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Friday, April 18th 2025

Chinese Firms Equip GeForce RTX 5090D with Blower-Type Coolers for AI Workstations

Chinese hardware enthusiasts and AI researchers are rolling out custom versions of NVIDIA's latest flagship GPU, the GeForce RTX 5090D "Blackwell" variant for China. Originally intended as a special model that complies with US export regulations, the RTX 5090D is proving to be an excellent choice for smaller AI labs. Building on the trend set by specialist firms modifying the RTX 3090 and RTX 4090, these teams have taken the GB202 chip and mounted it on new PCBs with blower‑style coolers better suited to AI server racks than gaming rigs. Instead of large fans and complex heatsinks, each card uses a dual‑slot blower design that pushes hot air straight out the back of the chassis.

The power connector has also been moved to the rear bracket, making it easier to stack cards in clusters without cables getting in the way. Each unit still packs 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, although the maximum power draw remains unconfirmed. While previous "D" series cards topped out around 450 W, with Blackwell, this figure might approach 575 W, similar to the regular RTX 5090. This blower cooler could be undersized for a near‑600 W TDP, but with undervolting and underclocking, it may operate with stability over long workloads. Given that Chinese AI labs are struggling to acquire enough GPU capacity, some smaller labs and university researchers are possibly far away from getting enough compute resources for their work. So, repackaging these GPUs into workstation bodies is the only choice to get some acceleration in the hands of the masses.

Sapphire Prepares PULSE A620AM WIFI MicroATX Motherboards

Sapphire Technology has given a sneak peek of its new PULSE A620AM WIFI motherboard. This board uses the AMD A620A chipset, comes in an microATX size, and has two slots for DDR5 memory. The PULSE A620AM WIFI boasts a 6+2+1 phase power system, with an aluminium heatsink that covers the VRM left-side area. Sapphire's tests show that the board "keeps steady and runs at consistent speeds when using high-end processors like the Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 7 9800X3D at full load."

For extras, this board lets you overclock DDR5 memory up to 7200 MT/s, has one PCIe 4.0 x16 slot and one PCIe 3.0 x4 slot, comes with two M.2 storage spots, and includes built-in Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 support. On the back of the Sapphire PULSE A620AM WIFI board, you'll find one HDMI port, one DisplayPort, four USB 2.0 ports, one PS/2 port for keyboard and mouse, two USB-A ports, one RJ45 Ethernet port, two Wi-Fi antenna plugs, and three audio jacks. IT Home reports that the board "will hit online stores starting April 21" at what they call a "budget-friendly price". Judging from the aesthetics and features, Sapphire PULSE A620AM WIFI motherboards are oriented toward users on a tight budget. Until the official release, we just have to wait and see Sapphire's vision of a "budget-friendly price".

Upgrading to Windows 11 Pro is Only $15 Right Now

In October of 2025, Microsoft will phase out support for Windows 10. For many users, it's free to upgrade, but the baseline version of Windows 11 is limited in what it can do. If you want a more advanced OS with improved security, a refined user interface, and even improvements for gaming, try Windows 11 Pro. Windows 11 Pro extends beyond the standard Windows 11 feature set, giving you advanced capabilities tailored to professional workloads. BitLocker device encryption, Hyper-V virtualization, and Windows Sandbox now come pre-loaded for secure data management and isolated testing environments.

Snap layouts and virtual desktops streamline multitasking. TPM 2.0 and Smart App Control bolster security with hardware and software-level protection. DirectX 12 Ultimate also improves GPU performance for graphics-intensive tasks like art or even gaming.

It would normally cost $199 to upgrade to Windows 11 Pro, but during this limited-time sale, it's only $14.97. No coupon needed.

Lian Li Refreshes LANCOOL 207 with 6-inch LCD Display

LIAN LI Industrial Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of chassis and PC accessories, unveils the LANCOOL 207 Digital, a clever approach to rethinking the layout of an ATX case. It is now equipped with a 6-inch customizable LCD to personalize and monitor CPU and GPU temperatures, etc. The chassis maintains an optimized front-mounted PSU design, pre-installed high-performance fans, and extensive cooling support, the LANCOOL 207 Digital offers a sleek and functional solution for PC builders at an affordable price of $109.99.

The LANCOOL 207 Digital features a 6-inch LCD seamlessly integrated into the front panel's base, providing both functionality and personalization. The screen boasts a 720x1600 resolution, a 60 Hz refresh rate, and a brightness of 500 nits, ensuring crisp and vivid visuals. Controlled through L-Connect 3 software, users can monitor their system's CPU, GPU, and fan performance metrics at a quick glance. They also can select from dynamic backgrounds and pre-made displays that are fully customizable with personal videos or background images to match their setup's aesthetic. In addition to customization, the display also serves as a secondary screen via a USB connection, offering added versatility for multitasking or system monitoring. In Offline mode, the LCD remains functional even when the system is powered off, displaying the time and date for continuous utility.

NVIDIA's Latest 576.02 WHQL Driver Add Up to 8% Performance Bump in Synthetic Benchmarks

NVIDIA's latest GeForce 576.02 WHQL driver, released on April 16, which brought support for the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti, appears to deliver unexpected performance gains for several "Blackwell" GeForce RTX 50 series GPUS in UL's 3DMark Steel Nomad benchmark. ComputerBase community users with RTX 5070, 5070 Ti, and 5080 GPUs reported three to eight percent score uplifts after upgrading, prompting ComputerBase to verify these claims under controlled conditions. Their independent testing confirms that the RTX 5080 jumps from 8,094 to 8,550 points (a 5.6 percent boost), the RTX 5070 Ti climbs from 6,463 to 6,932 points (7.3 percent), and the RTX 5070 improves from 4,838 to 5,242 points (8.4 percent).

By contrast, the flagship RTX 5090 sees only a marginal lift from 14,032 to 14,117 points, which is well within standard test variance, while the RTX 5060 Ti remains essentially unchanged at roughly 3,530 points, likely because it launched with an up-to-date driver. When evaluating other popular UL benchmarks, namely Speed Way and Time Spy, ComputerBase observed no measurable uplift from driver version 576.02. In fact, some Time Spy runs dipped slightly, underlining that the anomaly appears confined to Steel Nomad's specific workload. It's important to note that synthetic benchmarks do not always translate directly to in-game performance. Historical data from ComputerBase's GPU suite suggests Blackwell cards sometimes outperform their synthetic gains in actual titles, but results vary by engine and title. Besides RTX 5060 Ti support and a strange performance increase, the 576.02 WHQL fixes a host of game‑specific crashes, stutters, aliasing, and stability issues across titles like Fortnite, Overwatch 2, Hellblade II, Control, and more.

ASUS Announces the New Chromebook CX14/CX15 Series

ASUS today announced the new ASUS Chromebook CX14/CX15 series of powerful yet budget-friendly 14-inch and 15-inch laptops. The series features a stylish and sustainable premium design, and the laptops are also available with Chromebook Plus options for enhanced performance and Google AI experiences.

The series features an exciting range of seven colors—with five choices for CX14 and five for CX15—and three different surface finishes. The eco-conscious construction uses 30% recycled plastics.

Canva Lovers Rejoice: Microsoft's $15 App Makes You a Design Genius Without Subscriptions

You might know Canva for its flashy templates and social-friendly visuals, but when it comes to creating professional diagrams or flowcharts that actually mean something to your boss, Microsoft Visio quietly reigns supreme. And now, it's cheaper than ever—just $14.97 for a lifetime license via StackSocial (reg. $249.99).

Visio is the diagramming tool professionals turn to when a wall of bullet points just won't cut it. Whip up flowcharts, org charts, floor plans, and network diagrams in a matter of minutes. It's like Canva, but for engineers, project managers, and data nerds who need to communicate clearly and get stuff done.

Get a Microsoft Visio lifetime license for $14.97 (reg. $249.99) while this deal is still live. No subscription, no fluff, just pro-grade visuals made easy.

Team Group Introduces the X2 MAX USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 Portable SSD And the S5 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Flash Drive

Team Group Inc., the leading global memory and storage provider, continues to refine its diverse storage portfolio with the launch of the Team Group X2 MAX USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 Portable SSD and S5 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Flash Drive. Designed to provide a complete personal storage solution, both products feature an ultra-compact design with versatile capacity options to meet a wide range of user needs.

The Team Group X2 MAX USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 Portable SSD supports USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 and delivers transfer speeds of up to 1,000 MB/s for a lightning-fast and seamless user experience when managing large files, transferring multimedia, and editing high-resolution photos and videos. Featuring both dual Type-A and Type-C connectors, the X2 MAX ensures broad compatibility across a wide range of devices, including the latest PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, enabling seamless access to AAA games. With up to 2 TB of storage and weighing only 12 g, the X2 MAX eliminates the need for additional adapters or cables. The high-capacity, high-performance portable device allows users to easily store and access 4K video, high-resolution photos, and multimedia files anytime, anywhere.
Thursday, April 17th 2025

Today's Reviews

Cases
Graphics Cards
Mouse
Teevolution Terra Pro Review

Teevolution Terra Pro Review

Modeled after the Logitech G403/G703, the right-handed ergonomic Terra Pro comes with PixArt's PAW3950 sensor, optical main button switches, a 51 g weight, and 70 hours of battery life. In addition, the optional 8K dongle provides wireless 8000 Hz polling.

MSI Unveils New Lineup of Gaming Desktops Powered By NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series Graphics Cards

MSI unveiled its new lineup of AI gaming desktops featuring NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards, from the powerful RTX 5090 to the recently released RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060. The GeForce RTX 50 Series significantly enhances both gaming and AI task performance in these new systems. Gamers can expect higher frame rates in demanding titles, while content creators will benefit from faster rendering times and improved AI-assisted workflows.

The integration of NVIDIA DLSS 4 technology is a standout feature across the lineup. DLSS 4 delivers significantly faster frame rates and superior image quality for all RTX 50 Series systems, ensuring MSI gaming desktops provide responsive gameplay and immersive visual experiences. These advancements allow the new gaming systems to deliver exceptional performance in the latest titles while handling demanding AI tasks with ease.

Bionic Bay Out Now on PC & PlayStation 5

Speed running scientists and challenge hunters, rejoice. After years of crafting, your invitation to Bionic Bay is now available on Steam and PlayStation 5. It began with a chance meeting on Reddit, and now the Bionic Bay story continues with you, our trusted Research Participants. In Bionic Bay you'll master the art of teleportation, control the very fabric of time itself, manipulate gravity and navigate a path filled with dangers. Our team will provide you with the tools you'll need to traverse this intricately crafted pixel art world. But don't let the stunning visuals fool you, this is no slow-moving narrative crawl. The best way to navigate Bionic Bay is with fast movements, precise controls, exceptional timing, puzzle solving intuition and just maybe a little bit of luck.

What you've seen in the Bionic Bay demo is just the beginning. Bionic Bay v1.0 includes 23 painstakingly created levels, with an increasing challenge to simply stay alive through your journey. Importantly, however, the path can be as helpful as it is dangerous, and Research Participants will need to judge the way ahead accordingly. In addition to the main game, we've also developed the Bionic Bay Online mode, with a dedicated build for speed runners and those hungry for a challenge. In this demanding arena, you'll have the opportunity to customize your own scientist, and claim your place on our transient and global leaderboards.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB Variant Benched by Chinese Reviewer, Lags Behind 16 GB Sibling in DLSS 4 Test Scenario

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB graphics card design received little fanfare when review embargoes lifted mid-way through the working week. Reportedly by official instruction, involved board partners sent out 16 GB samples to evaluators. Multiple Western outlets are currently attempting to source GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB cards—on their own dime—including TechPowerUp. As mentioned in his conclusive rundown of PALIT's GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Infinity 3 16 GB model, W1zzard commented on this situation: "personally, I'm very interested in my results for the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB, which I'm trying to buy now." The ever reliable harukaze5719 has already stumbled upon one such review. Yesterday, Carbon-based Technology Research Institute (CBTRI) uploaded their findings onto the Chinese bilibili video platform.

Two ASUS options were compared to each other: an 8 GB Hatsune Miku Special Edition card, and a better known property: PRIME RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB. In most situations the two variants perform similarly. A clear difference was demonstrated when CBTRI's lab test moved into a DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation (MFG) phase. Both harukaze5719 and Tom's Hardware noted a significant gulf—the latter's report observed: "in Cyberpunk 2077, for example, the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB inexplicably performed worse than the RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB at native 1440p resolution. While enabling MFG helped improve performance, pushing it to 4x delivered underwhelming results, with the 16 GB version providing 22% higher performance than the 8 GB card." Rumors have swirled about the late arrival of GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB cards at retail; potentially a week after the launch of 16 GB siblings. As evidenced by early results, potential buyers should consider paying a little extra ($50) for a larger pool of VRAM. Team Green's introductory material outlined starter price tags of $429 (16 GB) and $379 (8 GB).

Canonical Releases Ubuntu 25.04 Plucky Puffin

Today Canonical announced the release of Ubuntu 25.04, codenamed "Plucky Puffin. Ubuntu 25.04 delivers the latest GNOME 48 with support for triple buffering and an improved install and boot experience. The introduction of a "devpack" for Spring expands toolchain availability in Ubuntu. Advancements in silicon enablement with Canonical's partners deliver performance improvements for AI workloads on Intel GPUs, and support for confidential computing on AMD SEV-SNP.

"Plucky Puffin combines the very latest in open source desktop technology with a focus on making high quality developer tooling readily available on Ubuntu. Ubuntu 25.04 delivers performance improvements across Intel GPUs, and a new purpose-built ISO for ARM64 hardware enthusiasts. Our increasing support for confidential computing with AMD SEV-SNP makes Ubuntu the target platform to deploy AI workloads securely and at scale on both public clouds and private data centers.", Jon Seager, VP of Ubuntu Engineering at Canonical

Tempest Rising's Early Unlock Tier Available Now - Exclusive to Deluxe Edition Players

Weapon systems live, awaiting orders...Your army is ready, Commander! Tempest Rising Early Unlock is now available for all players who pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition. We want to thank you all for supporting our game since we first announced it way back in 2022. We read every comment, and the excitement we've seen from RTS players around the world has kept us motivated throughout development. Also, a special thank you to all the players and other developers in the community who played Tempest Rising at live events, tried out our demos, and participated in our Closed Beta; your passion for RTS games was clear, and the feedback you gave us was invaluable during development! We hope you enjoy Tempest Rising as much as we enjoyed making it!

Double Time!
If you have not pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition, but are now considering playing early, don't worry, there's still time. Or maybe you're looking to get access to the Commander Pack items, like the Commander Main Menu backdrop. You can still purchase either edition before April 24 and still get the early bonuses for each! Below, you will find a brief breakdown of the Early Unlock information.

Nintendo Revises Switch 2 Product Info; VRR Support Scrubbed from Some Official Sites

Digital Foundry's Oliver Mackenzie and a member of the Resetera video game discussion forum have alerted the wider community to a small change within the text on several of Nintendo's Switch 2 product web presences. Mackenzie's social media post included a comparative screenshot; showing before and after conditions; Digital Foundry's Canadian correspondent provided comment: "some weird stuff going on at Nintendo. Looks like they've changed their US website to no longer mention VRR support for TV play? Only HDR and 120 Hz support get a call-out." Additional press coverage has put spotlights on Nintendo's Japan and Canada websites; both regional offices have scrubbed "VRR" (variable refresh rate) from Switch 2 promotional material. At the time of writing, Nintendo of Europe and UK's hardware feature sections still showcase an unadulterated description: "bring games to life with a larger 1080p screen—or connect to a TV and play in up to 4K resolution. Support for HDR, VRR, and frame rates up to 120 FPS let you enjoy brilliant colour, clarity, and smooth gameplay."

Video Games Chronicle and a few other news sites have reached out to Nintendo for comment regarding this confusing situation. The Switch 2 maker is notorious for its guarded stance when discussing technical details—as evidenced recently, by a top employee deflecting responsibility in NVIDIA's general direction. Mackenzie reckons that VRR support—when paired with compatible televisions and monitors—could be added post-launch (June 5). It is possible that Nintendo's engineering department has removed this feature from its day one bag of tricks. Meanwhile, the Switch 2's surprisingly capable integrated display is expected to arrive without any technological compromises.

Xbox April Update: Buy Games with the Xbox Mobile App, Remote Play Enabled Across More Devices

This month brings a variety of exciting updates across our gaming platforms, including easy and convenient purchasing within the Xbox app on mobile, the ability to stream your own game on Xbox consoles, recommended ways to free up storage space, and more. Read on below for more information on these features and others coming soon to your favorite devices.

Xbox App on Mobile
Buy games, Join Game Pass, and Redeem Perks Directly from the Xbox app. We're excited to announce that one of the most requested features from the Xbox community is coming to the Xbox app. Players will soon be able to buy games and add-on content, join Game Pass, and redeem Perks directly from the Xbox app on mobile. Be ready to play on day one by pre-ordering games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 and then set it to pre-install on Xbox consoles from the app. Buy games like Assassin's Creed Shadows and MLB The Show 25. Players will also be able to join Game Pass directly from the Xbox app. Ultimate members can redeem Perks like the Sea of Thieves Seventh Serving Emote directly from the app. This experience will start to roll out to beta users on iOS and Android and will be available soon for everyone on the Google Play Store on Android devices and the Apple Store. If players already have a saved form of payment, the Xbox app will display a Buy button on game detail pages, allowing them to purchase games and add-on content with just two clicks.

Teardown of GIGABYTE RTX 5060 Ti EAGLE Card Reveals Stubby PCB Design & Short PCIe Connector

GIGABYTE's GeForce RTX 5060 Ti EAGLE OC graphics card model was officially unveiled on Tuesday (April 15). Two days later, the manufacturer's PR team disclosed extra in-depth details—a hype-up section stated: "(our) EAGLE series features a design inspired by the fusion of aerospace battleships and sci-fi elements, making it a preferred choice for sci-fi enthusiasts and younger users...These graphics cards are more than just components—they become battleships within the system, enhancing the overall aesthetic and immersive experience.⁠" Yesterday's press release did not delve into under-the-hood information, but reviewers have discovered that GIGABYTE's engineering department has bunged an extra short PCB design into the new-gen EAGLE's dual-fan enclosure.

Germany's HardwareLuxx received samples for evaluation purposes—directly from three brands: the aforementioned GeForce RTX 5060 Ti EAGLE OC 16 GB SKU, as well as MSI's GAMING TRIO model, and PALIT's Infinity 3 card. The site's editor—Andreas Schilling—was enchanted by the EAGLE's diminutive setup; both externally and internally. As explained at the beginning of HardwareLuxx's review, a main highlight is the brand-new product's size: "at 215 mm, the card is particularly short. Also striking is the 8-pin connector located directly behind the slot cover—an unusual position for the additional power supply. Equally striking is the short PCI Express connector. Since the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti features a PCI Express interface with eight lanes, Gigabyte eliminates the need for a longer PCB and shortens the connector accordingly." GIGABYTE has likely deployed its dinky PCB layout in new WINDFORCE (standard and overclocked) options. VideoCardz believes that the shorter design is reserved for dual-fan cards. By rule of thumb, triple-fan cooled cards are available with the regular length board and connector. Even GIGABYTE's upcoming GeForce RTX 5060 OC Low Profile 8G (182 mm) model sticks with a "full-sized" PCIe interface.

NVIDIA Releases 108 GB UE5 Path‑Tracing Demo "Zorah"

Today, NVIDIA made its tech demo Zorah, A New Era of Rendering, available as a free 108 GB download. Built for Unreal Engine 5, Zorah shows off the sheer power of the new Blackwell architecture, led by the GeForce RTX 5090 and its neural rendering capabilities. After debuting the first version at CES 2025 and refining it at GDC, the company has now opened the doors for anyone with a fast connection and enough storage to explore it firsthand. Downloading the project takes about 15 minutes on a Gigabit link, after which you can fire up Unreal Engine 5 (available from the Epic Games Store) and dive straight into the demo. Once it's running, you'll find yourself in a scene built from nearly 500 million triangles, more than 30,000 materials, over 2,000 particle lights, and 1,500 textures. All of that horsepower would grind any GPU to a halt without NVIDIA's suite of neural tricks.

At the core of Zorah's performance are features like DLSS 4 with frame generation, a Transformer‑based AI model, and the full set of RTX Neural Shaders. These small neural networks run right inside the shaders, creating textures, materials, lighting volumes, and even hair detail in real time. Supporting tools such as RTX Texture Filter, Neural Material networks, Neural Texture Compression, Character Rendering, Neural Faces, Neural Hair, and Mega Geometry help round out the package, delivering visuals that look every bit as rich as big‑budget CGI. That level of efficiency shows how neural rendering can boost image quality and interactivity without hogging resources. NVIDIA hopes developers will experiment with these new tools and push game graphics into what the company calls a new era. If you have a modern RTX 5090 rig and a bit of patience, you can see that future for yourself. Click here to start the 108 GB download.

