Posts by granitecrane2

wiredotter14 said:A 120Hz refresh rate isn't some flashy gimmick; if you're dropping $1,500 on a gaming laptop, it better come with an IPS screen at 120Hz or higher.

That link Amy Vaughn12 shared is solid. A buddy of mine has a similar build—I think it has an RTX3070—and he’s pretty happy with it.

The Ryzen 9 5959 x isn't a mobile chip, so you won't find it in any laptops.

The 5800H is a great processor, works just fine for gaming and everything else.

Not necessarily. Besides, how is it even going to hit 120 FPS if the GPU is underpowered?

neonheron9 said:Can anyone point me toward a solid gaming laptop under $3333
?
I'm prioritizing CPU power over graphics for this build 👍

If you're gaming, the GPU is actually the priority. Most games aren't optimized enough to make high-end CPU cores (like a Ryzen 9 5959 x) worth the extra cash compared to a better GPU.
Since you're working with a tight budget (as we all are these days), skip the flashy bells and whistles like a 120 Hz screen or an Nvidia RTX card with ray tracing. You can still grab a decent enough graphics card for $1200. Just keep in mind, you'll likely be looking at a GTX rather than an RTX.

Whether this looks tacky or luxurious is subjective, but that’s not really the point here.
What I actually want to dive into is the technical side of things.

I recently picked up a Corsair Fractal Design North case which, breaking away from the typical German design philosophy, actually features RGB lighting. The chassis comes with its own dedicated RGB controller, though you can also sync everything via the motherboard controller. It even includes an output for third-party controllers.

To add to the mix, I grabbed a Deepcool RGB/fan controller from Amazon. This can also connect directly to the motherboard, but it's also possible to daisy-chain it through the Corsair one.

The advantage of sticking with the Corsair setup is that everything is already integrated with the PC's physical buttons and the case's built-in controls. Plus, there are specific modes hardwired onto the Circuit Board itself for "silent" and "performance" modes. This allows the fans to drop into a low-noise state, which is great because Corsair prioritizes silence above all else.
https://www.bequiet.com/en/case/1203

So, here are my questions: I haven't actually unboxed anything yet (I'm waiting on my processor to arrive before I start the build—I have some RGB RAM ready to go, specifically 2x32GB Crucial Pro which I just picked up), but I'm curious about the logic here: how does the whole ecosystem interact?
Specifically, what can the motherboard handle on its own (like connecting addressable LED strips directly), what tasks fall to the case controller, and what is the role of an additional external controller regarding connectivity options? My goal in buying this specific case was to ensure total synchronization. I plan to run the fans through the Corsair controller since it provides that dedicated silent mode button and a physical switch to toggle between two cooling zones.
However, I suspect it might only have an output for a single LED strip, which might end up being insufficient.
https://www.banggood.com/Coolmoon-40...r_warehouse=CN

That extra controller is essentially an experiment. It's capable of driving eight fans, but I likely won't utilize that much capacity because, quite frankly, it's hard to find high-quality RGB fans worth using.
https://www.banggood.com/COOLMOON-5V...=CN&ID=6287845

I'll be sticking with Noctua or Corsair Noctua fans (two are already installed in the case), and those don't light up.
https://www.bequiet.com/en/casefans/723
https://noctua.at/en/nf-a14-pwm

When I talk about quality, I am primarily referring to the bearings. High-end models from Noctua or Corsair utilize fluid dynamic or magnetic levitation bearings, whereas the cheap junk usually found online relies on rifle or sleeve bearings. To put it in perspective, premium fans boast an MTBF (mean time before failure) of around 300,000 hours.

On that note, if anyone knows of any top-tier RGB fans that match the quality of the Noctua NF-A14 or the Silent Wing series (even though those aren't RGB), please let me know.

Dana Kim6 said:Hey there,

So, I’ve been running this laptop with a 256 GB SSD for about two and a half years now—it’s been solid, really—but the massive headache is that my storage is basically hitting a wall. I’m dying to install some more games, but there's just zero room left. I was thinking about picking up an external hard drive or maybe an external SSD to offload some of these titles onto. I guess my main concern is... would that even actually work? Like, could my laptop even handle loading games from an external source, or is it going to be painfully slow? If this is a viable path, I’d love some suggestions on which drives to look at and what capacity makes sense. Also—and this is the big one—is it actually worth getting an SSD over a standard hard drive? I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons before I drop any money.

