Category: Gear

I traded in my beloved Note 20+ for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 a little over a year ago. I had some concerns about the durability and questioned the price to value ratio. I also wondered how annoying not having onboard storage for the stylus would be over time.

Let’s start with the cost. Prior to the Fold 3, I was prone to using a PC (laptop), a mid-sized tablet (Surface Go or iPad), and my phone. The tablet device is no longer part of my daily gear. For me, the Fold’s utility replaces a separate chair/home device.

Against my expectations, this thing has proven to be tough as nails. A few weeks ago mine fell from a server rack, open-face, onto bare concrete. The drop was around four feet, it hit so hard that it bounced. My heart skipped a beat and the people in the room with me audibly gasped. I was sure I would turn it over and find total destruction. There wasn’t a scratch on it.

It’s lives in my pocket, gets tossed on to desks, and has been dropped on various surfaces, but looks like new. The hinge gets opened and closed countless times everyday. I’ve written miles worth of strokes with the S-Pen. All the marks wipe off and the screen shows no signs of wear. The only issue I’ve had to address is replacing the factory installed screen protectors.

Part of the durability is no doubt due to the Spigen Thin Fit P case that it lives in. Which also happens to solve the S-Pen storage problem. The stylus attaches to a channel on the side securely. When the S-Pen is in place, it provides extra room for my thumb. Remove the stylus and the notch that is left forms a perfect place to grip the device for writing.

The case works with all my accessories; keep reading for more on those. It also doesn’t obscure wireless charging, looks great and doesn’t add much bulk. Basically, it works as advertised. Spigen offers a version for the Fold 4. If I eventually upgrade, I’ll be ordering it on the same day.

People like to point out that the crease where the screen folds is visible. It is. Not only that, but it can be felt, both with a finger and the stylus. It would be great if they are able to remove it in future iterations. It doesn’t detract from my overall happiness with the phone though.

I didn’t expect to enjoy gaming on the Fold as much as I do. Even after all this time, it is still my go to option for casual play. Android games and emulators are fine but where the Fold really shines is streaming. To get the best experience you need to pair the phone with a controller.

I use Gamesir’s X2 Bluetooth gamepad. It’s micro switch buttons and tiggers feel great. The sticks are small, but they are accurate and smooth. The portability is excellent, the controller will fit in a jacket pocket. I run mine in Xbox mode to get the best compatibility with the streaming apps.

Geforce Now, Gamepass Ultimate, and Steam link streaming all work on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 like they were made for it. It’s light, has no fans, has good sound, and an OLED screen capable of 120 FPS. I played all of The Outer Worlds via Gamepass Ultimate streaming. I am about to complete Cyberpunk 2077 which I’ve streamed via Gamestream.

Speaking of streaming stuff, I setup my Windows PC with Remote Desktop Services. Then use the Fold as a client for a powerful mobile productivity combination. I frequently use a portable keyboard and mouse to achieve laptop levels of productivity from items that fit in my pant’s pockets.

As a smart screen in your vehicle, the interior view is large enough to display my map and something else simultaneously. The speakers and microphones work well enough to use the Fold on its own in most cars. It also connects to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi direct easily. 

There are multiple third-party solutions for mounting the Fold 3 to your car’s dash in the open position. I cycled through a handful over the preceding months. The one that stuck is the DOODBI Wireless Car Charger Mount for Galaxy Z Fold 4/3. It uses motorized arms that grab the edges at the press of a button. I got it on Amazon. It also fits in most other vehicle mounts if I leave it closed and use the front screen.

Like most Fold owners, I wish that the battery lasted longer. It will just barely make it through an average work day without reacharging.  To get there, I leave the Powersave feature enabled. Weekend and PTO days almost always require a recharge half-way through. Again, I have gotten used to it.

A lot of people report that they would like the exterior screen to be wider, more like the size of a normal smartphone. I am not in that camp. I love how the narrow design fits in my front jeans pocket. It also lends itself to one-handed operation when retrieved from said pocket. If a larger display is needed for the task at hand, I just open the hinge.

