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Mikhail Gorbachev, the Pizza Hut ad actor who presided over the political collapse of a sixth of the Earth, is inexplicably most famous for his tenure as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. But when he was still with us, old Gorby actually had a storied career as a videogame character, popping up in all sorts of games to dispense wisdom, objectives, and crucial international infrastructure.
Startlingly, there's been very little writing on Gorbachev's lustrous appearances in videogames. I intend to right this error. I'll be walking you through the highlights of the gaming career of the last premier of the world's first socialist state and ranking each appearance in turn. I am not (entirely) unserious: before I chucked it all in to write about games, I was working on (without much conscious commitment, the way wind "works on" eroding stone) an academic career in Russian history.
But I'm now a professional videogames journalist, and to bring these two aspects of myself together I will be rating each Gorby according to a selection of powerfully outdated criteria: verisimilitude (to what extent does the game's Gorby resemble the historical Gorby), graphics (the technical and artistic success of Gorby's rendering), and fun factor (to what extent would I be up for grabbing a slice of Pizza Hut pizza with this Gorby). Ready? Let's begin.
6: Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War (2020)
The most recent Gorbachev on the list, and probably the one the biggest number of readers will have seen. It's also the worst.
Verisimilitude: Black Ops' Gorby is the quintessential party apparatchik: a middling rung on a very tall ladder, relaying orders from afar to the assembled rubes of the game's cast. And he smokes, which the real Gorbachev didn't. Now, to be fair, this is a man who has yet to ascend to the heights of his power and naivete, but as it is he comes across as a brow-beaten and tyrannical middle manager rather than the man who got so swept up in an optimistic vision that he didn't notice what was right in front of him. 3/10
Graphics: It's hard to deny that this is the most exquisitely rendered Gorbachev on the list. But, frankly, it's too good: the technical success only sharpens the artistic failure. Look at this guy, he's so boring I'm sick of looking at him! Bring back that other one who shuffles off when everyone starts talking about bunkers and looks weirdly like Vladimir Mayakovsky. Now there's someone I can get into. 5/10
Fun Factor: Absolutely not. Could you imagine getting a drink with this guy? He'd talk your ear off about cement production quotas and how he skilfully got all his political opponents posted to manage chemical plants in Samara. Dull, dull, dull. 0/10
Overall: 8/30
5: Reagan Gorbachev (2016)
A birdseye Gorbachev who has to team up with Ronald Reagan to shoot his way out of a kidnapping situation.
Verisimilitude: The real Gorbachev was not trained to operate a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher like that. On the other hand, he did firmly believe in international cooperation. 3/10
Graphics: The retro style does Gorby some real favours, especially compared to the very goofy-looking Reagan. This is a distinguished figure, a statesman, and his running animation looks like he has no conscious control of his legs, which I quite like. 6/10
Fun Factor: This Gorby has some stories to tell, but is probably so scarred by his experience being kidnapped and killing a thousand men to escape that he'd rather just stay home. 2/10
Overall: 11/30
4: Toppler/Perestroika (1990)
Either a layered and meaningful game of the Soviet avant-garde or a Frogger ripoff someone put together in half an hour on a budget of negative 500 rubles. I can't tell. You can play it at the Internet Archive.
Verisimilitude: Putting aside for one second that Mikhail Gorbachev was not an alarmingly well-endowed fly named "Democrat," does Toppler not communicate something fundamentally true about the experience of battling the inevitable to reform the shifting sands (or disappearing lily pads) of a stagnant politics? 6/10
Graphics: Mikhail Gorbachev was not an alarmingly well-endowed fly named "Democrat". 0/10
Fun Factor: Are you kidding? A night out with this guy would be pure chaos. The only downside is that you would invariably end up drowning and transforming into a crucifix. 6/10
Overall: 12/30
3: Ganbare Gorby!/Factory Panic (1991)
Released as part of a broader effort to cultivate better diplomatic and cultural ties between Japan and the USSR, Ganbare Gorby! is a Japan-only version of Factory Panic that sees Gorbachev man a conveyor belt to deliver food to hungry citizens. It's also on the Internet Archive.
Verisimilitude: Ganbare Gorby! sees our protagonist physically intervene to restructure the Soviet economy, diverting food from endless, circular conveyor belts into the hands of waiting citizens. He also goes up against entrenched hardliners by… breathing on them? Sure! 8/10
Graphics: Gorbachev looks kind of like a Batman villain in Ganbare Gorby! He runs around in a red jumpsuit and has, for reasons beyond my comprehension, dyed his hair purple. Still, he's undeniably recognisable, and at least he's more fun to look at than the Black Ops version. 6/10
Fun Factor: It'd probably be pretty fun to run around breathing on the cops for a while, but this guy's life revolves mostly around moving conveyor belts around. Can he even break for lunch without people starving? 4/10
Overall: 18/30
2: Crisis In The Kremlin (1991)
A political sim which puts you right in Gorby's shoes: suppressing and removing the fruiting bodies of the political-economic rot that is slowly killing the Soviet Union. It, too, is on the Internet Archive.
Verisimilitude: The most verisimilitudinous entry on this list. The Gorbachev in Crisis In The Kremlin faces all the horrible, draining, exhausting decisions that the Gorbachev of real life did. It's great. Admittedly, you can decide to completely reject all he came to represent and crack down with an iron fist, but that one's on you. 10/10
Graphics: There's not really much representation of Gorby himself in this one, beyond a photo—like a sweetheart's headshot in their lover's wallet—up in the top left corner. 6/10
Fun Factor: This would basically be a day out with the actual Gorby, so probably interesting for about an hour or two, but eventually you'll realise you've accidentally signed yourself up for a staid university lecture. 5/10
Overall: 21/30
1: Street Fighter 2 (1991)
The classic arcade fighter. Gorbachev turns up in Zangief's ending to congratulate our hero and perform a cossack dance. I'm not sure this one was great for Japanese/Soviet diplomatic relations.
Verisimilitude: Street Fighter's Gorbachev shows a historically accurate degree of confidence in the indomitable spirit of the Soviet people. He does also perform a lengthy and energetic dance at a time when he would have been about 60 years old, though, so there is that. 6/10
Graphics: This is probably Gorby's best rendering on this list. You know who it is as soon as he leaps from his helicopter, and he cavorts with easy grace next to Zangief's bulk. 7/10
Fun Factor: I would cossack dance with this man until the sun swallowed the sky. 10/10
Overall: 23/30
Disclaimer
I should stress that this is purely a ranking of Gorbachevs. The quality of the game in which he appears is irrelevant, and doesn't factor into the final decision. I welcome all comments and criticisms that help me strive toward a more perfect tabulation of Gorbachevs, but please keep your fangs unbared if you feel I've unfairly slighted Ganbare Gorby! We all know it's a perfect videogame.
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ASRock is out to put you mind at ease about reports of long boot times on its AMD Ryzen 7000-series motherboards. ASRock has informed us that it's rectified a previous issue that meant cold boots could take up almost seven minutes. That's an eternity in modern PC gaming.
ASRock X670E First boot/Full reset start Time required2x16GB≈100s2X32GB≈200s4X16GB≈200s4X32GB≈400sIs this the Zen 4 running a memory test on first boot? Or is this an ASRock issue?
pic.twitter.com/4KvauCfVXaSeptember 1, 2022See moreThis isn't the C64 tape loading days, people. I don't want to have time to go make a cup of delicious moka pot coffee while I wait for my rig to bloody turn on.
Luckily ASRock's post-launch BIOS will decrease cold boot times on its five X670E motherboards. Though it hasn't detailed quite how much shorter those new boot times will be, and it's something that's going to have to be part of a BIOS update once you actually get board in hand because they're already out in retail ahead of the imminent launch alongside AMD's new CPUs.
A completely cold boot of your PC can take a lot longer than just a simple restart, that's a given, but last week's leak of ASRock's new AM5 X670E board highlighted that maybe its new Zen 4 platform might take a little longer than usual. And it seemed like it was mostly down to the DDR5 memory, too.
For a standard 2x 16GB set of DIMMs ASRock said it would previously take around 100 seconds for the first boot after the CMOS had been cleared—i.e. the system was completely disconnected from power for a time. But if you fully populated the X670E boards with four 32GB DDR5 DIMMs ASRock was estimating that it could take as much as 400 seconds for a cold boot.
That had people concerned, and it seemed it was also an ASRock issue, not an AMD AM5 issue. That has been born out by the motherboard maker now finding a way around the slow boot times.
"ASRock, has built new BIOS decreasing AM5 booting time. ASRock is dedicated to providing products with the best user-experience," reads the statement sent to us. "The new BIOS providing better compatibility and shorter booting time has been built, and it will be available on ASRock website after product launch."
The motherboards affected are:
Model Name EAN code Part Number X670E Taichi Carrara 4710483940170 90-MXBJ10-A0UAYZ X670E Taichi 4710483940132 90-MXBJ00-A0UAYZ X670E Steel Legend 4710483940323 90-MXBJ40-A0UAYZ X670E Pro RS 4710483940330 90-MXBJ70-A0UAYZ X670E PG Lightning 4710483940347 90-MXBJ60-A0UAYZ -
If you'd like to read a few hints and tips to help strengthen your daily Wordle game then you'll find all of those and more on this very page. Those in need of the answer to the September 9 (447) Wordle are just a short scroll away from today's solution.
After yesterday's mostly self-made struggles I vowed to type in the first thing that popped into my head as soon as I saw a few green letters. The idea being to avoid the overthinking that sees me grasping at complicated straws when the obvious is right in front of me. Happily, I was rewarded with a nice early win for my efforts.
Wordle hint
Today's Wordle: A hint for Friday, September 9
Unified ideas are the key to finding today's answer—you're looking for the general subject of a particular work, the underlying train of thought in a book or a film. In a soundtrack this word is used to describe a particular character or place's recurring tune, the piece of music used to represent them. There's just one vowel today, although it's used twice.
Wordle help: 3 tips for beating Wordle every day
If there's one thing better than playing Wordle, it's playing Wordle well, which is why I'm going to share a few quick tips to help set you on the path to success:
- A good opener contains a balanced mix of unique vowels and consonants.
- A tactical second guess helps to narrow down the pool of letters quickly.
- The solution may contain repeat letters.
There's no time pressure beyond making sure it's done by midnight. So there's no reason to not treat the game like a casual newspaper crossword and come back to it later if you're coming up blank.
Wordle answer
(Image credit: Josh Wardle)
What is the Wordle 447 answer?
Those greens don't always show up in time, do they? The answer to the September 9 (447) Wordle is THEME.
Previous answers
Wordle archive: Which words have been used
The more past Wordle answers you can cram into your memory banks, the better your chances of guessing today's Wordle answer without accidentally picking a solution that's already been used. Past Wordle answers can also give you some excellent ideas for fun starting words that keep your daily puzzle solving fresh.
Here are some recent Wordle solutions:
- September 8: CLASS
- September 7: LEERY
- September 6: TAUNT
- September 5: WHOOP
- September 4: INTER
- September 3: GULLY
- September 2: CHARM
- September 1: FUNGI
- August 31: PRIZE
- August 30: ONSET
Learn more about Wordle
Every day Wordle presents you with six rows of five boxes, and it's up to you to work out which secret five-letter word is hiding inside them.
You'll want to start with a strong word like ALERT—something containing multiple vowels, common consonants, and no repeat letters. Hit Enter and the boxes will show you which letters you've got right or wrong. If a box turns
️, it means that letter isn't in the secret word at all. 
means the letter is in the word, but not in that position. 
means you've got the right letter in the right spot.You'll want your second go to compliment the first, using another "good" word to cover any common letters you missed last time while also trying to avoid any letter you now know for a fact isn't present in today's answer.
After that it's just a case of using what you've learned to narrow your guesses down to the right word. You have six tries in total and can only use real words (so no filling the boxes with EEEEE to see if there's an E). Don't forget letters can repeat too (ex: BOOKS).
If you need any further advice feel free to check out our Wordle tips, and if you'd like to find out which words have already been used you'll find those below.
Originally, Wordle was dreamed up by software engineer Josh Wardle, as a surprise for his partner who loves word games. From there it spread to his family, and finally got released to the public. The word puzzle game has since inspired tons of games like Wordle, refocusing the daily gimmick around music or math or geography. It wasn't long before Wordle became so popular it was sold to the New York Times for seven figures. Surely it's only a matter of time before we all solely communicate in tricolor boxes.
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Morrowind may be Bethesda's weirdest RPG, but after replaying it a couple of times that alien landscape starts to feel familiar and kind of ordinary. One way to restore its outlandishness is with the total overhaul Morrowind Rebirth, which solo modder Johan Rosen has been plugging away at for over a decade, releasing version 6.0 this month.
Morrowind Rebirth refreshes Morrowind, adding new buildings and NPCs to its settlements, creatures to its wilderness, graphical improvements, extra equipment and music, and generally just more of everything. It's compatible with open-source Morrowind engine replacement OpenMW too.
Version 6.0 includes various landscape changes and improvements, adjusted lighting in the Deadlands to make it "more ominous", multiple expanded interiors, extra weapons and armor including orcish weapons and throwing darts, new trading cards that depict the local saints, and way more. Dozens of textures have been upscaled or updated, and new textures added for objects from Imperial rugs to the Netch Herders' Book of Jokes. Liches have been buffed and now drop greater soul gems, and in a nice change, dead NPCs will no longer despawn if they're carrying valuable items. Those are just some of the changes, which you can see in full on Mod DB.
There's a fancy release trailer for version 6.0, taking in various locations across Vvardenfell as well as some battles with dark elves, clannfear, and skeletons. The trailer was recorded with other mods installed as well, all of which are listed in its description, so if you want your Morrowind to look that foggy and its grass that lush, you'll also need to download Vapourmist and Aesthesia Groundcover for starters.
Morrowind Rebirth 6.0 can be downloaded from either Mod DB or NexusMods. You'll want to grab the Morrowind Code Patch as well, which it's dependent on. Be aware that Morrowind Rebirth conflicts with the RPG's other main overhaul option, Tamriel Rebuilt, so you're better off going with one or the other rather than trying to merge the two into some unholy beast.
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Wi-Fi 6 and particularly 6E products are still finding their feet in the consumer market, but wait! Here comes Wi-Fi 7. Intel and Broadcom recently held a demonstration of Wi-Fi 7 (also known as 802.11be) showing functional interoperability between an Intel laptop and a Broadcom access point. Speeds of 5Gbps were shown. Despite not being officially certified, it shows that development of Wi-Fi 7 is at an advanced stage.
Wi-Fi 7 is being developed as the next generation of wireless networking. It’s faster as you’d expect, delivering speed increases of five times that of Wi-Fi 6 or 2.5 times that of Wi-Fi 6E, and probably more than that as the ecosystem matures.
The demonstration was short and simple, consisting of little more than Wi-Fi 6, 6E and 7 laptops connected to an access point with three software speed dials. It’s hard to get too excited about that, but assuming the data was accurate, Wi-Fi 7 is looking good. As bandwidth demands increase, with ever more connected devices and faster internet connections, Wi-Fi technology has to keep up.
But Wi-Fi 7 isn’t just about raw speed. It's designed to better handle multiple simultaneous connections thanks to its use of the 6GHz band with a wider 320MHz channel width. There’s also MLO, or Multi-Link Operation, which dynamically assigns different channels and frequencies to deliver better performance with lower latency and less interference.
(Image credit: Wi-Fi Alliance )Intel and Broadcom spoke about how Wi-Fi 7 is well placed to deliver untethered AR and VR services thanks to its lower latency and ability to deliver multiple high-resolution video streams simultaneously across the network. Lower latency is something that gamers can take advantage of too: any gamer that’s been frustrated by poor performing crowded or congested networks should be happy with what Wi-Fi 7 has to offer.
Wi-Fi 7 is expected to be certified in 2023, though products with a draft specification are sure to land by mid-2023, if not sooner. Intel and Broadcom stated that fully certified Wi-Fi 7 products are likely to appear on shelves in the second half of 2023. As expected, Wi-Fi 7 products will remain back compatible with current Wi-Fi standards.
Cut the cord...(Image credit: Steelseries)Best wireless gaming mouse: ideal cable-free rodents
Best wireless gaming keyboard: no wires, no worries
Best wireless gaming headset: top untethered audioBut will Wi-Fi 7 become relevant in 2023 or even 2024? Wi-Fi 6E routers are still few in number despite 6E NICs being available for some time. I guess it’s a case of the chicken and the egg. With that in mind, high end motherboards, laptops and smartphones will likely be the first Wi-Fi 7 equipped devices, with routers and access points to follow afterwards.
