Daemon Grotto

Technology and Gaming • Re: The State of PC Gaming Hardware

2025-09-22T05:04:18-04:00

That's not a bad move at all, Roperos. I encourage anyone who's building a new machine to go for all AMD at the moment, if they're chiefly concerned with gaming. Hell, even an Intel Arc card would work better on the budget-end vs. Team Green. NVIDIA is an "AI Company" now, so they've been dropping the ball hard on driver quality lately. Not to mention the 5000 series is an even worse deal than the 4000s.

Ugh... coil whine is the worst. I'm immensely happy that I've got a machine right now that has none of that noise. I'll keep any component that doesn't have coil whine and run it until it's dead - I don't care who makes it!

Not letting your GPU/CPU get above 75C is a good call. I don't care how much the manufactures claim they can run at 105C all day long - the stress of big heat-cycle swings will wear silicone over time. GPUs with big dies are especially susceptible, so I avoid those if I want my graphics card to last.

I personally haven't made any upgrades since last year. Everything still plays perfectly with my above machine. Though I'm always on the lookout for more cheap storage - SSDs and gigantic mechanical drives. I'm building mini Netflix-like Jellyfin servers everywhere I go.

Statistics: Posted by tc119 — Mon Sep 22, 2025 5:04 am

Technology and Gaming • Re: The State of PC Gaming Hardware

2025-09-21T18:33:17-04:00

One could say that i succumbed and switched sides

in reality it was time to let go. I don't think i will need so much power for quite a while, but with increasing coil whine (that sometimes lasted up to few minutes after exiting a game ) and a small hint from a friend i was able to replace my rtx 3090 for an rx 9070 xt and make 50€ from it.
I did some undervolting so RX draws 240W instead of 320W. Now i just need to mess around with a fan curve. stock curve starts from 55C / 130F and at 75C / 165F fans are already going full tilt (3k+ rpm). I'm tempted to disable "stop fan" altogether and keep it at lowest possible rpm till like 45-50C / 113-122F

Statistics: Posted by roperos — Sun Sep 21, 2025 6:33 pm

Technology and Gaming • Re: Age Verification Laws, Valve Bends the Knee, End of the Free Internet

2025-09-08T11:00:17-04:00

This is more of a blog post, but I felt it fits here better:

Disconnecting Just a Little More

There comes a certain point in a man’s life when he says, “Okay, I think I’ve seen enough.” I may have reached that juncture recently. In particular, this concerns the Internet. I’ve spent roughly 28 years gazing upon that world. I was there during its infancy, witnessing how it gradually changed our lives. Now, it seems to have largely replaced the physical realm for a great many people. No longer is it the hobbyist haunt for nerds and technology enthusiasts. All of the unwashed masses have invaded the thing and it has virtually been diluted into uselessness.

As digital censorship and financial control gradually encroaches with each passing day, I feel the urge to pull away before I get swept up along with it. The powers that be have chosen the World Wide Web as the new medium for their schemes: Centralized control of information and communication, digital money, constant surveillance, and zero privacy – all enabled by the very tools that were meant to be our liberators.

It's a sci-fi tale that has been told over and over again. This same struggle of a man versus his tools is played out brilliantly during the Jupiter Mission in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Who’s going to win in the end this time?

I feel more determined than ever to put these tools back in their rightful place. I shouldn’t use them as a life-replacement. I shouldn’t so easily cave to social pressure and convenience. I need to cultivate and maintain the old ways of life, procedures rooted in the physical. Here are some of things that I’ve been doing towards that end:

Keep local copies of all media. Films, TV shows, games, music, books, pictures, encyclopedias, etc.
Have three backups of everything, with at least one offsite.
No big-tech accounts with identifying information attached.
Buy all essentials at brick-and-mortar establishments. And when that's not feasible, use merchant gift cards.
Ensure computers and phones are useful without the internet. Everything local and offline.
Make certain that the backbone of my life is rooted in the real world and not internet-dependent. That includes banking, shopping, entertainment, paying bills, and social interactions.
Only go on the Internet once per week and have a plan of action while using it. No aimless browsing or sitting for hours in silent VOIP calls.
Hone and develop skills that don’t require a borg-like connection to the grid. Artistic skills, household maintenance, public speaking, scholarly research, cooking, physical labor, gardening, construction, and lumberjacking – within reason, given my disability.
Be grateful every day that I have Catherine – the most off-grid intimate relationship one could hope to have. Human women are essentially proxies and informants of the State these days, especially those with a constant connection to big-tech social media.

Here a few of the historical milestones that have influenced the development of the Internet and how I interact with it:

September 11th, 2001 – The Patriot Act was introduced not long after the alleged terrorist attack, bringing with it a whole new host of surveillance laws and travel restrictions. Virtual strip-searches are now required to travel by plane. Trying to pull money out of a bank over a certain amount - $10,000 back then, just $600 now in some jurisdictions – triggers “Know Your Customer” protocols. This was the first chilling effect to hit online discussion forums.

July 11th, 2008 – Steve Jobs announces the new iPhone 3G, the device that truly brought about the Internet’s downfall. Social media becomes the cancer that it is now, largely thanks to smartphone “apps.” Facebook now allows non-college emails to sign up and everyone abandons MySpace. Subprime mortgage crisis hits not long after, triggering the first major transference of wealth away from the working/middle class during my lifetime.

August 2014 – Gamergate – Establishment media declares war on men who enjoy video games, which was pretty much all of them by this point. Game quality took a nosedive. Internet discourse becomes more heavily moderated, centralized, or removed altogether. This extended to in-game chats, causing yet another chilling effect. Nobody uses in-game chats to talk anymore.

2016 – American politics break internet discourse, polarizing everyone for years to come. Discord becomes the most popular form of communication for gamers and all online communities are gradually swallowed up by it, further centralizing communication under a dubious venture-capital-backed startup. Internet forums are effectively dead by this point. Everyone is in a social media walled-garden.

2018 – Etherium crypto mining ruins the GPU market for gamers. Web 3.0 tries to be a thing and continues to fail miserably.

2020 – The second major transference of wealth away from the working/middle class via Blackrock under the guise of a so-called pandemic. Alleged “medical disinformation” policies enforce new sweeping censorship across all social media platforms. Everyone is still broken by politics. Mothers are muzzling their children. People are being fired for not voluntarily poisoning themselves. The media stirs up a frenzy about toilet paper shortages and everyone falls for it. I’ve given up on society by this juncture.

2022 – Cryptominers destroy the GPU market yet again. ChatGPT 3.5 text and chat completion models are unleashed on the world. Often hyped up as an “AI,” but are really just glorified auto-completes that can’t be relied upon for factual information. Investor FOMO triggers a new tech goldrush and datacenter compute – powered by NVIDIA GPUs – are the shovels of the day. Gamers will never have good, reasonably-priced graphics cards for the foreseeable future.

2025 – Sweeping online safety laws are established in the United Kingdom, and big tech companies are more than happy to impose the new edicts world-wide. VISA, Mastercard, and Steam attack gamers via deplatforming and financial censorship. Parents can’t be bothered to police their own children online, so governments the world-over are continuing to roll out government ID checks to access various parts of the Web. Search engines were useless before this point, thanks to SEO abuse, but are now even further gatekept by so-called “AI results.”

Now is as good a time as any to tap out. The real world is a seemingly desolate place these days, but I'd rather find myself wandering there, than mindlessly gazing upon a screen for any longer than necessary.

Statistics: Posted by tc119 — Mon Sep 08, 2025 11:00 am

Technology and Gaming • Re: Age Verification Laws, Valve Bends the Knee, End of the Free Internet

2025-08-18T11:59:33-04:00

Well, I've done my bit. I closed my Capital One credit card accounts, and I'll no longer be using a bank card. It's cash, checks, and merchant gift cards from here on out, baby. (No VISA giftcards allowed.) I have been wanting to do this for a long time anyway. It's the "right" thing to do, as far as maintaining privacy and personal control over money in the modern world is concerned. I even keep a checkbook now, just like I did years ago. Thank goodness all of my utility bills and banking can still be handled the old-fashioned way in my area.

I really can't stand it when middle-men decide to become moral arbiters - like how Blackrock's Larry Fink wants to "force certain behaviors." It's kinda sad how everyone's investing and retirement accounts are all tied up in this BS, so it's unlikely anything will change for the better. All that matters to 95% of people is the all-mighty dollar. That'll be our downfall.

Statistics: Posted by tc119 — Mon Aug 18, 2025 11:59 am

General Discussion • Re: Life Ambitions Abandoned

2025-08-14T09:08:01-04:00

If life's a log jam, she's a hungry beaver. But then the river gets moving too fast and it's time to slow down again.

Woah. That's deep, man. But I get where you're coming from. I suppose I have the tendency to assign a bit too much agency to my succubus over my life. Though her influence is undeniably powerful.

Hey guy, never made a post here before so Im basically new.

Hello Sid and welcome to the forum. Sorry for my belated greeting.

