I’ve previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, I love to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games and breaking exclusive stories. Besides my passion for gaming journalism, I love spending my leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited my articles.
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A report reveals that the price of the RTX 5090 will increase up to $5000 USD in 2026.
This massive increase is due to a memory crisis and the industry’s increasing focus on AI.
The price increases are expected to happen every month and will affect the entire product line.
Therefore, it’s unsurprising that GPU prices are expected to rise starting in January 2026 as AMD and Nvidia face DRAM shortages. A new report now reveals that Nvidia’s flagship RTX 5090 will see an exorbitant price increase of up to $5000 USD next year.
Why it matters: After the worsening memory crisis, making high-end RAM kits more expensive than most consoles in recent months, GPU prices will also shoot up massively next year. This will turn AAA gaming into a more expensive hobby for many users.
The RTX 5090’s price will see a bump of about 150% from the original MSRP in 2026 | Credit: Newsis.
The report by Newsis says that price increases will first hit consumer GPUs, including the RTX 50 series and AMD’s Radeon RX 9000 lineup. The RTX 5090, which had an original MSRP of $1999, will go as high as $5000 next year. It is nearly a concerning 150% increase.
The average share of memory in the manufacturing cost of all GPUs has recently exceeded 80%.
-An Industry Official.
This memory apocalypse will result in price bumps happening nearly every month and will slowly affect the entire aforementioned product lines, as well as the GPUs made for AI data centers and servers, eventually.
The report mentions that the price of the typical VRAM used in GPUs, the DDR5 16G (2Gx8), was $5.5 in May but shot up to $20 in November. It explains the expected price hikes, as memory will continue to get more expensive for the foreseeable future.
On a side note, even console gamers aren’t safe; the rising memory prices could also cause next-gen Sony and Xbox consoles to be delayed, including Valve’s Steam Machine.
Do you think the rising memory prices and worsening stocks justify such a gargantuan price increase? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
I’ve previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, I love to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games and breaking exclusive stories. Besides my passion for gaming journalism, I love spending my leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited my articles.
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A Lionsgate executive has confirmed that the rumored AAA John Wick has been in development.
The title will be announced soon, alongside multiple others, including one based on the SAW IP.
The John Wick gaming adaptation is rumored to be a big-budget AAA action experience.
The John Wick franchise is one of Hollywood’s most prominent works because of its high-intensity action and hearty story carried by Keanu Reeves. Gamers have long been itching to relive the IP through a well-developed adaptation.
Lionsgate also held similar sentiments back in 2023, when it discussed making a big-budget AAA adaptation of the franchise. Now, those plans seem to have come to fruition, as an AAA John Wick game has been officially in development and will be announced soon.
Why it matters: An actual AAA John Wick action game could quench the thirst of gamers and fans of the franchise in general, possibly with a new storyline, even if the gameplay is half as accurate as the movies.
The AAA John Wick game could be based on a new storyline.
This tidbit was well hidden in Lionsgate’s Q2 2026 earnings call. At the 27-minute mark, chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Adam Fogelson says the studio’s AAA John Wick entry and other gaming initiativeswill be announced soon.
Our AAA game opportunities and other gaming opportunities. around John Wick and Saw and some others that we’ll be announcing soon.
-Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chairman.
Adam also notes that Lionsgate has observed increased interest and opportunities to adapt its gaming franchises, and its progress remains on schedule. We may learn more details soon, including the studio involved in the John Wick gaming adaptation.
The John Wick project is expected to be a big-budget title that will be more in-depth than something like John Wick Hex. Keanu Reeves also has had good experience in the gaming scene by playing Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077. So, we might be in for a huge treat.
It’s unclear if the game would be an open-world experience.
Lionsgate also brought up a gaming adaptation for SAW and other IPs, which may include the likes of The Hunger Games. However, the scope of these other gaming titles remains unknown.
Do you think the AAA John Wick game will expand the franchise’s universe or explore an existing story from the movies? Are you looking forward to it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
As a Hardware Expert at Tech4Gamers, I bring my decade-long expertise in electronics design, embedded solutions, and prototyping. My knack for exposing misconceptions in the tech world finds a perfect outlet here.
While every other and even major PSU manufacturers are sticking with the same old mantra of designing a boring square metal box with some ventilation holes and the only “major” innovation for them these days is to color the 12V-2×6 connector differently for better insertion visibility, I have got to say, Lian Li has surely made PSUs interesting again!
Lian Li has very recently entered the PSU market and even though they first started with decent quality PSUs, they were following the same old footsteps of every other PSU manufacturer without anything new to offer to their customers.
It is important to note that there are only a handful PSU OEMs in the industry and it is extremely rare to see a brand requesting major design changes to the OEMs (may be because “if it ain’t broken don’t fix it”) and that’s why those brands are very limited to innovate anything from their side.
