If you want affordable PCIe 5.0 storage, for your desktop or PS5 then ADATA's XPG Mars 980 Blade is worth considering.  TweakTown rated it at just over 14,000 MB/s sequential read and…

Patch Tuesday seemed to go without a hitch, until it hit players of online games like Elder Rings, Fortnite and Apex Legends.  They were seeing BSODs which lead to what was apparently…

MSI has rolled out the new AGESA 1.2.0.3e BIOS update for its latest 800-series motherboards (AMD X870/E and B850), bringing several enhancements, including support for 256 GB memory and “future” CPUs.

According to Chi11eddog, this update introduces support for optimising high-density memory from Hynix, Micron, and Samsung. The new BIOS enables 64 GB RAM modules to run up to 6400MT/s across all four DIMM slots, effectively increasing the maximum supported memory capacity and speed to 256GB.

The update notes also mentioned that the new BIOS would introduce support for “future CPUs”, but it's unclear what these are. Kepler suggests that the updated BIOS incorporates support for AMD's upcoming Gorgon Point-based APU series, which is speculated to be a refresh or new stepping of the Strix Point series adapted for the AM5 socket. However, other sources, like westlake, don't agree with that, stating that Strix/Gorgon Point is not even mentioned in the AGESA update. Instead, they indicate support for new steps in the existing Raphael (Ryzen 7000) and Granite Ridge (Ryzen 9000) CPUs.

KitGuru says: AMD tends to support its CPU sockets for a long time, so the idea that there will be ‘future CPUs' for this platform isn't far-fetched. 

Microsoft has rolled out its June 2025 security update for Windows 11, identified as KB5060999. This cumulative update integrates a series of enhancements, focusing on resolving persistent graphics and display-related issues.

As shared on Reddit, this update addresses problems within the Graphics Kernel that have led to certain games stalling or becoming unresponsive for Windows 11 version 24H2 users. It also tackles memory leaks and various display glitches that have impacted users, notably those equipped with Nvidia graphics cards. Users must note that these specific Graphics Kernel difficulties are exclusive to version 24H2. Therefore, users on 22H2 or 23H2 should remain unaffected by this particular problem. However, if you possess an Nvidia GPU and have experienced memory leaks or display anomalies with previous updates, this new patch is expected to provide a solution.

Microsoft is implementing a phased rollout for this update, following the identification of a compatibility issue affecting a limited number of devices. If your system falls into this category, Microsoft assures you will receive a revised version of the update with all June security fixes. For Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2, the June 2025 update is already fully functional and broadly available. Users who don't immediately see the update in their Windows Update settings can manually check for updates or opt to “Get updates sooner” to accelerate the process.

KitGuru says: Have you encountered graphic issues on Windows 11 24H2? Will you update the system ASAP, or will you wait a bit to see if there aren't other issues introduced with this update?

The latest version of Intel PresentMon brings some significant improvements, focusing on enhanced telemetry, improved FPS overlay, and better system compatibility.

Intel has added new telemetry data, including effective frequency, voltage regulator temperatures, and total board power. This provides users with a more comprehensive overview of their system's performance. Moreover, Presentmont 2.3.1 introduces new FPS overlay indicators and the ability to disable alpha blending, which can help improve measurement performance.

Another update is that PresentMon can now run without requiring administrator privileges. This change directly addresses the issue where Windows Defender would flag the software as a virus due to its attempts to access hardware information.  The full changelog for PresentMon 2.3.1 can be found below:

