Glad to hear I'm not the only one who needs most of a day to build a rig.

Maybe I'll use the Stock Cooler from my 3900x until I can get a proper cooler for my 5950x

I have seen people zip-tie fan cables to the water cooler pipes and then shrink wrap.

By the sounds of it you have fans above and below? Probably unnecessary... Just use fans on the bottom of the rad and push air out of the case.

Tbh I would do the same. If space and clearance isn't a constraint in your build there's very little gain from going AIO. The thing will last you a lifetime.. Just order new brackets if upgrading to new platforms.

If you're into heavy overclocks then a custom loop is going to be the next logical step up. But that also comes with caveat - i.e maintenance, risk of leak and pump eventually failing.

Yea and I am hella lazy to go that route regardless.

We will see. I wanted to get the NH-U12A since it's smaller than the D15 while performing pretty close to it but even that's out of stock. I could order from the US for about the same price but then it's gonna take 1-2 weeks to get here which means more waiting.... And the 5950x is supposed to get here by Wednesday! The estimated time was February 8th but I guess they were like surprise!

Urghhhhh. There's no winning in the current PC climate loll

Nice. Yeah the U12A is decent, what about he N15S or Dark Rock Pro 4? Its crazy that even coolers are out of stock. Even here in the UK.. the only higher end air cooler in stock I can find is the NH-D15S on Amazon!

But yeah I would think your stock cooler would be fine for stock speeds. Should you have the patience to wait lol. Being a PC gamer (particularly if you're wanting to upgrade) in 2021 is gonna be hard xD

Those are too big. I am trying to keep it a lowish profile which is the benefit of AIOs since outside of the Tube, the pump itself is small and the radiator/fans are out of the way.

Ah yeah they are chonky coolers . But Idd.. the NH-U12A/14S might fit the bill there or an AIO, for a lower profile build.

The Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's week 3 Top 10

1. Rust
2. Valve Index VR Kit
3. Cyberpunk 2077
4. Heroes of the Three Kingdoms 8
5. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive - Operation Broken Fang
6. Phasmophobia
7. Raft
8. Red Dead Redemption 2
9. Grand Theft Auto V
10. Sea of Thieves

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ace-combat-7-skies-unknown-has-sold-over-2-5-million-copies-worldwide/
Bandai Namco has announced that Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide. Ace Combat 7 came out in February 2019, which means that it took the team almost two years in order to hit this goal.

This week GOG brings The Grand RPG Sale, with over 250 deals up to 90% off for the next 7 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/grand_rpg_sale_2021

Steam has two new deals:

• The daily deal is Moving Out, that has a demo and it's 40% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/996770/Moving_Out/
• And UBOAT, still in Early Access, is 50% off until January 22: https://store.steampowered.com/app/494840/UBOAT/

And Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Chronicon, 33% off for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/chronicon
• And the January Savers bring up to 90% discounts on "thousands of games".

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

The largest expansion mod for Fallout New Vegas is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/largest-expansion-mod-fallout-new-vegas-download/
Fallout The Frontier, a major overhaul mod for Fallout New Vegas that is 27GB in size, is currently available for download. This is the largest expansion mod for Fallout New Vegas, and we highly recommend downloading it.
According to the team, The Frontier will bring a new gameplay experience to Fallout New Vegas. It will also have 3 major questlines, 50+ side quests, improved graphics and better combat mechanics. For instance, it will have boss battles, aerial dogfights and airborne assaults, as well as arena battles.
>> You'll find it at Nexus Mods.

Here is Battlefield 1 with Reshade Ray Tracing
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-is-battlefield-1-with-reshade-ray-tracing/
YouTube’s ‘AD Massicuro’ has shared a video, showcasing Battlefield 1 with Reshade Ray Tracing. In order to implement these effects, AD Massicuro used Pascal “Marty McFly” Gilcher’s Reshade Ray Tracing Mod, and the results are pretty good.

Version 2.0 of the Ratchet & Clank mod for GZDoom is available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/version-2-0-ratchet-clank-mod-gzdoom-download/
Modder ‘That_Blind_Guy’ announced the release of Ratchet & Clank: Hot and Bothered Version 2.0 for GZDoom. According to the modder, this is a gameplay mod for DOOM II, Final DOOM, and FreeDOOM that aims to adapt the mechanics and weapons of the Ratchet & Clank series into GZDoom.
Ratchet & Clank: Hot and Bothered features a total of 27 weapons. Furthermore, players upgrade almost all of them (excluding the Omniwrench) through the acquisition of XP. Players can increase their XP via the traditional Doom way, with it reaching a maximum of 400. Players will be also facing off against an extended bestiary with more complex behaviors than your standard DOOM monsters.
It’s also worth noting that the mod contains modified versions of gleasspty’s weapon wheel, Xaser’s DAMNUMS, and Sgt_Mark_IV’s Bolognese gore mod.
>> Available from ModDB.