Though it was just a demo, the fact that Intel and Broadcom products are working together this far out from an official launch bodes well for the future of wireless networking. I for one will be happy to cut the cord.
While we all wait for Wi-Fi 7, take a look at our best gaming router Wi-Fi router picks.
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Need to know
What is it? A 3D platformer with Pikmin-ish flavor.
Expect to pay: $25/£19.50
Release date: Out now
Developer: Splashteam
Publisher: tinyBuild
Reviewed on: Intel i7 8700K, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
Multiplayer? No
Link: Official siteLet me get the disappointment out of the way first. In Tinykin, you play a teensy interstellar traveler who commands a legion of microscopic minions to navigate an oversized environment, and yet it's not the PC-compatible Pikmin that I was hoping for. Take a deep breath with me. If we do our mourning now, we can appreciate Tinykin for what it is: a delightful, laidback platformer romp through a world lovingly rendered from a bug's-eye view.
You play as Milodane, a researcher from a distant planet so far in the future that its human populace doesn't remember where they came from. When Milo activates an experimental transporter to chase his hypothesis about humanity's interstellar origins, his teleportation tech doesn't just strand him on another world—it shrinks him to miniature scale, too. Milo awakens in the House, an abandoned '90s-era home populated by an insect society that remembers the House's original owner as an absent deity, and the Tinykin, a race of enigmatic gremlins who uniquely respond to Milo’s commands. As Milo, your goal's a simple one: using your Tinykin, gather six components from the House's bug societies, and reassemble a machine to teleport home.
(Image credit: tinyBuild)Tinykin's inspirations are clear from the first moment a dozen of your color-coded comrades are ordered into place with a familiar whistle, marching along to their own synchronized "hut-hut-hut" grunts as they heave an oversized object. But mechanically the similarities are short-lived. Where Pikmin is a remixed RTS, Tinykin is a 3D platformer more in line with something like Banjo-Kazooie, with an even more easygoing vibe.
Yes, you're flinging Tinykin by the dozen to solve all your problems. But there's no real decision-making involved, because there's no way to use them incorrectly. There's a finite number required in each area. You can't waste or endanger them or accidentally drown a whole squad and feel terrible about yourself for a week. In Tinykin, the Tinykin are surprisingly inconsequential.
At first it surprised me how little thought they demanded: the only logic involved is whether or not you currently have enough Tinykin to handle the obstacle immediately in front of you. If yes, then just throw the necessary number of bomb Tinykin until the thing explodes. If no, then just run around and pop a handful of purple eggs until you can carry that corncob. Where Pikmin has you considering when, where, and how to invest your forces, Tinykin only expects you to passively gather them while you scamper around.
If I was reading this, I'd expect this to bother me. But luckily, Milo himself feels great enough to move around that I ended up happy with the place my Tinykin occupied: facilitating my movement through the House, rather than being my only way to engage with it. While Milo's movement toolkit isn't terribly deep, it feels excellent to pilot. He's got a limited-time bubble glider for floating across gaps. In place of a sprint button you're given immediate access to a "soapboard" to skate and grind across the House's solid surfaces—and crucially, it has an endlessly spammable kickflip button.
(Image credit: tinyBuild)Whether you're platforming or hurling Tinykin, Milo's actions are all snappy and responsive. Jumping, running, and deploying his bubble glider are all blessedly free from the kind of fumbling that's all too common in platforming elsewhere. I had no stumbling over inexplicable geometry collisions, no missed jumps that I was convinced I'd make. Movement in Tinykin feels clean and satisfying, without any frustrations to make moving through its jumbo-shrunken world anything less than a pleasure.
And that's great, because the House is the real star of Tinykin, more than the titular creatures themselves. Its rooms are homes to different sections of bug society, each making up a self-contained level with its own theme and atmosphere. In the den, reverent shieldbugs have erected a cardboard cathedral. The bathroom, meanwhile, has been converted into a perpetual silverfish nightclub. Tinykin's environmental artists get incredible mileage from the simple joy of seeing oversized household objects rearranged into insect-scale architecture and geography. And there's not a spider to be seen. Arachnophobes rejoice.
(Image credit: tinyBuild)From the fields splayed out across the greenbacked-sponges of the kitchen-floor farmland, to the thumbtack furniture in the food-tin apartment blocks, Tinykin is dense with delightful visual details. To me, these were the main reward for navigating all its nooks and crannies. Which is good, because frankly, none of the actual collectibles that you gather while moving through Tinykin's rooms were very strong motivators.
Clumps of pollen litter the House's landscape, earning increased duration for your bubble glider if you collect enough in a given room. But meeting that threshold was kind of automatic, achieved easily enough by absentmindedly nabbing nearby clumps while gathering my obligatory Tinykin horde in each area. Meanwhile, collectible lore objects didn't tantalize, because the core mystery surrounding the House and how it relates to Milo's research was one I could handwave an explanation for easily enough. Despite that, there was still excitement when I glimpsed a distant egg or glimmer of pollen—not for the collectible itself, but for what I'd see on the way.
(Image credit: tinyBuild)The fiction of this little world left me even less invested in my Tinykin than the mechanics did—in dozens of interactions with bug NPCs, maybe 10 ever had anything to say about them or my uncanny ability to direct them. Neither they nor Milo carried enough charisma to feel integral to the experience, leaving me wondering why, instead of a vaguely Harry Potterish space dweebus, I wasn't a cool ladybug or something. A cool ladybug with infinite kickflips. The writing, in general, doesn't land many hits. When its stratified bug society isn't clumsily dabbling in intro-level political theory, it's a vehicle for cookie cutter referential humor. I'm sad to report that we're still apparently doing "the cake is a lie" jokes in 2022.
But even after making me be a space dweebus, Tinykin delivers the inherent childlike glee of clambering over a small thing that's suddenly very big. That was clearly the goal, and Tinykin doesn’t overstretch its ambitions. It's a joyful, laidback six-or-so hours of platforming in a vibrant little world. No more, no less.
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One of the best new cards in Dominaria United is actually an old one. It's the return of Liliana Vess, the dark lady of Magic: The Gathering. A healer-turned-necromancer who wears a cursed veil, makes deals with demons, and looks like she knows all the lyrics to Nemesis by Shriekback, Liliana Vess is so goth she shits bats. I mean, her name's an anagram of "a villainess" for goodness' sake.
Liliana has appeared in various guises on different Magic cards over the years, recently cameoing in the university-themed Strixhaven set as a professor of death magic. The Innistrad set introduced a particularly memorable incarnation of her in 2011, and it's this that Dominaria United reprints: Liliana of the Veil, a planeswalker who makes players sacrifice creatures in play and discard cards from their hand. She takes away a summon you've played, then reduces the chance you'll be able to replace it. Which is just mean.
Back in 2011 there weren't many ways to counter Liliana of the Veil. Now there are more options, like Loxodon Smiter in Pioneer format (a big elephant who pops directly onto the battlefield for free if you're forced to discard it), and Tenacious Underdog in Standard (who bounces back out of your graveyard like it's a trampoline), but Liliana is still a solid choice today.
She's been reprinted in the Dominaria United set to fit with its overall retro theme. As part of a celebration of Magic's 30th anniversary it returns to the setting's original plane, and is jam-packed with legendaries. If you open a Collector booster pack there's even a slim chance you might even get a valuable card from 1994's Legends expansion, as some of these ancient cards have been slipped in like Willy Wonka's golden tickets after being discovered in forgotten cases in a closing warehouse.
It's not as powerful a theme as the sets based on twisted fairytales, urban fantasy, cyberpunk Japan, or what if Harry Potter didn't suck, but in my mind Dominaria United's actual theme is "let's make black cards that 'frelling' rule".
Look at Sheoldred of the Apocalypse, a 4/5 legendary who gives you two life whenever you draw a card, and takes two life from opponents when they draw. Evolved Sleeper starts as a one-mana throwaway then powers up as you pump more mana into it, staying relevant in later turns, and several cards interact with your graveyard in fun ways. Urborg Repossession lets you revive creatures back into your hand, and Writhing Necromass is a 5/5 bomb with deathtouch that costs one point less for every creature in your graveyard.
Image 1 of 6(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 2 of 6(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 3 of 6(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 4 of 6(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 5 of 6(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 6 of 6(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)I won a couple of games at a Jumpstart event this week by playing Writhing Necromass early, its cost made cheaper thanks to the pile of dead I'd built up in the early turns—though to give another color its due I survived to that point thanks to the white half of my deck. I guess it's not all about black. Dominaria United gives white plenty of cards with enlist, and a killer Defender called Wingmantle Chaplain I've already had to face a deck built around in Arena. It summons a 1/1 bird for every other Defender you have or play, so my opponent strung together Shield-Wall Sentinels—Defenders that let you search your deck for another Defender to put in your hand when you play them—using each one to find another, growing their bird army at the same time.
Meanwhile, red gets a boost if you're big into goblins—which you obviously should be—thanks to Rundvelt Hordemaster, which gives +1/+1 to other gobbos and a chance to play another goblin when one dies, and Squee, Dubious Monarch, who creates free goblins on attacking. Red also gets Phoenix Chick, one of plenty of flying creatures in Dominaria United—across all colors, not just white who usually gets the lion's share—that has haste and can return from the graveyard with +1/+1. The Phoenix Chick's main advantage may actually be how cute it is, which made me feel real guilty when I cut it down by casting Cut Down in a face-to-face game.
Image 1 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 2 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 3 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 4 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 5 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 6 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 7 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 8 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 9 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 10 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 11 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 12 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 13 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 14 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 15 of 15(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Green's best new cards seem to be ones that pair well with other colors thanks to the Domain keyword, which gives increasing bonuses based on how many different kinds of land you have. Herd Migration gives you a 3/3 beast for each land type, Nishoba Brawler has a power equal to your number of different land types, and Sunbathing Rootwalla which looks like a frill-necked lizard and I hope runs like one, can spend four mana to temporarily get +1/+1 per land type.
As for blue, nobody cares because it's full of annoying counters and interrupts and only played by cowards and reprobates (pay no attention to the multiple copies of Negate and the new Ertai Resurrected in my deck). Actually, blue does get to make interesting use of the new keyword Kicker, which adds effects for extra mana cost. Timely Interference, which gives a creature -1 power, can be kicked to additionally force the weakened creature to block, while Protect the Negotiators counters a spell unless the caster pays extra mana for each creature you control, and can be kicked to give you a 1/1 soldier first, increasing the cost the other player has to pay. Classic blue card shenanigans, but I respect it.
(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Early in a new set's life sometimes mono-color decks rise to the top as players slowly add to their collections and unlock the best combos and counters. For instance, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, a kind of Cenobite centipede woman with a million legs, can be taken right off the board with a simple Citizen's Arrest. (If you're having trouble imagining what that would look like, the excellent Twitter account MTG flavor judge drawings has done the hard work.)
There's a lot of potential for things to be shaken up, once somebody figures out a ridiculous interaction involving some of the new cards like Serra Paragon (a white angel who lets you play land or spells that cost 3 or less from your graveyard), or Silverback Elder (a green ape shaman who lets you choose between destroying an artifact/enchantment, playing a land if there's one in the top five cards of your library, or gaining 4 life, every single time you summon another creature).
Right now it's time for mono-black to rule, a dark lord on a dark throne. Enjoy this moment while it lasts, swamp-dwellers and death wizards. They'll be coming for your collections of Sisters of Mercy on vinyl soon enough.
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In addition to the big changes to Cyberpunk 2077 like transmog, plans to overhaul police, and an upcoming expansion pack, CD Projekt Red has also introduced official modding tools to the game. The REDmod tool is available for download on Steam and CDPR's website, and is required both to make and play a new category of mod.
According to both NexusMods and CDPR itself, REDmod can be used alongside previously existing mod formats. That's crucial, as NexusMods has already played host to a pretty extensive modding community in the two years since Cyberpunk 2077's release. CDPR seems eager to ingratiate itself with this pre-existing community, encouraging users to upload REDmod creations to NexusMods, and recommending that they use the tool with the pre-existing WolvenKit open-source editor for The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077.
I've already had my eyes on a couple of QoL fixes on the Nexus for my next playthrough, but REDmod seems like it could allow for even more substantive additions to the game, as it supports "custom sounds, animations, scripts, and more." If nothing else, the increased ease-of-use could help attract attention and talent for the Cyberpunk 2077 mod community.
REDmod offers full documentation, a plugin for the popular 3D modeling software Blender, and an even easier way for users to install and organize their mods (only for new REDmod projects though—old ones still have to be installed the old fashioned way.)
I've had a soft spot for CDPR's controversial take on the dark future, and the release of REDmod and the Edgerunners Update makes it feel like a good time to hop in ahead of the hopefully Hearts of Stone-or-better level expansion pack, Phantom Liberty. I'd like to see what a few years of polish has done for what's a surprisingly great collection of sci-fi short stories, flaws and all.
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The best PC case is the place your hardware calls home. It's the platform for your ultimate gaming rig and a showpiece at the same time. Besides looks, a PC case needs to have the room for modern components and make upgrading or maintenance on it easy. There are a ton of options at different prices; some keep the look modest and others make it scream with loads of RGB lights.
Your choice of PC case will also dicate what can go inside. If you want multi-loop liquid cooling, and the biggest GPUs on the planet, then you're best bet is a full-tower chassis. But if you're looking for a small scale build then the best mini-ITX cases will be what you covet.
The best PC case will make the building process a simple one, while a bad case is one that limits your expandability options, or makes it super difficult to build your machine into. If building a PC seems a little out of your comfort zone in general, you can always go with a prebuilt gaming PC, and skip the stress of building your own.
Before you fork out on the best PC case ever, there are a couple of things you should consider first. How big is your graphics card? What motherboard are you going with? How many drive bays do you need? Figure out what's going into the case before you buy it, so you're sure everything will fit. Here are the best cases we've tested this year, after building them up and down and, of course, checking them for fire hazards.
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Cooler Master)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Cooler Master)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Cooler Master)1. Cooler Master Cosmos C700M
The best full-tower case for flashy builds
Form Factor: Full-tower | Motherboard Support: Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX | Dimensions: 650 x 306 x 651mm | Weight: 23.8 kg | Radiator Support: 120mm; 140mm; 240mm; 280mm; 360mm; 420mm | I/O Ports: 1x Audio/Mic, 1x Mic, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, 4x USB 3.0 | Drive Bays: 4x 2.5-inch 2, 4 (+1) x 3.5-inch
Highly customizable layoutIncluded GPU riser cableRiser cable is last-gen PCIe versionThe original Cooler Master Cosmos chassis is a classic of PC case design, and has seen many revisions over the years. The latest, the Cosmos C700M is the pinnacle of that design, taking over from the C700P, a chassis which held firm as one of our favorite full-tower cases for years.
Bigger even than the C700P, the C700M is one of Cooler Master's largest enclosures and comes with an equally hefty price tag. The premium case maintains the same handlebar design as the calssic Cosmos design, but adds a few modern touches that make it one of the most beautiful cases we've seen.
It's also dialled back the heavy tint on the side panel to more readily reveal the shiny components you've paid good money to house inside it.
We were already impressed with the tasteful RGB lighting from its predecessor but the C700M really kicks it up a notch. The lightning now features individually addressable RGB strips that form a continuous line from the back of the top panel all the way through the bottom of the case. Metallic contacts allow you to easily remove the front panel without having to worry about wires. A fresh matte design on the case's signature handlebars allow the understated lighting to really accent its curves.
The exceptional build quality and premium materials definitely go a long way towards justifying the price.
The company's signature logo is noticeably absent from the case. Instead, all that remains is a familiar hexagonal shape used as a power button. We've already seen this shift with some of Cooler Master's other cases and liquid coolers, but the C700M really seals the deal with its sleek lines and artfully crafted top ventilation.
One of the favorite things we experienced while building in the case is the fact that we were able to remove the motherboard tray and assemble a majority of our system outside of the case. Built in cable routing, cable management clips and a modular cable cover system also makes it easy to create a very clean system.
The ability to switch between a conventional layout and an inverted one is not uncommon for a high end full tower. What really sets the C700P and C700M apart from the competition is the ability to rotate the motherboard 90 degrees into what Cooler Master calls its chimney layout. This type of layout allows hot air to follow its natural trajectory and efficiently exhaust from the top of the case.
Our only complaint about these alternative motherboard configurations is the fact that it becomes quite a hassle to access the rear I/O. Depending on your desk size, you might even need extension cables for your peripherals. Regardless, the modularity and freedom to customize the C700M is totally in line with Cooler Master's "Make It Yours" philosophy that enthusiasts have come to love.
