Chieftec is excited to announce the launch of the VISTA (model: GT-01B-OP), our latest mid-tower PC case engineered to meet the demands of modern system builders and enthusiasts who prioritize both visual appeal and thermal performance. The VISTA offers a compelling combination of premium aesthetics and intelligent design, providing an exceptional platform for showcasing high-performance components.

With its modern top-bottom layout, the VISTA offers a clean interior look and optimized airflow. Despite its compact footprint, it supports high-end GPUs up to 400 mm, top-mounted 360 mm radiators, or CPU coolers up to 160 mm tall. The two side fans are configured as intake fans with reverse-flow blades for optimized airflow. A VGA-holder is included that prevents GPU sag and keeps your graphics card securely in place. Ideal for heavy, high-performance setups.

SK hynix shared its technology roadmap, solution strategies, and AI cloud vision for leading the AI era at HPE Discover Las Vegas 2025 held from June 23-26. HPE Discover is a global technology conference hosted by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). This year's Las Vegas event highlighted the arrival of the AI era and its future possibilities. The conference featured a wide range of technical presentations, a networking program with demos and exhibitions, and hands-on training sessions such as the Tech Pro University and AI Developer Workshop.

SK hynix showcased its technological leadership through presentations and exhibitions highlighting its next-generation AI memory, server, and storage solutions essential for developing AI infrastructure. The exhibition was divided into four key sections: HBM, Server DIMM, eSSDs and CMM (CXL Memory Module)-DDR5. Each section of the booth, which featured eye-catching designs including product mascots, presented key products and solutions.

SUDOKOO, the premium PC cooling brand acclaimed for engineering precision and innovative design, is excited to unveil limited-time discounts on its flagship CPU coolers in celebration of Amazon Prime Day and Newegg FantasTech Week, running July 8-13, 2025. These exclusive promotions offer gamers, PC builders, and performance enthusiasts a chance to upgrade their cooling systems with cutting-edge hardware—at unbeatable value.

Featured Deals Include:

• SK700 / SK700V Series—15% OFF
  • High-performance AM5-ready air coolers supporting up to 220 W TDP
  • SK700V features 7 heatpipes, an offset single-tower for full RAM clearance, and tool-free L-Rail fan mounting
• PROTEUS360—15% OFF
  • 360 mm AIO liquid cooler supporting up to 320 W TDP
  • Magnetic metal pump cap, 360° tube swivel, and a 3.4" customizable LCD screen
• NEXAURA Series—20% OFF
  • 360 mm ARGB AIO cooler with diamond-cut pump cap
  • Supports high-core CPUs up to 300 W TDP with ultra-quiet operation and stunning visual effects
  • Mach Fans
  • Proteus 360 AIO CPU Cooler

With the XPC nano NE10N, Shuttle introduces a fanless mini PC platform that impresses with its compact design and robust technology. Developed for reliable 24/7 continuous operation, the barebone is particularly suitable for digital display solutions, control systems, POS applications and for use in office and media environments.

Inside the NE10N is a 12th generation Intel N100 processor (Alder Lake-N), which offers solid computing power with completely passive cooling despite a TDP of only 6 watts. The absence of active fans ensures silent operation and reduces maintenance requirements - a clear advantage in sensitive or hard-to-reach installations. Despite a housing volume of only 0.6 liters, the system offers a wide range of expansion options: a DDR4 SO-DIMM slot for up to 16 GB RAM, an M.2 2280 slot for NVMe or SATA SSDs, and an optional M.2 2230 slot with pre-installed WLAN antennas for wireless network connection. The integrated Intel UHD graphics unit enables simultaneous operation of two Ultra HD displays via HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4.

IBASE Technology Inc. (TPEx: 8050), a leading provider of industrial panel PC and embedded computing solutions, introduced the MBB1005, a robust ATX motherboard crafted for industrial edge computing, AI acceleration, and automation platforms. Powered by Intel Core Ultra 200S processors on the LGA1851 socket, this board delivers outstanding compute performance, modular expansion, and rugged reliability, enabling OEMs to scale up fast in industrial and embedded markets.

The MBB1005 offers four DDR5 U-DIMM slots, supporting up to 192 GB memory. Its integrated graphics controller supports one HDMI 2.0b and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, enabling multi-display configurations essential in industrial monitoring. Networking is handled by dual Intel 2.5GbE ports—the I226LM with iAMT 19.0 for remote maintenance and the I226V for standard communication. For storage and modular expansion, the board offers four SATA III ports and four M.2 slots: two M-Key (2280) for NVMe, one B-Key (3052) for cellular modules, and one E-Key (2230) for WiFi or Bluetooth.

ASUS today announced the Cheers to 30 Years giveaway event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of its first graphics card. For three decades, users around the world have enjoyed ASUS graphics card innovations and unparalleled PC gaming hardware. In celebration, and as a gesture of thanks to users everywhere, ASUS is offering a range of exciting prizes including Republic of Gamers (ROG) peripherals, apparel, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards, from July 8 to October 7, 2025.

