SLI/Crossfire are always a crapshoot anyways, especially on just-released titles. Something I've never recommended and will probably become even more ill-advised w/ DX12 allowing you to mix and match cards.
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- Thread starter rockymtnhigh
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I have had SLI 970s since last spring and I have not had many complaints. With the exception of Arkham Knight I don't think I played a AAA game in all of 2015 that didn't have SLI support. Lots of smaller games don't have it but those games run fine on a single 970 anyways.
Tech Powerup posts these relative performance charts when they review new GPUs. These charts are based on benchmarks for 19 games and they have them available at various resolutions. If you want to see individual game benchmarks their reviews have those for every game included in the performance summary as well.
I play at 1440p so I'll post their performance summary chart for that resolution. SLI 970s are slightly better than the MSI Lightning 980 Ti. This particular 980 Ti is a highly overclocked model and you can see that SLI 970s score much higher than a standard 980 Ti.
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_980_Ti_Lightning/1.html
Now, SLI 970s cost about the same as a single 980 Ti so if you are starting a fresh build a 980 Ti makes more sense. It's about the same level of performance in a single card solution so you don't have to worry about SLI issues. In my experience SLI doesn't have a ton of issues with modern games but it's still simpler to go with a single card.
However, if you already have a single 970 and want more power I think SLI is a totally valid option. You can grab a second 970 for about $320 and have performance that is slightly better (on average) than a $650 980Ti. Sure you could try to sell the first 970 and buy a single 980 Ti but this would still cost you more than buying a second 970 and you would have the hassle of trying to sell your used card.
Steam is modifying their bundle deals so that if you own games in the bundle already, you'll get the rest of the games at a discount.
http://www.vg247.com/2016/03/02/steam-bundles-price-change-dynamic-scaling/
http://www.vg247.com/2016/03/02/steam-bundles-price-change-dynamic-scaling/
Windows 10 is now used by over 35% of Steam gamers
http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-10-is-now-used-by-over-35-of-steam-gamers
Windows 10 usage on the Steam gaming platform is steadily continuing to grow, with over 35% of gamers there now using Microsoft's latest OS.
The 64-bit version of Windows 10 remains in second place behind Windows 7 64-bit, but the gap between these top two most-used OS versions on Steam is now wafer-thin, with just 0.2% separating them.
Given the 1.24% increase in usage for Windows 10 64-bit (currently at 34.01%) since last month, it seems likely that that version will finally take the top spot from its Windows 7 counterpart (now at 34.21%) by this time next month.
When you add up the 32- and 64-bit variants of each OS, though, a slightly different picture emerges: for Windows 7, the combined total comes to 42.01%; and for Windows 10, the 32- and 64-bit total adds up to 35.31%, indicating a much wider gap between the older and newer versions of the OS. It may well be a few more months before Windows 10 finally overtakes Windows 7 in its entirety on Steam.
Curiously, Windows XP usage on Steam continues to creep up - following a 0.01% rise in the stats published in January, and a further increase of 0.14% last month, XP usage has again risen by 0.08% in the latest monthly breakdown, and is now at 2.39%, ahead of Windows 8 64-bit at 1.71%.
To the great surprise of no-one, Windows usage as a whole continues to dominate the Steam platform, accounting for 95.59% of devices, followed by OS X at 3.40% (down 0.15% compared with last month); and Linux at 0.91% (down by 0.04%).
Source: Steam via MSPowerUser
http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-10-is-now-used-by-over-35-of-steam-gamers
Windows 10 usage on the Steam gaming platform is steadily continuing to grow, with over 35% of gamers there now using Microsoft's latest OS.
The 64-bit version of Windows 10 remains in second place behind Windows 7 64-bit, but the gap between these top two most-used OS versions on Steam is now wafer-thin, with just 0.2% separating them.
Given the 1.24% increase in usage for Windows 10 64-bit (currently at 34.01%) since last month, it seems likely that that version will finally take the top spot from its Windows 7 counterpart (now at 34.21%) by this time next month.
When you add up the 32- and 64-bit variants of each OS, though, a slightly different picture emerges: for Windows 7, the combined total comes to 42.01%; and for Windows 10, the 32- and 64-bit total adds up to 35.31%, indicating a much wider gap between the older and newer versions of the OS. It may well be a few more months before Windows 10 finally overtakes Windows 7 in its entirety on Steam.
Curiously, Windows XP usage on Steam continues to creep up - following a 0.01% rise in the stats published in January, and a further increase of 0.14% last month, XP usage has again risen by 0.08% in the latest monthly breakdown, and is now at 2.39%, ahead of Windows 8 64-bit at 1.71%.
