electrosoft

We're getting to that point. Gigabyte 4090 in stock for over 2hrs and counting at Newegg: https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-geforce-rtx-4090-gv-n4090gaming-oc-24gd/p/N82E16814932550?Item=N82E16814932550 All you had to do was just wait less than 3 months to get MSRP.....

I'd expect a 13980HX + 4090 model to cost close to or over 4k.

lol, I had no choice but to go with a bigger case when I got my original KPE 3090 back in Jan 2021. Thing was too big to fit in my Corsair 540. 🙂 My AC LF II 420 is on the recall list. I just haven't gotten around to getting in there and swapping it out to send in. I get that itch to see and test myself and sometimes I just end up ordering the item myself to see first hand and use it in my environment. I'm seeing insane frame drops in the actual Dragon Isles with RT on vs off. Literally halved from ~140 (frame capped) down to ~73 in some areas with the 7900xtx as Dragon Isles uses much more RT than the last Xpac and it shows when enabled/disabled. The 3080 10GB would sit at ~100fps then drop down to ~70fps. I haven't even gotten to level 70 and raid content where reports say the uplifted RT hits even harder. I'm not seeing a scenario where the 7900xtx is going to be be WoW Dragonflight card especially when the 3080 10GB is on par fps wise with RT enabled. AMD will most likely go through an Intel level driver uplift later when the Newest driver before the last specifically addressed World of Warcraft and the performance uplift was substantial even with RT enabled. It turned the A380 into a full 1080p proper card and the A770 into a full on proper 1440p card. Unlike Shadowlands, when you toggle RT off and on you can immediately see the difference in the environment now not just pockets here and there and spell effects when casting. My MSI Suprim X Liquid 4090 will be here tomorrow. I plan on tearing down the entire case, putting the contact frame finally on my Strix Z690, give it a righteous cleaning and probably swap in my EVGA CLC 360 so I can send back the AF LC II for a new swap. I plan on doing some CPU utilization testing next with fixed clocks from 4.8 -> 5.3 with my 12900k to see if the uplift is meaningful with the 4090 at 4k and warrants considering a 13900KS. They can let them trickle all they want and create a false sense of scarcity. Eventually buyers will buy when ready and the trick is to just not buy from Scalpers and you will eventually get your card. It was the same process as during the Cryptodemic but not nearly as painful as there is an exhaustion point for high levels of demand this time around along with other factors. If someone has the means and wants a card NOW and wants to pay inflated scalper prices that's their choice (and throwing away extra money to a scalper), but patience will get you your card at MSRP and depending on make/model maybe even below MSRP (See: 7900XT). Nice! I'm sure @Rage Set will give it a whirl too. 🙂

Yeah, they offered K5 Pro and it was on there but once it started to fail and I got in there and took a look it was a weird stiffened like mess with oils clearly separating. I re-iterated when they do the GPU replacement to please use standard thermal pads. I hope they clean it up off the VRMs too and everywhere else because it is not pretty. I spent a lot of time when I got it tracking down tons of errant liquid metal from their initial sale setup that had gotten loose. When Terreos (I was going to tag him but it seems he deleted his account here) sent it in for a repair they switched to stock thermal paste but left K5 as the thermal solution everywhere. I have no experience with K5 Pro except in this scenario but after seeing its instability and the way it pumps out and moves too much, I would not recommend it as a thermal solution except for places where normal thermal pads would not work. As for DDR4 SODIMMS, Across numerous brands and modules, Vmem 1.35 + 22-22-22 or 20-20-20 and stock terts have yet to fail me for initial testing thank goodness. Nope, I tested them extensively because I really wanted the 2x16GB kit to win but it didn't in game both highs and .01 and 1 % lows. These Corsair sticks I was able to dial in primary and secondary timings B-die style on desktops which was nice. Ballistix sticks are still really nice though. Once I get time to dig back into my X170KM-G and unlock the BIOS to the point of XMP timings access I plan on retesting the Corsair sticks in there along with the Corsair 2x32GB 3200 sticks in there now which are also Samsung modules. I thought it was 4x16GB but it is 2x32GB instead.

