I want an itx sandwich case that looks like a X68000
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did a windows update and had no ethernet or wifi until I edited the settings of the adapters and unchecked ālet windows turn off this device to save powerā
these people have lost their goddamn minds. the entire tech world is bungie now, disappeared entirely up its own ass
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a personal problem I have created for myself: my office is in my loft, located over my living room. my desktop is in my office. my desktop has a Chinese aftermarket blower 4090 in it with almost no sound isolation. mostly, the fans run quietly and work well, but about once a year, I start to notice a very faint electrical echo that drives me nuts if the room is otherwise silent ā like, I can hear it walking around faintly, Iām psyopping myself into tinnitus. itās not quite coil whine (itās only audible when quiet) and itās not a clicking fan; some kind of secret third thing. about a year ago, I fixed this by, against my better judgment, purchasing a little squeeze dropper sold as a āgun lube bottleā and using it to apply PTFE to one of the little vent holes on top of the blower. I knew this should not help, because the only thing that should even be under there is the fan coils, and Iāve never heard of those whining. nevertheless, I thought I remembered it working when I tried it a year ago, considered it miraculous I hadnāt shorted anything, and moved on. distrusted the memory.
well, the noise was maybe vaguely coming back this month, and I kept telling myself ādonāt lube your GPU. thatās crazy behavior. who knows why it worked in the first place.ā but lo, I just lubed my GPU again, and the noise is gone!
I genuinely donāt know why this is working ā either itās the blower fan coils that are whining and this is serving to insulate them, or the 3000 rpms are somehow actually working the PTFE into what should be a sealed bearing. or itās just minimizing the echo inside of a quasi enclosed space. nevertheless, I love my miracle goop.
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unlike a glock a chinese variant gpu is a gunsmith fit design that needs lubrication regularly for optimum function
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Itās too bad nvidia doesnāt make & license reference blowers anymore, those were actually quite good
I was excited to finally find a teardown video for mine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7dIIKzmC7o
itās really very well made afaict. I just keep lubing it.
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lol i used to argue about blower vs topflow with dudes on the tomās hardware forums. you canāt just dump all that heat back into the case!!!
iām trying to buy a macbook to use for live music and recording
iāve narrowed it down to basically
m2 macbook pro 14" 16GB w/ 8TB SSD for ~$1400
m3 macbook air 13" 24GB w/ 1TB SSD for ~$1100
m2: great deal and has an insanely large SSD which would obviate needing to use any external storage. the gpu is way better than the air and multi-threaded performance is also better. 120Hz + better resolution instead of 60Hz. itās heavier, tho, and only has 16GB RAM. might be in better condition (should be effectively mint).
m3: has AV1 decode over the m2. lighter and cheaper. 24GB RAM is enough i wonāt worry about it. better single-core performance (very marginal tho) over the m2 pro. on the downside, fewer and less useful ports. i guess if i push it too hard itāll throttle since no fan. might be in less-than-mint condition.
i would probably just get a base model m4 air but 256 GB SSD is just insultingly small given how much space macOS + Logic + Ableton will take up alone and $200 for another 256GB is disturbing price gouging and still only gives me 512GB which is still not enough anyway, ughhhh. maybe if i wait until m5 i can get a better deal on an m4 with bumped specs but anything less than 1TB on a device you canāt upgrade the storage on bothers me, especially for a device iād like to last me as long as possible
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watching my thinkpad refuse to boot and just looking wistfully at a Framework
I would like to not have to buy another laptop but I would also like to have a working laptop so Iām awfully conflicted
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Are you looking at Microcenter? They had a similar M2 Pro with big storage listed here recently. If youāre concerned about condition theyāll let you open and inspect refurbed stuff before buying. Anything listed as certified refurbished was reconditioned by apple. Those are indistinguishable from new machines (it seems they just recycle the logic boards from working returns/warranty claims).
AV1 decode and hardware RT are pretty nice advantages, the GPU in the M3 air is surprisingly competitive in blender (though active cooling would let the M2 Pro pull ahead eventually).
M2 Pro devices launched in early 2023, theyāve seen 3 macOS versions and should get 4-5 more (including tahoe) + 2-3 years of security patches. The M3 series are from late 2023, so theyāre due one more macOS version vs. M2 but might justify more based on SoC features.
2 Likes
only for the m2 pro, the m3 air is an ebay certified refurb (which iāve had pretty decent results with in the past)
linkies:
i guess the m2 pro is also ācertified refurbishedā but based on what reddit has said about this particular listing, they are effectively new and entirely unused
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Generally oil is not conductive unless designed to be conductive via additives. I think the only real worry would be oil droplets causing dust to build up, corrosion of plastic and rubber.
Silicone dry lubricant (its a liquid that fast dries) is probably the safest. Its not corrosive and leaves a dry lubricating film that will not gather dust. I think there are even cans of the stuff marketed as for electronic components.
But if the gun oil is already in there, fuck it.
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oh yeah to be clear I donāt have any gun oil, I used PTFE with a gun oil dropper
ok yeah the 14" is certified refurbished. Iāve gotten three macbook airs from appleās refurb store over the years and they were all pristine, brand new batteries
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O yeah Im just dumb and dont read
pbbbt
the better screen and presence of stuff like a regular hdmi port on the pro are factors for me, but since the pro costs more and is actually worse in several ways, i keep leaning more and more toward the air.
really, iām weighing everything else against that 8TB microcenter m2 pro since thatās sort of a unique thing.
all i really know is i want an m-series macbook for music stuff and iām trying to find the best value. i really donāt mind spending more but the upcharges on brand new stuff from apple are just kind of obsceneā¦ i feel like a lot of that gets shaved off in the secondhand market. that m3 air with 1TB + 24GB RAM was like an $800 upcharge over base when new from apple but a couple years later they are looking more reasonable
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I would be a little suspicious of that ebay listing, not that it seems illegitimate but 98% feedback on 6500 reviews is a little rough and theyāre undercutting apple by $170. You may not find the condition acceptable.
They just started listing M4 airs on the apple refurbished store. Microcenter though is the only retailer I know of that sells older high-spec models.
IMO: newer is generally better but macbooks just last forever, i regularly see folks out here with optical drive macbook pros. we use them like appliances. if you can fit a big sample library (donāt really know what iām talkin about here) on an 8TB SSD you should probably go for it.
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yeah the idea that i can have big samples AND record endlessly without worrying about external storage in a 14" laptop is utterly appealing to me
itās a unique value and if it was 1600 but had 24GB RAM i would have already gotten it. i donāt really think the 16GB will be a problem in practice currently, but later on, who knows
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you can always add external storage, you can never add more RAM
work has given me a new M4 Pro to swap for the M1 Pro and Iām hauling both to and from the office and feeling like my bag is full of bricks. get the air imo
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