The Hardware Unboxed Podcast

Hosted by Hardware Unboxed

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Episodes

110

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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About the 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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60 recent

August 14, 20261 hr 33 min

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 conflicts of interestPeter's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8ccXGQfXikBuy a mattress using our Amazon affiliate link, which we earn a commission from: https://amzn.to/4xE8bVQCHAPTERSThe entire podcast discusses this one topicSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCASTAudio: https://shows.acast.com/the-hardware-unboxed-podcastVideo: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqT8Vb3jweH6_tj2SarErfwSUPPORT US DIRECTLYPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/hardwareunboxedLINKSYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Hardwareunboxed/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HardwareUnboxedBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hardwareunboxed.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 7, 20261 hr 19 min

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 podcast.CHAPTERS00:00 - Intro01:00 - Reddit gets upset about our 4GB GPU video46:17 - Asus rejects RTX 5090 sale then jacks up price56:47 - Updates from our boring livesSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCASTAudio: https://shows.acast.com/the-hardware-unboxed-podcastVideo: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqT8Vb3jweH6_tj2SarErfwSUPPORT US DIRECTLYPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/hardwareunboxedLINKSYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Hardwareunboxed/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HardwareUnboxedBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hardwareunboxed.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 31, 20261 hr 19 min

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.CHAPTERS00:00 - Intro00:30 - AMD Radeon RX 9050 Discussion Begins40:24 - Why Not Just Re-Launch an Old GPU?48:12 - The Days of Good Cheap GPUs are Over1:09:02 - Updates From Our Boring LivesSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCASTAudio: https://shows.acast.com/the-hardware-unboxed-podcastVideo: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqT8Vb3jweH6_tj2SarErfwSUPPORT US DIRECTLYPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/hardwareunboxedLINKSYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Hardwareunboxed/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HardwareUnboxedBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hardwareunboxed.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 24, 20261 hr 16 min

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.CHAPTERS00:00 - Intro00:40 - LG Installs Bloatware on Monitor Buyers' PCs33:35 - Nvidia Shows More DLSS 5 Details56:20 - Updates From Our Boring LivesSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCASTAudio: https://shows.acast.com/the-hardware-unboxed-podcastVideo: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqT8Vb3jweH6_tj2SarErfwSUPPORT US DIRECTLYPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/hardwareunboxedLINKSYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Hardwareunboxed/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HardwareUnboxedBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hardwareunboxed.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 17, 20261 hr 16 min

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 now been uncovered, so we discuss that whole situation.CHAPTERS00:00 - Intro01:02 - The Ryzen 7 7700X3D has Launched08:32 - The Ryzen 7 5800X3D Actually Makes Sense24:53 - Nvidia GPU Hotspot Temperature Situation40:24 - Steam Machine Thermals and HDMI-CEC01:04:55 - Updates From Our Boring LivesSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCASTAudio: https://shows.acast.com/the-hardware-unboxed-podcastVideo: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqT8Vb3jweH6_tj2SarErfwSUPPORT US DIRECTLYPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/hardwareunboxedLINKSYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Hardwareunboxed/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HardwareUnboxedBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hardwareunboxed.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 10, 20261 hr 24 min

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.CHAPTERS00:00 - Intro00:30 - Life Update02:35 - A chat about recent content06:00 - Playstation ending disc support32:06 - Has GPU performance really hit a ceiling?44:00 - The future of gaming?53:34 - Is Radeon in the same boat as Nvidia?01:01:03 - Why games aren't getting better?01:19:36 - Our Boring LivesSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCASTAudio: https://shows.acast.com/the-hardware-unboxed-podcastVideo: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqT8Vb3jweH6_tj2SarErfwSUPPORT US DIRECTLYPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/hardwareunboxedLINKSYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Hardwareunboxed/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HardwareUnboxedBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hardwareunboxed.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

June 26, 20261 hr 13 min

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.CHAPTERS00:00 - Intro00:31 - Yeah we haven't changed our mind on the Steam Machine16:45 - Microsoft increased the price of the XBOX21:20 - Steam Machine is the new Verge PC28:28 - Pre Built as a HTPC34:33 - Playstation/XBOX is easier to use than Windows46:22 - Our thoughts on Valve50:00 - 5800X3D is back and a good buy?1:01:24 - Updates from Our Boring LivesSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCASTAudio: https://shows.acast.com/the-hardware-unboxed-podcastVideo: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqT8Vb3jweH6_tj2SarErfwSUPPORT US DIRECTLYPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/hardwareunboxedLINKSYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Hardwareunboxed/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HardwareUnboxedBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hardwareunboxed.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

June 20, 20261 hr 6 min

"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.CHAPTERS00:00 - Chat About the Radeon RX 9070 GRE22:42 - The Current State of GPU Sales50:08 - Updates From Our Boring LivesSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCASTAudio: https://shows.acast.com/the-hardware-unboxed-podcastVideo: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqT8Vb3jweH6_tj2SarErfwSUPPORT US DIRECTLYPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/hardwareunboxedLINKSYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Hardwareunboxed/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HardwareUnboxedBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hardwareunboxed.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 9, 20261 hr 3 min

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 hypeCHAPTERS00:00 - Chat About Ray Tracing 55:12 - Updates From Our Boring LivesSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCASTAudio: https://shows.acast.com/the-hardware-unboxed-podcastVideo: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqT8Vb3jweH6_tj2SarErfwSUPPORT US DIRECTLYPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/hardwareunboxedLINKSYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Hardwareunboxed/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HardwareUnboxedBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hardwareunboxed.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 1, 20261 hr 16 min

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.CHAPTERS00:00 - Chat About 9950X3D21:04:20 - Updates From Our Boring LivesSUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCASTAudio: https://shows.acast.com/the-hardware-unboxed-podcastVideo: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqT8Vb3jweH6_tj2SarErfwSUPPORT US DIRECTLYPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/hardwareunboxedLINKSYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Hardwareunboxed/Twitter: https://twitter.com/HardwareUnboxedBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hardwareunboxed.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.