I would be surprised if my steam account was $250, literally empty more or less.

Depends if you need the extra 4GB VRAM for compute over the 12GB 6700XT... Going to be some edge cases where the 7600 is the better buy because of that.

It is definitely the better option over the Radeon 7600 8GB and the 4060 8GB provided you aren't someone who likes to fornicate over DLSS.

However... It averages just 7.4fps faster than the 7600 8GB and is 11.6fps on average slower than the 6700XT.

If you already own a Radeon 6600XT/6650XT/3060 it's not worth the upgrade, it's not until you start looking further back like the Radeon RX 580 or RX 5600 that it actually starts to make sense.

AMD would have probably been better equipping the 7600XT with a 192-bit memory bus and 12GB Ram layout which would take it's bandwidth from 288GB/s to 432GB/s which would have provided it a substantial kick at 1440P and higher resolutions as it's not fillrate limited... Which also would have also made it more competitive against the 4060 -with- DLSS.

GPU's are so damn boring currently, all the excitement is with CPU's.

Oh damn, didnt know you can check that.

Here's mine

Now from seeing how much people have spent on Steam. I can say that it can be somewhat addicting.

Huh, interesting, didn't know that. $760 is all I spent on Steam over the last 9 years. In other words, it took me a couple years before I made an actal purchase there.

I think if anyone added up how much they spend total on Playstation in your case you can see how it can be "Addicting" too.

Same goes for Xbox or Nintendo or mobile phones or whatever you want. Remember thats total spend lifetime for that user on that account.

The Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Palworld becomes second game in Steam history to hit more than 2 million concurrent players
https://www.pcgamer.com/palworld-becomes-second-game-in-steam-history-to-hit-more-than-2-million-concurrent-players/
Palworld continues to discover numbers I was heretofore unaware of. Did you know there could be 8 million of something? I sure didn't, but then the game went and sold just that many copies in the course of around six days.
But that's old news, frankly, because on top of its dizzying number of sales, Palworld has just become the second game in history to reach over 2 million concurrent players on Steam, attaining an all-time peak of 2,018,905 players simultaneously seeking the best Pals (according to SteamDB). That puts it ahead of Counter-Strike 2, Lost Ark, Dota, Cyberpunk 2077, and, well, actually, it puts it ahead of literally everything else on Steam that isn't PUBG: Battlegrounds.

The Epic Store gives away Infinifactory: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/infinifactory-ec9686.
Next week the free game will be Doors - Paradox.

GOG has a couple things:

• It's the 25th of January, but who cares! Here's the New Year Sale! Featuring up to 90% discounts on more than 4600 titles from now until February 6th, 8 AM UTC: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2024_new_year_sale
• And with a new big sale comes... a new GIVEAWAY: Mordheim: City of the Damned will be free to get during 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/mordheim_city_of_the_damned

Steam has two new deals:

• One Lonely Outpost, still in Early Access, will be 50% off until the 31st of January: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1465550/One_Lonely_Outpost/
• And King Of The Castle will feature a 30% discount until the 5th of February: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1839880/King_Of_The_Castle/

There's a new Humble Bundle: the With Soulslike These... You Need Enemies, featuring up to 9 items to get during 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/with-soulslike-these-you-need-enemies.

And Fanatical has anew Star Deal, a new sale and two bundles:

• The new Star Deal is the Batman: Arkham Collection, 88% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/batman-arkham-collection
• Frontier Developments puts its games on sale with up to 80% discounts during 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/frontier-developments
• The Star Wars Collection Bundle is back with an 80% discount during 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/star-wars-collection
• And the Capcom Collection BYOB features 12 titles to choose from for your 3, 4 or 5 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/capcom-collection-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 31.0.101.5186/5234 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-31-0-101-5186-5234
Highlights

Intel Game On Driver support on Intel Arc A-series Graphics for:

• Enshrouded
• Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
• Like a Dragon: Infinite
• Tekken 8
• Palworld

Intel Game On Driver support on Intel Core Ultra with Intel Arc Graphics for:

• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Tekken 8
• Palworld

Fixed Issues

Intel Arc A-Series Graphics Products:

• Alan Wake 2 (DX12) may exhibit white corruption on reflective surfaces when Transparency is set to Off. A workaround is to set Transparency to Low or High.
• Sons of the Forest (DX11) may exhibit corruption on the item text in the game inventory.
• Intel Smooth Sync may not work as expected with certain DX11 games.