That and you'll have to buy one of Cooler Master's PCIe 4.0 riser cables as the bundled one is last-gen.
Despite the price, the exceptional build quality and premium materials definitely go a long way towards justifying the price. If money isn't an issue and you aren't interested in the behemoth that is Corsair's 1000D, Cooler Master's C700M is the ultimate high-end full tower.
Read our full Cooler Master Cosmos C700M review.
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Newegg)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Corsair)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Corsair)2. Corsair Carbide 275R
The best budget PC case
Form Factor: Mid-tower | Motherboard Support: ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX | Dimensions: 18.1 x 8.3 x 17.9-inches (460 x 211 x 455mm) | Weight: 22.4lb (10.14kg) | Radiator Support: 120mm; 140mm; 240mm; 280mm; 360mm | I/O Ports: 1x Audio/Mic, 2x USB 3.0 | Drive Bays: 3x 2.5-inch, 2x 3.5-inch
Minimal brandingFull-length dust filtersGreat cooling supportThermal PerformanceOne of Corsair's best cases, the Carbide 275R, might be the ultimate minimalist's case. Aside from a small "sail" logo on the front panel, the 275R ditches additional branding for the sake of a clean design for the style-obsessed. While the design may be minimal, the functionality isn't.
Unlike NZXT's similarly minimal S340, the Carbide 275R can support a 360mm radiator in the front and up to six 120mm fans. With a modest $80 price tag, the 275R is a good case for beginners and advanced users looking to create a sleek custom loop.
It's the chassis we've picked for our own mainstream testing rig, and is a delight to build into; giving you a lot of space to create a gaming machine without being a burden on your budget.
For a more budget-focused chassis, however, it's still a good-looking one. The tempered glass side panel and smart cable tidying, and PSU shroud, all give it the feel of a PC case of far greater expense. The rounded frontage gives is a softer look compared to the more angular, super-boxy cheaper alternatives, and it won't look like you've skimped on your system.
And, with white and black options, as well as cheaper options with acrylic side panels, the Carbide 275R gives a price-conscious PC builder a lot of choice.
While it's not the sort of throwaway money you might spend on a PC case if all you want is the cheapest chassis to allow you to spend every last cent on your component list, the Carbide 275R is the most well-featured, well-built, good-looking PC case that doesn't cost the earth.
Image 1 of 6(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 6(Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 6(Image credit: Future)Image 4 of 6(Image credit: Future)Image 5 of 6(Image credit: Future)Image 6 of 6(Image credit: Future)3. NZXT H1 V2
The best mini-ITX chassis
Motherboard support: Mini-ITX | Dimensions: 405 x 196 x 196 mm | Weight: 7.6 kg | GPU clearance: 324 x 58 mm | Memory clearance: 46 mm | Front I/O: 2x USB 3.2 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Type-C, 3.5 mm audio jack | PSU: 750W SFX 80 Plus Gold included | Cooling: 140 mm AIO CPU cooler, 92 mm rear fan | Riser cable: PCIe 4.0 x16 | Warranty: 3 years (case, riser card, AIO), 10 years (PSU)
Great to build intoExtra coolingRouted cabling is a blessingDoesn't support tall RAM modulesLarge initial outlay despite added cooling and PSUI was a big fan of the original NZXT H1 mini-ITX chassis when it first came out. But then, mine never caught fire, which is a good thing because I've been using it as the basis for my office work machine ever since. My boss would not have been pleased if I'd burned down the PC Gamer offices because of a faulty PCIe riser cable.
Aside from that specific riser problem, the H1 was a fantastic package to build a wee peecee into. And so is this recently updated version, too. On the face of it, this H1 V2 looks identical and you'd be forgiven for thinking it was just a new release of the same case with an even more non-burn-y PCIe riser cable for your GPU. But NZXT has actually done a lot to improve the overall design, even though it does make for a more expensive, slightly larger and heavier mini-ITX case.
The real beauty of the H1 is that it includes both a powerful PSU and a liquid CPU cooler, so the really awkward bits of a mini-ITX build are taken care of. If you've ever built a small form factor PC you will understand the pain of trying to route a million, unnecessarily long PSU cables around the motherboard, graphics card, and everything else. Then trying to mount a capable-enough cooler into the limited confines of a mini-ITX case… well, that's a task in itself.
NZXT helps the build process with clear labelling within and without the chassis.
A note of warning, however, and that is the clearance between the radiator fan and the top of your memory isn't huge. It is another 1mm higher than the original, but with just 46mm as your maximum memory height some DIMMs are simply going to be too big. Our Corsair Dominator DDR5 sticks we've used in our Alder Lake test rig, and the mini-ITX B660, proved just too tall to close the case.
NZXT helps the build process with clear labelling within and without the chassis. I had issues actually getting into the tool-less design of the first H1, but it ships with labelling on the outside explaining how to gain access. And inside there are tags and stickers indicating what goes where, and how to shift things around to gain access to the motherboard tray, for example.
In all, NZXT has made many welcome improvements to what was already a very good mini-ITX chassis design—well-documented riser issues aside. I get that the $400 price tag will sting for a lot of people, but 750W SFX power supplies don't come cheap, and nor do AIO coolers that would squeeze into something so relatively small.
Read our full NZXT H1 V2 review.
Image 1 of 4(Image credit: Phanteks)Image 2 of 4(Image credit: Phanteks)Image 3 of 4(Image credit: Phanteks)Image 4 of 4(Image credit: Phanteks)4. Phanteks Evolv X
The best mid-tower case to build two systems in
Form factor: Mid-tower | Motherboard Support: E-ATX, ATX, M-ATX, mini-ITX | Dimensions: 20.5 x 9.5 x 20.1-inches (240 x 520 x 510mm) | Weight: 33lb (15kg) | Radiator Support: 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, 360mm, 420mm | I/O Ports: 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x headphone, 1x microphone | Drive bays: 6x 2.5-inch, 4x 3.5-inch
Supports dual-system buildsSpacious well-designed interiorGreat cable managementMediocre ThermalsPriceyPhanteks has made some incredible cases over the years, but the Evolv X stands out as an excellent chassis for anyone looking to build a mid-tower PC with a little something extra. That extra being the ability to slide two systems into its pleasing form—there's room for an ITX system in the top to go above the main ATX system. It's a bit of a squeeze for sure, but it is possible.
If your demands aren't quite so 'out there', then you'll find it roomy to build in, and there are enough neat little touches and funky design choices to cover almost any build you have in mind. There's space for all-in-one liquid coolers in the top (up to 360mm) and front (up to 420mm); it comes with a universal fan hub, three Phanteks Premium 120mm fans, and has cable-hiding flaps in the rear so that it looks good whichever side you look at. You can slide a frankly ridiculous amount of storage into it as well.
Best CPU for gaming | Best graphics card | Best gaming motherboards
Best SSD for gaming | Best DDR4 RAM | Best gaming monitorsImage 1 of 10(Image credit: Corsair)Image 2 of 10(Image credit: Corsair)Image 3 of 10(Image credit: Future)Image 4 of 10(Image credit: Future)Image 5 of 10(Image credit: Future)Image 6 of 10(Image credit: Future)Image 7 of 10(Image credit: Future)Image 8 of 10(Image credit: Future)Image 9 of 10(Image credit: Future)Image 10 of 10(Image credit: Future)5. Corsair iCUE 5000T RGB
The best PC case for RGB fanatics
Form Factor: Mid-tower | Motherboard Support: Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX | Dimensions: 530 x 251 x 560mm | Weight: 14.53kg | Radiator Support: 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, 360mm | I/O Ports: USB 3.0 x4, USB 3.1 Type-C x1, 3.5mm | Drive Bays: 4x 2.5-inch, 2x 3.5mm
Quality is off the chainRGB lighting looks greatRGB fans includedLots of options for coolingYou don't have to worry if your cat sits on top of itExpensiveRequires iCUE to operate at its bestDefault fan curves are unnecessarily aggressiveNo rear fan in the boxThis PC case runs the risk of pulling the attention away from your precious components. You might have the flashiest GPU going, or even RAM sticks emblazoned with gems, but the first thing anyone is going to look at when they see your PC is all that RGB lighting.
There are tons of LED RGBs in the Corsair 5000T, the company's loaded more of them into this one case than any before. There are six RGB strips around the exterior of the case, and the three LL120 fans will light up all colors of the rainbow if you so wish. All of which is controlled via the Commander Core XT and the iCUE software.
For my testing, I settled for a triple-fan radiator in a pull configuration up top and the three included LL120 fans located in the front, as they were out of the box. To keep that airflow whizzing past my PC components, I also opted for a 120mm fan on the rear. That's actually one of the few setbacks with this case: there's no rear fan included. It's no big deal if you're swapping over your build from another, as I was, but since I was sent the white model, the black rear fan from an old NZXT build isn't quite as in keeping with the aesthetic as I'd like.
This cooling configuration is really effective.
Though this cooling configuration is really effective. A triple-fan all-in-one was always going to keep my AMD Ryzen 7 5800X in good check, but the RX 6900 XT loaded into this PC can get a little toasty without some help. The three LL120 fans on the balanced preset provide plenty of that.
A 30-minute run of the Heaven benchmark offers a good idea of what sort of cooling potential we're looking at here under gaming conditions. The results are a pretty level 81°C under load for the duration of the test, which is a comfortable baseline for temperature in my books.
Corsair's default fan curve via the Commander Core XT is pretty aggressive. My CPU can fairly regularly bounce up to 60°C or more, and with the default fan curve set that would see the fans regularly spring to action at rather mundane times during the day. To fix this, and lessen the din these fans produce, I had to hop into iCUE to create a custom fan curve.
If you're not a fan of iCUE or don't want to use any such software on your machine, the 5000T probably isn't the case for you. This is a case that's pretty much dependent on its software. The RGB LED strips, fan lighting, and fan speeds are all adjusted via the Commander Core XT, and that's plugged right into the iCUE software as first port of call.
Still, thing is beautifully crafted from steel, plastic, and tempered glass, and while that means it's pretty heavy, it's a real statement PC case for a high-end PC build. You could definitely go more compact for your PC, but you'll not find many as well-made as this.
Read our full Corsair iCUE 5000T RGB review.
Image 1 of 4(Image credit: Cooler Master)Image 2 of 4(Image credit: Cooler Master)Image 3 of 4(Image credit: Cooler Master)Image 4 of 4(Image credit: Cooler Master)6. Cooler Master Silencio S600
The best silent PC case
Form Factor: Mid-tower | Motherboard Support: ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX | Dimensions: 18.8 x 8.2 x 18.5-inches (478 x 209 x 471mm) | Weight: 21.4lb (9.7kg) | Radiator Support: 120mm, 240mm, 280mm, 360mm | I/O Ports: 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x 3.5mm Headset Jack (Audio+Mic), 1x SD card reader | Drive Bays: 1x 5.25-inch, 5x 2.5-inch, 4x 3.5-inch
Windowed or enclosed options availableQuality sound dampening materialHeavyThin internal panelingIf you’re the type of gamer that requires total concentration, a quiet PC case can be critical. Once your PC starts heating up and fans begin blowing at full force, your once-silent PC can quickly turn into something that resembles a roaring jet engine. It’s times like these when a silent PC case can come in handy, and nothing does the job quite like Cooler Master’s Silencio series.
The Silencio S600 mid tower looks simple on the outside, but the interior is filled with intelligent engineering and high-quality sound dampening materials to help drown any unnecessary noise. Usually, this comes with a severe compromise for airflow, but the S600 does a pretty decent job of moving air and keeping things cool despite its silent properties.
Image 1 of 4(Image credit: newegg)Image 2 of 4(Image credit: Newegg)Image 3 of 4(Image credit: Newegg)Image 4 of 4(Image credit: Newegg)7. Corsair Obsidian 1000D
The best high-end PC case
Form Factor: Super-tower | Motherboard Support: E-ATX, ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX | Dimensions: 27.4 x 12.1 x 27.3-inches (697 x 307 x 693mm) | Weight: 65lb (29.5kg) | Radiator Support: 120mm; 140mm; 240mm; 280mm; 360mm; 420mm; 480mm | I/O Ports: 1x Audio/Mic, 4x USB 3.0, 2x USB 3.1 Type-C | Drive Bays: 6x 2.5-inch, 5x 3.5-inch
Supports just about any crazy buildCan house an E-ATX and Mini-ITX build at the same timeSupports dual 480mm front radiatorsHumungousSeriously priceySpeaking of roomy builds, the Corsair Obsidian Series 1000D is a behemoth of a PC case ready to house the biggest and baddest systems. Standing tall at a staggering 27.3-inches, this "super-tower" features enough space to house 18 fans and up to four massive radiators installed simultaneously.
The 1000D features a unique triple-chamber design with convenient french-door-styled storage compartments and telescoping radiator trays for easy installation in addition to the stellar cooling support. Because it is 2022, of course, there is also an RGB lit front panel I/O with built-in smart lighting and fan control courtesy of Corsair's integrated Commander Pro controller. The Obsidian 900D has long been a top choice for massive, over-the-top builds, and it only fits that the 1000D was designed to knock it off its throne.
Image 1 of 2(Image credit: Newegg)Image 2 of 2(Image credit: Newegg)8. be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900
The best case for modders
Form Factor: Full-tower | Motherboard Support: E-ATX, ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX | Dimensions: 22.7 x 9.6 x 23.1-inches (577 x 243 x 586mm) | Weight: 31.7lb (14.4kg) | Radiator Support: 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, 360mm, 420mm | I/O Ports: 1x Audio/Mic, 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C, Qi Wireless Charger | Drive Bays: 10 x 2.5-inch, 5x 3.5-inch
Highly modularWireless Qi chargerExtensive cooling supportWeird power supply locationOn the pricey sideInitially known for its silent power supplies and fans, be quiet! entered the case market with a big splash and has done quite well in a short period since its first case launch in 2014. One of its more recent cases, the Dark Base Pro 900, remains one of our highly recommended full towers thanks to its sleek design and enthusiast-friendly interior.
The Dark Base Pro 900 is large enough to support the biggest motherboards and radiators up to 420mm in size. The case also features total modularity with options for an inverted motherboard layout and even some nifty features like wireless Qi charging and preinstalled LED lighting.
Image 1 of 4(Image credit: Newegg)Image 2 of 4(Image credit: Newegg)Image 3 of 4(Image credit: Newegg)Image 4 of 4(Image credit: Newegg)9. Lian-Li PC-011 Dynamic
The best case for Razer cultists and liquid loops
Form factor: Mid-tower | Motherboard Support: E-ATX, ATX, M-ATX, mini-ITX | Dimensions: 17.6 x 10.7 x 17.5-inches (446 x 272 x 445mm) | Weight: 21.4lb (9.7kg) | Radiator Support: 120mm, 240mm, 280mm, 360mm | I/O Ports: 2x USB 3.0, 2x HD audio, 1x USB 3.1 Type-C | Drive bays: 6x 2.5-inch, 3x 3.5-inch
Synapse 3-compatible lightingPlenty of headroom for upgradesNo FansYour next upgrade(Image credit: Future)Best CPU for gaming: the top chips from Intel and AMD
Best graphics card: your perfect pixel-pusher awaits
Best SSD for gaming: get into the game ahead of the restThe worst thing about the Lian-Li PC-011 Dynamic is that its instruction manual is incomprehensible. However, if you already know how to build a PC, piecing it together shouldn't prove too difficult.
For the most part, it's a standard tempered glass mid-tower case with a few bells and whistles to make it all worth the enduring trial and error of the PC building experience. For one, it has three removable panels—one on the front and one on each side. Naturally, this makes for an easy installation. Incorporating a liquid cooler in its exposed ceiling area is an effortless undertaking.
The best PC case FAQ
Will a micro-ATX motherboard fit inside a mid tower case?
It certainly will. The spacing of the mounting holes on an micro-ATX board match those found on an ATX board, there are just fewer of them. Mounting a micro-ATX into a mid tower case in place of an ATX is totally doable.
How do I know what size computer case I need?
The key question here is, how big is your motherboard? A full-size PC case supports the giant E-ATX boards but will take up a ton of space under or on your desk. Small form factor cases like the NZXT H200i can only accommodate Mini-ITX boards and are restrictive for other big GPUs components. Mid-tower PC cases are a more common choice that supports all ATX and a handful of E-ATX boards. Size does indeed matter, after all.
