@JEMC The reason the MSI Power Supply issue is being highlighted is that shows a pattern of behavior from MSI regarding AMD. Despite it being inferior, more power hungry, with less stable drivers, they chose an ARC Alchemist based APU for the original MSI Claw. They were late to the party with the RX 7000 series and only produced a couple of cards that reused the cooler designs from their RX 6000 series cards. AFAIK, they didn't produce many of those. They aren't producing any RX 9000 Series cards. Based on how they are operating, if Intel hadn't completely crapped the bed, I serious question what type of motherboard support they'd have for AMD. 

From what I've read, their motherboards have gone downhil in terms of quality in recent years, both for Intel and AMD.

The Claw is certainly an interesting case, and it could be because the result of an anti-AMD bias, but it can also be the result of a confluence of two situations: MSI being late to the handheld PCs party and Intel not wanting to be left behind in that segment. I personally think it was a case of Intel paying MSI to put their chips in the device more than anything else. But I have no proof.

Its GPU division did the bare minimum on AMD 7000 cards and that hurt them. Skipping the 9000 ones will also hurt them. But it's not like their Nvidia cards are that great. I've seen some reviews and their cards are usually the ones with the worst thermals because of their coolers.

The power supply thing is new and yes, it seems anti-AMD given that no current GPU needs 2x16-pin connectors and build with two or more high end Nvidia GPUs will require more powerful PSUs. But, as I said, it's not that big of a deal because all the other brands still provide the necessary ports and are either better known or have better reputation.

I think that even since before their president fell off from a building, MSI has been making dubious decisions and it's putting itself into a corner from which it will be hard for them to come out. It won't surprise me if we read that they'll be shutting down in the next 5-10 years.

I can only tell you the fun I had having to research which 1000W PSUs not only come with 3* PCIe 6+2 connections, but also which ones actually have the single cables rather than the pigtail connectors.

MSI committed a huge self-own by exclusively supporting a brand that's no longer interested in the consumer level market. They would've been smarter to just follow EVGA by pulling out altogether.

Meanwhile AMD is becoming so popular in Japan that we're literally getting a whole cast of anime themed GPUs.

Fun times we're living in.

*Edit: I meant 4 connections. One of my potential builds needs an extra PCIe connection for a fan controller hub. My GPU does need 3 on it's own still. Even if I go with a different build I still don't want the pigtail connectors.

I wouldn't go that far but I do agree Msi has been making bad decisions for the past few years now.

The thing with Evga is they more or less made and were known for dgpus. They made some other components like high end motherboards but sold very little. It's why 80% of Evgas revenue came from selling Nvidia gpus. The issue is Nvidia has been willing to give their partners less and less % but consumers generally want Nvidia gpus. So while other AIB partners such as Asus, Gigabyte and MSI had sales from other sections such as desktops, laptops, monitors, components such as motherboards and such, Evga really didn't.

So if Msi were so say bye to Nvidia like Evga... The problem is this would kill their gaming laptop business. Because guess what? Radeon has little to no presence in the dgpu laptop field of which they sell millions of. I also wouldn't be surprised if being Nvidia only partner has it's share of perks. So Msi's situation is quite different than evga. And while Nvidia has made quite the amount of fuck ups, once things settle down, it will be interesting to see what the market share is like.

So overall, they are in different situations. But Msi really shouldn't have pulled out of the red team as they are putting their baskets on Nvidia who historically really doesn't see much value with AIB partners.

That's really sad, just imagine something like this happening at the Oscars...

I saw the trailer a coule days ago and was baffled too. 3 hands on a dartgun, feet that turn into flippers, underwater lake, octopus with 6 tentacles... Suffice to say that this AI did create enough errors to be disturbingly off.

I can only give he trailer the message from Big Rigs: You're Winner!

The problem is that we're informed, but the general public isn't. They might pick that one up without knowing this.

