As AI supply disruptions grip the market, almost two thirds of PC owners have no plans to upgrade

Parroted as the end-all, be-all of modern living, AI has proved to be more of a nuisance to everyone and, ironically, has hit tech enthusiasts the hardest. Instead of bettering their day-to-day, AI is only helping to surge prices and make them unavailable to the general populace while big-name corporations rake in the surplus and enjoy the shortage.

And that leaves you, the average Joe, unable to go in and buy new components or bring your machine up to snuff since some corporation out there (cough, OpenAI, cough) said “pretty please” to all the RAM manufacturers, and all of them somehow jumped ship and started only selling to them (who weren’t actually buying them, just promising that they would, maybe).

Now, according to Tom’s Hardware, 60 percent of PC owners have no plans to upgrade over the next two years. That is the result of a survey of 1,500 Tom’s Hardware readers done over the last couple of weeks, thus reflecting the current state of PC enthusiasm or lack thereof.

What’s even more interesting is just how few people are planning to actually kit out their PC with some shiny new tech within the next year or less. Only 25 percent are aiming to upgrade by this time next year, while only four percent are wishing to do the same throughout the next 90 days. Now those are some alarming numbers. I’ll tell you what.

But they’re not surprising whatsoever. Everything is more expensive now, and not only RAM. Anything that contains any sort of memory within it (read: almost every piece of tech under the sun) has seen a marked rise in costs. While most are reflecting on RAM, we’ve seen an unthinkable uptick in SSD and storage prices overall, with older generations of CPUs also on the rise as new buyers are desperately trying to go back to “cheaper” alternatives.

The cheapest 32GB DDR5 kit I could find on Amazon at the moment sits at $359, while the most popular option is $431. The latter is a pair of 16GB Corsair Vengeance 6000MHz sticks, which last January were priced at $91, or nearly five times less.

As for DDR4, a pair of G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB 3200MHz sticks is $259, whereas it was $46.99 just over a year ago, or around 5.5 times more.

DDR4-compatible CPUs like the 5800X3D aren’t even available new on Amazon as of this article, and neither are DDR5 ones like the 9800X3D.

The sharp and rapid rise in memory prices seems to have stabilized near the start of this year, as a lot of funding uncertainties have hit the AI industry. However, with governments around the world now all growing myopic and not seeing the forest for the trees, we’re only going to get into even more hot water as time goes by. Data centers are being approved across the globe, and especially in economic powerhouses like the US.

And that means more trouble than just tech prices. Gas, water, and electricity are all about to skyrocket, and that is if the grid even supports it. I’m being a little more pessimistic than I perhaps should be, but looking at the worst-case scenario (which is becoming more and more apparent by the hour) is the only way we can actually regard this situation.

It’s going to take some time to build these centers and make them operational, and once they’re all up and running within the next couple of years, you can bet that buying RAM is going to become a thing of the long-lost past.

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The Tadpole is your best friend when it comes to deep-sea exploration in Subnautica 2, and we can improve it with some extremely useful upgrades. The upgrades come in different shapes and sizes, but they all improve your submarine in one way or another.

You’ll have to find all the upgrade modules manually, and this guide is here to help you out.

How to find all Tadpode upgrades in Subnautica 2

Before I dive deep, you should note that there’s no fixed way to find these upgrade modules. My sequence is the most optimum one, and you’ll save a lot of time.

Scout Ray Chassis location

This is the only upgrade module that’s not located around the Alien Ruins Research Outpost. Instead, you’ll need to head to the Tadpole Pens in the warm area of the ocean. Head inside, and continue on the straight path. You’ll find the Scout Ray in the Moonpool; scan with your scanner, and we are done.

I highly recommend upgrading to the Scout Ray if you’ve th resources. This chassis gives a huge speed bump to your Tadpole, and it will help save a lot of time during the next steps.

Engine Efficiency upgrade location

Head east from your Lifepod and you’ll find the Alien Ruins Research Outpost at approximately 1300m. Head inside, and turn right. You’ll find the Engine Efficiency upgrade module.

Strike Armor upgrade location

From the Research Outpost, travel between 195 and 210 degrees on the compass. You should aim for a depth of approximately 190m (go gradually instead of taking a sharp dive).

You’ll find the platform with the Strike Armor upgrade at around 60m from the outpost.

Cavitation Muffler upgrade location

This is the furthest upgrade module to find. Return to the front of the outpost. Head to deeper depths while aiming at around 75 degrees east on the compass. You’ll come across the above structure in the image (this is the Power Center). Go past the arc shown in the picture, and then past the pillar.

The screen will become greener, and you’ll find a set of colorful alien plants to your right. Keep to your left, and keep going deeper targetting around 350m of depth. At around 370m of depth, you’ll find a platform on the edge of the cliff on the left (it’s extremely close to the early access area boundary).

Here, you’ll find the Cavitation Muffler upgrade. You should return to the Outpost after obtaining this module.

Photovoltaic Charger upgrade location

Head towards 120 degrees on the compass from the outpost. You’ll find the Blackbox – Iso marker that you should use as your guide. Keep a steady depth of 120m and head straight. You’ll come across an Alterra starship wreck. Park your Tadpole and head inside using the door on the left.

Head straight, turn right, and you’ll find a broken door. Repair the door, and head inside. Then turn left and go to the next room. Take the door to the left corner, and you’ll come across the room with the ISO. The module is diagonally opposite to the dining table that has the ISO on it.

Depth Module Mk. I upgrade location

Return to the front of the Research Outpost. Aim at 165 degrees on the compass, and you’ll find the Blackbox – Ruby 2 pop up on your screen. Head to the spot and reach the bottom layer of the location. You can enter through the broken rocks; I entered through a narrow spot on the left (leave your Tadpole), and you’ll find Ruby 2’s black box.

You’ll also find a broken-down Tadpole, with the Depth Module Mk. 1 beside it.

Haul Chassis upgrade locations

To get the Haul Chassis, you’ll need to scan three fragments. The first one is located just by the Depth Module Mk. 1 upgrade. Once done, return to the Research Outpost and head straight targeting between East and 105 degrees on the compass.

Go past the dome of the Power Center (stick strictly to 105 degrees now), and head straight. Keep heading straight, and you’ll reach another Alterra shipwreck at about 200m depth.

The second Haul Chassis part is on a platform to the left.

To find the final one, you can refer to this guide, which states the location of the final Angel Comb. You’ll want to go past the Angel Comb and head straight, following the root until you reach an acidic pool.

Look to your left past the alien structures after entering the pool room, and you’ll find your final chassis part.

Complete the scan, and your Tadpole will now be able to equip the Haul Chassis.

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