Bloomberg reports that French competition regulators have raided a business alleged to be engaging in "anti-competitive practices in the graphics cards sector," which the Wall Street Journal identified as NVIDIA. The dawn raid was authorized by a liberty and custody judge, France's competition authority said in its statement, where it did not name NVIDIA. The regulator clarified that raids "do not presuppose the existence of a breach of law, which only a full investigation into the merits of the case could establish, if appropriate."

It's pertinent to note here, that while the anti-competitive allegations concern "graphics cards," the allegation is that the company (identified by WSJ as NVIDIA) has cornered the AI GPU market, and which is responsible for the rise of NVIDIA as the largest hardware company in Silicon Valley by market capitalization. While NVIDIA's AI HPC processors lack any raster graphics components, they are still considered GPUs, as they are built on the same principles, and for the most part, share a microarchitecture with gaming GPUs. Meanwhile, Bloomberg notes that the NVIDIA stock remains completely unfazed by the developments in France. "The shares gained 1.5% to $430.89 at the close in New York trading Thursday, bringing their year-to-date gain to 195%," it wrote.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is now available on PC with full ray tracing, DLSS 3.5, and Ray Reconstruction. Phantom Liberty is a new spy-thriller adventure for Cyberpunk 2077. When the orbital shuttle of the President of the New United States of America is shot down over the deadliest district of Night City, there's only one person who can save her - you. Become V, a cyberpunk for hire, and dive deep into a tangled web of espionage and political intrigue, unraveling a story that connects the highest echelons of power with the brutal world of black-market mercenaries. If you don't own the expansion, return to the neon lights of Night City in Cyberpunk 2077's 2.0 update, available now, featuring support for NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 and its new Ray Reconstruction technology, enhancing the quality of full ray tracing in Cyberpunk 2077's Ray Tracing: Overdrive Mode.

Crank Ray Tracing Up To Overdrive
Both Cyberpunk 2077 and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty feature full ray tracing in the technology preview for the Ray Tracing: Overdrive Mode. Full ray tracing, also known as path tracing, accurately simulates light throughout an entire scene. It is used by visual effects artists to create film and TV graphics that are indistinguishable from reality, but until the arrival of GeForce RTX GPUs with RT Cores, and the AI-powered acceleration of NVIDIA DLSS, real-time video game full ray tracing was impossible because it is extremely GPU intensive.

EK, the leading provider of cutting-edge computer cooling solutions, is introducing an enterprise-level GPU water block tailored for NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core PCIe data center GPUs. The EK-Pro GPU WB H100 Rack - Ni + Inox is a high-performance water block meticulously engineered to achieve an ultra-compact design, allowing it to occupy just a single PCIe slot compared to the stock 2-slot cooling system. This premium water block features a rack-style terminal, significantly reducing assembly height and enhancing compatibility with various chassis types. By spanning the entire PCB, it efficiently cools the GPU, HBM VRAM, and the VRM (voltage regulation module), with cooling liquid channeled directly over these critical components.

NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs provide a giant leap in computing power, perfect for accelerated computing. Its ground-breaking increase in performance offers up to 30X more performance in certain applications like large language models for AI and up to 7X performance boost in HPC workloads like genome sequencing, for example.

MSI, the global leading gaming brand, will participate in the Tokyo Game Show 2023 (TGS 2023) during Sept. 21st to 24th, held at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. This year's TGS marks the full return of physical exhibitions and the removal of age restrictions for entry, providing exhibitors with more space to showcase their latest games and products. Players under the age of 12 can freely enter the venue, attracting more families to visit. Additionally, this year's TGS VR will have a game island theme, and after downloading the app, players can enter for free using a computer, VR equipment, or smartphones. This allows players who cannot attend in person to enjoy this immersive gaming event through virtual reality technology.

"As a global leader in gaming, MSI has always maintained close communication and interaction with fans and gamers. The full return of Tokyo Game Show 2023 provides us with a great opportunity to showcase our powerful product lineup and cutting-edge technology, delivering luxurious gaming experience to all gamers," said Sam Chern, MSI Marketing Vice President.

ASUS has registered an unprecedented number of AMD Radeon RX 7000-series mid-range graphics card SKUs with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC)—we were somewhat impressed with PowerColor's new SKU count, as reported on TPU two days ago, but Team ASUS shrugs that off with ease. 64 new models based on Radeon RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT GPUs have been lodged with the EEC—it should be noted that some of these are unlikely to reach final market form. VideoCardz points out that ASUS has a track record of favoring NVIDIA silicon in terms of offering multiple models across budget, mid level and premium tiers: "ASUS has never released such a large number of cards for a single SKU. Their plans for Radeon models are notably more modest compared to their GeForce RTX 40 counterparts, and some of the listed SKUs are rarely used for AMD GPUs."

