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

Mr. Fox · 2026-08-28T00:02:54Z

10 hours ago, Mr. Fox said:

I actually played the game last night for about an hour and it was extremely boring. (I have never cared for this genre, so that comes as no real surprise.) I should have just stuck with the free demo. It was a waste of money for me, but it was super cheap so no great loss. What you see in the benchmark is the closest you will get to experiencing something mildly stimulating when playing the game.

I got a refund on Steam for the game and will just use the free demo for the benchmark. It was only $9.49 but the game wasn't my cup of tea.

electrosoft · 2026-08-28T06:37:49Z

I put up a video comparing ram air cooling via 4.5 different methods.

Stock sticks = 76c.

Asus 60mm fan = ~49c

Noctua top shelf performance quiet 60mm fan on Asus bracket = ~49c

Thermalright ram cooler = ~42c

I've mastered the art of posting videos when I'm battling the flu or covid, lol. Sometimes I don't realize how under the weather I am till I watch something back and can hear it in my voice and a smidge of labored breathing. 🤣

Mr. Fox · 2026-08-28T11:46:50Z

5 hours ago, electrosoft said:

I put up a video comparing ram air cooling via 4.5 different methods.

Stock sticks = 76c.

Asus 60mm fan = ~49c

Noctua top shelf performance quiet 60mm fan on Asus bracket = ~49c

Thermalright ram cooler = ~42c

I've mastered the art of posting videos when I'm battling the flu or covid, lol. Sometimes I don't realize how under the weather I am till I watch something back and can hear it in my voice and a smidge of labored breathing. 🤣

Nice video, brother. I know the guy you mentioned near the end of the video, LOL.

Mr. Fox · 2026-08-28T13:32:40Z

https://hwbot.org/benchmarks/cinebench_-_r20/submissions/6064868

tps3443 · 2026-08-28T19:13:19Z

My ram has arrived. This stuff has got to be better than that Corsair 6000c30 A-Die kit. I sure hope so at least!

This stuff was $500.00.

These sticks were manufactured 12/2025. Since this is much much later Hynix A-Die, I'm hoping 8,000+ will be easy for it. All of the reviews of this ram are from 2022/2023 when Hynix A-Die was in its infancy. (Fingers crossed)

electrosoft · 2026-08-28T20:34:32Z

8 hours ago, Mr. Fox said:

Nice video, brother. I know the guy you mentioned near the end of the video, LOL.

I was wondering if you were gonna catch that reference 🤣

7 hours ago, Mr. Fox said:

https://hwbot.org/benchmarks/cinebench_-_r20/submissions/6064868

Looks like that monster SP chip is working out quite nicely! 5.9 benching and 8800 locked in tight....nice.

I know your rig would provide some bleeding edge data for WoW out in the Xpac where it counts (I'm looking at you Eversong Woods).

Just spectacular results @Mr. Fox!

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

Yet again, do not sleep on the 9070xt:

Papusan · 2026-08-28T20:46:38Z

On 6/6/2025 at 12:42 AM, Papusan said:

This. Nvidia can just stop the card from function properly afterwards with just the geforce driveres.... I look at you Maxwell (Nvidia killed voltage tuning with newer drivers and the voltage slider is greyed out/not working anymore even with kingpin cards and their own XOC software). And people want/need newer drivers as months goes, so.... Isn't that nicly done by Nvidia? And I'm 100% sure Nvidia could easly open up the max vram cap for 5000 series cards with their drivers if they wanted (this will overide any firmware lock). Both for desktop cards and those castrated soldered chips (better word for BGA) for Jokebooks.

Have seen similar before.... I look at my older Maxwell series GPUs sleeping in the drawer. This bring back old bad memories... Half crippled due beautiful driver love from Nvidia.

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Mr. Fox · 2026-08-28T21:31:53Z

49 minutes ago, Papusan said:

Have seen similar before.... I look at my older Maxwell series GPUs sleeping in the drawer. This bring back old memories... Half crippled due beautiful driver love from Nvidia.

