Posts by Andrew Miller102

Anthony Hill5 said:Germany to send an additional 2,700 Strela anti-aircraft missiles

Germany to ship anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine — reports

Is there no end to this constant flow of weaponry? According to government sources cited by various news agencies, Berlin has officially greenlit the shipment of 2,700 Soviet-era "Strela" missiles to Ukraine.

In reality, they’re just donating a bunch of old MANPAD junk. These Strela missiles have been obsolete for ages, offering little to no effectiveness against modern IR decoys or thermal countermeasures. If you look at footage from Syria, you see the classic tactic where a Mi-24 flies extremely low while deploying modern thermal flares to confuse seekers. Modern Russian IR jamming equipment—which is what that second link refers to—is something the Russians are deploying on a massive scale today.If we use the video from Syria as an example, it shows how a Mi-24 flies very low and drops modern heat decoys. That second link covers the specific systems the Russians are using extensively now.



https://staging.taktikz.com/lets-tal...-dircm-system/

The Ukrainians already have Russian Igla missiles, which are either significantly improved versions or direct successors to the Strela. They also have the American Stinger, though those tend to be older models or aging stockpiles. While a Stinger is definitely superior to a Strela—more efficient and more capable—even they struggle against modern IR jamming systems.

For anyone interested, the most cutting-edge Russian shoulder-fired MANPAD currently in play is the Verba system. As far as I know, the Verba is used almost exclusively by Russians, then Armenians, and eventually in Syria.

You aren't supposed to look a gift horse in the mouth, but let's be honest: the Strela is just outdated MANPAD scrap.🍿

silverotter72 said:

Andrew Miller102 says:
Who exactly are you planning to sell to?😁 Are we supposed to just dump all the excess Volkswagen or Skoda inventory originally destined for a massive Russian market of 150 million people? Besides, there's already a surplus of new cars elsewhere anyway...

Where, though?
Everywhere I look, and honestly, everyone I talk to, the consensus seems to be that wait times for anything remotely decent are getting absolutely ridiculous.
I suppose sanctions are a bit like chemotherapy. You end up hurting yourself just as much as you hurt them, though the damage to them is arguably more severe. It’s essentially a form of warfare. And in war, people die on both sides; it's just that the winning army loses less than what they can eventually replenish—technically, humanly, and financially—compared to the losing side. That's just how it works.

To put it bluntly, neither side can sustain this in the long run.

So, where is the solution, assuming for a moment you were sitting in the CEO's chair at a major firm like Canadian Krka?🤔

Carl Lee27 said:And now you've got brands like Skoda and Volkswagen pulling out completely, stopping both production and exports to Russia entirely.

Who exactly are you planning to sell to?😁 So, what’s the move here—do we just offload all that excess Volkswagen or Skoda inventory originally earmarked for the massive Russian market of 150 million people? We've got a surplus of new vehicles sitting around anyway, so we might as well find a buyer instead of letting those unsold units just rot away in a parking lot.Stockpiling unsold inventory is essentially a cancer for the automotive industry. The Russian market is massive—we aren't talking about some small territory of ten or twenty million people here. There is absolutely no way the Czechs are going to clear out excess Skoda stock, and frankly, the Germans won't be rushing to pick up any surplus Volkswagen units destined for the Russian market either, neither today nor anytime down the road.

Economic sanctions often trigger a nasty countereffect, creating collateral damage in the form of surplus goods that suddenly have nowhere to go. If you can't pivot to a new market quickly, you're looking at a massive headache—something that could be devastating for a smaller nation like Canada. Take a company like Krka, for instance; they are a major pharmaceutical player within the Eastern EU, and a staggering 40% of their exports are tied directly to the Russian market.