Participants are invited to enter the Cheers to 30 Years virtual amusement park, where they can ride virtual attractions and collect points—then use those points to enter raffles for ROG gear. Users can also earn points toward raffle entries by completing tasks such as sharing content on social media. On August 19, ASUS will unveil more virtual amusement park attractions, giving participants even more ways to play and more raffles to enter.

Windows 10 is on its way out, and the price of upgrading just hit an all-time low. Right now, a lifetime license for Windows 11 Pro is only $9.97 (MSRP $199.99). That's a 95% drop, but the deal ends July 15 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Whether you're upgrading an old laptop or building your next rig, now's the time to make the leap, especially since Windows 10 support officially ends in October 2025. That means no more security updates, patches, or features. Windows 11 Pro isn't just an upgrade—it's your route to staying secure, productive, and game ready.

Buy Windows 11 Pro at $9.97 from Stackcommerce

Kioxia Corporation, a world leader in memory solutions, today announced that it has begun sampling new Universal Flash Storage (UFS) Ver. 4.1 embedded memory devices, reinforcing its leadership in high-performance storage. Engineered to meet the demands of next-generation mobile applications, including advanced smartphones with on-device AI, the new devices offer improved performance with greater power efficiency, in a small BGA package.

UFS Ver. 4.1 devices from Kioxia integrate the company's innovative BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and a controller in a JEDEC-standard package. These new UFS devices are built with Kioxia's 8th generation BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory. This generation introduces CBA (CMOS directly Bonded to Array) technology—an architectural innovation that marks a step-change in flash memory design. By directly bonding the CMOS circuitry to the memory array, CBA technology enables major gains in power efficiency, performance and density.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is thrilled to announce the retail availability of its new high performance 64 GB DDR5 modules, with overclock specifications of up to DDR5-6000 CL32 256 GB (64 GB x4) and DDR5-6400 CL36 128 GB (64 GB x2) memory kits. Designed for high-performance computing, content creation, AI applications, and professional workstations, these new kit specifications combine ultra-low latency with massive memory capacity based on 64 GB modules to deliver powerful multitasking and data-intensive performance on the latest platforms.

G.SKILL readies a range of high-density kits based on high-performance 64 GB DDR5 memory modules, with overclock specifications of up to DDR5-6000 CL32-44-44-96 with 256 GB (64 GB x4) total kit capacity. Offering a combination of speed, latency, and capacity, these newly released memory kits are ideal for professional creators and users that demand the utmost from their systems. Featuring the AMD EXPO overclocking profile, these specifications are optimized for compatible AMD Ryzen DDR5 desktop platforms and will join the G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB and Flare X5 series.

Pulsar Gaming Gears (AplusX Inc.), a leading global developer of high-performance esports peripherals, today announced the acquisition of Lethal Gaming Gear (LGG), a U.S.-based company renowned for its enthusiast-grade mousepads and outstanding customer support. Founded in 2020, Pulsar has built a reputation for its rapid product development cycle, broad portfolio of intellectual property and esports collaborations, and commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation. Most recently, the company launched the X2F, a groundbreaking mouse designed without a back hump - engineered specifically for fingertip grip users. Released in both a standard and 5th Anniversary edition just last week, Pulsar's momentum and dedication to evolving gaming performance shows no signs of slowing down.

This strategic acquisition marks a key milestone in Pulsar's continued global expansion, and establishes Pulsar Americas Inc., a dedicated North American subsidiary. With this move, Pulsar aims to deliver faster regional support, improved logistics, and expanded future retail distribution across North and South America. Lethal Gaming Gear's acclaimed mousepads will now be developed and sold under the Pulsar brand, while maintaining the same performance and quality that LGG is known for. Existing mousepads under the Lethal Gaming Gear brand will continue to be sold until current inventory is depleted. These same products will then be restocked under the Pulsar brand moving forward, with plans to expand the mousepad lineup further through ongoing updates and performance enhancements.

More than 800 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. By the week's end, another three DLSS Multi Frame Generation games will have joined the ever expanding list of titles with support! Mortal Online 2 and RuneScape: Dragonwilds are both adding the frame rate multiplying technology, and Brickadia enters Early Access July 11th with day-one support. In other news, you'll have chances to win GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs and Steam Gift Cards each Friday night by watching our live streams.

Mortal Online 2 Adds DLSS 4 With Multi Frame Generation This July
Forge your destiny in the player-driven fantasy world of Mortal Online 2, populated by other players who bring with them their own unique experiences and content. Whether you wish to be an artisan providing masterfully crafted arms and armor, a member of a powerful faction that occupies a region of the world, a tamer training rare and exotic beasts, a highwayman robbing others, or a noble soul seeking to protect the weak from outlaws and beasts—The story of your journey will be written through your actions, and you choose the direction of each chapter.

Synology today announced the launch of the RackStation RS2825RP+, a powerful 3U 16-bay storage system engineered to meet the growing data management demands of small and medium-sized businesses. With redundant power supplies, flexible scalability, and built-in data protection, the RS2825RP+ is ideal for central file storage, endpoint and server backup, surveillance management, and other business-critical workloads.

