• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

MSI Afterburner Developer Hasn't been Paid for a Year, Product Development in Limbo

Joined
Dec 24, 2008
Messages
2,062 (0.35/day)
Location
Volos, Greece
System Name ATLAS
Processor Intel Core i7-4770 (4C/8T) Haswell
Motherboard GA-Z87X-UD5H , Dual Intel LAN, 10x SATA, 16x Power phace.
Cooling ProlimaTech Armageddon - Dual GELID 140 Silent PWM
Memory Mushkin Blackline DDR3 2400 997123F 16GB
Video Card(s) MSI GTX1060 OC 6GB (single fan) Micron
Storage WD Raptors 73Gb - Raid1 10.000rpm
Display(s) DELL U2311H
Case HEC Compucase CI-6919 Full tower (2003) moded .. hec-group.com.tw
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi Music + mods, Audigy front Panel - YAMAHA quad speakers with Sub.
Power Supply HPU-4M780-PE refurbished 23-3-2022
Mouse MS Pro IntelliMouse 16.000 Dpi Pixart Paw 3389
Keyboard Microsoft Wired 600
Software Win 7 Pro x64 ( Retail Box ) for EU
My graphics card this is MSI OC version, and as such it does a good job all by it self (due advanced quality of parts in use).
Occasionally I did use MSI Afterburner as testing software, mostly as a confirmation, that DC fan this behaves as it should, at different 3D Loads and at GPU cooler temperatures.

About MSI, I bet that their newest president, he did this unreasonable action, so to please western MSI share's holders and or investors.
I am now convinced, that neither ASUS or anyone else will run after so to rescue the "Afterburner project".

My best advice to Mr. Alexey Nicolaychuk, he should start preparing a Plan B.
We are totally unaware of whom holds Copyrights of this software?

If MSI holds the Copyrights? Then the MSI Afterburner = Officially EOL

My afterthought: In case that Mr. Alexey Nicolaychuk, thinks of him self as this be software development business?
An wise manager he would start thinking of a business HQ relocation.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Mar 28, 2020
Messages
1,753 (1.03/day)
I'd say stop making updates then, let MSI feel it.

We all know the majority of the Russians can't be held responsible for what's going on, MSI is being stupid.

That said, overclocking in 2023 is overrated anyways.
I agree with your second sentence, but the problem is that there is no way to pay them using conventional means. You can't transfer fund because SWIFT is off limits, and most banks would have put any Russian entity in some sort of sanction list.

For me, Afterburner is less about overclocking and more about undervolting. There are a lot of overclocking tools out there for Nvidia cards, but there's little or no option when it comes to easy undervolting.
 
Joined
Sep 10, 2015
Messages
529 (0.16/day)
System Name My Addiction
Processor AMD Ryzen 7950X3D
Motherboard ASRock B650E PG-ITX WiFi
Cooling Alphacool Core Ocean T38 AIO 240mm
Memory G.Skill 32GB 6000MHz
Video Card(s) Sapphire Pulse 7900XTX
Storage Some SSDs
Display(s) 42" Samsung TV + 22" Dell monitor vertically
Case Lian Li A4-H2O
Audio Device(s) Denon + Bose
Power Supply Corsair SF750
Mouse Logitech
Keyboard Glorious
VR HMD None
Software Win 10
Benchmark Scores None taken
No it is not, thus we have to end here.

I wonder why he ain't mobilized to serve his nation also. Maybe not yet.
I possibly in the dark here, but AFAIK Russia still handles this as "Special Operations" unwilling to acknowledge it being a war. And that creates some legal nuances. One of those nuances is that they can't mobilize/conscript civilians into the army. They can only mobilize the reservists which they did months ago.
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2017
Messages
3,748 (1.32/day)
Processor Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard ROG STRIX B650E-F GAMING WIFI
Memory 2x16GB G.Skill Flare X5 DDR5-6000 CL36 (F5-6000J3636F16GX2-FX5)
Video Card(s) INNO3D GeForce RTX™ 4070 Ti SUPER TWIN X2
Storage 2TB Samsung 980 PRO, 4TB WD Black SN850X
Display(s) 42" LG C2 OLED, 27" ASUS PG279Q
Case Thermaltake Core P5
Power Supply Fractal Design Ion+ Platinum 760W
Mouse Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro SE
Keyboard Corsair K100 RGB
VR HMD HTC Vive Cosmos
the problem is that there is no way to pay them using conventional means. You can't transfer fund because SWIFT is off limits, and most banks would have put any Russian entity in some sort of sanction list.
This. The problem is not that MSI is not willing to pay. It is quite complicated to get the payment to someone in Russia, more so for a big corporation. Banks and transfers are sanctioned by western countries and then counter-sanctioned by Russia itself. Plus, some not so nice rules for Russians receiving money abroad, especially in foreign currencies - involving costs, taxation and other niceties that a country can wield.
 
