u/Bobwayne17

What's up, everyone! Recently hit the range with a few friends to test out their Glock 19 & Springfield SA-35 (super fun as well!).

After getting back from the range, I realized I really wanted a handgun that would be fun at the range, good to tinker with over time, and good for home defense. I may eventually carry it, but I'm a pretty large guy at 6'4 so I feel pretty confident carrying any size handgun. My budget is somewhere around $1500 max. The cheaper, the better, since that leaves me some room for an optic, magwell customization, range trip (ammo ofc) etc.

So far I think I've narrowed it down to the following:

CZ Shadow 2 Carry: I can find it for around $800 I think. It seems like a really high choice for most people when it comes to potential competition/range handguns. A bit on the higher end, but it seems like a good place to start with some modified examples that would allow for tinkering.

S&W M&P 2.0 Carry Comp: I can get this for around $600. Huge ceiling for modifying it to exactly what I want, but I'm not a huge fan of striker-fired handguns overall. This might be one that I purchase just to have a striker-fired handgun, but I'm not sure if it would ever be my favorite. I really like the look of this one out of the box and would plan to install an Apex trigger ASAP after breaking it in. Also not sure if I want the aluminum frame or polymer.

Tisas B9R DS/Tisas Carry 9 DS Comp: I REALLY like this one, and it might end up being my favorite, just as an intro into the 2011 world. I think these are highly modifiable; the internals seem great. It seems like you can get the pistol exactly where you want it to be eventually, and you're left with a great starter 2011 that, after some trigger adjustments, punches far above its weight. Pricier than other options on my list if I go with the Carry 9 DS Comp, as I typically see that one around $1200, while the B9R is significantly less at around $700 (I would plan on getting a comp/port custom job on the B9R).

Is there anything else that I should be considering that is similar to these options? I may end up getting the S&W either way, as I get to take advantage of the rebate they have for now, which is why it's $600. I'm a big fan of the Caniks as well, but I don't see the benefit of most striker-fired pistols compared to the M&P 2.0, as I have heard a lot of good things from people my size regarding the trigger guard and the overall size of the pistol.

Is there a way to get ahead of the process of moving to MD and getting the wear & carry permit? I was reading that there seemed to be a non-resident version, but I was unsure if the non-resident version will transfer over to the MD resident version (and thus allow me to receive an HQL once applying for it?) or if I would have to just redo it again.

I live really close to MD and work in MD, but for now I am still using my PA residency. I spend some time staying in MD, though, because of all of this, and was thinking that if I wanted to hit the range, I could just observe the transportation requirements for traveling with a firearm in MD and be okay.

If I'm staying with a friend for a little bit, there doesn't seem to be any restrictions I should be aware of outside of what I already discussed, with keeping the firearm at the residence etc.?

I am also aware of the 10-round magazine restriction, which doesn't seem like it will impact me much. I'll just keep going to PA mags and purchase firearms themselves in MD if I swap my residency over, right?

This group has helped me immensely over the last couple of weeks as I swapped from a 3070ti to a 9070XT. I've had driver timeout errors ever since switching and none of the typical things seemed to help.

I utilized DDU in safe mode to start and all was okay for a day or two and then the driver timeout errors started. After that, I've used DDU 3x to try and fix it, reinstalled Windows, updated my MOBO BIOs, and tried various underclocks to help, to no avail. Then I started with the more nuanced things to me - disable MPO, disable HAGS, disable various overlays etc. and those things still haven't helped.

I told myself that before the return period ended, if I couldn't solve my random driver timeouts, then I would be returning it and just paying the extra to get a 5070ti. I was defeated.

Finally, I stumbled upon some people recommending to head to the manufacturers website and download their recommended driver. I went to the Gigabyte page and got the 25.3.1 as my final hope and to my shock, everything seems perfectly fine now. I don't use Adrenalin now, though as I went with the minimal install, but it seems to have fixed the crashing after testing every game that crashed prior for a couple of hours.

So now I don't know what to do, but my return window will end in 2 days. Am I stuck with this driver version forever? Should I only update to whatever the manufacturer recommends in the future? Is there another software that's lighter that will show me some of the same performance metrics as Adrenlin (Radeontuner perhaps)?

Here are my PC specs as well - my 3070ti is still kicking in another PC I have and seems to be fine, and prior to the switch I had no issues, so I don't think it's a hardware issue, but anything could happen.

CPU: AMD 5600

Mobo: MSI B550 Tomahawk MAX WIFI

RAM: PNY XLR8 32GB DDR4

PSU: CX750M