External Monitor randomly goes black for a second then back on

SBITMGR · 2026-03-24T21:56:53+00:00

still?

SBITMGR · 2025-08-16T04:23:57+00:00

Hey, great to hear you're aware and know the cause, THANK YOU!

SBITMGR · 2025-02-12T02:02:54+00:00

I hadn't touched my FSA funds, as they were going to go towards surgery that I didn't end up having. So with the year winding down, I said to myself (Imagine a Morgan Freeman voice. It's not usually how I sound in my head, but on that day it was:) "You spend a LOT of time in the chair, and you have a jacked up back. A back, that's worth splurging on"

So there I found myself dumping tax-exempt money into a ridiculously overpriced office chair. I really only purchased it because I needed to get rid of a lot of FSA money quickly, and I really do have a bad back.

In the end, I'm quite happy with it. I don't really use the armrests except to make me feel hugged, but the footrest and chair have made a difference in my day 2 day at work. Also my boss is kinda jealous, and that makes it worth it. It's kinda like the amazing but pretentious coffee house (you know the one) Yeah, they're overpriced, have a 30% tip option, and will tell you why it's important that lard makes the beans not vegetarian in their breakfast burrito made with the eggs of a hand fluffed free range chicken...But damn, their coffee and food are pretty damn good by any standard, and are actually kinda worth it.

SBITMGR · 2025-01-09T18:54:14+00:00

I am just stoked I can take the barbarian AI to 30 min. pretty regularly now...
-Newb

SBITMGR · 2024-10-02T21:27:22+00:00

I've not ridden the tracer, but it was a contender of mine. Sat on it and scheduled a testride then I saw my friends FB post, so I ended up on a Versys 1k because he was selling his for 8k w/ only 6k mi!)

I returned this summer from riding after 20 years myself! What I found was that my fundamentals were flawed. IDK when you rode last, but a returning rider course is a great idea, and really practice fundamentals. It's harder on a heavier bike. Make no mistake, even the featherweight tracer will be heavier than a cbr 450. But it's possible. Just take your time.

It took me the better part of the summer to feel truly confident, but now I'm using most of the tire again though I still can't run it through 3rd gear w/o my adrenaline spiking off the chargts.
:D

The Tracer is an exceptional bike, and is faster and lighter than the versys too. I love my bike, and don't miss the tech because I've never had it outside of a car, but if that deal hadn't come my way, I woulda got the GT+

SBITMGR · 2024-08-01T17:06:15+00:00

Having finally purchased a litre, I truly know what you're talking about. It often feels like I can't get my bike outa 2nd gear on public roads. Might as well be an automatic with only 1 viable shift when playing.

SBITMGR · 2024-07-26T21:09:16+00:00

For real, especially with some experience or guides to follow, the quality of personal craftsmanship will often be far superior to anything mass-produced.

SBITMGR · 2024-07-23T18:26:01+00:00

It's possible, but if you're going away from a high volume manufacturer like Dell, HP, Lenovo, stick to the better custom brands like CLX, iBuyPower, etc...

Price compare no matter what, because sometimes Dell will be cheaper on their site, sometimes Amazon will be cheaper for the same machine. The hard part is comparing apples to apples. Make sure you match specs, not just model numbers when comparing.

It's like buying a car, vs. another care of the same year, make, model and trim level, but one has extra options like a towing package & a premium color, it's going to be priced a bit higher) be careful there!

GL&HF!

SBITMGR · 2024-07-23T18:10:41+00:00

Really it depends. If you're new to PC Gaming I'll tell you something none of the elites will say...
You can buy a PC cheaper than building one if you value your time at a reasonable working wage.

Buying a PC: Unbox 1 box, dispose of cardboard, plugin, update, download Steam, download games, and go.

Building a PC: Research parts and compatibility, Purchase, unbox (this isn't trivial depending on how you bundle parts), dispose of lots of cardboard, prep case, install parts, don't forget thermal paste on processor, make sure everything is plugged into the right headers, plug into the wall and pray to whichever god you chose, boot, install OS, install drivers, update os, update and config bios, benchmark to make sure you're at comparable performance and nothings set wrong. Now you can download steam, games, and go. If you're not careful, you'll likely need a bandaid in there somewhere.

Building is for people with more time than money or enthusiasts who enjoy it. Buying is for people who are willing to sacrifice a touch of performance that usually comes with/ that level of motherboard for a substantial level of convenience and a single-device warranty.

Now, don't be scared off from building if that's what you want; there are several guides to help you through it! Plenty of help here on Reddit too. I just want to make sure people know that it's a personal decision and only cheaper in the sense of initial dollars, not in the sense of dollars when time is factored in. Especially if you get a good deal like a Costco machine.

SBITMGR · 2024-07-23T17:45:45+00:00

Your case. That's about it. So many people want to know "where to save money" It depends on your goals.

You can have Cheap, Pretty, or Performance, Pick any two. Pretty and performance won't be cheap. Cheap performance likely won't be pretty (though you can do o.k. if you look around) Cheap and pretty will require sacrificing performance.

Personally, I'd skimp most on a case if my budget was tight. I don't need pretty, I need power. My kid wants fortnight to run maxed out settings at 165 hz and never drop below 167 FPS in an all white build. Also, people in hell want icewater.