Once you've decided on the case size, the fun part happens next. You can consider dozens of features and options like I/O ports, cooling configurations, windows, airflow, and lighting, and that's to get started.
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The best curved monitors take your favorite games and completely cover your view. The benefit of a curved monitor over a flat one is the ability to wrap you in an immersive experience. They also have the benefit of making large monitors easier to see. Curved monitors don't all have the extremely obvious bends in them, you can get one with a subtle curve too. I picked out the best curved monitors that are not only built to supplement serious gaming, but can even do it with high refresh rates for fast-paced experiences.
Ultrawide displays like the Alienware 34 QD-OLED or Acer Predator X38 need one of the best graphics cards to play at resolutions like 3440 x 1440 comfortably. Matching the monitor's high refresh rate with high frame rates is how you'll ensure your money's well spent, and only a powerful GPU will get you there.
You don't need to spend over $2,000 on a decent curved monitor either; gamers on a budget might consider something smaller than an ultrawide beastie, such as the Dell S3220DGF or Pixio PXC273. These won't break the bank, but they'll still offer a large enough panel size to provide excellent front sitting viewing angles and less image distortion, reducing eyestrain. You'd be surprised how much they deliver through specs and performance. That's as long as you don't mind omitting some pixels and other fancier features.
Below, we've rounded up the best curved monitors for gaming, having tested each one extensively. Some we even use daily in our setups. Check them out, and treat your eyeballs to some immersive, responsive gaming action for the right price.
Best curved monitors for gaming
Image 1 of 7(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 7(Image credit: Alienware, Dell)Image 3 of 7(Image credit: Alienware, Dell)Image 4 of 7(Image credit: Future)Image 5 of 7(Image credit: Future)Image 6 of 7(Image credit: Future)Image 7 of 7(Image credit: Future)1. Alienware 34 QD-OLED (AW3423DW)
The king of curved monitors
Screen size: 34-inch | Panel type: IPS | Aspect ratio: 21:9 | Curvature: 1800R | Resolution: 3440 x 1440 | Response time: 0.1 ms | Refresh rate: 175Hz | Weight: 15.26 lbs (6.92 kg) | G-Sync/FreeSync: G-Sync Ultimate
Fabulous contrast and coloursStupendous pixel responseGenuine HDR capabilityNot a great all-purpose panelLatency isn't a strong pointNo HDMI 2.1OLED has truly arrived on PC. Alienware's 34 QD-OLED is one of very few gaming monitors to receive such a stellar score from us, and it's no surprise. Dell has nailed the OLED panel in this screen and it's absolutely gorgeous for PC gaming.
What that panel can deliver in either of its HDR modes, HDR 400 True Black or HDR Peak 1000, is nothing short of exceptional. The image it produces is punchy and vibrant, but it doesn't stop there. In gaming terms, this thing is a beast, too. It's capable of delivering 175Hz refresh, on a smart-looking OLED no less, and its response time is absurdly quick at 0.1ms. It cruised through our monitor testing suite, and you really notice that speed in-game, too.
Heck, even typically underwhelming titles—in visual terms—like Call of Duty: Warzone look great thanks to the quantum dot-enhanced saturation and speedy response. The slight softening of the image that you have to put up with pretty much any LCD panel when flying around maps in online shooters and other fast-paced games simply isn’t there.
Not only is it OLED, it’s also Samsung’s hot new QD-LED tech, which combines the ideal RGB subpixel structure with quantum dot technology to produce both excellent colour saturation and an even brighter panel. Net result? Alienware is claiming both an impressive 99.3 percent coverage of the demanding DCI-P3 colour space and fully 1,000 nits brightness, albeit that brightness level can only be achieved on a small portion of the panel, not across the entire screen.
OLED is also far faster than LCD. By how much depends on how you measure things. The fastest current IPS monitors are quoted at around 1ms for grey-to-grey response. But that only measures part of the transition between colours. The full change takes much longer. By comparison, Alienware is quoting this OLED panel at 0.1ms. And that’s likely for the full transition. It’s at least an order of magnitude faster.
If all this sounds a little hyperbolic, it doesn’t actually mean that all LCD monitors are now awful. In fact, when it comes to refresh rates and therefore latency, LCD monitors with 360Hz-plus refresh are clearly quicker. Latency is traditionally a weak point for OLED, and while we didn’t sense any subjective issue with this 175Hz monitor, there’s little doubt that if your gaming fun and success hinges on having the lowest possible latency, there are faster screens available.
There's no HDMI 2.1 on this panel, however. So it's probably not the best fit for console gaming as a result. But this is PC Gamer, and if you're going to hook your PC up to a high-end gaming monitor, we recommend it be this one.
Read our full Alienware 34 QD-OLED (AW3423DW) review.
Image 1 of 4(Image credit: ACER)Image 2 of 4(Image credit: ACER)Image 3 of 4(Image credit: ACER)Image 4 of 4(Image credit: ACER)2. Acer Predator X38
Best curved monitor for immersion
Screen size: 37.5-inch | Panel type: IPS | Aspect ratio: 21:9 | Curvature: 1900R | Resolution: 3840 x 1600 | Response time: 1 ms GtG | Refresh rate: 144 Hz (175 Hz overclocked) | Weight: 34 lbs | G-Sync/FreeSync: G-Sync Ultimate
Great designVivid picture qualityLow latencyWeak HDR performanceSome edge glow in dark scenesAcer makes good gaming monitors. Some of the best. So, it's no surprise that the Acer Predator X38 made it onto the list. The Predator X38 provides high brightness (for a curved monitor) and great colors on a 38-inch IPS panel with a 3840x1600 native resolution.
What can't be understated is the X38's killer design with its built-in LEDs, speakers, and thin aluminum legs. The under-glow of the monitor's bottom-facing LEDs provides a nice ambiance to whatever you're playing as well. And first impressions are very good, too, thanks to an unusually pleasant unboxing and setting up process. I found it surprisingly light for a monster this size, at just 9.48kg – and that includes the big metal stand, which comes pre-fitted, another setup nicety.
The ultrawide aspect ratio, and 3840x1600 resolution, gives you a wide field of view, especially in shooters where expanding the battlefield could give you a strategic edge. In Doom Eternal the experience was almost overwhelming, and seeing the colours of this IPS in such a sumptuous environment was an eye candy deluxe thrill. It doesn’t quite dazzle like a Quantum Dot screen, again Samsung does slightly better with that technology across its recent gaming screens, but there’s little to complain about. At HDR 400, it’s good enough to deliver what you want in HDR effects, but it’s not dazzling like the HDR 1000 screens you can now buy, like the Asus PG43UQ.
But that also makes it extremely well suited to driving games, and while it might not have the extreme width of something like the 49-inch Samsung CRG9, its 1600 vertical res is debatably more useful than the maximum 1440 of that Samsung model, or paltry 1080 of its still-popular 49-inch predecessors.
Indeed, it’s the 1600 vertical res that makes this really shine as a gaming screen – every ultrawide monitor I’ve reviewed so far is lacking in that department and having as much tall as you do wide really opens things up both viscerally, and for better usability.
This feature-loaded gaming monitor doesn't come cheap, though. Expect to spend around $1,700 on this bad boy, but it'll be worth every penny.
Read our full Acer Predator X38 review.
Image 1 of 6(Image credit: Dell)Image 2 of 6(Image credit: Dell)Image 3 of 6(Image credit: Dell)Image 4 of 6(Image credit: Dell)Image 5 of 6(Image credit: Dell)Image 6 of 6(Image credit: Dell)3. Dell S3222DGM
A great deal on a curved gaming monitor
Screen size: 32-inch | Panel type: VA | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Curvature: 1800R | Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Response time: 1ms | Refresh rate: 165Hz | Weight: 16.4lbs | G-Sync/FreeSync: FreeSync Premium
Awesome value for moneyDecent all-round image qualityReasonably quick and responsive"Only" 1440pNo HDR supportNot terribly punchyWe'd all love to have a thousand bucks burning a hole in our back pockets to blow on a new gaming monitor. But back in the real world, the Dell S3222DGM wants a crack at the kind of budget most of us actually have.
It's a 32-inch beast with a VA panel running at up to 165Hz and delivering 2560 by 1440 pixels. Yup, the tried and tested 1440p resolution, the sweetspot for real-world gaming according to many, the perfect balance between performance and visual detail. The catch is all that normally applies to 27-inch models. 32 inches? That makes for a pretty big panel for 1440p in terms of pixel density.
Where the low pixel density hurts most is actually in Windows. If you like crisp fonts and lots of desktop real estate, this isn’t the monitor for you. For everyone else, well, it comes down to the value proposition. There are faster monitors. There are monitors with superior IPS-powered image quality. There are monitors with all kinds of HDR support not found here. And others with far more pixels or more dramatic aspect ratios.
So, how does it actually perform? Initial impressions are middling to mediocre. This isn't the brightest or punchiest panel we've ever seen, even accounting for expectations set by the modest spec list. On the other hand, there's nothing actually wrong, there's no banding, no sign of compression. It's just not immediately exciting in terms of colours and inherent visual pop.
Inject some motion into proceedings and the picture, pun intended, gets a little clearer. I find the 'extreme' overdrive setting is arguably a little overcooked, with some overshoot actually visible in-game rather than merely detectable in test images. The 'MPRT' setting is, for me, a non-starter since it crushes brightness so comprehensively. 'Super fast' it is, then, and the result is good but not absolutely great response with no overshoot. Pretty much what you’d expect given the 4ms rating for 'super fast'.
But add in the 165Hz refresh and you have a pretty convincing monitor for response-critical online shooters. To be sure, if that is your number one priority, you’d be better off with a higher-refresh 1080p IPS monitor with faster response. But if you want something for a broader remit, the Dell S3222DGM does a decent job at the low latency stuff.
But it's worth remembering that pricing for this class of display—a 32-inch 165Hz 1440p panel—extends all the way up to $800 in the Corsair Xeneon 32QHD165. So, while the Dell S3222DGM isn't all that exciting from a technical point of view, for the money, it's pretty convincing.
Read our full Dell S3222DGM review.
Image 1 of 9(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 9(Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 9(Image credit: Samsung)Image 4 of 9(Image credit: Samsung)Image 5 of 9(Image credit: Samsung)Image 6 of 9(Image credit: Samsung)Image 7 of 9(Image credit: Samsung)Image 8 of 9(Image credit: Samsung)Image 9 of 9(Image credit: Samsung)4. Samsung Odyssey G9 LC49G95T
The best ultra-curved gaming monitor money can buy
Screen size: 49-inch | Panel type: VA | Aspect ratio: 32:9 | Curvature: 1000R | Resolution: 5120 x 1440 | Response time: 1 ms GtG | Refresh rate: 240 Hz | Weight: 26.4 lbs | G-Sync/FreeSync: G-Sync Compatible, FreeSync Premium
Incredibly immersive 49-incherFantastic pixel responseGreat all-round feature setLimited local dimming zonesTakes up a lot of spaceFlawed HDREven among this grouping, the Samsung Odyssey G9 is a vaguely ridiculous offering. Completely in a just-look-at-this-thing way. Obviously, it all begins with that humungous 49-inch panel. The 5,120 by 1,440 native resolution arguably isn’t all that exciting given the size and aspect ratio, equating to an unexciting 109 pixels per inch. You'll still need a powerful graphics card to drive this thing too.
It’s the sheer scale and the outrageously tight curvature that separates the G9 from just about every other monitor. Including the 240Hz refresh, FreeSync and G-Sync support, HDR 1000 certification including a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, 2,500:1 contrast, 95% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut, and 1ms response. Quite the package. It isn't perfect, with the HDR performance being rather uninspiring—especially so given the sticker price. Still, in almost every other aspect it's golden.
Anyway, it also doesn’t hurt that the G9 looks like a million bucks from almost any angle. OK, the chassis is plastic. But the glossy white finish looks classy, while the ‘Infinity Core’ LED lighting is slick and funky. The overall effect is something akin to a big-budget sci-fi prop. I like.
I also like most aspects of the Odyssey G9’s performance. A lot. First up, let’s attend to any doubts over response due to the VA panel. Samsung has included three user-configurable levels of overdrive in the G9’s OSD menu. Subjectively, they’re difficult to tell apart. But the important conclusion is that the G9 is properly fast and comparable with 1ms IPS monitors. Phew.
There are a few slight snags. Overdrive isn’t available with either adaptive refresh or low input-lag mode. But response still looks good with FreeSync or G-Sync available and there’s no discernible latency whether you enable the low input lag mode or not.
The major issue involves HDR performance. It’s a bit of a mess. For starters, while the G9 does have local dimming, as you’d expect from an HDR1000 panel, it’s limited to just 10 edge-lit zones, which makes it pretty much entirely pointless. In mitigation, the inherent contrast, rated at 2,500 to one, of the VA panel ought to help boost HDR performance. But in practice, HDR content is underwhelming on the G9 and lacks the visual highs you’d normally expect from an HDR1000 panel.
So, this monitor does its best work as a particularly punchy SDR screen, in which mode it’s good for 420 nits. In PC gaming terms, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen CyberPunk 2077 running in all its ray-traced, DLSS’ed glory on the G9. It’s something very special. A lot of that is down to immersion. The outrageous 32:9 aspect, plus the very tight curve and mega 49-inch proportions, make for an incredible wrap-around experience. Just remember that you’ll need one heck of a graphics card to drive this screen smoothly in the latest games. The overall pixel count is nearly as high as full 4K.
Overall then, Samsung’s insane 49-inch gaming beast packs an incredible punch, but that flawed HDR implementation is disappointing.
Read our full Samsung Odyssey G9 review.
Image 1 of 4(Image credit: PIXIO)Image 2 of 4(Image credit: PIXIO)Image 3 of 4(Image credit: PIXIO)Image 4 of 4(Image credit: PIXIO)5. Pixio PXC277
Best budget curved gaming monitor
Screen size: 27-inch | Panel type: VA | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Curvature: 1500R | Resolution: 2560 x 1440 | Response time: 1 ms | Refresh rate: 165 Hz | Weight: 14.97 lbs | G-Sync/FreeSync: FreeSync and G-Sync Compatible
Affordable165 Hz refresh rateVESA mountsNot much in the way of extrasWeak HDR performanceSlightly sluggish response timesGetting specific(Image credit: Future)Check out our guide to the best gaming monitors for those who want some non-curved awesomeness.
The Pixio PXC277 is about as barebones as they come in regards to gaming monitors, but it's still got the goods where it counts. And that also means it comes in at a pleasingly low price point, too. This 27-inch curved 1440p panel provides frames at a solid 165Hz and is also FreeSync certified.
And if you're after a curved monitor, then the tight 1500R curve of the Pixio will satisfy those bendy cravings. At 27-inches I've maybe found the experience less immersive than something like the 1000R wraparound feeling the Samsung Odyssey G9 delivers, but then that's also the price of a whole PC.
The screen itself is advertised as anti-glare and holds up in most brightly lit environments—and I always find the thin bezel a plus in my monitor experience.
The biggest draw to the PXC277 is obviously its low price point. It's a great entry-level option for those looking for a larger screen with a high refresh rate and who don't want to be left completely broke. As this is a budget display, while you do get gaming specific features, such as multiple overdrive levels, dynamic contrast, and HDR support they're not at the same level as higher-end displays.
I mean, it will technically do HDR, but with a peak luminance of 400 cd/m2 it's not that punchy, and doesn't deliver any extra contrast when enabled. So yeah, I'd suggest that's best left turned off. Pixio's claims of 1ms response is also based on MPRT, which really does impact the brightness of the panel, too. Again, I'd recommend not going with that.
Monitor controls are always a pain, but the joystick style is the most intuitive I've found. Though on the Pixio it's located in a slightly odd position, making it a little tough to track down initially.
But you will struggle to find a monitor with this sort of specs sheet for the money. And the basics it does well; the 165 Hz refresh rate is great for games, and the 1440p resolution is the perfect mix of high resolution and decent pixel pitch for a 27-inch panel. It's simply one of the best-value curved gaming monitors around.
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Best curved gaming monitor FAQ
What do I need to consider when buying a curved gaming monitor?
If you're considering ditching your flat screen lifestyle for all-encompassing visuals, there are a few things to consider. First off, the three Rs: resolution, refresh rate, and response time.
Higher resolution means more load on your graphics card but more detailed images. A higher refresh rate means speedier visuals. And response time can be useful for bolstering your in-game reflexes.
The final consideration is curvature.
What level of monitor curvature should I choose?
