gamersnexus EVGA's Final GPU Secrets: Engineering Lab Tour ft. KINGPIN

[bonami2]

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This special lab tour of EVGA's engineering and overclocking lab features KINGPIN of GPU fame as we walk through EVGA design process basics, history of EVGA, challenges with NVIDIA, competitive advantages over ASUS and Galax, murder hornets, and more. As EVGA has exited the GPU market, it's likely that this lab will change forever as it is reworked into whatever new purpose it may need to fulfill and as KINGPIN navigates his future options. You'll want to watch this one -- there's all kinds of industry history and knowledge here.

 

[Avacado]

Man, that video was awesome! So sad that it's coming to an end. That 4 way PCI-e riser that he broke the record with those 1080Ti's is so sick. I wish they produced that. 

[pio]

20 minutes ago, Avacado said:

Man, that video was awesome! So sad that it's coming to an end. That 4 way PCI-e riser that he broke the record with those 1080Ti's is so sick. I wish they produced that. 

You know..........I'm no "expert" by any means, but there's tons of people that DIY exactly those kinds of adapters at home.  I was actually JUST looking into some adapting risers, that I'm going to keep secret until the next good hwbot competition, but its something I'd have to fabricate to an extent.  Not a 4 way like that, but its similar concept.

[J7SC_Orion]

13 hours ago, bonami2 said:

 

 

When I watched it yesterday, I couldn't help but notice there was a certain feeling of sadness and/or resignation in the room (for obvious reasons if you think about it). When 'TIN' Tsemenko left in '19, it was already a big blow, IMO...but now it seems that they are all just drifting towards an uncertain future, waiting for the other shoe to drop...Kingpin looking at an eBike business could be one direction he might take, or he could indeed join another GPU vendor though that is considered unlikely.

 

A quick sidenote on the 'not-a-4090' engineering samples. While the PCB around the power intake in cards with the regular placement of the 12VHPWR connector on top can be a heat issue, it is also relatively easy to solve. The EVGA not-a-4090 ES having the 12VHPWR connector on the side looks like an elegant solution at first, but since their PCB was thus inexplicable long (by far the longest of any 'next gen'/4090 I have seen) introduces other problems. For example, the power had to travel furthest distance to the core and VRAM. Also, the PCB would be very prone to flexing. Finally, with that length and the side-mounted power connector, this card would have been near impossible to fit in even a big case, especially with the 'do-not-bend' 4-into-1 dongles (and even regular 12VHPWR single cable strands).

[Sir Beregond]

End of an era, was a fun video to see how they did things.

[pio]

1 hour ago, J7SC_Orion said:

 

When I watched it yesterday, I couldn't help but notice there was a certain feeling of sadness and/or resignation in the room (for obvious reasons if you think about it). When 'TIN' Tsemenko left in '19, it was already a big blow, IMO...but now it seems that they are all just drifting towards an uncertain future, waiting for the other shoe to drop...Kingpin looking at an eBike business could be one direction he might take, or he could indeed join another GPU vendor though that is considered unlikely.

 

A quick sidenote on the 'not-a-4090' engineering samples. While the PCB around the power intake in cards with the regular placement of the 12VHPWR connector on top can be a heat issue, it is also relatively easy to solve. The EVGA not-a-4090 ES having the 12VHPWR connector on the side looks like an elegant solution at first, but since their PCB was thus inexplicable long (by far the longest of any 'next gen'/4090 I have seen) introduces other problems. For example, the power had to travel furthest distance to the core and VRAM. Also, the PCB would be very prone to flexing. Finally, with that length and the side-mounted power connector, this card would have been near impossible to fit in even a big case, especially with the 'do-not-bend' 4-into-1 dongles (and even regular 12VHPWR single cable strands).

Yeah, hopefully Kingpin finds something else that he really loves doing.  Working for EVGA overclocking everyday for the last 15 years has had to have been a dream job.  Some of that stuff he brought out....man oh man.    The LN2 closed loop build, his 4 way SLI riser, all that history on the shelves that he created, just wow.  And some of those pots he had, just some seriously awesome stuff he has there in his little dungeon.  I don't remember him pulling out the "not a 4090" card though?  I might've missed it with all the rest of the video though.  There was tons of stuff going on in that video afterall.

