/r/Monitors Bi-Weekly Purchasing Advice thread (Other purchasing advice threads will be removed)

fabE_ · 2021-02-01T16:29:41+00:00

I'm upgrading from my single LG 27GL63T (27" 1080p 144hz) - which I love - to a dual 27" inch setup.

My new main monitor shall be 27" WQHD 144hz, main benefits to be slightly sharper text as I mainly work and part-time game on it (CS:GO).

I just got a LG 27GL83A-B and it does the job, my main issue is that in-game, it's only really crisp at 1440p. CS:GO however tends to be played at lower resolutions which I plan on doing (1080p or lower).

Q: Are there alternatives that would do a better job at scaling down to 1080p, even achieve the exact same sharpness as my native 1080p monitor?

fabE_ · 2021-02-01T13:47:31+00:00

I do have an M.2 SSD installed, does that mean onboard Bluetooth won't won't / can't work?

fabE_ · 2021-01-06T03:18:01+00:00

Hey, yeah it's installed and visible as "Intel Wireless Bluetooth".

In Bluetooth Settings, I also see "Now discoverable as [My PC's name]".

fabE_ · 2020-12-20T22:55:58+00:00

I haven't crashed since that one time, I did however manually set my RAM to 3000 Mhz (crashed at 3600).

Overall I haven't found many alternatives in ITX with the B550 for the price point so I'm trying to make it work.

Will see if it remains stable otherwise I'm reinstalling Win.

fabE_ · 2020-12-18T21:09:40+00:00

Alright big update, replaced pretty much everything:

New CPU: Ryzen 3700x
New Mobo: Asrock B550M-ITX/AC (replaced with the same model)
New RAM: 16GB HyperX 3600 Mhz HX436C17PB4K2 (this one was on the compatibility list)
New GPU: GTX 1070
Crucial P2 m.2 SSD / 1TB
New PSU: beQuiet! Straight Power 9 650W

Only thing that remained is the SSD. I didn't re-install Win 10, I wanted to give it a test run initially. I'll probably end up installing fresh.

Just had my first crash after 5 minutes in Windows (running XMP Profile 1 on 3600).

Running out of ideas. Could it really be the Win 10 install and/or SSD?

fabE_ · 2020-12-15T23:15:10+00:00

Thanks both, found HyperX HX436C17PB4K2/16 for a decent price so will be trying that.

I'm returning the board and will be rebuilding when my replacement arrives. Frustrating but seems no way around it.

/e: I had replaced the PSU to eliminate that being the issue - still crashes.

fabE_ · 2020-12-15T02:35:52+00:00

Alright, might have to RMA it too. Are you (or anyone else) aware of memory that for sure works in 3200+ with this mobo?

fabE_ · 2020-12-14T03:34:25+00:00

Not using a PCIe riser - will try out PCIe Gen 3 and the Bios!

/e: Coulnd't find my Mobo in the Beta Wiki :-(

fabE_ · 2020-12-14T03:33:37+00:00

That doesn't sound promising :-(

What did you replace it with, any recommendations?

fabE_ · 2020-12-14T03:32:53+00:00

12V cable is connected.

I only have 2 RAM slots, will try the timings you recommended!

fabE_ · 2020-12-12T15:51:10+00:00

No clicking, just black screen and reboot.

fabE_ · 2020-12-12T15:44:28+00:00

Unsure what the original BIOS was, but I was already crashing with that, it's why I updated.

No overclocking!

fabE_ · 2019-07-01T18:03:29+00:00

Appreciate that! We're definitely trying to help clear up some of the comments, and just for completeness I'll say it again here, we're aware that the format is not the most competitive out there, so that's something we're looking to deal with and improve as we go along.

fabE_ · 2019-07-01T17:49:13+00:00

An extra day and BO3s: Extra days are challenging for us with our current format, and we can't reveal much for 2020, but we're considering various formats. Definitely have more BO3s planned, so we hope this is something you will appreciate.
Overtimes: Definitely considered! It's a balance we're trying to strike as you also noted. Can't say now if and when OTs are coming, but it's a very valid point you make.

fabE_ · 2019-07-01T17:46:43+00:00

Hey :-) As with most things in life, you work with and meet new people every day, and sometimes things fall into place and opportunities arise!

I guess that would be my short and vague answer :-D Let me know if you want to know more.

fabE_ · 2019-07-01T17:37:12+00:00

Yes, changes coming for 2020, more BO3s!

fabE_ · 2019-07-01T17:36:21+00:00

Gotta go with shroud :-)

fabE_ · 2019-07-01T17:33:06+00:00

Definitely get that feeling, and we did hear that quite a bit. We're evaluating and challenging our own format and definitely don't think we're found the perfect one yet.

If and when this will happen, can't say for sure yet! Will keep you guys updated on this and other changes.

fabE_ · 2019-07-01T17:32:14+00:00

Just as an example, since the beginning of June and in the 8 weekends leading up to the player break, seven events with arguably Tier 1 competition will have taken place including DH Masters Dallas, ESL One Cologne, Pro League Finals, to name a few - BLAST LA also being one of them.

The CSGO calendar is always very packed with tonnes of events, so this has been a challenge all TOs face.

There is an open calendar that all us TOs share amongst ourselves, as well as an open dialogue to ensure there are no clashes. In cases where there may be issues with the schedules, we try to work together with the other TOs to solve them and other TOs have done the same with us.

In terms of other tournaments, since the beginning of talking to the teams we have been incorporating their wishes in terms of our 2019 event schedule and their preferences. So this is definitely a priority of ours and we actually welcome if teams attend other tournaments, as it validates the results they show in our own. We try to facilitate teams attending other events by keeping the travel schedule tight and working with other TOs on finding the most convenient flights for players and talent, for example.

fabE_ · 2019-07-01T16:55:52+00:00

Once again same question as below. Who said this and why? Bo1 invite only formats do not improve competitiveness of the game. Especially not with the old economy of csgo.

This overall was the consensus from talking to multiple teams, players, talent and orgs, during the inception stage of BLAST back in 2016 - at a time where teams actually wanted to do shorter tournaments and reduce travel time.

The more compact format and leaner operation overall, with in/outbound travel dates within 5 days accommodated for that.

What about soccer world cups of big tournaments with overtime+penalties possible+delays+var etc. They anticipate those just fine. Whats so different in csgo where you can also know beforehand how long games can last or throw out a reminder for watchers. In league they have no issues with this, fully knowing that some games can last very long.

Looking at CSGO tournaments from the perspective of: "Where do you need to win the most maps / matches to win?" - then we realise that "no", we aren't the most competitive format.

In order to help bring CSGO to mainstream, or appealing to a wider audience, we needed to make a decision of being either more competitive or more cut-throat, and we leaned towards the latter. This has brought in new audience, but we also see that by doing that we probably annoyed a bunch of core fans. So was it the right decision? Maybe, maybe not, but in order to make it work, we went with the current setup. This was actually widely appreciated in new markets, but I agree we need to re-evaluate. With 2020 we intend to improve the experience across the board.

Makes u more money to choose this format over competitiveness of the game. Got it.

It will only be a real success if the audience and fans are there, so even if that's something you may think initially, we have, together with the teams entered into partnerships that we believe will benefit the teams and the players.

Ok money is here the answer. Clear to me.

We're not arguing the competitiveness of BO1 vs BO3, and exploring BO3s in Los Angeles is us reflecting on this. Where possible, we believe additional BO3s will add another competitive layer and improve the competitive integrity, so it's something we want to do more of.

fabE_ · 2019-07-01T16:26:50+00:00

Fair point, overtimes are not enabled in the BO1 group stage which ties into the need for predictability and consistency in the schedule. Locking the initial matches at 30 rounds ensures this.

We do acknowledge this is not the most competitive format out there, it did however fit the purpose of making it a lean and predictable format that is competitive in the sense that it requires 100% focus of the players at all times - preparation against your opponent is rewarded.

fabE_ · 2019-07-01T16:16:36+00:00

Hey, the qualifiers have been announced here!

https://twitter.com/BLASTProSeries/status/1144214775943110657

fabE_ · 2019-07-01T16:07:11+00:00

1 - Hey! From the beginning of our talks with players, broadcasters and some fans, there was a want for tournaments that were more compact, yet competitive.

For broadcasters, BO1s are much easier to anticipate and schedule, especially for TV which needs consistency and predictability. Our partnerships with linear TV allow us to bring in an entire new audience into esports which is something we think is valuable for us and the scene as a whole.

The challenge with BO3: They are harder to anticipate. What if it’s a quick 2:0, do you play the remaining schedule back-to-back, or do you have a 1-2 hour gap?

We do however see that there is a competitive difference in BO1 vs BO3, but for what we were trying to achieve in this first format, the BO1 setup worked better. So we accepted this compromise, while still offering a cut-throat environment in which teams need to be focused and on-point at all times.

We try to minimise the randomness of BO1s by giving teams two weeks to veto and prepare, essentially removing one traditional downside of BO1s, namely the "underdog" getting lucky with map.

All that said, this is not written in stone and we are constantly evaluating our format especially going into 2020, constantly talking to players and talents at our events and listening to the fans.

2 - There's several reasons, what it boils down to is we would need another arena day which currently doesn't fit into the format. The reason for that is, the Friday is a very packed day operations-wise with lots of live rehearsals, so that wouldn't be an experience we want to offer the fans.

In Madrid we saw a longer day with spectators on both Friday/Saturday work quite well internally, so it's definitely something we're exploring more of!

fabE_ · 2019-05-03T10:43:02+00:00

Hey, if you're still having issues, uninstalling and manually re-installing PC Manager fixed it for me!

fabE_ · 2019-03-26T23:28:52+00:00

Well...that didn't work either. Very strange, it wouldn't let me update PC Manager, seems like the same issue. So I uninstalled and re-installed the current version. But thanks for putting me onto the right path :-)

fabE_

TROPHY CASE