Playstation's Sixth Sense...

Well, this week has certainly been a doozy! Sony's Playstation has been doing everything they seemingly possibly can to alienate users. First they say that they're closing down the digital stores for PS3 and Vita and in the same announcement state that, from January 2028, there will be no more physical games. Then, they issue a press release saying that PS+ is increasing in price. 

 

Yay, Playstation?!

The DLSS 5 lie...

A tongue-in-cheek header image...

 

DLSS 5 has exploded into our lives the last couple of days and it's been one hell of a ride. However, I think a lot of this comes from not understanding the tech because Nvidia's CEO keeps lying...

Analyse This: The Rendering Cost of AI...

Unironically, I used AI for this...

The interest surrounding the rumours of the next gen consoles has been slowly boiling over the last few months. Now, with new confirmations from Xbox's newly-minted CEO, Asha Sharma we have a firmer grasp of what the next gen holds for one side of the equation. On the other side, Playstation 6 also has a lot of hardware specification leaks but one thing still confuses me: why all the memory?!

In this post, I'm going to look at the logic of having a lot of RAM in the consoles and why, to my mind, the leaked specs for the memory configurations just don't make sense...

What could Valve do with the Steam Machine...?

I've been thinking some more about the Steam Machine's troubles and the latest summary article from Ars Technica has me thinking about what their options might be. 

So, let's explore the possible scenarios...

Now is not the time to buy a PC...

Normally, I'm a pretty big advocate of PC gaming - I would class myself as an enabler because I love technology, enjoy playing around with the hardware, but also using it to enjoy technologically advanced games. I spend time online helping people not only to build and buy PCs but also troubleshoot their issues in order to improve their experience with that technology.

 

However, as part of the moral and ethical framework I hold in my head I just can't advise people to buy a PC right now. Let's get into why...

Do we really have things so much better now...?

 

 

You may have noticed that I'm a grumpy sort of person - easily annoyed into rolling my eyes and huffing when things are done which rub me the wrong way. You might even have seen a few tweets of mine on certain "trigger" topics, such as "inflation affecting the pricing of high technology products"*. Well, welcome to a new entry on that list: "modern buyers have it better".

On the face of it, this is a basic truism (or at least we hope so!) but on the other side of the coin, this is, in my opinion, a bad faith argument.  

 

Let's get into why I think that...

*It has negligible effect on the overall consumer price for high technology products. The forces which make a loaf of bread more expensive do NOT act on how much it costs to produce all the components and package a CPU/GPU... They are primarily priced based on COGS and how much the market will bear...

 

PC Building Advice... or How to buy a PC in 2026...

Hopefully, your PC will look a little better than this one did...

I spend a lot of time on Reddit giving advice on PC building and troubleshooting. I recently saw some build guides on YouTube that are great but don't address many of the common questions that new or inexperienced users have. 

Additionally, many websites and YouTube hardware enthusiasts focus purely on the theoretical performance per part and, in my opinion, while the scientist in me loves that data, it doesn't necessarily help these segments of the consumer base make legitimate purchasing decisions.

So, I've decided to put together my own little list of...

Analyse This: The Steam Machine's Specs are bad, no matter what Valve might say...

 

Mana from heaven or a gift from the devil?

 

Much has been made over Valve's reveal of the Steam Machine. With opinions varying from gaming saviour to irrelevant devil. Okay, maybe things aren't quite that polarising - I'm trying to make the intro a bit spicier! However, it's clear there are two main emerging narratives surrounding the soon-to-be-released Steam Machine - one positive, one negative. 

 

Personally, I lie on the negative side of the equation for a couple of specific reasons with orbit around the fact that it's just not good enough. 

 

So, let's get into why I feel that way...

Next Gen PC gaming requirements (2025 update)

On time, again!

It's that time of year where "best of" lists start falling like cats and dogs. So, here's my contribution to the year round-ups: trending of the recommended game requirements for games released this year...

The Performance Uplift of RDNA 4 and performance review of the RX 9060 XT...

Previously, I've looked at the performance uplift of RDNA 3 over RDNA 2 - both mid-range and low-end variants of the architeture - by performing testing at iso-clock frequencies. I love testing these things so have picked up the RX 9060 XT to pair against the prior gen RX 7600 XT. Considering that RDNA 4 has been shown to be a pretty big upgrade over RDNA 3, I'm expecting some interesting results. 