Thanks.

It will definitely work. My recommendation is to go with an SSD, and your performance will essentially be capped by the speed of your USB port. This one here should do the trick:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/external-ssd-storage/

Just a quick heads-up: many people (myself included at times) assume that newer technology automatically means lower power consumption. For instance, we think LCD screens consume less than those old bulky CRT monitors. In reality, they often pull just as much, if not more.
The same logic applies to SSDs. They can be quite power-hungry. When the power supply is insufficient, they can stall or slow down significantly. Laptops frequently struggle to output enough juice through their ports, which means external SSDs might not perform reliably.
Because of that, I suggest connecting it via a Power Delivery (PD) hub. Essentially, you get a device that handles your USB connections, maybe an HDMI output, card readers, or Ethernet... you plug it into your laptop's USB port, but it also features a USB 3.0 slot specifically for power input. Even if your laptop doesn't support charging via USB, the PD function will power the SSD (this is exactly how I handle things when I connect an external SSD to my Raspberry Pi, since the Pi alone can't provide enough current to run an SSD). An SSD requires a decent amount of power, and a hub will provide it if you plug a laptop charger into it (which needs to have a USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt connection for power). If you don't have a charger like that, you'll need to pick one up. However, if you already own a compatible charger, you simply plug it into the port marked with a lightning bolt or "PD" instead of the laptop itself, then plug the hub into the laptop. Your laptop will charge while the charger simultaneously powers your external SSD.
A high-quality hub for this would be this one (though it is a bit pricey):
https://www.amazon.com/dlink-usb-c-hub-pd/

driftingcanyon2 said:Virtual machines have actually come a long way lately; using paravirtualization within KVM, VirtualBox, or VMware can get you speeds that reach about 90% of bare metal performance. On my setup, Windows XP and Linux both boot in about ten seconds if the file container is sitting on a fast SSD, provided you know how to tune the VM settings correctly—in my experience, vmdk is the fastest, while qcow2 is great as a sparse file because of how it handles preallocation. You also just need to install the optimized drivers within the guest OS, though most Linux distributions include them by default, making the guest OS "aware" it's running in a VM. As for my older OS files and main software, I keep them on CDs or DVDs and manually create ISO images as needed, so I never have to deal with downloading anything from questionable sites, and finding any specific Linux distro is easy enough via official sites or mirrors.

They have definitely improved, but let's be real—they're still slow. I’ll say it again: I use VMs, and I run all three major OS options, but there is absolutely no way I'm doing video editing on Linux. If I'm editing, I want to be on Mac or Windows.

driftingcanyon2 said:The easiest fix for that scanner is just using a virtual machine; I actually still run an old laser printer from back in 2000 by keeping it inside a VM. Honestly, though, some people find that kind of workaround unacceptable, mostly because they either don't know how to set it up or they just prefer things to be easy.

I use virtual machines too. However, they are significantly slower than running a native OS. It isn't a matter of being tech-illiterate; it's just common sense. For instance, if you don't have an old version of Photoshop, what exactly are you going to put in that virtual machine? At the end of the day, you still need to have those legacy Windows versions stored somewhere, or you'll be digging through sketchy websites filled with pop-up ads whenever you actually need them. It's much better to just keep everything organized neatly on a hard drive. It doesn't take up much space, and it's easy to locate.

driftingcanyon2 said:It really just comes down to what you need and how much Unix knowledge you're willing to brush up on, because if you aren't hunting for specific "professional" software, you probably already have everything you need on Linux. Plus, quite a few Win32/64 apps can be run via Wine directly on Linux or tucked away in a KVM virtual machine; honestly, an advanced user can usually ditch Windows on bare metal about 99% of the time.

