EA's latest RPG, Split Fiction, launched to much fanfare from critics and gamers alike, with its unorthodox gameplay style and a focus on co-op setting it apart from other recent game releases. It seems as though this early launch success has carried over to financial success for EA and the game's developer, beating out even the massively popular It Takes Two, which also came from Hazelight Studios. As of the time of writing, SteamDB reports that Split Fiction has garnered a peak concurrent player count of 259,003 players.

Hazelight Studios today also announced that it had sold over 2 million copies of Split Fiction in the game's first week. For comparison, this is twice as many sales as the recently cancelled Price of Persia: The Lost Crown managed in the year since it released. Hazelight's previous co-op hit, It Takes Two, peaked at just over 70,000 concurrent players nearly three years after its initial launch. Compared to other Steam games, Split Fiction currently sits in 51st place when it comes to peak concurrent player counts, just behind Rust but ahead of The Finals. It's worth mentioning that Split Fiction is also a full price game, coming in at $49.99 on Steam, while the majority of the other games in the top 50 ranking are free-to-play.

On more than one occasion, Assassin's Creed Shadows developer, Ubisoft, has assured gamers that the upcoming Assassin's Creed title set in feudal Japan would be playable on the Steam Deck and, by extension, desktop Linux, via Valve's Proton. Ubisoft, however, was seemingly convinced that Shadows would not get the official Steam Deck Verified rating in time for release. In mid-February 2025, Ubisoft confirmed via a Steam Community post that the Steam Deck did not meet the minimum hardware requirements necessary for a smooth gameplay experience, but today, Ubisoft announced that Assassin's Creed Shadows will be Steam Deck Verified on launch day.

This comes after Ubisoft also announced that Assassin's Creed Shadows will also support day-one Steam Achievements, as opposed to other Assassin's Creed games, which only got Steam Achievements later on. According to the post announcing the Steam Deck Verified status, Ubisoft's development team had to put significant work into optimizing Assassin's Creed Shadows to get it to run properly on the Steam Deck. Perhaps somewhat frustratingly, it seems as though Ubisoft is forcing Steam Deck players into a pre-determined set of graphics settings, with no ability to tweak them at launch on the Steam Deck. There will apparently be multiple upscalers from which players can choose, although Ubisoft did not specify what the options would be.

If you want to learn to code, then take a look at this bundle that pairs Microsoft Visual Studio Pro 2022 with the Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle. It's a comprehensive introduction to programming paired with an industry-standard tool for mobile and desktop app development. It's on sale for $55.97.

Visual Studio Pro is a 64-bit IDE from Microsoft that handles larger workloads and supports multiple languages and platforms. It's ideal for cross-platform app development with.NET MAUI and web UI creation using Blazor. It also supports development, debugging, and testing for.NET and C++ apps on Linux.

A lifetime license for Microsoft Visual Studio Pro 2022 and Lifetime Access to the Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle is now available for $55.97 (reg. $1,999).

Samsung Foundry could abandon its 1.4 nm (SF1.4) process node initially targeted for 2027 production, according to industry leaker @Jukanlosreve. This decision comes amid ongoing yield problems with the company's 3 nm SF3 node and follows the shutdown of underutilized 5 nm and 7 nm production lines. This could significantly impact Samsung's technology roadmap, which had positioned SF1.4 alongside automotive-focused SF2A and SF2Z nodes. According to Korea Economic Daily data, the foundry division's market share has fallen to 8.2% compared to TSMC's 67.1%. Samsung continues the development of Exynos 2600 on the SF2 node and maintains orders from Japan's Preferred Networks but has failed to attract major clients beyond Chinese firms, avoiding US sanctions. Internal restructuring appears imminent, with reports suggesting the Exynos design team may move under the Mobile Experience division.

While Samsung may prioritize improving yields on existing nodes rather than pursuing SF1.4, this approach risks competitive disadvantages in high-performance computing and AI markets. The SF2Z node with Backside Power Delivery Network (BPDN) technology remains under development, though its commercial viability depends on resolving broader manufacturing issues. Samsung's retreat would further fall behind advanced node manufacturing, competing with TSMC and potentially Intel, raising questions about competition in leading-edge semiconductor fabrication. The company's decisions in the coming months will determine whether it can regain manufacturing credibility or face production of trailing-edge semiconductor nodes. Manufacturing advanced silicon remains a challenge for everyone except TSMC.

Hon Hai Technology Group ("Foxconn") today announced its full year and fourth quarter 2024 financial results.

Full year 2024 net profit reached NT$152.7 billion, resulting in earnings per share of NT$11.01, a 17-year-high. At the same time, the Group announced that it will distribute a cash dividend of NT$5.80 per share, a record level since it's listing in 1991. Despite significant changes in global tariff policies, geopolitical risks and monetary policies, the outlook for 2025 is for strong growth. The company also shared key developments around its three major smart platforms, as well as on AI and EV in 2025.

Konami Digital Entertainment, B.V. today revealed new information about the latest entry in the legendary SILENT HILL franchise: SILENT HILL f. Set in the 1960s Japan, this chilling new installment immerses players in an eerie and haunting world where horror and psychological tension intertwine in an unforgettable narrative experience to find beauty in terror.

A New Story Set in 1960s Japan
In the remote mountain town of Ebisugaoka, teenager Shimizu Hinako leads an unremarkable life—until a thick fog descends, transforming her once-familiar home into a desolate and terrifying place. With the town seemingly abandoned and an unknown, creeping menace lurking in the mist, Hinako must navigate the spectral remnants of her past, solve intricate puzzles, and battle horrifying entities to survive.

