What's better then an episode of the PCPer Podcast?  Two of them at once!

The reviews of the 9950X3D2 are in from discerning reviewers.  TL;DR; - it's not for everyone, but it's very much for some.  The return of the 3060 is almost here, wait - DDR pricing has an upside?, D-Link routers take another beating in the security section, XBox mode, and the tipping point is here for IPv6 (I know, I know:  much wow, very excite!)

0:00 Intro
1:05 Patreon
2:59 Fishsticks
6:16 Food with Josh
8:41 AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 reviewed by a dozen outlets
19:44 Alienware first to market with 9950X3D2 PC
22:06 Ryzen 7 5800X3D returns, possibly! (Plus CPU show and tell)
26:40 NVIDIA pausing the 9GB GPUs for the RTX 3060 12GB return?
29:19 SK hynix giving executive bonuses to ALL employees
30:46 HUDIMMs are half the speed, but will they be half the cost?
32:39 Another retro computer case
34:44 Brett shows off his latest PC build
38:49 Apple has a new CEO (but it isn't Brett)
42:10 Let's talk about video CODECs
45:52 IPv6 usage reaches 50 percent
49:54 MacOS 27 officially drops support for Intel
50:45 (In)Security Corner
1:01:10 Gaming Quick Hits
1:13:26 Picks of the Week
1:23:35 Outro

Whoops!  How did this get missed?!  

Is 12vHPWR really that bad? Why aren't you mad enough about DDR and SSD pricing?!  Nvidia is BUYING ... well it's not HP.  All that "Don't track me bro" stuff is for naught, Sony sells you less and you'll buy it, and Linux stops being able to be loaded on just about anything.  You cannot wait for the segment on Ethernet cables, I know.  All that and more!

0:00 Intro
0:35 Patreon
2:10 Food with Josh
3:57 Yes, DDR5 and SSD prices are still insane
7:30 NVIDIA is not buying Dell or HP
9:40 Also, NVIDIA warranty payments up 1000 percent in 2025
12:23 NVIDIA N1 engineering board leak
14:15 Desktop CPU sales tank for some strange reason
17:19 Sorry, you are still being tracked
21:24 Sony Bravia TVs losing some OTA functionality
23:13 Copper Clad Aluminum
27:57 Linux drops 486 support!
30:20 MacBook Neo almost sold out
34:12 (In)Security Corner
44:50 Gaming Quick Hits
48:50 Picks of the Week
1:02:58 Outro

Now Steam will rate your system for the expected FPS on a title, nice?!  Raptor Lake (13th / 14th Gen) still a big part of the Intel strategy, Ryzen 9950X3D pricing, and hackers are probably in your router right now.  Also fiber optic cables can be microphones.  Your older Kindle is trash plus so much more on this show!  Take a listen, you will probably not be disappointed often.   

Welcome back to our sponsor Zapier!  It's how you bring the power of AI to your work—not just talk about it.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
0:57 Patreon
4:10 Food with Josh
7:20 The 900 dollar Ryzen processor
10:37 Raptor Lake still big part of Intel's plan
12:41 Intel also focused on foundry
16:20 Steam will estimate your game FPS before purchase?
17:20 Memory prices high? Just compress your VRAM
21:49 Every PC component is getting more expensive
25:46 Apple Silicon Macs get some eGPU support
27:29 Apple is gaining a surprising amount of marketshare
30:32 Amazon stops supporting Kindles from before 2013
34:34 Artemis II astronauts having Outlook issues
37:25 Podcast sponsor - Zapier
39:02 (In)Security Corner
49:45 Gaming Quick Hits
1:05:11 Picks of the Week
1:13:45 Outro

When will the pricing of DDR (and fallout from it) stop being top news?  Not this week!  Get yer extra frames with DLSS 4.5, Geekbench and the newest Intel CPUs have a disagreement, plus we try and make sense of the FCC router ban (Hint:  "no").  Ubisoft is still killing games, as is their custom, and Google is giving you a chance to fix your past mistakes (with an email address like "[email protected]", I can see why).  Plus so much more, enjoy!

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
00:45 Patreon
03:46 Food with Josh
04:59 DDR5 prices begin to fall?
10:30 TurboQuant
16:41 DLSS 4.5 Multi Fram Gen 6x is available now
19:34 NVIDIA also launches auto shader compilation
21:16 How was the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 not the top story?
27:03 Geekbench says Intel optimizations are invalid?
30:14 Google to let you change your username
31:44 Goodbye Mac Pro
33:27 Microsoft issues emergency Win 11 preview update fix
35:22 (In)Security Corner
49:57 Gaming Quick Hits
58:54 Picks of the Week
1:08:08 PC Perspective turns 25
1:09:26 Outro

Jensen says it's not AI Slop and you're wrong.  Intel has some value in the CPU space again!  Plus Big Battlemage did come, but you won't get one, and ARM is now making their own chips!  Plus hackers gotta be hacking - cars this time, gamers are moving away from Windows in droves, and Microsoft hates that one trick which makes your SSDs run too fast.  All this and so much more!

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
01:06 Patreon
04:00 Core Ultra Plus
16:09 Big Battlemage arrives - as a datacenter GPU
20:16 Arm makes first data center chip
26:36 NVIDIA says DLSS 5 is not AI slop
30:45 FCC banning future routers not made in USA
36:46 Everything is fine, all web traffic will be bots anyway
38:42 Self-driving cars, autonomous robots need 300GB of RAM
41:17 Microsoft offers hope to Windows 11 users...
52:53 ...though your NVMe speeds can't be too high 
54:50 (In)Security Corner
1:09:04 Gaming Quick Hits
1:15:17 Picks of the Week
1:25:19 Outro

Back in the podcast booth this week!  Enjoy the DLSS takes, noticing that SSD vendors are having a great year, there are some actual good news on Copilot, and fake ram kits are a thing, AMD has CPU refresh rumors, and a Windows "degraded" security state is coming soon!

