10°

AlienBEware Episode V: The Wallet Strikes Back

Igniq.com:

Back in August I set out to build a decent PC gaming rig without breaking the bank. I wanted to show how much money can be saved when purchasing all the parts separately and assembling it yourself.

Since the PC is now built, I figured I’d follow the last post up with some performance benchmarks and updates on the changes made (notably the price). It has pretty much remained the same apart from the graphics card and a few minor changes. But the few minor changes have saved even more money.

Saryk4934d ago

I like the guy’s idea behind building it yourself. But versus Alienware, I could give my 9 year old a credit card and let him order and build a new PC and it would be cheaper than a Alienware PC.

CombineElite4934d ago

Alienware and IBuyPower are so darn expensive. They have their uses though as they allow those who are not sure about building a PC themselves get high powered machines with one credit card swipe and a kidney donation.

Half the fun is building it yourself kinda like tuning a mustang or an import.

230°

AMD gaming revenue declined massively year-over-year, CFO says the demand is 'weak'

Poor Xbox sales have affected AMD’S bottom line

Read Full Story >>
tweaktown.com
RonsonPL15h ago

Oh wow. How surprising! Nvidia overpriced their RTX cards by +100% and AMD instead of offering real competition, decided to join Nvidia in their greedy approach, while not having the same mindshare as Nvidia (sadly) does. The 7900 launch was a marketing disaster. All the reviews were made while the card was not worth the money at all, they lowered the price a bit later on, but not only not enough but also too late and out of "free marketing" window coming along with the new card generation release. Then the geniuses at AMD axed the high-end SKUs with increased cache etc, cause "nobody will buy expensive cards to play games" while Nvidia laughed at them selling their 2000€ 4090s.
Intel had all the mindshare among PC enthusiasts with their CPUs. All it took was a competetive product and good price (Ryzen 7000 series and especially 7800x3d) and guess what? AMD regained the market share in DYI PCs in no time! The same could've have happened with Radeon 5000, Radeon 6000 and Radeon 7000.
But meh. Why bother. Let's cancell high-end RDNA 4 and use the TSMC wafers for AI and then let the clueless "analysts" make their articles about "gaming demand dwingling".

I'm sure low-end, very overpriced and barely faster if not slower RDNA4 will turn things around. It will have AI and RT! Two things nobody asked for, especially not gamers who'd like to use the PC for what's most exciting about PC gaming (VR, high framerate gaming, hi-res gaming).
8000 series will be slow, overpriced and marketed based on its much improved RT/AI... and it will flop badly.
And there will be no sane conclusions made at AMD about that. There will be just one, insane: Gaming is not worth catering to. Let's go into AI/RT instead, what could go wrong..."

Crows9011h ago

What would you say would be the correct pricing for new cards?

Very insightful post!

RonsonPL5h ago

That's a complicated question. Depends on what you mean. The pricing at the release date or the pricing planned ahead. They couldn't just suddenly end up in a situation where their existing stock of 6000 cards is suddenly unsellable, but if it was properly rolled out, the prices should be where they were while PC gaming industry was healthy. I recognize the arguments about inflation, higher power draw and PCB/BOM costs, more expensive wafers from TSMC etc. but still, PC gaming needs some sanity to exist and be healthy. Past few years were very unhealthy and dangerous to whole PC gaming. AMD should recognize this market is very good for them as they have advantage in software for gaming and other markets while attractive short term, may be just too difficult to compete at. AI is the modern day gold rush and Nvidia and Intel can easily out-spend AMD on R&D. Meanwhile gaming is tricky for newcomers and Nvidia doesn't seem to care that much about gaming anymore. So I would argue that it should be in AMDs interest to even sell some Radeon SKUs at zero profit, just to prevent the PC gaming from collapsing. Cards like 6400 and 6500 should never exist at their prices. This tier was traditionally "office only" and priced at 50$ in early 2000s. Then we have Radeons 7600 which is not really 6-tier card. Those were traditionally quite performant cards based on wider than 128-bit memory bus. Also 8GB is screaming "low end". So I'd say the 7600 should've been available at below 200$ (+taxes etc.) as soon as possible, at least for some cheaper SKUs.For faster cards, the situation is bad for AMD, because people spending like $400+ are usually fairly knowledgable and demanding. While personally I don't see any value in upscallers and RT for 400-700$ cards, the fact is that especially DLSS is a valuable feature for potential buyers. Therefore, even 7800 and 7900 cards should be significantly cheaper than they currently are. People knew what they were paying for when buying Radeon 9700, 9800, X800, 4870 etc. They were getting gaming experience truly unlike console or low-end PC gaming. By all means, let's have expensive AMD cards for even above $1000, but first, AMD needs to show value. Make the product attractive. PS5 consoles can be bought at 400$. If AMD offers just a slightly better upscalled image on the 400$ GPU, or their 900$ GPU cannot even push 3x as many fps compared to cheap consoles, the pricing acts like cancer on PC gaming. And poor old PC gaming can endure only so much.

