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How Microsoft, Nvidia, and Intel Jerked Your Chain for 10 Years...​

Microsoft Windows' Gamers, What a Waste of 10 Years (2010-2020)​

For over a decade, PC gamers have been strung along, led to believe they were part of a golden era of gaming. In reality, they were pawns in a corporate game played by Microsoft, Nvidia, and Intel. Here’s how these tech giants toyed with the loyalties of PC gamers and ultimately left them in the dust as they chased more lucrative opportunities in AI and cloud computing.

Microsoft: From Desktop Dominance to Cloud Capitulation​

Pre-2010, Microsoft was content to rake in profits from Windows and Office sales, becoming a fixture on PCs worldwide. The company appeared to be an unstoppable force in the personal computing market. But as the 2010s rolled in, Microsoft shifted gears dramatically. Instead of enhancing Windows for the everyday user, they diverted their attention to Azure, their cloud service platform.

Windows updates became sporadic and uninspired, focusing more on integrating users into the Microsoft ecosystem rather than improving the core PC experience. Office 365, with its subscription model, became the cash cow, while Azure started to directly compete with Amazon's AWS for the corporate cloud services market. The everyday PC user and gamer were left with a stagnant operating system, while Microsoft cozied up to enterprise clients, creating a corporate lock-in scenario and largely abandoning its grassroots consumer base.

Nvidia: From Gaming Savior to AI Juggernaut​

Nvidia, once hailed as the savior of PC gaming, became a master of exploitation. Year after year, they released new GPUs with inflated prices, promising marginal performance gains. Gamers, driven by a relentless desire for the latest and greatest, kept the cash flowing despite the diminishing returns. But the real kicker came with the cryptocurrency boom.

Bitcoin miners began snapping up Nvidia GPUs, creating shortages and driving prices even higher. Gamers, desperate to keep up, even resorted to buying used GPUs from mining rigs. But as the crypto wave crested, Nvidia had already set its sights on a new horizon: AI. They pivoted, channeling the revenue earned from gamers and miners into developing powerful AI-focused GPUs. The gaming community, once Nvidia’s loyal base, found themselves sidelined as Nvidia courted big business and research institutions, making billions from AI and data center technologies.

Intel: The Decade of Stagnation​

Throughout the 2010s, Intel's dominance in the CPU market was unchallenged, but this led to complacency. Their incremental updates to the i3, i5, i7, and eventually i9 processors offered little in terms of real performance gains or power efficiency. The promised transition to more advanced architectures like ARM never materialized effectively. Gamers and everyday users were fed a steady diet of incremental upgrades with ever-increasing price tags.

The wake-up call came in the form of Apple's M1 chip in 2020. Apple, fed up with Intel’s stagnation, developed their ARM-based SoC, which outperformed Intel’s offerings in both speed and efficiency. This was a clear sign that Intel had been resting on its laurels for too long, failing to innovate while continuing to milk consumers for every last penny.

Conclusion: A Glimmer of Hope with New Leadership​

There might finally be light at the end of the tunnel for the beleaguered PC gamer. With new leadership at Microsoft and the advancement of Qualcomm's ARM chips, there is hope that Windows Copilot and next-gen PCs will usher in a new era. Perhaps now, with a renewed focus on innovation and efficiency, the PC platform can once again become a haven for creators and gamers alike.

Yet, it’s a bittersweet victory. The last decade has seen PC gamers ridiculed for mocking Apple users, only to find themselves abandoned by the very companies they trusted. As AI and cloud computing dominate the tech landscape, the once-proud PC gamer must adapt, innovate, and hope that the next wave of technology finally delivers on the promises of a brighter, more vibrant future.

PC gamers, it’s time to wake up and smell the silicon – you got hosed, but maybe, just maybe, the best is yet to come.

So I say to PC gamers, are you gonna jump back to Windows or in other words are you gonna see what Apple has to say and make a hard choice?
 
I dunno, I’m happy with my gaming on the pc

Other then the crypto stuff limiting gpus a few years back, gaming is good imo

Edit: also even with what you put, pc gaming is more robust then the Mac
 
So I say to PC gamers, are you gonna jump back to Windows or in other words are you gonna see what Apple has to say and make a hard choice?

Those aren't the only two options for PC gamers. If the issue is Microsoft, Intel, and Nvidia - there's always AMD and Linux. My Steam Deck has shown me that I don't need Microsoft for gaming anymore.
 
