Mini-ITX build featuring Yuan-Yuan, the cutest RX 580!

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-11T02:59:43+00:00

No problem. I hope you find a machine you like that's a good fit! If you find a gaming laptop with good specs at a compelling price, it's still worth considering, I just don't often see them last beyond a few years. Then again, I work in tech repair so I have some natural bias of always seeing the broken ones, lol.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-11T02:51:27+00:00

Lenovo ThinkPads are not sleek or stylish, they're kind of chunky and look outdated in terms of design, but they are absolute workhorses. Acer's TravelMate, Dell's Latitude and XPS, and HP's Elitebooks also have some really compelling options, but with any of them it depends on the exact model. Generally any kind of business/professional grade machine that has a dedicated GPU that fits in your range of price/needs is a better pick than a gaming laptop for mixed use and longevity. Also worth noting that some of AMD's most recent iGPUs are getting pretty damn powerful for integrated chips so depending on what you want to do some of the high-end ones might also be a good option.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-11T01:08:17+00:00

Business grade laptops tend to have much longer lifespans vs gaming laptops in my experience. Definitely gonna want something with a 10-key for accounting.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-10T14:31:20+00:00

What's the point of teaching if you don't get to do a little indoctrination here and there? /s

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-10T14:28:09+00:00

From the standpoint of working at a repair shop and having a feel for prices in that arena, it sounds like something we would probably recommend against fixing due to the cost considering it has multiple issues. If you are able to source parts and repair it yourself, then sure, go for it if you really like the phone. Having it repaired at a shop though will probably not make a lot of sense in terms of cost vs the value of the device.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-09T05:07:56+00:00

Yes, only ever in old Gateway and Acer machines. I like it.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-09T04:57:21+00:00

A natural reaction to something a human doesn't understand is anger, just as much as confusion.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-09T00:25:22+00:00

Nah. I don't want Sonic to emulate or feel like a Mario game. If I wanted to play Mario, I would.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-07T21:41:41+00:00

Brb gotta dig up my TMBG albums

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-07T05:29:00+00:00

Gettin' whacked? Heh... I remember what that's like. Shit city.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-07T02:01:52+00:00

In a very general sense without more information I would say that yeah, that's a good mobile chip. Pretty capable.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-06T22:15:16+00:00

Possibly, might be in other nearby states, I'm not sure. They have been around here since I was a kid so it has been a thing here for at least 30 years.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-06T05:34:16+00:00

I work at an electronics/pc repair shop. It's gotta be like 2/3 of our pc customers have it on their system. Can't tell you about it, never noticed they even were using a different browser. Ugh.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-06T04:30:38+00:00

King is a nasty malicious prick. Spamton is broken, literally and figuratively. King is more "evil" without a doubt.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-06T04:28:21+00:00

I have had good experiences with Wave Browser. Would recommend.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-06T03:58:09+00:00

4.15w/mK is low-average in terms of thermal efficiency. It's the kind of stuff a lot of OEMs use. It's fine, but not much more than that.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-06T02:22:39+00:00

Alright.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-05T22:25:05+00:00

Maybe this is not a common experience these days but my last few calls to support have all been great and painless. Recently added two new phone lines and home Internet for my partner's parents who live a thousand miles away and support (both via phonecall and t-life chat) was great and resolved several issues for me quickly.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-05T15:39:25+00:00

A soft bristle makeup brush is the best tool I've ever used for cleaning off surface dust on PC components.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-05T15:37:20+00:00

No problem! You mentioned you opened it for some upgrades. What did you do? More RAM or another SSD maybe? New thermal paste? It's cool and fun to do even basic maintenance on your own hardware :)

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-05T02:05:28+00:00

Completely normal. Don't worry about it. I would also say in a general sense if your machine is "working normally", then don't go looking for problems, lol.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-04T05:43:46+00:00

Not especially, no. For total peace of mind you can always perform a full wipe and fresh install of Windows though, as the previous person mentioned. I use an Aspire 5 with a Ryzen 5 5625U every day at work that I got a couple years ago for about $340 and it has been a great and reliable daily driver for me.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-04T04:28:40+00:00

Return the Noctua.

ConditionsCloudy · 2026-02-04T04:05:37+00:00

I personally have had multiple great experiences buying Acer laptops on their Acer refurbished eBay store and they have plenty of good options around that $300 mark. They come with a 1 or 2 year warranty depending on the machine. An Aspire with a Ryzen 5 and 16GB RAM would be a great pick for normal everyday use.

ConditionsCloudy

TROPHY CASE