"I think I've lived long enough to see competitive Counter-Strike as we know it, kill itself." Summary of Richard Lewis' stream (Long)
I want to preface that the contents of this post is for informational purposes. I do not condone or approve of any harassments or witch-hunting or the attacking of anybody.
Richard Lewis recently did a stream talking about the terrible state of CS esports and I thought it was an important stream anyone who cares about the CS community should listen to. Vod Link here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/830415547 I realize it is 3 hours long so I took it upon myself to create a list of interesting points from the stream so you don't have to listen to the whole thing, although I still encourage you to do so if you can. I know this post is still long but probably easier to digest, especially in parts. Here is a link to my raw notes if you for some reason want to read through this which includes some omitted stuff. It's in chronological order of things said in the stream and has some time stamps. https://pastebin.com/6QWTLr8T
Intro
"The last month has convinced me, that we are going to be heading into a dark place for Counter-Strike esports in 2021."
"I think I've seen the scene essentially kill itself."
"For the past 5 to 6 years, we've basically been in a holding pattern of people coming into our game wanting to run it, wanting to run all of the esports and wanting to profiteer and its been sort of a concerted effort to drive them off and push them away."
"We're spread way too thin."
"If Riot don't get involved and stop the scumbags that have moved over to Valorant from getting their feet under the table, Valorant is going to have real problems."
RL thinks too much has happened all at once for us to do anything except watch it play out, like:
Recent CSPPA strike against BLAST
ESIC failures and them not being supported enough
Teams cheating i.e. coaches/bugs
Widespread match fixing
The Pandemic
"People who try to hold bubble events are so incompetent and fuck up and people get the 'rona and its their fault."
"People who say Flashpoint is a bubble is full of shit and is a lie and people are now suffering for that lie."
"To save money they let people go home and break the bubble for a week."
"Not just Flashpoint peoples decision, they have a partner that handles the production." (hinting FACEIT)
"People are trapped in hotels essentially under house arrest because of COVID restrictions and has fucked peoples lives up."
"It's all too much, all of this incompetence, all of this greed, maybe we ride it out."
RL says he has talked to the Riot devs (the ones working on Valorant) and says, "They are so cognizant of all the fuck ups and all the problems we have in Counter-Strike."
He continues to say that this is factored into their business plan and that we never had a competitor, but just so happens to have one coincide, when we are at our worst.
CSPPA - Counter-Strike Professional Players' Association
"Who does this union really fucking serve?"
RL believes that the CSPPA is a mockery.
He points out the hypocrisy that they wouldn't strike for the pros who were kicked out of ESL Pro League, or for Jamppi or dream3r.
He also says ESL paid CSPPA and are racketeering and many other TOs have to pay them to get their "seal of approval"
He says they would strong-arm TOs saying "well if you don't give us the money, these guys are so we'll just have to commit to playing their event."
Also points out that they will strike against a competitor they are not in agreement with (Flashpoint)
RL: "It's what it says about every other time you haven't done it and it's about every time you don't do it now moving forward." "The issues they've chosen to ignore this year alone are embarrassing."
Then he points out that there was no strike for Valve qualifiers even if we have no major but Jamppi and dream3r can't play in them.
"and Valve have said 'Oh yeah we know actually their stories are accurate, Jamppi didn't cheat, now in a legally binding document. Yep dream3r did have his account hacked in a LAN café', but they still can't play. Where is the fucking solidarity? Gone. Doesn't exist. It's not important [because] it doesn't affect you." "That's what the union does right now, it looks after all the tier 1 people."
He says the CSPPA doesn't represent all players all the time and has driven a divide where you have the haves and have-nots
"We have a tier of players that operate with impunity and do not help their tier 2 or tier 3 players out at all." "If you are not a tier 1 player you do not matter, they don't event ask your opinion."
He tells chrisJ to admit and own the fact that the reason he didn't speak up during the ESL Pro League debacle is because it didn't affect him
"They are looking after some players at the expense of other players. How the fuck is that a union?"
He says the BLAST situation is a reasonable dispute and supports the players but is not the right time for a strike and have not even identified the correct enemy
He thinks players are lashing out now due to previous incidents and are upset that BLAST are working with ESIC
He stated that CSPPA shouldn't beefing with ESIC and they should be working in harmony
He says what they need to do is talk with the teams/organizations that have sold that right to BLAST
RL: "Your employers, the people who pay you that massive exorbitant salaries, when you don't stream and you don't do interviews and you offer no value beyond your ability to click heads and you get 25k dollars a month." "Why don't you talk to them about it? Oh right. You're happy to take away BLAST's paper, but you don't want to risk your own."
"I am seeing such unbelievable cowardice from the players here with the battles you choose."
"Where was the strike action when in the qualifiers for the world championship, there were teams and players engaged in huge conflicts of interest?" "Where was the strike action when your image rights were taken and sold to every league you've ever been in every union type organization you've ever been associated with like, WESA, to your org every time you sign a contract, to the leagues you play in."
"Your image rights are essentially worthless now, there's about 10 fucking separate parties that have them, and how many of them are giving you anything for it? Not much pretty much your org by the way."
"That's a big issue. Your image is you, your image is your brand. What are you doing about that? Nothing."
He is also angry at SirScoots who is "popping off" at people on Twitter who all want the same thing, which is 'A unified Counter-Strike scene for everybody, that works for everybody, that has a sustained ecosystem that nourishes everybody.' "We don't have that now."
He also says their rankings are a joke
"Just so happened, oh look TACO, that very important prominent member of the board, we pushed his team artificially up when they weren't even in the fucking top 20, not by a long shot."
He also says the ineptitude of the CSPPA cost Flashpoint a monitor sponsor
"Is it really a player association or is it like a fucking agency at this point"
ESIC - Esports Integrity Commission
"They have been put in an impossible position."
RL says that Ian Smith, the founder of ESIC and who was done work in mainstream sports, is a good and honorable man who has dedicated his life to integrity and sports. He takes on both sides, ensuring match fixers are punished, but also doing appeals and ensuring those punishments were fair.
"ESIC is a tiny organization" and are in need of money, "They didn't run a grift like the CSPPA did."
"Saying 'you want our support and you want the players to turn up you better pay us.' They don't do that."
"Had startup seed money from MTG and since then they've been pecking shit with the hens."
Ian Smith made sure that the money given by MTG (Modern Times Group, parent company of ESL, ESEA, DreamHack) was nothing more than startup money and wouldn't be in debt to them
Ian Smith sat down with other TO's not part of MTG and wanted to partner with them. They declined and called ESIC "ESL spies and we will never align ourselves with you"
"They only were just able to afford, hiring a PR guy on a full time salary to deal with the press and send out those releases you've seen, this year."
"They have a tiny group of staff investigating these things and they have taken on the biggest problems in our scene: the cheating, the match fixing."
ESIC have had "unprecedented levels of cheating to deal with, because there's something wrong with our scene ever since we went online. There's something wrong with it, everyone's lost their fucking pride and self-respect and they got no passion for it anymore, so they think fuck it, what's in it for me?"
He calls out coaches who are talking about players rights when they would rob and steal from them.
Also says more coaches being banned are coming
He also points out flaws in community's reaction to the punishments to coaches bans: "Half of the cunts still have jobs and some of the cunts got new jobs. We didn't even shun the cheating coaches."
ESIC have "found I think another 2 or 3 exploits like that one and they are investigating them all right now, it's going on right now."
"I know that there are going to be more names getting banned, again."
"So they're doing that on a skeleton crew while, investigating 3 continents worth of match fixing in MDL and semi-pro level CS." "They're doing this with half a dozen people." "They don't have any money or any help. People barely even fucking cooperate with them, they are treated like pariahs. It's ridiculous."
"Why are the CSPPA popping off at ESIC on my Twitter timeline, when you should be working together." "because its all about what's in it in for me." "2020, the online era of CS: 'What is in it for me?' How can I cheat, how can I get my paper, how can I bleed this scene one last time before I fuck off and play shooty shooty bang bang Riot Games babys first fps."
RL says that in the CIS region, teams have gone to tournaments and have been eliminated multiple times by the same team. We found out they were cheating and those players who lost, have been cut from their roster, careers ended because of cheaters.
Stream Sniping
"They're all at it in the online era, they're all at it, they're all cheating, they're all using exploits, probably that see through smoke bug got used a bunch of times"
RL talks about how there is no integrity from dead (the player), always denying when caught doing something
On the topic of 'BLAST never said we couldn't stream snipe': "Lies, BLAST never said you could do that, they had to sort of retcon it." "because what happened after that they fucking started snitching and squealing"
"Suddenly you had like, 10 of the top 15 teams in the world, staring into the abyss of being banned for 6-12 months in line with ESIC recommendations."
He says that ESIC was put in a tough situation and couldn't enforce the bans because it would have resulted in killing CS. What resulted was, BLAST, ESIC, and teams came together and gave them a warning and told them, in RL's words "don't do this again or you're gonna get got."
He then says the top teams brushed this off and didn't give a fuck
The new MiBR team playing Flashpoint, that wasn't involved in the previous incidents are doing it again (stream sniping). He gave credit to Flashpoint for the quick resolution and punishment and respect for cogu's response to the situation.
"ESIC came out and said, once more, 'Guys, zero tolerance from now on.'" RL then got upset at community's reaction calling ESIC "pussies" for their non enforcement and said if we want competitive CS we cant ban the top 10 teams.
He points out how players have no integrity and will do anything for an edge as long as they won't get detected or banned or it's within a grey area.
"All of this shit was mad avoidable, even in the pandemic era."
He talks about why aren't we filming them. Why aren't there representatives for leagues and tournaments making sure players aren't cheating?
Match Fixing
"How many years have we let our scene be fucking pillaged by these greedy cunts?" "We just let it happen."
RL says that gambling and skins betting which existed in moderation was "accelerated and blown up by the Call of Duty greedy fucks."
"Never forget TmarTn was on the board of EnVyUs." "His website, CSGOLotto, they had a bunch of off-the-books sponsorships." "NBK promoted them. People forget."
"Those people who had access to the skins, go to the players" "Even people like s1mple, best player in the world, even he scammed knives and skins off fucking fans."
Owners of skin casino sites would approach pros and lend them skins to use in tournaments and possibly keep them after reaching a deal
Players would tip off inside info about matches and teams in exchange for skins. Info such as: roster changes, how they played in scrims
They would use this info to bet and subvert the odds on their sites. "That happened religiously, I can't even tell you how many times it happened."
"I had access to the biggest database of information, from an inside betting circle in NA, and it would take information and screenshots from other pro players, who were feeding them info in exchange for money or skins."
"Some of these players are still playing." "Incredibly, there are players still in the CSPPA today, complaining about the BLAST recordings, that were embroiled in this murky shit back then."
RL also says that there were tournaments where teams contrived with each other, who should throw, who should win.
"There's a handful of people that are trying to fucking clean it up, and you think you get something over the line and you see something like the CSPPA and it's run by corrupt fucking chuckle heads, and now you've got another corrupt body you have to fight on a fucking daily basis, it's demoralizing."
"It's too far gone. Our entire semi-professional scene is compromised."
"It's rife guys, I'm not going to lie any more. It's not just China, it's not just Russia, it's here, it's NA, it's Europe, it's Australia, so much more than you think, so much more than we can prove."
"I get sent chat logs all the time […] and they're morons, these players, short-sighted, amateur, morons and they're doing it on WhatsApp." People would get cut from the bets because they want to make more money, then they leak the logs. He says, from the chat logs, they spread "little" bets across every site they can (400 to 1k dollars) to prevent shifting odds
He says the scumbags who've fucked off to Valorant will do the same there if Riot doesn't do something and says Valorant "is an esports scene heading for a very early fall based on the sheer volume of scumbags that are already there."
"That's tier 2 CS in a nutshell these days. They know they're never going to play in a major, so what's the punishment?"
"All of these tier 2 fucks that are fixing games now they are like the fucking mafia compared to iBuyPower" "These guys are working with organized criminals to fix entire seasons worth of games. That's what's going on in your tier 2 CS."
"I'm literally being told that there are players fixing games at all levels of Chinese esports and motherfuckers with guns are turning up to team houses and stuff."
North America
"Everyone in NA has left we've lost a continents worth of support during this pandemic and Valve haven't said a fucking word."
RL says the Call of Duty "goblins" that destroyed CS for years are the same people who are now trying to leave CS. "The nerve to treat a game where the fans, and the community, and the TO's were nothing but good to you." "To just kick the players out now and go and leave and say 'It just doesn't make financial sense.' Oh you'll slither back when we have a major though for them stickers won't you."
There's a cascading effect in NA where people don't bother with CS anymore and people like Chaos suffer.
He says NA team owners are incompetent for always wanting it easy and always wanting a guarantee on their investment without skill or nuance.
RL says he would be able to market a team correctly and would have a good ROI and also points out how TSM wouldn't even be bothered to tweet that their team, which was one of the best in the world, was playing at the Major.
