The Hardware Unboxed Podcast
by Hardware Unboxed
Steve and Tim from the YouTube channel Hardware Unboxed bring to you a weekly show discussing all the latest news and interesting topics in the PC hardware and gaming scene. With our decades of experience testing and benchmarking hardware, you'll be sure to enjoy various insights into tech and the occasional guest, especially if you love building PCs and playing PC games.
Episodes
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The RTX 5080 Doubles in Price, FSR Improvements, RX 7900 XTX Aging Well?
See the Sapphire Nitro+ Range Here: https://www.sapphiretech.com/en/consumer/nitro-radeon-rx-9070-xt-ple-polar-16g-gddr6 https://www.sapphiretech.com/en/consumer/mb_nitro_x870ea-ple-polar Episode 121: AMD has finally brought FSR 4.1 technology to RDNA 2 graphics cards and attempted to fix FSR…
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Should We Stop Benchmarking The RTX 5090?
Episode 120: This week we chat about AMD finally releasing FSR 4.1 for RDNA 2 graphics cards, Nvidia CPU overhead still being a thing, DLSS 5 model updates, and whether we should continue benchmarking the RTX 5090 now that it's been discontinued CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:41 - AMD Releases FSR 4.1...
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The RTX 5090 is Dead - Our Thoughts
Episode 119: Nvidia has reportedly discontinued the GeForce RTX 5090, sending that GPU silicon to RTX Pro graphics cards. We chat about that, as well as efforts to combat shader compilation stutter with SCSKiller, and the Epic Games Store getting a makeover CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 01:39 - The RTX...
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What Gaming PC Build Makes Sense Right Now?
Episode 118: Steve and Tim chat about what sort of PC build actually makes sense right now, if you wanted to get into PC gaming and were facing the reality of what hardware costs at the moment. Also, we go completely off the rails and talk about the current AI situation. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro...
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Witcher 3 Remastered, Gears E-Day, Ray Tracing Weirdness, Nvidia Upset EVGA
Episode 117: Steve and Tim have been busy testing games this week, so we dive into some thoughts on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered, as well as Gears of War E-Day. We also chat a bit about this week's EVGA story, and how Nvidia allocated GPUs to them, and why times were tough for the AIB as…
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Is the RX 9050 4GB AMD's Worst Ever GPU?
Episode 116: Steve managed to obtain and test the Radeon RX 9050 4GB so we discuss just how bad it is, and the way it prays on customers. Then we have a chat about DLSS 5, the direction of graphics, how long until this feature is good and whether it even makes sense. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 01:53…
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We Killed $3000 of DDR5 Memory
Official Store – Insta360 Link 2: https://bit.ly/MonitorsBFLink2store Amazon – Insta360 Link 2: https://geni.us/pByQNb Insta360 Webcam Collection: https://store.insta360.com/collections/4k-webcams Episode 115: We update everyone on the current situation with the YouTube view count. Then we dive...
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Our Melting RTX 5090 and Early DLSS 5 Impressions
Episode 114: Two big topics in this week's podcast: Steve had a melting incident with his RTX 5090, and we chat about the re-announcement and release of DLSS 5 technology. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:48 - Steve had a 5090 melting incident 42:41 - DLSS 5 initial impressions 1:14:44 - Updates from…
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Zen 6 on AM5 Confirmed, Absent DLSS 5 and Golden Samples
Official Store – Insta360 Link 2: https://bit.ly/MonitorsBFLink2store Amazon – Insta360 Link 2: https://geni.us/pByQNb Insta360 Webcam Collection: https://store.insta360.com/collections/4k-webcams Episode 113: We chat about Nvidia's Gamescom announcements, including DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction…
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Radeon RX 9070 XT or GeForce RTX... 5060 Ti?
Episode 112: For some reason, YouTube decided to change the view counter. Also, AMD didn't bother sampling RX 9050s for review, but we reviewed it anyway. Later in the podcast we chat about some of the weird matchups between AMD and Nvidia that have been created due to high GPU prices CHAPTERS...
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Are Reviewers Truly Unbiased and Independent?
Episode 111: Are reviewers who get review samples, get early access to products and have affiliate links truly independent? We discuss this in the podcast, after we watched a video from someone claiming MKBHD is not truly independent. A good one to hear our thoughts on how we approach reviews and...
