Welcome to The Full Nerd publication—your weekly dose of hardcore {hardware} discuss from the fans at PCWorld. In it, we dive into the most popular subjects from our YouTube show, plus fascinating PC {hardware} information from throughout the net.
This week, we’re sleepy and jetlagged post-Computex, however filled with scorching takes about what was on the present flooring. (Plus sidetrack right into a mini-rant or two.)
Want this text to return on to your inbox each Friday? It’s a good way to compensate for the nerdy PC information you’ve missed in the course of the week. Sign up on our website!
In this episode of The Full Nerd…
In this episode of The Full Nerd, our normal crew of Adam Patrick Murray, Brad Chacos, Alaina Yee, and Will Smith wrap up the massive information from Computex and the very best from the present, ponder the discharge of SteamOS, and reply viewers’ burning questions!
Alex Esteves / Foundry
- You may say Computex was sleepy, however not a snoozefest. For chip information, the largest reveal was Intel’s next-gen Panther Lake, which Adam obtained to see in demos. You can anticipate 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).
Still, AMD threw fans a bone. FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 upscaling tech is getting updates on June 5m alongside the discharge of the Radeon RX 9060 XT. More substantial function enhancements will come within the second half of the 12 months as effectively, within the type of FSR Redstone—and it seems 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.🤘
Meanwhile, Nvidia leaned onerous into AI discuss, after a fast acknowledgment from Jensen that the corporate could be the place it’s with out avid gamers. Ouch. For our crew, disappointment reigned with no discuss of recent Arm chips (sorry Will, no new Nvidia Shield 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 could announce one thing in September “for an hour and a half.”
- Speaking 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 still scented thermal paste. The main growth since then, although? He introduced again samples. Will was not almost as impressed. I’ve but to expertise the insanity, however I’ll be sure you 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. Also close to and expensive 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 serious keyboard maker — seems 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. Also 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 can’t be a household with out some arguments, I suppose.
- Bringing the crew again collectively as a unit was discuss SteamOS’s wider launch. If you take into account having the ability to install it yourself (with documentation accessible!) on the Lenovo Legion Go S the official milestone. Adam doesn’t suppose so, and for good purpose—you possibly can run into some wonkiness nonetheless round TDP limits and never having the ability to take full benefit of extra highly effective chips. But whereas this isn’t the total launch we have been hoping for, the place you possibly can set up it on absolutely anything, I feel a tender launch isn’t a foul strategy. (Meanwhile, Will is simply amused {that a} Windows set up is the hardcore route on a handheld.)
- And after all, we dive into a number of reader questions after all of the forwards and backwards—although not fairly as many this week, as Adam obtained hungry. The risks of podcasting proper by way of lunch time on the west coast.
Disappointed you missed the stay present? Subscribe now to The Full Nerd YouTube channel, and activate notifications. We additionally reply viewer questions in real-time!
And when you want extra {hardware} discuss throughout the remainder of the week, come be part of our Discord community—it’s filled with cool, laid-back nerds.
This week’s contemporary nerd information
A quiet week is a welcome week for drained tech journalists, however we nonetheless obtained some enjoyable goodies to look ahead to. Plenty of cool stuff for us geeks and nerds alike.
Alaina Yee / Foundry
- Micro Center’s newest location is finally open: When you learn this, Adam, Will, and I’ll probably be on our technique to tour the brand new Santa Clara retailer. What’s so nice about Micro Center? Stay 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 selection quote: “We’re getting closer to figuring out why [the connector] sucks so much.”
- Nvidia’s new GeForce Now app turns the Steam Deck into a no-compromises gaming PC, Brad says—making unplayable video games playable and lengthening 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 duty and is promising to assist prospects with remediation.
- Firmware updates may not save your Asus router from joining a botnet: This vulnerability is nasty, if technically fascinating—in case 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 simply patch earlier than you’re sucked in.
- AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT is up to 31% faster than 7600 XT: Early compute benchmarks received’t characterize what avid gamers will see, so maintain this information in your head with an enormous grain of salt. Still, this information might be promising.
- Valve’s Gabe Newell is working on a brain chip, and it’s almost here: Sure, it’s not a whole implant answer, however science is so cool.
- Speaking of Gaben, Lenovo’s Legion Go S runs better with SteamOS than Windows. The SteamOS model of Lenovo’s gaming handheld has higher efficiency, higher battery life, and a greater worth.
That’s all for this week—be sure you catch us subsequent week for all our Micro Center opening tales!
-Alaina
This publication is devoted to the reminiscence of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and govt editor of {hardware} at PCWorld.