The Falcon, Author at Logical Increments Blog

The September 2019 Update

This month, we’re bringing lots of small updates to our main build chart (and reaffirming some decisions from last month):

The RTX 2080 Super Update

RTX 2080 Super

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It is a joke I have been wanting to use since the 2060 and 2070 Supers came out, but I could not since we needed to save it for the 2080 Super!

Quick Update on SSDs in the Main Chart

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare famously said: “Keep the body free from disease, what affects RAM affects SSDs.” As always, this ancient wisdom has proven to be correct, and the recent (enormous) RAM price dive is being mirrored in SSDs.

So, let us update our SSD recommendations!

AMD and nVidia’s New (RX 5700 and RTX Super) Graphics Cards

If you have not been following the news, AMD announced new cards to be sold at $380 and $450. nVidia responded by releasing “Super” versions of its 2060 and 2070 cards, priced at $400 and $500. This prompted AMD to lower the release price of its cards, to $350 and $400.

Let us take a look at the competition at each price point:

AMD’s Big 3rd-gen Ryzen CPU Launch!

This is AMD’s biggest launch this year, and the number of sources covering this is huge! Alright, so where do we start? We are going to skip AMD’s GPUs for now (another update, soon) and look at the CPUs:

Adjusting the RAM

RAM prices took to the skies in 2017, and remained airborne throughout 2018. This year, RAM prices have landed, settled down, and are considering digging an underground cave in preparation for Armageddon, and are expected to go down even further.

The GTX 1650 Launch

The Great Expectations:

nVidia’s recent run has been amazing! The four RTX 20xx cards, followed by the GTX 1660 Ti and 1660 non-Ti, have all been winners. These cards have had great power consumption, great temperatures, and low noise levels. More importantly, nVidia gave you the ultimate reason to buy them: They beat the competition in terms of power. If new cards came out and performed worse than old cards… who would buy them? Right?

The GTX 1660 (not ‘Ti’) Update

So, nVidia is launching its latest (and cheapest) card in the 12nm series of cards. The GTX 1660, like the GTX 1660 Ti before it, has no RTX. However, it does let you play Witcher 3 on 60FPS+ on 1080p for $220. This new card beats all other AMD 5xx cards in its price range, and that includes the RX 590. It consumes less power, produces less heat, and less noise too. Considering the good price and stellar 1080p performance, this card ought to be a winner.

nVidia Launches the GTX 1660 Ti

nVidia continues its dominant GPU rampage, and now they are taking the fight to the sub-$300 segment with the GTX 1660 Ti. I know, I know, nVidia’s naming scheme is as smooth as silk… making the non-awkwardly-named TR 2990WX look short.

The Radeon VII (Vega II) Graphics Card Launch

AMD’s Radeon VII has arrived! All hail the Radeon VII! But does it belong in our build chart?

The Falcon' Post

The Great Expectations: