Game Science, the developer behind the highly anticipated action RPG "Black Myth: Wukong," has released a free benchmark tool on Steam for its upcoming game. This standalone application, separate from the main game, allows PC users to evaluate their hardware performance and system compatibility in preparation for the game's launch. The "Black Myth: Wukong Benchmark Tool" offers a unique glimpse into the game's visuals by rendering a real-time in-game sequence. While not playable, it provides valuable insights into how well a user's system will handle the game's demanding graphics and performance requirements. One of the tool's standout features is its customization options. Users can tweak various graphics settings to preview the game's visuals and performance under different configurations. This flexibility allows gamers to find the optimal balance between visual fidelity and smooth gameplay for their specific hardware setup.

However, Game Science has cautioned that due to the complexity and variability of gaming scenarios, the benchmark results may not fully represent the final gaming experience. This caveat shows the tool's role as a guide rather than a definitive measure of performance. The benchmark tool's system requirements offer a clear picture of the hardware needed to run "Black Myth: Wukong." At a minimum, users will need a Windows 10 system with an Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and either an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB or AMD Radeon RX 580 8 GB graphics card. For an optimal experience, the recommended specifications include an Intel Core i7-9700 or AMD Ryzen 5 5500 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, or Intel Arc A750 graphics card. Interestingly, the benchmark tool supports DLSS, FSR, and XeSS technologies, indicating that the final game will likely include these performance-enhancing features. The developers also strongly recommend using an SSD for storage.

ZOTAC Technology, a global manufacturer of innovation, today releases a new generation of MAGNUS E Series Mini PC built for hardware enthusiasts. The MAGNUS is re-engineered to give powerful performance for creators and prosumers in a compact and lightweight enclosure. With an 8th Generation Intel processor, a discrete GeForce RTX 2070 graphics card and equipped with premium connectivity, the all-new MAGNUS E Series Mini PC powers everything from demanding workloads, creative workflows, home entertainment experiences, and much more.

The MAGNUS EC52070D features a 6-core Intel Core i5-8400T processor with boost up to 3.3GHz, giving it the power to handle simultaneous, compute-intensive, multithreaded workloads. Users can get responsive processing on creative workflows such as photo post-processing, illustration, audio processing, video production, live-streaming, and more. With ready support for up to 32GB of high-speed DDR4 memory, NVMe M.2 SSD, 2.5-inch large capacity storage and Intel Optane memory technology for high performance storage, MAGNUS is capable of loading files and applications faster.

Intel's mainstream-desktop flagship Core i7-8700K processor is now retailing north of USD $400, a departure from its launch price of $359, which erodes its competitiveness to the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, which can be had for as low as $319. Prices of 8th generation Core processors remain on the boil across the board as reports emerge of the industry facing supply shortages from Intel. In its defense, Intel claims that the shortage is triggered by a spike in demand, and not a drop in supply.

The company raised its capex by $1 billion YoY to increase its manufacturing output, and has even outsourced manufacturing of non-processor components such as chipsets, to other semiconductor foundries such as TSMC. Prices of other popular SKUs are also on the rise. The Core i5-8400, which launched at $184, is now hovering $225, which is supposed to be the launch price of the i5-8600 (non-K). The i5-8600K is fast approaching the $300-mark. Prices of AMD Ryzen processors remain not just stable, but also a touch lower than their launch prices.

Intel's 8th generation Core desktop processors based on the company's 14 nm node are facing shortages in the market, according to a Tom's Hardware report. Tracking prices and availability of popular 8th generation Core SKUs such as the i5-8400, i5-8600K, and i7-8700K, the report notes that retailers are heavily marking up these SKUs above their SEP, and many of whom are running out of stock often. This may not be attributed to heavy demand.

A possible explanation for these shortages could be Intel allocating volumes from the same 14 nm++ node for its upcoming 9th generation Core processors, which debut with three SKUs - i5-9600K, i7-9700K, and i9-9900K. Intel probably wants to launch the three chips not just at competitive prices, but also good enough volumes to win the 2018 Holiday season, and repair its competitiveness damaged by AMD 2nd generation Ryzen over the past couple of quarters.

Intel has announced, in-between the flurry of announcement sin the past week, that they're introducing a line of BGA (Ball-Grid Array) microprocessors to their 8th Gen line-up with the Core-B branding. The new CPUs look to deliver easily installed, scalable, premium processor options for all sorts of limited Z-height computing packages, such as the ones found in AIOs, without sacrificing performance in order to keep TDPs in check.

