Acer today announced its new Predator Triton 500 and Acer Nitro 5 gaming notebooks. Alongside significant developments in thermal performance, both devices come with the latest 10th Gen Intel Core processors and newly announced NVIDIA GeForce RTX SUPER and GTX GPUs.

"In addition to the latest processors and GPUs, we've made exciting across-the-board updates to the Predator Triton 500 and Acer Nitro 5 this year," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer. "Most importantly we've applied new thermal technology which keeps the devices cool so gamers can enjoy the performance improvements from the latest silicon technology."

Micron Technologies, in the latest earnings report, announced that they will start shipping High-Bandwidth Memory 2 (HBM2) DRAM. Used for high-performance graphics cards, server processors and all kinds of processors, HBM2 memory is wanted and relatively expensive solution, however, when Micron enters the market of its manufacturing, prices, and the market should adjust for the new player. Previously, only SK-Hynix and Samsung were manufacturing the HBM2 DRAM, however, Micron will join them and they will again form a "big-three" pact that dominates the memory market.

Up until now, Micron used to lay all hopes on its proprietary Hybrid Memory Cube (HMC) DRAM type, which didn't gain much traction from customers and it never really took off. Only a few rare products used it, as Fujitsu SPARC64 XIfx CPU used in Fujitsu PRIMEHPC FX100 supercomputer introduced in 2015. Micron announced to suspend works on HMC in 2018 and decided to devote their efforts to GDDR6 and HBM development. So, as a result, we are seeing that they will launch HBM2 DRAM products sometime this year.

A Steam page store has appeared for Guerrilla Games' PlayStation exclusive Horizon Zero Dawn. If you haven't played this game yet, I'll assume you don't have a PlayStation; and if so, boy: are you in for a treat. Horizon Zero Dawn has you playing as Aloy, a native to this alternate reality where dinosaur-like machines have taken over the wilds. As you expand on the story and go on to discover the secrets to this world - and to humanity's downfall - you'll travel across a seamless, richly-detailed open-world experience that rivals The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.

Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition will feature both the base game and its The Frozen Wilds Expansion, which adds dozens of hours, new equipment, new lands, skills, and Machines for you to hunt. This looks like Sony's way (and continued efforts) to show you, years later, what you've been missing out on in the PlayStation platform, and I bet Sony's wishing these exclusive games hitting the PC will give you the PlayStation 5 hitch. Now if only the same happened for the incredible God of War...

The B550 chipset has been absent for a while, meaning that mid-tier motherboard models were lacking and that space is about to be filled. So far, the only thing we got was a B550A chipset, which lacked proper support for PCIe 4.0 connection, based on the refreshed B450 chipset. The B550A supports only one PCIe 4.0 slot, the one connected directly to CPU, while the regular, non-A version is said to deliver proper PCIe 4.0 configuration. The first picture of AMD's upcoming B550 motherboard has appeared.

Thanks to the findings of VideoCardz, we have a picture of a B550 motherboard manufactured by SOYO, a Chinese motherboard manufacturer, and the brand behind Maxsun. Pictured below is a Micro-ATX format motherboard featuring two x16 PCIe 4.0 slots and one smaller, x1 slot. There are two DDR4 slots, along with M.2 PCIe 4.0 connector. Additionally, it has some interesting dragon-inspired masking as well.

Activision yesterday announced that its next Call of Duty game, called Warzone, is launching today. At around 8 AM PST, owners of Modern Warfare will be able to experience the Warzone couple of hours before everyone, while the rest of the players will have to wait until noon PST to play. The game itself is a massive, free-to-play, battle royale style game that can fit 150 players in the single match and is cross-play enabled, meaning that folks with PCs can join forces with Xbox and PlayStation players. The download size of the game is going to be around 80-100 GB alone, so players will have to free up some space on their disks for that. Below you can watch the trailer and see how the game looks before it officially drops today.

