J7SC_Orion

...don't think they'll be getting less expensive, per Videocardz rumor (salt !) below. I also don't like the high prices, but it has to be said that on a per feature and per fps basis, there are some affordable cards out there that do the same previous-gen top $ models did (ie 3070) at much lower cost. Finally, as per current market shortages , there obviously is a consumer base out there willing / able to shell out $1,500 for a GPU. Mind you, some of the shortages are also amplified by supply / yield bottlenecks / miners etc. Also keep in mind that the price may have vendor provisions for RMA, given custom mods quite a few folks do with their brand-new $$$ card (shunt mods, 1000W bios etc)

Can you imagine this applied to the (highly-binned-chiplets of the) upcoming TR 5970X or 5990W/X ? I can... ?

...love builds w/ Delta fans on Asus-E WS...'serious inquiries, only' kind of thing... ?

...everyone seems to either plan or already build ARM chips, even AMD apparently dusted off their engineering samples ...wonder what their legal departments are whispering into the ears of regulators looking at NVidia's proposed ARM purchase...

haha, that sounds 'Psycho' alright and fits the story line perfectly ? ...speaking of 'Psycho', two more of my fav 4K RTX Psycho screenies...my 'V' likes to spend a lot of time being peaceful and looking for eye candy...

When playing, I usually toggle just one setting (RTX max <> Psycho). The good thing about Cyberpunk 2077 is that you can change settings 'on the fly' w/o losing the flow. Also, RTX modes override many of the other settings:: BTW, picked up about 3 fps +- (all else equal) by kicking in the TR 2950X special NUMA mode...this only works on the 2-chip Zen+ TRs, afaik. And per @UltraMega 's post, yeah - SSD (or better) is a must...even wondering about RAM drive for CP '77

Nice !...Are you going to install the 64Gb RAM on the Oppo Find X2 pro phone ?... ?

...'jelly making' isn't the intent, and fps are nothing to write home about with those extreme settings, but I can't get over some of the eye candy ? ...still, I very much hope we can get a NVL/SLI patch one day...

@Mistio ^^nice ! After all that roaming instead of doing the missions, I'm finally on my way out of the Corpo hotel w/ the booty ? BTW, you had asked above about 'Psycho' settings ? I ran them in the Corpo hotel, 4K / high textures / DLSS 'Quality' / RTX full Psycho (apart from the last screen shot which is one setting below 'Psycho')

...got some extra 'free time' to enjoy FlightSim 2020 and Cyberpunk 77 (btw, no issues w/ 1.05 or 1.06 w/ CP '77). Also got a few Steam gift 'certificates' but haven't figured out yet which extra games to get... ...how about you, any tech gifts ?

naughty but nice ?

Best wishes to all for the Christmas Holidays, and for 2021 ! Stay safe...

I still can't get over those lighting effects in Cyberpunk 2077 ?

I actually got this game for the 4K eye candy; it may sound sacrilege, but my fav activity in Cyberpunk 2077 is to roam all over the place in peace...to that end, I have stolen quite a few nice cars already. When I drive through Night City and see a place I like to explore, such as a bar or a shop, I just get out and do my thing. Still, you can run into hostile areas then where you got to 'blasta' a few folks...speaking of which, I saw a lot of vids about 'skippy'; I shall try to find it !

BMW's new grill aside, most beemers are fun in the Canadian snow...big pic below is only a few km from here...?

...

Cyberpunk 2077 really does look very good with RTX (and even with DLSS 'help'). Below are a few comparison screenies for a complex and stressful outside scene, all with 4K max textures / max RTX settings, on a well-cooled 2080 Ti, and a TR 2950X in game mode (LUMA instead of UMA). Comparisons were run several times in a row and mid-point for each setting is depicted below (pics are 4K png converted to 4K jpg, given file size; fps at top right corner). 4K / max textures / max RTX - 'as is' / no DLSS 4K / max textures / max RTX - 'quality' DLSS 4K / max textures / max RTX - 'balanced' DLSS 4K / max textures / max RTX - 'performance' DLSS I usually play 4K max textures / max RTX either with 'quality' or 'balanced' DLSS. Here is another nice shot with 'balanced' DLSS...not too much wrong with it, IMO

...yes, thou shall make sure thy loop is closed before you turn it on ?

Part of the problem is that big-tech tend to push their suppliers in those countries very, very hard on per-unit cost, given our demands for masses of cheaper consumer goods. Said suppliers cut corners (child labour, health and welfare, environmental) to get & keep big-tech contracts and a bigger margin. I need a big garage with CAD-CAM and 3D printer...

Good advice re. Mayhem's Blitz kit. That said, I even use distilled water to do a flush after the Blitz kit...

