Testing PC Stability across two desktops, working on certifications, fortifying skills, job hunting, light gaming, watching shows/anime, exercising, & doing house/yard work.

Motherboard: ASRock X870E Taichi
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D with H115i RGB 280mm Liquid Cooler & Arctic MX-4
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
Memory: G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Neo 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5-6000MHz | CL26 | FWL 8.667ns
Primary Drive: 2TB Samsung 980 Pro
Game Storage Drives: 2x 2TB Samsung 870 EVO
Storage Drives: 14TB Seagate Exos X18 7200RPM & 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM
Power Supply: ASRock PG-1300G | ATX 3.1 | Cybenetics Platinum & A rated
Case: Cooler Master Storm Stryker
Case Fans: 5x Antec Nova 120 Fans
OS: Windows 10 Professional
Monitor: LG OLED C2 42" AUA
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Elite
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB LUX - Cherry MX Brown
UPS: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD Pure Sine Wave
DAC: Schiit Modi 2 Uber
Preamp/Headphone Amp: Schiit Magni 2 Uber
Amplifier: Arcam Delta 290 Integrated Amplifier
Speakers: Infinity Reference R152
Subwoofer: Earthquake Sound CP-8
Headphones: Philips Fidelio X2
Microphone: Antlion Audio ModMic USB Uni & Omni-Directional w/ Mute
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650M Gaming Plus WiFi
Processor: Ryzen 9 7900X with MSI A15 360mm Liquid Cooler & Arctic MX-4
GPU: Gigabyte Windforce RTX 4070 Super
Memory: TeamGroup Inc. 16GB (2x8GB) DDR5-6000MHz | CL38 | FWL 12.667ns
Primary Drive: 2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus
Power Supply: SAMA P1200 | ATX 3.1 | Cybenetics Platinum & A+ rated
Case: ASUS AP201 MicroATX
Case Fans: 3x Antec Nova 120 Fans
OS: Windows 10 Professional
Mouse: Razer Mamba Elite
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB LUX - Cherry MX Brown
UPS: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD Pure Sine Wave
• Next CPU Upgrade probably won't be until after AM5's last generation is released (either Zen 6 or 7). The 9950X3D is excellent in gaming & productivity, so a worthwhile upgrade would need to perform at least 50% better.

• Next GPU upgrade might be whatever flagship AMD launches with 1st or 2nd gen UDNA (maybe 2027 or 2029). I'm predicting another $1500 AMD flagship vs $3000 Nvidia flagship battle like when AMD released their R9 295X2 to compete against Nvidia's Titan Z.

• Holding off on a monitor upgrade until one of the following is available in a 42" size and costs around $1000 or less on sale: 5K+ 16:9 IPS Monitors/TVs (could be up to 50"), Blue Phosphorescent OLEDs, or Micro LED panels. Probably won't be until 2027 or 2028.

Model: Dell Inspiron 1545 (Summer 2009)
Processor: Core 2 Duo T9500 2.60GHz (Replaced original T6500 2.1GHz)
Memory: 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-667MHz
Graphics: AMD Mobility Radeon HD 4330
Hard Drive: 256GB Samsung 850 Pro
Monitor: 15.6" 300 Nits Glossy LED TN Panel (Modded to replace CCFL)
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
I plan to get a laptop with the following minimum specs for around $1000 or less when I find it:
• 16" 500 nits 100% sRGB 120Hz 1080p (if IPS) | 1440p (if OLED) with FreeSync/Adaptive Sync
• 512GB/1TB PCIe4 NVMe SSD (w/ an extra M.2 slot)
• RTX 4050/5050 Mobile GPU - I'd take integrated though if the other specs aligned
• Core Ultra CPU (for battery life)
• 16GB DDR5 RAM (24 - 32GB if LPDDR5X)
• Full-sized arrow keys (or half-sized with a full-sized Numpad)
• Quiet fans (during light use and quiet enough while gaming to hear the speakers)
• Battery life > 2 hours on power saver at 1080p, 60Hz refresh rate, and max brightness
• 1x PD Port for portable charging
• 1-2x USB-C
• 1-2x HDMI 2.1
• Decent Speakers (optional - should be better than my phone's stereo speakers)
• 1x DisplayPort (optional)
• Sturdy Construction (optional)

It seems the features I want don't exist in any laptop of any price range without some major tradeoff. In November 2025, I saw a really nice 16" Lenovo Legion Laptop with an HDR1000 2560x1600 OLED, a Core Ultra 275HX, & 5070 Ti on sale for about $1600. The biggest weakness I read was mediocre down-firing speakers, which is disappointing for a laptop this well-built.

Still, I probably would've gotten it if PayPal set up their 20% cashback offer better. Even though they had a fixed cashback allotment of $250 for $1250 in writing, the promotion limited eligibility to $1250 purchases or less. This meant if anything put the purchase price beyond $1250, even if the tax bumped it to $1251, it'd ineligible for the promotion.

Unfortunately, that meant the best I could buy would've been a 5070 8GB VRAM laptop. If I'd already be spending $1200+ on a laptop, it should have 4 extra GB of VRAM for $350 - $400 more.

I heard the ASUS Zephyrus G16 laptop actually has good audio with up-firing speakers, but it has Half-sized Arrow Keys without a numpad - and that is unacceptable!

