Vcache pricing

Releasing Feb 28th. 7800X3D on April 6th.

Decent prices for new X3D's all considering. A bit lame for AMD to stagger the 7800X3D's launch until April, since that's the one the mainsteam and gamers will go for. In any case, interested to see how fast these will be. Should be the top dog for a good while.

Also a little funny that their 12 core CPU's (R9 7900/X) are cheaper than their Vcache 8 core, 7800X3D. Though for gaming the latter will crush everything minus the other X3D SKU's when optimized correctly.

I don't really agree with you. There should have been only one B650 and X670 configurations, with the features of the E parts but with the prices of the non-E mobos. And then, these A620 parts for the very low end.

But well, we don't know how much of the price of these cards is because the chipsets are very expensive and how much is due to the mobo partners applying an extra cost because they thought the parts would fly off the shelves. After all, given what we saw them doing with GPU prices during the latest mining boom, it's clear that they'd have no problems raising the prices all they could to raise their profits even more (which is their job, mind you, but everything has a limit that they seem to be too eager to cross whenever possible). 

Well, the 7800X3D is $50 more than the original price of the 5800X3D, which isn't great, but it's also launching a lot earlier in the cycle of these zen4 processors.

I agree with hinch, tho, that CPU being more expensive than the 7900 is surprising, and it will be interesting to see in which direction the consumers move, either more cores for productivity or better gaming results.

In any case, I was hoping for them to be a bit cheaper to bring down the price of the other 7700 and also 7600 parts, and also the 13600K, so I'd have more options for my new PC in my budged, but it looks like that won't happen.

That's kind of what I meant but rereading what I said probably shows I didn't have my morning coffee.

I personally don't think there's much reason to choose a 7900 or 7900X because of the fact that a 13700k exists for around $400 msrp while being better than 7900 at gaming and having a similar productivity performance. I really dislike this whole productivity cycle and then gaming cycle that AMD has come up with with their CPUs while Intel is giving you both in one package. Luckily the 7900X3D and 7950X3D exists this time around to fixes that on AMDs side. I do hope their confidence in pricing means that X3D chips will be very fast in gaming against Intels best. If a 7800X3D matches or beats a 13900k in gaming, then I'd consider that a win.

The new prices do mean that a 13600k will continue to be the "budget" champ in the CPU space though.

The only reason to get a 7900 -/X over a 13700K is power consumption.

And well, yeah, the 13600K is an excellent CPU, but I'd call it mid-range, not budget.

The Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Dwarf Fortress releases sales figures since Steam release showing 46,000% increase in earnings
https://www.pcgamer.com/dwarf-fortress-releases-sales-figures-since-steam-release-showing-46000-increase-in-earnings/
Dwarf Fortress just can't stop winning. After blasting through its two-month sales estimate and hitting almost half a million copies sold in under a month, co-creator Tarn Adams came out yesterday and told players precisely how much money the game has earned since its December Steam release: $7,230,123, and 58 cents.
That's around £5.9 million or €6.6 million, and it's just slightly more than the $15,635 (£12.7k/€14.2k) that Dwarf Fortress earned in the month prior to its release on Steam. That's more than a 46,000% increase, by my reckoning (and by my reckoning I mean the reckoning of this online calculator I used to do the sum, so I'm blaming that if my figures are wrong). That's a life-changing shift, and not just because it's allowed Adams and his brother Zach to hire an unprecedented second programmer.

The Epic Store

• City of Gangsters: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/city-of-gangsters
• Dishonored®: Death of the Outsider: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/dishonored-death-of-the-outsider

Next week, they'll give away Recipe for Disaster.

GOG has two new sales:

• The Gore & Fast Paced Week brings us up to 90% discounts during the next 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_gore_fastpaced_sale
• And Publisher 11 bit studios puts its games on sale with up to 85% discounts until February 10th: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_11bit_studios_week

Steam has two new deals:

• Mars Horizon is going to be 67% off until February 8th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/765810/Mars_Horizon/
• And the Vampire: The Masquerade - The New York Bundle gets an 86% discount. It doesn't say when it will end, but the individual games will be on sale until the 8th, if that helps: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/21188/Vampire_The_Masquerade__The_New_York_Bundle/

There's a new Humble Bundle: the Celebrating Black Creators and Characters Bundle, with 8 titles to get during the next 26 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/celebrating-black-creators-and-characters.