This 1GB Mod for The Witcher 3 overhauls all of its animals
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/this-1gb-mod-for-the-witcher-3-overhauls-all-of-its-animals/
Modder ‘Denroth’ has released a new mod for The Witcher 3 that overhauls the textures for all of the game’s animals. This is a pretty cool HD Texture Pack that a number of The Witcher 3 fans will appreciate.
Since this pack does not change anything else, it is compatible with almost every other mod.
>> You'll be able to get it from Nexus Mods.

Bloodborne PSX is a lo-fi demake of the Fromsoftware slasher
https://www.pcgamer.com/bloodborne-psx-is-a-lo-fi-demake-of-the-fromsoftware-slasher/
Five years on, and a Bloodborne PC release still only looks marginally more likely than it did on day one. But while From Software's best game remains locked down on Sony's hardware, developer Lilith Walther's crunchy 90s demake of the gore-soaked monster hunter looks like one hell of an alternative.
Okay, yes, it's called Bloodborne PSX, but no-one's going to be playing through this lo-fi hunter's dream on old PlayStations

This Skyrim mod turns NPCs into adoring fans of the Dragonborn's abs
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-skyrim-mod-turns-npcs-into-adoring-fans-of-the-dragonborns-abs/
The blessed warrior who slew Alduin and brought an end to Skyrim's civil war shouldn't have to worry about their body image. At least, that's the reckoning of modder Everglaid's Positive Undressed Reactions mod, which turns the citizens of Tamriel into adoring fans of your rippling pecs.
As spotted by PCGamesN, the reactions mod uses spliced-together voice lines to imbue Skyrim's guards, merchants and villagers with a deep sense of admiration for the Dovahkiin's body, should they strut into town wearing naught but their undies. While that's a recipe that could easily come across as a bit creepy, the modder has kept responses as light-hearted as possible—with lines written to be surprised, embarrassed, and impressed, with zero "vulgar and degrading" comments.
>> It only works with the Special Edition of Skyrim.

GAMING NEWS

Path of Exile: Echoes of the Atlas is now available on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/path-of-exile-echoes-of-the-atlas-is-now-available-on-pc/
Grinding Gear Games has announced that its next major expansion for Path of Exile, Echoes of the Atlas, is now available on PC. As the press release reads, the expansion delivers new end-game content, a new challenge league, new skills, and a new pinnacle boss simply known as The Maven.
>> And this expansion has caused the game to hit an all time high player count.

Cyberpunk 2077’s E3 2018 demo was faked, developers were aware of the game’s issues
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cyberpunk-2077s-e3-2018-demo-was-fake-developers-were-aware-of-the-games-issues/
At E3 2018, Cyberpunk 2077 impressed a lot of people with its vertical slice demo. However, it appears that this demo was “fake”, and that it did not showcase the things that players could do in this game.

New rumor suggests Final Fantasy 7 Remake coming simultaneously to PC and PS5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-rumor-suggests-final-fantasy-7-remake-coming-simultaneously-to-pc-and-ps5/
A new rumor surfaced last week regarding the rumored PC version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. According to Resetera’s member KatharsisT, who is a well-known leaker, Square Enix plans to announce and release the PC version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, alongside the PS5 version, in 2021.

It’s official, Hitman 1 & 2 Steam owners will be able to transfer their progress to Hitman 3
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/its-official-hitman-1-2-steam-owners-will-be-able-to-transfer-their-progress-to-hitman-3/
A controversy surfaced yesterday regarding Hitman 3. And today, IO Interactive officially announced that Steam owners will be able to transfer their progress to the EGS version of Hitman 3.
However, this won’t happen on launch day. According to the team, a solution will be provided after the game’s launch. In addition, IO Interactive claimed that the Hitman 1 GOTY Access Pass will be available to everyone that pre-orders Hitman 3, or for those that will purchase the game in its first 10 days of release.

Monday news, part two:

Elite Dangerous: Odyssey's settlements won't sit around waiting to be bombed
https://www.pcgamer.com/elite-dangerous-odysseys-settlements-wont-sit-around-waiting-to-be-bombed/
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey's new settlements promise a potent blend of on-foot and starship combat—but don't think taking out a town will be as easy as rolling up to the front gates with an Anaconda full of missiles.

Hades dev responds to translation criticism, says it paid pros and community members alike
https://www.pcgamer.com/hades-dev-responds-to-translation-criticism-says-it-paid-pros-and-community-members-alike/
Hades studio Supergiant Games has responded to complaints about the game's non-English translations and questions about the use of unpaid community members as translators, saying that it did in fact use a "professional translation service" in the game's development, as well has "hand-picked members of our community" to revise the translations based on player feedback.

Here's a bit more detail about that in-engine Stalker 2 trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-a-bit-more-detail-about-that-in-engine-stalker-2-trailer/
In a post on the official Xbox blog, GSC Game World has given a bit of description to that in-engine teaser trailer from early January. Stalker 2's protagonist is Skif, whose eyes we see through in the teaser video. That's the character's Stalker name, remember, as Stalkers don't use their real names. (They are criminals, after all.) According to GSC's post, Skif's actions "will shape the new grand chapter in the history of the Zone."

