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Cake day: June 14th, 2023

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  • That’s why they often make good developers.

    Good developers don’t just write easy-to-write code. They write code that is easy to maintain and efficient to run - and oftentimes that requires forethought, a willingness to rewrite when a misstep is made, and above all else the willingness to tinker/learn effectively.

    Source: I am a terrible developer and a very lazy person, and I have had to maintain lots of poorly-written code (some of it my own).








  • There’s the disconnect. How are you getting from A to B? “Can outperform my tower” from five years ago is not “compact computers will start to outperform full-sized computers” and certainly not “GPUs will become useless due to the performance of APUs.” This is the extrapolation that’s confusing me.

    You literally made the statement “at no point did I say towers are going to die, just that for a system for gaming without the need for a high-end GPU” which says that you think GPUs (except those at the very high end) will be made obsolete by APUs.


    In context, I was referring to the sorts of things that transpire on Reddit when it comes to CPU recommendations if gaming is mentioned at all, where it’s often i9 or nothing, and if it came out two weeks ago, it’s already too slow by orders of magnitude. The middle ground is all but ignored, which is what I’m referring to.

    And yet you used it as an actual argument against people here - not on Reddit - who disagree with you. You don’t get to use that argument here and then try to say “no no, I only meant it in reference to people way over there who aren’t even on this social media.”


    Please provide examples of this since I’m doing it all over the place. I can’t find one where I talk about how towers are an endangered species.

    I provided several exact quotes in my previous comment. I’ll add one more, since it wasn’t enough. In the title of this thread you state “It feels like we’re on the cusp of […] and a real shot at relegating towers to the extreme high end.” Emphasis mine. That very clearly says that you think towers are going to become endangered. That they will preserved only by, and I quote, people at “the extreme high end.”


    I thank you for your time reading my comment and replying to me. I think this will be my final word on the subject - but I’ll be sure to read any replies in case you think there’s still a misunderstanding.


  • Can you point out where I extrapolated about all use cases for all towers?

    Very well, I’ll bite. From your OP:

    Not quite there yet … […] When a computer that size (actually smaller, since I don’t need a SATA bay) can outperform my tower, though …

    all signs point to gaming 4x4 PCs with a wall wart in the next two years

    From one of your other posts:

    at no point did I say towers are going to die, just that for a system for gaming without the need for a high-end GPU

    These comments imply that compact computers will start to outperform full-sized computers, and that GPUs will become useless due to the performance of APUs.

    If you’re just talking about your personal preferences, then go build yourself an ITX form factor PC and have fun with it! Oh wait, you already did! Good for you - you have a PC that fits your needs. You aren’t alone in that. The Steam Deck is generally well-received, for example.


    But it really sounds like you aren’t just talking about your personal preferences. It sounds like you really believe that APUs are going to replace high-end GPUs. It sounds like you think gaming laptops are going to take over the world.

    I’ll repeat your quote from earlier: “a system for gaming without the need for a high-end GPU”. APUs are going to replace low-end GPUs - in fact, they already have! The $200 new GPU market no longer exists! But they don’t provide enough performance to max out graphics of new games and, in your own words, remove the need for high-end GPUs.

    It seems like your entire post is about “man I can’t wait for the full/mid-tower PC market to die” and then you’re acting surprised when people say things like “my PC sits on my desk and never moves do I’d rather have a full-sized cooling solution.”

    And your other comments just reinforce it.


    What peripherals are people using that necessitate so many add-in cards for non-HPC needs that ATX is a must, and why is it assumed that anything less than an i9 will freeze opening Notepad and thus the only power envelope worth validly addressing is that of an i9?

    You’re creating a strawman. Nobody except you is saying that an i9 will freeze opening Notepad. It’s also very hostile in implying that “I’m fine with therefore most of the world must also be fine with it.” Some folks play CPU-intensive games and prefer having a powerful PC. That’s their money to spend how they want.

    Full-sized PCs permit adaptability.

    • Onboard Wi-Fi died? Get an add-in card replacement. This applies to onboard audio, network, USB, etc.
    • Phone no longer has a 3.5mm jack and I now have to use a Bluetooth headset? Time to add Bluetooth to my PC via add-in card.
    • Got a cool new monitor from a friend that’s higher resolution? I can upgrade my GPU independently. APUs limit me to what my motherboard socket supports.

    Full-sized PCs permit better cooling. Even mid-range GPUs benefit from that.

    Full-sized PCs easier dust cleaning and maintenance.

    Full-sized PCs are easier to work in for those of us that like to tinker.

    There’s more to it than “What peripherals are people using that necessitate so many add-in cards for non-HPC needs that ATX is a must,” that’s a deliberately dumb take.


    To summarize:

    People who want a compact or power-efficient PCs already have one.

    People who prefer more power/cooling have a mid-tower or full-tower PC.

    Games and other software will keep pace with the power/cooling available common PCs, so don’t expect the full-sized ones to go away just because the compact ones get more powerful.


    I guess I’m a bit confused about a lot of reactions here, because at no point did I say towers are going to die

    Yes you did. You’ve been saying it repeatedly in different forms throughout your various replies. I think you’re wrong, and it seems so do several other commenters.


  • Did they pay you to write this? Are you forcing yourself to enjoy the game because you paid so much? Or am I insane?

    No need to go for insults just because you disagree with someone. I love this game so far, it’s been a great deal of joy. For full disclosure: I paid for the $30 USD upgrade package from the gamepass version of the game to get the early access and have not paid full price yet. If script extender mods don’t work on the gamepass version of the game, I expect to purchase he game on Steam for whatever price it is at that time.

    I don’t disagree with you on several points, but that doesn’t mean a it’s bad game. As I already stated, I recommend the game and I feel it’s a good game.

    Here are some of my thoughts:

    The ships are cool but you don’t need it. You just fast travel with a loadingscreen everywhere anyway. I saw the inside of my ship twice in 10hrs (not counting the cockpit view).

    One of the things they said repeatedly during pre-release media is that the game has so many aspects to it that you can ignore entire parts of the game by design.

    Don’t care about ship combat? Then don’t take ship combat missions, that’s OK.

    Don’t care about outpost management? Then don’t make outposts, that’s OK.

    Not having to use your ship very often is a feature, not a bad thing. I’ve taken several combat missions and transport missions. I’ve messed around with smuggling a bit. I’ve explored around in my ship and gotten several random encounters. It’s a fun part of the game, but anyone who doesn’t enjoy it isn’t forced to go through it.

    Navigating the menus are a nightmare. Inventory management is difficult.

    This is probably my 2nd biggest complaint about the game. The UI design is, in my opinion, just not great to use on PC. It seems everything I want quick access to is about 2 menu levels deeper in than it should be…

    Laziest intro I’ve ever seen. “Hello stranger, take my ship. No reason. Ok cool. Bye.”

    Yeah, but this doesn’t represent the entirety of the game. Many of the quest lines have me very interested in them.

    Performance is shit. I get 40fps in towns with a “UFO rated” computer on userbenchmark. Nvidia card.

    This is probably my biggest complaint about the game. That said: I agree that the graphics/performance is not great, but please do not ever use nor support UserBenchmark. They are a joke, and cannot be trusted to actually review anything.

    Hardware Unboxed video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaWZKPUidUY

    https://www.tomshardware.com/news/userbenchmark-benchmark-change-criticism-amd-intel,40032.html

    NPC’s teleporting around, getting stuck everywhere halfway through floor, corpses flopping around, ships clipping through stations.

    I expect many people will tell you “It’s a Bethesda game and it’s to be expected,” and they’ll be right. But you’re also in the right to keep calling Bethesda out on it. Giving massive companies a free pass on these things isn’t ok.

    That said, none of these glitches have broken the game for me. I’ve yet to had any game experience ruined by it. Most of them I chuckle at and then move on. If anything, I think it adds charm to the game. One of my favorite things to do in Skyrim was put pots on people’s heads and watch them walk around, or to shout at them and watch their plates get stuck in a chair and vibrate around. (I’ll refrain from commenting about certain Starfield-related shenanigans for spoiler reasons.)



  • “How is a security hole in the thing people use to do their banking a problem for the user?”

    If you think it’s just a matter of writing a completely fresh browser every few years to remove legacy code, then I invite you to do so and prove us all wrong. I’ll be looking forward to it, along with all of the new security holes you open by using new, untested code all the time.

    In the meantime, feel free to use an ESR version of whatever browser you prefer a slower update cycle while still being supported for any major security findings.





  • It’s his job to say who should buy it.

    No.

    It’s his job to provide accurate data, and possibly a recommendation for those wanting to know his opinion.

    It’s the consumer’s job to look at the data in the review and determine whether or not to buy it.

    You don’t see GN failing to properly review a 4070 Ti because “nobody should buy this”. They do the review properly and then say “nobody should buy this” after having given accurate data.

    You don’t get to skip doing your literal job just because you don’t think the product is worth buying.




  • The first is that I don’t understand how this doesn’t also apply to Steam or Epic Games or any other basic storefront (except GOG of course).

    There were three points in the post you’re replying to. Not all Steam games have DRM; I’m going to assume we’re talking only about games using the their DRM:

    1. DRM server shutting off -> Steam has been around for a long time, longer than Denuvo. Steam makes a lot more money than Denuvo. Steam is not as publicly hated as Denuvo. Because of these things, I don’t think Steam will be shutting down any time soon; Denuvo shutting down is a much larger concern, especially due to public perception. Here’s a decent answer to the question anyways: https://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/255424/what-will-happen-to-my-owned-games-if-steam-were-to-close .

    TL;DR 1: It’s not as much of a concern for Steam as it is for Denuvo.

    1. Game company shuts off and is unable to pay DRM subscription -> This depends on the license agreement between the DRM provider and the company. The comment you’re replying to implies that Denuvo has a subscription fee for its use in a product, and I’m going to proceed under this assumption. I doubt Steam requires any form of subscription fee to keep the DRM working - I would expect that, as they are a storefront, they pay for that via a percentage of game sales. Denuvo isn’t a storefront, so I would expect if they have a subscription fee then this would be a Denuvo concern that doesn’t apply to Steam.

    TL;DR 2: Steam is a storefront, and it’s expected that their sales percentage would cover DRM costs for the game. This is a concern for Denuvo, but not really one for Steam.

    1. Internet going off -> Steam has a well-known offline feature that works reasonably well. Companies that use the Stream DRM system are using libraries intended to work with this feature - that’s not to say they can’t purposefully make it unplayable offline, but it’s generally well-done. The problem is that it requires you to enable offline mode before your Internet goes out. This is something that’s regularly complained about, so I don’t think your “[…] I don’t understand how this doesn’t also apply to Steam […]” statement applies.

    TL;DR 3: Steam DRM is regularly complained about in this regard.

    I dislike Epic , so I’m not the person to give them a reasonable defense/discussion - you’ll have to find someone else for that.