...makes sense, but one still needs all final connections (fitting, tubing etc) to be made to test the whole loop's integrity. Leaks, if any, are more likely to occur in the connecting bits...best to do both, perhaps

Once it is all planned out, assembled and thoroughly tested (including leak, flow, pressure testing, benchmarking and post heat-cycling tests), it is time to enjoy your system for years to come, with regular checks on temps and fluid levels, nothing more...loop water temp and flow meters are a good idea, though I do not always use them as I check temps (adjusted for ambient) regularly As to the fluids, I mentioned above that I completely avoid pastel colour fluids (never mind mixing different types of those). That holds especially true for complex custom water-loops - those with multiple pumps, lots of bends, multiple cooling blocks with narrow-spaced fins, and rads. Personally, I have been using TT's Pacific 1000 liquids for years (multi-metal compatible, with biocide), along with about 30% or so of distilled water. Other folks swear by other brand liquids. An important tip for complex loops...just the GPU loop below has 3x 360/60 XSPC rads, dual D5 pumps and dual 2080 Ti GPUs. Filling and especially bleeding of such a loop can be a bit of a nightmare... once final assembly starts with all pre-fitted, cleaned and tested components, I actually pre-fill the 3 rads and tubes with the cooling liquid mix first, then make the final connections to close the loop and top it up. This helps to cut down the final fill and air bubble bleed time dramatically. However, as was the case in the first post re. touching the PCIe card gold fingers with your bare hands, I advise wearing a face mask and gloves when pre-filling a loop with still-open connections - it makes no sense to flush all the bits with distilled water before installation, only to cough on the still-open bits, liquids and such, or touch the inside of fittings and tubes with your bare hands... Another question I sometimes get on my water-cooling builds is why I use separate loops for CPU and GPUs, and why each loop always has two D5s. The first part of the question relates to the complexity of a build - while more cumbersome to set up initially, a dual-loop is easier to upgrade (i.e. with new GPUs) and maintain, especially with strategically placed QDs. The second part is heat management...modern D5s etc have a lot of power and move the liquids fairly rapidly - yet dividing an 1200+ W workstation / 4K gamer into two loops makes heat management easier...these days, most new CPUs and GPUs have boost algorithms that are heavily affected by temps, and good heat management pays handsomely... As to two D5s per loop, that is not absolutely necessary - though it certainly does not hurt either. I always use two D5s per build for fall-over reasons...while I never had a D5 fail in operation (all the ones in the build below are 7+ years old), it is basically just 'habit' from also building high-use servers with which any downtime is costly... ...a second D5 is cheap insurance, in addition to helping flow and pressure...in fact, there are tests that show that dual D5s avoid the 'starvation' and related pressure drops that can sometimes effect a singe D5 due to its larger diameter (when for example compared to a single DDC pump). Finally, the loop part sequence layout is not as critical as is sometimes assumed, as long as the reservoir sits above the pumps, and sharp, restrictive bends are avoided. D5s can move a lot of liquids fast and pressure tends to equalize. Still, even for aesthetic reasons as well as slightly improved pressure and temps, the GPU loop used as an example here has a D5 right before each of the two GPU blocks as those tend to be the most restrictive in a loop. The TR workstation + 4K gamer below has a lot of complex and hidden water-cooling components (total of 5 big rads, 4 pumps, 3 blocks, 20 fans...) yet has been running cool and without any trouble for almost two years now (even been on 3DM HoF now for 1 1/2 years). The prep work I described above not only helped with temps but also to 'hide' a lot of the related tubes, pipes and cables, a bonus since I look and use that system every day...?

Some fittings are better than others re. quality depending on the manufacturer, but I find that on average, they tend to last a long time when correctly installed and maintained. I would advise a bit of caution re. rotating fittings...I do use them (for example the 45 degree rotating fittings below on the TR CPU block) to make routing easier and flow less restrictive. But when installing them, make sure that there is no tension on them in one direction or another, or there could be a leak later on...also, once I install the rotating fittings, they never get, well, rotated and just stay where they are... ...finally, I use 'plumber's tape' (thin, flexible Teflon tape) on every fitting (except QDs of course). This also helps with well-tightened water-cooling fittings coming loose, for example after a week of benchmarking and heat-cycling a new build. Speaking of that, I also check the CPU block screws / bolts after repeated heat-cycling...on more than one occasion, they had loosened just a bit after a week or so of heavy use and heat-cycling.

Layout checks should extend to cabling, fan hubs etc. I actually take and keep photos of that, especially when it is all hidden later on (here 'inside' the two-part back wall of a TT Core P5...before actual cable management with tie-downs). That way you will know the exact location of hidden items when you get back to maintenance a year++ on... Also note the use of good quality, high flow Quick Disconnects...when used within reason (re. flow restriction), they impart a real advantage from a variety of perspectives (substituting other cooling on a temporary basis, loop maintenance or component exchange w/o full draining)

...once the flushing is complete and you plan on a very complex loop/s (example here is a dual loop, quad D5 pump, dual GPU, five rad build), it is best to test out components individually on a simple test bench.. ...then do a test layout for the pumps (always below the reservoir to stay fed), using temporary tubing, especially when working with a combo of flexible and hard tubing (such as copper). Also note that the pumps are mounted on rubber pads - that will help greatly later on with noise and vibration...also note the blue bit of rubber tube slung around a metal L-piece that will go onto the bottom of the rad later on...