Companies want to maximize future profits and these companies look like they think that there are better options then focusing on gaming.

You only have to look at the number of subpar games released the last couple of years along with the massive layoffs in software gaming companies in order to see that gaming isn't doing to well.
 
I'm mostly okay right now. Windows 11 has not been so great, as gaming performance is down since they added Copilot but it's still better than the games macOS can't or won't run.

I still have my Steam Deck and I'm re-learning how a proper Linux setup can work with gaming.
 
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Those aren't the only two options for PC gamers. If the issue is Microsoft, Intel, and Nvidia - there's always AMD and Linux. My Steam Deck has shown me that I don't need Microsoft for gaming anymore.

I'm mostly okay right now. Windows 11 has not been so great, as gaming performance is down since they added Copilot but it's still better than the games macOS can't or won't run.

I still have my Steam Deck and I'm re-learning how a proper Linux setup can work with gaming.
That's so very true, Stream Deck is making strides to allow gaming pretty much everywhere...
 
there's always AMD
I have a RX7800 and at the time of release, there wasn't an Nvidia card that was just as affordable, and the amount of vram, and performance.

Nvidia has since come out with their "super" cards that have more ram and a more competitive price point. I've been largely happy with my the RX7800 however.

As I mentioned, I'm not worried about PC gaming, nor do I think I've been hosed.
 
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That...is one hell of a post.

I have a gaming PC and my MacBook Pro. I don't think I have been hosed in any way.

You don't need Windows to game comfortably. With a few exceptions (and a touch of work), Linux can now provide a gaming experience that is largely plug and play. the Steam Deck has shown the world viable alternatives do exist. I still use Windows for my main gaming machine due to some things that will simply not work in Linux, but I also use LTSC, so none of that garbage is in my install. And my Steam Deck gets a ton of use.

Intel has not dominated for several years. AMD has some of the best gaming chips on the market for several years now with the X3D line. Unless you absolutely need Intel for some reason, there really hasn't been a reason to choose it over AMD, especially if gaming is your primary focus (as this thread is)

Nvidia has chased AI and has not been price conscious for a long time now, but DLSS is still far superior to FSR, and AMD has yet to catch up to the Ray Tracing performance of Nvidia. That said, it is still very much a mess on Linux right now, especially on Wayland, but the newest 555 drivers have made a lot of progress. AMD largely works out of the box though on Linux with Mesa.

Qualcomm isn't there yet for gaming. Some early benchmarks demonstrated BG3 running at around 30 FPS. Apple Silicon still has far better performance, but I am excited to see how they improve in subsequent generations of their chips. ARM definitely seems to be the way forward. I agree a return to efficiency is the way forward. GPUs consuming 500+ watts of power is not sustainable.

There is definitely a lot of potential for some shakeups coming down the line. Apple finally getting major games (even just a few right now) can show progress. Assassins Creed Shadows coming day 1 for macOS is great, and the Resident Evil games ran well. The audience isn't fully there yet, but it can grow if companies continue supporting ARM.

But saying PC gamers got hosed is a bit hyperbolic.
 
OK maybe hosed is the wrong title, how about abandoned? Cause Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia are about to drop $100 Billion building an AI Data Center. That's all of your Microsoft+Nvidia money that has been poured into their coffers for the last 20 years!
 

How Microsoft, Nvidia, and Intel Jerked Your Chain for 10 Years...​

Microsoft Windows' Gamers, What a Waste of 10 Years (2010-2020)​

For over a decade, PC gamers have been strung along, led to believe they were part of a golden era of gaming. In reality, they were pawns in a corporate game played by Microsoft, Nvidia, and Intel. Here’s how these tech giants toyed with the loyalties of PC gamers and ultimately left them in the dust as they chased more lucrative opportunities in AI and cloud computing.

Microsoft: From Desktop Dominance to Cloud Capitulation​

Pre-2010, Microsoft was content to rake in profits from Windows and Office sales, becoming a fixture on PCs worldwide. The company appeared to be an unstoppable force in the personal computing market. But as the 2010s rolled in, Microsoft shifted gears dramatically. Instead of enhancing Windows for the everyday user, they diverted their attention to Azure, their cloud service platform.