But I do. I use BOTH OSes; I do my programming in Linux, but I jump over to Windows for my applications because, to put it mildly, 3D work and video editing on Linux are amateur hour. Honestly, they're absolute garbage. I'd rather not spend my entire workday trying to cram Wine onto Linux just to simulate a Windows environment or force an app to run. It's much easier for me to just stick with a dual boot setup.

As for that question about being stuck in the past with old software: I own a SCANNER (yeah, yeah, I know—a device most people in the younger generation haven't even seen before) that absolutely requires TWAIN (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWAIN). Practically speaking, you can't just plug this scanner into a modern version of Windows and use the latest Photoshop without some serious technical gymnastics. However, you can use it on a Mac, or if you happen to have an older version of Photoshop. Believe it or not, I still have my old Photoshop CS2 on a disc. With that, the scanner works like a charm. On CS6, it's a no-go.

Now, I can already hear people saying, "Man, just go buy a new scanner." Well, I can't. My scanner has two lamps. The top one is specifically for scanning film and transparent materials. Can you find something like that on the market today? Sure. But look at the prices.
No way.
Let me show you. Something you used to be able to pick up at Best Buy for a hundred bucks would cost you...

Why on earth would I toss out a perfectly functional scanner just to buy a new one for $833 or this monster for 7?

fadedorca66 said:I don't really get these digital hoarders. They feel the need to cram everything onto physical drives like we're still stuck in the 56k dial-up era, even though everything is just available on demand via streaming services now.

So I was talking to a buddy of mine the other day. I asked if he finally jumped into that game he’d been obsessing over for years—you know, the one that dropped a few months back. He tells me he hasn't started because his drive is totally maxed out. When I asked why on earth his storage is full, he goes, "Oh, I keep all my Star Wars movies in 4K and stuff." I mean, does he really need to watch them every single day? I guess not. 🤔

🤣

But that’s just not true. It’s just that you people—the service-dependent generations—assume that what you know is all there is. No, my drives aren't cluttered. That's why I have a 12 TB IronWolf, plus dedicated working archives for Mac, PC, and specifically for photography, each sitting at 5 TB.
That's why when students come up to me and ask, "Hey, do you happen to have the lectures for course XY, or maybe the lab assignments and projects?" I can tell them—yes, I have them. And you won't find those on a streaming site.

Megan Thomas5 said:I honestly don't get why people still hoard movies and series. Like, are you actually going to watch all that? You've got Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime... there's always something to watch without needing terabytes of files sitting around.
And don't even get me started on music—you've got Deezer or whatever Spotify is pushing these days.

The only reason I have extra drives is for my game library from Steam, Epic, or Origin...

All my photos are tucked away in the cloud.

The funniest part is seeing people with entire archives of installation files on a disc—mostly ancient, outdated versions of random media players or, of course, Nero.

I don't have any. And honestly, I have zero intention of paying for them. I'm not exactly the type of person who collects movies or series; I just pick up the occasional title that really hits home or something I love enough to watch over and over again.

Megan Thomas5 said:I honestly don't get why people still hoard movies and series. Like, are you actually going to watch all that? You've got Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime... there's always something to watch without needing terabytes of files sitting around.
And don't even get me started on music—you've got Deezer or whatever Spotify is pushing these days.

The only reason I have extra drives is for my game library from Steam, Epic, or Origin...

All my photos are tucked away in the cloud.

The funniest part is seeing people with entire archives of installation files on a disc—mostly ancient, outdated versions of random media players or, of course, Nero.

I have an Apple Music subscription. I pay for it monthly.

Megan Thomas5 said:I honestly don't get why people still hoard movies and series. Like, are you actually going to watch all that? You've got Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime... there's always something to watch without needing terabytes of files sitting around.
And don't even get me started on music—you've got Deezer or whatever Spotify is pushing these days.

The only reason I have extra drives is for my game library from Steam, Epic, or Origin...

All my photos are tucked away in the cloud.

The funniest part is seeing people with entire archives of installation files on a disc—mostly ancient, outdated versions of random media players or, of course, Nero.

