Leading gaming accessory maker Turtle Beach Corporation today announced its award-winning Recon Controller is now available for pre-order. Unveiled at E3 2021, the Designed for Xbox Recon Controller was proudly designated with "Best of E3" awards from CNN Underscored and Android Authority for blending game-changing controls with Turtle Beach's signature audio technologies. This first-to-market combination of powerful integrated audio and innovative controls elevates gamers' senses and gameplay experiences when playing on Xbox and Windows 10 PCs. Turtle Beach's Recon Controller comes in black or white for a MSRP of $59.95 and launches worldwide on August 1, 2021.

"The Recon Controller's unique features and powerful audio make it the perfect companion to the millions of Turtle Beach headsets gamers on Xbox are already using," said Juergen Stark, Chairman and CEO, Turtle Beach Corporation. "The current global gamepad accessory market for third party controllers generates $600 million in annual sales and is growing rapidly. The Recon Controller's unmatched features and design gives Turtle Beach a powerful entrance into the gamepad market, bolstered by the same industry expertise that's made us the best-selling gaming headset maker for the past decade plus. The team has delivered an amazing product with the Recon Controller and I can't wait to get this in the hands of Xbox gamers."

Previously, we have assumed that AMD 4700S desktop kit is based on Xbox Series X APU. Today, according to the findings of Bodnara, who managed to access one of these units, and we got some interesting discoveries. The chip powering the system is actually the PlayStation 5 SoC, which features AMD Zen 2 based system architecture, with 8 cores and 16 threads that can boost up to 3.2 GHz. The board that was tested features SK Hynix GDDR6 memory running at 14 Gbps, placed on the backside of the board. The APU is attached to AMD A77E Fusion Controller Hub (FCH), which was the one powering Xbox One "Durango" SoC, leading us to previously believe that the AMD 4700S is derived from an Xbox Series X system.

The graphics of this APU are disabled, however, it was the same variant of RDNA 2 GPU used by the PlayStation 5. Right out of the box, the system is equipped with a discrete GPU coming in a form of the Radeon 550, and this configuration was tested by the Bodnara team. You can find the images of the system and some performance results below.Performance:

When Intel launched its Tiger Lake processors for laptops, the company has foreseen a smooth integration by OEMs and plenty of design wins. While that has turned out to be true, there seems to be a big problem lurking in the OEM component supply chain. In the new Tiger Lake systems, the CPU carries support for Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 technologies. However, these protocols can not work on their own, as they require external power delivery controllers (PDC) to function. These PDCs are used to regulate and control all of the power circulating in the USB specification, and they come in a form of a separate chip. This chip is later integrated into PCBs of various systems implementing these technologies.

Today, we have a report coming from Igor's LAB, in which we are told that the availability of these chips could be very bad. Intel's OEMs are using Texas Instruments (TI) 994AD PDC, however, as the supply of these chips becomes scarce, OEMs are turning to TI 993AC/994AC chips. Intel advises OEMs, carrying these chips in their systems, to only communicate benefits of Thunderbolt 4 and exclude USB 4 mentions, or to communicate benefits of Thunderbolt 4 and reference USB 4 "compatibility." This means that every OEM using the alternative chips will get Intel's Thunderbolt 4 certifications, as the company plans to temporarily issue certifications with these chips included, while the supply chain regulates. TI's 993AC/994AC are assumed to not have the power and regulation capability of the USB 4 as the 994AD PDC can.

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDNS) today announced immediate availability of Cadence IP supporting the PCI Express (PCIe ) 5.0 specification on TSMC N5 process technology. The next follow-on version on TSMC N3 process technology is expected to be taped out in early 2022. Collaboration with major customers is ongoing for N5 SoC designs targeting hyperscale computing and networking applications. The Cadence IP for PCIe 5.0 technology consists of a PHY, companion controller and Verification IP (VIP) targeted at SoC designs for very high-bandwidth hyperscale computing, networking and storage applications. With Cadence's PHY and Controller Subsystem for PCIe 5.0 architecture, customers can design extremely power-efficient SoCs with accelerated time to market.

The Cadence IP for PCIe 5.0 architecture offers a highly power-efficient implementation of the standard, with several evaluations from leading customers indicating it provides industry best-in-class power at the maximum data transfer rate of 32GT/s and worst-case insertion loss. Leveraging Cadence's existing N7/N6 silicon validated offering, the N5 design provides a full 512GT/s (gigatransfers per second) power-optimized solution across the full range of operating conditions with a single clock lane.