I think MSI are getting a lot of chips from Nvidia whether it fills their supply line and they chose to skip the 9000 series or they have some sort of deal to only produce Nvidia GPU's in return for the lions share but their cards seem to get way more stock here than any other brand and they are the only vendor actually putting out MSRP 5070/Ti/80 cards at the moment and I managed to order one at the weekend myself actually.

I just remembered when researching PSUs there are some newer models that come with a 16-pin(12VHPWR) to double 8-pin(PCIe) adaptors supposedly intended for GPUs with multiple 6+2 slots. Not to be confused with the 3x(or 4x) 8-pin to 16-pin adaptors that ship with Nvidia GPUs and work the opposite way. I'm pretty sure MSI PSUs supply those cables.

It was so hard finding information to verify how reliable they are, but theoretically they should supply 600W with those two connectors alone. That would be more than enough power for 3x 8-pin GPUs, then you would only need one 6+2 connection on the PSU. I just didn't want to risk it with so little info.

They seem to be reliable, at least I haven't heard of any failures of those so far.

That being said, they are also pretty rare so far, I could only find 8pin to 12pin and not the other ay around at my e-tailer. So someone who buys such an PSU and has a GPU that doesn't use a 12pin connector may have serious problems finding an adapter to connect their GPU to the PSU.

Let’s go with the Friday news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

Assassin's Creed Shadows is a hit and Steam played a 'significant role' in that: 27% of activations were on PC and it's the 2nd-biggest AC launch of all time
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/assassins-creed-shadows-is-a-hit-and-steam-played-a-significant-role-in-that-27-percent-of-activations-were-on-pc-and-its-the-2nd-biggest-ac-launch-of-all-time/
Gamers only want one thing: to put an end to the Warring States period and unify Japan beneath the wise consulship of Lord Nobunaga Oda, the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. Or they might want to kill Oda, actually. I'm not sure. Depends on the game.
Either way, Assassin's Creed Shadows is, per data seen by VGC, the second-biggest Assassin's Creed launch of all time behind AC Valhalla, and it's in no small part down to PC gamers. A full 27% of the game's "Activations" happened on our platform of choice, though it's worth bearing in mind that doesn't translate to 27% of sales. Ubi uses the word activations because it presumably encompasses people playing the game via their Ubisoft+ subs.
More intriguingly, the data says that Ubisoft's return to Steam has paid dividends. AC Shadows is the first major Ubi game to launch concurrently on Steam in six years. Turns out, people like that: Steam played "a significant role" in Shadows' stonking PC performance.
>> And I was so happy yesterday, thinking that I wouldn’t need to post another sales article about Shadows...

Steam has these deals and sales:

• Stellaris will be 75% off until the 31st of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/281990/Stellaris/
• Laysara: Summit Kingdom, still in Early Access, will have a 30% discount until the 7th of April: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1823950/Laysara_Summit_Kingdom/
• Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has a new free update and it’s going to be 50% off until the 8th of April: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/599215/sale/Visions
• And here are sales:
  • Publisher FUNCOM puts its games on sale with up to 90% discounts until the 31st of March: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/FuncomPublisherSale2025
  • The LEGO franchises are on sale, with games up to 90% off until the 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/Lego-Franchise-Sale-2025
  • Publisher Gamera Interactive also puts its games on sale with up to 90% discounts until the same March 31: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33330069/sale/2025
  • Harry Potter celebrates the Butterbeer Season Sale, with games up to 75% off until the 2nd of April: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34133273/sale/butterbeerseasonsale
  • Crytek celebrates its 25th anniversary with up to 75% discounts until April, the 3rd: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/CrytekPublisherSale2025
  • Publisher Hooded Horse celebrates its March Sale and puts its games up to 50% off until the 7th of April, tho some deals may end sooner than that: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/38719421/sale/marchsale2025
  • The Mortal Kombat franchise is on sale with up to 90% discounts unti lthe 7th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34133273/sale/mortalkombat
• Please note that this week THERE ARE NO weeklong deals

