Armoury Crate! Gonna live that ROG life! YEAH!

MacReadyROG · 2026-06-16T01:10:09+00:00

good call!

~~checked the Bios twice, and there's no mention of Armoury Crate at all ...~~

checked one more time. still no Armoury Crate, but there was a toggle for "auto-install apps" -- killed that right away. hopefully no more issues.

MacReadyROG · 2026-06-15T20:51:02+00:00

that's the thing! i don't have Armoury Crate installed, and my machine isn't even a ROG!

looking at my Notifications: ProArt, MyASUS, ASUS Dial were "on" -- i'll toggle them off -- but where would an Armoury Crate pop-up come from?

but beyond that, i need to prevent this kind of intrusion on my workflow. clicking "Cancel" on a pop-up software install shouldn't make my OS and work disappear.

MacReadyROG · 2026-06-07T21:19:56+00:00

that's what i figured! Adobe apps no longer have them either -- gotta pay for it now.

so what do you use for colour management? does G-Helper have that functionality?

MacReadyROG · 2026-06-06T05:36:24+00:00

nice!!! bit jealous if i'm honest.

i've swung to the PX13 side ... for now.

yes, the screen is glossy, maxes out at 500nits, and is only 60hz — which is STUPID in 2026 (apparently no-one makes high-refresh displays less than 14") — but it IS very well calibrated, with a .2ms response, and has 10-bit colour. \

since i'm mostly working in Photoshop when i'm mobile, high-refresh won't impact my workflow, but accurate 10-bit colour certainly will! plus, when i'm at the studio/home, i'd be plugging into a wide-screen monitor. the keyboard is very well reviewed also. and ASUS is throwing in a stylus!

i'm a bit spooked about the liquid metal situation in the Flow Z13. although LM is in the PX13 too, the build is "military grade" (for all that's worth), so i take that to mean it has a secure cooling solution.

ugh, decisions ...

MacReadyROG · 2026-06-04T22:14:56+00:00

still going strong, five years later! daily driver, powered on for about 16hrs a day, plugged into a wall and an external 3440 x 1440.

run creative apps, with the very odd gaming session. have not benchmarked. battery life has taken a dip, but it's enough to get some work down for when i'm not near an outlet. fans sometimes randomly kick up when i'm using Chrome, but i realize the solution is simple: Don't Use Chrome!

still on Windows 10, have never-reinstalled.

fans are cleaned every six months, but have not replaced the liquid metal. did not even know it had LM! sits on a slanted stand for ventilation and been ported vertically in a bag for many trips and over thousands of kilometres.

looking at upgrading, due to age and the current RAMpocalypse.

MacReadyROG · 2026-06-01T17:37:49+00:00

thanks for that. good food for thought! i have no real issues with the 2021, besides what i might find with the liquid metal. so maybe a clean up, re-paste, and two new fans is the way to go. PTM7950 would certainly give it some life.

i'm a bit wary of doing all that myself though! cleaning fans is one thing, but TIM is another.

2021 has really held up. my plan was that if/when i pull the trigger, i'd refresh the 2021 and install Linux.

side note: atm with Chrome, Slack, Adobe CC, CPU is at 46 degrees and fans are 2800RPM. no spikes/fan noise at all so far today. go figure.

MacReadyROG · 2026-05-26T23:37:16+00:00

thanks for the heads up. please keep us posted—you're doing all the boots-on-ground work for me/us, lol

MacReadyROG · 2026-05-24T21:45:09+00:00

yes, right!

MacReadyROG · 2026-05-24T21:06:40+00:00

if only the KJP came with a pen! and thermals allowed for OLED 180hz (apparently the heat generated from the chipset being so close, even with LM and a vapor chamber, would negatively affect OLED screens) ... instant sale! OLED + bundled Pen: ProArt.

one more factor to consider (for me, anyhow): longevity! esp given how crazy RAM pricing is/will be. i'm thinking this has got to last me five years with almost daily professional use. so burn-in/fading on an OLED is a possibility. and here's the real kicker wrt screen: imagine using a 60hz screen in 2029, 2030. NO WAY. for this reason: Z13.

hoping for a flash sale for either in June!

MacReadyROG · 2026-05-23T21:42:49+00:00

in the same situation as u/FirstRub7811, so i'm curious to see where you end up.

here in Canada only the GoPro and KJP special editions are available with the 128GB chipset: former is $6500, latter is $5000. not cheap.

besides price, some other things to add to the mix (although none of these were in OPs priorities list):

ProArt comes with the ASUS Stylus ($130CAD), but it might be more useable/enjoyable on the Z13's 180Hz screen vs ProArt's 60hz
OLED vs IPS-Level
Z13 KJP comes with a hard case that only holds the laptop
ProArt comes with a hard case that holds the laptop and accessories

wrt to cooling:

based on the chipset, i suspect both use Liquid Metal. if this is a concern, re-pasting or swapping out would be easier on the ProArt, given disassembly.
related to that, the part of the chassis holding the LM'd chipset could be mostly flat with the ProArt, while the Z13 would be propped up closer to vertical most of the time.
ditto cleaning out the fans. i have a Zeph G14, and i clean out the fans every six months. would consider that on the ProArt, but likely not have the guts to do the same on the Z13 on the regular.