"The RS2825RP+ is designed to deliver dependable performance, scalability, and resilience—without compromising affordability," said Peggy Weng, Product Manager at Synology. "It's a versatile solution that helps organizations stay agile, secure, and always online."

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced the launch of the Razer BlackWidow V4 Tenkeyless HyperSpeed, the latest addition to its custom gaming keyboard lineup. This new release brings enthusiast-level features to the gamer-favorite tenkeyless form factor, offering unrivaled wireless performance and personalization options.

Designed for Customization and Control
The BlackWidow V4 Tenkeyless HyperSpeed is built for gamers who value gaming prowess and customizability. It comes pre-loaded with Razer Orange Tactile Mechanical Switches Gen-3 and is hot-swappable to both 3-pin and 5-pin mechanical switches, allowing gamers to easily personalize the sound and feel of their keyboard. Its internal construction includes dual-layer dampening foam to reduce reverberation, factory-lubricated stabilizers for smoother keystrokes, a top-mounted steel plate to minimize pings, and pre-applied PCB tape to soften high-frequency clacks—resulting in a cleaner acoustic profile and smoother typing experience.

We are thrilled to announce our partnership with MSI, a leader in gaming and high-performance computing solutions. This collaboration brings exciting opportunities for MSI users to enhance their online experience with Surfshark's security and privacy. Read on to discover how this partnership can benefit you! Micro-Star International (MSI) is a global leader in gaming, content creation, business productivity, and AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) solutions. With a presence in over 120 countries, MSI is renowned for its high-quality laptops, desktops, graphics cards, motherboards, monitors, and more. Driven by innovation and a passion for technology, MSI is committed to delivering the best user experiences through cutting-edge research and development, intuitive design, and exceptional product quality.

Corsair is delighted to announce the eagerly awaited FRAME 5000D, the latest addition to the renowned FRAME Modular Case System. Building on the success of the FRAME 4000D, the FRAME 5000D offers even more space for greater flexibility, customization, and cooling options for PC builders. This new case is packed with popular features, including the InfiniRail Fan Mounting System, RapidRoute 2.0, and a GPU Anti-Sag Arm, along with builder-friendly details that make assembling a dream machine easier than ever.

"The FRAME 5000D has plenty of space for the latest high-end graphics cards, room for impressive custom cooling setups with multiple 360 mm radiators, or even a top-mounted 420 mm radiator," said George Makris, Director of Marketing, DIY. "It also supports the latest reverse connector motherboards, like ASUS BTF, MSI Project Zero, and Gigabyte Project Stealth."

[Editor's note: Our in-depth review of the Frame 5000D is now live]

Synology today announced the launch of two new DiskStation models, the DS1825+ and DS725+, delivering high-performance, scalable storage solutions, tailored for the needs of businesses, creative professionals and home offices. "The DS1825+ offers a powerful foundation for data management and collaboration," said Jeffrey Huang, product manager at Synology. "With evolving needs for data management, it's designed to deliver business-grade performance, scalability, and reliability." "The DS725+ brings that same flexibility to smaller environments," added Anya Lin, product manager at Synology. "It's a compact but capable platform that makes a great fit for home offices, edge deployments, and growing teams."

The DS1825+ is an 8-bay storage solution equipped with dual 2.5GbE ports and two M.2 NVMe slots, supporting SSD caching or the creation of an all-flash storage pool. It also includes a PCIe 3.0 expansion slot for optional 10/25GbE network upgrades. The system delivers up to 2,239 MB/s read and 1,573 MB/s write performance with SSDs, making it ideal for high-throughput workloads. For future expansion, the DS1825+ supports up to two 5-bay DX525 expansion units, allowing raw storage capacity to scale up to 360 TB.

The popular third-party upscaling tool, Lossless Scaling, previously exclusive to Windows, has been ported to Linux with the release of the open-source lsfg-vk project. Developed by PancakeTAS, lsfg-vk utilizes Vulkan and the DXVK translation layer to bring the frame generation feature of the paid Windows application to Linux desktops and handheld devices, such as the Steam Deck. Until now, Linux gamers relied on FidelityFX Super Resolution frame generation only in titles where it was natively available. The lsfg‑vk promises to extend artificial intermediate frames to nearly any game. Rather than depend on in‑game integration, lsfg‑vk intercepts DirectX 11 calls and reimplements the Lossless Scaling pipeline on top of Vulkan.

Rather than directly porting DX11 to Vulkan, the developer used DXVK to present a DX11 interface on Linux and hooked every shader load, allowing a bit-for-bit comparison between the original DXBC shaders and their SPIR-V counterparts. With shader fidelity verified, a combination of IDA‑based static analysis, custom C++ utilities to log DX11 commands, and careful file‑by‑file comparisons in WinMerge enabled reconstruction of the entire rendering pipeline on Linux. Finally, RenderDoc traces of Vulkan calls guided the implementation of a native Vulkan pipeline, complete with the required synchronization primitives. Additionally, automation scripts and a statically linked subset of DXVK allow users to install the project and enable frame generation simply by setting a single environment variable.

