Thockfactory was a service that let users design and order custom keycap sets for mechanical keyboards, originally starting out as an enthusiast project in 2023. Despite officially launching in 2024, the service was shut down shortly after launch due to keycap quality issues and UI frustrations. Now, after examining user feedback, taking time to locate a new keycap supplier, and redesigning the online keycap configurator, Thockfactory 2.0 has been launched with a slew of upgrades and a laundry list of plans for the future of the business, according to the founder's Reddit post detailing the relaunch.

Thockfactory keycaps are all dye-sublimated PBT, meaning they won't offer shine-through capability, but they should last a good long while, thanks to the material's oil resistance. At the time of writing, Thockfactory only offers keycaps in Cherry profile, although uniform height and low-profile keycaps are planned for the future, with DSA and XDA profiles specifically mentioned as likely incoming additions. The configurator also offers pretty wide compatibility with a number of standard and not-so-standard layouts, including 100%, TKL, Alice, and 65%, which is always a hit with FPS gamers. In addition to the usual suspects, Thockfactory also offers support for stranger layouts, like unorthodox 40% keyboards, a number of ortholinear layouts, and FRL (F-row-less) options. The configurator also allows you to switch between ISO and ANSI, and there are a number of regional and language variants on offer. According to a Reddit comment by the company's founder, the keycaps are being manufactured by a trustworthy OEM that has a solid track record in the custom keycap space. According to the founder, the main draw of Thockfactory is that it offers more color options and greater flexibility than competitors.

Helegaly has confirmed that its highly anticipated Action Pi handheld console will go on sale on July 5, 2025, marking the end of months of anticipation since its initial reveal earlier this year. The base model, which includes a 64 GB microSD card, is priced at $59.99 and is available in black, pink, or white. Customers who require additional storage can upgrade to a 128 GB microSD card for an additional $5, bringing the total to $64.99. Pre-orders are now open through Helegaly's online store, and an Indigo "GameCube" edition is expected to arrive later this summer. You can register for an email notification when the orders are ready on Helegaly website here.

Inside its compact chassis, the Action Pi features an Allwinner A527 chipset with eight Cortex-A55 cores clocked at up to 2 GHz, a Mali-G57 MC1-2EE graphics processor, 2 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of onboard eMMC storage. It runs the Linux-based Batocera operating system, which supports emulation for over 20 classic gaming platforms, ranging from 8-bit consoles to the PlayStation Portable and Dreamcast. The 4.02-inch IPS display delivers a crisp 960 × 720 resolution, and a 5,000 mAh battery ensures extended play sessions without frequent recharging. Connectivity options include two USB-C ports, a mini-HDMI output for mirroring gameplay on TVs or monitors, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and a microSD card slot. Ergonomically, the handheld is equipped with Hall-effect analog sticks and a precise D-pad, all of which are laid out for comfortable, extended use.

Nintendo's Switch 2 hybrid console is due to arrive at retail tomorrow (June 5), and pre-launch marketing campaigns are in full swing. The Japanese gaming giant has called in a high profile partner—Jensen Huang—to add some surprisingly technical heft during hype festivities. At this stage in time, NVIDIA's Tegra "T239" chipset is a well known quantity—thanks to years of leaked "internal info," and disabled examples turning up for close analysis in China. Industry experts did not anticipate Nintendo's fairly frank discussions that covered Switch 2's hardware capabilities. The Nintendo "Creator's Voice" video series has featured a number of high-profile third-party software development buddies (including CD Projekt RED), but yesterday's Team Green CEO contribution received widespread press attention.

Jensen paid tribute to Satoru Iwata, a former and much missed Nintendo president. Their collaboration started during the era of OG Switch development: "he wanted to create something no one had seen before. A console powerful enough for big, cinematic games—but small enough to take anywhere. It sounded impossible. But that vision became the original Nintendo Switch. We lost Iwata-san before the launch, but his clarity, his purpose, it still inspires our work every day. Together, we poured everything into that system." As mentioned back in April, NVIDIA dedicated significant resources into making their latest "technical marvel."

