Naughty Dog and Iron Galaxy have released the v1.0.5.1 Patch for the PC version of The Last of Us Part 1, bringing general and AMD GPU stability improvements, and fixing issues seen with all Intel Arc GPUs.

According to the rather short release notes, the newest update brings general stability improvements, fixes crashes on boot that were seen on all Intel Arc GPUs, as well as brings stability improvements for some AMD GPUs during an extended playthrough. Naughty Dog was keen to note that they are still closely watching for reports to support future improvements and patches, as well as actively optimizing, working on game stability, and implementing additional fixes that will be included in future updates.

PCGamesN reviewed the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB founder edition graphics card a few days ago - the author noticed some stuttering issues when testing out said GPU in Cyberpunk 2077, and proceeded to publish these details. The odd performance bug seemed to occur when DLSS Frame Generation was enabled on a Ryzen 7000-series CPU PC system. PCGamesN forwarded these findings to NVIDIA - who took the matter very seriously. Team Green has since confirmed that an incompatibility between DLSS and Ryzen 7000 series processors exists in Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 - both developed by CD Projekt RED, and running on variants of the studio's proprietary REDengine. PCGamesN was quickly provided with revised .dll files that have apparently resolved the in-game stuttering problems.

An NVIDIA spokesperson outlined plans for forthcoming fixes: "The latest StreamLine 1.5.6 SL.dll files will be included in an upcoming patch of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3, fixes stuttering on Ryzen 7000 CPUs." PCGamesN was impressed with the speedy response (on the software team's part) and effectiveness of the specified bug fixes - and jokingly signs off their article with this conclusion: "There's no word on when this update will arrive exactly, but we're glad to see NVIDIA both quickly recognize and provide a fix for the problem. Hopefully it'll arrive before or just in time for the Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty release date, instead of whenever The Witcher 4 release date will be."

Set forth on your grand adventure, Arisen! The PlayStation Showcase brought us the first footage of the much-anticipated action-RPG Dragon's Dogma 2, now in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. There's plenty to unpack in this trailer, and we look forward to sharing more in the future. For now, let's talk about a few of the elements we can reveal so far.

Whether you're new to the Dragon's Dogma series or a seasoned adventurer, well met, Arisen. Set in a vividly detailed fantasy world, Dragon's Dogma 2 is a single player, narrative-driven action-RPG that challenges players to leverage their creativity and curiosity to approach a wide variety of gameplay situations. Dragon's Dogma 2 begins in a subterranean jail, where the Dragon's voice echoes in the fog of lost memories. You play as the Arisen: set on a path to slay the Dragon, a symbol of the world's destruction as it soars through the sky on massive wings, breathing flames that scorch everything in its path. Set out on an epic journey to fulfill your forgotten destiny and claim the throne.

Sony has showed off some new accessories for the Playstation 5 during the PlayStation Showcase event and the most interesting one goes under the internal development name of Project Q. The device is pretty much a dual sense wireless controller that has been split in half and each half has been strapped to either side of an 8-inch HD display. Sony didn't go into much in terms of technical details, beyond that Project Q will have built in WiFi for streaming games from the PS5. The display will support 1920 x 1080 resolution at 60 Hz, which is most likely not what most potential buyers were hoping for.

Sony also showed off a pair of new PS5 branded earbuds, which the company says will be compatible not only with the PS5, but also PCs and other mobile devices, courtesy of Bluetooth 5.3 multipoint support. Sony is also promising some new type of wireless technology here which the company claims will deliver lossless audio that is said to deliver outstanding sound quality and low latency audio. Sony didn't reveal when either device will be available, but promised to release more details "soon".

[Editor's note: Updated with a snippet from the official press release below]

Lenovo Group today announced full-year results, reporting Group revenue of US$62 billion and net income of US$1.6 billion, or US$1.9 billion on a non-Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards (HKFRS) [1] basis. Profitability was stable with gross margin and operating margin both delivering 18-year highs and non-HKFRS net margin flat year-to-year. While Group revenue was impacted due to the softness in the device market, revenue from non-PC businesses reached a fiscal year high of nearly 40%, fueled by Lenovo's diversified growth engines of Solutions and Services Group (SSG) and Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) growing revenue to record highs of US$6.7 billion and US$9.8 billion respectively, up 22% and 37% year-on-year.

