Last week, we reported on a massive leak that gave us a glimpse at a surfeit of upcoming ROG gaming laptops from ASUS boasting Arrow Lake-HX and Strix Halo processors, along with RTX 50-series Laptop GPUs. The company has now gone ahead and officially teased its ROG Flow Z13 laptop and the ROG Strix 18 laptop, the videos for which were obtained by VideoCardz. Considering that these were just teasers, the details shared were sparse, but undoubtedly intriguing regardless.

The ROG Strix 18, will likely boast the Core Ultra 9 285HX and Core Ultra 9 275HX CPUs along with NVIDIA "Blackwell" Laptop GPUs, with up to an 175-watt RTX 5090 Laptop with 16 GB of GDDR7 VRAM. Multiple other GPU options will also be available, with the RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU being the entry-point as per the leaked listings. Clearly, the Strix 18 is poised to be a powerful and power-hungry desktop replacement-class laptop, along with a massive 18-inch mini LED screen with a speedy 240 Hz refresh rate. Needless to say, the G18 has no intention of being affordable.

Moore's Law is Dead, a prominent YouTube channel specializing in computer hardware leaks, has revealed its expectations for the RTX 50-series Laptop GPUs. We have already reported on a massive product listing leak shedding light on almost every single "Blackwell" laptop GPU, but needless to say, more information is always welcome. According to Moore's Law is Dead, the RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, and this has been hinted at by the aforementioned prior leak, will only sport 16 GB of GDDR7 VRAM - the same as the RTX 5080 Laptop.

Moreover, his sources indicate that the RTX 5080 will drop with a 175-watt TGP and 7,680 CUDA cores, which is shockingly only a hair more than the 7,424 found in its predecessor. However, the source did state that the RTX 5080 will be around 40 to 60% faster than the RTX 4080, which is a massive generational leap in performance. It is not clear at this point how this number was arrived at, but it sure does seem rather utopian. Yet another source has also indicated that an RTX 5090 Laptop card with a whopping 24 GB of VRAM is also in the works which might launch down the line, but there is little else to be said about it. As MLID notes, NVIDIA has very little to no competition in the high-end laptop segment, which inevitably makes things worse for the end-user.

It is no surprise that Lenovo is cooking up the next-generation of Legion Go consoles for launch next month. We have reported on a plethora of leaks surrounding both the affordable Legion Go S, and the Legion Go 2 handheld gaming consoles. Finally, it appears that there is some concrete information regarding their launch - Lenovo, in an email to The Verge, has confirmed new Legion handhelds are dropping next month. But that's not all - according to The Verge, the launch event will have a surprise guest.

Our readers who have been keeping tabs on the Legion Go 2 rumor cycle will recall that we recently reported on a leaked image of the upcoming Legion Go S which had an interesting detail - the handheld features a dedicated button for Steam. Now, of course, we're completely in the dark regarding what that button's presence entails. It is entirely possible that the button is simply for opening the Steam app, or, it could indicate that the Legion Go 2 might run SteamOS - we simply don't know yet.

Silicon Box, a global leader in advanced semiconductor packaging and system integration, welcomes the European Commission's approval of approximately €1.3 billion for its new manufacturing facility in Italy. The project, representing a total investment of €3.2 billion, will create 1,600 high-skilled jobs and establish Europe's most advanced semiconductor packaging facilities.

The investment supports the EU's strategic goal to produce 20% of the world's semiconductors by 2030 and marks Silicon Box's first expansion beyond Singapore. With its proprietary large format panel-level process lines, the factory can scale up the packaging of chips 6 to 8 times more than traditional wafer-level packaging.

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It is barely a surprise that the desktop RTX 50X0-series cards will be accompanied by laptop variants soon after their launch. And as such, multiple listings of upcoming gaming laptops have appeared on the internet. The information is rather intriguing, to say the least. The leaked listings indicate that both AMD and Intel will have products ready to join forces with Blackwell, with Intel's Arrow Lake-HX and, rather shockingly, Ryzen 7000HX-series from Team Red - much to the chagrin of those expecting Ryzen 9000HX to drop sooner. The listings also reveal some other specifications, such as the display, but there is nothing notable there - it's the typical spread of mini LED and OLED panels.

Among the leaked laptops, we have the ROG Strix Scar 18, which will pack up to a Core Ultra 9 285HX "Arrow Lake-HX" CPU, along with either an RTX 5080, or an RTX 5090 GPU. Disappointingly, it appears that the RTX 5090 will be limited to only 16 GB of VRAM, which is half that of its desktop counterpart. The RTX 5080 will also be available with 16 GB of VRAM, which certainly makes us sigh in relief. A lower-tier laptop, namely the Strix 16, has also been leaked, packing either an RTX 5070 Ti, or an RTX 5060 GPU with 12 GB and 8 GB of VRAM respectively. The laptops further down will also have the entry-level RTX 5050, with 8 GB of VRAM as well. Of course, all of this is on the new GDDR7 spec. The full-resolution image of the leaked listings can be found here.

A significant legal challenge has emerged for Intel's leadership as shareholders aim for the company's representation of its foundry business performance. LR Trust has filed a lawsuit against former CEO Pat Gelsinger and current co-CEO David Zinsner, seeking to return substantial executive compensation amid allegations of misleading statements and financial mismanagement. The lawsuit centers on Intel Foundry Services (IFS), a division that was once positioned as a crucial growth engine for Team Blue. The Intel Foundry, as it is now called, is here referred as Intel Foundry Services, which was its older name back in 2023. According to court documents, LR Trust claims that while Intel's leadership painted an optimistic picture of IFS's trajectory, the division struggled to attract major clients and accumulated significant losses. Gelsinger's $207 million compensation package is at the heart of the dispute, where shareholders now demand that these funds should be returned to the company.

The legal action also targets additional compensation received by Zinsner, arguing that executive rewards were secured through misrepresenting the company's financial health. The allegations point to a troubled 2023, during which Intel's chip production unit reportedly lost $7 billion. These challenges extended into 2024, as increased investments in new fab facilities further strained the company's finances. The lawsuit alleges that executives issued "materially false and misleading" statements regarding cost savings and revenue potential, ultimately driving shareholder value to the very bottom. LR Trust's legal filing accuses Intel's leadership of breaching its financial duties through inadequate internal controls and inaccurate financial disclosures. Beyond seeking the return of executive compensation, the lawsuit pursues damages and legal cost reimbursement, with any recovered funds potentially being returned to Intel's coffers. Intel has yet to respond formally to these allegations. This is just another lawsuit in line as Intel already has several other lawsuits going on, with one recent from August.

LIAN LI Industrial Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of chassis and PC accessories, introduces the UNI FAN TL Wireless series, expanding its wireless signal-controlled product line-up. Utilizing a 2.4 GHz signal for ARGB and fan speed control, this series eliminates the need for a hub. It includes the UNI FAN TL LCD Wireless, featuring a 1.6" LCD display with 400x400 resolution at 60 FPS and customizable visuals, and the UNI FAN TL Wireless, equipped with high-performance Liquid Crystal Polymer blades. Both models feature an infinity mirror effect with dual LED zones and come in black and white in 120 mm size, supporting regular and reverse airflow configurations.

UNI FAN TL LCD Wireless
The UNI FAN TL LCD Wireless provides unparalleled customization possibilities with its 1.6" LCD IPS display at the center of the fan, offering a 400×400 resolution that supports MP4, GIF, JPG, and PNG formats for vibrant, personalized visuals. Compared to the UNI FAN TL LCD, which features a 30 FPS display, the UNI FAN TL LCD Wireless now boasts a 60 FPS frame-per-second refresh rate. Surrounding the fan edges are infinity mirrors and a thin LED strip that elegantly wraps around the mounting screw area, enhancing its sleek aesthetic. Powered by fluid dynamic bearings (FDB), the TL LCD Wireless delivers an airflow of 62 CFM, air pressure of 2.9 mmH2O, and operating noise of 27 dBA at speeds of up to 1900 RPM. The LCD receiver integrates seamlessly, using a PWM cable for power and a USB cable for the LCD signal.

Silicon Power (SP) is excited to announce the launch of its first M.2 PCIe 2230 E-Key SSD, the MEM3K0E, further solidifying its commitment to delivering innovative and versatile solutions for the growing demands of artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing applications. With the introduction of this compact form factor, the company provides developers with more options to optimize system configurations while empowering next-generation AI technologies.

An Optimized Cache and Buffer Solution
Compliant to the PCIe 3.1 standard and NVMe 1.4 protocol, the MEM3K0E is specifically designed for devices equipped with E-Key slots, making it an ideal cache and buffer storage solution to complement M-Key slot primary drives. Its chief role is to maintain stable system performance by balancing the workload during resource-intensive tasks, which it achieves with features such as a thermal throttling function and built-in voltage detector. With storage capacity options of 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB, the MEM3K0E offers scalability for various applications, ranging from compact embedded systems to high-performance computing environments.

TechPowerUp partners with HAVN, the year's hot new entrant to the PC case, cooling, and power industry, to bring you one of the season's biggest giveaways ahead of Holiday 2024. Open to our readers from the US and (most of) Europe, the giveaway gives four lucky winners a chance to bring home a HAVN HS 420 series case. We have a HAVN HS 420 VGPU Black, a HAVN HS 420 VGPU White, a HAVN HS 420 Black, and a HAVN HS 420 White. We recently reviewed the HS 420 VGPU, and found it to be spacious, practical, and contemporary unit. To win one of these, simply fill up a form, so we can get back to you if you've won. You can increase your chances of winning by sharing the Giveaway on your social media.

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According to a recent investigative report, UK-based Imagination Technologies faces allegations of transferring sensitive GPU intellectual property to Chinese companies with potential military connections. The UK-China Transparency organization claims that following its 2020 acquisition by China-controlled investment firm Canyon Bridge, Imagination provided complete access to its GPU IP to Chinese entities with military connections. The report suggests this included sharing detailed architectural documentation typically reserved for premier clients like Apple. At the center of the controversy are Chinese firms Moore Threads and Biren Technology, which have emerged as significant players in China's AI and GPU sectors. The report indicates Moore Threads maintains connections with military GPU suppliers, while Biren Technology has received partial Russian investment.

