And thus, the next generation rumour mill begins. The benefit of the 90 class getting 512-bit interface is that there is a chance the rest of the classes will also see an uplift of the memory bus as well. So 80 class could see 384bit or 320bit, 70 class could see 256 bit and 60 class could see 192 bit. 90 class could see 32GB of vram, 80 Class could see 24 or 20GB of vram, 70 class could see 16GB of vram and 60 class could see 12GB of vram. But it does largely depend on the competition from Radeon or Intel since while the 90 class will get the premium treatment, 80 class will get cutdown to whatever Radeons flagship performance is and the rest of the lineup will suffer.

Sounds like Jensen saw the 7950XTX performance and realized he won't be needing that full AD102 which makes sense since 7900XTX is already full die so at best, 7950XTX will be a clock bump just like the 6950XTX was. This does mean we will be seeing the refreshes as expected. Low-grade AD103 will like be the 4070 Ti Super, and etc.

Unreleased MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU With 20 GB VRAM Unearthed, Runs Fine & Supports Overclocking

https://wccftech.com/unreleased-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3080-ti-20-gb-gpu-unearthed-supports-overclocking/

What that generation could have been if crypto didn't ruin it

AMD Confirms Hybrid Ryzen 5 7440U Phoenix APU With Zen 4 & Zen 4C Cores

https://wccftech.com/amd-confirms-hybrid-ryzen-5-7440u-phoenix-apu-with-zen-4-zen-4c-cores/

It will be interesting to see how it goes up against Intels E cores

Unless the programm really makes use of the larger cache, like in games for instance, Zen 4 and Zen 4c should have the exact same IPC. As such, clock for clock and core for core, the 4c should beat Intel's e cores by a country mile. And that's before counting instructions that the e cores lack but Zen4c has, like AVX.

What's more interesting is how much each of them consume at a given clock speed (like a fixed 3Ghz), and how 4 Zen4c cores would compare to 8 e cores in programs that take full use of them, since both would have 8 threads but a completely different way to reach them.

Yea 1:1 Zen 4C should be way faster but how many e-cores can Intel give you vs how many Zen 4C cores can AMD give you in the same price range and the performance aspect of that too should be interesting. Like if an i5 comes with say 8 e-cores while a Zen 4 version comes with 4C cores, does that mean the i5 is faster or Zen 4C is faster?

Because we know that say a 13700K with it's 8 ecores can be competitive against a 7900X in multi-threaded application workloads despite 7900X having 4 extra Zen 4 cores. So 4 ZenC vs 4 E-cores = ZenC is the winner, but 4 ZenC cores vs 8 Ecores... That will be interesting to see.

I have a question for those of you that have played XCOM 2: is it me or does the game feel like a chore from time to time?

I don't know how to explain it, but I don't find it as engaging nor fun as the first one, and I've found myself forcing me to keep playing, especially when it comes to the timed/turn-limited missions because they force me to play it in a way that's no my style and that happen way too often for my liking.

So well, is it me or did you felt the same way when you played it?

I enjoyed it at least as much as the first game.

I loved it. More than the first one. I played with the dope DLC War of the Chosen.

------------------------------

So this one is for september on japanese consoles. Hope to see it on PC soon too

------------------------------

This Borderlands-like filter is really well done on Gears 5 like I already said, did another screenshot :

I quit it early. Many devs think that 'bigger is better' when it comes to sequels - IMO it isn't more often than it is.

Dunno if it was mentioned yet, but this CRPG Humble Bundle is pretty nice if you don't own them already: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/rpg-legends-baldurs-gate-beyond?hmb_source=humble_home&hmb_medium=product_tile&hmb_campaign=mosaic_section_3_layout_index_2_layout_type_threes_tile_index_1_c_rpglegendsbaldursgatebeyond_bundle

These are the Friday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Remnant 2 is a hit, beating everything except CS:GO on Steam's weekly top sellers list
https://www.pcgamer.com/remnant-2-is-a-hit-beating-everything-except-csgo-on-steams-weekly-top-sellers-list/
2019's Remnant: From the Ashes didn't go unappreciated—the co-op looter shooter has accrued almost 40,000 positive Steam reviews—but it never quite felt like a genuine hit, either. Its just-released sequel, however, probably qualifies: Remnant 2 has jumped into the number two top seller spot on Steam (based on revenue), just under CS:GO, and number 18 on Steam's list of most-played games by daily players.
Remnant 2 hasn't yet had time to build up the same volume of Steam user reviews as its predecessor, but our review is positive, and its current peak concurrent player count of 83,792 is well above the first game's peak of 48,194. At the moment, it's among the top 10 most played Steam games by current player count.

