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| CES 2026 took place from January 6 to 9 in Las Vegas, USA. |
Another CES has come and gone, flooding our feeds with futuristic gadgets, impossibly thin laptops, and smart appliances that promise to revolutionize our homes. For tech enthusiasts, it’s Christmas in January. But for PC gamers and DIY builders—the community that helped build giants like AMD and Nvidia—this year’s show felt strangely hollow.
Let’s be clear: we saw some incredible devices. Sleek gaming laptops packed with the latest screens and processors were everywhere. But when it came to the core components that fuel our desktop rigs—the graphics cards and CPUs we eagerly await—the silence from the two biggest players was deafening.
Nvidia, aside from announcing the iterative DLSS 4.5, had zero new GPU reveals. No RTX 5090, no 5080, not even rumored refreshes like RTX 50 Super cards. AMD, on the other hand, focused its firepower on AI-powered processors. They unveiled the Ryzen AI 400 series for laptops, more "AI Max+" chips, and a tantalizing but familiar Ryzen 7 9850X3D for desktops. While the 9850X3D will be a beast for gaming, it’s not based on a new CPU architecture, and its integrated graphics are unchanged. It’s an evolution, not a revolution.
So, what were they talking about if not gaming? One word: AI.
The obsession was quantified by the analysts at 3DCenter, who ran the numbers on the keynote word counts. The results are staggering:
- AMD used the word “AI” 214 times during its 114-minute presentation. That’s roughly 1.87 times per minute.
- Nvidia was equally focused, mentioning “AI” 136 times in 85 minutes, or 1.6 times per minute.
- Intel, for comparison, was the relative wallflower, saying “AI” a mere 55 times (1.33x per minute).
For a stark perspective, the word “gaming” was uttered zero times in Nvidia’s keynote and only three times each in AMD and Intel’s shows.
You can see the full, eye-opening breakdown from 3DCenter’s analysis here:
Embedded Tweet: (This is where you would embed the Twitter/X post from https://x.com/3DCenter_org/status/2009686860591710245. The visual chart of word frequency is highly effective.)
The message was unmistakable: AMD and Nvidia did their best to take the “Consumer” out of the Consumer Electronics Show. For companies whose foundations were poured by hardcore gamers and DIY enthusiasts, it’s a poignant and, frankly, disappointing shift.
Of course, this isn’t just about hurt feelings. These are publicly traded corporations chasing the biggest profits for their shareholders. The AI market is a gold rush, and they’re the ones selling the shovels. We get it.
But the real-world side effect for the average consumer is a market that feels neglected and is actively suffering. The AI boom’s insatiable demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced packaging is a key driver behind sky-high memory and SSD prices. It’s creating a looming shadow of GPU price hikes for the next generation, as the same silicon and resources are prioritized for data centers, not gaming cards.
The bad news might not stop there. Rumors are swirling that even memory manufacturer SK Hynix is considering exiting the consumer DRAM and NAND business to focus entirely on profitable AI memory products. If true, 2026 could see even tighter supply and higher prices for the components we need.
What Does This Mean for You, the Gamer?
It means the era of easy, annual flagship upgrades might be over, at least for now. It means being strategic and value-conscious with your builds. It also means that when a compelling current-gen card hits a good price, it might be wiser to jump on it than to wait indefinitely for a next-gen miracle.
For those looking for powerful performance without chasing the phantom of next-gen, last-generation flagships and well-priced current-gen cards are still incredible. If you’re in the market for a powerful GPU that delivers exceptional 1440p and solid 4K performance, consider checking out options like the PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9070 on Amazon.
The takeaway from CES 2026 is clear: the heart of the PC hardware industry is beating for a new master. For gamers, our role is to be savvy, patient, and vocal about what we want, because the companies we built are now looking the other way.