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[simpatico]

A 1080p ddr4 9060 isn't a mid range pc today.

That PC can play every game on the market at 1080/60. I think a lot is lost in the sauce on the PC side of things. Upgrading from this to a 5080, you're paying $1000 for an extra 360p and taking Ray Tracing from Low to Medium. It does not give you access to one additional game that the 9060 cannot play.

Pretty much the worst return on investment in PC gaming since the turn of the century. I wasn't around for it in the 90s, but maybe someone can chime in if there was an era of lesser gains for you dollar.

 

[Lupin3]

PS6 is gonna cost 30K and you need to suck dick for a pre-order.

At least I can get that pre-order in...

 

[SHAKEZ]

They managed modern cell phone networks and social media integration, they can manage this.

Cellphones and social media are WAY less intrusive and less infrastructure heavy than building massive data centers and going through the politics of mega corps from other countries managing all your sensitive stuff all the time.

There's also the massive energy this would need and any outage would spell some serious issues in many areas.

 

[PaintTinJr]

It will be interesting to see how this impacts the like of Raspberry Pi in the long term.

My father-in-law bought 500 shares around the £3 mark awhile back after I said it was a well placed business looking forward.

At £7 a share he asked my opinion again and I repeated they were a well placed business and a good 5-10year investment based on the view cheap, small, low power computing would ultimately hoover up more and more of the market with Moore's law progression gains.

Now, I'm concerned that they might not survive this RAM price increase if they can't get their major backer Sony to help them with access to RAM as low price, and even then I would assume they would need to start using a GDDR6 or 7 to get in on minimal price rises, that would then probably force up board complexity and majorly increase power draw and overall product cost by the GDDR 6 or 7 compared to the 4/8/16GB of DDR2 on the current Raspberry Pi 5.

 

[Dr.D00p]

A year or two of bad pricing doesn't invalidate the entire PC gaming market, come on.

Console gaming certainly isn't a replacement for a lot of PC gaming.

A year or two?....its been a constant since 2020.

 

[violence]

 

[Bojji]

A year or two?....its been a constant since 2020.

Talking about GPUs (really, the only very problematic component so far): Horrible 2020-2021 (shortages), then decent prices 2022-2024 (that means around MSRP, not that they were low lol), then horrible Q1 2025 (shortages again), then decent prices again since mid year. GPUs are still MSRP but RAM prices will fuck them up in 2026.

 

[Von Hugh]

My DDR5 6000 MHz 32 GB for 114 euro back in March is now suddenly 340 euros. Absolutely fucked up.

 

[amigastar]

My DDR5 6000 MHz 32 GB for 114 euro back in March is now suddenly 340 euros. Absolutely fucked up.

Yeah, shit sucks big times, at first gpu's and now this shit.

 

[Zathalus]

A year or two?....its been a constant since 2020.

No it hasn't? Just last month you could build a really good 9060 XT 16GB PC for relatively cheap. A Intel Arc B580 for even cheaper. Up until this DRAM spike GPUs, RAM, CPU, etc were all relatively cheap in both the low and mid range. The only thing out of control were 5090 class GPUs, and that is less than 1% of the gaming market.

 

[PaintTinJr]

No it hasn't? Just last month you could build a really good 9060 XT 16GB PC for relatively cheap. A Intel Arc B580 for even cheaper. Up until this DRAM spike GPUs, RAM, CPU, etc were all relatively cheap in both the low and mind range. The only thing out of control were 5090 class GPUs, and that is less than 1% of the gaming market.

Not true IMO, I still spent nearly £1000 on a 9800X3D, 32GB RAM and X870 mobo before this current pricing and before COVID/Crypto a similar tier combo was more like £650 so everything has been creeping up 5x inflation even without being directly the problem item IMO.

 

[Zathalus]

Not true IMO, I still spent nearly £1000 on a 9800X3D, 32GB RAM and X870 mobo before this current pricing and before COVID/Crypto a similar tier combo was more like £650 so everything has been creeping up 5x inflation even without being directly the problem item IMO.

