Tuesday news, part two:

Payday 3's launch has gone so badly that Starbreeze says it's now 'looking at the possibility of some sort of offline mode'
https://www.pcgamer.com/payday-3s-launch-has-gone-so-badly-that-starbreeze-says-its-now-looking-at-the-possibility-of-some-sort-of-offline-mode/
The launch of heist-shooter Payday 3 last week has not gone well. Persistent server problems have frustrated players, and the game's always-online requirement means that even people who want to play solo are having trouble getting into the game. The net result: A disastrous "mostly negative" user rating on Steam, where 68% of the nearly 25,000 user reviews are now thumbs down.

Leaked email reveals Phil Spencer's damning verdict on AAA games: 'Most publishers are riding the success of franchises created 10+ years ago'
https://www.pcgamer.com/leaked-email-reveals-phil-spencers-damning-verdict-on-aaa-games-most-publishers-are-riding-the-success-of-franchises-created-10-years-ago/
A whole lot of interesting (and occasionally awkward) secrets were revealed by the big Microsoft document leak that occurred last week. One of the most notable bits was a brutally frank analysis by Xbox boss Phil Spencer on the current state of major videogame publishers like Activision and Electronic Arts, who Spencer said are struggling to find relevance in an industry that just doesn't need them like it used to.
>> The article is a lot more interesting than the headline implies.

CD Projekt apologizes for anti-Russian dialogue and images in Ukrainian version of Cyberpunk 2077, says it was added without permission
https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekt-apologizes-for-anti-russian-dialogue-and-images-in-ukrainian-version-of-cyberpunk-2077-says-it-was-added-without-permission/
CD Projekt has apologized for in-game dialog and graffiti in the Ukrainian localization of Cyberpunk 2077 that criticizes Russia's invasion of the country, and says it's working to remove or replace them in the next update.
>> I see no reason to appologize.

CD Projekt is putting your Cyberpunk 2077 mods on ice to make sure they don't wreak havoc with Phantom Liberty
https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekt-is-putting-your-cyberpunk-2077-mods-on-ice-to-make-sure-they-dont-wreak-havoc-with-phantom-liberty/
Fair warning, chooms, the release of Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty DLC means that CD Projekt's deckheads have temporarily geeked your installed mods in order to prevent, uh, mushis. I can't keep this up. Honestly, I'm just taking all these verbatim from a Cyberpunk slang wiki page. What am I even saying?
In plainer terms, a recent tweet from CD Projekt has announced that, when you boot up Phantom Liberty, any mods you have installed in your version of Cyberpunk will be automatically disabled in order to prevent them from misbehaving in the new version of the game.

CCP knows Dust 514 should never have been a console exclusive: 'If we had been on PC the whole time the game would literally be alive'
https://www.pcgamer.com/ccp-knows-dust-514-should-never-have-been-a-console-exclusive-if-we-had-been-on-pc-the-whole-time-the-game-would-literally-be-alive/
At EVE Fanfest, PC Gamer had the chance to sit down with EVE Online's game director Snorri Árnason for a wide-ranging conversation about where the game has been in recent years and where it's going. But in terms of big announcements, Fanfest's highlight for many EVE fans wasn't the main game itself, but CCP's return to the FPS with EVE Vanguard, a PvPvE looter-shooter that links to EVE Online itself and is a successor to 2013's ill-fated Dust 514.

Baldur's Gate 3's latest patch has introduced a 'very frustrating, borderline unplayable' glitch that makes companions dump their inventories on you
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3s-latest-patch-has-introduced-a-very-frustrating-borderline-unplayable-glitch-that-makes-companions-dump-their-inventories-on-you/
Baldur's Gate 3 is excellent. Historically excellent, in fact, but it's not without its flaws. The first of these, of course, is that Astarion was not voiced with Neil Newbon's original Brummie accent, but the game's awkward inventory system is a close-run second. I don't know about you, but I probably spent at least a couple of hours of playtime standing stock-still in camp, desperately trying to give my chaotic inventory and those of my allies some semblance of organisation. It never worked.
The third patch for the game tried to ameliorate that a bit, implementing a new "Shared Stash" system that took important quest items away from party members when you dismissed them and placed them in your inventory. It's not much, but it does mean you don't lose track of your severed clown torso because you happened to dismiss the party member carrying it without thinking. But there's a problem.

