it doesn't make a difference for large file transfers, but fragmentation over time should be lower. Fragmentation was more of an issue when HDDs were used as system drives. Large file transfers are limited by the capabilities of the HDD.

Looks like the 7600 is a decent upgrade over the 6600.

The 4060Ti on the other hand is barely 10% faster than it's predecessor for the same MSRP, so you could just as well get a 3060Ti. Let's hope the 4060 can manage a bigger gap over the 3060, but considering the specs I don't get my hopes too high

See, this is why a few weeks ago, I was hinting at the whole point of you owning the 4090 and letting that influence your viewpoint, but I don't think you got that hint I was trying to show you.

I have beef with nvidia, because they aren't Valve, who earned that 80% of the market, not the way Valve did, hence why I see those two differently. Epic has the money to keep tossing to buy their way into market share, but AMD just doesn't, otherwise we'd have seen that by now in shorter time.

Also AMD mostly designs their tech as open source, while Nvidia is always closed, and as we've seen the open tech tends to get better adoption later on with time.

Yeah, I can see why you got the 4090, but well, I can't, hence why I'm still miffed at Nvidia for 3 gens now.

I don't think me buying a 4090 influenced my viewpoint all that much since I have been recommending people who can't afford a 4090 to skip this gen. That's basically me telling 99% of the customers out there to not buy their products lol because only 1% of the buyers out there buy products in the 4090 price range.

Also if Valve is your standard for market leadership, then you have a beef with 90%+ of the companies out there. There is almost no other company on the planet like Valve. Not to mention the fact that Valve is not a publicly traded company means that they can make a lot of decisions that companies like Nvidia, AMD, Intel can't.

There has been countless open source projects that also get abandoned or go no where. Open source doesn't mean it's an automatic win if the technology is subpar to the closed source version. I have no doubt that eventually someone will come out with an Ai based upscaler similar to DLSS that will be platform agnostic and kill DLSS and get widely adopted. But who knows how long that will take and those that are buying a GPU now aren't looking at what could happen 6 years from now. Not to mention when it does happen, the DLSS killer will also work on Nvidia GPUs so Nvidia owners don't lose anything.

And yes, I agree that you and really 90%+ of the people out there can't afford a 4090 and even if you could, it's a hard pill to swallow for a gaming GPU. And you have every right to be miffed with Nvidia and not buy their products. But imo, this isn't an Nvidia only problem. It's a GPU industry wide problem. But there is a chance that next gen could be different similar to Ampere after Turing. So I'd either wait and see if this gen gets heavily discounted enough, especially with refreshes that made Turing more reasonable or just wait till Blackwell and see how it goes.

Let's do the Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has new Deals of the Day and Sales:

• There are two DotD, available until Wednesday:
  • The first one is Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, 75% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/brothers_a_tale_of_two_sons
  • The second one is Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs, 85% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/amnesia_a_machine_for_pigs
• The Puzzle & Mystery Sale brings up to 90% discounts during two days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_puzzling_sale
• The DANGEN Entertainment Publisher Sale features up to 70% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_dangen_entertainment
• And the Weekly Sale comes with up to 75% discounts until next Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230522_weekly_sale

Steam has two new deals:

• King Arthur: Knight's Tale will be 40% off until the 28th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1157390/King_Arthur_Knights_Tale/
• Red Solstice 2: Survivors is going to be 60% off until Sunday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/768520/Red_Solstice_2_Survivors/

There are two new deals at Humble:

• The new Humble Bundle is the Luck of the Draw: Roguelike Deckbuilders Bundle, with up to 7 games to get during the next 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/luck-draw-roguelike-deckbuilders
• The Humble Store features the last Flash Deal of the Spring Sale: Destiny 2: LightFall is going to be 33 or 40% off during 26 hours. The keys are for Steam and EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/featured-deal-9-spring-sale-48-hour-featured-deals/

And Fanatical has a new Star Deal and a new Sale:

