GrayTech

Fair point but I'm don't want to buy used/refurbished and I'm not interested in the apple ecosystem. Even though the M1 has great performance, I don't like their approach to upgradeability/repairability.

@DarksethThank you for your in depth reply. I want to point out that I don't have a fixed budget of 600€. I tried to figure out my performance needs and then started looking for a device which meets these needs. A more powerful device probably wont benifit my tasks. 90% of the time a Ryzen 5 will be enough and for the other 10% I will probably end up using my desktop anyways. I just want to get a decent deal on a device which will last me a long time and is capable of doing basic tasks. Therefore the useability and quality is more important then raw spec. The ProBook 445 was also an consideration but it is more expensive, has a worse screen and comes with an barrel jack charger (I think it can charge via Type C). I'm fimilar with the current gen Thinkpads as well as the Elitebooks (whichs are pretty similar to the ProBook lineup), I still prefer the keyboard and the screen on the Thinkpad but the HP devices seem to be slimmer then compeating Thinkpads. Also upgradeability is a strong point of the Thinkpad. The Ideapad 5 Pro also seems like a decent option but I'm not sure if it worth it spending 400€ more. Also one of my friends has an ideapad 5 from 2019 which doesn't have a great keyboard and linux driver were also a problem. The MacBook is no option. When configured with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD it will cost about 1300€ and personally I don't want to to switch to MacOS. The only thing I would like to avoid is spending money an a Ryzen 5000 CPU if I could get a device with a Ryzen 6000 for a similiar price just two month from now. But availability of current gen CPUs is an absolute mess, especially here in germany.

I would like to purchase a 14" laptop for my next term at university in ocotober. I study embedded software development which means I don't need that much performance. I also do own an desktop PC which will take care of everything that needs more performance like gaming. I already worked on some larger projects on an 10th gen mobile i5 which was sufficient. I looked at the Thinkpad E14 G4 which for 600€ (GER) features: - Ryzen 5 5625U - Vega 7 - 16GB 3200MHz RAM (expandable) - 512GB NVMe SSD - No OS https://www.campuspoint.de/21ecs00000-lenovocampus-thinkpad-e14-g4.html Thinkpads are generally reliable and I like the keyboard which was very important to me. Also Linux support should be fine. Running Windows for what I'm doing is like running Linux for gaming. It works, but it is way more hassle to set everything up. Of course I would like to get an 6000 gen Ryzen CPU or Intel 12th gen but I struggeled with finding a 14" notebook which has one of these chips and is priced under 1000€. Basically I'm looking for other recommendations. Of course the Framework laptop was also an option but with twice the price of the Thinkpad when you include RAM/SSD/charger it is hard to justify.

Hey I need a PSU to power an embedded system with only one 4 pin ATX connector. I know that I use a normal ATX PSU/build something by myself but I wanted to ask if there is any off the shelf solution for a PSU with only this connector.

It's funny that no one is actually suprised that apple builds their products in an anti customer way. Without the benefit of having their own OS and theirfore a large fanbase which has no other (legal) options, they would have gotten much more backlash. Many apple customers buy a Mac, use it for X years and then just upgrade to the newest model. These customers don't care about upgrading their RAM, SSDs, etc... But I think overall companies should move towards more standard and replaceable parts to reduce the production of e-waste. One thing that often gets overlooked is a products second live. Even if the person who buys a new MAC specs it to their desired spec and doesn't upgrade it, they still sell it used after X years if it is still in working condition and then the second owner is stuck with not enough memory and/or storage even if he has some DDR4 RAM and M.2 SSDs lying around. For me upgradability is still a big selling factor. Not every part in a PC must be upgardeable no matter what. It's okay when companies build proprietary mainboards to fit small formfactors. But that doesn't prevent them to build/use socketed CPUs or at least use standard off the shelve RAM/SSDs. Oh and using proprietary motherboards when they just could have used an ATX one should be illegal....Dell....

Oh i completely forgot that the US does this weird thing with its taxes. I'll get an SSD and RAM by myself. As for the OS I will be installing Linux. Which CPU did you get?

Looking to buy a new laptop for university in Germany. At first I wanted to get a Framework laptop but the price difference between USD and EUR is larger then I expected it to be. The configuration I was intreseted in is about 1200$ in the US without RAM/SSD/OS which would be 1065€. Of course it is very expensive to bring these devices into other countries but the exact same configuration costs about 1400€! Before pulling the trigger on any device I would like to get some recommendations. Should I get the Framework laptop anyways or are there better alternatives? Requirements: 13-14 inch display decent port selection including at least one Type A port 16GB RAM or less if upgradable 500GB NVME or less if upgradable decent build quality/touchpad/keyboard reasonable powerful CPU Touchscreen is always a plus but not necessary As for the CPU I'm not 100% sure what to get. AMD seems a good option since they pack an integrated Vega GPU. Ryzen 5/Core i5 is the minimum I would get but I think I would greatly benifit from R7/i7. Most of the work I do is standard student stuff like writing papers, takes notes, researching on the internet, but I'll do some coding, light simulation and small CAD projects with it. It is hard to tell how much demanding these tasks will be since our projects will get more demanding over time. Also remoting into my desktop is also an option. I'm open for laptop recommendations but also some input on which CPU is recommended would be great. I haven't been keeping up with mobile hardware in the last few years.

Thanks for your reply. The Adata one is 10€ cheaper, the Crucial one is 20€ more expensive. I totally forgot that B550 supports Gen 4 M.2, though the real world performance difference between Gen 3 and Gen 4 drives isn't that huge.

I'm helping a friend to budget out his first PC build and want some feedback on our current parts lists. Prices are in € since we are from Germany. Hoping to get some deals on black friday though. He wants to use the system for school and light programming. Gaming will also be on his list later but he wants to build now and add a GPU (used or new/not sure) later. The build should feature Bluetooth and Wifi. MATX is our formfactor of choice. Budget is 600-700€. I also considered Intel 12th Gen but the prices of DDR5 and compatible motherboards is way too high atm. CPU: Ryzen 5 5600G with integrated graphics: ~278€ Mobo: ASUS B550M-A WIFI: ~99€ Cooler: Arctic eSports 34: ~30€ RAM: 2x8GB Crucial Ballistix DDR4 3200: ~46€ Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 1TB: ~90€ PSU: beQuiet Pure Power 11 600W: ~55€ (Outlet) Case: Cooler Master Q300L: 42€ Total: ~640€

I'll try using my existing ATX PSU. I guess it'll be fine since my GPU is short enough to fit with an ATX PSU installed.

@fonzz1e @tkitch Thanks for your recommendations! I also did some more research by myself. The Inter Tech IM-1 Pocket (also sold as Tecware Fusion/SAMA IM01) seems to be exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks for your recommendations! I don't really like the look of the Core V21. The Node 304 seems like a good choice but sadly it's only ITX.

I would like to build a small formfactor PC for travelling with hardware I already have at home. Therefore I'm looking for a small case which can handle a mATX motherboard, two slot GPU (200mm) and an ATX PSU. Price should be less then 100€ (GER). Currently I'm looking at the Jonsbo V4 which is available for around 60-65€ but I would like to get some other recommendations. I'm not too concerned about cooling since the Hardware I'm using isn't that power hungry.

I NEED the 580W PSU for something else. The alternative to "buying a new PSU" is "not having a PSU at all". Because I won't use those 10-15 year old OEM PSUs in the one server which stores ALL my data. (Of course I do make regular backups). Basically I need a PSU anyways and I want something somewhat efficient. Is there anything wrong with it? I'm not buying a new PSU just for "saving a few euros or whatever each year". And since I don't need a high wattage unit, I don't have to spend 100€ to get a decent quality unit. Don't judge this NAS by its specs. (BTW yesterday I upgraded it to an i5 4440 and 2x4GB RAM cause why not I had them lying around.) This NAS will carry all of my data, there will be non on of my other PCs so I have everything at one place. You are absoultely right. This system will be powered down when I don't use it (e.g. at night).

The other factor is that I want to use the 580W PSU for something else. I'm from Germany, according to the numbers I found on the internet, the average electricity (per kWh) cost is 0,338€ which is about 0,4$. I already tried some other PSUs which are rated for 350W or even lower and they added up to 10 Watts just because of their inefficiency. Not all of them were that bad, but non was acceptable. 10W for something that runs 24/7 add up to almost 30€/per year (at 0,338€/kWh). But keep in mind that the NAS will run for multiple years. And since I want to use the 580W PSU for something else, I can justify buying a new PSU for the NAS. Plus I get the added benifit of having a new PSU. In addition to that, the efficiency of a PSU is always a curve, not a straight line. And especially under 10% or sometimes up to 20% the efficiency is pretty poor. After thinking about it, I wasn't that clear about what I meant when I said that: I'm not looking for something crazy like 80+ Platinum. The only alternatives to the 580W 80+ silver PSU that I have at home are OEM PSUs from reputable business systems but my tesing showed that they all add about 5-10W. And I really don't want to use them since they are old. I would like to find something like my 290W Dell OEM PSU from my original NAS build which is efficent and reliable even though it has no official rating whatsoever. Sadly it has proprietary connectors and a lound fan.

I really loved the looks of the 700/900 series reference cards. These were the current cards when I started getting into DIY PCs.

Yesterday I moved my NAS from a Dell Prebuild to a custom PC. I kept my Pentium G3240, 2x2GB RAM (which is totally enough for what I'm doing) and my drives, basically the only things that changed were the Case, motherboard and PSU. The Dell Motherboard and PSU both use proprietary connectors. I used an beQuiet! 580W PSU since I had one lying around but it is totally overkill for my 30-40W NAS. Therefore I want to get a new reliable PSU which is more suitable for the system. Efficiency is really important since electricity is expensive where I live.

Well, reading both answers is a bit confusing. More expensive or cheaper? In my case the prices are about the same (2€ price difference). I think I'll go with the 4TB IronWolf NAS (5900RPM).

My DIY openmediavault is currently running with two 250GB HDDs for prove of concept and it seems to work perfect for me! Now it's time to get proper drives. I want to buy two 4TB NAS drives. 5400PRM is totally fine for what im doing. The drives will be set up in RAID 1 but if I need more storage I'll get additional 4TB drives and configure it in RAID 5. I looked at the 4TB WD Red Plus (EFZX) since they are were cheaper then the other WD RED 4TB drives while still using CMR. But their lineup is really confusing. There are two drives which seem to be identical on paper. The EFZX and EFRX models. So my question is: Which drive should I get? It doesn't have to be a WD RED, other recommendations are welcome as well.

Only one, the one from the HDMI you have selected.

Connect all the devices to the TV? XBox, PC, Switch can output sound via HDMI to the TV which then passes it through to the soundbar?

Depends on the quality/type of the wrap. There are vinyl wraps which are slippy and there are ones which provide lot's of friction between your mouse and the desk. You would have to try to finde a material which matches your needs. These wraps should be fairly durable, you could always replace it when it doesn't look good anymore.

Vinyl wrap?

Phanteks P360A Already build in one Good Airflow, decent deisgn, RGB (see it as a pro or con), HDD cages which are actually useable.

Maybe try a different display cable / connector on your GPU / monitor.