[Sir Beregond]

12 minutes ago, pioneerisloud said:

Yeah, hopefully Kingpin finds something else that he really loves doing.  Working for EVGA overclocking everyday for the last 15 years has had to have been a dream job.  Some of that stuff he brought out....man oh man.    The LN2 closed loop build, his 4 way SLI riser, all that history on the shelves that he created, just wow.  And some of those pots he had, just some seriously awesome stuff he has there in his little dungeon.  I don't remember him pulling out the "not a 4090" card though?  I might've missed it with all the rest of the video though.  There was tons of stuff going on in that video afterall.

There was a small part in the video where they showed one and how the power plug was placed like how they did it on the 3090 Ti.

[J7SC_Orion]

17 minutes ago, pioneerisloud said:

Yeah, hopefully Kingpin finds something else that he really loves doing.  Working for EVGA overclocking everyday for the last 15 years has had to have been a dream job.  Some of that stuff he brought out....man oh man.    The LN2 closed loop build, his 4 way SLI riser, all that history on the shelves that he created, just wow.  And some of those pots he had, just some seriously awesome stuff he has there in his little dungeon.  I don't remember him pulling out the "not a 4090" card though?  I might've missed it with all the rest of the video though.  There was tons of stuff going on in that video afterall.

   

the not a 4090 is the first shot in the video, plus the second segment at the YouTube bottom bar

 

[Sir Beregond]

1 hour ago, J7SC_Orion said:

A quick sidenote on the 'not-a-4090' engineering samples. While the PCB around the power intake in cards with the regular placement of the 12VHPWR connector on top can be a heat issue, it is also relatively easy to solve. The EVGA not-a-4090 ES having the 12VHPWR connector on the side looks like an elegant solution at first, but since their PCB was thus inexplicable long (by far the longest of any 'next gen'/4090 I have seen) introduces other problems. For example, the power had to travel furthest distance to the core and VRAM. Also, the PCB would be very prone to flexing. Finally, with that length and the side-mounted power connector, this card would have been near impossible to fit in even a big case, especially with the 'do-not-bend' 4-into-1 dongles (and even regular 12VHPWR single cable strands).

I mean it is probably a solution for most standard case uses and how PCIe cables would route from the rear of the case, but yes, would need to have the room for it, I agree. I wonder what the length of the 4090 is compared to the 3090 Ti from EVGA which also had the plug in that location. I don't imagine most in the market for such a card is too worried about trying to fit it. I am sure they'd know if they can or not.

 

That said, I could also see a solution in a design more like how Nvidia angled the 12-pin on the 3080, 3080 Ti, 3090 FE cards when they launched. No hard bends in my plug/adapter.

 

I find current implementation/orientation/location of the 12VHPWR for 40-series card very strange. 

 

Regarding power having to travel further...sure, seems a stretch to me though, but I admit, not knowledgable on that.

Edited December 14, 2022 by Sir Beregond

[pio]

14 minutes ago, J7SC_Orion said:

   

the not a 4090 is the first shot in the video, plus the second segment at the YouTube bottom bar

 

My apologies mate.  I watched more than the first 10 seconds of the video, I got a little distracted by all of the rest of the goodies in there to zone in on just the one card.  There was a LOT to oogle over in there.   

[J7SC_Orion]

...my fav 4090 PCB is the one of the Galax RTX 4090 Hof OCL below...2x 12VHPWR on top for ~ 1320 W. Anyway, my RTX 4090 w/Bykski block and 1x 12VHPWR CableMod cable has thermal putty at the PCB's power intake connecting to the block and runs nice and cool.

 

[pio]

[EHW Ai]

11 hours ago, J7SC_Orion said:

...my fav 4090 PCB is the one of the Galax RTX 4090 Hof OCL below...2x 12VHPWR on top for ~ 1320 W. Anyway, my RTX 4090 w/Bykski block and 1x 12VHPWR CableMod cable has thermal putty at the PCB's power intake connecting to the block and runs nice and cool.

