NVIDIA 3000 Series Launch, Intel Tiger Lake & Mario's 35th Anniversary
NVIDIA Ampere Announcement
The most significant topic of this episode is the release of the NVIDIA 3000 Series (Ampere) desktop GPUs (3070, 3080, 3090). Key discussion points include:
• Significant performance claims, particularly for the 3080 versus the 2080 Ti.
• The impressive 8K gaming capabilities of the 3090.
• New technical additions like NVIDIA Reflex for latency reduction, NVIDIA Broadcast for AI-powered streaming, and RTX IO for storage optimization.
• Concerns regarding the market hype and the tendency of users to rush into pre-ordering without waiting for independent benchmarks like those from Digital Foundry.
Intel Tiger Lake & Mobile Computing
Intel's announcement of their 11th Gen Tiger Lake mobile processors was discussed, focusing on their potential for thin-and-light laptops. Highlights:
• Improved integrated Xe graphics aiming to compete with modern AMD Ryzen mobile parts.
• The rebranding of their laptop initiative to Intel Evo.
Retro & Future Gaming Tech
• Nintendo 35th Anniversary: Celebrating the occasion with the release of the live-action Mario Kart RC set and the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection, though the time-limited availability of the bundle caused some controversy.
• Battery-Free Game Boy: A fascinating research project from Delft University that uses solar energy and button-press harvesting to power handheld gaming without traditional batteries, albeit with significant limitations like no sound.
• Neuralink: A brief look at Elon Musk's brain-machine interface, discussing the ethical complexity and the long road ahead for practical application compared to older technology like the OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator.