The RAM-apocolypse continues of course, with hints of it hitting general manufacturers, and delay of gaming systems and even spinning harddrives. At least Micron is making some PCIe 6 drives you cannot have. Also, since we are sometimes audio geeks as well as PC, we talk about some bananas. Seriously. You'll just have to listen to get the scoop on bad Chrome extensions, bad Copilot, and bad password managers. Until then, enjoy Unread Tournament 2004!

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
01:15 Patreon
03:22 Food with Josh
05:20 Acer and ASUS caught up HEVC patent dispute
07:15 Intel's new annual GPU cadence
09:00 Micron is making PCI-E 6.0 SSDs that you can't have
11:10 WD CEO says storage is already sold out for 2026
14:07 Warning - many consumer electronics companies will fail this year
22:25 Sony may push PS6 launch as far as 2029
22:55 US reportedly removes two Chinese memory companies from banned list
25:54 RTX 5090 LIGHTNING is 5090 USD (list price, anyhow)
29:35 Audio dragged through the mud - and a banana
34:34 (In)Security Corner
45:07 Gaming Quick Hits
50:35 Jeremy reviews 25 USD speakers from Cyber Acoustics
56:53 Picks of the Week
1:08:51 Outro

Another week, another series of distressing developments in the world of PC hardware. But maybe the end of the madness is near? Or at least hotter with 700W Intel CPUs. BTW, you're probably not getting an RTX 5090Ti, another week where DIMMs are bling, some questionable choices from Microsoft and scary security issues with certs, 7-Zip, OpenClaw, and "Approve or Deny?" questions.

Thanks Zapier for sponsoring our show this week! Get AI orchestration going on your workflows for improvements you can really help, for free!

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
01:05 Patron
01:37 Food with Josh
03:54 ASRock BIOS update to combat reported Ryzen failures
05:47 Intel's potential processor power
09:35 No RTX 5090 Ti this year
11:35 G.Skill memory speed settlement
14:44 The Discord drama
19:21 HP will rent you an Omen gaming laptop
24:48 Microsoft failed to communicate about 26H1
31:36 Homelab bling
32:58 Podcast sponsor - Zapier
34:26 (In)Security Corner
48:37 Gaming Quick Hits
55:19 Picks of the Week
1:09:55 Outro

Recorded February 4, 2026.

We also cover the upcoming Steam Machine, sad GPU trends, and the arc of the Arc B770. We've got our review of the Thrustmaster T248R and rapidly dive into AMD's glorious financial success, plus a splash of ARM's Q3 results. Surprise! There are discussions on memory prices, Nvidia's RTX 50 series supply, and the weeks "best" security breaches.

Powered by Clippy.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
00:25 Patreon
01:16 Food with Josh
02:36 AMD Financials
08:43 Arm Financials
11:45 AMD says Steam Machine still on track for early 2026 (until it isn't)
13:30 New memory price outlook has DDR5 doubling again in Q1
14:48 Low VRAM GPUs reportedly 75 percent of NVIDIA Q1 supply
16:45 AMD also in the lower VRAM game
19:45 Intel Arc B770 is supposedly canceled
22:17 Spinning rust lives on
25:33 Qualcomm loses chief CPU architect
27:09 PCPer (possibly) influences Microsoft to backpedal on AI features!
31:31 5GbE is getting more affordable
33:44 (In)Security Corner
43:32 Gaming Quick Hits
47:56 Josh reviews the Thrustmaster T248R
55:45 Picks of the Week
1:07:56 Outro

We review the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, alongside DDR4 and storage price analysis and head smacking moments. We also discuss GOG's Linux focus and Intel's latest financial results. Windows 11 woes, BitLocker Keys, Office patches and Valve is being sued for only $900M. So much more below!

Thanks to our sponsor: CoPilot Money! All your accounts, spending, savings and investments in one place! Get one month free with our code: PCPER!

