TheAndyPanda

And if I am understanding ZFS correctly, the vdevs need to have all the same sized drives, but they can then be amalgamated into a single pool of storage correct? So I would only "see" one big bucket?

Hello All, I am trying to do a home server upgrade, and learn a lot more about the ins and outs in the process. I currently have an old Dell Optiplex that is my current home server. It runs Plex and a home NAS. My problem is that it only has 3 SATA ports on the motherboard, which are all occupied (2 x 4Tb drives and a boot SSD). I am planning to upgrade my gaming PC and trickle down my old PC (4770k, Asus Sabertooth Z87, 32Gb RAM) to be my new server, and it has 8 SATA ports for more drive expansion. My question revolves around buying more hard drives and what file system to use. I currently have 2 x 4Tb and 2 x 1Tb drives available. My original plan was to buy a couple more 4Tb drives, change from Raid 1 to Raid 5, and call it a day. Doing some research though I have found that much higher capacity drives are not that much more expensive, especially recertified, and might be better Gb/$. I was also looking at ZFS, since it seems popular, but it seems it is hard to expand drive by drive later on. So what would you suggest as a path forward, with the below goals? Utilize my current hard drives as much as possible (seems a waste to throw them out, I could try to sell them). Upgrade my storage capacity now (currently 4tb Raid 1 on the server). Be able to add drives in the future for more capacity. I'm located in Ontario Canada if that helps for drive pricing. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Budget (including currency): $1000 CAD (Total System without GPU or Monitor/Peripherals) Country: Canada (Ontario) Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming (Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur's Gate 3 are examples of my most difficult to run games) Light Compute or 3D modeling (perfectly served by my current CPU for context on "light") Other details: See Below I currently have an old gaming PC as well as a dumpster-built home server (specs below). I was looking into expanding the home server a little bit, and am considering whether it would be wiser to build a new gaming PC and transition the old one to server use. The old server only has 3 SATA ports, and by the time I get an expansion card and a case to put more drives in it would be smarter to just upgrade the whole thing I think. I purchased a used graphics card (RTX 3070) and monitor (3440x1440 with Gsync) upgrade last year, so I would plan the build around this graphics card and playing at this resolution. Currently I believe it is pretty bottlenecked by my trusty but aging 4770k. Recently I considered trying to delid and overclock to help the bottleneck, but that's a huge can of worms. The goal would be to do this for under 1k, which seems pretty reasonable without GPU costs. I am mainly looking for CPU/Motherboard suggestions that would make sense to pair with my GPU. The recent LTT video of about the AMD 7500F has me intrigued, but I will take any and all suggestions. I haven't been in the market for hardware recently so I am not super sure what makes sense. After the CPU/Motherboard, what cases are nice these days? Goals/Things to Think About: Modern platform for future expansion/compatibility/upgradeability (AM5 looks nice?) Facilitates my 3070 to push the highest settings possible at 3440x1440, at playable 60-ish frame rates. I don't care about pushing 120+ FPS, I would rather be able to enable more ray tracing or other graphical qualities. Don't need built in WiFi on the motherboard, as I just bought some nice WiFi cards that are working fine. Current PC Specs: Intel 4770k 32 GB DDR3 Asus TUF Z87 Nvidia RTX 3070 - Bought used and still have my original GTX 770 Corsair RM650 Asus WiFi 6e Card Monitor: Alienware 3440 x 1440, Nvidia G-Sync Current Server: Dell Optiplex Intel i7-2600 16Gb DDR3 TP-Link WiFi 6 Card Please feel free to ask any follow up questions, I know this is just kind of a lot of info.

Hello Everyone! I need some help. I am replacing the battery on a Microsoft Surface Go. Battery has been replaced, device turns on, but the screen is only half working as shown in the attached image. I am struggling to figure out what is wrong. I suspect it's a ribbon cable or something but I have double and triple checked that everything is plugged in securely. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

So looking around on FB Marketplace near my location I have found a couple of these for sale at somewhat reasonable prices. I think you are right that this is a measurable step up from the M34WQ. Do you know what the difference between the GN and GP models are? I am finding mixed reports that they are the same, others that they are no quite the same?

I suppose that's a good point, but since I don't play that many AAA titles I think I will be ok. Around my area the 3070 is the best bang for the buck card I can find, 3080s are overpriced and so are 6800/6700s. I think the DLSS will help on more demanding titles. My next big game I am waiting for is Starfield and that seems to have pretty reasonable recommended specs (they reccomend a 2080 for 1440p). Thanks for the advice though! Edit: I also think any bigger cards would just be bottlenecked by my old CPU so, it is what it is

I was basing my decision on these benchmarks from Tom's Hardware, which show an average of ~120FPS at 1440p and ~72FPS at 4k. Since 1440p ultrawide is in between those two resolutions (much closer to 1440p actually), I figured it would be fine. Is this not correct? 1440p: 3.68 mil pixels 1440p UW: 4.95 mil pixels 4k: 8.29 mil pixels https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-rtx-3070-founders-edition-review/3 https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-rtx-3070-founders-edition-review/4

This is great, thanks! I am going to try and go to a store and stand in front of the M34, as the only thing I'm worried about is the lack of a curve. But it seems to be a great buy.

