The Hardware Asylum Podcast

In this episode the duo talks about using open-source AI models on the new Ninjalane server and discuss some of the ways you can easily customize them for different uses from building out tailored documents to planning your D&D campaign. While hosting your own private AI sounds complicated the overall process is actually rather straightforward, provided you have the correct hardware to run them.

For media people attending tradeshows is often a necessary part of the business. It not only allows you to see some of the latest tech but also talk with industry professionals about new things due to be released. It also has a side benefit that, sometimes, you can buy expensive hardware at bargain prices if, you are comfortable with a little cloak and dagger.

It is no surprise to know that games have gotten bigger over the years. What might have fit on a single disk now can take days to download and will likely get updated in less than a week. Technology has paved the way to do more with our digital entertainment and some experts are saying that we have already gone past the tipping point between what gamers what and gamers get.

It would seem that 2025 is the year of the upgrade, first new Podcast machine for recording the show and other lab related activities. Some personal builds and now a replacement server to host Hardwareasylum.com and Ninjalane.com. The question is, how is a datacenter hosted server different from a desktop PC?

During CES 2025 we were introduced to the Endorfy line of products and two of them have made it into the Hardware Asylum Labs. These products are now being sold through ModMyMods and are looking to having exceptional value for the money. This virtual unboxing is then followed up with the Corne V3 GLP mechanical keyboard project and quick discussion on what it takes to build your own keyboard.

One of the challenges of being a hardware reviewer and overclocker is having a stable system that you can use on a daily basis. Some enthusiasts take the budget route with a nice laptop while others pour the same passion and dedication into their personal builds that they do on the bench. The same holds true in the Hardware Asylum Labs but, there are times when more important things force personal builds to the side.

In this episode the duo discusses some of the new builds that will be taking place over the next couple months including a major upgrade to the computer that records the Hardware Asylum Podcast and handles all of the Twitch and YouTube live streams.

CES 2025 is one of the most popular tradeshows for tech enthusiasts and does a great job at setting the stage for future technology and many of the things we will see in the immediate future. The highlight of CES 2025 was the launch of the RTX 50 Series Blackwell GPUs along with some major shifts in the hardware world.

With 2024 quickly coming to an end we decided to reflect on some of the hardware highlights of 2024 to recall some of our favorite products and projects from fancy motherboards to the popular dual subwoofer build. We also end the year with one last system build that may not completely break the bank.

Dennis has this an unhealthy obsession with retro pc hardware from repairing old motherboards to assembling unicorn builds that max out the platform in ways that could not have been imagined when they were relevant. Well, it would seem that others have noticed and started sending in some mysteries of their own.

It has been a while since we featured an AMD motherboard on Hardware Asylum or the Podcast and in celebration of this achievement the duo offer an in-depth look at the new flagship motherboard from ASUS including Nitropath and how a SS Phase doesn't faze the Ryzen 9 9950x.

For this Podcast Extra, the duo will be diving into what might have been one of the most anticipated movies of 2015 that was quickly rushed out in 2024 to become one of the many box office flops of the season. From a poor script to completely irrelevant casting choices it makes you wonder if anyone will ever make a good movie based on a video game.

We talked quite a bit about how messed up the RTX 4070 launch was from the initial release to a highly public recall to the final version, which was pretty good. Well, seems NVIDIA is at it again with a silent nerf of memory performance. However, all is not lost given the current RTX 50 Series rumors proving that the Blackwell generation could be really good.

By now most of you have heard of ChatGPT and its significance in bringing AI principles into the mainstream. There are quite a few different types of AI from generative ai to create assets and language models which can create chatbots and digital assistants. Most of these systems will run in the cloud as a service but, you could run your own AI with some rather simple tools.

In this episode the duo dive back into the topic of sound quality and if sound bars are really all that good or just cleaver marking combined with the placebo effect. There is some truth to each side and after some in-depth real-world testing they are here with a verdict.

Based on what Dennis saw during Computex 2024 there is a very good chance that the era of the DIY personal computer is finally coming to an end. Of course, there will always be ways to build a computer however, we noticed that then hardware makers gave up on competitive overclocking it killed an entire niche from the enthusiast PC sector and now it is happing on the gaming side. In this episode the duo discusses the writing on the wall and paint some pictures on what the future could be.

This is part 3 of our Computex 2024 coverage. A common theme for Computex 2024 was AI and sadly the absence of Gaming and/or Overclocking hardware. Despite this there were a few interesting and overkill motherboards followed by purely custom power supplies and retro matrix displays on coolers.

This is part 2 of our Computex 2024 coverage. As mentioned in the previous episode, there wasn't much in the way of gaming hardware on the show floor but there was plenty of AI accessories and hardware available along with example of the new CAMM2 memory modules designed for ultra-portable computers.