New Features

• Introduced three new FPS overlay indicators to provide a clearer picture of frame delivery behavior, especially in scenarios involving frame generation. FPS-Presents measures how often frames are presented to the GPU, while FPS-Display captures the rate at which frames are actually shown on screen. FPS-App typically matches FPS-Presents except in frame generation scenarios.
• Added the following GPU telemetry metrics (currently supported by Intel Arc Battlemage GPUs):
  • GPU Effective Frequency
  • GPU Voltage Regulator Temperature
  • GPU Memory Effective Bandwidth
  • GPU Overvoltage Percent
  • GPU Temperature Percent
  • GPU Power Percent
  • GPU Fan Speed Percent
  • GPU Card Power (total board power)
• Reintroduced support for several timing metrics in the CSV, including MsBetweenPresents, MsBetweenDisplayChange, MsInPresent, MsRenderPresentLatency, and MsUntilDisplayed. MsBetweenSimulationStart and MsPCLatency are also included in the schema but are currently disabled until underlying event support is enabled.
• Added CLI option to disable overlay alpha blending (reduces overlay impact on target present timing seen in some circumstances)
• Added support to PresentMon console application for detection of Hybrid Presents
• Increased default PresentMon circular buffer size to 2048 to be able to handle higher FPS applications. In addition added a command line parameter to be able to manually configure buffer size.
• Stabilized binary version compatibility of PresentMon API by deploying PresentMonAPI.dll side-by-side with the service and moving to a dynamic loading model
• Added Loader .dll + static import .lib to facilitate discovery and endpoint resolution of the PresentMon API
• Added ETL trimmer utility for trimming ETL files to a timestamp range and pruning unnecessary event types (source only, currently no binary distribution provided)

Experimental

• Added ability to inject executable code into the target process to cause a flash to be drawn in-game whenever the mouse is clicked (intended for use in conjunction with specialized optical measuring instruments)

Security and Lifecycle

• Re-engineered multi-process architecture to enable PresentMon to be run without Administrator privileges
• Improved security by ensuring that Chromium UI frontend runs at lowered integrity even when PresentMon is run elevated
• Upgraded frontend from Vue.js 2 (past end-of-life and unsupported) & Vuex => Vue.js 3 & Pinia

KitGuru says: Do you use PresentMon? How has your experience been with it?

Just Cause has been on ice since the release of Just Cause 4 on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. As it turns out, Just Cause 5 was in development for a number of years, but it had been cancelled before it could be announced publicly. 

A former Just Cause 5 developer listed their work on the game on their LinkedIn profile. This was later publicised by MP1st, noting that the game had been in development at Sumo Digital between July 2021 and July 2023 before being cancelled.

The Just Cause games were primarily developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Square Enix, so it is unclear how Sumo Digital ended up involved with Just Cause 5. Perhaps there was a deal in place for Sumo Digital to co-develop and handle some publishing duties, like Embracer Group's current deal with Amazon Games for the next Tomb Raider title.

At any rate, the version of Just Cause 5 that was in development a few years ago will not be seeing the light of day. If the game does get made, a new set of developers will likely be starting the project over again from scratch.

KitGuru Says: Much like Red Faction, I'm not sure there is much more you could do to improve on the theme park formula of the Just Cause games. An extended break, followed by a relaunch of the IP on next gen consoles might be the best way to go about bringing this series back. 

The last couple of PlayStation-published PC titles, like Spider-Man 2, Until Dawn and The Last of Us 2, have failed to garner headlines. That changes this week with the launch of Stellar Blade, with the PC version amassing an impressive 100K concurrent players on day-one. 

Stellar Blade: Definitive Edition is now available on PC via Steam. On day-one, the game peaked at 100,904 concurrent players, making it the most-played single-player PlayStation-PC game.  Stellar Blade's launch beats out Ghost of Tsushima and God of War, which garnered around 75,000 concurrent players each.

Stellar Blade does fall short of Helldivers 2 though. Arrowhead's shooter shocked everyone when it surpassed 450,000 concurrent players on PC at launch. However, the key difference here is that Helldivers is a multiplayer title, and those tend to garner a lot more concurrent players than single-player titles.

The PC version of Stellar Blade launches with all the same content previously released on PS5. That means you get day-one access to 25 more costumes, a new boss battle and PC-specific features like support for ultrawide resolutions and upscaling methods like DLSS.

