Exactly why I bought a 4090. The market is fucked either way and it will either get better or it will get much worse. I am 30 years old with a good paying job, I want to play games with the best experience that PC has to offer and  I don't want to keep waiting for the Pascal moment that might never happen again. Even if Nvidia some how goes back to form with RTX 5000 series, is something else gonna cuck the market? Another Crypto boom as btc keeps trending upwards? Some weird Ai nonsense? Who knows.

The only thing that anyone knows for sure is that a 4090 a very fast GPU with all the premium features that will last for a very long time if needed. It's why I have been saying, do not buy any GPUs from this generation other than 4090 if you are going to upgrade. Because 4080, 7900XTX, 7900XT, 4070 Ti etc are just horribly priced for their performance. And if you are on a budget and need to upgrade now, buy RDNA 2. 6800XT at $500 is insane value. 6700XT for $350 is good value. 4070 in the current gpu climate ain't too bad either, especially if you can get it discounted below msrp.

The news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has one new Deal of the Day and a new Midweek Sale:

• The new Deal of the Day is Giants: Citizen Kabuto, 30% off during 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/giants_citizen_kabuto
• The Midweek Sale features all kind of games with up to 90% discounts: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230419_midweek_sale

Steam has a new deal: Gold Rush: The Game will be 60% off until next Tuesday, 25: https://store.steampowered.com/app/451340/Gold_Rush_The_Game/</p >

And Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Wasteland 3, 78% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/wasteland-3
• And Team 17 puts its games on sale with up to 91% discounts during 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/team17-digital-ltd

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 531.68
https://videocardz.com/driver/nvidia-geforce-game-ready-531-68
Highlights
This new Game Ready Driver provides the best gaming experience for the latest new titles including Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Dead Island 2.

Fixed Issues

• [Immortals Fenyx Rising] is randomly crashing to desktop after a driver update to 531.41 [4042712]
• Shadowplay incorrectly getting engaged within EA Play application [4049414]
• [Counter Strike 2] Enabling Reflex may reduce performance [4065567]

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

If an irradiated wasteland filled with murderous monsters isn't bad enough on its own, now you can add AI Joe Rogan to it
https://www.pcgamer.com/if-an-irradiated-wasteland-filled-with-murderous-monsters-isnt-bad-enough-on-its-own-now-you-can-add-ai-joe-rogan-to-it/
If you've ever thought to yourself that what the gently crackling quiet of Fallout: New Vegas really needs is the endless nattering of a credulous media personality, then I might have just the mod for you: The Joe Rogan Experience, in which the bafflingly popular presenter gives voice to eight sponsor messages and nine interviews with various high-profile characters.
Of course, it's not actually Joe Rogan's voice: The mod uses AI-powered voice synthesis to recreate Rogan in the game. The big giveaway is that it doesn't really sound like him, particularly during the interview with Caesar in the first part of the trailer. Rogan has a distinctive voice, which I've grown passingly familiar with through UFC broadcasts and the occasional brief clip from his podcast that's passed around on social media, and the voice in the trailer is far enough off the mark that it just doesn't click for me.
>> There's a roughly 2 minutes video of the mod.

GAMING NEWS

The Callisto Protocol April 18th Patch released, is 12GB in size, adds Dismemberment Mode
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/the-callisto-protocol-april-18th-patch-released-is-12gb-in-size-adds-dismemberment-mode/
Striking Distance Studios has released the April 18th Patch for The Callisto Protocol. This update is 12GB in size on PC, and adds a new Dismemberment Mode.

2K Games removed Denuvo from New Tales from the Borderlands
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/2k-games-removed-denuvo-from-new-tales-from-the-borderlands/
2K Games issued a new update for New Tales from the Borderlands that removed the Denuvo anti-tamper tech from it. New Tales from the Borderlands came out in October 2022, meaning that it took 2K around six months in order to remove it.

WWE 2K23 Update 1.08 released and detailed, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/wwe-2k23-update-1-08-released-and-detailed-full-patch-notes/
2K Games has released Title Update 1.08 for its latest wrestling game, WWE 2K23. Additionally, the team revealed its complete changelog which highlights all the fixes, tweaks and changes that this patch brings to the table.

Don’t expect to be playing Crysis 4 anytime soon, and here is why
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dont-expect-to-be-playing-crysis-4-anytime-soon-and-here-is-why/
In January 2022, Crytek announced the fourth installment of the Crysis franchise (which has the working title “Crysis 4”). However, after over a year, it appears that this game is still in a very early development stage.

