AMD has launched an update to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D (aka The Best Gaming CPU) and named it the Ryzen 7 9850X3D because it is ever so slightly faster. Frankly it's a rubbish name but there are some points we need to discuss so buckle up and prepare yourself for many charts and loads of data.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:49 Specifications
01:35 Hardware
03:12 A quick look at behaviour
04:39 Multi Core Performance
05:23 Ryzen Master Software / Curve Optimiser
06:31 Efficiency / Per watt points
07:22 Geekbench 6 Multi Core
08:04 Geekbench 6 Single Core
08:33 Aida 64 Memory Bandwidth
08:59 Far Cry 6
10:07 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
10:44 Assassins Creed Mirage
11:19 Cyberpunk 2077
11:58 Total War Pharaoh
12:36 Leo’s verdict
Test systems
CPUs: AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D, 9800X3D and 7800X3D
Motherboard: ASRock X870E Taichi
Memory: 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Royal Neo RGB DDR5-8000
CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z890 Carbon WiFi
Memory: 48GB G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5-8200
Graphics Card: MSI RTX 4090 Ventus 3X 24GB
CPU cooler: Phanteks Glacier One 360D30
SSD: 1TB Crucial T700
Power Supply: Seasonic Focus ATX3.1 GX-1000 Gold
Geekbench 6 Single Core
In Geekbench 6 Single Core we see the benefit of the improved boost speed with Ryzen 7 9850X3D leaping to the top of the chart.
Geekbench 6 Multi Core
You will have seen in our video that we showed a great many charts and this chart is a focussed view of the larger Geekbench 6 chart. We can see the 9850X3D has a significant lead over 9800X3D and that is enhanced when we bring Ryzen Master Curve Optimiser into the equation.
Far Cry 6 at 1080p
Far Cry 6 at 1080p demonstrates the impressive nature of AMD's 3D V-Cache technology in gaming, and the way it improves with each new generation of processors.
When AMD announced the Ryzen 7 9850X3D we felt the increase to Maximum Boost Speed was a minor tweak for the amazing Ryzen 7 9800X3D.
Now we have dug into the CPU in some depth we feel there is slightly more to the story than we first expected. Clearly AMD has improved the silicon in 9850X3D compared to 9800X3D, but where we assumed this was merely a better CPU chiplet we now feel the IO die has also been improved.
Our takeaway with Ryzen 7 9850X3D is that this is an interesting update to the 9800X3D that lays the groundwork for the rumoured Ryzen 9 9950X3D2. That should be the ultimate Zen 5 CPU for the desktop and will be AMD's best chance to fight off Intel Nova Lake at the end of 2026. You might think that 2026 is looking to be a grim year but it will certainly have its points of interest.
AMD told us the official MSRP is £439.99, though we expect retail pricing to be closer to £469.99 inc VAT based on conversations with UK retailers.
Pros:
Cons:
KitGuru says: The Ryzen 7 9850X3D boosts frame rates in your favourite games.
The post AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D Review first appeared on KitGuru.
Microsoft has begun testing a refreshed web experience for Xbox Cloud Gaming, designed to streamline navigation and look closer to the Xbox console dashboard. Xbox Cloud Gaming users can already opt in to the new interface, although there could be lingering issues in the early build.
Players can access the preview by visiting xbox.com/play in a compatible browser, signing in, and enabling the “Preview Features” toggle in the settings menu. Once enabled, users can either follow the on-screen prompts or navigate directly to the new site (it may take up to 10 minutes for the prompts and links to appear).
Microsoft notes that, as this is a foundation-building phase, some features may behave differently or be temporarily unavailable as they iterate based on feedback. Users are encouraged to report bugs via the profile menu or the Xbox Web Guide to help refine the platform during the testing period.
KitGuru says: Do you use Xbox Cloud Gaming? Have you already tried the new interface? Do you prefer the new UI over the old one?
The post Xbox overhauls cloud gaming interface with refreshed design first appeared on KitGuru.Just as has been the case with many previous Nintendo consoles, the Switch 2 is slowly but surely receiving a backcatalogue of titles from 3rd party publishers. While better late than never, one insider has claimed that 2025’s Game of the Year winner Expedition 33 will land on the Switch 2 at some point this year – with Final Fantasy XVI reportedly coming in 2027.
