u/Alfeetoe

(House info: split level with basement, 1560 sq ft located in Nottingham, Maryland)

Hello, pardon any lapse in details or ignorance, I am very much a laymen here and only know what I've experienced or could piece together online.

Two years ago, we had a lightning strike that took out our 20-year old unit. Our home is owned by my elderly parents, but we rent from them so there isn't much friction in regards to getting repairs done. They went through a claim process and ended up opting for a new unit, from what I gather (from the label) it is an Amana ASZH502410AA heat pump and was installed early September 2024.

As summer was winding down, we ran the cooling for a bit then transitioned to the fall/winter heating. No issues to report. Last year, we ran cooling/heat also as expected, and we barely touched our thermostat (Ecobee Premium w/voice control, from roughly 2022) since it was set to auto range. We also changed our indoor filter roughly once a month, never seeing much significant buildup.

This year, however, towards late June/early July, we were noticing the unit was having significant issues in actually hitting desired temps. We're in Maryland, so it can definitely be very hot and humid, but there were many days where outside it was mid-90s and the unit would creep as high as 82 while running the entire time.

My parents set up a service plan, so we called out a tech who was great, and he said the exterior unit had significant dirt buildup though he wasn't sure why (other than the Canadian fires and the smoke buildup). He cleaned the entire unit/checked pressure/etc and then stayed for a bit to monitor. While the temps inside did drop, and it finally began to feel "comfortable" again, the unit still wouldn't reach the temperature we were setting it to (74) but he advised it was in part because of the Ecobee thermostat and also because it would take a long time to pull all the hot air out if it had been running at low efficiency due to the dirt buildup.

He checked the vent temps and they were within the 20 degree delta (actually outputting around 60 degrees), and advised a thermostat swap. We actually placed the order and the same tech came out and swapped it a week later, now to a Honeywell S1200.

Now to the bulk of the issues: the thermostat is dialed in, the indoor temp is 1:1 compared to independent thermometer testing, so we know its "accurate." However, even on "cooler" days where the outside temp is around 83-86 degrees, the unit STILL will not maintain the 74 degree temp it is set to. Not to blame anyone, but the tech that installed the thermostat did so insanely fast...I'm wondering if something was missed in the setup. Additionally, our usage has seemingly jumped from around 15 hours a day to nearly 20 hours a day despite actually calmer outside temps and the unit never being adjusted/changed.

I've compiled all the data I can and we submitted another visit request, however they are now quoting about two weeks out, which puts us right at the edge of the two year warranty cycle. Though my old Ecobee thermostat offered far more granular usage data, I can see the above mentioned 20 hour usage daily compared to the 15 hour days from the Ecobee reports. I'm also seeing temps from 76-79 degrees indoor via thermostat despite it never being changed from the 74 setpoint and also the outside temp being roughly 10 degrees or less higher than the setpoint. I also have an at-register thermometer and the air coming from the vent ranges from 57-65 degrees (the 65 is when the unit mercifully shuts off, usually at night).

I'm really at my wits end. Should this unit/setup really be struggling with a 10 degree delta from outside to inside? I know the registers are putting out roughly 18 degrees cooler than outside, and I have fans supplementing the airflow best I can, but when the temps creep up around 77 I am actually feeling it. (I should note, humidity is running 40-50 percent, never higher).

One last oddity, which actually prompted the current call we're waiting for, is that we had a storm last week. Normally if our power flickers/fluctuates/knocks out, certain electronics will power cycle, which we had none of. Though about two hours after the storm, I noticed the indoor temp had increased to 80 degrees, despite the outdoor temp dipping as low as 67. I checked the register temp graph, which is much more granular for time, and noticed that at exactly 5PM the temp spiked from the usually 57-58 all the way up to 76 over the course of 2 hours. I went outside and checked, unit was running, I also checked the thermostat and breaker, no issues. Following a post advice here mentioning some "brownout protection" I power cycled the entire system for 30 minutes and once complete the register temps slowly dropped back down to the 57-58 range. Even if this was some "protection" shouldn't it correct itself over the course of two full hours? Why was the unit running and not providing any cooling? Do I need to do this every time we have a storm?

Really don't want to seem like one of those people that is like "the old unit was so much better," since this has run for two years or so without much issue. But I have NEVER had so many problems in such short time on such (relatively) new equipment and I cant pinpoint if something is wrong or if my expectations are skewed or what. I do know when its not working its uncomfortable and makes me like almost stare at the thermostat and data obsessing over it, which I don't want to do (and shouldn't have to). The techs have been very kind, but basically hand waved away that this might be a problem, further evidenced by the fact that they bumped another visit out by weeks (despite not knowing if the unit is even working or not).

ANY ideas on what to look for, what I should suggest a tech look at, what I could do to change or supplement behaviors or expectations to get this to work smoothly? I work from home and I've even eliminated most factors that would contribute to more heat being introduced (moved from large PC to small laptop, lights and TV is off all day, very limited microwave use, no stovetop use, etc) but its seemingly made no difference whatsoever. I also have hooked up more fans (all blowing at or around ground level) hoping to aide in "circulation" but again am not noticing anything positive or negative from said additions.

Going crazy here, any help is GREATLY appreciated.

Hello! I'm looking to add a Xeneon Edge to my setup, but I'm a bit confused if I have enough display bandwidth/connection bandwidth to ensure that it will work.

Right now my system is a bit old, built during Covid. Its an EVGA RTX 3090 with three displayports and 1x HDMI, and then an intel 9900K with an ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero motherboard.

My current display setup is two 3440x1440 ultrawide monitors running at 1440p/144hz refresh rate, and then another 2560x1440p monitor also running at 1440p/144hz. All are running Gsync at 8bpc color depth and full dynamic range. They are connected directly to the GPU via displayport cables.

Additionally, I have an elgato prompter (original version, not XL), running off one of my few displayport alt capable USB C connections directly on the motherboard. This runs at 1024x600 at 60hz from my understanding.

As mentioned, I want to add a Xeneon Edge display as a temp monitor/clock/stat gauge (replacing an old iCue Nexus that just isn't cutting it anymore), and I want to utilize the fourth GPU connection (HDMI) on my GPU.

I see conflicting information, so I wanted to check here to be sure. In this scenario it would be 4x displays through GPU and 1x display (prompter) through processor/MB displayport alt USB-C.

GPU resolutions/refresh rates
2x 3440x1440 144hz/8bpc DP connection
1x 2560x1440 144hz/8bpc DP connection
1x 2560x720 60hz/8bpc (Xeneon Edge) HDMI connection

Processor/MB resolutions/refresh rates
1x 1024x600 60hz/8bpc (Prompter)

My resolution of monitors already attached seemingly exceeds the maximum resolution of my GPU (listed as 7680x4320, though I am not sure if thats per port or total). I also read that windows can only display a maximum of 5 displays natively (between GPU and displayport alt) but again, I'm just not sure.

Without buying/testing, does anyone have any idea if this configuration will work? I'm well aware that I will need to upgrade my computer overall sometime soon given how often I use it (work from home main rig as well as pretty heavy gaming) but prices being what they are thats not happening anytime soon.

Ultimately just want to know if this configuration will work or if anyone runs anything similar and has experience in it working. I can't really eliminate any existing monitors or the prompter as I use them heavily each day, and given my connection limitations the only way to connect the Xeneon is HDMI from GPU to the device.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hey everyone, gonna run Crota as featured for the first time in years, whats the play now for optimal one phase?

Way back when, it was one tractor and a lot of swords/Banner of War Titans, but obviously meta has shifted quite a bit, especially with MoT.

Anyone run it recently and had a successful one phase damage strat? Full team, so I know its not going to be super hard regardless, but anything to mitigate some of the issues with running casually and avoiding a second phase

Thanks!