Digital Foundry Direct: Hardware News & Tech Insights

Hardware Mishaps and Tech Investigations

The Xbox Series S SSD Experiment

• Richard explains a "senseless technological tragedy": attempting to use an Xbox Series S SSD in a PlayStation 5.
• The drive is recognized by the PS5, but the system crashes at 13% during the formatting process, effectively bricking the drive.
• Result: The experiment is confirmed to not work and carries significant risks of damaging hardware. Do not attempt this project.

Industry News and Controversies

The 'Abandoned' Marketing Saga

• The indie game Abandoned caused a stir with bizarre marketing tactics, including a broken real-time trailer application.
• The team discusses the high level of conspiracy surrounding the title, noting the implausibility of Hideo Kojima's involvement.
• The incident highlights unusual lapses in store quality control, reminiscent of previous issues with high-profile demos.

AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Review

• The new RDNA 2 card faces criticism for its high $379 MSRP given its performance consistency issues.
• The team identifies a major bottleneck: the card's smaller Infinity Cache causes performance to collapse at resolutions higher than 1080p.
• The consensus is that the card lacks a compelling value proposition compared to previous generations, signaling a malaise in the sub-$300 market.

Intel's Graphics Push

• The hiring of Anton Kaplanian (formerly of Nvidia/Crytek) to lead graphics research signals Intel's serious commitment to ray tracing and machine learning in their upcoming GPU architecture.
• The team welcomes the competition, hoping for a third viable contender that might introduce open alternatives to Nvidia's proprietary technologies.

Technical Tips and Community Q&A

Mastering Black Frame Insertion (BFI)

• John discusses the benefits of Black Frame Insertion for reducing persistence blur on OLED displays.
• He shares a workaround using specific software (Color Control) and settings to boost brightness in SDR and HDR modes to make BFI more practical for daily use.

"Getting the light output up while using this mode produces the closest to CRT-like experience I've ever seen on a flat panel."

PC versus Console Paradigms

• The hosts debate resolution marketing and whether upscaling techniques like DLSS or reconstruction justify the "4K" label.
• They express a strong desire for more transparency in how games are marketed regarding their internal rendering resolutions.