Windows updates became sporadic and uninspired, focusing more on integrating users into the Microsoft ecosystem rather than improving the core PC experience. Office 365, with its subscription model, became the cash cow, while Azure started to directly compete with Amazon's AWS for the corporate cloud services market. The everyday PC user and gamer were left with a stagnant operating system, while Microsoft cozied up to enterprise clients, creating a corporate lock-in scenario and largely abandoning its grassroots consumer base.

Nvidia: From Gaming Savior to AI Juggernaut​

Nvidia, once hailed as the savior of PC gaming, became a master of exploitation. Year after year, they released new GPUs with inflated prices, promising marginal performance gains. Gamers, driven by a relentless desire for the latest and greatest, kept the cash flowing despite the diminishing returns. But the real kicker came with the cryptocurrency boom.

Bitcoin miners began snapping up Nvidia GPUs, creating shortages and driving prices even higher. Gamers, desperate to keep up, even resorted to buying used GPUs from mining rigs. But as the crypto wave crested, Nvidia had already set its sights on a new horizon: AI. They pivoted, channeling the revenue earned from gamers and miners into developing powerful AI-focused GPUs. The gaming community, once Nvidia’s loyal base, found themselves sidelined as Nvidia courted big business and research institutions, making billions from AI and data center technologies.

Intel: The Decade of Stagnation​

Throughout the 2010s, Intel's dominance in the CPU market was unchallenged, but this led to complacency. Their incremental updates to the i3, i5, i7, and eventually i9 processors offered little in terms of real performance gains or power efficiency. The promised transition to more advanced architectures like ARM never materialized effectively. Gamers and everyday users were fed a steady diet of incremental upgrades with ever-increasing price tags.

The wake-up call came in the form of Apple's M1 chip in 2020. Apple, fed up with Intel’s stagnation, developed their ARM-based SoC, which outperformed Intel’s offerings in both speed and efficiency. This was a clear sign that Intel had been resting on its laurels for too long, failing to innovate while continuing to milk consumers for every last penny.

Conclusion: A Glimmer of Hope with New Leadership​

There might finally be light at the end of the tunnel for the beleaguered PC gamer. With new leadership at Microsoft and the advancement of Qualcomm's ARM chips, there is hope that Windows Copilot and next-gen PCs will usher in a new era. Perhaps now, with a renewed focus on innovation and efficiency, the PC platform can once again become a haven for creators and gamers alike.

Yet, it’s a bittersweet victory. The last decade has seen PC gamers ridiculed for mocking Apple users, only to find themselves abandoned by the very companies they trusted. As AI and cloud computing dominate the tech landscape, the once-proud PC gamer must adapt, innovate, and hope that the next wave of technology finally delivers on the promises of a brighter, more vibrant future.

PC gamers, it’s time to wake up and smell the silicon – you got hosed, but maybe, just maybe, the best is yet to come.

So I say to PC gamers, are you gonna jump back to Windows or in other words are you gonna see what Apple has to say and make a hard choice?

The lead doesn't actually tally with the Applecentric delusion you're trying to shift the argument to.

Companies go where the market is.

Mindless clickbait at it's best.
 

How Microsoft, Nvidia, and Intel Jerked Your Chain for 10 Years...​

Microsoft Windows' Gamers, What a Waste of 10 Years (2010-2020)​

For over a decade, PC gamers have been strung along, led to believe they were part of a golden era of gaming. In reality, they were pawns in a corporate game played by Microsoft, Nvidia, and Intel. Here’s how these tech giants toyed with the loyalties of PC gamers and ultimately left them in the dust as they chased more lucrative opportunities in AI and cloud computing.

Microsoft: From Desktop Dominance to Cloud Capitulation​

Pre-2010, Microsoft was content to rake in profits from Windows and Office sales, becoming a fixture on PCs worldwide. The company appeared to be an unstoppable force in the personal computing market. But as the 2010s rolled in, Microsoft shifted gears dramatically. Instead of enhancing Windows for the everyday user, they diverted their attention to Azure, their cloud service platform.

Windows updates became sporadic and uninspired, focusing more on integrating users into the Microsoft ecosystem rather than improving the core PC experience. Office 365, with its subscription model, became the cash cow, while Azure started to directly compete with Amazon's AWS for the corporate cloud services market. The everyday PC user and gamer were left with a stagnant operating system, while Microsoft cozied up to enterprise clients, creating a corporate lock-in scenario and largely abandoning its grassroots consumer base.

