I won't go and rewatch the video, but I recall them saying that it was a launch vs now comparison, not about the gains from a specific driver. Because of that, I'm surprised they've had to go and explain it.

I don't know if it's because people are getting dumber, or because there are some MFs out there that try to throw shade over the video to harm their reputation. Sadly, both options are possible.

Hardware Unboxed is probably one of the better tech-outlets in terms of their data reliability as they often retest many things.
People every single day, convince me they are as a collective... Stupid. It's the individual that can be smart.

In saying that, their data is really really really basic... For more technical analysis of hardware (I.E. chip architectures) you can't go past: https://chipsandcheese.com/

***

Put in an order for a Ryzen 9950X3D, decided to bite the bullet and upgrade from my 5950X, it's tax time with it's zillion sales to jump on.
Should be a tangible boost just from the cache alone, wanting more CPU-driven A.I performance.

GPU prices continue to be discounted... Some good deals to jump on, like the 9060XT at $579 AUD, which is a massive deal cheaper than the 5060Ti at $749 AUD.

Many Geforce 5070's are under the $900 AUD mark now as well which is probably the best value nVidia card... And about $550 AUD cheaper than the 5070Ti.

You should really see a performance boost with that CPU upgrade.

Since you're also moving on from AM4 to AM5, and because you're not a regular user, how much RAM are you getting? Are you going with 2x64GB or are you trying a non-binary 2x48GB kit? (I'm limiting it to 2 RAM stick kits because AMD still doesn't do too well with 4 sticks, but of course you may go that route for higher capacity over speed).

I am a power user...  Just not gaming these days... Not many people pair up 128GB+ of Ram and a 16 Core CPU and whinge about the price of a Mid-Range GPU. Haha 

But to put into perspective... 192GB of DDR5 Ram is the cost of a Geforce 5070 these days, it's what I will end up going with, currently have 128GB of DDR4 and often hit my capacity limits and need to page to SSD.

Next up will be a monitor, would like a 40", 4k, 120hz, VA. No curve. - It's hard finding a panel that is reasonably priced that fits that bill.

Keen to see the improvements in lightly threaded workloads and whatever can make use out of the huge cache, not sure what kind of impact it will do for my productivity and compute workloads, but the performance in gaming is likely to be much much less as the bottleneck will be the GPU (RX 9060XT 16GB).

What do you use all that RAM for? Video editing? 

Hardware Unboxed is a very good media outlet for PC hardware, but some of their testing irks me somewhat:

Their power tests don't insulate the component they're actually testing and instead give you the entire computer's load. Somewhat helpful, but doesn't give you the full picture. They also stubbornly compare performance with average FPS when 1% and 0.1% lows would be much more valuable.

Chips and cheese and Gamer's Nexus are much more in depth with their reviews, but I can understand that for many non-hardware nerds the additional information isn't very relevant, hence why I tend to send someone HU reviews when they want to know what the performance of a given piece of hardware is - it's simply the most understandable for laymen.

Of course Arrow Lake refresh is coming out this half of the year - there's no other half left anymore unless Intel managed to create a third half of a year...

And the 5050 being trash was well established beforehand. If the price would have been below $180, then it could have been an interesting entry-level GPU (though the power consumption would still be too high) but as is, is an absolute useless waste of sand.

DXVK update brings improvements for Intel Battlemage and Lunar Lake Arc GPUs

https://videocardz.com/pixel/dxvk-update-brings-improvements-for-intel-battlemage-and-lunar-lake-arc-gpus

Micron to start supplying GDDR7 memory for GeForce RTX 50 series

https://videocardz.com/newz/micron-to-start-supplying-gddr7-memory-for-geforce-rtx-50-series

YESTON and GravaStar collaborate on new graphics card design, inspired by EVGA Kingpin GPU?

https://videocardz.com/newz/yeston-and-gravastar-collaborate-on-new-graphics-card-design-inspired-by-evga-kingpin-gpu

MSI Claw A8 with Ryzen Z2 Extreme tested: performance rival for Lunar Lake

https://videocardz.com/newz/msi-claw-a8-with-ryzen-z2-extreme-tested-performance-rival-for-lunar-lake

AIDA64 adds support for Zen6 CPUs and unannounced Radeon RX 9060 non-XT GPU

https://videocardz.com/newz/aida64-adds-support-for-zen6-cpus-and-unannounced-radeon-rx-9060-non-xt-gpu

