Thanks. I know I'm only a few YEARS late to the party, but the appreciable performance boost has got to be the most impressed I've been with generational improvements since he OG Xbox to the Xbox 360. It seems really stupid and obvious, but coming from someone who's spent a year and a half playing Elden Ring on an 11-year-old piece of hardware, and has used the inexorable deaths as excuses for bathroom breaks while the game loads back up, it's been jarring to realize I'm now right back in the fray in a fraction of the time. It was a habit I'd not realized was so ingrained. It used to be I'd die, say a few cuss words, put the controller down, go take a piss, and come back just in time for the game to have loaded back up. Now? I die, say a few cuss words, put the controller down, and before I can take two steps towards the toilet, I'm standing at the grace for another go. Or I sometimes play while I work, the Xbox in one room, my work PC in the one next to it. I'd die, and use the load times to check in. Now, I barely get out of the room before the ambient sounds of a fully-loaded and ready game remind me that I don't have 40 idle seconds to spare. In fact, I now no longer play while I work because I lose track of time since the circle of life and death is so instant. I found myself saying "ok, one more time" 10 times in a row, and I'd not checked in with work for 30 minutes! Nothing drops the stomach more than getting back to your PC to a 30-minute-old instant message from your boss you've not replied to yet.Welcome! Not really a purchase but an acquisition: kids gifted me a Nintendo Switch OLED in 2024! In theory, I'm current gen too now! Till November. Pricey. I have 1 game for it so far, the newest Zelda which cost me $70! I'm interested in if/when the PS5 Pro becomes a thing, which may be in November as well. Or never. Gaming is changing a ton, especially if you have good Internet. As for Xbox, I'm playing a lot of Microsoft games on my Xbox 1X and new PC build. The Series X looks like a great piece of hardware but I feel like MS is treating it the way Sony treated the Vita. But sounds like you have a lot of access to games you already own so, enjoy the better performance.
My last purchase? Guess we were invaded by critters this year. My daughter's car wiring got eaten by them. $5K in damage.
Then I went to start my outdoor AC unit a few days ago, no go. Critter (mouse) ate a wire from the power source in my house that goes to the unit. $200, phew. Not too bad but still, after telling her, my daughter asked if we could do a mouse apocalypse as what the heck are they good for? I told her predators like hawks like 'em. So they got that going for them.
