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xoftware

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Everything posted by xoftware

  1. Well, it's definitely interesting... AMD is "budget" (decently better than 2700U), 1660 Ti is "budget" (about as good as 1070), and seems to check all the boxes: 0.8" 4.65lbs, 15.6" 120Hz, 5 hours, no throttling. Okay, so you run into all kinds of funny configurations searching for a budget laptop, and really expensive ones for gaming. (I mean why do they even make half this stuff? Bulky laptops in this day? Seriously...) If you want the best gaming laptop you're looking at $2000+ for the MSI Stealth with RTX 2080/2070. Realistically, if you don't want to break that price point for RTX, then something like this "budget" gaming is targeting you. Interestingly, AMD has commissioned everybody except MSI to use mobile Ryzen with mobile Nvidia. So, it seems like with "only" 4 cores, if they really wanted to push these like crazy, they should price it sub-$1000 and compete with all the laptops still using 1050Ti's and Intel. Of course that would be too easy. A lot of people would probably buy a gaming laptop if it wasn't a premium for being a "gaming laptop." Especially one that just looks like a regular laptop. I have a $350 Lenovo with Ryzen 2500U (Vega GPU.) Is it worth 3x more to get a GPU and better display? Twice as much, sure. hmm laptops are... interesting. Still looks like a great laptop otherwise.
  2. I don't know about gaming anytime soon, but this seems like something you'd want to have as a Video Professional, especially at only 30Hz. Outside of that, there's not any tangible content for an 8K display/monitor, is there? Although for this size, I could see PIP for multiple 4K contents being a thing ha. But with only 30Hz, and input lag, yikes... idk... Hey I just hope it drops the price of 1440p 144Hz sooner! From the way you're describing it, I can only imagine when 8K is mainstream what a futuristic world we'll be living in.
  3. Kinda unfortunate that the only way to do this is with an extra GPU for the host, but this is really awesome! (If you're spending this much money on a workstation, that's not a big deal anyway, and the benefits of upgrade-ability outweigh it.) I don't know if MacOS will support Zen 2 ThreadRippers, but that would be interesting. You guys know way more about Mac and production software than I do. (I don't even really understand what the Mac software does supposedly better or special.) Any more videos you want to do would be cool by me.
  4. Well you don't have to get excited, since it's not targeted to you at all. You're talking about a tiling window manager in Linux, while this is a high-end gaming laptop namely for Windows. But even on Linux, where most games work with Steamplay, you aren't going to be key-command ninja-ing your way in and out of your game window to read a chat, or view a video-chat/stream, for example. (But to be fair, even as a second monitor, interacting with anything on the second screen likely alt-tabs out of the game on the main screen, at least in Windows.) And still, I don't think the overall claim that second screens are useless because of window managers makes sense, as it's very common for developers to have second monitors, widescreen monitors, landscape monitors, etc. The market for monitors these days is in a frenzy. This is just a really cool option in a slick design. I'm sorry I'm starting to sound like a shill, but these criticisms just don't even make sense. Here's a real criticism: it's too damn expensive, due to the overall laptop marketing tiers, and Intel / RTX premiums, and all that... Not to mention the battery life, weight, perhaps even drivers/software, may very well be problematic. I'll leave it alone now.
  5. Somebody else (besides Nvidia) needs to compete in the producer/studio space. It makes perfect sense for Nvidia to set up camp there right now. What's to stop them from funneling consumers into paying the absolute most possible? That's exactly where they want to be... Listening to the their Computex keynote about "creating new markets" reveals everything about their business model. (They even said themselves they make 1 GPU and push it to different audiences mainly with software/drivers, and that content-creators aren't technical enough to know or care the difference.) Don't get me wrong, they do outstanding work in many avenues, CUDA, AI, Max-Q, and now RTX, for example truly being innovative and good, but even that is too expensive for a new feature. Although I'm sure these laptops are amazing, I see them in the same track record as G-Sync, Quadro, etc. I don't mean to be an entitled consumer, but some things are ridiculous. Charging a premium for every little thing and "creating new markets" is like if Microsoft charged you for having icons on your desktop instead of in the start menu. I mean, you guys are engineers -- you didn't invent math or the principles that make tech versatile, you're just in a lucky position. I hope AMD and other chips start to burst their bubble and be feature competitive without tacking on the premium, like what they did with FreeSync. Let's not kid ourselves, Apple is already overpriced, and should never be the benchmark for a pricepoint, as if we needed another tier for laptop prices. Innovation is great, laptops are great, but dictatorships are not.
  6. We are really starting to bump into the lower bounds of physics when we try to pack more power into small form factors every year. At some point, something new is going to have to catch on, like transforming, modularity, etc. The elevated hinge is there for a reason but disguised really well by the screen, (and may be why you overlooked it,) while serving for better viewing angle, which is a smart step in the right direction I believe. We both agree about other devices having additional screens as well. Screens are also evolving to meet these demands, and I imagine we will get closer to the proprietary tech that makes tablet/phone screens so thin, light, and efficient while somehow keeping the high-end visuals, so any evolution on that front is still new per se. (To extrapolate, I always liked the idea of "lapdocks," again, another old idea, where you drop your phone into where the touchpad goes, but I could see folding phones open up new doors there -- a la secondary screens like this.) It's a small step in a long run, but still counts in my book I guess. As tech evolves, old ideas are always refreshed, and testing the market over time proves it either crazy or finally worthwhile. (Tablets existed years before it was mainstream and nobody cared, the palm pilot was replaced by phones, etc.) So, no, a screen, in it of itself, is not a new idea, but I don't know what you expect to see, a fishing rod? It's a particular design for the latest tech to improve the overall experience. What does it matter where the ideas came from?
  7. Yes, but the hinge on this is very important for performance, (and could honestly be equally the new direction for laptops,) and the physical keyboard and screen for functionality ties it all together in a new way. They may be on to something.
  8. This is exciting! Curious about weight, battery-life, and the bottom-aligned keyboard, but wow! Another excellent video, hope you guys are right. I'd like to see other vendors copy this, some next-gen Ryzen options, and top/bottom-aligned screen options, maybe even as an external mountable option (you could have a "trackpad app" window and put it anywhere you want, like the "keyboard app" on tablets/phones.) With the elevated hinge, however, this design feels very complete. I imagine you could play games nicely on this while keeping your chat, cam, music, etc on the bottom.
  9. I'm glad you have the ability to see exactly the opposite of what you could be.
  10. Funny I've always been a "huge fan" of the huge fan chassis as a tradition ever since I built my first PC. (back when you get buy a GPU with only heatsink option! lol.) As far as I'm concerned, I'm still planning on using the Thermaltake V1 for my next build sometime after Ryzen gen 3. (Hard to beat when Fry's had a sale a while back for $25!) There are many sweet contenders like that these days, so maybe us "fanboys" were on to something all along. Something would really have to tempt me to change my mind, a la the Node 202. It's just so satisfying to have a quality air-cooled build! I always loved touching my hand to it and feeling the cool air. Water cooling can't buy that level of peace of mind, and air cooling is usually much cheaper. This is one of those classic examples where buying parts for your PC starts to add up quickly, if not exponentially. Buying a hotter, bleeding-edge, more expensive CPU also implies more cooling budget. As a principle, target a specific tier of performance, and build comfortably to that. If you're in-between performance tiers for gaming or what-have-you, it's a lot more money for nothing honestly. Probably the biggest mistake you can make in PC building. Tech gets better and cheaper everyday, and better CPUs with better thermals/etc will come along, and you can always upgrade incrementally if your needs change. Air-cooling has always been about principle to me. If you can target a CPU that works well with it, that's the ideal IMO, since CPUs are much more powerful than people seem to estimate. Game logic usually doesn't need to break much of a sweat, and GPUs are responsible for a lot of the performance. So, target your tier. It really really helps to understand how game engines/the software works. HUGE FANS ARE BAD ASS TOO ........... Thermaltake Core V1: https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/M8Jkcf Silverstone Sugo SG05: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA62V86N8842 Coolermaster Elite 110: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811119299
  11. Woah, this topic really blew up. I'd like to add 2 cents. I'm not an apple fan in the least, but to be fair, isn't it the point of mobile device designers to... put hardware in mobile devices? In other words, isn't this a marketing problem for the industry as a whole? I'm genuinely curious. Don't the gaming laptops also have to deal with thermals and power? I say this because I have been very frustrated looking for a new laptop. Everybody advertises "Desktop Performance" in a "Thin" Laptop, and everything is way too expensive. But, the thing is, if we are at the point you can fit a GTX 10-series in a laptop, then IT IS LAPTOP-GRADE HARDWARE, not desktop grade. "Hey did you know if you spread out the form factor and voltage of the card to fit in a laptop... it will fit in a laptop?" Why would I pay a premium for a "thin" laptop? Why am I paying a premium for a laptop that's actually a laptop? Are you saying before you didn't sell laptops? "Well, you see this laptop is actually a laptop, or you can buy this laptop that's actually not a laptop." Look, I'm all impressed as the next guy, but I wouldn't even pay an engineer by the hour that much. I mean look at some of these monstrosities, and everybody is "thin and light", and the "thin and light" ones aren't really thin and light, (some are literally an inch thick,) and they do everything in their power to hide that fact and make it appear so. (For example: 15 product pictures from every angle except direct on, full retail listings for a "THIN LAPTOP" with no mention of "HOW THIN." I went on a MSI product spec page for a laptop with THIN IN THE NAME that was just a 40-foot long brochure, searched for "mm" and "inch" NO RESULT. rage quit.) It's either what I need or it's not. More CSS isn't going to make me buy it. I've found that everybody follows the same trends, same pricing, and that seems to include not making something that has everything you are specifically looking for. The fact is, they don't want you to be satisfied, or you will actually get use out of it and have no reason to upgrade. That may sound crazy, but be honest, 90% of the listed laptops right now are heading straight for the landfill in a couple years. It will be a joke to even own one in short notice. They know this too. I know for a fact if you can put a RTX and a 6-core in a laptop, and make it thin and cool it, then you could also take out the GPU, and SELL IT TO ME FOR LESS. Throw some more m.2 slots in there, some more DIMMs, more battery, etc. That's all I want, a thin workstation, no GPU. No dice. TL;DR: Parts (that work properly) in a laptop are laptop-grade. We know hardware prices are jacked up, especially due to crypto, so they can't sell laptops that are actually laptops for a reasonable price or the "desktop-grade" hardware will have to fall in price too. Marketing is a mess everywhere. As much as we want to blame laptops, actually it's more of a desktop problem too. When we can put the same performance in mini-ITX as full ATX, it's a problem of outdated standards, and we really need to change how we look at it as consumers. BUT IT HAS RGB. /rant
  12. Those are some great points/ideas, @VegetableStu To be honest, I think a big part of the appeal is the uniqueness and simplicity of a full wristband. It's so different it would make me want to try it for myself. One of the main reasons for wearables is, I think, to enable a new level of comfort, and maybe learn new ways to interact with tech. (But, are we ever going to get there?! I don't see anybody walking around with hololens/AR "glasses," as amazing as they are. ) As far as the more traditional UI, having it on your arm or wrist still seems like it would be less practical/comfortable than a handheld, even if more practical than a wristband? But at least with a wristband, if it's light enough, it's modest and unintrusive, so one accpets not to expect a whole lot out of it, in trade for more flexibility, and different features. Maybe the key to wearables is minimalism? I still like the idea of detaching them and turning them into something useful, but that would be a ways into the future if ever.
  13. Unbox Therapy/MKBHD made a good point about flexible displays: the tech is here, and people really want to do something with it, but we don't have that aha moment yet. To me, I agree with Linus at least that this is an awesome concept going in the right direction. It's a little too bulky, and I'd like to see the screen go all the way around, which as far as I know, would be a genuinely new kind of interface. (since it's like a dual-monitor but with no edge. it just wraps back into itself, which could make for some really modern UI.) I remember when Livestrong wristbands were huge, and it seems every generation finds something trendy to put on their wrist, so I'm pretty interested. That is, until projector watches exist, (so I could take off, set it on a desk, project like a laptop, and detect my fingers typing as if there were a keyboard.) As far as folding tech, I think we're going to see some unique ways that screens can fold up/out/whatever like some kind of digital origami. imagine a little watch that you can take off and fold out into a phone form factor.
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