KitGuru Says: Have you picked up Stellar Blade already? How are you finding the game so far? 

Blooper Team's Silent Hill 2 remake launched to plenty of praise last year. Now, Konami is turning its attention to other games in the series, starting with a remake of the original game. 

Silent Hill 1 is next in line to get the remake treatment. The game is being developed as part of Konami's continued partnership with Blooper Team, a horror-focused game studio.

Silent Hill first released in 1999, but this won't be the first time that the game has been remade. Back in 2009, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories came to the PS2 and Nintendo Wii platforms. The game is known for ‘reimagining' certain events from the original and expanding on the first game's story.

The Silent Hill remake does not yet have a release date. It took two years from announcement to release for Silent Hill 2, so we could be looking at a similar timeline here.

KitGuru Says: Did you pick up last year's Silent Hill 2 remake? Are you pleased to see Blooper Team returning to tackle the first game? 

This week, nine more titles are joining the GeForce Now library, including two of this week's biggest new games – Dune: Awakening and MindsEye. 

MindsEye is a new game from Build a Rocket Boy, a new studio founded by former Rockstar producer, Leslie Benzies. The game has unfortunately not had a very solid launch, with the studio already coming out to apologise for the state of the game across all platforms, including PC. Optimisation issues are the biggest concern so far, with the game running quite poorly across a range of PCs. You may be able to brute force your way through some of that thanks to technologies like DLSS and Frame Generation, but you are probably best off waiting some time for patches to come through to fix the underlying issues.

As for this week, the following titles are available on GeForce Now starting this week:

• Frosthaven Demo (New release on Steam, June 9)
• Dune: Awakening (New release on Steam, June 10)
• MindsEye (New release on Steam, June 10)
• Kingdom Two Crowns (New release on Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, June 11)
• The Alters (New release on Steam and Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, June 13)
• Lost in Random: The Eternal Die (New release on Steam and Xbox, June 13, available on PC Game Pass, June 17)
• Firefighting Simulator – The Squad (Xbox, available on PC Game Pass)
• JDM: Japanese Drift Master (Steam)
• Hellslave (Steam)

While GeForce Now can be accessed for free, those wanting a better experience may consider upgrading to one of the paid tiers. Currently, the Performance tier membership is 40% off for a six-month membership until the 6th of July, and day-passes are also on sale for 40% off at the moment if you want to jump in and test cloud gaming for a few hours.

KitGuru Says: What do you think of this week's additions to GeForce Now? 

The MindsEye launch was already not going to plan, as a crucial day-one patch for the game had been delayed for one console platform. Now with the game widely available, players have discovered nothing but issues, from wide ranging bugs to poor optimisation. As a result, Sony has begun offering refunds for the PS5 version of the game, and the developers have issued a swift apology.

Over on Reddit, several MindsEye PS5 buyers have confirmed that Sony is now giving out refunds for the game, in part due to claims of false advertising, as the game does not run at 60FPS as previously shown in trailers.

Following the refund requests and negative online discussions, studio Build a Rocket Boy issued a statement, apologising for the state of the game and promising fixes:

“A heartfelt thank you to all our day-one players. We know the launch of MindsEye hasn’t been without its challenges for some of you. Right now, our top priority is game performance. We understand that the requirements are high and have limited the experience for many of you, and for this, we sincerely apologize.”

The studio plans to issue optimisation updates for the game to better utilise CPU, GPU and memory resources across all platforms. The team also plans to reduce the difficulty in the CPR mini-game, fix issues with missing controls in parts of the game, and enable the ability to modify the game's Depth of Field setting.

There will be more updates after that to further improve performance, squash bugs and fix other lingering issues like missing DLC for legitimate purchasers.

There is no timeline in place for these updates but it seems that the studio intends to push updates out as quickly as possible, a strategy that could in fact introduce more bugs in other areas of the game, but we'll have to wait and see how it goes.