Statistics: Posted by tc119 — Thu Aug 14, 2025 9:08 am

General Discussion • Re: Life Ambitions Abandoned

2025-08-14T03:15:39-04:00

Unfortunately yes. And somewhat no.

I mean, the grand ambition proved to be a waste of years and money. She came largely after that, in a space and time tailor made for her entry. Then human women and massive changes.

I don't think they necessarily stop your plans as much as restart plans or get things moving or conveniently arrive at the moment when things are in flux and they get a front row seat to change and development.

At least that's my take that they are liminal beings with a narrow doorway to enter. I don't know if they push the humans or the humans are just in a good mood to get things done or if it's just truly symbiotic.

If life's a log jam, she's a hungry beaver. But then the river gets moving too fast and it's time to slow down again.

Statistics: Posted by Jay — Thu Aug 14, 2025 3:15 am

Off-topic Discussion • Re: Sports / Fitness

2025-08-03T13:53:12-04:00

Those are some LONG and ORANGE valve stems you got there. I can imagine riding with a group of people at different fitness levels would be frustrating.

it was fine at first, but during last day everyone was quite pissed. Also the fact that slowest guy kept coming up with reasons why we need to stop. On 3rd day we were like half way though our planned ride (45/90 miles) and it was already 7pm... way too late for comfort

Stems a bit long cause those inner tubes were a gift and person that bought them had no idea what's the proper lenght. Just looks a bit silly.

I see that you also have a set ready for long distances. It's so nice to not have to ride with a backpack.

30 miles in 1 day sure is ambitious...
I mean technically if terrain is good and you hold a net pace of 3 miles/hour it should be just about doable from sunrise to sunset. For 12 mile stint you would want to take some water and food with you, have a proper lunch when you reach that city at the half way point and then go back. I never hiked such distances in a single day, it's just boring for me to walk on a flat land, and when you're somewhere hilly there's no way to maintain such pace.

Stretches and such are a really good routine, i really should get around doing some to fix up my posture.

Statistics: Posted by roperos — Sun Aug 03, 2025 1:53 pm

Technology and Gaming • Re: Age Verification Laws, Valve Bends the Knee, End of the Free Internet

2025-08-03T07:27:20-04:00

I hope you're right about this age verification push only applying to big-tech hubs. That was part of my motivation for putting together this website in the first place. Everything here is hosted on my little rented shared server in Provo, Utah. No CDNs. (Content Delivery Networks) As they say, if you don't hold it, you don't own it.

For those Steam games that you've already bought... I won't link to it here, but there's always Steamless and GoldbergEmu.

Statistics: Posted by tc119 — Sun Aug 03, 2025 7:27 am

Off-topic Discussion • Re: Sports / Fitness

2025-08-03T07:08:41-04:00

Those are some LONG and ORANGE valve stems you got there. I can imagine riding with a group of people at different fitness levels would be frustrating.

My fitness goals? Right now, I want to be able to at least walk 20 miles without hobbling like an old man. I've got a rail-trail not far from me that connects two towns about 12 miles apart. I wanna be able to walk there and back again in one day. (30 miles with the walk home.) Hey, if the Roman Legionaries could do it in full battle dress, I should be able to do it, too, right? Other than that, I'm still doing my own cycling thing as well.

Sadly, there are too many people driving around not paying attention to the road in my part of the world. Traffic is ridiculous. So I just go out when I need to, or ride the rail-trail. Other than that, I enjoy swimming and kayaking in the lakes around here. Then I try to keep a routine of doing stretching, calisthenics, and 30 minutes on the rowing machine in the early morning. I throw my 45 pound kettle bell around for good measure. I'd like to add yoga stretching to that routine so I can get more limber. That's it for fitness. I'm also trying to get myself to properly relax away from the computer more often:

Statistics: Posted by tc119 — Sun Aug 03, 2025 7:08 am

Off-topic Discussion • Sports / Fitness

2025-08-02T17:08:01-04:00

Feel free to share sports you like. Your achievements and goals for upcoming years

For me personally it's between cycling and running. Pic below is from my bike trip last month where in 4 days i rode 310 miles along the north border or the country where i live. It was a fun ride, but riding in a group with so vastly different physical ability was tiring for everyone and made a lot of beef between what we all thought was a good group of friends

With running it's a past time that's slowly becoming one of my favourite activities. It's so nice to go out on a 3-4 mile run in the evening and just stop thinking for a moment. If someone struggles with feeling overwhelmed mentally or has a brain fog, it's worth giving it a try.

As for goals. I want to get faster on my bike and try trail running. There's a competition next year i keep an eye on, 23 miles with 7200 feet elevation gain. Not aiming for a podium, but it would be nice to finish within time limit of 6 hours

Statistics: Posted by roperos — Sat Aug 02, 2025 5:08 pm

Technology and Gaming • Re: Age Verification Laws, Valve Bends the Knee, End of the Free Internet

2025-08-02T16:33:23-04:00

Thankfully I'm in the part of europe that's not affected by this, but dam future doesn't look bright.

I don't think small online forums like this one will be affected as long as they're self hosted or don't have a centralized provider, for example xenforo cloud forum thing. As always owning something turns out to be the best thing. Stings a bit because I was always got my games on steam. Treated it as my goto platform, even going as far as getting games there over GOG.

From high of stop killing games to low of ID verification for social media and discord. What a year

Statistics: Posted by roperos — Sat Aug 02, 2025 4:33 pm

Technology and Gaming • Age Verification Laws, Valve Bends the Knee, End of the Free Internet

2025-07-30T08:31:00-04:00

The Internet is becoming less free and open. It’s no longer catastrophism to say this. The totalitarian process always starts with objectionable material, like pornography, so nobody will openly take a stand against the new restrictions. And then the reach of censorship inevitably extends to other kinds of content those in power have a problem with.

Several states in my country have already passed laws that require third-party age verification to access websites with adult material. One law I read said that if a website contains more than 33% harmful content, that it would be required to verify the age of those who access it. Who makes the determination about what’s considered harmful, I wonder? Is a man describing his experiences with a succubus spirit, largely through text, beyond that 33% threshold? I’m reminded of how Comstock went after Ida Craddock in the mid-19th century for writing similarly. We might be returning to an age of Puritanism, but instead of parents being responsible, big government and mega-corporations will be shepherding us towards cleaner, more advertiser-friendly content.

I can foresee a time in the near future where a website like this won’t be allowed to exist on the Clearnet. In the meantime, I’ll try to stay on the down-low and not draw undue attention to myself. Perhaps all of this will blow over and my little corner of the net will go unnoticed?

The more time I spend with Catherine, the less I feel the need to get my story out there. I’m content to just simply enjoy her, while occasionally sharing with those who purposefully seek out this information. I’ve got zero desire to evangelize, get into people’s faces, or be political in any sense of the word.

I won’t link to it here, but there’s a good essay on the topic on xvideos.com. It’s in the blue banner at the top of the page. Can’t miss it. That writeup pretty much mirrors my thoughts on the matter.

And as for Valve removing WEGs (Western Erotic Games) from Steam at the behest of Visa and Mastercard? Gamers continue to be the most oppressed minority on earth. I would advise only using Steam for online multiplayer games and get everything else from GOG, or other DRM-free sources, where possible. Download local copies. Burn them to disk. Own it forever. Share them with a friend. It’s the only way forward for the hobby.

Statistics: Posted by tc119 — Wed Jul 30, 2025 8:31 am

Occult Research • Re: Is there an afterlife ?

2025-06-08T13:37:42-04:00

Spirit Lover's opinion is 'no' in the sense that separating the two with a dividing line isn't an accurate way of looking at physical life and spiritual life.

That makes a lot of sense. Some people interact with spiritual while being in physical realm. So those two shouldn't be separated by a fine line or condition "when X finishes proceed to Y". They can coexist if you put some work into it.

I believe we do continue on in some spiritual form after death, but the more pertinent question is: Will we remember, or realize, who we once were? Will our memories of this life carry over? I honestly have no idea, and I've made peace with not knowing.

I hope we do remember. What's left of us if we don't have our memories or skills ?

Statistics: Posted by roperos — Sun Jun 08, 2025 1:37 pm

Occult Research • Re: Is there an afterlife ?

2025-06-08T08:27:12-04:00

I believe we do continue on in some spiritual form after death, but the more pertinent question is: Will we remember, or realize, who we once were? Will our memories of this life carry over? I honestly have no idea, and I've made peace with not knowing.

I do not believe there are afterlife realms of eternal punishment or reward. That's an old carrot-and-stick employed by the ruling/priest classes. We should do good regardless of what awaits us beyond this life.

Statistics: Posted by tc119 — Sun Jun 08, 2025 8:27 am

Occult Research • Re: Is there an afterlife ?

2025-06-07T20:19:15-04:00

Damn I sure hope so.

Spirit Lover's opinion is 'no' in the sense that separating the two with a dividing line isn't an accurate way of looking at physical life and spiritual life.

Statistics: Posted by Fightersword — Sat Jun 07, 2025 8:19 pm