Nvidia: From Gaming Savior to AI Juggernaut​

Nvidia, once hailed as the savior of PC gaming, became a master of exploitation. Year after year, they released new GPUs with inflated prices, promising marginal performance gains. Gamers, driven by a relentless desire for the latest and greatest, kept the cash flowing despite the diminishing returns. But the real kicker came with the cryptocurrency boom.

Bitcoin miners began snapping up Nvidia GPUs, creating shortages and driving prices even higher. Gamers, desperate to keep up, even resorted to buying used GPUs from mining rigs. But as the crypto wave crested, Nvidia had already set its sights on a new horizon: AI. They pivoted, channeling the revenue earned from gamers and miners into developing powerful AI-focused GPUs. The gaming community, once Nvidia’s loyal base, found themselves sidelined as Nvidia courted big business and research institutions, making billions from AI and data center technologies.

Intel: The Decade of Stagnation​

Throughout the 2010s, Intel's dominance in the CPU market was unchallenged, but this led to complacency. Their incremental updates to the i3, i5, i7, and eventually i9 processors offered little in terms of real performance gains or power efficiency. The promised transition to more advanced architectures like ARM never materialized effectively. Gamers and everyday users were fed a steady diet of incremental upgrades with ever-increasing price tags.

The wake-up call came in the form of Apple's M1 chip in 2020. Apple, fed up with Intel’s stagnation, developed their ARM-based SoC, which outperformed Intel’s offerings in both speed and efficiency. This was a clear sign that Intel had been resting on its laurels for too long, failing to innovate while continuing to milk consumers for every last penny.

Conclusion: A Glimmer of Hope with New Leadership​

There might finally be light at the end of the tunnel for the beleaguered PC gamer. With new leadership at Microsoft and the advancement of Qualcomm's ARM chips, there is hope that Windows Copilot and next-gen PCs will usher in a new era. Perhaps now, with a renewed focus on innovation and efficiency, the PC platform can once again become a haven for creators and gamers alike.

Yet, it’s a bittersweet victory. The last decade has seen PC gamers ridiculed for mocking Apple users, only to find themselves abandoned by the very companies they trusted. As AI and cloud computing dominate the tech landscape, the once-proud PC gamer must adapt, innovate, and hope that the next wave of technology finally delivers on the promises of a brighter, more vibrant future.

PC gamers, it’s time to wake up and smell the silicon – you got hosed, but maybe, just maybe, the best is yet to come.

So I say to PC gamers, are you gonna jump back to Windows or in other words are you gonna see what Apple has to say and make a hard choice?

I dunno, I’m happy with my gaming on the pc

Other then the crypto stuff limiting gpus a few years back, gaming is good imo

Edit: also even with what you put, pc gaming is more robust then the Mac

I got hosed? I'm a little confused about the declaration in post 1, just sailing along with gamin on my PC...🤔
 
Meh, i love my windows gaming pc. I also sold my m1 ipad pro and got a Legion go handheld system for less than i sold my ipad for and can do a lot more. Im pretty happy with my windows gaming experience. Now have a system for at home and on the go
 
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OK maybe hosed is the wrong title, how about abandoned? Cause Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia are about to drop $100 Billion building an AI Data Center. That's all of your Microsoft+Nvidia money that has been poured into their coffers for the last 20 years!
One does not preclude the other. Nvidia and Microsoft are heavily investing in AI. But that does not automatically point to an abandonment of other projects. Nvidia is still effectively one half (if not more) of the entire GPU industry. I highly doubt they will just leave that aspect behind. Could they release less consumer GPUs as they focus more on business/AI? Sure. But until concrete plans are announced, I am going to treat their consumer sector as business as usual. Same for Microsoft.
 
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Ai is MS single minded focus right now. They overlooked the rise of smartphones and are now living with the biggest regret ever.

Gaming isn't what it used to be and I think nvidia will soon start making arm SoC for mobile devices. Today consumers mainly play live service games like roblox, fortnite, minecraft, candy crush etc. All of which can be played with 5-10 year old hardware.

Nvidia could not have survived on selling just gaming gpu. Usecases for cryptography and ai have been life saving for them. :)
 
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What? You guys (pc-ers) dumped tons of time and money into these platforms, and it's like they (the above companies) could give a rats ass... they are showing their true colors in these latter days that all they cared about was money, power and the a.i. (super) powered holy grail of computing.
(But I know, I know, obviously obviously this is where all of our computing dreams have been heading but...)
Gaming please that was just a means to this END... I am just not a big gamer and I feel my investments in Apple's Ecosystem was the better "bet" 15 years ago...
 