To the great surprise of no-one, Windows usage as a whole continues to dominate the Steam platform, accounting for 95.59% of devices, followed by OS X at 3.40% (down 0.15% compared with last month); and Linux at 0.91% (down by 0.04%).
Source: Steam via MSPowerUser
I hope you weren't all psyched about that Metal Gear Solid Remake in the Unreal engine, because the project has shut down. Although the developers didn't give specifics, the likely culprit is that Konami sent a C&D to them.
http://kotaku.com/metal-gear-solid-hd-fan-remake-suddenly-shuts-down-1762987298
http://kotaku.com/metal-gear-solid-hd-fan-remake-suddenly-shuts-down-1762987298
Day of the Tentacle Remastered is coming out on March 22. It'll also come out on the PS4 and Vita the same day.
http://kotaku.com/day-of-the-tentacle-remastered-hits-pc-on-march-22-1763479013
http://kotaku.com/day-of-the-tentacle-remastered-hits-pc-on-march-22-1763479013
The fun doesn't end here folks..
http://steamed.kotaku.com/disastrous-dota-2-tournament-ends-with-missing-gear-pi-1763412162
At least the hotel has offered to reimburse the players for their stolen goods. I'm not sure they realize how expensive the gaming headsets, mice, keyboards, and laptops can be. I also wonder how much trouble international players who won't be able to hang around in Shanghai will have getting their money.
Well it's either A: Replace everything and take a minor financial hit, or B: Do nothing and leave yourself open to a lawsuit which could result in a much greater hit. I'm sure also Valve spoke to the hotel and said that they'd leave the hotel out to dry as well. They have a vested interest in this whole mess going away ASAP.
I also doubt the players will have issues getting money. I mean it's Marriott, so they're not exactly hard to find and I'm sure they took down all the players relevant location information.
PSA: Do NOT download the newest Nvidia drivers, even if you want to play The Division.
http://www.destructoid.com/don-t-install-the-newest-nvidia-driver-it-s-breaking-pcs-347362.phtml
http://www.destructoid.com/don-t-install-the-newest-nvidia-driver-it-s-breaking-pcs-347362.phtml
Too late. I already installed them yesterday since they had the Game Ready update for The Division which I planed on playing today. Everything seemed fine last night but all I played was Pinball FX 2 to check out some of the tables I got in the Humble Bundle. Guess I'll be rolling them back to the previous version before I play anything else just to be safe.
Cities: Skylines has sold 2 million copies over a year.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-03-11-cities-skylines-sells-two-million-copies
Diablo 2 also received a update patch (First in 4 years.) It was mainly to update the game to run on more current operating systems, but Blizzard says there's more to come.
http://us.battle.net/en/forum/topic/20742864181
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-03-11-cities-skylines-sells-two-million-copies
Diablo 2 also received a update patch (First in 4 years.) It was mainly to update the game to run on more current operating systems, but Blizzard says there's more to come.
http://us.battle.net/en/forum/topic/20742864181
The new Hitman game turns assassination into art
http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/11/11200742/hitman-review-pc-ps4-xbox-one
About a quarter of a million people are injured in US bathrooms every year,according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but as I'm drowning a man in an ornate Parisian toilet I'm thinking I might have a tough time playing this off as an accident. Even trickier to explain will be how the fully grown man managed not only to trip and fall face-first into the bowl, but —? after his watery and unhygienic death —?? how he was also able to extract his own head from his porcelain resting place and climb into a nearby cupboard. A cupboard, it should be noted, that already contained another man who was, for various reasons,?? unconscious and nearly naked.
But as I'm walking out of the party, I get the notification in the top corner of the screen. "Accidental kill." I steer the bald-headed, barcode-tattooed Agent 47 down a leafy lane and out of an iron gate, and I'm home free, completing Hitman's first major mission with two targets dead and no proof I was ever even there.
http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/11/11200742/hitman-review-pc-ps4-xbox-one
About a quarter of a million people are injured in US bathrooms every year,according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but as I'm drowning a man in an ornate Parisian toilet I'm thinking I might have a tough time playing this off as an accident. Even trickier to explain will be how the fully grown man managed not only to trip and fall face-first into the bowl, but —? after his watery and unhygienic death —?? how he was also able to extract his own head from his porcelain resting place and climb into a nearby cupboard. A cupboard, it should be noted, that already contained another man who was, for various reasons,?? unconscious and nearly naked.
