I mentioned the -E chipset because you've mentioned several times that you want a future-proofing system, and having the extra gen 5 PCIe slot may come in handy in the future if you upgrade to something like a 6060 in several years. But well, it's a gamble.

Techspot reviewed (kind of) the 5800X3D with Cities: Skylines, but the engine appears to rely on single core performance and the extra cache doesn't do anything. Surely they'll use a new engine for Skylines 2, or at least an upgraded one, but the results may be the same, with the 7700 performing better than the 7800X3D due to its higher clocks. But again, it's a gamble.

And yeah, in today's world, finding a case with no windows is extremely difficult, and you're basically limited to a case with at least one window or a case that looks like a fridge (not that it's a bad thing, tho).
Phanteks has good cases, but they're not cheap or lack USB-C.

I've been quite patient for a long time, but now my patience is running out. At least I'll get a better deal than I would have some 2.5 years ago.

Also, don't forget the Super suffix.

I know it would probably make more sense to just get a 7800X3D, but even a 7700 is a bit expensive for my taste. I'm currently running the Xeon E3-1231 v3 I got back in 2014 and its value in the bundle must've been something like 200 €, so I'm actually significantly upping my CPU investment despite my presumably relatively modest needs.

I don't necessarily mind dialing down other parts, depending. For example, using lower-resolution textures might be just fine for me, since I value lighting quite highly. I'll still to have to look more into the DLSS part at 1080p, but I suspect I'll be fine with it (and if not, I'll just upgrade in a few years, since I'll probably need only a GPU upgrade anyway).

I'm essentially betting on PCIe 5.0 not becoming very useful for mid-to-low tier GPUs in at least a few years. It'd be unexpected to essentially deprecate essentially only a few years old hardware, and I don't expect GPUs to suddenly start heavily utilizing the benefits of PCIe 5.0 once PCIe 5.0 GPUs do come out. I haven't exactly beeing staying in the loop very much, so of course I could be wrong, but this seems like a much safer bet than some of the others I have to make.

Yeah, the first C:S doesn't really utilize multiple cores that well. The seconds one is supposed to, but I don't know to what extent. There's this promise, "However, the calculations are more efficient, resulting in higher performance across the board as the pathfinding and simulation among other calculations take advantage of all the available processing power of the multicore CPUs.", but I don't think it's really much to go by, since I don't think it's created to utilize any number of cores, and the recommended specs include only a Ryzen 5 5600X. It's another gamble.

I was actually looking at some fairly affordable Phateks case, but it had only USB 3.0 for the Type-C port. I don't think that's going to be a real issue, but I really don't want to switch cases, since that seems like a gigantic pain.

The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

(Click here for the top 100)

GOG has added another Deal of the Day to the other two I posted yesterday: The Whispering Valley will be 25% off during another 22 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_whispering_valley.

Steam has some sales and new weeklong deals:

• Publisher ASHGAMES puts its games on sale with up to 75% discounts until the 31st of August: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/ASHGAMESPublisherSale2023
• The Made in New Zealand 2023 Sale comes back with up to 75% discounts until the 4th of September: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/NZGames2023
• Black Desert will be 70% off until September, 7th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/582660/Black_Desert/
• PGA TOUR 2K23 will be 67% off until the 11th of September: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1588010/PGA_TOUR_2K23/
• And here's a small sample of the weeklong deals:
  • Astro Colony, still in Early Access, is 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1614550/Astro_Colony/
  • Volcanoids, also in Early Access, gets a 30% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/951440/Volcanoids/
  • Aquatico gets a 44% deal: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1812300/Aquatico/
  • Heavy Rain, that has a demo, gets a 60% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/960910/Heavy_Rain/
  • Patron is 70% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1538570/Patron/
  • And the last one is In Sound Mind, with an 89% deal: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1119980/In_Sound_Mind/

Fanatical has launched the CI Games Publisher Sale, with up to 90% discounts during 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/ci-games.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Take a look at Dark Messiah with Full Ray Tracing/Path Tracing
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/take-a-look-at-dark-messiah-with-full-ray-tracing-path-tracing/
wiltOS Technologies has shared some screenshots and a video, showcasing Dark Messiah with full ray tracing/path tracing via RTX Remix.
In order to implement RTX Remix, KingDavidW made the game work with the DX7 API. What’s also interesting is that the modder has released the toolkit for the RTX Remix build so that others can make and dedicate themselves to a true RTX mod of Dark Messiah.
Going into more details, it took KingDavidW about 5 months to get everything in a decent state. Additionally, he has added a bunch of fixes and modifications to give the RTX modules a little more to work with, such as light rendering hacks and culling fixes.
>> We'll see if there's someone that takes the challenge to make this a reality. The video, embedded in the article, is almost 7 minutes long.

