HadesLV

I am looking to get a 4k monitor to hook up a PS5 and my PC to. On my PC it would be used pretty much exclusively just for watching videos and movies and then I'd be doing some console gaming on the PS5 with it. I specifically want a monitor because TVs all seem to be way too large for the desk where I intend to put the monitor. Ideally something in the 28 to 32 inch range, preferably 32. One thing that I am unclear about is that I read that you need a 2.1 HDMI connection to go above 30 FPS at 4k for the PS5. I'd definitely like to get up to the 60 range - I don't need to go above that. I already found a couple of monitors that looked great, but they're only at HDMI 2.0, so I'm not sure if that would limit me to 30 FPS by default. So definitely please let me know if I misunderstood about this! The monitor I found that looked amazing was LG 32UN650-W, but yeah - HDMI 2.0. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Hey! I'm about to buy myself a new monitor and I am trying to decide between two options. VG27AQ and the VG27AQ1A (NOT to be confused with the VG27AQL1A) Does anyone have experience with these two and can let me know if the VG27AQ1A has any drawbacks? In my local store the two are literally the same exact price, but I see that the VG27AQ1A has 10bit color depth as opposed to the 8bit of the AQ, which makes it very tempting, since I do really appreciate better color accuracy, even if that isn't necessarily my number one concern. The AQ1A just seems to be overall better than the AQ, but the fact that they have the same price makes me suspect that the AQ1A must surely suffer some negatives that make it come down to an equal price with the AQ. Or its also possible my local store is just pricing things weirdly, which is why I wanted to come here and ask to make sure!

Hey there! So, I am trying to complete the main part of my PC upgrades before prices start rising from what's happening. I already got a 3700X + MB to replace my old CPU and MB. Right now I am intending to get a RTX 2070 Super. I pretty much have it narrowed down to the two aftermarket coolers that you see in the title - Gigabyte Windforce OC 3X and MSI Gaming X Trio. The price difference is pretty huge where I am. 575 for the Gigabyte card vs 645 for the MSI one. My question is there any real difference between the two other than the aesthetic? I know the MSI card technically has a slightly higher boost clock. I'm using a 1440p screen, mostly triple A GPU-heavy games. Is there any world where those 70 extra euros actually give me anything significant? Perhaps there is also a significant noise difference? Right now, since I am trying to save a buck, I am leaning towards the Gigabyte card, even though the MSI one fits my overall build aesthetic better. I am trying to see if I can find any reasons to justify spending those extra 70. On a related, but separate note. If I do go the cost-saving route. Do you think I could get away with sticking with my current PSU CX 550M, the good grey unit, not the green one? I do intend to upgrade to an A tier PSU soon anyway, but I am just wondering if I could safely get away with sticking with my old one for a month or two longer if I upgrade my GPU now, or if I definitely should buy the PSU alongside the GPU?

Should have mentioned, new hardware is already ordered. R7 3700X and a RTX 2070 Super. Thank you for the options!

Hey there! Looking for some recommendations! I have a budget of 500 euros for a new gaming monitor, buying in Latvia. I want to go for 1440p for sure. Picture quality is a much bigger concern than input lag for me, as I am not a big e-sports or shooter gamer and am more concerned with just getting the best looking visuals when playing triple A games. At least 120hz, but 144hz would be ideal. What would you suggest? I can see a bunch of options in my local internet store in that price range that look good, but I thought I'd rather come ask some second opinions!

The second hand market here sucks and I prefer buying new anyway. If I was to go with a r5 3600, what board would you recommend with it?

So, I'm planning to make a CPU upgrade next month as part of a piece-by-piece upgrade of my rig as a whole. Currently I have a B250M board with an i5-7600. I want to upgrade to something that won't bottleneck a 2080 Super and can do a nice job with very CPU-heavy games, as I tend to play a good few of those. My budget is 550 euros, I'm working with prices in Latvia(1a.lv is a good site to see our prices). I also have no intention of messing around with overclocking unless automated overclocking has suddenly gotten good - its just not really my cup of tea. So, with all that in mind, what would you guys recommend? A better Intel CPU that fits my current board? Or could I buy a whole new board and an AMD cpu that would ultimately be just as good/better? What options would you suggest?

Fantastic suggestions! Definitely using most of them.

