The tech world’s a circus, and Paul’s Hardware is wielding the ringmaster’s whip. In his latest Tech News episode, “AMD’s New CPUs are Ridiculous,” Paul dives into a whirlwind of overpriced silicon, clickbait chaos, and a Commodore 64 comeback straight out of 1985. Here’s the breakdown of this week’s tech madness, courtesy of Paul’s Hardware.
Clickbait Hell: When Tech Media Loses Its Chill
Summer’s supposed to be quiet for PC hardware news, but as Paul’s Hardware points out, tech YouTubers and sites are cranking the hype to 11. Clickbait headlines like “Threadripper Will Bankrupt You!” or “Your CPU’s Melting in This Heatwave!” flood the internet, begging for panic-clicks. Paul nails it: these overblown titles—tied to mundane stories like Threadripper pricing or Nvidia’s AI chip exports—are just ad-revenue bait. Can we all just chill and doomscroll in peace? Check Paul’s takedown here.
AMD’s Threadripper Pro 9000: $11,700 of “Ridiculous”
The star of Paul’s rant? AMD’s Threadripper Pro 9000 WX-Series, with pricing so wild it lives up to his video’s “ridiculous” tag. The flagship 995WX, boasting 96 cores and 192 threads, costs a cool $11,700. On a budget? The 16-core model’s a mere $1,650. Unveiled at Computex and hitting workstations from Dell, HP, and Lenovo on July 23, these Zen 5-based CPUs offer up to 26% better performance than their Zen 4 predecessors. They’re socket sTR5-compatible (with a BIOS update), but as Paul notes, their enterprise-level pricing is cooling enthusiast hype. Non-WX models like the 9980X might save home builders some cash, but don’t expect these beasts to dominate your gaming rig—unless you’re editor Joe, who swears his 7970X games just fine.
Intel’s Summer of Discontent
Intel’s having a rough one, and Paul’s Hardware doesn’t sugarcoat it. The Aerolake refresh sounds like a dud, with rumors of just minor clock speed bumps. Layoffs in Oregon—over 5,000 strong—are hitting local economies hard. And then there’s the Raptor Lake mess. Firefox crash reports, flagged by Mozilla’s Gabrielle Spelto, show 13th and 14th Gen CPUs (especially the 14700K) crashing more in Europe’s summer heat. Paul’s advice? Update your BIOS. Intel’s playing defense, and it’s not a good look.
Nvidia and AMD’s China Chip Comeback
In a plot twist, the US government’s greenlit Nvidia and AMD to sell AI chips like the H20 Hopper and MI308 to China, despite earlier bans. Paul’s Hardware highlights Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s diplomatic hustle in D.C. and Beijing as the key. Gaming GPUs like the RTX 5090D (and its gloriously named 5090D V2) might benefit, too. Paul’s rallying cry to “free the D” is the chaotic energy we need. Nvidia, fix your branding, please.
Valve’s Steam Crackdown: Censorship or Cleanup?
Valve’s new Steam rules, as Paul breaks down, ban content that violates payment processor policies, axing adult-oriented games and AI-generated slop. While less AI spam is a win, Paul’s Hardware flags the risk: credit card companies and ISPs now hold scary sway over game content. Valve’s offering app credits to affected developers, but Paul calls it passing the buck. The community’s watching for more censorship red flags.
Commodore 64: Retro Vibes, Modern Price
Nostalgia alert! Paul’s Hardware spotlights the Commodore 64’s revival, led by retro guru Christian Perryic Simpson. Powered by an AMD RTX 7 FPGA, these new models support 10,000+ classic games without emulation, plus Wi-Fi. Priced at $300-$500 for Basic, RGB, or Gold Founders Edition, they ship in October. Fire up Maniac Mansion at commodore.net and relive the ‘80s.
ASUS’s $540,000 Gold GPU: Peak Excess
ASUS went full flex with a one-off RTX 5090 ROG Astral (Real) Gold Edition, sporting 5kg of gold worth $540,000. Spotted at BillyBilly World 2025, it’s a 7.2kg beast that needs a golden anti-sag bracket. Paul’s Hardware roasts its “bad 3D print” finish but crowns the Hatsune Miku RTX 5080 special edition as the true aesthetic champ—double the MSRP, but worth it for the anime flair.
Surviving the Tech News Jungle
From “ridiculous” CPUs to gold-plated GPUs, this week’s tech news is a wild ride. Paul’s Hardware cuts through the clickbait noise with wit and clarity, and you can catch his full breakdown in the July 20 Tech News video. For merch and more, hit up paulleshar.net. Keep your BIOS updated, your GPUs sag-free, and your nostalgia dialed to 11. Until next week, stay snarky.
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Source:
Paul’s Hardware. “AMD’s New CPUs are Ridiculous. – Tech News July 20.” YouTube, 20 July 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD3Wr11wWN0.
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