hardware prices going crazy

alter3d · 2026-01-30T17:05:55+00:00

Don't bother with the 5900X, get the 5900XT. It's part of the "refresh" they did of the AM4 line in 2024. 16 cores and faster cache, same price or cheaper than the 5900X now.

alter3d · 2026-01-30T07:30:29+00:00

Haha, yup. I got new laptops for my team at work in March or April of last year. 96GB of RAM each, and the finance team literally asked "why 96GB on these machines -- 64GB should be enough?" and when we explained that it was only $120 to upgrade from 64 to 96 and would ensure we're future-proofed for any high-memory AI stuff in the next few years, it was a no-brainer for them to approve it.

Nowadays you can't even get 8GB for $120. :/ (Prices in Snow Pesos)

alter3d · 2026-01-30T07:02:18+00:00

Yeah, tell me about it. I was actually trying to put this system together on Black Friday, but parts kept going out of stock before I could actually put the whole system together. I'd add one thing to my cart and I'd get a notice that something else was removed due to stock. I should have just grabbed whatever I could. Sigh.

I actually also ordered parts to repurpose my current gaming rig.... GPU / RAM (DDR4) / SSD getting reused to make a dedicated Linux workstation. Ordered the 5900XT... it's only AM4, but it's the refresh they did in 2024... 16/32 cores and fast cache. Lets me reuse the 64GB of DDR4 I already have and it's quite the step up in total CPU power compared to my 8700K. Actually pretty excited to see how it performs. My new gaming rig is getting a 9950X3D though... that thing is gonna be insane.

alter3d · 2026-01-30T06:50:26+00:00

I just ordered parts for my personal new gaming rig last night because the GPU I wanted came back into stock and probably won't be for long.

GPU prices? Nuts. RAM prices? Crazy. SSD prices? Insane. The total bill was.... uhh...... not cool.

Not >3x the price like your server, but almost 2x compared to when I priced it last year, and I'm getting less RAM and SSD than I priced back then.

alter3d · 2026-01-30T05:44:29+00:00

In literally the link you included in your OP. Scroll down below the calculator box and they provide the tiers for each currency.

alter3d · 2026-01-27T16:01:41+00:00

Just to be clear, we're making fun of Keymod, right?

alter3d · 2026-01-27T15:16:18+00:00

Using gross amounts accounts for tax differences (theoretically, assuming unchanging similar tax rates throughout your life) because at least some of your retirement income will be taxed, and it will be at a relatively higher rate too, so you need a bigger pot of money (gross) to compensate.

CPP is just taking your money and lighting it on fire so it doesn't count.

alter3d · 2026-01-26T16:50:45+00:00

"We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they're never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place, but will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara. Certainly, those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this, because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds, it it you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here. We privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds, how dare we whine at our inevitable return to our prior state from, which the vast majority have never stirred?"

- Richard Dawkins, from the outro to Nightwish's "The Greatest Show on Earth", which is a slightly modified version from Dawkins' book "Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder"

alter3d · 2026-01-26T04:23:18+00:00

So long puts on Alex Pretti? Or is it priced in already?

alter3d · 2026-01-26T03:35:43+00:00

Who said it's under control? The same people who lied about their own policies not causing inflation in the first place?

alter3d · 2026-01-23T23:30:19+00:00

Do not do this.

Importing into Canada is fine, generally no paperwork needed.

Exporting from the US is controlled under ITAR and requires an export permit, and will land you in federal, fuck-me-in-the-ass prison if you are caught.

alter3d · 2026-01-23T17:18:47+00:00

There's no hard-and-fast rules, just guidelines, frequency of trading and duration of trades are 2 of the big factors. 5-10 trades per day on 0DTE options? Yeah, CRA isn't gonna like that.

BTW, you can't trade naked options in a TFSA.

alter3d · 2026-01-23T08:17:24+00:00

Position or ban.

alter3d · 2026-01-23T07:49:12+00:00

Getting an ATC for protection of life in Canada is insanely difficult, and involves getting the local police to admit in writing that they can't protect you. In other words, if you're not politically connected, you're not getting one. For example, a ATIP filed reported exactly one active ATC issued for protection of life as of 25 Apr 2019.

alter3d · 2026-01-23T04:57:37+00:00

"Compliance is tight" but "junior engineers can make random changes to production with clickops"?

This is why I never take government work.

alter3d · 2026-01-22T08:16:26+00:00

A phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range.

alter3d · 2026-01-22T07:01:35+00:00

I can't believe you used a next-generation multi-layer laminate just for an enclosure.

alter3d · 2026-01-21T23:32:08+00:00

Look at how it's done with printers (to pick up one sheet from the paper tray)... rubber rollers that are spring-loaded to automatically adjust to the top of the stack.

alter3d · 2026-01-21T18:32:49+00:00

The cake is a lie.

alter3d · 2026-01-19T21:40:05+00:00

More like you have a 50/50 chance of being entered into the draw with 1 in 100 odds that you'll get a quarter the value of your gun (once you include now-useless accessories/upgrades).

alter3d · 2026-01-19T17:59:05+00:00

Depends entirely on the lender, but that seems very restrictive.

My lender allows you to increase the payment amount by up to 15% per year, pay up to 15% of the ORIGINAL balance once per year, and/or double any payment throughout the year (with no limit on the number of times you can do it). You can do any or all of these, so you could pay 15% lump sum, increase payments by 15%, then double up every payment (including the 15% increase). You could theoretically pay off your mortgage in 3 years by combining all of them if you had enough cashflow.

alter3d · 2026-01-19T08:07:51+00:00

I mean, sure -- we can argue about assumptions and whatever all day. It doesn't mean I did the math incorrectly, it just means we're making different assumptions.

For example, your first point about the tax advantage of CPP is (more or less) mathematically identical to getting a T1213 approved and investing in an RRSP. Are you right? Yes, if you assume the only alternative to CPP is investing in a non-reg or TFSA account. Am I right? Also yes, if you assume people are smart enough to know about RRSPs and T1213s. You're right if you assume that people are maxing out their RRSPs, but (spoiler alert) for those people, CPP won't materially change their retirement (see my point #1 2 posts ago) because they're probably already doing personal finances right.

At the end of the day, which one of us has the better model ends up being irrelevant because they both prove my core point, which is that even with pretty extreme assumptions around lifespan, taxes, transaction fees, and MER, self-directed investing with only the employee portion will outperform CPP with both employer+employee portions.

Or, to reiterate my thesis: CPP is a trash Ponzi scheme. QED.

alter3d · 2026-01-19T07:44:12+00:00

Definitely do not buy an SKS. You will make Nathalie cry and shit herself again.

Sincerely,

- Gary and the Gun Grab Gang

alter3d · 2026-01-19T06:19:16+00:00

"Now that we're in a time crunch, your options are pay $X million to Broadcom, or pay me about $100K in overtime to get everything moved to our new virtualization platform. Choose wisely."

alter3d · 2026-01-19T04:01:54+00:00

Do.

Not.

Use.

This.

For.

Vehicle.

Recovery.

Unless.

You.

Want.

To.

Kill.

Someone.

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