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4GB Gaming GPUs are "Not for Gaming" Apparently
Episode 110: Fanboys on Reddit got very upset that we trashed the upcoming Radeon RX 9050 and 4GB GPUs in general, claiming that these models are not sold to consumers, and also not actually gaming GPUs. So we naturally decided to take on and dismantle these idiotic comments in this week's…
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The Radeon RX 9050 4GB is Absolutely Diabolical
Episode 109: AMD has done something unfathomable: they're releasing a brand new 4GB GPU in the year 2026. We talk about the new Radeon RX 9050 and why this graphics card seems like a giant turd, both the 8GB and 4GB variants. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:30 - AMD Radeon RX 9050 Discussion Begins…
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LG Screws Customers With Bloatware, and Nvidia Tones Down DLSS 5
Episode 108: LG has been very naughty, caught installing their bloatware application on to PCs without the consent of monitor buyers. Seems dodgy, so we talk about that. We also look over the latest DLSS 5 announcements from Nvidia's recent presentation. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:40 - LG Installs...
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Nvidia Hid Important GPU Info, and the 5800X3D is a Good Deal
Episode 107: We chat about some of the latest CPU releases, including the Ryzen 7 5800X3D 10th Anniversary Edition, and the Ryzen 7 7700X3D, which doesn't make a ton of sense when nobody is doing platform upgrades. Also, we thought it was quite amusing that Nvidia's hotspot GPU temperature has…
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Sony Kills Physical Games, Nvidia GPU Struggles & The Future of Gaming
Episode 106: We chat about Sony ending production of physical games in 2028, and the implications that has for game ownership. Plus we talk about the challenges Nvidia faces with improving GPU performance, and the future of gaming as a result. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:30 - Life Update 02:35 - A...
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Valve Stuffed Up the Steam Machine
Episode 105: We give some additional thoughts on how bad the Steam Machine is, and yes, we think it is very bad. Then we chat briefly about the Ryzen 7 5800X3D being re-released. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:31 - Yeah we haven't changed our mind on the Steam Machine 16:45 - Microsoft increased the...
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"Joke of a Product" - The Radeon RX 9070 GRE Hasn't Impressed Us
Episode 104: Upon our return from Computex, we chat about the current graphics card market, including AMD's bizarre release of the Radeon RX 9070 GRE. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Chat About the Radeon RX 9070 GRE 22:42 - The Current State of GPU Sales 50:08 - Updates From Our Boring Lives SUBSCRIBE TO THE...
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Are We Wrong About Ray Tracing?
Episode 103: Some people got upset that we claimed Nvidia didn't deliver on their promised ray tracing future. So we discuss that, the RTX 20 series, how ray tracing was marketed, and whether we think it's lived up to the original hype CHAPTERS 00:00 - Chat About Ray Tracing 55:12 - Updates From...
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No 9950X3D2 for Gamers Nexus and LTT... What's Going On?
Episode 102: We chat about the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition situation: the CPU itself and how it performs, AMD's decision not to provide review samples and more. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Chat About 9950X3D2 1:04:20 - Updates From Our Boring Lives SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Audio:...
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Everyone Hates DLSS 5, Here's Our Thoughts
Episode 101: What are our thoughts on Nvidia's DLSS 5 reveal? Time to chat about that, along with Crimson Desert, which we've been benchmarking CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:31 - Our Initial Thoughts on DLSS 5 08:14 - DLSS 5's Artistic Changes 27:36 - Possible Technical Challenges 42:07 - The…
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Memory Stops Working? You're Screwed
Episode 100: A brief chat on some news topics again, including Intel's announcement of Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs at attractive price points and FSR Diamond. Then we chat about a customer getting screwed over after his DDR5 memory died CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 01:53 - New Intel Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs...
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Is Future Proofing No Longer Possible?
Episode 99: A brief chat on some news topics, like Nvidia's recent driver issues and the rumored RTX 5050 9GB, then into our main chat. Is it really no longer possible to future proof your PC? Or is this one of the better times for PC hardware longevity? CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:37 - The RTX…
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Our Experiences with AI, Crazy Marketing Lies, Red Flags and The Bubble
Episode 98: Two goobers give their thoughts on AI. We've used it, the marketing claims don't match the capabilities at all. We chat about the financial investments so far, how that's likely going to be a big problem, and the overall status of the 'bubble'. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 10:56 - Our...
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The Problems with OLED, New 2026 Monitors, and Does 5K Gaming Make Sense? (feat. TFTCentral)
Episode 97: Simon from TFTCentral joins us after the wave of announcements at CES 2026 to chat about upcoming monitor technology, the current flaws with WOLED and QD-OLED panels, the types of screens we'd love to see, burn in, G-Sync Pulsar and more TFTCENTRAL Check out Simon's channel:...