As reported by known industry insider Nate the Hate via their podcast of the same name, the Nintendo Switch 2 is seemingly set to slowly-but-surely continue getting a number of major 3rd-party releases from the past few years.
According to Nate, 2025’s GOTY winner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 “will be coming to Switch 2 in 2026”. Given that the game utilises Epic’s rather demanding Unreal Engine 5, it will be interesting to see how the game looks/performs on the handheld-hybrid.
Going back to 2024 meanwhile, ATLUS’ JRPG Metaphor: ReFantazio is said to also be coming to the Switch 2 some time this year. This comes as little surprise however, with ATLUS / SEGA having supported both the Switch (and now Switch 2) quite strongly over the years.
Last but not least, going another year back, 2023’s Final Fantasy XVI is said to be also coming to Switch 2. Unlike Metaphor and Clair Obscur however, the ex-PS5 exclusive is apparently not set to arrive until 2027 (though an official announcement is expected some time this year).
Given that all three of these titles are from years prior, it will be interesting to see how the games look; perform and most importantly cost when they are finally officially announced and released.
KitGuru says: Will Nintendo ever reach parity with other systems? Are you bothered by the fact that 3rd party titles usually come out later? Let us know down below.
The post Insider claims Expedition 33 and Metaphor: ReFantazio will come to Switch 2 this year first appeared on KitGuru.Following years of hype and anticipation, Monster Hunter Wilds finally arrived last year to an explosive launch, selling over 10 million copies within its first month on the market. Since then however, the game’s adoption has slowed to an absolute crawl, with Wilds taking an additional 9 months to go from the 10 million mark to 11 million.
As part of the company’s latest fiscal earnings report, Capcom released updated sales data for many of its titles and franchises. Alongside confirmation that 2019’s Devil May Cry 5 has surpassed 11 million copies sold, the publisher revealed that Monster Hunter Wilds sales have fallen off a cliff.
As mentioned, Wilds managed to shift a massive 10 million units within its first month on the market. Unfortunately, the game suffered from plenty of performance issues – particularly on PC – leading to an influx of negative reviews.
While the game has gotten some performance patches in recent months, it seems Monster Hunter Wilds will not manage to have the same legs as its past two entries. Thanks to the latest reports, we now know that Wilds has officially sold a total of 11.09 million copies as of the 31st of December; meaning it sold just 1 million more units over the past 9 months (fewer copies than MH: Rise managed in the same period).
All that being said, it is possible that Wilds could have a resurgence come the inevitable release of its post-launch expansion(s). We will have to wait and see.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Monster Hunter Wilds in 2026? Is it worth playing? Will the game ever be able to fully recover from its launch woes? Let us know down below.
The post Monster Hunter Wilds finally surpasses 11 million sales, 9 months after hitting 10 million first appeared on KitGuru.Initially released back in 2015 as a paid product, Rocket League is a highly popular Soc-Car title which went on to be played by over 75 million people prior to it going free-to-play in 2020. Since then, the game has continued to truck along, maintaining a consistent playerbase. That said, in a surprise resurgence, Rocket League has now reached a new major milestone – surpassing 1 million concurrent players for the first time in half a decade.
Last week, the official Rocket League Twitter page revealed that the game had reached a major player milestone, writing: “Today has been a wild ride: more than 900,000 of you hit the pitch in Rocket League at the same time!”
Since then, interest appears to have grown further, with the ‘Rocket League Garage’ fansite (which tracks concurrent player numbers) revealing that the game has now hit 1 million concurrent players – a record not seen since the initial free-to-play launch back in 2020.
In terms of why the game has seen a sudden influx in players, it appears as though Rocket League has the popular YouTuber ‘Jynxzi’ to thank – who started streaming the title a couple weeks ago.
Additionally. Rocket League also recently got its Switch 2 update, which did contribute some amount to the 1 million concurrents – albeit only by an additional 39k players.