Joined
Apr 19, 2018
Messages
1,227 (0.51/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
Motherboard Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero WiFi
Cooling Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
Memory 32Gb G-Skill Trident Z Neo @3806MHz C14
Video Card(s) MSI GeForce RTX2070
Storage Seagate FireCuda 530 1TB
Display(s) Samsung G9 49" Curved Ultrawide
Case Cooler Master Cosmos
Audio Device(s) O2 USB Headphone AMP
Power Supply Corsair HX850i
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard Cherry MX
Software Windows 11
Why can't MSi pay him in product, which he could then sell himself? These Asian companies are always bad when it comes to payments. Personal experience, before people chime in with nasty comments.

And if I were him, I'd give them a deadline, then remove their name and anything belonging to MSi, then relaunch it, release it as open source, call it GFX Afterburner, make the IT press, like this site announce it, and ask for public donations for support, and pray his country comes to its senses, so normal business can resume.
 
Last edited:
Joined
May 8, 2018
Messages
1,568 (0.66/day)
Location
London, UK
He could develop another app with the same functionality and getting donations for it, there are many devs who do that. What MSI did it here was bad any way you look, people need to get paid if they are doing the work.
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
3,877 (0.89/day)
System Name Skunkworks 3.0
Processor 5800x3d
Motherboard x570 unify
Cooling Noctua NH-U12A
Memory 32GB 3600 mhz
Video Card(s) asrock 6800xt challenger D
Storage Sabarent rocket 4.0 2TB, MX 500 2TB
Display(s) Asus 1440p144 27"
Case Old arse cooler master 932
Power Supply Corsair 1200w platinum
Mouse *squeak*
Keyboard Some old office thing
Software Manjaro
One the one hand I fell bad for this guy, screwed over by both his own government and by MSI, OTOH I will never understand why people ever work past the first missed paycheck. The moment my pay is cut my work flat out STOPS. End of story.
I possibly in the dark here, but AFAIK Russia still handles this as "Special Operations" unwilling to acknowledge it being a war. And that creates some legal nuances. One of those nuances is that they can't mobilize/conscript civilians into the army. They can only mobilize the reservists which they did months ago.
Words dont mean anything anymore. Being a "special operation" didnt stop russia from enacting partial mobilization, which included the disabled and the old, allegedly 350,000 from outside the reservist force.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,865 (2.88/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Yet another victim of Putin's psychopathic war in Ukraine. Of course, it pales into insignificance compared to the death and destruction that he continues to rain down on Ukraine for no good reason, but it's still yet another negative from this war.

The fact that MSI could pay this developer in other ways, but chooses not to is secondary, the point is that Putin's war caused this issue. MSI may well have good reasons to severe all ties with someone based in Russia that they don't wanna say.

I'm surmising here, but it could be that they don't trust anyone from Russia not to add malware to the product in case they've been leaned on by the Kremlin. That's millions of computers that could potentially be infected if that happens and they don't wanna be responsible for it.
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
3,877 (0.89/day)
System Name Skunkworks 3.0
Processor 5800x3d
Motherboard x570 unify
Cooling Noctua NH-U12A
Memory 32GB 3600 mhz
Video Card(s) asrock 6800xt challenger D
Storage Sabarent rocket 4.0 2TB, MX 500 2TB
Display(s) Asus 1440p144 27"
Case Old arse cooler master 932
Power Supply Corsair 1200w platinum
Mouse *squeak*
Keyboard Some old office thing
Software Manjaro
Yet another victim of Putin's psychopathic war in Ukraine. Of course, it pales into insignificance compared to the death and destruction that he continues to rain down on Ukraine for no good reason, but it's still yet another negative from this war.

The fact that MSI could pay this developer in other ways, but chooses not to is secondary, the point is that Putin's war caused this issue. MSI may well have good reasons to severe all ties with someone based in Russia that they don't wanna say.

