Ginger6 Computers

Intel's free PresentMon FPS and frame time overlay just got up to 78% lighter on your CPU, and it's worth updating if you benchmark your gaming PC.

If you check FPS, frame times or stutter while you play, this one is for you. Intel released PresentMon 2.6.0 late last week. Here's what's new:

Up to 78% lower CPU use under load. Handy, because a monitoring tool that eats CPU time can skew the very numbers it's measuring.

A new Game Experience overlay preset. Instead of leaning on average FPS, it shows metrics Intel says track how smooth motion and animation actually look.

Telemetry from more than one GPU in the same overlay.

Metrics your system can't report now stay visible, dimmed, with an explanation, instead of quietly disappearing.

Why it matters: two games can both show 90fps and feel completely different. Frame times and 1% lows tell you about stutter. An average FPS number doesn't. PresentMon is free and open source, so it costs nothing to see what your PC is really doing.

What it means for you: if a game feels choppy despite a decent frame rate, watch the frame times, not the FPS counter. It's also a quick way to check whether a new graphics setting or upscaler actually made things smoother.

Want a gaming PC built for smooth frame times, not just big FPS numbers? → Ginger6

Sources: Intel (PresentMon release notes), TechPowerUp, VideoCardz

Workstation PC of the Day 🖤💼

Today’s build is designed for creators, editors, and professionals who need a fast, reliable workstation. powered by Intel’s Ultra 5 250KF and Gigabyte’s RTX 5060 WF MAX OC. Smooth editing, fast renders, and effortless multitasking 😎

Specs 🖥️
• CPU: Core Ultra 5 250KF
• Cooler: G6 Boreas Black ARGB
• Motherboard: H810M Gaming WiFi6
• Case: Gigabyte C102 Glass Black
• GPU: RTX 5060 WF MAX OC
• RAM: Fury Beast 16GB DDR5
• Storage: WD Black SN7100 1TB NVMe
• PSU: G6 850W Bronze

If you’re a video editor, designer, or content creator, this is the kind of workstation that keeps your workflow fast and frustration‑free 👌

👉 See our full workstation range: https://www.ginger6.com/g6-slate.html

Control Resonant is out on PC, and its system requirements tell gamers exactly where to spend their upgrade money.

If you're planning a gaming PC or graphics card upgrade for Remedy's new game, this one is for you. Control Resonant launched on 24 September on Steam and the Epic Games Store. Look at the official PC specs and one thing jumps out: the CPU barely moves.

A Ryzen 7 3700X or Core i7-10700 is listed for 1440p at 60fps, for 4K at 60fps, and even for 4K path tracing at 60fps. The graphics card is what climbs:

1080p, 30fps, Low: GTX 1070, RX 5600 XT or Arc A580
1440p, 60fps, Medium: RTX 3060 Ti, RX 6700 XT or Arc B580
4K, 60fps, High: RTX 3080 or RX 6800 XT
4K, 60fps, path tracing: RTX 5080

Every tier also needs 16GB of RAM and 120GB of free SSD space. That's triple what the original Control asked for.

Launch benchmarks from DSOGaming back it up. The game is GPU-bound even at 1080p, path tracing roughly halves frame rates, and upscaling (DLSS 4.5 or FSR 4) is doing a lot of the heavy lifting at 1440p and 4K.

What it means for you: already running a modern 6 or 8-core CPU? Put your budget into the graphics card, not the processor. And clear space on an SSD before you hit download, because a hard drive isn't recommended.

Not sure if you need a new GPU or a whole new build? Tell us what you play and we'll spec it properly. → Ginger6

Sources: Remedy Entertainment, PC Gamer, DSOGaming

🎮 When you come back for a second machine, it means the first one truly delivered and Drazhar says both were amazing.
Top‑tier build quality, great service, and a gaming PC that hits every expectation. That’s why they’re happy to return in the future and recommend Ginger6 to anyone looking for a new gaming setup.

Thanks for the 5⭐ review, Drazhar!
💻 Explore our gaming PC range or custom builds.

AMD chip prices are reportedly rising about 10% in Q4, and it lands on Radeon GPUs and motherboards.

If you're planning an AMD gaming PC or an upgrade before Christmas, treat this as your heads up. Supply chain reporting says TSMC has told customers that foundry costs go up roughly 10% in Q4 2026, and AMD has told partners it will not absorb that. The products named are AI accelerators, consumer Radeon GPUs and motherboard chipsets. Ryzen CPUs were not on the list, although nobody is ruling them out.

For context, a Radeon RX 9070 XT already sells well above its launch price. Another 10% on component cost does not stay with the board partner for long.

Worth saying plainly: neither AMD nor TSMC has confirmed any of this. It is a supply chain report, not an announcement.

What it means for you: if an AMD build is already on your list for this year, buying sooner is the lower risk option. If you're holding out for the big RDNA 5 jump, that is a 2027 conversation, not an autumn one.

Planning an AMD build? Let's price it while the pricing holds. → Ginger6

Source: ChannelGate supply chain report, via Club386 and Wccftech (17 September 2026)

💡 Proper PC advice should feel honest not sales‑driven. Scott got exactly that.
He spoke with our team and immediately felt the difference: real knowledge, clear guidance, and recommendations based on what he actually needed. No upselling, no fluff just straight, professional advice from people who know their stuff.

Thanks for the 5⭐ review, Scott!
💻 Explore our expert‑recommended builds or custom options.

Intel Z990 motherboards for Nova Lake have appeared in shipping records, and they need a brand new socket.

If you're weighing up an Intel gaming PC now against waiting for the next generation, this is the detail that decides it. At least five ASRock Z990 boards have shown up in customs shipping data from Taiwan and Vietnam: Challenger WiFi, Pro RS WiFi, Steel Legend WiFi and two Taichi models. Z990 is expected to be the flagship chipset for Nova Lake, Intel's next Core Ultra desktop family, with Z970 as the cheaper step down.

Nova Lake is rumoured for early 2027, with the big 52 core part later that year. It is also expected to bring Intel's first large last level cache, aimed squarely at AMD's X3D gaming chips.

Here's the catch. Nova Lake sits on a new LGA1954 socket. Your current LGA1851 or LGA1700 board will not take one, so it is a CPU, motherboard and probably memory swap, not a drop in upgrade.

What it means for you: if you want a gaming PC this side of Christmas, buy on today's performance per pound. Nothing you buy now upgrades into Nova Lake anyway, so waiting buys you nothing except waiting.

Want it specced properly the first time? → Ginger6

Source: NBD shipping records, via Club386 and VideoCardz (17 September 2026)

Xbox Game Pass is capping cloud gaming hours from November, and it's a nudge every PC gamer should notice.

If you play Game Pass by streaming rather than installing, this one is for you. Microsoft confirmed on 3 September that monthly cloud limits arrive in November. Ultimate, at £16.99 a month in the UK, gets 15 hours. Premium at £10.99 gets 10 hours. Essential at £6.99 gets 5 hours. Extra hours can be bought on top. Microsoft says roughly 4% of subscribers will be affected.

Worth knowing: the cap is on cloud streaming only. Games you install and run on your own PC have no hour limit, no queue and no bandwidth wobble.

What it means for you: 15 hours a month is about half an hour a day. If that's less than you actually play, the fix isn't buying more streaming hours, it's hardware that runs the games locally. A modern six core CPU, 16GB of RAM and a current mid range GPU will handle the PC Game Pass library comfortably at 1080p and 1440p.

Want a gaming PC that plays without a timer? → Ginger6

Source: Xbox Wire, with reporting from CNBC and Tom's Hardware

World of Warcraft: Forever launches on 4 November, and the beta opens today.

If you've been thinking about a first gaming PC, or dusting off an old one, this is your window. Blizzard used BlizzCon on 13 and 14 September to announce Forever, a remastered and expanded take on year one WoW that keeps you at level 60 for good. Diablo 5 was revealed too, targeting 2029 with Demon Hunter, Monk and a new Plague Knight class, alongside an open world StarCraft shooter aiming at 2030.

Here's the useful part. WoW is a CPU led game, not a GPU monster. Raids and busy city hubs lean on single core speed and RAM far more than they lean on ray tracing.

What it means for you: you don't need a £2,000 rig to play Forever properly. A modern six core CPU, 16GB of DDR5, an SSD and a mid range GPU will hold a steady frame rate at 1440p. That same machine will still be standing when the bigger 2029 and 2030 titles turn up.

Building your first proper gaming PC? We'll spec it around what you actually play. → Ginger6

Source: Blizzard, via PC Gamer and GamesRadar+

Nvidia's RTX Spark laptops and mini PCs land in October, and PC gamers should read the small print first.

If you're weighing up a gaming laptop or a small form factor PC this autumn, this one matters. Nvidia has confirmed two versions of its N1X chip. The bigger one pairs a 20 core Grace CPU with a 6,144 core Blackwell GPU and 24GB to 128GB of unified memory, and goes into both laptops and desktops. The smaller one uses an 18 core CPU, a 5,120 core GPU and 24GB to 32GB, and is laptop only. Acer, Asus, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, Lenovo, MSI and Microsoft are all lined up with devices.

Here's the catch. RTX Spark runs Windows on Arm. Most PC games are x86, so they go through emulation, and that costs performance. Anti-cheat can be fussy on Arm too.

What it means for you: if the machine is mainly for games, a standard x86 desktop with a discrete GPU is still the safer buy. If you're a creator running AI and video work, Spark is genuinely worth watching. UK pricing hasn't been announced yet.

Not sure which route suits your setup? We'll build you the right one. → Ginger6

Source: Nvidia, via Tom's Hardware and Windows Central