Carzy Zarx’s PC Gaming Emporium - Catch Up on All the Latest PC Gaming Related News

[JEMC]

Let’s do the other kind of news and get the work done for the week. And let’s start with two gaming news (weird, I know):

Eric Barone goes mad with power: He's revealing a single Stardew Valley update patch note every day
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/eric-barone-goes-mad-with-power-hes-revealing-a-single-stardew-valley-patch-note-every-day/
>> Since they first posted it, and I shared it with you, PCGamer has been updating the article with every new detail. You may want to check it.

Ubisoft Roadmaps Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Post-Launch Content
https://www.techpowerup.com/320363/ubisoft-roadmaps-prince-of-persia-the-lost-crown-post-launch-content
>> For some reason, neither DSO not PCGamer made an article about this.

Here’s something that may interest you, especially hellobion2:

Got a laptop plugged in 24/7? You could be ruining your battery life, so prepare to do the charger dance
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/got-a-laptop-plugged-in-247-you-could-be-ruining-your-battery-life-so-prepare-to-do-the-charger-dance/
There are few things more nerve-wracking than a dying battery. Ok, there are quite a few things more nerve-wracking than a dying battery, like getting chased by a bear or receiving a missed phone call from your bank. Still, those of you who like to keep your laptops plugged in all the time to avert such anxiety—and I count myself among you—are in for a nasty shock, as it might be the worst thing you could do for your battery life.

Yes, the Steam Deck OLED is susceptible to burn-in if you really try, but it also really doesn't matter
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/yes-the-steam-deck-oled-is-susceptible-to-burn-in-if-you-really-try-but-it-also-really-doesnt-matter/
Another YouTube channel has been beating on the Steam Deck OLED and, no surprise, has found that the device's OLED panel will burn after 1,500 hours of displaying a static image.
>> 1,500 hours are more than two months. Even my retina would be burned after two f*cking months.

ASUS ROG Ally with Z1 Extreme drops to $599, making MSI Claw an even tougher choice
https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-rog-ally-with-z1-extreme-drops-to-599-making-msi-claw-an-even-tougher-choice
MSI Claw might now be facing a tough competition with ASUS dropping the price of its ROG Ally console through Best Buy, especially considering how recently Claw was released (last week). ASUS has a history of discounting its Ally handhelds occasionally, and this latest move couldn’t have come at a worse time for MSI.
>> It’s only the US and Best Buy, but it could be the sign you were waiting for to get one.

PlayStation 5 Pro Will Offer 45% Faster Rendering, up to 3x Ray Tracing Performance Than Base Model; Spectral Super Resolution To Support up to 8K Resolution – Rumor
https://wccftech.com/playstation-5-pro-45-faster-base-ps5/
The PlayStation 5 Pro rendering is said to be about 45% faster than the base model, and its ray tracing performance double to triple that of the original console, according to rumors circulating online.
>> I don’t care about the console, but I’m interested in the increased RT performance as this is AMD’s Achilles heel right now. With that said, it comes from Moore's Law is Dead, so copious amounts of salt are required.

ASUS confirms DDR5 256GB support for its Intel 600/700 and AMD 600 motherboards
https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-confirms-ddr5-256gb-support-for-its-intel-600-700-and-amd-600-motherboards

Upcoming 12GB DDR5 SO-DIMM Memory Modules by Crucial
https://www.guru3d.com/story/upcoming-12gb-ddr5-sodimm-memory-modules-by-crucial/
>> Only in SO-DIMM format for laptops. And let’s hope it stays only there.

MSI BIOS To Turn Intel Core i9-14900KS CPU Into A Beast, Offering Up To 6.4 GHz P-Core Clocks
https://wccftech.com/msi-bios-intel-core-i9-14900ks-cpu-beast-up-to-6-4-ghz-p-core-clocks/
MSI will be offering a new motherboard BIOS for the upcoming Intel Core i9-14900KS CPU to boost its P-Core clocks to a staggering 6.4 GHz.
>> You better get yourself a high end AIO cooler to tame that monster.

AMD Releases Adrenalin Edition 23.40.14.01 for Agility SDK Support
https://www.techpowerup.com/320302/amd-releases-adrenalin-edition-23-40-14-01-for-agility-sdk-support
MD today released its first drivers to implement Microsoft's DirectX Agility SDK version 1.613, which introduces the new DirectX 12 Work Graphs 1.0 API. AMD has extensively worked on implementing the new technology, which among other things, significantly reduces the CPU's role in most common shader graphics workloads, and improve GPU shader thread saturation, as the GPU waits less on the CPU's share of shader workloads.
>> AMD has also released a chipset software update.

And lastly, the plague that we fear and that looms in the horizon has shown signs of life:

Qubic Cryptocurrency Mining Craze Causes AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Stocks to Evaporate
https://www.techpowerup.com/320281/qubic-cryptocurrency-mining-craze-causes-amd-ryzen-9-7950x-stocks-to-evaporate
It looks like cryptocurrency mining is back in craze, as miners are firing up their old mining hardware from 2022 to cash in. Bitcoin is now north of $72,000, and is dragging up the value of several other cryptocurrencies, one such being Qubic (QBIC). Profitability calculators put 24 hours of Qubic mining on an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16-core processor at around $3, after subtracting energy costs involved in running the chip at its default 170 W TDP. "Zen 4" processors such as the 7950X tend to retain much of their performance with slight underclocking, and reducing their power limits; which is bound to hold or increase profitability, while also prolonging the life of the hardware.
And thus, the inevitable has happened—stocks of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X have disappeared overnight across online retail. With the market presence of the 7950X3D and the Intel Core i9-14900K, the 7950X was typically found between $550-600, which would have added great value considering its low input costs. CPU-based cryptocurrency miners, including the QBIC miner, appear to be taking advantage of the AVX-512 instruction set. AMD "Zen 4" microarchitecture supports AVX-512 through its dual-pumped 256-bit FPU, and the upcoming "Zen 5" microarchitecture is rumored to double AVX-512 performance over "Zen 4." Meanwhile, Intel has deprecated what few client-relevant AVX-512 instructions its Core processors had since 12th Gen "Alder Lake," as it reportedly affected sales of Xeon processors. What about the 7950X3D? It's pricier, but mining doesn't benefit from the 3D V-cache, and the chip doesn't sustain the kind of CPU clocks the 7950X manages to do across all its 16 cores. It's only a matter of time before the 7950X3D disappears, too; followed by 12-core models such as the 65 W 7900, the 170 W 7900X, and the 7900X3D.
>> Doesn’t look good for those that want to get a high-end zen5 part later this year.