*Official Benchmark Thread* - Post it here or it didn't happen :D

[electrosoft]

14 hours ago, Mr. Fox said:

I wonder how many that had melted connectors were installed in challenging situations where space was abnormally limited and smart cable management was either very difficult or even impossible.  We never know the entire story behind the photos and YouTube videos. User error includes choosing to install the GPU in an environment where its survival is unlikely.

 

The examples of Radeon GPUs with melted connectors really dispel the notion that it was due to excessive load because those GPUs are incapable of drawing more power than the cables and connectors can handle.

 

There is definitely some user error in the equation along with inherent balancing issues. Luckily with something like the WireView Pro II we now have a proper tool just in case to monitor balancing AND it can handle higher loads along with a serious warranty.

 

Once shipped, it definitely dims the light on the Astral a bit.

 

1 hour ago, Papusan said:

Only God knows how many cards being RMA due the fragile 12VHPWR connector/cable. I expect what we see from different forums is just the tip of the iceberg. And not all post on reddit either as you can see. And neither do you need to have 5090 to melt the tiny trash

 

They all sucks. Doesn't matter if its Nvidia tech or from AMD's gaming team

 

What did MSI do right with its cable management design?

 

 

 

 

 

AMD made a major mistake and damage control is in overdrive.

 

The sad part is if the tech media and users hadn't responded so negatively they would have continued with this business as usual.

 

They may change course but the destination is still set and that doesn't bode well.

 

Like Steve said in the video, "I said earlier this year don't %*%*% up AMD!" That's all they had to do. They had the momentum and actually sold way more 9070xt/9070 cards than expected and had their best sales ever in quite awhile then proceed to make dumb mistakes like this.

 

 

[electrosoft]

5090 Stock is severely drying up and base prices are up

 

These are all sold and shipped by vs BB and Egg having their "marketplace" BS. BB is new to the game but they need to have an option to tick "Sold and shipped by BB" as you have to now wade through everything to find which models are sold by them.

 

MC has 4 models in stock. Cheapest = $2999.99

Egg has 4 models in stock. Cheapest = $2849.99

BB has 3 models in stock. Cheapest = $2999.99

Amazon is all over the map as always. Cheapest = $2649.99 (Master)

 

I'm sure those Masters will sell out just like they did on BB. If anyone is in the market for a 5090 atm, sooner than later is at hand....

 

---

 

Memory prices are absolutely bonkers stupid right now. So glad I bought that backup set of Kingspec 8400 M die 2x24GB sticks in June on the recommendation of @Mr. Fox for $140. They're actually a hair better than my TG 2x24GB 8200 sticks I picked up in July 2024 for $278.99 which are now $329.99.....

 

The Patriot 8200 sticks I bought and returned because they couldn't even do 8000 without erroring out on TM5 were $189.99 and now are $274.99.

 

---------------------------------------

 

Just placed my order for the WireView Pro II. Only FedEx is available for S&H no DHL so this should be fun when it eventually ships.....

 

I'll switch my wiring up then to bottom run cable versus the top/over style I use now since the Vanguard uses the normal clip (non reverse) WV2

 

 

[Mr. Fox]

4 hours ago, electrosoft said:

5090 Stock is severely drying up and base prices are up

 

These are all sold and shipped by vs BB and Egg having their "marketplace" BS. BB is new to the game but they need to have an option to tick "Sold and shipped by BB" as you have to now wade through everything to find which models are sold by them.

 

MC has 4 models in stock. Cheapest = $2999.99

Egg has 4 models in stock. Cheapest = $2849.99

BB has 3 models in stock. Cheapest = $2999.99

Amazon is all over the map as always. Cheapest = $2649.99 (Master)

 

I'm sure those Masters will sell out just like they did on BB. If anyone is in the market for a 5090 atm, sooner than later is at hand....

 

---

 

Memory prices are absolutely bonkers stupid right now. So glad I bought that backup set of Kingspec 8400 M die 2x24GB sticks in June on the recommendation of @Mr. Fox for $140. They're actually a hair better than my TG 2x24GB 8200 sticks I picked up in July 2024 for $278.99 which are now $329.99.....

 

The Patriot 8200 sticks I bought and returned because they couldn't even do 8000 without erroring out on TM5 were $189.99 and now are $274.99.

 

---------------------------------------

 

Just placed my order for the WireView Pro II. Only FedEx is available for S&H no DHL so this should be fun when it eventually ships.....

 

I'll switch my wiring up then to bottom run cable versus the top/over style I use now since the Vanguard uses the normal clip (non reverse) WV2

 

 

I should just sell both of my monster computers locally for about $5K each and be done with PCs, LOL. None of these parts are worth buying at current prices.

 

It feels almost like part of the evil plan to make us all "own nothing and be happy" whether we like it or not.

@Raiderman had better snag a 5080 now and not wait for the "Super" version that will likely sell for 5090 prices, or maybe even more.

 

[Raiderman]

4 hours ago, electrosoft said:

5090 Stock is severely drying up and base prices are up

 

These are all sold and shipped by vs BB and Egg having their "marketplace" BS. BB is new to the game but they need to have an option to tick "Sold and shipped by BB" as you have to now wade through everything to find which models are sold by them.

 

MC has 4 models in stock. Cheapest = $2999.99

Egg has 4 models in stock. Cheapest = $2849.99

BB has 3 models in stock. Cheapest = $2999.99

Amazon is all over the map as always. Cheapest = $2649.99 (Master)

 

I'm sure those Masters will sell out just like they did on BB. If anyone is in the market for a 5090 atm, sooner than later is at hand....

 

---

 

Memory prices are absolutely bonkers stupid right now. So glad I bought that backup set of Kingspec 8400 M die 2x24GB sticks in June on the recommendation of @Mr. Fox for $140. They're actually a hair better than my TG 2x24GB 8200 sticks I picked up in July 2024 for $278.99 which are now $329.99.....

 

The Patriot 8200 sticks I bought and returned because they couldn't even do 8000 without erroring out on TM5 were $189.99 and now are $274.99.

 

---------------------------------------

 

Just placed my order for the WireView Pro II. Only FedEx is available for S&H no DHL so this should be fun when it eventually ships.....

 

I'll switch my wiring up then to bottom run cable versus the top/over style I use now since the Vanguard uses the normal clip (non reverse) WV2

 

 

I wont pay $2k for a gpu let alone those prices. Gpu+waterblock+thermal paste/pads. I have a 5080 in my cart, but I cannot seem to justify it. The 5080 is only marginally better than the 7900xtx.

[Papusan]

46 minutes ago, Raiderman said:

I wont pay $2k for a gpu let alone those prices. Gpu+waterblock+thermal paste/pads. I have a 5080 in my cart, but I cannot seem to justify it. The 5080 is only marginally better than the 7900xtx.

 

Then see if you can find an open box with 5080 for around $800-825. Not a penny above. Or even better like $750-775. That is closer to what it's worth.

[electrosoft]

4 hours ago, Mr. Fox said:

I should just sell both of my monster computers locally for about $5K each and be done with PCs, LOL. None of these parts are worth buying at current prices.

 

It feels almost like part of the evil plan to make us all "own nothing and be happy" whether we like it or not.

@Raiderman had better snag a 5080 now and not wait for the "Super" version that will likely sell for 5090 prices, or maybe even more.

 

 

LOL, that would be the sane move.

 

I think we should count our blessings we got in on the 5090s when prices were low.

 

Your Zotac Solid OC is out of stock everywhere and the cheapest price atm is $3279.99+ on Amazon. Even open box used is going for $2612....

 

New base price on Newegg when in stock is back up to $2899.99

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Raiderman said:

I wont pay $2k for a gpu let alone those prices. Gpu+waterblock+thermal paste/pads. I have a 5080 in my cart, but I cannot seem to justify it. The 5080 is only marginally better than the 7900xtx.

 

It is better but won't give you that massive upgrade uplift you like to experience true.

 

With black friday specials starting to activate earlier and earlier now, keep an eye out for a good 5080 sale which is bound to happen or do as @Papusan suggests and hunt down a used 5080 on the $750-850 range depending on model.

 

Which model(s) did you have in mind for the 5080?

 

[Raiderman]

7 minutes ago, electrosoft said:

 

LOL, that would be the sane move.

 

I think we should count our blessings we got in on the 5090s when prices were low.

 

Your Zotac Solid OC is out of stock everywhere and the cheapest price atm is $3279.99+ on Amazon. Even open box used is going for $2612....

 

New base price on Newegg when in stock is back up to $2899.99

 

 

 

 

 

It is better but won't give you that massive upgrade uplift you like to experience true.

 

With black friday specials starting to activate earlier and earlier now, keep an eye out for a good 5080 sale which is bound to happen or do as @Papusan suggests and hunt down a used 5080 on the $750-850 range depending on model.

 

Which model(s) did you have in mind for the 5080?