NVIDIA has published a research paper on DLSS version 4, its AI rendering technology for real-time graphics performance. The system integrates advancements in frame generation, ray reconstruction, and latency reduction. The flagship Multi-Frame Generation feature generates three additional frames for every native frame. The DLSS 4 later on brings the best looking frames to the user quickly to make is seem like a real rendering. At the core of DLSS 4 is a shift from convolutional neural networks to transformer models. These new AI architectures excel at capturing spatial-temporal dependencies, improving ray-traced affect quality by 30-50% according to NVIDIA's benchmarks. The technology processes each AI-generated frame in just 1 ms on RTX 5090 GPUs—significantly faster than the 3.25 ms required by DLSS 3. For competitive gaming, the new Reflex Frame Warp feature reduces input latency by up to 75%, achieving 14 ms in THE FINALS and under 3 ms in VALORANT, according to NVIDIA's own benchmarks.

DLSS 4's implementation leverages Blackwell-specific architecture capabilities, including FP8 tensor cores and fused CUDA kernels. The optimized pipeline incorporates vertical layer fusion and memory optimizations that keep computational overhead manageable despite using transformer models, which are twice as large as previous CNN implementations. This efficiency enables real-time performance even with the substantially more complex AI processing. The unified AI pipeline reduces manual tuning requirements for ray-traced effects, allowing studios to implement advanced path tracing across diverse hardware configurations. The design also addresses gaming challenges like interpolating fast-moving UI elements and particle effects and reducing artifacts in high-motion scenes. NVIDIA's hardware flip metering and Blackwell-induced display engine integration ensure precise frame pacing of newly generated frames for smooth, high-refresh-rate gaming, with accurate imagery.

TRENDnet, a global leader and award-winning provider of reliable networking, surveillance, transportation, and power solutions, is announcing today that it has launched PoE++ switches featuring GaN power technology. GaN (gallium-nitride) technology delivers power with increased efficiency with a smaller carbon footprint.

TRENDnet's first two network switches featuring GaN power technology are the 6-Port 2.5G GaN Power PoE++ Switch with 10G SFP+ Ports (TPE-BG5062), and the 9-Port 2.5G GaN Power PoE++ Switch with 10G SFP+ Port (TPE-BG5091). Both switches feature high-efficiency GaN internal power supplies, and deliver up to 95 watts of PoE power per port, ideal for power hungry PoE devices, such as advanced security cameras, high-power access points, digital signage, and access controls.

MSI has officially confirmed that it will not manufacture graphics cards based on AMD's latest RDNA 4 architecture, effectively bypassing the entire Radeon RX 9000 series lineup. In a statement to Tom's Hardware, an MSI representative briefly noted the company "is not manufacturing AMD GPUs this generation," pausing its AMD partnership while leaving the door open for future collaborations. Data compiled by Tom's Hardware shows MSI produced 45 distinct models during the RDNA 2 generation (RX 6000-series), but dramatically scaled back to just four custom designs for RDNA 3 (RX 7000-series)—representing a 91% reduction in AMD SKU diversity. Those limited RDNA 3 offerings, including the flagship RX 7900 XTX, notably reused cooling solutions from previous-generation AMD cards, indicating reduced R&D allocation compared to the company's NVIDIA lineup.

MSI's withdrawal from offering AMD-based solutions is due to several factors. NVIDIA's dominance in market share (83%, according to Steam hardware surveys) provides partners with stronger return-on-investment potential, while EVGA's 2022 exit from the GPU market created an opportunity for MSI to strengthen its position as a premier NVIDIA partner. There were reportedly delays in finalizing the MSRP for the RX 9000 series, which complicated manufacturers' calculations, production planning, and shipments. The vacuum left by MSI creates potential opportunities for other emerging players like Acer, which has been slowly expanding its AMD graphics card presence. However, MSI's decision—likely finalized during earlier strategic planning cycles—could potentially push away AMD enthusiasts despite strong projected demand for the Radeon RX 9070 series. Whether this represents a permanent strategic realignment or a temporary market response, we are yet to find out. AMD plans to return to the high-end GPU segment with its UDNA generation, so we have to wait and see if MSI makes a comeback here. For AIBs, partnerships with GPU makers are essential to get R&D resources behind a new product. Once partnerships pause, it is hard to get that wheel going again.

ASUS has discreetly modified its controversial Q-Release Slim mechanism in the newly launched ROG Crosshair X870E Apex motherboard, removing a metal bracket linked to GPU PCIe connector scratches. The unannounced revision, spotted by Uniko's Hardware, follows months of backlash from enthusiasts who reported cosmetic damage to high-end GPUs after repeated use of the quick-release feature. While ASUS has not formally addressed the redesign, it acknowledges the issue—a stark contrast to its earlier dismissal of concerns as "typical wear-and-tear" after 60+ removal cycles. The controversy, first spotted in January 2025, escalated when users shared evidence of scratched PCIe pins on platforms like Reddit and Bilibili.

