The Hardware Unboxed Podcast

Episode 116: Steve managed to obtain and test the Radeon RX 9050 4GB so we discuss just how bad it is, and the way it prays on customers. Then we have a chat about DLSS 5, the direction of graphics, how long until this feature is good and whether it even makes sense.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

01:53 - Steve Tests the RX 9050 4GB

15:10 - It's an Anti-Consumer Scam Product

31:23 - Is the RX 9050 4GB Usable in Some Games?

43:02 - We've Tested DLSS 5 Now

1:01:45 - Are Graphics the Most...

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Episode 115: We update everyone on the current situation with the YouTube view count. Then we dive into Steve's story about how he managed to kill several sticks of DDR5 memory on an Asrock motherboard.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:42 - The YouTube view count change has increased our views

12:38 - Steve killed a few kits of DDR5 memory

47:47 - St...

Episode 114: Two big topics in this week's podcast: Steve had a melting incident with his RTX 5090, and we chat about the re-announcement and release of DLSS 5 technology.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:48 - Steve had a 5090 melting incident

42:41 - DLSS 5 initial impressions

1:14:44 - Updates from our boring lives

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Episode 113: We chat about Nvidia's Gamescom announcements, including DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction, the ReBAR toggle and the absence of DLSS 5. We also discuss the recent semi-confirmation of Zen 6 on AM5 and what to expect, and look at a GPU tweaking tool that potentially exposes dangerous settings.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

01:53 - Nvidia at Gamescom

13:04 - Where was DLSS 5?

21:04 - Zen...

Episode 112: For some reason, YouTube decided to change the view counter. Also, AMD didn't bother sampling RX 9050s for review, but we reviewed it anyway. Later in the podcast we chat about some of the weird matchups between AMD and Nvidia that have been created due to high GPU prices

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:39 - YouTube Changes the View Counter

13:44 - RX 9050 Review Samples were Blocked

41:00 - Nvidia vs AMD GPU Pricing

51:36 - Nova Lake Naming Leak

58:49 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

Episode 111: Are reviewers who get review samples, get early access to products and have affiliate links truly independent? We discuss this in the podcast, after we watched a video from someone claiming MKBHD is not truly independent. A good one to hear our thoughts on how we approach reviews and conflicts of interest

Peter's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8ccXGQfXik

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CHAPTERS

The entire podcast discusses this...

Episode 110: Fanboys on Reddit got very upset that we trashed the upcoming Radeon RX 9050 and 4GB GPUs in general, claiming that these models are not sold to consumers, and also not actually gaming GPUs. So we naturally decided to take on and dismantle these idiotic comments in this week's podcast.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

01:00 - Reddit gets upset about our 4GB GPU video

46:17 - Asus rejects RTX 5090 sale then jacks up price

56:47 - Updates from our boring lives

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Episode 109: AMD has done something unfathomable: they're releasing a brand new 4GB GPU in the year 2026. We talk about the new Radeon RX 9050 and why this graphics card seems like a giant turd, both the 8GB and 4GB variants.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:30 - AMD Radeon RX 9050 Discussion Begins

40:24 - Why Not Just Re-Launch an Old GPU?

48:12 - The Days of Good Cheap GPUs are Over

1:09:02 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

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Episode 108: LG has been very naughty, caught installing their bloatware application on to PCs without the consent of monitor buyers. Seems dodgy, so we talk about that. We also look over the latest DLSS 5 announcements from Nvidia's recent presentation.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:40 - LG Installs Bloatware on Monitor Buyers' PCs

33:35 - Nvidia Shows More DLSS 5 Details

56:20 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

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Episode 107: We chat about some of the latest CPU releases, including the Ryzen 7 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition, and the Ryzen 7 7700X3D, which doesn't make a ton of sense when nobody is doing platform upgrades. Also, we thought it was quite amusing that Nvidia's hotspot GPU temperature has now been uncovered, so we discuss that whole situation.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

01:02 - The Ryzen 7 7700X3D has Launched

08:32 - The Ryzen 7 5800X3D Actually Makes Sense

24:53 - Nvidia GPU Hotspot Temperature Situation

40:24 - Steam Machine Thermals...

Episode 106: We chat about Sony ending production of physical games in 2028, and the implications that has for game ownership. Plus we talk about the challenges Nvidia faces with improving GPU performance, and the future of gaming as a result.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:30 - Life Update

02:35 - A chat about recent content

06:00 - Playstation ending disc support

32:06 - Has GPU performance really hit a ceiling?

44:00 - The future of gaming?

