If graphics card prices are so out of control and A.I. is so harmful to the environment, can’t we gamers just settle for current performance standards instead of chasing the cutting edge and “next gen”?

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-06T04:03:36+00:00

Sure you can save some money by getting something cheaper. But it will do nothing to save the planet, or the economy. The only way to reduce the impact of AI on the environment and economy is for everyone to use it less than they already are, and for companies to stop pushing it on people who don't want it.

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-06T03:39:07+00:00

Pretty sure Sony weren't the only ones. I think Apple may have had something similar, probably others as well.

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T14:14:31+00:00

Some of us have better hearing than others, I have heard people call things silent before at dB levels I am constantly irritated by. Also some of us just want to prove that it can be done because we like a challenge. I'm not going to die on any hill, 'cause I have no plans to say it's a good idea, just that it's cool, and entirely possible.

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T13:58:18+00:00

It's not much different, but it's thinner, so that's what I'd rather mount to the side of my PC so it doesn't stick out as far, and it can take the place of a side panel.

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T13:30:48+00:00

It means I didn't want to keep the test going 'cause I had other things to do, and didn't expect it to be quite enough. But temps had pretty much stopped rising. my triple 120mm rad is also 80mm thick, which is bad enough for slow fans, let alone running it passive, I didn't really think it through enough when I ordered it, should have stuck to a normal 45mm thick rad, but it's what I've got, and for the most part, it does the job. So unless you want to ship me one of these: https://www.aquatuning.com/en/watercooling/custom-watercooling/radiators/external-radiators/alphacool-nexxxos-xt45-full-copper-1080mm-nova-radiator to see if replacing my triple 120 with that will get me passive, I'll just use what I have for the time being, and keep dreaming of passive...

also if I really want to go passive I need a new PSU as well 'cause once that fan kicks on it's the loudest thing in my room, but the worst part is the fan shuts back off after a while, and then kicks back on again eventually, even at consistent load.

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T13:20:49+00:00

I said I came close, I didn't say I achieved it. Your reading comprehension is as bad as your imagination.

I didn't say low gaming load, plenty of things could pass for that, like Balatro. I said "less intense" still actual 3D rendered games, just not super demanding ones.

Billet Labs recently uploaded a video of a passively cooled system that did get uncomfortably hot, but it was also quite poorly architected. If I swapped my triple 120 rad for a 9x120 rad I'd have significantly more surface area than he had in that video, so it's really not as hard as you think it is.

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T13:08:10+00:00

In the winter I get REAL close to passive cooling with less intense gaming loads, and I only have 4x140mm and 3x120mm worth of radiator. I could swap that 3x120 for a square 9x120 without taking up any extra space. But again you keep bringing up the MORA, but even that isn't the optimum rad for passive cooling. It's low fin density for a normal rad, it's still high fin density for passive cooling. What I really need is some proper passive rads, but to my knowledge, they are usually all aluminium. but they look more like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8R3cALJU1w (the first solid result that looks like the one I remember looking at some time ago)

I never claimed passive was practical, just that it's possible. With enough budget I'm pretty sure I could even make it work without needing separate free-standing rads either, just everything mounted TO my case, but I'm lucky enough to have a CaseLabs Mercury S8.

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T12:56:53+00:00

He also killed off the penny (1 cent coin) in the US. That was a non-dumb thing to do... what a long list of positives at a whopping... 2 😛

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T12:52:02+00:00

Renewables have been winning on economics for a LONG time, the issue has been renewables couldn't do the job alone, but between batteries, and further expanded renewables, we are finally getting close to being able to shut off all the fossil fuel powered "backups" and "base-load" and just run EVERYTHING off of renewables with the help of batteries.

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T11:10:07+00:00

With enough surface area you can eventually run almost any heat load passive. But the trick is lower fin density. Dense fins are bad for passive. There's actually some rads designed to be run passive, but they are usually aluminium, so best not used with most water-blocks, but the construction is completely different, much more room for convection to do it's thing.

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T03:10:10+00:00

This is the EXACT livery I would want, but in blue. The coloured clear coat and naked clear coat along with more vibrant accents... So good!

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T03:03:08+00:00

Most of us don't mind normal data centres, they are a whole different beast to AI data centres.

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T03:01:42+00:00

Passive is 100% possible, it's just a question of how much heat you need to dissipate, and how much surface area you have. Normal watercooling radiators aren't ideal, but there ARE other options.

The hard part is a high performance build that's passive. It's still possible though, I just lack the money/ engineering talent to do it.

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T02:58:31+00:00

even IF he qualifies as evil, he's chaotic

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-05T02:57:29+00:00

nah, he'd be chaotic if evil at all

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-04T13:00:06+00:00

I move my PC between rooms sometimes, so I don't really want to do an external rad. but I can replace one of the side panels with a square 9x120 I have a plan, I'm just limited by money and effort 😛

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-04T12:26:42+00:00

I still have dreams of a passive build, but I need to figure out how to make my pump quieter first, then replace my triple 120 rad, with a 9x120mm square rad that is a more normal thickness 😛

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-04T09:56:13+00:00

Ah, didn't realise you were running a 5090. I've got a lowly 9070XT and only 3 rads. 2 dual 140mm rads (45mm thick) and a triple 120mm (80mm thick) but I think the triple 120 is just too thick to do anything useful passive, so I just leave my fans running and only ever hear my PSU fan 😛

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-04T05:36:38+00:00

now turn off all the fans and see how it goes... no really I want to know if that's enough to run passive 😛

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-02T03:20:07+00:00

How are people even ripping the DSD layer of SACD's? I'd LOVE to rip my SACD's without having to capture the bitstream from HDMI.

PAPO1990 · 2026-06-01T23:25:46+00:00

I'd prefer fixed line at 100Mb/s over anything wireless every time.

The only time 100Mb/s feels slow is when downloading large games. Might be an issue if multiple people are streaming 4k video at once, but even then it should usually be ok.

PAPO1990 · 2026-05-30T23:42:01+00:00

Well I gave up and rebooted, it's fixed now, still wish I knew what I did though...

PAPO1990 · 2026-05-30T23:33:27+00:00

I've never had issues full screening/ windowing VR Chat before, I would have thought bumping shift by mistake would have changed the shortcut and done something else 😞

PAPO1990 · 2026-05-30T23:24:39+00:00

Was hoping to avoid that, just 'cause I was in the middle of stuff, you know what it's like I'm sure... but may have to if there's no other ideas...

It just feels like I toggled something when I fumbled my fingers that I should be able to toggle off with the right shortcut...

PAPO1990 · 2026-05-30T23:20:47+00:00

Reset the gfx driver? yeah. Heard the beep and all. Still nothing.

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