With Microsoft releasing their Copilot+ certification, we will see a big boost in NPU availability. These Copilot+ PCs need at least 16 GB of RAM and 100+ GB/s bandwidth, so I was looking if there were already dedicated cards that could do that.
A challenge with that is memory bandwidth, since even the PCIe 5.0 x16 bus offers "only" 63 GB/s.
These are the current accelerators availed.

• TensTorrent has the Grayskull e75 and Grayskull e150, which are expected to provide 221 and 332 TOPS (FP8) respectively, both with 8GB LPDDR4 @ 118.4 GB/sec memory and a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface (31.5 GB/s).
• The Kinara Ara-2 is expected to offer 20 TOPS with a TDP of less than 6 watts. It is available not only in M.2 and USB formats (with 2 or 8 GB memory) but also as a PCIe AI accelerator card with four of these Ara-2 chips.
• The Hailo-8 M.2 AI Acceleration Module is a small M.2 2242 NPU with 26 TOPS and a PCIe 3.0 x2 interface (2 GB/s). It uses the host system's memory.
  • The Falcon Lite is a PCIe card with 1, 2, or 4 Hailo-8 AI Processors, providing up to 106 TOPS.
  • The Falcon-H8 goes up to 6 Hailo-8 AI Processors, providing up to 156 TOPS.
• The Hailo-10H AI processor is expected to provide up to 40 TOPS in an M.2 2242 card with a power consumption of 3.5 watts. It has 8GB LPDDR4 and a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface (4 GB/s).
• The Coral Mini PCIe Accelerator is a $25 NPU that offers 4 TOPS (int8) under 2 watts of power consumption, in Mini PCIe or M.2 2230 form-factor with a PCIe 2.0 x1 interface. They also have an M.2 2230 version with 2 of these Edge TPUs, for $40.
  • The Asus AI Accelerator PCIe Card uses 8 or 16 of these Edge TPUs, providing 32 or 64 TOPS.

So they are indeed slowly emerging, but only the TensTorrent accelerators beat the memory bandwidth requirement, currently. Each application requires a different ratio of processing power to memory bandwidth, which you also see reflected in the various accelerators.
Finally, for comparison, the RTX 4060 has 242 TOPS (with 272 GB/s and 115W TDP) and an RTX 4090 has 1321 TOPS (with 1008 GB/s and 450W TDP).

Looking for a new laptop? Whether you’re a gamer, a student, or need a versatile workhorse, we’ve got you covered. Check out our curated list of laptops across different price ranges and find the perfect fit for your needs! 💻🔥
Gaming and Productivity

Name	Specs	Price	Comments
HP Victus	15.6" Full HD 144Hz Gaming Laptop AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 8GB RAM DDR5 512GB SSD Backlit Windows 11 Home Bundle with 64GB USB Flash Drive	$565	This laptop offers solid gaming performance at an affordable price. While it may lack some refinements, it’s definitely worth considering for budget-conscious gamers and multitaskers alike.
‎Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 82SB0001US	15.6" FHD - 120Hz - AMD Ryzen 5 6600H - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 - 8GB DDR5 RAM - 256GB NVMe Storage - Windows 11 Home	$649	While it won’t blow you away, it gets the job done for everyday computing and casual gaming
MSI CYBORG 1512043	15.6" 144hz Gaming Laptop - Intel Core i7 - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD	$799	Great gaming laptop
MSI GF63 12VE-066US	15.6" 144Hz Gaming Laptop: 12th Gen Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050, 16GB DDR4, 512GB NVMe SSD	$858	Powerful CPU that is great for productivity work, its GPU is not bad either
MSI Pulse GL66 12UGKV-464	15.6" FHD 144Hz Gaming Laptop: Intel Core i7-12700H RTX 3070 16GB 512GB NVMe SSD, Type-C USB 3.2 Gen 1	$999	A solid choice for gamers with its Intel Core i7 and RTX 3070. The 144Hz display ensures smooth gameplay. 🎮🔥But the GPU is a bit dated
Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58-781P	Intel 12th Gen i7-12650H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU 15.6” FHD 144Hz IPS Display 16GB DDR5 1TB Gen 4 SSD	$1119	A well-rounded gaming laptop with a powerful RTX 4060 GPU and ample storage so no need to upgrade it yourself
MSI Katana B13VGK-484US	15.6" 144Hz FHD Gaming Laptop: 13th Gen Intel Core i7, RTX 4070, 16GB DDR5, 1TB NVMe SSD, USB-Type C, Cooler Boost 5, Win11 Home	$1330	A worthwhile entry as one of the best value for money gaming laptops on the market.
Acer Predator Helios 16 PH16-71-74UU	13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700HX NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 16" 2560 x 1600 240Hz G-SYNC Display 16GB DDR5 1TB Gen 4 SSD	$1399	A worthwhile entry as one of the best value-for-money gaming laptops on the market. Ideal for gaming and content creation. 🎮
ASUS ROG Strix G16 G614JIR-AS94	16” ROG Nebula Display 16:10 QHD 240Hz, NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4070, Intel® Core™ i9-14900HX, 16GB DDR5-5600, 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD	$1899	A premium gaming laptop with an impressive QHD 240Hz display, Core i9 processor, and RTX 4070. Designed for serious gamers. 🎮
Lenovo Legion Pro 7	16" 240Hz Display, Intel Core i9-13900HX(24-core), GeForce RTX 4080, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD	$3099	A powerhouse with a 24-core Intel Core i9, RTX 4080, and massive 64GB DDR5 RAM. For extreme gaming and productivity. 🎮🔥💼

Student & General Use

Name	Specs	Price	Comments
ASUS C423NA Chromebook (refurb)	14" HD Laptop (Intel Dual Core Celeron Processor N3350, 4GB DDR4 RAM, 64GB SSD	$123	A budget-friendly Chromebook suitable for basic web browsing and productivity tasks. Ideal for students or casual users.
Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R7VH	15.6" Full HD IPS Display AMD Ryzen 3 7320U Quad-Core Processor AMD Radeon Graphics 8GB LPDDR5 128GB NVMe SSD	$299	Offers decent performance with an AMD Ryzen 3 processor and Full HD display. Good for everyday use.
Lenovo IdeaPad 1	AMD Ryzen5-5500U 15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 8GB Memory 512GB SSD Storage Windows 11	$319	A budget-friendly laptop with a decent processor and storage. Suitable for light tasks and web browsing.
Lenovo Ideapad 5	15.6" FHD IPS Laptop, AMD Ryzen 7 5825U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Abyss Blue, Windows 11 Home, 82SG00BLUS	$499
HP Envy x360 2-in-1	15.6" FHD IPS Glass Touchscreen AMD Hexa-core Ryzen 5 7530U (Beats i7-1255U) 16GB RAM 512GB SSD	$569	Versatile 2-in-1 laptop with a powerful Ryzen 5 processor, ample RAM, and SSD storage. Great for productivity and entertainment.
Acer Swift Go 14	14" 1920x1200 100% sRGB Touch Screen Display Intel Core i7-1355U Intel Iris Xe 16GB LPDDR5 512GB Gen 4 SSD	$599	A sleek ultrabook with an Intel Core i7 processor, good RAM, and a high-resolution touch display with high color accuracy
SAMSUNG Galaxy Book3 NP750XFG-KB2US	13th Gen Intel Core i7-1355U Processor / 16 GB / 512GB, Thin and Light, FHD Screen	$769	Thin and light laptop with an Intel Core i7 processor, suitable for productivity tasks and multimedia consumption.
HP ProBook 450 G10	15.6" FHD Display, 13th Gen Intel 10-Core i7-1355U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)	$845	A business-oriented laptop with a powerful Intel Core i7 processor and ample RAM and a solid build. Designed for professional use.
Samsung Galaxy Book4NP940XGK-KG1US	14", Intel Core 7 Ultra Processor 512GB, 16 GB RAM, 3K AMOLED (2880 x 1800) Touchscreen	$1449	Premium laptop with a stunning AMOLED display, powerful Intel Core 7 Ultra processor, and ample RAM. Great for content creators and professionals. 🎨✨
LG Gram 16Z90R-K.ADB9U1	Intel 13th Gen Core i7 Evo Platform, Windows 11 Home, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD	$1589	An ultralight laptop with impressive specifications, including a large SSD. Ideal for portability and performance.

Refurbished Laptops	Editing Laptops	2 in 1 Laptops 💻
These laptops undergo a process of repair, cleaning, and testing to guarantee their adherence to the same standards as brand-new devices. This meticulous procedure ensures that refurbished laptops are in excellent operational condition, offering exceptional value for your investment when compared to purchasing a new laptop.	To effectively manage tasks demanding professional-grade editing, editing laptops necessitate a potent processor and a screen of exceptional quality. To achieve the best outcomes, it's advisable to opt for a laptop featuring a screen with no less than Full HD display resolution and an sRGB rating of 90% or higher.	These laptops present exceptional features catering to both students seeking note-taking capabilities and content creators. Users can conveniently write and draw directly on the screen, adding to their utility. However, it's important to acknowledge that this feature accompanies a higher price point in comparison to clamshell laptops boasting similar specifications.

Here is how the most popular GPUs stack up to each other

😔 Intel HD Graphics 4600 👉 Vega 7 👉 Intel Iris Xe Graphics 👉 MX450 👉 RX 5500M 👉 GTX 1650 👉 RTX 3050 👉 RTX 3050 Ti 👉 RTX 4050👉 RTX 3060 👉 RTX 4060👉RTX 3060 Ti 👉 AMD RX 6700 XT 👉 RTX 3070 👉 RTX 3070 Ti 👉 AMD RX 6800 👉 RTX 3080 👉 RTX 3080 12GB 👉 RTX 3080 Ti 👉 AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT👉 RTX 4070 👉 RTX 3090 👉 RTX 3090 Ti 👉 RTX 4070 Ti 👉 AMD RX 6900 XT 👉 AMD RX 6950 XT 👉 AMD RX 7900 XT 👉 RTX 4080 👉 AMD RX 7900 XTX 😀
CPU - Following the graphics card, the processor stands as the second most pivotal element in your gaming laptop. Although the GPU generally bears the brunt of gaming demands, the CPU significantly influences overall system performance and holds the potential to bottleneck the GPU's capabilities. Gaming laptops housing more robust GPUs are often accompanied by 8-core processors. In the mid-range spectrum spanning $400 to $800, you'll typically find quad-core CPUs. While dual-core CPUs can handle gaming, they aren't optimal since sustaining boosted clock speeds might not always be achievable.
Here is how the most popular CPUs stack up to each other
😔Ryzen 3 3200U 👉i3-1115G4 👉Ryzen 5 3450U👉 Ryzen 5 3550H 👉i7-1255U👉i7-1355U👉Ryzen 5 5500U 👉Ryzen 5 7530U👉 Ryzen 7 5825U 👉Ryzen 9 5900HS 👉Ryzen 5 7535HS 👉Ryzen 9 5900HX 👉 Ryzen 7 6800H 👉Ryzen 9 6900HS👉Ryzen 9 7940HS👉i7-1260P👉i7-12650H 👉Ryzen 9 6900HX👉 i7-12700H👉 i7-12800H 👉 i9-12900H 👉 i9-12900HK 👉 i7-12800HX 👉i7-13620H 👉i9-12900HX👉i9-13980HX 😀
RAM is generally the most straightforward laptop component to upgrade. So, if you're working with a tight budget, you have the option to choose a laptop with lower RAM and later upgrade it yourself. Overspending on RAM is unnecessary; 16 GB is sufficient for gaming. However, considering 32 GB can provide future-proofing for your laptop.
Storage-wise, if your budget permits, it's advisable to select a laptop equipped with an SSD for storage. An SSD can significantly enhance a laptop's speed, particularly when compared to an HDD. This translates to reduced boot times and quicker load times, resulting in noticeably improved performance.
Please don't hesitate to offer your thoughts or pose any questions related to the laptops listed here. Your input is appreciated.
Please note I'm using affiliate links which means I'll receive a small percent of the purchase if you use this link! This is at no additional cost to you.