The organization argues that Canyon Bridge, which has ties to the state-owned China Reform enterprise, helped these technological transfers to benefit China's military-industrial complex. Imagination Technologies has defended its actions, maintaining that all licensing agreements comply with industry standards. The allegations have sparked renewed debate about foreign ownership of strategic technology assets and the effectiveness of current export controls. When Canyon Bridge acquired Imagination in 2020, security experts raised concerns about potential military applications of the firm's technology. UKCT plans to release additional findings, including information from legal disputes involving Imagination's previous management. Rising concerns over technology transfers have prompted governments to reassess export controls and corporate oversight in the semiconductor industry, as nations struggle to balance international commerce with national security priorities. We are yet to see official government response to this situation.

Motherboard vendor ASUS began rolling out UEFI firmware (BIOS) updates to its Intel Z890 motherboards that contain Intel's 0x114 Microcode update for Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors. The new microcode was touted as bringing in performance gains to gaming workloads across the board, with Intel saying that depending on the configuration, one could expect a "roughly 3-8% performance gain." The company said that motherboard vendors should begin releasing BIOS updates with 0x114 "starting January 2025," however, it seems like ASUS is ready with public "stable" (non-beta) BIOS updates with it. We use a ROG Maximus Z890 Hero in our "Arrow Lake-S" reviews, and so promptly grabbed the version 1203 BIOS from the ASUS website, and put it to the test. This also updates Intel ME (management engine) to v19.0.0.1827.

We added our performance testing numbers to our article from yesterday (December 19, 2024), where we had tested the Core Ultra 9 285K with the latest OS-level patches for Windows 11 24H2. Long story short, we do not notice any notable performance gains with the 0x114 microcode update. 0x114 was touted as providing users with additional performance gains after all the OS- and BIOS configuration related issues had been fixed. In its pre-brief from earlier this week, Intel said that the 0x114 microcode update represented additional performance gain opportunities that the company had discovered in the process of identifying and fixing the reasons why the processors fell significantly behind Intel's performance guidance in their launch reviews in October.

We recommend you to once again read our performance testing article from yesterday, we have updated the performance graphs with 0x114 microcode update numbers, and are in the process of providing additional commentary in the article. Here's a teaser:

According to recently discovered shipping manifests, Intel is developing a new processor series codenamed "Wildcat Lake," potentially succeeding their entry-level "Intel Processor" lineup based on Alder Lake-N. The documents, revealed by x86deadandback, suggest a 2025 launch timeline for these chips targeting lightweight laptops and mini-PCs. The shipping records from October 30 mention CPU reball equipment compatible with BGA 1516 sockets, measuring 35 x 25 mm, indicating early validation testing is underway. These processors are expected to be manufactured using Intel's advanced 18A process technology, sharing the same manufacturing node as the upcoming Panther Lake series. Early technical specifications of Wildcat Lake point to a hybrid architecture combining next-generation "Cougar Cove" performance cores with "Darkmont" low-power efficiency (LPE) cores in a 2P+4LPE configuration.

This design appears to separate the core clusters, departing from traditional shared ring bus arrangements, similar to the approach taken in Intel's Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake processors. While Wildcat Lake's exact position in Intel's product stack remains unclear, it could serve as a modernized replacement for the what were Pentium and Celeron processor families. These chips traditionally power devices like Chromebooks, embedded systems, and home servers, with the new series potentially offering significant performance improvements for these market segments. The processor is expected to operate in the sub-double-digit TDP power envelope, positioning it below the more powerful Lunar Lake series. Graphics capabilities will likely be more modest than Lunar Lake's Xe2 architecture, aligning with its entry-level market positioning.

Intel has announced it will not proceed with X86S, an experimental instruction set architecture that aims to simplify its processor design by removing legacy support for older 32-bit and 16-bit operating modes. The decision comes after gathering feedback from the technology ecosystem on a draft specification that was released for evaluation. The x86, and its 64-bit x86-64 we use today, is a giant cluster of specifications that contains so many instructions rarely anyone can say with precision how many are there. All of this stems from the era of original 8086 processor, which has its own 16-bit instructions. Later on we transitioned to 32, then 64-bit systems with all have brought their own specific instructions. Adding support for processing of vector, matrix, and other data types has increased the ISA specification so much that no one outside a few select engineers at Intel (and AMD) understands in full. From that x86S idea was born to solve the issue of supporting legacy systems and legacy code, and moving on to the x86S ISA, where "S" stands for simplified.

The X86S proposal included several notable modifications, such as eliminating support for rings 1 and 2 in the processor's protection model, removing 16-bit addressing capabilities, and discontinuing legacy interrupt controller support. These changes would have potentially reduced hardware complexity and modernized the platform's architecture. A key feature of the proposed design was a simplified boot process that would have allowed processors to start directly in 64-bit mode, eliminating the current requirement for systems to boot through various legacy modes before reaching 64-bit operation. The architecture also promised improvements in handling modern features like 5-level paging. "Intel will continue to maintain its longstanding commitment to software compatibility," the company stated in the official document on its website, acknowledging that the x86S dream is over.

Despite having a rather successful launch, Hi-Fi Rush was slated to be cancelled when Tango Gameworks, the studio behind the unorthodox rhythm game, was to be shut down by Microsoft in mid 2024. Shortly after that unfortunate turn of events, Tango was acquired by Krafton, the publisher behind PUBG, and Hi-Fi Rush was given a second wind. That acquisition also got fans hopeful for a sequel, and there were even rumors floating around that a sequel was in the works. Now, in a recent interview with IGN, a few Tango Gameworks and Hi-Fi Rush higher-ups—Hi-Fi Rush director, John Johanas, studio head and creative director, Colin Mack, and Hi-Fi Rush project manager, Kazuaki Egashira—confirmed that this is not necessarily the case.

While a sequel had been in development when Krafton acquired the studio, Mack says that they "are not yet at the stage where we can say specifically." That said, the studio is apparently strongly leaning towards a sequel. The justification for not yet committing to Hi-Fi Rush 2 is that the team has a fondness for the game, its characters, and its world, so they want to make a sequel that is respectful and cherishes the IP. The team also acknowledges that "it is important to try new things," and Johanas admits that Tango is considering multiple opportunities. Throughout the interview, there's an emphasis on keeping things fresh, with the team seemingly under the impression that revisiting Hi-Fi Rush in a sequel without changing it, it would become outdated. Whatever comes out of the Hi-Fi Rush universe, it's apparent that the developers working on it don't see a sequel as a cash cow. For fans of the game, there is at least hope, since Mack says that the studio hopes to hire around 50 new employees in January 2025, doubling its workforce and supposedly allowing for more freedom for creativity and experimentation.

OneXPlayer has pulled back the veil on its G1 gaming notebook, and the product sure does look intriguing. Calling it a notebook might not even be fair, considering that its 8.8-inch display barely exceeds tablet territory. However, for lovers of compact gaming systems and handhelds, the G1 looks like it ticks many boxes, and its detachable keyboard is undoubtedly a welcome addition.

The system is powered by AMD's 12-core Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 "Strix Point" APU with 4 Zen 5 and 8 Zen 5c cores, along with a powerful Radeon 890M iGPU with 16 CUs based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture. The aforementioned 8.8-inch display is quite the looker as well, featuring a 2.5K resolution with a speedy 144 Hz refresh rate. At least on paper, it appears that the OneXPlayer G1 leaves very little room for complaint.

OTK's premium prebuilt PC manufacturer Starforge Systems is launching their latest limited-edition case bundle featuring artwork inspired by the fan-favorite action-adventure sandbox game, Terraria. Officially licensed by Re-Logic, the brand-new line includes a custom design across a wide spectrum of products, including a desk mat, case, wall art, and THREE different plate light inserts.

Released in 2011, Terraria invites players to explore, craft, build, paint, and engage in combat with a variety of creatures in a procedurally generated 2D world. The Starforge Systems x Terraria PC features a beautiful pixel art Lian Li 011 EVO case and contains an AMD R5 7600X and an AMD Radeon XFX RX 7800 XT. It also features a 1 TB NV3 and 32 GB of DDR5 Ram.

GEEKOM, a Taiwanese tech company famous for making high quality mini PCs, is heading to CES for the second consecutive year in 2025 with an exciting lineup of new products. Known as the Green Mini PC Global Leader, GEEKOM always focuses on improving the quality and reliability of its products, and it also spares no effort in cutting down carbon emissions and making the world a greener place.

Among the many mini PCs that GEEKOM plans to put on show at CES 2025, there are many industry firsts. The GEEKOM QS1, for instance, is the world's first mini PC powered by a Qualcomm chipset. The tiny computer sports an Arm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon X1E-80-100 processor with twelve 4.0 GHz Oryon CPU cores, a 3.8 TFLOPS Adreno X1-85 GPU and a 45 TOPS Hexagon NPU. It is smart and fast enough to breeze through all of your daily home and office computing chores, yet energy-efficient enough to significantly cut down your electric bill.

Stuck in a gaming rut? Get out of the loop this GFN Thursday with four new games joining the GeForce NOW library of over 2,000 supported games. Dive into Square Enix's mind-bending action role-playing games (RPGs) NieR:Automata and NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…, now streaming in the cloud. Plus, explore HoYoverse's Zenless Zone Zero for an adrenaline-packed adventure, just in time for its 1.4 update.

Check out GeForce Greats, which offers a look back at the biggest and best moments of PC gaming, from the launch of the GeForce 256 graphics card to the modern era. Follow the GeForce, GeForce NOW, NVIDIA Studio and NVIDIA AI PC channels on X, as well as #GeForceGreats, to join in on the nostalgic journey. Plus, participate in the GeForce LAN Missions from the cloud with GeForce NOW starting on Saturday, Jan. 4, for a chance to win in-game rewards, first come, first served. GeForce NOW members will also be able to launch a virtual stadium for a front-row seat to the CES opening keynote, to be delivered by NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang on Monday, Jan. 6. Stay tuned to GFN Thursday for more details.

