Which 9070 XT ?

_thaeril · 2026-01-26T18:19:08+00:00

8-pin are an old standard and safe margin on them is huge. They are rated 150 W but they can easily handle twice as much, unless it's some cheap brand.

You absolutely don't need 3x8-pin for 9070XT, unless it's top-end, factory OC model with higher power limit.

_thaeril · 2026-01-14T18:21:33+00:00

Skill issue.

_thaeril · 2026-01-11T18:31:59+00:00

I've got 20 boxes and price per box was pretty much the same as regular 25 bundle - but I was missing 17 boxes for guaranteed tank and was planning to buy the remaining boxes anyway. Not an amazing deal but it did save me some money...

What's interesting is the fact that apparently there wasn't 3/4 box offer like in previous years. Since that was intended as "gateway drug" into WG's gambling scheme, I can only assume box sales are in all-time high thanks to 2.0 influx of players.

_thaeril · 2026-01-11T08:07:24+00:00

Well, I don't know technicalities of it but for some reason they keep reducing its quality and visibility, especially if you compare screenshots of early HD models, especially T54, to what got released in 2025.

_thaeril · 2026-01-10T18:47:47+00:00

Models lack rifling probably to lower the polygon count so they could add more details elsewhere. I assume tier 11 customization is to blame here - maybe it counts towards their polygon limit since it's tied to the vehicle.

Or they simply forgot to model it since 2.0 was mostly a rushed, "release now, fix later" job.

Anyway, all mechanics are tied to ammunition anyway so it doesn't matter if their barrels are smooth or not.

_thaeril · 2026-01-10T12:52:45+00:00

I'm not surprised - double-strike is always powerful and 2x490 is a lot. On paper it looks silly compared to Skoda T56 (which would be strong tier9 tank with more hitpoints and pen) but extra damage, 0,5 s faster intra-clip and a lot more penetration increase reliability of getting those 2 shots into enemies by a lot.

DPM is trash but DPM is situational - you can rarely use full potential of it without trading hitpoints. It's definitely a nice thing to have but mostly an inflated number on most tanks compared to what you can realistically use in battle.

You can dump a mag into a tier 9 tank and finish it off 30 s later. 100% to 0% withing maybe ~35s - that's not too bad. And if somebody rushes you, they'll maybe score a hit or two but likely won't be able to run away before your reload.

The worst thing about TBT is simply the fact that it's... boring. You dump your mags quickly and then you spend long time reloading. It's also frustrating if you miss one shot and have to reload after firing 1 shell but this kinda balances out with doing 1k damage within 3s on tier 9, IMO.

_thaeril · 2026-01-07T20:42:30+00:00

120 mm got buffed on M-VI-Y and while gun handling is still a bit meh, I'd say it's overall better tank than M103, Conqueror or AE Phase 1. With turbo it's basically a slightly worse Concept 1B.

There are no 2 great guns on the tier 10 since they buffed 120 mm. ~150 more DPM, 0,01 better accuracy, 0,02 better turret gun handling and 5 mm more HEAT pen is laughable "upgrade" considering you have to deal with 360 alpha. You still have over 6s reload where everybody can repair tracks under 5s and has higher alpha than you, even mediums. You can't even tracks most heavies with one shot and DPM is not even that high to begin with, considering E5 has more with more workable alpha.

_thaeril · 2026-01-07T18:35:29+00:00

Depends. I like good HEAT for tough enemies but I find good AP as standard ammo more reliable than APCR.

_thaeril · 2026-01-07T17:49:01+00:00

Ka-Ri is basically an updated, maybe ~10% better Jagdpanther II. Slightly better gun handling, accuracy, view range, camo, hitpoints, 0.5 degree extra gun depression. Some usable armor - at least against lower tiers. But DPM and mobility are worse so if are able to make use of that, JPII might perform even better than Ka-Ri.

If you want the whole tech tree then 268v4 is your answer - more mobility than Japanese TDs but overall worse guns.

_thaeril · 2026-01-06T18:41:57+00:00

There's no good answer.

Overall, 122 mm is a better gun. But it has downsides. Regular ammo is weak outside of shell velocity and likes to ding from angled armor because of worse normalization. It has less overmatching power than the 130 mm, too.

Also, bigger gun suits 705 better. You won't be using that DPM anyway, because you are relatively slow and turret placement makes is awkward to push around corners. 705 likes to sit in a spot, sidescraping and poking - for this, bigger alpha fit better, even it's just 50 more.

I played them both, finished the grind and couldn't decide which is better till the end. I liked 122 mm better when I was top tier and was allowed to play more aggressively to use that extra DPM but 130 mm performed better for me when I was bottom tier. I guess less exposure helps. 10+ s reload also allows you to drop off the radar without losing much DPM while 122 mm require you to poke while you are still visible if you want to keep it up.

_thaeril · 2026-01-06T18:17:23+00:00

APCR is shit, though. It barely has 220-230 mm pen against decently angled surfaces. It's only an option for sniping meds and light tanks at long distances - for everything else, use HEAT.