Lian Li must have realized this fact very soon and hence why they went with some new OEMs because they couldn’t resist innovating and applying some very unique and out of the box ideas for their next PSU series.
Lian Li started such crazy innovations from their Lian Li Edge series where instead of using the traditional power connectors design, they extended the PSU length and provided an extremely convenient layout to insert power cables absolutely hassle-free.
This time, with Lian Li’s RS1200G 80 Plus Gold PSU, we see..oh wait, is it for real?
This is the first time I have seen such a creative design on an AC power equipment. Though its actual use-case is very niche, I have got to give props to Lian Li for trying something very unique.
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The world’s first rotatable AC inlet design wasn’t enough of a flex for Lian Li because they also implemented the world’s first, dual side-mounted 24-pin connector design where on both sides of the PSU, you have option to plug-in 24-pin connector (imagine the growth of all those companies if they hadn’t thrown that meme guy out of the window).
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24-Pin Connector Side A
24-Pin Connector Side B
Metal Covers for 24-pin Connectors
This design implementation can be very handy because the beefy 24-pin connector takes up the space of almost x4 8-pin GPU connectors, placing it on a completely different side makes it super convenient for the user to plug in/out the rest of the power connectors.
There are two metal plates provided by Lian Li to hide one of the un-used 24-pin connector side – way too much and much appreciated attention to detail from Lian Li (or may be because otherwise the un-used 24-pin connector would be visible in most of the PC cases – if the PSU is used in a different orientation)
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4 Port R5 USB-HUB
4 Port R5 USB-HUB
R5 USB-HUB Plugged into the PSU
19D R5 USB-HUB On The PSU
Alongside a few completely unheard of features, let’s add another one and this time it’s R5 USB Hub that attaches on the back of RS1200G like a snap-in battery. This provides 4 user-accessible USB headers for your peripherals to be plugged in. With the recent blings we have been seeing lately in the gaming peripherals market i.e mini LCD screens, LCD/OLED equipped AIOs etc, this H5 USB Hub basically provides an absolute max future proofing.
Dual Color 12V 12×6 Power Cable
We also get to see some improvement claims on the dual color 12V-2×6 power connector from Lian Li. As per Lian Li, they are using an improved and rugged designed copper pins for their 12V-2×6 connector and instead of crimping the heavy 16AWG wires, they are soldering the wires directly to the connectors for better reliability and much lower resistance.
Magnetic Cable Comb Attachments
To be honest, at this point if I tell my viewers that Lian Li also comes with a unique feature that pours champagne in a glass every time they win a game they surely won’t be surprised!
Here we have one last unique and quite an impressive attention to detail from Lian Li – Magnetic cable comb attachments for making your cable management like a soft breeze.
Cable & Connectors
Connector Type
Quantity
Motherboard cable (24/20-pin)
1x
CPU / EPS 12V connectors (1x 8-pin, 1x 4+4-pin)
2x
PCIe 12V-2×6 connector (16-pin)
1x
PCIe connectors (6+2-pin)
5x
SATA connectors
12x
4-pin Peripheral connectors
4x
USB Cables (Internal & Type A)
2x
Teardown & Component Analysis
Teardown Top
Lian Li seemed to have gone with a new OEM (Sirfa/High-Power) this time for their new PSU lineups, most likely this was the only OEM that could keep up with the extensive and challenging demands from Lian Li’s design team.
The main platform looks densely populated and uses vertically mounted modular PCBs to effectively use the limited space.
Lian Li RS1200G utilises two TO-247 package MOSFETs on its APFC Boost circuit instead of traditional TO-220. The bigger surface area of the TO-247 package allows much better power and heat handling capabilities.
Half Bridge MOSFETs
For the secondary rail generation, Half-Bridge LLC topology is used via two MOSFETs. The PCB design allows mounting/soldering of two additional MOSFETs for a Full-Bridge LLC topology, but Lian Li kept it to only two for keeping the cost down.
Keeping the tradition of being unique and different, Lian Li has opted for a capacitor brand (for its primary bulk capacitor) that in my knowledge, hasn’t ever been used in the PSU market (both for consumer and server).
