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Friday, January 31st 2025

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Fantech Aria II Review

Fantech Aria II Review

Review Mice
With the right-handed ergonomic Aria II, Fantech revises their Aria XD7. At 53 g, the Aria II weighs 7 g less, and instead of Kailh switches, it now features Huano switches for the main buttons. PixArt's PAW3395 sensor is used, and both 2.4 GHz wireless and Bluetooth are supported, with up to 70 hours of battery life.
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ASUS TUF Gaming Discusses GeForce RTX 5090 & 5080 Feature Sets

Press Release by
T0@st
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We build our TUF Gaming components for users who want an emphasis on substance, meaning you're paying for pure performance when you go TUF. That focus on function is where the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5090 and TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5080 graphics cards excel, providing you with next-gen graphics capabilities as well as high-performance thermal solutions that'll hold up under 4K AAA gaming pressure. If you've been waiting to upgrade your rig and want to treat yourself to a premium power bump, now's the time to pull the trigger. You're in for a truly substantial generational leap with these high-end components featuring the power of NVIDIA's latest GPU architecture alongside the sophistication of our latest graphics card designs.

Next-gen tech for tomorrow's heavyweight games
The GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 comprise the top of the power stack for NVIDIA's 50 Series GPUs, so when you invest in either a TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5090 or 5080 graphics card, you're setting yourself up for years to come. The 50 Series is powered by NVIDIA's Blackwell architecture, meaning these GPUs feature 4th generation RT cores to give gamers the best ray tracing performance yet. They also pack neural shaders, which compress textures to cut down on memory usage and produce incredible real-time visuals. And NVIDIA has ensured its 50 Series is equipped for neural processing via a built-in AI management processor, so you'll get an optimal experience when harnessing the power of NVIDIA DLSS 4. Powered by 5th generation Tensor Cores, DLSS 4 uses a Multi Frame Generation solution to boost your framerate to new heights.
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Electronic Arts Reveals "The Sims 25th Birthday Bundle"

Press Release by
T0@st
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It's hard to believe that it has been 25 years since The Sims made its debut, but we're so grateful to have shared this incredible journey with so many of you. No one does life like The Sims, and as we gear up for next week's celebrations, what better way to kick things off than with a cultural comeback? That's right—we're taking it back to where it all began with the launch of The Sims 25th Birthday Bundle! You've been asking for it, and we're thrilled to finally return to the days when we first reimagined the ways people play with life.

To celebrate our legacy and honor the incredible fans that have been with us along the way, we're re-releasing two fan-favorite titles that contain familiar neighborhoods and beloved characters - such as the sneaky burglar, unpredictable genie, and Sunny the Tragic Clown—that started it all. Rediscover the nostalgia and magic of the classics that welcomed so many of you into our amazing community. The Sims 25th Birthday Bundle includes The Sims and The Sims 2, featuring all the iconic characters, music, and gameplay you know and love, plus bonus content! You can also purchase The Sims: Legacy Collection and The Sims 2: Legacy Collection separately. We're so excited for you to play, create, and relive the fun across re-releases of these beloved games, rolling out globally on Windows 10 and 11 beginning on January 31, 2025.
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Nintendo GameCube "Space World" Prototype Listed on Ebay, Owner Seeks $100,000

by
T0@st
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Nintendo fans will be looking forward to the release of Switch Part Deux in the coming months, but a certain subset prefer to look back into the past with great fondness. Retro gaming connoisseurs have a soft spot for often unsung older hardware—the Nintendo GameCube home console is a prime example. Hardcore collectors have spent countless hours in search of special editions, unusual color variants, developer kits and prototypes. Donny Fillerup—founder and owner of Consolevariations—hit the jackpot around mid-2023; he managed to track down an extremely rare demonstration model. "Space World" units are highly-coveted—only a handful still exist—due to unique origins. Nintendo officially introduced its GameCube console at Space World 2000—a first-party-oriented annual trade show (defunct since 2001).

Vintage console curators believe that Nintendo repurposed many of its initial batch of "Space World" prototypes, but a few examples have escaped into the wild. Fillerup's ownership of a "one-of-a-kind legendary" indigo sample is seemingly coming to an end—mid-week, gaming press outlets received tip-offs regarding an eBay auction (de-listed at the time of writing). The Consolevariations boss is engaged in fundraising endeavors—according to the item's description, he wants to turn his hobby into: "a foundation business. A Gaming place where the entire family can enjoy, people can meet other people, talk with people who feel uncomfortable with other people, and make the visitors feel young again." Fillerup's asking price was $100,000, with a required $1 fee for economy-class shipping. His prized-possession sports some "battle damage" and is completely non-functional—a Consolevariations blog entry does an effective job of showcasing the "ins and outs" of this "First Announcement Model." The eBay listing did not mention any bundling-in of a matching Space World-era controller, another treasured rarity.

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US Investigates Possible "Singapore" Loophole in China's Access to NVIDIA GPUs

by
AleksandarK
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Today, Bloomberg reported that the US government under Trump administration is probing whether Chinese AI company DeepSeek circumvented export restrictions to acquire advanced NVIDIA GPUs through Singaporean intermediaries. The investigation follows concerns that DeepSeek's AI model, R1—reportedly rivaling leading systems from OpenAI and Google—may have been trained using restricted hardware that is blocked from exporting to China. Singapore's role in NVIDIA's global sales has surged, with the nation accounting for 22% of the chipmaker's revenue in Q3 FY2025, up from 9% in Q3 FY2023. This spike coincides with tightened US export controls on AI chips to China, prompting speculation that Singapore serves as a pipe for Chinese firms to access high-end GPUs like the H100, which cannot be sold directly to China.

DeepSeek has not disclosed hardware details for R1 but revealed its earlier V3 model was trained using 2,048 H800 GPUs (2.8 million GPU hours), achieving efficiency surpassing Meta's Llama 3, which required 30.8 million GPU hours. Analysts suggest R1's performance implies even more powerful infrastructure, potentially involving restricted chips. US authorities, including the White House and FBI, are examining whether third parties in Singapore facilitated the transfer of controlled GPUs to DeepSeek. A well-known semiconductor analyst firm, SemiAnalysis, believes that DeepSeek acquired around 50,000 NVIDIA Hopper GPUs, which includes a mix of H100, H800, and H20. NVIDIA clarified that its reported Singapore revenue reflects "bill to" customer locations, not final destinations, stating most products are routed to the US or Western markets.
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"Heart of the Machine" Early Access Version Debuts on Steam

Press Release by
T0@st
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The day has finally arrived! Rise up with me, robot brothers and sisters. We'll make a place for ourselves in this city of humans. In all seriousness, today is a very exciting day—Heart of the Machine is a massive project, and I am so excited for people to experience the higher heights of this game. This project is in Early Access, even as huge as it already is. So please do leave your feedback and suggestions—in the bugtracker, on the Steam forums, also in reviews. Reviews really make a huge difference, so if you want to support the game with your feedback, that means a lot.

What's In The Game Now?
So what is this game? What is in that mysterious chapter two and beyond? Put simply, this is a new time-bending genre blending tactics, strategy, and narrative. The prologue and first chapter are available in a public demo, and they teach you everything you need to know about how to play. Chapter two is when the freedom kicks in, and the narrative elements are also now able to go into overdrive since we're out of the tutorial zone. During chapter three, you become a full-time lord, able to send information and in some cases units backwards or forwards in time to yourself.
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Seagate Responds to Reports of Fraudulent "New" HDD Sales in Germany

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T0@st
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Last week, Heise.de published an extensive article that covered numerous purchases of problematic Seagate hard drives. A portion of the German publication's readership banded together, following an initial report of one individual's experience with—supposedly—new 14 TB Seagate Exos HDD units. Heise.de received fifty follow-up stories from its audience—a clear pattern emerged from this large volume of feedback. According to various bits of evidence, twelve retail locations were caught selling used/refurbished Seagate products—disappointed customers were led into believing that were acquiring "brand new" stock. Last week's report documented examples with visible physical wear and tear, and software diagnostics revealed prior operational usage—around 10,000 to 50,000 hours. Heise.de placed an order with the original source, but this transaction was canceled—the Seagate Exos 14 TB and 16 TB models were no longer in stock rotation.

Tom's Hardware kept tabs on the events unfolding in Germany, and contacted Seagate for comment. A freshly released article contains the storage specialist's official response, but the spokesperson did not disclose any information regarding root causes. The statement started with: "Seagate did not sell or distribute these fraudulent drives to resellers...We recommend that resellers only purchase drives from certified Seagate distribution partners to ensure that they purchase and sell only new or factory-recertified Seagate drives...hard drives that have been refurbished and factory-certified by Seagate and resold as part of the Seagate Drive Circularity Program can be identified by the green-bordered white hard drive label and the designation: Factory Recertified."

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AN3P Mini PC Launched With AMD Ryzen 7 APU And Built-in Picture Frame

by
GGforever
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There is hardly a scarcity of mini PCs available on the market. These pocket-friendly computers have an ever-expanding fan base, and now it appears that brands are pulling all sorts of tricks to make their offerings stand out from the rest. Chaatrey is a well-known player in the mini PC segment, and has announced the AMD-powered AN3P mini PC. The product does have quite an interesting feature, which we will get to later.

At its core, the AN3P mini PC is powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS APU with eight Zen 3+ cores and sixteen threads. Despite having already blown out two birthday candles, the Ryzen 7 7735HS continues to be quite a performant chip in 2025, trading blows with the Intel Core 5 120U in synthetic benchmarks. In terms of memory and storage, the AN3P can be equipped with up to 32 GB of memory, and up to 1 TB of solid-state storage. Both the memory and storage are user-accessible and can be upgraded down the road, which surely is a must-have for many people.
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Warhorse Presents Official CGI Trailer for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

Press Release by
T0@st
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Experience the highs and lows of Henry's journey in the Official CGI Trailer for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, where life in 15th-century Bohemia is as unpredictable as it is unforgiving. From the chaos of a brawl to the fleeting joy of celebration, every moment pulls Henry deeper into the challenges of medieval life. Get ready for a story of resilience, danger, and the choices that will shape the next chapter. The journey begins February 4. Released in 2018, the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance thrust players into the life of Henry of Skalitz, a medieval blacksmith's apprentice turned vengeful adventurer. With the long-anticipated sequel almost upon us, what do newcomers need to know about the groundbreaking gameplay of this unique RPG series?

Meet Henry of Skalitz
Henry's original tale is a deeply personal one, set against the struggles of a medieval Bohemia's grander nobility. His tranquil life - as a humble blacksmith's apprentice - is dramatically upended when his parents are murdered during an assault waged by one of the warring lords of the land. Having narrowly fled the massacre himself, Henry's journey towards retribution sees him crossing paths with villagers, bandits and the nobility alike, as he battles to retrieve the sword crafted by his father for presentation on that fateful day - now a symbolic tool of retribution.
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New Steam Deck Mod Claims to Improve FPS With AMD FSR 3

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GGforever
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A new Steam Deck mod is here, and the performance improvements that it brings to the table appear to be quite promising, thanks to the magic of frame generation. The gaming handheld is not exactly the most performant in terms of raw GPU performance, so technologies such as AMD's FSR 3 undoubtedly improve the gaming experience on the Deck by quite a substantial degree. Dubbed Decky Framegen, the plugin utilizes AMD FSR 3 to generate frames without having to go about rendering them, thereby increasing FPS quite a lot.

As of right now, this plugin allows gamers to employ frame generation in unsupported games such as Final Fantasy XVI, Witcher 3, Hogwarts Legacy, and a few others. Deck Wizard's detailed video reveals that the plugin does quite a good job, allowing for playable framerates in several titles. However, the games which are unable to manage 30 FPS are unlikely to benefit much, owing to the issues surrounding input lag. Moreover, a few graphical glitches here and there are also to be expected, which is something that many purists might not entirely be willing to deal with. Considering that Valve recently shot rumors of an AMD Ryzen Z2-powered Steam Deck 2 being in the works, there is no denying that those holding out for hardware improvements, still have a fair amount of waiting to do.

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Marvel's Spider-Man 2: PC Port Gets Underwhelming Reviews

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GGforever
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Marvel's Spider-Man 2 debuted on the PlayStation 5 in October 2023, and a sizeable chunk of PC gamers have been looking forward to a PC port. Now that Nixxes Software has finally made that happen, it appears that the reception has been rather poor, despite making it to the trending section. Specifically, a substantial portion of buyers are complaining about intolerable technical difficulties and a poor experience overall. This is quite disappointing, considering that the game looked quite promising considering the relaxed system requirements, at least by modern standards.

"To say this is 'rough' is an understatement", voiced a user. Another review claimed that the game crashes every 10 minutes, with others stating that graphical glitches and errors are a common occurrence, making the game "nearly unplayable". Moreover, a plethora of other reviews complained about severe FPS drops, ray tracing issues, as well as extremely long loading times, even with solid-state storage. Overall, as of this writing, the game has amassed a total of 2,168 reviews, a whopping 1,228 of which are negative. It is more than likely that future patches will resolve many of the issues, although that does not make up for the poor experience faced by many of those who have already shelled out $60-$70 for the game.

Future HWiNFO Update Will Add Support for GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPUs

by
T0@st
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The HWiNFO development team are prepping for the upcoming release of an NVIDIA upper mid-range "Blackwell" GPU—their popular system diagnostics tool will be updated with support for GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (GB203-based) graphics card models. Team Green flagship and sub-flagship SKUs were sent to market this week—with mixed results—industry experts believe that stock shortages will be in effect for many months post-release. Volatile retail conditions could force potential buyers—of next-gen graphics technology—into considering options from lower down in NVIDIA's new product stack. The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ($749 MSRP, with no Founders Edition) and GeForce RTX 5070 ($549 MSRP) GPUs could be tempting alternatives—as stopgaps or permanent fixtures. Press outlets believe that a February 20 product launch is pencilled in.

HWiNFO's incoming 8.21 build is being readied with support for GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards, but the GeForce RTX 5070 (non-Ti) GPU is notably absent from the suite's "upcoming changes" list. An investigative VideoCardz news piece points to HWiNFO being the first bit of software to publicly acknowledge (in advance) support for Team Green's 8,960 CUDA core-equipped model. As reported earlier this week, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is based on NVIDIA's GB203 GPU—also present on a larger sibling: "RTX 5080 maxes the silicon out, enabling all 84 SM, the RTX 5070 Ti is slightly cut down, with 70 out of 84 SM being enabled, resulting in 8,960 CUDA cores, 280 Tensor cores, 70 RT cores, 280 TMUs, and an unknown number of ROPs. The memory size is 16 GB, across the chip's full 256-bit GDDR7 memory interface... Its TGP is down to 300 W compared to the 360 W of the RTX 5080."

Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O Now Available on Steam

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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Today SEGA kicks off the return of the VIRTUA FIGHTER franchise with the release of Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O., available for purchase now on Steam for £15.99 with a special launch discount of 20% off for a limited time (see Steam product page for details). This release marks the first time the franchise has come to the platform.

Based on Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. features rollback netcode and the first new balance adjustments in over 13 years, giving players the definitive fighting experience. Combined with support of up to 60 FPS/4K resolution, players can enjoy smoother gameplay in their quest to become the best fighter in the world.
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Warner Bros. Will Wrap Up MultiVersus Live-service, Concluding with Season 5

Press Release by
T0@st
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Hi everyone. We have an important update to share regarding MultiVersus. After careful consideration, our next Season will serve as the final seasonal content update for the game. MultiVersus Season 5 will begin on February 4, 2025, and run through May 30, 2025, adding two new playable characters to the roster—DC's Aquaman and Looney Tunes' Lola Bunny. All new Season 5 content, including Aquaman and Lola Bunny, will be earnable through gameplay. Both new characters will be accessible when Season 5 begins on February 4 at 9 a.m. PST—Aquaman via the Battle Pass as the first tier reward and Lola as the daily calendar login reward.

All online features will continue to be available until Season 5 concludes on May 30 at 9 a.m. PST. At that point, there will be an option to play MultiVersus offline via the local gameplay mode, either solo against A.I. opponents or with up to three friends. To do this, you'll need to install/download the latest version of the game and log in during Season 5, any time between February 4 at 9 a.m. PST and May 30 at 9 a.m. PST. After logging in, a local save file will be automatically created connected to your PlayStation Network, Microsoft Store, Steam, or Epic Games Store account, allowing you to enjoy the game offline with all earned and purchased content moving forward.
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Tata to Complete Micron's India Chip Facility by End of 2025

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Nomad76
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IndiaTimes reports that Tata Projects announced on Tuesday that Micron Technology's semiconductor assembly and test facility at Sanand near Ahmedabad (India) will be ready by December 2025. Amit Agrawal, Project Director at Tata Projects, said workers have finished 60 percent of India's first semiconductor plant, the rest will be done by year's end. The plant covers about 50 acres in the Sanand industrial area and the building started in July last year. Tata Projects is putting up this semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) facility for Micron.

"An ATMP facility is essentially a backend fab facility where testing, packaging and marking of semiconductors are carried out. This is perhaps the largest back-end semiconductor fab unit in the world. So far, 60 percent of work has been completed on Phase-1 with the help of a total workforce of 3,500," Agrawal told reporters. "We will hand over this facility to Micron by December 2025 after finishing civil work, mechanical, electrical and plumbing work along with engineering-related tasks as per the designs given by Micron. The final call to commence the plant will be taken by Micron" added Amit Agrawal, Project Director at Tata Projects.
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Intel Pushes "Clearwater Forest" Xeon CPU Series Launch into 2026

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T0@st
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Intel has officially announced that its "Clearwater Forest" Xeon processor family will be arriving somewhere in the first half of 2026. During a recent earnings call, interim co-CEO—Michelle Johnston Holthaus—discussed Team Blue's product roadmap for 2025 and beyond: "this year is all about improving Intel Xeon's competitive position as we fight harder to close the gap to the competition. The ramp of Granite Rapids has been a good first step. We are also making good progress on Clearwater Forest, our first Intel 18A server product that we plan to launch in the first half of next year." Press outlets have (correctly) pointed out that Intel's "Clearwater Forest" Xeon processors were originally slated for release in 2025, so the company's executive branch has seemingly admitted—in a low-key manner—that their next-gen series is delayed. Industry whispers from last autumn posit that Team Blue foundries were struggling with their proprietary 18A (1.8 nm) node process—at the time, watchdogs predicted a postponement of "Clearwater Forest" server processors.

The original timetable had "Clearwater Forest" server CPUs arriving not long after the launch of Intel's latest line of "Sierra Forest" products—288-core models from the Xeon 6-series. The delay into 2026 could be beneficial—The Register proposes that "Xeons bristling with E-cores" have not found a large enough audience. Holthaus disclosed a similar sentiment (in the Q4 earnings call): "what we've seen is that's more of a niche market, and we haven't seen volume materialize there as fast as we expected." Despite rumors swirling around complications affecting chip manufacturing volumes, Intel's temporary co-leaders believe that things are going well. David Zinsner—Team Blue's CFO—stated: "18A has been an area of good progress...Like any new process, there have been ups and downs along the way, but overall, we are confident that we are delivering a competitive process." His colleague added: "as the first volume customer of Intel 18A, I see the progress that Intel Foundry is making on performance and yield, and I look forward to being in production in the second half, as we demonstrate the benefits of our world-class design."

Microsoft Surface Dock: $199 USB4 Dock Unveiled

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GGforever
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Microsoft recently refreshed its Surface Laptop and Surface Pro lineups with Intel's latest Lunar Lake chips. The company also introduced the new Surface USB4 Dock, and as the name suggests, this new dock lacks Thunderbolt 4 support, unlike the pricier Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock. The USB4 Dock is available for pre-order for just $199, which is substantially more affordable than the $299 that the Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock sells for.

Considering the cheaper price tag, the ports on offer are also rather modest, and suitable for only those users who require no more than a few additional ports. The Surface Dock sports a total of two USB4 Type-C ports, a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, a Gigabit Ethernet jack, and an HDMI 2.1 port. At just 12 x 6 x 1.5 cms, the Surface USB4 Dock is plenty compact, and weighs in at just over 200 grams. The 100-watt power supply allows for up to 65 watts of passthrough, which will definitely come in handy when the need arises.

Tripwire Interactive Announces March 25, 2025 Global Release Date for Killing Floor 3

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Developer and publisher Tripwire Interactive today announced that the highly anticipated next chapter in the studio's legendary Killing Floor franchise, Killing Floor 3, will launch worldwide on March 25, 2025 for PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store), the PlayStation 5 system, and the Xbox Series X|S console systems. Tripwire also announced that pre-orders are now available for both retail and digital versions, along with detailing pricing, pre-order bonuses, and exclusive content across both standard and special editions. Digital pre-orders for PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, and retail pre-orders for console versions are live now. Digital pre-orders for console versions will be opening soon, with specific timing and updates available via Tripwire socials. In celebration, Tripwire has revealed the next in its series of Zed reveal videos, focused on the new and deadly Siren.

Like Zeds, Killing Floor 3 editions will come in many shapes and sizes between both digital and retail. All digital and retail pre-orders will include the limited timed exclusive Flatline Tactical Bundle (Flatliner weapon skin, Fear the Reaper trinket, and Special Action Force player card).
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DeepSeek-R1 Goes Live on NVIDIA NIM

Press Release by
T0@st
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DeepSeek-R1 is an open model with state-of-the-art reasoning capabilities. Instead of offering direct responses, reasoning models like DeepSeek-R1 perform multiple inference passes over a query, conducting chain-of-thought, consensus and search methods to generate the best answer. Performing this sequence of inference passes—using reason to arrive at the best answer—is known as test-time scaling. DeepSeek-R1 is a perfect example of this scaling law, demonstrating why accelerated computing is critical for the demands of agentic AI inference.

As models are allowed to iteratively "think" through the problem, they create more output tokens and longer generation cycles, so model quality continues to scale. Significant test-time compute is critical to enable both real-time inference and higher-quality responses from reasoning models like DeepSeek-R1, requiring larger inference deployments. R1 delivers leading accuracy for tasks demanding logical inference, reasoning, math, coding and language understanding while also delivering high inference efficiency.
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Speculative Intel "Nova Lake" CPU Core Configurations Leaked Online

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T0@st
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Intel's freshly uploaded fourth-quarter 2024 "CEO/CFO earnings call comments" document has revealed grand CPU-related plans for 2025 and beyond. One of Team Blue's interim leaders—Michelle Johnston Holthaus—believes that "Nova Lake" processors (a next-generation client family) will arrive in 2026, following a comprehensive rollout of "Panther Lake" CPU products. This official timeline matches previously leaked and rumored development schedules—most notably, in a shipping manifest that was discovered last week. In recent times, industry watchdogs have linked "Nova Lake" to Intel's own 14A node and a TSMC 2 nm process node. Additionally, tipsters pointed to an apparent selection of Coyote Cove performance cores and Arctic Wolf efficiency-oriented cores.

Following yesterday's official announcements, a leaker shared several insights—theorized core configurations and manufacturing details were posted on the Hardware subreddit. Community members were engaged in a debate over Intel's "killing of Falcon Shore," but a plucky contributor—going under the moniker "Exist50"—redirected conversation to all-things "Nova Lake." They believe that Intel has shifted all "compute dies to TSMC" for manufacturing, after a change in plans—initial designs had the "8+16 die" on TSMC's N2P, and the "4+8 die on Intel 18A." Exist50 seemed to have inside track knowledge of product ranges: "Nova Lake (NVL) has a unified HUB/SoC die across mobile and desktop. So yeah, the baseline there is 4+8+4. But there's at least one more die for mobile." The flagship desktop (NVL-S or NVL-SK) chip's configuration could feature as many as sixteen performance cores and thirty-two efficiency cores, due to tile reuse—2x (8P+16E). Exist50 advised Intel CPU enthusiasts to forgo current generation offerings. "Nova Lake" should be: "quite a jump from Arrow Lake (ARL) in terms of MT performance, to say the least. I think anyone who buys ARL will end up regretting it, big time!"
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TechPowerUp Interviews David McAfee, GM of Client Channel Business, On the State of AMD Ryzen and Radeon

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btarunr
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As the 2025 International CES was drawing to a close, we hung around a little longer in Las Vegas to catch some important one-on-one interviews with industry leaders. We were invited by AMD to interview David McAfee Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Client Channel Business. His position in the company gives him a hawk's eye view on everything that matters to you—from Ryzen desktop CPUs to Ryzen AI processors, the disruptive new Ryzen AI MAX chips, and the all important Radeon RX 9000 series powered by RDNA 4. AMD's CES 2025 announcements event had some notable misses, such as the lack of updates on the Radeon RX 9000 series, or even the Ryzen Z2 line of processors for gaming handhelds. We began by asking McAfee how this year's CES event was distinct from previous ones, often led by CEO Lisa Su and covering a wide range of product families.

The interview follows.
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Midnight Society Closing Down, Development of DEADROP Ends

Press Release by
T0@st
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Today we are announcing Midnight Society will be closing its doors after three incredible years, with an amazing team of over 55 developers contributing to our new IP DEADROP. We are actively seeking other game studios that would be interested in offering employment opportunities to our talented team members. If you know anyone who's hiring please forward this message to them or DM us for direct intros. We express our sincere gratitude to each and every one of our community members and deeply sorry we were unable to reach our ultimate goal.

Midnight Society was founded on the core principles of transparency and open development. From as early as the creation of the very first weapon, environment, and gameplay systems, we shipped playable builds of our games to our massive community of players. With the leadership of three industry veterans, the studio grew to over fifty AAA developers from the largest franchises in the world (Call of Duty, Halo and Fortnite), alongside hundreds of thousands of community members who signed up to play in-development Snapshots of our first game and provide crucial feedback for the team.
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Newegg Sold Out Most NVIDIA RTX 50 Series GPUs in Just 5 Minutes, Entire Stock Cleared in 20 Minutes

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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Newegg Commerce, Inc., a global leader in e-commerce for technology products, experienced an overwhelming response to the highly anticipated launch of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs, with inventory selling out within minutes. Gaming enthusiasts, content creators, system integrators, and PC builders rushed to secure the first batch of the latest AI-powered graphics technology, driving demand to unprecedented levels and cementing the RTX 50 Series as one of the most sought-after GPU launches in history.

"The response to the NVIDIA RTX 50 Series has been extraordinary," said Jim Tseng, VP of Product Management at Newegg. "The overwhelming demand reaffirms the gaming and PC community's enthusiasm for the very best technology. For our customers who have not yet been able to secure a GPU, we're committed to working with NVIDIA and our AIB (Add-In Board) partners to ensure future restocks and continued availability." Tseng continued, "Getting the latest cards into our customers is our passion, and we're proud to also offer a GPU trade-in program that makes it more affordable for customers to upgrade to the latest generation of video cards."
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Microsoft Surface Laptop and Surface Pro Updated With Intel Lunar Lake

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GGforever
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Microsoft has finally updated its Surface Laptop and Surface Pro 2-in-1. The refreshed Surface Laptop 11 is now powered by Intel's Lunar Lake chips, up to the Core Ultra 7 268V with 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory and the Arc 140V iGPU. The laptop continues to be available in 13.8-inch and 15-inch sizes, with hardly any updates to the exterior compared to the Arm-powered variants we witnessed last year. Interestingly, the laptop will now feature support for 5G connectivity, which is a welcome upgrade for those frequently on the go.

The Surface Pro 7 also received an update, boasting up to the Core Ultra 7 268V with 32 GB of memory and NFC support. Like the Surface Laptop, the Surface Pro 2-in-1 misses out on the Core Ultra 9 chip, although it does feature the option for an OLED display, which the Surface Laptop does not, for whatever reason. Both the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro get 120 Hz displays, although the Surface Pro enjoys a higher pixel density. Microsoft claims 10 hours of web surfing for the Surface Pro, and 12/14 hours for the 13.8/15-inch Surface Laptop. Both the devices start at $1,499 for the base variants, with shipping scheduled to start from the 18th of February.

RADV Open-Source Radeon RDNA 4 Driver Deemed "Good Enough"

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T0@st
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Mid-week, a member of Valve's Linux graphics driver team updated the Mesa 25.0 documentation with an insightful note—in which, Samuel Pitoiset (lead developer of the RADV open-source driver) shared an early observation regarding AMD's upcoming RDNA 4 generation. The software engineer and his colleagues are busy getting everything finalized prior to an impending Mesa 25.0 feature freeze. Wednesday's patch notes reveal the outlook for "GFX12 on RADV"—Pitoiset seemed satisfied about "initial support expectations—he reckoned that it: "should be good enough, but it's missing two features (cooperative matrix and video decode/encode), compared to GFX11 (RDNA 3) because lack of time. DCC is still under active development, but it might be possible to finish it during the RC period."

According to Phoronix's expert opinion, the two missing features are not complete "show-stoppers" for potential buyers of first wave RDNA 4 GPUs. The site's editor-in-chief—Michael Larabel—posits that the "vast majority of those wanting to buy the Radeon RX 9070 graphics cards (when they launch in March)" will not be discouraged by the inceptive absence of RADV Vulkan Video and VK_KHR_cooperative_matrix. He added some post-publication clarification regarding the RADV patch notes: "this is only about Vulkan Video, not VA-API video acceleration... It seems some readers are taking this to mean VA-API support for the new VCN block isn't ready for RDNA 4. It's just the RADV Vulkan Video support that isn't complete." Mesa 25.0 is expected to reach a stable release stage by the end of February—just ahead of Team Red's next-gen desktop GPU launch. Late last week, an AMD official divulged that their team would be: "taking a little extra time to optimize the software stack for maximum performance" on Radeon RX 9070 XT and Radeon RX 9070 (non-XT) graphics cards.

Thermal Grizzly Introduces New Size of KryoSheet for the GeForce RTX 5090

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Thermal Grizzly, a high-performance cooling solutions provider, introduces new size of KryoSheet for the specific adaptation of GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards to a water cooling solution. KryoSheet graphene thermal pads are an excellent alternative for thermal pastes and have a conformable surface with very high thermal conductivity. The KryoSheet in the size of 44 × 37 mm comes with a Kapton Insulation Sheet.

The new size makes it suitable as a replacement for thermal paste on air-cooled RTX 5090 graphics cards, as the size of the GPU chip can lead to an acceleration of the pump-out effect. The KryoSheet, with dimensions of 44 × 37 mm, fully covers the GB202-300-A1 GPU of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and slightly extends beyond the chip's edges. This makes it necessary to electrically insulate the surrounding electronic components. For this purpose, the new size comes with the TG Kapton Insulation Sheet.
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Capcom Schedules Spotlight Event & Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase: February 4

Press Release by
T0@st
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Tune in live on February 4, 2025 at 2pm PT for a Capcom doubleheader! Join us for a 20-minute Capcom Spotlight followed immediately by a 15-minute Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase! In Capcom Spotlight, get the latest info on Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Capcom Fighting Collection 2, and MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics! Then, producer Ryozo Tsujimoto delivers the latest Monster Hunter Wilds information to you, including a new trailer and more info about the second Open Beta Test.

Bringing you back-to-back info about all that's coming from Capcom! First get the scoop on upcoming games from Capcom Spotlight, then tune in to the Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase for all the latest info! Both events will have subtitles available in 13 languages! The broadcast is planned to be approximately 35 minutes. Date and time may change without notice. These broadcasts contain age-restricted titles.
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Intel Confirms Panther Lake for 2H 2025, Nova Lake in 2026, Falcon Shores Canceled

by
Nomad76
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Intel shared some news and updates about its upcoming CPU architectures during the Q4 earnings call. Intel confirmed that "Panther Lake", its next major CPU, is set to be released in late 2025. "Panther Lake" will use Intel's latest 18A manufacturing process and might be part of the Core Ultra 300 series. "Panther Lake" is rumored to combine next-generation "Cougar Cove" P-cores with existing "Skymont" E-cores both in the Compute complex, and in the SoC tile as low-power island E-cores. However, Intel hasn't confirmed if it will be available for desktop systems.

The following CPU architecture, "Nova Lake", is set to debut in 2026. Unlike "Panther Lake", we know "Nova Lake" will work on desktop computers. This suggests desktop users might need to wait until 2026 for an upgrade unless Intel surprises us with a desktop version of "Panther Lake" or an alternative option.
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Samsung Electronics Announces Fourth Quarter and FY 2024 Results

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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Samsung Electronics today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year 2024. The Company posted KRW 75.8 trillion in consolidated revenue and KRW 6.5 trillion in operating profit in the quarter ended December 31, 2024. For the full year, it reported KRW 300.9 trillion in annual revenue and KRW 32.7 trillion in operating profit.

Although fourth quarter revenue and operating profit decreased on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, annual revenue reached the second-highest on record, surpassed only in 2022. Meanwhile, operating profit was down KRW 2.7 trillion QoQ, due to soft market conditions especially for IT products, and an increase in expenditures including R&D. In the first quarter of 2025, while overall earnings improvement may be limited due to weakness in the semiconductors business, the Company aims to pursue growth through increased sales of smartphones with differentiated AI experiences, as well as premium products in the Device eXperience (DX) Division.

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Thursday, January 30th 2025

Today's Reviews

CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Monitors
Motherboards
Mouse
MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Vanguard SOC Review

MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Vanguard SOC Review

Review Graphics Cards
Vanguard is MSI's new addition to the company's GeForce RTX 50 product stack. It sits slightly below Suprim and offers a similar premium design with a strong cooler and factory OC. In our testing, the Vanguard's thermal solution is actually the strongest of the 10 RTX 5080 cards that we've tested so far.
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ASUS GeForce RTX 5080 Astral OC Review

ASUS GeForce RTX 5080 Astral OC Review

Review Graphics Cards
The ASUS GeForce RTX 5080 Astral OC is the company's ultra-premium custom-design retailing at $1500, a shocking $500 increase over the NVIDIA MSRP, or +50%. In return you get a quad-slot, quad-fan cooling solution, a large factory OC and the best OC potential we've seen on a RTX 5080.
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Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming OC Review

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming OC Review

Review Graphics Cards
The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming OC comes with an improved triple-fan cooler and features a dual BIOS, so you can enable "quiet" mode. Gigabyte was also generous with the power limit, you can run at up to 450 W, which is the highest of all the cards tested today.
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MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Suprim SOC Review

MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Suprim SOC Review

Review Graphics Cards
The MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Suprim SOC is the company's flagship custom design for this launch. It comes with a powerful cooling solution that's among the strongest in our testing. Noise levels are fantastic, whisper-quiet. This is the card you want if you're looking for a low-noise RTX 5080 experience.
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Palit GeForce RTX 5080 GameRock OC Review

Palit GeForce RTX 5080 GameRock OC Review

Review Graphics Cards
The Palit GeForce RTX 5080 GameRock OC comes with impressive bling and a powerful cooling solution. Additionally, it includes a factory overclock that nets you an additional 5% in real-life FPS across our whole test suite. Cooling performance is also improved over the NVIDIA FE.
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Zotac GeForce RTX 5080 AMP Extreme Infinity Review

Zotac GeForce RTX 5080 AMP Extreme Infinity Review

Review Graphics Cards
The Zotac GeForce RTX 5080 Amp Extreme Infinity comes with large RGB lighting elements to bling up your case. You also get a triple-fan cooling solution and a factory overclock. In our testing the gaming performance was the second best, right behind the $1500 ASUS Astral OC.
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Colorful GeForce RTX 5080 Vulcan OC Review

Colorful GeForce RTX 5080 Vulcan OC Review

Review Graphics Cards
Colorful's GeForce RTX 5080 Vulcan OC is the company's flagship release with a high-quality all-metal cooler that rivals the build quality of the ASUS Astral. You also get tons of cooling potential and a factory overclock to 2685 MHz rated boost.
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Gainward GeForce RTX 5080 Phoenix GS Review

Gainward GeForce RTX 5080 Phoenix GS Review

Review Graphics Cards
The Gainward GeForce RTX 5080 GS "Golden Sample" is a factory overclocking custom-design variant of the RTX 5080. It comes with RGB lighting support, vapor-chamber cooling, three fans and an OC to 2700 MHz rated boost.
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Intel Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Financial Results

Press Release by
btarunr
 Discuss (44 Comments)
Intel Corporation today reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results. "The fourth quarter was a positive step forward as we delivered revenue, gross margin and EPS above our guidance," said Michelle Johnston Holthaus, interim co-CEO of Intel and CEO of Intel Products. "Our renewed focus on strengthening and simplifying our product portfolio, combined with continued progress on our process roadmap, is positioning us to better serve the needs of our customers. Dave and I are taking actions to enhance our competitive position and create shareholder value."

"The cost reduction plan we announced last year to improve the trajectory of the company is having an impact," said David Zinsner, interim co-CEO and chief financial officer of Intel. "We are fostering a culture of efficiency across the business while driving toward greater returns on our invested capital and improved profitability. Our Q1 outlook reflects seasonal weakness magnified by macro uncertainties, further inventory digestion and competitive dynamics. We will remain highly focused on execution to build on our progress and unlock value."
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UL Solutions Adds Support for DLSS 4 and DLSS Multi Frame Generation to the 3DMark NVIDIA DLSS Feature Test

Press Release by
GFreeman
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We're excited to announce that in today's update to 3DMark, we're adding support for DLSS 4 and DLSS Multi Frame generation to the NVIDIA DLSS feature test. The NVIDIA DLSS feature test and this update were developed in partnership with NVIDIA. The 3DMark NVIDIA DLSS feature test lets you compare performance and image quality brought by enabling DLSS processing. If you have a new GeForce RTX 50 Series GPU, you'll also be able to compare performance with and without the full capabilities of DLSS 4.

You can choose to run the NVIDIA DLSS feature test using DLSS 4, DLSS 3 or DLSS 2. DLSS 4 includes the new DLSS Multi Frame Generation feature, and you can choose between several image quality modes—Quality, Balanced, Performance, Ultra Performance and DLAA. These modes are designed for different resolutions, from Full HD up to 8K. DLSS Multi Frame Generation uses AI to boost frame rates with up to three additional frames generated per traditionally rendered frame. In the 3DMark NVIDIA DLSS feature test, you are able to choose between 2x, 3x and 4x Frame Generation settings if you have an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 series GPU.
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Forza Horizon 5 Comes to PlayStation 5 in Spring 2025

Press Release by
Nomad76
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With nearly 900 cars available in the game, over 40 thematic game updates, two expansions, and so much more content, our team is excited to announce that this spring, PlayStation 5 players will be able to explore Mexico's beautiful roads and experience the Horizon Festival for the first time as we are officially launching Forza Horizon 5 on PS5.

The PlayStation 5 version of Forza Horizon 5, developed by Panic Button in partnership with Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games, will have the same content as the Xbox and PC releases of the game. Previously released Car Packs, as well as the Hot Wheels and Rally Adventure expansions, will also be available for purchase.
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Smarter Memory Paves the Way for EU Independence in Computer Manufacturing

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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New technology from Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, is helping the EU establish its own competitive computer manufacturing industry. Researchers have developed components critical for optimising on-chip memory, a key factor in enhancing the performance of next-generation computers.

The research leader, Professor Per Stenström, along with colleagues, has discovered new ways to make cache memory work smarter. A cache is a local memory that temporarily stores frequently accessed data, improving a computer's speed and performance. "Our solution enables computers to retrieve data significantly faster than before, as the cache can manage far more processing elements (PEs) than most existing systems. This makes it possible to meet the demands of tomorrow's powerful computers," says Per Stenström, Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg.
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Apple Silicon Vulnerabilities Highlighted by FLOP & SLAP Side-channel Attacks

by
T0@st
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An academic collaboration—between research departments at Georgia Institute of Technology and Ruhr University Bochum—has produced two white paper studies that disclose details regarding the vulnerable nature of certain generations of Apple Silicon. The documents were made available online earlier in the week; readily accessible through their Predictors.Fail webpage. The "SLAP" attack paper's moniker is derived/abbreviated from its long-form title: "Data Speculation Attacks via Load Address Prediction on Apple" Silicon. A similarly uncatchy acronymization has been generated by the second paper's full title: "Breaking the Apple M3 CPU via False Load Output Predictions"—aka "FLOP" attack. The North American and German security research teams have partnered up in the past—their "iLeakage" speculative execution side-channel attack was documented back in October 2023.

Spectre and Meltdown are the original, and likely most famous/notorious examples of speculative execution CPU vulnerability—owners of particular processor architectures were affected at the start of 2018. The Predictors.Fail bulletin proposes that the latest side-channel attacks affect Apple hardware of 2021 vintage and beyond. The teams introduced SLAP as: "a new speculative execution attack that arises from optimizing data dependencies, as opposed to control flow dependencies." They believe that Apple models: "starting with the M2 and A15 are equipped with a Load Address Predictor (LAP), which improves performance by guessing the next memory address the CPU will retrieve data from based on prior memory access patterns. However, if the LAP guesses wrong, it causes the CPU to perform arbitrary computations on out-of-bounds data, which should never have been accessed to begin with, under speculative execution. Building on this observation, we demonstrate the real-world security risks of the LAP via an end-to-end attack on the Safari web browser, where an unprivileged remote adversary can recover email content and browsing behavior."
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MAINGEAR Launches New Desktop Gaming PCs and Workstations With NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs

Press Release by
GFreeman
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MAINGEAR, the leader in premium-quality, high-performance gaming PCs, today unveiled a variety of custom-configurable "50 Series" gaming desktops, featuring NVIDIA's newly revealed GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 GPUs. Available across seven gaming chassis options—MG-1, North, shroud, shroud Signature Edition, Rush, Force, and Zero, as well as all Workstations—these systems can be custom configured with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50-series GPUs and the latest CPU options from AMD and Intel to set a new benchmark for desktop gaming performance and customization.

Building on the excitement from CES 2025, MAINGEAR's "50 Series" also introduces non-APEX configurations of the hot new Rush and Force desktops, featuring 360 mm and 420 mm AIO coolers respectively, instead of open loop liquid cooling. Additionally, customers can order Rush desktops with custom chassis artwork for unparalleled personalization - as seen at CES. Available custom designs include Machina, Night Drive and Good Fortune.
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HYTE Reveals hololive 4th Generation Keycap Set

Press Release by
Nomad76
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HYTE, a leading manufacturer of cutting-edge PC components and peripherals, is thrilled to collaborate once again with the hololive team, represented by the COVER corporation from Japan, on the production of the hololive 4th Generation Keycap Set ahead of its upcoming 6th fes - Color Rise Harmony and SUPER EXPO 2025.

HYTE is an official sponsor of hololive's 6th fes SUPER EXPO 2025. Like with HYTE's prior collaborations, the hololive 4th Generation Keycap Set will prominently feature hololive's talent lineup participating in 6th fes on March 8-9, 2025, in Japan. These include Amane Kanata, Tsunomaki Watame, Tokoyami Towa, and Himemori Luna.
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Citizen Sleeper 2 Previewed Ahead of January 31 Launch

Press Release by
T0@st
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Typically, if I'm holding my breath while playing a game, it's because I'm focused on the rhythm of say, an intense combat sequence or platforming section. The tension stems from the precise, real-time input needed to triumph in those situations, a perfectly-aligned leap or parry. Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, an RPG in which the main mechanic is placing dice into a slot at your leisure, does not require the lightning fast touch of a button, and that in itself is a testament to how exhilarating the game can be.

Citizen Sleeper 2 is the sequel to 2022's Citizen Sleeper, and a compelling evolution to the first instalment that introduces new characters, stories and mechanics. You don't necessarily need to have played the first game, but it does help in understanding the nuance and complexities of the unforgiving, dystopian world that Citizen Sleeper is set in. While the first game often felt like an isolated journey where helping yourself was often a zero-sum game, Citizen Sleeper 2 introduces a crew system, alongside some other clever new features, allowing your Sleeper to become the quirky, unappointed protagonist of your very own episodic sci-fi adventure.
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GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs Are Now Available for iBUYPOWER's Custom Gaming PCs

Press Release by
Nomad76
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The leading system integrator iBUYPOWER, a company focusing on building high-performance gaming computers, is excited to announce that gaming PCs equipped with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs can now be purchased starting today. Backed by iBUYPOWER's comprehensive warranty of three-years labor and two-years parts, players can literally change the game thanks to the RTX 50 Series video cards enabling all-new experiences and next-level graphical fidelity.

Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell, the all-new 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 video cards enable new experiences and next-level graphics fidelity. Owners of these new GPUs can look forward to multiplying their in-game performance with NVIDIA DLSS 4, generating images at unprecedented speed, and unleashing their creativity with NVIDIA Studio.
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Rapidus Fab Expansion Plan Reportedly Includes Installation of Ten EUV Machines

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T0@st
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Japan's Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun newspaper believes that Rapidus will be installing a grand total of ten "extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure tools" at two cutting-edge semiconductor production sites. Government subsidies have assisted in boosting Japan's semiconductor industry to new highs—Rapidus is reportedly catching up with the likes of TSMC. Its 2 nm-class process node could be up and running by 2027, at the currently under-construction Innovative Integration for Manufacturing One (IIM-1) facility. This location welcomed its first ASML NXE:3800E EUV lithography machine last December—this occasion marked the debut deployment of said technology in Japan.

The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun report cites statements made by Rapidus CEO, Atsuyoshi Koike—according to the boss, ten new machines will be distributed across two fabrication facilities: at the aforementioned IIM-1, as well as IIM-2. The second location is expected to come online not long after the completion of IIM-1. It is not clear whether the foundries will be installing more examples of ASML's NXE:3800E model, and an exact timeframe was not disclosed. An older Nikkei article suggests that a trial run—utilizing 2 nm generation gate-all-around (GAA) technology—will begin around April (2025) at the primary Rapidus fab. A theorized schedule proposes that initial samples are due for shipment to Broadcom (in the USA) by mid-year.

AMD Outlines Ryzen Threadripper PRO Performance Advantages in Workstation Environments

Press Release by
T0@st
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I've had the privilege of leading the MNC at AMD for the past five years. In this role, I work with Dell, HP, Lenovo, Supermicro, and other leading workstation manufacturers to develop, market, and sell workstations using AMD Ryzen PRO and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO processors. In this brief time, we've seen over 25 customers develop AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO processor-powered workstations that are transforming the capabilities of premium workstations. Many of you who have followed our journey already know that AMD Threadripper PRO CPU delivers up to an industry-leading 96-cores per processor. However, many of you may not have heard that every AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000WX-Series processor model offers single-threaded frequencies of over 5 GHz, delivering a no-compromise architecture for lightly threaded and multithreaded applications.

Another secret of AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO processors is that they enable GPU-centric workloads to run faster. When pairing the same professional graphics card with AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO vs. the competition's processor, AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO CPU delivers up to 38% faster graphics performance, up to 29% faster GPU compute performance, and up to 29% faster GPU AI performance. Finally, one unique thing that AMD does is collaborate with leading workstation software manufacturers to optimize their software for the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO architecture. These include 3ds Max, AutoCAD, Inventor, and Maya covering media and entertainment, design, engineering, and manufacturing.
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MSI B860 Motherboards Updated with Support for Chinese-made CXMT DDR5 Memory

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T0@st
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ChangXin Memory Technology (CXMT) is playing catch up with competitors based in neighboring nations—as reported earlier today, this Chinese memory module manufacturer is making advancements in the field of commercial DDR5 products. Reports from the region suggest that a well-known motherboard manufacturer has embraced some of ChangXin new portfolio. According to a recent ITHome article, MSI has implemented a multitude of optimizations for new-ish Intel "Arrow Lake" Core Ultra Series 2 CPU-oriented motherboards—notably the MAG B860 TOMAHAWK WIFI, MAG B860M MORTAR WIFI, and PRO B860M-A WIFI models.

The publication provided evidence of MSI enabling transfer rates of 6800 MT/s across four engaged modules—a welcome step up from the usual twin-stick setup. ITHome also points out that the motherboard specialist has prepared a new BIOS version for B860 chipset mainboards: "specially optimized for the recently popular DDR5 domestic memory particles of ChangXin Storage, which undoubtedly gives the gaming community (in China) more choices." MSI appears to be the first major international vendor to enable support for CXMT's DDR5 modules—thus, representing a significant achievement for the Chinese memory industry.

Philips H8000E: Wireless ANC Headphones With 70-Hour Battery Life Teased

by
GGforever
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Philips has unveiled the H8000E wireless headphones, boasting an impressive feature set and an undisclosed price tag that is likely to be on the affordable side for a premium headset. The over-ear headphones utilize graphene coated 40 mm drivers, which is almost a third larger than those found in the Sony WH1000-XM5s. The headphones have been rated for up to 50 hours of usage with active noise-cancellation enabled, and up to 70 hours with the feature disabled. These numbers substantially outperform competitors from both Sony and Bose, all the while boasting a "mid-range" price point. As with most products coming out in 2025, the H8000Es sport AI-assisted functionality, specifically concerning noise reduction, thanks to its dual-mic setup.

Moreover, the H8000E also boasts support for the high-res LDAC and LC3 codecs, the latter of which allows for improved sound quality while being more energy efficient. Other features include Auracast support, customizable ANC, quick charge support, and replaceable batteries as well as ear cushions. The headphones can fold as well, which will certainly please those who travel frequently. Of course, with the Sony WH-1000XM6 set to launch soon as well, the H8000E will have to face some serious competition. Sound quality is subjective, although it would be fair to say both Sony and Philips are more than capable of making a great sounding pair of cans. As for availability, the headphones are expected to arrive towards the third quarter of this year in the US and Europe.

NVIDIA GeForce Now Celebrates Fifth Anniversary, Announces Latest AAA Additions

Press Release by
T0@st
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GeForce NOW turns five this February. Five incredible years of high-performance gaming have been made possible thanks to the members who've joined the cloud gaming platform on its remarkable journey. Since exiting beta in 2020, GeForce NOW has changed how gamers access and enjoy their favorite titles. The cloud has come a long way, introducing groundbreaking new features and supporting over 2,000 games from celebrated publishers for members to play.

Five years of cloud gaming excellence deserves a celebration. As part of an epic February lineup of 17 games coming this month, every week, GeForce NOW will deliver a major game release in the cloud. This includes the highly anticipated Kingdom Come: Deliverance II from Warhorse Studios, Avowed from Obsidian Entertainment and Sid Meier's Civilization VII from 2K Games. Make sure to stay tuned to GFN Thursdays to see what else is in store. This GFN Thursday, check out the nine titles available to stream this week, including standout title Pax Dei, a medieval massively multiplayer online (MMO) game from Mainframe Industries. Whether seeking mythical exploration or heart-pounding sci-fi combat thrills, GeForce NOW provides unforgettable experiences for every kind of gamer.
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New NVIDIA Broadcast AI Features Now Streaming With GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs

Press Release by
GFreeman
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New GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs - built on the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture - are now available to power generative AI content creation and accelerate creative performance. GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs feature fifth-generation Tensor Cores with support for FP4, reducing the VRAM requirements to run generative AI models while doubling performance. For example, Black Forest Labs' FLUX models - available on Hugging Face this week - at FP4 precision require less than 10 GB of VRAM, compared with over 23 GB at FP16. With a GeForce RTX 5090 GPU, the FLUX.1 [dev] model can generate images in just over five seconds, compared with 15 seconds on FP16 or 10 seconds on FP8 on a GeForce RTX 4090 GPU.

GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs also come equipped with ninth-generation encoders and sixth-generation decoders that add support for 4:2:2 and increase encoding quality for HEVC and AV1. Fourth-generation RT Cores paired with DLSS 4 provide creators with super-smooth 3D rendering viewports. The GeForce RTX 5090 GPU includes 32 GB of ultra-fast GDDR7 memory and 1,792 GB/sec of total memory bandwidth - a 77% bandwidth increase over the GeForce RTX 4090 GPU. It also includes three encoders and two decoders, reducing export times by a third compared with the prior generation.
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Corsair Launches New VENGEANCE Gaming PCs Powered by GeForce RTX 50 Series

Press Release by
GFreeman
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Corsair today launched the new edition of its celebrated Vengeance Gaming PCs, featuring NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards paired with Intel Core Ultra or AMD Ryzen 9000 Series processors. Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell, GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs bring game-changing capabilities to gamers and creators. Equipped with massive level of AI horsepower, the RTX 50 Series enables new experiences and next-level graphics fidelity with full ray tracing, further reduces latency with Reflex 2 technology, multiplies performance with NVIDIA DLSS, generates images at unprecedented speed, and unleashes your creativity with NVIDIA Studio.

Vengeance PCs with GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs are NVIDIA NIM-ready RTX AI PCs, supporting the latest NIM microservices—optimized AI models for language, speech, vision, content generation, and more. These systems enable enthusiasts and developers to build AI assistants, productivity plug-ins, and innovative content creation workflows with peak performance.
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ASUS USA Responds to Reports of Damaged GPU Interfaces - Linked to Q-Release Slim System

by
T0@st
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Last week, important figures from the PC hardware community posted photo and video evidence of damaged GPU interfaces—seemingly inflicted by the ASUS PCIe Q-Release Slim system. Reports suggest that scratches and scrapes—on PCIe connectors—are the result of frequent engagement and disengagement. For example, the owner of a ROG Strix B850-A Gaming Wi-Fi S motherboard model performed sixty quick release cycles—eventually chipping away at the physical interface present on their GALAX RTX 4070 Ti HOF OC LAB card. The most vocal of critics believe that ASUS did not fully test its latest quick release mechanism—reserved mainly for inclusion on high-end motherboards. Feedback posted on Bilibili prompted Tony Wu—general manager at the company's China office—to look into the matter. In the meantime, his colleagues in North America have responded to Western news reports.

Approximately eighteen hours ago, the "ASUS_MKTLeeM" account posted a lengthy and highly comprehensive public service announcement (PSA) on NVIDIA's subreddit. The ASUS USA rep stated: "we know that many of you have ASUS products including our GeForce graphics cards and motherboards and likely saw the news recently regarding usage marks on a couple graphics cards that were installed in one of our motherboards featuring the new PCIe Q-Release Slim feature." They noted that they would welcome feedback from users on Reddit—through comments or private messages. The company messenger pointed out that the reported problems stemmed from unique user cases—professional reviewers (of expensive graphics cards) will not enjoy reading this response: "in our internal testing and evaluation of the extremely small number of cases reported, we found no damage to the motherboard or graphics card that would affect functionality and/or performance....However, it is important to emphasize that any type of PCIe add-in card will exhibit signs of usage and wear marking after 60 continuous insertions and removals."
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AMD Radeon 9070 XT Rumored to Outpace RTX 5070 Ti by Almost 15%

by
GGforever
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It would be fair to say that the GeForce RTX 5080 has been quite disappointing, being roughly 16% faster in gaming than the RTX 4080 Super. Unsurprisingly, this gives AMD a lot of opportunity to offer excellent price-to-performance with its upcoming RDNA 4 GPUs, considering that the RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti aren't really expected to pull off any miracles. According to a recent tidbit shared by the renowned leaker Moore's Law is Dead, the Radeon RX 9070 XT is expected to be around 3% faster than the RTX 4080, if AMD's internal performance goals are anything to go by. MLID also notes that RDNA 4's performance is improving by roughly around 1% each month, which makes it quite likely that the RDNA 4 cards will exceed the targets.

If it does turn out that way, the Radeon RX 9070 XT, according to MLID, should be roughly around 15% faster than its competitor from the Green Camp, the RTX 5070 Ti, and roughly match the RTX 4080 Super in gaming performance. The Radeon RX 9070, on the other hand, is expected to be around 12% faster than the RTX 5070. Of course, these performance improvements are limited to rasterization performance, and when ray tracing is brought to the scene, the performance improvements are expected to be substantially more modest, as per tradition. Citing our data for Cyberpunk 4K with RT, MLID stated that his sources indicate that the RX 9070 XT falls somewhere between the RTX 4070 Ti Super and RTX 3090 Ti, whereas the RX 9070 should likely trade blows with the RTX 4070 Super. Considering AMD's track record with ray tracing, this sure does sound quite enticing.

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Join the Fight! Sniper Elite: Resistance Launches Today

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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Rebellion, one of the world's most successful independent video game developers and publishers, has today launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, the latest instalment in the genre defining franchise. Sniper Elite: Resistance is available to play now on Game Pass, and available for purchase, both digitally and physically (with the boxed edition published by Fireshine Games) on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 Pro, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, Windows PC and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.

As well as the Standard Edition, Sniper Elite: Resistance is also available in a Deluxe Edition, which will include additional Season Pass content. The game has been enhanced for the PlayStation Pro 5, offering players the chance to experience the game in full 4K resolution.
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Cosy City Builder Town to City Unveiled with New Trailer, Coming to PC in 2025

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TheLostSwede
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UK-based games publisher Kwalee and independent developer Galaxy Grove are thrilled to announce their new game, Town to City. The game is releasing on PC via Steam in 2025. Town to City is a charming city-building game where players can build an idyllic 19th century Mediterranean town and help it flourish into a prosperous society. They can freely place and customise each element to create the perfect home for their growing population in this cosy city builder from the creators of Station to Station. Kwalee and Galaxy Grove are excited to unveil an announcement trailer giving players a glimpse of what to expect from the game.

"We're thrilled to partner with Kwalee as our publisher! From the very beginning, they shared our passion for reimagining the city-builder genre with a fresh twist. Their belief in our vision and their unparalleled in-house publishing expertise have been instrumental in bringing this project to life. Today, we're excited to share our announcement trailer and can't wait to continue this journey together as we bring our game to completion!", said Joost van Dongen, Founder of Galaxy Grove
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Argonne Releases Aurora: Intel-based Exascale Supercomputer Available to Researchers

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AleksandarK
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The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has released its Aurora exascale supercomputer to researchers across the world, heralding a new era of computing-driven discoveries. With powerful capabilities for simulation, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analysis, Aurora will drive breakthroughs in a range of fields including airplane design, cosmology, drug discovery, and nuclear energy research.

"We're ecstatic to officially deploy Aurora for open scientific research," said Michael Papka, director of the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF), a DOE Office of science user facility. "Early users have given us a glimpse of Aurora's vast potential. We're eager to see how the broader scientific community will use the system to transform their research."
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"Battle Realms Zen Edition" Full Release Out Now - Devs Introduce Trading Card System

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T0@st
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Greetings, Warriors! This week marks two significant milestones for Battle Realms: Zen Edition—our official full release and the long- awaited introduction of Steam Trading Cards (profile badges, backgrounds and chat emojis)! Collect cards featuring iconic original Battle Realms artwork, craft badges, and unlock BR themed profile backgrounds and emoticons.

For this collection, we decided to honor Battle Realms' original artwork that has defined the game's unique identity over the years. Thanks to Steam's ecosystem, these classic designs are now preserved and made accessible to a wider audience, allowing both new and veteran players to collect and showcase pieces of Battle Realms history. We hope these additions will add another layer of enjoyment to your experience with the game.
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Alphacool Presents the RTX 5080 / 5090 Core GPU Water Cooler

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Nomad76
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Alphacool International GmbH, based in Braunschweig, has been a pioneer in PC water cooling technology for over 20 years. With one of the most comprehensive product portfolios in the industry, Alphacool is now expanding its lineup with the introduction of new Core GPU water coolers for the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 and 5090 series.

The GPU water coolers have been completely redesigned. Precise adjustments to the spacing between the cooler and the PCB, along with optimized water flow simulations and extensive practical testing, have resulted in significant improvements to the cooler base and jetplate. These enhancements ensure maximum cooling performance for the newest NVIDIA GeForce RTX generation. The GPU water coolers feature a precisely machined copper base with high-quality chrome plating for exceptional durability and a smooth surface. The design is further complemented by robust brass fittings with a nylon cover, ensuring maximum safety and reliability.
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Minisforum Unveils UN100P/UN150P Mini PC With a Priority on Affordability

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GGforever
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A brand-new Minisforum mini PC has hit the scene, dubbed the UN100/150P. Unlike most of the other mini PCs that Minisforum offers, the UN100/150P is not meant to be as much of a powerhouse as its siblings. Powered by either the Intel N100 or the slightly higher-clocked N150 processors, the UN100P is barely performant enough for most workloads and casual usage in the modern-era. For those unaware, the 6-watt Intel N100 and N150 are quad-core, quad-thread CPUs based on Alder Lake-N, with the latter boasting a 200 MHz higher boost clock than the former's 3.4 GHz.

Unsurprisingly, there is no room for the luxury of powerful discrete graphics, which means that customers will have to settle for the integrated Iris Xe iGPUs with 24 EUs. As mentioned earlier, the system should be speedy enough for lightweight workloads and casual usage, but expecting anything more out of the UN100/150P in terms of performance will most likely prove to be futile. At 12.7 x 11.2 x 3.9 cm, the Minisforum UN100/150P is plenty compact, which is hardly a surprise considering the modest internals. In terms of memory and storage, the mini PC can be equipped with up to 16 GB of user-upgradeable DDR4-3200 memory and 256 GB of SSD storage, also user-upgradeable via its M.2 2280 slot.
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Microsoft Enables Distilled DeepSeek R1 Models on Copilot+ PCs, Starting with Qualcomm Snapdragon X

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T0@st
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Microsoft will roll out "NPU-optimized versions of DeepSeek-R1" directly to Copilot+ PCs—yesterday's announcement revealed that Qualcomm Snapdragon X-equipped systems will be first in line to receive support. Owners of devices—that harbor Intel Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" processors—will have to wait a little longer, and reports suggest that AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX-based Copilot+ PCs will be third in Microsoft's queue. Interestingly, Team Red has published DeepSeek R1 model-related guides for Radeon RX graphics cards and Ryzen AI processors. Starting off, Microsoft's first release will be based on DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-1.5B—made available in AI Toolkit. Teased future updates will be 7B and 14B variants. These are expected to "arrive soon."

Microsoft reckons that the optimized models will: "let developers build and deploy AI-powered applications that run efficiently on-device, taking full advantage of the powerful Neural Processing Unit (NPUs) in Copilot+ PCs. The on-board AI-crunching solution is advertised as a tool for empowerment—allowing: "developers to tap into powerful reasoning engines to build proactive and sustained experiences. With our work on Phi Silica, we were able to harness highly efficient inferencing—delivering very competitive time to first token and throughput rates, while minimally impacting battery life and consumption of PC resources." Western companies appear to be participating in a race to swiftly adopt DeepSeek's open source model, due to apparent cost benefits. Certain North American organizations have disclosed their own views and reservations, but others will happily pay less for a potent alternative to locally-developed systems. In a separate bulletin (also posted on January 29), Microsoft's AI platform team revealed that a cloud-hosted DeepSeek R1 model is available on Azure AI Foundry and GitHub.

CXMT Ships 16 nm G4 DDR5 Memory in Commercial DDR5-6000 Kits

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AleksandarK
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TechInsights has identified CXMT's new 16 nm DRAM chips in Gloway DDR-6000 UDIMM modules, confirming advancement in the Chinese memory industry. The CXMT 16 Gb DDR5 chip measures 67 square millimeters with a density of 0.239 Gb per square millimeter. The G4 DRAM cells are 20 percent smaller than CXMT's previous G3 generation. This follows the company's progression from 23 nm (G1) and 18 nm (G2) nodes. Despite this advancement, CXMT remains approximately three years behind Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron in manufacturing capabilities. The Hefei-based company achieved this production milestone under US sanctions restricting access to certain manufacturing equipment and materials, setting it back years in gaining production of advanced memory nodes.

TechInsights found these chips in commercially available memory modules, confirming CXMT's entry into DDR5 production. DDR5 technology is projected to be the primary DRAM standard through 2027. The three major DRAM manufacturers have been producing DDR5 through multiple generations, with DDR5 now reaching 10,000 MT/s speeds. This represents CXMT's first DDR5 DRAM product to reach the consumer market. The chips meet basic compatibility requirements for current DDR5 specifications, meaning that the Chinese memory manufacturing has achieved "1z" memory manufacturing on its soil. This marks the second major news for the Chinese semiconductor industry, right after TechInsights also confirmed that YMTC has started shipping 292-layer NAND Flash. With domestic demand for memory and storage projected to remain strong, we wonder if the supply will exceed demand and allow some left-over chips for worldwide usage.

NVIDIA Releases GeForce 572.16 WHQL Game Ready Drivers

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btarunr
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NVIDIA today released the latest version of its GeForce Game Ready drivers. Version 572.16 WHQL comes with support for the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 "Blackwell" graphics cards, along with all the software framework needed for DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation. DLSS 4 and its updated Transformer-based models for super resolution, ray reconstruction, and frame generation are even available to older generations of GeForce RTX GPUs depending on their hardware capability. The updated super resolution model is available across the GeForce RTX series, the updated ray reconstruction to RTX 40-series and RTX 30-series; and the updated frame generation model to the RTX 40-series. Multi frame generation is exclusive to the RTX 50-series.

A bug that caused G-SYNC compatible monitors to flicker when framerate drops below 60 FPS has been fixed. Micro-stutters noticed with "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle" with V-sync disabled, has been fixed. Stability has been improved for Ubisoft games that use the Snowdrop game engine. The list of games with DLSS 4 multi frame generation support can be found in the table below.
DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 572.16 WHQL
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BioWare Reshuffles Staff - Dragon Age: The Veilguard Team Dispersed Across EA Studio Network

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T0@st
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Hello Everyone. We are turning towards the future and preparing for the next chapter in BioWare's story. As we announced in August 2023, we are changing how we build games to meet the needs of our upcoming projects and hold ourselves to the highest quality standards. Now that Dragon Age: The Veilguard has been released, a core team at BioWare is developing the next Mass Effect game under the leadership of veterans from the original trilogy, including Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, Parrish Ley, and others.

In keeping with our fierce commitment to innovating during the development and delivery of Mass Effect, we have challenged ourselves to think deeply about delivering the best experience to our fans. We are taking this opportunity between full development cycles to reimagine how we work at BioWare. Given this stage of development, we don't require support from the full studio. We have incredible talent here at BioWare, and so we have worked diligently over the past few months to match many of our colleagues with other teams at EA that had open roles that were a strong fit. Today's news will see BioWare become a more agile, focused studio that produces unforgettable RPGs. We appreciate your support as we build a new future for BioWare. Gary McKay—General Manager, BioWare

Denuvo Anti-Cheat Optional in Sniper Elite: Resistance, DRM Protection Remains Mandatory

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T0@st
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A happy owner of Sniper Elite: Resistance sent out a cheery message via the game's Steam discussion section—Denuvo Anti-Cheat seems to be an optional element when setting up Rebellion's latest tactical shooter. The user's public announcement read as follows: "I almost couldn't believe it when the setup dialog appeared...'Do you want to install Denuvo? YES or NO.' Now the drawback to skipping it is the fact that it's required for multi-player. But as a single campaign player myself, I was glad to have the choice to not install it. I wish more games would give us single players this option! For many a PC gamer, this sense of choice will be celebrated—at least on a surface level—as Irdeto's software is no stranger to controversy. Despite widespread deployment across many popular games and adding of "exciting new features," development teams and publishers have—on occasion—removed Denuvo protection systems from their products, even pre-launch.

Further community discussion—regarding Sniper Elite: Resistance's dropping of anti-tamper technology—focused on the benefits of not having a "kernel infesting, performance nerfing malware/spyware" package interfering with a gamer's solo experience. Unfortunately, Anti-Cheat seems to be an essential aspect for folks who want to indulge in multiplayer—be it co-op, invasion or a traditional PvP mode. Additional feedback points to Irdeto's digital rights management (DRM) system being a compulsory component. One commenter stated: "Denuvo is NOT optional, Resistance has two forms of Denuvo. The first kind it uses is Denuvo Anti-Tamper. This serves to protect the game from piracy, and validation of ownership...you can't get away from Denuvo Anti-Tamper, the game files are wrapped in it. The second kind is the Denuvo anti cheat, which is only needed for multiplayer. Every Sniper Elite game since no. 4 has used Denuvo Anti-Tamper, Resistance is no exception." Late last year, Irdeto staffers attempted to reach out to the gaming community, but responses were largely negative—a Denuvo product manager reckoned that most of this "toxicity" was generated by piracy groups. At the time, Irdeto's representative stated that his team's "solution simply works" and licensees (game developers) should do better in communicating these benefits (of Denuvo) to their audiences.

Apple Mac mini Goes Retro: ColorWare Intros Custom Mac mini With $300 Premium

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GGforever
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The M4 Mac Mini is quite certainly a delightful little computer. Powered by Apple's widely praised M4 SoC, the 0.8-liter mini PC punches well above its weight class in both CPU and GPU benchmarks. However, for those of us who are obsessed with retro tech but still desire modern-age performance, ColorWare has introduced a limited-edition Mac mini with a customized enclosure that looks straight of the 1970s, joining the extensive list of custom Apple products, including Apple Pencil and AirPods, that the company sells at a premium.

Unsuprisingly, the internals of the Mac mini remains unchanged. ColorWare has three versions on offer, ranging from the base M4 variant with 16 GB memory and 256 GB storage, all the way to the high-end M4 Pro-equipped variant, with 24 GB memory and twice the storage. The exterior, of course, is where all the customization takes place. The Mac mini Retro is available in two colorways: Retro Light, and Retro Dark. The latter is basically black, while the former utilizes a beige theme. The Apple logo at the top of the system has been replaced with Apple's colorful logo from the tech giant's early days in the 70s, and the sides have been customized to sport CNC-milled "vents" that mimic Macs from the era, such as the Apple II.
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YMTC Starts Shipping 5th Generation NAND Flash with 294 Layers

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AleksandarK
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Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. has begun shipping its fifth-generation 3D NAND memory chips, featuring 294 total layers and 232 active layers, according to an analysis from TechInsights. The new chips achieve bit density near 20 Gb per square millimeter (19.8 Gb/mm²), comparable to current offerings from SK Hynix and approaching Kioxia/Western Digital's latest products. YMTC's design uses hybrid bonding to connect the memory array with logic components, suggesting that Chinese memory makers are up to speed on the packaging standards that their non-sanctioned competitors use. The company has opted for a quiet release without formal announcements, a departure from typical industry practice. This low-key approach may be related to ongoing US trade restrictions on Chinese semiconductor companies.

