Anyone else getting bored with PC hardware?

[blastingcap]

Actually more like perf/watt is the focus for both mobile and big data centers now. There is no "focus on extremes," it's "focus on perf/watt." And costs of course. Ultimately it all boils down to "focus on profits."

 

[Stuka87]

I am limited my cash, so I am happy the releases are slower. Means I stay updated longer, so my PC will run games for a longer period without having to buy all new hardware.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

I'm hoping that since gaming consoles have finally moved up in performance we will finally see some more games really pushing things and get the industry going again

 

[daveybrat]

I planned on upgrading my aging PhenomII once Titanfall came out......

but since i've upgraded to the lastest Nvidia beta drivers, i can play the game at 1080P with all settings at High and it's a constant 60FPS, which is the cap on this game.

Soooo, i guess i'll wait some more until a game actually pushes my hardware.

 

[Revolution 11]

I do not see the slow increases in desktop CPUs stopping anytime soon, the CPU is very mature as a concept. Expect boring CPUs from Intel for the next decade or until ARM catches up to give some competition.

GPUs seem stagnated but that is more because we all are stuck on 28nm. Once the new nodes come, you will see better cards move in. The other big thing with GPUs is 4K displays. Right now, they are very expensive so the demand for cards who can handle 4K is low, driving prices up and slowing AMD/Nvidia's efforts to tap into this market.

If 4K displays is the next target for GPUs, the next technical breakthrough will be stacked RAM. Once this becomes common, bandwidth will really improve.

Once 4K displays become cheap and plentiful, stacked RAM is implemented, and the 20nm and 16nm nodes are done, expect quick improvements in GPUs to follow. That is a lot of requirements but we will see all of them in the next 5 years (conservative estimate).

 

[XiandreX]

Not even remotely. Sure some sections of PC hardware are slow to advance speed wise but many are seeing some solid gains. Monitors are a huge focus right now with 4k starting to find its way into Top tier gaming setups.

Graphic cards are also finding decent gains as people switch to 1440P and higher.

 

[Tristor]

While hardware is slow to advance in the consumer space, there is still a ton of exciting work being done in R&D and we are seeing more of this being released in enterprise/scientific computing before consumer spaces. Since I get to work on both sides of the equation, I still find hardware highly interesting. But, to be honest, even I have found that software is really stealing the limelight these days. Performance improvements now are mostly about horizontal scale, not about vertical scale, so improvements in hardware performance are almost irrelevant. At this point, I mostly care about perf/watt, of course I want maximum performance, but I want it in a smaller power envelope.

There are still games coming out though that pique my interest and make me want to have powerful hardware. I've already planned to go Haswell-E/X99/DDR4, the real question is whether there's going to be a GPU worth buying at the same time or if I should hold onto my 780s. Project CARS is one of several games coming out that is definitely targeted at PC first, consoles not at all or a far second, and these games are power-hungry, gorgeous, and have amazing physics. Well-worth the investment. That along with 4k multi-monitor gaming is a good driver for hardware interest for me.

 

[greenhawk]

I can agree with the loss of interest, but I find that blame is partly to be placed at the internet's feet as well as the companies looking for profit by dragging out updates.

The old excitement of finding out about something comming, checking it out, hunting for more information and even just being able to talk with others of a similar interest all added up to a lot of fun.

So after being soiled with the information (half the time being a limited "leaked" press release) and it becomes like, why bother. Games us to interest me but I started playing TF2 when it came out and just stuck to one game for over a year so ignored games. Even now I find the only games I bother to play are old "games" popular games or the small indy games. Neither push hardware.

It was a few weeks ago that my GTX570 died so using my previous 8800GT. Games I play still run fine. Though I could point out the GTX570 was purchased to play crysis 3, but that was a let down in the graphics department so much that the purchase of the video card was a waste of money. A few years on and I am back with the older hardware once again.

Heck, I could also say something similar with my computer. I upgraded from a q6600 to this ivy bridge, it was a good upgrade, but in terms of gaming, I do not feel it was worth the upgrade cost. Heck, it would have felt "better" in terms of my back and forth on that upgrade to have just bought into sandybridge a year before. It would have saved me so much lost time in "do i or dont i" issues.