ASUS's global responses varied sharply: its US division downplayed functional risks, while ASUS China rolled out compensation, including motherboard replacements and store credits, and confirmed a redesign was underway. This regional split shows differing consumer protection norms, with China's aggressive compensation contrasting Western markets' reliance on warranty assurances. Competitors seized the moment. GIGABYTE's AORUS Japan publicly mocked ASUS with a 100-cycle stress test of its EZ Latch Plus, showcasing zero GPU damage—a direct jab at Q-Release Slim's durability. The campaign, echoed by GIGABYTE's Western accounts, emphasized rivalries in the premium motherboard segment. ASUS's quiet hardware fix avoids a formal recall, likely due to the niche impact—frequent GPU swaps are rare among mainstream users.

Without making any official announcement, Colorful silently listed a new AMD B850 microATX (244 mm x 235 mm) motherboard on their Chinese website: the Battle-AX B850M-E Wi-Fi V14. The model is clearly oriented toward entry-level builds and users on a tight budget, a sharp contrast to the CVN B850I Gaming Frozen that Colorful introduced this week. Built around AMD's B850 chipset, it supports the latest AMD AM5 Ryzen 7000, 8000, and 9000 series processors. The two DDR5 dual-channel memory slots can accommodate up to 96 GB (max. 48 GB per slot), with a maximum speed of 7600 MHz (OC) and support for both XMP and EXPO. For storage and expansion, the motherboard offers 2x M.2 slots (1x PCIe 5.0 x4 and 1x PCIe 4.0 x4), one PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, and one PCIe 4.0 x4 slot. It also features a Realtek RTL8111K for 1GbE wired connectivity and Intel's AX200 Wi-Fi 6 with Bluetooth 5.2 for wireless connections.

The build is "very spartan," so to speak, with a black PCB, a single 8-pin EPS power connector for the CPU, no integrated I/O rear shield panel or VRM cooling—the only heatsink present is the one covering the AMD B850 chipset. Regarding power delivery, it seems that Colorful used a simple (budget-friendly) 7+2 phase approach. The rear I/O panel offers a surprise: an ancient PS/2 port (just wondering who's going to use it aside from some retro-nostalgic users). Then we have the usual array of connectors, including six USB ports (4x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1), DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 2.0, Gigabit RJ45, two Wi-Fi antenna ports, audio jacks, and one BIOS reset/update button (placed just next to the PS/2 port).

Seagate Technology Holdings plc, a leading innovator of mass-capacity data storage, today released its Seagate Genshin Impact Limited Edition External SSD in collaboration with the popular open-world adventure RPG Genshin Impact. In combining performance with exclusive branding, the drive provides an opportunity for fans and collectors to bring Genshin Impact into their physical gaming environment. The new Seagate Genshin Impact Limited Edition External SSD provides a unique storage experience for regular players and gaming enthusiasts alike. The drive features a meticulously crafted design inspired by the character Cyno and comes equipped with vibrant LED lighting, making it a distinctive addition to any setup.

The drive is compatible with various platforms—including PC, mobile phone, PlayStation and Xbox consoles, as well as Windows and macOS operating systems. Its PCIe Gen 4 compatibility offers ultra-fast transfer speeds, enabling faster pro-level gaming, video editing, and content creation. It is easy to install and features a high-speed USB 3.2 Type C interface to ensure seamless transfers and backup.

AEWIN is excited to unveil the SCB-1953 Series, 2U/1U performant network appliances powered by Intel's latest Xeon 6 processors built upon Intel 3. Equipped with a single Intel Xeon 6700/6500-series processor, it is a series of flagship products supporting up to 144 E-cores or 86 P-cores for high density and compute-intensive workloads pursued in the market. SCB-1953 series has multiple SKU with various PCIe slots options for exceptional scalability to fulfill customers' diverse solution requirements.

SCB-1953-2U is a 2U network computing platform with 8x DDR5 RDIMM up to 6400 MT/s or MRDIMM up to 8000 MT/s. The series of SCB-1953-2U has 4x 8038 fans with BMC control for optimized thermal management. One is SCB-1953A featuring 8x PCIe 5.0 expansion slots for AEWIN wide coverage NIC cards with 1G/10/25/40/100G/200G copper/fiber interfaces or other Accelerators & NVMe SSDs for flexible functionality enhancement. The other is SCB-1953C supporting 1x PCIe x16 slot by switching two PCIe slots to one standard PCIe form factor which can install off-the-shelf add-on card for expanded function required.

This morning on The Official Xbox Podcast, Xbox Corporate Vice President of Gaming AI, Fatima Kardar joined Vice President of Next Generation, Jason Ronald to reveal exciting AI-powered updates that are coming directly to Xbox players, to help you save time, find new games you're likely to love, or even to help ease you back into a game you may have stepped away from.

Copilot for Gaming Asset
On the podcast, Kardar introduced Copilot for Gaming, which Xbox Insiders can get an early preview of on mobile soon. This AI-driven sidekick is designed to be your personalized gaming companion, helping you get to your favorite games faster, coaching you to improve your skills, and connecting you better with your friends and communities. Copilot for Gaming will be there when you need it but out of the way if you don't.

Razer's essential ergonomic chair, Razer Iskur V2 X, debuts a Light Gray, in one of the lightest colorways we've announced. The essential gaming chair is designed with the core ergonomic features of our award-winning Razer Iskur V2 to provide unparalled ergonomic support at an accessible price point.

Key Features of the Razer Iskur V2 X Light Gray

• Core Ergonomics: Retains the integral lumbar support and high-density foam cushions from the Iskur V2, ensuring optimal posture and comfort during extended gaming sessions.
• Adjustable Design: Features the 152-degree recline that gamers loved with the Iskur V2 and Enki Line, with adjustable 2D armrests, allowing for personalized comfort and support.
• Breathable Materials: Upholstered with multi-layered fibers for enhanced breathability and cooling even during long hours of gaming.
• Sleek Aesthetic: Available in a stylish light gray finish that complements any gamer's space while providing superior comfort and support.

Get ready, anime fans! Starforge Systems, the Austin-based PC manufacturer known for their highly customized pre-built gaming systems, is suiting up for their latest anime-inspired Limited Edition PC based on the ultra-popular series, Kaiju No. 8. Ahead of the second season slated to debut later this year, this monstrous rig includes Kaiju No. 8 themed plate light inserts, a high-quality desk mat and striking wall art showcasing characters and scenes widely celebrated in the series.

The Kaiju No. 8 PC from Starforge Systems is a Honju sized gaming machine. Equipped with a 9070 XT from AMD and an Intel Core i5-14600K, this machine is sleek and deadly as a monster can be. Built in an embossed Lian Li O11 Evo RGB the details on this case light up and glow from the custom Starforge Plate Light that serves as this kaiju's core.

To celebrate this year's March 14th, aka International Pi Day 2025, we are pleased to officially announce the BC1 Pi. The Raspberry Pi transformed computing with its compact size, affordability, and versatility, making it a favorite among hobbyists and engineers. As creators of the BC1 Open Benchtable, we know a thing or two about what goes into making a well-designed and durable test bench. Now, we're bringing that same philosophy to the Raspberry Pi with our new BC1 Pi - Open Benchtable - the perfect solution for testing, tinkering, and prototyping with your Raspberry Pi.

The BC1 Legacy
The BC1 Open Benchtable Pi brings the award-winning test bench to the world of single-board computers and Raspberry Pi. Following the legacy of the award-winning BC1 Open Benchtable series, the BC1 Open Benchtable Pi combines a sleek, premium look with toolless design.

In something of a surprise, Epic Games today announced that it is working with Qualcomm to integrate support for the Qualcomm Snapdragon X CPUs into Easy Anti-Cheat, officially adding Fortnite to the list of games that are available for Windows on Arm. According to the post announcing the upcoming change to EAC, support for Windows on Arm in Fortnite will arrive before the end of 2025. Until the EAC update arrives, EAC will block Windows on Arm players from playing games like Fortnite because Windows on Arm devices use Prism emulation and translation to run x86 apps on Arm hardware. At the time of writing, the unofficial Windows on Arm app compatibility tracker lists a total of 675 apps as compatible with the Arm SoCs, 121 of which are games. This is compared to 17,955 games that are verified or playable on the Steam Deck via Valve's Proton translation layer, according to ProtonDB.

Expanding support for EAC to Windows on Arm could also allow games like Apex Legends and Fall Guys to run on Arm devices. This news comes in spite of the slow adoption of Windows on Arm devices, which Epic Games CEO, Tim Sweeney infamously quoted as the reason for not supporting the Steam Deck or Linux as a platform. "If we only had a few more programmers. It's the Linux problem. I love the Steam Deck hardware. Valve has done an amazing job there; I wish they would get to tens of millions of users, at which point it would actually make sense to support it." However, market share for Windows on Arm still appears to fall short of the market share Linux commands in the desktop OS space.

The next evolution of Rainbow Six Siege was revealed today at the Siege X Showcase. Launching on June 10, Siege X will introduce Dual Front, a dynamic new 6v6 game mode, as well as deliver foundational upgrades to the core game (including visual enhancements, an audio overhaul, rappel upgrades, and more) alongside revamped player protection systems, and free access that will allow players to experience the unique tactical action of Rainbow Six Siege at no cost. Plus, from now through March 19, a free Dual Front closed beta is live on PC via Ubisoft Connect, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, giving players a first chance to play the exciting new mode. Read on to find out how to get into the beta and try Dual Front for yourself.

Dual Front
Taking place on an entirely new map called District, Dual Front is a new mode that pits two teams of six Operators against each other in a fight to attack enemy sectors while defending their own. Players can choose from a curated roster of 35 Operators—both Attackers and Defenders - that will rotate twice per season. During each match, two objective points are live at all times, one in each team's lane; teams must plant a sabotage kit (akin to a defuser) in the opposing team's objective room and defend it in order to capture the sector and progress towards the final objective: the Base. Sabotage the Base to claim victory, but don't forget to defend your own sector, lest your foes progress faster than you and beat you to it.

A much-rumored remake of Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) action role-playing game was the subject of recent debate; online tipsters proposed that the unannounced modernized version was on track for a potential mid-2025 launch. Going back to 2023, an ex-member of Virtuos—a Singapore, China-based video game development company—made claims on Reddit about the remake/remaster's apparent existence. Earlier this year, MP1st managed to extract further details from another ex-Virtuos team member—an accidental leak provided insight into the leaked project's technological underpinnings; Unreal Engine 5. According to MP1st's report, the "fully remade" version could arrive with updated gameplay systems and a much-improved HUD.

NatetheHate—a noted provider of video game insider knowledge—has adjusted his launch timeframe for Bethesda's "outsourced" Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remake project. Previously, he predicted a June 2025 release window. An adjusted schedule brings things forward—as disclosed by an interaction on social media. The soothsayer reckons that Microsoft's flagship ARPG development team will make a related announcement: "either this month (March), or next month...likely sooner than the original June target, but still working to get details on an updated release date." In their coverage of NatetheHate's latest proclamation, Video Games Chronicle (VGC) cited other unnamed sources—based on word of mouth, they believe that the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remake will launch in April. The VGC article touches on Virtuos being a veteran in the business of porting older/existing AAA titles to modern hardware platforms.

What's better than first-person sprayer PowerWash Simulator? A second PowerWash Simulator! That's right, we're thrilled to finally be able to talk about the next soap-erior sequel in our beloved franchise, PowerWash Simulator 2, coming in 2025 to Steam, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and Epic Games Store. Available to wish list now on your platform of choice. Those of you who are eagle-eyed Game Pass fans may have enjoyed the original already, but for those unfamiliar with the concept, let me give you the rinse. PowerWash Simulator is what it says on the tin: find yourself in a mess, clean it up, build your business, become deeply immersed in soothing satisfaction, and indulge in some fascinating lore, including a mayor, a cat and… aliens?

That sounds random, but this game has been so beloved (by over 17 million of you!) that we wanted to give you more. Design Director Dan Chequer tells us a little more about why a sequel was the natural next step. "PowerWash Simulator has exceeded our expectations by taking off in the incredible way it has. Although we've added a huge amount of incredible content to the original game, we built and designed the game over four years ago when we never expected it to become so large. As a result, it has some technological limitations keeping us from adding new and interesting features. So, it made sense to start discussing where we could go from here."

Nintendo seems to readying a speculated mid-2025 launch of the much-anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 hybrid games console, according to industry watchdogs. International preview events are scheduled to happen throughout April, so online theories have settled on potential May or June release windows. Members of Famiboards—a Nintendo discussion forum—have kept tabs on a wide variety of pre-launch information outlets, going back to 2021. Their latest tracking activities—with eyes firmly trained on shipping manifests—have produced compelling evidence of Switch 2 materials turning up on North American shores in the recent past. A Famiboards detective detailed their discoveries: "so, it finally happened. HVBG exported 383,000 units of the completed console set between January 17th and January 22nd. They were all shipped to the US, and all were of the USZ (US/Canada) region code. 41,598 units of the charging grip were also shipped to the US, confirming that HGU0620 is the charging grip with a product code of BEE-A-ESSKA, which matches the Switch 1 charging grip's HAC-A-ESSKA."

Nintendo's mid-January unveiling of Switch 2 served as a refreshing break from the norm; the Japanese gaming giant operates under very secretive conditions. Their early 2025 teaser showcased a device that seemed to recycle its predecessor's feature set, but the CGI trailer implied mouse-like functionality. Patent leaks have provided further insight into the design of Nintendo's next-gen Joy-Con. Last month, Shuntaro Furukawa—the company's president—disclosed that his team was taking "all possible measures" to provide sufficient stock for Switch 2's launch window. This week's insider investigation paints a promising picture, at least for potential North American buyers: "383k is a decent-sized shipment, but I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers increase. HVBG had received 1.2 million units of one-per-system parts like the SoC and screen as of December, and 1.7 million as of January, and we can expect 100% of those to end up in units shipped to the US. One thing we can learn from the shipments is that the console set is not a bundle."

We dedicated a lot of our launch presentation of Framework Desktop to the Ryzen AI Max processor it uses, and for a good reason. These truly unique, ultra-high-performance parts are the culmination of decades of technology and architecture investments that AMD has made, going all the way back to their acquisition of ATI in 2006. For our first technical deep dive on Framework Desktop, we're going to go even deeper into Ryzen AI Max and what makes it a killer processor for gaming, workstation, and AI workloads.

What makes Ryzen AI Max special is a combination of three elements: full desktop-class Zen 5 CPU cores, a massive 40-CU Radeon RDNA 3.5 GPU, and a giant 256-bit LPDDR5x memory bus to feed the two, supporting up to 128 GB of memory. Chips and Cheese did an excellent technical overview of the processor with AMD that goes even deeper on this, and we'll pull out some of the highlights along with our own insights. We'll start with the CPUs. Ryzen AI Max supports up to 16 CPU cores split across two 4 nm FinFET dies that AMD calls CCDs. These dies are connected together using an extremely wide, low power, low latency bus across the package substrate. The CPUs are full Zen 5 cores with 512-bit FPUs and support for AVX-512, a vector processing instruction set otherwise only available on Intel's top end server CPUs. We're excited for you to see the multicore performance numbers these CPUs can do in our upcoming press review cycle!

A farcical "GIGABYTE RTX 5090 Super Bundle" was highlighted by PC hardware media outlets last week—the steep demand for flagship and high-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50-series "Blackwell" graphics cards has prompted the creation of many "innovative" anti-scalper selling strategies. Another ludicrous example has emerged courtesy of fresh news coverage focusing on an "EliteHubs x COLORFUL RTX 5080 Campaign." This competition is open to residents of India—EliteHubs advertises itself as a popular regional "computer accessories store and Esports tournament organizer." Unfortunately, current global market conditions have inflated prices of recently launched new generation graphics card models—the "EliteHubs x COLORFUL RTX 5080 Campaign" apparently rallies against such practices, albeit in an extremely limited fashion. The competition's author delivered crucial details: "we're thrilled to announce an exclusive opportunity where three lucky winners will each receive a brand-new COLORFUL RTX 5080 Ultra White OC graphics card—one unit per person! This powerhouse graphics card is available at the official NVIDIA MSRP of Rs. 1,10,000 (~$1265 USD)."