I mentioned low to mid tier. That is literally the best CPU and mobo gaming combo on the market right now. A 7600x, B650, and 32GB RAM was available for around $350 before this RAM price increase.

Even a thousand pounds for those three components sounds a bit expensive. Back in September you could have gotten that for around ~700. Depends on the motherboard I guess, but over 300-350 on a motherboard is a bit of a waste.

Back in 2019 (pre Covid or Crypto boom) the fastest CPU combo was the 9900k. The 9900k was roughly $450 (about the same as the 9800x3D is now) a good Z390 was around ~$250 and 32GB of 3200 RAM ~$100. So $800. Before this RAM disaster hit, a 9800x3D, 6000Mhz 32GB, and a X870E would be ~$800 as well. If you go for the ludicrous high end motherboards or RAM kits that price can go up quite a bit, but there is little need for that. Especially anything above 6000Mhz is a waste on AMD.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

Really glad I have a system with 32GB after seeing some of the prices, but unless things calm down on the PC side I cannot see myself sticking with PC gaming once my rig has had it's day.

 

[64gigabyteram]

A year or two of bad pricing doesn't invalidate the entire PC gaming market, come on.

Console gaming certainly isn't a replacement for a lot of PC gaming.

It isnt even 3 years. It's been 7 years of back to back price raises and general instability. Almost every component besides the PSU, HDD and case has been drastically affected by supply chain bullshit, chip shortages, scalpers, crypto bros and now AI bros. We have been in this SNAFU for almost a decade.

 

[CuNi]

Really glad I have a system with 32GB after seeing some of the prices, but unless things calm down on the PC side I cannot see myself sticking with PC gaming once my rig has had it's day.

I don't want to be an ass, but I don't see consoles getting cheaper because of this, either.
If anything, everything that has to do with electronic entertainment will go up in price by double digits easily.

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

Cellphones and social media are WAY less intrusive and less infrastructure heavy than building massive data centers and going through the politics of mega corps from other countries managing all your sensitive stuff all the time.

There's also the massive energy this would need and any outage would spell some serious issues in many areas.

Are you opperating on the assumption that world governments don't want to be that intrussive? Because they 100% do.

 

[Windom Earle]

Damn... It was one thing to spend a lot of money on a GPU during Covid/ETH mining... But this memory shock wil destroy your wallet on all fronts now, crazy. Glad my PC will be able to hold me over for a long time.

 

[Zathalus]

It isnt even 3 years. It's been 7 years of back to back price raises and general instability. Almost every component besides the PSU, HDD and case has been drastically affected by supply chain bullshit, chip shortages, scalpers, crypto bros and now AI bros. We have been in this SNAFU for almost a decade.

Yes, but prices done always stay high. Everything is fluctuating. For the middle of this year prices were fine. Prices were fine most of 2022-2024 as well. Prices certainly won't drop to what they were a decade ago, but that goes for everything.

 

[PaintTinJr]

I mentioned low to mid tier. That is literally the best CPU and mobo gaming combo on the market right now. A 7600x, B650, and 32GB RAM was available for around $350 before this RAM price increase.

Even a thousand pounds for those three components sounds a bit expensive. Back in September you could have gotten that for around ~700. Depends on the motherboard I guess, but over 300-350 on a motherboard is a bit of a waste.

Back in 2019 (pre Covid or Crypto boom) the fastest CPU combo was the 9900k. The 9900k was roughly $450 (about the same as the 9800x3D is now) a good Z390 was around ~$250 and 32GB of 3200 RAM ~$100. So $800. Before this RAM disaster hit, a 9800x3D, 6000Mhz 32GB, and a X870E would be ~$800 as well. If you go for the ludicrous high end motherboards or RAM kits that price can go up quite a bit, but there is little need for that. Especially anything above 6000Mhz is a waste on AMD.

That is not quite a fair comparison when similar AMD tier position for CPU, Mobo, EXPO RAM was my point of reference for comparative pricing. I'm sure even now the same Intel position as the i9-9900K cost significantly more than the 9800X3D like the Intel Core Ultra 285.