Looking for a new laptop? Whether you’re a gamer, a student, or need a versatile workhorse, we’ve got you covered. Check out our curated list of laptops across different price ranges and find the perfect fit for your needs! 💻🔥
Gaming and Productivity

Name	Specs	Price	Comments
HP Victus	15.6" Full HD 144Hz Gaming Laptop AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 8GB RAM DDR5 512GB SSD Backlit Windows 11 Home Bundle with 64GB USB Flash Drive	$565	This laptop offers solid gaming performance at an affordable price. While it may lack some refinements, it’s definitely worth considering for budget-conscious gamers and multitaskers alike.
‎Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 82SB0001US	15.6" FHD - 120Hz - AMD Ryzen 5 6600H - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 - 8GB DDR5 RAM - 256GB NVMe Storage - Windows 11 Home	$649	While it won’t blow you away, it gets the job done for everyday computing and casual gaming
MSI CYBORG 1512043	15.6" 144hz Gaming Laptop - Intel Core i7 - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD	$799	Great gaming laptop
MSI GF63 12VE-066US	15.6" 144Hz Gaming Laptop: 12th Gen Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050, 16GB DDR4, 512GB NVMe SSD	$858	Powerful CPU that is great for productivity work, its GPU is not bad either
MSI Pulse GL66 12UGKV-464	15.6" FHD 144Hz Gaming Laptop: Intel Core i7-12700H RTX 3070 16GB 512GB NVMe SSD, Type-C USB 3.2 Gen 1	$999	A solid choice for gamers with its Intel Core i7 and RTX 3070. The 144Hz display ensures smooth gameplay. 🎮🔥But the GPU is a bit dated
Acer Nitro 5 AN515-58-781P	Intel 12th Gen i7-12650H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU 15.6” FHD 144Hz IPS Display 16GB DDR5 1TB Gen 4 SSD	$1119	A well-rounded gaming laptop with a powerful RTX 4060 GPU and ample storage so no need to upgrade it yourself
MSI Katana B13VGK-484US	15.6" 144Hz FHD Gaming Laptop: 13th Gen Intel Core i7, RTX 4070, 16GB DDR5, 1TB NVMe SSD, USB-Type C, Cooler Boost 5, Win11 Home	$1330	A worthwhile entry as one of the best value for money gaming laptops on the market.
Acer Predator Helios 16 PH16-71-74UU	13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700HX NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 16" 2560 x 1600 240Hz G-SYNC Display 16GB DDR5 1TB Gen 4 SSD	$1399	A worthwhile entry as one of the best value-for-money gaming laptops on the market. Ideal for gaming and content creation. 🎮
ASUS ROG Strix G16 G614JIR-AS94	16” ROG Nebula Display 16:10 QHD 240Hz, NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4070, Intel® Core™ i9-14900HX, 16GB DDR5-5600, 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD	$1899	A premium gaming laptop with an impressive QHD 240Hz display, Core i9 processor, and RTX 4070. Designed for serious gamers. 🎮
Lenovo Legion Pro 7	16" 240Hz Display, Intel Core i9-13900HX(24-core), GeForce RTX 4080, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD	$3099	A powerhouse with a 24-core Intel Core i9, RTX 4080, and massive 64GB DDR5 RAM. For extreme gaming and productivity. 🎮🔥💼

Student & General Use

Name	Specs	Price	Comments
ASUS C423NA Chromebook (refurb)	14" HD Laptop (Intel Dual Core Celeron Processor N3350, 4GB DDR4 RAM, 64GB SSD	$123	A budget-friendly Chromebook suitable for basic web browsing and productivity tasks. Ideal for students or casual users.
Acer Aspire 3 A315-24P-R7VH	15.6" Full HD IPS Display AMD Ryzen 3 7320U Quad-Core Processor AMD Radeon Graphics 8GB LPDDR5 128GB NVMe SSD	$299	Offers decent performance with an AMD Ryzen 3 processor and Full HD display. Good for everyday use.
Lenovo IdeaPad 1	AMD Ryzen5-5500U 15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 8GB Memory 512GB SSD Storage Windows 11	$319	A budget-friendly laptop with a decent processor and storage. Suitable for light tasks and web browsing.
Lenovo Ideapad 5	15.6" FHD IPS Laptop, AMD Ryzen 7 5825U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Abyss Blue, Windows 11 Home, 82SG00BLUS	$499
HP Envy x360 2-in-1	15.6" FHD IPS Glass Touchscreen AMD Hexa-core Ryzen 5 7530U (Beats i7-1255U) 16GB RAM 512GB SSD	$569	Versatile 2-in-1 laptop with a powerful Ryzen 5 processor, ample RAM, and SSD storage. Great for productivity and entertainment.
Acer Swift Go 14	14" 1920x1200 100% sRGB Touch Screen Display Intel Core i7-1355U Intel Iris Xe 16GB LPDDR5 512GB Gen 4 SSD	$599	A sleek ultrabook with an Intel Core i7 processor, good RAM, and a high-resolution touch display with high color accuracy
SAMSUNG Galaxy Book3 NP750XFG-KB2US	13th Gen Intel Core i7-1355U Processor / 16 GB / 512GB, Thin and Light, FHD Screen	$769	Thin and light laptop with an Intel Core i7 processor, suitable for productivity tasks and multimedia consumption.
HP ProBook 450 G10	15.6" FHD Display, 13th Gen Intel 10-Core i7-1355U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)	$845	A business-oriented laptop with a powerful Intel Core i7 processor and ample RAM and a solid build. Designed for professional use.
Samsung Galaxy Book4NP940XGK-KG1US	14", Intel Core 7 Ultra Processor 512GB, 16 GB RAM, 3K AMOLED (2880 x 1800) Touchscreen	$1449	Premium laptop with a stunning AMOLED display, powerful Intel Core 7 Ultra processor, and ample RAM. Great for content creators and professionals. 🎨✨
LG Gram 16Z90R-K.ADB9U1	Intel 13th Gen Core i7 Evo Platform, Windows 11 Home, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD	$1589	An ultralight laptop with impressive specifications, including a large SSD. Ideal for portability and performance.

Refurbished Laptops	Editing Laptops	2 in 1 Laptops 💻
These laptops undergo a process of repair, cleaning, and testing to guarantee their adherence to the same standards as brand-new devices. This meticulous procedure ensures that refurbished laptops are in excellent operational condition, offering exceptional value for your investment when compared to purchasing a new laptop.	To effectively manage tasks demanding professional-grade editing, editing laptops necessitate a potent processor and a screen of exceptional quality. To achieve the best outcomes, it's advisable to opt for a laptop featuring a screen with no less than Full HD display resolution and an sRGB rating of 90% or higher.	These laptops present exceptional features catering to both students seeking note-taking capabilities and content creators. Users can conveniently write and draw directly on the screen, adding to their utility. However, it's important to acknowledge that this feature accompanies a higher price point in comparison to clamshell laptops boasting similar specifications.

Here is how the most popular GPUs stack up to each other

😔 Intel HD Graphics 4600 👉 Vega 7 👉 Intel Iris Xe Graphics 👉 MX450 👉 RX 5500M 👉 GTX 1650 👉 RTX 3050 👉 RTX 3050 Ti 👉 RTX 4050👉 RTX 3060 👉 RTX 4060👉RTX 3060 Ti 👉 AMD RX 6700 XT 👉 RTX 3070 👉 RTX 3070 Ti 👉 AMD RX 6800 👉 RTX 3080 👉 RTX 3080 12GB 👉 RTX 3080 Ti 👉 AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT👉 RTX 4070 👉 RTX 3090 👉 RTX 3090 Ti 👉 RTX 4070 Ti 👉 AMD RX 6900 XT 👉 AMD RX 6950 XT 👉 AMD RX 7900 XT 👉 RTX 4080 👉 AMD RX 7900 XTX 😀
CPU - Following the graphics card, the processor stands as the second most pivotal element in your gaming laptop. Although the GPU generally bears the brunt of gaming demands, the CPU significantly influences overall system performance and holds the potential to bottleneck the GPU's capabilities. Gaming laptops housing more robust GPUs are often accompanied by 8-core processors. In the mid-range spectrum spanning $400 to $800, you'll typically find quad-core CPUs. While dual-core CPUs can handle gaming, they aren't optimal since sustaining boosted clock speeds might not always be achievable.
Here is how the most popular CPUs stack up to each other
😔Ryzen 3 3200U 👉i3-1115G4 👉Ryzen 5 3450U👉 Ryzen 5 3550H 👉i7-1255U👉i7-1355U👉Ryzen 5 5500U 👉Ryzen 5 7530U👉 Ryzen 7 5825U 👉Ryzen 9 5900HS 👉Ryzen 5 7535HS 👉Ryzen 9 5900HX 👉 Ryzen 7 6800H 👉Ryzen 9 6900HS👉Ryzen 9 7940HS👉i7-1260P👉i7-12650H 👉Ryzen 9 6900HX👉 i7-12700H👉 i7-12800H 👉 i9-12900H 👉 i9-12900HK 👉 i7-12800HX 👉i7-13620H 👉i9-12900HX👉i9-13980HX 😀
RAM is generally the most straightforward laptop component to upgrade. So, if you're working with a tight budget, you have the option to choose a laptop with lower RAM and later upgrade it yourself. Overspending on RAM is unnecessary; 16 GB is sufficient for gaming. However, considering 32 GB can provide future-proofing for your laptop.
Storage-wise, if your budget permits, it's advisable to select a laptop equipped with an SSD for storage. An SSD can significantly enhance a laptop's speed, particularly when compared to an HDD. This translates to reduced boot times and quicker load times, resulting in noticeably improved performance.
Please don't hesitate to offer your thoughts or pose any questions related to the laptops listed here. Your input is appreciated.
Please note I'm using affiliate links which means I'll receive a small percent of the purchase if you use this link! This is at no additional cost to you.

Currently have a 7800X3D and a 3070 LHR (Rev 2.0) from Gigabyte, which is fine for powering 3 1440p 27 Inch Monitors.
In the future (in about a month or two) I want to eye the upgrade to Gigabyte's 4070 Ti Super Windforce OC.
At the monemt in Non-Demanding games (WoW Classic 1440p Maxed Out with RT Shadows on), I am getting Fan Coil whine, and in super Demanding Games like CP77 1440p Balanced and Forza Horizion 5, it complains about not enough Video Memory - 8GB.
I am just wondering what current 4070 Ti Super Owners think of the card and if it is worth the upgrade from the 3070 LHR to the 4070 Ti Super Windforce OC?

I have tried to build a gaming pc but i'm not sure that this is the best combination of parts so i'm asking for any tips/improvement on the build on both a price and performance side.
This build is made for gaming and others sporadic simple task so the focus is on the best performance in games
I ask because i'm very new to this topic so any suggestion will be welcomed and appreciated.
Here is the build:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($344.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 990 Pro w/Heatsink 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Video Card ($594.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus TUF Gaming VG27AQ 27.0" 2560 x 1440 165 Hz Monitor ($298.68 @ Amazon)
Total: $2038.59

Hello!
I finally managed to find the camera I want to buy. I read in te user manual that a memory card is not included in the camera package. I'm a newbie, so I'd like someone to confirm that the SanDisk SDHC 32G C4 is indeed a correct memory card for the Kodak AZ401?
Thanks a lot X

So this time last year (May ‘23) I went to see HR regarding a hiring committee I was a part of and the favoritism they showed a candidate. The Director of HR, granted she was the only HR employee at the time, is this beautiful African American woman with big, bright eyes and a gorgeous smile. We talked about my committee and then we just talked about life. She was going through hard times. We ended up becoming fast friends. I would go and check up on her.
Fast forward to August, I went to go see her again. Just dropped in as a quick hello and was reminded how beautiful she was. The next week I saw her. She stopped by where I was standing in line for food and touched my shoulder, finger to skin, and I literally felt a spark go through me. She just stopped to say hi. I think that was the moment I couldn’t stop thinking about her. From that moment forward I started to go to her office once a week. We had great conversation. I was learning more about her. We had astrology in common. We learned about each other’s families. We both were having problems as she was on the edge of divorce. My love life at the time was nonexistent with my wife and crumbling. However I started to enjoy her company way more than expected.
Because of our interest in astrology I knew her birthday was coming up in October. I decided to buy her a birthday card with a gift card for a restaurant. Before I got out of the car I said to myself ‘I think I’m in love with her’. That’s when I knew I was in trouble. I had began to write poems about her (which seem to be therapeutic) and having non stop thoughts of her. Mind you I’m still going to her office once a week. I gave her the card. We are still talking. She’s still going through shit with her husband. I’m talking about her to select coworkers. I offered to buy her lunch, another way to spend time with her. Well turns out she had a meeting with our CEO and we would have had less than 10 minutes. I was devastated. Like seriously heartbroken. Thus began my limerence. I still went to see her every chance I got. Probably too much. She never told me to not come and see her. In fact it became ‘You should come by more often’. I did.
A conference that both of us and several other employees attended happened in late November to December. We were very connected at the hip. She flashed me her room number without saying a word. I chose not to go. Literally the week before during Thanksgiving two things happened. 1) I ran into a psychic who gave me a reading and told me not to sleep with her. 2) My wife and I had a devastating argument about the state of our marriage. It had went to shit when we started therapy. Skipping the fact that I didn’t go up that night we had a great time together. We spent an incredible amount of time together. It was fun. I felt incredibly refreshed having spent time with her. The one downside to the entire trip was that she told me she was reconciling with her husband.
I asked her out twice for a meal in December. She never gave a direct no, but created excuses. January came and she got sick. I texted her a lot checking in on her. When she came back I asked her if I texted her too much. She said yes. I completely stopped. I think my poetry ramped up more because of that. She also reminded me she was trying to reconcile with her husband. In the same breath she asked me how I was doing as I was newly separated. It became emotional.
The next event per se happened in February. After Valentine’s Day I went to see her. I asked how things were going with her and her husband. She said they went well. I had started talking with people on dating apps. I mentioned this to her and she seemed a bit bothered. I was surprised. Somehow my wife came into conversation and I told her that I talk to her more than my wife. She blushed! Despite having good moments with her I was heartbroken that her and her husband were doing well.
I didn’t go see her for two weeks. There was a function midday. She waved at me and I was excited to see her. When I started to walk towards her she turned around and ignored me. This hurt me severely as I have trauma from people ignoring me. I stopped going to see her again. She texts me for my birthday, granted it was a week late, but I was excited. This was the first time we had a text conversation in over two months. She mentioned that she had to take medical leave. Needless to say I was devastated. I went to see her and she was very sad. She started telling me about her family life as a child, but we were interrupted.
While she was out, a coworker started a meal train account for her so she wouldn’t have to cook. There was an area where you could buy DoorDash gift cards. I bought $200 worth and also sent $300 in visa gift cards via a coworker who would see her.
When she comes back to work she tries to give one of the gift cards back. I told her I wouldn’t accept it back.
I’m very in love (or limerence/infatuated) with her. I’ve tried dating other people, but that doesn’t help as I end up talking about her when asked is there someone else.
I want to ask her what her thoughts are about me, but I’m horrified that she thinks I’m a creep.

