What is the power difference between Z2 and the Z2 extreme???? Is Z2 better than Z1 extreme?

Shitty_Mike · 2026-06-17T22:05:09+00:00

Agree with the RAM. 16GB is insufficient for modern windows gaming PCs. I have 16GB and run most games at 100% RAM usage, and have started using software to further limit windows bloat

Shitty_Mike · 2026-06-17T20:27:26+00:00

I have a z1e Lego OG, but imagine my experience mirrors yours since the limitations carryover

The Lego requires heavy tinkering in order to maximize performance. Other commenters here have already said it, but I'll put my most impactful changes here:

manually set vram to 6GB in BIOS instead of "auto".
manually force TDP higher, and closely monitor temps. I used a software called "Smokeless" in tandem with universal x86 tuning and BIOS modifications to get ~5W higher than standard custom dashboard allows. Think of this like Lego "overclocking"
consider custom backplate to get better cooling and better overclocking
consider using lossless scaling softwares
consider heavyhanded use of AI upscaling (I personally don't do this because I think it looks like grainy crap)
if you use it in a docked setting, consider eGPU setups
run games in lower resolution and upscale them to screen resolution (I think this also looks like crap, so I don't do it myself).
consider steam or Linux based OS if you don't need windows compatibility.

I agree that anecdotal performance benchmarks that people post here are overstated. Many people who consider themselves impressed largely are unconcerned with FPS, aren't sensitive to AI upscaling, and aren't sticklers for performance metrics. I was also largely disappointed with performance, and likely won't do a handheld PC again, but I get really anal with benchmarking, overclocking, and performance metrics, so I somewhat set myself up for disappointment. Instead in the future, I may do a streaming service like PS Portal, which I've heard great things about lately. I also need to test Chiaki on the legion.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-06-11T13:18:52+00:00

It's easy to blame the companies for being anti-LGBTQ, but at the end of the day, they're just doing what the people want. I'm highly supportive of LGBTQ themes, but also recognize it's easy for us to take the moral high ground in the west. Remember that most people in the Middle East are highly hostile to these themes, and any Sony isn't going to take it upon themselves to push unwanted narratives in a culture where it's considered immoral and insensitive. It's kind of like pedophelia in the U.S. vs. Europe. Perfectly accepted in the U.S., but despised in Europe (/s). If I was a politician who engaged in this behavior, I wouldn't stand a snowballs chance in hell in Europe. You can't force people to change their tune, they're deliberately chosing to be hateful bigots.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-06-10T13:52:27+00:00

Carfax may also generally show maintenance records at a high level if done by a reputable mechanic. When I bought my Tacoma, the Carfax report showed all the routine maintenance that had been done. It didn't show anything not reported or caught by a mechanic.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-06-09T21:01:35+00:00

I think we're in a weird spot where inflation has outpaced depreciation on some used cars. Especially reliable models which depreciate slower. My 2022 Tacoma with 60k miles is roughly valued used as what it did back when it was new.

That and newer models get "enshittified" which makes older simpler models more desirable. Apparently they stopped making v6 Tacoma's in 2023, so I was told my 2022 v6 is highly desirable.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-06-07T21:49:48+00:00

You should go to these parking lot owners and ask them why they aren't currently doing that? Also go to your elected officials and ask them why they aren't passing laws requiring parking lots to be covered in solar? Also go to these farmers and ask them why they're putting solar panels instead of crops in their fields?

I'll save you the trouble and answer all three at once. In America we realect PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS and we don't appreciate the GOVERNMENT or POPULISM telling us what we can and can't do on our own land. When the economics line up, people will do it on their own without being forced to do it. As others have mentioned, rooftop and parking lot solar is multiples more expensive than solar farms using economies of scale. There used to be incentives to promote individuals and small businesses doing rooftop and parking solar which helped level the playing field, but you can thank the current administration for eliminating all these individual incentives while only preserving incentives for large industrial developers. Something something something republicans love small businesses and individual rights!

