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technician

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  1. I decided to make an upgrade. For the motherboard I chose MSI MEG X570 UNIFY, which is practically a barebone MSI MEG X570 ACE. And this Black Friday I was able to buy Ryzen 7 3800x for the price of 3700x. Now I have another dilemma. I’m looking for compatible memory modules. I’d like to fill all 4 memory slots mostly from aesthetical point of view. But I was wondering if it will have some negative effect as opposed to using only 2 memory slots especially after reading warnings about using all 4 slots instead of 2 on X570 motherboards as well as seeing ASRock recommendations here: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-ryzen-3000-cpus-memory-recommendations-asrock,39756.html . I’d like to buy DDR4-3200 memory kit consisting of 4 memory sticks 8GB each. Will it also matter whether memory sticks are single-rank or dual-rank? I’m not planning to manually overclock the memory and will only apply XMP memory profile. It’s also likely that I won’t see much benefit from manually overclocking the CPU. I narrowed my search down to the following kit, which is in MSI’s QVL and marked as suitable for filling all 4 memory slots on this motherboard or at least that’s how I interpret their QVL: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz C16 (SKU: CMK32GX4M4B3200C16W). Can I be sure I won’t have any problems with motherboard or CPU accepting this memory kit? Will it have any negative impact on performance when using XMP memory profile as opposed to using memory of the same capacity consisting of 2 memory modules with exactly the same timings (Corsair, SKU: CMK32GX4M2B3200C16W)? Which one is better from performance and stability point of view or are they equally good? So far MSI didn’t give me a straight answer.
  2. My current build: Asus Maximus VIII Ranger motherboard Intel Core i5-6600K CPU overclocked to 4,7 GHz G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-2800MHz CL15-16-16-35 (2x8GB) Noctua NH-U12S (2 fans) CPU cooler Asus ROG Strix RTX 2070 Super OC graphics card Samsung 960 Evo M.2 SSD system drive Corsair RM650i PSU I was wondering if it’s time to upgrade my CPU, motherboard and RAM and whether I get any benefits out of this. I’d like to be economical and practical about it but at the same time get better performance compared to my current system otherwise there’s no point in spending money and get the same result. So I was thinking about combination of Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming motherboard with Ryzen 7 3700x CPU. There’s one thing I don’t like on this motherboard though, which is how M.2 heatsinks are implemented that require removal of chipset shroud. I also consider Gigabyte X570 Aorus Ultra motherboard for it has 3 M.2 slots and better implementation of their heatsinks. But I have no idea about the quality of Gigabyte’s motherboards, UEFI and customer support as I’ve always used Asus motherboards and got accustomed to their products and ecosystem. I’m not sure if my current RAM will work with these motherboards and CPU and if not, what speeds would you recommend, what capacity and how many modules should I get, two or four. Will 32GB be of any use for me and in the near future and should I get 4x8GB or 2x16GB modules? Will my current CPU cooler be sufficient for Ryzen 7 3700x? If not, I still have my 3-years old Corsair H110i AIO cooler, which I actually consider selling while it lasts and get something like Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black or NH-U12A if my current CPU cooler is insufficient. If this whole idea of upgrading currently not worth it, I was wondering if the next generation of Ryzen CPUs get even better. The way I understand it, this new 7nm manufacturing process brings new challenges and to me it looks like the entire platform has too many ‘rough edges’ like CPUs not being able to hit higher clocks, for instance. I also don’t particularly like active cooling (fan) on chipset. It’s one more source of noise, one more thing to get broken over time. Most of these fans are close or directly under the graphics card expelling hot air. I wonder if already next generation of motherboards will do without active cooling and most importantly, be cheaper than current generation. And I’m not sure if there’s anything better to expect from the next generation of Intel CPUs in terms of price/performance and platform innovation. Correct me if I’m wrong. I’ve been able to achieve sustainable under any workload overclock for my CPU at 4,7GHz on all cores leaving all other settings including core voltage on ‘auto’. Temperatures under load (Cinebench R20, Asus RealBench, gaming) rarely get to 75 degrees Celsius max. I game at 1440p resolution and in such titles as ‘Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’, ‘Shadow of the Tomb Raider’ my FPS hover around 90s with DX12 and around 70s with occasional dips to 60s with DX11 with all the graphics settings at max. Occasionally I do some light photo editing/retouching after scanning my photo negatives from the past, I digitize my CDs, DVDs and some Blu-Rays, which sometimes require format conversion. Blu-Ray conversion actually takes hours with this CPU but I rarely do this. So these are my thoughts. Any comments and suggestions are highly welcome! Thank you in advance!
  3. But this totally negates 0RPM fan mode. Not that fans spinning at low RPM create any noticeable noise but at least it reduces dust build up inside the card. When I replaced thermal paste in my GTX 970 after 3 years of use, it was surprisingly dust-free. Actually, instead of engaging in a lengthy warranty replacement process and in fear of getting a new card with the same problem, I just returned the card to the shop and got a full refund. My other option was MSI RTX2070 Gaming Z card but local shops recently started dropping the price of Asus card that is now €80 cheaper than MSI. I wonder if this price drop is related to higher return rate. I’m not sure how reliable is Amazon rating based on customer reviews but it seems that Asus card has lower rating than MSI. However, based on multiple reviews of these two cards, the Asus card has a slight advantage in terms of features: it has an overall lower operating temperature, lighter and somewhat smaller and more importantly, has extra fan headers which I find quite useful because they allow controlling intake fans based on graphics card load. So should I pay a higher price for less features in hope MSI card will be of better quality or bite the bullet and get another Asus card hoping that it’s not a common issue with this card? By the way, there was another problem with Asus card. Its RGB lighting was turning off occasionally with no particular reason. I open Asus Aura RGB Lighting Control software and the switch is in OFF position. I turn it on and in a few days it would happen again. My Asus ROG Strix RX 480 doesn’t do that in any of my two computers.
  4. I recently bought Asus ROG Strix RTX 2070 O8G Gaming graphics card. Whenever the fans start or stop spinning, they make grinding noise. When the fans spin at a higher and more constant rate, the noise disappears but I’m almost sure I picked it up at some higher rate as well. To witness that, the BIOS switch should be in Quiet Mode position so the fans won’t spin until GPU’s temperature reaches 55 Degrees Celsius. But this temperature is right on the boarder of general computer usage, which means that I get to hear this grinding noise constantly. When the graphics card warms up the fans start spinning making grinding noise. In a few seconds when the card cools down, they stop spinning making grinding noise. So practically I don’t get a quiet mode of operation from the card but instead get to hear periodic grinding noise, which is quite irritating. It’s not like a constant level of noise but instead noise comes and goes every 20-30 seconds. I actually found a video on youtube with similar problem but on Gigabyte RTX 2080 card I still have my old Asus Strix GTX 970 O4G graphics card with two fans and 0dB operating mode, which this card was supposed to replace. And I have Asus ROG Strix RX 480 O8G Gaming graphics card with 3 similar fans and 0dB operating mode in my second computer. None of these cards have this problem with their fans. In fact, GTX 970 is the quietest of the three. Did anybody have similar experience with this card? Is it a loose bearing in the fans or a buggy fan stop mode? Is it a waste of time to get a new one or it will most likely do it too? What are the chances to get another one that does so?
  5. I asked EVGA the same question and their answer was a bit convoluted: “You would use two separate cables 6+2 with only the 6 connected and a 6+2 or 8 pin connected to the 8pin port.” Even considering the results of this experiment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL7KIVI_hJg), I wonder why bother with two separate cables if gain is so tiny? In view of these findings I would prefer to keep cable clutter to a minimum.
  6. I was wondering how to better connect my new graphics card to my EVGA SuperNova 650W G2 PSU (https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/SuperNOVA_G2_650/). Until recently I’ve used Asus ROG Strix GTX 970 OC graphics card that had single 8-pin power connector and there was no question of how to connect it. Now I bought Asus ROG Strix RTX 2070 OC 8 GB Gaming graphics card that has one 6-pin and one 8-pin power connectors. This card also has two 4-pin PWM fan headers and an addressable RGB header. The recommended PSU power for this graphics card is 550w. This graphics card will be installed on Asus Maximus VII Hero motherboard with overclocked Intel Core i7-4790K CPU. What is the optimal way to connect this new graphics card to the PSU (more stable and cleaner power)? It’s probably worth noting that I also plan to overclock this graphics card. The PSU has two connectors for graphics card(s) marked as VGA1 and VGA2. I assume this PSU is capable of powering two graphics cards. Should I use a single 6-pin + 8(6+2)-pin PCI-E VGA cable or two of these cables and connect one of them to 6-pin connector and the other to 8-pin connector? If you recommend using two of these cables, does it matter if I plug 6-pin or 8-pin end of the cable to card’s 6-pin connector? Strangely enough, only 6-pin extension is equipped with capacitor. From all I’ve read and saw so far the conclusion is to use two separate cables as they will give more stable and cleaner power. On the other hand, this will create a cable mess as each cable has a 6-pin extension. Will it cause any damage to my graphics card or PSU and will it affect the performance if I connect them with a single cable? Thank you in advance!
  7. Hi! I'm trying to choose between these two power supplies. My gaming system: Motherboard: Asus Maximus VII Hero CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K RAM: 1866 Corsair Vengeance Pro 2 x 8GB Graphics card: Asus Strix GTX 970 Overclocked Edition SSD: Samsung 850 Evo 250GB HDD: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB CPU Cooler: Noctua with two Corsair fans SP120 PWM Performance Edition Case fans: 4 Corsair AF140 Quiet Edition I'm not planning to run dual graphics cards. According to this online calculator (http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator), my system may consume 370W "in a typical real-world scenario such as running modern 3D games" at stock clocks and minimum recommended PSU is 420W. I assume 550W PSU will be enough for my needs but I want to be sure my PSU will have enough power reserve to handle some overclocking or component change. I'm gonna break it up into things that bother me the most. 1) Corsair cables with built-in capacitors feel a bit like cheating to me. With those cables replaced by regular ones the ripple suppression of both units would probably be similar. Not to mention it makes them bulkier and more prone to damage. XFX flat ribbon cables are more elegant, stealthier and easier to route. 2) Corsair rifle-bearing fan is less reliable than XFX's FDB one. Still I believe it should last for the entire warranty period. But according to some tests, XFX fan is potentially noisier at higher loads. 3) Corsair unit is more elegant to my taste. Not that it matters much for my Corsair Carbide Air 540 case. But there is a bigger problem. The other end of PSU [with modular interface] is secured from two sides by adjustable support bar in my case. I won't be able to properly secure Corsair PSU because of its cut corners/edges. So every time I need to lay my case on its side, I would have to remove PSU first. I don't consider EVGA units for the same reason and the fact that they are 165mm long whereas that support bar is adjustable in 10mm increments (160, 170, etc.) so I won't be able to secure the end of those PSUs at all. 4) It seems that XFX is a two year old unit (I find reviews for current models dating back to January 2014 http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6022/xfx-xtr-550-watt-80-plus-gold-power-supply-review/index.html)whereas Corsair's was released in the middle of 2015. I don't know if it matters much if XFX still adheres to all current standards but I just don't want to buy this unit and see a new and potentially better one released in a few months. 5) Corsair unit doesn't have a test button for the fan whereas XFX's switch for Hybrid/Normal modes not only can be used as a test button but allows to change fan profile. If 650W is a better option for my system then probably Corsair RM650i would be superior than XFX XTR 650W. But I'm afraid that most of the time it will be under 50% load and the money will not be wisely spent. Maybe somebody can tell me something that would tip the scale in one direction or the other. Any advice is highly appreciated.
  8. Folks, you're not gonna believe what the problem was or how I found this out! I remember when I was installing my CPU waterblock that its metal back plate did not make a full contact with CPU socket's metal back plate because it was slightly CONVEXED. I was wondering that perhaps those three screws that hold it to the motherboard are tightened too much. At least one of them that holds the CPU retention bracket was protruding at the back of the motherboard more than others. I unscrewed it a bit and here it was, as soon as I turned the computer on I was presented with an option to activate CrossFire from Catalyst Control Center. So the problem was with CPU not making a full contact with some of the pins, I suppose. So much for factory's quality control... Thanks to all for your assistance!
