Monday news, part two:

Hunt: Showdown is getting one of the rarest things a game can get: an engine upgrade
https://www.pcgamer.com/hunt-showdown-is-getting-one-of-the-rarest-things-a-game-can-get-an-engine-upgrade/
Hunt Showdown is currently celebrating its five-year anniversary with a big sale and a new DLC hunter. While there's much to look back on, Crytek's eyes are fixed on the future with plans to update Hunt from an aging 5.6 legacy version of CryEngine to the latest 5.11 build.

The Sims 4's next expansion will make Sims actually care about each other's personalities
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-sims-4s-next-expansion-will-make-sims-actually-care-about-each-others-personalities/
The Sims 4's next expansion, Growing Together, and the incoming free update for the base game are adding a lot of new outfits and furniture and a proper infant life stage, but the really exciting thing is the expansion's deeper simulation of relationships, which looks like it's entering straight-up strategy game territory. It's enough to make a Build Mode purist like me a little jealous.

Square Enix's crypto-loving president likely to be ousted in favor of a different, still crypto-loving president
https://www.pcgamer.com/square-enixs-crypto-loving-president-likely-to-be-ousted-in-favor-of-a-different-still-crypto-loving-president/
First reported by VGC, Square Enix announced that it plans on ousting company president Yosuke Matsuda. Following shareholder approval, Matsuda will be replaced with Takashi Kiryu, who came to the company from managing the Dentsu Innovation Initiative in 2020.
>> So they're replacing a terrible president with a guy that came to the company roughly three years ago. Sure, why not? What's the worst that can happen?...

Overwatch 2 characters are canonically One Punch Man fans, because why not?
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-2-characters-are-canonically-one-punch-man-fans-because-why-not/
Blizzard has a canonical reason for why its Overwatch 2 heroes are wearing the upcoming One Punch Man costumes.
Speaking to Xbox Wire, Overwatch 2 art director Dion Rogers said that the characters don't become One Punch Man characters when they use the crossover skins, they're just big fans.

Dead Island 2 gameplay shows off bridezilla zombie, has the vibe of pro wrestling
https://www.pcgamer.com/dead-island-2-gameplay-shows-off-bridezilla-zombie-has-the-vibe-of-pro-wrestling/
A new video of Dead Island 2 shows off about 15 minutes of gameplay, highlighting the absolutely over-the-top gorefest that is its ranged and melee combat. It's full of campy-to-annoying dialogue and cheap laughs, but they're still effective. Honest to God more than anything it reminds me of the absolutely absurd tone of modern American Professional Wrestling.

Warframe's next expansion is a bizarre roguelike journey into a villain's psyche
https://www.pcgamer.com/warframes-next-expansion-is-a-bizarre-roguelike-journey-into-a-villains-psyche/
Warframe's absolutely wild-looking new expansion, The Duviri Paradox, will finally release in April. Fully revealed in developer Digital Extremes' March Devstream, the expansion will include three major play modes: a solo campaign, an endless game mode, and Warframe's fourth open-world environment. It'll also have a time-rewinding death mechanic that introduces a bit of what the developers call "flirting with rogue-like mechanics."

This gruesome RPG is combining biological horror with the claustrophobic labyrinths of PC gaming's past
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-gruesome-rpg-is-combining-biological-horror-with-the-claustrophobic-labyrinths-of-pc-gamings-past/
First reported on by Gaming on Linux, Enter the Hibernaculum strikes me as one of those videogame "two great tastes that taste great together" that really should have been acted on by now: combine the inherent claustrophobia and challenging navigation of old first person dungeon crawlers like Eye of the Beholder with an industrial sci-fi atmosphere and gruesome biological horror sensibility.

Sons of the Forest devs have "big plans" for AI buddies Kelvin and Virginia
https://www.pcgamer.com/sons-of-the-forest-devs-have-big-plans-for-ai-buddies-kelvin-and-virginia/
A community Q&A organized across the Sons of the Forest Discord and Reddits has made its way to the developers, with a few answers giving an exciting look at Endnight's plans for its smashing survival success. While the details given on Sons of the Forest's future are pretty sparse, there are some very concrete bits about things Endnight can definitively confirm.

