Happy "the one time your dad didn't use a condom" day

Hope you had a great one!

That may take a while, not only because of the current state of Anandtech, that seems too focused on the smartphone side of the business, but because there seem to be very few reviews on the net.

They still have some amazing writers. Purch has certainly done allot of meddling though.

More reviews of Intel's new CPUs are coming. You'll find a reviews roundup here:

https://videocardz.com/70372/intel-hedt-skylake-x-kabylake-x-cpus-x299-motherboard-review-roundup

Welcome to hangover week, the week after E3. Let's see what that means in terms of news:

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

Steam's top 10

1. PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
2. Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops III - Zombies Chronicles
4. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
5. Grand Theft Auto V
6. Friday the 13th: The Game
7. H1Z1: King of the Kill
8. TEKKEN 7
9. Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
10. Arma 3

SOFTWARE

-empty-

MODS/EMULATORS

Total War: Warhammer mods are 'theoretically' transferable to the sequel with a little work
http://www.pcgamer.com/total-war-warhammer-mods-are-theoretically-transferable-to-the-sequel-with-a-little-work/
With Total War: Warhammer 2 perched on the horizon—due September 28—it's inevitable mod creators will set about the sequel in the same way they did the first. But what of the first's mods? Creative Assembly has said that while Total Warhammer and Total Warhammer 2 are standalone games, there will expectedly be some crossover in terms of lore, mechanics and narrative. So can we expect similar fluidity with regards to the game's mods?

GAMING NEWS

Here is almost 3 minutes of direct gameplay footage from the PC version of The Crew 2
http://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-is-almost-3-minutes-of-direct-gameplay-footage-from-the-pc-version-of-the-crew-2/
NVIDIA has shared a new video, showing almost three minutes of gameplay footage from the E3 2017 PC build of The Crew 2. The Crew 2 takes place in USA and its playground pushes physical boundaries to let driving and open-world fans test their skills, solo or with friends, in non-stop competition and exploration, featuring a variety of cars, bikes, boats and planes, and become the greatest motorsports champion.

Dying Light will receive 10 free DLCs in the next 12 months
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/dying-light-will-receive-10-free-dlcs-in-the-next-12-months/
Techland has announced that the team is developing new content for Dying Light. As the press release reads, original content is already in the works and the game’s fans can expect to face new challenging enemies, master new gameplay mechanics, solve more Harran mysteries, and even explore never-seen-before locations.

Here is 17 minutes of gameplay footage from Absolver
http://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-17-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-absolver/
IGN has shared a new video, showing 17 minutes of gameplay footage from Absolver. Absolver is an intense online combat experience featuring real-time flow of attacks, dodges, feints and counters, with all aspects of gameplay customizable, including combat styles, weapons and even individual attack sequences in the player’s Combat Deck.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 – 15 Minutes Of Gameplay Footage In 4K
http://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/pro-evolution-soccer-2018-15-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-in-4k/
IGN has shared a video, showing 15 minutes of gameplay footage from Konami’s upcoming soccer, Pro Evolution Soccer 2018. As Konami already claimed, the PC version of PES 2018 will be based on its current-gen version, and is described as its definitive version. The game releases on September 14th.

New indie survival horror game, inspired by Resident Evil, is under development
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-indie-survival-horror-game-inspired-by-resident-evil-is-under-development/
Back in September 2016, we informed you about a recreation of Resident Evil’s mansion hall in Unreal Engine 4. Created by 3D artist ‘B.O.W. Qin ‘, this project showcased what Resident Evil could look like in Epic’s engine. So, good news everyone as B.O.W has assembled a team in order to turn this project into a full fledged game.

Killer Instinct is coming to Steam later this year
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/killer-instinct-is-coming-to-steam-later-this-year/
The official Twitter account of Killer Instinct has announced that this fighting game will be coming to Steam later this year. The team did not reveal whether this version will allow Steam players to play with Xbox One players, though we kind of believe that this feature will stay exclusive to the Win10 version (available via Windows Store).

Paradox Interactive has re-evaluated and increased the prices of its games in some regions
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/paradox-interactive-has-re-evaluated-and-increased-the-prices-of-its-games-in-some-regions/
It appears that Paradox Interactive has increased the prices of its games in certain regions on Steam. The publisher claimed that this was not an error, it was done intentionally, and it was done in order to match the purchasing power of those areas.

>>Booo! for them.

Part 2 of today's news:

Metro Exodus takes the series above-ground for a year-long journey through post-apocalypse Russia
http://www.pcgamer.com/metro-exodus-takes-the-series-above-ground-for-a-year-long-journey-through-post-apocalypse-russia/
Since its reveal at Microsoft's E3 conference last weekend, we've learned quite a lot about 4A Games' latest slice of Metro. Following in the footsteps of its forerunners, Exodus is another first-person shooting survival horror game set is post-apocalyptic Russia. Unlike its series siblings, though, this one is set above ground, has non-linear levels, and is said to draw from the Stalker series' open world design.