Larian studios yesterday released two brand-new trailers for their upcoming Baldur's Gate 3. The game is being built with Larian Studios' new Divinity 4.0 Engine, so if you liked the base look of Larian's other titles (such as Divinity: original Sin), you'll likely enjoy Baldur's Gate 3 as well. This new game engine is being touted as representing a remarkable evolution for the studio, giving players unprecedented freedom to explore, experiment, and interact with a world that truly reacts to their choices. You can watch these trailers after the break.

It's interesting to note that Baldur's Gate 3 executive producer David Walgrave told Eurogamer that the game is currently only being developed for PC, with no intention of releasing it on current-gen consoles (next-gen ones, however, are a different matter entirely, of course). According to the producer, "I don't think that current-gen consoles would be able to run it. There's a lot of technical upgrades and updates that we did to our engine. I don't know if it would be capable of being able to actually run on those things. Maybe it could run, but then we would have to tone down the textures and this and that and it wouldn't look as cool anymore." Do you think the shown graphics justify that the games aren't being developed for current-gen consoles, or do you think Larian is simply catering to their prime market first?

AMD has just recently launched its 3rd generation of Ryzen ThreadRipper CPUs, and it is already achieving some impressive stuff. In the world of PC gaming, there used to be a question whenever a new GPU arrives - "But can it run Crysis?". This question became meme over the years as GPU outgrew requirements for the Crysis game, and any GPU nowadays is capable of running the game. However, have you ever wondered if your CPU can run Crysis, alone without a GPU? Me neither, but Linus from LinusTechTips taught of that.

The CPU, of course, can not run any game, as it lacks the hardware for graphics output, but being that AMD's ThreadRipper 3990X, a 64 core/128 thread monster has raw compute power capable of running Crysis, it can process the game. Running in software mode, Linus got the CPU to process the game and run it without any help from a GPU. This alone is a massive achievement for AMD ThreadRipper, as it shows that CPUs reached a point where their raw computing power is on pair with some older GPU and that we can achieve a lot of interesting things. You can watch the video down below.

ASUS launched its ROG Huracan G21 mini gaming PC a long time ago intending to provide a small form factor gaming machine. Today, ASUS decided to update the Huracan with the latest hardware available. Inside a 17.7 liter chassis measuring 129.9×372.4×366.1 mm, ASUS managed to pack some powerful hardware. Starting with CPU, the ROG Huracan G21 is a house to Intel's Core i9-9900K 8 core, 16 thread CPU. There are also configurations available with Intel Core i7-9700K and Core i5-9400 CPUs. The CPU is installed on Mini-ITX Z390 motherboards made by ASUS, so it is technically possible to overclock it, however with an inadequate cooling solution for that it is not recommended.

To make a gaming PC, you need to have a good GPU to push all the framerates, and ASUS opted to equip the G21 with up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 graphics card with a blower-type cooler. Other options include GeForce RTX 2070 and RTX 2060 GPUs as well. For storage, there are quite a few options. There is one M.2 SATA SSD which can range from 128 GB to 512 GB in capacity. In addition to a 3.5-inch HDD that is available in 1 TB and 2 TB capacity, there is a hot-swap bay for a 2.5-inch drive. As far as the main memory goes, there is room for up to 32 GB of DDR4 2666 MHz memory. For IO, two USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A and one USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port is available on the front of the chassis. In the back, there are two USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports, along with four USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports. Video outputs are dependant on which graphics card is equipped in a given configuration. Additionally, to power this PC, ROG Huracan G21 relies on external power adapters that come in 180, 230, or 280 Watt options that again depend on the configuration of the machine. It is also worth pointing out that for audio, the G21 uses Realtek ALC1150 with ESS DAC and amplifier. Support for RGB is not lacking and of course, and it is compatible with ASUS Aura Sync software.

People Can Fly and Square Enix today released a gameplay trailer for their upcoming, next-gen game Outriders. The game, which will be available in current-gen systems as well as Xbox Series X, PS5 and PC, is a 1-3 player, drop-in drop-out co-op RPG shooter which promises to be set in a futuristic, dark sci-fi universe. The premise is as such: humanity as we know it abandoned Earth in search of a new home, which they thought they had found in the form of Enoch. A worldwide, storm-like event dubbed The Anomaly (which may have been produced by more than weather phenomena, I wager) forced humanity back into cryo-suspension whilst they waited for the proverbial storm to pass. The eventually reawakened ones find burning powers within themselves that will force them to confront their humanity, evolve - and eventually, to become something different.

People Can Fly describe the game as "Players will create their own Outrider and embark on a journey across a hostile planet. With rich storytelling spanning a diverse world, they will leave behind the slums and shanty towns of the First City and traverse forests, mountains and deserts in pursuit of a mysterious signal." You can expect an arsenal of weapons and supernatural powers, though the exact nature of the game's world and systems (open-world, quasi-open world, or some such) still haven't been clarified. Expect the game to drop come holiday 2020, right alongside the next-generation console launch. A reveal stream will be available via Twitch in about two days - there's a countdown timer in the official Outriders page.

San Diego, CA - February 6, 2020 - Leading gaming audio and accessory brand Turtle Beach today announced three new colourways for the Company's best-sellin Recon 70 gaming headset. The all-new Recon 70 Silver is now exclusively available in the UK at Argos and will retail in other participating territories as of March 13, 2020. Additionally, two new Recon 70 Camo versions - Green Camo and Blue Camo - are available now for pre-orders from Turtle Beach in the UK and additional international territories, and will launch worldwide on March 13, 2020. The new Silver and Camo colours make nine total Recon 70 options for gamers to choose from, each one delivering the immersive sound and lightweight comfort gamers expect from the headset giant. Powerful 40 mm over-ear speakers, crystal-clear mic performance, leatherette-wrapped cushions, and multiplatform functionality with Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC and mobile devices, plus a MSRP of £29.99 make the Recon 70 an easy choice for gamers looking for a new, affordable headset.

"Our Recon 70 series gaming headsets have been doing great since they launched last April, becoming the Company's best-selling* headsets on multiple platforms, so we're excited to give fans even more colour choices as they gear-up for another great year of gaming," said Juergen Stark, Chairman and CEO, Turtle Beach. "With new consoles on the horizon, the Recon 70 Silver and Camo options are great choices for gamers looking to get a new high-quality gaming headset for less than £30."

NVIDIA today has finally launched its GeForce Now streaming gaming service, and users can enjoy partial amounts of free gaming under the business model. There are two tiers of users on offer: Free, and Founders. The free tier, which you may give a go to check the streaming infrastructure and if it's something you would enjoy paying for, is limited to 60-minute play sessions. This means that after the clock has stopped ticking (with potentially intrusive pop-up notifications reminding you of how much time you have left every 10 minutes), you'll be forced to quit the game, and submit yourself to a playing queue until your next 60-minute window is up. RTX isn't available in this tier, though - so if you also wanted to see for yourself what the raytracing talk is all about, you'll have to pay $5 (monthly subscription) to cross that particular river.

Founder-tier members, however, will be able to enjoy the latest RTX-enabled games. The only ones listed on the service, for now, are Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Call of Duty: modern Warfare, Metro Exodus, and Deliver Us the Moon, which NVIDIA has recently started bundling with select RTX graphics cards). There is still a catch though: play sessions will be limited to 6 hours, after which time you'll be brought back to a gaming queue (though you'll have precedence over Free tier accounts, should there be many Founders-tier players in the queue, you might have to wait a while). There's a limited-time 90-day introductory period of which you can take advantage while subscribing for the Founders tier right now, which means you will only be billed after that 90-day grace period is over. Remember - you have to own a digital copy of the game you want to play in any of the more popular storefronts, such as EPIC and Steam, before you can game - but it's still a nice way to experience RTX should you currently own a non-RTX-enabled graphics card.