I'm surmising here, but it could be that they don't trust anyone from Russia not to add malware to the product in case they've been leaned on by the Kremlin. That's millions of computers that could potentially be infected if that happens and they don't wanna be responsible for it.
OR, or, its just another multi million dollar corporation using a convenient political occurrence to screw over the little guy and steal his work, and nothing to do with Kremlin cyberhacking.

I agree with your second sentence, but the problem is that there is no way to pay them using conventional means. You can't transfer fund because SWIFT is off limits, and most banks would have put any Russian entity in some sort of sanction list.

For me, Afterburner is less about overclocking and more about undervolting. There are a lot of overclocking tools out there for Nvidia cards, but there's little or no option when it comes to easy undervolting.
SWIFT is not the only payment system on earth, and you forget russia is a founding member of BRICS. There are surely ways that MSI india/china/brazil ece, for example, could pay him through BRICS without running afoul of sanctions. It happens every day. Both india and china are regularly buying oil and grain from russia and russia is buying chips and metal from india/china without issue.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Nov 13, 2007
Messages
10,751 (1.73/day)
Location
Austin Texas
System Name stress-less
Processor 9800X3D @ 5.42GHZ
Motherboard MSI PRO B650M-A Wifi
Cooling Thermalright Phantom Spirit EVO
Memory 64GB DDR5 6400 CL30 / 2133 fclk
Video Card(s) RTX 4090 FE
Storage 2TB WD SN850, 4TB WD SN850X
Display(s) Alienware 32" 4k 240hz OLED
Case Jonsbo Z20
Audio Device(s) Yes
Power Supply Corsair SF750
Mouse DeathadderV2 X Hyperspeed
Keyboard 65% HE Keyboard
Software Windows 11
Benchmark Scores They're pretty good, nothing crazy.
This is a tragedy as is everything related to this war.

He needs to get out - there is another mass mobilization coming very soon.
 
Joined
Jan 5, 2023
Messages
62 (0.09/day)
Before anyone starts suggesting donations, patreons, kofis ,etc, note that the dev has licensing agreement with MSI. While MSI has not kept up with the agreement on their side, it doesn't mean the dev can just take the source code, let alone the name MSI Afterburner which is what everyone recognizes, and just start publishing it on his own. Accepting payments from other sources would be against the licensing agreement from his side. That will make him be on the wrong side of the law and will allow MSI to bring him to court. The only thing he could do now is stop developing it.
Considering it's nothing more than a branded version of Rivatuner I expect Rivatuner to be back slapped on the software and being developed independantly again. Unless he made a very bad deal where all the code is all of a sudden belonging to MSI which I doubt since Rivatuner was also bundled with EVGA cards in the past. Then MSI will fall short and be without software. MSI should clap in their hands he would go so far to keep updating it out of his own pocket, but all that said this isn't the first scummy thing MSI has done the past few years.
 
Last edited:

bug

Joined
May 22, 2015
Messages
13,759 (3.96/day)
Processor Intel i5-12600k
Motherboard Asus H670 TUF
Cooling Arctic Freezer 34
Memory 2x16GB DDR4 3600 G.Skill Ripjaws V
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1060 SC
Storage 500GB Samsung 970 EVO, 500GB Samsung 850 EVO, 1TB Crucial MX300 and 2TB Crucial MX500
Display(s) Dell U3219Q + HP ZR24w
Case Raijintek Thetis
Audio Device(s) Audioquest Dragonfly Red :D
Power Supply Seasonic 620W M12
Mouse Logitech G502 Proteus Core
Keyboard G.Skill KM780R
Software Arch Linux + Win10
OR, or, its just another multi million dollar corporation using a convenient political occurrence to screw over the little guy and steal his work, and nothing to do with Kremlin cyberhacking.


SWIFT is not the only payment system on earth, and you forget russia is a founding member of BRICS. There are surely ways that MSI india/china/brazil ece, for example, could pay him through BRICS without running afoul of sanctions. It happens every day. Both india and china are regularly buying oil and grain from russia and russia is buying chips and metal from india/china without issue.
Of course there are ways. If you were running a multi-million business, would you expose yourself to millions in sanctions to pay one guy? No matter how important that guy was.
 
Joined
Jun 18, 2021
Messages
2,547 (2.03/day)
Of course there are ways. If you were running a multi-million business, would you expose yourself to millions in sanctions to pay one guy? No matter how important that guy was.

That's one of the secondary ways in which sanctions work, even if you could legally do something without circunventing sanctions things can change very fast with very high cost so it's safer to just cut ties.
 
