That this article opens with an appeal to PS5 is telling. Gamers are the lowest hanging consumers.
The next thing to notice is how many offerings there are within 1% of the 990's perf. Many!
OK, so...
PCI5 is the next thing to look out for... By maybe next summer. Notwithstanding huge power issues.
But even PCI5 at its best is not going to change anything important. To remake a point I've already made, today's PC is more than fast enough for the ways that a PC lets users connect to the larger world. It's normal today to be gated by something your PC attaches to. So make you PC as fast as you want, then wait for that other link.
Bragging rights aside, if you were bought in at i9 / z490, nothing that's gonna happen over the next two years is gonna reset what you can already do.
Yes! It is fun to track leader-boards and take stock.
But what's missing from this new age of silicon is any compelling new usage model... My feeling is that the next breakthru could actually make raw power less necessary because the progress will redefine what our expectations are about connecting to the bigger world.
SW is the limit today.