Apacer Technology, a global leader in digital storage solutions, has announced the mass production of its latest industrial-grade DDR5-6400 CUDIMM and CSODIMM memory modules. These modules are the first to feature a fully lead-free resistor design, eliminating the need for exemptions under the EU RoHS directive. Equipped with premium professional-grade Clock Driver (CKD) components and Transient Voltage Suppressors (TVS) diode as dual-core technologies, the modules are specifically engineered for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. These products ensure exceptional stability and security even in extreme industrial environments, providing enterprises with reliable, eco-friendly, and high-performance solutions.

In alignment with the global push for sustainability, Apacer's fully lead-free DDR5 series has attracted significant customer interest, particularly for its compliance with the EU RoHS 7(c)-I lead exemption clause. By adopting this series early, customers can proactively mitigate risks associated with the expiration of exemption extensions. Now in mass production, these fully lead-free DDR5 CUDIMM and CSODIMM modules not only help customers meet international regulatory standards but also empower them to gain a competitive edge in the high-performance computing market.

Flexible OLED tech has come a long way and started sharking up the smartphone and tablet market, but Lenovo now apparently wants to use rolling OLED displays to increase screen real-estate on its laptops without actually making them much bigger. According to notorious leaker, Evan Blass, in a post on X, Lenovo will launch the sixth-generation of its ThinkBook Plus line-up with a rollable OLED display that can extend upwards to give it significantly more screen real-estate. Blass claims that the new ThinkBook Plus will launch at CES 2025, which is slated to take place between January 7 and January 10, 2025.

Looking at the renders that were shared alongside the leaks, and based on the size of the keyboard, the new ThinkBook will have a tall—it looks like 3:4 aspect ratio—screen that's somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 inches before the screen is fully unrolled. After unrolling, though, it appears to be able to fit two 16:9 windows on top of each other. Previous iterations of the ThinkBook Plus 17 had a small secondary display on the keyboard deck to the right of the keyboard, and the ThinkBook Plus 13 models consisted of the Gen 5 hybrid model with a detachable display and the Gen 4 variant, which had a 360° hinge and a color e-ink display on the back of the main OLED. While these designs all made compromises, whether in the suboptimal ergonomics of the mini screen of the 17 or the fact that you could only use one display at a time on the e-ink version. Previous ThinkBook versions were also compatible with an MPP stylus for handwriting, note-taking, and even image editing or sketching. It's unclear if the new ThinkBook Plus will be compatible with pen input, but there do not seem to be any images online showing the leaked laptop with a stylus in the same image.

AMD's upcoming Ryzen AI Kraken Point APUs appear to be affordable APUs for next-generation thin-and-light laptops and potentially even some gaming handhelds. Murmurings of these new APUs have been going around for quite some time, but a PassMark benchmark was just posted, giving us a pretty comprehensive look at the hardware configuration for the upcoming Ryzen AI 7 350. While the CPU configuration in the PassMark result confirms the 4+4 configuration we reported on previously, it seems as though the iGPU portion of the new Ryzen AI 7 is getting something of a downgrade compared to previous generations.

While all previous mobile Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 APUs have featured the Radeon -80M or -90M series iGPUs, the Ryzen AI 7 350 steps down to the AMD Radeon 860M. Although not much is known about the new iGPU, it uses the same nomenclature as the Radeon iGPUs found in previous Ryzen 5 APUs, suggesting it is the less performant of the new 800 series iGPUs. This would be the first time, at least since the introduction of the Ryzen branding, that a Ryzen 7 CPU will use a cut-down iGPU. This, along with the 4+4 (Zen 5 and Zen 5c) heterogenous architecture, suggests that this Ryzen 7 APU will prioritize battery life and thermal performance, likely in response to Qualcomm's recent offerings. Comparing the 760M to the single 860M benchmark on PassMark reveals similar performance, with the 860M actually falling behind the average 760M by an average of 9.1%. Take this with a grain of salt, though, since there is only one benchmark result on PassMark for the 860M.

ASUS today announced ASUS NUC 14 Pro AI, the world's first mini PC featuring Intel Core Ultra processors (Series 2) integrated with Microsoft Copilot+. This revolutionary device is engineered to deliver unparalleled performance for use across diverse sectors, easily handling business, entertainment, and industrial apps. Boasting compact dimensions and advanced AI capabilities, ASUS NUC 14 Pro AI sets a new benchmark for mini PC innovation, offering an alternative to traditional desktops in a compact package.

World's first AI-enabled mini PC, powered by Intel Core Ultra processors (Series 2)
ASUS NUC 14 Pro AI represents a major leap in AI mini PC technology. It's powered by up to the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 processors (Series 2) that feature a multi-architecture design incorporating CPU, GPU, and NPU technologies. Delivering a total of 120 platform TOPS and 48 NPU TOPS, ASUS NUC 14 Pro AI provides 3X the AI performance of previous-generation NUC models, making it ideal for commercial use, edge computing, and IoT applications.

Ventiva, the leader in thermal solutions, today announced its ICE9 thermal management suite can now cool laptops that operate at up to 40 watts TDP (Thermal Design Power), enabling thinner, faster, and utterly silent computing devices—without the compromises of traditional, fan-based cooling systems. This allows the ICE9 solution to cool the powerful CPUs required for the next-generation of feature-rich, AI-enabled, high-performance laptops.

The ICE9 thermal management suite is based on Ventiva's patented Ionic Cooling Engine (ICE) technology, which eliminates the need for mechanical fans, using intelligent software control to enable optimal performance in electronics devices—without any moving parts, noise or vibration.

VeriSilicon today announced the launch of its latest Vitality architecture Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) IP series, designed to deliver high-performance computing across a wide range of applications, including cloud gaming, AI PC, and both discrete and integrated graphics cards.

VeriSilicon's new generation Vitality GPU architecture delivers exceptional advancements in computational performance with scalability. It incorporates advanced features such as a configurable Tensor Core AI accelerator and a 32 MB to 64 MB Level 3 (L3) cache, offering both powerful processing power and superior energy efficiency. Additionally, the Vitality architecture supports up to 128 channels of cloud gaming per core, addressing the needs of high concurrency and high image quality cloud-based entertainment, while enabling large-scale desktop gaming and applications on Windows systems. With robust support for Microsoft DirectX 12 APIs and AI acceleration libraries, this architecture is ideally suited for a wide range of performance-intensive applications and complex computing workloads.

2XKO is an upcoming team-based fighter game from League of Legends studio, Riot Games, and it looks to be getting a 2025 release. While 2XKO had an alpha playtest since August of this year, the development team recently hinted in a post on X that something is coming in March next year—potentially an expanded beta playtest or even the full launch of the game: "brb for a bit - locking in. you'll see what we've been up to in march, but we'll drop an update in february. in the meantime, support your locals."

The alpha version of the game Riot playtested in August was seemingly quite feature-complete, although a slew of changes is coming to the game based on that feedback, suggesting that what's to come in early 2025 is likely a wider playtest, rather than a full launch. Riot has previously confirmed that 2XKO will be launching sometime in 2025, but there is likely more testing necessary before the game is ready for prime time. That said, Riot Games is no stranger to short beta periods—League of Legends launched into open beta a mere week before its full launch. If 2XKO's previous development updates and the last playtest are anything to go by, the February update Riot teased will probably preview what to expect in the next playtest, with March either being the playtest itself or a showcase of an upcoming alpha or beta test.

With the new Core Distro Plate 280, Core Distro Plate 420 and Core Distro Plate 480, Alphacool presents the perfect addition for high-end water cooling projects. With its Core design, it is not only an absolute eye-catcher, but also a functional masterpiece that facilitates the construction and planning of complex water circuits and offers uncomplicated installation.

The Core Distro Plate 280 is available in two versions - with a pump connection on either the left or right side. This offers maximum flexibility for different casing configurations. The Core Distro Plate 420 and Core Distro Plate 480 come with a pump connection on the left-hand side and are ideal for larger builds.

It's a tacitly known reality that Intel has not been having a great time lately. However, calling the company's recently announced Arc B580 gaming graphics card a smash hit would be a wild understatement. The company's previous major GPU launch, the Arc Alchemist, was riddled with mediocre reviews and received a lukewarm reception. The Arc B580, on the other hand, has received overwhelmingly positive reviews across the board, with many even hailing the GPU as a saving grace for the borderline deserted budget-class segment.

Keeping that in mind, it is no surprise that Intel's Arc B580 is getting sold out nearly everywhere, with the company barely managing to keep enough inventory. As revealed to popular YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips, Intel plans on having weekly restocks of its Arc B580 gaming GPU. We sure do look forward to that, considering that no one really likes a GPU, no matter how great, that can't be bought. The Arc B580 rocks a higher 12 GB of VRAM, a more affordable pricing, as well as arguably better performance than its primary competitors, the RTX 4060 and the RX 7600. Of course, with Blackwell and RDNA 4 around the corner, it sure does appear that the arena of the ultimate budget GPU is about to get heated once again.

Intel and AMD are both widely expected to hit the market with new high-performance mobile chips at CES 2025. We expect Team Blue to lift the curtains on its Core Ultra 200H and 200HX lineup, whereas Team Red will strike back with its Strix Halo products, a few of which were leaked recently with promising performance. However, that's not all that we expect from the x86 behemoths, as both are poised to introduce mid-range and budget offerings as well.

Interestingly, it appears that Intel has already pulled back the veil on its Raptor Lake-H Refresh-based Core 200H lineup, which has been revealed as the Core Processor series. The lineup consists of mostly rebadged Raptor Lake-H chips, with some confusing choices. The products, based on the Intel 7 node, are as follows.

Microsoft is heavily investing in enabling its company and cloud infrastructure to support the massive AI expansion. The Redmond giant has acquired nearly half a million of the NVIDIA "Hopper" family of GPUs to support this effort. According to market research company Omdia, Microsoft was the biggest hyperscaler, with data center CapEx and GPU expenditure reaching a record high. The company acquired precisely 485,000 NVIDIA "Hopper" GPUs, including H100, H200, and H20, resulting in more than $30 billion spent on servers alone. To put things into perspective, this is about double that of the next-biggest GPU purchaser, Chinese ByteDance, who acquired about 230,000 sanction-abiding H800 GPUs and regular H100s sources from third parties.

