Recorded January 1, 2026 - but only due to popular demand. We cover the GOG purchase, the ever rising price of DDR and the fallout from all that, and talk about getting a Dumb TV again.
Thanks to Copilot Money for the sponsorship again! Get all your financials on a single piece of glass and bring order to your spending with smart analysis. Support our show and check them out https://try.copilot.money/pcper
0:00 Intro
01:21 Patreon
02:24 No food segment this week
02:57 The rising cost of RTX 5090 and what this means for GPUs in 2026
04:50 SSD prices rising
05:43 DDR5 continues to rise
08:51 ASUS reportedly increasing DDR4 motherboard production in 2026
13:28 GOG acquired by co-founder
18:37 Cinebench 2026 arrives
22:47 Direct3D 6 support comes to D7VK as retro gaming on Linux evolves
26:56 When you don't want a "smart" TV
30:17 Podcast sponsor - Copilot Money
31:47 (In)Security Corner
37:16 Gaming Quick Hits
42:39 Picks of the Week
53:18 Outro
No Josh this week, and it hurt. It certainly hurt the running time, at least. Enjoy this brief (and probably highly unsatisfying) year-end podcast! The perfect way to end a disappointing year! Read as: pricing on our PC hobby is increasing on everything thanks to AI datacenters so prepare to downsize or "last-gen" your latest build perhaps!
Enjoy our attempt at a 2025 round-up as well, probably buy that Win10 ESU, and the Xbox is probably sinking...stories below!
Thanks again to our sponsor this week: Copilot Money! Fantastic "single pane of glass" for all your finances and transactions that's actually enjoyable to use. Get 26% off the web version for new customers!
Recorded December 17, 2025.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
01:27 Patreon
02:16 No food segment?!
03:16 AM4 CPU prices spike
08:37 Storage is poised to become more expensive soon
09:35 Get ready for the return of laptops with only 8GB of RAM
12:49 The last month for a new RTX 3060, and RTX 50 series production cuts
15:17 A brief look back at 2025
26:30 Podcast sponsor - Copilot Money
28:02 (In)Security Corner
33:42 Gaming Quick Hits
42:58 Picks of the Week
55:19 Outro
There are FOUR lights!
But besides that, we have AMD news on Redstone, their B650 chipset and so much DDR pricing and related news that you'll platz. Oh, Kohler has got a toilet cam security issue (seriously) and your One Time Password use is so very passé. Microsoft also plans to finally make Windows 11 better for gaming in 2026 - Steam and Bazzite reportedly not worried.
Thanks to Notion and their AI enfused Notion Agent for the sponsorship this week, help us out and check out their very cool offer at:
notion.com/pcper
Timestamps:
00:00 Preroll
00:04 Intro
00:25 Patreon
01:34 Food with Josh
03:15 Weekly DDR5 price check
04:44 Micron is making more than ever before on DRAM
06:51 A DDR4 / DDR5 combo board!
08:57 The DRAM problem - now vs. 2017
12:11 AMD Redstone is out
16:45 AMD extending life of B650
20:05 Heavy SSD writes due to AMD chipset driver?
22:55 Steam client back-ported to Windows 7, 8
24:50 NVIDIA allowed to export H200 to China now
26:25 Noctua beige and brown 3D printer filament
28:24 Windows update removes Start Menu and Explorer
31:36 Podcast sponsor - Notion
32:50 (In)Security Corner
45:18 Gaming Quick Hits
52:37 Picks of the Week
1:03:47 Outro
Yes, we talked about DDR5 pricing a lot, again. But we also talked about a very special Intel 18A customer, one billion PCs screaming out in pain (it's a metaphor!), AMD CPU / GPU pricing trends, ASUS router vulnerabilities (again), alternatives to Windows for playing games which includes playing web based old console games. It's a thing. Also, we virtually pour one out for Crucial (Micron).
