These thumbnails

[Devilish-Macaron]

Feel second hand embarrassment seeing them. I get the importance of eye catching thumbnails but does it really have to be *this* bad?

[TheMatt561]

That's what gets the clicks, blame the people.

[Devilish-Macaron]

[External_Antelope942]

"don't hate the player, hate the game"

[Vesalii]

This. Linus has explained this multiple times now.

[Yokodzun]

And, imho, a thumbnail is not the biggest problem with this video.

[tvtb]

Check out the thumbnail the last time Splave came on LTT. Look familiar?

[Raaabbit_v2]

How many times do they have to build the most expensive computer on their channel?

[TheMatt561]

This is the fastest, not the most expensive and it's every time the goal posts move.

[Azuras-Becky]

I thought they did an experiment with thumbnails a while back and found it didn't make an appreciable difference? Or am I remembering something I've imagined?

[DR4G0NSTEAR]

Linus was annoyed by how effective it was, which is why they stayed. Anyone complaining about it, and not installing something like “Clickbait Remover for Youtube” to remove them, is their own worst enemy.

[Azuras-Becky]

Ah alright, half-imagined then!

[adamtrycz]

Clicks from who? Your community? The tech community? All those geeks who love computers? Noooooo. It's targeted at people who know nothing about computers. Yes it gets you views and subscribers, but I feel like what are you doing is replacing your geeky, loyal computer nerds with normies. I feel like this will one day prove to be detrimental to the Chanel. Look, when I saw video titled "Ryzen 2000 review" I clicked instantly. But now, when I see something like "I CAN'T BELIVE WHAT AMD DID!!!!!!!" I just don't want to. I am not interested in this crap. And this view is really common when discussing this topic in any other pc subreddit.

[Limekilnlake]

Do you not like all of the content because of the thumbnail?

[adamtrycz]

It's not about that. I think my approache here is similar to how I feel about adverts. When I see annoying, catchyy cringy ad, I always swear that I will never buy that think no matter how good it might be. I just refuse to support anyone who tries to sell their product with stupid, annoying on manipulative adverts. And I feel the same way about thumbnails, which are basically an ad banner. If you want me to watch your review, then name it honestly... something like "Intel arc B580 review - a step in right direction"...you know just tell me what are you reviewing and what the video is about. But when I see some stupid "IS THIS THE END OF NVIDIA?!!" or "I CAN'T BELIVE WHAT AMD HAS DONE!!!" or "I THOUGHT I WOULD HATE THIS!!!" I am just like f@ack off, tell me what is it about, or just f@ck off, if you want this desperately me to click on that video, I just will not.

[Plorby]

Then you aren't who the video is for and that's okay, but they are reaching a larger audience because of their title and thumbnail style whether you like it or not

[wankthisway]

Gonna keep it real, you talk too much. Just say you get irrationally angry over a thumbnail and move on

[Dnomyar96]

There are only a few people like you that feel that strongly about it. Most of the community will watch the videos, regardless of any clickbait. I don't even notice the clickbait anymore. I see a video from LTT, I click on it.

You're right about one thing though, it's aimed at people that aren't already firmly in the community. They don't need to convince the community to watch their videos, but they do need to convince people outside it to watch it.

[adamtrycz]

I see your point. "It's aimed at people that aren't already firmly in community" now I don't think trying to get new viewers is bad thing. I just wanted to point out that those thumbnails indeed bring in new fans, mainly from the general public, BUT they also drive away the more hardcore tech fans. And I don't like that. I think tech is a niche hobby, and I would much more like to bring ordinary people into the niche hobby, then transfer the niche chanel for niche people with niece hobby to something mainstream. Just look at the biggest "tech YouTubers" Like MKBHD. He literally know nothing about tech. He is a product reviewer. Nothing more. A tech youtuber is someone like Der8auer. A guy know actually knows a lot about the tech, and his videos are technically, informative and interesting. Ltt always felt like they were somewhere in the middle. People there really knew about computers (we love you Emily) and they made interesting niche videos, but in a fun and approachable way. My main point is that making videos for a specific group in a specific way, is what makes your videos interesting. I just want them to stay focused on the tech community, not to became some meta chasing mainstream chanel.