This GTA5 Mod brings multiplayer experience to its story mode
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-gta5-mod-brings-multiplayer-experience-to-its-story-mode/
Sardelka and EntenKoeniq have released a mod for Grand Theft Auto 5 on NexusMods that brings multiplayer to the game’s story mode. This mod originally came out in 2022, but it became available on NexusMods just a few days ago. Not only that, but its latest version, V1.5.4, came out in July 2023 (and its Nightly Build came out a few days ago).
Going into more details, RAGECOOP brings multiplayer experience to the story mode of GTA5, allowing players to complete missions together with their friends. Furthermore, RAGECOOP allows you to use mods without any restriction or fear of getting banned.
This GTA5 Multiplayer Mod features synchronized bullets, vehicle/player/NPC, projectiles, and it also sports a simple ragdoll sync. Moreover, it’s optimized for high-ping conditions, meaning that it will allow you to play with your friends around the world. RAGECOOP also has decent compatibility with other mods. As such, you can set up a private modded server to have some fun with your friends.
>> There's a short video in the article.

Fallout 4 gets a full creature and ecosystem overhaul mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-4-gets-a-full-creature-and-ecosystem-overhaul-mod/
Modder ‘StamperDoesMods’ has released Mutant Menagerie – Life Finds A Way, a full creature and ecosystem overhaul mod for Fallout 4 and its expansions.
Going into more details, this mod adds 60+ all-new mutants, 30+ new herbs and plants, and 50+ species of fish. Furthermore, it adds new perks that players can earn through gameplay, hundreds of new recipes and workshop objects that players can craft, and much more.
This Fallout 4 Mod aims to make the game more difficult, but also more rewarding and engaging in ways that are streamlined, largely optional, and that don’t introduce an overbearing amount of tedium. Since this mod makes numerous changes to the game’s ecosystem, we suggest using it in your second playthrogh.
>> The article doesn't have a video of the mod, but has an almost 10 minutes long video showing 12 "Must Have" mods for Fallout 4 that have launched this August.

Wipeout's now remastered and playable in a browser, coder tells Sony to 'either let it be, or get a real remaster going'
https://www.pcgamer.com/wipeouts-now-remastered-and-playable-in-a-browser-coder-tells-sony-to-either-let-it-be-or-get-a-real-remaster-going/
Just over a month ago we reported on the sudden re-emergence of a shined-up PC version of 1995's Wipeout, a launch title for Sony's first PlayStation and a game that set the tone for the entire platform: cool, slick, and fast as hell. It came from an anonymous hero who, under the Github account Wipeout Phantom Edition, released an enhanced PC source port of the original Wipeout under that subtitle of Phantom Edition: "It uses game data from the PlayStation version and is much more comparable to the PlayStation version than the official PC port" (which I haven't played but is apparently not a great port).
This was based on a 2022 leak of the original game's source code from Forest of Illusion, and the Phantom Edition modder wasn't the only person with their eye on it. Where Phantom Edition required some work to be playable, one Dominic Szablewski has now used that source leak to rewrite the entire game (or as he puts it, "everything everywhere"), document the process, release it on Github and, for good measure, make it playable in a browser.
"Neither the Phantom Edition nor XProger's version [another Wipetout remaster project] come with the source code," says Szablewski. "Understandably so. The legality of re-distributing the leaked source is questionable at best. So let's just pretend that the leak was intentional, a rewrite of the source falls under fair use and the whole thing is abandonware anyway."

GAMING NEWS

Starfield reportedly runs with 45-60fps at 1440p/High Settings on NVIDIA RTX 2080Ti
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/starfield-reportedly-runs-with-45-60fps-in-1440p-high-settings-on-nvidia-rtx-2080ti/
Starfield releases soon and it appears that we finally have some leaks regarding its performance on PC. Moreover, we get to see a part of the PC graphics settings which basically confirm what we already knew. Starfield won’t support Ray Tracing or FSR 3.0 on PC (at least at launch).

Tuesday news, part two:

Robocop: Rogue City is part man, part machine, and delayed until November
https://www.pcgamer.com/robocop-rogue-city-is-part-man-part-machine-and-delayed-until-november/
Robocop: Rogue City is part man, part machine, and all videogame. It's also delayed, as it turns out, from a planned release in September to November 2, 2023.
The November date was revealed in the description for the latest trailer for the game, which blends a cinematic look at the ever-crumbling Old Detroit with gameplay footage showcasing "detective work and gory shootouts." Publisher Nacon didn't provide any explanation for the delay, and in fact the Steam page still indicates that Robocop: Rogue City will launch in September, but this isn't the first time it's been pushed back: It was originally supposed to be out sometime in June, but got bumped into September earlier this year.