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Why Are LTT Employees Quitting?
Episode 96: Some employees have recently left LTT and their stories have been blowing up, so we thought it might be interesting to give our perspective on running a YouTube tech channel, whether Linus was being unfair and whether the ex-LTT guys made the right choice. Also, we chat about 9800X3D...
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The Inoffensive 9850X3D and GPU MSRPs Are Beyond Dead
Episode 95: The Ryzen 7 9850X3D has been released and at best all we can say about it is that it's inoffensive. Also, more reports have emerged that signal the end of GPUs at MSRP. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:26 - So The 9850X3D Has Been Released 16:04 - More GPU Supply Information 29:40 - Zotac...
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RTX 5070 Ti Killed Off: Did We Get It Wrong?
Episode 94: We released a report saying the RTX 5070 Ti is effectively being killed off, and that Asus put the product into end of life status. What happened there? We share the full story CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:33 - AMD Officially Launches the 9850X3D 05:53 - The RTX 5070 Ti is Effectively...
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Nvidia to Drastically Cut GPU Supply!?
Episode 93: A rumor and news episode to round out 2025. We chat a bit more about 9850X3D expectations, the current and future state of Intel CPUs following some 225F testing, Nvidia cutting GPU supply, potential new GPUs and Steve kills some hardware. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 02:33 - More Thoughts…
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How The DRAM Crisis Will Affect Gaming GPUs (feat. Ed from Sapphire)
Episode 92: Edward Crisler from Radeon-exclusive AIB Sapphire joins the podcast to chat about the current GPU market. How will rising DRAM prices affect gaming GPUs? Can the GPU makers and AIBs absorb some of the increased cost? Also we talk about RDNA 4 and how successful it's been compared to...
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Bad Signs for PC Gaming: DRAM for AI Kills Crucial
Episode 91: Troubling signs in the PC gaming space with DRAM prices continuing to skyrocket and the surprising death of Micron's Crucial brand. Also we chat about the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and Nvidia ending driver support for Pascal. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:31 - DRAM Demand for AI Kills Micron's...
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Steam Machine: Did We Get it Wrong?
Episode 90: Some of you were upset we said the Steam Machine could be dead on arrival, so did we get it wrong? Steve also discusses recent RAM testing, and we look at gaming revenue for both Nvidia and AMD. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:28 - More thoughts on the Steam Machine? 22:27 - People didn't...
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Valve's Steam Machine: Dead on Arrival?
Episode 89: Valve has announced a new Steam Machine, which includes entry-level PC gaming hardware at an unknown price. We give our thoughts on whether this sounds any good and what prices would make sense. Steve also shares a motherboard story. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:40 - Initial Thoughts on...
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AMD Driver Screw Up: Hurt Confidence and Poor Decision Making
Episode 88: AMD does AMD things. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:22 - Microsoft Improves a Few Things 04:15 - AMD's Disastrous Driver Fumble 23:31 - What About Feature Support? 46:03 - Reputational Damage vs Nvidia Drivers 1:01:39 - How Big of a Mistake? Who to Blame? 01:19:52 - Impact on Review...
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Intel CPUs Should Be $150
Episode 87: We revisit some discussion from last week as we've found more dodgy stuff Microsoft has done, before chatting about the current situation Intel is in with CPUs. They aren't anywhere near as competitive up against AMD now, as AMD were with Ryzen when Intel was dominant. (Note: This...
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Everything We Hate About Windows
Episode 86: You all told us what you hated about Windows 11, and we fully agreed. So in this episode we go through all our grievances with the current state of Windows. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 06:21 - Unnecessary Microsoft accounts 10:39 - Search is broken 15:49 - Splash screens and ads 20:52…
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Battlefield 6, Intel Nerfing 14900Ks, OC Features vs Grifters, Zen 6 on AM5 "Confirmed"
Episode 85: We chat about Battlefield 6 testing and explore the difficulties with testing one-click overclocking features in benchmarks, such as PBO and 200S Boost. We also discuss the latest Intel graphics announcements including Xe3 and XeSS 3, as well as motherboard vendors beginning to say…
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Sorry, But APUs Suck for Gaming PCs
Episode 84: Tim and Steve respond to their internet crimes of using DLSS while testing and saying APUs suck. Then we chat more about Intel fixing B580 CPU overhead in some games, AMD's FSR 4 INT8 version and Microsoft destroying the value of Game Pass. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:27 - Why we tested...