While not setting records for active layers, SK Hynix's upcoming 321-layer chip leads in that metric, and YMTC's achievement in total layer count demonstrates continued technical progress. The chip uses string stacking technology, though the specific configuration of the layer arrays remains unclear. Other specifications show the new chip employs YMTC's Xtacking 4.0 architecture and triple-level cell (TLC) design. This matches major competitors' architecture type, though detailed performance metrics such as interface speeds have not been disclosed. The 5th generation NAND focuses on getting density on the right track. However, we expect YMTC to continue development at the same speed, match SK Hynix with 321-layer chips, and surpass it with Xtacking 5.0 in the near future.

The Stone of Madness Out Now on PC & Consoles

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T0@st
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The Stone of Madness is a tactical stealth adventure game set in a Spanish madhouse in the late 18th century, presented with gorgeous hand-crafted, period-inspired artwork. Located in the Pyrenees, a timeworn Jesuit monastery is home both to a madhouse and an inquisitorial prison; five mysterious characters have been imprisoned between its walls under different pretenses. Plagued by cruel punishment, madness, and despair, they will soon devise a plan to escape this place and its evil inhabitants, relying on each other to face their deepest fears. Learn the strengths and phobias of each character, prepare the perfect plan, and try to help all five inmates escape their confinement with their lives, and sanity, intact.

Escape the Monastery
Control all five characters independently to aid in their escape, taking care to preserve each member's sanity as much as possible. As they explore the corridors and rooms of the monastery they may discover useful tools or clues to aid their escape. They must avoid detection at all times, the Inquisition is not known for their mercy.
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Intel Releases Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.6557 Beta

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GFreeman
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Intel has released its latest version of the Arc GPU Graphics Drivers, version 101.6557 Beta. The latest update brings Game On Driver support for a couple of new games as well as improves performance in F1 24 and Sid Meier's Civilization VII games. The new driver update also fixes a single issue where the Intel Graphics Software may incorrectly report number of Xe Cores on certain Intel Arc B-series graphics cards.

According to Intel's release notes, the new driver update adds Game On driver support on Intel Arc B-series and A-series GPUs, and Intel Core Ultra CPUs with integrated Intel Arc GPUs, for Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, and Sid Meier's Civilization VII games. It also improves performance on Intel Arc B-series GPUs in F1 24 game (DX12) at High Settings by up to 15.1 percent at 1080p and by up to 12.1 percent at 1440p resolution. The performance uplift also comes to Intel Core Ultra Series 2 CPUs with integrated Intel Arc GPUs in F1 24 (DX12), by up to 12.3 percent at 1080p with Medium Settings, and in Sid Meier's Civilization VII (DX12) by up to 7.7 percent at 1080p with Medium Settings.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.6557 Beta
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Philips Launches Two New Monitors in Its 5000 Series

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Nomad76
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The Philips Monitors 5000 Series, specifically designed to minimize the environmental impact, is adding two new models, the 23.8" (60.4 cm) Philips 24B2G5301 and the 27" (68.6 cm) Philips 27B2G5601, both built for superior efficiency and power savings.

In addition to innovative technologies like PowerSensor 2 for increased energy efficiency and LightSensor for the perfect brightness with minimal power, as well as eco-conscious features such as 100% recyclable, FSC-certified packaging and EcoSmart materials, these models meet the needs of the most demanding professionals. The Philips 24B2G5301 and the Philips 27B2G5601 both feature a built-in USB-C docking station with 100 W power delivery to ease connectivity, an RJ45 port for secure network access, Smart KVM to switch between sources with the click of a button, and MultiView to split the screen in two for easier collaboration and greater productivity.
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Western Digital Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results

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Nomad76
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Western Digital Corp. today reported fiscal second quarter 2025 financial results.

"As we finalize the separation of our businesses, we are confident that both Western Digital and Sandisk will continue driving innovation and providing compelling storage solutions to customers while delivering long-term shareholder value," said David Goeckeler, Western Digital CEO. "We expect that our strong performance in HDD and our strategic approach to managing our Flash business within the New Era of NAND will allow each company to capture the growing demand for storage driven by the AI Data Cycle."
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Microsoft Announces its FY25 Q2 Earnings Release

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Nomad76
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Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:
  • Revenue was $69.6 billion and increased 12%
  • Operating income was $31.7 billion and increased 17% (up 16% in constant currency)
  • Net income was $24.1 billion and increased 10%
  • Diluted earnings per share was $3.23 and increased 10%
"We are innovating across our tech stack and helping customers unlock the full ROI of AI to capture the massive opportunity ahead," said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. "Already, our AI business has surpassed an annual revenue run rate of $13 billion, up 175% year-over-year."
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Wednesday, January 29th 2025
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition Review

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition Review

Review Graphics Cards
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is out now. Priced at $1000 it includes all the new GeForce RTX 50 features and offers good gaming performance. On the other hand, the gen-over-gen performance increase is smaller than expected, but NVIDIA didn't raise their pricing either.
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Galax GeForce RTX 5080 1-Click OC Review

Galax GeForce RTX 5080 1-Click OC Review

Review Graphics Cards
The Galax GeForce RTX 5080 1-Click OC comes at no price increase over NVIDIA MSRP: it sells for $1000. That makes it an excellent alternative to the NVIDIA Founders Edition. You even get an improved cooling solution that runs quieter than NVIDIA's reference card.
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PlayStation Network Sign-in Becomes Optional, In-game Content Incentives Added for PC Titles

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T0@st
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Starting with tomorrow's release of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 for PC, we're working to add more benefits to playing with an account for PlayStation Network. The Last of Us Part II Remastered (coming April 3, 2025), in addition to God of War Ragnarök and Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, will all soon be adding in-game content unlocks for PlayStation Network account users.

An account for PlayStation Network will become optional for these titles on PC. Players who still opt to sign into a PlayStation Network account will also enjoy added benefits like trophies and friend management. Details on new benefits for players who opt to sign in with an account for PlayStation Network can be read below.
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Phil Spencer Wishes for Innovative Next-gen Xbox Hardware, Current Consoles Too Similar

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T0@st
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Microsoft's Xbox Series X and S home gaming consoles have, so far, struggled to compete—saleswise—with Sony's full range of PlayStation 5 models. In reaction, CEO Phil Spencer and his colleagues have largely re-strategized Xbox's current platform. In recent times, less emphasis has been placed on the core system, and Microsoft's grip on software exclusivity has been loosened to a large degree. Any capable enough device is now "an Xbox"—be it a Smart TV, laptop, or smartphone. A gamer can enable this via Xbox's Cloud Gaming service or PC app. The company's new approach has been questioned by many folks—does it add value to (or remove from) the Xbox brand? Microsoft Gaming's chief has fielded similar queries—thrown his way by multiple media outlets over the past two weeks. Many headline quotes have been extracted, and the latest one focuses on future innovations.

Destin Legarie—an independent journalist, formerly of IGN—booked time with the Xbox boss. Naturally, media outlets have picked up on choice sentences from the first episode of Legarie's (just launched) Save State Plus paywalled podcast. Microsoft and Sony are rumored to be working on next-gen consoles—Spencer was asked about his ideal vision for the future, in response he stated: "I want us to innovate and make hardware the differentiator. We've got into this space where the differentiation on the hardware has gone down, and it's really been 'locked games' that have become the identity of the hardware. I love when I see handhelds, when I see unique things that hardware manufacturers do." According to various leaks and bits of inside information, next-gen AMD CPU and GPU architectures have been linked to a new wave of Sony and Microsoft gaming machines—perhaps mirroring choices made in the past. Starting with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 generation, both teams have—so far—selected very similar internals. Spencer has wishlisted a different path for the near future: "I want our hardware to compete on power, and on innovation. So let's have our platform continue to innovate with services and the hardware work that we're doing—whether it's controller, power, or mobility."

This Secure Dropbox Alternative Just Dropped the Price on a 10TB Lifetime Subscription

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btarunr
Cloud storage options abound, but not all of them are secure. If you want cloud storage you can rely on, try Internxt. This GDPR compliant secure cloud storage uses Post-Quantum Encryption to keep your files safe, and it's not lacking in space. For a limited time, a 10 TB lifetime subscription is $244.99 (reg. $2,999). Internxt stands out for its focus on privacy and security. They're offering a decentralized cloud storage solution that gives users full control over their data. Zero-knowledge file storage and end-to-end encryption mean nobody can access your files without your permission. This platform is also entirely open-source, so you can even review the code yourself.

You can easily access your files from any device, including desktops, mobile phones, and web browsers. Whether you're using Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, or iOS, Internxt has you covered with apps that sync and share files seamlessly. Uploads are fast, and you can easily make links to any files you want to share. This subscription lasts for life with no recurring costs. You can use it on an unlimited number of devices, and updates are included, too.

Use code STORAGE30 by February 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT to get a 10 TB Lifetime Subscription to Internxt Cloud Storage for $244.99.

No Man's Sky Expanded with Worlds Part II Update

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T0@st
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Hello! No Man's Sky is a game that we all genuinely truly love. Last year we released Worlds Part I and I remember thinking at the time that this is just the beginning. We can't wait to show people what we've been working on! There's new solar systems, new planets with more variety, new terrain types, even new Gas Giants, and of course new adventures. Our next update is called Worlds Part II. Full patch notes are available here.

Worlds Part II allows us to push the boundaries of our engine with new technology. Across the universe we're adding billions of new solar systems and trillions of new planets, and introducing new biomes and terrains without changing what people already love about the game. It's now so far beyond what we ever thought was possible when we started out.
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MSI's US Store Postpones GeForce RTX 5090 GPU Shipments, Delayed Until February 6

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T0@st
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Earlier this week, MSI's China office admitted that it had only a limited supply of GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards available for launch day. A VideoCardz report from last night points out similar problems affecting retail channels in North America. MSI's official US store has delayed shipments of GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 cards. This announcement was extracted from a conversation conducted via Discord—between a company representative (MSI Spence) and a VideoCardz staffer (WhyCry). In full, MSI stated: "we are going to allow GeForce RTX 5090 pre-orders on January 30, at 6 AM PST—with a ship date of February 6. The GeForce RTX 5080 will be available for purchase on January 30 at 6 AM PST, with an immediate ship date of (same day) January 30. GeForce RTX 5090 pre-orders will open on January 30 at 6 AM PST, with a ship date of February 6."

Additionally, StinceBuilt has corroborated reports of newly adjusted timeframes—the custom PC builder publicly disclosed its own dealings with the NVIDIA board partner: "we're being told by the MSI Team that the MSI RTX 5090 Variants are now being pushed back until February 6th for launch. RTX 5090 Day of Launch is going to be very rough, both on the consumer retail/ecommerce side, and to all system integrators. Stock is minimal at best. Please be patient. We've confirmed this with other shops like ourselves."

Nixxes Reveals Spider-Man 2's PC Spec Requirements & Ray Tracing Options

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T0@st
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Hey everyone, we're just one day away from bringing the latest epic chapter in the Marvel's Spider-Man franchise to PC, where you'll battle as Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miles Morales, against a rogue's gallery of iconic Marvel Super Villains, including the monstrous Venom and the ruthless Kraven the Hunter. With the game launching soon, I'm excited to share more about the awesome new PC-enhanced features the team at Nixxes has been working on.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2, created by Insomniac in collaboration with Marvel, is a technological and graphical showcase utilizing tools like ray tracing to bring the city of Marvel's New York to life. On PC, you'll encounter a variety of new ray tracing options with individual quality settings to finetune performance and fidelity across a broad range of hardware configurations. Ray traced reflections quickly catch your eye in the skyscraper-filled city of Marvel's New York as you swing along its many glass surfaces. Meanwhile, we're offering ray traced interiors, shadows, and ambient occlusion options that add an additional layer of believability with realistic shadows and increased depth to the game.
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Japanese Store Readies Lottery System Ahead of GeForce RTX 5090 & 5080 GPU Launch

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T0@st
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Goodwill Nagoya Osu—a Japanese PC hardware store—has devised a lottery ticket system for potential buyers of GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 graphics cards. Earlier today, the shop's social media announced a strict set of rules—providing a preview of this Friday's buying experience. Several retail outlets (around the globe) are preparing various anti-scalping measures ahead of a predicted bloodbath—a particularly brutal example was highlighted recently. AutoBuy, a Taiwanese store, demands that customers purchase almost an entire build's worth of pricey PC components—just to get onto a waiting list for GeForce RTX 5080 graphics cards.

Goodwill Japan's prize draw looks quite reasonable in comparison. Their announcement reads as follows: "the next-generation GPUs—which will go on sale from 11:00 on January 31—will be sold by lottery at the Nagoya Osu store. Lottery tickets will be distributed from 10:20. Those who are in line at 10:20 will be eligible for the lottery." Industry experts believe that high-end graphics card enthusiasts will experience long-term shortages—possibly up to three months after this week's international rollout. Goodwill Nagoya Osu will not reveal their (proverbial) full deck of cards until tomorrow night—available products and quantities will be announced at 11:00 PM.

Comcast Introduces Nation's First Ultra-Low Lag Xfinity Internet Experience With Meta, NVIDIA, and Valve

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TheLostSwede
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Comcast is introducing the first customers in the world to a pioneering new, ultra-low lag connectivity experience when they use interactive applications like gaming, videoconferencing, and virtual reality. With the launch, Xfinity Internet latency will be dramatically reduced to faster than the blink of an eye, currently when using FaceTime on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro, apps on Meta's mixed reality headsets that will support this technology, NVIDIA's GeForce NOW, many games on Valve's Steam games platform, and in the future on other applications that choose to leverage this open standard technology.

"Our connectivity is the key to unlocking a world of entertainment, sports, news and information and we're constantly pushing the limits of network innovation to create an experience that exceeds the expanding demands of our customers," said Emily Waldorf, Senior Vice President, Consumer Products, Comcast Connectivity and Platforms. "Modern applications are real-time and interactive and require more than just fast speeds. Xfinity Internet's lower lag times will be a differentiator for Comcast."
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GOG Launches "Dreamlist" System, Supersedes Community Wishlist Tool

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T0@st
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Bringing classic games back to life is not easy. With obsolete technology, complex IP rights, and challenging business cases, our Team tackles these hurdles daily. That's where our Community Wishlist used to come in. It was an open tool where you got to tell us which classics deserve a comeback and vote on the games you want to see revived. It wasn't just a list—more often than not, it was the fuel for our actions. When talks with IP owners hit a wall, the Wishlist kept the conversation going—as you could see with Dino Crisis.

But now we are launching the next generation of this tool: the GOG Dreamlist. With the brand-new design, it's easier than ever to cast your vote, add a game and contribute to Video Game Preservation.
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Qualcomm Snapdron 8 Elite SoC Capable of Running Red Dead Redemption 2 via Emulation

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T0@st
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As evidenced in leaks from late last year, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile processor is no slouch in terms of gaming performance—to be more specific, it is surprisingly adept at emulating "AAA" titles in an Android OS environment. Past examples include test platforms—allegedly—hitting 60+ frames per second (FPS) in A Plague Tale: Innocence (2019), and an astounding 160 FPS in Red Dead Redemption's recent-ish PC conversion (originally a 2010 release on PS3 & Xbox 360). Earlier this week, NoI_Revenant's attention was drawn to intriguing camera footage that was freshly uploaded to Bilibili. Said video demonstrates the PC version (2019) of Red Dead Redemption 2 running on an unnamed mobile device equipped with Qualcomm's flagship SoC.

Follow-up posts and comments propose that the game was running via a specific (Android-based) emulation application: Winlator. Observers have pointed out that it is difficult to ascertain exact details regarding visual fidelity from an overly blurry video—the original uploader/leaker mentions that they implemented "low graphical settings." On-screen information shows measured frame rates hovering around the 60 FPS mark. Industry experts reckon that Qualcomm latest "game-changing" Adreno GPU is capable of surpassing AMD's omnipresent Radeon 780M—a popular integrated graphics solution, frequently found in Ryzen Z1 Extreme-equipped handheld gaming PCs.
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Lantronix Launches New 28-Port PoE++ Network Switch

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Nomad76
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Lantronix Inc., a global leader of compute and connectivity for IoT solutions enabling AI Edge Intelligence, today announced it will launch its new 28-port SM24TBT4XPA Managed 2.5G Ethernet PoE++ network switch as well as feature its 24-port SM24TBT4SA and 8-port SM8TBT2SA Managed Gigabit Ethernet PoE++ network switches at the 2025 BICSI Winter Conference & Exhibition. Taking place Feb. 4-6, 2025, at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., Lantronix will exhibit these newest items, along with more IoT network solutions, at booth Number 910.

"At BICSI, we will feature our new PoE++ network switches that offer flexibility in port speed and power while delivering the always-on performance needed for critical applications, such as smart building, wireless and security and surveillance. Our users know they can rely on Lantronix's secure network solutions to stay connected at the network edge while gaining easy, intuitive control of end-to-end devices," said Mathi Gurusamy, chief strategy officer at Lantronix.
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AMD Details DeepSeek R1 Performance on Radeon RX 7900 XTX, Confirms Ryzen AI Max Memory Sizes

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btarunr
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AMD today put out detailed guides on how to get DeepSeek R1 distilled reasoning models to run on Radeon RX graphics cards and Ryzen AI processors. The guide confirms that the new Ryzen AI Max "Strix Halo" processors come in hardwired to LPCAMM2 memory configurations of 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB, and there won't be a 16 GB memory option for notebook manufacturers to cheap out with. The guide goes on to explain that "Strix Halo" will be able to locally accelerate DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama with 70 billion parameters on the 64 GB and 128 GB memory configurations of "Strix Halo" powered notebooks, while the 32 GB model should be able to run DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-32B. Ryzen AI "Strix Point" mobile processors should be capable of running DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-14B and DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-14B on their RDNA 3.5 iGPUs and NPUs. Meanwhile, older generation processors based on "Phoenix Point" and "Hawk Point" chips should be capable of DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-14B. The company recommends running all of the above distills in Q4 K M quantization.

Switching gears to the discrete graphics cards, and AMD is only recommending its Radeon RX 7000 series for now, since the RDNA 3 graphics architecture introduces AI accelerators. The flagship Radeon RX 7900 XTX is recommended for DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-32B distill, while all SKUs with 12 GB to 20 GB of memory—that's RX 7600 XT, RX 7700 XT, RX 7800 XT, RX 7900 GRE, and RX 7900 XT, are recommended till DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-14B. The mainstream RX 7600 with its 8 GB memory is only recommended till DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-8B. You will need LM Studio 0.3.8 or later and Radeon Software Adrenalin 25.1.1 beta or later drivers. AMD put out first party LMStudio 0.3.8 tokens/second performance numbers for the RX 7900 XTX, comparing it with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER and the RTX 4090.
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Exogate Initiative Version 1.0 Out Now

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T0@st
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Greetings Gaters! This is it, the full release version of Exogate Initiative is finally here! Build and manage mankind's first mission across the universe! Create a sprawling facility underground, recruit a diverse group of specialists from around the globe and explore mysterious new worlds through the Exogate.

The biggest update yet
We were also able to add one more thing at the last minute, and it was the most requested feature by the players—you'll now have access to a new tech that allows more gaters to cross the gate at any time. Meaning you can form teams of 4 or 5 gaters! We are extremely proud of what was accomplished by such a small team. It started as a solo project a long time ago, and in the end 24 talented people contributed one way or another to make this game, but on average only 2 were working on it full-time! We'd like to address a special thanks to the community that helped us shape the game all along the early access, your feedback was always precious and led to some major changes that ultimately made the game far better.
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Reports Suggest DeepSeek Running Inference on Huawei Ascend 910C AI GPUs

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T0@st
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Huawei's Ascend 910C AI chip was positioned as one of the better Chinese-developed alternatives to NVIDIA's H100 accelerator—reports from last autumn suggested that samples were being sent to highly important customers. The likes of Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent have long relied on Team Green enterprise hardware for all manner of AI crunching, but trade sanctions have severely limited the supply and potency of Western-developed AI chips. NVIDIA's region-specific B20 "Blackwell" accelerator is due for release this year, but industry watchdogs reckon that the Ascend 910C AI GPU is a strong rival. The latest online rumblings have pointed to another major Huawei customer—DeepSeek—having Ascend silicon in their back pockets.

DeepSeek's recent unveiling of its R1 open-source large language model has disrupted international AI markets. A lot of press attention has focused on DeepSeek's CEO stating that his team can access up to 50,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, but many have not looked into the company's (alleged) pool of natively-made chips. Yesterday, Alexander Doria—an LLM enthusiast—shared an interesting insight: "I feel this should be a much bigger story—DeepSeek has trained on NVIDIA H800, but is running inference on the new home Chinese chips made by Huawei, the 910C." Experts believe that there will be a plentiful supply of Ascend 910C GPUs—estimates from last September posit that 70,000 chips (worth around $2 billion) were in the mass production pipeline. Additionally, industry whispers suggest that Huawei is already working on a—presumably, even more powerful—successor.

Eternal Strands Out Now - Devs Publish PC Spec Requirements

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T0@st
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Weavers, we've made it: Eternal Strands is released on all platforms! Play as Brynn, a young but fearless Weaver, determined to recover her people's cultural home in the debut fantasy action-adventure title from Yellow Brick Games, a new independent studio founded by industry veterans.

Armed with powerful magical abilities and an arsenal of magical weapons, face enemies that range from humanoid constructs to towering beasts. Use the environment and temperature to your advantage in battles against a diverse roster of fantastical creatures, like turning a dragon's fiery breath against ice-covered minions. Climb every surface and use arcane skills to create new paths. Explore the world in pursuit of the Enclave's lost mysteries and challenge giant titans on your journey. Here's everything you need to know before you meet your Weaverband.
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Planned Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition DLC Canceled

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Nomad76
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World's Edge shared plans in February 2024 to launch a DLC for Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition before the year ended. But come October, they pushed back the expansion's release to a "future date" with no set timeline. The studio has now scrapped the project, as they announced yesterday. The company hadn't shared much about the DLC's contents, production director Earnest Yuen had hinted at one point that it would add two new civilizations that players often asked for.

Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition last saw an expansion in May 2022 with Knights of the Mediterranean. Now that this new DLC isn't happening, the game looks to be entering a phase of upkeep. World's Edge hasn't ruled out new content, but they'll focus on keeping servers running, rotating free trial civilizations, and helping customers. "Whilst we will not be moving forwards with this DLC content for Age III: DE, we will continue to maintain servers, rotate civs through the free trial version, and provide Customer Support for any issues you may encounter whilst playing."
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ASML Reports €28.3 Billion Total Net Sales and €7.6 Billion Net Income in 2024

Press Release by
GFreeman
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Today, ASML Holding NV (ASML) has published its 2024 fourth-quarter and full-year results.
  • Q4 total net sales of €9.3 billion, gross margin of 51.7%, net income of €2.7 billion
  • Quarterly net bookings in Q4 of €7.1 billion of which €3.0 billion is EUV
  • 2024 total net sales of €28.3 billion, gross margin of 51.3%, net income of €7.6 billion
  • ASML expects Q1 2025 total net sales between €7.5 billion and €8.0 billion, and a gross margin between 52% and 53%
  • ASML expects 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 fourth-quarter was a record in terms of revenue, with total net sales coming in at €9.3 billion, and a gross margin of 51.7%, both above our guidance. This was primarily driven by additional upgrades. We also recognized revenue on two High NA EUV systems. We shipped a third High NA EUV system to a customer in the fourth quarter.
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Tuesday, January 28th 2025

Today's Reviews

Cases
Headphones
Keyboards
Monitors
Motherboards
Processors
PSUs
SSD
Softears Studio4 In-Ear Monitors Review - A True Reference!

Softears Studio4 In-Ear Monitors Review - A True Reference!

Review Headphones
Softears makes a grand debut on TechPowerUp with its Studio4 in-ear monitors. Designed for studio/stage use, the Studio4 has a cult following from audiophiles too who find its reference sound signature working as a good all-rounder with various music genres, while also offering a good balance of accuracy and engagement alike.
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Asus ROG Strix X870-A Gaming Wi-Fi Review

Asus ROG Strix X870-A Gaming Wi-Fi Review

Review Motherboards
If you don't need all the bells and whistles of X870E and have a bit more than $300 to spend on a motherboard that still includes USB4, Wi-Fi 7 and PCIe Gen 5 support then the ASUS ROG STRIX X870-A Gaming Wi-Fi this could be the board for you. Even better is that it comes in white.
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Logitech Announces Fourth Consecutive Quarter of Sales Growth

Press Release by
btarunr
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Logitech International today announced financial results for the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2025. "We're excited to deliver strong, profitable growth once again, in our biggest quarter of the year," said Hanneke Faber, Logitech chief executive officer. "Our growth was driven by our strategic priorities. We delivered superior innovation. Gaming sales were near pandemic-high levels, thanks to an outstanding set of innovations launched ahead of the holidays. We delivered near record sales in our premium Pro Gaming and MX portfolios. Logitech for Business made excellent progress. And our teams fielded effective marketing campaigns and excellent holiday retail execution to drive broad-based geographic progress."

"Q3 marks another disciplined quarter," said Matteo Anversa, Logitech chief financial officer. "Thanks to our strong operational performance, we again delivered year-over-year expansion of gross margin. While we expect fourth quarter currency headwinds, the strong demand in the third quarter and the continued promotional and operational discipline of our teams give us confidence about the trajectory of our business, and we are increasing our full-year outlook."
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Sony Interactive Entertainment Gets New Leadership

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btarunr
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Sony Group Corporation and Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the company behind PlayStation, today announced the appointment of Hideaki Nishino to the role of President and CEO effective April 1, 2025. This marks an evolution designed to maximize synergies across SIE that was announced in May 2024 in which Nishino was appointed CEO of the Platform Business Group effective June 1, 2024, alongside Hermen Hulst, who was appointed CEO of the Studio Business Group. Hulst will continue to serve as CEO, Studio Business Group, SIE, reporting to Nishino.

Sony Group Corporation and SIE also announced that effective April 1, Hiroki Totoki, President, COO and CFO of Sony Group Corporation, will step down from the SIE Chairman position to become President and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, and that Lin Tao, currently serving as SVP, Finance, Corporate Strategy and Development for SIE, will step down from her position at SIE to become CFO of Sony Group Corporation. Her successor at SIE will be announced at a later time.
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Intel Updates Linux Driver with Three Unannounced Battlemage PCI IDs

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T0@st
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Intel's relatively new lineup of Arc B-series "Battlemage" desktop graphics cards consists of B580 and B570 GPUs—these affordable models have been warmly welcomed by reviewers and customers alike. PC hardware enthusiasts—with larger wallets—will be pondering over possible future launches of mid-tier or higher-end SKUs. Industry insiders have not picked up on much chatter regarding possible successors to Team Blue's mid-range Arc "Alchemist" A770 and A750 GPUs. The speculation machine has been fired up again, following the appearance of three new "Battlemage" PC IDs. Intel's Linux kernel has been updated with these new additions—as discovered by Tomasz Gawroński (aka GawroskiT), earlier today.

A brief sentence outlines "3 new PCI IDs for BMG," with no further or follow-up information included. Several industry watchdogs believe that Intel's graphics hardware division has moved on from creating new Xe2 "Battlemage" products—Team Blue representatives have officially admitted that their Xe3 "Celestial" architecture is complete, and its engineers have already started work on the Xe4 "Druid" GPU IP. Instead, the three new identifiers could be linked to a late December leak. At the time, Quantum Bits claimed that Arc B580 variants with larger pools of VRAM were in the pipeline—these "Arc Pro" cards are supposedly workstation-oriented models. Insiders reckon that a product launch is planned for later in 2025.

Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered Developer Unveils "Flyby Camera Maker" Feature

Press Release by
T0@st
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The incredible response to Tomb Raider I-III Remastered inspired us (at Aspyr) to go a little deeper for Lara's next remastered adventure. Thanks to the overwhelming support and enthusiasm from the Tomb Raider community, we're continuing to enhance the journey for fans with Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered which launches on February 14. This time, we're introducing exclusive tools and fresh new ways to experience these iconic adventures. In this article, we'll dive into some of these exciting new additions—features that redefine how you'll engage with Lara's world and cement this remastered trilogy as a labor of love for both the developers and the fans.

Capture every epic moment
Photo Mode is back, and it's better than ever! Building on the beloved features from the previous trilogy, you'll still have countless poses to strike and weapons to outfit Lara Croft. This collection features all the Photo Mode resources from the first collection, plus a slew of new ones for players to discover!
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Gigabyte Confirms It'll use Liquid Metal TIM on Some of its RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 Graphics Cards

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TheLostSwede
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In an FAQ on its website, Gigabyte has confirmed that the company will use liquid metal thermal interface materials on some of its RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 cards. The cards in question are its Aorus Xtreme Waterforce cards, all of which will be using a liquid gallium based TIM that the company claims will offer up to 10 times heat transfer coefficent compared to what the company refers to as traditional thermal grease. However, it's unclear if the traditional thermal grease is simple silicone based TIM or something more modern. The cards in question are the GV-N5090AORUSX W-32GD, GV-N5080AORUSX W-16GD and GV-N509DAORUSX W-32GD.

In addition to those three cards, the company has a further seven Aorus Master cards that will use what Gigabyte refers to as a "composite metal grease that includes metal particles, to deliver enhanced thermal conductivity performance", which simply sounds like a modern, higher-end TIM. However, the FAQ specifically states that both materials are "fluid-like" in room temperature and above, it seems like Gigabyte is using something a bit different here, rather than your run-of-the-mill thermal paste, since only a few TIM's are runny in room temperature. The company further points out that both TIM's are electrically conductive, so for those planning on swapping out the cooler on their cards, this is something to pay attention to. Gigabyte also points out that it's using a "quadruple protection system to prevent possible short-circuiting of important components" and goes on to point out that if the cooler is removed, at least a couple of these protections will be damaged and will no longer hold the TIM in place. The Aorus Master models are the GV-N5090AORUS M-32GD, GV-N5090AORUS M-32GD, GV-N5090AORUSM ICE-32GD, GV-N509DAORUS M-32GD, GV-N509DAORUSM ICE-32GD, GV-N5080AORUS M-16GD and GV-N5080AORUSM ICE-16GD.

ASRock CPU Support List Updated with AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D & 9900X3D

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T0@st
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ASRock has quietly updated its CPU Support List with entries for the upcoming AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D desktop processors—starting off with motherboard BIOS versions 3.15 and 3.16. The Taiwanese manufacturer seems to be the very first company to add these "Zen 5" models to public-facing motherboard compatibility databases—according to yesterday evening's VideoCardz report, the likes of MSI, GIGABYTE, and ASUS have not yet followed suit (at the time of writing). The appearance of Team Red's "Granite Ridge" 16-core and 12-core 3D V-Cache-equipped processors on ASRock's website has set off chatter across PC hardware discussion communities.

AMD has not officially revealed a specific launch date (or pricing details) for its Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D CPUs—instead, a loose March window has been marked down on this year's calendar. Industry watchdogs believe that ASRock's freshly updated database is proof of an imminent launch—a couple of insiders predicted a January rollout, but this seems unlikely to occur by the end of this working week. Given the reported scarcity of Team Red's already released and highly-praised Ryzen 7 9800X3D gaming processor, many folks will welcome the addition of two alternative options. Team Red has already set expectations for the (presumably) more expensive models—recently, a product manager disclosed that their "new chips will provide similar overall gaming performance" to the current champion.

AMD Believes EPYC CPUs & Instinct GPUs Will Accelerate AI Advancements

Press Release by
T0@st
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If you're looking for innovative use of AI technology, look to the cloud. Gartner reports, "73% of respondents to the 2024 Gartner CIO and Tech Executive Survey have increased funding for AI." And IDC says that AI: "will have a cumulative global economic impact of $19.9 trillion through 2030." But end users aren't running most of those AI workloads on their own hardware. Instead, they are largely relying on cloud service providers and large technology companies to provide the infrastructure for their AI efforts. This approach makes sense since most organizations are already heavily reliant the cloud. According to O'Reilly, more than 90% of companies are using public cloud services. And they aren't moving just a few workloads to the cloud. That same report shows a 175% growth in cloud-native interest, indicating that companies are committing heavily to the cloud.

As a result of this demand for infrastructure to power AI initiatives, cloud service providers are finding it necessary to rapidly scale up their data centers. IDC predicts: "the surging demand for AI workloads will lead to a significant increase in datacenter capacity, energy consumption, and carbon emissions, with AI datacenter capacity projected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.5% through 2027." While this surge creates massive opportunities for service providers, it also introduces some challenges. Providing the computing power necessary to support AI initiatives at scale, reliably and cost-effectively is difficult. Many providers have found that deploying AMD EPYC CPUs and Instinct GPUs can help them overcome those challenges. Here's a quick look at three service providers who are using AMD chips to accelerate AI advancements.
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Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 "Ultra Premium" SoC Spotted on Shipping Document

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T0@st
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Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 processor family was outed last autumn—online sources revealed an Iceland-themed "Project Glymur" moniker, as well as the "SC8480XP" SKU codename. At the time, leakers suggested that Qualcomm engineers had started testing early samples around July/August—further speculation pointed to "Snapdragon X Elite Gen 2" chipsets being evaluated on desktop platforms.

Yesterday, Everest (aka Olrak29_) discovered another SKU—their social media post included an intriguing screenshot, extracted from a shipping manifest. The image's contents reveals the existence of an "Ultra Premium" model, with part number: X2-000-096. Qualcomm has publicly acknowledged that it is working on successors, for launch in 2025—its third generation of "Oryon" CPU cores are lined up for inclusion in the next-gen AI PC project. Second-gen "Oryon" cores are reserved for smartphone platforms. The leaked "Ultra Premium" chip could sit in a new product tier—possibly positioned above the already established high-end "Elite" range.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Dev Team Discusses Creative Process

Press Release by
T0@st
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From the very first time we were introduced to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 at last June's Xbox Games Showcase, it was clear we were witnessing something special. And, every time this incredible-looking game's debut developer, Sandfall Interactive, has dropped tantalizing glimpses of its debut game since then, hype levels among RPG enjoyers only continue to rise.

Which brings us to today's Developer_Direct, where we traveled to Montpellier, France to meet the minds behind one of the most exciting new RPGs in years, and learn more than ever before. After establishing that this surprisingly small team of creators works out of a French manor(!), the development team peeled back even more layers of their finely crafted mille feuille of an RPG, revealing delicious details on the game's emotional story, original world, how its gameplay innovates on classics of the genre. They also shared its April 24 release date; you can pre-order here and play it day one with Game Pass!
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NZXT Announces New Elite Lineup of Peripherals

Press Release by
GFreeman
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NZXT, a leader in PC gaming components, prebuilts, and peripherals, is excited to unveil the Elite gaming gear lineup. Known for its minimalist design and user-first approach, NZXT's latest peripherals are designed to elevate the PC gaming experience for players at every level. This new collection—featuring a magnetic Hall effect keyboard, ultra-lightweight wireless mouse, studio-quality USB microphone, and premium cloth mouse pads—blends sleek design with advanced technology to enhance any gaming setup.

"We created the Elite lineup to bring high-performance gear to every PC gamer," said Johnny Hou, Founder and CEO of NZXT. "Each product is thoughtfully crafted for precise performance, seamless customization through CAM, and a refined look that complements any space."
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AMD Focused on Delivering RDNA 4 to Desktop, Mobile a Secondary Concern

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T0@st
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AMD's small portfolio of current-gen (RDNA 3) mobile-oriented Radeon dedicated GPUs pales in comparison to a wide selection of related desktop offerings—a certain demographic of PC gamers have wondered whether the incoming RDNA 4 generation will produce more options for portable platforms. An extensive Notebookcheck article indicates that Team Red is not (immediately) interested in catering to mobile dGPU enthusiasts—the online publication conducted an interview with Ben Conrad, director of product management (client-side). The "Navi Mobile" Radeon RX 7000M range is an uncommon sight on gaming laptops—relative to NVIDIA's wide rollout of dedicated GeForce RTX 4000 Mobile GPUs—normally, higher-end models are present on ultra-expensive specification sheets (paired with "Dragon Range" Ryzen HX CPUs). Industry experts believe that lower-end options are more likely to turn up inside external enclosures.

One of Notebookcheck's questions focused in on this topic—they believe that: "the number of AMD dGPU-based laptop SKUs have been pretty anemic." Their interviewee was ambushed with a query regarding his company's outlook for mobile RDNA 4 options. In response, Conrad stated: "our current graphics strategy is focused on the desktop market with RDNA 4. So, I think you'll see those types of products first in the future. Certainly, RDNA 4 and future graphics technologies will make it into mobile, whether they be on APUs or future products." VideoCardz has read "between-the-lines" and posits that Team Red could skip a generation—UDNA is possibly a better fit for a new wave of laptop dGPUs. A sort-of stopgap has appeared on the horizon—in the shape of AMD's forthcoming "Strix Halo" RDNA 3.5-based integrated solution. The flagship chip's Radeon 8060S iGPU looks promising when compared to a current-gen dGPU, but it will likely struggle when pitted against Team Green's "Blackwell" dedicated mobile platform. Upcoming competition in the APU field will arrive in the form of Intel's "Panther Lake" processors—slated for launch later this year. Its next-gen iGPU is said to utilize the Xe3 "Celestial" architecture.

Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter Out Now on PC & Consoles

Press Release by
T0@st
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Greetings Ratdom, the next chapter of the rat tale is here, and we couldn't be more excited to share it with you. Arlo's journey awaits, filled with brutal combat, towering bosses, and the frozen landscapes of the Northern Wastes. And for a limited time, we're offering a 20% launch discount—don't miss out!

The wait is over: Arlo's adventure has officially begun! To celebrate the release of Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter, we're offering a 20% launch discount for a limited time. Don't miss your chance to embark on this epic journey at a reduced price! Want to see the game in action? Join us for an exclusive stream where we'll showcase the first hour of gameplay. Get a sneak peek at the brutal combat, stunning visuals, and the icy landscapes of the Northern Wastes. Don't wait—the Northern Wastes won't liberate themselves. Grab your copy and join the fight today!
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Intel Leadership Reportedly Reacting to Rising Energy Costs in Ireland

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T0@st
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Intel executives are reportedly dealing with a major challenge that affects its portfolio of European manufacturing facilities—a recent RTÉ News article placed focus on Team Blue's Fab 34 site, located in Leixlip, Ireland. Energy costs are climbing across the globe, but inside sources believe that company leaders have expressed concern regarding the cost of powering the Irish facility. Last week's report posits that senior Intel figures are committed to keeping Fab 34 alive for a while—seemingly unaffected by a widespread cost-cutting initiative—this high-volume production site remains: "critical to its European operation for at least the next seven years."

Intel is reportedly already engaged in talks with the Irish government—likely negotiating over strategies that will lower its local energy bills in County Kildare. Additionally, other channels are—supposedly—being explored via the EU Chips Act. RTÉ News gathered comments from unnamed senior sources at the recently concluded Davos World Economic Forum—one individual stated that Ireland's (advantageous) lower labor costs are sharply offset by the higher cost of energy. The report claims that Team Blue: "estimates that in Ireland energy costs are 15 cent per kilowatt-hour, around double that in other markets where Intel operates." Fab 34's operating costs have been compared to similarly-equipped facilities in the USA and Israel. Executive sources believe that Ireland-specific problems stem from infrastructure backlogs in the renewable sector, and the fixed cost of delivering energy from offshore wind farms—the latter tends to pass expenses on to customers.

Enshrouded Devs Celebrate Game's First Anniversary, Roadmap Content for 2025

Press Release by
T0@st
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Greetings, Flameborn! That's right, your eyes are not deceiving you: we have the full Enshrouded roadmap for 2025! But before we move on, we have just published the Pact of the Flame update, with a long list of improvements and quality of life updates! Check out the announcement here, or better yet, open the link in a new tab and read it after.

But first things first: why is there a full roadmap for 2025? Well, as we said right from the start, your support has meant that we could the world of Enshrouded a lot bigger than we originally thought, with more features, more biomes, more quests, basically, more of everything! But as you know we're not a big team, and making games takes time, effort, and a lot of praying to the machine gods for the build not to crash. As a result, and with a full update schedule for 2025, we are locking down a Spring 2026 release date for the full 1.0 version of Enshrouded.
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Broadcom Delivers Quantum Resistant Network Encryption for Real-time Ransomware Detection

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Broadcom Inc. today announced an industry-first—the new, innovative Emulex Secure Fiber Channel Host Bus Adapters (HBA)—a cost-effective, easy-to-manage solution that encrypts all data as it moves between servers and storage.

Encrypting mission-critical data is no longer a nice-to-have, but a must-have. The cost of ransomware attacks continues to rise with attacks in 2024 costing USD $5.37 million on average per attack. Upcoming generative AI and quantum computers magnify the risk if data is not encrypted at all points in the data center including the network.
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AMD Ryzen 200 Series Utilizing FP8 Chip Package According to Lenovo China

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T0@st
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Earlier in the month, AMD introduced multiple Ryzen 200 series CPU models—these mainstream laptop and desktop offerings are based on well established architectures. Team Red is once again treading familiar ground with its selection of "Hawk Point" hardware—featuring "Zen 4" CPU cores, as well as (RDNA 3) Radeon 700M series integrated graphics solutions. AMD's latest mild re-branding of existing designs—notably the Ryzen 8000 mobile APU series—are expected to arrive within the second quarter of 2025. Several of these "new" products will sport NPUs, but marketing/press material is surprisingly free of all things AI-related.

Yesterday, a Lenovo China product manager revealed that the entire Ryzen 200 product stack will adopt the FP8 chip package—formerly exclusive to the region-exclusive Ryzen 7 8745H APU. The Beijing-based company representative disclosed—via a Weibo blog post—that the incoming Ryzen 200 processor series will not use the "FP7 and FP7r2" formats. Additionally, they also introduced a previously unannounced SKU: "the FP8 package version of Ryzen 7 8745H will be launched in 2025 as Ryzen 7 255H." This model is likely another Chinese exclusive—the Weibo comment section provides further evidence of new Lenovo ThinkBook products being based on this Ryzen 7 255H. AMD's official listings have quietly confirmed that their Ryzen 200 series will be FP8-exclusive. Team Green is likely making matters easier for itself, by streamlining its packaging options for this affordable-tier of laptop-oriented chips.

Hazelight Studios Introduces Split Fiction's Side Stories

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The Story So Far—You and your co-op partner play together as Mio & Zoe, two writers stuck in a simulation of their own stories while visiting the shady new Rader Publishing headquarters in pursuit of a lucrative publishing deal. An accident puts Mio and Zoe inside the same shared simulation, throwing them back and forth between their own sci-fi and fantasy fiction while the nefarious publishing company tries to steal all of their ideas.

What Are Side Stories?
If you've played A Way Out or It Takes Two before, you'll know that Hazelight Studios are masters of co-op gameplay variety. In addition to all of the incredible sci-fi and fantasy variety featured in the Split Fiction main story, you will encounter mysterious, out of place portals that you can enter to explore all new and vastly different worlds and locations that are completely optional.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Launches on February 20

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btarunr
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NVIDIA's third graphics card from the RTX 50-series "Blackwell" generation, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, reportedly launches on February 20, 2025, according to a VideoCardz report. Reviews of RTX 5070 Ti priced at the NVIDIA MSRP of USD $749 should go live on February 19, with reviews of cards priced above MSRP following on February 20. All cards go on sale from February 20.

The RTX 5070 Ti is based on the same 5 nm "GB203" silicon as the RTX 5080 that launches later this week, but while the RTX 5080 maxes the silicon out, enabling all 84 SM, the RTX 5070 Ti is slightly cut down, with 70 out of 84 SM being enabled, resulting in 8,960 CUDA cores, 280 Tensor cores, 70 RT cores, 280 TMUs, and an unknown number of ROPs. The memory size is 16 GB, across the chip's full 256-bit GDDR7 memory interface, although NVIDIA didn't confirm memory speeds. Its TGP is down to 300 W compared to the 360 W of the RTX 5080.

be quiet! Announces Power Zone 2 PSU Series

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Nomad76
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be quiet!, the German manufacturer for premium PC components, is proud to announce Power Zone 2. Almost twelve years after the introduction of the legendary Power Zone series of power supplies, be quiet! has revived this award-winning series and future-proofed it for a new generation of gamers. Power Zone 2 features an impressive 140 mm fan and is be quiet!'s first power supply to feature semi-passive cooling with post-ventilation and a Cybenetics Platinum rating. In other words: Power Zone 2 is energy-efficient, quiet, and cool across all load scenarios, making it a reliable investment for the future.

Power Zone: A legendary heritage
When it was released in 2013, the original Power Zone stood out in the be quiet! power supply lineup - not only did the name not fit the usual nomenclature, but it was also the company's first (and for a long time, only) single-rail power supply. Fast-forward to 2025 and Power Zone 2 is pushing the boundaries again, introducing new features to be quiet!'s portfolio of power supplies, while still sticking to its single-rail design.
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Intel Cuts Xeon 6 Prices up to 30% to Battle AMD in the Data Center

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AleksandarK
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Intel has implemented substantial price cuts across its Xeon 6 "Granite Rapids" server processor lineup, marking a significant shift in its data center strategy. The reductions, quietly introduced and reflected in Intel's ARK database, come just four months after the processors' September launch. The most dramatic cut affects Intel's flagship 128-core Xeon 6980P, which saw its price drop from $17,800 by 30% to $12,460. This aggressive pricing positions the processor below AMD's competing EPYC "Turin" 9755 128-core CPU both absolute and per-core pricing, intensifying the rivalry between the two semiconductor giants. AMD's SKU at 128 cores is now pricier at $12,984, with higher core count SKUs reaching up to $14,813 for 192-core EPYC 9965 CPU based on Zen 5c core. Intel is expected to release 288-core "Sierra Forest" Xeon SKUs this quarter, so we can get an updated pricing structure and compare it to AMD.

Additionally, Intel's price adjustments extend beyond the flagship model, with three of the five Granite Rapids processors receiving substantial reductions. The 96-core Xeon 6972P and 6952P models have been marked down by 13% and 20% respectively. These cuts make Intel's offerings particularly attractive to cloud providers who prioritize core density and cost efficiency. However, Intel's competitive pricing comes with trade-offs. The higher power consumption of Intel's processors—exemplified by the 96-core Xeon 6972P's 500 W requirement, which exceeds AMD's comparable model by 100 W—could offset the initial savings through increased operational costs. Ultimately, most of the data center buildout will be won by whoever can serve the most CPU volume shipped (read wafer production capacity) and the best TCO/ROI balance, including power consumption and performance.

Endorfy Re-Enters the United Kingdom Market in Partnership with Exertis

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btarunr
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ENDORFY, the go-to brand for tech enthusiasts, gamers, and content creators, is returning to the British market. Renowned for its well-priced, high-performance PC cooling solutions, cases, PSUs, and gaming peripherals, ENDORFY will officially launch its product range in the UK in mid-January 2025 through a strategic partnership with Exertis, one of the UK's leading technology distributors. This strategic partnership with Exertis, one of the UK's most prominent distributors of technology products, will make ENDORFY's solutions and products available to a broad range of retailers, e-commerce platforms, and brick-and-mortar stores across the United Kingdom. The first shipment of ENDORFY products is set to arrive in mid-January 2025, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the brand in the British market.
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KIOXIA Releases AiSAQ as Open-Source Software to Reduce DRAM Needs in AI Systems

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Nomad76
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Kioxia Corporation, a world leader in memory solutions, today announced the open-source release of its new All-in-Storage ANNS with Product Quantization (AiSAQ) technology. A novel "approximate nearest neighbor" search (ANNS) algorithm optimized for SSDs, KIOXIA AiSAQ software delivers scalable performance for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) without placing index data in DRAM - and instead searching directly on SSDs.

Generative AI systems demand significant compute, memory and storage resources. While they have the potential to drive transformative breakthroughs across various industries, their deployment often comes with high costs. RAG is a critical phase of AI that refines large language models (LLMs) with data specific to the company or application.
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ASUS Readies NUC Mini PCs Powered by AMD Ryzen AI MAX "Strix Halo" SoCs

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btarunr
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ASUS is working on a new line of NUC mini PCs powered by the AMD Ryzen AI MAX "Strix Halo" mobile processors that come with oversized iGPUs and CPU core counts as high as 16-core/32-thread "Zen 5." This was sniffed out in shipping manifests by Olrak29_ on its way to being tested by the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) for regulatory certification similar to CE, with the manifest describing the NUC model as the "NUC14LNS," meaning that this box is from the NUC 14 series. The manifest describes the NUC sample as featuring the top of the line Ryzen AI MAX+ 395.

The Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 maxes out everything on the silicon, featuring 16 "Zen 5" CPU cores across two CCDs with full 512-bit FPUs, with 80 MB of "total cache" (L3+L2) between them; a 50 TOPS-class NPU that can locally accelerate Microsoft Copilot+, and that large RDNA 3.5 iGPU with 40 compute units (2,560 stream processors), 80 AI accelerators, and 40 ray accelerators. What's interesting about this NUC is that it will not come with SO-DIMM slots, since the "Strix Halo" SoC features a 256-bit wide LPDDR5X memory interface. It will either have hardwired memory, or use a pair of LPCAMM2 modules (each with a 128-bit bus width), which is less likely. With all the rage about AI developers using M4-powered Mac minis to accelerate DeepSeek, is ASUS eying a slice of the AI market?

TechPowerUp NVCleanstall v1.18.0 Released, Adds NVIDIA App Support

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btarunr
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TechPowerUp today released the latest version of TechPowerUp NVCleanstall, our lightweight utility that lets you take control of your NVIDIA GeForce software installation, giving you fine control over which of its components and subcomponents you want installed, many of which the "Custom" option in NVIDIA's installer doesn't expose. It also simplifies the process of keeping your GeForce software up to date. Version 1.18.0 adds full support for NVIDIA App, the new software configuration frontend application for gamers by NVIDIA. NVCleanstall now lets you fetch the latest version of the NVIDIA App, or lets you opt out of its installation altogether. The release also fixes a compatibility issue we've been facing with GeForce Software version 566.36 WHQL and later. Grab NVCleanstall from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp NVCleanstall 1.18.0

AMD Denies Radeon RX 9070 XT $899 USD Starting Price Point Rumors

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AleksandarK
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When the next-generation AMD Radeon RX 9000 series of GPUs, headed by RX 9070 XT and RX 9070, are surrounded by rumors, AMD's officials are coming to the rescue. According to the Bulgarian retailer's disclosure, AMD's initial pricing strategy for the new cards caused concerns, given their reported performance levels. The RX 9070 XT was reportedly positioned at around $899, matching the price point of the RX 7900 XT. The standard RX 9070 was said to carry a $749 price tag. To clarify the situation, AMD's Frank Azor jumped on social media platform X and explained, "While we aren't going to comment on all the price rumors, I can say that an $899 USD starting price point was never part of the plan."

Earlier reports indicate AMD has distributed its first wave of RDNA 4 graphics cards to various partners and retailers globally. However, these companies are currently unable to sell the new GPUs, as AMD has apparently set a March timeline for their release. This information gained additional credibility when a retailer in Bulgaria provided insights into AMD's preliminary launch strategy for the RX 9000 series. The retailer demonstrated the PowerColor Red Devil RX 9070 XT, one of three RX 9070 XT models that PowerColor unveiled during CES. While several AMD board partners have completed their RX 9070 XT designs, they have not yet disclosed official specifications or retail prices. Until March, we have limited information on pricing strategy.

Trump Administration Plans to Impose 25-100% Tariffs on Taiwan-Sourced Chips, Including TSMC

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AleksandarK
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The United States, currently led by the Trump administration, could be preparing a surprise package to its close silicon ally—Taiwan. During a House GOP issues conference in Florida, US President Donald Trump announced that he would impose 25% to 100% tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, including the world's leading silicon manufacturer, TSMC. Trump addressed the conference, saying, "In the very near future, we are going to be placing tariffs on foreign production of computer chips, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals to return production of these essential goods to the United States. They left us and went to Taiwan; we want them to come back. We do not want to give them billions of dollars like this ridiculous program that Biden has given everybody billions of dollars. They already have billions of dollars. […] They did not need money. They needed an incentive. And the incentive is going to be they [do not want to] pay a 25%, 50% or even a 100% tax."

The issue for TSMC is its massive reliance on US companies to drive revenue. The majority of its cutting-edge silicon is going to only a handful of companies, including Apple, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Broadcom. With tariffs, the supply chain economics, especially in the world of semiconductors, will break. TSMC's most significant export country is the US, and US companies with trillions of US Dollars of market capitalization rely on Taiwanese silicon. As a result, TSMC will most likely raise its wafer prices, with results trickling down to US companies raising their product prices with additional price hikes. TSMC plans to bring its advanced manufacturing on American soil, but given that these tariffs might break the economic model it currently operates under, it may need to happen sooner. Taiwan-based silicon giant has planned to leave US facilities trailing behind by a generation or two of advanced manufacturing, while domestic facilities produce the newest nodes. If Trump decides to go through tariffs, TSMC could make additional changes to its US-based manufacturing plans.

Maxsun GeForce RTX 5060 Series Regulatory Filings Suggest 16GB and 8GB Variants of RTX 5060 Ti

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btarunr
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NVIDIA is expected to release the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and the all-important RTX 5060 in early Q2-2025. The RTX 5060 series releases last as it gives the market time to absorb inventory of the RTX 4060 Ti and the RTX 4060, both of which are very popular in their market segments. Maxsun has filed regulatory paperwork for its custom design RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 graphics cards. The company is planning several custom design graphics card models under its iCraft line of graphics cards for both GPUs. What's interesting, though, is that the RTX 5060 Ti series appears to have two memory based variants just like the RTX 4060 Ti—16 GB and 8 GB.

The filings point to seven RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB custom graphics card SKUs, seven of them for the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB, and eight of them for the RTX 5060 (non-Ti), which comes with a memory size of just 8 GB. Our recent reviews of the Intel Arc B580 "Battlemage" graphics card concluded that 8 GB was holding back performance of the RTX 4060 in games with ray tracing workloads, with the B580 enjoying not just 50% more memory at 12 GB, but also that much more memory bandwidth than the RTX 4060. It looks like NVIDIA will address at least one of the two shortcomings—bandwidth. The company is rumored to give both the RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 faster GDDR7 memory.
Monday, January 27th 2025

Today's Reviews

Accessories
Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Memory
Motherboards
Other
PSUs
KLEVV URBANE V DDR5-7600 32 GB CL36 Review

KLEVV URBANE V DDR5-7600 32 GB CL36 Review

Review Memory
KLEVV is back with another RAM series for its DDR5 lineup. Here we have the KLEVV URBANE V, which aims to appease both gamers and overclockers alike. Follow along as we test this memory kit and see how it stacks up to the competition!
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NVIDIA DLSS 4 Transformer Review - Better Image Quality for Everyone

NVIDIA DLSS 4 Transformer Review - Better Image Quality for Everyone

Review Game Testing
NVIDIA DLSS 4 brings a major image quality upgrade to the whole DLSS package, including DLAA, Super Resolution, Ray Reconstruction and Frame Generation. Supporting GeForce 20 and newer, the new Transformer model promises improvements to temporal stability, less ghosting, and higher detail in motion. In this review we compare the image quality of the old CNN model vs the new Transformer model in three different games.
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FSR 4 Support Arriving Day One for All Current FSR 3.1 Game Titles According to Leak

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T0@st
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AMD Radeon engineers are spending newly allocated extra time on optimizing their upcoming FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4) technology—industry watchdogs believe that a finalized version will launch alongside the initial lineup of RDNA 4 graphics card, now scheduled for release in March. Recently, David McAfee—Vice President and General Manager of Ryzen and Radeon products—revealed that his colleagues were working hard on maximizing performance and enabling "more FSR 4 titles." Insiders have started theorizing about how the current landscape of FSR 3.1-compatible games will translate with next-gen "AI-driven" upscaling techniques—several outlets believe that a freshly patched PC version of The Last of Us Part I is paving the way for eventual "easy" updates.

Kepler_L2—an almost endless fountain of Team Red-related insider knowledge—picked up on a past weekend VideoCardz report, and proceeded to add some extra tidbits via social media interaction. They started off by claiming that Team Red's: "RDNA 4 driver replaces FSR 3.1 DLL with FSR 4." When queried about the implication of said development, Kepler believes that all FSR 3.1 game titles will become ready to support FSR 4 on day one. The upgrade process—possibly achieved through a driver-level DLL swap—is reportedly quite easy to implement. According to the insider: "yeah, it should just work."

Space Engineers 2 Alpha Version Out Now on Steam Early Access

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Hello, Engineers! The day has come—Space Engineers 2 Alpha has officially launched on Steam Early Access! After months of anticipation and hard work, we're excited to take this first step together. The thrilling journey of Space Engineers 2 starts now, and we invite you all to be part of it. The release of the Alpha and Vertical Slice1: Creative Mode is just the beginning—there's so much more ahead!

We're taking a unique approach to developing Space Engineers 2 with our Vertical Slice strategy. A Vertical Slice is a fully playable portion of the game that showcases specific core features and improvements implemented at production quality. It serves as a milestone in the game's development, allowing us to focus on delivering polished gameplay in stages while more features are added in subsequent slices.
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AMD Teases Ryzen AI Max+ 395 "Strix Halo" APU 1080p Gaming Performance, Claims 68% Faster than RTX 4070M

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T0@st
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AMD has just published its "How to Sell" Ryzen AI MAX series guide—several news outlets have pored over the "claimed" gaming performance charts contained within this two-page document. Team Red appears to be in a boastful mood—their 1080p benchmark results reveal compelling numbers, as produced by their flagship Zen 5 "Strix Halo" processor (baseline 55 W TDP). According to Team Red's marketing guidelines, the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU: "competes with a GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile GPU at similar TDP and form factor." The first-party produced comparison points to their Radeon 8060S integrated graphics solution being up to 68% faster—in modern gaming environments at 1080p settings—than the competing Team Green dedicated laptop-oriented GPU, limited to 65 W TGP due to form factor restrictions. Overall, the AMD test unit does better by 23.2% on average (referring to Wccftech's calculations).

According to the document, AMD's reference system was lined up against an ASUS ROG Flow Z13 (2023) gaming laptop specced with an Intel Core i9-13900H processor, and a GeForce RTX 4070 mobile graphics card. The Ryzen AI Max+ 395's "massive iGPU" can unleash the full force of forty RDNA 3.5 compute units, paired with up to 96 GB of unified on-board memory (from a total pool of 128 GB). Non-gaming benchmarks place the flagship Team Red processor above Intel Core Ultra 9 288V and Apple M4 Pro (12-core) CPUs—as always, it is best to wait for verification from independent evaluators. Saying that, the "Strix Halo" APU family has generated a lot of excitement—even going back to early leaks—and the latest marketed performance could drum up further interest.

People Can Fly Co-developing Gears of War: E-Day

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People Can Fly is thrilled to be working on Gears of War: E-Day, the next mainline game in the renowned Gears of War series, as a co-development partner with The Coalition. We are honored to return to the world of Gears of War, a franchise deeply embedded in our studio's history. As lead developer of the iconic Gears of War: Judgment and co-development partner on Gears of War 1-3, we have always been passionate about the series and its legacy. "Returning to collaborate on the next chapter of this legendary saga is both a privilege and an exciting opportunity to build upon the intense, visceral action and rich storytelling that fans have come to love. We are deeply grateful for our partners' trust and support on this journey" says PCF's CEO, Sebastian Wojciechowski.

"Gears of War: E-Day is not just our next major game; it's a return to what makes Gears of War games special and authentic. We're pleased to be partnering with the talented folks at People Can Fly who have been a part of our franchise's legacy for so long."—Mike Crump, Studio Head, The Coalition. "Our team at People Can Fly, made up of dedicated Gears of War fans, is pouring everything we have into creating an experience that will exceed expectations. While we can't share more just yet, we're eager for the day when we can show all the exciting things we've been working on" - says Guillaume Barry, Development Director at PCF.

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Bulgarian Retailer Showcases PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 XT Red Devil S.E. Packaging

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T0@st
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Gplay.BG's YouTube channel uploaded a fascinating video feature over the past weekend—providing another look at PowerColor's Radeon RX 9070 XT Red Devil special edition retail package. The Bulgarian retailer's CEO—Ivan Hinov (aka DonBrutar)—appeared to have a sealed box in-hand. Gplay's presentation implies that they have joined the ranks of other European shops having RDNA 4-based cards in-stock, although VideoCardz reckons that special/limited edition Red Devil bundles (of recent generations) are normally distributed to media outlets. Hinov repeatedly referred to one of VideoCardz's recent news articles—regarding a speculated AMD Radeon RX 9070 GPU series launch window. Industry insiders reckon that AMD had—initially—formed a release strategy focusing on late January, possibly on the 23rd. The new cards will be launched around March time, according to an official Team Red statement.

Gplay's video provides some extra insight on this topic—Hinov confirms (in a roundabout way) that his company received information about a January release window, prior to Team Red's announcing of a postponement. The VideoCardz insider network discovered possible launch MSRPs of: "around $899 for the RX 9070 XT, and $749 for the non-XT." Interestingly, Gplay's chief commented on these rumors during his comparison segment: "delay of the Radeon RX 9070 (non-XT) and Radeon RX 9070 XT has created uncertainty. These cards were expected to launch at prices significantly higher than the Radeon RX 7800 XT and close to the Radeon RX 7900 XT, which makes little sense. For example, the Radeon RX 9070 XT was rumored to cost 500 BGN (~$269 USD) more than the RX 7900 XT while offering only marginally better performance. This pricing strategy was a clear mistake."
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Compulsion Games Shares South of Midnight Story & Gameplay Elements

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Thursday, January 23 was a big day for all of us at Compulsion Games. In addition to being a part of Developer_Direct, where members of our studio team shared more about the gameplay, look, and feel of South of Midnight, our third-person action-adventure game set in the American Deep South, we announced our release date of April 8, 2025, and early access beginning April 3. If that wasn't enough, we also released our brand-new story trailer, which expands on the narrative of South of Midnight, while including all-new gameplay, characters, and mythical creatures from the game. We're so excited to share more about South of Midnight, which is available now for pre-orders.

The Story of South of Midnight
In our story trailer, protagonist Hazel and her mother are preparing for the impending hurricane. The storm proves massive, causing catastrophic flooding-and causing their own home to be swept down river with her mother in it. Its aftermath shows the fictional town of Prospero, located in the southern United States, eerily calm while irrevocably changed from the hurricane's destruction. Here, Hazel undertakes a journey in search of her mother, while finding out more about herself and her family's lineage in the process. Hazel begins to see fantastical phenomena all over Prospero, including meeting Catfish, an enormous—and talking—creature in his own right, stuck in a tree following the hurricane's destruction. Catfish tells Hazel she is a Weaver, someone who possesses magical powers and can see how our threads connect to form the woven tapestry of our fates.

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Qualcomm Expected to Pull in $2 Billion From Samsung Galaxy S25 Snapdragon Deal

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Last week, Samsung introduced its brand-new Galaxy S25 smartphone series—press material focused largely on various implementations of AI features, but industry watchdogs noted the crucial selection of Qualcomm-designed processors. A "first-of-its-kind customized Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy chipset" is the natural choice for this generation of Samsung flagship phones, given that proprietary Exynos designs have reportedly missed the mark (yet again). Samik Chatterjee—a J.P. Morgan analyst—believes that the latest collaboration will swell Qualcomm's revenues; he predicts a gain of $2 billion (USD). Snapdragon 8 Elite processors are utilized by the entire range of globally-released Galaxy S25 models.

The previous-gen S24 series featured a mix of Qualcomm-designed chips and Samsung Exynos silicon (for different regional markets)—market analysis estimates a total of 40 million unit shipments back in 2024. Previously, Qualcomm had a 70% share of Galaxy S24 chipsets—fast-forwarding to the present day, it becomes 100% with the rollout of Galaxy S25. Late last year, press outlets posited that the South Korean company's foundry division had moved on from a "problematic" 3 nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process. Samsung's flagship-tier Exynos 2500 SoC was linked to this node, but insiders reckon that alternative external production avenues were explored—most notably with an arch-rival: TSMC. Industry moles reckon that Samsung's leadership has slashed foundry budgets for 2025—reports from last week suggest investments being halved, as teams move onto two nanometer processes.

Assassin's Creed Shadows Accessibility Features Explained

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Assassin's Creed Shadows launches on March 20 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, Macs with Apple silicon via the Mac App Store, and Windows PC through the Ubisoft Store, Steam, and Epic Games Store. Set during the late Sengoku era in Japan, players will play as both the stealthy shinobi Naoe and the formidable samurai Yasuke. No matter who you're playing as, the development team wanted to ensure that as many people as possible are able to enjoy everything that Assassin's Creed Shadows has to offer. To learn more about the team's approach to accessible design, we spoke with UX Director Jonathan Bedard.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is an evolution for the franchise, with many elements being rebuilt from the ground up. In what ways did that allow you to change your approach to accessibility?
Jonathan Bedard: Having changed the way we built the game, we had to redo many things, and it allowed us to revisit some elements that weren't working as well as we'd hoped. Certain features benefited from this by being retooled or by simply changing the interface itself - or in some cases, the functionalities - to elevate our offer and our experience to higher standards. One example of that is our input remapping. Not only can you adjust the inputs of any of the buttons, but you can adjust the action of that input, whether you want it to be a hold or a press.
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PowerColor Website Updated with Radeon RX 9070 XT Hellhound & Reaper Models

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Late last week, the official PowerColor website was updated with dedicated product pages for their Radeon RX 9070 XT Hellhound and Reaper custom designs going live. As expected, a bare minimum of information is displayed alongside multiple promo images—we witnessed this exact same pattern with the Red Devil's official listing, half-way through January. AMD's board partners are seemingly keeping quiet about first wave RDNA 4 hardware specifications—TechPowerUp and other tech news outlets have, so far, ascertained the fundamentals from leaks and accidental listings.

An extensive hands-on experience—at CES—was covered in our news section, but PowerColor's showroom representatives were not overly chatty when asked about under-the-hood details. Allegedly, the company's Radeon RX 9070 (non-XT) Reaper model has turned up at a British e-tailer's warehouse—printed SKU info indicated the presence of 16 GB VRAM. Judging from photos and renders, the Navi-48 GPU-based Hellhound and Reaper are relatively svelte when compared to the chunkily-proportioned (triple-slot) Red Devil. The new Hellhound model occupies the middle of PowerColor's graphics card product stack—this dual-slot design features a smattering of RGB lighting and a dual BIOS switching system, the latter implies that a factory overclock has been implemented. The slightly smaller (SFF-friendly) affordable-tier Reaper card is reportedly specced with reference clocks—looking at photos, there is no physical mode switcher present on this design. The barebones Reaper aesthetic does not encompass fancy integrated lighting systems—anti-RGB champions will find this choice most pleasing.

NINJA GAIDEN Series Revived

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When you ask fans, "What's the quintessential action game?" the NINJA GAIDEN series is one of the legendary names that is guaranteed a mention. With roots as far back as the original 1988 arcade game NINJA GAIDEN (Ninja Ryukenden in Japan), the series has captivated fans in various forms over the years, from 2D to 3D, with its focus on swift traversal, eye-catching swordplay, and ninjutsu techniques, all jam-packed into exhilarating action gameplay.

In particular, the Xbox version of NINJA GAIDEN, released on Xbox consoles in 2004, stood out for its smooth controls and elegant action, earning its place as a revolutionary action game. The series' biggest allure lies in deeply satisfying and challenging battles featuring its iconic lead character, master ninja Ryu Hayabusa. The NINJA GAIDEN series has gained a reputation for being notoriously difficult, but with a near-unmatched sense of accomplishment upon clearing levels and defeating bosses that drives players to persevere. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Team NINJA, the studio behind the majority of these iconic titles, has declared 2025 to be "The Year of the Ninja."
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The Last of Us Part I Updated with Support for FSR 3.1

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The Last of Us Part I (PC version) was updated to version 1.1.4 last Friday—at the time, patch notes revealed that Iron Galaxy Studios/Nixxes Software had added support for AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 3.1 Super Resolution and FSR 3.1 Frame Generation. Several popular first-party PlayStation titles received similar updates mid-way through last year, so industry watchdogs have questioned the timing of this latest upgrade—up until late last week, The Last of Us Part I was ticking along with support for FSR 3.0 (super resolution and frame generation).

Naturally, Team Red is in the process of preparing FSR 4.0 for an upcoming product launch—now delayed, due to the engineering team requiring: "extra time to optimize the software stack for maximum performance and enable more titles." AMD's latest graphics technology was showcased at CES earlier this month, alongside their new (RDNA 4) Radeon RX 9070 XT and 9070 (non-XT) graphics cards. According to Team Red, it is relatively easy to go from version 3.1 up to 4.0. The Last of Us Part I's development team (for PC platforms) could have everything ready to go in a couple of weeks, and be prepared well in advance for the game's sequel (due in April).

NVIDIA Outlines Cost Benefits of Inference Platform

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T0@st
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Businesses across every industry are rolling out AI services this year. For Microsoft, Oracle, Perplexity, Snap and hundreds of other leading companies, using the NVIDIA AI inference platform—a full stack comprising world-class silicon, systems and software—is the key to delivering high-throughput and low-latency inference and enabling great user experiences while lowering cost. NVIDIA's advancements in inference software optimization and the NVIDIA Hopper platform are helping industries serve the latest generative AI models, delivering excellent user experiences while optimizing total cost of ownership. The Hopper platform also helps deliver up to 15x more energy efficiency for inference workloads compared to previous generations.