In advance of and coinciding with today's launch of ID Software's DOOM: The Dark Ages, an impressive number of partner companies have revealed licensed hardware and accessories. Surprisingly, NVIDIA has joined in on the fun—with a fan favorite franchise-themed flagship Founders Edition (FE) card. This lone contribution is only available through an online competition; as outlined by the firm's GeForce social media account. This afternoon's announcement stated: "Stand and Fight for a chance to win. We're giving away a DOOM: The Dark Ages custom wrapped NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 (FE) to celebrate its official release with native ray tracing, NVIDIA DLSS 4 + Reflex." Hopeful entrants are tasked with contributing "thumbs ups," and writing in with comments.

Team Green's ($1999 MSRP) extremely special DOOM-themed card is decorated with highly expensive custom livery. According to official estimates, this level of custom wrapping adds about $600 to the flagship "Blackwell" card's base price. Despite this giveaway being open to worldwide participants, (small print) terms and conditions seem to excluded. As reported by Wccftech, these territories include: "Australia, the Province of Quebec, and a few more. The Middle East region and some Asian countries are also" shut out. Paying customers can consider alternative "step down" options from ASUS and (maybe Asia-only) COLORFUL. The Republic of Gamers (ROG) Astral RTX 5080 DOOM OC Edition is limited to a devilishly low number of units: 666. The Bethesda webshop is running short with available stock, but they offer all manner of extra bundled-in digital and physical tchotchkes (on top of a $1999.99 baseline).

Certain Lenovo Legion pre-built gaming rigs are equipped with intriguing custom graphics card designs; reportedly not available to purchase as (separate) retail packages. As mentioned back in March, the system integrator's Legion 9000K gaming systems were configurable with slick metallic GeForce RTX 5090D and GeForce RTX 5080 options. At the time, Lenovo China hinted about a forthcoming GeForce RTX 5070 offering; also making use of a CNC-machined metal shroud and backplate. Since then, VideoCardz has kept a watchful eye on new product developments—an early April "official" leak suggested an eventual arrival of lower-end GeForce RTX 50-series "Blackwell" Legion models.

As of late last week, Lenovo China's social media accounts have unveiled cheaper Legion 7000K and GeekPro pre-built systems. These new-gen gaming PCs house the brand's fresh GeForce RTX 5070 12 GB (as promised) and GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB custom cards. VideoCardz reckons that company engineers have adhered to NVIDIA's reference specifications, so potential customers will be considering non-overclocked hardware. The Legion 7000K—starting at 11,999 RMB (~$1658 USD)—traditionally-proportioned enclosure can accommodate a longer card design; as demonstrated by promo shots. The tastefully ARGB-lit Legion GeForce RTX 5070 card's oblong format (2.5-slot) utilizes only two fans. In contrast, Lenovo's compact GeekPro—starter price: 7199 RMB (~$995 USD)—case seems to be formed around a stubbier graphics card volume; still large enough to be dual-fan. Its ridged backplate aesthetic brings previous-gen XFX to mind.

When your whole desk needs some whiteout. A PALER SHADE OF PERSONALIZATION: equipped with a white decorative top case, a white bottom case, and a matching white keycap set, this CSTM80 goes all the way with its white appointments.

MADE FOR MIXING AND MATCHING
In addition to the magnetic top case (which you can switch out for a huge range of colors), this white CSTM80 can also be configured with a host of additional add-ons-including several keyboard weights and switch plates. AND FINISHED WITH ENTHUSIAST FEATURES: alongside the top case(s) and long list of add-ons, this CSTM80 comes equipped with a host of enthusiast features: including south-facing LEDs, including removable gaskets, and a full array of foam.

Throughout the Spring period, Yeston has mostly concentrated on getting AMD RDNA 4-based products out into the wild. The Chinese brand previewed custom GeForce RTX 50-series models around mid-January—months later, potential buyers have patiently waited for finalized retail stock to appear on shelves. The manufacturer fully introduced and launched its GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Sakura Atlantis OC SKU late last week, but this brightly-hued and cheerfully-decorated design does not hold universal appeal. Yeston has alluded to less extravagant "Game Ace" GeForce RTX 50-series cards; January 2025 promotional material indicated a recycling of previous-gen shroud and backplate setups. This morning, Yeston's official Weibo account unveiled a completely brand-new Game Ace model.

This forthcoming offering looks wholly unrelated to older siblings; as evidenced by an overall much darker aesthetic—mixing shades of pink, purple and black. Unlike the brand's flagship Sakura Atlantis fantasy-themed product line, their debut 2025 Game Ace effort is accompanied by a male protagonist. Yeston's Weibo account hinted about the origins of this mysterious sci-fi mascot (and additional cast members): "new characters unlocked with a new release? The Dark Knight is rising! A story lurking in the parallel universe No. 207, a character hidden in the depths of the dark night, who is he? The truth is revealed by you." Technical information was not included in the company's fresh marketing campaign, but two big clues are clearly visible. White "GeForce RTX" text and a single 8-pin power connector—as theorized by VideoCardz—indicate an enclosing of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti hardware.

Yeston teased GeForce RTX 50-series Sakura Atlantis and Game Ace card designs back in January, but it has taken a while—for this Chinese manufacturer—to actually get finalized retail stock out there. A slightly underwhelming stopgap arrived in the form of the brand's Deluxe series; launched earlier this month. In fact, these uncharacteristically standard black options are just barely rebadged Gainward Phoenix products. Yeston's brighter truly in-house designs have gained plenty of media attention over the past three months, albeit mainly from their custom AMD graphics card portfolio. As spotted by VideoCardz, Yeston's social media accounts have announced the retail launch of: "(our) GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Sakura Atlantis OC is now online! She is finally here! You can search and buy it in the official flagship stores of major platforms! Come and see if this is your dream love."

The freshly released NVIDIA "Blackwell" GB203 GPU-based model seems to sport a familiar enclosure, but Yeston has updated this variant with the usual GeForce tags. A different "waifu" (or "icon") illustration adorns the card's backplate (with different cutouts); thus making this SKU somewhat visually distinct from Radeon RX 9070 series equivalents. Industry observers believe that the new generation Sakura Atlantis triple-fan cooling solution is robust enough to temper larger GPU dies; Yeston could be working on a GeForce RTX 5080 variant. The company has not made much noise about Team Green-powered Sakura (non-Atlantis) and Game Ace product lines, since issuing their mid-January teaser. In the meantime, Chinese buyers will get to experience the sights and smells of a very special option. Yeston's Weibo account previewed this experience: "something exciting is coming your way. Yes, GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Sakura Atlantis is here! Ocean flavor (scent), new back panel design, and a chameleon spray paint process. Keep following for more information!" VideoCardz reckons that there is a likelihood of this particular SKU turning up for sale in the States; but it could take a while before stock arrives at warehouses (e.g. Newegg).

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

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

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

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

ZOTAC started teasing a refresh of its Apocalypse product line earlier in the year. Two months later, fairly concrete details of the (still) upcoming GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB variant emerged via the NVIDIA board partner's Weibo blog. Unfortunately, ZOTAC's ultra premium 3.5-slot thick/ARGB-lit behemoth design is expected to remain exclusive to the Chinese PC hardware market. Western hardcore gaming enthusiasts are best served by the manufacturer's alternative flagship triple-slotter: GeForce RTX 5080 AMP Extreme INFINITY ULTRA. ZOTAC's mainland China and Hong Kong offices have declared the arrival of brand-new Apocalypse SKUs at retail; utilizing NVIDIA's "Blackwell" GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti GPUs.