Given the sudden rise in interest pertaining to Rocket League, it will be interesting to see whether the team at Psyonix choose to capitalise on this moment, or whether things will remain business as usual.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Rocket League in 2026? Is the game still a fun time so many years later? Let us know your thoughts down below.
The post Rocket League surpasses 1 million concurrent players for the first time since 2020 first appeared on KitGuru.The Reigns series of games offers players the chance to take on the role of a leader who has to address and solve the issues of its people, all the while trying not to end up with your head on a chopping block. Since the first game’s release back in 2016, Reigns has received a number of crossover titles. In a surprise announcement, Reigns: The Witcher has been officially confirmed – launching on PC and mobile next month.
Published by Devolver Digital in partnership with CD Projekt Red, Reigns: The Witcher has you play as Geralt, fighting for “survival within the drunken ballads of his dear friend, Dandelion the bard. Will you hunt monsters, upset the locals, or run a hot bath? Navigate the moral meanderings of the world through the eyes of the bard, and compose an inspiring epic to perhaps, one day, claim immortality.”
Launching on the 25th of February for PC and mobile (Android + iOS), players can head over to the official website for a small taste of what you can expect from the game when it launches in a month’s time.
The previous Reigns entries have been pretty hardcore, with every choice having potentially major consequences – something which the Witcher series does quite well. As such, it will be interesting to see exactly how the game is formatted and whether it resonates with fans when Reigns: The Witcher officially arrives on the 25th of February for $5.99.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the Reigns series? Is a Witcher collab of interest to you? What other franchise would you like to see receive a ‘Reigns’ treatment? Let us know down below.
The post Reigns: The Witcher officially announced first appeared on KitGuru."Starting" in Horizon OS v85, the new 'Navigator' UI will become the default, and Horizon Feed will be "gradually" removed from the OS.
In a Meta Community Forums post, a 'Community Manager' with the handle h.taylor announced the upcoming changes, set to arrive in the next version of the Horizon OS of Quest headsets:
As announced during Connect, we’ve been testing Navigator and will ramp up the rollout later this year, starting in v85. As Navigator rolls out, we’ll also begin gradually sunsetting the Horizon Feed in VR.
What’s changing
• Navigator will become the default landing experience when users turn on their headset.
• Navigator brings experiences, friends and settings together in one place.
• As part of this shift, we’ll be sunsetting the Horizon Feed in VR.
Horizon OS v83 started rolling out in November, and there's no set date for the arrival of v85.
Since the release of Oculus Go over seven years ago, Meta's standalone VR operating system has seen numerous visual changes, but the general interface architecture remained essentially the same.
You had a floating horizontal menu bar slightly below you, called the Universal Menu, showing the time and your device battery levels and containing shortcuts to key system interfaces, as well as a combination of your most recent and eventually a few of your favorite apps. All 2D interfaces, including system features like the app Library, Quick Settings, and Notifications, opened as 2D windows, treated like any other.
UploadVRDavid Heaney
Then, in May last year, Meta started a very slow rollout of a full Horizon OS UI overhaul, called 'Navigator', which moves the main system interfaces like Library, Quick Settings, Notifications and Camera into a new large overlay that appears over both immersive and 2D apps.
With Navigator, system interfaces no longer shift around when opening other windows, and it's easier to launch new apps. Navigator's library also allows you to pin up to 10 items, somewhat akin to the Start Menu on Windows.
At launch, Navigator also had a murky gray background with an oval shape. It was seemingly intended to improve contrast. But as well as obscuring your view of what was behind it, be it passthrough or a virtual world, it just didn't look good. So Meta got rid of that and made bringing up Navigator dim the background instead.
Meta presenting the evolved Horizon OS Navigator UI.
With Horizon OS v83 PTC in October, Meta started rolling out an evolved version of Navigator, which it teased at Connect 2025.
The evolved Navigator has a new Worlds tab for Horizon Worlds destinations, and you no longer see worlds in your app Library at all. Speaking of the Library, it now features interleaving offset rows, similar to Apple's visionOS.
The new Navigator also has a new overlay-level People tab with shortcuts to your friends, as well as a You tab that shows your avatar and lets you change your active status.
