Batman's CaseLabs Mercury S8 Work Computer

[FireFox]

Merry Christmas TechPowerUp.


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Not finished yet but almost there.

 

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Not finished yet but almost there.

I LOVE IT!

Has that Warp Core aesthetic - scientifically appealing.

Maybe consider a Star Trek theme bro.

Knoxxy, are these Warp Core images below the aesthetic you were going for? lol

 

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Looks like a reviewer already has an Apex 11 motherboard in their possession and has overclocked some 4800Mhz DDR4 modules to 5000Mhz.

I'm happy Asus went with an all-black rear I/O cover instead of the mixed black and gray in earlier images. And there's the two new bevels cut into each of the VRM heatsinks as if ROG is going for that "A" for Apex look - same as the previous two gens. Kinda liked the original single-bevel design but whatever, just let me order the motherboard already.

 

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Looks like Singapore is getting the Apex 11 first!

No other Asus youtube channel has this video posted, only Asus Singapore - so lucky.

Wouldn't be a launch without a way-over-the-top marketing video. Anyhoo, the bass (in this video) sounds amazing through the subwoofer on the new Creative 2.1 speakers.

... some rattling at higher volume but for $24.50, my goodness, they are good.

 

[FireFox]

Looks like Singapore is getting the Apex 11 first!

Order it from Singapore

 

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Order it from Singapore

Christmas with a new baby, is the best Christmas of all, right?

---

This is the time when some vendors like ShopBLT.com (bacon, lettuce, tomato ) will begin to offer pre-orders for the Maximus XI Apex, and some enthusiasts will bite...

Then, in a few days the new Apex 11 will pop up on Newegg US, and the Newegg orders will arrive at their enthusiast's doorsteps, and those that pre-ordered from ShopBLT.com will still be waiting for their boards.

At least that's the way I've seen it happen countless times in the past. Ahh, the emotional security you gain from establishing a pre-order must be a glorious thing.


I'll buy from Newegg or Amazon (if they have stock on launch day).


"A place somewhere else, a time somewhen else."

 

[FireFox]

bacon, lettuce, tomato

honestly i don't know/understand why they are taking so long, it is just a Motherboard not the end of the world, well at least for you it is

 

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honestly i don't know/understand why they are taking so long, it is just a Motherboard not the end of the world, well at least for you it is

I actually like to think of it as a beginning, a promising new phase, the birth of new hardware, a shining light of glory layered upon the... ok, I'll shut up. lol


Have a $150 msrp range in mind for the board. Since the M11E didn't occupy the $499 spot in the 11th gen product stack, I'm thinking the Maximus 11 Apex will be msrp'd at $499 to $649.

$549? Yea maybe, that number is within range.

Don't see how the board could sell lower than $499, since ROG has redesigned all the VRM sections for this series and most of the new design elements have gone to the Apex 11, at least in sheer number and quantity of power components mounted on the board.

Still hoping ROG develops that Apex-Extreme hybrid board and calls it the Brutal Enigma. Maximus XII Brutal Enigma ... you see how that just rolls off the tongue?

I do believe we are within 7-10days from launch day North America. Since I don't think ROG will wait until CES or post-CES when the EVGA Z390 DARK places another option on the horizon of possibilities.

Narrowing that down, I think the M11A will become available at Newegg (maybe Amazon), between today December 27th and Friday January 4th. I've never seen a board launch on the weekend, so there it is - overthinking at it's best.

 

[FireFox]

I am curious about the final price in EU considering that the M11E had different prices starting from 532€+

 

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I am curious about the final price in EU considering that the M11E had different prices starting from 532€+

Are you also considering buying an M11A? You know, to add to your collection?

Wet-shaving pic of the day! Two amazing shave soaps - one smells like cookies. What film was that where John Travolta played an angel that smelled like cookies?

...blade frog showing off for the camera.

 

[FireFox]

John Travolta played an angel that smelled like cookies?

That is disgusting

Maybe you mean this: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117038/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_43

Are you also considering buying an M11A?

if the word Extreme it is not labeled on it then it is not for me

 

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That is disgusting

Maybe you mean this: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117038/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_43

if the word Extreme it is not labeled on it then it is not for me

Your Extreme board uses the T-topology memory layout for the 4-dimm slots. With only 2 modules installed of 3200/14 ddr4, there should be no performance difference between the M11E and M11A.

Yet when you add four modules into the mix, things seem to become more complicated.

Here's an explanation video from Buildzoid below.

Also, anytime I seem to be making a strong point concerning performance whether it be CPU or GPU, motherboard VRM layout or DDR4 or Optane's 10microsecond response time, that's only due to the fact that I LOVE an extremely responsive PC to get work completed as fast as my brain and hands can push it to do so.

On the obverse side, I realize and am also extremely aware of the "hobby aspect" of building and enjoying a PC to the fullest, and the deep emotions gathered from aesthetics and expressing a theme and build experience, and your overall happiness and day to day satisfaction with your PC should in my opinion rank as paramount and override any performance parameters I may bring up and discuss ad infinitum.


