electrosoft

The bulk of my work is with external media both personally and professionally. Main reason I jettisoned AM4. To suddenly see USB port issues pop back up caused immediate concern. Installed the firmware update a bit ago..... And just like that my second front USB-A port now connects every time......like before the last BIOS update. I was ~3 BIOS updates behind though. I updated mainly for more 8000 stability on the Hero.

I'm still on 1805 from last month (newest) on my hero , but I went and checked and a new firmware update was available for connected devices for stability. Makes sense. Since the last bios update, my front USB-A ports are suddenly sporadic in whether devices connect or not. Check to see if there is a firmware update available for your board. Yeah, if you look back through some of his other videos, DIMMs are dying with a quickness recently. I actually enjoy his Fix or Flop series. If anything, it shows you the power of having spare parts laying around.... Arrowlake is new to me and my favorite part is the beginning stages of a brand new platform and slowly exploring all the nuances over months. Just realized fabric potentially comes into play with OC and optimal freqency. Looks like ~8600 might be the sweet spot for dialing in timings in correlation to AL OC especially for gaming. The deep dive will continue over the next several months. I may keep this Strix board if that's the case since it can do 8667 and just focus on binning chips around ~8800. I did put up a feeler on OCN and of course got hit with the mailbox full of "message my friend at IWILLSCAMYOUHARD AT SCAMUGUD DOTZ LULZ" to report and ignore as always.... Did get 9200 back up and running in G4. I'm also realizing these "heat blankets" as @Mr. Fox calls them are coming into play on some of these stress test runs... Good video showing speed tiers (but without super deep timings optimizations) on 14th and Arrowlake: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Whenever @Papusan shows new Crocs on the forums (timestamped) 🤣:

So with the new BIOS and further tuning and goosing, I've encountered a few new things. Vengeance 9200 sticks wouldn't boot with XMP timings because Corsair was Pushing Dram Write Recovery Time to 138 for some reason. That one, single XMP setting was shutting down the Strix every time. Took a little to track that one down. This 265k gives up the ghost at 8400. The Z890-A Strix gives up the ghost at 8800. I can't do G2 8400 fail I can do G4 8400 pass I can do G4 8667 pass I can't do G4 8800 fail So the Strix-A is doing better than expected and it did fail HUB's 8800 check during its review so no shocker. May come down to binning boards at this lower tier. This is the entry level Strix board. That Unify-X I ordered won't ship till next week so that gives me a few more days to at least see if I can get the board to 8800 which is my return/keep threshold. If I can stabilize 8800 I'll keep it. If not, back it goes. I'm thinking this 265k was an open box return to MC because someone tested the IMC and went "garbage!" and returned it. I'll probably go ahead and put some feelers on the OCN and/or grab at least 1-2 more 265k's to bin. But the testing continues....

In classic Asus fashion, new BIOS drops for the Z890-A Strix and now it won't boot G4 9200 at all.... 🤣 Going to retest 8000->8400+ but I'm not expecting any miracles. I did place an order for a Unify-X on the 'zon for $399.99 because I'm a FAFO kinda guy, they only had 8 left and Amazon is known for shifting prices back to everyone else still selling it at $699.99+ real fast. I really had no complaints about my Carbon X670E or Unify Z690. I went for the after Xmas ship option to snag 8% back in rewards because I'm in no rush and that gives me an extra 10 days to continue to work with this Z890-A strix. --------------------------------------------------------------- Jay switching to Ultra 285k from AMD 9950X3D..... Went with 4 dimmer Hero over 2 dimmer Unify (his first pick) because of scratches on MB......aka aesthetics. 😕 ------------------------------------------- After much searching by the Mrs, this is the case she ultimately decided upon..... I gave her a list of high airflow cases to check out and once she saw the Antec, she promptly jettisoned the 4000D Airflow and Asus GT302 that were her previous two front runners. Flux is also one of the top rated airflow cases on the market. I have to switch her away from the EVGA DG-77. When she was first running a 12100f + 3060, it was ok but running a 14900KS + 9070xt and the case is a sauna affecting the OC on her memory and 9070xt. Even stock, temps are getting juicy unless I run it with the side panel off. I like that the Antec comes with 3x 140mm in the front, 2x 120mm for GPU intake on the bottom and 140mm rear exhaust. Makes it easy to move over her components. I will probably replace her EVGA CLC 280mm AIO with my test rig Lian Li Gallahad 360mm which is definitely a tier above the EVGA in cooling. ------------------------------------------------------- I'm going to FAFO and give the Z890 Unify-X a whirl especially at $399.99 on Amazon. Worst case scenario, back it goes! I liked the MSI BIOS, but can readily admit I still find Asus BIOS to be my favorite especially now that EVGA no longer makes motherboards. 😞 I could see why they exited the GPU market, but I still don't understand why they also did away with their excellent motherboard division. 😠 -- I think the wonderful thing about games is they are pretty much a leisurely pursuit and you can opt to play or not play without a meaningful impact to your core existence. It sucks it has come to this point, but blame the cheaters. As someone who has played competitive games for decades, nothing can suck the wind out of a game/franchise like rampant cheating. I said it before, but cheaters and cheat creators have reached such a point in sophistication that it has now come down to hardware level monitoring to assure all assets and code are not compromised even at the cost of giving up control and security and placing your trust in the game makers. Best bet is, again, to create a games only install on Windows and keep your other install for everything else if you opt to give up that level of control to play certain games. I'm ok with this. What is the alternative? I do see merit in the argument about a "single player only" version devoid of this level of security and monitoring, but that is an entirely other argument to address. As per Tom's: "DMA devices are some of the most advanced cheating techniques, and most of them are expensive and difficult to implement. These types of mods aren’t used by casual players; instead, they’re often applied by hardcore players looking to gain an advantage in esports matches, especially when there is a monetary prize. When Riot Games’ security team discovered this vulnerability, it immediately worked with hardware manufacturers, which validated their findings. They then released BIOS updates to address the issue, ensuring that no one could exploit this weakness and gain an unfair advantage. If your computer is affected by this bug, you’ll be given a restriction, and you won’t be able to launch Valorant. You can resolve this by updating your motherboard’s BIOS to the latest version and by ensuring that all security features like Secure Boot, VBS, and IOMMU are activated and working properly. If you don’t want to be inconvenienced by a security warning before launching your game, Riot Games recommends that you update your BIOS to the latest version as soon as possible. “BIOS updates aren’t exactly as exciting as looking at ban numbers, but this is a necessary step in our arms race against hardware cheats,” Riot's blog post on the matter reads. “By closing this pre-boot loophole, we are neutralizing an entire class of previously untouchable cheats and significantly raising the cost of unfair play.”"

Like @Rage Set and @Mr. Fox said, this is a blessing and a curse. Actually forcing optimizations in software to compensate is a blessing. Luckily (unluckily?) the memory shortage hits VRAM, RAM and potentially storage. If it only hit VRAM, nothing would really change. You just lower the resolution and asset requirements. RAM? Well, now you're talking not only assets but asset management and actual game code Storage? Well, not you have to be cognizant of your total install size which encompasses assets, asset management and game code. I think when all is said and done, high end GPUs won't be hit as much because texture sizes are variable and selectable. Even now, most 6GB video cards can run just about every game out there if you lower the detail level unless they take a shared memory model approach and dump off into normal system ram to compensate for texture sizes. As a precaution, I picked up a few Samsung 9100 Pro 1TB NVME's a bit ago and prices have already spiked from what I paid (~$130) to now $170 each. I already had a few 2TB SSDs (990 Pro, 9100 Pro) and a boatload of laptop SSDs (512GB to 2TB) sitting in the ~7 laptops on my shelf. Some of these have to go, though. I feel like a mic drop was done right after saying that.... 🤣 It is most likely going to be a UNIFY or APEX. Do you plan on using an Apex for some 270k/290k binning? Maybe I'll put out a WTB on the OCN forums for a tested and certified 9000 G2 Unify or Apex.

Ugh, full day of Xmas shopping with the wife..... me at the end of the day..... ----------------------------------------------------------- Time to pick another motherboard as the TG 8200 sticks, which I had running at 8400 no problem on Z790i Lightning and 14900KS also borked out in G2 and G4. So that's three sets of sticks (8200, 8400, 9200) giving up the ghost on the Z890 Strix-A in G2 and G4 at 8400. Even boots at 9200 G4 and AIDA64 run with the Vengeance sticks, but passing TM5 is a whole different story... This is when having other CPUs / MBs is a plus to start bouncing off each other. At least I have 3x sets of DDR5 in the kitty though so that's a blessing.

