Time flies, and here we are already on December 31st, on the verge of opening 2024. If 2023 was a relatively calm year after the headaches caused by cryptocurrency mining and COVID, we could describe 2024 as disappointing at all levels.
Obviously, if we were to highlight something from 2023, it would inevitably involve Artificial Intelligence (AI). Perhaps the most striking aspect is that AI quickly went from starting to make noise to being discussed practically every day. We began with well-known deepfakes, and now we are at a point where it is difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is not. Not only deepfakes but also the possibility of “stealing” a voice and even creating a globally successful music theme.
Let’s not even mention tools like ChatGPT, which are now used for gathering information or creating school assignments. More sophisticated tools like DALL-E create images, while other AI can generate videos with text and even bring motion to a static image. As you’ve seen, it’s normal for us to resort to AI to generate images. It’s something fast, simple, and avoids future “lawsuits” claiming money for images that a company has bought to profit from. For now, there are no plans to add an AI to write news, but it seems that in the near future, it may become necessary, at least for highly specialized articles, leaving it out of daily topics.
In 2023, the major disappointments were GPUs
Both AMD and NVIDIA offered products that did not make significant leaps in performance. Despite this, we are talking about graphics cards that feel “old” even before reaching the market. A clear example of this is the rapid adoption of AMD FSR and NVIDIA DLSS technologies. Nowadays, it’s impossible to run a game without these technologies.
Even with the best hardware on the market. Want stable 4K at 60 FPS in the best games? Use AMD FSR or NVIDIA DLSS. You can imagine what happens with more modest hardware. That’s why it’s quite sad that in 2023 graphical technological innovations consisted of scaling and generating “fake” frames to make games run smoothly.
Regarding CPUs, AMD has made significant strides with its Ryzen 7000 X3D Series. Intel has shown with the Core Ultra that it can go head-to-head with AMD while consuming less power. Now, when it comes to CPUs, even a simple Intel Core i5-12600K is more than enough for any game. So at the CPU level, we have a wide variety with many possible price points. In terms of GPUs, it’s a different story, with bizarre chip and VRAM configurations and, despite that, prices that don’t make sense.
Native Resolution vs. NVIDIA DLSS 2 vs. DLSS 3 vs. DLSS 3.5
Intel arrived with its Intel Arc, with the most interesting option being the Intel Arc A750, the best in its class in terms of performance per dollar invested. Hopefully, future Intel Battlemage GPUs will at least come to compete with AMD and NVIDIA in the mid-to-high range. The graphics market really needs a third competitor, and we hope it will arrive during the second half of 2023.
As for RAM and SSDs, nothing noteworthy. Stable prices for DDR5 and PCIe 4.0 SSDs. PCIe 5.0 SSDs are still few, expensive, and haven’t really caught users’ attention. At these high prices, they are only worth it for professional use.
2023 also confirmed that “Mini-PCs” in console form have come to stay
For years, we saw portable consoles with PC x86 hardware. Manufacturers like AYANEO or GPD have fought against the current trying to make a living from it. It wasn’t until Valve came with its Steam Deck and demonstrated the success of this market that other major players like ASUS or Lenovo joined. It would be strange to think of a 2024 without more heavyweights entering this business. It would be odd not to see brands like MSI, Acer, or HP looking to enter this market. Of course, there will be surprises at the brand level.
This implies more competition and price wars, further complicating the existence of pioneers like AYANEO or GPD. These brands don’t have a fraction of the budget that the rest of the announced companies do. Not to mention release dates that are constantly shifting and tied to crowdfunding platforms for financing.
What can we expect for 2024?
Given market trends, for starters, RAM and SSD prices will increase. On the CPU front, we will see exciting launches like Intel Arrow Lake and AMD Ryzen 8000 CPUs. Obviously, the most interesting part will be the GPU level. But considering the current market, how 2024 will start, and the expected prices, AMD or NVIDIA will have a tough time impressing us with a new and true GPU generation.
Honestly, without expecting it, my tech product of 2023 was the Meta Quest 3. I bought them and never did a review because I didn’t expect much from them, but they truly impressed me. If you have a tech craving, the Quest 3 will not disappoint. My RTX 3080 Ti and Xbox Series X can attest that I haven’t touched them since buying the Quest 3.
Brief statistics of El Chapuzas Informático
As every year, I take this opportunity to give an overview of what El Chapuzas Informático means in terms of numbers. Just to give you an idea, more than 1.5 million unique visitors have visited this website in December. Throughout the day, it is normal for us to have about 1,400 people connected simultaneously.
More than half of them are from Spain, of course. However, the top 3 is closed by users from Mexico and Argentina. If your country is not included, the top 6 expands to Colombia, Peru, and Chile. Interestingly, in December, the third country was India due to a viral news story about Intel Meteor Lake.
The most viewed news was Intel Core Ultra vs. Ryzen 8000, China and its progress in semiconductors, and the overheating problems of the iPhone 15.
In terms of Disqus, 1.5 million read messages were generated in December alone.
alnoses: the user who wrote the most comments: 52,213 comments (during their time here, of course). Followed by Marra Mi Au (37,246) and Riwer (35,189).
Ender Deckard boasts of generating the most engagement with his comments (participation and interaction of users). Followed by Anibal and alnoses.
Special dubious mention: CL4P TP and alnoses as pole holders and pole certifiers.
Unfortunately, there is no analytics to evaluate the best and worst-rated users. A pity.
Happy 2024!
If you’ve gotten this far, I sincerely wish that 2024 is a better year for you. We’ve all had problems in 2023, but here we are, so let’s hope the coming year improves things. If you’re spending the night with family or friends, have fun and don’t drink and drive – that’s why taxis and Uber apps exist on your phone.
If you’re one of those people who will spend the night alone, you know that here in the comments or forum, you will always have guaranteed entertainment. Not to mention watching a TV show or playing a game. After all, the night is just about eating and drinking unnecessarily.
Finally, what do you think of 2023 in terms of hardware?
This article first appeared on El Chapuzas Informático under the title “We wish you a happy 2024, let’s take a brief look back at what 2023 has been like.”
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