The news, part two:

Bungie says it has 'irrefutable evidence' against Destiny 2 streamer accused of leaking confidential content
https://www.pcgamer.com/bungie-says-it-has-irrefutable-evidence-against-destiny-2-streamer-accused-of-leaking-confidential-content/
Bungie says it has "irrefutable evidence" that a well-known streamer accused of leaking content from a recent Destiny 2 Community Summit is in fact guilty of multiple leaks of confidential information over a period spanning several years. The streamer in question, however, is steadfastly maintaining his innocence, and has vowed to clear his name.

Lead designer at Naughty Dog says Star Wars Battlefront 3 was 'legit incredible' and LucasArts cancelling it was 'an absolute crime'
https://www.pcgamer.com/lead-designer-at-naughty-dog-says-star-wars-battlefront-3-was-legit-incredible-and-lucasarts-cancelling-it-was-an-absolute-crime/
Free Radical was a British game studio of ex-Rare devs best-known for the TimeSplitters series, and almost as well-known for the disastrous flop of PlayStation 3 exclusive Haze. Free Radical went bankrupt shortly after releasing Haze, but the death blow might've really come from the cancellation of Star Wars: Battlefront 3, an ambitious game intended to mix on-ground strategy with spacefaring dogfights: You controlled your character on the surface in gigantic battles, but could hop in a ship and zoom up into space. The above video is a leaked internal showreel from 2008.
>> LucasArts cancelled so many games with great potential over the years.

This Marvel Snap card is so completely broken, everyone is getting it for free
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-marvel-snap-card-is-so-completely-broken-everyone-is-getting-it-for-free/
Marvel Snap players are getting the new Kitty Pryde card for free, because the original Kitty Pryde card that launched at the end of March—and was then quickly pulled—was so broken that it would've basically required an overhaul of the entire game to fix.

Controlling Overwatch 2's new hero won't feel like playing a flight simulator anymore
https://www.pcgamer.com/controlling-overwatch-2s-new-hero-wont-feel-like-playing-a-flight-simulator-anymore/
By default, Overwatch 2's new support hero has one of the most complex control schemes in the game.
(...)
After only a few hours, Reddit user SammyIsSeiso had an entire custom game and video to demonstrate the community's desired keybinds, which circulated around enough to catch Blizzard's attention.
Every change in the popular video will be implemented next week, according to a tweet from game director Aaron Keller. "This will become the new default, with options to use the old style," he says.
>> I hope Blizzard gives that user some kind of reward for doing what they couldn't.

Capcom promises the return of Resident Evil 2 and 3's vanished graphics and audio options
https://www.pcgamer.com/capcom-promises-the-return-of-resident-evil-2-and-3s-vanished-graphics-and-audio-options/
True horror struck Raccoon City last week, as legions of Resident Evil 2 and 3 fans—myself included—who spent far too much money on their graphics cards suddenly found the games' ray tracing tech removed. The sudden and silent withdrawal of RT options seemed to be tied to an April 14 patch to both games, and it wasn't clear if the lighting tech would ever make a return.
But it looks like the removal was a mistake, because Capcom has finally taken to Twitter to calm our nerves. "We're aware of an ongoing issue with the raytracing option not appearing in the graphics menu and presets," said the official Resident Evil Twitter account, promising to "have this addressed in a future update".

Gollum dev says it's charging for the precious Elvish-language DLC because it had to train voice actors in how to speak it
https://www.pcgamer.com/gollum-dev-says-its-charging-for-the-precious-elvish-language-dlc-because-it-had-to-train-voice-actors-in-how-to-speak-it/
Developer Daedalic Entertainment has belatedly explained why its upcoming The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, releasing on 25 May, has paid-for DLC that adds more Elvish to the game. As part of the game's pre-order campaign it's been offering the perfectly named 'Precious' special edition, which comes with four extras that players of the standard edition will be able to buy as DLC. One of these is a voice-over expansion for the Elvish language Sindarin, which basically makes the elves speak more in their mother tongue while you wander this version of Middle-earth.
>> They kind of have a point there. Kind of.

Techland wants to know who you'd like to play as in Dying Light 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/techland-wants-to-know-who-youd-like-to-play-as-in-dying-light-3/
Videogame announcements are weird. Techland is still working on Dying Light 2 updates and has not revealed plans for a third game yet, but it's already publicly trying to gauge who people would want to play as in this currently non-existent sequel. So! Dying Light 3. It's probably going to happen at some point, and it looks like fans want to play as a reformed villain.

