We Messed Up - WAN Show November 5, 2021

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode centers on the accidental early leak of LTT’s Intel 12th Gen review, followed by a defense of their testing choices—especially Windows 11 and DDR5—amid viewer criticism. The hosts also discuss Alder Lake’s strong gaming and productivity performance, pricing shifts in the CPU market, PCIe Gen 5 limitations, a D&D first-time experience, and several LTT Store/product updates.

Main Topics: Intel 12th Gen embargo leak and response (Priority: 5/5): The hosts explain how a tweet scheduler malfunction caused a link to an unlisted embargoed video to go out early, forcing them to set the video private and change future embargo handling. They emphasize the issue was unintended and affected media peers more than the audience. Defending Alder Lake testing methodology (Priority: 5/5): They address criticism about using Windows 11 and DDR5 in benchmarking Intel's 12th Gen CPUs, arguing that Windows 11 is necessary for Alder Lake's scheduler and that DDR5 is part of evaluating the platform as it exists today and in the future. Alder Lake performance, pricing, and competition (Priority: 5/5): They note the Core i9-12900K's strong results and highlight the value proposition of the Core i5-12600K, while discussing AMD price drops as evidence of competition working. They stress that both Intel and AMD behave like profit-driven corporations. DDR5 versus DDR4 and platform value (Priority: 4/5): The conversation explains why DDR5's high current cost should be considered, but not treated as a permanent benchmark penalty. They argue memory generations always start expensive and immature before normalizing, so platform evaluations should reflect current and future realities. PCIe Gen 5 and storage bottlenecks (Priority: 4/5): The hosts argue that PCIe Gen 5 is currently most relevant for GPUs, not desktop SSDs, because real-world storage workloads are limited by controllers and NAND, not the interface. They suggest gaming gains will come more from DirectStorage and console-driven targets. Dungeons & Dragons first-time experience (Priority: 3/5): Linus describes trying D&D for the first time in a one-shot session, with a deliberately chaotic character build. He enjoys the experience as a ride, but says it still doesn't make him personally interested in becoming a regular player. LTT Store, backpack, screwdriver, and new merch (Priority: 3/5): The hosts showcase a new backpack prototype, discuss the LTT screwdriver, promote new designs and bananas-for-scale plushies, and mention newsletter content about color selection and material behavior in merch production.

Key Arguments: Using Windows 11 for Alder Lake was appropriate because its scheduler is tuned for the big.LITTLE architecture and reflects what many buyers will use on a new system. Benchmarking a platform should prioritize how it performs in practical current and near-future usage, not only on the dominant legacy OS. DDR5 should be treated as part of the platform's cost and capability, but its current price/performance disadvantage is expected to improve over time as the standard matures. Alder Lake's strong performance means Intel has regained the gaming crown for now, but AMD is likely to respond quickly with future architectures and pricing changes. Consumers should care about total dollars spent versus performance gained; evaluating a CPU in isolation from platform costs can be misleading. PCIe Gen 5 storage is premature for mainstream desktops because SSD real-world performance is still constrained by NAND/controller limits rather than bus bandwidth. Competition benefits consumers regardless of which company is on top; neither Intel nor AMD should be viewed as inherently consumer-first. Current consoles and planned PC features like DirectStorage are likely to set the practical storage-speed target for desktop gaming rather than raw interface maximums.

Data Points: Intel Core i9-12900K core configuration: 8 performance cores + 8 efficiency cores - Described as Intel's new hybrid Alder Lake design Intel Core i9-12900K temperature: up to 96°C - Reported during Blender rendering with an NH-D15 cooler Intel Core i5-12600K price: $320 - Highlighted as a particularly strong value in Alder Lake's lineup AMD Ryzen 5 5600X comparison: competing at similar price point - Used to frame the value of the 12600K AMD Ryzen 7 5800X discounted price: $299 - Mentioned as a response to Intel's launch and competition pressure Intel 12th Gen launch platform: LGA 1700 - Alder Lake's new consumer socket/platform Spanning promo discount: 50% off list price - Sponsor offer for viewers Spanning setup time: as little as 60 seconds - Claimed setup speed for cloud data protection MSI Spatium M470 sequential read speed: up to 5,000 MB/s - Sponsor product specification MSI Spatium M470 sequential write speed: up to 4,400 MB/s - Sponsor product specification MSI Spatium M470 endurance: up to 3,300 TBW - Sponsor product specification Ridge Wallet discount: 10% off - Promo code WAN for sitewide savings

Pivotal Quotes: "The big oops that happened with our video review of Intel's 12th Gen Alder Lake CPUs." — Linus: Opening the segment explaining the embargo mishap "I stand behind it 100%. I think that most people buying a brand new system today are going to install Windows 11." — Linus: Defense of using Windows 11 for Alder Lake testing "What matters is how many dollars you hand to someone and how many FPSs you get back." — Linus: Argument for evaluating total platform value rather than isolated component specs

Implications: Expect more debate around benchmark methodology as new hybrid CPUs and new memory standards arrive. Alder Lake appears to force AMD price cuts, while PCIe Gen 5 and DDR5 will matter more as ecosystems mature and software catches up.