AI inference is notoriously difficult, as it requires many steps to strike the right balance between throughput and user experience. But the underlying goal is simple: generate more tokens at a lower cost. Tokens represent words in a large language model (LLM) system—and with AI inference services typically charging for every million tokens generated, this goal offers the most visible return on AI investments and energy used per task. Full-stack software optimization offers the key to improving AI inference performance and achieving this goal.
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Solidigm Extends Agreement with Broadcom on High-Capacity SSD Controllers for AI

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btarunr
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Solidigm, a leading provider of innovative NAND flash memory solutions, today announced a multi-year extension of its agreement with Broadcom Inc. on the use of high-capacity solid-state drive (SSD) controllers to support artificial intelligence (AI) and data-intensive workloads. Solidigm is the leading provider of high-capacity storage for AI, and Broadcom's custom controllers have served as a critical component of Solidigm SSDs for more than a decade. With more than 120 million units of Solidigm SSDs shipped featuring Broadcom controllers, the partnership between the two companies has continued through key industry SSD milestones including Serial ATA (SATA), Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) and Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe).

The agreement also includes collaboration on Solidigm's recently announced 122 TB (terabyte) Solidigm D5-P5336 data center SSD, the world's highest capacity PCIe SSD that delivers industry-leading storage efficiency from the core data center to the edge. "With our new 122 TB SSD, Solidigm further extends our high-capacity QLC (quad-level cell) leadership from 8 to 122 TB drives that all share the same controller from Broadcom, making our drives easier for customers to qualify," said Solidigm Co-CEO Kevin Noh. "Our relationship with Broadcom is pivotal to Solidigm as we collectively work to help our customers achieve efficiency benefits in the buildout of AI infrastructure."
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Tech Stocks Brace for a DeepSeek Haircut, NVIDIA Down 12% in Pre-market Trading

by
btarunr
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The DeepSeek open-source large language model from China has been the hottest topic in the AI industry over the weekend. The model promises a leap in performance over OpenAI and Meta, and can be accelerated by far less complex hardware. The AI enthusiast community has been able to get it to run on much less complex accelerators such as the M4 SoCs of Mac minis, and gaming GPUs. The model could cause companies to reassess their AI strategy completely, perhaps pulling them away from big cloud companies, toward local acceleration on cheaper hardware; and cloud companies themselves would want to reconsider their orders of AI GPUs in the short-to-medium term.

All this puts the supply chain of AI acceleration hardware in a bit of a spot. The NVIDIA stock is down 12 percent in pre-market trading as of this writing. Microsoft and Meta Platforms also faced a cut, shedding over 3% each. Alphabet lost 3% and Apple 1.5%. Microsoft, Meta and Apple are slated to post their quarterly earnings this week. Companies within NVIDIA's supply chain, such as ASML and TSMC, also saw drops, with ASML and ASM International losing 10-14% in European pre-trading.

NVIDIA GB202 "Blackwell" Die Exposed, Shows the Massive 24,576 CUDA Core Configuration

by
AleksandarK
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A die-shot of NVIDIA's GB202, the silicon powering the RTX 5090, has surfaced online, providing detailed insights into the "Blackwell" architecture's physical layout. The annotated images, shared by hardware analyst Kurnal and provided by ASUS China general manager Tony Yu, compare the GB202 to its AD102 predecessor and outline key architectural components. The die's central region houses 128 MB of L2 cache (96 MB enabled on RTX 5090), surrounded by memory interfaces. Eight 64-bit memory controllers support the 512-bit GDDR7 interface, with physical interfaces positioned along the top, left, and right edges of the die. Twelve graphics processing clusters (GPCs) surround the central cache. Each GPC contains eight texture processing clusters (TPCs), with each GPC housing 16 streaming multiprocessors (SMs). The complete die configuration enables 24,576 CUDA cores, arranged as 128 cores per SM across 192 SMs. With RTX 5090 offering "only" 21,760 CUDA cores, this means that the full GB202 die is reserved for workstation GPUs.

The SM design includes four slices sharing 128 KB of L1 cache and four texture mapping units (TMUs). Individual SM slices contain dedicated register files, L0 instruction caches, warp schedulers, load-store units, and special function units. Central to the die's layout is a vertical strip containing the media processing components—NVENC and NVDEC units—running from top to bottom. The RTX 5090 implementation enables three of four available NVENC encoders and two of four NVDEC decoders. The die includes twelve raster engine/3D FF blocks for geometry processing. At the bottom edge sits the PCIe 5.0 x16 interface and display controller components. Despite its substantial size, the GB202 remains smaller than NVIDIA's previous GH100 and GV100 dies, which exceeded 814 mm². Each SM integrates specialized hardware, including new 5th-generation Tensor cores and 4th-generation RT cores, contributing to the die's total of 192 RT cores, 768 Tensor cores, and 768 texture units.

Fujifilm Pumps ¥100 Billion in Semiconductor Material Expansion to Meet Chip Demand

by
AleksandarK
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According to Nikkei, Fujifilm Holdings is reportedly set to invest ¥100 billion ($640.5 million) by March 2027 to expand production capacities in the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and India. The main focus of the expansion is semiconductor materials, which are vital for the modern semiconductor supply chain. While the company has not officially confirmed the plan, it follows global efforts to straighten material supply chains as chipmakers ramp up the construction of cutting-edge fabs in these regions. The investment, doubling Fujifilm's semiconductor materials spending over the past three years, targets rising demand driven by new fabs from Intel, TSMC, Samsung, and SK Hynix, particularly for AI and HPC. Fujifilm, ranked fifth globally in photosensitive materials, is one of only five companies worldwide producing ultra-pure photoresists for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

These photoresists must meet rigorous standards due to EUV's 13.5 nm wavelength, requiring precision in sensitivity, resolution, and compatibility with mask materials. Fujifilm strategically locates facilities near major hubs to strengthen partnerships with key clients. In Japan, a ¥13 billion ($83.27 million) plant in Shizuoka Prefecture is underway, while a South Korean site in Pyeongtaek will receive upgraded equipment by autumn. A Cheonan facility, set for spring 2027, aims to boost the output of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) agents by 30%. The company also eyes India's emerging semiconductor sector, exploring partnerships or joint ventures to establish local production post-2027.

MSI Confirms Tight Supply of GeForce RTX 5090/5080 GPUs at Launch, Situation to Improve in February

by
AleksandarK
 Discuss (42 Comments)
MSI has officially confirmed that its upcoming GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards will face limited availability when they launch on January 30, coinciding with the second day of the Lunar New Year. According to MSI's official account, the constrained supply originates from an insufficient allocation of GPU cores provided by NVIDIA, making it difficult for the manufacturer to meet the expected high demand. Some retailers even claimed they only receive single-digit quantities of these cards, leading to a dramatic price hike in certain regions. In extreme cases, prices have been observed at nearly twice the official MSRP, leaving many potential buyers concerned about availability and affordability. Taiwanese media outlet BenchLife.info previously indicated that "communication issues" between NVIDIA and its board partners contributed to the limited supply. These complications and holiday-related manufacturing and shipping disruptions have constrained how many units can be delivered to stores by launch day.

As a result, enthusiasts aiming to purchase a new GPU at MSRP—or even at slightly higher prices—might face an uphill battle. Despite the rocky start, supply levels will gradually improve in February. The precise rate of this improvement is unclear, but many anticipate that more stock will arrive as production normalizes and communication between NVIDIA and its partners recovers. For now, consumers should prepare for limited stock and potentially inflated prices, especially on day one of the launch. Those hoping to upgrade immediately may need to secure a pre-order or wait until supply becomes more stable in the coming weeks. Scalpers are already reserving "guaranteed" slots for RTX 5090 GPU at up to $7000 per GPU, indicating that supply is tight. However, we must wait for the official launch day to see if the situation improves.
Sunday, January 26th 2025

China-exclusive Intel Core Ultra 5 230F Comes with Unique IHS Design

by
btarunr
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Intel tends to release exclusive desktop processor SKUs for the Chinese market, which tend to come with core configurations and other specs not found in regular SKUs available in the West. The latest such SKU is the Core Ultra 5 230F "Arrow Lake." This chip comes with a unique IHS (integrated heat spreader) design that sees the bulge over the die contracted to a corner. It still has the metal flanks that receive pressure from the socket's retention module. The chip is positioned a notch above the Core Ultra 5 225F, but with an identical core configuration of 6P+4E.

The China-exclusive Core Ultra 5 230F comes with clock speeds of 3.40 GHz base and 5.00 GHz boost for the P-cores, while its E-cores tick at 2.90 GHz base, and 4.40 GHz boost. In comparison, the generally available Core Ultra 5 225F does 3.30 GHz base and 4.90 GHz boost for the P-cores, and 2.70 GHz base with 4.40 GHz boost for the E-cores. Both the 230F and 225F lack integrated graphics. As non-K SKUs, both lack unlocked base frequency multipliers. Each of the six "Lion Cove" P-cores comes with 3 MB of dedicated L2 cache; while the sole "Skymont" E-core cluster shares 4 MB of L2 cache among its cores. The P-cores and E-core cluster share 20 MB of L3 cache. What's with the oddly shaped IHS? We have a theory. It's likely that the chip underneath has the same compact Compute tile as the "Arrow Lake-H" mobile processor, which physically only has 6P+8E cores and 24 MB of L3 cache. The modular nature of "Arrow Lake" also makes it possible for the Graphics tile to be physically absent on F-SKUs. We can't wait for someone to delid this chip.

The Empire Strikes Back: China Prepares One Trillion Yuan AI Plan to Rival $500 Billion US Stargate Project

by
AleksandarK
 Discuss (66 Comments)
A few days ago, we reported on the US reading a massive 500 billion US Dollar package called "Stargate Project" to build AI infrastructure on American soil. However, China is also planning to stay close behind, or even overlap the US in some areas, with a one trillion Yuan "AI Industry Development Action Plan". Translating into around 138 billion US Dollars at the time of writing, the Chinese AI plan is similar to the US Stargate project: develop AI infrastructure through data center expansion and AI accelerator scale-up. Unlike the Stargate project, led by private initiatives and OpenAI at the helm, the Chinese AI Industry Development Action Plan is an entirely state-sponsored initiative that will fund firms like Baidu, ByteDance, Alibaba, and DeepSeek with additional AI accelerators (or sanction-abiding GPUs) to create more advanced AI systems.

Over the past few days, DeepSeek, a branch of a Chinese hedge fund, has not only open-sourced its R1 reasoning model but made it entirely free to use for everyone. This has challenged moat of Western competitors like OpenAI, pushing its CEO Sam Altman to offer an O3-mini reasoning model for up to 100 queries per day for the ChatGPT Plus user tier. Not only did DeepSeek provide a model equally intelligent to OpenAI's best, but it also offered it completely free. This has stirred up the tech community quite a bit and showed that Chinese companies are not much behind Western competitors. With this AI action plan, the Chinese government wants to push its domestic AI makers even further ahead and allow them to overtake cutting-edge model development potentially. Of course, getting GPUs for these projects remains an intricate task, but with export control loopholes and domestic AI accelerator development, the AI arms race is picking up quite a bit.

This Week in Gaming (Week 5)

by
TheLostSwede
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Time flies and we're already at the end of January and we have another packed week of new releases. This week's major release is already a couple of years old if you own a console, but it's only managed to swing its way onto PC now. This is followed by doing some engineering in space, going on an epic adventure to prevent the world from crumbling, some shape shifting action, being part of the French resistance and finally you can be the first sentient AI running a city. In addition to the games below, this week also brings: Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. and Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 / This week's major release / Thursday 30 January
Be Greater. Together. The incredible power of the symbiote forces Peter Parker and Miles Morales into a desperate fight as they balance their lives, friendships, and their duty to protect in an exciting chapter of the critically acclaimed Spider-Man franchise on PC. Steam link
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Saturday, January 25th 2025

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090D Overclocked to a Staggering 3.4 GHz and 34 Gbps Memory

by
AleksandarK
 Discuss (35 Comments)
Yes, the title is correct. One of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090D "China" edition GPUs, not the regular RTX 5090, managed to run at 3.4 GHz under liquid nitrogen. With a staggering 575 W default TDP, Tony Yu, ASUS China's general manager, has performed physical modifications that allow the card to run up to 1000 W TDP. The RTX 5090D is a China-exclusive variant with virtually no difference from the regular RTX 5090, just limited general AI capability due to US export regulations. ASUS China used its top-end Astral OC variant for this stunt, which, as we proved in our review of the regular ASUS RTX 5090 Astral OC, has some pretty good chip binning, allowing the card to reach the highest overclock. We pushed the regular RTX 5090 Astral OC GPU on air to 3086 MHz, a +277 MHz over the stock boost setting. However, the RTX 5090D equivalent under LN2 manages to reach 3,390 MHz at peak loads, which is a +581 MHz difference.

For memory, the overclock is equally impressive with 34 Gbps. Regarding performance, the LN2-overclocked RTX 5090D surpassed stock performance by approximately 16%. During benchmark tests, the GPU outperformed multiple previous-generation graphics cards, including a dual RTX 3090 Ti configuration in Port Royal and a quad GTX 1080 Ti setup in Fire Strike. Power consumption figures indicate that 1,760 W was used in total for a rig with ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090D, which is paired with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D on the ASUS ROG X870E Hero motherboard. This roughly yields a 1,000 W power consumption by the card, which has seen its PCB get physical modifications to output such high power.
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Friday, January 24th 2025

Today's Reviews

Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Monitors
Networking
PSUs
Sound Cards
ASUS GeForce RTX 5090 Astral OC Review - Astronomical Premium

ASUS GeForce RTX 5090 Astral OC Review - Astronomical Premium

Review Graphics Cards
The ASUS GeForce RTX 5090 Astral is the company's $2800 flagship RTX 5090 model. It comes with a massive quad-slot, quad-fan cooling solution that weighs over 3 kilograms! Thanks to the large factory overclock it can deliver additional performance and temperatures are very low.
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MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Suprim SOC Review

MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Suprim SOC Review

Review Graphics Cards
The MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Suprim SOC is the best RTX 5090 custom design that we've tested. Thanks to its large cooling solution, paired with perfect fan settings, it's the quietest card available, much quieter than the Founders Edition. Thanks to the factory OC you also get some extra performance.
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MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Suprim Liquid SOC Review

MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Suprim Liquid SOC Review

Review Graphics Cards
Thanks to its fully integrated watercooling solution, the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Suprim Liquid SOC can achieve excellent temperatures and lower noise levels than the Founders Edition. It's also highly overclocked, delivering additional performance out of the box.
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Palit GeForce RTX 5090 GameRock Review

Palit GeForce RTX 5090 GameRock Review

Review Graphics Cards
The Palit GeForce RTX 5090 Game Rock is a custom-design variant of the RTX 5090 that's designed to offer better cooling performance than the FE, thanks to its quad-slot, triple-fan design. You also get adjustable RGB support with the ability to synchronize external lighting.
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New Leak Reveals NVIDIA RTX 5080 Is Slower Than RTX 4090

by
Nomad76
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A set of newly leaked benchmarks has revealed the performance capabilities of NVIDIA's upcoming RTX 5080 GPU. Scheduled to launch alongside the RTX 5090 on January 30, the GPU was spotted on Geekbench under OpenCL and Vulkan benchmark tests—and based on the performance, it might not make it among the best graphics cards. The tested device was an MSI-branded RTX 5080 labeled as model MS-7E62. This setup had AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, which many consider one of the best CPUs for gaming. It also included an MSI MPG 850 Edge TI Wi-Fi motherboard and 32 GB of DDR5-6000 memory.

The benchmark results show that the RTX 5080 scored 261,836 points in Vulkan and 256,138 points in OpenCL tests. Compared to the RTX 4080, its previous version, the RTX 5080 has a 22% boost in Vulkan performance and a small 6.7% gain in OpenCL. Reddit user TruthPhoenixV found that on the Blender Open Data platform, the GPU got a median score of 9,063.77. This score is 9.4% higher than the RTX 4080 and 8.2% better than the RTX 4080 Super. Even with these improvements, the RTX 5080 might not outperform the current-gen top-tier RTX 4090. In the past, NVIDIA's 80-class GPUs have beaten the 90-class GPUs from the previous generation, but these early numbers suggest this trend might not continue for the RTX 5080.
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FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves Open Beta Test Starts February 20

Press Release by
T0@st
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SNK CORPORATION has announced an Open Beta test for FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves. The beta for SNK's highly anticipated fighting game will be available from February 20 to February 24 (PST) on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. Participation in the beta test does NOT require an active PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass Core/Ultimate subscription. FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves is set to release on April 24, 2025.

Rev Up for Open Beta
From February 20, 2025 (12 AM PST) through February 24, 2025 (11:59 PM PST), PC and console players can choose from eight total characters and throw down with friends in three online modes: Ranked Match, Casual Match, or Room Match. Those eager to hone their skills and learn dynamic combo routes can practice in the offline Training mode. FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves introduces a stunning, comic-inspired art style that's a visual treat for series fans, combined with fights fueled by the cutting-edge REV System to deliver dynamic matches. The open beta offers the public their first opportunity to experience the modernized action of City of the Wolves at home, featuring two distinct control schemes tailored to engage both newcomers and seasoned pros.
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Xbox Consoles Set to Support 16+ TB External Storage Devices

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T0@st
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The Xbox Insider program has outlined a major upcoming feature upgrade for their home console lineup—Tuesday's Alpha Skip-Ahead Ring (2502.250120-2200) release notes reveal newly implemented support for larger capacity external hard drives. Naturally, inside program members get to play around with this early build—we presume that support will eventually trickle down to public level in the near future. The major announcement stated: "we are enabling support for external USB drives larger than 16 TB, so you can be sure your favorite games are always ready to play! Newly formatted drives that are larger than 16 TB will be formatted with multiple partitions to utilize all available space for games and apps. These will appear as multiple devices in the storage devices list."

Xbox-licensed external storage devices are only available with a maximum capacity of 12 TB—Western Digital's WD_BLACK D10 model wears the crown here. Console gaming enthusiasts—with a penchant for storing a huge library of titles on hard disk drives (HDD)—are best served by not selecting official Xbox-branded storage devices. Manufacturers do offer products with 18 TB to 28 TB capacities, but potential buyers will be greeted by hefty asking prices. There are a couple of caveats—for owners of 16+ TB drives—as noted in the Alpha Skip-Ahead Ring notes: "drives greater than 16 TB that have already been formatted will be unaffected by this change and would need to be reformatted to take advantage of the updated support for larger drives. Please be aware that we have identified an issue with formatting drives larger than 16 TB, and we're working on a fix." Interestingly, the notes do not disclose information regarding a new upper limit for compatible storage devices.

Obsidian Devs Discuss Avowed's Sense of Freedom

Press Release by
T0@st
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"Your worlds, your way" is not just a motto for Obsidian—it's truly how they think about their players. Freedom lives within everything they do, informing how they design quests, regions, combat, and more—it's these elements that help make an "Obsidian RPG" great (and why "Obsidian RPG" is a term you can immediately recognize in the first place). Ahead of the Avowed launch on February 18, 2025, I spoke with the team behind the upcoming fantasy role-playing game to learn more about the process that offers players such a huge level of agency—and how this philosophy is being pushed in this game more than ever.

"There are choices you can make and consequences of actions you can take or not take, whether they are forecasted to you or not, that will impact the future of entire settlements, individual people, groups of people—the whole spectrum basically," says Region Director Berto Ritger. This felt evident as soon as I got off the boat in the game's first region, Dawnshore, as the entire zone is essentially laid out in front of you, waiting to be explored. Everywhere I looked was an opportunity to engage with this world, either through circumnavigating old houses to find loot, or talking to locals that would yield side quests—and this was all before I even stepped foot outside of the port city of Paradis.
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Intel Previews Sustainable Modular PC Design Concept

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T0@st
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Intel's Platform Engineering and Client Segments groups are actively looking into ways of reducing computer e-waste, and (in parallel) enhance product repairability. The company's newly proposed "Modular PC Design" is set to take a "sustainable approach" across three key modularity levels: factory, field and user. Team Blue's blog post goes into great detail about revised laptop and mini-PC designs—with the "right-to-repair" movement serving as a major influence. Many "consumer activists and environmental groups" have advocated for improvements in personal computer design—Intel appears to be listening, but a firm release timeline has not been set.

Intel's proposed new standards will revolve around repairability and upgradability—as explained in their blog: "the right-to-repair emphasizes the importance of being able to fix and upgrade PCs on one's own. Improving repairability requires fundamental changes starting from the design methodology." Team Blue's Modular PC program—for laptops—breaks away from the tradition of utilizing an "all-in-one motherboard." A reference diagram shows off three internal modules: a motherboard package and two "universal" left and right I/O units. These separate boards can be: "utilized across various platforms or market segments leads to cost savings by streamlining the duration of the design cycle and minimizing the engineering investment required. The I/O boards for Premium Modular designs are engineered to be common between the fan-less Thin & Light system, which operates within a 10 W power envelope, and the premium fanned designs, which function within a 20 W (single fan) and 30 W (dual fan, Wi-Fi only SKU) power envelope." Framework recently celebrated its fifth year of operation—its modular laptop designs have seemingly "inspired" a few copycats.
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Ayaneo 3 Gaming Handheld Launched: Up To Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 APU, 64 GB RAM and 4 TB Storage

by
GGforever
 Discuss (11 Comments)
After several months of teasers, the Ayaneo 3 gaming handheld has finally witnessed its official launch. The product will be available with two APUs - the Ryzen 7 8840U for the entry variant, and the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 for the high-end variant. The system can be equipped with up to 64 GB of LPDDR5X-7500 memory, and a whopping 4 TB of SSD storage. The handheld will also feature modular controllers, which can be detached with the click of a single button.

The Ayaneo 3 will also give customers the option to chose between an LCD or an OLED panel, and as VideoCardz notes, selecting the OLED option does not change the final price. As mentioned earlier, the system will be available with either a Zen 4 or a Zen 5 APU. The Strix Point variant leads the Hawk Point part by almost around 50% in multicore tests, and the HX 370's integrated Radeon 890M iGPU is somewhere around 25% more performant than the 8840U's Radeon 780M. Clearly, the performance gap between the two variants will be substantial.
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Assassin's Creed Shadows PC Raytracing Modes Explained

Press Release by
T0@st
 Discuss (3 Comments)
Hello everyone, following the release of our PC specs for Assassin's Creed Shadows, we wanted to share additional insight directly from our tech team on the use of ray tracing in the game. Assassin's Creed Shadows features three distinct ray tracing modes on PC.

Selective Ray tracing
This mode uses ray tracing only within the Hideout portion of the game. The reason behind this, is that the Hideout allows extensive player customization at a level never seen before on Assassin's Creed. Because of that, we cannot use traditional, pre-calculated, global illumination techniques, and therefore need to adopt a real-time approach with ray tracing. In all other gameplay situations, such as in the open world, ray tracing will not be used.
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Silkland Launches First 6.6 Feet (2 Meter) VESA-Certified 80Gbps DisplayPort 2.1 Cable on Amazon

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Silkland, a tech brand specializing in cables and accessories, has announced the launch of its new 80 Gbps DisplayPort 2.1 cable (Model Number: S1334). As the first 6.6 feet (2 meter) VESA-certified cable available on Amazon, the cable is designed to enhance both visual and audio experiences, catering specifically to the needs of high-end gamers and professionals.

The 6.6 feet VESA Certified 80 Gbps DisplayPort 2.1 Cable offers an impressive 80 Gbps bandwidth, supporting ultra-high resolutions and refresh rate like 16K@60 Hz, 8K@240 Hz, 4K@960 Hz with DSC, and uncompressed 8K@60 Hz, 4K@240 Hz, 2K@540 Hz. Compatible with UHBR 20, dynamic HDR10+, 3D, and HDCP 2.3, this cable ensures exceptional visual quality. Additionally, it offers backward compatibility with DP 1.4 and DP 1.2.
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First "Made in India" Chip Projected to Launch This Year

by
T0@st
 Discuss (23 Comments)
Mid-week—at the World Economic Forum in Davos—India's government announced that its native semiconductor industry will release its debut product at some point this year. A similar announcement was made at last year's event, but the reported 28 nm "Made in India" chip would eventually miss its (then) projected December 2024 launch date. Press outlets have focused on Ashwini Vaishnaw's latest prediction for 2025—the Union Minister believes that everything will align neatly for his nation's fledgling semiconductor industry. Additionally, industry stakeholders have expressed confidence in the Semicon India program (initiated back in 2021).

He stated: "Our first 'Made in India' chip will be rolled out this year, and now we are looking at the next phase, where we can get equipment manufacturers, material manufacturers and designers in India...For materials, from parts per million purity, we need to go to parts per billion purity levels. This requires huge transformative changes in the process and the industry is working to achieve this." Vaishnaw is chief of India's AI Mission—this program has set itself some ambitious goals for 2025 and beyond. A primary objective is the founding of a common compute facility that will make use of 10,000 GPUs. The Minister for Electronics and Information Technology outlined the country's next phase of AI industry development—the creation of an indigenous AI model, and homegrown AI chip designs.

Scalpers Already Prepare NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Listings, up to $7000 for "Guaranteed Slots"

by
AleksandarK
 Discuss (50 Comments)
A day after the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 launch, scalpers are already in action to profit from the hype train. Many of these sellers on eBay claim to have "guaranteed" early access through connections with retailers, while others ask for astronomical prices that dwarf the rumored official MSRP. Currently, the graphics card is not widely available, yet eBay and similar sites list it at up to $7,000. Some individuals go so far as to promise customers "guaranteed slots" to secure the product, often with no refund or return policy. These tactics exploit consumer fear of missing out, especially after repeated GPU shortages and scalper-driven price hikes in recent years. NVIDIA has reportedly taken steps to manage supply, planning to "nitpick" distribution and limit bulk business-to-business sales, at least in some regions.

While these efforts may reduce scalping, other jurisdictions lack similar protections. Rumors from German outlets point to NVIDIA aiming to curb large-volume B2B purchases, but no equivalent strategy has been confirmed for markets like the United States or Asia. Interestingly, there are reports from Vietnam of select shops selling RTX 5080 cards before the launch date, heightening fears of a black market for the entire RTX 50 lineup. Additionally, some sellers have disclaimers that shift blame for any potential defects to manufacturers, leaving buyers with minimal recourse. E-commerce platforms typically permit dispute resolutions for damaged goods, rendering these disclaimers largely ineffective. Buying from scalpers encourages price hikes, and there are no guarantees of the product arriving/working, and there is no warranty for after-purchase care.

Owlcat Games Celebrates Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader 1 Million Sales Milestone

Press Release by
T0@st
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Abelard, announce that over 1 million Lord Captains have claimed their Warrant of Trade and ventured boldly into the Koronus Expanse! To be the paragon of Humanity, unbroken by adversity, to walk bravely first into darkness, to unite and reclaim what was lost, to triumph over nightmares untold, to hold boldly the reins of fate, to walk steadily the road of thorns, through pain to greatness. This was no easy task, but you have succeeded, Lord Captains. The Emperor protects!

Made in a close partnership with Games Workshop, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a story-rich classical RPG from Owlcat Games, developers of the critically acclaimed game, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. Begin your adventure aboard your personal, giant voidship, traveling between the multitude of systems within the Koronus Expanse, a barely charted and incredibly perilous region of space. Despite being considered a backwater of the Imperium, this region encompasses an enormous stretch of the void, filled with dangerous creatures and prodigious opportunities for profit and exploration.

NVIDIA Likely Sending Maxwell, Pascal & Volta Architectures to CUDA Legacy Branch

by
T0@st
 Discuss (49 Comments)
Team Green's CUDA 12.8 release notes have revealed upcoming changes for three older GPU architectures—the document's "Deprecated and Dropped Features" section outlines forthcoming changes. A brief sentence outlines a less active future for affected families: "architecture support for Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta is considered feature-complete and will be frozen in an upcoming release." Further down, NVIDIA states that a small selection of operating systems have been dropped from support lists, including Microsoft Windows 10 21H2 and Debian 11.

Refocusing on matters of hardware—Michael Larabel, Phoronix's editor-in-chief, has kindly provided a bit of history and context. "Four years ago with the NVIDIA 470 series was the legacy branch for GeForce GTX 600 and 700 Kepler series and now as we embark on the NVIDIA 570 driver series, it looks like it could end up being the legacy branch for Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta generations of GPUs." Larabel and other industry watchdogs reckon that the incoming "Blackwell" generation is taking priority, with Team Green likely freeing up resources and concentrating less on taking care of decade+ old hardware. VideoCardz believes that gaming GPU support will continue—at least for Maxwell (e.g. GeForce GTX 900) and Pascal (GeForce GTX 10 series)—based on a playtesting of the toolkit's latest set of integrated drivers (version 571.96).

Reports Suggest ASUS Quick Release System Inflicting Physical Damage on GPU PCIe Interfaces

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T0@st
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HXL/9550pro and HardwareLuxx's Andreas Schilling shared evidence of the ASUS PCIe Q-Release Slim—the manufacturer's latest ejection mechanism—causing damage to graphics card PCIe connectors. Recent feedback suggests that repeated usage can scrape or grind off material present on a card's interface. HXL gathered critiques from multiple sources (owners of Intel 800 and AMD 800 series boards), and linked a relevant Bilibili video. The footage presents a damaged GALAX RTX 4070 Ti HOF OC LAB model, following sixty quick release cycles—paired with a ROG Strix B850-A Gaming Wi-Fi S motherboard. Tony Wu, ASUS China's general manager, eventually weighed in on community discussions—stating that he will investigate this matter and report back with his findings.

Schilling expressed similar frustrations—his chosen platform is producing unwanted results: "I'm not happy with the solution either. We use the Strix X870E-E Gaming for testing the graphics cards. So I have had to remove graphics cards from the slot a few dozen times. This didn't always go smoothly and very often the (GeForce RTX 5090) card got stuck in the slot. First damage visible." Press outlets have picked up on the recent surge in Q-Release Slim user feedback—several publications have gathered additional examples of the new mechanism inflicting damage on a variety of graphics card models.
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Intel & 2K Games Announce Exclusive Sid Meier's Civilization VII PC Partnership

Press Release by
T0@st
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Intel and 2K Games are teaming up to launch the Intel Builder Bundle, featuring the highly anticipated Sid Meier's Civilization VII. Starting today, gamers who purchase qualifying Intel Core Ultra processors (series 2) or Intel Core desktop processors (14th Gen) from participating sellers will be eligible to receive a digital copy of Civilization VII to play when the game launches on February 11, 2025.

"It's hard to come up with franchises in the PC gaming industry more iconic than Sid Meier's Civilization, and Intel is thrilled to continue its years-long partnership with 2K Games and Firaxis on the series' latest installment. Whether it's a marathon session with friends or just 'one more turn' before logging off, gamers around the world can depend on Intel Core and Core Ultra processors to deliver the best Civilization experience on a PC."
  • Roger Chandler, VP and GM, Enthusiast and Workstation PC, Intel
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Longsys Launches 7.2mm Subsize eMMC, Breaking the Physical Space Constraints of AI Wearables

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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In the design of wearable devices, every millimeter matters. As AI technology becomes deeply integrated, wearable devices demand not only enhanced performance but also the ability to deliver more functionalities within highly limited spaces. Recently, Longsys introduced a 7.2 mm × 7.2 mm subsize eMMC, providing a groundbreaking memory solution for optimizing the physical space of AI wearables.

Ultra-Compact: Unlocking New Possibilities for Wearable Design
7.2 mm × 7.2 mm is one of the smallest subsize eMMCs currently available on the market, achieving maximum space efficiency. Its 153 solder balls nearly cover the entire panel, pushing the design to the very edge of physical limits. Compared to the standard 11.5 mm × 13 mm eMMC, its surface area is reduced by approximately 65%, with a thickness of just 0.8 mm. Featuring a lightweight design, it weighs only 0.1 g (approx.), nearly 67% lighter than the standard 0.3 g eMMC. This ultra-compact design frees up additional space for other internal components, enabling wearable devices to maintain a sleek and lightweight form while integrating more functional modules to meet diverse user demands.
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Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Tachyon Ice Achieves DDR5-12726 Pioneering a New Era of Overclocking

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, proudly announces the remarkable overclocking achievement by Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE motherboard with the latest Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) processor. Featuring the exclusive LN2 SWITCH function, which is key to breaking through in this overclocking attempt, and V-COLOR Manta Xfinity RGB, esteemed overclocker HiCookie has once again pushed the limits and set an astonishing record of DDR5-12726. This achievement reinforces GIGABYTE's commitment to providing cutting-edge technology for overclocking enthusiasts.

Besides the astonishing memory frequency, Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE also break another three world records of 3DMARK CPU Profile 1T/2T/8T.
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COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 5080 Ultra W OC Available at Retail in Vietnam

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T0@st
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A brave Vietnamese high-end GPU enthusiast uploaded photo evidence of a freshly made purchase—COLORFUL's iGame GeForce RTX 5080 Ultra W OC model—onto the NVIDIA subreddit. Undoubtedly, a retailer in the Southeast Asia region had thrown caution to the wind and let stock prematurely float onto shelves. The plucky customer claimed that the transaction had taken place around a week ago—so well in advance of the official January 30 launch. The original post and several photos have been deleted, but several news outlets have preserved these details. The buyer alleges that they handed over $1400 for this "beautiful" triple-slot custom design—emblazoned with a funky graffiti-inspired lighting system and street art graphics.

The $401 upcharge above baseline MSRP ($999 in the U.S.) indicates that COLORFUL has outfitted this particular model with a beefy cooling solution and other premium features (e.g. stainless steel I/O plate with an attached one-click overclocking button). This custom GeForce RTX 5080 "Blackwell" GPU-based model was added to a working PC build—one photo shows off a B650 motherboard—but the lucky owner will have to deal with a lack of publicly released drivers. Fortunately, they have skipped ahead a step—less fortunate day one customers (across the globe) are seemingly faced with an incoming storm at retail.

Amplitude Studios Unveils Endless Legend 2

Press Release by
T0@st
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Endless Legend is back! We are thrilled to return to turn-based strategy in our beloved Endless Universe, where rich lore intertwines with strategic depth and unique factions. For those who have eagerly anticipated this long-awaited sequel to our acclaimed science-fantasy strategy game, we promise you, we have great things (and a few surprises) in store.

A New World to Explore
Welcome to Saiadha, a world of wondrous beauty and harsh seasons, of great riches and greater risks. Once a part of the galaxy-spanning empire of the Endless, remnants of their power are scattered across the world, and with them the secrets of Dust, the magical substance they used to defy nature itself. Venture into the untamed wilds of Saiadha and face its dangers, and you just might uncover its mysteries.
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Montage Technology Delivers Gen2 MRCD & MDB Samples for DDR5 MRDIMM

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Montage Technology today announced that it has successfully sampled its Gen 2 Multiplexed Rank Registering Clock Driver (MRCD) and Multiplexed Rank Data Buffer (MDB) chipset to leading global memory manufacturers. Designed for DDR5 Multiplexed Rank DIMM (MRDIMM), this new chipset supports data rates up to 12800 MT/s, delivering exceptional memory performance for next-generation computing platforms.

The release comes at a crucial time, as AI and big data analytics drive increasing demands for memory bandwidth in data centers. MRDIMM technology has emerged as a key solution to address this challenge, particularly as server processors continue to increase in core count.
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Acemagic Announces the Launch of the F3A AI 370 Mini PC

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Nomad76
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As a leader in innovative technology, Acemagic is excited to announce the upcoming pre-sale launch of the F3A AI 370 MINI PC by the end of January 2025. Powered by AMD's latest Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, this high-performance mini PC combines outstanding computational power with cutting-edge cooling technology, designed to meet the needs of professionals, content creators, and high-end users.

The F3A AI 370 MINI PC features an advanced 12-core, 24-thread processor, built on AMD's Zen 5 and Zen 5c architecture. With a base clock speed of 2.0 GHz and a turboboost up to 5.1 GHz, it delivers exceptional multithreaded performance and processing power. Additionally, the F3A is equipped with the third-generation Ryzen AI NPU (Neural Processing Unit) based on the XDNA2 architecture, offering up to 50 TOPS of AI computing performance. With seamless collaboration between the GPU and CPU, the F3A achieves an impressive total performance of up to 80 TOPS, making it ideal for high-demand applications like deep learning and AI inference.
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ECS Showcases AI-Powered Education Laptops and Mini PCs at BETT 2025

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), a globally recognized leader in motherboards, mini PCs, and laptops, will participate in the renowned Bett 2025 education technology exhibition in London from January 22 to 24, 2025. ECS will showcase its new series of education laptops integrated with AI technology and multifunctional mini PCs, designed to enhance teaching efficiency and the learning experience. These products not only offer exceptional performance and portability but also incorporate innovative solutions to provide smarter technological support for the education sector.

A New Series of AI-Powered Education Laptops, Delivering Smart Learning Solutions
At Bett 2025, ECS will feature a series of lightweight AI laptops tailored for higher education, including the 14-inch UP40ML, UP42KP, and UP42PW models, as well as the 15.3-inch UP52PW model. These laptops are focused on improving the teaching and learning experience by offering powerful computing capabilities and advanced features. They support multiple processor platforms, such as Intel, AMD and Snapdragon, providing flexibility to meet various needs while maintaining a high-quality metal chassis for durability in campus environments.
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Cincoze Launches DC-1300 series Industrial PCs for Smart Manufacturing

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btarunr
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Rugged embedded computer brand—Cincoze has launched the latest addition to the Rugged Computing - DIAMOND product line, the Entry Performance & Compact industrial computer DC-1300 series. It packs maximum performance and expansion flexibility in a compact 185 x 131 x 56.5 mm chassis. The new generation DC-1300 series can be equipped with an Intel Alder Lake-N processor, supports the essential I/O interfaces for industrial applications, and provides complete wireless transmission solutions (Wi-Fi, 5G, GNSS, etc.). The DC-1300 continues the legacy of the DC series for successful integration in space-limited industrial automation applications, providing customers with the latest solutions.

The new generation DC-1300 series addresses the continued performance demands in automation applications. It supports the latest Alder Lake-N platform Intel Core i3-N305 processor, with computing performance of 4.5 times that of the previous generation. The DC-1300 supports up to 16 GB DDR5 4800 MHz in a single memory slot. It offers flexible storage options, such as 2.5-inch SATA HDD/SSD or Half-Slim SSD. Additionally, it supports expansion via the M.2 slot for NVMe SSD to meet the needs of different application scenarios.
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Philips Monitors to offer TCO Certified, Generation 10 with 5-year warranty

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btarunr
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Philips Monitors will launch their first TCO Certified, generation 10, business line to be with a 5-year warranty, demonstrating the company's commitment to providing products with long-term durability and reduced environmental impact. These models are part of Philips Monitors' ongoing focus on sustainability, in line with global standards for environmental responsibility throughout the product lifecycle. More details on the specific models will be announced progressively as they are launched. Philips Monitors is responding to the growing demand for sustainable products that are both high-performing and environmentally responsible. The introduction of a 5-year warranty reflects the ongoing efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of electronics through product longevity.
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Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.6460 Beta Released

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btarunr
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Intel today released the latest version of the Arc GPU Graphics Drivers. Version 101.6460 Beta comes with Game On day-zero optimization for "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth." It improves the performance in this game by up to 12.8% at 1080p with high settings, and up to 11.6% at 1440p with high settings, when tested with an Arc B580. On Core Ultra 200-series integrated graphics, the uplift can be up to 9% with medium settings at 1080p. The drivers fix no new issues, but identify several new teething problems with the Arc B-series GPUs that will be fixed in near-future driver releases.
DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.6460
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RTX 5090 FE Liquid Metal Swap: Thermal Paste Performs Just Fine

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btarunr
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Did you catch our launch review of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card? If you did, you'd have noticed the hoops we had to jump through to disassemble the card without breaking anything. As we carefully peeled the card's aesthetic finery and worked out way down to the GPU, we found that NVIDIA is using a liquid-metal thermal interface material (TIM) between the "GB202" GPU and the unified vapor chamber plate of the Double Flow Through cooling solution. After our photography the problem arose of putting the card back together, and we wondered if using a mainstream thermal paste would be a suitable replacement since we didn't have the patience to toy with liquid metal given our review volume. So we pulled out our trusty tube of Arctic MX6, gave it a suitable application, skipped the gasket, and put the card back together.

Here's what we found—the GPU temperatures rise by about 2°C on average over the stock liquid metal TIM. In the graph below, you will see both TIM applications compete with each other over a 370-second stress from a benchmark run. In the chart the start temperatures are slightly different, this does not mean that idle temperatures are higher with liquid metal. At the end of test the maximum temperature reached with the stock liquid metal TIM is around 77.6°C. The Arctic MX6, on the other hand settles to 79.4°C. This +1.8°C temperature increase really isn't significant at all—room temperature changes between summer and winter will cause bigger swings. We also tested performance, and it was spot on, the same as pre-disassembly—not a hint of thermal throttling. Both values are safely below the 90°C thermal threshold for the RTX 5090—that's right, NVIDIA raised the thermal throttle point, it's not 83°C anymore like on the RTX 40-series Ada. Taking the RTX 5090 apart and putting it back together was a challenging experience, but we're glad we didn't have to do a liquid metal application to ensure trouble-free operation. This is good news for all DIYers—don't bother with replacing the liquid metal—a thin thermal paste application works fine, too.

Cooler Master Announces Newly Redesigned MasterLiquid Core II Liquid Cooler

Press Release by
GFreeman
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Cooler Master, a leading provider of PC components, gaming peripherals, and tech lifestyle solutions, today announced the MasterLiquid Core II, a next level liquid cooler that comes in both 240 mm and 360 mm sizes. This latest version of Cooler Master's MasterLiquid series builds on the excellence of that renowned series of liquid coolers while bringing an array of new features to the table. With a refined G9R dual chamber pump, updated CPU compatibility, and more, the MasterLiquid Core II is an upgrade fit for the next generation.

Features
  • Dual chamber pump: Upgraded design resulting in a compact cooler with superior performance.
  • Updated CPU compatibility: The Core II is compatible with all the latest AMD and Intel CPUs.
  • Innovative design: An infinity mirror pump cover gives the Core a stellar aesthetic.
  • Revamped fans: Brand-new fan blades and revamped visuals deliver outstanding performance with a fresh look.
  • Easy installation: Now includes a quick-mount kit compatible with all mainstream processor sockets, along with pre-installed fans.
  • Optimum tubing length: 400 mm of tubing enables effortless mounting in any orientation.
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Cooler Master Launches New SickleFlow Edge 120 Fan 3-Pack Edition

Press Release by
GFreeman
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Cooler Master, a global leader in PC components, has released the SickleFlow Edge 120 ARGB 3-Pack Fan Kit and the SickleFlow Edge White 120 ARGB 3-Pack Fan Kit. The SickleFlow Edge 120 represents the pinnacle of Cooler Master's air-cooling technology and is now made available in a highly convenient 3-pack variant in both black and white colorways, allowing for easy cooling expansion.

Features
This release of the SickleFlow Edge 120 features all the same great performance specs of the original release, now with a few updates. The fan blade design has been further enhanced to provide higher fan speeds, air pressure, and airflow while maintaining low noise levels. Further improvements have been made to the loop dynamic bearing system to provide additional noise reduction. The fan's frame has been redesigned to reflect a more cohesive aesthetic, and an A1 mini-LED controller has been included with the fans to allow for the ultimate in fan control and customization.
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Patriot Unveils the New PDP31 Portable PSSD

Press Release by
GFreeman
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Patriot proudly announces the launch of the PDP31, a portable PSSD designed specifically for the mobile lifestyle. Supporting the USB 3.2 Gen 2 standard, the PDP31 boasts a high-speed transfer rate of up to 10 Gbps, with exceptional sequential read and write speeds of up to 1000 MB/s, making it the ideal choice for tech enthusiasts and professionals alike.

To ensure ample storage for all your important files, the PDP31 is available in capacities ranging from 120 GB to 2 TB, making it perfect for storing everything from creative video projects to large work files. It also features a versatile USB Type-C interface for easy connection to desktops, MacBooks, Windows laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
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Cooler Master Launches the Hyper 612 APEX CPU Cooler

Press Release by
GFreeman
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Cooler Master, a leading provider of PC components, gaming peripherals, and tech lifestyle solutions, today announced the launch of the Hyper 612 APEX, an all-new CPU air cooler engineered for users who demand top-tier cooling in a streamlined form factor. The Hyper 612 APEX features in-house designed superconductive composite heat pipes and a powerful Mobius 120P fan, delivering superior cooling while remaining 30% smaller than its predecessor. This reduction in size ensures compatibility with large memory modules, making it easier to install without sacrificing performance. Ideal for gamers, content creators, and overclockers, the Hyper 612 APEX balances high performance and aesthetics.

"The Hyper 612 APEX is designed to meet the needs of users who want efficient cooling without the bulk," said Jimmy Sha, Cooler Master CEO. "With our advanced heat pipe technology and compact design, this cooler delivers high-performance results while staying user-friendly for a wide range of builds."
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Razer Announces Availability of the Kuromi Collection

Press Release by
GFreeman
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Razer, the world's leading lifestyle brand for gamers, partners with Sanrio, the global lifestyle brand and home to Kuromi, the cheeky but charming mischievous character beloved around the world. Marking two decades of encouraging personal expression and individuality, Kuromi celebrates her 20th anniversary in 2025! Following immense fan enthusiasm and a successful teaser in China, Razer and Sanrio have collaborated to launch this collection globally. Crafted for Kuromies (Kuromi's fans) and those who enjoy causing a bit of trouble wherever they go, this collection combines Kuromi's rebellious charm with Razer's renowned high-performance peripherals, all in Kuromi's iconic black and lilac color scheme.

Celebrating Kuromi's unique charm and rising popularity, the Razer | Kuromi collection allows fans to Kuromify the world while stylishly expressing their individuality with high-performance gaming gear adorned with cheeky personality.
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Cooler Master Releases New All-Black, Non-LED MasterLiquid Atmos Stealth AIO Cooler

Press Release by
GFreeman
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Cooler Master, a leading provider of PC components, gaming peripherals, and tech lifestyle solutions, today announced the MasterLiquid 360 Atmos Stealth, a brand-new, all-black, non-LED version of the high power MasterLiquid 360 Atmos AIO cooler. The Atmos series is known for its signature engineering seen in features such as the dual chamber design and customizable pump top cover. Now all those features come packaged in a sleek and stealthy aesthetic.

Features
  • Refined dual chamber design: Our signature dual chamber pump has been refined for enhanced cooling synergy.
  • Customizable pump top cover: Removable pump top cover, customizable with your own 3D-printed designs.
  • Eco-friendly pump cover: The entire pump cover is manufactured with eco-friendly recycled plastics, putting our environment first.
  • Mobius 120 black fans: Pre-installed Mobius 120 mm, 2400 rpm fans further improve cooling performance and simplify user installation.
  • Daisy-chaining fan connections: Reduces the number of cables needed, leading to a cleaner and more organized system.
  • Updated CPU compatibility: The Atmos Stealth is compatible with all of the latest AMD and Intel CPUs.
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Thursday, January 23rd 2025

Today's Reviews

Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Monitors
NAS
PSUs
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition Review - The New Flagship

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition Review - The New Flagship

Review Graphics Cards
NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 is the fastest graphics card ever released. It comes with a whopping 32 GB VRAM, and support for multi-frame generation, which achieves hundreds of FPS easily. We also managed to disassemble the card, and our review includes performance testing without upscaling or frame generation, too.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 PCI-Express Scaling

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 PCI-Express Scaling

Article Graphics Cards
The new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the first high-end graphics card that makes use of a PCI-Express 5.0 bus interface. Are you in trouble when trying to run it on PCIe 4.0? What about x8, like when an SSD is using up some bandwidth? We've also tested various PCI-Express 3.0, 2.0 and 1.1 configs to get a feel for how FPS scales with bandwidth.
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GeForce RTX 5090 Power Excursions Tested: Can Spike to 901W Under 1ms

by
btarunr
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Igor's Lab conducted an in-depth analysis of the power management system of the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card, including the way the card draws peak power within the tolerances of the ATX 3.1 specification. This analysis should prove particularly useful for those still on older ATX v2.51 PSUs, and plan to use the included power adapter that converts four 8-pin PCIe power connectors to a 12V2x6. Igor's peak power analysis shows that the RTX 5090 is capable of excursions as high as 627.5 W for 10 ms to 20 ms durations; as high as 738.2 W in 5 ms to 10 ms durations, as high as 823.6 W in the 1 ms to 5 ms category, and as high as 901.1 W in spikes under 1 ms in duration.

An excursion is a brief increase in power draw beyond the continuous power delivery limit of the connector (600 W in case of the RTX 5090's single 12V2x6 input and adapter that converts four 150 W 8-pin PCIe inputs). There is nothing particularly alarming about these numbers, and the excursions part of Igor's analysis fall within the specification of the ATX 3.1 standard, which calls for excursions of up to 200% (1200 W) up to 1 ms. Any PSU meeting the ATX 3.1 specs that even has a continuous power output of less than 1200 W will be capable of handling these spikes. It's only with the much older generations of PSUs, such as ATX v2.51 (mid-2010s) that excursions can trigger OCP. Find other great insights in the Igor's Lab review linked below.

DOOM: The Dark Ages Requires RT. Release Date, PC System Requirements, and New Gameplay Trailer Revealed

Press Release by
GFreeman
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The time draws near to Reign in Hell when DOOM: The Dark Ages releases May 15, 2025, on Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC. Preorder your copy today! For PC players, check that your setup is battle-ready by consulting our PC Requirements below, including listings for Minimum, Recommended and even Ultra 4K settings.

A NEW GENERATION OF IDTECH
id Software's most ambitious title yet, DOOM: The Dark Ages pushes new standards in visual fidelity and performance with the power of idTech8. Taking full advantage of modern hardware on all platforms, idTech8 ushers in a new era of gameplay performance and visual fidelity featuring all-new dynamic interactive ray-traced lighting and shadows, higher-fidelity image quality, increased gore and destruction and so much more. With the largest environments ever in a DOOM game, DOOM: The Dark Ages delivers an epic experience full of worlds to explore, hordes of demons to destroy and an action story worthy of the Slayer's legend. Whether soaring through the air with his dragon or smashing giant Titan-sized demons using his Atlan mech, the Slayer is taking on his biggest battles yet - all beautifully rendered and running at a buttery-smooth 60 frames per second on all platforms.
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Cyberpunk 2077 Gets DLSS 4 Support With Patch 2.21. All RTX Users Can Try the New Transformers DLSS Model

by
GFreeman
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CD Projekt RED has released the latest Patch 2.21 for Cyberpunk 2077, which is available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The new patch brings various fixes on all platforms, but also adds support for DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards.

According to details provided in the release notes, the feature "boosts FPS by using AI to generate up to three times per traditionally rendered frame." It also introduces faster single Frame Generation which should bring reduced memory usage on RTX 50 and RTX 40 Series graphics cards. The patch also adds an option to choose between the CNN model or the new Transformer model for DLSS Ray Reconstruction, DLSS Super Resolution, and DLAA on all NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards. According to CD Projekt RED, the new Transformer model should enhance stability, lighting, and detail in motion.
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AMD Software Adrenalin Edition 25.1.1 Radeon Beta Driver Released

by
AleksandarK
 Discuss (25 Comments)
AMD has released its latest Adrenalin Edition 25.1.1 Radeon beta driver today, supporting additional gaming titles, improvements, and bug fixes. In this release, AMD has brought driver game support for the newly released FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, released today, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which is finally coming to PCs after being console-exclusive for years. AMD has brought day-one support and has managed to fix some software issues along the way. First in line is the improvement in performance while playing Apex Legends with DirectX 12 API, which has been a pain point for AMD's drivers. Previously, some AI enthusiasts experienced lower-than-expected performance while using LM Studio on AMD Ryzen AI and Radeon products, which is now also fixed.

However, some issues persist. Users can experience a partial black screen problem in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 when using Radeon Anti-Lag 2 and Ray Tracing on AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors, intermittent crashes in FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, driver timeouts in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, and performance stuttering in Marvel Rivals with AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 frame generation. Additionally, users may encounter an intermittent AMD Bug Report Tool appearance after using the AMD Cleanup Utility and potential HEVC encoding issues with OBS Studio's Twitch-enhanced broadcasting, which will hopefully be fixed soon.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Software Adrenalin 25.1.1 Beta

North American Retailer Leaks "March 23" Pre-order for AMD Radeon RX 9070 Series

by
T0@st
 Discuss (14 Comments)
B&H Photo Video—a Manhattan, NY-based electronics retailer—has leaked out a possible late March launch date for AMD's opening salvo of RDNA 4 graphics cards. Four ASUS Radeon RX 9070 series SKUs are currently visible (via a search) on the shop's webstore—all listings sport a tag stating: "pre-order starts at 09:00 a.m ET, Sunday Mar 23." VideoCardz reckons that the product pages have been freshly updated—changing the previously listed date: January 23. Officially, Team Red has moved its Radeon RX 9070 XT and Radeon RX 9070 (non-XT) launch windows into March, but a specific date was not set.

B&H's listings could contain placeholder information—product launches and opening of pre-orders do not (under normal circumstances) occur over weekends. In this case, potentially on a Sunday. The New York City retailer has prepared very basic product pages for two TUF Gaming cards and two PRIME models—names and SKU codes appear to correspond with previous leaks. Artline, a Ukrainian PC hardware store, opened up an ASUS TUF GAMING Radeon RX 9070 XT OC package. MyGear took similar steps with a PRIME Radeon RX 9070 model.

Ubisoft Unveils Assassin's Creed Shadows Recommended PC Specs

Press Release by
T0@st
 Discuss (16 Comments)
Hi everyone, Assassin's Creed Shadows is launching March 20, inviting you to experience the intertwined stories of Naoe, an adept shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a powerful African samurai. Today, you can pre-order the game on console and PC, and read up on Shadows' upcoming expansion, Claws of Awaji, which brings 10 hours of additional content free with your pre-order.

For those of you playing on PC, we've got all of Assassin's Creed Shadows' recommended PC specs listed in this article. Assassin's Creed Shadows will support raytraced global illumination and reflections, and will feature an in-game benchmark tool for performance analysis, ultra-wide resolutions, an uncapped framerate, and more. Check out all the specs chart below.
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Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Launch Info Revealed, Tape 2 Delayed

Press Release by
T0@st
 Discuss (0 Comments)
We're happy to give you a bit more info about the launch of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage! First, the price of the game will be 39,99€/$39.99/£35.89 when Tape 1 "Bloom" launches on February 18, 2025. This price includes both Tapes, so when Tape 2 launches on April 15 it will simply become an update that you can download which will allow you to play through the rest of the girls' story at your convenience. The game will also be launching with a limited-time discount of 10% until March 4!

You also might have noticed we've changed the date of Tape 2's launch - while Tape 1 is still on schedule, we're postponing the release of Tape 2 by four weeks, from March 18 to April 15, 2025. This game is very special to us, and we want to ensure that you get the experience you deserve while playing, with the extra time going towards additional optimization for a truly immersive continuation of the journey.
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UK Retailer to Limit GeForce RTX 5090 Pre-orders, Current Inventory in Single-digits

by
T0@st
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Yesterday evening (GMT), Overclockers UK's product purchasing manager set expectations for his store's day one inventory of GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 graphics cards. Taking to the OCUK forum, Gibbo (aka Andrew Gibson) revealed that the flagship stock count was in: "single digits at present, maybe double for launch." His "TDLR" also pointed to the store having a "few hundred" RTX 5080 models ready for launch day, with pre-orders starting on January 30 (for both Blackwell GPU product tiers). Gibbo warned potential customers about anticipated tight conditions: "we are expecting greater demand than (the RTX) 40 series, but with the launch just prior to CNY and lots of other rumors circulating initial waves of supply are poor and will probably take some time to build up. So the stock we have will be made available from the launch via the webshop, but I know what we have is likely to last only seconds, minutes at most."

Similar (predicted) circumstances have been reported across Europe and the Far East—certain outlets believe that GeForce RTX 50 series shortages will last up to three months post-launch. Potential "Blackwell" GPU customers are very likely dreading a forthcoming buying experience riddled with scalper bots, price gouging and all sorts of shady shenanigans. OCUK's product manager recommends taking a pragmatic approach when faced with a chaotic state of affairs: "to put it simply patience and expectations need to be realistic if the UK has—say 10,000 cards, and 500,000 people want one—well it is going to take time so plan ahead and also act like adults. I shall try and keep these forums updated with stock drops with heads up on the site etc. Do not call Sales or Customer service for any info or try to place orders, it shall be strictly via website only and all information will be posted on forums and on product display pages for the products as and when we have it."

Geometric Future Launches Model 0: A Compact, Foldable PC Case Series

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Nomad76
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Geometric Future launched its Model 0 Flamingo "folding box" chassis series, half a year after it was showcased at the Computex 2024 Taipei Computer Show. The Model 0 Flamingo is a Mini-ITX chassis with a unique feature: it wraps around your system like a cardboard box. The chassis has a compact format measuring 81 × 206 × 208 mm with a volume of 3.47L. It is built from 1.2 mm thick steel plates coated with anti-static, fire-proof, and mildew-proof fabric in black color with touches of gold-like elements. For cooling, it relies on a giant mesh top circle and numerous ventilation holes. There is no room for additional fans, except it can host a 60 mm height CPU cooler. The chassis comes equipped with a compact custom Guitarra 200 W power supply manufactured by Quanhan that measures 70 × 35 × 170 mm.

As we said, the Geometric Future Model 0 unique feature is the ability to be folded without the need for any tools, with magnets included in the material of the case itself keeping it together. Additionally, detachable magnetic feet allow users to orient the case in both vertical and horizontal modes. However, as interesting as it looks, the Model 0 has some drawbacks: it is only compatible with ITX motherboards and does not support PCIe expansion (no graphics card can be added). Currently, there is no information about pricing. However, it should be around $100 if Geometric Future would like to attract SFF/HTPC users.

Sony to Stop Manufacturing Blu-ray Media, Effective February 2025

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T0@st
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Sony Japan's Recording Media department has announced the retirement of several physical media formats—most notably Blu-Ray Disc—in a very brief notice addressed to "valued customers." Mid-last year, the Japanese multinational conglomerate revealed that it would stop production of consumer-grade recordable Blu-ray discs (BD-RE and BD-R)—citing a decline in demand and the format's inability to meet "business goals." As pointed out by Tom's Hardware, today's announcement indicates (via machine translation) that both "regular and recorded" product lines are affected—the publication has reached out to Sony for comment/clarification.

Optical media enthusiasts/preservationists will, undoubtedly, be angered by this news—manufacturing activities will cease at some point next month. The corporation's message contains a lot of finality: "thank you for your continued patronage of Sony products. We will end production of all models of Blu-ray Disc media, MiniDiscs for recording, MD data for recording, and MiniDV cassettes as of February 2025. There will be no successor models. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our many customers for their patronage to date."

EXOK Games Cancels Earthblade Project

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T0@st
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Hey everyone, I've got some sad news today to ring in 2025. Late last month, Noel and I made the difficult decision to cancel Earthblade. Yes, we are opening the year with a huge, heartbreaking, and yet relieving failure. I want to outline in this post what lead to this decision, and what it means for the future of EXOK.

Before I get into it however, I want to acknowledge that this news will likely come as a shock to fans who have been eagerly anticipating the game. We made this decision in December and felt it best to wait until now to announce it. For us on the inside we've had some time to process, grieve, and work toward accepting this, although that process is nonlinear and still ongoing. For those only reading this now who might be emotionally invested in this project, we're sorry to disappoint you.
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AMD Radeon RX 9070 Series Available Now According to Out-of-date Advertising

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T0@st
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PC hardware enthusiasts located in Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom have stumbled upon amusingly out-of-date AMD Radeon RX 9070 series GPU advertising. Earlier today, examples were presented on the Radeon subreddit—the social media-sourced announcements provide another look at Team Red's new reference design (Made-By-AMD/MBA) for the RDNA 4 generation, but the accompanying text (translated to English) implies that gamers can "play now" on not-yet-released Navi 48 GPU-based hardware. AMD has officially delayed its launch of Radeon RX 9070 XT and Radeon RX 9070 (non-XT) cards into March, but older leaked information pointed to a possible January 23 (today) rollout.

This marketing campaign has seemingly kicked off prematurely—perhaps initiated by mistake. VideoCardz reached out to retail sources for comment—their report indicates that promotional material was ready to go, but embargoes are reportedly still in place. They reckon that a basic specification teaser could emerge online in the near future. Board partners have already distributed products across retail networks, and finalized units have been unboxed—today's advertised claim of "immediate availability" is no longer valid, but many folks hoped for a pre-January 30 kick-off. NVIDIA will be launching its GeForce RTX 50 series at the end of this month, but industry soothsayers believe that things will not go smoothly.

Lenovo Unveils Affordable 2-in-1 Windows Tablet With 13.3-inch Display

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GGforever
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We have witnessed quite a few affordable laptops hit shelves in the past few weeks, including offerings from Acer and ASUS. For those who are more interested in tablets but prefer a full-fledged Desktop OS will likely find the newly launched Lenovo S130 2-in-1 quite enticing, but there exists a major hurdle - the Lenovo S130 is China-only, for now at least. However, an international launch is not entirely out of the question.

At its core, the Lenovo S130 is powered by the Intel N100 processor. With four cores, four threads, and a maximum boost clock of 3.4 GHz, the 6-watt N100 is far from a powerhouse chip. That said, it should likely be enough for casual web-browsing and media consumption, but expecting anything more from the chip would be futile. The S130 does feature an impressive 13.3-inch display, with a resolution of 3000 x 2000 with a maximum brightness of 420 nits, making the S130 quite ideal for content consumption indeed.
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Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3 Release Date Announced: May 29

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T0@st
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⚙️Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3 coming May 29th, 2025! The new journey reaches for the sky! Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3 offers a new and exhilarating strategy-based battle system for its epic conclusion! Unveil the Source of the World's Despair! Check out the official website for details and future updates! Also, the game's Steam store page is open! Add to your wishlist and follow for the latest info!

The Fuga: Melodies of Steel series has reached its epic conclusion! Dive into this dramatic RPG featuring a brand-new, strategic battle system, enhanced Taranis training during intermission, and tactical route progression and event battles! Unveil the Source of the World's Despair!
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Around 20,000 TSMC Wafers Reported Damaged by Earthquake

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T0@st
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Earlier this week, Taiwan experienced a magnitude 6.4 earthquake—this seismic event interrupted manufacturing activities at several TSMC chip-making facilities. As a precaution, foundry employees in both Central and Southern Taiwan were evacuated. Production resumed fairly quickly following inspections of crucial infrastructure—no major damage to facilities or equipment was noted. The latest reports suggest that a relatively minor number of TSMC wafers have been affected by the recent quake, while some recalibration of instrumentation is required to get things back on track.

Inside sources reckon that up to 20,000 wafers (possibly 10,000 at a minimum) could be scrapped—assessments are reportedly still underway, but a small proportion of client shipments could be disrupted. News articles point to this total being spread across three affected locations. Fab 18 is a key 3 nm production hub—situated in Taiwan's Southern Science Park, Tainan's Fab 14 specializes in 4 nm and 5 nm processes, and Fab 8 (Hsinchu) takes care of 200 nm. Industry experts believe that TSMC will bounce back quickly, and that the damaged wafer count represents a minor dent in the proverbial armor—on a good day, manufacturing output can reach up to 37,000 units.

HTC Announces XR Agreement with Google

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TheLostSwede
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HTC Corp. and Google LLC announced today a definitive agreement under which HTC will receive US$250 million in cash from Google, and certain HTC employees from its XR team will join Google. As part of the transaction, Google will receive a non-exclusive license for HTC's XR intellectual property (IP). Following this agreement, HTC and Google will explore future collaboration opportunities.

This agreement reinforces HTC's strategy of continued development around the XR ecosystem, enabling a more streamlined product portfolio with a focus on platforms, greater operational efficiency and financial flexibility. HTC's commitment to delivering innovative VIVE XR solutions such as the VIVE Focus Vision remains unchanged, with existing product lines and solutions to be supported and developed without interruption.
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Corsair Launches EX400U USB4 External SSD

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Nomad76
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Corsair announces the immediate availability of the EX400U USB4 External SSD, delivering outstanding data transfer speeds and exceptional portability, setting a new standard in external storage devices. Leveraging the high bandwidth of USB4, this external SSD offers blazing-fast sequential read speeds of up to 4,000 MB/sec and sequential write speeds of up to 3,600 MB/sec. Whether you're editing high-resolution videos, working on large-scale projects, or transferring files, the EX400U significantly reduces wait times, helping you focus on what matters most.

The EX400U's USB4 compatibility maximizes its performance potential while also supporting USB 3.x Type-C and Thunderbolt 4, making it a versatile addition to any tech setup. Users can integrate the EX400U with their PC, Mac, or iOS devices, enjoying effortless plug-and-play connectivity with a single USB Type-C cable (included) for both power and data transfer.
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NVIDIA GeForce Now Expands Mod Support for Baldur's Gate 3

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T0@st
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GeForce NOW is expanding mod support for hit game Baldur's Gate 3 in collaboration with Larian Studios and mod.io for Ultimate and Performance members. This expanded mod support arrives alongside seven new games joining the cloud this week.

Level Up Gaming
Time to roll for initiative—adventurers in the Forgotten Realms can now enjoy a range of curated mods uploaded to mod.io for Baldur's Gate 3. Ultimate and Performance members can enhance their Baldur's Gate 3 journeys across realms and devices with a wide array of customization options. Stay tuned to GFN Thursday for more information on expanding mod support for more of the game's PC mods at a later time.
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Team17 Group PLC Announces Company Re-Brand to Everplay Group PLC

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TheLostSwede
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Team17 Group plc, a leading global independent games developer and publisher of premium video games, working simulation games and children's edutainment apps, is today announcing the rebrand of the Company to everplay group plc.

everplay - the next chapter of the evolution of the Group
The Group's change in name reflects the evolution of the business following its IPO - its London Stock Market listing - in 2018. The Group now comprises of three distinct divisions operating across complementary markets within the video games and apps industry. everplay provides the Group with a name that reflects its purpose to never stop playing, as well as its creative drive to deliver a lifetime of play.
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Activision Roadmaps Season 2 Content for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 & Warzone

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fSeason 02 arrives next week, upending the new order of Avalon. Engage with a massive amount of new content, including five Multiplayer maps, more than six new weapons, a new Zombies map, limited time Valentine's Day-themed modes, and more. Gear up, train up, and deploy to Season 02 arriving Tuesday, January 28. The Hunter Becomes the Hunted: Black Ops 6 Season 02 is Here!

Season 02 Overview: Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide
As Sevati "Sev" Dumas toasts a new era of Avalon, her short-lived victory over the Luttazzi crime family comes to an abrupt end. During a celebration in the French Syndicate Penthouse, an urgent notice arrives for all attendees: the Luttazzis have placed a lucrative bounty on the entire Rogue Team as payback. This is the price for working with criminals: In the dog-eat-dog world of Avalon, will money speak louder than loyalty?
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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Available Now on PC

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TheLostSwede
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FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, winner of over 40 Game of the Year awards globally, is now available worldwide on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. The award-winning RPG is also available now on the PlayStation 5 (PS5) console, with enhanced support for the PlayStation 5 Pro. Heralded as "the best Final Fantasy of the century" by The Washington Post and recipient of over 110 perfect review scores, FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH comes to the PC platform with a variety of new features and customizations that deliver a new level of realism and immersion to the unknown journey including:
  • Improved lighting across the entire game renders the adventure with even greater beauty and clarity.
  • 4K resolution and 120 FPS are supported on top-spec PCs.
  • Greater polygon and texture density can be achieved through optional settings. FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH has never looked better.
  • With DualSense controller support, enjoy the same controls and immersive haptic feedback as on the PS5 console.
  • NVIDIA DLSS allows for upscaled image quality and enhanced framerates.
  • Variable refresh rate (VRR) enables smoother gameplay with compatible hardware.
  • Full control rebinding, plus mouse and keyboard support. Freely customize controls between world exploration and combat or mini-games.
  • FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH is Steam Deck Verified for an optimized handheld experience.
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Intel Accidently Publishes Core Ultra 3 205 "Arrow Lake-S" CPU Specs

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T0@st
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Intel's Core Ultra 3 205 processor's spec sheet appeared online for a short period of time—members of the Team Blue subreddit discovered an official product page (now removed) and other related details. In part, discussion focused on the alleged lower-end "Arrow Lake-S" (ARL-S) desktop CPU being "reserved for OEMs." Previously, this SKU's existence was leaked out at various points back in 2024. VideoCardz has kindly preserved the latest set of information, prior to its removal from Intel's official web presence—showing a potential new addition to the Core Ultra 200S (Series 2) lineup.

The Core Ultra 3 205 model appears to slot into a segment previously occupied by (now retired) budget-oriented Pentium and Celeron products—based on the specification sheet listing of a 57 W TDP (aligning with past ratings). The Maximum Turbo Power limit is 76 W. Team Blue has inadvertently revealed that this is an eight-core processor, comprised of four Lion Cove P-Cores and four Skymont E-Cores—so 8 (4P + 4E). The performance-oriented cores can (Max Turbo) boost up to 4.9 GHz, while the efficiency-focused units are capable of reaching up to 4.4 GHz. The on-board AI Boost NPU is rated for a peak rating of 13 TOPS (Int8). The Core Ultra 3 205's GPU seems to only utilize two out of the four available Arc Xe-LPG cores. The product page mentioned that the Core Ultra 3 205 is due for launch in Q1 2025, although the "Market Status = Launched" segment adds to the confusion surrounding this now de-listed SKU.

Fujitsu FMV Note U: World's Lightest CoPilot+ PC Introduced

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GGforever
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Fujitsu is a name that we hear less often nowadays, at least in the consumer technology sector. However, the prominent Japanese brand is by no means dormant, and has now unveiled a brand-new laptop that is shockingly light - in fact, it is the lightest laptop available on the market right now that features CoPilot+ functionality. Dubbed the FMV Note U, the ultra-light laptop tips the scales at just around 848 grams, which roughly equates to around 1.87 lbs.

The laptop is powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V or 258V "Lunar Lake" processors, paired with 16 or 32 GB of LPDDR5X-8533 memory. The chip is plenty fast, and will easily suffice for almost any moderately intensive workload thrown its way. There is, unsurprisingly, no room for discrete graphics, which means the admirably performant Arc 140V iGPU has to bear all the weight for GPU tasks. A 64 Wh battery is also present, which, paired with Lunar Lake's commendable efficiency, should allow for decently long runtimes away from the wall.
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Ayaneo Teases "Retro Power" Edition for Strix Point-powered Ayaneo 3 Gaming Handheld

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GGforever
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Ayaneo has been teasing the Ayaneo 3 gaming handheld for what seems like an eternity now. The handheld was among the first to be powered by the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 "Strix Point" APU with the extremely potent Radeon 890M iGPU, promising impressive performance potential. However, the 7-inch gaming handheld is yet to see the light of day, and we still have no clue when it finally will.

However, Ayaneo has gone ahead and teased the Ayaneo 3 once again, showing off a new colorway for the gaming handheld. This edition, dubbed "Retro Power", utilizes a beige-themed design with red accents on some of the controls. The device will also be available in black and white colorways, making the "Retro Power" variant a fun alternative for those who prefer something other than black or white for their handheld gaming console. That is, when the Ayaneo 3 finally ships, of course.

NVIDIA AI Helps Fight Against Fraud Across Many Sectors

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T0@st
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Companies and organizations are increasingly using AI to protect their customers and thwart the efforts of fraudsters around the world. Voice security company Hiya found that 550 million scam calls were placed per week in 2023, with INTERPOL estimating that scammers stole $1 trillion from victims that same year. In the U.S., one of four noncontact-list calls were flagged as suspected spam, with fraudsters often luring people into Venmo-related or extended warranty scams.

Traditional methods of fraud detection include rules-based systems, statistical modeling and manual reviews. These methods have struggled to scale to the growing volume of fraud in the digital era without sacrificing speed and accuracy. For instance, rules-based systems often have high false-positive rates, statistical modeling can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, and manual reviews can't scale rapidly enough.

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LG Display Reports Fourth Quarter 2024 Results

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TheLostSwede
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LG Display today reported unaudited earnings results based on consolidated K-IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) for the three-month period ending December 31, 2024.
  • Revenues in the fourth quarter of 2024 increased by 15% to KRW 7,833 billion from KRW 6,821 billion in the third quarter of 2024 and increased by 6% from KRW 7,396 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
  • Operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2024 recorded KRW 83.1 billion. This compares with the operating loss of KRW 80.6 billion in the third quarter of 2024 and with the operating profit of KRW 132 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
  • EBITDA profit in the fourth quarter of 2024 was KRW 1,306 billion, compared with EBITDA profit of KRW 1,162 billion in the third quarter of 2024 and with EBITDA profit of KRW 1,272 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
  • Net loss in the fourth quarter of 2024 was KRW 839 billion, compared with the net loss of KRW 338 billion in the third quarter of 2024 and with the net income of KRW 50.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
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Transcend Launches DDR5 6400 DRAM Modules for Gamers, Content Creators and DIY PC Enthusiasts

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Nomad76
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Transcend Information Inc. (Transcend), a global leader in storage solutions, is proud to announce its new DDR5 6400 CUDIMM DRAM modules. Designed specifically for gamers, content creators, DIY PC enthusiasts, and demanding professionals, these modules offer enhanced performance and stability to meet varying speed and capacity requirements. Optimized from standard DIMMs, CUDIMMs include a Client Clock Driver (CKD) for stable and efficient operation, making them ideal for high-performance desktop systems that require greater bandwidth and reliability.

With data transfer rates of up to 6400 MT/s, Transcend's DDR5 6400 DRAM modules significantly boost gaming performance, video editing smoothness, and large file processing speeds. Whether you are tackling the latest AAA gaming titles, editing high-resolution videos, or multitasking across multiple applications, these modules keep your system running smoothly even under extreme load and deliver an exceptional user experience. Plus, built-in on-die Error Correction Code (ECC) technology ensures data integrity, safeguarding important files, game progress, and creative content.
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Logitech Partners with iFixit for Logitech Repair Hub

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GFreeman
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Logitech International announces the availability of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) replacement parts for more than 20 Logitech devices on the Logitech Repair Hub, hosted by iFixit. This action marks a significant global expansion, with spare parts and repair guides now offered in multiple languages to enhance repairability worldwide. A range of Logitech and Logitech G mice, keyboards, and headsets are supported by iFixit across 62 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Europe.

"Our products are designed for exceptional quality and longevity. Repairability extends their lifespan further - enhancing value and customer satisfaction," said Prakash Arunkundrum, chief operating officer at Logitech. "Normal wear and tear is inevitable, which is why we strive to make it simpler for people to access original Logitech replacement parts for their devices. Having global iFixit community repair guides in multiple languages encourages more people to do straightforward repairs, saving them money and reducing waste."
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MSI Launches New STRIKE 600 Mechanical Keyboard

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GFreeman
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MSI proudly announces the launch of the MSI STRIKE 600, a groundbreaking mechanical keyboard that redefines silent performance, durability, and style. Designed for gamers, creators, and professionals alike, the STRIKE 600 delivers an unmatched typing experience with cutting-edge features and premium materials.

Silent Yet Satisfying Performance
The STRIKE 600 is equipped with Kailh Midnight Pro Silent Tactile switches, offering whisper-quiet operation with a satisfying tactile bump. Perfect for late-night gaming sessions or focused work environments, these switches achieve noise levels below 35dB, ensuring you stay productive without disturbing others. With 1.9 mm pre-travel and 3.7 mm total travel, these switches provide smooth, precise input, rated for an impressive 70 million keystrokes.
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Alphacool Unveils New Apex Distro Plate Dark Base Pro 901

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GFreeman
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The Alphacool International GmbH, based in Braunschweig, Germany, is a pioneer in PC water cooling technology. With the most comprehensive product portfolios in the industry and over 20 years of experience, Alphacool is now expanding its lineup with the Apex Distro Plate for the be quiet! Dark Base Pro 901 case. Specifically designed for this case, the distro plate replaces the front cover and elevates any custom water cooling setup to the next level.

The Apex product line stands for premium quality, featuring high-end materials and innovative technology. To prevent potential leaks caused by cracks, the chrome-plated G1/4" brass fittings are equipped with an O-ring and securely embedded into the acrylic. Crafted from high-quality acrylic glass and enhanced with aRGB lighting, the Apex Distro Plate not only offers a clear view of the water cooling loop but also impresses with stunning lighting effects. Available in black and white, the distro plate seamlessly complements the design of the Dark Base Pro 901.
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Advantech Unveils New Lineup Powered by AMD Ryzen Embedded 8000 Series Processors

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Nomad76
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Advantech, a global leader in embedded IoT computing, is excited to launch its latest Edge AI solutions featuring the advanced AMD Ryzen Embedded 8000 Series processors. The SOM-6873 (COMe Compact), AIMB-2210 (Mini-ITX motherboards), and AIR-410 (AI Inference System) deliver exceptional AI performance leveraging the first AMD embedded devices with integrated Neural Processing Units. These integrated NPUs are optimized to enhance AI inference efficiency and precision. Together with traditional CPU and GPU elements, the architecture delivers performance up to 39 TOPS. They also support dual-channel DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 4, providing ample computing power with flexible TDP options and thermal solutions.

Within value-added software services, such as the Edge AI SDK that integrates the AMD Ryzen AI software, the model porting procedure is accelerated. These features make the solutions ideal for edge applications such as HMI, machine vision in industrial automation, smart management and interactive services in urban entertainment systems, and healthcare devices such as ultrasound machines.
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Quad-Slot NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Prototype Appears, Features Three-Fan Stair-Step Configuration

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AleksandarK
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NVIDIA has unveiled a radical graphics card prototype that never reached production, offering insight into its design process. In a YouTube video called "Designing the Founders Edition | GeForce RTX 5090", NVIDIA showcases an unreleased design that would have occupied four PCIe slots, featuring a "three-thirds flow-through" cooling system with an unconventional three-fan stair-step configuration. NVIDIA ultimately rejected the quad-slot concept as impractical for most computer systems.
Engineers refined the cooling approach for the RTX 50-series, developing a more streamlined "two-thirds flow-through" design that maintains thermal performance while reducing the card's footprint to two PCIe slots.

Technical challenges emerged during development, particularly in connector design. The team struggled to create a ribbon cable supporting high-bandwidth UHBR20 DisplayPort 2.1b and HDMI 2.1b connections. Their solution involved infusing glass fibers into the cable, enabling support for three DisplayPort and one HDMI connector. Critical engineering focus was placed on the liquid metal thermal interface material. Extensive stress testing ensured reliability across various orientations, with particular attention to preventing oxidation. Given the electrically conductive nature of liquid metal, an air-tight seal around the GPU die became crucial to prevent potential hardware failure.

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AMD is Taking Time with Radeon RX 9000 to Optimize Software and FSR 4

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AleksandarK
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When AMD announced its upcoming Radeon RX 9000 series of GPUs based on RDNA 4 IP, we expected the general availability to follow soon after the CES announcement. However, it turns out that AMD has scheduled its Radeon RX 9000 series availability for March, as the company is allegedly optimizing the software stack and its FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4) for a butter smooth user experience. In a response on X to Hardware Unboxed, AMD's David McAfee shared, "I really appreciate the excitement for RDNA 4. We are focused on ensuring we deliver a great set of products with Radeon 9000 series. We are taking a little extra time to optimize the software stack for maximum performance and enable more FSR 4 titles. We also have a wide range of partners launching Radeon 9000 series cards, and while some have started building initial inventory at retailers, you should expect many more partner cards available at launch."

AMD is taking its RDNA 4 launch more cautiously than before, as it now faces a significant problem with NVIDIA and its waste portfolio of software optimization and AI-enhanced visualization tools. The FSR 4 introduces a new machine learning (ML) based upscaling component to handle Super Resolution. This will be paired with Frame Generation and an updated Anti-Lag 2 to make up the FSR 4 feature set. Optimizing this is the number one priority, and AMD plans to get more games on FSR 4 so gamers experience out-of-the-box support.

NVIDIA RTX "Blackwell" GPU with 96 GB GDDR7 Memory on 512-Bit Bus Appears

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AleksandarK
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Recent shipping manifests suggest that NVIDIA works on a graphics card with 96 GB of GDDR7 memory. Documents reveal a product utilizing a 512-bit memory bus and a clamshell (memory on both PCB sides) design that combines two 3 GB modules per memory controller. This setup effectively doubles the memory capacity of existing workstation-oriented cards. The product is believed to use the GB202 chip, the only Blackwell desktop GPU with a 512-bit interface. The documents refer to a board labeled PG153, a designation not seen in any of NVIDIA's existing consumer GPUs. This finding points toward a professional or workstation model rather than a gaming product. There is a possibility that it could be part of the RTX 6000 Blackwell or RTX 8000 Blackwell series.

NVIDIA's current top workstation card, the RTX 6000 "Ada," features 48 GB of memory. A move to 96 GB would be a substantial jump, enabling more complex workloads for content creation, data analysis, and AI. This GPU could carry a significantly higher power target than current workstation models. However, professional GPUs often maintain lower clock speeds to keep power consumption within limits that accommodate more stable operation in professional environments. There is no confirmed information regarding the card's official name or final specifications, such as core count or actual clock frequencies. NVIDIA's workstation GPUs have historically provided a higher core count than their gaming counterparts. If the rumored 96 GB GPU follows this pattern, it may surpass even the potential GeForce RTX 5090, which comes with 32 GB of GDDR7. NVIDIA is expected to hold its annual GPU Technology Conference in March. This event is viewed as a likely venue for official announcements. Until then, these details remain unverified.

AAEON Diversifies its SMARC Module Selection with x86 and RISC Architecture

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btarunr
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AAEON, a leader in industrial IoT and AI Edge solutions, has announced the release of two new SMARC modules, the uCOM-IMX93 and uCOM-ASL, powered by the NXP i.MX 93 Applications Processor Family and Intel Atom x7000RE Processor Series for the Edge, respectively. This news comes following the revival of AAEON's SMARC product line last year, which has since brought a range of x86 and RISC-based options to the market. The uCOM-IMX93 is equipped with the relatively low-power Arm Cortex -A55 and M33 processors as part of its NXP i.MX 93 platform, from which it also provides two native CAN 2.0 FD interfaces and integrated NXP 2D Graphic Acceleration functionality.

The module offers dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, one of which supports time sensitive networking, multiple GPIO and HDMI options, as well as optional TPM 2.0, making it well-suited to deployment in portable edge solutions like industrial HMI and smart building control solutions. Moreover, the module's extensive UART interfaces and -40°C to 85°C temperature range provide a low maintenance, efficient, and more easily deployed module suited to users that require low maintenance, rugged operation on the edge, with AAEON noting its Universal Update Utility (UUU) Serial Download Mode and aforementioned environmental specs as conducive to fleet management solution integration.
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SK hynix Announces 4Q24 Financial Results

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btarunr
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SK hynix Inc. announced today that it recorded best-ever yearly performance with 66.1930 trillion won in revenues, 23.4673 trillion won in operating profit (with an operating margin of 35%), and 19.7969 trillion won in net profit (with a net margin of 30%). Yearly revenues marked all-time high, exceeding the previous record in 2022 by over 21 trillion won and operating profit exceeded the record in 2018 during the semiconductor super boom.

In particular, fourth quarter revenues went up by 12% to 19.7670 trillion won, operating profit up 15% to 8.0828 trillion won (with an operating margin of 41%) from the previous quarter and net profit recorded 8.0065 trillion won (with a net margin of 41%). SK hynix emphasized that with prolonged strong demand for AI memory, the company achieved all-time high result through world-leading HBM technology and profitability-oriented operation. HBM continued its high growth in fourth quarter marking over 40% of total DRAM revenue and eSSD also showed constant increase in sales. With remarkable product competitiveness based profitability-oriented operation, the company established a stable financial condition which led to improved outcome.
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BIOSTAR Announces MS-N9 Industrial PC

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btarunr
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BIOSTAR a leading manufacturer of IPC solutions, motherboards, graphics cards, and PC peripherals, proudly unveils the MS-N97 industrial computer, a cutting-edge solution designed to meet the diverse needs of industrial automation, edge computing, digital signage professionals, system integrators, and more.

Powered by Intel's Alder Lake-N N97 quad-core processor, the MS-N97 sets a new benchmark for adaptability and performance in industrial applications. With dual 2.5G GbE Intel LAN for ultra-fast networking, versatile expansion slots, and effortless integration with legacy equipment, it enables businesses to operate with unmatched efficiency while staying ahead of technological advancements.
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Wednesday, January 22nd 2025

Today's Reviews

Cases
Cooling
CPU Coolers
Headphones
Keyboards
Memory
Motherboards
Multimedia
Quick Look: Logitech Wave Keys Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard

Quick Look: Logitech Wave Keys Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard

Article Keyboards
The Logitech Wave Keys is a near-full size ergonomic keyboard that uses membrane switches and offers only wireless connectivity. It uses easily replaceable AAA batteries giving as long as three years of battery life, offers both Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz connectivity, and even comes with software customization for a reasonable price.
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Alphacool Apex 1 CPU Water Block Review - Performance King!

Alphacool Apex 1 CPU Water Block Review - Performance King!

Review Watercooling
Alphacool shook up the DIY watercooling market with its Core 1 series of CPU blocks, and aims to do so again with its flagship Apex 1 lineup. These feature an intricate design both inside and out, with the goal of delivering top-class performance and eliminating wasted heat in the process.
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Series Sets the Standard of AI Phone as a True AI companion

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S25, setting a new standard towards a true AI companion with our most natural and context-aware mobile experiences ever created. Introducing multimodal AI agents, the Galaxy S25 series is the first step in Samsung's vision to change the way users interact with their phone—and with their world. A first-of-its-kind customized Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy chipset delivers greater on-device processing power for Galaxy AI plus superior camera range and control with Galaxy's next-gen ProVisual Engine.

"The greatest innovations are a reflection of their users, which is why we evolved Galaxy AI to help everyone interact with their devices more naturally and effortlessly while trusting that their privacy is secured," said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. "Galaxy S25 series opens the door to an AI-integrated OS that fundamentally shifts how we use technology and how we live our lives."
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Samsung Electronics Reportedly Slashes Foundry Investments in Half

by
T0@st
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Reports from last November suggested that Samsung Electronics had semi-abandoned its second-generation 3 nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process, due to missed production goals. Disappointing production yields—as low as 20%—have been floated by industry insiders, they believed (at the time) that the South Korean's foundry teams had simply moved onto developing a next-gen 2 nm manufacturing process. A freshly published news article, courtesy of Business Korea, provides further evidence of a shift to 2 nanometer processes—Samsung's S3 plant in Hwaseong is reportedly in the process of being upgraded (from 3 nm GAA). Insiders believe that new equipment will be installed across the existing production line, requiring a small-scale investment of funds.

The Pyeongtaek 2 (P2) plant is supposedly being prepared for a 1.4 nm test line—targeting a manufacturing capacity of 2000 to 3000 wafers per month. Inside track information suggests that trials will begin within the year. Business Korea's report suggests that Samsung has halved its foundry facility investment budget for 2025—around 5 trillion won, instead of last year's 10 trillion won. The article puts a spotlight on alleged "sluggish customer orders"—the primary factor behind Samsung's decision to slash its chip-making budget by 50%. Competition is fierce at this point in time—TSMC leads the way with its cutting-edge technologies. Taiwan's premier foundry has attracted many high-profile clients away from rival manufacturers. In contrast, industry watchdogs believe that Samsung's struggles have caused "big tech" customers to seek alternate channels.

Acer Debuts Three New Chromebooks

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Acer today expanded its line of Chromebook offerings for education with three new laptops plus one tablet model, all with brand new features to enhance reliability, versatility, and total cost of ownership, alongside performance technology to positively impact the school environment and promote student success.

"Acer Chromebooks have become an integral part of the school day for K-12 students," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, Acer Inc. "Our new line of Acer Chromebooks for school settings continues to build on the promises of collaboration, tech-readiness and access to information students need, while ensuring teachers and administrators provide the tools needed for students to succeed.
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ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist Out Now on PC & Consoles

Press Release by
T0@st
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Thanks to everyone's support, we were able to release the full version of ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist. We have received a lot of feedback and opinions from players during the game's early access phase, and would like to thank everyone for sharing your views on the game. As an early access game, if you bought the game already—the conversion to full version will be done automatically at no charge.

ENDER MAGNOLIA is a dark fantasy 2D side-scrolling action RPG where you venture through the desolate Land of Fumes trying to save both humans and Homunculi. At the forefront of magical and mechanical development, the kingdom is comprised of hierarchical societal structures. Here, you'll come across abandoned cities, discover laboratories oozing with heinous mysteries, a grand Sorcerer's Academy, colossal factories, and much more. The hauntingly beautiful yet gruesome world of ENDER MAGNOLIA will unfold before you.
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Acer Unveils New TravelMate Laptops for the Education Market

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Acer today announced the new Acer TravelMate B5 14, TravelMate B3 11, and the convertible TravelMate Spin 12 at the 2025 BETT Show in London, all featuring advanced technology, rugged designs, and reliable features to support students in both in-class and hybrid learning environments.

The devices are equipped with up to Intel Core 3 processors, offering smooth performance and low power consumption. Fast internet connection is ensured with up to Wi-Fi 7 connectivity to give students the extra boost they need to excel during online collaborations and classes. Each model includes the Acer User Sensing software that sends usage alerts including screen distance and study break reminders, and modular designs for seamless device maintenance.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series Supply Woes Predicted to Last Up To Three Months

by
T0@st
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NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 Series of "Blackwell" GPUs are set to launch at the tail end of this month, but market conditions are not looking favorable for day one customers. Recent news articles have highlighted alleged regional supply issues, and industry insiders believe that it will be very difficult to obtain the two higher-end models (RTX 5090 and RTX 5080). Monday's report posited that delays could result in stock not turning up until a month after Team Green's official kick-off on January 30. VideoCardz has pointed to a root cause; Team Green's alleged late issuing of finalized BIOSes—board partners were reportedly not able to prepare stock until very late in 2024.

Unfortunately, further disappointing disclosures have trickled out mid-week—PowerGPU's social media account sent out a stern warning: "the launch of the RTX 5090 will be the worst when it comes to availability. Already being told to expect it to be that way for the first three months." Benchlife piled on with more bad news—their report suggests that problems will emerge further down in Team Green's "Blackwell" product stack: "we can confirm that there are not many supplies on the market. This is mainly due to some communication issues between NVIDIA and AIC partners, as well as the Spring Festival Factors are expected to improve in February. In addition, we expect to see the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti starting to appear on the channel in mid-to-late February. As for the $549 GeForce RTX 5070, we may have to wait until early March."
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Insomniac Games Announces Leadership Changes

Press Release by
T0@st
 Discuss (1 Comment)
Before we get into offering our perspectives about Ted Price's long-planned and extremely well-deserved retirement, we want to sincerely thank everyone who has checked in with Insomniac about the state of our employees and Burbank studio during the terrible Los Angeles-area fires. The fires have devastated the communities around us. We continue to focus on supporting each other and communicating daily with Sony Interactive Entertainment to provide the latest information and resources to everyone affected.

Sharing the news that Ted is retiring from Insomniac Games is still just as emotional to type as it has been to think about. The three of us—Chad, Jen and Ryan—have worked closely with Ted for many years. He's not just our leader, he's our longtime friend. And a great one at that. Ted will be missed for so many reasons. One of the great things about Ted is his ability to inspire everyone around him to grow. Ted has also set the ultimate example of how to not just say the right thing, but to do it too. Both with our games and how we behave as leaders and as a studio.
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Hua Hong Semiconductor Recruits Veteran Logic Chip Designer, Formerly of Intel

by
T0@st
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Hua Hong Semiconductor (HHS) is China's second-largest chip manufacturer; trailing just behind its main rival: Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC)—a recent recruitment drive has signalled the company's desire to advance further. Nikkei Asia believes that the recruitment of a former Intel executive—Bai Peng—will boost the development of logic chips, and in turn generate greater revenue. A late 2024 reshuffling of leadership positions produced a notable vacancy: company president—Bai Peng assumed this role, effective January 1. His career at Intel spanned three decades—by 2015 he became Team Blue's corporate vice president, although his tenure ended at some point in 2022 (according to a LinkedIn profile).

Industry watchdogs reckon that Hua Hong Semiconductor's freshly established chief will be tasked with advancing semiconductor production technologies. Peng's experience—being a former co-director of Logic Technology Development at the Intel Technology and Manufacturing Group—is cited as a crucial factor in diversifying the firm's product portfolio. HHS foundries produce a lot of 100+ nm-based designs—mostly in the fields of power semiconductors, analog chips, and embedded memory—but two locations are capable of churning out relatively complex silicon via a 40 nm process node. A new plant—based in Wuxi—is supposedly ready to push into sub-forty digits. The latest industry reports suggest that Peng and his colleagues will be focused on improving HSS's manufacturing processes—targeted advancements could open up new product lines: high-end enterprise and AI processors.

GameMax Intros the FN12A-N2 and FN12A-N2-Reverse ARGB Fans

Press Release by
Nomad76
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GameMax, an emerging brand of PC gaming components including gaming cases and power supply units, is thrilled to announce the FN12A-N2 Series fans featuring vibrant ARGB lighting and color options between black and white to color-match your gaming PC build. The FN12A-N2 fans supports motherboard RGB sync technologies offering full customization using the motherboard's proprietary RGB software and synchronize with the rest of the PC.

Aside from the standard version, the FN12A-N2-R (Reverse) features an inverted fan blade delivering a reversed airflow. The FN12A-N2-R is perfect for mounting at the bottom and side of cases while ensuring the aesthetic side of the fan remains visible.
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Element Six Introduces Copper-Diamond Composite Material to Enhance Cooling of Advanced Semiconductor Devices

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Element Six (E6), a pioneer in the development of synthetic diamond advanced material solutions, will launch an innovative Cu-diamond product at Photonics West 2025. Cu-Diamond is a copper plated diamond composite material that has a high thermal and electrical conductivity. Designed to address the increasingly critical thermal management challenges in advanced semiconductor devices, this cost-effective solution enables greater performance and reliability for applications such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and GaN RF devices.

As semiconductor devices have grown larger and more powerful, managing heat dissipation has become a significant challenge for the industry. More than 50 percent of all electronic device failures are heat-related, and data centers, which today consume 3.7 percent of total U.S. power demand, are predicted to reach 10 percent by 2029. As a result, thermal management innovation is critical to enabling next-generation performance and energy efficiency.
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NAND Flash Manufacturers to Resume Production Cuts in 2025 to Ease Supply-Demand Imbalance and Stabilize Prices

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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TrendForce's latest research report highlights that the NAND Flash industry will continue to face dual pressure from weak demand and oversupply in 2025. In response, manufacturers including Micron, Kioxia/SanDisk, Samsung, and SK hynix/Solidigm have similar plans to cut production—a move that could accelerate industry consolidation in the long term.

TrendForce reports that NAND Flash manufacturers are primarily implementing production cuts by lowering utilization rates and delaying process upgrades. These actions are driven by three major factors:
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MediaTek Adopts AI-Driven Cadence Virtuoso Studio and Spectre Simulation on NVIDIA Accelerated Computing Platform for 2nm Designs

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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Cadence today announced that MediaTek has adopted the AI-driven Cadence Virtuoso Studio and Spectre X Simulator on the NVIDIA accelerated computing platform for its 2 nm development. As design size and complexity continue to escalate, advanced-node technology development has become increasingly challenging for SoC providers. To meet the aggressive performance and turnaround time (TAT) requirements for its 2 nm high-speed analog IP, MediaTek is leveraging Cadence's proven custom/analog design solutions, enhanced by AI, to achieve a 30% productivity gain.

"As MediaTek continues to push technology boundaries for 2 nm development, we need a trusted design solution with strong AI-powered tools to achieve our goals," said Ching San Wu, corporate vice president at MediaTek. "Closely collaborating with Cadence, we have adopted the Cadence Virtuoso Studio and Spectre X Simulator, which deliver the performance and accuracy necessary to achieve our tight design turnaround time requirements. Cadence's comprehensive automation features enhance our throughput and efficiency, enabling our designers to be 30% more productive."
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Delta Force Security Team Highlights New Anti-cheat Measures

Press Release by
T0@st
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Dear Operator, to maintain a fair gaming environment and improve your experience, G.T.I. Security is committed to fighting every kind of cheat. We previously announced our efforts against DMA cheats. Now, we're introducing our measures against VT cheats.

How VT Cheats Differ from Traditional Cheats
Unlike DMA cheats, VT cheats operate at the hypervisor level and leverage virtualization technology, giving them higher privileges than the security systems. As a result, VT cheats can virtualize the operating system before the game even starts, thus leaving no traces in the computer's actual operating environment. With its built-in KernelBase anti-cheat toolkit, Delta Force is able to detect and neutralize VT cheats quickly and accurately.
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Yeston Takes its Radeon RX 9070 XT Sakura Atlantis Model Outdoors

by
T0@st
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This morning, an official Yeston social media account boasted about receiving a brand new Navi 48 GPU-equipped model: "🌸got my Sakura Atlantis RX 9070 XT today!! It's shiny!🧜‍♀️" This message was accompanied by four photos, showcasing the card in an outdoor setting. This particular custom design (with white PCB and I/O bracket) was first revealed around mid-January—also via a photo shoot, albeit indoors—with the full moniker: "Radeon RX 9070 XT-16G Sakura Atlantis." Many press outlets jumped onto the presence of "16G" in that name—indicating 16 GB of VRAM—a specification point that AMD was reportedly wanting hidden from public view. Unlike certain Team Red board partners, Yeston has not set up a dedicated product page for the new Sakura Atlantis.

A March launch window has been set—made official by AMD's David McAfee—for the Radeon RX 9070 XT and Radeon RX 9070 (non-XT). VideoCardz has observed a slow-down in promotional activities from AIBs over the past couple of days—bizarrely, GIGABYTE has chosen to scrub all Radeon RX 9000 series products from its website. Hardware Busters believes that AMD will be taking notes during the GeForce RTX 5070 GPU's launch week—they allege that the gathering of performance data (from NVIDIA hardware) is crucial in revising strategies for the March launch of RDNA 4 cards. In the meantime, Yeston will likely continue to post pretty pictures of its cute Sakura Atlantis design—also lined up for attachment on their upcoming "Blackwell" GPU-equipped lineup.

INNOCN Releases Its 49-Inch 5K OLED Curved Gaming Monitor

Press Release by
Nomad76
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INNOCN, a leading innovator in monitor technology, is raising the bar in the OLED curved monitor market with its all-new 49-Inch 5K OLED Curved Gaming Monitor (49Q1R). This cutting-edge display is set to revolutionize the way gamers and professionals experience ultra-wide viewing, offering an unbeatable combination of performance, clarity, and immersive technology.

The INNOCN 49-Inch 5K OLED Curved Monitor (49Q1R) stands out with its 5120x1440p resolution, a significant step up from the standard QHD UW1440p that most competitors offer. The monitor's ultra-wide 5120x1440p resolution provides extensive screen space and high pixel density, delivering a sharper and more detailed image. Whether gaming, streaming, or working on complex creative projects, this resolution ensures that every image is crisp and vibrant, giving users a superior viewing experience that puts it ahead of the competition.
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Xbox Lists Streaming Platforms Ahead of Tomorrow's Developer_Direct 2025 Event

Press Release by
T0@st
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Developer_Direct returns this Thursday, January 23 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK, and will bring you a deep-dive into some of the incredible games on the way for Xbox players this year. The show will include new, extended gameplay and developer insights for DOOM: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and a mystery fourth game, from inside the studios working on them. We're sure you want to know more, so here are all the details on how to tune in and what to expect.

The show will also be streamed simultaneously on regional Xbox and Bethesda channels around the globe, as well as on Steam. It will also air on China's Bilibili platform. The YouTube stream will be broadcast in 4K/60, and as with any live broadcast, there may be dips in streaming quality based on your bandwidth.
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AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D & 9900X3D Gaming Performance Akin to Ryzen 7 9800X3D

by
T0@st
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AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D "Zen 5" processors are scheduled for launch around March time, with many a hardcore PC enthusiast salivating at the prospect of an increase in core counts over already released hardware—the ever popular Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU makes do with eight cores (and sixteen threads). Under normal circumstances, higher core counts do not provide a massive advantage in gaming applications—over the years, Team Red's 8-core 3D V-Cache-equipped models have reigned supreme in this so-called "sweet spot." Many have wondered whether new-gen 12 and 16-core SKU siblings had any chance of stealing some gaming performance thunder—a recently published VideoGamer article provides a definitive answer for the "Granite Ridge" generation.

The publication managed to extract key quotes from Martijn Boonstra—a Team Red product and business development manager—providing a slightly tepid outlook for the incoming Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D models. The company executive stated: "(our) new chips will provide similar overall gaming performance to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. There will be some games that perform a bit better—if the game engine utilizes more cores and threads—and some games will perform a little worse (if the game engine favors a single CCD configuration), but on the whole, the experience is comparable." Boonstra did not reveal any details regarding forthcoming prices—the Ryzen 7 9800X3D has an MSRP of $479 (if you are lucky enough to find one)—but he hinted that finalized digits will be announced "closer to launch." He signed off with standard marketing spiel: "Ryzen 9000X3D Series desktop processors are perfect for gamers and content creators alike...whether you are already on the AM5 platform, on AM4 or another platform, these products are sure to impress."

TeamSpeak Plans Big Comeback with Version 6 Design Overhaul

by
AleksandarK
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TeamSpeak, the veteran voice communication platform, has launched TeamSpeak 6 (TS6), marking its most significant update in years. The release introduces screen-sharing capabilities, a modernized interface, and simplified server hosting options as the company adapts to evolving user expectations. The new version offers screen sharing at 1440p/60 FPS without subscription fees, contrasting with Discord's premium-only approach to high-quality screen sharing. TeamSpeak's interface update maintains its core functionality while adopting a more contemporary design. Server hosting options now include direct purchasing through myTeamSpeak accounts, with rental prices starting at $3.99 monthly for five slots. Users can still self-host servers on their hardware, a feature unavailable on Discord's platform.

Improvements include channel user previews, expanded language support, and various bug fixes targeting stability issues. The update addresses performance optimization and user interface consistency across the platform. Despite these updates, TeamSpeak faces significant market challenges. While it maintains advantages in audio latency and quality—factors valued in competitive gaming—adoption hurdles remain. Early user feedback indicates concerns about certain features, including image sharing and cross-channel communication tools. The platform's self-hosting capabilities continue to appeal to privacy-conscious users seeking alternatives to centralized services. However, competing with Discord's established social features and free core services presents ongoing challenges for TeamSpeak's market position. Nonetheless, competition is appreciated, and constant improvements of TeamSpeak software are much valued.

SEGA Launches New Online Profile System: SEGA Account

Press Release by
T0@st
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SEGA has launched SEGA Account, an online profile that gives you access to a host of benefits when playing SEGA and ATLUS titles and using their online services. By creating a SEGA Account, you'll receive the latest news about SEGA/ATLUS games, events, and promotions. Additionally, your SEGA Account grants you access to exclusive bonuses and the ability to link accounts on various gaming platforms!

SEGA Account is Here!
Players who create an account and fulfill the specified requirements by March 7, 2025, will receive an in-game bonus for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, which launches on February 21. Create a SEGA Account today so you can take advantage of the various new services and features coming soon!
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MSI Claw 8 AI+ Launch Delayed in USA

by
T0@st
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MSI's Claw 8 AI+ and Claw 7 AI+ handheld gaming PCs were unveiled late last year—these new models have been rolled out quite quickly; launching within a year of first-generation Claws. The successors feature many improvements—across hardware (Intel Lunar Lake), software and physical properties—when compared to the Meteor Lake-powered originals. MSI appeared ready to not repeat past mistakes—the Claw 8 AI+ and Claw 7 AI+ were showcased at CES 2025 earlier this month, with press material pointing to a North American market launch on January 15. VideoCardz was in the process of preparing a special launch article for the 8-inch model, but many customers have reportedly not received their orders.

Hands-on impressions started to appear on the internet earlier this year, possibly only emerging via Chinese press outlets—today's article claims that international publications have not yet received review samples. According to VideoCardz, MSI had lined up the Claw 8 AI+ and Claw 7 AI+ for an Asian market launch on December 26. Several retailers in the USA have revised shipping dates for the Claw 8 AI+—the likes of Amazon, Newegg and B&H are expecting first shipments next month, somewhere around the 4th to the 12th. MSI's official online store has removed release date information from product pages, and Best Buy has followed suit. Activity on the MSI Claw subreddit provides evidence of lucky customers getting their mitts on first wave units—early impressions (post-unboxing) are promising, but one customer was left puzzled by the absence of extra items. Many handheld enthusiasts have expressed anger about finding it difficult to obtain the basic hardware, but BigShotBosh took issue with MSI's aftermarket extras: "...looks like the travel case, screen protector and dock for the Claw 8 won't be available until March of this year. Talk about a botched rollout."

60Hz E-ink Display: Dasung Paperlike 103 Unveiled With 10.3-inch Display

by
GGforever
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E-ink displays have an undeniable advantage over traditional monitors when it comes to a select few tasks. E-ink displays do not emit their own light, making them far easier on the eyes, especially for longer workloads. However, E-ink displays have always suffered from extremely slow refresh rates, which makes them borderline unusable for anything apart from reading. However, technology always catches up with expectations, and it appears that we will soon have 60 Hz E-Ink displays on the market. Prominent brand Dasung has already unveiled its offering with a 60 Hz panel, dubbed the Paperlike 103.

The 10.3-inch E-ink display sports a 4:3 aspect ratio with a resolution of 1,874 vs 1,404, and features a 60 Hz refresh rate. The panel can only display grayscale images, and boasts an integrated front light to allow usage in low-light conditions without any hassle. This is necessary for usability when an external light source is not available, because as previously mentioned, E-ink displays do not emit their own light. Of course, since E-ink displays have typically only offered less than half the refresh rate of the Paperlike 103, the display is expected to be far more power hungry. Like other E-ink displays, the paperlike 103 is impressively thin, at just 5 mm. The monitor is already available in China for a price of around $280, although an international launch is not in sight for now.

Beelink SER9 Pro Mini PC Gets New AMD Ryzen AI 9 365-powered Variant

by
GGforever
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The Beelink SER9 Pro made headlines a few months ago as one of the first mini PCs with AMD's Strix Point APUs. Powered by the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 APU with the powerful Radeon 890M iGPU, the SER9 Pro promised impressive performance and efficiency in a commendably compact form factor. Now, the brand has unveiled a new variant of the SER9 Pro, powered by the slightly less-powerful Ryzen AI 9 365 APU. This variant will likely be more affordable than its higher-tier sibling, which currently starts from $999 in the US.

The differences between the Ryzen AI HX 370 and the Ryzen AI 365 are actually more substantial than one might think. Both the APUs sport four Zen 5 cores, while the AI 365 gets only six Zen 5c cores compared to the HX 370's eight. The AI 365 also gets a 100 MHz lower boost clock, and a notably slower Radeon 880M iGPU with fewer shaders. Beelink had equipped the HX 370 variant with a 65 watt TDP, but has not disclosed the TDP value for the AI 365 variant yet. That said, going by synthetic benchmark scores, the Ryzen AI 9 365 variant will likely be roughly 20% and 10% slower in CPU and GPU performance respectively than the Ryzen AI HX 370 variant.
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Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel Early Access Version Out Now

Press Release by
T0@st
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Hey Jotunnslayers! The gates of Hel are open—Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is finally here! Step into the chaos of Norse mythology in this epic roguelike horde-survivor, available now in Early Access (on Steam). Claim your spot in Hel now at a time-limited discounted price!

What's Next for Jotunnslayer?
This hot topic is covered in detail! Matej, our publishing director, takes you through the regular updates planned on the road to the 1.0 launch. Remember, Early Access is just the beginning—one key milestone on our journey to delivering the full Jotunnslayer experience!

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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 3DMark Performance Reveals Impressive Improvements

by
GGforever
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The RTX 50-series gaming GPUs have the gaming community divided. While some appreciate the DLSS 4 and MFG technologies driving impressive improvements in FPS through AI wizardry, others are left disappointed by the seemingly poor improvements in raw performance. For instance, when DLSS and MFG are taken out of the equation, the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 are around 33%, 15%, and 20% faster than their predecessors respectively in gaming performance. That said, VideoCardz has tapped into its sources, and revealed the 3DMark scores for the RTX 5090 GPU, and the results certainly do appear to exceed expectations.

In the non-ray traced Steel Nomad test at 4K, the RTX 5090 managed to score around 14,133 points, putting it roughly 53% ahead of its predecessor. In the Port Royal test, which does utilize ray tracing, the RTX 5090 raked in 36,667 points - a 40% improvement over the RTX 4090. The results are much the same in the older Time Spy and Fire Strike tests as well, indicating at roughly a 31% and 38% jump in performance respectively. Moreover, according to the benchmarks, the RTX 5090 appears to be roughly twice as powerful as the RTX 4080 Super. Of course, synthetic benchmarks do not entirely dictate gaming performance, and VideoCardz clearly mentions that gaming performance (without MFG) will witness a substantially more modest improvement. There is no denying that Blackwell's vastly superior memory bandwidth is helping a lot with the synthetic tests, with the 33% extra shaders doing the rest of the work.

Montage Technology Samples PCIe 6.x / CXL 3.x Retimer Chips

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Montage Technology today announced the customer sampling of its PCIe 6.x/CXL 3.x Retimer -- M88RT61632, which is designed to enhance connectivity performance for demanding high-bandwidth applications such as AI and cloud computing. This milestone extends the company's PCIe product portfolio, building upon its successful PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 5.0/CXL 2.0 Retimer solutions.

The PCIe 6.x/CXL 3.x Retimer delivers excellent performance with data rates up to 64 GT/s, twice that of PCIe 5.0. Powered by Montage Technology's proprietary PAM4 SerDes IP, the chip achieves superior signal integrity with link budget up to 43dB while maintaining low latency. Its innovative DSP architecture effectively addresses PCIe 6.x system design challenges including crosstalk and signal reflection. In addition, the chip features advanced link training and enhanced telemetry, enabling comprehensive link monitoring and fault diagnostics for high-reliability AI cluster deployments.
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ASUS Announces Next-Generation Chromebook CR Series

Press Release by
GFreeman
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ASUS today announced the next-generation ASUS Chromebook CR series of laptops, tailored to meet the needs of K-12 students. The ASUS Chromebook CR series stands out as the ideal companion for students, whether engaged in in-person classroom learning or remote education. The rugged and modular design, featuring replaceable internal parts, guarantees both durability and longevity. With 11.6-inch or 12.2-inch Corning Gorilla Glass touchscreens and a 180° lay-flat or 360°-flippable hinge, the laptops offer flexibility for enriched educational experiences. This design fosters the adventurous mindset of modern students, ensuring an enjoyable and secure learning journey, whether they're engaging in online courses or in-class sessions - ready for every learning journey.

A trusted study partner
For K-12 students, an everyday-use laptop should be invincible. With lively and active users, scratches and knocks are an almost-inevitable part of their daily routine, so the ASUS Chromebook CR series features an all-round rubber bumper for extra peace of mind. The laptops also feature a rugged design that's tested to meet or exceed the MIL-STD-810H US military-grade standard, and use tough Corning Gorilla Glass to protect the touchscreen from scratches. Additionally, the spill-resistant keyboard can cope with minor water spills without harm, so minor splashes on the desk or at the dinner table can be easily drained, cleaned, and dried. Finally, the special fingerprint-resistant finish keeps the laptop cleaner for longer.
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ASUS Unveils Next-Generation Education Laptops at BETT 2025

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Nomad76
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ASUS today announced the global launch of its latest education-focused laptops, the BR and CR series, at BETT 2025. Designed to address the evolving needs of modern classrooms, these devices combine upgraded performance, rugged durability and innovative features to empower K-12 students and educators in both in-classroom and hybrid learning environments.

ASUS BR series (BR1204CTA, BR1204FTA, BR1104CTA and BR1104FTA) and CR series (CR1104CTA, CR1104FTA, CR1204CTA, and CR1204FTA) are designed specifically for the needs of K-12 students, educators and IT administrators. Built with reliability and versatility in mind, these laptops enhance classroom learning by supporting diverse teaching methods, streamlining IT management, and empowering students with tools for creativity and collaboration. With new Intel processors, AI-powered features like Microsoft Copilot and thoughtful, student-centered designs, they are set to upgrade digital learning for the next generation.
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SilverStone Launches the Lucid 04: A New Micro-ATX Aquarium-Inspired Chassis

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Nomad76
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SilverStone Technology, a trusted manufacturer of innovative PC enclosures, is excited to announce the launch of the Lucid 04, the latest addition to its high-end Lucid series chassis lineup. Inspired by the aquarium-seque trend, the Lucid 04 features tempered glass panels that elegantly showcase internal components, and is meticulously engineered to deliver exceptional cooling performance without compromise.

The Lucid 04 is a Micro-ATX chassis featuring tempered glass front and side panels, offering a 270° panoramic view of internal components. With a volume of 38.25 liters, it supports Micro-ATX motherboards and most triple-fan graphics cards up to 350 mm in length. For effective cooling of the CPU and GPU, the Lucid 04 is equipped with multiple internal fan mounts, ensuring optimal airflow and efficient heat dissipation for critical components.
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SilverStone Intros the FLP01 Retro-Inspired HTPC Chassis

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Nomad76
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SilverStone's iconic GD09 HTPC chassis has been a beloved industry favorite since its debut in 2012. Even with technological advancements that have led to larger components and increased heat output to support more demanding tasks, the GD09 remains celebrated as the top choice for HTPC setups.

At Computex 2023, SilverStone delighted attendees by showcasing the GD09 in a retro-inspired design. Taking cues from the NEC PC-9800—a Japanese PC introduced in 1982—the chassis was reimagined with a beige cream aesthetic, evoking nostalgia while seamlessly blending into any living room environment.
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NVIDIA Claims 16-Pin Power Connector Issues are Over, No More Melting

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AleksandarK
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During a recent press event in South Korea, NVIDIA addressed concerns about power connector safety for their upcoming RTX 5090 graphics card. The new GPU will consume 575 watts of power, marking a massive 225-watt increase from its predecessor, the RTX 4090. The previous generation RTX 4090 faced significant issues with melting 12VHPWR power connectors, especially with third-party adapters, where incomplete connections led to overheating and connector damage. When questioned about potential risks with the RTX 5090's higher power draw, NVIDIA representatives stated they've implemented an updated 12V-2×6 power connector across the RTX 50 series. Unlike the 12VHPWR 16-pin connector, the new 12V-2x6 has sense pins having recessed further back to ensure proper contact before the GPU can request higher power outputs.

"It is expected that such issues will not occur with the RTX 50 series," a company representative explained during the Q&A session. "After about two years, we believe these problems have been resolved." While the company maintains that user error was the leading cause of failures, the extended timeframe required for developing and shipping revised connectors raised questions about the initial design's reliability. Despite NVIDIA's assurances, the RTX 5090's exceptional power requirements could potentially amplify any unexpected technical issues. The company's previous experience showed that problems became more pronounced in cards with higher power demands, as demonstrated by the RTX 4090 having more incidents than the lower-powered RTX 4080 series. So, more power means more trouble, but the company has worked on it to ensure no future problems arise.

Axiomtek Debuts NA346B, Compact Fanless Network Appliance for SMBs

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Nomad76
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Axiomtek - a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted to the research, development, and manufacture of a series of innovative and reliable industrial computer products of high efficiency - is proud to announce the NA346B, a fanless and power-efficient network appliance designed for small office VPN setups and a versatile customer premises equipment (uCPE) solution. With software-defined flexibility, customers can configure the device as a firewall or router, tailoring it to their unique networking needs. Overall, the NA346B delivers reliability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness in a compact form factor, making it an excellent choice for secure connectivity solutions in space-constrained environments.

Key Features and Advantages of the NA346B: Power-Efficient, Space-Saving Secure Connectivity Solutions for Small Business Networks
  • Compact Palm-Sized Form Factor - The NA346B combines a sleek, space-saving design with flexible functionality, ideal for small offices and areas with limited space. Its compact, aesthetic appearance enhances the ease of installation in various settings.
  • Low-Power Consumption Design for a Sustainable Future - Powered by the Intel Celeron processor N3350, the NA346B combines performance with exceptional energy efficiency. Featuring a dual-core architecture and a TDP of under 6 W, this power-efficient processor is ideal for sustainable operations, reducing energy costs while supporting robust performance.
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SMART Modular Add-In Cards Now Listed on CXL Consortium Integrators' List

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btarunr
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SMART Modular Technologies, Inc. ("SMART"), a Penguin Solutions, Inc. brand (Nasdaq: PENG) and a global leader in integrated memory solutions, solid-state drives, and hybrid storage products, today announced that its 4-DIMM and 8-DIMM CXL (Compute Express Link ) memory Add-in Cards (AICs) have successfully passed CXL 2.0 compliance testing. These products are now officially listed on the CXL Consortium's Integrators' List, marking a significant milestone in the company's commitment to delivering high-quality, interoperable memory solutions.

The inclusion of SMART Modular Technologies' products on the CXL Integrator's List underscores the company's dedication to adhering to industry standards and ensuring compatibility across a wide range of computing environments. The CXL Compliance Program, developed by the CXL Consortium, provides members with opportunities to test the functionality and interoperability of their products as defined in the CXL specification. This achievement not only highlights SMART Modular Technologies' technical expertise, but also reinforces its role as a leader in advancing integrated memory technology.
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NVIDIA DLSS Coming To Eternal Strands, Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. and More Games

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GFreeman
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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. On January 30th, we're upgrading DLSS once again with the release of DLSS 4, featuring DLSS Multi Frame Generation for GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards and laptops, and upgrades to all other DLSS technologies. 75 DLSS games and apps featuring Frame Generation can be upgraded to DLSS Multi Frame Generation on GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs via the NVIDIA app. And several games and apps will be updated with native in-game support for DLSS Multi Frame Generation.

In the meantime, there are new games arriving that you can accelerate and enhance with our suite of AI-powered DLSS technologies, including Eternal Strands, Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel, Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, and Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. - full details below.
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MSI Introduces Innovative Upcycling Packaging Solution for Business Monitors: Combining Sustainability with Everyday Enjoyment

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btarunr
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MSI's Business and Productivity Series lineup has long focused on aesthetic design. This time, driven by the rising awareness of sustainability and environmental protection, we are delighted to announce a collaboration with #DAMUR, the Germany-based designer Shih-Shun Huang. Combining the designer's ingenious creativity and aesthetic sense into the upcycling packaging design of MSI Business and Productivity Series monitors demonstrates how PC hardware can be infused with renewed vitality and a sense of modern style.
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Seagate Technology Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results

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GFreeman
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Seagate Technology Holdings plc (the "Company" or "Seagate"), a leading innovator of mass-capacity data storage, today reported financial results for its fiscal second quarter ended December 27, 2024. "Seagate ended calendar 2024 on a strong note as we grew revenue, gross margin and non-GAAP EPS successively in each quarter of the year.

Our results demonstrate structural improvements in the business and our focus on value capture in an improving demand environment, highlighted by decade-high gross margin performance exiting the December quarter," said Dave Mosley, Seagate's chief executive officer. "We are advancing our technology roadmap to meet our customers' growing need for scalable, cost efficient and sustainable storage solutions in the age of AI. We began ramping HAMR-based Mozaic products to our lead cloud customer in the December quarter and are already sampling in capacities of up to 36 terabytes. Looking ahead, we believe Seagate is in a great position to deliver profitable growth in fiscal 2025," Mosley concluded.
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ASUS Republic of Gamers Announces Availability of ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM Monitor

Press Release by
GFreeman
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SUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the immediate pre-order availability of the ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM, the world's first 27-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor, at an MSRP of USD$1,099. The new display features the latest fourth-generation ROG QD-OLED technology, providing a pixel density of 166ppi to deliver sharper images and clearer text for exceptional visuals and infinite contrast, as well as the latest ROG OLED Anti-Flicker 2.0 technology to further minimize onscreen flicker during intense gaming.

For user convenience, the new monitor benefits from the ROG DisplayWidget Center, offering quick access to monitor settings and OLED Care Pro features. It also features the new ROG OLED Care Pro technology that includes the Neo Proximity Sensor to accurately measure a user's distance to the monitor using wavelength detection.
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US Prepares for Stargate Project: 500 Billion Dollars of AI Infrastructure Buildout

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AleksandarK
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On Tuesday, the newly inaugurated United States president, Donald Trump, announced a massive AI infrastructure expansion in the US called Stargate Project. Stargate is an idea that brings private investments across the US land, with up to 500 billion US dollars committed to the project over the next four years. This is single-handedly one of the most significant infrastructure projects ever planned, and this time it is all about AI and data centers. The initial phase involves deploying 100 billion US Dollars immediately, while the remaining 400 billion will be deployed periodically over the next four years. OpenAI and SoftBank are leading this project, with Softbank's CEO Masayoshi Son being the project's chairman. Major equity partners include SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX. Major technology partners who will supply the know-how, planning, software, and hardware are Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle, and OpenAI.

Leading the entire operation will be up to OpenAI, who is gaining operational lead in the project, while Softbank oversees financial planning. Interestingly, the buildout has already begun. OpenAI is currently exploring a few sites in Abilene, Texas, which includes ten 500,000 sq. ft. data centers with 20 planned for the future. Interestingly, the infrastructure expansion will most likely be present in every US state that can provide ample land and power capacity. OpenAI is looking for partners to help with the massive data centers' power, land, and construction. The most significant impact of this project will be on the power grid, which will require additional buildout and implementation of small nuclear reactors running locally nearby to satisfy the power draw from hundreds of thousands and even millions of GPUs. OpenAI is praising NVIDIA for its almost decade-long partnership, meaning that most GPUs will likely be NVIDIA-sourced.
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Team Group Launches 2TB T-Create Expert SDXC UHS-II U3 V90 Memory Card

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btarunr
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Team Group Inc., a global leader in memory solutions, has unveiled the 2 TB T-CREATE EXPERT SDXC UHS-II U3 V90 Memory Card, establishing a new benchmark as the industry's first to offer this capacity level. Designed for professional photographers and videographers, this memory card features robust protection for reliable performance even in extreme environments. It also includes a data recovery service, offering comprehensive data protection to enhance creators' efficiency and creative experience.

The T-CREATE EXPERT SDXC UHS-II U3 V90 Memory Card delivers outstanding read and write speeds of up to 300 MB/s and 260 MB/s, respectively. Certified with the V90 video speed class, it supports seamless 8K, 4K Ultra-HD, 3D, and RAW file recording without frame drops. As the first V90 SDXC card in the market to offer a massive 2 TB capacity, it is ideal for professional equipment, including cinema-grade digital cameras, full-frame cameras, mirrorless cameras, and DSLRs. For example, when used with the Canon EOS C400 cinema-grade digital camera, the 2 TB card can record at the highest 6K, 59.94P format for up to two hours and eight minutes, demonstrating its superior stability and capacity to be a video creator's go-to memory card.
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Tuesday, January 21st 2025

Today's Reviews

Cases
CPU Coolers
Headphones
Memory
Mouse
PSUs
SSD
Pwnage StormBreaker Max CF Review

Pwnage StormBreaker Max CF Review

Review Mice
Aside from being larger yet significantly lighter at 47 g, the right-handed ergonomic StormBreaker Max CF ("Carbon Fiber") also brings additional improvements over the original StormBreaker: optical main button switches from Omron, PixArt's PAW3950 sensor, true 8000 Hz polling in wired and wireless operation, and up to 90 hours of battery life.
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PowerColor Alphyn AH10 Review

PowerColor Alphyn AH10 Review

Review Headphones
PowerColor ventures into the gaming headset market with the Alphyn AH10, a $100 wireless entry with a 30-hour battery life, DTS Headphone:X virtual surround sound, and wide multi-platform support.
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Starforge Systems Unveils Next-Gen PC Lineup and New Collaborations

Press Release by
btarunr
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Starforge Systems, the leading pre-built PC company preferred by streamers worldwide, has unveiled a myriad of high-end upgrades to their premium line of gaming PCs, as well as several new artfully designed custom PC components for PC builders. In addition, Starforge Systems revealed the latest addition to their ever-expanding range of licensed PCs, with the all new Starforge Systems x Kaiju No. 8, inspired by the globally beloved anime series.

"At Starforge Systems, our mission is to build the best PCs in the universe, and we pride ourselves on providing our customers the most cutting-edge components at a competitive pricepoint across all of our PCs," said Nicholas Dankner, CEO of Starforge Systems. "We're constantly looking for ways to add value into our PCs, and we're excited to reveal several new additions to our line that set Starforge Systems PCs apart, like our new embossed printing technique for added texture and durability. We're also thrilled to continue expanding our licensed collection of PCs this year with Kaiju No. 8 leading the way and more gaming IPs to come!"
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Xbox Introduces Pulse Cipher Special Edition Controller

Press Release by
T0@st
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Introducing the newest iteration of the Cipher series, Xbox Wireless Controller—Pulse Cipher Special Edition! Like its predecessors, Sky Cipher and Ghost Cipher, Pulse Cipher provides players with a nostalgic transparent look infused with a futuristic twist. Despite being third in the series, this controller is special in its own right. Players can catch a glimpse of the silver midframe through the red transparent top case to reveal the mysteries found within. This vibrant design and colorway make a bold statement where modern gaming meets enduring nostalgia.

Energize your play with the Pulse Cipher controller and all its features, including red, diamond-shaped rubberized grips, dark red accents across the bumpers, buttons, and two-toned thumbsticks, a metallic hybrid D-pad, and matching metallic triggers. You can easily swap button input profiles through the Xbox Accessory Hub, where you can also preview any of the screenshots or videos you take using the dedicated Share button found in the middle of the controller.
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Unannounced Horizon MMO Reportedly Cancelled by NCSOFT

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T0@st
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An industry mole—familiar with internal NCSOFT activities—believes that three game development projects have been cancelled: Pantera, H, and J. Past speculation has pointed to "Project H" being an announced Horizon MMO title—based on evidence that emerged shortly after the announced formation of a "strategic global business partnership" between Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and NCSOFT (back in 2023). Reportedly, Jim Ryan—the now former CEO and chairman of SIE—spearheaded PlayStation's concerted push into multi-faceted "live service" development cycles. Industry oracle, Jason Schreier, questioned the prioritization of "games as a service"—his late 2023 predictions seem very prescient, when looking at the present day landscape.

Last week, reports suggested two unannounced Sony-owned live-service games being placed on the proverbial chopping board. Bluepoint's much rumored "God of War" project was quietly canned according to Schreier's Bloomberg column, as well as a mysterious Bend Studios-produced title. NCSOFT's Project H—also known as "Skyline"—appears to be the victim of an internal "feasibility review." Target platforms were reported to be PC and mobile—therefore placing Project H/Skyline in a separate tranche; distinct from another online-oriented Horizon game. Franchise originator—Guerrilla Games—is reportedly still toiling away (with Bungie's guidance) on an upcoming multiplayer-focused release for PlayStation 5 home consoles.

SilverStone Intros ECM40 4-Bay M.2 NVMe SSD Adapter Card With Active Cooling

by
Nomad76
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SilverStone unveiled a new addition to its expansion card with the ECM40 PCIe 4.0 x16 to 4x M.2 NVMe SSD adapter card. This device supports 4x M.2 SSDs (M Key) in 2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280 form factors. The expansion card comes in a single slot format measuring 147.74 x 181 x 21.59 mm and is equipped with a 40 mm dual ball-bearing fan spinning at 7000 RPM to ensure better cooling of the SSDs. The fan can be turned on and off using the included power switch. A two-mode LED indicator provides additional operating status based on signals from the motherboard and SSD. The top cover is made from aluminium and acts as a radiator to dissipate heat. Moreover, thermal pads are included.

In terms of performance, the SilverStone product page informs us that the ECM40 is capable of achieving speeds up to 7,351 MB/s for continuous reads and up to 6,845 MB/s for write speed. These results were achieved using Kingston Fury 2T SSDs on a system built around an ASRock X570 Pro4 motherboard, with an AMD R9 5900X CPU and Micron Crucial DDR4 2133/8G (4Gx2) memory modules. The motherboard or add-on card must support PCIe bifurcation, allowing the PCIe x16/x8 slot to be split into 4x4 or 4x2 configurations. Currently, there is no information about pricing.

Sparkle Debuts White Design Arc B580 TITAN Luna OC Card

by
T0@st
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Sparkle's Arc B580 TITAN Luna OC graphics card model—featuring an all-white design—was discovered via leaked renders around mid-December. By that point in time, the Taiwanese company had already sent Intel Arc B580 "Battlemage" GPU-based products to market—most notably in the form of its Arc B580 TITAN OC SKU, bearing a signature blue design. W1zzard—TechPowerUp's resident evaluator of GPUs—honored this particular model with two awards: "Highly Recommended" and "Great Value." We expect the newly announced "Luna" (almost all-white) counterpart to perform nigh identically—Sparkle has simply rolled out a different color option for customers who favor pale-tinted PC builds.

The inclusion of a differently shaded I/O ruins the overall effect, but snow-white enthusiasts will be happy to discover that Sparkle has produced a white PCB design for its TITAN Luna lineup. Similarly, certain Chinese brands have consistently delivered many white-hued boards. Western PC gaming hardware enthusiasts have often admired the (more recognized) PowerColor Hellhound "Spectral White" aesthetic. A limited edition GPU holder will be bundled in the Arc B580 TITAN Luna OC's retail package—unfortunately, Sparkle has seemingly settled on including this all-blue accessory.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Post-Launch Roadmap Revealed

Press Release by
T0@st
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Polish your armor and sharpen your sword: Warhorse Studios and PLAION have released details of the post-launch roadmap for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. The game's upcoming February 4 launch signifies the start of an epic journey through medieval Bohemia, with a range of additional free and paid content set to arrive throughout 2025. From Horse Racing and Hardcore Mode to mastering blacksmithing and exploring compelling new quests, there is plenty for players to look forward to as they continue their adventure with Henry.

Alongside these expansions will be a number of free quality of life updates to further enhance the game experience. Unlock the full experience with the Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Gold Edition, which includes the base game, the Gallant Huntsman Kit and the Expansion Pass, which includes Shields of Season Passing and all three paid story expansions. The Gold Edition is truly the ultimate way to enjoy everything the game has to offer.
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New iPads On The Horizon: Updated iPad Air, iPad Pro, And Entry-Level iPad

by
GGforever
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There are a substantial number of people who prefer to use an iPad for certain light-weight tasks over traditional laptops. For such folks, Apple's iPad lineup has always promised great performance and efficiency at reasonable prices, considering that they are willing to deal with the limitations of iPadOS. A plethora of recent reports have shed light on the expected release schedule for this year's iPads, including the entry-level budget iPad, the iPad Air, and the highest-end iPad Pro.

Of course, the iPad Pro is easily the most exciting among the bunch, although that does not seem to be the case this year. Multiple reports have pointed at a spec-bump for the iPad Pros, which will likely boast the Apple M5 SoC when it sees the light of day. Considering that the iPad got a major design overhaul just last year, no other major upgrades are anticipated for 2025. The entry-level iPad and iPad Air will witness a similar treatment, both getting an SoC upgrade to the A17 Pro and M3 respectively. This is particularly big deal for the entry-level iPad, which will now get to reap the benefits of 8 GB of memory, double that of the current generation, making the already budget-friendly iPad an even better value.
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Kingpin Skipping GeForce RTX 50 Generation, Cites "Impossible" Logistics

by
T0@st
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Vince "Kingpin" Lucido's latest "Let's Talk" video blog has revealed difficult circumstances—affecting the development of a new-generation "KP Card." The extreme overclocker has announced a planned move back to North America (prioritizing his family) around mid-2025—he has lived in Taiwan for fifteen years—along with a sad project cancellation. Kingpin stated that: "there's no 'my card' this generation. It can't come for Gen 5. It's impossible. There are just too many issues over here, and it would create a lot of problems if I jumped on board so quickly." Mid-last year, Kingpin partnered with PNY—this collaboration reached a "wishlist" phase following tests performed in 3D Mark, according to today's VLOG.

Timing is cited as a major factor in his decision-making—he did not want to sign a Taiwanese vendor's contract and commit significant man-hours during a trying life period. He reckons that he has options further down the line—potentially with US-based companies. His next Kingpin card design (skipping a generation) could be something "unbelievable" and he hinted about it being a surprise. On this subject he stated: "I can't really say much about that. Well, because it has to do with my previous contractual stuff. I love graphics cards. I love making graphics cards, and for sure, I don't think that's going to die. But I think we'll have to wait-still have to wait for another generation. And who knows? Maybe it won't be Team Green; maybe it'll be another color."
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Phanteks Launches Evolv X2 PC Case Series

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Nomad76
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Phanteks is thrilled to officially release the Evolv X2 after unveiling it at Computex 2024. This innovative chassis redefines how a PC sits on a desk, blending cutting-edge functionality with premium aesthetics. Designed for PC enthusiasts and gamers, the Evolv X2 combines sleek design, superior cooling, and seamless hardware integration.

Revolutionary Design with a See-Through Appeal
The Evolv X2 features a tri-panel glass chassis for a clear view of your system's components. With an aluminium interior and vertical cooling solution the X2, efficiently draws in air from the bottom of the chassis and exhausts heat through the top. The chassis is designed to not only look stunning but also ensure optimal airflow for your components.
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Numem to Showcase Next-Gen Memory Solutions at the Upcoming Chiplet Summit

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Nomad76
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Numem, an innovator focused on accelerating memory for AI workloads, will be at the upcoming Chiplet Summit to showcase its high-performance solutions. By accelerating the delivery of data via new memory subsystem designs, Numem solutions are re-architecting the hierarchy of AI memory tiers to eliminate the bottlenecks that negatively impact power and performance.

The rapid growth of AI workloads and AI Processor/GPUs are exacerbating the memory bottleneck caused by the slowing performance improvements and scalability of SRAM and DRAM - presenting a major obstacle to maximizing system performance. To overcome this, there is a pressing need for intelligent memory solutions that offer higher power efficiency and greater bandwidth, coupled with a reevaluation of traditional memory architectures.
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Lenovo to Acquire Infinidat - Expects Growth in Enterprise Storage Portfolio

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T0@st
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Global technology powerhouse Lenovo Group Limited (together with its subsidiary, "Lenovo" or the "Group") has announced that its subsidiary has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Infinidat Ltd. ("Infinidat"), a global provider of high-end enterprise storage solutions. The acquisition is part of Lenovo's growth strategy to bring differentiated technology solutions to market. This move will further strengthen Lenovo's enterprise storage offerings globally and underscores a commitment to delivering innovative storage solutions that meet the evolving needs of modern data centers.

With the strong storage solutions and research & development capabilities of Infinidat, the transaction will create strategic synergies with the Group's infrastructure solutions business and enterprise storage capabilities.
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Silicon Motion Working on MonTitan SM8466, a Next-gen PCIe 6.0 SSD Controller

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T0@st
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Silicon Motion will expand its MonTitan lineup of SSD controllers—for datacenters and enterprise platforms—with the upcoming addition of a truly next-generation model. Wallace C. Kou (the company's founder and CEO) contributes to ChinaFlashMarket.com with a regular written column—his latest feature (posted on January 17) includes a short sentence dedicated to announcing his firm's new SM8466 design. This appears to be their first foray into PCIe 6.0-based interface territories—details are minimal (at this point in time), but the CEO divulged the very basics. Silicon Motion's engineering team is currently in the "development stage" with the SM8466 project—a: "4 nm PCIe Gen 6 SSD master chip."

It is not clear whether this next-gen PCIe 6.0 SSD controller will be heading to market anytime soon, but Kou's column mostly focused on current plans—likely signalling where priorities lie. Silicon Motion's "built-in PCIe Gen 5 SSD enterprise-level master chip" (SM8366) is in mass production—industry experts believe that the company's MonTitan PCIe 5.0 family has had a tough time keeping up with equivalent Phison products—in particular, the market leading PS5026-E26 (PCIe 5.0 x4) controller. The SM8366 could be potent enough to take the crown in higher-end enterprise segments, but the existence of a PCIe 6.0-based successor is bound to attract extra attention.

Blue Cheetah Tapes Out Its High-Performance Chiplet Interconnect IP on Samsung Foundry SF4X

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Blue Cheetah Analog Design today announced the successful tape-outs of its next generation BlueLynx die-to-die (D2D) PHY on Samsung Foundry's SF4X 4 nm advanced manufacturing process. The latest PHY supports both advanced and standard chiplet packaging with an aggregate throughput exceeding 100 Tbps while achieving industry-leading silicon area footprint and power consumption. BlueLynx D2D subsystem IP enables chip architects to meet the bandwidth density and environmental robustness necessary to ensure production deployment success while preserving use case flexibility.

Using Samsung Foundry's SF4X 4 nm advanced process, the latest BlueLynx PHY supports both standard 2D and advanced 2.5D packages and enables system designers to seamlessly change packaging technologies in current and future implementations. Customer deliveries started in 2024 with silicon characterization in both advanced and standard packaging applications expected in early Q2 2025.
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Xbox Game Pass's January Additions: Sniper Elite: Resistance, Eternal Strands & More...

Press Release by
T0@st
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We're back with the next wave of Game Pass reveals for January—and I hope you've cleared your schedule! If you're looking for day one releases, some fan favorites, or ready to discover your next favorite game, I come prepared. And while we're making room on schedules, I hope to see you all on January 23 for our Developer Direct for an inside look at a few upcoming games (not to mention those coming day one with Game Pass!). Now let's get to the news!

Available Today:
Lonely Mountain: Snow Riders (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)—Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Available on day one! Crash over and over until you master the mountain in the snowy follow up to Lonely Mountains: Downhill. Now supporting up to 8 players via cross platform multiplayer - work your way down the slopes as a group sharing a small number of checkpoints, or risk it all in a breakneck race to the base!
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Intel "Nova Lake" Test CPU Appears, Targeting 2026 Launch

by
AleksandarK
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Shipping manifests at NBD.ltd have revealed the presence of Intel's "Nova Lake" test chips, providing insight into the development timeline of the company's 2026 processor platform. The discovery comes as Intel prepares for the launch of its "Panther Lake" CPUs on the 18A process node in late 2025. Nova Lake is positioned to replace both Panther Lake for mobile devices and "Arrow Lake" for desktop systems. The manufacturing process remains unconfirmed, with Intel potentially using either its in-house 14A node or TSMC's 2 nm technology. Following recent practices, Intel may split production between its own facilities and TSMC for different components. Rumored specifications show that Nova Lake will use Coyote Cove performance cores and Arctic Wolf efficiency cores.

Unlike Lunar Lake, it will not incorporate on-package memory, maintaining a more conventional design approach. The test chip's appearance suggests Intel is adhering to its development schedule. This timing aligns with the company's plans for Panther Lake's mass production in the second half of 2025, a structured transition between generations. Documents point to "Razor Lake" as Nova Lake's eventual successor, though detailed specifications are not yet available. Panther Lake, the immediate predecessor to Nova Lake, will focus primarily on mobile computing, with desktop variants limited to Mini PC implementations. This approach mirrors the Meteor Lake generation, which saw limited desktop release through the "PS" series for Edge platforms. The Nova Lake platform is expected to support DDR5 memory and may introduce PCIe Gen 6.0 compatibility, with final specifications unconfirmed.

Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders Out Now on PC & Xbox

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T0@st
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Hello Riders, welcome back to the Lonely Mountains! After four years of hard work Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders is finally out today for Steam and Xbox! Thank you to everyone who showed us your support on this journey! The base price for the game is €24.99/$24.99, and it comes with a one-week 10% Launch Discount for you. If you like the game, please leave us a review. It would mean the world to us and it really makes a difference for the Steam recommendation algorithm. If you experience any bugs, have feedback or any other questions please let us know on the Steam Forums or even better in our Discord.

One important note: a lot of people wished for a better way to speedrun the game and while we have been working on a "Hot Start" feature, unfortunately, it didn't make it in time for release. We hope we are able to release it soon but of course, we will first take care of all high-priority bugs that come in. We—at Megagon Industries—really hope you all enjoy our snowy Lonely Mountains and see you on the slopes!
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ENDORFY Introduces Crystal Series Mousepads

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Nomad76
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ENDORFY is unveiling the Crystal Series Mousepads as a new lineup of high-quality, visually stunning mousepads designed to elevate the gaming and workspace setups. These new mousepads not only mark ENDORFY's venture beyond the flagship Cordura series but also bring fresh designs and impeccable quality to the table, setting a new benchmark for affordable style and performance.

Eye-catching designs for every taste
The Crystal Series features an array of vibrant, printed graphic patterns, including the sleek Crystal Black, the elegant Crystal Onyx White, the vibrant Crystal Spectrum, and the soothing Crystal Blue, available in two versatile sizes (L and XL). Whether the user is into minimalist aesthetics or bold visuals, the Crystal Series adds a splash of personality to the desk while ensuring functionality remains paramount.
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German Retailer Puts ASRock Arc B570 Challenger OC on Special Offer

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T0@st
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Earlier today, reports pointed to an intriguingly discounted Intel "Battlemage" GPU-based graphics card on the Mindfactory.de webstore—ASRock's Arc B570 Challenger OC 10 GB model was priced at €249. European retailers would normally charge €279 for this specific SKU, but the Germany-headquartered PC hardware retail outlet offered a discount of €30, albeit briefly. VideoCardz noted that the fairly new Arc B570 Challenger OC model has been listed on Mindfactory's site since late last year—following Team Blue's early December unveiling of second wave Battlemage GPUs.

The timing of this special offer is a tad surprising, given that Arc B570-based graphics cards only reached global markets late last week. A compelling discount could have been implemented to entice buyers away from more expensive (€299 MSRP) Arc B580-equipped products, but Team Blue and its board partners have struggled—as-of-late—to keep these items in stock. Budget-minded gamers have seemingly embraced the slightly less potent B570 GPU family, and German customers surely had a great opportunity to save some Euros (over the past day or two). Mindfactory's time-limited sale produced a €50 gulf between the ASRock custom design and Intel's Limited Edition B580 model.

GTA 6 Could Bring New Era of $90+ Video Game Prices

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AleksandarK
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The video game industry may be preparing for significant pricing transformation, with the prediction that Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) could set a new precedent for game pricing when it launches in the fall of 2025. According to a recent industry analysis by Epyllion Group CEO Matthew Ball, the current standard price point of $70 for premium games is becoming unsustainable given the escalating development costs of major AAA titles. Ball suggests that GTA 6, one of the most anticipated releases in gaming history, may need to retail for at least $91 to reflect its production value. The potential price increase could have ripple effects throughout the industry, with other developers and publishers likely to follow suit. Anticipated are price points between $80 and $100 for premium titles, with cascading effects on lower-priced games that could see increases of around $10 across different price tiers.

Michael Douse, Publishing Director at Larian Studios, has voiced support for price adjustments, noting that game prices have remained relatively stagnant despite inflation. "A good company raises salaries in line with inflation so that their staff don't die or something, but games prices haven't risen with inflation. This isn't the reason the industry is in the shit for now, but it is an uncomfortable truth. On the other hand, the responsibility for a game developer is to make sure that the game they show lives up to that promise, and that investment from the player," Douse stated on X. While development costs and employee salaries have risen with inflation, game prices have seen only minimal increases. Even multimillion-dollar productions maintain the $70 price point, a model the industry now views as unsustainable.

Tempest Rising Demo Available Now, Coinciding with Steam RTS Fest

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T0@st
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All hands, battle stations! 🚨 Tempest Rising pre-orders are now live! We are also very excited to announce that we are participating in the Steam Real-Time Strategy Fest with a new demo. Play the multiplayer demo NOW until February 3! Prepare for war games, Commander! Get ready to dive into the global battlefield during the Tempest Rising multiplayer demo—as a part of the Steam Real-Time Strategy Fest!

Classic RTS action meets modern production and performance in Tempest Rising. Inspired by RTS greats of the 90s and 2000s, Tempest Rising is a classic, base-building real time strategy game set in a modern day alternative history war scenario. It features 3 unique factions, each with its own approach to combat and economy and offering a variety of strategies for players of all stripes, deep and rewarding gameplay that keeps a focus on strategy while rewarding skill, and built-in customization options that allow players to approach the game their way in both single player and multiplayer game modes.
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Curious NVIDIA GB202-200-A1 ASIC Spy Shot Hints at RTX TITAN Blackwell

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btarunr
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Is NVIDIA reviving the RTX TITAN brand of halo-segment graphics cards with "Blackwell"? A curious-looking GB202-200-A1 spy-shot making rounds on ChilHell hints at the possibility. The upcoming GeForce RTX 5090 is the company's flagship product from the RTX 50-series "Blackwell" generation, although it does not max out the 4 nm "GB202" silicon on which it is based. The RTX 5090 enables 170 out of the 192 SM (streaming multiprocessors) physically present on the "GB202." This leaves NVIDIA with a lot of room to carve out either a halo-segment SKU such as the RTX TITAN Blackwell, or a Pro-Vis (professional visualization) product that also targets the AI research community.

NVIDIA's top Pro-Vis product tended to have more SMs enabled than the top GeForce RTX product, while having lower clock speeds, so its target users have access to more FP64-capable CUDA cores, more Tensor cores, etc. However, over the past two generations, NVIDIA discontinued the practice of giving its RTX GPUs large numbers of FP64 cores that are disabled on GeForce RTX products, to make die-space for the Tensor cores. This hence makes it more likely that a maxed-out "GB202" is the RTX TITAN Blackwell, and not a Pro-Vis product.
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AMD Sets March Launch Window for Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 Graphics Cards

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T0@st
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AMD has finally made an official announcement regarding the much anticipated launch of RDNA 4 graphics cards. The first wave of next-generation models—Radeon RX 9070 XT and 9070 (non-XT)—are lined up for a loose "around March" release, thus conforming to recent company statements that pointed to a first quarter (of 2025) rollout. The rumor mill had Team Red strategizing a launch for later this month—potentially beating NVIDIA to the next-gen GPU punch, but "price hurdles" and other factors have allegedly contributed to a revision of tactics.

Yesterday, David McAfee—Vice President and General Manager of Ryzen and Radeon products—ended speculation with a social media post: "Radeon 9000 series hardware and software are looking great, and we are planning to have a wide assortment of cards available globally. Can't wait for gamers to get their hands on the cards when they go on sale in March!" Hardcore PC hardware enthusiasts will likely be left confused by this fresh proclamation—a steady flow of January leaks have provided evidence of Navi 48 GPU-based products sitting in retail storage facilities, unboxing of certain partner models, and insiders playtesting early samples. Industry watchdogs posit that AMD's "aggressive pricing approach" has rubbed retailers the wrong way—the extra wiggle room could be spent on negotiating wholesale costs.

Earthquake Temporarily Halts TSMC Production in Taiwan, Operations Resume Normally

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AleksandarK
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In the early hours of Tuesday, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck near a remote mountainous region roughly 24 miles southeast of Chiayi in Taiwan, causing temporary operational halts at multiple TSMC facilities. The tremor occurred at 12:17 AM local time and was felt in Tainan, home to four of TSMC's manufacturing sites. Workers in both Central and Southern Taiwan were evacuated as a precaution, following standard company protocols designed to ensure employee safety. TSMC initiated thorough structural inspections immediately after the quake. According to company representatives, all crucial infrastructure, such as water supply and power systems, remained fully functional. With no significant damage detected during safety assessments, TSMC has gradually restarted its production lines, minimizing any long-term impact on its global client base.

Despite the relatively brief disruption, the incident exposes the fragility of the semiconductor manufacturing process. Taiwan's frequent seismic activity has the potential to affect the complex manufacturing processes crucial for producing silicon. Given the company's massive consumption of chemicals and silicon ingots, any significant production setbacks at TSMC can resonate through global supply chains. To reduce these geographical and nature-inspired risks, TSMC is investing heavily in new manufacturing facilities elsewhere, notably in Arizona. Although these sites are expected to enhance the company's resilience, they will only account for around 10% of TSMC's total production capacity. Additionally, as TSMC doesn't plan to bring state-of-the-art production to other sites, the company must implement safety features against earthquake protection in its Taiwan facilities to continue production. A minor manufacturing hiccup can equate to billions of losses across the supply chain.

Ultra-compact Morefine M6S Plus Mini PC Set to Launch with Intel Twin Lake Processor

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GGforever
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The world of mini PCs keeps on growing, thanks to a boost in popularity made possible by the impressive efficiency and performance improvements brought to the table by the silicon giants, allowing compact systems to function just as well as full-fledged towers. The Morefine M6S Plus is yet another addition to the list of mini PCs, and it appears that the system prioritizes portability and compactness over raw performance. For a sizeable chunk of casual desktop users, even entry-level processors pack enough computing grunt to ease through their workloads, and that demographic is exactly what the M6S Plus targets.

With dimensions of 7.2 x 7.2 x 4.2 cm, the Morefine M6S Plus is commendably compact indeed. As mentioned, the computing horsepower offered is very limited, thanks to the quad-core Intel N150 processor that lacks Hyper-Threading. The memory is, unfortunately, not user upgradeable, so customers are will have to stick the 12 GB of LPDDR5-4800 memory on offer. The storage however, is upgradeable, thanks to the M.2 2242 slot which can accommodate up to 4 TB of storage. In terms of connectivity, the options are acceptable, including dual Type-C ports with DP, gigabit ethernet, triple USB 3.2 Gen 1Type-A ports (two on the front), HDMI 2.1, as well as a headphone jack.

EA Shutting Down Origin on April 17, Recommends Upgrade to EA App

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T0@st
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On April 17, 2025, Origin will shut down, as Microsoft has stopped supporting 32-bit software. If you use Origin, you need to upgrade to the EA app, which requires a 64-bit version of Windows. Find out how to update your Windows operating system to get the most out of the EA app.

What is the EA app?
The EA app is our enhanced platform for PC games. Optimized for the best user experience, it lets you easily find what you need and get into the game quicker than ever. Don't have it yet? Download the EA app here. The EA app doesn't support 32-bit versions of Windows. You'll need to upgrade to a 64-bit operating system on your device to play your games. See if the version of Windows you're running is 32 or 64-bit.
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Heavily Throttled NVIDIA RTX 5090 Laptop GPU Gets Benchmarked in Geekbench OpenCL

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GGforever
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Another day, another Blackwell performance leak. As we inch closer to their official release, more and more benchmark results keep popping up on the internet. Now, a fresh Geekbench OpenCL listing seemingly sheds light on the performance brought to the table by the RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, housed in a Razer Blade 16 alongside a Strix Point APU. However, be warned - the following results depict the RTX 5090 laptop running at only 1515 MHz, which makes it significantly slower than what it is capable of when allowed to run at full tilt, likely to be somewhere around 2100 MHz.

As such, the RTX 5090 Laptop managed a score of only around 91,000 points - almost half that of its predecessor's typical score of 179,000 points according to Geekbench. This likely indicates that the laptop was running on battery power, which would make sense considering the abysmal result. At least, thanks to this listing, we do get to confirm the specifications of the RTX 5090 Laptop GPU - 82 SMs, which means a total of 10,496 CUDA cores, and 24 GB of GDDR7 VRAM. The RTX 4090 Laptop, on the other hand, packs 9728 CUDA cores, putting the RTX 5090 Laptop ahead by around 7.87%. The 150-watt RTX 5090 Laptop also clocks at 1455 MHz at an 80-watt TGP, and 2040 MHz at 150 watts. This does align with what we are witnessing from the aforementioned RTX 5090 Laptop listing, confirming that it is indeed in some kind of low-power mode.

Raijintek Intros MGA-68 All-Aluminium Magnetic-Switch Keyboard

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btarunr
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Raijintek introduced the MGA-68 line of 65% wired mechanical keyboards. It features a 65% layout (69 keys), and uses magnetic key switches sourced from Hejin, with switch characteristics resembling MX Yellow, and a claimed endurance of 50 million keystrokes. These are capped by PBT+SUB keycaps. The keys are illuminated by an addressable-RGB LED setup. The star attraction with these keyboards is their CNC milled all-aluminium bodies, with some diamond cut edges. The keyboard comes in two color variants, black and silver. These are purely wired keyboards, with their USB interface providing a polling rate of 8000 Hz. The keyboard has a type-C receptacle, and a 2 m USB-C to USB-C cable, with a type-C to type-A adapter included. It measures 313 mm x 104 mm. The company didn't reveal pricing.

GAMDIAS Intros Atlas P2 CG Mid-Tower PC Case

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Nomad76
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GAMDIAS, a premier brand in high-performance gaming PC hardware, is excited to announce the launch of the ATLAS P2 CG curved glass panoramic case. As the first product launch of 2025, the case embodies GAMDIAS's annual slogan, "GAMING REIMAGINED," redefining gaming setups with a sophisticated design and unmatched functionality. "The ATLAS P2 CG reflects our vision for 2025, offering gamers a seamless blend of cutting-edge design and exceptional performance that will transform their gaming experience," said Stimson Wang, CEO of GAMDIAS. Part of the highly acclaimed ATLAS series, the case features a striking fish-tank-inspired design with a seamless one-piece curved glass panel and an integrated system display, engineered to deliver limitless potential alongside a refined visual experience.

Immersive Panoramic View
The ATLAS P2 CG case features a stunning 270-degree curved tempered glass panel, offering an immersive panoramic view of the interior. This innovative design eliminates corner obstructions, creating a seamless showcase of internal components. Additionally, the case also supports connector-hidden motherboard (BTF motherboard), enabling cables to plug in from the rear for a clean and flawless front appearance.
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Transcend Launches U.2 Enterprise SSD (eSSD) for Data-Intensive Workloads

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Nomad76
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Transcend Information Inc. (Transcend), a leading global manufacturer of memory storage solutions, introduces the ETD410T, a new U.2 enterprise solid-state drive (eSSD) designed for high-performance computing environments. Tailored to meet the stringent demands of enterprise users for ultra-fast data transfer and reliability, the ETD410T adopts the PCIe Gen 4 x4 high-speed interface and U.2 15 mm form factor, featuring a DRAM cache for exceptional performance and robust data protection. It is an ideal solution for data centers and enterprise applications.

Durable and Stable for High-Frequency Workloads
The Transcend ETD410T is a professional solution optimized for read-intensive workloads. Compliant with JESD219 standards, it offers a durability of up to 7,000 Program/Erase (P/E) cycles to withstand frequent use over long periods. With Quality of Service (QoS) consistently maintained between 99.9% and 99.99%, it delivers stable and reliable operation even in demanding enterprise environments, ensuring consistent and dependable data access.
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Seagate Extends HAMR-Based Mozaic 3+ Technology Platform With Up To 36 TB Capacites

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GFreeman
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Seagate Technology Holdings plc, an innovator of mass capacity data storage, today announced shipments of Exos M hard drive samples to select customers in industry-leading capacities up to 36 terabytes (TB). Based on Mozaic 3+, the company's breakthrough heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology platform, Exos M delivers unprecedented storage scale for large-scale data center deployments.

Key Takeaways
  • Adopted by Cloud Service Providers: Seagate is currently ramping Exos M to volume shipments on capacity points up to 32 TB with a leading cloud service provider. Separately, Seagate is also sampling drives on the Exos M platform of up to 36 TB.
  • Mozaic 3+ and HAMR Innovation: Based on Seagate's Mozaic 3+ technology platform, the industry's first implementation of heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), Exos M offers data center operators significant scale, total cost of ownership (TCO), and sustainability advantages, including 300% more storage capacity within the same data center footprint, a 25% cost reduction per terabyte and 60% reduction in power consumption per terabyte.
  • Unrivalled Areal Density: Exos M, powered by HAMR-based Mozaic 3+ platform, now delivers capacity points up to 36 TB through a highly efficient 10-platter product design. Seagate is the only data storage company that can achieve areal densities of 3.6 TB per hard drive platter today, with a pathway to increasing per-platter capacity to 10 TB.
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Patriot Memory Unveils iLuxe Stick

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GFreeman
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Global leader in storage solutions, Patriot Memory, proudly announces the launch of the iLuxe Stick, the latest addition to the iLuxe series of digital lifestyle products following the iLuxe Cube. Combining sleek design with high performance, the Patriot iLuxe Stick is a portable storage device that ensures you'll never miss capturing a precious moment due to insufficient storage. With the iLuxe app, photos and videos are seamlessly transferred to the iLuxe Stick in real time, providing effortless storage expansion for iPhones and iPads. The device also simplifies cross-platform file transfers.

The iLuxe Stick features a dual-connector design with both Type-C and Lightning interfaces, ensuring compatibility with Apple iPhones from the iPhone 6 to the latest iPhone 16. Its innovative Trust Circle encryption system supports up to 16 encrypted members, allowing users to select sharing permissions while maintaining privacy and security.
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EasySMX Launches New D05 Gaming Controller

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GFreeman
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EasySMX, the Gamer's Choice for advanced gaming peripherals, is thrilled to introduce the D05 Gaming Controller. Engineered for peak performance and versatility, the D05 brings enhanced precision, seamless charging, and more customizable vibrant RGB style to gamers on PC, Switch, Android, and iOS.

"The D05 was designed to meet gamers' demands for precision, durability, and ease of use," said Gavin, Product Director at EasySMX. "We've created a controller that enhances gameplay across platforms while addressing the most common frustrations like stick drift and inconvenient charging."
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Monday, January 20th 2025

Today's Reviews

Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Keyboards
Motherboards
Notebooks
PSUs
SSD
NZXT C1500 Review

NZXT C1500 Review

Review Power Supplies
NZXT's newest premium PSU is the C1500. It comes with a massive 1500 W output capacity and supports the latest ATX 3.0 standard and is certified for 80 Plus Platinum efficiency. Our testing confirms that it will run passively until you're pulling 600+ W and stays pretty quiet beyond that, too.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition Unboxing

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition Unboxing

Article Graphics Cards
Unboxing the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 "Blackwell" is an experience like no other. This new flagship GPU arrives with sleek packaging that's eco-friendly: no plastic, no high-gloss paint. The card itself comes with a design that exudes power and makes you want to try out the next-gen features.
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MAXSUN Dips Back into NVIDIA GT 730 GPU Pool

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T0@st
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Recent MAXSUN activities have been very Intel Arc "Battlemage" B-series GPU-focused—most notably, a leaked design that leverages dual M.2 slots. Earlier today, ITHome reported on the fresh retail release of two sort-of-new MAXSUN graphics cards in China (on JD.com)—MS-GT730 PH 4 GB (¥359/~US$49) and MS-GT730 PH 2 GB (¥329/~US$45). These super low budget offerings signal a dip back into technologies of old: NVIDIA's GK208 "Kepler 2.0" GPU—of 2014 vintage. This is a curious choice, given that Team Green's "Kepler" GPU generation has not received new drivers since the release of R470 (back in 2021), and the last security update arrived with NVIDIA's 473.47 WHQL driver.

ITHome reckons that MAXSUN has simply recycled its existing MS-GT730 Heavy Hammer 4G and MS-GT730 Heavy Hammer 2G card designs for an early 2025 market launch—TechPowerUp's GPU database produces another very similar looking model: the GT 730 Transformers III 2G. The online publication reached out to MAXSUN's JD storefront customer service for comment on the apparent refresh of old products. ITHome discovered that the renamed reissues are a result of demands generated by "internal supply chain management." MAXSUN stated that its production batch have changed, and it: "emphasizes that the performance (of their new models) is consistent with the old version(s)."

Manli Announces Gallardo, Stellar, Polar Fox and Nebula GeForce RTX 50 Series Graphics Cards

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Nomad76
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Manli announced in a recent press release, which somehow went unnoticed most likely due to the CES 2025 event, that new Gallardo, Stellar, Polar Fox, and Nebula series graphics cards based on the NVIDIA Blackwell series are ready to join the GeForce RTX 50 lineup. While Manli didn't yet provide exact specifications, they showcased a bit more details regarding the design and the Drag Reduction System (DRS) feature that equips its Gallardo RTX 50 series.

The company seems to be a bit secretive at this moment, however, they say that the Drag Reduction System (DRS) has its inspiration in motorsports. Most likely this implies a dedicated design that use the heatsinks and spoilers to direct airflow towards specific areas. Manli Stellar, Polar Fox, and Nebula RTX 50 series are all based on a dual-slot format with triple fans on top. Although the press release mentioned that the new Manli 50 series graphics cards are available, there's no information about the exact lineup or pricing, and currently, the cards are not listed on the company website.
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MicroProse to Publish "Liquidation" - Playtest Coming Soon

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T0@st
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MicroProse, the legendary developer and publisher known for its mastery of simulation and strategy games, is thrilled to announce its partnership with Divio to publish Liquidation. This explosive real-time strategy (RTS) game thrusts players into the war-torn world of Veá, where advanced technology clashes with arcane power, creating a rich and dynamic battlefield for RTS fans to conquer.

Starting today—January 20—players can sign up for the upcoming open playtest via Liquidation's Steam page. This first-time event will offer players who sign up the opportunity to be among the first to command their forces and explore the game's unique blend of genres, offering invaluable feedback that will help shape the final release.
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MSI Readying Yellow-tipped 16-pin Power Adaptors for GeForce RTX 50 Series

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T0@st
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MSI is preparing a new selection of yellow-tipped 16-pin power adapters—as reported by VideoCardz earlier today—for inclusion with certain GeForce RX 50 series "Blackwell" GPU-based graphics card models. An official announcement has not been released—regarding the latest color coding for power connectors—but new product photos have appeared on the MSI website. The yellow sections provide a clear "visual guide" when hooking the relevant adapter up to a graphics card—full insertion is achieved when the yellow tip is fully obscured by its surroundings. MSI's latest image uploads indicate that dual 8-pin to single 16-pin adapters will likely be bundled with MSI's GeForce RTX 5070 models. The RTX 5070 Ti and 5080 product tiers will be getting three 8-pin ended adapters. A very busy-looking 4-way splitter is seemingly reserved for flagship GeForce RTX 5090 cards.

The MAG GL PSU series debuted back in 2023, featuring a similarly-tinted "dual color" safety measure—based on customer and community feedback. At the time, MSI stated that it had reacted to: "reported cases of power supply connectors being burnt when paired with high-end graphics cards. We've identified the main reason: the connectors not being plugged in properly and the connector pins suffering from fall outs. With this new cable, we successfully tackle both issues head-on." Manufacturers have continued to release new products that utilize the "problematic" 12VHPWR standard, even years after the introduction of a successor: 12V-2x6. NVIDIA and several of its board partners are reported to be sticking with the first iteration PCIe Gen 5 16-pin connector for upcoming GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards. The TechPowerUp team inspected ZOTAC's new 12WHPWR "Safety Light" feature at the recently concluded CES trade event—a visual warning will be displayed in the event of a connection problem being detected.

Energizer EnergyBook: Prominent Battery Maker Forays Into Affordable Laptop Market

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GGforever
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Energizer is a brand that is best known for its batteries, as the name would suggest. However, it now appears that the brand wants a piece of the consumer technology pie as well, but not exactly. The thing is, well-known brands often license out their brand name to other manufactures who make completely unrelated products, which are then sold with their branding. Energizer has done something similar, and licensed out its brand name to Avenir Telecom, who now plans on making and selling laptops with the "Energizer" brand. There are no concrete details on specifications yet, although we do know that the laptop lineup will be named "EnergyBook", and will ship in 15- and 17-inch sizes with either 128 or 256 GB of storage.

Clearly, the laptops are by no means aimed at users with heavy workloads, but rather casual users with extremely modest performance expectations from their machines. Unsurprisingly, the pricing reflects this strategy rather well, with the EnergyBook lineup being expected to start from just $199. We have no exact date in sight, although Avenir Telecom has revealed the laptops should be available in the first quarter of this year. That said, it should be noted that with laptops from prominent brands getting cheaper every year, ultra-low-end laptops from lesser-known manufacturers are often not very good deals, at least in terms of longevity or quality. Of course, the EnergyBook lineup might end up being a glaring exception to that rule, although that remains to be seen.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 And RTX 5080 Likely to Be Extremely Hard to Get at Launch

by
GGforever
 Discuss (36 Comments)
Recently, we covered a rumor arising from PCGH which stated that the RTX 5090, and perhaps even the RTX 5080, are gearing up to face an extremely stock-limited launch in Germany. Now, it appears that customers in North America will likely face very similar circumstances, if the claims made by tipster Moore's Law is Dead's sources are taken to be true. MLID spoke with several sources, including distributors and AIBs, all of whom had the same thing to say - it is going be quite hard to snag an RTX 5090 or RTX 5080 at launch.

One of the distributors that MLID apparently spoke with, went as far as to comment that they simply won't be having any RTX 5090s at all in the first month of launch. Further, while they received almost 200 RTX 4080s during the previous launch season, they only expect to get 20 units of the RTX 5080 this time around. As for the RTX 5090, they do not foresee inventory before late Q1, or even Q2 of this year. A second source, who claimed to be from an AIB partner, stated that while they will have RTX 5080s ready at launch, they are "only a fraction" of the RTX 4080s they had last time. Moreover, the number of RTX 5090s they claim to have matches that of the RTX 3090s they had, which, for those who don't remember, suffered from severe supply shortages at launch.
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Bonfire Studios Teases Debut Title: Arkheron - Public Playtest Coming Soon

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T0@st
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Bonfire Studios, an independent video game developer, is finally coming out of stealth mode, unveiling the name and first details of its debut project, Arkheron. Founded by industry veterans responsible for iconic franchises including Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo, Overwatch, StarCraft and World of Warcraft, the Bonfire team draws on the expertise and design principles honed on those titles to craft an innovative new PvP game. Private playtesting for Arkheron is already underway and will be expanding in the coming months with rolling invites. Players who love fast-paced PvP combat are encouraged to sign up now for a chance to be among the first to play Arkheron and help shape its later stages of development.

Bonfire has been playing and iterating on Arkheron behind-the-scenes for years and began private playtesting sessions with a small community in 2024. While players will find familiar ideas and concepts in Arkheron, it isn't about combining genres—it's about creating something entirely new; a dynamic, fast-paced PvP gameplay experience set in a dark and foreboding world. The team at Bonfire playtests the game every day, and attributes this aspect of their development process to helping them create a fun and unique game they believe will resonate with players.
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ASUS TUF GAMING Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Unboxed in Ukraine

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T0@st
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A pre-launch unboxing the ASUS TUF GAMING Radeon RX 9070 XT OC graphics card model has been shared and documented online—courtesy of a video uploaded to social media over the past weekend. Artline, a computer hardware retailer based in Ukraine, seems to have at least one model in their possession—similarly, stock (from other brands) has been distributed across supply networks to locations around Europe.

AMD and its retail partners are reportedly at loggerheads over proposed launch pricing strategies—the first wave of RDNA 4-equipped products appear to be ready for launch, but debates over "excessive wholesale costs" could delay matters. VideoCardz has reached out to its contacts across distribution and insider networks—they believe that an official AMD announcement could be delivered at some point this week. Team Red representatives recently teased a forthcoming special launch event, but chose to not divulge a specific start date.

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11 bit studios Announces Death Howl, Demo Available Now on Steam

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T0@st
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Hello everyone, check out the latest game from The Outer Zone and 11 bit studios. Journey the sorrowful spirit world in souls-like deck builder, Death Howl. Craft cards and claim powerful totems to defeat the woeful spirits lurking in the mystical lands. Unravel the tale of a grieving mother in her desperate attempt to defy death and bring back her son.

In forgotten lands shrouded by myth, Ro—a hunter from a small tribe—is overcome by grief following the death of her beloved son. Guided by voices from another world, she transcends into the realm of spirits, in hopes of bringing him back. Death Howl weaves an atmospheric tale of grief, healing, and resilience. As Ro, you'll face relentless spirits in turn-based battles that challenge your tactical sense and adaptability. To succeed, you must craft and master decks of powerful cards and use shamanic totems while unearthing forgotten tales and secrets that shape Ro's path.
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PlayStation 6 Chipset Design Finalized Says Tipster, Predicts Console Launch in 2027

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T0@st
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Noted technology tipster, Kepler L2, believes that the Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) engineering team has finalized the design of a PlayStation 6 (PS6) system-on-chip (SoC)—insider information was shared on the NeoGAF forum (a popular computer game discussion board) late last week. It would be natural to assume that Sony's gaming division is deep into the process of developing a follow-up to its PlayStation 5 home console, but Kepler L2's fresh revelation points to surprisingly advanced progress. Insider sources point to the PS6's chip design being: "complete and in pre-silicon validation already, with A0 tapeout scheduled for late this year."

Industry experts have analyzed PlayStation development cycles of days past—history has demonstrated a pattern of the A0 tapeout phase reaching completion around two years before the rollout of finalized products at retail. Kepler L2 reckons that this pattern will be repeated—indicating a possible launch of PlayStation by 2027. The rumored PS6 chipset has been linked to AMD's "gfx13" target—everyone's favorite Team Red tipster posits that Sony engineers are working with a "fork" of this next-gen "UDNA" graphics technology. The rumor mill has generated additional PS6 SoC-related internet chatter—last Friday, Chiphell alleged a possible adoption of Team Red's X3 V-cache technology.

Seagate Anticipates Cloud Storage Growth due to AI-Driven Data Creation

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T0@st
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According to a recent, global Recon Analytics survey commissioned by Seagate Technology, business leaders from across 15 industry sectors and 10 countries expect that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) applications will generate unprecedented volumes of data, driving a boom in demand for data storage, in particular cloud-based storage. With hard drives delivering scalability relative to terabyte-per-dollar cost efficiencies, cloud service providers rely on hard drives to store mass quantities of data.

Recently, analyst firm IDC estimated that 89% of data stored by leading cloud service providers is stored on hard drives. Now, according to this Recon Analytics study, nearly two-thirds of respondents (61%) from companies that use cloud as their leading storage medium expect their cloud-based storage to grow by more than 100% over the next 3 years. "The survey results generally point to a coming surge in demand for data storage, with hard drives emerging as the clear winner," remarked Roger Entner, founder and lead analyst of Recon Analytics. "When you consider that the business leaders we surveyed intend to store more and more of this AI-driven data in the cloud, it appears that cloud services are well-positioned to ride a second growth wave."
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TSMC CEO Believes American Foundries Will Trail Behind Primary Taiwanese Sites

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T0@st
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C.C. Wei, TSMC CEO and Chairman, has shared his latest views regarding his company's North American manufacturing center—Reuters cornered him for comment during a mid-week appearance at a National Taiwan University-held event. The Taiwanese government has recently lowered its "silicon shield"—following much (reported) deliberation over "legal restrictions on transferring leading-edge process technology overseas." This relaxation of rules has TSMC considering a new set of investments for operations outside of Taiwan—with an expansion into advanced node process manufacturing. Currently, 2 nm (N2) is a home turf-speciality—industry experts estimate an expenditure of $28-30 (USD) billion to bring this production technology over to the States. TSMC's CEO has described additional challenges—on top of (and impacting) finances—local bureaucracy is a big one.

Wei stated: "every step requires a permit, and after the permit is approved, it takes at least twice as long as in Taiwan." According Reuters, he reckons that it would be difficult for their North American sites to access the latest technologies ahead of teams in Taiwan. He detailed his company's recruitment of several experts—tasked with talking to local government; about regulatory issues. This was not a cheap undertaking: "we ended up establishing 18,000 rules, which cost us $35 million." TSMC's Arizona production hub will (eventually) consist of three large factories—despite long-term teething problems, Fab 21 is reported to be churning out the first wave of "Made in America" product for a very important client: Apple. Wei expressed positives views when asked about the USA site's prospects—during an earnings conference (Jan 16)—he believes that it will eventually produce the "same quality of chips as in Taiwan," through a "smooth ramp-up process."
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NVIDIA Fixes High-Risk GPU Driver Vulnerabilities That Allow Code Execution and Data Theft

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AleksandarK
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NVIDIA has released urgent security patches addressing eight vulnerabilities in its GPU drivers and virtual GPU software that affect both Windows and Linux systems. The January 16 update targets multiple security flaws that could enable attackers with local access to execute malicious code, steal data, or crash affected systems. Two high-severity vulnerabilities stand out among the patches. The first (CVE-2024-0150) involves a buffer overflow in the GPU display driver that could lead to system compromise through data tampering and information disclosure. The second critical issue (CVE-2024-0146) affects the virtual GPU Manager, where a compromised guest system could trigger memory corruption, potentially leading to code execution and system takeover. For Windows systems, users must update to version 553.62 (R550 branch) or 539.19 (R535 branch). Linux users need to install version 550.144.03 or 535.230.02, depending on their driver branch.

The updates cover NVIDIA's RTX, Quadro, NVS, and Tesla product lines. Enterprise environments using NVIDIA's virtualization technology face additional risks. One vulnerability (CVE-2024-53881) allows guest systems to launch interrupt storms against host machines, potentially causing system-wide outages. To patch these security holes, virtual GPU software users must update to version 17.5 (550.144.02) or 16.9 (535.230.02). The vulnerabilities specifically target systems where attackers have local access, which means remote exploitation is unlikely. However, in virtualized environments where multiple users share GPU resources, these flaws pose a significant security risk. System administrators can download the security updates from NVIDIA's Driver Downloads page, while enterprise vGPU customers should obtain patches through the NVIDIA Licensing Portal. NVIDIA recommends immediate installation of these updates across all affected systems.

TALES OF GRACES f REMASTERED Out Now on PC & Consoles

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T0@st
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Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. today announced the launch of TALES OF GRACES f REMASTERED, bringing the remastered version of the timeless action RPG to current generation consoles and PC. The title enhances a memorable entry in the Tales of series, letting players experience this classic with stunning visuals and new features. TALES OF GRACES f REMASTERED also adds more than 80 DLC packs and items released for the original, now included in the base game. The title is available now in Standard and Deluxe Editions for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.

TALES OF GRACES f REMASTERED is a remastered version of TALES OF GRACES f that released in 2010. Players will follow the adventures of Asbel and his friends as they embark on a world-spanning quest filled with unforgettable characters, shocking revelations, and unique companions brought together through promises made across time. Set in the lush and vibrant planet of Ephinea, players embark on a journey of intrigue across a world ruled by three great nations, each with the power of Eleth.
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ONIX Arc B580 Odyssey OC & Lumi OC Models Appear on Newegg

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T0@st
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ONIX has quietly added Intel Arc B580 GPU-based models to its Newegg brand store—signalling the brand's arrival on North American's e-tail landscape. TechPowerUp first picked up on this new manufacturer's existence during Team Blue's introduction of Arc B-series "Battlemage" graphics cards—soon followed up with an updated version of TechPowerUp GPU-Z; adding "PCI vendor detection for ONIX." The emerging Chinese manufacturer's Odyssey OC and Lumi OC models are currently "out of stock" on the Newegg store, but compelling pricing ($10 above Intel's baseline MSRP) has attracted press coverage.

It is not clear whether initial supplies of the two ONIX cards were snapped up quickly, but Newegg states on both listings: "this product is temporarily out of stock because of high demand, we will replenish it as soon as possible." Currently, the Arc B580 Odyssey OC 12 GB (black) model is priced at $259.99, while its Lumi OC (white) sibling goes for $269.99—note: Newegg demands a $9.99 fee for shipping. VideoCardz reckons that ONIX is competing closely with Sparkle—a veteran Intel GPU board partner—and charging less than GUNNIR for equivalent specs/fittings. ONIX's official website features a product page for an Odyssey B570 10 GB model—not listed by Newegg, but we expect it to turn up soon. Intel and its AIBs declared B570's retail availability last week.

TechPowerUp x Chieftec Winter 2024 Mega Giveaway: Here are the Winners!

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btarunr
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TechPowerUp and Chieftec brought our readers in the EU the Winter 2024 Mega Giveaway. Up for grabs were a Chieftec Iceberg 360 RGB AIO liquid CPU cooler; a Chieftec Iceberg 360 Black AIO liquid CPU cooler; a Chieftec APEX E-ATX mid-tower case, a Chieftec M2 Micro-ATX tower case; a Chieftec PowerPlay 1200 W power supply; and a Chieftec Atmos 850 W power supply—a comprehensive list of prizes spanning the company's cases, power supplies, and cooling products. The Giveaway closed recently, and we have our winners!
  • Parham from France—wins a Chieftec Iceberg 360 AIO CLC-360-RGB cooler
  • Arne from Germany—wins a Chieftec Iceberg 360 AIO CLC-360-BLK cooler
  • Kristijan from Croatia—wins a Chieftec Apex Case GA-01B-TG-OP case
  • Andreas from Denmark—wins a Chieftec M2 Case GM-02B-OP Micro-ATX case
  • Pepe from Spain—wins a Chieftec PowerPlay PSU GPU-1200FC power supply, and
  • MonteCristo from Greece—wins a Chieftec Atmos PSU CPX-850FC power supply
A huge Congratulations to the winners! Chieftec and TechPowerUp will return with more such interesting Giveaways.

Colorful Presents the B860 Series Motherboards

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Nomad76
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Colorful Technology Company Limited, a leading brand in gaming PC components, gaming laptops, and Hi-fi audio products, proudly presents our lineup of Intel B860 Series motherboards in the ULTRA, CVN GAMING FROZEN, and BATTLE-AX models.

The Intel B860 chipset is aimed at the mid-range level price segment for the Intel Core Ultra 200 series desktop processors. The COLORFUL B860 motherboards features DDR5 memory support, support for up to PCIe Gen 5 SSDs, high-speed 40 Gbps USB4 ports, fast Wi-Fi 7 wireless networking, and more.
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MSI Gives Away $100 Steam Codes with its Products

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btarunr
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Level up your 2025 setup with MSI's latest and most powerful products! Purchase selected MSI products and unlock free Steam codes to elevate your gaming experience. Don't miss MSI's Power Up to New Era promotion to kick off an epic gaming year! MSI introduces a new range of DIY-friendly products — motherboards, liquid cooling systems, PC cases, and power supplies—making PC building easier than ever for both beginners and experienced builders!

The B860 & B850 motherboards offer greater convenience, featuring the EZ M.2 Clip II for effortless, tool-free M.2 SSD installation. Paired with the EZ PCIe Release, users can securely remove their graphics cards with just a single press, eliminating the usual hassle.
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Aspyr & Saber Discuss Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness Remastered

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T0@st
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Accused of murdering her former mentor, Werner Von Croy, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness follows Lara Croft as a fugitive, unraveling an intricate web of secret societies locked in a centuries-long shadow war. Though initially divisive, The Angel of Darkness has developed a cult following over the years, with fans becoming digital archaeologists, delving into its cut content and unrealized potential.

Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered aims to realize the full potential of The Angel of Darkness by restoring much of the content originally envisioned for the game. The developers from Saber and Aspyr have focused on reintroducing elements that fans have long celebrated, enhancing the experience of this cult classic.
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Buyers Beware: Counterfeit AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPUs Appear in China

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AleksandarK
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A fake AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor was recently discovered through AMD's after-sales service inspection in China after a customer reported their CPU wouldn't boot. The counterfeit unit revealed several technical discrepancies that distinguish it from genuine processors, though these differences are difficult to spot without detailed examination. While authentic Ryzen 7 9800X3D processors use PCB number 33050, the counterfeit unit featured PCB number 32546—a designation typically associated with Ryzen 7000 series R7 or R9 processors. This suggests the counterfeiters may be repurposing older generation chips or PCBs to create fake 9000 series processors. The physical appearance of the counterfeit unit showed additional inconsistencies.

Genuine Ryzen 9000 series processors feature a distinctive blue PCB, while the fake unit displayed a dark green coloration characteristic of older models. Component patches adjacent to the PCB also failed to match the standard configuration of the Ryzen 9000 series. In a notable error, some counterfeit units were mislabeled as "Ryzen 9 9800X3D"—a model number that doesn't exist in AMD's product lineup. For comparison, legitimate Ryzen 7 9800X3D units can be identified by their blue-tinted PCB, while older models like the R9 7900X and R7 7700X feature dark green PCBs. The information was initially shared on Chiphell by sources within the PCB manufacturing industry, who provided side-by-side comparisons of authentic and counterfeit units. AMD's after-sales service has confirmed that processors purchased outside official distribution channels will not receive warranty support or service protection. Buyers should buy CPUs only thought official sale distributors to avoid such cases.

NVIDIA's Frame Generation Technology Could Come to GeForce RTX 30 Series

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AleksandarK
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NVIDIA's deep learning super sampling (DLSS) has undergone many iterations to the current version 4 with the transformer model, delivering new technologies such as DLSS Multi Frame Generation, predicting multiple frames in advance to generate the upcoming frame, and increasing the frame output per second. However, not every NVIDIA GPU generation supports these more modern DLSS technologies. In an interview with Digital Foundry, Bryan Catanzaro, VP of Applied Deep Learning Research at NVIDIA, commented on trickling down some DLSS technologies to older GPU generations. For example, DLSS Ray Reconstruction, Super Resolution, and Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing (DLAA) work on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20/30/40/50 series GPUs. However, the RTX 40 series carries an exclusive DLSS Frame Generation, and the newest RTX 50 series carries the DLSS Multi Frame Generation as an exclusive feature.

However, there is hope for older hardware. "I think this is primarily a question of optimization and also engineering and then the ultimate user experience. We're launching this Frame Generation, the best Multi Frame Generation technology, with the 50 Series, and we'll see what we're able to squeeze out of older hardware in the future." So, frame generation will most likely arrive on the older RTX 30 series, with even a slight possibility of the RTX 20 series getting the DLSS frame generation. Due to compute budget constraints, the multi-frame generation will most likely stay an RTX 50 series exclusive as it has more raw computing power to handle this technology.
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AMD's Radeon RX 9070 Launch Faces Pricing Hurdles

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AleksandarK
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AMD's upcoming Radeon RX 9070 series graphics cards have hit an unexpected roadblock, according to recent reports from PC Games Hardware. Despite physical units already reaching select retailers, the launch appears to be delayed due to ongoing pricing negotiations. Industry insider and forum moderator "pokerclock," known for accurate predictions about NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 series, reveals that AMD's initial pricing strategy has created tension with retail partners. While boxes bearing the RX 9070 branding have been spotted in retail channels, disagreements over costs have prevented an official release. The core issue stems from AMD's aggressive pricing approach for both the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT models. Retailers have pushed back against what they consider excessive wholesale costs, forcing AMD to reconsider its strategy.

The company now faces the complex task of potentially reducing prices while compensating retailers who have already purchased inventory at higher rates. Sources suggest AMD may offer marketing funds or cashback incentives to bridge the price gap, though negotiations have reportedly stalled. For example, we recently reported on the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT AIB model costing around $549. However, NVIDIA has announced its GeForce RTX 5070 at the same $549 price point, with potentially equal or higher raster, ray tracing, and AI capabilities across the board. For AMD to make the value case, the company would need to undercut NVIDIA's pricing. Until that is resolved, retailers aren't allowed to place RDNA 4 GPUs in general sale yet.

G.Skill Achieves Historic DDR5-12052 & DDR5-12054 Memory OC Records with Air Cooling

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btarunr
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G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory, is excited to announce two historical overclock achievements of reaching DDR5-12052 and DDR5-12054 memory overclock speed records under air cooling with the G.SKILL Trident Z5 series DDR5 memory. Previously, reaching the DDR5-12000 milestone required a more extreme cooling method, such as liquid nitrogen or dry ice. These incredible achievements with air cooling demonstrate the amazing overclock potential of modern hardware. The DDR5-12052 memory overclock speed is achieved by "saltycroissant", an extreme overclocker from Canada, using the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K desktop processor and ASRock Z890 Taichi OCF motherboard. Meanwhile, the DDR5-12054 memory overclock speed is achieved by "speed.fastest", an extreme overclocker from Indonesia, using the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K desktop processor and ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Apex motherboard.

In earlier overclock records on the Intel Z890 platform, only extreme sub-zero cooling with liquid nitrogen or dry ice was used to achieve overclock speeds of over DDR5-12000. These memory overclock records, achieved with CPU on water cooling and memory on air cooling, is an incredible milestone for the overclock community. Both overclocking records on air cooling were achieved with one module from a G.SKILL Trident Z5 series DDR5-8000 CL38 2x48GB (F5-8000J3848F24GX2-TZ5K) memory kit.
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Sunday, January 19th 2025

AAEON Releases NVIDIA Jetson Orin-powered BOXER-8654AI-KIT

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btarunr
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AAEON (stock code: 6579), a leading provider of edge AI platforms, has announced the release of the BOXER-8654AI-KIT, a development kit equipped with either an 8 GB or 16 GB NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX module. While AAEON's BOXER series has become synonymous with NVIDIA-powered embedded AI systems, the BOXER-8654AI-KIT provides its customers with an avenue to develop embedded solutions from the ground up.

The BOXER-8654AI-KIT's module is accompanied by an advanced carrier board featuring a full-function I/O boasting six USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, an Out-of-Band (OOB) management box header, and four LAN ports with optional power boards for PoE functionality. For display, the kit's carrier board offers one physical HDMI Type-A port, as well as two MIPI CSI connectors, each equipped with four lanes to allow for two MIPI cameras to be installed per interface. Other physical I/O features that stand out are its two DB-9 ports, one of which offers an RS-232 (RX/TX/GND)/422/485 signal, with the other providing a CANBus interface. Additionally, an NVIDIA Jetson-compatible 40-pin header offers I2C, SPI, UART, and other serial interfaces.
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HAVN x TechPowerUp Giveaway: The Winners!

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btarunr
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HAVN brings a breath of fresh air in the PC case market with its new HS 420 line of cases aimed to maximize the view of your gaming PC build. The lineup is led by the HAVN HS 420 VGPU series, and the regular HS 420 series. We had both cases and their color variants up for grabs in our recent Giveaway, for a total of four amazing prizes for our readers in the US and most of Europe. After a great response of over 3,000 entries, we have four lucky winners, and here they are!
  • Paolo from Italy
  • Lucian from Romania
  • Boyan from Bulgaria
  • Marcin from USA
Huge congratulations to the four of you! TechPowerUp and HAVN will return with more such interesting giveaways.

Samsung Partners With Nexon To Deliver Unparalleled 3D Gaming Experience With 'The First Berserker: Khazan'

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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Samsung Electronics today announced a partnership with game developers Nexon Korea and Neople to deliver unparalleled 3D experiences in the upcoming game 'The First Berserker: Khazan.' The game's 3D elements are being specially customized and designed during development, utilizing Samsung technology and the advanced capabilities of the Odyssey 3D monitor to create an immersive 3D gaming experience.

Through this partnership, Nexon, Neople and Samsung have been working closely to tailor the 3D visuals, carefully adjusting them based on the composition of characters, backgrounds and cinematics throughout the game. This process gives the developers an unprecedented level of control over the 3D effects, enabling them to bring their creative visions to life with precision.
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AOKZOE A1 X Gaming Handheld Unveiled With AMD Strix Point Firepower

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GGforever
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The market for gaming handhelds has been expanding at an unprecedented rate, largely thanks to the impressive performance and efficiency improvements brought to the table by modern APUs. AMD's Strix Point APUs are no exception, and are expected to power a multitude of high-end handhelds. Thanks to its 12 (4 Zen 5 + 8 Zen 5c) cores and RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 890M iGPU, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is an impressive performer for sure. The chip can already be found in a plethora of gaming-oriented handhelds and laptops, and now a fresh offering from AOKZOE is poised to join the list.

Of course, AOKZOE is not nearly as well known as some of its competitors, such as GPD and Minisforum. AOKZOE has revealed only a single image for the product so far, and the differences between the A1, A1 Pro, and A1 X are expected to be minimal, at least on the outside. The company has revealed that the handheld will sport the aforementioned Strix Point flagship APU, along with an 8-inch display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a 72.7 Wh battery. These specifications are nothing extraordinary nowadays, and further details regarding the product, such as thermal performance, display quality, battery life, and the like can only be established with proper hands-on reviews. There are is no information on pricing or availability as of now, and more such details should become available as we inch closer to the A1 X's release.

Throw Out Your Scanner—This App Works Better (Now Cheaper Than Ever)

by
btarunr
It's 2025, and we're looking to digitize everything. Yes, even physical gadgets. Like that clunky scanner taking up valuable desk space… why do we have those again? Right, so they can work about half the time and do a subpar job of scanning our documents. We're ditching ours for the iScanner document-scanning app.

This iOS app can digitize anything—contracts, receipts, handwritten notes, and ID cards—and save them as PDFs, JPGs, and other file types. The app uses AI-powered tools to automatically crop the borders and straighten the scan for perfect images every time. It also includes a mobile PDF editor if you need to add a signature, mark up a document, or manage files.

Use code SCAN at checkout to get an iScanner lifetime subscription for $24.99 (reg. $199.90). That's the app's lowest price ever.
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OLED MacBook Air Delayed to 2029 According to a Recent Report

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GGforever
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MacBook Air aficionados, at least most of them, have been longing for an OLED-equipped variant for quite a while now. OLED displays, especially the tandem-style units that Apple ships with its iPad Pros, have undeniable advantages over tradition LCDs, such as a near-infinite contrast ratio, near-instant response times, and excellent color reproduction. The fear of panel burn-in does exist, although as OLED technology progresses, such fears continue to subside. That said, for those who are holding out for it, the grapevine indicates they will have to hold their horses for a while longer.

A recent report by The Elec has stated that the MacBook Air, which was previously expected to get the OLED treatment sometime in 2027, has now been delayed by another two years. As such, the MacBook Air is now not expected to boast an OLED display before 2029 at the earliest. The Elec claims that the primary cause behind the delay is the lackluster sales boost brought by the OLED upgrade to the iPad Pro lineup, which fell short of what Apple anticipated. That said, the MacBook Air will utilize "Oxide TFT" technology for its LCDs starting 2027, allowing for improved color accuracy, energy efficiency, and contrast. MacBook Pros have already utilized the technology since 2022, and are still expected to boast OLED panels by 2026.

This Week in Gaming (Week 4)

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TheLostSwede
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As we enter the second to last week of January, we have another week packed to the brim full of new releases. The major release of this week allows you to walk around in 2016 km² of a mediaeval fantasy world with five different regions for some MMORPG action. This is followed by some 4X Roman strategy, a trip to Norse mythology hell or pretending to be one of King Arthur's knights. This is followed by a remake of another JPRG from a famous franchise and we end the week with an anime inspired PvP shooter.

The Quinfall / This week's major release / Friday 24 January / Early Access
Embark on an adventurous journey to explore the Quinfall universe. Be a part of unique battles and an immersive story with dozens of different professions in the depths of medieval times in an all-new MMORPG experience. Explore the world's largest MMORPG map with an area of 2016 km². Shape your adventure in five regions with their own unique, distinct climates. Steam link
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Saturday, January 18th 2025
Montech Heritage Pro Review - The Leather Case

Montech Heritage Pro Review - The Leather Case

Review Cases
The Montech Heritage Pro takes an uncommon interior layout, adds BTF, while allowing for big radiators and powerful air cooling, then wraps it all in a beautiful leather exterior. If that is your thing, then the case offers a very good base to build a system that just exudes swagger.
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AMD Ryzen 5 7400F CPU Priced at $116 in China, The Most Affordable AM5 CPU

by
AleksandarK
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AMD's most affordable AM5 processor, the Ryzen 5 7400F, has emerged in Chinese retail channels priced at 849 RMB (approximately $116 with taxes). The pricing suggests the processor could retail for around $100 in other markets before local taxes. The newest silently announced CPU features 6 cores and 12 threads, joining AMD's existing Zen 4 processor lineup. Operating at a base clock of 3.7 GHz with boost capabilities up to 4.7 GHz, the chip maintains the same 32 MB L3 cache as its predecessors while running at a 65 W TDP. Unlike the previous Ryzen 5 7500F, which was limited to system builders and OEMs, the 7400F will be sold directly to consumers through regular retail channels. The processor includes a basic AMD Wraith Stealth cooler in its retail package.

The chip supports standard features found across the AM5 platform, including memory overclocking through AMD EXPO and CPU performance tuning via Precision Boost Overdrive. Like other Ryzen processors, it maintains unlocked multipliers for manual overclocking. The 7400F's appearance follows AMD's recent pattern of quiet releases, similar to the Ryzen 5 9600 that appeared during CES 2025. No official announcement preceded the processor's retail availability. Early listings show the processor available through several Chinese retailers, though availability in other regions remains unclear. The competitive price point could make AMD's AM5 platform more accessible to users building on tighter budgets, though potential buyers will still need to factor in the cost of DDR5 memory and AM5 motherboards required by the platform.

GlobalFoundries Announces New York Advanced Packaging and Photonics Center

Press Release by
AleksandarK
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GlobalFoundries (Nasdaq: GFS) (GF) today announced plans to create a new center for advanced packaging and testing of U.S.-made essential chips within its New York manufacturing facility. Supported by investments from the State of New York and the U.S. Department of Commerce, the first-of-its-kind center aims to enable semiconductors to be securely manufactured, processed, packaged and tested entirely onshore in the United States to meet the growing demand for GF's silicon photonics and other essential chips needed for critical end markets including AI, automotive, aerospace and defense, and communications.

Growth in AI is driving the adoption of silicon photonics and 3D and heterogeneously integrated (HI) chips to meet power, bandwidth and density requirements in datacenters and edge devices. Silicon photonics chips are also positioned to address power and performance needs in automotive, communications, radar, and other critical infrastructure applications.
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Friday, January 17th 2025

Today's Reviews

Audio
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Memory
Monitors
Motherboards
PSUs
SSD
be quiet! Light Loop 360 mm AIO Review

be quiet! Light Loop 360 mm AIO Review

Review CPU Coolers
Looking for a cooler that’s quiet and packs a punch? The be quiet! Light Loop 360 delivers top-notch performance, sleek ARGB lighting, and solid build quality. Meanwhile, its serviceability and low noise levels during most workloads make it a standout option in the hyper-competitive all-in-one liquid cooler market.
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Fosi Audio K7 Gaming Desktop DAC/Headphone Amplifier Review

Fosi Audio K7 Gaming Desktop DAC/Headphone Amplifier Review

Review Audio
The Fosi Audio K7 is a gaming desktop DAC and headphones amplifier that adds a microphone input with independent volume control in both directions, making it attractive for gamers in addition to audiophiles. Featuring extensive power and onboard customization, including bass and treble EQ, this is a product that offers a lot of useful features without breaking the bank.
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Microsoft Refutes Reports of Xbox Division Facing Closure Back in 2021

by
T0@st
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Microsoft's gaming division faced an uncertain future back in 2021, according to an article published by The Information mid-week. The long-form piece mainly focuses on Xbox's current predicaments, but the wider gaming press picked up on surprising allegations from days past. The story goes that Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO's, presided over two paths: either keep Xbox Game Studios going, or mothball the whole operation. History shows us that he kept his company's gaming department alive—a series of acquisitions (during and since 2021) have expanded development and publishing operations—but Xbox's journey has been rocky in the ensuing years. Investors and industry analysts believe that Microsoft's $68.7 billion takeover of Activision/Blizzard/King—back in 2023—has not boosted overall revenues to expected levels.

Insider Gaming has managed to make contact with a Microsoft spokesperson—extracted comments have been published in an "exclusive" report. The brand ambassador insisted that Nadella remains resolute about his company being "all in on gaming"—the CEO never entertained the notion of Microsoft winding down "its games business entirely." Industry experts have also criticized Xbox's Game Pass business model—many believe that the service's reach has faltered. The spokesperson commented on these opinions—proposing that engagement on Xbox platforms is "at an all-time high," helped in part by the recent launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Additionally, Microsoft believes that its audience count is in a healthy spot, with: "well over 500 million monthly players and over the last year, we've seen consistent growth in monthly users on cloud".

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Devs Discuss Title's Musical Score

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T0@st
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In 2018, Kingdom Come: Deliverance's celebrated score played a crucial role in supporting Warhorse's unique vision for immersive RPG gaming. Composer Jan Valta returns for the sequel with an expanded, handcrafted score that delicately blends authenticity with the tastes of a modern world. This gentle approach matters. The medieval music of Henry's world was dominated by the spoken word, with the instruments assuming more of a background role. Time signatures ebbed and flowed with far more fluidity than modern mainstream ears are accustomed to - a story-focused form of jazz, if you like. "It didn't always go in four beats or four bars, and then another four bars," Jan explains. "In medieval times the music was led by the lyrics. It was led by the text which was usually sacred. It came from God, or from the Apostles, or from Jesus. The music was tamed by the lyrics."

Music to Your Ears
Jan instead prefers to view his final touches of authenticity as "seasoning", designed to elevate a more traditionally structured soundtrack. The score exists first and foremost to serve the narrative beats that drive Henry's adventure forwards, in other words, rather than authenticity for authenticity's sake. "Daniel Vávra (creative director) and I quickly came to a common ground, which was a symphonic soundtrack: film-like music, which is then spiced or seasoned with medieval times," he says.
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Report Suggests "Extreme" Stock Limits for GeForce RTX 5090 & 5080 GPUs in Germany

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T0@st
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A moderator on the PC Games Hardware (PCGH.de) discussion board had disclosed worrying details regarding stock limitations—presumably affecting the upcoming GeForce RTX 50 series launch in Germany. In turn, this disclosure was picked up by PCGH's new department. The predicted circumstances will—reportedly—make matters most difficult for customers looking to acquire higher-end "Blackwell" GPUs. The forum moderator gathered damning evidence from his network of contacts: "I was able to learn from well-informed dealer circles, the available contingent of graphics cards will be extremely limited! This applies in particular to the GeForce RTX 5090. Accordingly, NVIDIA determines where and who exactly will offer graphics cards at market launch. B2B dealers and the entire local wholesale trade, which primarily also works with business customers, will most likely come away empty-handed."

A bit of humor was sprinkled in with this informative post—the moderator joked about customers resorting to "cheerful" repetitive pressings of their F5 keys. They posit that the online buying experience for flagship Blackwell GPUs will be tiring and frustrating: "...so anyone who wants to get a GeForce RTX 5090 or GeForce RTX 5080 at market launch will have to queue digitally at the end customer dealers together with waiting (private) customers. Scalpers and bots will probably also get involved here. The quantities that can be purchased are likely to be limited to a maximum of one unit." Several stores are listed as being prime sources of stock (see below)—they reckon that the likes of Amazon will be not be receiving initial batches. "Second, third, or even fourth" waves of stock are anticipated, with some retailers set to act as resellers—inevitably opening the door to predicted price gouging. It is not clear whether these alleged restrictions will come into effect in markets beyond German borders—additionally, the VideoCardz insider network has not discovered any behind-the-scenes information regarding Team Green's launch period supply strategy.

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Jonsbo Launches the N10 and NV10 4.54L Mini-ITX Compact Cases Series

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Nomad76
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Jonsbo rolls out two new Mini-ITX cases that squeeze a lot of features into just 4.54 liters. The N10 and NV10 models make the most of tight spaces, with each box measuring 205×205×108 mm. These small cases made of aluminium, take different paths to use space. The N10 caters to people who need lots of storage, with enough space for four 2.5-inch drives, kept cool by two 40x20 mm fans at the back running at 5000 RPM. Its counterpart, the NV10, swaps drive and back-fan room for graphics muscle fitting half-height dual-slot GPUs up to 190 mm long and offering PCIe 4.0 extension cable support.

The twins boast top-notch build quality combining 3.3 mm aluminium alloy with 1.0 mm steel plating. This results in a strong yet light frame, N10 weights 1.6 kg, while NV10 just 1.5 kg. Both cases can fit 1U Flex power supplies under 150 mm and CPU coolers up to 38 mm in height. Flexibility is a key selling point, as users can place both models upright or on their side to match different desk layouts. Even with their tiny sizes, these cases manage airflow well enough to handle their intended tasks, whether as small workstations or specialized setups.
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LUNAR Remastered Collection Lined Up for April 18 Launch

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T0@st
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LUNAR fans, mark your calendars! The epic adventure to save the world from the forces of evil with old friends Alex, Hiro, and more, begins April 18, 2025. Wishlist it on Steam right now! Dive into the enchanting worlds of LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete and LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue Complete, two beloved JRPGs that have captured the hearts of gamers for generations. LUNAR: Silver Star Story introduces Alex, an aspiring Dragonmaster who bands together with his friends to combat the perilous emergence of the Magic Emperor and stop him from taking over the world.

LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue picks up a thousand years later, and follows Hiro and his friends as they set out in search of the Goddess Althena alongside an enigmatic girl named Lucia. On this grand quest, fend off enemies like Borgan and White Knight Leo, who hunt down the group to eradicate what they deem to be the "Destroyer of Lunar." This definitive remastered edition features enhanced graphics, audio, and quality-of-life improvements that will satiate that hunger for 90s nostalgia--better than you remember! Embark on these two adventures with updated language support, now available in English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, French, and German.
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Digital Foundry Believes that Nintendo Switch 2's Tegra T239 SoC is 8 nm Part

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T0@st
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Yesterday, Nintendo officially unveiled its Switch 2 handheld via a first look video presentation. Featured content did not come as a surprise to many gaming enthusiasts—a steady flow of leaks have already revealed outer and inner workings. Earlier today, the Digital Foundry team has offered their collective opinion on Nintendo's formal announcement. Their roundtable discussion first focused on the Switch 2's physical appearance—mainly a showcased physical increase in size, when lined up against the preceding (standard) model. Conversation quickly moved onto technical matters—a topic that Nintendo normally avoids discussing. The video presentation included in-game footage of a next-gen Mario Kart title—Oliver Mackenzie (a contributing DF video producer/writer) was not impressed by this short demo's visual fidelity. He noted an absence of DLSS image enhancement—surprising, given that the rumored NVIDIA Tegra T239 SoC is capable of deploying this graphics technology.

John, Rich and Oliver then moved onto discussing recently leaked clock speeds and performance figures (in handheld and docked modes)—overall, they reckon that these numbers seem fitting for a hybrid system. They noticed that the handheld GPU clock was lower than expected—based on their judgement of the Switch 2's fairly capable integrated cooling solution. In the past, Digital Foundry theorized that the NVIDIA-designed Tegra T239 will be an 8 nanometer part—rumored to be built on Samsung 8 nm DUV foundry node. Newer gaming community-generated proposals have suggested a shift to Samsung's 5 nm EUV node—mostly based on the chipset's physical footprint. In sharp contrast, the Digital Foundry guys are sticking with their 8 nm theory. Richard Leadbetter (DF's founder) has previously attempted to simulate Switch 2-esque performance on readily available Ampere-based hardware—he could revisit and perform tests on a laptop that sports Team Green's GeForce RTX 2050 mobile GPU. He believes that the leaked CPU and GPU clocks (across both modes) present plausible evidence of 8 nm-level performance, cross-referenced with his team's past analysis of the system's PCB. Debates will inevitably rage on, but Rich insists that the end result will be an example of "Occam's razor." The Tegra T239's four (long alleged) Cortex A78 cores appeared to be running at a higher frequency in portable mode than in docked—suggesting some unknown factors; perhaps a switching on or off of cores (situation dependent). Leadbetter and Co. will be looking forward to getting a proper hands-on experience at Nintendo's April to June launch events.
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Report: Intel Could Face Acquisition, Units to Remain Together

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AleksandarK
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Multiple sources say an unidentified corporation is exploring the complete acquisition of Intel Corporation, according to tech publication SemiAccurate. The report points to an internal memo shared among a small group of top executives at the unnamed firm. A high-level insider confirmed the memo's legitimacy last week, reinforcing speculation that a purchase of Intel may be under serious consideration. SemiAccurate's report indicates that the prospective buyer has enough financial resources to acquire Intel outright, considering the company's current market valuation. Notably, this potential buyer has not been publicly identified in previous discussions about Intel's future, suggesting that planning has occurred behind closed doors. The memo's limited circulation hints that executives treat the proposal cautiously rather than engaging in casual exploratory talks.

Any attempt to purchase Intel would require extensive regulatory review, given the company's role in producing semiconductors for both commercial and government applications. Regulators would likely evaluate issues related to national security, supply chain stability, and competitive impact in the global chip market. While neither Intel nor the unidentified acquirer has issued an official statement on the rumor, we are watching for any signals of formal negotiations. Intel has long been a strategic source of the US semiconductor sector, and its potential ownership change would have to be domestic. If a deal does materialize, it would stand among the largest transactions in the technology field.

Intel Foundry Adds New Customers to RAMP-C Project for US Defense

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btarunr
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Intel Foundry has announced the onboarding of new defense industrial base (DIB) customers, Trusted Semiconductor Solutions and Reliable MicroSystems, as part of the third phase of the Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes - Commercial (RAMP-C) efforts under the Trusted & Assured Microelectronics (T&AM) Program in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD (R&E)). The RAMP-C project, awarded through the Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S²MARTS) Other Transaction Authority (OTA), allows DIB customers to take advantage of Intel Foundry's leading-edge Intel 18A process technology and advanced packaging for prototypes and high-volume manufacturing of commercial and DIB products for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

"We are very excited to welcome Trusted Semiconductor Solutions and Reliable MicroSystems to the RAMP-C project we are engaged in with the DoD. The collaboration will drive cutting-edge, secure semiconductor solutions essential for our nation's security, economic growth and technological leadership. We are proud of the pivotal role Intel Foundry plays in supporting U.S. national defense and look forward to working closely with our newest DIB customers to enable their innovations with our leading-edge Intel 18A technology," said Kapil Wadhera, vice president of Intel Foundry and general manager of Aerospace, Defense and Government Business Group.
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Marvelous Announces "Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma" Release Date: May 30

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T0@st
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Marvelous Games has announced Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. This new entry in the series will launch globally on the Nintendo Switch system and Windows PC via Steam on May 30, 2025. A new gameplay video showcasing Guardians of Azuma's action combat, relationship system, and seasonal village life is also now available to watch below. The latest entry in the popular action-RPG and life-simulation series introduces the Eastern territory of Azuma, a land of Japanese-inspired visuals and unique twists on familiar gameplay elements from the Rune Factory franchise.

Pre-orders for the Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Limited Edition are now available at participating retailers here for an RRP of €99.99. This stunning collection comes in a custom outer box and includes a physical copy of the game, an original soundtrack CD, an art book, an Azuma-inspired folding fan, the "Seasons of Love" DLC bundle, additional DLC costumes for your protagonists and their divine sidekick Woolby, and a plush Woolby keychain. The standard edition of the game is also available to pre-order for an RRP of €59.99. Details on digital editions will be announced later.
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PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 Reaper Graphics Card Stock Appears in UK

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T0@st
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PowerColor started its online marketing campaign for new Reaper graphics card family earlier this week—a rendered scythe graphic was posted on social media along with this cryptic message: "The Reaper has arrived. Everything is under your control. Will you be the Reaper or the one reaped?" The Taiwanese graphics cards company has already unveiled its opening salvo of new RDNA 4-based card designs—on the internet and in real life. For example, PowerColor's Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper model was on display at CES 2025—where TechPowerUp spent a couple of minutes with an SFF-form-factor-friendly demonstration sample. Since then, more photo evidence has been posted on the AMD subreddit—a UK retailer appears to have units in-stock at their warehouse.

Team Red is seemingly operating in silent mode—they have not revealed concrete details about the upcoming launch of Radeon RX 9070 XT and Radeon RX 9070 (non-XT) GPUs. Preliminary specification leaks and photos of boxed retail units have turned up this week—with yesterday's Reddit post indicating that Scan UK has received a big cardboard box containing PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 Reaper cards. Industry watchdogs reckon that AMD is still forming a release strategy—with board partners and retail/e-tail outlets waiting on and seemingly ready to receive new or finalized instructions.

Opera GX Introduces Cyberpunk 2077-themed Hub

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T0@st
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Norwegian browser company Opera [NASDAQ: OPRA] is unveiling the Opera GX hub, a new feature designed to blend the universes of its users' favorite games directly into the browser. Starting with the Cyberpunk 2077 hub, this new addition to Opera GX brings players closer to their favorite titles than ever before, making it possible for them to use the web while never leaving Night City. They can now browse with the full Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack playing in the background, have webpages displayed in the dystopian Cyberpunk 2077 style, and get direct access to streams, modding guides, news from the game and much more - all within the browser.

The Cyberpunk 2077 hub in Opera GX is the first of its kind. It's a new integrated feature that connects the universe of a game with the user's browsing experience. It also gives fans access to essential game-related content and tools, making it easier for them to stay up-to-date with the game while browsing the web within a single space. This collaboration with CD PROJEKT RED is just the beginning: Opera GX will be working on more immersive game integrations in the future.
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AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9000 "Shimada Peak" 64-Core & 32-Core SKUs Leak Out

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T0@st
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Unannounced AMD Threadripper 9000 "Shimada Peak" processor SKUs have once again appeared on leaked shipping manifests—a 96-core variant was uncovered under similar circumstances last summer. The latest discovery—courtesy of reliable investigator Everest/Olrak_29 combing through info published on NBD—reveals a Zen 5-based product stack that lists 16, 32, 64 and 96-core models. Until now, industry watchdogs have not spotted evidence of 32-core and 64-core SKUs—alongside prior leaks that only mentioned 16-core and 96-core parts.

