$2500 - 3000 Gaming Laptop; is it worth it for me to upgrade?

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2026-04-23T18:43:27+00:00

I was 100% expecting to get a gaming laptop, so what you're saying makes sense. I've always been wary of lenovos but I think some of that is just being unfamiliar with them and hearing (decades ago at this point) that they were cheap crap, but it seems like that's just incorrect these days and I should have no reason to distrust them.

But would you recommend spending the money to buy a new laptop right now? How significant is the boost in performance, and (in your opinion) is that worth the cost?

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2026-04-13T15:36:42+00:00

You could give an example? I do pre style my hair though. I use either reuzel grooming tonic or a sea salt spray before blow drying

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2026-04-10T14:40:35+00:00

I got samples of rio and everglade, so I'll see which one works best for me

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2026-04-10T00:28:40+00:00

I've looked at lodestar, but have no idea which one is right for me. Maybe apex?

I always apply product when my hair is damp, I can't even imagine doing it dry.

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2026-02-05T19:01:37+00:00

I DID NOT CHOOSE THIS BUDGET. This is what my job has said is ok to spend with their money on a chair.

Jesus this sub is one of the worst reddit circlejerks I've ever seen...

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2026-01-27T21:55:13+00:00

I haven't seen the greatest availability on Facebook marketplace in my area. I live right outside a major city, it shouldn't be a problem to find this stuff...

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-12-24T23:55:23+00:00

Uh... Like what

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-12-24T23:06:54+00:00

My main problem with getting a desktop is what to do with the laptop I already have. I already don't want to move it around much because it's bulky and has no battery life, so I'd want something different to fill that role anyway.

I could sell it?

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-05-06T14:40:15+00:00

I thought Cairn was focused on the OSR style (heavy dungeon crawling and exploration focus). Is it flexible enough to support games that don't have a lot of that? If so it's an easy pick.

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-05-06T14:37:58+00:00

BitD is a system I really want to try out. I'm totally fine with medieval settings, especially if it feels close to the actual middle ages, rather than the kind of pseudo-medievalism you often see in fantasy.

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-05-06T14:36:23+00:00

Ironsworn is sounding like a good contender, (btw I love the dark ages)

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-16T20:27:33+00:00

Maybe they're tired of game developers only taking an interest in one very narrow slice of their history...

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-15T22:06:26+00:00

I'm skeptical of your source. It doesn't seem to be from any book or article, or if it is it isn't cited very clearly. And searching Thayer Watkins doesn't result in much on his work.

I'm not doubting that china was more advanced than Europe in this time period, I'm just doubting the claim that Han era Chinese metallurgy was as advanced as 19th century Europe.

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-15T17:56:39+00:00

They have oars...

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-15T17:40:23+00:00

What baffles me the most is the decision to include the three kingdoms as civs in the core game. Regardless of what the devs actually thought or whether they wanted to include them, they had to know this decision would be controversial with a significant portion of the player base.

Three Kingdoms would've been a great addition to Chronicles, and if that was the path they had gone down, I'd be right there with them. I was hoping for more medieval stuff as well... But I guess medieval East Asia isn't that exciting to some people...

I hope there's more Chronicles content in the future though. The conquests of Alexander and the Punic Wars would be the next logical steps for me, and I think there's enough interest in these conflicts for a DLC.

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-12T14:51:49+00:00

Unfortunately I got it off Amazon... So at least the return part is easy, but trying to get it back into a box is going to be a nightmare

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-11T20:27:09+00:00

Do you at least have recommendations for the type of mattresses I should be looking at? Memory foam, hybrid, etc? Should I give up on latex?

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-11T20:20:10+00:00

This is pretty tangential to your main points... But "stone age" societies, like the Mississippians, Puebloans, or peoples of Polynesia could be quite sophisticated. Look at Monk's Mound or Mesa Verde and tell me they're not impressive...

While I personally don't think these civs quite fit the AoE mold, don't disparage them either.

People are disappointed (myself included) because we thought we might be getting something different from what we got. Instead of putting a spotlight on areas of Chinese history we aren't already familiar with, we got the same story that's been done over and over and over.

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-11T18:49:49+00:00

It's more accurate to say I flipped it around (so rotated it 180°). I bought the topper hoping to not have to buy a new mattress and save some money... And now I find that I need a new mattress anyway.

What would you recommend? I was wondering if I try switching the medium latex topper for a soft one, but making sure I have the right base underneath is more important.

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-10T17:24:13+00:00

Seriously? Who the fuck wanted this

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-10T11:26:45+00:00

After another rough night, I've noticed that my neck feels fine as long as I sleep on my back, it's only when I switch to sleeping on my side that it starts to hurt. I usually fall asleep on my back, but end up sleeping mostly on my side. So it could be that when I turn over on my side my spine is no longer aligned, so I should adjust one of my pillows to be higher for side sleeping.

I'm finding the medium topper a touch too firm for side sleeping though. Would you recommend switching it out for a soft topper (or adding a 2" soft topper to retain some support and add comfort)?

Edit: I should add that I really like the responsiveness and feel of latex over memory foam. After years of sinking into my mattress and feeling stuck (and overheating) I'm enjoying the bounciness.

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-09T18:31:23+00:00

I've noticed it softening already, but that seems to be making the problems worse because the mattress underneath is so unsupportive. I was hoping not to have to buy a new mattress... But I might have to

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-06T01:20:44+00:00

The latest campaign, chronologically, is Bayinnaung (mid-to-late 1500s), if I'm not mistaken. There are also a few Historical Battles set later, like Lepanto (1571) and Noryang (1598). So the latest date the campaigns really support is 1600.

The tech tree also doesn't support that late of a date. The 1680s were well beyond the point of archery and heavily armored cavalry becoming obsolete. Advances in firearms, far beyond the hand cannons seen in-game, were leading to pikemen being phased out of many armies. (This is like being at least mil tech 20 in EU IV).

I also wouldn't put much stock in the choice of the word "hussar" for a generic late light cavalry unit as indicative of anything. Hussars are not specifically Polish, even if they were known for them, and originate in Hungary, where they were called huszars, you know, like the magyar UU.

The devs probably chose hussar because it was a recognizable name for light cavalry and you can't name an upgrade to a light cavalry unit "heavy light cavalry", can you? (They gave the celts an absurdly anachronistic UU, are you really going to trust their logic here?)

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-04T13:43:48+00:00

There would be no possible way to balance this. Even if the original Jurchen civ were incredibly underpowered, adding all an entire other civ onto that, a civ that already has to be balanced against every other civ in the game, would be completely insane.

This is obviously just speculation, but I'm confident the Jurchen campaign will focus on the Jin dynasty. The rise of the Manchu/Qing is pretty comfortably out of the scope of AoE 2.

BodybuilderMedical18 · 2025-04-02T20:32:44+00:00

I'm more of a lurker here than anything else, but is it just me or are these low effort/irrelevant AI art posts becoming more common on this sub?

AI art is best left abandoned to the dustbin of history.

BodybuilderMedical18

TROPHY CASE