J7SC_Orion

Last year, I posted on taking a never-used (!) CM Stryker case and assembled a 'retro-gamer' for 1080p with custom-bios dual EVGA 980 Classified GPUs. The motherboard is one of my all-time favourites - the Asus X79 E-WS workstation board - which has been running in 'oc' mode for over 8 years now; it is a rock-solid foundation with 7 PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, PEX chips, and what is more, there are custom bios available for this board which allow for NVME support in addition to bifurcation... ...the CPU is a 'strange' 4960X ES engineering sample...strange because it displays some highly unusual behaviour re. strap preference and extremely low power consumption at default. That in turn has allowed it to hit ~ 4.9 GHz at less than 130W / 100% load. Typically, it is set to ~ 4.7 GHz for daily operations. I recently decided to convert this old but trusted soldier into more of a file storage and development server for database staging for certain commercial apps. There are three more modern systems here with 2080 Tis, 6900XT and RTX 3090, so I don't really need a 'retro-gamer' anymore. As an HEDT-equipped chip, the 6c/12t 4960X has 4 channel RAM, and per earlier update-build, it was running a very solid kit of 4x8 GSkill TridentZ DDR3 2400 (the top of the line B-die of its day). Now, I added what I thought was 4x8 GSkill TridentZ DDR 2666 - alas, it would only show 48 GB ?!? ...it turned out that the 2666 kit is actually 4x4 (total of 16 GB); I confused it with another 4x8 kit which is already in use in another back-up machine. Mixing and matching RAM of different speeds and with different JEDEC is already frowned on somewhat, though I have tuned RAM 'combos' for more than a decade without too many issues...but I never tried to have an arrangement with a all-slot / 8 sticks of different rating and different capacity. Yet by locking in the timings of the 2400 / 4x8 32GB kit and then adding the additional 2666 / 4x4 16 GB, the only thing I had to change was the command rate from 1 to 2, but that is normal for 8 sticks / all-slot occupancy. I found this kind of painless install and easy compatibility a bit strange, so I ran various and extensive RAM stress tests, and not a single error (ditto for WHEA). For now, I leave it at 2400 but might try 2666 since I had that nominal-2400 kit run as high as 2800 before. Alternatively, it did great in past HWBot subs with CL9 at stock voltage. As a file and development server, it probably won't make much of a difference anyhow... Currently, this system has 3x 1TB WD Blue SSDs and 3x 1TB WD Black HDDs...next step is to add in this 4x PCIe 3.0 NVME card that came in the mobo box for another system. The plan is to add 4x 2 TB NVMEs (probably PCIe 4.0 drives for future reference; those will default to PCIe 3.0) and take out the old WD Black HDDs. Even an older system with 'just' SSDs (no mechanical drives anymore) already feels much more enjoyable to use, and the NVME additions should really make it rock. After the Quad-NVME card, the next step is to find some decent though not overpriced high-speed multi-port add-in network cards (s.th. like the Intel Ethernet Network Adapter X710-T2L 2x RJ45). Still plenty of those 7x PCIe slots on the mobo left to fill

How are you cooling the DDR5 modules ? I've been following several DDR5 threads and it seems that DDR5 is quite sensitive to heat, including the onboard PMIC.

...the excited eyes anime was indeed a very valiant effort ! But as the world is going to hell in a basket, I better finish up some outstanding projects...

...nah, just needed a multimeter for a project with parts arriving sooner or later...and my old one had a piece of furniture land on it . Also, I just finished moving and updating my home-office with various other machines beyond the Ravens so now it is time to go through all the old mobos and see which ones still have some spark left (so to speak), and which one could be repaired if I have the parts.

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...Nice ! First time I have seen CPUz single > 900

...one thing to watch out for with 3x D5 is to avoid cavitation (you'll notice it when bleeding air bubbles takes a lot longer). As you know from earlier posts, I have been running triple D5s since March '21 on my 5950X / Dark Hero build, and it took a while to synchronize all 3x D5s and thus avoid cavitation. It was even worse with 5x D5 in an older loop. I'm not sure it's a perfect method, but I usually fill and start a new 3x D5 loop with just one D5 running then bring the other ones online. If they are slightly out of synch, you can hear that, never mind see the result of cavitation.

Nice ! What kind of RAM are you going to pair that with ?

All humour aside re. what seems like (and often is) bizarre desktop-class mobo pricing, it is not that cars have gotten cheaper, either - even used ones. Re. cars, we may very well see many more supply-chain issues (for example, Toyota shuttered 19 plants in Japan 'for a bit' now because of some computer-hack related issues affecting a key supplier). This will add to already existing inflationary pressures. Mobo prices also have some legitimate reasons to become more expensive (ie. PCIe 4, 5, DDR5 all add to the cost) and there are also some '$800 desktop class' mobos that come with PCIe quad NVME add-in cards and dual integrated NICs up to 10GB which makes sense to buy in certain use-case circumstances. That said, just like with cars and many other manufactured products, moving 'upmarket' into the luxury segment is what many companies aim for, given the much higher profit margins in those segments. Mobos at $2k+, desktop GPUs at $3k+...and plenty of folks competing to get them...brave new world (> sarcasm).

...$830 is an outright bargain when you can't get this 'sold out' mobo

Once I get around to 'building' the contraption, I'll take pics and vids. BTW, I've done the rad in the ice bucket back in the day, then added a few pounds of DICE - worked for a short while, but lots of commotion and 'smoke', and the poor rad getting beat up by dancing frozen bits Nothing a coat of flat black Rustoleum didn't fix, though. HDR is working great on my C1 OLED.