Joined
Jan 3, 2021
Messages
3,486 (2.45/day)
Location
Slovenia
Processor i5-6600K
Motherboard Asus Z170A
Cooling some cheap Cooler Master Hyper 103 or similar
Memory 16GB DDR4-2400
Video Card(s) IGP
Storage Samsung 850 EVO 250GB
Display(s) 2x Oldell 24" 1920x1200
Case Bitfenix Nova white windowless non-mesh
Audio Device(s) E-mu 1212m PCI
Power Supply Seasonic G-360
Mouse Logitech Marble trackball, never had a mouse
Keyboard Key Tronic KT2000, no Win key because 1994
Software Oldwin
This. The problem is not that MSI is not willing to pay. It is quite complicated to get the payment to someone in Russia, more so for a big corporation. Banks and transfers are sanctioned by western countries and then counter-sanctioned by Russia itself. Plus, some not so nice rules for Russians receiving money abroad, especially in foreign currencies - involving costs, taxation and other niceties that a country can wield.
MSI selling their products in Russia means that they have a subsidiary there, or some other kind of legal entity which represents them. (According to this document, it appears to be an "indirect subsidiary".) That company sure has the means, and the funds, to pay Mr. Nicolaychuk.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,865 (2.88/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
OR, or, its just another multi million dollar corporation using a convenient political occurrence to screw over the little guy and steal his work, and nothing to do with Kremlin cyberhacking.
I don't think so because it lowers their credibility and reputation.

One way or another, this wouldn't have happened if Putin hadn't started this insane war, that's the important part.
 

bug

Joined
May 22, 2015
Messages
13,759 (3.96/day)
Processor Intel i5-12600k
Motherboard Asus H670 TUF
Cooling Arctic Freezer 34
Memory 2x16GB DDR4 3600 G.Skill Ripjaws V
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1060 SC
Storage 500GB Samsung 970 EVO, 500GB Samsung 850 EVO, 1TB Crucial MX300 and 2TB Crucial MX500
Display(s) Dell U3219Q + HP ZR24w
Case Raijintek Thetis
Audio Device(s) Audioquest Dragonfly Red :D
Power Supply Seasonic 620W M12
Mouse Logitech G502 Proteus Core
Keyboard G.Skill KM780R
Software Arch Linux + Win10
MSI selling their products in Russia means that they have a subsidiary there, or some other kind of legal entity which represents them. (According to this document, it appears to be an "indirect subsidiary".) That company sure has the means, and the funds, to pay Mr. Nicolaychuk.
MSI probably only have a business setup over there. Software is a different animal. I'm pretty sure whatever software MSI offers, is still subject to export regulations/restrictions, so even accepting Unwinder's code may be under fire at this point.
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
6,881 (1.47/day)
Location
Florida
System Name natr0n-PC
Processor Ryzen 5950x-5600x | 9600k
Motherboard B450 AORUS M | Z390 UD
Cooling EK AIO 360 - 6 fan action | AIO
Memory Patriot - Viper Steel DDR4 (B-Die)(4x8GB) | Samsung DDR4 (4x8GB)
Video Card(s) EVGA 3070ti FTW
Storage Various
Display(s) Pixio PX279 Prime
Case Thermaltake Level 20 VT | Black bench
Audio Device(s) LOXJIE D10 + Kinter Amp + 6 Bookshelf Speakers Sony+JVC+Sony
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 80+ Gold 650W | EVGA 700 Gold
Software XP/7/8.1/10
Benchmark Scores http://valid.x86.fr/79kuh6
He is a genius and should be compensated for great work he has done.
 

ir_cow

Staff member
Joined
Sep 4, 2008
Messages
4,458 (0.75/day)
Location
USA
Wow MSI really messed up here. That overclock community marking is now gone. Just waiting this guy is picked up by another big brand and it will be called ASRock Afterburner lol.
 

bug

Joined
May 22, 2015
Messages
13,759 (3.96/day)
Processor Intel i5-12600k
Motherboard Asus H670 TUF
Cooling Arctic Freezer 34
Memory 2x16GB DDR4 3600 G.Skill Ripjaws V
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1060 SC
Storage 500GB Samsung 970 EVO, 500GB Samsung 850 EVO, 1TB Crucial MX300 and 2TB Crucial MX500
Display(s) Dell U3219Q + HP ZR24w
Case Raijintek Thetis
Audio Device(s) Audioquest Dragonfly Red :D
Power Supply Seasonic 620W M12
Mouse Logitech G502 Proteus Core
Keyboard G.Skill KM780R
Software Arch Linux + Win10
Wow MSI really messed up here. That overclock community marking is now gone. Just waiting this guy is picked up by another big brand and it will be called ASRock Afterburner lol.
MSI has sold card way before Afterburner, it will continue to do so without it.

Fwiw, I don't even like MSI. I just don't like companies taking flak just because.
 

ir_cow

Staff member
Joined
Sep 4, 2008
Messages
4,458 (0.75/day)
Location
USA
MSI has sold card way before Afterburner, it will continue to do so without it.

Fwiw, I don't even like MSI. I just don't like companies taking flak just because.
There loss. I known plenty of people who buy MSI cards for MSI afterburner (even though it's universal) same for the eVGA Precision X. If MSI didn't like the software, why was it always promoted on their websites for video cards eh?
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2013
Messages
6,186 (1.53/day)
Location
Over here, right where you least expect me to be !
System Name The Little One
Processor i5-11320H @4.4GHZ
Motherboard AZW SEI
Cooling Fan w/heat pipes + side & rear vents
Memory 64GB Crucial DDR4-3200 (2x 32GB)
Video Card(s) Iris XE
Storage WD Black SN850X 4TB m.2, Seagate 2TB SSD + SN850 4TB x2 in an external enclosure
Display(s) 2x Samsung 43" & 2x 32"
Case Practically identical to a mac mini, just purrtier in slate blue, & with 3x usb ports on the front !
Audio Device(s) Yamaha ATS-1060 Bluetooth Soundbar & Subwoofer
Power Supply 65w brick
Mouse Logitech MX Master 2
Keyboard Logitech G613 mechanical wireless
Software Windows 10 pro 64 bit, with all the unnecessary background shitzu turned OFF !
Benchmark Scores PDQ
From the movie Goodfellas:

"Business bad? F you, pay me"
"Oh, you had a fire? F you, pay me"
"Place got hit by lightning ? F you, pay me”
"The commies declared war on Ukraine, F you, pay me"


Pss... I added that last one just to make a point :D
 

bug

Joined
May 22, 2015
Messages
13,759 (3.96/day)
Processor Intel i5-12600k
Motherboard Asus H670 TUF
Cooling Arctic Freezer 34
Memory 2x16GB DDR4 3600 G.Skill Ripjaws V
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1060 SC
Storage 500GB Samsung 970 EVO, 500GB Samsung 850 EVO, 1TB Crucial MX300 and 2TB Crucial MX500
Display(s) Dell U3219Q + HP ZR24w
Case Raijintek Thetis
Audio Device(s) Audioquest Dragonfly Red :D
Power Supply Seasonic 620W M12
Mouse Logitech G502 Proteus Core
Keyboard G.Skill KM780R
Software Arch Linux + Win10
There loss. I known plenty of people who buy MSI cards for MSI afterburner (even though it's universal) same for the eVGA Precision X. If MSI didn't like the software, why was it always promoted on their websites for video cards eh?
Who said MSI didn't like the software? The software simply comes from a part of the world with which is very difficult to have commercial relations these days. There's nothing complicated or malicious going on here.

Who knows, maybe the fix will come from Mr Putin himself. It's expected he will try to bring another half-million people to arms, maybe this prompts Unwinder to set up camp elsewhere.
 
Low quality post by ir_cow
Low quality post by bug

bug

Joined
May 22, 2015
Messages
13,759 (3.96/day)
Processor Intel i5-12600k
Motherboard Asus H670 TUF
Cooling Arctic Freezer 34
Memory 2x16GB DDR4 3600 G.Skill Ripjaws V
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 1060 SC
Storage 500GB Samsung 970 EVO, 500GB Samsung 850 EVO, 1TB Crucial MX300 and 2TB Crucial MX500
Display(s) Dell U3219Q + HP ZR24w
Case Raijintek Thetis
Audio Device(s) Audioquest Dragonfly Red :D
Power Supply Seasonic 620W M12
Mouse Logitech G502 Proteus Core
Keyboard G.Skill KM780R
Software Arch Linux + Win10
Low quality post by ir_cow

ir_cow

Staff member
Joined
Sep 4, 2008
Messages
4,458 (0.75/day)
Location
USA
Nvm. I misread your post earlier.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bug
Top