And Fanatical has a new bundle and two contests:

• The new bundle is the Platinum Collection BYOB for February, with 16 titles to choose from to build your 3, 5 or 7 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/platinum-collection-build-your-own-bundle https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/platinum-collection-build-your-own-bundle
• The first contest's first prize is a Secretlab chair, with a Hogwarts Legacy gift box as the second prize and 25 in store credits for another 25 participants. Learn more here: https://www.fanatical.com/en/blog/win-a-secretlab-chair-with-our-hogwarts-legacy-contest
• The second contests is also Hogwarts Legacy related and will give its winner the chance to get a Hogwarts House Themed PC. Learn more here: https://www.fanatical.com/en/blog/do-you-want-a-hogwarts-house-inspired-pc

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

At long last, the Steam Deck UI has replaced Steam's Big Picture mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/at-long-last-the-steam-deck-ui-has-replaced-steams-big-picture-mode/
It's been a long time coming, but Valve has finally taken Steam's old Big Picture mode—with all its blurry visuals and tabs that straight-up don't work—and replaced it with a new, Steam Deck-inspired UI. It came as part of a hefty Steam client update released yesterday, and in my testing seems to work pretty well, but some users are reporting a few kinks that still need to be worked out.
I've put some pictures of the new UI below, and it'll be incredibly familiar to anyone who's futzed around with a Steam Deck. It's pretty much just the standard interface of Valve's handheld blown up to fit the dimensions of a proper TV. (...)

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

-Empty-

GAMING NEWS

Grand Theft Auto 5 gets a security-focused update on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/grand-theft-auto-5-gets-a-security-focused-update-on-pc/
Rockstar has released a brand new security-focused update for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto 5. In addition, the company revealed its complete changelog which you can find below.

Dead Space Remake gets a 25% free performance boost with Resizable BAR
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dead-space-remake-gets-a-25-free-performance-boost-with-resizable-bar/
Earlier today, reports surfaced suggesting that Dead Space Remake greatly benefits from Resizable BAR. From the looks of it, NVIDIA has disabled this feature by default for it. And we can now confirm that Resizable BAR can increase performance by up to 25% in this particular title.

Here is a brand new concept art for Alan Wake 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/here-is-a-brand-new-concept-art-for-alan-wake-2/
Alan Wake 2 is one of our most anticipated games of 2023. And earlier today, Remedy shared new concept art from it. I know I know, a mere image is not that exciting. Still, this is Alan Wake 2 we’re talking about so I had to share it with you.

Bandai Namco has removed Denuvo from NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bandai-namco-has-removed-denuvo-from-naruto-to-boruto-shinobi-striker/
Back in 2018, Bandai Namco and Soleil accidentally uploaded a Denuvo-free build of NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER. And now, after four years, the teams have officially removed the anti-tamper tech from the game.

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update 4.01 released, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/the-witcher-3-next-gen-update-4-01-released-full-patch-notes/
CD Projekt RED has just released a new update for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen. According to the changelog, Patch 4.01 adds a new performance mode for ray-traced global illumination. This mode will improve frame rate by prioritizing performance over range and precision.

Thursday news, part two:

This gorgeous kingdom-builder is inspired by Tactics Ogre, so they hired the same composer
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-gorgeous-kingdom-builder-is-inspired-by-tactics-ogre-so-they-hired-the-same-composer/
Songs of Silence is a new strategy game being developed for PC by Chimera Entertainment that takes players to a beautiful fantasy realm of Light and Dark, each filled with warring factions, and both oblivious to the creeping invader that threatens to destroy them all.

Turns out an ungodly amount of hidden rabbits was my perfect wind-down game this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/turns-out-an-ungodly-amount-of-hidden-rabbits-was-my-perfect-wind-down-game-this-week/
(...)
I'm a sucker for a hidden object game anyway, a byproduct of too many hours peering through Where's Wally-style books in my local bookstore and all of those detective games on the Nintendo DS that had you relentlessly stabbing your stylus into the touchscreen. I commissioned some bunnies isn't the first game in Follow The Fun's hidden object series. There's also I commissioned some cats and a number of games in the I commissioned some bees series.

