What's your latest tech purchase?

[onemanhitsquad]

I caught Klipsch R-41PM on sale...replaced Kanto YU3...on the Ryzen machine. The sound difference is substantial given that they have very similar feature set. A Polk sub sits under the desk, rounding out the sound. The Kantos are out in the garage for quick blue tooth sound . I like the Klipsch set a lot.

 

[sam_86314]

I installed a modded bios on my Clevo W650KK1 a while ago with the intent to upgrade to Coffee Lake at some point.

That point is now...

Grabbed an i5-8400T for a little over $70. It's a 35W 6C 6T CPU with a base clock of 1.7GHz and a boost of 3.5GHz. I'm upgrading from both my Pentium G4560 and i5-6500T; both CPUs I've been alternating between in this laptop.

But in order for 6+ core CPUs to work properly in 7th-gen Clevo laptops, you need to cover two pins with Kapton tape. It's extremely fiddly. It's technically optional if you don't mind having those two pins potentially burn away.

This extremely blurry picture shows my attempt (as well as how much I scratched up the areas around the pins). I set down a 3.5mm strip of tape in the general area and then tried to carefully cut away what I didn't need with a craft knife.

Got it installed in the laptop...

...and it POSTs!

It seems to work perfectly. After running some benchmarks, the temps seem to max at around 68C. Pretty good for an (admittedly low-power) desktop CPU in a laptop.

Maybe at some point, I'll step up to an 8700K (undervolted and underclocked of course).

 

[Ruru]

I installed a modded bios on my Clevo W650KK1 a while ago with the intent to upgrade to Coffee Lake at some point.

That point is now...

Grabbed an i5-8400T for a little over $70. It's a 35W 6C 6T CPU with a base clock of 1.7GHz and a boost of 3.5GHz. I'm upgrading from both my Pentium G4560 and i5-6500T; both CPUs I've been alternating between in this laptop.

But in order for 6+ core CPUs to work properly in 7th-gen Clevo laptops, you need to cover two pins with Kapton tape. It's extremely fiddly. It's technically optional if you don't mind having those two pins potentially burn away.

This extremely blurry picture shows my attempt (as well as how much I scratched up the areas around the pins). I set down a 3.5mm strip of tape in the general area and then tried to carefully cut away what I didn't need with a craft knife.

Got it installed in the laptop...

...and it POSTs!

It seems to work perfectly. After running some benchmarks, the temps seem to max at around 68C. Pretty good for an (admittedly low-power) desktop CPU in a laptop.

Maybe at some point, I'll step up to an 8700K (undervolted and underclocked of course).

Noice Intel was pretty ass-y when they had two physically identical LGA1151 sockets but just artificially incompatible..

 

[Mussels]

oled display aint good for laptops? most of the time they show same images

Any device using OLED, will make sure to have anti-burn in techniques at a hardware and firmware level - they wouldnt use it in a laptop without being confident it'll at least outlast the warranty.


I've outdone my brother again, as is required by law here in Straya

One desk mount, one floor mount - i'll see if the desk mount stays out of line of sight, one will go here and the other for the VR system

5800x3D is heavily discounted and it's extremely tempting... an x3D 64GB + 3090 build should be viable for another 5+ years

 

[Ruru]

an x3D 64GB + 3090 build should be viable for another 5+ years

Probably it is, as 1080 Ti is 5+ years old and it's still quite capable today. Hell, even 290X on my 2nd PC is fine.

 

[Space Lynx]

Probably it is, as 1080 Ti is 5+ years old and it's still quite capable today. Hell, even 290X on my 2nd PC is fine.

it really depends what you want though, I want all my games to run at 110+ fps at 1440p maxed out. nothing currently released can do that, but it's getting very close... I am really hoping high end next gen can pull this off for most newly released AAA games

 

[Ruru]

it really depends what you want though, I want all my games to run at 110+ fps at 1440p maxed out. nothing currently released can do that, but it's getting very close... I am really hoping high end next gen can pull this off for most newly released AAA games

Well, I can play at medium if it's needed. Hell, I truly got to PC gaming with a GF4 Ti 4200 in 2005 and I still enjoyed games

 

[Space Lynx]

Well, I can play at medium if it's needed. Hell, I truly got to PC gaming with a GF4 Ti 4200 in 2005 and I still enjoyed games

There are certain games I enjoy more at higher fps, that's all I am trying to say, and if I can afford to experience that, then I choose to do so.

Lot of games I am just fine with medium settings and 60 fps too.

 

[Ruru]

There are certain games I enjoy more at higher fps, that's all I am trying to say.

Lot of games I am just fine with medium settings and 60 fps too.