Here's a little puzzle game about being a consultant for pirates
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-a-little-puzzle-game-about-being-a-consultant-for-pirates/
Have you ever wanted to run a startup company focused on a product simulating and solving problems for the average pirate? Problems of complex ship maneuvering, avoiding crashes, and taking hold of your objectives with a firm hand? Have you ever wanted to demonstrate this product for investors in order to achieve the returns only high risk, high reward West Indian Coast venture capitalism can provide?

This offbeat FPS traps you in an arena shooter-themed afterlife where something is going horribly wrong
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-offbeat-fps-traps-you-in-an-arena-shooter-themed-afterlife-where-something-is-going-horribly-wrong/
Unreal 4, Unreal 5? No no no, take me back to the old Unreal: Facing Worlds, unbeatable soundtracks, "Yes, this is a screenshot," now that's the stuff. Upcoming FPS Ghostware turns the indie boomer shooter renaissance's propensity for reinterpretation and revitalization of old classics on Epic (Megagames)'s original hits, using the vibes and visuals of classic arena shooters to stealthily present a story-heavy, single player game.

Surprise! Here's the third part of the Monday news:

Cross Pokemon with The Binding of Isaac and you get this cheerily violent roguelike
https://www.pcgamer.com/cross-pokemon-with-the-binding-of-isaac-and-you-get-this-cheerily-violent-roguelike/
After seven years in the works, solo-developed roguelike Patch Quest has released its final version, a massive roguelike where your explorer uses their powerful lasso to capture and tame any of the many monsters that inhabit a huge labyrinth. It's pretty much what would happen if you combined Pokemon with The Binding of Isaac, a simply to play yet wildly diverse set of attacks and movement mechanics ranging from gliding, leaping, and surfing to tunneling and spider-man-esque webslinging.

Check out this deckbuilder that uses poker hands for combat resolution
https://www.pcgamer.com/check-out-this-deckbuilder-that-uses-poker-hands-for-combat-resolution/
A hidden gem snuck out onto Steam late last month in the form of an unprepossessing deckbuilder, Aces & Adventures, that while it might sound like nothing special has the higher production values and interesting design of a much bigger game. At its core it's a clever little thing, a deckbuilder that has the card-adding-talent-accruing gameplay everything since Slay the Spire specializes in, but couples that with a combat system based on drawing and playing poker hands to attack and defend.

Larian confirms Baldur's Gate 3 early access owners get Digital Deluxe Edition upgrade free
https://www.pcgamer.com/larian-confirms-baldurs-gate-3-early-access-owners-get-digital-deluxe-edition-upgrade-free/
Something that seems to have slipped past a lot of people's notice when Larian announced the revised Baldur's Gate 3 system requirements (and that it's going to have J.K. Simmons in it) was a bit of good news for anyone who has already bought the RPG. Or anyone who plans to before its full release in August.

16 years later, a new Dragon Ball Budokai Tenkaichi game is happening
https://www.pcgamer.com/16-years-later-a-new-dragon-ball-budokai-tenkaichi-game-is-happening/
A lot's happened since 2007 when Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 was released. Three generations of home consoles, a global pandemic, Dragon Age 2 received a 94. What hasn't happened in that time is a sequel to a series that has become a cult hit among Dragon Ball fans. Until now.

Steam's most hardcore city builder overcomes Trotskyite sabotage to return to the platform
https://www.pcgamer.com/steams-most-hardcore-city-builder-overcomes-trotskyite-sabotage-to-return-to-the-platform/
It's been a rough few weeks for Workers and Resources: Soviet Republic, the hardcore Soviet city builder from Slovak studio 3Division. Back in mid-February, the studio announced that the game had been removed from Steam after a former "respected member of the community" filed a DMCA request against the game. His reason? He was convinced that the devs had ripped off a guide he had written for the game—Cosmonaut Mode—when they added a "realistic mode" to the game in December last year.