Throughput my work day, I keep the phone open flat on my desk. Generally I have OneNote open to a blank page and use the device as one might use a paper notebook. I also find that I like to read longer emails and documents on it.

As a media consumption machine, the Fold 3 is in a league of its own. Of course, the big interior screen is great for books, blogs, Reddit, magazines, video and movies. I didn’t expect to use flex mode much. However, having the fast-forward, rewind, brightness and volume controls always on the lower screen is too good to pass on.

The cameras could be better, but in my opinion they recieve more bad press than they deserve. I’ve managed to take some fantastic pictures by leaving everything on full auto. There are three late model iPhones in my household too. I haven’t looked at any of their shots and thought, “iPhone pictures are so much better! I’m trading this folding thing in.” 

The in-display front camera is fine for Teams or Zoom. I use it almost every day and have received exactly zero reports of looking dim, fuzzy, or out of focus on video calls. Not having a notch or punch-hole breaking up my screen is just awesome. It’s better than the Dynamic Island in my opinion. 

To get the most out of my folding phone I have put some time into customizing it. My interior home screen is plastered in widgets and operates as a life-dashboard. I’ve customized all of the notifications so that only the important beeps get through. I’ve also put some work into automation with Bixby routines.

The folding screen is a big win in my book. I don’t see going back to a non-expandable phone screen. At the same time, I’m not sure the trick works as well at larger scales. I know several manufacturers are releasing their folding laptops, but they don’t seen as compelling as the one in my pocket.

After I had a positive experience upgrading a system from air cooling to an AIO block, I decided that my next build would be based on a custom loop. For those who are new to liquid cooling, an AIO block is a closed assembly that you install as a finished unit. A custom loop is created from individual pipes, pumps, reservoirs, and components that resemble a plumbing project in minature.

Custom loops are often chosen for their aesthetics. There’s something mesmerizing about seeing liquid moving in and around electrical components. The drama can be heightened by adding RGB lighting effects. Beyond looks, liquid cooling can be more effective than air. I started researching and soon discovered that there was far more to designing a custom loop than just picking out some parts.

Lucky for me, I also found a company that was building so called bare-bones systems that featured a custom loop. I had never heard of Bitspower before. Their page indicated that their equipment was stocked at a chain store here in town. Intrigued by what I saw on-line and liking the idea of a starter-kit, I headed over to Microcenter take a look.

They had the Titan X 2.0 kit on-sale. The kit includes a pre-installed high-end gaming motherboard for your preferred CPU architecture, a pre-installed PSU, a boxed GPU of various caliber depending on the kit, and a partially installed custom loop. The reservoir, pump, power-supply, fans, motherboard, and associated parts and cables are all professionally installed at the factory in a top-tier case that comes in black, or white. You supply the CPU, memory, and storage.

I also picked up an AMD Ryzen 7, 32 GB of DDR5 GSKILL RGB RAM, and two 1TB Samsung 980SD Pro nVME drives. This system will be used exclusivey for gaming. I don’t intend to overclock it, at least not right out of the box. 

To keep the costs down, I decided against getting the optional graphics card loop components. The add-on kit for my GPU was $279.00. The GPU PCI 4 riser kit, would have added another $49.00. They can always be installed later.

If you’re considering building a closed loop system, there are some specialty tools you need to have. The hole you fill the revivor through is rather small. It is also in an awkward to reach location. You will need a liquid syringe to fill it.

There isn’t one in the box. You get them on Amazon, many home stores, even pet stores. I recommend getting a brand new one to avoid introducing contaminates to the coolant. I chose to use distilled water in this build (not included). Most of the vendors make coolant. You should research other options too.

The other pieces of a-typical build equipment needed are a method to power the coolant pump while isolating it from the other components. Filling the reservoir without cycling the pump will result in huge air pockets.

There are a couple of ways to go. One is to use the jumper bridge that ships with some gaming boards.  The motherboard power leads will plug into it and you use your PSU’s switch to cycle the pump. The other option is to use a power adapter that connects directly to your pump. Refer to your motherboard and cooling system installation guides for the details.

