And I've read that taking the I/O (and other) parts away from the CPU cores could mean that those cores will be able to run at higher frequencies, because they won't have stability problems with those parts.

Thursday news:

SALES & DEALS

DRAGON QUEST XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dragon-quest-xi-echoes-of-an-elusive-age-has-sold-more-than-4-million-copies-worldwide/
Square Enix has announced that following the release of DRAGON QUEST XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age in the West this September, the global shipment and digital sales across all platforms has now exceeded four million.
>> Kerotan made a thread about this milestone yesterday.

Pillars of Eternity 2 has flopped really hard, sold only 110K copies worldwide until September 2018
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pillars-of-eternity-2-has-only-sold-110k-copies-worldwide-until-september-2018/
It appears that the sequel to Pillars of Eternity, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, has sold poorly. According to reports, the game has only sold 110K copies worldwide until September 2018. And while the WRPG market is a niche one, this number feels really low and may explain the rumours that surfaced about Microsoft purchasing Obsidian.
>> That's deeply disappointing.

Steam's daily deal, that will last until Monday, is The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II, 30% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/748490/The_Legend_of_Heroes_Trails_of_Cold_Steel_II/

And at Fanatical, there are three new deals:

• The new Star Deal is the Daedalic Triple Pack, featuring the games Bounty Train, Valhalla Hills and Caravan, with a 90% discount for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/daedalic-triple-pack
• Soul Calibur IV, boththe regular and deluxe editions, is 17% off for the next 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/franchises/soulcalibur
• And PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 27% off for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/playerunknowns-battlegrounds

SOFTWARE

-empty-

MODS/EMULATORS

-empty-

GAMING NEWS

Bethesda on Fallout 76 FOV slider, ultra-wide monitor, push-to-talk support and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bethesda-on-fallout-76-fov-slider-ultra-wide-monitor-push-to-talk-support-and-more/
Bethesda has revealed some new details about Fallout 76. According to the company, the game will support ultra-wide 21:9 monitors via a post launch update and plans to increase the Stash size in the future (at launch the game will support Stash size at 400 weight limit).

Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t Dry is available on Steam
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/leisure-suit-larry-wet-dreams-dont-dry-is-available-on-steam/
Assemble Entertainment has announced the release of Leisure Suit Larry – Wet Dreams Don’t Dry on Steam. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team has also released the game’s launch trailer that you can find below.

Square Enix officially confirms Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition production cancellation
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/final-fantasy-xv-may-not-receive-its-promised-mod-tools-and-vulkan-support-as-luminous-productions-focuses-on-new-game/
Things are not looking particularly great for Final Fantasy XV as Square Enix announced that the team behind it, Luminous Productions, has started focusing on creating a new game. Not only that, but three of the four planned DLCs have been officially cancelled and Hajime Tabata has left the team, meaning that Luminous Productions will stop developing content for Final Fantasy XV.
>> ZODIARKrebirth has made a thread about the departure of Tabata.

Crackdown 3 Official PC System Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/crackdown-3-official-pc-system-requirements/
Microsoft has revealed the official PC system requirements for Crackdown 3 via its Windows Store page. According to the specs, PC gamers will at least need an Intel i5 3470 or an AMD FX-6300 with 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA Geforce 750 Ti or an AMD Radeon R7 260X.

Thursday news, the long part two:

Here's a feature breakdown for Crusader Kings 2's biggest expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-a-feature-breakdown-for-crusader-kings-2s-biggest-expansion/
Crusader Kings 2’s largest expansion, Holy Fury, is due out next week, but in the meantime you can wet your whistle on this feature breakdown from Paradox. There’s quite a lot, and while the focus is on Christian and pagan shenanigans, there’s also plenty beyond that.

