Image: Adam Patrick Murray / IDG
CES might get the biggest headlines, but for desktop fans, there’s no better trade show than Taeipei’s Computex. The show was put on hiatus for two years, and technically back but severely muted in 2022, so this year was the first return to its full prominence. In addition to coverage of interesting individual products and broader trends, PCWorld had the chance to talk with some of the best minds around the technology publishing world about everything ranging from Ryzen CPU voltages to how building PCs differs around the world to whether or not Star Citizen is worth playing yet.
You can find all of the following videos on the PCWorld YouTube channel. Or, if you have a couple of hours to kill, watch them all right here.
Further reading: Best of Computex 2023: The most intriguing and innovative PC hardware
Gordon had a frank discussion with the always-amicable Steve of Gamers Nexus on the culture of the online computer community. Which, like any such group, loves to get its hands on a good leak from a manufacturer. But is that a good thing, for them or for us? Let’s break it down.
Gordon and Steve also waded into what makes a good benchmark, and how GamersNexus chooses their testing software.
Speaking of leaks, Wendell of Level1Techs joins Gordon to talk about an upcoming (and unofficial) refresh of Intel’s Z790 chipset. That indicates that the next CPU refresh will stick with the LGA1700 socket, albeit with some improved capabilities. That might mean “beefier” motherboard designs compatible with your existing hardware.
On the other side of the aisle, let’s ask Aris of Hardware Busters about some AMD processor tech. Specifically, what’s the best way to measure the voltage of the latest high-powered AMD chips? AMD says it’s the new Scalable Voltage Interface 3 via the CPU’s internal sensor…but that adds some thorny problems if you’re looking for more granular information.
Pedro of PCMR gives us a more international perspective on both PC building and shopping. Did you know Taipei has shops that will let you select your components and build a desktop for you right there in the store? Did you know Brazil’s import taxes have created a thriving DIY retro PC scene?
Star of the TechTechPotato channel and frequent guest on The Full Nerd Dr. Ian Cutress joins Gordon for a deep dive into RISC-V. For the uninitiated, RISC is a set of open-source reduced instruction set computer principles for microcontroller chip design, which might be able to compete with standards like x86/x64 and ARM. But will we ever see it rise to rival the titans of the industry?
One of the common themes of this year’s Computex was making it easier for PC builders to make clean, organized internal builds. But that’s malarky, and Gordon joins fellow “grumpy old PC gamer” Leo of KitGuru to tell you why. Dang spoiled kids.
Gordon talked with Shannon Robb, the marketing manager at Patriot Memory, for a geeky deep-dive into all things DRAM and DDR5.
For the last interview, let’s take a look at Star Citizen, one of the white whales of PC gaming mentioned in the same breath as Half-Life 3, Beyond Good and Evil 2, and (formerly) Duke Nukem Forever. The space sim has been in development for over 13 years, and it’s nowhere near finished. But Terrence of TechTok and the DaPoets channel explains why you should play it in its years-long “playable alpha” state.
Finally, we did a live episode of The Full Nerd live from the Computex show floor, where Gordon and Adam were joined by by scintillatingly smart folks like Paul from Paul’s Hardware, Dr. Ian Cutress from TechTechPotato and MoreThanMoore, and Alex Clark from Linus Tech Tips for abundant tech discussion and a little tomfoolery.
For more deep dives with the best minds in PC coverage, you can join us every week on The Full Nerd podcast, and subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer
Michael is a former graphic designer who’s been building and tweaking desktop computers for longer than he cares to admit. His interests include folk music, football, science fiction, and salsa verde, in no particular order.
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