Clive Barker, the Master of Horror & Dark Fantasy behind such classics as Hellraiser, Candyman, & Nightbreed is back! He has fired up a Kickstarter campaign to release 3 new books his way. No publisher interference & no restrictions. I am super excited to read these when they come out.
Update:
406K has been raised in the first 24 hours.
I was looking at the Transport options and wondered if the T8 or T10 passthrough MQA to a DAC? Can anyone confirm if this is possible? It does not list it in their specs.
I recently picked up the new K17 R2R Pro and noticed that the display will stop showing the sample rate after a few songs. Normally it will show PMC and then under it 44, 48, or 96 depending on what I am listening to. However, after a couple songs or when play MQA then playing back to PMC the sample rate will disappear. Only when I stop or pause the song, and hit play again, will the sample rate show again. This is very repeatable and I am not sure why it is doing this.
I bought a pair of Valhalla, and they sounded pretty good but hurt the heck out of my ears. I then got a pair of ASTELL&KERN X 64 AUDIO XIO, and they felt way better, but kinda sound like a step backwards and maybe a little muddy. As an example though you may not know these songs, but as an example Digital Bath by deftones, listening through really good speakers there is just such amazing voice and instrument separation that I just am not achieving. Or If I listen to End of the Dream (Synthesis version) by Evanescence, the end where she hits the high note is not really feeling nearly as powerful.
Maybe its just me but I am having something that really meets comfort and the sound I am looking for :(
Diving into high end IMEs I am a little confused to say the least. I did the speaker rabbit hole a while back and after many A/B testing ended up with a pair of KEF LS50WII that I have been super happy with. However, now looking into IMEs I am trying to sort this all out and hope someone here might be able to help put the pieces together.
To start, I did hopefully not the worst decision lol and bought a pair of Thieaudio Valhalla that seems to be reviewing extremely well. This now opens the rabbit hole of what the heck do I connect them to, to get the best out of them. I plan to listen 99% through my MacBook Pro as the main source but not sure what to get next.
I have been eyeballing the JBD Element IV which is suppose to be a pretty good desktop solution for AMP/DAC to headphones, but I am not sure if these IEMs would be wasted on that. I have also been looking at spending quite a bit more and getting a Eversolo Z10, but not sure if thats over kill. I have also floated getting a Eversolo A6 Gen 2 Master series + a headphone Amp of some kind, but not sure if that is a better choice or not than the other two ideas.
additionally, I listen to a lot of TIDAL and even though they "killed" MQA, there is a lot out there still in MQA and some I actively listen to, and I am not sure how much that should play a roll in what I buy. For instance that Eversolo A6 Gen 2 supports MQA, but neither the Z10 or the Element do.
So ya, I am a bit lost lol. Any clarification, input, or recommendations would be very appreciated.
I was listing to some music streamed to my speakers via TIDAL Connect and noticed one of the albums was showing MQA. I was under the impression TIDAL removed all MQA content and replaced it with FLAC. Did they reverse that move or maybe just missed this lol?
Ever since Season 5 dropped WarZone is giving me consistent 0x887A0005 errors. BO7 works just fine. I will start a mach, it will gather a team, but when it jumps over to the loading screen to start the match, that error shows ever time. I have go as far as to completely reinstall the game, but no change. Its strange it's just WarZone and not BO7. Does anyone have any ideas?
Computer Specs: Windows 11 Pro (up to date), 9800x3D, 5090 on latest drivers, 64GB DDR5 26CL
TLDR: Poor internet connectivity can possibility trigger error 0x00001338. Caused either by a download/update completing but is actually corrupted, or the game choking when trying to communicate with the server. There are a lot of things that can trigger this error, so this is just another to keep in mind.
=====================================================================
Error 0x00001338 can be a real pain and there are TONS of steps out there to try and address it. At it's core it claims to be a Direct X issue, but I recently resolved my 0x00001338 issue that was cause by something I have not seen anyone else mention as a possibility. My Internet...
To sum it up, I work from home so to be safe I have two internet connections. My primary connection is a Cable Modem connection, and my secondary is a Verizon 5G Home Internet connections. After the 4th of July my Primary connection had a big outage in my area that lasted days. During that time, I was failed-over to my secondary connection so I could still work.
