pio

6 hours ago, speed_demon said:

I just found this thread. There is so much yet to read through! Loving it so far.

It's alright, its just starting to get really good.   

I believe I only have 1 rig left to build (and a few to install / image).  2 if you count the 3rd Socket 939 setup I wanted to put together, but the board still needs repaired.  Should be all done by mid this year for sure, and I'll actually start taking them out and doing more pictures / benches with them. 

Once they're done too, I'll be redoing the OP a little bit to show them off better too.  I don't think I've touched the original stated specs since I made my list years ago.

EDIT:
Updated the OP's build list.  I do still need to get pictures done, uploaded, with full specs.  It's on my list of things.  Still trying to get them all 100% imaged though so I can always easily get them working again.  Worried about that before pictures.

So I have more good news to report, I guess.  Good and bad.

The FX rig lives!  I present (again) Bulldrowser:

AMD FX 8350 @ 4.5GHz, 1.45v (2400 NB / 2600 HT)

Cooler Master basic whatever 240mm AIO with Arctic P12's
Asus Crosshair V Formula
16GB (2x8GB) GSkill DDR3-1866 @ 9-11-10-28-1T
Sapphire TriX R9 290x
EVGA 750w PSU
2x Samsung 120GB SSD RAID0
2x HGST 3TB HDD RAID 0
Intel Wireless + BT
LG Blu Ray Burner

Corsair unknown case

Now, time for the bad.  I said there was bad.

The Cooler Master unknown 240mm AIO appears to have lost some coolant along its journey with the FX 8350.  As such, it no longer has the cooling capacity it once had.  This poor AIO is being heat soaked by this FX 8350 at stock voltage.  I did purchase a 280mm AIO for it, unfortunately A)  it won't fit and B)  it won't mount.  So for NOW, sadly, I'll have to accept 4.5GHz out of it as good enough.  It is passing prime95 stability tests for over 12 hours there.  It appears rock solid.  Temps are high, but how often will it be prime95'ing?  Unfortunately this means I require a bigger case for the build AND a bigger AIO if I want to continue trying to push a higher speed out of an FX 8 core I think.  So, for now, its fine at 4.5GHz.  Maybe if I get SUPER bored and everything else is done maybe.

I do have a second CPU I can try in there as well.  However the second CPU seems to have a bugged temp sensor on it.  It also seems like its going to heatsoak this AIO regardless around the same clock speed anyway.  The AIO is definitely the weak point here with it grinding like it is.  It WILL get replaced, I just don't know if I'll go full on stupid and find another case too.

Also:

More bad news:

My old Sabertooth motherboard I pulled out, appears to have the 8pin extension welded to it.  Oops.  You can see discoloration from heat on there (and I promise, that cable is NOT coming off).  So, we've found the culprit on why that board wasn't stable.  It's probably fixable to be honest for anyone handy with an iron.

Idk man, that "toxic behavior" comment has me a little sketched out.  

So long as we have good mods, which we do right now, I see no problem.

/me laughs maniacally with 350nm AMD K6.  They're not taking away MY nanometers!!!!  

What's even better, my CPU is literally worth its weight in gold!  

2 hours ago, Slaughtahouse said:

 

Same but I wouldn’t buy one for framegen.

 

Even in Avatar, where it’s been reported to be the best implementation yet, it’s not worth committing to. Maybe if you have 80-90fps baseline in your preferred game but there are not enough games that support FSR3 where the 7900XTX can blast it at 4K.

 

Their driver level implementation is not good. Too much judder when you move around. 

I've had pretty good luck with AFMF so far, and the frame gen on FSR3 too.  I view these as ADDED features though to monkey with, not so much as a "game play necessity" to turn on every title.

It's definitely not a set it and forget it setting.  It's a setting to use on a per game basis.  Avatar the framegen seems to work very well and smoothly (with my setup at my resolution).  I use it on Void Crew as well, and it works great there (AFMF).  Other games, I think I tried Cyberpunk and it was a jittery mess.  It's getting better at least.  Still installing my gaming titles though, so I can't speak for my whole library yet.

And yes, you DEFINITELY want to turn on AFMF with a high framerate to start with.  I try to keep at 60+ (with AFMF off), so I stay within my freesync range at ALL times including the dips.  It does feel a LOT smoother in some titles with it on.  First person games I've noticed tend to be a LOT worse and jittery.  I don't much use it on first person titles (yet).

But that's also why I feel like these AI generated frames really aren't that great anyway.  I'm always pro raster camp, get the fastest GPU you can afford and power through it.  I didn't buy a 7900XTX for the framegen, I bought it because it was the fastest card I could afford, that would push my resolution.