The Blightfather is invading Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Blackout mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-blightfather-is-invading-call-of-duty-black-ops-4s-blackout-mode/
Blackout’s blinding flashbang, the 9-Bang, has been excised from Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s battle royale mode. Its removal might just be temporary, as Treyarch says that it will “evaluate its place in the gameplay loop”. It’s been the bane of many a player, though, so there will probably be a bit of celebrating going on. The patch also tunes Blackout generally, along with introducing the handsome fella above. That’s the Blightfather.

Skatebird is a game about a bird on a board who's trying his best
https://www.pcgamer.com/skatebird-is-a-game-about-a-bird-on-a-board-whos-trying-his-best/
Skatebird is a game about a bird on a board—a skateboard, that is, a very tiny skateboard in a wee little skate park, made of pencils, erasers, staplers, and other such desktop detritus. Glass Bottom Games, whose previous releases include Spartan Fist and Hot Tin Roof: The Cat that Wore a Fedora, revealed the new project earlier this week with an announcement trailer that's every bit as cute as it sounds.

Battlefield 5 beta changes: here's what DICE spent the delay working on
https://www.pcgamer.com/battlefield-5-beta/
Following the Battlefield 5 open beta, DICE pushed the release back to this month, saying it wanted to address some of the feedback first. (...)
So what has DICE been up to? Following the open beta, the developer left us with a few notes about its focus during the delay. We reported on the changes a couple months ago, but with the release imminent, here's another quick rundown

The Walking Dead: The Final Season designer joins Waylanders development team
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-walking-dead-the-final-season-designer-joins-waylanders-development-team/
The Waylanders, a fantasy RPG being developed by Spanish studio Gato Salvaje with assistance from former Dragon Age creative director Mike Laidlaw, went to Kickstarter a couple of weeks ago with a $150,000 goal and the promise of input from Emily Grace Buck as a $200,000 stretch goal. Buck, formerly a designer at Telltale Games with credits on its Batman, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Walking Dead games, recently came to public prominence in the wake of the studio's collapse.

'Serene and evocative' narrative platformer Gris will be out in December
https://www.pcgamer.com/serene-and-evocative-narrative-platformer-gris-will-be-out-in-december/
Gris, the narrative platformer about a young girl lost in a strange world of her own making, will be out on December 13. Publisher Devolver Digital revealed the release date today with a new trailer that showcases the game's quite stunning world.

The Sims 4's new first-person camera will let us experience the suffering up close
https://www.pcgamer.com/sims-4-first-person-camera/
The Sims 4 is getting a first-person camera which will allow you to see through your sims' eyes as they struggle against the whims of the omnipresent, unseen force that capriciously rules their lives. It will also, as Polygon points out, be immediately paired with mods that expand on the sex lives of sims, but what'cha do with the feature isn't my business.

Polybius has appeared on Steam and will release later this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/polybius-has-appeared-on-steam-and-will-release-later-this-year/
Named after a mythical arcade game from the 1980s, Polybius is a psychedelic VR shooter which released exclusively for PSVR last year. Now, the Jeff Minter-developed experience is set to release on Steam later this year, after an initial announcement was made about 16 months ago.

Anthem is getting Mass Effect armour
https://www.pcgamer.com/anthem-is-getting-mass-effect-armour/
Anthem is getting armour from Mass Effect, or at least customisation options that let you make something approximating N7 armour. During N7 Day, yesterday, Anthem producer Mike Gamble posted a very dapper looking Freelancer sporting some familiar threads.

Total War: Warhammer 2 Curse of the Vampire Coast is out today
https://www.pcgamer.com/total-war-warhammer-2-curse-of-the-vampire-coast-is-out-today/
Total War: Warhammer 2’s soggy Curse of the Vampire Coast expansion launches today, introducing vampire pirates, monstrous crustaceans and lots and lots of booty. The Vampire Coast factions will be playable in both the Vortex campaign and the gargantuan Mortal Empires campaign.