He also says not all NA owners are like that, compliments and respects Jason Lake who nearly lost everything to keep Complexity going.
He then calls out the incompetence in Infinite Esports when they acquired OpTic Gaming and bought an Indian CS team.
He says HECZ is not to blame here and that they couldn't tell forsaken was cheating when it was so obvious.
They measured his reaction time to the likes of dev1ce and s1mple
When an enemy showed up on his screen he won that duel something like 44% of the time
"was like the number 1 player in the world statistically"
He brought a laptop to their bootcamp and refused to use the high end PCs that hey provided
He respects Andy Miller (NRG CEO) and HECZ but says that the attitude of not being able to easily monetize their teams is "piss weak" and there needs to be a risk.
He says Chaos EC shouldn't be cutting their roster and should be competent enough to be able to figure out how to make money off their team.
He says there are still opportunities in NA and people are panicking and pulling out, and says Valorant will be the same if not worse.
He also says "bums" who couldn't even get out of groups in NA competitions, are making crazy money in Valorant and says it will continue to inflate.
He also said that he heard rumors that EG (Evil Geniuses) are done.
He also thinks that the rumors of a Valve franchised league from before was sparked up from "these lazy fabled weak NA fucking team owners basically trying to see if Valve would bite at the hook if it was dangled and they didn't"
Slasher says NA team owners are really in favor of franchised leagues because they want to make more money. "Most of the powerful team owners right now are on board with ditching this third party organization structure, or they are trying to play this power politics with all the TOs, and that is contributing to a lot of the problems there"
RL says that Riot has proved they can run a franchised league (LCS) and will be profitable in 2021 which is what a lot of team owners care about and says the competition will only serve to snatch people away from CS.
RL continues to say, "I am so sick and tired of what we have done to this scene, I am just exhausted with it." "I think we have legitimately fucked it, I really think we have. I think we're staring into almost like a CGS (Championship Gaming Series) wasteland in NA." "Counter-Strike esports is a fucking joke."
Talent
"TO's have treated CS talent like absolute human garbage for years now."
RL says that people like Sean Gares and ddk switching over to Valorant isn't for financial reasons because they are making less over there.
He points out that TO's can't even give talent a 3 month in advance calendar.
Because of the pandemic TO's won't hire certain people and some people are working more hours for the same money.
He says we as a community don't respect journalists enough which is why we don't have good journalists.
He also says DeKay is leaving the scene soon and that Thorin is close to leaving also
He says he had to talk a caster down from quitting and was struggling to find reasons.
He says that DreamHack told Vince they would hire him but not if he wants to stick with dusT and says that this is the norm in esports. "Constant leveraging of people against each other." and says this is why we don't have a talent union.
New gen casters are getting put into shit situations and the community's reaction to them is adding fuel to the fire
He says the reason Moses left was because of the terrible conditions
He says that Anders had to constantly leave his family and kid because someone fucked up or broke promises and had to constantly tell his kid to their face that "daddy can't be home this weekend."
He says that esports has always been a lie to sell you this dream, "Meanwhile there's about 2% of the cunts getting all the checks."
Valve
"Anything that Riot does, is better than Valve's inaction"
Slasher says that the larger aspect of esports as a whole compared to other entertainment mediums and Valve's lack of inattention are the bigger problems. He continues saying that the fact that Valve let their game be ran as an esport, they need to take on the responsibilities of it.
Both Slasher and RL wants Valve to take control but not on the level of Riot Games, there needs to be a balance.
In case it was ever a question: Gabe Newell has been to 0 CSGO Majors.
RL calls Valve out saying they could have done something during the gambling era.
He says Valve used to come to the majors, but doesn't think they do anymore.
RL had met with Valve at the Cluj-Napoca Major and had tried to appeal iBP's indefinite punishment and had also gave Brax's life story:
A recent family member passed away, they had lost a lot of income, they had to live in trailer, iBuyPower did not pay any salaries, and was pressured by family to make money who didn't support his career.
RL said that Valve told him, "How dare you try and make us feel guilty." "We shouldn't feel bad about enforcing the only thing that matters that we need to make players afraid of: cheating and match fixing"
RL also tried to share other info about match fixing and nothing came of it
RL points out that Source 2 or a new engine is not something you will want based on the experience of transitioning from CS 1.6 to CS:S. "Valve's track record with brand new engines being launched, not fucking great from what I remember."
Slasher says "If there is anything the community should do, is pressure Valve to hire a community manager."
They say that we need a commissioner, a community manager (not the person who runs the Twitter who posts memes all day), then we need to have a circuit
RL reiterates that Valve doesn't care about CS esports and says they need to change the culture at Valve to make them care about CS esports
Slasher says a systemic problem is making it so working on CSGO would be a bad decision for you as an employee for Valve
He also hasn't talked to Valve in ages and have sent over bugs and cheats and doesn't get emails back anymore
Slasher says we should be directing attention at the developer leads, pointing out Ido Magal, if he even is still the project lead
RL thinks that Ido and Brian are the only people that "vaguely even give a fuck about CS" and were the only people that RL recalled that actually read Reddit and paid attention from time to time
"It is really fucking precarious. Somebody has got to step the fuck up and start giving a shit"
Slasher suggests org owners, with CSPPA, with ESIC, with TOs have a concerted effort against Valve
"Riot Games are doing better things than Valve in the esports space" which is something RL didn't think he'd say.
"People who used to be talent, working with unions, arguing with other talent, when the unions fucked them over, can't understand their perspective, TOs fucking over broadcast talent, broadcast talent wanting to leave and go and work for orgs, orgs having no money, Valve might take coaches away because all the coaches are cheating, ESIC has about 4 people in a fucking call doing the investigations, everyone thinks they're spies for ESL, ESL are just the evil fucking overlords wanting to rule the scene and will just somehow, like cockroaches outliving a nuclear bomb, and Valve are in a fucking holiday in Hawaii thinking about the next Dota character because they don't give a fuck about us."
Closing Statements
"We've peaked. If we want to sustain and exist, now is the time to figure it out. No esports lasts as long as this, we've already done 8 years. We've already broke the records. We have got to figure out a way to coexist and drive the negative forces out and we need to do it as a collective and we're not doing that."
RL compared the Counter-Strike scene to the people on the Titanic who ran around with guns robbing people while the boat was sinking.
"We have given up on being a respectable esports scene." "We are now a conduit to make money for those who want to just milk it, just have one last ride, one last roll of the dice. It's done." "What a fucking mess. What have we done to our fucking scene?"
"There's just too much self-interest driving all of this." "I don't see a way we stop the dominoes." "When it's that bad, when there's that many dishonest people that ESIC have to come out and say that if we punish them all there's no one left. What does that tell you?"
"How many opportunities have we had to clean house? How many times have we said, 'this must never happen again', and another scandal." "The entire skins betting operations was the biggest criminal conspiracy in esports ever executed and no one has been punished for it." "The people who could be driving that don't want to."
"Right now people are fans of those organizations because the scene has value. It is worth being a fan of Astralis because they are excellent at Counter-Strike. It is worth being a fan of s1mple because he is the best player in Counter-Strike, maybe the exception of ZywOo. If the scene is devalued, if the scene loses its meaning, those things lose its meaning too, and people will leave, people will stop tuning into the games. I have seen it happen in multiple esports, this is not my first time at the rodeo. I am getting big Brood War vibes right now and I don't like it."
"The role you play in all of this as fans, as viewers, as listeners, as consumers of esports content, it's absolutely imperative that you know who the good guys are. It's absolutely imperative that you use your voice. It's absolutely imperative that when things are bad, you know who, at least, is trying to make them good, and you have to apply your criticism to the right targets."
He continues saying it's no good in continuing to attack ESIC and saying how they are bad, ESIC have it hard
He says CSPPA are on the right side of the argument on BLAST but have been on the wrong side of many arguments many times.
"If you are not willing to stand along side the weakest member of the union, with the least amount of influence, and the least amount of power, then it is not a union at all and you shouldn't pose as one." "You wanna serve a bunch of special interest do it, everyone else in esports fucking does, but do not pose as something you are not." "We love the players. I've been fighting for players rights for as long as I've been able to, but the CSPPA is not what we needed."
"They are not applying the pressure to the right people, they are not fighting the right battles, they are not helping their weaker members."
He says what orgs have done by keeping or hiring coaches is bad. "When you give up on holding an appreciable standard, you've lost the scene" "Competition matters, rules matter, punishments matter, achievements matter, excellence matters" "If you start stripping that away, you have nothing" "You guys need to take that knowledge and apply it sensibly."
"Valve has sold you all down the river, they sold everyone in the esports scene down the river, tournament organizers are selling their talent down the river. Don't hate on them for sounding tired after a 16 hour day. Don't hate on them because the hype for a matchup they've seen for the 20th time in the past 3 months, they can't be as excited or it sounds contrived. Support your guys, they're there for you, these are your people."
"This community has got to start acting like one for the first fucking time. Just put the petty shit away, let's try and fix this fucking scene while we still have one to save."
"You can't rely on Valve, you can't rely on ESL, you can't rely on the CSPPA, you can't rely on anyone." "Once again, it's gonna be the likes of us, the amateurs, the people who give a fuck, rolling up our sleeves and grafting." "I'm old and tired and I don't want to have to do it again. People need to pick up the torch and do it."
"Like Michal did, like Dudenhoeffer did. You see something wrong, fix it. You see somebody doing something wrong, call it out. If you think something could be better, let people know."
"Vote with your wallets if you're not happy with the direction Valve goes in. If when we do get to the Major, they serve up another subpar, same old bullshit stickers and signatures package again, do not buy it."
"You're a powerful block and if you use it correctly we can fucking avert this disaster."
"I'm not doing another year in this broken, bust-up fucking scene, where everyone is miserable, everyone is broke, everyone is tired, and everyone is trying to fucking rob everyone else, blind, while the fucking people who are meant to be protecting you, are just fucking enhancing it and lining their own pockets."
"I'm not doing it anymore and you shouldn't want to do it either."
"I stand by every fucking thing I said. I mean it, because this game fucking matters to me, this scene fucking matters to me. I put my life into this, my adult life, and to see it in this state is fucking sad."
[Uni] Doing something in our free time other than gaming & netflix
Welcome!
I decided to write this after reflecting on my 2.5 years in university and 23 years in life. University has been a blast and taught me many things - I hustled & played hard, failed and succeeded. However, I wished I learnt earlier that my time and youth would be my most important resource. I have some reservations (not regrets per se) about how I spent my time when I was younger, especially during holidays or extended breaks. In a nutshell, I mostly did two things during my holidays - gaming and reading manga. It was no doubt fun - but I think I could have done more. Hence, I hope that my reflection and advice will be able to help someone out! Target Audience:
JC/Secondary/Poly kids waiting for next year
"ORD LO" mates waiting for Uni
University kids with spare time
Following this, I want to share three pillars that have helped me lead a better life.
1. Physicality
You need to sweat. Like seriously, as much as possible, try to sweat hard at least once a week. It could be any of the following:
Traditional activities (eg. soccer, basketball, rock climbing, badminton, cycling, swimming etc.)
Less traditional activities (eg. Boxing, muay thai, dancing, kayaking, bowling, sailing etc.)
Hitting the gym
From my experience, with the advent of laptops (and with COVID right now), it is incredibly possible to go one month without sweating. Please, get the heck out of your house. Beyond the more tangible benefits, I believe that "physical activities" are helpful in two ways
Socialising — not immediately, but over time, as you get better at your activity, you will have a chance to meet people with a similar interest. Be it hitting the gym or bouldering or whatever, having something to "do" together can't go wrong
Aesthetics and confidence — let's be honest, who does not want to look good? One does not need to look big, but at the very least, there should be no excuse for not looking fit
Considerations
Be financially conscious — if you don't come from a well-to-do background, don't try to pick up golf. If you don't live in a condominium, a $100/session tennis coach might not be the best idea. Focus on what you CAN do.
Excuses — "Today raining sia, better watch my Netflix bah", "Wa shucks, today so hot, cannot run la", "Wa I scared sia, go rock climbing alone". Ngl, most days, your brain will try to rationalise and get you to take the easy way out. It's perfectly fine to take breaks as and when, but be conscious that weeks will pass in a flash (procrastination gang rise up)
2. Doing something productive
Don't worry, I'm not one of those "LEARNING CODING!! UPSKILL YOURSELF OR DIE! JOIN THE RAT RACE" fanatics. What I mean is - don't let your mind go to shit. Read something, read everything. Percy Jackson. Non-Fiction. Doesn't matter, just exercise your knowledge muscle a little. Start writing a diary. Volunteer at least once in a month. Catch up on your schoolwork (Or at least beg seniors for the practice papers, notes and answers). Start doing an online course (C'mon, it's 14 hours. You can't spare 14 hours in a month?) Just make sure that after some time, you've something to say other than "Just Netflix and game lor".
