Chinese esports hotels targeted in series of RAM thefts

https://videocardz.com/newz/chinese-esports-hotels-targeted-in-series-of-ram-thefts

GIGABYTE adds CXMT 16Gb and 24Gb DDR5 support to AMD and Intel boards, says CXMT support may ease memory supply pressure

https://videocardz.com/newz/gigabyte-adds-cxmt-16gb-and-24gb-ddr5-support-to-amd-and-intel-boards-says-cxmt-support-may-ease-memory-supply-pressure

Microsoft’s new Xbox PC emulator already runs dumped Xbox 360 games

https://videocardz.com/newz/microsofts-new-xbox-pc-emulator-already-runs-dumped-xbox-360-games

NVIDIA Fine Wine: GeForce RTX 3060 12GB closes the gap to newer models in three-year performance update

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-fine-wine-geforce-rtx-3060-12gb-closes-the-gap-to-newer-models-in-three-year-performance-update

12GB vs 8GB doing wonders in averages

AMD confirms Zen 7 Florence for 2028 and Zen 8 Ravenna for 2030

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-confirms-zen-7-epyc-florence-and-instinct-mi600-for-2028-zen-8-ravenna-follows-in-2030

Microsoft tests free Xbox Cloud Gaming with ads and one-hour sessions

https://videocardz.com/newz/microsoft-tests-free-xbox-cloud-gaming-with-ads-and-one-hour-sessions

AMD preparing 8-core Ryzen 7 9800HX3D gaming laptop CPU for CES 2027 reveal

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-preparing-8-core-ryzen-7-9800hx3d-gaming-laptop-cpu-for-ces-2027-reveal

Intel 14A Enters High-Volume Production In 2028, As Risk Production Moved Ahead To 2027 On Internal Products

https://wccftech.com/intel-14a-enters-high-volume-production-2028-as-risk-production-moved-ahead-to-2027/

China’s CXMT Now Charges More Than Samsung For DRAM As Memory Demand Skyrockets, Even Denying Relief To Huawei

https://wccftech.com/china-cxmt-charges-more-than-samsung-for-dram-as-memory-demand-skyrockets/

AMD Fires Back At NVIDIA’s Groq Bet, Fuses The Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine With Helios For 5x Higher Tokens Per Second Per Watt

https://wccftech.com/amd-fires-back-at-nvidias-groq-bet-fuses-the-cerebras-wafer-scale-engine-with-helios-for-5x-higher-tokens-per-second-per-watt/

Intel knows it needs to ‘leapfrog’ ARM and AMD, says CEO Lip-Bu Tan

https://www.theregister.com/systems/2026/07/24/intel-knows-it-needs-to-leapfrog-arm-and-amd-says-ceo-lip-bu-tan/5277968

AMD confirmed $5.4 billion ATI acquisition 20 years ago today — deal to 'reinvent our industry' paved the way for Radeon GPU innovation, APUs, and games console domination

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/amd-confirmed-usd5-4-billion-ati-acquisition-20-years-ago-today-deal-to-reinvent-our-industry-paved-the-way-for-radeon-gpu-innovation-apus-and-games-console-domination

Let’s go with the Friday gaming newsª

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• Far Cry Franchise Sale puts the games of the series up to 90% off during the next 6 days. The keys for the first two games are for GOG, the other keys are for UbiConnect: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/far-cry-franchise-sale/
• Neon Nights 2026 Sale has games with up to 90% discounts during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/neon-nights/

