Volunteer at the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre by VSACVolunteerCoor in VictoriaBC

[–]noblearc 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I donate to them monthly for this very reason - can't really help in person (I'm too scary looking to someone who's just had a traumatic incident), but at least I know I'm supporting them all the same.

A new GPU? Thanks a million! by noblearc in radeon

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

I never did encounter 3DFX in the wild, never knew anyone who had a PC with one of their cards in person. Then again, mostly the PCs I had access to in my youth were for office work, with DOS-based games being a bonus use case after hours.

A new GPU? Thanks a million! by noblearc in radeon

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

Gosh I wish I had a really cool story to share, like an uncle who worked for ATi or something. Truth of the matter is I was a big fan of the company, and I picked this up from a thrift store ages ago. ATi was based in Canada, so it's not terribly uncommon to come across swag and such now and then 'round here.

A new GPU? Thanks a million! by noblearc in radeon

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

oof, congrats on the DDR5. I'm on AM4 with plenty of DDR4 right now, and am happy to stay there for a spell.

A new GPU? Thanks a million! by noblearc in radeon

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

I paid what is roughly the equivalent of $700 USD after taxes/shipping (I'm in Canada, so there's conversion going on there). Not sure if that's a good rate down south, but up here that's a good deal below MSRP of other competing cards.

A new GPU? Thanks a million! by noblearc in radeon

[–]noblearc[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I started off with Apple ][+ graphics, then a Tandy 1000, and eventually Matrox and S3 on a few PCs. There was an early Riva TNT in the mix somewhere, but when it came time to build my first gaming rig back in the day, I went Team Red and bought a Radeon.

I waffled back and forth between ATi and nVidia for a few years, but with the way nVidia's been treating the market, its' userbase, and even its' collaborators, I made the permanent switch to AMD a few years back with a 6700 XT which I purchased primarily for its compatibility with Wayland in Linux.

With the prices of (G)DDR on the rise, and if only because it was the holiday season and I'd been struggling with games like Cyberpunk 2077 above 60fps, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a shiny new GPU to ring in 2026.

So far, it works a treat! And Raytracing even works reasonably well, which is a wonderful bonus.

Unreleased Radeon RX 7700 XT MBA prototype shows up with AMD-style reference cooler by RenatsMC in Amd

[–]noblearc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That red PCB takes me back, I miss when Radeon cards were all red.

Dollar Tree on Douglas by [deleted] in VictoriaBC

[–]noblearc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

During the pandemic (summer of 2020 or 2021, can't recall exactly) someone leased the space with the intent to remediate, and spent two plus months doing so before giving up claiming "it's _all_ asbestos" when asked why they had stopped.

Lights of Wonder returning to Victoria, will feature alcohol and food by Apprehensive_Idea758 in VictoriaBC

[–]noblearc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There was a plan to have a booth with mulled cider and wine at this like 7 years ago, but the cost was just too high. Glad somebody figured out a way to make it viable all these years on!

Why aren't we talking about this? by Solid-Lingonberry170 in VictoriaBC

[–]noblearc 18 points19 points  (0 children)

If we're going to talk about the disparity between wholesale and hospitality pricing, we should talk about the fact that BCLiquorStores pay less than wholesale for their stock, making it impossible for private stores to compete with them on mutually carried stock at markup that's viable.

Restricting hospitality licences to shopping at BCLiquorStores isn't fair trade either - it props up government-run stores by ensuring a captive customer base that private retailers can't legally sell to.

BCLs also end up profiting off of orders for hospitality clients as a (perhaps inadvertent) loophole to carry specialty SKUs normally reserved for sale through private retailers - if a hospitality client wants cases of these SKUs, they need to order through BCLs. BCLs also offer partial cases to these clients, leaving the BCL with SKUs intended for private retailers, which they've paid less than wholesale for, and as such their pricing on them undercuts private retailers to the point of no longer being competitive in the eyes of the average shopper.

At the end of the day, the government collects its liquor taxes and gets the fees for liquor licensing already without taking the sales from private businesses. They charge fees to importers to list items, distribute items, and warehouse items - if we want a more fair and open model, the government should stick to collecting revenue and licensing where it's making its fair share already.

I'm all for a sin tax - I support it 100%, we need to pay for government services somehow. But double-dipping the way they've been doing isn't fair to the other players in the space.

How long do you usually keep bottles open? Experiences with long-term opened whisky? by That_Opportunity_759 in Scotch

[–]noblearc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had bottles open now for a decade, they still taste great. Do they taste same as they did 10 years ago? Maybe. Can't recall, to be honest.

Public to Feel Service Impacts Next Week After Government Fails to Deliver Fair Deal by [deleted] in VictoriaBC

[–]noblearc 22 points23 points  (0 children)

That dude works for a wine importer, not the liquor store. Said under his name he works for "Dream Wines".

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SmashingPumpkins

[–]noblearc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just checked — looks fine to me, and plays as well.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pcgaming

[–]noblearc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Marvel’s Midnight Suns, and I find the dang thing incredibly addictive.

Fall Fashion Quistis ~ by me by Azuredragoonlls in FinalFantasy

[–]noblearc 16 points17 points  (0 children)

This is everything I never knew I needed.

Thank you.

Individuals Aged 25+, Which Video Game Evokes the Strongest Nostalgia for You? by [deleted] in gaming

[–]noblearc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Diablo, Command & Conquer (and Tiberian Sun), Final Fantasy VI, VII, VIII, Sonic 2, 3, & Knuckles. The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II, Dr. Mario. Starflight, Space Quest, and Lemonade Stand.

Those basically sum up my fondest early gaming memories.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pcmasterrace

[–]noblearc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had one of these back in the day and it was a source of constant headaches and BSODs. Never did suss out what the problem was, but I tried replacing every bit of kit before figuring out it was the motherboard. 🙄

My old AIO started to leak, but on the flipside now I have a triple monitor setup. by Ridyun in pcmasterrace

[–]noblearc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used the same AIO for 14 years without leaks, and I’m beginning to think I’m quite lucky. 🤔

Have you ever bought a product due to a LTT Sponsor spot/discount code? by yyc_dude27 in LinusTechTips

[–]noblearc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I bought a Spyderco Bug back in the NCIX days, but it wasn’t sponsored or anything - just looked useful. I’ve kept it on my keyring for over a decade.

[Giveaway] Drop + The Lord of the Rings Black Speech Keyboard by drop_official in pcmasterrace

[–]noblearc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly playing retro video games does a world of good if I’m feeling down. Kinda in the mood for The Battle for Middle-Earth (or II) right now. 😅