How can you expect yourself to integrate well into any conversation when you're fixated on "well technically..."
If 99% of people colloquially agree that A = B, then it doesn't really matter if 'A' and 'B' are really the same thing if everybody knows what we're talking about. It's the most obnoxious shit when someone tries to argue in this way, and you're not convincing anybody or adding anything meaningful to the discussion.
I've bought pretty expensive equipment, tube amplifier, many fancy headphones, optical DACs. A library full of FLAC files. I even purchased a $500 portable DAP. I've never been able to reliably tell a difference between FLAC and 320k MP3 files. At this point, it really doesn't concern me anymore either, but I at least like to see my fancy tube amp light up.
I will say, though, $300 seems to be the sweet-spot for headphones for me.
A long time ago when they used the 1-5 star system, I think it was
I totally get it. I think the whole Xbox vs PC vs PS thing has always been annoying. If you just want something simple and cost-effective that works well, you do you.
How am I supposed to carry my 40-count toilet paper pack for my big fat American ass? I'll have to use my daily commuter tractor trailer
I don't say this to promote fossil fuels whatsoever, but different fossil fuels are better or worse in different ways. Natural gas IIRC is one of the worst fossil fuels for greenhouse gas emissions short-term, especially with leaks and partially combusted fuel, but it dissipates much faster than the alternatives, with much lower CO2 emissions as well (something like 7 year half-life vs a thousand years). It's definitely not clean and comes with its own set of problems, but let's not assume all fossil fuels are created equal.
I am 100% for switching away from all fossil fuels, and I don't like natural gas being advertised as "clean", but I feel this is important to note.
What's your full setup? I've been running a 5 year old mid-tier AMD CPU, 16gb DDR4, and a 2080 super for the past several years on 1440p ultra-wide. I can get 60Hz at max settings on most AAA titles, and stable 100+Hz on moderate-high settings.
I don't plan on upgrading for a couple more years, and even then I'll probably keep my CPU until the mobo or CPU dies, just upgrading the GPU. I've never felt compelled to upgrade any other components. Hell, my PSU and original SSD are both almost 10 years old (yes I know I need to switch those out shortly)
But yeah if you're starting fresh, price to performance with consoles is always better. But it sounds like you've got set up already. I do totally agree with you on the GPU market, though. It's been ridiculous for years, I keep hoping for the market to settle some
For this specifically, "Traitorous Critic Fallacy". More broadly, an Ad Hominem argument.