Anyone know what can cause a PC to not shut down properly? Windows seems to shutdown and then I just get get a black screen but the PC is still powered on with fans spinning etc. Happens 50% of the time. So I have to hold the power button when it happens.

Edit: Might be fixed. Disabled windows fast boot and updated all my drivers. Might happen again we'll see.

The Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Over 1M people have bought our favorite open world game of 2023 so far
https://www.pcgamer.com/over-1m-people-have-bought-our-favorite-open-world-game-of-2023-so-far/
The most surprisingly delightful open world game to come out this year has already reached a major milestone in sales only a month and a half from its release.
Tchia, developer Awaceb's bright adventure game where you play as a young girl who can possess all sorts of objects, has sold over a million copies across PC and PlayStation 5.

CS:GO broke its peak player count record yet again with 1.8M players
https://www.pcgamer.com/csgo-broke-its-peak-player-count-record-yet-again-with-18m-players/
In March, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive smashed its all-time peak player count record when 1,519,457 people logged on following the announcement of Counter-Strike 2. That record has now been broken again, with SteamDBv recording 1,818,773 players—a jump of almost 300,000.
What's brought all these players to CS:GO? While cynics will suggest they're bots, it's likely that a significant amount are launching the game thanks to the final CS:GO Major and its tie-in rewards. Since the Paris Major begins on May 8, Valve has added its usual Pick'Em challenge, in which CS:GO players can attempt to predict the results. The closer your guesses are, the better the rarity of prizes.

GOG has three new Deals of the Day and three new sales:

• These are the DotD, available until Wednesday:
  • The first one is Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers – 20th Anniversary Edition, 65% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/gabriel_knight_sins_of_the_fathers_20th_anniversary_edition
  • Iratus: Lord of the Dead is 80% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/iratus_lord_of_the_dead
  • And the Dracula Trilogy is 90% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/dracula_trilogy
• The Cozy Days Sale features relaxing games with up to 90% discounts during 2 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_cozy_days
• The new Weekly Sale brings up to 90% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230508_weekly_sale
• And the Zombie Gogalypse Sale comes with up to 90% discounts until the 15th of May: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_zombie_gogalypse

Steam has two new deals:

• The Early Access title GTTOD: Get To The Orange Door gets a 35% discount until the 14th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/541200/GTTOD_Get_To_The_Orange_Door/
• Blade Assault will be 80% off until Sunday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1367300/Blade_Assault/

There are two new deals at Humble:

• At Humble Bundle we find the Easy-Going Games: Whitehorn Showcase Bundle, with up to 12 games to get during 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/whitethorn-games-showcase
• The Humble Store has launched its Spring Sale! Check out the deals of lots of publishers like Frontier, Playstation, WB, Bandai Namco and more until May 23rd and featuring up to 90% discounts: https://www.humblebundle.com/store

And at Fanatical we find:

• The May Madness deals have arrived! Check the store for the deals available from many publishers like Ubisoft, Capcom, Bethesda, and many more.
• There are four new bundles: Batman: Arkham Collection (6days, 87% off), Rimworld with all expansions (13days, 12% off), Star Wars Collection (13 days, 79% off) and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete Bundle (14 days, 81% off).

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Steam's search bar just got a lot better
https://www.pcgamer.com/steams-search-bar-just-got-a-lot-better/
Valve has updated Steam store search to make it easier to explore categories larger than just the name of a game. The search bar on the Steam store can now better search for tags, developers, publishers, and franchises across web, app, and mobile. It'll also handle misspellings and typos much better than it did in the past.
The improvement comes in the form of a feature that deploys existing categories and tags into the search bar as you type, much like suggestions pop up for game names as you search.
The changes came about because Valve saw players' search habits shifting in this direction. "We noticed more players searching for particular store hubs, tags, or developers so we've updated Steam to handle those destinations," it said in a news post.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

PC gamers can now play Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in 4K/60fps
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pc-gamers-can-now-play-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-in-4k-60fps/
Earlier this week, we informed you about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom running on PC via the Ryujinx Nintendo Switch Emulator. And today, we are happy to report that PC gamers can already play this upcoming Zelda game in 4K/60fps with both Yuzu and Ryujinx.
From what we could see, both Yuzu and Ryujinx have some visual/graphics artifacts with this game. Moreover, you’ll need a really high-end PC system in order to get close to 60fps.
Regarding performance, both Yuzu and Ryujinx can run the game smoothly during its prologue scene. However, when the game opens up, performance goes downhill on mid-range PC hardware. Things will obviously get better as the developers of Yuzu and Ryujinx are currently working on optimization tweaks and performance improvements. Let’s also not forget that Tears of the Kingdom is not out yet (well… at least officially).

