Claw

Bad news Oliver - you'll have to redo the video now with a new 18 Pro Max!

On the one hand, GTA6 appears to have the best, most incredible graphics in the history of video games, an absolute quantum leap.

But on the other, and here's the rub, the gameplay looks exactly the same as GTA3/4/5. I can't see any meaningful evolution or development. Or am I being unfair?

Ah well, PC version it is then. Personally, I absolutely cannot play anything at 30fps any more. I can wait.
On the plus side, by the time a PC version comes out, any bugs or broken content should be sorted.

In things I never thought I'd see, Apple's pricing of memory upgrades are now an actual bargain. You can spec a Mac Studio with the best CPU and 256GB RAM for under £11k, whereas a quick trip to Scan tells me an NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 96GB Blackwell card, which has way less memory, now costs £14.7k! Apple will sell a lot of those on that alone.
Back in the real world, it would be nice to know how the new base model Mac Mini performs in gaming, I'm guessing it's pretty decent for the money (something else I never thought I'd say). I wonder how it stacks up against a £900 PC?

Does the new Creation Engine 3 still have a completely immersion-breaking loading screen every time you enter a building? Why do I feel like I already know the answer?

@wsjudd Thanks Will, great information. I guess I've just become too jaded recently; my partner has a penchant for buying anything and everything from Facebook Marketplace, and the number of times she's been ripped off makes me tear my hair out. Not that that stops her from going back!
I'll go take a browse of Ali Express now, looks like there are some great bargains to be had.

Is it generally ok to buy stuff from Ali Express if you're in the UK? For some reason I just assumed it was a great way to get scammed, but is that just nonsense? The stuff on there just seems to cheap to be true, and in general my rule number 1 on the internet is if something looks too good to be true, that's because it is. If anyone has experience of Ali Express, either good or bad, I'd be interested to hear it. Thanks in advance!

DisplayPort always seems to be one step ahead of HDMI. This makes me wonder why TVs don't use DisplayPort. Is it a DRM issue of some sort?

Given that almost every item of tech that I own is Made in China already, bring it on! If Chinese DDR5 is as good as everyone else's, then why on earth not? You can be sure it will be a hell of a lot cheaper. And right now, the existing RAM makers can all go jump off a cliff as far as I'm concerned; their profiteering is disgusting.

Dear Tim Sweeny, stop adding new features for the next 2 years. Please concentrate on optimising. That's it! Spend two years making your engine run not just a bit faster, but an order of magnitude faster. Leave no stone unturned. Think ID Tech 4k 60 on mid-range.
Right now you are the Windows 11 of game engines.

Just watched the video (nice one Oliver), and to me once again it looks like Switch 2 witchcraft. I just can't get my head around the fact that it looks that good, and runs that well on a device you can fit in a coat pocket.

@Rich_Leadbetter Excellent advice, thank-you! My main issue right now is that back when I bought the system I was single and earning a good salary. Right now I am both engaged to be married and my business is going through a rough patch!

@Rich_Leadbetter Thank-you for asking! I have a 5600X/2080Ti/32GB RAM combo on a 55-Inch OLED TV, so I'll just have to make it last a few more years. It was top-tier when it was new, so I guess the lesson I've learned is that when you spend a bit more to begin with, it really will last a bit longer than your average kit. I shouldn't really complain too much, it can still do upscaled 4k/60 on low/medium settings with DLSS, it's just that I keep watching your videos featuring 5090s running at insane frame rates on max settings, and I'm jealous!

I'm very much the opposite. I built my current gaming PC back in November 2018, so it's definitely time for a refresh, but with prices as they are I'm pretty much shafted. Oh well.

In the future I suspect that DLSS 5 will be seen as the point where Nvidia jumped the shark.

Sadly, my personal belief is that Satya Nadella has absolutely no interest whatsoever in XBox. In fact, as far as I can tell, he has no interest in anything other than AI. See the current state of Windows for evidence.
In my personal opinion, Asha (and her inevitable sucessor in 2 or 3 years) has been assigned to oversee a managed retreat, with the eventual intention of exiting the gaming business completely.

Pedant Alert!
It should be "fewer DLC checks", not "less DLC checks".
smh

Would this system be capable of 1080p gaming at 60fps with medium settings? If so, it's good value