Every time we do a $5,000 AMD Ultimate
Tech upgrade for a member of our team, it's totally different. But there's one
thing that they all have in common. There's too much darn random stuff. But
not this day. John, lab senior test
technician extraordinaire. He knows how to keep things focused.
He's going to be improving both his gaming and home theater experiences in
ways that really matter with major enhancements to his VR, racing, and
couch setups that might inspire some tried and trueue upgrades for all of
you. Zero fufu, zero BS. There's lots of
fru, but it's just not part of the upgrade.
>> Oh yeah, I see that. Oh my god,
this is as bad as Brian the electrician. [laughter]
That's a lot of coolers. >> Yes, I'm I'm aware.
>> I went through a thermal right phase for a little while. >> What does that even mean? Okay, we're
going to Oh my god. Oh, no way. [gasps]
You still have a shield. NVIDIA would like to convince you that a shield is a
media box that you hook up to your TV. No, dog. This is a shield. This I get
keeping, but why all these boxes? They have motherboards in them. That's really
not answering the question. [laughter] Why do you still have them?
>> Because I like having a junkyard. >> I'm almost afraid to see what else we're
gonna find around here. But hey, you know what they say. If you find a job
doing what you love, you never work a day in your life. Clearly testing
hardware is what he would be doing anyway if he wasn't at work. So like
even his garbage is all tech. What the heck?
>> [music]
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link in the description. Do it now or just wait and watch the rest of the
video. And then you do it. But don't forget. Wait, you have an Odyssey arc.
This is Is this in here? >> Yep. That's from the Christmas party.
>> Christmas was 10 and 1/2 months ago. >> Yeah.
>> You haven't opened it? Oh, I've opened it. I just don't use it. [snorts]
[laughter] Wow, you were overdue for a TV upgrade.
Insignia quality. That Odyssey Arc would
have gone great there. But the new LG 77
in is going to be dynamite or C4 rather.
It's a C4 model OLED. Woo! >> Oh my. What doesn't need an upgrade is
this [music] sick cable management system. Dude, did you do this yourself?
>> Yeah. >> Yeah, I know. [laughter]
>> But it's still cool. >> I got new cables FOR IT, THOUGH. >> OH, NOW THIS is a console that I can get
into. A man of good taste. Donkey Kong
Country 3. Donkey Kong Country 2. Donkey
Kong Country. How much of the game collection is
collection versus how much of it is just yours that you used to play and you
still play or don't still play? >> Half and half. A lot of the NES stuff is
newer, [music] actually. >> Oh, sucks. That's what happens when we
do 4 days of painting and cleaning. >> Wait, [snorts]
you were cleaning this place for 4 days before I came in?
>> Yeah. You should have seen it before.
>> No, I should not. >> David knows what it looks like. He's
done a lot of work. These walls, this is
basically what the entire house looked like up until a few days ago,
>> right? This is really exciting. This may
be the highest [music] price to weight ratio of anything anyone has ever bought
for an AMD ultimate tech upgrade. How stoked are you?
>> Pretty good. Like, like compared to my CV1, it should be amazing.
>> Oh, you haven't even broken the seal on this. You didn't cheat. >> No.
>> So, you have no idea what this looks like even? >> No. Everyone opens it ahead of time
because they're like, "Oh, I'm so excited to try it." How do you have this
kind of discipline? The Big Screen Beyond 2 is arguably the Halo headset
right now. Dual 2560x 2560 OLED displays
at up to 90 Hz, 116° field of view,
fully custom gasket. Like, go ahead. No,
no, no. Put Put it on your eyes for a sec. Put on your eyes for a second. Like, John, would you be able to tell if
I was like moving around like a wild man? only because of the wind.
>> You use an iPhone to scan your face and
then they make a perfect match for your face. Total weight of this $107 g. So,
you must be thinking there's got to be a downside, right?
>> No. >> Well,
$1,200. >> I mean, true.
[laughter and gasps] >> Okay. Should we get it set up? >> Yeah. >> One small problem. It doesn't come
[music] with trackers. It doesn't come with controllers for that price. So,
when we showed you guys the pile of John's upgrade, the vast majority of it
was base station 2.0's and I assume these
are Knuckles controllers. >> Yep. >> You mentioned that power in this place
is a little bit [clears throat] built in the 1960s. Do you have a plan for
running 12vt for your three base stations? >> Yep. Those extensions that we got
>> um those will be able to run to the power under there.