I prioritize high settings over frame rate, and all of these monitors have variable refresh rate. As long as it runs a bit above 60 fps I'm ok.

Hello Everyone, I am looking for some help choosing a 3440 x 1440 ultrawide display. I am in the market to upgrade my rig and this will be a key part of it. I am coming from some old 24" 1080p displays so it will be a big upgrade. I am looking for something in the $500-$700 CAD range. I don't play anything competitive (or I play them badly), and like immersive graphics. Currently playing Elite Dangerous, No Man's Sky, and Valheim, but also have enjoyed Tomb Raider and other action/adventure/exploration games. I also have a big 4k TV with surround sound, which I occasionally use to play games, but also means I would never watch a movie or show at my desk, and so that isn't really in consideration in terms of monitor selection. I also have a monitor arm, so I don't really care about monitor stand quality. Currently on my short list are the following, with reasons. I would love other suggestions or thoughts on these. I am going to try and go stand in front of some of these if I can, especially to evaluate the curve. My main struggle right now is high contrast VA panels with a curve vs better performing IPS without the curve. Gigabyte G34WQC - VA panel means good contrast for space games. I am worried about smearing (not sure if I would notice as I've never owned a VA panel). Price is right. Gigabyte M34WQ - Not sure if the lack of curve would put me off. KVM seems attractive for work from home. Specs seem better than G34 other than contrast ratio. Samsung G5 - More contrast than the G34, but a very aggressive curve. Rig for context: My current rig has a 4770k and 32Gb of RAM, which I think is still plenty functional. My GTX 770 however is definitely fading, so I will be upgrading to something around a 3060 Ti or 3070 (used market prices depending). Thanks for any and all suggestions!

Hi Everyone, I have a Thinkpad T495, which came with an 250Gb SSD, in the regular NVMe 2280 form factor. I am looking to upgrade the amount of storage I have and possible dual-boot a Linux distro on my laptop. My options are to either get a larger 2280 form factor SSD, or to get a smaller 2242 SSD that fits in my second slot. I like this second option better as I can continue to use my original SSD, which is serving me just fine. I also only need to buy 120 or 240Gb SSD and I get lots of extra storage, instead of having to go to 500Gb to get an upgrade. My problem is when I search for these small form factor SSDs on Amazon or Newegg or similar, the only small form factor options seem to be brands I have never heard of. Sunbow, Transcend, KingSpec and Dogfish. I would really like a Samsung, Intel, Adata, Kingston, literally anyone I have actually heard of. So my question is, does anyone know of any obscure SSDs form a reputable brand that I have missed. Then as a follow up, does anyone have any experience or knowledge of these other brands so I could better make a decision between them if I have to. Thanks for any info you can give me!

I know the cameras are close to each other. The pixel seems to pull ahead in software with the S10e having the advantage on hardware. As for battery life, I think anything would be better then my current phone, on it's 3rd replacement, but I would agree with you on the XL. As for the iPhone suggested by you and others, I have never been able to get behind the Apple ecosystem unfortunately, it's not them it's me.

That's nice to hear actually, as I was worried about video playback. I really value the headphone jack and the 6T removed it so I think the 7 might as well.

So I am looking for a new phone and am having trouble making a decision. Currently I am between the Samsung S10e and Pixel 3a XL. I have listed the main pros and cons of both, in my opinion, below. My priorities are camera and battery life, but I do appreciate the specs and water resistance of the S10e. I am concerned about the 3a being slow or slowing down more quickly over time. As you can see I am not looking at flagships right now, mostly because of costs. I am upgrading from an LG G4. What are your thoughts? Is there another phone that I am missing? I am going to be on Koodo in Ontario, Canada. S10e Pros Dual cameras are more versatile IP68 rating Generally faster specs overall (processor etc.) Cons ~$150 more expensive then the 3a XL Hole punch screen Smaller battery 3a XL Pros Google camera software, nightsight etc. Less expensive Battery life Software updates (speed and longevity) Cons No water resistance Lower specs on processor etc. Any and all opinions to help me choose would be great!

Does anyone have any advice on which battery banks are the best? Or is any one from a reputable manufacturer good? Thanks in advance!