Finally, the new Navigator lets you easily hide or show all your 2D windows by double pressing the Meta button on the right Touch controller, or for hand tracking, opening your right palm and double tapping your thumb to your index finger.
Horizon Feed is the default 2D app that launches when you cold boot your Quest headset.
Originally simply called 'Explore', the feed shows you suggested Horizon Worlds destinations, store apps, VR videos, Instagram reels, and online followers, as well as suggested friends to "catch up" with and apps to "jump back in" to.
The Community Forums post tells developers that the version of Horizon Feed inside the headset "is not a high-intent surface, and users often see it without a specific intent to browse or purchase apps".
"Because of that, it historically has not driven strong entitlement conversion, and we don’t expect significant revenue impact for the vast majority of developers", the post reads.
That essentially seems to be Meta admitting that Horizon Feed is something that most Quest owners just close immediately on booting the headset, like an unwanted popup, and wasn't successful at getting people to buy the apps that it suggested.
UploadVRDavid Heaney
The coming removal of Horizon Feed from Horizon OS comes as Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth suggested that the company's repeated push to Quest owners to use Horizon Worlds came at "an expense of user experience", vowing to "let VR be what it is, what it does" and "focus a lot more on the third-party content library, the ecosystem that's developed there".
The star of Intel's CES 2026 show was of course its new Core Ultra 300 series processors, code-named Panther Lake. We have our review up if you haven't read it already, but the short version is that they offer all-around impressive performance—particularly the Xe3-based integrated graphics. Well, those graphics just got a fresh performance 
Microsoft is rolling out a preview of an updated look and feel for its Xbox Cloud Gaming web experience as the company eyes opening up the service to more users with an ad-supported tier. It’s a necessary refresh, because while the current web-based interface is serviceable, it still has plenty of pain points that needed to be smoothed out 
SoundCloud, best known as a home to indie musicians including the popular "SoundClown" comedy remixers, has been hit with a major data breach that includes the avatars, email addresses, names, usernames, locations, and profile statistics of nearly 30 million (29.8 million) accounts. This breach follows demands from an extortion group that Windows 11 continues to provide a never ending source of frustration for those of us that know how we want our computer set up and are willing to fight to make it…
Some chilling news has crept through the wire for those who prefer physical games or are starved for SSD space—apparently, Grand Theft Auto 6 is due to launch as a digital-only title. This news stems from at least one European game distributor, who reports that Take-Two Interactive is not planning a physical version of the next Grand Theft Intel's “Battlemage” generation might expand soon, though the supposed new graphics cards are primarily for professional users. New reports suggest that Intel is about to launch the Arc Pro B70 and Arc Pro B65, targeting a Q1 2026 release. Both cards are claimed to be powered by the BMG-G31 GPU and feature a massive 32GB of GDDR6 memory.
As reported by VideoCardz, while the memory remains identical across both SKUs, the differentiation lies in the core counts. The Arc Pro B70 utilises the full die with 32 Xe2 cores (4096 FP32 cores), while the Arc Pro B65 is a cut-down variant featuring 20 Xe2 cores (2560 FP32 cores), matching the previous-gen B60 in core count but benefiting from the newer architecture.
Below you can find a table with the detailed rumoured specs for these two GPUs:
| Arc Pro B70 | Arc Pro B65 | |
|---|---|---|
| GPU Architecture | Xe2-HPG (Battlemage) | Xe2-HPG (Battlemage) |
| GPU Die | BMG-G31 | BMG-G31 |
| Xe-Cores | 32 | 20 |
| FP32 Cores | 4096 | 2560 |
| VRAM Capacity | 32 GB GDDR6 | 32 GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Target Launch | Q1 2026 | Q1 2026 |
The situation for gamers remains much more uncertain. While board partners have the BMG-G31 chips for testing, they are currently restricted to the Pro form factors. Rumours suggest that Intel has placed the consumer gaming variant on hold, possibly due to volatility in the memory market.
KitGuru says: Do you think Intel should launch an Arc B7x0 GPU for the mainstream market?
The post Intel is reportedly working on Arc Pro B70 and B65 GPUs first appeared on KitGuru.Following on from last week's Xbox Direct stream, it appears that we'll be getting new game announcements from both Sony and Nintendo over the next month. According to multiple sources, there will be a new Nintendo Direct in February, as well as a new PlayStation State of Play stream.