>> Cool. And then the idea is to have two in the front and one in the back to
handle any just occlusions. >> Yep. >> And what's your primary use for VR?
>> A bit of everything. Uh sim racing, you
know, playing shooter games, playing rhythm [music] games, stuff,
>> right? And there the sock there.
>> You know, you don't have to say it. >> Definitely [laughter] not. >> You don't have to say it. You don't have
to say it. We're going to need to upgrade your PC because you're running
VR on >> 3070. >> Oh, okay. That's not too bad.
>> But this will be a very substantial upgrade. >> Oh, yeah. >> Going to a 9070 XT. AMD's top of the
line right now. >> That's plus 6,000. >> Well, not quite how it works, but thank
you, David. >> Why don't I start with the headset then,
and you can start with the base stations. >> Sure. >> Are these O-rings?
>> Uh, I think so. [laughter] It was actually really cheap, too. It
was like 15 bucks for that whole setup. >> It's Is it designed for this?
>> Yeah. >> Huh. >> Yeah. It's a kit. I saw the box for it somewhere. >> Do you want the step ladder?
>> You should probably use the step. >> Yeah. This doesn't feel like the world's
strongest couch. >> Let's test it out. >> How set and forget are these guys? Cuz
compared to the Oculuses where you have to fuss around with a lot, is it just
kind of aim in a general direction, you're good? >> Yeah. They're not the most reliable
things in the world. I've had a couple of them die over the years cuz there's
mechanical parts like it's spinning while it scans the room. But
>> are these third party mounts? >> Yes. >> Oh, are these just the ones you were using before?
>> Yes. >> Oh, brilliant. >> Yeah. So, you can actually undo them and
orient them however you want. >> Brilliant. I can't believe as someone who uses VR a lot, you're still rocking
CV1 and then [music] stepping all the way up to this is like a multiple
generation leap like >> Yeah. I mean, CB1's been working just
fine for what I do. >> I know, but how are you so chill about this? You're gonna be less chill when
you turn it on. I can say that much. >> Is this magnetic or
>> No, they're screwed in. >> It's moving. >> One out of three screws.
>> Yeah. On those two, I only put one in because the front ones were so
temperamental with getting the alignment proper that I just was like, I'm not
even going to bother doing the other screws and just kept doing this until it worked.
>> Should I just get this TV off the wall? Like, do we just >> do we just go for it at this point?
Yeah, we can full send it. >> Just be careful with the all the extra
cables. >> Yeah, I'm working on it. I'm cooking. Should we unbox the new TV?
>> Yeah. >> I guess this is a good time for us to talk about his TV choice. John, what
made you choose the 77in C4? >> Uh, it was nice and cheap and it's
beautiful.
>> Surely, there must have been a little bit more thought process. >> The generation of the panel is pretty
[music] decent, >> right? This is just the last generation panel, which is not quite as bright
[music] as the newest one, but dude,
very bright. And let's face it, you never draw those blinds.
>> No.
>> What are the odds that the threading of the new vase amount is the same as the
threading of the old vase amount? >> M6 is pretty common for these. >> Yeah, it's either M6 or M8. Usually,
it's more of like if the length is correct.
Um, wow. This is a much larger TV than what you had, and that space is not any
larger than it was before. Um, >> it should just fit. >> This is going to be very awkward. Not
the most awkward thing I've ever done while upgrading someone's space. Roll
the Kyle Bitw thing. >> So, I can't see what I'm doing at all.
>> You're You got to go down. >> I got to go down. I'm on, though. I
don't think I can move. >> I just got to go down here. >> Okay.
>> Now, we just got to angle it. >> Yeah. >> Well, hold on. We probably want to center it. That looks pretty close.
>> Now, I know you're a man who owns at least 11 tape measures.
>> Yes. >> So, you're not going to use one? >> Yeah, I'll deal with it later.
>> If you want to get to know John a little bit more, maybe check out his meet the team where we ask him personal questions
over at LMG.gg/flatplane.
>> It's from the office. >> What? >> Yeah, it's from the office. This is from
the office. >> This is from the office. That's from the office. >> That's from the office.
>> There's There's asset tags on your PS3. Wait, >> this is from the office.
>> Wait. Okay, hold on. No,
>> you guys. You guys put asset tags on
everything and this is the first upgrade that I don't go around and look for all
the stolen stuff. >> I didn't put anything on anything. So, >> no, wait.
