Lol at desperate times like these, one has to make a deal with the devil in order to get those ray traced frames

What has Epic done to deserve that?

Seasonic (they make them, not just sell them) and Corsair are regarded as good and reliable. Same as Silverstone and be quiet.

Since the death of jonnyguru, I don't know of a reliable site to check PSU reviews, but I read that Tom's Hardware has a guy that knows his stuff.

I'm sure your EVGA will be fine.

wait did i misread that or did you recoup the cost of an 3080 within a week?

Nah, I can achieve the minimum payout from Nicehash within a week with a 3080 which is about $45-$50 USD. What that means is, in order for you to transfer the money you made from Nicehash to your local digital wallet, you need to mine the minimum payout amount.

The key thing here is, you aren't making $45-$50 USD in a week. You are making $45-$50 worth of BTC in a week. So if the Value of BTC goes up, the $45-$50 you earned will also go up and vice versa. During the Crypto boom, the value of BTC went from $10,000 USD to over $60,000 USD. So if you mined $100 worth of BTC when it was $10,000, it would have been $600 during peak.

So the idea is, you mine now while the government restrictions are viable (depending on region) and mining is viable and cash out when crypto reaches it's peak. But you can also cash out whenever as long as you reach the minimum payout amount.

Yea it's pretty low. My power bill went up by $20 a month after mining.

The Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Chivalry sells 1 million copies, resulting in 7,969 flute-related deaths
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/chivalry-2-sales/
Chivalry 2 developer Torn Banner Studios has announced that its spear-stabbing, sword-swinging melee game, which we scored 91 in our Chivalry 2 review, has sold 1 million copies. That's a lot of tiny bits of knight meat scattered to the winds.
Chivalry 2 released last June, making this Torn Banner's fastest-selling game. It's still far from the Epic Games Stores' highest-selling exclusive, though, with Borderlands 3 having sold almost 2 million copies by January 2020 according to PlayTracker. Epic doesn't share sales information, however.
Torn Banner included several fun stats to help players envision just how many limbs and torsos have been sacrificed for victory.
>> I don't understand why it needs to be said that it's not the best selling game on the EGS. Beyond that, congrats to the studio.

Return to a time when horny videogames made you type: Leisure Suit Larry is now free
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/return-to-a-time-when-horny-videogames-made-you-type-leisure-suit-larry-is-now-free/
If you've never played Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, well, the truth is that it's probably too late now. What seemed risque in 1987 wouldn't raise an eyebrow today, and while no specific examples leap immediately to mind I am reasonably confident that there are at least a couple of jokes in there that have not aged well.
Still, it is a landmark videogame—one of the groundbreaking adventures that established Sierra as a powerhouse in the early days of PC gaming—and so if you've never played it but kind of want to, now you can jump in without spending a penny courtesy of a giveaway at Indiegala.

GOG has launched a new GOG Games Festival, that will go from today until Septemder 2. To learn more about the new games added to the store, the new demos to try, the games that are on sale or how to claim your free copy of the Quake II RTX, check out the news announcement: https://www.gog.com/news/gog_games_festival_is_here_to_help_you_choose_the_next_big_game_to_play

Steam has two new daily deals:

• Road Redemption is 65% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/300380/Road_Redemption/
• And Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth is 90% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/234270/Ken_Folletts_The_Pillars_of_the_Earth/

There's a new Humble Bundle: the Seven Deadly Sims Bundle, with 7 simulator games to grab during the next 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/seven-deadly-sims

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

The Epic Games Store's equivalent to Steam Direct is in beta
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-epic-games-stores-equivalent-to-steam-direct-is-in-beta/
Epic Games is now testing a system that will make it easier for developers to self-publish on the Epic Games Store. For users, the new tools mean that the store's library will "grow faster than ever before," the company says.
Right now, getting a game approved and published on the Epic Game Store requires working directly with Epic at every step of the process. The company plans for the new self-publishing tools to streamline the process, allowing developers to "set up their own product pages, achievements, pricing, offers, and upload builds and updates" on the store.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Star Wars Battlefront 2 Unofficial HD Remaster gets two new maps
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/star-wars-battlefront-2-unofficial-hd-remaster-gets-two-new-maps/
It’s been a while since our last look at the unofficial HD remaster of the 2005 version of Star Wars Battlefront 2. Since then, modder Harrisonfog has been working on it, and released recently a brand new update for it.
This latest update for the Star Wars Battlefront 2 Unofficial HD Remaster (2005) adds two new maps. Additionally, it introduces a new installer for addon content.
>> You can find it at ModDB.