After a year of industry and global uncertainties, Lenovo sees positive signs of the market stabilizing. The Group expects the entire PC and smart devices market to resume year-to-year growth in the second half of 2023, and for the IT services market to resume relatively high growth - together these will drive the total IT market in 2023 back to moderate growth. In the mid-to-long term, digital and intelligent transformation will continue to accelerate, leading to a big growth potential for cloud and computing infrastructure.

Each week, we're bringing you news about the latest DLSS and ray tracing integrations in games and apps. Last week, D5 Render got a DLSS 3-powered upgrade, DLSS 2 boarded Bus Simulator 21, and The Outlast Trials launched into Early Access with day-1 DLSS 2 support.

This week, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum launches with support for DLSS 3 and many other NVIDIA technologies, and two new DLSS 2 titles are available now - Firmament and Togges.

Samsung Electronics today announced the global launch of its full 2023 Smart Monitor lineup. The new M8, M7 and M5 Smart Monitors (Model Name: M80C, M70C, M50C) from Samsung enable users to tailor their monitors to their unique styles and needs, as they watch, play and work.

"We are raising the bar for Smart Monitors globally with our new lineup and especially our enhanced M8 model," said Hoon Chung, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. "Within a single monitor, users can enjoy the best of entertainment and gaming, productivity, design and personalized convenience and comfort."

Panasonic announced today the world's premier rugged notebook for the Defence industry can now be equipped with the Eclypt Core Encrypted Internal Solid State Drive from global communications company, Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), making the Panasonic TOUGHBOOK 40 unrivalled in its capabilities for the military, border control and emergency services. Available in May 2023, the TOUGHBOOK 40 notebook with solid state self-encrypting hard drive is certified for use in the UK for securing Top Secret information and all security levels below, as well as certified for use by NATO and other European countries.

"This is the next step in extending our partnership with Viasat to offer the highest-level security drives across the TOUGHBOOK range," said Jon Tucker, General Manager Engineering, Product & Mobility Solutions, at Panasonic Mobile Solutions Business Division. "With the current geopolitical tensions across Europe and beyond, the demand for this type of highly secure, rugged and modular flexible device is growing every day."

Baseus, a leading consumer electronics brand, recently launched an important product: the Baseus PowerCombo Tower series of smart 65 W desktop power strips. Anyone familiar with surge protectors has more or less heard about joules (J), the unit of energy. Baseus PowerCombo Tower series smart version stands out by featuring 1200J surge protection, while the industry standard is between 800 to 1000J, ensuring utmost safety for both individuals and devices.

The second great wall is the BDIP Baseus Digital Intelligent Power, a technology that monitors circuit status to detect malfunctions like overload, overvoltage, undervoltage, overcurrent, short-circuit, and more, then actively cuts off the power in 0.1 seconds, solidifying the barrier. Yet, Baseus has gone further. The case is made of fire-retardant material, ensuring that the product is safe-to-use inside out, and is also superpowered by GaN technology which increases power conversion, resulting in less power loss translating to less heat generation, thereby cutting off the odds of causing damage. In short, this charging station features 8 safety protections, keeping its user and their devices safe 24/7 without requiring supervision.

Cooler Master, a leading innovator in the world of PC components and peripherals, today unveiled two revolutionary products that will reshape the PC gaming landscape: Cooling X and Sneaker X. These groundbreaking desktop PCs cater to a wide range of user needs and showcase Cooler Master's commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation.

The Cooling X, a high-performance plug & play desktop PC with a fully integrated liquid cooling system, is designed for gamers, creators, and businesses who demand top performance without the time or expertise to build their own PCs. The Sneaker X, a stylish desktop PC inspired by iconic sneakers, is perfect for sneaker enthusiasts, collectors, and gamers looking to showcase their style alongside their gaming passion.

ASUS today announced the Marshmallow Keyboard, a compact and versatile wireless keyboard available in Oat Milk or Green Tea Latte finishes. Ideal for everyday computing, this durable keyboard features long-lasting up to 10-million-click switches, optimal scissor keys, and two-level adjustable kickstands. A pair of system switch keys enable effortless switching between Windows, ChromeOS, MacOS, iOS, and iPadOS modes.

