The digression 77 When AI eats the graphics cards

Christmas of 1992.
A 386SX with 25 MHz, 2 MB RAM and a 100 MB hard drive moves in – and changes everything.

This episode is about technological leaps in time. From the first almond bread in GW-BASIC, which took up to 90 minutes without a mathematical coprocessor, to the first 2,400-bit modem and mailbox nights, to today's system with i9-13900K, 64 GB of RAM and multiple NVMe SSDs, which shifts 1 GB in 0.15 seconds.

But it doesn't stay with nostalgia.

We talk about the current graphics card and storage crisis with AI data centres, CUDA cores, energy consumption, overclocked data centre hardware from the Far East – and whether small, efficient systems such as a Raspberry Pi with AI head can be the smarter alternative in the long term.

How does technological development feel when you have witnessed it from the beginning?
What does 30 years of computing power mean in real numbers?
And why isn't the move from the 387SX coprocessor to local AI agents as big as it seems?

A calm, personal sequence between retro computing, market analysis and vision of the future.

🎙 Chronological thematic structure

1️⃣ Entry - Current hardware reality

  • Price explosion for graphics cards, RAM and SSDs
  • AI data centers as drivers of scarcity
  • Personal experience with GPU price development
  • Nvidia H100 & professional AI hardware

2️⃣ Review - The First PC (1992)

  • Christmas of 1992: 386SX 25 MHz
  • 2 MB RAM, 100 MB HDD, 512 kB graphics card
  • SX vs. DX Difference
  • Meaning of this moment

3️⃣ memory sizes then vs. today

  • 100 MB "will never be full"
  • Software, games, programming environments
  • Compared to 8 TB SSD
  • Factor comparisons (capacity & speed)

4️⃣ First programming experience

  • GW-BASIC
  • Almond bread fractal
  • 90 minutes render time
  • Mathematical Coprocessor (387SX)
  • Performance gain and mindblowing moment

5 ️⃣ The Mailbox era

  • 2.400 Bit/s Modem
  • dial-in, telephone costs, second line
  • BBS & Community Feeling
  • Digital youth of an analogue generation

6 ️⃣ Technological evolutionary leap

  • From minutes to seconds (1 GB copy)
  • 386SX vs. i9-13900K
  • 2 MB vs. 64 GB RAM
  • Hardware exponential leap over 30 years

7️⃣ Modern GPU architecture & AI

  • Why AI runs on GPUs
  • CUDA cores vs. classic CPUs
  • Video rendering & transcription
  • Lane Limitations & Multi-GPU Approach
  • Wear and tear of data center hardware

8️⃣ Energy & Efficiency

  • 800-1000 watts under full load
  • Electricity prices & real costs
  • Power saving mode & Process distribution
  • Windows vs. Linux Efficiency

9 ️⃣ Alternative concepts

  • Raspberry Pi + AI-Head
  • 40 TOPS at 2-3 watts
  • Operate small language models locally
  • Slow but efficient processing

🔟 Future & personal reflection

  • Own AI agents in the home network
  • Automated processes & voice control
  • Development of teenager with 386SX
  • Where does the journey go?
  • Heating with hardware?


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Contributors to this episode


Number of downloads: 281
Playing time: 0:36:21
Date of admission: 18.02.26
This episode is from season 4, there are a total of 4 seasons.


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Author: Sascha Markmann

Sascha Markmann is a creative mind with a moving biography – and a person who has rediscovered life after a stroke. After working as a paramedic and elderly caregiver, Sascha found his way into creative expression. As a blogger, podcaster, musician and visual storyteller, he brings together things that just don't fit at first glance: He combines his keen enthusiasm for technology – from self-hosted servers to electronic music production – with emotional depth and an oblique sense of humor. His contributions are somewhere between borderline, acid basslines and assistance – honestly, directly and with a wink. Guiding principle: “Audio-visual dullness with no usefulness – but perhaps that's why it's so valuable.”

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