53:34 - Is Radeon in the same boat as Nvidia?

01:01:03 - Why...

Episode 105: We give some additional thoughts on how bad the Steam Machine is, and yes, we think it is very bad. Then we chat briefly about the Ryzen 7 5800X3D being re-released.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:31 - Yeah we haven't changed our mind on the Steam Machine

16:45 - Microsoft increased the price of the XBOX

21:20 - Steam Machine is the new Verge PC

28:28 - Pre Built as a HTPC

34:33 - Playstation/XBOX is easier to use than Windows

46:22 - Our thoughts on Valve<...

Episode 104: Upon our return from Computex, we chat about the current graphics card market, including AMD's bizarre release of the Radeon RX 9070 GRE.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Chat About the Radeon RX 9070 GRE

22:42 - The Current State of GPU Sales

50:08 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

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LINKS<...

Episode 103: Some people got upset that we claimed Nvidia didn't deliver on their promised ray tracing future. So we discuss that, the RTX 20 series, how ray tracing was marketed, and whether we think it's lived up to the original hype

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Chat About Ray Tracing

55:12 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

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Episode 102: We chat about the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition situation: the CPU itself and how it performs, AMD's decision not to provide review samples and more.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Chat About 9950X3D2

1:04:20 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

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LINKS

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Episode 101: What are our thoughts on Nvidia's DLSS 5 reveal? Time to chat about that, along with Crimson Desert, which we've been benchmarking

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:31 - Our Initial Thoughts on DLSS 5

08:14 - DLSS 5's Artistic Changes

27:36 - Possible Technical Challenges

42:07 - The Reaction to DLSS 5

49:24 - Crimson Desert Impressions

1:08:03 - Final Thoughts

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Episode 100: A brief chat on some news topics again, including Intel's announcement of Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs at attractive price points and FSR Diamond. Then we chat about a customer getting screwed over after his DDR5 memory died

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

01:53 - New Intel Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs

11:34 - AMD Announces FSR Diamond

14:27 - DLSS 4.5 Dynamic Frame Gen Release

15:59 - Umart, Corsair and Memory Failures

1:07:02 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

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Episode 99: A brief chat on some news topics, like Nvidia's recent driver issues and the rumored RTX 5050 9GB, then into our main chat. Is it really no longer possible to future proof your PC? Or is this one of the better times for PC hardware longevity?

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:37 - The RTX 5050 9GB Rumors

06:49 - New AMD Ryzen APUs for AM5

11:55 - Nvidia Driver Issues

18:52 - Future Proofing Your GPU, Is It Possible?

52:39 - CPU Longevity?

1:12:16 - Updates From Our Boring Lives<...

Episode 98: Two goobers give their thoughts on AI. We've used it, the marketing claims don't match the capabilities at all. We chat about the financial investments so far, how that's likely going to be a big problem, and the overall status of the 'bubble'.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

10:56 - Our Experiences Using AI

29:54 - The Insane Investment into AI

38:33 - Are They Going to Run Out of Money?

52:40 - The Bubble

1:06:00 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

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Episode 97: Simon from TFTCentral joins us after the wave of announcements at CES 2026 to chat about upcoming monitor technology, the current flaws with WOLED and QD-OLED panels, the types of screens we'd love to see, burn in, G-Sync Pulsar and more

TFTCENTRAL

Check out Simon's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@tftcentral

Check out Simon's website: https://tftcentral.co.uk/

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

02:43 - New Ultrawides for 2026

11:19 - New RGB Stripe WOLED

20:36 - Does 5K Gaming Make Sense?

30:16 - 500Hz 1440...

Episode 96: Some employees have recently left LTT and their stories have been blowing up, so we thought it might be interesting to give our perspective on running a YouTube tech channel, whether Linus was being unfair and whether the ex-LTT guys made the right choice. Also, we chat about 9800X3D failures and Valve delaying the Steam Machine (and its price reveal)

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:42 - Our Thoughts on Employees Leaving LTT

45:50 - What is the Deal With 9800X3D Failures?

1:03:09 - Valve Delays Steam Machine

1:17:20...

Episode 95: The Ryzen 7 9850X3D has been released and at best all we can say about it is that it's inoffensive. Also, more reports have emerged that signal the end of GPUs at MSRP.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:26 - So The 9850X3D Has Been Released

16:04 - More GPU Supply Information

29:40 - Zotac Might Be In Trouble

43:11 - Intel Launching Big Battlemage for Pros?

49:09 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

SOURCES

der8auer video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0...

