CableMod's custom 12VHPWR cable for GeForce RTX 40 cards burns out.

The 12VHPWR cable is probably a fragile thing to be careful with, and it's unfortunately now the standard for all NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 graphics cards. Manufacturers of power supplies and custom cables like CableMod have gone a step further to offer more durable cables, but it looks like even these can burn out if not connected properly. In [...]


Simple bug instead of feature: Why the AD103-301 on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 only fixes a bug and the AD104-251 of the upcoming RTX 4070 does as well

The speculations why NVIDIA introduces the AD103-301 on the RTX 4080 were quite manifold. It was rumored that the chip would ultimately be cheaper and could also save costs, and quite a few media and commentators in the forums already speculated about a price saving and of course also about the fact that the end customer would probably not get [...]


Radeon RX 7900 from Vastarmor and Dataland have not been presented yet

MSI is not the only company taking its time with announcing its own Radeon RX 7000 cards, Dataland and Vastarmor, two Chinese graphics card manufacturers, have not even released or announced any Radeon RX 7900 XT or RX 7900 XTX custom designs yet. And that is already one month after these SKUs were introduced by AMD. Interestingly, both companies [...]


MSI Radeon RX 7900 GPUs unveiled, no hint at reference models

MSI says no to AMD designs? Kind of. The company finally fulfills its promise and announces the first Radeon 7000 GPUs on a tried and true basis. This is to be done before the end of January. However, no relabeled AMD reference models (MBA) will be launched for the time being. The company has now revealed the full specifications of the new Radeon [...]


Vapor gate including failure of the entire quality management? Background on the cooler problem of the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX (MBA)

Before I mention more numbers about the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and the cooler problem, as well as a few words about the supply chain and its failure in quality management, we also have to talk about quality management in general and quality assurance as well as quality control in particular today. Why? Because it helps to better understand the complex [...]


MSI Afterburner software without MSI support

The most popular overclocking tool programmed by Alexey will now continue without MSI support. The reason for this is the ongoing war in Ukraine , resulting in licensing problems. Due to sanctions, companies like MSI are unable to fulfill their obligations under the contract signed with the developer. Alexey himself lives in Russia. The MSI [...]


SpyderX Elite vs. ColorChecker Display Plus – Colorimeter comparison

Today for the weekend we have some light food. A few weeks ago, I switched my testing software – for my monitor tests – from DisplayCal to Portrait Displays Calman Ultimate. I had written a dedicated article on this and afterwards there was quite a tense disagreement in the forum (to put it mildly). The topic was not the Calman [...]


RMA wave freezed: Is AMD now running out of cards? The warehouses of the Radeon RX 7900 XTX are yawningly empty

I had already reported recently that AMD, even without an official statement about the actual causes, has been offering both a return of the graphics card and an RMA with an exchange for a working card for a few days. We can also see the conditions again here in the (already published) first letter from AMD support. Thus, it should take a bit of [...]


Hotspot problem of AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XTX (MBA): Even several batches of the vapor chamber affected, replacement of thousands of cards starts

I deliberately waited until I could get congruent and plausible information through various information channels, which can now also shed some light after two to three weeks. While AMD’s support initially resisted even acknowledging the hotspot problem as such and described the 110 °C hotspot temperature as completely normal, the situation [...]


Corsair Hydro X Series XG7 RGB 40-Series GPU water block (CX-9020019-WW) Review – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 FE deep chilled

A GeForce RTX 4090 FE is not only expensive, but also still highly sought-after. The original air cooler is almost oversized and as a buyer you hardly have a valid reason to disassemble and rebuild this collector’s item. Well, almost, because the weight and space requirements of this card are the other side of the coin, although the board [...]