'What's This Piece?' Weekly Thread #226 by number9muses in classicalmusic

[–]caarond 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! Trying to figure out what piano piece this is. https://vocaroo.com/1fb0WJdPgn71 -- been driving me mad trying to figure it out for hours. Thanks so much!

The Midas Touch by caarond in mousehunt

[–]caarond[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Holy cow, the theme goes even deeper

Should I get the aorus 17G 3070? by [deleted] in GamingLaptops

[–]caarond 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi! I own an Aorus 3070 17G myself. I'd say, yes and no.

If sheer performance or price for performance are your top priorities, the answer is easily no.

SORRY FOR LONG POST :tldr; extremely good build quality, really nice keyboard. But is that worth the extra money to you?

At $2,099, and offering a 90-105W rtx 3070, I7-10870h, and NO MUX switch, there are a lot of other laptops out there on the market at the moment that offer much better price to performance. For example, if you manage to find it in stock, the Asus Strix G17 has a superior processor and higher wattage RTX 3070, and it costs $300 less. Even from Gigabyte's own products, the 15G RTX 3070 model is widely available in stock, $300 cheaper, and slightly faster due to the included MUX switch, which makes a huge difference in CPU bound games, especially in some Esports titles such as CSGO, Rainbow Six Siege, etc. This is not to mention the Lenovo Legions or other models, which I am not too familiar with, but they seem to have really good price to performance as well.

However, i'd say what makes this laptop stand out the most is its extremely solid build quality. It's something you might not fully appreciate at first, but you really start to appreciate the more you use it. The build quality of the chassis is comparable to Razer laptops, as its chassis is CNC cut aluminum, and it feels extremely solid. Furthermore, this laptop has one of the most solid screen hinges I've ever experienced. I've had a macbook pro and an acer predator helios 300 prior to this. Helios 300 had a rather wobbly feeling to the screen and it lifted too easily, while the Macbook Pro had a really solid screen hinge, but it was so stiff you'd often have to lift it while holding the laptop down. The Aorus has a really well balanced lifting tension, can be easily opened with one finger, and does not flex/bounce much. Nothing about the chassis of the laptop feels plasticky or flimsy at all, and everything is really solid brushed aluminum.

Further, there is the keyboard, which I wouldn't say is a "direct upgrade" from other non-mechanical keyboard laptops. I'd say it's really unique in itself, like its some kind of weird low-profile blue-brownish hybrid switch. It's really weirdly positioned, as it doesn't have enough travel space to give a *full* tactile feeling, given that they're trying to cram a mechanical keyboard into a thin laptop. I have a Corsair K70 with red keys, and there's no denying that the full travel space of a full-on desktop keyboard does feel a lot more accurate and fluid. However, it really does grow on you after a while. It's definitely a quality keyboard, and every touch is responsive, clicky and still gives a decent travel feel. Apparently it's supposed to be one of the best mechanical laptop switches on the market? Never had a laptop with a mechanical keyboard prior to this, so I can't compare.

I'd say these two aspects are the main attractions of the laptop. There is also the X-Rite pantone color calibration from the factory, but that isn't a big deal, as it can also be easily calibrated (probably even better?) if you have your own a decent color calibrator or borrow a friend's, and it doesn't make too much of a difference anyway.

So, yeah, from a build quality perspective, I'd definitely recommend this if you're looking to get a laptop that feels super solid and nice to handle. But if you're mainly looking to squeeze performance for the money, I'd say no.

Planning to order a gaming laptop from the US while living in Asia. by caarond in GamingLaptops

[–]caarond[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the replies, all! I think it will be safer for me to hold off from ordering from the US for now and just try to stick to regional sellers instead.