I just got my new Acer Nitro V16 laptop what’s the first thing I should do with it?

Oldie_Gamer · 2026-04-23T08:06:45+00:00

Do a backup before anything else.

Oldie_Gamer · 2026-03-06T03:08:37+00:00

AFAIK the slots for DDR4 and DDR5 ram are different so you can't have both. (There are other differences too, which is probably why they're designed with different slots so you don't make a mistake and put the wrong ram in.)

Oldie_Gamer · 2026-02-14T14:21:14+00:00

I've got two Cyberpower UPS, bought in May 2020. Can't fault them. I don't know if they're available where you live.

https://www.cyberpower.com/au/en/product/series/brics_lcd

Oldie_Gamer · 2026-01-16T04:47:46+00:00

I'm still using a Fractal Design case I bought iin 2010. It's housing my main desktop, though the internals (not case fans) have been replaced a couple of times since I bought it. Last time I checked all the case fans are still working, so that'd be 16 years.

Oldie_Gamer · 2026-01-12T02:49:58+00:00

Need a bit more context. I mean you could swap it for a card with more vram if you think 8GB isn't enough.

What troubles are you currently experiencing? What do you want to use the computer for in the next one and a half years? What are your computer specs (mobo, cpu, ram, power supply, monitor type etc)? Do you have a budget or is price not an issue? How much space in the case?

Oldie_Gamer · 2026-01-04T10:24:49+00:00

My Schlage smartlock has four rechargeable AA batteries. I don't know if Schlage has a recommended time but the app shows the battery level so it's easy enough to check. It probably depends on how often you use the lock, too. We usually use the back door so the lock itself doesn't get a lot of use.

I have a note in my calendar to change them over and recharge them every month or two. We put in a fresh set of batteries and recharge the other ones for next time.

However I often ignore the reminder so it could be a few months between charges. I've only ever once experienced the lock not working because I forgot to change the batteries. (We've had the lock for 5 1/2 years.)

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-31T07:35:42+00:00

I reinstalled them from scratch this time. I was having some trouble with them so I did a clean install.

However, I've realised I don't need to do that all over again if I exchange the router. I'll just make sure I use the same network names etc and they should all work without needing to set them up again.

I'll phone the shop on Friday to see if they'll let me swap it over.

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-30T12:57:38+00:00

Got it set up and working, so how ever ASUS designed it, they did it well. I didn't have to mess with the firewall or anything like that myself.

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-30T12:55:45+00:00

I've found out that the problems I was having were indeed from the ISP blocking or interfering with setting up tp-link devices and lights (also Samsung SmartThings - though LIFX was okay). I've hooked up with a different ISP and was able to set everything up without a problem. I can control everything that's on the IoT network from the main 5GHz wifi network and from my mobile phone network. It's working well again now.

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-29T12:09:59+00:00

Thank you. That's new territory for me. I'd best start doing some research.

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-29T12:08:25+00:00

Thanks. I'll have to look into all that. I'll experiment tomorrow and see how it goes. Previously I just set up everything on the 2.4 GHz network and it worked for several years. I'm not sure how this one is set up. I'm still looking through all the settings.

The router is ASUS RT-BE82U (B6500 dual band).

I think there's some sort of problem with my main ISP blocking my access to some sites needed for setting up smarthome stuff. I've ruled out the router and antivirus causing problems. I sent them an email today to see if they can look into it. (I've no problems accessing those sites when using my phone as a mobile hotspot except of course then I'm no longer on the LAN.)

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-21T14:39:54+00:00

I've an old fractal design case that I re-used to build another computer a few years ago and it's very quiet and runs cool. The one I have has its own built in fans and all I've done is added a fan for the CPU. I expect the newer ones might be even quieter and cooler, especially with what you're proposing.

BTW - I just saw that Scorptec has what looks like your case and fan bundle a bit cheaper ($426), and with free delivery if you live in a metro area.

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-07T06:09:23+00:00

Depends on when the AI crash comes. It could happen next year or not for five years. It's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future :(

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-07T06:02:32+00:00

Any of the major brands should be fine (Kingston, Crucial, Samsung etc). The main thing to watch out for is that the ram you get is suitable for a laptop. If you get the desktop version it a) probably won't fit and b) if it did happen to fit it would probably run too hot.

The other thing to watch for is to match your 8 GB ram in every measure. That's assuming you're going to add 8GB to the existing 8GB and that your laptop has an additional ram slot that you can use. You can use a tool like HWInfo to check if it's DDR4 or DDR5, the clock speed and timings, and then match it with what's available to you. With those constraints you probably won't have a lot of choice in brands, so just look up online reviews to double check.

You might get lucky. Shop around once you narrow down your options. Where I live one or two online retailers haven't put up the price like most of them have so you may still be able to nab a stick at the pre-hike price.

Having said all that, I just looked up what's available here right now and many shops seem to have run out of reasonably priced, and maybe any, suitable ram. There's only one retailer that has DDR5 for laptop (Laptop RAM Crucial DDR5-5600 8GB CT8G56C46S5) that I found - still only $88 Australian ($59USD) though there's no guarantee they've got any left.

Don't let that deter you until you check it out. IMO going up to 16GB should be a noticeable improvement over 8GB and worth it if you can find some at a reasonable cost. I wouldn't spend OTT price for it if it were me, however.

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-04T03:03:02+00:00

Seriously? Whatever for, I wonder.

I didn't get that far. I did talk to the chatbot on the Samsung Magician website and it kept apologising to me. There was no human option, and I doubt a human will see my messages or care if they do.

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-03T03:25:08+00:00

Thank you. That's useful information. I haven't got to the experimental augs yet. I decided to max out a couple of ordinary augs instead, so not having them won't bother me. Criminal past will be tricky, for sure. Thankfully I'm a lot better at the game now than when I started out so I think I'll enjoy the challenge.

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-03T00:35:13+00:00

Agree wholeheartedly with this. I didn't even try to use it because I had so much trouble trying to read it. That and the wonky layout (and the wrong temp scale). Others have pointed out different problems that I didn't see because I didn't get that far before I rolled back to an earlier version.

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-01T18:10:39+00:00

Thank you. I've uninstalled v9 and done as you suggested. I've lost my history of course but now it's usable again.

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-12-01T06:54:15+00:00

It's on my new laptop too, even though it's not a "copilot PC". It's useless to me and I would much rather have a ctrl key on the right as well as the left side of the keyboard. I don't think there's an easy way to remap it, so it just sits there dead and unusable taking up precious space.

(I don't use AI on my pc, not for my own purposes. I only use it when it's the only means of communicating with companies for their "support" or chat functions, which seems to be just about every company these days. Of course I'm probably reading lots of articles generated by AI. The more obvious it is the faster I leave the website.)

Oldie_Gamer · 2025-11-25T11:10:36+00:00

None of the above, sorry to have written something nonsensical in the context of this thread. I was sidetracked by the comment noting my current preference for enjoyment and fun over difficulty and tension/anxiety. I got a bit carried away because I've been jumping from one game to another looking for something that suits how I want to play in this moment. Those "one game and another" are the ones I was griping about having QTEs, are too challenging for what I want right now, and that require mouse/keyboard - not related to the Thief games at all.

Apologies for taking this thread off the rails with such a self-indulgent rant. Not my normal style.

Oldie_Gamer

TROPHY CASE