PC Perspective Mailbag #61 – Possibly Better Than a Lump of Coal

We’re back with our Q&A Mailbag series. To ask a question for a future episode, leave a comment on this article, at the video over on YouTube, or in our Discord community.

Questions

  • 01:21 – What is/was “that piece” of computer hardware that you kept in your system until driver support ended or it finally went to silicon heaven, and why?

  • 02:43 – What do you think of “high” frame rate live video/movies? I still wish it would happen and people would stop being so stubborn about it because they’re “weirded out” by it because of the standards we’ve had for so long. I want our displays and our content to be windows, damnit!

  • 04:52 – I bought a Ryzen 7 1700X and X370 motherboard when they were first released partially because of the promised upgrade path. AMD has really delivered on AM4 upgrades. Recently MicroCenter had the 2700x for $130, but I missed the sale. My question – do you think the 8-core Ryzen 3000 parts will be similarly discounted next year? Is a discount less likely because Zen 2 is TSMC 7 nm instead of a less popular GloFo 12 nm for Zen+? A cheap 2700x is tempting, but if the 3000-series prices come down next year I may hold out rather than doing multiple upgrades. I primarily game, but next year’s Xbox and PS5 may be faster than the 1700X which could increase requirements for future games.

  • 07:26 – Was Intel’s 7400-series Xeons a response to the mult-icore AMD Opterons in the multi-CPU multi-core enterprise space?

  • 09:21 – Can you guys recommend a cheap-but-good RAM kit (or several) for Ryzen 3000?

  • 11:45 – I’m spec’ing out a Mini-ITX build for gaming (no streaming, Plex, etc.) and looking at either the 9600K or 9700K. The latter has 2 more cores, and a slightly higher boost clock (though a slightly slower base clock if that matters). Other than the 2 core difference (and minor boost clock difference), is there anything that makes the 9700K faster than the 9600K? Maybe put another way: is there anything about an i7 chip that makes it inherently faster than an i5, once you factor out the clocks and cores?

  • 13:38 – When companies send you processor review samples, like the 10980XE, do you have to return them?

  • 14:47 – Jim, as a Lebanese gentleman, what are your favourite Lebanese foods?

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8 Comments

  1. Craig Anderson

    Am I wasting my time (and money as prices on components have gone up in the past few weeks) waiting for the ASUS Rox Strix 2070 Super O8G video card? It was announced in July of 2019 but has yet to be for sale in the US. I’ve been saving money for some time, hoping Intel would get its act together on 10mm but finally decided to go with a 9700K. Unfortunately, ASUS took Intel’s place as the main roadblock to my PC building bliss. And now comes the tease of Ampere rumors. I know there is always something faster coming soon, but why even announce a card if you don’t intend to get it to market? If you have any contacts at ASUS, a polite WTF? would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply
    • Jeremy Hellstrom

      I’m seeing them on Amazon in Canada and the US, unless I am missing something?

      Reply
      • Craig Anderos

        They have the 2070 O8G, the 2070 Super Asvanced, which is the tier below the one I want, and a dual-fan OC version, but not the top of the line triple-fan card.

        Reply
        • Jeremy Hellstrom

          Ah, I get you now. Unsure but I can always ask.

          Reply
  2. WakeRider

    Hey Guys,
    I’m hoping to get some free research here, maybe Sebastian can just pull one out of the attic! I’m looking for a pc case that will be good for travelling and hold a full atx system and full size gaming graphics card. Ideally it will be small and light and no glass (so it will take some bumps) This would be something I throw in the car for longer trips, and setup when I get there, mostly for playing games, but also work stuff.

    I’ve been thinking of trying to find an itx case and motherboard, but I would prefer to use the asus strix x370 atx board that I have. Also I wasn’t sure on the capability of fitting in a full size graphics card in these sff cases. Currently using an asus strix 1080ti three fan card.

    So are there any good options for a smallish case that has no glass and is as light as possible? Do lan party cases still exist? everything I see is more glass than case.

    Thanks for everything, keep up the good work, podcast is still going strong. 🙂

    Reply
  3. WakeRider

    Cool, Thanks Guys, That’s helpful.

    Reply

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