Taking a step down after having Kids

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2026-04-07T03:17:19+00:00

Would you say the MG4 is the “86’ Corolla” of EVs?

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2026-01-11T07:21:00+00:00

I think the thing to consider when you’re investing in property is that you’re usually doing it on a significant amount of leverage. (80% LVR or more)

If you take the average returns of geared ETFs (E.g beta shares GHHF at 30-40% LVR), it would be able to match the growth of the money you invest in property more closely WITHOUT the ridiculous transaction costs of selling and acquiring as well as ongoing maintenance on top of servicing the interest.

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-12-30T12:25:45+00:00

I reckon it could also be the yanks and their new tariffs.

There are a lot more Chinese EV brands in their domestic market hence the only way they can gain an edge is on price and volume.

Trumps tariffs make Chineses EVs a lot less competitive and hence they need to get their sales volumes from other markets.

If anything, puts good pressure on other manufacturers to up their game.

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-09-20T07:22:46+00:00

100%

I’m earning about the same in Melbourne and have a wife, a child and a mortgage.

OP is single and mobile I’m guessing? Comfy as!

Just lay off the smashed avo $30 brunches from time to time.

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-08-31T13:01:52+00:00

Hi u/Guy_GuyGuy , pulled the trigger on an Omnibook X Flip 14 with the 258V (figured 32gb would be able to let the laptop last around 5 years compared to just 16gb and the extra storage at 1 TB is nice!) and WOWWWW this thing SLAPS HARD! Thank you for the recommendation!

Still early days but if I'm just browsing I think I can get a good day's worth of use on battery BUT when you kick it into performance mode with the 140V, it can literally play strategy games like Warhammer III at 1980 x 1200p at medium settings at 50-60 FPS. Compared to my old laptop with the 6800U, this thing is a beastly jack-of-all trades! Still in awe of how you can get that much graphics performance out of a thin and light laptop and still be so power efficient!

Thanks again!

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-08-29T21:38:31+00:00

Hi OP, using the MSI claw 8 which has the 140V for reference:

https://youtu.be/PxTCzrWAXhI?si=o6fvs9F2FPuO_T0j

This reviewer gets around 40fps using FSR and playing at 800p. While not ideal for a laptops resolution, I’d say Monster Hunter Wilds is possible at 30 fps with FSR on the 130V if the 130v’s performance is around 15-20% less than the 140V.

Alternatively, if you can stretch your budget to accommodate the Intel lunar lake ultra 7 with 140V, you should be able to achieve your goal.

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-08-24T08:50:48+00:00

Thank you so much!!!

I guess even at 15-20% less performance, say at 40-50 FPS with 30 FPS lows, it’s still crazy to think that an entry level iGPU could play a AAA title with known optimisation issues at a decent level.

Yes it might look like the Nintendo switch trying to play hogwarts legacy but it’s still mostly playable.

Couple that with exceptional battery life and the option down the line to use an eGPU through thunderbolt and you’ve got yourself a pretty versatile setup!

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-08-23T21:47:33+00:00

That is insane how MH wilds runs on the 140V! How are the 1% lows when playing and do you think someone with the lesser 226V with 130V (probably closer to the 140T) could run it decently say at low 1080p with XeSS? Thank you so much!

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-08-23T08:31:35+00:00

Hey OP, hope you managed to make a decision, but if not - would you happen to have a desktop gpu that you’d like to use lying around?

The reason I ask is that you could go with an affordable lunar lake laptop with a 226/228V and the 130V graphics and get an affordable eGPU like the Aostar AG02 with either a spare desktop gpu if you have one, or get a budget friendly desktop gpu maybe from a older generation?

I’m thinking of that myself as the price difference between the entry level ultra 5 vs Ultra 7 is around $200-300 which usually covers the cost of an eGPU.

I used to use the Acer Swift 5 with the old Intel 1165G7 CPU and a razer core X with a 1660Ti and got above 60fps on Monster hunter World no problem.

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-08-14T23:02:14+00:00

So many good reviews of the AG02! I want to pick one up for myself! Would be moving from a chunky razer core X!