The recent news regarding the ongoing investigations into corporate misconduct within the airline industry highlights just how deep the rot goes when oversight fails. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the regulatory bodies we rely on to ensure safety and ethical standards aren't quite as vigilant as they ought to be, leaving massive corporations to navigate their own interests at the expense of the public. When you look at the sheer scale of the scrutiny currently facing major players like Boeing, it feels less like an isolated incident of negligence and more like a systemic failure inherent in how these giants operate under modern American regulations. We see these patterns repeating where profit margins are prioritized over structural integrity, and frankly, it's hard to stay surprised when the fallout finally hits the headlines.

Economic sanctions are essentially a boomerang solution, and just how hard they hit depends entirely on how much exposure a specific company has within the Russian market. They aren't some magic fix, but honestly, we’re stuck in a spot where there aren't any perfect options left—you basically just pick the least catastrophic path available in hopes that things don't escalate further.

Action equals reaction—whether we’re talking about the ripple effects of a major decision or just standard tactical moves—and yet most people seem to completely miss that connection, or they simply choose to ignore the problems it creates.☕

wiredseal7 said:Look, my point was that they can't use it for everything—there isn't enough liquidity in the crypto market to settle the entire Russian export volume.

They'll end up trading in Chinese or Indian currency if nobody trusts the Ruble anymore (and let's face it, nobody does right now 😬).

As for neon and palladium, I'm not sure, but I do know Russian grain production is set to hit a twenty-year low—so I guess they'll just have to survive on neon, palladium, and gas.

How do you even know that? It's not like the government won't step in with subsidies to prop up production. Plus, they'll have cheap fertilizer—something most other countries are sweating over right now.

If they don't, and considering how much grain Ukraine produces, we're looking at global fallout. They say the developing world usually takes the biggest hit.
The grain futures spiked twofold the other day—that's a clear sign shortages are coming.
Luckily, the US produces way more than it consumes.

To put it bluntly, it's a fact that people tend to overlook quite often. Ukraine is a major breadbasket, and wheat production has to continue regardless of whether it's under the Russian administration.

The crux of the matter is that sanctions against Russia inflict heavy damage on the very companies implementing them. Realistically, these kinds of sanctions won't last forever, simply because the entire world revolves around profit and maximizing returns.🍿

restlessscout5 said:Apple is pulling its business out of Russia as well—now, if all the other major tech players decide to follow suit... Russia is headed straight toward total technological isolation.

Long live the chaos; without Jabuchar’s products, the Russians will end up in a psych ward.😵

Jabuchar is pretty much the only player left in the smartphone game. If you aren't carrying an iPhone or using an iMac, then you're basically just a peasant with an Android..🤣😵

The landscape of mobile technology is shifting, and if you aren't paying attention to how certain international brands are aggressively carving out market share, you're missing the bigger picture. While most people in the States are content to just grab whatever is sitting on the shelf at Best Buy or clicking "buy now" on an Amazon listing, there is a much more complex power struggle happening behind the scenes. We’ve spent decades under the assumption that a few major players would dictate the terms of the smartphone market indefinitely, but that era is fading. You see these massive manufacturers from Asia pushing hard into the American consumer space, offering hardware that often punches way above its weight class compared to what we typically see from the big Silicon Valley giants. It isn't just about price points anymore; it's about ecosystem integration and raw specs that make the standard offerings feel a bit dated by comparison. It’s a calculated move. These companies aren't just trying to sell a device; they are trying to build a foothold in the US market that eventually makes them indispensable. They are playing a long game, and honestly, it's working better than most analysts predicted. If you think the dominance of the current heavyweights is permanent, you probably haven't been looking closely enough at the sheer momentum these emerging brands are building.

The latest reports regarding Boeing’s manufacturing struggles suggest that the situation isn't just a temporary hiccup, but rather a deeper systemic issue within their production lines. It seems like they are struggling to maintain the rigorous quality standards required for modern aviation, which inevitably leads to delays and significant scrutiny from federal regulators here in the States. When you look at how much pressure these massive aerospace giants face to meet delivery timelines, it becomes increasingly clear that cutting corners is a recipe for disaster, regardless of how much they try to smooth things over with public statements. If they can't get their assembly processes back under control soon, the ripple effects throughout the entire American aviation sector are going to be substantial.

