How to fix the graphics card market... (IMO)

It'sa raining them, hallelujah!

The last few years have shown something dire affecting the computer gaming market: complete lack of control surrounding graphics card pricing, availability and segmentation. 

Contrast this with virtually every other component in the construction of an individual gaming PC, where pricing and availability have fluctuated far less despite there being a similar lack of manufacturers present in the supply of those components.

We all know the parts of the industry that aren't working out but rarely does anyone try and "fix" what's wrong - at least on paper or in theory. 

Well, I'm about to do that with this fluffy thought piece of a blogpost. So buckle up for a wild ride into the lush forests of my imagination, where GPUs roam free for the gaming hunter to shoot them with their own BFG and take home to display on their mantlepiece.

Case airflow and design...

A false colour image of a turbulent jet; C. Fukushima and J. Westerweel

There's a topic that I've never really broached before on this blog and it's mostly because I haven't had the time though, more precisely, it's because I haven't had the time to do a deep dive into the background of the topic so that I can talk semi-intelligently on it.

However saying that, while I'm not an expert in fluid dynamics and flow design, I do have a lot of practical experience in industrial and research/academic airflow design between building and designing systems that can achieve 10^-6 bar and refill to 10-100 bar, to enclosed and open airflow glove boxes. Working with these systems has given me a decent foundation on the principles, pitfalls and limitations of certain designs. 

While I've actually had a post in mind on this subject for quite a time, I wasn't really motivated to really put any effort into it as I've seen movement in the subject from outlets like GamersNexus and LinusMediaGroup in this field and, undoubtedly, they can do a better job than I can in real terms because they have the equipment and funding to be able to do so. Comparatively, my keyboard warrior abilities of putting text (and sometimes pictures!) on a screen really do pale by comparison.

So what did motivate me to write this post? 

Linus' latest case airflow video did and the reason it did is that I believe that they are missing out on a lot of issues in airflow design, causing them to draw some questionable conclusions - something that GamersNexus will not be able to cover with their fan testing equipment either.

So, while I'm not an expert, I do have some expertise in this area so let me give my perspective on case cooling and see what people think about it.

Looking back at 2021 and predictions for 2022...

I'm tempted to make the same joke as last year...

Last year I decided to start a yearly predictions post. It's a bit of fun - it's nice to stretch the imagination and ruminate about what might be coming around the corner, especially with shows such as CES happening right at the beginning of 2022. So there's really no time to wait to see if I'm right in my predictions! 

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's look back at 2021...

Next Gen PC gaming requirements (2021 update)

 

Way back in 2020 I started compiling a huge list of games and their recommended system requirements in order to track where we've been, where we are, and where we're going in terms of hardware required to play PC games as they are "intended" by their creators. I noted in that series that I planned to keep up this exercise on a yearly basis to see how things pan out in reality and to see how my predictions match up with that reality. 

It's a nerdy thing but I have not seen anyone or anywhere else try and track these sorts of parameters and I find it very interesting to think and talk about... plus, maybe could help someone make buying decisions based on what videogames are requiring of consumers to be able to play them.

Without further ado - let's go look at how 2021 panned out.

Top games since 2010...

Courtesy of Massive Chalice... also another game I greatly enjoyed!

While I don't normally do "favourite games" lists, but I had planned to do one for the end of last year and then was thinking about this draf for this year... So I decided to soldier on and finish it. :) I don't think this requires much introduction; I played a lot of games over the last ten years and here are my favourites, in no particular order, along with why I chose them. As always, "top games" lists can be contentious but ultimately the point is to share what you personally liked...

Oh yeah - There WILL be spoilers!!