gaming rig Archives

AppWizard

December 3, 2025

I’m fed up with gaming on Windows 11 — here’s how Valve’s Steam Machine can fix PC gaming

Microsoft's Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) was rolled out to all Windows-based handhelds on November 21, followed by a broader release for gaming rigs and laptops for Windows Insider members. The update process on Windows 11 was slow, causing frustration for users. Accessing the Xbox FSE through various shortcuts was unsuccessful, and the experience was marred by instability and frequent updates. A recent system update (KB5066835) resulted in a significant drop in gaming performance. The author expressed a preference for Linux and SteamOS due to their stability and user-friendly interface compared to Windows. The upcoming Steam Machine is anticipated for its compact design and potential for a hassle-free gaming experience.

AppWizard

November 30, 2025

Unreal Engine 5.7 Venice Next-Gen Tech Demo Released

Scans Factory has released a tech demo using Unreal Engine 5.7, featuring the city of Venice, which is available for download. The demo includes over 500 assets, allowing players to explore various aspects of Venetian life. Performance testing on a high-end gaming rig showed 40FPS at Native 4K resolution with Cinematic Settings, and over 65FPS at Ultra settings. A walkthrough video and performance comparison between UE5.4 and UE5.7 are also provided. Additionally, various free fan-made projects in Unreal Engine 5 include remakes of popular games and other tech demos.

AppWizard

November 23, 2025

The biggest-budget, most notorious space game around is holding a huge free trial, with over 200 ships you can try

Star Citizen has surpassed 0 million in crowdfunding and sales. The Intergalactic Aerospace Expo (IAE) 2955 is currently taking place in Orison, showcasing a collection of spacecraft and vehicles, allowing players to test nearly 200 ships for free. The event runs from November 20 to December 3. Star Citizen alpha 4.4 has been released, introducing the new star system Nyx, along with new missions, weapons, and a revamped injury system. The expo will feature a rotating list of ships from various manufacturers, with the community-voted Ship Showdown finalists available for testing on November 29. CIG has improved accessibility through enhanced tutorials and guides. The event includes recruit-a-friend bonuses, offering rewards for both referrers and newcomers.

AppWizard

November 14, 2025

Baldur’s Gate 3 publishing chief says the Steam Machine isn’t super high-spec because there’s “genuinely no point” when people who want demanding PC performance on TV “know how to turn any PC into a Steam Machine”

Michael Douse, the publishing director for Baldur's Gate 3, believes Valve's upcoming Steam Machine is likely to succeed like the Steam Deck, with specifications positioned between the Xbox Series S and the base models of the PS5 and Xbox Series X. He highlights that high-performance PC gamers can build more powerful rigs for less than consoles, but targeting a broader audience is a smart business strategy. Douse notes that the Steam Deck has inspired a new handheld market and anticipates similar developments with the Steam Machine, predicting more robust, Linux-based PCs for TV use from various manufacturers. He sees a "massive opportunity" in the pre-built PC market for living room use, suggesting that if Valve can create an entry point, it could lead to significant growth and innovation. Douse speculates that the future of living room gaming may shift from a few dominant hardware manufacturers to a competitive landscape of storefronts, with Valve and Xbox having an advantage due to their support for third-party hardware.

AppWizard

November 3, 2025

This 180Hz, 1440p Asus gaming monitor was a premium buy until it got slapped with this huge $110 discount

The Asus ROG Strix XG27ACG is a 27-inch gaming monitor with a 180Hz refresh rate and 1440p resolution, currently discounted to 9.99 from its original price. It features a claimed 1ms response time, Fast-IPS technology, Extreme Low Motion Blur (ELMB), and is G-Sync Compatible. The monitor is available in white and black variants. In the UK, a similar model, the XG27ACS, is reduced from £329 to £229.

AppWizard

October 18, 2025

4 free yet game-changing upgrades I made to my ancient PC

The PC is equipped with a Ryzen 5 1600 and a GTX 1660 Ti. The owner performed maintenance by cleaning the tower and replacing thermal paste on the CPU and GPU. Fan curves were adjusted to reduce noise levels, resulting in a more enjoyable gaming experience. The Windows 10 installation was converted from MBR to GPT to enable the Resizable BAR feature, leading to a 5–10% average FPS increase in games like Far Cry Primal and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. The thermal paste replacement lowered idle temperatures for the Ryzen 5 1600 from around 45℃ to approximately 40℃, with similar reductions for the GTX 1660 Ti. Undervolting the GPU improved thermal performance and slightly increased average FPS. Overall, the upgrades enhanced performance, temperature management, and noise reduction without significant financial investment.

AppWizard

October 14, 2025

Save $50 and grab an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 for just $499, if you’re quick

Amazon is offering the MSI-branded Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 for , a discount from its MSRP, available while supplies last. The RTX 5070 features Nvidia's DLSS 4 technology and multi-frame generation support, providing impressive performance at higher resolutions like 1440p. It has a default boost clock speed of 2,542MHz, which can reach 2,557MHz in "extreme performance" mode, and includes 12GB of GDDR7 VRAM. The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) limit of 250W, making it a suitable upgrade for older systems without requiring a power supply upgrade. In the UK, the card is priced at £460.99.

AppWizard

October 10, 2025

Arc Raiders finally finds a way to make you like account wipes

Embark Studios is marketing Arc Raiders, which is currently the fifth most wishlisted game on Steam. The studio has developed an innovative wipe system for the game, preferring to avoid mandatory wipes unless necessary. Players can engage in an Expedition Project after reaching level 20, which lasts eight weeks and allows them to choose to wipe their account in the final week. Progress will carry over into the next cycle for those who cannot progress sufficiently, and players can opt out of the wipe if they wish to retain their gear. Wiping will result in the loss of levels, skills, items, and crafting capabilities, but players will keep awards, achievements, rankings, and cosmetic items. Unique cosmetic rewards and permanent account unlocks are promised for completed Expeditions, and players who wipe will receive buffs for the next cycle, focusing on cosmetics and quality-of-life improvements. The first wipe window is set to open in December, and the game's launch date is October 30. Players are advised to check system requirements and consider upgrades if necessary.

AppWizard

October 7, 2025

Grab a free copy of ARC Raiders, thanks to Nvidia

Nvidia is offering a promotion where customers who purchase a new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card or any superior model, as well as laptops with equivalent GPUs, can claim a complimentary copy of ARC Raiders. The promotion runs from October 7 to November 4, excluding certain regions like Russia and China. Eligible graphics cards include the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070, and buyers will receive the Deluxe edition of ARC Raiders, the Astro cosmetic pack, and 2,400 Raider tokens. Not all retailers will participate, and consumers should verify eligibility. Instructions for claiming the game will be provided by Nvidia after the purchase.

AppWizard

October 7, 2025

AMD Ryzen 5 9600X review – now my favorite budget gaming CPU

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a budget gaming CPU with six cores and a peak boost clock of 5.4GHz, priced at 9 after a reduction from its initial price of 9. It features 12 threads, a 65W TDP, and is built on the AMD Zen 5 architecture with Socket AM5 compatibility. The CPU has a 32MB L3 cache and supports Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT). In gaming benchmarks, it outperformed the Ryzen 5 7600X and the Intel Core i5 14600K in several titles, achieving an average of 211fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at High settings. However, it lags behind in multi-threaded applications, scoring 16,286 at 65W TDP in Cinebench R23, compared to the Core i5 14600K's score of 23,990. The 9600X's thermal performance is efficient, peaking at 68°C during tests.