While I am able to work on my Verizon connection, it is not great. Lots of packet loss & not super responsive, but it gets the job done. It was at this same time, that I started getting the 0x00001338 error. I did not think it was related as I could surf the internet more or less ok, and the error is largely stated to be a Direct X issue. I tried everything, reinstalled 10 times, all the broker stuff, even going as far as a partial Windows reinstall but nothing worked.
After my Cable Modem connection was fixed, I tried to install it one more time and it BAM it worked!! So what happend? I have two theories on why my internet played a large role in this error.
Either way, my internet played a big role in this error. Just something to keep in mind.
Now that the Public Beta is out I wonder which is the better one to run. What is the difference between the two, and is one considered more stable than the other. Could anyone shed some insight on this? Thank you in advance.
I have not looked into DVD burning in quite a long time. However, a recent project came up where I need to create a burn a few DVDs. I am having a very hard time finding any software. Could someone recommend anything for either Windows or Mac for creating DVDs with simple menus? Thank you in advance.
Game was working fine yesterday, now I can’t even reach the main menu before getting error 0x00001338. I have reinstalled the game, updated Nvidia drivers, updated Windows, Updated the BIOD. Nothing worked. Not sure what to do but I’m super bummed.
MSI X870 Tomahawk WiFi / 9800x3D / RTX5090 Astral / Trident Z Royal 6000Mhz CL26
Just giving everyone an FYI that preorders for the 2026 ASUS Scar 18 models are now open on the ASUS store. The 5080 is going for $4,299 and the 5090 is $4,999. Shipping date is July 6th. Sadly with the state of everything, these laptops are considerably more expensive than I think anyone imagined they would be, and much more than the 2025 models. If you don't care about the ELMB 4K display, or the new Intel 290HX Plus CPU, I would highly recommend looking into last years models while supplies last.
https://rog.asus.com/us/laptops/rog-strix/rog-strix-scar-18-2026/spec/
I purchased a UDM: Beast almost two weeks ago. I had one before than had LAG issues that I saw they fixed in a recent software update and wanted to give it another try. This new unit performs very well but has some intermittent electrical buzzing sounds that is either coming from the internal power supply or a fan that sounds awful. I contacted their support and was advised they wanted to capture the unit, and they would advance send me one asap, I asked for the tracking number and they said they would reach out to their RMA team. That was on the 11th....
Since then I have replied multiple times asking for that tracking number and trying to figure out where this advanced replacement is. Each time I am met with "I am still waiting for the RMA team to reply". When Last Friday came around and they still had no word on ANYTHING from their RMA team, I gave up. I set up the current unit for a return and ordered a new one.
This is completely unacceptable that their RMA team can't even be bothered to respond to their own internal support team for a product they were trying to capture. This really put major doubt for any future RMA's with this company.
We are just a couple weeks aware from the full release of the new 2026 ASUS Scar 18 laptops. Some countries are already shipping, while other are shipping very soon. The new units feature a couple very interesting upgrades. A new ELMB display with better clarity than OLED (though with more latency that may or may not matter), 4K resolution, a new Intel 290HX Plus CPU, and a larger vapor chamber cooler that claims can run the GPU at 175w, CPU at 200w or a combined 320W . Here are some shower thoughts.
---Display---
The new display is extremely interesting. ASUS's new ELMB (Extreme Low Motion Blur) is like Nvidia Pulsar on Steroids. If you have see the LTT coverage on it you already know that this is going to result in image clarity better than OLED. It does have a higher latency than OLED jumping from 2.7ms of latency when off to 5.7ms when on, but it's faster than competing Nvidia Pulsar monitors that operate at 6.1ms. While I doubt we will feel this extra latency, it will be the difference between tech we will use, versus a feature that will be left off if it is. The brightness now goes up to a whopping 1600Nits as well when in HDR mode.
---The 1600p vs 4K+---
This monitor also got a resolution bump from last gen going from 1600p to 4K+. This feels like a massive win for clarity that was already getting a massive bump from the ELMB. For those saying "I would have rather it stayed at 1600p because laptop GPUs can't properly push 4K", picture this if you will. 4K on a 18in display is going to look crazy sharp. It's also a perfect for running at 1200p. So on one hand running 4K on DLSS performance mode will render at 1200p and from what others have posted about 4K DLSS on Performance it "can" look better than 1440p native. Then if needed, setting it to ultra performance OR setting the resolution to 1080p which scales perfectly with 4K, you could set DLSS to Quality or Balanced to scale the same or even lower than 1600p could have while looking better than 1600p Ultra Performance would have. This works out really well because of that perfect 1200p to 4K+ 1:1 scaling.