Killing Floor 2's next update stars Gary Busey as 'Badass Santa'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gary-busey-is-badass-santa-in-killing-floor-2s-twisted-christmas-update/
Gary Busey did a turn a couple of years ago as an Elusive Target in Hitman, and apparently he was elusive indeed, because soon he'll take center stage in Killing Floor 2's Twisted Christmas: Season's Beatings update as—brace yourselves—Badass Santa.

Check out Elite Dangerous' sleek new ship, the Mamba
https://www.pcgamer.com/check-out-elite-dangerous-sleek-new-ship-the-mamba/
A sleek new ship is coming to Elite Dangerous’ Beyond—Chapter 4, which is currently in beta. One day we might end up seeing commercial spaceship adverts sitting next to ones for cars, and when we do, I bet they’ll look a lot like the Mamba’s strangely ominous but also rather slick video reveal above. It’s a lovely space car and, as I approach middle-age, I feel a certain yearning for sporty, red vehicles.

Pagan Online mixes League of Legends with Diablo
https://www.pcgamer.com/pagan-online-mixes-league-of-legends-with-diablo/
Pagan Online is an action-RPG crossed with a MOBA and inspired by “pre-Christian mythology”, according to developer Mad Head and publisher Wargaming. Mostly it seems to be concerned with battering big monsters. Take a gander at the cinematic trailer above.

Potentially, yes.

It's a balancing act... Because by removing all that fluff and decoupling the I/O and other parts... The CPU cores can be made extremely tiny... Which means the surface area that meets the CPU heatsink could potentially not be ideal, which can impact cooling.
Obviously not going to be an issue in this instance though... As the CPU cores are still a decent size.

It's interesting how we have come full circle by going on a path of de-integration after AMD integrated the North Bridge to the CPU with the Athlon 64.

It's Friday, and these are the news:

SALES & DEALS

Fortnite exceeds 8.3 million concurrent players
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-exceeds-83-million-concurrent-players/
It's no secret that Fortnite is a monster, but because it's not on Steam it's impossible to say exactly how monstrous it really is, as Epic generally doesn't share those numbers. Epic Games Korea CEO Sung Chul Park recently did, however, telling Korean site Inven that the game has exceeded 8.3 million concurrent players.
The report doesn't get into specifics like when the peak was hit or how long it held, but it's such a ridiculous figure that it almost doesn't matter—especially considering that Fortnite only ("only") hit 3.4 million concurrents in February, when it surpassed PUBG's then-huge peak concurrent player record of 3.2 million, set in January.
>> Kerotan made a thread about it.

ARK: Survival Evolved is free to play this weekend on Steam, you can download it now
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ark-survival-evolved-is-free-to-play-this-weekend-on-steam-you-can-download-it-now/
Studio Wildcard has announced that ARK: Survival Evolved is free to play this weekend on Steam. PC gamers can download the game right now and start playing, and as always all of your progress will be transferred to the game once and if you buy it.
>> Check it out over here. And the game is also 60% off.

Hitman 2, PUBG and more on sale at Fanatical
https://www.pcgamer.com/hitman-2-pubg-and-more-on-sale-at-fanatical/
If you’ve got a craving for murderous, bald men or hiding from 99 people trying to hunt you, Fanatical should have you covered this weekend. Both Hitman 2 and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds are on sale, so you could throw caution to the wind and do both.
>> But that's not the only sale going on at Fanatical, because there are another three:

• The Star Deal is Bioshock Infinite, 80% off for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/bio-shock-infinite-aspyr
• The Borderlands franchise is on sale up to 78% off for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/franchises/borderlands
• There's a new Titan Bundle, with 40 games up to 98% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/titan-bundle

On the Humble Store, the weekend sale is the Festival of Speed MK 2, with up to 80% discounts on racing games for the next 3 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/festival-of-speed-mk-2/

SOFTWARE

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.11.1 is optimized for Battlefield 5, Fallout 76 & Hitman 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-edition-18-11-1-is-optimized-for-battlefield-5-fallout-76-hitman-2/
AMD has released a new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.11.1 is optimized for the latest triple-A games; Battlefield 5, Fallout 76 and Hitman 2.
The driver also fixes an application crash while launching or playing Assassin’s Creed: Origins in Windows 7, some corruption issues when viewing lava or water in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and some intermittent application crashes when using DirectX 12 API in Strange Brigade.
>> Download them from here.