• The new Star Deal is Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® Breakpoint - Ultimate Edition, 83% off during 48 hours. The keys is for UbiConnect: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/tom-clancy-s-ghost-recon-breakpoint-ultimate-edition
• Warner Bros Interactive puts its games on sale with up to 91% discounts during 9 days (tho some will end sooner than that): https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/warner-bros-interactive-entertainment

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Unreal Engine 5 Hillside Sample Demo available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/unreal-engine-5-hillside-sample-demo-available-for-download/
Epic Games has released Hillside Sample Project; a virtual recreation of Moshe Safdie’s original vision for Montreal’s Habitat 67 in Unreal Engine 5.
Habitat 67 is a model community and housing complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, designed by Israeli-Canadian architect, Moshe Safdie. It is one of the most recognizable projects in modular urbanization and construction, partially because its vision for affordable future living was considered very ahead of its time. It is still a key landmark in Canadian architecture and is well-known throughout North America.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu can now run Luigi’s Mansion 3 with 120fps on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/nintendo-switch-emulator-yuzu-can-now-run-luigis-mansion-3-with-120fps-on-pc/
YouTube’s ‘reznoire’ has shared a new video, showcasing Luigi’s Mansion 3 running with 120fps on the latest Early Access version of the Nintendo Switch emulator, Yuzu.
By default, Nintendo Switch runs Luigi’s Mansion 3 with 30fps. However, PC modders have figured out ways to increase the framerate to 60fps and 120fps.
From the looks of it, Luigi’s Mansion 3 appears to be working incredibly well at 120fps. Reznoire used an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 in order to capture this footage, and was locked at 120fps at all times.
>> There's a video of the game.

This Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Mod lets you play as Darth Vader with unique force abilities and attack moves
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-star-wars-jedi-survivor-mod-lets-you-play-as-darth-vader-with-unique-force-abilities-and-attack-moves/
Modder ‘jedijosh920’ has released a pretty cool mod for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor that allows you to play as Darth Vader himself. Not only that, but the modder has added unique force abilities and attack moves that players can use.
Since this mod lets you wreak havoc as the Dark Side Lord himself, it will completely change the way you play the game. Thus, we suggest using it in your second or third playthrough.
Unfortunately, this mod is behind a Patreon wall. I don’t know whether jedijosh920 has any plans to freely release a public version of it in the future. So, right now, we can safely assume that this won’t happen.
>> The article has a video of the mod.

Here’s Need for Speed: Underground 2 with RTX Remix Path Tracing
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/heres-need-for-speed-underground-2-with-rtx-remix-path-tracing/
YouTube’s ‘Uncle Burrito’ has shared a video, showcasing Need for Speed: Underground 2 with RTX Remix Path Tracing. This is an early implementation and has major graphical and visual glitches. Still, this is something that many NFS fans will appreciate, so be sure to watch it if you are one of them.
My biggest gripe with this early implementation of RTX Remix in this game is the constant light changes. This can be really distracting, so here is hoping that the YouTuber will be able to resolve it in future versions.
Truth be told, this early implementation does bring numerous lighting and shading improvements. And while this video looks cool, it does not represent what RTX Remix can achieve in older games.
>> There's also the question of whether he'll release the mod for everyone or if he'll keep it to himself, as some do.

Runner’s Doom 3 v1.5 released, adding “Real Random Encounters”
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/runners-doom-3-v1-5-released-adding-real-random-encounters/
Last week, we informed you about an amazing mod for Doom 3, called Runner’s Doom 3. Runner’s Doom 3 attempted to turn id Software’s horror FPS into a run-n-gun shooter, and its latest version brings real random encounters.
Modder ‘rulesnote’ has added nearly 100 to 200 new spawn points to each map in almost all of the original campaigns. Moreover, the results of “Random Encounter” are, as the name implies, random. Thus, you’ll be fighting completely different types of enemies whenever you replay the game’s campaign maps.
This new “Real Random Encounters” feature sounds amazing, and will give Doom 3 a breath of fresh air. Now add to this the new frenetic run-n-gun gameplay, and you got yourselves a mod that can completely change the way you experience this Doom game.
>> There are only some screenshots.