I'm not sure what you're on about. Even if Microsoft and Nvidia shift focus fully to the cloud, there's still AMD, Intel, even Qualcomm entering the space. PC gaming is stronger than ever, a fact so solidified that as of late even Sony is bringing their exclusive IP to the platform.

Yet, it’s a bittersweet victory. The last decade has seen PC gamers ridiculed for mocking Apple users, only to find themselves abandoned by the very companies they trusted.

Of all the games I regularly play, only Minecraft and Stardew Valley work on a Mac. An Apple desktop as a gaming machine is entirely out of the question for me. Maybe in 10 years, when Apple has finally courted game makers and shown their platform is one worth supporting I can think about switching.
 
RE 7 and RE 2 Remakes are coming to Mac/iOS.

I hope Apple goes all out today on gaming.
Gaming on iPhones and iPad have a bright future. This past weekend I tried Assassins Creed Mirage on my 15 Pro and was blown away by how playable it was. Barely any annoying pop-in or short draw distance.

An Epic win would be if Apple paid TakeTwo(Rockstar) $200m to port GTA6 to the iPhone.
 
they are showing their true colors in these latter days
I get the feeling you posted this just to annoy PC gamers. You started this thread by trying to tell us we got hosed and that's simply not the case.

Many of us are incredibly happy with out "investments" and playing

Gaming please that was just a means to this END
And what was that? I mean Nvidia, Intel, and AMD are producing some great GPUs, well, Nvidia and AMD are, Intel is playing catch up.

And if you say money, lets be real here, that is Apple's goal as well.

I am just not a big gamer and I feel my investments in Apple's Ecosystem was the better "bet" 15 years ago...
It shows because you're trying to slam a segment of computer users, yet you really have little understanding of the gaming industry.

I'm a big fan of using the right tool for the job, and if you are not into gaming, then the Mac makes absolute sense, so yeah you made the right choice for you but that doesn't mean my choices are any less valid or that I got hosed.

Why attack and dump on people who are enjoying their machines?
 
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This is hogwash. All of the Nvidia GPU advancements over the years have allowed the gaming development space to push further and faster than they would have been otherwise in simulating aspects of the real world. Nvidia capitalizing on high levels of pre-structured parallelization in code execution to reduce constant rising power needs slowed power consumption a bit while still increasing performance (heavily RISC principled) and that lead to incorporating more hardware based matrix math algorithms into the architecture which opened the doors to ML/AI. ML/AI are not RISC but the philosophies have a fair amount of overlapping going on as far as shortening and simplifying and executing all the short repeatable bits together quickly in parallel. It's fair to say Nvidia may not have gone down that path without first embracing other RISC based concepts that resulted in the creating of the CUDA libraries for gaming and other VFX hardware acceleration.

In turn, Intel capitulating to the advantages of RISC all they back to the first "i" labeled CPUs also cut power consumption from what requirements would have been staying to the original all CISC plan provided consumers with cost effective hybrid CPUs.

The problem I've always had with Apple (since we're in a Mac forum) is that they already understood the long term benefits of RISC adoption and the general philosophy when they co-created ARM back in in the 1990 (I think) However Apple never identified gaming as a constant flame to push it's development, while watching Nvidia climb and climb and climb year after year becoming larger and more profitable by becoming more instrumental not only in gaming, but then visual effects and scientific computing until they pushed all of the former torchbearers of super computing out of business (SGI, Cray.) Had Apple been industry smarter as it relates to 3D simulation in games/VFX/Scientific as Nvidia was starting 30 years ago it likely would have been Apple receiving all the advancements, accolades and additional success of Nvidia today maybe like 5 years ago even if they'd adopted Intel CPUs earlier as a part of their desktop strategy to be able to more effectively combat Windows back then. Remember BSD UNIX has been CPU agnostic since the beginning and well before NeXt (predecessor to MacOS) adopted it.
 
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RE 7 and RE 2 Remakes are coming to Mac/iOS.

I hope Apple goes all out today on gaming.

Robocop Rogue City, Palworld, Dead Island 2 and Control Ultimate Edition are coming too and so is GPTK 2.

Skärmavbild 2024-06-10 kl. 20.04.40.png
.
 
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