Author: Mr. Robot

ASUS Scammed Us

Has ASUS scammed you? A lot of warranty rejections actually legally qualify as fraud.

This undercover warranty investigation is a one-year follow-up from our series that investigated ASUS for motherboards incinerating AMD CPUs, at the end of which ASUS promised a number of improvements to its then-anti-consumer warranty processes.

Spoiler alert: They’re still anti-consumer. We sent our ASUS ROG Ally Z1 Extreme in for warranty repair for issues with the left joystick (“drift”). The device also had a broken microSD card. ASUS then pointed to the world’s tiniest scratch and tried to charge us $200 for it under threat of sending back a disassembled device if we didn’t pay within 5 days. It felt like extortion.

If you’re wondering whether ASUS is worth buying, the answer for anyone who values support should be “no.” We have now tested ASUS’ motherboard and ROG Ally warranty and RMA processes. Both have been anti-consumer experiences.

geni.us/asusclaim

14600KF 32GB 2TB RTX 5070

1440p Gaming in Silence

♻️Case is sustainably sourced from e-WASTE Cases that have been modified to allow for excellent airflow

Component List
✯ Intel Core i5 14600KF
✯ 280MM AIO
✯ 32GB DDR5 6400MHz RAM
✯ Z790 Motherboard
✯ 2TB up to 7,400MB/s SSD
✯ GeForce RTX 5070
✯ Modded ATX Case
✯ 750w Gold PSU
✯ Non-RGB Fans
✯ Windows 11

Warranty Terms
✯ 3 years CPU/GPU/MBD
✯ 5 years SSD/AIO/FANS
✯ 10 years PSU
✯ Lifetime RAM

Custom Mods
✯ Front Panel (honeycomb)
✯ Fan Bracket

Pricing Info

$ 1,579 (parts)

For purchase inquiries

SUBMIT TICKET

Framerate Isn’t Good Enough: Latency Pipeline

This engineering interview & discussion follows-up our previous industry interviews with people like Tom Petersen of Intel and Bill Alverson of AMD, but now featuring Guillermo Siman of NVIDIA, who joins to discuss the engineering aspects of latency. We’ve recently been talking about an increase in our focus in testing on latency, adding to our existing FPS benchmarks, and this discussion is to help provide an educational backdrop on what truly comprises end-to-end system latency. We’ll focus on the latency pipeline, educational topics such as how the game engine handles and processes input, peripheral latency, and system-level latency (such as from the render queue). These topics also cover various types of bottlenecks.

DustGate

A new display fault that has been dubbed “Dustgate” is plaguing several MacBook Pro models.

The issue, which causes purple vertical lines to appear on screen when the MacBook lid is open at a certain angle, has been seen on several MacBook models, according to repair specialists.

“It’s a common problem, we get several of them a week,”

^{_{An example of a faulty flex cable and how it affects the display.}}

The problem appears to arise from the screen flex cable, which connects the display to the main body of the laptop. At the hinge point between the screen and keyboard there’s a gap that can collect dust and dirt. Debris then gets onto the cable and, through opening and closing the lid, damages the cable over time.

The DustGate issue is typically over $500 to fix, which exceeds the system value due to overpriced display assemblies & depreciation.

Apple needs to but has not currently accepted responsibility, which is not surprising considering that FlexGate issues with the 15″ model never got a repair program either.

Also see: FlexGate: Intentional Widespread Display Failure

NVIDIA DLSS 3.5

AI is transforming the world, and NVIDIA’s Bryan Catanzaro is here to talk about how DLSS is getting even better with Ray Reconstruction technology. Through a new neural network, Ray Reconstruction works on all GeForce RTX GPUs to enhance the image quality of intensive ray-traced content. DLSS puts two computers on your side: the NVIDIA supercomputer training the AI model, and the RTX GPU in your PC executing it in your game.

“GPU Busy” & Pipeline Technical Discussion

This video talks about new tools added to the Open Source PresentMon initiative, adding the capability to monitor a new metric called “GPU Busy.”

In the video, GamersNexus explains the rendering pipeline for frames, including discussion about game engines (e.g. Unreal Engine 5) CPU, GPU, and DirectX or API involvement in taking data and composing a frame presented to the player.

This is a technical discussion with Tom Petersen, Senior Fellow (engineering) at Intel, who explains the new tools and how they can be used by end users and reviewers alike.

As these are completely vendor agnostic and open source, GamersNexus can apply these to reviews of all CPUs or GPUs (in Windows), and likewise the users can run PresentMon for all hardware at home. Intel hardware is not required.

As background, PresentMon has already been around for many years now and is what many reviewers use for their benchmark and reviews process. Find PresentMon here: https://game.intel.com/us/stories/intel-presentmon/

Maximizing GPU Lifespan

This article applies to gamers only and is not relevant for those with regular computers as they do not have a discrete GPU

Make sure you have enough fresh air coming into your system. It’s more important than exhaust.
- For more information on proper fan configurations for gaming systems, please visit Fans – Builds – Mr. Robot
Set system fans to follow GPU temp rather than CPU temp.
- For Corsair and NZXT CPU cooler owners, this can be done in their respective apps by changing the sensor from CPU to GPU. However this method is limited to one sensor.
- For everyone else, this can be done with the FanControl app.
  - For more information on FanControl app, see Improved Fan Control for Gamers – Mr. Robot
- Configure fan curves so fans are off or low RPM at idle temp and ramp to 65-83% max at the temp your GPU usually runs at (usually 60C on my builds).
- Avoid using 84-100% fan speed unless you have inadequate system cooling as this reduces the fan lifespan while increasing noise and dust collection, which leads to performance deterioration from overheating/lack of airflow.
- It’s important to make sure top part of your fan curve either ends below your lowest average GPU temp while loaded or is a plateau. This allows for some wiggle room for jumps in temps so they don’t make your fan speed change. See here:
Clean and repaste GPU every 2 years.
- With gaming laptops, this may be needed annually.
Use the global Max Frame Rate feature in nVidia control panel to prevent your GPU from working too hard to make FPS beyond what the monitor can show (refresh rate) & reduce system latency.

I usually set this to 4-6 frames below the monitor refresh rate.

120 = 116 | 144 = 140 | 165 = 160 | 240 = 234

I also recommend enabling low latency mode.
Some games benefit greatly from the Prefer Maximum Performance setting, to keep the card boosted through low-demand portions of the game, however beware this may have a negligible effect on lifespan as the GPU will never be given any breaks while a game is running.
Use the nVidia FrameView app for system thermal and performance awareness while playing games.

Sub-$500 Desktop Deal: Acer Aspire 12400 / 8GB DDR4 / 512GB SSD / Win 11

Acer Aspire TC Desktop: Intel Core i5-12400, 8GB DDR4, 512GB SSD, Win 11 $321.99

Acer Aspire TC-1770-UR11 Desktop Intel Core i5-13400 8GB DDR4 512GB NVMe SSD WiFi6 Win 11 $408.99

Other resources for sub-$500 desktops:
Acer Outlet: https://acerrecertified.com
Dell Outlet: https://outlet.us.dell.com
Slickdeals: https://slickdeals.net/

Alienware Can’t Get It Right – R15 2023 Pre-Built Gaming PC Review

– Alienware Employee

Alienware Aurora Front Panel Airflow Mod — Front Plastic Removed

Front + Side Mod: **running 40% cooler**

Are you an unlucky Alienware Aurora owner?

I offer front panel and side panel modification service for significantly lower operating temperature, noise, and increased lifespan.

To get started, submit a ticket.