Elden Ring Resurrection Mod released, aiming to improve the game’s combat, exploration and character building
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/elden-ring-resurrection-mod-released-aiming-to-improve-the-games-combat-exploration-and-character-building/
Modder ‘Valthryn’ has shared a new mod for Elden Ring, called Elden Ring Resurrection. This mod makes changes and improvements to the game’s gameplay systems, gear progression, and animations. Additionally, it brings entirely new gameplay mechanics and an optional custom camera.
>> There are no screenshots nor videos of the mod in the article.

The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project NextGen Edition Gets New Preview Video
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/the-witcher-3-hd-reworked-project-nextgen-edition-gets-a-new-preview-video/
Modder ‘Halk Hogan PL’ has released a new preview video for his upcoming HD Reworked Project Mod for the Next-Gen version of The Witcher 3. This video compares some of the game’s default textures with the new ones that the modder will include in the mod.
The HD Reworked Project is a must-have HD Texture Pack for The Witcher 3. While the Next-Gen version of The Witcher 3 features most of the overhauled textures, the modder has been working on a new version that will be compatible with it.
>> The video preview is a bit over 4 minutes long.

While you wait for Skywind and Skyblivion, you could be playing Skygerfall right now
https://www.pcgamer.com/while-you-wait-for-skywind-and-skyblivion-you-could-be-playing-skygerfall-right-now/
We recently got to see a full 20-minute quest walkthrough from Skywind, the mod recreating Morrowind in Skyrim. Earlier in the year, we saw four hours of Skyblivion, the mod recreating Oblivion in Skyrim, which is due out in 2025. But did you know about Skygerfall?
As the name suggests, Skygerfall is a recreation of Daggerfall, the second mainline Elder Scrolls RPG, which was originally released in 1996. Unlike the mods bringing back more recent games it's been finalized, with a small patch earlier this year to fix some meshes bringing it up to version 1.10.
Skygerfall is a more modest mod than either Skywind or Skyblivion. It's not aiming to bring the entirety of Daggerfall into Skyrim's engine, just the main questline. Which is still significant—a 20-hour romp across the Iliac Bay, visiting its maziest dungeons on behalf of Emperor Uriel Septim VII. It takes in some deep Elder Scrolls lore, lets you meet characters like Sheogorath and Mannimarco, King of Worms, and has been fully voiced.

GAMING NEWS

Battlefield 2042 Update 4.2.1 releases next week and here are its full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/battlefield-2042-update-4-2-1-releases-next-week-and-here-are-its-full-patch-notes/
DICE has announced that Update 4.2.1 for Battlefield 2042 will go live next week, and shared its full patch notes. According to the team, this new patch will add realtime vehicle cooldown timers.

Take a look at Troika Games’ The Lord of the Rings 2001 Demo
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/take-a-look-at-troika-games-the-lord-of-the-rings-2001-demo/
In 2001, Troika Games was planning on working on a The Lord of the Rings game for Sierra. In fact, Troika Games developed a tech demo for this unannounced game, and we can finally take a look at it in the following video.

9 minutes of in-engine footage from the Unreal Engine 5-powered free-to-play battle royale game, Off The Grid
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/9-minutes-of-in-engine-footage-from-the-unreal-engine-5-poweres-free-to-play-battle-royale-game-off-the-grid/
In May 2022, we informed you about a new cyberpunk battle royale game using Unreal Engine 5, called Off The Grid. And today, we can share a new video from it, showcasing nine minutes of cinematic in-engine footage.

Monday news, the long part two:

This slice-of-life sim about getting in debt and drunk in '80s Britain celebrates the coronation by leaving early access
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-slice-of-life-sim-about-getting-in-debt-and-drunk-in-80s-britain-celebrates-the-coronation-by-leaving-early-access/
The coronation of King Charles III takes place this weekend (...)
While Charles gurns his way through it and mouths "everything is fine" at minor cousins, a far more true-to-life slice of British chintz is marking the weekend with its own celebration. Landlord's Super, a life sim set in the dreary Midlands of 1980s Britain, has managed to build a decent reputation over its early access period: And has now announced its full release on May 25.