Unlike what we saw with Mexico, this tactical move from Turkey was entirely predictable.☕

Carl Lee27 said:Word on the street is the Ukrainians might have actually managed to capture an M270 MLRS unit.
I’m dropping this here in the arms and equipment thread because, honestly, seeing how much gear the Russian military is now funneling into Ukraine is getting pretty wild.

Oryx@oryxspioenkop The Ukrainian Army just captured a Russian M270 MLRS. 💥

https://twitter.com/oryxspioenkop/st...97710429425672

And what good does that actually do, once you've emptied the launcher?The Ukrainians didn't buy any TOS-1 rockets, which means they have absolutely nothing left to reload that launcher with. A launcher is secondary; it's just a delivery platform. Without the actual TOS-1 rockets, which the Ukrainians don't have in their inventory, you're missing the most vital piece of hardware and technology in the entire equation.☕

It’s an interesting turn of events, though certainly not what I anticipated, seeing as Mexico has no intention of joining any sanctions against Russia.

https://www.reuters.com/world/mexico...ia-2022-03-01/

I’m genuinely curious to hear what the Americans have to say about this, especially considering they’re neighbors who already deal with enough friction regarding drug cartels and trafficking.☕

John Perez13 said:

The Ukrainian side claims they reached an agreement allowing their pilots to use operational airfields in Poland. I don't know how smart that move is. Putin could easily launch a ballistic missile at those airfields and just say, "See? I told you so." Anyway, the Ukrainians are saying they've been handed 70 aircraft. Mostly MiG-29s, maybe 25 of them. Who knows what kind of condition they're actually in? Besides, what happened to the rest of the Ukrainian fleet? Sure, they lost some airfields, but the planes were tucked away in hangars or buried in hillsides. They didn't manage to wipe out 300 planes sitting on the ground.

And honestly, this is a high-stakes situation that could easily escalate the conflict; the trigger is essentially being set. It isn't a particularly clever move, considering that aircraft alone don't provide a decisive advantage in a modern war.

Based on what we know, Russia has already neutralized or destroyed much of the Ukrainian military airfield infrastructure and radar systems.That was the work of the Russian Kalibr—cruise missiles, for those who want to Google the Iskander series—which carry a circular error probable of about twenty meters. When you factor in that Russia possesses top-tier electronic warfare capabilities, the utility of those old MiG-29s becomes minimal or non-existent. You're left with whatever remains of Ukraine's radar surveillance, especially since Russian radar coverage extends across all of Ukraine and its surroundings. You can look at the precedent in Syria, or consider the operational range and radar footprint when these systems are integrated with S-300 or S-400 air defense missile systems.



A cruise missile is simply a tool used when you need to eliminate a specific target with precision.Planes are incredibly expensive, there is always the constant risk of a crash, and training pilots is an enormous investment. The Ukrainians lack the resources for modern warfare, specifically the highly sophisticated electronic equipment required for jamming everything in sight.

Now we just wait to see if Russia, as a form of retaliation (and most likely, the Kalibr is just waiting for the signal), decides to strike the Polish airfield where those planes originated before they even make it back to Ukraine. When you make moves this risky, you have to be prepared for the fallout.

I had assumed the Americans in Poland were a bit more prudent. Now we know; as I've noted before, war happens, and weapons get spent.🍿

wanderingbison9 said:I feel like I’ve had it forever, and I’m certainly not getting any younger🤣

Just come clean and we might forgive you,😁 is your Chuck older or actually younger than my Sonic.

When my Sisko decides to finally give up the ghost, nobody knows, but here it is still powering along in an R5 4650G HTPC. The power supply is thirteen years old, though in practical terms it’s seen about seven years of actual heavy lifting. To be fair, my Sisko has never pulled more than 200W on the 12V rail. I’m not much of a gamer, so over the years, this rig has never had to shoulder the load of some power-hungry gaming GPU. I’ve opened the unit up twice just to give it a thorough cleaning to get the dust out.🍿

https://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/...430w_atx_psu/2

This is an interesting set of tests, particularly regarding how much of a difference you actually see when jumping from 4800MHz up to 6400MHz on DDR5 memory.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/17078...ing-analysis/5



Cinebench and Blender show virtually no difference, which isn't really surprising, and the impact on gaming is so marginal that it's basically negligible. They didn't go particularly deep here either, just a couple of applications and some light gaming. While the sample size isn't massive, the results are pretty much what anyone would expect to see.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/17078...ing-analysis/3

https://www.anandtech.com/show/17078...ing-analysis/4

The G.Skill 2x16 GB DDR5 kit used in this test is currently sitting at $700. It was listed for $530 just a few days ago, so prices have taken quite a jump.😉

https://www.amazon.com/G-Skill-PC5-4.../dp/B09MYJW7RB

wanderingbison9 said:Aren't those processors intended for OEM rather than being sold to end users? That’s why the database doesn't list them as standard retail products.

On paper, sure,😁 the AM4 Renoir APU is OEM only, but AMD couldn't care less about those kinds of distinctions. If a Renoir APU shows up, it gets sold through regular retail channels just like anything else. You could mention Germany or Austria, but there isn't much else to say beyond that.

Both ADM and Protis (if you're actually following the market) have had the R5 3500X in stock, which was a model specifically for the Chinese market. How it ended up in the US is irrelevant; AMD doesn't care, they just want to move the inventory.

https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-ryzen-5-3500x

The Ryzen 5 PRO 3350G (10CU), is the exact same story—strictly OEM. In reality, it’s basically an R5 3400G (11CU) with one CU disabled and overclocking locked out. You can see for yourself that ADM sells this specific model. It's widely available across various US states; these AMD OEM chips are listed and sold in standard retail stores all the time.

https://www.amd.com/en/products/apu/...en-5-pro-3350g

Mall of America is a general e-commerce store selling everything from needles to toilet paper, so it isn't a specialized PC hardware site or a dedicated tech retailer. They make quite a few mistakes, such as the same kind of error seen with the R5 4650G, which they failed to categorize under AM4 processors. If you filter for Teamgroup USB sticks, specifically the C211 model, you'll only see the 32GB version. Yet, if you Google it, you'll find the 128GB model is readily available. There's zero logic to it, just typical e-commerce store errors; the 128GB model exists and you can buy it without any trouble. We're playing a little game of hide-and-seek here, and while I could point out several other examples, there really isn't a need.😵

To make things even more interesting, as you can see, the Teamgroup 128GB C211 is actually the cheapest 128GB USB stick at the Mall of America. But go ahead and dig around; you won't find that model listed under the 128GB USB sticks section at all.🙂

The crew over at Mall of America clearly had a few too many drinks,😵 because if you look closely, the second or third link for those Renoir chips actually shows them in stock.

If you filter specifically for AMD processors on the Mall of America site, the Renoir options seemingly vanish from the list. However, if you just do a standard Google search, there they are, sitting right there in the second and third direct links. It’s just more of the same nonsense; I recall seeing this kind of mess on their site about six months ago.

https://www.mall.com/processors?p%5BSO...D=am4%20socket

https://www.mall.com/processors/amd-ry...-100000148mpk-

https://www.mall.com/processors/amd-ry...-hcadnjak-65-w

It looks like Apple has them available now, Ryzen 5 Pro 4650G, though the price seems $600 quite $67 higher than what you'd find through Mall of America.

https://apple.com/shop/group/pc-components?sortOrder=olcso

ADM updated their inventory again, $533 but everything is marked as "available on order," which basically means they have zero stock on hand.🍿

https://www.adm.com/cpu-amd-sam4-0915/153/

Ryzen 5 Pro 4650G is back in stock. As far as I can tell, it's only showing up at the Mall of America right now, but the price remains remarkably reasonable $533.