Intel Core Ultra with Intel Arc Graphics Products:

• The Talos Principle 2 (DX12) may experience an application crash during gameplay with certain Upscaling Presets.
• Call of Duty Modern Warfare III (DX12) may experience application crash in certain gameplay scenarios.
• Blackmagic Fusion may experience intermittent application crash during render operations.

>> The article also has the official performance increase this driver brings in almost 30 games.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Max Payne 3 Just Got a Must-Have 12GB HD Texture Pack
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/max-payne-3-just-got-a-must-have-12gb-hd-texture-pack/
Modder ‘nmslMDSXXX’ has just released a must-have HD Texture Pack for Max Payne 3. This HD Texture Pack weighs at around 12GB and aims to improve most of the game’s objects and surfaces.
As the modder noted, some materials will still have their vanilla textures. According to nmslMDSXXX, it was impossible to improve all of them as the game cannot afford higher-quality texture maps. So, from the looks of it, this appears to be an engine issue.
But anyway, if you want to replay Max Payne 3, you can go ahead and download the HD Texture Pack from this link. At the end of the article, you will also find some comparison screenshots. These screenshots will give you an idea of what you can expect from it.

Here’s how you can enable Ray Tracing in Palworld
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/enable-ray-tracing-palworld/
Modder ‘R3MIND_OFFICIAL’ has shared a way via which PC gamers can enable Ray Tracing in Palworld. All you have to do is edit and change some values from the game’s configuration file. That, or you can download a modded config file.
To prove that Ray Tracing works, R3MIND_OFFICIAL shared the following comparison screenshots. And yes, from what we can see, there are some ray-traced effects. For instance, we can see better reflections and better ambient occlusion.
The modder claimed that this solution adds partial Ray Tracing effects. So, don’t expect full Ray Tracing from this tweak. There might also be some visual glitches or issues. After all, the game does not have any native Ray Tracing support. Still, this is a tweak that may interest owners of high-end GPUs.
Alongside the new RT effects, this mod also improves the quality of Global Illumination and PostFX effects. It will also force the game to use the DX12 API.
>> Besides the screenshots, there's also a 5 minutes video.

Tekken 8 – Unreal Engine 5 Lumen On/Off Comparison Screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/tekken-8-unreal-engine-5-lumen-on-off-comparison-screenshots/
A couple of days ago we informed you about a tool that let you enable UE5’s Lumen in the PC demo of Tekken 8. And, since Tekken 8 will be released tomorrow, we’ve decided to give it a go and share our results.
Now the good news here is that this tool does work. It indeed lets you enable Lumen for both Global Illumination and Reflections. However, the results are mixed right now.
At the end of the article, you can find some comparison screenshots. The vanilla version is on the left, whereas the modded version is on the right.

GAMING NEWS

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into The Pit Gameplay Trailer Leaked
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/five-nights-at-freddys-into-the-pit-gameplay-trailer-leaked/
It appears that the gameplay trailer for Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into The Pit has been leaked online. So, if you are fans of this particular franchise, you should definitely watch it after the jump.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden gets official PC requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/banishers-ghosts-of-new-eden-pc-requirements/
DON’T NOD has shared the official PC system requirements for its upcoming story driven action RPG, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. Additionally, Focus Entertainment has shared a new trailer that focuses on the game’s combat mechanics.

Outcast: A New Beginning Official PC Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/outcast-a-new-beginning-official-pc-requirements/
THQ Nordic and Appeal Studios have shared the official PC system requirements for Outcast: A New Beginning. In addition, the publisher has just shared a new trailer that you can find below.

The Thursday news, part two:

After a catastrophic launch period, Payday 3 is assembling a veteran crew for its own daring rescue mission
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-a-catastrophic-launch-period-payday-3-is-assembling-a-veteran-crew-for-its-own-daring-rescue-mission/
Payday 3 has not had the smoothest of launches, with PCG's Tyler Colp finding some positives in the latest instalment of Starbreeze's heist-em-up, but concluding that much of it "needs a rework." (...)
So what's the plan? Well, we don't know yet, but the plan is definitely to come up with a plan. Over to Starbreeze:
"We're well aware that many of you aren't satisfied with the game the way it is in its current state," says a new blogpost credited to Almir Listo (brand director and community lead) and the Payday 3 team. "Since launch, we've been reading your valuable feedback [which] helps us massively and is crucial to the continued development of Payday 3."
Listo says that "we've put together a strike team of veteran developers from the design, community, communication and production teams with the focus on bringing Payday 3 up to where it will meet your expectations.