ASUS decided to keep things simple with its launch day selection of Radeon RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT cards—arriving in TUF Gaming form, with black or white color options. Their latest EEC registration provides an early insight into potential plans for an extensive expansion of Navi 32 GPU-based card models—with additional TUF Gaming options, as well as ROG Strix, Dual, and ProArt SKUs. ASUS has historically adhered to a tradition of picking black shroud designs for its ProArt card series, but the EEC info dump reveals white variants.

Vastarmor has updated their Alloy graphics card cooling solution with the introduction of customized Radeon RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT models—the Chinese manufacturer is keeping things local, so their latest products are unlikely to reach retailers outside of the PRC. This small sticking point has not deterred TPU's GPU database curator—entries have been created for both cards. 4499 RMB (~$612) bags you Vastarmor's Radeon RX 7800 XT Alloy, while their Radeon RX 7700 XT Alloy starts at 3999 RMB (~$545). The two Navi 32 chiplet-based cards appear to share the exact same shroud design and triple-fan setup.

Vastarmor's robust cooling system relies on a 100 + 90 + 100 mm fan array with a somewhat unique visual twist—RGB enthusiasts will be stoked to know that lighting has been integrated into each individual fan. VideoCardz digs the resultant effects: "as the fans spin, gamers will be treated to the mesmerizing sight of what can be described as RGB rings, hopefully nothing too hypnotic." The new Alloy cards arrive with factory set overclocks—providing a rough 5 to 6% climb over AMD's reference figures. Vastarmor has their Radeon RX 7800 XT model configured with 1624/2254/2565 MHz (base/game/boost). The Radeon RX 7700 XT Alloy's spec sheet states 1784/2276/2600 MHz.

AMD and Bethesda's Starfield Game Bundle promotion kicked off back in mid-July, with a wide range of current and previous generation hardware qualifying for the campaign. It was very apparent, at the time, that Team Red had bolstered the list of GPUs with plenty of mid-range RX 6000-series (RDNA 2) models—in absence of heavily rumored successors. AMD's Radeon RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT graphics cards were finally introduced at Gamescom 2023, and reached retail outlets yesterday. Post-unveiling it was revealed that all Radeon RX 7000-series desktop cards would be eligible for the Starfield campaign, but the new Navi 32-based models were not mentioned in specifics.

AMD has—very recently—quietly updated its Reward and Gaming campaign pages with revised information—Radeon RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT GPUs are now present on the list of qualifying products, alongside the addition of an oddball semi-sibling—Radeon RX 7900 Golden Rabbit Edition (GRE). These graphics cards sit in an upper tier that grants customers a digital download copy of Starfield Premium Edition.

SAPPHIRE Technology announces the latest SAPPHIRE PURE AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT graphics cards, built on the groundbreaking AMD RDNA 3 architecture offering superb performance designed for gamers and creators. These cards are encased in a stunning white shroud with delicate design accents, built with durable components and engineered with effective cooling solutions for a dynamic gaming experience.

A new PURE experience
Kick off the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT graphics card experience with the brand-new, white shrouded, sleek SAPPHIRE PURE lineup! The SAPPHIRE PURE AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT graphics card headlines with 60 Compute Units and 3840 stream processors with a Boost Clock of up to 2475 MHz and a Game Clock of up to 2169 MHz. It also offers 16 GB of high-speed GDDR6 memory clocked at 19.5 Gbps with 64 MB of second generation AMD Infinity Cache technology. The SAPPHIRE PURE AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT graphics card features a GPU with 54 Compute Units and 3456 stream processors, a Boost Clock of up to 2584 MHz and a Game Clock of up to 2226 MHz. Enjoy breakthrough performance on the SAPPHIRE PURE AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT with 12 GB of GDDR6 high-speed memory clocked at up to 18 Gbps with 48 MB of Infinity Cache technology. The graphics card has support for up to 4 output ports including 2x HDMI 2.1 and 2x DisplayPort 2.1 ports with DSC outputs to support the latest monitors on the market.