I have no idea what kind of nonsense they're pulling here, because there is absolutely no logic in a 4-core/8-thread Ryzen 3 4350G costing more than a 6-core/12-thread Ryzen 5 4650G.😵

Jack Morgan2 said:They’re a fantastic band, though I suspect most rock fans who only stick to the greatest hits view them primarily as a ballad-heavy group, which is a total misconception. They have enough high-quality hard rock tracks to catch just about anyone off guard. While they clearly hit their stride during the 80s—which was undoubtedly their golden era in terms of chart dominance and massive tours—I found myself surprised by how solid and overlooked they actually were in the 70s; those early albums had this experimental edge that sounds like a completely different band compared to their 80s output. Their live shows are nothing short of brilliant, and having caught them once, I’d jump at the chance to see them again if they were playing anywhere near me.

The truth is that the best material rarely comes from forced hits,😁 and certainly never from those "manufactured power ballads" designed specifically for the masses. When it comes to actual musical quality, the best stuff is usually found in those deep cuts that almost never get airplay on mainstream American radio.🍿

wanderingbison9 said:Since you're running a 65W CPU, honestly, the motherboard choice barely matters at all. Just make sure there are enough fan headers, because I made a bit of a mess of things myself with an ASRock B450m. I'm currently running a Ryzen 5 1600X paired with a NVIDIA Quadro T600, along with one SSD and one HDD, all on a 250W power supply. I haven't run into any issues even under full load.
But isn't that a mini-ITX case?

Sure, if you just look at the TDP numbers,😁 but in a real-world scenario, a Ryzen 5 5600G—or even just the CPU by itself—will likely pull a maximum of about 80W. We're talking about measuring the CPU power draw directly on the 12V rail, much like how Linus Tech Tips or Anandtech would demonstrate it.

If we were looking at the total system power consumption (see that first link below), an identical configuration using a Ryzen 5 5600G combo would land somewhere around 115W. You might expect slightly higher consumption, though, given that the Ryzen 5 5600G carries twice the L3 Cache compared to the Ryzen 5 4650G.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/16824...g-apu-review/2





Regarding that Anandtech table, those Ryzen 5 2400G figures are simply incorrect and don't reflect the actual maximum CPU power draw, which sits closer to 68-70W. It looks like they slipped up there, and clearly, the editorial team didn't bother correcting or updating the tables in that specific review. Everything else seems fine or accurate, as those CPU power numbers have been well-established and verified for quite some time now.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12425...400g-review/13

In practice, we are talking about negligible power usage; overclocking a Desktop Ryzen 5 or a Ryzen 7G series APU at stock settings really doesn't make any sense at all. Having a power supply that provides 150W on the 12V rail is more than enough for an APU-based system without a dedicated graphics card.🍿

Right now, you can't really find DDR5 memory sitting on the shelves at any major US retailer.To put it simply, if you're looking for DDR5 specifically geared toward gaming or mixed workloads, we probably won't see things start to stabilize until sometime around June 2022.☕

I figured it was time to get this thread going, seeing as DDR5 memory is hitting retail shelves for desktop PCs very soon, around November 5th.

The first real desktop PC entry point for DDR5 will be the Intel Socket LGA 1700 platform, which is designed to house the new Intel Alder Lake processors. When dealing with the Intel LGA 1700 socket, you're essentially faced with two distinct motherboard paths, meaning an informed buyer has to make a choice right out of the gate between sticking with DDR4 or opting for the somewhat pricier DDR5.