Looking at what I have and what the industry is doing, I am really expecting my next upgrade to come when this dies as nothing is looking to be needing faster hardware (even if it existed). At which point the "upgrade" will more likely be a "side grade" into a small bare bones/NUC unit.

Re game disappointments, it is not helped by all per-release hype or all the "early access alphas/bets" on offer. Just looked at one game I bookmarked on steam, it has been "out" for over a year and I wishlisted it 11 months ago. It is still basically Alpha as even the "sandbox" mode does not work (recent blog had the comment "you can now load saved games"). Why even bother with indy games with early access with that sort of slow development. I will have moved on to something else before it gets released and I will be well over the idea of the game by then.

It nearly makes me want to turn to consoles, even though they have no games I want to play.

 

[Insomniator]

I'm talking the gems of PC gaming that are not possible to duplicate properly on other platforms (as a result of the platforms themselves and/or the demographics targets) like complicated deep immersive: rpgs, FPS, RTS, sandbox games, Ultima Style MMOs.

The high point for RTS was reached with Age of Empires II.

The high point for Ultima Style MMO was reached with Interlude Chronicle Lineage II.

The high point for complicated deep immersive RPG was reached with Dragon Age Origins.

The high point for complicated deep immersive sandbox game was reached with Morrowind.

The high point for classical PC FPS is Unreal Tournament (99).

The high point for PC realistic shooter is Counter Strike Source.

Everything coming out of the old legendary studios and developers since has been consolized to such a point that they don't even exceed those crazy old high points.

I don't think anyone would say Source was a high point (though GO is indeed worse imo). Sc2 (hell BW still) is better and stronger then any Age of Empires game ever was. Crysis was a 'high point' of PC gaming -- showing the potential of what PC games can do -- how much better they can look then consoles. But all the average player did was bitch that their old ass Geforce 3's couldn't run it maxed out.

PC games are being killed only in the graphics department because it makes a lot more sense for developers to cater to what everyone has - consoles and cheap computers.

 

[psolord]

I wouldn't say bored exactly rather than matured.

See my signature? Too much hardware during the last 6 years, which is borderline ridiculous. I could have lived with half the upgrades, maybe even less.

It is a fact though that no stellar products have arrived lately, especially in the cpu department. I believe we are at a point where the offers are "good enough".

Also there's too much media on the market and too little time. Movies, series, games, android, youtube, gym....jesus I am currently unemployed and still can't catch up with any of those, let alone build more systems and test them all over again.

 

[NTMBK]

Oculus Rift is going to be my Next Big Thing. Once the final version comes out I'll get a new rig capable of running space sims at its native resolution at a high frame rate, so I can get a truly immersive experience. Until then my HD7770 and Phenom II will do me fine.

 

[Sohaltang]

Once 4K catches on we should see big performance jumps in GPU's. As it stands right now no card outside the 295x(really two GPU's) is even close to letting you max games. My current setup cant push 120 fps @ 1440/120hz. And I would venture to say 99% of gamers dont run near my setup.

 

[Qwertilot]

I've always tended to upgrade alongside monitors, so something like 4k once its plausible within a sane price/power budget or maybe the VR stuff. The former will be nice, the latter could obviously be fairly revolutionary if it really does work well.

Conceivably a properly small case if/when iGPUs get enough to be properly usable at 1900*1200.

 

[Maximilian]

Holy god yes its like absolutely nothing interesting has happened in ages.

New graphics cards = rehash of the old ones and a couple of souped up models

New CPU's = boring ass APU's from AMD and lame speed bumps from intel. Oh oh oh and they stopped using crummy thermal paste on the newer K chips, something they shouldn't have done in the first place!

New chipsets = Z87 to Z97. Whats the difference? Is there even one? Google failed me on this :\

 

[Subyman]

Not even remotely. Sure some sections of PC hardware are slow to advance speed wise but many are seeing some solid gains. Monitors are a huge focus right now with 4k starting to find its way into Top tier gaming setups.

