Maybe we should all just buy an Xbox... - WAN Show September 11 , 2020

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode centers on major gaming and hardware news: early impressions of Nvidia RTX 30-series hype, Microsoft’s aggressive Xbox Series X/S pricing and Game Pass strategy, AMD’s upcoming Zen 3/RDNA 2 announcements, and a Western Digital RPM labeling controversy. It also features a standout segment on a water-cooled, thermoelectrically cooled chair prototype, plus store promotions, prize bounties, and listener Q&A.

Main Topics: Xbox Series X/S pricing and Game Pass strategy (Priority: 5/5): The hosts examine Microsoft’s next-gen console strategy, emphasizing the Series S’s aggressive $299 price and the value of bundling Game Pass, EA Play, and console financing into one subscription-like offer. RTX 30-series hype and independent review culture (Priority: 5/5): They discuss the RTX 3080 launch atmosphere, cautioning against judging Nvidia’s new GPUs before independent reviews are available and noting that launch marketing often overpromises relative to real-world performance. Water-cooled thermoelectric chair prototype (Priority: 5/5): A deep dive into a custom chair built with foam channels, embedded tubing, and Peltier cooling, framed as one of the best video projects and a possible future product category. AMD Zen 3 and RDNA 2 anticipation (Priority: 4/5): The hosts mention AMD’s October announcement timing and speculate on whether Zen 3 and Big Navi can finally deliver enough competitiveness to challenge Nvidia and Intel more broadly. Western Digital drive RPM labeling controversy (Priority: 4/5): They cover criticism of WD labeling some drives as 5400 rpm class when audio analysis suggested they spin at 7200 rpm, discussing the practical tradeoffs for NAS and laptop use. Apple’s new rules for game streaming on iOS (Priority: 4/5): The episode criticizes Apple’s restrictive approach to cloud gaming apps, where users must install separate apps for each game and Apple’s broader anti-consumer platform behavior. Store products, golden-ticket giveaway, and creator merch expansion (Priority: 3/5): They promote new merch items, tease future creator-warehouse expansion, and announce a hidden-variant CPU pins shirt that can win a gaming rig.

Key Arguments: Wait for independent reviews before buying new GPUs; launch hype is not enough to judge value or performance. The RTX 3080/30-series may be exciting, but Nvidia’s marketing should be treated cautiously until multiple reviewers test it. The Xbox Series S is unusually compelling because its low price plus Game Pass makes next-gen gaming accessible to more consumers. Microsoft’s model is more consumer-friendly than Sony’s because it supports older controllers and reduces accessory replacement costs. The chair prototype demonstrates that cooling the human body is a more practical use case for thermoelectric cooling than CPUs or GPUs. WD’s labeling issue matters because higher spindle speed changes noise, heat, and power behavior, especially for NAS and laptop users. Apple’s cloud-gaming policy is unnecessarily burdensome and reinforces its reputation for anti-consumer platform control. AMD’s upcoming products may still struggle to beat Nvidia/Intel unless they deliver strong driver support and real-world gains. Subscription models are increasingly acceptable to consumers, making Game Pass a potentially decisive advantage for Xbox. A console’s real cost includes controllers and accessories, not just the box price; Xbox’s controller compatibility is a major benefit.

Data Points: Xbox Series X price: $499 - Microsoft announced the flagship console’s launch pricing. Xbox Series S price: $299 - The discless lower-power console was highlighted as unusually aggressive value. Xbox pre-order date: September 22 - Microsoft’s pre-order window was mentioned during the console discussion. Xbox launch date: November 10 - Global release date stated for both Series X and Series S. Xbox Series S financing plan: $24.99/month for 24 months - A bundle including the Series S and Game Pass was described as a subscription-style purchase. Xbox Series X teraflops: 12.15 TFLOPS - Compared against the Series S in the hardware discussion. Xbox Series S teraflops: 4 TFLOPS - Referenced as the lower-power console’s GPU compute level. Xbox Series S storage: 512 GB - Discussed as the base internal SSD size. Xbox Series X storage: 1 TB - Compared against the Series S during spec discussion. Xbox controller price: $65+ - Used to illustrate the hidden cost of console ownership. WD drive power draw: 8.8 watts - Measured active power usage of the confirmed 7200 rpm-class drive. WD drive standby power draw: 800 mW - Standby consumption of the confirmed 7200 rpm-class drive. Seagate comparable active power: 5.3 watts - Used as a comparison point for the WD drive. Seagate comparable standby power: 250 mW - Used as a comparison point for the WD drive. Flight Simulator Twitch peak: ~10,000 viewers - Used to argue the game is niche compared with mainstream titles. Flight Simulator Twitch viewers shown later: 1.6K - Live category viewer count mentioned during comparison browsing. AMD data center CPU core count: up to 64 cores - Mentioned as part of Zen 3-related future server chips. RDNA 2 performance claim: 50% performance per watt improvement - Cited as AMD’s stated efficiency uplift over RDNA 1. RTX 3070 CUDA cores: 5888 - Used as a comparison point for Big Navi speculation. Big Navi shaders: 5120 - Used in the discussion of AMD’s expected GPU competitiveness. CPU pins giveaway shirts: 3 one-off shirts - Three special variants were said to exist in the wild. Gaming rig bounty: $5,000 - Offer for a full Hot Wheels or Barbie PC set.

Pivotal Quotes: "you should never pre-order so you should always wait for independent evaluation of anything you're buying" — Linus: Advice given while discussing RTX 30-series hype and launch reactions. "the subscription model of getting the console that way... the digestibility of it is so fantastic" — Luke: Explaining why Xbox Series S financing plus Game Pass could be especially attractive to budget-conscious buyers. "it’s life-changing" — Linus: Reaction to the water-cooled, thermoelectrically cooled chair prototype after testing it.

Implications: The episode suggests next-gen gaming is shifting toward subscription bundles, platform lock-in battles, and consumer-friendly compatibility. It also underscores how hardware marketing, labeling, and platform policy can shape buyer trust and long-term ecosystem loyalty.