We usually have seen brands bragging about “100% Japanese capacitors” in their PSUs. This has been the utmost quality standard since the beginning and may be according to Lian Li, this has kind of become an old fashioned approach because now enters the new tag-line, “German capacitors” (maximum flex threshold has reached…)
Bulk Electrolytic Capacitors from EPCOS
EPCOS has been a widely popular brand in industrial, automotive and power grid applications that require the most rigorous and challenging demands. EPCOS, which was a German brand, was acquired by TDK (a well known Japanese brand that also produces high-quality capacitors) and by the mid of 2026, TDK has decided to replace the EPCOS branding name with their own TDK. Now the funny thing is, how will Lian Li be keeping the “marketing” bar high of being unique and different than others as the German branding wall will fall soon? (you see what I did there? 😀 )
Polymer & Electrolytic Capacitors
Polymer Capacitors
Rest of the electrolytic as well as polymer capacitors are also from well reputable brands i.e Nippon-Chemicon & Teapo. Lian Li doesn’t seem to have compromised on the quality of the components in any way in RS1200G.
Primary Side Heatsinks
For an 80 Plus Gold rated PSU with 1200W of specs, Lian Li RS1200G seems to be lacking decent chunks of Aluminium heatsinks. This is most likely due to space limitations which for a full form factor 1200W ATX power brick, seems a bit odd but then when you see a huge square plastic block has taken up much of the internal space (the rotatable AC inlet thingy) then it all started to make sense. Due to the densely populated PCB and not much of an empty space for the air to freely roam and cool down the components, Lian Li may either have put an aggressive fan profile or might have just increased RS1200G’S efficiency levels, we will see it in our test.
Rotatable AC Inlet Acquired Most Of The Space Inside
Main Transformer
The main 12V rail Transformer design is very similar to what many new OEMs have been implementing lately and we have also seen the similar looking ones previously in the PSUs we have tested before. This unique design uses flat copper coil/wire with more increased surface area than traditional copper wire. This allows the transformer to be switched at a much higher frequency and, as a result, increases its power handling capability as well.
12V Rail MOSFETs
Two vertically mounted PCBs are placed directly near the transformer where 12V rail SMD MOSFETs are soldered.
DC-DC Converter Board for 5V & 3.3V Rail
A small vertical daughter board for minor voltage rails (5V and 3.3V)
135mm FDB Fan From HongHua
A 135mm FDB (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) fan is used from Hong Hua. The PSU doesn’t feature any Hybrid-Fan mode switch, instead this feature is implemented by default – meaning the PSU will automatically kick in the fan at adequate load.
PSU Load Testing
Voltage Regulation
Load in %
12V Rail
5V
3.3V
20%
12.03
5.06
3.33
50%
11.97
5.05
3.33
70%
11.93
5.05
3.32
90%
11.93
5.03
3.32
100%
11.92
5.03
3.32
Lian Li RS1200G has excellent voltage regulation for 12V rail throughout different load variations.
PSU Efficiency
Load in %
Efficiency
Power Factor
20%
92.59%
0.953
50%
93.38%
0.989
70%
92.71%
0.995
90%
91.75%
0.998
100%
91.18%
0.998
I was skeptical at first for not having adequate aluminium heatsinks in RS1200G but seeing the absolutely amazing efficiency numbers that average out at 92.32%, it easily exceed Gold efficiency and even touches Platinum levels, I am really impressed how Lian Li and Sirfa/High-Power have worked together to make this platform so efficient.
Voltage Ripple Performance
Load in %
12V Ripple
20%
12.8
50%
18
70%
20
90%
24
100%
26
Voltage ripple performance is very good. This platform from Sirfa/High-Power seems more than capable of even lower voltage ripple numbers. I think if all 4 MOSFETs were used (for the Full-Bridge LLC instead of the Half-Bridge) we would have been seeing some exceptional performance in this test.
Temperature
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Max Temp @Exhaust
Max Temp @Cable Side
Max Temp @Back
That’s where I am a bit confused. Not because the temperature performance was bad, no! The PSU kept everything cool inside and the max temperature on the back only reached about 59.4C which of course thanks to its Platinum level efficiency. But still Lian Li has made RS1200G’s fan profile very aggressive! When the load exceeds 700W the fan noise gets extremely loud and annoying. Lian Li must take a look at this issue and improve the fan curve because 700W load on a 1200W rated PSU can easily be exceeded using modern high-end gaming PC hardware.
Should You Buy it?
Buy It If
✅ You want versatile mounting options: Lian Li RS1200G features a very unique design for both the 24-pin connector and the mains AC inlet, making it fully compatible with some of the most unconventional and creative PC case layouts out there.
✅ You want extreme efficiency for the price: For what you’d normally pay for a Gold-rated PSU, the RS1200G delivers efficiency that’s basically flirting with Titanium levels.
✅ You want peace of mind with next-gen GPUs: Lian Li includes an improved dual-color 12V-2×6 connector, letting you game worry-free on power-hungry GPUs like the RTX 5090 without stressing about connector safety.
✅ You care about long-term future-proofing: With a hefty 1200W power rating and a feature set that just keeps going, the RS1200G is the kind of PSU you’ll likely stick with for well over a decade.