Redfall requires a 'persistent online connection', even in singleplayer
https://www.pcgamer.com/redfall-requires-a-persistent-online-connection-even-in-singleplayer/
Arkane's upcoming vampire shooter Redfall puts a lot of emphasis on co-op multiplayer, but it also supports solo play: The Steam page describes it as "an open-world, single player and co-op FPS." In case you're not convinced, Bethesda communications chief Pete Hines has also specifically stated that you can "play it by yourself." Unfortunately, even if you're playing alone, you'll still have to be online.

The Day Before devs reverse course again, announce a 10 minute 'gameplay extravaganza' for Thursday
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-day-before-devs-reverse-course-again-announce-a-10-minute-gameplay-extravaganza-for-thursday/
A reveal of "raw gameplay footage" from The Day Before that was planned for January was scrapped at the last minute because of a trademark dispute that also purportedly forced a lengthy launch delay. But now the show may be back on, and coming very soon: Levitate, a head moderator of The Day Before Discord, announced today that a gameplay revealiew will take place on February 2.

EA has reportedly canceled a singleplayer Apex Legends game
https://www.pcgamer.com/ea-has-reportedly-canceled-a-singleplayer-apex-legends-game/
A new Bloomberg report says Electronic Arts has cancelled development of a new game based on the Apex Legends and Titanfall series that was in development at Respawn Entertainment.

Amnesia: The Bunker delayed into May after a 'tough winter'
https://www.pcgamer.com/amnesia-the-bunker-delayed-into-may-after-a-tough-winter/
(...)
Originally primed for a March 2023 launch, Amnesia: The Bunker will now release a couple of months later, on May 16. "The team here at Frictional has had a tough winter with a slew of illnesses that has affected the development," the studio said in its announcement. "We are a small team and things like this heavily impact production.

Ubisoft's launcher broke Steam games on Linux and Steam Deck
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisofts-launcher-broke-steam-games-on-linux-and-steam-deck/
The Steam Deck has been a huge hit for Valve, opening up the world to PC gaming on a portable console style PC. They're great little machines that make wonderful travelling companions. Whether you're headed to a bar or 2,500 ft above the surface of the Earth, the Steam Deck is ready to go. That is, unless you wanted to play some Ubisoft titles.
A new update for the Ubisoft Connect launcher completely stuffed launching Steam games on Linux platforms. According to GamingOnLinux, trying to launch any Ubi titles on desktop Linux or Steam Deck resulted in an unrecoverable error popup from Ubisoft Connect. From there all you could do is click OK and accept you're not getting on for that Division raid tonight.
>> Oh, Ubisoft, do you really hate Steam/Linux that much? Let's see how much it takes go get it fixed... and if it'll be Ubi or Valve who fixes it.

AMD admits to be undershipping CPUs and GPUs

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-admits-to-be-undershipping-cpus-and-gpus

Nvidia also did something similar but AMD certainly managed to ramp down a lot faster than Nvidia did. What's interesting is they say they undershipped both CPUs and GPUs but their CPUs never went out of stock and they needed to give big discounts. Hopefully it really teaches them a lesson.

Intel confirms upcoming Xe2-LPG architecture for integrated graphics

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-confirms-upcoming-xe2-lpg-architecture-for-integrated-graphics

NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada has been tested in 3DMark

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-rtx-6000-ada-has-been-tested-in-3dmark

AMD Board Partners To Launch New B650 Motherboards To Address Broader Range of Price Points This Quarter

https://wccftech.com/amd-board-partners-to-launch-new-b650-motherboards-to-address-broader-range-of-price-points-this-quarter/

LG 1440p OLED monitor review: He compares it against a 360hz IPS panel and it's quite impressive. If only it came in 4k 32 inch versions.

Unsurprising that a 4090 sold so much. It's the only GPU that's worth getting this gen. The rest are all trash.