Regarding US-based companies, the only ones that have come close to the GPU acquisition rate are Meta, Tesla/xAI, Amazon, and Google. They have acquired around 200,000 GPUs on average while significantly boosting their in-house chip design efforts. "NVIDIA GPUs claimed a tremendously high share of the server capex," Vlad Galabov, director of cloud and data center research at Omdia, noted, adding, "We're close to the peak." Hyperscalers like Amazon, Google, and Meta have been working on their custom solutions for AI training and inference. For example, Google has its TPU, Amazon has its Trainium and Inferentia chips, and Meta has its MTIA. Hyperscalers are eager to develop their in-house solutions, but NVIDIA's grip on the software stack paired with timely product updates seems hard to break. The latest "Blackwell" chips are projected to get even bigger orders, so only the sky (and the local power plant) is the limit.

Team Group Inc., a global leader in memory solutions, continues to demonstrate its advanced R&D capabilities with two newly granted patents. Its gaming brand, T-FORCE, received a U.S. invention patent for Memory Structure, while its creator-focused brand, T-CREATE, was awarded a Taiwan invention patent for Memory Card Health Detection Method and Memory Card Structure. These innovations form the cornerstone of Team Group's high-performance memory and intelligent storage solutions, reinforcing its leading position in the industry and delivering exceptional user experiences to its global audience.

To provide gamers with exceptional performance and stability, Team Group's T-FORCE LAB has developed a U.S.-patented Memory Structure technology that has been applied to the XTREEM ARGB DDR5, DELTA RGB DDR5, and DELTA RGB ECO DDR5 memory modules. This innovation overcomes heat and power limitations at high frequencies. By precisely managing the voltage distribution across memory units, RGB LED units, and control units, it effectively reduces power consumption and heat generation. Using low-dropout regulators (LDOs), the RGB/ARGB LED, and control units benefit from optimized power delivery, which improves operational stability and extends product lifespan. T-FORCE memory modules maintain stable performance even at high frequencies, allowing gamers to gain a winning edge at critical moments.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, a leading brand in gaming PC components, gaming laptops, and Hi-fi audio products, introduces the iGame Shadow Series performance DDR5 memory. The iGame Shadow DDR5 memory features an artistic heatsink design inspired by Chinese ink wash paintings. The memory does come with ARGB lighting that can synchronize with the rest of your build via the iGame Center software.

iGame Shadow DDR5 Series memory is aesthetic and built for performance. The iGame Shadow is available in a wide range of specifications from DDR5-6000 CL28 to extreme-performance DDR5-8400 CL42, designed to meet the performance demands of mainstream and high-end flagship motherboard users. The memory uses high-quality SK Hynix M-die, known for performance ideal for overclocking. The iGame Shadow memory features aluminium alloy heatsink designed to optimize heat dissipation.

Microsoft has confirmed a bug in the Windows 11 24H2 update that is causing widespread gaming issues, specifically affecting systems with Auto HDR enabled. The bug primarily manifests through incorrect color display in games and sometimes causes applications to crash entirely. Some users have reported issues with popular titles, including Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and Need for Speed Unbound, where games either fail to launch or become stuck on loading screens. Auto HDR, a flagship feature of Windows 11, is designed to enhance gaming visuals by automatically converting standard dynamic range (SDR) content to high dynamic range (HDR). However, this latest 24H2 update has broken the feature's functionality, leading to unexpected behavior and stability issues.

Microsoft has implemented safeguards to prevent affected systems from receiving the 24H2 update. The company has also advised users against manual 24H2 installation through some Media Creation tools or Windows 11 ISOs while Auto HDR is enabled. For users who have already installed the update and are experiencing issues, Microsoft recommends disabling Auto HDR either system-wide or for individual games through the Windows Settings menu. To do this, users can navigate to Settings > System > Display > Graphics and turn off the Auto HDR option. Microsoft has acknowledged the severity of the issue for Windows Latest and is currently developing a fix, though no specific timeline has been announced. In the meantime, users can postpone the 24H2 update or disable Auto HDR functionality to maintain stable gaming performance.

The Xbox gaming handheld is reportedly in the early stages of development at Microsoft, but in the meantime, the PC giant is apparently working on unifying its gaming experience across the various platforms where its games are available. According to a Windows Central report, Microsoft is working on something called Project Rainway, which is "a set of in-game APIs and user interface features," that will take shape as a cross-platform Xbox user interface. This news comes after Microsoft's recent "This is an Xbox" ad campaign and some pretty notable changes to its Xbox Game Bar to make that more compatible with gaming handhelds. How this new API and UI will take shape is yet to be seen, but it will likely further blur the line between gaming consoles and PCs—something that the Valve Steam Deck has also done in the years since its launch.

This seems to align with Microsoft's current strategy around gaming, which has seen Microsoft Gaming head, Phil Spencer, confirm that the company is both working on its own gaming handheld and that, in the meantime, it is focussed on making the Xbox gaming experience as seamless and enjoyable as possible on current gaming hardware. Xbox is also seemingly moving away from console exclusives as a concept, as we reported earlier this month, and, according to Windows Central's sources at least, this is partly because Microsoft has noticed no measurable impact on Xbox performance as a result of moving Xbox exclusives over to other consoles.

Ubisoft announced earlier this month that it would be sunsetting its free-to-play first-person shooter, XDefiant, on June 3, 2025, after dwindling player counts made it unfeasible to continue supporting the live-service game. Despite the game being shut down by Ubisoft, the game's development team at Ubisoft San Francisco apparently still wanted to follow through with some of the content it had in the game's pipeline. In an announcement on X, the game's executive producer clarifies that much of the content that is being delivered in what he calls the last patch contains all the content that was planned for Season 3 along with some content from future seasons of the game, including Season 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Some major highlights in the new patch, are 13 new maps, three new factions, including the Assassins—from Assassin's Creed—six new weapons, and five new game modes. Along with the slew of new content, XDefiant received a handful of gameplay and QoL fixes for both competitive and casual play. The new maps consist of eight new arena maps, four new linear maps, and one new tactical map. XDefiant also got a new progression system that allows players to unlock cosmetics, badges, and other rewards for character progression. The developer also introduced daily rewards and "Credits," the game's new in-game currency that allows players to buy skins and other items from previous seasons.

Micron Technology, Inc. today announced results for its first quarter of fiscal 2025, which ended November 28, 2024.

Fiscal Q1 2025 highlights

• Revenue of $8.71 billion versus $7.75 billion for the prior quarter and $4.73 billion for the same period last year
• GAAP net income of $1.87 billion, or $1.67 per diluted share
• Non-GAAP net income of $2.04 billion, or $1.79 per diluted share
• Operating cash flow of $3.24 billion versus $3.41 billion for the prior quarter and $1.40 billion for the same period last year

"Micron delivered a record quarter, and our data center revenue surpassed 50% of our total revenue for the first time," said Sanjay Mehrotra, President and CEO of Micron Technology. "While consumer-oriented markets are weaker in the near term, we anticipate a return to growth in the second half of our fiscal year. We continue to gain share in the highest margin and strategically important parts of the market and are exceptionally well positioned to leverage AI-driven growth to create substantial value for all stakeholders."

Seagate is getting ready to release its biggest hard drive, featuring a 32 TB capacity through new Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) technology; this milestone comes after nearly a decade and a half of anticipation. Seagate first tested HAMR technology in 2007. The company has repeatedly promised that HAMR-based drives would be available within a few years; however, those predictions have been repeatedly postponed until now.

New Exos drives based on the Mozaic 3+ platform have been available in limited quantities for select customers. Now that they are in mass production, Seagate has quietly revealed the product page for its Exos M HDDs. The lineup includes a 32 TB model that uses Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) technology and a 30 TB model that uses Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR). Seagate says its Exos M hard drive has a 3 TB per platter density.

The third annual Steam Year In Review Steam Replay has arrived, and your very own jaunt down gaming memory lane awaits! It's a fun-filled, fact-filled, friend-filled (because you can share it!) look back at what you played in 2024.

Name change? What name change?
Ok, you got us. We called it Steam Replay when we launched it in 2022. Then last year, some of us thought "Hey! What if we changed it to Steam Year In Review for giggles?" Then we all giggled and did it. Then this year, someone said, "Um, that was a dumb idea we had last year. Are we crazy if we change it back to the better name for it?" And we all said "Shut up, Gabe, that's too much work." HA HA we kid, it was actually Chris. Or Eric? No wait it was Jane. Or maybe Tom? And we actually said "That's a great, collaborative idea, fellow teammate!" and here we are.

System76's 16-inch, Linux-powered Pangolin thin-and-light laptop has been given a nifty spec bump, making it far more attractive as a productivity or even lightweight creative laptop. The updated Pangolin features a new, high-resolution, high-refresh rate display, updated CPU options, and a full aluminium construction. System76 laptops ship by default with Pop!_OS 22.04 or Ubuntu 24.04, and the hardware is all carefully selected for Linux compatibility. The updated Pangolin laptop is 0.7 inches (18 mm) thick, and it weighs in at 3.82 lbs (1.73 kg).

The updated System76 Pangolin features a 16.1-inch, 2560 × 1600p, 120 Hz display with 100% sRGB coverage, the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS CPU with its AMD Radeon 780M iGPU, and it can be decked out with up to 96 GB of DDR5-5600 RAM and up to 16 TB of SSD storage, thanks to dual M.2 slots. As far as thin-and-light productivity workstations go, the Pangolin is quite well-equipped in the connectivity department, too, with 1× USB4 type-C port, 1× USB 3.2 Gen 2 type-C port, and 3× USB 3.2 Gen 1 type-A, and HDMI 2.0 ports alongside a Micro SD card reader. Wireless connectivity is also full-featured, with Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E. There's also a 1080p webcam with a physical kill-switch, while the keyboard has white backlighting, and the sizeable multitouch trackpad still has physical buttons for those who prefer that. The Pangolin is available via System76's online shop, starting at $1,299 for the base configuration.

YEYIAN Gaming, a trailblazing leader in high-performance gaming desktop PCs, computer hardware, and accessories, is thrilled to announce its participation at CES 2025, which will take place from January 7 to 10, 2025, at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. YEYIAN GAMING will present an impressive lineup of cutting-edge gaming products, including next-generation gaming PCs, high-performance 40-inch curved monitors, advanced mechanical keyboards, and innovative gaming accessories crafted to inspire gamers and creators alike. Visitors, media, influencers, and content creators are invited to experience YEYIAN GAMING's latest innovations firsthand. The showcase, open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, provides an exclusive opportunity to explore next-level hardware engineered for exceptional performance, bold designs, and unmatched versatility.

At CES 2025, YEYIAN Gaming will unveil an exciting array of new products tailored for professional gamers, streamers, and PC enthusiasts. Here's a detailed preview of the lineup:

Intel today, in a letter to the press, presented an overview of the lower than expected performance of its latest Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors, which the company released this October, to less than enthusiastic reviews. The top Core Ultra 9 285K ended up barely faster than the previous Core i9-14900K in gaming performance, and moderately faster in applications. AMD's November release of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D extended the green team's lead over Intel, prompting Intel to get to work on identifying why "Arrow Lake-S" isn't as fast as the company hoped, and if there was something the company could do about it.

Last month, Intel announced that it had identified probable reasons why "Arrow Lake-S" underperforms and that it is working on a combination of fixes that include OS-level updates from Microsoft, some motherboard-vendor level fixes to their UEFI setup programs, and a microcode update for its processors. Intel's microcode updates have been in the news throughout 2024, as one such update proved crucial in fixing the faulty voltage regulation behavior of its Core "Raptor Lake" processors, which was causing irreversible damage to the chips. Today, the company released documentation that highlights all issues the company identified by Intel, their technical root cause, and what's been done about it. Long story short—most of these issues are already addressed, but the Microcode update should be in circulation by January 2025, when the company expands its Core Ultra 200-series desktop processors with 65 W models.

Update Dec 19th: We tested the new OS patches, and unfortunately we have to report that this not a general fix for Arrow Lake, but just a fix for performance problems specific to 24H2. More in our article.

Update Dec 20th: Last night, ASUS released a non-Beta BIOS with microcode 0x114, we tested it and the findings are included in the Dec 19 article linked above.

With decades of expertise in building critical storage and memory for world-leading digital devices, Biwin will now bring its innovative and high-performance products to meet the evolving demands of today's digital consumers.

Biwin's featured products will be showcased at CES 2025 and available on Amazon JP in December 2024, followed by Amazon UK in January 2025, and will roll out to key markets in APAC, Latin America and India with the start of 2025.

Days of Arm-Qualcomm legal disputes continue, and with new day we get new updates. Gerard Williams III, CEO and founder of Nuvia, also one of the main brains behind Qualcomm's Oryon cores inside Snapdragon X processors, testified before the court that the chip design contains minimal Arm IP despite using the company's instruction set architecture. Williams estimated that "one percent or less" of the final design originated from Arm's IP. Despite Qualcomm using Arm ISA license, the company has very little Arm IP in its SoCs. Most of the Snapdragon X design has been done within Qualcomm's labs, in addition to Nuvia. Williams, who co-founded Nuvia in 2019, explained that while their processors use Arm's Armv8 instruction set, the core design was largely developed from scratch. Nuvia initially secured two non-transferable licenses from Arm: a Technology License Agreement (TLA) and an Architecture License Agreement (ALA).

These agreements allowed the company to develop custom cores while implementing Arm's instruction set. The development team created their own proprietary microarchitecture, including custom data paths and cache systems, rather than using Arm's existing designs. The controversy erupted when Qualcomm acquired Nuvia and announced plans to use the cores in PC processors rather than the initially intended datacenter applications. Arm demanded a renegotiation of licensing terms following the acquisition, which Qualcomm refused, arguing that its existing ALA covered Nuvia's designs. The dispute escalated when Arm revoked Nuvia's licenses in 2022 and terminated Qualcomm's Architecture License Agreement this October. Arm is now seeking the destruction of all Nuvia designs developed before the merger, arguing that the licensing agreements couldn't be transferred through acquisition. Qualcomm builds a case on TLA not being violated since the designs are mostly custom, so we have to see how the ruling proceeds. Arm wants to "hurt" Qualcomm with ALA revoking, and perhaps the final case ends with a settlement, given that Qualcomm is one of Arm's biggest customers.

Popular router manufacturer TP-Link is being investigated by US authorities over an alleged connection to cyberattacks emanating from the PRC. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Commerce, Justice and Defense departments are all investigating the company and the Commerce Department has gone as far as issuing a subpoena to TP-Link. The WSJ states that TP-Link holds close to a 65 percent market share in the US consumer router market, which puts the company in a unique market position.

The end results of the investigations, assuming either US authority finds any wrongdoings, could lead to TP-Link being banned from selling its routers in the US. A spokeswoman for TP-Link in the US issued the following statement to the WSJ "We welcome any opportunities to engage with the U.S. government to demonstrate that our security practices are fully in line with industry security standards, and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the U.S. market, U.S. consumers, and addressing U.S. national security risks".

Axelera AI - a leading edge-inference company - and Arduino, the global leader in open-source hardware and software, today announced a strategic partnership to make high-performance AI at the edge more accessible than ever, building advanced technology solutions based on inference and an open ecosystem. This furthers Axelera AI's strategy to democratize artificial intelligence everywhere.

The collaboration will combine the strengths of Axelera AI's Metis AI Platform with the powerful SOMs from the Arduino Pro range to provide customers with easy-to-use hardware and software to innovate around AI. Users will enjoy the freedom to dictate their own AI journey, thanks to tools that provide unique digital in-memory computing and RISC-V controlled dataflow technology, delivering high performance and usability at a fraction of the cost and power of other solutions available today.

According to Tweakers, AMD's Radeon RX 7900 GRE graphics card has reached end-of-life status, as confirmed by multiple AMD board partners they have contacted. The announcement comes just months after the card's expansion into European markets following its initial 2023 exclusive launch in China. Tweakers report that the supply of the RX 7900 GRE is rapidly declining across retail channels. While ASUS models remain somewhat available, the manufacturer has informed Tweakers that deliveries are currently "limited." AMD has not responded to their multiple requests for comment regarding the discontinuation. The RX 7900 GRE offers compelling specifications that position it as a slightly scaled-down variant of the more premium RX 7900 XT.

Built on AMD's RDNA 3 architecture, the card features 80 CUs and 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and operates at a 260 W TDP. The timing of this discontinuation is particularly interesting as AMD prepares to unveil its next-generation RDNA 4-based Radeon RX 8000 series. Perhaps AMD is trying to flush out its remaining inventory to make room for its Radeon RX 8000 series GPUs, which should mainly target the middle-range of the next-generation GPU families, including competition like NVIDIA with "Blackwell" and Intel with "Battlemage." With the new card scheduled to appear during AMD's CES keynote on January 6 in Las Vegas, we have to wait and see what products AMD puts out before analyzing why AMD decided to EOL its Radeon RX 7900 GRE.

MSI has unveiled a new performance-enhancing feature for its AM5 socket motherboards to improve DDR5 memory latency. Some latency issues that emerged following AMD's AGESA 1.2.0.2a microcode update, which added support for AMD's Ryzen 9000X3D processors, are now fixed. MSI has baked in its BIOS tuning to develop a new "Latency Killer" feature, which can be found in the advanced menu section, specifically within the overclocking submenu in BIOS of MSI X870E/X870 gaming motherboards like MEG X870E GODLIKE and MPG X870E CARBON WIFI. Users have three options to choose from: Auto, Enabled, and Disabled. While the default behavior of the Auto setting remains unclear, it is believed to be initially disabled to ensure system stability.

Recent benchmark testing of Uniko's Hardware using AIDA64 has demonstrated promising results, showing an eight nanosecond improvement in memory latency when the new feature is activated. The test was conducted using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor paired with an MPG X870E Carbon WiFi motherboard and DDR5-8000 CL38 memory, running in High-Efficiency mode at its maximum preset. Some Reddit users with AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D on MSI Tomahawk X870 reported seeing 10-12 ns improvement from enabling the "Latency Killer." MSI motherboards complement its Latency Killer feature with additional memory optimization tools in the BIOS, including EXPO / A-XMP profiles, Memory Try It presets, High-Efficiency Mode, and comprehensive manual overclocking options for enthusiasts seeking maximum performance.

Rapidus Corporation, a manufacturer of advanced logic semiconductors, today announced the delivery and installation of ASML's EUV lithography equipment at its Innovative Integration for Manufacturing (IIM-1) foundry, an advanced semiconductor development and manufacturing fab currently under construction in Chitose, Hokkaido. To commemorate the installation, a ceremony was held at Portom Hall in the New Chitose Airport.

This is a significant milestone for Japan's semiconductor industry, marking the first time that an EUV lithography tool will be used for mass production in the country. In addition to the EUV lithography machinery, Rapidus will install additional complementary advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, as well as full automated material handling systems in its IIM-1 foundry to optimize 2 nm generation gate-all-around (GAA) semiconductor manufacturing.

As promised earlier, Archetype Entertainment, an Austin-based video game studio comprised of veteran AAA developers, including the legendary RPG creator James Ohlen, has released the new gameplay trailer for its new EXODUS game, called "EXODUS: The Traveler's Creed." Running at two minutes flat, the trailer shows what appears to be a Mass Effect-like third-person action RPG game, with some interesting twist to the gameplay.

In case you missed it, Archetype Entertainment was established back in 2019 as a division game developer and publisher Wizards of the Coast, and, in addition to James Ohlen, an ex-BioWare veteran, the studio also includes other RPG developers from Naughty Dog, 343 Industries, Electronic Arts, Blizzard, and other studios. In EXODUS, their new game, "humanity has fled a dying Earth, finding a new home in a hostile galaxy - here, we are the underdogs fighting for survival," putting the user in the role of "The Traveler", humanity's last hope. Set in an original sci-fi universe, the game is built around the impact of Time Dilation, where days in the different galaxy are decades back home, which will somehow impact the choices you make in the game and more, so it will be interesting to see how it is used in the game.

Nanya Technology's Board of Directors today has approved a strategic partnership with PieceMakers Technology, Inc. ("PieceMakers") to jointly develop customized ultra-high-bandwidth memory solutions. As part of the collaboration, Nanya Technology will subscribe to a cash capital increase of up to NT$ 660 million, purchasing up to 22 million common shares at NT$ 30 per share in PieceMakers. Upon completion of the capital increase, Nanya Technology is expected to acquire up to approximately 38% stakes of PieceMakers.