>> No one in this room threw anything on anything. And I promise you that. >> What? These are all from the office. No,
cuz we would never put the asset tag there. >> Why not? >> Because it's on the front of the case.
They don't do that. >> You think you work in logistics? [music] You think you know where we put the stickers? What are you talking about?
>> I think I wrote I worked in logistics. I wrote the guidelines for where they're
supposed to go. >> Oh, well, we don't read those. I'm sorry. >> Okay. Where did all these inventory
stickers come from? >> They're just a meme. >> You should try and find all of them.
>> I saw one on the floor earlier. >> That one's actually a real one.
>> Yeah, the floor belongs to the office.
>> Linus sized. Regular sized.
>> Actually, that might be the height of Linus. [laughter]
>> You [music] are perfectly adequate.
Well, this side's higher. That's higher.
>> Yeah, this side's [music] higher. No, >> wait. >> I think you're opposite.
>> Well, that side's higher. >> There you go. [laughter]
>> Are we level? No. >> How far off is it? I mean, it's closer
than it was. >> It's pointed at the ceiling now, [music]
though. That's the problem. >> Is it on? >> Oh god, >> that looks tilted down nicely.
>> And it looks so level. Wow. Don't even use the level. It looks amazing.
>> IT'S PERFECTLY LEVEL. >> WOW. >> OKAY, so that was a lie. Like, do you
care if it's level? >> No, it's not a lie. It's perfect. And that's the facts.
>> Oh, David's already walking away. >> Oh, it's pretty bad, guys. How are we so
bad at this? [laughter] >> I mean, this was just a shot in the
dark. >> This What DO YOU MEAN? >> DON'T POINT AT ME, BRO. >> You made the adjustment.
>> That's insanity. >> The problem with this mount is that after I tighten it, it completely moves.
>> Yeah. Carpenter blames his tools recent. Shut the [laughter]
All right. Good. >> That looks pretty good. That looks
really good. And what do you know? It's perfect. If you're happy, I'm happy.
Continuing our theme of only half finishing anything that we do, let's
figure out how we're going to power the VR headset and this TV.
Wow, that's a lot of dust. >> Yeah, that's what happens when you sand
for 4 days. >> CPU, I guess, is fine. If it was
>> It's a 5700 X 3D. >> Okay, CPU is very fine. All we got
[music] to do is >> pump this guy. 16 gigs of VRAM, RDNA4 architecture. I
mean, you work in the lab. You can tell them about it better than I can.
>> I'd rather not. I like it when you say it. >> You [laughter]
>> Why did you choose this particular card from Gigabyte? >> Um, it's a little bit lower profile on
the heat sink. Uh, because we have a little bit of clearance problems with
that case. >> So, you're saying being a little bit on the short side can be an advantage
>> on rare occasions? Yes. >> Nice. I'm going to need a different
screwdriver. This is one of those rare cases, pun intended, where the bit
holder makes it so you can't get through the thing. >> I've got a prototype screwdriver we
could try. >> A prototype screwdriver. >> Yes. I got this from Robert about a year
ago. >> Oh, yeah. This is never going to see the light of day.
>> Yeah. >> Nice. [music] It should just fit.
>> She's toy like a toy. It really speaks
to the longevity of these X3D chips that you can have one that's now [music] a
few generations old and still just like Yeah. Okay. Yeah. modern VR gaming.
Definitely. >> Yeah. >> Handle it. No problem. >> She's in. >> There we go. She's looking beautiful. Do
>> see how See how close that is, though? Like [snorts] barely fits.
>> Oh, wow. That's really tight. Yeah. You did not have any margin to go with
anything taller. >> Yep.
Short King GPU. >> Do you have an air compressor or
anything? >> Oh, yeah.
>> All right. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.
Now, you've mentioned VR racing a lot. >> Mhm. >> And you've actually got some racing
chair stuff as part of this. What is this? >> It's a direct drive wheelbase.
>> How much better is this than what you had before? It it'll try to snap your
wrists, I guess. >> Is that good? >> Yeah. You get more um direct feel of the
car. >> Right. Right. Right. Right. >> So when you go over curbs and stuff, you
actually get a lot more shift. >> It's time for a montage of putting everything plugged in.
>> Oh yeah. Sick.
>> What do you want to try first? VR couch.
other VR >> or other more different VR but with a wheel. >> I mean, technically you could just use
the TV for that, too. >> Yeah. Well, what would you do? Show us
what John would do. >> I mean, we could watch some movies or something.