NVIDIA GeForce 416.81 WHQL is available for download, optimized for Battlefield 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-geforce-416-81-whql-is-available-for-download-optimized-for-battlefield-5/
NVIDIA has released a brand new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the NVIDIA GeForce 416.81 WHQL driver is optimized and provides the optimal gaming experience for Battlefield 5.
Furthermore, this driver addresses some major issues related to the Turing graphics cards. More specifically, it fixes the multi-monitor idle power draw being very high, some stuttering issues with HEVC video playback and the blue-screen crashes when exiting games when using a G-Sync monitor with a non-G-Sync monitor.
This latest driver also packs the fixes and improvements that were featured in the previous hotfix. It also improves overall stability in ARK: Survival and addresses some mouse cursor issues that were causing FPS to go out of sync with windowed GSync.
>> Download them from here.

MODS/EMULATORS

Playstation Classic is using the open-source PCSX emulator in order to play its games
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/playstation-classic-is-using-the-open-source-pcsx-emulator-in-order-to-play-its-games/
A lot of console gamers were hyped when Sony announced the Playstation Classic. However, it appears that Sony has not developed its own emulator and instead it is using the open source PCSX emulator that most PC gamers have been using all these years.
What ultimately this means is that the overall emulation may not be that “authentic” as some gamers may have expected. We’ve seen this happening in SNES classic and to be honest I was expecting Sony to put some more effort to it.
Ironically, Sony had tried in the past to sue a team developing an emulator for the first Playstation console (yes, we’re talking about Bleem).
>> Is it ironic or rather hypocrital?

This Commodore 64 demake of Limbo looks incredible
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-commodore-64-demake-of-limbo-looks-incredible/
Name any ye olde computer system, and you can be certain there's a healthy online community dedicated to it. That holds especially true for the Commodore 64, which was among the top home computers of the 1980s, especially in the United States. I was still using mine well into the '90s (you can't go past some Giana Sisters), but there remain folk who still hold it dear, 36 years after its release.
And here's a good recent example: cracking crew Excess, which dates back as far as 1991, has just released a playable demo of Limbo, demade for the Commodore 64. It was released at a recent X demoscene party in the Netherlands, an event dedicated to the Commodore 64. It's been going strong since the mid-90s.

Star Wars: Empire at War looks new again thanks to this mod
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-wars-empire-at-war-looks-new-again-thanks-to-this-mod/
Star Wars: Empire at War, one of the best space games on PC, has never looked this good before. The Empire at War Remake mod has been around for years but the latest incarnation is especially swish, as you can see from the fancy Star Destroyer battle above.
“This mod catapults Empire at War into 2018,” reads its ModDB summary. “It maintains the game's design philosophy, while adding new units, better graphics and deeper gameplay.”
It’s been updated a lot this year. The mod’s creator, Jeroenimo, has big plans. They want to turn the galaxy into a “varied and alive ecosystem”. The three main factions—Rebellion, Empire and Underworld—have been reworked, while new factions like the Mandalorians and Clone War Separatists have been thrown into the mix. The Vong are in the works, too.
A ‘Lite’ version of the mod is available at the moment. From now on, though, instead of incremental updates, Jeroenimo plans on waiting until the mod is fully functional and feature complete.

GAMING NEWS

Battlefield 5 does not support ray tracing RTX effects at launch
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/battlefield-5-does-not-support-ray-tracing-rtx-effects-at-launch/
Battlefield 5 is one of the first games that will feature support for real-time ray tracing effects via NVIDIA’s RTX technology. However, it appears that PC gamers will have to wait a little longer as DICE’s title will not support these effects at launch.

