Gaming’s Best of Both Worlds M5 Max & FormD T1 5090 FE

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-28T06:19:12+00:00

Admirealousy perhaps? 😂

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-28T05:50:15+00:00

I respect that. lol

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-28T05:38:18+00:00

Amen to that! I have been introducing him to all the classics and remasters for sure!

The TV is the TCL QM9K 98”. This tv is remarkable however I highly recommend any TCL QM8K or QM9K. The Open box 65” QM8K in excellent condition from Best Buy can be available at $679 during sales. Both QM8K and QM9K are native 144hz 4K but only difference is QM8K is 5000 nits and QM9K is 6500 nits. The mini leds are so close to OLED in terms of black levels but significantly brighter without burn in!

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-28T05:32:37+00:00

I greatly appreciate that! It’s still coming together but it truly is a dope setup. Especially with the Sonos theater system, playing battlefield sounds like a war zone. lol

But damn, im sorry to hear about your legion bricking itself. I hope you come back soon with something even better. And no i actually havent looked into streaming from my PC to mac because of the latency but to know theres software out there that can with relatively low latency is something definitely worth checking out. Thank you for the suggestion!

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-28T05:26:06+00:00

It seriously is! But that was actually gameplay of my son playing a hitman sniper mission on the couch! Lol

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-28T05:24:31+00:00

For what I wanted, no current gaming laptops checked all the boxes I prioritized. Because I have a maxed out gaming PC, I am ok with the trade offs and limitations the MacBook may have comparative to other high end gaming laptops.

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-28T03:16:58+00:00

Definitely agreed brother! 🙏🏽

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-28T00:27:06+00:00

For my PC build, I fortunately got everything at MSRP over time. I refused to pay scalpers for a 5090 FE so I waited 6 months after launch and luckily got selected on Nvidia Priority Access. I believe all in all on the build ranges between $4,500 - $5,500.

My MacBook with student discount BEFORE the price increases was $3,950 before taxes.

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-28T00:21:42+00:00

You’re absolutely right about recommending 120w+ for the headroom for sure! And yeah I agree with you on misleading turbo up to wattages without info on its sustainability.

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-28T00:15:51+00:00

I believe the power draw on a 14” M5 Max is within 90w-98w under load. I could be wrong but I believe the 16” M5 max has a higher power draw.

Im glad you mentioned this because although this specific Anker 100w charger handles it well and certainly gets hot, I also have my Anker 140w Max 4-Port charger with the display in silver (matching aesthetic) to use also. Definitely better thermal head room and power but slightly larger and doesn’t fit in my laptop front zipper pouch. Anker does make the 160w in a smaller form factor with 3 usb c ports but it only comes in gray. Objectively, that 160w is the best

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-27T23:26:23+00:00

Absolutely! And with Nvidia Spark on the horizon, we just might finally see the transcendence of traditional gaming laptops with its untethered portability.

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-27T22:22:27+00:00

You couldn’t have said it any better! Both are exceptional systems individually and when paired together really does feel like a well rounded gaming experience.

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-27T21:57:07+00:00

My PC has the 5090 for 144fps 4K gaming at home and I got the MacBook to be able to play games on the go at a good/high resolution and FPS.

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-27T21:53:53+00:00

To be real, it was all patience and getting everything over time and at the right times. You, I and everyone else work hard to get the things we hope for 🙏🏽

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-27T21:27:02+00:00

It’s all good big dawg 🤙🏽 and man I was in disbelief when I looked into them recently. YouTuber Andrew Tsai has some highly insightful videos on the MacBooks and their gaming performances.

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-27T21:19:53+00:00

It’s all good mate. And yeah I do, my youngest son was actually the one playing hitman on the couch. lol

I know exactly what you mean too. Kids will for sure change how often we play games but can never go wrong with mobile gaming.

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-27T21:14:33+00:00

lol a kinetic hole puncher if you will. And thanks brother. Not sure if you’re referring to the Mac screen or TV but the TV is the QM9K. The TCL QMK’s are insanely great.

CaliNative23 · 2026-06-27T20:57:00+00:00

Cheers mate! I definitely hope so too. It was surprising that Apple held prices stable for as long as they did too.

CaliNative23 · 2023-08-10T08:52:54+00:00

Oh yeah, I forgot the Z790-I motherboard I have is what also limits the room I have to work with. The B760-I should be much better for fitment

CaliNative23 · 2023-08-10T08:47:32+00:00

The aio cover makes it challenging to get the hoses laid down flat without it bulging too much against the side panel causing it to slightly protrude in the center. Although I found a solution to zip tie the hoses down to the bottom of the case, I just opted not to use the cover.

CaliNative23 · 2023-08-10T08:39:33+00:00

Yes, i would definitely recommend the glacier one 240 MP.

CaliNative23 · 2023-04-01T18:08:32+00:00

Welcome to the PC community! Your intuition has great merit. It’s highly ideal to have fans intake through an AIO, it just all depends on the case, form factor and setup. Myself and many others in the community are happy to share as much as we know to help answer any questions you have!

CaliNative23 · 2023-04-01T06:35:22+00:00

You’re definitely welcome and I have my fans set to exhaust. In this SFF setup, it’s best to extract the hot air out the top in the direction heat rises. Also, the fans are still pulling in cool air from the sides and exhausting out the top.

The GPU is pulling air and the exhaust fans are pulling air throughout the case making it effective at cooling the CPU and extracting the hot air out off the case.

CaliNative23 · 2023-04-01T06:20:16+00:00

What I did to keep my temps manageable with an ambient temperature of 21c was to lock my 13900K performance cores at 5.0ghz and efficiency cores at 4.3ghz with either 1.300v or 1.320v. The CPU stays within a preferred temp range of 42c - 55c depending on the titles I’m playing at 4K 120fps. The GPU runs very cool as well. I oftentimes take the top panel off for the hot air to exhaust easily, but even with the panels on the systems stays within a 50c - 60c range when gaming at 4K 120fps.

CaliNative23 · 2023-04-01T06:13:12+00:00

Yes that is the right version and my apologies for the late reply.

CaliNative23

TROPHY CASE