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced the market launch of 'Flashbolt', its third-generation High Bandwidth Memory 2E (HBM2E). The new 16-gigabyte (GB) HBM2E is uniquely suited to maximize high performance computing (HPC) systems and help system manufacturers to advance their supercomputers, AI-driven data analytics and state-of-the-art graphics systems in a timely manner.

"With the introduction of the highest performing DRAM available today, we are taking a critical step to enhance our role as the leading innovator in the fast-growing premium memory market," said Cheol Choi, executive vice president of Memory Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics. "Samsung will continue to deliver on its commitment to bring truly differentiated solutions as we reinforce our edge in the global memory marketplace."

NZXT, a leading developer of software-powered hardware solutions for PC gaming, today announces the C Series line of 80 plus Gold modular ATX power supplies.

Continuing their partnership with Seasonic, one of the most highly regarded PSU manufacturers, NZXT has created three new power supplies with the C650, C750, and C850. They are built with high-quality components that are backed by a 10-year warranty, ensuring peace of mind. The C Series is available in 650w, 750w, and 850w variants that are 80 PLUS Gold certified giving builders several options to find a PSU that suits their needs.

Cut from the digital storefront cloth as you will, the EPIC Games Store has come to stay. EPIC has just announce that its digital distribution platform has achieved over 100 M subscribed users (which is different from active users, so mind the gap). That is still a success by any metric, since the digital games storefront was such a one-sided market before EPIC entered the fray - you'd be forgiven for describing the PC games distribution platform network as being composed of "Steam and the others".

Through platform exclusivity deals for new PC launches, a more enticing profit split between developers and games that are available through its store (with its headline and exclusive-grabbing 88-12 percent revenue split), monthly game giveaways and the power of Fortnite, EPIC has said that the EPIC Games Store alone generated $680 million in revenue thus far. Of that amount, Epic says $251 million represents sales of third-party games. part of that revenue has been channeled back at gamers - $23 million has been distributed in coupons and discounts toward game sales. According to EPIC, the nine most successful games in its platform are World War Z, Borderlands 3, Untitled Goose Game, Metro Exodus, Control, The Outer Worlds, The Division 2, Dauntless, and Satisfactory.

A little over a year ago, we announced our intention to rebuild Microsoft Edge on the Chromium open source project with the goals of delivering better compatibility for everyone, less fragmentation for web developers, and a partnership with the Chromium community to improve the Chromium engine itself. At Ignite, we unveiled our new vision for the web and search, our colorful new icon, and how Microsoft Edge + Bing are the browser and search engine for business — and we are thrilled by the growing excitement we've heard from all of you who've tried it out and sent feedback!

From this incredible momentum, today I'm pleased to announce the new Microsoft Edge is now available to download on all supported versions of Windows and macOS in more than 90 languages. Microsoft Edge is also available on iOS and Android, providing a true cross-platform experience. The new Microsoft Edge provides world class performance with more privacy, more productivity and more value while you browse. Our new browser also comes with our Privacy Promise and we can't wait for you to try new features like tracking prevention, which is on by default, and provides three levels of control while you browse.

iBuyPower is clearly focusing a bit more on providing a more unique look and feel with their systems in recent years and the Revolt GT3 is no exception. The chassis at the foundation of the system can hold either a classic ITX based system with the GPU connected with an flexible cable on the backside of the motherboard or may be used to house the just announced Intel NUC Extreme platform. Either way, the platform offers maximum flexibility for building small form factor systems.