Gedonia 2 Launched into Steam Early Access

The game is out now! Hello everyone! It's hard to believe, but the game is now available on Steam Early Access! After two years of hard work, me and my team are incredibly excited for all of you to finally give this game a try. We poured our hearts and souls into this project, and I can confidently say that this is the best and most ambitious game I've ever produced in 13 years of my game development journey!

But this is just the first step for the long road of Early Access for Gedonia 2. We will constantly improve our game based on your feedback and suggestions, and will try to fully realize our ambitious vision. Right now the game is in fairly solid state, based on our internal testing, but there still might be some bugs and issues in there, especially with multiplayer, which could produce some disconnects and other bugs. We will try to find and fix all of them in the next weeks post launch. Thank you all for your support over these years, and please, leave your feedback, we will read all of it!

Apple "Vision Air" Headset Leaks Suggest Lightweight Titanium Parts & "Dark Blue" Exterior

Apple is reportedly working on two different new-gen Vision mixed reality headset models. As covered on TechPowerUp's news section earlier on in the week, one rumored "more budget-friendly" option could be a lightweight product. Yesterday, Kosutami (@Kosutami_Ito) posited that Apple engineers have realized a thinner design. According to inside information, weight reduction has been achieved through the fitting of select titanium parts—Kosutami highlighted the lighter Vision package's connectors and battery as potential candidates. Industry watchdogs reckon that the rest of this rumored design will rely on (largely) aluminium and plastic pieces. The tipster also teased a "graphite dark blue" colorway; harkening back to iPhone 5's Slate Black aesthetic. A theorized "Vision Air" label has emerged from Kosutami's recent social media post.

Historically, Apple's Air notebook models have consistently launched as lighter/cheaper alternatives to MacBook Pro offerings. Mac specialist and general PC hardware news sites have picked up on additional Kosutami bulletins, going back to late last week. Photos of a speculated "Vision Air" power cable were shared online, last weekend. An initial upload showcased an anodized aluminium "Lightning-style" connector "finished in Apple's distinctive Midnight Blue/Black" colorway. MacRumors inspected a newer set of images, and explained: "the (original) Vision Pro uses a similar connector, except with twelve pins instead of eight, suggesting that the new cable is part of a more significant redesign, at least of the external battery. The audio strap connector appears to be the same design as that of the Vision Pro."

Bend Studio Lead Discusses Days Gone Remastered's Speedrun & Permadeath Modes

Welcome—or welcome back—to Days Gone, Bend Studio's sprawling open-world adventure-survival epic. In this PlayStation 5/PC remaster launching April 25, you'll once again be able to enjoy Deacon St. John's journey across the gorgeous natural beauty of the Oregon wilderness-provided you can deal with the mind-boggling amount of mutant Freaker monstrosities that want to shred you into tiny little chunks. We reached out to Kevin McAllister, Creative and Product Lead at Bend Studio, for some additional details about the anticipated remaster, including its notable new additions. So grab your survival gear, gas up your bike, and read on to hear about how Days Gone is better than ever on the PlayStation 5 (and PC).

Back in the days
We first asked how Bend Studio feels about revisiting their flagship game: "Days Gone is a special game for us," says McAllister. "It's a special game to our players, too. We got the opportunity to remaster a game that we released originally on the PS4 in 2019 and ported to the PC in 2021. Six years after the original, technology has improved-we have the power of the PS5 now. There was a lot more we could do to showcase the game's potential." We then asked about how the PlayStation 5's capabilities are enhancing the Days Gone experience. "The graphical improvements we've made-you'll see the difference," McAllister explains. "There's increased lighting, increased shadow quality, increased fog depth. For example, nighttime is now darker; the moon is more natural-looking. The blue sky is more natural, too-Days Gone is a very realistic-looking game. And we've taken that to a new level with the PS5." Sounds like a great fit for the remaster's new-and-improved Photo Mode, with more lighting options and instant day-and-night switches for beautiful environmental photography.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE Spec Sheet Leaked; Report Suggests 3072 Stream Processor Count

The unannounced Radeon RX 9070 GRE 12 GB graphics card model seems to be next in line within AMD's RDNA 4 range. Despite official presentation material teasing a Q2'25 launch of Radeon RX 9060 Series cards, insiders believe that Team Red will debut an in-between option—possibly before the arrival of Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB and 8 GB SKUs. Rumored new-generation "Great Radeon Edition" (GRE) cards are expected to launch as Chinese market exclusives; potentially as a "strategic" gap fill. Local board partner moles have whispered about almost zero replenishments of Radeon RX 9070 (non-XT) 16 GB stock in the region. As reported earlier today, some of VideoCardz's inside sources insist that Radeon RX 9070 GRE cards will—eventually—replace Radeon RX 9070 options. Initial leaks suggested fundamental "step-down" specification pillars: 12 GB of VRAM, a 192-bit memory interface, and a "reduced" "Navi 48" GPU die.

According to fresh claims, the Radeon RX 9070 GRE model could utilize a "Navi 48 XL" GPU variant. VideoCardz reckons that a quarter of the original GPU core count has been shut off; resulting in a total of 3072 stream processors. Comparatively, the Radeon 9070 XT arrived with 4096 SPs. The Radeon 9070 launched with 3584 units. The report delved into alleged core frequency details: "the RX 9070 GRE's clocks will be higher than the RX 9070, reportedly at 2.79 GHz boost, resulting in around 17.1 TFLOPS compared to 18 TFLOPS on the RX 9070...Some custom variants we know of will approach a 3.0 GHz boost clock, so there is definitely room for overclocking." The latest spec sheet leak confirms a 12 GB pool of VRAM, in GDDR6 form—VideoCardz weighed in with some embellishments: "the memory will not be clocked at 20 Gbps, as on (already launched) RX 9070 (XT) and (incoming) RX 9060 XT, but at 18 Gbps. This means that the memory bandwidth will be about 1/3 lower than the RX 9070 (XT) at 432 GB/s." Certain industry observers reckon that AMD will continue to rely on AIBs to produce an all-custom lineup of forthcoming RDNA 4 products. So-called "reference designs" (MBA) have turned up in China, but only in very limited numbers—sold via hazy avenues.

Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree Launches Today

The wait is over. Today marks the official release of Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree, the dark fantasy action RPG developed by Primal Game Studio and published by Knights Peak. The game is available now on PC (without 3rd-Party-DRM), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Set in the bleak and enchanting world of Faelduum, Mandragora invites players to take on the role of an Inquisitor in a land where magic is forbidden and the tyrannical King Priest and his agents rule from the shadows. Will you follow the law—or break it? The fate of the realm lies in your hands.

Micron Announces Business Unit Reorganization to Capitalize on AI Growth Across All Market Segments

Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), a leader in innovative memory and storage solutions, today announced a market segment-based reorganization of its business units to capitalize on the transformative growth driven by AI, from data centers to edge devices.

Micron has maintained multiple generations of industry leadership in DRAM and NAND technology and has the strongest competitive positioning in its history. Micron's industry-leading product portfolio, combined with world-class manufacturing execution enables the development of differentiated solutions for its customers across end markets. As high-performance memory and storage become increasingly vital to drive the growth of AI, this Business Unit reorganization will allow Micron to stay at the forefront of innovation in each market segment through deeper customer engagement to address the dynamic needs of the industry.

Fanatec Introduces CSL Elite Steering Wheel Porsche Vision GT

Fanatec, a brand of Corsair and the global leader in sim racing hardware, proudly announces the launch of the CSL Elite Steering Wheel Porsche Vision GT. This officially licensed steering wheel, inspired by the Porsche Vision Gran Turismo concept car in Gran Turismo 7, brings Porsche's visionary design to sim racers worldwide. The CSL Elite Steering Wheel Porsche Vision GT features a 310 mm diameter and a robust cast aluminium frame that balances strength and lightness, making it suitable for the full range of Fanatec bases—from the 5 Nm CSL DD to the 25 Nm Podium DD2. To retain the signature shape and spoke cutouts, our engineers developed an innovative shifter mechanism, delivering a uniquely tactile response.

This is the first wheel to use Fanatec's new Tactaris material. This premium microfiber fabric enhances durability, comfort, and handling during intense racing sessions. Ergonomically optimized for sim racing, the CSL Elite Steering Wheel Porsche Vision GT features a versatile input layout, including two buttons built into the rim—another first for a Fanatec wheel. It features seven rotary encoders, including two multi-position switches and a 7-way FunkySwitch. The four primary encoders are automatically assigned to Gran Turismo 7's MFD system, allowing quick access to traction control, brake balance, torque split, and fuel mapping. The Tuning Menu button is seamlessly integrated into the Porsche crest, allowing for real-time force feedback adjustments via the OLED display.

AOC Announces the 27-inch Q27G40XMN Gaming Monitor with Mini-LED Backlight

AOC Gaming introduces a major leap forward in display technology with the launch of the Q27G40XMN, a stunning 27" QHD monitor powered by Mini-LED backlighting—engineered for gamers who crave uncompromising contrast, color, and clarity. With over 500 dimming zones, Mini-LED delivers far deeper blacks and brighter highlights than traditional LED panels, offering precision lighting control and cinematic HDR that brings every game world to life. Whether you're navigating a dark dungeon or watching the sun break over a battlefield, the Q27G40XMN ensures every detail pops with next-level realism.

But it's not just about looks—this monitor is built for speed. With a 180 Hz refresh rate and lightning-fast 0.5 ms response time, players can react instantly, track motion clearly, and compete at the highest level without compromise.

AMD "Ryzen Z2 A" APU Could Utilize Older "Van Gogh" RDNA 2 iGPU

Two weeks ago, unannounced APU model names—"Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme" and "Ryzen Z2 A"—were leaked by Hoang Anh Phu. AMD introduced its Ryzen Z2 series at CES 2025; officially consisting of three options: Z2 Extreme, Z2 and Z2 Go. Technical make up of the two alleged new additions remained a mystery, but watchdog theorizations positioned the rumored "Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme" as the (expanded) lineup's flagship—likely due to the enablement of an integrated XDNA 2 NPU. The vanilla Z2 Extreme APU is a handheld gaming-oriented product; existing as a spin-off from Team Red's "Strix Point" mobile processor design—utilizing Zen 5 and RDNA 3.5 technologies. By similar deduction, the leaked "Ryzen Z2 A" SKU was viewed as a "Hawk Point" (Zen 4 + RDNA 3) processor, possibly with a "switched on" AI aspect. Earlier today Hoang Anh Phu provided a new follow-up claim—this morning's social media post proposes a return to "Van Gogh" pastures.

The not-yet-official "Ryzen Z2 A" APU design could be derived from the Steam Deck's Zen 2 + RDNA 2 package. Valve and AMD's collaboration resulted in the "Van Gogh" custom chip design—also known as "Aerith"—debuting back in 2022. A die shrink—from 7 nm to 6 nm—arrived in the form of Steam Deck OLED's "Sephiroth" chipset (2023). Phu's latest prediction places the "Ryzen Z2 A" closer to the already unveiled Ryzen Z2 Go, graphics technology-wise. As discussed in the past, this entry-level "Phoenix 2" solution sports an RDNA 2 iGPU, albeit paired with Zen 3 processor cores. The Ryzen Z2 Go chipset powers Lenovo's Legion Go S handheld gaming PC—in the near future, this offering will be made available with two different operating system options: Windows 11 or SteamOS. As extrapolated from Phu's fresh prediction, similar-ish lower end devices—prepped with Valve's proprietary OS—could arrive with "Ryzen Z2 A" APUs onboard.

TSMC Expects to Produce 30 Percent of its Sub-2nm Chips in the US, Denies Intel Joint Venture

On the back of TSMC's first quarter report, news is coming out of Taiwan that the company is expecting to produce as much as a third of its sub 2 nm chips in its US fabs, at some point in the future. This is according to comments made by TSMC's chair and CEO C.C. Wei during its online investors conference. As we've already mentioned, TSMC is looking to expand in Arizona with a further two fabs later this year, both targeting sub 2 nm chip production, but the comments by the CEO suggests that these might be bigger fabs than initially expected, if they're going to be able to produce as much as a third of all of TSMC's sub 2 nm output by some time around the next decade.

Apparently the move to build the new fabs is due to increased demand from TSMC's US customers, which includes AMD, Apple, NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Broadcom, to mention its biggest US customers. It seems like those that are planning to produce chips at TSMC's new fabs in the US are accepting an increase in cost, although it has apparently been framed as a value proposition from TSMC's side towards its customers, which have accepted it as such. At the same time Wei once again refuted that TSMC is in any kind of talks with Intel or any other companies about joint ventures, technology licensing or technology transfer. This should put further rumours about any form of joint venture to rest for now.

NVIDIA GeForce NOW Gets Eleven New Titles, Including Hunt: Showdown 1896 and Forever Skies

As the days grow longer and the flowers bloom, GFN Thursday brings a fresh lineup of games to brighten the week. Dive into thrilling hunts and dark fantasy adventures with the arrivals of titles like Hunt: Showdown 1896 - now available on Xbox and PC Game Pass - and Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree on GeForce NOW. Whether chasing bounties in the Colorado Rockies or battling chaos in a cursed land, players will gain unforgettable experiences with these games in the cloud. Plus, roll with the punches in Capcom's MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, part of 11 games GeForce NOW is adding to its cloud gaming library - featuring over 2,000 titles playable with GeForce RTX 4080 performance.

Spring Into Gaming Anywhere
With the arrivals of Hunt: Showdown 1896 and Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree in the cloud, GeForce NOW members can take their gaming journeys anywhere, from the wild frontiers of the American West to the shadowy forests of a dark fantasy realm.

Corsair Launches VOID WIRELESS v2 Gaming Headset with Dolby Atmos

Corsair, a leading global developer and manufacturer of high-performance gear and technology for gamers, content creators, and PC enthusiasts, is proud to launch the VOID WIRELESS v2 Gaming Headset, the latest high-performance headset in the award-winning VOID line. The Corsair VOID family of gaming headsets has become synonymous with quality gaming audio, lasting comfort, and superb build quality, and the new VOID Wireless v2 continues this with a range of features and updates.

The VOID WIRELESS v2 pulls gamers into a truly immersive experience thanks to custom-tuned 50 mm neodymium audio drivers that create high-fidelity, dynamic soundscapes with incredible clarity and depth. Combined with Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio, players can pinpoint every footstep, explosion, and movement with incredible directional accuracy, adding depth and realism to their game.

Foxconn Allegedly Moving its iPhone Production to India

The Taiwan media is reporting that Foxconn has been busy moving more and more of its production from China to India, with the main focus being on Apple's iPhone and iPad products for now. Foxconn has been producing iPhones for the Indian market in India since 2019, but the story here is that China has banned Foxconn from sending Chinese staff to India to train the local staff and oversee the production. This has resulted in Foxconn having to send staff from Taiwan to India instead, but they might not be as familiar with the entire production process as the ones that are based in the factories in China.

This is only part of the issue though, as the news reports are also mentioning that China is preventing Foxconn from sending machines and equipment needed for the production to India. The same issue is said to be affecting other Taiwanese companies that are moving some of their production out of China to India, but they've had no issues when it comes to sending equipment to other nations in South East Asia. The equipment is apparently not possible to produce locally in India either, which means that these companies are more or less being forced to keep their production in China. To work around this issue, Foxconn is said to be sending half-finished phones and components to India, to do the final assembly there, to keep up production in India. So far, this is just rumours out of Taiwan, but it looks like China is intent on keeping the production on its shores for as long as it can.

GameSir Introduces X5 Lite - a Lightweight Entry-level Mobile Controller

Looking for the perfect entry-level mobile controller? Meet the GameSir X5 Lite—lightweight, widely compatible, and designed for all-day comfort. With Hall Effect sticks, cushioned triggers, and more, it delivers everything you need for a smoother, more comfortable mobile gaming experience. Now available for pre-order on the GameSir official website. Designed for flexibility, the X5 Lite supports both Android and iOS devices from 105 mm to 213 mm wide. Enjoy ultra-low latency gaming sessions with the GameSir movable Type-C port for a secure connection and lag-free play.

At just 135.4 grams, the X5 Lite is built for long sessions without fatigue. Its ergonomic design and laser-engraved textured grips ensure a comfortable, non-slip hold—whether you're gaming on the couch or on the go. Equipped with GameSir anti-drift Hall Effect sticks, the X5 Lite delivers pinpoint accuracy and 360° seamless control. Built for precision and longevity, these sticks are highly responsive and resistant to wear and drift—ensuring smooth, consistent input over time. It also features durable membrane triggers and buttons with cushioned feedback for a quieter, more comfortable gaming experience—perfect for long sessions without finger fatigue.

SolidRun Introduces HoneyComb Ryzen V3000 Mini-ITX Development Platform

SolidRun, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance System on Module (SOM) solutions, Single Board Computers (SBC) and network edge solutions, has announced the launch of the HoneyComb Ryzen V3000 development platform. This innovative Mini-ITX board, built around SolidRun's Ryzen Embedded V3000 COM Express 7 (CX7) module, provides outstanding performance, reliability, and flexibility for prototyping and expediting time to market for industrial, networking, and edge computing solutions.

Combining SolidRun's AMD Ryzen V3000 CX7 Module, equipped with the AMD Ryzen Embedded 8-core V3C18I processor running at 1.9 GHz (base) and up to 3.8 GHz (boost) and 64 GB DDR5 memory, the HoneyComb Ryzen V3000 Mini-ITX development platform, equipped with fast and reliable PCIe Gen 4 NVMe storage, delivers exceptional computing power and performance in an ultra-compact form factor. Designed to withstand extreme conditions this system includes a powered CPU cooler, to support operating in environments ranging from -40°C to 85°C and can be configured to run at 15 to 45 Watts.

MicroProse to Publish Airborne Ranger: Fightout Game

MicroProse, recognized for its contributions to military simulation and strategy games, is pleased to announce plans to publish Airborne Ranger: Fightout.
This new action-packed title builds on the foundation of the 1987 classic while embracing modern gameplay elements.

Airborne Ranger: Fightout single-player and co-operative game for up to four players, the game offers a blend of tactical action and survival mechanics. Players step into a near-future world of chaos and conflict, scavenging resources, upgrading skills, and working together to complete challenging missions.
Co-op play emphasizes teamwork and strategy, as squads coordinate to navigate varied maps, accomplish objectives, and make high-risk extractions for valuable rewards.

CRKD Drop New Fortnite Collection of Collectible Gaming Gear

CRKD, the premium collectible gaming brand behind the award-winning Nitro Deck, NEO S and ATOM collectible controllers, announced today a new range of Fortnite themed collectible gaming accessories.

The new Fortnite themed range of accessories, follows the successful launch of the CRKD Rocket League collection and the Festival Controller launch, a game pad designed for Fortnite Festival.

Windows 11 April Update Triggers BSOD, Breaks Windows Hello

Ever since people installed Microsoft's April cumulative update for Windows 11 24H2 (KB5055523), many have been greeted by a blue screen showing error code 0x18B and the message SECURE_KERNEL_ERROR. What started as a few scattered reports after March's KB5053656 and KB5053598 patches quickly became a widespread frustration once the April release went live. Some PCs reboot every minute or two, while others refuse to start up at all. Microsoft has acknowledged the problem in an updated support notice and is rolling out a Known Issue Rollback (KIR) to strip out the offending code. Home users should see the fix applied automatically within 24 hours, though you can speed things along by signing back in after a crash, opening Settings > Update & Security, and checking for updates up to five times. The rollback won't appear in your update history, but it will install quietly in the background.

IT teams don't need to wait, either. Administrators can push the KIR patch via Group Policy, and full instructions are available on Microsoft's support site. While the company hasn't detailed exactly what triggers the SECURE_KERNEL_ERROR or how often it occurs, a permanent correction is set to arrive in a future monthly update. In addition to the blue screens and reboot loops, some users have reported that Windows Hello facial recognition and fingerprint login stopped working. The quick workaround is removing and reconfiguring your biometric credentials. However, a complete repair is expected in May. After installing April's update, you may also notice a new "Inetpub" folder on your C: drive. This directory is the default home for Internet Information Services web files, and Microsoft confirms it was created on purpose to support optional web‑hosting features. If you haven't enabled IIS, the folder will sit unused and doesn't pose any risk, so avoid deleting it to prevent potential errors if you choose to turn those services on later. In the meantime, keep Windows Updates checked for any new patches.

TSMC Expands U.S. Footprint with Two New Fabs in Arizona

TSMC is speeding up its plans to grow worldwide, the company's Chairman, C.C. Wei is announcing they'll start building their third and fourth fabs in Arizona later this year. This comes after TSMC finished constructing the second Arizona plant while the first fab started volume production in Q4 2024. TSMC wants to open its second factory about six months earlier than planned due to increasing customer demand. The first factory will make 4 nm chips, the second will target 3 nm chips, and the newer ones will work on even smaller N2 and A16 nodes. This rapid expansion is part of TSMC's additional $100 billion investment to build five more semiconductor plants and a research center in the U.S. In total, TSMC will invest $165 billion in the United States.