Oh, bother: Winnie the Pooh gets the bloodlust again in this Eldritch horror game set in the Hundred Acre Wood
https://www.pcgamer.com/oh-bother-winnie-the-pooh-gets-the-bloodlust-again-in-this-eldritch-horror-game-set-in-the-hundred-acre-wood/
Christopher Robin is in trouble, and it's up to you to save him! But it's not the sort of trouble you might expect from A.A. Milne's most famous tale. Something has happened to the Hundred Acre Wood—it's been twisted by some unknown cosmic force—and now Christopher Robin is facing "a fate too terrible to imagine" in a horrifyingly familiar world.
Hundred Acre Wood is a "first-person action adventure" that promises a Lovecraft-style take on a world filled with heffalumps, woozles, and cherished characters like Eeyore, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga, and of course Piglet and Winnie the Pooh, none of whom are quite as we remember them.

Rigged? Bungie just announced the winners of a Destiny 2 event that isn't due to end for weeks
https://www.pcgamer.com/rigged-bungie-just-announced-the-winners-of-a-destiny-2-event-that-isnt-due-to-end-for-weeks/
As a lifelong Warlock main since the launch of vanilla Destiny, I was delighted to log in at reset today and see that our class has won the 2023 Guardian Games. Let's gooooooooo book club buddies, etc. I was also a little confused, because the event only began this week and it's due to run until May 23. Even more bafflingly, another in-game pop up confirmed that Titans had actually deposited most medals and won the inaugural week. So, uh, shenanigans?

A literal child and her robot dad are crushing some of Honkai: Star Rail's toughest fights
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-literal-child-and-her-robot-dad-are-crushing-some-of-honkai-star-rail-toughest-fights/
One of Honkai: Star Rail's most powerful characters is a literal child. She's so strong, in fact, that a few brave players found out she can solo some of the turn-based RPG's hardest battles.

This game might have the worst name ever, but it's actually pretty fun
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-game-might-have-the-worst-name-ever-but-its-actually-pretty-fun/
(...)
Throwing together random words and calling it a Steam page seems to be a working strategy. Still, I submit that the worst game name to appear on Steam this week, or maybe ever, is Jected - Rivals, a free-to-play early access arcade racer that's actually pretty fun.

Blizzard locked a new World of Warcraft item behind an old World of Warcraft item, and now players are price-gouging each other to get it
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-locked-a-new-world-of-warcraft-behind-an-old-world-of-warcraft-item-and-now-players-are-price-gouging-each-other-to-get-it/
Embers of Neltharion, the first big update to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, has brought a new zone, raid, and dungeons to Blizzard's long-running MMO, and of course a whole bunch of new and interesting items—one of which requires a very old and uninteresting item to acquire.

This madcap five buck microshooter just got a surprise free content update
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-madcap-five-buck-microshooter-just-got-a-surprise-free-content-update/
Dusk creator David Szymanski has been busy, cranking out two fantastic micro games in the past year, one of which is being made into a movie. The other, more recent project, Chop Goblins, is a far more arcadey and carefree affair than Iron Lung, and the half-hour FPS just got an update with new levels and features.

You get one guess as to what this FPS called KILLBUG is about
https://www.pcgamer.com/you-get-one-guess-as-to-what-this-fps-called-killbug-is-about/
The last few years have seen some really good fast-paced arena shooters release, and the latest one I've got for you is KILLBUG. In Killbug, you are the Killbug, and you have to kill as many other bugs as you can before you die. That's it, that's the deets.

Magic: The Gathering Arena is finally coming to Steam this month
https://www.pcgamer.com/magic-the-gathering-arena-is-finally-coming-to-steam-this-month/
Magic: The Gathering Arena first arrived on PC in 2017 as a beta that was downloadable from the Wizards of the Coast website. It left beta two years later, was added to the Epic Games Store in 2020, and got a mobile port in 2021, but only now have the Serra Angels descended in a shining chorus to announce that unto us is come a savior: a version of Arena on Steam.