GIGABYTE, the world's leading computer brand, announced the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT GAMING OC graphics cards hit the market today. Based on AMD's Navi 32 chip using the RDNA 3 architecture, the RX 7800 XT GAMING OC excels in demanding 1440p gaming backed by substantial VRAM and computing power. Meanwhile, the RX 7700 XT GAMING OC emerges as an attractive mid-range option, also promising exceptional performance at 1440p.

Both RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT GAMING OC models are equipped with GIGABYTE's acclaimed WINDFORCE cooling system, engineered to ensure peak performance even during extended gaming sessions. This innovative cooling solution features a triple-fan design with Alternating Spinning technology, composite copper heat pipes, Screen Cooling, and an array of exclusive features. These components work in tandem to facilitate efficient heat dissipation, enabling the cards to maintain optimal operating temperatures while keeping noise levels at a minimum.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, proudly unveils the BIOSTAR AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT and Radeon RX 7800 XT graphics cards, built with extreme performance and visual fidelity for that next-level gaming experience. Meticulously designed to cater to the diverse needs of modern-day gamers and content creators, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT and Radeon RX 7800 XT graphics cards represent the pinnacle of graphics processing technology. Built on the groundbreaking AMD RDNA 3 architecture, these graphics cards offer immersive visuals that redefine gaming realism and cinematic content rendering.

The BIOSTAR AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT graphics card offers an impressive 12 GB GDDR6 memory, which operates on a 192-bit bus with a memory clock speed of up to 18 Gbps. For enthusiasts keen on exploring its capabilities, its engine clocks stand at 2171 MHz (Game), and peak at a roaring 2544 MHz (Boost). Meanwhile, the BIOSTAR Radeon RX 7800 XT graphics card has a robust 16 GB GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus and a blazingly fast 19.5 Gbps memory clock speed, geared for superior gaming performance. With game clocks reaching 2124 MHz during gameplay, and peaking at 2430 MHz with boost, gaming enthusiasts from casual to pro-level can confidently dive into their favorite AAA titles and enjoy them at the highest potential.

ASRock, the leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, today launched the new Phantom Gaming, Steel Legend and Challenger series graphics cards based on AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT GPUs. The new ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT Series graphics cards are built on the groundbreaking AMD RDNA 3 architecture, featuring 60 and 54 redesigned compute units, respectively, and second-generation AMD Infinity Cache technology. They also feature the AMD Radiance Display Engine, full AV1 encoding and are optimized for high-performance 1440p gaming, streaming and content creation applications. The ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT Series graphics cards also provide the horsepower to step into 4K gaming.

The new ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT Series graphics cards are equipped with high-speed 16 GB and 12 GB GDDR6 memory at 19.5 Gbps and 18 Gbps, respectively, and are pre-overclocked to deliver higher levels of performance. The AMD Radiance Display Engine provides 12 bit-per-channel color for up to 68 billion colors for incredible color accuracy. In addition, ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT Series graphics cards support various ASRock exclusive features, including the Striped Ring/Axial Fan, Air Deflecting Fin, Ultra-fit Heatpipe, Metal Backplate, and Polychrome SYNC technology to provide cooling efficiency, solid construction, and fancy ARGB lighting effects. With these exclusive features, ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT Series graphics cards are ideal choices for 4K/2K gamers and creators.

You can check out our review of the ASRock Radeon RX 7800 XT Phantom Gaming graphics card.

According to a new research report from the analyst firm Jon Peddie Research (JPR), unit shipments in the add-in board (AIB) market increased in Q2'23 from last quarter, while AMD gained market share. Quarter to quarter, graphics AIB shipments increased modestly, by 2.9%; however, shipments decreased by -36% year to year.

Since Q1 2000, over 2.10 billion graphics cards, worth about $476 billion, have been sold. The market shares for the desktop discrete GPU suppliers shifted in the quarter, as AMD's market share increased from last quarter and Nvidia's share increased from last year. Intel, which entered the AIB market in Q3'22 with the Arc A770 and A750, will start to increase market share in 2024.

Twitter/X user @momomo_us has unveiled official documentation detailing a new GC-HPCE power connection standard to supply additional GPU power throughout motherboard. This connector can deliver over 600 Watts of power, surpassing 12VHPWR connector's capacity. The GC-HPCE power connector features four groups of pins. Sixteen pins are dedicated to power delivery, while the remaining twelve facilitate communication between the motherboard and the graphics card. Its size is comparable to the regular PCIe x1 connector. Positioned in alignment with the primary PCIe x16 slot on a motherboard, the GC-HPCE power connector is situated behind the x16 slot, typically where the motherboard chipset heatsink is found. This strategic placement ensures the graphics card can be easily slotted into both connectors, simplifying installation. The connector's design negates the need for an additional locking mechanism, as the x16 slot's existing lock sufficiently secures the graphics card.

