Old But Not Obsolete Tech

I wish you a very Happy New Year. I hope the coming year is full of endless blessings for you, and that it marks a turning point where the majority of people finally stop accepting policies and practices that treat humans as an afterthought in the name of profit and world domination.

This long text (sorry) is basically a conclusion of sorts for 2025.

As you already know, this is primarily a tech-focused YouTube channel. I generally avoid diving into other topics like geopolitics, the global economy, or broader social issues—even though, let’s be honest, those things inevitably affect all of our lives. That doesn’t mean I’m indifferent or untouchable to what’s happening in the world. Quite the opposite. I have plenty of opinions. I just prefer to stay on topic and talk about how these larger events intersect with our favorite hobby: computers, and the IT industry as a whole.

This channel was basically created during a very specific period. One where greedy companies and equally greedy individuals decided that computer parts were no longer just tools for productivity or entertainment, but financial assets designed to print money. And I’m talking very specifically about graphics cards being used for cryptocurrency mining.

Companies quickly noticed that hardware originally designed to output video signals was suddenly being used to generate profit. Naturally, prices were “adjusted”. And wherever there’s a dead carcass, you’ll find vultures circling. Same thing here: people buying graphics cards by the pallet, only to resell them at absurd prices just to squeeze out profit.

On top of that, we had a global virus outbreak. Some companies treated it as an opportunity to make billions. Governments and institutions prioritized pharmaceutical profits over what many believed was the broader interest of humanity. Lockdowns were enforced, people were confined to their homes, and anyone who questioned the experimental nature of the vaccines was stigmatized. “A necessary evil,” they said back then. “An evil act that what it was” we hear today. And yet, to this day, none of the people who created, sold, and enforced these policies have faced any real accountability. No consequences. Nothing.

Anyway, back to our little tech corner.

All of the above events massively amplified the GPU shortage. Ports were closed, supply chains were disrupted, entire manufacturing lines were shut down. And now, beyond crypto miners and scalpers, you suddenly had millions of people stuck at home with freshly handed-out government subsidies. A lot of them decided to spend that money on gaming PCs. And you can probably guess which component were “the apple of discord”.

Of course, this perfect storm eventually came to an end. The crypto bubble burst. Scalping died down. Things appeared to return to normal. But the sharks had already tasted blood. They learned something important: consumers will pay almost anything if the “man in the leather jacket” sets the price and the rest of the echo chamber will follow.

That became the new normal. The GPU now accounts for at least 50% of the cost of an entire system. Mainstream gaming GPUs are priced like high-end workstation cards. Low- and mid-range GPUs cost what flagship cards did just a few years ago. Graphics cards stopped being products that depreciate over time and became speculative assets whose value fluctuates (usually upward) like gold, always based on executive decisions and investor greed.

Personally, I didn’t care that much about the GPU price gouging at the time, neither now. First, it wasn’t the first time something like this happened in the past. Second, I’m old enough to know that the most important component in the computer business isn’t the GPU.

I did have one concern back then: some “geniuses” tried to push crypto mining onto CPUs. Thankfully, that died quickly because it couldn’t compete with GPU mining in terms of profit. No big deal.

What did worry me was something else. Because of shipping delays, embargoes, earthquakes and production slowdowns during COVID, memory prices started creeping up slowly but consistently. That was a red flag. My side business was suddenly in a fragile position if memory prices followed the same path as GPUs.

Thankfully, that didnt fully happen at that time. But it stayed in the back of my mind as a potential future vulnerability in my income stream. Several years later, I’ve diversified my business enough that what’s happening today has far less impact on whether food ends up on my table.

And what is happening today and how AI is driving memory chip shortages, pushing RAM and HBM prices through the roof, is directly connected to the past.

The sharks are always hungry. They know consumers by and large, are impulsive and easy to manipulate. People will pay whatever price is thrown at them, especially when it’s wrapped in flashy marketing, pointless “AI-powered” features, and dynamically price-tagged driven by data centers and algorithms.

And let’s be clear: those data centers are fueled by our data. Data we happily give away in exchange for shiny “free” online services stuffed with ads and soon not free anymore.

Now the bill is due. And unfortunately, the IT and semiconductor industry might be the least of our future problems, as we’ve grown dangerously dependent on convenience even for the most basic things and overall we have lost many of our basic survival skills along the way.

That said, there is a bright side. More and more people are starting to understand where all of this is heading. They’re planning ahead. They’re finding ways to reduce their dependence on massive corporations without completely abandoning the digital world or going fully off-grid. Not that those are bad plans, but honestly, it should be the last options, not the first.

I see more and more people jumping on the anti-AI hate wagon every day. Sometimes because stupidity, sometimes because it’s trendy or what ever, without any real critical thinking or without realizing that AI is just a tool, like the internet or computers were.

It can be locked down in the hands of a few, or open and accessible to everyone. What do you know about local LLM's? The real question isn’t AI itself—it’s who controls it. Power should be in the hands of people, not corporations.