A Golden Girls parody of Persona exists, and you can play it later this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-golden-girls-parody-of-persona-exists-and-you-can-play-it-later-this-year/
The Persona games being about the struggles and experiences of teenagers is cool and all, but what if the series cast four elderly women living in a Miami house share instead? That's the pressing question developers Joey Pagano and Chris Lindgren have set out to answer in their upcoming parody game The Golden Girls Take Manhattan DX.

I've got a 5800X and a 3060ti with a 1080p monitor. Currently I am playing Witcher 3 ray tracing update and it's running at 30-60fps with DLSS balanced activated!

We are entering a decade of GPU bottlenecking due to limited ray tracing capabilities. High end CPUs won't be necessary for gaming for a long time.

Ok, here are some hardware news with video enhancing features, driver problems/fixes and some geek stuff:

Intel is also preparing Video Super Resolution for Chrome browsers
https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-is-also-preparing-video-super-resolution-for-chrome-browsers
Intel is also working on their own super resolution tech for video in Chromium browsers. We have already seen traces of such technology being referenced by Intel engineers for Chromium development, but it wasn’t exactly clear how and if it even works.

As it turns out, the technology is already enabled for certain Intel GPUs, but it is not officially supported yet and requires a manual change to be enabled. That said, there is no magic switch in the Intel graphics control panel, but a command that can be input for Chrome.

Microsoft introduces EDGE Video Super Resolution for NVIDIA and AMD GPUs
https://videocardz.com/newz/microsoft-introduces-edge-video-super-resolution-for-nvidia-and-amd-gpus
The video upscaling feature is now available to GeForce and Radeon users. Microsoft confirms that all RTX models (20, 30 and 40 series with Tensor cores) and Radeon RX 5700-7800 series will support this technology.

The AI technology will only work if the video resolution is lower than 720p but not smaller than 192 pixels wide or high. Furthermore, it only works for video content that is not protected by DRM (PlayReady or Widevine), so it may not work for sites such as Netflix or other streaming services.

Intel fixes high power load for Arc A7 multi-monitor setups
https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-fixes-high-power-load-for-arc-a7-multi-monitor-setups
Intel Arc A7 GPUs were known to suffer from high idle power consumption from the very start. The company has provided a guide on how users can achieve lower power states when using Arc GPUs. This may greatly reduce the power consumption (below 10W) for these cards when they are idle.

NVIDIA acknowledges 10%+ CPU usage driver bug after exiting games
https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-acknowledges-10-cpu-usage-driver-bug-after-exiting-games
A new graphics driver bug can cause high CPU usage from NVIDIA containers. Gamers have noticed a sudden spike of CPU usage after existing games, that can go even higher than 15%. This issue may not be easily noticeable, and may require checking system data.

An ultra-rare Radeon driver bug is breaking PCs. This exotic fix revived mine
https://www.pcworld.com/article/1529986/rare-amd-radeon-driver-bug-corrupt-windows-fix.html
The carefully sequestered, rock-solid-reliable PC I use to test graphics cards became completely and utterly hosed this week. I couldn’t even get the system to boot into Windows repair mode to try to troubleshoot it. The culprit? A rare conflict in the way Windows interacts with AMD’s latest WQHL-certified Radeon drivers, Adrenalin 23.2.2. Some quick Googling revealed that this has been happening to a small handful of other users since Adrenalin 23.2.1 landed in mid-February, with similarly devastating effects.

This experience would be an absolute disaster for anyone who isn’t the executive editor of a computer publication with a deep rolodex on hand (though AMD representatives are very responsive to driver feedback on social media). But fortunately, I was able to work closely with AMD on on the issue.

>>So yeah, unlike the broken GPUs, this problem is very real. For now, to avoid problems don't select "Factory Reset" when installing a new driver.

AMD releases FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.2 plugin for Unreal Engine
https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-releases-fidelityfx-super-resolution-2-2-plugin-for-unreal-engine
Around two weeks ago, AMD released a source code for its FSR 2.2 upscaling technology. The latest version has been available for at least two months now with games such as Forza Horizon 5, but AMD needed more time to prepare the documentation and test the plugins for broader use. With the just released Unreal Engine FSR 2.2 plugin, more game developers will be able to add the latest version of FSR with a few clicks.