Capcom stirs the pot, saying 'game prices are too low'
https://www.pcgamer.com/capcom-president-stirs-the-pot-saying-game-prices-are-too-low/
At TGS last week, Capcom president and CESA chairman Haruhiro Tsujimoto reignited everyone's favourite discourse subject: the price of games. As Nikkei (via Switchsoku) reports, Tsujimoto was discussing the topic of rising development costs, where he claimed that "game prices are too low".

Microsoft CASO Makes dGPU & iGPU Switching Possible on Hybrid Laptops Without MUX , Works Across AMD, NVIDIA & Intel Chips

https://wccftech.com/microsoft-caso-dgpu-igpu-switching-possible-hybrid-laptops-without-mux-works-across-amd-nvidia-intel/

Are you telling me there was a software solution all along? Even between the same vendor, we needed a Mux switch. Wtf. Rare Microsoft Win.

Intel Core Ultra 7 165H CPU Benchmarked, Up To 5 GHz Clocks On Par With 13900H

https://wccftech.com/intel-core-ultra-7-165h-cpu-benchmarked-up-to-5-ghz-clocks-on-par-with-13900h/

Meh

Newegg announces GPU Trade-In program, up to $561 for RTX 3090 and $375 for RX 6950XT

https://videocardz.com/newz/newegg-announces-gpu-trade-in-program-up-to-561-for-rtx-3090-and-375-for-rx-6950xt

Nvidia Hints at DLSS 10 Delivering Full Neural Rendering, Potentially Replacing Rasterization and Ray Tracing

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-hints-at-dlss-10-delivering-full-neural-rendering-potentially-replacing-rasterization-and-ray-tracing

Still very ways away but whether we like it or not, Ai is here to stay

I think the cpu upgrade depends on your gpu really. If the difference between 5800X3D and 7800X3D in price means you can get a higher tier GPU or better components else where, then I'd just save the money. With Zen 5 and Arrow Lake, the next gen will show us whether or not AMD will have another Phenom to Bulldozer situation or if they will remain competitive as Arrow Lake is supposed to be really good. If Zen 5 is really good then it's likely best just to upgrade to that sometime next year instead of buying a cpu this year. But if you are etching to upgrade, a 7800X3D is a really good CPU but it won't be useful unless you also have a really good GPU.

With that being said, if you aren't on AM4 already, it's best to get 7800X3D if you are doing an entirely new build.

Looks like Intels graphics division is having a restructuring too. I wonder if someone is poaching them or if it's just a matter of changing jobs. Still not a good outlook for Radeon/Intel. May their replacements have better luck.

Although perhaps the timing is a bit too convenient and maybe his replacement might be Scott Herkelman lul

Well, he's certainly not going backto PC Perspective. That place went downhill really fast once he left. Same goes for The Tech Report after Scott Wasson also left for Intel.

FINALLY! 

Oh snap Chris is returning to game development rather than advisory?!? I can't help but notice it specific that he's returning for the Warcraft universe and not just World of Warcraft!

It only took them 3 yrs lol. Inb4 it gets a 10% discount for like a week's launch window and then goes right back to £60. It is Activision after all. 

This gives me some hope that WoW could get better, especially with the news about the old world getting a revamp and dragon riding. Adding Chris back into the mix could be the sort of change WoW needs.

Though I still think Blizz should really just redesign all the classes, because man is it going to be a tougher sell to go from ESo fluid movement based combat, right back into playing a Destro Warlock who has to stand still 99% of the time just to cast spells. As much as I want the stories to improve and questing, I really wish their combat was more up to date with the other 2 MMO's (XIV and ESO). 

There a disconnect somewhere between us.  How would my power company know how much power my PC using vs what being pulled out of the wall?  The only thing my power company can measure is the power being pulled from wall.  How could they possible know that my PSU loosing x wattage between going into it and coming out the other end? 

EDIT:  I think I figured out where the confusion coming from.  You associating Reactive power with PSU efficiency which is wrong,  PSU efficiency is showing power lost as heat which would count as real power usage  You not charged for power drawn that is return aka Reactive power.  You are right that we are not charged for power that is reactive but that not what PSU efficiency is measuring.

Waveform. Actually it's pretty easy just by looking at the harmonics created by your PSU to discriminate your computer wattage, with a reasonable margin. Just by analysing several weeks of your power consumption times this is something doable even if the metering is performed at the counter. Imagine electrical companies, with the 'smart' meter that have been installed in the last 5 years, have access to millions of load profile and can statistically make such claims.