Cyberpunk 2077 RT: Overdrive Mode Seemingly Cripples RTX 4090 Without DLSS 3

It’s been a couple of years since CD Projekt Red (CDPR) launched Cyberpunk 2077 and in spite of a rocky launch riddled with bugs, glitches and unplanned disappearing acts of vehicles, the studio has already brought the game up to an acceptable enough level, and is still constantly adding on new improvements, patch after patch. In fact, in its next update, the game will be getting a patch that gives players access to an upgraded version of ray-tracing mode, known as RT: Overdrive Mode.

We first wrote about RT: Overdrive Mode back in March, when GDC 2023 was in full swing, and both NVIDIA and CDPR gave a technical session regarding the technology. The mode, also known as Full ray-tracing, which is also known as path-tracing, is actually just one of the two popular methods used by game developer whenever they wish to simulate the behaviour of light in-game. With the more conventional ray-tracing, the in-game engine traces the path of light rays and their interaction with different objects; this processing method requires a lot of graphical power but the end results are images and environments with very accurate reflections, refractions, and shadows.

 

With path-tracing that is used by the RT: Overdrive Mode, the lighting calculation is randomly computed and involves the path of lights that are sampled within an environment. It’s a less complex and demanding process but as a trade-off, the final product is an image with higher noise levels. NVIDIA, in this case, seems to have successfully mitigated that issue, as evidenced by its latest teaser video, showing off the mode in all its glory. In the brand’s words, “full ray-tracing models all properties of light from an unlimited number of emissive sources, delivering physically correct shadows, reflections, and global illuminations on all objects.”

There is a very clear and obvious trade-off for the new RT: Overdrive mode, and that’s an increased strained or processing power by the GPU, and NVIDIA actually shows it in the product demo. With full ray-tracing activated and its DLSS upscaling technology turned on, the feature effectively kneecaps an RTX 4090, with the GPU just able to churn out 16 fps on average, and at 4K resolution. Of course, flip the switch on the brand’s DLSS 3, and the framerate ratchets back above the 100 fps mark and stays there for the remainder of the short tech demo. Honestly, we’re not sure if that massive drop in frames is actually legitimate, but if it is, it does feel a bit soul-crushing, especially given the power a GPU such as the RTX 4090 commands.

MSI Seemingly Confirms Launch Date of Intel Alder Lake CPU Lineup

During its Architecture Day in August, Intel has promised that its 12th generation Alder Lake CPU lineup will launch this year, but fell short of providing a solid date for the event. Well, thanks to MSI, it appears that the date seems to be set for 4 November.

The alleged confirmation date stems from the Taiwanese PC components and laptop maker’s press release, announcing that it would be providing a free upgrade kit for Intel LGA1700 CPUs, along with their Coreliquid CPU coolers. More specifically, consumers will need to fill up a form in order to receive the upgrades but as of this publication, the button that would usually take them to the necessary portal is greyed out and sporting the words “Coming Soon”.

More to the point, the availability date of 4 November initially drew suspicions from Videocardz, whom after reaching out to what it says were reliable sources, was confident that the date is when Intel plans to launch its Alder Lake-S desktop CPU lineup. Further, that date reportedly coincides with the product’s sales and review embargo.

Intel is expected to launch three SKUs under the Alder Lake-S series, including the Core i9-12900K, Core i7-12700K, and Core i5-12600K. As it stands and given how these things usually go, Intel has yet to officially confirm anything, so take this news with a pinch of salt.

Alleged Huawei P50 Mockup Surfaces; Seemingly Confirming Prior Leaks Of Its Design

A photo featuring alleged mockups of Huawei’s upcoming P50 flagship smartphone has recently surfaced online. The image, shared by Slasheaks via Twitter, shows both the front and rear design of the device, which resembles the renders shared by Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka OnLeaks) back in March.

The P50’s display is shown to feature a large amount of screen real estate, surrounded by thin bezels. Located on the top centre is a single punch-hole cutout for its front-facing camera – indicating that Huawei have decided to drop the pill-shaped cutout from the phone’s predecessor. In terms of size, Hemmerstoffer’s earlier leak suggests that the standard P50 will come with a 6.3-inch display and features a dimension of 156.7 x 74 x 8.3mm.

The rear side of the phone appears to feature either a glass or plastic white panel, which will likely be available in more colour options at launch – whenever that may be. Then we have the massive dual circular glass housings for the P50’s camera system, arranged vertically on a cylindrical island on the top left corner of its back.

Thanks to this alleged leaked mockup, we now know that each circular housing features two cameras – totalling up to four shooters on the device. Strangely enough, all the cameras shown are similar in size and type – something that could potentially change in the final version. OnLeaks says that the P50 may be equipped with an unannounced IMX800, Sony’s rumoured 1-inch sensor for mobile phones.

Also not forgetting that a potential high specced variant of the device may be in the works. According to a separate leak by Hemmerstoffer prior to this, the alleged Huawei P50 Pro will feature the same rear camera array design as the vanilla version, but features a curved front display instead.

As usual, we highly advise that you take the information provided through leaks such as these with a grain of salt. With its mockup now seemingly revealed, there’s a chance that Huawei may be gearing up to introduce its P50 flagship smartphone sometime in the coming weeks or even months.