AV Access, a leading provider of Pro AV and AV over IP solutions, proudly announces the launch of the iDock B10 8K KVM switch docking station. As the newest addition to its acclaimed iDock series, the iDock B10 is purpose-built for gamers and performance-driven users who demand ultra-smooth visuals, fast switching between devices, and a clean, efficient setup. Whether for competitive gaming, content creation, or hybrid work, the iDock B10 delivers a seamless dual-computer experience on a single dual-monitor workstation.

The Best KVM Switch Docking Station for Gaming
The iDock B10 is ideal for gamers who want to switch between a gaming desktop and a laptop without the hassle of reconnecting cables or peripherals. With just one keyboard, mouse, and dual-monitor setup, users can control both systems instantly—keeping their battle station clean and ready for action.

Synology today announced the launch of the DS725+, a compact 2-bay storage solution. "The DS725+ offers users a compact and capable storage platform that can accommodate future growth in storage demands," said Anya Lin, Product Manager at Synology. "This makes it an ideal choice for home, home office, and edge environments."

The 2-bay DS725+ offers scalability for growing data needs with support for one DX525 expansion unit, providing up to 5 additional drive bays for up to 140 TB of raw data. For network connectivity, the DS725+ features a 2.5GbE port along with a 1GbE RJ-45 port. Additionally, it supports M.2 NVMe SSDs for either SSD caching or high-performance all-flash.

Microsoft has launched a major update for its Edge browser, reducing key feature load times to achieve a global First Contentful Paint (FCP) of under 300 ms. FCP refers to the time between when a user initiates navigation and when the browser displays the first part of the content from the Document Object Model (DOM). Studies show that delays exceeding the 300 to 400 ms range can lead to noticeable drops in user satisfaction, so reaching this new threshold should make the browser feel more fluid and engaging for everyday use. To meet the target, the Edge team leveraged its proprietary WebUI 2.0 architecture instead of React. By emphasizing native web components, such as HTML templates and CSS styling, rather than relying heavily on JavaScript at startup, they achieved a 40% average reduction in load times across thirteen core features.

Microsoft tested the settings UI with the new update, showing a 4x improvement in that specific case with WebUI 2.0, compared to the older React page. Users can now access the Settings page, invoke Read Aloud voice playback, switch between Split Screen views, and manage Workspaces with minimal delay, even on lower-end devices. This release builds upon the significant improvements delivered in May 2024 with Edge 122, which produced launch times 42-76% faster, depending on hardware, and a February 2025 optimization targeting fourteen interface subsystems. Internal tests confirm that the settings panel, which was once a slight performance bottleneck, now consistently renders in under 300 ms across a wide range of machines. Microsoft also plans to extend these enhancements to Print Preview, Extensions management, and other elements through the remainder of 2025. Below is the 4x improvement in the Settings page UI.

Today, IBM revealed IBM Power11, the next generation of IBM Power servers. Redesigned with innovations across its processor, hardware architecture, and virtualization software stack, Power11 is designed to deliver the availability, resiliency, performance, and scalability enterprises demand, for seamless hybrid deployment on-premises or in IBM Cloud.

Organizations across industries have long run their most mission-critical, data-intensive workloads on IBM Power, most notably those within the banking, healthcare, retail, and government spaces. Now, enterprises face an onslaught of new technologies and solutions as they transition into the age of AI. IDC found that one billion new logical applications are expected by 2028, and the proliferation of these systems poses new complexities for companies. IBM built Power11 to deliver simplified, always-on operations with hybrid cloud flexibility for enterprises to maintain competitiveness in the AI era.

German audio specialist beyerdynamic presents the latest model to join the AVENTHO family: The AVENTHO 100 combines iconic design with an uncompromising sound experience - and all at an attractive price. The wireless on-ear headphones are made from high-quality materials and, thanks to their foldable design and extra-long battery life, prove to be a reliable everyday companion. The newcomer from Heilbronn has been honored with the Red Dot Design Award for its unique combination of smart features and timeless aesthetics.

Tradition meets innovative features
The powerful drivers inside the AVENTHO 100 work together with the latest codecs to deliver a rich sound experience. To fully immerse themselves in the soundscape, users can switch to active noise cancellation (ANC). Meanwhile, the Qualcomm cVc technology makes every mobile meeting or phone call easier by ensuring high-quality voice quality - no matter where users are in this moment.

CPS PC Cooler is a swanky new name in PC case and cooling products that's been around for a couple of years. They bring refreshing new designs and features to the segment. TechPowerUp partners with them to bring you our Midsummer 2025 Giveaway! The Giveaway is open worldwide from today, until July 18. To participate, all you need to do is fill up a short form to help us get back to you if you've won. Here's what's at stake: the first lucky winner gets a CPS PC Cooler DT360 ARGB Display all in one liquid CPU cooler. Two lucky winners get a CPS PC Cooler C3T500 pillarless glasshouse ATX mid-tower case, each. And lastly, three lucky winners get a CPS PC Cooler RT400 or RT400 Digital air CPU cooler, each.