According to TechSpot, a quick investigation revealed that the advertised cost of ownership was accurate—they noted: "checking other online stores in India shows all the COLORFUL RTX 5080 Ultra W OC models are priced above that MSRP. This is a higher-end third-party card, admittedly, so it appears participants are getting the chance to buy it at a slightly cheaper price than usual. Still, most people expect competitions to have actual prizes, and the fact there will be only three winners is a bit comical." Prior to official launch—in late January—a Vietnamese customer managed to bag themselves the same model for a princely sum of $1400. VideoCardz did not receive a response from COLORFUL, prior to the publication of their news coverage. The Chinese AIB did not provide comment when asked about said promotional campaign.

Focus Entertainment Publishing, a subsidiary of PULLUP Entertainment Group, Games Workshop, and Saber Interactive are proud to announce the development of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3, the next instalment in the legendary franchise set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Space Marine 2 continues to captivate players, and this new edition promises an even more immersive experience, staying true to the Warhammer 40,000 universe, with intense, brutal, and spectacular gameplay.

GIGABYTE, the world's leading computer brand, announced that its groundbreaking MO27U2 QD-OLED monitor is now available. As the industry-leading 27-inch 4K 240 Hz QD-OLED gaming monitor, the MO27U2 delivers ultra-crisp visuals with a remarkable 166 PPI, setting a new benchmark in clarity and precision for its popular size. The MO27U2 is engineered to redefine visual excellence in the QD-OLED display industry with cutting-edge Tandem OLED panel technology, upgraded Tactical Features, and Graphene Thermal Film Technology.

With built-in G-Sync support and seamless integration with the latest GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards featuring DLSS4, the MO27U2 delivers an extraordinary 4K 240 Hz gaming experience. Its high 166 PPI ensures every detail is rendered with exceptional clarity, while advanced color accuracy is achieved with delta E≤2, 99% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, and Pantone Validated certification. Additionally, its 0.03 ms gray-to-gray response time ensures super smooth, low-latency visuals.

Dear Spectre Fans, it's been two weeks since we launched Spectre Divide Season 1: Flashpoint. We're incredibly grateful for the positivity and support that you've shown over that short time. Unfortunately, the Season 1 launch hasn't achieved the level of success we needed to sustain the game and keep Mountaintop afloat. We were optimistic about the first week. We've had ~400,000 players play, with a peak concurrent player count of ~10,000 across all platforms. But as time has gone on, we haven't seen enough active players and incoming revenue to cover the day-to-day costs of Spectre and the studio. Since the PC launch, we stretched our remaining capital as far as we could, but at this point, we're out of funding to support the game. This means Mountaintop will be closing its doors at the end of this week.

We expect to take Spectre offline within the next 30 days, but we plan on disabling new purchases and refunding money spent since Season 1 launch via the platforms. We'll be following up with more information on this soon. We pursued every avenue to keep going, including finding a publisher, additional investment, and/or an acquisition. In the end, we weren't able to make it work. The industry is in a tough spot right now. This is a painful update to share. We love Spectre, and we're incredibly proud of what we built with this community. From the entire team at Mountaintop, I want to thank the Spectre community for all your support these past few years. We've loved every minute, and we're sincerely going to miss you. Special thanks to our incredible investors too, without which Spectre wouldn't have been possible.

Late last month, industry insiders posited that pleasing progress was being made with Samsung's cutting-edge 2 nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) node process. The rumored abandonment of an older 3 nm GAA-based project—in late 2024—has likely sent the South Korean foundry team into overdrive. A speculated Exynos 2500 flagship mobile processor was previously linked to said 3 nm node, but industry watchdogs believe that company engineers are experimenting with a 2 nm GAA manufacturing process. According to the latest insider report—from FN News SK—Samsung Foundry (SF) has assembled a special "task force (TF)." Allegedly, this elite team will be dedicated to getting a newer "Exynos 2600 chip" over the finish line—suggesting an abandonment of the older "2500" design, or a simple renaming.

Samsung's recent launch of Galaxy S25 series smartphones was reportedly viewed as a disappointing compromise—with all models being powered by Qualcomm's "first-of-its-kind customized Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform," instead of in-house devised chipsets. According to industry moles, one of the SF task force's main goals is a boosting of 2 nm GAA production yields up to "economically viable" levels (roughly 60-70%)—apparently last month's best result was ~30%. Mass production of prototype chipsets is tipped to start by May. Samsung's reported target of "stabilizing their Exynos 2600" SoC design will ensure that "Galaxy S26 series" devices will not become reliant on Qualcomm internals. Additionally, FN News proposes a bigger picture scenario: "the stabilization of 2 nm (SF2/GAA) products, is expected to speed up the acquisition of customers for Samsung Electronics' foundry division, which is thirsty for leading-edge process customers." A forthcoming rival next-gen mobile chip—Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2—is supposedly in the pipeline. The smartphone industry inside track reckons that Qualcomm has signed up with TSMC; with a 2 nm manufacturing process in mind.

Intel's 18A node, often referred to as Intel's silver lining, has just produced tangible result. In a LinkedIn post of Intel's engineering manager Pankaj Marria, we learn that Intel's 18A node is now being produced in initial wafer lots for testing and evaluation by Intel's customers. This means that Intel's 18A node PDK is officially in version 1.0, and customers are already using that PDK for testing of custom chips. "The Eagle has landed," noted the post, referring to the node development as a major milestone for a node developed and made in US. There were even posters with the same slogans being brought up, meaning that possible customers are also happy with inital test runs. With high-volume manufacturing slated for second half of 2025, we could even see 18A HVM going before initial targets.

