DarkEnergy

Keychron K2

Looks like the backlight failed, in this case the entire strip. RMA or return it.

If it helps any, I have the 13600k in an itx build with a noctua u12a cooler and topped out at 82c for core temp and 88c on package temp after 10 minutes of cinebench R23. It's not underclocked at all and did consume about 180w under the load. This was in the nr200p case (mesh) which is one of the better cases for air cooling.

Ended up getting the Team 5600 kit. It was cheap and there's no guarantee I can go past the 6400MHz max mobo supported speed. If I can get this to 6000 it would be more than worth it.

Currently on mobile but it's the ASRock z690 phantom itx

I'm finally upgrading my computer from an FX 8350 to an i5 13600k. I'm trying to get a decent 32gb DDR5 ram kit for under $190 and can't decide if the ~$60 difference from 5600MHz CL36 to 6000MHz CL30 is worth it. From what I've read, CL timing might not matter much for DDR5 which tells me the 400MHz difference isn't worth the price increase but I'm not sure. I'm comparing this kit for $130 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YTTCQKT/ref=twister_B09PDMQTND?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 To this one for $190 https://www.amazon.com/G-Skill-RipJaws-288-Pin-CL30-40-40-96-F5-6000J3040F16GA2-RS5K/dp/B09Y16CDLG The motherboard (haven't gotten yet, waiting to see if price drops) supports up to 6400MHz. I plan on keeping the computer for at least 10 years, next time I'll upgrade DDR7 will probably exist. I play at 1440p on a 144Hz monitor and GPU will be the bottleneck for quite a while (Radeon 5700).

Just picked up this unicorn power mac g4 for cheap. It's got 1gb of total ram, at two different speeds and three different capacities because why not. It also has some sort of aftermarket "owc" CPU upgrade making this have a 1 GHz G4 processor instead of the normal 400MHz-ish it should have. It's quite unique and a ton of fun since the previous owner had separate drives with Mac OS 9.2.2 and 10.3. It's also a bit quirky; the boot chime only functions when Mac os 9.2.2 is selected as the boot drive. When 10.3 is selected the monitor looses signal until it starts logging in about 50 seconds later which then the desktop appears. I can't figure that one out along with why the CD drive opens by itself during the boot process of both OS 9.2.2 and 10.3??? It also looks to have an 8 pin mini DIN port instead of a phone jack?

I think I found the 1-trick pony I need for this to work as cheaply and simply as possible. This board combines the basic TP4056 and dc step-up converter with a more compact potentiometer. I don't need load sharing features as there will never be a load connected while the battery is charging due to how I have to charge the battery. The battery will never be used and charged at the same time. I'm also going with this 1200mAh Adafruit battery (with protection) because it's a higher capacity, thinner, still fits with plenty of room, and by default the TP4056 board is set up with a 1.2k Rprog resistor which is a current setting meant for a 1000mAh battery. With an 850mAh battery I'd have to use a different resistor to prevent damage, and with a 1200mAh battery it will just charge a bit slower which is fine and probably for the best.

Yeah, I was wondering where the dc-dc converter would go in the original charging board you listed. I was looking at this board (below) that looks like the same idea as the one you just listed but it's all on one board. ebay link. Or would that still not be considered a smart type board? I've got some 10uF 25V caps around somewhere. The calculator wouldn't be connected when charging though so it should be a non-issue. I don't want to mess with the pins at the moment, maybe a future project. Thanks for the reply.

The lithium battery with a step-up regulator is an interesting idea, It would certainly be the cheaper option. Since I'd need to remove the battery pack half of the calculator to charge it anyway (since there's nothing to depress the metal spring in the original charging port), I might use double sided tape to stick the flat lithium battery to the bottom and stick the step up converter on top of the battery as there should be room. Is there a way to set it up to only need to plug the usb in to charge while leaving the rest wired up or would I need to get some jst connectors and when the battery needs charging, unplug it from the step up converter and plug it into the charger module and visa versa. I've never done circuit design.

I'd replace them first. They've leaked and one of the bridges connecting two of them broke due to corrosion.

I guess I'm trying to figure out if I can just use this type of charger for charging the batteries since the battery compartment can be detached and charged separately. There's only a single diode in the compartment which I'm trying to figure out if it was used as some sort of half wave rectifier (thus used the AC) or if I can use DC directly (from the amazon link charger) and not worry about the purpose of the diode. It's a charger for batteries so I'm assuming it would know when the batteries are full. My guess when looking at the design is that the diode is to prevent current from flowing from the battery to charger like when the adapter is plugged into the calculator but not plugged into a wall. Added a couple pictures to show how it's set up. Calculator can be used without battery compartment. The two pins I circled are for hooking up an adapter only, they don't connect to the calculator. The two plastic plugs on the bottom are the ones that connect to the calculator.

It's a commodore minuteman 1. It does work, I rigged some batteries together and hooked it up. There's not much information about it online though and the PCB is sandwiched together with about ~10-15 pins so not easy to look at the components.

I acquired an old calculator that's unfortunately without a power supply. There's also no way I'll ever find a power supply for it. It's able to run off the wall and battery power which is through 6xAA 1.2V NiCD batteries soldered together creating 7.2V, aka not the easy pop out kind and they're long past their expiration. The original power supply outputs two voltages, 7.2V 225mA DC and 7.0V 45mA AC. The AC output is very confusing and doesn't make sense to me considering the batteries which the calculator can run off of supply DC, why not just output DC only? It plugs into a 3 pin port. My best guess is that it powers the calculator at the same time it's charging the batteries. My main question is if it makes more sense that the 7.2V DC is for charging the batteries and the 7.0V AC is for powering the calculator (assuming it converts it to DC then in the calculator?). I say this because the battery compartment can be removed and charged separately with the same plug (but using only two pins from the adapter, assuming it uses same adapter), and there's only one diode in that whole compartment, everything else is wires. I have very limited knowledge with how circuits work so I might have missed something. I'm currently thinking of getting this battery charger and hoping one of the ends has holes that line up and fit. Then I'll get those diy batteries you can solder the metal tabs together. I've attached a highly technical picture with how I think the charging works, taken from continuity tests.

Nipple mouse is the way to go. When I use my laptop on my lap, the trackpad is never in a comfortable position being at the bottom. As for using it, there's nothing to really "get used to." Perhaps your trackpad is larger than normal or you type funny. My wrists are on the "wrist rest" (plastic chassis) and the palms never touch the pad when typing. Windows should have palm rejection to prevent accidental touches though.

Every web browser I use has at least uBlock Origin and Cookie AutoDelete. I recently started using Dark Reader too and it's amazing. Also, I always laugh when I see "Ghostery" mentioned anywhere because It just reminds me of this email they sent me one day where they CC'd instead of BCC'd about 500 people. The email contents make it even funnier.

Nothing very fancy

My longest running "consumable" type device is my Logitech g502 from 2016. Used daily for hours, it's gone through it's gaming and associated sweat-all-over sessions but still runs like new. 6 years for a mouse is pretty good. Apart from that, my current rig (except for the graphics card) is my longest running bunch of components. My OS SSD switched recently from the Samsung 840 (pre "evo" days) to the 840 evo I had laying around because the 840 SSD became unbearably slow. Apparently 65% wear leveling is enough to tank the performance and freeze up the computer when I want to do file transfers. I'm hoping to upgrade at the end of the year after the new Ryzen desktop CPU's come out. Running a decent graphics card on my shit-tier PSU (Corsair CX series) for the past couple years has been a bit nerve-racking. Also my fx 8350 is struggling a bit.

You've narrowed it down to hardly anything. From personal experience, something from Lenovo might work. I have a thinkpad yoga, has dedicated pg up and down by the arrow cluster, and home/end keys as well. Touch screen is fairly easy to find. My 6+ year old thinkpad actually fits those minimum specs and your personal requirements (except for battery life) so maybe look for used or refurbished (Lenovo has an outlet).

There should be another password you've set or have for Windows. I'm pretty sure you can't create a "pin" without having a normal password made. This would be a Microsoft password or local account password you made. I cleared my tpm recently when dual booting with linux and had to login using my original account password I just happened to remember. The "pin" and alternative login methods don't work (or anything part of the Windows "Hello" thing).

If you're going for cheap, I'd either look for the cheapest Microsoft/Logitech thing on Amazon, or look for the same brand items on eBay that are "new." There's a ton of NOS items floating around on eBay.

Ok, thanks

I have a general question with magsafe adapters (the older ones) as I don't own a MacBook. When the adapter is plugged into the wall outlet, should there be an led on the end that connects to a laptop or is there only an led if it's actively plugged into the laptop?

Wouldn't hurt to update drivers and bios. I see from the picture she's running a BIOS revision from 2018, the latest version is from 2021. She probably could update gpu drivers as well.

Just don't use the purples, the purple keys are optional. There's enough yellow and white for a full size keyboard or 75%