KitGuru Says: This launch has gone so poorly that I have to wonder how realistic a ‘redemption arc' could be. It took CD Projekt Red multiple years to get Cyberpunk 2077 back into the good graces of gamers, but CD Projekt Red was a much bigger studio with a large amount of capital behind it. Build a Rocket Boy is a new studio, shipping its first game, so it has had no opportunity to build a financial safety net to survive a multi-year effort to save the project.

With the Summer Game Fest showcase now out of the way, all eyes are turned to Gamescom for the next wave of game announcements. A number of major publishers have already announced their plans for the event, including the likes of Nintendo, Ubisoft and Capcom. 

In its first wave of partnership announcements, the Gamescom organisation team has revealed seven publishers already signed on to appear at the event. Nintendo, Capcom and Ubisoft are the three biggest names on the list. In the case of Nintendo, they are likely to appear in a physical capacity, showcasing the Switch 2 ahead of the big holiday season push.

Capcom may be a tad more exciting, as the company just announced the next Resident Evil game, opening the door for demos at Gamescom. As for Ubisoft, the company doesn't appear to have a major game on the horizon for this holiday season, so it is unclear what they will show outside of the latest updates for Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Here is the full list of publishers confirmed for Gamescom so far:

• Astragon
• Capcom
• Team 17
• Nintendo
• Niantic
• Ubisoft
• Wargaming

Gamescom is the largest video game expo in the world, taking place in Germany each year. Since E3 went under several years ago, Gamescom has grown, hosting an opening night showcase with game announcements, followed by days of events as thousands of attendees explore the booths at each hall.

KitGuru Says: What are you hoping to see announced at Gamescom this year? Personally, I'd like to see Ubisoft finally provide an update on the Splinter Cell remake, or perhaps the Prince of Persia remake. 

Every Thursday, the Epic Games Store gives away a title or two for free to all those with an EGS account. Available from today, Epic is offering the quirky management / simulation game Two Point Hospital.

Available to add to your library from today at 4PM UK time until the 19th of June, Two Point Hospital is a Sims-like management-simulation game in which you “Design stunning hospitals, cure peculiar illnesses and manage troublesome staff as you spread your budding healthcare organisation across Two Point County.”

Developed by Two Point Studios and published by SEGA, Two Point Hospital was the team’s debut title. Inspired by the 1997 ‘Theme Hospital’, it offers a quirky and comedic take on the business simulation genre.

Released back in 2018, Two Point Hospital received a welcome reception, seeing consistent and high scores upon its initial release – with particular praise being given to its faithfulness to old-school simulation titles while offering its own spin on the genre.

Two Point Hospital is available to add to your library for free from 4PM today, and will remain so until the same time next week, at which point it will be replaced by another title.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this week’s offering? Do you enjoy simulation games? What’s your favourite aspect of the Two Point series? Let us know down below.

Intel sent me a handful of budget 65W CPUs from their 14th Gen and Core Ultra 200S ranges, which makes a pleasant change from the usual madness of 200W+ TDP and clock speeds approaching 6GHz. At first glance this looked like a chance to run a few benchmark tests and to have a chat about budget CPUs. That part of the plan worked well enough but things fell to pieces when we took a close look at Intel's pricing strategy which is utterly chaotic and bizarre.

Time stamps
00:00 Start
01:09 The processors and the (weird) pricing
03:52 Testing platforms and Intel’s strategy
06:21 Leo’s thoughts
08:27 A look at the 3 Core Ultra 5 processors
10:03 Cinebench 2024 Multicore
10:48 Cinebench 2024 Single Core
11:10 Cinebench 2024 Multi Core per £ of cost
11:48 CPU Power Consumption
12:16 Cinebench 2024 Multi Core Per Watt
12:48 Far Cry 6 (1080p)
13:46 Far Cry 6 (1440p)
14:20 Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora (1080p)
15:19 Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora (1440p)
16:00 Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p)
16:37 Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p)
17:10 So, what to think? What are Intel doing?
18:56 Charts with the Core Ultra 7 265k
20:39 Leo tries to come to a conclusion on a messy situation

We didn't expect Intel to offer us a handful of CPUs to review as the previous launch is a distance behind us while the next launch is some way off in the future. The fact of the matter is that Intel has had troubled times and recent reviews have not been kind. Indeed we did not review their 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs but instead did a round-up HERE, and then had to explain why their Core Ultra 200S CPUs were not ready for review at launch HERE. After a huge amount of remedial work by Intel we were finally able to review Core Ultra 200S HERE and the results were at best mixed.