Some pictures from my pain in the rear today.......

New AM5 build (sig rig): 

Old hotness put back into my Phanteks ITX case where it belongs.   (Old 5800x / 6900XT rig):

2 hours ago, bonami2 said:

If 7900xtx drop am getting one. Waiting to see their version of frame gen. Am not getting a 16gb vram gpu.

Been very very pleased with mine.

Well, it seems like its performing properly.....and better than a 5800x.

AM5 build - done (in the old HAF700 case I was already using)
AM4 - 5800x / 6900XT build - in pieces but assembling tonight so will be done (again) in the ITX case
FX rig - everything's here, I just need to put it together (probably not tonight)
Ryzen Rigs (all of them) - Need imaged

Then it'll just be some monkeying around to get the K5 going, see if I can get a spring for the power switch.  See if I can even make a K5 run.  And then, Socket 939 CFX board needs repaired and that rig built, and I'll be 110% done with the "collection".

I hope to be able to post more pictures of each individual rig, their specs, and just overall better information on them here very soon.

3 hours ago, Sir Beregond said:

Podcast sounds interesting. I can be the resident "back in my day, a candy bar graphics cards cost a nickel!" guy. I'm kidding, I would love to participate though.

 

Another things video could be used for is tech news like our news section if we could make it interesting.

I'd be down to doing podcasts.  IIRC the idea was floated around before, like 6 months or a year ago.  Let's do it.
 

The T shirts thing - guys, @iamjanco does have a very valid point about brand marketing.  As a brand, EHW really should try to promote a similar design across all types of merch.  It's just smart marketing, which is what this thread is about.  Anyone that wants to do a custom one off, go for it!  Seriously!  Just don't put it up as "official".  "Official" stuff should all look very closely the same, within reason of course.

7 hours ago, damric said:

Good luck with the new CHV! 

 

Mess around with any of that FM2 yet?

No, not yet.  Trying to get the "collection" pieces done again first after breaking everything.  

Currently I have to fix:

FX Rig - needs board and cooler swapped
Main Rig - needs main parts swapped - AM5 build installed

Old Main Rig - needs built in old ITX case with 5800x / 6900xt
Server - needs NVME pulled for main rig
Every Ryzen and newer rig - needs imaging

Windows ME Rig - needs finished imaging

K5 - needs built (missing a stupid spring)
939 Crossfire - needs board repaired and then built

And then I have 2 other builds I'm working on, for an article here at EHW.  Those are going to take priority here very VERY soon once everything's here for them.

Not much done YET since latest update, but I did record a video showing where I'm at with these all right now.
 

This was the same reason I went away from OPNsense on mine.  I do not have a solution, just sharing that I've faced the same problem before of port forwarding not working / UPNP not working correctly on OPNsense.

3 hours ago, Avacado said:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvDDbj3qJYg-5FSPFWJxqMw

Yup, Northwest Repair can get it done for you.

I'll be honest, you're probably going to spend more to repair it than you would buying a used Vega56 maybe.  HOWEVER, you'd have a fully functional card by repairing, NWR is really good at what he does.  So..........good luck?  Could search around on ebay and see if you can score a MI25 assuming @LabRat hasn't bought them all yet.  

Probably going to continue keeping the mod list pretty small.  Updated server 2 to have Roane County, TN instead of Alzan Trails.  The trails map required a very heavy PC to run, so joining with other players might be rough on them.

Also, pleased to announce we'll be having a Youtuber join us on the servers!  Idk if he'll join the forum or not, but if anyone pops in and sees EctorPlays in there, give him a special shoutout and EHW love!  

Slimmed the server down a LOT.  The latest 0.31 updates have added a ton of new content, a lot of the mods I was using are really no longer needed.  So, from now on all you need to do is download the modded map file (if we're playing on a modded map) and place it into the correct folder:
"C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\BeamMP-launcher\Resources"

The server will now auto send you the rest of the mods.  It's only like 400MB additional, and my 10Mbps upload speed, while slow....will get you the files no problem in a "reasonable" amount of time.

New mod list:

Mods of Mods:

• FBS 10-12" Lift Kit for D-Series and Roamer 1.1
• Spaced Out: Wheel Spacers 22
• 1320 Offroad Wheel Pack 2.0b
• Brake Glow Mod 2.31
• Realistic Headlights 1.29

Maps:

• Roane County, TN, USA
• Motorsports Playground .30

Server Status:

US servers are - ONLINE

Does it have to be a 2023 released title?

