Questions: Technology & Internet

As y'all may already know, 6 core consumer CPUs have been out since 2017 (FX Bulldozer doesn't count), and system requirements have risen over time. Before for a long time, 4 cores was enough to max anything out on PC, and then in the last say 5 years 4 cores became the minimum and 6 cores recommended. I've noticed in the last 1-2 years though that now it's 6 cores as minimum and 8 cores as recommended, but some new games like Borderlands 4 now lists 8 cores for both! Hell, I've been using 8 core CPUs for all my phones in the last near decade.

Clearly having a hexa core processor won't be viable for long, so obviously for a future PC I'm gonna skip that altogether. I currently have a quad core CPU as my gaming laptop is from 2019, and from previous post (s), I've indicated dying thermals, age of hardware, and OS overhead (24H2) has caused it to lose performance. Being the stubborn boi that I am, I'll just double down on my now potato until 2027 or 2028, even though I can literally build my own PC currently for about a grand. Due to the tariff wars, I'd rather save money and not waste it unless needed.

I know that octa core is gonna be good to have for the next few years, but since I like to multi-task and I'll be doing more than just gaming, I think 8 cores might not be enough. If I had the money to, of course I'd go for 16 cores or higher, although I don't atm and who knows if my laptop will suddenly die on me eh? So if that happens and I'm forced to "prematurely" transition to desktop, I'll have to choose either 8 or 12 cores. I've already set my sights on either the Ryzen 7 9700X or Ryzen 9 9900X as my top contendors. Won't consider Intel because Core 13th and 14th Gen have QC issues, and Core Ultra just sucks.

Apparently an Electronics company in Sweden is so sure their products are a new form of contraception, that if you fall pregnant within 30 days, you can keep their TV or Computer, and they will refund your money.

Would you trust this form of Contraception?

I know that there's cheaper options like RX 9060 and RTX 5050, but 8GB VRAM is a joke and those GPUs are basically rebrands of RX 7600 XT (with less VRAM) and RTX 4060 respectively. Obviously I'm gonna go for the 16GB variants of RX 9060 XT or RTX 5060 Ti for a future PC build, although if my startup does take off soon and I get rich, then I'll go for a more high end build. I would go for a GPU with 12GB VRAM, but the RTX 3080 and RX 6750 XT are a bit outdated now. Meanwhile RTX 4070 and their variants are expensive, and RX 7700 XT doesn't really have any RT gains over RX 6750 XT.

People tend to prefer one or the other without switching more than once. What’s your preference?