0:00 Intro
00:37 Patreon
01:41 Food with Josh
03:01 DLSS 5
17:18 Intel Arrow Lake refresh
20:36 AMD Ryzen refresh rumor
21:31 NVIDIA dGPU market share dominance
23:52 GTC in spaaaaace
29:03 SSD vendors had an amazing quarter for some reason
32:02 Some good news for Copilot 365 victims
36:09 Antec and Noctua collaborate on a case
37:46 Impress your friends with TWO sticks of DDR5
39:06 MSI plans more DDR4 motherboards
40:33 Podcast sponsor - Zapier
42:12 (In)Security Corner
55:42 Gaming Quick Hits
1:03:32 Picks of the Week
1:13:03 Outro

The second of two glorious episodes published this week!  Bask in my mistake.  (Brett isn't here this week, something about a power failure)

Nvidia discovers that you probably cannot vibe code drivers, Number 9, Gaming is just not a priority for Microsoft, and Star Citizen has a data breach.  Microsoft is still pushing Copilot BTW.   All that and so much more fun below. 

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
00:57 Patreon
02:24 Food with Josh
05:07 NVIDIA finds that drivers are hard
07:05 Remember Number Nine?
07:45 NVIDIA's 9GB GPU
10:41 Some Apple news in here somewhere
15:40 Musings on Android open-ness and Epic's win
17:42 Intel has a new Chairman of the Board
20:52 Xbox no longer a priority for Microsoft
23:09 DDR5 bots
25:10 Improve Arc B Series perf by 90% with new DirectX feature?
27:03 IKYMI Drop is shutting down
28:13 (In)Security Corner
37:19 Gaming Quick Hits
42:54 Picks of the Week
54:16 Outro

Not sure how this got missed last week!  Making up for time, now you get TWO episodes packed into 1 week!

Intel might go back to a unified arch, Acer threatens people to buy now or else, and that Discord thing continues.  Oh, and that Nvidia money train just keeps on rolling, plus more 12VHPWR woes.  Do take a listen / look at the Moza R5 virtual driving gear bundle though, very nice.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
00:56 Patreon
02:18 Food with Josh
04:13 News begins - Intel unified core architecture rumor
10:24 AMD Zen 6 might not arrive until 2027
15:37 Acer sees sales jump after warning of price hikes
17:15 NVIDIA to improve Linux gaming performance
18:26 NVIDIA financials with Josh
23:10 Apple to build Mac mini in USA
26:31 Some alternatives to rising NVMe costs?
33:41 DDR5 prices possibly beginning a downward trend
35:11 WireView Pro II to help keep your 5090 from melting
41:00 Command line automation comes to AIDA64
43:22 Discord
45:31 (In)Security Corner
55:26 Gaming Quick Hits
1:03:00 Josh reviews the MOZA R5 Bundle
1:10:41 Picks of the Week
1:19:51 Outro

The RAM-apocolypse continues of course, with hints of it hitting general manufacturers, and delay of gaming systems and even spinning harddrives.  At least Micron is making some PCIe 6 drives you cannot have.  Also, since we are sometimes audio geeks as well as PC, we talk about some bananas.  Seriously.  You'll just have to listen to get the scoop on bad Chrome extensions, bad Copilot, and bad password managers.  Until then, enjoy Unread Tournament 2004!

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
01:15 Patreon
03:22 Food with Josh
05:20 Acer and ASUS caught up HEVC patent dispute
07:15 Intel's new annual GPU cadence
09:00 Micron is making PCI-E 6.0 SSDs that you can't have
11:10 WD CEO says storage is already sold out for 2026
14:07 Warning - many consumer electronics companies will fail this year
22:25 Sony may push PS6 launch as far as 2029
22:55 US reportedly removes two Chinese memory companies from banned list
25:54 RTX 5090 LIGHTNING is 5090 USD (list price, anyhow)
29:35 Audio dragged through the mud - and a banana
34:34 (In)Security Corner
45:07 Gaming Quick Hits
50:35 Jeremy reviews 25 USD speakers from Cyber Acoustics
56:53 Picks of the Week
1:08:51 Outro

Another week, another series of distressing developments in the world of PC hardware. But maybe the end of the madness is near?  Or at least hotter with 700W Intel CPUs.  BTW, you're probably not getting an RTX 5090Ti, another week where DIMMs are bling, some questionable choices from Microsoft and scary security issues with certs, 7-Zip, OpenClaw, and "Approve or Deny?" questions. 

Thanks Zapier for sponsoring our show this week!   Get AI orchestration going on your workflows for improvements you can really help, for free!

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
01:05 Patron
01:37 Food with Josh
03:54 ASRock BIOS update to combat reported Ryzen failures
05:47 Intel's potential processor power
09:35 No RTX 5090 Ti this year
11:35 G.Skill memory speed settlement
14:44 The Discord drama
19:21 HP will rent you an Omen gaming laptop
24:48 Microsoft failed to communicate about 26H1
31:36 Homelab bling
32:58 Podcast sponsor - Zapier
34:26 (In)Security Corner
48:37 Gaming Quick Hits
55:19 Picks of the Week
1:09:55 Outro