Besides its US operations, TSMC keeps pushing forward with its worldwide manufacturing plans. Wei dismissed rumors of setbacks at the company's upcoming Kumamoto plant in Japan. He confirmed that their first fab started mass production in late 2024, achieving excellent yields. They plan to begin building a second Japanese facility this year, once the infrastructure is ready. The company's European expansion in Dresden is also on track, with strong backing from both the European Commission and the German federal government. They broke ground at the Dresden site in August 2024 as Europe's first FinFET-capable dedicated foundry operation.

JEDEC and Industry Leaders Collaborate to Release JESD270-4 HBM4 Standard

JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in the development of standards for the microelectronics industry, today announced the publication of its highly anticipated High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) DRAM standard: HBM4. Designed as an evolutionary step beyond the previous HBM3 standard, JESD270-4 HBM4 will further enhance data processing rates while maintaining essential features such as higher bandwidth, power efficiency, and increased capacity per die and/or stack, because the higher bandwidth enables the higher data processing rate.

The advancements introduced by HBM4 are vital for applications that require efficient handling of large datasets and complex calculations, including generative artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing, high-end graphics cards, and servers. HBM4 introduces numerous improvements to the prior version of the standard, including:

Manli Releases the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Graphics Cards

Manli Technology Group Limited is proud to announce the Manli GeForce RTX 5060 Ti graphics card. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti, powered by the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, enables game-changing AI capabilities in the latest games and apps. Multiply performance with NVIDIA DLSS 4, enjoy realistic graphics with ray tracing, and take your creativity further with NVIDIA Studio.

Manli Design
There are 4,608 CUDA cores powering the RTX 5060 Ti. It will be launched in two versions: one with 16 GB and another with 8 GB of memory, both featuring GDDR7 with speeds of up to 28 Gbps. Equipped with 5th Gen Tensor Cores, it delivers up to 759 AI TOPS. No matter you're gaming enthusiast, applications creator, ACG followers or just getting started to try NVIDIA Blackwell, Manli offers diversified version to meet your demand. You can try our luxury - Stellar, snow-white - Polar Fox & classic - Nebula. Expect you to have a whole new adventure with Manli's graphic cards. Stay with Manli, you always have the choice!!!

TSMC Reports First Quarter EPS of NT$13.94

TSMC, today announced consolidated revenue of NT$839.25 billion, net income of NT$361.56 billion, and diluted earnings per share of NT$13.94 (US$2.12 per ADR unit) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

Year-over-year, first quarter revenue increased 41.6%, while net income and diluted EPS increased 60.3% and 60.4% respectively. Compared to fourth quarter 2024, first quarter results represented a 3.4% decrease in revenue and a 3.5% decrease in net income. All figures were prepared in accordance with TIFRS on a consolidated basis.

CHERRY Announces MX Northern Light Switch with Exclusive K5V2 + GP6 Bundle

CHERRY, the global leader in mechanical keyboard switch innovation, is proud to introduce the MX Northern Light, a special-edition, community-crafted linear switch delivering the smoothest typing experience CHERRY has ever engineered.

Developed by CHERRY's in-house team of switch enthusiasts, MX Northern Light is a love letter to the keyboard community. It blends the latest MX2A innovations with never-before-seen enhancements, including an ultra-polished top housing and a custom-engineered blue bottom, resulting in a switch that's as smooth as it is striking.

ADATA Launches New SD 8.0 Express Memory Card, UFD, and M.2 Enclosure

As the demand for remote work, mobile creation, and high-resolution content processing increases, high-speed and reliable mobile storage solutions have become crucial for improving work efficiency and creative flexibility. Global memory and flash storage leading brand ADATA Technology Co., Ltd. today announces three new products: industry's first Premier Extreme SD 8.0 Express memory card, UE720 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Flash Drive, and EC680 M.2 SSD Enclosure, bringing a comprehensive upgrade to the efficient storage experience for professional creators and remote workers.

Industry's first Premier Extreme SD 8.0 Express memory card: Small card, big energy
ADATA Technology is currently the first company to launch SD 8.0 Express specification memory card in the market, leading the industry in technology. The new Premier Extreme SD 8.0 Express memory card is equipped with PCIe Gen 3 x2 interface and NVMe transfer protocol, with maximum read/write speeds up to 1,600 / 1,200 MB/s, performance. It is 2 times faster than SD EXPRESS 7.0, 12 times faster than UHS-I SD memory cards, 4 times faster than UHS-II, and even surpassing commercially available external SSDs, completely rewriting the speed bottleneck of traditional memory cards. The memory card also supports U3, V30 video speed class, and comes with 512 GB large capacity, easily handling 4K video recording, RAW image processing, or multitasking. SD Express 8.0 supports multi-device simultaneous access, further enhancing data integration efficiency. The product also has built-in LDPC ECC automatic error correction technology and has passed multiple rigorous tests such as waterproof, shockproof, anti-static, and high and low temperature resistance, providing comprehensive protection for data security.

MAINGEAR Adds NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Graphics Cards Across Full Range of Desktops

MAINGEAR, the leader in premium-quality, high-performance gaming PCs is expanding its lineup of custom gaming desktops and workstations with the addition of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti graphics cards. These new GPUs bring next-generation performance, AI-powered features, and incredible value to a wider range of gamers and creators.

The GeForce RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti graphics cards will also be specified into MAINGEAR's 2025 Silver and Gold preconfigured MG-1 systems respectively. MAINGEAR systems with the RTX 5060 Ti are available for order immediately at www.maingear.com. Systems with the RTX 5060 will be available for order when the GPU is released.

EIZO Releases New 24.1-inch FlexScan EV2410R Monitor for Business and Other Applications

EIZO Corporation (TSE: 6737) today announced the release of the FlexScan EV2410R - a 24.1-inch WUXGA resolution (1920 x 1200) monitor for business and other applications. It is the successor model to the FlexScan EV2456, continuing to meet the versatile and long-term supply needs of various organizations. The EV2410R is designed with improved energy efficiency, making it ideal for organizations prioritizing sustainability and energy conservation.

With sustainability gaining more significance in the modern landscape, organizations are urged to make well-informed decisions when procuring new technology. The EV2410R consumes just 8 watts of power, representing a 27% reduction compared to its predecessor. This substantial decrease helps users to lower energy costs and contributes to a smaller carbon footprint, supporting sustainability efforts. The EV2410R is certified by comprehensive global sustainability standards, including TCO Certified, generation 10 and the ENERGY STAR label. It has also achieved the highest tier of EPEAT Gold and the EPEAT Climate+ designation, further highlighting EIZO's commitment to sustainability.

Drop and BETHESDA Join Forces to Launch Starfield-inspired Keyboard Collection

Drop, the leading community-driven mechanical keyboard brand, is thrilled to announce its latest collaboration with Bethesda Softworks, bringing the immersive universe of Starfield to players' desktop setups. This exclusive Drop + Starfield collection features a custom keyboard, an artisan keycap, a coiled USB cable, and a desk mat—all meticulously designed to capture the essence of interstellar exploration.

At the heart of this collection is the Drop + Starfield Constellation Keyboard, a mechanical keyboard inspired by the cockpit controls of Starfield's futuristic Starships. The keycaps, designed with precise detailing, mirror the interfaces and control panels seen in-game, giving users the feel of a pilot experience with every keystroke. Combined with Drop's renowned mechanical keyboard craftsmanship, this keyboard delivers not only immersive aesthetics but also top-tier performance.
Wednesday, April 16th 2025
ASUS GeForce RTX 5060 Ti TUF OC 16 GB Review

ASUS GeForce RTX 5060 Ti TUF OC 16 GB Review

The TUF OC is the top model in the ASUS GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB lineup. You get a high-quality cooler construction that looks mighty impressive. Also included is a factory-overclock and a dual BIOS with quiet mode that runs at ultra-quiet noise levels.
MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Gaming Trio OC 16 GB Review

MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Gaming Trio OC 16 GB Review

The MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Gaming Trio OC comes with a powerful triple-fan, dual-slot cooling solution that achieves fantastic noise levels, even without a dual BIOS. Temperatures are excellent, too, and you get a decent overclock out of the box.
Palit GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Infinity 3 16 GB Review

Palit GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Infinity 3 16 GB Review

Priced at NVIDIA MSRP of $430, the Palit GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB Infinity 3 is a cost-effective choice if you're looking for a model that doesn't break the bank. Palit didn't compromise on the cooling solution, our review confirms: it runs cool and at quiet noise levels.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti PCI-Express x8 Scaling

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti PCI-Express x8 Scaling

The new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti uses the modern PCI-Express 5.0 bus interface, but supports only an 8-lane configuration. This is just half the bandwidth of the higher-end models, which run at x16. Are you in trouble with an older system, which only supports running at PCIe 4.0?
ASUS GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Prime OC 16 GB Review

ASUS GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Prime OC 16 GB Review

The ASUS GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB Prime OC sits one level below the TUF, which makes it more affordable. Surprisingly, it comes with the best cooler of all RTX 5060 Ti cards tested, and it's also the quietest model when its "quiet" BIOS is activated.
MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Gaming OC 16 GB Review

MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Gaming OC 16 GB Review

The MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB Gaming OC comes with a factory overclock and powerful cooler that achieves whisper-quiet noise levels. The card is shorter than most competing models, which ensures it can fit into smaller cases without problems.
Zotac GeForce RTX 5060 Ti AMP 16 GB Review

Zotac GeForce RTX 5060 Ti AMP 16 GB Review

The Zotac GeForce RTX 5060 Ti AMP is a factory-overclocked custom design variant that's highly compact. With just two slots and a 22x12 cm footprint, it will fit into any case. Thanks to its fantastic energy efficiency, PSU requirements won't be a problem either, making this a great choice for upgraders.

Bloober Team Presents First Gameplay Footage from Cronos: The New Dawn

Bloober Team has unleashed the first full gameplay trailer for Cronos: The New Dawn, the studio's all-new original survival horror IP. This eerie first look at full gameplay showcases THE MERGE, an innovative new mechanic that changes the way players confront enemies, turning every encounter into a mind-bending nightmare and struggle for survival.

Set across two time periods - the grim ruins of a post-apocalyptic future as well as in 1980s-era Poland—Cronos: The New Dawn thrusts players into the decaying district of New Dawn, inspired by real-life Nowa Huta. You play as a Traveller, an agent of the mysterious Collective, emerging from a dystopian future to dive back into time and extract key people before they perish in the apocalypse. As you explore a world on the brink of annihilation, you'll encounter grotesque enemies known as the Orphans—twisted, body-horror monstrosities born from humanity's darkest nightmares.

Report Suggests Huawei Ascend 910C AI Accelerator's Utilization of Foreign Parts; Investigators Find 7 nm TSMC Dies

Earlier today, TechPowerUp covered the alleged performance prowess of Huawei's CloudMatrix 384 system super node. According to SemiAnalysis opinion, the system's Ascend 910C AI accelerators are a generation behind—in terms of chip performance—when compared to NVIDIA's GB200 "Blackwell" AI GPU design. SMIC seemed to be in the picture, as Huawei's main fabrication partner—possibly with an in-progress 5 nm node process. Instead, SemiAnalysis has surmised that the Ascend 910C is based on plenty of non-native technologies. Huawei's (current and prior) "aggressive skirting of export controls" has likely enabled the new-gen AI chip's better than expected performance stats. SemiAnalysis documented the early sample's origins: "while the Ascend chip can be fabricated at SMIC, we note that this is a global chip that has HBM from Korea (Samsung), primary wafer production from TSMC (Taiwan), and is fabricated by 10s of billions of wafer fabrication equipment from the US, Netherlands, and Japan...One common misconception is that Huawei's 910C is made in China. It is entirely designed there, but China still relies heavily on foreign production."

Despite China's premiere foundry business making pleasing in-roads with a theorized "7 nm N+2" manufacturing test line, Huawei has seemingly grown impatient with native immature production options. Today's SemiAnalysis article presents a decent dose of inside knowledge: "while SMIC does have 7 nm, the vast majority of Ascend 910B and 910C are made with TSMC's 7 nm. In fact, the US Government, TechInsights, and others have acquired Ascend 910B and 910C and every single one used TSMC dies. Huawei was able to circumvent the sanctions on them against TSMC by purchasing ~$500 million of 7 nm wafers through another company, Sophgo...It is rumored Huawei continues to receive wafers from TSMC via another 3rd party firm, but we cannot verify this rumor." Another (fabless) Chinese chip design firm—Xiaomi—appears to still have direct/unrestricted access to TSMC manufacturing lines, albeit not for enterprise-grade AI products.

Lushfoil Photography Sim Out Now on PC, PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X|S

It's the end of a long road, I'm exhausted. It's intimidating to finally put Lushfoil out there, but I'm also overwhelmingly excited to see what people can create with it. I hope the game falls into the right hands, and that those people with a sense of experimentation and creativity can surprise us all with what they've taken. I've put a lot of love and intention into the environments created in this game, and now it feels like time to pass it on. I can't wait to see the photos you take!

I'm thrilled to introduce Lushfoil Photography Sim, a tranquil, open-ended photography exploration experience available today on Xbox Series X|S. While real-life photography can be accessible, it can be harder to commit the time and money to travel. Inspired by some real-world locations that had a huge impact on me, I wanted to virtually recreate some of the highlights of my travels so others can experience them too. I committed to learning Unreal Engine over the last few years in order to do each location justice, and make the game I've always wanted to make.

Xiaomi Reportedly Forms New In-house Chip Department; Headed by Former Qualcomm Marketing Director

Last year, leakers posited that Xiaomi engineers were working on proprietary new-generation mobile chipset. The giant Chinese technology company has produced proprietary SoC designs in the past—most notably 2017's Pengpai/Surge S1 (blink, and you missed it)—but has largely relied on a wide swatch of Qualcomm solutions for deployment in smartphones. According to a fairly fresh ITHome news report (via a source at Sina Technology), Xiaomi has established a "chip platform department" under the umbrella of its mobile phone product development division. The exact nature of this newly-formed team remains semi-mysterious, and how it intermeshes with current (rumored) proprietary chip design efforts. The megacorporation's speculated "dedicated chip platform department" is said to be working on a "Xuanjie" SoC series.

Qin Muyun—a former senior director of product marketing at Qualcomm—is purported to be the new department's leader. Insiders believe that Muyun will answer directly to Xiaomi's CEO: Lei Jun. Over the past half decade, company engineers have accumulated chip designing experience in multiple lesser technology fields—ITHome lists: "imaging, fast charging, power management, communication, and display" aspects. Xiaomi leadership could be "shaking up" its first-party SoC development projects. Two weeks ago, rumors turned up online regarding a node process downgrade—from 3 nm to 4 nm. Smartphone industry watchdogs reckon that Xiaomi's forthcoming flagship chipset design will perform on the level of Qualcomm's first generation Snapdragon 8 mobile processor (from 2021).

Ubisoft's Colorblind Simulation Tool, Chroma, Released to Public

Chroma, Ubisoft's colorblind simulation tool, is now available for public use after several years of internal use and development. With an estimated 300 million people around the world affected by colorblindness, Chroma allows developers to accurately replicate their experience and create accessible content to meet their needs. The open-source tool works by applying a filter over the game screen without hindering performance."Over the past few years, Chroma has proven to be a highly efficient tool for us at Ubisoft," says David Tisserand, Director of Accessibility. "It has allowed us to assess the accessibility of our games for colorblind players much faster and more comprehensively than ever before. Because we believe accessibility is a journey, not a race, we're thrilled to share Chroma with the entire industry. We invite everyone to benefit from it, provide feedback, and contribute to its future development."

Development on Chroma started in 2021 as Ubisoft's Quality Control team based in India worked to create a tool that would provide feedback in real time and allow developers to control the game while simulating color blindness. Today, Chroma uses the Color Oracle algorithm and can be used on dual or single screens; furthermore, it works with hotkeys and has a customizable overlay.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB Variants Not Made Available to Review Outlets

As expected, NVIDIA lifted its GeForce RTX 5060 Ti graphics card review embargo earlier today (April 16)—TechPowerUp's audience can check out W1zzard's opening day evaluations of six board partner models here. Just ahead of publishing its own verdict, Hardware Unboxed uploaded a video that leveled mild criticism in the direction of Team Green decision makers. VideoCardz swiftly picked up on the Australian PC hardware media outlet's accusations—in summary, only GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB models were made available to reviewers and influencers. Hardware Unboxed's Tim Schiesser elaborated on circumstances: "while the launch is claimed to be the same day for the two variants, NVIDIA is only sampling the 16 GB card for reviews, so that is what will be covered on launch day. But it goes beyond that because we've been told that AIBs will not be supplying the 8 GB card for reviews and, in fact, cannot supply the 8 GB card for reviews. Despite NVIDIA giving us permission to source 8 GB models for day one reviews, board partners told us they were unable to send us a graphics card in some cases because they weren't ready, but in other cases because NVIDIA had explicitly prevented them from doing so."

Day old press material adverted a simultaneous launch of both variants, but the ($379 MSRP) cheaper option seems to be delayed. An official source disclosed news about this release date anomaly to Schiesser and colleagues: "NVIDIA told us the 8 GB card is coming slightly later, perhaps a week or so after the 16 GB card ($429 MSRP), which would make it launch on a different day. But despite this, they both have the same launch day. Hard to know what's going on there." Additionally, Hardware Unboxed and other news outlets detected mixed messages during Team Green press liaisons—earlier messages focused on 16 GB and 8 GB getting equal billing around launch time. According to follow-up reports, a recent Q&A session indicated the sudden prioritization of GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB models. As of yesterday evening, VideoCardz detected media talk regarding a surprising lifting of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5060 (non-Ti) review embargo. They outlined curious conditions: "GeForce RTX 5060 is supposed to launch in May, (but) will have its review embargo lifted on April 16; the same day as the RTX 5060 Ti. Yes, that means the RTX 5060 won't have official review coverage, and basically, whoever can source the card before launch will not even break the embargo by sharing the results." As covered by TechPowerup's news team, yesterday's Team Green PR blurb was headlined by the "game changing" GeForce RTX 5060 8 GB card and its $299 starting price tag.

AMD Faces $800M Loss from U.S. Chip Export Curbs to China

AMD revealed today that it anticipates charges of up to $800 million following the Trump administration's latest crackdown on exports of advanced processors to China. The company confirmed that these new rules affect its MI308 product line. The U.S. Commerce Department declared on Tuesday that it was putting in place new licensing requirements impacting several high-performance chips, including NVIDIA's H20, AMD's MI308, and similar products. This regulatory move comes at a high price for AMD, as China stands as its second-biggest market in 2024 with about $6.23 billion in revenue, over 24% of the company's total sales.

AMD's regulatory filing reveals that the company faces $800 million in charges due to inventory issues, purchase commitments, and needed reserves. AMD "expects to apply for licenses but there is no assurance that licenses will be granted,". This uncertainty grows when we consider what Jefferies analysts pointed out on Tuesday: the U.S. has never agreed on licenses for graphics processor unit shipments to China. This news comes right after NVIDIA's announcement that it would take $5.5 billion in charges because of the same export rules. As a result, AMD and NVIDIA stocks were dropping by more than 5%.

ARC Raiders Tech Test 2 Coming to PC & Consoles on April 30

Raiders! On Wednesday, April 30th, we're kicking off the ARC Raiders Tech Test 2, where invited playtesters on Steam, Epic Games Store, and consoles will be able to experience the deadly exploits of the Rust Belt, for five full days. This will be our largest test of ARC Raiders to date, for the first time also including players on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and the Epic Games Store. The purpose of the test is to see how the game performs in a live environment across all launch platforms and gather key insights and feedback from players like you. This time around, you're free to share or stream gameplay capture and tell the world of your experience in ARC Raiders—in other words, the playtest is not confidential.

So, what can I expect?
For those who may need a refresher: ARC Raiders is a multiplayer extraction adventure, set in a lethal future earth, where little remains of the world we know today. On the surface, threats are everywhere: ARC machines loom high in the skies and lurk in the shadowy corners of abandoned spaceports and run-down warehouses. You'll encounter everything from roaming rollbots to multi-legged behemoths, and the choice will be yours—team up to defeat them, or risk combat with your fellow Raiders if you'd rather keep the spoils for yourself. While the line between friend and foe is razor thin on the surface, in Speranza, you'll find refuge. The Traders there are ready to supply you with quests and gear. You can also craft equipment in your Raider Den, such as advanced weapon mods or unique gadgets. With every level gained on the surface, you can invest your experience into a branching skill tree.

"Unpopular" microSD Express Cards Snapped Up in Japan; Switch 2 Showcase Inspired Sudden Buyer Interest

Up until very recently, the microSD Express format was viewed as a commercial disappointment for involved manufacturers and suppliers. Potential buyers were not attracted to premium price points; as demanded by designs that can leverage (up to) 900 MB/s read speeds. Hermitage Akihabara—a Japanese electronics and computer hardware chain—has tracked an alarmingly sharp climb in demand for microSD Express products. The popular retailer documented this recent trend across several articles, with last week's investigation diving deep into units selling: "at a rate of 337.62 cards per hour!" The upcoming launch of a highly-anticipated mainstream gaming device has seemingly sharply driven up sales of a largely forgotten storage format. Hermitage Akihabara explored this unprecedented turnaround in fortunes: "Nintendo's influence is amazing. The 'microSD Express card,' which had hardly any sales due to lack of use, sold out in an instant as soon as it was announced that it would be used in the Nintendo Switch 2. It was sold out not only in (our) Akihabara shops but also on EC sites nationwide, and it caused such a stir that it was even covered in the general news."

