Tech Gaming Hardware discussion (& Hardware Sales) thread

[PEB]

And there goes another paper launch

What exactly was the delay good for?

Another 30 seconds to buy one. I am waiting till December/jan when the 3060 is released.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

I wonder if Quake II RTX will be able to work on AMD cards. If not, then when I do buy/build a PC next year I’ll definitely be going for a 3070 or 3080.

 

[KaNesDeath]

I wonder if Quake II RTX will be able to work on AMD cards.

When announcing their current GPU's. AMD made broad claims passively about it competing with pre-3000 era Nvidia cards. At release the AMD GPU's were only competitive because of their price.

Next year would be the best time on upgrading. We'll have a better understanding of true benchmarks on AMD's gpu's and cpu's.

 

[Madmick]

And there goes another paper launch

What exactly was the delay good for?

Nothing. It was good for nothing.

It's a grossly unacceptable precedent that NVIDIA is setting, here, and the tech reviewers need to skewer the hell out of them for it. Essentially, they launched the cards a solid 4-6 months before they were actually prepared to launch them by stockpiling a sufficient launch stock. This was so they could boast a leap forward in processing power that only exists on paper.

It distorts the timeline when we look at the age of respective generations. It makes the RTX 2000 series appear short-lived than it really was...while at the same time, it wasn't, because it ended production early. In reality, that generation grew as long in the tooth as the ones before it.

 

[Cygnus A]

Nothing. It was good for nothing.

It's a grossly unacceptable precedent that NVIDIA is setting, here, and the tech reviewers need to skewer the hell out of them for it. Essentially, they launched the cards a solid 4-6 months before they were actually prepared to launch them by stockpiling a sufficient launch stock. This was so they could boast a leap forward in processing power that only exists on paper.

It distorts the timeline when we look at the age of respective generations. It makes the RTX 2000 series appear short-lived than it really was...while at the same time, it wasn't, because it ended production early. In reality, that generation grew as long in the tooth as the ones before it.

Makes me wonder if they knew what AMD was about to publish and had to beat them to the punch. Pricing of the 3080 is suspect. There is no reason they needed to undercut their 2080ti price by that much unless they knew something about AMDs launch.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

@Madmick any speculation as to when 3000 series cards will be more readily available? I’ve been looking at prebuilts (I know, I know) and pretty much none, at least here in Canada, seem to offer anything with 3000 series in them. The overwhelming majority still appear to be either 1650s or 2060s. I would like look at possibly getting something with a 3070. Do you think I’m going to have to wait like 6 more months to make that a reality?

 

[jefferz]

Makes me wonder if they knew what AMD was about to publish and had to beat them to the punch. Pricing of the 3080 is suspect. There is no reason they needed to undercut their 2080ti price by that much unless they knew something about AMDs launch.

They probably already had a road map laid out but production got pushed back due to Covid. The suits weren't having the delays and forced them to release the cards even though they didn't have many in stock. Gotta keep the stock holders happy.

 

[KaNesDeath]

Saw on his stream last night that n0thing was using the new Alienware 360hz monitor. Curious with seeing the upcoming reviews on them.

 

[PEB]

@Madmick any speculation as to when 3000 series cards will be more readily available? I’ve been looking at prebuilts (I know, I know) and pretty much none, at least here in Canada, seem to offer anything with 3000 series in them. The overwhelming majority still appear to be either 1650s or 2060s. I would like look at possibly getting something with a 3070. Do you think I’m going to have to wait like 6 more months to make that a reality?

I'm not Madmick but I bet more will be available for black Friday or cyber Monday. The 3060 was delayed till early 2021 if the rumors are true to make more 3080s and 3070s. Expect the efforts will be towards getting more on store shelves.

 

[Madmick]

@Madmick any speculation as to when 3000 series cards will be more readily available? I’ve been looking at prebuilts (I know, I know) and pretty much none, at least here in Canada, seem to offer anything with 3000 series in them. The overwhelming majority still appear to be either 1650s or 2060s. I would like look at possibly getting something with a 3070. Do you think I’m going to have to wait like 6 more months to make that a reality?

No, I have no better insight than you. Maybe the BGR would have some coverage with inside information on their yields, but that's really tightly protected info. Frankly, with the demand where it is at, I wouldn't count on being able to get one this year.

I don't know the Canadian custom builder market as well, but if you can get Alienwares up there, and that would probably be your best shot this year. Looks like Dell is offering them where you are. Alienware is overpriced, and they don't seem to believe in airflow, for some reason, but you will get reliable customer support with them. They ship in 8-10 days:
https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/cty/pdp/spd/alienware-aurora-r11-desktop

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

Hey, I know this might not be the best place to ask this question, but when a phone or tablet stops getting supported (i.e. "end of life" in terms of when the manufacturer will provide OS updates) what exactly happens? Does that just mean you're stuck with the same OS version forever? Does that mean security gaps will come up over time since patches/fixes won't be made?

