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Call For Questions For DF Direct Weekly #249 (Patreon)

Published:
2026-01-29 14:03:42
Imported:
2026-01

Content

That was quick, wasn't it? Another week has passed and another Digital Foundry Call To Questions post is upon is, closing in on that celebratory 250th episode - and once again, I can exclusively re-confirm that we have absolutely no plans to do anything special whatsoever and I'm really not bluffing. This week though, it's all about the 249th, so let's talk about that instead.

I'll be sharing my thoughts on the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, sharing some benches, and calling into doubt claims that the X3D cache allows for the use of slower RAM with no performance penalty. We'll be discussing the Banjo-Kazooie decompilation project, very promising reports on a current-gen upgrade for Kingdom Come: Deliverance and - yes - the latest in the ongoing Monster Hunter Wilds PC situation.

We'll also be reacting to reports of a custom-made PlayStation 4 handheld, based on the PS4 Slim motherboard. A taste of the PlayStation handheld to come?

But if you've read any of these posts before, you'll know what happens next. Maybe you've unearthed a topic we should be including on the docket? Maybe you have thoughts on what we're going to discuss. And quite possibly, you have questions for the team. It'll be Rich (ie me), John and Alex on the panel this week and your deadline for your input is Friday 8am GMT. Thanks in advance!

Files

Comments

SlimeRyu

Hi guys! With reports that the PS6 is not expected until beyond 2028, how will this impact 3rd party support for Switch 2? This must be good news for longer term support right?

Joseph Caruso

Gentlemen, perhaps you can help us understand something regarding Nvidia frame generation and Nvidia reflex. From what I understand, Reflex is turned on automatically when you enable frame generation, and that limits your frame rate to 225 FPS. Is there a way to disable Nvidia reflex and keep frame generation on? With the impact on input delay, would you even want to? With multi frame generation and a capable PC we could get the frame rates of graphically intense games to well above 300 FPS, but it seems less exciting if we are capped at 225 FPS. Thanks for taking my question and for all your hard work.

Rectangle Boy

Hello, there! It sounds like Nvidia is caring less and less for building for at-home gaming and Open AI’s hoarding of the global DRAM supply seems to be squeezing the consumer hardware market in ways that suggest a precipitous shift towards all compute happening in the cloud. What are your thoughts on all of this doom-reporting of Big Tech “making it impossible” to have your own compute at home? Do you think it’s a temporary (3-5 year) squeeze, or might the recent news have longer ramifications?

glerox

I've read this is only if you activate reflex AND vsync. I'm running reflex in BF6 and I see framerate above my monitor refresh rate.

Buffalo x 8

What do you think cross gen PS6 titles will run at on base PS5 and on the Pro? I'm happy with my base PS5 but I'm worried new games will be capped at 30fps.

glerox

Dear DF, with the upcoming release of 6x MFG, I wonder what is your take on limiting frame rate below your monitor refresh rate as you've always been promoting at Digital Foundry. I understand it makes sense with MFG because you will not benefit from a reduce input lag even if your framerate is above your monitor's refresh rate. HOWEVER, if you can produce NATIVE frames ABOVE your monitor refresh rate, i never heard your thoughts about Nvidia Fast Sync? Don't you get both the advantages of no tearing AND reduced input lag using this option? Thanks!

Mab7373822

Hi Team DF, I bought a new gaming PC recently in advance of all the price increases and after years of console gaming. Can you recommend a PC exclusive offline game that will put my new system through it's paces and wow me? Something that I haven't seen on console please.

regawdless

Hello Gents! You already talked about your high expectations for AMDs next gen GPUs, which will likely offer exciting improvements. What are your expectations for Nvidia's 6000 series? Modest 15-20% improvement in general and an absurdly high priced 6090 for a +40% increase over the 5090? Cheers

Mantobartfast

Hey there and a warm welcome to a question about some Retro-Technology-News: Did you see the video by the slow mo guys about the display of the Virtual Boy? I found it quite interesting.

Pol Kallamata

Last week a widely circulated report from an industry analyst suggested that Sony may be looking to lengthen the current PS5 lifecycle by a couple of years, and not release a PS6 in 2027 as would be expected. If this speculation is correct, what do you see as a more likely scenario with regards to the technical specifications of the PS6? A: the console comes out in 2029 with the same chipset it would have shipped in 2027 and is less cutting edge technologically, or B: the delay alters the target spec, and Sony pushes for more advanced technology (perhaps the next RDNA architecture).

