"Drivers are up to date," Max murmured, launching HWInfo64 and MSI Afterburner to monitor clocks and temps, then opening 3DMark. "Standard Time Spy run first. No tweaks."
He hit start. The familiar demanding scenes began rendering on the large, high-refresh-rate monitor. Both men watched in silence, the only sound the rising hum of the test bench fans. Theo kept his expression carefully neutral, but his heart hammered against his ribs. Come on. Perform.
The benchmark finished. Max leaned closer, peering at the score displayed. He grunted, a non-committal sound. "Okay. 27,850 graphics score. High for a stock 4090, definitely top percentile silicon. But not the >28k needed for 5090 territory."
Theo felt a lurch of disappointment mixed with confusion. Liam's test had been higher... had the +1 effect somehow faded? Or was Max's rig different?
"Now," Max continued, clicking options, "Time Spy Extreme. Higher resolution, pushes it harder. Let's see how it handles sustained load and heat."
He launched the more demanding benchmark. Again, the fans spun up, the GPU diligently rendering complex visuals. Theo watched the temperature readouts on HWInfo. They climbed, but stabilized well within safe limits, lower than he might have expected for this level of load. The core clock speed held remarkably steady, barely fluctuating. Efficiency/Stability... Theo thought. Maybe that's the key aspect of the +1 here.
The benchmark concluded. Max stared intently at the screen, clicking through the detailed results, zooming in on the graphs showing clock speed stability and temperature curves. He was silent for a long moment, tapping a finger against the workbench.
Then, he slowly turned to face Theo, removing his glasses, polishing them thoughtfully. The sharp, sceptical gaze had been replaced by something else, genuine surprise, perhaps even a touch of disbelief.
"Okay," Max said, his voice quieter now. "Okay. The score itself is just shy of 28k again on Extreme. But the stability... Rock solid clock speeds throughout the entire run. Almost zero throttling. And the temperatures barely broke 65 degrees Celsius under full synthetic load. That's… unusual. Extremely efficient." He looked back at the card, then at Theo. "This isn't just good silicon. This is optimised somehow. How?"
Theo met his gaze, offering a practiced, non-committal shrug. "Like I said. Premium binning. Just a particularly good sample." He kept his voice steady, calm. Let the results speak.
Max held his gaze for another moment, searching, then seemed to accept the deflection, or perhaps decided he didn't care how, only that it worked. "Alright, 'Voltaic'. It performs. Impressively efficient, stable card. Meets the criteria, albeit leaning on stability rather than raw peak score." He walked over to a locked cabinet, took out a thick envelope, and counted out twenty crisp hundred-dollar bills onto the workbench. "$2000. As agreed."
Theo carefully counted the cash, the feel of the bills grounding him. Relief washed over him, potent and clean. He'd done it. The riskiest step was complete. "Pleasure doing business, Max."
"Likewise," Max said, already turning back to his rig, clearly eager to integrate the new card into whatever project he had planned. "Close the door on your way out."
Theo slid the cash into an inner pocket of his jacket, nodded once, and walked out of the workshop, leaving Max to his new acquisition. The walk back down the bluestone path felt lighter, the air cleaner. He'd faced the scrutiny, navigated the risk, and emerged with proof and profit.
Back in his apartment, the $2000 felt heavy and real in his hand. He immediately updated the Hardware Nexus thread.
Voltaic [Timestamp: Tuesday 4:35 PM]:Update: First card SOLD to verified buyer MaxHertz after in-person testing. Performance confirmed. Limited quantity remaining.
He then checked the post and saw Max had already left feedback: "+1 Positive Feedback for Voltaic. Card performs exceptionally well, stable and efficient as claimed. Smooth transaction. Recommend."
The impact was immediate. The hostile tone in the thread lessened, replaced by cautious curiosity and genuine inquiries flooding his PMs. The gamble had paid off. Validation achieved.
Wednesday morning. Theo woke feeling a sense of momentum. He spent the morning fielding PMs about the remaining GPUs, sharing the anonymized screenshots (now backed by Max's public vouch), and negotiating logistics. Before diving deep into GPU sales admin, he decided to check his other channels, a routine check for lingering issues.
He pulled up the cached page for the long-defunct Eversharp Edge marketplace account, mostly expecting nothing. But a single new notification caught his eye. A review posted just yesterday.
User: HandyAndy72 Rating: 3/5 Stars Title: Weirdest Product Experience Ever Review: Okay, this is strange. Bought one Eversharp knife, maybe when they first came out? Best knife I ever owned. Use it daily, still razor sharp, feels perfectly balanced, just incredible. So I bought another one for my brother as a gift afterwards from the same listing before the store vanished. He says it's... fine? Like a normal $25 knife. Dulled quickly, handle feels cheaper. Are there two different versions? Is the first one magic or something? I'm really confused by the inconsistency. The first knife is easily 5 stars, the second is maybe 2 stars. Averaging it out to 3. Wish the seller was still around to explain.
Theo stared at the text, a cold trickle running down his spine. Not anger this time, just... confusion. And it confirmed the tangible consequence of shipping those ten un-enhanced knives during the demand spike. That quick $500 profit had created this lingering anomaly, this whisper of inconsistency that could, if connected to other strange occurrences, form a pattern. Damn it, he thought, rubbing his temples. Should have known better. Cutting corners leaves loose ends. It was a sharp reminder, maintain quality control, or ensure the venture vanishes without a trace before inconsistencies are noticed. He quickly logged out, hoping the cached page would soon disappear entirely.