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Nvidia Intel Team Up: No Impact to PC Gaming?
Episode 83: Intel and Nvidia have formed a partnership, but because APUs are not that relevant to desktop PC gamers, we discuss whether this deal will actually impact gaming significantly. Also, we put Intel's Arc GPUs into our GPU rankings, and chat about some news CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:33 -...
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Borderlands 4 Poor Optimization, DLSS as a Crutch, Can it Be Fixed?
Episode 82: A quick update on the YouTube views situation, then into a Borderlands 4 discussion. What is the state of the game currently? What do we make of Randy Pitchford's comments? Is DLSS being used as a crutch instead of proper optimization? Can it be fixed? CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 01:05 -...
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Our Views Are Also Down... Why?
Episode 81: We're back! Lots to discuss in this video, including YouTube weirdness, the future of AMD and Intel's CPU platforms, the good old CPU core debate, upcoming GPU rumors and more. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 03:13 - Our YouTube views are down, this is what the stats say 31:14 - Zen 7 on AM5…
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Ranking All Current GPUs from Worst to Best (2025 Edition)
Episode 80: It's that time of the year! We're ranking all the current graphics card models from worst to best, based on vibes. Always a very challenging task that brings up a lot of discussion so you can enjoy hearing our thought process as we try to upset everyone by ranking the models they like...
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The Biggest Issues With the GPU Market (feat. Daniel Owen)
Episode 79: We chat with Daniel Owen about all sorts of stuff affecting PC gaming right now. His thoughts on the worst parts of the GPU market, plus opinions on upscaling and frame generation (including Optiscaler and driver-based frame gen), game optimization and misleading marketing. We round…
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Are We Too Negative About PC Gaming GPUs?
Episode 78: Steve gives an update about B850 testing, Tim talks about a new phone that he's bought, and then we chat about whether we've been too negative about the current state of PC graphics cards. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 00:50 - Steve's B850 Testing Struggles 16:44 - Tim Bought a Samsung…
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Should AMD Make A $200 Graphics Card?
Episode 77: We chat about future plans for this GPU generation, including the latest RTX 50 Super series rumors, the latest benchmarks of the RX 9070 GRE, and the potential for a lower cost RX 9060 model from AMD. Also we give a few updates on the AMD FineWine situation from last week. EXTRA…
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Lack of Love for Mainstream GPU Buyers, 9070 XT FineWine and the RTX 5050
Episode 76: This week we give an update on the RX 9070 XT FineWine situation after some people called out Steve's testing. Also we look further into the mainstream GPU market, where typically buyers have not received a lot of love lately. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 03:27 - AMD 9070 XT FineWine...
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The Dodgy "RTX 5090" Laptop Situation (feat. Jarrod's Tech)
Episode 75: Jarrod from Jarrod's Tech joins us to talk about gaming laptops. We discuss the situation with horrible laptop GPU names, poor VRAM configurations, absurd pricing for higher tier models and whether gaming laptops actually make sense to begin with. JARROD'S TECH Check out Jarrod's...
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The Future of QD-OLED Gaming Monitors & Cool Upcoming Products (feat. TFTCentral)
Episode 74: Simon from TFTCentral joins us at Computex to discuss everything we saw at the show, our favorite upcoming monitors, impressions from various products, the future of OLED monitors and more. TFTCENTRAL Check out the video Tim filmed with Simon on his channel:...
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The RX 9060 XT Leaves Us With Mixed Opinions
Episode 73: Now that the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT is released and we have reviewed both models, we give some further thoughts on the 16GB card, the 8GB card, the weirdness around the launch (samples, NDAs) and where AMD have gone wrong CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 03:50 - The RX 9060 XT 16GB is Decent…
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Good vs Bad: AMD's Radeon RX 9060 XT Launch
Episode 72: Live from Computex in Taipei, we discuss the latest in graphics cards, including how we managed to review the GeForce RTX 5060 from our hotel room, and what we think about the Radeon RX 9060 XT now that it's been officially announced. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 03:21 - We Reviewed the RTX...
About this show
Steve and Tim from the YouTube channel Hardware Unboxed bring to you a weekly show discussing all the latest news and interesting topics in the PC hardware and gaming scene. With our decades of experience testing and benchmarking hardware, you'll be sure to enjoy various insights into tech and the occasional guest, especially if you love building PCs and playing PC games.
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Hardware Unboxed
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