 

[Shadowstar39]

Doesn't matter if ps5 / pro does go up it still be way below the entry cost of a mid level pc which is around $2,000 right now. It's super sad for sure.

What do you consider a mid level pc? That is subjective. My pc maxes out everything I throw at it, why? I don't gaf about 4k and play at 1080p.

An amd 5700x ($139), GeForce 3060ti (now 340), 32gb ram ddr4(104, at chepeast wow I paid $30 4 months ago for ripjaw upgrade). Psu (60), mobo (99), case (50), fankit(30), keyboard/mouse combo (on cheap 30), ssd 512gb for 40$ and get some cheap 2tb hdd)

That's $892 plus whatever your monitor cost you can use an old one or buy one cheap. Yeah it's more than it was a decade ago, but you can buy parts over time and make it work. I've never spent more than I could on a build and have been doing this since the 90s.

You don't need a top of the line pc.

Does all this suck, yes it does, but tough times means do what you can. You could go even cheaper by using a lower end cpu and GPU (that and now ram are the cost spots).

 

[simpatico]

People thinking this is only going to affect DIY PC gaming are in for a rude awakening. Console and PC gaming are going to be the least of your worries in 5 years. There's a standard of living change coming to the West that no one is ready for. The die is cast and there's no getting away from it. We're out of road to kick the can down.

 

[Zathalus]

That is not quite a fair comparison when similar AMD tier position for CPU, Mobo, EXPO RAM was my point of reference for comparative pricing. I'm sure even now the same Intel position as the i9-9900K cost significantly more than the 9800X3D like the Intel Core Ultra 285.

I was comparing the best gaming CPUs at each respective time. The 3700x came out in 2019 and it was a fine CPU but it lagged behind Intel still. Even then it was only about $120 cheaper vs the 9800x3D today. The equivalent AMD CPU today is the 9700x, and that goes for as low as $290. So a 3700x build in 2019 vs a 9700x build today (or at least before November) would have been very similarly priced.

 

[SHAKEZ]

Are you opperating on the assumption that world governments don't want to be that intrussive? Because they 100% do.

Sure, but the data centers would be an American corporation thing, not every country has the resources to push for massive data centers everywhere.
So the question is, will every country just accept American megacorps control in their territory? China wouldn't be too keen on that...

 

[xenosys]

Damn, those are some tight timings.

And i thought 6000 CL30 is tight.

I probably lucked out. It was advertised as a 6000 CL30 kit, but using Buildzoid's guide on manual memory timings, was able to get it down to CL28 on 6200. I tried 6400, but it was a bit unstable.

 

[LordCBH]

 

[StereoVsn]

Sure, but the data centers would be an American corporation thing, not every country has the resources to push for massive data centers everywhere.
So the question is, will every country just accept American megacorps control in their territory? China wouldn't be too keen on that...

China is building their own. So is Europe and Middle East and many other parts of the world like Indonesia.

 

[SHAKEZ]

China is building their own. So is Europe and Middle East and many other parts of the world like Indonesia.

I wonder how all this will pan out in the end.
I think that at the end of the day, nothing will really take away home PCs, but we might start seeing a new kind of "cloud PC" in the near future.

 

[StereoVsn]

I wonder how all this will pan out in the end.
I think that at the end of the day, nothing will really take away home PCs, but we might start seeing a new kind of "cloud PC" in the near future.

Probably not well for regular folks, and amazingly well for billionaires and totalitarian regimes.

 

[Shubh_C63]

I just had a thought that building PCs were a luxury that would no longer be available. Get those parts and build it yourself, sounds like a dream and it's going to be over.

In the future only deals you could get is from megacorpos who can buy RAMs or future new "stuff" in bulk and give pre-built consoles/SteamBox/handhelds.

Seeing how RAM companies are getting rid of their B2C markets entirely.