NVIDIA neutralizes MVolt+ on the RTX 50 series: its 616.56 driver blocks the power limits of the GPU and GDDR7 memory

NVIDIA has wasted no time in shutting down one of the most interesting features of MVolt+ software for the RTX 50 series. The new GeForce 616.56 WHQL driver blocks and prevents the use of MVolt+'s independent controls in...

Nasty finger salute to the Green Goblin, with both hands. People that care just won't use their cancer drivers that block mVolt+ from working. I'm still using 576.28 and I generally won't play games that require that I install a specific driver or newer. It's a matter of principle for me, and that matters more than falling in line with their wishes. Same reason I won't play the crapified new games that require Secure Poot and TPM to be enabled for some garbage anti-cheat bloatware to work. They can kiss my post-defecation, smelly, unwashed posterior orifice.

tps3443 · 2026-08-28T22:22:31Z

15 hours ago, electrosoft said:

I put up a video comparing ram air cooling via 4.5 different methods.

Stock sticks = 76c.

Asus 60mm fan = ~49c

Noctua top shelf performance quiet 60mm fan on Asus bracket = ~49c

Thermalright ram cooler = ~42c

I've mastered the art of posting videos when I'm battling the flu or covid, lol. Sometimes I don't realize how under the weather I am till I watch something back and can hear it in my voice and a smidge of labored breathing. 🤣

The Dark Hero fan works amazingly well. I ran it full blast on my test bench. I'm going to miss that feature. I noticed the fan would blow air strongest at a certain point on the fan, and I rotated the fan in the orientation where the ram sticks were getting hit with the best breeze.

PS: For some reason BestBuy sent me (2) 9950X3D2's. 💀

I guess it's meant for me to find a 2,200FCLK unit! 😂 Still waiting on motherboard.

electrosoft · 2026-08-29T02:49:17Z

7 hours ago, tps3443 said:

My ram has arrived. This stuff has got to be better than that Corsair 6000c30 A-Die kit. I sure hope so at least!

This stuff was $500.00.

These sticks were manufactured 12/2025. Since this is much much later Hynix A-Die, I'm hoping 8,000+ will be easy for it. All of the reviews of this ram are from 2022/2023 when Hynix A-Die was in its infancy. (Fingers crossed)

Hopefully some 8000+ sticks under those heatsinks....

4 hours ago, tps3443 said:

The Dark Hero fan works amazingly well. I ran it full blast on my test bench. I'm going to miss that feature. I noticed the fan would blow air strongest at a certain point on the fan, and I rotated the fan in the orientation where the ram sticks were getting hit with the best breeze.

PS: For some reason BestBuy sent me (2) 9950X3D2's. 💀

I guess it's meant for me to find a 2,200FCLK unit! 😂 Still waiting on motherboard.

Yeah, I didn't expect it to perform as well as it did. I was pleasantly surprised. I really like this board. Would I recommend someone with a Hero to upgrade? No, but if it was my first board pick for an AM5 build and I wanted an upper tier MB, I would go with the Dark Hero.

DUDE! Nice! Best Buy pulled an Amazon! 😂

Hopefully one of those is a beast 2200/8200/6400 and you can sell off or trade the other one for some killer ram if this kit is a bust and send in a monster payment or apply it elsewhere.

Make sure to post up both so we can see what you're packing.

I never get lucky from best buy. I'm the same one who:

Received an empty box with no camera in it

A 7950X instead of a 7950X3D in the box

Three lost GPU orders that suddenly went missing at my local Best Buy (IE, "we're preparing your package for pickup" = It has arrived at our local store) then POOF gone....coincidentally, they were very well priced, routinely out of stock GPUs I managed to snag.

Good thing my 5080FE was sent directly to my door.....

Seriously though.....

5 hours ago, Papusan said:

Have seen similar before.... I look at my older Maxwell series GPUs sleeping in the drawer. This bring back old bad memories... Half crippled due beautiful driver love from Nvidia.

NVIDIA neutralizes MVolt+ on the RTX 50 series: its 616.56 driver blocks the power limits of the GPU and GDDR7 memory

NVIDIA has wasted no time in shutting down one of the most interesting features of MVolt+ software for the RTX 50 series. The new GeForce 616.56 WHQL driver blocks and prevents the use of MVolt+'s independent controls in...

The memory shortage won't end as soon as expected: SK hynix extends it until the end of 2030

Forecasts that predicted a possible easing of the memory shortage by 2028 are starting to look insignificant, and very bad news is coming from South Korea. Kwak Noh-jung, CEO of SK hynix, now asserts that the market will remain strained...

NVIDIA breaks all records: it approaches $100 billion per quarter thanks to AI

NVIDIA continues to break its own financial records and is now on the verge of reaching a figure that just a few years ago seemed unthinkable

As predicted from Nvidia the anti-hobbyist police. When they needed us, they let us do almost anything but as what happens the bigger they got, the more control they exerted. They forgot who got them to where they are today to be able to dry hump the AI bubble.....

As for memory, there will be no easing. There is zero reason to open up or expand other fabs. As long as AI demand is sufficiently met (which it is), the residual trickle leftover can continue to be marked up to disgusting levels for normal consumers...

Until companies realize the race to AI doesn't need to be done at the current pace and still be viable, Nvdia will continue to capture record level income and profits along with AMD and now even Intel which contrary to many reports, is very much alive and well and profitable....

Mr. Fox · 2026-08-29T15:08:56Z

On 8/20/2026 at 6:24 PM, Mr. Fox said:

I'm pretty sure I will have no issue breaking 18K on the chiller.

I am not using the chiller yet. (It needs thorough cleaning due to about 10 years of sediment build-up... don't want any more trash added to my loop. Working on that today). But, I've managed to get my ambient down to 66°F running my mini-split at 60°F. Broke 18K. With the chiller I will be in the top 25 (current #26).

https://hwbot.org/benchmarks/3dmark_-_steel_nomad_dx12/submissions/6065553 | https://www.3dmark.com/sn/15796279

Chiller has been rinsed out and is sitting in the garage with the tank filled with white vinegar to bust up the rest of the white sediment build-up. Will have it back in service probably later today. Got to run to Walmart and grab a few more gallons of distilled water.

electrosoft · 2026-08-29T18:30:46Z

So the AM5 and KingBank issues persist but I'm pretty sure I've narrowed down what is going on even further.

I tried to pop them in the Dark Hero for heatsink / air cooling testing only to be met almost immediately with an "A6" error code and a bright yellow dram error light. AIO fans kept revving up and down in the oddest pattern.

I know they work in my x870e Hero since I just posted and booted with them last month right? So I popped them in there and exact "A6" error code and bright yellow dram error light along with AIO fans revving up and down.

I drag out the Microcenter combo deal Asrock B850 board and of course they don't post in there as expected but why not throw another data point on the pile.....

They did post in the HP Omen 35L w/ 8400f but that drive is wiped atm so no further testing.....

As a final checksum, I pop them into the 270k build and of course they not only boot right up but blew through TM5 looking at me like I'm the nut job in this scenario 🤣

I KNOW these sticks posted and booted in my x870e Hero last month, but in the interim I had updated my BIOS as I was running 2103 from March. Updating to 2402 updated Agesa from 1.3.0.0a to 1.3.0.1b. The HP is actually running a BIOS from earlier this year.

The Dark Hero I updated upon initial install as it was running 0502 to the newest so it too is running 1.3.0.1b.

I'm thinking if/when HP updates to a newer BIOS supporting 1.3.0.1b those sticks might stop working in that system too.

On a whim, I rolled back the Asrock BIOS from 4.43 to 4.10 which supports 1.3.0.0a and the sticks still gave me a big middle finger but with the reported incompatibilities with these sticks on Asrock boards, I wasn't expecting them to work.