The PC Cooler DT360 ARGB Digital is the epitome of liquid CPU cooling by the company, it features a large true-color display on the pump-block, and its 360 mm radiator is ventilated by premium 120 mm fans that feature fluid dynamic bearings, and two sets of ARGB LED illumination. The C3T500 is a spacious, almost cube-shaped mid-tower case that lets you show off your high-end PC build, including an enthusiast-segment graphics card and AIO liquid cooler. And lastly, there's the RT400, a tower-type CPU cooler with four heat pipes, a premium 120 mm fan, and enough cooling power for any flagship desktop CPU at stock speeds or minor overclocking. What are you waiting for?! Hop in!

For more information and to participate, visit this page.

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, has announced that its next-generation release will require RISC‑V processors to meet the newly ratified RVA23 profile. This specification, approved back in April, includes full support for Vector Instructions 1.0 and a Hypervisor extension. As Laurine Kirk, security researcher at Google, notes, by setting this higher baseline, Ubuntu 26.04 will no longer run on roughly 90% of existing RISC-V single-board computers, including the popular Raspberry Pi-style boards, unless their hardware is upgraded. Canonical's move puts it in step with Google and Microsoft, both of which have already targeted RVA23 for their RISC‑V builds. This change will drive manufacturers to ship more secure, future-proof silicon, helping to guard against exploits like GhostWrite, a memory-access vulnerability discovered last year in T-Head's XuanTie C910 CPUs.

We discussed RISC-V ecosystem fragmentation with Andrea Gallo, then the CTO and now the CEO of the RISC-V Foundation, regarding the fragmentation within the RISC-V ecosystem. "If you want to claim that you are RISC-V compatible, then there's an architecture compatibility test suite that verifies that you are complying with the ISA. We run the same tests on a golden reference model and compare the signatures of the tests to ensure alignment with the specification." He added that "We just ratified the RVA23 Profile. The newly ratified RVA23 Profile is a major release for the RISC-V software ecosystem and will help accelerate widespread implementation among toolchains and operating systems." For anyone who wants to ship a working RISC-V processor, be it data center or mobile, the RVA23 profile is the one that guarantees no fragmentation and compatibility.

AMD's openSIL project, a solution for open CPU silicon initialization code aimed at replacing traditional AGESA, has reached another milestone. Back in February, we reported on AMD promising full support for "Turin" and "Phoenix" server and client SoCs. The company initially targeted the end of 2024 for the release of proof-of-concept code, but failed to meet this deadline. A new target was subsequently set for the first half of 2025. As we roll into the second half, AMD openSIL now supports only the EPYC 9005 series Turin server processors, with Phoenix client SoCs still in development. AMD firmware engineers explained: "Currently, the Phoenix openSIL PoC release is still being worked on internally at AMD. We have encountered some delays in obtaining the necessary approvals to open-source the code, which has impacted our timeline. We are actively working to resolve these issues and are making every effort to expedite the process."

The path towards a fully open-source silicon initialization code is difficult, as it can expose many microarchitectural details. These are usually closely protected, as IP from Zen cores is valuable. An AMD engineer also added, "We understand the importance of this project to the open-source community and are committed to delivering it as promised." Nonetheless, the primary goal remains achieving full production readiness with the upcoming Zen 6 architecture. The openSIL project promises to enhance Coreboot support and provide developers with full access to low-level system components.

FinalWire Ltd. today announced the immediate availability of AIDA64 Extreme 7.70 software, a streamlined diagnostic and benchmarking tool for home users; the immediate availability of AIDA64 Engineer 7.70 software, a professional diagnostic and benchmarking solution for corporate IT technicians and engineers; the immediate availability of AIDA64 Business 7.70 software, an essential network management solution for small and medium scale enterprises; and the immediate availability of AIDA64 Network Audit 7.70 software, a dedicated network audit toolset to collect and manage corporate network inventories.

The latest AIDA64 update introduces SensorPanel and accessibility improvements, support for a wide range of Elgato, Matrix Orbital and SteelSeries external displays, and supports the latest graphics and GPGPU computing technologies by AMD, Intel and NVIDIA.DOWNLOAD: FinalWire AIDA64 v7.70

Intel has kicked off a widespread round of job cuts this week, informing staff members individually about their future with the company. CEO Lip-Bu Tan first advised employees in April to expect significant layoffs, following years of production challenges and declining sales. Although Intel has not provided a total headcount for the reductions, the process will unfold over several weeks, with some workers receiving immediate notice and others awaiting final decisions. Within Intel's manufacturing division, known as Intel Foundry, the company plans to eliminate approximately 15% to 20% of technician, engineer, and researcher positions in its Oregon facilities. At the same time, Intel will close its automotive technology unit, resulting in layoffs for most employees in that business, and outsource marketing activities to Accenture under a new arrangement designed to harness AI for greater efficiency.

Initial layoff notices have gone out in California, and further announcements are expected soon in Arizona and Oregon, Intel's largest US sites. These cuts follow last summer's reduction of 15,000 roles, which left Intel with roughly 109,000 employees worldwide. In 2024, the company reported a $19 billion loss as rivals such as TSMC, AMD, and NVIDIA outpaced Intel with more advanced and cost-effective chips. Plans to expand fab capacity in Ohio, Germany, and Israel have been put on hold due to diminished revenue and shifting market priorities. Intel is counting on its next-generation 18A process node, due for release later this year, to restore its competitive edge. For external customers, the interest is drawn from 18A-P and 14A.