Team Fortress 2 remake now has Half Life: Alyx's liquid shader because Demoman needs good whisky
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/team-fortress-2-remake-now-has-half-life-alyxs-liquid-shader-because-demoman-needs-good-whisky/
As we reported earlier this month, a team of modders called Amper Software is working on Team Fortress: Source 2—a project recreating TF2 in Valve's updated Source 2 engine (the same one that powers Dota 2, Half-Life: Alyx, Dota Underlords, and the now-defunct Artifact).
"Our goal is to remake, improve, iterate, and create a new Team Fortress experience on Source 2 engine using s&box," reads TF:S2's development blog. "This project is a huge undertaking, we would have to consider all nitpicks of TF2 gameplay, try to rebuild every single mechanic to feel similar to the base game, but with enough dedication, I believe that we can do it!"
Now, as well as being a splendid game, Half Life: Alyx has effects to die for and runs on the Source 2 engine. One effect in particular, the simulation of how light passes through liquid, is a stunning achievement and caught the eye of TF:S2 modder Daniel Basiuc-Brînzei, who knows that the Demoman likes his whisky and put two-and-two together.

GAMING NEWS

Elements is a new open-world adventure from Apogee, coming to PC in Q4 2022
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/elements-is-a-new-open-world-adventure-from-apogee-coming-to-pc-in-q4-2022/
Apogee and Wreckit Games have announced a new open-world adventure game, Elements. In this game, players will assume the role of Nyah or Beckett. Players will accept their calling as either sibling, playing solo or drop-in co-op.

First official gameplay released for Life is Strange: True Colors
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-official-gameplay-released-for-life-is-strange-true-colors/
Square Enix has just released the first official gameplay video for Life is Strange: True Colors. In this video, we take a walk through Haven Springs’ Record Store with Alex.

Myst Remake is coming to PC on August 26th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/myst-remake-is-coming-to-pc-on-august-26th/
Cyan has announced that its upcoming remake of Myst will release on August 26th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team has also released a new trailer that you can find below.

Here are the official PC system requirements for Aliens: Fireteam Elite
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/here-are-the-official-pc-system-requirements-for-aliens-fireteam-elite/
Cold Iron Studios has revealed the official PC system requirements for its co-op third-person survival shooter, Aliens: Fireteam Elite. According to the team, the game will be using the DX11 API and PC gamers will at least need 30GB of free hard-disk space.

Star Citizen is free to play from today and until August 27th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-citizen-is-free-to-play-from-today-and-until-august-27th/
Cloud Imperium has announced that Star Citizen is, once again, free to play. From today and until August 27th, PC gamers can download and play the game free of charge.

ExeKiller is a Blade Runner 2049/Prey 2-inspired game, first details, screenshots & trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/exekiller-is-a-blade-runner-2049-prey-2-inspired-game-first-details-screenshots-trailer/
ParaDark Studio has just announced a new first-person shooter that appears to be heavily inspired by Blade Runner 2049 and the cancelled Prey 2 game. ExeKiller will be a retro futuristic, single player, action adventure game that will also have western vibes.

Thursday news, part two:

Yakuza's Kazuma Kiryu will be in the new Super Monkey Ball game
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/yakuzas-kazuma-kiryu-will-be-in-the-new-super-monkey-ball-game/
In a sentence that I did not expect to be writing today, Yakuza protagonist and karaoke extraordinaire Kazuma Kiryu will be a playable character in Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania.

Call of Duty: Warzone hackers are running out of cracked accounts to sell
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/call-of-duty-warzone-hackers-are-running-out-of-cracked-accounts-to-sell/
Call of Duty: Warzone account sellers are reportedly running out of stock thanks to new account security protections, Motherboard reports.
Like many online games, an underground market has circulated around acquiring and reselling valuable Warzone accounts. It's not uncommon for accounts with desirable cosmetics to sell for up to $300—with Motherboard suggesting that accounts with the extremely rare Damascus weapon skin can go for $2,000.
>> Imagine the "Oh, no... Anyway" meme here.

What working on Amazon's Lumberyard engine was like
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/what-working-on-amazons-lumberyard-engine-was-like/
PC Gamer recently sat down with the co-founders of The Machinery, a new contender among game engine companies. Tricia Gray was the head of marketing for Amazon Game Services in 2015-2016 and worked on the company's seemingly ill-fated Lumberyard engine project: an engine that began as an original project before being reworked into a conversion of sorts of CryEngine. In a surprising move, Lumberyard has recently been made open source by Amazon, so I asked about Gray's time at the company and what she thinks of Lumberyard's prospects.

This Sesame Street survival horror game turns Elmo's World into hell
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/my-friendly-neighborhood-sesame-street-horror-game/
We live in a golden age of indie horror games. All it takes is a bit of MadLibs to come up with something that's truly disturbing, even if the internet will complain about clones of more successful games. I truly don't know how else you end up with something ridiculous like My Friendly Neighborhood, a new survival horror game set in a television studio inspired by Sesame Street. I guess we all have different responses to Mister Rogers.