I'm looking to build myself the following PC, which I think has well balanced specs. However it's my first time building a PC (had a prebuild one before) and I would like your opinions :D
Also I was wondering if there is a better option for a cpu cooler, whilst keeping the brown look to go with the case (if there is a cooler you can light up in orange or brown it's good as well).
TypeItemPrice
:----:----:----
**CPU** [AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3hyH99/amd-ryzen-7-7800x3d-42-ghz-8-core-processor-100-100000910wof) $344.99 @ Newegg
**CPU Cooler** [Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/4vzv6h/noctua-nh-d15-825-cfm-cpu-cooler-nh-d15) $109.95 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** [MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/szfxFT/msi-b650-gaming-plus-wifi-atx-am5-motherboard-b650-gaming-plus-wifi) $169.99 @ Amazon
**Memory** [G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pwxRsY/gskill-flare-x5-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr5-6000-cl36-memory-f5-6000j3636f16gx2-fx5) $103.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** [Samsung 990 Pro 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/RKYmP6/samsung-990-pro-4-tb-m2-2280-pcie-40-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-mz-v9p4t0bw) $318.35 @ Amazon
**Video Card** [ASRock Challenger OC Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Ln4Zxasrock-challenger-oc-radeon-rx-7900-gre-16-gb-video-card-rx7900gre-cl-16go) $549.99 @ Newegg
**Case** [Fractal Design North ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ybNxFT/fractal-design-north-atx-mid-tower-case-fd-c-nor1c-02) $139.99 @ B&H
**Power Supply** [Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 - TT Premium Edition 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9GLdnQ/thermaltake-toughpower-gf-a3-750-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-ps-tpd-0750fnfagu-l) $89.99 @ Amazon
*Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts*
**Total** **$1827.24**
Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-05-21 05:41 EDT-0400

I went through a journey during the past six months that helped me explore a part of myself that I did not know. I feel that I have changed radically since I started following it (I am 17, but I feel that I have become more mature than other adults).
At first I didn't know about Grimes, but I was an obsessive, worshipful Elon Musk fan, interested in his daily habits like working 12 hours and sleeping 7 hours a day (which he lied about), and I stuck my nose into his personal life (like an obsessive K-Pop fan ), I found that most of his previous women were attractive (blonde and very traditional attractiveness) except for Grimes, who I found ugly and witch-like in their first appearance on the Met Gala, so I decided to search for her more (and it was the best work I did in my life), I was I was worried about this woman. I felt that she was a Freemason and belonged to the Illuminati (because of her strange clothes and her album covers) or that she was a witch and cast black magic spells in her songs to enchant her audience and kill them, and I was very afraid.
I had a strange feeling for her and went to her YouTube channel and listened to Oblivion and it seemed like a bad and ugly song the first time (I mean, my taste is bad) and I said to myself that I would never listen to any of her songs again since Oblivion was the most viewed song and I didn't like it (my view was superficial and ridiculous), I went to reddit and found that her fans were praising her playing. I was amazed to know that she produces her own music and melodies unlike other pop stars like Selena or Taylor. I listened to Oblivion again and this time focused on the vocal tracks and Then I listened to Genesis and it sounded like a fortune teller or something like that. I then listened to all of her songs and went to translate them. I was amazed that they did not contain the words of a prostitute girl and cursing, and she rarely sings about love. I was interested in her from that moment on and it went. To watch all of her interviews she seemed so spontaneous and unconventional. I loved that she expressed her political opinions even on unrelated topics (like her talk about challenging societal norms of diet and weight and her controversial talk about being a vegetarian and eating hot dogs). Teens and Kids benefit from interviewing her (even about preferences) unlike other celebrities whose interviews are mostly a waste of time.
I stopped by to watch her other interview with Lex Friedman, found it helpful except for a few points (I wrote down every word she said in the interview in a notebook) and bought those books she recommended like the "Culture Series" and even watched the anime "Totoro" which she recommended for kids. I used to watch podcasts about famous singers and almost the same thing is repeated by most of them and there is no value learned, but for me every interview with Grimes is a big change for my personality.
I finished all of her interviews and went to follow all of her accounts, and I was surprised that she responded to comments (such as her response to a comment about makeup) because I was accustomed to the culture of celebrities who leave thousands of comments without responding. I also compared the comments, as the comments of celebrities are frequent (such as: I love you (You're beautiful, you're sexy, heart and rose emojis...) and the comments on the grimes account are full of mature and creative people and I loved her interactions with fans and the awkward things like her talking to the grimes AI (which they designed to be immortal grimes...), and her tweets Regarding preferences about anime and manga, and her crazy looks that show her asymmetrical artistic body, her embarrassing interviews, and her big nose, all the way to her foolish and controversial opinions, although I do not like many of the stupid things that she says, but I love her frank personality without apology, she says Things she knows lead to her being hated, unlike other stars who flatter and pretend to be nice and kind to get as many obsessed fans as possible.
I've changed a lot during the 6 months I spent looking at anything related to grimes. I've become more confident in myself. Well, I hate something called self-confidence. I'll replace it with: "I've become more embarrassed." I used to be shy about revealing that I'm an otaku, and now I am... I became more frank and more open to declaring the world I had created inside my imagination - Vikings, cards, and science fiction. I became less anxious and considered my very thin, asymmetrical yellow body to be an unconventional standard of beauty. I became open to different cultures, ancient civilizations, and ancient poetry. And history, and I invented unique hair colors instead of blonde, and made my body and face a guinea pig for crazy tricks with liquid eyeliner. They also became more accepting of my damned embarrassing personality instead of searching for silly videos about increasing self-confidence and a strong personality that attracts men. I was obsessed with Elon Musk, but after I learned about his crazy relationship with Grimes, I learned that he is just a fat, narcissistic, sadistic child, and billionaires should not be taken as an example.
I'm not a huge fan of grimes but she is an interesting person and anyone who is trapped in the shell of being obsessed with Taylor Swift (but not limited to) should know about grimes

I'd like to share a lengthy and self-indulgent note about my history with the Baha'i community and the impact it had on my family and me. It's worth noting that I'm sharing this using a throwaway Reddit account that I generally reserve for browsing porn. I find funny to imagine a Baha'i apologist reading this, becoming angry and judgmental, and then, investigating my profile and ending up jerking off. With that said, let's dive into my story.
I want to share my experience in case it resonates with someone else, a lot of the stories on this Reddit helped me, and perhaps my story will give some comfort to someone else. It has taken me a while to write this down, and I'm glad I finally got around to doing it.
My parents emigrated from their homeland for reasons of principle and value. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by Baha'is who met them. And so, lovebombed and lavished with love, praise, and celebration for moving countries due to values that they portrayed as being closely aligned with the Baha'i faith, my parents fell for this validation and worked very hard once they became Baha'is in the mid-1980s.
My dad got rid of all of his whiskies, and swiftly, my parents began hosting potlucks and fireside chats, diligently working to integrate into the Baha'i ecosystem. Back then, the atmosphere was fairly light-hearted, with devotional gatherings, prayers, and a somewhat 1960s-esque hippie vibe. There was live guitar music, and joss sticks.
However, I remember Baha'i classes having an interesting edge. We were taught that Buddhists were not following a religion but merely a way of life, and that Hindus had become pantheistic because they had lost the core of their faith and religion, which had become corrupted over time. Thanks to Google, I can discover that yes indeed, this is from Lights of Guidance.
There was a significant emphasis on the importance of gender equality and the oneness of humanity – because, hey, the eighties. I feel sad there isn't anything anymore about the Virtues project - even if the Virtues project was sort of framed like it was created by Bahais.
Even in the 1980s, there was an overwhelming atmosphere that the key to being a good Baha'i was how you presented yourself rather than your actual behaviour. I recall learning an apocryphal tale of a young Baha'i who, while fasting, participated in an aerobics class and nearly fainted (yeah, aerobics, this is a real 80s fable), but was told by another Baha'i to prioritize representing the faith well over completing the fast because *it looked bad*. From a very early age, I learned the importance of putting the right face forward.
My parents then took their relationship with the Baha'i faith to the next level and volunteered at the World Centre in Haifa. As a child, this was a pretty interesting experience. I was suddenly immersed in the Iranian, or rather, Persian community, with its strong culture of martyrdom. Even as a child, every event seemed to feature graphic videos depicting young kids being taken from their homes. It was quite frightening, and I remember being afraid.
I also recall a strong sense of hierarchy within the community. My family lived in a small apartment with a very old, busted-up car from the 1970s, while others resided in nice homes with pleasant views and drove nice cars. I attended a local Israeli school, which was a cultural experience in itself, while my peers my age went to the much fancier American school. It's important to note that, at this point, the conversation about the "great catastrophe" – two-thirds of the world's population dying, leading to a period of peace and the entry by troops – was a prevalent topic openly discussed at the World Centre.
We completed our stint there, even living through the Gulf War. Upon returning to my birth country, my parents chose to live in places with smaller Baha'i communities, as they wanted to support and help establish Local Spiritual Assemblies. Things had changed by this point, not only because I was a teenager but also because the community itself had transformed. There was a significant Iranian presence everywhere, and the focus had shifted heavily towards rules, especially those related to sex, drinking, and drug use. There was also a huge emphasis on financial contributions to the faith, and it was the first time I began to see a somewhat materialistic outlook within the community.
As a preteen and teenager, I engaged in activities like dropping off flyers in mailboxes and soliciting strangers to talk about this great new religion, all in the name of “teaching”. I joined the local choir and sang, inspired by a crush I had on a girl there. This was probably the golden time of the community, with the choir doing outreach and a balance between Western and Iranian believers.
However, things began to accelerate. The Ruhi Institute and teaching became significant focal points. I was encouraged to bring a good friend of mine to a Baha'i camp, and once there, I was pressured to ask him to convert. It was very uncomfortable.
This Reddit loves cringe stories, so here is a winner: I had a birthday party with my non-Baha'i friends, and two older Baha'i girls attended. One of the girls ended up stalking my friend, showing up at his workplace and calling him at home with sexually suggestive comments. The matter was escalated to the Local Spiritual Assembly, but instead of talking to me about it, they basically ended my friendship with this kid. To me, this somehow captures so much of what it was like to be a Baha'i child and how Baha'i adults treat children to this day.
When I turned 15, I signed up for Baha'i membership because it was the expected thing to do. However, by the time I was in my early 20s and studying at university, I had started to interact more with the local, real-world community. This might seem like a small thing, but it was actually quite significant. You see, my parents had always felt a little bit on the outside compared to the average person on the street around them. This sense of elitism was really exacerbated by being a Baha'i because Baha'is would walk around in a cloud of self-assurance, slapping each other on the back and saying , "We don't do drugs. We've got all the answers and solutions, not like you." That was pretty much the attitude. It felt very socio-economic, with a lot of judgment towards working-class people. When the Iranians arrived, the cultural judgments grew even stronger.
But I was working in restaurants and learning about booze from bartenders. I had gotten to know real people. I had lost my virginity, and all that Bahai jazz seemed so much less relevant. I hardly even noticed when the year 2000 arrived without the predicted apocalypse, entry by troops, or any of the other anticipated events. Life went on. I lived in another country and met a girl, and we lived together.
Here is cringe story #2: my girlfriend /fiancé and I hosted a Bahai couple from my hometown. Despite being in my late 20s and engaged, and even though I hosted this gentleman in my house and helped him with his preparations for his business and presentations in the country where I lived, he reported to the Local Spiritual Assembly that I was living with a woman and we weren't married. It was absolutely amazing. The level of judgment still grosses me out.
I started to reflect on what the religion had meant to me and saw how it had changed. The obsession with fundraising was becoming ever more strident and panicked. The gaps in the actual scriptural logic of the religion were becoming more exacerbated as real-world problems still ran rife, and real-time discussions on social media brought these issues to light. It took me a while to start really digging into it, and it was only much later, when I started therapy, that I realized I needed to formally resign from the religion.
Looking back, it's astonishing how this religion, which professes to have such blind equality between the genders, as if other religions have some kind of hardwired sexism, actually had hardwired sexism in how the Universal House of Justice operates. A religion that taught the oneness of humanity, as if all humanity is equal and other religions don't recruit from anyone they can find, places divisors. Although of course, Bahai’s can’t recruit from Israeli Jews, so much for oneness of humanity. But this religion has taught that all humanity is equal, unless, of course, you're gay. Then you can't get married, let alone have sex.
There are other principles I haven't touched on, such as non-involvement in politics, unless it involves things happening to Baha'is or politics in Iran. The principle of independent investigation of the truth doesn't seem to work if you might investigate something that's not in line with the Baha'i perspective. The idea of a universal language? I don't really see any evidence that they're even really thinking about that one. The unity between science and religion? A religion that only allows men to sit on its senior board of a global theocracy probably isn't going to jive with a contemporary scientific perspective…. I mean, apparently you don't need a penis to be a man anymore, right?
In between these moments are my colorful memories of random things, like endless discussions about the boundaries of physical intimacy, people getting married at the age of 16 because they had exemptions for being Persian, and meeting Ms. Khanoom in Israel, feeling some sadness that the lone woman who at least brought some feminine energy to the World Centre is now gone, replaced by 12 boring men.
I've had conversations with my wife where I tried to explain what Baha'is actually do. She just wonders why they aren't doing stuff like normal religions do, like reading to the elderly or supporting schools for the disabled. I explain that's not the target demographic. I remember a wealthy man brought to firesides who obviously nobody else wanted to listen to, but we all sat around and applauded him like he was a great ukulele player and a clever man. He pointed out a hilariously Iranian man who was an alternative healer, and they got into a debate about modern medicine. The wealthy man said, "Well, you should see my daughter and what she studied. She studies Law." And then quickly changed the subject when asked about her name since I studied at the same Law school. Here's this man who's self-aware enough to join the adoration of his crowd but doesn't want his daughter mixed up in it in any way. Absolutely hilarious. Make that cringe story #3.
This reflection was sort of sparked when my wife and I discovered that the writings attributed to Rumi, which Baha'is often quote, is the same guy who started the Whirling Dervishes. We read about Rumi and I realized just how different he is from Baha'u'llah. Rumi wrote poetry, but he didn't pretend to be a prophet of God. He was just offering a different dynamic for how to interpret spirituality. He didn't say he was part of some sort of cycle. There's something beautiful about that simplicity. And needless to say, Rumi lived long before the Baha'is ever started.
It makes me wonder, will anyone ever watch the equivalent of a whirling dervish dance for the Baha'is?
The obsession with appearances sounds like a joke, but it isn't. It wasn't for me. Some bad stuff happened to me on my trip to Israel. When we got there, my parents didn't understand why I was so upset about everything. It was a culture shock, attending a local school, not speaking Hebrew, being lumped together with Russian kids who also didn't speak Hebrew, and getting beaten up in the toilet. It wasn't a very good time for me.
So, I was sent to counsel with a local Israeli counselor. After several sessions, she instructed that I had to sit down with my parents and tell them what I needed to tell them, particularly about the shadow that had come over me since coming to Israel. My parents were enraged when I said, “I wish we never became Bahai”.
And so, we returned from the Holy Land and moved to a tiny community that was struggling to get members. To this day, my parents are still members. I've resigned so I'm never dubbed a "covenant breaker." I'm pretty sure my parents know that I resigned because they literally never raise the topic of the Baha'i faith with me. I wish the religion had some interesting cosmology, something mystical, some interesting new take on the universe, or provided my family with tools to handle being migrants or raising teenagers. At the very least, it could have given us a common language we could have used to bond together. It did none of that.
But to be fair, if it wasn't the Baha'is, some other rinky-dink cult would have love-bombed my parents back in the 1980s. Of course, it would have been so much more fun if it had featured more sex and drugs 😊

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HP ZBOOK STUDIO 16 G10

Operating system	Windows 11 Pro6
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Display	40.6 cm (16″) diagonal, WUXGA (1920 x 1200), IPS, narrow bezel, anti-glare, 400 nits, 100% sRGB
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Kadillac Kirk had been a good friend of mine for several years. I had met him through friends from The Spring Stage; and he never had anything to do with The Imp, which is why he didn’t appear in the Married Mary saga. Mary would have totally thrown herself at him, and Kirk would have definitely “thrown it in her.” He loved the ladies and often remarked that there was no such thing as an unappealing woman, nor was there anything sweeter than finding the pearl of passion in an outwardly plain dame. Fortunately for Kirk, he never met Mary. This was probably fortunate for Mary as well, seeing as Kirk was a confirmed bachelor and his rakish nature might have broken her fat heart.
Kirk was an older guy. Not MOE old, though. He was in his early forties, but he easily passed for a carefree dude in his 30s... not that he lied about his age. I only mention this trait to juxtapose Kirk’s genuine youthful air with Moe’s unconvincing youthful farce. Kirk dressed normally, avoided stupid jargon, and never busted out gimmicks like tarot cards or spells. He just existed, behaved affably, and people liked him for it.
He drove a classic 1962 Cadillac El Dorado convertible with red leather interior, and he lived in a charmingly quaint (and ridiculously expensive) neighborhood. How he made his fortune remained a mystery, but he never bloviated about his wealth. He just threw spectacular parties and people showed up. And, to my knowledge, he never tried to lure women into bed with his money (although I’m sure he got his fair share of boom-boom thanks to his digs and his wheels, even if the gold-diggers denied their monetary agendas).
Kirk was legitimately handsome. He was a drummer, he had a full head of black hair, he was clean-shaven, he worked out, and he knew all the hidden gems in Wellsprings. So why hadn’t I tried... or even desired to date him? I don’t know. I just didn’t feel drawn to him like that. He felt like a cool uncle and he had, thus far, never done anything to change my perception. Plus, the age difference weirded me out a little. Kirk didn’t look forty; but knowing that he had so much more life experience than I did created a power imbalance that would have creeped me out if we’d been dating. As buddies, I just felt supremely cool riding in his Cadillac, smoking Fantasia cigarettes, and hitting the speakeasies and jazz clubs I would have never known about if it weren’t for Kirk’s connections.
And he had been a good person to talk to about my romantic woes. He never lecherously suggested that I should date him, and he gave the type of tempered advice that only comes with lived experience. But he often lightly mocked me for my crush on Dennis and he did a hilarious impression of Smegal popping too soon over his “precious.” So when Mary “got me back” by doing whatever she did with to Dennis, I called Kadillac Kirk and told him the drinks were on me if he’d be my designated driver for the night.
Why hadn’t I called Whisky??? Well, A) Kirk was way more fun to hang out with, at least from my past experiences up to that point. And B) I needed to bitch about a boy, something I couldn’t do in good conscience in front of a guy I was dating. So I put on the sexiest plunging halter dress I owned, applied heavy eye makeup and spikey accessories, braved a pair of stilettos, and sashayed out to Kirk’s convertible. I felt like a badass rock star. I probably looked like a try-hard hooker.
Kirk: Daaaaay-um! Somebody really did do a number on you, huh? I know you said you were upset, but the gents are gonna be writing thank you notes to that fat girl and that butt-fucking hobbit.
Me: I just need to feel pretty and numb. And I trust you to keep me from making a fool of myself.
Kirk squeezed my shoulder. “I’ve got you. You do whatever you need to do to get rid of these demons.”
He sparked up a J and offered me the first puff. I gladly accepted. He took one puff of his own, but said that the rest was mine since he didn’t want to drive stoned. See? He was responsible! Weed wasn’t legal in California yet, so I got a little bit baked before I stashed the sativa in the glove box and wrapped a scarf around my hair like a starlet from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Kirk sped out of the parking lot and said he was taking me to a downtown hotel that was hosting a party that night in their lush lobby.
Kadillac Kirk pulled up to the main entrance, paid the valet, and then opened my door. I was wobbly from the weed. And I had stupidly decided to wear heels. You can get high or you can wear high (heels). You can’t have both. Not if you’ve repeatedly injured both ankles (as I have). I had to take Kirk’s arm to keep from keeling over. “Can people tell I’m stoned?” I whispered. Kirk replied, “Nobody’s paying any attention to anyone else’s intoxication. I promise you that much.” I nodded, steadied myself, and strutted alongside my very cool friend, feeling a little more confident.
A live jazz orchestra was playing Cole Porter as we entered the lobby. Everything sparkled. The music was even more intoxicating than the spliff had been. “Just One of Those Things” brought tears to my eyes since the lyrics hit every raw nerve regarding the Dennis debacle. But I smiled. It might sound mental, but being distraught over a trash fire of a one-sided romance was exhilarating. Immature, for sure. But also exhilarating. You see, that kind of sadness doesn’t hurt. Not really. It stings. It leaves little bruises, but it’s very safe to wallow in because you haven’t actually lost anything. Melancholia over that which you never had is as sweet as it is bitter; and that type of twisted splendor is rivaled only by Stendhal.
“Here's hoping we meet now and then. It was great fun, but it was just one of those things.” I sang along with the band, and a fat tear rolled down past my melancholic smile and onto my chin. Kirk brushed it aside. “Too close to home?” I wiped away the remnants of the tear’s journey from eye to chin and smiled a more genuine smile. “The perfect distance from home. Shall we get drinks? Remember, I’m buying.”
Kirk: No, no. This is your time to heal. And I’m here as your pal, not your chauffeur. What would the lady like?”
I pretended to barf. Kirk knew I hated it when he got overly formal and overly attentive. So he did it just to mess with me. “Shot of vodka,” I replied.
Kirk: How many?
I thought briefly. “FIVE.”
Kirk: Five to one, baby. One in five...
Me: No one here gets out alive.
Kirk: Are you able to hold yourself upright, or should you come with?
I took a seat on an ornate, damask-upholstered chaise lounge. “I’ll be okay. And I was kidding about the five shots.”
I sat there lost in the music for a while. I thought very little about Dennis. Even less about Mary. And not at all about Whisky (whom I had shagged less than a week ago). My mind danced through the ornate lighting in the hotel lobby, and I suddenly felt the need to join the hoity-toity guests on the dancefloor!
Kirk returned with four shots of vodka. Two for him, two for me. That was quite reasonable of him. He knew damn well that I couldn’t handle five shots, but he also knew that I was in a... state. One that called for more than a single shot. I raised a both miniature glasses to “No more ninnyhammers or hairy-footed lovers.” Kirk did his hilarious Smegal impression, we double-toasted, and downed the shots. The band launched into “Let’s Misbehave,” and I kicked off my stilettos and made a beeline for the dance floor.
“There’s something wild about you child that’s so contagious. Let’s be outrageous! Let’s misbehave.” Kadillac Kirk swept me up, twirled me around, and dipped me as we both sang along with the lyrics. I wasn’t swooning for him, but I was enthralled by the moment. The music, the dancing, the combination of booze and bud... so I kissed him as he pulled me back to my feet. And he kissed back. In a way that Dennis never had. In a way that Whisky’s beard wouldn’t permit. I didn’t feel the visceral sensations that I’d felt when Dennis had kissed me, but it felt nice to feel desired. And then I noticed that other guests were watching us and applauding. Now, that was a dopamine rush if ever there was one!
I gently broke away from the embrace, high-fived Kirk and returned to the chaise lounge to put my stupid shoes back on. He followed me and smashed his face back onto mine. I pulled away and laughed. “It was a moment,” I told him. “I appreciate the dance, and that kiss was the perfect finale. But it’s not happening again.”
Kirk: Not to worry, Valerie. I know you. I knew all along that we were performing, and I was more than happy to be your scene partner.
Me: And dance partner! Those were some excellent moves! I didn’t know you had ballroom training.
Kirk: You name it, I’ve mastered it. Another drink for the lady?
I pretended to barf again. “Not yet. I’m not sad right now. Do you mind if I just sit here and enjoy the music?”
Kirk: Ah. My kisses do have healing properties...
I flipped my hand up at him. “Knock that shit off, bro. I wanted to hang out with you because I trust you not to get weird. Even if I get weird, I know you have the maturity to balance me out.”
Kirk: Are you calling me old???
Me: No. I’m calling you rational, responsible, and respectful.
Kirk: Well, now. If you can articulate an alliterative statement that fluently, then you clearly aren’t drunk enough!
I dismissed this comment as a joke. And he did indeed knock off the flirtation. We had a perfectly pleasant time chatting and dancing (no more kissing, though). And then I noticed a girl I knew from Into the Woods entering the lobby. She’d played Florinda and I’d played Little Red. I called her name and waved enthusiastically. She waved back. And then her date entered. It was D.E.N.N.I.S. I sank into the chaise. Kirk caught on immediately. “The hobbit???” he asked. I nodded silently. “You wanna make out again?” he enthused. I shook my head. I had to go say hello to Flo. And I had an idea...
I crossed the lobby, smiled, squealed, and hugged her.
Florinda: Lil’ Red! It’s been forever! So glad to see you!!! This is my friend, Denny.
From the corner of my eye. I could see Dennis shifting uncomfortably. I refused to look directly at him, neglected to acknowledge Flo's introduction and continued to converse only with her. "So glad to see you, too! What have you been up to since we left the woods?"
Dennis: C’mon, Val...
Florinda (appearing oblivious to the iciness between me and Dennis): Oh, I had some drama after the show closed. I'll have to tell you about it some other time... Have you seen Prince Big Bad (Scumbanger) lately?
I laughed. “Last time I saw him, he was hitting on some nasty fat chick at The Imp.”
Flo and I both scoffed at the pervy pest. Into the Woods was where I’d initially met Scumbanger. He played The Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince. Again... typecasting. There’s a whole essay in my brain about my first encounter with the pest, during which he quoted the song that he sang to me in the show, “Hello, Little Girl.” But it gets into some pretty uncomfortable territory because he made me feel... excited. Well, excited and scared. Nothing of note happened during Into the Woods, but our odd interactions did kind of set the stage for some extremely regrettable events during that Cats cast party.
I excused myself, saying that I needed to get back to my friend. And then I leaned in and said in a hushed voice to Flo, “Watch your ass with that one. If he’s the Denny I’m thinking of...” I gave her a look that only another female would be able to read. Her eyebrows shot up and she nodded. Dennis continued to shift as though he were trying to hold in a massive dump. “BABE! Uh...”
Flo apparently answered to that moniker as well. “What is it, Denny? Don’t worry. That was just telepathic girl talk. You apparently have a reputation...”
Dennis: Different Denny. I assure you I’m a pious gentleman.
Me: Ah. My mistake. Well, then. You guys have a good time! They’re playing Cole Porter, and the band is delovely. Great to see you, Flo!
I hugged Flo again, gave Dennis a curt nod, ignored the scent of mandarins and mountain air, and returned to Kirk.
I collapsed on the chaise lounge, exhausted from holding back the rage. I had no right to be mad at Florinda. I hadn’t seen her in three years, so how was she supposed to know that I’d had a thing with Dennis? Hell, I couldn’t even be mad at Dennis because the last time he and I had spoken in any meaningful way, I’d told him that I was no longer entertaining my crush on him. So why was I surprised to see him dating??? And why had he never taken ME out on a date like this??? And why wasn’t I smitten with Kadillac Kirk who HAD taken me out on a date like this, was an objectively excellent kisser, and a bona fide BALLER? What was wrong with me???
Kirk suggested going down the street to a quaint little bar and then sobering up at a diner closer to my apartment. I numbly nodded and followed him in silence for a few blocks. He assured me that I had “turned several heads” on the way to the new location, but I neither cared nor believed him. This wasn't the type of numbness I'd been aiming for. Now I needed to get schnockered. “Five shots of vodka, please.” Yes, I was serious.
Kadillac Kirk, my reliable designated driver, ordered only a beer and watched in something across between astonishment, concern, and delight as I slammed all five shots in rapid succession. I half expected to immediately retch all over the bar. But I felt fine. I half expected to immediately lose consciousness and wake up in the hospital. But I remained coherent. How I’d managed to take in that much hard liquor and suffer no direct consequences, I’ll never know.
I think I wanted to suffer. I wanted to either feel nothing at all or to feel a sickness bad enough to distract me from the scorching sting that pulsed through my being when I realized that I had lost the abstract notion I’d been addicted to this entire time. Hope. It wasn’t Dennis himself I couldn’t quit. It was that drug called hope. The hope that maybe, just maybe Dennis would give our romance a fair chance. The hope that maybe, just maybe he would make peace with himself, get his mind out of his crotch, and enjoy some agenda-free togetherness. The hope that maybe, just maybe he would stop bloviating about his admittedly impressive accomplishments for five fucking minutes and ask about my life. I had my own reasonably impressive accomplishments, even if they paled in comparison to his. A proper suitor would have enjoyed hearing about them.
But seeing him out with another woman, a woman who had no reason to parade her Dennis escapades before me as some means of revenge, a woman he was clearly courting of his own volition... My hope had died. It died before I’d had time to wean myself off it. Now I had to mourn the loss of hope, which is a very tricky brand of grief to navigate. Vodka wasn’t the answer, but it was what I had to work with. So it would have to do.
After enough time had passed without vomiting or collapsing, I asked Kirk to bring his car around to the bar so that I didn’t have to walk two and a half blocks drunk and in heels. He nodded and dramatically leaned in for a kiss. I recoiled. “DUDE! I told you. The moment has passed.”
Kirk: I beg your pardon. I misread your eyes. Thought I saw a green light...
Me: It’s fine. I just want to go home while I’m still feeling okay.
Kirk: Of course. Your chariot will be here soon.
He skipped off to fetch his Cadillac and I noticed that the lights in the bar were beginning to dance a bit. This should have been concerning. But then I realized that I was giggling. Wait... What? Oh shit. Sure, I was drunk from those shots. But what I was feeling in that moment wasn’t drunkery. It was stonery. Kirk probably misread my face because my pupils were dilated. Not from desire, but from drug use.
Some of you might be thinking that I was a bad friend for not introducing Lucy, an old dude connoisseur, to Kirk. Well... I did. Several years before the events of this story. He adored her. She, on the other hand, thought he was immature. And she wasn’t wrong. Lucy was astute when it came to sussing out a person’s true nature. Far more astute than I. Her initial assessment that Kirk was immature is about to be vindicated. Stretch those cringe muscles! It’s almost time for pie...
I somehow managed to get to his car. I honestly don’t recall how I got there. Did one of the bartenders carry me? Did some kind patron allow me to lean on him? Had Kadillac Kirk carried me out? I’m not sure. But my memory ceases to be fuzzy about halfway to the 24-hour diner. It might have been the very same 24-hour diner where Mary pulled her... shenanigans. I’ll never know.
Kirk: Would you say that you’re more drunk or more stoned?
Me: STONED. Definitely stoned.
Kirk made some sort of grunty noise and reached for my thigh. I slapped his hand.
Kirk: Stoned but not amorous? That’s rare.
I started laughing rather unkindly. “You’re a fucking horndog! I thought you were my safe straight male friend, dammit.”
Kirk: I solemnly swear that your safety is my primary concern, my stoned beauty.
I pretended to throw up.
Kirk: So... You’re not horny. But are you hungry? The diner I’m heading to makes this Maple Walnut Pie with the most sumptuous... sensual cream and exquisite drizzling of...
Me: Ew! Stop trying to bang the pie. Bro. Are YOU stoned? (Then I remembered the question.) Yes, I’m hungry. But I don’t like nuts. I’ll have banana cream.
Kirk made that repulsive grunty noise again. “Uhhhhh... Mmmmmm. Cream. Yessssss. Yes, we’ll be there in just a minute.” He was squirming in the driver's seat.
Me: GROSS, DUDE! If you’re gonna be like that I’ll just order HASH brows. Get it? Hash??? (I giggled.) You can’t make that sound nasty.
Kirk: Forgive my jokes. I think my blood sugar’s a bit low.
As Kirk parked, I began to wonder how I might get away with walking shoeless into the diner. The stilettos had to get off my feet. At least while I was walking. And Kirk was kind enough to give me his socks and wear his loafers “island style” into the establishment. Okay, that was gallant of him. Maybe he was going to behave himself for the rest of the evening.
I wasn’t terribly talkative as we sat down, and he expressed a bit of concern for my emotional well-being. I wasn’t coherent enough to explain what was happening to my emotions and I wasn’t sure I trusted him with my deep, dark secrets at that point. So I shrugged like a sulky teenager, ran my hands over my messy, windblown hair, and mumbled that I was “just hungry.” And right on cue, a very kind, slightly older waitress with a sweet southern accent stopped by to take our order.
Kirk: Ah, yes. We’ll have two cups of black coffee. And we’ll share a slice of that delectable Maple Walnut Pie.
Waitress: Oh, honey. That pie is scrumptious! I take it you’ve been here before?
Kirk: I have. This will be her first time to taste the splendor.
I hated to be a killjoy, but I interrupted and said to the waitress, “Ma’am? I’m sure the Maple Walnut is excellent, but could I please get a slice of Banana Cream? And a big glass of ice water?
Waitress: Sure, hon! Banana Cream’s just as yummy! I’ll be right back with those coffees and that big water.
Kirk was sucking on the tip of his forefinger and shaking his head a bit. “You’re passing up so many sensational... sensual...”
I put my forehead on the table and growled. “You swore you’d stop being nasty!” I held this #headdesk pose for quite some time before I finally lifted my head... only to see that Kirk was still sucking his fingertip and staring at me like a wild animal. “Pleeeeeease be normal,” I whined. “It’s been a really weird night for me.”
Kirk: Indeed. Many surprises. You know... You’re like titanium. Your flame burns so fast and so bright, if a guy doesn’t get in there while the iron is hot, he’ll never get another chance. I was too slow.
What the...? I was pretty sure he was wrong about titanium burning quickly. I’m no chemistry wiz, but my dad and my oldest brother are both big-brains when it comes to physics and chemistry. So I picked up some things just listening to them talk. Accurate or inaccurate, Kirk was being creepy again. He’d never been creepy towards me before, although I’d seen him act like this with other women. Usually with staggering success. Why????? His money. It had to be his money. Kirk was a nice-looking man, but holy shit... No amount of good looks could save this creep show
And then, our sweet waitress sat down our coffees, my water, and the two slices of pie. After I gulped down a whole bunch of water, I grabbed a fork, prepared to quell my munchies... and then I froze. Kirk was quickly flicking his finger back and forth across the top of his pie. And moaning. He noticed my wide-eyed stare, smirked, sucked the tip of his thumb, picked up the plate with both hands, and began flicking his tongue across the tip of the triangular pie slice. And moaning some more. Well, there went my appetite.
Kirk took his middle finger and jabbed it into the crustless vertex of the pie slice, then he began pumping it in and out like a piston, and flicking his thumb across the increasingly demolished top layer of whipped cream. He gasped this time. People were starting to stare. His pointer finger joined his middle finger in the piston action, and he replaced his thumb with his tongue. Between flicks of the tongue, he groaned, “Oh yeah, baby... Let me taste you,” but it was kind of hard to understand him.
And I was either about to run to the back office, tell them that I was in danger and needed a police escort home... OR I was about to burst out laughing at the spectacle. Kirk continued... He removed his fingers and gregariously licked pie filling off of them. "Ohhhhh," he groaned, "I got you soooo sticky. So sweet. So moist." And then he started sucking his fingertips again, switching from middle to pointer, middle to pointer and emitting a delighted little, “Mmmmmm” with every suck.
Finally, he jabbed his fingers back into the utterly destroyed pie, lowered his face into the mess and lapped loudly and passionately, moaning, grunting, and mumbling “Come on, baby. Come on. Mmmmmm. Come on.” I could see the waitress and some dude in a suit heading over to the table, so I sank down in my seat, partially covered my face, but continued to watch the train wreck. At last, Kirk shuddered violently as he splatted his entire hand onto the plate and rubbed furiously. And then he locked eyes with me. He sucked the tip of his thumb one final time and said, “You...” There was a long pause during which Kirk lovingly stroked the mess he’d made. “You... are the pie.”
I don’t hang out with Kadillac Kirk anymore. But he’s still a bachelor, ladies!

