Sapphire's Ed Chrysler on GPU Naming, AI's Effects, and the Future of PC Gaming
In a podcast appearance on Hard Box, Ed Chrysler, Sapphire's PR Manager for North America, discussed the latest happenings in the GPU market. This included a discussion on the reception of AMD's RX 9000 series, the challenges of AI and DRAM shortages, and, of course, why he feels PC gaming is the best hobby on the planet.
RX 9000 Series Success Offsetting Name Confusion
Describing the latest RX 9000 series as among the "best-received" generations during his time at the company, Chrysler defended the RX 9600 8GB as a "very capable gaming card" for 1080p despite some negative press.
He, however, admits that it's a valid criticism of the naming convention itself-he said, "The naming convention was done wrong," explaining that naming both the 8 and 16 GB models "XT" mixed, confused, and muddied the waters for mainstream consumers who only want to know if their games will run right.
AI and DRAM Shortages Market Impact
There was also a fair amount of discussion with regard to the current beams of pressure on the market. Chrysler described AI's demand for DRAM as a "black hole- sucking everything around it into it", while an increased component demand also drives up prices.
This is the problem that has a trickle-down effect on the entire PC building market: If DRAM prices are too high, people put off building new PCs, which in turn hits mothers, CPUs, power supplies, and cases.
Still, Chrysler counseled gamers to remain calm, saying: "I believe that within 6 to 8 months, we're going to see the market begin to stabilize." He pointed out that with most modern gamers upgrading comfortably every 3 to 4 years, the vast majority can afford to wait while this current uncertainty passes without rushing into a purchase.
Sapphire's Differentiation and Position in the Market
Actually, Chrysler commented that when it comes to standing out, the actual performance delta between the various AIB models of a single GPU is most times within the margin of error. Differentiation for Sapphire is hence derived from some other factors, such as:
- Cooler and PCB design with a focus on quiet operations;
- quality-of-life features, such as quick-release fans;
- and aesthetics, the clean design within the Nitro+ series.
He also explained how they acquire their memory at Sapphire. The VRAM comes packed together with the GPUs they get from AMD, meaning guaranteed compatibility and consistency in performance level so that both kinds of problems that can be caused by sourcing components independently do not arise.
Skepticism About Market Share Reports and the Steam Survey
Chrysler expressed skepticism regarding industry market share reports, particularly the Steam Hardware Survey, narrating one story of long ago where he had friends owning NVIDIA cards who seemed to get the survey even more than those with AMD cards. The principal part of his criticism on its methodologies is that it re-samples from the same pool of users every month instead of going out there to get wider, even more representative selection.
"I think you would find AMD has a bigger share than the numbers are saying right now," he added, noting that the split between pure gaming sales and prosumer-focused cards might actually be a lot more even than tends to be claimed.
An Optimistic View on PC Gaming
Throughout the interview, he very positively even saw the gaming market. For him, the gaming market "buoys" such companies as AMD and NVIDIA as it keeps growing slowly over time; they have once lifted them even before the booms in crypto-currency and AI.
"You don't throw away what started you," he warned; to do so would be extremely shortsighted for hardware companies to throw away customers who play video games to get after volatile, higher-margin markets.
He finished that off by renewing his commitment to the hobby. "I still believe computing is the best hobby on the planet.... The only limit to PC gaming is your imagination."