And for those that like to see the ins and outs of the chips:

AMD's Zen 4 I/O Die Detailed Courtesy of ISSCC Presentation
https://www.techpowerup.com/305485/amds-zen-4-i-o-die-detailed-courtesy-of-isscc-presentation
Although we've known most of the details of AMD's I/O die in its Zen 4 processors, until now, AMD hadn't shared a die shot of the cIOD, but thanks to its ISSCC 2023 presentation, we not only have a die shot of the cIOD, but some friendly people on the internet have also made annotations for us mere mortals. There are no big secrets here, but based on the annotations by @Locuza_ we now know for certain that it's not possible to use the current I/O die with three CCDs, as it only has two GMI3 interfaces, to which the CCDs are connected.

From what I have seen so far, for real life videos, VSR doesn't do much but for animes and cartoons, it's a huge improvement. Likely because it's easier. The improvements will be interesting as time goes on.

The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Figment is free on Steam, but only until Figment 2 comes out
https://www.pcgamer.com/figment-is-free-on-steam-but-only-until-figment-2-comes-out/
The surreal action-adventure game Figment 2: Creed Valley is now set to launch on March 9, and until then, the original Figment—a "musical action-adventure set in the recesses of the human mind"—is free for keeps on Steam and GOG.
>> That's not the only new deal at Steam:

• The Nacon Connect Publisher Sale features up to 90% discounts until the 9th (tho some titles will be on sale for a bit more):
• Dead Cells will be 40% off until next Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/588650/Dead_Cells/
• Observer: System Redux gets a 50% discount until the 13th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1386900/Observer_System_Redux/
• Ultimate Chicken Horse will be 55% off until Monday, 13th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/386940/Ultimate_Chicken_Horse/
• The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos gets a 65% discount until the 13th of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/970830/The_Dungeon_Of_Naheulbeuk_The_Amulet_Of_Chaos/
• Publisher XSEED puts its games up to 75% off until March, 13th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/xseed2023
• The Sherlock Holmes franchise is on sale with up to 80% discounts until next Monday, 13th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/franchise_sherlock-holmes
• BLACKTAIL will be 34% off until March, 15th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1532690/BLACKTAIL/
• And, of course, there are also new weeklong deals. I can't post a sample today because I'm having troubles to see them, with Steam deciding to block most of the titles for some unknown reason.

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• The Tom Clancy Franchise Sale features up to 80% discounts during the next 6 days. All the keys are for UConnect: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/tom-clancy-franchise-sale/
• The Nacon Connect Publisher Sale brings up to 90% discounts during 6 days. There are keys for Steam and EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/nacon-connect-publisher-sale/

Fanatical has two new flash deals and a bundle:

• The first new flash deal is King Arthur: Knight's Tale, 50% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/king-arthur-knights-tale
• The second flash deal is MONSTER HUNTER RISE, 58% off until tomorrow's refresh: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/monster-hunter-rise
• The new bundle is the Fanatical Favorites BYOB, featuring 16 titles to choose for your 2, 3 or 5 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/fanatical-favorites-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Free DLC Mod for Sekiro adds enhanced bosses, new mechanisms & more
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/free-dlc-mod-for-sekiro-adds-enhanced-bosses-new-mechanisms-more/
Modder ‘ay001220’ has released a pretty cool free DLC Mod for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. This mod enhances some bosses, adds new mechanisms, and attempts to offer a better gaming experience.
Going into more details, Land of Reeds Emptiness adds two unique mechanisms, Bell and Soul Core.
>> There's a short video of the mod.

This Mod adds to Elden Ring elements from MMOs & traditional RPGs
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-mod-adds-to-elden-ring-elements-from-mmos-traditional-rpgs/
Modder ‘Muugiboy’ has released Eldenlands, a total overhaul mod that aims to bring to Elden Ring elements from MMOs and traditional RPGs. This is a must-have mod for everyone that has finished Elden Ring, and we highly recommend downloading it.
Now what’s also cool here is that Eldenlands has already received two expansions. These two expansions are The Master Within and Threads of Fate.
>> There's a long video of this mod.

