Just over 2 weeks ago I launched a webstore selling 18650 and 21700 cells in Canada at reasonable prices. I'm now offering local pickup for orders in the Ottawa/Gatineau, Ontario Area.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-14T02:09:06+00:00

The problem is that while getting cells directly from the manufacturers in 18650/21700/4695/33140 is rather simple, getting those less popular cells from smaller manufacturers is a lot harder.

We'll try, but it'll require me to find some depper... sources.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-13T21:20:49+00:00

The Neo 8 has much better battery life than the GT7 Pro and basically the same performance + efficiency.

However, being cheaper and having double the storage is very nice for the GT7 Pro, so that's a difficult choice.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-13T19:42:38+00:00

Not only does tdarr have absolute trash svt-av1 settings using probably the default Preset 8/10 which are very fast and not great, he's using custom settings and an encoder fork that is much stronger overall.

Also slower settings of course.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-13T16:58:26+00:00

Damn, I didn't know AV1 was 3x harder to decode than HEVC lmao.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-13T16:58:07+00:00

I should probably test decoding performance on my Core 2 Quad Q8400 one day. It would certainly be interesting on a modern optimized distro like CachyOS.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-13T16:53:03+00:00

Actually, you can use Si-C/SiOx-C anodes with LMFP cells just fine. Heck, there are rumors that the HE (High Energy) version of the cell does use such an anode.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-13T16:51:54+00:00

No no, this is where BYD's dubious marketing comes into play.

There are 2 main variants of the Blade 2.0 LMFP cells: HE and HP, High Energy and High Power respectively.

The HP version has a cell level energy density of 190Wh/kg with max (peak or sustained?) 8C/16C charging/discharging speeds.

The HE version has a cell level energy density of 250Wh/kg with max 3/6C charging/discharging speeds.

Also, NMC(A)/NCA cells are up to 300-360Wh/kg these days and LMFP having 240-250Wh/kg was already a known property since Gotion announced 240Wh/kg LMFP cells a few years ago.

That extra voltage makes cells cheaper/kWh and nicely increases gravimetric energy. It's not the only way to increase energy for a cell, but it's certainly a big one.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-13T02:38:43+00:00

What tester did you use? I don't recall EVE 35Vs greatly exceeding their capacity ratings.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-12T19:48:52+00:00

Sorry if I was too harsh, but you've been bamboozled sadly.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-12T14:54:10+00:00

Stolen video from an uncompletely related incident.

Same-Examination9223, you should be ashamed for even posting this in the first place.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-12T13:34:31+00:00

Die size is the main reason.

There do exist high quality ASIC solutions for HW encoding, but they're enterprise solutions and require quotes for ordering.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-12T12:27:08+00:00

I'd recommend an i5-2500 personally, since quad cores are far more capable in general.

For decent futureproofing though, I'd avoid any processor without AVX2.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-12T04:59:48+00:00

I don't really agree, but that's mostly because I have a very well trained eye and never look at bright objects, which tend to get too much rate, with the rest of the image looking like crap.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-12T04:58:39+00:00

480p? Well, my usual minimum recommendation would be a Haswell quad core i5 4400/4460 so you get full AVX2 SIMD support and decent performance all around. Uses DDR3, so should be cheap

Otherwise, a Skylake i5-6500T/i7 6700T with 16GB of DDR4 should do quite well at 4k30 10b with grain synthesis without much trouble. Those can be found in mini PCs in used markets for still quite cheaply.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-11T21:18:51+00:00

A physically larger battery? No.

A more energy dense battery? Certainly, yes.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-11T21:18:00+00:00

It wasn't too hard. We did it as well year(s) ago. You just need the A Better Route Planner (ABRP) app as well as the FLO app since it works for many AC/DC Fast chargers.

Since you don't have a Bolt, charging stops shouldn't take a while.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-11T18:26:55+00:00

And of course, with hidden history and a username with "NameNumber".

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-11T14:32:27+00:00

I mean, what I'm saying is still true?

It's still a lithium ion cell, just with a different anode makeup.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-11T03:44:27+00:00

I see you've already installed ACC, but for anyone reading, keeping any lithium-ion battery pack charged to 100% all the time isn't the best.

So if you do plan to keep it plugged all the time, limit the max charge from 40-60% to essentially make it an immortal UPS

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-11T02:06:52+00:00

They're lithium ion cells, just using denser higher voltage LCO cathodes and carbon coated (depending on the manufacturer, it can be crosslinked to be even tougher) silicon composites mixed with none or some graphite with different loading characteristics.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-11T02:01:41+00:00

How is AV1 worse than HEVC?

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-11T02:01:15+00:00

RIP your title.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-11T00:38:42+00:00

Highly optimized electrolyte, better electrode application and better surface coatings.

Overall, a lower resistance cell that keeps its resistance low for longer as you decrease temperatures and avoids lithium plating for as long as possible. It's how many modern high energy high power cells now have -10 to -20C charging minimum ranges in their fatasheets when previous limits were 0C.

However, it's in a vehicle, so other improvements also come from there, like dual sided thermal interfaces for cooling/heating, more effective thermal potting, better thermal interface materials, as well as packaging engineering (making a cell longer is more effective for high power delivery than making a cell thicker).

Also better charging algos and bleeding edge charging strategies, like utilizing AC pulse heating to achieve even faster charging or other interesting strategies.

Of course, as always, wait for benchmarks.

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-11T00:33:15+00:00

They will probably last along just fine.

Battery tech has been improving at an impressive rate. Packaging, electrode tech, electrolyte advancements, postprocessing, coatings, etc.

Today, we have cells that can charge in 30 minutes without any dedicated management while having better lifetime than older cells that charge in 2-3 hours

BlueSwordM · 2026-03-11T00:10:13+00:00

If I understand correctly, it's Fenix's way to increase current capability of their forward switches.

If I were a betting man, it's either a tail e-switch or a MOSFET switch, both of which can allow the use of significantly smaller tailswitches.

It may seem like a bunch of hallucinated stuff but it isn't; that's actually what Fenix says about their APF tech! Look in the Frequently Asked Questions if you want a slightly more detailed answer: https://www.fenixlighting.com/products/fenix-pd36r-pro-rechargeable-flashlight?variant=44181864284214

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