Nvidia is rumored to be launching new GeForce RTX 40 Super GPUs in early January, but the closeness of that date hasn’t stopped leaks from coming. The latest leaked image seems to show that the GeForce RTX 4070 12GB GDDR6X Dual OC will come with a 16-pin power connector, rather than an 8-pin power connector. In some ways this isn’t surprising at all. After all, the Founders Edition of the RTX 4070 also used a 16-pin connector, so using the same for the RTX 4070 Super isn’t an enormous surprise. However, this particular leak shows an Asus-made RTX 4070 Super OC, and Asus had previously opted to use an 8-pin connector for the RTX 4070 OC Edition. Upgrading to a 16-pin connector will give the more powerful card more power to play with, and seems like a wise choice. There are some other changes between the original RTX 4070 OC and the Super version to be seen in the leaked imagery. There’s now a visible heatpipe on the side and some changes in the cutouts, and most notably, it looks as if the heatsinks will now funnel airflow from the front to the back of the card, rather than sideways. As mentioned in the name above, it looks as if the card will be using 12GB of GDDR6X memory. Power-wise, rumors say it will come equipped with an AD104-350 core with 7168 cores, though we won’t know this for sure until the card is launched. If those specs turn out to be true, it will place the card between the GeForce RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Ti. We don’t have long to wait before we know one way or the other. Nvidia is holding a Special Address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on January 8, and it’s quite likely it will take to that stage and announce a number of new Super cards for the RTX 40 series. A previously leaked schedule shows that Nvidia is planning on revealing the GeForce RTX 4070 Super, 4070 Ti Super, and 4080 Super, with a full release date coming on January 17.

Bethesda celebrated the end of 2023 by posting some fun stats about Starfield, but also took the time to reveal that its new space game would be receiving some big updates next year, including new "gameplay options" and "survival mechanics". Details are thin on the ground at the moment, but we do know that updates will be released about every six months, and will include "new ways of traveling", city maps, and official mod support. The gameplay options seem the most interesting though, with players apparently being able to customize large parts of their playthroughs, changing carry weights, vendor credit amounts, ship damage, and other variables. It looks to be a more fine-tunable difficulty setting. The survival mechanics are likely to catch your eye too, but it might be wise to not expect these to be a fully-fledged survival mode, like you might find in No Man’s Sky. It’s possible we’ll see something like the survival modes from Fallout 4 and Skyrim, where players must eat and rest to stay healthy, with a probable inclusion of air meters. Though if it went as far as to include temperature meters or radioactivity levels, that would be a big step in the right direction for a lot of players. It’s not hard to imagine that Bethesda had 2023 pegged as the Year of Starfield. Unfortunately, the world had different ideas, and while it still has its dedicated followers, Starfield has dropped significantly. Active player count on Steam has cratered, dropping from an all-time peak of over 330,000, to struggling to breach the top 100 most played, embarrassingly dropping below stablemates Fallout 4 and Skyrim. Granted, this doesn’t include player counts from Game Pass players, and as many have noted; it’s a single-player game, of course people have stopped playing it. But so are Skyrim and Fallout 4, and those continue to be games with very active playerbases. In short, Starfield is a game that desperately needs extra work to attract players back. Will Bethesda’s planned changes make the difference and bring back the crowds? Starfield wouldn’t be the first space game to make a dramatic recovery after a disappointing launch, and we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed.