Your panel's curvature, or curve radius, is key to your viewing experience. Most curved panels are rated across a range: roughly 4000R to 1500R. The lower the number, the higher the curvature of the panel. This is one of the reasons the Samsung Odyssey G9's 1000R curve is so surprising—it has a much tighter curve than anything else out there.
The distance you sit from your monitor will also help you choose which curvature is ideal for you. You'll generally find gaming monitors around the 1800R mark, right in the sweet spot for desktop gaming. A more pronounced curve, viewed at a greater distance, could negatively impact viewing angles and your overall experience.
How do you test a gaming monitor?
There are two main ways to test out our screens to determine the best gaming monitor. The first is by playing games on it, obviously. Subjectively testing each panel's gaming performance isn’t necessarily going to give you the lowdown on the specifics of a particular screen. Still, it will let you test the functioning aspect ratio, native resolution, and any particular gamer-centric technologies they’re sporting.
Side-by-side comparative testing in this manner is also precious for keying into the sometimes subtle differences between each panel. When you use a screen in isolation, it’s easy to become blind to its comparative faults as you get used to them. Testing screens back-to-back allows us to discover and highlight specific issues between them.
Objective testing can be great, but it's also far more difficult. To do it properly, you need hardware for testing the true latency, color accuracy, and other metrics. Most gamers don't have access to any of this, but you can do a semblance of objective testing using the LCD calibration pages here. This site offers several test screens to bring up on any web-connected panel to make some qualitative assessments. The days of actual retail space for such things are dwindling, but if you can get a look at a screen before purchasing it, plugging a notebook or such into it and checking out the Lagom pages is very handy.
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The best 4K gaming monitor makes way more than games look great. It's a big upgrade to any system that has the garphics card to power it. But games in particular make the best argument for the swap to 4K, showcasing how vivid modern games can look at such a high resolution. For those of you who want to make the leap, the 4K monitors below are the ones that are well built to not only deliver a great picture but do it with a high refresh rate too.
While you'll want a top-end GPU to get the most from a 4K monitor, even the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT can be surprisingly capable when it comes to 4K. Especially if you don't feel the need to run at max settings. And as GPU supply returns to normality—something that is starting to finally become the norm—we might actually have some next-gen cards on the way, too. And those should pretty much all be 4K-capable.
In most cases, you're going to want a VA or IPS panel, with a refresh rate above 60Hz, and some form of frame-syncing capability—either G-Sync or FreeSync. You also need to decide whether to up-size with one of the best gaming TVs instead, for deeper immersion. If you have space, that is.
Spending that little more on one of the best 4K gaming monitors is certainly worth it, especially when you consider it should see you through a decade of action-packed, next-gen gaming. It'll be able to produce breathtaking visuals for all those years, spanning many iterations of your Theseus’ ship of a PC. Think of it as a long-term investment, basically, but one that you also get to enjoy today.
Best 4K gaming monitors for gaming
Image 1 of 5(Image credit: LG )Image 2 of 5(Image credit: LG)Image 3 of 5(Image credit: LG)Image 4 of 5(Image credit: LG)Image 5 of 5(Image credit: LG)1. LG 27GN950-B
The fastest, most responsive 4K gaming monitor
Screen size: 27-inch | Panel type: Nano IPS | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 3840x2160 | Response time: 1ms | Refresh rate: 144Hz | Weight: 16.9lbs
Bright vivid colorsG-Sync/FreeSync compatibleExcellent Response time for a 4K monitorColors tend to be oversaturatedThe LG UltraGear is the first 4K Nano IPS 1ms gaming monitor capable of properly showing off your next-gen GPU. This 4K 27-inch HDR monitor boasts a 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time—wild for a 4K monitor.
What is most impressive about this LG is the Nano IPS tech that offers a wider color gamut and stellar viewing angles. Offering both 10-bit color and a very impressive 98% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut, the 27GN950 is a seriously high fidelity monitor. LG reckons it’s as good for content creation as it is for gaming, and we'd tend to agree.
To that, you can add compatibility with both Nvidia’s G-Sync and AMD’s FreeSync adaptive refresh, a slick slim-bezel design, and LG’s Sphere Lighting 2.0 RGB visual theatrics. Oh, and the minor matter that, you know, this is a 4K IPS monitor that runs at fully 144Hz refresh.
But what of the actual real-world experience? This is an awfully pretty panel. LG’s default calibration is virtually faultless, with impeccable detail in both black and white scales. Beyond the strict metrics, it’s a seriously vibrant and punchy display in terms of image quality on the Windows desktop.
Hop in game and it’s just as impressive. We’ll never tire of the buttery smooth goodness that is 144Hz. But combined with the crazy-sharp detail that comes with the 4K pixel grid, well, it’s pretty special. The catch, of course, is that you’ll need one heck of a GPU to make the most of the 144Hz refresh while running at 4K, though that just got a little more realistic with the latest graphics cards from both Nvidia and AMD.
The most obvious shortcoming, compared to similar but even pricier screens, involves HDR implementation. The 27GN950 does support HDR, including local dimming, and comes complete with VESA’s DisplayHDR 600 certification. However, the local dimming comprises just 16 edge-lit zones. This is a much more convincing monitor taken as a really excellent SDR panel. As an HDR display, it's disappointing.
The LG UltraGear 27GN950-B bags you a terrific panel with exquisite IPS image quality and, despite the lesser HDR capabilities, beautiful colors and contrast in your games too. G-Sync and Freesync support ensure stable pictures and smoothness in games, and the speedy refresh rate and response times back this up too.
Image 1 of 4(Image credit: Acer)Image 2 of 4(Image credit: Acer)Image 3 of 4(Image credit: Acer)Image 4 of 4(Image credit: Acer)2. Acer Predator XB273K
The best 4K monitor for gaming, offering quality and value
Screen size: 27-inch | Panel type: IPS | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Response time: 4ms | Refresh rate: 144Hz | Weight: 15.9lbs
Brilliantly detailed picturesOffers fast refresh and response timesExcellent value for a high spec monitorContrast could be betterA close cousin of the Acer Predator X27, itself once the top of this pile, the XB273K is a seriously excellent 4K monitor. It harnesses everything the X27 does, trading off very little to rehouse it in a far cheaper chassis.
Now often found sitting around the $1,000 mark, it is immediately more tempting than the Acer X27, and the only real change is in the HDR; the XB273K has a slightly lower quality of HDR. But that's about it. And considering the still nightmarish state of HDR gaming on PC, that's not a huge miss.
With the privacy shields setup (reducing screen glare and reflection), I booted up some games to get testing. The glorious Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is just that: glorious. The whole game is incredibly vivid and has the crispest of image qualities to boot; no blurred or smudged edges to see and each feature looks almost perfectly defined and graphically identified. Particular highlights are the way water effects, lighting, reflections, and sheens are presented, but there is equal enjoyment to be had from landscape features, the people, and urban elements. All benefit from a widespread excellence in color, contrast, shades (and shadows), and tones.
Going darker, I turn to Metro Exodus, and am immediately greeted with great picture quality. Any scene or view from Artyom’s perspective is fantastically clear and well presented. The contrast is particularly strong with colors punching through the greys and blacks. The smaller details are equally as good, down to clothing detail, skin tone and complexion, and facial expressions once again. Exodus’s predecessor and cousin, Metro Redux proved that the Acer Predator XB273K handles near-total dark environments very well indeed. There is an immersion-heightening quality to the blacks and grays of the Metro and those games certainly don’t feel five years old on the XB273K.
Playing Apex Legends on the XB273K, at max settings, seamlessly traversing and smoothly running around Kings Canyon is one of the best Apex Legends experiences I’ve had when it comes to monitors. Not only did the image quality from the other games remain, but the speed and smoothness of the monitor provides me with a wonderful, smooth picture at 144Hz. The speed of the screen means that there is no loss in quality even when you’re spinning on the spot frantically trying to find your enemies, or flitting between shots in cover.
Whatever game you play, you're going to enjoy excellent picture quality, with terrific color vibrancy, contrast, and depth; the 144Hz refresh rate means it's excellent for competitive shooters too. G-Sync offers the best adaptive sync technology, an impressive array of ports covers you, and overall it offers such a well-rounded overall experience you'll have zero regrets.
Read the full Acer Predator XB273K review.
Image 1 of 4(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 4(Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 4(Image credit: Future)Image 4 of 4(Image credit: Future)3. Gigabyte M28U
The best affordable 4K monitor
Screen size: 28-inch | Panel type: IPS | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Response time: 2ms | Refresh rate: 144Hz | Weight: 15.3lbs | Refresh rate technology: FreeSync Premium
Affordable 4K144Hz refresh rateStunning IPS panelGreat for 4K gamingCheap standOverdrive often overdoes it4K has been a prohibitively expensive venture in PC gaming for many years now. That comes down to a simple truth: it's a helluva lot of pixels to be moving around all at once. Pixel pushing power equals money—you need a graphics card capable of the task and a gaming monitor able to display the final result to experience 4K at its best. And neither has come cheap for the longest time.
That's all starting to change, though, as the Gigabyte M28U proves by its superb value and excellent 4K feature set. Not only is this a great monitor for PC gamers either, as support for HDMI 2.1 makes it a great option for Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 owners too.
Within its four slim bezels, the Gigabyte M28U contains a 28-inch IPS panel. The IPS panel tech delivers exceptional color depth and clarity, and performs well in most other regards, especially viewing angles. Most especially black and white levels, where even the slightest dip in contrast was noticeably discernable on-screen during testing. That clear delineation in black levels is awfully impressive for an IPS, too, especially one without a seriously impressive contrast spec such as this. The M28U is rated to 1,000:1, and there is also a touch of that tell-tale IPS glow around the edges on dark images, though neither is all that noticeable while gaming.
This monitor is also rated to DisplayHDR 400, though its brightness is the fairly standard 300 cd/m2. I wouldn't consider its HDR capabilities a big deal either way, and I definitely wouldn't recommend you pick up this monitor specifically for its HDR capabilities. It's not going to show off everything HDR has to offer. Not to mention HDR on Windows PCs is still not that fun an experience.
The M28U offers a rich canvas for gaming not just in picture quality, however, but also in response and refresh rate. With response times of 2ms MPRT and 1ms GTG, the M28U is quite quick.
The big sell though is the 144Hz refresh rate, as you no longer have to forgo high frame rates for the full-fat 4K resolution. The key thing here is having a GPU capable of driving such high frame rates in most games, which is no simple feat. AMD's Radeon RX 6900 XT managed just fine in my experience, but when I was testing the Asus GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua OC Edition, I found it was often struggling at 4K with high presets enabled—you really want to get all that detail on the screen, as well.
What makes the M28U an even bigger deal is that it's actually rather affordable. It's still quite a lot of money to throw down on a monitor alone, but considering what other 4K monitors with this sort of feature set are going for, it's as close to a steal as you're going to get at 4K.
Read our full Gigabyte M28U review.
Image 1 of 4(Image credit: LG)Image 2 of 4(Image credit: LG)Image 3 of 4(Image credit: LG)Image 4 of 4(Image credit: LG)4. LG 27UL650
A great budget 4K Monitor
Screen size: 27-inch | Panel type: IPS | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Response time: 5ms | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Weight: 13.9 lbs
Great color accuracyFreeSync compatibilityAwesome DesignNo HDRNo local dimmingThe LG 27UL650 is a solid 4K gaming monitor you can often find for under $500. This IPS panel display has improved color and contrast over its predecessor and offers lower input lag for gaming too.
If you do more than gaming, then this LG displays sports deliciously precise color accuracy and VESA HDR 400 too, making watching movies and editing a worthwhile endeavor. It boasts an sRGB 99% color gamut, which means your colors really are spot on.
The only real downside is the standard 60Hz refresh rate, which means it isn't a great option if you like your shooters to be of a competitive nature. There's nothing wrong with 60Hz for plenty of games, but we simply demand smoother frame rates from our screens these days, and that includes 4K panels.
There is another downside for gaming here, and that is that this monitor has no built-in speakers, so you'll have to invest in a good pair of headphones and/or desktop speakers, as well. But generally, we'd recommend that over pretty much any tinny display speaker anyway.
LG claims this is 'virtually borderless' too, which is a bit of a stretch, but the bezels on the top and sides are reasonably thin. It's got a phat ol' chin though. Still, if you really want to hurt your graphics card, hooking up a couple of these side by side will certainly give you an impressive amount of screen space.
Overall, this monitor does boast decent color accuracy and at an affordable price. Just be mindful that there are smoother panels out there. They just demand a lot more from your bank account for the privilege.
Image 1 of 4(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 4(Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 4(Image credit: Future)Image 4 of 4(Image credit: Future)5. Eve Spectrum ES07D03
A stunning panel, with HDMI 2.1 support for the console crowd.
Screen size: 27-inch | Panel type: Nano IPS | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Response time: 5ms GtG | Refresh rate: 144Hz | Weight: 14.8lbs
Excellent designFantastic LG IPS panelBroad connectivity optionsPoor HDR and local dimmingHigh sticker priceAfter a rocky start with its ill-fated foray into the world of tablets, Eve has smashed it out of the park with the Spectrum ES07D03. It's a beautifully designed gaming monitor, with a stunning LG panel, and all the features you could possibly want from a modern screen. That's the result of a crowd-designed creation process for the Spectrum, and it certainly looks like it's paid off.
Except for those wanting decent HDR. With a peak luminance of 750cd/m2, and a little local dimming in its backlighting array, I was hoping for a little more pizazz in my HDR scenes. Sadly, that's still a struggle for PC gaming and its monitors. But everything else the Eve Spectrum does has blown me away. The LG Nano IPS panel is superb, with vibrant colors, and great motion, and I'm a little bit in love.
The LG nano-IPS Oxide display is the heart of the Spectrum and is the key to the stellar visual experience the monitor itself provides. There are precious few panel manufacturers on the planet, and LG is undoubtedly one of the best. This latest nano-IPS display is an 8-bit + A-FRC screen, and one that can deliver 4K resolutions at 144Hz. For the professionals out there, it's rated with a color gamut that covers 98% DCI-P3 and 100% of the sRGB color space.
The Spectrum also rocks HDMI 2.1 support so it can deliver its full 144Hz promise across PC and next-gen console at 4K, something you previously needed a DisplayPort connection to do.
Running around a camp in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, dimly lit by flickering torches and campfires, it was almost impossible to see what the hell was going on. Valhalla actually also highlighted the issue again with the animated saving logo looping over a black screen, causing the bleeding effect to be even more noticeable.
Like any 4K/144Hz screen you could mention, the price tag is potentially prohibitive. But gaming monitors are investments, and this is a screen that will outlast your current PC, and potentially your next one too. So it's always worth spending what you can possibly afford on a new screen.
Read our full Eve Spectrum review.
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: ASUS)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Asus)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Asus)6. Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ
The best premium-price 4K monitor
Screen size: 27-inch | Panel type: IPS | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Response time: 4ms | Refresh rate: 144Hz | Weight: 28lbs
Cool designGreat image quality and includes Nvidia G-Sync technology144Hz refresh rateNot great contrastThick BezelsPerhaps a little obvious, but packing lots of top-end features into a display means it’ll come with a high price tag. The Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ is an incredible display but it doesn't come cheap. That money does net you more features than any other display here and perhaps that's enough to set it apart.
As well as the ridiculously clear, bright and detailed images that the PG27UQ’s 4K and HDR-enabled 27-inch display shows off, this monitor also incorporates Nvidia G-Sync tech, making this an absolute behemoth of a screen. Though we do wish the contrast was slightly better on this nearly perfect screen.
On the back, it’s a bit lean on the connections, but you should have everything you need: present are an HDMI 2.0 input, DisplayPort 1.4, 3.5mm audio, and two USB 3.0 ports. It’s also an incredibly well-designed bit of kit with the stand effectively funneling cables, as well as looking cool. I especially like the ROG eye that shines on the surface wherever you put the monitor.
The HDR and Quantum Dot IPS display make this monitor a standout from the rest of the crowd. Enabling HDR gives the graphics a noticeable dynamism in any resolution, though it sees the most benefit at 4K. Shadows are generally not too dark. Brightly lit scenes are not blown out. The PG27UQ excels especially well with gritty games like Metro Exodus and Outlast 2 with the HDR turned on—and honestly, the lighting looks just as good compared to ray tracing in some instances. But depending on the in-game lighting, some finer details will be too dark to make out. Brightly colored games are where this monitor really shines.