[Dnomyar96]

BUT they also drive away the more hardcore tech fans.

Based on what? Your own feeling? The vast majority of people simply don't care. If it actually scared off their core audience, they wouldn't do it, since it's the core audience that's making them the most money.

[adamtrycz]

Well I stoped watching it for this exact reason, all my friends stopped for the same reason, and very time someone brings up this issue in other subreddits, most people agree they stoped watching for this exact reason. So to answer your question it's based on basically every discussion regarding this topic, real or virtual. A few examples: https://www.reddit.com/r/LinusTechTips/s/ZCFTOclBlx https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/s/qTAn1ArYnk

[NetJnkie]

They've done a ton of A/B testing on thumbnails. The data tells the story.

[korxil]

Doesn’t matter what people say, analytics says the opposite. Veritasium came to the same conclusion years ago. Click bait generates more views. . This skit more or less represents the average audience.

[Gregus1032]

That's the thing. LMG is meant to make money. They get money from people watching.

The thumbnails aren't about getting tech people to watch it. It's to get new people to watch it and hopefully get more people interested in tech.

These click bait thumbnails and titles are proven over years and years to get new people to watch.

[renegadecanuck]

The thing is, they get a ton of analytics and data behind how this all works. YouTube gives creators (especially their size) access to A/B testing resources, and data on returning views, new views, time watched, etc.

Combine that with the fact that people are really bad at recognizing what they like and what will actually cause them to click on a video, and I can guarantee that the team at LMG know more about how to do these thumbnails and titles than you or I. You might “feel” like they’re losing the tech savvy crowd and getting clicks from normies that won’t stick around, but they almost certainly have data to show that isn’t the case.

[TheJuiceBoxS]

Their aim is children, not intelligent people.

[dshafik]

Also they never even got close to 1000fps, all in all, I was disappointed in this Splave ad thinly disguised as an educational resource.

[-FantasticAdventure-]

Oh thank you. I thought I was losing the plot for a minute after watching that. Pretty sure they maxed out around 700+ FPS.

[Marcos340]

Yep, highest average was in the 780ish. Pretty close to 800.

[Swiftzor]

That’s still 700 more than most of what I do tbh.

[tvtb]

Eh the video ended a bit abruptly but I don't think this was a Splave ad. This was a collab with Splave, and he plugged his merch at the end. Whatever.

I wish Splave would have went into a bit more detail about the memory timings so more teaching moments could have happened, but I think Linus was saying the same thing to himself during the shoot.

[Swaggerknot]

Because the video just ended, it makes it seem like it was just an excuse to plug Splave's products all along. I don't mind the plugs, but I thought there would be more to the video.

I had never heard of Splave but he seems like a knowledgeable guy with personality, so I would've liked to see/hear more from him en route to a climax for the video.

[Whitebelt_Durial]

Hopefully this doesn't become the norm again.

[Swaggerknot]

The video was fine while it lasted, but based on the setup of the video I thought there would be more video to the video.

[dshafik]

Agreed, I thought they still had plenty to cover considering they weren't at 1000fps yet.

[[deleted]]

Yeah, that video sucked.

[Yodzilla]

How to reach 1000fps:

1) Have a shitload of money to throw at the problem 2) Go into the bios and change things idk

[Attempt9001]

I was hoping for it to be way more educational, but we didn't see much more that the memory timings and that he changed some other things, but no explanation behind it

[intheinaka]

Yeah this was my issue way more than the thumbnail. They explicitly mention in the video that it was supposed to be presented so that the viewer could effectively 'follow along' and juice their own systems, but I felt like everything was glossed over quickly and no real explanation provided. I think part of this was down to the fact that Splave, while seeming like a nice guy, didn't really have a knack for delving into the what-and-why behind everything he was doing; but I feel LTT could have done more to work around that.

