Amazon comments on the defective graphics cards in New World and does not take any responsibility. This is not a good sign, says hardware editor Nils Raettig.
The reports about graphics cards that are said to have been damaged while playing Amazon’s MMO New World are currently on everyone’s lips. Amazon’s handling of the problem, which is still difficult to grasp, leaves a lot to be desired in my view.
In essence, Amazon rejects any responsibility in the official statements on Twitter – only to publish a patch at the same time that fixes a possible cause in the form of the very high FPS in the menu:
In Standard-Tests der Beta & Alpha haben wir kein Problem mit 3090 Grafikkarten festgestellt. Es ist sicher, New World zu spielen. Damit Spieler sich wohler damit fühlen, haben wir einen Patch aufgespielt, der die FPS im Startmenü limitiert.
Wir danken euch für euren Support. https://t.co/2mE4SoDAaT
— New World DE (@PlaynewworldDE) July 22, 2021
The question of guilt has not yet been clarified
Don’t get me wrong, my point is not to say that Amazon alone is to blame for the incidents. At the moment, we know too little about the problem, which may no longer be precisely traceable due to the patch.
In my view, there is much to suggest that a mixture of different factors led to this. Igorslab, for example, draws attention to a poorly implemented and ultimately unnecessary chip for the fan control in the FTW models of the Geforce RTX 3090 from the manufacturer EVGA, which seem to be affected particularly often.
However, as the tech youtuber Jayz2Cents rightly points out on Twitter, according to gamers’ reports, these models are not the only ones affected. At the same time, a recurring element is precisely the very high FPS figures in the menu, which the latest patch from New World has now fixed
Full load does not equal full load
Generally, graphics cards are designed to be heavily utilised by games. However, the exact nature of this heavy utilisation can differ significantly in detail depending on the situation. Senior PR Manager Christian Wefers from Asus also emphasises this in response to our query on the subject:
“Depending on the architecture of the graphics processor, the type and number of functional units already differs at the GPU level. Depending on the type of calculations running, not only parts of the GPU can be very differently utilised, but also the memory occupancy and the utilisation of the power supply […]. In extreme situations, this can be recognised by so-called coil whining at high FPS. The temperatures of the components / assemblies also differ depending on the type of load.”
So it can make a big difference whether a graphics card is doing its job in normal gaming operation at FPS values in the two or three digit range or whether it has to do so in a menu at FPS values in the four digit range. ”
Why would this only happen at New World?
That FPS numbers are very high in a game menu is not a new phenomenon. New World, however, seems to have taken the cake a bit.
Admittedly, this is only a subjective impression that I can’t back up with more precise research, even through the patch. Currently, however, no one knows for sure how the incidents occurred – and as long as that is the case, one should be very cautious about dismissing any blame.
Have you experienced problems with your graphics card in New World? And what do you think of Amazon’s handling of the issue? Appropriate reaction, questionable statement or something in between? Feel free to post in the comments
