Assemble that Passes # 292
The GPU situation is so convoluted that it has prompted a pre-built retailer to sell PCs without a video card. The integrated solutions have certainly taken steps forward, with the new Intel processors equipped with Xe GPUs also capable of giving some satisfaction in the game, as well as in editing, but it is clear that buying a new gaming computer to be satisfied with gaming in 1080p , not without compromise, is the most unpleasant that can happen. Of course, by purchasing a PC without a GPU, it is also possible to insert a used card in the PCIe slot, provided you find it at human prices and conditions, but the ability to buy a castrated gaming PC is a symptom of the times that run, difficult and with uncertain prospects. In fact, there is talk of having to wait until 2022 for production to adapt to the demands of a market that suddenly saw the demand for chips grow well beyond forecasts.
Enough to get into trouble an entire sector which, however, after a first halt due to the pandemic that has affected the automobile sector the most, is producing like never before. The PC market has in fact grown by 20.6% following the pandemic that has pushed distance learning, smart work, online trading, social needs and even video games, with a growth spike for Chromebooks of 200% which highlights how they are produced overall. and sold many more computers. The problem is the maximum production volume, exceeded also due to the leap in the sale of cars, driven by the need to stay away from public transport to reduce risks, and by the arrival in the field of new series of CPUs and GPUs, expected by a lot and made even more attractive by the race for the gaming PC driven both by the growing appeal of the PC as a gaming machine, and by the pandemic.
TSMC is working at maximum speed, but it is not enough But the GPUs are the ones that suffer the most and we can hypothesize that among the reasons there is also the TSMC and Samsung lines by giants that produce tens of millions of devices like Apple. Something that has probably eaten the roughly 10% margin that foundries leave in case it becomes necessary to produce a particularly sought-after chip, leaving AMD and NVIDIA lacking in margin due to too low sales estimates. Another reason, moreover, is likely to depend on the type of clientele. The field of high-profile gaming has many users willing to pay even very high figures for the best of the new GPUs, as evidenced by the fact that the GeForce RTX 3080 is the most difficult card to find. To this we must add the pressure of digital miners and scalpers which led to a further increase in prices, making it very difficult to assemble a PC at this juncture. Yet the demand is still very high.
It is no coincidence that, returning to the initial speech, many are assembling their PCs without GPUs, hoping to get the right offer. But patience and luck are needed, given a constantly worsening situation that could remain complicated, as anticipated, until 2022. At that point, the production of the ABF underlayer should also adapt to demand, but we would have hoped for faster timing given that we are talking about technologies last generation. The problem is that the adjustment of production involves a huge number of factors, including numerous secondary components, and involves great risks for huge companies that to increase margins and limit losses work on sales forecasts, clearly underestimated in the case of the pandemic. of COVID-19.
There is no doubt that at this moment companies are trying to understand whether as the pandemic passes, demand will remain high or collapse to the ground, turning any investments into potential losses. And it is likely that this uncertainty is among the reasons that could lead TSMC to raise the price of chip wafers by 25%, by the end of the year. Behind it, however, there could be a massive investment plan and hopefully beneficial, at least in the long term, for a market destined to grow, regardless of fluctuations such as the one we are experiencing. Hence TSM's decision to invest $ 100 billion to expand production facilities. A monstrous figure, albeit spread over the next three years, which is added to the 28 million already spent on the creation of 5 and 3 nanometer production lines.
To the above must be added the 20 billion of Intel for two plants in Arizona and another $ 100 billion from Samsung, which plans to significantly expand its production capacity as a foundry over the next ten years. But precisely we are talking about long-term plans that are unlikely to have practical short-term effects on the actual availability of the chips, as we have said also bound to secondary components and a very high demand in every sector.
One of the busiest sectors, given the high numbers, is that of laptops which includes the new gaming laptops equipped with GeForce RTX 3000 GPUs. But with the arrival of the new graphics chips, the variants with RTX 2060 are remained in the field to act as an entry level, still guaranteeing good performance with RTX titles thanks to DLSS 2.0. However, the time has almost come to say goodbye to the last Turing left in the field, given the arrival of the mobile GeForce RTX 3050, equipped with 2560 CUDA Core, and RTX 3050 Ti, equipped with with 2048 CUDA Core. Among other things, the two cards, both equipped with 4 GB of memory and 128-bit bus, both have 4 levels of boost functional to consumption that can go from 35 to 80W, adapting to different types of laptops, from those of standard size. to the more compact ones that have unavoidable cooling limits.