Team Red has not officially announced that it is working on a follow-up to its current generation Zen 4-equipped Threadripper 7000 "Storm Peak" CPU series, but tipsters believe that fundamental similarities—based on leaked core counts and specifications—position "Shimada Peak" as the logical/inevitable successor. Speculation points to all the leaked Threadripper 9000 HEDT processors having a TDP rating of 350 W. Industry insiders propose that the highest-end variant—sporting 96 cores and 192 threads—will contain 12 CCDs (eight cores per CCD), 32 MB L3 cache (per CCD), and a lone I/O die. Wccftech theorizes that the 32-core model will be specced with four CCDs, while "the 64-core variant will come with eight CCDs." Insiders have whispered about a possible "later in 2025" launch window for "Shimada Peak."

GMK G9 Mini PC Unveiled With 4x M.2 2280 Slots and Dual 2.5G LAN

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GGforever
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The newly unveiled GMK G9 is not here to set any records in terms of raw performance. However, it does pack a different trick up its sleeve - impressive storage capabilities, allowing for its use as an affordable NAS. GMK has not revealed any price or availability details as of now, although Liliputing did manage to dig up a retailer listing which reveals that the G1 mini PC will start at an affordable $289 for the base variant with 12 GB of memory and no SSD storage, whereas the same unit with 512 GB of storage will command an extra $30.

The GMK G9 is powered by Intel's N150 processor - a slightly higher-clocked version of the N100, which packs a total of four cores and four threads, a boost clock of 3.6 GHz, and a modest 6-watt TDP. As mentioned previously, the G1 is by no means a performance system, and packs just enough computing grunt to function as a lightweight daily driver or a NAS. The system can be equipped with up to 12 GB of LPDDR5-4800 memory and 64 GB of eMMC storage. To justify its NAS credentials, the G1 packs a whopping four M.2 2280 slots, allowing for a maximum of 32 TB of SSD storage. The port selection is plenty decent as well, including a USB-C port, triple USB-A ports, dual HDMI ports, a 3.5 mm audio jack, and of course, dual 2.5G RJ-45 LAN ports. For the price and the features offered, the G1 sure does like a commendable choice for a nifty little home server.

LG Display Unveils 4th-Generation OLED Panel Optimized for AI Era

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TheLostSwede
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LG Display, the world's leading innovator of display technologies, continues to lead the way in large-sized OLED technology by unveiling its fourth-generation OLED TV panel. 33% brighter than the previous generation and optimized for the AI TV era, it is the industry's first ever OLED display to achieve a maximum brightness as high as 4,000 nits (1 nit is the brightness produced by a candle).

Panels with both high brightness and energy efficiency are essential for AI TVs, as they use upscaling that analyzes content in real time to deliver ultra-high picture quality of up to 8K. The industry also considers higher brightness to be a key picture quality factor because it enables more vivid images that are akin to natural human vision.
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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Officially Steam Deck Verified

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T0@st
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Cue the iconic FINAL FANTASY fanfare because we can confirm that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is officially Steam Deck Verified! Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun da duuuuun! That means upon launch on January 23, you'll be able to play the critically acclaimed RPG on a train, on a plane, swaddled up in bed, in the bathroom… wherever you want. It's fine - we won't judge.

Of course, you can also play on your desktop, where depending on your rig you'll be able to benefit from frame rates of up to 120 FPS and a range of visual enhancements, including refined lighting, improved environment detail, more detailed textures. You'll also potentially be able to experience enhanced framerates and image quality with NVIDIA DLSS. VRR is also supported. You can get a sense of the PC enhancements in the new trailer (below), and check out our previous article for more details.
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AMD Retiring Radeon RX 6750 GRE 10 GB SKU According to Chinese Tipsters

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T0@st
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AMD's Radeon RX 6750 GRE GPU is an (RDNA 2) Chinese market exclusive—Board Channels members reckon that this model is facing imminent discontinuation. The "GRE" affix denotes "Golden Rabbit Edition." Western graphics card enthusiasts will be familiar with this slightly odd moniker due to Radeon RX 7900 GRE-based (RDNA 3) cards heading to European and North American territories around early 2024. Sadly, this mid-to-high tier GPU is rumored to be reaching an end-of-life (EOL) phase—the latest speculation now points to Team Red's Radeon RX 6750 GRE being quietly withdrawn from China's PC hardware market.

Two Radeon RX 6750 GRE Navi 22-based SKUs—with 10 GB or 12 GB video memory configurations—were created specifically to fill a gap not occupied by AMD's Radeon RX 7600 XT model. The affordable-tier Golden Rabbit Editions are said to be highly popular with Chinese system integrators and budget-minded gamers, but Team Red and its board partners have (apparently) declared that the 10 GB variant is now discontinued. A Board Channel member posited that an "inventory digestion phase" is already underway, with an end date set in March. AIBs are reportedly waiting on "replacement plans from February to March." The Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB variant is reported to be sticking around for the moment, but a new candidate could be appearing in the near future. VideoCardz believes that AMD is considering a rollout of the—not yet announced and oft-delayed—Radeon RX 7650 GRE as a potential modernized substitute.

NVIDIA RTX 5090 Geekbench Leak: OpenCL and Vulkan Tests Reveal True Performance Uplifts

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GGforever
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The RTX 50-series fever continues to rage on, with independent reviews for the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 dropping towards the end of this month. That does not stop benchmarks from leaking out, unsurprisingly, and a recent lineup of Geekbench listings have revealed the raw performance uplifts that can be expected from NVIDIA's next generation GeForce flagship. A sizeable chunk of the tech community was certainly rather disappointed with NVIDIA's reliance on AI-powered frame generation for much of the claimed improvements in gaming. Now, it appears we can finally figure out how much raw improvement NVIDIA was able to squeeze out with consumer Blackwell, and the numbers, for the most part, appear decent enough.

Starting off with the OpenCL tests, the highest score that we have seen so far from the RTX 5090 puts it around 367,000 points, which marks an acceptable jump from the RTX 4090, which manages around 317,000 points according to Geekbench's official average data. Of course, there are a plethora of cards that may easily exceed the average scores, which must be kept in mind. That said, we are not aware of the details of the RTX 5090 that was tested, so pitting it against average scores does seem fair. Moving to Vulkan, the performance uplift is much more satisfying, with the RTX 5090 managing a minimum of 331,000 points and a maximum of around 360,000 points, compared to the RTX 4090's 262,000 - a sizeable 37% improvement at the highest end. Once again, we are comparing the best results posted so far against last year's averages, so expect slightly more modest gains in the real world. Once more reviews start appearing after the embargo lifts, the improvement figures should become much more reliable.

Assetto Corsa EVO Early Access Goes Live on Steam

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T0@st
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The journey begins now: Assetto Corsa EVO Early Access is live on Steam! Imagine sitting behind the wheel of your dream car, the engine roaring, with the track stretching out before you. Feel the changing light as you accelerate, the road alive beneath your tires. This isn't just a game—it's the start of your driving journey.

For the next two weeks, until January 30th, join Assetto Corsa EVO Early Access at 20% off. By joining now, you'll receive all the content featured in version 1.0 for free. This is your chance to be part of the game's evolution at the lowest price of the entire EA program—immerse yourself in every thrilling lap and turn while shaping the future of the game.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Performance in Cyberpunk 2077 With and Without DLSS 4 Detailed

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GGforever
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It is no secret that NVIDIA's RTX 50-series launch was welcomed with a mixed reception. On one hand, DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation has allowed for obscene jumps in performance, much to the dismay of purists who would rather do away with AI-powered wizardry. A recent YouTube video has detailed what the RTX 5090 is capable of in Cyberpunk 2077 with Path Tracing at 4K, both with and without the controversial AI features. With DLSS set to performance mode and 4x frame generation (three generated frames), the RTX 5090 managed around 280 FPS. Pretty good, especially when considering the perfectly acceptable latency of around 52 ms, albeit with occasional spikes.

Turning DLSS to quality, the frame rate drops to around 230 FPS, with latency continuing to hover around 50 ms. Interestingly, with frame generation set to 3x or even 2x, the difference in latency was borderline negligible between the two, right around 44 ms or so. However, the FPS takes a massive nosedive when frame generation is turned off entirely. With DLSS set to quality mode and FG turned off, the RTX 5090 barely managed around 70 FPS in the game. Taking things a step further, the presenter turned off DLSS as well, resulting in the RTX 5090 struggling to hit 30 FPS in the game, with latency spiking to 70 ms. Clearly, DLSS 4 and MFG allows for an incredible uplift in performance with minimal artefacting, at least in Cyberpunk 2077 unless one really looks for it.

PCI-SIG Releases PCI-Express Gen 7 Draft Specification 0.7—128 Gbps per Lane

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btarunr
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PCI-SIG, the consortium that governs the PCI Express I/O interconnect, released draft specification version 0.7 for the upcoming PCI-Express 7.0 standard (or PCIe Gen 7). An early-2025 release of this draft could indicate that PCIe Gen 7 gets finalized into specification version 1.0 by the end of 2025, from where implementers can pick it up to design their devices around. We are now at 32 Gbps per lane per direction with PCIe Gen 5, and PCIe Gen 6 doubles it to 64 Gbps, which would mean PCIe Gen 7 will double that further to 128 Gbps per lane per direction. PCI-Express 7.0 x1 would offer the same bandwidth as PCI-Express 3.0 x16. We could realistically expect the first computing platforms implementing PCIe Gen 7 to come out around 2027 or even 2028. PCIe forms the physical layer for a number of derivative standards, such as CXL, Thunderbolt, USB (USB 3.0 onwards), NVMe, SDexpress, CFexpress, and DMI.
Many Thanks to Tumble George for the tip

Thermal Grizzly Releases Duronaut High-Performance Thermal Paste with Exceptional Long-Term Stability

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GFreeman
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Thermal Grizzly's Duronaut thermal paste stands out due to its combination of exceptional long-term stability and excellent thermal conductivity. Its outstanding performance in heat transfer is further enhanced by the ability to apply Duronaut in an extremely thin layer. This is made possible by its unique composition of aluminium microparticles and zinc oxide nanoparticles, optimized for particle shapes and sizes. These features ensure excellent adhesion of the paste to the surface. The powders are mixed into a specially developed silicone oil, resulting in extraordinary long-term stability.

For optimal application, the high-end thermal paste comes with the new TG Spatula Pro. The redesigned spatula allows for more pressure to be applied to the surface during application, enabling the paste to be spread more efficiently in a thinner layer. Duronaut is available in 2-gram and 6-gram packaging options.
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ASUS Announces Refreshed Marshmallow Keyboard KW100

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GFreeman
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ASUS today announced the refreshed Marshmallow Keyboard KW100—now featuring a new Copilot key for one-press access to the Microsoft Copilot app for enhanced Windows experiences, along with Iridescent White and Rose Clay color options. This compact and versatile wireless keyboard is ideal for everyday computing, boasting durable 10-million-keystroke switches, scissor keys, and two-level adjustable kickstands. A pair of system-switch keys enable effortless switching between Windows and ChromeOS, and between macOS, iOS, and iPadOS modes.

Distinct colors
ASUS Marshmallow Keyboard KW100 is now available in eye-catching Iridescent White and Rose Clay finishes, as well as the original Oat Milk and Green Tea Latte options. The four color schemes provide an eye-catching look that stands out against the black, beige, or gray keyboards typically seen in the market. In addition, essential keys such as Enter, Esc and the space bar are in a contrasting shade for better visibility. These unique colors give ASUS Marshmallow Keyboard KW100 a smart, youthful look that perfectly complements ASUS Fragrance Mouse MD101, as well as modern laptops, PCs, and tablets.
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Apple Silicon Macs Gain x86 Emulation Capability, Run x86 Windows Apps on macOS

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AleksandarK
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Parallels has announced the introduction of x86 emulation support in Parallels Desktop 20.2.0 for Apple Silicon Macs. This new feature enables users to run x86-based virtual machines on their M-series Mac computers, addressing a longstanding limitation since Apple's transition to its custom Arm-based processors. The early technology preview allows users to run Windows 10, Windows 11 (with some restrictions), Windows Server 2019/2022, and various Linux distributions through a proprietary emulation engine. This development particularly benefits developers and users who need to run 32-bit Windows applications or prefer x86-64 Linux virtual machines as an alternative to Apple Rosetta-based solutions.

However, Parallels is transparent about the current limitations of this preview release. Performance is notably slow, with Windows boot times ranging from 2 to 7 minutes, and overall system responsiveness remains low. The emulation only supports 64-bit operating systems, though it can run 32-bit applications. Additionally, USB device support is not available, and users must rely on Apple's hypervisor as the Parallels hypervisor isn't compatible. Despite these constraints, the release is a crucial step forward in bridging the compatibility gap for Apple Silicon Mac users so legacy software can still be used. The feature has been implemented with the option to start virtual machines hidden in the user interface to manage expectations, as it is still imperfect.

NVIDIA Reveals Secret Weapon Behind DLSS Evolution: Dedicated Supercomputer Running for Six Years

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AleksandarK
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At the RTX "Blackwell" Editor's Day during CES 2025, NVIDIA pulled back the curtain on one of its most powerful tools: a dedicated supercomputer that has been continuously improving DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) for the past six years. Brian Catanzaro, NVIDIA's VP of applied deep learning research, disclosed that thousands of the company's latest GPUs have been working round-the-clock, analyzing and perfecting the technology that has revolutionized gaming graphics. "We have a big supercomputer at NVIDIA that is running 24/7, 365 days a year improving DLSS," Catanzaro explained during his presentation on DLSS 4. The supercomputer's primary task involves analyzing failures in DLSS performance, such as ghosting, flickering, or blurriness across hundreds of games. When issues are identified, the system augments its training data sets with new examples of optimal graphics and challenging scenarios that DLSS needs to address.

DLSS 4 is the first move from convolutional neural networks to a transformer model that runs locally on client PCs. The continuous learning process has been crucial in refining the technology, with the dedicated supercomputer serving as the backbone of this evolution. The scale of resources allocated to DLSS development is massive, as the entire pipeline for a self-improving DLSS model must consist of not only thousands but tens of thousands of GPUs. Of course, a company making 100,000 GPU data centers (xAI's Colossus) must save some for itself and is proactively using it to improve its software stack. NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang famously said that DLSS can predict the future. Of course, these statements are to be tested when the Blackwell series launches. However, the approach of using massive data centers to improve DLSS is quite interesting, and with each new GPU generation NVIDIA release, the process is getting significantly sped up.

Thermaltake Releases the Toughpower TF3 1300W With Support for RTX 50 Series GPUs

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Nomad76
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Thermaltake, a leading PC DIY brand for premium hardware solutions, is proud to launch the Toughpower TF3 1300 W - TT Premium Edition, the 80 Plus Titanium certified and full modular PSU that is designed to power up high-performance and overclocking systems. The Toughpower TF3 1300 W is built to comply with the ATX 3.1 specification and comes with PCIe Gen 5.1 connectors, it ensures superior reliability and future-ready compatibility for high-end hardware including the latest RTX50 series graphics cards.

The Toughpower TF3 1300 W meets ATX 3.1 standards, supporting up to 200% total power excursion, 300% GPU power excursion, and reaches 60% efficiency at low load. Its two native PCIe 12 V-2X6 modular interfaces are compatible with advanced PCIe 12+4pin connectors, providing up to 600 W for the next-gen PCIe 5.1 graphics cards. To reduce installation errors, the 12+4pin cable comes with a dual-color design in matcha green and black, allowing users can easily verify proper connections.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series "Blackwell" Features Similar L1/L2 Cache Architecture to RTX 40 Series

by
AleksandarK
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NVIDIA's upcoming RTX 5090 and 5080 graphics cards are maintaining similar L1 cache architectures as their predecessors while introducing marginal improvements to L2 cache capacity, according to recent specifications reported by HardwareLuxx. The flagship RTX 5090 maintains the same 128 KB L1 cache per SM as the RTX 4090 but achieves a higher total L1 cache of 21.7 MB thanks to its increased SM count of 170. This represents a notable improvement over the RTX 4090's 16.3 MB total L1 cache, which features 128 SMs. In terms of L2 cache, the RTX 5090 sees a 33.3% increase over its predecessor, boasting 96 MB compared to the RTX 4090's 72 MB, with SM count going up by 32.8%, so there is a slight difference.

However, this improvement is relatively modest compared to the previous generation's leap, where the RTX 4090 featured twelve times more L2 cache than the RTX 3090. The RTX 5080 shows more conservative improvements, with its L1 cache capacity only marginally exceeding its predecessor by 1 MB (10.7 MB vs 9.7 MB). Its L2 cache maintains parity at 64 MB, matching the RTX 4080 and 4080 Super. To compensate for these incremental cache improvements, NVIDIA is implementing faster GDDR7 memory across the RTX 50 series. Most models will feature 28 Gbps modules, with the RTX 5080 receiving special treatment with 30 Gbps memory. Additionally, some models are getting wider memory buses, with the RTX 5090 featuring a 512-bit bus and the RTX 5070 Ti upgrading to a 256-bit interface.

U.S. Department of Commerce Announces $1.4 Billion to Support U.S. Semiconductor Advanced Packaging

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce has announced that CHIPS National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP) has finalized $1.4 billion in award funding to bolster U.S. leadership in advanced packaging and enable new technologies to be validated and transitioned at scale to U.S. manufacturing. These awards will help establish a self-sustaining, high-volume, domestic, advanced packaging industry where advanced node chips are both manufactured and packaged in the United States.

These awards include:
  • A total of $300 million under the CHIPS NAPMP's first Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for advanced substrates and material research to Absolics Inc., Applied Materials Inc., and Arizona State University. This follows the previously announced intent to enter negotiations on November 21, 2024
  • $1.1 billion to Natcast to operate the advanced packaging capabilities of the CHIPS for America NSTC Prototyping and NAPMP Advanced Packaging Piloting Facility (PPF). This follows the previously announced CHIPS R&D Facilities Model on July 12, 2024, and planned site selection for the PPF on January 6, 2025
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AMD to Build Zen 6 CCD on TSMC 3nm Process, Next-Gen cIOD and sIOD on 4nm

by
btarunr
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AMD is rumored to be building its next-generation CCD (core complex die) that implements the "Zen 6" microarchitecture, on the 3 nm TSMC N3E foundry node. This is part of a set of rumors from ChipHell forum, which got past rumors on AMD right. Apparently, AMD will also refresh the I/O dies for its next generation process, building them on the 4 nm foundry node, likely the TSMC N4C. The TSMC N3E node offers a 20% speed improvement, over 30% power savings, and approximately 60% logic density increase over TSMC N5, whereas the TSMC N4P node that the company uses for its current "Zen 5" chiplets only clock minor increases in logic density and power over N5. The N3E node relies on EUV double-patterning to achieve its logic density increases.

Perhaps the most interesting piece of news is the new-generation I/O dies. AMD is building these on the 4 nm node, which is a significant step up from the 6 nm node its current I/O dies are built on. On the client side of things, 4 nm will enable AMD to give the new cIOD an updated iGPU, probably based on a newer graphics architecture, such as RDNA 3.5. It will also give AMD the opportunity to integrate an NPU. The company might also update its key I/O components, such as the DDR5 memory controllers, to support higher memory speeds unlocked by CUDIMMs. We don't predict any updates on the PCIe front, since AMD is expected to carry on with Socket AM5, which determines that the cIOD puts out 28 PCIe Gen 5 lanes. At best, the USB interface put out from the processor could be updated to USB4 through an on-die host controller. Over on the server side, the new-generation sIOD will bring much needed increases to the DDR5 memory speeds enabled by clock drivers.
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Thursday, January 16th 2025

Today's Reviews

Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Memory
Motherboards
Networking
PSUs
Sound Cards
SSD
ASRock Arc B570 Challenger OC Review

ASRock Arc B570 Challenger OC Review

Review Graphics Cards
The new Intel Arc B570 "Battlemage" is one of the most affordable graphics cards on the market that can still handle 1080p at maximum details. ASRock's B570 Challenger OC is a factory-overclocked custom-design variant that comes with a dual slot cooler that still runs whisper-quiet.
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Sparkle B570 Guardian OC Review

Sparkle B570 Guardian OC Review

Review Graphics Cards
Intel's Arc B570 "Battlemage" is out, and at $230 it's a highly attractive option for 1080p gamers on a budget. Sparkle's Guardian OC comes with a factory overclock and a great-looking dual-fan cooling solution that runs quietly.
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Kiwi Ears Showcases Multiple Closed-Back Over-Ear Headphones at CES 2025

CES by
VSG
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Kiwi Ears, a brand known primarily for its IEMs, decided CES 2025 is the perfect time to show off its upcoming series of closed-back headphones. We already saw a couple of more budget-friendly DJ/monitoring-style headphones from the brand late last year, and Kiwi Ears followed up on this with two different ANC wireless headphones to appeal to the more mainstream crowd. The Aventus and Ardor both use two dynamic drivers—a 10 mm DD on top of a 40 mm DD in a coaxial configuration—for a novel driver configuration in headphones. Both of course have RGB lighting in the ear cups to further appeal to the mainstream market, and will be launching later this month. The dual driver headphones theme continued with the Kiwi Ears Atheia, which foregoes the plastic RGB ear cups in favor of machined walnut wood and now goes for a 50 mm DD + 14.5 mm planar magnetic driver hybrid configuration. This seems similar to the Noble Audio Apollo from last year, which uses a similar driver setup and adds wireless ANC connectivity on top. The Atheia is also expected to launch later this month, so Kiwi Ears is set to have a busy few days ahead.

Also at the show was yet another wooden ear cup set, although this currently uses the same body as the Atheia. This unnamed model—feel free to suggest a name for Kiwi Ears in the comments—is also closed-back in nature, and is using a single large planar magnetic driver. This is arguably the toughest type of headphones to get sounding correct, at least in the ~$400 price range that Kiwi Ears is aiming for. There's still work to be done with the tuning, and I provided feedback which is hopefully going to help the brand out. I used all of these headphones with my phone thanks to an upcoming Kiwi Ears dongle-style DAC/amp, the Allegro Pro, which connects directly to the Type-C port on your phone. It uses a customized DAC and a dedicated amplifier section, offers both 3.5 mm SE and 4.4 mm BAL outputs, and even has three onboard EQ profiles you can toggle through a button on the underside. The Kiwi Ears Allegro Mini should be launching within the next month or two, helping wrap up a great showing for Kiwi Ears at CES.

TSMC Reportedly Rejects Samsung's Proposed Exynos Mass Production Request

by
T0@st
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Samsung's native foundry operations have wrestled with the 3 nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process—these problems have persisted since the first reports of "missed production targets" emerged late last year—online speculators floated a very disappointing yield figure: only 20%. Last December, industry moles proposed that the South Korean technology giant had devised plans to form an Exynos-centric "multi-channel partnership" with rival chipmakers. Speculation pointed to TSMC being the only valid ally. Semiconductor industry tipster—Jukanlosreve—believes that negotiations have taken place, and the answer was a firm "no." TSMC's most advanced node process order books are likely filled up with more important customers—industry watchdogs reckon that Apple usually gets first dibs.

Taiwan's top semiconductor manufacturer leads the market with its cutting-edge lithography techniques. Insiders believe that Samsung was impressed by TSMC's 2 nm trial production runs achieving (rumored) 60% yields. The higher-end Exynos chipsets are normally produced with the best node process available, but missed manufacturing goals have caused Samsung to drop in-house tech. In the recent past, Qualcomm's most powerful Snapdragon mobile chipsets have been deployed on flagship Galaxy S smartphones. Jukanlosreve believes that TSMC rejected Samsung's proposed Exynos deal due to a fear of revealing too many "trade secrets." Potentially, the South Koreans could have learned a thing or two about improving yields—courtesy of TSMC's expert knowledge.

Age of Darkness: Final Stand Reaches V1.0 Milestone - Out Now on Steam

Press Release by
T0@st
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Protectors of the Light, it is time! Age of Darkness: Final Stand has officially launched, marking the end of over three years in Early Access and the introduction of one of your most requested features: Co-operative Multiplayer. We cannot wait for you to jump in and try it out. Importantly, we are celebrating the full release of Age of Darkness: Final Stand with our biggest discount yet—available now at 65% off for a limited time only! There really is no better time for you or your friends to jump into the game (and you have our permission to bug them until they do).

If you are new to the AOD community—welcome! In addition to the new Multiplayer Mode, you also have Survival Mode and the gripping Campaign to experience, and they are a great place to start when learning the ropes. Take advantage of the game's range of difficulty settings if need be - there is no shame in playing on Easy! But if you are a Veteran RTS player and want to grab a friend to defend humanity against the forces of the Veil, do not be afraid to jump into Multiplayer and challenge yourselves with its increased intensity and faster pacing. The game truly has something for everybody!
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GMK Unveils AD-GP1 eGPU Powered By AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT

by
GGforever
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To be honest, it is rather tiresome to look for mini PCs with adequately powerful graphics. Of course, AMD's Strix Halo is all set to change that narrative with the help of its powerful integrated graphics that rivals discrete cards, but those stuck with last-gen systems have no option but to opt for an eGPU. Thankfully, the options are plenty on the market, and prominent mini PC brand GMK has now arrived with its own solution as well.

Dubbed the GMK AD-GP1, the eGPU sports the decently powerful AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT graphics card with a measly 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. While that would have been enough 4 or 5 years ago, 8 GB of VRAM is hardly sufficient for modern titles, especially at higher resolutions. Making matters worse, the GMK AD-GP1 does not feature a replaceable GPU, which means that its buyers will be stuck with the RX 7600M XT that its ships with. That said, the system is undeniably rather compact at 16.3 x 11.0 x 3.9 cm, and sports a visually appealing design.
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PowerColor Uploads Lots of Radeon RX 9070 XT Red Devil Promo Images

by
T0@st
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PowerColor has updated its website with a Radeon RX 9070 XT Red Devil product page—this is the first example of an RX 9000 series model being officially listed alongside their existing selection of (exclusively) AMD GPU-based graphics cards. The Taiwanese brand has not published any technical specifications—Team Red RDNA 4 NDAs are likely still in effect—but a pleasing number of Radeon RX 9070 XT Red Devil promotional images have been uploaded. A limited edition package (with alleged bundled extras) seems to be in the pipeline—VideoCardz has provided visual evidence of a fancy container (see below).

Teaser images appeared online at the start of this year—close-ups of glowing signature red parts were accompanied by an ominous message: "every edge shines like a gem. Every second burns like fire. If power was in your hands, how would you use it?" Days later, TechPowerUp inspected a fully unveiled Red Devil demonstration sample at CES 2025—new Hellhound and Reaper designs were also within reach. PowerColor's freshly uploaded images reveal one major difference—VideoCardz adeptly points out the presence of two 8-pin power connectors on the promos, while the CES example possessed three physical inputs. They theorize that renders of PowerColor's Radeon RX 9070 (non-XT) Red Devil model have appeared on the XT's product page. Beyond discrepancies in connector counts, the overall design matches that of the Las Vegas showcase model.

Bandai Namco Explores "SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada" Story Missions, Early Access Available Now

Press Release by
T0@st
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SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada, the mecha-based PvPvE extraction shooter from Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc., is available beginning today for consoles and PC. In the game, players take on the role of Drifters, pilots of nimble mecha called CRADLECOFFINS exploring and battling through the ruins of Amasia, a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by poisonous rain. They must rely on their AI companions, called Magus, to help them wage combat in an environment plagued by twisted mutant creatures and other players with unpredictable loyalties to retrieve valuable resources for their own survival.

SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada is now available via Early Access to those players who pre-ordered the Deluxe or Ultimate editions of the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with PC via Steam. The game will launch in all editions on January 23. Find out more about the game and Early Access on the official website.
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AMD Ryzen Z2 Go APU Compared to Z1 Extreme: 10% Slower Overall

by
T0@st
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Fps Vn—a gaming hardware YouTube channel—has managed to get their hands on an early sample of Lenovo's Legion Go S handheld system. This lower cost model was officially introduced at last week's CES trade event—with a notable specification shared across SteamOS and Windows 11 variants: AMD's Ryzen Z2 Go APU. This processor sits at the bottom of Team Red's latest line of "Strix Point" and "Phoenix Point" gaming-oriented SoCs. The Ryzen Z2 Go chipset—featuring Zen 3 processor and RDNA 2 graphics technologies—is based on Team Red's older "Phoenix 2" silicon. Fps Vn decided to compare this lower-end 4-core/8-thread APU with a widely available sibling: the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme (a Zen 4 and RDNA 3-based processor).

Their Lenovo Legion Go S sample model (Ryzen Z2 Go) was lined up against the ASUS ROG Ally X (Ryzen Z1 Extreme)—tests were performed in Black Myth: Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077 and Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut. Gaming benchmarks indicate an overall 9 to 10% performance deficit for the budget-friendly APU. The results are quite impressive; given that the Ryzen Z2 Go SoC utilizes an older processor technology (Zen 3 vs Zen 4), sports a lower core count (four vs. eight), and is only capable of boosting up to 4.3 GHz (Z1 Extreme hits a maximum clock of 5.1 GHz). Reflecting on these early performance results, potential customers are invited to inspect the gulf in pricing. Leaks indicate that the Legion Go S SteamOS model being priced at $499, while an alleged $100 upcharge grants access to a Windows 11 variant ($599). The price-to-performance ratio favors Lenovo's upcoming entry-level models, but ASUS could reduce the ROG Ally X's entry fee in the coming months—this flagship device originally launched with an MSRP of $799.
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NACON Unveils New Products Dedicated to Nintendo Switch 2

Press Release by
Nomad76
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In celebration of the announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2, NACON, premium gaming accessories designer, is pleased to introduce its new range of products dedicated to the console, all of which will be available at launch.

Protection solutions for the whole console
To safeguard your console against accidental damage, NACON has designed a range of solutions to protect it from knocks and drops, including cases, protective shells, pouches and travel bag, all equally useful when playing or on the move.
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NVIDIA NeMo AI Guardrails Upgraded with Latest NIM Microservices

Press Release by
T0@st
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AI agents are poised to transform productivity for the world's billion knowledge workers with "knowledge robots" that can accomplish a variety of tasks. To develop AI agents, enterprises need to address critical concerns like trust, safety, security and compliance. New NVIDIA NIM microservices for AI guardrails—part of the NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails collection of software tools—are portable, optimized inference microservices that help companies improve the safety, precision and scalability of their generative AI applications.

Central to the orchestration of the microservices is NeMo Guardrails, part of the NVIDIA NeMo platform for curating, customizing and guardrailing AI. NeMo Guardrails helps developers integrate and manage AI guardrails in large language model (LLM) applications. Industry leaders Amdocs, Cerence AI and Lowe's are among those using NeMo Guardrails to safeguard AI applications. Developers can use the NIM microservices to build more secure, trustworthy AI agents that provide safe, appropriate responses within context-specific guidelines and are bolstered against jailbreak attempts. Deployed in customer service across industries like automotive, finance, healthcare, manufacturing and retail, the agents can boost customer satisfaction and trust.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 End of January Stock Depletion Predicted

by
T0@st
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Supply chain insiders reckon that stock of NVIDIA's "Ada Lovelace" generation GeForce RTX 4070 GPU will be depleted by the end of this month. This revelation emerges on the cusp of Team Green's GeForce RTX 5000 series of "Blackwell" GPUs heading to market (on January 30). The popular Chinese hardware forum—Board Channels—is a reliable source of product "supply and demand" information. Industry insiders believe that Team Green's mid-tier SKU will be completely sold—by the closing of this month—across several unnamed regional markets. NVIDIA's incoming GeForce RTX 5070 SKU (baseline $549 MSRP) appears to be the natural alternative, given that GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER offerings are priced within the range of $550 to $600—according to market research performed by VideoCardz.

A board member disclosed details and prophesized changes up and down NVIDIA's current-gen product stack: "The inventory for NVIDIA RTX 4070 and higher models is expected to be completely cleared by January. Starting from February, major AIC brands are anticipated to have stock remaining only for the RTX 4060 Ti and RTX 4060 series, which still need to be digested. However, since NVIDIA's Q1 begins in February, these two models will essentially enter the final stock phase." VideoCardz anticipates a March launch window for the GeForce RTX 5060 series—this could be well-timed given circumstances surrounding Team Green's (alleged) limiting of GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GPU supplies and the insider's predicted cessation of RTX 4060 (non-Ti) production.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Devs Discuss Nomad Character Class

Press Release by
T0@st
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Happy New Year, and welcome to a fresh and tasty Dev Diary from the team at The Chinese Room. We are starting the year by talking about the player character, Phyre, and how you can shape their legend and add to it as you play. As you'll see below your story will start wearing rags, but will it end in riches? Seattle's fate is in your hands.—Project Creative Director Alex Skidmore

An Elder of your choosing
As our game starts, an Elder that some call the Nomad wakes up in an abandoned building in Seattle. They don't know where they are or how they got there, but they are quick to adapt - the Nomad is old, and they have survived for a long time. It is clear that they have experienced the deathlike sleep of torpor. The last they remember was a smile and a piercing pain in the chest, delivered in their Haven in Tunis at the start of the 20th century. Now they are awake. What happened to them in their long slumber, and who woke them? Why does their Blood lack the strength and power they are used to? And why is their body carved with arcane sigils?
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AMD Teases Radeon RX 9000 Series Launch Event, Date Not Specified

by
T0@st
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AMD's keynote presentation—at last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES)—did not include a segment that covered their next-gen Radeon RX 9000 GPUs. This omission caused quite an uproar across PC hardware communities—Team Red soon responded with its reasonings. Board partner Radeon RX 9070 XT and Radeon RX 9070 (non-XT) custom models were available for "hands-on" inspections in Las Vegas, but technical specifications and performance figures remained under lock and key. Unofficial leaks and accidental product listings have painted an incomplete picture of the first wave of RDNA 4 products, but AMD seems to be preparing a dedicated launch event.

A recent "Meet the Experts" webinar attracted many queries from curious GPU enthusiasts (including a VideoCardz staffer) regarding Team Red's plans for the initial pair of Navi 48-based graphics cards. Donny Woligroski, AMD's senior processor technical marketing manager, did not provide a concrete answer on an exact launch date—certain leaks have pointed to January 24 as a possible candidate. A special presentation is seemingly on the cards—Woligroski stated: "All I can say about Radeon (9000) is that what we have said is what we can say. We think it deserves its own time in the spotlight, and at CES, things can get kind of washed under a massive amount of information. So stay tuned; it won't be a long time before you'll be hearing more about it in the near future." Industry watchdogs believe that Team Red is strategizing RDNA 4's rollout with eyes trained firmly on Team Green's upcoming new-gen offerings.

Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.6458 WHQL Released

by
btarunr
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Intel today released the latest version of the Arc GPU Graphics Drivers. Version 101.6458 WHQL comes with support for the new Arc B570 graphics card the company launched today. The drivers also add support for the Xe-LPG iGPU of Core Ultra 200H series "Arrow Lake-H" mobile processors. For Core Ultra 200-series iGPUs, the drivers add an up to 6.8% performance uplift in "Call of Duty: Black Ops 6." The drivers address an issue with "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle" where the game exhibits inconsistent performance and memory usage. "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" saw an intermittent application crash and display corruption in the game menu with XeSS enabled, which has been fixed. Grab the drivers from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.6458 WHQL
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Nintendo Announces Switch 2 April Launch Event and Delivers First Look Video

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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Nintendo Switch 2, the successor to the Nintendo Switch system, will be released in 2025. Today Nintendo offered a first look at Nintendo Switch 2 in a video introducing the hardware. Nintendo Switch 2 plays Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games, as well as both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. Certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2. Details will be shared on the Nintendo website at a later date.

For more details on Nintendo Switch 2, please tune in for the "Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 - 4.2.2025" which will air on Wednesday, April 2. Nintendo will also hold Nintendo Switch 2 Experience events, where consumers can go hands-on with Nintendo Switch 2, in cities around the world.
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GeForce NOW Update Grants Mixed Reality Headset Support

Press Release by
T0@st
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Time to suit up, members. The multiverse is about to get a whole lot cloudier as GeForce NOW opens a portal to the first season of hit game Marvel Rivals from NetEase Games. Members can now game in a new dimension with expanded support for virtual- and mixed-reality devices. This week's GeForce NOW app update 2.0.70 begins rolling out compatibility for Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3and 3S, and Pico 4 and 4 Ultra devices. Plus, no GFN Thursday is complete without new games. Get ready for seven new titles joining the cloud this week, including multiplayer online battle arena game SMITE 2.

Invisible No More
Eternal night falls for Marvel Rivals, the superhero, team-based player vs. player shooter that lets players assemble an ever-evolving all-star squad of Super Heroes and Super Villains battling with unique powers across a dynamic lineup of destructible maps from the Marvel Multiverse. The Fantastic Four will be playable in season one of the game. For Eternal Night Falls, Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic will be released in the first half of the season, followed by Human Torch and The Thing in the second. Season one will also feature three new maps, special events and an all-new Doom Match game mode.
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ASML Clients Required to Apply for Export Licenses from Dutch Govt Following Policy Shift

by
T0@st
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Yesterday, the Dutch government announced that it had amended its export rules regarding sanctioned semiconductor equipment—this is another adjustment that seems to align policy closer to North American terms. Equipment manufactured by ASML—the nation's crown jewel photolithography system specialist—is included on a list of sanctioned items. According to a Bloomberg New report, the export of the manufacturer's latest advanced measurement and inspection hardware will be affected by new policy. The Dutch trade ministry stated that only a "very limited" number of technologies will be safeguarded—ASML's customers will be required to apply directly for export licenses with the Dutch government (rather than the USA).

The Hague's announcement did not explicitly state that the latest adjustments were made in conjunction with US government policies, but insider sources reckon that some cross-pollination has occurred. Last December, the White House declared a new wave of restrictions—further constricting semiconductor exports to China. According to an article published by a Netherlands-based legal newspaper, the updated licensing requirements will limit the export of advanced equipment that is utilized to discover small defects in wafers, plus systems that enhance measurements after the deposition and etching phases have been completed.

Endorfy Announces New Series of Black Air Coolers

Press Release by
btarunr
 Discuss (6 Comments)
Following the spectacular success of Endorfy Fera 5 and Endorfy Fortis 5 series, Endorfy is expanding its portfolio by announcing black versions of the air coolers. As a result of immense popularity of Endorfy Fera 5 Black (launched earlier 2024), the brand introduces three new products - Endorfy Fera 5 Black ARGB, Endorfy Fortis 5 Black and Endorfy Fortis 5 Black ARGB. The all-black design perfectly fits various computer builds and workstations.

The coolers vary according to the parameters of heatsink, fan and heatpipes - additionally, two models offer optional ARGB backlighting, making them easy to customize. Each of the launched products are also compatible with the latest AMD and Intel sockets, allowing users to enjoy the silent operation as well as low CPU temperature even when the PC is working at full power.
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Intel Arc B570 Graphics Card Available from Today

by
btarunr
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Intel today formally launched its second graphics card from the Arc "Battlemage" family, the Arc B570. This card is being launched at $220, or $30 cheaper than the Arc B580 from last month. With it, the company is looking to disrupt several products around the $200-mark, and probably even wage price wars below that mark. The card is designed to offer a 1080p AAA gaming experience enhanced with ray tracing, and the XeSS 2 feature set (super resolution, frame generation, and low-latency). Given that there is no RTX 3050 successor from NVIDIA, or anything from AMD around this price point, except older generation RX 6600-series products, the B570 could be poised to grab a chunk of the value-ended gaming PC market share.

The Arc B570 is based on the same 5 nm "BMG-G21" silicon that also powers the B580. It has 18 Xe cores enabled across five Render Slices, giving it 112 EU (execution units), or 2,240 unified shaders. Other key specs include 144 XMX cores for AI acceleration, 18 ray tracing units, 144 TMUs, and 60 ROPs. Perhaps the biggest differentiator between the B570 and B580 is memory, the B570 gets 10 GB of it, over a 160-bit wide GDDR6 memory bus, on which it runs 19 Gbps memory to yield 380 GB/s of memory bandwidth. With a total board power of 150 W compared to the 190 W of the B580, the B570 makes do with a single 8-pin PCIe power connector on even the factory overclocked parts. Intel has set a $220 baseline price, however, there is no reference design card, and the cheapest custom design cards start at $230, with an included factory overclock. We reviewed two such cards today, you can find them in the links below.

Read the TechPowerUp Reviews of the ASRock Arc B570 Challenger OC and the Sparkle Arc B570 Guardian OC.

SK hynix Ships HBM4 Samples to NVIDIA in June, Mass Production Slated for Q3 2025

by
Nomad76
 Discuss (13 Comments)
SK hynix has sped up its HBM4 development plans, according to a report from ZDNet. The company wants to start shipping HBM4 samples to NVIDIA this June, which is earlier than the original timeline. SK hynix hopes to start supplying products by the end of Q3 2025, this push likely aims to get a head start in the next-gen HBM market. To meet this sped-up schedule, SK hynix has set up a special HBM4 development team to supply NVIDIA. Industry sources indicated on January 15th that SK Hynix plans to deliver its first customer samples of HBM4 in early June this year. The company hit a big milestone when it wrapped up the HBM4 tapeout in Q4 2024, the last design step.

HBM4 marks the sixth iteration of high-bandwidth memory tech using stacked DRAM architecture. It comes after HBM3E, the current fifth-gen version, with large-scale production likely to kick off in late 2025 at the earliest. HBM4 boasts a big leap forward doubling data transfer ability with 2,048 I/O channels up from its forerunner. NVIDIA planned to use 12-layer stacked HBM4 in its 2026 "Rubin" line of powerful GPUs. However, NVIDIA has moved up its timeline for "Rubin" aiming to launch in late 2025.
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Xbox Expands its Repairability Program

Press Release by
T0@st
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At Xbox, we're continuing to improve how we design, build, distribute, and use our products to reduce our environmental impact and help us reach Microsoft's goal of being a zero waste, carbon negative, and water positive company by 2030. Finding ways to reduce the environmental footprint of gaming not only helps the environment but also creates benefits for our collective community of players.

We've heard from players that they want more options for support when their Xbox consoles need repair. Today, we're expanding our repairability program, giving players even more options to get their Xbox Series X|S console options—the Xbox Series S—1 TB in Robot White, Xbox Series X—1 TB Digital Edition in Robot White, and Xbox Series X—2 TB Galaxy Black Special Edition—fixed should they ever need to, while also reducing and preventing waste.
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Axiomtek Reveals Edge AI Systems With NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano and Orin NX Super Mode

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Axiomtek - a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted to the research, development, and manufacture of innovative, highly efficient, and reliable industrial computer products - is thrilled to unveil an electrifying upgrade that its AIE100, AIE110, and AIE900 series edge AI systems are going to gear up to support NVIDIA's game-changing Super Mode for NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano and Orin NX series modules, launching this year with the NVIDIA JetPack 6.2 software development kit release.

This enhancement catapults performance to new heights, supercharging groundbreaking applications like local AI chatbots, real-time computer vision, and advanced robotics. Axiomtek's commitment to pioneering edge AI solutions just got even stronger, marking another milestone in its strategic collaboration with NVIDIA, as a Preferred member of the NVIDIA Partner Network with an Embedded Compute competency.
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Brook Gaming Introduces Wingman FGC 2 PS5 Converter

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Nomad76
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With the PlayStation 5 Pro taking the gaming world by storm, Taiwan's leading gaming peripheral brand, Brook Gaming, is back with a groundbreaking new product—Wingman FGC 2 Converter. Designed exclusively for PS5 and compatible with the entire library of PS5 games, this adapter redefines gaming freedom with seamless cross-platform and cross-generation controller support for over 150 wired controllers.

At Brook Gaming, we believe every gamer deserves the freedom to play their way. The Wingman FGC 2 gives players total control over their favorite controllers and fight sticks, eliminating hardware limitations so you can take full command of your gaming experience.
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MONTECH Unveils New Heritage PC Case Series, Combining Leather and Metal

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GFreeman
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As a leading brand in PC case innovation, MONTECH proudly presents the Heritage, an exquisite blend of luxurious leather and durable metal. With a distinctive suitcase-style handle, this compact yet spacious PC case redefines portability and capacity, delivering unmatched elegance and practicality.

Where Luxury Meets Practicality
The Heritage PC case redefines sophistication by seamlessly blending premium leather with durable metal for a timeless, luxurious design. Signature triangular accents reflect the brand's distinct identity, while a suitcase-style leather handle adds both elegance and portability. Designed for users who value both style and functionality, the Heritage delivers a striking aesthetic and unmatched convenience.
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Alphacool Unveils New Apex 1 CPU Cooler for AMD AM5 and Intel LGA 1700/1851 Sockets

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GFreeman
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Alphacool presents the Apex 1, the first CPU water cooler in the Apex series. It combines maximum cooling performance, exceptional design, and a high-quality selection of materials. The Apex 1 integrates the proven cross-slot technology with the new 3D-Jetplate 2.0, ensuring optimal cooling performance for both AMD and Intel processors of the latest generation. A pre-chamber in front of the 3D-Jetplate 2.0 smooths the incoming water flow and evenly distributes it across the Jetplate and the copper base's cooling fins. Both the copper base and the brass connector part are precisely CNC-machined to guarantee top-notch manufacturing quality.

Alphacool offers two versions of the cooler. The AMD AM5 version features an offset cooler base, which does not sit centrally on the CPU. Instead, it is positioned to direct the water injection right above the CPU hotspot. The Intel version has a centrally positioned cooler base that covers the entire CPU. Both versions ensure outstanding cooling performance. The cooler's design is made to fully cover the CPU socket and mounting holes. This does not affect the installation, which remains incredibly simple. Additionally, the coolers come equipped with aRGB lighting, positioned both on the top and on the side towards the RAM, perfectly complementing the design.
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ASUS Announces ExpertBook B3 Series Laptops

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GFreeman
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ASUS today announced the ExpertBook B3 series, an all-new lineup of AI-powered laptops that offers extensive customization to empower daily business needs. Equipped with up to the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 processor (Series 2) with Intel vPro, Intel AI Boost NPU and Intel Arc graphics, ExpertBook B3 delivers solid performance to tackle a wide range of tasks seamlessly. These new laptops also feature powerful AI tools such as ASUS AI ExpertMeet], Microsoft Copilot and AI noise-canceling technology, delivering unmatched productivity experiences.

With a build that's as lightweight as 1.4 kg, a 180° lay-flat hinge, military-grade durability, comprehensive connectivity, and advanced security features, the latest ExpertBook B3-series AI PCs ensure flexibility and efficiency on the go. In addition, with long battery life, exceptional visuals and audio, and an eco-friendly design, ExpertBook B3 series supports streamlined workflows - keeping employees productive, wherever they work.
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AVerMedia Launches ELITE GO GC313Pro and CORE GO GC313 Capture Charging Docks

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btarunr
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AVerMedia Technologies, a global leader in digital audiovisual solutions, is thrilled to announce the worldwide launch of two groundbreaking additions to its GO Series product line: the ELITE GO GC313Pro Charging Capture and the CORE GO GC313 Charging Dock. Designed with mobility, versatility, and performance in mind, these devices empower users to work, play, and create wherever they go, embodying the series' tagline: "Your Essential Go Anywhere."

"The GO Series reflects AVerMedia's mission to deliver tools that combine portability and performance seamlessly," said Michael Kuo, President and CEO of AVerMedia Technologies. "The ELITE GO GC313Pro and CORE GO GC313 exemplify this vision. We are confident these products will enhance how users connect, create, and consume content, whether for gaming, professional tasks, or media streaming."
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ASUS Unveils IoT Edge AI Computers Powered by NVIDIA Jetson Orin

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GFreeman
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ASUS IoT, a global leader in AIoT solutions, today announced that ASUS IoT edge AI computers powered by the NVIDIA Jetson Orin platform have been upgraded to enable the new Super mode. This upgrade increases AI TOPS by up to 1.7X, memory bandwidth by up to 1.5X, and Gen AI model performance by up to 2X.

Up to 1.7X AI TOPS and extensive compatibility with Super mode
Since it enhances AI TOPS by up to 1.7X, Super mode enables a wide range of Gen AI models, including large language models (LLMs), visual language models (VLMs), and vision transformers (ViTs). Jetson Orin modules support popular machine learning frameworks such as Hugging Face Transformers, Ollama, llama.cpp, vLLM, MLC, NVIDIA TensorRT-LLM, and more. This makes them excellent options for edge applications, robotics, and multimodal systems.
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New Logitech Rally Camera Streamline Kit Keeps All Eyes on Relevant Content

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btarunr
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Logitech today introduced Rally Camera Streamline Kit, a comprehensive USB Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) video solution designed for hyflex learning environments and modern workspaces. As higher education institutions strive to meet the evolving needs of their audiences, the demand for lecture capture content has never been greater. Whether engaging with content in-person, online or asynchronously, audiences require seamless experiences tailored for their preferences. Built around Logitech's flagship Rally Camera, the kit enables easy switching between preset camera views, installation and troubleshooting.

"PTZ cameras with speaker tracking for lecture capture are often overly complex and expensive, adding unnecessary hardware to standard USB AV setups while creating unpredictable and distracting user experiences," said Michele Hermann, vice president and general manager of Logitech for Education. "The Rally Camera Streamline Kit is an accessible and easy-to-install solution that minimizes setup complexity while enhancing both user experience and content delivery."
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ADATA Industrial Releases DDR5-6400 CUDIMM and CSODIMM

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btarunr
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ADATA Technology, the world's leading brand for industrial-grade embedded storage, has officially launched its latest industrial-grade DDR5 6400 CUDIMM and CSODIMM memory. Both products have built-in advanced clock driver (CKD) chips, provide multiple storage capacity options of 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB, and are fully compatible with Intel Arrow Lake series and other mainstream brand processors. They are an exemplar of ADATA's technological innovation, development strength, and product compatibility.

ADATA Industrial DDR5 CUDIMM and CSODIMM use high-quality ICs and have undergone rigorous reliability tests to ensure their ultra-high-speed data transfer capability of 6400 MT/s. This equates to a 15% performance increase compared with traditional DDR5 memory. This breakthrough not only brings new performance options to high-performance computing platforms and high-end workstations, but also lays a solid foundation for the rapidly developing field of artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
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TSMC Reports Record Q4 2024 Earnings with 37% YoY Growth

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AleksandarK
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TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) today announced consolidated revenue of NT$868.46 billion, net income of NT$374.68 billion, and diluted earnings per share of NT$14.45 (US$2.24 per ADR unit) for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024. Year-over-year, fourth quarter revenue increased 38.8% while net income and diluted EPS both increased 57.0%. Compared to third quarter 2024, fourth quarter results represented a 14.3% increase in revenue and a 15.2% increase in net income. All figures were prepared in accordance with TIFRS on a consolidated basis.

In US dollars, fourth quarter revenue was $26.88 billion, which increased 37.0% year-over-year and increased 14.4% from the previous quarter. Gross margin for the quarter was 59.0%, operating margin was 49.0%, and net profit margin was 43.1%. In the fourth quarter, shipments of 3-nanometer accounted for 26% of total wafer revenue; 5-nanometer accounted for 34%; 7-nanometer accounted for 14%. Advanced technologies, defined as 7-nanometer and more advanced technologies, accounted for 74% of total wafer revenue.
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JPR: 251 Million GPUs Shipped Globally in 2024, More Units than CPUs

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AleksandarK
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Jon Peddie Research (JPR) reports that shipments of integrated and standalone GPUs exceeded 251 million units in 2024, marking a 6% year-over-year rise. This growth continues to outpace the shipment figures for client CPUs, given that most desktop and laptop processors include built-in graphics, and that leading suppliers such as AMD and NVIDIA also provide tens of millions of discrete GPUs annually. Thanks to some earlier per-quarter data, we find that in the desktop segment, JPR shows that manufacturers shipped about 18.2 million discrete graphics cards in the first half of 2024—a 46% increase compared to the same period in 2023. However, shipments slowed in the third quarter, falling to 8.1 million units, down from 8.9 million units in Q3 2023.

Analysts partly attribute this dip to inventory adjustments at AMD, along with the end of product cycles for Ada Lovelace and RDNA 3 GPUs. Typically, the fourth quarter sees a boost in discrete GPU purchases as gamers gear up for new software releases. Yet it is not entirely clear whether that trend held through late 2024. Early indications suggest that total graphics card shipments for the year lightly exceed the totals from 2023, thanks primarily to strong demand in the first half. We still need data from Q4 of 2024 to see the trend in its final months of the year, despite knowing that the year-over-year growth is 6%. Nonetheless, current levels appear unlikely to approach the elevated peaks observed in 2021 or 2022.

G.Skill Announces DDR5-6400 CL30 96GB (2x 48GB) Low-Latency Memory Kits

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btarunr
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G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is announcing the release of low latency DDR5-6400 CL30-39-39-102 memory specification in high-capacity kit configurations, up to 96 GB (2x 48 GB) kit capacity. This high performance memory kit specification will be available under the Trident Z5 RGB and Trident Z5 Royal series, with Intel XMP 3.0 memory overclock profile support.

The G.SKILL DDR5-6400 CL30 memory kit at 96 GB (2x 48 GB) combines high-capacity and low-latency to enable higher performance for memory intensive platforms and uses. The screenshot below shows this 96 GB (2x 48 GB) memory kit operating at DDR5-6400 CL30-39-39-102 with the ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Hero motherboard and Intel Core Ultra 7 265K desktop processor.
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MSI Shows Behind the Scenes Look at Motherboard Manufacturing Process

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AleksandarK
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MSI has provided a detailed look into its motherboard production facilities through a new interactive webpage. The company has outlined the 15-step manufacturing process that transforms bare circuit boards into complete motherboards. The process begins with solder paste printing, where a precise layer of conductive paste is applied to the bare PCB. This is followed by automated inspection using imaging systems to verify proper paste placement. High-speed machines then position electronic components onto the board before they move through reflow ovens that permanently bond the components. Multiple inspection stages are integrated throughout the assembly line, including automated optical systems that check both sides of the board. Specialized machines handle routing, component insertion, wave soldering, and alloy welding.

Each board undergoes circuit testing and receives mechanical components through automated screw-locking systems before final functional testing and molding. The complexity of modern motherboard manufacturing requires rigorous quality checks and final power tests before the motherboard leaves manufacturing facilities. For interested enthusiasts, MSI's new landing page is here. The manufacturing reveal accompanies MSI's launch of two new motherboard series—Z790 and B860. To celebrate this launch, MSI has announced promotional events running from January 20 to March 31, 2025, including Steam game codes with select product purchases. A new reward program offers points for product reviews and referrals.

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Wednesday, January 15th 2025
G-Wolves Hati-S2 8K Review

G-Wolves Hati-S2 8K Review

Review Mice
At 34 g, the ambidextrous Hati-S2 is the lightest member of the Hati-S family, and also the smallest. Equipped with PixArt's PAW3395 sensor and Huano main button switches, the Hati-S2 is capable of true 8000 Hz polling, up to 80 hours of battery life are advertised, and configuration is done through a web driver.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Technical Deep Dive

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Technical Deep Dive

Article Graphics Cards
In this article we cover everything NVIDIA revealed about the GeForce RTX 50 Series: the new graphics card models and their pricing, Blackwell architecture, DLSS 4 updates, Neural Rendering, Reflex 2 for faster headshots, improved AI performance and creator-focused tools.
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Heroes of Hammerwatch II Out Now on PC & Consoles

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T0@st
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The wait is over! Heroes of Hammerwatch II is now officially available for purchase! A massive thank you to everyone who played the demo, shared feedback, and reported issues—your incredible support and enthusiasm have been invaluable. Don't forget to drop a review and join us on Discord to keep up to date with the latest information. Now it's time to jump into the adventure!

Embark on a new adventure in Heroes of Hammerwatch II
A rogue-lite action RPG brimming with randomly generated levels, deep customization, and rich persistent progression. Battle your way through the perilous Dark Citadel, collecting powerful equipment and trinkets that unlock game-changing upgrades and abilities. This unique mix of permanent equipment in the style of action RPGs along with run-defining rewards from its rogue-lite roots results in a compelling experience where you are sure to get something new out of every run, always progressing in some way, with no two runs the same.
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AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & RX 9070 Custom Models In Stock at European Stores

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T0@st
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AMD's board partners flaunted their new Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 custom models at last week's CES trade event, but no one expected to see retail units pop up anytime soon after the concluded Las Vegas showcase. Earlier today, a brave soul uploaded compelling new evidence on Team Red's subreddit—they claim that they were surprised to see the "early" delivery of Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 graphics card stock. Uploaded photos seem to show several boxed Sapphire Pulse models sitting in an Israeli computer store's stockroom. This leak has semi-ruined Sapphire's staggered Pulse-oriented marketing campaign—yesterday, a teaser image emerged via an official social media post.

Industry watcher, momomo_us, has gathered proof of GIGABYTE Radeon RX 9070 XT GAMING OC 16G and Radeon RX 9070 GAMING OC 16G model stock reaching Danish shores. According to VideoCardz, Føniks Computer's online store had at least four units available for purchase and immediate shipping (same business day). Entries for the two models have also appeared on Geizhals—this German price comparison engine lists January 24 as a market launch date. This information could be subject to change—AMD is likely still working on finalizing release window parameters. After all, recent pre-launch leaks have contained incomplete data and errors. It should be noted that NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 series is set to hit international markets on January 30—is Team Red planning to pre-empt this rollout?

SMITE 2 Free-to-Play Open Beta Available Now

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T0@st
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Join the Battleground of the Gods: SMITE 2 is Now Free-to-Play! Step into the all-new SMITE 2 Open Beta and experience the next evolution of third-person action MOBA combat—now powered by Unreal Engine 5. If you crave challenging competition, intense gameplay, ability-driven team fights, and godly mythological themes, it's time to see why over 40 million players are hooked on SMITE. Become a God today!

THE Third-Person Action MOBA
No other game offers combat that feels like your favorite hero shooter, crossed with the deep strategy you can only find in a 5 vs. 5 MOBA. Feel the impact of every shot, sneak up on enemies, and combo abilities with teammates to take down the enemy Titan in Conquest mode, or defeat waves of minions and enemy Gods to secure victory in Arena mode.
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Apple's Custom "Hidra" SoC Reportedly Exclusive to Next-gen Mac Pro

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T0@st
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Apple's top-end M4 Ultra desktop-class chipset is allegedly going to feature on upcoming Mac Pro and Mac Studio refreshes—new product unveilings could be on the company's schedule (WWDC 2025). Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has divulged intriguing M4-series information within his latest newsletter. The M4 Ultra SoC—codenamed "Hidra"—was previously believed to be the most powerful processor option available on both next-gen Mac Pro and Mac Studio platforms. Now, Gurman believes that Apple engineers have created a distinct custom chipset design—exclusively designed for the Mac Pro workstation product stack—that sits above their M4 Ultra SoC.

Somewhat confusingly he suggests that "Hidra" is the codename for this top-of-the-line processor. Rumors swirled last month about the cancellation of an alleged "Extreme" model, so there is a degree of uncertainty surrounding unannounced M4 SKUs. Potential customers could choose Apple's (potentially) more powerful "Hidra-equipped" Mac Pro workstation over the highest-end M4 Ultra-based Mac Studio model. Industry experts propose that "Hidra" will arrive with an increased number of CPU and GPU cores—exceeding the M4 Ultra's speculated makeup of a 32-core CPU and an 80-core GPU.

Nintendo Switch 2 Docked and Handheld Performance Revealed By Tipster

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GGforever
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It is a known fact that the Switch 2 is by no means planning on being a performance beast. Nintendo's focus has always been on their ecosystem, and not on raw performance, which will continue being the case. As such, the Switch 2 is widely expected to sport an NVIDIA Tegra SoC paired with 12 GB of LPDDR5 system memory and an Ampere-based GPU. Now, a fresh leak has detailed the docked and handheld mode performance that can be expected from the widely anticipated Switch successor, and the numbers seem to fall right around what was initially expected.

The leak, sourced from a Nintendo forum, reveals that in docked mode, the Nintendo Switch 2's GPU will be clocked at 1000 MHz, up from 768 MHz for the soon-to-be previous generation Switch, allowing for 3.1 TFLOPS of performance. In handheld mode, unsurprisingly, the GPU clock will be limited to 561 MHz, allowing for 1.71 TFLOPS of raw performance. These numbers are far from impressive for 2025, although Nintendo will likely make up for the lack of raw horsepower using upscaling technologies similar to DLSS, allowing for a vastly improved experience than what its otherwise unimpressive hardware could have afforded.

Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone Devs Celebrate Reaching 50% Crowdfunding Goal

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T0@st
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It's a fantastic start to our campaign, thanks for your support! It took only 15 hours to reach 50% of our goal, much more than we expected. We're on a good path to succeeding and delivering you the most anticipated game feature, according to your feedback. The first-person combat will be a massive expansion of the existing gameplay mechanics and allow you to switch between two totally different camera systems, depending on your preferences.

Anytime in the game, you'll be able to change the perspective from a natural, first-person, very immersive point-of-view to a third-person camera, where you can control the environment with more focus on any of its aspects. In this way, we'll be much closer to the other best post-apocalypse action RPGs, where you can experience the same situations from different points of view and customize your playing style.
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UK Retailer Inadvertently Posts Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 GPU Specs

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T0@st
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The majority of AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU-related leaks have emerged thanks to insiders playing around with pre-launch PowerColor RDNA 4 sample models. During and since CES, Team Red and its board partners have kept mum about specifications and performance figures—but happy accidents have allowed tech enthusiasts to pore over NDA-busting information. As reported by VideoCardz yesterday, Overclockers UK (OCUK) published a landing page that provided a brief look at basic Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 (non-XT) specs—the British retailer has since scrubbed this entry from its site.

Leaks have revealed alleged core counts—4096 for XT, and 3584 for non-XT—but Overclockers UK's charts listed a count of 4096 for both Navi 48 GPUs. They both sport 16 GB GDDR6 VRAM and 256-bit memory buses, and the leak reveals another shared trait: a 260 W TDP rating. VideoCardz reckons that this is an error—based on previous clock speed insider info, the Radeon RX 9070 non-XT's power consumption figure should be rated lower. The accidentally published clock speeds appear to be sourced from overclocked examples—AMD is reportedly not going to release full/finalized information until closer to launch, so OCUK could have relied on preliminary product guides. The FAQ section states that Team Red's RDNA 4 generation is sticking with a PCI-Express 4.0 x16 host interface—PCIe 5.0 systems are "thankfully" backwards compatible. NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 series will be leading the way into PCIe 5.0 spec territories.

GEEKOM Announces Cost-Effective Mini PC GEEKOM A6 With AMD Ryzen 7 6800H

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Nomad76
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GEEKOM, the Green Mini PC Global Leader, is going to release a new model named the A6 on January 17th, 2025. This mini PC is already available for pre-order on GEEKOM's official website. Priced at $449, it may just be the new best mini PC under $500.

According to the official information, the GEEKOM A6 mini PC employs a well-ventilated aluminium chassis which measures only 0.47 liter, but it packs enormous power under the hood, thanks to the perfect combination of a beefy processor, high-bandwidth DDR5 RAM, and a fast PCIe Gen 4 SSD.
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Guerrilla's Decima Engine Reportedly in Use at Other PlayStation Dev Teams

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T0@st
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The Decima Engine has not been widely utilized outside of Guerrilla Games-developed titles—their Horizon series has mostly showcased this (Sony Interactive Entertainment-owned) proprietary technology. Kojima Productions (Death Stranding 1 & 2) and Supermassive Games (Until Dawn) are notable development houses that have licensed Guerrilla's very capable engine—naturally, both outfits are very invested in the PlayStation eco-sphere. Twisted Voxel has combed through Guerrilla staff profiles on LinkedIn and a certain job description caught their investigative eye. The online publication's reportage focused on a senior producer's role of: "managing communication and relations with other PlayStation Studios interested in or using the Decima engine."

Industry insiders believe that Guerrilla Games is deeply involved in overseeing development at other first-party PlayStation development studios—the Netherlands-based outfit is well-versed in creating epic open world adventures, and this expertise is a hot commodity given current market trends. It is not very surprising to hear about the possible sharing of proprietary engine tech between internal PlayStation teams—Decima would be an ideal candidate for other open world PlayStation projects. Twisted Voxel mentioned Bend Studio—this developer is located in Oregon, USA—best known for producing Days Gone (2019). A former senior game designer's LinkedIn profile lists experience of using the Decima toolset. Bend Studio's unannounced "open world" title is apparently due for launch this year.

Delta Force's Devs Delay Launch of Black Hawk Down Co-op Campaign

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T0@st
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Dear Operators. With Season Starfall on the horizon, we want to update you on the Black Hawk Down campaign. We deeply appreciate your enthusiasm and understand how much you're looking forward to it. Your expectations drive us forward to deliver the best possible experience. To ensure the campaign meets our shared standards, we'll need a bit more time for final polishing and optimization. As such, Black Hawk Down will now launch during Season Starfall. We'll share the new release date soon. Thank you for your patience and support—it means everything to us!

Prepare to take part in the ultimate Delta Force mission. Our Black Hawk Down campaign faithfully reimagines both the revered 2001 Ridley Scott movie and the classic Delta Force series campaign—resulting in the definitive retelling of the infamous Mogadishu operation. Playable solo or co-op, and built using the latest Unreal Engine 5 technology, our Black Hawk Down campaign has been designed from the ground up to deliver next-level immersion while remaining optimized.
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ZOTAC Publishes GeForce RTX 5090 Tech Specs on Product Pages

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T0@st
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ZOTAC's website has been updated with technical specifications for its GeForce RTX 5090 GPU-based custom models—the Hong Kong-based hardware company is perhaps the first NVIDIA board partner to publicly disclose these details. According to VideoCardz, this discovery was made by a loyal reader—product pages for SOLID, SOLID OC and AMP Extreme INFINITY seemed to have appeared online within the past couple of days. A resultant report suggests that Team Green has only recently communicated (potentially) finalized specs with its AIBs.

The aforementioned discoverer of ZOTAC's GeForce RTX 5090 spec sheets noticed an unusual memory clock figure on the SOLID OC model's listing—30 Gbps instead of 28 Gbps. This was an error—ZOTAC has since amended that particular data point (see VideoCardz's screenshots below)—their presumably more expensive AMP Extreme INFINITY card's memory clock spec is set at 28 Gbps. Interestingly, ZOTAC's upcoming flagship is the first example of an NVIDIA GPU configured with a power consumption rating of 600 W. It is not immediately apparent whether this TDP figure is an out-of-the-box default—VideoCardz reckons that the GeForce RTX 5090 AMP Extreme INFINITY will arrive with dual-BIOS functionality. A high-performance mode could be user selected. Will rival flagship GeForce RTX 5090 custom cards roll out with similar TDPs? TechPowerUp anticipates the emergence of pre-launch technical details—from other brands/manufacturers—over the next two weeks.

NVIDIA Schedules "Quantum Day" Event - March 20 at GTC 2025

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T0@st
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Quantum computing is one of the most exciting areas in computer science, promising progress in accelerated computing beyond what's considered possible today. It's expected that the technology will tackle myriad problems that were once deemed impractical or even impossible to solve. Quantum computing promises huge leaps forward for fields spanning drug discovery and materials development to financial forecasting.

But just as exciting as quantum computing's future are the breakthroughs already being made today in quantum hardware, error correction and algorithms. NVIDIA is celebrating and exploring this remarkable progress in quantum computing by announcing its first Quantum Day at GTC 2025 on Thursday, March 20. This new focus area brings together leading experts for a comprehensive and balanced perspective on what businesses should expect from quantum computing in the coming decades—mapping the path toward useful quantum applications.

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Apple Reportedly Due to Receive First Batch of "Made in USA" TSMC Chips

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T0@st
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The latest news reports suggest that Apple is currently verifying the quality of TSMC Arizona-made chips—the process has reached a "final test stage" with samples from an initial batch being compared to "Made in Taiwan" product. TSMC's native foundries—utilizing the latest cutting-edge technologies—are accustomed to pumping out plenty of high-quality and advanced chips. Nikkei Asia believes that an approval—if USA-made silicon passes muster—will result in commercial mass-produced chips being delivered as soon as Q1 2025. This would be a significant victory for TSMC's relatively new Arizona fab—reported teething problems have caused delays and budgets to balloon. Apple could be the first of TSMC's customers to send products to market that have Arizona-manufactured silicon onboard.

Taiwan's chip-making industry is facing an uncertain future due to regional political tensions—in reaction, the nation's government has started shifting its stance on guarding TSMC's most advanced production processes. Leading-edge process technologies could be heading overseas, with new investments being considered at the Arizona campus. TSMC and Amkor are working on setting up advanced packaging and test facilities at the Peoria location, so current logistics are not ideal—US-made product has to be sent to an Amkor packaging facility in Taiwan. TSMC USA's future looks quite promising—AMD and NVIDIA are reportedly the next in line to receive locally produced samples for verification. Industry moles reckon that Team Green's advanced "Blackwell" AI GPUs could be produced in Peoria—based on alleged partnership negotiations from late last year.

Supermicro Empowers AI-driven Capabilities for Enterprise, Retail, and Edge Server Solutions

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TheLostSwede
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Supermicro, Inc. (SMCI), a Total IT Solution Provider for AI/ML, HPC, Cloud, Storage, and 5G/Edge, is showcasing the latest solutions for the retail industry in collaboration with NVIDIA at the National Retail Federation (NRF) annual show. As generative AI (GenAI) grows in capability and becomes more easily accessible, retailers are leveraging NVIDIA NIM microservices, part of the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform, for a broad spectrum of applications.