Hermitage Akihabara expects to replenish its stock within a non-specific timeframe—but prices could remain "quite high," due to manufacturers (reportedly) being fairly conservative with production output. The store's "behind the scenes of the microSD Express card sellout" news piece outlined some compelling data points: "our mail order service received a large number of orders. According to the calculations made by the mail order staff, they were selling at a rate of 5.63 units per minute, or 337.62 units per hour, which was also a surprise. Of course, we didn't have that much stock, but it seems that we were selling as much as we had. One interesting thing is that most of the buyers ordered only one copy. At most, three copies were purchased, and more than 80% of people ordered one copy. Most of the buyers were pure users who wanted to save one to use with the Switch 2." As reported earlier in the month, Lexar has readied the world's first 1 TB microSD Express card. Their $199.99 (MSRP) 1 TB PLAY PRO microSDXC Express model is already available to purchase, months in advance of Switch 2's global launch date (June 5). Industry insiders believe that Samsung is collaborating with Nintendo on an "official" range of microSD Express cards.

Cadence to Acquire Arm Artisan Foundation IP Business

Cadence today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Arm to acquire Arm's Artisan foundation IP business, consisting of standard cell libraries, memory compilers, and general-purpose I/Os (GPIOs) optimized for advanced process nodes at the leading foundries. The transaction will augment Cadence's expanding design IP offerings, anchored by a leading portfolio of protocol and interface IP, memory interface IP, SerDes IP at the most advanced nodes, and embedded security IP from the pending Secure-IC acquisition.

By increasing its footprint in SoC designs, Cadence is reinforcing its commitment to continuously accelerate customers' time to market and to optimize their cost, power and performance on the world's leading foundry processes. Cadence will acquire the Arm Artisan foundation IP business through an asset purchase agreement with a concurrent technology license agreement, to be signed at closing and subject to any existing rights. As part of the transaction, Cadence will acquire a highly talented and experienced engineering team that is well respected in the industry and can help accelerate development of both related and new IP products.

Xbox Unveils DOOM: The Dark Ages Limited Edition Accessories Collection

The DOOM Slayer is back, and as we count down the days until you can explore the medieval world of DOOM: The Dark Ages, you'll need the right tools to get the job done. Introducing the Xbox Wireless Controller - DOOM: The Dark Ages Limited Edition, Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 - DOOM: The Dark Ages Limited Edition, and the Xbox Series X Wrap - DOOM: The Dark Ages Limited Edition. This collection celebrates DOOM and the latest chapter in the franchise's storied history. From the runes adorning each piece, to specific homages like the matte green armor and the Mark of the Slayer, every detail in this collection has been thoughtfully selected to capture the essence of the DOOM universe.

If you're going to be the Slayer, you better look the part—gear up with the Limited Edition Xbox Wireless Controller in battle-worn green and silver. Crowned with 3D silver helmet spikes at the top and silver-plated sheathing on the two sides, this controller was forged for a demon-slaying super weapon. With additional touches like a rubberized, leather-like grip, a red thumbstick to match the chest port, and blood splatter resulting from your Shield Saw, every detail is crafted with the DOOM fan in mind.

Senior Intel Engineer Drops Hint About Start of "Griffin Cove" P-Core Development

In a video interview conducted by KitGuru's Leo Waldock, a key Intel chip architect has confirmed that his team is working on the "great-grandchild" of "Lion Cove." Ori Lempel—Team Blue's Senior Principal Engineer in Core Design—did not reveal the codename for this distant technology, but industry moles have heard rumblings about "Griffin Cove" being the internal reference/nickname for this futuristic processor core architecture. Intel's current-gen "Lion Cove" core design has turned up within Core Ultra Series 2 "Arrow Lake" and "Lunar Lake" chips. Lempel disclosed a compelling tidbit; his department has finalized its next-gen "Cougar Cove" IP—destined to debut by the "second half of 2025," in Panther Lake mobile processors.

The Team Blue Core Design division seems to be devising far out technologies—in the case of an alleged "Griffin Core" series, three generations ahead—with an eye on regaining ground from a main competitor: AMD. Industry watchdogs have gauged varying levels of Intel's struggles over the past couple of years; most notably in the field of mainstream desktop CPU solutions. As stated to KitGuru, Lempel revealed that his team's setup has evolved into a more advantageous position—namely in becoming "99% process node agnostic." Former company boss—Pat Gelsinger—was the main driver behind an "IDM 2.0 transformation." Lempel elaborated on this topic: "they can be hardened on any process node in terms, of you know, the libraries are there, the analogs are there. The design can synthesize to whichever process node. The optimization is process non-dependent. Because Intel/TSMC processes are all different..."

AMD EPYC Turin Processors Join the Contabo Virtualization Hosts Inventory

Contabo is a German VPS and bare-metal server provider with data-centers across key service regions, including Europe (the UK, France, the Netherlands, Spain), North America (the US), and Asia (Singapore and India). A peculiar characteristic about this company is its specialization with VPS with servers being powered by AMD EPYC processors. The company has a broad range of VPS of nearly all T-Shirt sizes, spanning various use-cases. The company announced in 2020 the move to make itself an exclusive AMD EPYC-based VPS, and regularly announces updates to its infrastructure as AMD comes up with new server processor generations. Earlier this month, the company announced its first servers powered by EPYC "Turin" family of processors based on the "Zen 5" microarchitecture.

Contabo started evaluating the AMD EPYC "Turin" 9555P late last year, and zeroed in on the processor model for its Hub Europe and US Central regions. The company claims that "Turin" gives it the ability to host three times as many VPS instances for twice the power draw as the previous generation. The company also claims improved stability with fewer nodes per rack, better value for money, and improved energy efficiency. The AMD EPYC "Turin" powered servers are available from Contabo in the US Central and Hub Europe regions today.

Chains of Freedom Out Now on PC & Consoles, Nordcurrent Sends Thanks to its Fanbase

Hey everyone, our game is finally out—and we just wanted to take a moment, a real one, to say thank you. From the bottom of our hearts. We're a small team within Nordcurrent with big dreams, and this game—Chains of Freedom—has been a labor of love every step of the way—we poured everything into this because we love making games. We love storytelling, world-building, creating moments for players to feel something real. And the fact that there's a community out there can now play what we made? That means more than we can ever put into words. You're not just playing a game—you're supporting a team, allowing us to grow and create new, better experiences. A team of people who believe that heart and soul still belong in game development.

Step into a thrilling turn-based tactics game set in a fictional, dystopian Eastern European state. Lead an elite military squad as you navigate perilous missions filled with danger, deceit, and moral dilemmas. As you delve deeper into a conspiracy threatening your nation, engage in high-stakes tactical combat that demands precision with every move. Arm your team with a variety of weapons and gear, adapt their skills to meet ever-changing challenges, and confront intense missions that push your resolve to its limits. Uncover the truth in a world where the nation's fate lies in your hands.

AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT Graphics Cards Could Launch Shortly After Computex 2025

Earlier in the week, AMD's unannounced Radeon RX 9060 XT graphics card design was linked to a possible public announcement at this year's edition of Computex. Naturally, Team Red has missed an opportunity to take on Team Green with a parallel launch of rival products. Leaks have pointed to the existence of two Radeon RX 9060 XT variants; one with 16 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, and another with an 8 GB pool. The cheaper end of RDNA 4—including a mysterious Radeon RX 9050 model—seems to be geared up to take on NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5060 Ti, RTX 5060 and RTX 5050 cards. Further rumors have emerged; following initial hints of a formal introduction at an important late Spring event.

Chiphell's chief reviewer and editor reckons that Radeon RX 9060 XT cards will arrive at retail in May. This Chinese PC hardware forum is a notorious source of leaks—around early January, participants were boasting about having extremely early access to Radeon RX 9070 XT samples. In response to this morning's relevant VideoCardz report, Hoang Anh Phu weighed in with a new prediction—AMD and board partners could launch Radeon RX 9060 XT products two weeks after an official reveal at Computex 2025. Team Red is likely mapping out a new pricing strategy, due to NVIDIA's launch of "cheaper than expected" new models. So far, brand-new GeForce RTX 5060 Ti options have received a largely lukewarm welcome. Another Chiphell member has picked up on regional whispers about "starter" price points (including VAT)—reports suggest that the: "(Radeon RX) 9060 XT 8 GB version is 3100 yuan (~$422 USD, and the 16 GB variant is 3500 yuan (~$476 USD)."

Skullcandy Launches Method 360 ANC Earbuds Featuring Premium Sound by Bose

Skullcandy, in partnership with Bose, is breaking barriers in personal audio with the release of Method 360 ANC - a premium true wireless earbud engineered for high-quality audio, advanced noise-canceling, and everyday style.

Method 360 ANC launches at an MSRP of $129.99, but fans can get in early at a special $99.99 introductory price. Designed for those who want it all - sound quality, comfort, and design - without breaking the bank, this is Skullcandy's most advanced audio experience to date.

Kiwi Ears Announces Spark, its Second-Generation OWS Headphones

The Kiwi Ears Spark is built for those constantly on the move, combining high-quality audio, stable Bluetooth connectivity, and a sport-oriented, open-wearable design. Whether you're working out, commuting, or simply enjoying everyday listening, Spark offers all-day comfort, situational awareness, and clear stereo sound with enhanced durability.

With A2DP support, these earphones deliver balanced audio with deep bass, making them ideal for music lovers. AAC and SBC decoding ensure compatibility with various devices while maintaining sound clarity. For calls, ENC noise cancellation reduces background noise, allowing for clear communication even in busy environments.

NVIDIA Releases the GeForce 576.02 WHQL Game Ready Drivers

NVIDIA today released the latest version of its GeForce Game Ready drivers. Version 576.02 WHQL comes with support for the new GeForce RTX 5060 Ti graphics card that's available from today. The drivers fix several game-specific issues. To begin with, random crashes with gameplay for "Fortnite" has been fixed. The "DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED" crash noticed in "The First Berserker: Khazan" has been fixed. A bug that causes "Star Wars Outlaws" to freeze when the game is left idle for over 5 minutes, has been fixed. Game stability issues with DLSS Frame Generation on G-SYNC displays have been fixed. A crash when accepting quests in "Monster Hunter Wilds" with DLSS Frame Generation enabled, has been fixed. A crash with the error "GPU crashed or D3D Device Removed" in the game "InZOI" has been fixed.

A stutter noticed in "Overwatch 2" when using V-Sync has been fixed. Increased aliasing noticed with "Overwatch 2" has been fixed. Increased aliasing in "Hellbrade 2 Senua's Saga" with TSR enabled; as well as game crashes noticed in the game with Smooth Motion enabled, have been fixed. Smooth motion-triggered errors with TLOU Part 1 have been fixed. Dithering/banding seen on some RTX 50-series GPUs has been fixed. Flickering noticed in multiple areas of "Control" have been fixed. A stuttering noticed with V-Sync has been fixed, as were errors caused when combining it with NVCP and frame generation in games with DLSS 4. Artifacts noticed when collecting treasures in "Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection" have been fixed. Some stability issues specific to Windows 11 24H2 have been fixed.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 576.02 WHQL

Larian Releases Final Baldur's Gate 3 Patch; Studio Moving onto "Something New"

Well folks, this is it. Our final major game patch for Baldur's Gate 3. You've helped us make BG3 a bigger success than any of us could've ever hoped for, and that passion could keep us tweaking things and making changes until the end of time. But then we'd never be able to create something new. Outside of minor bug fixing, Patch 8 will be the last game patch to introduce new content. That means we won't be adding any new narrative content or significant changes to storylines, Origin characters, or companions. We've told our stories the way we needed to tell them, and tried our best to make them impactful and engaging, and we're continuing to get better at handling our own chaos so that we can continue to create more chaos in the future.

From the start, your feedback has been incredibly important to us, and will continue to shape our future projects. As Swen said during the Baldur's Gate 3 retrospective panel at PAX West in August of last year, it's time for the team to go back to our cave and hang the armor on the wall while we focus on bringing you our next project. If you're already feeling nostalgic, you can click here to watch our last Baldur's Gate 3 panel, where we looked back on Baldur's Gate 3, from early access through to release, and answered some of your questions. From patching in a way to change your appearance with the Magic Mirror, introducing Honor Mode for those of you looking for a hard time, and giving you new ways to make out with your romanced companion, to new cinematics for your most evil runs, and handing you the tools to create your own supported mods, Patch 8 now rounds off with cross-play, Photo Mode, and 12 new subclasses for you to enjoy.

Gigabyte Launches the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, RTX 5060 Ti 8GB, and RTX 5060 Series Graphics Cards

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of premium gaming hardware, today launched the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti (16 GB and 8 GB variants) and RTX 5060 series graphics cards powered by NVIDIA Blackwell architecture. The RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 are relatively mid-range products that focus on 2k and 1080p gameplay, and cater to the needs of gamers, creators, and light AI developers for daily use. GIGABYTE offers a variety of air-cooled graphics cards, allowing users to choose the best option. Depending on the model, AORUS ELITE, GAMING, AERO, EAGLE, EAGLE ICE, WINDFORCE, and low-profile graphics cards support either the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti series or RTX 5060 GPUs.⁠

GIGABYTE has upgraded the WINDFORCE cooling system for the new generation, balancing performance and thermal efficiency. The new Hawk Fan design minimizes turbulence and noise, achieving up to a 53.6% increase in air pressure and a 12.5% boost in air volume while keeping the lower acoustics. To enhance cooling efficiency, server-grade thermal conductive gel is applied to critical components such as VRAM and MOSFETs. This highly deformable, non-fluid gel ensures optimal contact even on uneven surfaces and remains resistant to deformation caused by transport or prolonged use. Paired with advanced thermal solutions—including an optimal heatsink with a copper plate for direct GPU contact, and composite copper heat-pipes—these graphics cards deliver exceptional cooling performance and whisper-quiet operation, even under intensive workloads.

Sharkoon Launches Its First CPU Air Coolers Series

Sharkoon launched its first three air-cooled CPU coolers: the A40, A50, and A60. All three are tower-style (A40 and A50 are single tower, A60 uses a dual tower design) and are available in three versions: matte black, black RGB, and white RGB. The A40, A50, and A60 use four, five, and six 6 mm diameter heat pipes in direct contact with the CPU. The overall dimensions of the A40 and A50 are the same at 120×72×153 (mm), while the A60, being a dual-fan dual-tower, measures 120×125×156 (mm). The nominal TDPs (Thermal Design Power) are 220 W (A40), 230 W (A50), and 260 W (A60). Another aesthetic difference between the matte black version and the RGB ones is that the latter include "the infinity mirror effect" for the top cooler cover.

The first three air-cooled models of Sharkoon's A series CPU coolers use the same 120 mm fluid dynamic bearing fans with 9 blades working at 500-1,800 rpm, offering 121.55 m³/h maximum airflow, 2.90 mm H₂O max. air pressure, and 30 dB (A) maximum noise level. The RGB fan versions include 12 Addressable RGB LEDs; however, only one fan offers RGB lighting in dual fan configurations (Sharkoon A60 RGB Black/White).

TDK Demonstrates the World's First "Spin Photo Detector" Capable of 10X Data Transmission Speeds

TDK Corporation announces that it has developed the world's first "Spin Photo Detector," a photo-spintronic conversion element combining optical, electronic, and magnetic elements that can respond at an ultra-high speed of 20 picoseconds (20 × 10⁻¹² s) using light with a wavelength of 800 nm - more than 10X faster than conventional semiconductor-based photo detectors. This new device is expected to be a key driver for implementing photoelectric conversion technology that boosts data transmission and data processing speed, particularly in AI applications, while simultaneously reducing power consumption.

Transferring mass amounts of data at higher speeds and with lower power consumption is an inevitable need as AI evolves. To process data and make calculations, data is currently transferred between CPU/GPU chips as well as from and to memory by electrical signals. Therefore, there is an increasing need for optical communication and optical interconnects, which offer high speeds that do not decrease with interconnect distance. Photoelectronic conversion technology is also gaining global interest as a very compact fusion of both optical and electronic elements.

MSI IPC Showcases AI & Edge Solutions with Intel Arrow Lake at Japan IT Week Spring 2025

MSI IPC, a leading provider of industrial computing solutions, is set to exhibit at Japan IT Week Spring 2025, held from April 23-25 at Tokyo Big Sight, Booth East Hall 3 #21-2. The company will showcase its latest innovations in AI computing, embedded systems, and edge intelligence, designed for smart manufacturing, medical, transportation, and industrial applications.

Explore the Future of Industrial Computing
MSI IPC will host a static demo featuring Intel Twin Lake, Raptor Lake, and Arrow Lake, allowing attendees to experience next-gen performance and AI acceleration. Key platforms include:
  • MS-CF20 ATX (W880 chipset)- Built for high-performance workloads with expandability for industrial applications.
  • MS-CF23 Mini-ITX (H810 chipset) - Compact yet powerful, ideal for space-sensitive deployments.
  • MS-C927 Embedded Box PC (Arrow Lake-U & Meteor Lake-U) - Fanless, wide-temp system for industrial and embedded environments.

US Bans Export of NVIDIA H20 Accelerators to China, a Potential $5.5 Billion Loss for NVIDIA

President Trump's administration has announced that NVIDIA's H20 AI chip will require a special export license for any shipment to China, Hong Kong, or Macau for the indefinite future. The Commerce Department delivered the news to NVIDIA on April 14, 2025, citing worries that the H20 could be redirected into Chinese supercomputers with potential military applications. NVIDIA designed the H20 specifically to comply with earlier US curbs by scaling back performance from its flagship H100 model. The H20 features 96 GB of HBM3 memory running at up to 4.0 TB/s, delivers roughly 296 TeraFLOPS of mixed‑precision compute power, and offers a performance density of about 2.9 TeraFLOPS per die. Its single‑precision (FP32) throughput is around 74 TeraFLOPS, with FP16 performance reaching approximately 148 TeraFLOPS. In a regulatory filing on April 15, NVIDIA warned that it will record about $5.5 billion in writedowns this quarter related to H20 inventory and purchase commitments now blocked by the license requirement.

Shares of NVIDIA fell roughly 6 percent in after‑hours trading on April 15, triggering a wider sell‑off in semiconductor stocks from the US to Japan. South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix each slid about 3 percent, while AMD also dropped on concerns about broader chip‑export curbs. Analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence project that, if the restrictions persist, NVIDIA's China‑related data center revenue could shrink to low‑ or mid‑single digits as a percentage of total sales, down from roughly 13 percent in fiscal 2024. Chinese AI players such as Huawei stand to gain as customers seek alternative inference accelerators. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has pledged to maintain a tough stance on chip exports to China even as NVIDIA commits up to $500 billion in US AI infrastructure investments over the next four years. Everyone is now watching closely to see whether any H20 export licenses are approved and how long the ban might remain in place.

Huawei CloudMatrix 384 System Outperforms NVIDIA GB200 NVL72

Huawei announced its CloudMatrix 384 system super node, which the company touts as its own domestic alternative to NVIDIA's GB200 NVL72 system, with more overall system performance but worse per-chip performance and higher power consumption. While NVIDIA's GB200 NVL72 uses 36 Grace CPUs paired with 72 "Blackwell" GB200 GPUs, the Huawei CloudMatrix 384 system employs 384 Huawei Ascend 910C accelerators to beat NVIDIA's GB200 NVL72 system. It takes roughly five times more Ascend 910C accelerators to deliver nearly twice the GB200 NVL system performance, which is not good on per-accelerator bias, but excellent on per-system level of deployment. SemiAnalysis argues that Huawei is a generation behind in chip performance but ahead of NVIDIA in scale-up system design and deployment.

When you look at individual chips, NVIDIA's GB200 NVL72 clearly outshines Huawei's Ascend 910C, delivering over three times the BF16 performance (2,500 TeraFLOPS vs. 780 TeraFLOPS), more on‑chip memory (192 GB vs. 128 GB), and faster bandwidth (8 TB/s vs. 3.2 TB/s). In other words, NVIDIA has the raw power and efficiency advantage at the chip level. But flip the switch to the system level, and Huawei's CloudMatrix CM384 takes the lead. It cranks out 1.7× the overall PetaFLOPS, packs in 3.6× more total HBM capacity, and supports over five times the number of GPUs and the associated bandwidth of NVIDIA's NVL72 cluster. However, that scalability does come with a trade‑off, as Huawei's setup draws nearly four times more total power. A single GB200 NVL72 draws 145 kW of power, while a single Huawei CloudMatrix 384 draws ~560 kW. So, NVIDIA is your go-to if you need peak efficiency in a single GPU. If you're building a massive AI supercluster where total throughput and interconnect speed matter most, Huawei's solution actually makes a lot of sense. Thanks to its all-to-all topology, Huawei has delivered an AI training and inference system worth purchasing. When SMIC, the maker of Huawei's chips, gets to a more advanced manufacturing node, the efficiency of these systems will also increase.