Fanatical has a new store sale, the Scorching Hot Sale: https://www.fanatical.com/en/on-sale
And don’t forget to check the Flash Deals, 20 games with big discounts during 3 days.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Nothing to share-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Demon’s Souls PC Remaster Mod Version 0.5 Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/demons-souls-pc-remaster-mod-version-0-5-released/
Modder ‘fromsoftserve’ has released version 0.5 of his amazing PC Remaster Mod for the original Demon’s Souls game. To showcase this new version, the modder has also released a new gameplay video that you can find below. So, let’s dive in.
For those who did not know, the Demon’s Souls PC Remaster Project is a mod for the PS3 version of Demon’s Souls that you can play on PC via RPCS3. The mod modifies the game’s models to now react to light sources like wall torches, campfires, etc. It also upgrades armor rendering to use cubemaps.
The modder has also added normal and specular maps for most surfaces. Furthermore, player and object shadows will blend properly with the baked shadows. Not only that, but we get dynamic shadows for objects like spears with banners, crates, and barrels.
Finally, certain models will have a higher polygon count in this mod, like the distant mountains in the first tutorial level, distant mountains in the smithing grounds, and big rocks in the environment in the Shrine of Storms.
In Version 0.5, the Stonefang Tunnel Archstone is nearly finished, and the Shrine of Storms Archstone is also close to completion. Most of the work on the final Boletarian Palace level is done as well. The main work that remains is in the Valley of Defilement and Latria. So, future versions of this mod will mainly focus on them.
All in all, this is a must-have mod for everyone who wants to play Demon’s Souls on PC. If you are one of them, you can go ahead and download it from here.
>> The article has a 30 minutes video of the mod.

Red Dead Redemption’s Reality Redemption 4.1 Mod Is Out Now After 2 Years of Development
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/red-dead-redemptions-reality-redemption-4-1-mod-is-out-now-after-2-years-of-development/
Modder ‘BadassBaboon’ has been working on a new version of Reality Redemption and has just released it to the public. So, let’s see what Reality Redemption 4.1 brings to the table.
For those who did not know, Reality Redemption is a graphics mod for Red Dead Redemption. It aims to improve the visual fidelity of the game with better textures, models, and weather cycles, fixing continuity errors, as well as improving its gameplay elements for a more fluid and realistic experience.
Version 4.1 rebuilds the entire project from the ground up. It adds new features such as volumetric clouds, ray-traced global illumination (RTGI), screen-space ambient occlusion (SSAO), and more realistic NPC behavior.
The update also improves many existing features. The HD textures now look sharper and cover almost the entire game world.
In addition, the mod upgrades almost every object in the game. All horse textures have been redone with better muscle detail, improved coats, more realistic eyes, and a natural-looking sheen.
Sadly, I could not find any video for this latest version of Reality Redemption. As such, I’ve included a video that compares an older version of it with the vanilla version. This should give you an idea of what the mod achieves. In theory, Version 4.1 should look even better.

GAMING NEWS

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 Releases on August 25
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/aliens-fireteam-elite-2-releases-on-august-25/
Cold Iron Studios and Daybreak Games have announced that Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 will be released on August 25. The devs have also shared two videos, showcasing the Marauder and Duelist classes.

EA SPORTS FC 27 Is Coming to PC on September 25, Gets Official PC Requirements, Will Have Denuvo
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ea-sports-fc-27-is-coming-to-pc-on-september-25-gets-official-pc-requirements-will-have-denuvo/
Electronic Arts has announced that EA SPORTS FC 27 will be coming to PC on September 25. Moreover, the publisher has shared the first details about its new soccer game, as well as its official PC requirements. Plus, it has confirmed that it will be using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech.

IO Interactive Has Removed Denuvo From 007 First Light
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/io-interactive-has-removed-denuvo-from-007-first-light/
IO Interactive has removed the Denuvo anti-tamper tech from its latest James Bond game, 007 First Light. 007 First Light was released on PC in May 2026. This means that it took just two months for the publisher to remove it.
>> That was fast.

The second part of the gaming news:

Total War: Warhammer 40k shows off its first full battle live, providing its biggest info dump yet
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/total-war-warhammer-40k-shows-off-its-first-full-battle-live-providing-its-biggest-info-dump-yet/
As the closed beta for Total War: Warhammer 40k grows ever closer, we're getting to see a lot more gameplay. The first reveal was at our very own PC Gaming Show, and then a couple of weeks back, courtesy of BiliBili, we got to see a kind of battle report overview of the same encounter with narration.
In the latest Alpha Strike livestream, Creative Assembly showed off that same battle, but ran it three times through from the player's perspective. We got to witness the Astra Militarum trying to defend a river crossing against the Orks, and learned a lot more about ranged combat, cover, reserves, army abilities, and other juicy details.