✅ You want the best bang for the buck: At this price point, most competitors offer “safe but boring” PSUs. The RS1200G stands out by delivering genuinely unique features and thoughtful extras that you simply won’t find elsewhere.
Don’t Buy It If
❌ You want silent operation: Unfortunately, fan noise is the RS1200G’s weak spot. Lian Li clearly poured their energy into innovative design and features, but the loud fan can be hard to ignore if silence is high on your priority list.
My Final Thoughts
Lian Li has genuinely shaken up the boring PSU market with the RS1200G, offering smart features like a rotatable power plug and convenient side-mounted connectors. It performs incredibly well with efficiency that actually beats its rating, making it a fantastic value for high-end builds. The only real catch is the fan noise, which gets surprisingly loud and annoying once you start pushing the power supply hard.
Currently serving as a News Reporter at Tech4Gamers, I have the privilege of combining my love for gaming with the art of storytelling. My role involves crafting engaging narratives that keep our audience abreast of the latest developments in the gaming world.
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New listing reveals that the Ryzen 7 9850X3D could be priced $499.
The official price will be unveiled at the CES in January next month.
A lower price could be due to the RAM inflation.
AMD’s Ryzen 9000 series has been an incredibly successful endeavour for them, and the tech giant doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. The release of the highly awaited Ryzen 7 9850X3D is just around the corner, and spoiler alert, it may be a reasonably priced CPU release from Team Red.
A new listing determined the retail price of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, which is at just $499, cheaper than what was expected considering recent hardware costs. Furthermore, it is just $20 more than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.
Why it matters: Recent hardware costs, especially RAM, have surged beyond affordability. It’s nice to see new component releases being reasonably priced in this situation.
Ryzen 7 9850D3D Listed On NEBuMAX
As seen in the screenshot above, the processor is listed for a price of $511.44 retail, implying that the official price may be just $500.
In terms of features, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D has a base clock of 4.7 GHz, boosting up to 5.6 GHz, 400MHz more frequency in turbo than the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Other than that, it has the same specs, with an 8-core processor that has the same 120W TDP based on AMD’s 3DV technology.
Officially, the price is expected to be released at the CES in January alongside the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, AMD’s flagship release.
The lower retail price might be due to increased DDR5 RAM prices in recent times, and AMD is probably consolidating customers on the CPU side. Still, sales are expected to be low as buying power will be reduced next year due to the AI boom repercussions.
I’ve previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, I love to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games and breaking exclusive stories. Besides my passion for gaming journalism, I love spending my leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited my articles.
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An ex-BioWare producer says AAA games are losing their essence and encouraging the use of AI.
The AAA industry is focused on exploiting risk-free formulas, which have severely backfired.
However, AAA studios can recover if they spend some budget exploring new paths like indie titles.
AAA games have certainly become more gorgeous with expanded scope and gameplay features over the last decade. However, many of them take half a decade to develop, require a lot of profits to break even, yet still fail to innovate enough to stand out.
Ex-BioWare producer and industry expert Mike Darrah claims these negative factors affecting AAA titles are the reason they feel soulless. The industry’s exploitative nature and promises of shorter development timesare also making gen AI more attractive for developers.
Why it matters: Focusing on the same formulas has taken away everything that made AAA games fun, making soulless experiences the norm. This negative feedback loop is boosting the emergence and acceptance of AI in the industry.
While speaking in a YouTube video, Mike reflects that AAA studios’ profit-first and risk-free approach has made their entries feel like empty products despite all the technical improvements.
in an effort to remove risk, in an effort to address as large of an audience as possible, all of the spirit, all of the art has been sanded away from the resulting product. […]
-Former BioWare Producer, Mike Darrah.
This exploitation of gamers is making them more open to accepting gen AI since the AAA industry already feels more corporate than ever before. In comparison, AA experiences like Expedition 33 stand out for innovating and satisfying players.
This [is] one of the reason why some consumers may be willing to accept generated AI may be them feeling like to some degree a lot of media has become soulless already.
MindsEye is yet another example of a massive AAA failure in recent months.
Mike argues that AAA studios also need to focus some of their inflated budgets on exploration, like the indie industry, to stand a chance moving forward.
There will be failures, sure, but the new formulas that work out with gamers will be a huge win for the developers.
Do you think AAA studios have a secure future if they focus on innovations and exploration in the industry? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
Currently serving as a News Reporter at Tech4Gamers, I have the privilege of combining my love for gaming with the art of storytelling. My role involves crafting engaging narratives that keep our audience abreast of the latest developments in the gaming world.
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Insider says that ASUS is expected to ramp up AM4 and LGA 1700 board production next year, with DDR4 RAM expected to make a comeback.
Ryzen 5000 processors are already selling well, and AMD may continue production for the last generation of processors, with Intel following suit.