I completed my build with the H6 Flow case. I went with 3x120mm QX + 3x120mm QX + 2x140mm QX corsair fans.
I ran into issues with the bottom fans and went flipping the bottom fans to exit air. That meant I had to reverse the top fans on the Kraken AIO as well.
CPU started to hit 75°C to 80°C as the liquid temps would stay above 55°C.
So, a friend who helped me with the build shared this post: My H6 Flow build ft. Corsair QX cooling. I went ahead and unlinked the 2x140mm fans at bottom and rotated them and used a cutter blade to shave off some plastic from the connecting 90-degree cable as well as to further flush in the fans.
The issue I have now is that I was using just one Corsair hub that allows for 2 device connections. That hub was handling the 6 fans (3 x Front + 3 x Top Radiator) linked + 2 x 140 linked. Now, it's handling the same (top + front) 6 fans + just one of the 140 mm bottom fans due to only two connection points.
I was able to add a second Corsair hub, power it, and connect the single 140mm. But I have no USB2 header left over on the motherboard: ASRock Z790 Steel Legend WiFi; as one USB2 header is occupied by the first Corsair hub and the other USB2 header is occupied by Kraken.
Added the second hub without a USB connection
Single 140mm Fan on second Hub
Made the 2 x 140mm as flush as possible while still avoiding cable damage
I was also planning to get a strix for the ugly 24-pin connector as well... The motherboard choice is also a limiting factor here.
Do I have option(s) to expand on the USB2 Headers?
I want to add a bit more rainbow bling to my setup. Do I go for a NZXT USB2 expansion Hub? Or the Corsair alternative?
I do not plan to add SSDs or HDDs so the small cage can be removed as well.
Here is my build for reference:
PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item
CPU	*Intel Core i7-14700K 3.4 GHz 20-Core Processor
CPU Cooler	NZXT Kraken 360 78.02 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Thermal Compound	Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut 1 g Thermal Paste
Motherboard	ASRock Z790 Steel Legend WiFi ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
Memory	Corsair Vengeance RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory
Storage	Lexar NM790 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card	Gigabyte WINDFORCE V2 GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER 16 GB Video Card
Case	NZXT H6 Flow ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply	Gigabyte UD1000GM PG5 (rev. 2.0) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM - DVD 64-bit
Case Fan	Corsair iCUE LINK QX120 RGB Starter Kit 63.1 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack
Case Fan	Corsair iCUE LINK QX120 RGB Starter Kit 63.1 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack
Case Fan	Corsair iCUE LINK QX140 RGB Starter Kit 82.5 CFM 140 mm Fans 2-Pack
Keyboard	Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard
Mouse	Logitech G502 Proteus Core Wired Optical Mouse
Headphones	Logitech G935 7.1 Channel Headset
Webcam	Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam
Custom	Kogan 34" IPS Ultrawide USB-C FreeSync HDR Gaming Monitor KAMN34XQUCLA
Custom	Kogan 34" ​IPS Ultraw​ide USB-C ​FreeSync H​DR Gaming ​Monitor KA​MN34XQUCLA

Wade held Jasmine in his arms as he flew a low height down the long road to another section of the staryard, Tina on his back and Nathan and F right behind them in the air. Together, the five glided across the base grounds, taking care as to not irritate the aerial security during their search for the meeting room. Being outside for the flight, the group considered it a blessing that Wade's 'enhanced cooling unit' allowed his body to tolerate the breaching sun in the still cloudy sky, which, according to F, was dangerous to drones like her due to the inefficient cooling she and disassembly drones like her suffered from. Given F's physical fault, she had to fly under shady areas in order to safely traverse the base at day.
Originally, Wade and his friends had planned to walk to the meeting zone, but after running into a trooper experiencing a health mishap, the group did what they could to help the distressed officer. By the time he was brought to the medical ward by other soldiers, Wade found that him and his team would be at least a few minutes late if they kept on their way with their walk.
Deciding to speed things up, Wade, understanding the concern for performing such an effort, opted to carry the Fowleys around the base to the meeting area. Reluctantly, F decided to come along, carrying Nathan in a similar manner that Wade was carrying Jasmine. Taking notice of the time on his HUD, which read, "9:47 AM", Wade scouted for the building he and his friends were directed to. "8072" He said to himself, the number being for the building that would house the imminent meeting.
"They said it was down here, right?" Wade asked aloud to Tina before stopping himself in mid-air, the girl holding onto him tightly as he tried to speak over the growing sound of a retrofit Apache flying overhead.
Looking about, Tina nodded as she spotted the target building. "Yes, I believe that's the one over there!" Pointing past his head, Wade followed her finger to a large building ahead at his right. The structure was moderately tall, only about two stories high, with several soldiers and officers going in and out of the building. Wade smiled as he noticed the target number, as well as the big, bold words describing the building's designation. "8072, Briefing Center B"
"Good eye, honey. Hang on!" Continuing his low glide, Wade zoomed towards the building's entrance before stopping just meters above the ground, his two friends close behind as they slowed down as well. The troopers around them initially looked startled by the sudden arrival of Wade and his group, but quickly regained their composure as Wade hovered still above them.
"At ease! Just visitors." One of the soldiers declared as they identified the newcomers, who touched down before Wade let Jasmine down to her feet, Tina hopping onto the ground along with her.
Putting his hands up, Wade apologized for his swift surprise. "Sorry for the scare, we got delayed for a meeting we're invited to."
The soldier gave an understanding nod as he replied to the former worker drone sternly. "I can see that, just be a bit more careful next time, Mr. Carter. You gave the boys here quite a scare."
Wade returned the gesture in embarrassment as F put a hand to his back, chuckling at his efforts as Tina questioned the officer. "Is Mrs. J in there? She's the one who called for us."
The guard gave his reply as Wade and Tina pulled out their IDs for clearance. "Yes she is, Miss. The meeting's set to begin in under ten minutes." Checking the two drones' IDs, Jasmine and the others pulled out theirs as well, the watchman motioning another trooper over to verify the group. Once the guard finished checking the five's cards, he nodded in approval as the watchman spoke once more. "You're clear to enter."
"Thank you Sir, again, sorry about that spook back there." Wade replied with a smile as the trooper gave one of his own, the disassembly drone and his allies making their way towards the office door before stopping upon the call of a voice.
"Hey, Felice!" Wade turned to find the origin of the voice, F doing the same as the two quickly spotted a quartet of soldiers walking excitedly towards F. The disassembly drone glanced to her friends with a smile before turning back to the approaching entourage.
Wade examined the four troops as they got closer: Two human men, one woman, and a male worker drone. One of the male soldiers had short, blonde hair, and a small scar to the right side of their face. The second man bore a tan skin tone and had black hair, with blue strips that went down slightly in a mullet style. The woman bore a set of long, dark green hair, with the hair going down and over her left shoulder. As for the worker drone, he wore the standard green soldier helmet, single eye visor and all. He had no hair on him from what Wade could tell, and bore a pair of whiteish purple eyes on his visor.
As F walked over to the soldiers, the same one that called to her spoke again. "Felicity, I didn't expect to see you around here today! Where you been?"
The girl soldier interrupted his initial chatter. "Hang on Carlos, do you even know if she remembers us?"
"Aye, don't she have one o' them memory locks, or sumthin?" The drone added in a heavy Scottish accent.
F waved her hand as she replied to the group. "Easy, everyone. Thankfully I still got my memories, courtesy of my technician back at Central." Lowering her hand, F let down her usual persona as she gave a wide smirk to the soldiers, clearly pleased to see them. "Good to see you guys around here."
The soldiers gave light cheers to F as they all embraced her, the group having a surprise reunion as Wade and the others watched in surprise. These must've been F's old colleagues from when she was in the service, Wade thought. Quite the coincidence for them to be here at this base of all places.
Not bothering with the convenience of the matter, Wade shook the thought off as he and his friends watched F and her old friends breaking the hug, Tina wrapping an arm around her boyfriend as the second male human spoke to her in what the two discerned as Spanish. "Ay, who your new friends, F?"
"Oh, these guys?" F replied in the same language, quietly startling Wade and the others as they had never heard her speak like that until now. Glancing over to Wade, F motioned him and the others to come over. "Everyone, these are some friends I made in the past few days. Wade, Nathan, Tina, and Jasmine." She pointed her hand to the four as she said each of their names. "I met the boys here during my time on Ceres. Jasmine and Tina here are sisters."
The four soldiers gave various forms of excitement, ranging from hearty laughs to low woops and even a whistle from one of the guys. As F stood next to her old teammates, they each introduced themselves to Wade and his friends. The blonde soldier went first. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all, name's Carlos, Lieutenant Marksman."
"I'm Private Alvaros, good with close-range and stealth operations." Said the tan soldier with a salute.
"Sergeant Lucia Vasquez, usually the one who leads this bunch around these days." The female warrior stated with a humorous smirk.
"And Corporal Duncan Wallace, at your service!" The soldier drone stated proudly as he saluted to the bunch in front of him, who gave warm smiles as Wade shook his hand.
"Quite honored to meet you all, seems you have quite the history with F." The former worker drone said as Carlos patted F on her back.
"Oh, we do! She's the one who took charge when we didn't! Did you all hear of the Pasting of Nola VI?" Jasmine and Tina gave nods of affirmation while Wade, not as familiar with such history, held his hand up in a questioning manner.
"I think, wasn't that the battle where the Navy just barely held the outpost in that system? From the Stryker Clan?" Wade asked as Carlos nodded approvingly to him.
"That's right, and if Felice weren't there, WE would've been the ones getting pasted!" Carlos' statement brought victorious cheers and "oorahs" from the group, F letting a blush loose as she chuckled at her team's praise of her efforts.
"Well, that's not wrong." Although she didn't want to break off from her friends and discuss the past few years since they'd last met, F remembered the briefing. Clearing her throat, she continued. "And as much as I'd like to chat about the good times, I've been called to a meeting here, as have Wade and his crew."
The soldier group gave understanding looks to F as Lucia spoke up. "Thought so, Carl here was real eager to see you, though."
"Maybe we can talk after the meeting?" Nathan proposed as the soldiers collectively nodded in agreement, F readying a smartcomm attachment before turning to face her friends again.
"We're probably getting low on time, you all go in, I'll catch up in a sec." Wade nodded in acknowledgement before taking Tina's hand, the lover drones continuing towards the briefing center as Jasmine and Nathan followed behind them.
Passing through the door, the four guests observed a short hallway, which seemed to split into two paths as they came closer to the other end. Looking to a sign on the wall above, they saw arrows pointing to two separate areas, "Primary Briefing Room; Main Lobby + Secondary & Tertiary" Going to the right, they entered the moderately active lobby, several officers walking and standing about in mass chatter. Walking over to the desk up against the wall to their left, Wade and his group waved a hand to the occupying attendant.
"Welcome, what do you need?" The desk attendant asked as Tina raised a finger to reply.
"We're here for a meeting, Mrs. J called us here."
The attendant nodded in understanding before directing an arm towards the other end of the room, where a single door stood. "She should be in the second briefing room down that way."
"Thank you." Tina replied warmly before she and Wade began walking towards the door, their friends behind them as they proceeded into the room.
The room beyond the door was quite sizable, a large circular table occupying the middle with several chairs surrounding it. The walls went up a few meters, with four whiteish blue lights illuminating the room. On the wall opposite to Wade and Tina were three monitor screens, all of which showed the USN in bright blue. In several of the seats were faces both familiar and unfamiliar, several men and women in varying styles of uniforms conversing about quietly or taking notice of the recent visitors. Standing up near the monitors were three people: A decorated officer whom Tina identified as a ship captain, and the so-called operatives, Tessa, albeit as a hologram, and J.
Walking slowly into the room, Wade gave a low wave of his hand as he tried to hide his nervousness. Noticing his shyness in front of the officers, Tina held his hand and rubbed his arm comfortingly while returning a pleasant smile to the staff in the room.
"Ah, Wade, Tina. Glad to see you all here." J stated with a smile as she scanned the group, raising a digital eyebrow as she noticed one missing guest. "Or, most of you, I see. Did F run off somewhere?"
Wade shook his head as he replied to his fellow disassembly drone. "Oh, no. She just ran into some old friends, she should be back-"
"Right now." F finished aloud as she entered the room, seemingly having heard Wade speaking about her absence. The warrior drone fast walked to Wade's team, taking a seat near them as they prepared to do the same. "Not too late, are we?"
"Not at all." The standing officer answered as the group took their seats, Wade and Tina sitting next to each other as they got comfortable. The captain examined the lot for a moment, glancing to J as he asked about them. "So, these are the ones you helped rescue from the Mojave?"
"Yes Captain, and they helped us out greatly in turn. This is Wade Carter, one of the captured drones whom became a disassembly drone before we could mount the rescue. The luckiest one, if you ask me." Motioning her arm over the others, she continued. "And there's his girlfriend, Mrs. Tina Fowley, and her sister Jasmine." Smirking to F and Nathan, she finished her friends' introductions. "And these two are Serial Designation F and Mr. Nathan, whom I've heard were once under your ranks."
The military captain gave a welcoming smile to the five as they returned the gesture, eyeing F and Nathan specifically before speaking to them. "Indeed they were, we still have records on their contributions to the colonies." Eyeing F, he continued. "Though, in Mrs. F's case, I won't blame her if she doesn't remember us. We've been very well aware of JCJenson's 'memory suppression' protocols when it comes to their DDs."
F laid back in her seat with a smug look as she replied to her former superior. "Well, my friend on the station's a good tech gal. She's... waived that hindrance from me."
"I see, that means your still with us, am I right, Mrs. Lee?" Unlike her friends next to her, F was not startled by her original name being said aloud, rather smiling proudly as she saluted to the captain. "Good to see you again."
"Pleased to be here, Sir." F replied as she lowered her arm, glancing to her companions next to her as J spoke up.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Captain Preston Mitchell, commander of the USNV Vickers down at the stardock."
Wade gave a respectful salute to Preston as he spoke first. "It's an honor to meet you, Sir."
"Thank you, Mr. Carter. I've heard about your efforts from J, you did an admirable job back there, son." Wade failed to hide an embarrassed blush from the compliment, but it quickly faded as a beep sounded from a small device on the table. It was swiftly silenced by the captain as he tapped a button on the small, pyramid shaped timer, then facing Wade's group before continuing. "Though, as much as we could use some small talk, it'll have to wait till later."
"Indeed, we're running late at this point." Said another officer, a highly decorated member of the base with dark skin, dark grey hair and a thin beard. He immediately won the attention of everyone in the room as he spoke up. "I'm General Hugh Hood, overseer of this base. I'm certain you know some of the reasons you're here with us, correct?"
Wade nodded as he spoke to Hood. "Yeah, it's cause of those rogue agents from the JCJenson corporation." Glancing to J, the corporate drone nodded in affirmation before speaking herself.
"Tessa and I spent the last hours of yesterday evening clearing up the matter with General Hood, along with several other officials stationed here." She stopped as the middle monitor behind her flashed with a banner at the top, reading, "INCOMING TRANSMISSION", and in place of the USN emblem was a textless version of the JCJenson logo. Below the profile image was another two lines of text. "N. Jenson (Company Exec); Comms Source: Yottrite IV"
"And also told our boss about what happened here too, he wanted to give his say on this ordeal." Looking to the general, J asked him, "May I put him on?"
Hood only gave a nod of approval to the corporate drone before she picked up a remote on the table and tapped a button, accepting the call as the picture shifted to show a middle-aged man in a pristine-looking business suit on the screen.
Wade and Tina glanced to each other before J introduced their guest on the screen. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the CEO of JCJenson: Mr. Noor Jenson."
Jenson gave a pleased nod to his subordinate as he spoke to J. "Thank you for the pleasantries, J. I see we are ready to discuss our plans on dealing with this 'recall' disaster I've bore witness to on the news this morning?"
J nodded as she replied to her boss. "Indeed, I've explained to General Hood here about our efforts yesterday, and, as of recent, we've just received a message from a source we believe to be close to the company."
Mr. Jenson looked down to J attentively as he spoke to her. "Well, that's quite intriguing news, J. Do you have this message available for us to view?" J and Hood both nodded in affirmation, but didn't get an immediate reply as Jenson gazed to Wade and his friends. "...And I presume these are some of the drones rescued from one of the factories?"
Again, J nodded to her superior before explaining her colleagues. "Yes Mr. Jenson, the two drones at the front in particular were among those taken by the Administrator and their subordinates." Pointing an arm to Wade and Tina, she introduced the drone couple. "The disassembly drone here is Mr. Wade Carter, a brother to his-technically speaking-owner, the late Ron Carter. The latter helped us recover Wade during an initial raid inside the Nevada facility." When bringing up Ron, J gave an apologetic look to Wade as to show she did not mean to be offending on him and his brother's relationship. "And this is his romantic partner, Mrs. Tina Fowley. I heard she and her sister Jasmine are pilots."
Jenson looked over the two drones as his obedient employee described them to him, quietly sighing as Wade and Tina returned the gaze with nervous smiles. Once J finished, Jenson spoke to Wade. "I... would say it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Carter. But, given recent events, I don't hold fault to you for feeling frustrated at me for my... former subordinate's actions."