Graphic cards are also finding decent gains as people switch to 1440P and higher.

I'm not quite talking about monitors. I've seen a few people discuss the adoption of 4K as exciting, but its not something that keeps me coming to the hardware sites everyday or stimulates lengthy discussion.

Can you explain the GPU decent gains? We've had roughly the same performance in GPUs since GK110 launched in Feb 2013. Prices have somewhat settled since then and there's nothing interesting to discuss. Maxwell is possibly be a 28nm part to start before we move to the next node next year.

Oculus Rift is very exciting. I had a dev kit and it was fun to mess around with, but it wasn't in any shape to actually game with. Hopefully we hear something about a consumer release this year.

 

[Bateluer]

Bored? Not exactly. But to upgrade my current machine, it'll take a lot of cash for a relatively small increase in performance. Have to wait for Broadwell, Pirate Islands, and other upcoming refreshes.

 

[Throckmorton]

Once 4K catches on we should see big performance jumps in GPU's. As it stands right now no card outside the 295x(really two GPU's) is even close to letting you max games. My current setup cant push 120 fps @ 1440/120hz. And I would venture to say 99% of gamers dont run near my setup.

Good point, it probably has to do with stagnation in display technology.

Heck, remember the horrible TN decade when we took steps backward?

But it's cool that I have a tiny Dell 660S with Radeon 7750 that runs every game I want to play

 

[moonbogg]

I don't know. I'm looking forward to that new Asus 1440p 120hz monitor with Gsync. That will take a lot of GPU and CPU power to get high FPS, so GTX880/870 and Haswell 6 core sound good to me.

 

[lehtv]

I don't know. I'm looking forward to that new Asus 1440p 120hz monitor with Gsync. That will take a lot of GPU and CPU power to get high FPS, so GTX880/870 and Haswell 6 core sound good to me.

But if it has Gsync, you don't necessarily even need high FPS for a smooth experience.

 

[moonbogg]

But if it has Gsync, you don't necessarily even need high FPS for a smooth experience.

Yeah that's what I hear. I'm trying man, I'm trying. Don't ruin my ignorance.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

I don't think anyone would say Source was a high point (though GO is indeed worse imo). Sc2 (hell BW still) is better and stronger then any Age of Empires game ever was. Crysis was a 'high point' of PC gaming -- showing the potential of what PC games can do -- how much better they can look then consoles. But all the average player did was bitch that their old ass Geforce 3's couldn't run it maxed out.

PC games are being killed only in the graphics department because it makes a lot more sense for developers to cater to what everyone has - consoles and cheap computers.

I dont think anyone would say PCs are being killed in graphics department, if anything they are being killed in volume of sales.

PC games ALWAYS look better save for the rare crap port.

 

[2is]

I've taken up other hobbies for sure. I check in from time to time and still nothing. Anand has had to go as far as reviewing mice, its been on the front page for a week.

Yep, having multiple hobbies is the way to go... Here's what I've been wasting my disposable income on lately:

The best part is when I get to combine my hobbies:

 

[2is]

I dont think anyone would say PCs are being killed in graphics department, if anything they are being killed in volume of sales.

PC games ALWAYS look better save for the rare crap port.

I could be wrong, but I think what he means by "being killed in the graphics department" is that the graphics don't have near the fidelity that PC's are capable of. Not that consoles are getting better graphics.

 

[Ajay]

No. My limitation is money. Otherwise I could build servers, mini pcs, ultra gaming systems, home brew cooling. No limits.

Same here. In the past I spent 2-4x the $$s/year that I spend now.

 

[RussianSensation]

Yep, having multiple hobbies is the way to go... Here's what I've been wasting my disposable income on lately:

Awesome post 2is!! That looks like a great way to relieve stress.

--

On the PC hardware side, things are actually not as static as described in this thread.


GPUs
- Performance increases may not be as great as in the 1990-2010 eras but there are still very impressive. The downside is the increase in affordability for mid-range and top-end hardware.