A PSU Jumper Bridge will let you disconnect the motherboard power while still powering the pump through a Molex adapter/lead. You may need to install the Molex lead yourself, it’s in the box. I used a 4-Pin fan adapter (not in the box) to connect the Molex PSU lead to the pump.

If you are building your own loop or need to modify the Titan kit you will also need a tube bending kit. Bitspower makes their own and there are several models available on Amazon. I did not need this tool. If you are sticking with the kit’s default layout for everything, you will not need one either.

The rest of the assembly is straightforward. The instructions are short and written for experienced builders. Search Youtube for more help. The kit absolutely shortens the build time, but there are still advanced steps remaining. You’ll be installing the CPU, applying thermal paste, mounting the CPU water block, completing and filling the loop, and installing all the other components.

Disappointingly, the Titan kit does not include the thermal paste required to complete the project. I also reccomend adding a GPU support bracket. The case included is Lian Li, so I opted for their support bracket. Bitspower has their own brand of thermal paste. It was easy to apply and performs well, so far.

The tubes are already cut and shaped to fit. You will need to position the O-rings and caps on each end before making the connection. When connecting the tubing, be sure that the tube goes past the O-ring in the mounted end’s input. I was surprised at the amount of force I needed to apply to get them seated properly.

When you are ready to fill the system with coolant, I recommend covering the area with towels. Make sure that the only device receiving power is the water pump. If something gets wet, do not panic. Just make sure that everything in completley dry before before powering up. Run the loop for 24 hours with only the pump powered, after you get it filled, to be confident.   

I have a challenging relationship with paper printers. They have been nothing but trouble for me throughout my career. They posess an uncanny ability to malfunction exactly when they are needed most and always in the most obscure ways.

Don’t get me wrong. The ability to bring a digital construct into the physical world in any form will always be astonishing. The machines we utilize to facilitate the physical output are often complicated, temperamental, and crucial to some aspect of their owner’s ambitions.

Printing my own photos still makes me smile. Right up until I remember how much that ink costs. My wife and kids print photos, artwork, and papers for school. How much was I spending on those annoying cartridges anyway?

Warning: Using your finance app to answer that question will not lead to warm fuzzies.

Not long ago, I was watching TV with the family and caught a commercial in which Shaq was pitching a printer with big ink tanks. Epson’s eco-tank series is pitched as holding more ink than cartridges and is supposed to be easily refillable.

Subconsciously, my mind recognized that something must be driving the one-hundred and eighty degree flop. Printer manufactures are notorious for their near total control of the little paint tubs. Going so far as RFID tagging them to prevent a third party from making competing cartridges. It didn’t take long for me to discover what had changed in the market.

Several color laser printers had hit the shelves with price points squarley in the inkjet’s territory. Thanks for the heads up, Epson. I was immediately ready to change. Average ink cartridges struggle to print 100 pages. Small toner cartridges will usually top 1000 pages.

Before you consider changing to a laser printer, there are some key differences to be aware of. Do your research. Inkjet printers typically produce more vibrant photo prints. Inkjets are also capable of printing on surfaces other than paper. CDs \ DVDs, T-Shirts, stickers, and more can be inked. LaserJet’s are stuck with plain old paper, card-stock if you push it.

That isn’t to say that color laser printers can’t print photographs. They do, and the results are fantastic. They just aren’t the glossy things most people think of as pictures.

Magic and other card games allow for proxy decks that you print at home. Each card is a work of art. Printing on our inkjet, we go through the cartridges about every one-hundred pages or so. So far, we have printed almost 300 of these pages, plus another forty pages of generic printing, and the toner status has barley dipped.

There are countless studies and debates about the cost per page of ink vs. toner, I have nothing to add. The Brother is available for $249.00 and will print around 1500 pages on the cartridges that come with it. At that price and for the type of printing I’m doing, I could purchase a new printer each time the toner ran out and would still come out ahead.

The Brother HL-L3270CDW supports wired and wireless networks, Apple and Android device printing, dual sided prints, and all the other modern features. It should be noted that it is only a printer, not an MFP.

If you find yourself blasting through ink cartridges faster than you can afford, check it out. We’ve been happy with the change.