>>This is not a news article, this is an interview with both the producer and director of the game.

Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare is coming this fall
http://www.pcgamer.com/halo-wars-2-awakening-the-nightmare-is-coming-this-fall/
n the rapid-fire barrage of game trailers and announcements that came out of Microsoft's pre-E3 press event, one blew past us entirely: Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare, an expansion to the Halo-based RTS that puts players in charged of the Banished as they come up against the Flood.

Monster Hunter: World is targeting 30 fps on consoles, but not necessarily on PC
http://www.pcgamer.com/monster-hunter-world-is-targeting-30-fps-on-consoles-but-not-necessarily-on-pc/
Monster Hunter: World is "targeting a stable 30fps across all platforms," according to a tweet from a Capcom community manager, which could be taken to mean that the PC version will either be locked to or designed for low framerates. However, the tweet was in response to a question about the console versions, and we've confirmed that this statement doesn't apply to the PC.

Nidhogg 2 looks reassuringly crazy in new footage
http://www.pcgamer.com/nidhogg-2-looks-reassuringly-crazy-in-new-footage/
Nidhogg 2's (brilliant) new art style seemed to divide people when the game was unveiled late last year, but I think the colourful, expressive pixel art suits the nature of Messhoff's ridiculous fighting game down to a tee. We can see more of the duelling action game (that will now feature other weapons than just swords) in a new, nearly 20-minute video out of E3

Blizzard offers a first look at Diablo 3's Challenge Rifts
http://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-offers-a-first-look-at-diablo-3s-challenge-rifts/
Last year, Blizzard announced that Challenge Rifts—a new version of the randomised Greater Rift dungeons—would arrive sometime this year, and now we've finally been given a "first look" at the upcoming feature, both in a new blog post and in a YouTube video, below. And, you know what, they sound pretty fun: a way to experience other character builds, without having to restart from level 1 and cultivate a new class yourself.

Hidden Folks free update adds factory area full of, er, hidden folks
http://www.pcgamer.com/hidden-folks-free-update-adds-factory-area-full-of-er-hidden-folks/
Fans of the vanishing, jet-setting scamps from the Where's Wally/Waldo series will want to check out Hidden Folks: a game of seeking out tiny, hard-to-find targets in giant, beautifully animated scenes. The game came out in February, and now it's just been embiggened with a free update that adds a new area chock-full of wee cartoon people.

Here's a longer look at Rebellion's pulp co-op shooter Strange Brigade
http://www.pcgamer.com/heres-a-longer-look-at-rebellions-pulp-co-op-shooter-strange-brigade/
In case you missed it at E3, Rebellion's Strange Brigade is a co-op focused shooter set in a pulp 1930s world where supernatural monsters are very real, and they're coming to get you. The potentially problematic premise sees four agents of the British Empire travelling the globe in an effort to curb supernatural threats, something they achieve by battling mummies, minotaurs, ancient tribespeople and more, in an arcadey, over-the-top manner that recalls the developer's Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army series, or Tripwire's Killing Floor. We were shown a brief glimpse of the game at E3, but here's a longer video, complete with developer commentary.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider looking increasingly legit, following new leak
http://www.pcgamer.com/shadow-of-the-tomb-raider-looking-increasingly-legit-following-new-leak/
It was always inevitable that Rise of the Tomb Raider would get a follow-up, and almost as inevitable that it'd be called "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" (games with "shadow" in the title are popular, you see). So it's hardly a surprise that a new leak can be added to those which seem to confirm that Shadow of the Tomb Raider is in development.

It's been 13 years since Half Life 2 dropped.

I was in my late teens on dial-up back then.

*******

Anandtech full breakdown of the new LGA2066 chips have arrived.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/11550/the-intel-skylakex-review-core-i9-7900x-i7-7820x-and-i7-7800x-tested

Some takeaways: You can destroy chips if you switch between Skylake X and Kabylake X without fully turning the system off, resetting bios.

There are some performance issues as well, BIOS's seem to be extremely immature at the moment.

Basically, don't be an early adopter. Shit needs to be ironed out good and proper.
Chips are still to expensive. $860 for the 7820X is shit. Needs to be $600 before I bite.

Only board that appeals to me is the Asus TUF x299 Mark 1. But it only has a 5 year warranty for $550 AUD and Asus *had* to bling it up with LEDS.

Elex kinda looks terrible graphically. I hope they put even more effort into the content for that.

Maybe they just used very low graphics settings for those videos, which would explain the very aggressive LOD going on.