---The Vapor Chamber of Secrets---
There are some things afoot here with the new Vapor chamber. ASUS has enlarged the VC and provided claims of 200w sustained on the CPU or a combined total with GPU of 320w. But I think there is a little more to this story. While I have no proof I strongly believe this resigned cooler had nothing to do with ideas of pumping more power the CPU. I think this stems from the realization of last years 50 series laptop GPUs being barely any faster, and then the desktop GPUs using so much more wattage that they realized they had to prep for the next refresh. There were rumors months ago of laptops getting the Super chips were going to run at 200w, 25w higher than current offerings. However, with AI madness it never happened. So a beefier cooler for GPUs, turned into a beefier cooler for CPUs. For now. When the 70 series does release there is a good chance it will need more power and from what many manufactures are showing with cooler upgrades this year, they are getting ready.
---Cooling Performance we can hear---
One of the byproducts I think we will see this year is the possibility of quieter laptops. Sure a laptop CPU running at 200w sounds nice, but unless you are doing productivity work you really don't need that for games. My hopes are with that much thermal head room we can go into Aurmory Crate and lower that CPU wattage to around 45w, keep the GPU close to full wattage if not a hair lower and with all that cooling headroom get some insane fan noise levels. I already saw on MSIs new Raider 16 Max HX that it's new cooler running on a 38db silent mode could net around 18000 in TimeSpy, and it does not have the cooling capacity of ASUS new Vapor Chamber. I don't know what we will see in practice, but we could be looking at close to 20,000 in TimeSpy while being whisper quiet.
---Ok, lets get out of the shower---
All and all I feel like this upgrade is going to be super interesting and I can not wait to check it out. The only disappointing thing about it is the price. With a price tag over 4 grand for a 5080, and an estimated 5 grand for the 5090, this laptop is going to be a painful purchase. Sadly this is the world we currently live in at the moment. Maybe if the bubble pops those prices will drop a thousand bucks and allow us to sleep at night. Though I feel like after my pre-order hits my wallet, I am going to need another shower.
MSI Raider 16 Max HX | 290HX Plus | RTX 5090 | MSRP $4,299 USD
Over the past week I have had the chance to check out the new MSI Raider 16 Max HX. This was a laptop that really interested me as I have really liked MSI laptops for a long time. Sadly their refreshes starting with the 4000 series, they have been very underwhelming. From QA issues and defects, to just strange choices they have not really been the laptop brand to buy for a few years. The 2026 refresh for the Raider looks like they are trying to turn that around. Let's check it out.
---Unboxing---
-The MSI unboxing experience has remained largely unchanged for the past decade. A box within a box. A laptop within a sleeve in that box, and thats it. Nothing fancy like ASUS does these days, but thats just for show anyway. In the box they include the Laptop, a 400w power brick, and a quick start guide. There is a cardboard cover over the laptop showing how to open their new quick access panel to reach the two SSD & RAM slots. This is not quite as user friendly as ASUS's quick access latch, but it uses captive screws and is much easier to open than most laptops for simple upgrades.
---First impressions---
-As I slide the laptop out of the box I see the new design on the lid. A very elegant looking MSI emblem that is RGB, and some tasteful darker lines making up the MSI dragon. Looking at the back and side vents MSI has finally ditched the red accents that I felt made it look far to "Gimmicky". I was pleased to see the charging port, Ethernet, and HDMI where all on the back to help keep cords out of the way. As I open up the laptop, I could see myself in the screen. The OLED display is very reflective, with a slight warp look when dark that all soft OLED screen give off. This does not impact the image on the display. The keyboard looks great, and while it does have slightly translucent arrow and WASD keys, they are darker than previous years and dose not bother me at all. Track pad is a little smaller than I would have liked, but is not tiny. Their new light bar in the front looks much better than what they used previously, though I am not sure it needs to be there at all. Overall the laptop looks really good and with the front light bar off could easily pass for a professional laptop.