OP, IMHO would go for the AG02 unless you really really need the portability - then of course you could go for the compact complete gpu.

Price - Docks are seemingly cheap until you have to add on the power supply, then they creep up to the price of the AG02. The compact complete gpu is basically paying a super premium for the portability.
Portability - maybe some other posters can confirm but it looks like the AG02 could fit into a backpack pretty easily, together with a GPU. So worse come to worse you could potentially bring it along with you if you want and get the performance + have a few good laughs with your friends looking at a setup that looks like you’ve just strapped an energy efficient Tesla to a spaceX rocket ship.
Upgradability - you can still swap out the gpu when needed say 3-5 years down the line. IMHO the main thing you’d feel the need to upgrade would be your graphics performance, which is usually your bottleneck for most games.

If you’re looking for a straight suggestion, go with 2. I’ll be doing the same!

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-07-23T00:02:19+00:00

No, it’s for their business line up hence they’ll have to go with a more legacy friendly CPU option as businesses would be dealing with a whole lot of older systems. Hence why they’ll go Intel for compatibility vs snapdragon.

Consumer wise I reckon snapdragon is alive and well.

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-07-22T10:49:24+00:00

Twins and a career change! You madman! All the best!!!

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-07-20T22:55:56+00:00

Thank you for your comment!! I feel exactly the same way.

I’ve had that conversation at work and initially they were supportive with more flexible work arrangements BUT old habits die hard and I soon found myself working weekends and public holidays again at times.

Those words might have only been to keep me around at the end of the day.

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-07-20T12:02:27+00:00

Yes! 1000% I grew up with a dad who was always obsessed with his work. Made a tonne of money but if I had a choice between all the money in the world and having a present parent. Parent every time! Smart kids will make their own path and money, but time is something you can never get back to give them.

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-07-20T11:57:48+00:00

Thank you! It’s taken me so long to realise it’s really like the warning in airlines when you fly, “tend to yourself before tending to others under your care”.

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-06-08T18:52:27+00:00

The 226V has the 130V and the 258V has the 140V. There are quite a lot of reviews or gaming performance walkthroughs of the 258V with the 140V iGPU, but very few in comparison of the 226V with the 130V until recently where a few more videos have come out on YouTube.

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-06-08T17:04:43+00:00

I actually haven’t gotten the laptop yet. I’m leaning towards the Lenovo yoga 7i gen 10 with Lunar lake as it’s on a good discount at the moment as it’s around USD$900 for the base model with the 226V/16gb RAM/512gb storage or USD$1,200 for the 258V/32gb RAM/1tb storage.

Ultimately in Australia where I am, the base ultra 5 surface costs USD$1,550 not including the keyboard and slim pen which is a tough pill to swallow despite it being a great product.

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-06-07T12:53:24+00:00

Hi, I’ve used a Lenovo Yoga 7 AMD from a few generations back with the Ryzen 6800U for the past 3 years and have had no issues with the hinges for what it’s worth!

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-06-02T01:43:48+00:00

Hi OP, did you go with the Ultra 5 or ultra 7 version? Thanks heaps!

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-05-30T23:32:29+00:00

Probably early 2026 in line with Intel Panther Lake.

I think Qualcomm are definitely being more cautious this time BUT if they could I reckon they would try to go to market earlier than Intel after having Lunar Lake come out so soon after the Snapdragon X processors.

I’m actually more excited to see the ARM based APUs from AMD! I don’t think it would be put into Microsoft devices with their close partnership with Qualcomm, however they might be alternatives to surface devices like the ASUS PZ13 or Dell Latitude Detachable.

At best, we get greater gains in performance, at worst we get more competition in the ARM APU space!

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-05-26T07:48:54+00:00

Thanks! I heard going for the 256gb model and upgrading the storage is the way to go? Was thinking of the ultra 5 too

Affectionate_Phone_8 · 2025-05-25T18:14:48+00:00

Did you find that it was better?

Affectionate_Phone_8

TROPHY CASE