Fanatical has a new Star Deal: Endling - Extinction is Forever will be 50% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/endling-extinction-is-forever.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

-Empty as well-

GAMING NEWS

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Update 2.2 released, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/the-lord-of-the-rings-gollum-update-2-2-released-full-patch-notes/
Daedalic Entertainment has released Update 2.2 for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, and shared its full patch notes. According to the changelog, Patch 2.2 fixes a number of bugs that plagued the game. However, it doesn’t appear to bring any major performance improvements.

Tekken 8 has shader compilation stutters on PC, supports FSR 2.0 and DLSS
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/tekken-8-has-shader-compilation-stutters-on-pc-supports-fsr-2-0-and-dlss/
Bandai Namco has launched the PC closed beta phase for Tekken 8, and we were able to check it out. Tekken 8 is powered by Unreal Engine 5 and unfortunately, it has major shader compilation stutters on PC.

First Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart PC patch improves Ray Tracing visuals
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/first-ratchet-clank-rift-apart-pc-patch-improves-ray-tracing-visuals/
Nixxes has just released the first PC patch/hotfix for Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart. According to the patch notes, this first update improves the game’s Ray Tracing visuals, and resolves visual issues with characters occurring on certain GPUs.

The second bit of Friday news:

Fallout-inspired MMO Ashfall begins closed beta testing next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-inspired-mmo-ashfall-begins-closed-beta-testing-next-week/
Ashfall is a Fallout-inspired MMO set in a world left devastated by—of course—nuclear war. As one of the few survivors of that war, players are forced to leave the safety of their shelter and venture out into the wasteland in search of the Core of Creation, "the key to saving what remains of the world." That's pretty much a straight lift from Fallout 2, but Ashfall branches out from its post-nuclear roots into what Netease describes as an "Eastern-inspired wasteland."

New SEC regulations will force any public games company in the US to disclose 'material' hacks within four days
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-sec-regulations-will-force-any-public-games-company-in-the-us-to-disclose-material-hacks-within-four-days/
Last week, we reported on a Roblox data breach that first happened in 2020, and was apparently shared in some nefarious places in 2021, but only became widely known about when the leak was posted again on July 18. There was a wealth of identifying information about individuals who attended the Roblox Developer's Conference in this hacked data, and some might find the length of time between the hack happening and Roblox Corporation acknowledging it pretty surprising.
Gaming companies are hardly alone in being targets for bad actors, with cybercrime now an omnipresent threat in every business sector. And no matter how good the defences get, we'll be reading about successful hacks on high-profile targets for the rest of our lives. The US Security and Exchanges Commission clearly thinks so and as reported by The Register has voted to adopt new requirements, first proposed in March 2022, that any public company suffering a computer crime that's likely to cause any kind of a "material" hit will now have a four-day time limit in which to disclose the incident. A material hit is basically anything investors should be concerned about.
>> Good.

Larian boss says more Divinity games are coming after Baldur's Gate 3: 'We're definitely gonna get back there'
https://www.pcgamer.com/larian-boss-says-more-divinity-games-are-coming-after-baldurs-gate-3-were-definitely-gonna-get-back-there/
Before Larian Studios was handed the keys to the Baldur's Gate kingdom, it built its own original RPG world in the Divinity games, a sprawling series that goes back more than 20 years. And even though the studio is all-in on resurrecting one of the most famous CRPG names of all time, Larian boss Swen Vincke told IGN that it hasn't forgotten about the Divinity games, and will return to them someday.

Valve adds 100-player support to Team Fortress 2, immediately tells people not to use it
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-adds-100-player-support-to-team-fortress-2-immediately-tells-people-not-to-use-it/
If you've ever thought to yourself that Team Fortress 2 would be perfect if only you could cram more players onto its maps, you are going to love today's new update. It more than triples the maximum player count, from 32 to 100—and also, Valve says you probably shouldn't do that.
>> Why would they add a feature that they don't want you to use?

Nicki Minaj is the next Call of Duty operator
https://www.pcgamer.com/nicki-minaj-is-the-next-call-of-duty-operator/
One of the interesting things about this business is that every now and then I get to write a sentence I never, ever thought I would. Today is one of those days: To celebrate 50 years of hip hop, Nicki Minaj is coming to Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare.
>> I almost feel pity for those that will use this operator. Almost.

