u/Yuiop321

Budget: $500-$1300
Location: USA (Not California)
Prefer pre-built, but willing to do a kit if necessary
Prefer relatively less maintenance

I would want at least a 250x250x250 build area, but more would be nice too. For the odd thing larger than that, I would be willing to find ways to make smaller pieces that fit together. I strongly dislike the idea of filament waste, so features that combat that are valuable to me. While I might color switch for some projects, I think I will honestly be using a lot of black PLA, with some TPU for certain special cases. I would consider other materials, but have no existing desire to use them unless I need to for some special reason. I would mostly stick with black, but periodically do something in multi color. I would mostly do one off projects, but would have cause for bulk when making modular organization pieces, or perhaps knockoff legos or something. I would want an enclosure because I am weird about air quality. I value control, privacy, and open source. However, I do not absolutely need that if other factors adequately persuade me to compromise.

I am currently primarily considering the Bambu P1S, Snapmaker U1, and Lightmake L4. I am not knowledgeable enough to make an adequately comprehensive list of pros and cons, but here are my thoughts so far.

Bambu P1S:
Pros: Cheapest, established ecosystem, it just works, and enclosed by default
Cons: No filament waste reduction, smaller build area, no toolchanger, Bambu seems to be leaning anti-control/privacy, poor camera refresh rate, and 300C toolhead.

Snapmaker U1:
Pros: Reduced waste, toolchanger, slightly larger build area, better control/privacy
Cons: Higher price, enclosure is an addon, less tested ecosystem, poor camera refresh rate, and 300C toolhead

Lightmake L4:
Pros: Reduced waste, toolchanger, far larger build area, better control/privacy (they are open source), conversational AI slicing, less maintenance/tensioning due to no belts, monolithic die cast frame, 320C toolhead, excellent camera refresh rate, and 4x print speed in bulk printing.
Cons: Expensive, enclosure is an addon, untested ecosystem, risk of vaporware (but if I wait for confirmation then the only acceptable pricing is gone).

I am open to other options, but these are the ones that my research has led me to focus on for now. I think I most like the Lightmake, but the price is up there, and I wonder if it is overkill for me. Of course it also carries the most risk. I like the U1, but by the time you buy the cover, the price is awfully close to the Lightmake, and you get less build area. The P1S is tempting because it gives you quite a bit of the pie for a steep discount. However, its build plate is on the small side, you don't get a toolchanger, and I am a bit biased against them given their semi-recent controversies. I am strongly opposed to government intervention (California), and fear that Bambu would be one of the first to bend the knee. However, pragmatically I have no intention of making anything they would have a problem with.

Hello! I am choosing my first OLED monitor! I currently rock the ES07D03, a 4K 144Hz IPS panel, as my primary monitor using HDMI 2.1. I use an RTX 4090, so no UHBR20 support for awhile, though I may get a 6090 when the day comes.

My use case is mixed. I game daily, but I also use this PC for desk work, with static UI (gray with white text) for 3-5 hours a day. This also means that I read small text a lot.

I am currently torn between two monitors.

XG27UQDMS seems to be the feature shaved cousin of PG27UCDM. I believe I lose Dolby Vision (Might use?), USB C power delivery (Won't use)), KVM (Won't use) and DP 2.1. However it has HDMI 2.1, so I would likely use that to dodge DSC. In return for these losses I get the price down to $800. It is my understanding that QD-OLED suffers from a text clarity issue, but that is is far less impactful on a 27" 4K display.

PG27UCWM is the upcoming RGB OLED that will supposedly be going live in the coming days if other posts are to be believed. I get back all of the lost features, and I get RGB OLED, which people say will improve text clarity. As someone used to 4K 27" IPS, I am definitely interested in retaining clarity. I have seen some ambiguity as to what exactly this new panel is though. Some say it is QD-OLED RGB, others say it is WOLED RGB, but I have also heard that the white subpixel is removed, so calling it WOLED seems odd. This distinction might matter because I have seen many people claim that QD-OLED masters color in a way that WOLED cannot. Since color is one of the major reasons I am upgrading, that is quite relevant to me. I have put off playing Ori and the Will of the Wisps for too long not to have it look astounding. Asus' marketing touts the GaNFET cooling technology as resulting in nearly 35% less waste heat and 10% cooler vent temperatures. I am not sure to what extent this is marketing fluff, but as someone new to OLED who is afraid of burn in, while also having an unfortunately static UI when working, this is relevant to me. It also has TrueBlack Glossy which looks nice based on some videos I have seen on it.

Pricing for this monitor seems uncertain, but I have seen reports of it being 1149 EUR, so I figure $1300 USD is plausible, but of course unconfirmed. If true, that is a hefty price increase over the XG. While I am price aware, both options are within my budget.

This leaves me unsure as to how to proceed. The PG seems to be incredibly close to release, so it is reasonable to wait for it if that is the road I want to go down. However the XG offers quite a lot for such a nice price, and depending on the QD-OLED vs WOLED conversation, I wonder if it will look better.

There is also a secret third choice: The 27GM950B-B, a 5K2K mini LED. All burn in concern is gone, and its 2304 local dimming zones make it closer to OLED's black performance than your average mini LED. However, it will never be OLED. I wonder if I will regret having "only" 90% of the beauty. I also fear that 5K will be too hard to drive, and I admit that I was excited to game at 240Hz. Being relegated to 2K half the time would be unfortunate, but it would likely work great when 6090 comes, minus the 240Hz.

Thoughts?

Correct me if I am wrong, but the consensus seems to be that the company has not adequately managed the firmware of some of their monitors. In particular, the ES07D03, which is what I have. I am one of the OG owners, back when it was the Eve Spectrum. I have been running firmware 107 for years now. I see that 108 exists, as well as Beta 03. Given that it's been two years since a new firmware, I am seeking to choose my "forever" firmware. 107 works for me, but the monitor has slow wake time and a window bounce (between my various monitors) whenever I power it on/off. I use HDMI 2.1. Is there any reason to update? Which is considered the best or most stable version?

Also interestingly 107 isn't listed on their downloads. They have Beta 03, 108, 106, and 105. I guess I have special firmware. You'd think it was horrible given that it's conspicuously absent, but it works fine for me.

I don't know what to call it, but we have all seen it. It's an ad for those games where you move left to right to get multipliers, shoot enemies, unlock new weapons, etc. Different ads/games do it differently, but most have one thing in common. They are fake. The gameplay either doesn't exist, or is like 5% of the actual gameplay at best. I have no interest in their base building/sim game that they actually want me to play and buy microtransactions on. I just want the game from the ad.

This has become such common knowledge, that the fake games put out ads saying that they aren't fake! Now I can't trust any of them. So, I am turning to Reddit. Which ones are actually just the game they promise to be? Bonus points if they support a lifetime ad removal, don't have forced wait timers, and don't effectively force microtransactions beyond the ad removal (through mechanics like making non-paid progression unrealistic or annoying).

The only game I have found that comes close is "Real War: Not Fake", but it isn't perfect. Its ads are atrocious, but at least you can remove them for $5. It has microtransactions, but they aren't essential. I have been contemplating buying the ad removal, but I would like to at least try to get it for the "best" one of these games. i.e. the most polished/complete. Thank you all!

I currently use an Eve Spectrum (ES07D03) as my primary monitor. It is 27" 4K 144Hz, but not HDR or OLED. I have an RTX 4090.

I am eyeing an upgrade to HDR + OLED for those beautiful colors. However, I also use this monitor for productivity, with static UI for 6-8 hours a day. This has me worried about burn in, which is why tandem OLED is so appealing to me.

My current monitor is honestly fine. It gets the job done on all fronts, but I can't help but think about the image quality I am missing when gaming. I would also love to experience 240Hz+, which I can drive in many low-mid tier games.

Part of me wants to buy some current gen 27" 4K 240Hz HDR OLED monitor, but another part of me wonders if I should just wait. If I wait a year or two, I can likely get a 60 series to better drive the thing, and tandem OLED 4K should hopefully exist by then.

It seems a little silly to buy a monitor when the better one is close, but at the same time I am not aware of any release dates, so I am signing a blank check on wait time. It's just close enough to give me pause, but just far enough to fit into "The best time to buy technology is tomorrow, but that also means you never buy anything".

Complicating things is that I am absolutely buying some monitors. I want two more for work. I currently have one 4K and three 1080p displays. If I buy a new 4K, my current 4K can become my media watching display, and then I only need one more 1080p. If I hold off on the OLED, then I need to buy two cheap 1080p displays ($80-$100 each). In case it isn't obvious, this is a hybrid personal/professional system.

Thoughts?