Topic: dweez's new toys

[Alfonz]

I can't find the other mircosoft surface thread...

I was doing some research and it seems like the new surface laptop will not be good for gaming. Although it is very pretty. I'm kind of disappointed. I'm thinking perhaps I'll just stick with apple if I'm paying over 1000 anyways?

Are you referring to the newest Surface Book? They're quite expensive but it seems that performance varies greatly by the included hardware options (of course), the i7/16GB RAM model seems to do the trick but again, it's rather pricy.

[mishca09]

Yes they call it the surface laptop and it's comes in 4 different colors. I think it's well over 1200.. and even then I can't get it in the color I like.

[dweez]

Welp, my current computer was put together around 2011. It's still going well for most functions but it's getting a little sluggish for gaming (Primarily playing Borderlands 3 right now) so I finally bit the bullet on a new system. I could have either built my own desktop like the current or get a nice gaming laptop. I decided on the later. I wanted something that looked aesthetically pleasing (not like the klunky Alienware or MSI gaming laptops) as well as something that would (should) last me for a while.

I ended up ordering a Razer Blade Pro 17 yesterday from Best Buy (went with them over ordering direct to take advantage of better and local support options). It's more than I would normally spend (and way more then if I had built my own) but Tworking (teleworking for all you uncool kids) has not put a crimp in my hours plus I already got my tax refund and stimulus check (Hey, I didn't ask for it, they just direct deposited it with my tax refund) so said "What the Fsk".

It was supposed to arrive next Wednesday which got adjusted to next Monday. Then when the shipping company got it shipped, they updated the deliver to Saturday (tomorrow!!!). I'm giddy as a kid on Christmas morning.


Image credit: https://www.kitguru.net/
[I am not affiliated with this KitGuru site. It just had the first image I liked.]

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/razer-blade-pro-17-3-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-2080-max-q-512gb-solid-state-drive-matte-black/6377167.p?skuId=6377167

[goldshirt*9]

its a sexy beast 

Wont show my daughter who desperately needs one as started using during lock down because
A - i would have to buy it  and she works.
B - she turned hers on after a year idling away and imagine the updates on W7  which she then complained about  .
C - I need a new desktop as mine is literally falling to bits, power supply sits on the floor HDD attached  where works.
 She will get a currys special

[smokester]

Welp, my current computer was put together around 2011. It's still going well for most functions but it's getting a little sluggish for gaming (Primarily playing Borderlands 3 right now) so I finally bit the bullet on a new system. I could have either built my own desktop like the current or get a nice gaming laptop. I decided on the later. I wanted something that looked aesthetically pleasing (not like the klunky Alienware or MSI gaming laptops) as well as something that would (should) last me for a while.

I ended up ordering a Razer Blade Pro 17 yesterday from Best Buy (went with them over ordering direct to take advantage of better and local support options). It's more than I would normally spend (and way more then if I had built my own) but Tworking (teleworking for all you uncool kids) has not put a crimp in my hours plus I already got my tax refund and stimulus check (Hey, I didn't ask for it, they just direct deposited it with my tax refund) so said "What the Fsk".

It was supposed to arrive next Wednesday which got adjusted to next Monday. Then when the shipping company got it shipped, they updated the deliver to Saturday (tomorrow!!!). I'm giddy as a kid on Christmas morning.


Image credit: https://www.kitguru.net/
[I am not affiliated with this KitGuru site. It just had the first image I liked.]

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/razer-blade-pro-17-3-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-2080-max-q-512gb-solid-state-drive-matte-black/6377167.p?skuId=6377167

Got an elongated "Whooaaa" from the boy so I'm guessing it's the nutz and then some.

[6pairsofshoes]

Congrats.  There's nothing quite like a shiny new toy that is powerful and fast.  And given none of us knows how long this lockdown will continue, it's a reasonable investment in your continued sanity.

[dweez]

Got an elongated "Whooaaa" from the boy so I'm guessing it's the nutz and then some.

High praise indeed, smokester! And thanks 6pairs for helping me fight the buyer’s remorse.

Arrived just a little bit ago and I’m in the setup process now.

[smokester]

PCs still have a set up process? How quaint.

You also have to move furniture around and put on the right clothes before pushing the power button. It's a right sodding ritual, I can tell you.

[dweez]

PCs still have a set up process? How quaint.

Well, there is still the initial "Welcome to Windows" phase to configure specific personal configuration settings. Also, it came with Windows Home so I changed the Product Key to Windows Enterprise (work provides me with a license to use) and perform any needed OS updates (an there were quite a few...I believe it was on Win10 1806. Now I'm at 1909). I also needed to get a minimal set of software installed (Upgrade IE to Edge, install Chrome, Everything Search Engine, my password manager) and of course, install Borderlands 3.

In the "waiting" periods for all of this, I mistakenly hopped on Amazon.com and purchased more stuff (keyboard, laptop stand, ssd for more storage) and I still really need to replace my mouse as well.

So, idle hands may be the devil's workshop (but I don't have to tell you christ ;-) ) but it's also the nemesis to my bank account.

You also have to move furniture around and put on the right clothes before pushing the power button. It's a right sodding ritual, I can tell you.

I thought about videoing the whole unboxing process and what not as that also seems to be a ritual nowadays but that would delay me actually getting to play with it so I'm fine with just the one stock image I found from a random Google search. >.<

[smokester]

.... In the "waiting" periods for all of this, I mistakenly hopped on Amazon.com and purchased more stuff (keyboard, laptop stand, ssd for more storage) and I still really need to replace my mouse as well ....

I bought a new mechanical keyboard and a new mouse and I only upgraded my monitor. Lucky Amazon doesn't sell missuses and sprogs.

They don't, do they?

[dweez]

I have no idea what those items are but I'm confident Amazon sells them.

[goldshirt*9]

I have no idea what those items are but I'm confident Amazon sells them.

 
missuses and sprogs,  Wife and children

[dweez]

Well, pretty much 2 years to the date, I no longer have the Razer Blade Pro. Last night, it started running very sluggish. While I was investigating, I got the "Low Power" warning then before I could do anything, it shut off. I checked and the power brick was still plugged in but I saw no light on it. After unplugging and plugging it back in and letting it set for a couple hours, I tried powering the laptop on. It got about 10 seconds into the boot up then turned off again. Subsequent attempts had the same result. Knowing that Razer historically has issues with battery bloat, I was positive this was the issue so planned to go into the local Best Buy in the morning (I bought specifically from Best Buy instead of directly from Razer for the local aspect and extended warranty).

While waiting for Best Buy to open, I did one more attempt with the same result. To prepare the system, I opened it up to clean out some dust and see what I might see. Indeed it was battery bloat and kind of scary. Once I got to BB, the Geek Squad guy looked at it and said "I'm not touching that" then called on his walkie for others. Two others showed up and in quick turn they said it was a total wash and gave me store credit for my full original purchase.

As I didn't want to be without a gaming PC, I ended up buying a pre-built desktop unit (ugh) and have just now gotten it to a "useable" state. It's got more RGB bells and whistles than I really care for or need, but spec-wise, seems like a decent system (Intel i7-12700KF, nVidia RTX 3080), though I did add 16GB more RAM to bring it to a total of 32GB. I also have about 1/3 of the original cost left in store credit.

Also, my director at work watched a "remote-work productivity" video and one of the things he got out of it was that often people's home rigs don't have the proper display real estate so he ended up approving us purchasing ultra-wide monitors for home use. The model generally approved on is the same base model as the one smokester got, SAMSUNG CJ890 Series 49-Inch Ultrawide QHD.

It's going to take some getting used to though not too much as it is replacing 2x 27" monitors I previously used.

All in all, not a pleasant or restful weekend but productive. Now I just have to get all my apps and games reinstalled.

[smokester]

Well, pretty much 2 years to the date, I no longer have the Razer Blade Pro. Last night, it started running very sluggish. While I was investigating, I got the "Low Power" warning then before I could do anything, it shut off. I checked and the power brick was still plugged in but I saw no light on it. After unplugging and plugging it back in and letting it set for a couple hours, I tried powering the laptop on. It got about 10 seconds into the boot up then turned off again. Subsequent attempts had the same result. Knowing that Razer historically has issues with battery bloat, I was positive this was the issue so planned to go into the local Best Buy in the morning (I bought specifically from Best Buy instead of directly from Razer for the local aspect and extended warranty).

While waiting for Best Buy to open, I did one more attempt with the same result. To prepare the system, I opened it up to clean out some dust and see what I might see. Indeed it was battery bloat and kind of scary. Once I got to BB, the Geek Squad guy looked at it and said "I'm not touching that" then called on his walkie for others. Two others showed up and in quick turn they said it was a total wash and gave me store credit for my full original purchase.

As I didn't want to be without a gaming PC, I ended up buying a pre-built desktop unit (ugh) and have just now gotten it to a "useable" state. It's got more RGB bells and whistles than I really care for or need, but spec-wise, seems like a decent system (Intel i7-12700KF, nVidia RTX 3080), though I did add 16GB more RAM to bring it to a total of 32GB. I also have about 1/3 of the original cost left in store credit.

Also, my director at work watched a "remote-work productivity" video and one of the things he got out of it was that often people's home rigs don't have the proper display real estate so he ended up approving us purchasing ultra-wide monitors for home use. The model generally approved on is the same base model as the one smokester got, SAMSUNG CJ890 Series 49-Inch Ultrawide QHD.

It's going to take some getting used to though not too much as it is replacing 2x 27" monitors I previously used.

All in all, not a pleasant or restful weekend but productive. Now I just have to get all my apps and games reinstalled.

TNG was just explaining to me how Razors are prone to battery bloat due to how hot they get with their metal casing. He has/had a Razer Blade Advanced but the graphics blew on it and now he's in a bit of a legal battle to get his money back. He bought it ever so slightly second hand but still under warranty, but it's unfixable and everyone is passing the buck.

It might end well. Who knows ..

[dweez]

Is he dealing directly with Razer Support? I've read nasty horror stories about support in the subreddit, about taking months of back-and-forth and still no progress, the whole time the customer is without their device. I've even heard of systems being "lost" and Razer playing dumb about it.

This is the primary reason I bought from a 3rd party instead of direct. I chose Best Buy over Amazon or Microsoft because I knew I could just walk into a local Best Buy store for support. Even with that, I had a Wireless/Bluetooth controller issue 11 months after purchasing it so took it into BB. I walked them through everything I tried and the Geek Squad guy was like "Ok, that's everything we'd do so let's just write up the replacement order".

But after putting it in their system, he said he'd still have to send it to Razer because the original manufacturer's 1yr warranty was still in effect. After some more chatting, we decided that, since I could still use wired ethernet fine, I would just wait and come back in a month after the BB warranty kicked in. When that time came, I double-checked and Wireless/BT was back so I just canceled the support meeting.

I'm still fine with Razer peripherals (keyboard/mouse/etc) and the laptop performance was great but after the last 2 years of waiting for the inevitable, I'm done. I'll stick to desktops for gaming and just use work laptops or my tablet/phone for mobile stuff.

Sorry to hear that TNG is having to go through all that crap. I hope everything turns out well but the realist in me would advise he prepare for the worst.