And the good news is that awareness is growing, and it goes hand in hand with knowledge. Get informed first, then form an opinion. That’s where real change actually starts and that’s why, despite everything, the future can still look brighter for humanity.

Take care all.
Uncle George “over and out”.

7 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 2

Old But Not Obsolete Tech

After six years, I finally swapped out my old GPU, an RTX 2070 that has been a reliable piece for productivity, video editing, and light LLM experiments. I gave it a final send-off with some games and benchmarks, and honestly, I still think it’s one of the best budget-friendly cards you can find used today, great if you want an all-rounder without spending a fortune.

7 months ago | [YT] | 0

Old But Not Obsolete Tech

On the off chance anyone’s wondering what’s going on with the channel: I honestly just haven’t had the time to create any content. I’ve got tens of gigabytes of raw footage for a GTX 970 I recorded four months ago, but chances are it’ll never see the light of day. There’s also a stack of spare PC parts from 2008 to 2015, waiting to be turned into gaming rigs for some kind of nostalgic retrospective something but realistically, I don’t see any of that becoming a video anytime soon.... if ever.

That said, I genuinely hope you enjoy the rest of your summer. ❤️

1 year ago | [YT] | 5

Old But Not Obsolete Tech

Here’s a little hint about the next project — it’s going to be a bit different from the usual essay-style content. It might take some time, though. With summer coming up, I’m prioritizing family time, so video production will be moving at a slower pace.

Have a great one !

1 year ago | [YT] | 1

Old But Not Obsolete Tech

This was an ambitious project that never took off because the R9 290 died after just a few benchmarks. It’s a shame—I had already written a 3,000-word script and spent several hours refurbishing, modding, capturing B-roll and gameplay footage. I’m uploading a few bits of the raw footage here mostly as fan service, as a little treat for the viewers who really follow the channel closely.

IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT THE CREATOR, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHANNEL. SUBSCRIPTION IS FREE AND DOESN'T REQUIRE TO SPENT ANYTHING ELSE BUT FEW SECONDS FROM YOUR TIME. CLICK ON NOTIFICATION BUTTON TO WATCH FIRST ANY NEW VIDEO RELEASE.

FINALLY, YOU CAN BUY A GIFT CARD AT tradera.com AND THEN SEND IT TO THIS EMAIL traderashop@.gmx.com BY DOING THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO BUY COMPONENTS FOR MY FUTURE VIDEOS. FOR MORE INFO CHECK THE LINK BELOW:
www.tradera.com/en/giftcards

1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 1

Old But Not Obsolete Tech

WHAT HAVE I DONE?
edit: An even more dramatic title

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1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 6

Old But Not Obsolete Tech

New goodies for a new project. Can you guess the CPU and GPU?
• Hint 1: The CPU belongs to Intel's 4th gen architecture.
• Hint 2: It is a 10 series. The CPU has 4 cores, 8 threads. Additionally, I am a bit of a "cheapskate"-ahem, I mean a budget-conscious buyer-so I refuse to buy overpriced second hand Core i7s.

1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 18

Old But Not Obsolete Tech

Initially, I had in mind a 10-minute video, but instead became an eight-page script and 11 hours of video footage. I estimate it will end up being a 30-min YT content, so my next upload will be at the end of this month.

This is what my video was planned to be...

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1 year ago | [YT] | 5

Old But Not Obsolete Tech

Before I dive into my reflections on 2024 and what’s to come, I hope you all have a great time celebrating this season (if you celebrate) and a wonderful New Year ahead.

2024 has been personally a tough year, but not tougher than the previous ones. However, I’ve learned a lot about myself and acquired many new skills, many of which hopefully will be implemented into my YouTube content. Speaking of my channel, I was only able to produce five videos this year, but I gave each one my best effort.

The final production outcome is something that I would enjoy watching it myself, and I hope my viewers feel the same. Overall, I believe I am in a spot that I create content that resonates with people who enjoy this type of work. This doesn't mean that I don't have a lot to learn and improve.

Looking ahead to 2025, I feel that it will bring opportunities for new beginnings, creative growth, and the chance to breathe new life into some abandoned projects.

With that said, I wish you all again a New Year filled with good health, happiness, and resounding success in achieving your life goals.

Best regards,
Uncle George

edit/typical typos as always :-)

1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 7

Old But Not Obsolete Tech

Simply for the purpose of preserving unused footage, this an intro that has been left out of the upcoming video with the AI scratch voice over still on it.

IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT THE CREATOR, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHANNEL. SUBSCRIPTION IS FREE AND DOESN'T REQUIRE TO SPENT ANYTHING ELSE BUT FEW SECONDS FROM YOUR TIME. CLICK ON NOTIFICATION BUTTON TO WATCH FIRST ANY NEW VIDEO RELEASE.

FINALLY, YOU CAN BUY A GIFT CARD AT tradera.com AND THEN SEND IT TO THIS EMAIL traderashop@.gmx.com BY DOING THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO BUY COMPONENTS FOR MY FUTURE VIDEOS. FOR MORE INFO CHECK THE LINK BELOW:
www.tradera.com/en/giftcards

1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 1