Final Fantasy 14 is shaking up its usual Moogle tomestone events by adding both weekly and event-long challenges
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-14-is-shaking-up-its-usual-moogle-tomestone-events-by-adding-both-weekly-and-event-long-challenges/
Final Fantasy 14's announced its next Moogle Treasure Trove event—for the uninitiated, these events help occupy players between major patches by giving them tomestones for specific activities. They can then spend those on glamour items, mounts, emotes, hairstyles, that sort of thing.

Chinese regulators may be having second thoughts about online gaming crackdown: Proposed rule changes have been removed from government website
https://www.pcgamer.com/chinese-regulators-may-be-having-second-thoughts-about-online-gaming-crackdown-proposed-rule-changes-have-been-removed-from-government-website/
China may be walking back a series of sweeping new restrictions on gaming that were announced in December 2023, as a Reuters report says the country's gaming regulator has removed the proposed rule changes from the National Press and Publication Administration website entirely.

The survival game that got kicked off Steam over a stolen source code dispute with Ark: Survival Evolved is set to launch in February, and a playtest is happening right now
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-survival-game-that-got-kicked-off-steam-over-a-stolen-source-code-dispute-with-ark-survival-evolved-is-set-to-launch-in-february-and-a-playtest-is-happening-right-now/
After a wild two-year ride that saw it forced off Steam over allegations of source code theft, the "multiplayer war sandbox game" Myth of Empires is set to launch on Steam on February 21. For those who want to see what the game behind the kerfuffle is really all about, a closed technical test is now underway and set to run until January 30.

Dungeons and Dragons is coming to VR
https://www.pcgamer.com/dungeons-and-dragons-is-coming-to-vr/
Demeo is a videogame take on tabletop dungeon crawling that we quite liked: Weekend editor Jody Macgregor described it as "like having the Monster Manual thrown at your face," but in a mostly good way. Now Resolution Games, the studio behind that game, is taking Demeo's D&D roots a big step further in a partnership with Wizards of the Coast to develop the first official Dungeons and Dragons VR game.

Palworld struggled to find a dev with shooter experience in Japan before stumbling on a self-taught hobbyist who worked at a convenience store
https://www.pcgamer.com/palworld-struggled-to-find-a-dev-with-shooter-experience-in-japan-before-stumbling-on-a-self-taught-hobbyist-who-worked-at-a-convenience-store/
Only five days post-launch, Palworld has sold over seven million copies and become the second game ever to log over two million concurrent players on Steam. Its unexpectedly absurd level of success has led to much speculation over the source of its appeal—as well as some condemnation—but the notion that it's "Pokémon with guns," while not exactly accurate, must be at least part of the answer.
Finding someone to design Palworld's firearms was apparently a challenge for Japanese developer Pocketpair, though.

The Pokémon Company releases a statement about Palworld, says it intends to 'investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon'
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-pokemon-company-releases-a-statement-about-palworld-says-it-intends-to-investigate-and-take-appropriate-measures-to-address-any-acts-that-infringe-on-intellectual-property-rights-related-to-the-pokemon/
Is viral survival game sensation Palworld a fair parody of Pokémon or an act of plagiarism, potentially incorporating AI-generated fakémon? This is the argument that's consumed social media since Palworld's release, and while it seems like everyone has weighed in on the topic, The Pokémon Company itself maintained a dignified silence. Until now.
In a statement you can read on its official corporate website in both Japanese and English, The Pokémon Company has addressed "Other Companies' Games" in a way that is clearly referring to Palworld. Here's the statement in full.