Other board manufacturers may follow in ASUS’s path of last-gen board production.
The AI fiasco has caused an uproar in the PC building community, and it seems as if buying new hardware has become almost impossible. PC components, especially new RAM prices, have been running hot, and as things go, they’re not going to get down any time soon.
Now that you can get a PS5 and some spare change or even the latest MacBook M4 Air for the price of a 64GB DDR5 RAM kit, gamers are being forced to fall back to DDR4 RAMs, which are the only cheap option they can resort to.
With a worldwide shortage of DDR5 RAM expected, ASUS is now ramping up production for AM4 and LGA 1700 Motherboards, as 2026 may be the year when we see a DDR4 comeback.
Why it matters: DDR5 RAM has been around for nearly 5 years, and instead of looking forward, we’re actually going back to the DDR4 era, which was first introduced more than a decade ago.
Insider On PC Building Trend For 2026 || Source: Board Forums
Insiders on Board Forums reported this news, stating that boards like the B550 and the entry-level A520 are expected to be increased in production, especially since gamers will have to resort to budget builds in 2026.
For the Intel side, DDR4 boards like B760 or H610 will go into fashion since a few of the LGA 1700 boards support DDR5 RAMs too.
The Ryzen 5000 series is also selling, and as of early 2025, it made 50% of the total AMD CPU sales. The same trend is expected to continue going into 2026.
Seeing this, AMD and Intel may even decide to keep up the production of the last-generation processors since sales for the current ones will definitely be lower due to high RAM prices and whatnot.
For DDR4 RAM, manufacturers are expected to keep up DDR4 RAM production, and even Samsung is delaying the end-of-life for them. As for the motherboards, other manufacturers apart from ASUS are also likely to follow suit.
As Tech4Gamers’ Founder and Editor-in-Chief, I bring over 13 years of PC Hardware Reviewing and 8+ years of IT Project Management experience. Certified in Google IT Support , my focus is on providing honest product reviews and analysis and fostering a strong gaming community with 130k+ members in PPG.
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Sapphire 9070 XT’s “Stealth” layout creates constant side-tension on the cable, leading to poor electrical contact.
Damage appears across all power pins, indicating generalized overheating rather than a single loose wire.
Sapphire acknowledges the reports but calls them rare and has not issued a recall.
The Sapphire RX 9070 XT Nitro+ is once again the subject of debate, and this time it’s not a single case of a burned-out unit or clear improper insertion by a user. The power connector has once again become the center of attention, and for all the wrong reasons.
The Reddit post that began today adds another episode to a growing list of issues: Completely burned 12V-2×6 connectors, with apparent damage to all power pins, on a specific model with high power consumption, a stealth design, and a connecter orientation that adds an extra risk element.
The Saphire’s concept is aesthetically pleasing and functional on paper, but in practice it exposes the cable, or adapter, as the case may be, to permanent lateral tension, which does not appear to be an ideal scenario in any electrical recommendation for this type of high current density connector and, given the design of NVIDIA and PCI-SIG, is not recommended as such, as we have seen numerous times.
According to the model’s official documentation, Sapphire expressly describes how to make the link. Insert the cable straight, firmly activate the locking mechanism, and ensure the blue-marked connector region is not visible after insertion.
The image in the Reddit post shows clearly that it is not a single overheated pin, nor is it from localized damage, but from a specific bad connection. The paragraph explains the thermal degradation on all 12V power pins of the graphics card, with uniform discoloration, traces of charring, and clear signs of progressive overheating.
This points to a different phenomenon: a generalized increase in electrical resistance across the entire connector of this Sapphire RX 9070 XT Nitro+, which is clearly burning out due to electrical problems.
When a connector of this type is subjected to constant lateral stress, the internal contacts stop working under ideal conditions. Microgaps emerge, the actual contact area diminishes, and resistance rises, a common issue with the 12V-2×6 connector.
From there, the process is well-known: greater resistance implies more heat, more heat damages the plastic substance, the material loses stiffness, the contact pressure drops even more, and the cycle speeds up. The final product is precisely what we see on the screen.
The Stealth design, far from being a minor element, becomes a crucial variable, not because the 12V-2×6 cable is inherently defective (as seen in the RTX 40 and 50 series), but because it does not handle conditions well where perfect insertion cannot be passively maintained. And, due to its design, the Nitro+ cable never rests without lateral load.
The fact that several documented cases showing the same pattern have already accumulated reinforces this interpretation. Sapphire stated that the number of cases with this issue is minimal, so whether they will recall the model from the market remains uncertain.
I’ve previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, I love to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games and breaking exclusive stories. Besides my passion for gaming journalism, I love spending my leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited my articles.