It has been a while since Hardware Asylum was at Computex and the 2024 edition of this global technology show did not disappoint. NVIDIA had their keynote the day before Computex opened followed by an AMD keynote to kick the show off. After that Dennis visited with Gigabyte, Corsair, beQuiet during the first hours of the event.

Have you ever wondered how your build stacks up against EVERYONE else playing Steam games? Well, the Steam Hardware Survey can give you that data and the results are shocking, to say the least. In this episode we use the April 2024 Steam Hardware Survey to build the ultimate gaming PC according to gamers from around the world.

In this episode we explore some of the things that makes NVIDIA a company to watch from their dedication to gaming using NVIDIA GTX and RTX graphics cards to game related technologies such as Ray Tracing and DLSS. Their GPUs are fueling the AI revolution with datacenter construction and hardware designed specifically for AI processing. All of this collectively impacts their publicly traded stock which is embedded into thousands of mutual funds and the S&P 500 market index.

It is not uncommon for people to establish a home office either for their day job, their night job or even a side hustle. While you only need a computer there are certain accessories that make the entire process more enjoyable and vastly more productive. In this episode we explore a number of essential components including the Yeyian Gaming Flexcam.

Dennis recently had an old review motherboard come back to the Hardware Asylum Labs and was a completely unexpected sight. The board in question is the Soltek SL-75DRV4 and was a board he first reviewed back in 2001 on Ninjalane (the Parent site). The board had leaking capacitors and was a common failure that claimed the lives of so many motherboards before their time. Later in the show the duo talk about lost Memories, not from getting old but rather losing your data due to storing SSDs for too long.

With the pending launch of Fallout on Amazon and Borderlands in the theater we decided to revisit some great video game movies including a dream casting discussion we had over 10 years ago centered on the Borderlands movie and how badly a movie could be perceived when it starts to stray to far from the source material. However, the new Fallout series on Amazon might just be the crown jewel to save the summer.

Recently Jensen Huang the CEO of NVIDIA attended the World Governments Summit and talked about the current state of AI and made some amazing claims from Sovern AI to regulations to howe everyone in a company could be a coder. This raised some eyebrows, including those belonging to John Carmack who mentioned that learning how to code is not about programs but the process of learning how to solve problems. In this episode we talk about different implementations of AI and the hardware used to run it.

We have mentioned that one of quickest and most secure ways to back up your personal data is using a NAS device. Many commercial NAS systems are self-contained and have limited power. The CS382 is a dedicated NAS chassis allowing you to build the server you need without the common limitations. Later in this episode we talk about the new game modes in Fortnite and how to get rich quick using in game vbucks.

The RTX 40 Series Super video cards launched in January and encompass some of the final versions of the NVIDIA RTX 40 Series and Ada Lovelace architecture. We have the Gigabyte RTX 4070 Super in the lab and discuss some of the features and the take a deep dive into the interesting and completely messed up launch history of the 40 Series.

In this episode we do a debrief of the popular Consumer Electronics Show talking about each vendor we visited. While we focus on the computer hardware aspects of CES and checking out the latest motherboards, and related computer accessories there are some other amazing things to see including some AR Sunglasses, Mega Servers and an awesome all wheel drive robot lawn mower.

They say the only constant is change and that if things are not changing then you are not growing as a person or society. This has a direct impact on the technology that we use on a regular basis and while some trends may have never been welcome to begin with, there are some that may have left before their time. In this Podcast Extra the duo discusses an article on PC Gamer “30 things PC Gamer has outlived over the past 30 years” and later adds a few items they had missed.

Streaming on Twitch or YouTube is extremely easy on modern computers but can be quite a challenge when the technology is a little older. In this episode we talk about the steps needed to stream games from a Retro PC and how easy it has become to build a modern gaming build complete with EK watercooling gear.

We have all built computers before but, there are some people out there looking to take things to the next level and blur the lines between what makes sense and what will get views. This is very much a social medial world and it extends well beyond reasonable PC building. But, is there a limit?

There have been some major changes in the PC hardware world and the makers of those components have been slow to adapt. However, the fault is not with the maker of the hardware but rather the consumers, the hardware enthusiasts, the once vocal minority has been enabling the hardware maker with their silence. It might be time to put a stop to it.

No Man's Sky was released in in the middle part of 2016 to largely negative reviews due to the game being overhyped and rushed to release. That is a typical issue with Kickstarter and other crowdfunded projects. However, since the release the developers have been consistently releasing new content while offering new and different ways to play. In this Podcast Extra Darren gives us his review into the current game and his favorite play style.

In this episode Dennis talks about his recent trip to Seattle to attend Seafair 2023. The trip was to experience live hydroplane racing and catch an exciting airshow featuring planes manufactured by Boeing and the Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration team. Of course, before heading back he made a quick stop at RE-PC for some retro pc part hunting.

