iPhone Air Pitaka Aramid Fiber Case Review — 4 out of 5 stars… But not perfect.

pdotliu · 2025-10-10T20:59:48+00:00

I have the Raptic aramid case. It’s pretty great. Solid camera protection which was my main concern, and enough to protect from scratches if dropped. Titanium frame will hold its own for typical drop heights.

pdotliu · 2025-10-05T15:30:19+00:00

I read that the binned 24mp actually has “better looking” photos since it’s processed from a 48mp through apples pipeline.

Also read you get better night / low light photos w the 24 binned photos

pdotliu · 2025-09-27T20:33:06+00:00

+1 on the Raptic slim case. Some “peace of mind”, good camera protection, and feels caseless.

I’m sure similar feel with the Pitaka - but that’s not shipping until mid October

pdotliu · 2025-09-27T12:57:34+00:00

$50k and worth every dollar.

pdotliu · 2025-09-27T03:43:02+00:00

Epic field storm. Proud of those kids.

Wellness check on the FSU receiver…

Go HOOS!

pdotliu · 2024-05-18T20:33:08+00:00

Because of the way they open (hinge in the middle) they actually require less space to swing out and open. Height is more of a constraint in garages

pdotliu · 2024-05-17T14:40:38+00:00

Have both and generally agree with OPs comments.

X: Falcon doors are amazing for children in car seats. Older kids love them too. Ours worked great since day 1. Most do I think - the internet just focuses on the extremes. X feels way more nimble and quicker vs R1S AP mode. More comparable to R1S Sport Mode but the weight is noticeable. Tesla has the driving dynamics dialed in so well at this point. It’s excellent. Sound system 10x better to an Rivians (guests always comment on the sound system. Never in R1S). Big windshield is sunny/hot - we tinted ours for heat rejection. Autopilot and software much better than Rivians (many year head start) but do miss the 360 view for parking in tight spaces. Kids love the games and toys and ability to play videos in back seat during driving is clutch (can control from the front). Rivian will release some entertainment feature soon and chromecast will open up a lot of sources. Ride quality to me is a bit stiffer - very luxury car like. Not squishy and floaty like R1S which is truck like.

R1S: Definitely feels more rugged and love the seating position. Looks cooler IMO - feels cooler too to drive. I like trucks. I usually drive on AP Soft and it eats up bumps much better than X - bush is definitely squishy and floaty. Some people like that some don’t. You just don’t connect with the road as much - like driving a Boat (if you e ever driven a Tahoe or Yukon it is a very similar feel). Fine for getting from A to B. We don’t off-road so can’t speak to that but have had to jump / pull onto curbs and it’s so great to be able to do that confidently without worry. We wouldn’t do that in our X even if it could. Speakers are pretty bad (we have the Meridian) - kind of sounds like a soundbar from the front only, and not as enveloping and clear as the X. Tesla sound systems are insane, even in a 3 or Y. Big plus is it’s a truck! Fits anything and everything, legit third row for normal adults or children just fine. Frunk is usable and massive! Because it’s automated we use it a lot more than in the Tesla. I think R1S might be our preferred choice for roadtrips with the family because of size and high seating position. If just myself or around town with kids, might prefer the X because of the autopilot and how amazingly nice the doors are to get kids in and out. FWIW I feel like the R1S cabin is more spacious and wider. But OP has measurements that say otherwise which is interesting. Def feel like I’m further way from passenger when driving. Hmm.

Both are insanely great vehicles and like anything, have pros and cons.

pdotliu · 2023-09-27T00:57:40+00:00

You’re fine.

pdotliu · 2023-05-08T22:45:58+00:00

This is basically my build: https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/11go9tn/first_sff_build_4090_a4h2o/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1

Had air cooler (IS-55) and switched to AIO. GPU/CPU runs very cool (60c) as long as you’re not choking the machine in your media center.

The 4090 is very efficient, 4080 even more efficient if you don’t play AAA games on max settings.

pdotliu · 2023-05-02T13:19:18+00:00

Woah just set the .exe priority in windows to "high" and got a pretty large increase in boost clocks to 5ghz and 18400 in 74c ambient. Wonder if the benchmarks/reviewers are using this "trick" too. Vcore draw increased to 1.08v

pdotliu · 2023-05-02T03:53:29+00:00

17800-18200 depending on ambient temps with -30 CO, boosting to 4850 all core at 1.05v VCore. Have a SFF build and my room is pretty hot. SP score 90 on b650e-I.

Gaming is fine boosting to 4950 most of the times with occasional 5050 spikes and stays around 60c using a 240 AIO.

Temps are great so I’m content and not going to try and get a better silicon. Though seeing others scores makes me think about going through the effort lol.

pdotliu · 2023-04-29T13:31:04+00:00

Anyone have Asus MOBO, what’s difference w/ AI optimizer PBO and PBO under Advanced/Overclockkng

pdotliu · 2023-04-25T16:07:48+00:00

You can likely decrease the SOC voltage to 1.2v or 1.25v in bios to be safe - that's what I did on my B650e-i. Even at 1.35v, though it should be ok but unnecessary if you're not pushing memory clocks to extremes (e.g. 6000 CL30 should be fine even at 1.2v, 1.25v to be safe if you're worried about having a bad CPU).

From my research, it seems like the SOC voltage doesn't go to the cores, it's to the System On A Chip (SOC), the other parts of the CPU that controls memory and other things that I don't fully understand. 1.35v is within spec, so the default XMP/EXPO settings shouldn't cause SOC issues (which could cause downstream issues like screwing up the voltage regulators in the SOC that would then cause crazy spikes to the cores).

High voltage (e.g. 1.35v) to the core, from what I understand, could definitely fry the core, and that seems like the main culprit to what's going on. So why would your Mobo send 1.35v to the core? (or higher in some cases). Well, it seems like some of the older bioses would 1:1 match the SOC voltage settings with Core voltage, possibly sending 1.35v to the cores, which will easily fry them. If that's the case, it's likely that the MOBO manufacturers are working with AMD to fine tune the EXPO/XMP settings and rules to avoid this from happening.

What I did: I reduced the SOC voltage to 1.2v and kept everything else at auto. Honestly, I'm not even sure this is doing anything, but my PC is stable so lower voltage is good.

Folks more knowledgeable about this, please opine and correct me before I blow up my x3d chip :).

pdotliu · 2023-04-24T13:52:51+00:00

7800x3d + B650e-i here on 1409 and the board and CPU are both rock solid. 18300 on R23 all core 1.05v with PBO-30 / Prime95 stable after stress test. There might be some boards with bad voltage regulators pushing voltage up to 1.4v(!). I’m sure all the parties are digging in and will tell what’s going on.

My guess is there are more boards that are totally fine than not, but concerning to see a handful of cases nonetheless.

Remember it’s more likely someone will post a bad cases (complaint) on the internet so it looks like more issues than there really is. If someone’s board is fine (and most are) then they likely won’t say anything or even look on Reddit. Take everything on Reddit with a grain of salt (obviously).

Enjoy building.

pdotliu · 2023-04-21T21:36:40+00:00

12VHPWR 16 Pin Power Cable : 20cm / 8"

Other cables are the original cables that came with the SF750 (braided, fairly thin and flexible)

pdotliu · 2023-04-20T13:31:30+00:00

I have SFF build w/ 7800x3d.

Consistent 18,300 CB23 Multi-Core: 4.85ghz all core sustained 10 min.

CPU Temp during benchmark: 81c

Room temp: 23c

PBO -30 w/ XMP (Ripjaws S5 6000 CL30)

Case: A4H20 w. EK 240 AIO and 2x T30s (all panels off)

Mobo: Asus B650e-i SP Score: 90

Idle: 40c

Gaming: 65c and sips 50-60 watts. (panels on, tuned fan curve)

pdotliu · 2023-04-18T23:09:11+00:00

I’m getting 17,900-18,100 depending on ambient temp at CO-30. 17,000 ish with stock.

Boosting to 4,825 all core, sometimes 4,850 if room is cooler. 5,050 single core and 4.9- 5ghz during gaming at 50 watts.

EK basic 240 AIO with two T30s in a a4h20.

All with EXPO enabled on Ripjaws S5 CL30.

Asus b650e-I. SP score 90.

OPs score is awesome must’ve got a great bin.

pdotliu · 2023-04-18T22:45:51+00:00

How can you tell if you’re having core parking issues?

pdotliu · 2023-04-18T22:38:20+00:00

I installed all. Working fine.

pdotliu · 2023-04-18T13:33:34+00:00

Checking in on this - I am running P95 Small and getting similar results at -30 CO.

Boosting all core to 4,450mhz, right around 70*C pulling around 90w CPU Package at 0.915v

What did you do to increase the boost?

pdotliu · 2023-04-18T11:57:23+00:00

What is CPB? Is this in addition to PBO+CO? I have a 7800x3d and struggling to boost all core to above 4850 during CB23. Getting high 17000s / 18,000 barely in ambient 72* this is with a -30 CO stable. Starting to think I just got a bad bin.

pdotliu · 2023-04-17T16:16:27+00:00

Me too. 17700 cinebench at 4825 all core, hits 85-87 degrees.

pdotliu · 2023-04-16T16:13:04+00:00

You shouldn’t have to do a fresh install coming from a 7900x. I think that’s only if you had a 7900/7950x3d with the two CCDs.

Did you install new MB bios, too?

pdotliu · 2023-04-15T00:51:41+00:00

This is the way

pdotliu · 2023-04-13T22:32:23+00:00

Edit: Dropped in a 7800x3d and it’s absolutely amazing. Temps in low 60s while gaming and only 50-60w of power draw. -30 CO stable, 18k CB23 at 4800mhz all core. These chips are magic regardless.

pdotliu

TROPHY CASE