Gamesir, a leading provider of innovative, high quality gaming peripherals is pleased to announce the launch of the new X2 Bluetooth model of the incredibly successful Gamesir X2 Type C mobile gaming controller which is fully compatible with Apple and Android smartphones. It is also launching the GameSir F7 Claw Tablet Game Controller, compatible with iPads and Android tablets. The X2 Bluetooth is available now from Amazon and Amazon UK for $59.99/£69.99 whilst the F7 Claw will be available on Amazon and Amazon UK from May 24th for $39.99/£33.99.

Following on from the success of the X2 Type C Mobile Game Controller which was designed to give users an outstanding cloud gaming experience on platforms such as Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Google Stadia, NVIDIA GeForce Now and Vortex, GameSir has updated the X2 to make this unique mobile gaming experience available to everyone.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation, a global leader in designing and marketing NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices, today announced that its flagship SM2708 SD Express controller solution now supports the latest SD 8.0 specification and backward compatibility to SD 7.1 specification. With PCIe Gen 3 x2 interface and NVMe 1.3, the SM2708 SD Express controller solution is targeted at the advancement of applications with demanding performance levels across a variety of industries enabled by Ultra-High Performance SD Express cards. The SM2708 turnkey solution supports the latest 3D NAND and features Silicon Motion's proprietary NANDXtend ECC technology, internal data path protection, and programmable firmware to maximize reliability and endurance.

"Many of the latest high-end cameras & mobile phones are capable of recording video in 8K and require a faster transfer rate," said Nelson Duann, Silicon Motion's Senior Vice President of Marketing and R&D. "With the SM2708 controller now supporting the SD 8.0 specification which nearly triples throughput, applications such as 8K video capture, RAW photography, multi-channel IOT devices, multi-processing automotive storage and other applications requiring ultra-high data speeds are possible."

EK, the leading computer cooling solutions provider, is announcing the release of EK-Loop Connect software version 1.3.11. As a company dedicated to providing water cooling enthusiasts and PC builders with the best of what the market has to offer, and after listening to customers' feedback several months ago, EK has issued a rework on the EK-Loop Connect software. Today, the new version of the software is officially ready and can already be downloaded.

"We were fortunate enough to have onboarded a team of software developers who were dedicated to the cause and managed to deliver functional software within the set deadline. We promised to deliver the software within 3 months, and here we are. The latest version of the EK-Loop Connect software was tested and confirmed by a small group of beta testers, and today we are ready to present it to the public," said Edvard König, founder of EK.

We recently reported about the class action lawsuit being filed against Sony surrounding the alleged drift on their DualShock 5 controllers. We now have some new evidence from iFixit which points towards this physical issue being present on all DualShock 5 controllers. The DualShock 5 controllers use "off-the-shelf joystick hardware with a long history of predictable, preventable issues" according to iFixit. They also estimate that the life-time of these joysticks is just over 400 hours of game time which is significantly less than what would be expected on a 70 USD controller.

The controller drift will get worse as the controllers are used due to several design faults. The main issues identified by iFixit include the specific potentiometers used in the joysticks which will wear down from use quickly making the reading more unreliable. The springs used to bring the joystick to a neutral position will fatigue over time creating a new neutral point and shifting readings. The plastics used in the DualShock 5 controller will inevitably deteriorate with time. The controller will also accumulate grime and dust in the housing from use which increases the severity of drift. The best way to minimize controller drift is to clean your controller regularly; however, this will not solve the hardware faults.

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Sony by Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP regarding the alleged drift present on Sony's latest DualShock 5 controller which comes bundled with the PlayStation 5. The lawsuit was filed on February 12th in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and argues that the DualShock 5 controller is defective as it suffers from drift compromising the core functionality of the device. The lawsuit also notes the limited repair options available and Sony's lack of disclosure to customers even after numerous reported cases. Sony joins Nintendo and Microsoft who are both also in multiple court battles regarding drift on their respective controllers.

With the debut of PCIe 4.0 standard, SSD manufacturers have started launching a new generation of storage devices, with unseen speeds before. Today's PCIe 4.0 SSDs can reach up to 8.0 GB/s reads and writes, all thanks to the bandwidth-heavy PCIe protocol. However, enterprise workloads are always requiring more and more bandwidth to satisfy their needs. Data is being moved in immense quantities and faster hardware is always welcome. The previous PCIe 4.0 standard is about to kneel to its successor - PCIe 5.0 protocol. Having double the amount of bandwidth, the new standard is set to bring unseen speeds.