Episode 94: We released a report saying the RTX 5070 Ti is effectively being killed off, and that Asus put the product into end of life status. What happened there? We share the full story

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:33 - AMD Officially Launches the 9850X3D

05:53 - The RTX 5070 Ti is Effectively Dead, The Story So Far

25:38 - It Was From Asus PR, Not a Random Rumor

35:08 - Did We Cause Supply Issues?

48:57 - Why Didn't We Remove the Video?

57:44 - Why Aren't Companies Just...

Episode 93: A rumor and news episode to round out 2025. We chat a bit more about 9850X3D expectations, the current and future state of Intel CPUs following some 225F testing, Nvidia cutting GPU supply, potential new GPUs and Steve kills some hardware.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

02:33 - More Thoughts on the 9850X3D

06:13 - Where is Intel at With Their CPUs?

24:42 - Nvidia Cutting GPU Supply?

37:38 - AMD Launches Radeon RX 9060 XT LP

43:22 - More Intel Arc B770 Rumors

49:12 - Updates From Our...

Episode 92: Edward Crisler from Radeon-exclusive AIB Sapphire joins the podcast to chat about the current GPU market. How will rising DRAM prices affect gaming GPUs? Can the GPU makers and AIBs absorb some of the increased cost? Also we talk about RDNA 4 and how successful it's been compared to previous generations, AMD's true market share, and of course, the Sapphire Puke box art

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

01:03 - RDNA 4 Launch at Sapphire

05:11 - RDNA 4 vs Older Generations Success

11:32 - The DRAM Crisis

20:25 - AIBs Want More Control<...

Episode 91: Troubling signs in the PC gaming space with DRAM prices continuing to skyrocket and the surprising death of Micron's Crucial brand. Also we chat about the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and Nvidia ending driver support for Pascal.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:31 - DRAM Demand for AI Kills Micron's Crucial Brand

29:39 - AMD Confirms Ryzen 7 9850X3D

41:08 - Nvidia Ends Pascal and Maxwell Driver Support

45:20 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

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...

Episode 90: Some of you were upset we said the Steam Machine could be dead on arrival, so did we get it wrong? Steve also discusses recent RAM testing, and we look at gaming revenue for both Nvidia and AMD.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:28 - More thoughts on the Steam Machine?

22:27 - People didn't understand some RAM testing

40:50 - AMD vs Nvidia gaming revenue and sales share

54:04 - Updates from our boring lives

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Episode 89: Valve has announced a new Steam Machine, which includes entry-level PC gaming hardware at an unknown price. We give our thoughts on whether this sounds any good and what prices would make sense. Steve also shares a motherboard story.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:40 - Initial Thoughts on Steam Machine

14:42 - No Upgrade Path

20:29 - Game Compatibility and Value

35:35 - AMD Roadmaps

39:43 - Steve Finds a Motherboard Flaw

55:15 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

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...

Episode 88: AMD does AMD things.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:22 - Microsoft Improves a Few Things

04:15 - AMD's Disastrous Driver Fumble

23:31 - What About Feature Support?

46:03 - Reputational Damage vs Nvidia Drivers

1:01:39 - How Big of a Mistake? Who to Blame?

01:19:52 - Impact on Review Recommendations

01:52:59 - Quick Boring Life Stuff

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...

Episode 87: We revisit some discussion from last week as we've found more dodgy stuff Microsoft has done, before chatting about the current situation Intel is in with CPUs. They aren't anywhere near as competitive up against AMD now, as AMD were with Ryzen when Intel was dominant. (Note: This podcast was recorded before the recent AMD RDNA 2 driver decision, we'll discuss that in the future)

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:29 - Microsoft Does Dodgy Stuff Again

11:34 - Intel CPUs when AMD is Dominant vs AMD CPUs when Intel is Dominant

21:35...

Episode 86: You all told us what you hated about Windows 11, and we fully agreed. So in this episode we go through all our grievances with the current state of Windows.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

06:21 - Unnecessary Microsoft accounts

10:39 - Search is broken

15:49 - Splash screens and ads

20:52 - The right click context menu

26:53 - Pre-installed bloatware

33:21 - Windows updates hurting performance

38:41 - Telemetry capture and data mining

42:28 - Copilot AI integration

45:45 - Updates breaking things

48:14...