One last thing to mention. I'm not totally sold on these extremely high memory speeds like 4800/19 and 4400/18, and all the issues they bring along with them.

I mean if you do the math, a 3200/14 8GBx2 kit overclocked to 4000/13 is much more responsive (lower overall latency) and cost 50% less than a 4800/19 or 4600/18 kit.


CAS Latency x 1000/Speed in Mhz = time in nanoseconds to complete a single task.

"The lower the number in nanoseconds, the more responsive the DIMM modules."


3200/14 14 x 1000/3200 = 4.375ns (Samsung B-die)

3600/15 15 x 1000/3600 = 4.167ns (Samsung B-die)

4000/19 19 x 1000/4000 = 4.750ns (Samsung C-die)

4600/19 19 x 1000/4600 = 4.130ns (Samsung B-die)

3200/14 (OC'd to 4000/13) 13 x 1000/4000 = 3.250ns WOW!

That said, here's the video:

 

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Two new Z390 DARK images from Jacob at EVGA.

Oh the competition is gonna be fierce.

This board most definitely looks like Batman's motherboard.

 

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Maximus XI Apex gets listed in Amazon search autocomplete.

It's another sign.

 

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"It's only a matter of point of view and perspective, there's no right or wrong."

Although from my perspective, it would be wrong (at least for me) to buy this Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce motherboard at $900 and end up with a lesser performing board, than either the ROG Apex 11 or EVGA Z390 DARK.

Then again, planning to purchase both motherboards doesn't seem like a very wise or astute business decision with total cost of ownership easily exceeding the cost of the single Gigabyte board.

I guess that's where the "hobby aspect" drops into the equation, and hardware satisfaction easily supercedes economic efficiency every single time.

I’ve such a short list of hardware to purchase in all of 2019, so really have no problem grabbing the EVGA Z390 DARK board, although the Apex 11 does seem more like a must-have as a day to day board for getting work completed. Have such an amazing experience so far with the Maximus X Apex, functionally the board has exceeded all expectations and at only $349, was such a bargain only one year ago December 23rd. I only wish it wasn't so butt-ugly. Although unrefined, incomplete, and unaesthetic seem to be a few of the sub-themes wandering around this Batman build, whether I like it or not.

2019
Maximus 11 Apex
EVGA Z390 DARK
Intel Optane 280GB HHHL PCIe AIC SSD (primary/OS drive)
Intel Optane 280GB or 480GB U.2-M.2 2.5inch SSD (temporary redundancy image backup drive)
AMD Radeon Pro (Vega) WX 4200 workstation graphics


Hey Knoxxy, this mobo below satisfies your “Extreme Only” nomenclature guideline perfectly, so waddaya think?


That waterblock even cools the PCH, and it’s full E-ATX.


At the very least, if there is a solid market for this extremely expensive Gigabyte board, maybe Asus will take notice and when 10-core 20-thread Comet Lake CPUs enter the marketplace, they might consider producing that Apex-Extreme Hybrid board, with larger OLED screen, a switchable 1-DIMM/channel 2-DIMM/channel memory layout, DIMM.2 wired to the chipset, and PCIe shroud just like the Rampage VI Extreme and the Dominus board - please and thank you.


UP early on Apex 11 watch

 

[FireFox]

Then again, planning to purchase both motherboards doesn't seem like a very wise or astute business decision with total cost of ownership easily exceeding the cost of the single Gigabyte board.

Finally you understood it, i didn't say anything because it's your money but it wasn't/it's as you said a wise idea to buy both Motherboards.

Hey Knoxxy, this mobo below satisfies your “Extreme Only” nomenclature guideline perfectly, so waddaya think?

I wouldn't own one of those not even dead just for the simple reason that i dont like Gigabyte also it could sounds monotonous but i have been following the same line of manufacturers for a long time, that said Asus all the way, one more thing, that Gigabyte does not look like a Motherboard but a Christmas tree

 

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Only Apex 11 news all weekend has been a handful of hardware news groups reporting the Asus ROG Maximus XI Apex product pages and support pages have gone up.

Geez, we’ve known that for 2weeks. lol Some of these dedicated hardware media houses are a bit slow “like molasses” on the uptake if you ask me. The strangest non-occurrence so far has been from Videocardz.com who claims to have a mole inside Asus (it might be just a running joke ) and who brought us the very first images of the Maximus XI Series: the Extreme XI, the Formula and Code, the Hero, even the mATX Gene XI, yet not once have they mentioned the Apex 11 board, not the original images from the October 26 launch event or the ROG Day re-launch event in Asia no news - nothing and nothing written about the M11A from TPU either, both strange and odd, almost like Asus asked the media nicely not to talk about the board? idk, yet very weird indeed.

Anyways, a new driver arrived today for the upcoming Apex 11 motherboard addition modification upgrade to get the Batman back up and running again. It’s a Wera driver from Germany, although I believe they are now made in Czechoslovakia. German tools are so awesome, and I love the super big grip on the Kraftform bitholder drivers, allows for dialing in just the right amount of torque to “snug up” the various fasteners while building. I’ve had (5) of them so far large and small, gave away (2) to neighbors and engineer friends, this one is all stainless steel; the driver’s internal solid shaft, bayonet extension and the (6) bits that store away in the handle, and has the Red Bull Racing logo including the red, blue, and yellow colors, I’ve already had (2) of the standard Wera green non-stainless steel so had to get something different, I guess.

Ordered it from a discount tool supplier in Palmer, Alaska since had $5 store credit, yet still was about double the price of the standard Wera Kraftform Kompakt driver in green and black, but anyway ended up getting it for about $15 less than the crazy high Amazon/KC Tools price, still too much money for a screwdriver, yet wanted something special for completing the Batman build, and hadn't grabbed any new PC building tools since 2016.

Still believe the M11A motherboard will be available by this coming Friday January 4th since the following week is CES 2019 Las Vegas and the EVGA Z390 DARK is planned to launch, and might steal away some of Asus’ “overclocking world record breaking” thunder. lol. Although the Maximus VIII Formula did launch on December 31st 2015 - so hey ya never know - maybe we can order tonight before the stroke of midnight.

I spent too much on a screwdriver, Knoxxy don't yell at me!

Happy New Year Everyone at TPU!!!

 

[FireFox]

I spent too much on a screwdriver, Knoxxy don't yell at me!

Indeed

Anyways, a new driver arrived today for the upcoming Apex 11 motherboard

I like the design, here in Germany you get it for EUR 34,63

 

[E-curbi]

Indeed

I like the design, here in Germany you get it for EUR 34,63

I didn't know you were German Wie Gehts! I'm 1/2 German (2 grandparents) then 1/4 English and 1/4 Danish, most likely Cheese Danish.

The standard Kraftform Kompakt bitholder in green/black is about $41.50 here in the US. And this all-stainless steel Red Bull Racing is about $90 with Amazon state sales tax added on. Grabbed it for $75.51, still way too much, but I'm stuck on Wera Tools, they're so well thought out and engineered.

The bayonet extends out about 5inches, yet I only use it in stubby mode (pic below) since it gives you so much gripping power and control over modulation of torque, and the forces are directly in front of the handle.

For mounting the Noctua air coolers, yea it won't work, have a Wera ratcheting long magnetic bit driver for that purpose, and it's great around the house for fix-ups.

This tool is very well balanced, and I'm a PC builder.

 

[FireFox]

I didn't know you were German Wie Gehts!

Mir geht's gut Danke. however i am not German i live here since 2010, i am originally from Dominican Republic but i live in Europe since i was 18.

'm stuck on Wera Tools, they're so well thought out and engineered.

Many of my tools are Wolfcraft they are expensive but are worth for the price.

 

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Mir geht's gut Danke. however i am not German i live here since 2010, i am originally from Dominican Republic but i live in Europe since i was 18.

Many of my tools are Wolfcraft they are expensive but are worth for the price.

Wolfcraft sounds expensive.

I got all my Wera from Chadstoolbox in Alaska.

I tried "pimping-out" my first Wera green driver with the diamond 1/4 bits, sounded like a good idea, but they were way to abrasive and stripped the black paint off many of my CaseLabs fasteners, they are most likely better for construction sites where you need that extra gripping power, not for computer building. lol

Back to the Apex watch. We're only going to the neighbors for a brief time tonight, not staying until midnight, we don't go out on New Years Eve, but we'll walk over to the neighbors.
Stay Safe you guys! Happy New Year 2019! I'll drop in here as soon as the M11A launches.
edit: Siliconlottery just put up an 8086K 5.2Ghz binned and delidded on super sale. I thought he might get around to offering some 8086Ks at 5.2 and 5.3.

Hey Knoxxy, can you find the (2) very tiny Asus M.2 mounting fasteners in this pic below? Just like Where's Waldo. You will understand that perfectly when your little one gets to be around 2yrs old.

 

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Just ordered the Simpson Manchurian Badger Chubby 3 in blue opal from the Isle of Man. England.



Holy Moly

it was 289.12 Euros, how many dollars.

 

[FireFox]

Just ordered the Simpson Manchurian Badger Chubby 3 in blue opal from the Isle of Man. England.

And i ordered the Lush

 

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And i ordered the Lush

Really Dood? your wife is going to love it.

it's so much fun.

The Simpson Chubby 3 Manchurian is also for the gf, it's big man, to shave her smooth, with nice luxurious thick lathering soaps , lol, ok I'll have to edit this in the morning lol.

this is the stock pic below, not the best image, but well that's all they've got, not a big company.

We were going to wait for the candy stripe handle coming in March, but the gf wanted it NOW!