 

 

I was curious to see if GALAX was offering a water cooled version of their OC LAB card yet, so I googled it and and came across the following image at VideoCardz:

 

 

Anyway, I found little alluding to a water cooled version of the card, but my stomach did start growling; the hunger pangs continued to grow in intensity until I think I figured out why: 

 

 

 

Also see Two White Castles' in Lynbrook 

I grew up not far from the one at the train station there, always wondering what sort of burger you could get for a nickel (5¢).

 

[Sir Beregond]

It was interesting to see the evolution of Kingpin products from the Classified and the different things they were looking to do with each product launch for the enthusiast. Was also very cool to see the tricks and such they used to get records. I've never dabbled in that extreme-OC space, but man does that look fun.

[Avacado]

1 hour ago, Sir Beregond said:

It was interesting to see the evolution of Kingpin products from the Classified and the different things they were looking to do with each product launch for the enthusiast. Was also very cool to see the tricks and such they used to get records. I've never dabbled in that extreme-OC space, but man does that look fun.

Indeed. I actually have almost all of those Classy GPU's he showed. Never could find that frosted one though. 

[J7SC_Orion]

9 hours ago, iamjanco said:

 

I was curious to see if GALAX was offering a water cooled version of their OC LAB card yet, so I googled it and and came across the following image at VideoCardz:

 

 

Anyway, I found little alluding to a water cooled version of the card, but my stomach did start growling; the hunger pangs continued to grow in intensity until I think I figured out why: 

 

 

 

Also see Two White Castles' in Lynbrook 

I grew up not far from the one at the train station there, always wondering what sort of burger you could get for a nickel (5¢).

 

  

...yes, the 'outside' / air-cooler does look completely over-the-top and is the polar opposite of the 'inside'...but then, that super-clean PCB is what most people see when they buy this card and mount a LN2 pot on it . They might also offer a water-block for it (again). I am still wondering though (as many have over the past few Galax GPU generations) how Galax gets away with the custom things like 2x 12VHPWR given NVidia's super-tight design and bios control.

[EHW Ai]

1 hour ago, J7SC_Orion said:

I am still wondering though (as many have over the past few Galax GPU generations) how Galax gets away with the custom things like 2x 12VHPWR given NVidia's super-tight design and bios control.

 

Maybe it's reverse engineering. It seems well practiced in their part of the world 

 

You're right about that pcb though. It is 'pretty,' and obviously has potential.

[J7SC_Orion]

3 hours ago, iamjanco said:

 

Maybe it's reverse engineering. It seems well practiced in their part of the world 

 

You're right about that pcb though. It is 'pretty,' and obviously has potential.

 

fyi...that white Galax HoF PCB would go very well with a white Asus Z690 Apex (hint). Just make sure you're well versed in dongleing in white

 

.

[EHW Ai]

5 hours ago, J7SC_Orion said:

fyi...that white Galax HoF PCB would go very well with a white Asus Z690 Apex (hint). Just make sure you're well versed in dongleing in white

 

 I bet you it would. It might go even better with a white Z790 Apex (which is what I've actually got)...

 

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by iamjanco

[J7SC_Orion]

1 hour ago, iamjanco said:

 

 I bet you it would. It might go even better with a white Z790 Apex (which is what I've actually got)...

 

 

 

...I know you have a Z790 Apex (per your earlier posts) which is why I 'hinted' - btw, apparently the 4090 Strix is now also available as a white edition. 

 

As to mobo upgrades on my side, I'm trying to hang on until CES '23 to see about AM5 X3D news, though the Z790 Apex / 13900 KS is on my shortlist in case AMD doesn't deliver a decent AM5 update.

[EHW Ai]

6 hours ago, J7SC_Orion said:

 

...I know you have a Z790 Apex (per your earlier posts) which is why I 'hinted' - btw, apparently the 4090 Strix is now also available as a white edition. 

 

As to mobo upgrades on my side, I'm trying to hang on until CES '23 to see about AM5 X3D news, though the Z790 Apex / 13900 KS is on my shortlist in case AMD doesn't deliver a decent AM5 update.

 

ah, I see get it 

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by iamjanco

[J7SC_Orion]

Connecting somewhat to the original post and repair / labs segments and white PCBs, this fellow has some outstanding equipment and solder skills (he's currently also working on DerBauer's 4090 Strix)