IPS displays in general allow you to view the screen from off-angle without the color quality being affected, but throwing Quantum Dot tech in there adds more backlighting to the LEDs, which allows for that wider color gamut. Also, the 144Hz refresh rate combined with G-Sync also helps create a near-flawless gaming experience. I didn't experience any screen tearing or micro stutter. Of course, you'll need to overclock the monitor to get up to 144Hz (via the display's OSD menu), but the native 120Hz isn't so bad. It's not like most games will even hit 120 fps on current hardware at 4K.
You'll want a great GPU to take advantage of everything—and that GPU should ideally be a GeForce graphics card or else G-Sync won't work. With the appropriate hardware, every game can run smoothly with the refresh rate synced to your framerate, whether that's at 40 fps or 144 fps. If you're targeting maximum framerates for competitive reasons, you'd probably be better off with a 1080p resolution and display. Running at 1080p and low to medium quality just to hit 144 fps would mean money wasted on this monitor. But this is a monitor for more than just games.
The list price is very high, so it might well put people off, but it will not disappoint those who take the plunge.
Read our full Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ review.
Best graphics cards | Best gaming motherboards | Best CPU for gaming
Best DDR4 RAM | Best Gaming PC build | Best gaming monitorImage 1 of 3(Image credit: Philips)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Philips)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Philips)5. Philips Momentum 558M1RY
The best MASSIVE 4K gaming monitor
Screen size: 55-inch | Panel type: VA | Aspect ratio: 16:9 | Response time: 4ms | Refresh rate: 120Hz | Weight: 58.4lbs
TV scale but with DisplayPortBright and colourfulBuilt-in B&W soundbarMASSIVESome inverse ghostingYour next upgrade(Image credit: Future)Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD
Best graphics card: your perfect pixel-pusher awaits
Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the restI am utterly entranced by the sheer scale and majesty of Philips' 55-inch monitor behemoth. Outside of Nvidia's abortive BFGDs, there is no other PC monitor that can match this monster. But despite its impressive size and speed, there are still shortcomings which, while they're not deal-breakers, do need to be considered.
But first the good. This 4K VA panel rocks up with a DisplayHDR 1000 certificate, and the ability to render its 3840x2160 native resolution at speeds of up to 120Hz. Sadly, for console gamers, its HDMI version is only 2.0 and so your next-gen game boxes will be restricted to 4K/60. The Series X will hit 120Hz at 1440p, however, although the PS5 still neglects that option.
For us PC folk, that's no issue, as the Philips display supports DisplayPort 1.4 so we can get the full 4K res at a zippy 120Hz. Coupled with its bright, vibrant panel, that makes the screen great for smooth 4K gaming. And I'm still smitten by Philips' Ambilight technology, which rings the back of the display with RGB LEDs that can alter hues individually to match their corresponding color on the panel itself.
My only real reservations surround some of the response settings. To make the large panel responsive Philips offers different levels of SmartResponse, but the more aggressive you get on those settings the more inverse ghosting you tend to get on high contrast moving images. Playing FIFA at 4K and I could notice issues around the edges of players. But if you're smashing through Doom Eternal, however, it's just going to be the smooth motion and vibrant colors that stand out. That and the gibs, obvs.
Best 4K gaming monitors FAQ
Is a 4K gaming monitor worth it for PC gaming?
The biggest thing to consider is whether you have a PC capable of making a 4K gaming monitor worth it. Upgrading to one of the best graphics cards will ensure your machine will not just be rendering a gaming slideshow with the step-up to 4K. It would help if you also aimed for a larger screen size too.
The first 4K monitor we ever tested was glorious but was only a 24-inch panel, so we couldn’t quite appreciate the 8.3 million pixels we were generating. Step that up to the 55-inch Philips Momentum monitor and your high resolution world is writ large.
How do we test 4K gaming monitors?
There are two main ways to test a screen to determine whether it's the best gaming monitor material. The first is by playing games on it. Subjectively testing the gaming performance of each panel isn’t necessarily going to give you the lowdown on the specifics of a particular screen. Still, it will let you test the functioning aspect ratio, native resolution, and any specific gamer-centric technologies they’re sporting.
Side-by-side comparative testing in this manner is also precious for keying into the sometimes subtle differences between each panel. When you use a screen in isolation, it’s easy to become blind to its comparative faults as you get used to them. Testing screens back-to-back allows us to discover and highlight specific issues between them.
We also use a heap of standardized tests produced by Lagom to ensure levels and saturation are visually up to our standards.
Should I go for an IPS, TN or VA panel?
We would always recommend an IPS panel over TN. The clarity of image, viewing angle, and color reproduction are far superior to the cheaper technology, but you'll often find a faster TN for cheaper. The other alternative, less expensive than IPS and better than TN, is VA tech. The colors aren't quite so hot, but the contrast performance is impressive.
Should I go for a FreeSync or G-Sync monitor?
In general, FreeSync monitors will be cheaper. It used to be the case that they would only work in combination with an AMD GPU. The same went for G-Sync monitors and Nvidia GPUs. Nowadays, though, it is possible to find G-Sync compatible FreeSync monitors if you're intent on spending less.
What aspect ratio should I go for?
Today's movies and games are best enjoyed in a widescreen format at a 16:9 aspect ratio or above. In 4:3, those cinematic moments will look stunted with black strips along the top and bottom. There are a host of minute variations on each ratio, but at the end of the day choosing between these depends entirely on your personal preference.
And the very far-out option, if you have a little extra cash to blow, is ultra-wide aspect ratios like 21:9 and 32:9 and their variants. These will provide a much more immersive, encompassing experience. Or literally, encompass yourself with a curved monitor, up to you.
Plenty of games support these ultrawide resolutions, and while not often full 4K, they do demand nearly as much out of your GPU and deliver a similarly high-fidelity and immersive experience.
Jargon buster - gaming monitor terminology
Refresh Rate (Hz)
The speed at which the screen refreshes. For example, 144Hz means the display refreshes 144 times a second. The higher the number, the smoother the screen will appear when you play games.V-Sync
Graphics tech synchronizes a game's framerate with your monitor's refresh rate to help prevent screen tearing by syncing your GPU frame rate to the display's maximum refresh rate. Turn V-Sync on in your games for a smoother experience, but you'll lose information, so turn it off for fast-paced shooters (and live with the tearing). Useful if you have an older model display that can't keep up with a new GPU.
G-Sync
Nvidia's frame synching tech that works with Nvidia GPUs. It basically allows the monitor to sync up with the GPU. It does by showing a new frame as soon as the GPU has one ready.FreeSync
AMD's take on frame synching uses a similar technique as G-Sync, with the biggest difference being that it uses DisplayPort's Adaptive-Sync technology which doesn't cost monitor manufacturers anything.Ghosting
When movement on your display leaves behind a trail of pixels when watching a movie or playing a game, this is often a result of a monitor having slow response times.Response Time
The amount of time it takes a pixel to transition to a new color and back. Often referenced as G2G or Grey-to-Grey. Slow response times can lead to ghosting. A suitable range for a gaming monitor is between 1-4 milliseconds.TN Panels
Twisted-nematic is the most common (and cheapest) gaming panel. TN panels tend to have poorer viewing angles and color reproduction but have higher refresh rates and response times.IPS
In-plane switching, panels offer the best contrast and color despite having weaker blacks. IPS panels tend to be more expensive and have higher response times.VA
Vertical Alignment panels provide good viewing angles and have better contrast than even IPS but are still slower than TN panels. They are often a compromise between a TN and IPS panel.HDR
High Dynamic Range. HDR provides a wider color range than normal SDR panels and offers increased brightness. The result is more vivid colors, deeper blacks, and a brighter picture.Peak Brightness
This refers to the maximum brightness of a monitor or television and is measured in nits.Ultrawide
Shorthand for monitors with aspect wider aspect ratios like 32:9 or 21:9Resolution
The number of pixels that make up a monitor's display, measured by height and width. For example: 1920 x 1080 (aka 1080p), 2560 x 1440 (2K), and 3840 x 2160 (4K). -
The best HDMI cable is usually the one that you've got laying around within reach, but it might not actually be the best option. The HDMI cable you need is one that delivers great image quality and support a fast response rate for your monitor. It won't cost a lot either; the best cables pack all of this into a package that costs less than $10.
Some of you might dismiss the HDMI port on our graphics card as a relic of a bygone era. The DisplayPort is king of PC. And you'd be right that DisplayPort is top dog for our PC needs. However, today's HDMI cables can output to 4K at high-refresh rates, in case you were thinking about plugging your rig into your living room TV for some 4K gaming.
The latest standard specifications are HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.0. DisplayPort will continue to be the superior connection for PC gamers, offering higher bandwidth for high-res, high-refresh-rate displays. But, HDMI is the next best thing if you're connecting to a TV (or older monitor) or if you've only one Display Port to work with and you're trying to set up multiple monitors. And having the wrong sort of HDMI cable will only do you a disservice.
You might say to yourself, "I have a perfectly good HDMI cable I stole from work that has worked for years; why I should bother buying a new one?" Well, my friend, not all HDMI cables are created equal. There's a good chance that the HDMI cable you found in the junk drawer isn't rated high enough for the output you're trying to achieve, which could cause resolution and refresh issues. This is especially true if you're packing the exceptional power of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 or RTX 3090 Ti, which come with the promise of 8K gaming when wired up correctly.If you're unsure which cable rating you need for your setup, our handy FAQ at the bottom of the page should clear up the confusion.
Best HDMI cable for gaming
Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Amazon)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Amazon)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Amazon)1. AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI
The best budget HDMI cable for gaming
Transfer speed: 18Gbps | Max resolution: 4K @ 60Hz | Length: 6–35ft (1.8–10.6m) | Certification: CL3-certified
Great value for moneyLots of length optionsNot suitable for 4K over 60Hz or 8KNot officially HDMI Premium certifiedDon’t be put off by the own-brand label and low cost; this is still a fantastic cable. It’s the perfect example of not needing anything too showy or expensive to get the job done, and you’ll save a good chunk of cash by grabbing one of these over the competition.
As well as providing the coveted 18Gbps transfer rate for handling 4K at 60Hz, these cables come in an extensive range of lengths and are built to handle higher voltages. They're RF shielded as well, to ensure that your precious signal isn't interfered with, and the connectors themselves are 24K gold plated for better corrosion resistance.
The only downside is that if you want to hit higher refresh rates at 4K, specifically 4K @ 120Hz, then you're going to have to spend more. It's also not officially certified as a High-Speed Premium cable either, but that doesn't really matter in real-world use as it delivers the 18Gbps bandwidth required of it. You can’t complain too much when you’re getting excellent 4K visuals at under ten bucks.
Image 1 of 2(Image credit: Belkin)Image 2 of 2(Image credit: Belkin)2. Belkin HDMI 2.1 Ultra High Speed
The best high-end HDMI cable for 8K or 4K@120Hz
Transfer speed: 48Gbps | Max resolution: 10K 120Hz | Length: 6.5ft (2m) | Certification: HDMI 2.1
4K, 8K and even 10K possibleGreat for high refresh rate 4K gamingReliable brandOnly pay more for an HDMI cable if you actually need itRequires compression for really high res/high refresh, eg. 8K @ 120If you want a high-quality HDMI cable that’ll last you a good few years, look no further than Belkin’s HDMI 2.1 Ultra High Speed. As the name would suggest, it offers superior performance at an affordable price. That’s not all, though. A ludicrous bandwidth of 48Gbps make this a big deal.
Unsure why that’s worth the cash? In short, it’s ready to serve up 10K resolution when the time comes. Even now, it's your best bet for 8K or high-refresh 4K gaming. You'll want one of these cables for high refresh rate 4K gaming on either PC or console—48Gbps cables support up to 4K @ 144Hz or 8K @ 30Hz without the use of compression.
At 4K @ 240Hz or 8K at 60Hz, you're looking at a compressed final image using Display Stream Compression (DSC). That's not such a bad thing, the standard is said to be "visually lossless", but technically the data rate required by these high resolution, high speed combos is greater than the cable's offered 48Gbps.
Belkin is a brand we’d trust with… well, not quite our lives, but definitely the connection between our graphics card and monitor. So, if you're looking for a future-proof cable, here ya go.
Best gaming headset | Best 4K TV for gaming | Best microphone for streaming
Best computer speakers | Best SSD for gaming | Best CPU for gamingImage 1 of 3(Image credit: Snowkids)Image 2 of 3(Image credit: Snowkids)Image 3 of 3(Image credit: Snowkids)3. Snowkids 4K Flat HDMI 2.0
The best flat HDMI cable for gaming
Transfer speed: 18Gbps | Max resolution: 4K @ 60Hz | Length: 6.6ft (2m) | Certification: HDMI 2.0
Flat cablingSturdyGood priceNothing special beyond being flatIf you're looking to discretely route some cables around corners and over the edges of cabinets then a flat cable can make for a neater option than your traditional round cable. These Snowkids HDMI 2.0 cables are good for 4K @ 60Hz and have a sturdy nylon braided jacket and an aluminum alloy shell on the main connector to help protect them.
Beyond that, they're affordable and available in lengths up to 15ft, which should cover most setups. So while they're not the most exciting cable out there, they serve a purpose and serve it well. What more is there to say than that?
(Image credit: Vivify)4. Vivify Arquus W73
The best RGB HDMI Cable
Transfer speed: 18Gbps | Max resolution: 4K @ 60Hz | Length: 9–15ft (2.7–4.5m) | Certification: 4K 18G Deep Color certification
Frickin' RGBFrickin' laser beamsFrickin' expensiveYou don't need this cable. No one needs this cable. It's an HDMI lead that costs nearly $100, and that's mostly down to the fact that it comes with an RGB strip down one side of its length. I mean, that's cool? It's also an HDMI 2.0b fiber optic cable, so it should allow significantly less signal loss over distance and avoid any potential electrical or RF interference if that's an issue for you.
But, let's be honest, you'd try talking up the benefits of fiber optics, but really you'd only want this Arquus W73 cable because of the RGB lighting, which you can change at the press of a button or via Razer's Chroma app. As if you care, you're just looking at the pretty lights, aren't you?
Best HDMI cable FAQ
What HDMI cable do I need for 8K gaming?
A key component of 8K gaming is HDMI 2.1, which will see bandwidth requirements of up to 48Gbps and cable requirements to match. Ultra High-Speed HDMI cables can hack a 48Gbps bandwidth and support 8K at 120Hz.
What HDMI cable do I need for 4K gaming?
The best HDMI cable for 4K gaming is the Ultra High-Speed HDMI, as HDMI 2.1 and one of these cables will deliver 4K at 120Hz. That said, most will get by just fine with a Premium High-Speed HDMI cable or High-Speed HDMI cable. These support a bandwidth of 18Gbps, which covers you for 4K gaming at 60Hz and supports HDR content.
Of course, you'll need one of the best graphics cards around, as well as a 4K monitor or 4K TV (or both), or it won't matter how fancy your cable is.
Should I use HDMI or DisplayPort for gaming?
This decision comes down to the type of device and monitor you're trying to game on. For most going from PC to PC monitor, though, DisplayPort is the simplest and best way to connect.
That's because even older DisplayPort connections support 4K at 60Hz, and the newer ones, DisplayPort 1.4 and 2.0, deliver 8K and beyond at high refresh rates.
HDMI, on the other hand, is a bit more restricted on older connections. HDMI 1.4 only supports 4K up to 30Hz, and you'll need HDMI 2.0 or HDMI 2.1 to game at higher fidelity and speed than that. That said, if you have a newer HDMI port and compatible cable handy, it will work wonderfully.
Are HDMI cables backwards compatible?
Yes. The latest HDMI cable will operate just as well plugged into a device with an older HDMI version.
What's the maximum length of an HDMI cable?
Most passive cables (meaning they have no active parts within repeating the signal) will work without signal degradation up to 20 metres. That said, some may only manage around 5 metres.
There are ways to extend the distance a HDMI cable will work at, though. Active cables can increase distances much further, even doubling passive cables in some cases. While fibre optic cables can, in theory, go for miles. Generally, though, manufacturers make them up to 60 metres, and even at that length they're incredibly pricey.
What are CL2 and CL3 ratings in HDMI cables?
You'll see reference to CL2 and CL3 ratings for HDMI cables, and this is to do with how the copper cables are coated and define their abilities to handle high voltages for in-wall installations. CL2 HDMI cables can handle up to 150 volts and are designed for residential use, while the CL3 cables are intended for commercial installations and can handle up to 300 volts.
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For a nerdy scientist, Gordon Freeman quickly proved himself a capable warrior. Xen creatures couldn't kill him. The US military couldn't stop him. Striders couldn't zap him. Assassins, attack choppers, explosions, radioactive waste, interdimensional monsters, and even an entire army of Combine soldiers couldn't stand in his way.