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Monster Hunter Wilds has become one of Steam’s best-selling titles in 2025.
The game has sold like hotcakes despite having poor PC optimization and visual anomalies.
The subsequent updates improved performance but failed to make a massive enough difference.
Monster Hunter Wilds is among those titles that run terribly but otherwise feature industry-standard gameplay. However, it’s been incredibly popular for Capcom, even with all the criticism and controversies mixed with its sales milestones.
The game has continued to roll over copies since its early 2025 launch, becoming one of Steam’s best-selling titles this year. It sold over 10 million copies during its first month, continuing a steady trajectory over the rest of the year.
Why it matters: Monster Hunter Wilds being one of the best Steam sellers in 2025 confirms that the gameplay was impressive enough for many gamers to ignore the glaring optimization woes on PC, many of which still persist to this day.
Monster Hunter Wilds is included in the premium tier of Steam’s ‘Top 100 products released in 2025, by revenue’ list, which includes 12 games sorted in a random order. The list is as follows:
Monster Hunter Wilds
Elden Ring Nightreign
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
EA Sports FC 26
Borderlands 4
Schedule I
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Civilization VII
Battlefield 6
Dune Awakening
Arc Raiders
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
For those not in the know, Monster Hunter Wilds sold the most on PC despite having massive performance issues. Capcom even admitted that the team polished the game as much as possible before its launch in a statement following uproar by the community.
Detailed analysis of Wilds’ PC performance revealed that its visuals were choppy and full of anomalies, resembling those of PlayStation 3. The game struggled on high-end GPUs and ran quite poorly on mid-range ones, which is what most Steam users use anyway.
Monster Hunter Wilds is a hit-or-miss experience, depending on your platform.
Regardless, the game was praised for its streamlined gameplay with many enjoyable elements for gamers experiencing the IP for the first time. It is still regarded as one of the best titles in the franchise, and its post-launch sales have further cemented that.
Do you think the game being a Steam best-seller this year is surprising? Will this milestone encourage poor PC optimization in the long run? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
I’ve previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, I love to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games and breaking exclusive stories. Besides my passion for gaming journalism, I love spending my leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited my articles.
Story Highlight
Sword and Fairy 4 Remake, an RPG from Chinese developer UP Software, is being hailed as the first-ever Expedition 33 clone by players.
Fans online are claiming that the game’s parry system, combat mechanics, and UI are a carbon copy of Sandfall’s RPG.
Players also expressed concern that this could start a new trend of JRPGs that just follow the Expedition 33 formula and stagnate creativity in the industry.
But, as it turns out, some developers are getting too inspired by Expedition 33, so much so that clones of the Sandfall title are already here just 8 months after the game’s release.
Why it matters: Expedition 33 was always going to inspire future RPGs, but if developers only try to recreate the game’s success, it will destroy creativity in the industry.
Chinese developer UP Software debuted the first trailer for its upcoming JRPG, Sword and Fairy 4: Remake, and fans can’t help but draw parallels between this title and Expedition 33. Due to its combat system, players are calling the Chinese game the first example of an Expedition 33-like title.
The game’s UI, mechanics, parry system, and camera shots in Sword and Fairy 4 are eerily similar to Sandfall’s RPG. Some fans are even calling the Chinese title a straight-up copy of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Of course, Sword and Fairy 4 remake taking inspiration from one of the most acclaimed titles of this decade isn’t surprising. The original came out over 20 years ago, and it’s only natural that the remake is basing its aesthetic and combat on the most in-demand game in the world.
Players are intrigued and concerned by the announcement of the first Expedition 33 clone.
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However, many players are concerned that this will spark a trend of clone games, potentially creating a movement similar to the Soulsborne genre that saturated the market.
Do you think Sword and Fairy 4 Remake is going to create a new genre of games inspired by Expedition 33? Tell us in the comments below or head to the Tech4Gamers forum for discussion.
I’ve previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, I love to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games and breaking exclusive stories. Besides my passion for gaming journalism, I love spending my leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited my articles.
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Hades 2 has become one of OpenCritic’s top 10 highest-rated titles of all time.
The sequel achieved this milestone after its critic reviews rose to 95.
The review score is equal to the likes of GTA 4, RDR2, Astro Bot, and other gems.
Among tough competition, Hades 2’s launch was seen as one of the best in 2025 after an incredibly positive player reception. The sequel went on to win the best action game award in TGA 2025 and even surpassed Expedition 33 as the best-rated game of the year.
The game’s ratings have continued to rise since the early boom after launch, now becoming OpenCritic’s ninth highest-rated title of all time.
Why it matters: The recent rating boost reflects that Hades 2 improves upon the original roguelite in almost every way, achieving a high rating and player satisfaction among both casuals and critics alike.
