NTP66's thread of IT

[dodint]

Interesting. Maybe I'll just buy one instead.

*edit*

That's not a horrible price. I assumed we were talking $600+ for a new graphics card so I immediately dismissed that as a course of action.

[NTP66]

Source of the post Maybe I'll just buy one instead.

[DigitalGypsy66]

That 3060 is a good card, but it's a generation old already. It should be sub $200 with the 4060 in the $300-400 range. But alas.

[dodint]

MSFS runs flawlessly in my current system. I can't imagine I need the latest tech to get it to run well in 2x34 rather than 3x27. But I'll admit I don't fully understand how much more effort the increased resolution takes. I do know that I won't be rebuilding or buying a new gaming PC just to accommodate a change in monitors.

(To be clear I would consider a card upgrade but not a complete overhaul)

[Lemon Berry Lobster]

Finally installed my RAM and new power supply. Gave myself a bit of a scare when I flipped the switch on the PS and nothing happened. Replugged the old one, still nothing, then realized I didn't hit the power button on the PC. Runs like a dream.

[dodint]

haha, I had no idea these curved monitors were so big, 49".

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16824026352

[NTP66]

That price... lolol

[Shyster]

Not quite that one, but i have this monitor in my work office:

https://www.newegg.com/black-samsung-od ... 6824027310

Same price and pretty much the same specs as the LG. It's totally sweet and I love it. I'd buy a second one for home, but it literally wouldn't fit on my home desk.

I see the LG also now has a 1000R curve. When I bought in 2022, the Samsung was the only monitor that size with a 1000R curve. A monitor’s curve is expressed as an arc from a complete circle, and the radius of the circle (and the arc) is the number before the "R" in millimeters. So "1000R" means a curved monitor that forms a complete circle with a radius of 1 meter, "1800R" would be 1.8 meters, etc. The lower the number, the tighter the curve and the closer you can sit to the monitor and have every part of its surface (well, in two dimensions) equidistant from your eyes. That's right around how far away I sit at my work desk, so it works out great.

[dodint]

Neat.

[Shyster]

Said monitor:

[skullman80]

I have a 34" LG that is not curved as my main monitor, with a 24" (I think) as a secondary. Setup works pretty well.

[count2infinity]

@Shyster , what are the keys up above the F# keys?

[Shyster]

@Shyster , what are the keys up above the F# keys?

That's a P.I. Engineering X-Keys XKE-40 USB programmable keyboard.

https://xkeys.com/xke40.html

The white keys on the left side are currently programmed to spell out "lawyer" stuff, like symbols that aren't on a regular keyboard (for example, paragraph symbols ¶, section symbols §, and em-dashes — ) and phases like See id. and See, e.g.. The colored ones on the right side I use for entering common phrases on a per-project basis. Like if I'm typing a brief where I'm going to refer to Smith Incorporated over and over again, I'll program a button to type out "Smith Incorporated" with one press.

[count2infinity]

Neat. I made myself an alt code table for a ton of the common ones I use and just have it at my desk for reference. Might look into something like that.

[Shyster]

That's how I have it programmed to enter symbols. The X-Keys app can record keystrokes, so for the symbols I just recorded myself entering the alt code for each one.

[meow]

Educate me on a whole house VPN and give me suggestions on which one to buy

[dodint]

Subscribed. I might finally get a VPN so I can get European coverage of the Rolex 24 this weekend.

[skullman80]

NordVPN works for me and is simple to set up either on individual device basis or at the router level. If you set it up at the router level though your router needs to support that functionality.

[NTP66]

Anyone want anymore incentive to never buy an HP printer? Here you go.

[Beveridge]

I don't buy HP ever.

[scb147]

I'm finally moving on from the Asus RT-AC56U router I've been rocking for quite some time. Ordered the Asus RT-AX86U Pro router, should be in tomorrow so I have the weekend to set it up.

I was going to wait for Wifi 7 to become more common, but the RT-AC56U has had some wifi connection/speed issues, as well as times where I am unable to access the UI of the router. Both resolved with reboots, but it's time.

[NTP66]

I'm finally moving on from the Asus RT-AC56U router I've been rocking for quite some time. Ordered the Asus RT-AX86U Pro router, should be in tomorrow so I have the weekend to set it up.

I was going to wait for Wifi 7 to become more common, but the RT-AC56U has had some wifi connection/speed issues, as well as times where I am unable to access the UI of the router. Both resolved with reboots, but it's time.

I run an AX86U Pro and can't recommend it enough. It's a workhorse. Don't forget to run Merlin's firmware on it.

[scb147]

Absolutely, the AC56U has been using merlin 384.6, the last update provided for it.

[scb147]

Spent most of Saturday setting up the AX86U router. I've been using the AC56U since May 2015 and I was a dummy and named the SSID the model of the router, so I renamed the SSID on the new router. Boy does that suck when you have smart devices. Some of them were pretty easy, Nest Gen 3 Thermostat and my robot vacuums were simple. The Nest Protects required that I still had the old router online so that I could change over the SSID for those. The Nest Gen 2 Wire Doorbell, required a reset where I had to push a button on the back of the unit to reset it. Most other smart devices were the same way, some of them asked if you wanted to restore settings, which was nice. Some of them did complete resets that required a full setup again. Had those are reset and reconfigured pretty quickly.

However, the biggest PITA was the Logitech Harmony Hub. If you don't know how the hub works, you need either a Windows or Mac PC and USB cable, or an app to configure the hub. I don't have a Windows or Mac PC, so I rely fully on the app. When I tried restore the config on that thing, I kept getting server errors. Logitech discontinued all their remotes in 2021, so I thought it might be the end of being able to use it. A few hours later, I remembered that the hub only connects to the 2.4GHz frequency and my phone where I was using the app was on the 5GHz, and the hub does not play nicely if you aren't on the same frequency. So I connected the phone to the 2.4GHz frequency, and I still had the error when trying to restore my config. At this point I figured I might as well just start a new config, and of course that worked.

The AX86U has a lot of features with it, a lot of it I will never use. Here's hoping I get at least 9 years out of this one like the AC56U.

tl;dr version:
If you have smart devices, make sure the SSID on your router is what you want to use in perpetuity for ease of upgrading routers

[NTP66]

I still use a Harmony One as my main remote downstairs. Best remote I've ever owned, even if the Logitech software for configuring and updating it is trash.