You would think they would mention Ray Tracing if that was the case but it wouldn't surprise me if devs forgot to list it.

That's par for the course with Asobo Engine games and RDNA2 AFAIK. Could be a buffer bottleneck since the 7900s perform well here, same as TCP.

Yea but it's not the only game where we see RDNA 2 falter with those requirements. Even the Callisto Protocol which was an AMD sponsored game btw had similar issues with RDNA 2.

We will see how Hogwarts and upcoming Jedi Survivor does as those also have RDNA 2 being compared to worse GPUs from the requirements than what's supposed to be their class of cards.

TCP is also much better with RDNA3, so yeah, there's a pattern here.

This makes me think the Infinity Cache should have been even larger in the newer cards for better future-proofing. Unless RTG was already considering an X3D-like solution but it isn't quite ready yet.

Ah I didn't catch that TCP meant The Callisto Protocol.

I think it may have to do with dual FP32 as that is the biggest change between RDNA 2 and RDNA 3 (other than MCDs being taken out). It would make sense as to why RDNA 3 performs better with these games than RDNA 2 because RDNA 3 is more like Ampere/Lovelace in that respect.

I don't want to scare you, guys, but it's Friday 13th. Watch your backs!
But do it after checking the news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Fanatical has a new bundle: the Starpoint Gemini Warlords Complete Bundle, with the game and 6 DLCs with a 95% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/starpoint-gemini-warlords-complete-bundle.
Also, they've warned us, their New Lunar Year Sale will start on Monday.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

GOG has quietly killed off its Steam-import service
https://www.pcgamer.com/gog-has-quietly-killed-off-its-steam-import-service/
If you've been champing at the bit for the return of GOG Connect, the service that allowed you to import selected games from your Steam library over to your GOG collection, then I've got some bad news. GOG has finally and quietly retired the service, with the URL now redirecting users to the store's front page.
Eagle-eyed Reddit users began to notice the redirect around a week ago, even though the page was still accessible as recently as January 1, but the lack of an official announcement meant it was hard to be sure if the service was gone for good. However, a GOG spokesperson tells PCG that they "can confirm that GOG Connect is no longer supported and is removed from [GOG's] page".
It's sad news, but not at all surprising. I don't even remember the last time the service had games available (its offerings were always time-limited, giving players a brief window to import the available games if they owned them on Steam), and the last time it was mentioned as a going concern on our own site was during a Chinese New Year sale several years ago. That sentiment was echoed by GOG, which told us that "for a long time nothing really happened there, so we've decided to shut it down".
>> It's disappointing to see it go but, after years without any activity, we all knew it was as good as dead.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

-Empty-

GAMING NEWS

Hogwarts Legacy will be using Denuvo, gets final PC requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/hogwarts-legacy-will-be-using-denuvo-gets-final-pc-requirements/
Warner Bros has revealed that Hogwarts Legacy will be using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech. In addition, the publisher released the final – and more detailed – PC requirements for this title.
>> While Yuri already posted the specs yesterday, there was no mention of Denuvo in them.

Atomic Heart gets a brand new 4K Chinese Gameplay Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/atomic-heart-gets-a-brand-new-4k-chinese-gameplay-trailer/
Mundfish has shared a new 4K Chinese gameplay trailer for its upcoming first-person shooter, Atomic Heart. Mundfish has prepared this trailer for the Bilibili Game Area and since it features some new gameplay sequences, we recommend watching it.

Multiplayer tactical space-based shooter, Boundary, now targets a March 2023 release date
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/multiplayer-tactical-space-based-shooter-boundary-now-targets-a-march-2023-release-date/
Surgical Scalpels has updated the Steam store page for Boundary, revealing that the game now targets a March 2023 release date. The game was originally targeting a 2020 release date, however, the developers decided to delay it until Summer 2021. And, as you may have guessed, the game did not hit that release date window.

Watch out! These are the rest of the Friday 13th news:

Simon Pegg is the Hogwarts headmaster in Hogwarts Legacy
https://www.pcgamer.com/simon-pegg-is-the-hogwarts-headmaster-in-hogwarts-legacy/
Warner Bros Games has announced that Simon Pegg, he of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Star Trek, and probably a bunch of newer stuff I haven't seen, will portray the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the upcoming open-world wizarding game Hogwarts Legacy.

High on Life, Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland charged with felony domestic violence and false imprisonment
https://www.pcgamer.com/high-on-life-rick-and-morty-creator-justin-roiland-charged-with-felony-domestic-violence-and-false-imprisonment/
Justin Roiland, the co-creator of Rick and Morty and founder of High on Life Studio Squanch Games, has been charged with felony domestic violence and false imprisonment in California. As reported by NBC News, the charges relate to a May 2020 criminal complaint for events that occurred in January 2020, and the proceedings have not been publicly reported on until today.

GTA Online has a Gun Van now, and the Gun Van is selling a railgun
https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-online-has-a-gun-van-now-and-the-gun-van-is-selling-a-railgun/
Grand Theft Auto Online players have a whole new way to go shopping for firepower: The Gun Van, a store-on-wheels that offers discriminating consumers and purveyors of violence a rotating selection of top-of-the-line weaponry, armor, and ammunition.

