whats the difference between an i7 and an ultra 7? is an ultra 7 always better than an i7/are there any drawbacks to an ultra 7?
i’m looking for a new laptop, primarily for school but just as a general personal computer. most of the comparisons ive seen talk primarily/exclusively about desktop builds and is really heavy handed on the ai capabilities which i dont care about, but ive also seen mentions of better performance with video editing and 3D modeling (which will probably come up within my degree) along with better performance in gaming which is a hobby of mine.
figured id ask here as your 2024 computer buying guide has been extremely helpful so far (i only know a bit more than average about computers so this whole thing has just been making my head hurt)
Intel is deeply annoying and rebranded their model line so now it's the Core Ultra series; basically as of right now Core Ultra is the equivalent of a 15th-gen i7, it's their newest release in that class. I need to update the guide to reflect that and also need to figure out whatever the naming/numbering scheme is, and also add some AMD processors because I'm becoming familiar enough with the Ryzen line to make recommendations.
If you use a Windows or Mac computer or use a Google (Android) or Apple (iOS) phone, it is highly likely that everything on your system is being recorded, saved, sent through AI, and distributed.
It is no longer enough to press opt-out buttons and go through your settings. The system in your computer or phone itself is the problem and it doesn't respect your choices, often quietly overriding your settings or invisibly doing things it claims it isn't.
All of these operating systems have implemented what is essentially spyware into our devices, meaning digital safety and anonymity is at high risk. Even if you use programs or services to protect your privacy, like end to end encrypted messages or a secure password manager, as long as you (or the person on the other side of your communications) have one of these operating systems then whatever you are trying to protect is not private.
Imagine someone standing over your shoulder watching everything you do online. Every credit card number, every password, every username, every photo, every message, all of it is at risk of being saved and distributed without any of your knowledge. These systems are taking recordings and screenshots of your computer or phone as you are reading this (and this text is being extracted and interpreted and fed to AI).
These companies are seeking more and more access to and control over their users. Their monopoly status essentially means they can do whatever they want to consumers and we must comply. Even more extreme measures that require things like coding are not enough anymore and the average consumer will not be doing most of those (and they shouldn't have to).
But there is still hope.
There are solutions to this: open source operating systems and software (with a privacy and security focus). For computers and laptops, the easiest switch will be to a Linux operating system. For phones and tablets, the easiest switch will be to a de-Googled Android operating system.
Open source means that anyone, including you, can look at the code that makes up a system or program. That means that if there is anything malicious inside, like spyware, it can be identified and users can be warned.
The migration to open source operating systems and programs is not difficult in this day and age and is a lot less expensive than traditional systems and programs, oftentimes it is free. Things like Linux have come a long way with options like Linux Mint and Ubuntu, which work out of the box for most users.
In most cases, new users can try out different systems and programs for free without much effort or technical skill and even if you can't find a satisfactory open source alternative or need certain systems or programs for whatever reason, like Windows or Photoshop, there are still options for you, like dual booting.
I would recommend everyone to switch their computer(s) and phone(s) operating systems to an open source operating system and then to install privacy and security focused programs, preferably also open source. I would also recommend that you change any passwords, usernames, or other information that was on screen when you were using Windows, Apple, etc as that information is now compromised. In addition, please recommend these systems and services to friends and family so they (and anything you send them) can be safe too.
If you aren't sure how or where to start, or are just interested in learning more, here are some videos to help you start regaining control over your digital life:
Privacy and Security:
Access Techlore's curated privacy and security tools, software recommendations, and digital protection guides. All resources meet strict eva
Phones:
iodé phones protect your privacy and put you back in control of your data.
Computers:
Choose between our latest Framework Laptop 13 powered by Ryzen™ AI 300 Series processors or our brand new Framework Desktop with Ryzen™ AI M
Scrivener is a writing application. It’s primarily intended for desktop/laptop users, but there is also an iOS app that you can sync with using DropBox. It’s a bit clunky to that end, and so far as I’m aware, there’s still no Android app. However, there is a workaround.
Scrivener allows users to store all of their research, drafts, notes, and references in one place. Because it’s a local app (not hosted on a cloud/internet related), it can handle huge projects without the lagging you’ll find elsewhere. It is designed primarily for drafting and editing.
Pros:
Easy to keep all your files in one place. You can easily reference your story bible, character notes, timeline, etc. without leaving your editor.
Can handle long projects without issue.
Allows for scene-by-scene breakdowns within each chapter, if you desire.
Has templates for different types of projects, including poetry and screenwriting.
Autosave & auto-backup are built into the program.
Free 30 days of USE trial. Reasonable one-time payment.
Application is customizable.
Cons:
You must export files to share your work with others.
Because Scrivener can do so many things, it can be intimidating at first.
Must buy the app for each device used.
Mobile app is clunky and awkward, with no built-in Android support.
With that out of the way, let's take a look around!
This is what you’ll see when you open Scrivener. As you can see, there are a lot of options to choose from. The tutorials are nice, but I personally think they can be overwhelming for new users because there’s a lot going on.
**Note: this is not how Scrivener looks by default. I have installed a custom theme for my own personal enjoyment. You can pick between a handful of pre-installed themes (including dark mode!) by following this path: File > Options > Manage > Themes.
This is what Scrivener looks like by default:
Here’s a quick peek at a few templates. As you can see, there’s a lot going on, but the developers include guides everywhere they can to make your life easier. That being said, I personally prefer to start with a blank template.
There we go. A lot less going on, right? On the left is your binder: this is how you organize and navigate your project. The binder is built out of folders. These can be used however you’d like, but they are most often used to organize chapters and scenes. You can move folders anywhere in the binder at any time.
In your main toolbar, you can see your viewing tool. This allows you to swap between your editor (where you write), the corkboard (a nifty organizational tool - can also be used for planning, as cards can be dragged around), and the outliner. For its most basic use, you can chill in the editor and use Scrivener like any other word processor. If you’re a planner, then the corkboard and outliner may interest you!
This is the most basic introduction to these tools, by the way, but that’s all you need to get started.
You might have noticed that my binder is colorful. After toggling on the inspector panel by clicking the blue i button in the main toolbar, we get to see the synopsis of our selected folder and any notes we may have created for it. (There’s more that we can do in the inspector, but we’re keeping it basic for now.) At the bottom of the inspector, we can select a label (bottom left) and/or a status (bottom right) for our folder. These can be customized: I use labels to help me see what I’ve worked on, and create a visual status tracker. To view labels in the binder, navigate to View > Use Label Color In and select the options you prefer.
The toolbar is also customizable. Mine has been customized to suit my needs and most-used tools. Head over to View > Customize Toolbar and poke around. This will give you some insight into the things that Scrivener can do, and as you mess around, you’ll develop your own preferences and can build your own custom toolbar.
You can also customize the formatting toolbar in this menu.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: that’s a LOT of technical stuff. I don’t care about that. What about the WRITING?
Let me introduce you to the split view, which allows you to work on multiple documents within your project simultaneously. This is great when you need a reference handy, or even when you're editing/re-writing a scene.
To limit distractions, you can enter composition mode, which is a full-screen view of your current document. Downsides to this: you cannot use the binder, it’s harder to view notes, and you cannot simultaneously view your target tracker.
The target tracker allows you to set goals and deadlines, then automatically calculates and displays your progress. There’s also a stats tool, for those of you who like to see a breakdown of your project.
Scrivener’s not JUST for long projects, either! You can organize your fic by fandom, event, etc. in a single project for easy access. I have done this before and it was pretty nice to have everything in one spot.
To export your project, use the Compile tool and select the folders that you want to export and the format you want them in. I usually export to Word and upload to Docs so I can run an HTML script to format the fic before posting, but where you go from there is entirely up to you. Technically, you can copy/paste from the Word doc into AO3’s rich text editor, but I don’t like doing this as it can be funky. I think you can also do this straight out of Scrivener, but I haven’t tried it in a while and I’m not sure if the formatting would hold up.