---Screen---
-This screen is this laptops biggest strength but also possibly its biggest weakness. The OLED display looks incredible, colors really pop and it's 240hz refresh rate is buttery smooth. The HDR can get extremely bright and PWM flicker for me seems to be a non issue though your milage may vary. The reflections when the screen is dark are very pronounced, but as soon as there is an image on screen you quickly forget about it, or if the brightness is above 50% you can't really see it. The down side comes down to the lack of G-Sync in 2026. While this laptop does offer 60-240hz VRR when running in advanced optimus with only a 1.25% performance drop vs discrete mode, there is no excuse to not having G-Sync. However, I have not seen any tearing. I have played this on discrete mode with V-Sync disabled at as low as 30FPS, and I still could not see any tearing. I am not sure if this is just OLED magic, but it honestly made me stop caring about the lack of G-Sync. But it does feel like a let down MSI just couldn't include it. There is also no touchscreen support. However, having used many touchscreen laptops before, while it can be nice in some instances it also smudges up your screen pretty quick so I really don't miss it.
---The OLED dilemma---
-As mentioned above the screen in amazing, but the fact that it is OLED feels very limiting with the burn in risk always on my mind. MSI does include "some" OLED care options like Pixel shift, but pixel shift only turns on when the laptop is idle... So if you are gaming it will not do it. This is a huge problem since static objects like in game HUDs will not ever shift when thats exactly what you would want it to do. Web browsers, Photoshop, or Word for example all have many static UI elements including the window itself that need pixel shift to help lower the burn in risk, but they will never see it while the laptop is in use. The laptop also does not have any auto pixel refresh and it has to be triggered manually. These are honestly huge problems that should not exist. OLED displays are amazing but they need proper care to lessen the burn in risk, and this laptop is just not doing enough to help with this.
---Keyboard---
-The keyboard is kind of a let down. One on hand it is very clicky feeling, with a fast response that does not feel mushy at all and is perfect for gaming. On the other hand, it felt kinda odd to type on. I have been more inaccurate when typing on this keyboard than almost all other laptop keyboards I have ever tried. It just felt like I had to use more effort to type for some reason, and it was not the most comfortable typing experience. While not being the worst keyboard I have ever felt, If I was getting a laptop and planned to do a lot of writing or serious work this would be a hard pass for me. But for gaming, it's pretty great.
---TrackPad---
-The track pad, like the keyboard is a bit of a mixed bag. On one had it's not too small, but it's also not that big. The click feels good, but it does not feel as responsive as it should. I had a hard time dragging windows or files around. It's good enough to get you by in a pinch, but I would highly recommend using an external mouse.
---RGB---
-The RGB on the laptop is pretty good. The emblem on the lid, front light bar, and keyboard can all be set to whatever you like though the SteelSeries software with lots of customization. The keyboard is per-key and gets decently bright. The light bar gets a bit too bright, though you can turn it down. You can create custom profiles or they have a tone of existing ones to choose from. Overall the RGB offerings on here looks really good and there is a lot you can do with it.
--Fan noise--
-This is one area the laptop really shines. My unit has zero high pitch whine or frequencies under any fan level. This has been a problem for years in most laptops, but not on this Raider. As you will see in the performance section, this laptop like most, can get very loud, but also really quiet while still offering really good performance. This laptop has 5.1 performance modes ranging from Apex, Extreme, Balanced and Eco-Silent. There is an AI mode that just felt more like it ran the fans at the Extreme level. The .1 comes from the fact Eco-Silent enables Nividia's "Whisper Mode" in the Nvidia App every time you switch to Silent mode. However, if you open the Nvidia app and turn that off you will see a massive performance boost. You will have to do that every single time you switch to silent which is a bit annoying, but for the performance you gain its worth the extra few clicks.
--Conclusion 7/10--
-This laptop has been a bit of a mixed bag. The screen is great, but lacks G-Sync, but may not actually need it. Performance is both great and underwhelming as it does perform well even at library levels of quiet, but the 300w total TDP from the new Intel CPU and RTX 5090 does not seem to really be pushing it past last gen offerings. It sits kind of in the middle of the top end offerings from last gen, so not bad but I expected more. The keyboard is odd and could be a deal breaker for anyone trying to get some real work done. The Fan noise might be where this laptop shines the most as it can go near silent and still game well, and has pleasant sounding fans. Overall I feel like this could have been a very strong offering depending on how cheap you can get it for. The MSRP of this laptop is $4,299 with the configuration I have. However MicroCenter had it for $3,100. Sadly, the OLED care short comings are the really problem here. If they had been properly implemented it would have given this a solid 8 even with the keyboard short comings. But this laptops lack of OLED protection and it's sloppy implementation really left a bad taste in my mouth.
**Side note: While I think this will get fixed, currently CoD is broken on this laptop. The game thinks the BIOS needs to be upgraded and will restrict you to only a select couple Maps. Activision is aware of this issue, but there is no ETA on a fix.
----Benchmarks----
All test are ran in Discrete GPU mode, Core Isolation off, 3rd party Anti-virus uninstalled. Nvidia Driver 610.62 Game ReadyI
>TimeSpy:
-Apex Mode: Graphics 25,304 | CPU 17,491 | Overall 23,677 | Loudest Fans 56.5db
-Optimus Apex Mode: Graphics 24,855 | CPU 17,194 | Overall 23,297 | Loudest Fans 56.5db
-Extreme Mode: Graphics 23,741 | CPU 17,368 | Overall 22,502 | Loudest Fans 51.7db
-Optimus Extreme Mode: Graphics 23,388 | CPU 17,285 | Overall 22,211 | Loudest Fans 51.7db
-Balanced Mode: Graphics 23,404 | CPU 17,538 | Overall 22,285 | Loudest Fans 47.5db
-Optimus Balanced Mode: Graphics 23,181 | CPU 17,260 | Overall 22,046 | Loudest Fans 47.5db
-Silent Mode: Graphics 14,854 | CPU 14,210 | Overall 14,753 | Loudest Fans 38.8db
-Optimus Eco-Silent Mode: Graphics 14,453 | CPU 14,720 | Overall 14,492 | Loudest Fans 38.8db
-Eco-Silent Mode Whisper Mode Off: Graphics 18,667 | CPU 16,874 | Overall 18,374 | Loudest Fans 38.8db
**Side Note: As you will see in the stress test, the Silent Mode whisper off will continue to throttle. After testing in games for a bit I get the impression the score once heat soaked is probably closer to 16,000. Still a very good result for how quiet it is.
>TimeSpy Stress Test: Was not ran on Apex since Apex is Extreme with higher fan curves:
-Extreme Mode: 99.0% Pass
-Balanced Mode: 98.3% Pass
-Silent Mode: 77.8% (Best loop was #1 92.44 / Worst loop was #8 73.34)
-Eco-Silent Mode Whisper Mode Off: 93.5% (Best loop was #1 122.74 / Worst loop was #20 114.69)
**Side Note: I am unsure if the frame rate would keep going down since the last loop was the worst.
>Steel Nomad:
-Apex Mode: Graphics Test 62.29 FPS | Overall 6,229
-Extreme Mode: Graphics Test 58.59 FPS | Overall 5,859
-Balanced Mode: Graphics Test 57.41 FPS | Overall 5,740
-Eco-Silent Mode: Graphics Test 36.91 FPS | Overall 3,691
-Eco-Silent Mode Whisper Mode Off: Graphics Test 47.11 FPS | Overall 4,710
Port Royal:
-Apex Mode: Graphics Test 77.41 FPS | Overall 16,721
-Extreme Mode: Graphics Test 72.61 FPS | Overall 15,684
-Balanced Mode: Graphics Test 71.50 FPS | Overall 15,443
-Eco-Silent Mode: Graphics Test 41.69 FPS | Overall 9,004
-Eco-Silent Mode Whisper Mode Off: Graphics Test 57.49 FPS | Overall 12,417
FireStrike Extreme:
-Apex Mode: Graphics 32,762 | Physics 48,879 | Combined 12,800 | Overall 29,608
-Extreme Mode: Graphics 30,804 | Physics 49,781 | Combined 13,635 | Overall 28,822
-Balanced Mode: Graphics 30,389 | Physics 48,267 | Combined 11,644 | Overall 27,490
-Eco-Silent Mode: Graphics 19,966 | Physics 31,981 | Combined 9,009 | Overall 18,742
-Eco-Silent Mode Whisper Mode Off: Graphics 23,597 | Physics 39,836 | Combined 10,436 | -Overall 22,157
---Game Benchmarks: Silent was always ran with Whisper mode off, otherwise all results would be 30FPS---
>CyberPunk: (Ultra Preset - VSync Off - No Upscaling - No Raytracing - 1440p)
-Apex Mode: Average 116.14 | Min 97.02 | Max 148.20 | time 64.25 | Frames 7462
-Extreme Mode: Average 115.74 | Min 96.43 | Max 147.37 | time 64.25 | Frames 7435
-Balanced Mode: Average 110.85 | Min 90.59 | Max 140.70 | time 64.26 | Frames 7123
-Eco-Silent Mode Whisper Mode Off: Average 79.96 | Min 57.20 | Max 114.35 | time 64.25 | Frames 5138
>Returnal (Epic Preset - VSync Off - Raytracing Off - 1440p)
-Apex Mode: FPS Avg 126 | CPU Avg 12% | GPU Avg 97%
-Extreme Mode: FPS Avg 125 | CPU Avg 12% | GPU Avg 96%
-Balanced Mode: FPS Avg 122 | CPU Avg 12% | GPU Avg 97%
-Eco-Silent Mode Whisper Mode Off: FPS Avg 92 | CPU Avg 11% | GPU Avg 96%
>Temps: (While testing BattleField 6 I saw the following temperatures)
-Apex: CPU 103c | GPU 81c
-Extreme: CPU 93c | GPU 84c
-Balanced: CPU 82c | GPU 78c
*Eco-Silent: CPU 57c | GPU 64c
*Eco-Silent Whisper Off: CPU 88c | GPU 74c
**Silent mode enables Nvidia Whisper which caps at 30FPS and is why the temps are so low. At the top end Apex is pushing very high wattage out of the CPU, and from what Intel Claims the 290HX Plus can run at 105c all day. Not sure how I feel about it since they traded speed for temps, but if they say its suppose to run like this, then we can at least not stress out unless it causes performance hiccups, which I have seen none so far.
I’m trying to figure out how I can lower the wattage of the GPU and CPU on my new MSI raider 16 max HX. I know on Asus laptops in their software. You can easily set the wattage of either to lower temperatures and fan speeds. However, I cannot find any options like this for MSI laptops. It’s super unfortunate because while it will let you set custom fan curves because you can’t adjust the wattage it will just spin them up faster than whatever you set after two minutes making it kind of pointless. Is anybody aware of any way I can adjust the wattage?
I have no idea what to do at this point. Secure Boot is on, Laptop has TPM 2.0, Core Isolation is on, BIOS is updated but I can't get back this alert. I even downloaded that Attestation wizard and it said everything was good.... Does anyone have any other ideas?
*BIOS is up to date
*All Windows Updates are installed
*All Laptop updates are installed
*Verified Windows see TPM 2.0
*Verified Windows see SecureBoot enabled
*Core Isolation is On
*Reset TPM 2.0
*Ran the Attenstation Wizard and it PASSED
*Uninstalled, Rebooted, Reinstalled CoD
*Tried opening the broker stuff as admin but no change.
This morning I picked up the MSI Raider 16 Max HX with the following specs:
Since there are practically zero reviews out there for this laptop, I figured I would open up an AMA for anyone that has any questions. I will try to respond to all questions the best I can. I may not be able to fulfill all testing requests if I do not have the software. While this laptop has an amazing introductory sale of price of $3,100 currently at MicroCenter ($1,200 off MSRP), I will probably not be keeping it due to the lack of G-Sync or any VRR in this display. Not sure how big a problem it will really be, but in 2026 MSI still refuses to include this in their laptops.
--Initial Impressions - Updating as I check things--
At first look the OLED screen looks really good, but is probably the most reflective screens I have ever seen. It's like looking at a black mirror. This is not uncommon for glossy OLED displays, but I was a little surprised just how reflective this display is.
So I had a poll yesterday (Thank you everyone who voted), and decided after the 18in went out of stock lol, to just wait for the 2026 Scar once I find a buyer for my kidney. Having said that, has anyone heard of any release dates for the 2026 Scar 18? I can't seem to find anything solid for when this will actually go on sale.
Budget: $3,700 USD
Country: USA
Use Case: Gaming - COD, BF6, Forza
Preferred Specs: 5080 or 5090
Notes: I am trying to decide between these two builds. There is a $700 difference between the two, and of course the screen size. Everything else is the same. Obviously the 18 would be nicer to game on, but I am not sure about the overall package. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.