Correction. I wasn't paying attention (in a rush today since it is the wife and my official holiday shopping all day "fun"), I forgot when you switch gears it auto resets the memory frequency to auto so that G4 pass run was at 5600 (DERP!). This means most likely last time in G4 it was back to auto frequency too when testing the KB sticks and it passed. So I set it to G4 to remove the CPU from the equation, set to 8400 and it failed again on both the KB and Corsair sticks. So that is a double failure at G4 on the KB 8200 sticks and Vengeance 9200 sticks when testing 8400 but 8200 passes. So now it is pointing to the MB not the CPU. I'll dive back in either very late tonight or tomorrow as now onward to Xmas shopping and dinner and more shopping....

I asked a few times about a replacement because they auto refunded it immediately when it was still in the "claims" portion of the program. I'll be asking again. I've lost confidence in most shipping carriers these days. From basically unreliable delivery windows to poor deliveries (another reason I installed cameras) to flat out thieves within I'm skeptical most times now and actually trust Amazon's own delivery network as much if not more than UPS or FedEx. Wow, I think the last time I had a bad stick was early DDR4 SODIMM from G.Skill and they replace the kit in less than a week. G.skill replacement should be straight forward (as long as things don't go missing in transit), but any recourse on the bare Chinese brand? Wow, that's even better! I approach it the same. As long as I can consistently get 100fps or more at all times, I'm good. I cap my frames at 175fps everywhere to keep balance between the lows and highs unless I'm running delves, then I cap it to the actual display cap which is 240hz on this Alienware OLED 32" 4k display. Yeah, then you have a lot of optimization / greater fps ahead of you. Things really are only going to get better. Did the power go out because of the high winds or do they purposely shut down power due to the high winds / fire risk? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And lastly, 265k is a potential issue....but we will see. Testing so far with the Corsair 9200 sticks G2 8000 pass G2 8200 pass G2 8400 fail (and I mean within the first minute) G4 8400 pass 8400 G4 pass is the same as with the Kingbank sticks except the KB sticks required a fan and 1.5v. These 9200 sticks only require 1.45v and no fan. I'll goose the voltages on the IMC to see how much further I can push it in G2 but falling off the rails at G2 8400 isn't a great portend of things to come. But first I'm going to see how far the MB can go in G4 just to see how far it can go with the newest BIOS. If it can do at least 8800 I'll keep it. If not, back to Amazon it goes and most likely a Unify is in my future unless I can find a well priced and properly working Apex.

Nice! The wonderful thing is you have a lot left in the tank with that memory for further performance gains / optimizations. 25% more fps is a pretty massive upswing over a 12900ks. How are the 1%/.1%? Did you enable 200S boost only? Have you tried @Talon's manual OC settings on the 285k yet? 9200 Memory arrived yesterday and I'm currently crunching it at 8200 (it passed 8000). I'll keep climbing by +200mhz each test cycle to see where it lands before I switch over to G4 for the final verdict "is it the CPU or motherboard?" If you're reading this and quietly thinking "I thought you got 9600 sticks?" The seller only had one set on hand but had listed two. Luckily, he had even one set so at least @win32asmguy was able to get a set! He apologized profusely (I'm a firm believer in snafus happen), so it was all good but he offered me a set of 9200 Corsair sticks at a steep discount (less than half the price MSRP) so these will more than do the trick for my needs since you need unicorn gear to hit G2 9200 anyhow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Testing these Kingbank vs TG sticks earlier, and the King sticks are definitely better. Could be the TG 8200 sticks are from 2024 and the KB 8400 sticks from 2025 but they can run at tighter timings at 8000 so far vs the TG sticks. Taking a timeout on them atm while I run the 9200 sticks through the ringer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The bad: Amazon refunded me for that PSU but I couldn't order/get a replacement at the same black friday pricing because of the whole UPS stolen / claim situation. I'll just stick with my $80 Coolmaster SFX 850w PSU for now......

Isn't it infuriating when the bias is clear in these videos for CPU comparisons? Either run default vs default EXPO vs XMP based on actual AMD/Intel speeds or take the time to properly test and OC each platform with similar levels of overclocking. I'm fine either way, but be consistent. The problem is 99% of viewers won't go over the fine print or even care. They run right to the results and move along. One reason I still watch FrameChasers and especially BlackBirdTech is they push max tuning on each so you can actually see the end product if both are OC'd within reason to gather some data for your own analysis.