Dev makes classic game free to celebrate release of remake, accidentally does it early and almost gives away the new one, before Valve saves the day
https://www.pcgamer.com/dev-makes-classic-game-free-to-celebrate-release-of-remake-accidentally-does-it-early-and-almost-gives-away-the-new-one-before-valve-saves-the-day/
Desktop Dungeons is a personal favourite, a 2013 roguelike that has all the brutal goodness you expect of the genre with a charming lawyer of puzzle-slash-town-building layered atop. It's a quickfire experience but a game I've lost countless evenings to, and I've been looking forward to Desktop Dungeons: Rewind, an overhauled version of the game that has just released.

You've got one week to try Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer for free
https://www.pcgamer.com/youve-got-one-week-to-try-modern-warfare-2s-multiplayer-for-free/
Clip on your weapon gewgaws, turn off voice chat, and prepare to do some things that definitely count as war crimes, because Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (the 2022 one, not the original, and yes I am still upset about how these things are named) is running a multiplayer "free access" week, giving you a chance to try out some of its multiplayer modes for no money down.

PUBG developer's NFT metaverse platform is coming this year and still sounds like nonsense
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-developers-nft-metaverse-platform-is-coming-this-year-and-still-sounds-like-nonsense/
PUBG developer Krafton announced that it was getting its hands dirty with NFTs and metaverse shenanigans last year, and it looks like its plans are coming to fruition. The metaverse platform, which has the working title Migaloo, is due to launch this year.

Never-Released NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 SUPER Would’ve Been The 5th Entry In The 3060 Lineup, Full GA106 GPU

https://wccftech.com/never-released-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3060-super-wouldve-been-the-5th-entry-in-the-3060-lineup-full-ga106-gpu/

Judging by the specs, it's also known as the 3060 for laptops as the laptop 3060 has more cuda cores than desktop version just with lower clocks and 6GB of vram instead of 12. In the case of 3060 Super, it would have had the same amount of cuda cores as 3060 laptop paired with 12GB of vram and desktop clocks.

NVIDIA Stock Surges As Demand For AI GPUs Grow, AI Chips Being Sold For Up To 20 Times More Than Gaming GPUs

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-stock-surges-as-demand-for-ai-gpus-grow-ai-chips-being-sold-for-up-to-20-times-more-than-gaming-gpus/

ASUS ROG Swift PG27AQDM OLED Gaming Display Now Available For $999 US: QHD Panel, 240 Hz, 0.03ms Response

https://wccftech.com/asus-rog-swift-pg27aqdm-oled-gaming-display-available-for-999-us-qhd-panel-240-hz-0-03ms/

Probably the best OLED monitor you can buy if you don't want Ultrawide. Sadly no 4k option

MSI Afterburner Gets First Stable Release In Months: 4.6.5 Brings Support For NVIDIA RTX 40 & AMD Radeon RX 7900 GPUs

https://wccftech.com/msi-afterburner-gets-first-stable-release-in-months-4-6-5-brings-support-for-nvidia-rtx-40-amd-radeon-rx-7900-gpus/

The beta versions had support for a long time already but least it's now on the stable release.

MSI launches GeForce RTX 3060 Ti SUPER 3X series with SUPRIM cooling solution

https://videocardz.com/newz/msi-launches-geforce-rtx-3060-ti-super-3x-series-with-suprim-cooling-solution

Probably some scummy marketing from MSI cause 3060 Ti Super doesn't actually exist. And with 8GB of vram at proabably $500 since it's the Suprim model, not even worth looking into.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 & RTX 4080 Graphics Cards Prices Drop Below MSRP, Starting At $1549 & $1149 US

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-rtx-4090-rtx-4080-graphics-cards-prices-drop-below-msrp-starting-at-1549-1149-us/

The smallest of discounts

So, I have another question regarding building, and airflow. I've gotten the Phanteks Eclipse G500A chassis, it's decently priced and has proven to be a great chassis for airflow (I always go for airflow before dampening noise with layers and mesh). Now, the chassis comes with 3x140mm fans in the front, and I'll be installing a Glacier One 360MP AIO cooler sporting 3x120mm fans. Now, my question is as follows; should I install another fan in the rear as classic exhaust? To my understanding, this might help the cool air being sucked in spend some more time around the GPU as well, rather than shooting straight towards the top and the AIO radiator. I bought an extra 140mm 1800rpm fan for this purpose, but I'm unsure whether to install it or simply look how the thermals will be with the basic setup first. Based on (very) rough calculations, the standard setup without rear exhaust should result in a slightly positive pressure (which is good against dust accumulation).