...yeah, I have no idea if this will actually work, but theoretically 'it should', and I have all the individual components anyway, so apart from my time, it is 'free'...calibrating the thing will probably be the biggest challenge.

For a while now, I have been staring at boxes full of old water-cooling blocks, as well as 1Kw phase change cooler and other assorted sub-ambient and sub-zero bits from almost a decade ago. At the same time, I (finally) finished the (4x mobo) Ravens Nests builds so I figure a new project is in order, even if it will be in slow-motion due to other time commitments. I knew there must have been another reason I used all those QD4s in the Ravens beyond just convenience... Specifically, I have two 'dual-GPU' blocks for Radeon 8990s laying around I haven' used in a long time. Per pic below, they are absolutely massive and first need a thorough cleaning inside and out. But given their cooling and humangous copper surface areas (combined, they helped to easily dispose of 1200W of heat energy before), I am thinking of utilizing the Ravens' QD4s to hook in a loop with both of these blocks in a single circuit (for bench days only). These old blocks would be submerged and stand parallelly and vertically in a 72L plastic water basin, and in between the copper ends of those two blocks would be the submerged copper tip of the phase cooler that goes to around -50 C in 'normal operation'. I have no intention of actually going much below the dew point, but Raven A's two setups can each easily slurp 900 W (or more, depending on the vbios for the 6900XT and 3090 Strix, respectively). 72 L of water - or even more / less if need be - should be plenty enough to help 'dampen' transient temp swings to the point that it should be manageable, while the sheer copper surface area of the old 8990 blocks would be great for 'heat exchanging'. If need be, I can add a little 110V aquarium pump into the 72L basin to move the 'ice' water around / past whatever components I want. Obviously, I will try this out on some older setups first (dual 980 Classifieds w/EVBot ~ 800W combined) to see what the base data and transient deltas look like before I hook this into either the 3950X/6900XT loop or the 5950X/3090 Strix loop. What do you think about this contraption ? Anything obvious jumping out at you I should watch out for ?

...'grats - nice component choices ! also, unexpected chocolates and flower gifts might reduce your 'sentence' a bit

I'm a complete Luddite when it gets to 'the latest bios and Agesa'. Common consensus is 3501 and 3801 are the best (latest is 4004).

Very nice ! ...that's going to be a weighty beast with 2x w-cooled 3090s, related rads etc., never mind the PSU .. some of my Ravens are over 100 pds all in, and I should probably rename them Albatross. ...Yeah, on the 3 slot NVL bridge from Elmor, I had sent you a PM before already- did you get one then ? Currently, they seem to be 'sold out' but will probably come back into stock again.

Nice ...Google search VBE 007 bios editor ...in case you want to push this baby on HWBot

...what do you mean with stay sane ? That horse left the barn a while back - I know because it is friends with my horses Re. NVLink, check > this out at Elmor Labs

@Bastiaan_NL - absolutely love it and hoping it ends up with the 2x 3090s ! As you know, I prefer big cases... I once stuffed 4x air-cooled NVidia 600 series and an eATX mobo into a regular Antec A300 case...shall we say it had 'slight air-flow and cooling problems'...ever since then, I see the wisdom of going big or going home, ie. TT Core P series, Corsair Obsidian 1000D, HAF 700 EVO & Co. You might want to set a whole afternoon aside though for all the fan and RGB wiring I'm really looking forward to good pictorials on this build !

... ...fortunately, I got immunity from the Ravens, at least until the meteors have wiped out the Raptors

...I have been thinking about the old phase cooler as of late ...I have two giant all-copper dual-GPU blocks that are not in use, and with Koolance QD4s in my systems, I could hook those in while submerging them into a basin cooled by the phase cooler...could be a lot of trial and error, but also fun. the 5950X'best CineR23 is currently 32311 at ambient, and CPUz single at 704.4, w/o 'curve optimizer' or any such thing, so there's some room left. The 3090 GPU currently maxes at 2265 MHz / 520W, it too would respond well to 15 C -20 C or so net drop in temps. I just have to watch the dew point and experiment first with older PC setups to test the basic premise and establish some cornerstone data, ie. re. amount of water in the basin and cooldown time w/ phase running. ...sorry to hear this ...but may be this will work in your favour with your wife now giving you the green light for some extra (+ more extra) upgrades ? Also, are you sure it really is 'dead dead' (like no debug, or constantly '00') ? I take it you already tried reverting back to the old bios via bios switch or reflash ? Sometimes, CPU microcodes can get cornuted. In any case, I hate bios flashing as I had some bad experiences, such as an Intel i7-3970X dying (albeit slowly) after a bios reflash...sometimes Asus' bios tables can go crazy when using unusual primary settings...VCCSA and VCCIO for example shooting up to almost 1.5V while on auto - not good at all for the older chips at least. FYI, the i7-3970X did come back finally for a while longer before a permanent 'Auf Wiedersehen'.

Forza H5, Ride 4, FS2020 and Cyberpunk 2077

...some more additions to my gaming library (Ride 4 > it's a blast) and also a XBox controller...

I have a single phase chiller that gets down to around - 50C and works great for 'smaller chips' such as 4C/8t 4790K or 6700K...haven't used in a few years... ...because 8C/16T or bigger are harder to handle with a single phase as its transient response is too slow when load kicks in on the processor, which is why there are cascading phases (2 or even 3 phase) which not only help with transient response but can also get much lower re. temps...I've seen cascading phases that could get down below - 120 C...much more difficult to build and set up right though, and also uses a lot of power.

...what you and @Mr. Fox need is a cascading phase cooler (along w/ ear plugs and a big garage) ...this one via Hexus.net: