lightrush

100%. At least Timemore made this scale trivial to open and the cell is not difficult to replace.

TBH, this is a risk for all "value" devices that don't have to pass NA/EU electrical certification. No cert means the cell can be whatever part was cheap and alright enough. Longer term reliability without specific testing isn't obvious. Every now and then I fall into the rabbit hole of trying to remember all the different devices with potentially questionable cells. The occasion today is likely to trigger another sweep.

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It's terrible. With that said this ASRock isn't that offensive. Other than this thick plastic sheet, the rest looked fine. Very little offensive RGB.

While true for the component itself, there's material difference for any caps surrounding it. Sure the chipset would work fine at 40, 50, 70°C. However electrolytic capacitors lifespan is halved with every 10°C temperature increase. From a brief search it seems solid caps also crap out much faster at higher temps but can outlast electrolytic at lower temps. This is a consideration for a long lifespan system. The one in my case is expected to operate till 2032 or beyond.

I don't think other components degrade in any significant fashion whether they run at 40 or 60°C.

Unfortunately I didn't take before/after measurements but this thick plastic sheet cannot be good for the chipset thermals. 🥲

Huh, interesting. I had no idea. Well I don't need it to be anywhere faster than 100M. USB2 can definitely do that. Closer to 200M. With that said, the latency is more important if you're gonna do anything like Steam Link.

Ads? I thought the Shield didn't have any..

It's a Chromecast with Google TV (CCwGTV) wich itself is a dongle. It's connected to a Plugable USB-C PD hub - another dongle. The white bit sticking to the left from the hub is a TP-Link UE300 Ethernet adapter - yet another dongle. Finally there's an SD card inserted in the Plugable hub as well as an HDMI coupler hooked to the other end of the CCwGTV which allows connecting an HDMI cable to it.

I've been thinking about Shield TV but I hear it's not great with updates.

It is. I just wish it wasn't this expensive. Will have to live with it for a while. 😅

So generally Pegatron. :D I used to buy GB because it was made in Taiwan when ASUS became Pegatron and went to China. Their quality decreased. GB used to put high quality components on their boards in comparison. But now GB is also made somewhere in the PRC. I've no idea where MSI are in terms of quality. We used to make fun of them using the worst capacitors back in the 90s/00s. Looking at their Newegg reviews, their 1-star ratings seem lower proportion compared to Pegatron brands and GB. Maybe they're nicer these days? The X570 replacement I got for this machine is an ASUS - "TUF" 🙄