MrCrimson2h ago

I appreciate your rant sir, but it has very little to do with gpus. It is the fact that the PS5 and Xbox are in end cycle before a refresh.

13h agoReplies(1)
KwietStorm_BLM11h ago

Well that's gonna happen when you don't really try. I want to support AMD so badly and give Nvidia some actual competition but they don't very much seem interested in challenging, by their own accord. I been waiting for them to attack the GPU segment the same way they took over CPU, but they just seem so content with handing Nvidia the market year after year, and it's happening again this year with their cancelled high end card.

MrCrimson2h ago

I think you're going to see almost zero interest from AMD or Nvidia on the gaming GPU market. They are all in on AI.

RhinoGamer8811h ago

No Executive bonuses then...right?

enkiduxiv5h ago

What are smoking? Got to layoff your way to those bonuses. Fire 500 employees right before Christmas. That should get you there.

Tapani4h ago(Edited 4h ago)

Well, if you are 48% down in Q4 in your Gaming sector as they are, which in absolute money terms is north of 500M USD, then you are not likely to get at least your quarterly STI, but can be applicable for annual STI. The LTI may be something you are still eligible for, such as RSUs or other equity and benefits, especially if they are based on the company total result rather than your unit. All depends on your contract and AMD's reward system.

MrCrimson2h ago

Lisa Su took AMD from bankruptcy to one of the best semiconductor companies on the planet. AMD from 2 dollars a share to 147. She can take whatever she wants.

darksky8h ago

AMD prcied their cards thinking that they will sell out just like in the mining craze. I suspect reality has hit home when they realized most gamers cannot afford to spend over $500 for a gpu.

Show all comments (26)
300°

Microsoft Survey Asks About Handheld

A new survey from Microsoft has further hinted at the possibility of an Xbox handheld being in development.

Read Full Story >>
twistedvoxel.com
EasilyTheBest2d ago

This is definitely happening, I just hope they have 2 versions one with a much bigger screen.

GamerRN2d ago

I'll be happy with this, and a PC console hybrid that rivals anything we have power wise

Number1TailzFan2d ago

The problem with bigger devices is playing them on your side in bed, Vita and before that was fine. Since the Switch you gotta have a gooseneck holder & controllers detached so you can lie down holding them, or your arm will quickly get tired.

1Victor1d 10h ago

@thesofware: “A much bigger screen than what?”
A gaming laptop 🤷🏿🤣

Kosic1d 10h ago

Than the screen originally planned...duh... :D

darthv721d 11h ago

it kinda already did... https://www.xbox.com/en-US/...

They are just gauging interest in one of their own.

crazyCoconuts1d 9h ago

A Xbox version of Logitech G-Cloud?
I mean, why bother? Not like the G cloud is flying off shelves and what would Xbox add to make it better?
They're surely not going to create bespoke architecture here and there are already a few Windows handhelds out there. I have little confidence in their ability to put together an attractive UI in the way Steam did. So I doubt anything will come from this.

