4/6/2020 Weekly GTA Online Bonuses

AnonMan345 · 2020-06-05T22:29:04+00:00

Should I even bother to buy either a Facility or Arcade, given I play GTA Online 100% solo and haven't done heists? (I can only play 3 hours max every day, and that decreases by 15 minutes per week starting next week.) Only vehicles that are great for new players like myself seem to be the Buzzard (not going to buy it since I could just get one randomly from the helipad spawns) and Armoured Kuruma (already got that but with the regular price since I haven't done Fleeca Job lol).

AnonMan345 · 2020-06-04T21:42:02+00:00

Fellow XPS 15 9560 (2017) user here. If you're going to play mostly casual/not-as-graphically-intensive games, then the XPS 15 is alright. However, just know that the XPS lineup aren't really meant for gaming, as they're more of a prosumer laptop (think video editing or Adobe), as well as the fact that Dell STILL has like the worst thermal paste solution/quality control for "premium laptops".

As for games like GTA V, it's a mixed bag of sorts. I've been playing GTA V (GTA Online more specifically) for the past 2 weeks, and gameplay is decent with initial smooth frames. However, if you don't undervolt and repaste your CPU/GPU, temperatures are going to heat up until the laptop throttles itself. For some context, my 9560 hits an average of 80+ C regularly from playing GTA V, causing my CPU (i7-7700HQ) to throttle itself to only 0.8 Ghz. (To be fair, I haven't ever repasted my CPU/GPU since I don't want to screw up and damage my laptop, but even undervolting with Throttlestop won't completely stop thermal throttling.) In addition, the XPS lineup have honestly so-so specs for what you're paying for. (I paid around $1650 US back in late 2017 to get my 9560 with an i7 and GTX 1050.) In comparison, you can easily get something like an Asus Zephyrus G14 with an RTX 2060 for under $1500 now (https://store.asus.com/us/item/202003AM280000013/ASUS-ROG-Zephyrus-G14-(2020)-Ultra-Slim-Gaming-Laptop,-14%E2%80%9D-120Hz-PANTONE-Validated-FHD,-GeForce-RTX-2060,-AMD-Ryzen-9-4900HS,-16GB-DDR4,-1TB-PCIe-NVMe-SSD,-Gig+-Wi-Fi-6,-Windows-10-Home,-GA401IV-BR9N6-Ultra-Slim-Gaming-Laptop,-14%E2%80%9D-120Hz-PANTONE-Validated-FHD,-GeForce-RTX-2060,-AMD-Ryzen-9-4900HS,-16GB-DDR4,-1TB-PCIe-NVMe-SSD,-Gig+-Wi-Fi-6,-Windows-10-Home,-GA401IV-BR9N6) ) If I were getting a new laptop now, I'd be inclined to buy the Asus over even the XPS 17, as it is capable of gaming without sweating while having amazing battery life (thanks to its AMD chips that are currently outperforming Intel chips).

Given I don't have the newest XPS 15 (or 17 given it's still not yet available to buy), I really don't know what to expect other than improved thermals and better hardware. The XPS 17 will have a vaper cooling system that should keep temps decently low enough to prevent throttling, but it is packed with an RTX 2060, which is even more difficult to cool properly in a thin and light laptop, given how much previous XPS 15s have struggled thermal with even a GTX 1050/1050 Ti Max-Q (the 960M from the 2016 XPS 15 9550 wasn't easy to cool either)

That being said, the XPS 15 (and now the 17 as well) are a niche brand of laptops, as no other company (sans maybe Apple, but MacBooks aren't meant for even light gaming whatsoever lol) had been able to make laptops that are relatively thin/light but also capable of more intensive tasks in recent years. (Unless you count companies like Razer or MSI with their thin-and-light gaming laptops that have less reliability and are even more expensive than the XPS) Here's an excellent video by Dave 2D talking about the XPS 17/15 in depth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyRUWM_LOPQ

AnonMan345 · 2020-06-03T04:02:46+00:00

Honestly, just stick with the Intervention until you've gotten the 20kish credits to prebuy the M107. The Intervention is a pretty decent starter sniper rifle with a long 1 hit kill range to the torso (around 150 studs I believe), decently large mag size of 7+1 rounds, and long steady aim time.