First showcased at Computex, this connector was featured in several prototype motherboards and graphics cards, emphasizing its potential to enhance cable management and aesthetics. By eliminating supplementary power cables from the graphics card and channeling power through the motherboard, the graphics card's appearance remains uncluttered, and cable management behind the motherboard tray becomes more streamlined. Intriguingly, this connector is a familiar design. It's a modified version of the High Power Card Edge (HPCE) standard prevalent in the server industry. While ASUS has been the primary proponent of this connector, it remains to be seen if other companies will adopt this standard for their consumer products. Additionally, routing power throughout the motherboard will require manufacturers to include additional power regulating circuitry, potentially driving motherboard costs up. It is also not an agreed upon industry standard, which could block some future GPU upgrades from happening.You can check out ASUS'es implementation of the Back-to-Future (BTF) motherboard that supports this connector below.

As a leading brand in True Gaming hardware, MSI is excited to introduce the GAMING SLIM Family, a new graphics card series powered by NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series graphics processors. While maintaining the most iconic GAMING elements from the long-standing MSI GAMING series, GAMING SLIM is even thinner and lighter, allowing for flexible system assembly while promising high-performance capabilities. The GAMING SLIM series is available with the GeForce RTX 4090, GeForce RTX 4080, GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, GeForce RTX 4070, and GeForce RTX 4060 Ti graphics processors.

Powered by NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace architecture, RTX 40 Series graphics cards offer unparalleled speed, ushering in a new era of performance, immersive gaming, AI capabilities, and lightning-fast content creation for gamers and creators alike.

HardwareLuxx's editor, Andreas Schilling, was invited by Intel Tech Tour to attend a recent press event at the company's manufacturing facility and test labs in Malaysia. Invited media representatives were allowed to observe ongoing work on next generation client and data center-oriented products. He posted a short summary of these observations via social media: "I've seen wafers with Emerald Rapids XCC on them, that were being cut. Not a surprise at all, but still...also MTL682_C0, so Meteor Lake with 6 P-Cores, 8 E-Cores and GT2 Graphic Tile tested in a C0 stepping and finally the Failure Lab already saw BMG G10 - Battlemage is real." We have been hearing mixed mutterings about the status of Team Blue's next-gen Arc GPU technology, with more concrete evidence of its existence popping up around mid-August—namely in the shape of two Battlemage interposers, BGA2362-BMG-X2 and BGA2727-BMG-X3, uploaded to Intel's DESIGN-iN Tools website.

Schilling elaborated further in his full report: "In the Failure Analysis Lab, we came across a tray that evidently contained chips from the next Arc generation - at least, there were already corresponding chips in the analysis, which were clearly labeled as BMG G10." This chip looks to be lined up to succeed the current Alchemist ACM-G10 GPU, as seen on Intel Arc A750 and A770 discrete graphics cards. A leaked product roadmap shows Intel targeting a Battlemage launch around Q2 - Q3 2024, with the aforementioned G10 having a TDP rating of <225 W, as well as another variant—G21—rated for a maximum power consumption of 150 W.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of premium gaming hardware, today announced the new AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT graphics cards powered by the high-performance, energy-efficient AMD RDNA 3 architecture - the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7800 XT GAMING OC 16G and Radeon RX 7700 XT GAMING OC 12G graphics cards, which will be available for purchase on September 6, 2023.

The GAMING OC graphics card, a classic and popular graphics card from GIGABYTE, focuses on exceptional performance and stability. It features a black design with gaming elements to adapt to various PC build styles. In addition, each graphics card is perfectly tuned with powerful performance and excellent heat dissipation, bringing gamers ultra-fast, ultra-smooth gaming performance at 1440p.

AMD today at Gamescom unveiled the Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT performance-segment graphics cards. Designed for maxed out gaming at 1440p with ray tracing, the two are designed to square off against NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4070 series, offering competitive performance and pricing. The two are based on AMD's latest RDNA3 graphics architecture, and use the 5 nm foundry process where it matters. Both cards claim to offer not just superior performance to the specific NVIDIA RTX 40-series SKUs they're designed to compete with, but also better future-proofing, with more video memory on offer.