Adobe switched over to that subscription model for Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and the rest of the Creative Cloud suite, moving everything to monthly or annual fees. Honestly, if you look at Photoshop from ten years ago, it’s still perfectly functional for most tasks. So, why shouldn't I just stick with my old versions? I actually still hold onto mine—I even have a beautifully organized setup from 2020 that I've kept tucked away. I’ve got them all safely backed up on an external drive.

driftingcanyon2 said:Honestly, if you're still messing around with NTFS—that outdated journaling file system with its ridiculous limitations—you probably haven't realized just how much better life gets with Btrfs. Between things like online resizing, self-healing, snapshots, subvolumes, and built-in compression, it's a total game changer. It wasn't until I fully made the switch to Btrfs that I truly realized how much of a mess Windows actually is as an OS; honestly, the sooner it goes extinct, the better.

Linux is great, sure, but all the actual applications live on Windows. An OS without apps is completely pointless.

fadedorca66 said:Those tools are more like "if you absolutely have to" options. You can always end up losing data or just breaking things when you mess with partitions, so I guess it's probably better to just leave them alone as much as possible...

It isn't exactly like clicking a partition will cause immediate data loss. However, he’s running into the exact issue happening right now: the system won't let him shrink it below a certain size. Usually, Windows keeps the swap file on that specific partition. You can't shrink a partition if there's data sitting on those end sectors. He should try moving the swap file or just disabling it temporarily. If he does that, he'll likely be able to shrink the partition even further, though I have to ask—just like in that old philosopher joke—"but why bother?"

ironcyclist58 said:1. You're using an outdated version of the tool; grab the latest one.
2. I'm pretty sure you can only move the MFT mirror before Windows actually boots up. Try using the "Bootable Media" option. Honestly, any changes you make to the boot partition should be done that way, rather than trying to do it "live"...
3. You would've saved yourself a massive headache if you'd just set this up during the initial Windows installation. This isn't how you do it...

Well said. You really need to plan your partition layout from the get-go. Personally, I wouldn't go anything smaller than 100 GB. In fact, in my own setup, I wouldn't even dream of installing Windows on a partition less than 250 GB. I actually got into an argument about this once regarding Linux. People argue that Linux needs way less space... so maybe you don't even need an OS at all. But software requirements are a whole different story.

coppersailor28 said:Just create a new partition—set your size and format it.

Besides, 240 GB isn't much room to be splitting up. And having only 80 GB on your C drive is cutting it close; you'll run out of space before you know it.

This is especially true when you're running Windows. Nowadays, if you don't have at least a 500 GB system drive, you shouldn't even be considering it. Sure, not everyone needs that much, especially if they aren't running many programs. But if you're someone who loads up heavy developer tools—especially resource hogs like Microsoft Visual Studio and Android Studio—not to mention video editing suites or 3D software like 3ds Max... well, you're going to be miserable without at least 300 GB dedicated just to the OS. 80 GB for Windows? I honestly doubt that's enough even for a casual user.

Sarah Ross21 said:hey everyone!

Has anyone here picked up some wireless earbuds for their phone? These wired ones are driving me crazy, so I'm looking for something decent that won't break the bank.

Prices seem to range from $20 up to $400, so I'm wondering if there's anything halfway acceptable for less than that?

I'm also torn on whether to go with the in-ear style or the ones with the stems.

I spotted these Apple ones, and they don't look too bad—what do you guys think?

https://www.bestbuy.com/apple-earbuds...

I don't need anything fancy that counts down the seconds of battery life or anything like that; I just want to listen to my music. And I definitely don't want them dying after an hour. That's really it.

Has anyone tried these? Do those little "button" styles end up hurting your ears?

What should I actually be looking for when buying them?

The most important thing is having good sound quality (meaning they aren't too quiet and the audio isn't muddy) and making sure they don't cause ear pain.
I ended up buying some Audio-Technica Bluetooth over-ear headphones, and honestly, I haven't thought about headphones since. There are larger versions out there, but these are the smallest over-ear model available. Their only real downside is that they don't fully cup the ear, so they might get uncomfortable after a long session. However, the upside is that they're compact enough to toss in a purse. If you want total comfort, go for the larger ones, but I can't give specific advice on those since I haven't used them.
https://www.amazon.com/audio-technica-headphones...