Here at MegaGames, we love building PCs. From slotting in RAM, to gently cradling your new GPU as it makes its way onto your new motherboard, every part of carefully putting together your very own gaming rig is a moment to be savoured. And that includes the inevitable frustration when you realise you forgot to plug in a component properly, which means it won’t work until you dive back in again. But those of us who love to tinker with PC parts forget that everyone is like that, and if that’s you, whether you’re worried about doing something wrong, or simply can’t be bothered, there’s still an option for you. Prebuilt gaming PCs are just as good as those you build yourself, and come with the handy bonus that you get them, plug them in, and they’re good to go. Here are the best prebuilt gaming PCs of 2023. Best overall pick: Acer Predator Orion 7000 Our best overall pick has to go to the PC that brings the top performance you can get. The Acer Predator Orion 7000 is a top-tier gaming PC, and it looks like it too, with a very gamer-friendly RGB tower and included keyboard and mouse. The fans are big and beefy, which does mean it’s a loud runner when it’s pushing pixels, but given the hardware tucked into the innards, that’s forgivable. As you might expect, performance is key here, and that’s reflected in the specs. You’ll get to choose the exact model of the Orion 7000 based on your particular budget, but you’ll be picking between the 13th generation Intel Core i7 and i9 processors, and the choice of either the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, 3090, or 4090. You’ll also get 32GB of GDDR5 RAM, Intel Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, and a 1TB SSD and a 2TB HDD as well. It’s a strong package regardless of the tier you pick, and our best overall pick. The downside? It’s cost, of course. The variant of the Orion 7000 with an RTX 3080 and Core i7 processor will set you back around $2,000, with the top tiers rising to over $4,000. That’s a big outlay, and keep in mind you’ll only get the most out of this rig if you’re often playing games in 4K at higher refresh rates. While you can play Stardew Valley on it, we wouldn’t recommend buying this computer just for that game, as you might be better suited buying something below. Best midrange pick: HP Omen 30L If you’re looking to spend a little less money but still want an excellent prebuilt gaming PC, then check out the HP Omen 30L. It’s not as showy as the Acer Predator Orion 7000 above, omitting the strong RGB lighting in favor of a sleek, subtle black case. It’s still strong where the specs are concerned, and while you won’t get the latest hardware, it won’t let you down. Processor options run up to the 10 generation Intel Core i9 processor, options up to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 for the GPU, and up to 64GB of GDDR4 RAM. There’s also a 1TB SSD. As mentioned, it’s not the latest hardware, but it does come at a more reasonable price, with costs starting below $2,000. Best budget pick: Lenovo Legion Tower 5i Not everyone has thousands of dollars to spend on a gaming PC, but thankfully, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. Gaming at 1080p resolutions is more than possible on lower-powered and cheaper equipment, and the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i is ideal for that. There’s a powerful processor inside, with options up to the Intel Core i7-13700, backed up by a similarly powerful GPU: If budget permits, you can go as high as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, though paying that much does undercut the “budget” part of this pick a little. It looks the part too, with a clear window and plenty of RGB lighting. Keep in mind that while this PC will handle 1080p just fine, anything like ray tracing isn’t going to be possible. Also, since it’s Lenovo, some amount of bloatware is expected. Still, with prices starting from just over $1,000, it’s a fantastic pick. Best small pick: Corsair One i300 Sometimes you need a PC that’ll fit into as small a space as possible, and that’s where compact PCs come in handy. Of them all, the Corsair One i300 stands apart as simply a great choice if you’re looking to play some games, but don’t have a huge space to do it in. It’s a tiny titan too. Processing power comes from an Intel Core i9-12900K paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, and there’s 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 2TB SSD as well. That’s enough power to keep on ticking for years and years worth of games. The size is, of course, a double-edged sword. The case being so small means it can be tough to find new components when it comes to upgrade time, and cooling will always be an issue in a package this small too. Also, it’s very expensive, and you shouldn’t expect to pay less than $3,000 for it. Best handheld: Asus ROG Ally It’s nice to be able to add a new category to PC roundups, and this is certainly big enough to now warrant its own niche. While the Steam Deck may be the most well known of the handheld PCs, it’s the Asus ROG Ally that takes its place as the best handheld, at least as far we’re concerned. It’s the higher end version we’re specifically referring to here, as it’s a real beast. A 7-inch 1080p display sits in front of the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, backed up by AMD’s graphics. The processor is capable of up to 5.10 GHz, with the GPU being capable of up to 2.7 GHZ and 8.6 Teraflops. In short, it’s powerful, despite its size, and while it won’t match the PCs up here, well, it doesn’t need to. Its size is the real advantage here. Play your favorite PC games on the bus, on the sofa, or anywhere you want to. And when needed, it’s also a fully fledged Windows PC, too — though you’ll need separate accessories like a mouse and keyboard to really unlock that part of it. Not bad at all for just $800.

The much awaited (and at one point, assumed to be dead) Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is finally dropping in February 2024, but with one hiccup — the game will only be able to be played online. Well, at least until Rocksteady is able to push out an update after launch. The removal of the online requirement was confirmed by a Rocksteady representative on Discord after the latest Suicide Squad trailer was released at The Game Awards, but only as a post-launch update. So if your internet connection isn’t solid, you might want to wait a few days until the patch is out. EpicYeti, the Rocksteady rep in question, had this to say: "In addition to our latest trailer, we also have some news to share. We're happy to confirm, we are planning to add an offline story mode that will give players the option to experience the main campaign without an internet connection. We’re aiming to add this update in 2024 and will provide more details when available." Constant online requirements are controversial within gaming circles. Needing to keep a steady connection to a game’s servers can be tricky if your internet service is limited or not particularly reliable, and that’s before we factor in the troubles previous games have had with keeping servers online during busy periods. Should a game’s servers experience more demand than expected, or if there are outages, suddenly people can’t play their singleplayer game — and that always annoys people. In fairness, Suicide Squad is clearly a game that will benefit from multiplayer, but the key is to make that aspect of the game optional, and not shackle players with the downsides of an online connection even if they’re not using it. Thankfully, Rocksteady know what they’re doing, and they’re going to make sure the constant online requirement doesn’t last too long, so if you end up dropping out of the game because of a finicky internet connection, at least you know it won’t last too long. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will release on February 2, 2024, and will be available on PC, Playstation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.