Brand new screenshots released for Just Cause 4
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/brand-new-screenshots-released-for-just-cause-4/
Square Enix has released a new set of screenshots for Just Cause 4, showcasing Rico, some of the game’s environments and vehicles, as well as a… lama. Just Cause 4 will be powered by the APEX Engine which promises to deliver the most interactive, extreme weather simulations ever seen in a videogame, complimented by incredible visuals, unparalleled physics and endless creative possibilities.

Hitman 2 – Official gameplay launch trailer and launch screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/hitman-2-official-gameplay-launch-trailer-and-launch-screenshots/
Warner Bros and IO Interactive have released the official HITMAN 2 gameplay launch trailer, celebrating the upcoming November 13th release of this stealth-action game. HITMAN 2 will feature a brand-new playground for Agent 47, the world’s deadliest assassin, with six dynamic locations to explore, franchise-first multiplayer modes in Sniper Assassin and Ghost Mode, and a myriad of new enhancements and upgrades that truly perfect the assassination sandbox experience.

First two patches released for Overkill’s The Walking Dead
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-two-patches-released-for-overkills-the-walking-dead/
Overkill’s The Walking Dead is now available on the PC and its development team has already released its first two patches. The first patch was released on November 7th, while the second one came one day later on November 8th.

Warframe – New free open-world expansion Fortuna is available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/warframe-new-free-open-world-expansion-fortuna-is-available-for-download/
Digital Extremes has announced that its next big free Warframe expansion, Fortuna, is available now on Steam PC. According to the press release, the new open-world landscape provides players of all experience levels the chance to access new gameplay content on Venus – from cruising on the Bondi K-Drive hoverboard to new cave exploration, animal conservation, mining, robot fishing, and intense battles against robot spiders, the nefarious Nef Anyo, and the greedy Corpus faction.

Friday news, part two:

Bethesda is 'looking into' adding text chat for Fallout 76
https://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-is-looking-into-adding-text-chat-for-fallout-76/
Based on player feedback from the Fallout 76 beta, Bethesda detailed a few changes it'll be adding to the game on Reddit yesterday. These changes include support for ultrawide resolutions, an increase in player stash weight limits, and a push-to-talk option. Missing from the post, however, was any mention of adding text chat, an important and completely standard feature for multiplayer PC games that players have been asking about since the PC beta began.

The Long Dark episode 3 delayed, 'Redux' episodes 1 and 2 coming in December
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-long-dark-episode-3-delayed-redux-episodes-1-and-2-coming-in-december/
Hinterland Studio creative director Raphael van Lierop delivered some disappointing news yesterday when he announced that the third episode of The Long Dark, which had been set to go live in December, isn't going to make it. But that bad news actually arises from bigger-picture good news—although the good news in question is the result of even more serious bad news. It's all kind of complicated, so I'll let van Lierop explain.

WWI shooter Tannenberg goes into full release in February
https://www.pcgamer.com/wwi-shooter-tannenberg-goes-into-full-release-in-february/
Tannenberg, the "realistic" First World War FPS that debuted on Steam Early Access a year ago, will go into full release on February 13, 2018, M2H and Blackmill Games announced today. The developers also teased a special winter offensive event and revealed plans to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended the war on November 11, 1918, with a two-minute in-game silence.

Activision says Destiny 2 is 'not performing as well as we'd like'
https://www.pcgamer.com/activision-says-destiny-2-is-not-performing-as-well-as-wed-like/
Destiny 2: Forsaken is a dramatic improvement on the base game in just about every way: It's "the second wind Destiny 2 needed," Austin said in his high-scoring review, with "expanded RPG elements and quality of life changes" that make it more compelling and less frustrating. Nonetheless, Activision said in its third quarter earning calls today that it is "not performing as well as we'd like."

