My Radeon HD 7950 arrived today, paid $20 bucks for it and it looks like it's barely been used.
Dropping it into the Core 2 Quad PC and downgrading the OS to relegate it as my Windows Vista time-capsule PC.

So now I'll have:

Win98 PC:
Athlon 2800+
256MB DDR 400 Ram
Radeon 9100 64MB + 2x 3dfx 12MB Voodoo 2's in SLI.
Looking at swapping the Radeon for a Geforce 4 Ti/FX once a decent one gets listed somewhere for sale, nVidia tends to work better with 3dfx voodoo in SLI.
Plus I want to get back into making my own Pixel shaders again to optimize older games, the Geforce FX is one of the better GPU's that are highly sensitive to shader performance.

Windows Vista PC:
Core 2 Quad Q9650
16GB DDR3 1600.
Radeon 7950 3GB.

Windows 7 PC:
Phenom 2 x6 1090T
32GB DDR3 1600.
Radeon RX 560 4GB.
This system I am looking at overhauling with a AMD FX 8370 for the newer SIMD instructions to play modern games like Cyberpunk 2077 without resorting to emulating those instruction sets.
And a new GPU when the Radeon RX 6000 series prices become cheap. I.E. Radeon RX 6800 XT or RX 6900 XT.

I do want another PC for Windows 3.11/DOS as well that sits in the 486/Pentium MMX era.

Who else is keeping an old PC around for old stuff?

Ironically I am buying old consoles. Bought myself a ps3 slim for $80 cad, wii for $50 cad, and managed to find my vita oled. All in excellent condition. My next target is a psp. I want to buy a "new" 3ds xl but those are overpriced af. But I might buy a dsi instead. Mainly just for collecting and remembering the good old days of interesting tech.

My last old console purchase was a 18 days usage BC PS3 which I have delidded with liquid metal and installed CFW.

Today’s gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Steam has at least 2 new deals (it’s what appears without being logged in) and two sales:

• Thronefall is going ot be 33% off until the 27th of January: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/
• Project Castaway , stil in Early Access, gets a 55% discount until the 3rd of February: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1713350/Project_Castaway/
• And these are the sales:
  • Citizen Sleeper Franchise Sale has the games 40 and 70% off, respectively, until February 3: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33025617/sale/CS2Anniversary
  • The page for the Xbox Developer Direct 2026 is already live despite the event not happening until tomorrow. Right now, there are upcoming titles but no deals: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/XboxDeveloperDirect2026

Fanatical has a new Star Deal and bundle:

• The new Star Deal is Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition, with a 67% discount during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/resident-evil-4-gold-edition
• The BYO Midwinter Bundle features 19 titles to choose from for your 1+, 5+ or 10+ game bundles during the next 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-midwinter-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 32.0.101.8425 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-32-0-101-8425

HIGHLIGHTS
Intel Game On Driver support on Intel Arc B-series, A-series Graphics GPUs and Intel Core Ultra with built-in Intel Arc GPUs for:

• Arknights: Endfield
• Hytale

FIXED ISSUES
Intel Arc B-Series Graphics Products:

• PRAGMATA SKETCHBOOK Demo (DX12) may experience an application crash while launching the game.

Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• PRAGMATA SKETCHBOOK Demo (DX12) may experience an application crash while launching the game.

Intel Graphics Software Fixed Issues:

• Variable Refresh Rate range in Display page may show incorrect values.

>> It’s a Beta driver.

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 26.1.1 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-26-1-1

HIGHLIGHTS
New Features

• Optional install of AI Bundle

New Product Support

• AMD Ryzen™ AI 9 HX 475
• AMD Ryzen™ AI 9 HX 470
• AMD Ryzen™ AI 9 465
• AMD Ryzen™ AI 7 450
• AMD Ryzen™ AI 7 445
• AMD Ryzen™ AI 5 435
• AMD Ryzen™ AI 5 430 

New Game Support

• Starsand Island
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora™ – From the Ashes Edition

