Computer Components & Accessories

ASUS ROG STRIX XG259QNS 1080P 380 Hz Monitor

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The ROG Strix XG259QNS was announced on February 5, 2024 by ASUS.  This 24.5″ 1080P IPS panel monitor is clearly target at gamers with its refresh rate of 380Hz and a response time of up to 0.3ms.  The brightness is adequate but not amazing at 400cd/m².  We wish it had HDMI 2.1 instead of 2.0.

The price is not known yet but the current XG259QN monitor with very similar specifications sells for $450 presently.  We also don’t know the release date but we expect it soon.

See ASUS’s specification page about this monitor for more information.

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The New Nvidia RTX 3050 Sub-$200 Graphics Card

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It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a video card from Nvidia for lower than $200.  But this is not an exciting card considering its specifications:

  • 2,048 or 2,304 Cuda cores (the previous 3050 had 2,560 Cuda cores)
  • 6GB of GDDR6 ram (the previous 3050 had 8gb)
  • 96-bit memory busy width (the previous 3050 has 128-bit)
  • Boost clock of 1,470 MHz (the previous 3050 has 1,777 MHz)
  • TGP of 70W (versus 130W of the previous 3050)
  • Approximate price of $179

However, it’s good to have options at this market segment.  This is probably okay as a budget 1080p card that will let you play games at medium settings.  It will definitely be an improvement over any integrated graphics.  But would would recommend you save up a bit more and get something that will last you for a longer period of time.  This is, after all, based on 3.5 year old architecture.

One interesting situation to consider is, do you buy a Ryzen 8700G or a cheap processor and a new Nvidia RTX 3050?  Trick question.  Wait for the 8700G to drop in price.

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AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D Reviews Begin to Roll In

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Image of a boxed AMD CPU

If you already have an AMD AM4 platform system or you’re trying to build a good budget gaming system then the $250 AMD Ryzen 5700X3D is a strong contender.  It beats out an Intel i5-13600KF on gaming benchmarks.

The 5800X3D costs 20% plus more and has a 15% performance advantage or so over the 5700X3D in gaming.  For most people’s use cases the 5700X3D should be more than fine and they won’t notice that 15% less.

It is a strange release this far into the AM4’s life cycle but we are not complaining!

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