Unacceptable: Non-IPS/OLED Panel, Screen size less than 15", Panel Lottery Issues (Dead/Stuck Pixels, Back Light Bleed, etc.), Mediocre Color Accuracy at 45% NTSC (~62.5% sRGB), Resolution lower than 1080p (or lower than 1440p if it's OLED), 250 nits brightness, Hardware or Software Stability Issues, Half-sized Arrow Keys without a numpad, Loud Fan(s) even when doing light office work, Single Cooling Fan instead of multiple, Overheating Issues with No Undervolting or Core Parking Support, Less than 24GB of LPDDR/Soldered RAM, Power Button located on the Numpad, and lastly - inability to output audio through HDMI or any means onto a non-smart TV (i.e the Lenovo ARM laptop I tested in October 2024).

Frustrating but Tolerable: 15.1" Screen size, Poor Battery Life, Low TDP GPU (i.e. 85W 5060 vs 115W), Inefficient CPU (i.e. 14900HX), 350 nits or less brightness, No FreeSync/Adaptive Sync, 60Hz Refresh Rate, Bad Speakers, Less than 24GB of RAM, Half-sized Arrow Keys as long as there's a numpad, No space around the Arrow Keys, Mushy Keyboard, No Print Screen Key, Monitor Lid protrudes onto lap/desk as it's folded back (i.e. any ASUS Zephyrus laptop), Cheaply-built Chassis (like any budget MSI laptop), Tactile Indicator Bump on the 'W' Key - Helios Neo 16, [imgur.com] Reorganized Numpad, Poor Anti-Reflection, all I/O ports are USB-C, Difficult to open/take apart, and any other issues.

If you want a more reliable way to get a hold of me, add me to Discord (Ryusei6632). Message me when you do. I may not reply immediately but I usually see all Discord messages sent to me.

Steam: Ryusei^ or Sn/+/per^
DD Forum: Sn/+/per
Twitch/Nintendo/Origin: pHc_Ryusei
Diablo 2 Battletag: ArcticSun
Discord: Ryusei6632
Battle.net Battletag: Ryusei#11732
myanimelist.net/profile/Zerasu

X-Mode Energy Shots on tap [xmode.com] - Comes in 100oz towers with two reusable containers and 150mg Caffeine/1oz servings. Current flavors are Cherry, Tangerine, Watermelon, and Peach. They sell for $38 + Free Shipping on Amazon, eBay, and their website (or $34.19 with a 10% Subscription discount). I like all the flavors, but I particularly enjoy the Watermelon and Cherry. I also feel like refrigeration enhances the taste.

Stepmania [www.stepmania.com] - Aerobic exercise that's more enjoyable than walking, jogging, or running. It's an incredible experience if you get it set up with a dance mat, a fan, and Hi-Fi stereo or surround sound. It becomes high-intensity when you're good enough to play on Heavy or Challenge, though Standard difficulty can be intense at times (like with Kaneda's Theme).

DDRPad.com - Premium Dance Mats and accessories.

L-TEK Dance Mats [www.iamats.com] - Premium Dance Mats from Poland.

Despite the costly international shipping costs from L-TEK, it can be cheaper overall depending what you buy and whether you get it on sale or not. For instance, in December 2021, I bought a customized L-TEK EX Pro 2 Dance Mat with Start/Select Buttons and my own design for $423 ($271 + $141 shipping + $12 Stripe fee).

I think it was slightly less for a standard EX Pro 1 design on DDRPad's website at the time (due to the EX Pro 2 being newly released), but my pad also came with a warranty. And that warranty came in handy when L-TEK discovered an issue with the control board shortly after and needed to Airmail me a replacement board for free.

Stepmaniaonline.net - Stepmania songpacks and individual simfiles. Average difficulty of 10 or less is usually a pad mix. Just be mindful - many songs are usually 1 or 2 feet harder than they're rated.

Etternaonline.com/packs - Stepmania songpacks. Can sort by Pad mixes, but the same rules above apply.

Zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/simfiles.php - Stepmania songpacks and individual simfiles. The interface takes some getting used to, but each songpack has all the information you need laid out like a spreadsheet.

CyberiaStyle Reddit Downloads - Quality themes and arrow skins.

L-Theanine - Naturally found in tea, this works synergistically with caffeine and boosts the cognitive effects while promoting relaxation. Helpful if looking to avoid crashes or jitters. I primarily use it for sleep as it winds down the mind.

Magnesium Glycinate - An electrolyte that helps prevent cramps. The Glycinate variety reduces anxiety and promotes deeper dreams.

I feel that the bare minimum color accuracy any display should have is 72% NTSC (100% sRGB) for accurate colors in most content. Although, if the sRGB is 95% or higher, that's good too. I'm seeing a lot of laptops with 45% NTSC (62.5% sRGB) and the result is washed out colors. It's not an issue for productivity or games with generic colors (like Counter-Strike), but if you're going to be viewing pictures/shows/movies, making art, playing RPGs or anything with a large color scheme, you'll want 72% NTSC (100% sRGB) minimum.

Having enough brightness (nits) is the second most important feature. Most laptops and monitors are 250 nits, which is okay indoors but can appear normal room lighting - this brightness is better suited for dark rooms. 300 - 400 nits is the sweet spot brightly illuminated rooms. For usage outside with the screen faced away from the sun, 500+ nits is recommended (for reference, phones can get up to 1500+ nits). 300 nits can work decently outside in the shade, but the screen may appear dim.

To help with visibility outside, matted displays work best. If your monitor is glossy (like every OLED), you can apply a matted screen film to achieve a similar effect (no need to avoid buying glossy monitors). Without an anti-reflection coating, the screen will appear about 100 nits dimmer, even if it's not in direct sunlight. The only displays that can really hold up to direct sunlight are Mini-LEDs at 1100+ nits peak brightness. However, like flagship phones, it seems only flagship laptops have these displays, and those often cost well over $3000.