Category: Computers

Key Takeaways

1. The Asus RTX 5090 Astral LC operates at a standard 600-watt power limit, achieving 146 FPS in 3DMark Speedway with stable temperatures under 60 °C.
2. A hardware modification by Roman “der8auer” lowered the effective resistance, allowing power consumption to rise to 660-720 watts without limit violations.
3. After the mod, the GPU clock increased by 100-110 MHz, boosting performance to 152 FPS, and further voltage adjustments led to peak performance of 158 FPS.
4. The shunt modification showed that liquid-cooled GPUs could manage higher power loads (750-800 watts) effectively, unlike air-cooled models which may overheat.
5. Caution is advised for similar modifications on air-cooled models due to thermal risks; custom cooling solutions or unlocked BIOS options could further enhance performance but also increase risks.

The Asus RTX 5090 Astral LC, which is cooled by liquid, has been put through tests using a hardware-level shunt mod to see how much performance can be gained by changing the standard 600-watt power limit. Roman “der8auer” Hartung carried out this modification and provided thorough benchmarks, thermal readings, and electrical measurements using tools like GPU Tweak III, HWInfo, and an external power monitor.

Performance Overview

When it comes straight from the box, the RTX 5090 Astral LC operates at 600 watts under maximum load, achieving about 146 FPS in the 3DMark Speedway test, with core clock speeds nearing 2800 MHz and memory clocked at 1750 MHz. Thanks to its all-in-one cooler, the graphics card maintains core temperatures below 60 °C, although memory temperatures can reach up to 80 °C. The noise levels are also quite bearable because it does not have a blower-style rear fan like the air-cooled version.

Modifications Made

To break through the power limit, der8auer installed 5 milliohm shunt resistors in parallel with the GPU’s onboard 2 milliohm resistors. This adjustment lowered the effective resistance to about 1.4 milliohms, causing the power measurement system to underreport actual power consumption by around 30%. Consequently, the total power used by the card increased to between 660 and 720 watts without the GPU indicating any limit violations.

Results After the Mod

After applying this mod, the GPU core clock went up by approximately 100 to 110 MHz, resulting in a performance increase to 152 FPS. By further increasing the GPU voltage using GPU Tweak III, power consumption approached nearly 800 watts, which allowed for a peak performance of up to 158 FPS. This performance surpasses that of Nvidia’s professional-grade RTX 6000 Ada card, which is priced at over 10,000 USD. In the final tests, GPU clocks remained stable above 2950 MHz under load, while core temperatures hovered around 60 °C, and hotspot readings were not available due to Nvidia’s software restrictions.

Considerations and Risks

Even though the card handled these conditions well without thermal throttling, the current distribution across the 12VHPWR connector became less balanced, with pin 6 drawing close to 13.5 amps. The per-pin sensing feature provided by Asus’s telemetry was crucial for detecting these electrical strains.

This testing indicates that simple shunt modification can lead to significant performance improvements in the RTX 5090 LC, especially when dealing with liquid-cooled models that can handle 750 to 800 watts of continuous heat. However, der8auer warns against attempting similar modifications on air-cooled models, as they might not be able to manage the extra thermal load safely. A custom loop or an unlocked 1000 W BIOS could potentially enhance performance even more, but this also comes with much higher risks.

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Key Takeaways

1. Focus on Ordinary Matter: The research identifies ordinary matter, specifically baryons, which is too dispersed to emit detectable light, accounting for over half of the universe’s ordinary matter.

2. Utilization of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs): Scientists used 69 fast radio bursts, located between 11.74 million and 9.1 billion light-years away, to detect and measure the presence of ordinary matter.

3. Wave Delay Measurement: By observing the delay in radio waves as they travel through matter, researchers can estimate the amount of matter in space, likening it to seeing the shadow of baryons.

4. Distribution of Matter: The findings revealed that 76% of normal matter is in intergalactic space, 15% in galactic halos, and the rest within galaxies, stars, and cold galactic gas.

5. Future Research with DSA-2000: The Caltech DSA-2000 radio telescope will enhance this research, capable of locating up to 10,000 FRBs annually for deeper understanding of ordinary matter.

For many years, scientists have been searching for the elusive matter in the universe. Recently, however, a group of researchers has successfully identified it following a series of extraordinary events.

Not About Dark Matter

It’s crucial to clarify that this discussion does not revolve around dark matter. Dark matter remains elusive, and numerous theories exist regarding its presence and the influence it has in the universe.

Ordinary Matter Discovered

The focus here is on ordinary matter, which consists of baryons and is too dispersed to give off any light that can be detected by telescopes and other space instruments. You might think this matter is unimportant, but it accounts for more than half of all ordinary matter in the universe.

Five years back, scientists embarked on a mission to locate it. To achieve their goal, they utilized 69 fast radio bursts (FRBs) that are situated between 11.74 million and 9.1 billion light-years away. These bursts generate enormous amounts of energy in mere milliseconds, with various wavelengths.

Understanding Matter Through Waves

As the researchers progressed, they learned that radio waves change as they travel through matter, arriving with a delay. By measuring this delay, they can estimate the amount of matter in space.

Vikram Ravi, a researcher at Caltech and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who participated in the study, shared, “It’s like we’re seeing the shadow of all the baryons, with FRBs as the backlight. If you see a person in front of you, you can find out a lot about them. But if you just see their shadow, you still know that they’re there and roughly how big they are.”

The findings indicated that 76% of normal matter is located in intergalactic space, the area between galaxies. Only 15% is found in galactic halos, while the remaining matter is concentrated within galaxies, stars, and cold galactic gas. This conclusion aligns with previous cosmological simulations, which had never been confirmed until now.

The Journey Continues

Nevertheless, this discovery is merely the beginning for scientists involved in this research. Caltech’s DSA-2000 radio telescope will further this work to gain a deeper understanding of this matter. Additionally, it has a significant advantage, as it will be able to locate up to 10,000 FRBs each year.

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