 

I was looking at the zotac solid core oc. $999, or the  zotac amp extreme $1199. Neither has me terribly excited. I've been contemplating waiting a bit longer to see what AMD has in the pipeline. Hoping that it would be comparable to the 4090.

[Mr. Fox]

31 minutes ago, Raiderman said:

I was looking at the zotac solid core oc. $999, or the  zotac amp extreme $1199. Neither has me terribly excited. I've been contemplating waiting a bit longer to see what AMD has in the pipeline. Hoping that it would be comparable to the 4090.

I doubt it will happen. It might, but I would not hold my breath. If it does it will probably be priced like a 4090 and have 100°C hotspot temps.

[Reciever]

On 11/1/2025 at 9:43 AM, Raiderman said:

Opinions!?

 

Zotac rtx 5080 solid oc w/ Alphacool water block....or

Msi suprim rtx 5080

Or none of the above?

 

Or hang on to my 7900xtx till next gen?

 

@Mr. Fox Did you have/test the Asrock X870E Taichi mb? I have a brand new one and was considering swapping it out with the Gigabyte Aorus elite x870E thats currently in my rig. What were your impressions of it?

 

 

Honestly I would just hang on to the 7900 XTX. Neither vendor has anything appealing for us without spending way too much money. I am waiting to see what next generation offerings look like, that being said I can play everything I want to play in terms of gaming at 3440x1440p. Perhaps Monster Hunter: Wilds is the only exception but that game runs like trash on anything right now.

 

On 11/2/2025 at 1:01 AM, Mr. Fox said:

You explanation piques my curiosity so I may have to investigate it. Even if it turns out I do not have a need for it, I am still curious. 

I would say at least 1300W. The Lian Li Edge seems like a solid and affordable option. I have one in my 4090 build. I have a Thermaltake GF3 1650W PSU in the 5090 build. I like both of them. The GF3 is hard to find. It has dual 12VHPWR sockets and like 6 PCIe 8-pin sockets in addition. 

---

I may have to drop down to 0.001 Ohm shunt resistors to bump my power limit. I backed off my core clock a bit and the scores went up. I ran the benchmark again with GPU-Z and HWiNFO64 running on my second monitor so I could watch and it is still showing power limit perf cap reason, so... hmmm. I'm pulling 1350W from the wall already. HWiNFO64 shows like 959W on GPU power rails. Apparently that's not enough. My core temp is still hitting 41°C with 9°C water, so that's not helping. I guess I am going to have to think about using liquid metal on the GPU. I don't want to, but 41°C is definitely not helping

 

 https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/144631382 | https://hwbot.org/benchmarks/3dmark_-_steel_nomad_dx12/submissions/5918232

 

I believe you can run a trial for 30 days, there are ways around that "limitation" but I never looked further into it. I used the trial for about that duration and bought a license. The license gives you access to its platform for life but updates for 1 year to the OS itself. You can pay for a lifetime update license of course, i'll probably be upgrading my license to lifetime updates. 

The only part that is a bit quirky at times is finding a flash drive to use which must have a UUID that it can tie the license too, then of course install the OS to it. Cant remember how I did mine but probably used Rufus.

[Mr. Fox]

4 hours ago, Reciever said:

Honestly I would just hang on to the 7900 XTX. Neither vendor has anything appealing for us without spending way too much money. I am waiting to see what next generation offerings look like, that being said I can play everything I want to play in terms of gaming at 3440x1440p. Perhaps Monster Hunter: Wilds is the only exception but that game runs like trash on anything right now.

As odd as it may seem, a game that is more demanding that one might imagine is Quake II RTX. The way that game has been modded and modernized not only looks insanely good with the new textures and ray tracing, it pulls an insane amount of power. With 5090 running stock (apart from the presence of my shunted resistors) HWiNO64 shows GPU rail powers is in the 800W range. Hard to believe a game that is so old could be so taxing on a GPU.

4 hours ago, Reciever said:

I believe you can run a trial for 30 days, there are ways around that "limitation" but I never looked further into it. I used the trial for about that duration and bought a license. The license gives you access to its platform for life but updates for 1 year to the OS itself. You can pay for a lifetime update license of course, i'll probably be upgrading my license to lifetime updates. 

The only part that is a bit quirky at times is finding a flash drive to use which must have a UUID that it can tie the license too, then of course install the OS to it. Cant remember how I did mine but probably used Rufus.