Chirper might actually be useful for keeping track of your citizens' 'Lifepaths' in Cities: Skylines 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/chirper-might-actually-be-useful-for-keeping-track-of-your-citizens-lifepaths-in-cities-skylines-2/
Recent dev diary announcements have given me hope for the future of Chirper in Cities: Skylines 2, and well as a method (and an excuse, as if I needed one) to creep on my citizens' rich lives.

Following a trademark dispute with a calendar, beleaguered zombie survival game The Day Before looks like it's getting a new name, but this one might already be in use too
https://www.pcgamer.com/following-a-trademark-dispute-with-a-calendar-beleaguered-zombie-survival-game-the-day-before-looks-like-its-getting-a-new-name-but-this-one-might-already-be-in-use-too/
Things have not gone very well for The Day Before, the once-second-most-wishlisted game on Steam. After two years of weird delays and a near-complete dearth of gameplay footage, the whole thing was muscled off Steam (and the rest of the internet) by a copyright dispute with the maker of a calendar app called TheDayBefore. Developer Fntastic vowed that a triumphant return was in the offing, and despite a certain air of sketchiness to the whole thing, it looks like it might actually happen—under a different name.

Anime girls can web-swing like Spider-Man in this open world RPG that's aiming for Genshin Impact's crown
https://www.pcgamer.com/anime-girls-can-web-swing-like-spider-man-in-this-open-world-rpg-thats-aiming-for-genshin-impacts-crown/
Project Mugen is an upcoming free-to-play action RPG from new developer Naked Rain (a subsidiary of Netease) with anime characters who can web-swing through a city like Spider-Man. Its first trailer is a mash-up of Grand Theft Auto and Genshin Impact, an urban anime game with several characters to play as.

Dark and Darker wiped player progress today due to an influx of cheaters
https://www.pcgamer.com/dark-and-darker-wiped-character-progress-today-due-to-an-influx-of-cheaters/
Dungeon crawling PvP game Dark and Darker is undergoing maintenance and a server wipe today. Though you'll lose character progress, it is bringing back one of the best bits of the game: the voice chat.

Starfield 'boundary reached' leak leaves some worried Bethesda's planets have more limits than anticipated
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-boundary-reached-leak-leaves-some-worried-bethesdas-planets-have-more-limits-than-anticipated/
"Boundary reached," reads an in-game Starfield text box that circulated online over the weekend. "Open the map to explore another region, or return to your ship."
The biggest game of the year is springing leaks just days before release, the latest of which is creating some uncertainty about one of its most anticipated features: planet exploration.

Modern Warfare 2's Lara Croft crossover has me yearning for an original Tomb Raider remake
https://www.pcgamer.com/modern-warfare-2s-lara-croft-crossover-has-me-yearning-for-an-original-tomb-raider-remake/
I never thought Call of Duty of all games would have me desperate for a modern-day rendition of classic Tomb Raider, but the shooter's latest crossover has done just that. Lara Croft is the next operator to arrive in Modern Warfare 2 as part of Season 5 Reloaded.

Armored Core 6's mech editor has already been used to make some cursed (and blessed) creations
https://www.pcgamer.com/armored-core-6s-mech-editor-has-already-been-used-to-make-some-cursedand-blessedcreations/
Armored Core 6 is an amazing dress up game and decal creator, with a neat little minigame in it that lets you actually fight with the mechs you're decorating.
(...)
Unsurprisingly, the community's been seized by that same desire to create—crafting everything from genuine works of art to what I can only assume are attempts at psychological warfare. Here are some of my favourites so far, courtesy of the Armored Core subreddit.

Baldur's Gate 3 lead writer says Act 2 is deliberately lighter on exploration for pacing's sake
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-lead-writer-says-act-2-is-deliberately-lighter-on-exploration-for-pacings-sake/
There's a good reason some Baldur's Gate 3 players plugged in over a hundred hours into its early access. Act 1, which the early access encompassed, is absolutely massive—both the overworld and the Underdark are large enough to keep you busy for a while with its chaotic, explorative adventures.
That feeling of openness doesn't reappear as dramatically in the game's later acts, though. Act 2 is a more contained experience, with a stronger main quest, a killer villain, and far higher stakes. Meanwhile, Act 3 serves as a big hub for several endgame dungeons.
There are some practical reasons for narrowing the game's scope like this—Larian Studios don't have infinite time and money, after all. However, according to lead writer Adam Smith (who spoke to GamesRadar last week), this choice was also important for the game's story and design.

