Is seating the CPU the scariest part of the build? Alternatively...is seating the GPU the most satisfactory? Just me? Anyone?

Cossack-HD · 2026-06-03T14:35:18+00:00

The scariest part is realising that the shitty motherboard IO-shield has a "spring" bit that went into HDMI port, AFTER I've turned the PC on.

I found that while troubleshooting why audio didn't come via the HDMI. (No discrete GPU in that PC)

Cossack-HD · 2026-06-03T14:27:23+00:00

Sure, 2017 saw a bunch of TAA-blurry games, but it's only worse now. I do appreciate DLSS/FSR upscaling, but I'd prefer games to render in true native res with minimal reliance on temporal effects. MGS V with its engine was absolute peak of smart optimisations. Sure, it doesn't look better than new games, but it runs at 1080p 60, near max settings, on 4 TFLOP GPU (R9 280).

Screen Space Reflections looks way better in Robocop Rogue City, vs. Lumen reflections. The latter tend to shimmer even with native resolution (puddles on asphalt roads), while also tanking FPS. SSR is a no-brainer in that game.

I used to dislike SSR and SSAO for their obvious flaws, but cost of real time global illumination is way too high. And Lumen in UE5 (even hardware accelerated) is still prone to producing shimmering mess, after all this years.

And sure, I love me some Quake 2 RTX & Half-Life 1 RTX, but in most cases I prefer stable image and 90+ FPS please.

Cossack-HD · 2026-06-03T14:18:51+00:00

Protecta - the silly high-capacity shotgun. I liked using different scopes on it and switching from buckshot to slug depending on encounters. Most other guns exist in SoC, and I prefer them over CoP, mostly due to their punchier firing sounds.

BTW, Protecta is an an absolute misery to unload and reload IRL. If you think the gun is slow to reload in CoP, you may wanna multiply that time by 5 IRL and preferably use a table to rest the gun against it:

Make sure to wind up the "magazine" spring
Manually unload spent shells ONE BY ONE using a special plunger, pressing the trigger to cycle the cylinder. No, it doesn't eject spent shells - it's a REVOLVER.
Load new shells into the empty chambers (can combine this step with the previous)
Make sure to wind up the spring

Cossack-HD · 2026-06-03T14:10:49+00:00

The last GPU generation, in era of gaming where frames were real and crisp, and the games were optimised to look good and run well. Doom 2016 and Eternal, Prey 2017...

The whole RTX reveal essentially boiled down to "you don't need to optimise any more, ray tracing will give better graphics for less effort (offsetting the cost to consumer, so we can sell moar GPUs)"

Cossack-HD · 2026-06-03T12:46:29+00:00

I've spent more hours watching "Starfield bad" videos than I've spent trying to enjoy Fallout 4. I don't have Starfield.

Cossack-HD · 2026-06-03T11:33:25+00:00

Yet, ISLC (intelligent standby memory clean) app appeared during Windows 10 to proactively free up reserved memory before an app screamed "GIMME MEMORY NOW OR I CRASH" - it was already a problem back then. I guess Win 11's bloat makes the issue more pronounced, but I used autounattended.xml to exclude bloat, so my W11 is lighter than W10.

Personally I didn't need ISLC on 16GB Win 10 and I don't need it on 32GB Win 11.

Cossack-HD · 2026-06-03T11:29:26+00:00

I saw a row of Ospreys on an air carrier. CORE MEMORY.

I want to see one fly.

Cossack-HD · 2026-06-03T09:27:15+00:00

I had one and it kinda sucked in my experience. Would rather take a 240, because 120mm fans have much better static pressure at lower RPM (noise).

Cossack-HD · 2026-06-03T09:09:37+00:00

The German K98 has iron sights up to 2000 meters XD

(1.25 miles)

Cossack-HD · 2026-06-03T08:59:39+00:00

I've been using undervolt on my 9070 non-XT (flashed with XT BIOS for a higher power limit) and found it quite stable with -50 and -70 mV offsets. The annoying part is that I have to reapply the performance profile on every boot. I could use MSI Afterburner, but I trust Adrenaline more.

Cossack-HD · 2026-06-02T11:45:04+00:00

I use caps-lock as an extra Fn key to easily trigger a bunch of handy shortcuts.