At the heart of the two is the new "Navi 32" GPU, AMD's second largest chip from this generation. It is a chiplet GPU, just like the "Navi 31" that powers the RX 7900 series, albeit slightly scaled down. The graphics compute die (GCD), the die with the main graphics rendering and compute machinery, is built on the 5 nm EUV foundry node. It is flanked by four memory cache dies (MCDs), each built on the 6 nm foundry node. These are the same MCDs found in the "Navi 31," but four in number instead of six, which gives the "Navi 32" a 256-bit wide GDDR6 memory interface.

PowerColor has released a couple of new teasers for the upcoming Radeon RX 7800/RX 7700 XT launch that is said to be scheduled for August 25th. According to these new teasers, it appears that PowerColor will be introducing both Hellhound and Fighter series versions, in addition to the Red Devil that leaked earlier this month.

PowerColor released two new teasers, one on Twitter and one on Facebook, showing different sides of new graphics cards, and while it did not reveal any specific details, it is obvious that we are looking at the upcoming Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT versions that will be a part of its Hellhound and Fighter series. Unlike the earlier revealed Red Devil version, Hellhound is a bit toned down, but still should come with a decent factory-overclock. So far, PowerColor is teasing only the black version, and it is not clear if we will see the white Hellhound Spectral version. The Fighter series is usually the budget-oriented series, launching at MSRP, so it will be interesting to see how many SKUs PowerColor will announce on August 25th.

Low profile graphics cards have always been something of a niche market, but they've found homes in many HTPC builds over the years, especially passively cooled cards. Now Gigabyte has launched a rather odd looking low profile NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 based graphics card that simply goes under the name of GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile 8G. The 182 x 69 x 40 (D x H x W) mm card still manages to pack in three fans and requires an 8-pin power connector to work, which somewhat unfortunately plugs in at the rear of the card, although there wouldn't have been too many other locations to place it. This means that this card might not work in some Mini-ITX builds, due to the card being too long once the power connector is plugged in.

The card width should've given away that we're looking at a dual slot card, which is also pretty obvious from the pictures. Gigabyte provides a full height and a low profile bracket with the card, which not all low profile cards have shipped with in the past, so this is a plus. Connectivity wise, the GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile 8G comes with two DP 1.4a and two HDMI 2.1a ports, making this a card well suited for HTPC usage. Gigabyte has even overclocked the GPU from 2460 MHz to 2475 MHz, which seems quite pointless and is unlikely to bring any huge performance advantages over stock clock speeds.Update Aug 24th: During a recent meeting with Gigabyte we had a chance to go hands-on with their new RTX 4060 Low Profile card, here's some photos.

AMD Radeon RX 6000 and RX 700 series based on RDNA 2 and RDNA 3 GPU architectures have been benchmarked by folks over at ComputerBase. However, these weren't regular benchmarks of performance but rather power consumption. According to their latest results, they discovered that enabling Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) can lower the power consumption of AMD Radeon cards in idle. Using a 4K display with a 144 Hz refresh rate, ComputerBase benchmarked Radeon RX 6800/6700 XT and RX 7900 XT, both last-generation and current-generation graphics cards. The performance matrix also includes a comparison to Intel Arc A770, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3080, and RTX 4080.

Regarding performance figures, the tests compare desktop idle consumption, dual monitor power consumption, window movement, YouTube with SDR at 60 FPS, and YouTube with HDR at 60 FPS, all done on a 4K 144 Hz monitor setup. You can see the comparison below, with the most significant regression in power consumption being Radeon RX 7900 XTX using 81% less power in single and 71% less power in dual monitor setup.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, a professional manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards, all-in-one gaming and multimedia solutions, and high-performance storage, unveils two new graphics cards - the iGame GeForce RTX 4070 Ultra Z OC and iGame GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Mini. The iGame GeForce RTX 4070 Ultra Z OC features a hidden cable management design, a trending concept that is changing the standards of PC components today. COLORFUL also unveils the iGame GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Mini OC 8 GB-V, the first compact model in the RTX 4060 Ti family.

The iGame GeForce RTX 4070 Ultra Z OC features a different PCB design from the Ultra W model wherein the connector is hidden beneath the backplate. This allows builders to achieve tidier cabling, hiding the power cable from the visible side of the graphics card. The Ultra Z OC is compatible with most motherboards. For chassis, it is best paired with a case specifically designed to support this concept.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced collaboration centered around EVA-02 and Asuka from the long-celebrated Evangelion anime series. PC DIY builders and anime lovers can now enjoy a second impact of premium ROG components and peripherals elevated by the classic EVA-02 red and orange colorway with a variety of custom Evangelion-themed decals and graphics. The new powerhouse arsenal includes a ROG Maximus motherboard, ROG Strix GeForce RTX graphics card, ROG Ryujin AIO cooler, ROG Hyperion gaming case, graphics card holder, peripherals and other gear.