Last gasp I popped in my TG sticks and set a loose 6000, 8000 and JEDEC profile and saved all three and sat there loading in each profile on the TG sticks then trying to get the KingBank sticks to boot using those known, working profiles but nope right to "A6" DRAM error light on both boards.....

Can't roll back on the Asus boards but at this point I wouldn't anyhow. I'm just done with these KingBank sticks on AM5. I'll stick with the Vengeance 9200 and TG 8200 sticks which continue to work like butter no matter what.

I picked them up June 2025 and outside of some quick testing on the x870e Hero at the time, they were primarily used in benching and testing my SP109 14900KS before I sold off the Z790i lightning and moved the 14900KS into the wife's system. It is only recently they're getting attention as they were slated for my SFF build. I know in my 270k they could post up to 8933 (maybe squeeze more out of them better cooled) so I'm just going to tune them up there around 8400-8600 and keep it moving or look to trade them for a set of 6000-6400 CL26 sticks or similar.

Fun times!

Mr. Fox · 2026-08-29T22:29:41Z

3 hours ago, electrosoft said:

So the AM5 and KingBank issues persist but I'm pretty sure I've narrowed down what is going on even further.

I tried to pop them in the Dark Hero for heatsink / air cooling testing only to be met almost immediately with an "A6" error code and a bright yellow dram error light. AIO fans kept revving up and down in the oddest pattern.

I know they work in my x870e Hero since I just posted and booted with them last month right? So I popped them in there and exact "A6" error code and bright yellow dram error light along with AIO fans revving up and down.

I drag out the Microcenter combo deal Asrock B850 board and of course they don't post in there as expected but why not throw another data point on the pile.....

They did post in the HP Omen 35L w/ 8400f but that drive is wiped atm so no further testing.....

As a final checksum, I pop them into the 270k build and of course they not only boot right up but blew through TM5 looking at me like I'm the nut job in this scenario 🤣

I KNOW these sticks posted and booted in my x870e Hero last month, but in the interim I had updated my BIOS as I was running 2103 from March. Updating to 2402 updated Agesa from 1.3.0.0a to 1.3.0.1b. The HP is actually running a BIOS from earlier this year.

The Dark Hero I updated upon initial install as it was running 0502 to the newest so it too is running 1.3.0.1b.

I'm thinking if/when HP updates to a newer BIOS supporting 1.3.0.1b those sticks might stop working in that system too.

On a whim, I rolled back the Asrock BIOS from 4.43 to 4.10 which supports 1.3.0.0a and the sticks still gave me a big middle finger but with the reported incompatibilities with these sticks on Asrock boards, I wasn't expecting them to work.

Last gasp I popped in my TG sticks and set a loose 6000, 8000 and JEDEC profile and saved all three and sat there loading in each profile on the TG sticks then trying to get the KingBank sticks to boot using those known, working profiles but nope right to "A6" DRAM error light on both boards.....

Can't roll back on the Asus boards but at this point I wouldn't anyhow. I'm just done with these KingBank sticks on AM5. I'll stick with the Vengeance 9200 and TG 8200 sticks which continue to work like butter no matter what.

I picked them up June 2025 and outside of some quick testing on the x870e Hero at the time, they were primarily used in benching and testing my SP109 14900KS before I sold off the Z790i lightning and moved the 14900KS into the wife's system. It is only recently they're getting attention as they were slated for my SFF build. I know in my 270k they could post up to 8933 (maybe squeeze more out of them better cooled) so I'm just going to tune them up there around 8400-8600 and keep it moving or look to trade them for a set of 6000-6400 CL26 sticks or similar.

Fun times!

The Kingbank 8400 kit works fine on the B850MPOWER and worked fine on X870E AORUS Master, but not well with the X870E Apex. Safedisk commented several times that the SPD is not per JEDEC specs and does not play nice with AMD. I also have a older (early DDR5) G.SKILL Intel XMP 8000 kit that has severe issues on an AMD platform. Doesn't even post with the memory default SPD profile about half the time. The AGESA wigs out trying to train it for some reason.