Creative director of Midnight Suns says it was originally even more talky: 'we cut 30 conversations'
https://www.pcgamer.com/creative-director-of-midnight-suns-says-it-was-originally-even-more-talky-we-cut-30-conversations/
Marvel's Midnight Suns is not a short game. You can easily spend over 90 hours on a playthrough, soaking in its warm bath of comic book easter eggs, turn-based tactics, and especially the BioWare-style team building talks. It contains "something like 65,000 lines of voiced dialogue", as lead engineer Will Miller said. Which is why it's surprising to learn it was originally going to be even longer.

Jedi: Survivor preorder and deluxe edition bonuses are going missing
https://www.pcgamer.com/jedi-survivor-preorder-and-deluxe-edition-items-are-going-missing/
Choppy performance isn't the only issue players have been encountering in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Some players who forked out for the deluxe upgrade DLC, or who preordered it, have found that following a recent patch their bonus items have vanished.

Nintendo seems to have fired back over the Tears of the Kingdom leak by DMCAing popular Switch emulation tools
https://www.pcgamer.com/nintendo-seems-to-have-fired-back-over-the-tears-of-the-kingdom-leak-by-dmcaing-popular-switch-emulation-tools/
First reported by GBAtemp, it looks like Nintendo is aggressively responding to the Tears of the Kingdom leak by targeting key portions of the Switch emulation ecosystem, namely the Lockpick and Lockpick_RCM programs that dump Switch game decryption keys and allow emulators like Yuzu and Ryujinx to decrypt and open the game files.
>> It looks like the Zelda leak may actually put the current emulators in danger.

Darkest Dungeon 2 reaches v1.0 and lands on Steam today
https://www.pcgamer.com/darkest-dungeon-2-reaches-v10-and-lands-on-steam-today/
It's a big day for Darkest Dungeon 2, the sequel to Red Hook Games' bleakly stylish and brutally difficult roguelike. After two years spent grinding through the dank warrens of early access development, the game hits version 1.0 later today. Moreover, this is timed to coincide with its official launch on Steam, having undertaken its early access journey exclusively on the Epic Store.

A Payday 3 gameplay reveal is coming this summer, according to an incredibly ephemeral teaser trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-payday-3-gameplay-reveal-is-coming-this-summer-according-to-an-incredibly-ephemeral-teaser-trailer/
Starbreeze Studios and Prime Matter have dropped another teaser trailer for cooperative heist sim sequel Payday 3, and it somehow manages to provide less information about the game than the previous teaser trailer. Lasting a whole 21 seconds, the teaser shows a silhouetted figure saying "Alright guys, it's a simple job" before cutting to the Payday 3 logo.

Nightdive CEO discusses sale to Atari, says publisher 'is on the rise'
https://www.pcgamer.com/nightdive-ceo-discusses-sale-to-atari-says-publisher-is-on-the-rise/
Nightdive Studios, developers of the imminent System Shock remake, was recently acquired by Atari for $10 million in a move that came as quite a surprise. Although Atari has a rightful place in video game history, the company's heyday was long ago, and in recent years it has been a shell of its former self.
Yet in an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Nightdive's CEO Stephen Kick discussed the decision to sell to Atari, explaining it was made because he believes the old publisher is on the up. "There is this misconception when this acquisition [happened] that we had basically chained ourselves to a sinking ship, but it couldn't be further from the truth," Kick explains. "They're on the rise here again, and we wanted to be a part of that."

AMD 3D V-Cache CPUs On Sale: Ryzen 9 7950X3D For $629 US, 7900X3D For $539 US

https://wccftech.com/amd-3d-v-cache-cpus-on-sale-ryzen-9-7950x3d-for-629-us-7900x3d-for-539-us/

I suspect a lot more discounts on the horizon after the recent debacle

ASUS ROG Ally already in reviewers hands, €799 price rumored for Europe

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-rog-ally-already-in-reviewers-hands-e799-price-rumored-for-europe

Colorful announces GPU trade-in program with up to $1041 for used cards

https://videocardz.com/newz/colorful-announces-gpu-trade-in-program-with-up-to-1041-for-used-cards

That would be cool if more vendors had something similar

More like they'll just make it something separate that is not the emulators' developers' responsibility like the PS2 Bios. Which sucks a bit because you'll be depending on sketchier links that are always being shot down.

AFAIK that's the case too for RPCS3 since ROMs have to be decrypted with a third-party tool beforehand.

With Borderlands, it's always wise to do side quests first to level up, otherwise you'll face difficult situations.