Anyway, I’ve run out of steam, but that’s the gist. I LOVE Scrivener; it’s been my go-to word processor for almost ten years now. Let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.
I started writing "4 srs" this month and I like how free and accessible writing is, so I'm recommending free software I've experimented with that might help people who want to get into the hobby!
“Specifically Created for Writing Stories”
-------------------------------
Manuskript – Story organizer / word processor. Has an outliner and index card function, along with distraction free mode. Lets you switch between different templates such as a non-fiction mode or a short story.
Bibisco – Novel writing software that includes writing goals, world-building, distraction free mode, and a timeline.
“I Just Want to Write”
---------------------------
LibreOffice – Microsoft 365 alternative, but free! LibreOffice Writer is what I wrote this tumblr post in before I posted it. Also if you copy & paste the text into the Rich Text Editor on AO3, it seems that it actually converts it properly. Nice! No need for scripts.
Note-Taking
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Zim Wiki - note taking application that is very, very lightweight (1.1mb). It functions with a tree structure, so I’d personally recommend it for world-building and character bios. There are built-in plugins that also turn it into a good software for task management (it even has a article on how to use it for GTD) and journalling. See also: CherryTree (2mb), which is a more outdated-looking app, but functions similarly.
Obsidian MD – The Big Boy. markdown note editor that has been adopted by personal knowledge management fans---if it doesn’t do something you want it to do, just look in the community plugins to see if someone has already done it. Some unique non-word processing related usages I’ve found is the ability to create a table of contents dashboard, a image gallery for images, embedding youtube videos and timestamping notes, so forth.
Logseq – A bullet point based markdown note editor that also has PDF annotations, Zotero integration, flashcard creation, and whiteboards. Best used for outlining projects due to the bullet point structure.
Joplin – A modern app comparable to Zim Wiki, it’s basically just a note-taking software that uses folders and tags to sort easier. Looks prettier than Zim Wiki and Cherry Tree
Notion – An online-only website that allows usage of different database types. Free for personal use. Note: I dislike the AI updates that have been making the app lag more. I prefer the others on this list.
Mind Maps
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Freeplane – So much goddamn features, including a ton of add-ons. Looks somewhat ugly, but it works for anyone willing to spend a while learning how to use it.
Mermaid – Text-based diagram creator. Can be used in apps like Joplin, Notion, and Obsidian.
Obsidian’s Canvas – A core plugin for Obsidian, it deserves its own mention in that it allows you to create embedded notes of the mindmap nodes. Thus, if you want to create a 20-page long note and have it minimized to the size of a penny on the mindmap, you could.
Other Things That Might Be Of Interest
Syncthing - A free software that allows you to sync between two or more computers. Have a desktop but also laze around on a laptop in bed, coming up with ideas?? This is your buddy if you don't want to use a online software.
NOTE: I use dwm and dwl interchangeably in this writeup due to them being simalar in management and operation, and thus could possibly apply to one another. Take this as you will.
I've always taken an liking to dwm. For a very short period of time, I actually daily drived it, because I had no other laptops other than my sadly underpowered server, and sucklessware did the job (kind of). My reason for hackintoshing, and preferring macOS in general is the top tier design mixed with your normal everyday UNIX utilities, like good old zsh, cp, and ssh. No bullshit like whatever the fuck PowerShell is.
Why is macOS involved? Because a significant difference between Linux desktop environments and most window managers and macOS is the clean design it has. I used to prefer Linux over anything before I started hackintoshing, with a specific preferance of Fedora Linux, but I was using Windows 11 at the time. My oomf convinced me to hackintosh and, I had (almost) never looked back. During that time, I was also experimenting with Chimera Linux, Arch Linux, and Arkane Linux, but I just saw these as testing operating systems because there were no good GUIs for Linux. However, this has (again, almost) changed when I had heard of dwl, a Wayland reimplementation of the dwm we know and love.
I figured that dwl would be worth a shot, so I set up a Arch Linux install, and got to work on installing my second current hyperfixation, the CachyOS kernel. The CachyOS kernel interests me because they bring light to the x86_64-v3 and x86_64-v4 and Zen 4+ processors. These are all apparently highly slept on improvements that the mainline Linux kernel doesn't use to it's advantage, and the CachyOS kernels seek to rectify this.
Back to the topic, what I really do not like about dwm is how if you want a new feature, you must apply a patch to it against your local copy of it's souce code. dwm is meant to be dead simple, and the source code is minimal so that these patches can be applied easier, but one thing doesn't change, you can slowly get screwed when applying patches, until it just doesn't work. What we need is an xcaddy approach. A builder script that can take these modifications, apply them, compile dwm, and you have a low effort dwm setup. I always try to recommend the xcaddy approach for some projects, but some might just be fucking hell to maintain, maybe because the program is fragile, or this approach was added later in time.
dwl is no different, and I had to limit my patchset to just three patches: bar, bar-systray, and autostart (which doesn't even work). I'm completely fine with this, knowing that this may be a suckless tactic to prevent feature bloating in dwm/dwl. I don't agree with suckless at all, but dwm is the only thing I like from it. Later on, I heard of quilt, which makes managing these patches more easier, but after actually using it to apply patches, I realised that it was a whole lot of nothing, which led me to downsize my patches.
After applying these patches, I realised that we now have access to real screenshot tools like grim and slurp, and more wlroots utilities. Big win! I was also starting to remember that the default dwm keyboard shortcuts were kind of hard to grasp, so to make things easier on me, I changed my master key to the Windows key, which had no effect. I do not like how resizing the windows works, expecially on laptops (yes, I know I can change this), as it requires holding down a right button. I have a trackpoint so maybe this could have been easier, but I keep forgetting it exists.
So, do I recommend dwm or dwl for daily use? Maybe? Probably if you always use a mouse and you're good with learning curves. Even though I had my setbacks, I would really like to work with this again.
I'm choosing between 2 laptops to buy. We'll call them laptop 1 and 2, for the sake of simplicity. (I'm in no hurry to buy one, mine works... just fine... but not great. It struggles when I have too many tabs open in Chrome, and is lagging as I write this post with literally only Discord open in the background. I'm sure you can imagine how it handles any heavier program. Yes I made a mistake by cheaping out when I could afford better, yes I am aware of this, yes I regret it deeply, let's move on.)
Laptop 1 is about 100 dollars/euros/1000 SEK cheaper.
They both have OLED screens with approximately the screen resolution: laptop 1 has a 15.6" display with 2880 x 1620 resolution (16:9) and laptop 2 has a 14" display with 2880 x 1800 resolution (16:10). My current laptop has a 14" display with 1920 x 1080 resolution (16:9) so either way it's a pretty big upgrade. In terms of size alone, I prefer the 15.6". (Laptop 1 weighs 1.8kg and laptop 2 weighs 1.45kg, which is not enough of a difference that it really matters to me.)
Laptop 1 has a higher refresh rate (120Hz vs 90Hz on laptop 2).
Their processors are both AMD Ryzen 7s (8 cores, 16 threads, 16GB RAM) with equal base clock speed (3.2GHz), but laptop 1 has a Ryzen 7 5800H while laptop 2 has a Ryzen 7 6800H. The two processors use different RAM types (5800H uses DDR4 RAM & 6800H uses LPDDR5 SDRAM (though it is fully possible that the 5800H also uses SDRAM and the sites I'm looking at just aren't telling me)). 5800H has a higher peak temperature (105 Celsius vs. 95 Celsius). The 6800H has a higher turbo clock speed (4.7GHz vs. 4.4GHz).
They both have the same graphics card (NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050), they both ship with Windows 11, and they both have 1TB of storage space.
Ultimately, I think the main question is whether laptop 2's better processor makes a big enough difference that it negates laptop 1's comfort of a bigger display and justifies the price difference despite it being smaller... and I do not know enough about laptops to make the call there.