Wade shook his head lightly, taking Jenson's light apology with a faint smile as he replied to the CEO. "Actually, I don't. The only person I have such feelings put towards is," He hesitated for a moment, his anger at Dr. Halloway returning for a short moment before he eased himself. "..That bastard Halloway."
"The feeling's mutual, Mr. Carter. Dr. Halloway has been trying my patience for years now, especially with you and your fellow disassembly drones." Looking to J, then F, he returned his gaze to Wade before questioning him on his new body. "I don't know if J has told you of this, but if there's one truth my company has admittedly not held up to for a while, it's our quality. Recently, some of my research staff here made blueprints for an upgraded variant of the disassembly drone design. It's intended to fix several faults we expected to be nonexistent previously, most notably that atrocious cooling unit."
As a schematic pulled up on the left monitor, everyone glanced to the improved design before F spoke up about it. "If I may ask, Mr. Jenson, how big of an improvement is this new cooling unit supposed to be?"
"Good question, F. Frankly, it's supposed to do away with the issue entirely. Saves us from sacrificing enormous supplies of oil for the poorly built unit in the previous iterations. We even tested it with a repaired drone just a few days ago, and it worked flawlessly." Then, glancing to Wade again, he questioned the former worker drone on his new form. "Speaking of, how does your enhanced body feel, Mr. Carter? I'm certain it feels better to not have to-"
"Actually, Mr. Jenson," Wade interrupted, pulling out one of his canteens as he answered the CEO on his upgrades. "I guess Halloway changed up the blueprints, cause unfortunately this new cooling unit didn't cure the overheating problem. I... kinda learned that the hard way." Wade glanced to Tina apologetically, still feeling bad from her seeing him eat the corpse of the dead murder drone back at the factory.
The corporate CEO grimaced in frustration as he took in Wade's statement, already intolerant of the head researcher's actions as he replied. "...I was worried about that, Edgar always likes to run things his own way, making excuses for that 'Administrator' he watches over." Taking an agitated breath, he continued on with his spew on the two culprits of yesterday's events. "It was only because of all the very impressive creations and enhancements she and her research team provided that I tolerated them for so long, but this..." Sitting up straight in front of the camera, Jenson finished sternly. "J said the Administrator... Cyn, I believe? She was apparently something worse than we presumed originally, and I'm very inclined to believe so after yesterday."
"As well as the program tied to the Administrator, the AbsoluteSolver." J clarified before receiving an agreeing nod from Mr. Jenson, standing corrected on his placing of blame.
Raising a hand, Nathan asked about the supposed plans. "Yeah, about this "Solver Project", what do we plan to do about that?"
"Good question, Nate." Tessa replied as she crossed her arms before looking to Jenson and beginning her explanation. "Initially, we were going to investigate the other factories spread across Earth in order to get some more info on the Administrator before things get worse. But, just this morning, it seems someone else saved us the trouble." Just as Tessa neared the end of her sentence, J held up the remote again, tapping a few buttons before the left monitor shifted to show a slightly grainy video onscreen.
The video only showed a single being, a worker drone, dressed in a chrome suit and bearing a set of yellow eyes. Behind them was what appeared to be a vacant room, a few shelves holding many books within them standing still in the back. The drone's visage indicated they were filled with immense anxiety, terrified of being caught as they spoke quietly to the camera.
"I can only hope someone gets this in time, they're gonna be on me once they find out the transmitter screens are down!" Turning the camera, he showed what appeared to be a large factory room, several more of the mysterious conveyor belts like at the factory slotted next to each other. It was hard to discern every detail due to not only the window reflection, but also the dark lighting in the inactive conveyor room. Filming the room beyond, the drone continued. "Dr. Halloway's a madman, he's got more of those stolen drones being brought here and he's going to be overseeing it in the afternoon tomorrow! I've seen what happened back in Nevada, I can't take this any longer! I'm at coordinates ##.######, -###.###### Please, send someo-"
The suspicious, partially scrambled transmission immediately cut off to static, leaving Wade, Tina, and their friends with confused expressions as Tessa spoke up. "Yeah, that caught me by surprise too."
"So, that guy says they got more drones being sent 'there', but... where is there, exactly?" Jasmine asked with immense curiosity.
"I was hoping you'd ask that, Mrs. Fowley." The technician replied as she glanced to J, who tapped a few more buttons on the remote before speaking over her boss-friend.
"While the transmission itself isn't much to work off of, our friends from Comms over here managed to intercept the signal earlier, and even better, discern where it originated from." As J started her explanation, the screen shifted once more to show a large city, with one skyscraper highlighted in red as it was zoomed towards on the screen. "That scrambled audio wasn't a simple glitch, it was intentionally done so as to hide key information for us to uncover. Upon cleaning up the message, we managed to recover a set of coordinates, which direct to this structure here, in San Francisco."
Wade and his friends stared at the building in shock, examining the tall structure as it stood over the shorter buildings in the city. Tina broke the silence in her gaze. "So, this is another factory? It looks... terribly different from the one we got out of."
"Not exactly, Mrs. Fowley." Mr. Jenson answered, Tina and the others looking to him as he continued. "THAT is the Administrator's main laboratory, its location was kept on the down low so other authorities and terrorist groups wouldn't find out what the buildings true purpose was." Sighing, Jenson completed his reply. "But, with this recent mistake of Halloway's, that place has lost all purpose for us at the company."
Wade raised a hand to speak. "So, we're going to pounce on that place? Get Halloway before he runs off again?"
"Exactly." General Hood replied as he looked up to Mr. Jenson. "This whole 'recovery/recruitment' effort has gotten out of hand all across Sol. We've gotten countless reports of people being killed because of this, be it the brutal robberies here in Nevada or the bloodbath on Ceres. Even if Mr. Jenson refuses to cooperate, this has become a dire matter for us now. One way or another, this insanity will be stopped with due haste."
The CEO nodded in acknowledgement before explaining his own plans for the mission. "Speaking of cooperation, upon seeing what was happening at Earth, I ordered a detachment of our corporate starships in orbit at the time to depart for Sol in order to help with investigating the situation. They're not warships, but they are well-armed. I'll dispatch them to your authority upon concluding this call." Glancing to Wade and his team for a moment, Jenson continued. "As for the mission, I may not have much of a say, but let it be known that you have my blessing to do whatever it takes to end this madness. I don't care what you do with Halloway or any of his lackeys, or what happens to that facility down there... I want that program shut down."
"Thank you for the extra hands, Mr. Jenson. We'll make sure this Administrator is dealt with." Hood replied gratefully as Wade sat firm in his seat, Tina and the others following suite.
"General?" The former worker drone said aloud, catching Hood's attention before he made his request. "I know I'm not a soldier, but I want to help with dealing with Halloway and his grunts. After what he did, after losing my brother, I can't rest until I see that man stopped."
Tina raised a finger as well. "As do I, Wade could use a hand with those people, and given how we did during our escape run out of that place, I think the two of us make quite the duo." She glanced to Wade with a smirk as she referenced their combat prowess when flying together.
Nathan and F stood up before the latter gave her own request. "Sir, I wish to take part in this mission as well. I can also recommend Wade for you too, as I fought alongside him during the factory raid."
"Wouldn't mind giving a hand myself! And I'm sure my pal Kurtis would love to help, he's here at the base too!" Nathan added with a confident smirk, the group's determination encouraging Jasmine to stand up as well.
"I'd like to help too." She stated simply, a smile on her face as the general and his companions observed the five guests.
Admittedly, Hood knew it would be a bit absurd to allow these people to take part in an operation which would certainly involve bloodshed, especially considering most of them merely had civilian status at the moment. But, upon careful evaluation of the five, their desire to see this problem dealt with, and the fact that some of them had experience on the field...
He paused his train of thought as Captain Mitchell spoke to him. "General? I read up on the Fowleys' files when we recovered Mrs. Jasmine here, they provided service in their early careers." He smirked to the pilot sisters as he finished adding his say. "And to be frank, we need more people like them here. The records we have of them showed them to be damn fine pilots."
Tina blushed at the praise from Mitchell as she spoke to the general. "That is true, we uh... did get discharged for our... 'fancy maneuvering'."
"Sir?" Jasmine said, the general's attention on her as she added to the conversation. "Even if our flying is a bit out of protocol, Tina saved a lot of people on that starjet a few days back. I can promise you, she's an excellent woman to have at the wheel."
Glancing to Wade again, Hood took in his face, one of begging desperation as he spoke once more. "Please, Sir. My brother, the troops he brought from the Coalition, Halloway's gotten them all killed cause of this. I want to do this. I HAVE to do this, at least for them."
The good general took a deep, quiet breath, considering his decision once more before finally revealing it to Wade and his friends. "Mr. Carter, Fowleys? I'm probably making myself a fool for saying this, but you're permitted to assist us in this mission."
The drone couple contained their gratefulness in the form of ecstatic grins as Wade replied to the general. "Thanks, General. We won't let you down."
"And Mrs. Lee?" Hood said as he glanced to F, who returned the gesture as he told her, "You're technically under Mr. Jenson's authority, whatever his answer is, it's mine as well."
Bringing her yellow-orange eyes to her CEO, F awaited Mr. Jenson's answer. "F, yes? I heard Mr. Hood call you by a different name just now, I assume you have some experience with the army?"
The warrior drone nodded as she explained herself. "I once inherited the name of Felicity Lee, Mr. Jenson. I served under the USN Defense Forces before joining the DD Division." Then, glancing to the military staff near her, she finished with, "I had hoped to provide my enhancements to the Force one day."
Jenson gave a hint of a proud smile as he finally gave his decision. "Well, it seems you'll finally get that chance. From now on, even after this mission on Earth is over with, you're hereby dispatched to serve under the USN."
F admittedly couldn't hide her excited smirk as she flung a salute to her now former boss. "Thank you Sir!"
Looking up to Jenson, General Hood asked the CEO, "Mr. Jenson, how long until your ships can reach Earth?"
Jenson glanced down at his communication console as he answered the military leader. "At max speed, their Ion drives should be able to bring them into orbit in as little as one to two days. I believe there should be some ships within the system that could help as well."
"Signal them when you can, Mr. Jenson. We could use all the help we can get from them." The CEO nodded to Hood as he stood firmly to the viewer, the general turning to face Wade and his colleagues. "And Mr. Carter? We'll be mobilizing our forces immediately after this meeting concludes. It'll be a minute, but I want you to gather whatever items and belongings you'll need for this operation. Be ready to head to the flight pads in no more than three hours."
"Understood Sir!" Wade said with a salute, Tina, Jasmine and Nathan giving their own as Jasmine raised a finger.
"What about the area around the lab? That place looks like it's in the middle of the city."
J raised a finger as she told Jasmine and the others about their resolution of the civilian obstacle. "Shortly after reporting our findings on the transmission, Hood told us that they were sending in some teams to clear out the civilian population within several miles of the facility. Once we get there, it should be of no concern."
Jasmine sighed in relief as Tina spoke up. "So the people should be safe from any sort of danger?"
"Correct, Mrs. Tina." Preston answered before continuing. "Given the resistance Halloway and his men showed during the Coalition's raid, they most certainly won't hold back there."
"One more thing, Sir." Nathan asked. "The Coalition's going to help us out with this too, right?"
"You can count on it, Mr. Nathan." The Vickers' captain replied as he looked to J, then to Jenson as he spoke further. "I met the leader of the Coalition's detachment working with us when I was introduced to J and Mrs. Elliott here, they intend to see this conflict finished. I highly doubt they're willing to sit back and let us do this by ourselves."
"And their help will be much appreciated." Hood added, everyone's attention returned to him as he looked to Tessa, curious eyes scanning her holographic form. "And Mrs. Elliott, if I may. Do you mind heading down here to assist us in our investigations later on?"
"Funny you say that, General. I'm almost done with my own snooping around on the JCJ up in orbit, Cyn has some small departments of hers aboard, and I thought I'd gather some more intel before coming down." Glancing to Mr. Jenson, she saw him giving an understanding nod before returning her gaze to the military staff. "I should be down there by the evening, judging by where you're located."
"Do what you must, Mrs. Elliott. We could use whatever you find." Hood replied firmly as he turned once more to the JCJenson CEO. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Jenson. We will get to the bottom of this."
"It's my pleasure, General." Glancing to J and Tessa, he spoke to them once more. "J? Contact me when you've finished with Halloway and his Administrator."
"It'll be done, Mr. Jenson." The obedient servant answered before saluting firmly, receiving a final nod from her boss before he ended the transmission.
With their off-world guest out of the way, Hood looked to Wade and his friends, J, Tessa and Captain Mitchells sharing the gaze with them as the general spoke to them in finality. "Well, you know what comes next everyone. You're all dismissed for now. And remember, landing zone by 1300."
"We'll be there Sir." Wade said with a nod as he and his friends stood up, pushing in their chairs before making their way out to the door.
As they neared it, Wade stopped for a moment as they heard Hood call to one of his friends. "And F?" The soldier drone looked to the general as he continued. "Before we depart, would you mind changing your uniform? I believe it could help with identifying you from the other disassembly drones more easily." Glancing to J, then back to F, he finished with, "I recall hearing about the most formidable drones having clones prepared, yes?"
"Correct, Sir. I'll stop by the nearest barracks while I can." F replied before turning back to the door with her colleagues, Wade opening the door for them all as they passed through. After them, Wade passed through himself, shutting the door to the meeting room as he returned to the lobby.
Walking about together, F spoke to Wade and the others. "Well, that went smoothly. I'll be heading down to the barracks, then head over to your place to help out."
"Actually," Wade replied, raising a finger up as he asked his fellow murder drone, "You think you could bring your friends over? We could get to know each other while we're getting ready."
F glanced to Nathan with a smile before returning her eyes to Wade. "I could see about that. You're gonna like them, I can promise you that."
Taking Tina's hand, Wade walked with his girlfriend alongside Jasmine and the others, nearing the hallway they came through as they prepared for the walk back to the apartment.

Hi there. I'm looking for some suggestions regarding this build.
I'm aiming for a build with a 7800X3D, and already have a coolestorage/psu available, so I'm mainly concerned about the following things/restrictions:

• Preferably an mATX build
• How well the motherboard/memory combo would work with the cpu. RGB headers aren't really important for this build, and I have an unused M-key wi-fi card.
• GPU: the current build is a prebuild that uses an RX 580, and it's really struggling with some older games at 1080p, like Horizon Zero Dawn and various Assassin's Creed titles. The only new title is Hades 2, so I'm mostly trying to assure 60+ fps in newer titles at 1440p, and hoping to future proof it as much as possible without going over $600.
• Case: good airflow and preferably no glass panes. There aren't many options in my area (I'm not from the US and shipments can cost as high as the case if it's from amazon/newegg). So the AP201 seemed like a decent pick, but I'll really appreciate other suggestions.

Wade's visor beeped to life as his alarm system went off, the murder drone's clock showing the time, "8:00 AM", changing to his green-yellow eyes as he woke up. Tina's visor activated as well, the drone girl's own alarm activating she awakened from slumber with Wade.
Stifling a yawn, Wade looked to Tina as he rubbed her back, easing her as she rose upright. "Good morning, sweetie."
"Morning, Wade." Tina replied quietly as she looked to Wade, the two drones smiling warmly as they took in each other's presence. Noticing they were both almost completely bare of clothing, the two drones blushed as Wade began to move off the bed.
"Well, I should get something on." The former worker drone stated as they touched down on the floor, Tina grabbing her green shirt from the counter as she tried to get dressed as well.
"So should I." Tina said back as she put the shirt on, memories of their recent night together still fluent in her mind as she slowly walked over to the kitchen.
The last hours of the past night had been calm for the most part, Wade and his friends detailing their tragic capture, the loss of his brother Ron, the rescue of the drones, and finally, Tina and Wade's miraculous escape from the factory before returning to the base. After the chatter in the bar, the group split off to go their separate ways for the time being, Jasmine going with Wade and Tina to help them into her place before leaving them to watch it while she went to get some food for the next day. During their quiet stay in the apartment, Wade and Tina made small talk over what to do in the future before having what humans would call a... very pleasant night together.
And now, with the new day approaching, the drone couple had to get ready for whatever came ahead. Walking over to his clothes on one of the vacant chairs in the living room, Wade picked up his shirt, slapping it on him before glancing to Tina, who merely wore her copper brown pants and green shirt from yesterday. Smiling at his girlfriend, Wade spoke to her as he turned back around to continue redressing himself. "Seems Jasmine went out somewhere this morning. I don't see her anywhere."
Tina listened to Wade as she inspected the counter, noticing a small sticky note lying on it as she took hold of it. Tina could tell it was left by Jasmine, given the handwriting. The note said, "Morning you two! Went to get some food I forgot to pick up, I should be back shortly after you wake up. - Jasmine"
The pilot drone smiled as she read her sister's note, then turning to the living room to speak to Wade. "She went to get some breakfast, we should expect her to come back any minute now." Opening the fridge, Tina grabbed two cool cans of oil, one for herself and another for Wade. Setting the cans down on the counter, Tina closed the fridge before taking hold of the cans again, taking them with her to the living room where a fully dressed Wade now resided at.
As Tina took a seat next to Wade on the couch, the disassembly drone examined his built-in smartcomm, trying to add all the still active contacts he remembered off the top of his circuits as he spoke to Tina. "It's gonna be hard, being my own person without Ron." Chuckling, Wade smirked at Tina, finding himself unsure at his own words. "Or maybe I'm just overreacting."
Tina chortled at Wade's inconfidence as she tried to bring him some, handing him one of the oil beverages as she spoke. "I think you'll do fine, honey. I've run into some disrespectful humans in my life too."
Wade nodded in understanding as he took a sip of the oil, the sound of the front door opening catching the drones' attention as Jasmine walked in. Carrying a paper bag full of food items, the human pilot spoke aloud. "Morning, you two! Just had to finish an errand I screwed up last night."
"Oh, it's not a problem for us, Jass." Wade replied as he took a sip of his oil, Tina looking over to the kitchen wall as she listened to her sister.
"How was your night? You lovers passed out on me when I came in, so I just rested on the couch." The lover drones gave looks of apologetic concern as Jasmine walked back into the living room, the woman noticing Wade and Tina's faces as she continued speaking. "It's nothing, though. I slept well."
"I hope so, we didn't mean to take up the whole bed." Tina responded as she gave a blush of embarrassment, Wade nodding in agreement as Jasmine replied back.
"I did, really. Besides, you two deserved the bed after all you put up with yesterday. Gotta have some place to blow some steam."
Wade and Tina smiled at Jasmine's comment, then blushed as Wade questioned about her phrasing. "Wait, you mean that as a euphemism or...?"
A knock at the door shut up the discussion, Wade standing up as he offered to handle the visitors. "I'll get the door." Tina nodded as he walked over to the apartment entrance, checking the small peephole before opening the door. Looking down, he saw two beings: a human and drone soldier whom he assumed were from the Coalition given their specific body gear.
While he took notice of the militia duo, the drone soldier spoke up to him. "Good morning, we're looking for a..." He lifted up what appeared to be an ID card, Wade glancing at the object as he heard the drone continue his question. "...Wade Carter? We heard he resided here since last night." Looking to Wade again, the drone stopped himself upon finishing his sentence, then picking himself up as he spoke further. "Come to think of it, you look like him."
Wade smiled warmly as he spoke to the two guests. "That's right. You need something?"
"Eh, more like the other way around, actually." The drone soldier replied as he handed Wade the ID, the former worker drone taking it in his hands as he glanced over it. The ID showed him from when he was still a worker drone, but was thankfully untarnished from the factory as Wade held it tightly. Before he could speak, the human soldier handed him a pouch carrying what Wade presumed were a few more of his personal belongings. The drone soldier spoke once more as Wade took the pouch. "We found these while scavenging the storage bays at the factory, we've been heading around delivering them back to those they belong to."
Wade smiled brightly before finally speaking in a grateful tone. "Thanks, Sirs. If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know."
The two soldiers nodded as the human one replied. "Just doing our job, Mr. Carter. Have a pleasant morning." With that, the troopers departed the apartment complex, leaving Wade to himself as he shut the door.
Heading back inside, Tina and Jasmine looked to Wade as the former spoke to him. "Who was that?"
"Just some boys from the Coalition, and just like Nathan said, they finally found my ID!" Wade answered before showing the card off, Tina grinned happily as she saw it, Jasmine giving a simple smile as he spoke further. "Feels good to have it back, I think that was what was keeping me down a little yesterday."
"Well, at least you won't have to worry about that anymore." Tina replied as Wade put the card in his pocket, taking his seat again before setting the pouch at his legs. Taking notice of the pouch, Tina asked, "What's in that? Battery candy?"
Wade shook his head as he began pulling out the items inside the bag, speaking to Tina as he examined them. "Oh, no, looks like some more of my belongings." Once he was done, Wade put the pouch on the couch's cup holder, on the space behind the drink holders themselves. The items were other various cards and papers with various personal information of Wades written on them, along with Wade's wallet. Wade found it almost comical that the items were all separated from each other, rather than being inside the wallet after getting cleared out.
Tina seemed to agree with Wade's thoughts as he began reinserting the cards into his wallet. "Well, that's silly. They just put everything in that little pouch instead of putting it all back in that thing."
Wade chuckled as he put his ID into the frontal window pocket of the wallet. "Yeah, guess they had to clear every little part of it before sending it off." As he finished restocking his wallet, Wade glanced to the pouch before continuing. "Besides, that IS a nice pouch."
"It sure is." Tina replied before taking another sip of her oil can, Wade putting his wallet away as she spoke again. "On another subject, however, you think we should go see if Nathan's around? Him and Kurtis could come by and have some small talk."
Wade nodded as he started to speak, but stopped as Jasmine spoke first. "Actually, I ran into F earlier while at the market. I heard from her that Nathan was going to be joining her for a date later this afternoon." Glancing to Wade, she finished with, "So he might be already busy for the moment."
Taking his own oil can, Wade shrugged his arm as he replied. "Eh, no problem with that. Don't wanna kill a growing relationship, now do we?"
Tina chuckled lightly as she agreed with her boyfriend. "Indeed, if it were us, they'd probably do the same fo-"
The chatter stopped as another knock sounded at the door, Wade moving to get up again as he glanced to the ladies in confusion. "Another visitor?"
"You think it could be F?" Tina made a wild guess as Wade approached the door, glancing out the peephole in slight surprise before opening the door.
Wade felt as if their talk about the Ceres couple had been a form of summoning as he saw F and Nathan standing at the door, bearing strangely serious expressions as they were greeted by the former worker drone. "F! Nathan! Funny timing, we were just talking about you. Come on in, have a seat."
As the two walked past Wade, F pat him on the shoulder as she spoke to him. "As much as I'd like to visit Wade, I'm afraid we're not gonna be here long, nor are you and the Fowleys."
Wade raised an eyebrow at her reply as he followed Nathan and F, the two simply standing in front of Tina and Jasmine as Wade returned to the living room. "Oh?"
"We're leaving? Should we get dressed and pack our things ASAP?" Tina asked with mild concern as F replied to her.
"Yep, you're on the ball with getting ready, but we're... not exactly leaving." The disassembly drone's words brought a confused face from Tina as Nathan clarified his crush.
"We got a call from J, just as we were heading to one of the diners here." The two drones paused for a moment, glancing to each other as they almost spewed out about their date, but shook it off as Nathan continued with little hesitation. "She told us that Tessa had intercepted some kind of transmission, one that might help us clear up this situation with the company faster than we initially thought."
F gave an affirming nod on Nathan's explanation before adding to it. "Her and J are playing host to a meeting held by the general stationed here, and she wants us to attend." Glancing over Wade and the Fowley sisters, she finished the explanation with, "They especially want you two to come as well, given what you both went through."
Wade and Tina gave blushes of embarrassment at the news, honored by the invitation but also a little uncomfortable with their elevated status as they glanced to each other. After taking a moment to process what they heard, Wade broke the silence. "Well, I did make that promise at the factory, and to J and Tessa earlier... and I intend on acting on said promise." Looking to Tina, his girlfriend gave an agreeing nod as she stood up with him.
"Glad to hear it. We don't have to be in that much of a rush, though, the meeting doesn't start until 10." F stated, Wade and Tina both glancing at the clock to check the time before looking back to their murder drone friend with nods of acknowledgement.
Standing up from her chair, Jasmine stretched as she announced her goals to the room. "Well, in that case, I should hit the shower."
"Right, I'll get myself fixed up too." Tina replied as she looked to Wade, the two sharing warm smiles before heading to the kitchen. Noticing the still unstored items on the counter, Tina spoke aloud. "Jasmine? You mind if Wade and I help store the groceries in the cabinets here?"
"Sure, thanks!" Jasmine answered in a grateful tone as she went off to the bathroom in the back of the apartment, Tina glancing to Wade as she began to take some food out of the bag.
"I'll get the refrigerated stuff." Wade stated simply as he took some items out of the bag, Tina putting her chosen food stuffs into one of the cabinets as they worked to unload the fresh consumables from Jasmine's errand.

A friend of mine wants to sell me his PC because he is moving out of the country. I was planning to build a brand new PC for 2k- 2.5k but I don't know if I should buy his and buy a brand new graphics card when the new generation comes out or buy a new PC.
The price he is offering is
1.200€ with the graphics card 900€ without it
Here you have the specs:
Graphics: KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER OC 8GB GDDR6 CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 4.6Ghz 12-Core Memory: 32Gb (2x16Gb) Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 3200MHz CL16 Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX X570-F Gaming Cooling: Cooler Master MasterLiquid LC240E RGB 2x12Cm Power supply: Zalman ZM1200-EBT 80+ Gold 1200W Modular Storage: SSD NVMe Western Digital SN750 1Tb M.2 3400Mb-s (two of them, 2 Tbs in total) Box: Cougar Panzer EVO ARGB
Is this a good deal?
Thank you

This is a shot in the dark, but if anyone has a datasheet or anything like that for the memory card slot on the PSP Go it would be really helpful. I'm looking into something to solder directly to the original pads on the old connector.
Side note, I can't tell if the PS-Vita and PSP Go m2 slots are the same dimensions. I know they both use the same m2 cards, but the Go has the solder points near the edge and the Vita seems to have them away from the edge. But I can't really find any info on either and I'm not gonna pay a bunch of money to possibly break a Go or Vita just to find out.

A friend of mine wants to sell me his PC because he is moving out of the country. I was planning to build a brand new PC for 2k- 2.5k but I don't know if I should buy his and buy a brand new graphics card when the new generation comes out or buy a new PC.
The price he is offering is
1.200€ with the graphics card 900€ without it
Here you have the specs:
Graphics: KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER OC 8GB GDDR6 CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 4.6Ghz 12-Core Memory: 32Gb (2x16Gb) Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 3200MHz CL16 Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX X570-F Gaming Cooling: Cooler Master MasterLiquid LC240E RGB 2x12Cm Power supply: Zalman ZM1200-EBT 80+ Gold 1200W Modular Storage: SSD NVMe Western Digital SN750 1Tb M.2 3400Mb-s (two of them, 2 Tbs in total) Box: Cougar Panzer EVO ARGB
Is this a good deal?
Thank you