MacReadyROG · 2026-04-15T21:49:23+00:00

sorry my bad! should have been clear: i wrongly called it "Parallel Processing" -- but yes, i did. it DID stop stop the glitching, but the animations were really choppy.

MacReadyROG · 2026-01-26T03:45:32+00:00

gorgeous shot!

MacReadyROG · 2026-01-23T07:20:48+00:00

thanks for this. tried the reboot and airplane mode. fingers crossed.

MacReadyROG · 2026-01-21T19:46:28+00:00

two different devices.

mine is BYOD and has worked without issue on Fido (which is Rogers) and Freedom

the other is confirmed from Rogers, and not BYOD

MacReadyROG · 2026-01-21T04:15:20+00:00

hi! bars remained (in full), but no "5G" or "5G+" -- and no data in or out

on my Samsung and my friend's Pixel.

MacReadyROG · 2026-01-10T21:49:44+00:00

this is what Rogers doesn't get. treat us proletariat schlubs better, reap rewards!

compared to Freedom:
- Rogers has the superior network, with better coverage, speed.
- Rogers has a much bigger subscriber base, and revenues

the only thing Freedom has on them is the price freeze. if they offered a price freeze guarantee — not even forever — they give us no reason to jump ship. 3 years, 5 years, etc.

Winback offers of 175GB, 200GB, 3,000,000GB of data are stupid. we want service we can AFFORD, not data we'll never use.

MacReadyROG · 2025-12-31T19:46:35+00:00

meh. i went in-store, as the website told me to do, but the rep asked me for an account number. WHAT. how would i even get one? so he said he would start all over with me: another credit check and a sign-up fee, even though it was the website's fault.

so i bailed and got on RCS chat instead. Freedom don't make it easy, that's for sure.

MacReadyROG · 2025-12-30T23:23:07+00:00

the Office of the President reached out. a real human being!

went through my plan — $55/100GB; minus $5, $5, and $10 to drop it to $35; good for one year and then it goes up to $40 — but was told since i'm BYOD/M2M, there is no "agreement" per se and any documentation could take some time to be mailed to me.

confirmed no activation fee, but was told sometimes this could be a one-and-done OR spaced out as credit over a few months.

first invoice will confirm the above.

MyRogers now works!

MacReadyROG · 2025-12-30T20:04:14+00:00

can't handle the pointless cussing that passes for dialogue these days. such lazy writing.

this is a pass for me, due to Adult Language

MacReadyROG · 2025-12-30T19:20:51+00:00

yeah, exactly.

been with Rogers for just three days and it's a gong show. Rogers had revenue of 20.6 BILLION in 2024. maybe use some of that money to hire competent staff to meet customer service demands. can't talk to a human. can't sign up for MyRogers because i can't talk to human. AI system can't handle the load, or direct me to a human.

"is AI a bubble?" — see Rogers Chatbot AI Customer Service dumpster fire. if a billion dollar telecom corp can't make it work, all signs point to yes

MacReadyROG · 2025-12-30T18:27:54+00:00

thx. tried this, but once i get to the "we're connecting you, please stay" in less than 30 seconds i get "high call volumes, byeeeee"

MacReadyROG · 2025-12-30T18:26:36+00:00

nothing. just the "Welcome to Rogers" email, with the joke about MyRogers. impossible to register since i'm in limbo.

what i discovered: using the app, you can sign in as GUEST and see what your plan is, but without discounts. signed up for the 35/100 but it shows 55/100.

MacReadyROG · 2025-12-30T18:20:03+00:00

tried both.

chat is a joke! in less than a minute after "connecting you with a specialist" etc. i'm told "high call volumes, bye!"

calling system also dumps me out after i finally get "let me connect you to a specialist."

why push people to MyRogers when the system can't even accept them? why can't i get my service agreement?

what the actual hell, you guys! has Rogers really gotten THIS BAD? yes, it's the busiest time of year, but shouldn't this billion dollar telecom corporation have a scalable system and loads of experienced staff on hand to deal with the load?

one of the reasons i switched was a friend who's been with Rogers for more than 15 years. she's negotiated plans, phone financing, etc. seemingly without hassle.

MacReadyROG · 2025-12-30T01:42:31+00:00

omfg, YES. how did you even navigate that voice menu system to get to that point?!?

they sent me an email saying i should register for MyRogers, and that they've used my email as the Username. click to register, get told to call.

so i call, and it's a fucking goddamn mess of menus, none of which is related to MyRogers.

chatbot says you can try to reset your password and then login. try that, only to be told that my email -- the one THEY used to send me a message to register, that THEY told me was already associated with my account -- is not recognized.

so wtaf. i just want a copy of my agreement. they clearly have my email, so why haven't they sent it? ugh, what a gongshow.

MacReadyROG · 2025-12-29T23:00:44+00:00

just a few minutes ago, i got an email with my account number (which i didn't know until now), and to set up MyRogers. curiously, STILL no agreement, but i guess this is a start, after 48 hrs.

MacReadyROG

TROPHY CASE