For my rat race wannabes:
First off, absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to grind. Singapore is a f**king competition. If you're from an average family like me, 0 connections, 0 special skills, the need to earn well to support my family, sure, go for it. This are the things I would recommend, in no particular order:
Onlinecourses — seriously, Udemy has 35 effing million students. That's 0.4% of the entire world. It's a great way to explore potential interests and SHOW people you are interested in a particular topic. For example, everyone mfker around me is interested in "investing". My friends and I have been talking about it since secondary school. How many people actually put in the hours and learn about it properly?
Gettingaheadstart — It's increasingly common for university students to "study in advance" for next year. Based on the /sgexams posts I'm seeing, it seems like that is the case for JC/secondary school kids as well. If you think life is a damn race, then go for it.
Startingsomething — listen, there's simply not enough resources for everyone to be earning $10,000 a month within 5 years of employment. You need to STAND OUT if you want to win the race. Write a blog, start a personal finance portfolio, do freelance marketing, do a podcast. Just. Do. Something. If it somehow works out, gong xi fa cai bro. If it doesn't, it's a great story to talk about in an interview.
Just a quick note I am by no means recommending for a JC1 kid to spend their Chinese New Year holidays mugging for A's to get the 90RP + Full scholarship. The section "For my rat race wannabes" is simply for people who WANT to be a part of the rat race. Once again, I would like to stress that it is not necessary - there are many different ways of playing the game of life - you can try to min-max your character stats, you can enjoy the process itself. The list goes on - there is no right or wrong. The key takeaway for this: Don't freaking read manga/watch Netflix for hours upon hours. Consume something else to expand your mind a little.
3. Have some goddamn fun
Now, at the end of the day, we all need a break. I'm not saying to spend your entire life studying or working or hitting the gym. Everything in moderation. Make sure to have some fun and indulge in certain things as well. My recommendations:
Binge something on Netflix (For me, it's B99, Prison Playbook, Kingdom and today, Snowpiercer)
Spend an entire day just gaming (Y'know those days where you have gamed till your eyes hurt and you feel like shit, but one more game doesn't hurt amiright?).
The bottom line is, feel free to indulge, you deserve it.
Thanks for coming this far
Ok, I know the vibes from the first two pillars is that "you need to hustle away" your life. No, please. I want to emphasise that it is perfectly fine to "Do nothing" and just "recharge". Just don't overdo having fun. Don't overdo hustling either or you're going to burn out. Frankly, I love that feeling when I spend an entire day eating chips and climbing the ladder on CSGO - but one day is enough. What I most regret is doing it for weeks upon weeks. If you've come this far, you deserve a summary:
Physicality - working up a sweat helps tremendously. A jawline is great as well. Lastly, it gives you something to do for a bit.
Productivity - don't waste entire weekends. It's easy to fall into some fog. Make sure to do something, however minor.
Have some effing fun - don't forget to take a break. Don't over hustle.
Misc - Useful resources + concepts that drove the article
For my dawgs that want to get into computer science for a five-figure salary (Don't worry 50% of you will burn out and say F CS after Y1 in University)
Ok, this section is rather pointless, so feel free to skip it. Just gonna be me rambling for a little. I've always dreamt of writing about self-improvement. It got me out of many ruts in life, to push myself to do a little more. Today, I decided to say F IT and sit the heck down to write this article. If you notice, I've been commenting a fair bit in /sgexams. I want to do a little more for everyone. Also, I want to start writing more - I want to make it a hobby of mine.
Snack for those who have came this far
Aight, congrats if you have read this far. I'm trying this out - I'm going to facilitate a/multiple "accountability groups". We do a group call every week for 20 minutes - say what you're going to do for the week, and do it. Also, you get to bounce ideas and potentially develop a network over time. (I hope!) If there's interest, I will set up a proper system. leave a comment below that you're interested!
an actual steam review by someone who has 5000 hours on dota2
DotA 2 is a dog shit game designed to rape the pleasure center of your brain in order to steal your time and money, and ultimately waste your life. People will tell you that this is a deep and intricate game interwoven with layers of strategy, coordinated teamwork, and precise timing; it definitely can be in the 1% of games where your teammates aren't selfish toxic bastards or have lukewarm potato soup in place of a functioning brain. A huge majority of the player base is horribly racist and/or toxic and it has consistently been this way for years. Of course, the game is a much different experience if you play with a team made up of your friends, which most people who play Dota don't have (probably because they play Dota). Even then, you still run the risk of running into account boosters and smurfs which are pretty prevelant at the average skill level of the overall player base. While the community is probably one of the worst things about this game, the actual game itself has many significant problems too. One of my biggest gripes about Dota is that there are actually a lot of cool and fun features that should be included in the base game, but are locked behind paywalls (dota+, certain compendium features, etc.). With their most recent seasonal event, Valve has now introduced CSGO style cases into the game for DotA skins; I already hate everything about the CSGO model of microtransactions, which is essentially a worse version of gambling, and Valve just copy and pasted the system into Dota because they finally realized how dumb and easy manipulated the player base is. The business model around Dota 2 continues to become more greedy and exhortative with each passing day and will continue to do so. The gameplay itself can be good, fun, and addictive but is ultimately soured by everything else that surrounds it. Valve's attempts to update and expand the game throughout the past years have been pretty good, but (at least in my opinion) has failed to meaningfully improve on the core gameplay or enhance player experience. Overall, any time or money you were considering spending on this game would honestly be better spent on almost anything else, trust me your life will be better of for it. Coming from someone who has spent an embarrassing amount of hours in this game, it is absolutely not worth it. I would be a much happier person if I could refund all the time and money spent on this heaping pile of garbage designed to suck your life away one minute and penny at a time.
$1100 pc build for gaming and possibly (very unsure) light streaming and video editing
What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.
The main two games I will be playing csgo, overwatch. Some secondary games I will play is COD:WZ, MW2CR, and BOCW. Some random AAA games. Maybe some light streaming and video editing but very unsure. background apps will be discord, Spotify, and chrome
What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?
$1100.
When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.
Buying March 22nd. I understand that at this current moment, it's 39 days away but I would like to get a list for reference to show my father, then update and clean it up before I commit to buying the parts.
What, exactly, do you need included in the budget?
I have a mouse, monitor, keyboard, and headset but having some suggestions for new peripherals WITHOUT taking my current budget into play (as I plan on buying a new monitor once I build my pc and make sure it all works properly) wouldn't hurt.
Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?
I am ordering the parts from USA, New Mexico and I do not have/can't travel to a Microcenter.
If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.
A Samsung monitor, a Sennheiser headset, and a random mouse and keyboard from Redragon
Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?
I don't feel the need to overclock as I'm a little scared to fry any components/ I don't think I'll need the extra power for what I plan to do
Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)
Just a large enough SSD to hold the games I want to play and Windows OS, and a large enough HHD to hold random videos, images, and whatnot
Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?
Mid-tower would fit my desk the best, pink/(black or white, whichever works the best) if not then pure white/black. I don't care much for RGB, but if it adds little to no cost, then I wouldn't mind. A case with a window would be pretty cool.
Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?
I already have a copy of Windows to use
Extra info or particulars: I understand that GPUs are one of the hardest things to get ahold but I have a preference for an RTX or XT card to get the most performance I can, I don't feel like stalking out any of the new GPUs or CPUs
Edit: By light video editing I mean making montages and memey type videos very infrequently, And I will stay with 1080p for now and buy a 144hz or 160hz monitor after I build.
Have you read the sidebar and rules? (Please do) Yes What is your intended use for this build? The more details the better. Primary use is gaming / streaming, but will be doing some data mining. If gaming, what kind of performance are you looking for? (Screen resolution, framerate, game settings) Gaming for a LG 34" 3440x1440p 165ghz Gsync monitor with a secondary 2560x1440p monitor. Goal is high refresh rates at full resolution / ultra settings. Primary games: Escape from Tarkov, Rocket League, Witcher 3, CSGO, Valorant, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Sekiro, The Incredible Machine. What is your budget (ballpark is okay)? $2000 or less In what country are you purchasing your parts? Purchasing in US **Post a draft of your potential build here (specific parts please). PCPartPicker Part List
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total
$1883.78
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-02-11 17:39 EST-0500
Provide any additional details you wish below. I bought this monitor (first 60hz+ ever) but am running a i5-3570k and a GTX770 which cannot produce more than 60 frames for any game. I plan to upgrade to a RTX 3080 in a year when I find one available. Trying to order the remaining parts ASAP now that I was able to find a CPU and GPU. Let me know if there's anything that could be better or is wildly overkill with price/performance. Thanks Buildapc! NOTE: You do not have to follow this format, but please be sure to answer these questions. Please do not ask to simply be given a build. You are welcome to delete this section.
Hi Reddit, I have a PC that is in dire need of cooling. I mainly play CSGO, and on my second monitor I had MSI Afterburner with the hardware monitor. I noticed that during a competitive match, I reached over 100 C. I ordered a case fan splitter because my motherboard has only 1 fan plug (and I have 3 fans) but my dumbass forgot that it will arrive in April. I’ll give you the relevant specs in case it helps:
Ryzen 5 1600
Gigabyte GA-A320-S2H (I bought this because I didn’t have much money to buy a B450M, but in hindsight I should have saved some money for it.)
NZXT Beta Mid Tower (I had this because I had an old mobo from the late 2000’s and swapped the mobo because I had an RX 580 that wouldn’t work otherwise)
Stock AMD cooler (I mainly want to get an AIO)
I want to get an AIO (as I earlier mentioned) but with my case you can’t mount a radiator inside, rather you thread the tubes through some rubber-insulated holes on the back and mount the radiator on the back. I’ve heard AIOs are closed loop and would break if you cut them open to thread the tubes from outside. I’d think you could mount it on the bottom but that’s not good for the AIO (at all). Last thing is I’ll show pictures of my case (please excuse my god-awful cable management.) here. Hopefully this is helpful. Any kind of suggestions would be great, such as some good air coolers, AIOs that would fit my case, etc etc. I’d really appreciate to hear some advice. Thank you.
Operation Shattered Web was way more complicated than this due to the reward system but Broken Fang is super simple, dont look at these as rewards or drops but rather like capsules. I have not even loaded up csgo myself and i dont plan on buying the pass right now so the pricing is in GBP and i got it from a sparkles video which was the first one to show up in youtube search. Also please check my math on this and tell me if i get anything wrong and how to correct it, im not perfect and im sure i will make a mistake. Stars cost £33.99 for 100 in game, thats £0.34 per star value. Operation pass costs £11.49 and you can earn 100 stars, thats (rounded up) £0.12 per star value Operation pass on 40% sale costs around £6.89, thats (rounded up) £0.07 per star value. The pass numbers are based on best case scenario and having unlocked all 100 stars, If you buy the pass in the first week you can only unlock 10 stars so you have paid £1.15 per star, the cost per star will decrease each week as you are able to unlock more stars and end with it costing £0.12 per star after 16 weeks and all 100 stars being unlocked. The cheapest way to buy stars until week 5 is buying 100 star bundle in game, after week 5 it will be cheaper to buy pass and get stars that way (obviously has a time cost involved too) so while im sure prices will always trend down they might start trending down a little faster after week 5.
NAME
100 STAR BUY
PASS BUY
PASS ON SALE BUY
Master Agent — Commander Mae
£8.5
£3.00
£1.75
Master Agents — Sir Bloody Darryl
£8.5
£3.00
£1.75
Superior Agents
£3.40
£1.20
£0.70
Exceptional Agents
£2.38
£0.84
£0.49
Distinguished Agents
£1.70
£0.60
£0.35
The Control Collection
£1.36
£0.48
£0.28
The Havoc Collection
£1.36
£0.48
£0.28
The Ancient Collection
£1.36
£0.48
£0.28
Operation Broken Fang Case
£0.68
£0.24
£0.14
Metal Skill Group Patch Collection
£0.68
£0.24
£0.14
CS:GO Graffiti #3 Collection
£0.34
£0.12
£0.07
Broken Fang Sticker Collection
£0.34
£0.12
£0.07
Recoil Sticker Collection
£0.34
£0.12
£0.07
So we can use this to figure some cool stuff out, this wont be perfect since trade ups are a thing however CSGOfloat wont have all the skins in existence which might even it out a bit. These are estimates and not perfect but its the best way we can use to judge atm. There is around 4500 covert items from Operation Broken Fang Case on CSGOfloat right now meaning around 675k cases have been unlocked which is around £1,750,000 in keys plus stars cost. There is around 650 covert items from new collections on CSGOfloat right now with the odds of 4000/1 that would mean 2.6 million chances have been purchased at a cost of around £3,500,000 in stars. I want to say once again that the next calculations are purely hypothetical and dont take into account trade ups, and pass purchases. With operation shattered web you could only get 9 collection drops per 100 stars, there is 8,125 covert guns from shattered web collections on CSGOfloat, with the same odds of 4000/1 that would mean 32.5 million chances purchased and becuase buying 100 stars would only get you 9 chances it worked out at around £122,741,666 was hypothetical spent on stars (with passes and trade ups its less for sure) Another way of looking at it is this, on average you need to buy 4000 drops costing 4 stars each to get a awp fade. Thats £5440 in purchasing stars, £1920 if you gets stars by full priced pass only, £1120 if you get them all via 40% off pass. If you trade up all the other drops you should average 1.9 awp fade's per 4000 drops, so it costs £2863 to get a awp fade via purchasing stars, £1010 to get one via full priced passes, and £589 per awp fade if you use passes on 40% sale. in order to abuse the possible 40% off pass sale you would need to have a bot farm that farms stars each week and then buy the pass when on sale, not sure thats going to be a big thing that happens so im not sure if covert skins will hit its possible low average since they is so many possible outcomes. However stickers, patches, agents, graffiti, and the case could get cheap and near the lowest break even average much easier since there is less outcomes.