FIXED ISSUES

• Some shadows may not render correctly while playing Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 on some AMD Graphics Products on Radeon™ RX 5000 series and Radeon™ RX 6000 series graphics products.
• Texture corruption may be observed when playing Enshrouded while at the first “Elixir Well” location on Radeon™ RX 7000 series and Radeon™ RX 9000 series graphics products.
• Application may fail to launch while playing Diablo 4 with usernames containing non-english characters on Radeon™ RX 7000 series and Radeon™ RX 9000 series graphics products.
• Some lights may not render correctly while playing Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 during nighttime scenes on Radeon™ RX 7000 series and Radeon™ RX 9000 series graphics products.
• Application crashes when using Unreal Engine 5.6 Editor with Lumen HWRT enabled on Radeon™ RX 5000, Radeon™ RX 6000, Radeon™ RX 7000 and Radeon™ RX 9000 series products.
• Intermittent visual corruption may be observed while navigating Chromium and Electron apps on Radeon™ RX 5000 series and Radeon™ RX 6000 series graphics products.
• Slow window resizing may be observed (related to vkAcquireNextImage extension) while developing games that use the Vulkan API on Radeon™ RX 7000 series and Radeon™ RX 9000 graphics products.
• Player sprites may not render correctly while playing Cassette Beasts on Radeon™ RX 7000 series and Radeon™ RX 9000 series graphics products.
• Artifact may appear when playing Baldur’s Gate 3 with TAA enabled on Radeon™ RX 5000 series and Radeon™ RX 6000 series graphics products. .

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Grand Theft Auto: Carcer City Demo Releases on March 9th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/grand-theft-auto-carcer-city-demo-releases-on-march-9th/
Earlier this month, we informed you about a total conversion mod for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, called Grand Theft Auto: Carcer City. And, a couple of days ago, its creator revealed that a free demo will come out on March 9th. Moreover, we have a new video that shows off the South Island of Carcer City.

The WoW UI updates have come for Peggle, but its author is looking into it—as unexpected casualties of Blizzard's war on combat mods abound
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/the-wow-ui-updates-have-come-for-peggle-but-its-author-is-looking-into-it-as-unexpected-casualties-of-blizzards-war-on-combat-mods-abound/
World of Warcraft is tackling combat mods (addons) in the pre-patch coming this week. In theory, this update is only designed to hamstring addons that provide a concrete advantage in combat. In practice, there are plenty of other mods getting caught in the crossfire. Like poor Peggle Classic, a six-year-old addon with almost 600,000 downloads that creates the unfair combat advantage of… checks notes, being able to play Peggle in WoW.
Alright, I've got my tongue in my cheek here: Blizzard is not taking aim at silly UI minigames—though its sweeping changes are going to have broad and unforeseen impacts. The warning alarms have sounded for Peggle Classic before the patch hit the retail servers because, as one user in the mod's comments points out, "it appears the TBC Anniversary API was updated entirely to the new structure".
Basically, while the mod's not been directly slain on Classic by anti-combat addon changes coming in Midnight—it's this writer's understanding that anniversary and classic servers will still permit combat mods, given class redesign has been a huge part of making retail WoW playable without addons—it's a surefire sign of things to come, because tweaks to the API are still messing with mod authors.

'What the f***': Modding arch-sorcerer casually invents Minecraft x Hytale crossplay, defies laws of god and man alike
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/what-the-f-modding-arch-sorcerer-casually-invents-minecraft-x-hytale-crossplay-defies-laws-of-god-and-man-alike/
Even at a casual glance, it's not hard to see the similarities between Minecraft and Hytale, its latest block-based sandbox competitor. As Hytale's early modding scene flourishes, one modder is taking those similarities to their logical endpoint, deciding that if the games overlap so neatly, Minecraft and Hytale players might as well just play together on the same server.
It might sound like black magic, but that didn't prevent modder Sadat Sahib from demonstrating the fruits of his forbidden arts. On Reddit, Sahib posted screenshots of a functioning prototype of Minecraft and Hytale crossplay, casually explaining that he "made Bedrock Hytale Java cross-play possible!"
"what the fuck," said one redditor. The reply is, by far, the post's highest-rated response.