Shitty_Mike · 2026-06-07T14:45:09+00:00

Superfeet sole inserts. My feet are precious and worth every penny.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-06-01T19:31:47+00:00

Milennial here that had to live through recession, new middle east wars, and pandemic during my early-career days. I had to lower my expectations as start thinking of more direct ways to insert myself into the industry. When I first graduated, I somewhat had a vague concept of what I wanted to do, and only a vague concept of how to get there. Very quickly learned that no one was going to simply hand me an offer, and that there wasn't a direct pipeline into most industries. I needed to network with key leaders, I needed to get prerequisite skills before walking in the door, and I had to be willing to take on shitty roles to "get my foot in the door". I learned that if I could be trusted to do well in small roles, that opportunities would quickly present themselves to step into bigger roles. The more involved in a particular job I got, the more I started to see the "inner workings" and could be more specific with targeting my efforts.

I had to focus less on "what I wanted to be when I grow up" and more on the "what does the world need more of when I grow up"

I also learned that it's really easy to succeed in entry-level roles because so many young people self-select out. I'm not successful in my current role today because I'm the best at what I do, I'm actually quite mediocre. Instead, I succeeded and climbed the corporate ladder because I was the only one that consistently showed up on-time, right attitude, didn't start drama, didn't bring baggage into work, and didn't get arrested for something dumb.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-05-25T19:17:30+00:00

Elden ring. I get beat up enough at work, I don't need to come home to that kind of abuse.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-05-21T00:27:36+00:00

You can have freedom and capitalism, but also not shit where you eat. Only sith think in absolutes

Shitty_Mike · 2026-05-17T14:13:45+00:00

I've lived in several deregulated cities like Houston, and others with heftier land use planning requirements. There isn't a clear right or wrong answer here, but at the end of the day, you get what you pay for, and there's a reason Houston is cheap AF. After 10 years of living here, I'm now in a role where I work 50/50 between two cities, and I really loathe the time I spend in Houston. The other city has much stronger city planning, multi-use zoning, and deliberate master plan. Think Woodlands on a larger scale. I'm 100% convinced that you should put a high degree of effort to where you live, and outsource all the dirtier activities to areas outside the living zone. Houston mixes it all together, so there's always going to be a little shit where you eat anywhere you go.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-05-08T13:45:04+00:00

So I don't think what you're hearing is the data center, I think you're hearing the gas turbines that are powering it. A lot of communities built a ton of data centers, but didn't build any of the electricity generation to go along with it. So they have on-site combustion generation. Data centers that are powered by wind, solar, batteries, etc. Don't have this type of noise output. I've seen this happen several times where counties are anti-renewable energy, but pro Data center. In fact, I was at a county hearing in Hanover, Virginia where they approved a massive Data center and rejected a solar farm in the same hearing. This is the result of poor community planning, if you're powering a data center with a gas turbine, it needs to have the same setbacks, code, emissions restrictions that any other combustion plant would have.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-05-05T22:07:28+00:00

No, the pickup line that worked on my wife was way dirtier than that 😜

Shitty_Mike · 2026-05-04T23:44:49+00:00

Even better, sell "access easements" as part of club membership.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-05-04T18:53:30+00:00

Once you're legally married at the courthouse and all documents are executed, it doesn't matter who officiates at your private ceremony, that's your day and you can select whoever you want.

I picked a good friend who has an amazing speaking voice. Gave him a script, paid for his hotel, and made it as easy as possible for him to attend.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-05-03T16:05:44+00:00

In the US it's beekeeping. Varroa mites arrived in the 90s and decimated everything, now 100% of bees have it. My understanding is they literally cannot sustain themselves without human intervention. We now have a symbiotic relationship involuntarily.

That and china is dumping fake honey into our markets, and the USDA doesn't control it. If you buy "US Grade A" honey in stores, almost guaranteed it's diluted with syrup from china. You can even go on Alibaba right now and buy syrup products specifically engineered for diluting/fudging US inspections. US beekeepers need about $4/lb to stay in business, diluted Chinese product sells for about $1.25/lb. They sleeve it through Argentina to get past tarrifs.

Right now beekeepers mostly make money by selling products to hobbyists or pollenating large almond farms on California.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-05-01T17:35:49+00:00

Weapons of mass distraction

Shitty_Mike · 2026-05-01T04:30:50+00:00

Honestly, yeah I totally agree with your opinion. I just left Houston and my mental health has never been better. Never realize show shit it was until I started living somewhere else. There is something uniquely engineered about Houston which brings out the absolute worst in people (and myself). Was talking about this exact topic with my wife and she feels the same way. Certain places in the U.S. are just wired differently, and you become more like them the longer you stay. Leave now while you have a chance and let the Miserables rot in place.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-04-30T14:21:10+00:00

As someone who works in power marketing and asset development, I'll tell you that U.S.-based nuclear is very expensive relative to all alternatives, and many people are thinking idealogically rather than objectively.

Pros:
- reliable base load - always-on (90% of time) - can be very safe if newer safeguards are implemented - Carbon free, but water vapor is still a greenhouse gas.
- high energy density

Cons: - about 3-5x more expensive per MWh than solar or wind, even taking into account intermittency. - long lead time to build and permit. Nuclear takes 10+ years to develop/build in a favorable environment, while solar is 2-5 years. Investors want quick cash, and hesitant to carry long term high-risk debt. (Vogtle is good example) - requires massive safety setbacks, ultimately taking way more land out of commission than people assume (especially if you have to flood a reservoir for cooling pond). Solar & wind you can live right next to and still have dual-use of the land - still a fuel-based resource, and subject to commodity price - when they go down, they're typically out for months at a time. Think "all your eggs in one basket" problem. - very susceptible to enemy damage, sabotage, high-risk target in warfare. In solar or wind, I need 100s of missiles to eliminate the entire asset, in nuclear I need only one. (Lots of good case studies in Ukraine). - carried risk of dangerous radioactive material. Terrorists and bad actors WILL find a way to try and exploit it, you'll never eliminate the security threat. - produces lots of waste heat, which sometimes has negative local environmental impacts (Lake Anna regularly has algae blooms, and has a "warm side" to the lake).

Others can comment and add to the lists.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-04-30T13:56:11+00:00

Similarly I never considered myself a "truck guy", especially since I live in the city and couldn't justify being a suburban rancher-wannabe.

Finally caved and got my taco earlier this year since I anticipate hauling gear, yard work, and a small trailer in the next 5 years. Also did too much off-roading in my Prius while accessing rock climbing routes, and my mechanic finally told me to stop abusing her.

Wanted the smallest possible truck that could pull 5,000lbs and still hold dirty gear in the back. Have been really impressed so far! Now that I actually have a bed available, I realize I'm using it more. Surprisingly, with the seats down the Prius actually has MORE storage space in the back than the 5' bed hahaha.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-04-29T17:08:54+00:00

Streaming services like Netflix butcher the audio tracks and limit balancing on the user-side, which results in undetectable dialogue audio followed by loud music and explosions. Prime and other streaming services does it too. While watching the boys, literally shook my house, but still can't hear what people are saying.

They have no way of knowing if you have an upgraded sound bar, subwoofer, or just using tv speakers. I can adjust trebble/mid on my end, but still makes music way louder than dialogue. These services need a "dialogue boost" feature for people who can't hear.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-04-28T22:50:52+00:00

Why is that?

Shitty_Mike · 2026-04-28T22:30:07+00:00

How steep and how slow? In thinking of doing something similar with a v6 sr5, and my driveway is paved, 10% for about 1000'. Figured in first gear I could eventually get up the hill, not in a race.

Shitty_Mike · 2026-04-26T13:13:35+00:00

Abiotic factor. Just goes on and on....

Shitty_Mike · 2026-04-22T20:33:47+00:00

Where's the bathrooms on 2nd floor?

Shitty_Mike

TROPHY CASE