("Build your own PC" and "buy a desktop PC" are both advice I will not take because I do not own or have space for a desk.)
(They're both Asus Vivobook Pro OLEDs: laptop 1 is M6500QC-MA025W and laptop 2 is M6400RC-KM001W, and more specifically, they cost 15990 SEK and 16990 SEK. My current laptop is also an ASUS Vivobook but I don't even think they make it anymore because it's so bad. It has a 2-core Ryzen 3 processor and 128GB of storage space.)
if you want see a side by side comparison of gifs i make on each, all my paradigm sets were made on my laptop (here, here, here, and here) while my taemin gifs and these two key mv sets were made on my desktop (here, here, and here). they generally look the exact same, my desktop is just faster bc it has more memory.
things i do first:
i always clip the video i’m working with first by writing out the timestamps i want to use solely bc that is what works best and quickest for me. every gifmaker is different and will have different tactics, but that’s just what i’m used to and what helps me expedite the process the most!
clipping things this way means that i spend less time rifling through frames and shots to find what i like bc i just make note of the timestamp where a certain shot i like is and can push it through the vapoursynth real easy
vapoursynth settings:
for vapoursynth i try not to do too much since i do most my work inside photoshop itself, and i keep these settings the same 100% of the time. and rather than going through each individual gif, i overwrite the code each time i start a new set so that i can keep the sizes the same from gif to gif. this also cuts down on time and makes it easier to focus on other parts of the process
video = core.knlm.KNLMeansCL(video, 0, 6, 4, 0.5, channels="YUV")
video = fun.FineSharp(video, sstr=1.5)
i only use a preprocessor (video = haf.QTGMC(video, Preset="Slower", TFF=True) bilinear) when the file i’m working with overlaps frames or has that ‘striping’ effect on it.
i trim all my clips/gifs on vs to start! if a gif ends up being too large, or i don’t like certain frames, or i don’t like the way it loops, i’ll simply delete as needed later in photoshop!
once i get my output and it processes (the processing time of the gifs is usually what takes the longest and i have found that this speed depends mostly on your device’s memory. my desktop is much faster than my laptop bc my desktop has twice the amount of memory on it) i copy and paste the output file into a generic copy like this. if i’m making a ton of clips (20-30+) then i will name them or separate into folders as needed
photoshop:
firstly, photoshop is very dependant on memory as well. the sole reason why my desktop has so much memory is bc of photoshop. you can go into settings to change how much memory photoshop consumes (edit -> preferences -> performance) and photoshop will recommend an ideal range to use too. i have mine set to 70% and it runs like a dream. the only crashes i’ve experienced have been when i’m running other programs that use a lot of memory at the same time.
i monitor my task manager regularly simply bc i like knowing why my computer is running the way it is and i can confirm that photoshop eats memory hardcore. if you use both vapoursynth and photoshop, and have issues with slowness and/or crashes, i recommend keeping photoshop closed until you are fully done with vapoursynth.
i don’t reuse colorings from set to set so i don’t really keep/use psds personally. i know a lot of gifmakers do have set psds that they make to use for certain kinds of videos and such, and that is def something that can speed up the process too ^^
what i personally do is group my coloring layers into a folder and once i’ve finished coloring one gif i will simply copy and paste it onto the next and make minor adjustments as needed!
coloring itself, it depends from set to set but the five layers i absolutely always use are: brightness/contrast, color balance, channel mixer, selective color, and exposure (i always keep my exposure layer on the very top, it’s a minor change but just a personal preference)
i try to make everything as easy as possible when giffing personally, so if i can turn a 20 click process into one click, then i absolutely will.