>> It was so much better,
>> I feel like the only proper movie to watch is, of course, pure ownage.
>> You don't have a Blu-ray of total pwnage or whatever.
>> Excuse me. What did you just call it? Pwnage is [laughter] how you pronounce it if you're a
>> if you're opposing. [snorts] >> No, I know that it's supposed to be
onage. It's based on a typo, but the typo happened. When ever has P been
pronounced as O in the English language, sir, >> it's not English. It's Le speak.
>> Are you Wait, hold on. Were you telling me that I said pwnage wrong?
>> No, he's saying you're supposed to ownage. You're insane. >> Onage. You're insane.
>> It's not. It says who, dude. >> Did you say GIF or GIF? >> Well, GIF, obviously.
>> What the [ __ ] [ __ ] sicko. John,
>> what time am I living? >> As the actual owner of the movie
pronounced >> pure own it. >> Thank you.
>> Boomers. Dude, >> you need to actively get this. >> Yeah, I wouldn't say it's the prettiest
movie I've ever seen. >> Then in editing, >> can we watch something in 4K?
>> I guess this is such a big upgrade.
>> This may be the single largest leap in TV performance that anyone has ever
gotten in one of these upgrades. Of course, that TV isn't even the best
looking display in this room. That award goes to
>> No, I want to see you do it. You put it up there.
>> Yeah, I had the couch and the step stool. >> You can do it. I believe in you. Just
don't scratch lenses. >> Well, yeah. No, I really don't want to do that. Yeah, you should get it. Oh, we
didn't take the peels off, John. >> Maybe I want to return it. >> What? [laughter] What are the odds,
dude? This thing is incredible. But also he does want to return it because we
meant to order the eyetracking version and didn't get that one. What do you
need eyetracking for? You big VR chat guy. >> No, it's for fiated rendering.
>> What PC applications support that? >> A lot of games are starting to do that
because VR got really picked up. It's slowly becoming more of a thing. You can
also do it through certain apps that do translation [music] layers. And we also
have super highresolution VR headsets
that are at the point now where even top tier GPUs are going to struggle if
you're not using foviated rendering. So if you're not familiar, foviated [music]
rendering takes the part of the image that you're looking at renders it at
full resolution so it looks sharp to your eyes and then everywhere else
renders it at with a little bit less fidelity to save on some of the uh GPU
overhead. Big screen includes a handful of useful settings you can tune. You can
adjust the overall display brightness. So, they'll let you overdrive it.
[music] Just understand it is an OLED, so that can have consequences, including
making the fans in the VR headset work a little bit harder. And you can also
adjust the maximum refresh rate. So, at 75 Hz, you're able to run without
display stream compression, [music] but at 90 Hz, you're going to need some DSC.
Personally, I don't notice a difference, and I would much rather have the
additional smoothness, but your mileage [music] may vary. You can also update
the firmware. Uh, we should probably do that. While we're waiting for the firmware to update, we can check out
John's new controllers.
Wow, these feel a lot nicer when they're new. The big innovation with Valve's
Knuckles controllers was this strap that appropriately goes over your knuckles.
You tighten that up and it gives you full finger presence in VR, allowing you
to grasp objects, operate tools and
weaponry and that kind of cool stuff. And uh I also really liked how much
lighter they were and the difference in their weight distribution for a Beat Saber, which is my big VR killer app.
Here we go. [snorts] Huge moment. We've
worked hard for this. Oh yeah, that looks way nicer.
Sharpness-wise, it's significantly better.
>> I should hope so. He seems perfectly happy to just like play with his VR and
we all just get the out of his house. But we have to do one more thing, John.
Then we'll leave you alone. >> That's fine. John, you're going to have to come out
of there. >> You know, for someone who's not that
excited about it, he sure doesn't want to take it off. How's the wheel feel?
>> Nice and tight. I probably going to have to adjust like the um
the angle and stuff a little bit. >> I bet we could just leave
and he wouldn't notice.
He doesn't show the excitement on the outside, but Buddy's like locked in.
This is what excitement looks like for John.
Focus. He's got the focus. Now is focused on making this a pretty sick
tech upgrade. We got the TV. We got the VR upgrade. We got the freaking racing
wheel upgrade and that was it.
But look how happy he is.
Thanks AMD for making this series possible, dude. Seriously
making gamer dreams come true. If you guys enjoyed this video, check out
Robert's upgrade. It was a lot more off
topic, but funny. >> Maybe the opposite of this one.
>> Yeah.