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Mod adds self-shadows to all characters
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-witcher-3-next-gen-mod-adds-self-shadows-to-all-characters/
Modders ‘rmemr’ and ‘Ard Carraigh’ released a new cool mod for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen that adds self-shadows to all NPCs. Thanks to this mod, you will get better-looking characters. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
For those unaware, CDPR did not enable self-shadows for the in-game characters. As such, the in-game characters are not as detailed as those we see in cut-scenes. So, this mod aims to address this by adding self-shadows to all NPCs.
Since this is a third-person game, most of you may not be able to notice the self-shadows. So, in a way, I kind of understand why CDPR disabled them. Still, those of you who want them can now enable them via this mod.
You can go ahead and download the mod from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find some comparison screenshots. The vanilla version is on the left, whereas the modded version is on the right. These screenshots will give you an idea of what you can expect from it.
Do note that this mod is for the Next-Gen version of TW3. If you are still playing the original version, you can use this mod. Plus, this mod is not compatible with the one that enabled RTAO for all NPCs. So, if you are using it, you can safely skip this one.
>> Not related to this mod, but there’s an article at PCGamer saying how the devs had to remake big parts of the engine to create the REDkit for modders

Skyrim realism mod fixes your vampire girlfriend, giving her a voice and look more suited to someone who just got out of a coffin after 2,000 years
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/skyrim-realism-mod-fixes-your-vampire-girlfriend-giving-her-a-voice-and-look-more-suited-to-someone-who-just-got-out-of-a-coffin-after-2-000-years/
Skyrim is not an enormously realistic game. Yes, I'm brave enough to say it. Magic? Not real. Dragons? Largely undocumented. Guys who get hit repeatedly by arrows before returning to their usual patrol routes? This only rarely happens.
These departures from humdrum reality exist to make the game more fun, so fair enough, but some things really stretch credulity. For example: Serana, your vampiric companion in the game's Dawnguard DLC who emerges from her sarcophagus after thousands of years of torpor looking like she just stepped out of a L'Oreal commercial.
As ever, enter stout-hearted modders to rectify the situation. Serana—The Harsh Reality is a creation from author Hellgeist, and aims to make the poor woman look and sound a bit more like she's just spent the lifespan of the Roman Republic and Empire in a hole in the dirt. "I feel that any creature that crawls out of a coffin after 2000 years is not going to look like someone in their late teens, no matter who it is, or how magical their backstory might be," writes Hellgeist, disciple of science.
>> The article has a short video and a screenshot that’s not from the mod.

GAMING NEWS

Crimson Desert’s BlackSpace Engine showcased in latest video
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/crimson-deserts-blackspace-engine-showcased-in-latest-video/
At GDC 2025, Pearl Abyss showcased the capabilities of the BlackSpace Engine that will be powering Crimson Desert. So, below you can find a video that will give you a glimpse at some of the tech features of this new open-world single-player game.

Here’s how you can remove the 30FPS cap from the cut-scenes of Assassin’s Creed Shadows
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/heres-how-you-can-remove-the-30fps-cap-from-the-cut-scenes-of-assassins-creed-shadows/
One of the biggest technical issues of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the fact that its cut-scenes are locked at 30FPS. As such, it can become really disorienting when the game switches between in-game and cut-scenes. Thankfully, though, there is a way to remove the 30FPS cap from the cut-scenes.

The First Berserker Khazan and KARMA: The Dark World will support DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Gen
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-first-berserker-khazan-and-karma-the-dark-world-will-support-dlss-4-multi-frame-gen/
NVIDIA has just announced that The First Berserker Khazan and KARMA: The Dark World will support DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Gen. Moreover, Fatshark released an update for Warhammer 40K: Darktide that adds support for DLSS 4.

Rise of the Ronin March 25th Patch Released & Detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/rise-of-the-ronin-march-25th-patch-released-detailed/
Team Ninja has just released the March 25th Patch, also known as Patch 1.09.0.2, for Rise of the Ronin and shares its full changelog. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.

