AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 is now available at $899

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-9-9950x3d2-is-now-available-at-899

Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Laptop launch reportedly pushed back by about a month

https://videocardz.com/newz/microsoft-surface-pro-and-surface-laptop-launch-reportedly-pushed-back-by-about-a-month

Epic appears to be working on Microsoft Advanced Shader Delivery support to Unreal Engine

https://videocardz.com/newz/epic-appears-to-be-working-on-microsoft-advanced-shader-delivery-support-to-unreal-engine

ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 2026 preorders start at $8500 in Taiwan

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-rog-zephyrus-duo-2026-preorders-start-at-8500-in-taiwan

NZXT issues statement on RTX 5090 AIO leak case, says it actually offered more than $4,300

https://videocardz.com/newz/nzxt-issues-statement-on-rtx-5090-aio-leak-case-says-it-actually-offered-more-than-4300

Server CPU Prices Up as Much as 20% Since March; Intel May Raise Prices Another 8%–10% in 2H26

https://www.trendforce.com/news/2026/04/22/news-server-cpu-prices-up-as-much-as-20-since-march-intel-may-raise-prices-another-8-10-in-2h26/

Framework Laptop 16 gets OCuLink 8i Dev Kit preview, for even faster external GPUs

https://videocardz.com/newz/framework-laptop-16-gets-oculink-8i-dev-kit-preview-for-even-faster-external-gpus

130,000 Rubin GPUs Are Being Deployed at Nscale For Microsoft, Further Showing Massive Interest In NVIDIA’s Next-Gen AI Chips

https://wccftech.com/130000-nvidia-rubin-gpus-deployed-at-nscale-for-microsoft-showing-massive-interest-in-next-gen-ai-chips/

tldr of the situation (From Reddit)

1. Many reviewers didn't get their 9950x3d2

2. Doesn't mean that they have been blacklisted, many of them don't even have beef with amd

3. Seems like amd didn't have much expectations for the product and didn't make a huge marketing push for it

4. Gn's basis for the blacklisting was that amd didn't answer their questions about "drivers" and directed them to pr and stopped replying. Gn then used the 9950x3d2 launch as a powder keg to exaggerate the blacklisting situation probably for clicks   Edit: Might not reflect the actual situation

https://www.reddit.com/r/hardware/comments/1sshpmp/did_amd_just_blacklist_reviewers/

People should probably watch GN, AMD decided to be corrupt and make donations to Trump for financial benefits (unless I am wrong). AMD deserves all the hate they get alongside Nvidia and Intel. AMD just did not like being called out and decided to throw their toys out of the pram (my opinion anyway, probably wrong).

That's grossly oversimplifying the situation. It wasn't just about drivers. It seems like you has some sort of axe to grind with Gamers Nexus. 

We'll see how it develops.

I watched HU review and found it funny how they summarixed the 9950X3D2. Since the launch of the 7950X3D people asked AMD to make a CPU with cache on both CCDs, with AMD saying that it wasn't worth it. People kept asking for it when the 9950X3D launched and AMD caved and have done it. The result? It's not worth it. As they said.

It kind of feels like AMD was really against doing this processor and have done the bare minimum, even in the marketing side.

Sadly, with their actions they've created a mess that will hurt them more than just how "meh" and overpriced the processor is.

Sadly, and much to my dismay, the world doesn't work in black and white only.

I don't like it either, but I understand that AMD and its board of directors have to do what's best for the company and its shareholders (and maybe, just maybe, even their employees), nd not playing ball, more so when Nvidia is deeply involved with the current administration, and Intel is also part of it (literally owned in part by both the government and Nvidia), can be fatal for the future of AMD.

Just look at what happened with modems. All banned except for one single brand that, "somehow", has been granted permisson to keep importing them. It's not too difficult to imagine a situation where AMD hardware is forbidden from Federal institutions and replaced by Intel and Nvidia parts.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that AMD is innocent and they're doing it against their will. They're hoping to gain something out of it, but the situation didn't leave them many options.

The tldr was from reddit which I indicated. But granted probably should have left #4 out lol. I personally don't have a beef with gn since I post their videos many times.

Steve from Hardware Unboxed Let Steve from Gamer's Nexus use the CPU they got for testing. Thanks, Steve.

