jzfgs

I see posts on the forums and around on reddit etc with mixed info on the LG Ultrafine 5k and thunderbolt 3 and windows support etc etc etc.... so first of all it CAN be done but  I did this thought I'd dispel a few common myths I find online:
 
You can't:
-Run a thunderbolt to dual display port cable adapter to power this guy they aren't bidirectional
-Use DisplayPort to usb c cables all over on amazon and stuff because they again only convert one way from thunderbolt 3-->DisplayPort and not the other way
-Use the thunderbolt or USBc headers on most motherboards because often times they DON'T support TB3 or they aren't able to send the display signal correctly using iGPU
 
As I was desperately attempting to get my monitor to work I discovered the following AIC from ASRock: 
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815548003
 
I found an Asus card claiming similar spec but reviews and lack of supporting info on their website led me to believe it wouldn't work at all... 
 
After researching the specifications on the ASRock website I found this line in the manual (manual pdf):
So at this point I'm thinking whaaaasaaaaaaaa after watching the LTT video on the 5k Ultrafine display techquickie Linus noted that apple does funky proprietary stuff to pass through two DisplayPort signals through the single cable.... BUT ASRock out here claiming they can do the same thing???
 
I HAD TO TEST THIS...
So after looking through the manual for compatible z270 motherboards that had a thunderbolt header I went ahead and picked up the AsRock Z270 Extreme4 and ASRock AIC from newegg. 
 
I threw in my 960 pro, a titan XP, single dim, and a 6700k on the board. Plugged in the AIC with the special cable that plugs the AIC into the thunderbolt header on the mono. Booted into windows and installed the thunderbolt 3 driver from the ASRock website. I shutdown the computer, plugged in the TWO included DP and DP-mDP cables into the GPU and then back into the AIC... booted and plugged in the LG 5k AND BOOM FULL RESOLUTION 60HZ NO TINKERING
 
It just worked seamlessly and I've had no issues. Unfortunately the speakers aren't working correctly (which is weird because my macbook running bootcamp can drive the monitor at 4k with speakers etc...) but it works!
 
I've got a hefty OC on the titan XP and was able to run GTA V at 5k with an average 65 frames very high to ultra settings. The colors look fantastic and the screens way better than the dell 5k IMO. 
 
TL;DR You can drive the 5k ultrafine with an ASRock AIC and a Compatible asrock board its got 10bit color and looks gorgeous

Looks like OutletPC had a small pricing error. 91% discount on their ram !!!

https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/outletpc/c8rcCJ
https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/outletpc/c8rcCJ
https://pcpartpicker.com/mr/outletpc/c8rcCJ

Thats $11.79 per 16gb (2x8) kit !!!

shipping is a pain to canada tho. but its worth every penny !!!

I'm more of a mobile/Android guy, and I don't really care about laptop GPUs, so I'd be really interested in the G Watch R review!

I'm more of a mobile/Android guy, and I don't really care about laptop GPUs, so I'd be really interested in the G Watch R review!

I'm more of a mobile/Android guy, and I don't really care about laptop GPUs, so I'd be really interested in the G Watch R review!

There's always the Blackberry Passport.

I'm sure most of you on this forum have heard of Android Wear (if you haven't, it's Google's operating system for wearables), so I won't go too in depth about the software and it's functionality (although for the entirety of my review period I've used the latest 4.4W.1 software revision, which I installed straight out of the box).
This review is about all the good, bad, and the ugly of the Moto 360.

Now, when Motorola first announced this watch almost six months ago, I was one of the first to board the hype train. After wearing and using one at Google I/O, I moved to first class. And as soon as we heard of the TI OMAP 3 SoC inside, I climbed out the window and bailed.
If it isn't already obvious, I downright dreaded the prospect of four year-old silicon running my $250 smartwatch.
But we all know Motorola's pulled off impressive feats with low-specced hardware in the past (Moto G, 1st Gen Moto X), so when my free unit for being a Google I/O attendee came I figured I'd give it a shot.
When you first see this watch, you'll immediately notice the display. With the Gorilla Glass 3s beveled edges, punchy colors, and surprisingly good viewing angles, it gives a great first (and lasting) impression.

My only complaints here are the extremely low resolution (text is huge and noticeably pixelated), and how the bevel causes the parts of some notifications to distort when viewed on an angle (albeit only with watch faces that have 'large' notification cards such as Google's 'Simple').