Unfortunately my "local" MC (local = 70min drive) never had them in stock even at the $399.99 price quoted before. 😞 They do have the Z890 Maximus for $399.99 but....eh..... I'm hoping this $176 Stix-A with all the subsequent BIOS updates will get 'er done. I'll make sure to drop down to G4 just in case it fails in G2 to remove the 265k from the equation if the first stab at G2 fails. Dream scenario is these 9200 sticks and the strix can do 8600-9000 so I can focus on the CPU and a few potential 265k binning or 270k/290k binning. If the Strix-A is the problem it will be sent back and I'll have to pick up something a bit stronger.... Sheesh, that took forever but glad it arrived safe and sound. Let us know how it goes.

With the most recent updates, I did finally switch over to 8000 on AM5 for my main rig. I plan on dialing in both the TG 8200 and KB 8400 sticks and seeing which pair reigns supreme at 8000. I am thinking so far with the TG on AM5 and KB on the 265k atm the KB sticks are going to be the best at 8000 but I won't know till I flip flop them. BBT did a nice comparison a bit ago about which was better (8000 vs 6000 vs 6400) and while it isn't mind boggling in its victory, 8000 now comes out ahead on AM5: ------------------------------------------------------------- Speaking of pushing speeds, Amazon has the MSI Z890 Unify brand new for $399.99. While BIOS updates have probably helped many of the upper tier boards since being tested (IE Taichi, Elite, Maximus), HUB did find the Unify had no problems running and passing 8800 while the Z890 Strix-A failed. E and F did pass though. Unify is a 2 dimmer too. I have till Jan 31st to return the Strix. When my new 9200 sticks arrive, I'll be putting the Strix to task asap. Sheer amount of boards that couldn't pass 8800 is pretty massive..... --------------------------------------------------------- This. Test hardware yourself. I call it "the itch" and 99.99% of the time, I end up scratching it then comparing my results against various 'tubers and other results to quantify and qualify my findings (and to dismiss many influencers)

What was the first video? It has been removed by the uploader..... Who whudda thunk it? @Mr. Fox has run into a board that is TOO OC focused for his tastes 🤣

At least UPS now adopts the photographic evidence chain of delivery as an added, extra step but still that is insane. After a few delivery hiccups with Best Buy, I only do in store pickup for most items and depending on value, I crack it open right then and there before walking out the door. I did find once I installed very noticeable and visible cameras to my front door, deliveries were much better and packages placed properly. I then noticed deliveries suddenly shifted quite frequently to my side door so I installed a camera there too. 😁 Fraud and unethical buyers are so rampant now that those of us who abide by the law have to fight an uphill battle. I guess the one saving grace is it never made it out for "delivery" but was torn apart and taken (I suspect my package was not the only one), at the local distribution center.

Ugh, tis the season for people thieving...... fa-la-la-la-la.....la-la-la-la..... Package clearly made it to the local UPS Facility where someone decided to gift themselves with a nice, nifty Corsair SF1000 SFX PSU.... %()%)%$_+$ thieves......

TechSource picked up a Matrix 5090 and it can't memory OC past +275 for some reason while his Astral hits +650 no problem but I am wondering why neither of them can go full tilt memory OC in AB? (Timestamped at memory OC fail point). Couldn't offset at stock as much as the Astral, but that makes sense considering native boost and still landed ~60mhz higher in Heaven bench run and scored higher overall. OC wise it was better at stock voltage, but quite frankly neither one of these cards is worth the scratch IMHO. I loved my Astral for many reasons, but ($3359.99) ~$3400 after tax and BB rewards just didn't sit right. To pick up an open box Vanguard 3 months later for ($1971) ~$2100 when all was said and done after tax with MC discounts and be a much better sample really has altered my expectations going forward with the 6090 whenever it drops. I'll patiently wait and/or take a 6090 for a 60 day spin in the interim during the return window via BB if required like this last cycle ended up being for myself. We all know those 6090s (especially if AI is still here) are going to be min $2299.99 if not higher. I know from personal experience and talking to others, being over qualified is a red flag because most companies assume the job you're willing to take is most likely a stepping stone and as soon as you're afforded, you will move to a better paying position reflective of your skill set / resume. Not that everyone isn't always looking to advance their careers, but those who are over qualified tend to do it more often. The market also continues to tread downward and I expect more layoffs and contraction over the next few years. @tps3443 in current market conditions, depending on what you actually do and its overall market viability/demand, holding tight is the best option atm especially with a young family and a new house but always keep your ear to the ground too.....quietly. I can name several friends and family that were a little vocal/forward facing about looking for another job and their current employer, ah, expedited their job search in the worse way by letting them go.

