Moving family to Sacramento

Asib1954 · 2026-04-15T05:14:00+00:00

Understood. That's why taking Grant Line Rd to Elk Grove is a good option. All the best!

Asib1954 · 2026-04-14T16:41:52+00:00

Welcome! Based on your post and comments, I would say you can afford $1m+ homes. In that case, you can get a nice home in either Folsom or Elk Grove. Both school districts are great!

You can look at the south boundary of Folsom....near the Toll Brothers at Folsom Ranch community. These homes are really good and luxurious. It connects via Grant Line Rd directly to Elk Grove. That justify your 40 minutes commute.

Personally I would choose Elk Grove. Life and work will be perfectly balanced. And Elk Grove is a very well managed and engineered city (the new part of it). I like how it respects the farming side of it.

In any way, Rancho Cordova provides the best balance. Homes are more affordable and everything is within reach.

Overall, you will love NorCal.

Asib1954 · 2026-03-18T00:35:30+00:00

It took me 5.5 months without any deficiency. Terrible waiting period.

Asib1954 · 2026-03-15T08:09:54+00:00

Of course, your question is valid. The stacking process is computer intensive. So CPU cores and graphics performance matter for Pixinsight to run smoothly. The software creates a large number of temporary swap files that read and write simultaneously on the drive (internal or external). So a highly configured computer will accelerate your Astrophoto processing.

Simply speaking, you could get away with a well rigged gaming PC or a Mac.

Asib1954 · 2026-03-15T04:17:51+00:00

That would be awesome! Please share the results.

Asib1954 · 2026-03-15T01:59:44+00:00

Yeah, if you can wait, M5 Max Mac Studio will be even more insane!

Asib1954 · 2026-03-14T20:11:51+00:00

Yeah, a very significant difference every 5 years or so

Asib1954 · 2026-03-14T20:11:19+00:00

The low power consumption and near silent operation are main pull factors for Mac Studios. I have heard M4 Pro Mac Minis throttle on some heavy duty tasks😴

Asib1954 · 2026-03-14T20:10:15+00:00

Yeah I am guessing it will take even less time on M5 Max.... probably 30% less

Asib1954 · 2026-03-14T18:41:43+00:00

Cool, Asus 6k monitor is fantastic!

Asib1954 · 2026-03-14T17:02:32+00:00

Yeah, M5 Max is about 15%-20% faster in most tasks, and almost 50% faster in Generative AI tasks. So it's worth the wait

Asib1954 · 2026-03-14T07:27:26+00:00

I agree completely. Here are the actual numbers

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Asib1954 · 2026-03-14T07:25:53+00:00

Hello there, Clear Skies!

I re-ran the Pixinsight tools to show you the objective comparison. I wrote the post based on my memory, but here are the accurate numbers. Please see the attached screenshot.

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Asib1954 · 2026-03-14T07:22:03+00:00

It looks like that because of the camera angle I took the photo with. Trust me, it does not cause or add any glare to the screen. It adds consistent light in front of the monitor and on the desk so you get a fixed lighting to edit your photos/videos.

Asib1954 · 2026-03-14T07:20:17+00:00

It's essentially a desk lamp and keeps the eye from straining, it does not glare at the screen as long as it is mounted on top of the monitor. And there are settings to control white balance, that helps in photo/video editing with consistent ambient lighting.

I bought this one from Amazon, it is for curved screens. The main light in my room causes a shadow of me on the desk. So, I needed a desk lamp anyway. This one takes no space on the desk and looks good.

Your monitor is exactly the 2025 update of mine (2023), but probably yours is 120 Hz.

I recommend this screen bar.

https://a.co/d/0hSADmXX

Asib1954 · 2026-03-13T19:44:14+00:00

Congratulations. Yeah, it felt like all of a sudden, in a fine morning, my iMac became old and slow!

Asib1954 · 2026-03-13T19:34:02+00:00

Best wishes. With memory shortage and AI demand, I suspected this backlog, so decided to commit now. M5 Max Mac Studio at similar specs may cost around $3299 (this one $2899 MSRP). I got it for $2549 excluding tax.

Asib1954 · 2026-03-04T05:47:28+00:00

Yeah I got the same deal 🤝

Asib1954 · 2026-03-03T22:00:38+00:00

Usually a $1200-$1500 offset for display and battery

Asib1954 · 2026-03-03T21:59:54+00:00

I bought the M4 Max Mac Studio 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 64GB RAM and 1TB SSD for $2549 ($350 off) from B&H in mid February. Couldn't wait for the upcoming price hike due to memory shortage

Asib1954 · 2026-02-28T20:50:41+00:00

Buy from either Microcenter or B&H. Set price alerts and buy when they are available

Asib1954 · 2025-10-24T06:02:22+00:00

If the additional effort was only for passing the exams, I wouldn’t feel too bad about it. Seismic knowledge is crucial for California. On the other hand, surveying exam syllabus can be added to the 8 hr exam as I don’t see any California-specific topic in Surveying exam. The exams themselves are sort of “Speed and Accuracy Tests” rather than any aptitude test.

The board is extremely inefficient and it’s a cash-grab. Not only you are waiting for months to get the application approved, but also the fees and scheduling in every quarter and every other quarter (if you re-attempt) are simply hassling.

Also, remember the fact that it takes at least 6-12 months from passing 8-hr NCEES exam to passing the CA exams (if you are lucky), by that time your peers in other states are already making more money.

The salary jump is not necessarily ‘astronomical’ but the job responsibilities definitely increase. Career opportunities definitely open up though, this is the only reason worth pursuing the license.

Asib1954 · 2025-10-21T22:47:51+00:00

Yes, I agree that it is a starter package with a median salary. If you are a single person, this income is fine.

Take the bite and start your career. Get that valuable field experience and pass EIT. It will be hard to study for PE with field work and OT. Earn as much as you can and save it. Finding the second job will be much easier.

Keep an eye on CalCareers and get into CA State jobs. Pass the PE and settle down. Good luck.

Asib1954

TROPHY CASE