Skyrim modder squashes boring vegetation with cornucopia of alarmingly realistic, 3D-scanned gourds
https://www.pcgamer.com/skyrim-modder-squashes-boring-vegetation-with-cornucopia-of-alarmingly-realistic-3d-scanned-gourds/
Skyrim mods are their own universe at this point. There's modding, and then there's Creation Engine modding. Even in the wake of full multiplayer mods and ChatGPT-powered companions, we at PC Gamer can't help but love the smaller, hyper specific changes some modders make, like Kabu's Really Gourd Plant Replacer. "Assortment of high poly mesh and texture replacers for gourds using 3d-scanned real gourds," the author writes. "Finally a sorely-needed full overhaul of the gourd plant!" The attention to detail here really is staggering. There's a single harvestable "gourd" item in the base game, but Kabu has taken the liberty of diversifying the gourd population, with instances of delicata squash, butternut squash, elongated pumpkin, and zucchini all behaving mechanically identical to the generic gourd of yore.

A fight in the Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mod scene has revealed the ugly side of emulation fandom
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-fight-in-the-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-mod-scene-has-revealed-the-ugly-side-of-emulation-fandom/
In the week since Tears of the Kingdom's release, modders have been working tirelessly to pick apart the game's code and tune up its inner workings. Every day there's seemingly a new iteration of a dynamic framerate mod that brings the dream of a perfect 60 fps a little more within reach. But the ravenous appetite for those improvements has come at the cost of drama in the Switch modding scene, with one of the best-known modders stepping back from creating mods and effectively shutting his Discord.
>> It's a long read.

GAMING NEWS

Mortal Kombat 1 Official PC Requirements revealed, 100GB of free space required
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/mortal-kombat-1-official-pc-requirements-revealed-100gb-of-space-required/
Warner Bros and QLOC have revealed the official PC system requirements for Mortal Kombat 1. According to the specs, the game will be using the DX12 API, and it will require 100GB of free space.
For running the game, PC gamers will at least need an Intel Core i5-6600 or AMD Ryzen 3 3100 with 8GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980, AMD Radeon RX 470 or Intel Arc A750.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage Short Gameplay Clip Leaked Online
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/assassins-creed-mirage-short-gameplay-clip-leaked-online/
It appears that a short gameplay clip for Ubisoft’s upcoming AC game, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, has been leaked online. This low-quality video lasts 3 seconds, and shows Basim running. So yeah, don’t expect much from it.

Bloodborne had a fully playable PC version, intended for internal purporses
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bloodborne-had-a-fully-playable-pc-version-intended-for-internal-purporses/
Now here is something really cool. Lance McDonald has spotted evidence of a PC version of Bloodborne: The Old Hunters Edition. According to McDonald, this PC version was used internally for internal/debug purposes and was never meant for a public release.

Alan Wake 2 is releasing this October according to its voice actor
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/alan-wake-2-is-releasing-this-october-according-to-its-voice-actor/
It appears that Alan Wake 2 will release this October. In a recent interview with Monsters, Madness and Magic, Matthew Porretta, the voice actor of Alan Wake, claimed that the game is supposed to come out in October 2023.

Sentinel is a new FPS using Unreal Engine 5 from former Halo and Call of Duty developers
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sentinel-is-a-new-fps-using-unreal-engine-5-from-former-halo-and-call-of-duty-developers/
Pathless Productions, a team of former Halo and Call of Duty developers, have announced a new FPS game that will be using Unreal Engine 5, Sentinel.