Team OGS has demonstrated an impressive feat of extreme overclocking by extracting every last drop of performance from GALAX GeForce RTX 5090D HOF edition. Armed with a custom Extreme OC BIOS, authorized for up to 2,000 W of power, and two 12V-2x6 connectors delivering 1,200 W, the group cooled the card with liquid nitrogen and fine-tuned voltages to push clock speeds far beyond factory limits. In the GPUPI 32B benchmark, the GPU achieved a record-breaking core frequency of 3,650 MHz and a completion time of just 39.434 seconds, securing a new world record for GPU-accelerated Pi calculation.

The team's success extended to graphics tests as well. In 3DMark Port Royal, the GPU operated at 3,570 MHz on its core and 2,250 MHz on its GDDR7 memory, achieving 47,469 points. Under Unigine Superposition's 1080p Extreme preset, they maintained 3,540 MHz and 2,250 MHz, respectively, reaching 38,237 points, an increase of several thousand over previous records. Pushing memory speeds to an effective 36 Gbps translates into 2.304 TB/s of bandwidth, nearly 29% above the standard specifications. These results show the untapped potential of NVIDIA's Blackwell architecture and suggest that, with similar power, cooling, and VBIOS modifications, professional cards like the RTX Pro 6000 series could achieve even more significant gains, given the higher CUDA core count.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced it has added a new form factor, to join the previous 2280 model, NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2230 SSD for users looking for a high-speed, low power NVMe storage upgrade for compatible laptops and handheld gaming consoles.

The Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe 2230 SSD is a compact single-sided M.2 2230 (22x30mm) design that provides storage expansion up to 2TB2 for systems with limited space. Powered by a Gen 4x4 NVMe controller NV3 2230 delivers read/write speeds of up to 6,000/5,000 MB/s, creating a more responsive system able to handle a wide range of workloads.

System76 has refreshed its compact Linux mini PC range with the Meerkat meer10. This new model keeps the small size of its predecessor while bringing faster CPUs, up-to-date storage, and better connectivity. The Meerkat meer10 measures 117 mm x 112 mm x 54 mm and operates on Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, or Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. System76 offers three processor configurations: Intel Core 3 100U with 6 cores operating up to 4.7 GHz, Intel Core Ultra 5 225H with 14 cores at 4.9 GHz, and Intel Core Ultra 7 255H featuring 16 cores with maximum speeds of 5.1 GHz.

Graphics performance varies by configuration, the Core 3 100U uses integrated Intel Graphics, while the Ultra 5 employs Intel Arc 130T GPU and the Ultra 7 incorporates Intel Arc 140T GPU. The Arc GPU configurations require dual SO-DIMM memory modules for proper operation. Memory capacity reaches 96 GB using dual-channel DDR5 5600 MHz configuration. Storage is also dependent on the CPU architecture. The Core 3 100U supports two M.2 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe drives, while Ultra 5 and Ultra 7 models accommodate one M.2 PCIe Gen 5 NVMe drive and one M.2 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe drive. All configurations include an additional M.2 2242 PCIe Gen4x4 slot for SSD expansion, with total storage capacity reaching 10 TB.

QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, networking, and storage solution innovator, today announced the launch of myQNAPcloud One Beta, a subscription-based unified cloud storage solution. This service combines advanced version myQNAPcloud Storage, tailored for NAS backups, with myQNAPcloud Object, a newly introduced object storage service. Users can flexibly utilize their subscribed storage capacity across both services, based on actual usage needs—eliminating the need for separate subscriptions.

Introducing myQNAPcloud Object
myQNAPcloud Object meets the growing demand for scalable cloud storage. This S3-compatible solution supports a wide range of applications, including data lakes, long-term archiving, and backups. With compatibility for AWS S3 workflows, myQNAPcloud Object provides a seamless migration experience. Businesses can take advantage of immutable data storage with object locking feature. Bucket versioning enables easy restoration to previous versions, safeguarding data even after changes. Data access logs allow business to meet the needs of security management, troubleshooting, and auditing.

TechPowerUp and ID-Cooling brought you the 2025 Summer Giveaway, with as many as six lucky winners getting a piece of ID-Cooling's latest CPU cooling innovations. The first lucky winner stood a chance to win an ID-Cooling SL360 liquid CPU cooler with digital display; the next two an ID-Cooling FX360 INF performance-segment AIO liquid CPU cooler each, and the following three winners an ID-Cooling Frozn A620 Pro SE dual fin-stack air CPU cooler, each. We received tremendous response, with over 1,300 entries, and picked our six lucky winners. Without further ado, here they are:

• Paul, wins an ID-Cooling SL360 AIO CLC with AF-127-ARGB-K fans
• Thewan and RelSzabo, each win an ID-Cooling FX360 INF AIO CLC with AS-120-ARGB-K fans
• Ancient Gem, Ana, and Megalomixo, each win an ID-Cooling Frozn A620 PRO SE air CPU cooler

A huge congratulation to all six of you! ID-Cooling will contact each of you. TechPowerUp and ID-Cooling will return with more such interesting giveaways!

