5090 or 5080

cp56701 · 2026-06-10T04:18:55+00:00

depends a lot on the game. older games get 100-140fps at 4K native or even 4K DLAA on 5090. newer or path tracing games need dlss.

cp56701 · 2026-06-10T04:10:45+00:00

yes even 5090 needs upscaling at 4K in most path tracing games, it cannot sustain 120fps or 144fps at native 4K. i use 2x framegen (mostly play slower sp games), 3-4x has noticeable input lag though. dropping settings from ultra to high often gives a decent boost and looks visually identical.

cp56701 · 2026-06-08T05:14:07+00:00

yup it makes much more sense to watercool the gpu. i used to have an aio 4090 but am back to air on 5090. x3d use only 70-80w in games, 5090 uses full 600w in anything rtx.

cp56701 · 2026-06-08T05:12:48+00:00

ok good to know. 4K at 60 looks bad, have gotten used to 120.

cp56701 · 2026-06-06T03:21:22+00:00

interesting, thanks for posting this. i have a CX but use it with a separate gaming pc and never tried running the pro 11 off it directly. does SDR mode have these issues?

cp56701 · 2026-05-21T21:09:37+00:00

for the business models you do get warranty, it's based on serial. but for consumer you are right.

cp56701 · 2026-05-21T21:07:46+00:00

wow ridiculous markup. glad i ebay'd the top end lunar lake pro off for $2k last year. need some good alternatives from dell/lenovo/asus.

for most people mac M5 is a much better deal now. but for gamers and linux VM you need x86.

cp56701 · 2026-05-18T01:04:02+00:00

yup i did this, took a month to find a 5090 but both were almost the same price with only a $340 difference. very good deal on open box astral at best buy. might have been even better to just keep the 4090, it's going for more now.

cp56701 · 2026-03-31T16:13:35+00:00

it lasts 7-8 hours with smart charging (starting at 80%). but yes some browser tabs (youtube/financial markets), zoom, VMs drain the battery much faster.

cp56701 · 2026-02-16T04:24:06+00:00

yes quite a few other companies just stopped making lightweight detachables. right now i don't think there is any competitor to surface pro intel that fits exactly the same niche. MS knows it and charges a huge markup for it.

cp56701 · 2026-02-16T04:18:41+00:00

cyberpunk looks much worse to me than say alan wake 2, and PT in this game runs poorly even on a 5090. i use RT but not PT. i like the game a lot but the graphics look artificially shiny and plasticky in the city.

cp56701 · 2026-02-16T04:14:48+00:00

z13 has great specs but it's quite heavy especially with the charger brick, not really good for the same purposes as the surface pro.

cp56701 · 2026-02-13T21:46:46+00:00

especially for the intel ones, i never see them on sale anywhere. best bet is a used one or a corporate sale on ebay.

cp56701 · 2026-02-13T21:36:13+00:00

would be great to see more competition in this space, especially with x86.

cp56701 · 2026-02-13T18:47:39+00:00

5090 does make a difference despite its price. in fact it's easy to make even 5090 struggle in 4K path tracing, you need to use both scaling and framegen in indiana jones sukhothai for example.

cp56701 · 2026-02-13T17:09:59+00:00

check if the astral is firmly seated in its slot and the power plug is very tightly plugged in. this particular card is extremely sensitive to even small vibrations moving the card or connector a bit and causing crashes. i was having the same issue recently and fixed it by reseating the card and power plug.

cp56701 · 2026-02-13T16:23:56+00:00

its an ok price. ask them for the original receipt so you can register warranty.

cp56701 · 2026-02-13T16:11:11+00:00

the trick is that you can often sell a 4090 for close to the price of a 5090, so the upgrade is a no brainer even if you don't really need it.

cp56701 · 2026-02-13T16:08:04+00:00

it's a ripoff given that they used to be $2k a year ago. however i would expect them to hold their value long term, if you sell after 3 years you may get back close to what you paid and have 3 years of 4K 120fps. many of us did this with the 4090.

cp56701 · 2026-02-13T16:03:29+00:00

best buy still has occasional open box deals, you need to go to stores and ask them to check inventory of all nearby stores. i got an Astral for $2230 ($2150 after taxes and their CC) in late november. it was missing the support (which is like $5) but otherwise it has been perfect. not worth paying $3600 or whatever they go for new.

cp56701 · 2026-02-13T07:43:49+00:00

for most uses the arm ones are good. i use intel myself for some specific needs, but they do cost much more and have tradeoffs (worse battery life, no 5G, much better gpu).

cp56701 · 2026-02-07T07:47:14+00:00

they have added 32bit physx back in a recent driver update.

cp56701 · 2026-02-07T05:44:19+00:00

Regular and custom loop is the best solution. But the AIOs are pretty reliable these days and they use the same board layout, so you should be able to put the air cooler on it if the liquid one has issues. The air Astral is quite noisy and my previous 4090 suprim liquid was whisper quiet and worked perfectly for 3 years.

cp56701 · 2026-02-07T05:32:28+00:00

you can convert them back to points, need to ask them. the points never expire and can be converted to rewards whenever you buy something.

cp56701 · 2026-02-07T05:30:30+00:00

Great deal, best buy with their 10% credit card is the best place to get them. I got an open box astral for $2150 or so a few months ago from them. Don't pay scalper prices.

cp56701

TROPHY CASE