Part two of the news:

Overwatch 2 director says canceled PvE mode was part of an ambitious plan to one day make an Overwatch MMO
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-2-director-says-canceled-pve-mode-was-part-of-an-ambitious-plan-to-one-day-make-an-overwatch-mmo/
Aaron Keller's latest Director's Take blog doesn't have the jovial tone that they usually do. The Overwatch 2 game director used the space this week to expand on an announcement made Tuesday that Blizzard has cancelled Overwatch 2's long-awaited PvE "Hero mode." The news came in the last few minutes of a 30-minute livestream, along with the announcement that story missions were still happening as early as Season 6.

And now it's official: Nicolas Cage will play Nicolas Cage starring as Nicolas Cage in Dead by Daylight later this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/and-now-its-official-nicolas-cage-will-play-nicolas-cage-starring-as-nicolas-cage-in-dead-by-daylight-later-this-year/
The multiplayer survival horror game Dead by Daylight is getting a brand new survivor in Year 8, and his name is Nic. The big news actually leaked out earlier this week, but now it's official and real: Nicolas Cage, the man who brought us, well, Nicolas Cage, is coming to the game later this year in "the collaboration players didn't know they needed."

A singleplayer Dead by Daylight game is coming from the makers of The Dark Pictures Anthology
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-singleplayer-dead-by-daylight-game-is-coming-from-the-makers-of-the-dark-pictures-anthology/
The long-running multiplayer survival horror game Dead by Daylight is about to move into the singleplayer realm courtesy of a new project in development at Supermassive Games, the developer of Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology, and The Quarry.

This 1960s-style adventure about a fallen 'AI god' in humanity's distant future is exactly my kind of sci-fi
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-1960s-style-adventure-about-a-fallen-ai-god-in-humanitys-distant-future-is-exactly-my-kind-of-sci-fi/
There are a pile of new games announced every week—every day, really—and it's impossible to stay on top of them all. Picking which ones to pay attention to often comes down to a question of vibes: Does it move me in any way, or do anything to snap my eyes in its direction? It's not the most scientifically precise system, true, but it's worked out pretty well for me so far. And one newly announced game that's giving me some pretty good vibes is Return to Grace, a first-person narrative adventure set in a 1960s-style "retro sci-fi world."

Crypt of the Necrodancer studio confirms layoffs, as many as half its employees may be gone
https://www.pcgamer.com/crypt-of-the-necrodancer-studio-confirms-layoffs-as-many-as-half-its-employees-may-be-gone/
Crypt of the Necrodancer studio Brace Yourself Games has confirmed that it has laid off a portion of its employees, and has "shelved" some unannounced projects as a result.

Elden Ring wins the Nebula award for Game Writing
https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-ring-wins-the-nebula-award-for-game-writing/
Elden Ring has scored a win at the Nebula awards this week, netting the Best Game Writing award for George R.R. Martin, Hidetaka Miyazaki, and FromSoftware. The Nebulas are awarded by the Science Fictions & Fantasy Writers Association, known as the SFWA, and are one of the highest profile awards in English-language speculative fiction writing.

Check out the grim vibes on this monochrome dungeon crawler
https://www.pcgamer.com/check-out-the-grim-vibes-on-this-monochrome-dungeon-crawler/
Every once in a while you hit an art style that's just really working for you. That's why I'm right here right now looking at Demon Lord Reincarnation, an upcoming dungeon crawler that seems pretty determined to only use one or two colors on a black background for all of its art. Art that's really beautifully complimented in that monochromatic palette, with lots of stylish highlights done using the black negative space. I mean just look at this guy.

Aww: These dark fantasy warriors have the cutest widdle kitty faces
https://www.pcgamer.com/aww-these-dark-fantasy-warriors-have-the-cutest-widdle-kitty-faces/
I did not have dark fantasy soulslike action RPG starring humanoid cats on my 2023 bingo card, but if you did, congratulations! Indie developers Astral Clocktower Studios are granting your wish and filling in that space with Kristala, its in-development debut title where your absolutely adorable widdle warrior must master the magic of six sacred crystals to fight a terrible curse that has mutated the other creatures of the world into monsters.

