27 October 2023

In Defence Of: Older Hardware...

Via Twitter...

The release of the required PC hardware specifications of Alan Wake 2, along with the revelation that RX 5000 series and GTX 10 series cards would not be supported* caused quite a stir in various online fora. I, myself, have not been overly happy with them but it may not be for the typical reasons that proponents of advancing technology(!!) would like to paint. At the same time, despite the hyperbole on both sides of the equation, I think there is room for reasoned discourse on the topic and platforms like Twitter and Reddit don't tend to promote or facilitate that. 

So, here goes...
*They can run the game, just not to their normal relative performance envelope compared to other cards due to the fact that they do not support DX12 Ultimate mesh shaders.

14 October 2023

RTX 40 series - aka "Did Nvidia jump the shark"...

Yes, I *splashed out*...


Now that Nvidia have essentially completed their consumer RTX 40 series cards, it's time to look back at the releases and take stock of what's happened. 

We've seen the now usual range of responses: from cynical and jaded gamers and games media, to acceptance from those who are coming to terms with the price to performance ratio Nvidia is now asking. 

Bundled up in all of this has been, for me, the question of whether Nvida pushed too far, too fast? Let's take a look...