Any PC Builders Out There?

I upgraded to 11 a while back, keep forgetting I did it. It's got some aesthetic changes, but nothing earth-shattering. And I've had no issues so far.

 

I need a new chair, anyone have thoughts?

I'm about 6'2, 225lbs, long torso but fairly normal build otherwise. I'm looking for something fabric with adjustable arms and a taller back with a headrest area. The less gamer-y it looks the better. I've been eyeing the secret lab stuff but my soul wants to die when I think about spending $400+ on a chair.

Anyone have any hidden gems?

 

Beh those gamer chairs are hot garbo. I'd recommend hitting up your local office furniture re-seller to see what they have. I grabbed a super nice Haworth $900 task chair for $140 bux from this place. https://northwestofficeliquidations.com Some other good brands are Hon, Steelcase, Herman Miller, Knoll, Vitra. I only know these because all of the ergo evaluation purchase orders came across my desk at a quite large company I used to work for. If someone bitched about their desk it was pretty much spare no expense.. But we always made sure to try them out before handing them off.

 

Not a bad idea, but Pullman doesn't exactly have many office liquidation stores haha plus I'm looking to buy new, I don't particularly want a multi-year purchase to already have someone else's skids and sweaty taint funk on it Funny you mention steelcase, I regularly purchase from them for work (250K sqft mix of event and office space). I did look at their factory authorized re-sellers online and even then any with high backs and head area support were still $700+. I have a steelcase leap at work and my ass gets spoiled with that.

Search continues..

 

An SSD for Audiophiles..

https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/news/nvme-ssd-for-audiophiles

The drive comes with 1TB of 3D TLC flash, but it only has 333GB of usable storage capacity. That's because the SSD runs in pseudo-SLC (pSLC) mode, which trades off usable capacity in favor of performance and endurance. Notably, there are already SSDs on the market that use pSLC modes for some tasks. The maker claims that using this mode increases sound quality, outperforming standard TLC mode:

"The sound quality is just our test experience, this test is performed under the same standard product (PCB, external power jack, crystal oscillator, capacitors, etc. have not been modified)

TLC mode: It sounds like background music, no features and powerless, everything is flattened, lacks extension and density.

pSLC mode: There is a special natural feeling, it becomes more smooth and calm, the thickness is slightly increased, and overall it is more resistant to hearing but still slightly dry."

 

Don't buy a secret lab chair. 99.9% of their reviews are out of the box. With the lack of additional or adjustable back and lumbar support they're terrible once they're worn in. They're like the mattress in a box company that feels great the first year but loses all it's foam support in the second. All advertising, no longevity.

In that price range the only two chairs I've liked are the Anda Seat Kaiser/DarkNight and Razer Iskur.

The Anda Seat Kaiser and Dark Knight are the same chair, just different colours. I've had one for 3 years now and it's by fair my favorite "gamer" chair. The included full back support contouring pillows and neck support are really good for my 6 foot frame with a few extra dad pounds. I've had a HM Aeron in the past, so that's a big compliment to Anda Seat. I wouldn't pay their full price for one though since they do a couple of sales a year where the chairs are at least $100 off. There are also a bunch of furniture and office supply stores that carry them so finding one in the wild to try out is a good idea. Keep in mind they have cheaper models that don't have the adjustable contouring back support pillows which I wouldn't buy.

The Razer Iskur is the chair I have been eyeing for a while. Okay, I know, Razer is flashy but really the Iskur is well thought out. It's $500 so it should be I guess lol. I know a few folks that have them and really love them. They have adjustable back support which, again, is key to a good computer chair. I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on one. They do nickel and dime you though, the neck support pillow is an addon. If I was looking at a secret lab chair for the streamer credit though I'd grab an Iskur for a better body fit.

One chair I haven't sat in is the HM and Logitech collab. It's supposed to be the cats ass though. At $1.5K though it should be. It's probably the only "gamer" chair that would be signed off by an office though.

 

I saw that on another site.

It makes no sense. The 1s and 0s off a TLC drive and a TLC drive in SLC mode are no different. This is a flex product for the type of folks who run $5K in DAC and Amp for playing Fortnight. I love how it gets it's own power too, like your PSU doesn't have a power filter that's a lot better than the Chinese made external adapter they provide .

 

Well if you don't trust the superior audio quality from an SSD, you can always try this $2500 switch for streaming your audio!
https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/news/ethernet-switch-for-audiophiles

The unit is equipped with Active EM Cell technology which claims to close the gap between digital audio quality and good old-fashioned analog tapes and LPs. To "further improve audio quality," the switch is constructed from a solid billet of aluminum and uses carbon fiber to eliminate chassis vibrations from making their way into the switch (which the company claims could interfere with the digital signal). There's even an optional SR Ground Block that serves as a ground for the switch.

 

Wow. What part of "digital" do people not understand?

 

So I'm going over my build from 2019 since I'm moving to phase 2 on it soon (new case, custom water cooling, etc etc) and looking at the price I paid for half this stuff vs now is wild.

Lancool 205 (micro center special) was $59 now $99

Roswill 850w power supply was $85, now $178!

My Quadro M5000 card was $225 used on ebay, $700 on newegg now.

Even my crappy work screens went from $100 to $180!

I picked the wrong time to water cool my hardware, but I am trying to make it last and can always upgrade the GPU and CPU and MOBO down the road.

Playing AOE3 DE, my GPU is always in the upper 70s and my CPU is in the mid 50s with the OEM wraith prism cooler hoping for half a big improvement with water

Also, shoutout to the folks who post in here about an opportunity to buy a GPU!

I'm researching the next GPU I want for SolidWorks and gaming and haven't decided on one just yet.

 

Was going to suggest a used Herman Miller Aeron size c (large) with headrest. They're my favorite style in the office even though they're from 2010ish.

 

Mine fell apart within a year. The backrest was particularly disappointing since I paid extra for it to be adjustable. Failed almost out of the box. The best was I bought it surplus, so HM offered to fix it for triple what I paid. They're kind people. Dealer at least admitted the chairs have an issue if they have the lumbar support option. Most offices don't care and simply deal with it.

 

Hm, was yours the posture support or the lumbar support?

Lumbar

Posture

 

A lot of the time that furniture is new liquidations from failed businesses. I'll gladly spray some fabric cleaner for 1/8th the new price. Most of the bigger brands sell parts too.

 

Lumbar.

 

Out of curiosity, how do they break? I always thought they were a pretty simple design, I guess I could see the foam deteriorating over time.

 

We still have the chair as a spare. This is how it broke within a couple of months of buying it. The chair was brand new in box from wholesale. A business that failed before opening had them.

 

Makes me think materials/design changed. I wouldn't doubt it

 

here’s my pile of “it costs too much to repair with factory parts might as well buy new ones” steelcase chairs

Also, sorry for the massive detour on chairs today. Feel free to resume talks on whether ddr5 is worth it or it scarcity of gpus or whatever haha

 

Already have my DDR5