Despite being dead for 10 years, Warhammer Online is hosting a live event on a private server
https://www.pcgamer.com/despite-being-dead-for-20-years-warhammer-online-is-hosting-a-live-event-on-a-private-server/
In the Empire, people celebrate the first day of summer with a holiday devoted to Sigmar, who is believed to have ascended to godhood on that day. Sigmartag is a day of resting, retelling stories based on Sigmar's heroic deeds, and eating "Sigmar's sausages", which every province has their own version of. In the fan-run private server Return of Reckoning, it's a time of war.

Mass Effect: Andromeda's creative director still wishes it had got a sequel
https://www.pcgamer.com/mass-effect-andromedas-creative-director-still-wishes-it-had-got-a-sequel/
Eurogamer's interview with Mac Walters, who was a writer on all three games in the Mass Effect trilogy before becoming creative director of Mass Effect: Andromeda and then Mass Effect Legendary Edition's project director, makes for a good read. Going all the way back to the series' origin as "Jack Bauer in space", it's a revealing history of BioWare's work on Mass Effect.

Here's the first trailer for System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-the-first-trailer-for-system-shock-2-enhanced-edition/
After a look at some screenshots earlier this week, Nightdive Studios has dropped a proper trailer for System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition. The upcoming re-release of the classic immersive sim shooter will overhaul it to look a lot better than it currently does—it currently looks bad, for the record—but it's not a full remake like Nightdive's upcoming System Shock. That game was delayed until the end of this month, and will come out on the 30th.

I could barely keep it together in this free game where you're the president trying to hide that he's an alien
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-could-barely-keep-it-together-in-this-free-game-where-youre-the-president-trying-to-hide-that-hes-an-alien/
Faking It is a game with a delightfully simple premise and absolutely devilish controls. First spotted by Alpha Beta Gamer, this free Ludum Dare game jam project from developers Alec Gamble and Hannah Payne casts you as president Hugh Mann, a politician whose numbers would absolutely tank if the public found out he's actually a tentacle horror from beyond the cosmos. Do you have what it takes to keep it together and placate the American public, or will you slip up and reveal your otherworldly nature to all and sundry?

Halo Infinite gets around to adding classic MP mode a mere 18 months after launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/halo-infinite-gets-around-to-adding-classic-mp-mode-a-mere-18-months-after-launch/
Halo Infinite trundles on, both a testament to the enduring appeal of the foundations laid down by Bungie and, in some ways, an indictment of how Microsoft has handled it since. This once felt like the most important FPS series in the world. Now Halo's just another free-to-play shooter in a sea full of them, kicking desperately against the straits that carry it off.
(...)
Which brings us to one of the best Halo custom gametypes, which 343 has just announced will arrive in Infinite this summer. Infection first appeared in Halo 3 and is basically a zombies mode, in which a small group of infected hunts un-infected players. Each kill from the infected turns the victim to their side, and the goal for the un-infected is simply to survive until the timer runs out.

CliffyB might not be done with making games after all, says 'my LA lawyer' is on the case for a LawBreakers revival
https://www.pcgamer.com/turns-out-cliffy-b-might-not-be-done-with-making-games-after-all-and-still-thinks-theres-a-future-for-lawbreakers/
Clifford Bleszinski occupies an odd space in the games industry at the moment. The artist formerly known as Cliffy B is a big-budget director of substantial talent who's worked on some best-in-class titles and is still relatively young, but breaking off from Epic Games and setting up on his own didn't go quite as planned: LawBreakers was great, but didn't sell, while Radical Heights was a hail Mary that didn't quite come off either. Since those two misfires Bleszinski has become something of a social media soapboxer and, judging by how he's been angling for a consultancy role on the next Gears, is looking for his way back into games.