Does it also mean that if you have a problem with teh device, the manufacturer/seller will not help people try to solve it?

I like my cellphone but I've had it for a while now, I don't want to upgrade, but wonder if I should for security reasons? It feels like a racket that manufactuers won't support their product for longer.

 

[Madmick]

Hey, I know this might not be the best place to ask this question, but when a phone or tablet stops getting supported (i.e. "end of life" in terms of when the manufacturer will provide OS updates) what exactly happens? Does that just mean you're stuck with the same OS version forever? Does that mean security gaps will come up over time since patches/fixes won't be made?

Does it also mean that if you have a problem with teh device, the manufacturer/seller will not help people try to solve it?

I like my cellphone but I've had it for a while now, I don't want to upgrade, but wonder if I should for security reasons? It feels like a racket that manufactuers won't support their product for longer.

Yeah, you figured out the essence of it with your first paragraph. It means they stop updating or adding features, and "end of life" specifically means no more security rollouts. However, that doesn't necessarily mean there are security holes, and if a security hole is found, then sometimes apps that are still receiving updates on that version of the OS will still receive security updates to address newly discovered exploits if possible.

Whether or not a manufacturer or carrier offers tech support (products will often have multiple layers of potential support like this) depends on the specifics of the purchase. You can buy extra tech coverage, or it might be in your contract. Most offer free tech help during the warranty, but those usually only last a year. You have to find the terms of the original sale.

 

[Unknown Pleasures]

Yeah, you figured out the essence of it with your first paragraph. It means they stop updating or adding features, and "end of life" specifically means no more security rollouts. However, that doesn't necessarily mean there are security holes, and if a security hole is found, then sometimes apps that are still receiving updates on that version of the OS will still receive security updates to address newly discovered exploits if possible.

Whether or not a manufacturer or carrier offers tech support (products will often have multiple layers of potential support like this) depends on the specifics of the purchase. You can buy extra tech coverage, or it might be in your contract. Most offer free tech help during the warranty, but those usually only last a year. You have to find the terms of the original sale.

Thanks Madmick. Any personal opinion on whether it makes sense to upgrade if you're in this period? Does it generally cause problems if you don't, or if you're satisfied with current set up things don't really get worse. The vibe I'm getting from your post is no real need to upgrade if you're happy with what you currently have.

 

[Joe_Armstrong]

I never really got what HDR is. I mean it wokrs on a console like PS4 pro
but is it already in PC gaming ?

 

[Madmick]

Thanks Madmick. Any personal opinion on whether it makes sense to upgrade if you're in this period? Does it generally cause problems if you don't, or if you're satisfied with current set up things don't really get worse. The vibe I'm getting from your post is no real need to upgrade if you're happy with what you currently have.

When your device reaches end of life is a great benchmark. If you don't intend to run it into the ground, that's a great time to upgrade.

 

[Swing]

I never really got what HDR is. I mean it wokrs on a console like PS4 pro
but is it already in PC gaming ?

It's an improved color palette. Most notably you get much darker blacks and brighter whites without loss of detail. Windows 10 has it and so do some games but the implementation isn't always great (apparently), and not many affordable monitors support the brightness level that a lot of people claim is the minimum for a good HDR experience (1000 nits).

The minimum to really be considered HDR is 400 nits. My monitor can display an HDR signal but only has like 350 nits and after having played around with it I just leave HDR off.

 

[PEB]

 

[empsim]

Seems I managed to order the 3070FE for $499 yesterday.

Hadn't really made up my mind between that and the 6800 but I think I'll keep it. Should be fine at 1440p for the next couple of years and I don't want to go through that annoying launch drama again with AMD...

 

[jefferz]

Seems I managed to order the 3070FE for $499 yesterday.

Hadn't really made up my mind between that and the 6800 but I think I'll keep it. Should be fine at 1440p for the next couple of years and I don't want to go through that annoying launch drama again with AMD...

If the 6800 is better, you can probably still get your money back selling the 3070 to someone.

 

[empsim]

If the 6800 is better, you can probably still get your money back selling the 3070 to someone.

Yeah I guess.

Hard to tell which is better though. Don't really know how useful DLSS or the AMD option will be and everyone has different opinions on 8GB being enough or not.

At the same price I would've probably gone with the 6800 but $80 is quite significant in this range.