This is the second part of the news:

In the year of our lord 2025, Mojang is finally adding shaders to Minecraft, making reflective lighting and water effects more accessible for all
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/in-the-year-of-our-lord-2025-mojang-is-finally-adding-shaders-to-minecraft-making-reflective-lighting-and-water-effects-more-accessible-for-all/
There's a ton of new content coming to Minecraft over the next year. The Spring to Life update will add more ambient features and different mob variants. A new block and mob will be added alongside some A Minecraft Movie-inspired minigames. But one of the most exciting new additions is the new vibrant visuals features, aka shaders.
>> And it’s never going free to play.

Ultra-realistic life sim Inzoi has officially shoved Hollow Knight: Silksong and Deadlock out of the way to become Steam's most hotly-anticipated game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/ultra-realistic-life-sim-inzoi-has-officially-shoved-hollow-knight-silksong-and-deadlock-out-of-the-way-to-become-steams-most-hotly-anticipated-game/
I've always considered life sims as straddling the line between the niche and the mainstream, but I suppose it's safe to say Inzoi is firmly rocketing the genre into the latter, as it's officially pouted and peace-signed its way to the number one wishlisted game on Steam.

'This is just the beginning': Assassin's Creed Shadows dev team thanks fans for their support and promises more to come in the future
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/this-is-just-the-beginning-assassins-creed-shadows-dev-team-thanks-fans-for-their-support-and-promises-more-to-come-in-the-future/
We said at the end of 2024 that after years of struggles, Ubisoft "desperately needs a win," and it looks like Assassin's Creed Shadows has delivered, with strong reviews, impressive player numbers, and maybe most important of all, no big catastrophes on the way out the door.
In a message posted to the Assassin's Creed subreddit, the development team thanked its supporters for sticking with the game, and promised that "this is just the beginning for Shadows."

Silent Hill f is no longer banned in Australia, but it still sounds pretty messed up
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/silent-hill-f-is-not-messing-around-now-its-been-banned-in-australia/
Silent Hill f may not release in Australia thanks to a decision by the country's Classification Board. The horror reboot has been "Refused Classification", which means its content is too extreme for an R18+ rating and is thus banned. As of right now, the organisation hasn't explained what's behind the ban.
Update, Tuesday, March 25: The ban on Silent Hill f has been retracted in Australia. The initial ban, handed by down the Classification Board, was presumably an automated result.
"Silent Hill f is not currently classified as ‘Refused Classification’ in Australia," a spokesperson for the Classification Board said in a statement provided to PC Gamer. "The 14 March 2025 entry on the National Classification Database has been removed. A classification decision will be published to the National Classification Database ahead of the game’s release."

Metaphor: ReFantazio battle director says turn-based RPGs can still be just as popular as action RPGs: 'I personally believe turn-based games have a long future ahead of them'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/metaphor-refantazio-battle-director-says-turn-based-rpgs-can-still-be-just-as-popular-as-action-rpgs-i-personally-believe-turn-based-games-have-a-long-future-ahead-of-them/
Metaphor: ReFantazio won PC Game's RPG of the Year award in 2024, following Baldur's Gate 3's overall GOTY win in 2023. Both are turn-based RPGs, a category we're happy to see thriving on PC—because for a few years there, it sure seemed like big budget roleplaying games were convinced that flashier action was the way forward. That's certainly been Square Enix's strategy with Final Fantasy for the last decade, but Atlus has stuck to its guns with turn-based combat in all of its RPGs. And that decision has paid off big time, with Metaphor becoming its fastest-selling game of all time.
"I don't think it's a matter of which one's better than the other: I think both turn-based battles and action battles can coincide and live in the same atmosphere," said Metaphor: ReFantazio's lead battle planner Kenichi Goto in an interview with PC Gamer.