But then there's that "flat tire effect" on the bottom. But I'll be honest with you, I actually prefer this to a fully round display.
I find Google now cards look infinitely better with a straight line on the top and bottom, rather than in a semicircle:

Image credit: Mashable.com

Image credit: CNET.com
As you can see, most of the space taken up by the bezel on the Moto watch is just blank white on the G Watch R. Hence is why I like Moto's approach here.
Now, onto battery life. Unfortunately, it's a real rough spot for this smartwatch. And that's not saying much, because I like to charge it every night. It keeps it a routine, makes a nice alarm clock, and it's almosteasier to place it in the magnetic dock then on the table next to it.

And while I may be fine placing my watch on a charger each night, I'm not OK with worrying about the battery life before that time comes. With my G Watch, I can go a 20+ hour day without even breaching 30%.
But this thing can't last a 16 hour day. Even a with light use (on Auto Brightness), just three or four notifications, and little interaction otherwise (no Google Now, either). After about 11 or 12 hours, it begins its automatic shutdown.
And that was with Ambient Mode on.
Oh, but a little something on Ambient Mode first. Every single review I've seen has gotten this wrong.
Ambient Mode does NOT keep the display on all the time.
What it does, is it makes the watch come on in it's dimmed state with less motion than it takes for a full activation (pay attention to the angle of the watch screen in the pictures below. It shows the minimum amount of movement required to change from black to dimmed to active.)

(It's a little dark, but the screen is flat and not tilted to the side like the others)
While you can get significantly improved battery life (2-3x better) turning Ambient Mode off, it's no use to me to have a watch that doesn't tell me the time all the time. My LG G watch, on the other hand, gets better battery life with its screen on 24/7 than the Moto does with the screen off. That's a real shame.
However, if the abysmal battery life wasn't enough of a downfall, the horrendous performance just adds insult to injury.
"Horrendous" may be too strong of a word. But only half the time. Half the time I tap the screen when it's off, and it doesn't wake up. Half the time when I rotate it all the way, the screen stays dim. Half the time when I scroll, it drops about half the frames. And half the time when I say "OK Google", it just sits there, and the rest of the bus stares at me like I have three heads (which is strange since Motorola has bragged about their superior voice technology and including two microphones).
Inconsistency is something you'll experience quite often while using the Moto 360—you never know if it'll work perfectly... Or freeze.
If I had to guess, I'd say the performance hiccups are from throttling. While the device is off, it undoubtedly lowers CPU+GPU clock speeds to save power, and it may just take a couple seconds once awoken to ramp back up again. Hopefully these issues (amongst others) can be addressed in a future software update.
Well fortunately, that's most of the bad stuff. The rest is almost purely positive.
The stainless steel construction feels great, the leather strap is high-quality, and even on my miniscule wrists the Moto 360 fits like a glove. The gold trim around the sleep/wake button (that can also open settings if held) shows how much attention to detail Motorola took in designing this watch.

Lastly, the heartrate sensor is pretty cool. It tends to take a long time if activated on demand, but it does a good job of measuring how much "active time" (with a heart rate between 90 and 120 beats per minute) I've had in a day, and alerting me when I've completed the daily 30 minutes (although I'd really like to be able to change the heartrate window and time amount, as I usually meet this preset goal by noon).

So now it's conclusion time, and I have pretty mixed feelings about the Moto 360. But I think Ron Amadeo from Ars Technical got it right by calling it "Beautiful outside, ugly inside".
It's an astounding piece of hardware, but the lackluster internals hold it back from the true glory I feel it deserves.
While hopefully battery life and performance can be (at least partially) addressed in future updates, I think I'd have to wait until the 2nd generation to wholeheartedly recommend this watch to anyone.
If you wear watches solely as a fashion statement, work short days, or are fine with the screen off, this is the best smartwatch you can buy.
But if you aren't part of that niche, I feel you'd be better with the ($70 cheaper) LG G Watch.
You've likely realized by now that I've drawn numerous comparisons to LG's first Android Wear offering. I've been using mine every day since I got it at Google I/O, and it's straight up more polished than the 360. Everything works, all the time. No muss, no fuss, as they say.
With smartwatches, I don't just want another gadget to mess around with. I want something that will simplify my life. In its current stage, the Moto 360 does the opposite.
All things considered, I have to give the Motorola Moto 360 a solid 80%, mostly because that beautiful screen just doesn't make a difference when it's dead.
It's the age-old question of form over function, and it's up to you what matters most.
Feel free to contact @SolarTrans on Twitter with questions, comments, or criticisms!