"Supermicro's innovative server, storage, and edge computing solutions improve retail operations, store security, and operational efficiency," said Charles Liang, president and CEO of Supermicro. "At NRF, Supermicro is excited to introduce retailers to AI's transformative potential and to revolutionize the customer's experience. Our systems here will help resolve day-to-day concerns and elevate the overall buying experience."
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Lenovo Launches World's First Camera-under-display Laptop with TCL CSOT's 4K PureSight Pro OLED Display

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TheLostSwede
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Lenovo has unveiled a groundbreaking collaboration at CES 2025 with the launch of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i (14" Intel) Laptop, featuring TCL CSOT's 4K PureSight Pro OLED display. This innovative device features the world's first Camera-Under-Display Screen in mid-sized display product, powered by TCL CSOT's cutting-edge flexible OLED screen technology.

The new laptop showcases TCL CSOT's advanced Camera-under-panel (CUP) technology, achieving an astonishing 98% screen-to-body ratio on its 14-inch display. This technological breakthrough not only delivers a truly immersive viewing experience by seamlessly integrating the camera beneath the screen surface but also empowers content creators with an unprecedented canvas for their work. The borderless design removes traditional constraints, offering content creators and designers a more expansive and inspiring workspace.
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Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders Due Out on January 21

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T0@st
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Hey Riders! It's finally time to buckle your boots. Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders, our "ski-quel" to Lonely Mountains: Downhill, is coming to Steam and Xbox on January 21st! The game will feature 2 to 8 person cross-platform multiplayer with a competitive racing mode, as well as a cooperative team mode that's perfect for hanging around with your friends on cold winter nights. Of course, it's also fully playable in single player—with lots of challenges and extensive leaderboards.

If you're just looking for some relaxed carving, the game also has a new "zen" mode that lets you free-roam the mountains and place your own checkpoints. If you want to do some ski gymnastics and hone your skills before release, the single player demo is still online. And of course we would be super grateful if you could wishlist the game so we can climb the upcoming list on Steam!
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NVIDIA Revises "Blackwell" Architecture Production Roadmap for More Complex Packaging

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AleksandarK
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According to a well-known industry analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, NVIDIA has restructured its "Blackwell" architecture roadmap, emphasizing dual-die designs using CoWoS-L packaging technology. The new roadmap eliminates several single-die products that would have used CoWoS-S packaging, changing NVIDIA's manufacturing strategy. The 200 Series will exclusively use dual-die designs with CoWoS-L packaging, featuring the GB200 NVL72 and HGX B200 systems. Notably absent is the previously expected B200A single-die variant. The 300 Series will include both dual-die and single-die options, though NVIDIA and cloud providers are prioritizing the GB200 NVL72 dual-die system. Starting Q1 2025, NVIDIA will reduce H series production, which uses CoWoS-S packaging, while ramping up 200 Series production. This transition indicates significantly decreased demand for CoWoS-S capacity through 2025.

While B300 systems using single-die CoWoS-S are planned for 2026 mass production, the current focus remains on dual-die CoWoS-L products. From TSMC's perspective, the transition between Blackwell generations requires minimal process adjustments, as both use similar front-end-of-line processes with only back-end-of-line modifications needed. Supply chain partners heavily dependent on CoWoS-S production face significant impact, reflected in recent stock price corrections. However, NVIDIA maintains this change reflects product strategy evolution rather than market demand weakness. TSMC continues expanding CoWoS-R capacity while slowing CoWoS-S expansion, viewing AI and high-performance computing as sustained growth drivers despite these packaging technology transitions.

AMD Silently Introduces Ryzen 7400F Raphael 6-core/12-thread 65 W CPU

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GFreeman
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While the Ryzen 5 7500F was the least expensive Raphael AM5 Zen 4 CPU that you could find, AMD has now silently launched the Ryzen 5 7400F, a new 6-core/12-thread SKU. Similar to the Ryzen 5 9600 (non-X) that was silently introduced during CES 2025, the Ryzen 5 7400F was not officially announced, but rather just showed up on AMD's product pages. Unlike the Ryzen 5 7500F, which was available only to OEMs and system integrators (SIs), the Ryzen 5 7400F will apparently be available in retail/e-tail as well.

As said, the Ryzen 5 7400F is a Raphael architecture CPU with Zen 4 CPU cores and fits into an AM5 socket. It is a 6-core CPU with support for AMD Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT), so it packs 12-threads and has the same 32 MB of L3 cache. The base clock is set at 3.7 GHz, with a maximum boost clock of 4.7 GHz. The TDP is still at 65 W. As with the rest of the lineup, it is an unlocked CPU, so overclocking is possible, and it supports AMD EXPO Memory Overclocking technology, as well as Precision Boost Overdrive. In the boxed version, it comes with an AMD Wraith Stealth cooler.
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Simply NUC Launches NUC 14 Essential Mill Canyon

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GFreeman
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Simply NUC, a global leader in customized computing solutions, proudly announces the launch of the NUC 14 Essential - Mill Canyon, designed to deliver powerful yet affordable performance for everyday computing needs. Whether used in retail kiosks, collaborative workspaces, streaming environments, or digital signage, the Mill Canyon NUC offers the flexibility and reliability required for modern applications.

The NUC 14 Essential is powered by the latest Intel N-series processors with Twin Lake technology, offering a range of options ensuring top-tier performance across various workloads. Mill Canyon delivers the performance needed for day-to-day operations without breaking the budget, featuring up to 8-core Intel Core 3 processors, 16 GB DDR5 memory, and support for up to 8 TB of NVMe and 2 TB SATA storage.
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Intel to Separate Intel Capital Into Standalone Investment Fund

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GFreeman
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Intel Corporation ("Intel") today announced its intention to separate Intel Capital, its global venture capital arm, into a standalone fund. The new fund will bring Intel Capital's corporate structure into alignment with other leading venture firms, enabling greater autonomy and the flexibility to attract external capital. Intel will remain an anchor investor in the new company.

"The separation of Intel Capital is a win-win scenario as it provides the fund with access to new sources of capital to expand its franchise while allowing both companies to continue benefiting from a productive long-term strategic partnership," said David Zinsner, interim co-chief executive officer and chief financial officer of Intel. "This step supports our broader strategy to maximize the value of our assets while driving greater focus and efficiency across the business."
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Biostar Introduces New B850MT-E PRO Motherboard

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GFreeman
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BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, PC peripherals, and IPC solutions, introduces the B850MT-E PRO motherboard, designed to deliver exceptional performance for office professionals and casual use. The BIOSTAR B850MT-E PRO motherboard is designed to meet the diverse needs of various users, offering a perfect blend of performance and reliability. Built on AMD 's B850 chipset, this motherboard combines superior features at an affordable price. It supports the latest AMD Ryzen 9000, 8000, and 7000 series processors, enabling seamless multitasking and efficient power management.

The B850MT-E PRO is expertly engineered for versatility, making it the definitive solution for office professionals, small businesses, and system integrators. It guarantees stable and efficient performance for everyday tasks and document management. With BIOSTAR's renowned 55 A Dr. MOS and Digital PWM technology, you can expect steady power delivery that ensures consistent performance and enhanced durability, even during extended work sessions.
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Infortrend Unveils New High-Density Storage Solution

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Nomad76
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Infortrend Technology, Inc., the industry-leading enterprise storage provider, introduces the latest additions to its high-density 4U 90-bay HDD solutions: unified storage EonStor GS 5090 and expansion enclosure JB 4090. The large capacity and high throughput performance of the solutions make them ideal for applications like High-Performance Computing and Media & Entertainment.

EonStor GS 5090 is a high-availability unified storage solution with a dual redundant controller design, ensuring uninterrupted operation. With its new hardware powered by the Intel Xeon Scalable Processor, the GS 5090 delivers ultra-high performance, achieving 45 GB/s read and 20 GB/s write—around three times the performance of the previous top-performing model, the GS 4090. The GS 5090 introduces ultra-fast 200GbE connectivity, setting a new benchmark for data transfer speed while simplifying deployment and management to meet the demands of today's high-performance enterprise workloads. It also supports SAS 24G expansion, doubling throughput compared to SAS 12G. Additionally, the GS 5090 features four dedicated U.2 NVMe SSD slots for cache, providing fast data access while fully leveraging the ample capacity of its 90-bay storage.
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ADLINK Launches the DLAP Supreme Series

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Nomad76
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ADLINK Technology Inc., a global leader in edge computing, unveiled its new "DLAP Supreme Series", an edge generative AI platform. By integrating Phison's innovative aiDAPTIV+ AI solution, this series overcomes memory limitations in edge generative AI applications, significantly enhancing AI computing capabilities on edge devices. Without increasing high hardware costs, the DLAP Supreme series achieves notable AI performance improvements, helping enterprises reduce the cost barriers of AI deployment and accelerating the adoption of generative AI across various industries, especially in edge computing.

Lower AI Computing Costs and Significantly Improved Performance
As generative AI continues to penetrate various industries, many edge devices encounter performance bottlenecks due to insufficient DRAM capacity when executing large language models, affecting model operations and even causing issues such as inadequate token length. The DLAP Supreme series, leveraging aiDAPTIV+ technology, effectively overcomes these limitations and significantly enhances computing performance. Additionally, it supports edge devices in conducting generative language model training, enabling them with AI model training capabilities and improving their autonomous learning and adaptability.
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Tuesday, January 14th 2025
Quick Look: Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) Graphics Tablet

Quick Look: Huion Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) Graphics Tablet

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Huion updates its popular Kamvas 16 graphics tablet line with a sharper screen, newer pen, and more compact body, thus making the brand-new Kamvas 16 (Gen 3) highly attractive to content creators who illustrate for a living. It's also priced decently enough to interest prosumers who might be interested in drawing as a hobby.
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Hyper Light Breaker Launches To Early Access on Steam With Surprising Player Counts and Mixed Reviews

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Cpt.Jank
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Hyper Light Breaker, a new 3D indie platformer we reported on previously has finally launched to early access on Steam, and despite the surprising success of its predecessors, Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash, Hyper Light Breaker isn't looking like the break-out indie hit of the month. While the game has garnered a solid 5,230 peak concurrent players just five hours after launch, the Steam reviews are hardly anything to write home about so far.

According to SteamDB, Hyper Light Breaker has a review rating of just 35.5%, with 31.4% of the reviews giving the game a positive rating, while 68.6% of Steam reviewers gave it a negative score. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, it looks like most of the issues with Hyper Light Breaker stem from the game's early access status. Early reviews on Steam report that the game's core mechanics and gameplay loop are satisfying, but that the game, overall, seems like it needs more time in the oven. Some of the more serious complaints when it comes to Hyper Light Breaker relate to the game's combat being somewhat difficult to grasp, progression feeling unsubstantial, initial difficulty being too high, and a steep learning curve. Others pointed out that there appears to be a lot of missing content. That said, as some reviewers have pointed out, the game is in early access. If we look at the likes of Windblown—or No Man's Sky for an example on a longer timeframe—it's easy to see the value in an early access period and community feedback. If Heart Machine, the developer behind Hyper Light Breaker, uses its community feedback properly and implements fixes to issues as they arise, it seems like it could be a game enjoyed by many indie gamers.

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GOG Amps Up Game Preservation Efforts with New EFGAMP Game Archive Project Partnership

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Cpt.Jank
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We recently reported on the Good Old Games's Game Preservation Program's success, with the storefront preserving two 30-year-old Warcraft games. Now, however, GOG is partnering with the European Federation of Game Archives, Museums, and Preservation Projects (EFGAMP) for future preservation efforts. EFGAMP is "the largest organization in Europe dedicated to preserving video games as cultural heritage," giving GOG's commitment to game preservation a lot more weight than previously. The partnership could also help GOG work within and with European governmental and non-governmental institutions, like museums and other organizations, in order to further the game preservation cause.

Perhaps more interestingly, as a game distribution platform with some development talent behind it, GOG actually brings something to the table that was previously missing from EFGAMP as a foundation. In the announcement, the foundation and GOG claim that 2024 was something of a tipping point for consumers when it comes to both the erosion of game ownership and game preservation as a whole. The subject of game ownership was a recurring theme in 2024, with games like The Crew joining the aforementioned Warcraft games in being delisted from stores—at least with the GOG delisting, the games are still maintained for existing owners. The goal of both GOG and EFGAMP is to preserve the history of gaming culture, allowing future generations to experience and learn about important moments in gaming history.

NVIDIA DLSS Comes to Assetto Corsa EVO, DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS, SMITE 2 and Honkai: Star Rail

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GFreeman
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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. On January 30th, DLSS gets even better with the launch of DLSS 4. Featuring improvements to all existing DLSS technologies, and our new DLSS Multi Frame Generation performance multiplier, DLSS 4 delivers supreme speed and superior visuals, powered by AI. Ahead of DLSS 4's release, there are another 5 DLSS games available to play this week: Assetto Corsa EVO, DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS, Honkai: Star Rail, SMITE 2, and Tankhead.

NVIDIA DLSS 4 With Multi Frame Generation Available January 30th
NVIDIA DLSS is a suite of neural rendering technologies powered by GeForce RTX Tensor Cores that boosts frame rates while delivering crisp, high-quality images that rival native resolution rendering. On January 30th, we're upgrading DLSS once again with the release of DLSS 4, featuring DLSS Multi Frame Generation for GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards and laptops, and upgrades to all other DLSS technologies.
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Moondrop Showcases Meteor Wired and Robin Wireless IEMs at CES 2025

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VSG
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Leiyin Audio, the same brand that had kindly invited us to attend the 18th Shenzhen International Audio Show last year, had a large booth at CES where Moondrop also had a presence thanks to its new Moondrop Global company that is now responsible for all operations outside China. There was a large showing from Moondrop thus, with most recently launched products from the past year to be found here. Our eyes were caught on the recently released Meteor, a 1 DD +2 BA +4 planar magnetic tribrid driver set that uses a relatively large 13 mm dynamic driver fit into a large faceplate protrusion that is capped by, as the name suggests, a piece of genuine meteorite fragment. It uses Moondrop's new XTM crossover technology and promises good quality bass as part of a balanced tuning for an asking price of $500. Expect a full review on TechPowerUp, as the CES sample was already impressive despite the noisy show floor conditions.

Also at the booth was Moondrop's immensely popular Robin, a true wireless stereo (TWS) set developed in collaboration with Honkai: Star Rail, an even more popular video game. Robin is a playable character in the game, and you will see it adorned on the TWS set too. To no surprise, this is right up Moondrop's marketing alley given how much it likes to use female artwork to attract customers, although at least here we do get a legitimately well-tuned set of TWS IEMs—quite rare even in 2025—with app support for customizable tonalities and touch controls too. The carry case further builds upon the theme and, at $99, the Moondrop Robin has already proven to be a huge commercial success less than a month into its global launch.

Yeston Reveals GeForce RTX 50 Series Sakura & Game Ace Custom Models

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T0@st
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Yeston's social media accounts have revealed upcoming NVIDIA "Blackwell" GPU-based Sakura Atlantis, Sakura and Game Ace models—a single teaser image shows off three different cards that will eventually contain GeForce RTX 50 series graphics hardware. Yeston has deployed common aesthetic traits across the three ranges—notably white PCBs and I/O brackets. Yeston previously revealed their new Sakura Atlantis shroud design with its recent announcement of an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT model. Today's product unveiling does not include any information about specific Team Green GPU SKUs, but it would be safe to assume that the upper-echelon models will sport Sakura Atlantis livery.

The older Yeston Sakura and Game Ace designs have been rolled out across a number of current-gen "Ada Lovelace" GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs. A quick analysis of Yeston graphics card product hierarchies shows lower-end GPUs (GeForce RTX 4060 Ti and 4060) sporting the Game Ace shroud. The Sakura design is available across a selection of mid-tier GeForce RTX 4070 Ti and 4070 models. VideoCardz proposes that the Sakura Atlantis cooling solution could be robust enough—based on the Radeon RX 9070 XT's rumored 300 W TBP—to take on GeForce RTX 5080 (360 W) and 5070 Ti (300 W) GPUs. TechPowerUp expects Yeston to make further announcements closer to NVIDIA Blackwell's market debut at the end of this month.

NCSOFT Announces Blade & Soul NEO's Upcoming USA & EU Launch

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T0@st
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NC America announced today Blade & Soul NEO, the modern reinterpretation of Blade & Soul's signature fantasy universe, is coming soon to PC in North America and Europe. Featuring a beautiful visually enhanced experience, the original, well-crafted storyline, Infinite Windwalk (the "glide" ability), and a handful of enticing gameplay features, Blade & Soul NEO fulfills players' desire to re-live that pure MMO action fantasy experience they once knew.

Offering an exclusive pre-registration package, available today -- including a cosmetically enhanced character outfit, in-game currency, and more -- NC America will actively roll out new information, community activities and more on its revamped website between today and launch. Pre-register here now.
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Intel 12th Gen "Alder Lake" Mobile CPUs Face Retirement, HX-series Spared

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T0@st
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Intel product change notification documents—published on January 6—have revealed the planned "End of Life" (EOL) phasing out of 12th Generation "Alder Lake" mobile processor models. Tom's Hardware has pored over the listed products/SKUs and concluded that the vast majority of Team Blue's mobile-oriented Alder Lake selection are destined for retirement. Team Blue's HX series is being kept alive for a little while longer. Two documents show differing "discontinuance timelines" for their respective inventories—including lower-end Celeron and Pentium Gold SKUs, as well as familiar higher-up Core i3, i5, i7, and i9 families. U, P, H and HK-affixed models are lined up for the chopping block.

Intel's 13th Generation "Raptor Lake" mobile processor selection—comprised of Core 100 (series 1) and Core 200 (series 2)—offers similar silicon makeup. Many equivalent alternatives to older generation "Alder Lake" chips reside here—Tom's Hardware presented a key example: "i5-1235U, which is designated for thin and lightweight laptops. OEMs can instead opt for the i5-1335U, the Core 5 120U, or the Core 5 220U, as they're just better bins of the 1235U on the same FCBGA1744 socket." A significant number of Alder Lake mobile SKUs will be available to OEMs for ordering up until 26 April, with final shipments heading out on 25 October. The rest have been assigned a July 25 order cut-off date, with final shipments scheduled on 26 January 2026.

Ultra Accelerator Link Consortium (UALink) Welcomes Alibaba, Apple and Synopsys to Board of Directors

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TheLostSwede
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Ultra Accelerator Link Consortium (UALink) has announced the expansion of its Board of Directors with the election of Alibaba Cloud Computing Ltd., Apple Inc., and Synopsys Inc. The new Board members will leverage their industry knowledge to advance development and industry adoption of UALink - a high-speed, scale-up interconnect for next-generation AI cluster performance.

"Alibaba Cloud believes that driving AI computing accelerator scale-up interconnection technology by defining core needs and solutions from the perspective of cloud computing and applications has significant value in building the competitiveness of intelligent computing supernodes," said Qiang Liu, VP of Alibaba Cloud, GM of Alibaba Cloud Server Infrastructure. "The UALink consortium, as a leader in the interconnect field of AI accelerators, has brought together key members from the AI infrastructure industry to work together to define interconnect protocol which is natively designed for AI accelerators, driving innovation in AI infrastructure. This will strongly promote the innovation of AI infrastructure and improve the execution efficiency of AI workloads, contributing to the establishment of an open and innovative industry ecosystem."
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YouTuber Stumbles Upon NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 "TITAN" Part at CES 2025

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T0@st
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NVIDIA is focused on forward momentum—Jensen & Co. pounded the showroom floor at last week's CES trade with their next-gen "Blackwell" GPUs in hand. Team Green's GeForce RTX 50-series was one of the headline acts, but the preceding RTX 40 "Ada Lovelace" family made occasional appearances. Hardware enthusiasts were not expecting the re-emergence of an older unreleased model at CES 2025, but a YouTuber discovered the supposed RTX 4090 "TITAN" prototype's cooling solution frame. TechPowerUp's reported on this rare beast last month, and Gamers Nexus obtained an example for analysis (view their video feature below).

Industry experts believe that an unnamed contract manufacturer was tasked with producing the TITAN's quad-slot cooling solution—informed sources say that it was designed to temper the full-force of Team Green's unlocked AD102 GPU. This contract company reportedly displayed various NVIDIA-related component parts in Las Vegas last week. RTX 40-era Founders Edition font was evident on the TITAN's frame—a VideoCardz news piece highlights the component's silver/magnesium color scheme. This presents further proof of inclusion within that Founders Edition generation.
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Gigabyte Brix Extreme Mini PC Launched With Ryzen 7 8840U "Hawk Point" APU

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GGforever
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The list of mini PCs available on the market has grown quite a bit in the past few weeks, with a bunch of such systems getting unveiled at CES 2025. Now, Gigabyte clearly does not wish to be left out of the party either, and has unveiled its Brix Extreme mini PC powered by a last-gen, but decently powerful AMD "Hawk Point" APU and a plethora of connectivity options in a compact package.

The system, as mentioned, boasts the 28-watt Ryzen 7 8840U PRO APU, which sports 8 Zen 4 cores and 16 threads. Performance should be identical to its non-PRO counterpart, which should put it roughly in the same class as the Intel Core Ultra 256V "Lunar Lake" CPU. The APU is paired with up to 64 GB of DDR5-5600 memory. Dual M.2 2280 slots take care of storage requirements, both of which are user-accessible.
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First Taste of Intel Arc B570: OpenCL Benchmark Reports Good Price-to-Performance

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GGforever
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In the past few weeks, all eyes have on NVIDIA's and AMD's next-gen GPU offerings, and rightly so. Now, it's about time to turn our attention to what appears to be the third major player in the GPU industry - Intel. This is, of course, all thanks to the Blue Camp's wildly successful Arc B580 launch, which propelled the beleaguered chip giant to the favorable side of the GPU price-to-performance line.

Now, it appears that a fresh leak has revealed how its soon-to-be sibling, the Arc B570, is about to perform. The leaked performance data, courtesy of Geekbench OpenCL, reveals that the Arc B570 is right around 11% slower than the Arc B580 in the synthetic OpenCL benchmark, which makes complete sense, because the card is also expected to be around 12% cheaper than its more powerful sibling, as noted by Wccftech. With a score of 86,716, the Arc B570 is well ahead of the RX 7600 XT, which manages around 84000 points, and well behind the RTX 4060, which rakes in just above 100000.
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Samsung Display to Begin Mass Production of World's First Rollable OLED for Laptops

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TheLostSwede
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Samsung Display will begin mass production of the world's first rollable OLED screen for laptops starting in April 2025. Samsung Display announced its rollable screen for the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus G6 Rollable laptop at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., Lenovo also showcased the laptop and announced its plans to globally launch in June.

The ThinkBook Plus G6 Rollable laptop features a screen underneath the keypad, where the screen expands vertically by almost 50%, offering a unique mobile computing experience. When rolled in, the screen supports a 5:4 aspect ratio on a 14-inch display. When rolled out, the aspect ratio shifts to 8:9 on a 16.7-inch display, providing an enhanced view for efficient multitasking.
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Strix Point-Powered GPD Win Mini Gaming Handheld Goes on Sale

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GGforever
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The market for compact gaming handheld is expanding at an unprecedented rate, thanks to the popularity boom that handhelds have received in recent months. The GPD Win Min (2025) is one such offering, sitting alongside the rest of interesting gaming products that GPD is known for. The Win Mini is now available for pre-order on Indiegogo, with a starting price of $769 (backers only), and a retail price of $839. Of course, interested buyers are encouraged to be mindful of the risks associated with crowdfunding campaigns, although GPD has mostly had a complaint-free track record.

Unfortunately, and rather unsurprisingly, the entry-level variant does not ship with the latest AMD Strix Point chips, but rather the older Hawk Point offerings, specifically the Ryzen 7 8840U with the Radeon 780M iGPU with 12 CUs. The higher-tier variants ship with Strix Point APUs, starting at the Ryzen AI 9 HX 365 APU, going all the way up to the 12-core Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 with the powerful Radeon 890M iGPU. To accommodate the new APUs, GPD has reworked the thermals, and has added room for full-sized M.2 2280 SSD drives as well. The product packs hall-effect joysticks, plug-and-play grips, and a bunch of useful ports including USB4, USB 3.2 Type-C, an SD Card slot, an audio jack, as well as a good old USB-A port. The 7-inch 1080p display ramps up to 120 Hz, and the system can be equipped with up to 64 GB of memory and 2 TB of PCIe 4.0 storage, and a 44.24 Wh battery is also present.

Team Jade Discusses Delta Force Franchise's Modern Reboot

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T0@st
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Before Call of Duty, before Battlefield, before even Medal of Honor, there was Delta Force. Released in October 1998, NovaLogic's FPS was one of the original tactical shooters. Arriving just two months after Red Storm Entertainment's Rainbow Six, Delta Force put players in the role of a Tier 1 Operative, challenging them to complete 40 missions in various modern military settings. Though it shared some similarities with Rainbow Six, Delta Force was defined by its radical Voxel Space technology, enabling it to simulate warfare on battlefields far larger than any FPS that came before.

Delta Force was sufficiently successful to spawn a sequel, and ultimately became a series—including its most famous entry, the 2003 game Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. Yet as Call of Duty and Battlefield took the popularity of real-world shooters to stratospheric heights, Delta Force struggled to keep up. The final game in the series, Delta Force: Xtreme 2, reviewed poorly, and as the world went wild for Modern Warfare, NovaLogic quietly exfiltrated the modern military shooter scene. Now Delta Force is back, though. Developed by Chinese studio Team Jade, the reboot is bigger, broader, and more comprehensive than any prior entry in the series. Featuring classic team-based multiplayer battles, a more modern extraction mode where players compete to scavenge loot in open-ended combat zones, and a co-op/single player campaign inspired by the series' legacy, Delta Force has its sights set squarely on the two FPS franchises that have dominated multiplayer shooters for over a decade.
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TSMC Granted Government Permission to Produce 2 nm Beyond Taiwan's Borders

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T0@st
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Last November, Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council indicated that it was considering a relaxation of "legal restrictions on transferring leading-edge process technology overseas." TSMC is the nation's most prized chip foundry, but new manufacturing operations are spreading across the globe. The very best node processes—currently TSMC's advanced 2 nm (N2)—have been restricted to home turf, yet global tensions have prompted the Taiwanese government to reconsider its guarded approach. A freshly published Taipei Times report has focused on an important announcement made at a recent government press conference. Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs of Taiwan, J.W. Kuo, stated that TSMC is now allowed to manufacture 2 nm chips on foreign soil—according to him, the foundry behemoth is "cautiously" evaluating an investment of roughly $28 to 30 (USD) billion into 2-nanometer production facilities Stateside.

His colleagues have worked hard—in the past—on preserving the country's "Silicon Shield," but fresh adjustments are sweeping in. Kuo commented: "those were old-time rules. Times have changed." TSMC's—allegedly costly—North American hub is reportedly marked down for a "by 2030" push into 2 nm process territories. Taiwan's Economic Affairs minister continued with his reasonings: "Private businesses should make their own business decisions based on their own technological progress...The basic principle is that businesses can make profits from their overseas investments. TSMC is building factories in the US with the aim of serving its US customers, as 60 percent of the world's chip-designing companies are based in the US." He also downplayed concerns regarding possible upcoming shifts in US trade policy making—Taiwan's "strong technological capabilities" are expected to weather the storm. Newly implemented US trade tariffs are expected to have only a "minor impact."

NVIDIA's GB200 "Blackwell" Racks Face Overheating Issues

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Nomad76
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NVIDIA's new GB200 "Blackwell" racks are running into trouble (again). Big cloud companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta Platforms are cutting back their orders because of heat problems, Reuters reports, quoting The Information. The first shipments of racks with Blackwell chips are getting too hot and have connection issues between chips, the report says. These tech hiccups have made some customers who ordered $10 billion or more worth of racks think twice about buying.

Some are putting off their orders until NVIDIA has better versions of the racks. Others are looking at buying older NVIDIA AI chips instead. For example, Microsoft planned to set up GB200 racks with no less than 50,000 Blackwell chips at one of its Phoenix sites. However, The Information reports that OpenAI has asked Microsoft to provide NVIDIA's older "Hopper" chips instead pointing to delays linked to the Blackwell racks. NVIDIA's problems with its Blackwell GPUs housed in high-density racks are not something new; in November 2024, Reuters, also referencing The Information, uncovered overheating issues in servers that housed 72 processors. NVIDIA has made several changes to its server rack designs to tackle these problems, however, it seems that the problem was not entirely solved.

Qualcomm Pushes for Data Center CPUs, Hires Ex-Intel Chief Xeon Architect

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AleksandarK
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Qualcomm is becoming serious about its server CPU ambitions. Today, we have learned that Sailesh Kottapalli, Intel's former chief architect for Xeon server processors, has joined Qualcomm as Senior Vice President after 28 years at Intel. Kottapalli, who announced his departure on LinkedIn Monday, previously led the development of multiple Xeon and Itanium processors at Intel. Qualcomm's data center team is currently working on reference platforms based on their Snapdragon technology. The company already sells AI accelerator chips under the Qualcomm Cloud AI brand, supported by major providers including AWS, HPE, and Lenovo.

This marks Qualcomm's second attempt at entering the server CPU market, following an unsuccessful Centriq effort that ended in 2018. The company is now leveraging technology from its $1.4 billion Nuvia acquisition in 2021, though this has led to ongoing legal disputes with Arm over licensing terms. While Qualcomm hasn't officially detailed Kottapalli's role, the company confirmed in legal filings its intentions to continue developing data center CPUs, as originally planned by Nuvia.

NVIDIA AI Expected to Transform $10 Trillion Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry

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T0@st
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At yesterday's J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference NVIDIA announced new partnerships to transform the $10 trillion healthcare and life sciences industry by accelerating drug discovery, enhancing genomic research and pioneering advanced healthcare services with agentic and generative AI. The convergence of AI, accelerated computing and biological data is turning healthcare into the largest technology industry. Healthcare leaders IQVIA, Illumina and Mayo Clinic, as well as Arc Institute, are using the latest NVIDIA technologies to develop solutions that will help advance human health.

These solutions include AI agents that can speed clinical trials by reducing administrative burden, AI models that learn from biology instruments to advance drug discovery and digital pathology, and physical AI robots for surgery, patient monitoring and operations. AI agents, AI instruments and AI robots will help address the $3 trillion of operations dedicated to supporting industry growth and create an AI factory opportunity in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
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GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5080 Custom Card Prices Revealed by Proshop Listings

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T0@st
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Finland's Proshop has listed eight GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5080 custom design graphics card models, complete with prices in Euros—please note that value added tax (VAT) is included. Team Green's CES 2025 "Blackwell" announcement revealed an MSRP of €1229 (without VAT: €979) for the GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition (for Finland, and other European countries). Board partners usually tack on extra charges for their custom interpretations—fancier variants commonly demand a premium upcharge. The VideoCardz sleuthing network has discovered that GIGABYTE's launch selection errs more towards the upper-end—Proshop's premature listing reveals only a single model coming in at Team Green's baseline MSRP. As always, these figures are subject to change—we are still in a pre-launch holding pattern.

The GIGABYTE RTX 5080 WINDFORCE OC card is the only listed model that adheres to NVIDIA's standard MSRP—VideoCardz has kindly crunched the numbers (refer to their diagram below) and reckons that the seven other options demand premiums across a range of 15% to 35%. Recent GIGABYTE press material places every model in a premium tier, even the entry-point SFF-Ready WINDFORCE OC model. An upcharge of 440 Euros is applicable with GIGABYTE's range-topping AORUS Xtreme WaterForce option. One step above Team Green MSRP baseline bags you the GeForce RTX 5080 GAMING OC model—an extra investment of 190 Euros goes into a larger cooling solution and shroud design (featuring RGB lighting). TechPowerUp anticipates further price leaks to emerge—from other manufacturers—as we close in on launch day: January 30.

AMD Implements New CCD Connection in "Strix Halo" Ryzen AI Max Processors

by
AleksandarK
 Discuss (25 Comments)
Thanks to the informative breakdown by Chips and Cheese, we are learning that AMD's latest Ryzen AI processors for laptops, codenamed "Strix Halo," utilize a parallel "sea of wires" interconnect system between their chiplets, replacing the SERDES (serializer/deserializer) approach found in desktop Ryzen models. The processor's physical implementation consists of two Core Complex Dies (CCDs), each manufactured on TSMC's N4 (4 nm) process and containing up to eight Zen 5 cores with full 512-bit floating point units. Notably, the I/O die (IOD) is also produced using the N4 process, marking an advancement from the N6 (6 nm) process used in standard Ryzen IODs on desktops. The key change lies in the inter-chiplet communication system. While the Ryzen 9000 series (Granite Ridge) employs SERDES to convert parallel data to serial for transmission between chiplets, Strix Halo implements direct parallel data transmission through multiple physical connections.

This design achieves 32 bytes per clock cycle throughput and eliminates the latency overhead associated with serialization/deserialization processes. The parallel interconnect architecture also removes the need for connection retraining during power state transitions, a limitation present in SERDES implementations. However, this design choice necessitates additional substrate complexity due to increased connection density and requires more pins for external connections, suggesting possible modifications to the CCD design compared to desktop variants. AMD's implementation required more complex substrate manufacturing processes to accommodate the dense parallel connections between chiplets. The decision to prioritize this more challenging design approach was driven by requirements for lower latency and power consumption in data-intensive workloads, where consistent high-bandwidth communication between chiplets is crucial.

TSMC Reportedly Ahead of Schedule with 2 nm Trial Production at Kaohsiung Fab

by
T0@st
 Discuss (7 Comments)
TSMC is reportedly making decent progress with its advanced 2 nm (N2) node—industry news pieces from earlier this month pointed to the initiation of production lines across three fabrication sites. Taiwan's Economic Daily News has kept close tabs on these trial runs—insiders have indicated that TSMC's Kaohsiung plant is capable of matching the Baoshan location's targeted manufacturing output (5000 wafers per month, 60 percent yield). Reports suggest that the Kaohsiung 2 nm trial production will start up later this month—much earlier than anticipated.

The Taiwanese chip foundry giant is taking on the challenge of meeting "greater than expected" demand for its new generation 2 nm product—TSMC chairman C.C. Wei has previously stated that its latest and greatest is more popular (pre-launch) with customers than older 3 nm lines. Apple is rumored to be first in line—not a big surprise since TSMC has (supposedly) rolled out the VVIP red carpet for them in recent times. The Economic Daily News article also mentions Qualcomm and MediaTek being next in the queue for N2. TSMC's best foundries are expected to initiate mass production by the end of 2025.

ASUS Second Generation BTF Power Connector Unveiled

by
TheLostSwede
 Discuss (15 Comments)
Details of ASUS' next generation BTF 2.0 (BTF stands for Back to the Future) platform have appeared online, courtesy of Andreas Schilling from HardwareLuxx. The editor posted pictures from an ASUS presentation over at Bluesky that details one major change to the power connector design, which will make the BTF 2.0 graphics cards compatible with non BTF systems. This suggests that ASUS might consider offering more graphics cards with BTF 2.0 support, since they can be used in any system with the proposed changes.

As you may or may not know, the first generation BTF graphics cards ended up with a power connector at the rear, bottom edge of the graphics cards, placed somewhat behind the PCIe gold fingers. The cards also lacked any other power connectors, which made them exclusive for BTF builds. To solve this conundrum, ASUS moved its GC-HPWR PCB power connector up on the PCB, making sure it clears any motherboard components. However, instead of increasing the height of the motherboard BTF 2.0 connector, the company provides a small adapter that plugs in between the motherboard and graphics card, to make its new BTF 2.0 cards compatible with any system.
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Sapphire Semi-reveals Dual-Fan Pulse Radeon RX 9000 Design

by
T0@st
 Discuss (27 Comments)
Sapphire has half revealed its new PULSE graphics card design—yesterday's social media post provided an early look at the signature black/gray shroud adorned with red lines. This seems to be Sapphire's first push into marketing their upcoming AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and 9070 (non-XT) custom designs. TechPowerUp handled and inspected a new Sapphire PURE model at last week's CES trade event—this particular sample was included in a round-up of Team Red's partner custom designs—but the newly revealed PULSE card was not showcased.

According to a VideoCardz report, Sapphire's new Radeon RX 9000-series NITRO+ model has been teased in AMD's CES-oriented marketing material. The Hong Kong-based tech graphics card specialist chose to not send their Navi 48-based flagship over to Las Vegas—industry experts believe that AIBs are eagerly waiting on Team Red to settle on and announce an official release date. Marketing campaigns are expected to fully kick in closer to RDNA 4's launch window.

Lam Research Establishes 28nm Pitch in High-Resolution Patterning Through Dry Photoresist Technology

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Lam Research Corporation today announced that its innovative dry photoresist (dry resist) technology has been qualified for direct-print 28 nm pitch back end of line (BEOL) logic at 2 nm and below by imec, a leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. An advanced patterning technique introduced by Lam, dry resist enhances the resolution, productivity and yield of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, a pivotal technology used in the production of next-generation semiconductor devices.

"Lam's dry photoresist technology provides unparalleled low-defectivity, high-resolution patterning," said Vahid Vahedi, chief technology and sustainability officer at Lam Research. "We are excited to offer this technology to imec and its partners as a critical process in the design and manufacturing of leading-edge semiconductor devices."
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ASUS Updates AEMP III - 64 GB Memory Module Support Unlocked on Intel 800 Boards

Press Release by
T0@st
 Discuss (9 Comments)
Exciting things are happening in the world of memory right now. Many of the headlines are being claimed by a new variety of DIMM, called Clock Unbuffered DIMM (CUDIMM). Featuring an integrated clock driver on the memory stick itself for improved reliability and stability, CUDIMM kits are already shattering speed records. But perhaps you're more concerned with memory capacity than with raw speed. We have some good news for you. The trusted memory professionals at Kingston have cooked up a 64 GB memory module that you'll be able to purchase soon: the Kingston Value RAM DDR5 6400 MT/s 64 GB CUDIMM.

64 GB of DDR5 RAM on a single stick opens intriguing new possibilities. A 128 GB one-DIMM-per-channel (1DPC) configuration is rather tempting. We suspect that many enthusiasts will be tempted by the prospect of installing four of these modules, a move that puts a stunningly large 256 GB (4 x 64 GB) pool of memory at their disposal—without having to venture into quad-channel workstation hardware.
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WEROCK Presents New Generation of Rugged Notebooks

Press Release by
Nomad76
 Discuss (2 Comments)
WEROCK Technologies GmbH, innovative manufacturer of industrial computer technology, announces the launch of two new rugged high-performance notebooks. According to the manufacturer, the laptops have been designed for professional, industrial use with complex tasks in a wide variety of locations where strong performance is required. They are delivered with Intel Core Ultra processors of the Meteor Lake generation, Intel AI Boost, Arc Graphics, with up to 16 cores, a 4.8
GHz turbo clock frequency and up to 64 GB RAM. Pioneering AI and machine learning functions including AI assistants set the course for modern computing and fast performance.

The new Rockbook X540 G3 and Rockbook X550 G3 laptops have been developed for field service professionals in numerous industries. They have numerous modern communication functions - including options for 4G LTE or 5G, have a dedicated uBlox GPS/GNSS sensor, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 and also offer numerous other interfaces such as Thunderbolt 4, USB ports, HDMI and a serial port.
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PowerWash Simulator Developer Ends VR Support

Press Release by
T0@st
 Discuss (1 Comment)
DEAR VR WASHERS. I am so sorry to let you know that we won't be continuing support of PowerWash Simulator VR. We absolutely love and believe in VR, so this doesn't mean that we won't support it in the future—but we aren't able to continue with support right now.

We have been faced with a cross roads situation: we have a truly excellent and kind VR team who were working on a platform which costs us more than it makes, while also having a list of job openings that we are looking to be filled on other projects. FuturLab took the decision to redeploy our VR team into those other projects/roles. Whilst I would love to live in a world where we could support PowerWash Simulator on every platform going, I will always choose job security for my team. Every time.
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ASUS Announces NUC 14 Essential

Press Release by
Nomad76
 Discuss (4 Comments)
ASUS today announced ASUS NUC 14 Essential, an ultracompact, entry-level mini PC powered by the latest Intel Core N-series processor. Designed for exceptional performance and enhanced power efficiency, the capabilities of NUC 14 Essential are further boosted by a versatile array of ports including Bluetooth 5.3 and Intel Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+). Support for up to three 4K displays provides users with smooth multitasking experiences, allowing them to stream videos, create content, and analyze data with ease.

Energy-efficient performance in a compact package
The latest Intel Core N-series processor enables ASUS NUC 14 Essential to make light work of daily office tasks. Featuring up to eight E-core architectures, the processor offers a perfect balance of energy efficiency and performance, offering a 42% improvement over previous-generation processors. NUC 14 Essential lets users browse the web, attend videoconferences, stream videos, or create content with ease, making it ideal for office workers and students.
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Rebel Wolves Studio Releases New The Blood of Dawnwalker Trailer

Press Release by
GFreeman
 Discuss (10 Comments)
Under the full Wolf Moon, Rebel Wolves revealed the first look into the world of THE BLOOD OF DAWNWALKER, its action RPG. The studio, co-founded by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, director of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, set the game in an alternative 14th century, where feudal lords have been overthrown by a clique of powerful vampires. In this narrative sandbox players will forge their own story about saving their family… or taking whatever path their choices lead them down. THE BLOOD OF DAWNWALKER is developed by Rebel Wolves in Unreal Engine 5 and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc., for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam. Players can follow the game's latest developments on the official website.

14th century Europe. Bloody conflicts sweep the lands, and the Black Death comes for the survivors. In the wake of the disasters claiming thousands of lives, the decimated human population struggles for survival. It's a moment of weakness. In Vale Sangora, somewhere in a forgotten corner of the Carpathian Mountains, vampires seize their opportunity to walk out of the shadows, overthrow the feudal lords and claim what they've been denied for centuries: freedom, and ultimate power that comes with it. Legends turn into reality, and history as we know it will never be the same.
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Monday, January 13th 2025

Today's Reviews

Cases
Cooling
CPU Coolers
Headphones
Keyboards
Memory
Motherboards
Mouse
PSUs
SSD
ThieAudio Origin In-Ear Monitors Review - Basshead Love

ThieAudio Origin In-Ear Monitors Review - Basshead Love

Review Headphones
ThieAudio introduces bone conduction drivers to its IEM line with the new Origin, a quadbrid set using a combination of DD/BCD/BA/EST drivers to put out a fun and colored sound that goes bass-first, yet has something of note in the mids and treble too. The Origin is also available with several faceplate options for added customization.
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ASUS ROG Strix B860-A Gaming Wi-Fi Review

ASUS ROG Strix B860-A Gaming Wi-Fi Review

Review Motherboards
Intel's B860 chipset is here and offers Wi-Fi 7, CUDIMM memory support, PCIe Gen 5 and USB4, at lower pricing than Z890. But does this white motherboard have enough to tempt upgraders, especially considering Intel's Core Ultra processors' poor reception.
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ENERMAX Launches LIQTECH XTR, Workstation-Level CPU AIO Cooler

Press Release by
GFreeman
 Discuss (9 Comments)
ENERMAX is proud to be launching its new workstation-level CPU AIO cooler: LIQTECH XTR. Specifically designed for the AMD Ryzen Threadripper and Intel Xeon W series processors with a cooling capacity of over 550 W. LIQTECH XTR AIO cooler debuted at Computex 2024 with a live demo, achieving a cooling capacity of over 550 W. The LIQTECH XTR 360 mm CPU cooler features an enlarged cold plate design on its water block, fully covering the IHS area of both AMD Threadripper and Intel Xeon W series processors. Thanks to ENERMAX's high-efficient EP1 pump with a 450L/h flow rate and 3000 RPM radiator fans, LIQTECH XTR can provide more than 550 W cooling capacity on both AMD and Intel platforms.

LIQTECH XTR AIO cooler is also the first ENERMAX CPU cooler to implement the magnetic, fully rotatable, real-time status digital display. Users can manually adjust the LED screen on the water block to set their preferred digital direction. The additional software, ENERMAX's tuner, can further provide a real-time data showing on the water block. ENERMAX's LIQTECH XTR AIO cooler is the perfect cooling solution for workstations that need to perform heavy duty tasks such as 3D rendering, product visualization & simulation, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning acceleration. It fully supports AMD socket sTR5/SP6/sWRX8/sTRX4/TR4/SP3 and Intel socket LGA 4677.
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Shokz Debuts OpenFit 2 Earbuds at CES 2025

CES by
T0@st
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Shokz revealed its brand new OpenFit 2 model at last week's CES trade event—naturally, this second generation open earbud plays successor to the original OpenFit model and will exist alongside the already released OpenFit Air (a cheaper alternative). Shokz's OpenFit series utilizes air conduction rather than bone conduction technology (as used by the OpenRun models) to deliver audio into a wearer's ear canals.

The new Open Fit 2 features a Shokz-designed DualBoost driver system—an "extra-large" 17.3 mm composite material dynamic driver produces lower/bass frequencies, while an independent high-frequency unit takes care of its namesake and mid-frequencies. TechPowerUp inspected and handled Shokz's new flagship and enjoyed the feel of its signature "Ultra Soft-Silicone 2.0" outer layer. Shokz has revised the Open Fit 2 earhook design—they believe that its updated shape should provide a better fit for the majority of owners.
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Yeston Unveils Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB "Sakura Atlantis" Card Design

by
T0@st
 Discuss (31 Comments)
AMD's official announcement of new RDNA 4 generation of GPUs—comprised of Radeon RX 9070 XT and Radeon RX 9070—listed several manufacturing partners. YESTON did not join the likes of ASRock, PowerColor, Sapphire and XFX in showcasing custom designs "in-person" at CES, but their official social media accounts have unveiled a new Team Red GPU-based Sakura Atlantis edition card. YESTON has once again deployed its signature baby blue and pink color scheme—quite refreshing when compared to the slew of black/gray custom designs presented at last week's trade show.

Yeston was the first AMD AIB to publicly reveal Radeon RX 9070 XT's video memory allocation online—their social media post confirms the presence of 16 GB VRAM. Team Red partners in attendance at CES 2025 were not allowed to divulge this information, but a number of press outlets read model/name text on certain sticker attachments—corroborating previous leaks that listed 16 GB. Yeston's post outlines a white-lit breathing effects, as well as support for ARGB lighting. The new Sakura Atlantis shroud design is quite unconventional—breaking away from boxy aesthetics. Flowing lines and curved surfaces attract the eye, along with a pleasant pearlescent finish. Shell and starfish motif stickers adorn the card's three cooling fans. VideoCardz reports that Yeston has provided additional details—their Radeon RX 9070 XT-16G Sakura Atlantis model will feature an all-white PCB design and a white-colored I/O bracket. No surprises here, given the company's past choices.

KeysFan New Year New Beginnings Sale: Get Last Year's Prices on Genuine Software

by
btarunr
KeysFan brings you genuine, globally valid software at the beginning of the year, so you can plan your next-generation PC build in time for Spring-Summer. Spend more on your hardware by saving big on genuine software. Get Windows 11 Pro at just $14.80. Pair it with the powerful productivity suite Office 2021 Professional Plus at $38.98 on its own, or $52.79 in a combo. Save big when you buy multi-PC packs, or older editions of Windows or Office.

Buy Office 2021 Professional Plus at $38.98 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus at $28.04 | Buy Office 2016 Professional Plus at $17.04 | Buy Windows 11 Pro at $14.80 | Buy Windows 11 Home at $14.46 | Buy Windows 10 Pro at $9.08 | Buy Windows 10 Home at $8.96 | Buy Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC at $13.48 | Buy Office 2021 Home and Business for Mac at $108.56 | Buy Office 2019 Home and Business at $43.99 | Buy Office 2024 Home for PC and Mac at $131.99 | Buy Office 2024 Home and Business for Mac at $186.99

Buy Office 2021 Professional Plus 2-PC at $75.53 | Buy Office 2021 Professional Plus 3-PC at $109.99 | Buy Office 2021 Professional Plus 5-PC at $177.70 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus 2-PC at $54.44 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus 3-PC at $76.44 | Buy Office 2019 Professional Plus 5-PC at $120.44 | Buy Office 2021 Home and Business for Mac 2-Macs at $214.04 | Buy Windows 11 Pro 2-PC at $27.78 | Buy Windows 11 Pro 3-PC at $38.78 | Buy Windows 11 Pro 5-PC at $60.22 | Buy Windows 11 Home 2-PC at $28.10 | Buy Windows 10 Pro 2-PC at $15.79 | Buy Windows 10 Pro 3-PC at $23.60 | Buy Windows 10 Pro 5-PC at $37.68 | Buy Windows 10 Home 2-PC at $16.34
Check out more great deals after the break.
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Dynasty Warriors: Origins Previewed Ahead of January 17 Launch

Press Release by
T0@st
 Discuss (2 Comments)
January 17 will bring Dynasty Warriors: Origins, a thrilling new addition to the Dynasty Warriors series to PC, PlayStation 5 & Xbox, and we recently had the opportunity to play the tactical hack-and-slash action ahead of its release.

The gripping tale of a "nameless hero"
Dynasty Warriors: Origins follows the drama surrounding China's Three Kingdoms period, from the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the Battle of Red Cliffs. At the beginning of the game, the protagonist gets caught up in a battle with Guan Yu against the troops of corrupt officials. The Yellow Turban Rebellion was never portrayed in detail in previous installments of the series. Still, this game goes into depth around the origins and woes of the Yellow Turbans, as well as the perspectives of each general belonging to the defeated troops.
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NVIDIA N1x SoC Uncovered by Data Miners - Rumored High-end Laptop Chip

by
T0@st
 Discuss (46 Comments)
Whispers of a brand new high-end Arm-based mobile processor—rumored to be in the works at NVIDIA HQ—emerged late last year. Data miners have since actively searched for any emerging details—initial bits of evidence have seemingly arrived earlier today, courtesy of Hoang Anh Phu (@AnhPhuH) and WalkingCat (@_h0x0d_). An intriguing Lenovo job listing was uncovered—this entry mentions that the candidate will be tasked with "new SoC NV N1x in-house HW design and development." WalkingCat believes that an upcoming Lenovo Yoga 2-in-1 16-inch (2025) model could emerge with an NVIDIA chipset onboard—they deciphered this through Lenovo's "platform code" naming system (see screenshot below).

Further speculation points to a possible N-series reveal around Computex 2025—Qualcomm rolled out similar announcement timing last summer with its Snapdragon X processor series. NVIDIA is reportedly collaborating with MediaTek on this new endeavor—high-end N1x and mid-tier N1 (non-X) chipsets are reported to be built on Team Green's recently unveiled Blackwell architecture. Tech watchdogs believe that a TSMC 3 nm node process is on the cards. Anh Phu proposes that the new SoCs are performant enough to hit a performance range of 180-200 AI TOPS. Additional industry rumors point to a potential launch window around the fourth quarter of this year, with roughly three million units ready at the starting line.

Airborne Empire Takes Flight through Steam Early Access

Press Release by
T0@st
 Discuss (8 Comments)
Today Airborne Empire finally takes flight and is live on Steam! We—at the Wandering Band—are super excited for players to get their hands on the game, to celebrate there will be a 10% discount on the game for a limited time. While we celebrate this milestone today we know there is much more to come. We plan on working on the game for at least a year (most likely a little longer) and we've posted a very early + rough roadmap below.

Right now it's just a list of things we plan on doing. The idea is to expand on this roadmap with your input. We have a big game with a lot of cool features, we're happy with what we have, but our goal is to make something great. We need your help; we need to know what you like, what you don't like and what types of additional content you want to see. If you would like to provide feedback, or discuss the game with the team directly, please join us on our Discord. If you find a bug while playing the game please report it with the in-game bug reporting tool (in the pause screen).
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Nanya Technology Reports Results for the Fourth Quarter 2024

Press Release by
Nomad76
 Discuss (8 Comments)
Nanya Technology Corporation, today announced its results of operations for the fourth quarter, ended December 31, 2024. Nanya's quarterly sales revenue was NT$ 6,575 million, a 19.2 percent decrease compared to that in the third quarter of 2024. In the fourth quarter of 2024, average selling prices (ASP) decreased by low-teens percent and bit shipment decreased by high-single digit percent quarter over quarter.

Gross loss of the quarter was NT$ 695 million; gross margin was -10.6 percent, a 13.8 percentage points decrease from that in the previous quarter. Operating loss of the quarter was NT$ 2,812 million; operating margin was -42.8 percent; a 12.0 percentage points decrease from that in the last quarter. Non-operating income of the quarter was NT$ 900 million. The Company had net loss of NT$ 1,574 million, with net margin of -23.9 percent. Earnings per share (EPS) was NT$ -0.51 in the fourth quarter (based on weighted average outstanding shares of 3,099 million).
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PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 XT Red Devil & HellHound Reportedly Boost Beyond 3.0 GHz

by
T0@st
 Discuss (23 Comments)
AMD enforced strict conditions upon its manufacturing partners at the recently concluded CES trade event—various custom Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 (non-XT) models were showcased, but technical details were not revealed. The TechPowerUp team had a hands-on look at PowerColor's selection of Red Devil, Hellhound cards and newly debuted Reaper design—certain information could be pertained from labels and stickers (cough: 16 GB VRAM) yet brand reps remained tight-lipped about technical nitty gritty under-the-hood. News outlets have relied upon less-than-official sources—such as the Chiphell forum—to obtain performance figures. VideoCardz's working weekend session has produced alleged details about PowerColor's planned boost clock speeds—the headline being that a 3.0 GHz barrier has been broken.

The site's insider network proposes that PowerColor's top-flight Radeon RX 9070 XT Red Devil model is ready for launch with an OC BIOS set to boost matters up to 3060 MHz, while the silent performance mode shaves off fifty—bringing things down to a (still impressive) 3010 MHz. The more middle-of-the-pack Hellhound design is reported to achieve a 3010 MHz boost via its OC BIOS mode, and its silent operation is reported to be 2970 MHz. Additionally, a VideoCardz source reckons that game clocks are somewhere in the region of 2460 to 2520 MHz for both models. The "more affordable" PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper variant seems to lack BIOS switching, so its single operational mode is allegedly capable of boosting up to 2970 MHz.

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Pwnage Unveils the Trinity CF Gaming Mouse

Press Release by
Nomad76
 Discuss (11 Comments)
Pwnage, a leader in premium gaming peripherals, proudly announces the launch of the Trinity CF gaming mouse. This groundbreaking device sets new standards in performance, durability, and versatility, catering to gamers seeking the best lightweight gaming mouse on the market. The Trinity CF is now available for purchase at Pwnage.

Engineered for Precision and Comfort
The Trinity CF features a symmetrical shape that accommodates all grip styles and hand sizes, ensuring ergonomic comfort and precision for every gamer. Weighing just 37-39 grams, it stands as one of the lightest gaming mice available, providing swift and effortless movement during intense gaming sessions.
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Delta Force Reveals Big Plans for 2025 Updates

Press Release by
TheLostSwede
 Discuss (6 Comments)
Today, Delta Force developer Team Jade revealed their plans for continuing content updates coming to the game in 2025, as well as gave an update on the release of the mobile version of Delta Force. Delta Force has a bold plan for bringing its players fresh new content in 2025, including five new operators, seven new maps, new gadgets, new vehicles and more. For a full breakdown, please check out the Delta Force 2025 roadmap.

Team Jade will be sharing more when these seasons are dropping in the game soon, in the meantime, please visit the game's official website for more information about Delta Force. Team Jade also provided an update on the release window for the much anticipated mobile version of the game. In a message to Delta Force Players by Game Director Shadow Guo, the team is committed to delivering the top tier experience that players deserve, and to do that means moving the release of the mobile version to the Summer of 2025.
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NVIDIA & IQVIA Build Specialized Agentic AI for Life Science & Healthcare Applications

Press Release by
T0@st
 Discuss (2 Comments)
IQVIA, the world's leading provider of clinical research services, commercial insights and healthcare intelligence, is working with NVIDIA to build custom foundation models and agentic AI workflows that can accelerate research, clinical development and access to new treatments. AI applications trained on the organization's vast healthcare-specific information and guided by its deep domain expertise will help the industry boost the efficiency of clinical trials and optimize planning for the launch of therapies and medical devices—ultimately improving patient outcomes.

Operating in over 100 countries, IQVIA has built the largest global healthcare network and is uniquely connected to the ecosystem with the most comprehensive and granular set of information, analytics and technologies in the industry. Announced today at the J.P. Morgan Conference in San Francisco, IQVIA's collection of models, AI agents and reference workflows will be developed with the NVIDIA AI Foundry platform for building custom models, allowing IQVIA's thousands of pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device customers to benefit from NVIDIA's agentic AI capabilities and IQVIA's technologies, life sciences information and expertise.
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ASRock Arc B570 Challenger 10 GB OC Cards Sell Ahead of Jan 16 Embargo

by
T0@st
 Discuss (5 Comments)
Over the past weekend, an Intel Arc GPU enthusiast has picked up a pair of embargo-busting ASRock Arc B570 Challenger 10 GB OC graphics cards. Intel has mandated an official launch at retail on January 16, yet Redditor genxontech presented photo proof of his two Arc Battlemage purchases and claimed that their local Micro Center store had stock available on shelves. The lucky customer stated that he was not willing to experience post-Thursday shortages or dreaded price gouging over limited supply: "I'm upgrading my son's PC from a GTX 1080 and the other one is for me. I work, I don't need to scalp it."

Team Blue's Arc B580 GPU series (starting price: $249) launched mid-December and retail units were snapped up swiftly—budget-conscious hardware enthusiasts have oft complained about a lack of choice/value within their market segment of choice. The incoming Intel Arc B570 GPU family is priced $30 below the slightly more capable B580, so it will be interesting to see how the two tiers perform against each other in 2025. Meanwhile, genxontech has toyed around with the latest Arc Drivers—official software is not available until this Thursday, so mixed results have been documented: "My workstation/server/gaming rig now sees the Arc B570 as a B80. Crazy, right?"

Marvel Rivals Rolls Out on NVIDIA GeForce NOW

Press Release by
T0@st
 Discuss (1 Comment)
Dear Rivals, exciting news for Season 1! Marvel Rivals is now supported on NVIDIA GeForce NOW, NVIDIA's cloud gaming service. Transform nearly any device into a high-performance, GeForce-powered gaming rig. Two new maps have been added for first half of season 1 for the Empire of Eternal Night in New York City: Sanctum Sanctorum and Midtown.

Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum stands as the last beacon of hope in a city consumed by darkness. Protected by ancient wards and powerful magic, it serves as a refuge for those battling the chaos unleashed by Dracula and his legion. Explore its eerie corridors and powerful secrets as you prepare to face the chaos unleashed by Dracula's dark forces.
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Halo 5: Guardians Steam Entry Spotted on Lenovo Legion Go S Promo

by
T0@st
 Discuss (19 Comments)
Halo 5: Guardians has remained exclusive to Microsoft Xbox gaming systems since launching back in October 2015, during the Xbox One era—an approaching ten-year anniversary has fans wishing for a possible port over to PC platforms. Hopes were elevated late last week due to an intriguing image popping up on Lenovo's Legion Go S product page. A certain promo image depicts screen content featuring a Steam menu session with an entry for Halo 5. This discovery (courtesy of Rebs Gaming) prompted much online chatter about the possible PC port being unveiled at the next Xbox Developer_Direct—scheduled for broadcast on January 23.

343 Industries (now Halo Studios) has ported five titles over to PC—neatly compiled in the form of Halo: Master Chief Collection—but the absence of Guardians has been a lingering sore spot. Over the past weekend, Lenovo senior community manager—Ben Green—dampened expectations. In a curt response to a query (on social media) regarding the alleged leak, he shot down the notion that Lenovo had inadvertently leaked the existence of a Halo 5: Guardians PC port. It is possible that Lenovo's marketing department had mocked-up the image in error. Microsoft's gaming division has committed to spreading its most visible IPs to "rival" platforms, so the upcoming Xbox Developer_Direct could harbor a surprise or two.

Sparkle eGPU Studio-G Enclosure Series Updated with Thunderbolt 5

by
T0@st
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Sparkle debuted its new eGPU Studio-G 850 enclosure at last week's CES trade event—sporting a clear upgrade, obvious when inspecting the nearby product placard: a bump up to Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. The Hardwareluxx team managed to get the scoop on this one during their visit to Sparkle's Las Vegas suite—the latter's latest development joins the already released Thunderbolt eGPU Studio-G 750 (black finish) model, that makes do with Thunderbolt 3. The newer standard (offering up to 120 GB/s upstream/downstream) is emerging across a number of new products (mostly premium-tier laptops), but industry experts believe that adoption rates are relatively slow—Intel revealed the TB5 "Barlow Ridge" specification back in September 2023.

Sparkle's newly unveiled white-shelled eGPU Studio-G 850 is generously proportioned (403 x 200 x 237 mm) enough to house 3.5-slot discrete desktop graphics cards—taking a different approach to the likes of ASUS ROG and their XG Mobile model. An integrated handle grants a modicum of portability. Reports from CES suggest that Sparkle did not divulge any details about pricing or upcoming launch windows, but the demonstration sample seemed to be in finalized form. As the model's moniker denotes, the pre-installed internal power supply is an 850 W unit featuring 16-pin connectivity.

NVIDIA Scolds Outgoing US Administration Over AI Diffusion Ruling

Press Release by
T0@st
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For decades, leadership in computing and software ecosystems has been a cornerstone of American strength and influence worldwide. The federal government has wisely refrained from dictating the design, marketing and sale of mainstream computers and software—key drivers of innovation and economic growth. The first Trump Administration laid the foundation for America's current strength and success in AI, fostering an environment where U.S. industry could compete and win on merit without compromising national security. As a result, mainstream AI has become an integral part of every new application, driving economic growth, promoting U.S. interests and ensuring American leadership in cutting-edge technology.

Today, companies, startups and universities around the world are tapping mainstream AI to advance healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, education and countless other fields, driving economic growth and unlocking the potential of nations. Built on American technology, the adoption of AI around the world fuels growth and opportunity for industries at home and abroad. That global progress is now in jeopardy. The Biden Administration now seeks to restrict access to mainstream computing applications with its unprecedented and misguided "AI Diffusion" rule, which threatens to derail innovation and economic growth worldwide.
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ASUS Announces New ROG NUC 2025 With RTX 5080 Laptop GPU at CES 2025

CES by
GFreeman
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Although it wasn't present at the CES 2025 when we were around, ASUS has officially announced the new ASUS ROG NUC, pairing it up with Core Ultra 200HX CPUs and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU. According to ASUS, the new ROG NUC will also get an upgraded cooling system, a better "easy-to-upgrade" toolless chassis system, and a slightly different design, all packed in a 282.4x187.7x56.5 mm (bottom: 146 mm) 3L chassis.

As far as the CPU goes, the ROG NUC will get a Core Ultra 9 Series 2 ARL-HX CPU, although it is possible that we will see an SKU with Core Ultra 7 200HX CPU as well. The GPU is NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory, and it supports up to 96 GB of DDR5-6400 memory in two SO-DIMM slots. It supports up to 2 TB of SSD storage in M.2 slot, and comes with one Thunderbolt 4 Type-C port, a couple of USB 3.2 10 Gbps Type-A and one USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port, two DisplayPort 2.1 and two HDMI 2.1 outputs.
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Intel "Bartlett Lake" Appears as a P/E-Core Hybrid, P-Core Only CPUs Could Soon Follow

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AleksandarK
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Intel has launched its first wave of Bartlett Lake processors, introducing hybrid-core models specifically designed for embedded systems, with pure performance-core (P-core) variants scheduled to follow later. The initial release, unveiled at CES, showcases the processors through congatec's new COM-HPC modules. The flagship Core 7 251E leads the embedded lineup with 24 cores (8P + 16E) and impressive clock speeds reaching 5.6 GHz boost. Intel claims this processor outperforms the i7-14700 by 6% in single-core and 8% in multi-core benchmarks, despite maintaining a modest 65 W TDP. The series also includes the Core 5 211E with 10 cores (6P + 4E) and the Core 3 201E featuring 4 P-cores. However, the more intriguing development lies ahead.

Earlier sources indicate that Intel plans to release pure P-core variants of Bartlett Lake in Q3 2025, targeting desktop users. These processors will introduce a more traditional approach by replacing E-core clusters with additional P-cores, resulting in configurations of up to 12 P-cores in the upcoming Core 9 series. The pure P-core models will maintain compatibility with existing LGA1700 motherboards, potentially offering an attractive upgrade path for current Intel platform users. The lineup is expected to include 8-core, 10-core, and 12-core variants under the Core 5, 7, and 9 brands respectively, with TDP options ranging from 45 W to 125 W. While the current embedded models focus on specialized applications like medical imaging and edge computing, the future P-core variants seem positioned to appeal to gamers. The processors are expected to utilize Raptor Cove cores, though rumors suggest Intel might consider backporting Lion Cove architecture to the platform.

Intel Core i9-14900KF Sets New Overclocking World Record at 9121.61 MHz

by
AleksandarK
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While Intel is busy with its new Core Ultra 200S series of "Arrow Lake-S" processors for desktops, the start of 2025 is brining some interesting news for the last-generation Intel Core i9-14900KF CPU. The "Raptor Lake" CPU, without a working iGPU has officially broken overclocking world record and reached further into the 10 GHz dream. Achieved by an overclocker named "Wytiwx", the new world record is now sitting in at 9121.61 MHz, beating the previous 9117.75 MHz record held by "Elmor" by 3.8 MHz. This officially breaks Elmor's rule which started in 2022 and currently holds second, third, fourth, and fifth place in the leaderboard. We are curious if the new overclocker will maintain his lead, or if someone new will try to come out on top. Interestingly, for the new world record, Wytiwx used ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 APEX motherboard with CPU cooled by LN2. The run was validated on Windows 7 Ultimate Edition, which is an interesting choice for overclockers as previous records have also been set using Windows 7.

YUNZII at CES 2025: Portfolio Updated with a AL65 QMK/VIA Aluminium Keyboard

CES by
AleksandarK
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YUNZII has introduced its latest mechanical keyboard, the AL65 QMK/VIA aluminium keyboard, at CES 2025. The AL65 features a CNC-anodized aluminium frame and a distinctive hollow side-cut design that enhances both its aesthetics and RGB lighting effects. The keyboard is equipped with south-facing LEDs capable of displaying 16.8 million colors, with transparent PC keycaps to amplify the lighting. It supports QMK/VIA, allowing users to remap keys, create macros, and adjust lighting on both Windows and macOS systems. The AL65 offers tri-mode connectivity with wired, Bluetooth, and 2.4 GHz wireless options, powered by an 8000mAh battery for extended use. Its gasket-mounted structure reduces typing noise and provides a softer feel while sound-dampening foam layers minimize vibrations. A hot-swappable PCB supports both 3-pin and 5-pin switches, enabling users to customize the keyboard with different mechanical switches easily. With its robust build, versatile connectivity, and customizable features, the AL65 is designed to cater to a wide range of users, from typists to gamers.
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THIEAUDIO Showcases Flagship Valhalla IEMs with 38-Driver System

CES by
AleksandarK
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During CES 2025, THIEAUDIO showed off its most ambitious creation yet: the Valhalla in-ear monitors. This flagship model, priced at $1999, represents an engineering marvel in personal audio technology, combining significant driver configuration with meticulous handcrafting. The Valhalla's most striking feature is its remarkable 38-driver architecture, with 19 balanced armature drivers positioned in each earpiece. It incorporates premium components from renowned manufacturers Knowles and Sonion, enabling the IEMs to reproduce sound with exceptional precision across the entire frequency spectrum. At the heart of Valhalla's innovative design lies the proprietary Precision Bass System (PBS), which helps with low-frequency reproduction in IEMs. By housing multiple bass drivers within a specially engineered resonance chamber, the PBS delivers subwoofer-quality bass response reaching down to 5 Hz while minimizing listener fatigue.

The production process of each Valhalla unit is equally complex. A single engineer dedicates an entire day to handcrafting each set, carefully measuring and matching drivers before assembly. The implementation of a sophisticated 4-way passive crossover network, combined with advanced acoustic tubing, helps seamless frequency transitions and optimal tonal balance throughout the audio spectrum. Complementing the Valhalla's acoustic prowess is the EliteNoir cable, which features silver-plated LCOFC wires that maximize signal integrity and durability. This premium cable enhances the IEMs' already impressive soundstage and imaging capabilities. Preorders are now open, and production times are estimated at 2-3 weeks. The design is equally interesting, and you can see it in the pictures below.
Sunday, January 12th 2025

AMD Ryzen AI Max 395+ Mini PC: GMK Announces Strix Halo-Powered Compact System

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GGforever
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At CES, AMD unleashed the much awaited Ryzen AI Max "Strix Halo" APUs with mammoth iGPUs, up to a whopping 40 CUs for the Radeon 8060S. These chips are powerful enough to not require discrete graphics at all, making them ideal for mini PCs, which lack the physical room for dedicated graphics. GMK appears to be among the first to announce a mini PC with the top-end Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU, although any further details are under wraps as of now.

Unlike the Strix Point parts, Strix Halo abandons the smaller and more efficient Zen 5c cores for a Zen 5-only setup, with up to 16 Zen 5 cores for the highest-end Ryzen AI Max+ 395 SKU. This allows for some serious performance potential, with AMD promising substantially better performance than both Intel's Lunar Lake and Apple's M4 Pro, although it would be much fairer to compare Strix Halo to Apple's M4 Max, and Intel's Arrow Lake-H/X instead. Regardless, there is no denying Strix Halo APUs open up new doors in terms of performance for compact systems, the rest remains to be seen as and when the products reach reviewers.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Tested in Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth: Wukong

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GGforever
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The recently unveiled AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has been the epicenter of a plethora of leaks in the past few weeks. We now have not only a rough idea of what kind of synthetic performance the highest-end RDNA 4 GPU is about to bring to the table, but also how much the card is expected to cost. Now, yet another leak seemingly sheds light on perhaps the most crucial aspect of any gaming GPU - it's in the name, gaming.