NateTheHate is responsible for the Nintendo Direct rumour, pointing towards games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Metaphor ReFantazio and Final Fantasy 16 being announced for the Switch 2. These are just a handful of titles expected to appear though, as the Nintendo Direct should be ‘full length', so it should have around 40 minutes of announcements. This stream should take place in the first week of February.
On the other side of the aisle we have Jeff Grubb, who claims that a PlayStation State of Play will be happening on the week of February 12th. If this is true, Sony is likely to make an official announcement confirming the date and time just days beforehand, as they traditionally do.
Both of these sources have accurately leaked showcase timings previously, so there is at least some reason to put stock in these rumours.
KitGuru Says: Is there anything you would like to see announced at one of the upcoming showcases? Personally, I'm still rooting for a Switch 2 upgrade for the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy.
The post Rumour claims Nintendo Direct and PlayStation State of Play return in February first appeared on KitGuru.
Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have been able to compile the most detailed map of dark matter ever produced, exposing the ghostly scaffolding that has guided the growth of our universe for billions of years.
With JWST, astronomers have produced one of the most detailed maps to date of dark matter. The overlaid Xbox just made some big announcements during a developer direct stream last week, but it looks like another company under its umbrella will soon be making some reveals of its own. Over the next couple of weeks, Blizzard has a number of showcases planned, with each one focused on a different major franchise.
The World of Warcraft showcase will be happening on January 29th, giving fans a new look at upcoming content for the MMO, including more details on the Midnight expansion. Following that, Overwatch will get its own spotlight on February 4th.
Hearthstone will get new announcements on February 9th and then, things will wrap up with Diablo on February 11th, ahead of the game's next seasonal content update and the new expansion coming in April.
Unfortunately, despite rumours that Starcraft is going to be coming back, there was no mention of spotlight streams for the franchise, nor is there any word on new updates for Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard's short-lived MOBA game.
KitGuru Says: Are you looking forward to new announcements from Blizzard in the coming weeks?
The post Blizzard reveals showcase plans for WoW, Diablo, Overwatch and more first appeared on KitGuru.
For all of the advancements in modern TVs, including brighter and more vibrant display panels (hello, OLED and mini LED), thinner profiles, and more capable built-in smarts, the one consistent weakness is audio. Sure, some TV models fare better than others. But none of them truly rival a discrete home theater speaker setup. If you've been 
If Apple is good at one thing, it's the length of software/firmware support for its devices. To wit, within a large iOS and WatchOS update dump this week, owners of the 13-year-old iPhone 5s received a nice little gift that allows users to use iMessage and Facetime after certificates expire at the end of this year.
Almost lost in the hubbub Nvidia has rolled out a new GeForce Game Ready graphics driver, optimising for new games like Arknights: Endfield and Highguard. This week's update also brings DLSS to more titles, alongside the rollout of the new RTX Remix Logic update.
RTX Remix Logic was first announced during Nvidia's CES showcase. The new update allows developers to implement dynamic graphics effects based on in-game events. For instance, you could trigger a certain weather or lighting effect when opening a door or flood the room with particle effects when interacting with a button. Overall, Logic supports over 30 in-game events, and there are over 900 Remix graphics settings, so developers will be able to get very creative.
This week's Nvidia update also brings DLSS to more games. Half Sword is launching with DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation, but through the Nvidia App, players can force-enable DLSS 4.5, which uses Nvidia's 2nd Gen transformer model for further visual enhancements. DLSS upgrades are also coming to Code Vein 2, Highguard, and Arknights: Endfield.
There is a new Game Ready driver rolling out alongside all of this. If you have the Nvidia app installed, you can install it through there. If you prefer a direct download and a manual install, you can find the new driver HERE.
KitGuru Says: As always, let us know how you get on with the latest drivers.
The post Nvidia rolls out new Game Ready drivers, DLSS updates and RTX Remix Logic first appeared on KitGuru.Sharkoon has introduced the SKILLER SGB15, a budget gaming bundle that pairs a full‑size rubber‑dome keyboard with a high DPI mouse, targeting entry-level PC gamers just getting started.