To meet the growing demand for high-performance memory driven by AI and edge computing, this collaboration will combine Nanya Technology's 10 nm-class DRAM innovation with PieceMakers' expertise in customized DRAM design to develop high-value, high-performance, and low-power customized ultra-high-bandwidth memory solutions, unlocking new opportunities in AI and high-performance computing markets.

Bethesda has released the big Update 2 for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle game with additional fixes, including the big fix where the Game Slot appears damaged or completely missing, as this issue was apparently plaguing many users. Update 2 also reduces stutter from duplicated frames during cutscenes, as well as fixes to prevent "double vision" getting stuck on screen when Indy has almost drowned.

There are also several PC specific fixes including the one for where NVIDIA Frame Generation wasn't activated properly with HDR, a fix for NVIDIA Low Latency Mode performance issues when used with Frame Generation, a fix for global illumination being completely disabled on graphics cards below minimum VRAM requirement, issues with Lighting when Path Tracing is set to Medium or High Quality, and more. The Update 2 should also fix major performance issues when NVIDIA DLSS is enabled. There are several gameplay fixes which you can check out below. All of these NVIDIA-specific issues are still somewhat present and some users over at Reddit are still experiencing issues. Some users are reporting several workarounds, including a clean installation of drivers, or enabling and disabling Frame Generation, DLSS, HDR, and other settings.

Acer has jumped the gun and listed its ACER Predator Orion 7000 systems with the upcoming NVIDIA RTX 50 series graphics cards, namely the GeForce RTX 5080 and the GeForce RTX 5090. In addition, the listing confirms that the GeForce RTX 5080 will come with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory, while the GeForce RTX 5090 will get 32 GB of GDDR7 memory.

The ACER Predator Orion 7000 gaming PC was announced back in September, together with Intel's Core Ultra 200 series, and it does not come as a surprise that this high-end pre-built system will now be getting NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards. In case you missed previous rumors, the GeForce RTX 5080 is expected to use the GB203-400 GPU with 10,752 CUDA cores, and come with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit memory interface. The GeForce RTX 5090, on the other hand, gets the GB202-300 GPU with 21,760 CUDA cores and packs 32 GB of GDDR7 memory.

The U.S. Department of Commerce will award GlobalWafers America and MEMC, LLC, U.S. subsidiaries of Taiwan-based GlobalWafers Co., Ltd., up to $406 million in direct funding under the CHIPS Incentives Program's Funding Opportunity for Commercial Fabrication Facilities.

The award will support planned investments of $4 billion in advanced semiconductor wafer manufacturing facilities in Sherman, Texas and St. Peters, Missouri. The Department will disburse the funds based on GWA's and MEMC's completion of project milestones over a multi-year timeframe.

In October, we reported that Asahi Linux had made some pretty substantial progress in getting Linux working on Apple Silicon, with a custom GPU driver counting itself as the first OpenGL 3.0 compliant graphics driver for Apple Silicon. Now, according to a recent Fedora Magazine post, Asahi Linux now has a Fedora 41 Remix. The Fedora Asahi 41 Remix is still based on that same Asahi version from October 10, but it incorporates the myriad advancements from Fedora 41 and an improved Vulkan 1.4-conformant driver.

By default, Fedora Asahi Remix 41 ships with Plasma 6.2, although a GNOME 47 version is also available. However, despite using a Wayland-first dekstop environment as its default, Fedora Asahi 41 Remix will still be X11-first, for compatibility reasons. The Asahi team plans on getting Wayland working eventually, but there are technical hurdles to overcome before that is possible. Fedora Asahi Remix also ships by default with the improved DNF 5 package manager and the massively improved GIMP 3.0 image editor pre-installed as part of Plasma 6.2. Having a Fedora Remix for Asahi also provides a familiar experience for gamers on Apple Silicon Macs to get Windows games up and running via a mix of tools like Valve's Proton dxvk, FEX emulator, and vk3d-proton—check out our previous coverage of Asahi to find out more about which games are currently working. There are still a handful of hiccups when it comes to running Linux on Apple Silicon, including hardware incompatibilities, like a lack of Thunderbolt, microphone, Touch ID, and USB-C Display support.

Chieftec and TechPowerUp partner to bring our readers from the EU a bonanza Giveaway. It's been up for over a week, and entries close tomorrow (December 19)! If you live in the EU and haven't dropped in your hat yet, you better hurry! Up for grabs are a Chiefec Iceberg 360 ARGB AIO CPU cooler, a Chieftec Iceberg 360 Black AIO CPU cooler; a Chieftec Apex ATX mid-tower case, a Chieftec M2 Micro-ATX cube-shaped case; a Chieftec PowerPlay 1200 W PSU, and a Chieftec Atmos 850 W PSU. That's an insane 6 prizes to be won! All you need to do is fill up a short form to help us get back to you, if you've won.

For more information, and to participate, visit this page.

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GameMax, an emerging brand of PC gaming components including gaming cases and power supply units, introduces the new GameMax P31 mid-tower chassis. The GameMax P31 combines durability, advanced cooling, and stylish design. It features two pre-installed 120 mm fans at the front and at the rear, support for additional fans and 240 mm water cooling radiators. The P31 chassis supports ATX, Micro-ATX, and Mini ITX motherboards, graphics cards of up to 355 mm in length, and CPU coolers of up to 168 mm in height.

With a sleek RGB front panel, mesh side panels, and efficient I/O including USB 3.0 and Type-C (Gen 2) ports, the GameMax P31 is perfect for gaming and computing needs. The RGB light strip in the front panel can be synchronized with motherboard RGB sync technology. Dust covers on the top, front, and bottom ensure clean and reliable performance.

SK hynix Inc. announced today that it has completed development of its high-capacity SSD product, PS1012 U.2, designed for AI data centers. As the era of AI accelerates, the demand for high-performance enterprise SSDs (eSSD) is rapidly increasing, and QLC technology, which enables high capacity, has become the industry standard. In line with this trend, SK hynix has developed a 61 TB product using this technology and introduced it to the market.

SK hynix has been leading the SSD market for AI data centers with Solidigm, a subsidiary which commercialized QLC-based eSSD for the first time in the world. With the development of PS1012, the company expects to build a balanced SSD portfolio, thereby maximizing synergy between the two companies. With the latest 5th generation (Gen 5) PCIe, PS1012 doubles its bandwidth compared to 4th generation based products. As a result, the data transfer speed reaches 32 GT/s (Gig-transfers per second), with the sequential read performance of 13 GB/s (Gigabyte per second), which is twice that of previous generation products.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is a known quantity at this point, with leaks suggesting that an early-to-mid-2025 launch seems more and more likely. Now, research firm DFC Intelligence has published a report projecting Switch 2 sales to soar past its predecessor's first-year sales figures. According to the report, the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 will sell between 15 and 17 million units in 2025 alone, and, given that it is the only one of the big-three consoles to get a major generational update next year, it looks like it will go largely uncontested.

By comparison, according to Nintendo's 2018 financial results, the original Nintendo Switch sold 15.5 million units in its first year on the market. The original Switch launched just before the start of the new fiscal year, though, on March 3 (Nintendo's fiscal year ends on March 31), and in its first 28 days on the market, the Switch reportedly garnered over 2 million sales. This puts the Switch 2 on track to surpass or at least match the first-generation Nintendo Switch, despite the Switch 2 facing mounting competition from the likes of the Steam Deck and Windows-based gaming handhelds. Statista data shows that the Nintendo Switch peaked at around 29 million units sold per year around 2021. Obviously, the circumstances surrounding the launch of the original Switch were somewhat different, with sales likely still riding the wave that gaming hardware saw during the COVID pandemic.

Just recently, we covered a juicy new leak regarding the Geekbench performance of the upcoming Ryzen AI Max+ 395 "Strix Halo" APU. It is no secret that AMD plans on launching the Strix Halo lineup at CES 2025, which happens to be less than a month away. Unsurprisingly, leaked listings of upcoming laptops and other products have been steadily popping up on the internet, with the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 being the rumor mill's latest victim.

As revealed by the product listings by retailers, the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 will indeed pack some truly impressive specifications. Needless to say, the product will feature a variant with the highest-end Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU with 16 cores and 32 threads, along with an RDNA 3.5-based iGPU with 40 CUs, likely named the Radeon 8060S, which is expected to match mid-range discrete graphics in performance. A slightly lower-tier variant is also listed, with a 12-core Ryzen AI Max 390 APU.

Ever since AMD introduced Strix Point, enthusiasts like ourselves have been eagerly awaiting details regarding the high-end Strix Halo APUs with integrated graphics that are rumored to be powerful enough for the system to not require discrete graphics at all. Leaks regarding the upcoming performance mobile APU lineup have been trickling out steadily, and a fresh new Geekbench leak reveals the CPU performance of the Ryzen AI+ Max 395 APU, which boasts a 16-core configuration consisting entirely of Zen 5 cores, unlike Strix Point which features a mix of Zen 5 and the smaller Zen 5c cores. And oh dear, are the numbers ever so lucrative.The APU managed to rake in 2,849 points in the single-core department, and a whopping 20,708 points in multicore. As Videocardz correctly notes, this result is far ahead of AMD's current top-end mobile offering, the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D, which manages around 16,900 points in the multicore test. In single-core, however, the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D does edge ahead, with around 2,900 points. That said, the ROG Flow Z13 laptop that the APU was housed in is most likely still in the testing phase, so it is entirely possible that the final product will sport even better performance. That being said, the Apple M4 Max SoC, however, remains in a league of its own with 3,800 points in single-core and a shocking 25,000 points in multicore. With CES 2025 just around the corner, it's only a matter of weeks before the Ryzen AI Max+ lineup finally sees the light of day and reaches our hands.

Mozilla and Firefox have undergone a slew of changes of late, with the non-profit laying off its entire advocacy team and subsequently working with a famous design house on a branding overhaul. At the same time, Google is facing a monumental US antitrust lawsuit that could see the search giant prohibited from paying to be the default search engine on a variety of platforms. Speculation until now has predicted that if Google loses the antitrust case, it would deprive Mozilla and Firefox of a massive revenue stream, effectively ending the Firefox browser as we know it.