 

[Zacfoldor]

I just had a thought that building PCs were a luxury that would no longer be available. Get those parts and build it yourself, sounds like a dream and it's going to be over.

In the future only deals you could get is from megacorpos who can buy RAMs or future new "stuff" in bulk and give pre-built consoles/SteamBox/handhelds.

Seeing how RAM companies are getting rid of their B2C markets entirely.

Capacity will improve starting in 2027, the AI bubble will burst or settle. Vastly improved tech will erase the need for a ram race. This happened before with mining and the landscape was bleak. We were buying video cards on ebay.

It will be over before you know it. To doom and gloom. To mourn. There is no need. PC gaming will be fine. Current consoles will barely be affected. Next gen launches could be delayed or rocky but not by much. Every gaming machine currently in existence already has ram. Sony has enough ram purchased thru the end of their fiscal and they have the consoles all for cheap right now. Anyone who is worried has months to act(and buy a PS5). The ram amount created will adjust to the need, not the other way around. If you don't believe me, listen to the gods of the copybook headings. Nothing lasts forever.

 

[Pagusas]

Probably not well for regular folks, and amazingly well for billionaires and totalitarian regimes.

Yep, this. The end game of this is a return to the time where it was uncommon to own/afford high end things for the lower and middle classes.

 

[simpatico]

I wonder how all this will pan out in the end.
I think that at the end of the day, nothing will really take away home PCs, but we might start seeing a new kind of "cloud PC" in the near future.

The demand for home computing has never been lower. The big chip makers who used to support the industry are bowing out as we speak. Cloud computing will satisfy 95%+ of the population.

 

[nkarafo]

Meh, it seems like investing so hard in AI isn't that profitable? They already started serving ads in AI services, even in paid tiers. The bubble will burst soon i believe (hope).

 

[StereoVsn]

Meh, it seems like investing so hard in AI isn't that profitable? They already started serving ads in AI services, even in paid tiers. The bubble will burst soon i believe (hope).

Not going to happen in the same manner as in 2000, I think.

Amazon, MS, Meta, Nvidia, Google are very very profitable, AI aside. They aren't going anywhere.

OpenAI and Oracle might take a hard dive though alongside a ton of AI startups. I think Anthropic is the most reasonable and as its Enterprise focused, will survive as well.

 

[Von Hugh]

The bubble will burst soon i believe (hope).

I sold all my stocks today, by the way.

(Don't take this as financial advice)

 

[MrSmooth]

Capacity will improve starting in 2027, the AI bubble will burst or settle. Vastly improved tech will erase the need for a ram race. This happened before with mining and the landscape was bleak. We were buying video cards on ebay.

It will be over before you know it. To doom and gloom. To mourn. There is no need. PC gaming will be fine. Current consoles will barely be affected. Next gen launches could be delayed or rocky but not by much. Every gaming machine currently in existence already has ram. Sony has enough ram purchased thru the end of their fiscal and they have the consoles all for cheap right now. Anyone who is worried has months to act(and buy a PS5). The ram amount created will adjust to the need, not the other way around. If you don't believe me, listen to the gods of the copybook headings. Nothing lasts forever.

Capacity will improve, but I feel now like this will be the new normal. Used to be 200, now it's 500, capacity improves but now 400-500 is the new bar

 

[Haint]

Capacity will improve starting in 2027, the AI bubble will burst or settle. Vastly improved tech will erase the need for a ram race. This happened before with mining and the landscape was bleak. We were buying video cards on ebay.

It will be over before you know it. To doom and gloom. To mourn. There is no need. PC gaming will be fine. Current consoles will barely be affected. Next gen launches could be delayed or rocky but not by much. Every gaming machine currently in existence already has ram. Sony has enough ram purchased thru the end of their fiscal and they have the consoles all for cheap right now. Anyone who is worried has months to act(and buy a PS5). The ram amount created will adjust to the need, not the other way around. If you don't believe me, listen to the gods of the copybook headings. Nothing lasts forever.