So now you're doing the Street Fighter games? Good for you. This weekend I did the last bits I wanted to do with Sky Force Reloaded. I had already finished all the story (to call them something) missions plus the extra three and managed to get all the cards (power-ups), I was only missing the task of completing all the story missions with all the ships, something that I managed to complete Saturday. There are still some badges to get, but I'm not masochistic enough to try those.

I'm still not sure what I'll play next.

I hope that fixes it for you. I get the same problem from time to time. It scares the sh*t out of me when it happens, but only until I reset it and goes back to act like a normal PC should.

Yeah, I've read a bit more into that after posting it. Nintendo has basically cut the option to legally play the games you've bought on an emulator, leaving only the option to go for ROMs. Not the brightest idea from the Kyoto boys.

I'm a bit surprised by the fall in price of the 7950X3D, but the discount for the 7900X3D was expected. In every review they trashed iit, so it's likely the one that's selling the worst of all, by far.

I don't think the 7800X3D will get a discount anytime soon, tho, given that it's the perfect choice for gamers (and now, after writting that, I await to read hoe you post an article about the 7800X3D getting a discount this same week).

EVGA had something similar, right? It had a program that allowed you to upgrae to the newest gen with a discount if you had one of their cards.

And yeah, it would be cool if some vendors did something like that, but I'd guess they wouldn't be very generous when valuing your old GPU.

Good old Noctua, needing months just to launch an already existing cooler in another colour.

With that said, I wonder how the new NH-D15 will perform. The current one is around 10 years old and it's still one of the best air coolers you can find.

Wall of text ahead. You can skip it if you want.

Alright, guys, I want to know your opinion on a couple of hardware pieces.

Since the number of SATA ports stopped being important for my next system (to a point), I've been eyeing the Asus TUF Gaming X670E-Plus motherboard for my build, mostly because it gives me all I want plus it's a bit cheaper than the closest parts in the market, the AsRock Lightning and RS boards. But when the CPUs started exploding and Gamersnexus did that video, showing how badly to the Asus boards do, the AsRock products became more enticing, mostly because I don't think Asus can fix all those problems, especially the one regarding the higher voltage they need to enable EXPO compared to the other three big board makers.

But now, a store goes and puts the Asus board on sale for 280€, a great price given the insane prices of current parts, of course, making it a great opportunity (plus it has stickers ).

And here comes the other part of all my dilema: the RAM kit I'm interested. A GSkill kit that seems too good to be true: great specs with a 6000MHz CL32 rating, it's EXPO, it's low profile because it doesn't have RGB and that means that there won't be any problems with CPU coolers, it's very cheap for a 32GB kit (less than 120€) and, the most surprising of all, TechPowerUp reviewed it! (and it did quite well).

The problem? Not a single motherboard lists that kit as compatible. Not even the motherboard TPU used for their review nor the ones GSkill lists in their site as used for their internal testing. Weird.

As you see, then, to combine together a motherboard/vendor that has problems with EXPO with a RAM kit that isn't listed as supported seems like a perfect recipe for disaster.

On the other hand, there's another RAM kit, also from GSkill and with the same specs but with a bigger heatsink to fit RGB and 20€ pricier that Asus and the other vendors do list it as compatible.

So, your opinion, would you get the Asus board at that price or would you stay away from any Asus parts this gen? And what about the RAM? Would you get the cheaper one that should work or would you go for the other kit that it's more likely, but still not guaranteed, to work?

But more important than all that: why is picking parts so f*cking difficult and expensive?

/rant

If you've cared enough to read all that, thank you, I appreciate it even if you don't leave any comment.

It's EXPO certified and the modules are manufactured by Hynix, so it *should* work just fine if the BIOS is up to date. These compatibility lists are not extensive as usual.

Yeah, I'll be doing that for sure for Borderlands.

Well I did play Street Fighter II (all 3 versions of the SNES ports), Street Fighter IV (on 3DS) and Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max on PSP years ago.

I started on Street Fighter V few months ago though.

As for what I'm planning to play next for PC....

Once I'm done with Final Fantasy VI - I'll be playing Disgaea 2 PC.

Once I'm done with Street Fighter V - I'll be playing Soulcalibur VI.

Once I'm done with Borderlands GOTY Enhanced - I havent decided, thinking between Bioshock Remaster or Mass Effect Legendary Edition.