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
00:40 Patreon
01:58 Food with Josh
04:00 AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D review
13:02 Intel financials
18:41 RDNA 3.5 to live on (and on)
19:50 DDR4 pricing on the rise
21:12 Storage prices are getting crazy
28:24 GOG focused on Linux
30:48 Computer History Museum online
32:01 Make Windows 11 less awful
33:47 Some PCs might not boot after Jan 2026 Win11 update
35:11 PCs refusing to shut down after another patch
36:13 Podcast sponsor - Copilot Money
46:05 Gaming Quick Hits
1:00:27 Picks of the Week
1:13:29 Outro

What happens when Kent decides to use the podcast as an SFF build livestream? What about a build using DDR4 memory?? It probably doesn't get more exciting than this. Unless you count discussing the impending pricing DOOM for SSDs and the Google enabled bluetooth security flaw.

So much more fun in the timestamps below!

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
00:41 Patreon
01:29 Food with Josh
03:03 Checking in on Kent
04:42 RIP cheap SSDs
06:07 Samsung and SK hynix reportedly cut NAND supply to drive profits
07:00 Checking in on Kent again
07:38 NVIDIA GPU prices are probably going up soon
12:27 RTX 5070 Ti and 5060 Ti 16GB are not EOL after all
14:18 NVIDIA releasing Arm-based chips for Windows laptops this year?
17:33 Micron acquires PSMC fab to expand memory operations
19:38 Dev patches WINE to make Photoshop 2021, 2025 run on Linux
21:35 Josh checks in on Kent
25:32 (In)Security Corner
35:34 Another check on Kent's build progress
36:38 Gaming Quick Hits
40:24 Kent makes more progress
41:36 Picks of the Week
55:34 Outro

Every episode this year just keeps getting better, try it, you'll see. This food podcast brought to by the tech news! Also, 9850X3D this month, welcome back 8GB GPUs, and 2026 will be tough for PC hardware enthusiats. Oh, that Micron shut down is really a good thing, trust them. Enjoy Linux malware, CoPilot exploits, and even a StarCraft based shooter on the way plus so much more! Seriously, look at the timestamps below.

We thank our two sponsors this week:
Notion Agent - Bringing all your notes, docs, and projects into one connected space that just works!
Zapier - Where tech innovators break the hype cycle and put AI into their workflows - orchestrate it with Zapier!

Timestamps

0:00 Intro
01:54 Patreon
03:20 Food with Josh
05:17 AMD reportedly launching the 9850X3D this month
06:07 NVIDIA to increase 8GB GPU production?
08:05 NVIDIA SUPER refresh delay
09:32 Micron defends shutting down Crucial
12:51 Zoicware is the one true way
16:32 SK hynix to build new memory plant
17:50 2026 is not going to be a great year for PC builders
20:29 Podcast sponsor - Notion
21:54 PSUs and CPU coolers are the next to go up in price
28:29 Apple's Google Gemini deal
31:02 Intel Nova Lake graphics
33:06 (In)Security Corner
38:37 Podcast sponsor - Zapier
40:06 (In)Security Corner, continued
46:46 We are not normal
57:33 Gaming Quick Hits
1:07:38 Picks of the Week
1:17:52 Outro

What if we told you that CES did not feature any new GPUs? But it did feature more frames! MSI with LIGHTNING and GPU safeguard, Phison's new controller, and that wily AMD with new Ryzen 7 9850X3D (and confirmed Ryzen 9 9950X3D2) - whee! Remember the Reboot computer generated cartoon? Remember D-Link Routers and Zero Days? Remember Intel? It's all here!

That and everything old is new again with Old GPUs and CPUs coming back .. because RAM.

Thanks again to our sponsor with CopilotMoney! Get on your single pane of financial glass and bring order to your money and spending - it's even actually fun to save again. Get the web version and use our code for 26% off at http://try.copilot.money/pcper

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
00:56 Patreon
01:37 Food with Josh
04:10 AMD announces Ryzen 7 9850X3D
05:41 AMD sort of confirmed the 9950X3D2
07:00 NVIDIA DLSS 4.5
09:34 Intel was at CES
12:50 MSI LIGHTNING returns
14:54 MSI also launching GPU Safeguard Plus PSUs
19:44 WD_Black is now Sandisk Optimus GX Pro
21:54 Phison has the most efficient SSD controller
26:11 ASUS ROG RGB Stripe OLED
28:44 First computer-animated TV show restored
33:29 Podcast sponsor - Copilot Money
34:57 (In)Security Corner
44:32 Gaming Quick Hits
1:06:31 Picks of the Week
1:24:08 Outro

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