HARDWARE
24-Player MMO Raids: Why 1% Lows Beat Peak FPS
In 24-player FFXIV and WoW raids, 1% and 0.1% lows decide whether a fight feels smooth — which CPU, memory, and storage keep frametimes flat.
Various Impact: 8/10
INTEL ARCHIVE // PAGE 14 OF 23
All Intel — page 14
HARDWARE
PS5 Pro's 2TB SSD vs a $700 RTX 4070 Super PC
What $700 buys in each camp: the PS5 Pro's 2TB SSD and PSSR 2.0 upscaling against an RTX 4070 Super PC built well past that budget.
Sony Interactive Entertainment Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
144Hz to 540Hz: Where Refresh Rate Gains Stop
Why 144Hz to 540Hz gains shrink at every step: the scanout latency each refresh rate removes, and where ULMB 2 strobing carries the rest.
Various Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
RTX 50 Undervolting: 30W to 100W Saved, Same FPS
A step-by-step voltage-frequency curve tune for the RTX 5070, 5080, and 5090 that trades watts and degrees for nothing in frame rate.
NVIDIA Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
RTX 50 Super Rumor: 50% More VRAM, CES 2027 Reveal
Leaked spec sheets and supply-chain reporting point to a VRAM-heavy RTX 50 Super refresh that keeps slipping as GDDR7 memory costs climb.
NVIDIA Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
RTX 5060 Ti 16GB vs 8GB: 1440p Ultra and 1% Lows
Same Blackwell GPU, radically different performance: our face-off reveals where 8GB 1% lows fall apart under texture streaming at 1440p ultra settings.
NVIDIA Impact: 9/10
HARDWARE
DDR5-6400 in 1:1 Mode: Ryzen 9000 EXPO Tuning
Why DDR5-6400 in 1:1 mode is the Zen 5 ceiling: how UCLK, FCLK and SoC voltage interact, and the test order that keeps a tuned board posting.
AMD Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
Ryzen 9800X3D and 9950X3D Discounts Before Zen 6
Ryzen 9 9950X3D at $569 and Ryzen 7 9800X3D near $429: why the mid-2026 9000X3D discounts look like inventory clearing before Zen 6 X3D.
AMD Impact: 8/10
MMO
Soulframe Pacts and Weapon Grips: How Envoys Build
How Soulframe's Pacts, weapon grips, and Combat Arts replace Warframe mods, and what the Preludes build lets new Envoys test first.
Digital Extremes Impact: 8/10
MMO
Soulframe Starter Pacts: Tethren, Sirin, Oscelda
Soulframe's three starter Pacts compared: Tethren brawls, Sirin skirmishes, Oscelda controls, and why a wrong pick is not permanent.
Digital Extremes Impact: 8/10
MMO
Star Citizen 3.x Ships: aUEC, Rentals, and Wipes
How aUEC, ship dealers, and in-game rentals work in Star Citizen's alpha economy, plus which ship roles fit which gameplay loops.
Cloud Imperium Games Impact: 8/10
MMO
Star Citizen Server Meshing: Ten Servers, No Loading
How Star Citizen splits its universe across roughly ten game servers per shard, and why crossing a territory boundary no longer triggers a loading screen.
Cloud Imperium Games Impact: 8/10
RTS
Stellaris 4.4 Pegasus: Arkships and Contract System
The 4.4 Pegasus update and Nomads expansion introduce mobile Arkship empires, contract diplomacy, and the Stellar Cannon megastructure.
Paradox Development Studio Impact: 9/10
RTS
Stellaris Ascension: Four Paths, One Perk Each
Each ascension path now runs through a situation with a building gate and an approach lever: which of the four fits your empire type, and what it costs.
Paradox Development Studio Impact: 8/10
RTS
Stellaris Origins and Civics: Which Pairings Compound
How Stellaris origins and civics pair: which bonuses compound into one plan, and which permanent, cannot-be-removed civic locks strand a new empire.