Cyberpunk 2077 staff knew how bad the bugs were before launch, report confirms
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-staff-knew-how-bad-the-bugs-were-before-launch-confirms-report/
Earlier this week, CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwiński once again apologized for the state of Cyberpunk 2077, which has been buggy on PC, and very buggy on last-gen consoles. In that apology, Iwiński suggested that the scope of Cyberpunk 2077's issues was not entirely known before release. We were skeptical of the claim, and in a new report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, employees at the studio reject it.
(...)
CD Projekt management did not offer a response to be published in Bloomberg's report, but Badowski commented after the fact in a tweet (embedded below).

Dwarf Fortress' upcoming mouse support, tooltips, and good UI are messing with me
https://www.pcgamer.com/dwarf-fortress-upcoming-mouse-support-tooltips-and-good-ui-are-messing-with-me/
Over the past few weeks developer Tarn Adams has been showing off UI improvements for the upcoming graphical Steam version of Dwarf Fortress. In a developer diary from December, above, Adams goes over using a mouse in the new version, something there has been only rudimentary attempts at supporting in the past. There are tooltips. I've been playing Dwarf Fortress for over a decade and the existence of proper tooltips is really, really throwing up some cognitive dissonance in my head. I ask myself Could this truly be Dwarf Fortress? Could this thing with actual user interface, a navigable interface for understanding what's going on in the world, be my beloved game?

After Star Wars Battlefront 2 was given away by Epic, the servers crashed
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-star-wars-battlefront-2-was-given-away-by-epic-the-servers-crashed/
Star Wars Battlefront 2 is currently available for free on the Epic Games Store, but you might have trouble playing anything other than the singleplayer modes. Players have been seeing error codes 623, 918, and 721, all of which point to the same problem—no connection to EA's servers.

Cloud Climber is a free walking sim about exploring surreal towers
https://www.pcgamer.com/cloud-climber-is-a-free-walking-sim-about-exploring-surreal-towers/
Cloud Climber is a nice way to spend fifteen minutes of your day, I think: A surreal walking simulator about exploring the environment of three massive towers, each stretching towards the sky to reach the clouds. It's a fully voiced game with a nice, hand-drawn graphical style and casual gameplay, where mostly you just wander about, climb stairs, turn cranks, and lay planks. Classic video game stuff, really.

Spaceship RTS Falling Frontier looks like The Expanse in a very good way
https://www.pcgamer.com/spaceship-rts-falling-frontier-looks-like-the-expanse-in-a-very-good-way/
Falling Frontier from Stutter Fox Studios is an upcoming space-based real-time strategy game with a semi-realistic space science fiction look. It's a look that's really familiar to people who love near-future sci-fi, like those fans of hit series The Expanse. Falling Frontier's civilian ships have utilitarian designs based around simple usability, while military ships have sleeker, armored designs based around positioning turrets and engines.

The creators of Skyrim's massive Enderal mod are making a commercial game
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-creators-of-skyrims-massive-enderal-mod-are-making-a-commercial-game/
Enderal: Forgotten Stories is an ambitious total conversion mod for Skyrim, with an entirely new plot and significantly tweaked mechanics. Its creators were previously responsible for other Elder Scrolls mods like Nehrim for Oblivion, but are now moving on to a commercial project, which they say "will hopefully be announced this year."

Former head of Team Ninja, Tomonobu Itagaki, has set up a new studio
https://www.pcgamer.com/former-head-of-team-ninja-tomonobu-itagaki-has-set-up-a-new-studio/
(...)
Following Devil's Third's ignominious reception Itagaki has been somewhat quiet, but has now posted a recent but unused interview on Facebook. There's some detail on what he's been up to, what the future holds, and some hilarious stories about the early Xbox days.
When asked what he's been up to, Itagaki writes: "For the past four years, I’ve been teaching job to foster juniors, but now I feel like I want to make a game again and just established a company for that purpose."

Call of Duty: Warzone outflanks thirdparty stat-tracking apps with a change to privacy settings
https://www.pcgamer.com/call-of-duty-warzone-outflanks-thirdparty-stat-tracking-apps-with-a-change-to-privacy-settings/
Warzone is never without controversy. A particularly contentious recent development has been the emergence of various stat-tracking apps, including COD Tracker and Warzone Companion, which allow players to check out the composition of their lobbies in realtime and, some argue, manipulate the game's matchmaking by pulling out of 'unfavourable' lobbies.

Hitman 3's launch trailer is a thrilling murder holiday
https://www.pcgamer.com/hitman-3s-launch-trailer-is-a-thrilling-murder-holiday/
Hitman 3 is almost here—and to get you all fired up for another season of hitting men, IO Interactive have given the global assassination trilogy's final act a launch trailer to die for.