WoW Classic's hardcore mode was only out for a few days before this frost gnome hit max level
https://www.pcgamer.com/wow-classics-hardcore-mode-was-only-out-for-a-few-days-before-this-frost-gnome-hit-max-level/
World of Warcraft Classic got its hardcore servers four days ago, an opportunity (?) for players to enjoy the experience with permadeath for their chosen character. As is the way of things this immediately triggered a race to become the world's first max level WoW Classic player. Take a bow VitochieR1 on Twitch, who achieved level 60 with a Gnome Mage specialising in frost, a feat that took them precisely 69 Hours, 53 Minutes, 34 Seconds.

Starfield's design director says the game nearly had a voiced protagonist, but they dropped it: 'It was a AAA thing'
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfields-design-director-says-the-game-nearly-had-a-voiced-protagonist-but-they-dropped-it-it-was-a-aaa-thing/
In Polygon's recent interview with design director Emil Pagliarulo, it was revealed that Starfield very nearly had a voiced protagonist in the style of Fallout 4's sole survivor.

GPU Market Rebounds In Q2 2023: AMD, NVIDIA & Intel See Increased Shipments, Discrete GPU Up By 12.4%

https://wccftech.com/gpu-market-rebounds-q2-2023-amd-nvidia-intel-increased-shipments-discrete-gpus-up/

Nvidia dominating both datacenter and gaming while AMD and Intel continue to fight for scraps

Intel Already Has Next-Gen Battlemage “BMG-G10” Arc Gaming GPUs In The Labs

https://wccftech.com/intel-already-has-next-gen-battlemage-bmg-g10-arc-gaming-gpus-in-the-labs/

AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT To Be Discontinued Soon, GPU Price Drops Below $240 US

https://wccftech.com/amd-radeon-rx-6650-xt-discontinued-soon-gpu-price-drops-below-240-us/

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 3D V-Cache CPU Is Now Almost $100 US Cheaper Than Its Original Price

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-7-7800x3d-3d-v-cache-cpu-now-100-us-cheaper-than-original-price/

Intel Details Next-Gen Xeon CPUs For 2024: Granite Rapids With Redwood Cove P-Cores & Sierra Forest With Sierra Glen E-Cores

https://wccftech.com/intel-next-gen-xeon-cpus-2024-granite-rapids-redwood-cove-p-cores-sierra-forest-sierra-glen-e-cores/

Lenovo Legion Go with AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, 8.8″ QHD screen and LPDDR5X memory to launch at 799 USD/EUR

https://videocardz.com/newz/lenovo-legion-go-with-amd-ryzen-z1-extreme-8-8-qhd-screen-and-lpddr5x-memory-to-launch-at-799-usd-eur

1600p 144hz. Feels like a waste honestly. But least the battery capacity is larger than Asus/Steam Deck but it does also cost more.

The difference in quality between DLSS and FSR continues to be nuts

My biggest fear, and I want to stress out that it's a personal fear and nothing more, is that in a couple of gens, both AMD and Nvidia will have switched to Gen 5 while keeping the same designs as today, and that means limiting their xx60 and x600 cards to x8 Gen lanes. That won't be a problem if both ends are Gen5, but if your motherboard is limited to Gen4, then you'll be limiting the bandwidht of your GPU below that AMD and Nvidia designed the cards for.

And don't get me wrong, I know it won't make much of a difference. We've seen how even a 4090 doesn't lose much when limited to x8 PCIe 4.0 lanes and, given that happened this gen, I'm not sure the xx60/x600 cards will come close to its performance even after two gens.

Regarding the case, it probably costs more than what you're willing to spend, but the be quiet! Silent Base 802 (Techpowerup review here) may tick all your boxes.

That's my concern as well, but the RTX 4090 thing is what really gives me confidence that there shouldn't be any issues with non-top-tier GPUs even in at least a few years. They could technically change up things significantly and design new GPUs to heavily utilize PCIe 5.0, but it seems fairly radical to me, so it seems fairly safe to bet against it happening.

Seems pretty decent, and if I was willing to add one more retailer to the mix (looks like I'll be going for two already because of availability), the price might actually be acceptable. Not a fan of the look personally though, and for a relatively expensive case, the lack of USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 seems curious (I think all the motherboard I've been considering have support for at least one such connection).

It does feel like case manufacturers are only providing USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 for its type-C connectors, even on stupidly expensive cases. But well, neither of the three motherboards you mentioned in your first post have Gen 2x2 type-A front connectors, only for the type-C, so it shouldn't be the main reason to choose one case over another.

Yeah, Gen 2x2 connector availability is something I'm going to have to make some kind of a compromise about, I think. At least it's unlikely to matter too much in a while in my use, so it's not too bad (again mostly trying to future-proof as long as the cost-benefit ratio is reasonable).