The GPC in its current form has existed for years. I just took out the useless stuff. And while it was my main browsing PC I never turned it off. Now that I only turn it on when I'm about to do some gaming it's noticeable.

My new SPC is now my 24/7 PC that gets only turned off if Win 10 forces an update.

HBAO+ is inferior (quality) to VXAO, and real-time ray tracing.

Personally:
I am fine with developers adding Gameworks features, if they are added features, and can be run on AMD GPUs.
As long as it is an added feature, and the addition of that feature doesn't take resources or performance away from Intel or AMD GPUs: it is okay.

I do have an issue with one company or body exclusively partnering with a development studio for a game project.
AMD, Intel and Nvidia (and anyone else) should all be working with the developer, all adding their own features to the title.

Well yes, before VXAO, HBAO+ was where it was at, but now it's VXAO and RT.

Hmmn, that ends up taking us back to that Tomb Raider thread, where it becomes a fixed situation, in that Nvidia would have to create open sourced tech that AMD can use, but AMD can do the same and if it gimps Nvidia then somehow Nvidia would be to blame, but Nvidia would somehow also be to blame if their tech does not play nice with AMD's.

They all should be working with the devs, but then of course you have to factor in, "where do they benefit?". If Nvidia works with a dev, they benefit, if AMD works with a dev, then they too benefit. But if they both work on the same game, then where exactly can you market your hardware when your competition has exactly the same trimmings?. Also you have to factor in that crowding a dev team with 3 over companies can simply stack up the workload and then you also have to factor in all 3 companies being very crystal clear with communication and what each of the 3 want to do with said devs.

Just imagine the headlines of AMD and Nvidia working with one dev, then finding out one of the two has a "feature" that ends up gimping the other. That could just as easily cause the gimped company to simply skip out on any future dealings with that dev team, based on that trio partnership.

viv, I followed the thread where you described what you were doing your your PCs, so I know that your Gaming PC wasn't new (but neither "old").

What I didn't know is that in the almost three months that have passed, you didn't find this problem before because you hadn't turn it off.

Let's go back to the news:

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

Star Wars: Episode I Racer soars onto GOG
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-wars-episode-1-racer-soars-onto-gog/
Star Wars Day is this Friday. And while that normally prompts a grumble from me about being force-fed dodgy date-related puns on social media, I'd much rather talk about how GOG has added 1999's Star Wars Episode I: Racer to its storefront. It's live now alongside a pretty comprehensive Star Wars sale.
Which is great news. Particularly given the fact Star Wars Episode I: Racer was, before now, GOG's most requested SW game on its Community Wishlist.

>>The game is 15% off: https://www.gog.com/game/star_wars_episode_i_racer, and you can check the rest of the Star Wars sale over here.

The other deal from GOG is the daily deal. Dungeon Rats, almost 50% off: https://www.gog.com/game/dungeon_rats

Get Ryse, Sniper, Homefront, and Cryengine assets in the new Humble Cryengine Bundle
https://www.pcgamer.com/get-ryse-sniper-homefront-and-cryengine-assets-in-the-new-humble-cryengine-bundle/
The Humble Cryengine Bundle is an interesting mix of games, and resources that could help you make games. The $1 entry tier gets you Rolling Sun, Aporia: Beyond the Valley, and The Land of Pain, all games; and Cryengine V Samples, Cryengine Webinar Training Videos, and the Crysis 3 Animation Pack—not the game, the assets. Crysis 3, sadly, is not part of this package.

>>Oddly enough, no Crysis game is included in the bundle (could it be because of the EA/Steam feud?)