Intel's leadership transition to CEO Lip-Bu Tan has overlapped with a recalibration of corporate messaging around the foundry business. Tan's internal communication explicitly frames Intel's strategy as a dual-track approach that maintains both product development and foundry services under unified corporate governance. This position counters speculation regarding potential foundry spinoff scenarios, though it doesn't categorically exclude future structural changes. Previous industry rumors had outlined potential joint venture configurations involving TSMC and major US semiconductor firms, including AMD, Broadcom, and NVIDIA, taking equity positions in a separate foundry entity. While such arrangements remain theoretically viable, Tan's emphasis on fab strategic importance aligns with predecessor Pat Gelsinger's manufacturing-centric vision, suggesting continuity in Intel's Foundry and Product model despite market pressure.

On May 20, Dune: Awakening, the first-ever open-world, multiplayer survival game set on Arrakis, will launch. In today's new video, Funcom is proud to show the scale and scope of the desert planet, which is inspired by Frank Herbert's legendary sci-fi novel and Legendary Entertainment's award-winning films. Discover what lies beyond the horizon in Exploring Arrakis - Secrets of the Desert.

Although a desert planet, Arrakis is surprisingly diverse, as showcased in the recent Beauty of Arrakis video. Reveal the resources of your immediate surroundings through your personal scanner and modules attached to your vehicles, or climb the highest peaks to launch a survey probe that fills in a large area of your map, including important points of interest, like shipwrecks or ecology labs.

CHIEFTEC introduces the Hunter 3 (GS-03B-OP) and Night Hunter (GS-03B-BLK-OP) gaming cases, both supporting back-connect motherboards (ASUS BTF and MSI Project Zero compatible). The CHIEFTEC Hunter 3 improves on the Hunter 2 series, featuring a wider, sturdier chassis measuring 440 x 238 x 450 mm, tempered glass side panel, a perforated steel front panel (with removable dust filter), and improved radiator support. The new internal layout allows up to 360 mm radiators in the front and top, CPU coolers up to 178 mm tall, and graphics cards up to 425 mm long. It comes with four 120 mm A-RGB fans already installed, linked to a hub to sync with the motherboard and control fan speed. The front I/O panel features 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 2x USB 3.0, Audio-out (AZALIA / HD-Audio), and Mic-In ports.

CHIEFTEC Night Hunter gaming case is "the black-out, airflow-focused variant of the Hunter 3 gaming case." The main difference being the four preinstalled 140 mm fans (no RGB) versus Hunter 3 120 mm A-RGB. Both cases support Mini ITX, microATX, ATX and E-ATX motherboards and plenty of internal drive bays (3x 2.5" and 1x 3.5" / 2x 2.5" and 2x 3.5").Presentation videos follow:

We're announcing changes at Niantic that will set us on a bold new course. Nearly a decade ago, we spun out as a small team from Google with a bold vision: to use technology to overlay the world with rich digital experiences. Our goal: to inspire people to explore their surroundings and foster real-world connections, especially at a time when relationships were becoming increasingly digital. To bring this mission and technology to life, we started building games; today, more than 100 million people play our games annually, with more than a billion friend connections made across the world.

People have discovered their neighborhoods, explored new places, and moved more than 30 billion miles. They've also come together at our live events - where everyone is a participant, not just a spectator—contributing over a billion dollars in economic impact in the cities that host them. As we grew, the company naturally evolved along two complementary paths - one focused on creating games and bringing them to the world, and the other dedicated to advancing augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and geospatial technology. Meanwhile, the rapid progress in AI reinforces our belief in the future of geospatial computing to unlock new possibilities for both consumer experiences and enterprise applications. At the same time, we remain committed to creating "forever games" that will last for generations.

iBUYPOWER, a leading system integrator of high-performance custom and prebuilt gaming PCs, announced today the general availability of computer systems using AMD's new line of AMD Ryzen 9 9000X3D series CPUs - the 9900X3D and 9950X3D. Starting today, customers eager to jump into the world of PC gaming can now do so with an AMD Ryzen-equipped computer, which is backed by iBUYPOWER's comprehensive warranty consisting of three years labor and two-years parts.

AMD's Ryzen 9 9000X3D Series processors are built with exclusive AMD 3D V-Cache technology, enabling the largest on-chip memory available on a gaming processor with up-to 144 Megabytes. The new CPUs were also designed for AMD's AM5 platform, which is enabled with the fastest DDR5 memory speeds, and is equipped with PCIe 5.0 for incredible bandwidth. Those who purchase an iBUYPOWER system with a new 9000X3D Series processor can feel ultimate performance in any game or creative workload with AMD EXPO technology, which was designed for increased frequencies to unlock higher and smoother frame rates.

The PC hardware rumor mill theorized that NVIDIA would unveil its GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 graphics cards today (March 13). An official announcement has not yet transpired—at the time of writing. Earlier in the week, specification sheets for Team Green's cheaper Blackwell GPU models were leaked online—courtesy of kopite7kimi, a noted inside tracker of NVIDIA activities. Not long after that disclosure, reportage focused on an Acer Nitro N50 pre-built gaming PC—featuring an unannounced GeForce RTX 5060 GPU with 8 GB of GDDR7 SDRAM. The relatively rapid delivery of GB206 related leaks suggests that something is on the imminent release horizon.