Ah, I get your point. I agree with that, 60fps is fine for most games, but yeah, in online shooters the higher FPS, the better. Even tho I still play with 1080p60 monitor (4K60 next).

 

[GreiverBlade]

can't stop, won't stop

after the 40 ohm Nowsonic Prinz for listening at home, here come the 26 ohm FH1s
84chf in Switzerland, minus 34chf fidelity rebate i got it ... uh? just ~10chf cheaper than the international pricing of 60$
hybrid 1 DD +1 BA configuration with a 13,6mm dynamic driver coupled with a Knowles 33518 Balanced Armature Driver
better quality than the TRN V60 i had (also hybrid but 2 DD + 1 BA), more detailed than the Fiio FA1 (well obviously ... that one only had 1 BA and no DD ) and excelent pairing with the KA1


Fiio is generous, lots of eartip (YAY for memory foam ) transport box and over the top cable (iirc it's the same cable as the FD3 that cost double) it's a Four strands of 120 wires Litz Type 2 monocrystalline copper cable, neat shell, celluloid face-plate and brass nozzle




perfect for my upcoming flight where i will have to put my phone in plane mode but .... will they put the plane in phone mode???

next on the list, mainly because i always wanted one ... also for "at home" like the Prinz, a Beyerdynamic DT770 250 ohm... not too expensive but might wait next month after my holidays to not be overbuying in one month

i forgot i had a better case than the HB1 for my IEMs .... i have a red HB3 (the HB1 main issue is the "half shell" rubber insert which make it prone to rattle since the top is just clear plastic, and the HB3 is Pleather, not "element proof" like the HB1 but still better )

 

[Mussels]

Ah, I get your point. I agree with that, 60fps is fine for most games, but yeah, in online shooters the higher FPS, the better. Even tho I still play with 1080p60 monitor (4K60 next).

Not all games benefit from higher FPS


The only two I can state for sure genuinely benefit are Killing floor 2 and DRG - neither has any visual effects, audio delays or other design flaws, so you get the full benefit of lower input latency.
KF2 still has an oddity where mouse/turn speed is tied to your frame rate, so while you get the reduced latency you can have screwy Mussels muscle memory if you cant sustain whatever FPS you aim for

As an example overwatch has upto 160ms of audio delay... when 60FPS is 16.6ms that means you might have a totally whacky experience where you can see and do things but hear the audio responses much later, and that can be a problem for a lot of people

Hence, my like of 4K and 1440p displays - can choose the right monitor for the right game, and have the high speed or the high quality
(most cross platform console ports are lucky to be optimised for 60FPS, and i genuinely hate the motion blur, slow inputs and delayed audio)

 

[SpittinFax]

Apparently trying to buy working PS1/PS2 controllers is super frustrating. I got a Dual Shock 2 but a few buttons weren't responding at all ("100% tested" ....yeah right....) so I had to disassemble it to investigate. The actual carbon contacts themselves go bad over time (regardless of usage) and it requires some work with a 2B pencil and pocket knife to add or remove carbon in certain areas on the membrane to get the on/off signals working properly. It's fixed now but for how long it stays working remains to be seen. Most controllers out there are decades old and totally shagged.

 

[Ruru]

Apparently trying to buy working PS1/PS2 controllers is super frustrating. I got a Dual Shock 2 but a few buttons weren't responding at all ("100% tested" ....yeah right....) so I had to disassemble it to investigate. The actual carbon contacts themselves go bad over time (regardless of usage) and it requires some work with a 2B pencil and pocket knife to add or remove carbon in certain areas on the membrane to get the on/off signals working properly. It's fixed now but for how long it stays working remains to be seen. Most controllers out there are decades old and totally shagged.

View attachment 261001

I paid 5EUR for my Dualshock2, later my friend was like "damn I sold it too cheap"

 

[Mussels]

Apparently trying to buy working PS1/PS2 controllers is super frustrating. I got a Dual Shock 2 but a few buttons weren't responding at all ("100% tested" ....yeah right....) so I had to disassemble it to investigate. The actual carbon contacts themselves go bad over time (regardless of usage) and it requires some work with a 2B pencil and pocket knife to add or remove carbon in certain areas on the membrane to get the on/off signals working properly. It's fixed now but for how long it stays working remains to be seen. Most controllers out there are decades old and totally shagged.

View attachment 261001

I just got into PS2 modding for friends, i'll keep this in mind - controller repairs was next on the list

 

[SpittinFax]

I just got into PS2 modding for friends, i'll keep this in mind - controller repairs was next on the list

Yeah, then it's definitely worth keeping in mind that usually bad button contacts on the membrane are the culprit. The PCB itself and wiring connections are usually still working fine.