This is done with a suspended frame inside the chassis which can be pulled out completely for easy assembly. The covers may also be flipped around, giving you additional space. iBuyPower is working on brackets which can hold low profile fans or additional storage if you choose to rotate the top mesh cover for example. The Revolt GT3 is still being fine-tuned and the variant we saw for the NUC Extreme Platform was 3D printed while the additional mounting components for cooling and storage were not final yet either

During the CES 2020, we stopped by iBuyPower's booth, where we were shown a work in progress for an ambient lighting solution for your living room which mimics the setup of a 5.1 surround sound audio solution. It is a WIFI connected lighting setup, which enables you to adjust lighting based on what is playing on the TV or adjust it to suit your mood. The shown implementation did not include any speakers, but that is an option being considered. In addition to the 5 channels being placed traditionally around your TV, there is one square element that is intended to go on the ceiling, but as each light required separate power this could be an issue with very few living rooms coming with a plug in the ceiling to accommodate this. The whole setup can be controlled via software on your PC or an app on your phone, but as this is just a first version of the whole setup, things are prone to change before it hits retail as well. That said, while some may have had enough of the RGB craze, the lighting was quite immersive and could be interesting for gamers or movie aficionados.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (hence, E3) was, for years, one of those unmissable tech events with an unmistakable gravitas. All companies that actually meant something took attendance to woo the globe with the latest games, entertainment systems, and advances in technology. It still retains most of that glamour, even if some of its sheen is slightly rubbed off already. However, we can expect E3 2020 to the stage for a number of reveals from companies, and one of those companies is Microsoft. Phil Spencer has already confirmed that Microsoft will have a strong presence at E3, and with that being the case, you can expect new games, more information on already announced games (more Halo Infinite, please), and additional information pertaining the company's Xbox Series X games console.

But while some are still betting on E3, others have started to go their own way by organizing their own events. Sony has announced that they will be skipping E3 2020 in favor of hundreds of smaller, yet more globally seeded events, citing that the Entertainment Software Association's (ESA) vision for their 2020 show doesn't exactly align with what Sony is aiming at with its products. Still, you know 2020 will be a packed year for gaming, both in the console and PC spaces.

The worldwide market for traditional PCs, inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations, finished an impressive 2019 with fourth quarter growth of 4.8% year over year, according to preliminary results from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. Global shipments during the quarter beat forecast expectations at just under 71.8 million units, the highest single quarter shipment volume in four years (4Q15). Overall, global shipments grew 2.7% year over year in 2019, the first full year of PC growth since the market grew 1.7% in 2011.

"This past year was a wild one in the PC world, which resulted in impressive market growth that ultimately ended seven consecutive years of market contraction," said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. "The market will still have its challenges ahead, but this year was a clear sign that PC demand is still there despite the continued insurgence of emerging form factors and the demand for mobile computing."

Today, on January the 14th, Microsoft is officially ending support for Windows 7 operating system. After more than 10 years since its launch, Windows 7 has remained a primary operating system on many PCs, especially OEM PCs manufactured before 2015, when Windows 10 came out. The user transition from Windows 7 to Windows 10 has not been an easy task for Microsoft, however, by declaring that the product has reached End-Of-Life, Microsoft is trying to make millions of users pull the trigger and embrace the new operating system.

When January 14th arrives, Microsoft will stop giving Windows 7 users technical support, software updates with new features, and most importantly security updates. The official recommendation from Microsoft is to upgrade to the latest version of Windows, meaning Windows 10. As some of the older PCs may have compatibility issues with newer OS, it is also recommended to check your PC specifications. If you are a customer of the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, you will continue to see further support in the future, however, for regular users, the support period is over.

EK, the European premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is releasing a unique chipset water block made for Aorus motherboards based on AMD X570 chipset - the EK-Quantum Momentum Chipset Aorus X570. The EK-Quantum Momentum Chipset Aorus X570 water block completely replaces the PCH (chipset) heatsink and the small fan which is the primary source of the noise. This water block-based solution removes a moving part, thus providing a more long term solution with 0 noise and far superior thermal performance.

This chipset block is specifically made for the Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite, Gigabyte X570 Aorus Ultra and Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master motherboards. The EK-Quantum Momentum Chipset Aorus X570 water block is made in Slovenia, Europe and is available for pre-order through EK Webshop and Partner Reseller Network. This Quantum Line water block will start shipping on the 22nd of January 2020 for €39.99.

MSI at CES 2020 presented the "world's very first" laptop with a built-in display that uses Mini LED technology, called the Creator 17. Equipped with a 17-inch, 4K panel, the Creator 17 is a charming portable content creator PC. Incorporating the new Mini LED technology, this laptop's display outshines every commercial laptop screen. With a maximum peak brightness of up to 1000 nits, it beats most of the competition. Capable of displaying 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, this laptop screen is ready for displaying all of the HDR content you can throw at it.

When it comes to the Mini LED technology itself, it allows individual LEDs inside the screen to be less than 2 mm in size, which is very small and allows for some creative solutions. For example, MSI used this advantage to enable the display to have 240 local dimming zones, representing a big improvement in this size range compared to IPS. Another big improvement that Mini LED brings is that HDR content will get an upgrade as well. Due to the nature of Mini LEDs, the display can achieve a very distinguishing level of contrast between dark and bright areas. CPU support includes options of Intel's 10th generation Core i9 processor, while the GPU option is unknown. For storage, there are slots for two NVMe PCIe 3.0 M.2 SSDs and one M.2 SATA SSD slot.

At CES 2020, Dell's gaming-inspired division, Alienware, had a handful of new products to showcase. Among these, we found a new product that is still in development called the Concept UFO. The UFO is a concept product that hints a new development strategy for gaming PCs, and that is a portability first approach. Inspired by Nintendo's Switch console, this computer puts gaming PCs on the go. Designed to be a handheld based solution, this PC is based on Windows 10 operating system so you can be sure that all of your existing game libraries are also playable on it as well.

Having an Intel processor as its base, the Concept UFO uses Intel's iGPU to power an 8-inch display of unknown resolution. While we don't know which architecture is powering the UFO, we speculate that Ice Lake is behind it. Our speculation is based on an assumption that, if the concept is capable of playing games, Alienware would put as high-performance iGPU as possible, and such performance is currently only found inside Intel's Ice Lake processors, in form of Intel Iris Plus integrated graphics. Frank Azor of AMD tweeted a question if anyone would like to see this product come with new AMD 4000 series of Ryzen mobile processors, so we could be in for a surprise, given that final specifications are not determined. Ryzen 4000 series would represent a perfect choice as it offers a lot of CPU and GPU power in a mere 15 W TDP package, however, we don't know what solution will be present in the end.

iBUYPOWER, a leading manufacturer of custom gaming PCs, today announced the next generation of its signature Revolt series. The Revolt GT3 will take on a new aesthetic compared to the asymmetrical design of its predecessors.

Housing small form factor (SFF) systems and providing support for ITX motherboards and SFX power supplies up to 750 W, the Revolt GT3 will truly take on a unique layout. Systems constructed in the Revolt GT3 will be mounted to and suspended inside an outer frame by flexible rubber supports designed to add both cushion from shock and vibration damping.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today introduced Galaxy Book Flex α (alpha), a new variant of Galaxy Book Flex that offers long-lasting battery, immersive QLED display, and exquisite design features at a competitive price-point. Today's consumers are constantly striving to blend their personal and work lives - and everything in between. Galaxy Book Flex α is the latest installment in Samsung's new line of Galaxy Computing devices, which combine the productivity and premium experience of a laptop with the mobility and flexibility of a smartphone.

"We all have different routines, and we need technology that works the way we work, and with our new Galaxy Computing line, we're giving consumers the ability to choose a PC that meets their unique needs," said Alanna Cotton, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Samsung Electronics America. "Galaxy Book Flex α is a stellar new variant of the Galaxy Computing line, offering many of the best design, hardware, and display features at an accessible price-point."