Perhaps in preparation for this imminent change, Mozilla has just announced a new search partnership with Ecosia, the search engine that prioritizes privacy and environmental concerns. Mozilla didn't explain what the partnership entails, but the official announcement seems to suggest that Ecosia won't become the default search engine for Firefox, although the blog post does encourage switching to Ecosia as the default search engine. Ecosia advertises that it is transparent when it comes to its earnings, and it donates all of its profits to environmental conservation efforts. It also embodies many of the privacy protections that Firefox has historically been known for. A more cynical reading of the situation might suggest that this is simply part of Mozilla trying to save face after its recent layoffs and a round of bad news.

NVIDIA's RTX 5000 series GPU hardware has been leaked repeatedly in the weeks and months leading up to CES 2025, with previous leaks tipping significant updates for the RTX 5070 Ti in the VRAM department. Now, Inno3D is apparently hinting that the RTX 5000 series will also introduce updated machine learning and AI tools to NVIDIA's GPU line-up. An official CES 2025 teaser published by Inno3D, titled "Inno3D At CES 2025, See You In Las Vegas!" makes mention of potential updates to NVIDIA's AI acceleration suite for both gaming and productivity.

The Inno3D teaser specifically points out "Advanced DLSS Technology," "Enhanced Ray Tracing" with new RT cores, "better integration of AI in gaming and content creation," "AI-Enhanced Power Efficiency," AI-powered upscaling tech for content creators, and optimizations for generative AI tasks. All of this sounds like it builds off of previous NVIDIA technology, like RTX Video Super Resolution, although the mention of content creation suggests that it will be more capable than previous efforts, which were seemingly mostly consumer-focussed. Of course, improved RT cores in the new RTX 5000 GPUs is also expected, although it will seemingly be the first time NVIDIA will use AI to enhance power draw, suggesting that the CES announcement will come with new features for the NVIDIA App. The real standout feature, though, are called "Neural Rendering" and "Advanced DLSS," both of which are new nomenclatures. Of course, Advanced DLSS may simply be Inno3D marketing copy, but Neural Rendering suggests that NVIDIA will "Revolutionize how graphics are processed and displayed," which is about as vague as one could be.

More than 600 games and applications feature RTX technologies, and each week new games integrating NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex and advanced ray-traced effects are released or announced, delivering the definitive PC experience for GeForce RTX players. This week, jump back into Night City for Cyberpunk 2077's latest Update 2.2, featuring Full Ray Tracing and NVIDIA DLSS 3.5. Additionally, EVE Frontier and PANICORE are available now with DLSS 3, and Hitman World of Assassination and Ready or Not drop new DLCs.

Cyberpunk 2077, Featuring DLSS 3.5 & Full Ray Tracing, Launches Update 2.2
There's always something new to discover in Night City, and developer CD PROJEKT RED, has even more goodies in store for Cyberpunk 2077. Available now in Update 2.2, game owners have a bunch of new content to enjoy, including new open world missions and customization options. Cyberpunk 2077 features DLSS 3.5 with Ray Reconstruction, Frame Generation, and Super Resolution, and includes Full Ray Tracing via the Ray Tracing: Overdrive Mode, enabling GeForce RTX 40 Series gamers to crank up their settings for incredible performance and image quality.

The UEFI Forum today announced the release of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) 2.11 specification and the Platform Initialization (PI) 1.9 specification. The goal of these specification updates is to streamline user implementation by providing increased compatibility across hardware architectures, including security updates, algorithm support and improving alignment implementation guidance.

"We have created a vibrant firmware community, and these specification updates provide maintenance and enhancement of fundamental capabilities in order to help increase the momentum of the UEFI specifications and add value to the ecosystem," said Mark Doran, UEFI Forum President. "The latest specifications continue the UEFI Forum's commitment to developing standards for all significant CPU architectures as underscored by additions such as the new LoongArch support in the PI 1.9 specification."

Antec Inc., a global leader in high-performance computer components and accessories, is proud to announce the launch of the Antec Performance 1 M Aluminium ITX Gaming Case. This latest addition to Antec's chassis lineup combines compact design with cutting-edge modern style, delivering a jaw dropping ITX case that's perfect for modern, high-performance PCs.

Optimal airflow and aesthetics
Perforated panels keep your system cool with a refined modern touch. Engineered for quiet confidence and clean style.

Databricks, the Data and AI company, today announced its Series J funding. The company is raising $10 billion of expected non-dilutive financing and has completed $8.6 billion to date. This funding values Databricks at $62 billion and is led by Thrive Capital. Along with Thrive, the round is co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, DST Global, GIC, Insight Partners and WCM Investment Management. Other significant participants include existing investor Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and new investors ICONIQ Growth, MGX, Sands Capital and Wellington Management.

The company has seen increased momentum and accelerated growth (over 60% year-over-year) in recent quarters largely due to the unprecedented interest in artificial intelligence. To satisfy customer demand, Databricks intends to invest this capital towards new AI products, acquisitions, and significant expansion of its international go-to-market operations. In addition to fueling its growth, this capital is expected to be used towards providing liquidity for current and former employees, as well as pay related taxes. Finally, this quarter marks the first time the company is expected to achieve positive free cash flow.

Dauntless's recent Steam launch proved disastrous, thanks to some changes the developer made to the core gameplay, which we covered in more detail here. Phoenix Labs responded shortly after the controversy, but that original statement was largely seen as dismissive by the community. Now, Phoenix Labs has put out yet another response, this time responding to individual criticisms and laying out a detailed plan for the future of Dauntless.

In the response, Phoenix Labs starts off by apologizing to the community for the lost progression and disastrous Awakening update. Throughout the rest of the statement, the developer breaks down how it plans to address each of the criticisms, including the progression reset, monetization, and core gameplay changes. The most interesting take-away from Phoenix Labs's response is that the returning players will be rewarded with additional in-game resources—300,000 Rams and 5,000 Combat Merits as well as Peerless Aetherite, scaling based on how many weapons players had crafted before the update—to get them back up to speed in the new system. As of Update 2.2.0, dropping "early next year," players will also no longer have to re-do quests they had already previously completed in order to unlock all game modes and regions. Various challenges and monsters have also received reward drop buffs to speed up progression. Monetization changes include making the free battle pass for future seasons more rewarding, and Phoenix Labs also promised to re-evaluate the monetization strategy in future updates "to balance sustainability with fairness while remaining rewarding for players." As for core gameplay changes, Phoenix Labs has already implemented changes to armor perks, shield caps, and weapon buffs based on feedback, and it says that it will continue to find more ways to add diversity and depth to player builds in future updates.

Recent testing has revealed that latest NVIDIA App v1.0 software utility may significantly impact gaming performance, with benchmarks from Tom's Hardware showing frame rate drops of up to 15% in certain games when the new NVIDIA App is installed alongside graphics drivers. The performance issues appear to be linked to the application's overlay features, particularly its game filters and photo mode capabilities, which seem to affect system resources regardless of whether users actively engage with them. Gamers primarily interested in the app's video capture and optimization features can restore regular performance levels by disabling these problematic overlay functions. In the meantime, NVIDIA issued the following statement on its GeForce forums in the "Game Filters and Performance in NVIDIA App" thread:

NVIDIA Official StatementWe are aware of a reported performance issue related to Game Filters and are actively looking into it. You can turn off Game Filters from the NVIDIA App Settings > Features > Overlay > Game Filters and Photo Mode, and then relaunch your game.

Sandisk Corporation today previewed its new corporate branding and creative direction, signaling a bold debut of the company's comeback launch as a standalone Flash and memory technology innovator, planned for early 2025.

Defined by a 'Mindset of Motion', Sandisk's new creative direction represents a future forward philosophy where by creating paths and possibilities for people to go without limits, the company unites the current moment and their aspirations. This mindset brings people closer to their ambitions and creates a circle of collaboration for progress and future growth.

NVIDIA is taking the wraps off a new compact generative AI supercomputer, offering increased performance at a lower price with a software upgrade. The new NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit, which fits in the palm of a hand, provides everyone from commercial AI developers to hobbyists and students, gains in generative AI capabilities and performance. And the price is now $249, down from $499.

Available today, it delivers as much as a 1.7x leap in generative AI inference performance, a 70% increase in performance to 67 INT8 TOPS, and a 50% increase in memory bandwidth to 102 GB/s compared with its predecessor. Whether creating LLM chatbots based on retrieval-augmented generation, building a visual AI agent, or deploying AI-based robots, the Jetson Orin Nano Super is an ideal solution to fetch.

Intel is significantly expanding its desktop Core Ultra 200 "Arrow Lake-S" lineup with new 65 W models along the sidelines of the 2025 International CES, but more importantly, it is bringing the "Arrow Lake" microarchitecture to the mobile space. The company is planning to launch at least 22 processor models this January, but not all of them are based on "Arrow Lake." Tom's Hardware reports that the lineup broadly revolves around the "Core 2-series" processor model numbering.

The Core Ultra 200H series consists of H-segment (conventional thickness notebook) processors in the 28 W to 45 W class, and are based on the "Arrow Lake-H" silicon. The Core Ultra 200HX series targets premium gaming notebooks and portable workstations, and consists of 55 W to 65 W class processors, including CPU overclocking capabilities on certain models. Things get interesting with the Core Ultra 200U series. These chips are based on the "Meteor Lake Refresh" silicon—an older microarchitecture—targeting the 7 W to 28 W segments for ultraportables. Lastly, there's the Core H 200 and Core U 200 series (no "Ultra" in the branding), which are based on the older "Raptor Lake" monolithic silicon, targeting mainstream notebooks.

Edimax is pleased to announce the release of the D5G-8459 Industrial 5G NR DIN-Rail Router, a powerful solution for seamless wireless and wired connectivity in the most challenging environments. Capable of operating within a temperature range of -20°C to 70°C, this router delivers reliable 5G NR internet access in locations where fixed broadband is unavailable or impractical.