March 26, 2010 = GTX480 $499 = 100%
November 13, 2013 = GTX780Ti $699 = 248%
In ~3.7 years, GPU performance improved ~ 2.5 times. That's still pretty good.
http://www.computerbase.de/2013-12/grafikkarten-2013-vergleich/10/

The reason we are not impressed is that there are hardly any games that shake up the graphics landscape in a way Doom 3, Far Cry 1 and Crysis 1 did. In 1 year, GM204 will provide another 50-60%+ gains over 780Ti but will there be games that awe us graphically? :hmm:

HDD/SSDs
- Performance will continue to increase rapidly. Yep, having multiple hobbies is the way to go... Here's what I've been wasting my disposable income on lately:[/QUOTE]

Awesome post 2is!! That looks like a great way to relieve stress.

--

On the PC hardware side, things are actually not as static as described in this thread.

GPUs
- Performance increases may not be as great as in the 1990-2010 eras but there are still very impressive.

March 26, 2010 = GTX480 = 100%
November 13, 2013 = GTX780Ti = 248%
In ~2.5 years, GPU performance improved ~ 2.5 times.
http://www.computerbase.de/2013-12/grafikkarten-2013-vergleich/10/

The reason we are not impressed is that there are hardly any games that shake up the industry in a way Doom 3, Far Cry 1 and Crysis 1. In 1 year, GM204 will provide another 50-60%+ gains over 780Ti but will there be games that awe us graphically? :hmm:

HDD/SSDs
- Performance will continue to increase rapidly. [URL="http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z97%20Extreme6/"]With M.2 / Ultra M2 PCIe 3.0 x4, performance for a single SSD can go well in excess of 1GB/sec. If we look at the level of increase in mechanical hard drives, this type of an increase in such a short period of time is phenomenal.
- The reason we are not as impressed is because the move from a mechanical drive to an SSD was far more impressive due to reduced response time / latency
- Give it time for the industry to adopt to the new standard and we should see 1GB/sec+ M.2 SSD drives.

CPUs
- Sure, from a gaming point of view, the performance increase of i7 4770K OC vs. i7 2600K OC is hardly there.
- For semi-/professional applications, whether its rendering, video encoding, computational fluid dynamics, mathematics computation, the performance increases on 6 core CPUs over 4770K are very substantial.
- With HW-E, these consumers will be able to get an even greater boost from 8-core variants.
- It comes down to the average person's usage patterns. The average person would be more than happy with a Core i7 860 stock + 128GB SSD but it doesn't mean the advancements in CPU space aren't there; they are just slower than in the past.
- Dual precision floating point performance per core/clock for Intel CPUs has exploded in the last 6 years but of course the average user doesn't need DP for GPU or CPU.

Motherboards
- Besides the SATAe, and M.2 on Z97, in the next 6-15 months, we'll also be moving to DDR4, PCIe 4.0, AVX3.2 with HW-E and Skylake. We aren't going to see the benefits of any of these technologies for a while. However, that's a next way of next generation technologies and it's coming in just 6-15 months!

Cooling
- dual-GPU card with stock water cooling => Lower noise levels and temperatures out of the box (295X2)
- Noctua NH-D15 air cooler providing superior level of performance than Corsair's H100i! This balanced level of acoustical and cooling performance is unheard of in the air cooling space. However, since Intel isn't selling 8-core 150W TDP CPUs for $250-300, not many people will have a need for a $100 air cooler with this level of performance.

PC Monitors
- 4K monitors continue to fall in price and improve in quality, and the industry is now starting to move to a single-tile orientation
- In 2-4 years we should see even higher quality 4K monitors with IPS and further falling prices that should force adoption of 4K gaming

TL; TDR:

- Advancements in hardware continue to be pretty impressive but may be undermined by rising performance/dollar in the GPU space & stagnation of PC gaming graphics as well as the average PC user's software/usage patterns
- I don't think things are really that bad in the PC space unless you are already on a 6-core overclocked CPU with 780Ti SLI and RAIDed SSDs. In that case, you are a cutting edge elite gamer which has always meant waiting 2 years + for a significant increase in CPU/GPU performance anyway.
- The reason we are not as impressed is because the move from a mechanical drive to an SSD was far more impressive due to reduced response time / latency