Budget configuration
The budget configuration is the one aimed at saving but it is not certain that there is no room for an upgrade where they occur interesting prospects. The proposals in this range include solutions designed for low-tech games and 1080p-oriented builds.The Core i5-11400F has taken the field, with a new architecture albeit reduced to 14 nanometers, but not overthrows the Core i5-10400F, made very attractive by price drops and by performance that is still excellent for the range of membership, even considering the gaming.
Although modest, the GeForce RT 1030 is still available in figures affordable, albeit as inflated as those of all discrete GPUs, and guarantees superior performance to the Radeon RX 550. It therefore remains to act as a placeholder while waiting for an improvement in the complicated situation of the video card market.
BUDGET Component Price PROCESSOR Intel Core i5-10400F 2.9-4.3GHz 135,00 € ASROCK MOTHERBOARD H410M-HDV 80,00 € VIDEO CARD MSI NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 2 GB 125,00 € RAM HyperX Impact 2x8GB 2666MHz CL16 80 , 00 € POWER SUPPLY EVGA 450 BR 80+ Bronze 45,00 € HARD DI SK Kingston A400 480GB SATA III 60,00 € CASE Kolink Nimbus RGB Mid Tower 50,00 € TOTAL 575,00 €
Gaming configuration
In the gaming range usually there are those components that allow you to face the game on PC without fear and to hold on for some time. The frame rate showdown is just around the corner but, with a good base, it's always possible to sell the old GPU before it devalues too much so you can buy a new one just in time to take on the next hardware-smashing blockbuster.This week we welcome the arrival of the Core i5-11600K, one of the most attractive models of the new Intel series thanks to excellent gaming performance and a lower price than the Ryzen 5 5600X. Consumption is not low and the PCIe 4.0 lines are only those of the CPU, but they are problems of relative weight for a gaming configuration.
Moving on to the GPU we do not touch anything, betting on the future of the Radeon RX 6700 XT in a time when it is the card that offers the best ratio between framerate and actual price. Let's be clear, even found at the lowest prices it is overpriced, but to a lesser extent than the other models.
GAMING Component Price PROCESSOR Intel Core i5-10600K 3.9-4.9GHz 305.00 € ASRock B460M Steel Legend MOTHERBOARD 140,00 € VIDEO CARD Sapphire Radeon RX 6700 XT Pulse 12 GB 605,00 € RAM Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 2x8GB 3200MHz CL16 110,00 € POWER SUPPLY FSP Hydro PRO 600W 80+ Bronze 65,00 € HARD DISK SanDisk Plus 1 TB SATA III 95,00 € CASE NZXT H510 Mid Tower 85.00 € TOTAL 1405.00 €
Extra configuration
The push configuration makes sense only for those aiming for high resolutions, aware that luxury often does not go hand in hand with rationality. On the other hand, let's face it, who doesn't like having a nice engine under the hood even if you have to respect the speed limit?The already high price of the Core i9-11900K also suffers from the launch price increases, particularly marked with a model that therefore postpones its debut. So remains the Ryzen 7 5800X, slightly inferior in gaming but comparable for brute power, rather cool and equipped with several PCIe 4.0 lanes that guarantee massive connectivity.
With another leap forward, the GeForce RTX 3070 is become less convenient than the RTX 3060 Ti, but it is still preferable to us for a high-end configuration, making it much cheaper than the RTX 3080, although it is a bit uncomfortable to talk about convenience in the face of exaggerated surcharges that lead us to advise against any reckless purchase.
EXTRA Component Price PROCESSOR Ryzen R9 5800X 3.8-4.7GHz 450,00 € DISSIPATORE ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 90,00 € MOTHERBOARD Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE 190,00 € VIDEO CARD ASUS GeForce RTX 3070 Dual 8 GB 1050,00 € RAM G.Skill Trident Z RGB 2x16GB DDR4 3600MHz CL16 245,00 € ANTEC POWER SUPPLY HCG-850 80+ Gold 130,00 € HARD DISK Samsung 980 PRO 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 € 200.00 CASE Fractal Design Meshify S2 Mid Tower € 175.00 TOTAL € 2530.00
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