I had some other thoughts for the title of this blog post: “PC Parts Aren’t Disappearing—The Media Just Wants You to Think They Are” “Fear Sells: How Games Media Helped Justify 100% PC Part Markups” “Stop Paying Panic Prices: The Truth About DIY PC Costs Right Now” “This Isn’t a Shortage—It’s a Narrative (And It’sContinue reading “Microcenter Isn’t the Victim—They’re the Scalper Now”
Tag Archives: technology
After DLSS5: Is There Really an Opening for AMD?
Is the door open for AMD to mount an offensive in the wake of nVidia’s DLSS5 announcement last week? Here’s the tale of the tape over the past few GPU generations. And my outlook on the objective impact of last week’s announcement. RDNA 5 maybe starts rolling out the end of this year, but moreContinue reading “After DLSS5: Is There Really an Opening for AMD?”
On The Future of Gaming [or We’re All Niche Now]
On niche markets. The advantage of console is when it hits the tipover point where people benefit at scale from mass adoption. But I think the gaming market is becoming more and more a niche of niches. Skinny verticals having very disparate needs and price points. So the industry will have to, in aggregate, adoptContinue reading “On The Future of Gaming [or We’re All Niche Now]”
Cheap RAM Was the Anomaly, Not the Rule
Consumer DIY ram prices peaked in 2018, and then fell to all-time lows, rising in 2020 and then stabilizing up to about 2022, remaining steady ever since. the current sticker shock in 2025/26 is more about feeling disrupted after a historical period of unprecedented value, but these prices, or rather the super-cycle of consumer DIYContinue reading “Cheap RAM Was the Anomaly, Not the Rule”
A Big Player Steps Back: Micron and the Myth of a DRAM Apocalypse
Micron is bowing out of the consumer DRAM business. A quick explainer. Micron is one of the “Big Three” in the DRAM space. Alongside Samsung and SK Hynix. The three giants, with a few other smaller players, were expected to generate close to $130bn in revenue this year, having closed out with about $97bn inContinue reading “A Big Player Steps Back: Micron and the Myth of a DRAM Apocalypse”
The Disintermediation Game: Xbox, Copilot, and the Next Front in Platform Power
I wish I had more time to write today. Unfortunately I don’t, so I am going to present some ideas, some queries and scenarios I asked ChatGPT to juggle, and some references for thoughts on the impact of AI on eCommerce and how it could impact the video game industry and provide insight into whatContinue reading “The Disintermediation Game: Xbox, Copilot, and the Next Front in Platform Power”
Nvidia’s Quiet Retreat from 8GB GPUs Could Reshape PC Gaming Standards
Many console gamers have gotten it twisted in their efforts to console war with their brothers and sisters across the aisle on the Xbox side of the House. They have unfairly accused the Xbox Series S as being the culprit that is holding back gaming. But as I have often advised, it is not theContinue reading “Nvidia’s Quiet Retreat from 8GB GPUs Could Reshape PC Gaming Standards”
From Wave XLR Woes to Workflow Wins: My Week of Tech Transitions
My Elgato Wave XLR finally took a pooper last week. Or at least it appeared like it did. While on Mooch’s “Crossfire” episode, the mixer threw every fit that it had been throwing for the last several weeks. I would lose everyone else’s audio, they would lose my mic, I would hear crackling voices…I force-closedContinue reading “From Wave XLR Woes to Workflow Wins: My Week of Tech Transitions”
Writing Against the Silence: A New Season, A New Device
I start writing tonight out of a grand sense of malaise. The events in the United States of September 10, 2025 and since have left me feeling untethered in a way that I have not felt since the last infamous date of similar timing, September 11, 2001. I just find it difficult to be motivatedContinue reading “Writing Against the Silence: A New Season, A New Device”
The Fading Red Team: AMD’s GPU Struggles and the Xbox Lifeline
I often lament the days when we had more GPU manufacturers on the board, providing more suppliers and helping keep prices down. The days of Voodoo and Savage are long behind us. And not too soon after they were taken off the board were nVidia and ATI charged with colluding in an effort to arrangeContinue reading “The Fading Red Team: AMD’s GPU Struggles and the Xbox Lifeline”
Rounding Off Infinity 