Not quite there yet … from left on surface, 5G internet, WireGuard router, pihole on a Zero W and 4x4 N95 HTPC, plus 1080p projector. When a computer that size (actually smaller, since I don’t need a SATA bay) can outperform my tower, though …
This photo of Meteor Lake shows 16GB of LPDDR5X on the package. AMD’s looking to kill the low-midrange GPU in the next couple of generations of APUs, with Intel attempting to reach parity. And all of this in a fraction of the power envelope of a midrange gaming rig.
Maybe it’s next-quarter-itis dominating the tech press, but these developments feel like they deserve a bit more attention given that all signs point to gaming 4x4 PCs with a wall wart in the next two years. This actually makes Intel’s exit from the NUC space somewhat surprising, but they’ve been shedding products pretty consistently and this may just be a part of that.
I’m in the situation of having a 5-year-old gaming rig that’s still going strong (caveat: I’m a factory/city-builder gamer so an RX 6600 works fine for me at 4K60), and moving into a stepvan in the next couple of weeks and therefore suddenly very aware of power draw, so all of this may be more exciting to me than the average bear, as I could see finally upgrading on account of a dead component in the next couple of years.
Yet there’s still that part of me from college that wants to keep abreast of the latest developments, and as I’ve watched now six desktop Intel generations hit benchmarks since I was the lucky winner of an 8086K, there’s been nothing that really draws a line in the sand and says “this will be the clear new minimum target.”
Intel starting over at 1st gen for Meteor Lake shows they see this finally changing. It honestly could have happened anywhere from introduction of E-cores to the seeming destination of Rentable Units, which have finally popped up outside of MLID. I’ve seen nothing about what AMD’s disaggregated endpoint looks like, even though I’m definitely looking to Strix Halo as where I may be able to ditch the ITX sandwich tower completely. Couple this with swapping out my TV for a native 1080p mini projector (a “maybe” suggestion that turned into having to try one at $40, and wow!), and I could be gaming in a van in fucking style with essentially zero dedicated hardware space in just a couple years!
Anyway, in situations like this, I’ve found that I may have inadequate sources, so I thought I’d see if anyone had suggestions.
The death if the tower/server/workstation/supercomputer/etc. is a pretty bad take. Computers have been getting better for over half a century and these big machines still exist. As computing power grows, so do software demands. If we make a phone with the power of today’s gaming PC we could make a gaming PC with the same technology many times more powerful, and games will take advantage of that. A modern smartphone of today can run PC games of the 2000’s and maybe early 2010’s with proper emulation. The Steam Deck can run most games released today. That doesn’t mean demand for high end systems disappears.
Can you point out where I extrapolated about all use cases for all towers? A lot of people seem to have read that, and I’d really like to understand where my post went so wildly off the rails that this was the predominant takeaway. For someone with a heavy background in communications, I’m apparently terrible with words.
Very well, I’ll bite. From your OP:
From one of your other posts:
These comments imply that compact computers will start to outperform full-sized computers, and that GPUs will become useless due to the performance of APUs.
If you’re just talking about your personal preferences, then go build yourself an ITX form factor PC and have fun with it! Oh wait, you already did! Good for you - you have a PC that fits your needs. You aren’t alone in that. The Steam Deck is generally well-received, for example.
But it really sounds like you aren’t just talking about your personal preferences. It sounds like you really believe that APUs are going to replace high-end GPUs. It sounds like you think gaming laptops are going to take over the world.
I’ll repeat your quote from earlier: “a system for gaming without the need for a high-end GPU”. APUs are going to replace low-end GPUs - in fact, they already have! The $200 new GPU market no longer exists! But they don’t provide enough performance to max out graphics of new games and, in your own words, remove the need for high-end GPUs.
It seems like your entire post is about “man I can’t wait for the full/mid-tower PC market to die” and then you’re acting surprised when people say things like “my PC sits on my desk and never moves do I’d rather have a full-sized cooling solution.”
And your other comments just reinforce it.
You’re creating a strawman. Nobody except you is saying that an i9 will freeze opening Notepad. It’s also very hostile in implying that “I’m fine with therefore most of the world must also be fine with it.” Some folks play CPU-intensive games and prefer having a powerful PC. That’s their money to spend how they want.
Full-sized PCs permit adaptability.
Full-sized PCs permit better cooling. Even mid-range GPUs benefit from that.
Full-sized PCs easier dust cleaning and maintenance.
Full-sized PCs are easier to work in for those of us that like to tinker.
There’s more to it than “What peripherals are people using that necessitate so many add-in cards for non-HPC needs that ATX is a must,” that’s a deliberately dumb take.
To summarize:
People who want a compact or power-efficient PCs already have one.
People who prefer more power/cooling have a mid-tower or full-tower PC.
Games and other software will keep pace with the power/cooling available common PCs, so don’t expect the full-sized ones to go away just because the compact ones get more powerful.
Yes you did. You’ve been saying it repeatedly in different forms throughout your various replies. I think you’re wrong, and it seems so do several other commenters.
I’m honestly not trying to be combative here … I’m just surprised by the sorts of responses, so I appreciate the explanation, even if it’s to a certain extent more confusing.
There’s the disconnect. How are you getting from A to B? “Can outperform my tower” from five years ago is not “compact computers will start to outperform full-sized computers” and certainly not “GPUs will become useless due to the performance of APUs.” This is the extrapolation that’s confusing me.
In context, I was referring to the sorts of things that transpire on Reddit when it comes to CPU recommendations if gaming is mentioned at all, where it’s often i9 or nothing, and if it came out two weeks ago, it’s already too slow by orders of magnitude. The middle ground is all but ignored, which is what I’m referring to.
Please provide examples of this since I’m doing it all over the place. I can’t find one where I talk about how towers are an endangered species.
You literally made the statement “at no point did I say towers are going to die, just that for a system for gaming without the need for a high-end GPU” which says that you think GPUs (except those at the very high end) will be made obsolete by APUs.
And yet you used it as an actual argument against people here - not on Reddit - who disagree with you. You don’t get to use that argument here and then try to say “no no, I only meant it in reference to people way over there who aren’t even on this social media.”
I provided several exact quotes in my previous comment. I’ll add one more, since it wasn’t enough. In the title of this thread you state “It feels like we’re on the cusp of […] and a real shot at relegating towers to the extreme high end.” Emphasis mine. That very clearly says that you think towers are going to become endangered. That they will preserved only by, and I quote, people at “the extreme high end.”
I thank you for your time reading my comment and replying to me. I think this will be my final word on the subject - but I’ll be sure to read any replies in case you think there’s still a misunderstanding.