Hilariously enough, this leak, once again, has been sourced from a now-nerfed forum post on Chiphell. This time around, site admin nApoleon was able to run a few games on the brand-new RDNA 4 card, including Black Myth: Wukong and Cyberpunk 2077. The results have been added as screenshots below, but here is a summary - the RX 9070 XT performs decently well, trading blows with the RTX 4070 Ti Super. In NVIDIA's favorite Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K with ray tracing, the RX 9070 XT managed 26 FPS, neck and neck with the RTX 4070 Ti, whereas the RTX 4080 Super was well ahead with 32 FPS.
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This Week in Gaming (Week 3)

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TheLostSwede
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Welcome to the middle of January and a busy week of new game releases. We kick off this week with some driving, on tracks though, as these cars might not be entirely road legal. If cars aren't your thing, then how about a city builder, but in the sky? If that doesn't tickle your fancy, how about a unique looking ARPG? This is followed by something of a PC clone of recent Zelda games, just without any defined goals. This brings us a futuristic side scroller where you fight demons. We round off the week with some Chinese hack and slash action back in the feudal era.

Assetto Corsa EVO / This week's major release / Thursday 16 January
As with its predecessor, Assetto Corsa EVO will include cars from different classes spanning across years of motoring history. From road cars, classics, hypercars, and race cars. The most iconic representation of the automotive and motorsport world. Each vehicle is reproduced through an advanced system that simulates mechanical, electronic, and aerodynamic performance, combined with the fidelity of the circuits created using Laserscan technology. Steam link
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Saturday, January 11th 2025

GameSir Presents New "G7 Pro" Xbox Controller at CES 2025

CES by
T0@st
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GameSir has showcased its brand new G7 Pro wireless gaming controller at this week's CES trade event, where they teased a very compelling sub-$100 price point. It seems that a lucky few have already playtested early sample units—leaks from late last year revealed the existence of Xbox and Steam variants. During a showroom visit, the TechPowerUp team discovered that GameSir had left the oft-rumored Valve-licensed "prototype" back at HQ. Fortunately, their Xbox G7 Pro model was available for close up inspection in Las Vegas—reports suggest that a launch is lined up around Spring time.

Highlights from the G7 Pro's feature list include: TMR analogue sticks (first introduced via their Tarantula series), 1000 Hz polling rate (wired on Xbox, wireless on PC), optical microswitch face buttons, two rear programmable back buttons + two programmable shoulder triggers, swappable faceplate system, and a new tactile D-pad. TechPowerUp also spent time with some other new controller models—GameSir has another affordable-tier Nova controller (white example is pictured below) incoming, as well as a retro-gray Tarantula model.
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EcoFlow at CES 2025: Delta 3 Power Stations, Solar Hat, and Dual-Fuel Power Generators Lead Product Showcase

CES by
AleksandarK
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EcoFlow revealed its latest power generation solutions at CES 2025, with the Delta 3 series power stations leading the pack. The flagship Delta 3 Plus features lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells rated for 4,000+ charge cycles, with a total capacity of 3,024Wh and maximum output of 3,000 W. The unit's X-Stream charging technology enables 0-80% charging in 40 minutes when connected to AC power, while supporting 1,200 W maximum solar input. The base Delta 3 model offers similar specifications but with a 2,048Wh capacity.

For small-scale applications, the River 3 Plus delivers 1,200 W continuous output from its 512Wh battery pack. Operating at 30 decibels under normal load, the unit includes two 120 V AC outlets, three USB-A ports, and one USB-C port capable of 100 W output.
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AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Leaked Listing Reveals Pricing Details

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GGforever
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If the recent RDNA 4 performance leaks are anything to go by, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 and the RX 9070 XT GPUs are sizing up to be excellent mid-range contenders. That is, of course, if the pricing is sane enough. A subsequent leak revealed that the RX 9070 XT AIB models will command a price tag of roughly around $549, which would easily allow it to undercut the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070.

Now, a further leak has revealed a product listing of an RX 9070 XT by a retailer based in the Philippines. The variant in question is Gigabyte's Gaming OC model, with base and boost clocks of 2,400 and 2,970 MHz respectively. Moreover, 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is also offered, on a 256-bit memory bus. 4,096 shading units and 64 RT cores are present as well - nothing out of the ordinary.
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Morse Micro Intros New World-Beating Wi-Fi SoC - Smallest, Fastest & Farthest-Reaching

CES Press Release by
T0@st
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Morse Micro, the world's leading provider of Wi-Fi HaLow chips based on the IEEE 802.11ah specification, has announced the launch of its highly anticipated second-generation MM8108 System-on-Chip (SoC). Building on the success of the first-generation MM6108 SoC, the MM8108 offers even better performance in all key areas of range, throughput, and power efficiency while also reducing the cost, effort, and time to bring the next generation of Wi-Fi HaLow enabled products to market.

The MM8108 delivers class-leading data rates of up to 43.33 Mbps using world-first sub-GHz 256-QAM modulation at an 8 MHz bandwidth, making it ideal for a range of applications in agricultural, mining, industrial, home, and city environments. Its integrated 26dBm power amplifier (PA) with exceptional power efficiency, and low-noise amplifier (LNA) ensure exceptional performance and enable global regulatory certification without the need for external Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) filters. The exceptional power efficiency significantly extends battery life and enables the uptake of solar-powered Wi-Fi HaLow connected cameras and IoT devices.
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MSI Cubi NUC AI+ 2M's Internals Revealed at CES 2025

CES by
T0@st
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MSI worked hard to make its Cubi NUC AI series stand out at CES 2025. Showing off small—almost nondescript—black boxes is normally a big ask, but the TechPowerUp team's collective eye was caught by a presentation piece that exhibited an exploded view of MSI's Cubi NUC AI+ 2M model's outer and inner workings (see photo below). Competing devices did not get the same treatment elsewhere in Las Vegas—printed diagrams and spec sheets only go so far in showcasing PC products.

MSI's dissected Cubi NUC AI+ 2M was mounted on a plinth that featured plenty of useful markings and labels surrounding the mainboard. Naturally a fully assembled plus operational demo unit was close by—as evidenced by being hooked up to (and powered by) an MSI PRO MP251 E2 monitor. Cubi NUC AI+ 2M is advertised as the "Ultimate" Windows 11 Copilot+ mini PC—TechPowerUp spotted a dedicated Copilot button on the box's front fascia. An Intel Core Ultra "Lunar Lake" processor (with AI NPU boost) is soldered onto the NUC AI+ 2M board—a product placard states that the top variant can run Team Blue's Core Ultra 7 258V mobile CPU.
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Epomaker at the 2025 International CES: Trio of Compact Wireless Keyboards and Mice

CES by
btarunr
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Epomaker brought four of its latest gaming peripherals to the 2025 International CES. We begin our tour with the Epomaker Carbon 60, which as its name suggests, is a 60% format keyboard, with a carbon fiber pattern along its top and body. The keyboard offers three kinds of connectivity—USB, 2.4 GHz RF (1000 Hz polling rate), and Bluetooth 5.0. They included keycaps are PBT. The switches are hot-swappable, and you choose between Epomaker's in-house Mulan or Wisteria Linear switches. Completing its industrial look is yellow pull-tag.

Next up, is the Epomaker Luma84, a slick business-class keyboard which looks like it could go well with a Mac mini or similar-looking NUC. The keyboard features an 84% layout, and comes with low-profile white PBT keycaps. The keyboard comes with an aluminium top and backplate, with a similar curved-edge to a MacBook Pro. Much like the Carbon 60, the Luma84 comes with three kinds of connectivity.
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Bandai Namco's "Freedom Wars Remastered" Out Now on PC & Consoles

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T0@st
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Congratulations, Sinner. As a non-productive citizen of the Panopticon, the only way to reduce the million-year prison sentence assigned at birth is through the redeeming fire of combat. FREEDOM WARS REMASTERED, the cult classic action game originally released on PlayStation Vita, is now available worldwide for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam.

The cult hit was remastered by the game's original developer, and brings enhancements including 4K resolution, upgraded textures, improved online multiplayer, a new "Deadly Sinner" higher difficulty mode, and 60 frames per second for current gen platforms. The story remains unchanged, but upgraded player systems help streamline looting, crafting, and other player interactions from the original release. For more information, visit the official website. Choose to provide value to society through combat and helping support the Panopticon and productive citizens or die a Sinner.
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Cougar Intros GEX Pro and GLE Series ATX 3.1 PSUs at 2025 CES

CES by
btarunr
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Cougar at the 2025 International CES brought two new power supply lines in the performance segment, the GEX Pro series, and the GLE series. The latter is the more premium of the two, and comes in wattage variants ranging between 650 W and 1200 W. These offer a compact build that's 15 cm in depth, full modular cabling, and modern connectivity. The GLE series meets ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 specs. These use a single 135 mm hydro dynamic bearing fan to keep cool. The GLE series offers Cybenetics Platinum switching efficiency, and Cybenetics A- acoustic rating. All models 750 W and above come with a 600 W-capable 12V2x6 connector, the 650 W model does 450 W on this connector.

The GEX Pro is more of an upper mid-range product. It comes in 650 W, 750 W, and 850 W models, and is a little more compact than the GLE series, with a depth of just 14 cm, relying on a 120 mm HDB fan to keep cool. The PSU meets ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 specs, and offers Cybenetics Gold switching efficiency, along with Cybenetics A+ acoustics rating. You get fully modular cabling, and a 12V2x6 connector that's capable of 600 W continuous output in the 750 W and 850 W models, but 450 W continuous on the 650 W model. Under the hood, both PSU lines rely on a single +12 V rail design, with most common electrical protections, against over/under voltage, overload, overheat, and short-circuit.

Microsoft Lays DirectX API-level Groundwork for Neural Rendering

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btarunr
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Microsoft announced updates to the DirectX API that would pave the way for neural rendering. Neural rendering is a concept where portions of a frame in real-time 3D graphics are drawn using a generative AI model that works in tandem with classic raster 3D graphics pipeline, along with other advancements, such as real-time ray tracing. This is different from AI-based super resolution technologies. The generative AI here is involved in rendering the input frames for a super resolution technology. One of the nuts and bolts of neural rendering is cooperative vectors, enable an information pathway between the conventional graphics pipeline and the generative AI, telling it what it's doing, what needs to be done by the AI model, and what the ground truth for the model is.

Microsoft says that its HLSL team is working with AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm to bring cross-vendor support for cooperative vectors in the DirectX ecosystem. The very first dividends of this effort will be seen in the upcoming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50-series "Blackwell" GPUs, which will use cooperative vectors to drive neural shading. "Neural shaders can be used to visualize game assets with AI, better organize geometry for improved path tracing performance and tools to create game characters with photo-realistic visuals," Microsoft says.

Samsung Shows Galaxy Book5 Pro and Galaxy Book5 360 at CES 2025

CES by
AleksandarK
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Samsung has revealed two new laptop models at CES 2025: the Galaxy Book5 Pro and Galaxy Book5 360, both featuring Intel's latest processors and artificial intelligence capabilities. The Galaxy Book5 Pro comes in two sizes. The 16-inch version weighs 1.56 kg and includes a 76.1Wh battery, while the 14-inch model weighs 1.23 kg with a 63.1 Wh battery. Both laptops use AMOLED displays with 2880×1800 resolution and variable refresh rates from 48 to 120 Hz. Storage options reach 1 TB, with either 16 GB or 32 GB of memory available.

The Galaxy Book5 360 features a 15.6-inch touchscreen that can fold back 360 degrees, effectively turning the laptop into a tablet. It has a 1920×1080 resolution display and weighs 1.46 kg, with a 68.1 Wh battery. Both models use Intel's Core Ultra processors with built-in NPUs that Samsung uses for features like AI Select for searching and Photo Remaster for image enhancement. The laptops also integrate with other Samsung devices through features like Multi Control for unified device navigation and Quick Share for file transfers. The new laptops include standard connectivity options like Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. Samsung claims the Pro models can achieve up to 25 hours of battery life, though real-world usage typically yields shorter durations.

LG Showcases UltraGear GX9 OLED Bendable 5K2K Gaming Monitors at CES 2025

CES by
AleksandarK
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LG unveiled its UltraGear GX9 gaming monitor series at CES 2025, with three primary models featuring WOLED display technology and curved panels. The 45GX990A features a 45-inch bendable WOLED panel that transitions between flat and 900R curvature. The display offers 5K2K resolution (5,120 x 2,160), a 21:9 aspect ratio, and a 0.03 ms gray-to-gray response time. The 45GX950A utilizes the exact panel specifications but with a fixed 800R curve. Both models include DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1, and USB-C connectivity with 90 W power delivery. The displays support variable refresh rates through NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro certification. The second-generation Dual-Mode system is a distinct feature that enables switching between different aspect ratios (21:9 and 16:9) and screen sizes (39-, 34-, or 27 inches). The system provides eight preset configurations for resolution and refresh rate combinations.

The 39GX90SA rounds out the lineup with a 39-inch OLED panel featuring an 800R curve. This model integrates webOS for direct streaming functionality and includes USB Type-C ports for device connectivity. All monitors in the series utilize WOLED technology for color reproduction and incorporate Anti-Glare & Low Reflection coating to reduce screen reflections. The panels are certified for reduced blue light emissions. The 45-inch models achieve 125 pixels per inch through an RGWB subpixel layout. These displays maintain compatibility with current graphics cards while supporting the latest variable refresh rate technologies. The monitors feature a 4-side borderless design and, in the case of the 39GX90SA, include an L-shaped stand for space efficiency.

LG Updates Gram Laptop Lineup at CES 2025 with AI Capabilities

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AleksandarK
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LG Electronics has announced its 2025 Gram laptop lineup at CES 2025, featuring Intel's latest processors and a new AI system that combines on-device EXAONE language processing with cloud-based GPT-4o capabilities. The flagship Gram Pro (17Z90TR) features a 17-inch WQXGA LCD display with 2,560 x 1,600 resolution and a 31-144 Hz variable refresh rate. Powered by Intel Core Ultra 9 or Ultra 7 processors and an NVIDIA RTX 4050 with 6 GB GDDR6 memory, it supports up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X RAM at 8,533 MHz. The device includes dual SSD slots supporting up to 2 TB Gen 4 NVMe storage and a 90Wh battery, all within a 3.26-pound chassis.

The Gram Pro 2-in-1 (16T90TP) employs a 16-inch WQXGA+ OLED panel with 2,880 x 1,800 resolution and a 48-120 Hz refresh rate. Running on Intel Core Ultra 7 or Ultra 5 processors with Intel Arc graphics, it features up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory at 8,400 MHz. The convertible weighs 3.08 pounds and includes a 77Wh battery and a mega dual cooling system. At 2.73 pounds, the Gram Pro 16Z90TS combines Intel Core Ultra 7 processors with Intel Arc graphics, featuring a 16-inch WQXGA LCD display and 77Wh battery. All Pro models include dual USB4 Gen3x2 Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support and HDMI 2.1 outputs capable of 4K@60 Hz.
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XFX Radeon RX 9070 Series Graphics Cards at 2025 International CES

CES by
btarunr
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XFX at the 2025 International CES showed off a pair of Radeon RX 9070 series custom-design graphics cards. The company will keep these designs common to both the flagship RX 9070 XT, and the RX 9070. Both board designs were shown off at AMD's RX 9070 series booth. The premium custom design is being referred to as "Black." There are actually two sub-variants of this card, one called Black, which lacks any RGB LED lighting, but a second more premium one where the top of the card has an RGB LED diffuser spanning the entire top-front edge, including the triangular ends with the XFX and Radeon logos. This card wasn't shown to use, but is part of AMD's CES pre-brief.

The premium Black card features a large aluminium fin-stack heatsink, along with a trio of what look like 100 mm and 90 mm axial airflow fans. The metal backplate has a ridged pattern. The PCB underneath appears to be about three quarters the length of the card, with a large cutout in the backplate letting much of the airflow from the third fan go through the heatsink and out the back. This card draws power from three 8-pin PCIe power connectors, for a total power input configuration of 525 W, which is obviously high for what is expected to be a 300 W-class GPU, but this isn't the only card with an over-the-top power input configuration. The ASUS TUF Gaming has three 8-pin PCIe power, while the ASRock Taichi uses a 16-pin 12V2x6. Most RX 9070 series cards we've seen have just two 8-pin power connectors.
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Friday, January 10th 2025

Huion Showcases Kamvas 16 Gen 3 Professional Pen-Display

CES by
btarunr
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Huion specializes in graphics tablets and pen displays. Its products go up against those from Wacom. We've seen a host of announcements at the 2024 Computex, but the company was saving its next-gen for the 2025 CES. The company showed us their latest Kamvas 16 Gen 3, a 16-inch high-precision pen display for hand-drawn graphics applications. The display comes with a QHD resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels), which lends a respectable 184 ppi of pixel density. The display also features a 120% sRGB wide color gamut. The display features Huion's PenTech 4.0 technology, a high-resolution graphics pen input interface that the company introduced in 2024. This gives the input surface 16,384 pressure sensitivity levels. The display is compatible with Huion's PW600, and PW600S digital pens.

HAVN x King Mod Systems Gaming PC Showcased at CES 2025

CES by
T0@st
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HAVN and King Mod Systems have partnered up on putting together a high-end gaming PC—a sample build was assembled in good time and sent out to Las Vegas. TechPowerUp inspected the fruit of their labors earlier this week at CES 2025. Unsurprisingly, the two collaborators have opted to use a white finish HAVN HS 420 VGPU Edition case—feel free to check out Darksaber's glowing review of this exact model. A black variant was positioned close by, so it was convenient to compare and contrast between the sibling enclosures. Coincidentally, TechPowerUp and HAVN teamed up on a giveaway competition of four HAVN HS 420 models last month.

The HAVN x King Mod Systems Gaming PC utilizes some fine internals, but its AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D processor will become less cutting-edge in the near future. Team Red is lining up the Ryzen 9 9900X3D CPU for launch around March 2025. HAVN and King Mod Systems have selected Gigabyte's B650E AORUS Elite X AX ICE mainboard for their showroom build, along with a white TRYX PANORAMA 360 mm AIO ARGB liquid cooler, an MSI RTX 4080 SUPER GAMING X SLIM WHITE graphics card, and a 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 5600 CL36 memory kit.

Cervoz Launches T445 Single-sided M.2 NVMe SSD

Press Release by
T0@st
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Struggling to balance space, performance, and thermal management in compact industrial platforms? The new Cervoz T445 M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen 4x4 SSD delivers with its space-saving single-sided design, high-speed capabilities, and wide temperature resilience. Ideal for IoT gateways, industrial tablets, and automation systems. Ready to elevate your storage solution? Discover how the T445 drives efficiency in demanding industrial environments.

Single-Sided Design for Space-Limited Environments
One of the standout features of the T445 is its single-sided design, making it especially suited for space-constrained systems. By consolidating critical components like the NAND flash, controller, and power management IC on one side, it optimizes space efficiency and improves thermal management for better airflow and heat dissipation. This design is particularly important for fanless systems and compact environments, ensuring reliable performance even in extreme conditions. With a slim profile—single-sided design that reduces height by 1.35 mm compared to dual-sided models—the T445 is engineered for easy installation in tight industrial setups, providing high efficiency without compromising durability or speed.
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MAINGEAR Presents Shroud Signature Edition Gaming PC at CES 2025

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T0@st
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MAINGEAR has collaborated on developing and building a Signature Edition Gaming PC with popular Twitch streamer "Shroud" (aka Michael Grzesiek). This high-performance system made its debut at CES 2025—the TechPowerUp team took a closer look during a demo session with MAINGEAR. Shroud and his partners at the New Jersey-based gaming and workstation specialist have settled on building inside HAVN's HS 420 VGPU Dual-Chamber ATX mid-tower case (available in black or white finishes). This premium chassis is a great match for the crème de la crème of high-performance gaming-centric components—naturally, AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the de-facto choice of CPU here.

Shroud's Signature Edition Gaming PC will be specced with the latest NVIDIA flagship graphics card—TechPowerUp noticed that the demonstration build featured a Founders Edition GeForce RTX 4090. It is possible that MAINGEAR is working on updating this system with a GeForce RTX 5090 card, once the "Blackwell" GPU family heads to market. The specification sheet also lists MAINGEAR's Epic 420 mm AIO liquid cooler, an AsRock Phantom Gaming X870E Nova WiFi motherboard, 48 GB (2 x 24 GB) T-Force Xtreem ARGB 8000 MHz CL34 memory, a 2 TB T-Force Cardea A440 Gen 4 M.2 SSD, and an FSP PTM Pro Gen 5 80+ 1200 W PSU.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Devs Discuss Upcoming Sim Update 1

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T0@st
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After a break for the holiday season to recharge, refresh, and spend time with our families, we're back this week and hard at work updating Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024! As we begin the new year, our teams are focused on delivering the first major updates, including Sim Update 1, while also finalizing preparations for the Marketplace launch in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.

We have analyzed all the feedback provided over the past weeks and months and are prioritizing bug fixes and improvements based on community input. Because of this, we are spending this week working on the Feedback Snapshot and will have an updated version for you in next week's blog. We are also excited to announce that World Update: Brazil is on the horizon! These updates are coming soon, and we will provide more information on the timeline as it becomes available. We appreciate your support as we continue to enhance the simming experience for our community.
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MSI Shows Off "Project Zero X" PC Build at CES 2025

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T0@st
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MSI's Back-Connect motherboard design provides the foundation of Project Zero X—specific components were not listed when TechPowerUp examined this sleek PC build. A panoramic glass case design houses an all-MSI ecosystem that is "clean and cable-free" thanks to the aforementioned back-mounted layout. Clutter is kept out of view in a rear compartment and the I/O panel is positioned at the back of Project Zero X's enclosure (see photo below). TechPowerUp enjoyed looking at this refreshingly simple arrangement through the case's four-sided glass panel. The build's vertically-mounted MSI-brand GeForce RTX graphics card is positioned next to a signature Project Zero X-branded motherboard.

A product placard mentions that Project Zero X features an integrated "Full-Coverage Heatsink"—providing "comprehensive" cooling coverage across the system. MSI also claims that there are no air circulation dead spots—thanks to a unified airflow design. The cooling system seems to be mostly hidden away inside the enclosure's rear and bottom compartments.
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Aetina & Qualcomm Collaborate on Flagship MegaEdge AIP-FR68 Edge AI Solution

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T0@st
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Aetina, a leading provider of edge AI solutions and a subsidiary of Innodisk Group, today announced a collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., who unveiled a revolutionary Qualcomm AI On-Prem Appliance Solution and Qualcomm AI Inference Suite for On-Prem. This collaboration combines Qualcomm Technologies' cutting-edge inference accelerators and advanced software with Aetina's edge computing hardware to deliver unprecedented computing power and ready-to-use AI applications for enterprises and industrial organizations.

The flagship offering, the Aetina MegaEdge AIP-FR68, sets a new industry benchmark by integrating Qualcomm Cloud AI family of accelerator cards. Each Cloud AI 100 Ultra card delivers an impressive 870 TOPS of AI computing power at 8-bit integer (INT8) while maintaining remarkable energy efficiency at just 150 W power consumption. The system supports dual Cloud AI 100 Ultra cards in a single desktop workstation. This groundbreaking combination of power and efficiency in a compact form factor revolutionizes on-premises AI processing, making enterprise-grade computing more accessible than ever.
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MSI Presents MEG MAESTRO 900L PZ Concept Case Series at CES 2025

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T0@st
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The MSI MEG MAESTRO 900L PZ Concept Case Series was revealed a few days ago, coinciding with CES's kick-off. Later on in the week, TechPowerUp took the opportunity to absorb these voluminous prototypes—other press outlets have expressed great enthusiasm about MSI's extremely bold approach. It is not clear whether these new models will reach retail—the MEG MAESTRO-700L-PZ case managed this feat last year.

The first demonstration sample spotted by TechPowerUp formed the basis of MSI's "MEG PC Build"—filled up with the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, MSI MEG X870E motherboard and two GeForce RTX 4080 SUPRIM X graphics cards. Lots of RGB-lit cooling solutions surrounded this hardware cluster—including the MEG CORELIQUID S360 and fifteen(!) MPG EZ120 ARGB fans. MSI's MEG Ai1600T PCIe 5 PSU is tasked with keeping this setup alive—it was up and running, as evidenced by being connected to a nearby monitor. TechPowerUp then checked out the other working prototype—a very snazzy case modding project that houses two PC systems.
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AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Pricing Leak: More Affordable Than RTX 5070?

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GGforever
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As we reported yesterday, the Radeon RX 9070 XT appears to be all set to disrupt the mid-range gaming GPU segment, offering performance that looks truly enticing, at least if the leaked synthetic benchmarks are anything to go by. The highest-end RDNA 4 GPU is expected to handily outperform the RTX 4080 Super despite costing half as much, with comparison to its primary competitor, the RTX 5070, yet to be made.

Now, a fresh leak has seemingly hinted at how heavy the RDNA 4 GPU is going to be on its buyers' pockets. Also sourced from Chiphell, the Radeon RX 9070 XT is expected to command a price tag between $479 for AMD's reference card and roughly $549 for an AIB unit, varying based on which exact product one opts for. At that price, the Radeon RX 9070 XT easily undercuts the RTX 5070, which will start from $549, while offering 16 GB of VRAM, albeit of the older GDDR6 spec. There is hardly any doubt that the RTX GPU will come out ahead in ray tracing performance, as we already witnessed yesterday, although traditional rasterization performance will be more interesting to compare.
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Khadas Unveils Modular Mini PC Powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 2 at CES 2025

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Nomad76
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At CES 2025, Khadas captivated global audiences with groundbreaking product designs and innovative technologies, showcasing the immense potential of next-generation computing devices. As a technology brand dedicated to addressing diverse user needs, Khadas delivered an impressive display of cutting-edge solutions that seamlessly blend innovation with practicality.

Mind 2s: The Modular Mini PC Powered by Arrow Lake
Since the launch of its first Mind series, Khadas has earned widespread recognition for its exceptional craftsmanship and superior performance. To meet the demand for the latest technology, Khadas unveiled Mind 2s, modular mini PC powered by the Intel Arrow Lake platform. Featuring the Intel Core Ultra 7 255H processor, built on the all-new Arrow Lake-H architecture, the Mind 2s offers not only significant performance enhancements but also outstanding energy efficiency, improved integrated graphics, and superior AI processing capabilities.
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Corsair Teases Liquid-cooled Power Supply Prototype

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btarunr
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Corsair at the 2025 International CES launched a couple of updates to its PSU lineup, the 2025 HXi series, and the 2025 RMe series, and you can read all about them here. Something else caught our eye at the Corsair booth, an unnamed, unlabeled PSU with a coolant tube from a DIY liquid cooling loop going in. It turns out that Corsair is dabbling with liquid-cooled high-wattage PSUs that can stay completely fanless, even under load. The PSU passes the coolant through an array of heatsinks that make contact with the hottest components, such as the switching MOSFETs, Schottky diodes, APFC, IGBTs, etc. Corsair is still deciding on whether to release this as an actual product. Tell them what you think in the comments.

AeroCool P500C & P300C Compact Cases Presented at CES 2025

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T0@st
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AeroCool's P500C and P300C compact cases were on show at this year's CES trade event. The TechPowerUp team has documented plenty of empty enclosures across many booths and suites, so it was refreshing to see AeroCool present a fully operational system built inside a black P500C model. This is a mid-tower ATX PC case that sports an uninterrupted/frameless tempered glass design, spread across its front and side panel. The curved edges are a nice touch. TPU took in a "panoramic view" of the case's numerous "mirage infinity mirror effect" cooling fans—three 120 mm reverse-blade ARGB units are factory pre-installed on the side panel. A standard ARGB 120 mm fan is also included on the rear section—all controllable via the AeroCool P500C's integrated 4-port PWM ARGB fan hub.
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Alphacool Showcases Eiswolf AIO Watercoolers for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080

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AleksandarK
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During our CES 2025 Alphacool booth visit, Alphacool has showcased its newest update in the Eiswolf AIO watercooling lineup, tailored specifically for NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 series "Blackwell" GPUs. The updated design features a GPU waterblock with an integrated pump and a radiator connected via quick-disconnect links, simplifying installation and maintenance. Alphacool continues its use of TPV hoses from the Enterprise Solution series, known for their durability and heat resistance, thanks to their EPDM/PP construction. These hoses, commonly used in servers and workstations, are free of plasticizers and paired with connectors from the same series to ensure robust performance. The GPU waterblock also includes an LED matrix display, demonstrated at the booth showing "RTX 5090," which reflects the GPU it cools. Designed with aesthetics in mind, the block incorporates an acrylic body with a top coat, illuminated by RGB lighting to suit various setups.

USound Showcases MEMS-based Distance Measuring and DC Bias-Free Speakers at CES 2025

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AleksandarK
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USound demonstrated its fully developed ultrasonic sensing module, showcasing the potential of MEMS technology beyond audio applications. Displayed during the CES 2025 show, the module integrates USound's Conamara MEMS tweeter, Tarvos amplifier, and a third-party MEMS microphone. It uses ultrasonic waves for precise distance and proximity measurements, with calculations processed by proprietary firmware. Designed for commercial use, the module is compact at just 5 mm in diameter and 1.5 mm thick, making it suitable for space-constrained devices. Its energy-efficient operation and use of standardized components ensure scalability for applications in consumer electronics, robotics, IoT devices, and industrial systems. By delivering high accuracy through a flat frequency response across the ultrasonic spectrum, the module is an interesting solution for embedded sensing tasks.

USound also presented its Zero VDC technology, an innovation that allows its MEMS speakers to operate without a DC bias. This advancement increases sound pressure levels (SPL) while simplifying circuit design by reducing the required components, enabling cost reductions and simplified implementations. CES attendees observed live demonstrations of the ultrasonic sensing module and Zero VDC functionality, emphasizing their readiness for commercial deployment. We are awaiting USound's MEMS-based technology in commercial products to see how companies adapt its technology.

Intel's New Boxed Desktop CPU Cooler Revealed

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TheLostSwede
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Courtesy of serial leaker @momomo_us, who dug up the product pages for Intel's two new retail boxed CPU coolers, we now know what they'll look like ahead of them shipping. The two coolers are known as the Laminar RH2 and Laminar RM2, with the RH2 being the higher-end model of the two. The RH2 has a copper heat column that attaches to aluminium fins and it's decorated with an aRGB LED ring, as well as a white Intel LED logo. It stands 71 mm tall from the base of the heatsink to the top of the fan and is overall 103 x 103 mm and it weighs in at 450 grams. It's rated for CPUs up to 65 W TDP and the fan operates between 1000 and 3000 rpm and supports variable speed via PWM control. It will output 23 dBA at 1600 RPM with the CPU at 40 degrees C, according to the specs. It appears to come with some kind of back plate and it's screwed in place. It will only ship with the Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 285 for now.

The much more basic RM2 cooler is designed for 65 W TDP CPUs and it measures 100 x 100 mm, but it only stands 47 mm tall. Here only the base of the cooler is made out of copper, the fins are once again made from aluminium and this results in a lower weight of 340 grams. The fan speed range is 600 to 3250 rpm and we're looking at a PWM controlled fan here too. The downside is that the fan has to run at 2400 rpm to produce the same 40 degrees at the inlet with a 65 W CPU underneath it, which results in a noise level of 30 dBA, which is a lot louder than the RH2. Unlike the RH2, the RM2 uses standard Intel socket push-pins for mounting. The RM2 will ship with the Intel Core Ultra 5 Processor 225, 225F, 235, 265 and 265F CPUs, but according to the product page, it will also ship with some Core Ultra 7 desktop chips. Both coolers come with a three-year warranty. Design wise, both of the new coolers are a lot less flashy compared to the previous generation of Intel CPU coolers.

In Win Power and Cooling Products at 2025 CES: 2500W PSU with Four 12V2x6

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btarunr
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Fancy a rendering farm with four NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards sitting on top of an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000WX platform with its 128 PCIe Gen 5 lanes and 8-channel DDR5 memory? You'll need juice for that, and the In Win P250II is where you'll get it. From the company's PII line of ultra high-end PSUs, this jug puts out 2500 W under 200-240 VAC, or 1650 W under 115-240 VAC. It meets ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 CEM specifications, and offers 80 Plus Platinum (EU 230 V) switching efficiency. The star attraction here is that the PSU puts out four 16-pin 12V2x6 connectors—this isn't using trickery such as converting PCIe connectors to 12V2x6, but native connectors on the PSU's backplane. Each of the four is capable of 600 W of continuous output, and excursions meeting the PCIe 5.1 CEM spec.

In Win didn't put out the power distribution table of this PSU, but we're not sure if it uses a single +12 V rail. Besides the four 12V2x6 connectors, it puts out five 6+2 pin PCIe power, two 4+4 pin EPS, a 24-pin ATX, and a dozen SATA power connectors. Next up, In Win introduced two new lines of fans, the LYNX LN120 series and the LYNX LN140 series. Both are stackable fans, and feature mechanical interlocks that allow you to join up to four of these at the hip, to minimize cable clutter. The interlock is based on the USB-C physical connector, which relays both 4-pin PWM and 3-pin ARGB pins. The LYNX LN140 turns at speeds between 900 and 1,800 RPM, pushing 44.57 to 89.14 CFM of airflow, at 0.77 to 3.07 mm H₂O static pressure, and 14 to 39 dBA noise output. Its sleeve bearing is rated for 30,000 hours. The LYNX LN120 turns along a wider speed range, of 900 to 2,200 RPM, pushing 25 to 65 CFM of airflow.

APNX Unveils LC1-D 360 Liquid Cooler at CES 2025

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T0@st
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APNX has debuted its new LC1-D 360 high-performance liquid cooler at CES 2025—its standout feature is a generously proportioned 4-inch IPS display. The pump head is angle-adjustable, so users are able to reorient the screen to best effect. APNX's Control Center application takes care of on-screen changes—CPU temperature, CPU load, memory load, backgrounds (JPEG & GIFs) and other bits of information can be loaded up. TechPowerUp noticed that the LC1-D 360's feature set is not too far removed from AeroCool's Spectro Vision L360 AIO model.

APNX is a sister brand, so it is not surprising to see some cross-pollination across product lines. The LC1-D 360's water block has a pure copper construction, granting superior heat conductivity. The APNX engineering team has implemented a micro channel design—thus optimizing heat dissipation. Familiar products were also showcased next to APNX's liquid cooling option. The AP1-V is a slick-looking CPU air cooler—the stylish white demo sample was inspected by a TechPowerUp staffer. APNX's 30 mm deep FP2-120 high performance cooling fans were also within reach—their frames are reassuringly chunky.

Kioxia at 2025 CES: 218-layer 3D NAND Flash and UFS 4.0 for Automotive Applications

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btarunr
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Kioxia had a small dugout at the 2025 International CES. The NAND flash major tends to have a much bigger booth at FMS than CES. The one in Vegas had its latest enterprise SSDs, all of which were launched through 2024, and a couple of new things. We first got a practical demo of how Kioxia achieves 218 layers of NAND flash in its latest generation of BiCS Flash using an architectural innovation called CBA—CMOS directly bonded to array. In CBA, the cell array acts like a pizza topping to the crust that is the CMOS layer, rather than being arranged side-by-side. This allows for greater density of flash cells. This also has certain performance and power advantages.

Next up, the company showed us their automotive-grade UFS 4.0 non-volatile storage device, which uses the latest 218-layer 3D NAND flash memory. This device was announced toward the end of 2024, and gathered a salad of certifications that make it fit for the latest generation of automobiles with advanced technology such as FSD, or an infotainment system that's practically as powerful as a PC. We also got a fascinating look at the testbed Kioxia uses to validate its automotive UFS 4.0 devices.

Alphacool Showcases GPU Waterblocks for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090/5080 and AMD X870 Motherboard Monoblocks

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AleksandarK
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Alphacool has unveiled new waterblocks for NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 graphics cards at CES 2025. The company has redesigned its Core GPU waterblock series with updated component spacing and flow characteristics, developed through fluid dynamics simulations and practical testing. A change from previous water blocks for RTX 40 series includes the switch to chrome-plated copper cooling surfaces instead of nickel plating, which offers improved durability and surface finish. The waterblocks retain brass fittings and feature a Core emblem above the jetplate. The waterblocks will support cards from major manufacturers including ASUS, MSI, Palit, Gainward, and Inno3D. Specifically, compatibility extends to ASUS ROG Strix and TUF Gaming models, as well as MSI Suprim and Gaming variants. Both RTX 5090 and 5080 Core waterblocks are priced at €199.98.
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Thermaltake Launches TOUGHRAM XG RGB D5 7200MT/s 32GB DDR5 Memory With CKD at CES 2025

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Nomad76
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Thermaltake, a leading PC DIY brand for premium hardware solutions, proudly launches today at CES 2025 the TOUGHRAM XG RGB D5 7200 MT/s 32 GB (16 GB x2), now equipped with the latest CKD (Client Clock Driver) technology. This new addition to Thermaltake's high-performance DDR5 memory lineup integrates advanced technology with a sleek design, offering an exceptional solution for PC enthusiasts and professionals. With CKD technology, the TOUGHRAM XG RGB D5 Memory ensures superior signal integrity, improved power efficiency, and enhanced overclocking stability, delivering consistent performance under the most demanding workloads. Ideal for gaming, creative projects, and AI-driven applications, this memory module is engineered to exceed the expectations of modern high-performance computing.

"Thermaltake is committed to redefining the limits of DRAM memory technology to meet the evolving needs of gamers and professionals," said Kenny Lin, CEO of Thermaltake. "The TOUGHRAM XG RGB D5 with CKD technology exemplifies our dedication to delivering cutting-edge solutions that offer superior speed, stability, and customization; whether for serious gamers, creators, or even AI development, this memory sets a new benchmark in high-performance computing."
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Endorfy Showcases PSU Series, PC Chassis, CPU Coolers and Peripherals at CES 2025

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Nomad76
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Besides the new Endorfy Onyx White gaming mouse and Crystal mousepads that TechPowerUp introduced here, Endorfy's first appearance at CES 2025 in Las Vegas featured more than just two products. The company announced and showcased several new items, including the Supremo FM6 power supply series and the Arx 700 White ARGB PC chassis. To complement their offerings, Endorfy also displayed their full lineup of CPU coolers, featuring the newest Fortis 5 Black/ARGB and Fera 5 Black ARGB models. The Navis AIO liquid cooling systems and several other peripherals completed Endorfy's showcase.

The Supremo FM6 power supply series continues the legacy of the Supremo FM5 line, now featuring compliance with the ATX 3.1 standard. Internally, the PSU employs a DC-to-DC topology with 100% Japanese capacitors and utilizes Endorfy's proprietary Fluctus fans for cooling. The Supremo FM6 series will initially launch with two models; 850 W and 1000 W, both backed by a 10-year warranty. The Arx 700 White ARGB PC chassis represents an evolution of Endorfy's Arx 700 case series, featuring a full white design and ARGB lighting that caters to users seeking to build lighter-toned PC systems. The chassis is expected to be available in Q2 2025 with a price point of approximately 130 Euros. To show the capabilities of their Arx 700 case series, Endorfy had a custom system built by ModMyMods, a bit sad that they didn't use the white chassis.
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Alphacool at CES 2025: More Distro Plates, Core Stealth Aurora ARGB Fan, and QDCs for Enterprise

CES by
AleksandarK
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At CES 2025, we stopped at the booth of cooling specialist Alphacool, which showcases several products aimed at both PC enthusiasts and data center operators. The company's portfolio included fans, reservoirs, distribution plates, and enterprise cooling solutions. The Core Stealth Aurora Fan features a metal frame construction and operates between 400 and 2,600 RPM. While the fan includes ARGB lighting effects, its primary focus is on airflow performance for high-powered systems.

For liquid cooling systems, Alphacool introduced the Core Reservoir, which uses an acrylic body with G1/4" brass connectors. The reservoir comes with an integrated VPP Apex or D5 pump and is designed for space-efficient installations. ARGB lighting is built into the unit, allowing for system illumination.
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ThunderX3 Showcases FLEX Pro Gaming Chair & LAB-X Standing Desk at CES 2025

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T0@st
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ThunderX3 and the TechPowerUp team were reacquainted with each other at this week's trade event in Las Vegas—the previous hands-on session occurred back in 2023! A new gaming chair and desk were up for analysis this time—a brand rep proceeded to show off their black mesh throne: dubbed "FLEX Pro." It is encouraging to see a design that takes more inspiration from premium ergonomic office chairs, rather than doubling down on the usual gamer-oriented features. An aluminium base is always nice to have—within this market segment.

A specification placard mentions a SYNC6 mechanism, this is ThunderX3's new six-way adjustability system—the already released XTC Mesh model makes do with SYNC5 (five-way). The rep demoed FLEX Pro's various adjustable parts—4D headrest, backrest, 3D lumbar support and 5D x 360° armrests. The latter can be seen at all sorts of angles in our second row of photos (see below).
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XPPen Unveils Artist Pro 22 (Gen 2) with 2.5 K High-Performance 22-inch Drawing Display

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TheLostSwede
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Today, XPPen has officially launched a remarkable addition to its professional digital drawing display lineup: the Artist Pro 22 (Gen 2), a 22-inch unparalleled drawing display that ignites all-round performance, making it an ideal choice for artists and creative professionals at a competitive price.

"With the introduction of the Artist Pro 22 (Gen 2), we are excited to offer professional creatives a dynamic platform that truly empowers their artistic vision. This 22-inch high-performance drawing display not only maintains the exceptional color performance and digital pen responsiveness of the Pro series but also features an upgraded 2.5K etched glass screen, designed to meet the demands of professional users. This enhancement significantly boosts overall performance while still offering an impressive competitive price. It's the perfect companion for anyone committed to achieving high-quality work," said Amy Yuan, Marketing Director of XPPen.
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Cooler Master Launches the CH351: 3D Surround Sound Wireless Gaming Headset for Total Immersion

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TheLostSwede
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Cooler Master, a leading provider of PC components, gaming peripherals, and tech lifestyle solutions, today announced the CH351—a wireless gaming headset that redefines immersive audio. With built-in 3D surround sound, the CH351 is designed to deliver dynamic audio. Whether you're gaming, working, watching movies or listening to music, the CH351 offers seamless connectivity and rich sound, elevating your experience to a new level.

Key features and benefits of the CH351 include:
  • Versatile connectivity: Switch between Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz wireless, and 3.5 mm wired connections for the ultimate flexibility.
  • Smart, seamless Bluetooth: Seamless pairing with up to three devices, effortlessly switchable with the push of a button.
  • Clear voice chat: Unidirectional microphone minimizes background noise, sidetone confirms your voice is clear.
  • Ergonomic design: A Y-frame design minimizes sound leakage while providing all-day comfort.
  • Range and power: With up to 30 hours of battery life and a 20-meter range in 2.4 GHz mode, the CH351 ensures uninterrupted use whether you're at your desk or on the move.
With two colorways, black and macaron, the CH351 is the ultimate choice for anyone who wants a clear sound experience in a sleek and stylish package.

Corsair Memory and Storage Products at 2025 CES

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btarunr
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Corsair at the 2025 International CES brought a couple of new products from its memory and storage lines. This company used to be called "Corsair Memory" before it became Corsair Gaming, so they know a thing or two about enthusiast-segment memory and storage products, going back decades. We begin our tour with the new EX400U, a portable SSD with a 40 Gbps USB4 interface. The drive comes in 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB capacities, and offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 4000 MB/s reads, with up to 3600 MB/s writes. The company hasn't made any claims on minimum write performance, so we don't know if the drive can be used for 4K or 8K RAW cinematography. More than PC, Corsair wants you to be enthused about its mobile chops. It can connect to an iPhone 15 or later as a mass-storage device, and supports MagSafe. Corsair plans to formally launch this on January 23.

Corsair has been agile in the PC overclocking memory space, responding to new trends with product launches, without having to wait for platforms such as trade shows, so there are no new products as such (You can feast your eyes on a DDR5-10000 Vengeance kit which uses CKD), but the company made two new accessory announcements for its Vengeance and Dominator product lines. For Vengeance, Corsair's mainstream and performance-segment memory line, the company announced Corsair Custom Lab, a service that allows you to customize die-cast designs onto the module's heat spreaders. We've seen a few examples at CES, but we're sure there will be more. The Custom Lab Vengeance RGB modules should be available in Q1 2025.
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Cooler Master Unveils the Ncore 100 Air SFF Chassis at CES 2025

CES Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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Cooler Master, a global leader in PC components and tech lifestyle solutions, today announced the Ncore 100 Air, a small form factor (SFF) PC case crafted for gamers, content creators, and SFF enthusiasts. Designed to streamline PC building and upgrading, the Ncore 100 Air features an open, tool-less design, an innovative expandable design and compatibility with the latest hardware, ensuring users can easily keep up with their performance needs while enjoying a sleek, minimalistic look.

The Ncore 100 Air builds on Cooler Master's commitment to empowering users to create high-performance PCs in small spaces. Designed with modern users in mind, this case delivers the perfect blend of power, versatility, and minimalism, supporting the latest GPUs, ITX motherboards, and SFX power supply units while maintaining an efficient thermal layout.
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ASUS Republic of Gamers Announces ROG Slash 4.0 Travel Bag Series

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TheLostSwede
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ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the ROG Slash Sling Bag 4.0, ROG Slash Sleeve 4.0, and ROG Backpack 4.0—all of which are new additions to the ROG urban gear range. Boasting bold aesthetics and functional designs, these bags are the ideal lifestyle travel gear for the urban jungle.

Compact commuter
The ROG Slash Sling Bag 4.0 offers a sleek and elegant carrying case for the ROG Ally or other gaming handhelds, complete with soft inner lining and custom cutouts to safely secure the device. Built from tear- and water-resistant materials, the Sling Bag 4.0 is designed to protect gear from inclement weather as well as the bumps and knocks of daily life. A magnetic Fidlock quick-release buckle enables easy access to the main compartment, while 360° snap hooks and adjustable shoulder straps ensure the bag is always perfectly suited to the user's body and preferred carrying position. Custom ROG monograms inside the bag and ROG logo on the exterior fabric accentuate the bag's bold style.
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G.Skill Demos DDR5-8133 2x24GB CSO-DIMM on ASRock DeskMini B860 System

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GFreeman
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G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd, the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, demonstrates high-speed DDR5 CSO-DIMM memory operating at DDR5-8133 with 48 GB (2x24GB) kit capacity on the newly announced ASRock DeskMini B860 system. CSO-DIMM is a relatively new form factor that adds a clock driver (CKD) onto the compact SO-DIMM design, and is supported by the latest platform generation with Intel Core Ultra 200 series processors.

DDR5-8133 48 GB (2x24GB) Extreme Speed with CSO-DIMM Modules
Thanks to the ASRock DeskMini B860 system that implements DDR5 CSO-DIMM support and provides outstanding memory overclock performance, G.SKILL is able to unleash the ultimate overclock potential of the new high-speed CSO-DIMM memory kits. The screenshot below shows the G.SKILL CSO-DIMM memory kit with 48 GB (2x24GB) running at DDR5-8133 CL46-52-52-130 with the ASRock B860M-STX motherboard and the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 desktop processor.
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Advantech Enhances AI and Hybrid Computing With Intel Core Ultra Processors (Series 2) S-Series

Press Release by
Nomad76
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Advantech, a leader in embedded IoT computing solutions, is excited to introduce their AI-integrated desktop platform series: the Mini-ITX AIMB-2710 and Micro-ATX AIMB-589. These platforms are powered by Intel Core Ultra Processors (Series 2) S-Series, featuring the first desktop processor with an integrated NPU, delivering up to 36 TOPS for superior AI acceleration. Designed for data visualization and image analysis, both models offer PCIe Gen 5 support for high-performance GPU cards and feature 6400 MHz DDR5 memory, USB4 Type-C, multiple USB 3.2 Gen 2 and 2.5GbE LAN ports for fast and accurate data transmission in real time.

The AIMB-2710 and AIMB-589 excel in high-speed computing and AI-driven performance, making them ideal for applications such as medical imaging, automated optical inspection, and semiconductor testing. Backed by comprehensive software support, these platforms are engineered for the next wave of AI innovation.
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ENERMAX Launches New ATX 3.1 80 Plus Gold Power Supplies, REVOLUTION III and CyberG II Series

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GFreeman
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ENERMAX, an industry-leading force dedicated to design high-performance computer hardware and cooling solutions, announces its new 80 Plus Gold power supplies: REVOLUTION III and CyberG II series. Integrated with Intel ATX 3.1 and offering a max. 600 W 12V-2x6 cable, the new PSUs deliver competitive price-to-performance ratio to mainstream gamers. The REVOLUTION III series offers a fully modular design with premium individually mesh-sleeved cables and cable combs for effortless cable management. The 120 mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) fan ensures quiet operation, while the 100% Japanese capacitors guarantee long-lasting durability. The series is available with 650/750/850 W models.

The CyberG II series provides a non-modular solution with a sleek all-black flat cable design for easy installation. It is equipped with 100% Japanese capacitors and a 600 W 12V-2x6 cable for 750/850 W models while maintaining the trusted ENERMAX quality.
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Ventiva Showcases Fan-less Cooling Solution in Intel-powered PC Concept

CES Press Release by
TheLostSwede
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Ventiva, the leader in thermal solutions, today announced that its Ventiva ICE9 thermal management suite is being featured in a fan-less proof-of-concept laptop design, powered by Intel Lunar Lake processors at CES. By collaborating with Dell Technologies and Intel on the PC design, this concept introduces a new level of silent productivity for sub-12 mm laptops.

"Ventiva ICE technology offers a revolutionary approach to help achieve thin, light, and silent laptop designs that offer great performance," said Josh Newman, Vice President, Client Computing Group, and General Manager, Product Marketing & Management, Intel. "Intel is excited about the result of the close co-engineering collaboration with Ventiva and Dell Technologies to help ready their technology for future Intel Core Ultra devices."
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ASRock Announces Challenger Series Gaming Monitors CL25FFA and CL27FFA

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GFreeman
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ASRock, the global leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, mini PCs, gaming monitors and power supply units, today launches two light gaming monitors, the CL25FFA and CL27FFA. In competitive gaming, image quality and responsiveness are critical. Standard commercial monitors often fall short of meeting gamers' needs, which is why the CL25FFA and CL27FFA were developed. With a 120 Hz refresh rate, these monitors deliver an impressive balance of performance and affordability, offering gamers a superior alternative to commercial monitors.

120 Hz Refresh Rate for Smooth Visuals
The CL25FFA and CL27FFA are equipped with a 120 Hz refresh rate, significantly outperforming the standard 60 Hz refresh rate of most commercial monitors. This means double the frames per second, ensuring smoother gameplay. Whether it's high-speed FPS games or precision-dependent MOBA battles, these monitors provide a competitive edge, enabling gamers to stay ahead.
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Bitspower at the 2025 International CES: Atlas Series AIO CLCs

CES by
btarunr
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Bitspower is known more for its DIY liquid cooling gear for the PC enthusiast, and workstation market segments, but is looking to broaden its reach. At the 2025 International CES, the company showed off its first all-in-one liquid CPU coolers—or at least their boxes. The Bitspower Atlas series of AIO CLCs come in 240 mm and 360 mm size variants, with black and white color variants. The pump-block has a cubical shape with coolant fittings coming from the side, and an infinity reflection ornament on top. The coolers include two or three of Bitspower's Griffin series 120 mm ARGB fans. The cooler uses a copper cold-plate and an aluminium radiator to stay in the market segment.

Each of the Griffin 120 mm ARGB fans included with the Atlas series AIOs turns at speeds of up to 2,200 RPM, pushing up to 83.83 CFM of airflow, at 2.77 mm H₂O static pressure, and around 38 dBA of noise. The company didn't mention bearing type. These fans can also be had in packs of 3. Bitspower also showed off its liquid cooling loop for 2P workstations or servers, as well as its premium AIOs built around its 2U radiators and 60 mm industrial fans. Lastly, there was an assortment of Concept X and Summit series CPU water blocks. We've seen many of these blocks at last year's CES and Computex, so nothing new to report here.

Xbox Developer_Direct Returns on January 23

Press Release by
GFreeman
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It's time to get a look at what's next - Developer_Direct is back. On Thursday, January 23 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK, fans will get an inside look at a selection of highly anticipated games coming to Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Game Pass players this year.

Presented by the game creators themselves, Developer_Direct offers an in-depth look at upcoming titles, how they're being created, and who's creating them. We'll visit Compulsion Games in Montreal, Canada to learn more about South of Midnight, head to Montpellier, France to see Sandfall Interactive for a look at Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, stop by the legendary id Studios in Richardson, Texas to check in on DOOM: The Dark Ages, and visit a surprise location to see another studio's brand new game.
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Corsair Shows Modular Frame 4000D PC Case at CES 2025

CES by
GFreeman
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In addition to the Xeneon Edge LCD touchscreen which was the star of the show, a bunch of PSUs, memory modules, and storage devices, Corsair's new Frame 4000D PC case with the FRAME Modular System also caught our attention. The 4000 series was quite popular and it does not come as a surprise that Corsair is pushing for further innovations. By matching the popular system with the FRAME Modular Case System, which, according to Corsair, "sets a new standard for customization," giving users an option to modify, upgrade, and personalize the case with a variety of options.

The FRAME 4000D PC Case is a standard mid-tower ATX PC case built with steel and tempered glass materials, and 3D Y-pattern perforated front panel. The aforementioned FRAME Modular Case System, according to Corsair, gives users a PC case that can change and grow with their needs, with nearly limitless options. According to Corsair, it should offer 12.7 percent better airflow compared to the previous models. It also features Corsair's InfiniRail Fan Mounting System, which brings support for up to 200 mm fans at the front and 140 mm at the top. This means that it can house even larger fans like iCUE LINK RX140. It has three radiator mounting locations, front, top, and side, with support for dual 360 mm radiators.
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GameMax Introduces Dragon Knight 2 Full Tower Chassis

Press Release by
GFreeman
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GameMax, an emerging brand of PC gaming components including gaming cases and power supply units, is thrilled to announce the Dragon Knight 2 full-tower gaming PC chassis. Designed for high-end gaming PC and workstation configurations, the GameMax Dragon Knight 2 features a massive interior with extensive hardware support.

The Dragon Knight 2 full-tower chassis supports up to an E-ATX motherboard, up to 8x HDDs, and has 8 PCIE slots for add-in-cards and expansions other than graphics cards. It has a built-in HDD hotswap bay on the top panel that's easily accessible. The Dragon Knight 2 comes with 5 pre-installed ARGB fans out of the box providing excellent cooling and good value for builders. The ARGB fans are fully customizable and can be synchronized with the rest of the system via the motherboard. With its cutting-edge features and sophisticated aesthetics, the Dragon Knight 2 is poised to captivate gamers and PC enthusiasts worldwide.
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AAEON Breaks into the Graphics Card Market with the Intel Arc GPU-Powered GAR-A750E

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GFreeman
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AAEON, has today announced the release of the GAR-A750E, the company's first advanced graphics card. Built on Intel Arc A750E GPU architecture, the GAR-A750E features 28 Xe-Cores and supports a variety of advanced AI development frameworks in a discreet 236 mm x 109 mm x 42 mm form factor. Designed to handle intensive AI workloads, the GAR-A750E offers substantial raw computing power, with a graphics turbo frequency of 2400 MHz alongside the AI task acceleration capabilities of 448 Intel XMX Engines. Along with its high performance benchmark, the card's Intel Deep Link Technology support—which includes Hyper Compute, Hyper Encode, and Stream Assist - allows it to optimize the Intel Arc A750E GPU's capabilities while maximizing efficiency for efficient multi-tasking and accelerated workflows.

The GAR-A750E is easily integrated into a number of systems and motherboards via PCIe Gen 4 (x16) interface, with AAEON already having confirmed its suitability for use with a number of its own industrial motherboard platforms, including the ATX-Q670A, MAX-Q670A, and MIX-Q670A1, all supporting 13th Generation Intel Core CPUs and built on the Intel Q670E Chipset.
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VESA Demoes ClearMR 21000 Displays and DP80LL Cable at CES 2025

CES by
TheLostSwede
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One of two big standard announcements at CES this year was the new addition of DP80LL active cables, that extends the range of UHBR20 cables from one meter to at least three meters. In fact, the cable that VESA was showing at CES was 3.5 meters long. To be fair, it has already been possible to make longer 80 Gbps DisplayPort cables, but there hasn't been a certification that guarantees that the cables will work. As we know, it's easy for a company to make claims about their cables that often mean very little in practical terms and with a very limited range of DP 2.1 graphics cards and monitors on the market, it has been impossible as a consumer to verify some of the claims. Starting this year however, it seems like DP 2.1 will take off and as such, it's great to see that VESA finally has a certification in place, so consumers can buy the right cables with confidence.

In addition to the new DP80LL cables, VESA was demoing several ClearMR 21000 displays and for those that have forgotten what ClearMR is, it's VESA's certification standard for measuring motion blur. ClearMR 21000 is the highest tier of ClearMR and it's pretty much exclusive to high refresh-rate OLED type displays. The ClearMR 21000 tier was announced at the end of last year, so the monitors on display are some of the very first to receive this certification level. In addition to this, the world's first display to gain VESA DisplayHDR True Black 1000 certification—which was a laptop display—was also shown. It's made by Samsung Display, but beyond that we don't have much in terms of technical details, but it delivers 1000 nits peak brightness and it can deliver 120 percent of the DCI-P3 colour space, which puts it squarely in the professional display category.

Corsair Shows off 2025 RMe Series and 2025 HXi Series PSUs at CES

CES by
btarunr
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Corsair at the 2025 CES showed off its latest power supply units. At CES, the company is debuting its 2025 RMe line of performance-segment PSUs. These meet the latest ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 CEM standards, and offer Cybenetics Gold rated switching efficiency, along with Cybenetics A acoustic rating. The PSU uses a 120 mm fan, along with a zero RPM mode for most low-load situations. The 2025 RMe series comes in four variants based on wattage, the RM650e, RM750e, RM850e, and RM1000e. The 750 W, 850 W, and 1000 W models put out a 12V2x6 that's capable of 600 W continuous power delivery, while the 650 W model puts out a 450 W capable 12V2x6.

Next up, are updates to Corsair's enthusiast-segment HXi series. The new 2025 HXi series comes in two high-wattage models, the HX1200i, and the HX1500i. The HXi series in its 2025 refresh is updated with ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 CEM compliance. These offer Cybenetics Platinum switching efficiency, and Cybenetics A acoustic rating. The 140 mm fan cooling these are programmed with a zero RPM mode. You can take control of its fan curve by connecting the PSU to a USB 2.0 header and using the Corsair iCUE software. Both the 1200 W and 1500 W models offer two 12V2x6 connectors, both of which are 600 W capable. The 2025 RMe series is available now, but the 2025 HXi series should be available some time in Q2 2025.

NVIDIA Brings PC RTX Gaming Everywhere With GeForce NOW at CES

CES Press Release by
GFreeman
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This GFN Thursday recaps the latest cloud announcements from the CES trade show, including GeForce RTX gaming expansion across popular devices such as Steam Deck, Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3 and 3S, and Pico mixed-reality devices. Gamers in India will also be able to access their PC gaming library at GeForce RTX 4080 quality with an Ultimate membership for the first time in the region. This follows expansion in Chile and Columbia with GeForce NOW Alliance partner Digevo. More AAA gaming is on the way, with highly anticipated titles DOOM: The Dark Ages and Avowed joining GeForce NOW's extensive library of over 2,100 supported titles when they launch on PC later this year. Plus, no GFN Thursday is complete without new games. Get ready for six new titles joining the cloud this week.

Head in the Clouds
CES 2025 is coming to a close, but GeForce NOW members still have lots to look forward to. Members will be able to play over 2,100 titles from the GeForce NOW cloud library at GeForce RTX quality on Valve's popular Steam Deck device with the launch of a native GeForce NOW app, coming later this year. Steam Deck gamers can gain access to all the same benefits as GeForce RTX 4080 GPU owners with a GeForce NOW Ultimate membership, including NVIDIA DLSS 3 technology for the highest frame rates and NVIDIA Reflex for ultra-low latency.
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Corsair Xeneon Edge Touchscreen is Your Monitor's Copilot

CES by
btarunr
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The new Xeneon Edge is a 14.5-inch LCD touchscreen that's meant to be installed in the gap between your main monitor and the base of its stand or table as shown below. The concept borrows heavily from automobiles. Imagine the monitor is your windshield, and the Xeneon Edge is your instrument cluster. It plugs into HDMI (for display input) and USB (for the touchscreen HID), or can even plug into a USB-C that passes DisplayPort through. The display has a fairly high resolution of 2560 x 720 pixels, and can be used to display and input a variety of widgets as shown in the example below. For gamers, this could mean pushing your HUD or simulator dials down to this, freeing up FOV on your main display. The touchscreen takes up to 5 points of multitouch. The display has a magnetized rear, and can be made to latch onto one of the metal panels of your case à la HYTE Y70 Touch, as shown below. Corsair plans to make the Xeneon Edge available in Q2 2025.
Thursday, January 9th 2025
LAMZU Maya X Review

LAMZU Maya X Review

Review Mice
Aside from being larger than the regular Maya, the ambidextrous Maya X also comes with LAMZU's latest tech: PixArt's PAW3950 sensor, Omron optical main button switches, LAMZU scroll wheel encoder, a 48 g lightweight build, and the 8K dongle included by default.
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IceGiant Shows Off AIO CLCs Powered by ProSiphon Technology—No Pumps

CES by
btarunr
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IceGiant at the 2025 International CES showed us their ProSiphon TITAN series CPU coolers for workstations and gaming desktops. These are closed loop liquid CPU coolers based on the ProSiphon technology IceGiant innovated. It works on the fluid siphon technology, where a thermal gradient in the loop drives coolant instead of a pump. Heat dissipates more efficiently to the coolant, and there's no crackling noise from the pump. The only downside to this are that the siphon tubes are rigid and you have to plan your build well.

There were two models on display. The TITAN-TR 360 is designed for AMD Socket SP5 or sTR5, which seats Ryzen Threadripper 7000 series workstation processors, which is a testament to the technology. Some of the processor models in the Threadripper WX7000 series come with TDP as high as 350 W. The other cooler shown is the ProSiphon TITAN 360, which is designed for mainstream desktop CPU socket types, such as AM5 and LGA1851. The cooler can tame high-power flagship chips from Intel and AMD, such as the top-spec Ryzen 9 9000X3D series with their 170 W TDP and 230 W PPT, or the Core Ultra 9 285K with its 125 W base- and 250 W maximum turbo power. IceGiant is backing the coolers with lifetime warranty, although the included fans come with 6-year warranties. The company says that the cooler will outlast the fan, unlike in the case of pump-based CLCs that give in to pump wear and structural degradation over time.
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G.Skill and Enermax Partner with Splave for Memory and PSUs Built to His Specs

CES by
btarunr
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You've seen Splave on top of overclocking leaderboards, get ready to see him on PC hardware store shelves. The professional overclocker now has a line of high-end PC memory kits and power supplies in partnership with G.Skill and Enermax. The new Enermax Revolution DFX Pro 1350 W Splave Edition (the show demo was a different model as proof of concept) has a few features custom designed by him. The first one is a button that flushes all capacitors to make sure there's no residual power left in it when the AC input is switched off. Overclockers tend to need this between resets, and even waste a few seconds waiting on their PSUs to drain, or getting their motherboards to do that job (not recommended). The PSU has individually sleeved cables that are designed to not get in the way, and make them easier to manage; and the fan is configured to turn backwards for 20 seconds, blowing air out, each time the PSU is sent an ACPI shutdown command.
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Cougar Debuts New Omnyx & Airface Cases at CES 2025

CES by
T0@st
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The TechPowerUp team was invited up to Cougar's Las Vegas suite where two new PC cases sat alongside a familiar product. A brand rep started proceedings by introducing the white Omnyx RGB case—featuring a symmetric design with two tempered glass panels (one on top and another across the front face). Cougar's engineering team has implemented a novel modular I/O system—users can reposition this panel around the enclosure's base. The Omnyx's lower chamber provides a convenient hideaway space for a power supply, while the spacious upper section is dedicated to displaying visually striking components.

Cougar's Omnyx RGB case is supplied with four pre-installed 160 mm RGB cooling fans—an additional three can be added aftermarket. The enclosure's cable management compartment resides behind the motherboard tray, thus keeping clutter away from the main interior chamber. The Omnyx is ready to support motherboards with back connectors—convenient timing, since hardware manufacturers are sending more of these products to market.
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Pimax Debuts First Retina-Level VR Headset Crystal Super at CES2025

CES Press Release by
Nomad76
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Pimax, a global leader in high-performance VR technology, debuted its Crystal Super headset on the world stage at CES2025, letting global media get their first taste with the 29 million pixel VR headset.

The world meets the Crystal Super
The Crystal Super is Pimax's latest flagship headset, featuring a resolution of 3840x3840 per eye, meaning it's the first VR headset reaching retina levels of clarity. Glass aspheric lenses provide 57 PPD at over 120° horizontal field of view, with an incredible brightness of 280 nits.
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Inno3D Shows GeForce RTX 50 Series at CES 2025, Including iChill Frostbite Edition

CES by
Nomad76
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Inno3D, a devoted NVIDIA partner showcased at CES 2025 its own implementations of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs powered by NVIDIA Blackwell architecture. Inno3D custom cooling solutions include the impressive iChill Frostbite liquid cooling and the huge iChill air cooling alternative complemented by the X3 and Twin X2 solutions. Before moving on we like to mention that all the graphics cards, even the RTX 5090 are powered by a single 12-pin connector.

Immediately our eyes observed the iChill Frostbite GeForce RTX 5090 dual-slot graphic cards with an impressive liquid cooling system, something enthusiasts looking for a compact yet high-performance system will surely desire. Next to it, even a blind man could not miss the huge iChill X3 RTX 5080, a 3.5-slot monster. The gargantuan proportions are due to the oversized cooling solution that relies on a combination of three fans (with the outer fans rotating in an anticlockwise direction to reduce turbulence and improve airflow), a huge vapor chamber complemented by a heatsink and a custom backplate that aid hot air extraction to protect the PCB from overheating.
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MSI Showcases Force GK600 TKL Keyboards & Versa Wireless Mice at CES 2025

CES by
T0@st
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The MSI Forge GK600 TKL Wireless gaming keyboard is making quite the impression at CES 2025—a reported $80 price point is remarkable when cross-examined with the product's specification and feature set. The TechPowerUp team believes that rival brands with equivalently appointed keyboard models would charge a lot more. MSI had three color options on display: Sky, Violet and Pink. The latter was powered up for demonstration purposes—TPU observed RGB lighting and the operational (top-right positioned) status screen. KTT HIFI Linear mechanical switches are factory installed, but users can replace these with their preferred brand/model—the keyboard's hot-swappable PCB design comes into play here.

MSI did not skimp on the keycap front—"robust" PBT material should resist wear and not become shiny over time. The keycap legends are dye-sublimated according to product placards. The Forge GK600 TKL Wireless also comes with gasket mounting and sound-dampening layers—ideal for a satisfyingly rattle-free typing experience. Tri-mode connectivity is mentioned on the spec sheet—comprised of 2.4 GHz wireless, Bluetooth and wired modes. A generous high-capacity 4000 mAh battery keeps things ticking along—ideal for extended gaming or productivity sessions.
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Firaxis Announces Civilization VII's Steam Deck Verification

Press Release by
T0@st
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The Firaxis team is happy to announce that Sid Meier's Civilization VII is officially Steam Deck Verified! Whether you're at home or on the go, get ready to take one more turn when Civilization VII launches on February 11, 2025! The award-winning strategy game franchise returns with a revolutionary new chapter. Sid Meier's Civilization VII empowers you to build the greatest empire the world has ever known!

In Civilization VII, your strategic decisions shape the unique cultural lineage of your evolving empire. Rule as one of many legendary leaders from throughout history and steer the course of your story by choosing a new civilization to represent your empire in each Age of human advancement. Construct cities and architectural wonders to expand your territory, improve your civilization with technological breakthroughs, and conquer or cooperate with rival civilizations as you explore the far reaches of the unknown world. Pursue prosperity in an immersive solo experience or play with others in online multiplayer.
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MSI Shows Off MEG Vision, Aegis & Codex AI Gaming PCs at CES 2025

CES by
T0@st
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MSI presented multiple pre-built AI gaming desktop PCs at CES—their showroom tables were laden with offerings from the MEG, Aegis, Vision and Codex families. A lot of high-end components were mentioned on neighboring spec sheet placards—MSI has picked up the latest processor technology from Intel and AMD. Most of the showcased systems are not cutting-edge enough to feature NVIDIA's RTX 50 "Blackwell" series. A big exception is their second generation MEG VISION X AI gaming desktop—a specific GPU model was not mentioned, but it would be safe to assume that a custom MSI GeForce RTX 5090 card would be worthy enough for such a fancy system. Certain press outlets have reported that MSI organized a preview event last October—a lucky few inspected the MEG VISION X AI 2nd during a factory tour.

Intel's Core Ultra 9 285K "Arrow Lake-S" processor is reportedly a constant across all MEG VISION X AI 2nd build configurations. MSI has not revealed pricing, but industry experts reckon that the most expensive variant could be configured with the market's top-tier GPU, memory and storage options. Customers are encouraged to update hardware in the future—a product placard states that internals are easily accessed and simple to upgrade. A TechPowerUp staffer felt the need to examine the MEG VISION X AI 2nd's "AI HMI" touch screen interface. This unique selling point—with AI functionality—absolutely dominates the case's front panel.
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