Local consumer video models (and even new image models) are already beyond the limits of consumer hardware memory wise and will only grow exponentially from here. The paid data center models are much much larger. The memory cartel would need to be wildly over building capacity to what seems like ridiculous levels today and would still fall short of demand in 2027. And they've all said they're absolutely not going to over build capacity to protect profit margins.

 

[Moses85]

2026 will be worse than covid.

 

[SHAKEZ]

The demand for home computing has never been lower. The big chip makers who used to support the industry are bowing out as we speak. Cloud computing will satisfy 95%+ of the population.

Then I'll gladly be part of the 5%.

 

[Sintoid]

Graphical Fiedelty I expect next gen

 

[winjer]

 

[Soren01]

I'm beginning to intensely dislike capitalism

 

[pudel]

I'm beginning to intensely dislike capitalism

unfortunately we didnt figure out a better alternative yet.

 

[Trilobit]

Now imagine if China goes to war against Taiwan.

 

[Bojji]

I'm beginning to intensely dislike capitalism

unfortunately we didnt figure out a better alternative yet.

Capitalism with regulations from the goverment not allowing corruption, monopoly, duopolu, cartels etc. to exist.

In theory something like that exist in USA but system is corrupted as fuck, people that work there and judges are "sponsored" by corporations. America represents the most anti consumer/normal citizen version of capitalism.



This shit isn't even funny:

How can he be against corporate interests when they basically own him? And yet USA has quite high score when it comes to corruption perception:

https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2024

People don't see the problem...

 

[pudel]

Capitalism with regulations from the goverment not allowing corruption, monopoly, duopolu, cartels etc. to exist.

Agree, but I dont know what you want to regulate here. You have a supposedly huge new business emerging and they are gobbling up all available ram/gpus etc. Thats nothing illegal.

On the other side, consumers could also use capitalism in their own favor and just not give a single cent to these AI companies...making them quickly disappearing again.

 

[Kadve]

What do you consider a mid level pc? That is subjective. My pc maxes out everything I throw at it, why? I don't gaf about 4k and play at 1080p.

An amd 5700x ($139), GeForce 3060ti (now 340), 32gb ram ddr4(104, at chepeast wow I paid $30 4 months ago for ripjaw upgrade). Psu (60), mobo (99), case (50), fankit(30), keyboard/mouse combo (on cheap 30), ssd 512gb for 40$ and get some cheap 2tb hdd)

That's $892 plus whatever your monitor cost you can use an old one or buy one cheap. Yeah it's more than it was a decade ago, but you can buy parts over time and make it work. I've never spent more than I could on a build and have been doing this since the 90s.

You don't need a top of the line pc.

Does all this suck, yes it does, but tough times means do what you can. You could go even cheaper by using a lower end cpu and GPU (that and now ram are the cost spots).

You dont need 32Gb of RAM in a mid level PC. 16 is good enough,

 

[IDKFA]

Fuck this.

I'm going on a spending spree. I'm buying a Switch 2, another PS5 and as much RAM that my credit card can handle.

I suggest you all do same before prices increase by 2000% this time next year

 

[simpatico]

Then I'll gladly be part of the 5%.

Shit me too. I just don't know if there's enough of a demand for them to continue the very complex mfg and supply chain it takes to support it. We're seeing them peel away now and it still has a lot worse to go.

 

[Bojji]

Agree, but I dont know what you want to regulate here. You have a supposedly huge new business emerging and they are gobbling up all available ram/gpus etc. Thats nothing illegal.

On the other side, consumers could also use capitalism in their own favor and just not give a single cent to these AI companies...making them quickly disappearing again.

This thing worked at some point:

United States v. Microsoft Corp. - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

But of course, as always... Money won. Now the only entity that corporations seem to respect is EU. But of course what can EU do when most of those companies are based in US?

Consumers can vote with their wallets of course but... there is not fucking choice. You HAVE TO buy hardware at some point (old one dies for example) and you can't choose differently because options don't fucking exists. Free market correcting itself is a meme at this point when trillion dollars entities dominate the market and do whatever they want with no repercussions.