pio

From what I can tell on the rules for Stage 1 Nvidia: Only use videocard from the GeForce 600 series family. Use 2 videocard core(s) in total. Processors with a socket LGA1200, LGA1700 socket, AM5 socket socket are forbidden. An UL benchmarks verification link is required From how that reads to me, I'd say GTX 690 would qualify for that bench. Maybe @Bastiaan_NL or @Avacado can clarify? That's how it reads to me though.

I mean I'd buy the FX 9590 off you later on. I already have a Sabertooth and lots of DDR3 though.

From everything you're describing, yeah it sounds like receiver + a really good 2.1 setup. Subs, you can always use more than one to gain the effect you're looking for, or one that has really good range + some transducers on your chair to get the "impact" even with lowered volumes. Either way, definitely want the lowest frequency extension you can possibly get within your budget. Speakers, there's so many to choose from, or you can even look at DIY options too. If you're into that idea, go browse around parts express for a while. I'm always super budget, so I can't speak on the higher end prebuilt sets, but even budget options like Daytons or Micca's would probably blow you away in comparison to Creative stuff. Depending on how you want the setup to sound too, you might consider watching the lower frequency ranges on the speakers too. Personally I like my sub crossed over around 60Hz or so, so I usually want my speakers to extend down to at least 60. Something to think about at least, is that you want the sub and speakers to blend well at your crossover point. Don't knock out the smaller desktop DAC / amps either, there's several of those out there that support proper 2.1 with USB input as well. Some even have a headphones amp too, my SMSL AD18 does. Receiver will definitely be more powerful usually though, and have a lot more functionality to it than a small desktop amp though. Just other options to think about with a 2.1.

I'd use a digital signal from your pc (USB or hdmi), and use a built in dac on a receiver or amp. You don't need to separate the dac and amp. Most receivers have a fantastic dac. But like others have said, it all boils down to your use and creativity. How much space do you have? 2.1 or are you wanting to push for surround (can you PROPERLY setup surround?). What size speakers do you want? What frequencies do you want the setup to reach (example, most apartment people probably don't want a subwoofer capable of 20hz). Do you require headphones amp capability in the same setup as well? That'll effect what amp(s) you pickup too. And yeah, don't say creative sounds good again. We'll fix that line of thinking real quick!

Why does Jan going there 18 times a day effect what you're seeing?

Unfortunately no. Extended clocks seem to be working, but voltage control was a no go. Best I could get was 950 core, 960 would crash it. GPU was peaking at a whopping 54*C core under load, so wasn't really a temperature thing. Definitely needed more vcore.

Alright, got my 6850 ran. Placed 10th (so far) in Heaven and Firestrike, and 9th on Vantage. Probably won't keep those places as that's all this poor card has in it without a vmod. Was fun ruining my install for a few hours of benching though!

Yeah its probably getting to the point to look at Ryzen 5000 series and maybe 12th gen Intels going forward for used stuff probably.

Alright, I'm preparing myself to wipe the main rig and pop this 6850 in there..... Sigh. You guys are monsters.

Yeah it actually was a CD copier device from the 1990's. The IDE cable plugs into a little motherboard inside, and into the 2 CD drives. You turn it on, there's a POST beep that comes from it. You then pop a blank in the writer and your source in the top drive, and once both drives are populated it begins the copy process on its own. Another loud beep from the PC speaker when its done, and your copy pops out. It was kind of neat. It was worth $9 just to say I tried it once.

I saw that, great work so far! Don't worry, I'm sure @Avacado and @Bastiaan_NL will be around soon enough to blow you out of the water. My card will just be on software / stock cooler, but hey....points are points!

People still use OCN? Yeah ouch, that's definitely a new thing I don't remember seeing there before. I had an overclocked account for years and years over there, but when they took that away, I haven't been able to login since. Oh well.

In! Wait, I'm not doing that right am I? I've got a 6850 incoming, I'll be joining soon.

That would actually be a pretty neat car to show off. Beat up, yeah sure.....but it travelled.

Oh okay that makes sense now. The opporater contrals the drones.

What's an opporator? Sorry, I'm not too up to date with the AI terms. Regardless, I always said AI is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. So long as we respect that tool, and use it to better our lives, then I see nothing wrong with it. I think just like Crypto (at least for now), its probably here to stay. I don't think it's comparable though, one is a form of currency, and the other is a tool.

I can't tell which one's which in your screenshot there, but it LOOKS like your dedicated card is working? 42% GPU usage at 1040MHz core clock, that sure looks like a GPU? CPU usage is at 92% usage. You're being CPU bottlenecked in that particular environment it looks like. Unless the GPU's are listed backwards in the overlay there? I can't really tell for sure either.

Did you burn it up again????

Learn something new everyday, thanks Pook! I haven't tried direct connection in a long time anyway, but good to know if I ever need to again.

Honestly and sadly, its nothing new. My 6900XT is a good example of last gen having the same problem. Mine's actually faulty thermal pads though, so a simple re-TIM wouldn't fix anything on mine. XFX I believe learned the same lesson the hard way so many years ago when they switched to AMD cards. So long as they're operating "within temperature" they deem them as fine since it'll fail just outside of warranty anyway. To be fair, this isn't just an AMD thing either. Nvidia and Intel I'm sure both do it just as much.

This probably would be the easiest solution, and yes it does work. The first PC just becomes the "router" basically to the second PC, so both can still talk to each other. And both can get to the internet. You'd want to let DHCP handle it probably at that point (you can go manual once you see what DHCP sets things to). It's unclear if an internet connection or secondary LAN is even available though. It could be a fully offline LAN game he's trying to play too? Only reason I brought up crossover cables, the question sounded to me like an old school offline LAN setup between 2 rigs. Definitely need a slightly better idea of the proposed network in total and the goals of it. It's ALMOST sounding like you've got your ISP modem connected directly to PC1, and PC2 is connected to PC1 because no router? If so, yes follow Pook's advice and just use internet connection sharing and DHCP. If you are NOT using an internet connection and just trying to directly connect 2 rigs together, I think, THINK that's still a crossover patch cable situation?

@Avacadoyou should hook some of your review team up with a 4060Ti.

It's been a good minute since I've ever tried to pull this off........ so much easier with a router and switch lol. Do you have a crossover cable you're using? IIRC it has to be a crossover cable to be direct connection like that. That rule MIGHT have changed since I did this. Is it possible that subnet of 192.168.1.x is already in use for actual network use? Maybe try 192.168.2.x? I really don't know, like I said, I've used a router / switch for years and years now. I haven't tried a direct connection like this since the 1990's.

Looks like its about on par with a 5700XT or 6700XT ish from AMD. Definitely seems to be a tad weak for that performance bracket. Obviously Nvidia's pricing is outrageous. Yeah, I'm not interested in anything Nvidia anymore honestly after this generation. Normally I don't really care that much between brands (I tend to go AMD because of my collections). But this, this is getting to be stupid.