Yesterday's Weibo bulletin commenced with: "when mecha aesthetics collide with technology, and gaming passion merges with extreme performance, the ZOTAC GeForce RTX 50 Apocalypse series graphics cards are born! After (our) continuous R&D, improvement, testing and adjustment—today, newly upgraded flagship graphics cards are officially launched!" The brand has advertised the return of an apparently much-missed product line mascot: "Apocalypse Princess is back with a new look, starting a game/AI exploration journey with you." Promotional imagery and box art feature a prominent illustration of ZOTAC's flagship series heroine—this "mecha artwork" demonstrates a serious sci-fi aesthetic, albeit with a cute female protagonist leading the way. A rival AIB specializes in this type of "marketing"—Yeston's similar-ish presentation language concentrates on enchanting fantasy characters.

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI), a Total IT Solution Provider for AI/ML, HPC, Cloud, Storage, and 5G/Edge, has announced first-to-market industry leading performance on several MLPerf Inference v5.0 benchmarks, using the 8-GPU. The 4U liquid-cooled and 10U air-cooled systems achieved the best performance in select benchmarks. Supermicro demonstrated more than 3 times the tokens per second (Token/s) generation for Llama2-70B and Llama3.1-405B benchmarks compared to H200 8-GPU systems. "Supermicro remains a leader in the AI industry, as evidenced by the first new benchmarks released by MLCommons in 2025," said Charles Liang, president and CEO of Supermicro. "Our building block architecture enables us to be first-to-market with a diverse range of systems optimized for various workloads. We continue to collaborate closely with NVIDIA to fine-tune our systems and secure a leadership position in AI workloads." Learn more about the new MLPerf v5.0 Inference benchmarks here.

Supermicro is the only system vendor publishing record MLPerf inference performance (on select benchmarks) for both the air-cooled and liquid-cooled NVIDIA HGX B200 8-GPU systems. Both air-cooled and liquid-cooled systems were operational before the MLCommons benchmark start date. Supermicro engineers optimized the systems and software to showcase the impressive performance. Within the operating margin, the Supermicro air-cooled B200 system exhibited the same level of performance as the liquid-cooled B200 system. Supermicro has been delivering these systems to customers while we conducted the benchmarks. MLCommons emphasizes that all results be reproducible, that the products are available and that the results can be audited by other MLCommons members. Supermicro engineers optimized the systems and software, as allowed by the MLCommons rules.

Cooler Master (CM) showcased custom GeForce RTX 50-series graphics card designs at CES 2025, but advertised these compelling parts as included in high-end pre-built gaming rigs. Months later, finalized CM GeForce RTX 5080 stock has just rolled out in China—as demonstrated by 51972's blog post on Bilibili. A generous selection of uploaded photos were accompanied by the content creator's observations when tinkering with his sample unit's modular air cooling solution: "someone commented on the post this morning and suggested replacing it with a MasterFan or Mobius. I tried it too. I thought it could only support 12025 (slim) fans. When I disassembled it, I found that Cooler Master's designers/engineers had reserved screw limit holes at different heights."

Their description continued as follows: "I tried it and found that the (Phanteks) T30 could really be installed, but the thickness of the whole card reached a terrifying 9 cm. Outrageous." Cooler Master's innovative enclosure—when configured with the thickest third-party options—manages to "outgrow" nearby competition. 51972 compared CM's plucky new entrant to an ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 card; a very familiar premium-tier quad-slotter—albeit with a relatively "svelte" 7.6 cm profile. MSI's upper crust GeForce RTX 5080 SUPRIM cards arrived earlier this year, sporting the same shroud height dimension as equivalent Astral SKUs.