Paradox Development Studio Impact: 8/10
RTS
Stellaris 4.0 Pops: Workforce Jobs and Migration
How Stellaris pop growth, workforce, and jobs fit together after the 4.0 Phoenix update, and why migration rather than colony spam now drives your economy.
Paradox Development Studio Impact: 8/10
RTS
Stormgate Patch: Therium Gathering and Unit Sizing
Frost Giant Studios ships the Stormgate Community Update, adding four new units, a broad balance pass, and full editor access for all players.
Frost Giant Studios Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
Frametime Metrics: 1% Lows, Pacing and Hitch Detection
What 1% lows, frame pacing, and hitches actually measure, and how PresentMon and CapFrameX expose the spikes an average FPS number hides.
Various Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
Switch 2 Handheld DLSS: T239 and 540p to 720p
Why Switch 2 handheld DLSS renders between 540p and 720p and upscales to a 1080p screen, plus what its two DLSS variants trade in motion.
NVIDIA / Nintendo Impact: 8/10
MMO
Throne and Liberty: Lucent, Sollant and Auction Tax
Only base-level gear and Great Success crafts can be listed: how Lucent, Sollant and the two-tier Castle tax shape what you extract and flip.
NCSoft / Amazon Games Impact: 8/10
MMO
Throne and Liberty Siege: 45-Minute Throne Race
How Stonegard Castle Siege works in Throne and Liberty: the 45-minute throne race, overtime, Siege Golems, and the sub-objectives that decide it.
NCSOFT / Amazon Games Impact: 8/10
RTS
Victoria 3 Volume 3: Great Wave and Patch 1.13
Victoria 3 Volume 3 pairs The Great Wave naval expansion and its free 1.13 update with Russian and Chinese immersion packs through early 2027.
Paradox Development Studio Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
G-Sync vs FreeSync vs HDMI 2.1: What VRR Tier Sets
G-SYNC, FreeSync, and HDMI 2.1 VRR all ride the same Adaptive-Sync protocol — what each certification tier sets, from the VRR floor to LFC.
Various Impact: 8/10
MMO
WoW Gold Making: Concentration, Ingenuity, Patron Orders
How gold-making works in The War Within: Concentration forces item quality, Ingenuity refunds it, and NPC patron orders supply the Knowledge Points.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 8/10
RPG
PoE2 Atlas vs Last Epoch Monolith vs Diablo IV Pit
Choosing between PoE2's Atlas, Last Epoch's Monolith, and Diablo IV's Pit: what each endgame asks of your session length, inventory, and reading.
Various Impact: 8/10
RPG
First-Week ARPG Economy: PoE2, Diablo IV, Last Epoch
How the first week of a fresh league plays out in Path of Exile 2, Last Epoch, and Diablo IV Season 13: what to pick up, flip, or leave on the ground.
Various Impact: 8/10
RPG
Choosing an ARPG in 2026: PoE2, Diablo IV, Titan Quest II
Path of Exile 2, Diablo IV, Last Epoch and Titan Quest II differ more in shape than art: a structural read of their loops, endgames and monetization.
Various Impact: 8/10
RPG
Baldur's Gate 3 Romance Gates: Approval, Act by Act
A roadmap of how companion approval unlocks romance gates in Baldur’s Gate 3, act by act and companion by companion.
Larian Studios Impact: 8/10
RPG
Baldur's Gate 3 Honour Mode: Denying Enemy Turns
Honour Mode turns every Baldur's Gate 3 fight into a one-shot, so winning it is less about builds and more about who acts first and who acts most.
Larian Studios Impact: 8/10
RPG
Baldur's Gate 3 Mods: The 100-Mod Cap and Console Limits
How Baldur's Gate 3's official mod pipeline works: the in-game Mod Manager, console curation, and the 100-mod cap that blocks oversized saves.
Larian Studios Impact: 8/10