The PCIe 5.0 protocol offers 32 GT/s per lane, making up to 64 GB/s in the full x16 implementation. However, when it comes to SSDs, as they use x4 lanes, it will increase the maximum speed to 16 GB/s, doubling the previous bandwidth. Silicon Motion, the maker of NAND flash controllers, has announced that the company is going to debut a PCIe 5.0 controller next year. "We are excited about enterprise-grade PCIe Gen5 controller, which we will have taped out early next year and sample in the second half of 2022", said Wallace Kuo, chief executive of Silicon Motion, during a conference call. Launching just in time to pair with Intel's Sapphire Rapids Xeon processors that support the PCIe 5.0 protocol, Silicon Motion is probably expecting to grab its market share there.

Valve has recently been ordered to pay 4 million USD in damages after they knowingly infringed on patents owned by Ironburg Inventions with the Steam Controller rear grip button design. Ironburg Inventions is the IP-holding arm of controller manufacturer SCUF who was acquired by Corsair in late 2019. Valve was warned by Ironburg Inventions in 2014 that their Steam Controller infringed on their patent relating to rear-side control surfaces. Valve ignored the warning and went on to produce 1.6 million units before discontinuing the device in 2019. The Jury awarded Ironburg Inventions 4 million USD in damages and found that Valve willfully infringed on Ironberg's patents which opens them up to further litigation. Corsair has published a statement on the case which can be found below.

OtterBox unveiled a full portfolio of gaming products that will bridge the gap between console and mobile gaming experiences. Designed for Xbox, OtterBox is bringing to market new accessories to complement controller + smartphone gaming in addition to gaming-specific smartphone accessories.With the advent of 5G and innovative new cloud-based platforms such as cloud gaming (beta) with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, gaming is changing in unprecedented ways. Smartphone gaming is evolving to merge mobility with the elegance of a console experience. The OtterBox Gaming portfolio enables you to enjoy your favorite titles around the house or anywhere on the go without compromising your competitive advantage.

"Gaming is one of the unique spaces where everyone has the opportunity to compete and connect, especially as we are physically distanced. This connection is enhanced with advances in cloud gaming and fast 5G networks," said OtterBox CEO Jim Parke. "OtterBox is the best in the world at providing trusted mobile accessories, and we're better positioned than anyone to deliver a premium gaming experience. This portfolio and our accessories designed for Xbox marks a major entry into the gaming market for us."

In the upstream semiconductor industry, the major foundries such as TSMC and UMC are reporting fully loaded capacities, while in the downstream, the available production capacity for OSAT is also lacking, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. Given this situation, suppliers of NAND Flash controller ICs such as Phison and Silicon Motion are now unable to meet upside demand from their clients. Not only have many controller IC suppliers temporarily stopped offering quotes for new orders, but they are also even considering raising prices soon because the negotiations between NAND Flash suppliers and module houses over 1Q21 contracts are now at the critical juncture. The potential increases in prices of controller ICs from outsourced suppliers (IC design houses) are currently estimated to be the range of 15-20%.

With regards to the demand side, demand has risen significantly for eMMC solutions with medium- and low-density specifications (i.e., 64 GB and lower), for which NAND Flash suppliers have mostly stopped updating the NAND Flash process technology, while maintaining support with the legacy 2D NAND or the 64L 3D NAND process. This is on account of strong sales for Chromebook devices and TVs. As older processes gradually account for a lowering portion of bit output proportions from NAND Flash suppliers, these companies are exhibiting a lowered willingness to directly supply such eMMC products to clients. As a result, clients now need to turn to memory module houses, which are able to source NAND Flash components and controllers, to procure eMMC products in substantial quantities.

SteelSeries, the leader in gaming peripherals, today announces its acquisition of KontrolFreek, the industry leader in high-performance controller accessories. This acquisition bolsters SteelSeries' already strong presence in the console gaming market, and further equips it for success in the next generation of consoles. This is SteelSeries' second major acquisition this year, after purchasing A-Volute, creators of Nahimic and the leading independent developer of 3D sound solutions for gaming, in April.

For nearly two decades, SteelSeries has been a frontrunner in the gaming industry, offering high-quality gaming peripherals to pro and enthusiast gamers across PC and console. Its SteelSeries Engine software platform has millions of daily users and is integrated with popular games and applications. Over the years, the company has built a strong brand and has leveraged this to outpace category growth globally. The award-winning Arctis line of gaming headsets redefined the category and is the new standard of excellence in gaming audio hardware. KontrolFreek is the creator of globally-renowned Performance Gaming Gear, including Performance Thumbsticks, Precision Rings, Performance Grips, Gaming Cables, and other high-quality products for PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC. KontrolFreek's controller accessories give gamers solutions that increase precision, accuracy and response time, regardless of platform.

Tech innovator GELID Solutions unveils the latest 5-channel RF Remote ARGB controller. The AMBER5 is a product of GELID Solutions GAMER product line. The AMBER5 controls up to 5 fans, strips or other Addressable RGB (ARGB) devices and boasts 366 vivid lighting presets spanning a carefully selected collection of pre-programmed RGB modes and dynamic effects. It comes with the 21-key RF (Radio Frequency) Remote to provide reliable and responsive remote control in the range of 8 meters. For stable power output, the SATA power connectivity is utilized which delivers up to 85 W maximum power and supports ARGB devices with up to 120 LEDs onboard to lit up and control on each channel.

The AMBER5 also supports a passthrough ARGB Sync/Hub Mode via the ARGB Sync Cable equipped with the standard 3-pin ARGB connector (ASUS Aura) and VDG connector (GIGABYTE/AORUS RGB Fusion) compatible to all modern motherboards featuring RGB. You are free to use the controller presets or switch to your own presets designed in your favorite RGB software. The AMBER5 can be installed inside or outside your PC just in seconds thanks to the built-in magnet. Additionally, the adhesive Sticky Pad is also included to facilitate installation in aluminium-made or non-metallic PC chassis.

Thanks to our most recent Steam client update, all games currently using the Steam Input API are now fully compatible with the new PS5 controller - with no developer updates required, it just works.

Full support for the LED, trackpad, rumble and gyro features are available for players to configure in games such as Death Stranding, No Man's Sky, Horizon: Zero Dawn and more. This support is now available for players opted into the public beta Steam desktop client with platform wide support targeted to ship after further testing.

Buoyed by the success of its modular professional gamepad, the ESWAP PRO CONTROLLER, Thrustmaster is thrilled to be adding to the product's ecosystem with the launch of the ESWAP LED CRYSTAL PACKS, available in two different eye-catching colors: orange or blue. Featuring impressive changes both in terms of the modules' outward appearance and inner workings, Thrustmaster is once again making a big impression on the industry, and doubling down on its commitment to helping all gamers in their quest toward the upper echelons of multiplayer gaming rankings.

The ESWAP LED CRYSTAL PACKS feature next-generation (NXG) analog mini-sticks: the ESWAP S5 NXG MINI-STICK MODULE. These new mini-sticks ensure enhanced precision and a longer lifespan in relation to previous Thrustmaster mini-sticks. Gamers will enjoy better physical resistance (+33%), improved re-centering precision (+66%), and double the lifespan for the built-in mini-stick buttons (+100%), compared with previous mini-sticks in Thrustmaster's range of gamepads. For gamers who don't necessarily want to buy a complete new pack of modules, Thrustmaster is pleased to also be offering the ESWAP S2 NXG MINI-STICK MODULE, available for purchase individually: a next-generation (NXG) replica of the ESWAP Classic Mini-Stick Module, for a great fit with every gamer's needs.

The latest Steam Client Beta update has added initial support for the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller and Xbox Series X/S controllers. The DualSense 5 is supported but advanced features such as rumble, trackpad, and gyro are not yet implemented, it is unknown if Steam will receive full support for these options. The Xbox Series X/S controller should have much better compatibility with this beta fixing an issue with the gamepad appearing twice. This feature is currently in beta and will likely roll out to all users shortly.

Phison Electronics, the industry leader in flash controller technology, is delivering the storage industry's fastest PCIe Gen 4x4 NVMe SSD solution, its second generation PS5018-E18 (E18) PCIe 4.0 controller. The E18 succeeds the PS5016-E16 released in late 2019.