GAMING NEWS

Square Enix has removed Denuvo from The Diofield Chronicle
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/square-enix-has-removed-denuvo-from-the-diofield-chronicle/
Square Enix has released a brand new update for The Diofield Chronicle that removed the Denuvo anti-tamper tech from its PC version.

Paradox Interactive has announced Cities: Skylines 2, first details & trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/paradox-interactive-has-announced-cities-skylines-2-first-details-trailer/
Paradox Interactive has just announced the sequel to Cities: Skylines, Cities: Skylines 2. Cities: Skylines 2 will be coming to PC later this year, and below you can find its announcement trailer.
>> the-pi-guy has made a thread about it. And you'll find more details in the second part of the news.

Counter-Strike Source 2 appears in DOTA 2’s latest update
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/counter-strike-source2-appears-in-dota-2s-latest-update/
A few days ago, we informed you about the possibility of a new Counter-Strike game. And it appears that NVIDIA’s drivers have indeed leaked this new CS game. Valve has just updated DOTA 2 and this latest update actually comes with some files for Counter-Strike 2 (or Counter-Strike GO Source 2).

Tuesday news, part two:

Destiny 2 players are repeatedly killing themselves in a 4-year-old raid for clout
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2-players-are-repeatedly-killing-themselves-in-an-4-year-old-raid-for-clout/
It's a tale as old as time: Bungie releases a new system designed to be a long term commitment in Destiny 2, and players find a way to exploit the rules of the game to 'complete' it instantly. It's happened before, and now it's happened again.

Frogwares' Lovecraftian Sherlock Holmes remake has a release date and a new, spooky trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/frogwares-lovecraftian-sherlock-holmes-remake-has-a-release-date-and-a-new-spooky-trailer/
Frogwares is finally ready to slap a release date on its remake of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. After multiple delays caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Kyiv-based studio has put out a new trailer and announced a release date of April 11, about five weeks from now. The game will (re)tell the tale of Holmes and Watson's attempt to foil a nefarious Lovecraftian cult bent on, well, all the things nefarious Lovecraftian cults traditionally get up to. Human sacrifice, god summoning, portent uttering, things of that nature.

This new turn-based game from the creators of BattleTech is inspired by Indiana Jones and XCOM
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-new-turn-based-game-from-the-creators-of-battletech-is-inspired-by-indiana-jones-and-xcom/
Announced at today's Paradox Interactive Showcase, The Lamplighter's League is a turn-based squad tactics game like XCOM or Fire Emblem, paired with a pulpy 1930s world reminiscent of Indiana Jones. Developers Harebrained Schemes had previously made the underrated Shadowrun RPGs, some of the first in the new wave of great CRPGs we've been seeing since the 2010s.

Former Sims studio head is now making a competing game called Life By You
https://www.pcgamer.com/former-sims-studio-head-is-now-making-a-competing-game-called-life-by-you/
There's a new challenger to The Sims on the way, and this one is led by a former Sims developer. During its showcase today, Paradox delivered a short teaser for a game called Life By You being developed by Paradox Tectonic and led by former Sims studio head and Second Life studio CEO Rod Humble.
>> Given the endless DLCs The Sims games have, Paradox is the perfect publisher for a similar game.

Crusader Kings 3: Tours and Tournaments is coming this spring
https://www.pcgamer.com/crusader-kings-3-tours-and-tournaments-is-coming-this-spring/
It was a big day for Paradox Interactive, which revealed a trio of new games including a squad-based tactics game called The Lamplighter's League from Harebrained Interactive, the Sims-like Life By You, and Cities: Skylines 2, which promises to be "the most realistic city simulation ever created." It also had some good news for fans of its medieval grand strategy game Crusader Kings 3: A major new expansion called Tours and Tournaments, which will give players all kinds of new and interesting ways to spend their time and money.

Here's how to sign up for the closed beta of The Finals, our most anticipated FPS of 2023
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-finals-closed-beta/
The closed beta test for The Finals, a new multiplayer FPS in development at Embark Studios, is set to begin on March 7. It's a pretty big deal, because we haven't heard much about the game since it's last beta test, which took place in October 2022. If you want to get in (and if you're a shooter fan, and especially a Battlefield fan, then you definitely do), here's what you need to do.

