Ok, guys, here's another HEXUS contest:

Win one of five iiyama monitors

https://hexus.net/tech/features/monitors/123194-win-one-five-iiyama-monitors/
Itching to get your hands on a shiny new monitor? Then you've come to the right place. In partnership with iiyama, HEXUS is giving away five gorgeous screens with a combined value of over a thousand pounds!

The monitors are from the G-Master and Prolite series:

• G-Master
  • G3266HS-B1_ 31.5", curved 1920x1080@144Hz, Freesync, VA
  • GB2730HSU-B1_ 27", 1920x1080@75Hz, Freesync, TN
  • GB2530HSU-B1_ 24.5", 1920x1080@75Hz, Freesync, TN
• Prolite
  • XB3270QS-B1_ 32", 2560x1440, IPS
  • XUB2792QSU-W1_ 27", 2560x1440, IPS

Sadly, this contest is also limited to certain regions: UK and Europe

Some hardware related news and a rumor:

Backblaze Hard Drive Stats for Q3 2018
https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/backblaze-hard-drive-stats-for-q3-2018.html
As of September 30, 2018 Backblaze had 99,636 spinning hard drives. Of that number, there were 1,866 boot drives and 97,770 data drives. This review looks at the quarterly and lifetime statistics for the data drive models in operation in our data centers.
In addition, we'll say goodbye to the last of our 3TB drives, hello to our new 12TB HGST drives, and we'll explain how we have 584 fewer drives than last quarter, but have added over 40 petabytes of storage.

Samsung Electronics Starts Production of EUV-based 7nm LPP Process
https://www.techpowerup.com/248674/samsung-electronics-starts-production-of-euv-based-7nm-lpp-process
Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced that it has completed all process technology development and has started wafer production of its revolutionary process node, 7LPP, the 7-nanometer (nm) LPP (Low Power Plus) with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology. The introduction of 7LPP is a clear demonstration of Samsung Foundry's technology roadmap evolution and provides customers with a definite path to 3nm. The commercialization of its newest process node, 7LPP gives customers the ability to build a full range of exciting new products that will push the boundaries of applications such as 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Enterprise and Hyperscale Datacenter, IoT, Automotive, and Networking.
EUV uses 13.5nm wavelength light to expose silicon wafers as opposed to conventional argon fluoride (ArF) immersion technologies that are only able to achieve 193nm wavelengths and require expensive multi-patterning mask sets. EUV enables the use of a single mask to create a silicon wafer layer where ArF can require up to 4 masks to create that same layer. Consequently Samsung's 7LPP process can reduce the total number of masks by about 20% compared to non-EUV process, enabling customers to save time and cost.
The EUV lithography improvements also deliver increased performance, lower power and smaller area while improving design productivity by reducing mulit-patterning complexity. Compared to its 10nm FinFET predecessors, Samsung's 7LPP technology not only greatly reduces the process complexity with fewer layers and better yields, but also delivers up to a 40% increase in area efficiency with 20% higher performance or up to 50% lower power consumption.

AMD 7nm Based Zen 2 CPU Architecture Features 13% IPC Improvement, Alleges Rumor – 7nm Process To Deliver Higher Clock Speeds
https://wccftech.com/amd-zen-2-7nm-cpu-13-percent-ipc-increase-rumor/
The rumor comes from Bits and Chips through their official Twitter feed where it’s alleged that the Zen 2 architecture brings an average of 13% IPC (Instructions Per Clock Cycle) uplift over the Zen+ architecture. It is stated that this performance uplift is specifically in scientific tasks so maybe the numbers are from early EPYC 7nm ‘Rome’ samples which should be out in the wild. There are no gaming performance results available at the moment since the consumer samples are still away from launch.
We know that aside from their server aimed EPYC ‘Rome’ lineup, AMD is also working on their new 7nm, Zen 2 based Ryzen parts. Earlier, rumors have stated that these CPUs are already working in AMD labs at speeds of up to 4.5 GHz on an 8 core, 16 thread SKU. If AMD manages to extend their product lineup with faster and much more affordable 7nm CPUs in the coming year, the can gain a significant chunk in the CPU market share with ease.

...Meanwhile Intel is scrambling.

Double digit IPC gains is nothing to sneeze at.
Hopefully they also throw more CPU cores at the problem as well, but I doubt that will end up being the case.

Thursday news:

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

Steam's daily deal is Duck Game, 60% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/312530/Duck_Game/

On the Humble Store, there are two new deals:

• The Spotlight Deal is Terrania, 50% off for the next 3 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/terraria
• Bethesda is doing a Fallout Sale, with up to 50% discounts for the next 5 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/bethesda-bombs-drop-sale/

And at Fanatical, the new Star Deal is The Escapists 2, 57% off for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-escapists-2

SOFTWARE

Loot Crate launches an indie game subscription service
https://www.pcgamer.com/loot-crate-launches-an-indie-game-subscription-service/
Loot Crate and Chrono.gg have announced the launch of a new subscription service called Loot Play that brings subscribers five "high quality, highly curated" indie games each month. Each "crate" will be delivered on the 17th of every month in the form of Steam codes, which means the games are yours to keep even if you cancel your subscription.
A bit like the Humble Monthly Bundle, Loot Play will feature one monthly "anchor" game and four mystery games that will be revealed when the crate goes live. The first such game will be Crossing Souls, the 80s-themed adventure about a group of kids trying to save the world from a supernatural threat.
Loot Play runs from $10 per month with a one-year subscription to $12 on a month-by-month basis. That might seem a little steep compared to the Humble Monthly, which features more (and more mainstream) games for $12 per month, but we can't really judge that until we know what the rest of the games in the initial bundle are—maybe they'll knock our socks off.