Episode 85: We chat about Battlefield 6 testing and explore the difficulties with testing one-click overclocking features in benchmarks, such as PBO and 200S Boost. We also discuss the latest Intel graphics announcements including Xe3 and XeSS 3, as well as motherboard vendors beginning to say Zen 6 will be supported on AM5

SOURCES

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/intels-xe3-graphics-architecture-breaks-cover-panther-lakes-12-xe-core-igpu-promises-50-percent-better-performance-than-lunar-lake

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/intel-takes-the-wraps-off-panther-lake-first-18a-client-processor-brings-the-best-of-lunar-lake-and-arrow-lake-together-in-one-package

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-confirms-xe3p-will-mark-arc-naming-switch-to-c-series

https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/graphics-cards/intel-announces-xess-3-with-multi-frame-generation-putting-it-ahead-of-amd-in-the-ai-powered-graphics-performance-race/

https://videocardz.com/newz...

Episode 84: Tim and Steve respond to their internet crimes of using DLSS while testing and saying APUs suck. Then we chat more about Intel fixing B580 CPU overhead in some games, AMD's FSR 4 INT8 version and Microsoft destroying the value of Game Pass.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:27 - Why we tested Borderlands 4 with DLSS enabled

08:58 - APUs are not a good option for desktop gaming today

29:26 - Intel fixes B580 CPU overhead in some games

45:47 - AMD FSR 4 INT8 is pretty good

54:07 - Microsoft makes...

Episode 83: Intel and Nvidia have formed a partnership, but because APUs are not that relevant to desktop PC gamers, we discuss whether this deal will actually impact gaming significantly. Also, we put Intel's Arc GPUs into our GPU rankings, and chat about some news

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:33 - Intel and Nvidia APU team up, but gamers don't use APUs

37:00 - We add Intel Arc GPUs to the rankings

45:38 - Ryzen 7 9800X3D drops in price

49:52 - RX 9070 BIOS mod

52:01 - Updates from our boring...

Episode 82: A quick update on the YouTube views situation, then into a Borderlands 4 discussion. What is the state of the game currently? What do we make of Randy Pitchford's comments? Is DLSS being used as a crutch instead of proper optimization? Can it be fixed?

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

01:05 - Update on the YouTube views situation

17:17 - Initial thoughts on Borderlands 4

28:27 - The crutch of DLSS upscaling and frame generation

44:17 - Bizarre development choices

53:01 - Can Gearbox fix Borderlands 4?

1:07:14 - Updates from our...

Episode 81: We're back! Lots to discuss in this video, including YouTube weirdness, the future of AMD and Intel's CPU platforms, the good old CPU core debate, upcoming GPU rumors and more.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

03:13 - Our YouTube views are down, this is what the stats say

31:14 - Zen 7 on AM5 and Intel's competing platform

54:13 - How important is platform longevity?

1:07:58 - Six core CPUs are still powerful for gaming

1:17:27 - Will Intel make an Arc B770?

1:26:22 - No RTX Super any time...

Episode 80: It's that time of the year! We're ranking all the current graphics card models from worst to best, based on vibes. Always a very challenging task that brings up a lot of discussion so you can enjoy hearing our thought process as we try to upset everyone by ranking the models they like down the bottom.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

02:03 - Quick Radeon RX 9060 Update

08:40 - Let The Rankings Begin!

1:11:42 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

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Episode 79: We chat with Daniel Owen about all sorts of stuff affecting PC gaming right now. His thoughts on the worst parts of the GPU market, plus opinions on upscaling and frame generation (including Optiscaler and driver-based frame gen), game optimization and misleading marketing. We round it out with some listener questions submitted by Patreon members.

DANIEL OWEN

Check out Daniel's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@danielowentech

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Welcome to the Podcast: Daniel Owen

10:03 - Current State of the GPU Market

22:04 - How Good...

Episode 78: Steve gives an update about B850 testing, Tim talks about a new phone that he's bought, and then we chat about whether we've been too negative about the current state of PC graphics cards.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro

00:50 - Steve's B850 Testing Struggles

16:44 - Tim Bought a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

27:41 - Are We Too Negative About PC GPUs?

1:21:17 - Updates From Our Boring Lives

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Episode 77: We chat about future plans for this GPU generation, including the latest RTX 50 Super series rumors, the latest benchmarks of the RX 9070 GRE, and the potential for a lower cost RX 9060 model from AMD. Also we give a few updates on the AMD FineWine situation from last week.

EXTRA STUFF

ComputerBase AMD driver testing: https://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/nvidia-geforce-amd-radeon-treiber-vergleich-2025.93443/#abschnitt_benchmarksergebnisse_im_standardparcours

Mostly Positive Reviews driver testing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_WbA6ZyoG4

RTX 50 Super GPU rumors: https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-also-planning-geforce-rtx-5070-ti-super-with-24gb-gddr7...