As long as you have something that works for you, that’s all that matters. I have a 7900 XTX now, and I’m watercooling it only because I already had everything except the block. It runs cool on air.

And I agree, watercooling is almost never worth it. I love the hobby, so I stick with it, but I don’t generally recommend it. It is an incredible amount of work and money.

When I bought my reference 6800XT, the temps were horrible. The regular core temps weren’t too bad, high 70s to mid 80s, but hotspot was constantly in the low 100s. Mem temps were about the same.

I had good airflow, and a cool house. Checked all the torques on the board, everything seemed fine. I finally went watercooling, and the card cooled down so much it was unbelievable. I could run 3dMark on a constant loop, and never even crack 50 degrees. Fur mark for an hour, never above 44 degrees and this was on a single 360 rad.

However, temps crept up by 10 degrees over time. Paste pump out happened. Tried a different paste same thing happened a couple months later.

Finally tried Gelid GC Extreme, and it has stayed the course. I think the coolers on the reference cards are just bad, and when you add in thermal cycling, it’s a bad time. I found it especially suspect that the 7900 XTX reference boards had major vapor chamber problems. I wonder if there wasn’t a problem a while in the making.

I find this pretty intriguing, tho I would like to see some thermal testing.

If it isn’t ridiculously expensive, the ease of use would be worth it.

Honestly, if you are just getting a torque wrench for spark plugs (and any other BASIC projects at home) any brand will do. Just make sure it has the torque range you need.

I recommend “click type” because they are easy to operate correctly, and easy to take care of. Seriously, read the manual that comes with it, and follow the steps everytime. If you do this, it will last you a long time.

I bought my two torque wrenches from Harbor Freight for about $10 each. Torquing frame bolts or spark plugs? No problem. Would I use them for valve train or engine internals? Absolutely not.

If you don’t want to go the cheap route, go to any big box store like Home Depot or Lowe’s (US) and anything name brand will do, as long as it has the torque range you need.

I appreciate the update! Seems pretty similar to mine, so I’m guessing there a some similarities in the VBIOS. Thanks again!

Always 3DMark. I love that program. So many uses.

I try to stay mostly on Linux, and voltage control hasn’t been exposed yet. I may go to my Windows drive and play with it, and test the results.

The fan curves on mine aren’t necessarily aggressive, I just wish they were more constant, at a low level. Still, if you remember when you do, I would love to know how your curves are, out of sheer curiosity.

So I have the Sapphire Nitro+, and was wondering if you have monitored your temps on idle?

My temps creep up to 62C, then the fans kick on at about 30%, and cool it down to about 42C, rinse and repeat.

It’s the oddest fan curve I have seen. Just wondering if yours act in a similar fashion, or if this is just how Sapphire programmed it. I have been waiting more than a month for a waterblock, and it looks to be a couple more weeks. I’ll be happy when it comes in, because then the fan curves will be a non-issue.

“Let me guess, someone stole your content?”

Contact any local union in your area. They can point you in the right direction. UAW, IW, IBEW, any of them should be helpful if you call them and ask about obtaining materials and information.

KDE is amazing. When I started messing with Linux, I tried Mint Cinnamon, which is nice, but just didn’t tick all of my personal boxes. Tried Arch, had no idea what I was doing. Ended up trying Nobara with GNOME. Really hated the “Apple” feel. Everything seemed out of place. Later tried Nobara KDE, and I have been there ever since.

KDE allows me desktop widgets for monitoring my watercooling hardware and internal temps. And everything feels right.

Have you ever paid attention to packet loss?

Honest question, because I’m an electrician and Ethernet is so fickle, I’ve always assumed it would play hell on the overall quality.

I do full PC teardowns for my watercooling maintenance once or twice a year.

Usually in pajama pants and socks.