I do that too, I am a right hander, but I also like my watches on my right hand

You should start your own tech blog

I'm sure most of you on this forum have heard of Android Wear (if you haven't, it's Google's operating system for wearables), so I won't go too in depth about the software and it's functionality (although for the entirety of my review period I've used the latest 4.4W.1 software revision, which I installed straight out of the box).
This review is about all the good, bad, and the ugly of the Moto 360.

Now, when Motorola first announced this watch almost six months ago, I was one of the first to board the hype train. After wearing and using one at Google I/O, I moved to first class. And as soon as we heard of the TI OMAP 3 SoC inside, I climbed out the window and bailed.
If it isn't already obvious, I downright dreaded the prospect of four year-old silicon running my $250 smartwatch.
But we all know Motorola's pulled off impressive feats with low-specced hardware in the past (Moto G, 1st Gen Moto X), so when my free unit for being a Google I/O attendee came I figured I'd give it a shot.
When you first see this watch, you'll immediately notice the display. With the Gorilla Glass 3s beveled edges, punchy colors, and surprisingly good viewing angles, it gives a great first (and lasting) impression.

My only complaints here are the extremely low resolution (text is huge and noticeably pixelated), and how the bevel causes the parts of some notifications to distort when viewed on an angle (albeit only with watch faces that have 'large' notification cards such as Google's 'Simple').

But then there's that "flat tire effect" on the bottom. But I'll be honest with you, I actually prefer this to a fully round display.
I find Google now cards look infinitely better with a straight line on the top and bottom, rather than in a semicircle:

Image credit: Mashable.com

Image credit: CNET.com
As you can see, most of the space taken up by the bezel on the Moto watch is just blank white on the G Watch R. Hence is why I like Moto's approach here.
Now, onto battery life. Unfortunately, it's a real rough spot for this smartwatch. And that's not saying much, because I like to charge it every night. It keeps it a routine, makes a nice alarm clock, and it's almosteasier to place it in the magnetic dock then on the table next to it.

And while I may be fine placing my watch on a charger each night, I'm not OK with worrying about the battery life before that time comes. With my G Watch, I can go a 20+ hour day without even breaching 30%.
But this thing can't last a 16 hour day. Even a with light use (on Auto Brightness), just three or four notifications, and little interaction otherwise (no Google Now, either). After about 11 or 12 hours, it begins its automatic shutdown.
And that was with Ambient Mode on.
Oh, but a little something on Ambient Mode first. Every single review I've seen has gotten this wrong.
Ambient Mode does NOT keep the display on all the time.
What it does, is it makes the watch come on in it's dimmed state with less motion than it takes for a full activation (pay attention to the angle of the watch screen in the pictures below. It shows the minimum amount of movement required to change from black to dimmed to active.)

(It's a little dark, but the screen is flat and not tilted to the side like the others)
While you can get significantly improved battery life (2-3x better) turning Ambient Mode off, it's no use to me to have a watch that doesn't tell me the time all the time. My LG G watch, on the other hand, gets better battery life with its screen on 24/7 than the Moto does with the screen off. That's a real shame.
However, if the abysmal battery life wasn't enough of a downfall, the horrendous performance just adds insult to injury.
"Horrendous" may be too strong of a word. But only half the time. Half the time I tap the screen when it's off, and it doesn't wake up. Half the time when I rotate it all the way, the screen stays dim. Half the time when I scroll, it drops about half the frames. And half the time when I say "OK Google", it just sits there, and the rest of the bus stares at me like I have three heads (which is strange since Motorola has bragged about their superior voice technology and including two microphones).
Inconsistency is something you'll experience quite often while using the Moto 360—you never know if it'll work perfectly... Or freeze.
If I had to guess, I'd say the performance hiccups are from throttling. While the device is off, it undoubtedly lowers CPU+GPU clock speeds to save power, and it may just take a couple seconds once awoken to ramp back up again. Hopefully these issues (amongst others) can be addressed in a future software update.
Well fortunately, that's most of the bad stuff. The rest is almost purely positive.
The stainless steel construction feels great, the leather strap is high-quality, and even on my miniscule wrists the Moto 360 fits like a glove. The gold trim around the sleep/wake button (that can also open settings if held) shows how much attention to detail Motorola took in designing this watch.

Lastly, the heartrate sensor is pretty cool. It tends to take a long time if activated on demand, but it does a good job of measuring how much "active time" (with a heart rate between 90 and 120 beats per minute) I've had in a day, and alerting me when I've completed the daily 30 minutes (although I'd really like to be able to change the heartrate window and time amount, as I usually meet this preset goal by noon).