Fosi Audio Unveils Next-Gen HiFi Audio Ecosystem at AXPONA 2025, Making High-Fidelity Audio More Accessible Worldwide

International audio brand Fosi Audio made a high-profile appearance at AXPONA 2025 in Chicago from April 11 to 13, unveiling its upgraded brand strategy and a series of next-generation Hi-fi products under the theme "Building an Inclusive Hi-fi Ecosystem for Audiophiles Worldwide." This marks the brand's official debut of its all-new Hi-fi audio ecosystem, featuring multiple upcoming releases including the highly anticipated SP601 passive bookshelf speakers and i5 planar magnetic headphones.

At AXPONA 2025, Fosi Audio announced its new brand vision—"A New Audio Tech Brand Bringing Hi-fi Joy to Audiophiles Worldwide"—and reaffirmed its mission of "Redefining Hi-fi with Unmatched Value." With a strong focus on user-centric innovation, the company is committed to lowering the barrier to high-fidelity audio and making superior sound accessible to more people.
The i5 will officially launch on Kickstarter on April 22, with the prelaunch page now available for early preview. Visit Fosi Audio on Kickstarter.

QD-OLED to Account for 73% of OLED Monitor Shipments in 2025, Driven by Advancing Technology and New Products

TrendForce's latest investigations reveal that ongoing advancements in OLED displays are propelling the growth of QD-OLED monitor shipments. QD-OLED's share of OLED monitor shipments is expected to rise from 68% in 2024 to 73% in 2025, highlighting its strong competitiveness in the high-end monitor market. Driven by growing market demand, more brands and product lines are expected to adopt QD-OLED to deliver superior image quality and refresh rates for gamers and professional users.

The introduction of new 27-inch UHD products and high-refresh-rate QHD 500 Hz monitors is drawing attention. These models offer strong appeal for gaming and professional use, becoming key drivers of QD-OLED monitor adoption. The penetration rate of QD-OLED in 27-inch models is projected to grow from 32% in 2024 to 47% in 2025, driven by an expanding product lineup and ongoing technical improvements.

QNAP Releases Dual-Active Controller ES1686dc R2 NAS

QNAP Systems, Inc. today launched the ES1686dc R2, a high-performance 16-bay SAS 12 Gb/s enterprise NAS engineered for mission-critical applications. Featuring dual active-active controllers, it ensures High Availability (HA) and delivers uncompromising performance for demanding workloads. Designed for enterprise file and virtualization storage, the ES1686dc R2 minimizes downtime with redundant controllers and power supplies, enabling seamless component replacement. This ensures continuous operations, reliability, and stability for business-critical environments.

"The ES1686dc R2 delivers outstanding performance and a reliable high-availability storage solution," said Waterball Liu, Product Manager of QNAP, adding: "The QES operating system features an intuitive user-friendly interface with enhanced functionality, enabling customers to effortlessly adopt professional-grade dual-controller enterprise storage when high availability is required. Whether deployed as a mission-critical file server, virtualization server, VDI, or for efficient file backup and recovery, the ES1686dc R2 meets service-level agreements for both performance and uptime."

Thousands of NVIDIA Grace Blackwell GPUs Now Live at CoreWeave

CoreWeave today became one of the first cloud providers to bring NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 systems online for customers at scale, and AI frontier companies Cohere, IBM and Mistral AI are already using them to train and deploy next-generation AI models and applications. CoreWeave, the first cloud provider to make NVIDIA Grace Blackwell generally available, has already shown incredible results in MLPerf benchmarks with NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 - a powerful rack-scale accelerated computing platform designed for reasoning and AI agents. Now, CoreWeave customers are gaining access to thousands of NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs.

"We work closely with NVIDIA to quickly deliver to customers the latest and most powerful solutions for training AI models and serving inference," said Mike Intrator, CEO of CoreWeave. "With new Grace Blackwell rack-scale systems in hand, many of our customers will be the first to see the benefits and performance of AI innovators operating at scale."

ASML Reports €7.7 Billion Total Net Sales and €2.4 Billion Net Income in Q1 2025

Today, ASML Holding NV (ASML) has published its 2025 first-quarter results.
  • Q1 total net sales of €7.7 billion, gross margin of 54.0%, net income of €2.4 billion
  • Quarterly net bookings in Q1 of €3.9 billion f which €1.2 billion is EUV
  • ASML expects Q2 2025 total net sales between €7.2 billion and €7.7 billion, and a gross margin between 50% and 53%
  • ASML continues to expect 2025 total net sales to be between €30 billion and €35 billion, with a gross margin between 51% and 53%
CEO statement and outlook
"Our first-quarter total net sales came in at €7.7 billion, in line with our guidance. The gross margin was 54.0%, above guidance, driven by a favorable EUV product mix and the achievement of performance milestones. In the first quarter, we shipped our fifth High NA system, and we now have these systems at three customers. Our conversations so far with customers support our expectation that 2025 and 2026 will be growth years. However, the recent tariff announcements have increased uncertainty in the macro environment and the situation will remain dynamic for a while. As previously shared, artificial intelligence continues to be the primary growth driver in our industry. It has created a shift in the market dynamics that benefits some customers more than others, contributing to both upside potential and downside risks as reflected in our 2025 revenue range.
Tuesday, April 15th 2025

Today's Reviews

Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Monitors
PSUs
Storage
CPS PCCOOLER DT360 ARGB Display Review

CPS PCCOOLER DT360 ARGB Display Review

The CPS PCCOOLER DT360 ARGB Display delivers where it counts, offering solid thermal performance, a full suite of features, and clean aesthetics. The magnetic integrated display serves as the main focal point, making it a well-rounded option for users seeking a display-equipped all-in-one liquid cooler with no compromises.

Rebellion Developer Delves into Atomfall's Extensive Accessible Gameplay Feature Set

Last month, we released Atomfall, and it quickly became our most successful launch in the over 30-year history of Rebellion. We want to shine a light on something else we're proud of—how Atomfall is also Rebellion's most accessible title to date. Atomfall might offer challenges for those that want them, but it shouldn't be difficult to physically play. With that in mind, we want to showcase some of the standout accessibility features we've built to help everyone explore the mysteries of the Quarantine Zone. We've included features across motor, vision, audio and cognition, with many becoming accessibility firsts for the studio—including additional audio cues, directional indicators on subtitles, and more. We hope that the host of features, both in and outside of options, helps welcome more players to the Quarantine Zone.

Playstyle
We've built a world full of choice and we want players to be able to play their own way. So, instead of difficulty, Atomfall provides a choice of Playstyle. There are five preset Playstyles to choose from, including Investigator for those seeking more survival gameplay, Brawler for a combat-focused experience, and our default Atomfall experience in Survivor. Sightseer, on the other hand, is a preset which will allow more players to explore and enjoy the Quarantine Zone. It lessens combat and survival aspects and provides a boost to exploration to help you through the expansive Lake District and all its mysteries.

"Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remake" Screenshots Leaked, "Shadow Drop" Reportedly Happening This Month

Rumors of a forthcoming "Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remake" launch popped up online last month; as predicted by NatetheHate. The veteran leaker—of video games industry inside info—proposed a public unveiling; scheduled in at some point within a March to April window. Since then, data miners have combed through various web presences—including Virtuos' online site. Going back to 2021, leaks suggested that this Chinese contract development house was deeply involved in the reimagining/modernizing of Bethesda's 2006 smash-hit.

Yesterday, Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb posited that a formal introduction of the alleged "Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remake" will happen "next week." Insiders reckon that the Unreal Engine 5-powered game will launch on "Xbox, PS5, PC, and Game Pass." Virtuos seems to be preparing itself for an imminent announcement; as evidenced by Elder Scrolls fans compiling leaked screenshots and promotional imagery within an Imgur album. Familiar locations and character designs are visible in gameplay captures. One visual "portfolio" grab compares the speculated new version to Bethesda's original build (2006 vs. 2025).

Bloom & Rage: Lost Records Tape 2 Available Now on PC & Consoles

The first episode of Don't Nod's narrative adventure, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, ended with a hell of a cliffhanger: a massive discovery of something unknown, possibly malevolent, and a devastating revelation about one of the story's central figures. As the second episode, or tape, of this player-choice-driven, nostalgia-powered story aims to draw things to their conclusion when Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 2 launches today (April 15), players have been left wondering what to expect. To dig deeper into the game's ambitions and get some further insight on what to expect from Swann, Nora, Autumn, and Kat's next escapade, we (at PlayStation Blog) sat down for a chat with Michel Koch, Creative Director at Don't Nod's Montreal studio.

You Oughta Know
Koch was eager to tell us how this experience would differ from the first. "The first Tape, 'Bloom,' is the nice and sunny part of the beginning of the summer, of you meeting and bonding with those girls. The second half is called 'Rage,' which is mostly the aftermath of the cliffhanger at the end of Tape 1. We wanted Tape 1 to let the player find their own space within the group of friends, getting a feeling of a summer where you meet friends, but also giving hints of weird things. They're finding the clearing. They're finding the abyss. It's a very natural story of four girls having a fun summer together before Swann moves away. But Tape 2 will focus more on this weirder part of the story. We know what happened at the end of the summer. We still don't know why, but we know that they promise not to see each other again. We know about the weird box, we know about Kat, but we don't know the consequences of this revelation. How do you continue to have a normal summer with your friends? And, of course, the continuation of what's happening with those weird things they found in the forest."

NVIDIA Confirms GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Starting MSRPs: $429 for 16 GB, & $379 for 8 GB

Earlier today, NVIDIA's public relations department published their "GeForce RTX 5060 Desktop Family" introductory article. Curiously, the company's brand-new GeForce RTX 5060 Ti graphics cards do not headline Team Green's "dedicated" PR release—instead, the general "game changing" GeForce RTX 5060 series is advertised with a starting price point of $299. Clarification arrives several paragraphs deep into the blurb—as explained with some "PR" magic: "starting April 16th, we're bringing DLSS 4 and Blackwell's suite of innovations to every gamer with the launch of the GeForce RTX 5060 desktop family, beginning with the release of the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti. And in May, the GeForce RTX 5060 arrives, with prices starting at $299." Very specific cost of ownership digits leaked last week; indicating a refreshing reduction over earlier (disappointing) predictions.

Team Green's publicity team has confirmed starting MSRPs of $429 for 16 GB models, and $379 for 8 GB variants. These official numbers are buried three-quarters of the way into NVIDIA's PR document. Older evidence pointed to a possible repeat of lower end GeForce RTX 40-series guide prices—as it turns out, the GeForce RTX 5060 card's $299 "cost of entry" aligns with its predecessor's launch figure. Based on leaked pre-built PC listings, industry watchdogs deduced the $299 MSRP earlier on in the month. Additionally, Team Green's PR material teased the upcoming launch of related mobile hardware: "the same features, innovations and advantages of the GeForce RTX 5060 desktop family are coming to laptops this May, when GeForce RTX 5060 laptops arrive on shop shelves, starting at $1099." Real life scenario prices are expected to remain "sky-high," even for rumored cheaper devices—equipped with GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile GPUs.

Bungie Devs Go In-depth into Marathon's Gameplay Systems - Closed Alpha Test Starts April 23

Over the past weekend we shared the first look at Marathon's gameplay in our livestream from Bungie headquarters, and now we're here to recap the highlights! In the Gameplay Reveal Showcase, we sat down with game director Joe Ziegler, franchise art director Joseph Cross, senior design lead Lars Bakken, gameplay director Andrew Witts, and senior social media manager Andy Salisbury to chat about everything from favorite Runners to gunplay to expanding the Marathon legacy. Want to see the full show? Check out the VOD below. It has all of the videos you'll see here, plus a bunch of extra details and fun moments with the team.

UP FIRST... Important dates and our first playtest
The Marathon Closed Alpha Test runs from April 23 to May 4, and Marathon launches on September 23, 2025. Wishlist on Steam to keep up with the latest news. Want to sign up for your chance to join the first playtest? Join the official Discord and follow the steps in the server to sign up. We'll be inviting players at the start of the playtest and throughout the playtest, so keep an eye on your inbox. The Closed Alpha Test will be available to players who are 18+ and located in North America. It'll be a fairly small playtest as we test our technical capabilities and gather important feedback before bigger tests. We know there are lots of you who won't be able to get in (yet), and we see you. Please hold tight! We'll be there soon

Sony Reportedly Prepping "PlayStation 6 Portable" with "<40 CU" Chipset Design

Sony and Microsoft seem to be involved in the development of handheld gaming consoles, but insiders reckon that respective next-generation offerings will not directly compete with each other. Xbox and ASUS have signalled some sort of collaborative ROG Alloy-esque device; potentially releasing later on in 2025. Whispers of a futuristic PlayStation portable model's chipset design emerged mid-way through March; courtesy of Kepler_L2. The notorious leaker has recent history of reporting inside track knowledge of AMD CPU and GPU architectures/technologies. They alleged that Sony and Team Red's collaborative PS6 APU design project had reached a finalized stage of development, possibly around late 2024/early 2025. Returning to March/April events; Kepler_L2 theorized that a "PS6 Portable" would not be capable of surpassing PlayStation 5 (home console) level performance upon launch in 2028.

The mysterious handheld is said to be powered by a "15 W SoC" manufactured on a non-specific 3 nm node process. Elaborating further, they posit that PlayStation's rumored handheld is capable of running PS5 generation games—bandwidth and power restrictions could reduce resolution and frame rates below that of Sony's current-gen system. Kepler_L2 pictures "PS6 Portable" gaming performance being somewhere in-between Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5 (non-Pro). According to rumors, the handheld's chipset is not related or derived from the PS6 home console's internal setup. Kepler_L2 envisioned a mobile SoC with fewer than 40 compute units (CUs)—several media outlets have added their interpretation of this data point; with a sub-36 count. PlayStation 5's GPU aspect consists of 36 CUs, while the Xbox Series S graphics solution makes do with 20 units. Sony's speculated return to portable territories will be welcomed by owners of older handheld models—namely the Vita and PSP. Famously, these portable products struggled to keep up with competing Nintendo devices.

OpenAI Releases GPT-4.1 Model Family with Massive Context and Improved Performance

Yesterday, OpenAI unveiled its new GPT-4.1 model family, which includes GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and GPT-4.1 nano. These models promise significantly improved coding, instruction following, and long-context understanding compared to earlier versions like GPT-4o. All three support up to one million tokens of context, so they can handle much larger documents, codebases, or even hour-long video transcripts. In coding tests, GPT-4.1 scored 54.6% on the SWE-bench Verified benchmark, a jump of 21.4 points over GPT-4o. That makes it one of the strongest models for real-world software engineering tasks. It's better at exploring code repositories, creating patches that actually compile and pass tests, and following diff formats without extra edits. Areas like instruction following got a boost, too. On Scale's MultiChallenge benchmark, GPT-4.1 scored 38.3%, up 10.5 points from GPT-4o. That means it can stick to multi-step prompts more reliably and format its responses the way you ask.

The models' long-context skills stand out on the Video-MME benchmark, where GPT-4.1 scored 72.0% in the "long, no subtitles" category, 6.7 points higher than GPT-4o. Thanks to its one-million-token window, GPT-4.1 can pull together information spread across huge inputs, whether it's scattered text in a document or key moments in a video. OpenAI says these gains come from close work with developers, tuning the models for tasks that matter while cutting costs and latency. GPT-4.1 mini cuts cost 83% and nearly half the response time compared to GPT-4o. GPT-4.1 nano is even faster and cheaper, making it ideal for classification or autocompletion. All three models are available now through OpenAI's API. They won't appear directly in ChatGPT initially, though many of their improvements have already made it into the latest GPT-4o chatbot. Developers using the GPT-4.5 Preview should plan to switch over by July 14, 2025, when that version will be retired. While o3-mini remains the most powerful thinking model, the non-thinking GPT-4.1 family is closing the gap to deliver faster response times.

Qualcomm's Upcoming Snapdragon X2 Elite PC to Get a 22% Performance Boost

Qualcomm aims to boost the performance of its Windows‑on‑Arm PC chips by about 18-22% percent with the next‑generation Snapdragon X2 processors. That estimate comes from Focused Digital, a well‑known Chinese blogger often leaks supply‑chain details. He says these new Snapdragon X2 chips will hit boost clocks of around 4.40 GHz, which is up from the 4.0 to 4.30 GHz range we see on today's Snapdragon X Elite models. Currently, those Elite chips use Oryon cores built on the TSMC 4 nm‑class N4P process. They run between 3.0 and 3.80 GHz at base and can turbo up to 4.30 GHz. So, simply cranking the top speed up another 100 MHz could explain a chunk of that performance jump. Beyond clocks, Qualcomm is probably squeezing more efficiency out of its Oryon V3 microarchitecture too, though we don't have details yet.

We also don't know exactly which process node Qualcomm will pick. They could stick with a refined 4 nm variant or switch to 3 nm later on. Either way, a roughly 20 percent improvement aligns with what you'd expect from a new generation of chips due in 2025. Another rumor floating around is that the X2 Elite series will jump from 12 to 18 cores, giving the processors more parallel horsepower. Internal test rigs reportedly pair these chips with up to 48 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1 TB of NVMe storage. Qualcomm rolled out its first Snapdragon X Elite processors in mid‑2024 and began testing the SC8480XP prototype in September 2024. If these performance figures hold up, the new Snapdragon X2 lineup could close the gap on x86 competitors and set Qualcomm up nicely for competing in stronger with a push in the PC segment by 2026.

PNY Unveils NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Family of Graphics Cards

PNY announced today the arrival of the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti (16 GB and 8 GB), and RTX 5060 graphics cards to its lineup of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs. Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell, GeForce RTX 5060 family GPUs bring game-changing capabilities to gamers and creators. Equipped with a massive level of AI horsepower, the RTX 50 Series enables new experiences and next-level graphics fidelity. Multiply performance with NVIDIA DLSS 4, generate images at unprecedented speed, and unleash creativity with NVIDIA Studio.

Supercharged Performance and Speed
The PNY GeForce RTX 5060 Family of graphics cards will be available three different variants: GeForce RTX 5060 Ti (with 16 GB or 8 GB) and RTX 5060, all powered by the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, providing enhanced gaming realism, powerful real time ray tracing, and cutting-edge features to accelerate gaming performance. Factory-overclocked SKUs are available to maximize out-of-box performance on Blackwell architecture.

Coming Soon to Game Pass: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Towerborne, CoD:MWII, and More...

If you've ever wondered what the Venn diagram of Bikini Bottom, Los Santos, mysterious archipelagos, and a few other locations looks like - the center is "Places You Can Visit Soon with Game Pass" (not many people have wondered that before now, but at least I could give you that answer!). We have updates on games, benefits, Perks, and some launches you might have caught in some previous Xbox Showcases. Let's get to it!

Available Today
Grand Theft Auto V (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
Grand Theft Auto V returns to Game Pass today. Experience entertainment blockbusters Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online with Xbox Game Pass on console, Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta), or the newly enhanced version on PC with Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass.

NVIDIA DLSS 4 With Multi Frame Generation Comes to Black Myth: Wukong, EXFIL, No More Room In Hell 2 & SQUAD

More than 700 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, DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation multiplies performance in Black Myth: Wukong, EXFIL, No More Room In Hell 2, and SQUAD, which has also added support for quality-enhancing Neural Radiance Cache technology.

Black Myth: Wukong DLSS Multi Frame Generation Upgrade Available Now
As one of 2024's best selling games, Game Science's Black Myth: Wukong needs little introduction. Millions of gamers have battled its fearsome bosses in highly detailed fully ray-traced worlds, and Black Myth: Wukong's performance is getting even faster with the release of a DLSS Multi Frame Generation upgrade. The new DLSS Multi Frame Generation update started rolling out to store fronts yesterday, with others gradually following. Specific availability details can be found on Game Science's homepage. Using the update, GeForce RTX 50 Series gamers can multiply performance by up to 10X thanks to DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation and DLSS Super Resolution.

Vastarmor Expands Radeon RX 9070 XT Range with New "Alloy" Model

Vastarmor—a Chinese manufacturer—was introduced as an important board partner during AMD's special Radeon 9070 Series event. Despite having limited reach outside of its home base, the fairly young brand's custom designs have gained press traction around the globe. TechPowerUp covered Vastarmor's introduction of new Super Alloy series Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 models back in late February. The triple-fan ARGB-lit flagship model was positioned in good (rival) company, thanks to a maximum 3.1 GHz boost capability. As reported by VideoCardz, Vastarmor has added another custom Radeon RX 9070 XT option to its RDNA 4 product portfolio. A freshly-published product page has outlined specifications for the brand's new (non-Super) Alloy SKU.