Assassin's Creed Mirage will be smaller because Ubisoft knows big games are getting tiresome
https://www.pcgamer.com/assassins-creed-mirage-will-be-smaller-because-ubisoft-knows-big-games-are-getting-tiresome/
Whenever I think of an Ubisoft RPG, the first thing that comes into my head is "Those games are too goddamn big." It seems I'm not the only one who shares that sentiment, and the developer is all too aware that people are starting to get a little burned out on gigantic open worlds.
It's a relief, then, that Assassin's Creed Mirage is going to be doing a bit of downscaling. Speaking to GamesRadar, creative director Stéphane Boudon says the community has been at the forefront of shaping the latest entry in the series. "Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, they are all great games with the promise to live an epic journey in a strong fantasy," he said. "Their scopes have been calibrated to fulfil those ambitions as they all embrace the RPG mechanics.
>> It can be a good thing... or an excuse to cut content to be able to launch the game on time.

Ubisoft CEO tells staff the ball is in their court to turn the company around
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-ceo-tells-staff-the-ball-is-in-their-court-to-turn-the-company-around/
Ubisoft's been having a rough time of it lately: Skull and Bones got delayed (again), the company cancelled three unannounced projects, and its share price has taken a hell of a bruising. But CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot knows just whose responsibility it is to turn things around: His staff's.
In an email seen by Kotaku, Guillemot told Ubisoft staff that "The ball is in your court to deliver this line-up on time and at the expected level of quality" after the company's myriad delays had "weighed on our costs and decreased our associated revenues". Guillemot told staff that he needed their "full energy and commitment" in order to make sure that Ubisoft "[gets] get back on the path to success".
>> Yeah, pass the responsibility to the workers and let's forget about the management staff that has put the company in this position pursuing wrong projects.

Fortnite disables hurdling after it keeps launching players into the stratosphere
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-disables-hurdling-after-it-keeps-launching-players-into-the-stratosphere/
Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 1 hasn't been having the greatest time lately. It's been plagued with bugs, the latest of which has found players launched staggeringly far above the map before plunging to their untimely death.
It's thanks to hurdling, which is supposed to allow players to gently vault over fences and other low objects. The movement had already been disabled back in December thanks to a bug, returning earlier in the week. Sadly, it's still not been fixed as videos have begun cropping up on Reddit showing the game launching players a little further than intended.

And here are the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:

+GOG

• There are four Deals of the Day, that will last until Monday:
  • X4: Tides of Avarice, an expansion of X4: Foundations, is 10% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/x4_tides_of_avarice
  • The Being a DIK: Season 1 & 2 + Guide Bundle is 27% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/being_a_dik_season_1_2_guide_bundle
  • XIII - Remake is 63% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/xiii_remake
  • And GRIS is 75% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/gris
• The Weekend Sale, dubbed Gaming Bargains, features up to 90% discounts until Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230112_weekend_sale
• And the Special Warhammer Weekend Sale also features up to 90% discounts during the next 3 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20231013_warhammer_weekend

+Steam

• The first weekend deal is The Callisto Protocol, 20% off until the 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1544020/The_Callisto_Protocol/
• Choo-Choo Charles will be 25% off until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1766740/ChooChoo_Charles/
• Train Life: A Railway Simulator will get a 35% discount until Thursday, 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1330660/Train_Life_A_Railway_Simulator/
• Patron, that has a demo, is going to have a 66% discount until the same January 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1538570/Patron/
• NEOWIZ's Skul and Friends Sale features up to 80% discounts. Some discounts will end the 19th, while others will last until the 26th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/skulandfriendssale
• 部落与弯刀 Sands of Salzaar will be 60% off until the 26th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1094520/_Sands_of_Salzaar/
• And Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is going to be 70% off until Thursday 26: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2221490/Tom_Clancys_The_Division_2/

That's all folks! Until next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

Updated AMD Radeon RX 7900 drivers reduce power consumption in FPS-limited games

https://videocardz.com/newz/updated-amd-radeon-rx-7900-drivers-reduce-power-consumption-in-fps-limited-games

Step by step, they are improving

Intel confirms Lunar Lake features an entirely new architecture for low-power mobile devices

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-confirms-lunar-lake-features-an-entirely-new-architecture-for-low-power-mobile-devices

I wish Intel was a bit more like AMD with its new architectures and products and kept it under secret for more time.

With AMD we know that there's the current Zen4, a modification called Zen4C or D (I've seen both names when talking about the same), and Zen5. There's also a rumored Zen4 refresh but, if it exists, it doesn't even have its own name yet.

Meanwhile, with Intel there's Raptor Lake, followed by a refresh, and then we have Meteor Lake, Arrow Lake and then, this Lunar Lake architecture. We barely know sh*t about Meteor Lake, much less about Arrow and nothing about this new one besides that it exists so... why bother?

/rant

DirectStorage Performance Compared: AMD vs Intel vs Nvidia

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/directstorage-performance-amd-intel-nvidia?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow

Dat A770 result...