The Full Nerd: Useless Ryzen CPUs, SteamOS rising, & scented thermal paste

Welcome to The Full Nerd publication—your weekly dose of hardcore {hardware} speak from the lovers at PCWorld. In it, we dive into the most popular subjects from our YouTube present, plus attention-grabbing PC {hardware} information from throughout the online.

This week, we’re sleepy and jetlagged post-Computex, however filled with scorching takes about what was on the present ground. (Plus sidetrack right into a mini-rant or two.)

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On this episode of The Full Nerd…

On this episode of The Full Nerd, our traditional crew of Adam Patrick Murray, Brad Chacos, Alaina Yee, and Will Smith wrap up the large information from Computex and one of the best from the present, ponder the discharge of SteamOS, and reply viewers’ burning questions!

• You could possibly say Computex was sleepy, however not a snoozefest. For chip information, the most important reveal was Intel’s next-gen Panther Lake, which Adam received to see in demos. You’ll be able to count on to see it in 2026—although not in desktop PCs. For socketed components, carrying on the mantle falls to Nova Lake, which additionally is predicted to be a 2026 launch (and sure a fall one at that).

  Nonetheless, AMD threw lovers a bone. FidelityFX Tremendous Decision 4 upscaling tech is getting updates on June 5m alongside the discharge of the Radeon RX 9060 XT. Extra substantial characteristic enhancements will come within the second half of the yr as nicely, within the type of FSR Redstone—and it appears set to problem Nvidia’s lead in ray tracing efficiency. Oh, and there’s additionally a brand new 96-core, 192-thread Threadripper Zen 5 chip coming.🤘

  In the meantime, Nvidia leaned arduous into AI speak, after a fast acknowledgment from Jensen that the corporate can be the place it’s with out avid gamers. Ouch. For our crew, disappointment reigned with no speak of latest Arm chips (sorry Will, no new Nvidia Protect TV but for you), although we’re curious the place agentic AI could lead.

  As for Qualcomm—in Brad’s personal phrases, the corporate mentioned it might announce one thing in September “for an hour and a half.”

• Talking of talks that take an hour and a half, our chat about Computex stretched that lengthy due to a recap of our Computex highlights. I’ll spoil this proper now and say that Adam hasn’t modified his opinion since final week—it’s nonetheless scented thermal paste. The foremost improvement since then, although? He introduced again samples. Will was not practically as impressed. I’ve but to expertise the insanity, however I’ll you should definitely report my findings.

  Brad’s standout is much less controversial—Zotac’s mini-PC that stuffs a desktop 16GB RTX 5060 Ti right into a 2.5 liter chassis is phenomenal, as Brad factors out. Additionally close to and pricey to SFF builders’ hearts ought to be compact RTX 5060 fashions and a half-height, dual-slot 4060 Ti. Brad (and everybody else) additionally thinks the Asus ROG Falcata — the primary cut up ergonomic gaming keyboard from a significant keyboard maker — appears sick as hell.

  We additionally could have gotten into some arguments as a result of I mentioned I didn’t like that beige SilverStone case. Additionally that I just like the Hyte X50 case. The remainder of the crew took exception with the primary assertion, whereas Adam mentioned “Fite me” on the second. You’ll be able to’t be a household with out some arguments, I suppose.

• Bringing the crew again collectively as a unit was speak about SteamOS’s wider launch. In the event you think about with the ability to set up it your self (with documentation accessible!) on the Lenovo Legion Go S the official milestone. Adam doesn’t suppose so, and for good cause—you possibly can run into some wonkiness nonetheless round TDP limits and never with the ability to take full benefit of extra highly effective chips. However whereas this isn’t the complete launch we have been hoping for, the place you possibly can set up it on absolutely anything, I believe a tender launch isn’t a foul method. (In the meantime, Will is simply amused {that a} Home windows set up is the hardcore route on a handheld.)

• And naturally, we dive into just a few reader questions after all of the backwards and forwards—although not fairly as many this week, as Adam received hungry. The risks of podcasting proper by means of lunch time on the west coast.

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This week’s contemporary nerd information

A quiet week is a welcome week for drained tech journalists, however we nonetheless received some enjoyable goodies to look ahead to. Loads of cool stuff for us geeks and nerds alike.

Alaina Yee / Foundry

• Micro Middle’s latest location is lastly open: Whenever you learn this, Adam, Will, and I’ll possible be on our solution to tour the brand new Santa Clara retailer. What’s so nice about Micro Middle? Keep tuned for our on-site movies. CPU bundles, let’s go.
• Fixing the unfixable 12VHPWR Connector: This chat between techtubers Steve Burke of GamersNexus and Roman Hartung (aka Der8auer) dives deep into this delicate matter. A alternative quote: “We’re getting nearer to determining why [the connector] sucks a lot.”
• Nvidia’s new GeForce Now app turns the Steam Deck right into a no-compromises gaming PC, Brad says—making unplayable video games playable and increasing battery life to unheard-of ranges. He’s by no means turning again.
• ASRock confirms its BIOS settings are killing Ryzen CPUs: ASRock’s motherboards have been inflicting Ryzen 9000 CPU failures, however the firm has taken accountability and is promising to help clients with remediation.
• Firmware updates could not save your Asus router from becoming a member of a botnet: This vulnerability is nasty, if technically fascinating—when you have an Asus router that’s been compromised, you possibly can’t rescue it from the attacker’s clutches. Your finest hope is that you just patch earlier than you’re sucked in.
• AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT is as much as 31% quicker than 7600 XT: Early compute benchmarks gained’t symbolize what avid gamers will see, so maintain this information in your head with an enormous grain of salt. Nonetheless, this information could possibly be promising.
• Valve’s Gabe Newell is engaged on a mind chip, and it’s nearly right here: Certain, it’s not a whole implant resolution, however science is so cool.
• Talking of Gaben, Lenovo’s Legion Go S runs higher with SteamOS than Home windows. The SteamOS model of Lenovo’s gaming handheld has higher efficiency, higher battery life, and a greater value.

That’s all for this week—you should definitely catch us subsequent week for all our Micro Middle opening tales!

-Alaina

This article is devoted to the reminiscence of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and govt editor of {hardware} at PCWorld.