Outside of Vastarmor's dedicated listing, a quick web search of the model's identifier code—AH-9070XT16TC1BR7N—reveals BIOS information, and little else. The Radeon RX 9070 XT Alloy seems to be a straightforward spin-off of its fancier sibling, albeit sans ARGB lighting zones. This barebone design sports non-transparent black fans, but preserves the flagship card's triple 8-pin power connector configuration. Vastarmor has downgraded its non-Super model's boost clock to a mere 3010 MHz (instead of 3100 MHz)—as configured on rival cards: ASUS PRIME RX 9070 XT OC, PowerColor Hellhound RX 9070 XT, and Sapphire PURE RX 9070 XT. Curiously, a white Alloy option is not present on Vastarmor's website—their current-gen Super Alloy range launched with pale alternatives.

ASUS Introduces Upgraded TUF Gaming A14 Gaming Laptop

ASUS today announced an all-new TUF Gaming A14 gaming laptop equipped with an AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU. Housed in an incredibly portable and lightweight 14-inch form factor chassis, the TUF Gaming A14 is the perfect companion for any gamer on the go.

Next-gen RTX 50 Series graphics
Backed by the incredible performance of the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU, the TUF Gaming A14 is truly primed and ready for the latest AAA and esports games. This card features the latest DLSS suite of technologies, which uses AI and neural rendering to boost FPS, reduce latency, and improve image quality. ‌The latest breakthrough, DLSS 4, brings new Multi Frame Generation and enhanced Ray Reconstruction and Super Resolution, powered by GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs and fifth-generation Tensor Cores. From old classics to the latest AAA titles, the A14 has the power to make games look and perform better than ever before.

ASUS Introduces GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 Card Lineup: TUF Gaming, Prime & Dual

We've snuggled NVIDIA's brand-new GeForce RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti GPUs inside a variety of ASUS graphics cards to bring game-ready NVIDIA 50 Series graphics power to more PC players. Between NVIDIA's Blackwell architecture and our cutting-edge hardware, these graphics cards offer users an accessible and exciting path to modern PC gaming. We have something for everybody, including rock-solid TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti options, versatile Prime GeForce RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti offerings, and ultra-compact Dual GeForce RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti graphics cards. Whether you want something rugged, small form factor (SFF)-ready, or amped with enough VRAM to dig into more serious gaming, we have a graphics card that'll fit your needs.

Next-gen technology, hardware, and features for all
There are many constants across our RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti graphics card spread, ensuring you'll get lots of great features no matter what card you're keen on. All nine of our TUF Gaming, Prime, and ASUS Dual RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti cards benefit from NVIDIA's Blackwell architecture, granting you 4th generation RT cores for improved ray tracing performance. RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti GPUs also pack neural shaders, which game developers can use to compress textures and reduce memory usage. NVIDIA DLSS 4 will supercharge your gaming experience with its own feature suite. Super Resolution, Ray Reconstruction, and Frame Generation all get improvements with the latest version of DLSS, helping your games run well and look their best. And 5th Gen Tensor Cores give these GPUs the power of Multi Frame Gen, smoothing out your AAA gaming like never before. Together, these features help RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti graphics cards punch above their weight class, giving you outsized performance.

Acer Debuts Nitro Gaming PCs Featuring Latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs

Acer today announced the expansion of its mainstream Nitro gaming line with the launch of the new Acer Nitro AI laptops and the Nitro 20 desktop. The Nitro range brings a full-package gaming experience and great value for gamers and content creators, combining robust processing power, essential computing features, and more without breaking the bank. The addition of slim laptops and a compact Windows PC option also support users with limited space for their gaming set-ups.

The Nitro AI laptops are Copilot+ PCs, powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processors and equipped with the game-changing NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series Laptop GPUs to make more powerful AI rendering capabilities more accessible. The Nitro 20 desktop also utilizes AI processors and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 GPU, focusing on better energy efficiency with a smaller footprint.

GALAX Teases Imminent Launch of GeForce RTX 5090D HOF XOC Limited Edition in China

GALAX did not expedite the development of a flagship GeForce RTX 5090D custom design; as evidenced by the absence of a top-flight Hall of Fame (HOF) option during launch week. "Cheaper" options—in the form of General and 1-Click models—were made available to the Chinese public on January 30. GALAX's fanciest new-gen "Blackwell" HOF model debuted with less potent hardware onboard: GeForce RTX 5080 OC LAB Plus-X Edition. Throughout early 2025, GALAX seeded early samples—of HOF GeForce RTX 5090D hardware—with tenured extreme overclocking organizations. Last month, almost finalized board designs became record breakers—achieved via liquid nitrogen cooled methodologies. Earlier prototypes sported a single 16-pin power connector, but newer Extreme Overclock (XOC) iterations were distributed with a second power delivery channel.

Yesterday, GALAX's social media channel teased the imminent launch of their air-cooled retail variant: "5090D HOF XOC Edition (Limited). Seems like it will be on China market soon…" Up until very recently, overclocking champions have shared photos of bare GALAX GeForce 5090D HOF cards—industry watchdogs reckoned that company engineers were still realizing a next-gen cooling solution. The Chinese manufacturer's promo material advertises the (presumably) very expensive forthcoming SKU as an option "only for better performance." Product renders showcase a familiar (optional) crown-adorned shroud, but it is not clear whether GALAX has revised its backplate design for this generation's XOC flagship.

COLORFUL Launches iGame GeForce RTX 5060 Series Graphics Cards

Colorful Technology Company Limited, a leading brand in gaming PC components, gaming laptops, and Hi-fi audio products, announces the launch of the iGame GeForce RTX 5060 Series graphics cards which consists of three variants: the RTX 5060 Ti (16 GB and 8 GB variants) and RTX 5060 graphics cards. The COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 5060 Series features the Advanced, Ultra W, and Battle Ax models and also compact dual-fan models with the Ultra W DUO and NB DUO models.

Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell, GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs bring game-changing capabilities to gamers and creators. Equipped with a massive level of AI horsepower, the RTX 50 Series enables new experiences and next-level graphics fidelity. Multiply performance with NVIDIA DLSS 4, generate images at unprecedented speed, and unleash creativity with NVIDIA Studio.

Dune: Awakening Delayed Until June 10th

Dear Sleepers, These are exciting times, we're closing in on launch, and we've just initiated a major preview beta where hundreds of journalists and content creators are playing the early parts of the game and will be releasing their coverage on April 25th. These past few weeks we've been steadily gearing up, releasing the Character Creator & Benchmark Mode back in February, starting pre-orders in March, and continuing to release new livestreams, videos, and details to keep you informed.

We want to thank everyone who has shared in our excitement. It's been a joy reading all your comments across the various community channels. Our ongoing Persistent Closed Beta is also continuing in full force, with regular updates, and the feedback we've been collecting from beta testers has been invaluable in making sure we can launch a quality game. We have a very active Discord going with our beta testers where our developers can interact directly with them to ensure we collaboratively make Dune: Awakening a better game.

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Launching into Early Access This Summer

Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era is coming to Steam in Early Access this summer, and aspiring adventurers can wishlist it now to be alerted when it releases. The new installment in the turn-based strategy series takes place in the vibrant fantasy world of Enroth, where players will recruit heroes to explore the continent of Jadame and raise armies to battle in the struggle to determine its future. Olden Era features six unique factions, a single-player campaign, and several multiplayer modes allowing you to venture alongside or clash with other players, including Hotseat mode for local multiplayer fun. Furthermore, players can set out into the unknown on randomly generated maps, and take advantage of the map editor to create worlds of their own—or experience those created by other players.

Olden Era returns to the world of Enroth and the origins of the legendary saga, inviting both veterans and new players to go on a new strategic quest on Jadame, a mysterious continent in turmoil, mentioned but never explored in the previous games, with its unique factions, biomes and creatures. Traverse a vibrant and living fantasy world full of wonders and dangers, build magnificent castles, raise massive armies and clash in epic and highly tactical battles of heroes and mythical creatures. Play solo with a new campaign, explore single and limitless randomly generated maps, or engage in battle of wits and magic with other players in multiplayer mode. Or even build your own Heroes of Might & Magic stories with the in-game map and campaign editor.

AMD Announces Amuse 3.0 Generative AI Solution for Print-Quality Images and Draft-Quality Short Videos

AMD partnered with TensorStack AI to launch the Amuse 3.0 local generative AI platform, letting users of AMD Ryzen AI processors and Radeon RX GPUs generate images and short-videos locally. The platform can generate print quality images and draft-quality (read: low res) videos up to 6 seconds in length. The platform comes with support for over 100 new AI models, including Stable Diffusion 3.5 and FLUX.

Each of these models has been heavily optimized for AMD hardware resulting in up to 4.3 times faster inferencing speed compared to generic models. The platform can diffuse 4-6 seconds of draft-quality short videos. It also includes AI-based video filters. AMD arrived at the 4.3x performance number comparing generic Olive Optimize base models with AMD optimized models, accelerating both an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU. The company also put out performance numbers for Ryzen AI processors with their 50 TOPS-class NPU, where the AMD Optimized models were shown being up to 3.3x faster with image generation.

ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Extreme Motherboard Launching in China, Price Tag: ~$1360

Since teasing its next-gen flagship motherboard design—at CES 2025—the ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) team has spent time finalizing an option that is even more extravagant than their hardcore overclocking-oriented Crosshair X870E Apex model. Naturally, the premium sub-brand did not reveal pricing during preview events—instead, premature European e-tail listings suggested a €1200 (~$1350 USD) tag. Tony Wu and colleagues at ASUS China introduced an impressive swath of brand-new products at an official in-person showcase last week, in Changsha.

During proceedings, company representatives introduced their top-flight E-ATX format board with a hefty day one price: 9999 RMB ($1360 USD). The ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Extreme is expected to launch later this month; likely starting off with the Chinese domestic market. At the time of writing, the manufacturer's various global branches have not disclosed localized details—be it pricing or availability. Last week's presser did not produce any surprises, since plenty of specification details (and promo shots) leaked out late last month. One interesting and very over the top feature is the model's integration of an adjustable full-color 5-inch LCD screen. The primary M.2 storage solution will be cooled by an "innovative" 3D vapor chamber heatsink. Well-heeled customers will be relieved to know that ASUS has outfitted the AAA board design with their revamped Q-Release Slim mechanism.

Gainward Announces GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 Python III and Ghost Graphics Cards

Gainward, a trusted leader in high-performance graphics cards, proudly announces the launch of its NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti (16 GB and 8 GB variants), and RTX 5060 Series lineup. This release features the Python III and Ghost series, each designed to deliver powerful performance for gaming, AI, and creative workloads, with advanced cooling and exceptional durability.

Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell, GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs bring game-changing capabilities to gamers and creators. Equipped with a massive level of AI horsepower, the RTX 50 Series enables new experiences and next-level graphics fidelity. Multiply performance with NVIDIA DLSS 4, generate images at unprecedented speed, and unleash creativity with NVIDIA Studio.

ZOTAC Gaming Announces the GeForce RTX 5060 Series

ZOTAC Technology PTE. Limited, a global leader in technology, announces today the addition of the ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 5060 Series to its 50 Series graphics card line-up. The ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 5060 Series includes the RTX 5060 Ti (16 GB and 8 GB variants), and the RTX 5060, each featuring ultra-fast GDDR7 memory, powerful cooling, elegant designs, and widely compatible compact footprints.

Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell, GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs bring game-changing capabilities to gamers and creators. Equipped with a massive level of AI horsepower, the RTX 50 Series enables new experiences and next-level graphics fidelity. Multiply performance with NVIDIA DLSS 4, generate images at unprecedented speed, and unleash creativity with NVIDIA Studio.

EA Introduces Star Wars Zero Company, More Details Coming This Weekend

Recruit an unconventional team of operatives and deploy them on missions unlike any other in the galaxy far, far away in Star Wars Zero Company! The newly announced single-player turn-based tactics game, developed by Bit Reactor in collaboration with Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games, will share the first details about the game currently in development with attendees at Star Wars Celebration Japan. Here's your exclusive first look at Star Wars Zero Company and just a few members of the elite squad under your command. The upcoming turn-based tactics game puts you in command during the Clone Wars.

Bit Reactor Developer Panel featuring Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games
Join Bit Reactor, along with Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games, for a first look at a new Star Wars turn-based tactics game. Tune into the Star Wars Celebration on April 19, Live on the Galaxy Stage—4:30PM - 5:30PM—for a first look at STAR WARS Zero Company, a single-player turn-based tactics game coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Corsair Launches Upgraded HXi Series Power Supplies

Corsair is excited to announce upgraded HX1200i and HX1500i Series fully modular, low-noise power supplies for 2025. These powerful PSUs are Cybenetics Platinum-certified for up to 91% efficiency, delivering clean, reliable power. They now feature updated cables with a debossed design and low-profile cable combs for easy cable management and a sleek appearance. In addition, HXi Series power supplies now include two 12V-2x6 GPU power cables with a new dual-color connector that provides visual confirmation of a secure connection, offering additional peace of mind for PC builders. The HXi Series is built for high-end PCs using the latest, most powerful GPUs, including NVIDIA RTX 50 series and AMD 9070 series graphics cards.

Corsair HXi power supplies are ATX 3.1 certified and PCIe 5.1 compliant, supporting the latest power standards with high reliability and efficiency. They are Modern Standby compatible for extremely fast wake-from-sleep times and excellent low-load efficiency. A resonant LLC topology with DC-to-DC conversion provides clean, consistent power. A 10-year warranty ensures these PSUs will last through several upgrade cycles, delivering reliable power to even the most ambitious builds for years to come.

Inno3D Unveils its GeForce RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti Graphics Cards

INNO3D, a leading manufacturer of high-end multimedia components and innovations proudly announces the new additions to the GeForce RTX 50 Series, featuring INNO3D GeForce RTX 5060 Ti GPUs (16 GB and 8 GB variants), and GeForce RTX 5060 GPUs. These cutting-edge graphics cards harness the power of NVIDIA's ultra-efficient Blackwell architecture, delivering unparalleled performance, advanced neural rendering capabilities, and industry-leading platform features.

INNO3D has elevated both aesthetics and functionality across its impressive cooler lineup, including the INNO3D X3 OC and TWIN X2/OC models, also in WHITE. With these significant enhancements, INNO3D reaffirms its commitment to providing gamers and creators with an unmatched visual experience, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in graphics technology.

PALIT Introduces the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti & RTX 5060 Series Graphics Cards: Infinity 3 and Dual

As a leading innovator in graphics card technology, Palit Microsystems Ltd. is excited to unveil its latest GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 series. Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell, GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs bring game-changing capabilities to gamers and creators. Equipped with a massive level of AI horsepower, the RTX 50 Series enables new experiences and next-level graphics fidelity. Multiply performance with NVIDIA DLSS 4, generate images at unprecedented speed, and unleash creativity with NVIDIA Studio. Plus, access NVIDIA NIM microservices - state-of-the-art AI models that let enthusiasts and developers build AI assistants, agents, and workflows with peak performance on NIM-ready systems. A New Era of SFF Power: The Infinity 3 Series

Available on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti GPUs with 16 GB or 8 GB, and RTX 5060 GPUs, the Palit Infinity 3 series is engineered for SFF-Ready (Small Form Factor) builds, redefining compact performance. Measuring just 292 x 117 x 42 mm, the Infinity 3 is 45% smaller than standard RTX 50 triple-fan models. With a slim 2-slot design, it is even more compact than most SFF specifications, making it a top choice for high-performance, space-conscious PC setups.

GIGABYTE Debuts GeForce RTX 5060 Ti & 5060 with Advanced Cooling System for Ultimate Gaming and AI

GIGABYTE, the world's leading computer brand, launches the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti, and GeForce RTX 5060 series graphics cards, powered by NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, which will be available starting April 16. Designed for mainstream gamers, creators, and entry-level AI users, these new models offer an optimal balance between performance and cooling efficiency with an upgraded WINDFORCE cooling system for smooth gameplay and multitasking.⁠

The upgraded WINDFORCE cooling system aims to enhance cooling efficiency by maximizing air volume and minimizing turbulence and noise. These graphics cards feature the Hawk Fan design that delivers up to a 53.6% increase in air pressure and a 12.5% boost in air volume. GIGABYTE also applied server-grade conductive gel to ensure optimal contact with uneven surfaces, reducing thermal resistance and maintaining stability over prolonged usage. Equipped with direct GPU contact copper plate and composite heat pipes, GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and GeForce RTX 5060 series graphics cards are accomplished to maximize heat transfer for superior cooling performance.⁠

MSI Releases the Custom NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Series Graphics Cards

MSI is pleased to introduce its latest graphics card lineup powered by the newly launched NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti (16GB and 8GB variants) and 5060 series GPUs, featuring the VANGUARD, GAMING, INSPIRE, and VENTUS series. Designed with advanced graphics technology and efficient cooling solutions, these cards offer reliable performance for gaming, AI applications, and content creation. Balancing power and efficiency, they ensure smooth operation with optimized thermals and low noise levels for a great user experience.

Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell, GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs bring game-changing capabilities to gamers and creators. Equipped with a massive level of AI horsepower, the RTX 50 Series enables new experiences and next-level graphics fidelity. Multiply performance with NVIDIA DLSS 4, generate images at unprecedented speed, and unleash creativity with NVIDIA Studio.

NVIDIA Launches GeForce RTX 5060 Series, Beginning with RTX 5060 Ti This Week

NVIDIA today announced the GeForce RTX 5060 series, with a combined announcement of the GeForce RTX 5060, the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB, and the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB. The latter two will be available from tomorrow, 16th April, which is also when media reviews of the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB and 8 GB go live. The RTX 5060, meanwhile, is expected to be launched in May. The RTX 5060 Ti introduces the new 5 nm "GB206" silicon, which the SKU maxes out. This chip features 36 streaming multiprocessors (SM) across 3 GPCs. These work out to 4,608 CUDA cores, 144 Tensor cores, 36 RT cores, 144 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The chip features a 128-bit GDDR7 memory interface driving 8 GB of 16 GB of 28 Gbps (GDDR7-effective) memory for 448 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is a 55% increase over the RTX 4060 Ti.

NVIDIA recommends the RTX 5060 Ti for maxed out 1080p gameplay, including with ray tracing, although we expect it to be unofficially capable of 1440p gameplay with fairly high settings and ray tracing. You get new features being introduced with the RTX 50-series, including Neural Rendering, and DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation. NVIDIA is pricing the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB at $375, and the 16 GB sibling about $50 higher, at $425, although these could be fairy tale pricing given the unpredictable world trade environment and scarcity profiteering by scalpers.

ZOTAC Launches One Launcher 2.0 for GAMING ZONE Handheld

Today, we are proud to announce the release of the next version of our launcher software for the ZOTAC GAMING ZONE Handheld, which features a revamped interface and major changes to improve usability on our handheld gaming console. In this blog post, we will talk about some of the major changes of the software, and how to update to this version from pre-2.0 launcher version.

Major Changes
Button Mapping
The latest One Launcher update introduces a refined button mapping system designed for streamlined customization. After selecting the gamepad mapping option, the Launcher will now prompt you to assign a profile to a specific game, simplifying your setup process. This update also expands button mapping possibilities - you can now map any button on the handheld to a wider range of inputs, including keyboard and mouse buttons for games that doesn't natively support gamepads. For even greater control, we've added Joystick dead zone, curve and threshold settings, alongside adjustable trigger pull range settings, offering a wider range of configurability to suit your playstyle. Finally, the Radial Dials now share the same versatile assignment options as any other button on the ZONE - they can be assigned to gamepad, keyboard, and mouse inputs - alongside a few new hotkeys for convenient access to system utilities.

be quiet! Announces Dark Mount and Light Mount Series Gaming Keyboards

be quiet!, the renowned German manufacturer of premium PC components, is expanding its product portfolio into gaming peripherals with the introduction of Dark Mount and Light Mount—two brand-new mechanical keyboards designed for enthusiasts who demand precision, comfort, and durability. Available in both linear and tactile Silent Switches variants, these keyboards combine premium materials with a minimalist aesthetic, delivering a seamless typing experience with an amazing smooth sound profile for gamers, creators, and professionals alike. Alongside these peripherals, be quiet! also launches its first software tool: IO Center for Windows, which offers users complete control over their peripherals, plus a web-based version called IO Center Web, which works on various operating systems.

Aaron Licht, CEO of be quiet!, says: "With Dark Mount and Light Mount, we're not just entering a new product category—we're setting a new benchmark for what gamers and creators should expect from their keyboards. These models reflect everything be quiet! stands for: smart engineering, understated design, and a relentless focus on performance without compromise. We've put great care into the acoustics, the feel of every keystroke, and the overall user experience. This launch is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for us, and we're proud to bring our expertise in silence and quality to the world of peripherals."

Intel "Bartlett Lake-S" Gaming CPU is Possible, More Hints Appear for a 12 P-Core SKU

Intel's "Bartlett Lake-S" architecture, previously only offered for edge and networking deployment, may spawn a 12 P-core variant for gamers that eliminates efficiency cores entirely. This hopeful configuration would specifically target applications that benefit from consistent single-threaded performance and deterministic core behavior, addressing a market segment underserved since Intel's transition to hybrid architectures. Recent software support developments strengthen this speculation, with diagnostic utility AIDA64 explicitly adding "improved support for Intel Bartlett Lake-S CPU" in its 7.65.7404 beta release notes from April 13, 2025. This update precedes any consumer launch announcement, suggesting possible platform expansion. MSI-affiliated overclocker Toppc amplified these rumors by highlighting the AIDA64 changelog while referencing undisclosed developments under NDA, a pattern historically preceding consumer product launches.

The rumored gaming-oriented CPU would leverage the LGA 1700 platform compatibility, enabling drop-in upgrades for existing 600-series and 700-series motherboard owners. Unlike the current flagship Core 7 251E with its 8P+16E configuration, a pure performance-core implementation would eliminate the Windows scheduler complications that sometimes impact frame timing in latency-sensitive games. Current hybrid designs force game engines to navigate complex thread scheduling across heterogeneous cores, with performance-critical threads occasionally migrating to efficiency cores during intensive scenes. A homogeneous 12 P-core architecture would eliminate this behavior, providing stable thread assignment and potentially reducing the 99th percentile frame time variances that affect perceived smoothness in CPU-bound titles.

LG Makes Impressive Debut at Data Center World 2025

LG Electronics (LG) is unveiling a comprehensive lineup of cooling solutions at the Data Center World (DCW) 2025 conference in Washington, D.C., from April 14-17. This marks LG's debut at DCW, where the company is presenting an array of advanced data center cooling solutions, including high-performance chillers, air- and liquid-based server cooling products, and the LG Building Energy Control (BECON) solution. With its high-efficiency direct-to-chip (D2C) cooling technologies and integrated AI-powered control software, LG aims to make significant inroads into North America's rapidly growing data center market.

AI data centers generate more heat and consume more electricity than conventional data centers due to higher server-rack density and the increased usage of resource-intensive computer chips, such as graphics processing units and high-bandwidth memory. LG's hybrid solution, which combines chip cooling and room cooling, is designed to meet the thermal management needs of these next-gen facilities, delivering outstanding performance and top-tier energy efficiency. Visitors to the LG booth at DCW can learn all about the company's tailored cooling solutions for AI data centers and witness the commitment to innovation that has propelled LG to the forefront of the global HVAC industry.

High-NA EUV Tools Cost Nearly $400 Million Yet Deliver Big Savings on Complex Layers

High‑NA EUV lithography comes with a crazy $380 million price tag, but it can actually cut overall production costs in the right situations. At the SPIE Advanced Lithography and Patterning conference in February 2025, IBM researchers in Veldhoven revealed that one high‑NA exposure runs about 2.5x the cost of a standard low‑NA shot. That seems steep, yet High‑NA's real strength shows up when it replaces complicated multi‑patterning processes. SemiAnalysis had predicted last year that High‑NA would not become cost‑effective until around 2030, largely because higher dose requirements slow down throughput on the trickiest layers. However, after reviewing IBM's new data, the firm adjusted its outlook. Their model confirms that sticking with Low‑NA double patterning for two-mask sequences remains the cheapest path.

On the other hand, once you need three or more Low‑NA masks, switching to a single High‑NA pass starts to pay off. In fact, for a four‑mask self‑aligned litho‑etch flow, High‑NA can reduce total wafer cost by roughly 1.7-2.1x compared to using Low‑NA multi‑patterning. One big reason fabs are interested is that fewer exposures mean simpler process flows. You cut down cycle time and lower the chance of overlay mistakes. Still, SemiAnalysis warns that a simpler flow does not automatically mean lower expense in every case. Looking at Intel 14A, it turns out only a few critical metal layers at the 14A node hit the sweet spot where High‑NA's higher per‑shot cost is outweighed by ditching multiple masks.

ASUS Announces Latest ExpertBook P1 Laptop Models

ASUS today announced the latest additions to its comprehensive range of business laptops - ExpertBook P1 (PM1403 and PM1503). Aimed at administrators and budget-conscious professionals who require essential computing services without compromise, and available in 14-inch or 15.6-inch FHD options, the new ExpertBook P1 models blend effective performance with everyday functionality, housed in a practical design that delivers where it counts. The compact and elegant ExpertBook P1 series starts at a lightweight 1.4 kg and features an elegant new design that unlocks impressive efficiency to supercharge daily productivity, empowered by Copilot in Windows - quickly accessed via a single tap of the dedicated Copilot key.

The new ExpertBook P1 laptops are engineered for superb performance, powered by up to an AMD Ryzen 7 processor and offering up to 1 TB of storage with up to dual SSDs for fast operation. They also feature a built-in fingerprint sensor and TPM 2.0 chip to protect privacy and business data - ensuring that ExpertBook P1 is a trusted, reliable traveling companion for modern workflows.

AMD Achieves First TSMC N2 Product Silicon Milestone

AMD today announced its next-generation AMD EPYC processor, codenamed "Venice," is the first HPC product in the industry to be taped out and brought up on the TSMC advanced 2 nm (N2) process technology. This highlights the strength of AMD and TSMC semiconductor manufacturing partnership to co-optimize new design architectures with leading-edge process technology. It also marks a major step forward in the execution of the AMD data center CPU roadmap, with "Venice" on track to launch next year. AMD also announced the successful bring up and validation of its 5th Gen AMD EPYC CPU products at TSMC's new fabrication facility in Arizona, underscoring its commitment to U.S. manufacturing.

"TSMC has been a key partner for many years and our deep collaboration with their R&D and manufacturing teams has enabled AMD to consistently deliver leadership products that push the limits of high-performance computing," said Dr. Lisa Su, chair and CEO, AMD. "Being a lead HPC customer for TSMC's N2 process and for TSMC Arizona Fab 21 are great examples of how we are working closely together to drive innovation and deliver the advanced technologies that will power the future of computing."

TP-Link Systems Inc. Receives CVE Numbering Authority Designation

TP-Link Systems Inc., a global leader in networking and smart home solutions, today announced its official authorization by the Common Vulnerability and Exposures Program (CVE) as a CVE Numbering Authority (CNA). This designation empowers TP-Link to assign CVE IDs to certain vulnerabilities potentially related to its products, furthering its commitment to proactive cybersecurity measures.

The CVE Program is an international, community-driven initiative that identifies, defines, and catalogs publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities. CNAs are organizations that are responsible for assigning CVE IDs and publishing detailed information about vulnerabilities, contributing to a more secure digital ecosystem. TP-Link's new role as a CNA enhances its ability to respond swiftly to security threats and ensures greater transparency in vulnerability reporting.
Monday, April 14th 2025
DAREU A950 Wing Review

DAREU A950 Wing Review

Weighing only 35 g while sporting a solid-shell design, the ambidextrous A950 Wing comes with PixArt's PAW3950 sensor, true 8000 Hz polling in both wired and wireless operation, and up to 70 hours of battery life.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered Patched to v1.1 - Improves Performance & Addresses Stability Issues

Hey everyone, Patch 1.1 is out now for The Last of Us Part II Remastered! This update fixes various crashes, and we've addressed long stalls that could occur in some locations. We've also fixed several bugs related to the user interface and ultrawide cinematics. Check out the patch notes below for more details. We are aware of player reports of autosave issues and are actively working on a fix.

Our investigation shows that issues can occur when OneDrive or similar cloud services block the save file from being written. As a workaround, we suggest that you pause OneDrive while playing the game: Right-click the OneDrive icon in the Windows taskbar, click the gear icon and Pause sync. The teams at Nixxes and Naughty Dog are keeping a close eye on player feedback and crash reports and are working on additional updates with more bug fixes and improvements. Thank you all for playing The Last of Us Part II on PC and sharing your feedback with us!

AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT Reportedly Capable of Boosting Up To 3.3 GHz, New Leak Suggests "Navi 44 XT" GPU

AMD has not publicly announced its Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB and 8 GB graphics cards, but board partners have inadvertently "revealed" the existence of forthcoming custom designs. Team Red's RDNA 4 kick-off events did tease a second quarter launch of a Radeon RX 9060 Series cards, but have remained coy since the conclusion of late February celebrations. Over a month ago, VideoCardz cited AIB insider knowledge—regarding early specification details. In this morning's follow-up report, unnamed board partner moles have theorized a possible public unveiling of Radeon RX 9060 XT models: at next month's Computex 2025 trade show. Industry watchdogs believe that Team Red's lower end RDNA 4 are specced to compete closely with Team Green's GeForce RTX 5060 Ti lineup. NVIDIA and involved AIBs are reportedly gearing up for a retail launch this week.

The latest leak suggests AMD's Radeon RX 9060 XT design being readied—as standard—with (reference) game clock frequencies set at 2620 MHz, and boost clocks going up to 3230 MHz. In addition, VideoCardz has heard mutterings about "overclocked variants" boosting up to the 3.3 GHz mark. The much-rumored Navi 44 GPU die could sport 2048 stream processors—half of Navi 48's full SP count. Prior to this week, TechPowerUp's GPU database entry indicated the utilization of a speculative "Navi 48 LE" unit. Now amended, the Radeon RX 9060 XT listing mentions a tentative "Navi 44 XT" variant. Leaked guideline info allegedly specifies 500 W power supplies, as minimum requirements for incoming cards. A 550 W base level could be advised for overclocked/overengineered models. VideoCardz did not see any 16-pin power connected SKUs within leaked material; "most specs" feature 8-pin power connectors.

INNOCN Unveils New 24.5-inch 1440p IPS 25G2S 240 Hz Gaming Monitor

INNOCN, a leading innovator in monitor technology, announces the launch of the 25G2S, a 24.5-inch WQHD 240 Hz gaming monitor engineered for competitive gamers and performance enthusiasts alike. Designed with precision and purpose, this monitor delivers stunning visuals, ultra-responsive performance, and an immersive gaming experience—all wrapped in a sleek, modern design with an ultra-thin bezel. The INNOCN 24.5-Inch 2K 240 Hz IPS Gaming Monitor (25G2S) is available to purchase on Amazon US at an RRP of $299.99 (Currently only $169.99 (valid now until 18th April 23:59 PDT) when using code: 25G2S240HZ).

With a blisteringly fast 240 Hz refresh rate and 1 ms MPRT response time, the 25G2S ensures gameplay stays fluid and blur-free even in the most intense moments. The WQHD (2560×1440) resolution offers sharp, vibrant visuals, enhanced further by 100% sRGB and 93% DCI-P3 color coverage, bringing every game world to life with true-to-life color and depth. HDR support enhances contrast and brightness, pulling players deeper into every scene.

KeysOff April Sale: Lowest Prices on the Web for Genuine Software

KeysOff Big Software Sale rolls on into the Spring. Refresh your home or small-office IT setup with some of the lowest prices on the web for genuine software. Get Genuine Windows 11 Pro at just $15.03, or as low as $12.13 a pop in multi-key packs, with a TechPowerUp-exclusive coupon code. Pair it with the most powerful productivity suite, Genuine Office 2021 Professional Plus, at just $39.53 on its own, or as low as $32.21 in 5-PC multi-key pack. Check great deals on other editions of Windows and Office to save even more!

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Buy Office 2021 Professional Plus at $39.53 | Buy Office 2021 Professional Plus 2-PC at $74.53 | Buy Office 2021 Professional Plus 3-PC at $101.03 | Buy Office 2021 Professional Plus 5-PC at $161.09 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus at $29.14 | Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus at $17.47 | Buy Windows 11 Pro + Office 2021 Professional Plus at $51.26 | Buy Windows 11 Pro + Office 2019 Professional Plus at $40.86 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2021 Professional Plus at $46.00 | Buy Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Professional Plus at $34.61

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Montech Introduces CENTURY II Power Supply

MONTECH proudly introduces CENTURY II, a next-gen ATX 3.1 power supply designed for modern systems. Compact and quiet, it delivers elite performance with native 12V-2x6 GPU support, dual certifications—80 Plus Gold and Cybenetics Platinum, and a 135 mm fan featuring Smart Zero Fan Technology that stops completely at low loads. Starting at just $89.9, Century II sets a new benchmark for efficiency, silence, and stability—tailored for RTX 50 and Radeon RX 90 Series builds.

Next-Gen Ready: ATX 3.1 + 12V-2x6 for RTX 50 & Radeon RX 90 Series
Fully compliant with Intel ATX 3.1, CENTURY II comes equipped with a native 12V-2x6 connector, ensuring optimized, safe power delivery for the latest NVIDIA RTX 50 Series and AMD Radeon RX 90 Series graphics cards. Whether building from scratch or upgrading, it ensures long-term GPU compatibility and power stability.
  • Peak Wattage Support: Up to 2x the PSU's total wattage
  • Peak GPU Wattage Support: Up to 3x the GPU's wattage

Forever Skies Version 1.0 Out Now on PC & PlayStation 5

Greetings scientists…Well today is the day when Far From Home can proudly announce that Forever Skies 1.0 is officially out now on Steam! Our game has been in Early Access for almost two years (22 months), and today it launches with brand-new content and a whole host of QOL, performance and bug fixes. First off, check out our launch trailer below! Forever Skies is a first-person survival game set on a post-apocalyptic, ecologically ruined Earth. Play solo or with up to 3 friends as you build, upgrade, and fly a high-tech airship. Scavenge resources, craft tools, and face dangers on the surface as you hunt for a cure to save humanity.

SOUL MASK, ALOFT AND PLANET CRAFTER
To mark the occasion of our launch, we've partnered up with our friends to create some great survival co-op gaming bundles. So if you or your friends already own Soul Mask, Planet Crafter, or Aloft, you can use these bundles to get an additional 10% off Forever Skies or vice versa.

MSI Reportedly Readying MPOWER AMD "B850E" Motherboard Series

Over a year ago, hardcore overclocking fanatics celebrated MSI's resurrection of the much missed MPOWER motherboard product line. After a seven-year hiatus, the Taiwanese manufacturer revived this series—beginning with a brand-new Z790MPOWER option. Back then, an exclusive Wccftech news report put a spotlight on the (then) brand-new model's support of Intel Core 12th, 13th, and 14th Gen processors (on LGA 1700/1800). Returning to the present day, MSI seems to be prepping a new MPOWER motherboard model—leaked shots imply a return to an old school color theme (black/yellow, rather than metallic tones). Wccftech has uploaded two close-up teaser images, from a "brief glimpse" preview session. There is evidence of AI upscaling here—despite the presence of anomalies/aberrations, we can see MSI logo and MPOWER branding on attached heatsinks.

Wccftech believes that the proposed "MSI MPOWER AMD series" will be: "a strong and cost-effective design for overclockers. The previous Z790 MPOWER motherboard brought great OC capabilities in an affordable design, offering 8000 MT/s DDR5 support and the new design will be no exception...Starting with the details, the...motherboard will feature an AM5 socket and is likely to leverage the B850E chipset. The new MPOWER motherboard also comes with a microATX form factor." Like last year's edition, MSI has readied the board with two DDR5 DIMM slots—ideal for ardent memory overclocking enthusiasts. This twin-stick setup reportedly supports up to 128 GB capacities. An extra bit of real estate is freed up; thus granting room for an additional M.2 bay. Wccftech did not disclose every tidbit of insider info, but they have hinted about the board's prowess: "it's awesome that we are finally getting an MPOWER motherboard from MSI for AM5 builders. The MPOWER series is great for overclocking and this motherboard should be just as good. We also managed to get information regarding the OC capabilities which are going to rival some of the high-end AM5 offerings as far as memory tuning is concerned."

Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen6 Leaks With 12-core AMD Strix Point APU

Over the years, we have witnessed plenty of product leaks via webpages that went live well before they were supposed to. Something similar appears to have happened with Lenovo's Malaysian site, granting us a glimpse at the upcoming ThinkPad P14s Gen 6 powered by up to the full-fat 12-core Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 APU. The leaked product specifications, as listed below, reveal that the P14s will support up to a whopping 96 GB of DDR5-5600 memory, although only with the lower-end Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 and Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 variants.

Compared to the previous edition ThinkPad P14s with AMD's Ryzen 7 8840HS APU, the highest-end variant with the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 will undoubtedly be substantially faster in both single and multicore performance. The Radeon 890M iGPU will also handily outperform the 780M, although the difference is unlikely to be earth-shattering. Like its predecessor, the Gen 6 will continue being available with a 2.8K 120 Hz OLED display, with a higher peak brightness of 500 nits and 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut. The port selection, as can be expected from a ThinkPad, is plenty admirable, packing dual Thunderbolt 4 (with DisplayPort 1.4), HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, dual USB-A, optional nano sim and smart card reader, as well as a headphone jack.

addlink EMP-520 Series Compact Box PC Wins Best-in-Show at Embedded World 2025

ADLINK Technology Inc., a global leader in edge computing, proudly announces that its newly released EMP-520 Series industrial compact box PC has been recognized for its excellence, securing the Best-in-Show award in the Computer Boards, Systems, Components & Peripherals category at embedded world 2025. It was selected for its innovative design, user-centric features, and exceptional performance in industrial environments.

Smart, Reliable, and Efficient Industrial Computing Solution
Designed to meet the needs of modern industrial applications, the EMP-520 Series delivers high computing performance with minimal maintenance, helping businesses maximize productivity and reduce downtime. Powered by Intel 14th Gen Core processors, it ensures energy-efficient operation, making it ideal for high-demand environments that require continuous, reliable computing. Supporting four simultaneous 4K video outputs and EDID emulation, users can achieve seamless visual performance. The compact design enables easy integration into space-constrained environments while ensuring reliable operation in mission-critical applications.

OneXPlayer X1 Pro Gaming Handheld Scores Intel Arrow Lake-H Chops

A few months ago, the OneXPlayer X1 Pro gaming handheld became one of the first in its category to boast AMD's 12-core Ryzen AI HX 370 'Strix Point' APU. The product also packed a pretty large 10.95-inch 120 Hz, 2560 x 1600 display as well as up to 64 GB of memory and a whopping 4 TB of internal solid-state storage. Now, the company behind the product has introduced a fresh new limited-edition variant named 'EVA' with a Neon Genesis-based theme and Arrow Lake-H internals. To be specific, this variant will boast Intel's Core Ultra 7 255H processor along with an eye-watering $1650 price tag.

The 16-core Core Ultra 7 255H will be paired with 64 GB of LPDDR5X memory, and 2 TB of SSD storage will be on offer. Unlike the AMD-powered variant, lower-end SKUs with 32 GB of memory and lesser storage space are not available. In terms of performance, the systems are quite neck-and-neck, which makes sense considering that the equivalent configurations are priced identically. The AMD APU has the lead in multicore performance, while the Intel part leads in single-core. In terms of GPU performance, the Arc 140T is quite a bit faster than the Radeon 890M, at least in synthetic tests. Real-life gaming performance is very similar, although performance varies heavily depending on the game being played.

PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 9070 XT "Backplate Edition" Card Reportedly in the Works

Last week, PowerColor introduced a Spectral White spin-off of its flagship Red Devil Radeon RX 9070 XT Limited Edition model. According to fresh inside track info, the Taiwanese manufacturer is preparing yet another premium level RDNA 4 option. VideoCardz has detected whispers regarding a speculated "Red Devil Radeon RX 9070 XT Backplate Edition" product; the online publication has a history of sourcing pre-launch details from board partner industry moles.

PowerColor's older Red Devil graphics card products can be customized with swappable backplates—Devil Skin designs are identified as "Intrusive" and "Generative." VideoCardz believes that the alleged "Backplate Edition" card will be based on the brand's regular Red Devil RX 9070 XT model. It is not clear whether this special edition package will be bundled with successors to the two RX 7000 Series-only Devil Skin attachments, but insiders have indicated a current "in production" status of "Backplate Edition" cards.

SaxonQ & Quantum Machines Enabled First-ever Live Demo of Application on Mobile Quantum Platform

SaxonQ, developer of the first mobile quantum computer, and Quantum Machines, the leading provider of advanced hybrid quantum-classical control solutions, announced today a milestone demonstration of real-time quantum computing on SaxonQ's mobile quantum computer at Hannover Messe 2025. The live demonstrations included a quantum chemical calculation of H₂ energy levels and basic real-time image recognition, marking the first time anyone has shown such applications running on a portable room-temperature quantum computer publicly, demonstrate the potential of mobile quantum computing outside laboratory conditions.

"Developing a mobile quantum computer that runs in real-world environments—without cryogenic cooling and powered by a simple wall plug—is a challenge that requires the best available control technology. Quantum Machines provides exactly that. This successful demonstration proves that we can run reliable quantum operations on-site. It's an exciting step toward bringing quantum computing to industrial applications," says Dr. Frank Schlichting, CEO of SaxonQ.

ASUS China Previews "Hatsune Miku" Crossover GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Card

Late last week, the Chinese ASUS branch started to tease a forthcoming ROG and TUF Gaming x Hatsune Miku collection. Eagle-eyed PC gaming hardware watchdogs spotted an intriguing custom GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB graphics card model within a messy pile of colorful brand-new products. The manufacturer has teamed up with Crypton Future Media; this collaboration is advertised as bringing "a cybernetic fusion to gaming." Initial announcements focused on peripherals, but shortly thereafter the partners unveiled a Hatsune Miku-themed pre-built system. VideoCardz spent its weekend investigating the mysterious new "RTX 5060 Ti O8G" design. A follow-up article pulled information and imagery from Tony Wu's "world premiere" bilibili video—the general manager of ASUS China showcased various upcoming products, including a relevant white triple-fan graphics card.