I've got a friend who is planning to build a new rig and is asking me for advice. I figured I'd come here for some additional opinions. The budget is in the 2000 euro range(Buying in Latvia) and she intends to use it for a lot of different games, from recent Triple A titles to MMOs, so not really anything specific. Here is the rig she has selected so far: CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X CPU Cooler: Be Quiet! Pure Rock BK009 GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 XC Ultra Gaming 8GB MB: Asus ROG Strix X570-F Gaming PSU: Corsair RM750i PSU 750W ATX 2.4 CP-9020082-EU RAM: 1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 32GB 3000MHz CL16 DDR4 SSD: Samsung 860 EVO 1TB (She will be using additional storage from her old rig, so no more needed) That totals for 1908 euros new unused parts from a local parts store. Currently the remaining 92 euros would be used for the case. So, I'm thinking that probably it would be better to go with 2 x 16gb ram for dual channel memory. The rest seems pretty good to me, although as I said I am here to see what you guys think about possible alternatives to some of the parts, so if you have some ideas where money could be saved without losing performance or where performance could be increased at the same or similar price, please do say! Thank you for any responses!

Hey there! Just helping a friend find the best option for a new monitor. He has a budget gaming rig with a 1050ti, a Pentium G4620 and 8gb of RAM. He currently has an old 4:3 ratio monitor which isn't great with newer games, so he's looking to invest in a new 1080p one. I've been using 1440p for a long while now, so I am not really up to date with what is considered good in the 1080p selection. He's not really a focused gamer, he plays all sorts of stuff from MMOs to demanding modern titles. He doesn't play shooters too much, so the high frequency is not a must, but is nice to have if it doesn't sacrifice on other aspects of the monitor. Ideally, an option in the 100-150 CAD, 150-200 CAD and 200-250 CAD ranges each, would be great to have some options. So far what I've tracked down myself is SCEPTRE E248W-19203S for the 100-150 CAD range and the slightly over budget ViewSonic VX2458-C-MHD for the high range, so I'd love to see either alternative suggestions or a suggestion for the middle range. As you might tell from the canadian dollars, he lives in canada, so I'm primarily looking at Canadian amazon and newegg, unless someone has a better suggestion. Thank you very much for any responses!

Thank you for all the advice! This is mainly what I was looking for, just an informed opinion and some extra info that I might not be aware of. Especially about the K20 stuff. I don't really have any reason to believe that the place I intend to buy from would pull that kind of thing, but they do have the option of paying only when you receive the item, which I do always take advantage of, so I'll be able to see the box in person before buying it.

First off, thank you for taking the time to reply! Obviously the bloatware is terrible, I still haven't used half of the apps that came with my phone when I purchased it. But, really my biggest issue at the end of the day was the inability to manage my memory. My J7 came with 16gb of onboard storage, which I thought wouldn't be so bad because I could just stick a 64gb SD card in there and format it so that I can use it as part of my system memory. Except, of course, I found out that Samsung was blocking me from doing that even though it was a feature supported by the Android version I had - just not the Samsung version of it. And yes, I am aware that the 9t has no SD slot at all, but for my needs the 128gb memory version will be more than enough, so I figured it doesn't really matter in this case. Fair enough. I have already taken a look at the hard facts in terms of specifications and issues that reviewers seem to agree on, so now what I am looking for IS opinions from people who have more experience than me. But I am taking into account that these are opinions, still. That still sounds easier than doing it with my J7, at least in that I haven't even been able to figure out how to do a custom ROM on it. I have only done it once before on a previous phone and that time I was fortunate to find very detailed step by step instructions, which I haven't really been able to find for my J7. Also, should probably have mentioned it in my initial post. I honestly couldn't care less about my data being harvested. I realize its a lacklustre attitude, but I've already been very careless in that department for years, so I just don't see what I have to care about some Chinese company getting my data. But if you can give me a good scare to scare me straight in that regard, feel free. Does someone pass K20s off as 9Ts? I was planning on buying new from a trustworthy store. Is there some way I'd be able to tell if they were trying to sell me the wrong one when I was handling it in person? I don't use the front facing camera often, no, only for video chats on very rare occasions. As far as screen protectors go, isn't that a problem with most midrange phones now? Pretty much all of the modern phones I've seen seem to have that curved edge. Is there maybe a better solution or something for them? I'm personally one of those people that is happy to make their phone clunky as hell, as long as it means that I can't accidentally create costly damage to the phone. Good to know about the free case. I'm not too bothered aesthetically as long as it works well. I'm very much a function over aesthetics person. Right, so I live in Latvia. I'm currently signed under Tele2, but really I was actually thinking of jumping over to LMT as they have better coverage in my area. That said, I am quite certain that neither carrier limits clients to only the phones they sell. I've used a cheap chinese knock off unbranded phone with Tele2 before and had no issues. In fact, I was planning to buy my phone from 1a.lv which is a local internet store that I've found to be reasonably trustworthy. I've bought all my PC parts from them in the past among other things and have never run into any issues. That said, if I did see the phone I wanted in the carrier's store, I'd probably just go for that for the sake of getting a better monthly deal out of them(it's very easy to haggle them down as long as they think you're gonna stick around for a while). So, I'm a pretty casual user of my camera, but I do enjoy playing around with it, so one of the features that I found very attractive in the 9T was the 960fps slow-mo functionality. I'm sure its not great and all, but as mentioned I'd probably mostly just play around with it, so I don't need it to be especially good. I do like to use my phone as a substitute for a portable console, so I definitely would want the phone to have good hardware and I would either need it to have a lot of on-board memory or the ability to format SDs to be used for system memory. One of my biggest issues with J7's lack of memory was that I was only able to keep one large game on my phone at a time. And yes, I did try to set the SD card as the location for individual apps, but every single time it would just bounce them back to onboard memory a few days later. It was annoying as hell. In terms of longevity, I definitely would like it to last me at least as long as the J7 has, so 4 years or more. While I am indulging myself right now, I don't generally like to spend on phones a lot, so its definitely a long term investment for me. Overall I didn't hate the J7, it was mostly great except for the bloatware and the problems I had with the memory. I think its battery was very solid in the first three quarters of its lifetime and even now it still lasts me for a full day without too much issue. I wouldn't be opposed to going with a Samsung phone again, if you have a solid suggestion. Again, thank you very much for taking the time to reply!