Equipped with the RM520-GL (Qualcomm Snapdragon x62), the D5G-8459 router offers enhanced reliability, compatibility, and high performance. It supports automatic failover between 5G NR and wired Ethernet, ensuring continuous connectivity even during network disruptions. This level of redundancy is vital for industries reliant on uninterrupted services, including payment systems, remote data transfers, online meetings, and video streaming, making it an indispensable tool in ensuring smooth operations.

Crucial has reportedly discontinued the MX500 line of SATA SSDs after nearly 7 years of market presence. The MX500 is arguably the most popular line of SATA 6 Gbps SSDs, and comes in both the 2.5-inch and M.2-SATA form-factors. The drive continued its run into 2020s given its extremely low price-per-GB, and reasonable levels of performance to serve as a warm storage solution in client PCs. The market is changing, with the advent of cheap QLC NAND NVMe SSDs, an increase in the number of NVMe slots on today's motherboards, and a reduction in SATA ports, which mean that it is time for Crucial to retire the MX500. The MX500 is still in stock with retailers, and comes in capacities of up to a respectable 4 TB, although at prices similar to NVMe Gen 3 or Gen 4 drives based on QLC NAND, such as Crucial's own P3 Plus. The 4 TB variant of the P3 Plus Gen 4 NVMe SSD in fact costs less than the 4 TB MX500, but with significantly higher performance.

PowerColor is planning to introduce a new line of custom-design graphics cards called "Reaper." This fits into the scheme of PowerColor's naming that include Red Devil, Red Dragon, HellHound, and Fighter. The company is planning to debut Reaper with AMD's upcoming Radeon RX 8000 series based on the RDNA 4 graphics architecture. It remains to be seen if Reaper is positioned above the flagship Red Devil series, or something lower, replacing Fighter.

Things are moving rather quickly with the AMD Radeon RX 8000 series, with the company reportedly planning to debut at least two new performance-segment SKUs along the sidelines of the 2025 CES. The two SKUs are rumored to be based on the "Navi 48" silicon, and AMD is gunning for sales volumes and market share by targeting the most bulky market segments, going after the GeForce RTX 5070 series and RTX 5060 series. The RDNA 4 graphics architecture is expected to make big strides in reducing the performance cost of ray tracing, through a more specialized ray tracing hardware setup, besides generational improvements in performance and performance-per-Watt.

A high-stakes trial between technology giants Arm and Qualcomm has revealed deeper tensions in the semiconductor industry, as Arm seeks the destruction of chip designs from Qualcomm's $1.4 billion Nuvia acquisition. The case, being heard in Delaware federal court, centers on a licensing dispute that could impact the future of AI-powered Windows PCs. Arm CEO Rene Haas took the stand Monday, adding allegations that Qualcomm violated licensing agreements following its 2021 acquisition of chip startup Nuvia. The issue is whether Qualcomm should pay Nuvia's higher royalty rates for using Arm's intellectual property rather than its own lower rates. Internal documents revealed Nuvia's rates were "many multiples" higher than Qualcomm's, with the acquisition potentially reducing Arm's revenue by $50 million.

During cross-examination, Qualcomm's legal team challenged Arm's motives, suggesting the dispute is part of a broader strategy to confront a customer increasingly viewed as a competitor. When presented with documents outlining potential plans for Arm to design its own chips, Haas downplayed these ambitions, emphasizing that Arm has never entered chip manufacturing. Allegedly, Arm sent letters to Qualcomm's customers, including Samsung, warning about possible disruption if Nuvia's IP design before acquisition in 2021 must be destroyed. Haas defended these communications, citing frequent inquiries from industry partners.

IBM Research has unveiled a significant advancement in optical interconnect technology for advanced data center communications. The breakthrough centers on a novel co-packaged optics (CPO) system featuring a sophisticated Polymer Optical Waveguide (PWG) design, marking a potential shift from traditional copper-based interconnects. The innovation introduces a Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) measuring 8x10mm, mounted on a 17x17mm substrate, capable of converting electrical signals to optical ones and vice versa. The system's waveguide, spanning 12 mm in width, efficiently channels light waves through precisely engineered pathways, with channels converging from 250 to 50 micrometers.

While current copper-based solutions like NVIDIA's NVLink offer impressive 1.8 TB/s bandwidth rates, and Intel's Optical Compute Interconnect achieves 4 TBit/s bidirectional throughput, IBM's technology focuses on scalability and efficiency. The company plans to implement 12 carrier waves initially, with the potential to accommodate up to 32 waves by reducing spacing to 18 micrometers. Furthermore, the design allows for vertical stacking of up to four PWGs, potentially enabling 128 transmission channels. The technology has undergone rigorous JEDEC-standard testing, including 1,000 cycles of thermal stress between -40°C and 125°C, and extended exposure to extreme conditions including 85% humidity at 85°C. The components have also proven reliable during thousand-hour storage tests at various temperature extremes. The bandwidth of the CPO is currently unknown, but we expect it to surpass current solutions.

NVIDIA is preparing to unveil its "Blackwell" GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card, featuring cutting-edge GDDR7 memory technology. However, RTX 5080 is expected to be equipped with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory running at an impressive 30 Gbps. Combined with a 256-bit memory bus, this configuration will deliver approximately 960 GB/s bandwidth—a 34% improvement over its predecessor, the RTX 4080, which operates at 716.8 GB/s. While the RTX 5080 will stand as the sole card in the lineup featuring 30 Gbps memory modules, while other models in the RTX 50 series will incorporate slightly slower 28 Gbps variants. This strategic differentiation is possibly due to the massive CUDA cores gap between the rumored RTX 5080 and RTX 5090.

The flagship RTX 5090 is set to push boundaries even further, implementing a wider 512-bit memory bus that could potentially achieve bandwidth exceeding 1.7 TB/s. NVIDIA appears to be reserving larger memory configurations of 16 GB+ exclusively for this top-tier model, at least until higher-capacity GDDR7 modules become available in the market. Despite these impressive specifications, the RTX 5080's bandwidth still falls approximately 5% short of the current RTX 4090, which benefits from a physically wider bus configuration. This performance gap between the 5080 and the anticipated 5090 suggests NVIDIA is maintaining a clear hierarchy within its product stack, and we have to wait for the final launch to conclude what, how, and why of the Blackwell gaming GPUs.

In Win Development Inc. (InWin), a leading innovator in PC enthusiast and gaming hardware, had introduced its new AR36 (360 mm) AIO liquid cooler featuring an "infinity Mirror" design, compatible with both AMD and Intel platforms.

Infinity Mirror Block
The ARGB-infused CPU block features an infinity mirror design on the front, showcasing radiant light reflections that create an infinite, vibrant, and colorful glow from every angle. Inside, high-density microchannel fins in the copper baseplate efficiently draw heat away from even the hottest processors, minimizing the temperature delta to unlock maximum headroom for sustained thermal boost clock speeds. The pump is equipped with a three-phase, six-pole motor, ensuring consistently high performance with reduced noise during operation.

The Borderlands 4 trailer recently hinted at some sweeping tone shifts for the upcoming looter shooter RPG, and Gearbox Studio's creative and narrative director for Borderlands 4, Sam Winkler, recently confirmed that the shift in tone will extend to the game's character writing and humor. In a series of posts on X, Winkler said "I remain firm in my criticism of BL3's overabundance of toiler humor," going on to explain that there will still be toilet humor, and the idea of a Hawk Tuah reference in-game was being thrown around. "Paul Tassi joked that we were gonna have a gun called Hawk 2A and a fellow dev asked me if it was real and I wanted to put my hand down the sink grinder."

While the Borderlands 4 trailer has generated plenty of hype around the upcoming instalment to the franchise, it hasn't gone without its criticisms. However, the apparent changes to the game's visuals and tone—specifically away from the over-the-top nature of Borderlands 3—have been almost universally positively received, with many fans now expecting a return to the glory days of Borderlands 2. Writing has never been the highlight of the Borderlands franchise, but most seem to agree that Borderlands 3 often went too far with the jokes, to the detriment of the overall experience.

Framework, the company known for making consumer-friendly, repairable, upgradeable laptops, has officially announced the first expansion bay for the Framework 16, its AMD-powered gaming laptop. The new storage module, which slots into the Expansion Bay, has dual M.2 slots for up to 16 TB total additional storage for the Framework 16. Part of the idea behind the storage expansion seems to be turning what is essentially a gaming laptop into a capable workstation. Crucially, upgrading the storage with the expansion bay requires removing the discrete Radeon 7700s GPU, although the Framework 16 already has dual M.2 slots on the motherboard, so this expansion isn't really intended for gamers, anyway.

One of the major selling points for the Framework 16 was that it offered PCIe expansion via a modular interface, and this is Framework's first real foray into expanding that ecosystem for its largest laptop. In addition to the storage expansion, Framework also announced a new Mystery Box system for its US and Canada Outlets to offload spare parts, like returned modules and components that it doesn't want to relegate to the e-waste pile but also cannot financially justify sorting through and refurbishing. These Mystery Boxes each contain at least three items and come with a warning that reads "Note that these don't come with a warranty and are non-returnable, so only get it if you want random scrap to play with!"

Zotac has apparently prematurely published webpages for the entire NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5000 series GPU line-up that will launch in January 2025. According to the leak, spotted by Videocardz, NVIDIA will launch a total of five RTX 5000 series GPUs next month, including the RTX 5090, 5080, 5070 Ti, 5070, and the China-only 5090D. The premature listing has seemingly been removed by Zotac, but screenshots taken by Videocardz confirm previously leaked details, including what appears to be a 32 GB Blackwell GPU.

It's unclear which GPU will feature 32 GB of VRAM, but it stands to reason that it will be either the 5090 or 5090D. Last time we checked in with the RTX 5070 Ti, leaks suggested it would have but 16 GB of GDDR7 VRAM, and there were murmurings of a 32 GB RTX 5090 back in September. Other leaks from Wccftech suggest that the likes of the RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti will pack 8 GB and 16 GB of GDDR7, respectively. While the 5090's alleged 32 GB frame buffer will likely make it more adept at machine learning and other non-gaming tasks, the VRAM bumps given to other, particularly Ti-spec, RTX 5000 GPUs should make them better suited for the ever-increasing demands from modern PC games.