90% of the speed of my giffing comes from actions!
actions are my best best best friend in the universe when it comes to giffing. i have the same action sets on both my laptop and desktop so that i don’t have to remember my settings myself since my memory is horrible.
first convert: select all frames, select all layers, convert frame animation, convert to smart object
compile: select all layers, convert to smart object
blur: for captions, i duplicate the og layer and select the area around the caption then use gaussian blur at radius 1.4 pixels to blur. i typically go in after the fact with the blurring tool to smooth the edges around the blur section so it isn’t as sharp!
i have an action for my noise settings to maximize efficiency too, then i do the same for my denoise/sharpening settings. i have two separate ones, one for small gifs (like for a 9-set, 3x3) and one for all other sizes of gifs
the final convert is simply flattening the frames into clips and converting the timeline, making frames from layers, then setting it to whatever speed i like. because im ultra lazy, i have those frame speed settings as an action so i can just do one click instead of like, three.
essentially, if there is something i know i will be doing and/or repeating often, i make it an action. that’s really what makes my process as quick as it is imo!
honestly i just try to streamline the process as much as possible bc the technical parts of clicking 100 different things are not what i enjoy about giffing, i enjoy coloring and playing with layers the most so that’s what i want to spend the brunt of my time doing. but i also tend to be super busy while also wanting to gif a ton so over time and with practice a lot of the process has become pretty snappy and easy just from that!
pls feel free to ask questions if anything doesn’t make sense im not the best at communicating my thoughts into words so i might be explaining things in a way only i can understand but i hope it makes sense enough and is helpful too!!
I have a couple of questions because I know fuck all about computers!
I have a gaming laptop atm (hp power pavillion) that I use for school and games. I've had it for about 4 years at this point, and I've been told that that's about the average functional lifespan for a laptop. I'd like to figure out what to get next before I HAVE to get something new so I can make a good instead of quick decision.
I think I want a desktop pc next, because I believe that swapping out parts on one of those as necessary is probably cheaper in the long run than getting a new laptop every X years, and I'll have a computer that's up to date the entire time.
If that is actually the best way to go, I'm stuck on what to get specifically. I have a very basic understanding of what different components do, but I don't really know the difference between different levels of something. Like a graphics card is what generates the images you see on your monitor, but what difference do you see in a rtx 40 or 30? And is that difference worth the difference in price? And the same goes for every other component of the pc too. Everything has so many different variables I'm getting kind of overwhelmed by all of it.
I'd probably mainly use the new computer for gaming and I'm not all that concerned with rendering every single pore on a character's skin so to speak, but I'd like to be able to put the graphics on fancy instead of fast for once.
And finally, how can you start to learn about all of this? It feels like half the information I get when looking up how to build a pc is just trying to sell me something and not very objective.
So generally speaking laptops have an expected lifespan of 3-5 years (that's flexible, depending on use - I tend to get about 7 out of mine for day-to-day use and then an extra 5 years of light duty).
However, desktops are only a little better! 5 years is about the expected lifespan of a business desktop before it's more efficient to replace it than to repair it in a business context (home users often get more life out of desktops than enterprise users do).
The hard limit for upgrades for almost all computers, laptop or desktop, is the processor. Even if you technically *CAN* replace your processor on some systems it typically isn't worth it, and so as your computer ages the processor becomes the bottleneck for speed.
If you game heavily and are planning on doing so for a long time, I'd say to look at getting a custom build and to dump as much cash as you can afford into getting the best processor and graphics card you can.
If you're gaming, processor speed matters more than core count. I do not, unfortunately, have any advice that I can give you about graphics cards, except to say that they're often less about visual clarity and more about rendering things quickly.
NZXT is a gaming computer group I've worked with before and I've been very satisfied with everything I've ordered for them for customers.
Both of the creators I'm about to list DO often post sponsored content that is trying to sell stuff, but they also have MASSIVE backlogs of videos that you can watch to get a feel for how to put together a PC, what parts do what, and what parts matter.
Linus Tech Tips has a lot of how-tos but also has the team competing to build computers or diagnose problems, and watching a team of people trouble-shooting is genuinely one of the best ways to learn how to work on computers because trouble-shooting is a necessary skill for that kind of work. Here's a video of theirs on building a PC, and for a fun twist (with some shaky cam) here's a POV video on how to build a PC.
Paul's Hardware is also a great source for hardware info. Here's his playlist of PC Builds.
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