Our conclusion was that Core Ultra 9 285K was too expensive, Core Ultra 5 245K was a bit weedy and Core Ultra 7 265K was the best of a mediocre bunch. The other problem was that Z890 motherboards and fast DDR5 memory jacked up the cost of a new PC to such an extent that we considered Core Ultra 200s to be a dead duck platform.

To our great surprise Intel sent us a trio of budget CPUs that are each rated at 65W TDP so we figured it best to take a fresh look at the lower end of their product stack.

We were sent the Raptor Lake Core i5-14400F which is a cut-down version of Core i5-14600K and while it has 6 P-cores it only has 4 E-cores. The power rating is slashed from 125W to 65W and as a result the maximum clock speed falls from 5.3GHz to 4.7GHz, however the UK price is a mere £120.

We were also sent two Arrow Lake processors. The Core Ultra 5 235 has the same 6P + 8E core configuration as Core Ultra 245K and here too the power is cut from 125W to 65W, however the clock speed for the P-cores only falls from 5.2GHz to 5.0 GHz. The current UK price for Core Ultra 5 235 is £246 which is very similar to the price of the 245K. Our third CPU is the Core Ultra 5 225F which has a 6P+4E configuration and the same 65W power limit. The current UK price is £215 which is a modest discount from the other models of Core Ultra 5.

As you will see in our video we tested these three CPUs and retested Core i5-14600K and Core Ultra 5 245K as direct comparisons. We also used recent data from other CPU testing which included AMD Ryzen 9000 which means we are dealing with three separate families of CPUs and three separate test platforms.

Test Systems:

CPU – Intel Core Ultra 200S
Motherboard – MSI MAG B860 Tomahawk WiFi
Memory – 48GB G.Skill Trident Z5 CK CUDIMM DDR5-8200

CPU – Intel 14th Gen Raptor Lake
Motherboard – Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Master X
Memory – 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB DR5-6800

CPU – AMD Ryzen 9000
Motherboard – MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi
Memory – 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo DR5-6000

Common components:

Graphics Cards – MSI RTX 4090 Ventus 3X 24GB and Intel Arc B580 12GB
Storage – 1TB Crucial T700 PCIe Gen5 NVMe M.2 SSD
CPU Cooler – Phanteks Glacier One 360D30
Power Supply – Seasonic Focus ATX3.1 GX-1000 Gold
Operating System – Windows 11 24H2

You can see the result of our testing in our video but a brief summary would be this:

• Core i5-14600K is long in the tooth but continues to punch above its weight.
• Core i5-14400F is very cheap but not very appealing to enthusiasts.
• Core Ultra 5 245K does well in some tests but does poorly in many gaming test.
• Core Ultra 235 gives the 245K a good fight while using significantly less power.
• Core Ultra 225F performs slightly better the the i5-14400F but is unimpressive.

The problem, as we show in our video is that Intel shot themselves in the foot in May 2025 when they cut the price of Core Ultra 7 265K and 265KF as you can see HERE with the result that anyone who is considering a Core Ultra 5 245K should instead buy the Core Ultra 7 265K which now costs the same and is better in every department.

KitGuru says: Intel's recent price cut for Core Ultra 7 265K is welcome however it makes Core Ultra 5 completely irrelevant. 