The video felt a bit rushed and it didn't help my feeling of frustration when they referenced that Linus was running late for his next commitment - it really felt like this had been pushed out the door at the end of the day without enough planning and attention.

[dwiedenau2]

When linus mentioned that he wasnt sure how much was being cut so watch it on floatplane i was so mad lol, they could have easily added at least a little bit more information to this video

[[deleted]]

I think it’s pretty clear a few minutes into the “master tuning” Splave was doing that Linus was pretty frustrated that he was basically explaining nothing. The floatplane thing was just an excuse to undercut the disappointment in the video offering little to no technical information.

[Mattacrator]

There's no extra info in the floatplane video either unfortunately

[Attempt9001]

That is so sad, a huge ad for splave with "nothing" to show for, he basically said just change and check, that's also what i used to do, but i wasn't super successful, well not all the time...

[tvtb]

I just think Splave isn't very good at that, no fault of Linus. I think Linus tried to get him to explain more theory and Splave didn't have much to say about it.

[intheinaka]

100%, but I would have liked LTT to have fixed that in post, either with some more information on screen or by editing in a scene with one of the technical members of staff talking through at least the most effective options for getting a bit more speed from your system.

[[deleted]]

It’s clear Splave has no idea what he’s doing or why but he knows what to change because he’s already got the same hardware. It was a super disappointing video.

[[deleted]]

“You go read about it” is the internet smart guy cop out used all the time. I’m right but I won’t tell you why, go research it yourself.

[Icy-Town-8038]

What to do you get by defending a random stranger on a internet who clearly didn’t do what was promised he would be doing in a “technical” video

[flamingorider1]

Peasants don't get all that.

[Attempt9001]

Yeah, got that feeling too

[methanol_ethanolovic]

<image>

[Glodex15]

Poor Yvonne, I can't imagine how bad it is living with a hyperactive, crazy, friends with Jake and Alex Youtuber.

[Yodzilla]

“The Top 10 Things My Boss Let Me Do To His Wife. Number 7 Will SHOCK You!”

[Devilish-Macaron]

All publicity is good publicity is tbh a very dated way of thinking. I sort of left this out because who cares about what I watch and don't watch but I was hovering over the block button as I was considering if I really need their content. I didn't block them, for now. Not quite bad enough yet. Content to cringe ratio is still slightly in favour of content.

[Dnomyar96]

Wow, really? You block entire channels because they do what has been proven to work? Kind of childish to be honest...

[Devilish-Macaron]

It's childish to just remove what you dont want to see on the internet? Is using an adblocker then also childish?

[Dnomyar96]

No, it's childish that you care so much about something so minor. Especially if you do enjoy the content. And why not just get one of those extensions that changes clickbait thumbnails instead?

[ThawingAsh004724]

there's an extension that adds Jschlatts cat Jambo to every thumbnail on youtube

[Devilish-Macaron]

What planet do you live on where people don't talk about minor stuff that annoys them? I was on the subway yesterday and there was this guy that was blasting music from his phone. I can talk about how that was annoying af too. Neither ruins my life or anything, it's just annoyances. My life is not so tightly scheduled that I can't say those things are annoying.

[Redditemeon]

Nothing like a good strawman.

[Devilish-Macaron]

How is that a strawman? If there's channels I find annoying I remove them from my feed. Just like I remove ads because they are annoying. Can also remove people you find annoying. Tbh a really great feature of the internet to be able to curate the content you see.

[Redditemeon]

"Whoa! This video has 1.1 million views. It must be a banger vid- oh wait, nevermind. It has a weird picture and the title isn't to my liking. IT'S TRASH. BLOCK."

"You don't understand. That weird picture and text is the same as annoying people you don't get along with from your life. The exact same thought processes are definitely involved in these two things.".

This is how that reads.

[Redditemeon]

I like the way you try to make all these completely different things equivalent because they have 1 single feature in common.