So now it's conclusion time, and I have pretty mixed feelings about the Moto 360. But I think Ron Amadeo from Ars Technical got it right by calling it "Beautiful outside, ugly inside".
It's an astounding piece of hardware, but the lackluster internals hold it back from the true glory I feel it deserves.
While hopefully battery life and performance can be (at least partially) addressed in future updates, I think I'd have to wait until the 2nd generation to wholeheartedly recommend this watch to anyone.
If you wear watches solely as a fashion statement, work short days, or are fine with the screen off, this is the best smartwatch you can buy.
But if you aren't part of that niche, I feel you'd be better with the ($70 cheaper) LG G Watch.
You've likely realized by now that I've drawn numerous comparisons to LG's first Android Wear offering. I've been using mine every day since I got it at Google I/O, and it's straight up more polished than the 360. Everything works, all the time. No muss, no fuss, as they say.
With smartwatches, I don't just want another gadget to mess around with. I want something that will simplify my life. In its current stage, the Moto 360 does the opposite.
All things considered, I have to give the Motorola Moto 360 a solid 80%, mostly because that beautiful screen just doesn't make a difference when it's dead.
It's the age-old question of form over function, and it's up to you what matters most.
Feel free to contact @SolarTrans on Twitter with questions, comments, or criticisms!

Haven't used any yet.
We shall see if I can afford one I will get a g watch or 360. I have a OnePlus One so android wear might be nice.

EDIT: Wrong section (again)
Sorry guys

Haha @ionbasa it's funny: I eyeballed it as 10 for a full circle (36 degrees per monitor). This was before we had more detailed pictures (just the three next to each other) or measurements, and I think it's even more true with more detailed pics (don't think 30 is too realistic).
By that estimation, I tried to figure out how practical a 3 monitor setup would be (and if it would fit on my desk).
My numbers:
-circumference: 340"
-radius: 54"
-chord length (edge to edge of 3 screens): 87.5"
 
And for practicality, I wanted to see how far the closest and farthest points would (relatively) be from my face.
The center of the middle screen would be 22.3" away (with my head being at the center of the chord between the edges), and the edge of the outer ones would be 44" away (from the same point). So almost twice the distance. 22" is ok, but 44" is a bit far for viewing an unscaled monitor of this resolution. Especially for text.
 
I highly doubt I'll buy 3, as they're 1100 euros (about $1430 USD). Also, this is a product they scale between markets, because the 34UM95 is $789 EUR and $1000 USD.
But then again, with my 1 Titan and 1 570, I could drive the center at 60Hz and the others at 50...
 
Anyways, back to reality. my guess is that it'll be $1400 USD. Quite a price jump from the already-insane $1000 of the 34UM95 (40%), however I may be able to scrape that much together and buy one (having a curved screen would definitely be more than 40% more badass than a flat one ).

iz k buddy
 

So you want him to spend $1,000 on a DAC and $200 on headphones?
 
 
@Op if you're using a phone, seriously look into custom IEM's.  
 
http://www.jhaudio.com/
 
http://alclair.com/
 
https://www.1964ears.com/products
 
http://www.westoneaudio.com/index.php/products/custom-or-universal.html
 
http://www.ultimateears.com/en-us/pro
 
There's a few more people that make them, I suggest you look into these with that big of a budget.

If you're using a phone, get some custom IEMs. Dunno why everyone is talking about headphones.

Thats like 1400 total

Yeah pretty much, you'll never need to buy another Amp/DAC again.

NCIX: http://bit.ly/1sjTwta
Amazon: http://geni.us/Bdc
 
We got this awesome Linus Tech Tips skinned Xperia Z2 courtesy of dbrand. Make sure you watch until the end of the video for a very special surprise!
 

 
Sponsor message:
 
dbrand manufactures precisely fitted skins for various high-end smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and wearables. All their products are made in Canada using textured 3M vinyl. You can check out their responsive online shop at https://dbrand.com, or follow them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dbrandskins
 
Giveaway rules:
 
Comment on this thread for a chance to win this awesome LTT skinned Xperia Z2 from dbrand! One entry (comment) per user. In your comment, include your favourite part about the Z2, and your favourite thing about dbrand (could be anything from "their skins look awesome" to "they sponsored this video!").

This giveaway is worldwide.

Entries close Monday, August 11th at 1pm PDT.

Good luck everyone!
 
 
WINNER UPDATE:
The winner of the LTT Edition Sony Xperia Z2 is Razorbeast! Congratulations!