ROG Maximus Z790 Hero EVA-02 Edition motherboard
This special version of the feature-packed ROG Maximus Z790 Hero arrives with EVA-02's signature red and orange theme, with traces of green. The backplate design comes with EVA-02 Beast Mode and Evangelion patterns, supporting this motherboard's immense power and control, as it takes 13th Gen Intel Core processors and DDR5 memory kit to the next level. And an A.T. Field design around the CPU socket and Polymo lighting on the I/O cover switches between Asuka and regular EVA-02 as another artistic flourish.

As we get closer to a possible late summer/early autumn release window for mid-range AMD Radeon RX 7000-series gaming graphics cards, more leaks have emerged from sources in Asia. Benchlife believes that "in addition to Radeon RX 7900 GRE, AMD and its AIB partners are also preparing two Navi 32 chip graphics cards such as Radeon RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT, which are expected to be available in early September." Previous leaks have indicated that a September launch is planned, albeit with the RX 7800 XT SKU being based on a heavily modified Navi 31 GPU.

Two non-XT units have recently emerged via leaked benchmark results, so there could be a good number of options lined up for a third quarter 2023 launch. Jon Peddle Research (JPR) has added their two cents, by reconfirming that Team Red could be showcasing mid-range models at a late summer trade fair: "AMD is rumored to announce two new 7000-series AIBs at Gamescom in late August. The leaks suggest that AMD is behind NVIDIA in terms of AIBs and has open slots in its SKU lineup. The leaked benchmark data (see below) indicates that the RX 7800 and RX 7700 may compete with the RTX 4070 and RTX 4060 Ti, respectively." JPR proposes that AMD is preparing at least two mid-range models for launch, although this could increase to five. If a mysterious fifth candidate does exist outside of the oft mentioned RX 7700, RX 7700 XT, RX 7800 and RX 7800 XT SKUs, where would it be placed in the hierarchy? We can exclude the RX 7900 16 GB GRE GPU since it seems to be a Chinese market exclusive, with performance estimated to be just below RX 7900 XT standards.

Sparkle presented a pair of custom Intel Arc A380 and A310 cards[/url] at last month's Computex expo—reaffirming its commitment to presenting the full lineup of Arc GPUs. It is now reported that these "Industrial Low-Profile" cooled units will form the company's "GENIE" series. Sparkle's triple-fan TITAN series is comprised of Arc A770 and A750 GPUs, while the dual-fan ORC is formed solely of an A750. ELF is a single fan design A380 card.

The aforementioned GENIE models are both one slot designs with single fans and a low profile shrouds that only covers part of the PCB (comparable to the reference card). The A380 unit offers 8 Xe-Cores with 6 GB GDDR6 96-bit memory, while the lesser A310 gets 6 Xe-Cores and 4 GB of GDDR6 64-bit memory. The leaked presentation slide does not show any release date information, but reasonably final looking hardware making an appearance at Computex 2023 suggests that the GENIE series is not too far off from reaching retail.

USA retailer, Newegg, is currently running a sale on a couple of custom NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB graphics cards. The cheapest option is an MSI VENTUS 2X BLACK 8G OC model, available for an an-all-time low price of $334 (representing a nice 16% discount)—thanks to a promo code ("ZIPTECH") shaving off a further $45.60 from the sale price of $379.99. NVIDIA set an MSRP of $399.99 upon the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti's launch back in late May, generating plenty of ambivalence within the PC hardware enthusiast community. That pattern will likely repeat with next week's premiere of RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB variants—its recommended retail price is set at $499, with tricked out custom cards predicted to go beyond $550.

Potential buyers of the bog standard 8 GB GPU in the States will be somewhat happy to discover that Newegg is not limiting the sale and discounts to a single model. MSI's slightly fancier (triple fan design) VENTUS 3X 8G OC card is going for $351.99, and the GIGABYTE RTX 4060 Ti EAGLE plus ASUS RTX 4060 Ti DUAL OC are available at the same price. These deals look quite good when placed next to discounted GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB custom cards—these are getting blown out for $329 - 339.