It's the Steve mafia.

It’s Thursday and these are the gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Despite the negativity, Marathon was one of last month's best-selling games, though there's a catch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/despite-the-negativity-marathon-was-one-of-last-months-best-selling-games-though-theres-a-catch/
Marathon was the fourth best-selling game (by revenue) in the US when it released in March, and the sixth best so far this year, according to market performance analyst firm Circana. That's quite the surprising statistic given the vitriol surrounding its very existence and the constant doom-watching of its Steam Charts. It's even more impressive when you consider that the stat is based on revenue (not the pure number of copies sold), since Marathon only costs $40—it's not a full-price game, pulling in $60 dollars a pop.
This means that Marathon, on the surface, beat out the likes of Pokémon Pokopia, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, and, perhaps most surprisingly, Crimson Desert. In first place was MLB: The Show 26, followed by Resident Evil: Requiem which is still hitting hard
However, it's possible that this ladder is slightly different in reality. Circana explains that Nintendo doesn't share digital sales numbers with it, but I wouldn't be surprised if Pokopia was actually much, much higher—surely in the top three. Similarly, Crimson Desert's 15th place ranking doesn't take into account digital sales for the same reason, but the developer has revealed it's sold over five million copies in its first month alone. Senior analyst Mat Piscatella did add that Crimson Desert, MLB The Show 26 and Pokémon Pokopia led in Circana's initial projections, too.

The Epic Store gives away DOOMBLADE: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/doomblade-afdf9a
Next week, the free games will be Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure and a Firestone Online Idle RPG skin.

GOG has two deals:

• Dark Settings Promo has games with up to 90% discounts and will last 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20260423_dark_settings_promo
• Square Enix has brought the SaGa titles to the store, with discounts that go from 50 to 70% until the 4th of May. Learn more here: https://www.gog.com/en/news/dive_into_the_beloved_saga_titles

Steam has “one” new deal and two sales:

• Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator is gojng to be 85% off until the 6th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1122340/Chef_Life_A_Restaurant_Simulator/
• And the sales/events are:
  • 2026 Beijing Game Together Party is a showcase with lots of upcoming titles that also features some games on sale with up to 53% discounts. The length of the deals vary: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/46030714/sale/BeijingGameTogetherParty2026
  • NIS America does its Golden Week Sale with games up to 80% off until the 6th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32623015/sale/golden26

There are two new Humble Bundles:

• Your Move: Turn Based Games Bundle features up to 10 items to get (8 games + 2 coupons) during 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/your-move-turn-based-games
• VR Kiwi Complete Collection has up to 12 games to get during the same 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/vr-kiwi-bundle

Fanatical has new Star Deal and bundles:

• The new Star Deal is Age of Mythology: Retold Premium Edition , 58% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/age-of-mythology-retold-premium-edition
• The BYO Legendary Bundle has 17 games for your bundles of 2+, 3+ or 6+ games and will last 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-legendary-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Nothing-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

-Also nothing-

GAMING NEWS

New 007 First Light Trailer Shows the Creative Ways Players Can Tackle Objectives
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-007-first-light-trailer-shows-the-creative-ways-players-can-tackle-objectives/
IO Interactive has released a new trailer for 007 First Light, which gives us a new look at the game’s key features. The new Rules of Spycraft trailer for 007 First Light pulls back the curtain on what it means to operate as a modern MI6 recruit.

Anime Parkour Action Game MotorSlice Launches on PC May 5 – Demo Available Now
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/anime-parkour-action-game-motorslice-launches-on-pc-may-5-demo-available-now/
Top Hat Studios has announced that its anime parkour action-adventure, MotorSlice, will be released on PC on May 5th. To celebrate this announcement, the team shared a trailer and a playable demo.

Crimson Desert Update 1.04.00 Released With Over 200 Tweaks, Fixes and Changes – Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/crimson-desert-update-1-04-00-released-with-over-200-tweaks-fixes-and-changes-full-patch-notes/
Pearl Abyss has just released Title Update 1.04.00 for Crimson Desert and has shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.