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 16-core/32-thread processor powered by the "Zen 5" microarchitecture saw its price on Amazon Prime reduced to $434. This implies a 33% reduction over the chip's launch MSRP of $649. At this price, the chip ends up around $100 cheaper than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. Our testing shows that the 9950X beats the 285K in productivity workloads, and matches it in 4K Ultra HD gaming. The 9950X was AMD's flagship desktop processor until it was supplanted by the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which sells for roughly $700 owing to its gaming performance that's second only to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, while retaining productivity performance comparable to the 9950X. The Ryzen 9 9950X is a 16-core/32-thread part with two 8-core CCDs, each with 32 MB of on-die L3 cache. The processor ticks at 4.30 GHz base, with a maximum boost frequency of 5.70 GHz, and a TDP of 170 W.

The Nintendo Switch 2 arrived more than a month ago, yet securing one remains difficult and may stay that way until spring 2026. Strong global interest meets ongoing parts shortages and assembly constraints, resulting in long waiting lists and lottery-style sales events. Estimates from Toyo Securities' Hideki Yasuda and UBS's Zhai Yijia suggest about 6 million units will ship during the launch month, surpassing the debut speeds of both the original Switch and Sony's PlayStation 5. Yasuda forecasts total shipments reaching 20 million by March 31, 2026, while Zhai predicts a slightly lower figure of 18 million. Even the more modest estimate would still exceed the predecessor's pace by roughly 20% to 30%.

In Japan, Nintendo's official online store recently ran its fifth lottery for Switch 2 orders, and many participants have reported repeated disappointment. Brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Yodobashi Camera, have experimented with first-come, first-served sales restricted to store credit-card holders, yet inventory still vanishes within minutes. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa acknowledges these hurdles, saying, "We are working to strengthen our production system so that we can flexibly respond to demand," and stressing that while the Switch 2 carries a higher price point than previous models, the company is focused on delivering experiences that justify its cost, especially for younger players. There are even some forecasts, such as those from the research firm DFC Intelligence, which predict that the Switch 2 could exceed 100 million units sold by the end of 2029, positioning it to surpass the original console's lifetime sales. Until manufacturing ramps up, however, securing Nintendo's latest flagship will remain a test of patience for many gamers.

TrendForce's latest findings show that the three major DRAM suppliers are shifting capacity toward high-end products and have begun announcing end-of-life (EOL) plans for PC and server-grade DDR4 and mobile LPDDR4X. This has triggered aggressive restocking of legacy-generation products, further fueled by traditional peak-season demand. Consequently, average contact prices for conventional DRAM are projected to rise by 10% to 15% in 3Q25. Including HBM, overall DRAM prices are expected to increase by 15% to 20%.

TrendForce notes that DDR4 demand remains strong in 3Q25, and suppliers are aiming to raise prices more aggressively. As Taiwanese manufacturers currently lack the capacity and product specifications to fully meet market needs, DDR4 supply is expected to remain tight in the short term. Moreover, DDR4 output is being prioritized for server applications, leaving limited availability for consumer-grade user.

Rosewill, a trusted name in PC components and power solutions, today announced the availability of its new VMG Series ATX 3.1 Gold power supplies. Engineered to deliver robust, stable, and efficient power for demanding modern systems, the VMG Series stands apart by combining the latest ATX 3.1 standard compliance with premium components, full modularity, and a compact design - a significant advantage for builders prioritizing performance, cable management, and space optimization.

According to ZDNet Korea's sources familiar with the matter, Intel will release the "Arrow Lake Refresh" CPU family in the second half of this year. While no exact timeline is given, we can expect to hear more about these CPUs in the coming weeks, and for the rumor mill to intensify. The new refresh generation will introduce slight frequency adjustments, including an increased base clock and maximum boost clock, while also incorporating a faster NPU. A base clock increase, paired with a boost to maximum core clock, will give Arrow Lake Refresh a significant advantage in gaming performance. Keeping the same LGA1851 socket will extend the support for the current platform for one more generation too, until "Nova Lake-S" arrives.

Given that Intel attempted an IPO for a limited set of gamers, we could see a more widespread adoption of a similar approach. As a reminder, on the CPU side, IPO fine-tunes P-core and E-core frequencies, ring-bus speeds, the UPI interconnect, D2D links between tiles, and both PL1 and PL2 power limits. For RAM, IPO raises transfer rates and tightens timings, pushing modules beyond their factory XMP or EXPO profiles. If Arrow Lake Refresh ships with an IPO-equivalent out of the box, gamers will enjoy a significant performance increase, ready to offset some of the early disappointment with the base Arrow Lake. Additionally, Intel will place a new NPU on its IO tile. Using the NPU3 on base Arrow Lake, Intel was unable to meet the basic 40 TOPS requirement for Copilot+ AI PCs. And with NPU4, that TOPS requirement is met, allowing Intel to brand these new processors as AI PC ready.

