Podcast #864 - DDR5 and SSD Insanity, NVIDIA Warranty Spike, Desktop CPU Sales Tank, Tracking You, Ethernet & MORE!

The PC Perspective Podcast #864 delivers a mix of tech industry despair and dark humor, opening with a heartfelt Patreon plea before diving into a litany of alarming trends. DDR5 memory prices remain absurdly high—$729 for 32GB of 8,000 MT CL40—while 2TB QLC SSDs now cost $259.99, a stark contrast to past 'salad days' of $179. NVIDIA dominates the news with a 1,000% surge in warranty claims, blamed on 12VHPWR power connectors, and speculation about a rumored acquisition of HP/Dell that triggered market volatility. AMD CPU sales have plummeted, with the entire enthusiast market crushed by inflated component costs. The hosts lament the death of consumer-focused innovation, noting NVIDIA’s shift to enterprise AI workstations. Privacy is exposed as a farce, with Google, Meta, and Microsoft tracking users regardless of 'Do Not Track' settings. Sony’s TV update plans threaten antenna support, and CCA Ethernet cables are warned as dangerous due to high resistance and fire risk. The Linux kernel’s removal of 486 support is mocked as a sign of obsolescence. The MacBook Neo’s success is celebrated as a $5.99 disruptor, while a fake 'death' of a 193-year-old tortoise is revealed as a crypto scam. Security breaches hit CPU-Z and Adobe Acrobat, and Netgear’s rise as the 'only' U.S.-made router is ridiculed as a national security farce. The episode ends on a lighter note with affordable picks: DDR4 kits at $210 and a floppy-disk-shaped SSD enclosure, plus a versatile XLR mic and modular plywood furniture.