Hardware Unboxed

PC hardware, technology, reviews and analysis from Steve and Tim

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

@Thedoom7994224 That's the decision the developers made. They believe more NPCs is better than (for example) responsive input. One thing gets improved and it compromises something else. If you turn down graphics it compromises visuals but improves other things, and vice versa

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

30 FPS gaming actually does matter for two reasons that are often used to absolve it from being an issue

Visual quality - 30 FPS gaming is blurrier on modern displays, and less fluid. This significantly reduces visual quality compared to higher frame rates, because it makes it harder to see detail in motion

Gameplay - 30 FPS gaming has higher input lag and 'feels' worse. Opting for a lower frame rate actually hurts gameplay, whereas it's often portrayed as being irrelevant to gameplay

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

Rockstar Games is the only developer in the world that will get away with shipping a 30 FPS game in the current era.

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

They've designed the game around low performance. They've made the choice that those extreme simulations and effects are better for the game than more responsive gameplay and less visual blur. When CPU bound they'd have to remove certain CPU heavy systems to achieve higher performance, but they don't think that is worth it. Those systems don't come for free, it's a trade off like anything

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

@Thedoom7994224 It's pushing graphics/systems to heights never seen before because the developers have specifically chosen to sacrifice other areas of the experience. We don't know what would have been possible in other games, because they targeted double the performance.

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

This would be a game killing announcement for most other studios.

A lot of gamers who've gotten used to 60 FPS are in for a bit of a shock. The upgrade from 30 to 60 is massive, but the downgrade from 60 to 30 is even larger once you're used to 60.

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

Rockstar Games is the only developer in the world that will get away with shipping a 30 FPS game in the current era.

[Wario64 @Wario64]

Grand Theft Auto VI - targeting 30 FPS

PS5 Pro - PSSR and ray-traced shadows supported

Xbox Cloud Gaming supported & remote play support on PS5/Xbox

https://t.co/4pPeaIgePN

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

Does anyone know why this video has exploded with new views in the last day? .... very odd....

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

Well this was the understatement of 2023.
This was the first video we made @ Computex.

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

@TanmayO_O @Pirat_Nation It's for AI....

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

@JosefSt42064525 I know this post was hard to follow, but I'm asking the community for their opinion, I'm not giving mine here.

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

Radeon 6000 series owners, in your opinion did AMD take too long to support FSR 4.1 on your RDNA 2 GPU?

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

@se_birsen Yes

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

@RainyInSAndreas Epic are more interested in getting upset and telling gamers they are wrong, than proving why generative AI is amazing for gamers

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

Tim Sweeney getting upset at Steam's AI disclosure is an endless stream of funny content.

He claims it's bad for developers, but what he actually means is it's bad for Epic Games. Because Epic are literally building UE6 around generative AI, which they say will play a "central role"

If generative AI is good, and developers are proud to use it, there shouldn't be an issue disclosing it. But the problem is gamers don't agree, and some actively avoid games using AI. This in turn will mean avoiding UE6 games using their fancy gen AI integrations, which hurts Epic's business model.

It's another one of those things where companies are not on the same page as gamers. Gamers want engine developers to solve problems they are having (eg poor performance, traversal stutter, visual artefacts). They don't want those problems to remain unsolved while Epic makes it easier to fill storefronts with low quality AI-made games.

Transparency is always good for consumers and shouldn't be sacrificed. Ever. Why hide the use of a feature if you think the feature is good?

If it's a "hate mob" issue, maybe time to reassess the messaging. Prove that AI use is good, instead of hiding it. Because if it's actually good, it should be easy to explain and show why. The work speaks for itself with these things.

If Epic are ever wondering why gamers love Steam and avoided the Epic Games Store for so long, it's because Valve continue to deliver what gamers want. Being hostile to gamers doesn't work.

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

@GamersNexus Nvidia's waiting for RTX Spark to tell them what it is you might actually do with an RTX Spark laptop.
In other words Nvidia's employing the Scam Altman strategy which has worked really well for OpenAI...

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

@EarthFled37106 Are you okay? LOL

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

Look at how much they've toned down DLSS 5 on the faces in Hogwarts Legacy for the final release. Barely does anything now to faces

Original reveal: https://t.co/Vx1IC60R9J
Final game: https://t.co/463ez1flF0

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

@mpr_reviews @imadbouhafs Yeah it is. Basically it played out this way because the RTX 5090 was so horrible in TTW and SCSKiller fixed it. So I thought this is a good game to check Radeon in with SCSKiller, only to discover Radeon was perfect. Which sent me looking for answers.

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

@mpr_reviews @imadbouhafs Nice work, I think it's a case where it will work well in some games and do little to nothing in others. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands seems to be by far the best example, especially when comparing Radeon to GeForce.

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

@Xa_Vy_ @Atriox_ Yes you. RTX 5080 is quite powerful, I imagine if you're using a slower GPU, DLSS5 wouldn't necessarily be a must use feature, given what is likely to be poor performance. So keep that in mind, not everyone has an RTX 5080.

[Hardware Unboxed @HardwareUnboxed]

@Xa_Vy_ @Atriox_ What GPU are you using?