Yeah, that's the thing. Those timings are trash still, BUT even with them the 265k has better overall 1% and .1%. First thing I did was think, "tuned properly, how much even better will the lows be?" Clearly a base X3D owner and that's ok but you have to give equal love. As for Voltages and 5090, more fuel for the higher voltage fire being a factor: I think that with the release more of the Matrix vBIOS than the XOC, we're really seeing even air cooled cards pulling ahead with higher voltage from factory. The argument that lower voltage cards are more efficient while higher voltage cards have more OC capability has merit. Between @Mr. Fox , @tps3443 and @Raiderman, you're in good hands @Reciever!

In regards to voltages and 5090s, in the same vein as I was asking awhile ago here about subjecting naturally lower voltage cards to forced, higher voltages via EVC2 or now with the XOC. There is a reason cards are coming off the fab binned at various voltages and qualities: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9800X3D vs 265k at all thee resolutions (1080p, 1440p, 2160p) Pay particular attention to the 1% and .1% across all the results: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is there a review out on this stuff comparing it to other pastes along with other LMs and PTM?

That's fair 🤣 Hopefully it isn't a problematic issue with the PSU design itself but just a faulty model. I wouldn't put it past MSI to issue a newer revision addressing an older problem and replacing them as reported. Intel is actually doing very well on the mobile front. Much more efficient than AMD and quieter. Four AMD laptops I've had pass my way from an iGPU only model to the Raider 7955HX3D variant just had insane fan noise overall because of how the chips operated in laptop form. Desktop continues to get a bad rap and unfairly so at this point IMHO. Until Intel solves their thermal issues, e-cores are here to say. On the upside, each iteration of e-cores get more and more powerful. The jump from Raptor to Arrow was pretty decent. I wouldn't be adverse to the 5090 remaining top dog till 2027. Really get that ROI before we eventually sell them off hopefully like last time and recoup every cent and even make a little on the top. I can see staying put as is at the moment. You put a lot of work into that rig and it is big and beautiful. If it is gaming like a monster at 4k (ditto), keep riding it! Next fall Panther should be a monster along with AM6. One reason I'm trying (emphasize the word "trying") to keep Arrowlake cheap but I know me sooo...... I'll obviously hold onto the 9600 sticks to carry over to whatever drops next.... Did you hold onto any of your DDR5 kits from before or did you sell off everything?

Re: Crocs..... NO. 😆 (Mic Drop!) The fact Micron is shelving an entire brand to focus on the AI market is frightening....the market is truly going to be horrific for consumers next year. AI everywhere is consuming everything at a voracious rate. On the other hand, I can't wait to see it become sentient......again (We all know this has had to have happened before somewhere in the great cosmos) One thing I did with the 4090 and will do with the 5090 is just leave my pigtails attached at all times. Even when I moved the 4090 between systems for testing, I left it connected and just connected up the 4x PCIE cables. One of the benefits of the pigtails....I guess? Yep, looks like 4090 cycle all over again but a 2.5yr+ life cycle is a long time. Imagine no new cards till Fall 2027 except for a Super refresh.....*yawn* We will see, but I wanted to also have some G4 fun and see how far that will go. I basically wanted the best of both worlds to eventually push 9200+ G4 for funsies as I will end up binning some samples along the way over the next several months as time allows. I want to remove RAM as a potential bottleneck in that equation and also be settled in for Panther Lake potentially next year. I will eventually probably end up switching motherboards down the road too depending on how this all goes. Those V-color 9600 sticks will effectively remove a bit of this noise for now and remove a variable right out of the gate letting me focus on motherboards and cpus. I also need those extra KingBank sticks for my daughter's AM5 system buildout in progress. Yeah, I'm definitely going to hold onto the 16 Pro Max as long as possible till a member needs an upgrade. Sheesh, 2TB model? Really? That's crazy storage! You should come back and run Ultra or AM5 bro! Something new and different. 🙂 Come down the rabbit hole with us! 🤑 With no new hardware on the horizon, it's time to play and tweak either AM5 or Ultra which will undoubtedly be faster than your current setup for gaming as a bonus and harness that 5090 even more. Yep, G4 is just for bandwidth testing/funsies. The idea is to push 8600+ tuned to the bones in G2 and play with G4 at 9000+. With the 9600 sticks you have the potential ability to do both and remove any binning issues from the equation pushing lower spec'd DDR5 modules on the hopes they can push higher. It really lets you focus on the MB/CPU combo. For your setup already having been pre-tested by @Talon, luckily you know exactly at a minimum what it can do no problem so you should be able to come right out of the gate initially tuned on the CPU and memory pushing 8600 tuned right out of the block and go from there. It really is coming to you ready to rock and roll in the best way. On my end, I get to FAFO with lower tier hardware (Z890 Strix-A + 265k) right out of the gate and a bunch of unknowns. On my end atm, it is the KingBank sticks holding me back as they passed 8000 and 8200 no problem but borked out at 8400 in less than 3 minutes on TestMem5 at 1.5v. I pushed them to 1.55v as an IMC test and they lasted almost an hour in TM5 before borking instead. I put a fan on them to cool them down while running and they made it through the 90 min run at 1.55v. With or without the fan, 1.50v and they borked out in less than 5 minutes at 8400. My TG 8200 sticks only require 1.45v so hopefully they have a little more room to play with and slightly better heatsinks (KingBank for the price then have exceptionally nice Heatsinks on them). My hope is the 9600 sticks will remove a lot of this redlining potential or need of a fan or better heatsinks and simply run as is tuned at 8600+ G2 and get some benching fun in at G4 9000+ if not with the 265k now then some other chips to bin over the next few months.