Hades 2 critic review has shot up to 95 on OpenCritic, making it stand among the top-10 highest-rated titles.
Hades 2’s current critic score has risen to 95 on OpenCritic, making it stand amongst highly popular AAA entries that share a similar score in the top 10 ratings, including Red Dead Redemption 2, Elden Ring, GTA 4, and the like.
Only Super Mario Odyssey, Baldur’s Gate 3, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have a higher score of 96 or above on OpenCritic.
For those not in the know, Hades 2 also has a 95 critic score on Metacritic, another popular review aggregator site in the gaming scene.
Hades 2 has been received as a worthy successor to the original roguelite.
Both the critic and user ratings suggest that Hades 2 has improved in storytelling and gameplay over the original instead of feeling like a recycled experience.
The critic review getting a bump after months also confirms that the subsequent updates have further improved the game since the 1.0 launch.
Do you think Hades 2 deserves its new spot amid the top 10 games on OpenCritic, or is the game’s rating unfair? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
As Tech4Gamers’ Founder and Editor-in-Chief, I bring over 13 years of PC Hardware Reviewing and 8+ years of IT Project Management experience. Certified in Google IT Support , my focus is on providing honest product reviews and analysis and fostering a strong gaming community with 130k+ members in PPG.
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Lisuan Technology launched the G100 series graphics cards, aiming to compete with NVIDIA and AMD and reduce reliance on foreign GPUs.
Founded in 2021, Lisuan nearly went bankrupt in 2024 but rebounded to develop its own TrueGPU architecture, manufactured on SMIC’s 6nm process.
Lisuan 7G100/7G106 gaming GPU rivals mid-range NVIDIA GPUs, supports modern APIs, and is expected to hit the consumer market by early 2026, with benchmarks imminent.
China has taken a significant step toward technological self-reliance in graphics processing with the launch of the Lisuan G100 GPUs, according to reports from foreign media.
Developed by Chinese firm Lisuan Technology, the G100 series marks one of the country’s first serious efforts to establish a homegrown competitor to industry leaders such as NVIDIA and AMD. The move highlights China’s growing ambition to reduce dependence on foreign semiconductor technology and build a competitive domestic GPU ecosystem.
Specifically, we’re talking about the Lisuan 7G100, which could very well be a gaming graphics card. For now, its shipments have been limited to Chinese business clients, which is where the real business is. But finally, its arrival on the retail market is expected in early 2026.
Lisuan Technology’s Journey From Bankruptcy to the G100 GPU In Just One Year!
Lisuan 7G106 Graphics Card
To give you some context, Lisuan Technology was founded practically yesterday, in 2021, to be precise. What’s most striking is that in 2024 it nearly went bankrupt, but was saved by a significant capital injection. Since then, it has made remarkable progress with its graphics architecture, designed from scratch without foreign licenses, and dubbed TrueGPU.
This architecture is used by its Lisuan G100, which features a graphics chip manufactured by the Chinese foundry SMIC using a 6nm lithographic process.
From what we know so far, in its very early versions, this Lisuan G100 GPU appeared in benchmarks like Geekbench. In the most recent leaks, it now outperforms an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 or an Intel Arc A770 in this benchmark. This also means it falls just short of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060.
This demonstrates that the hardware is there and that everything will depend on the software. We’re talking about impressive performance considering this company was founded in 2021, created its own architecture, and by 2026, is already offering the performance of a mid-range NVIDIA GPU.
The First Benchmarks Could Arrive Any Day Now
Lisuan 7G106 Performance
The Lisuan G100, or 7G100 for the gaming market, uses the 7G106 graphics chip. This chip, with 192 TMUs and 96 ROPs, is paired with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and has a TDP of 225W.
Therefore, it requires an 8-pin power connector. On the other hand, there’s the professional version with the 7G105 chip. The main difference is that it comes with 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with ECC support. Furthermore, this chip offers FP32 performance of 24 TFLOPS.
The important thing is that the gaming GPU will debut with support for the DirectX 12, Vulkan 1.3, OpenGL 4.6, and OpenCL 3.0 APIs. Therefore, it’s expected to have little to no support for, or significant performance issues with, older games. This is what happened to Intel with the debut of its Intel Arc GPUs. Although they have since improved their support for games based on DirectX 11 and DirectX 9.
With its arrival on the consumer market, it’s a matter of days, or at most weeks, before local tech media outlets can get their hands on a GPU to subject it to numerous benchmarks.
Even if it performs like an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, or even better, it will still be an achievement. This paves the way for China to start selling computers with hardware entirely developed and manufactured in China.
What’s your take on the new graphics cards from Lisuan? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
At T4G, my task is to cover the latest news around the gaming globe ASAP and with the utmost precision. I adore all the games and respect all the devs behind the amazing games that we get all year. So, whether it’s a PC or a Console game, I got it all covered.