NobleHeroine

Hello Digital foundry! I'm curious if you have any thoughts on the recent release of turnip drivers for the snapdragon 8 elite chipsets. There's been a lot of buzz on social media about how these drivers have vastly boosted the ability of phones with these chipsets to run PC games, including fairly demanding games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2077, at unexciting but playable settings and framerates. This obviously isn't official support or ports in the way iPhone has been receiving, but it's still pretty impressive to effectively be able to download any steam game you own into your phone and just use it. Do you think this might further encourage steam towards an ARM based design for their next steam deck, or possibly open the door for new contenders within the pc gaming handheld space?

Jonathan Hamilton

Sorry, did you buy a gaming PC without having any games in mind?

GeekyDud

Good day most esteemed foundry men! Last week, y'all were discussing the possibility of a 40fps or even a 60fps vrr mode for GTA 6 on the PS5 Pro. Predictably, the question of CPU overhead, or lack thereof, was the main concern. My question is, does the more advanced RT acceleration on the Professional reduce the fixed CPU cost of RT at all? And if not, why? How does the CPU workload of RT relate to the GPU accelerated portion of it? Great Ray Traced Wizard Alexander Battaglia the Wise, please explain! Thank you all for your continuous hard work and have a wonderful day!

Jonathan Hamilton

Any recommendations for a steering wheel I can play Gran Turismo 7 with on my couch in VR?

NotArealFrame

Greetings from exotic Greece, here i am a new member and humble enjoyer of your quality work. I just wanted to pose a question i would do to you in person if i had the chance: Do you ever feel like the whole "fps" and all this technical knlowledge that by now is standard for pc gaming, has even a bit hurt the enjoyment we had from playing a game? Sometimes i miss not looking at overlays, fps, framegraphs and temps before i play. Thanks!

Marcus

Hiya DF crew! In a Tom Petersen interview you a few years ago you talked about the future being that your GPU can use frame generation and upscaling to fill out any resolution and refresh rate your monitor supports. If something like asynchronous reprojection/reflex 2 can decouple mouse movement from the screen and adaptive frame generation is launching soon, do you think we are somewhat close to this being the present rather than the future? Could this be the exclusive tech for the 60 series? Hope you’ve had a great week.

Engin Cetin

Did John upgrade his cpu or is he waiting for nova lake?

Optimized Prime

Aren't those "reports" based on pure speculation by some analyst? Why assume it's true with no provided evidence without even questioning it?

andre surles

Parallel computing? When? - Local and cloud based systems team up to boost overall performance and world complexity.

(Don’t be a) Richard

You might be letting the 250th episode blow over with nothing special, but what big plans do you have to celebrate the 251st episode?

Yannis Panagiotidis

Since we are seeing diminishing returns and huge price hikes for the most powerful hardware, it feels like a good time for a company to disrupt the console market with a more accessible console and some kind of combination of amazing software, business model / controller innovations, like we saw with the nes/PS1/Wii etc in the past. Is there though any company in the world that would ever be willing to take a risk on something like that? Maybe a company from China 10 years down the line? Or dare we hope for the return of our lord and savior Sega, and their Sega Hyper Drive (Sega 67S addon sold separately)

SL0MAR

Wally world just leaked Metroid Prime 2 for GameCube Switch 2. What's the over/under on being stuck with "tank" controls? Also, how about prime hack? How would you guys play it today on the go?

Peter

Cyberpunk is always a good one. What sort of specs did you go for? Resi Requiem around the corner may be good as well

Mab7373822

My knowledge of games is very console centric. I'd love to hear their thoughts on the impressive and exclusive gems in the PC exclusive marketplace. Like, I know I can install Elden Ring or something like that and be impressed, but I want to know their views on amazing impressive experiences that for one reason or another, never made it to console and are exclusively PC, if that makes sense?

Orcacle

Have you all seen the three-in-one console that "Xiao Ningzi" from China put together? Dubbed the Ningtendo PXBOX 5, it's a fully DIY box containing a PS5, Xbox Series X, and a Switch 2 (which is fully removable for handheld play). Curious on your thoughts on it!

Jay E

Hello graphics nerds! With Microsoft largely stepping away from first party exclusivity and the console race, which companies in your opinion would currently be best positioned to step up and fill the vacancy? Are there any companies capable of launching a bespoke console capable of competing with Sony and Nintendo’s first party in the coming generation?

speedlemur

As journalists, how do you balance holding companies to account with reporting accurately on their official statements? The recent GPU shortage comes to mind, where NVIDIA's "everything's fine" statement does not seem to check out with current GPU prices. Although, there are likely many more examples from further back and other companies also.