LG AI Research, yes, that LG, which develops consumer electronics, has launched EXAONE Deep, a high-performance reasoning AI that demonstrates exceptional capabilities in mathematical logic, scientific concepts, and programming challenges despite its relatively small parameter count. The flagship 32B model achieves performance metrics rivaling substantially larger models like GPT-4o and DeepSeek R1. In contrast, the 7.8B and 2.4B variants establish new benchmarks in the lightweight and on-device AI categories. The EXAONE Deep 32B model registered a 94.5 score on the CSAT 2025 Mathematics section and 90.0 on the AIME 2024, outperforming competing models while requiring only 5% of the computational resources of larger alternatives like DeepSeek-R1 (671B).

In scientific reasoning, it achieved a 66.1 score on the GPQA Diamond test, which evaluates PhD-level problem-solving capabilities across physics, chemistry, and biology. The model's 83.0 score on MMLU establishes it as the highest-performing domestically developed model in South Korea, showing LG's approach to creating efficient, high-performance AI systems. Particularly notable is the performance of the smaller variants: the 7.8B model scored 94.8 in MATH-500 and 59.6 in AIME 2025, while the 2.4B model achieved 92.3 in MATH-500 and 47.9 in AIME 2024. These results position EXAONE Deep's smaller models at the top of their respective categories across all major benchmarks, suggesting significant potential for deployment in resource-constrained environments. With sizes of up to 32 billion parameters, it will excel in single-GPU deployments. Interestingly, these models can run on a range of discrete GPUs, laptop GPUs, and some edge systems that don't have massive computational power.

Lenovo has listed two custom Legion GPUs designed specifically for its Legion 9000K gaming systems. These models—the RTX 5090D and RTX 5080—are available exclusively in the Chinese market and are not intended for the DIY segment. The "D" designation in the RTX 5090D model signifies that the component adheres to specific regulatory standards required in China, hence Lenovo choosing it for their China-exclusive systems. Both GPUs incorporate a cooling solution that spans four expansion slots and utilizes three fans, complemented by CNC-machined metal shrouds and full backplates. While detailed parameters such as core and memory clock speeds have not been disclosed, the two models differ in their GPU architectures: the RTX 5090D is built around the larger GB202 die, and the RTX 5080 uses the smaller GB203 silicon.

Both cards employ a single 16-pin power connector and are expected to operate at standard factory settings without factory overclocking dialed in yet. But with a massive cooler configuration, it should be an easy thing to do. Regarding computational capability, the RTX 5090D delivers up to 2,375 TOPS, supporting gaming tasks and localized AI processing. These GPUs are integrated within systems powered by Intel's Core Ultra 200K series processors. System configurations start at 22,499 RMB (approximately $3,100) for units featuring the RTX 5080 paired with a Core Ultra 7 265K processor and 32 GB of RAM. In contrast, configurations with the RTX 5090D, Core Ultra 9 285K processor, and 64 GB of RAM are priced at 41,999 RMB (roughly $5,820). Lenovo has also indicated that mid-range RTX 5070 variants are planned for future releases and that final production units may vary slightly from the initial promotional renders of these cards.

This keyboard combines a durable carbon fiber shell with a minimalist design, offering users an unparalleled typing experience and superior usability.

Carbon Fiber Shell and Comfortable Typing Experience
The Epomaker Carbon60 features a durable carbon fiber shell that resists corrosion, oxidation, and scratches, extending its lifespan. Unlike plastic shells, carbon fiber gives the keyboard a more refined and modern feel, enhancing its technological appeal. Paired with stylish spray paint, the Epomaker Carbon 60 exudes a fashionable and sophisticated visual aesthetic, perfectly catering to users who value both performance and appearance. Additionally, the light blue handle design adds a thoughtful touch, making it even more portable.

Corsair, maker of award-winning PC and Mac performance gaming peripherals, proudly announces the release of Corsair Custom Lab for Europe, allowing European gamers to make personalized peripherals that truly reflect their own unique styles. An all-in-one shop for specially designed gear, Corsair Custom Lab lets players pour their passion, personality, and self-expression onto the canvas of their mouse, keyboard, and mousepad, with more products to be added later.

