I would put those rumored performance increases in context. For example, that 2.5x increase of RDNA3 could mean a 1.5x in raster and a 3.5x in RT, resulting in an average 2.5x improvement.

But well, the end results will depend on the frequency, and the rumors aren't sure about that.

Well I am not sure if that's how they are determining the 2.5x but we will see.

I know, but it's hard to belive that they'll improve every aspect of Navi 21 the same x2.5 factor, when it's clear that some parts need bigger improvements than others.

That's true but 3.5x in Ray Tracing feels too far fetched. I think 2.5x in Raster makes more sense with all of it's Infinity Cache, 15360 Stream processors (6900XT has 5120), New MCM design, TSMC's 5nm and etc.

From what I understood about the rumours, no one really knows the RT performance of RDNA 3.

There's been a lot of talk about Lumen and Nanite lately, but check out what Niagara is going to be capable of!:

https://80.lv/articles/a-stunning-fluid-simulation-made-in-unreal-engine-5/

This stuff used to require big expensive bakes, now it can be done in real time.

At $75-90, it would actually be some decent entry-level CPU. But at it's $129 MSRP, it's way too expensive.

It really shows how fast the CPU market is evolving. 2 years ago, this would have been a great deal (remember the Ryzen 1600 re-release at a similar price point and how it was celebrated?), now it's already garbage.

I wish AMD would have used those old Ryzen 4000 chips and made some Athlons out of them. A Ryzen 3 4300U (which is 4c/4t unlike the 4300G, which is 4c/8t) with adapted clock speeds and maybe some cut CU on the GPU side would certainly have made a great Athlon CPU and a worthy successor to the Athlon Gold 3150G

Yea at that price point against celerons and pentiums, it would be decent but personally, I would have rather AMD just rebrand 3600 and 3300 instead of 5500 and 4500. The way AMD did their budget RDNA 2 GPUs shows the importance of Gen 4 yet Intel is the one providing that. And while it technically won't matter for anyone upgrading from 1000 series on 300/400... Well it's not much of an upgrade as it performs similarly to 2000 series. 1000 series users would be better off either getting a used 3600 or committing to 5600 or higher now that 5600 is only $200 and that will save them a motherboard upgrade instead of going to Intel.

The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has two new sales:

• To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Legends if Grimrock is 80% off during the next 5 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220411_legend_of_grimrock_anniversary
• And there's a Special Sale with Square Enix featuring up to 89% discounts during the next 6 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/2022_square_enix_sale

Steam has six new deals, and a new set of weeklong deals:

• The new daily deal is The Last Stand: Aftermath, 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1266840/The_Last_Stand_Aftermath/
• The first Midweek Madness deal is Darkwood, 70% off until Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/274520/Darkwood/
• Generation Zero will also be 70% off until the 14th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/704270/Generation_Zero/
• The Early Access title Vampire Survivors is going to be 10% off until April 15: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1794680/Vampire_Survivors/
• Totally Accurate Battle Simulator will be 55% off until Friday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/508440/Totally_Accurate_Battle_Simulator/
• CODE VEIN, that has a demo, will be 80% off until Friday 15: https://store.steampowered.com/app/678960/CODE_VEIN/
• And here are some of the weeklong deals:
  • FOREWARNED, still in Early Access, is 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1562420/FOREWARNED/
  • Bloodwash gets a 40% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1598160/Bloodwash/
  • Magicite is half its price: https://store.steampowered.com/app/268750/Magicite/
  • Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game gets a 75% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/73170/Darkest_Hour_A_Hearts_of_Iron_Game/
  • ENSLAVED: Odyssey to the West Premium Edition (the only edition available) is 85% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/245280/ENSLAVED_Odyssey_to_the_West_Premium_Edition/

The Humble Store has five new sales:

• The Playstation Studios Sale features up to 75% discounts during the next 5 days. The keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/playstation-studios-sale/
• The Civilization Franchise Sale comes with up to 85% discounts during 5 days. The keys are for Steam and EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/civilization-franchise-sale/
• The 505 Games Sale features up to 70% discounts during the next 6 days. There are keys for Steam and EGS (1): https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/505-games-sale/
• The Survival Sale brings up to 90% discounts during 6 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG, UPlay. Bethesda and EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/survival-sale/
• And there's a 505 BYOB with 31 games to choose your up to 5 games bundle. And remember, the more games your bundle has, the bigger the discount, up to 85% off: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/505-byob/

And Fanatical has a new Star Deal: Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök. Yes, a DLC and for UPlay (of course), 34% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/dlc/assassin-s-creed-valhalla-dawn-of-ragnarok

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

This God of War Mod lets you play as the original Kratos from God of War 3
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-god-of-war-mod-lets-you-play-as-the-original-kratos-from-god-of-war-3/
Omega Fantasy has shared a video, showcasing an amazing God of War 3 mod for God of War 2018. As the title implies, this mod lets you play as the original Kratos from God of War 3 in the latest God of War game for the PC.
Now we have some good and some bad news here. The bad news is that this mod is behind a Patreon-wall, which kind of sucks. On the other hand, the good news is that there is a similar mod that you can download for free on NexusMods. This free mod does not feel as polished as the one by Omega Fantasy but hey, it’s at least free.
In other news, Jose Alisson released a mod that enables DualSense Adaptive Triggers on PC. You can download this mod from here.