Adding a scratch across the contact pad helps increase resistance (the button turns off properly) and the pencil graphite helps the connection to register properly. I made a little diagram below.

Something I should mention, most of the buttons share a common trace (the power signal) which passes through exposed contacts along it's path. Applying the pencil graphite at all those contacts ensures that the power is bridged properly so that all buttons are supplied with a power source. Pretty straight forward.

 

[mplayerMuPDF]

Even though I grew up around this stuff I'm not really an expect either, but a preamp is essentially a circuit that attenuates or amplifies a low level source from a DAC, turntable, CD player, ect and then outputs a voltage a power amplifer is expecting to see that then drives your speakers or headphones. Its also, usually has multiple inputs but thats not really required. Any integrated amp has a preamp section built in and your Asgard is a preamp because it has pre-outs.

Noise and distortion is a factor in the preamplification stage so most think a dedicated preamp is better than building it into the amplifier itself. As to why its mostly a speaker thing and not so much with headphones, I'd guess thats probably do to the power level differences involved in what is required to drive speakers vs. headphones. It would be much easier to build and isolate headphone amp circuit and keep it from influencing the preamp stage than it would be to in amplifier thats dealing with amounts of watts needed to drive speakers.

Some headphone amplifiers, such as my JDS Labs Atom, can also serve as a preamp (for a traditional HiFi system).

 

[Frick]

Swoosh, presumably. On a sale, of course.

 

[Ahhzz]

Swoosh, presumably. On a sale, of course.

View attachment 261083

Verrah nice, verrah nice!! where'd you steal a deal?

 

[budget_Optiplex]

Well now that used GPU prices are really becoming sane again, I sold the GTX 1050 Ti I recently posted in this thread to a friend because it wasn't quite enough for Far Cry 6 and high settings, and picked up a used EVGA GTX 1060 SC 6GB video card off ebay for apx $80. I also took advantage of a big sale EVGA did a few months ago and finally upgraded my Lenovo 280W power supply (no PCI-E 6-pin connector available) to an EVGA 550 GA fully modular for $55 shipped. I needed a power supply upgrade to comfortably run the new GTX 1060 plus the Lenovo PSU was 11 years old.

I can now finally say that my ancient relic Lynnfield system has had it's final upgrades and runs good enough for me. Considering the heart of my system is essentially 12 years old, I'm impressed what it can still do. If you told people in the 90s that in the future you could use a 12 year old PC to play new games they would have thought you were insane!
Plays Far Cry 6 at high/ultra settings, Wolfenstein New Colossus at Ultra settings, and Cyberpunk 2077 at high settings. Keep in mind I'm perfectly content playing on a 32" TV at 1360x768 @ 30FPS. Even at this low resolution the 6GB of VRAM is a huge help! My total investment in this system is around $300 for everything you see as I'm no longer into having the latest and greatest hardware as I'm too cheap!!!!!

Here she is in all her ancient glory (cable management in such an old and small case isn't the easiest):

 

[hat]

Had some issues with 3 wismecs, not buying wismec again...

Ordered:

Geek Vape Aegis Legend 2 Mod (Silver)

View attachment 259476

Should arrive tomorrow.

I've had my Aegis Legend for quite some time now. Running between 30-40w, the battery life is excellent and I've never had an issue with it. I've only ever run in wattage mode though, never used the fancier features.

 

[P4-630]

I've had my Aegis Legend for quite some time now. Running between 30-40w, the battery life is excellent and I've never had an issue with it. I've only ever run in wattage mode though, never used the fancier features.

Same here, only use in wattage mode, I use 0,2 ohm mesh coils though, at 75 watt.
(2x Geekvape Zeus sub ohm tanks)

 

[Chomiq]

Headband cushion on my X2's is starting to disintegrate so I ordered X2HR on promo for roughly $85, a third of what I paid for X2's back in the day. Better to get a spare if they are still widely available (and X3's are suppose to be sh*t).

 

[GreiverBlade]

Headband cushion on my X2's is starting to disintegrate so I ordered X2HR on promo for roughly $85, a third of what I paid for X2's back in the day. Better to get a spare if they are still widely available (and X3's are suppose to be sh*t).

wow at 85$ it's a steal

this is my lowest listing iirc

 

[Chomiq]

wow at 85$ it's a steal

this is my lowest listing iirc
View attachment 261144

Amazon DE sends to Switzerland:

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/X2HR-00-Philips-Fidelio-Headphones-black/dp/B01N5VHLUG

I'm ordering from Amazon PL.

 

[Arco]

Fellow GTX 1060 chad! My prebuilt wire management sucks along with the case.