The keyboard uses a full-size layout and rubber‑dome switches, designed to keep noise levels low during play. It includes RGB illumination with adjustable brightness and several onboard lighting effects, all controlled directly on the device without software.
The bundled mouse supports six DPI presets ranging up to 4,200 DPI and features a 1000Hz polling rate. It also includes RGB lighting with multiple selectable effects to match the keyboard. Sharkoon positions the mouse as suitable for a range of genres, from MOBAs to shooters, where rapid response times are important.
The SKILLER SGB15 bundle will be available soon, priced around €29.90.
KitGuru Says: A fully RGB-lit peripheral set-up for €30 is a very cheap price.
The post Sharkoon’s new SKILLER SGB15 bundle offers full RGB for €30 first appeared on KitGuru.We have known about the Fable reboot being developed by Playground Games since 2018, when Eurogamer leaked early details of the project. As it turns out, Playground actually began its journey towards becoming a multi-project and multi-genre studio a couple of years earlier, following the success of Forza Horizon 3.
With Forza Horizon 3, Playground Games cemented itself as a premier open-world studio and set the franchise up for so much future success that Horizon has overtaken Forza Motorsport as Xbox's flagship racing series. Now with Fable, Playground Games is about to release an entirely new type of game, moving away from its racing roots and into RPG territory.
In an interview with GamesRadar, Playground Games GM, Ralph Fulton, confirmed that the company began considering building out a second team in 2016:
“The conversation around building a second team and doing something else, doing something different, was really about wanting to challenge ourselves, to learn and grow as developers.”
Fable wasn't cemented as the company's new project just yet. However, Fulton explains that team leaders looked towards transferable skills like open-world game design, open-world technology and open-world streaming. From there, they modified their tools to aid them in creating an open-world RPG. As we've known for a while, by 2018, Playground Games became the new home for the Fable IP, following Microsoft's closure of Lionhead several years earlier.
The Fable reboot is finally launching later this year, with plans to release on PC, PS5 and Xbox on day-one. For reference, the last mainline Fable game to release was none other than Fable 3 all the way back in 2010. A new trailer released last week gave us a good look at what to expect and for the most part, it appears that many staples of the previous Fable games will remain in the reboot and some have been expanded. For instance, romanceable NPCs will return, but players will have around 1000 NPCs to choose from. The trade-off is that the player's appearance won't change based on whether they align themselves with good or evil.
KitGuru Says: Playground has a busy year ahead with Forza Horizon 6 launching in May, followed by Fable this Autumn. Are you looking forward to the new Fable game?
The post Playground Games began planning shift to RPGs after Forza Horizon 3 first appeared on KitGuru.Mouse Computer, a Japanese PC manufacturer, has introduced a unique addition to its NextGear EG-series of gaming desktops. Centred around a unique “Clear Shift” case, featuring dynamic dimming technology on its front and left-side glass panels.
According to PC Watch (via VideoCardz), a single button press on the top I/O panel can transition the glass from a completely transparent “clear mode” to a smoked “stealth mode” that effectively hides the internal components.
The stealth mode serves as a “hide your PC” feature for users who keep their towers on their desks. It allows a build to look like a plain black tower or to eliminate RGB light pollution during nighttime sessions. The switchable glass requires power to function, but when the PC is turned off, the panels automatically default to the opaque stealth mode. To complete the transformation, the case also features a separate LED button to toggle the ARGB fan effects, allowing the system to go from a vibrant showroom display to a muted aesthetic in seconds.
In terms of hardware, the NextGear EG-A7G60 configuration reviewed by PC Watch features an AMD Ryzen 7 5700X paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060. The system includes 16GB of DDR4-3200 memory and a 1TB NVMe SSD. While these specs target the mid-range market, the premium pricing (starting at over £1050) is probably due to the Clear Shift technology. The lineup is currently a Mouse Computer direct shop exclusive in Japan.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the ‘Clear Shift' case? Would you like to see one of these outside of Japan?
The post Mouse Computer unveils Nextgear desktop PC with dynamic dimming glass case first appeared on KitGuru.
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