MODS/EMULATORS

First Shadow of the Tomb Raider Nude Mod Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-shadow-of-the-tomb-raider-nude-mod-released/
It’s no secret that a lot of fans wanted to see Lara Croft naked. I still remember back in the first Tomb Raider days the fake screenshots from some fake cheat codes that tricked some gamers into believing that they could remove Lara’s cloths. Ah, those were the days. But anyway, it appears that the first nude mod for Shadow of the Tomb Raider has been released.
But hey, we know that a lot of gamers are interested in this. So without further ado, modder ‘fonglee’ has released various outfits for Shadow of the Tomb Raider that replace the default ones. This mod is similar to the one created by ‘EzioMaverick ‘, meaning that it requires the Special K mod in order to work and it replaces the default outfits with new ones.
Right now the only proper nude outfit is the one for the Angel of Darkness model. For the classic Tomb Raider outfit and the other Shadow of the Tomb Raider outfits, the modder has provided see-through textures. So yeah, it took a lot of years but fans of the original Tomb Raider game will get to see Lara’s original triangular boobs.
>>As always with nude mods, no links were provided.

Halo Combat Evolved PC Fan Remake available for download, features high-quality textures and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/halo-combat-evolved-pc-fan-remake-available-for-download-features-high-quality-textures-and-more/
Halo fans, here is something truly special for you today. A team of modders has been working on a fan remake of the first Halo PC game, called Halo Combat Evolved Refined. According to the development team, the Refined project is an attempt to smooth all those wrinkles and provide a port that even die-hard Halo purists will be happy with.
As the developers stated, everything that was possible to fix has been addressed. Things that were once considered impossible to restore, have been restored using clever workarounds. Many high-fidelity textures and a high resolution HUD have replaced the original compressed versions.
>>It goes without saying, but it's obviously not as good as the official remake. Check the article for the instructions to download and install this mod.

This gorgeous Witcher 3 hyper-realistic cloud mod will stop you in your tracks
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-gorgeous-witcher-3-hyper-realistic-cloud-mod-will-stop-you-in-your-tracks/
Like most open world games, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has enjoyed loads of sky-beautifying mods since launch. Hyadum's New Heavy Clouds, however, may well be the prettiest cloud-enhancer I've seen to date. Let the footage above wash over you.
With so many nooks, crannies, sidequests and characters, The Witcher 3's Continent is a wonderful playground. But I suspect New Heavy Clouds will force your gaze upwards, as you take in the beauty that now stretches out above.
>>Get this mod from Nexus Mods.

GAMING NEWS

Snooker 19 has been announced for the PC, releasing in 2019, first screenshots and details
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/snooker-19-has-been-announced-for-the-pc-releasing-in-2019-first-screenshots-and-details/
Ripstone Games has announced that it’s teamed up with developer Lab42 and World Snooker to release the officially licensed Snooker 19 in 2019. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher has shared the first screenshots that you can find below.

Blizzard will announce some Diablo-related news at Blizzcon 2018 but not all of its Diablo projects
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/blizzard-will-announce-some-diablo-related-news-at-blizzcon-2018-but-not-all-of-its-diablo-projects/
Blizzard has just announced that while it will reveal some Diablo-related news at this year’s Blizzcon event, it will not unveil all of its Diablo projects. The team claimed that while “good things come to those who wait,” evil things often take longer.

Call of Cthulhu Preview to Madness Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/call-of-cthulhu-preview-to-madness-trailer/
Focus Home Interactive has announced that Call of Cthulhu has gone Gold and released a new trailer for it. Today’s trailer explores praise for the game’s distinctly Lovecraftian atmosphere, audio and visual design, as well as the RPG-investigation mechanics that allow players to discover clues, draw conclusions, question locals and survive the island’s cosmic horrors.

New gameplay trailer released for Farming Simulator 19, focuses on tending the animals
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-trailer-released-for-farming-simulator-19-focuses-on-tending-the-animals/
Focus Home Interactive has released a new gameplay trailer for Farming Simulator 19. In this new trailer, players will explore one of the many activities on their farm: raising and tending to their various animals. For the first time, care for and ride horses around the beautiful environments of their home and the surrounding areas.