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The PS5 has had about 5x fewer exclusives than the PS4, and 10x fewer than the PS3.
Despite the lack of exclusives, the PS5 has sold well, matching the PS4’s sales.
This was possible due to some smart deals Sony made and the lack of competition.
The biggest reason for the PlayStation’s success has always been its excellent exclusives. From God of War to Uncharted, The Last of Us, and more, PlayStation has always had an edge over Xbox due to its superb first-party franchises.
The console itself has managed to deliver based on the sales numbers, but the number of exclusives has been on a decline this generation. Sony has already canceled over 10 major first-party games this generation. These include:
The Last of Us 2 Factions
Payback From Bungie
Twisted Metal
New IP From Deviation Games
New IP From London Studio
Spider-Man: The Great Web
God of War Live Service Project
Bend Studio Live Service Project
Days Gone 2
Bend and Naughty Dog Partner Project Expected To Be Uncharted 5
For context, the PS5 has 5x fewer exclusives than PS4, and a whopping 10x fewer than PS3. This begs the question of “Has the lack of exclusives hurt PlayStation this generation?”
To give a straight answer, that doesn’t seem to have any effect. The console currently sits at over 84 million units sold, and sales are almost the same as its predecessor in the same amount of time, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Why it matters: Exclusives are generally the defining thing for consoles and something that brings in the most audience and profits; despite the smaller number of exclusives, PS5 sales haven’t struggled at all.
PS5 has sold well despite fewer exclusives
PS5 Sales Are Brilliant Despite The Lack of Exclusives
No, the lack of exclusives hasn’t hurt PS5 as it should have in theory. Remember that this generation was also plagued with shortages and other issues in the beginning; despite this, the sales are almost equal to PS4.
The last couple of generations had genre-defining exclusives. These include franchises like Uncharted, The Last of Us, Horizon, and more. Most of this generation was just remakes or remasters of the previous-gen titles.
But the biggest question here is, why hasn’t that hurt Sony’s console sales? There are a couple of big reasons for that. The first and foremost is the lack of competition. Xbox has fallen so much that it doesn’t pose a threat anymore.
Sony was already known for its first-party titles, whereas Xbox lost most of its momentum with the previous generation consoles. So, most people already had an upgrade path, going from PS4 to PS5.
Sony hasn’t faced much competition this generation
This threw Xbox out of the competition as all of its games were already available on PC. So, PS5 automatically became a default option. The only people who prefer Xbox are those who are avid Game Pass users.
Even in the subscription service battles, PS Plus provided great value in 2025. It had a ton of AAA releases, although it still couldn’t match the Game Pass, it is still a no-brainer for PlayStation users.
In addition, while Sony didn’t have many first-party games, it capitalized on this, securing exclusivity deals with other studios. Stellar Blade, Black Myth: Wukong, and Death Stranding 2 have all been possible due to the deals.
The Momentum Will Increase in 2026
2026 is set to be an excellent year for PS5, having already secured its position as the default gaming console. There are some notable titles headed our way in the upcoming year that will boost PS5 sales more.
Keeping the trend of third-party exclusives, Phantom Blade Zero is among the most anticipated action games of the year. Housrmarque, the developers of Returnal, will launch their next title, Saros, in March.
Then there is Sony’s tentpole game for 2026, Marvel’s Wolverine. This will perhaps give the biggest push to the sales. If it is anywhere close to the quality of Marvel’s Spider-Man, it is already a gigantic hit in the making.
And how can we forget maybe the biggest release of the decade, GTA 6. Rockstar’s game will first launch on consoles before making its way over to PC. I, for one, already know people who have already bought PS5s just for GTA 6.
Wolverine is Sony’s tentpole title for 2026
Albeit the title will boost Xbox sales too, considering the state of the console, it won’t be as significant as Sony’s console. Then there’s the fact that Xbox plans to eventually release all its games on PS5, making its offering a bit useless.
Despite Decent Sales, Exclusives Are Still Important
Sony doesn’t plan to give up on exclusives any time soon, and that seems to be the right call. Microsoft lost its way because it gave up exclusivity, and Sony doesn’t seem to be following the same path.
Even in a recent interview, former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden emphasized the importance of exclusives. He said they are like a song to the console, and you can’t expect Nintendo to launch Mario on other platforms.
So, yes, while the lack of exclusives hasn’t hurt PS5 this generation, it could in the long run if this continues. Fans are already fatigued by the constant remasters and remakes and want something new.
Luckily, PlayStation is reportedly working on new first-party exclusives, which include Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic and a new rumored God of War game, but based on the long development cycles, it should also focus on smaller-scale titles like Astro Bot as well.