GAMING NEWS

Life is Strange: Reunion Announced & It Will Have Denuvo on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/life-is-strange-reunion-announced-it-will-have-denuvo-on-pc/
Square Enix has just announced the next part in the Life is Strange series, Life is Strange: Reunion. Moreover, its official Steam store page confirms that on PC, the publisher will use the Denuvo anti-tamper tech.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Gets PC Requirements & PC Demo
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/yakuza-kiwami-3-dark-ties-gets-pc-requirements-pc-demo/
SEGA has announced that a PC demo for Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties will be released on Steam later today, and revealed its PC requirements. To be more precise, the demo will be available 7:00 AM PT/10:00 AM ET. In other words, it will be available in 8 hours from now.
>> 8 hours from when the article was published, of course.

The second part of today’s gaming news:

Hitman's getting cross-progression as IOI limbers up for that co-op mode it announced last year
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/hitmans-getting-cross-progression-as-ioi-limbers-up-for-that-co-op-mode-it-announced-last-year/
Hitman: World of Assassination (née Hitman 3) is, by my count, on like 400 different platforms*. Yet despite its promiscuity, players' progress across those platforms has been stubbornly vacuum-sealed for years. Are you a level 4,000 murder guy on Switch? Well if you transition to PC prepare to start yourself over from the very beginning of your career in liquidation. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, kiddo.
Well, no longer. In a post on its website, IOI's announced that Hitman: World of Assassination is getting cross-progression, and it's set to go live on February 3. The studio says it's wanted to do this for a while—from the start, actually—and it's finally happening: "it has been our wish to enable this feature for players to be able to carry on their in-game progression… from the 3rd of February onwards, no matter where you choose to play."

Hytale is adding the ability to toggle armour so you don't have to hide your fancy clothes: 'Community asks? Community receives'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/hytale-is-adding-the-ability-to-toggle-armour-so-you-dont-have-to-hide-your-fancy-clothes-community-asks-community-receives/
Hytale does a lot of things right, especially for an early access game that's had a very rocky journey to launch. One of the things I appreciate most about it compared to its contemporaries is its surprisingly strong customisation—you can make some cool, unique characters, and dress them up with detailed clothing. I've even seen people recreate all sorts of characters: Link, Jinx, Aang, Beast Boy, the list goes on.
So why then does Hytale's very generic-looking metal armour completely cover it up? Getting armour is one of the very first things you'll want to do, too, so you look fabulous for all of five minutes, and then you end up looking like everyone else. Where's the fun in that?
(...)
Thankfully, that won't be the case for much longer. Hytale Update 2, which arrives in pre-release testing sometime this week, will add the ability to hide your helmet and armour. It was only a matter of time, really, given the wave of community requests for it: "Community asks? Community receives!" says Hypixel's studio head Simon Collins-Laflamme.
>> More Hytale articles: the co-founder that bought the rights from Riot doesn’t regret doing it (link); and the end-game ore, mithril, won’t be as easy to get as the others (link).

The first of smash hit roguelike Ball X Pit's three major free updates adds a falconer who fires balls out of her two pet birds
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/the-first-of-smash-hit-roguelike-ball-x-pits-three-major-free-updates-adds-a-falconer-who-fires-balls-out-of-her-two-pet-birds/
After the huge success of the game's launch, Ball X Pit developer Kenny Sun and Friends announced three big updates to come in 2026. Now the first of the trio has been dated—and we've had a glimpse at what it's set to include.
The Regal Update is due January 26, so it's not long to wait at all. It's adding two new characters, eight new balls, "several" more passives, and a "nice surprise we don't want to spoil just yet"—which all in all seems like a very robust set of features.

New Arc Raiders update takes aim at the Stella Montis boundary exploit, but may not have fixed it entirely
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/new-arc-raiders-update-takes-aim-at-the-stella-montis-boundary-exploit-but-may-not-have-fixed-it-entirely/
A new Arc Raiders update has been released, fixing two exploits as well as targeting the Stella Montis "out of bounds" glitch, which enables players to stand outside of the map and shoot inwards. It's pretty careful with how it talks about the latter, however, saying that "various out of bounds map locations" on Stella Montis have been fixed. Rather than, say, all of them.
>> And the devs may change the late spawn mechanic (link)

Dune: Awakening finally gets long-awaited character transfers
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/dune-awakening-finally-gets-long-awaited-character-transfers/
Survival MMO Dune: Awakening has just been patched to version 1.2.40.0, introducing a feature every sleeper has been waiting for: character transfers. You're no longer tied down to the server you created your character on. You can pack up your things and find a new home—just make sure you pack all your things.

