Might want to add TSMC and the other silicon manufacturers to the ones shooting. The silicon cartel isn’t just a cog in the machine here, they’re also a large part of the ones behind it. That’s why they’re trying to lock in high pricing.
People keep blaming AI for the steam machine pricing but nobody is forcing the semiconductor and memory manufacturers to raise their prices. Most of the ram capacity is held up in non binding agreements. Furthermore most likely the ram manufacturers are artificially raising their prices to cash in on the AI boom.
(Yes AI does play a massive part here but they’re only half the problem).
If we didn’t have a literal silicon cartel who controls the whole world’s manufacturing it wouldn’t have happened in the first place. If there were more companies manufacturing semiconductors, or dare I say, they were nationalized and not for-profit companies. The option to buy up all silicon production in the world would be less feasible if even possible at all.
The problem is that a majority of the supply was bought out by AI companies who couldn’t compete by offering a better product, instead needing to make them be the only ones with hardware to run models. It isn’t a problem inherent to the technology, but one manufactured by American billionaires riding on over speculation while it’s still hot.
If anything, these companies are holding back machine learning from reaching its true potential by wasting all the hardware on overgeneralized slop. The most productive uses of machine learning aren’t most of what these fuckheads use it for or force down our throats. The increases in productivity for most uses of LLMs are marginal at best, while more specialized models can save orders of magnitude more time by doing very specific things. However, all that hardware being dedicated to corpo models makes it more expensive for people to run what they actually need.
If silicon was manufactured like any other technology, by thousands of companies all around the world, rather than by a handful of companies who all work together. Or even, by nationalized government branches, after all computers are a key piece of what makes modern life possible (not just for entertainment but to provide the services for a healthy and sanitary life). Then this whole fiasco wouldn’t be feasible or even possible. The silicon supply chain is fragile and there is little being done to fix that.
Plus, VALVe knows that people will defend anything they do and purchase anything they sell no matter the cost, while saying that VALVe is just a small indie company that needs their personal money.
Genuinely, half the shit VALVe gets away with would be talked endlessly if any other company did it. VALVe stans are the Disney adults of gaming culture.
Steam machine pricing maybe? AI caused the shortage of electronics and apparently steam people said they couldnt afford to sell the machine at the price they planned
It’s adequately priced in the market and sold out on release. It ain’t dead.
AI hate bros are pushing this narrative because they don’t like the supply shortage.
The RAM and semiconductor industry are like a massive container ship. Difficult to get going and all but nimble. But they deliver a product at very low prices. People are asking them to turn on the spot and offended and entitled when they are told that that’s impossible.
In particular ram and memory are produced at very tight margins and well matched to demand enabling them to be(were) this dirt cheap for a ridiculous product.
It would take longer to produce more stock than the time to what’s going to happen next.
Why is steam being killed by AI?
The absurdly high price of the Steam Machine is because of the AI
Might want to add TSMC and the other silicon manufacturers to the ones shooting. The silicon cartel isn’t just a cog in the machine here, they’re also a large part of the ones behind it. That’s why they’re trying to lock in high pricing.
Yeah that doesn’t make sense at all
People keep blaming AI for the steam machine pricing but nobody is forcing the semiconductor and memory manufacturers to raise their prices. Most of the ram capacity is held up in non binding agreements. Furthermore most likely the ram manufacturers are artificially raising their prices to cash in on the AI boom.
(Yes AI does play a massive part here but they’re only half the problem).
If we didn’t have a literal silicon cartel who controls the whole world’s manufacturing it wouldn’t have happened in the first place. If there were more companies manufacturing semiconductors, or dare I say, they were nationalized and not for-profit companies. The option to buy up all silicon production in the world would be less feasible if even possible at all.
The problem is that a majority of the supply was bought out by AI companies who couldn’t compete by offering a better product, instead needing to make them be the only ones with hardware to run models. It isn’t a problem inherent to the technology, but one manufactured by American billionaires riding on over speculation while it’s still hot.
If anything, these companies are holding back machine learning from reaching its true potential by wasting all the hardware on overgeneralized slop. The most productive uses of machine learning aren’t most of what these fuckheads use it for or force down our throats. The increases in productivity for most uses of LLMs are marginal at best, while more specialized models can save orders of magnitude more time by doing very specific things. However, all that hardware being dedicated to corpo models makes it more expensive for people to run what they actually need.
If silicon was manufactured like any other technology, by thousands of companies all around the world, rather than by a handful of companies who all work together. Or even, by nationalized government branches, after all computers are a key piece of what makes modern life possible (not just for entertainment but to provide the services for a healthy and sanitary life). Then this whole fiasco wouldn’t be feasible or even possible. The silicon supply chain is fragile and there is little being done to fix that.
Plus, VALVe knows that people will defend anything they do and purchase anything they sell no matter the cost, while saying that VALVe is just a small indie company that needs their personal money.
Genuinely, half the shit VALVe gets away with would be talked endlessly if any other company did it. VALVe stans are the Disney adults of gaming culture.
If you offer a fungible good at limited quantities there will be a long waiting list or randomness in who gets one and scalpers.
Why are you asking them to donate their income to your personal enjoyment?
These companies are keeping inventory low on purpose to cash in. There’s even a lawsuit now against them colluding to inflate their prices.
I don’t believe that lawsuit is based in fact.
If you do it but hide the evidence well, are you guilty?
Nu uh! It’s a Zionist conspiracy to oppress the lower class! Marl Karx says RAM will be free once we sacrifice enough Kulaks to the Communism god!
It can be both.
Steam machine pricing maybe? AI caused the shortage of electronics and apparently steam people said they couldnt afford to sell the machine at the price they planned
It’s adequately priced in the market and sold out on release. It ain’t dead.
AI hate bros are pushing this narrative because they don’t like the supply shortage.
The RAM and semiconductor industry are like a massive container ship. Difficult to get going and all but nimble. But they deliver a product at very low prices. People are asking them to turn on the spot and offended and entitled when they are told that that’s impossible.
In particular ram and memory are produced at very tight margins and well matched to demand enabling them to be(were) this dirt cheap for a ridiculous product.
It would take longer to produce more stock than the time to what’s going to happen next.
Schrodingers steam machine
How much of those reserves are from scalpers i wonder.
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