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:33 Patreon
01:03 Food with Josh
02:35 Micron shutting Crucial down
07:54 Pricing a budget AM5 build on PCPartPicker
11:47 Reports of Ryzen price increases (and then more DDR5 price talk)
16:10 A new, faster Ryzen X3D is coming
19:11 Intel to fab Apple silicon?
21:48 NVIDIA reportedly stops bundling RAM with GPUs
27:50 1 billion PCs still on Windows 10
33:57 Plex starts their free remote streaming crackdown
40:01 (In)Security Corner
48:35 Gaming Quick Hits
59:32 Check out our short video on the HyperX SoloCast 2
1:00:31 Picks of the Week
1:11:17 Outro
Cloudlflare asks Amazon to hold it's virtual "beer", HEVC and H.265 support being removed from CPUs ... sorta, Steam Machine priced like lobster and will Intel bLLC compete with AMD 3D-vCache? But we mostly complain about DDR5 in this exciting episode!
00:00 Intro
00:30 Patreon
01:44 Food with Josh
04:10 We talk about the DDR5 problem for the third week in a row
18:44 TSMC confirmed September power outage at Arizona fab
23:01 Dell and HP removing HEVC from some laptops
26:33 Unpowered SSDs slowly lose data
32:32 Is Intel bLLC really an X3D competitor?
34:13 (in)Security Corner
42:01 Gaming Quick Hits
46:18 Picks of the Week
1:06:12 Outro
What do you get after 844 episodes? This one. We've got hacked Android photoframes, DDR5 driving up prices on everything, Nvidia financials for the win, and even some Fallout mods. Join in the fun!
Oh, do check out our sponsor this week, it definitely helps the show! Notion AI!
Don't just start your projects, bring it all together and get it *done*. See what Notion Agent can do for you.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:59 Programming update (livestream next week but no pod)
02:27 Patreon
04:40 Food with Josh
06:44 NVIDIA financials
20:18 DDR5 prices are skyrocketing
25:00 Intel "ai" chief joins OpenAI
29:37 AMD to release the latest FSR on December 10
33:06 Microsoft makes Sysmon native to Windows
36:05 SilverStone's retro case family grows
37:48 The accessory market for Steam Machine has begun
38:13 Podcast sponsor Notion
39:30 (In)Security Corner
53:32 Gaming Quick Hits
1:02:48 Crucial Pro DDR5-6400 CL32 review
1:11:23 Picks of the Week
1:20:13 Outro
Only three of us were available this week, but the show must go on! Perhaps the energy is a bit subdued without Bront and that other guy, but you might just find something buried in the protracted ramblings that could interest you for a few fleeting seconds.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:41 Patreon
02:10 Food with Josh
05:45 Josh’s take on AMD Financial Analyst Day
13:49 A digression to actually talk about hardware (mostly?)
17:33 AMD Ryzen X3D outsells entire Intel CPU lineup
20:10 Softbank sells all NVIDIA stock
21:50 Server HDDs in short supply
26:23 Microsoft testing out haptic feedback with Win 11 beta
28:42 RTX 50 SUPER series possibly delayed until late 2026
30:03 Google ending support for 1st gen and 2nd gen Nest
31:00 (In)Security Corner
41:06 Gaming Quick Hits (featuring The Steam Machine)
48:14 Check out our Sapphire B850 motherboard review video
56:47 Picks of the Week
1:04:01 Outro
AMD makes the big money and gets sued at the same time. RDNA 1 & 2 support shall continue ... mostly. Windows gets fixes to the Update and Shutdown. Tall chips and clean up tips, kill commands, LInux gaming and TP-Link might catch a total ban + so much more!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:26 Patreon
03:49 Food with Josh
07:21 AMD earnings
15:34 AMD hit with patent lawsuit over 3D V-Cache
21:47 Radeon RDNA 1 and 2 maintenance mode story
25:36 World's tallest chip defies Moore's law?