Despite making a roguelike where you can have countless arms and legs, Caves of Qud's creators say the ideal form is a limbless sphere: 'We started in perfection and only moved farther from God'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/despite-making-a-roguelike-where-you-can-have-countless-arms-and-legs-caves-of-quds-creators-say-the-ideal-form-is-a-limbless-sphere-we-started-in-perfection-and-only-moved-farther-from-god/
We named Caves of Qud the best roguelike of 2024 because of its indulgent procgen writing, its mesmerizing world simulation, and—importantly—its options for creating mutant player characters with an indefinite and increasing number of limbs. At GDC 2025, I met with Caves of Qud co-creators Jason Grinblat and Brian Buckley to talk about their game's launch after more than 17 years of development.
>> They also talked, in another article about how it felt to finally launch the game after those 17 years of development.

As Civilization 7 struggles to keep up with Civ 5 player counts, a new patch is coming tomorrow with still more UI changes and gameplay tweaks
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/as-civilization-7-struggles-to-keep-up-with-civ-5-player-counts-a-new-patch-is-coming-tomorrow-with-still-more-ui-changes-and-gameplay-tweaks/
A new Civilization 7 update is coming tomorrow, and so today we get an early look at some of the highlights including the addition of a new "quick move" functionality, the ability to rename your settlements and commanders, and of course even more UI updates and polish.

Powder enthusiasts seem pretty pleased with new physics-based realistic snowmobile sim Sledders
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/powder-enthusiasts-seem-pretty-pleased-with-new-physics-based-realistic-snowmobile-sim-sledders/
Realistic and physics-driven snowmobile simulator Shredders released out of early access last week, with developer Hanki Games saying that work on it will continue even as it hits full release and comes to consoles. Sledders is an open-world sandbox where you can move through authentic "deep-snow backcountry" terrain, sled custom courses, and play with others in online competitive and co-op modes.
If opinions from the fans are what matters, well, Sledders definitely has something special: 96% positive reviews on Steam out of 2,960 total—enough to earn a coveted "overwhelmingly positive" overall rating.

Former Valve exec says the company struggled to sell Half-Life until coming up with the ultimate 'one simple trick' of marketing manoeuvres: slapping a 'Game of the Year' sticker on the box
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/former-valve-exec-says-the-company-struggled-to-sell-half-life-until-coming-up-with-the-ultimate-one-simple-trick-of-marketing-manoeuvres-slapping-a-game-of-the-year-sticker-on-the-box/
One of this year's GDC highlights was a talk by Monica Harrington, a founding member of Valve and the company's first chief marketing officer, who went over her history with the company that brought us Half-Life and Steam.
(...)
In a later sit-down chat with PCG's Ted Litchfield, Harrington expanded on some of the other challenges faced by Valve in the late 1990s, including the fact that no-one seemed to want to pay attention to a new game called Half-Life. You can't blame them really: The game came in an orange box covered in a messy graffiti-style design with that Lambda symbol. Aesthetically I don't mind it, but I can see why it wasn't flying off the shelves.

'You just have to make them think this world is real, and this world can hurt you': The Outlast Trials devs discuss a changing horror genre and an insatiable need for scares
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/you-just-have-to-make-them-think-this-world-is-real-and-this-world-can-hurt-you-the-outlast-trials-devs-discuss-a-changing-horror-genre-and-an-insatiable-need-for-scares/
It's been a great few years for co-op horror games. We've collected trash and trinkets in Lethal Company and REPO, and we've made vlogs for millions of viewers while we trek through abandoned buildings in Content Warning. But between these japes and jests, we've also had the challenge of making our way around the Murkov facility and trying not to break down into tears while we fight back against whatever horrors The Outlast Trials throws at us. I might be projecting here, but even if you've only spent time in the tutorial, you'll know it's not exactly for the faint of heart.
(...)
In an interview with PC Gamer, Red Barrels' founder Philippe Morin said that "Players have a need to have high emotions, and being scared makes people feel alive. The great thing about video games is that you can be scared without actually having real risk. So as long as you're able to immerse people in your world, and make them believe in it, then we'll be able to scare them.