Almost exactly two years ago, Capcom released Street Fighter 6, the long awaited next entry in the publisher’s beloved fighting game series. Ahead of its release, the publisher had announced its hopes to sell 10 million copies by its end-of-life. With plenty of life to go left, Street Fighter 6 is well on its way to said goal – having now surpassed 5 million copies.

Taking to Twitter to make the announcement, the official Street Fighter page shared the following: “Street Fighter 6 has now sold over 5 million copies! What a way to celebrate our 2nd anniversary! Thanks to all our fans out there around the world and to all the prospective fans in the future!”

For some context, Street Fighter 6 managed to sell 1 million copies in its first 3 days on the market back in June 2023 – going on to push to 2 million by the end of its first month. By January of 2024 SF6 had surpassed 3 million copies. Finally, the most recent figures prior to this latest announcement put the game at 4 million copies sold by September of last year.

2 years since launch and Street Fighter 6 is already halfway to its sales goal. With the game now available on Switch 2 (and confirmed to be getting at least another year of content), it might not be too long before SF6 surpasses its predecessor’s 7.8 million copies sold.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Street Fighter 6? How does it compare to its contemporaries? Will SF6 manage to sell 10 million units when all is said and done? Let us know down below.

As part of Sony’s most recent PlayStation State of Play event, the console maker teased some of the upcoming line-up for their PlayStation Plus subscription service. Beyond these however, your regular suite of monthly games have now been announced, with June’s PS Plus Extra/Premium titles being officially revealed.

Taking to the PlayStation Blog to make the announcement, Adam Michel – the Director for Game Services and Content at SIE – detailed June’s upcoming PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium line-ups.

Going live on the 17th of June, those subscribed to PS Plus Extra can look forward to the following:

• FBC: Firebreak | PS5
• Battlefield 2042 | PS4, PS5
• Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 | PS5
• theHunter: Call of the Wild | PS4
• We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie | PS4, PS5
• Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes | PS4, PS5
• Train Sim World 5 | PS4, PS5
• Endless Dungeon | PS4, PS5

PS Plus Premium meanwhile is getting just one additional classic, namely: Deus Ex: The Conspiracy. As mentioned however, Sony previously announced and released a bunch of bonus titles as part of their Days of Play promotions. In case you missed it, earlier this month Sony added the following titles:

PS Plus Extra

• Another Crab’s Treasure
• Skull and Bones
• Destiny 2: Legacy Collection
• Grand Theft Auto III – The Definitive Edition

PS Plus Premium

• Myst
• Riven

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru Says: What do you think of this month’s offerings? Will you be hopping into FBC Firebreak at launch? What’s your opinion on Battlefield 2042 in 2025? Let us know down below.

Following years of leaks and rumours, Capcom finally announced Resident Evil 9: Requiem during Summer Game Fest. Since then, previews for the upcoming title have been published – revealing that the game will offer both 1st and 3rd person perspective options.

In the decades since the release of its first entry, the Resident Evil series has experimented quite a bit, changing many elements from the game’s core genre, to gameplay styles, pacing and more. Easily one of the biggest changes was in the game’s camera.

Of course, the original trilogy utilised an isometric perspective alongside static cameras. Then, with Resident Evil 4, the series got its first taste of an over-the-shoulder 3rd-person perspective. Of course, famously Resident Evil 7 would then take the series down the 1st-person route.

Since then, Capcom has been going back and forth – with the new games taking a 1st person view and their remakes going for 3rd person.

Ahead of the game’s launch early next year, previews for RE9 have now gone live based on a relatively short 30-minute play session. Easily the biggest revelation from this event was confirmation that Resident Evil Requiem will allow you to switch between first and 3rd person perspective at any point freely.

This could not only have implications for the gameplay, but the overall atmosphere and sense of tension / fear – especially for a horror game. That said, assuming both modes feel good to play, Resident Evil 9 could be one of the most replayable RE games yet thanks to this new addition.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this decision to offer both perspectives? Which mode will you use for your first playthrough? Let us know down below.