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Reviews are in for RTX 4060
image: unsplash
Nvidia are definitely not losing steam as they go forward, releasing graphics cards at a steady pace for us punters, and we’ve certainly not been hurting for graphics cards as we wave goodbye to the scarcity caused by the pandemic. And their newest offering, the GeForce RTX 4060, is now out in the wild.
According to ARS Technica, they were impressed by the 4060s steady and solid performance whilst not burning a hole in your pocket. Utilising Nvidia’s newest Ada Lovelace architecture is faster and more power efficient than its predecessor, the 3060. It also performs well compared to its older sister. The 4060 Ti, which according to ARS:
“…typically delivering between 80 and 90 percent of the 4060 Ti’s performance for 75 percent of the money.”
However, it’s not all praise: Linus Tech Tips were exceptionally critical and Hardware Unboxed concludes the 4060 as a “slap in the face to gamers”, but a few turkeys aside, many seem to agree that the 4060 is the best 1080p card you can currently buy. It’s certainly nothing flashy, but it’s competent and all delivered for a decent price.
What are your thoughts on the 4060? Will you be buying one?
Next Gen GPUs already on the horizon?
Trying to keep up with PC memory is getting tougher. It seems every other week a new number is added onto the end of DDR memory. Now, the next generation of graphics memory is scheduled to arrive before the summer of 2024. GDDR7, announced by Micron in their 2023 earnings report, is expected to usher in a brand-new era of memory bandwidth.
Not only Micron, but Samsung have also revealed plans to release thirty six Gbps GDDR7 memory modules also, meaning the industry is already gearing up for the next generation of PCs as graphics card manufacturers access the new technology to add to their future cards. Does this mean Individual Hair Strands is going to become a regular thing? We sure hope so.
ROG Ally making repairs a cinch
image: Asus
If there’s something PC gamers all crave, it’s the freedom to swap and replace parts of their machines. Customisation is key, and one of the main reasons why a person may choose to spend a little more on a gaming rig rather than a console.
With the rise of mini PCs such as the Steam Deck and the more recent Asus ROG Ally, there was concern in the community that these machines are nothing more than glorified consoles, and just like with consoles, getting into their gubbins and fixing a broken part might suddenly be ten times harder than on a desktop PC.
However, the ROG Ally may not be as hard to fix as some people initially feared. A short video released by iFixit shows the simple process of disassembly to change something simple such as a dead battery. They remove each component with relative ease with little more than a set of screwdrivers. This means that for repairability, the ROG Ally scores a lot higher than its rival, the Steam Deck. For example, the battery isn’t glued down like in the Steam Deck, which would require a heat gun.
That’s not to say that the Steam Deck isn’t repairable; Valve offers myriad spare parts for their machine, which cannot really be said for Asus and their ROG Ally. In order to make them appealing, they must be repairable right from the start in order to keep them appealing to PC gamers who like nothing more than to fix, mod and customise their rigs.
Hideo Kojima: Astronaut?
It seems the innovations have no signs of stopping for gaming auteur Hideo Kojima. Having been around since the 1980s and giving us some of the most meta, postmodern and innovative moments in gaming, Kojima now has his eye on the cosmos.
Currently on tour promoting his documentary “Connecting Worlds”, Kojima was present for a Q&A at the Tribeca Film Festival, where best bud Geoff Keighley asked questions about Kojima’s past games and his ideas for the future. In a world where his game about people being unable to leave their homes and relying on couriers to get them necessary items came out right before a global pandemic that forced everyone to stay at home, it’s hard not to see Kojima as something of a prophet.
“I’m a human, same as you guys,” responds Kojima, “…I see the news and I’m always absorbing that into my games. I’m not a thing.”
His ambitions don’t seem to stop there: Kojima then went on to an almost boyish innocent of wanting to be an astronaut: “I want to go to outer space, and create a game that you can play in space…because right now, all games, you can’t properly play those in outer space. But I want to create something: I’ll play that. So someone, please, send me up to space.”
Wherever we end up playing his next game, we’ll likely be there.
And that wraps it up for this week in tech! Will you be buying a 4060 on release or perhaps will you wait for the new GDDR7 in the new year? If you have a build in mind or need an upgrade, we're always happy to help.