I cannot think of a scenario where I would find a practical use for it, but the curiosity is still there. I am always curious about stuff like this regardless of whether or not I would find it useful. I may check out the trial for that reason alone. I have always preferred local storage over network storage, but my activities on PC are such that network storage is not beneficial in practical application. I have a 1TB USB SSD connected to my router with music and movies on it that are accessible from any of my computers and televisions. Other than the initial testing to confirm functionality I have never accessed any of the files on it. The only files that I actually take care to avoid losing are applications that I have purchased and those that are still functional but no longer available (or difficult to find) for public download and I have those sitting in cloud storage for safe-keeping. My interest in Linux was always driven by curiosity. It has ramped up as my growing contempt for Micro$lop and disdain for Winduhz has peaked to unprecedented levels. I'm very happy that I did not have to start from a place of total unfamiliarity and ignorance as my desire to eliminate the use of it increases.

[Papusan]

 

+95% of all posted smoky power connectors is dual colored. Probably used cheapo nylon/plastic. When will they also start making low quality 12V-2*6 connectors with red tip?

 

Third Sapphire RX 9070 XT NITRO+ with blue-tipped 12V-2×6 adapter shows burn damage

 

[Mr. Fox]

3 hours ago, Papusan said:

 

+95% of all posted smoky power connectors is dual colored. Probably used cheapo nylon/plastic. When will they also start making low quality 12V-2*6 connectors with red tip?

 

Third Sapphire RX 9070 XT NITRO+ with blue-tipped 12V-2×6 adapter shows burn damage

 

That is entirely possible if the colored plastics have a lower melting point. The conventional black plastic connectors are something close to 200°C if my understanding is accurate.

 

Per Google Gemini: https://gemini.google.com/share/1bef51d272b8
 

The housing for both the conventional 12VHPWR and its minor revision, the 12V-2x6 connector, is typically made of a glass fiber-filled thermoplastic.¹

🌡️ Material and Flammability Rating

 

• The connector plug housing is required to be made out of glass fiber-filled thermoplastic.²

• This material is specified to meet the UL 94 V-0 classification for flame retardancy.³

---

 

🔥 Melting Point

 

The melting point of the plastic is not a commonly published specification, as the critical thermal consideration is the maximum operating temperature the plastic can withstand before deformation or failure. However, related testing provides some context:

• The notorious connector melting issues reported with the 12VHPWR connector were primarily caused by poor or partial seating of the connector pins, leading to high electrical resistance, excessive heat generation, and subsequent melting of the plastic.⁴

• The material is designed to handle the heat generated under normal, proper operating conditions.

• Some third-party solutions aimed at protecting the connector have been designed to shut down power if the temperature near the connector reaches around ⁵$110^\circ\text{C}$—this suggests that temperatures significantly higher than this, caused by a fault (like an improperly seated cable), are enough to cause the plastic to melt or fail.⁶

• For reference, the melting point of the lead-free solder often used in manufacturing is around ⁷$232^\circ\text{C}$, which is significantly higher than the reported plastic failure temperatures.⁸ The connector's pins heat up due to resistance, and that heat then causes the surrounding plastic to melt.⁹

The high temperature that leads to melting is generally due to thermal runaway caused by poor contact and extremely high current density in a small area, rather than an inherent weakness of the plastic under its rated operating temperature.

The article below discusses the issues with the 12VHPWR connector, including contradicting specs and corner-cutting, which led to the reported melting issues.

 

12VHPWR is a Dumpster Fire | Investigation into Contradicting Specs & Corner Cutting

[electrosoft]

19 hours ago, Raiderman said:

I was looking at the zotac solid core oc. $999, or the  zotac amp extreme $1199. Neither has me terribly excited. I've been contemplating waiting a bit longer to see what AMD has in the pipeline. Hoping that it would be comparable to the 4090.

 

12 hours ago, Reciever said:

 

Honestly I would just hang on to the 7900 XTX. Neither vendor has anything appealing for us without spending way too much money. I am waiting to see what next generation offerings look like, that being said I can play everything I want to play in terms of gaming at 3440x1440p. Perhaps Monster Hunter: Wilds is the only exception but that game runs like trash on anything right now.

 

 

Yeah, the best bet might be to hang onto the 7900xtx unless you have a specific need you're targeting for upgrading outside a new fun toy.

 

9070xt, depending on use case, is a side grade at best as is a 5070ti.

 

Anything worth the squeeze is going to be a 5080, 4090, 5090.

 

4090 and 5090 are very expensive.

 

So as you've found it is all about the 5080.

 

I'd still wait and watch sales heading into black friday. I've been tempted to pull the trigger on a few pieces including another 9070xt for my SFF build but I know there will be some decent sales coming up.