I used to have both the 2x8 and 2x16 version of those Ballistix sticks but I ended up sticking with 2x8GB from the Corsair kit since they could handle extreme primary and secondary tuning the Ballistix sticks could not and produced better benchmarks and fps even in single rank formation but if I didn't have the Corsair sticks I would have definitely stuck with those. If your machine has XMP access, the Ballistix sticks are a worthy set (2x16GB).

It is nearly impossible to get humans to not be greedy when that is how we've been programmed to be for quite some time especially in this capitalistic existence we currently inhabit. As for 4090's.... With the way cards are trickling in today, best bet is to refresh a 4090 focused page and move fast. If you're focused on a particular brand, just select those specifically. I know I picked MSI and Asus as there were no other makers I would contemplate to keep the list short and sweet but if you're open to any brand, your options do open up. https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?N=4841 100007709&d=rtx+4090&isdeptsrh=1&Order=1

I will say Scalpers aren't as all over them as much as during launch and real buyers are getting in on the action. Unlike before where they lasted a few seconds they now last minutes.... .....progress. 🙂

You and I have long known that diminishing returns is the name of the game for top end hardware but still went for it anyhow. The problem now is the top end hardware is insanely expensive and there is a clear and present danger of AMD and Nvidia trying to shift up the MSRP on the lower tiers. Even motherboard prices have exploded in the last 3-4 years in the mid tier range along with top end prices going through the roof. With so many motherboard makers I do wish everything would shift back down at least a bit. I remember thinking $500 was outlandish for a motherboard but clearly I was conservative in my estimations a few years back as prices have continued to track up and even now EVGA's top end boards are $800. With so many makers and variety all centered around the same chipset though you get some breathing room. Whether it is a $250 or $1000 board, it is still using Z790/X670E and many boards overclock just as well or close enough to the top end that outside of exotic cooling, it will be your chip that reaches its limits not the motherboard (See Gigabyte $250-300 X670E / MSI Z790 Pro boards which rock for OC). GPUs? Unfortunately Nvidia simply controls the narrative and even AIBs are in a bind pricing and custom design wise there is only so much they can do because Nvidia is a control freak. Toss in insane pricing and here we are. The biggest disappointment to me still is AMD. Always the perpetual underdog and pricing king keeping Intel and Nvidia somewhat honest. The first moment they bring to market real competitive products they promptly mark their pricing upwards too both CPU and GPU to try to extract maximum value versus lower profit margins and go for real marketshare gains. They then basically stretch the truth in their marketing too on top of it. I guess they figure if Nvidia and Intel can do it why can't they? It's amazing to think we're quickly approaching the one year anniversary of these forums. I am so glad and thankful they exist and work so well and took up the mantle of the old NBR forums quite nicely. It is still a pleasant surprise when you see old NBR members discover these forums and announce their arrival. We still have a few mom and pop shops holding on. Our biggest one tried to branch off into business sales and support and sacrificed their "mom and pop" audience and closed up shop a few years ago. Problem is I've found personally is that by the time a customer/client gets to me it is out of general disgust from having tried to get their PC fixed by Best Buy / Staples and then not having it done properly if at all along with the costs. Word of mouth usually leads them to my inbox. I also do a lot of builds and support for family, friends and guildies. It's very small and moreso because I enjoy it not for profitability nor would I ever want to open up a storefront for the extra overhead and responsibility. Zotac 4090 in stock at Newegg as I finish this up: ZOTAC AMP Extreme AIRO GeForce RTX 4090 Video Card ZT-D40900B-10P - Newegg.com

They need to make a @Papusan CROC edition! 😅🤣😂

Newegg has had the Gigabyte 4090 drifting in and out of stock today: https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-geforce-rtx-4090-gv-n4090gaming-oc-24gd/p/N82E16814932550?Item=N82E16814932550 MSI has one model of their 4090 in stock on their website the $1699.99 Gaming X Trio https://us-store.msi.com/Graphics-Cards/NVIDIA-GPU/GeForce-RTX-40-Series/4090-Z790-CARBON-WIFI-Gaming-Kit-s360?sort=p.price&order=ASC Looks like they're forcing a bundle purchase (MB and AIO) to get it.....ewww.

