E D ’ S N O T E //
Another Year another Issue.
F
irst issue of the 2019 and there’s already
plenty to write about and even more to
have an opinion on. As always, new platforms
with the respective CPUs and memory are
due - been here and seen it before, but it
never stops being exciting and I doubt it ever
will.
Last issue I opined at length about how
magnificent it is that we now have real time
ray tracing in games and I’m still off that
opinion. The better or more tools artists have
at their disposal, the more possibilities and
varied expressions we will have.
Add to which, it's great to see NVIDIA opening
up to other methods or implementations of
variable rate display technology. G-Sync
monitors for whatever the reason tended to
cost a lot more than their FreeSync
counterparts and as a result, we
have more monitors supporting
the latter which also tend
to be cheaper. Such a move
means everyone including the
ecosystem itself is better off for
it.
In the display space in general
there's plenty to look forward
including OLED displays which - I
hope - means they will become
more prevalent and cheaper so
we can all enjoy the benefits of
this incredible display
technology. So, between variable
frame rate displays, HDR
technology, organic LED
monitors, Real time Ray Tracing,
curved displays and so more, I
don’t think we’ve had so many
technologies converging into such a rich user
experience. Despite all the challenges the
computer DIY space may be dealing with,
there’s plenty to be excited about and to look
forward to.
In terms of competitive overclocking, I
read months ago about an alternative record
or score keeping database. Here’s hoping
something does come from this. I do hope
that all respective parties (hardware and
relevant software developers) including the
community can come together and continue
to improve and bring this to fruition. There's a
workable space where users and vendors can
find a working relationship that's both
rewarding for overclockers and financially
viable for the vested parties. Ultimately, it is a
space which we all need for various reasons
and much like motor sport has the FIA and all
related bodies, overclocking can and perhaps
needs to have the same or similar.
Either way, overclocking as a whole will see
all these challenges through and there’s no
question that it will be better off for it.
“ ... overclocking as
a whole will see all
these challenges
through and
there’s no
question that it
will be better off...””
Once again those of you who remember
ripping.org know just how much simpler and
enjoyable HWBOT made overclocking result
verification and competition structure. Until
then, HWBOT Classic will do just fine. The
simplified and much quicker site is massively
appreciated.
Unrelated to the above, Intel’s foray into
discreet graphics products is going to be very
interesting. I think we should see a more
diverse landscape or at least that's what I
hope for. I do not know what to expect, but
whatever comes from that enterprise should
present us with more options and an overall
more robust graphics market. We as end
users, hobbyists and enthusiasts have nothing
to lose but all to gain. I can imagine a situation
where in some benchmarks, it’s purely INTEL
vs AMD and naturally those ecosystem
comparisons are bound to arise.
In such instances I believe a large part of
what users prefer may come down to more
than just performance figures. The general
user experience (drivers, applications etc.)
will play heavily into what we opt for.
Especially true if performance between the
two platforms are similar
Outside of all things to do with PC hardware,
I am excited for the next generation consoles
coming 2020 supposedly. These should bring
with them RT capabilities and that means
significantly more game devs will be exposed
to the technology. It’s early days for RT, but
the visuals delivered today will be surpassed
both computationally and in visual fidelity/
artistic expression. It is incredible to see the
visuals made possible today using traditional
lighting methods and it’s about to get much
better when both consoles and the PC have
this capability.
A word on TheOverclocker magazine then;
another year and some more changes. A new
website is due (the 90s are long gone) along
with a greater emphasis on video. A digital
publication such as this is no longer the most
optimal way to engage PC hardware and
overclocking. For the amount of work
required to produce a single issue, one can
churn out a plethora videos and web content
within the time frame. How and when this will
happen is not set in stone, but given
the frequency with which this magazine is
published (or infrequency) this should be well
underway before/for Computex 2019.
Until then, keep pushing and thank you all :)
- Neo Sibeko, Editor
Issue 46 | 2019 The OverClocker 03