- a motherboard supporting DDR4 memory

- a motherboard supporting DDR5 memory

It is worth noting upfront that while DDR5 memory features 288 pins just like DDR4, they aren't physically compatible with the same slots; if you look closely at the module, the Key Notch isn't in the same spot as it is on DDR4.



DDR5 is launching with base clock speeds starting at 4800MHz, and since the CAS Latency on the budget-friendly models sits at CL40, we are looking at significantly higher latencies compared to what we see with DDR4.

That said, DDR5 speeds can scale all the way up to 8400MHz, providing massive frequency jumps over the 3200MHz speeds that currently define the DDR4 standard.While raw frequency matters, the latency of the memory is equally critical, where lower is always better.

Based on what we know so far, neither Intel nor AMD—with their upcoming AM5 socket—plan to release a motherboard that supports both DDR4 and DDR5 simultaneously, as engineering a hybrid board would likely be prohibitively expensive and unnecessarily complex.

Ultimately, there is the matter of cost, because for anyone looking to upgrade in 2022, the price-to-performance ratio for DDR5 feels either like a heavy investment or just plain overpriced.🍿

https://videocardz.com/press-release...-32gb-capacity

https://videocardz.com/press-release...zen4-platforms

https://videocardz.com/press-release...p-to-5200-mt-s

https://videocardz.com/press-release...ngeance-memory

https://videocardz.com/press-release...ith-trident-z5

https://videocardz.com/press-release...clocked-memory

An interesting comparison involving both Intel and AMD coolers tested on an Intel LGA 1200 socket.

The tests looked at two different TDP limits—the standard 65W and a bumped up 100W—using an i5 11400F processor. The whole point here is clearly to evaluate the cheapest current stock coolers available. With Zen 3 chips out, AMD mostly just offers the Wraith Stealth these days. You only really see the Wraith Prism RGB if you’re looking at older Zen 2 chips like the Ryzen 7 3700X or the Ryzen 9 3900X. For the older Ryzen 5 3600 or the newer Ryzen 5 5600X, you're stuck with the Wraith Stealth in the box.

As for that "new/old Intel stock cooler," it managed to claim the title of the loudest CPU cooler in the bunch. It looks like Intel decided to cut corners again, providing a noticeably smaller fan that has to spin at incredibly high speeds to compensate. I honestly wonder how that little black Intel unit would perform if its fan speed was capped like the AMD Stock Cooler. That Wraith Stealth tops out somewhere around 2200 RPM.

Intel’s top-tier gear apparently assumes you're wearing earplugs, much like those old, subpar AMD stock coolers or any other buzzing nuisance.

I don't think the older, significantly better and quieter X58 Intel stock cooler even needs a mention.🍿

Aaron Evans2 said:I'm deciding between an i3-9100f and that Ryzen 5 because I'm on a tight budget.

These two processors are in entirely different leagues,😁 though I should mention that buying that Intel CPU as new($200) just isn't worth the money under any circumstances.

i3-9100f, Intel 4/4

Ryzen 5 1600 AF, 6/12

If you already have an older graphics card lying around, you could pick up an eBay R5 2600 x for $267.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ryzen-5-2600x-listing

Nowadays, CPUs with integrated graphics are highly desirable since finding a decent dedicated GPU at a reasonable price—whether new or used—is nearly impossible given how thin the market is right now.

Until we see better GPU times (which aren't exactly on the horizon), an AMD APU remains the only real option if you want decent iGPU gaming.From what I can see, there's an R5 2400G listed on eBay for about $300.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Ryzen+5+2400G

Keep in mind that even the R5 2400G only performs similarly to a GT 1030. That NVIDIA GPU is nothing to scoff at, though. This link compares two different Ryzen 5 processors, showing that the GT 1030 level of performance costs roughly $250.

http://www.techforum.com/showpost.php?p=8...1&postcount=12

The current GPU market is incredibly murky, and an Intel 4/4 processor without integrated graphics doesn't really fit into that landscape at all.☕