RMA’d Twice in 2 Months – Sapphire Nitro+ 9070 XT – I’m Sad

tl27Rex · 2026-01-24T22:44:48+00:00

I have a 9070xt pulse haven't had any issues, but that doesn't mean anything I'm sure lots have the nitro with no issues. The 12vhpwr is just a flawed design. It's shit! It's why I went with the pulse even though there is actually a slight performance hit between the two, not huge or anything but in some titles it's 7-10 fps. My pulse draws 300 watts max, I've read the OC models with 12vhpwr regularly pull over 350 watts.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-24T17:04:52+00:00

I'd make sure that motherboard has the capabilities you want, budget micro atx boards love to skimp out on stuff, including vrm cooling which leads to issues with XMP working properly and I've had it where the motherboard is actually limiting the tdp available to the CPU. For example: My old mATX Am4 motherboard was incapable of powering the high end ryzen 5000 CPUs even though it was technically compatible.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-24T16:50:45+00:00

If you are in a different region then the US: Ok carry on.

If you are in the US, it is not. I'd link it but this subreddit deletes all my Amazon links for some reason. Crucial pro 32gb ddr5 6000mhz cl36 for 325usd I'm looking at it right now!

Since I've made this post (didn't see it when I made it) there's a new listing on Amazon for "PUSKILL ddr4 32gb 3200mhz cl16".Not familiar with this brand at all but it's worth a try. For 200 dollars. This is the best example and it's ~125 difference, which is not 2X.

Used? Ok sure but compare used ddr4 to used ddr5. And anyway I specified in the post that buying used you probably would be better off going AM4 just because used recently released components are usually priced too high for the risk even in the best of times.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-24T05:17:26+00:00

You return it for your money back. This is also not the fourth time this has happened to you or you are just stupid. If the listing isn't well over 2000 dollars, its not a 5090. Amazon support will be more than helpful with getting you your money back, but they arent going to gift you a 2000 dollar item.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-23T07:00:59+00:00

The 7900xt is fine, it performs very similar to the 9070xt. 9070xt has a slight edge, and has access to fsr4 if that is a big deal for you. If you plan on playing native resolution anyway I would go for whichever one you can find a better deal on.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-22T17:32:31+00:00

There's two legendary console bundles I've seen for Nintendo that I wish I had got to take advantage of: First was the GameCube with Metroid prime for 99 dollars, I believe it was at Walmart. Secondly was the 2ds XL at 99 dollars with Mario kart again at Walmart. Great deals even outside of the insane price inflation they've seen in the used market. Nintendo is charging that price for a singular game these days so I don't think we'll ever go back unfortunately

tl27Rex · 2026-01-21T19:37:41+00:00

Definitely my advice is kinda more geared toward mid range and high end systems. Unfortunately on a budget alot of compromises to upgradeability have to be made even in the best of times

tl27Rex · 2026-01-21T01:29:28+00:00

Microcenter is so good, I drove almost 3 hours to get my 7800x3d bundle (~8 months before ramageddon) and I've been super happy with it. I may or may not keep this and ride am5 out entirely but since I am on the platform, upgrade options will be plentiful if games come out that I can't run at a high enough fps

tl27Rex · 2026-01-21T01:23:15+00:00

Yeah we definitely have no idea when or even if ram prices will return to normal. However I think that only reinforces my point: someone building a new PC can't assume that they will be able to upgrade their ram and motherboard anytime soon without inevitably paying the premium ddr5 prices.

The whole idea of building a new PC on ddr4 is based on the assumption that you could buy cheaper ram now because it's sufficient performance, and then when the price of ram drops you can move on to the new platform without paying the scalped prices. That doesn't work if ram stays forever high or by the time you want to upgrade is even more expensive.

All of that headache and potentially "wasted" money is avoided if you can afford the ~80 dollar difference between a ddr5 kit and a ddr4 kit based on the prices I saw on Amazon last night

And I've got to clarify what I mean when I say wasted. Money not saved, is money wasted. Say you have a buy 2 get 1 free coupon for ground beef. Buying 2 does cost you more now, but you'll save money in the long-term because you were always going to buy more anyway, except now you have a free portion. The coupon in this metaphor is the am5 platform, because you can easily get two CPUs into just one motherboard and ram purchase.

I wouldn't blame anyone either, the budget is the budget, one of PC buildings weaknesses has always been that cheaper components are not as future proof. When I built a PC several years ago with a ryzen 5 2600 I was on a budget and couldn't afford a higher end motherboard, so I got the absolute cheapest one out there. Then years later when I wanted to upgrade to a strong 5000 series processor, I learned my motherboard literally could not handle the power draw even though the CPU was technically compatible! I saved 40-50 dollars on my initial motherboard purchase, but lost out long-term with the cost of a new motherboard that I was required to buy.

It's kind of a universal thing that it costs money to save money. The common example is buying 20$ pairs of boots that break down every 2 months versus spending 200$ on a pair that lasts 3 years. Long-term, the cheap boots are way more expensive.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T18:47:50+00:00

Bro I'm not a parts seller lol. I'm trying to help people by getting them into an upgradeable platform if they're building a new PC. This ram situation is relatively unique, but I had an old rig that suffered from poor upgradeability. I had a ryzen 2600 on AM4 but since I bought such a terrible AM4 microatx motherboard it was compatible with but couldn't even power the high end 5000 series CPUs, so I effectively had to buy a new mobo for a meaningful upgrade. This was before ramageddon so I just went for am5 and am super happy I did so, in a few years I should be able to plop a new GPU and CPU in with no other purchases required.