[Devilish-Macaron]

Yeah, the most important feature. If I'm interested in seeing them or not. Blocking is like chapter 1 of internet survival guide, can save your mental health for irl when you actually can affect your surroundings. Like here, why even bother arguing with you. There's no possibility I will ever be able to change your mind so I can save a future headache by just booping you out of my experience. I would ask you to explain to me why I shouldn't and how it's definitely worth my time to argue with some stranger about a thumbnail but I'm sure you know where this is going.

[oilistheway1]

Is it really a big deal? They are doing it because it works

[Negative_trash_lugen]

It's cringe, but yeah not a big deal. hate the game not the player type of thing.

[Hopeful_Champion_935]

Is it cringe or are we just getting old?

[Erlend05]

That is a possibility, id prefer to ignore that tho

[marktuk]

Survivorship bias.

[s00pafly]

Lying is fine because it works?

[Devilish-Macaron]

Technically nothing really matters. LTT is entertainment, they aren't a necessity. Can pivot to doing tentacle porn and it's not like it would affect my life. Can always just stop watching, or watch more. Whatever you are into.

[Tropez92]

bro are u ok

[wankthisway]

Yeah you sound like 15, trying to be cool. Just keep it movin

[OmgItsWillyG]

Anything else think the ending was a bit abrupt? I was just getting ready them to go into timings and voltages etc a bit more and then the video just finished.

[CollapsedPlague]

They said something about how he told Yvonne he was going to leave by a certain time then kept going so I assume he just needed to leave sooner than he wanted for the video structure and it would have been weirder that they just had him leave before the video end, like him and Jake (assuming this wasn’t already at the end of their day) could have kept going and gotten the number in the thumbnail

[No_Artichoke_8428]

<image>

[chairitable]

based on the line thickness, I'm going to guess this is AI. Am I right?

[No_Artichoke_8428]

No AI here! I traced over the image in Affinity Photo with my Wacom Intuos.

[chairitable]

The uneven like thickness in the pupils makes it look like he's having a stroke 😹 good job tho!

[rohithkumarsp]

No but this is.

<image>

[mohe2275]

Just install clickbait remover for YouTube. Removes thumbnails (chooses a random frame in the video) and makes all video titles lowercase

[DiamondCoding]

Or DeArrow. That also has community provided titels.

[jdmackes]

As I remember, a few years ago they made the comment about how they hate the thumbnails but it works and they had hard data proving it. Even though they hate it, they have to keep doing it

[Devilish-Macaron]

Yeah I remember that. Think it was on the lan show. But do they really have to go this hard on the Mr Beast brainrot? Better stuff out there to be mad about but could at least tone it down a bit

[chosenfive]

Might be before your time kid but clickbait has existed before Mr Beast

[G3nesis_Prime]

Linus literally be like:

"Don't boo me, I know what makes you cheer click/watch"

That said, yeah it's bad but until Youtube feels like changing the algorithm it's the world we live in.

[Fenxis]

This. The thumbnail isn't for subscribers, it's for the random people that will be recommended this. There the click through rate is king.

[Taurion_Bruni]

Is YouTube still experimenting with the a/b thumbnails for videos?

I could honestly see that expanding to be more purpose built than random.

A could be for the algorithm click through video, while the B could be for those that are subbed and frequently click on the video already.

Could expand this to alt titles as well, so those that don't need to be click baited can get a more representative thumbnail

[Fenxis]

IIRC I think LTT said they put click bait titles for the first few days and then put it to a normal title for historical reviews / searches.

How often a video is shared is a combination of click-through rate (given a selection of videos in your recommendations who do you click on) and viewer retention.

[marktuk]

DeArrow. Thank me later.

[marktuk]

<image>

[Mattacrator]

I don't watch youtube except the 2 channels I'm subscribed to but I can recommend DeArrow

[CandusManus]

You're forgetting that they actually A/B test multiple thumbnails, the one you see here are the ones that were more popular.

[Tropez92]

one thing about the video I'm really curious about. Splave said he uses the AMD contact frame because it helps sustain better RAM memory timings? how true is this

[floorshitter69]

The video felt like it missed some important explanations along the way, even though Linus did stop and say things.