30:55 Windows Update and shut down actually works now
33:06 Windows Update naming update
36:00 Handy tips on cleaning up Windows 11 25H2
39:37 NVIDIA denies report that RTX 5090 is discontinued
41:48 Podcast sponsor
43:14 (In)Security Corner
56:48 Gaming Quick Hits
1:11:00 Josh presents the Asetek Initium racing bundle
1:30:03 Picks of the Week
1:41:38 Outro
A creepy collection of stories that will give you nightmares - and that's just (in)Security corner!
We've got RAM prices, Nvidia Trillions, 16GB GPUs, Soundcards, and smart fridges! (It's a spooktacular show)
Thanks to Notion and their new Agent for sponsoring the show today!
Timestamps:
00:00 Preroll
00:05 Intro
00:58 Patreon
02:27 Food with Josh
04:36 NVIDIA is now a FIVE trillion dollar company
15:02 DGX Spark real-world performance
17:43 Turning Wi-Fi into dialup
20:30 Creative crowdsources the latest Sound Blaster
27:22 A shunt mod brings mobile RTX 4090 to RTX 5090 level
29:52 Clippy is back, sort of
31:59 Memory price hikes, SK hynix sold out through next year?
34:33 Samsung smart fridge update adds ads
39:06 Podcast sponsor Notion Agent
40:33 (In)Security Corner
50:09 Gaming Quick Hits
1:02:54 Picks of the Week
1:14:10 Outro
12VHPWR strikes again! We don't know where Jim's body is, honestly. AWS has a very bad day, a new AGESA, dual X3D monsters, Escape from Duckov and Windows 10 drives something besides e-waste! All this and so much more!
00:00 Intro
01:03 Patreon
03:56 Ryzen 9000G spotted in new AGESA code
05:47 Ryzen 9950X3D^2
08:05 The AWS outage
13:53 Intel Foundry gets 18A order from Microsoft
17:17 Windows 11 October update breaks Recovery Environment
22:00 Microsoft does not like duplicate SIDs
24:25 Apple to offer improved contrast for Liquid Glass elements
27:00 Turns out Windows 10 EOL is good for PC makers
30:41 That time Cooler Master said to take a knife to your 12VHPWR connector
33:24 (In)Security Corner
43:27 Gaming Quick Hits
47:46 Picks of the Week
1:02:12 Outro
PC Demand is down, JEDEC specs are UP, Apple has got a new M5, and Intel Core Ulta 300 lineup is confirmed. Windows 10 -> 11 issues, are satellite communications encrypted, PIxnapping rides again, and yet another Windows privilege escalation is happening.
Also on this episode: five hosts entered, but how many returned? Tune in next week for the thrilling conclusion!!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:44 Patreon
03:37 Food with Josh
06:34 News segment begins with Intel Panther Lake info
12:32 JEDEC spec update (after lengthy intro)
14:07 Edifier has a speaker that looks like a PC
16:13 Forget Windows 11, 80386 memories, and Commodore’s new OS (games included!)
22:19 If you insist on using Win 11, buy a new PC?
26:36 Now be quiet! offers semi-passive PSUs
32:43 Apple M5
36:45 (In)Security Corner
55:47 Gaming Quick Hits
1:05:00 Picks of the Week
1:26:48 Outro
Jeremy and Brett could not make it (not to be confused with renowned British actor Jeremy Brett), but the show must go on! A shorter, and probably worse version, but a version nonetheless. Some topics still got covered though!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:18 Patreon
02:24 Food with Josh
04:18 AMD partners with OpenAI, offers 10% of the company
16:14 NVIDIA partners with xAI
17:07 Qualcomm acquires Arduino
18:37 Synology drops self-branded HDD requirement
20:44 be quiet! expands Light Base case lineup
22:01 Help us OOBE Wan Kenobi, local accounts are our only hope
24:17 MSI says their 800 Series boards are future CPU ready
29:46 (In)Security Corner minus Jeremy and Brett
36:15 Gaming Quick Hits
45:58 Picks of the Week
53:51 Outro
Matching up the audio this week for a change of pace! That Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme sometimes compares favorably, there's a new Kindle Scribe and you will never guess who's coming to the Intel investment party. Also Microsoft extends security updates for Windows 10 if you live in the right places, and the they're also looking into micro-channel cooling? All this and so much more!