New Monster Hunter World PC patch out on October 30th, fixes low-resolution textures, improves keyboard controls
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-monster-hunter-world-pc-patch-out-on-october-30th-fixes-low-resolution-textures-improves-keyboard-controls/
Capcom has announced that the third PC patch for Monster Hunter World will be released on October 30th. According to the developers, this patch will fix the low-resolution texture issue that PC gamers experienced in cut-scenes and character creation, will add HDR Mode in the Display Settings and will bring various keyboard setting adjustments, including different key assignments.

Thursday news, part two:

Ubisoft executive says politics in games is 'bad for business'
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-executive-says-its-games-are-not-political/
Despite being a top executive at the studio responsible for Tom Clancy's The Division, Ubisoft Massive COO Alf Condelius said during a panel at the Sweden Game Conference that "we cannot be openly political in our games," because doing so is "bad for business."
>>He's not wrong.

You can finally get this elusive The Stanley Parable achievement
https://www.pcgamer.com/you-can-finally-get-this-elusive-the-stanley-parable-achievement/
The Stanley Parable was released on October 17, 2013. Today is October 17, 2018. And in case you'd forgotten, designer and writer Davey Wreden took a moment to remind us all why that's important.
Some players have apparently claimed Go Outside already by horsing around with their PC's clock (you know who you are), but now you can do it for real. And that makes all the difference, doesn't it?

Obsidian says it's 'very doubtful' that it will make another Fallout game
https://www.pcgamer.com/obsidian-says-its-very-doubtful-that-it-will-make-another-fallout-game/
A new Obsidian-helmed Fallout is a pleasant fantasy, but the doubt shouldn't come as any surprise. For one thing, Todd Howard said in July that Bethesda's growth over recent years now enables it to keep all development in-house (although he added that Obsidian "did a fabulous job" with New Vegas). And for another, a recent rumor had Obsidian lined up for acquisition by Microsoft in a deal that one source said was already "90 percent" complete. Bethesda outsourcing one of its biggest games to a Microsoft studio? I don't see that happening.

Skin Deep is a stealth shooter that simulates sneezing and the dangers of bare feet
https://www.pcgamer.com/skin-deep-is-a-stealth-shooter-that-simulates-sneezing-and-the-dangers-of-bare-feet/
Blendo Games, the indie studio nom de guerre of Brendon Chung that's given us games including Atom Zombie Smasher, Thirty Flights of Loving, Quadrilateral Cowboy, and Flotilla 2, is working on a new project called Skin Deep. It's an "immersive first person shooter," but perhaps not in the way you might expect: Highlights, as seen in the announcement trailer, including sneezing at inopportune times and picking broken glass out of your feet.

The next Rainbow Six Siege update will fix some annoying exploits
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-next-rainbow-six-siege-update-will-fix-some-annoying-exploits/
A new Rainbow Six Siege patch deploying sometime this week fixes two abnormal bugs that have vexed players since the release of Operation Grim Sky last month: a bug that would make a player completely invisible and an exploit on the Oregon map. What’s missing from the Y3S3 1.2 patch, however, are any balancing changes to operators.

PUBG offers players limited-time free item and 20,000 BP after server issues
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-offers-players-limited-time-free-item-and-20000-bp-after-server-issues/
Performance in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has been a long-standing priority for PUBG Corp, but yesterday's connectivity issues made the game unplayable for some. As a result, the developer is giving all PC players a free item and a fistful of Battle Points.

Rockstar gets search and seizure warrant for homes of alleged GTA 5 cheaters
https://www.pcgamer.com/rockstar-gets-search-and-seizure-warrant-for-homes-of-alleged-gta-5-cheaters/
Rockstar Games and its parent company Take-Two Interactive have successfully sought search and seizure orders from the Australian Federal Court in relation to alleged Grand Theft Auto 5 cheaters, Torrent Freak (via the BBC) reports. Two properties in Melbourne, Australia are said to have been entered, with five players said to have been involved with the now offline cheat software 'Infamous'.

Bethesda responds to perceived Fallout 76 Brotherhood of Steel timeline discrepancy
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76-fans-call-out-perceived-brotherhood-of-steel-timeline-discrepancy/
In light of some perceived lore discrepancies pertaining to the Bortherhood of Steel's appearance in Fallout 76 (see our original story below), Bethesda has responded.
In an Instagram post picked up by Eurogamer, the developer outlines exactly how the long-standing series faction had the means to appear trans-USA within such a tight post-Great War time frame—something disputed by a host of prospective Fallout 76 players.

Well, AMD better takes advantage of the situation, because it's not a matter of if Intel will come back, but when.

And I doubt there will be a CPU with more than 8 cores/16 threads.

First nude mod released? Welp, time to get Shadow of the Womb Raider I guess.

It's actually a see-through mod, with Lara wearing still clothes.

But give them time...

And the explanation is that there was some satellite and shit...basically boils down to "A Wizard did it".

Fucking Bethesda, not only they never understood what Fallout is about, now they're pissing on lore as well.

The next iteration of Ryzen and it's Ryzen+ follow up should sell strong at 8c16t if those IPC rumors are close and if the clocks are decent enough. After that they could jump to 12c24t or 16c32t if they feel the need to. It'll also depend on what Intel decides to do once their 10nm process is finally in full swing.