$2500 PC - Already have ASUS 3080 and Motherboard Newegg bundle
What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.
Playing games like CSGO, Valorant, Call of Duty, potentially Halo, and whenever the fuck the new GTA comes out. I'm also a computer science major and do tend to run a lot of computing tasks at the same time, sometimes gets a bit memory heavy.
What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?
Around $2500ish, can spend a bit more tho
When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.
I need to place actual orders for the parts ASAP, but I can wait for parts.
What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)
Tower. Separate budget for keyboard monitor and mouse, where recommendations are also appreciated.
Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?
United States and have a local microcenter
If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.
Just placed an order on Newegg for a 3080 bundle with the following: "ASUS ROG STRIX Z490-F GAMING LGA 1200 ATX Intel Motherboard" - this was just apart of the bundle that was available, I guess i could sell it if it's a shitty motherboard "ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 DirectX 12 ROG-STRIX-RTX3080-O10G-GAMING 10GB 320-Bit GDDR6X PCI Express 4.0 x16 HDCP ..." - this was one of the only bundles available that i clicked on, very muchso hoping this card is good, i haven't paid attention to parts in awhile so I'm not 100% sure
Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?
I'd be interested in overclocking my CPU down the line for better performance.
Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)
Don't think so
Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?
I think mid-tower is good. I'd like to have some RGB lighting. If water cooling is hard to setup, I could try and avoid it, but I'm up for a challenge that does not ruin my computer parts if I fail. Can't be breaking a brand new 3080 with that resale value.
Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?
No thank you
Extra info or particulars:
$1500 remaining budget for the rest of the pc other than mobo and GPU Budget for monitor is pretty much however I need to spend to experience as much of my GPU as possible at a fair price point.
How to create a FREE csgo server using Google Cloud for a year
Notice: Unfortunately, Google changed the duration of the trial to 90 days. Whether you want a csgo server to play around on, practice, or host games between friends, Google Cloud has all the tools you need to succeed. And the best part? It's all free! (Promise this isn't an ad)
Step 1: Creating the server
Go to Google Cloud, log in, and click "Get started for free". Fill out any additional information, and begin your one year 90 day trial, with $300 credit. Click on "Compute Engine" on the left sidebar (You may have to open the menu): https://preview.redd.it/x9paro99l5961.png?width=271&format=png&auto=webp&s=e0eb4ac0a882c71d782a298d07178f61243e3219 Select "Images" on the left-hand side, and search for ubuntu-2004 Select either option, although I would recommend the newest release. Once in the image details menu, select "Create Instance" at the top. This will bring you to a setup screen for your server. Name your server, select a region closest to where you will be playing from, and choose a machine configuration. Generally, 2 vCPU and 8 GB (e2-standard-2) will be enough for a practice server, while you may want to upgrade if you're planning on running 5v5s. Pricing for each configuration Scroll down to "boot disk", press "Change", and enter 50 for "Size (GB)". Unless you plan on uploading a lot of files and configs, 50GB should be plenty for your server. Click "Create", and your server should be created!
Click on your server, and select "SSH" to open the terminal. You may need to allow pop-ups. Wait for each of the following steps to complete before going onto the next. You will know when it is complete when the bottom of your terminal shows youremail@servername:~$ Paste the following into the terminal to update the repositories:
Type ./csgoserver install, and press "enter" when prompted to begin the installation. The server will begin installing the CS:GO server, along with any other dependencies. This process will take approximately 20 minutes. After installation, you may be prompted for a game token. Leave the field blank for now, and press enter.
Step 4: Starting the server
Go to Steam Game Server Management, and create a new game token with app ID 730. Copy your Game Login Token. In the terminal, enter nano start.sh to open a text editor Paste the following into the file, and remember to replace [YOUR CODE] with your game token, and [YOUR IP] with the internal IP you noted earlier.
Press CTRL + S and CTRL + X to save and exit the text editor. In the terminal, enter sh start.sh to start the CS:GO server. Congrats! Your vanilla competitive CS:GO server is now running! To connect to your server, use [YOUR EXTERNAL IP]:27015. You can add this IP address to your favorite community servers, or connect directly using connect IP in your CS:GO console. I recommend shutting down the server when you're not using it to save some of the free credit. To exit the CS:GO server console without shutting down the server, press CTRL + A and then D to disconnect the screen. To return to the CS:GO server console, type screen -r into your terminal. To shut down the CS:GO server, type quit into the CS:GO server console.
Step 5: Backing up your server
A good rule of thumb is to backup your server anytime you make changes to it. To backup your server, go to your server's details page. Click "Create machine image" at the top Name your backup, and click "Create". In the future, you can create a new server from that backup or revert to a previous image in case anything goes wrong.
Step 6: Updating your server
You will need to update the server whenever CS:GO is updated in order to play on it. To do so, simply enter ./csgoserver update into the terminal.
Step 7: Server config
You will usually want to set up a password and RCON (remote connection) password for your server. In the terminal, enter nano serverfiles/csgo/cfg/autoexec.cfg Paste the following into the file (replace the passwords with your passwords):
Step 8: Using plugins (with PracticeMode as an example)
You will need to restart your CS:GO server after installation, so I suggest you install any plugins with the server off. Edit: You can install SourceMod and MetaMod by using ./csgoserver mods-install. (Thanks u/goodpostsallday) Installing MetaMod Download the latest Linux build from the MetaMod Website Upload the file to your server using the terminal's built-in upload, found from the top-right cogwheel https://preview.redd.it/xjnb0rfgl5961.png?width=360&format=png&auto=webp&s=501327b5178d25513a8811a90225cdd91b25d228 In your terminal, type ls to view all files. You can highlight any text in your terminal and it will be copied to your clipboard, useful for pasting long file names. To extract the MetaMod file, enter tar xvzf [FILENAME] -C serverfiles/csgo/. Make sure you use single quotes (') if the file name has any spaces. Installing SourceMod Download the latest Linux build from the SourceMod Website Upload the file to your server, and extract it using the same method as above Installing PracticeMode Download the latest zip release (not the source code) from the PracticeMode github Upload the file to your server and extract it by entering the following into your terminal: unzip [FILENAME] -d serverfiles/csgo/ Setting up PracticeMode Find your steam ID, formatted as STEAM_NUMBERS:NUMBERS:NUMBERS, by using status in console while connected to server, or a third-party website. In your terminal, enter nano serverfiles/csgo/addons/sourcemod/configs/admins_simple.ini Press the down arrow until you reach the bottom of the file Type the following to grant yourself full administrator privileges:
"[YOUR STEAM ID]" "z"
To grant anyone else permissions to use PracticeMode, type the following:
"[SOME STEAM ID]" "g"
Using PracticeMode To start PracticeMode while in a server, type .setup into the game chat. For a full list of commands and features, visit PracticeMode Info Good luck, and have fun!
What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.
My ultimate goal with the PC is to edit videos. Music videos with graphic effects maybe not so heavy. For my current PC I use Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere.
Games I want to play: -R6 -COD Warzone -Valorant -CSGO Programs I want to use: -Adobe Suite (Ps, Ai, Premiere, XD) -Maya or Blender (3D) (I need it for college)
What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?
$700
When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.
Currently I don't have all the money together. So I'm working and while I'm getting paid, I'm buying components. But let's say the time limit would be January 2022.
What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)
Only PC
Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?
I live in the Caribbean. Then I would order everything online through Amazon US and eBay US.
Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?
I don't know how to overclock, but I'm interested
Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)
AMD Ryzen
Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?
No
Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?
No
Extra *I'm not really sure about my budget, if someone can put together something cheaper (budget $ 450), I would appreciate it.
[H] The Long Dark, Grim Dawn, Star Trek, Iconoclasts, Gang Beasts, Forts, Generation Zero, Planetary Annihilation TITANS, 7 Days To Die, The Wild Eight, Portal Knights, RWBY Grimm Eclipse, Endless Space 2 Deluxe, Crawl, Grid Ultimate & 100's more [W] Wishlist, Paypal(EU), Offers
Read the disclaimerherebefore we agree on ANY trades Due to issues regarding humblebundle suspending accounts I will provide keys ONLY-no gift links.You can read more inthis announcement. My SGS Rep 83 trades My IGS Rep 39 trades I'm from EU,so KEYS SHOULD work pretty much anywhere NOT BUYING GAMES,ONLY TRADES-games for games or selling for paypal No interest in ANY RL,CSGO,TF2 or any other keys BUYER covers the FEES(if outside EU,EU F&F only) My Wishlist or offer something(game or paypal) List of games I have: 7 Days To Die NEW 10 Second Ninja X 11-11 Memories Retold 0.5€ 60 Seconds! NEW 5€ 911 Operator(X2) 0.5€ Aarklash Legacy 1€ A Case Of Distrust A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build A Year Of Rain Absolver 3€ Aeolis Tournament 1€ Age Of Wonders III Agents Of Mayhem(X2) 1.5€ AI War 2 Alien Spidy All You Can Eat Almost There The Platformer American Fugitive(X2) 1€ Ancestors Legacy 1€ Archamon Armello NEW 1.5€ Atari Vault Attack Of The Earthlings Automachef Autonauts(X2) NEW 1€ Avernum 3 Ruined World 0.5€ Azkend 2 The World Beneath Band Of Defenders Baseball Riot Basingstoke Batman The Enemy Within Telltale Series NEW 3€ Battalion 1944 NEW 3€ Battlezone Gold Edition NEW 2.5€ Beholder 2 1.5€ Beyond Eyes Bird Of Light Black Paradox Blood Fresh Supply NEW 1€ Bohemian Killing Bomber Crew Deluxe 1€ Boomerang Fu NEW 1€ Boundless 1€ Broken Age(X2) Brutal Legend(X2) Bulb Boy Butcher Carnival Games VR 0.5€ Carrier Command Gaea Mission Castaway Paradise Town Building Sim Cities In Motion 1€ Cities In Motion 2(X2) 1€ + European Cities 1€ Close To The Sun NEW Clouds & Sheep 2 Coffee Talk NEW 2.5€ Coffin Dodgers Company Of Heroes Complete NEW 5€ Crawl NEW 4.5€ Crew 167 Grand Block Odyssey NEW 2€ Crimsonland Crouching Pony Hidden Dragon Crying Suns NEW 1.5€ Darkest Dungeon Shieldbreaker DLC Darkwood Deluxe NEW 2.5€ Dark Future Blood Red States Day Of The Tentacle Remastered 1€ Dead Age Deadbeat Heroes(X2) Death's Hangover Deponia The Complete Journey Deep Dungeons Of Doom Deep Sky Derelicts NEW Deployment Desert Child Detention NEW 1€ Diaries Of A Spaceport Janitor Dimension Drifter Distance Distraint 2 + Soundtrack(X2) Distrust Divekick 0.5€ Dog Sled Saga Downwell Driftland The Magic Revival 0.5€ Dry Downing NEW DUCATI 90th Anniversary 1€ Dungeon Marathon Dungeon Rats Dungeons 2 Dustforce DX Eador Imperium(X2) Eastside Hockey Manager Endless Space 2 Digital Deluxe NEW Epic Manager NEW 2.5€ Equilinox 1€ Escape Goat 2 E.T. Armies Deluxe Edition Etherborn Europa Universalis IV 2€ Evergarden 0.5€ Evoland Legendary Edition NEW Extinction F1 2018(X2) 1€ Fantasy Blacksmith NEW Fantasy Versus FarSky Fear Effect Sedna Feather Figment(X2) 1€ Fire Ungh's Quest Forts NEW Fluffy Horde