Thursday gaming news, the short part two:

WoW's latest patch is drowning in bugs, with players worried that Blizzard is struggling to keep its head above water
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/wows-latest-patch-is-drowning-in-bugs-with-players-worried-that-blizzard-is-struggling-to-keep-its-head-above-water/
As a routine World of Warcraft player, I've been pretty warm on Midnight—at the very least, the offerings it provided on launch all seemed well put together, with a few asterisks. Those asterisks are starting to bog down the sentences they're attached to, though, as the game's latest patch, 12.0.5, is utterly rife with bugs. Some small, some large, and some just completely baffling.
>> There is another problem: Blizzard forgot to turn off x-ray vision in the new prop hunt mode, which spoils the fun of it (link).

Tarkov lead vows to make the upcoming Fragmentary Order the opposite of Arc Raiders, which he calls an 'extraction shooter for casual people'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/tarkov-lead-vows-to-make-the-upcoming-fragmentary-order-the-opposite-of-arc-raiders-which-he-calls-an-extraction-shooter-for-casual-people/
Fragmentary Order is the upcoming hardcore sci-fi extraction shooter led by Escape from Tarkov's creator, Nikita Buyanov—he's still working on Tarkov at Battlestate Games, though. But the extraction shooter has changed (in large part due to Arc Raiders) since Tarkov's eight-year beta period beginning in 2016, and even its full 1.0 release at the end of 2025. There's more of an appetite for the genre now than ever, at least for a more casual spin on it. Sure, you'll still lose loot when you die, but most matches in Arc Raiders devolve into making friends with other players.
Buyanov says no to all that. When asked by GamesBeat whether the emergent gameplay of Arc Raiders has given the team any inspiration, Buyanov plainly stated: "It’s an extraction shooter for casual people. It’s not an option for us. We want to have the most painful, most challenging, and most rewarding experience."

Slay the Spire 2 dev says an early idea was to actually reduce the card pool, but players hated it: 'We need new stuff!'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/slay-the-spire-2-dev-says-an-early-idea-was-to-actually-reduce-the-card-pool-but-players-hated-it-we-need-new-stuff/
Casey Yano, co-creator of Slay the Spire and co-founder of studio Mega Crit Games, has given a new interview to Edge magazine about designing the sequel to a roguelike deckbuilder that, honestly, pretty much got it right first time. With some games it's obvious what a sequel could build on or improve, but when your starting point is so finely tuned that it's scooping PCG's Best Design award… well, where do you even start?

And part three of the Thursday gaming news:

Kiki Wolfkill, longtime Halo veteran and head of Xbox Film and TV, has left Microsoft after nearly 30 years
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/kiki-wolfkill-longtime-halo-veteran-and-head-of-xbox-film-and-tv-has-left-microsoft-after-nearly-30-years/

Some gamers are going full conspiracy theory over Pragmata's path tracing vs ray tracing debate, so I've donned my tin foil hat and taken a look
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/graphics-cards/some-gamers-are-going-full-conspiracy-theory-over-pragmatas-path-tracing-vs-ray-tracing-debate-so-ive-donned-my-tin-foil-hat-and-taken-a-look/

Fallout: New Vegas dev says it could've been set in New Orleans because 'the vibe was so cool, the flavor was cool, [it would've been] so sweet'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fallout/fallout-new-vegas-dev-says-it-couldve-been-set-in-new-orleans-because-the-vibe-was-so-cool-the-flavor-was-cool-it-wouldve-been-so-sweet/
>> He’s a little someone you may have heard of, Chris Avellone, who also said that Bethesda had a whole powerpoint of all the things Obsidian did wrong with New Vegas (link).

Fallout co-creator says non-linear design is all about never assuming how players will act, illustrates his point by fantasising about an NPC guard he seems to really hate
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fallout/fallout-co-creator-says-non-linear-design-is-all-about-never-assuming-how-players-will-act-illustrates-his-point-by-fantasising-about-an-npc-guard-he-seems-to-really-hate/
>> It’s Tim Cain, just to be clear.

Behaviour Interactive lays off more people as 'demand for mobile and casual external development projects has declined'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/behaviour-interactive-lays-off-more-people-as-demand-for-mobile-and-casual-external-development-projects-has-declined/

Alice creator American McGee says he was inspired by a Valve demo he saw while working on Quake 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/alice-creator-american-mcgee-says-he-was-inspired-by-a-valve-demo-he-saw-while-working-on-quake-2/