Arknights: Endfield launch times and release date
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/arknights-endfield-launch-time-release-date/
Unlike its older, mobile-exclusive sibling, the worldwide Arknights: Endfield launch times and release date are almost upon us with a dedicated PC client in hand. The 3D spin-off will launch at the same time across all platforms, so you can have your pick between the fancy bells and whistles of your machine or take Endfield on the go as soon as servers are live.
It's certainly an upgrade from my days of using the Google Play PC client or whatever overly demanding emulator was fashionable at the time. And while Hypergryph's new strategic RPG certainly looks different from the first game, it's still a gacha, so I've got the Arknights: Endfield launch times organized by time zone below to make sure you're on top of those dailies.

You're safe: Buying Marathon on Steam no longer downloads Destiny 2 automatically
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/youre-safe-buying-marathon-on-steam-no-longer-downloads-destiny-2-automatically/
After three years of waiting, in part because of Bungie returning to the drawing board following its contentious public alpha and Arc Raiders' success, Marathon is almost here. For real this time—it's coming March 5, pre-orders are open, and you can even buy a fancy shmancy collector's edition.
In the meantime, Bungie's 'money maker' Destiny 2's been in a consistent decline since the release of the widely panned Lightfall expansion. Sadly, even during its prime, it felt like an uphill battle to recommend and convince other people to actually play Destiny.
Bungie must've felt the same way, clearly, as it's just had to make an all-time great patch note to a back-end Steam bug: "We've resolved an issue where Destiny 2 would begin installing after pre-ordering Marathon on Steam." Now that's a bold strategy to boost the player count.

And here’s part three:

Lara Croft's design could've gone full FF7/Street Fighter in Japan to appeal to audiences in the mid-'90s, says co-creator, but 'All that was changed was the manuals & guide'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/lara-crofts-design-couldve-gone-full-ff7-street-fighter-in-japan-to-appeal-to-audiences-in-the-mid-90s-says-co-creator-but-all-that-was-changed-was-the-manuals-and-guide/

Russian politician calls for Call of Duty ban and home-grown alternative because 'you're almost always shooting at Russian soldiers' in the Modern Warfare games
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/russian-politician-calls-for-call-of-duty-ban-and-home-grown-alternative-because-youre-almost-always-shooting-at-russian-soldiers-in-the-modern-warfare-games/

Mewgenics will have 280 Steam achievements at launch, in case you were wondering how huge the Binding of Isaac successor is going to be
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/mewgenics-will-have-280-steam-achievements-at-launch-in-case-you-were-wondering-how-huge-the-binding-of-isaac-successor-is-going-to-be/

'This game could never be made by AI… it's too human,' says Baldur's Gate 3 actor Neil Newbon after wrapping a playthrough on stream
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/this-game-could-never-be-made-by-ai-its-too-human-says-baldurs-gate-3-actor-neil-newbon-after-wrapping-a-playthrough-on-stream/

Painkiller's creator jokes that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's team of newbies has 'ruined' his worldview: 'I don't know what to believe anymore'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/painkillers-creator-jokes-that-clair-obscur-expedition-33s-team-of-newbies-has-ruined-his-worldview-i-dont-know-what-to-believe-anymore/

Skyrim's co-lead designer says Starfield's main problem is that it never fully cohered as a game: 'It was a releasable game, but it wasn't the best'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/skyrims-co-lead-designer-says-starfields-main-problem-is-that-it-never-fully-cohered-as-a-game-it-was-a-releasable-game-but-it-wasnt-the-best/

NVIDIA Is Feeling the Heat From AMD’s Instinct MI455X AI Chips, Triggering Unusual Vera Rubin Upgrades to Hold Its Competitive Edge

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-is-feeling-the-heat-from-amd-instinct-mi455x-ai-chips/

Intel set to launch Arc Pro B70 with BMG-G31 GPU

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-set-to-launch-arc-pro-b70-with-bmg-g31-gpu

ASUS ROG Swift PG27AQWP-W preorders go live at $1,099: 540Hz QHD OLED with 720Hz dual mode

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-rog-swift-pg27aqwp-w-preorders-go-live-at-1099-540hz-qhd-oled-with-720hz-dual-mode

Refunded GeForce RTX 5080 still arrives, Amazon tells buyer to keep it

https://videocardz.com/newz/refunded-geforce-rtx-5080-still-arrives-amazon-tells-buyer-to-keep-it

Kioxia exec says this year’s NAND is already sold out, ‘cheap’ 1TB SSD bargains are over

https://videocardz.com/newz/kioxia-exec-says-this-years-nand-is-already-sold-out-cheap-1tb-ssd-bargains-are-over

Court filing claims NVIDIA contacted Anna’s Archive for pirated books used in AI training

https://videocardz.com/newz/court-filing-claims-nvidia-contacted-annas-archive-for-pirated-books-used-in-ai-training

GPD WIN 5 to become the first AMD Strix Halo handheld to get official Bazzite OS support

https://videocardz.com/newz/gpd-win-5-to-become-the-first-amd-strix-halo-handheld-to-get-official-bazzite-os-support

Think SSDs Are Getting Expensive? Well, NAND Makers Are Reportedly Cutting Production to Make Even More Money

https://wccftech.com/think-ssds-are-getting-expensive-nand-makers-are-reportedly-cutting-production/

AMD is reportedly pausing new GPU launches until 2027

https://www.xda-developers.com/amd-is-reportedly-pausing-new-gpu-launches-until-2027/

I wonder how the WSJ reached that 70% number because by previous estimates (by sources I would consider more reliable) it was going to be 20% in 2026. It's noteworthy Tom's Hardware itself also has a past of fumbling their math epically when it comes to this with their "40% of DRAM going to OpenAI's Stargate" article.

It could be a thing of hyperscalers vs. all enterprise data centers, I don't know. In which case it would also be interesting to know how much of "memory chips" historically went to enterprise consumers.

If only AMD was capable of putting pressure on Nvidia on the gaming GPU market...

Ah, the joys of AI. If any regular user would do this, he'd get his ass sued and mayb even go to jail. But big corporations like Nvidia, OpenAI (that plans to lose $14 billions this year_link), etc. will likely get away from with without a scratch.

I know it's a new panel and all that, but that seems a tad expensive for a 27" 1440p monitor when current ones on the market can be had for half that amount and still run at 360Hz.

Lucky guy!

Disappointing, but expected. With all that's going on with memory prices, I don't think we'll be gettign new cards until the price has, at the very least, stabilized.

Do you want another reason to hate Epic a little more even if it's technically not their fault and it's not gaming related? Good, I have something for you:

Director Gore Verbinski says Unreal Engine is 'the greatest slip backwards' for movie CGI
https://www.pcgamer.com/movies-tv/director-gore-verbinski-says-unreal-engine-is-the-greatest-slip-backwards-for-movie-cgi/
Remember the glory days of CGI in movies? Terminator 2's liquid metal T-1000, Jurassic Park's stunning dinosaurs, Starship Trooper's swarms of giant arachnids. Not only did the CGI look great then, most of the visual effects in those movies still hold up well today, even decades after they were created.

Nowadays, movie fans seem much less impressed by CGI in films. There's a general distaste for a perceived overuse of CGI in favor of practical effects, and there are a lot of complaints that recent CGI is less-convincing and more fake-looking than it used to be, even in the biggest budget films.

In an interview with But Why Tho?, Gore Verbinski, director of The Ring, Rango, and the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, was asked why visual effects in movies just don't look as good as they used to.

"I think the simplest answer is you’ve seen the Unreal gaming engine enter the visual effects landscape," Verbinski said. "So it used to be a divide, with Unreal Engine being very good at video games, but then people started thinking maybe movies can also use Unreal for finished visual effects. So you have this sort of gaming aesthetic entering the world of cinema."

Unreal Engine made waves after being used for virtual sets in production of The Mandalorian TV series back in 2020, and usage of the engine has grown more widespread in films over the past few years, such as in The Matrix Resurrections and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

That's not good news, according to Verbinski. "I think that Unreal Engine coming in and replacing Maya as a sort of fundamental is the greatest slip backwards," he said.