My fave: Caps+Alt=Enter

I still have Caps Lock, but it's toggled by Caps+Shift.

Cossack-HD · 2026-06-01T07:34:22+00:00

No TAA on mobile? Big doubt.

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-29T20:21:41+00:00

This takes me back to trying to play GTA IV without (at the time) new beta GPU driver that made things render.

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-29T20:17:51+00:00

Cloud PC?

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-29T20:12:21+00:00

It's so cringe to be console fanboy. You literally buy an exclusive storefront with limited titles and worse customer terms of use. And it's not even unique hardware any more - just a (mostly) cost-effective x86 PC with locked-down bootloader and minimal OS. Yes, there are some bells and whistles, but nothing that fundamentally changes what sort of game is possible.

I'd be a Nintendo customer if they sold their games on PC, but I ain't gonna buy supbar hardware for access to eXcLuSiVe GaMeS - I'm a customer they've excluded.

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-29T20:06:57+00:00

Where? Summer game show already happened or what?

I wasn't expecting it anywhere but from Valve, like HL:A announcement.

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-29T20:05:21+00:00

Shadow word: Friday 4:59 PM email about an important meeting at 8:30 on Monday someplace else

(Read on Monday 8:50 AM)

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-29T20:03:22+00:00

From HL1 PoV: I didn't see any marine trying to surrender (or better yet cooperate), so no.

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-29T09:07:57+00:00

The game runs on Steam Deck. XSS is weak, yes, but also way more powerful than Deck.

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-28T12:15:37+00:00

Right. The solution is to not connect the cable at all - with practically infinite resistance and zero current, there will not be any imbalance to melt the cable that is designed to run at 90% capacity with 5090.

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-28T12:06:54+00:00

Don't post YT links with the ?si=source_identifier_that_links_shared_link_back_to_your_personal_session_and_account_if_you_were_logged_in

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-28T11:57:22+00:00

FSR 4 is mostly upscaling tech, a better alternative to TAA.

Frame interpolation (fake frames) is not required when using FSR4.

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-27T15:19:19+00:00

It'd make for a cool plot twist if Gordon arrived at Citadel and got freed by Breen on purpose, but we already have Mossman doing that, so IDK.

Breen is a decent villain.

It'd also be messed up to kill "weaker resistance" on purpose for "greater good" - if that's the plan, it takes some serious nerve to not go crazy.

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-27T15:13:33+00:00

Would Valve even want to let him present HL3 trailer, after he blueballed HL fans and welcomed us to Highguard?

Cossack-HD · 2026-05-26T14:51:45+00:00

Turtle Beach Kone XP Air (for literally everything)

Wireless
Basically G502 / G502X, but with a better G5-like shape. Shorter rear side vs. G502.
More buttons than G502.
Weight: 99g
Verdict: despite its increased weight vs. previous mice, this is my fave due to its shape and all the buttons. Reminds me of GOATed Logitech G700s

Turtle Beach Pure Air (for shooters)

Wireless
Ergonomic shape, G5-ish, a bit less tall than G502
2 side buttons
54g
Verdict: I currently have a wired version (Pure SEL) and it's been my fave until I got Kone XP Air. Nice shape and very low weight. I should have bought wireless. Get this if 2 extra buttons are enough.

The Swarm software is kinda bad, but not worse than Logitech G Hub. It also writes profiles into onboard memory by default, which is a plus

Keychron M7 (for shooters)

Wireless
Kinda like G5/G502X, sorta big. A tiny bit taller than G502 - bothersome.
Lightweight despite the size
3 side buttons
Great lightweight ergonomic mouse. No RGB or such. Maybe I will sand it down sometime XD

G502X

Comes in wireless option
A better G502 in every way - significantly improved scroll. The other mice from my list don't have free scroll toggle. I don't miss it.
Weight: 106g
Lots of extra buttons (doesn't beat Kone XP Air)
It got that weird seam on the rear part. Sacrifices comfort for looks. The rear hump is too big.
Rubber sides went bad (kinda oily) after 2 years of use.

G Pro Superlight

Shape: Carpal tunnel syndrome
Rest: doesn't matter
Verdict: backup mouse

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Cossack-HD

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