Framed Collection Frog Detective 1 The Haunted Island 0.5€ Full Throttle Remastered 1€ Fun With Ragdolls The Game 1€ Gang Beasts NEW Garage Bad Trip 1€ Gas Guzzlers Extreme Gato Roboto 1€ Gauge Generation Zero NEW 5€ Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams+DLC GIBZ GNOG Goat Of Duty NEW 0.5€ Goetia(X2) GoNNER BLüEBERRY EDiTION(X2) Grand Ages Medieval Grand Pigeon's Duty Gremlins Inc. 1€ Grey Goo Definitive Edition 0.5€ GRID 2019 1.5€ GRID 2019 Ultimate(X2) NEW 3.5€ Grim Dawn NEW Grim Fandango Remastered 1€ Grip Combat Racing(X2) + Artifex Car Pack(X1) 1€ Gunman Tales Guilty Gear Isuka Guns Gore & Cannoli 1€ Hacknet(X2) 0.5€ + Labyrinths DLC 1€ Hammerfight Headlander Hello Neighbor NEW 1.5€ Hero Defense Hero Of The Kingdom III Heroes Of The Monkey Tavern Hive Jump(X2) Hiveswap Act 1(X2) Horace 1€ Hotline Miami(X2) 1€ Hotline Miami 2 Digital Special Edition NEW 2.5€ Hot Tin Roof The Cat That Wore A Fedora Hover I Am Not A Monster Iconoclasts NEW 5€ Immortal Planet(X2) Impact Winter In Between Infinite Air With Mark McMorris(delisted) Insomnia The Ark Deluxe 4€ Interplanetary Enhanced Edition Iris And The Giant NEW 0.5€ Jalopy NEW Jet Set Knights Jotun Valhalla Edition NEW 0.5€ Juanito Arcade Mayhem Jump Stars Kill To Collect Kingdom Classic(X2) King Oddball Knight Squad NEW 1€ Last Tide NEW 2.5€ Leap Of Fate Legacy Of Dorn Herald Of Oblivion Lifeless Planet Premium Edition Light Fall NEW 1€ Lightmatter NEW 1€ Little Misfortune 1€ Lovecraft's Untold Stories NEW 0.75€ Love Is Dead Lyne Magrunner Dark Pulse Mainlining Masquerada Songs And Shadows Masquerade The Baubles Of Doom Massive Chalice Medieval Kingdom Wars Men Of War Assault Squad 2 War Chest Edition NEW 2.5€ Metal Unit Metro 2033 Redux NEW 4€ Minion Masters Premium NEW 7.5€ Monochroma Moonlighter NEW 2€ Moving Out NEW Mr. Shifty MXGP Official Motocross Videogame Nairi Tower Of Shirin 0.5€ Necronator Dead Wrong NEW 2.5€ NecroVisioN Lost Company Neon Chrome NeuroVoider Nevermind Next Hero Niche(X2) 0.5€ Night Call Ninjin Clash Of Carrots Octahedron Of Orcs And Men 0.5€ Old School Musical On Rusty Trails Onikira Demon Killer Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising OPUS The Day We Found Earth Orbital Racer Oriental Empires Original War(X2) Outcast Second Contact 1€ Overload Overlord II 0.5€ Override Mech City Brawl(X2) Oxenfree 1€ Pacify(X2) NEW 2.5€ Pac Man 256 Paper Fire Rookie Paradigm Passpartout The Starving Artist NEW 3.5€ Path Of Giants NEW 0.5€ Peaky Blinders Mastermind NEW Penarium Pinstripe 1€ Planetary Annihilation Titans NEW Poöf Portal Knights NEW 4.5€ Pound Of Ground(X2) Primal Carnage Extinction Psychonauts Psychonauts In The Rhombus Of Ruin 1.5€ Puddle Pumped BMX+ Punch Club Purrfect Date(X2) Puss 1€ Quest Of Dungeons Rec Center Tycoon NEW Rad(X2) 1€ Rad Rodgers Radical Edition Raiden V Director's Cut 0.5€ Railway Empire NEW 2€ region lock Rain World NEW 1.5€ Rebel Galaxy Redeemer Enhanced Edition Redout Enhanced Edition Re-Legion Remnants Of Naezith Replay VHS Is Not Dead Republique Rise Of Insanity Road Redemption 1€ Rogue Stormers Rover Mechanic Simulator(X2) 0.5€ RWBY Grimm Eclipse NEW 5€ Sakura Angels 1€ Samorost 3 Satellite Reign Scribblenauts Unlimited 1.5€ Serious Sam 3 BFE(X2) NEW 3€ Shadow Warrior 2 NEW Shadows Awakening 1€ Shadwen 1€ She Remembered Caterpillars Sherlock Holmes The Devil's Daughter 1.5€ Shock Troopers Shuyan Saga Siege Of Centauri NEW 3.5€ Sigma Theory Global Cold War 1.5€ SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition Slipstream(X2) Smile For Me 1€ Smoke And Sacrifice(X2) Snake Pass Sniper Elite V2 2€ Songbringer Sonic CD Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 & 2 Space Hulk Ascension Space Run Sparkle 2 Sparkle Unleashed Spec Ops The Line SpeedRunners NEW Speed Brawl 1€ Spelunky 1.5€ Stacking Star Trek (delisted) NEW 18€ Stasis State Of Mind 1€ Stealth Bastard Deluxe Stealth Inc 2 A Game Of Clones(X2) Steel Division Normandy 44 NEW 4€ Steel Rats Stick Fight The Game(X2) NEW 3€ Still There NEW 0.5€ Stronghold 2 Steam Edition NEW 3€ Struggling NEW 0.5€ Stygian Reign Of The Old Ones Styx Master Of Shadows Super Inefficient Golf Surgeon Simulator Anniversary Edition NEW 2€ Surviving Mars 1.5€ Sword Legacy Omen(X2) 1€ Swords And Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon 1€ Syberia II Symmetry Syndrome Table Manners The Physics-Based Dating Game NEW Tabletop Playground NEW Take On Helicopters Take On Mars Tales From Candlekeep Tomb Of Annihilation(X2) Tales Of The Neon Sea NEW 0.5€ Talisman Digital Edition + City,Frostmarch,Sacred Pool NEW (trading only as a bundle) 2.5€ Talisman Origins Tennis In The Face Tennis World Tour NEW 2.5€ Tharsis(X2) The Ambassador Fractured Timelines NEW 0.5€ The Adventure Pals The Bard's Tale IV Director's Cut 1€ The Beast Inside NEW 1.5€ The Coma 2 Vicious Sisters 1€ The Darkness II The Final Station The Free Ones The Gate Of Firmament The Invisible Hours The Journey Down Chapter Three The King's Bird(X2) The King Of Fighters XIII Steam Edition The King Of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match NEW The Last Blade The Last Leviathan The Long Dark NEW The Mims Beginning The Night Of The Rabbit The Spiral Scouts 0.5€ The Stanley Parable NEW 5€ The Stillness Of The Wind The Suicide Of Rachel Foster NEW 1€ The Testament Of Sherlock Holmes 1€ The Town Of Light(X2) The Turing Test The Uncertain Last Quiet Day(X2) The Walking Dead Final Season NEW The Walking Vegetables The Wild Eight NEW Them's Fightin' Herds 2.5€ Think Of The Children This War Of Mine(X2) 0.5€ Through The Darkest Of Times Tilt Brush 1.5€ Timeshift 2€ Time Recoil Toejam & Earl Back In The Groove NEW 2€ Tooth And Tail 1.5€ Torchlight(X2) 1€ Torchlight II(X2) 2€ Toto Temple Deluxe Townsmen A Kingdom Rebuilt 0.5€ Toybox Turbos 0.75€ Tracks The Train Set Game Train Station Renovation NEW Treasure Hunter Simulator 1€ Tricky Towers NEW 4€ Tropico 4 True Fear Forsaken Souls Tsioque 0.5€ Unbox Newbie's Adventure Unexplored(X2) Unloved Velocibox Vikings Wolves Of Midgard NEW 1€ Warhammer End Times Vermintide 1€ Warlock Master Of The Arcane Warstone TD We Are The Dwarves Werewolf The Apocalypse Heart Of The Forest NEW 1€ When Ski Lifts Go Wrong White Night Wooden Sen'SeY World's Dawn Worms Revolution WRC 7 World Rally Championship 1.5€ Wurm Unlimited Xenoraid The First Space War Yet Another Zombie Defense HD Ylands Exploration Pack Youropa 0.75€ Zombie Army Trilogy NEW Zombie Kill Of The Week Reborn Zombotron 1€ Programs: Music Maker EDM Edition 3.5€ Some of the games from my wishlist: Rogue Legacy Hydrophobia Prophecy SteamWorld Dig Limbo Crossbow Bloodnight MudRunner Star Explorers The Spy Who Shrunk Me Inside ...and about 150 more games I'm from EU,so KEYS SHOULD work pretty much anywhere My Wishlist or offer something(game or paypal) DONT TRY TO ADD ME ON STEAM OR SEND A PM BEFORE YOU POST IN THIS TOPIC-WILL NOT ANSWER YOU!
So I figured I'll need to upgrade my PC asap. I thought of adding up how much Ive spent over the years. I'll also mention the games I played on these specs since they dictated my purchases.
Pre 2011: I had a Pentium 4 or something on those lines. No GPU. Had 1gb of RAM. I had failed my 12th grade so my dad didnt really see a point to give me a better desktop. I ended up learning After Effects and Photoshop on this reaaaaallllyyy slow system. The games I played on this at the time were Minecraft, Command and Conquer and some more retro-ish titles.Just a side note: Minecraft was a lot of fun during this time. I could say that it inspired me to pick up animation/designing.
2011: I finally passed 12th lol. Dad got me a Lenovo Y570. It cost me(him) roughly 70k. This was my first ever computer. It had everything. 8gb RAM, an i7-2630, GT 555M. I absolutely loved and adored it. My main usage was After Effects, PS, AI and gaming. I regret not playing Minecraft on this as it would have been really smooth. From what I remember, I played a lot of CIV 4(?), Portal, L.A. Noire, Saints Row, BattleField 3, Dragon Age 2, etc.Looking back at it, I learnt a lot over here. The laptop was really tight but Ive stopped using laptops for gaming entirely. While they have their benefits but in terms of longevity, it sucked. The Laptop would overheat and sometimes just shut down within a year of usage. Around this time, I had started watching Linus Tech Tips a lot more and started doing basic cleaning and files organization. The reason was to salvage my laptop rather than optimize it. I cant really explain it well but I knew this wasnt the ideal experience I wanted. The laptop eventually breathed its last when I had purchased Watch Dogs after 2 years of waiting since their E3 announcement. Watch Dogs ended it. My laptop died properly. At the time, I remember breaking down and realizing that maybe I sort of abused it? Idk. That baby lasted me 2 years and those 2 years were really good, ignoring the temps.
2013: My first ever desktop purchase. i5-2500k. Something 600 series GPU and 16gb of RAM. Total was somewhere around 30k-40k. I also bought a Logitech G300 Mouse, first ever legit gaming mouse. I cant remember the price on this but I couldnt have been more than 2k. Desktops changed the game for me. My work loads on AE and Premiere Pro were easier to work with. My temps were always lower than what my laptop had. I just had to clean out the dust every month. Games that I played on this were Watch Dogs ( I absolutely hated that game), Skyrim, Wolfenstein, CIV 5, CSGO, Battlefield and what not. My experience from my laptop had ensured that I took care of this. Ensuring my start up was clogged with programs, clean up temp files, stopped using anti viruses entirely, all fans were cleaned regularly, every 6 months I would clean my entire system of dust and cobwebs. This has been a practice I still follow to this day. I bought a blower for ₹300 and I use it for cleaning once a month.I took this desktop with me to all my internships in college as they wanted someone with a laptop. There were times when I was given a laptop but I returned it insisting that my desktop will be faster and it always always was. This set up lasted me till 2016.
2016: This when I started purchasing my own parts rather than ask my parents. I had to upgrade my GPU so I purchased an ASUS 960 XT. For 10k. Off OLX. I also upgraded my case to a Cooler Master HAF XB Evo. For 9k. My older case was some random acrylic shit. Wear and tear made more vent holes than I wanted lol. I am a little dumb but I dont remember a massive significant change(Better thermals for sure), but I dont think I will upgrade my case again as its just that good in handling new components and cable management is a breeze. There is ample storage for new SSDs, HDDs, and a double GPU set up if I ever become rich enough. I also upgraded my PSU to a 600W Corsair or Antec. Cost me another 10k. That brings a total of 30k roughly. I also bought a couple Logitech G102 mice. So add another 2k-3k.The games I bought the GPU for were: Witcher 3, Tomb Raider, Fallout 4, Arkham Series, Wolfenstein, Cities Skyline, COD, DIRT, Dark Souls, Dishonored, BattleField 1, CIV 6, Hitman Series, etc, etc.
2020: This year in March I finally upgraded my CPU, Mobo and RAM. I got Ryzen 3600, MSI B450 Mobo, 2 sticks of 8gb DDR4 RAM, my first ever SSD of 250GB. The total cost here was somewhere between the range of 30k-35k. TBH I only upgraded cause I had to! The projects I got for freelance required me to get faster and the games too were decent but not the best. I also got a G402 mice.I just want to add something here: i5-2500k. What a processor! What an amazing amazing piece of work. It lasted me 8 years! 8 years of going from Adobe CS4 to CC. I dont think I will ever come across something that powerful for so long and for that price!I consulted a few people before buying. Earlier I would do my own research and go for something. Seriously, these days you need to talk to people before purchasing. Talk to someone who knows their shit and ask them to teach you too! I dont mean to say youtubers arent a good resource but I felt like I learnt a lot more when people explain to people rather than a camera. No offense!Games I currently play a lot: CSGO, Minecraft, Frostpunk, and Polytopia. There are others but these are the ones I play regularly. CSGO is like evening chai, Minecraft is once a week ordering outside food, Frostpunk is like eating liver(kaleji) Its really difficult and can drive you nuts but its sooo gooood. Polytopia is like sugar, really sweet but really addictive and harmful in the long run.
Current Day: In one corner is my Ship of Theseus. Ryzen 3600 and 960 GT. In the other corner is the chunky boi, Cyberpunk. Now is when I think I will be spending the most on an upgrade. I am planning to purchase at least a 2070 Super. My requirements are that I want RTX for minecraft, faster exports in After Effects and Premiere, decent frames in games. I also need to get a 1TB SSD at least for my work and games. Plus a new 144hz monitor as I am still using my Dell monitor from 2013 lol. Everything else is fine for me right now. So I am looking at investing 1 Lakh in this.
To summarize(not including laptop), I have spent roughly 1.5L in the last 8 years. And now I am looking at investing another 1L on new components. Its expensive as hell right now but Ive always bought components for the next few years in mind. With that said, gaming has definitely progressed from Command and Conquer to something like Frostpunk. I absolutely love consuming content in terms of gaming rather than watching shows. Last but the most important, Shout out to: VideoGame Wonderland and ReezbleBob. I figured this sub needs something different than just screenshots so here is my contribution!
Hello, I have seen a lot of frustration from people when attempting to purchase the cards when they drop at Bestbuy. Seeing that I have been able to get both a 3070 FE and a 3080 FE I figured I might as well share how I was able to do this (without scalping bots). To preface, I would like to say that this is not a definitive guide and solely based on my experiences in buying the cards. Also, for those wondering why I purchased a 3070 and a 3080, I purchased the 3070 for a friend as they are building a new PC. For anybody that would like proof that I got the cards from BB, here ya go Alerts First and foremost, getting the alerts from BB for the restock is not gonna cut it most of the time, it will likely reach you too late. What I used, and have seen recommended on here many times is Distill. I have been running it on my browser ever since I was unable to acquire a card at launch, and while it is annoying to have running all the time, it most certainly was the reason I was able to get my cards. What I recommend selecting to monitor with it is the area with the sold out button on the rtx 3080 BB page. Though you will get frequent false alerts due to a text change in that area, it is better than monitoring the full page. Here is a picture of the configuration I had. The settings I recommend in particular are to have the page open in tab, and a sound that is distinctly for the alert (I chose the Ding Dong as it is the least annoying imo). Once the items are in stock, TURN OFF DISTILL, it will only get in your way when trying to purchase a card and will give you an ample amount of notifications. The timings for the alerts don't seem to follow a set pattern from what I have noticed, but I could be wrong. There are also other methods for getting alerts that are shown on this fantastic document by Sora5000, so be sure to check that out as well (it also has methods for other websites). Getting a card to add to cart This is a common theme I have seen in the frustration from people, is being unable to get a card to add to cart. The way the process BB has in place works is one where you need the reaction times of a CSGO pro. The cards periodically will allow you to add to cart, and there is no need to refresh the page as it will automatically change to "add to cart". This applies for both mobile and pc users. Speaking of these platforms, there is a big difference between the two from what I have found. Getting a card to add to cart on mobile has been far easier for me during each of the drops than desktop, and it is how I was able to get one of my cards. The strategy I used for mobile was to simply spam my thumb on where the "add to cart" button would be when it refreshes, while holding it in view of my main desktop screen so I could see both. When spamming this on mobile, I also found that you can get to the checkout area quite fast by doing this as I had accidentally got to there when spamming the button.On desktop, the difficulty of getting one of these is much more as spamming the button will likely just highlight the text, so you need to be paying attention for the instant that button turns yellow. Getting the card to add to card was the easier part of the process, where the next part of the process was a pain in the ass (and what I see most people complaining about). Checking Out The process for checking this card out is not explained well by BB, so I am going to do my best to explain what I have learned about it. First of all, the checkout defaults to "in store pickup," which will be an option you cannot checkout with as the cards are only available online (from my understanding). Once you get into your cart, you must select the option to have it shipped to you, otherwise checking out will not work and the card will likely sell out by the time you go back to change the shipping method. After this, checking out was a weird experience that has seemed to change as time went on. While this process is good for preventing bots as it is a two factor (or three in my case), it is definitely not explained enough and has made checking out quite stressful. Here is how the process works: when you go to checkout, BB will log you into your account and require you to input a verification code, this was a code that was texted to me (I am unsure if they also email codes as I never got that option). If you are somebody like me that will fumble on inputting the code, I recommend having a web browser based messaging app such as this (android) which links to the google messages texting app, and copy pasting the code to prevent mistakes. After this, you are brought to a checkout page where you select the shipping method, then actually checkout. After this, I received yet another verification code to verify the purchase amount. This will likely be done through whatever phone number is linked to the payment method, as mine actually went through a different phone (so be sure to have that other phone on standby!). After this, you are done! You should get an email from BB confirming that your order has been placed. When it ships, you will likely get an email from UPS first, saying that your order will arrive be "x" date (may depend on what shipping method you choose). Other Things To Note I am honestly kinda shocked with how poorly the packages are being shipped, as both of the cards I ordered had essentially no protection in for the package (3070 had 2 deflated bags and the 3080 had literally nothing). So if you do end up getting a card, maybe make a note for the UPS person to be extra careful with setting it down. I hope that this guide helps you all in some way, and I would be happy to answer any questions either about the process, or the cards themselves that you guys have.
Hi all hoping you could help. I recently built a new pc in November. Since then I have predominantly been playing CSGO, LOL, battlefield 3, Fifa21and rising storm 2 Vietnam and the build has been running beautifully. I have recently started playing xcom: chimera squad and battlefield 4; which is where my problems begin. After loading into a game I will be able to play for anywhere between 1-10 minutes before my pc will immediately just shut down as if you pulled out the plug. It will then need a minute or two before you are able to boot it again. after opening the case I could tell that it was immediately pretty hot inside so I wonder if there is a thermal issue somewhere. I have switched out the graphics card (GTC 980) to my older r9 380; which seems to fix the problem, however, this is not a solution as it is a worse card and I have to drop my settings in order to get frames. With both cards I have ran stress tests on the CPU, probably not for long enough (1hr 30 being the max) and the system works fine. with temperatures hovering around 65C My mates don't think that it is aGPU problem, even though that's where my gut initially pointed me towards. SPECS:- CPU - ryzen 3600- Mobo - MSI B550m mortar- RAM - Crucial Ballistic 3200MHx DDR4 ram (2x16GB)- GPU - GTX 980 (second hand from friend) - tested with MSI r9 380 where problem was not present- PSU - Cooler master MWE Gold 650 full modular- SSD - Sabrent rocket Q blue 1tb ***update*** I ran a 7hr 30 mins stress test on the cpu last night using aid64 and it was on when I got back I also swapped out my PSU for a corsair vs650 which I had from my previous build. and instead of turning off I got a black screen as if it was off. but the cpu and extractor fan was on. so it is not a PSU issue, i assume the switching off is a safety mechanism of the new corsair.
Build for a friend who is a part time Poker player. He also works at a software company so he is finally going for an all in one home workstation. What will you be doing with this PC? - Playing Poker, running poker simulations, casual gaming at 1080p and software like Photoshop What is your maximum budget? ~60k When do you plan on building/buying the PC? - Plan to order the parts this week What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? Tower included. Mouse, Keyboard, Monitor and OS will buy separately Which state/city will you be purchasing the parts in? Online from Mumbai If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc.), what parts will you be reusing? Not reusing anything Will you be overclocking? No Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? 500 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM Do you have any specific case preferences? - Case with tempered glass preferred Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? -No Extra info or particulars: Thinking of a GTX 1660 variant for the GPU. Will be buying a 1080p panel and playing games like CSGO and FIFA.
Roccat Burst Core detailed review - the new budget king?
Introduction
The Roccat Burst Core is a cheaper version of the better-specced Burst Pro, trading off the stock "paracord" cable, heat-treated PTFE feet, translucent top shell and PMW3381 sensor in favour of a 50% price cut. However, it does retain the new TTC optical switches, along with similar premium materials and top-notch build quality, making it a very serious competitor in the budget space. https://preview.redd.it/oxzsu8bqw3661.jpg?width=4160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6aca7090f38c2986da0ffc75dff22e1771871c70 TECH SPECS:
Pixart PMW3331 optical sensor
8500 CPI maximum (default steps: 400/800/1200/1600/3200)
CPI customization in steps of 100
35G max acceleration
300 IPS speed cap
~69 grams (with some cable)
"Titan Switch Optical" (TTC dust-proof)
100M lifespan rating
On-board memory
120mm(L) x 58mm(W) x 39mm(H)
MSRP: $30 USD
In the Box
Roccat, along with many other companies, has begun the move to more eco-friendly packaging, and this is reflected in the Burst Core. The whole box (with the exception of a recyclable sleeve surrounding the mouse) is paper and cardboard, and there's very little wasted space inside. The Core doesn't come with an extra set of feet, so the only other thing you get is the Quick Start Guide directing you to install software/register the product. https://preview.redd.it/d2uukytmo3661.jpg?width=4160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5019bfaf68a64bbfd26c18a7483a85d1957f1da6 The rubber cable is folded and held together with a cable tie at the front of the mouse. This method of packaging does leave kinks throughout the whole cord, which need to be straightened before use. The feet are covered with a blue plastic covering, not a film, which is very easy to spot and remove.
Shape and Ergonomics
On the outside the Burst series seems to be inspired by the WMO, but in the hand it's actually much closer to the Steelseries Rival 3. The hump is taller and more rounded, however, and shifted slightly further back to "round out" the flat slope that the Steelseries product has at the rear - this should make it the better shape for claw and palm grippers. Blue outline represents the Steelseries Rival 3 Like the Kain, Roccat played it very safe with the Burst's overall design. The sides are nearly completely straight and flat, with only the slightest curvature to provide some extra grip. You can effectively hold the mouse as far forwards as you'd like (for those who hate front flare-outs), and the widening at the back is also quite subtle. The lack of pronounced middle curvature means the Burst Pro initially feels a bit wider than other mice of its size, which took me a bit of getting used to. https://preview.redd.it/8lwjpx0uq3661.jpg?width=4160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb83bcb25cfb825f24c61990a4ed8f0fdb257876 The mouse is fairly tall, and there should be plenty of room for fingers on either side. The side buttons are large and protrude enough to be easy to reach with a thumb-roll, and the slight inwards slant they have effectively prevents accidental actuations). I'm definitely a fan of the way Roccat designed these, much better than the G203/Rival 3's narrow slits in terms of usability. M1 and M2 don't have aggressive comfort curves, but there's still a very shallow concavity to them. Something worth mentioning is that Roccat has ditched the "wrap-around buttons" that many mice still have, so no-one should be getting pinched there :) The scroll wheel is decently wide, with a grippy silicone surface and protrudes at a decent height. Not much to say about them, Roccat usually nails this aspect. https://preview.redd.it/u1iadkz0r3661.jpg?width=4160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9762947a5258fab9f128b932f5f010af25a6fbb9 Most of the Burst Pro materials have been carried over onto the Burst Core. The top shell has that same UV-coating which we first saw on the Kone Pure Ultra - it's a very smooth, matte finish that feels grippy even with dry hands (despite its lack of grain), and during my testing period showed no signs of wear. The sides are matte plastic, although the grip area is covered by tiny glossy hexagons. In the hand this just feels like a glossy coating with a tiny bit of texture, which could definitely be an issue for those with sweaty/greasy hands. https://preview.redd.it/g1ncreg3r3661.jpg?width=4160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e735da94699899f9d78d2f88c3df0bd8fd4242a Weight-wise, the Burst Core feels great. 69g is by no means the lowest number around for an ultralight mouse, but it's still light enough not to be a negative. From the sensor position the Burst is well-balanced, an aspect many ultralights compromise on in their attempts to shave off more grams. Slightly higher weights should always be preferred over badly shifted balance - no point in chasing headline numbers if the mouse feels horrible. https://preview.redd.it/s4ps9fn5r3661.jpg?width=4160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d775d85ccba575765cdc644bd398c7e273ab2766 Overall, I'm liking the Burst's shape and design a lot. It's been a long time for me since a mouse has felt so immediately "right" in the hand, and it's evident that quite a bit of thought has been put into this mouse's creation (refreshing after the endless FK/GPW clones we've been seeing). While this opinion definitely still subjective, Roccat seems to have a winner here.
Buttons, Feet and Cable
I'll start off by saying that I definitely TTC implementation of optical switches over any LK variants I've tried (including Razer's v2). The Core's buttons feel snappy, with very pronounced, sharp tactility and plenty of rebound-force. In terms of weighting they're on the heavier side since, as with many other strongly tactile switches, the bump increases the force required to depress them. No mushiness or extra travel to speak of, but they are one of the loudest buttons you'll find on a mouse: https://reddit.com/link/kg4cwk/video/hrqtbwmar3661/player The side buttons stick with mechanical switches. They require little force to depress, with very thin-feeling tactile feedback and a high-pitched click. No pre-travel, but there is a small amount of post-travel. Performance-wise these are fine, but nothing special. Roccat is using a 24-step, mechanical ALPS encoder here, which I've often said is the gold standard of scroll wheel components. As always the Titan wheel remains the best around, with smooth, light scrolling whilst maintaining clear, distinct tactile feedback on each step. Scrolling up quickly results in a looser, louder-sounding wheel, a common occurrence on many mice even though the wheel itself has no wobble. Scroll click is well-weighted. It's stiff enough to resist any accidental actuations when scrolling, but doesn't take unreasonable effort to press either. Tactility is clear and distinct, and Roccat has improved the travel distance coming from their previous mice (Kone Pure Ultra/Owl-eye). The mouse feet are carbon-dyed (black) PTFE. The edges are rounded, but the feet use the "hollow-point" design with raised edges and a thinner middle. This results in a faster glide at the expense of smoothness, and in this case because of the shape of the feet creating longer horizontal "ridges", vertical movement is louder and scratchier than horizontal gliding. https://preview.redd.it/j1zx72zrr3661.jpg?width=4160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec33e4f96c7acf8e842e31610f3bc15a9b77da7d Despite this the performance of the feet is still serviceable, and actually better than the stock feet you'd find from the likes of Steelseries or Logitech. After breaking them in it's a definite "pass" for Roccat, especially considering the Burst Core is a value proposition. Cable is the Burst Core's greatest weakness. It's a rubber cable, and slightly thicker and less flexible than average. It also comes wrapped up in the box which creates several spring-like kinks along it, which need to be manually straightened before it becomes usable. In a mouse bungee the performance here is mediocre at best, and while the basic points (surface smoothness, stress relief pointed up) are done right, a paracord is recommended for anyone who intends to use this as their main rodent. https://preview.redd.it/bue5oyzur3661.jpg?width=4160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a728235714d499184a7032a7cc6a7045dc8e50e
Performance
Sensor on the Burst Core has been downgraded to the cheaper PMW3331, but the performance decrease is negligible. It appears to be an improved version of the already-existing PMW3330, with slightly higher specs across the board. In the Pixart product stack it's roughly between the now-venerable 3310DH and the 3360, so I did expect good performance from it. With a 65cm/360° sensitivity, I never noticed any speed-related tracking anomalies in-game (tested in CSGO, Quake Live and Diabotical). This was also corroborated during play with "tricky" surfaces like the MP510, Steelseries DeX and Artisan Raiden, confirming the 3331's good surface compatibility. Undesirable input processing (acceleration, smoothing, etc.) didn't appear to be present at the tested sensitivities. A common fear with cheaper sensors is overly high lift-off distance, but this isn't an issue with the Burst Core. The absolute tracking cutoff (default settings) is about 2.4mm, or in RJN-speak, two DVDs. While still higher than the Burst Pro's 3381, it's nowhere near as bad as the Rival 3 or un-updated Viper Mini. The sensor position is dead centre, and aligns with the middle of the side buttons - 60mm forwards, and 60mm backwards. Moving onto xCount plots, we see that the PMW3331 does just fine at the 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 CPI settings. It's not until 5000 CPI that we see the characteristic spike indicating the smoothing threshold. This level of smoothing appears to stay consistent all the way up to the maximum sensitivity of 8500 CPI. Click into image for better resolution :) The Burst Core is able to maintain a 1000hz polling rate with no issues whatsover, and as the MouseTester plot shows it's relatively stable, with dropped polls being few and far between. https://preview.redd.it/3z8w0rra74661.jpg?width=994&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3297304f20036b99f667d0f38c8f5b7f3abe163e The 3331 is rated for a maximum tracking speed of 300 IPS (7.62 m/s), which I don't expect to be achievable in-game by anyone. During the torture test I was only able to hit about 6.4m/s (252 IPS), which the Core's sensor handled with ease - we're definitely long gone from the days when budget sensors would spin out in use. https://preview.redd.it/i774zz32u3661.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=8adc4eb572600522db44f3753bde0ac375c2227e As for CPI deviation, the Burst Core had decent results all-round, with the 800 CPI setting consistently being closest to the set value. Concerningly there was also a peak in CPI deviation on the 3200 CPI setting - I'm not sure what causes this, but users of that sensitivity should be aware of it. Keep in mind that the deviation level varies between copies (and is affected by tracking surface, lift-off height, etc.). https://preview.redd.it/wsase957u3661.jpg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63d5257216cbe4213c0afa8ad575b8b883d4b739 Finally, the MS Paint test. At the 400, 800 and 1600 CPI steps, the sensor performs flawlessly. When pushed to 3200 CPI, however, the level of ripple/jitter becomes noticeable, and is totally unusable at 5000 CPI. This is the only caveat of an otherwise great sensor - those who use higher CPIs should steer clear. https://preview.redd.it/znyjyl88u3661.png?width=1672&format=png&auto=webp&s=b3be7c821efc0ea6252647be8383476ea4b7aa4e Moving away from sensor tests, the L/R test software checks the minimum click duration of the Burst Core's TTC optical switches. On a mechanical-switched mouse these results can sometimes also be indicative of the debounce delay, but since the Burst Core lacks this, the results seem to be affected by some sort of release delay. The mode is 20ms on both M1 and M2. LMB on the left, RMB on the right Another interesting thing to note is that the TTC opticals can indeed "bounce" the shutter, making drag clicking possible with the average "in-between" time of clicks being 60ms (well over the minimum 20ms). https://preview.redd.it/rn8fa1ftu3661.jpg?width=277&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aed2a67a22a45b340e194f506f031415aade6922 Bump testing against a pre-25K update GPW (right key) shows the Burst Core (left key) wins consistently by 2-3ms, no doubt on account of the advantages optical switches provide. Keep in mind that this method of testing isn't 100% accurate, and while I did my best to nullify variables such as travel distance and click tensioning, this should be used as a guideline only: https://preview.redd.it/d8oixn90v3661.jpg?width=361&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=119c6d213247fa881e604f3ee9c6fed638e64ed4 To sum up, in the technical aspect the Burst Core performs great, and I found it pretty much on par with most top mice (including the Burst Pro). For $30 USD there's not much at all to complain about as long as you don't use a sensitivity of over 3200 CPI.
Build Quality
Roccat's products have a reputation for being high quality, and the Burst Core is no exception. Throughout my testing I've found nothing major to fault here; the sides are totally solid with zero flex, pressing on the bottom doesn't actuate any buttons, and nowhere on the shell can I even find the hint of a creak. Shaking the mouse in all directions yields no internal rattling at all. There's no wobble on the main buttons either, thanks to a clever hinge design which keeps the triggers as part of the top shell. Side and CPI buttons are similarly sturdy. The only noticeable thing nearing a quality problem is the increased loudness of the wheel when scrolling up, but that's so common and so minor that it would be truly pedantic to call that a real con. Out of the box the feet are aligned correctly and protected with the aforementioned plastic film, which prevented any scratches during shipping. While I'm still not a fan of the way the cable was wrapped, it doesn't seem to have caused any internal damage and throughout the entire testing period functioned perfectly. The "Roccat Burst" logo was one of my main concerns with durability - printed-on logos often wear off over time, but in this case it's actually been printed sub-surface and is protected by the very durable UV surface coat. It's obviously impossible to tell for sure at this stage, but long-term durability is looking good for the Burst.
Software - Roccat Swarm
The Burst Core is effectively plug-and-play - assuming you're okay with the preset CPI settings, there's no "gotcha" which necessitates the install of their software. Should you want to tinker around though, Roccat Swarm allows you a number of customization options:
Scrolling speed
Double-click speed (not to be confused with debounce, this just controls how fast you have to click for the inputs to be considered an OS "double-click")
OS pointer speed (same as the Windows sensitivity slider, leave this on 0)
CPI settings (five steps, each controllable in increments of 100 CPI)
Button re-assignments, including several presets (media, "balanced" and "precision")
Easy-shift
RGB settings (AIMO, wave, solid, heartbeat, blinking, breathing), with speed and brightness options
Factory reset option (changes all customizations back to default)
Ability to use up to five profiles at once, with auto-switch functionality
Macro manager
AIMO interactions with other Roccat products
To actually install Swarm, a 160 MB compressed installer has to be downloaded from Roccat's site. This will set up the core software, but in order to get any functionality out of it a mouse-specific "module" needs to be downloaded from within the application. Swarm usually detects what you've got plugged in and prompts you to update, but this doesn't always happen (in which case you need to navigate to the update panel yourself and find the necessary download). https://preview.redd.it/bygw6e22v3661.jpg?width=1012&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e25cd43190b780222176ddd6222a9e09577b6ef9 While Swarm does offer a decent selection of features, the software itself feels fairly clunky and outdated. Swarm uses a collection of "panels" which the user can drag around and pin, but in my opinion all this does is make the experience feel disjointed and messy. Certain options (such as the polling rate settings) aren't where they intuitively should be, and there are some legacy settings (OS sensitivity, cursor trails, etc.) still lying around on the main screen. It doesn't help that the interface is nowhere near as modern and well-polished as Roccat's products are: https://preview.redd.it/vxkgup03v3661.jpg?width=1680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7b835b95b76afce1cea1e97805006269914067d To be fair, though, Swarm was pretty much totally stable throughout my time with it (which can't be said for many much newer mouse softwares). It never refused to launch, always closed immediately, and making/saving changes was pretty much instant. Swarm is also light on system resources - when running in the background with the interface open, my CPU usage (Ryzen 7 3700X) remained under a percent. RAM usage was about 100 MB (out of 32 GB). So basically, despite some visual and organizational shortcomings, Swarm is still a practical and functional software tool that will do most of what you want it to do (with a bit of looking around). It also doesn't need to stick around - the Burst Core has on-board memory that (as far as I can tell) saves everything except for macros.
Conclusion
The budget space is often the most fiercely competitive of any industry, and the Burst Core is Roccat's best entry yet. It has a great safe shape, premium-feeling materials and quality, the sensor's performance holds its own against any top optical (as long as you don't go over 3200 CPI), and what's in my opinion the best optical switch implementation on the market. For $30 USD that's an enormous bang for very little buck - if the shape suits you, I'd be picking this up over the G203 Lightsync and Rival 3 for sure. Shape and Ergonomics (subjective):5/5, I personally really like the shape :) Buttons, Feet and Cable:3/5, points deducted on account of the feet and cable. Performance:4/5, just don't use >3200 CPI. Build Quality (copy dependent):4.5/5, scrolling up is louder = deduction. Software:2.5/5, decent enough, could use improvement. Thanks for reading guys, feel free to ask any other questions not covered here :)
State of the Subreddit: Clips, Reposts and Survey Results!
Hey everyone, it's been quite a few months into the launch of Valorant and we've been monitoring the subreddit and also taking in feedback for how to handle the subreddit. We didn't want to act too fast on adding new rules and also took a few attempts at curbing these issues, but today we have some news to share regarding two very long requested changes:
#1) Reworked rules regarding clips:
We will be adjusting our current rules on clips to instead read the following:
Clips that are related to gameplay are not allowed to be posted independently unless they are related to an eSports event, are informational content or are accompanied by a text post with over 1,000 characters. eSports events are defined as any event listed in the Liquipedia list of VALORANT tournaments, provided that it is classified as a S, A, B, or C-Tier Tournament.
This change is going to impact quite a bit of posts on the subreddit, so we would like to expand a little bit on our choice. Almost immediately after the inception of the subreddit, we started gettinglots of "feedback" on the the frequency of clip posts in the subreddit. Despite having strict rules on clip length, the most common subreddit-moderation related complaint was always the number of clips. Based on this feedback, we started keeping track of the actual frequency of clips on the front page (the first 25 posts) and we included some questions about clips in the recent subreddit feedback survey (more on this later in the post!), in order to gauge the current volume of clips and to explore potential solutions. The main reason we have been hesistant on changing clip rules has been because the actual number of clips on the frontpage has not actually been that high. On an average day, we noted roughly 7 posts to be gameplay clips in some form. Considering we want this sub to accomodate all kinds of content, roughly 30% of posts being clips isn't necessarily bad. That said, lots of you spoke out on the feedback survey, with especially this graph being quite telling. Based on this feedback, we discussed various options. In particular, we considered the following:
Limit clips to a single daily/weekly clip thread.
Limit clips to certain days of the week.
Enforce a system where clips displaying "expected/common-place gameplay" are not allowed.
Enforce different minimum/maximum clip lengths based on the content in the clip (esports, setups, gameplay, etc..)