TSMC’s Chip Prices Expected to Climb Beyond Initial Estimates Amid Massive Demand & Taiwan’s Currency Gains

https://wccftech.com/tsmc-chip-prices-expected-to-climb-beyond-initial-estimates/

NVIDIA’s Highly Anticipated “Mini-Supercomputer,” the DGX Spark, Launches This Month — Bringing Immense AI Power to Your Hands

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-mini-supercomputer-the-dgx-spark-launches-this-month/

The Tuesday gaming news, part one:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

Hi! This is a gentle reminder that GOG’s Summer Sale will end in 40 hours. Have you bought everything you wanted?

The Humble Store has the Anime/JRPG Fest, with up to 90% discounts during 2 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/animefest/.

Fanatical’s new Star Deal is Metaphor: ReFantazio, 48% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/metaphor-refantazio.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Sonic Adventure Path Tracing RTX Remix Legacy Version Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/sonic-adventure-path-tracing-rtx-remix-legacy-version-released/
In August 2024, we informed you about an RTX Remix for the Dreamcast version of Sonic Adventure. And, almost a year later, modder reV released its final version. So, if you are a fan of the blue hedgehog, you should definitely download this mod.
According to the modder, most of the game is finished. However, the Lost World area is missing some textures because it had to be redone quickly at the last minute. There might also be some vanilla textures left in the Egg Carrier. Also, Super Sonic’s story hasn’t really been touched.
As reV explained, Sonic Adventure RTX Legacy Version uses AI tools to improve the game’s textures. There’s also another Path Tracing mod being made, called Sonic Adventure RTX Remastered. Right now, we don’t know when that mod will come out. So, until then, you can use this to enjoy the Dreamcast version of the game with Path Tracing.
You can download the RTX Remix Mod from this link. Do note that you’ll need the SADXModLoader and Dreamcast Conversion to run it. Make also sure the preinstalled “Lantern Engine” mod is disabled. You can also use this mod which upgrades the 3D models of the main cast.
>> The article has two videos.

Peak modder celebrates the grim achievement of generating 10,000 skeletons in a single day with a mod that 'creates a shared experience of failure and discovery' by littering the island with the corpses of your fellow scouts
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/peak-modder-celebrates-the-grim-achievement-of-generating-10-000-skeletons-in-a-single-day-with-a-mod-that-creates-a-shared-experience-of-failure-and-discovery-by-littering-the-island-with-the-corpses-of-your-fellow-scouts/
Despite being a game about a troop of adorable climbers being subjected to a variety of poisons, lethal weather conditions, and deadly falls, Peak is impressively delightful. If you think your wobbly little scouts aren't exposed to a sufficient amount of woe, however, let me suggest the work of modder BSMG_Steven, who's created a way to dynamically inject some existential horror for you and your comrades to confront on your climbs.
Over the weekend, BSMG_Steven released Everest, a mod that populates each day's island with the corpses of entirely real players whose scouts met their entirely real in-game ends. As its Thunderstore description explains, any time a player using the mod dies, the location of their death is saved to a server. As you play, the mod will populate the island with skeletons where other players have died.
In other words, the mod provides Peak with its own version of a Dark Souls bloodstain, but without the recorded playback that lets you watch exactly how someone managed to dodge roll sideways off a cliff's edge. Or maybe the skeletons left by resurrected WoW corpses are a better comparison: You might not know how exactly someone shuffled off this mortal coil, but you can be pretty sure it wasn't good.
In Peak, however, you can safely assume gravity did it. It's usually the gravity. At least until the lava shows up.
As BSMG_Steven writes on Thunderstore, Everest "creates a shared experience of failure and discovery," which is maybe the nicest way anyone's ever described a bunch of nameless skeletons. Still, it's apparently an experience that plenty of Peak players are happy to share: According to a tweet from the modder on X, over 3,000 Everest users generated more than 10,000 skeletons while climbing yesterday's island.
>> There are a couple of screenshots with skeletons in the article. By the way, talking about Peak...