Meanwhile, in the Humble Store, there are another three sales:

• 1C Company is the featured publisher in the weekly sale: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/1c-publisher-sale/
• GTA V is also on sale, 50% off: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/rockstar-sale/
• And there's also a Star Wars sale, up to 66% off: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/star-wars-may-the-4th-sale/

If we check Steam, we see the following deals:

• FEZ is the daily deal, 80% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/224760/FEZ/
• Mortal Kombat X is one of the Midweek Madness deals, 66% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/307780/Mortal_Kombat_X/
• The Crew is the other Midweek Madness deal, 75% cheaper than usual: https://store.steampowered.com/app/241560/The_Crew/
• Aerosoft is having a publisher sale: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/aerosoft/
• Last, but not least, of course there's also a Star Wars sale on Steam! Check it out here.

There's only one store left to talk about, Fanatical, that so far does NOT have a Star Wars sale. Maybe they're saving it for the actual May 4th. What they have, tho, is a THQ Nordic sale: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/thq-nordic

SOFTWARE

Unity 2018.1 Engine is available, allows devs to achieve beautiful graphics & high-end performance
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/unity-2018-1-engine-is-available-allows-devs-to-achieve-beautiful-graphics-high-end-performance/
Unity Technologies, creator of the world’s most widely-used real-time 3D development platform, announced today that Unity 2018.1 is now available. Unity 2018.1 is a major upgrade which introduces the start of several innovations, including the Scriptable Render Pipelines and the C# Job System, which make it easier and faster to achieve beautiful graphics and high-end performance.

MODS/EMULATORS

This Fallout 4 mod gives you one chance to retrieve your items from your corpse after you die
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-fallout-4-mod-gives-you-one-chance-to-retrieve-your-items-from-your-corpse-after-you-die/
If death doesn't have enough meaning for you in Fallout 4, this mod will encourage you to respectfully mourn every time you're battered apart by a deathclaw. In OW3Nx25's Death Matters (get it on Nexus here), each time you die you have to retrieve every non-quest item from your corpse, wherever you left it. Upon respawning, you take on the role of a settler from your nearest settlement—or Sanctuary, if there aren't any suitable settlements nearby.

GAMING NEWS

Battlezone Gold Edition is now available
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/battlezone-gold-edition-is-now-available/
Rebellion has announced that Battlezone Gold Edition is now available on Steam. Battlezone Gold Edition includes the game and all additional content released since launch. Moreover, anyone who already owns Battlezone will automatically upgrade to the Gold Edition.

Irdeto’s new survey: 60% of gamers impacted by cheaters, 57% of gamers have never used third-party tools to cheat
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/irdetos-new-survey-60-of-gamers-impacted-by-cheaters-57-of-gamers-have-never-used-third-party-tools-to-cheat/
A new survey from Irdeto shows that more than half (60%) of gamers have had their multiplayer gaming experience negatively impacted by other players cheating on multiple occasions. The Irdeto Global Gaming Survey of 9,436 consumers also indicates that these online gamers will purchase less in-game content and even stop playing the game in question, if they feel that other players are gaining an unfair advantage through cheating.

Dinosaurs Prehistoric Survivors is a new survival game in which you play as a dinosaur
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dinosaurs-prehistoric-survivors-is-a-new-survival-game-in-which-you-play-as-a-dinosaur/
Arcupion Art has announced that its new survival dino game, Dinosaurs Prehistoric Survivors, will come to Steam Early Access on May 19th. Dinosaurs Prehistoric Survivors is a survival game, powered by the Unity Engine, that lets players assume the role of a dinosaur from juvenile to adult in a dynamically populated open world environment.

>>There's a video showing it that, oddly enough, isn't even in HD.

Part 2 of the news:

Sea of Thieves patch nerfs skeleton cannon accuracy, adds cosmetics
https://www.pcgamer.com/sea-of-thieves-patch-nerfs-skeleton-cannon-accuracy-adds-cosmetics/
Sea of Thieves, Rare's open world multiplayer pirate game that launched in March, received a patch today to version 1.06. It's not the big update due this month that promises a 'new AI threat' but instead one that features some tweaks, bug fixes, and several new cosmetic items. It also includes the gun you see above called the Eye of Reach, which can be purchased for a single gold coin in shops.