Batman Arkham Asylum gets an amazing HD Texture Pack, overhauling over 100 textures
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/batman-arkham-asylum-gets-an-amazing-hd-texture-pack-overhauling-over-100-textures/
GPUnity has released an amazing HD Texture Pack for Rocksteady’s first Batman Arkham game, Batman: Arkham Asylum. This HD Texture Pack is a must-have for everyone that wants to re-visit this Batman game, and we highly recommend downloading it.
Going into more details, this HD Texture Pack carefully recreates body textures with adjusted specularity that is more in line with Arkham Knight’s material work. Moreover, it packs realistic skin bumps, as well as improved hair normal maps for Joker. Additionally, it completely overhauls the normal maps for Batman.

GAMING NEWS

The Quarry gets new screenshots and gameplay video
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-quarry-gets-new-screenshots-and-gameplay-video/
2K Games has released a new video for The Quarry, showcasing 30 minutes of gameplay footage. In addition, the publisher released a new set of in-game screenshots that you can find below.

First Unreal Engine 5 teaser video released for the new dinosaur game, Instinction
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-unreal-engine-5-teaser-video-released-for-the-new-dinosaur-game-instinction/
Hashbane has released the first Unreal Engine 5 teaser video for its upcoming dinosaur survival game, Instinction. This first video showcases the game’s graphics, as well as its Photomode.

Tuesday news, part two:

Wingspan: European Expansion arrives on May 5
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/wingspan-european-expansion-arrives-on-may-5/
We liked Wingspan a lot when we reviewed it in late 2020, calling its digital recreation of the bird-based board game "a must play" in our 90% review , and users on Steam seem to share that feeling: It's rated as "overwhelmingly positive" across more than 4,100 user reviews. And soon there will be more, as developer Monster Couch announced today that the long-awaited European Expansion will arrive on May 5.

Elden Ring had a 'dream mist' collecting mechanic and questline cut from the final game
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/elden-ring-had-a-dream-mist-collecting-mechanic-and-questline-cut-from-the-final-game/
I can't believe I could've gotten high with Elden Ring's NPCs. Tragedy!
FromSoftware has a long history of leaving scraps of cut content in its games, and lore fanatics likewise have a long history of digging those secrets out of each game's code to study them. That process is just beginning with Elden Ring, but YouTuber Lance McDonald has already put together a video on a fascinating feature cut during Elden Ring's development.

Destruction physics and chill vibes meet in this demolition sandbox
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/destruction-physics-and-chill-vibes-meet-in-this-demolition-sandbox/
Recently I tried out physics sandbox Instruments of Destruction (opens in new tab), where you build the wrecking machines of your dreams—vehicles covered with rotating sawblades and swinging wrecking balls—and drive them full-tilt into puny, defenseless buildings. It's a smashing good time, perhaps not surprising as it comes from Radiangames, founded by the lead tech artist of Red Faction Guerilla.

China issues first new videogame approvals in almost a year
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/china-issues-first-new-videogame-approvals-in-almost-a-year/
A Reuters report says China has resumed issuing publication licenses for videogames by granting approvals for 45 new games, the first such license approvals since July 2021.

No Man's Sky creator posts pirate flag on Twitter, hype boils over
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/no-mans-sky-creator-posts-pirate-flag-on-twitter-hype-boils-over/
No Man's Sky is almost six years old, and it's come a long way since its troubled launch. The space sim has received loads of free expansions and improvements since 2016, and creator Sean Murray said in February that it will continue to grow. What we don't know is what future updates will look like, though fans both on reddit and Twitter seem to think pirate battles are a certainty. Louder are the calls for something resembling Sea of Thieves in space.

CCP rejects EVE Online NFTs: 'Not For Tranquility'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ccp-rejects-eve-online-nfts-not-for-tranquility/
In December 2021, CCP Games announced that NFTs would feature prominently in EVE Online's Alliance Tournament XVII, in prizes, raffles, and more. The studio said the implementation of NFTs was strictly a "measured bonus" for the annual tourney and employed a blockchain with "profoundly minimal energy consumption," but despite those assurances the reaction from the player base was strongly negative.
(...)
It's become enough of a situation that CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson has posted a message stating explicitly that while NFTs and blockchain technology are potentially cool, there are no plans to incorporate them into the game.

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D Zen3 CPU has finally been tested in games

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-7-5800x3d-zen3-cpu-has-finally-been-tested-in-games

Now most games, they are very similar but some games, you do get a pretty big jump:

But there are two big caveats to this that needs to be said.

1) 12900KF is running DDR4 and not DDR5
2) You can overclock the 12900KF where as you can't on the 5800X3D

So you kind of have this review that is ultimately pointless because the 12900K is under-performing as no one is going to spend the money to get a 12900K and not get a Z590 with high speed DDR5. It does show some nice gains but overall, wait until Thursday when the review embargo is supposed to lift to see the comparisons from the usual reviewers.

Still, it is always impressive to see how much performance you can get out of Zen 3 just by adding in more cache.

Steam Deck tested with Radeon RX 6900XT as external GPU is 10x faster in 3DMark Time Spy

https://videocardz.com/newz/steam-deck-tested-with-radeon-rx-6900xt-as-external-gpu-is-10x-faster-in-3dmark-time-spy

They hooked it up through the m.2 slot. Fun test even if it's not reasonable use case.