Mab7373822

9070XT, AMD CPU, all good. Thanks for the recommendations. Cyberpunk is on console though too isn't it? I'm really interested in PC only experiences that I might not be aware of.

Ian

Quick question and sorry if I missed it but what has happened to the steam machine simulation project?

scud

Hey chaps, with how up-in-the-air hardware availability and hypothetical next-gen console releases is likely to be for the next few years, do you think we're looking at a super long cross-gen period on the horizon as developers hedge their bets and play it safe in terms of pushing tech limits? I can only imagine no one wants to be aiming to release a next-gen exclusive experience if the install base might be minimal or the actual launch date unpredictable. Cheers!

Buzz Bee Spoke

Hey again, chip checkers. Do you think game graphics are starting to plateau? If so, maybe that way developers will be more inclined to wow people through simulation and gameplay systems.

FrametimeSommelier

Hey DF Team. I really enjoyed your DLSS 4.5 video. But most of the discussion around the new 4.5 upscaler focused on 4k DLSS Performance mode, especially with the new M-model. But there are still plenty of 1440p player out there, and I haven't seen a solid recommendation for that resolution yet. Historically, DLSS Quality has ben the default choice at 1440p because performance mode tended to look too soft. With DLSS 4.5 and the new transformer based M-model, has that changed? Is DLSS Performance now a viable alternative to the K-model Quality mode at 1440p, or does Quality still remain the preferred option?

Special Agent Cooper

If Half Life 3 is announced, I hope it sparks a new generation of physics based gameplay

Buzz Bee Spoke

Same! Alyx had some great stuff in it. But I am not getting my hopes up as I dont feel the industry responds like that to quality usually. Also I got a notificiation from patreon with "half life 3 announced" and jumped for a sec haha

Buzz Bee Spoke

Youre in luck! They already covered it last podcast!

MattGPT

You mention a potential celebratory 250th episode, but surely in true DF fashion you should celebrate episode 256 instead?

MattGPT

Cyberpunk on PC with path tracing is a huge visual upgrade over console, the same with Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Hellblade 2 and Alan Wake 2 are visual showcases on PC so well worth a look at as well. Even older games like Control and Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition are a huge step up over their console versions.

MattGPT

My understanding is that this is really the point of dynamic frame generation, let the model just max out the refresh rate.

Domagoj Peroš

Hello guys! Long time listener first time asker. Did you check out the crimson desert overview video and is that really running 60fps on ps5? Game looks really good and do you think we're finally seeing what ps5 can do really? Thank you for the content.

Orcacle

Oh did they? I must have missed that somehow, thanks!

Eric Benoit

I've been playing Silent Hill, Dino Crisis on the PS1 and Resident Evil on the ray tracing juggernaut,Sega Saturn. I dont naturally love tank controls but i do think they amp up the tension and augment the experience. Do you think tank controls will never make a comeback?

Alan

Hi guys, What are your thoughts on the rumors that Rockstar won't release a physical version of GTA 6 at launch to prevent leaks? The game is going to be too large for one disc, so why not just include a "play disc" in the box and require the game data to be downloaded? I know this isn't ideal, but it's better than waiting weeks or months after release. PS: They should also do something to stop scalpers from getting Limited/Collector’s Editions—for example, requiring you to buy from the PlayStation Store so it's limited to one per PSN account as they did with the PSVR2 for example.

Alan

Hi guys, I am currently waiting for a reply from Nintendo regarding my refund for Dispatch on the Switch 2. I really don't like games being censored! I am not exactly sure where the blame lies, but it should have been made clear on the Nintendo eShop that the game was censored compared to the PC, PlayStation, and Xbox versions. What are your thoughts on platform censorship?

DaJaCo (Dan)

Lads! With PSSR 2 likely very close now, I've been trying to understand how exactly it will differ from INT8 FSR4, and this is what I've surmised: - It will run primarily or entirely within the APU / system Caches, without going back and forth from VRAM (more efficient, less latency) - PSSR2 can run asynchronously / in parallel to other shader operations, as it will run on the NPU (modified vector registers), without interfering significantly with other rendering resources. - Sony's patent (11,823,054) seems to tackle the inherent reduced precision of going from FP16/32 to INT8 with "Learned Step Quantization", acting as "adaptive precision" to overcome rounding error problems that would normally plague this conversion. - PSSR 2 will be tuned to the PS5 Pro's rasterizer flaws, as they are fixed and known. Neural network weights can be set accordingly. - PSSR 2 has a dedicated "visual glitch debugger" to assist developers with specific odd behaviour. It has also occured to me that INT8 while less precise than other upscaler math, is less VRAM hungry, and so if Sony can get an INT8 FSR4 tuned to look almost as good as the full fat version, they may also be in a good place when it comes to needing RAM in a RAM shortage (for future consoles). Please poke holes in my findings, and let me know what you all think!? Cheers!