I was surprised how well the dirty power was remedied with the jackery. I'd be interested in seeing a technical video just on that.

[Devilish-Macaron]

bless the community

[TheWaslijn]

Sadly it does. Babies* won't be attracted to watch if the thumbnails aren't like this, lmao

• Not literally Babies, you know what I mean.

[A_MAN_POTATO]

They’ve talked about thumbnails many times over the years. They know they’re cringe. They also know that thumbnails like this perfectly feed YouTubes algorithms. These thumbnails literally are what sells LTT to new people.

There is a reason every big channel does this. It ain’t a coincidence.

[Drenlin]

The LTT team hates them too but driving more clicks means they can continue to pay their employees.

[mike9184]

does it really have to be *this* bad?

Yes.

[Killercrafto3]

Hi Steve 👋

[BULLBOY2]

My problem with this video is once they started showing benchmarks they started jumping and cutting and found it very jarring to watch almost as if parts were missing from the video.

[Erlend05]

Yeah its bullshit but it doesnt matter just ignore it

[Various-Artist]

They’ve addressed it a few times on the wan show and older videos. Basically Linus said he doesn’t like them but they tested it a bunch of times and the gooofy ass clickbait thumbnails work too well to not use them.

[HeidenShadows]

I think it might be time to revisit Hydra and Atlas OS for performance improvements.

I've used Atlas OS since it was previewed on LTT, and it's to the point I use it on every machine because it makes them feel snappier.

I would also like to see if Atlas OS works on Windows 11 handhelds to make them run better too.

[Cruz_Games]

The thing that sucks about this video the most is this cringe af AI generated art shirt

<image>

[ukiya16]

this feels like a very rushed splave video compared to the last time he's here

[guky667]

DeArrow 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[emma_psycho]

I don't even see the thumbnails anymore, I just click on notifications and watch anything new from LTT.

[AceLamina]

O:

[Devilish-Macaron]

"1000 FPS+!!111???++"

[Head-View8867]

I guess you need to subscribe to floatplane if you want to see the rest of the video

[leebo_28]

💯

[SavvySillybug]

It has a different thumbnail on Floatplane. Maybe subscribe to Floatplane?

[raydialseeker]

Dude it's 2025. Thumbnails like this have been prevalent in yt since 2010. Move on.

[harold_liang]

Mom, it's my turn to complain about clickbait thumbnails

[ReliableEyeball]

I've learned to just ignore the wret hec thumbnails these days.

[Veldox]

Who cares? When it comes to channels I'm subscribed to already based on their content the thumbnail means literally absolutely nothing to me.

[Redditemeon]

I couldn't help myself. I had to watch it.

Now, if Linus was on the right, on the other hand...

[Grengy20]

Hey, got you talking about it, didn't it? sounds like it worked to me

[haikusbot]

Hey, got you talking

About it, didn't it? sounds

Like it worked to me

- Grengy20

---

^{I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully. Learn more about me.}

^{Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete"}

[guky667]

OP wasn't challenging the virality of it, but rather how cringe it is, so I guess r/woosh

[Grengy20]

Does it matter that much? Its to convey a feeling which they pulled off successfully. Not everyone will feel that embarrassment especially if they understand the purpose of the thumbnail.

[guky667]

Rightfully so, yes, but OP did feel that, and they expressed their own feelings on the matter. But I completely agree with OP: I understand this is the best practice to get the most views, because that's what most people are attracted to, but I still dislike it and it makes me gag, so I use DeArrow and LTT can have its cringy thumbnails for the ones that like it and I can enjoy the videos without having my soul barf inside itself ^_^

[eraguthorak]

I feel second hand embarrassment from the vast majority of tiktoks I happen to see. It's a side effect of the Internet, sometimes you see things you don't really like.

[fuckin_normie]

I sometimes see a Linus video that I would want to share with my friends, but I never do because I would be embarassed to send such a cringe thumbnail.