So, let's dig into the numbers!

So, What's Next...? The rate of advancement in gaming performance... (Part 2) Is PC gaming dying?!

A couple of years ago, I looked at the rate of advancement of GPUs over time. It's the only way of tracking how the user experiences technological advancement. Recently, we've seen a lot of movement in the industry of various commentators reaching the same conclusions I did, way back when... Or, maybe I'm a particularly pessimistic person and these thoughts are the logical conclusion that people will come to, given enough time and data.

But given that I was ahead of the curve, I feel I have a little more to give than even the current trends in discussion...

Looking back at 2024 and predictions for 2025...

It's, again, that time of year where we take stock of the past and also look towards the future. Last year was fairly busy for me, travelling the world and a huge increase at work resulting in less time to spend on this blog. Unfortunately, 2025 is looking just as busy in some ways given I am now tasked with increased responsibilities at work. So, that will drain more of my focus from the first of January, onwards... But, let's make hay whilst we can!

Next Gen PC gaming requirements (2024 update)

This year, I'm on time...

Snow is falling, winds are blowing, and it's that time to look back over the year and trend the night away! 2023 was a bit of a disappointment but I've got a good feeling about this year*...

*Okay, let's be honest, I've already seen the data!

How CPU-limited IS a modern mid-range PC...? (Part 2)

I'm always interested in how mid-range PC components perform in games. Previously, I explored this from the standpoint of relative performance on each CPU I had available to test. I came to the conclusion that, even though some games will be CPU-limited by the more powerful mid-range GPUs I tested with, other, more graphically-demanding titles, will still benefit from the stronger GPUs.

I also noted that, in some titles, memory and PCIe bandwidth were also very important. So, today, I wanted to take a look at some of the various situations I can pull out of the data I generated back then...

How Powerful is the PS5 Pro? (Part 2)

Overnight, a Twitter user, "brunno_fast", has uploaded a photo from the Playstation Pro Safety Guide revealing some hitherto unknown information about the PS5 Pro. Additionally, we have a teardown from "TAG" over on YouTube! The dam has broken and Sony no longer has control over the flow of information...

Let's dig into the details!

Testing GPU Variation...

One question I've often wondered about is the performance variability between individual GPUs we buy as consumers. Sure, individual models might have different performance/temperature profiles based on model power delivery or cooling design but the chip-to-chip variation has not really been tested - at least as far as I've been able to discover!

Since I have access to two identical model GPUs, I thought I'd take a VERY limited look into the issue...

The Performance Uplift of RDNA 3... (Part 2)

Ever since I performed the comparative analysis of the 60 compute unit (CU) RX 7800 XT with the RX 6800 one of the background thoughts running around my head has been the question on whether Navi 33 - the monolithic version of RDNA 3 -  does or doesn't have an uplift over the equivalent RDNA2 design.

Since I purchased one each of the RX 6650 XT and RX 7600 XT for the PS5/Pro simulations, I now have the tools available to do the full analysis of RDNA 2 versus RDNA 3! So, let's jump in...

Analyse This: Simulating the PS5 Pro... (Part 2)

It's the power of...

The Playstation 5 Pro talk is really hogging the headlines but I really wasn't 100% happy with my prior look/simulation of the device. So, I'm back here, today, putting together a quick look at a simulated PS5 base versus a simulated PS5 Pro - with PC parts!

As a side benefit of this, we also get a chance to look at the effect of changing GPU architecture and a potential sly look at an upcoming blogpost where I look at the differences between monolithic RDNA3 versus RDNA 2.

So, let's jump in...

How Powerful is the PS5 Pro?

In part two of my Playstation 5 Pro fever articles, we take another look at the power the console will likely bring to the table. One of the most common discussions that's surrounded the announcement of the Playstation 5 Pro has been the performance of the GPU, with some likening it to an RX 7800 XT or even cards on Nvidia's side of the aisle.

The reality is simultaneously simple and a bit more complicated than just a comparison to a single desktop card.

So, let's take a look!

AMD's New Reality...

Last time, I pontificated on the current situation surrounding two of the gaming industry greats. Today, I'm going to address very recent comments on their current strategies relating to the consumer (client) graphics card market...

It may not be what you think it is...