Cities: Skylines 2 will have hailstorms, rat infestations, and 150 map tiles in a single city
https://www.pcgamer.com/cities-skylines-2-will-have-hailstorms-rat-infestations-and-150-map-tiles-in-a-single-city/
One of the biggest shortcomings in 2015's city builder Cities: Skylines was the number of map tiles players were allowed to build on. The buildable space on a map was a grid of 5x5 tiles (25 in total), and of those available tiles players could only unlock a total of nine to build their cities on.
(...)
Cities: Skylines 2 was announced today, and it looks like modders can stand down: The maps in Cities: Skylines 2 will allow you to unlock a whopping 150 map tiles, quite a leap over the original game. Granted, we don't know the size of those tiles, so they may be smaller than in the original. But it still sounds like a hell of a lot more room to build without having to install a mod.

Overwatch 2 scientist confirms it's not just you, Cassidy's ultimate sucks
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-2-scientist-confirms-its-not-just-you-cassidys-ultimate-sucks/
When Cassidy pops his Deadeye ultimate, starts glowing orange, and yells "It's high noon," my seven years of experience playing Overwatch tell me to run for my life. But, according to Overwatch 2 scientist Marblr, the cowboy's ult isn't as threatening as it might seem.

Evidence is mounting for an upcoming Minecraft Bedrock world editor mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/evidence-is-mounting-for-an-upcoming-minecraft-bedrock-world-editor-mode/
First reported by Eurogamer, a Minecraft-focused account by the name of Roger Badgerman shared a 45-second clip of a purported Minecraft world editor⁠—a functionality that would allow for rapid, large scale changes to a Minecraft world or the construction of massive structures on the fly.

Tarkov publicly shames 6,700 'scum of the earth' cheaters by publishing their nicknames after banning them
https://www.pcgamer.com/tarkov-publicly-shames-6700-scum-of-the-earth-cheaters-by-publishing-their-nicknames-after-banning-them/
Tarkov developer Battlestate Games is getting medieval with the game's cheaters. Not content with merely banning rogue players who make use of things like wallhacks and aimbots, the studio is now shaming them publicly, too. Techcrunch reports that Battlestate has banned 6,700 cheaters from Tarkov in the last week, and it's published every single one of their nicknames in an easy-to-read spreadsheet.

Someone spotted a massive easter egg in the Cities: Skylines 2 trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/someone-spotted-a-massive-easter-egg-in-the-cities-skylines-2-trailer/
Scrubbing through the recent Cities: Skylines 2 announcement trailer from Colossal Order, one creator reckons they've clocked some exciting easter eggs. Not only does City Planner Plays think these point to the upcoming city builder sequel being made in Unreal Engine 5, he's also got me utterly convinced of a few other features the devs seem to be teasing.

The games for Humble Choice March 2023 have been revealed.

• BIOMUTANT
• Jurassic World Evolution 2
• Edge Of Eternity
• Hero's Hour
• Rogue Lords
• Demon Turf
• Golden Light
• Monster Crown

Pretty good month, 2 games on my wishlist, 3 other interesting games. 

Thanks for sharing.

And your wizard got a nice upgrade .

I've got a 5950X, my use case is going to be different from yours... I'm running different resolutions, settings and games.

High-end CPU's are definitely necessary if you are pushing high framerates. I.E. More than 120fps.
And I definitely need more single core performance as Sins of a Solar empire (Released in 2008) still ends up chugging on a 5950X.

Consequently, I run a lot of stuff in the background and just fire up a game on top of it, hence the oodles of ram and a high thread count CPU.

But, with games targeting 8 cores generally, the 7900X3D is a bad choice as it doesn't have the extra cores on the CCD with the extra cache, the 7800X3D doesn't have the threads for my needs. (Although still a good option if all you do is gaming.)

And that leaves the 7950X3D.

As for Ray Tracing and the CPU, Ray Tracing is actually a very CPU heavy task, typically bounding volume hierarchy is still done on the CPU depending on implementation, which drastically increases CPU load.