But as I'm walking out of the party, I get the notification in the top corner of the screen. "Accidental kill." I steer the bald-headed, barcode-tattooed Agent 47 down a leafy lane and out of an iron gate, and I'm home free, completing Hitman's first major mission with two targets dead and no proof I was ever even there.
DirectX 12 support has been patched into Rise of the Tomb Raider. If you wanted a AAA game to test this out with without having to buy from the Windows 10 Store you now have another option.
In the article I linked to the developers are claiming their test system (i7-2600k with a 970) went from 46 FPS to 60 FPS at 1080p high settings because of the efficiency gains of DirectX 12.
Edit: That is weird. I just posted a link to the Tumblr page and it brought the entire post in.
In the article I linked to the developers are claiming their test system (i7-2600k with a 970) went from 46 FPS to 60 FPS at 1080p high settings because of the efficiency gains of DirectX 12.
Edit: That is weird. I just posted a link to the Tumblr page and it brought the entire post in.
Good news for PC Gamers: Not only is the new Hitman incredibly optimized, but it REQUIRES an internet connection even if you play single player. Even better, offline saves don't work with online saves so if you get booted offline and hadn't saved, then none of your earnings carry over!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/236870/
And the Hitman Subreddit is thrilled at this news as well.
https://www.reddit.com/r/hitman
Note: this ALSO affects console players as well, because we all know there's a HUGE amount of piracy among them.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/236870/
And the Hitman Subreddit is thrilled at this news as well.
https://www.reddit.com/r/hitman
Note: this ALSO affects console players as well, because we all know there's a HUGE amount of piracy among them.
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Hearthstone opts to give players less so they can enjoy it more
http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/13/11210968/hearthstone-old-gods-exapnsion-standard-wild-formats
Yesterday afternoon, Blizzard, developer of the enormously popular digital card gameHearthstone, made an announcement about its new expansion, Whispers of the Old Gods. It's like the half dozen expansions which have come before it, with a backstory tied into Warcraft lore, a thematic play style, and a cache of new cards to whet gamers' appetites. After the set was revealed, Blizzard transitioned directly into its Winter Tournament, one of many professional qualifiers for Hearthstone the e-sport, a scene which now supports tournaments worth millions in annual prize money.
The subtext to Old Gods, however, is a far more fundamental change to the wayHearthstone will evolve going forward. When the new set of cards is released in late April or early May, Hearthstone will split into two formats: standard and wild. Wild will function just as the game does today, allowing players to utilize any card released to-date. But standard, which most expect will be the dominant format, will only allow cards released in the current and previous calendar year.
LEARNING FROM MAGIC'S LONG HISTORY
This is an approach borrowed from Magic The Gathering, the godfather of collectible card games. It adopted a similar system after it had built up a pool of thousands of cards. One goal is to reduce the complexity and cost for new players by winnowing the universe of playable cards down to a few hundred. The second, aimed more at veterans and pros, is to shake up what's known as the "meta," the handful of dominant decks which rely on certain cards and combinations. The third is to help the developers to maintain a balanced state of play — something which becomes increasingly difficult when there are thousands, even tens of thousands of other cards all relating to one another.
http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/13/11210968/hearthstone-old-gods-exapnsion-standard-wild-formats
Yesterday afternoon, Blizzard, developer of the enormously popular digital card gameHearthstone, made an announcement about its new expansion, Whispers of the Old Gods. It's like the half dozen expansions which have come before it, with a backstory tied into Warcraft lore, a thematic play style, and a cache of new cards to whet gamers' appetites. After the set was revealed, Blizzard transitioned directly into its Winter Tournament, one of many professional qualifiers for Hearthstone the e-sport, a scene which now supports tournaments worth millions in annual prize money.
The subtext to Old Gods, however, is a far more fundamental change to the wayHearthstone will evolve going forward. When the new set of cards is released in late April or early May, Hearthstone will split into two formats: standard and wild. Wild will function just as the game does today, allowing players to utilize any card released to-date. But standard, which most expect will be the dominant format, will only allow cards released in the current and previous calendar year.
LEARNING FROM MAGIC'S LONG HISTORY
This is an approach borrowed from Magic The Gathering, the godfather of collectible card games. It adopted a similar system after it had built up a pool of thousands of cards. One goal is to reduce the complexity and cost for new players by winnowing the universe of playable cards down to a few hundred. The second, aimed more at veterans and pros, is to shake up what's known as the "meta," the handful of dominant decks which rely on certain cards and combinations. The third is to help the developers to maintain a balanced state of play — something which becomes increasingly difficult when there are thousands, even tens of thousands of other cards all relating to one another.