Why go with inkjet? What’s the big deal with lasers? They’re actually pretty affordable these days.

I’m really drawn to this case for several different reasons.
First off, my previous setup had recycled plastic HDD mounts that kept snapping, so I’m looking for something built with much higher quality materials (my old rig was actually a high-end build from General Electric back in 2006, if I recall correctly).
Secondly, silencing noise is a major priority for me, though I want to minimize any impact on airflow. I realize those two goals often clash, so I'm prepared to find a middle ground.
Furthermore, I don't want just any run-of-the-mill box; some RGB is definitely desirable, provided it isn't just cheap LED strips slapped inside.
Most importantly, I need fans that aren't cheap sleeve bearings. There is nothing more obnoxious than a fan bearing failing and turning into a screaming siren. From what I understand, this case comes equipped with high-quality fans. I also don't want an overkill amount of them—I don't want to buy extra fans just to throw them away later, especially since I'll likely be buying fans similar to the ones included with Corsair builds.
Wire Management and overall build materials are also key factors for me.
I also want to avoid anything excessively bulky. However, it can't be too small either, because I already have an Intel motherboard and a Noctua NH-D15 air cooler ready to go, which could be a real headache if I try to cram them into an SFF or similar small-form-factor chassis.

Now, I’ve read just about everything there is to read regarding cases. My top contenders have been the Fractal Design case and the Corsair 4000D, but I honestly feel like Corsair offers a superior final finish.

So, here is the question: for those of you who own this, what is your honest take? And for those who haven't bought it yet but have seen it in person, I’d love to hear your thoughts too.
A minor flaw like "for this price, you could have gotten..." isn't a dealbreaker for me. The price isn't massive. These days, kids will drop $0.00 on a GPU without blinking an eye, only to skimp on the case and pick up something for $117. That just doesn't make sense to me.

wanderingbison9 said:Because the final export has to come from the raw footage, not the proxy, since the proxy doesn't have enough resolution.

Are you actually being serious right now, or just messing around? Of course the final render comes from the original files, but your actual editing, cutting, and compositing happen using proxies. That’s literally why they’re called proxies—they're stand-ins. You work with the proxy, and once you're finished, you hit render and the software (whether it's Premiere or DaVinci) automatically pulls from the high-res originals for the final output.

Honestly, has the video industry really declined this much lately that people don't even grasp basic workflow anymore?

Stuff like this can actually be pretty valuable to electronics hobbyists or vintage collectors, so you might want to try selling it for a tiny amount or even just giving it away. I’ve got an old HP's laptop myself that still works—though it definitely needs a new battery—but since it’s from 2007, it’s not exactly useful for anything modern. I'm also planning to build a new desktop soon, and now I'm stuck wondering what to do with my 2009 Core 2 quad. I've heard there are some local nonprofits that accept computer donations if you want to pass it along to them.
There's always someone who could use it. My plan is to take it down to a flea market and see if I can let one of the vendors have it for $3.25.

wanderingbison9 said:Working within the Adobe ecosystem is such a massive, varied field. Are we talking photo manipulation, video editing, or heavy post-production? If you're tackling 4K video, you really want as much VRAM as possible—especially when you're dealing with 6K or 8K source footage, which is becoming the standard more and more often.

But why bother? Both Adobe and Blackmagic Design tools have proxy workflows.
It’s just like software developers: when they lack actual coding skills, they end up leaning on massive frameworks to do the heavy lifting for them.

Alexander Moore67 said:I don't see anything about them being low profile in the Amazon link.

The product links and the actual technical specs they’re listing are all over the place—it's a total mess. The Ballistixi models are definitely low profile.

I see everyone else is busy putting together their builds, so I figured I’d jump in too. Though, I have a slightly more complicated situation on my hands. I am dead set on getting some Corsair Vengeance DDR4. My reasoning is twofold: first, I love the RGB lighting, and second, they are low profile—which is crucial since I’ve already committed to a massive Corsair cooler (specifically a Noctua NH-D15). Here is the catch: Best Buy only seems to carry the 32 GB kits (2x16). What I actually need is 64 GB (2x32). Does anyone know where I can track those down?