The other space game I'm dying to play just got an August release date
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-other-space-game-im-dying-to-play-just-got-an-august-release-date/
I am not now, nor have I ever been, a Star Trek fan. But I do love the idea of the Starship Enterprise, a spaceship big enough to hold hundreds of crew members including officers, scientists, soldiers, and even civilians. The Enterprise is basically a small city flying through space, and as spaceships go that's more interesting to me than a ship like the Millenium Falcon or Serenity.
Jumplight Odyssey, which just announced it's launching into Steam early access on August 21, puts you in charge of a starship not unlike the Enterprise, in a game developer League of Geeks describe as "FTL meets Two Point Hospital, with a little RimWorld thrown in."

Payday 3's technical playtest starts next week on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/payday-3s-technical-playtest-starts-next-week-on-steam/
We got some hands-on time with the upcoming heist-shooter Payday 3 last month and found that in the broad strokes, it doesn't stray too far from its predecessor. We reckon that's mostly a good thing, but you'll soon have the opportunity to judge for yourself in a closed beta test that's set to kick off on August 2.

Ubisoft's upcoming Star Wars Outlaws prides itself on not being an 'unfinishable' 300-hour RPG
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisofts-upcoming-star-wars-outlaws-prides-itself-on-not-being-an-unfinishable-300-hour-rpg/
In some circles of videogameland it's common wisdom that more is better⁠—I remember a quaint time when 30 hours was a "long" game, but today's big budget releases have been pushing that boundary well into the triple digits. In a recent interview with IGN, though, two Star Wars Outlaws devs promise to buck that trend with a "dense" and "rich" game that doesn't wear out its welcome.
>> There's enough room for both types of games to coexist.

Original Modern Warfare 2 servers yanked offline after players report self-replicating malware
https://www.pcgamer.com/original-modern-warfare-2-servers-yanked-offline-after-players-report-self-replicating-malware/
The PC servers for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (the one from 2009, not the recent one, yes I'm still upset about this) have gone down temporarily after players of the venerable classic reported encountering hacked lobbies in the game's multiplayer mode. Not ordinary hacked lobbies, mind you—the ones that just reset your settings or do something else mildly aggravating—these ones were apparently infecting players with a self-spreading worm virus.

Remnant 2's pricey respec costs are 'being looked into', says principal designer Ben Cureton
https://www.pcgamer.com/remnant-2s-pricey-respec-costs-are-being-looked-into-says-principal-designer-ben-cureton/
Remnant 2's been an unexpected hit, knocking out everything except CS:GO on Steam's top seller list yesterday, in spite of some thorny performance issues that have made upscaling a necessity. On the whole, however, most fans seem happy with a sequel that's more, but better. There's a fly in the multiverse ointment, though: the game's respec costs are weirdly high.

Final Fantasy 14 charity speedrun turns into a 23-hour marathon, as donators give $20 for the chance to lay down commands its players have to follow
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-14-charity-speedrun-turns-into-a-23-hour-marathon-as-donators-give-dollar20-for-the-chance-to-lay-down-commands-its-players-have-to-follow/
Final Fantasy 14 isn't a typical game to watch people speedrun (...)
If you want to speedrun for charity, like how gamers at the European Speedrunner Assembly (ESA) have been this week, you might be stuck on ways to make Square Enix's flagship MMO watchable for hours on end. As it turns out, all you have to do is give viewers the power to screw you over for 20 dollars.
While raising money for the Swedish Alzheimer's Association, speedrunners Nashlax, Metako, Leonis and HabKeineName sat down for a gruelling marathon run of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. The only catch is that the run, affectionately named "$20%", can be derailed at any time by a $20 donation.

And now, the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:

+GOG

• There are only three new Deals of the Day for the weekend, and the first one is the still in development Against the Storm, with a 35& discount during 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/against_the_storm
• The second DotD is Medieval Dynasty, also 35% off until Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/medieval_dynasty
• The last one is Intravenous, 66% off until July, 31st: https://www.gog.com/en/game/intravenous

+Steam

• The *takes a big breath* ChinaJoys X Game Connection Indie Game Festival *exhales* features demos and up to 85% discounts until July, 31st. Note that some games aren't even in English: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/cjxgcgameplay
• Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is going to be 20% off until August, 3rd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2005010/Warhammer_40000_Boltgun/
• Half-Life: Alyx gets a 66% discount until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/546560/HalfLife_Alyx/
• FOR HONOR will be free to try and 80% off until Thursday, the 3rd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/304390/FOR_HONOR/
• Publisher Games Operators puts its games on sale with up to 90% discounts until the 3rd: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/gamesoperatorspublishersale
• Two Point Campus will be free to try during the weekend and 50% off until the 10th of August: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/TwoPointCampusSale
• Hunt: Showdown will feature a 60% discount until August, 10th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/594650/Hunt_Showdown/
• And the last deal, Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! , will be 75% off until the 10th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1000030/Cook_Serve_Delicious_3/

Nothing more to add. Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.