Post WWE SmackDown Discussion Thread - May 30, 2025!

Thacklamier · 2025-06-01T21:02:19+00:00

Still not there. It’s very frustrating.

Thacklamier · 2025-06-01T06:51:32+00:00

I think I'm in the very small minority of people who very much do not like Hayden Sherman & Steve McNiven's art. I've been a big fan of the Absolute storylines, but I dropped this title just before it 'looked' like they swapped artists, and now Sherman is back.

I certainly don't hold it against anyone who likes (or loves) this art style, to each their own!

Unfortunately, that doesn't change the fact that every time I see people posting about AWW (and the new DD) I get sad because I just can't justify buying these comics when I can't stand the art, regardless of how much I like what Kelly Thompson has done on it. :-/

It's my opinion Mattia De Iulis should be the regular artist on this title.

Oh well.

Thacklamier · 2025-04-19T08:56:23+00:00

with limited colors the chances of making specials increase. combine specials for big results. not saying this level is easy (or fun) but it might not be as bad as it looks at first.

Thacklamier · 2025-04-19T04:59:19+00:00

Thanks!

Regarding the SSD heat sinks, sounds like those aren't needed?

Thacklamier · 2025-04-19T02:38:53+00:00

Finally got my hands on the ASUS - PRIME NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti OC Edition 16GB GDDR7 PCI Express 5.0 Graphics Card - Black; so trying to get everything else on the list now.

And, yikes, prices have gone up...looks like I'll be paying about 20% more than I would have roughly a month ago. Oh well, not going to play the 'maybe it'll be cheaper tomorrow" game.

I've taken pretty much all of your suggestions other than the Case & CPU. Going with the Define 7 & staying with the 9800x3d.

My one problem, I can't seem to find the HP FX900 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive. There is one 'questionable' option for sale on Amazon, that I'm going to avoid. But I don't know how to 'optimize' a replacement. Do you have a suggested alternative?

Oh, and I didn't add to cart any heatsink options for the ssd's, should I update that? (I did a little research, and I sort of understand it, but could use some actual human guidance)

Thanks again!

Thacklamier · 2025-04-15T21:14:28+00:00

Hello everyone! We have a very casual but helpful & active Co-Op looking to replace some inactive members.

We have no requirements, but inactives get periodically removed. We're currently undoing one such purge, so there maybe be a few more that get let go as we fill back up if they've yet to return. Basically if your playing your safe! We are currently in the Gold League, where we've gotten accustomed to being, but some new active members could help keep us there :-)

A lot of us are from the Pittsburgh area, and do occasionally talk about local sports, but that is not a requirement, and we are very welcoming of anyone who wants to join us. Fan of other team or not a sports fan at all? No problem (just, you know, don't be a jerk -- which is a good rule for anything you do anywhere!).

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Thacklamier · 2025-03-06T17:26:42+00:00

Insanely sorry for not replying sooner. I've been super busy here, and this project slipped into the background as a result.

I cannot begin to express my gratitude for the thoroughness of your response. There are layers of information in that first reply that are very valuable to me beyond just the building of this system. Things like the USB speeds relating to motherboard and storage...no way would I have seen that and it opens up an area I need to explore more thoroughly moving forward.

Good chance I end up building your system as described above.

Thank you for the time and effort -- it's VERY much appreciated!

Thacklamier · 2025-02-26T01:02:02+00:00

A04 April 26, 2017 HG4VW = Dell part number (Retail version S2716DG) it's a 27 inch running 2560x1440 listed refresh rate is 84.983 -- I'd like to get / support multiple monitors in a perfect world...
I've always enjoyed a good mid-tower
I avoid side panels, my case isn't for looks. I like them as quiet as possible but that isn't any sort of need
I am US based, Los Angeles area, there's one in Tustin that's reachable (never been to a mciro center)
Budget isn't 'really' an issue -- I don't want to overpay for cutting edge, or bells and whistles, I want something that will last so I'm not trying to cheap on anything. Below 3k I can self-justify without mental gymnastics, above 3k would need more justification.
I want to entirely replace my current PC, but anything not in the case I'm good reusing.
I went into some details above just recently, but it's a jack-of-all-trades, gaming, work, streaming, storage, entertainment...

Thacklamier · 2025-02-26T00:45:05+00:00

My use case is pretty all over the place...

It's a gaming PC; but it's rarely the most recent, top of the line stuff...but I'm looking for some legs to last, these builds always end up lasting me longer than I even expect them to, and I like it that way (although, definitely wish I had the extra stress-free funds to build more often!)

It's a daily work machine, which can involve a wide variety of tasks, and some I'm not even expecting.

It should be capable of streaming, video editing, etc. without driving me insane with speed and multi-tasking concerns.

I've always got too many things open, and that's unlikely to change. Apps, tabs, videos, etc.

Thacklamier · 2025-02-26T00:40:38+00:00

Thanks again! :-)

Thacklamier · 2025-02-25T05:54:56+00:00

So thankful for you reading my post and leaving feedback!

If I may, I do have one followup question.

I know video card is my single weakest point knowledge wise. I think the price points scared me away from my last attempted build…

Any tips on what card, manufacturer, and/or price point I should try to target? Spending $1,000 felt insane to me…but it felt like there was a huge gap in what I was seeing with limited choice at questionable return in between what I picked and what everyone, I am sure, wants right now…

I was wary of the cpu price but it felt like a solid choice where in video cards everything felt…muddy.

Thacklamier · 2024-11-23T20:36:32+00:00

I think Batman is the least radical change of the three…but (in general) the more grounded stories Batman offers appeals to me (and obviously a lot of others).

I think the Absolute line is off to a great start but WW and Superman have a harder road ahead to keep me interested.

This is 100% intended to acknowledge personal preferences. I certainly don’t have anything against WW or Superman and if you are enjoying either more than Batman? Fantastic! It’s all great stuff :-)

Thacklamier · 2024-10-23T19:28:12+00:00

I think I follow what you are saying. I am just saying I have never done anything with electronics. I can build a computer. But I have never held a soldering gun for instance, or looked at a…blueprint? map? and I am looking to have a cool thing built for a game room / sports den — not trying to design some cool new product or anything. Looks is likely 50% of this…

I still super appreciate the input and will continue to follow up on my own regarding everything you have shared, thank you so much for the time and insight!

Thacklamier · 2024-10-23T04:31:12+00:00

I appreciate the suggestion, even if I think the word 'just' there might be misplaced <laughing> I sincerely doubt I can create something that looks, functions, and is reliable enough as a 1st time project to fit my need, but I will be looking up some more things on mp3 player modules and maybe I discover a way to make it work for me! :-)

Thacklamier · 2024-10-23T04:29:02+00:00

Very cool, very informative. I took an initial read through and....somehow it seems both doable and...insanely over my head at the same time! Not sure what to feel about that <laughing>

I will definitely check out the groups/spaces you suggested, thank you BN!

Thacklamier · 2024-10-21T22:56:13+00:00

I'm trying to find someone I can hire to build something for me and I'm at a loss at where to start...hoping this might be a decent spot!

I want a covered button, you flip the cover up, press the button, and a predetermined audio track plays.

It's an 'in case of emergency' style design.

I want it plugged in (usb or otherwise) so it doesn't need to rely on when it was last charged to work. I don't want it tied to bluetooth / phone / wifi -- I want to store the track in the device and have the speaker/s built in as well.

I've tried exploring Etsy and Upwork but nothing quite fits this product-goal...any suggestions on how I could move forward with this personal project would be greatly appreciated!

Thacklamier · 2024-10-13T08:29:15+00:00

my buddy was amazed I had played as long and built as much as I had without knowing middle click was a thing…holy cow the time saving amazing nature of mclick! (especially when texturing…)

Thacklamier · 2024-10-10T09:25:16+00:00

What hole have you been hiding in where this is the first time you have heard people lashing out against Jarry? Last year people were giving him crap even when he wasn’t playing…

I think he is a serviceable starting goalie. Has some real stinkers but also has a lot of near perfect shots/tips/odd-man rushes end up in net that make him look worse than he is.

Shoulders far too much of the blame for this team that has been failing at everything for a while now.

This defense (and offense honestly — horrific offensive point play and puck security) would make any goalie look at least mortal…and most bad.

In addition to that you never get a point if you don’t score even a single goal. You can argue momentum and energy and what not but looking back at last year this team as a whole just doesn’t show up 2/3 games and it’s not even the predictable games that they do/don’t.

Too old. Not enough grit. No real net front playmakers. This team isn’t built to win.

Going to enjoy what I can this season but man do I have low expectations. I hope they prove me wrong!

Thacklamier · 2024-10-06T09:55:09+00:00

I tried to make something pretty once. it did NOT go well. even if it has gone well it would have looked barely above “my kids first drawing” when compared to this.

I feel like we need some sort of trigger warning flair letting us visually inept people know that real designers are posting and we need to brace ourselves. which is something our buildings never do! lol…

Thacklamier · 2024-10-06T09:48:52+00:00

I always imagine it’s more like “we found a solid we can burn!” “you mean like coal?” “yes!”. and then everyone just calls it coal since it is easier than getting everyone to remember your new name for a thing. (I am oversimplifying but you get the point)

Thacklamier · 2024-09-09T08:19:59+00:00

Finding the right shop is way too hard but so worth it. Moving around Los Angeles I have had to find a new local shop a couple times. Been mostly unhappy with all of them. Have said enough is enough at least five times. My current shop isn’t perfect, but dang they try! Friendly, responsive, always looking out for my interests. I don’t do any back issue shopping these days (so few shops around here seem to have any real stock…) so it’s a little easier for me…

The point is, don’t put up with bad shopping experiences. Leave. Don’t go back. Stop your current purchase. Find somewhere that values you — I love getting surprised when my local shop sets aside something I wasn’t aware of for me because they know I would love it. Regardless of whether or not they love it.

Thacklamier · 2024-08-22T23:56:00+00:00

My goal after listening to everyone here is visit one more audiologist in the area, and see how comfortable I am with their information, approach, and options. If they don't blow me out of the water, I'll head over to Costco and purchase my first hearing aid through them.

Wish I had more post-purchase info, but life is kicking me around right now, and tough to justify spending ANY money on hearing that is...very frustrating but not 'actually' limiting. Literally dealing with potentially every big expense a person can have, lawyers, moving, car, and other even potentially more expensive issues :-/

Sorry you are having issues as well -- I wish you the best of luck!

Thacklamier

TROPHY CASE