So, I am planning to get myself a new phone and having always bought stuff from the low range and having recently gotten a job that more than doubled my wage, I've decided that for once I'd like to dip my toes into the midrange market to treat myself. My 2016 Samsung J7 is starting to really suffer from slowdowns and I'm honestly pretty sick of the Samsung custom android because of all the shitty limitations it has. My budget is in the 200-400 euro range and after a little bit of research, the phone that has really grabbed my attention is Xioami Mi 9T. In my local area it costs 300-350 euros depending on the case color. To me as a pretty casual user as far as phones go, it looks pretty damn sexy. So my questions for those who are more familiar with phones in general: 1. What is the Xioami android skin like? I was reading up on it and I've seen some mixed reviews, some seeming to like it alot and others saying that they hated it. But, I'd prefer to hear from people on this lovely forum as I honestly trust you guys more than review sites, judging by my past experiences asking questions here. I've also heard that unlike my old Samsung, Xioami doesn't make it as hard for you to install other ROMs - is that true and if so, is there one that you recommend replacing the Xioami standard one from the get go? 2. Is there any particular flaw in this model that I should be aware of? There isn't any one particular thing that I use my phone for, I'm just kind of a typical casual user that uses each feature once in a while. 3. Being a very clumsy person at times, I like to get a good case and a screen protector right away. I noticed this phone has a front-facing camera that extends from the top, so I am wondering if that causes any issues with cases for this model? Also, any issues with screen protectors on this? 4. If you think this isn't a great phone for my budget, do you have some suggestions for better alternatives? Or equal, but cheaper ones? Thank you so much for anyone that can answer any of these!

I am planning to upgrade from a GTX 1060 to an RTX 2070 Super and I am wondering if my current CPU will get bottlenecked or if I can delay my CPU upgrade for a couple of years(which I'd prefer doing since its only got a couple of years on it). My CPU is a non-K i5-7600 and I use a 1440p monitor. I play a mix of both CPU and GPU intensive games, so both are of interest to me. From what I understand with a 1440p resolution, the GPU takes more of the load, so would it be tilted enough towards the GPU for my weaker CPU to not get bottlenecked? And if it DOES get bottlenecked would it only be in edge cases or would it happen with most games? Thank you in advance for your answers!

I did, yes! Full package. I guess the red ones had been unpopular. The blue and black ones do look a bit better, but I'm not really concerned with the appearance, so its a great deal for me.

Found your recommended headphones at the electronics store for even cheaper than it was in the internet store (or more specifically, for some reason the red variant was 20 euros, while the blue and black were 30 euros. I made certain it was the exact same model, literally just a different colour). Snatched them right up and am very happy with them. Great sound, great build quality and the large range of earbud sizes really helped, because I tend to need quite small buds. Thank you for the recommendation!

Thanks, and yeah, sorry, the electronics store near me is a bit more expensive than the online store, that's partly why I decide it was better to do a bit of research before buying anything.

So, I'm currently kinda piss poor, a few months ago my fairly good headset finally gave in after two years of service(actually much longer than any of my previous headsets), since then I have been using cheap, but decent 5 euro earphones that I used to just use for my phone. But now even those are starting to come apart. I am currently between jobs, so I am on low budget, but I do need some replacement. I can afford to spend about 35-40 euros max, although cheaper would be better with my sparsely populated bank account. I figure on such a low budget, I'd be better off getting some decent quality earphones that will last me until a few months from now, when I will hopefully have a job and will be able to afford to get a new headset. I don't want wireless, in fact I specifically want wired ones(although tangle-free cord would be welcome), but other than that all I want is decent quality and good enough build to make sure it doesn't get fucked up again until I have the money to buy something better. I was tempted to just go to my nearby electronics store and buy a pair of JBL T290 earphones, but I figured I should invest a little thought into this and make sure I actually spend my limited money the best that I can. In terms of what is actually available to me, the best reference is here https://www.1a.lv/ Just type into the search bar and if the product is available it should pop up. Should I just go for those T290's for 30 euros, or do I have a better option for the same money or maybe an equally good option for a cheaper price? I would really appreciate some advice from audiophiles on this. I very much appreciate good audio, but I have very little experience with different products.

