J7SC_Orion

...I share your frustration...per below, the EK backplate for the 3090 Strix was already successfully RMAed (can you spot the peeling nickel ); I also replaced the EK main / front block given the contact area w/ the 3090 die ...not sure what this is called, but it isn't called quality control

fleabay prices for new custom 3090s and 6900XT are coming down a bit also, but less so then the lower-tier models, in percentage terms. I'm sure glad that I got my Ampere and BigNavi at a lower MSRP (and no tariff here) than is still being advertised at regular vendors, much less eBay (there, still hefty premium). On Ethereum (and select other) mining, some big mining farms in China are indeed shutting down and unloading, ahem, *used* GPUs (mostly 3060s +-). Other big Chinese mining farms are apparently relocating in Kazakhstan...

I just went through an upgrade cycle for most work and play hardware - and finally upgraded all machines to Win 10 Pro (apart from one trusty Win 7 64 which still - btw - still gets important security updates, like last week ). While most of my equipment will likely meet TPM 2.o one way or the other, I have no intention to update to Win 11 in the immediate future - the leaked version of Win 11 didn't seem to have a performance advantage and I don't like that 'mobile phone' interface...Luddites unite & long live XP Pro 64 !

Banned for only having one cup of espresso left

...sad part is that much of the ransom_ware is based on US NSA code that was stolen and sold on the dark web

...I'll give that a try later, what with several threads that are mostly pictorials

banned coz...

...sounds good, but I don't like Microsoft's 'forced updates' that come with the 'improvements'. For example, after the recent Windows 10 H2 update, one of my two machines with FS2020 lost access to that sim. It turned out to be a known issue that had affected some other folks as well with H2...ended up having to reinstall FS2020 after advice from MS FS 2020 support

Another TT Pacific CL480x64 ...had tried out two of these before re. quality & performance, and they're working great.

FYI, these work - I tested two out on a PCIe4.0 GPU / mobo combo...got mine at Amazon

...you can try it out (increment-by-increment) via creating custom refresh rates in the NVidia drivers' tab...most of my 60 Hz 4K monitors will go to 70 Hz (if not to 72 Hz = 20% oc). When you reach 'the point of failure' specific to your monitor, it will revert back to the previous setting used after 15 or so seconds, until you press the 'keep changes' tab. Once you have created the custom refresh profiles, they will also show up in Windows / screen resolution / advanced / list all modes

...below is one of the current 'daily slogger' main work / productivity machines that will be retired in favour of one of the Ravens systems (the 3950X / Radeon 6900 XT combo outline above). I got this X79 mobo back in early 2014 and it has been trouble free - it's an Asus workstation board (X79-E WS) with Quad Channel DDR 2400, PLX chip & seven full length PCIe lanes, dual Intel Gigabit Lan, Q-code and very good oc_ing to boot ! In quad SLI format, it even fetched a few HWBot cups and helped win a red-green OCN competition back in the day. It has been 100% reliable for all these years...the same holds for the dual 980 Classifieds, but the time has come to replace 4GB VRAM cards, not least as every primary system will now run 4K monitors, and other productivity apps call for 16 GB VRAM or more and faster subsystems. ...this board will either go on to run as a back-up server (w/ 10c/20t or 12c/24t Xeon), or become the main NAS for my home office, complete with a quad M.2 PCIe card - in other words, we won't part ways ?- it is still one of my favourites...

...it is possible to get 60+ fps even in busy scenes w/ the right hardware, but rare...and not really worth all the hassle (such as extra watts, heat). I have 'oc_ed' both my FS2020 4K monitors to 72 Hz from 60 Hz which does help a bit at times...but really, still waiting for the right time / deal to pick up a newer LG Oled CX w/ 4K/120 Hz.

...I never did any of the tutorials and 'dived straight in' (dive being the operative term). Flying w/4K Ultra to Mt. Everest in a jet that can do the altitudes and then exploring the various valleys and glaciers is also a ton of fun... However, many of us FS2020 addicts like to pick a slow plane (my fav is the Icon A5 amphibious) and explore big photogrammetry metro areas at night from only a few hundred feet up - or even flying through city 'high-rise canyons' adds extra thrills. The same holds for flying low and slow through mountain valleys, up glaciers etc and landing where possible (grass, or mountain lakes if using the A5).

Have you folks tried out the 'More Power Tool' (Igor's Lab) for your 6800 XT ? I added a 3x8 pin 6900 XT just over a week ago (no problems so far) and been moving up the Power Target related parameters...this of course also works on the 6800 XT, and as long as you keep an eye on temps, it's a lot of fun !

...putting together the copper bits for Project Ravens' Nest, for 'old-school hard tubing' watercooling... ..in my last build two years+ ago, I also used copper pipe and elbows (ie. the white 'tubes' to-and-from the GPUs below).

...'just because'...ravens' nest copper is for w-cooling - the original 'hard-tubing' ?

I can't believe the spawning of various Ampere models (most of which one can't buy), it's getting a bit confusing ? Anyway, I'm glad I updated when and with what I did...good to go for a few years (famous last words ?)

...nice ! I wonder though how big the World Update 5 / Nordic will be as I'll have to load it onto two machines ?

...today was furniture assembly day - only had a few bits left over (who reads instructions anyway) ? One hallway cleared, one hallway ('the parking lot') to go Also, when I grew up in Europe and teased my two older sisters, they would say things like 'when God created men, she was only kidding'...I really shouldn't have shared that in my household now, because it is spreading like wildfire at dinner parties... ? ...glad to see you here...looking forward to your suggestions ? I don't know what I like less, assembling furniture, or chasing down memory optimization rabbit holes...Per earlier post, I recently added new RAM (Samsung-B 4000 / CL15) for the 5950X...daily is still a undervolted IF 1900 / DDR4 3800 14-14-14, but IF 2000 / DDR4 4000 does work after some rudimentary tests on the system...I had the Asus Dark Hero / AM4 5950X for 3+ months now and am quite comfortable 'pushing it' a bit...still, DDR4 4000 needs a revisit during a rainy day, now that I know that the IF can handle it. ...some earlier comparable runs for 'the other Ravens' at daily settings (AM4 3950X and TR 2950X): ...and here are some earlier 'max' results for video cards for error-free settings for GPUs and VRAM 'on air'- albeit at only light rendering loads...full long-run 3D results will be lower, though both get a water-block... @Joe__Bishop wrote..."Ahhhhhh, where is me 10 years ago when I had big great cases in my head with unlimited budget essentially. Looking forward to catching up on everything" ...worth repeating that this is a productivity+play build. It doesn't have an 'unlimited budget', but it does have a decent budget envelope to satisfy the function brief, after a year of 'temporary' pandemic stop-gaps for capacity at different locations. One key item to check was the transfer of various older (sometimes proprietary) software onto the 3950X / Radeon 6900 XT combo, which will become the primary new daily slogger; and that combo is also the only one with eMail etc... On the other hand, the TR 2950X will likely become 'the file serer', among other functions, what with its capabilities to run 7x M.2 and also a U.2, even before any SSDs. ------------------------------- Now that the furniture additions are assembled, it is time to start thinking about drilling, cutting and tapping into the TT Core P8 case ?

...apparently somebody does !

tx...I've increased the supply of chocolates and flowers, for now ! ...also, they're looking forward to get the use of two additional rooms back ...some more pics...

...good snow tires ?