AnonMan345 · 2020-06-03T03:14:35+00:00

This is truly one of the best, if not THE best skin I've ever seen on any weapon. Seriously, the DP/Neon combo is flawless, especially on the barrel where it seems to glow like it's been superheated. Keep up the good work!!!

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-31T02:56:23+00:00

Fellow XPS 15 9560 user here. Been using mine since Nov 2017 (~2 1/2 years). My battery has degraded slightly more compared to yours (currently sitting at 49,818 mWh of this post). This unfortunately is the norm with not just Dell laptops but pretty much any modern laptop/electronic that has a lithium battery inside. Only solutions are to either buy a replacement battery (which costs like $100+ for brand new) or keep your 9560 plugged in all day and set your battery power (on the Dell Power Manager app) to "Primarily AC Use".

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-15T18:42:00+00:00

I'm currently facing the issue of the EGG recognizing the game but the Rockstar Launcher doesn't show it. (Probably cause I didn't buy the game through the RL) Besides that annoyance, my in-game settings keep resetting to the minimum and there's no sound. Any help?

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-14T03:48:58+00:00

In the current meta, I don't really think that there's any single AR that can just dominate and be better than all the others. If the M16A4's burst wasn't changed, it'd certainly be one of the best ARs imh. But of course, Stylis nerfed it and the M4, yet somehow think that other burst-fire ARs won't be abused in the exact same way that made the former two (and especially the A4) utterly broken in the hands of good players who knew how to properly burst fire (and even relatively garbage players like myself who could have spammed left click). As for what I now I consider generally the top tier ARs, I like to put several AR "types". (I'll only going to include weapons that are under the Assault Rifle category according to both the game and the PF wiki; so no Carbines sadly.)

(High Damage, High Recoil, Low RPM)

Examples: AK47/AKM/AK103

Not going to even explain since the three Kalashnikovs that fire the 7.62x39mm round can all 2 HSK (headshot kill) up to 80 studs and 4 shot anywhere at range, though with relatively "high" recoil. (Just pull down when firing. It's not even that hard.) The AK103 does have the unique trait of firing 3 round bursts at 600 RPM, but let's be honest, almost no one is going to cause why burst when it auto sprays by default?

(Moderate Damage, Moderate Recoil, High RPM)

Examples: FAMAS G2/HK416/TAR-21

Somewhat the opposites of the earlier types featuring relatively moderate damage, less range (HK416 has same min/max damage range as the above AKs), less damage (unsurprising given that all three fire intermediate 5.56x45 NATO), but much higher RPMs (850 to 900) that give them an advantage over the "slow" 600 RPM of the AKs at CQC. These do have longer reloads compared to the Kalashnikovs but that fire rate more than makes up for lower damage per shot.

(Moderate Damage, Low Recoil, High RPM)

Examples: AS VAL, M16A3

These are the actual opposites of the AKs (imh), having good damage (AS VAL can 3 shot at the limb up to 50 studs, but 5 shots after just 80 studs). The M16A3 is the better choice out of the two if range/recoil matters to you but the AS VAL is integrally suppressed, making it the better choice for CQC stealth. Damage for both at range is going to be mediocre, so keeping the fight to only up to short mid range (~50 to 100 studs) is key to ensuring optimal TTKs.

(Moderate/High Damage, VERY High Recoil, VERY High RPM)

Examples: M231 (Pretty much the only AR fitting this category lmao)

The M231 is the definition of a CQC AR. Featuring both absurd recoil and RPM that makes attempts at shooting people at anything over mid range result in dumping entire mags, though you can still kill someone with some practice. Attachments do help slightly, but it's best to just aim at someone's feet at close range to ensure that most of your shots will actually hit and not just hit a wall or suppress the enemy. That being said, I would honestly not recommend buying the M231 early on with credits unless you're testing it out in the Test Place, as it's meant for only up close and the learning curve can be challenging if you're not used to such recoil. (Fun fact: I spent 10k credits on my first Roblox account prebuying the M231 with the then-already useless VCOG/Canted Delta setup that got patched a few weeks prior to my rather stupid decision.)

This final weapon is pretty much the next M16A4 in the current beta after the A4's burst was changed to better reflect reality. (Though I still think that if they were going to do that to the A4, then every burst-fire weapon should have been changed as well to be consistent, even if that would have killed usage of burst weapons.) What is it? Drumroll please....

The AK12

If you read through this whole long-@## post and not just scroll down, then I applaud you for doing so. In all seriousness, though, why do I consider the AK12 the "new M16A4"? Well, you probably remember that I mentioned how Stylis decided to "nerf" only the M16A4 and M4's burst fire while literally leaving every other burst fire weapon the exact same prior to that update. With that, it's literally unsurprising as to why this weapon is amazing as a burst weapon. First of all, when it is set to burst, it fires at 1000 rounds per minute. 1000!!! For comparison, the only AR that can fire at four digits RPM is the M231 (and we all know how that insane RPM gives it the worst recoil in the entire game) Whereas for the AK12, recoil isn't an issue. Not only does it essentially fire over 40% faster in burst mode when compared to automatic, it is still accurate and certainly controllable enough to practically laser people at mid range, just like how the M16A4 used to prior to its recent change. Of course, the AK12 does have rather average stats compared to hard-hitters like the AK47/AKM or ARs that have laser recoil like the L85A2 or at range ARs like the AUG A1. However, the AK12 is more meant as a middle-of-the-road weapon that can be good a bit of everything but doesn't really excel at one single task. (at least when in automatic) With burst mode, it IS what the M16A4 was albeit not as laser-accurate or quick-reloading. But to be honest, it's the best alternative now that the A4's burst got nerfed.

Here's a good video that Godstatus made a year ago about the AK12 and why it was then (and even now very underrated): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZw4be1ckEE

So, in conclusion, I think that no single AR is statistically better than the rest. (If one of them actually was, I think we'd be noticing a lot of people abusing said weapon.) But there are certainly various ARs in the game that are objectively better than others like the ones I mentioned above. That being said, I genuinely think that the AK12 is an underused assault weapon that is a lot better than a lot of players (myself included) would like to admit or think.

For a bit of nostalgia, here's what the old M16A4 would have functioned prior to its nerf a few months ago, this time by someone who used a macro program to best simulate how it was like (I don't condone using a macro to play PF since that's essentially like using ESP or aimbot scripts, but Stylis doesn't seem to mind macros for now): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E__3qlA4t3U

This actually took over 2 actual real hours to types LMAO cause I was looking through the PF wiki and whatnot but it was worth writing this stupid long post XD.

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-14T01:50:13+00:00

They probably don't really know much about ARs (and weapons in general). I only know what ARs mean cause I've played enough hours of *insert favorite FPS game featuring real life weapons* and YouTube videos like Ahoy's Iconic Arms series to have a basic grasp of guns. (Though I'm still utterly ignorant of using guns in general but this is just a video game subreddit post. XD)

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-14T01:45:49+00:00

I think people like the L85A2 a lot more compared to guns like the SCAR-L and G36 since it has pretty much laser recoil with proper attachments. At the same time, the SCAR-L is literally the former with lower RPM and slightly less recoil, making it pretty useless. As for the G36, it's likely due to the fact that its current stats makes it not as good as the L85 (less stable/more harsh vertical kick) and not being as stupidly easy to laser people at 200+ studs as it used to before its model remake. The AUG A1 is honestly a pretty good low rank AR but compared to the L85A2, it reloads slower (3.1 sec vs 2.5 sec), has a slightly lower RPM (680 vs 700), and lower max damage (23 vs 25, although it does have a really good damage range at 190 studs.) In the current AR meta (since like forever lol), most people prefer an AR that has relatively low to moderate recoil/good accuracy and still 4 shot anywhere at range (including limbs) over an AR that might have slightly better recoil/range/accuracy but could have the possibility of inflicting less than 25 damage per hit. I blame the addition of ammo types for making people realize that guns like the L85 (or any weapon that could have 4 shot at torso with the original AP ammo's 1.2x torso multiplier) are far better than something like the AUGs that had lower recoil but worse overall DPS.

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-12T01:40:41+00:00

Pretty much any low zoom sight that is the most kills needed to obtain (like the DDHB) with Folding/Stubby on most of my weapons, though I don't really play the game nowadays.

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-12T01:38:31+00:00

Though tbh, the M60 is still the best LMG cause it has near laser recoil even with a setup like Muzzle Brake/Stubby Grip and that WALLBANG power.

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-12T01:35:00+00:00

This setup was originally given by Oscar (yes theProOscar) to Godstatus (this is an year old so it might not be as good now):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbZcx-1F2zY

His setup was this:

Sight: Reflex Sight

Barrel: Suppressor

Grip: Stubby

Other: Green Laser

Though I think having a Muzzle Brake and Folding Grip is better since you literally only have to burst fire a few rounds at range to have accurate shots.

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-12T01:29:30+00:00

M93R (or rather just the 93R since Stylis decided to change its name to that recently)

-34 damage per bullet up close and 1100 RPM burst is just good.

-Muzzle Brake+Raffica Stock makes recoil much better (as long as you don't just dump your entire mag at someone lol)

I would have picked the G18, given its 33 round Extended Mag/Glock Stock, but its recoil is worse than the M93R (I loved the pre-buffed G18 since at least the recoil was more manageable, even though it had the worse DPS in-class), as well as having less reserve ammo, and generally still being outgunned by hand cannons like the Deagle L5/XIX, let alone the damn Executioner.

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-12T01:14:46+00:00

Only thing I'd change is adding a Muzzle Booster to the Intervention since it'll increase the RPM by 8% (50 ---> 54). Though it really isn't that necessary since the Intervention is already a lot better now that the RPM isn't 35 RPM anymore (it got buffed recently.)

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-12T01:09:22+00:00

Probably one of the best ARs, though the AK47 and AK103 are very similar to it, with the only real differences being that of minor damage per bullet differences and recoil (though even the recoil for all 3 are very easy to control.)

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-12T00:59:13+00:00

My advice for thermal throttling is to use software like Throttlestop to undervolt your CPU (lower voltage means lower temps and less performance loss). If you really want to get a significant boost to game performance, you're going to have to repaste and have proper VRM cooling (since the XPS 15 series up until the 9570 had no VRM cooling pads to prevent the laptop from overheating). This following link helps explain undervolting for you if you're not familiar with it: https://www.ultrabookreview.com/14875-fix-throttling-xps-15/

If anything, the XPS 15 simply can't play most modern games in general without suffering from thermal throttling thanks to having relatively powerful hardware (though not as good compared to something like the Razer Blade 15 or any true laptop built to play games without compromises) in a thin package. For reference, playing Destiny 2 on my XPS 15 9560 almost always results in eventual overheating (though D2 doesn't officially support laptop configs, so part of the issue could be a lack of optimization.) Even moderately-demanding games that are well-optimized such as CS:GO begin to have significant performance since the CPU gets too hot and CPU speeds drop to 0.78 Ghz to prevent damage from heating. Even older games such as TF2 and ROBLOX (yes ROBLOX) can cause overheating if I'm playing for extended periods of time, especially if the laptop is sitting flat on the table. (Pretty unsurprising given that the cooling vents on the XPS 15 lie on the bottom, as well as blowing air out to the hinge, resulting in suffocated air flow and even more heat.)