I found a keyboard, there was a sale on the Razer Blackwidow v.3, for about 85$, which is a great price. I already have a great wrist rest. And I bought a G502 Hero, just because the upgrades to the 502 X don't seem worth it, and the lighter weight will actually bother me a bit (502 Hero is about 33% heavier). I even purchased an XXL mouse-mat and a new, huge desk with electrical rise/lower function. Now, the only thing remaining is to not look at my account for a few months...

I personally have a rear exhaust on mine cause I had an extra fan. You don't really need it all that much these days, especially with the coolers that 4090 comes with and 7800X3D running fairly chill and you already having 6 fans in the case with 3 of them being exhaust. But it wouldn't hurt.

On a side note, I actually have the exact same AIO and I'd suggest going into the settings and adjusting the pump speed to 70-80%. I read reviews in the past and if I remember correctly, they said there's basically little to no difference in AIO cooling performance once you go above 70% but the noise difference is big. Trust me on that cause the noise the pump makes at 100% is very annoying and distracting.

Damn, thanks for the tip! I've actually never installed one before and have zero experience. The 7800X3D looks like a surprisingly cool-running chip, it's quite impressive. As it turns out, my biggest issue so far is fitting my desk into my car! I couldn't fit it into my Peugeot 208, I'm taking the car at work on friday to pick it up instead. I even managed to get a sweet deal on the desk, they gave me an expired campaign price and about 25% off. All in all, I think I've saved at almost 1000$ on the complete shopping spree.

No problem and noice, that sounds like a steal. I should replace my desk eventually cause I have been using my current one for like 8 years lol. It's nothing special and it's certainly starting to show it's age. Let me know if you got any recommendations!

As for the AIO, you basically have to go into the BIOS fan settings, enable PWM on the AIO Pump header and then set it to manual. Then adjust the curves so that under 80C, it stays below 70%. Then when it gets above 80C, you put the AIO to 80-90%. Even 100% should be fine (but not really needed) cause your fans will be spinning quite fast if your CPU gets that high as the TJMax is 89C so you won't be able to hear your pump at that point. I'd also customize your fan curve as well. Asus with their default fan curves are unnecessarily noisy. I mainly have it so that my fans don't start ramping up until it hits 70C.

Good advice, I've seen builds in this case with similar parts and temperatures are usually in the high 60s under stress, low 70s is almost an anomaly. Luckily, it the fans should ramp up, my Katana soundboard can drown out the noise!

I just see it getting worse tbh.

nvidia is only ever going to lower their prices due to not many buying in the middle to low end market, as they've since proven they don't care about the high end folks (since they buy regardless of price).

Because AMD is focused on 2 markets as well as servers, I don't see them putting more eggs into their GPU side, simply because that requires more money, time and effort, all of that which isn't going to really pay off in their short term, due to how little gains they seem to get and how brand awareness seems to favour Nvidia most of the time.

There is one way we could course correct this, and it has to be via us, the consumer, and that's to simply stop buying into Nvidia as a collective and either buy into AMD or Intel, but because no one truly works that way in society (even fans don't work as a collective entirely, even for the long-term goals they aspire for), Nvidia will just keep it's market share, and nothing will change. 

Crypto could absolutely come back, but Ai and Crypto bros have always been a background problematic type, and those can only be done away with if people cared enough to show them the door, consumers and corpos alike (which again, won't happen, because no one cares to change the status quo, not unless things get absolutely dire as hell, that no one can stand it).

The thing is, while you've got the good job and the like, I'm some yrs older than you and not really in the best position (health issues have set me back from maintaining a job, and I'm still trying to get docs to work with me to get me back on my feet for nearly 3 yrs now), but I've also had to wait 3 gens for what I perceive as good value/perf, and despite the 4090 having all those bells and whistles, it's price ratio is utterly abysmal, meaning it won't pay itself off for me the same way the 1080ti has done for me since 2017 (The locked tech idea of Nvidia's also puts the GPU paying off into question).

The main reason I haven't scraped to try going AMD, is because I'm wanting an entirely new rig (minus the drives), and I'm not the type that wants to go for a GPU that's going to be woefully outdated very soon (as good as AMD is in raster, their current line are only going to get dwarfed more by Nvidia and AMD's later lines).

I'm basically damned if I do, damned if I don't, but none of this would have to be this way had nvidia not gotten greedy, since we know AMD follows Nvidia, this puts Nvidia themselves are the forefront of the problem that was self made (Also the US for not following the UK on anti-scalping laws, seriously why has the US not bothered with such an important law?).