This means that these processors ship with a 65W TDP - higher than Intel's top-performing mobile H solutions. This move may come in handy for some users that wonder regarding upgradeability of a given AIO they're eyeing - if it comes with a Core-B processor, you know it won't be user-serviceable, much less upgradeable. The line-up will start with the Core i7-8700B, i5-8500B, and i5-8400 (yes, there's an absence of a B there) processors, all shipping with a 65 W TDP, and equivalent to their desktop counterparts - core counts, base frequencies, turbo frequencies, memory support, Optane support, and integrated graphics are all the same. The only difference is that these CPUs are likely - and should be expected - to be placed into TDP-limited scenarios enabled through firmware.

Intel today expanded its 8th generation Core desktop processor family, to include xx new models across its Core i7, Core i5, and Core i3 brand extensions. The company also introduced entry-level Pentium Gold and Celeron processors. The chips are based on the 14 nm "Coffee Lake" silicon, and are compatible with socket LGA1151 motherboards based on Intel 300-series chipset. Intel has relegated dual-core to the Celeron and Pentium Gold brands. The Celeron series includes 2-core/2-thread chips with 3 MB L3 cache; while the Pentium Gold series includes 2-core/4-thread chips with 4 MB L3 cache.

The company is launching the 8th generation Celeron series with two models, the G4900 and the G4920, clocked at 3.10 GHz, and 3.20 GHz, respectively. The Pentium Gold family has three parts, the G5400, the G5500, and the G5600, clocked at 3.70 GHz, 3.80 GHz, and 3.90 GHz, respectively. The 8th generation Core i3 family of 4-core/4-thread parts receives a new member, the i3-8300. Endowed with 8 MB of L3 cache, this chip is clocked at 3.70 GHz, and sits between the i3-8100 and the i3-8350K, but lacks the unlocked multiplier of the latter.

Ahead of their launch later this quarter, SiSoft SANDRA benchmarks of Intel 8th generation Core i7-8700K and Core i5-8400 six-core processors surfaced in benchmark databases, which were promptly compared to their predecessors by HotHardware. The results put to the test Intel's claims of "over 40 percent more performance" compared to the 7th generation Core processors, which the company made in its 8th Generation Core Launch Event presentation. A bulk of these performance increases are attributed to the increasing core-count over generation, which directly yields higher multi-threaded performance; while a small but significant portion of it is attributed to increases in single-threaded performance. Since the "Coffee Lake" micro-architecture is essentially a refresh of the "Skylake" architecture, single-threaded performance increases could be attributed to higher clock speeds.

The Core i7-8700K is the top-dog of the 8th generation Core mainstream-desktop processor family. This six-core chip was compared to the product it succeeds in Intel's MSDT product-stack, the quad-core Core i7-7700K. There is a 45 percent increase in performance, in the "processor arithmetic" test; and a 47 percent increase in the "processor multimedia" test. These two test-suites are multi-threaded, and hence benefit from the two added cores, which in turn add four additional logical CPUs, thanks to HyperThreading. "Processor cryptography" sees a 12 percent increase. The single-precision and double-precision "Scientific Analysis" tests, which again are multi-threaded, see 26 percent and 32 percent performance gains over the i7-7700K, respectively.

In what could be a decisive response from Intel towards AMD's recent Ryzen success and core count democratization, reports are making the rounds that Intel is preparing for a shakedown of sorts of its i7 and i5 CPU line-up under the upcoming Coffee Lake architecture. We recently saw (and continue to see) AMD deliver much more interesting propositions than Intel in a pure power/performance/core ratio. And Intel seems to know that its lineup is in dire need of revision, if it wants to stop its market dominant position from bleeding too much.

A report from Canard PC claims that Intel will thoroughly revise its CPU lineup for the Coffee Lake architecture, with an i7-8700K six-core, 12-thread processor being the top offering. This 8700K is reported to deliver its 12 threads at a 3.7 GHz base clock, and a 95 W TDP. These are comparable to AMD's Ryzen 5 1600X processor, which ships with the same six cores and 12 threads under the same TDP, though it has 100 MHz less in base clock speed. However, AMD's Ryzen 5 1600X does retail for about $249 - and you can go even lower to Ryzen 5 1600's $219 - which probably won't happen with Intel's top of the line i7 offering. A slight mention towards the Ryzen 7's 95 W TDP - the same as this reported i7 8700K - even though it has 2 more physical cores, and 4 extra threads.