FromSoftware reveals final stats of new Elden Ring classes, and one of them already got a tiny nerf
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/fromsoftware-reveals-final-stats-of-new-elden-ring-classes-and-one-of-them-already-got-a-tiny-nerf/
In a new message on X, "The Everything App," FromSoftware has revealed the final names and stats of the two additional classes coming in Elden Ring's $5 Tarnished Edition DLC. The Idus Knight looks sick as ever, while the Heavy Knight appears to have gotten the gentlest, most tender of nerfs since we saw their stats leak from a Tarnished Edition playtest last year.

Crisol studio lays off all employees less than 6 months after launch, warns that full closure is a 'feasible possibility'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/crisol-studio-lays-off-all-employees-less-than-6-months-after-launch-warns-that-full-closure-is-a-feasible-possibility/
Less than six months after the release of the survival horror shooter Crisol: Theater of Idols, developer Vermila Studios appears to be in trouble. The studio has not officially closed, as one former employee had claimed, but CEO David Carrasco confirmed that employees have been let go and that a full shutdown "is a feasible possibility."

Star Wars Zero Company reveals cast, including fan favorite actors from Clone Wars animated series
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/star-wars-zero-company-reveals-cast-including-fan-favorite-actors-from-clone-wars-animated-series/
Ahead of a showing at Comic-Con in San Diego, StarWars.com has revealed the main cast of Star Wars Zero Company, the squad tactics game by ex-Firaxis XCOM vets. The topline for big Star Wars freaks: Dee Bradley Baker and Matt Lanter will be reprising their long-running roles as clone troopers and Anakin Skywalker respectively.

Thick as Thieves won't be getting any more content updates: 'To be frank, this is not the outcome that any of us want'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/thick-as-thieves-wont-be-getting-any-more-content-updates-to-be-frank-this-is-not-the-outcome-that-any-of-us-want/
OtherSide Entertainment's stealth game Thick As Thieves launched in May of this year, but felt like it should have been in early access. It only had two maps, and though its campaign changed the objectives as it bounced you back and forth between them in either co-op or solo play, it felt thin. Frustrations like the specifics of how its time-limit system worked and the absence of options like rebindable keys at launch didn't help.
While the first post-launch content update did give us rebindable keys at least, it wasn't enough to fully turn around the fortunes of Thick as Thieves. Which was a problem, because the other game OtherSide was working on was cancelled, and now it's had two rounds of layoffs leaving fewer than 10 employees remaining.
"Working in the gaming industry is at times delightful and at other times heartbreaking", says a message posted by game director Jeff Hickman, and ain't that the truth. Hickman goes on to confirm that "only a very small team remains" and therefore Thick as Thieves won't be receiving any further content updates. "To be frank," he writes, "this is not the outcome that any of us want, but we're facing the reality that ongoing development of extra content, modes and systems is not a viable path."

Forget Ultra settings, Halo: Campaign Evolved looks nearly as good with everything set to Low
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/forget-ultra-settings-halo-campaign-evolved-looks-nearly-as-good-with-everything-set-to-low/
I've been squirrelled away in the PC Gamer office all week testing Halo: Campaign Evolved on all manner of hardware, including a beastly rig with an RTX 5080 and Ryzen 7 7700X3D. To my surprise, the difference between Low and Ultra is incredibly subtle and, frankly, not worth the performance hit.
>> The article has some comparison screenshots. Here are other news about the game: 1- Turn off motion blur because it’s terrible (link); 2- Those that paid extra to play before the others haven’t been able to (link) (ha, ha).

You have 3 days to obtain Big Boss rating in Metal Gear Solid 1's free-to-play period on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/you-have-3-days-to-obtain-big-boss-rating-in-metal-gear-solid-1s-free-to-play-period-on-steam/
I fulfilled a childhood ambition over the past week: I finally got the notoriously elusive Big Boss rating at the end of Metal Gear Solid 1, a feat I've simultaneously been drawn toward and terrified by ever since I first played the game on my PS1 in 1998. How did I do it? Stick-to-itiveness, gumption, and raw skill.
Also, cheating. I played the much easier Japanese version of the game and exploited a couple of speedrunning skips in order to hasten my progress. Hey, it counts.
Anyway, my challenge to you, reader, is to accomplish the same thing in the ongoing free-to-play period for Metal Gear Solid 1 on Steam, which expires Monday, July 27 at 10 am EDT / 1 pm PDT / 6 pm BST. You should probably do it the non-cheating way. It was cool when I did it, but for you? A bad look. I don't make the rules.
>> The collection is also 50% off until Monday.