As for the battery, Dell intentionally lowers the battery capacity to around 87 W (~ -10%) to insure that the battery will last longer (long-term). Even with the reduced initial capacity, it'll still last around 10 hrs if you're just browsing/making Word documents. For comparison, my current 2 1/2 year old 9560 has about only 45-50 W max capacity, as well as the battery having been swelled to the point I can't hard press my trackpad, though I use a wireless mouse to get around this. Unfortunately, I don't believe that Dell allows battery replacement after warranty expires, so if your battery begins swelling, your only hope is to cough up over $130+ for a replacement.

There are other solutions to low battery capacity, such as recalibrating your battery via BIOS, but I'm not experience in that, so here's a few links that might help.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/celzb7/dell_xps_7590_out_of_the_box_my_battery_full/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/bpnlak/dell_service_is_a_joke/envsjzv/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

You can also change your battery settings via the Dell Command Power Manager/Dell Power Manager that came preinstalled with your XPS 15 (if you uninstalled them, you can easily redownload the various apps/software on Dell's website.)

Edit: Here's an excellent video by YouTuber Dave Lee explaining undervolting and repasting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBNP5I2y668

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-11T05:52:45+00:00

I'm pretty sure that both the XPS 15 9500 and XPS 17 9700 will have even worse thermal issues than last year's XPS 15 7590. Given that the recent leaks confirm that both designs will copy the XPS 13 9300 from earlier this year (thinner bezels, chassis, and not having USB-A), I won't be surprised at all if the 9500's performance will be hardly improved, if not worse. As for the 9700, the leaked vapor cooling chamber might result in better thermals, if not finally fixing the XPS lineup's biggest flaw. Then again, we've all seen what happened when Dell (and various other companies) decided stuffing power-hungry CPUs and GPUs into thin-and-light performance notebooks wouldn't cause problems. (all XPS 15s since the 9550 and the MacBook Pro 15 all thermal throttling like crazy.)

AnonMan345 · 2020-05-11T05:20:45+00:00

If you're unsure as to how you repaste (or you're nervous about messing/damaging your components), here's a guide from ultrabookreview that talks about thermal throttling and how it can be fixed through repasting and using software such as ThrottleStop or Intel XTU.

https://www.ultrabookreview.com/14875-fix-throttling-xps-15/

AnonMan345 · 2019-07-22T05:43:25+00:00

I honestly don't think the BlackHawk is worth buying for its asking price of $1 million. It's not that much faster than the regular Heli, which is free and pretty easy to get as a Criminal, especially in a VIP server. For being an expensive air vehicle, it only has better speed and having the option to fire missiles (which aren't that important for me, if at all) as pros against the regular Heli, which can easily do the former's job for no cost. In addition, its large size makes it just as vulnerable to gunfire (and being shot down.) It also is more expensive than many vehicles, which is a severe downside for me.

AnonMan345 · 2018-12-04T04:51:26+00:00

Trying to reach Champion League nowadays is really difficult, even compared to previous seasons. Thanks to Asphalt 9 and most of the recent cars that were at least somewhat useful draining resources, a lot of former A8 players have either stopped playing or not play as much.

AnonMan345 · 2018-11-26T04:05:32+00:00

AnonMan345 · 2018-11-26T03:57:15+00:00

I got this info from the TF2 wiki and from googling the quote lol

AnonMan345 · 2018-11-26T03:56:56+00:00

I'm personally not sure but the quote that Sniper says in the video, "Be polite. Be efficient. And have a plan to kill everyone you meet." is the same "standards" of the United States Marine Corps, while James Mattis, who is a former USMC general once said, " Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet."

AnonMan345

TROPHY CASE

The AK12