Intel defined the PC’s past. I’m sad that might be over

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Last month, I wondered what the future of the desktop PC would be—if perhaps mini-PCs would eventually replace the image in everyone’s mind as the default.

Intel is the reason I could sit and ponder such a world. The launch of the company’s Next Unit of Computing line sparked today’s proliferation of affordable competitors from other vendors. In 2013, no one thought much of small PCs. I fell in love when Gordon first introduced me to a NUC in 2014, but I was most definitely not part of the norm. Nowadays, though? Consumers are increasingly just as in on the idea as corporations have been.

Intel also is behind other technologies that have proliferated widely—many have been topics of discussion on The Full Nerd episodes. Some, like USB 1.0, tied into joint projects. Others sprang fully from within, like RealSense. I’m personally still a fan of Team Blue’s contributions to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module development; their efforts made rock-solid dependability the norm. Will and Brad nominated Unison, Optane, and Thunderbolt as standouts, as well.

For decades, Intel approached the industry as if its champion. It strove to further PCs overall—it wasn’t content merely to pioneer new processor innovations. We the public gave them grief when they slowed down on the CPU side, content to keep pushing out four-core, eight-thread processors with minimal clock speed bumps. Criticism of their divided attention flowed freely.

But now, looking at how rapidly Intel has shrunk in recent years, I feel regret and sorrow. Its NUC division is gone, sold to Asus. Other divisions and projects are outright dead, part of the company’s streamlining and downsizing. And in a recent earnings call, CEO Lip-Bu Tan was quoted as saying, “I do not subscribe to the belief that if you build it, they will come. Under my leadership, we will build what customers need, when they need it.”

Dragon Canyon NUC Compute Element beauty shot — Nobody asked for these SFF-sized gaming NUCs. But they existed to show what simplified SFF building could look like—and I still love that.

Alaina Yee / IDG

Tan’s statement referred to a willingness to commit to the 14A node—chip making. The exact business the noisy masses have demanded attention to. But this level of contraction cuts so deep that I now wonder about what we’re losing, with this new austere approach. People don’t always know what they need. Sometimes, an investment in the unproven and unknown fills in gaps we always assumed were normal.

When I talked about Intel’s best technologies with Will, we debated briefly about his pick of Thunderbolt. I wasn’t convinced Thunderbolt was ready to be named as such. He countered that its very existence mattered most.

Will’s right. If no one takes a chance to experiment, to bring things into existence that may not be perfect, we don’t know what could be. Intel shaped much of what the PC is today. To know that it has set down the mantle of champion, even if temporarily, makes me quietly mourn all the technology we’ll never get to know.

In this episode of The Full Nerd…

Willis Lai / Foundry

&t=786s">this episode of The Full Nerd, Adam Patrick Murray, Brad Chacos, Alaina Yee, and Will Smith lock horns over nominations to our PC Hardware Hall of Fame. We may be dressed nicely, but our debate gets ugly at times. I also may have once again appealed to chat to help break a deadlocked vote in my favor. (I adore you all.) Plus, Will showed us his home-brew cufflinks, made from case thumbscrews.

What I expected: Alliances to form and break around me.

What I did not expect (but should have): Betrayal after being coaxed into an alliance for the greater good.

As I said during the show, Clementine will remember that.

(I call up on you, my people, to help me wreak such chaos next year that the episode will go down in infamy. I’ve already begun my notes and planning. I have screenshots from this year. I plan to be ready.)

TFN Crew "Fight" — Getting ready for next year’s fight. Uh, debate.

Luis Ibarra / Adam Patrick Murray

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This week’s surprising nerd news

I pretty much adore Framework’s modular approach to PCs—so I read my colleague Mark Hachman’s review of their new desktop PC with delight. I don’t get quite the same excitement as from Intel’s Ghost Canyon or Beast Canyon, but I like where future releases could go.

Also, I found out someone in the world—a pretty famous someone at that—still uses an RX 580. I don’t believe that negates my nomination of Polaris into the Hardware Hall of Fame, but just emphasizes its relevance and importance. AHEM.

Framework Desktop build shot crop — It’s so little!

Alex Esteves / Foundry

Framework’s teeny desktop PC is cute: A spiritual successor to Intel’s pandemic-era gaming NUC models? In many ways yes, but I am giving side-eye to that soldered memory. (Interested in its performance? Check out Mark’s review, too.)

That’s a big oops, Proton: I’m betting you know of ProtonMail—and more likely trust Proton to keep data safe. But the company’s new Authenticator app isn’t immune from bugs, as it turns out. Saved 2FA seeds were stored as plain text in log files. Yikes.

So many hertz: AOC’s upcoming native 600Hz display is impressive, yes…for its slide-out headphone holder. (Only half-joking here; I now want that feature on my next monitor.)

Windows Recall still captures sensitive data: Continue filing this feature under “I’m not surprised” and also “Forever a hard no.”

I like this PC Gamer quiz: I evaded the quiz-taking crazes of the late ’00s and early 2010s, but this one asking me to identify games from their crates? Fun. (Also that pun in the strapline? Chef’s kiss.)

Valve should have kept surprising us: Keeping my backlog (fractionally more) manageable is easier when I don’t know upcoming sale periods. I can truthfully tell myself I didn’t budget for a bajillion random buys.

Saphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 on a driveway — A champion for the masses, still trucking along in some quarters of the world. *Just like the GTX 1080 Ti, Brad.* Boss. Sir.

Brad Chacos / IDG

Linus Torvalds still uses an AMD RX 580: I never thought I’d say I found myself in perfect alignment with Linux users, but part of personal growth is flexibility. (One day, I’ll get Polaris into the Hardware Hall of Fame.)

PCIe 8 goes zoom: Before PCIe 7 launches, we already know for sure its successor will be trailing right behind it. We love to see it, but meanwhile, PCIe 6 SSDs haven’t reached us lowly consumers yet. :[

How times have changed for AMD: Windows users keep embracing AMD’s CPUs for gaming—Team Red’s market share just crossed over 40 percent in the latest Steam hardware survey. What a comeback.

I want this ‘impractical’ display: What happens when you combine engineering with Wheel of Fortune mechanics? This really fun 1,000-pixel wood “display” panel.

More hertz please: I’m a big fan of E-Ink displays. I also stare at a screen all day. If we can get refresh rates to a point where writing and editing is feasible on this kind of panel, my wallet is very ready.

">I now know I enjoy learning about fan blade design: Leave it to Steve Burke over at Gamers Nexus to make 30 minutes feel too short for discussions about engineering and fan blade angles.