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Cable Management 101 – For your desktop workspace or entertainment system

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There was a post on reddit where a user /u/VergingRivals posted a thread needing help on getting the this monstrosity (posted above) on how to get his desktop cables in order. I was in a similar situation not too long ago, albeit not as bad as this but it did take some time to get everything organized. Both my desktop and especially the TV for my game consoles were a freaking fire hazard so I wrote up a response on how he should get started in cleaning up his setup. Below is my response to his dilemma.

I had a very similar situation to yours… well not as bad. As some other people mentioned, unplug everything. To take it a step further, unplug everything, clear off all your desk. Pair the cables that go with each device.

Decide which devices you use in a regular basis and which ones you hardly or never use. Place the devices you do use back in your desk first, do not add the cables yet until you have all the devices you need. I discovered like 3 things I don’t use anymore… like a WiiU I had on my desk, a usb hub, extra game pad, and an egpu that i barely use since i switched to a PC for gaming instead of using my Mac.

Now, one by one, connect the cables to each device, without plugging them in the outlet / surge protector.

Once you do that, have all the power cords routed in the same direction towards the power outlet. If the are too long, fold them to shorten the length and zip tie.

You can use zip ties or to make things easier, pick up one or a few of these https://amzn.to/2xs47Ms and it will help hide the surge protectors and lengthy cables. Just remember that when you shorten or fold the cables you do it towards the plug so you can place it in these cable management boxes.

I’ve never done this before doing it myself a few weeks ago but these steps is what made the most sense to me and I had some trial and error along the way. Hope that helps!

And here’s a look at my setup!

By the way, before anyone freaks out, those “black bars” are built in SPEAKERS on my display, not a resolution issue!

Pick up the Cable Management Box here: https://amzn.to/2xs47Ms


 

Hackintosh – Installing MacOS Mojave on MSI GS65 Stealth – Who needs a MacBook Anymore?

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So after installing a 1TB SSD on to the GS65, I wanted to see what more I can accomplish with this thing. I woke up this morning and wanted to challenge myself by attempting to install Mac OS onto this gaming laptop. I know there are Hackintosh guides on that and it has been done on other laptops and the process looks like a pain in the ass. Then I thought about doing a virtual machine, which although gets a huge degradation in performance, it basically will run within Windows much like how Parallels runs in Mac. My VM of choice was VMWare because it was free.

The process was actually pretty easy, however the challenge was getting FaceTime and iMessage to work because I believe it needs a valid Mac serial number in order for it to work on a Mac computer. It CAN be done but it does involve some gray area things that you have to do but it does work.

I used this guide to install using VMWARE: https://techsviewer.com/install-macos-mojave-vmware-windows/

And this guide to get iMessage and iCloud working: https://github.com/toshmatik/VMWare-iMessage/blob/master/instructions.md

Now that I finally have iMessage on my PC… who needs a Mac anymore?

 


MSI GS65 Stealth 9SE Hard Drive Upgrade Teardown Install

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I’ve been wanting to add some additional storage since I picked up my MSI GS65 9SE 2019 model since it came with only 512GB storage space. Sure it may seem like a lot now but this is a gaming laptop games take a lot of space and that will fill up pretty quickly. Fortunately, the MSI GS65 Stealth is up upgradable and you can put 2 M.2 SSD SSD drives into the laptop.

Unfortunately MSI doesn’t make the task as easy as most laptops out there to upgrade the hard drive and install RAM since the motherboard for some reason is flipped over and to get access to those upgrades, you need to physically remove the motherboard from the chassis. Sure it sounds pretty scary and it even looks scary doing but it’s not as tough as it seems. I did it in an hour by following a Youtube video which I will link below paid close attention to what I was doing. You have to be patient with yourself in this project but in the same time be confident and not too nervous. I was able to complete the task in about 30 minutes. Seriously, it wasn’t all to bad. I say the most difficult part through the whole thing was just stop myself from over thinking the whole process and just doing it. Once you pop open the cover at the bottom, just watch along carefully and gently remove the ribbon cables, screws, and some tape. Believe me, it will all start to make sense when you start.

Here’s what I Used

 

 


 

MSI GS65 Stealth 9SE 2019 Gaming Laptop First Impressions Review

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I was trying to decide between this, the Asus Zephyrus M, and the new Razer Blade 15 Advance. After going back and forth, I decided to try out the MSI GS65 and I think this trial phase is on its way to being permanent.

I am a long time Mac user and my current laptop is a MacBook Pro 13 2018 and I game on a PS4 and an Xbox One X. Wanted to get back to the PC Master Race and I wanted the flexibility to play at home, in between offices while I’m on the road as well as have a great dedicated PC that will run my Windows applications for work. I’ve been using Parallels for years, while it does work… it’s just not the same.

Out of the box, the GS65 has decent build quality with its aluminum casing compared to most PC laptops you see at Best Buy but this is nowhere near the level of quality of a Mac and even a Razer. The GS65 doesn’t feel as solid and I would have expected a little more after shelling out $2000 for this thing. I really appreciate the engineering of the Mac and Razer on how they were able to build something so thin, yet extremely solid. The build of the MSI screen was disappointingly flimsy and I feel that I could one day break this thing if I opened the screen the wrong way, especially with one hand.

Performance however is where this laptop really shines. I have thrown every game I had at High to Ultra settings and it handles them with ease. Crysis 3 (yeah it’s a 2013 game) was at Ultra and it looked amazing. Overwatch was at Ultra and the frame rates just flew and the same with Apex Legends. The GS65 also handled Shadow of Tombraider like a champ. I played through Tombraider on the Xbox One X and I had to sacrifice frame rates for quality and that just wasn’t the experience I wanted for such a visually stunning game. On the GS65, Tombraider was absolutely beautiful and it easily maintained a 60 fps frame rate without issues. Sure the fans were blowing but that is to be expected from a thin and light gaming laptop. Oh did I mention that this thing is only a little over 4lbs?

As a productivity device it’s fantastic. The majority of my work day revolves around Google Chrome and Microsoft Office and this thing handles it like a champ. I go from home to office, to other offices, and airport to airport. The weight makes this less a burden to carry. However, if you are planning to use this as only for work, it’s going to be overkill so you might want to look elsewhere.

Other things to note:

  • The speakers were loud but bass is weak.
  • Battery life at Battery Saver or Better Battery setting will get you through 4-6 hours for work applications such as MS Office
  • The trackpad is much better than last years, but it’s no MacBook or Razer
  • This has a generous amount of ports, 3 USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, Audio, Mini Display, Thunderbolt
  • Wish it had one more thunderbolt port instead of that mini display port
  • NO USB-C Charging
  • Inverted motherboard makes upgrading a pain, seriously MSI what were you thinking?
  • keyboard is a breath of fresh air coming from the stupid butterfly switches of the Mac.
  • 240hz screen is fantastic
  • Bluetooth range is weak if you use wireless headphones. Don’t expect to walk more than 12 feet away from your laptop
  • Undervolt. You don’t have to, but it will make your life a lot better. If you don’t know how watch YouTube videos on how to do it!
  • Benchmarks
    • Geek Bench
      •  CPU
        • Single Core: 5218
        • Multi Core: 24821
      • Open GL: 208027
    • Cinebench R20: 2467
    • 3DMark
      • Time Spy: 5658
      • Fire Strike: 13318
      • Sky Diver: 32217

Overall I think this is a better buy dollar for dollar if you want to compare similar specs to the Razer, you save about $400-$500. The performance alone on this for the size and weight is a huge selling point for this. My only ask is that they step up the build quality a few more notches on this will be an easy winner.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Purchase from Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2Xo6j64