'Hi modders: Peak devs know we're using mods to break past the 4-player limit, and they're so cool with it they're even fixing mod-specific bugs
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/hi-modders-peak-devs-know-were-using-mods-to-break-past-the-4-player-limit-and-theyre-so-cool-with-it-theyre-even-fixing-mod-specific-bugs/
They say the peak Peak experience is reaching the titular peak, but I'd argue peak Peak is falling from very high up while five to six friends watch helplessly. That feat is usually impossible thanks to Peak's unenlightened four-player limit, but of course, modders found a way.
Very quickly, at that. Since the week Peak came out, the most-downloaded Peak mod on Thunderstore (a popular front-end for easily modding Unity games) has been PeakUnlimited, a simple tweak that gets rid of that pesky lobby limit. Conveniently, only the host needs to have the mod installed for it to work.
You can still invite friends normally through Steam and (just about) everything works as intended. The mod will even spawn more marshmallows at campfires for the extra players, which is extremely helpful as food becomes scarcer in later stages. Having played most of my Peak time with the mod active, sometimes I think it works a little too well for something unintended. It's almost as if Peak developers Landfall and AggroCrab knew modders would immediately uncap the lobby size and decided to be cool with it.
In fact, they're so cool with it that Peak's latest patch fixed a bug that you would only get when using the PeakUnlimited mod:
"The end screen will no longer break hopefully in modded lobbies of greater than 4 players. Hi modders the patch notes read.
Busted! I feel like I've been caught taking a cookie from the jar, but instead of mom insisting I'll ruin my appetite, she's just made it easier to reach.

Update: Valve only blocked a creepy fascist Mount and Blade: Warband mod in South Korea, not worldwide, and the mod's own author took it down entirely
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/at-the-request-of-south-korea-valve-pulled-a-mod-from-steam-that-glorified-the-countrys-military-dictatorship/
First reported by Korean gaming website This Is Game, and in English by Automaton, Valve acquiesced to a South Korean government request that it block distribution of an offensive Mount and Blade: Warband mod within the country. The mod was subsequently taken down by its author, leading to the misapprehension that Valve had banned the mod worldwide over South Korean law.
Update 7/7/25: Valve has reached out to clarify that the company did not remove the Gwangju Running Man mod from Steam worldwide, and that it had only blocked the mod's distribution in South Korea as it was in violation of South Korean law. According to Valve, the mod author was the one who removed it from Steam entirely in June. This puts Valve's actions more firmly in line with its prior moderation decisions outlined at the end of this story.

GAMING NEWS

Here are 9 minutes of raw gameplay from Mafia: The Old Country
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-9-minutes-of-raw-gameplay-from-mafia-the-old-country/
IGN has just released a new video for Mafia: The Old Country. It shows 9 minutes of raw gameplay. This is the longest gameplay video we’ve seen so far for the new Mafia game. So, if you’ve been looking forward to it, you should definitely check it out.

Splinter Cell-like MUDANG: Two Hearts Gets PC Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/splinter-cell-like-mudang-two-hearts-gets-pc-requirements/
MUDANG: Two Hearts is a game we’re really looking forward to. And, although this game will come out next year, EVR Studio has revealed its PC requirements.
MUDANG: Two Hearts is a third-person action-adventure game with a strong story. It mixes stealth, combat, and movie-like scenes to create a deep and emotional experience. The game takes place in a broken future version of Korea. It features smooth character animations, smart enemies, 3D sound, and levels you can explore in different ways, all working together to tell a powerful story.

Pulsebreaker is a retro survival horror game inspired by PS1 classics like Resident Evil and Fear Effect
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pulsebreaker-is-a-retro-survival-horror-game-inspired-by-ps1-classics-like-resident-evil-and-fear-effect/
Anthony David Valles has just announced Pulsebreaker, a retro survival horror game that is inspired by PS1 classics like Resident Evil and Fear Effect. It’s sure to put a smile on the face of most old-school gamers. So, let’s take a closer look at it.

Here are the first details for Battlefield 6’s single-player campaign
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/here-are-the-first-details-for-battlefield-6s-single-player-campaign/
It appears that the first details for the single-player campaign for the new BF game, Battlefield 6, may have leaked online. These details were datamined from the latest BF Labs client. Still, since this is a leak, I suggest taking everything you’ll read with a grain of salt. With this out of the way, let’s dive in.
>> What is also a leak, is the Battle Royale plan from EA for Battlefield 6.