Ultimately the only thing that could stop Gordon Freeman was his creator. After all he'd survived, Valve put the fatal, final bullet in his dome by simply never releasing Half-Life 2: Episode 3.
It's not like I'm still waiting around for it after all these years, but I don't think I've ever truly been 100% OK with the final chapter in Freeman's story going full vaporware. But that just changed. After playing Half-Life 2 mod Entropy: Zero 2, I've finally got complete closure on the fact that we'll never get Half-Life 2: Episode 3. The mod is inventive, surprising, and it's packed with cool Half-Life stuff including some of what we expected to see in the missing Episode 3. It delivers what Valve decided not to. And strangely enough, in this mod you don't even play as Gordon Freeman. You play as a Combine soldier.
The free mod from developer Breadman, which you'll find here on Steam, is a sequel to Entropy: Zero (also free on Steam), where you played as a Combine metrocop in City 10, months before Freeman ever even stepped off the train. In Entropy: Zero 2 you pick up the story as the same metrocop and spend an enjoyable intro sequence strolling around Combine HQ. It's fun to see behind the curtain, where cops aren't just interrogating human prisoners but performing menial tasks like sweeping floors, changing light bulbs, and making snide remarks under their breath (which, considering their voices are monotone mechanical broadcasts, are pretty loud). Your first job isn't a glamorous one either, as you're sent into the air ducts (usually a place reserved for action heroes) to clean out a few headcrabs with your stun baton.
But soon you've earned a promotion to Combine Elite, and you're dispatched to Nova Prospekt. Unlike the original Entropy: Zero, the timeline has shifted to post-Freeman. Nova Prospekt is a mess because the renegade scientist recently stormed through it with an army of antlions, and many of them are still scuttling around. Like Freeman, you can assemble a squad of helpers from the Combine soldiers and issue them orders, which is weirdly enjoyable. They've been my enemies for so long, it's somehow endearing for them to be backing me up.
(Image credit: Valve / Breadman)And while you may look like every other Combine Elite, your character is on a proper adventure, complete with a storyline, a real personality (unlike Freeman, he talks, and he's pretty funny at times), and even a nemesis. Another Combine Elite appears on TV screens occasionally and tries to hamper your progress. Why? Who is this mysterious soldier, why does he seem to know you, and what does he want? That all unfolds as you move from Nova Prospekt to the frozen north in pursuit of traitorous researcher Judith Mossman.
There are several big setpieces that, like Freeman's own adventures, range from huge combat missions to quiet puzzle-solving sessions to horror-based experiences as you find yourself alone in the dark with Xen monsters. Like Portal 2 you even wind up with a chatty, comedy relief companion for a while, and best of all there are missions to fight your way through rebel outposts and strongholds with the full force of the Combine behind you. It's a damn thrill to launch missiles from an APC while getting air support from Combine choppers and dropships. Even hunters, those unnerving mini-striders from Half-Life 2: Episode 2 are on your side, and it's oddly pleasing to see all that alien hardware and synthware fighting for you and not against you. The first time I saw rebels fleeing as rollermines chased them instead of me, I whispered "Hell yeah" to myself. It's so much fun being on the bad guy's team.
There are some fun new weapons alongside the standard Combine gear, too, like an experimental grenade that can suck objects and enemies into the Xen dimension… though it tends to also spit something out in exchange. Usually a Xen monster, so step lively when you pull the pin. And you can kick, too, through doors and even to knock weapons out of a rebel's hands. Could Gordon Freeman kick? Nope. And Entropy: Zero 2 eventually delivers on at least one of the promises of HL2:E3: the Borealis. The research vessel that floated into Half-Life mythos to become legend simply because we heard about it but never got to visit it in the official games.
Entropy: Zero 2 is fantastic. Play it! It's got everything you could want from Half-Life 2: Episode 3, except for Gordon Freeman. And thanks to this mod, I kinda feel like I don't really need him anymore.
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World of Warcraft Classic, in the weeks before the launch of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, is overflowing.
As players slam the US and EU servers, Blizzard is trying to reduce hours-long queue times before original WoW's most pivotal expansion re-releases in WoW Classic later this month. Players will no longer be able to create new characters or transfer existing ones to the most packed servers, known colloquial in the community as "megaservers," until the populations decrease.
"We’ve been hesitant to [do] this because we really dislike restricting player movements and potentially breaking up social circles, but that ethos is no longer compatible with the reality we find ourselves in," the game's producer Aggrend wrote in a forum thread of players criticizing the state of the servers.
Blizzard is also offering free character transfers to servers that haven't reached their max capacity yet. Aggrend detailed in a series of forum posts why it's the least disruptive solution to the problem, but said that Blizzard is considering other incentives to keep players evenly dispersed.
WoW Classic, even more than standard WoW, thrives on robust player communities. It's built to emulate the old definition of an MMO (before cross-server technology existed), where a healthy server population significantly affects your ability to participate in raids, PvP, guilds, roleplay, and other social parts of the experience. Players naturally seek out high-population servers where these activities are guaranteed to flourish, and when they get comfortable, they don't want to leave.
Long queue times and faction population discrepancies shatter the idealistic image of what WoW Classic aims to be, which has forced Blizzard to try to reign it in before the expansion arrives.
Aggrend's posts compare the lower population servers to those in the 2008 version of the MMO, trying to dispel players' assumptions that they're not worth transferring to. According to their data (which isn't attributed to any specific dates), many of the servers have two to four times the amount of concurrent players as the old game.
(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)WoW Classic players have the benefit of history to guide them through quests and activities that would have been new and harder 14 years ago, so they often work on a faster and larger scale as a result. Aggrend's comparison doesn't necessarily prove that those servers are worth playing on for the most hardcore players who demand large populations to reduce the time it takes to find groups and fuel a robust in-game economy, but the comparison makes sense for most casual players.
Aggrend went on to explain that server capacity can't simply be increased by adding more hardware, and reiterated that right now, people who want to avoid queue times should use the free transfers. "So put as plainly as possible, we cannot increase capacity any more without inviting additional and likely cascading failures to the service," they said. "There’s no [technological] solution to this. There is no hardware solution to this. This situation will not improve when Wrath of the Lich King Classic launches on September 26th, it will only get worse."
WoW Classic is far from the only MMO to struggle with server capacity during the now more than two years of the pandemic. In its first days of launch in 2021, New World had to close off character creation in order to relieve overloaded login queues. And later that same year, Final Fantasy 14 had to do the same thing on top of removing the game from sale near the launch of its Endwalker expansion.
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There sure are a lot of those "wholesome" games out there, so much so that any prospective cutesy adventure has its work cut out setting itself apart with all the adorable frogs and spooky witches taking gaming by storm. Luckily for Paper Animal RPG, its classic Game Boy Advance charm and gameplay really help it shine.
As covered by Gaming On Linux, the Wholesome Direct alum has just about reached its initial funding goal on Kickstarter with almost a month to go. In addition to the screenshots, trailer, and extensive features outlined on the Kickstarter page, developer Cuddling Raccoons has also released a free demo on itch.io.
The roguelite RPG sees you selecting your preferred avatar from a cast of cute critters, each corresponding to a classic character class (here split up as brawler, caster, and supporter). You explore isometric, procedurally generated world maps arranged into floors for each tileset, with the ultimate goal of finding your village's lost king.
The combat really calls to mind the sort of experimental tactical RPGs you used to see on Nintendo hardware, and its "grid-based but real time" system almost feels like a rhythm game. Enemies have clearly marked AoE attacks that leave you a second or two to scoot out of the way, while player attacks are limited by a recharging meter sort of like the ATB system from Final Fantasy. The result is something engaging, not too taxing, and a bit reminiscent of Crypt of the Necrodancer. I could see later levels ramping up the difficulty, but as it stands Paper Animal RPG already feels like a great fit for the Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch, good for traveling or winding down at night.
I'm a huge sucker for the game's look as well. Paper Animal RPG has 3D maps that resemble papercraft, and you can see a sort of "skybox" of a wood tabletop behind the play area, further calling to mind a board game. Other than that, the whole thing screams Game Boy Advance to me. The bright colors and chibi sprites of Legend of Zelda: the Minish Cap or the Mario and Luigi RPGs form an especially distinct aesthetic in hindsight, and Cuddling Raccoons have really nailed that 2002 magic here. The interface and persistent crowd of critters in the foreground watching your gameplay also subtly tickle that pleasure center of my brain I've specially reserved for Paper Mario.
Image 1 of 5(Image credit: Cuddling Raccoons)Image 2 of 5(Image credit: Cuddling Raccoons)Image 3 of 5(Image credit: Cuddling Raccoons)Image 4 of 5(Image credit: Cuddling Raccoons)Image 5 of 5(Image credit: Cuddling Raccoons)At the time of writing, Paper Animal RPG's Kickstarter has raised €37,000 of its €40,000 goal with 27 days to go, so it's looking pretty safely funded. The game's stretch goals include an optional orthographic (more classic 2D-style) camera mode at €45k, challenge runs at €50k, an "enhanced world map" at €60k, and the current maximum projection is a "content expansion pack" at €70,000. If you'd like to financially support Paper Animal RPG, you have until October 6 to do so, and you can check out the demo yourself on itch.io.
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An unfinished version of what appears to be the cinematic for Overwatch 2's upcoming support hero has leaked onto YouTube.
YouTube user Kuriboh cervantes (who says they're not affiliated with Blizzard) uploaded an unfinished Spanish version of the cinematic which appears to be authentic. Many scenes in the cinematic are in-progress renders with what seems to be non-final voice acting and sounds. The video is titled "Kiriko Overwatch 2 leaked short", which lines up with the hero name also used in a now-removed listing for the game's Watchpoint Pack earlier this week.
In it, we see the green-haired Kiriko clash with the Hashimoto clan, the game's version of the Yakuza, which was introduced in a story blog post last year. She attacks them with two knives and seems to be able to use healing powers. She also appears to teleport freely around the space, which could indicate a Moira-like escape ability. Near the end of the short, she summons ghostly blue torii gates that appear to strengthen and speed up Kiriko and her allies—which resembles the sort of power you'd see in an ultimate ability.
Blizzard teased a fox hero at the tail end of its Overwatch 2 release date trailer during the Microsoft & Bethesda showcase in June. And at the end of its second beta, the studio sent out an encoded message that read: "what does the fox say".
Kiriko will be the game's 35th hero and, if the leaks are true, might be locked behind a free battle pass tier. Blizzard has plans to release three to four new heroes and maps every year, alternating between each one with nine-week seasons.
Overwatch 2 will launch on October 4.
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I really thought that a little indie game would eventually explode on PC to deliver the Animal Crossing social sim experience we fawned over on our Nintendo Switches in 2020. Several have tried in the past few years, but none have stuck with the same success as Stardew Valley did with the Harvest Moon formula. The days of tiny teams eating the lunch of classic Nintendo series may be over: now bigger studios are taking their shot. Smash Bros. is finally getting a run for its money from a Warner Bros. game, and the Animal Crossing on PC experience has arrived on PC bedecked in House of Mouse.
I admit I went into Disney Dreamlight Valley cultivating resentment. I wanted an underdog story, not just a big studio licensing a big brand to thump Nintendo on the skull. "Those character designs look so Fortnite-y," I grumbled to myself last week, belying my bias even to myself.
And yet, the art style, the classic Disney characters, and Dreamlight Valley's shockingly permissive building system had me hooked within two days. This is what I was waiting for, and it's frankly even better than it needed to be in order to win me over.
Everything the light touches
For the folks who played Animal Crossing: New Horizons in the depths of 2020 but have let their Switches collect dust since (me, this is me), I'll line up the similarities and differences in as efficient a fashion as possible:
- Dreamlight Valley has a character you can customize and dress how you like, a house you can similarly decorate, and freedom to design the town as well
- It has a local real estate tycoon (Scrooge McDuck) and a store with a selection of clothing and furniture items that changes daily
- It has familiar characters with their own homes around the village, and as with AC:NH, somebody you know hates one of them inexplicably—I'll eventually find out what my fellow PC Gamer writer Chris Livingston has against Goofy
- It also has an endless list of chores: digging up treasures, collecting flowers, fishing, and mining, all ingredients in its crafting system
- There's even a day and night cycle tied to your local time
(Image credit: Gameloft)That's most of what will be immediately familiar to folks like me looking for another busywork sim to finally take off on PC. Make no mistake, it is very Animal Crossing.
Dreamlight Valley's most gripping quality is that with all these chores and quests and meters it truly keeps you busy at all times.
Dreamlight Valley goes above and beyond AC:NH though. It may not have the alluring promise of turnip stock futures, but it does have a much bigger, centralized story. Minnie Mouse is missing, and the valley's former ruler has vanished as an infestation of night thorns takes over the land and its inhabitants suffer constant bouts of "Forgetting." Of course you'll be in charge of setting everything back to rights with the power of friendship and a tireless pursuit of plucking flowers.
New areas of Dreamlight Valley become accessible as you progress the story, earning upgraded tools and gaining levels of friendship with characters like Mickey, Goofy, Merlin, Remy, and Moana. Where Animal Crossing obscured things like how close a relationship you have with a villager, Dreamlight Valley is obsessed with numbers. You'll have a personal level, a friendship level, currencies, and star ratings for every dish you cook.
(Image credit: Gameloft)Food is another main social sim feature that Dreamlight Valley folded into its recipe. That's where I first started to feel the places where it allows you to experiment beyond quest directives. Once you have access to a stove, you'll use recipes to combine lettuce with veggies you've grown for a salad and fish with wheat for a fish sandwich. Characters will ask for certain dishes during quests but you are free to go off book, and at times you'll have to. I'm looking at you, crudites recipe.
The fish sandwich, for instance, I noticed as one of Goofy's preferred gifts for the day. I didn't have the recipe, but made an educated guess that a fish and wheat would do the trick.
All about that base
I can't possibly put this game down when I know that tomorrow might hold the perfect potted plant to pepper my fence line with.
As is ever the case for me personally, the building system is the selling point. While it was immediately obvious that Dreamlight Valley would let me redecorate my own home, and I had already discovered some relatively fun customization options for certain clothing pieces, I did not initially clock that nearly the entire valley could be redecorated to my liking.
There isn't an option to terraform like in AC:NH, so you won’t be moving ponds about, but nearly everything else is fair game: trees, paths, buildings, and all manner of decorative objects can be picked up and plopped down wherever you like with no cost, however often you see fit. You can even pilfer outdoor items the valley begins with for your interior decor needs.
What I did next will be familiar to my fellow Stardew farm planner freaks.
(Image credit: Gameloft)I cleared the place out. I slammed trees and planters and light posts into my personal inventory with no remorse. I experienced self-doubt, knowing that I'd likely wind up redecorating, looking at images of other players' perfectly rearranged valleys online, and lamenting my own skills. And yet, this is always the ticket for me. I can't possibly put this game down when I know that tomorrow Scrooge may sell the perfect potted plant to pepper my fence line with.
Dreamlight Valley's most gripping quality is that with all these chores and quests and meters it truly keeps you busy at all times. Whereas Animal Crossing's daily fruit growth schedules had us all deep in existentialism, pondering its pace while cooped up in the spring of 2020, Dreamlight Valley (for better or worse) does not want you to put it down. Trees grow fruit in a matter of minutes, not hours. The list of "Dreamlight Duties"—small achievement-style tasks asking you to "sell two fish" or "prepare a four star meal"—is bottomless. Your energy replenishes as soon as you set foot back in your home for a moment.
It's a social sim designed with a slightly insidious one-more-thing-ness to it that I'm particularly susceptible to. This will produce screen time limits in households with children, I've no doubt.
I've hardly even mentioned the characters themselves because honestly I was expecting a game that would sell only on the merit of its lick of Disney paint. Many folks will get a special joy from baking crackers for Mickey and listening to Goofy's silly family history, eventually exploring the realms of Frozen and Ratatouille and the couple others included in its early access version. For me though, this is honestly just a solid social sim, with or without the long shadow of the big mouse brand.
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Despite the well-documented troubles with Battlefield 2042, Electronic Arts said today that it remains "all-in on Battlefield," and announced that a new studio called Ridgeline Games, headed by Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto, will be developing an all-new campaign "set in the Battlefield universe."
Lehto joined EA in October 2021 after his Disintegration project, developed at his first post-Halo studio V1 Interactive, failed to take off. EA said at the time that the new studio Lehto was leading would be "focused on developing first-person shooters," although no further details were revealed. Today's announcement gives a clearer sense of what that group is focused on.