And here’s the third part of the gaming news:

Blizzard fires World of Warcraft game master who insta-killed bosses for friends
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/blizzard-fires-world-of-warcraft-game-master-who-insta-killed-bosses-for-friends/
>> Not surprising at all.

And here are the weekend deals at GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• GOG Mix Promo will have games up to 94% off during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/es/promo/20260724_mix_promo
• Adventure Promo features up to 95% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/es/promo/20260724_adventure_promo
• Dark Settings Promo will also have games up to 95% off during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/es/promo/20260724_dark_settings_promo
• And the Visual Novels & jRPG Promo mimics the last two ones with up to 95% discounts during the same 7 days: https://www.gog.com/es/promo/20260724_visual_novels_jrpg_promo

+Steam

• REPLACED , that has a demo, is going to be 25% off until the 30th of July: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1663850/REPLACED/
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora gets a 40% discount until the 30th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2840770/Avatar_Frontiers_of_Pandora/
• EDENS ZERO also has a demo and will be 40% off until July 30: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3125750/EDENS_ZERO/
• Killing Floor 3 will be free to try during the weekend and will have a 50% discount until the 6th of August: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1430190/Killing_Floor_3/
• Wild Assault / 兽猎突袭 is also going to be free to try, but until July 27. It’s also going to be 55% off until the 6th of August : https://store.steampowered.com/app/2827230/Wild_Assault/
• Caribbean Legend features a 75% discount that will last until August, the 6th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2230980/Caribbean_Legend/
• Builder Simulator will be 85% off until the 6th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1120320/Builder_Simulator/
• There are seven Sales/Events. Here they are in the order they’ve launched:
  • Philippine Game Development Expo 2026 has many upcoming releasea and games up to 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/46149039/sale/pgdx-2026
  • Hyper Japan Games Festival 2026, that takes place in London, has lots of upcoming titles and games with up to 80% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/46167560/sale/HyperJapanGamesFestival2026
  • Eastern Martial Artists Week 2026 follows the same path as the previous sales, showcasing upcoming releases and with games up to 90% off: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/EasternMartialArtistsWeek2026
  • Yes, Your Grace Franchise Sale has the games 20 and 85% off, respectively: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/yesyourgracefranchisesale
  • MGN X Funplay Game Exhibition features lots of upcoming titles and has games on sale with up to 84% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40488023/sale/MGNFunPlay2026
  • Publisher INTI CREATES Obon Festival Sale has its games on sale with up to 65% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35091775/sale/INTICREATESObonFestivalSale2026
  • Gaming Community Expo (GCX) 2026 showcases lots of upcoming titles, and has at least one demo: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/46176894/sale/gcx2026

Nothing else to add. Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

I realized after posting the news that = hadn't checked to see if there were any free games on Steam this week. Well, it turns out that there's one:

*** NEW FREE GAME ***

Yet Another Zombie Defense HD is going to be free until July 30: https://store.steampowered.com/app/674750/Yet_Another_Zombie_Defense_HD/

Thieves moved on from Jewelry stores to robbing RAM....

It's one of those "improvise, adapt overcome" situations.

And well, it may not be as lucrative, but I'd bet it's a lot easier and faster to sell the goods,

In today's news, ace cop sniffs out truck bed full of stolen computer memory...

In other news, Stellantis truck customers upset about steady police searches...

This totally needs to be a mission in GTAVI.

Well I could not wait and got one with some upgraded specs all I remember is that instead of AMD Ryzen 7 5700 it is something with 8600 or 8700 and something else.  Anyway did cost me 1000€ it still feels like good value compared what the market asked but in the end I am happy I just can play basically anything I want.  Now I only worry about the power consumption cause it feels like a beast.

Patience is one of the hardest virtues to stick to. Congratulations for your new PC!

I don't think power consuption will be a problem. Most processors and GPUs are actually quite efficient, with only the highest end ones being power hungry hogs. I'd bet a single RTX 5090 will use more power than your whole system (it sure uses more than mine).