raising prices right along with AMD...... Corsair's stock has tanked. They are trying to redirect to that sweet, sweet AI money and downsizing their consumer division which they were most likely going to do anyhow. I don't think the market conditions (AI AI AI AI!!!!!!) is the problem for them. Their issues are elsewhere. I do think they view the AI market as their hail mary atm.

HU's response to everything.....Nvidia clearly reached out to Asus and said, "change your statement" 🤣 Like I said, effectively discontinued can be the same as "highly constrained" HU did their due diligence. Maybe the Asus PR thought it was off the record? I can also see Asus not getting anywhere near enough 5070ti dies and/or packages (depending on if Nvidia still plans on decoupling the memory) and basically EOL'ing their own cards but other, smaller makers continue to offer them when they can too. This is not new for a company to walk back bad PR...... --------------------------------- AMD "working hard" to keep prices the same for their GPUs in 2026.... One of my pet peeves is always comparing prices of enhanced AIB models to MSRP. It is nails on the chalkboard to me. This applies to Nvidia and AMD. There will always be entry level models at MSRP, but models that are better built and with added features will always cost more....

Doing some quick and dirty DDR5 testing in my preferred spots in game for WoW and FO76 JEDEC 5600 vs 6400 vs 8000 on the 9800X3D with the newest BIOS and drivers... Take away? On X3D, WoW doesn't give a crap what speed you run your memory or settings at 4k Ultra.... Fallout on the other hand prefers 8000...... Tazevesh will even work over a 5090 no problem. FO is CPU bound horrifically just about everywhere on my Vanguard 5090 Small blip in the .01 on WoW 6400 tuned because of a player who ran through my capture but it is in line with FO76 placing. I will be sticking with 8000 from now on with AM5.... BBT took a swing at scaling DDR5 on Socket 1700 and 1851 (previously posted) for games and there are definite gains but nothing that's going to light the world on fire methinks. You will net the bulk of the gains by 8000 and then top it off 8000->9000. Looking at the results from my Q&D tests, that is about what I'm expecting even on the 265k....

HU talks to Asus and other makers who are actually on the front lines and reports production slowdowns or shutdowns Nvidia steps in for damage control Rinse repeat. 🤣 Nvidia isn't "letting" them have it. They would be prioritizing their most lucrative markets. Nvidia's potential product stack covers low, low mid and low high 5050 (barf), 5060 8GB, 5060ti 8GB, 5070, 5080. Seriously though, Nvidia will not lower prices on the 5080. That isn't logical. Nvidia goes where the money takes them. If VRAM is plentiful, more for everybody but with the real world constraints in place for VRAM, Nvidia will adjust accordingly and make sure their most profitable products get the VRAM and that is NOT the 5060ti 16GB or 5070ti but the 5080 and like I said, depending on future supply issues, even the 5080 will suffer from, ahem, a slow down in production or prices will go up (or both). "Discontinue" is maybe a bit harsh from HU, but drastically cut production to the point of discontinuation or sporadic allocations is feasible. 1% production is still technically still in production but...... 🤣 In other words, Nvidia is going to prioritize their most lucrative AI market and whatever happens to be left over will make its way to us consumers.... We knew GPU shortages were rumored in December contiuing on into the new year months ago and we're seeing it slowly happen Same with RAM prices. It was rumored back in early September and we saw it happen and continue to happen Even SSDs, SD cards and more are subject to the AI reality and market forces You literally have a memory company can their entire consumer division (which was profitable) to focus on the AI market As for the 5090, all reports from overseas is supply is dwindling and prices are going up. US just beat them to the final punch first being one of the largest consumer markets on the planet. Like I (and you) have noted, plenty of 9070xt's available but if supply dries up of Nvidia cards in those ranges, AMD may face a shortage too eventually just like with the CryptoPandemic years and Ampere where you couldn't keep either brand in stock..... 2026 is going to be a heck of a ride!!!

Welp, 9066 is it for the Asus Z890 Strix-A but that was what it was rated, so I can't complain on the Strix-A. 9200 it has all the classic signs of board fault just like the Apex at 8667+ being the culprit but this $176 Strix-A open box is a keeper. I am also impressed with the Vengeance 9200 sticks as they performed as advertised. Only thing is Asus boards (all three of them) do not like high tWR as spec'd in the Vengeance XMP profile. None of them would boot with the default 138. I am sure these didn't make the QVL..... Testing and passed 8800 G2 and 8933 G2 for now so I'm good. I'll end up falling back for the heck of it to push for G2 9066 but for now time to dial in and tune 8600 G2 and OC this SP83 265k to get it exactly where I want it before swapping it in to the main rig to run it as my daily in a real world scenario. Plan is to do that when my WV2 arrives and I upend up complete build with it along with install a dedicated case mounted 140mm fan over the DDR5. Still waiting on my first batch of MX-7 thermal paste to start rebuilding my thermal/LM collection.... still riding on a 150w air cooler with a single fan and ID-cooling thermal paste included with it atm.... --------------------------------------------------- 5090's sold out everywhere in the US now. I can't find a single MSRP model anywhere only overpriced scalpers hawking them on Amazon. One year removed from launch and here we go again.... Cheapest 5080 in stock is the $1280 Ventus on Amazon Cheapest 5070ti is $829 but $749 models do occasionally come into stock. If you want one, now is the time to grab one as it is the best bang:buck this generation if at or close to MSRP but it is on its way out. 5070's readily available and on sale in a few locations. MC has them for $499. Amazon has the Prime 5070 on sale for $539.99....expect these to dry up and prices to creep up or at least MSRP models go bye bye. Prices crept up a little, but 9070xt's are readily available. 5070ti , 5060ti 16GB EOL: 5070 12gb reduced supply but not EOL (for now)... Nvidia is basically abandoning the gamer market. Discontinuing all 16GB models except the 5080 and even it is in the crosshairs has they have scaled back production. 5090s are also on the chopping block to redirect all resources to AI. What 16GB they will offer will be in the 5080 to try to maximize profits and if it doesn't offer enough profitability, they will just either raise the price more or EOL it to redirect that memory to AI. Gamers are left with: 3060 12GB (rumored) 5060 8GB 5060ti 8GB 5070 12GB (which is in trouble) Scaled back 5080 and 5090 with both priced at $1300+ and 3500+ and climbing as Nvidia continues to re-direct supply to AI both dies and memory. ----------------------------------------------------------- This is AMD's moment quite honestly to gain market share. Hopefully they don't muck it up. Keep the 9070xt plentiful at a minimum as they will basically OWN the mid class of cards even if prices go up as the 9070xt competes with the 5070ti and approaches the 5080 in some benchmarks. They will most likely kill off the 9060xt 16GB but if they kept that model, they would dominate the low end too. You also have Steam coming in hot already with handhelds and now the Steammachine all based around AMD hardware. If there was ever a year for AMD to flip the script if even a little, this is the time!