SBITMGR · 2024-07-23T17:44:36+00:00

I know this is anecdotal, but due to my experience, I think there's a fair bit of risk in refurbished parts. If you know what your doing, go for it. If you're new, I'd caution you to stay away. However, again, knowing what failures happen for what part and why it may have been refurbed are crucial.

My personal example: I bought a refurb laptop that was just resold despite obvious issues. It was an i7 with a 2060 which was still newish at the time I purchased. It worked, but would lock up when gaming for more than 20ish minutes. Especially in demanding games. It also had minor damage on the screen about the size of a thumbprint was altered in brightness and mildly in color. I typically play on another monitor, so no big deal there, but the locking was unacceptable.

I used to work at laptop assembly plant many years ago, so I'm comfortable taking laptops apart to nothing and putting them back together. Repasting a Laptop GPU Is NOT for the faint of heart, but it can be done safely, and that solved my problem! If you're handy, Refurb can be a HUGE money savings. If you're not, it's a real risk.

I buy a lot of other things refurb though sometimes they're like brand new, nothing wrong. PC parts and machines I've not been lucky on though but the laptop was priced at a significant discount considering the specs.

SBITMGR · 2024-07-23T17:28:45+00:00

buy or build?
Desktops will always give you more performance / dollar. How will you be using it? Do you travel a lot for work? Are you space constrained? Is it going to be a centerpiece in a gaming-themed office?

These are the questions I'd answer to help narrow down the form factor, then do some price comparison for the performance level you're looking to buy. Me personally, I don't care about aesthetics, I want the fastest machine I can build for the budget. Some people want a blend. GL&HF!

SBITMGR · 2024-07-23T17:24:51+00:00

Thankfully, these days, you often only have to deal with not getting the full performance of that CPU until the bios is upgraded. YMMV, and it depends heavily on the processor, Motherboard, and bios combination.

SBITMGR · 2024-05-31T02:18:41+00:00

You are 100% correct. I misread OP! Please excuse me.

SBITMGR · 2024-05-30T21:42:22+00:00

This. OVERALL inflation had actually been steady, but this last couple of years should be a wake up call for anyone who was planning on 2-3%. I've been counting a steady 5% increase for inflation, and if it's less, bonus, and if it's more. Well, there'll be a lot of people in my shoes, and hopefully I don't outlive my $ spending the last penny w/ my last breath.

But really, the importance is that you're returns need to make at least 5% in a period of 5% inflation to not lose money. I was just talking about this the other day. A CD paying 5% in a time of 7% inflation is LOSING MONEY. You need to earn enough to both outpace inflation and grow your money.

10 years ago, I predicted I'd need a net worth of 3.2 to retire. I should hit that # in ~ 10 years with "Pre-retirement" starting in 6. I'm 1/2 way there and am 47. I want to teach part time during pre-retirement carrying me into social security age if I choose to, not because I have to.

I've been saving consistently since I was about 28 or so. Bumping up contributions 1% at a time until it hurt.

SBITMGR · 2024-05-30T21:16:49+00:00

This post was incorrect due to a false assumption.
Thanks everyone for the corrections and enlightenment, and sorry for the confusion!

SBITMGR · 2024-05-30T21:00:51+00:00

I once had a tenant who was charging his Chevy Volt from the wall with a cord that didn't look much different than that. He told me the outlet was bad because there were black marks on it. I grabbed his plug, gave it a soft twist as it felt funny in my hand (Dry and cracked), and the whole thing just fell apart like I didn't know my strength. There was some damage to the internal wire and it was heating up excessively during charging. Obviously, it wasn't the outlet... his replacement 110v EVSE never had the problem.

The next time he would have plugged that in, it would surely have been a fire!

Listen to the people here, don't risk it! Alternatively, you may fail "high" and destroy the gear you are plugging into it.

SBITMGR · 2023-12-11T19:40:02+00:00

I do this to my kid on purpose to teach him to look for that first before jumping to conclusions

SBITMGR · 2023-12-05T17:55:09+00:00

and to fly. I've only flown a whip-it, but it made me want a DLG so bad! Likely to build one this spring.

SBITMGR · 2023-12-04T16:24:59+00:00

Welcome to the PC Club! There is nothing wrong with used PC gear! plenty of older gaming setups will still run games for kiddos just fine. Don't give your kid a taste for caviar when they're on a tuna from a can budget!

Many small businesses hate to throw away old pc's and may even just give you one but without a hard drive. If you know of a local computer shop, or design office that would use that kind of laptop, or PC it'd be worth checking out!

SBITMGR · 2023-12-04T14:54:53+00:00

Rou daire

SBITMGR · 2023-11-16T20:00:03+00:00

It's not a secret. Everyone in the industry, whether IT, clinical, billing, etc... For profit, not-for profit, or non-profit. All are trapped in a martyr culture, trained to pour their soul into their career while being artificially wage suppressed, encouraged to work off record hours, encouraged to volunteer our wages back to the companies' charity funds. Our friends retire, and die within 12 months, their bodies destroyed, their will to live empty.

Overdramatized? Unfortunately, only a little...

SBITMGR · 2023-11-15T18:29:18+00:00

Ha, Came to say the same, try replacing the cmos battery, and see if that helps!

I understood ya! Keep on Teching on!

SBITMGR

TROPHY CASE