KicksnSnares2d ago

Day One buy for me if they'll make a dedicated handheld device.

darthv722d ago

i have that logitech g-cloud. Its a sweet little piece of kit. I like that it can also install games from the play store unlike the other android based handheld.

mudakoshaka2d ago

It sure is! Don't understand why you get the down-votes. Whoever does not like the G Cloud must have been dropped down a well, head first, when they were of a younger age.

PassNextquestion2d ago

I wonder if Microsoft will perform better in Japan if they do actually make a handheld since everyone says handheld and mobile are king over there.

TiredGamer2d ago

This looks like the future of the game industry... all three platforms with a handheld option.

I wonder if the Playstation Portal is a technology test-bed/prototype for a future Playstation handheld?

rlow12d ago (Edited 2d ago )

It’s a possibility but I can’t help but think would that be the best way to go about it? Though it would give you data on how much it is used and game type. It’s still not a true portable device and so people approach it differently. I think that data on phones, tablets, and of course the competition would give a better indication.

But I really think if Sony is considering a new PSP that could play ps5 games, now would be the time to dive in. Honestly, if they do this, it would be huge.

Traecy2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Doubt if Sony PS wants to support a new handheld with first party games. Something they lacked with the Vita. What they should do is have a handheld that is like the PS Portal which can play all games but play those games on the go as well as at home. Something like that is a better investment.

TiredGamer1d 23h ago

Agreed that you will probably never see a separate line of games specifically for the handheld (a la PSP or PSVita). The modern economics and expectations of game development make that cost prohibitive. What makes more sense is if the full-fat game on PS5 or PS6 has a special "handheld" profile that is automatically optimized for the lower spec handheld. There would be some significant compromises compared to the bigger console variant, but it would be the same game overall and would only require a single purchase.... somewhat what the Switch does with a lower resolution when playing handheld versus docked.

Show all comments (51)
310°

Xbox Games Showcase Followed by [REDACTED] Direct Airs June 9

- Xbox Wire - Mark your calendars! The Xbox Games Showcase followed by [REDACTED] Direct airs June 9. More info inside.

Read Full Story >>
news.xbox.com
bionicstar2d ago

Will they show Fable 4, Stalker 2, GoW 6 & Perfect Dark?

PhillyDonJawn2d ago

Crossing fingers for Fable and perfect dark. And State of Decay 3

RaidenBlack2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

And maybe Clockwork Revolution, South of Midnight, Contraband, Project 007 & OD? lol
and whatever happened to Everwild ?
+ that rumored Wu Tang RPG

Sonic18812d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Will they have official release dates and gameplay?

anast2d ago

Another game pass event with their plans to go all streaming.

2d ago
Lightning772d ago

It's an Xbox showcase that they have every year.

Make smarter comments for once.

anast2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Tell me what a smarter comment is.

If they don't sell game pass the entire time, then I will be wrong. All of this can be proven once the show gets underway. Let's wait and see.

InUrFoxHole1d 13h ago

@Anast
Anything you didn't type. Good day sir!

2d ago
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2d ago Replies(1)
Lightning772d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Wow too easy.

You went from MS going all streaming to selling gamepass content in which we all know they are.

Which one is it?

Pretty clear you don't know what a smart comment is at least you admit you don't know.

2d ago
anast2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

"Another game pass event with their plans to go all streaming."

It's both. I would worry about your own intelligence at this point. It seems that there is not enough to go around for you to worry about how smart other people are.

Lightning772d ago

It's just a regular event announcing games. Nice one captain obvious they're gonna mention gp stuff like they do every year what else is new.

The all streaming part is just you, being you I guess. They have streaming options but going all streaming again is just you pulling stuff outta thin air.

anast2d ago

You don't know what a smart comment is or isn't. You're welcome for the help.

Lightning771d 23h ago

No you said something dumb then you tried to back track and mention GP.

Again make smart comments for once.

anast1d 15h ago

And we have broken record syndrome.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 1d 13h ago
darthv722d ago

Wonder if they will address the handheld rumors....?

jimb0j0nes2d ago

For a brief moment I thought we might get a whole Direct for Gears 6 - seems like it's COD though!

Show all comments (44)