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

[Rage Set]

2 hours ago, Mr. Fox said:

I think there are a number of us that would fall into that category if we are as honest as you are being. For me it would be something like a shunt mod. It looks like the owner of this GPU damaged the GPU being reckless (knocked off memory circuit resistors) and then tried to fix it. I suspect the ripped pads were caused by ripping the resistors off the PCB rather than novice soldering skills.

 

Correct me if I am wrong, and all joking aside, why would someone need to mod this supposedly "KINGPIN" like card that is ready for DICE/LN with the "right" vBIOS? I know this card, apparently, doesn't have an actual binned GPU core, but MSI did appear to go all out on the engineering side in regards to the PCB and components.

 

Unless this is one of the many cases where the marketing doesn't actually match the engineering and you do still have to shunt mod it even with the special vBIOS. 

[Talon]

15 hours ago, Mr. Fox said:

Nice little documentary on EVGA, why they were awesome, etc. They did what they wanted and it was what we wanted. They did not play by the rules, just like we would not if given a chance to break them. They were great because they didn't play nice and refused to obey the "rules" of the hardware cartels. 

 

 

I miss EVGA quite a bit at times like these. Still have my EVGA Nu Audio Pro 7.1, 1600w T2 still rocking hard and hoping EVGA might be able to provide me with a replacement when warranty nears so I can extend it's life, and my EVGA Z690 Dark KingPin which I'll just keep. 

[Papusan]

18 hours ago, Rage Set said:

Correct me if I am wrong, and all joking aside, why would someone need to mod this supposedly "KINGPIN" like card that is ready for DICE/LN with the "right" vBIOS?

 

Because of stupid company policy...... MSI should minimum have offered 1200W vbios due dual connectors. But nope... They prefered play the safe game and destroy the value of the overpriced card...

 

Asus is bad. A very bad company, but you can still use their XOC firmware for all SKU from same tier they make when it leaks out. But this won't last. Be you sure. Asus is in change and will make same bad moves and lock out XOC firmware for retail cards. Same as the stupid MSI. 

 

Real oc'ing as we know it, will soon only be for the elite, fab clockers and their very best friends. All us others will be locked out from proper firmware, vbios and fab XOC tools. 

 

Modders can’t flash the 2500W BIOS on a retail retail Lightning Z cards.

[Mr. Fox]

22 hours ago, Rage Set said:

 

Correct me if I am wrong, and all joking aside, why would someone need to mod this supposedly "KINGPIN" like card that is ready for DICE/LN with the "right" vBIOS? I know this card, apparently, doesn't have an actual binned GPU core, but MSI did appear to go all out on the engineering side in regards to the PCB and components.

 

Unless this is one of the many cases where the marketing doesn't actually match the engineering and you do still have to shunt mod it even with the special vBIOS. 

I do think this GPU was more of a gimmick and scam than anything else. MSI deception and misrepresentation aside, it appears the damage that Northridge Fix was repairing was not a result of an inexperienced modding attempt, just reckless and inexperienced handling that ended in accidental user-induced damage that knocked resistors off. He may have been attempting to install an aftermarket water block to replace the AIO. Maybe it wasn't inexperienced handling and he dropped the GPU block onto the GPU by accident. Hard to know, but unfortunate whatever the cause.

 

I looked to see if the finale video was released to see if it was fixed. Hasn't dropped yet.

[Papusan]

 

 

On 7/6/2025 at 4:56 PM, Papusan said:

One more reason thermal putty on vram is an bad idea. 

 

 

Yup, I have mentioned this before. Thermal putty leaking under the core and memory chips ain't nice. For me.... I only use thermal putty on my old cards. 

 

BTW. Gigabyte use a lot round stickers with a red arrow to avoid RMA costs🙂

 

[electrosoft]

On 4/7/2026 at 6:33 AM, Papusan said:

 

Always fun to see Northwestrepair videos😁 From 2:00 (Please turn up the sound to max)🤩

 

 

 

Hmmm. Nope. No thanks. Not in Hell. 

 

 

ASUS raises prices for its Radeon RX 9070 XT GPUs by up to 17%

 

The ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9070 XT has seen its price increase from $799.99 to $939.99, a 17.5% increase, which is reflected on the aggregate site PCPartPicker.

 

As for the flagship ASUS TUF GAMING Radeon RX 9070 XT, its price has risen from $849.99 to $989.99, a 16.5% increase. Although the $599 MSRP set by AMD for the Radeon RX 9070 XT has never really been a reality for most Radeon RX 9070 XT models, this new price for the TUF GAMING variant represents a massive 65% increase over what some gamers were able to spend to pick up a Radeon RX 9070 XT at launch.

 

 

 

 

Asus is raising prices across many of their laptops too.

 

We had 9070xt's at $599.99 and even as low as $569.99 last August/Sept. Microcenter had the Challenger at that price point and the reaper back down to $599.99 but, well,......like the 5090 that pricing is long gone now.

 

Some of these GPUs are hitting a hard reality with these price increases with every card being in stock everywhere. Just like DDR5, you can yell and scream about shortages, but customers are only going to pay so much.

 

On 4/9/2026 at 10:45 AM, Rage Set said:

 

Correct me if I am wrong, and all joking aside, why would someone need to mod this supposedly "KINGPIN" like card that is ready for DICE/LN with the "right" vBIOS? I know this card, apparently, doesn't have an actual binned GPU core, but MSI did appear to go all out on the engineering side in regards to the PCB and components.

 

Unless this is one of the many cases where the marketing doesn't actually match the engineering and you do still have to shunt mod it even with the special vBIOS. 

 

Problem is MSI is only offering the 800w and 1000w variants of their vBIOS and locking down the 2500w version for availability, so the best way to get the most out of your card is to run the 1000w and shunt mod.

 

Imagine paying ~$5400 after tax for a 5090 that still requires a shunt mod to get it running fully open and unfettered?

 

 

 

[Mr. Fox]

24 minutes ago, electrosoft said:

Some of these GPUs are hitting a hard reality with these price increases with every card being in stock everywhere. Just like DDR5, you can yell and scream about shortages, but customers are only going to pay so much.

They've priced things beyond reason, to the point that even an idiot that has money to burn and is typically frivolous and lacks discretion with their wallet is starting to pause and recognize that things are simply not worth the asking price.

 

What will likely happen next is that manufacturers will begin to complain about sales being off, b*tch because nobody is buying, whine and moan about low sales and revenue being down. But they won't be smart enough to figure out that nobody is buying because the prices are beyond stupid, not because they don't want the products but because they are not stupid enough to pay what they are asking.

[electrosoft]

Does ram matter for X3D?

 

Conclusion, frequency is irrelevant (as I found out in WoW several months ago testing 4800->8000), but EXPO and especially tuned timings definitely matter.....

 

For WoW, best bet is to run 2000/6000 and get those timings as tight as possible or 2133/6400 and tight depending on quality of ram (which is what I'm doing).

 

Fallout 76, again, is X3D dominant but tighter timings definitely help too.

 

 

Does RAM Matter For AMD Ryzen X3D CPUs? - YouTube

 

 

[Papusan]

On 4/3/2026 at 8:31 PM, electrosoft said:

9950X3D2 runs toasty or EK trying to pump up business?

 

EK is recommending water cooling to extract full performance....

 

Everything will be more expensive forwards. Increased inflation is on the way. The less you buy the more you save. Isn't that correct Jensen? Or maybe >>I'm wrong?🤔 

 

EK announces price hike after the company’s worst reputational crisis

 

 

The more I see from Asus brand the more I see a sinking ship!!! Asus = Alienware Dell nowadays bro @Mr. Fox DISGUSTING!!!! Not that MSI is much better. They all are disgusting bro @Rage Set

 

 

Yup, Asus didn't scam  you this time. But close. They just help empty your pocket.