Posts in Category: logical increments updates

The November 2020 Memory and Storage Update

Prices for various PC parts often have a huge range, depending on items quality, performance, and availability. Some CPUs are $100, some are $1000, and some cannot be bought for love or money. Some other items have a much smaller range of prices, and this can be seen when we look at PC memory and storage (including RAM and hard drives). Memory and storage are offered by a large number of sellers, and thus the options are competitively priced. Most options that are similar in speed and capacity tend to be close to each other in price, making it easy to track and compare.

With time, long-term and short-term computer memory always sees a downward trend in price, with the only exception being when a factory is burned or flooded or something. Once certain items (or capacities) can be reliably found for a particular price, we overhaul our memory recommendations to recommend better/larger components, for the same price.

Along those lines, let us take a look at some recently changed recommendations:

Read More

The Zen 3 Update (Ryzen 5000 Series CPUs)

AMD and Intel have been the desktop CPU duopoly for as long as we can remember, with the mantle of “best CPU manufacturer” having been worn by both. From about 2005 to 2017, Intel was king. AMD’s Ryzen series began stealing the multi-threaded marketshare with the launch of a large number of high-core-count CPUs at a moderate price. These CPUs did not make AMD the “best CPU manufacturer” though, since single-threaded performance was still behind.

Numerically, 2017 was 3 years ago, but the numbers do not match the emotion: 2017 feels like it was in the Dark Ages. Many centuries have passed since the year 2017, and AMD has been improving. With each revision to the Ryzen family, AMD’s multi-threaded superiority was extended, and Intel’s single-threaded lead was diminished.

With Intel stubbornly refusing to abandon the 14nm process that has been (reportedly) in use since the times of Genghis Khan, this day had to come. Intel’s single-threaded dominance is over, for no king can rule forever.

Read More

The RTX 3070 Update

Over the years, nVidia has gotten better and better at GPU launches. Each new card performs well, runs cool and quiet, and is better than what it replaces… and no exceptions to this come readily to mind.

nVidia’s sole (and rare) issue with modern launches is the pricing, which can sometimes feel like highway robbery: $1800 for a graphics card? Want my firstborn with that, too, nVidia? Or just an arm and a leg?

This year, though, it is a bit different.

Read More

The RTX 3090 Update

The 3080 was launched to much fanfare, and the performance was really good. The price is high ($700!), and availability has proved to be a nightmare, but it is still the card to get if it’s in-stock and fits your budget.

With the RTX 3090, things are a bit different.

Read More

The RTX 3080 Update

The RTX 3080 is nVidia’s latest, and the first release in the 3xxx line. If you want the tl;dr straight away: It is good, and we recommend buying it if the price fits your budget.

If you want the slightly longer list of pros and cons, without reading reviews for hours (we do that for you), then you have come to the right place.

Read More

Logical Increments Is Supporting The Turing Trust

This month, we here at Logical Increments have decided to donate to The Turing Trust, a charity organization that brings computer access and IT education to schools in sub-Saharan Africa.

Our donation will take the form of 10% of all profits earned during the month of September. You can help us support them directly by donating to The Turing Trust, or indirectly by simply purchasing PC hardware through a link on our site this month.

Read More

The Logical Increments September 2020 Update

September 2020 Update feature image

If you missed the nVidia Ampere reveal, you can read a recap here. Ampere, like nVidia’s previous ~2-3 generations of chips, should be really good. Just… be sure to stay realistic and not to get your hopes up too high, or believe too deeply in marketing material. Every modern product launch promises to dramatically alter your life, but few genuinely deliver.

While we wait for the new cards to launch and undergo benchmark testing, we have some other updates:

Read More

The AMD “XT” CPU Non-Update

Nothing lasts forever, and that includes “hot” runs of success. AMD’s last two years have been a series of CPU hits, helping AMD dominate the full spectrum of consumer CPU market segments. At one point, AMD had 15 (out of 16) of our tiers! This success came on the back of the efficient 7nm CPU architecture, AMD’s decision to have hyperthreading on everything, and competitive prices. Well done, AMD.

Well… till now.

Read More