Phison designed the new E18 from the ground up on the efficient TSMC 12 nm process node. This provides SSD manufacturers with a state-of-the-art controller solution in an increasingly competitive field. The controller utilizes Phison's proprietary CoXProcessor 2.0 technology, an innovative SSD architecture that enables E18 to deliver exceptional performance and power efficiency. Phison architecture is also primed for AI-assisted storage, where its distributed architecture uses many small cores to perform the workload in parallel. The E18 is ideal for gamers, content creators, and computing enthusiasts, which demand the best experience. This ultra-low latency is possible only with NVMe SSDs.

Phison was first to market with a PCI-Express gen 4.0 client-segment NVMe SSD controller, the E16 series, which let it bag design wins with several DIY gaming PC SSD manufacturers. Not to be left behind by PCIe gen 4.0 controllers by its competitors, such as SMI, Marvell, Samsung, etc., offering higher performance than the E16, the company is designing a newer generation controller for high-performance client-segment SSDs, under the E18 family. TweakTown has access to early performance figures of a drive in production with this controller. The CrystalDiskMark screenshot shows the drive's sequential transfer rates to be 7381.21 MB/s reads, and 7025.86 MB/s sequential writes, making the E18 among the fastest PCIe gen 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD controllers known.

Silicon Motion has recently launched three new PCIe 4.0 NVMe controllers for performance, mainstream, and value SSD applications. The new portfolio of controllers includes the SM2264 for performance, SM2267 for mainstream, and SM2267XT for value DRAM-less SSDs. The high-end SM2264 performance-optimized controller offers speeds of up to 7,400 MB/s sequential reads and 6,800 MB/s sequential writes which will compete with the Phison E18 controller and proprietary controllers from Samsung and Western Digital. The controller will be produced on TSMC's 12 nm node and supports 8 NAND channels along with LPDDR4/DDR4 DRAM.

The more value-focused SM2267 and SM2267XT controllers will offer strong performance rivaling high-end PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSDs. The two controllers both offer sequential read speeds of 3,900 MB/s and sequential write speeds of 3,500 MB/s with support for 4 NAND channels. They will both be manufactured on a 28 nm node for cost reductions and have entered mass production with the main difference between the two controllers being the exclusion of DRAM support on the SM2267XT. Consumer products featuring the new controllers should be available in the coming months.

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced the immediate availability of the Razer Kishi Universal Gaming Controller for iPhone, an iOS version of the mobile accessory that won two Best of CES awards in January. Featuring clickable analog thumbsticks, an array of face and multi-function buttons, and an 8-way D-pad, the Kishi for iPhone makes available Razer's award-winning controller hardware to Apple users for the very first time.

"As crossplay becomes further entrenched in the gaming world, the Razer Kishi offers a level playing field for mobile gamers," said Head of Marketing and Sales, Growth Peripherals for Razer, John Moore. "The Razer Kishi for iPhone extends that equity to Apple Arcade's extraordinary collection of titles, ensuring that no matter where you game, victory is always within your grasp."

The DualSense controller is the official controller for the upcoming PlayStation 5 console and features various improvements over it's incumbent the DualShock 4. The DualSense controller features improved haptic feedback, adaptive triggers for L2 / R2, a new "Create" button to replace "Share", and an integrated microphone array. In a new hands-on leak of the controller, we can see the reported battery capacity of 1560 mAh which represents an increase of 56% over the DualShock 4's 1000 mAh battery. The DualShock 4 pales in comparison to the Xbox One Controller with a capacity of 4200mAh from its 2 AA batteries. The jury is still out on whether or not this capacity increase will offer a tangible battery life improvement considering all the new features.

Anker has recently unveiled the PowerCore Play 6K mobile gaming controller with support for Android and IOS devices. The PowerCore Play 6K features an integrated 6,700 mAh battery bank which can charge devices at up to 15 W via the USB Type-A or USB Type-C ports. The battery bank can be fully recharged in just 3 hours and should offer a significant boost to phone battery life while gaming. The controller also features an integrated fan to keep your device cool along with a built-in kickstand and grips. The PowerCore Play 6K supports phones ranging from 5.7 to 6.45 inches long and is now available on Amazon for 35 USD with an 18-month manufacturer warranty.

Mad Catz Global Limited, the leading innovators in gaming hardware, is excited to announce shipping of two new console products, the EGO Arcade FightStick and the C.A.T. 7 Controller, each boasting multi-format compatibility, stunning designs and a high-specification feature set.

Leading the charge is a triumphant return to fighting game controllers in the form of the EGO Arcade FightStick. Legendary for their dominance in the category, the EGO is a long-awaited return to a fan-favorite Mad Catz range.