Distinct colors
The ASUS Marshmallow Keyboard is available in striking Oat Milk or Green Tea Latte color schemes that stand out in a sea of black, beige or gray keyboards. In addition, essentials like the Spacebar, Enter, and Esc keys are in a darker shade for better visibility. These unique colors give ASUS Marshmallow Keyboard a smart, youthful look that perfectly complements ASUS Marshmallow Mouse MD100, as well as modern laptops, PCs, and tablets.

From the creator of the groundbreaking Arctis line of headsets and the new Arctis Nova franchise, SteelSeries, the original esports brand that fuses gaming and culture and worldwide leader in gaming and esports peripherals, today expands the Arctics Nova universe with the introduction of the Arctis Nova 4 - exclusively available at GameStop stores beginning Saturday, May 20, 2023.

For today's gaming lifestyle, people need access to wireless freedom for gaming, streaming, and entertainment at a more affordable price. The Arctis Nova 4 introduces a new wireless option for players that shares the same meticulously crafted Nova Acoustic System as the entire Nova family, featuring Hi-fi audio, supercharged by the Sonar Audio Software Suite, and delivering 360° Spatial Audio. It's the perfect companion for those living life on the go - offering untethered elite sound and performance.

Amazon Games and Embracer Group, through its wholly owned subsidiary Middle-earth Enterprises, part of the operative group Freemode, today announced they have reached an agreement for Amazon Games to develop and publish a new massively multiplayer online (MMO) game based on The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The upcoming game will be an open-world MMO adventure in a persistent world set in Middle-earth, featuring the beloved stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings literary trilogy. The game is in early stages of production, with the Amazon Games Orange County studio—makers of the popular open-world MMO game New World—leading development. Amazon Games will publish the game globally for PC and consoles. Additional details, including launch timing, will be shared at a later date.

For anyone struggling to multitask when working from home, Burlington tech company Mobile Pixels Inc. has unveiled the perfect solution. It recently launched a new series of dual monitors that are specially crafted to make work-from-home hassle-free. The latest in Mobile Pixel's innovations, the Geminos Series consists of two foldable and adjustable dual-screen desktop monitors vertically stacked to provide better ergonomic support and increased productivity.

The Geminos Series was brought to life following another wildly successful Mobile Pixels Kickstarter campaign that saw over 3,000 backers pledge as much as $2,161,609. With its official launch, Geminos now promises to revolutionize the lives of all working professionals, gamers, traders, streamers, entrepreneurs, coders, and students.

TrendForce's latest research indicates that, as production cuts to DRAM and NAND Flash have not kept pace with weakening demand, the ASP of some products is expected to decline further in 2Q23. DRAM prices are projected to fall 13~18%; NAND Flash is expected to fall between 8~13%.

TrendForce reports that the significant drop in DRAM prices was mostly attributed to high inventory levels of DDR4 and LPDDR5 as PC DRAM, server DRAM, and mobile DRAM collectively account for over 85% of DRAM consumption. Meanwhile, the market share for DDR5 remains relatively low.

According to Taiwanese United Daily News, Acer and ASUS are expecting the downturn in PC sales to turn around in the second half of the year. That said, Acer reported its worst results in years for the first quarter this year and ASUS is expected to follow suit, when its first quarter earnings numbers are released on Friday this week. The slow sales for both companies are expected to continue for the first half of 2023, but according to the report, there should be an improvement in the second half of the year.

That said, both companies are betting on improved sales of not just PCs to improve their books, as Acer is hoping to sell more displays, while ASUS is focusing on its component business. ASUS has already seen a small improvement in component sales, which the company is hoping is the first signs of a stabilising components market, with more of its potential customers upgrading their systems. That said, with certain components like graphics cards still being priced at levels that many consumers aren't willing to pay for the performance on offer, it might be a slower recovery than these companies are expecting.

Avalanche Software has released quite a big patch for Hogwarts Legacy, improving visual, performance, gameplay, and general stability. In addition to more than 500 bug fixes, it also brings the new Arachnophobia Mode.