Skyrim's 'treasure fox' myth has been explained
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/skyrims-treasure-fox-explained/
Recently, ex-Bethesda artist Nate Purkeypile took to Twitter to tell the story of how during development the cart in Skyrim's intro was defeated by a single bee. Joel Burgess, another former Bethesda employee who worked on Skyrim as a level designer, chimed in with some more detail on that particular bug (are bees bugs? Never mind), and has now returned with another behind-the-scenes story from Skyrim development—the tale of the treasure fox.
If you play Skyrim long enough you might have heard that if you follow a wild fox, it'll lead you to a location with loot. Arguments about whether this is true go back at least a decade. As Burgess explains, there is actually some truth in it, though foxes weren't designed this way deliberately.

Splitgate will stay in open beta indefinitely
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/splitgate-will-stay-in-open-beta-indefinitely/
The sudden success of Splitgate has seen studio 1047 Games scramble to cope. The Portal-meets-Halo arena shooter was originally scheduled to launch into 1.0 on July 27, but thanks to a huge surge in player interest—prompted by an open beta available on consoles—that was moved back in order for the studio to boost its server capacity. The 1.0 release was moved to an unspecified date in August, but now that release has been delayed indefinitely.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron gets firm Steam release date
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/el-shaddai-ascension-of-the-metatron-gets-firm-steam-release-date/
Following a low-key announcement late last year, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron now has a PC release date. It's soon: the stylish anime slasher hits Steam on September 2.

A new Ace Combat game is in development
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/a-new-ace-combat-game-is-in-development/
Bandai Namco and developer Project Aces hosted a livestream to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Ace Combat series, during which it announced various incoming DLC, some sales figures, and a whole new game in the works. The event was mainly a celebratory retrospective, and understandably so—2019's Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown was the first mainline entry for 12 years, and there was a time when it seemed like this series was finished.

Quake remake rated by the ESRB, more information expected today
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/quake-remake-rated-by-the-esrb-more-information-expected-today/
Quakecon 2021 is about to begin, and one of the things we already knew from a scheduling slip-up is that something called Quake revitalized would feature. Don't get too excited: it seems to be a remake with new content rather than a full reboot a la Doom. The now-deleted scheduling blurb mentioned Machine Games as the developer, and referenced "the additional content Machine Games have contributed to this revitalized edition."

Lots of Intel News due to Intel's Architecture day.

Intel unveils ARC graphics roadmap, Xe-Cores and XeSS super resolution technology

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-unveils-arc-graphics-roadmap-xe-cores-and-xess-super-resolution-technology

Launching Q1 2022, TSMC 6NM

"Intel DG2 GPUs will be build using Xe-Cores, those will be grouped in Render Slices. Each Xe-Core will be build using 16 Vector Engines (256-bit) and 16 Matrix Engines (1024-bit per engine). Under each Xe-Core there is a single Ray Tracing Unit (without a fancy name like AMD’s or NVIDIA’s). Thus, DG2 GPUs will have an equal number of Xe-Cores and Ray Tracing Units. The DG2 GPUs feature Memory Fabric which is a large L2 Cache."

Here is Intel’s Spectacular Xe SuperSampling (XeSS) Demo In 4K Quality

https://wccftech.com/here-is-intels-spectacular-xe-supersampling-xess-demo-in-4k-quality/

"While AMD FSR is based on conventional algorithms, Intel XeSS is comparable to NVIDIA’s DLSS and is based on neural networks (AI/ML based) and can work with far lower input information with far higher fidelity results. Intel is planning to deliver up to a 2x FPS increase on the same hardware using XeSS and are even planning to support older hardware."

"Intel revealed that they are already working with Unreal Engine, Microsoft (for DirectX 12 Ultimate), Vulkan (Kronos Foundation) and Unity for API and implementation. "

"Oh, and best of all? They seem to be taking a leaf out of AMD’s book and plan to make XeSS opensource eventually once initial development completes."

SDK is available this month!

This is what I wanted from AMD this gen. Really bring the heat to Nvidia instead of giving us half-hearted attempts at next gen technologies. We will see what happens once it comes out but this is insane!

Intel Alder Lake CPUs Will Feature 8+8 Core Design And A Massive 19% IPC Increase Over 11th Generation CPUs

https://wccftech.com/intel-alder-lake-cpus-will-feature-88-core-design-and-a-massive-19-ipc-increase-over-11th-generation-cpus/

Intel Alder Lake to feature Performance & Efficient Cores, Intel Thread Director scheduler unveiled

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-alder-lake-to-feature-performance-efficient-cores-intel-thread-director-scheduler-unveiled

GN did a more detailed video of Intel's Architecture day for their GPU

Nice. Hopefully their upscaler is easier to implement and faster to adopt than DLSS. As cool as it is, support is still limited. XeSS looks great and I like the sound of near 4k image quality for nearly twice the performance.