Intel GPU-based Linux gamers are about to receive a performance uplift. According to the latest update to DXVK, a Vulkan-based translation layer for DirectX 8/9/10/11, Intel's "Battlemage" dGPUs and "Lunar Lake" Arc iGPUs now support memory defragmentation by default, helping Intel GPUs reduce VRAM usage and increase performance, which provides a smoother gaming experience when using the DXVK translation layer. In version 2.7, DXVK forces discrete GPUs to adhere to driver-set memory budgets whenever possible and dynamically frees unused resources to system memory when applications place a significant VRAM load. DXVK v2.7 release notes state that this will be particularly beneficial to Unity Engine and VRAM-constrained titles. This optimization will also enable higher texture quality in game settings, maintaining the same performance as before, and further building upon the memory optimization.

As a critical component of Valve's Proton software stack, this DXVK update also provides Intel-based handhelds, such as the MSI Claw, with increased performance when running SteamOS. Given that we measured a sizable crowd, comprising 3.4% of all handheld users, playing with MSI Claw, many handheld gamers considering running SteamOS on their device will find this DXVK update quite welcome.Here is a complete DXVK v2.7 changelog.

Rosewill, a leader in delivering high-value PC components, proudly announces the VSB Series ATX 3.1 Bronze power supplies. Engineered for builders seeking essential next-gen power without the premium price tag, the VSB Series combines crucial ATX 3.1 readiness, smart semi-modularity, and a thermally optimized compact design - delivering exceptional value for mainstream and performance systems.

A new king has been crowned. As of July 2025, data from StatCounter shows that Windows 11 now runs on 51.77% of all Windows PCs, overtaking Windows 10's 45.02% share for the first time. Released in October 2021, Windows 11 initially struggled, capturing less than 10% of installations by the end of its first year. In 2023, its market share had climbed to 28%, and by late 2024, it reached 36%. The recent surge is a result of a combination of factors. First, Microsoft has begun highlighting the approaching end of support for standard editions of Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. Second, many organizations and individual users have upgraded their hardware in search of the latest security improvements and software enhancements. Finally, features such as performance optimizations, tighter security defaults, and built-in support for AI-driven tools have made Windows 11 more attractive to both enterprises and gamers.

According to these figures, more than 700 million devices now run Windows 11. Although StatCounter does not capture every device and its figures may differ from those of other analytics services, it provides a reliable snapshot of broader trends. As Windows 10 approaches its end of mainstream support in October 2025, the coming months will reveal whether these incentives and new hardware offerings will sustain Windows 11's upward trajectory or prompt users to seek extended support instead.

Intel's next-generation "Oak Stream" platform is preparing to accommodate the upcoming "Diamond Rapids" Xeon CPU generation, and we are receiving more interesting details about the top-end configurations Intel will offer. According to the HEPiX TechWatch working group, the Diamond Rapids Intel Xeon 7 will feature up to 192 P-cores in the top-end SKU, split across four 48-core tiles. Intel has dedicated two primary SKU separators, where some models use eight-channel DDR5 memory, and the top SKUs will arrive with 16-channel DDR5 memory. Using MRDIMM Gen 2 for memory will enable Intel to push transfer rates to 12,800 MT/s per DIMM, providing massive bandwidth across 16 channels and keeping the "Panther Cove" cores busy with sufficient data. Intel planned the SoC to reach up to 500 W in a single socket.

As one of the first mass-produced 18A node products, Diamond Rapids will be the first to support Intel's APX, also featuring numerous improvements to the efficiency of AMX. Intel also plans to embed native support for more floating-point number formats, such as NVIDIA's TF32, and lower-precision FP8. As most of the world's inference is good enough to run on a CPU, Intel aims to accelerate basic inference operations for smaller models, enabling power users to run advanced workloads on CPUs alone. With a 1S, 2S, and 4S LGA 9324 configuration, Diamond Rapids will offer 768 cores in a single server rack, with a power usage of only 2000 W. Supporting external accelerators will be provided via the PCIe Gen 6 connector. Scheduled for arrival in 2026, Intel could time the launch to coincide with its upcoming "Jaguar Shores" AI accelerators, making a perfect pair for a complete AI system.

Welcome to the first full week of July, which continues to be a rather slow week for new game releases. This week's major release puts you in a time loop with your fellow resistance fighters. This is followed by an online tactical action shooter, some old balls and bats, a post-apocalyptic 2D side scroller, a remake and another remake, although the two have nothing in common with each other.

Every Day We Fight / This week's major release / Thursday 10 July
Citizens from either side of an ongoing war must set aside their differences as a mysterious alien invasion threatens humanity - time has come to a stop for all but your small band of freedom fighters. Caught in a seemingly endless loop, you must shape these ordinary civilians into heroes as they repeatedly fight and die in this turn-based tactical roguelite. Real-time exploration, stealth, and teamwork are essential as you acquire new skills, seek out more powerful weapons, escape the time loop, and save the world. Welcome to the resistance. Steam link