00:00 Intro
00:44 Patreon
02:33 Food with Josh
05:58 Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme benchmarks
11:32 Qualcomm wins final battle with Arm over Oryon
14:23 Amazon Kindle Scribe lineup now bigger, offers first color model
18:10 LG has world's first 6K TB5 display
21:54 Apple might invest in Intel?
26:48 Intel 13th and 14th Gen price hike
32:03 Microsoft gives in on Windows 10 at the 11th hour - sort of
36:42 Microsoft also exploring tiny channels on CPUs for microfluidic cooling
42:16 Podcast sponsor Zapier
43:36 (In)Security Corner
53:52 Gaming Quick Hits
1:06:25 Picks of the Week
1:23:57 Outro
Welcome back! This week we have much to discuss, including NVIDIA buying a chunk of Intel, NVIDIA potentially buying an even bigger chunk of OpenAI, and NVIDIA eventually taking over the world. Also some non-NVIDIA stuff, probably. Which includes 250w of PCIe slot power, Windows 10 ends, they promise, RTings tortures TVs and yet another games library aggregator! Oh, and even more packed in there, so take a listen, we insist.
00:00 Intro
01:05 Patreon
02:11 Completely necessary old tech digression
05:32 Food with Josh
07:24 NVIDIA and Intel team up
15:45 Don't worry, Arc is not being abandoned yet
18:05 NVIDIA wants to invest 100 billion in OpenAI
19:47 AMD launches Radeon RX 7700 non-XT with 16GB VRAM
21:54 PCI Express slots with 250W power delivery
24:38 RTINGS concluding their TV lifespan test
29:24 Ars concludes their history of the Internet
31:40 Our regular reminder that Windows 10 is going EOL
33:44 Not everyone is ready to give up USB-A ports yet
38:48 (In)Security Corner
48:45 Gaming Quick Hits
1:07:45 LaCie Rugged SSD4 review
1:11:54 Picks of the Week
1:23:01 Outro
Join us as we battle illness to bring you the pithy, erudite commentary you crave. That you deserve even. Start with software designed cores, mix in some Nvidia domination, season with the largest DDoS attack EVaR, then Ubisoft kills games and finish with fast SSDs. What an evening you are in for.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:36 Patreon
02:21 Food with Josh
04:29 Intel Nova Lake-S has 52 cores?
06:05 Software-defined super cores
09:15 Intel admits "we didn't have a good offering this year"
16:55 AMD launching Ryzen 9000F series CPUs
18:51 ASRock AM5 BIOS update
20:36 NVIDIA GPU market share is hard to believe
25:46 The latest on the Windows 11 SSD failure saga
30:18 Sapphire launching B850 motherboards
35:59 Arm AI news
48:55 Apple iPhone 17
55:12 (In)Security Corner
1:12:04 Gaming Quick Hits
1:23:32 Jeremy reviews the SK hynix P51 Platinum SSD
1:33:20 The 8TB Samsung 9100 PRO is ridiculous
1:37:31 Picks of the Week
1:48:39 Outro
As promised, here is another edition of a podcast made by human beings. We just seem like ai because of our nearly perfect appearance and encyclopedic knowledge. SanDisk Blue Plate specials on order, with a side of RTX Blackwell frame generation. Engorge yourself.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:37 Patreon
01:46 A food segment
04:06 NVIDIA’s quarter
12:42 Update on the Windows 11 SSD failure story
15:10 OBS affected by Windows update
16:13 SK hynix will make QLC SSDs bigger and faster next year
20:29 Speaking of QLC, the WD Blue SN5100 arrives
25:25 Intel is now part of the U.S. government
29:48 Resume Android apps on your Windows 11 PC (one so far)
32:55 4x FG not enough? NVIDIA's goal is to make ALL frames ai generated!
37:37 After Commodore, is Amiga the next retro computing brand to buy?