Microcenter 9070xt return story and some nice information on GPU checking and return procedures: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So all is well that ends well. Made the trip back up to MC St Davids to return that 9070xt and found out a few things. I had asked how a defective / non working card had slipped out for sale and how two more open box Challengers showed up for sale the next day. The rockin' tech assist associate let me know exactly how everything works. The one I bought had been shipped to their main return hub in Ohio from another store as a return then redistributed to the St David's store which means they do send out refurbs/returns that are supposed to work and seed them to stores to resell. You can tell if it is a main hub open box/refurb item (any item) with the green sticker on the side along with a marking. Sales associate pointed it out to me. If the card is returned as defective/not working and verified as such, the card gets marked down as defective and sent to ohio. Ohio then contacts the main companies for replacements/repairs. If they get back a new card in return, it goes back in new stock. If they get a refurb, it goes in as a refurb. Either way, they are then seeded back out to the various MC branches. What this means is you will never return an open box item that won't eventually be sent back to Ohio main returns and then reseeded to various MC stores. As such, there is near zero chance for you to return an item in the hopes of repurchasing it as an open box status. The problem with mine is it wasn't marked "defective" when returned (original new buyer probably just thought it was incompatible) but even then the main hub is supposed to check all cards for working status before shipping out open box / refurbs. Probably Amazon Renewed/warehouse magic where it is assumed it is working and just a return and they didn't check it at all. The receiving MC does not check the working status of open box / refurb items received since they are supposed to have been checked by Ohio main. On the other hand, the original store that took the return was SUPPOSED to check it before sending it to Ohio either way and they failed to do that. St. Davids immediately checked it even when I said, "it is dead. Get ready to see your VGA diagnostic light fire up white" A few seconds later after plugging it in I heard the tech chuckle and go, "yup, there's the VGA fail light in all its glory." 🤣 Refund immediately issued. It wasn't St David's fault but the original store who took the return and failed to plug it in and check it and Ohio mains for not checking it too. I did ask if for open box purchases can the customer request a quick check to make sure it at least posts and he said sure. I will keep that in mind next time. Thanks for attending my Ted Talk.....