Chicken Point

I have no idea what most of that means, nor where you got the information, but I'm grateful for you posting it here!

CottonBird

Have you covered the games cancelled by Ubisoft? It feels like every game company has some incredible ups and downs of late.

Mr Bespoke

HI DF Team!! Now that the BIG 250th Episode "not including specials" is around the corner, will their be a chance of a celebration with a toast from a glass of MK Champaign, reigniting the Crysis shrine and letting off a few any unused party poppers that you may still have from the beginning of the year, heck maybe even a disco tech from all of John TV/monitors flashing lights in the background? Thanks and keep up the awesome work!!

TheAdam

Hi DF Team, any thoughts regarding Googles "Project Genie"? Is this what all the big studios want? I hope not. Thanks as always and keep up the good work! Cheers

TheAdam

Hi DF Team, any thoughts regarding Googles "Project Genie"? Is this what all the big studios want? I hope not. Thanks as always and keep up the good work! Cheers

Someguyperson

Did you guys see the update to Alex's favorite PC game, Monster Hunter Wilds? I ran some numbers myself and it looks like a pretty comprehensive update. CPU limited performance seems ~20% better in addition to the DLC check bug. I can now hit ~90-100 FPS on my 5800X3D in 720P with no upscaling on a 5070 Ti (so, completely CPU limited). There is actually a whole set of additional CPU options now as well, which should hopefully help people with weaker CPUs, but I haven't checked those out yet. Memory usage seems down by almost 1 GB (according to the game itself). They cite improvements to texture streaming, so maybe 8 GB cards are actually usable now? They reduced the memory consumption for the high-resolution texture pack as well, so it looks like that can run on 12 GB cards (it shows 10 GB of memory in-use on my PC). I did notice that when I was CPU limited, the game felt like it was constantly breaking, so you should keep it GPU limited, which is easier to do now. The game is still stupidly heavy on the GPU for the visual fidelity, but at least people shouldn't be as CPU limited as before. Also, some textures still look like they're in potato mode, most particularly rock textures. Overall, there are still some issues, but it really seems like the game is finally playable now on PC.

Someguyperson

Is this just a laundry list of people's wishes, or do you have some backing behind these things? Reduced precision can work well with few tradeoffs, but it's not free and there could be other errors that occur due to the reduced accuracy. Reducing the accuracy of AI models is something companies have done for years now. They're even going to FP4 and FP2, which don't seem to be gaining too much traction down that low.

Anxiously Chrono Triggered

Hey DF crew, the remaining CRT TVs and the old consoles will eventually die. Do you consider re-/decompilation projects like the Banjoo and FPGA boards to be the best way to preserve games? Cheers!

Anxiously Chrono Triggered

Hey DF crew, what is stopping AMD to release an RDNA4 based SOC for handhelds? It’s quite odd we haven’t seen anything out there yet, isn’t it? Cheers

Anxiously Chrono Triggered

Hey DF crew, if you could only play one console with its entire catalogue of games to choose from for the rest of your lives which one would you choose and why? I guess for Alex we would need to change this question into 10 years of PC gaming or specific Windows iteration? Cheers!

Digital Foundry

I'm not aware of a 225fps limit - in the 70 class video we just posted, both Clair Obscur and BF6 easily clear that.

DaJaCo (Dan)

I've pieced together various sources, much is what cerny or sony have said, or from patents. For example with vector registers: "What we're doing on PS5 Pro is using the Vector Registers in the Work Group Processors as that RAM. "Each WGP has four sets of registers, each 128KB in size, and over a terabyte per second. 30 WGPs therefore give us 15MB of memory and a combined bandwidth of 200 terabytes per second, which is to say, several hundred times faster than system memory." Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/102229/sony-explains-how-it-modified-ps5-pros-gpu-to-enable-pssr-neural-network-ai-upscaling/index.html

Mab7373822

Thanks Matt, but in particular I want to see PC exclusives, those games that never made it for one reason or another to the console ecosystem. Thanks!