Victoria 3's latest DLC adds a whole bunch of historical figures including Lenin, who'll agitate for a bit of revolution
https://www.pcgamer.com/victoria-3s-latest-dlc-adds-a-whole-bunch-of-historical-figures-including-lenin-wholl-agitate-for-a-bit-of-revolution/
Paradox has released a new "immersion pack" for the excellent Victoria 3, called Voice of the People and focusing on a slew of new (old?) historical characters and an 'Agitator' mechanic. The immersion pack name is something the company's hit upon to distinguish between the scale of the DLCs it releases for its titles: These are the smaller ones (though it'll still set you back $14.99/£12.99/€14.99) with Victoria 3's first major expansion yet to be detailed.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 Custom Model Prices Leaked By Canadian Retailer, $304 To $315 US

https://wccftech.com/amd-radeon-rx-7600-custom-model-prices-leak-canadian-retailer-304-to-315-usd/

Dang call me the pricing messiah. I predicted the price of the 4070, 4060 Ti 16GB, 4060 Ti, 4060 and 7600 all correctly.

Asus finally going in the right direction. Took a lot of effort for them to do it but basically they now have it in writing that they will cover EXPO, XMP, DOCP and all that.

Cyberpunk 2077 might be getting support for “Real-Time Neural Radiance Caching for Path Tracing”

https://videocardz.com/newz/cyberpunk-2077-might-be-getting-support-for-real-time-neural-radiance-caching-for-path-tracing

"This technology is compute-intensive and requires fixed hardware support like Tensor cores, but it does need as much memory as existing models"

Cyberpunk has basically turned into Nvidia's technology showcase. Wouldn't be surprised if there's another intensive update when RTX 5000 releases.

Leaked Intel roadmap lists Meteor Lake-S (6P+8E) die as canceled

https://videocardz.com/newz/leaked-intel-roadmap-lists-meteor-lake-s-6p8e-die-as-canceled

He goes through how the 1080 Ti performs in a lot of todays unoptimized games. It performs quite well at 1080p and is starting to show it's age at 1440p. If you dislike RTX 4000 series, I think you can hold it for at least until Blackwell.

Very interesting stats

Yeah the 4090 (like some of have been saying) is the only real substantial upgrade this generaton. The rest is just.. meh and hardly worth it unless you need a new graphics card. Shame because Ampere was an amazing return to form when it launched, after the dud that was Turing.

Lucky I got my GPU at a such a big discount otherwise I would've just gone for lower end/mid tier RX 6000 series card to hold out until Blackwell/RDNA 4. And even then I'd be cautious of waiting because GPU's are going to be even more expensive to produce (for GPU manufacturers) with TSMC's 3nm and GDDR7.

I think the lame part is that even if the rest of the lineup had a 50% increase gen on gen performance with no additional cost increase over previous gen and they left the 70% for the 4090 tier, it still would have been a great generation. But man their greed really goofed the enthusiasm and rightfully so.

And yea you basically got a 4070 Ti for the price of a 3070 Ti and that's before Diablo IV being included in. So you are essentially enjoying the 44% uplift with no additional cost which is amazing. But yea we will have to see how next gen plays out.

True. Would've been an awesome generation if both AMD and Nvidia didn't f the market up. Nvidia priced everything crazy to shift old stock. AMD followed Nvidia's pricing to the T with the 7900XT and also delayed the launch of newer cards to shift remaining outgoing GPU's. To the dismay for PC gamers, AMD and RDNA 3 completely fell flat on its face in terms of performance and midrange still MIA. Not to mention still playing second fiddle when it comes to feature sets. So Nvidia didn't even try with Ada outside its flagship.

Its not a surprise a lot of people have given up and just bought last gen GPU's because how poor value these new cards are and gen on gen increases; or lack thereof. Like 70% cost increase for the 4080 for 50% more performance is a joke.

And yep. Chuffed with my purchase. For power/performance couldn't be happier and a good jump from last gen. Adding in a game that I was going to buy anyway was just the cherry on top. Like being able to enjoy the latest stuff at good fps makes it worth it. Even other features like VSR is really handy when streaming content like anime. Especially impressed with the power consumption with some undervolting. The card consumes less watts than my 1070, all while delivering at least 3X and way over for games; using modern rendering techniques.