PixelJunk Monsters 2 is out this month, try the free demo now
https://www.pcgamer.com/pixeljunk-monsters-2-is-out-this-month-try-the-free-demo-now/
PixelJunk Monsters 2 is a cute tower defense game about turning trees into weapons of war for the sake of protecting some chibi tiki dudes, and it's coming to PC on May 25. Developer Q-Games released a free Steam demo for it earlier today, so you can sample its first level now. You're gonna need a controller, though, and ideally an Xbox controller (it wouldn't register my PS4 controller connected via Bluetooth).

Destiny 2 'Developer Insights' video promises no nerf for Vigilance Wing
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2-developer-insights-video-promises-no-nerf-for-vigilance-wing/
With Destiny 2: Warmind and the kickoff of season 3 now just a week away, senior PvP designer Kevin Yanes and sandbox design lead Josh Hamrick got together to talk a bit about some of the big changes coming to Exotic weapons and PvP combat.

Ooblets developer update shows off adorable little houses and new characters
https://www.pcgamer.com/ooblets-developer-update-shows-off-adorable-little-houses-and-new-characters/
I'm starting to hope Ooblets, developer Glumberland's creature collecting farm sim (which Double Fine is publishing), comes with a glossary. In the new April developer update alone, we've got terms like followbabies, oobcoops, and some alien horror called 'taxes.'

Skelly Selest looks like Enter the Gungeon by way of Devil Daggers
https://www.pcgamer.com/skelly-selest-looks-like-enter-the-gungeon-by-way-of-devil-daggers/
I'd never heard of developer Caiysware until today, when I happened to catch their latest game, Skelly Selest, in the Steam new releases page. It's an 8-bit bullet hell roguelike about dismembering ghouls in the pits of Hell, specifically in such scenic locales as the Bone Plains, Flesh Gardens, and Soul Necropolis. You can get it on Steam for $3 (or $2.24 if you buy before May 8), which looks like a bargain for the amount of game on offer.

Battlefield 1 expansion They Shall Not Pass is now free
https://www.pcgamer.com/battlefield-1-expansion-they-shall-not-pass-is-now-free/
The maps, weapons and classes of the They Shall Not Pass expansion are now available to all Battlefield 1 players. To get the free stuff log in to the Origin store, search for They Shall Not Pass and click the 'add to library' button—voila!

The Good Life, Swery's cats-and-dogs murder mystery game, is almost funded
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-good-life-swerys-cats-and-dogs-murder-mystery-game-is-almost-funded/
A week ago it looked like The Good Life wasn't going to make it, but the release of a free demo and a late burst of enthusiasm has brought the Kickstarter drive, at the time of writing, to $431,894. The game will be funded at $455,297.

Huge shift in the Steam stats! Valve finally fixed overcounting Chinese internet cafes.

• GTX Maxwell goes down from 39% (January) to 23%.
• AMD HD 6x - Vega goes up from 4.25% (January) to 8%.
• AMD CPUs go up from 8% (January) to 16%.
• Windows 10 (64 bit) goes up from 36% (March) to 53%.

Smartphones won't hoard DDR5.
They tend to stick with LPDDR for power reasons.

I would like a transition to DDR5 because... It's planned to be double the speed and capacity of DDR4 with a power consumption drop to go with it.
DDR4 hasn't been a technology that I have been scrambling for, my DDR3 layout @ 1600mhz has the same bandwidth as DDR4 3200mhz on Ryzen for instance.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/353370/announcements/detail/1648757912601251834

Yup, we have Switch Pro controller support now.
"bind the gyro"
Finally, PC gamers can finally experience the precision of gyro aiming (without getting motion sick).

What I really want to see now, is them adding support for the Switch chucks. That would be next level aiming right there. 

At least now I have another reason to go and grab a pro gamepad.