The second part of the gaming news:

Chinese FMV game about getting 'revenge on gold diggers' plunges the country into online gender tumult
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/chinese-fmv-game-about-getting-revenge-on-gold-diggers-plunges-the-country-into-online-gender-tumult/
A Chinese FMV game that puts you in the role of a man exacting revenge on a series of 'gold diggers'—statuesque women who con lovelorn men out of vast sums of money before vanishing into thin air—has plunged China into an exhaustingly familiar bout of gender tumult. The internet is alight with discourse about gender, misogyny, and cyberbullying; the game's creator has been banned from social media; and even national media outlets are getting in on the action with takes. See? We're not so different after all.

EA Japan exec laments Microsoft's crushing layoffs, and the demands shareholders make for 'short-term results from large-scale investments'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/ea-japan-exec-laments-microsofts-crushing-layoffs-and-the-demands-shareholders-make-for-short-term-results-from-large-scale-investments/
Microsoft's latest round of brutal layoffs and studio closures have garnered more attention than usual—possibly because Phil Spencer had the gall to boast about how its gaming business has "never looked stronger" in the same announcement that saw 9,000 employees laid off across its gaming division and several major projects cancelled.
So much attention, in fact, that EA Japan's general manager Shaun Noguchi has taken to X to voice his dismay over the situation (thanks, Automaton). You might've seen 'EA' there and gone 'hold on, don't they do sweeping layoffs, too?' The answer is yes, but it's important to remember that the 'Japan' bit on Noguchi's title is important.
>> Oh, the irony!

Monster Hunter Wilds' poor post-launch reception bubbles up to the surface in shareholder meetings, though Capcom says it's 'committed' to fixing performance and content woes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/monster-hunter-wilds-poor-post-launch-reception-bubbles-up-to-the-surface-in-shareholder-meetings-though-capcom-says-its-committed-to-fixing-performance-and-content-woes/
Monster Hunter Wilds is in a weird spot—it's being buried under an avalanche of negative Steam ratings and community sentiment. At the time of writing, its recent reviews are "overwhelmingly negative", with just 12% of over 20,000 user reviews being positive.
Capcom's fighting a war on two fronts—firstly, the performance for the PC version has been not-so-great. Secondly, players have been complaining about a lack of proper endgame content and challenge, with a lot of the usual Monster Hunter-y mechanics ironed out in favour of streamlining routines and removing friction.
>> Does it have something to do with Capcom cancelling a MH Wilds presentation because of developer harassment? Maybe, I don’t know. But it doesn’t look good for a company that nowadays relies so much on its PC revenue.

Call of Duty: WW2 pulled from PC following reports of remote code exploit trolling players with 'Notepad pop-ups, PC shutdowns' and desktop wallpaper of a lawyer
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-ww2-pulled-from-pc-following-reports-of-remote-code-exploit-trolling-players-with-notepad-pop-ups-pc-shutdowns-and-desktop-wallpaper-of-a-lawyer/
Activision has pulled a specific PC version of Call of Duty: WW2 just days after release, following reports that the game suffers from a remote code execution (RCE) exploit. This affects the so-called "Xbox PC" version of COD: WW2 that was just released on PC Game Pass: the game remains available on Steam and through Battle.net, though perhaps now is not the time to try it out.

Obsidian stuck to some fantasy conventions for Pillars of Eternity and Avowed because that's what people want: ''I didn't want to completely flip it and say, oh you want to play an elf? F**k you, this isn't your daddy's elf'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/obsidian-stuck-to-some-fantasy-conventions-for-pillars-of-eternity-and-avowed-because-thats-what-people-want-i-didnt-want-to-completely-flip-it-and-say-oh-you-want-to-play-an-elf-f-k-you-this-isnt-your-daddys-elf/
Pillars of Eternity might be Obsidian's baby, but the series that most recently spawned Avowed is still inextricably tied to established fantasy fare, particularly D&D and the Forgotten Realms. It's a setting that's closely linked with Obsidian—the studio was founded by Black Isle veterans, after all.
But the decision to include familiar elements, particularly classic fantasy races, wasn't just down to the team's connection to D&D through Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Planescape Torment and Neverwinter Nights; Obsidian was also giving the people what they wanted.

The new Rimworld expansion adds therapy pandas, tameable insect hive queens, nanotech-enhanced alligators, prehistoric beasts, giant toads, flamingos, and something called a 'bog hound'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/the-new-rimworld-expansion-adds-therapy-pandas-tameable-insect-hive-queens-nanotech-enhanced-alligators-prehistoric-beasts-giant-toads-flamingos-and-something-called-a-bog-hound/
RimWorld's latest expansion, Odyssey, promises to add a pretty amazing amount of stuff to the game's already deeply layered space colony simulation. Between the customisable spaceship, orbital exploration, new biomes, quest system, and a whole machine hive mind threat to deal with, on paper it seems like the biggest expansion yet.