"Corsair understands the high standards and expectations our community has, and they deserve peripherals that deliver elite level performance, while also matching their style," said Tobias Brinkmann, Vice President and General Manager of Gaming Peripherals. "Corsair Custom Lab is our solution, allowing gamers to show off their unique style without sacrificing performance. It has already been a huge success in North America, so we're thrilled to let our European fans into the Lab."

MSI is excited to introduce its latest lineup of graphics cards powered by the newly launched NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, featuring the VANGUARD, GAMING TRIO, INSPIRE, and VENTUS series. Engineered with cutting-edge graphics technology and refined thermal solutions, these cards are designed to meet the demands of high-performance gaming, AI applications, and content creation. With a focus on efficiency, they deliver outstanding power while maintaining low temperatures and quiet operation, ensuring an excellent user experience.

Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell, GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs revolutionize gaming and creativity with unprecedented AI horsepower. Unlock next-level performance and graphics fidelity with NVIDIA DLSS 4, generate images at record-breaking speeds, and unleash creative potential with NVIDIA Studio.

Yesterday, NVIDIA confirmed that board partner GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards (minus a Founders Edition) will be hitting global retail markets on February 20. Team Green has set a baseline MSRP of $749 (USD) for North America, and €884 (plus region variable VAT) for European territories. Recent accidental e-tail listings have presented daunting price points (in Austria and France), that sit far higher than NVIDIA's guideline figure. A fresh VideoCardz news report piles on extra pain; various readership tip-offs have indicated that next week's population of launch products will be composed of mostly very expensive offerings. CaseKing.de has listed a grand total of twelve ASUS, GIGABYTE and MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti cards—the cheapest non-overclocked option comes in at €1149 (including customary 19% sales tax), plus shipping costs starting at €4.99. GIGABYTE's premium-tier AORUS RTX 5070 Ti MASTER is priced at €1399 (incl. VAT). This German retail outlet is not known to implement generous discounts, especially early on in a product's lifespan. VideoCardz looked elsewhere for evidence of baseline MSRP conformant AIB cards. Press outlets could be analyzing placeholder numbers, so things could change closer to release day.

Proshop in Denmark and Finland seem to be the only e-tail outlets (in Europe/Scandinavia) that offer a model that conforms to official NVIDIA minimum pricing decree. The non-overclocked barebones Inno3D RTX 5070 Ti X3 card is priced at 6899 kr (incl. VAT) in Denmark, and €924 (incl. VAT) in Finland. An extra €75 premium grants access to an overclocked sibling: Inno3D RTX 5070 Ti X3 OC. Potential buyers—in North America—have one baseline MSRP-friendly option, courtesy of Micro Center. VideoCardz highlighted the PNY RTX 5070 Ti Overclocked Triple Fan model's price point of $750. At the time of writing, they believe that this is the only example of a factory-overclocked card sticking to Team Green guidelines. AMD's incoming Radeon RX 9070 GPU series is set to battle it out with NVIDIA's next wave of "Blackwell" GPUs. According to industry whispers, Team Red will be deeply involved in analysis of GeForce RTX 5070 Ti market performance. Speculative first wave RDNA 4-based graphics card pricing has leaked online this week; will they commit to undercutting their main competition?

Reports from Financial Times suggest Arm has plans to create its own CPU, set to hit the market in 2025 with Meta Platforms said to be one of the first customers. The chip is said to be a CPU for data center servers, with TSMC handling the manufacturing. However, when the Financial Times asked about this, SoftBank (the majority owner of Arm) and Meta stayed quiet, while Arm didn't give a statement. A Nikkei report from May 2024 suggested that a prototype AI processor chip would be completed by spring 2025 and available for sale by fall 2025, so the latest information from the Financial Times report feels like a confirmation of previous rumors.

Right now, Arm makes money by letting others use its instruction set and core designs to make their own chips. This new move could mean Arm will compete with its current customers. Sources in the industry say Arm is trying to win business from Qualcomm, with rumors that Arm has been bringing in executives from companies it works with to help develop this chip. While Qualcomm had talked in the past about giving Meta a data center CPU using Arm's design, it looks like Arm has won at least some of that deal. However, no technical or specification details are available currently for Arm's 1st in-house server CPU.

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.

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.

MSI has gone all in with NVIDIA's freshly debuted GeForce RTX 50 "Blackwell" GPU series at CES 2025—an impressive number of custom models have been unveiled on the showroom floor. The TechPowerUp team has sifted through many of MSI's latest and greatest, but also noticed an intriguing set of placards positioned next to the tech firm's vast selection of physical products. The "exclusive" information at hand points to two in-progress GeForce RTX 5090 models—informally named as "Lightning" Special Editions. Company representatives have revealed that the engineering team is concocting a purpose-made PCB design for the two upcoming cards. This board supposedly sports enough differences to distinguish itself from NVIDIA's reference layout (as seen on their Founder's Edition)—industry experts reckon that the majority of AIBs will be utilizing Team Green's standard GeForce RTX 5090 PCB.

The printed graphic indicates that MSI's mysterious liquid cooled Special Edition GeForce RTX 32G will arrive with the "ultimate all-in-one (AIO) water cooling solution"—referred to as their "HydroCool System." A twin STORMFORCE fan configuration is teased alongside advanced airflow channels and a next-gen dual 120 mm AIO liquid cooling system. Custom-engineered water channels are advertised as being capable of flowing "directly through" the card's onboard memory. Dual front intakes and exhausts are said to assist greatly in cooling this Special Edition model, as well as neighboring PC components. Users can implement independent custom fan speed tunings; presumably via MSI software. It will be interesting to see how this in-the-works AIO-based model stacks up against the premium-tier "two-piece" MSI RTX 5090 SUPRIM LIQUID SOC.

Nanya Technology's Board of Directors today has approved a strategic partnership with PieceMakers Technology, Inc. ("PieceMakers") to jointly develop customized ultra-high-bandwidth memory solutions. As part of the collaboration, Nanya Technology will subscribe to a cash capital increase of up to NT$ 660 million, purchasing up to 22 million common shares at NT$ 30 per share in PieceMakers. Upon completion of the capital increase, Nanya Technology is expected to acquire up to approximately 38% stakes of PieceMakers.

To meet the growing demand for high-performance memory driven by AI and edge computing, this collaboration will combine Nanya Technology's 10 nm-class DRAM innovation with PieceMakers' expertise in customized DRAM design to develop high-value, high-performance, and low-power customized ultra-high-bandwidth memory solutions, unlocking new opportunities in AI and high-performance computing markets.

A high-stakes trial between technology giants Arm and Qualcomm has revealed deeper tensions in the semiconductor industry, as Arm seeks the destruction of chip designs from Qualcomm's $1.4 billion Nuvia acquisition. The case, being heard in Delaware federal court, centers on a licensing dispute that could impact the future of AI-powered Windows PCs. Arm CEO Rene Haas took the stand Monday, adding allegations that Qualcomm violated licensing agreements following its 2021 acquisition of chip startup Nuvia. The issue is whether Qualcomm should pay Nuvia's higher royalty rates for using Arm's intellectual property rather than its own lower rates. Internal documents revealed Nuvia's rates were "many multiples" higher than Qualcomm's, with the acquisition potentially reducing Arm's revenue by $50 million.

During cross-examination, Qualcomm's legal team challenged Arm's motives, suggesting the dispute is part of a broader strategy to confront a customer increasingly viewed as a competitor. When presented with documents outlining potential plans for Arm to design its own chips, Haas downplayed these ambitions, emphasizing that Arm has never entered chip manufacturing. Allegedly, Arm sent letters to Qualcomm's customers, including Samsung, warning about possible disruption if Nuvia's IP design before acquisition in 2021 must be destroyed. Haas defended these communications, citing frequent inquiries from industry partners.