Performance-wise, the newest patch resolves general crashes on the PC and various memory leaks, brings plenty of optimizations, fixes ray tracing issues, and more. It also updates minimum driver recommendation for NVIDIA graphics cards, updates NVIDIA DLSS to v3.1.2, AMD FSR to v2.2, and Intel XeSS to v1.1.

Today Electronic Arts Inc. and EA SPORTS announced that F1 23, the official game of the FIA Formula One World Championship, will be released on June 16 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, via EA App, Epic Games Store, and Steam. Headlined with the return of the epic story mode Braking Point, F1 23 is home to every team, driver and circuit for the 2023 season, including the highly anticipated Las Vegas Grand Prix and Lusail International Circuit, Qatar. Building on the exciting new partnership with Max Verstappen, who now boasts EA SPORTS branding on the chin of his helmet, the back-to-back World Champion is confirmed as the cover star for the digital-exclusive F1 23 Champions Edition.

"The return of Braking Point allows players to immerse themselves in a racing story, which provides a unique look at F1 alongside the authentic race features our players know and love," said Lee Mather, Senior Creative Director at Codemasters. "Our close relationship with the teams has allowed us to refine our handling model, adding greater realism to pad-play, and implementing a new color encoding system used in film and TV creates a more true-to-life experience."

Researchers at the Technical University of Berlin have published a paper called "faulTPM: Exposing AMD fTPMs' Deepest Secrets," highlighting AMD's firmware-based Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is susceptible to the new exploit targeting Zen 2 and Zen 3 processors. The faulTPM attack against AMD fTPMs involves utilizing the AMD secure processor's (SP) vulnerability to voltage fault injection attacks. This allows the attacker to extract a chip-unique secret from the targeted CPU, which is then used to derive the storage and integrity keys protecting the fTPM's non-volatile data stored on the BIOS flash chip. The attack consists of a manual parameter determination phase and a brute-force search for a final delay parameter. The first step requires around 30 minutes of manual attention, but it can potentially be automated. The second phase consists of repeated attack attempts to search for the last-to-be-determined parameter and execute the attack's payload.

Once these steps are completed, the attacker can extract any cryptographic material stored or sealed by the fTPM regardless of authentication mechanisms, such as Platform Configuration Register (PCR) validation or passphrases with anti-hammering protection. Interestingly, BitLocker uses TPM as a security measure, and faulTPM compromises the system. Researchers suggested that Zen 2 and Zen 3 CPUs are vulnerable, while Zen 4 wasn't mentioned. The attack requires several hours of physical access, so remote vulnerabilities are not a problem. Below, you can see the $200 system used for this attack and an illustration of the physical connections necessary.

Following the recent block of the Activision-Blizzard merger with Microsoft by the UK regulatory body, Microsoft is partnering with cloud gaming services to bring extra assurance to regulators that the merger will not harm any segment. Today, Microsoft's Vice Chain and President, Brad Smith, published a Tweet that highlighted the latest deal with Nware, a Spanish company providing cloud PCs to gamers that can stream games from Steam, EGS, and Ubisoft Connect accounts. The Tweet noted that "Microsoft and European cloud gaming platform Nware have signed a 10-year agreement to stream PC games built by Xbox on its platform, as well as Activision Blizzard titles after the acquisition closes. While it's still early for the emerging cloud segment in gaming, this new partnership combined with our other recent commitments will make more popular games available on more cloud game streaming services than they are today."

ASUS today announced ExpertCenter PN42, a mini PC powered by an Intel N100 or N200 processor. The fanless design of this mini PC reduces operational noise and prevents dust from building up inside the chassis. Designed for small or medium-sized businesses, it features up to seven USB ports and can be specified with an additional 2.5 Gbps LAN port and a configurable port for DisplayPort 1.4, VGA, COM, HDMI, or USB-C with DisplayPort 1.2. The integrated graphics of ExpertCenter PN42 enables it to support up to three monitors or two 4K displays simultaneously. It embraces sustainable manufacturing, with a chassis made from recycled plastic.

ExpertCenter PN42 has a robust build quality that ensures durability and reliability. Its fanless design enables it to run almost silently and reduces dust accumulation inside the chassis, making it ideal for quiet environments or industrial use. The ribbed chassis design includes slats to enhance cooling performance, while a dedicated heatsink cools the SSD and WiFi module.