Ousted Subnautica studio co-founder says it was a 'shock' to get fired, Subnautica 2 is 'ready' for early access release, and no longer working 'at the company I started stings'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/ousted-subnautica-studio-co-founder-says-it-was-a-shock-to-get-fired-subnautica-2-is-ready-for-early-access-release-and-no-longer-working-at-the-company-i-started-stings/
Last week, Krafton gutted the leadership level of Subnautica studio Unknown Worlds, and in a notably robust press release said that studio needed "renewed energy and leadership" to deliver the long-awaited Subnautica 2. The fan reaction was generally speaking one of total dismay, so much so that Unknown Worlds released an open letter over the weekend asking for patience, and trying to reassure fans that key team members were still in place.
Now, Unknown Worlds co-founder and designer/director of Subnautica, Charlie Cleveland, has taken it upon himself to share with the game's fans what happened behind-the-scenes: and reassure them about the state of Subnautica 2.

Vintage Story aims to save a piece of Hytale by hiring former Hypixel developers to create a new 'Adventure Mode' for the hardcore survival game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/vintage-story-aims-to-save-a-piece-of-hytale-by-hiring-former-hypixel-developers-to-create-a-new-adventure-mode-for-the-hardcore-survival-game/
PC Gamer's super-survivalist Chris Livingston called Vintage Story his "new survival game obsession" in 2024, noting that it "looks like Minecraft but is way more complex." It wasn't new new, having been in development since 2016, but it was new to him (and us), in part because it's not available on Steam, and thus has remained kind of under the radar.
It's back in the spotlight now thanks to the recent cancellation of a different Minecraft-lookin' game, Hytale, which was prematurely ended by Riot Games in June. Shortly after it was cancelled, Vintage Story team lead Tyron, a former Hytale developer themselves, invited former Hytale developers to reach out about the possibility of creating "a small sub-project within our Team of developers to bring out an additional game mode for Vintage Story that can at least in part deliver on the vision of what Hytale set out to become."
In an update posted over the weekend, Tyron confirmed that the effort is moving ahead, "We've carefully thought about our options, budget and potential risks," Tyron wrote. "We'll be starting small (3 to 4 people) and expand once the project shows merit and gathers interest. A small team might be slower, but is also much more manageable, more effective and can pivot quicker. Slow growth allows us to fund this truly for the long term. And thankfully, we can re-use a lot of the Vintage Story ecosystem."

'Infinite damage' strikes again as Diablo 4 players overthrow the tyranny of mathematics with an exploit that grants sorcerers the power of the gods: 'No way that they leave that in the game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/infinite-damage-strikes-again-as-diablo-4-players-overthrow-the-tyranny-of-mathematics-with-an-exploit-that-grants-sorcerers-the-power-of-the-gods-no-way-that-they-leave-that-in-the-game/
Ludicrous damage numbers are back in Diablo 4's latest season and once again they're so out of whack they can only be described as "infinite".
This time it's sorcerers who can stack up so much bonus damage that the game spits out incomprehensible strings of digits when their attacks land. Monsters in the upper echelons of Diablo 4's hardest dungeons explode before they take their first breath. There is simply nothing in the game that can stand a chance, which means we probably won't have long before Blizzard puts a stop to it.

Today's Dune: Awakening patch takes another sidestep away from the PvP-heavy endgame
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/todays-dune-awakening-patch-takes-another-sidestep-away-from-the-pvp-heavy-endgame/
Dune: Awakening's endgame continues to evolve. The massive Deep Desert, the only place where huge spice deposits and top-tier level materials can be found, was nearly entirely PvP at launch, with only about 10% of the map marked as PvE-only. A hotfix on June 26 made the Deep Desert an even 50/50 split between PvP and PvE—a pretty big shakeup for a game that's only been out for a month.
Today's patch takes yet another sidestep in the direction of an endgame that's more friendly to PvE play. The first line in the patch notes for Dune: Awakening version 1.1.15.0 states that "Tier 6 resources can now be collected across wider areas in the PvE part of the Deep Desert."