Legends of Runeterra trademarked by League of Legends devs Riot Games
https://www.pcgamer.com/legends-of-runeterra-trademarked-by-league-of-legends-devs-riot-games/
Riot has filed several trademarks for Legends of Runeterra, covering everything from clothes to software. The trademarks, of which there are nine in total, were filed in the middle of October this year. They’re broad, but the safe money is on a new game and lots of merchandising.

Rainbow Six Siege: Operation Wind Bastion's map has been leaked
https://www.pcgamer.com/rainbow-six-siege-new-map/
We’ve known that Rainbow Six Siege would be taking a trip to Morocco for a year, but until now we’ve not known much more than that. Ubisoft’s first vague teaser for the new map, appearing on Twitter yesterday evening, doesn’t really change that. It does, however, suggest that the wait won’t be much longer.
Update: Footage of Rainbow Six Siege's Morocco map has leaked, giving us a much more detailed look at the Atlas Mountains stronghold. The leak comes courtesy of Redditor velocitycontrol, who alleges that the video comes from Ubisoft Thailand.

Time to check now the rest of the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:

+GOG

• Let's start with the weekly sale, the Made in Poland sale with up to 90% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20181105_polish_week
• Next is the midweek sale filled with strategy games and up to 90% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20181107_midweek_strategy
• Finally, there's the weekend sale, featuring Daedalic, that puts its game up to 90% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20181109_daedalic_weekend
• Also, and for the next 48 hours, GOG is giving away Video Game Show - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt concert for free!

+Steam

• Tyranny is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/362960/Tyranny/
• Klei Entertainment is the star of the publisher weekend sale, with up to 80% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/klei/
• And there's also the weeklong sale.

And that's all. Have a happy and gaming weekend.

Hahaha, this really made my day

Hi ! It's almost christmas, so I'm thinking about making a new computer, so I need your advice !

My actual rig from 2014 :
Asustek Sabertooth Z97 Mk2
i7 4790
16 Go DDR3
GTX 1080 Ti
1x SSD 128Go ( Windows )
1x SSD 128Go ( Download )
1x SSD 500Go (Steam)
And a bunch of HDD I'll need to change

I think I'll keep the graphic card because it's still suiting my gaming needs
My main goal is to have a 4K able computer, I'd like to be future proof, even if I don't plan buying soon a 4K display (since my main display is a projector and is perfect for 1080p)
I'll however change the SSDs to NVMEs (mine actually are showing their age, sometime not recognized) and I'll prolly upgrade to 1To NVME for Steam
Also, what brand of HDD could be the best reliability ?
Budget is not really a concern to me, I just want a reliable, fast computer, that play most games at the maximum.

Thanks for your help !

That's a nice rig you have!

To future proof it right now your best option is the new Intel i9-9900K. From the benchmarks I've seen, it's the only one that doesn't create a bottleneck for Nvidia's newest, so that makes it the best future proof processor available.

I think 16 GB will still be enough for the time being, so I'd go with that.

And yes, you 1080Ti is still more than good enough, only the 2080Ti beats it comfortably.

*Edit*

I forgot about he HDDs...*d'oh!*

There's a server company that shares its HDD stats every quarter, Blackblaze. Here's the result of their last quarter: https://www.backblaze.com/blog/2018-hard-drive-failure-rates/

As you can see, Hitachi (HGST) and Western Digital are the best ones.

Also, if you don't have an aftermarket cooler for your CPU, remember to get a good one because Intel processors no longer come with one.

What performance gains do you expect? You already have an i7, a 1080Ti and SSDs... there ain't much faster hardware out there.

"Future proofing" is a waste of money, especially if you stay with 1080p displays for a while.

A nice G-Sync monitor with 1440p or 4K resolution would probably the better investment for visual gain. Thanks to the adaptive synchronisation graphics stay quite smooth, even if they fall below 60 fps in demanding games.