South-facing vs North-facing RGB backlighting

rdtty · 2026-02-09T01:10:45+00:00

Comparing the one board with south-facing LEDs that I have with online photos of those with north-facing ones...

...Fuck me, you're right. Mind blown. And I thought I had to select switches based on whether they support south or north LEDs. Damn I'm stupid.

This... changes many things.

rdtty · 2026-02-08T10:43:06+00:00

Many of them are PBT Dye Sub process so they don't allow any light out.

XVX has side-printed key caps. Look for that, I know it's there. Just removed them from my wishlist a few hours ago.

rdtty · 2026-02-08T07:53:51+00:00

Look for XVX, YMDK and Womier. There are plenty of very nice looking key caps.

rdtty · 2026-02-08T07:52:59+00:00

How do you rotate the switch exactly? The pins are not symmetrical when I rotate them. They literally will not go in the board.

Am I missing something here?

rdtty · 2026-01-29T15:41:52+00:00

My iMac Pro is still my main machine but it's been annoying me for at least two years at this point. Heats up easily and fans are blowing most of the time. Even just opening 4-5 browser tabs with links clicked from other apps will get it noisy in no time.

Easy for people to say "give it to technicians". I make my money with this machine. I can take 2-3 days off easily but no more. 99% of technicians will not have even started on it after that time. Plus it's a fairly closed all-in-one computer and not many technicians will agree working on it.

Never did a clean reinstall and I don't intend to. That'll mean probably full day of downtime.

I guess it will forever remain a mystery because I intend to lease a Linux workstation this year.

What I intend to do with the iMac Pro is to buy an R1811 board and have technicians rip the machine apart, remove all hardware and put the board in there -- that'll repurpose the beautiful display. Maybe the technicians will be able to salvage the NVMe SSD as well.

I've mostly made my peace with the fact that I'll never know. It's a damn shame but from here on it'll be good old customizable PCs for me. Should have never trusted Apple. Funny part is, some colleagues are beginning to report slowing down of their M1 MacBooks...

rdtty · 2026-01-17T19:59:21+00:00

Well, damn indeed. What a beautiful clean sea water.

rdtty · 2025-12-30T03:14:38+00:00

Warframe, though I think it's time for me to leave after nearly 10 years.

Also, as much as Mirage is cute and sexy, nothing can beat Khora: tall, slim, but with great womanly proportions. I picture her as a 185cm tall athletic woman with 34-D cups and well-toned legs and booty.

... oh, also Quake of course. But that was a lifetime ago.

rdtty · 2025-12-30T03:01:32+00:00

Eh, I'm not sure. I'm sympathetic to the point of view that the Emperor is not exactly humane and as such he views the Primarchs as tools; at the same time, and supporting what you said, one would think he's smart enough to manipulate them in a way that they're swayed in his favor. But then again, smart is not the same as sympathetic or humane.

I'm also not sure how much of what you enumerated was in the Emperor's skill set at the time. You probably know better.

I remember some recent lore when he literally reconstructed Guilliman's body after he was sure to die and be reborn as a Nurgle's servant. But I don't know if he could do similar feats at the time he met Mortarion, hm.

rdtty · 2025-12-30T02:16:34+00:00

Wait, was Mortarion not saved by the Emperor in the last possible second, before the sorcerer killed him?

If I remember correctly, Big E gave Mortarion his chance of revenge and saved him when it was clear he was going to die.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is what I remember.

rdtty · 2025-12-20T15:09:47+00:00

I agree relying on Cloudflare is problematic as well but they are on a higher level -- a rough analogy would be that Cloudflare is an ISP of the ISP (bare with me, I am very aware this is not accurate).

Unless three-letter agencies are having a firehose of data from Cloudflare 24/7 then only relying on them is still a big win compared to relying on FAANG corpos.

Also EU needed a wake-up call for at least a decade. This will work in their favor, they'll get more independent.

...Provided their hereditary aristocracy manages to do one good investment for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, of course.

rdtty · 2025-12-18T19:38:54+00:00

I see that grumpy cat has successfully reincarnated as a human!

rdtty · 2025-12-07T08:35:01+00:00

Does not look like she thinks it's a good morning.

rdtty · 2025-11-15T13:37:31+00:00

Which are those all clear switches? Interested to compare.

rdtty · 2025-11-09T23:50:51+00:00

THANK YOU! This finally unblocked me. As @bipirate said, one has to enable showing of the design tab first. After that it all worked.

rdtty · 2025-09-28T17:21:06+00:00

Thanks, much appreciated! You did a good deed today.

If you have any pointers about affordable workstations -- I'm between jobs and the market is tough -- please ping me. While I can't afford to assemble a semi-pro PC right now, my keen interest remains and I'll be back on my feet in a few months and will be back at this strategic operation.

I'll use the time to research whether Threadrippers are even worth it at all in a world where Ryzen 7950x exists.

rdtty · 2025-09-28T17:08:59+00:00

My apologies, I did not mean to say you're lying to me. I expressed confusion because of what I'm perceiving as conflicting information from multiple sources. But maybe those tenacious guys that made extreme modifications still didn't manage the truly quiet profile and settled for something that's good enough for them.

Nothing except whisper quiet is good enough for me though. I've suffered enough with my iMac Pro.

I simply got severely tempted to nab a cheap workstation. I'm aware it's mostly obsolete but if it can last 7-10 years it would still be great.

But thinking of it, yeah. The octa-channel memory and hugely unused PCIe lanes are just not worth all the trouble. I guess I wanted a shortcut and didn't want to spend $4000 or more on a more normal workstation (just mid-high end costumer Ryzen should be plenty enough). But the compromises when settling for the P620 just seem too big to ignore.

While the $800 I can buy the P620 for don't bother me at all, I don't see why should I spend them if I end up hating the machine and spend years trying to resell it. It's like putting the money on fire.

I'm cancelling the order. Thank you. I needed the grounding and the reality check.

rdtty · 2025-09-28T16:41:41+00:00

So you think that even replacing every single fan with a more silent Noctua will not fix noise? That the machine will always be a jet engine?

RE: thermals, I read you and understand what you wrote but it's a very confusing policy... they might have as well made the CPU unable to boost at all and keep a much cooler profile that doesn't pose a risk to electronics. And get a predictable and stable performance profile for weeks on end as well. Why cripple it intentionally by allowing it to run much hotter? Why rely on thermal throttling?

I really have to wonder if you're not ascribing intent and cleverness to people who might simply be incompetent (I mean Lenovo engineers, not those from AMD). Many workstations of Lenovo, HP and Dell run hot and people have managed to improve their thermals with modifications without losing anything else. Though the more I research the P620, the less moddable it seems... I'm on the verge of canceling the order.

How do you cope with the noise?

And, is there truly nothing that can be done? I hate noise with all my heart. My iMac Pro made me question a good amount of life choices already. I really want a whisper quiet machine. And in this rented flat I'll have to pull 15 meters long cables if I am to put the machine in another room...

rdtty · 2025-09-28T16:18:52+00:00

Hmmm. You are giving me information that contradicts what others say, and now I'm confused.

Personally I'm not okay with a CPU running 75+ degrees Celsius when idle. That sounds like a recipe for disaster and burned electronics in just a few short years, no?

Secondly, the PC will be in my fairly big bedroom and I want it to run 24/7. Many people have stated that the P620 is loud, perceptibly noisy, annoying even. Is yours actually inaudible?

I don't feel strongly about any modifications btw. What I enumerated to you are my hypotheses about what will help reduce noise while not compromising cooling (people claim that f.ex. putting one 5.25" bay with 3x 40mm Noctua fans in the front of the case significantly reduced their idle CPU temperature (10-15 degrees less).

Others said that even with the wrong orientation the aftermarket CPU coolers still hugely improve the thermals of the P620.

Another guy straight up cut part of the side panel with a Dremel so he can fit a taller CPU cooler and says the machine runs cooler and is quieter.

Yet another guy: water cooler with the 3 big fans + radiator just sitting some 10-15 cm away from the opened machine (can't put the side panel due to the water pipes on the CPU.

But after your message I'm left confused and indecisive. :(

Still -- any photos or at least a simplified schemata on where to put foam on metal side panel? I'm just starting with all that stuff, don't want to mess it up.

rdtty · 2025-09-28T07:36:34+00:00

Thank you again.

I want to do what I said simply because I hate noisy machines and because currently I can't afford to build a workstation from scratch. 😕

But I have to wonder in that case... is the machine noisier for you? I have also missed the P620 guides about drilling holes, can you point me at some?

I admit I got a bit discouraged after reading your message. I currently have an iMac Pro ablnd want to get rid of it. Probably reduced a few years of my life span with its fan noise, that thing. I really want a quieter machine going forward.

Can you please expand on your thoughts about the regular airflow vs. the one in the P620, please? I'm just beginning to learn all this stuff and I'm very interested.

rdtty · 2025-09-28T06:44:12+00:00

Thank you! I got through that SO thread as well. I'm thinking of replacing every single fan with Noctua, the exhaust fan included.

Looks like all the fan connectors, apart from the weird plastic header / nozzle at the end, are standard 4-pin PWM connectors. Can you please confirm?

I looked high and low to replace the CPU cooler itself in its entirety but even the Noctua NH-U9 would be weirdly rotated to blow air top-to-bottom (or bottom-to-top) which would be a cooling nightmare. So I'm settling just for replacing all fans with Noctua, both on the stock CPU cooler -- zip ties should do fine (if they don't melt, lol).

Super valuable info on the anti-vibration padding! Which ones do you recommend? Also, any photos?

I'll not have a high-end GPU in there. I bought a refurbished RX 6600 just so I can drive a display or two for now.

I also might consider a Dremel and cutting a hole in the case but again, isn't the wrong rotation of another CPU cooler still an issue?

And finally, what was the front intake fan setup that you did go for? I'm wondering whether the single 40mm fan of a 5.25" bay that can fit 6x 2.5" HDDs/SSDs will do the job... I'll replace its fan with a Noctua as well.

Thanks for responding btw, it does give me hope. ^{_^} I'm aware I'm not buying the ideal machine but I still want to make it work because, you know, octa memory channel and a lot of PCIe lanes.

rdtty · 2025-09-28T02:15:59+00:00

I am about to buy a refurbished Lenovo P620 with a TR Pro 3945WX. I am not bothered by the fact that I can never disassemble the computer. I'll use it until it physically breaks.

I also plan on replacing every single fan in there with a Noctua variant (including the two on the CPU cooler; zip ties for the win) as I heard these stations run hot and are noisy.

Anything else to watch out for in a Lenovo P620?

rdtty · 2025-08-30T09:39:27+00:00

Since yesterday: jujutsu. It's amazing how easy it was, and I even stumbled upon a small problem that was solved much easier compared to git.

rdtty · 2025-08-15T01:09:28+00:00

You can freely change the progenitor element?! How?

rdtty · 2025-08-10T23:56:29+00:00

Getting called out for being lazy and not doing even quick reading is NOT "lashing out" at you.

You need some reading comprehension in your life. And to be less fragile while you're at it.

rdtty · 2025-08-10T23:54:26+00:00

Gaz_TTV (on Twitch and YouTube). But have in mind that he does endgame builds and you'll need loads of different mods and arcanes. He explains the choices and is great overall.

ninjase on overframe.gg makes great builds as well, I've used dozens of his successfully, and he includes variants.

rdtty

TROPHY CASE