According to reports, Wu did not disclose an exact model name—NVIDIA and board partners are expected to make new entrants "official" at some point this week. Wu's demonstration unit was visually matched up to the teased "RTX 5060 Ti O8G" card. Additionally, Wu and colleagues presented the entire Hatsune Miku product line during a major press conference; last Saturday (April 12) in Changsha. Many items have already launched to market, through JD.com. Naturally, pricing and availability details were not mentioned during their "GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB OC" segment. The factory overclocked "RTX 50-series" card's unique white design is outfitted with a single 8-pin power connector; suggesting a tentative entry level price bracket. The backplate is decorated with mascot illustrations—TechPowerUp and other media outlets have noticed an uptick in "cute girl" drawings turning up on housings and retail packaging. ZOTAC joined in on the fun very recently; as reported last week.

Intel's 18A Node Outperforms TSMC N2 and Samsung SF2 in 2 nm Performance Class

Intel's 18A node isn't all about yields and density (which are still very important factors) but also performance. According to Taiwanese media 3C News, citing TechInsights research and calculations, the new leader of node performance is Intel 18A. On a custom scale used by TechInsights, Intel 18A gets a 2.53 score, while the performance score of TSMC N2 is 2.27, and the performance score of Samsung SF2 is 2.19. This is all among two nm-class nodes, where Intel leads the category. Being the first node with a Backside Power Delivery Network (BSPDN), it will appear in the Panther Lake CPUs in late 2025 for testing and early 2026 for shipments. This new power architecture boosts layout efficiency and component utilization by 5-10%, lowers interconnect resistance, and enhances ISO power performance by up to 4%, thanks to a significant drop in intrinsic resistance versus traditional front‑end power routing. Relative to its predecessor, Intel 3, the 18A process delivers a 15% improvement in performance per watt and packs 30% more transistors into the same area.

Featuring RibbonFET design, it has entered risk production. According to Intel, "This final stage is about stress-testing volume manufacturing before scaling up to high volume in the second half of 2025." When it comes to other aspects like SRAM density, high‑performance SRAM cells shrank from 0.03 µm² in Intel 3 to 0.023 µm² in Intel 18A, while high‑density cells contracted to 0.021 µm², reflecting scaling factors of 0.77 and 0.88 respectively and defying previous assumptions that SRAM scaling had plateaued. Intel's innovative "around‑the‑array" PowerVia approach addresses voltage drops and interference by routing power vias to I/O, control, and decoder circuits, freeing up the bit‑cell area from frontal power supplies. The result is a 38.1 Mbit/mm² macro bit density, positioning Intel to rival TSMC's N2. All this, combined with BSPDN, is shaping up a powerful node. We can't wait to get our hands on some 18A silicon in the future and run it through our labs for testing.

Screen Juice & Ubisoft Announce Morbid Metal's Early Access Summer Launch

Morbid Metal, the upcoming hack-and-slash action roguelite, debuted a new trailer during the Triple-I-Initiative showcase, and announced the game is coming to Steam in early access in Summer 2025. The one-minute gameplay trailer shows off some of the fast-paced, ever-changing action you can expect in Morbid Metal. In Morbid Metal, you can create a roster of up to three characters, each with their own unique move sets, and shapeshift into any of them at will. After each death, you'll have to start your run over, but you can unlock new characters and permanent upgrades along the way. The game takes place in a simulation created by humans to escape climate collapse, and you'll play as the latest AI, ordered to become mankind's next evolutionary step by eliminating other AI to prove you are the best and the strongest.

Ubisoft will be publishing Morbid Metal from independent developer Screen Juice. Starting in 2017, Felix Schade spent years developing the game solo before founding Screen Juice in 2023. A pivotal moment in the journey came when Schade shared early gameplay footage online seeking feedback. The gaming community quickly embraced it, sparking momentum that helped shape the game's evolution. Since then, Schade has expanded the company while continuing to lead as game director.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE Spotted in GPU-Z v2.65.1 Support List

Earlier in the month, keen observers of Team Red activities were taken aback by whispers of a mysterious Radeon RX 9070 GRE GPU. Up until then, many assumed that AMD's engineering team was readying Radeon RX 9060 Series cards for launch in Q2'25. A source in China claimed that the next wave of RDNA 4 would arrive in the shape of a not-yet-official "Great Radeon Edition" (GRE) design; allegedly derived from Team Red's Navi 48 GPU die. Certain groups of skeptics have questioned the validity of this leak; many believe that the speculated Radeon RX 9060 XT model will launch ahead of a rumored GRE sibling.

Late last week, TechPowerUp's GPU-Z utility was updated to version 2.65.0 form—supported hardware lists were populated with several new additions. As highlighted by VideoCardz, the presence of Radeon RX 9070 GRE and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB GPUs points to potential imminent releases. In the case of Team Green, lower end "Blackwell" graphics cards are launching this week—as disclosed by insiders. AMD's Radeon RX 9070 GRE 12 GB card is expected to release as a Chinese market exclusive; possibly as a substitute for "difficult to acquire" Radeon RX 9070 16 GB (non-XT) AIB products.

Apple Vision Pro 2 Design Goals: Lighter, Cheaper, and Faster

Apple is preparing to update its Vision Pro headset lineup with two new models. The first one, known inside the company as Vision Pro 2, will use Apple's upcoming M5 chip, which should boost performance and improve battery life. Apple also plans to make this model lighter and less expensive than the current version, which starts at $3,499 for 256 GB of storage in the US. Although Apple has not shared exact numbers, the goal is to address feedback about the headset feeling front-heavy, as it currently weighs between 600 g and 650 g, depending on the headband setup. Apple engineers are experimenting with lighter alloys and a revised seal and cushion design that should be more comfortable during long sessions to reach those weight targets. The aim is to bring the Vision Pro closer to the weight of competitors like Meta's Quest 3, which is about 515 g. Lowering the price will be another challenge, especially since the Vision Pro is built entirely in China, where supply chain pressures have been growing.

Alongside Vision Pro 2, Apple is developing a second headset specifically for wired connection to a Mac. This version will likely use a high-bandwidth cable such as Thunderbolt or a custom connector to stream the Mac's display with low latency. The current Vision Pro can already extend a Mac screen over Wi-Fi. Still, professionals in areas like surgical planning and flight simulation need consistent performance, which only a wired link can provide. Apple's enterprise team positions this model as a niche tool for pro users rather than a consumer device. However, Apple's big dream remains true: augmented reality glasses that overlay graphics on transparent lenses. CEO Tim Cook has made this a top priority, believing it is essential to stay ahead in spatial computing. The company is focused on shrinking the optics and improving light transmission, two key issues on the path to making real AR glasses a reality.

Square Enix Reveals SaGa Emerald Beyond Add-on for Vampire Survivors

Happy Anniversary to SaGa Emerald Beyond! The fabulously free-form RPG released April 25 last year, so it's nearly a whole year old. They grow up so fast. To celebrate, we have a very exciting collaboration to announce—a new SaGa Emerald Beyond-themed update for the utterly awesome Vampire Survivors! Titled "Emerald Diorama," it adds loads of new content to the game, including a new stage, new weapons, new characters and more.

What is Vampire Survivors?
We're sure this game needs no introduction, but just in case some of you are yet to experience this intensely fun gothic horror survival game, allow us to introduce it. Developed by poncle, Vampire Survivors pits you against hordes of undead in fast-paced action, but you don't need to shoot - your character attacks automatically. This means you can focus on positioning, levelling up, finding new weapons and evolving them into new forms, discovering secrets and more. It's fast-paced, easy to play, full of depth and very, very absorbing. Fun fact: I play it on the train each day I travel to Square Enix HQ and have missed my stop at least 3 times as a result. Thanks to this new SaGa Emerald Beyond crossover, I expect it to happen again fairly regularly. I apologize to my employers in advance.

MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Custom Designs Leaked - Triple & Dual-fan Configs

Mid-way through last week, a list of supposed MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB custom graphic card model names appeared online. Days later, VideoCardz followed up with visual confirmation—covering unannounced INSPIRE and GAMING SKUs. MSI's full lineup of brand-new offerings is expected to be unveiled this week, but the online publication has managed to source pre-launch promo shots from an undisclosed outlet. Previews of retail packaging are absent, but the uploaded images of isolated hardware products look legitimate.

As leaked last week, the board partner's—likely entry level—GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16G INSPIRE 2X OC model has turned up with a new dual-fan design. TechPowerUp inspected MSI's freshly debuted INSPIRE 3X cards at CES 2025. The manufacturer has gradually populated its custom GeForce RTX 50-series product stack with triple-fan options—the most recent being their GeForce RTX 5070 SKU. The smallest INSPIRE card design seems to feature a single 8-pin power connector—prior to last week, VideoCardz had heard rumors from AIB industry moles about this curious provision. By best guesstimation, the INSPIRE 2X design seems to be 2.3-slots thick. As expected, MSI has outfitted this model with three DisplayPorts (1.2b) and one HDMI (2.1b) port.

Samsung Introduces Galaxy XCover7 Pro and Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro

Samsung Electronics today announced the new Galaxy XCover7 Pro and Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro, enterprise-ready devices designed to meet the demands of today's fast-paced, high-intensity work environments. Continuing the legacy of Samsung's ruggedized devices, these latest Pro models are versatile, optimized and secure—delivering enhanced durability, steady performance and optimized workflow to empower frontline workers, from the office to the field and beyond.

With 5G connectivity, an upgraded processor and increased memory, the XCover7 Pro and Tab Active5 Pro offer enhanced mobility and reliability. The XCover7 Pro features a powerful new stereo speaker system with anti-feedback technology, which minimizes unwanted audio loops for clearer communication. Both devices offer enhanced battery capacity, with the XCover7 Pro equipped with a 4,350mAh battery for longer usage, while the Tab Active5 Pro comes with a 10,100mAh battery set designed to support demanding workflows. The Tab Active5 Pro also supports Dual Hot-Swap battery functionality, allowing workers to replace batteries without powering down their devices and ensuring seamless operation even when battery levels are low.

Intel Announces Strategic Investment by Silver Lake in Altera

Intel Corporation today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell 51% of its Altera business to Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing.
The transaction, which values Altera at $8.75 billion, establishes Altera's operational independence and makes it the largest pure-play FPGA (field programmable gate array) semiconductor solutions company. Altera offers a proven and highly scalable architecture and tool chain and is focused on driving growth and FPGA innovation to meet the demands and opportunities of an AI-driven market.

Intel will own the remaining 49% of the Altera business, enabling it to participate in Altera's future success while focusing on its core business. Intel also announced that Raghib Hussain will succeed Sandra Rivera as chief executive officer of Altera, effective May 5, 2025. Hussain is a highly accomplished and visionary technology executive with strong business acumen and engineering credentials. He joins Altera from his previous role as president of Products and Technologies at Marvell. Prior to joining Marvell in 2018, Hussain served as chief operating officer of Cavium, a company he co-founded. Prior to Cavium, Hussain held engineering roles at both Cisco and Cadence and helped found VPNet, an enterprise security company.

NVIDIA & Partners to Produce American-made AI Supercomputers in US for First Time

NVIDIA is working with its manufacturing partners to design and build factories that, for the first time, will produce NVIDIA AI supercomputers entirely in the U.S. Together with leading manufacturing partners, the company has commissioned more than a million square feet of manufacturing space to build and test NVIDIA Blackwell chips in Arizona and AI supercomputers in Texas. NVIDIA Blackwell chips have started production at TSMC's chip plants in Phoenix, Arizona. NVIDIA is building supercomputer manufacturing plants in Texas, with Foxconn in Houston and with Wistron in Dallas. Mass production at both plants is expected to ramp up in the next 12-15 months. The AI chip and supercomputer supply chain is complex and demands the most advanced manufacturing, packaging, assembly and test technologies. NVIDIA is partnering with Amkor and SPIL for packaging and testing operations in Arizona.

Within the next four years, NVIDIA plans to produce up to half a trillion dollars of AI infrastructure in the United States through partnerships with TSMC, Foxconn, Wistron, Amkor and SPIL. These world-leading companies are deepening their partnership with NVIDIA, growing their businesses while expanding their global footprint and hardening supply chain resilience. NVIDIA AI supercomputers are the engines of a new type of data center created for the sole purpose of processing artificial intelligence—AI factories that are the infrastructure powering a new AI industry. Tens of "gigawatt AI factories" are expected to be built in the coming years. Manufacturing NVIDIA AI chips and supercomputers for American AI factories is expected to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and drive trillions of dollars in economic security over the coming decades.

OneOdio Unveils Studio Max 1 Wireless DJ Headphones - Flagship Product Set to Redefine DJ Experiences

OneOdio, a professional DJ headphone brand with a decade of expertise, is proud to announce the launch of its flagship Studio Max 1 Wireless DJ Headphones. This groundbreaking product is developed in collaboration with internationally acclaimed DJ Arianna, whose innovative performance style and chart-topping mixes have set her apart in the global music scene.

Earlier this year, at the CES exhibition held in January, the Studio Max 1 garnered widespread acclaim from industry experts. The product received a total of five prestigious awards—including the Gadgety Awards, Android Headlines Technology Awards, and Reviewed Awards among others—underscoring its excellence in design, performance, and innovation.

G.SKILL and ASUS Achieve New DDR5 Memory Frequency Overclock World Record at DDR5-12772

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory, is thrilled to announce that renowned overclocker, Seby, has broken the overclocking world record for DDR5 memory frequency speed at a blistering DDR5-12772. This incredible frequency record was achieved with G.SKILL Trident Z5 DDR5 memory, built with high-performance SK hynix DDR5 ICs, running on the ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Apex motherboard and Intel Core Ultra 9 285K desktop processor under extreme liquid nitrogen (LN2) cooling.

Reaching a New Height of DDR5 Memory Overclock Speed
This new milestone follows a long-standing legacy of record-breaking performance of G.SKILL Trident Z5 DDR5 memory, achieved by a single module from the F5-8000J3848F24GX2-TZ5K model, and highlights the exceptional overclocking capability of both the ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 APEX motherboard and the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K desktop processor. The overclock record has been submitted to and validated by HWBOT and CPU-Z; refer to the following links and screenshot to see the record submission:

Cervoz Launches a New Range of Industrial Grade Network Cards

As industrial systems become more interconnected and data-driven, the need for connectivity solutions that offer superior performance, scalability, and flexibility is growing rapidly. Cervoz, a leading provider of industrial embedded modules, is meeting this demand with an expanding portfolio of innovative, real-world expansion solutions.

Seamless Expansion for Future-Ready Performance
Picture a smart logistics hub handling tens of thousands of packages a day, where Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) operates across vast spaces. In such environments, traditional RJ45 connections may initially suffice—but as operation expand and AMRs navigate distances beyond 100 meters, connectivity becomes prone to signal degradation and industrial interference.

Sony Increases the PS5 Pricing in EMEA and ANZ by Around 25 Percent

Sony has announced that it has increased its pricing for the Playstation 5 consoles by around 25 percent from today in several regions. For now, it's Europe, Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand that are being affected, but there are reports of Sony also planning on increasing the price in the US by at least 30 percent. Sony's official reason behind the rather steep price increase is due to "a backdrop of a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates".

The new pricing for the PS5 Digital Edition will be €499.99 in the Eurozone, £429.99 in the UK, AU$749.95 in Australia and NZ$859.95 in New Zealand. Sony didn't reveal pricing in other currencies and instead says to check with your local retailer for the new pricing. For now, the EU and the UK avoid price hikes on the PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive as Sony so elegantly calls it, whereas in Australia it'll increase to US$829.95 and in New Zealand it'll cost NZ$949.95. Sony will also announced a decrease in the price on the stand alone Blu-ray drive today and it will cost €79.99, £69.99, AU$124.95 and NZ$139.95. The PS5 Pro is not receiving a price hike for the time being.

Bungie's Marathon Launching September 23, Gets New Gameplay Trailer

Today, Bungie, the creators of Halo and Destiny, revealed gameplay of their upcoming team-based extraction shooter Marathon. As part of the live Marathon Gameplay Reveal Showcase, Bungie developers premiered Alpha gameplay of the tactical and fast-paced FPS, explored the mysterious and cutthroat world of Tau Ceti IV, and discussed how to join the Marathon Closed Alpha Test.

In addition, Bungie announced Marathon will release on September 23, 2025 on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S with full cross play and cross save. In the meantime, players can join the Marathon community Discord, where they can sign up for a chance to be one of the first to playtest Marathon. The Bungie team will be actively engaging in Discord, holding live Q&As, and evolving the game based on player feedback for launch and beyond.

Trump Exempts Electronics and GPUs from China Tariffs to Ease Tech Costs

President Trump announced late Friday that a range of electronics imported from China will not be hit by his new reciprocal tariffs, according to a US Customs and Border Protection notice. The exemption, which applies to items arriving in the United States or leaving bonded warehouses on or after April 5, covers smartphones, computer monitors, semiconductors, various electronic parts, and, importantly, high-performance GPUs. Tech companies were bracing for big cost increases. Apple, for example, assembles about 90 percent of its iPhones in China and holds roughly six weeks of inventory in US warehouses. Without this exemption, consumers would likely have seen higher prices once that stock ran out. Framework, the modular laptop maker, has already paused US sales of some Laptop 13 models and discounted others by up to 12 percent after a new 10 percent tariff on Taiwanese parts squeezed their margins.

The GPU market got another break thanks to a clever workaround in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. A research firm SemiAnalysis pointed out that graphics cards made in Taiwan can still enter the US tariff-free if they undergo final assembly in Mexico or Canada. That loophole applies to digital processing units and related circuit boards, which means companies relying on NVIDIA's top-tier accelerators for AI won't see an immediate price jump. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said these steps are part of a two-pronged plan: offering short-term relief to keep consumer prices down while at the same time pushing major tech firms like Apple, TSMC, and NVIDIA to invest billions in US manufacturing. However, many experts warn that high-precision components are still largely made in Asia, so building up domestic production capacity could take months or even years and may remain more expensive in the meantime.

Update: President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social the following: "There was no Tariff "exception" announced on Friday. These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff "bucket."We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations."

AMD Launches ROCm 6.4 with Technical Upgrades, Still no Support for RDNA 4

AMD officially released ROCm 6.4, its latest open‑source GPU compute stack, bringing several under‑the‑hood improvements while still lacking official RDNA 4 support. The update improves compatibility between ROCm's user‑space libraries and the AMDKFD kernel driver, making it easier to run across a wider range of Linux kernels. AMD has also expanded its internal testing to cover more combinations of user and kernel versions, which should reduce integration headaches for HPC and AI workloads. On the framework side, ROCm 6.4 now supports PyTorch 2.5 and 2.6 out of the box, so developers can use the latest deep‑learning features without building from source. The Megatron‑LM integration adds three new fused kernels, Attention (QKV), Layer Norm, and ROPE, to speed up transformer model training by combining multiple operations into single GPU passes. Video decoding gets a boost, too, with VP9 support in both rocDecode and rocPyDecode, plus a new bitstream reader module to streamline media pipelines.

Oracle Linux 9 is now officially supported, and the Radeon PRO W7800 48 GB workstation card has been validated under ROCm. AMD also enabled CPX mode with NPS4 memory configurations, catering to advanced memory bandwidth scenarios on MI Instinct accelerators. Despite these updates, ROCm 6.4 still does not officially support RDNA 4 GPUs, such as the RX 9070 series. While community members report that the new release can run on those cards unofficially, the lack of formal enablement means RDNA 4's doubled FP16 throughput, eight times INT4 sparsity acceleration, and FP8 capabilities remain largely untapped in ROCm workflows. On Linux, consumer Radeon support is limited to just a few models, even though Windows coverage for RDNA 2 and 3 families has expanded since 2022. With AMD's "Advancing AI" event coming in June, many developers are hoping for an announcement about RDNA 4 integration. Until then, those who need guaranteed, day‑one GPU support may continue to look at alternative ecosystems.

SilverStone Intros XE360PDD Dual-Block AIO CLC for 2P Servers and Workstations

SilverStone late last week released the XE360PDD, an all-in-one, closed-loop, liquid CPU cooler with two CPU water-blocks connected to a common radiator. The cooler is meant for 2P (dual-socket) servers and workstations, and comes in variants meant for AMD SP5, AMD SP3, Intel LGA4677+LGA4710; and Intel LGA4189. The cooler uses a 38 mm-thick 360 mm x 120 mm aluminium radiator. There are two aluminium cavities in the radiator that house the cooler's two pumps. The radiator puts out dedicated piping for each of the two water blocks, the blocks aren't arranged in serial.

The SilverStone XE360PDD includes three high-airflow 120 mm fans. Each of the three comes with dual ball-bearings, fan-speeds ranging between 800 and 3,000 RPM, pushing up to 95.1 CFM of airflow at 5.2 mm H₂O static pressure, and 39.6 dBA maximum noise output. Each of the two pumps turns at a speed of 4,000 RPM. The two water blocks feature a copper base.
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