Hardware Asylum as invited to attend a special media event hosted by Gigabyte / Aorus to showcase their Z790 X Motherboard refresh. They called this event “Fast Track to Gen X – Speed Simplified” and marked a series of major technology enhancements they were implementing to not only make their motherboards faster but also unique in the enthusiast motherboard space. In this episode the duo discusses the highlights of the event and what makes these boards great.

We get a good number of questions related to PC building and computer hardware and, in this episode, we dig through the mailbag to find some of your most obscure computer questions and have a great time answering them.

Diablo is a pretty amazing game and the developers did an excellent job at optimizing it to run on a wide variety of platforms and PC Hardware configurations. They also built in ways to run it with NVIDIA DLSS which can not only increase performance by 25% but also while running at the highest image quality settings.

In this episode we revisit three of our currently in progress projects including the Dual Subwoofer project, the Supra PiModem and some new Retro PC gaming builds.

In this episode the duo revisits a CES topic focused on some upgrades to the NVIDIA GeForce Now Cloud Gaming service and the option to play gaming titles on RTX 4090 class hardware. The service has been around for years and is currently the only cloud gaming service that allows you to play games enhanced by the NVIDIA GeForce gaming technologies without needing to own a single NVIDIA product.

In this episode the duo talk about the new RTX 4070 that has been tested in the Hardware Asylum Labs and analyze the performance against some of the popular cards of the previous generation to determine if it might be a good buy for your next upgrade or, if there might be something better for you to spend a fist full of dollars on.

In this episode the duo discusses a bequiet Social Media post asking fans to post their advice for someone building their first PC. Given this is social media the post was littered with cheeky responses and a few valid comments. A few were captured for discussion followed by a step by step on how easy it is to assemble a modern personal computer.

When you are doing any sort of modding project it is important to have the right tools for the job. Skipping this step is not only dangerous but, can also lead to lackluster results and often take longer than it would otherwise. When Dennis started his Retro PC (re)Adventure he discovered how versatile 3D Printing can be when it came to rebuilding old machines and upcycling old hardware. In this episode the duo discuss the latest Retro PC project in the Hardware Asylum Labs and how 3D Printing made it all possible.

With the recent launch of the new AMD Ryzen 7950X3D processor there was a new round of DDR5 memory released to support the new platform. The duo explore why you need DDR5 and what aspects of the memory are important to pick for your next build.

in this episode the duo are looking at the Thermaltake P3 TG Pro chassis and talking about some of the challenges associated with high-end computer cases and this new trend where they are being shipped unassembled. Ideally this is to help reduce overall costs while putting more responsibility on the consumer to build things right. Later, Dennis introduces a new Retro PC Project where he is upcycling a Supra dial up modem to be a modern communication appliance for Retro and Modern computers.

Our digital world has been changing at an alarming rate and we can see this from the advancements in movies where entire scenes are computer generated along with hologram pop stars with Instagram accounts and tv shows using real time motion capture. However, CGI is rather harmless when you start considering the power of “good” AI which can create deepfakes so good they fool professionals and chat bots which can write college essay papers and even complete difficult coding projects. In this episode the duo explores what is currently out there and even touch on some historical examples.

In this double length episode we do a travel log for our most recent CES adventure which is special since it is the first time back to the show in two years. The topics include a basic CES schedule breakdown including some highlights with Gigabyte and a zero-emissions cargo ship.

Normal computer product cycles tend to slow down during the Holiday Season to give consumers a chance to buy the components and gadgets they want while giving retail channels time to stock up for the holiday shopping rush. In this episode the duo talk about the items on a few popular lists and throw in their picks for this shopping season.

In this episode we get an update on the various box configurations and designs that Dennis has experimented with in his question to build an extended range sound system for Retro and Modern PCs. The duo talk through the various designs and determine if they were successful or needed some extra work.

In this episode the duo talks about the current issues with the RTX 4000 series launch from melting power plugs to the “just kidding” removal of the 12GB edition of the RTX 4080. On the surface neither of these things are a huge deal however, for gamers and hardware enthusiasts when we see troubles at launch that usually indicates rocky times are coming, and exactly what needs to be avoided.

In this episode Dennis talks about an impromptu trip for some Retro PC Hardware that ended up being a nighttime cannonball run for an extremely successful grab of old PC games, some Commodore 64 parts and a number of desirable motherboards and video cards. The interesting thing Is that while trips like this are somewhat rare, they can oftentimes turn into a fun little adventure.

In this episode we talk about the NVIDIA RTX 40 Series graphics cards and dive into the specs to see if this will be the generation to buy and how to know if you should skip this generation. Unlike in previous generations there should be no shortage of RTX 40 Series cards making the decision to buy rather straight forward.