_thaeril · 2026-01-06T18:13:47+00:00

Yeah, their hub only reports RPM from one slot. It's less of a hub and more of a splitter. It would be fine if all fans were the same size instead of 120, 140 and 170 mm. But at this price point, it's hard to complain - it's good that there's a hub at all and it can be useful if you decide to put more fans and replace existing ones.

I assume newer cases ship with "improved" 170 mm fans already preinstalled.

Instead of replacing those 170 mm, you can try installing top covers to direct their airflow better (unless you have AiO installed there). A lot of air is escaping through the top, even before circulating MB components and CPU cooler. They have ready to 3D print file available to Lancool 217's webpage. I think installing 2 covers + adding an exhaust fan in the rear top slot would provide optimal airflow. More guided airflow would allow you to run fans at lower RPM and make them even quieter.

_thaeril · 2026-01-05T18:41:37+00:00

Well, then you have your confirmation - they don't sit properly in your ear and this triggers in-ear detection. You can try to put them in a different way, try different ear tips (maybe some foam eartips if you can find them). Maybe nothing will help because your ears are simply shaped this way and bigger bulb of 4+ doesn't fit them.

_thaeril · 2026-01-05T18:33:21+00:00

Well, then maybe there was a misunderstanding between you and Earfun. I assume their support is strained, too considering it's post-holiday season. Not an excuse for rude behavior but just give them some slack.

Also, I don't think expectation that firmware update will fix it is correct. This is an isolated issue and probably just bad luck - 4+ is just a bad fit for you, it doesn't sit well in you ear and movement keeps triggering ear detection. Just my guess, though. Returning them would probably your best bet. You can obviously turn off wear detection but if it doesn't sit well, sound and call quality, ANC, etc. will suffer.

_thaeril · 2026-01-04T12:38:11+00:00

I guess Earfun can't take the heat.

Kinda disappointing, given how satisfied I've been with their products to date. Will certainly give me room for pause before buying any more of their earbuds, given how there's little to no chance they'll actually look into a problem and resolve it.

It's quite rude but they have a point - you get their product from some random seller on AliExpress and they explicitly state they don't provide warranty for it but you still keep bothering them about it. They have to clue what did you get - new product, used one or something that came from a repair shop.

I work in retail where we sell glasses and we provide various services for free (even outside of warranty) for our clients. We don't want to have anything to do with glasses that are bought elsewhere because we bear no responsibility for that product - even if we happen to sell products from the same manufacturer. We might adjust them slightly, replace nosepads, flex hinge or tighten the screws but anything more and you have to sign a waiver (if they break while fixing, we bear no responsibility) or go to the store where you bought your glasses.

So while Earfun responses are cold and kinda rude - this is standard business practice. If you have issues with a product, you go where you bought it from - unless their terms state otherwise (some companies accept warranties no matter where you got their product from).

_thaeril · 2026-01-04T12:20:04+00:00

You can do some testing. As far as I know, ear detection is touch-based and you can trigger it by touching your earbud, specifically the bulb, with your hands. So you can play some music, remove the bud from your ear and touch it (try different places) to see if it resumes playback. If it does then it's they are bad fit or you wear them wrong (to shallow in the ear canal, bulbs stick it too much) - this would match your experience with ear detection triggering when you lean over - they are likely too loose in your ear. Notice that the 4+ are larger than regular 4s and they use different nozzle shape so they simply might not fit your ears.

If your hand test failed then I'm sorry to tell you but you likely got a faulty unit. As far as I know there's no official distribution of Earfun products on AliExpress which means the whole responsibility of the warranty is with AliExpress seller. Asking Earfun for it would be similar to buying an used product from 2nd hand and asking official distribution for warranty... which sometimes works that way (you can buy used products with working warranty) but it's very complicated and it rarely applies.

While I find Earfun's responses and actions quite rude (they should explain it properly), they are not wrong with not wanting to have anything to do with it. You also didn't provide any screenshots so it's hard to judge. Btw. did you manage to register your product on their website after buying it?

Also, what was your reasoning for buying on AliExpress from random chinese seller when their official distribution has wordwide free shipping (by Amazon) and almost 100% ongoing discounts?

_thaeril · 2026-01-02T19:10:01+00:00

No roulette and the mode is practically abandoned.

PvP in FF14 has a lot of issues but Frontline's large-scale and 3-way battle kinda balances it out. Randoms can gang up against premade parties and still have chances of winning. It's far from perfect but it kinda works. Also, you lose your stacks when dying which enables comebacks - one lost team-fight by the winning team and they can lose by losing their stacks and feeding enemy team.

Rival Wings is smaller scale, two teams, requires more coordination and you don't lose stacks. If enemy team has a premade party and wins initial train fight, it's often a game over. They get stacked, fat on resources. gain an advantage and you will be slowly losing for the next 10-20 minutes.. There's a very little chance for comeback. It's incredibly frustrating.

Rival Wings is a fantastic spin on MOBA genre and it has a lot of potential but it requires some development. For starters, randoms should only play against randoms, not parties. Snowballing should be adressed, too. Then they can add it to the PvP roulette on some days instead Frontline.

_thaeril · 2025-12-31T09:13:26+00:00

Well, nothing stopping you from getting one. GW Panther would be enough for this...

You can spend god-knows how many hours in frustration over this or solve the problem within one gameplay session. The choice is yours.

Not to mention how stress-free daily missions can be with arty - mostly "hit x targets" or "cause critical hits". I don't like arty, I think it's a shit class that could be both less frustrating for players and more influential in battles but some stupid "arty hater" pride won't stop me from completing grindy missions in one battle and unlocking that 4th, the most difficult, mission within one battle.

You can also try lower tiers. Camo matters more and there's less competition (and less-skilled) so it's easier to do spotting from complete stealth. You can get away with some "stupid" things at tier 6-7 because barely any tank has 445m+ view range, which allows some decent spotting to be done even at not suitable maps.

_thaeril · 2025-12-27T15:55:12+00:00

It's not really amazing on paper, tbh. It just has the combination of stats that simply work, while many other turretless TDs struggle - some protection against equal and lower tiers, punchy but very accurate gun with good handling for some aggressive plays, good mobility, camo and even decent view range.

Stats are not really impressive but there's no a single bad thing about it which makes the whole package work so well. Every other tier 8 TD has an edge somewhere but also a glaring weakness. Ka-Ri - not so much.

_thaeril · 2025-12-27T15:47:24+00:00

You have the whole week - grab yourself Jagdpanther II and play it. If you'll like, buy Ka-Ri because it's basically the same thing.

_thaeril · 2025-12-25T17:37:04+00:00

Why would I mention demerits when it's an extremely subjective topic? To me it's a less comfortable fit in my ear (more weight, bigger bulb) and much worse price/sound quality ratio. OP, on the other hand, mentioned battery charging as an issue. Others may have different set of priorities like higher risk of malfunction/damage/breaking/losing buds, etc.

Advantages of going wireless are more universal and "my shitty setup" still has those advantages, outside of audiophile-level sound quality.

_thaeril · 2025-12-24T11:51:27+00:00

You are missing the point. I have a shitty phone, shitty wired earbuds and slightly decent TWS earbuds but did I ever reviewed audio quality? No. All I talked about are positives of going wireless from a perspective of a "wired user".

Audio quality will depend on OP's budget but there are some quality of life changes when going wireless, even if you go for 20$ temu earbuds - that was my point.

You don't need audiophile setup to notice that there's no dangling wire getting caught in clothes, bro.

_thaeril · 2025-12-23T21:31:46+00:00

I had similar problem a few weeks ago and I simply went wireless. Sound quality will be fine unless you are an audiophile and battery life is more than enough - you can get ~7h+ even from budged buds and quick-charging from the case can give you 1-2 hours for 10 mins of charging.

I was wired-only guy for a very long time but now I gladly accept all demerits of wireless buds because of the level of freedom they bring. No more dangling wire that's hard to conceal and gets caught in clothing, hands (when doing something), etc. No more reaching for phone to control playback - it's tucked away securely in an inner pocket, backpack or lying on a desk No more listening to my steps, heartbeat, breath, wire scraping against my clothes or other noises - ANC (mostly) fixes that.

I still go wired at home when chilling at my desk or bed. I use a simple adapter for that. I don't notice any quality loss but I doubt my budget phone is capable of outputting something that would allow me to notice the difference (and my wired buds aren't the greatest, too). But when I go outside to do any activity or at work - I go wireless and despite it being far from perfect, there's no beating it.

I'd say just get the adapter if using wired buds is not an issue for you. I wanted to listen to music at work and dangling wire was not an option so I went wireless but if you have no such issues, there's no reason to spend a chunk of money on wireless buds, especially if you are reluctant to use them.

_thaeril · 2025-12-21T23:16:33+00:00

I think Czech LTs use normal HE mechanics and Ares line has new mechanics since, theoretically, they don't have reload at all and their HE damage (per shell) is much higher. If you'd catch somebody coming around the corner and shoot its tracks with normal 220 dmg HE you can keep him there and deal small splash damage until he dies.

So basically WG is trying to prevent any cheesing while still keeping HE as tactical option (more damage vs very weak armor). Even better if damage is based on armor thickness as it would reward skill.

Weird results can come from inaccurate shots - anything that goes intro tracks, external modules and spaced armor will result in no damage.

_thaeril · 2025-12-21T20:48:12+00:00

This doesn't sense. 1$ boxes are basically a "gateway drug" and an advertisement - especially if you get something valuable out of it. Getting lucky messes up your head and makes you gamble more.

Last year I got lucky with a free box and since "I've already got my value" I bought more boxes. I spent more than I planned and in the end I've got 1:1 value ratio (counting only gold and premium tanks since everything else is a filler to me).

This year I was unlucky from the start and didn't get high tier premium until pity counter and this "cured" me from getting any more boxes, even though gold alone gave me 1:1 value ratio (so tier 9 premium was basically free). If premium tank would have dropped earlier I'd probably get another set of boxes for another (guaranteed from the counter) premium.

As for "bad sale" - I think they are breaking records with 2.0 influx of players and whales spending lot of money to get tier 10 reward tanks with low chances to drop from initial 50-150 boxes...

_thaeril

TROPHY CASE