Give it a Timespy and Cinebench R23 run and see how it stacks up.

Then it could very likely be the sticks. Only way to tell is to grab a pair of 3200 sticks for comparison at this point as you've done everything possible including throwing what is a sane amount of Vmem at it along with loosening up your timings to scale frequency. One good thing about these Corsair 3800 sticks. You know they're not the limiter. It let me D2D scale my P870TM1 to 3466 while also realizing my X170SM was tapping out at 3200.

Congrats, that's a solid card and one of my favorites. I'm a sucker for Sapphire's Nitro line up. So what's the total system specs going to be?

If ~$600 is your limit start looking through 6900xt's you want and look for sellers that allow best offers and send them $600 offers. I'm sure one will sell. You can also message new listings too and offer ~$600.

Yeah I was definitely referring to the X670E. Only B series I've used was a Gigabyte on my brother's mATX build (B550 w/ 5600x) he is still using. I keep looking at this XFX 7900XTX in my case atm and it is a great sample all around and I am fighting hard to not do a complete X3D buildout but I feel like I'm losing the battle. 🤣

EVGA Z790 Dark Unboxing video. Available now on EVGA for $800. EVGA Z790 Dark hitting 9200 on DDR5:

Not really in the here and now but if you plan on keeping this build for 2-5yrs it will be in the future. If this is a long term build, I'd go with the Carbon. I was looking at MSI boards just yesterday contemplating keeping this XFX 7900XTX and doing a 7800X3D build out along the lines of having an A770 build for Intel (the wife uses it) to go along with my Nvidia build.

Well in their defense it is an aftermarket design not the reference model but now you can get a better model for the same price! 🙂 So yeah...kinda. Throw in a 10% off code on top of it and get it for $810.00 if you are US based too.

Fn+D on power on should technically reset the CMOS/BIOS but sometimes you will need to remove the CMOS and battery. When doing memory tuning I tend to remove both as I know I'm going to be doing a lot of note taking and experience a lot of blank screens requiring a reset. Then all you have to do is unplug the power cable(s) to auto reset the unit. Did you loosen up the timings too? It can definitely be the kit just can't go any higher than 2667 but make sure to relax your timings and set your Vmem to ~1.35 at least.

Such a monstrous beauty. If you're into raw performance and big screens, this will effectively kill off every last true "DTR" Clevo model out there in every aspect (except noise maybe) as the 4090 mobile model represents the first major leap in performance in quite a while since Turing. That i9-13980HX is going to be a wrecking ball for multi.

Serious price cut to the Merc 7900xt to $899.99 from $999.99 and $20 on reference model less than a month into launch on BB. This will eventually trickle upward to the 4070ti and 4080 unless Jensen just doesn't care and will be hard headed with his pricing. It isn't as if the 4070ti isn't a decent gaming card....just overpriced: Followed up with just overall a whole bunch of "meh" if you have a 3080 or greater card.....

That's how I run my Corsair 3800 SODIMMS DDR4 in my X170SM-G at 14-14-14 with tightened terts too.

More affirmation.... If you have a 3090 or 3090ti, the 4080 is a non starter (along with the 7900xtx).... 4090 or nothing....

If that's Prema, you should be able to just go right in and adjust the custom timings and frequencies to your liking. Standard bin scaling till it tops out (expect 3200, hope for more). Set Vmem to ~1.45v just for some headroom while scaling and loosen those timings to 22-22-22 so you can see how far the memory and system board will go frequency wise. @Clamibot approach works too but I just like to front load the Vmem and take it out of the equation and scale that way and once I find out how much it can scale (frequency/timings) I then start to dial in the best Vmem.

Every CPU has variances in regards to how much power they require and how hot they run. Heat output variances is a byproduct of power requirements it pulls at a given frequency. Some chips can handle a better undervolt than others and as a result run cooler. Some chips just run hotter at the same power requirements as other chips. You want to find a good sample that isn't power hungry, can handle a decent undervolt to reduce power consumption even more and runs as cool as possible given the cooling constraints of the X170SM-G. I think somewhere in this thread I have a post testing at least 4-5 10900k's and showing how they can greatly vary in regards to power and heat.