With the launch of Redfall set for early next week, Bethesda has kindly provided some prepwork to consider in advance - a breakdown of the crossover shooter's PC specification requirements (minimum, recommended and ultra) as well as all available accessibility settings and options. They fail to mention any resolution or framerate targets, so it will be up to PC gamers to investigate the nitty-gritty numbers on the day of Redfall's release (May 2). As part of the whole promo campaign NVIDIA has decided to unleash a gameplay trailer (see below) of the game running on a high end PC fitted with a (presumed) high-end GeForce RTX 40-series graphics card.

Redfall's PC audience will get to flex their graphical muscles more so when compared to unfortunate current gen Xbox owners - Bethesda and developer Arkane Studios have recently admitted that their supernatural shooter will be restricted to 30 FPS Quality Mode on Series X and S consoles at launch. A higher framerate performance mode is promised in the future - via a game update - but the Microsoft-owned publisher has not set a more specific release window for the upgrade. The middle and high-tier specifications on PC seem to be quite reasonable, so Redfall is not expected to be a stuttering mess on arrival.

Samsung Electronics today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023. The Company posted KRW 63.75 trillion in consolidated revenue, a 10% decline from the previous quarter, as overall consumer spending slowed amid the uncertain global macroeconomic environment. Operating profit was KRW 0.64 trillion as the DS (Device Solutions) Division faced decreased demand, while profit in the DX (Device eXperience) Division increased.

The DS Division's profit declined from the previous quarter due to weak demand in the Memory Business, a decline in utilization rates in the Foundry Business and continued weak demand and inventory adjustments from customers. Samsung Display Corporation (SDC) saw earnings in the mobile panel business decline quarter-on-quarter amid a market contraction, while the large panel business slightly narrowed its losses. The DX Division's results improved on the back of strong sales of the premium Galaxy S23 series as well as an enhanced sales mix focusing on premium TVs.

Sparkle, a Taiwanese computer electronics maker, is again entering the GPU market after almost ten years of inactivity in the space. A while back, Sparkle was one of NVIDIA's original Add-In Board (AIB) partners and helped them launch the GeForce 7900 PCI GPU. The company continued to make NVIDIA-based GPUs until GTX 700 series in 2013. After a decade, Sparkle is back again with ambitions to be Intel's AIB partner and announced not one but three graphics cards to start. Called A750 Titan, A750 Orc, and A380 Elf, these cards feature triple-fan, dual-fan, and single-fan coolers, respectively.

The first in line is the Sparkle A750 Titan, a triple-fan, 2.5-slot design based on Intel Arc A750 GPU. Featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, this top-end A750 SKU is clocked at 2300 MHz, up from the factory's 2050 MHz frequency. Titan's smaller brother is Sparkle A750 Orc, a dual-fan, "2.2"-slot (we assume smaller than two and a half and bigger than two slots) GPU with the same A750 GPU; however, it clocked slightly lower at 2200 MHz. Both models feature single HDMI 2.0 and 3x DisplayPort 2.0 output ports and require two 8-pin PCI power connectors. Lastly, we have the Sparkle A380 Elf, a half-length, ITX-sized GPU that fits in two slots and has a single-fan cooler. It is based on Intel Arc A380 and has identical specifications without factory overclocks applied. Pricing and availability are currently unknown.

The global economy has faced increased inflation risks and downstream inventory corrections in 2H22, which have affected IC design houses faster than wafer foundries, as they are far more sensitive and responsive to market reversals. TrendForce reports that adverse factors such as weak overall consumption, restrictions from China, and the slowdown of corporate IT spending and CSP demand have impacted the revenue performance of the world's top 10 IC design houses in 4Q22, leading to a QoQ decline of 9.2%, or approximately US$33.96 billion.

TrendForce predicts that the revenue of these top 10 companies keep declining—though with a slight convergence—into 1Q23, owing to ongoing inventory corrections across the entire supply chain as well as Q1 being the traditional off-season for consumer demand. Demand will continue to be weak despite new product launches and inventory replenishment in the supply chain.