40:30 (In)Security Corner
53:47 Gaming Quick Hits
1:03:15 Picks of the Week
1:14:31 Outro
This podcast is what happens when worlds collide. Such as Windows and SSDs. Or Microsoft and listening to users. Or Softbank and Intel. Oh, you want more? How about 720p and 720Hz or Copper and Coffee. Want some of that news action? Take a good long listen and enjoy this weeks run-down of tech triumphs and failures.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:00 Patreon
01:45 Food with Josh
04:44 Windows 11 patch breaking SSDs?
10:26 Softbank buys 2 billion in Intel shares - U.S. Gov. May be next investor
19:43 The 800 watt Matrix RTX 5090
22:13 A Microsoft that actually listens to users?
27:44 Dictating your Excel spreadsheets - again
32:50 Copper pipes make for a nice loop
35:57 Foxconn wants to transition to "ai" instead of iPhone?
43:18 ROG OLED panels with up to 720 Hz refresh
48:27 (In)Security Corner
58:09 Gaming Quick Hits
1:07:19 Thrustmaster Hypercar Wheel Add-on
1:20:35 Picks of the Week
1:32:14 Outro
Join us as we turn a slow news week into the podcast event of the decade. Hackable smartphones, AOL dialup, Android tablets w/o Google, Microsoft more fully embraces GitHub, and even BioShock 4. There so much more to enjoy within!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:04 Patreon
02:10 Food with Josh
05:04 RX 9060 non-XT benchmarks (and VRAM discussion)
12:53 Goodbye to X3D on AM4
14:17 AOL discontinues dialup (yes it was still going)
15:30 Github to be folded into Microsoft
18:01 The dream of a hackable smartphone
21:48 The Murena Pixel tablet offers Android without Google
26:11 A very different type of "hot coffee" mod
28:55 Looking at Amazon GPU sales numbers
32:14 Josh brings the latest Arm news
36:08 (In)Security Corner
1:05:14 Picks of the Week
1:16:48 Outro
AMD is on the rise, and their financials show it, plus they might have won The Game. We discover that Windows 11 SE is still a thing, PCIe 8 has been ratified, and what's the best-worst GPU of 2025! XeSS goes cross-platform-gpu and turns out that people CAN actually detect malware if properly motivated. All this and more!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:37 Patreon
01:52 Food with Josh
04:38 AMD financials
09:43 AMD claims "world's fastest processors" as Intel struggles
18:57 AMD may be planning X3D on both CCDs
23:18 Windows 11 SE is going away
26:13 Windows Vista stricken from latest Win11 build?
27:48 Getting to the nub of ThinkPad design
35:49 PCI-SIG announces PCI Express 8.0
38:29 AMD's AM6 socket rumored to bring DDR6 and PCIe 6
40:44 Best of the 8GB GPUs
45:53 The RX 9060 non-XT
48:10 Bracing for the possibility of 100% tariffs on chips
49:50 (In)Security Corner
1:04:55 Gaming Quick Hits
1:18:11 Promoting Jeremy's HyperX Jet wireless headset review
1:19:15 Picks of the Week
1:34:57 Outro
Prepare to be dazzled by nearly every aspect of this podcast - unless you watch and listen closely. We have the usual cast of characters with at least 1 shirtless moment from a special guest. On top of all that, we go over the Intel debacle, the AMD ascendency, Windows 10 is 10, and even some Half-Life 2 updates. Really. More in the topics below.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:57 Patreon
01:55 Food with Josh
04:18 Threadripper 9000 performance is incredible
07:13 AMD is chasing down Intel in the server room
13:00 Intel had a bad quarter (plus extended discussion on Intel's future)
29:04 Microsoft seems confused about layoffs - or maybe it's "ai"
33:00 RTX 3050 again?
35:09 Here come the PCI-E 6.0 SSDs!
39:10 A new 3D monitor in 2025
42:02 Windows 10 is 10
43:58 (In)Security Corner
1:03:43 Gaming Quick Hits
1:10:36 Fractal Scape wireless gaming headset review
1:17:06 Picks of the Week
1:28:18 Outro