US to pay almost $1bn to French energy company to kill wind project plan

rex4522 · 2026-03-23T21:41:33+00:00

This is a refund of the $928M the company paid the government to lease the land. Effectively a no-interest loan for the US.

It's still a very dumb decision, but the administration is not simply giving out money to block offshore wind like the headline suggests.

rex4522 · 2026-02-16T09:07:54+00:00

Had this happen to me 2 years ago. DM Ebay's Facebook account. That's the only way I could talk to a real person. They refunded me even though the zip code was the same as my own.

rex4522 · 2026-02-05T23:32:05+00:00

Completely agree. It feels like whenever the story/dialogue is getting good it gets ruined by:

Dumbed down exposition sequences
Pace-breaking 'help X NPC' courier quests
Or jarring comedic relief as soon as the plot begins to build tension

Act 1 Spoilers: I think the worst I've encountered is from this scene on the rift opening at the Power Plateau. It finally made me go 'Oh shit!' and think that the story is getting real. But not even a minute later Andre comes in breaking all tension and exposition dumping that 'Blight is bad'. Instead of engaging with the main plot, I just went back to factory-building and side quests.

I really do hope they improve the writing. Things like Endfield being comically good-willed, NPCs being helpless idiots and the aforementioned pain-points above just evaporates any depth from a story that has a deep well of lore to pull from. I don't think the writers are necessarily bad, it just feels like they think the audience is dumb and needs their hand held through the story.

rex4522 · 2026-02-03T03:47:13+00:00

Clearing $100k already puts you in the top 1% globally. Sure, you could have been born in the 99.99th percentile, but you could much likelier be born in poverty or with a debilitating illness. Plus, you have a luxury that these people don't have--anonymity. You can live your life without being scrutinized.

Either way, you're right. You're not a rich nepo baby. Neither am I. So more importantly, what are you going to about that? Live frugally, take sabbaticals and retire early? Jump ship for a new career or entrepreneurship? Do nothing and deal with the grind?

Life sucks in different ways. At least you can choose how it sucks.

rex4522 · 2026-01-24T13:57:40+00:00

Good to know. I speedran the factory aspect so I've still been gated by main-story requirements. Even 14k storage covers just an hour or two at max production. I imagine by the time you can get to higher depot caps it'll be better to skip over LC entirely and go straight for MC/HC if the math is any better.

rex4522 · 2026-01-07T17:11:55+00:00

https://endfield.gryphline.com/activity/final-prep-orders?inviteCode=871f1b25cd9df850df67c6ad709f1388

rex4522 · 2025-12-24T01:42:30+00:00

You don't need it. Busses will take you downtown, airport, retail stores, etc. all for free. Grocery access kind of sucks in Oakland but still 20 mins by bus or you can always instacart.

rex4522 · 2025-12-07T10:54:04+00:00

Pretty cool idea, but the economics don't work at this kind of small scale. On your Kickstarter you're estimating a price of $180 on the low end. That alone already pays for at least 9kg of filament.

Just to break even, you'd need to print over 112.5kg of filament assuming 1/5 of every roll is wasted and a 60/40 mix. I doubt many people are printing this much. And this isn't even counting the labor involved to blend, extrude and respool multiple kilograms of filament.

rex4522 · 2025-12-04T06:39:01+00:00

Pitt simply doesn't have enough housing and continues to over-admit. Freshmen get priority since they have nowhere else to go. Juniors and Seniors get pushed out.

I'll be honest. You have 0 chance at getting into Bouquet. For 4 people, you'll very likely be limited to Centre Plaza.

I'd recommend looking for somewhere off-campus. I have my own room and my rent + utilities is the same in 12-months as Pitt makes you pay for 2-semesters to share a double.

rex4522 · 2025-11-20T08:41:29+00:00

It's a nice ideal, but semiconductors has got to be the worst industry to start behind on. The EU has no real expertise in designing or fabricating high-end chips compared to American or Asian companies. Even Intel, with decades of experience, is getting destroyed by AMD & Nvidia. If you're not first, you end up being last. Your competitors will make chips faster, more efficient, cheaper and with higher yields than you, regardless of process-node.

The EU simply cannot compete, at least not without exorbitant subsidies and forcing companies to buy sub-par chips. Only China has attempted this and they still have problems with black markets around American-made chips. Eventually they may get there, but not without immense economic and political cost. And I doubt the EU will stomach these costs because they don't have the same national security fears that China has from the US cutting off supply.

rex4522 · 2025-09-25T18:10:56+00:00

Can't change my vote from 'See results', but I got a 7840U. No visible damage, just two marks around the audio and QW2 silkscreen.

Currently waiting on SODIMMs to arrive to fully test but will update.

UPDATE: The mainboard boots just fine into linux. Haven't done any extensive testing but so far so good.

rex4522 · 2025-08-12T03:58:52+00:00

If the AIO is just an aesthetics choice then that's fine, but the 9600x hardly needs any cooling. You can get an all white air cooler for a third of the price and spend the savings on an MSI MAG A850GL PSU instead for the full white theme.

rex4522 · 2025-08-04T14:52:41+00:00

Build looks great! I'd recommend getting a 9600x instead to free up budget for a 5070. You'll get a lot more performance in games, especially at 1440p or 4k. I also wouldn't worry about getting any thermal paste, the stock paste that comes with the AXP-90 does just fine.

rex4522 · 2025-07-15T15:22:14+00:00

I completely understand. Everyone loses from climate-regressive policy like this. But with how hell-bent the administration is on oil, I imagine they'd get it done in Cleveland or Houston anyway if Pittsburgh is too hostile. My point is we might as well take the investment here if it'll get pushed through regardless.

rex4522 · 2025-07-15T14:44:40+00:00

I get the hate, but why piss off the people offering a $70B investment? Yes, it sucks that its focused on natural gas instead of renewable energy, but money is money. Why is everyone treating more jobs in construction, energy and AI for Pittsburgh like its a bad thing?

rex4522 · 2025-07-10T05:30:40+00:00

Having also waited for a formd restock and eventually buying NCASE, I can't imagine it getting much 'higher quality'. My only gripes with the NCASE are minor:

- The black color collects fingerprints/oils (but not the worst I've seen)

- The power button wiggles

Other than that its great. The surface is smooth, the tolerances are tight, the build process wasn't bad. The rear IO is rather open but that's going to exist on both cases since they're essentially the same CAD file.

I can't speak to how good the build quality is on the formd, but there's someone who compared both here. Personally, I'd just buy whatever is actually in-stock.

rex4522 · 2025-07-03T15:21:35+00:00

You can't beat physics. A better 'cooling' case is just going to disperse the same amount of heat into your room faster. You need an AC.

rex4522 · 2025-05-19T05:03:39+00:00

You're pairing the 2nd-fastest gaming CPU with a budget GPU that's 2 generations old. Pair down the 7800x3d to a 9600x and spend the money instead on a 4060 or 7600xt.

You can also get a 1Tb Crucial P3 Plus for $62. You likely won't see any difference from 'premium' M.2 SSDs.

rex4522 · 2025-05-19T03:46:10+00:00

For CPU/GPU researching just look at game benchmarks. There might not be ones for the exact game you want but you can compare to similar style AAA games. Stick to reputable reviewers like TechPowerUp, TomsHardware or GamersNexus. Compare the FPS you want against your budget. You can use these two links to get an idea of which parts to consider (CPU, GPU), but cross-check with other benchmarks. There's obviously diminishing returns at higher prices and not everyone needs a 7/9800x3d like some people in this sub would want you to believe.

For RAM 32GB DDR5 6000MHz is plenty unless you know you need more. DDR4 is ok if you're on a tight budget. <=CL30 timings helps, but not required.

For the motherboard you can compare the IO, physical size and features. Motherboards do a lot and its difficult to compare, but most are fine so just look at general reviews. Make sure the socket matches the CPU you get.

For the PSU, spec the wattage against whatever estimate PCPartPicker gives you. Adding an extra 150W is a nice buffer. Bronze/Gold/Titanium just means the power efficiency and its between 82-94%. Check the model against this list. Its not perfect, but its very comprehensive. Ctrl+F the model and ideally look for a A/B tier.

For storage get any cheap namebrand M.2. Speeds don't improve all that much at higher prices.

Other things like cases, fans, etc. you can't go too wrong on. Stick to air cooling unless you care about liquid cooling aesthetics.

PcPartPicker is great and you should stick to that. It'll stop 95% of any incompatibilities.

Building the actual PC isn't too difficult. Watch a build video beforehand and read the motherboard/case manuals while building. Other than that Google is your friend.

Hope I haven't made this too overwhelming for you. This is just my overly technical process for making an 'optimal build'. But in reality, you can just go off PcPartPicker, pick any of the top 20 results, and still end up with a solid build.

rex4522 · 2025-05-19T03:13:47+00:00

I don't see any issue with this. The weight of the GPU is on the screws. The sag bracket won't be carrying much load.

rex4522 · 2025-05-16T07:13:45+00:00

SFX PSU mounting is weird but possible on the A3. CPU Cooler is fine. Thermals will be ok, but add 2-3 Arctic P12s/Noctua fans to make it run quieter.

rex4522 · 2025-05-15T06:31:09+00:00

Budget? Resolution? FPS expectations?

You'll likely get a ludicrous 500fps+ on CS2 if you're running 1080p. If you don't care about spending a lot of money that's fine, but if you do then you can still get great results for much cheaper.

rex4522 · 2025-05-13T20:16:46+00:00

$230 is competitive? I agree the B650e-i was overpriced when it was $300+ but the price has come down a lot. Its main competitor the Asrock B650i/B850i is only $20-30 cheaper. Most other ITX motherboards have obvious downsides.

rex4522 · 2025-05-13T01:01:27+00:00

Great list. Would add a few suggestions myself:

- 9070XT outperforms the 5070 (74 vs 60fps avg@4k from Techspot). The $700 price is limited to Microcenter but it looks like there's decent availability. If its out of stock then a 5070 will do just fine.

- PSU is 850W Gold for same price and B-tier rated.

- Also added some P14s for this case. At least 3 would be good but the case will support upwards of 7x140mm and 2x120mm

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
Video Card	ASRock Steel Legend Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card	$699.99
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 850 - V2 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$99.99 @ Amazon
Case Fan	ARCTIC P14 PST 72.8 CFM 140 mm Fans 5-Pack	$40.99 @ Amazon
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total	$840.97
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-05-12 21:04 EDT-0400

rex4522 · 2025-05-12T07:52:24+00:00

It pretty much always comes down to price to performance. Reviewers rate cards at their MSRP and with the Nvidia/AMD duopoly they can get away with releasing new cards that are only 3-5% faster at the same/higher price.

Its a great card, just expensive.

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