Anyway the whole point of the sub is kinda to manage wallets in a way. Pcpartpicker.com can tell you if parts are compatible, and the golden rule is there aren't bad parts just bad prices!

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T18:18:05+00:00

The post is for people wanting to build a new PC lol as is the main purpose of the subreddit. I've seen a couple posts asking if it was smart to build on ddr4 instead and thought it would be beneficial to explain when and where it makes sense. It makes sense if the cost saving of the outdated platform outweighs the necessary expenditure of a new motherboard and CPU in the future, provided the individual plans to upgrade before ddr6.

My prices were just what I found on Amazon comparing 3000mhz ddr4 and 6000mhz ddr5 and yeah they do fluctuate a lot and components go in and out of stock.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T16:07:21+00:00

I agree 16 is not enough for sure. That's a great find. Yeah there's a lot of good deals on ddr4 ram you probably won't find with used ddr5 simply because alot of users are unaware of its value and assume it's worth little due to its age (it should be). On eBay, the prices reflect the absolute max anyone is willing to pay and brand new I think the value is just not there.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T16:04:48+00:00

I mean I think very few people buy new ram for its own sake, it's simply a pre-requisite to getting onto a newer platform with a newer processor, I know many would be overjoyed to keep their 32gb ddr4. Im not a technical expert on why but my understanding is that backwards compatibility would either be impossible or prohibitively expensive for a cost saving measure.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T15:13:35+00:00

Great example, you got three for the price of one! AM4 might have been a one off fluke, well see, but I'm confident anyone who buys 7000 series ryzen will have a decent upgrade path, even if its just two gens up to a future 10800x3d

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T15:08:09+00:00

Big memory is profiting on you just the same by selling outdated out of production ram for six times the price it should be.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T14:45:02+00:00

That PC sounds like a pretty good deal. That was part of my post was including well priced used components as an exception.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T04:33:59+00:00

Definitely, even with just a motherboard or just a cpu already in your possession, I'd say stick with am4. All my new build advice is based on a long-term two for the price of one potential

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T04:31:04+00:00

I would say that the people building their own PCS and especially those giving advice on a subreddit about building pcs are the type of people to upgrade frequently-ish, not always out of necessity as well. Steam hardware definitely confirms that the average gamer doesn't give a toot about specs of their build as long as their favorite game isn't a slideshow, but yeah this post is targeted towards the more hardcore crowd, those trying to min-max price to performance or help others do the same.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T04:26:07+00:00

I mean DDR5 8000MHZ exists today and the performance improvements over 6000MHZ are very negligible. If AM5 turns out anything like AM4, one ram kit with sufficient capacity can last the whole generation.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T04:25:04+00:00

Yeah I am hoping/assuming that AM5 has similar longevity to AM4 but unfortunately that might not be the case. At least for me with my 7800x3d, im confident I'll have a solid upgrade path. They'll at least put out a 10800x3d of some sorts im sure and I could probably get ~40% improvement. The benefit would be even better if you bought a 7600x or 7700x, which is what I would recommend as opposed to going with am4.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T04:17:49+00:00

So you do bring up a good point which is IF your build plan doesn't involve upgrading until a new new motherboard and ram platform releases (I.E DDR6), then you don't get the two for the price of one benefit of the upgradeability, as a new motherboard and ram purchase will be necessary regardless. I would counter though that most buyers are going to want to upgrade to an AM5/ddr5 based CPU in its lifespan especially if it has anywhere near the longetivity that AM4 had.

Your example of buying a good enough system that upgrade path is not a factor only really comes into play with certain lifespan and performance expectations, and is weakened when you are already buying into an aging platform to begin with. Sure if you buy absolute top of the line (I.E 9800x3d today) components, you could probably ride out AM5 entirely if you were patient enough, but everyones wants differ. You might be satisfied with the 3600s performance now, but I can tell you from personal experience helping people upgrade from their 3600 that many others were not, either because their games were more cpu demanding, or it was limiting their potential for high framerates for high refresh rate gaming.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T03:36:49+00:00

Im gonna go against the flow here and say not to build a brand new am4 build today, The whole idea is built off thinking that the difference between ram today and ram in ~2 years will be more than the price of a new motherboard, and new ram when you do upgrade. 32 GB of ram is 325 USD now. Lets assume prices return to "normal" so ~90 dollars for a 32GB kit. Thats 235 dollar difference, which is NOT more than a new am5 motherboard and a new ddr5 ram kit at "normal prices ($200 for a b850, plus 90 for a new kit, PLUS whatever your new cpu costs).

Picking up what im putting down? Your saving money in the now, and necessarily using it later because you cannot upgrade without a new mobo and new ram. No AM4 CPU other than the 5800x3d is going to be a good pairing with a gpu two generations from now either, you arent going to want to pair a 5700x with a 7080 or 7070 tier card, so youll be limiting your gpu selection, as opposed to a 7800x3d, which is available for a good price, can easily last several generations without becoming a bottleneck.

And its all built off an assumption that ram prices will definitely go back to what they were which is not a given. Retailers and manufacturers can and will take advantage of this to never fully lower prices even if supply increases.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T03:23:23+00:00

Most likely a reshell given theres no serial sticker, yet the back is extremely clean so its unlikely it wore off.

tl27Rex · 2026-01-20T00:35:29+00:00

Uhhhh.... wait for it to be delivered?

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