I want to say Wobbly Life.  Released in 2020 though, but its still in Alpha stages, so maybe it counts?  It's probably the game I had the most fun in, in 2023 though.

57 minutes ago, Sir Beregond said:

What's funny is that it was actually ATI that started the war of the big dies that led to G80 and the 8800 GTX. Within context of the general die sizes of the era, they completely upset Nvidia with the R300 (which was the legendary 9700 Pro and later derivatives) as their way to completely dethrone Nvidia who was winning the performance crown at the time and Nvidia just kept increasing die sizes after to win until ATI and later AMD couldn't keep up with big die strategy. 2900 XT was a complete flop for them.

 

And of course Nvidia just kept pushing it, though AMD still pushed it hard with 4870 and 5870 against the big Nvidia dies and did very well except for where it mattered...sales and profit.

 

And who can forget:

 

Now now now, the GTX 580 wasn't THAT bad.  The GTX 480 was what people were using to cook food on..... 

Friendly reminder that the 8800GTX, 18 years ago, was a 155w TDP GPU and was considered an absolute monster.  It's only been very recently that these kind of power figures have become okay for GPU's (and CPU's now too with the latest parts).  Now.....you need a dedicated 240v line for your system if you want multiple 4090's.

Our parts creators are doing it wrong I feel like.  We're constantly pushing for more and more power draw, and the hell with efficiency anymore.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love having the latest and greatest shiny parts.  But I feel like somewhere along the way, we've lost the goal of making things regular people can use. 

5 hours ago, GanjaSMK said:

I'm on my early-adopter 6800XT still that I paid dearly for during COVID. 

 

And now, the only REAL path upgrade for me - it seems - would be either a 7900XTX or a 4070Ti Super. 

 

Am I in the right ballpark?

I went from a 6900XT to a 7900XTX and the difference was huge, ESPECIALLY in RT enabled titles since now I can actually play RT titles.  I would say a 7800XT or better, or maybe a 4070Ti or better from Nvidia would be worthy upgrades for your GPU.   Obviously the better the card, the bigger the upgrade will feel.

Quote

PNY denied warranty for this 4090 blaming couple of scratches that had nothing to do with the problem. In the end, the GPU was not faulty at all, it was simply covered with goop preventing it from powering on.

Source- Youtube - "*BREAKING NEWS* PNY denied warranty to this 4090 for nothing"

Note:  NWR is a GPU repair company and has been in business for years, and he's very highly rated.  I would absolutely trust his opinion on something like this.  I wouldn't normally say a youtube video is worthy of a news story, but I'd argue actual professionals should get coverage.   

2 hours ago, ozlay said:

I wonder how long of a name pny will come up with this time. Maybe  a "PNY GeForce RTX 4070 Titanium super 16 GB XLR8 Gaming VERTO EPIC-X RGB OC"

4 minutes ago, neurotix said:

Clicky all the way brother! Yeah MX Browns aren't that great, I've seen a lot of people over the years recommending Gateron Browns instead.

 

If you ever get the spare cash, you should build a custom board, maybe a Keychron, and if you want clicky use Box Jades- they're the loudest and most clicky switch I have.

 

 

Yup, that sounds closer to what my Redragon sounds like.  It very well could just be that my Redragon is worn out, and / or it could be something to do with the bottoming out noise too.  I noticed this Rosewill keyboard almost sounds "softer" when bottoming out compared to the Redragon.  Maybe the keycap material or something?  Not sure.  But yeah, that video you showed is basically the level of "clicky" I was hoping for.

Like I said, for a $30 board, this Rosewill is really good.  I paid $55 for the "Ajazz" Chinese MX Browns board 4 years or so ago.  My Ajazz board still works absolutely great, like new (its just filthy dirty now).  I just didn't like the MX Browns switches on it.  So I'm confident this Rosewill K85 will probably last me for another good few years.  I'm in no hurry for an expensive board, I have other hardware to buy.   

1 minute ago, neurotix said:

Fair enough. I'm sorry it didn't meet your expectations and I over hyped it.

I'm only going to say this once......

Quit apologizing. 

The keyboard is fine.  It's not quite MX Blues level of clicky / tactile feeling for me, compared to my old Redragon, yes.  But it was a $30 gamble, and I took the bet.  Honestly, it was well worth the $30, maybe even more as I like this board 100x better than the MX Browns switch board I just got rid of off my desk.  It's just not QUITE as "clicky" as I'd have hoped for.  But its a ton better than MX Browns.  Why'd I ever think I'd like MX Browns?