"Marcus will bring his long legacy of creating fascinating worlds and gripping narratives to Battlefield," Battlefield general manager Byron Beede said in today's announcement. "Backed by a world-class team, he’ll be leading the charge to develop a narrative campaign set in the Battlefield universe that will engage fans in new and exciting ways while remaining true to the classic elements of the series."
The announcement cements what was already known courtesy of a July job listing revealing that Lehto's studio, then unnamed, is working on a singleplayer Battlefield campaign. It wasn't clear at the time whether the campaign would be a mode within a larger, multiplayer-focused Battlefield game, or something entirely standalone, but the mere fact that it was happening came as good news. The absence of singleplayer action was hardly Battlefield 2042's only problem (or its most pressing) but it was definitely felt.
EA clarified on Twitter that Ridgeline's campaign will not be a part of Battlefield 2042.
For clarification: The new narrative campaign experience @RidgelineGames is working on is not part of #Battlefield 2042. It will be set in the Battlefield universe.September 8, 2022
See moreRidgeline's campaign is just one part of what Beede described as "a global effort, coordinating multiple studios under a leadership team of industry veterans to build a connected Battlefield universe." Original Battlefield studio DICE will continue to develop the game's multiplayer portion, while Ripple Effect Studios, formerly known as DICE LA, "is focused on creating an entirely new Battlefield experience that will complement and build upon the series’ foundations."
"The next generation of Battlefield creators is a global team of talented, hungry individuals dedicated to taking the series to new heights," Beede said. "This team includes veterans who have worked on the series for years as well as new talent from the industry, all of whom bring years of experience working across incredible titles to the Battlefield universe."
Respawn Entertainment co-founder Vince Zampella, who became head of the series in December 2021, said the move demonstrates that EA is committed to the long-term future of Battlefield.
"With Marcus and his team at Ridgeline Games joining the world-class global team we have already in place, Battlefield is in the strongest position to succeed," Zampella said.
One of the longest-serving veterans on the Battlefield series won't be around to help with the effort, however: Creative director Lars Gustavsson, whose credits on the series stretch back 20 years to the original Battlefield 1942, is leaving the studio. Gustavsson's departure comes less than a year after that of former DICE general manager Oskar Gabrielson.
"Creative Director Lars Gustavsson, who has been with the franchise since the beginning and is affectionately known as Mr Battlefield, has decided he is ready for a new adventure. We would like to thank him for his invaluable experience, expertise, and friendship for all these years," Beede said.
"Lars has dedicated a substantial portion of his life to Battlefield and is proud to have helped shape the franchise into what it is today. He is excited to pass the baton to the next generation of Battlefield creators at DICE, Ripple Effect, Industrial Toys, and Ridgeline Games."
The move to a multi-studio effort bears echoes of the system employed to great success by Activision on the Call of Duty series. Development of the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, for instance, is being led by Infinity Ward, with support from Activision Central Design, Activision QA, Activision Shanghai, Beenox, Demonware, High Moon Studios, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, and Treyarch. Call of Duty, which features a singleplayer campaign, conventional multiplayer modes, and a live-service battle royale, is simply too big for one (or even two) studios to handle, and it seems clear that EA aspires to similar heights for Battlefield.
The good news for Battlefield fans is that EA's persistence appears to be paying off: Season 2 recently kicked off and the response so far seems generally positive—or at least cautiously hopeful—and there's been a real uptick in player numbers on Steam as well, from an average concurrent player count of fewer than 2,000 in May to more than 5,700 over the past 30 days: Still far from a real hit, but definite movement in the right direction.
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Four months after its acquisition by sleeper videogame behemoth Embracer Group, Crystal Dynamics has formally announced that it once again owns Tomb Raider.
Crystal Dynamics didn't create the Tomb Raider series—that honor goes to Core Design—but it put its stamp on the series more than a decade ago with Tomb Raider: Legend and then followed up with several more successful additions to the series, including the 2013 reboot and the 2016 follow-up Rise of the Tomb Raider. Square Enix handed the series off to Eidos Montreal in 2018 for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, but now that Embracer owns all of it, it's officially putting things back in place.
"We are excited to inform you that Crystal Dynamics has taken control of several game franchises—including Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain—from the games’ previous owner, Square Enix Limited," Crystal Dynamics announced. "As a result of this change, Crystal Dynamics (or its affiliate) is now the owner of these games and the controller of the gameplay and personal data related to them."
"We look forward to taking this new and exciting journey with you!"
In a separate statement, Eidos Montreal said that it too "is now the owner of the games it developed, like the Deus Ex and Thief games."
The actual point of both messages is to announce, as I'm sure is required by law, changes to the terms and conditions and privacy policies of all impacted games that switches your partner in these legal pacts from Square Enix to Crystal Dynamics or Eidos Montreal. But even though Crystal Dynamics, Tomb Raider, and all the rest were already contained under one roof, there's an undeniably sentimental aspect to the idea of games returning to their rightful homes.
Whether that will add up to better games remains to be seen, but the process has already begun: Crystal Dynamics announced in April, before the Embracer acquisition, that it had begun development on a new Tomb Raider game in Unreal Engine 5. Now if we can just convince Eidos Montreal to get rolling on a new Deus Ex, all will once again be well with the world.
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I now live for the victorious choo choo that signals the end of a level in Railbound. Sometimes I get it in 30 seconds: on my first try I see just how to place a few pieces of track to connect two marooned train cars to the waiting locomotive in the right order, and choo choo, we're off to the next puzzle. Sometimes that locomotive toot is a hard-earned reward for 10 minutes of smashing my little train cars into each other, drawing and erasing and drawing train tracks 50 times until I find just the right path.
I've only given up on one so far. Railbound is a cute and relaxing puzzle game on its main course, elegantly teaching you new mechanics at the start of each set of levels. The desert introduces tunnels, the beach crossing gates and switches, the forest tracks that switch direction when a train trundles over a switch. Solving these feels as contemplative as staring out the window of a train and thinking, "y'know, maybe I get what life is all about."
Then you try to solve a few of the optional levels you unlock in each biome, and it's like being thrust into the pilot's seat of a bullet train and realizing that all the Thomas the Tank Engine you watched at age three does not make you an expert. Like life, brutally demanding train puzzles come at you fast. I had to abandon a few train cars deep in the desert, vowing to return to them when I've dumped all unnecessary knowledge from my head in favor of rail skills.
It's been a strong year for cute puzzle games already, with Dorfromantik and Please Fix the Road, but Railbound has my favorite aesthetic of the bunch. I love these cel shaded trains and track pieces and the pastel-colored worlds. Every set of levels comes with its own music, which also seems to grow in complexity as the game goes along—when the piano kicked in in world four I was jazzed.
The whole aesthetic is chunky and bouncy, simple but with enough flair in its animation to make the trains cheery little cartoons. I love how they look like they're on the verge of tipping over every time they round a hairpin turn.
Each click of the mouse lays down a piece of rail with a satisfying little thunk, and the pieces elegantly snap together when you drag the mouse in the right direction. I find clicking on everything in Railbound delightfully tactile, to the point that I'm now a little worried I'm going to be a model train guy in 20 years.
No kids, just a 1/64th scale train paradise I spend the rest of my life building in the garage.
I've already started creating infinitely looping rail paths and then letting my trains go around and around just so I can watch.
The one thing I'm really missing in Railbound is a pause button. In the fourth set of levels, the switches and shifting tracks are starting to get a bit more complicated, and I wish I could set my trains in motion and then pause mid-run to make sure I know exactly how everything is playing out. With two or three train cars running over buttons at the same time, I lose track of what's going on pretty fast. I'd like to think that with a pause or slow-mo option, I probably could've created a much more elegant solution than the one above.
But hey: they got there in the end, which is all I really ask for from my trains.
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Hello Chat,
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It's actually happening. The ethereum blockchain's scary sounding Merge is about to take place, putting an end to years of wasteful GPU mining. There's no turning back now, either, as the hard fork required to start the process has already begun.
The Merge is a long-awaited event for the Ethereum blockchain, which has long been one of the most popular cryptocurrencies for GPU mining, and just one of the most popular cryptocurrencies. You could say it's primarily the reason why you couldn't buy a graphics card the past 18 months. You could say that, but it would probably be unfair to blame it all on one blockchain alone. There were shortages and stuff, too.
But my point is that this is the big one: GPU mining would rise and fall off the back of ethereum's profitability and now that's all coming to an end. A hard fork in the ethereum blockchain has begun, nicknamed Bellatrix, and this will start the beginning of the end for the proof-of-work (PoW) algorithm and mining on the blockchain, for probably (hopefully) forever.
What will come afterwards is called proof-of-stake (PoS). It's essentially a different way of verifying and operating the blockchain using consensus from those with, you guessed it, a stake in the network. That means those that own significant amounts of ether (the actual cryptocurrency of the ethereum network) will be responsible for validating each transaction, rather than using a GPU or miner to waste precious energy on extremely tough mathematical equations.
For the proof-of-stake switch to happen, it's just a matter of waiting for a difficulty threshold to be met. The so-called Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD) has been set at 58,750,000,000,000,000,000,000 and it's expected to be reached around September 13–16. The reason it's so variable is that it all depends on the total hash rate of the network—if it suddenly goes down it'll take longer to hit the target. If it drops massively, the TTD could be overridden.
Once that point has been reached and the Merge occurs, the Ethereum Foundation says the network will use 0.05% of the energy it once did. No more GPUs, no more wild power demands the size of countries. And here's hoping the move will also usher in an era of less wasteful blockchains all-round.
(Image credit: Ethereum Foundation)Ether's value has tended to bounce upwards in response to news of the Merge, though generally for the year most cryptocurrencies are down on previous highs. That's more to do with the market as a whole, and the value of one single cryptocurrency, bitcoin, which remains the most valuable major coin at over $19,000 a piece.
Your next upgrade(Image credit: Future)Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD
Best gaming motherboard: The right boards
Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits
Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the restBitcoin runs on a PoW algorithm but runs largely on custom-made ASICs primarily built to blaze bitcoin mining. Ethereum was specifically built to be ASIC-resistant, hence why miners prefered the humble gaming GPU for its price to performance in mining ether. Point is, don't expect bitcoin to go green anytime soon.
Speaking of which, GPU miners will be looking elsewhere for mining opportunities post-Merge. Perhaps that means mining some other coin that is still rewarding farms of graphics cards for their troubles, or it may be that combined with the great crypto value crash of 2022 some decide to get out of the business altogether. Some may even try and make their own forked version of ethereum. One with mining! And no rules! And cool-looking robotic cowboys! Or whatever. Ultimately it's over for this chapter in ethereum's chain.
We may see increased availability of second-hand GPUs that have been mined to bits as a result of the second largest crypto moving away from mining, however—something to be wary of with any second-hand card purchase today. Though seeing as the Merge has been on the cards for a long while now, I would imagine most will have planned ahead with alternative money-making schemes.
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Sports Interactive’s Football Manager 2023 will arrive on November 8 on PC, with those who pre-order being granted early access about two weeks before that date. The press release promises that this iteration "thrusts fans closer to every aspect of the beautiful game", which sounds like a HR complaint waiting to happen.
The announcement talks about increased supporter interactions and renewed licenses for the likes of the UEFA Champions League, but is remarkably shy on details otherwise, probably because the main focus is on FM23's cross-platform spread: the weaksauce 'console edition' is now coming to PlayStation, a streamlined take designed to be played with a pad, and FM Touch is returning to iOS thanks to a deal with Apple Arcade. On PC the game will be available on Steam, Epic, and the Microsoft Store, and has a 20% discount up until launch.
The early access period doesn't really feel like it should be called early access: it's a pre-order bonus period. But wannabe Klopps will be relieved to know saves will carry over into the 'finished' game. As for the fuzziness on exactly when early access begins, SI is currently saying "roughly two weeks prior to the official street date", and that it may go live at different times on different platforms. It will also be available on PC Game Pass.
Now here's an odd element of the game. Sports Interactive has, rightly, trumpeted the various initiatives it takes part in, one of which is a push towards 'eco-packaging' of its games. The overall carbon footprint for FM23's packaging is 47% lower than FM22, and the gCO2 (a measure of carbon dioxide output) of FM23's packaging is about a quarter of that of FM19.
Thing is, this has largely been achieved by just removing everything physical from the physical edition. Which leaves you wondering why FM23 even has a physical edition anymore. This year’s edition does not include a disc, but a download code, and no longer has a manual. So… you're buying a box with a code in it. That doesn't feel like it'll have Greta Thunberg doing backflips. In fact, it feels like SI and Sega can and should get that carbon footprint to zero next year by not making a load of purposeless boxes at all.
The announcement trailer focuses on various in-game player achievements over the last iteration, which is nice enough, and I'm also glad to see that someone out there's been using my patented 2-1-7 formation (hey, the fans can't say it wasn't entertaining). But SI's being tight-lipped on what substantial improvements, if any, can be expected for this year's entry. Not that it'll make a difference, of course, because for some people this is the only game in the world that matters. Expect a drip-drip of information about backroom recruiting, youth coaching, and tactics boards in the runup to release, before it arrives and fits like a beloved sheepskin jacket.
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Mark Alexander Hopkins, also known as "Doctor Bitcoin" or Rizzn online, pleaded guilty to running an illegal cash-to-crypto conversion business and is now facing up to 15 months in prison.
According to this Cointelegraph article, if you ask Rizzn, he says he's the victim of an "encroaching state war on privacy, and the general brokenness of the criminal justice system" and that "Texas and other states are pushing BTC adoption, literally manufacturing felons."Rizzn wrote in a tweet thread before going to prison that he didn't know that "Bitcoin p2p is a federal crime punishable with up to five years imprisonment" after he pleaded guilty last June on one count of operation of unlicensed money transmitting business.
In 2019 Hopkin's home was raided for his part in a Nigerian lottery scam, allegedly taking between 500k and $1.5 million from the scammers and converting it to Bitcoin for a fee. Rizzn claims he did not know that his customers were being investigated for a crime when facilitating the transactions. In layman's terms, he pleaded guilty to laundering money for his customers.
Here's the thing that makes this important to pay attention to and resolve: I'm a nobody. I'm not Ross. I wasn't on the dark web. I'm not Edward. I didn't work for the NSA.I'm not Julian. I didn't break national secrets.I'm just a regular bitcoiner caught in the crosshairs.September 4, 2022
See moreHowever, Rizzn admitted to authorities that he had promised not to get involved in the scammer's business dealings and told them to "circumvent financial institution reporting requirements by keeping deposits under $9,500."
Rizzn also instructed the scammer to lie to financial institutions about the transactions by saying "I’m set up as a marketing company, so tell them you’re paying for a marketing campaign," according to the press release from the US District Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Texas."This defendant ignored federal law and allowed fraudsters to use Bitcoin to operate under the radar of law enforcement," said Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. "We are determined to rid the Bitcoin marketplace of anyone who knowingly helps criminal actors stash illegal profits inside crypto wallets."
The Doctor ended his thread by accusing the state of "constructing felonies for us, and the blockchain has a long memory," as well as the need to "advocate for the sensible government as well as our fellow fallen cypherpunks."
How to make ratatouille in Disney Dreamlight Valley
in Gaming News
Posted
You need to know how to make ratatouille in Disney Dreamlight Valley if you want to convince Remy to join you as a resident. Naturally, Remy is found in the Ratatouille realm and he'll set you the task of whipping up several culinary concoctions to help persuade him to join you.
Most of the dishes are fairly straightforward and the quest as a whole is a solid introduction to cooking. Preparing ratatouille, however, is a little more complex than the others and you'll need to use specific ingredients to satisfy Remy. Here's how to make ratatouille in Disney Dreamlight Valley.
Disney Dreamlight Valley ratatouille: How to make this dish
Ratatouille is the final dish you need to prepare for Remy during the An Important Night at the Restaurant quest—and it's the most tricky. It doesn't help that Remy himself is quite vague about the ingredients needed to make it, so I've listed the items you'll need to make the dish below.
The ratatouille ingredients are:
Once you've gathered these ingredients, throw them into the cooking pot and you'll get the five-star ratatouille dish in return. Now all that's left to do is present the ratatouille to Remy. He'll be so impressed with your cooking skills that he'll agree to run the Chez Remy restaurant back in the Valley.
The ratatouille recipe is also added to your cookbook, so you can treat your residents—or yourself—to this delicious meal whenever you like.
If you're just starting out in Disney Dreamlight Valley, you can also check out how to solve the cave puzzles, how the Star Path works, and how to import your avatar.
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