  9. By the way, would I be able to achieve the same result by unplugging the power cable and CrossFire bridge from the second card as disconnecting from PCI-E slot? I did that and checked the speed of PCI-E x16 slot in GPU-Z utility - it was x8 v3.0. I'm not sure that motherboard doesn't detect the presence of another card in second PCI-E slot even if it's unpowered and without CrossFire bridge. Device Manager didn't list the second graphics adapter but in BIOS second PCi-E slot indicated that device is 'Not present'.
  10. Good point. After all I've been through I start agreeing with it. I only hope that my single card will work as intended otherwise I'll get back to square one and won't know what to blame, my graphics card or my motherboard. For now it seems it's just the idea of CrossFire that doesn't stick with them.
  11. Thanks to all for taking the trouble to share your opinion. I tried suggested registry adjustment before and now again. It didn't help. The cards are seated as good as they can be. I even tried to loosen the screws holding cards to the expansion slots of the case. No change in graphics cards position or their behavior. I have two [dedicated] CrossFire bridges (not SLI) that I tried - no difference. I read motherboard manual and just for the sake of experiment tried all multiple combinations of settings related to PCI-E slots. It didn't make any difference. Maybe it has something to do with this motherboard's BIOS version or even graphics cards' BIOS version. But I'm not at all sure that problem with these particular graphics cards will be addressed by Asus in the next BIOS release if there will be any at all. And updating graphics card's BIOS is complicated and not meant to be performed by regular user. Besides, it might not solve this problem. So what am I facing here? Is it possible that my new motherboard is incompatible with 2-year old graphics cards? Should I just accept this fact?
  12. I connected my monitor to the card in second PCI-E slot and ran GPU-Z's PCI-Express Render Test for each card. In the screenshot that I attached you can see that second PCI-E slot is now at x8 v3.0 and first PCI-E slot is at x2 v3.0. I would appreciate if somebody could help me understand all this information that I have collected so far and make a conclusion. Or am I still not getting anywhere?
  13. Precisely. And like I said before, both cards worked in CrossFire configuration on my old motherboard right before I installed them on this new motherboard, which proves that both ran at the same bus speed with the only exception that that motherboard has PCI Express 2.0 slots. I also built the system back up after I received this motherboard from retailer's Asus support. And I did check processor pins [again], which seemed fine to me. If there was anything wrong with pins, then Asus support would run into the same problem. And now the CPU and graphics cards reseated again. Before installing operating system for the very first time the first thing I did is updated BIOS to a new version. At some point and out of desperation I even reverted back to the old version that motherboard came with. But now I have the latest BIOS again. Can it be so that all versions of BIOS are so screwed up that they don't recognize 2-year old graphics cards? Can CPU itself be faulty and how could I prove that? But again, this is brand new CPU right from the box. What are the chances that it's faulty?
  14. Yesterday I did a clean [re]install of the entire operating system. ALL the latest BIOS, motherboard and AMD drivers are installed. I still don't get CrossFire tick box in Catalyst Control Center. GPU-Z utility also reports that CrossFire is disabled. I ran GPU-Z's PCI-Express Render Test. The primary card's slot configuration was PCI-Express x8 v.3.0 but the secondary card's slot configuration was only PCI-Express x2 v.1.1. I already flipped the cards around on this new motherboard and the problem remains with second PCI-E slot, not with any particular card. I have another CrossFire bridge and tried it already. The PCI-E and CrossFire bridge connectors on both cards seem to be intact (I even cleaned them off possible oxidation, dirt or grease). The cards seem to be fully seated in the slots (locking mechanism is engaged on one side and cards are fixed to the case on the other). By the way, both cards' BIOS versions, BIOS part number and BIOS date are the same. Physically the cards are identical copies of each other. Am I running out of options here?
  15. That is correct, I'm only using the two red expansion slots for graphics cards and not using ANY other expansion slots or M.2 slot.
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