In the end, we settled on the rule described above: disallow all clips/videos except eSports clips, informational clips, and clips linked in large text posts. Here's a flowchart that describes the process. In order to promote eSports content, we will be allowing any direct (gameplay/VALORANT related) clip showcasing plays from an eSports event. As noted in the rule, we define an eSports event as any tournament listed on the Liquipedia list of VALORANT tournaments, as long as the tournament is at least a C-Tier tournament. This should leave plenty of room for amateur tournament highlights to be linked on the sub, while also including plays from your favorite larger teams such as G2 and Sentinels. Similarly, setup videos and other informational content are still allowed. This content takes more effort to create than a simple gameplay clip and often end up with more productive discussions in the comments. We define informational content as any video that aims to teach, inform or spread new information. This includes patch rundown videos, official VALORANT content releases, and advanced mechanics such as Sova arrow setups. You can post this content directly, or in a text post (in case you want to link multiple videos, images, extra context, etc.). Videos in text posts will still have a duration for the minimum amount of time required for them to be posted as link posts. This is now to ensure that clips have substance still, rather then to accomplish the former goal of limiting easier to consume short clip content. This time is moving down to 15 seconds, and as with the other changes we will evaluate if this is too high or too low, or an entirely unnecessary addition to the above clip rules. Finally, in order to still allow videos to be used as "supporting content", we are also making an exception for videos linked in a text post that contains more than 1,000 characters of text. Our goal here is to ensure that posts that are primarily text but want to include a video can still do so, while at the same time ensuring that it is not too easy to write some filler to bypass the rules and submit your average Jett quadra. We want to note that we will be evaluating the community response and effectivity of this new rule. If this rule severely lowers the activity on the subreddit or if the community indicates their dislike of this new approach, we will definitely go back to the drawing board and try again. Please give us your thoughts on the rule below, and then again in a couple of weeks when the effects of the new rules are clear! TLDR: Want to post your clip? See this flowchart.
#2) Modified repost rule
We will be rewording our repost rule to state the following:
Reposts are not allowed. Threads that focus on topics that have been discussed at a high frequency within the last two weeks or cover information from the same angle will be removed
This change will hopefully increase clarity on this position as we improve our handling of reposts as a whole - we want people to consolidate their discussions unless they're approaching a topic from a new point of view. Nothing has changed here except wording to improve our enforcement consistency. We will be evaluating whether this vague definition of "high frequency" is enough to give consistent enforcement. If we end up having too many contentious removals due to the vagueness of the rule we will adjust it.
Survey results
Yo, RawStanky here with results from our feedback survey! In the interest of transparency, we will be sharing the results of the survey for all to see, as well as briefly comment on some of them. We will be using the results of the survey internally to guide our decisions, but given our internal process for proposing and implementing new guides and guidelines I can't promise any concrete changes yet.
How would you currently rate the state of the subreddit?
The average rating of the subreddit was 3 out of 5. While this is decent, we're obviously aiming to increase it. We hope that the new clip rules go a long way towards making that happen.
What is your favorite thing about the subreddit?
The most common answer to this question was by far "informative content". We will be attempting to promote such content by allowing it to be posted directly as part of our new clip rules. If any content creators specializing in informative content are reading this, be sure to send us a heads up in our modmail with your thoughts on our rules so we can hopefully make it easier for you to post your content here in the future!
What is your least favorite thing about the subreddit?
As discussed earlier in the post, the overwhelming majority of the most disliked content was clips. We're going to see if the new clip rules help with this.
What are some changes you would like to see on the subreddit?
This was a free form text, but again the majority was "remove/limit clips". Needless to say, we're trying to listen.
Please indicate for each category of posts whether you'd like to see more or less of that kind of post.
Check out this fancy-pants graph of the results! We have a few ideas in the pipeline already to promote other types of content, which we can hopefully share in the next few weeks.
Would you be interested in community events on /Valorant?
About two-thirds of the replies indicated they would be interested in community events. We will look into setting up some community tournaments or other events, but no promises yet!
Do you think we should do more to promote esports?
Again, roughly two-thirds of the replies answered yes to this question. We hope that allowing eSports clips to be directly posted will help promote esports, and we will also be looking into possibly promoting more post-match discussions for larger tournaments.
Please give your reasoning for the previous question
The general consensus was that people enjoy esports content and want /VALORANT to be a consistent hub for esports, much like /leagueoflegends and /csgo.
What rules or changes would you instate if given the chance?
Surprise surprise, more clip complaints! We heard you!
How accessible/user-friendly are the rules to you?
Here's a graph of the results. We will be looking into rewording some of the more vague rules, such as the repost rule earlier in this post.
What are your current thoughts on the state of clips/videos on the subreddit?
I think you can guess the answer to this question.
Do you like the current minimum of 60 seconds for link post clips? (clips can still be posted in text posts if under 60 seconds)
Roughly 60% indicated that the current approach for limiting clips was not sufficient. However, given that 40% indicated they were okay with the approach, we will still keep the current (new old) approach in mind in case we end up needing to change the clip rules. We will have more feedback forms in the future to gauge the state of the subreddit so always be sure to take the time to fill out the forms if you want to let us know your thoughts.
What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.
Usual browsing, YT, Twitch and gaming (Escape from Tarkov, CSGO)
What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?
$2000 or so USD but definitely willing to push it a couple of hundred bucks to 2200-2300.
When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.
ASAP.
What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)
Tower Only.
Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?
USA, North Carolina. The nearest MC is in Georgia (6.5 hours away) but I would make it a day trip to get parts if it would be significantly cheaper and/or easier to acquire.
If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.
G710+ KB, Zowie EC2-A Mouse, Acer 144Hz Monitor, Samsung 2nd monitor, Sennheiser HD598 cans, FiFINE microphone, HD922 cam. I understand that parts, especially GPU's are nigh impossible to find right now so I am happy to acquire everything except the GPU to get the system rolling. I am currently using an RX480 8GB in my current rig and would be happy to pull it out and install it temporarily in a new rig. My current is 8+ years old with a 2600k CPU and DDR3 1366MHz - it struggles, especially with memory.
Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?
I will not be overclocking.
Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)
I do not need a significant amount of storage, just one fast drive for the OS and games should suffice unless the consensus is that they should be separated in which case I would be happy to get a smaller drive for the OS and one for the games. I really only have Tarkov and CSGO installed and don't plan on playing much else (unless Diablo 4 drops?) I am fairly certain I would like to go with a 5800x - unlikely I will need anything more powerful. I am also set on getting a 3080 GPU and will be aggressively looking for availability once I am in the ordering phase if not sooner. As it looks like the 3080's are going to be in the 800-900 range then this can be excluded from the rest of the budget if that's our best option at this time. I may also like to add a 3rd monitor at some point in the future but I doubt this will impact the build much?
Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?
I do not care about RGB or really any kind of aesthetics. Neither size or color are important either. Good airflow!
Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?
OS is not required.
Extra info or particulars:
Nothing else that comes to mind. Thank you to anyone for the help <3
Action Indie Bundle (RIP - Trilogy™, RIP 2 Strike Back, RIP 3: The Last Hero, Space Trader: Merchant Marine, Penguins Arena: Sedna's World, Larva Mortus, Tank Universal)
Alpha Prime
Bad Bots
Battlepillars Gold Edition
Bloody Trapland
Bombernauts
Camera Obscura
Chaos on Deponia
Chicken Shoot Gold
Commandos 2: Men of Courage
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor
Crash Time 2
Cthulhu Saves the World & Breath of Death VII Double Pack (RL in some Countries)
Dead Bits (Soundtrack)
Dead Bits Collector's Edition
Dead Island: Epidemic
Defy Gravity Extended (RL in some Countries)
Deponia
Despair
DETOUR (RL in some Countries)
Dungeon Defenders New Heroes DLC
Earth 2160
God Mode
Gumboy Tournament
Gun Monkeys
Guns of Icarus Online
Iron Warriors: T - 72 Tank Command
Just Cause
Just Cause 2
Killing Floor
Legendary
Lilly and Sasha: Curse of the Immortals
Medieval Engineers
Metro 2033
Minion Masters
ORION: Prelude
Overcast - Walden and the Werewolf
PAYDAY 2: A Merry Payday Christmas Soundtrack
Portal
POSTAL 2
Praetorians
Razor2: Hidden Skies
Red Faction®: Armageddon™
Revenge of the Titans
Roogoo
Space Farmers
SpellForce 2 - Faith in Destiny Scenario 3: The Last Stand
Super Monday Night Combat
System Shock 2
Trine 2: Complete Story
Uncrowded
Retail & Revealed Keys (Europe) Battle.net
Overwatch Digital Extras [Collectors Edition Retail Key: World of Warcraft Winston, Hearthstone Cardback, Starcraft 2 Portraits, Heroes of the Storm Tracer, Diablo 3 Mercy Wings (+ XBOX One Mercy Wings)]
Read through our review of CSGOKingdom and see if they are the right case opening site for you. We discuss whether or not they are a legitimate site, how to use CSGO Kingdom codes to claim bonuses and some of the positive and negative aspects of CSGOKingdom. I noticed there wasn’t a place where I could easily look up the release dates, and order of CSGO cases. Which prompted me to make this blog post. The most recently released case is the Fracture Case . The table below orders all the CSGO cases by release date, and shows how many days it took for valve to release each case. It also shows the day of the week, and date (in american timezone Csgocases.com - Open CS:GO cases and get the best csgo skins! Probably the best case opening website in the web. Drop your dreamed skins. Pay by SMS. Insane skins are waiting for you! CSGO Keys: CSGO keys have a fixed price in game of $2.50 and are used as currency amoung traders, and of course to open cases. Investing in keys is pointless, unless you want to park your money, or trade or cashout, or unless you can buy keys at a cheaper rate than one normally could (currency issues). There is a special situation going on with the Hydra key which crashed significantly in price after the Operation Hydra Case became a rare drop and became an expensive case. There are This is why instead of buying skins, some players prefer to get CSGO cases that help them earn several skins at the same time. But, one must know which cases to go for as per the skins or things they have in mind. If you have been wondering and trying to find out the best CSGO case to open to find mesmerizing and cool skins, do not worry, below is arguably the best CSGO case to open. CounterStrike: Global Offensive's item market has quickly become a thriving economy, offering players a huge variety of skins to select from in order to customize their in game weapons. These skins can vary in prices going from a few cents all the way to thousands of dollars, making many of the items unobtainable for most of the player base. With these insane prices, CSGO Gambling sites have Cases; Collections; Patches; Pins; Skins; Weapons; Features. CS:GO Steam Server Status; My Profile; Search Database; Game Terminology; Flavor Text; Souvenir Skins; Recent CS:GO Updates. 03 Dec 2020 - Operation Broken Fang Case; 03 Dec 2020 - The Ancient Collection; 03 Dec 2020 - The Control Collection; 03 Dec 2020 - The Havoc Collection; 06 Aug 2020 - Fracture Case; 31 Mar 2020 - Prisma 2 Case CS:GO Cases (also known as Weapon Cases) were introduced to CS:GO in the Arms Deal update. Players have a chance to receive a case as a drop at the end of a match. They require a key to open. To explain it quickly, unlike other games where you buy skins outright, in CSGO the easiest way to get skins is to open Cases. These Cases each have a bunch of different skins contained within them and have a chance to drop one of them upon opening. This includes the chance to drop an exceedingly rare special item, usually a knife. Open Cases Cheap - get CSGO skins directly to your steam account, take part in our regular promotions and giveaways, sales offers and receive extra gifts. close menu Sign In
I MET MY GIRLFRIEND ON CS:GO! TIMES IN CSGO - YouTube
Keep in mind, that these picks and their order is based on my personal opinion and it may differ from yours. I hope you will like the video! #caster #reactions #hype #best #plays #highlights #csgo how the CS:GO Ranking System works, at least as far as we know...Vitaliy Comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalOffensive/comments/2g3r4c/the_ultimate_guide... Huntsman Case contains the following in order: Tec-9 Isaac SSG 08 Slashed Dual Berettas Retribution Galil AR Kami P90 Desert Warfare CZ75-Auto Poison Dart AUG Torque PP-Bizon ... Info:Explaining how the CSGO ranking system works! More Info Trade Skins Cheap at https://tradeskinsfast.com/In this video I'll be simply explainging how... Comment down below if you think the order should of been different! ... csgo-case.com Code: DONATELLO ... CS GO Funny Moments, CS GO Overwatch Cases, CS GO Trade Up Contract, CS GO Skins, CS GO ... JOIN OUR DISCORD! https://www.Discord.gg/JuiceBowl We're getting married soon, stay tuned. ;)SUBSCRIBE AND JOIN THE FRIZZLRY TODAY!:https://www.youtube.com/c... Hi Everyone! Another weekend, Another video So in my last couple of videos, we decided to pick on CS:GO's cases as an interesting investment opportunity to take advantage of! And while it showed a ... SIMPLE - CSGO Highlights Recommended for you. ... Jedi Fallen Order - Duration: 7:15. ... Top PC Cases of (2019) - Best 10 PC Case You Can Buy in 2019! Thanks to https://daddyskins.com/promo-code/CHAMy Discord: https://discord.gg/chaboyyhdLeave a like if you enjoyed - Thank you! Subscribe! - https://goo.gl/E...