Palworld players channel their inner hunter-gatherers to fell a giant mammoth by herding it into campfires, devs call it 'genius'
https://www.pcgamer.com/palworld-players-channel-their-inner-hunter-gatherers-to-fell-a-giant-mammoth-by-herding-it-into-campfires-devs-call-it-genius/
One of the things I genuinely like about Palworld is how it's created a weird intersection between classic Pokémon-style mechanics and harebrained survival game nonsense—as is the case with this recent kill by the Video Gamers Podcast on Twitter.
Spotted by GamesRadar, this kill of Mammorest—a huge boss-level pal that stomps around the game's starting area—taps into something primal. There was a time where, to get a good meal, you had to gather a few of your mates with some spears and hunt something big and woolly. That's exactly what's happened here.

Sneaky World of Warcraft hotfix titles players 'Champion of the Dragonflights' a whole week after a dramatic cutscene did, leads to most getting their full honours while standing around doing nothing
https://www.pcgamer.com/sneaky-world-of-warcraft-hotfix-titles-players-champion-of-the-dragonflights-a-whole-week-after-a-dramatic-cutscene-did-leads-to-most-getting-their-full-honours-while-standing-around-doing-nothing/
World of Warcraft's Seeds of Renewal patch is out: adding worldwide dragonriding, the reclamation of Gilneas, follower dungeons, and an altogether surprising amount of meat for an interval patch.

11 years in, Old School RuneScape's toaster graphics are about to look better than ever
https://www.pcgamer.com/11-years-in-old-school-runescapes-toaster-graphics-are-about-to-look-better-than-ever/
The Old School RuneScape look is iconic: Just a clatter of vaguely humanoid models running around a landscape of flat textures, accomplishing feats of grandiose heroism and sheer lunacy all the while. It's a faithful reproduction (to my eyes, anyway) of original RuneScape's graphics from the 2000s, a stunning example of how much you can do with six polygons and a dream.
But brace yourself, because those polygons are about to look better than ever. OSRS developer Jagex has announced the venerable MMO is getting an official HD mode, bringing a suite of lighting, effects, and texture improvements to the game later this year.

Palworld fights 'cheating on the official server' with new patch, but 'it is currently difficult to completely prevent all cheating immediately'
https://www.pcgamer.com/palworld-fights-cheating-on-the-official-server-with-new-patch-but-it-is-currently-difficult-to-completely-prevent-all-cheating-immediately/
Palworld, currently the world's fourth largest religion, has a cheating problem. In a post on Twitter, the official Palworld account announced today that "Currently, some players have been confirmed to be cheating on the official server." The good news? Pocketpair just released a patch to fight back. The bad news? It might take a while to get a proper handle on it.

Microsoft cuts 1,900 jobs at Activision Blizzard and Xbox, Blizzard president Mike Ybarra leaves the company, and the studio's survival game has been cancelled
https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-cuts-1900-jobs-at-activision-blizzard-and-xbox-blizzard-president-mike-ybarra-leaves-the-company-and-the-studios-survival-game-has-been-cancelled/
As if 2023's historic volume of gaming layoffs wasn't enough, 2024 is starting in the exact same vein—studios including CI Games, Behaviour Interactive, and Riot Games have all let people go in January, and now it's Microsoft's turn. A message from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer to employees (via The Verge) says 1,900 employees are being laid off.

Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition To Launch On PC On March 21st; DLSS 3, DirectStorage Support Confirmed

https://wccftech.com/horizon-forbidden-west-complete-edition-pc-dlss-3-directstorage/

NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti SUPER outpaces AMD RX 7600 XT sales on launch day 9:1 at German retailer

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-rtx-4070-ti-super-outpaces-amd-rx-7600-xt-sales-on-launch-day-91-at-german-retailer

MSI apologizes for RTX 4070 TI SUPER BIOS issues

https://videocardz.com/newz/msi-apologizes-for-rtx-4070-ti-super-bios-issues

AMD FSR 3 Added to UE5 MMORPG Mortal Online 2; It’s the 11th Game to Support the Technique

https://wccftech.com/amd-fsr-3-added-to-ue5-mmorpg-mortal-online-2-its-the-11th-game-to-support-the-technique/

£50 for HZD FB, a 2 yr old game...nah I'm good Sony, I can wait another year or two till it's cheaper lol.

At this point I'm better off buying Granblue fantasy, which will be brand new by it's release in a couple weeks. I ain't shelling out £50 for something 2 yrs old. Hell, Palworld is more worth it's price point and that's brand new.