In this episode of The Full Nerd, Gordon Ung, Brad Chacos, Alaina Yee, and Adam Patrick Murray dive into a new world where Apple ditched Intel and Nvidia’s potent GeForce RTX 2080 Super GPUs slip into svelte sub-5 lb. laptops.

Of course, the big news of the week is Apple ditching Intel and transitioning Macs to in-house Arm chips. We dive into the implications for Mac users and the PC ecosystem alike, leaning on what we know from Microsoft’s struggles to make Windows Arm laptops a thing worth caring about. This is a defining moment for computers, and we each feel passionately about the shift, so there’s a lot of wide-ranging, interesting discussion. Regardless, history proves you shouldn’t buy an Intel Mac now.

After that, we discuss Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q and the importance of laptop thermal design, sharing insights learned from our recent MSI GS66 Stealth, Acer Predator Triton 500, and Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 GX550 reviews. Bottom line: Thermal design matters so much that if you’re shopping for a sub-5 lb. gaming laptop with a GeForce RTX 2080 Super inside, you’re probably better off opting for a Core i7 system than a Core i9 system if higher frame rates are your primary goal. Shoving a Core i9 into such a tiny system results in better CPU performance, but requires so much more cooling attention that graphics performance suffers.

Speaking of which, be sure to check out our first installment of Gordon’s interview with Dell Thermal Engineering Technologist Travis North. It’s incredibly insightful, and there’s much more to come soon!

And as always, we fielded questions from you, our viewers, listeners, and Discord members. Passions flare when we’re asked to rank our favorite Batman actors.

You can witness it all in the video embedded above. You can also watch The Full Nerd episode 143 on YouTube (subscribe to the channel while you’re there!) or listen to it on Soundcloud if you prefer the audio alone. 

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