I even convinced myself, "Just keep it budget!" and literally the first memory wall I ran up against I just went, "Nope, have to make sure memory is never the issue," and went memory hunting all morning local (+150 miles) and online still I found those somewhat decently priced 9600 sticks to rule out memory being the issue. That is my final form objective to finely tuned G2 8600 or 8800 while testing upper limits even in G4 (gross) just for testing purposes. This is how the rabbit hole starts....everytime....for me. 🤣 I haven't checked yet. I usually shoot right to IMC/memory checking and since the Strix-A is rated up to 9066, that and the 9600 sticks will let me comfortably focus on memory but after this initial dial in period (Right now, 8200 is coming down the home stretch comfortable so I'm thinking it is the sticks at this point but I'll be adjusting IMC/VCCSA next), I'll move to CPU OC. It is a 265k, so I'm not holding my breath.... Do you think you'll be able to dial it in for D2D use or will it be relegated to benching only and just use the stock Astral LC vbios? At least fans work so that's a plus! Nice snag! I think we've all wrecked hardware over the years. I know I have in this crazy pursuit. Yeah, picking up used 13th/14th gen CPUs is a crapshoot especially if they have been run before newer bios that add in voltage protections. See if he can get Intel to replace it first. lol, no I'm sticking with my 16 pro max for at least another year. I tend to only upgrade when someone on the family plan ages out of iOS updates and the phones trickle down. Last year my wife finally aged out with her X, so she got my 14 pro max and I picked up a 16 pro max. My kids are on 11 pro and 11 pro max and I'm not sure if they'll make the cut next year so I might be upgrading to a 18 pro max but we'll see.....I'm sure my duaghter won't tolerate not being able to upgrade her iOS so that would be at least one. What are you running now? It will remove memory sticks from the equation basically especially with that Apex and 285k and knowing how high @Talon was able to run it with his 9600 sticks in G2. Tuned 8600 is a massive uplift over 6400. That doesn't bode well (on top of already bad market conditions at least in the US) for 5090 prices and availability. Plus with the market going bonkers, 2026 will be an interesting year. At this rate, new 6000 GPUs from Nvidia definitely aren't launching till 2027 along with AMD. Might as well settle in for another year+ of 5090 dominance...... Are there similar reports on the Phantom 1600w? Newegg has the Phantom for $199.99. I have the MSI AI1300 but never had designs on using that with the 5090 but instead the Nitro+ for my daughter's buildout 2.0. I also have a spare EVGA P2 850w I could use. I was thinking of replacing my EVGA P2 1600w w/ the Asrock 1600w Phantom for the native 12v2x6 connectors when my Wireview Pro 2 arrives and it seems to holding it down over on the OCN forums for some serious benching.

So I ended up snagging a pair of V-Color 9600 2x24GB DDR5 off of eBay new from a seller I've dealt with before In today's market conditions, couldn't beat the price of $489.99 plus I had two coupons for eBay (basically, "you haven't shopped us in a long time!" coupons) for $15 off and $10 off respectively. I was able to use both of them knocking it down to $464.99 for a total of $495.80 shipped and with ebay rewards, that knocks another $15 off of it making it $480.92 to my door. Am I doing backflips? No, but much better than those G.Skill sticks that would have been $650.40 to my door.....still..... This is *exactly* why I try to avoid new platforms because once I start it gets ugly real fast. 🤣 Remember 11th gen? I was just going to pick up a 11700k and the cheapest Z590 board and use my dirt cheap DDR4 sticks to "give it a whirl." Within 4 months, it is several 11900k's binned, Asus Z590 board and EVGA Z590 along with multiple kits of DDR4.... I'd like to say I won't end up binning some 285k/290k chips, but that would be most likely a big ole fib....🤣

Yeah, I knew it had to happen sooner than later. My streak of open box "wins" was was over a year. Last bad one was the Crosshair x670e with bad fan ports that went back to Amazon. The 2+ hrs drive there and back and annoyance of not being able to just drop it off for shipping is always the bummer. I didn't even know you had a 14900KS just gathering dust! Definitely set that back up in the here and now. The memory prices are just bonkers atm. I entertained the thought of maybe getting some 8800 or 9000 CUDIMMS and saw the price and went back to tuning these 8400 sticks.... DDR4 prices also are on the rise so you can definitely recoup some money but overall it is definitely not a builders market atm... So he was using a cable mod 4->1 adapter that was originally certified for the 4000 series and it burned at the PSU end of the equation.....CM strikes again? Either way, seeing that fast turn around time with EVGA just makes me miss them more and more each day. For a hot second, I thought MSI was going to step up but they didn't. Asus regressed a bit, and rumors of KP going to PNY had us all excited too but that seems to have fizzled out and now he's all wrapped up in e-bikes. Outside of the dips, X3D still brings the heat overall but again BBT is reiterating the point of Ultra at 4k being the best: Since our vacation plans went up in smoke due to health reasons, I haven't really had a chance to stretch the legs on my Alienware 18. I'll have to just settle in one night and meaningfully play and see how it feels for raids, Dorongal and PvP. Looks like the Precursor to Panther Lake desktop coming next year with their own X3D cache they're calling BLLC. You also have AMD finally vastly improving their fabric latency / connectivity issues on their next gen chips and rumors of slapping X3D on both CCDs. 9850X3D is all but confirmed to launch soon and it's basically a binned 9800X3D running at 5.6 right out of the box vs 5.2. AMD is entering Intel KS territory with that one... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So far, I'm initially tuned at 8000 on the Ultra. Errors out at 8400 on these KingBank 8400 sticks. I notice their default voltage is 1.50v vs TG 8200 1.45v Checking 8200 now. on the Kingbanks... I'll end up swapping in the TG sticks to double check if 8200 fails before I then start to hunker down to tighten things up..... Actually had to fight the urge to pick up these 9600 sticks for $609 from Newegg to remove memory from the equation since the board is rated up to 9066 and see where this budget rig would go but paying over 50% more than I paid for them together? o.O Stupid itch....

Well....you live by the open box gamble sword and die by the open box gamble sword and I finally crapped out for the first time in quite a while.... Amazon Asus Z890 Strix-A MB which was listed as "used, acceptable" was basically brand new and still had the original 503 launch BIOS on it but I did see a few thermal smudges, so I know somewhere, somehow someone tried to use it and probably got frustrated and sent it back where it sat on a shelf most likely for the last year+ Microcenter open box 265k is an SP77 and runs crazy cool even benching on an air cooler on top of the Asus box for now using an ID-Cooling Frozn A410 before it ends up in final boss form. Bonus? It qualified for the Intel game giveaway which Microcenter attached to the receipt. I'll spend the next week tuning it up and then give it a whirl with what will initially most likely be that Nitro+ at this point because..... Microcenter Asrock Challenger 9070xt was DOA right out of the box. Wouldn't boot on my Aorus B650i Ultra but it has no diagnostic lights so I used that as a reason to quickly assemble the 265k and popped the sticks out and got it up and running and tried it in there and the VGA bad light lit right up. As a final check, I popped it into the wife's system which has been running a 9070xt already no problems a few minutes ago and yep, VGA led light lit right up too. You would think they would check all their open box items before letting them go out the door. Lord knows they check 5090s but I guess 9070xt's don't get the same treatment. MC is over an hour away gas + $6 bridge toll and now I get to make that wonderful trip back to return it. They sent me a survey and you know I ripped them apart for several reasons on the survey they failed to pass. We were in there for well over an hour. Not one person asked us if we needed help but plenty were standing around. 18 min checkout turned into almost an hour and for some reason they took my license in the back and I don't know why..... That didn't happen before. Before the testing with TG contact frame installed: Wife's system giving me the final third strike "You suck Bro! Back to MC you go!" VGA diagnostic fail on the Challenger 9070xt. 😞 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12900k was a beast. 14900ks in WoW end game form (59/45/50) on the wife's system is beastly too but even it can't handle the load on Dorongal when heavily populated and fps dip down and utilization drops quick even on her 9070xt at 1440p ultra settings rt high. I'll have to watch her raid next time to see how it's performing comparatively with all the new driver and WoW updates that have drastically increased 9070xt performance in WoW from launch where it didn't work at all meaningfully to working very well to now routinely capping out her fps even in Tazevesh 1440p Ultra/RT 165hz display. Ouch, I'm kicking myself for not picking up a few more of those..... memory wise even your 12900ks probably has more in the tank as my launch 12900k towards the end when tested on some 8000 sticks on an Asrock Z790i Lightning gave up the ghost at 7200. To really get Ultra to shine, you're probably going to need much faster memory at least 8000 but with current pricing? Ugh... How are the temps on your laptops when gaming at those settings? What specs? Some might be Acer is stupidly conservative with their hardware and BIOSes. This has been true for years now. They lock things down well under spec and really limit you in BIOS settings too. It's annoying. Dell and Asus give you a little bit more control and MSI is next followed by Prema enabled laptops. Glad to see you back in the forums bro! Hopefully the break was nice but hardware wise we're in that lull period atm.... I can understand that logic wanting the top dog of a current generation. There's always that irrational fear of Nvidia introducing a 5090ti if the market had a sudden downturn but they have no competition at the top so that most likely will not happen. I think you will be pleased with the 9070xt. Red Devil is one of the top rated models for 9070xt's along with the Nitro+ and Taichi but uses traditional pcie connectors so that's a plus. I know on my wife's system performance at 1440p is excellent for WoW running full tilt and she'll be using that card for years to come (or at least towards the end of its 3yr warranty then maybe move on). I was going to either pick up a 9950X3D or an Epyc like @Mr. Fox, but decided the experimental Ultra adventures first. Luckily, CPU prices are stagnant and within the holiday window you always have the option of returning the 9950X3D if it isn't a good fit. Yeah, no way they're squeezing in that 600w+ fire breather in a laptop! Things are much closer on the lower end but by the time you hit 5070ti laptop vs 5070ti desktop it starts to get brutal and from there it's lights out especially at the 5090 level: 5070ti laptop vs desktop: