u/rucekooker

First time touching Clubs in like 2 months and first game in already reminds me why I quit this shit

Opponent did a livejoin sub and the entire match got stuck for 5+ mins. Everyone just frozen in game doing a fucking endurance test waiting for the other team to forfeit first.

Actual billion dollar company btw. How does one livejoin still completely kill matches in 2026

Recently changed cars from a 2020 BMW G20 320i to a 2025 Mazda CX-5.

One thing I kept hearing on TikTok before switching was how good the Bose sound system in the CX-5 supposedly is. A lot of reviews and owners hyped it up hard, so I expected it to at least feel comparable to my old BMW sound system.

But after using it for a while… am I crazy or does it actually sound worse?

The Mazda system feels less clear, less immersive, and the bass sounds kinda muddy compared to what I was used to in the BMW. Vocals also don’t feel as crisp to me.

I’m not even an audiophile or anything, but the difference was noticeable almost immediately.

Would love to hear from people who’ve owned both brands or tested both systems extensively.

Genuine question to all blower GPU owners here.

Do you guys actually just leave your cards completely stock and accept the 80c+ temps and insanely loud fan noise, or is undervolting basically mandatory for these cards?

I recently started paying more attention to my GPU temps and noise levels and I honestly don’t know how people tolerate some of these blower cards at stock settings. Under load they sound like a vacuum cleaner fighting for its life.

Especially with higher end cards like the RTX 3080 blower models (The one i own right now), I feel like undervolting + custom fan curves almost becomes part of the ownership experience.

Don’t get me wrong, 1440p gaming looks AMAZING.
I’m using a Ryzen 5 5600 + RTX 3080 with 32GB RAM and games look crisp as hell on this monitor.

But outside of gaming... honestly kinda regretting it.

Most videos on YouTube, Netflix, streams, older uploads etc are still 1080p and they just look bad stretched on a 1440p monitor. Soft/blurry enough that sometimes I genuinely just grab my phone instead because 1080p content looks way more normal there.

And what makes it worse is I barely even game that much nowadays. I probably play like 1-3 hours max, then the rest of the day on my PC is just YouTube, Netflix, browsing stuff.

So most of my actual monitor usage ends up feeling worse instead of better because so much content still isn’t native 1440p.

U guys reckon i should go back to 1080p or what? is there a fix to this cuz its honestly such a hassle

I’m about to play the GTA V campaign for the first time. YES, the actual campaign

I’ve played GTA Online for years but somehow never touched Story Mode. The only reason I’m finally starting it now is because I recently finished the main story of Red Dead Redemption 2 and it got me wanting to experience Rockstar stories properly.

Main thing I wanted to ask:

Since I’ll probably be using mods, mostly quality of life stuff and visual upgrades, which version of GTA V is better for modding right now? Enhanced or Legacy?

I’m mainly interested in shaders, graphics improvements, maybe some car mods, immersion/QOL stuff, etc. Nothing that completely changes the game or turns it into chaos.

Just wanna get the best first experience possible. (AND PLS DO NOT SAY DONT MOD I WANNA MOD, atleast for the graphic improvements first)

im currently using the XM5 and honestly im still very satisfied with it, but im curious and kinda wanna upgrade anyway. the price difference between the WF-XM6 and WH-XM6 in my country is only around $52 so price isnt really the issue here

my main usage is gaming, music, and travelling/walking/cardio outside

part of me is leaning towards the WF-XM6 because earbuds just seem way more versatile and convenient for everyday use

do u guys reckon the WF-XM6 is actually better than the WH-XM5 for my usage? or is the WH-XM5 still better overall to the point where i should just go all in and get the WH-XM6 instead?

EDIT : I use a WH XM5 right now

Alright… I’m not even exaggerating when I say this, but my RTX 3080 blower genuinely gave me PTSD.
That thing was a portable heater + jet engine combo. Great in winter, useless for everything else.

I’m still using it right now btw… but after 7 months of opening it up, repadding, repasting, and questioning my life choices, I finally got it right.
Temps are decent now, noise is manageable due to undervolt, and it’s no longer trying to cook itself. Took way longer than it should’ve, but yeah… we got there.

Now I’m thinking ahead of

- Grabbing a used 4080 next year(?)
- Or just wait for 60 series and maybe jump on a 6060 at launch

Main goal is that
I never want to hear my GPU scream like that again.
I’m aiming for top-tier thermals and for my GPU fans to be as quiet as possible

What I’ve learned the hard way:

- Blower = never again. Seriously. Fuck you Blower.

At this point I don’t care about RGB, aeshetics, colors... I just want something that doesnt hit stupid hotspot temps and doesnt scream like a jet engine under load

So yeah, what should I actually be aiming for if I want the coolest and quietest GPU possible?
Any specific brands/models that are consistently solid? i heard ZOTAC is a no-go

Trying to avoid another 7-month thermal therapy arc

So I just redid my GPU:

• Paste: pumped-out MX-6 → MX-7
• Pads: factory → mix of
  • 1.5mm Thermalright Valor Odin (sides)
  • 1mm 6 W/mK unnamed pads (main VRAM)

Results:

• Hotspot to core delta: ~12°C → ~10°C (nice improvement)
• Core temp: dropped by ~5°C (also solid)
• VRAM delta: ~12°C → ~18°C (?? got worse)

I also used most of my Valor Odins on the backplate.

Why would VRAM temps get worse after repadding? Bad contact? Pad quality (the 4 W/mK ones too weak)? Thickness mismatch?

my GPU is a RTX 3080 GIGABYTE Turbo

Should i repad it or is it nothing to worry about?

So I just redid my GPU:

• Paste: pumped-out MX-6 → MX-7
• Pads: factory → mix of
  • 1.5mm Thermalright Valor Odin (sides)
  • 1mm 6 W/mK unnamed pads (main VRAM)

Results:

• Hotspot to core delta: ~12°C → ~10°C (nice improvement)
• Core temp: dropped by ~5°C (also solid)
• VRAM delta: ~12°C → ~16°C (?? got worse)

I also used most of my Valor Odins on the backplate.

Why would VRAM temps get worse after repadding? Bad contact? Pad quality (the 4 W/mK ones too weak)? Thickness mismatch?

my GPU is a RTX 3080 GIGABYTE Turbo

Should i repad it or is it nothing to worry about?

I’m planning to repaste my GPU again and also repad for the first time.

Right now I’m considering going with Arctic MX-7, but I genuinely can’t find enough solid reviews or long-term data on it, so I have no idea if it’s actually reliable or just another short-term solution. Based on my own experience, MX-6 pumped out way earlier than expected. After about 7 months, my temps had already crept up by ~10°C+, which is honestly disappointing. So naturally, I’m concerned. Does MX-7 have the same pump-out issue, or is it actually more stable over time?

What I really wanted to use is Honeywell PTM7950, but it’s basically impossible to get legit stock where I live. Availability here is practically nonexistent, which is frustrating because I know that’s considered the go-to solution for long-term performance. I’m fully aware it’s the ideal fix, but it simply isn’t an option in my area.

For context, I used Arctic MX-6 about 7 months ago and my temps have already gone up by around 10°C+, which strongly suggests pump-out or degradation happened much sooner than I expected.

I’ll also be replacing the VRAM pads with Thermalright Odin Valor pads, and I’ve already checked the correct thickness for my card.

My main goal here is long-term stability. I don’t want to keep opening up the GPU every few months just to deal with rising temps again. So to anyone who has used MX-7 or knows a thing or two please share your reviews/thoughts.

my GPU is an RTX 3080 Gigabyte Turbo blower, so yeah, thermals are already pretty brutal to begin with.

I’ve been seeing a lot of people say DLSS 4.5 is basically carrying the 4K scene right now, especially with presets like M and L. Even most benchmarking videos nowadays are including 4K with DLSS 4.5 as a standard test, which kind of makes me wonder how meaningful the differences still are in real use.

So I’m curious about something more practical. If you’re playing on a 27-inch 4K monitor, is DLSS 4.5 at Balanced, Performance, and Ultra Performance actually so good that DLAA and Quality are basically not worth considering anymore?

From what I understand, 4K already has very high pixel density at that size, so I’m wondering if that alone makes the higher quality presets less relevant in actual gameplay. At the same time, I keep hearing that people using 4K on larger TVs are comfortably running Balanced, Performance, or even Ultra Performance, and still calling the image clean. Most of the feedback I see leans toward Performance being the sweet spot, and a lot of people say DLSS 4.5 looks and performs extremely well at 4K.

So I’m really trying to understand where the real ceiling is now. Is DLAA and Quality still meaningfully better, or has DLSS 4.5 basically pushed Balanced and Performance into “free FPS-boost with no downside” territory at 4K?

What’s the actual difference between running something like FurMark vs just playing demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, or Red Dead Redemption 2?

From what I’ve read, a lot of people say FurMark can “kill” your GPU if you run it for too long. But at the same time, people are out here playing games at basically 100% GPU usage for hours every day, for months or even years, and their GPUs are completely fine apart from thermals creeping up a bit.

For example, I’ve been playing Crimson Desert at 100% GPU load for around 60 hours total now and everything is completely stable. But the moment I run FurMark for more than 2 minutes, id literally sweat my balls.

Is FurMark just propaganda?

Curious to hear from people who understand this deeper.