Oh sweet, I didn't realize that it worked that way. I tried changing my resolution through Nvidia, and it just stretched the screen. Thanks, this is what I was looking for!

Alot of older games do not have any kind of support for widescreens, and while alot of them do have widescreen mods/fixes, not all do, and those which do are not always complete. In particular I am trying to play a childhood favourite of mine Dungeon Siege 2, and even on steam where you would think they would have thought to implement a fix right into the game, since you're paying for it, they didn't(my fault really, should have read up on it previously, but it was cheap so whatever). I found some fixes online, but they were far from perfect. I know one solution is to force the game into windowed mode and then use a 4:3 resolution, but on my 1440p screen, 1280x1024 windowed looks so tiny that its unplayable. So I am wondering if there is some way that I can 'simulate' a 4:3 resolution on my screen. What I am imagining is just having two big black bars on the sides of my screen, like you have with videos that are of a different aspect ratio. So that way, the game thinks I have a 4:3 resolution and I can 'fullscreen' it across the visible part of the screen and play like that. Is this something that is possible to do, or do I have to look for an old screen to play comfortably? Thank you for any responses!

The DT-770 looks perfect for me! Thank you for the help!

Thank you for the suggestion, that does look quite good! Although, I am not sure about open headphones, I've only ever used closed ones in the past, and I think I prefer the sound isolation aspect of them. A closed headphone alternative would be nice to see.

I am currently using HyperX Cloud 2 headphones, and honestly they've served me really well for over 2 years so far. I have however started noticing the inevitable signs of degradation(although this pair has been serving me already for longer than any other in the past, so I am quite impressed), mainly in that I've started hearing little glitches on the right headphone, like little electric sounds and what not, which seem to stop after shaking it up a bit, which with past headphones means that the right headphone is starting to die. Anyway that set aside, I am thinking of getting new headphones after my next paycheck and I intend to put in a decent budget into it so that they serve me for atleast a couple of years like these last ones did, hopefully. So I would like some recommendations, based on a few criteria: 1. I really enjoyed the 7.1 surround sound aspect of Cloud 2, I would like to see that in the new headphones as well. I don't think I require the external sound card of the Cloud 2, as my motherboard lists "• Realtek® ALC892 Codec - 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio", so I am ASSUMING that the integrated sound card is capable of 7.1 audio on its own, but please do correct me if I am wrong on that. 2. As I mentioned before, I would like something with good build quality, so that it lasts for a while. Cloud 2 has been great for this so far, as it is the first pair of headphones I've had where the plastic doesn't break and I end up having to tape one of the headphones up. 3. I definitely want proper over the ear headphones like the Cloud 2, I hate headphones where the cushions sit on the ears, rather than fully surrounding them, my ears always end up aching from that after a while. 4. I use the headphones for a mix of everything pretty much, including gaming, however sound quality for music/multimedia is more important to me than any gaming aspects, I also don't require a microphone. The reason I am asking, is because honestly I have zero experience with audio hardware, I've become quite well versed with most PC hardware at this point, but this is one thing that I am still a complete normie in, so I'd love to get some audiophile recommendations on the matter. Thank you in advance for any replies.

Thanks for the responses. Looks like it's safe enough to at least take a chance on, so I will probably grab that and hope that I can refund it if something is wrong after all.

So, I've been saving up a bit of money to get myself an HTC Vive, and I am about ready to buy, so I was looking around for the best possible price. I live in Latvia in Europe, and well local stores are an immediate out, 'cause by the time tech gets to stores here the price mark up is insane(a Vive costs roughly 850 euros/1045 dollars here). So I looked at the Vive site itself and it does indeed ship to Latvia, and already a much better price of 700 euros with free shipping. Seemed ideal, but well I like to make sure I don't waste money, so I kept looking. European versions of amazon were all either the same as the Vive site or more expensive. And then I decided to take a peek at newegg. At first, I see an offer for 600 euros, which already seems insane, but then I notice it says that this is not the newest version of the product, so I click on the link and it takes me to an offer that is 483 euros plus 53 bucks for shipping, coming in under 550 euros. So my question is Newegg's vive price entirely legit and if so how can they be selling the Vive for 250 euros less than the Vive store itself(more if you dont count shipping)? Are they selling refurbished stuff or what, 'cause I didn't see anything mentioned on the page about that. Here is the link to the exact page https://www.newegg.com/global/lv/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826918011&ignorebbr=1 it should take you to the latvian version.