An anonymous tip-off from a Chinese audience member has resulted in the publication of another VideoCardz investigative article. Apparently an unnamed local e-tailer provided pre-release price points (presumably including VAT) for GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 graphics card; 4299 RMB and 3799 RMB (respectively). For reference, the tipster's screenshot also included prices for various GeForce RTX 5070 models—the cheapest being 4799 RMB (~$663 USD). As noted by VideoCardz, Chinese baseline MSRP for the RTX 5070 is 4599 RMB (~$635 USD). Curiously, the webstore's entry for a non-specific GeForce RTX 5060 card designates it as a 12 GB variant. This could be a pre-launch error, based on placeholder material—recent leaks have indicated the existence of a lone GeForce RTX 5060 SKU, with 8 GB of VRAM. The GeForce RTX 5060 Ti is tipped to arrive in two forms: with 8 GB or 16 GB VRAM configurations onboard. VideoCardz has heard whispers from industry moles about a possible official lifting of new product embargoes, ahead of next week's GTC 2025 conference.

The wait is over! Our second Wicked Inside is complete. Join us; for an exclusive deep dive into the new content, features and improvements in The Breach Update as well as everything coming next for "No Rest for the Wicked." There are a few surprises along the way! Let us know what you think!

The Breach—our biggest update
You wanted more of our campaign, you wanted more story, more zones to play in, more enemies, more bosses… in short: more of everything. And that is exactly what we have been focusing on. The Breach will be launching on the 30th of April 2025. Watch our latest showcase for the detailed updates and fixes.

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.

MicroProse is thrilled to announce its publishing partnership with Adamant Studios for Knights of Frontier Valley, a challenging, old-school-inspired roguelike RPG that brings the depth, danger, and discovery of classic fantasy adventures to a living, breathing digital world.

In a major development for the RPG community, tabletop gaming legend Rob Kuntz—one of the founding pioneers of Dungeons & Dragons—joins the project to bring his unparalleled experience and creative vision to the game.

ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual and edtech solutions, has begun shipping its next-generation desktop monitor, the ColorPro VP2788-5K. Designed for seamless integration into both Mac and PC ecosystems, the VP2788-5K delivers outstanding functionality and performance, making it ideal for professional content creators, businesses, and other commercial applications.

The ViewSonic ColorPro VP2788-5K is a sleek 27-inch desktop monitor designed with precise visual performance and sharpness. Featuring stunning 5K (5120x2880) resolution, an exceptionally high pixels-per-inch, and a 99% DCI-P3 color gamut, the VP2788-5K provides a vibrant and powerful complement to Apple's scaling functionality, allowing for razor-sharp details and Retina-like clarity. With Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, the monitor provides ultra-fast data transfer and up to 100 W charging through a single cable. It also supports the daisy chaining of up to two 5K monitors for a continuous multi-display setup.

The oft-rumored status of Intel's refreshed generation of Arrow Lake processors (ARL-R) was the topic of much debate in 2023. By September 2024, certain industry watchdogs believed that the endeavor had ended. Early last month, Golden Pig Upgrade proposed that Team Blue leadership had resurrected the troubled project—at least with "ARL-S Refresh" desktop CPUs. Earlier today, the noted leaker of inside information returned to the topic of Arrow Lake Refresh. According to industry moles, the launch of refreshed desktop processors (on LGA 1851) is confirmed.

An extended timeline was disclosed in Golden Pig Upgrade's latest musing: "Arrow Lake HX Refresh is confirmed to return. Don't criticize the interface for only one generation. AI PCs are getting bigger and stronger." Given that ARL-HX-equipped high-end notebooks and mini PCs—with Core Ultra 7 200 series APUs—are relatively new arrivals, a mild update later on in the year could be considered pointless. Intel has committed themselves to a launch of Panther Lake mobile processors (PTL-H) in the second half of 2025. As disclosed by past leaks, the "beefing up" of onboard NPUs—to Lunar Lake-esque standards—is a reported goal; at least with Arrow Lake-S.

KIOXIA America, Inc. today announced the development of its new LC9 Series 122.88 terabyte (TB) capacity NVMe SSD in a 2.5-inch form factor - the first SSD built with the company's BiCS FLASH generation 8 3D flash memory technology QLC 2 terabit (Tb) die.

As AI systems become increasingly sophisticated, and data volumes continue to grow, enterprises require storage solutions that can keep pace with the complex demands of modern workloads. High-capacity drives are critical for certain phases of the AI process, including large language models (LLMs), training and storing vast datasets, vector databases and the rapid retrieval of information for inference and fine-tuning. Designed for generative AI applications, the new enterprise-class KIOXIA drive is built for capacity and provides a PCIe 5.0 interface and dual-port capability for fault tolerance or connectivity to multiple compute systems. These high-capacity QLC-based SSDs are suitable for deploying in hybrid cloud and multi-cloud systems. High-capacity SSDs feed training and inference data to AI server systems via these cloud configurations.

Today marks the launch of ASUS Vivobook S14/S16 (S3407QA/S3607QA), a pair of Copilot+ PCs engineered to be the ideal companions for everyday life.

Featuring the latest high-performance Snapdragon X processor with up to 45 TOPS NPU, these ultra-slim, lightweight laptops deliver powerful AI capabilities, extended battery life, and next-level connectivity. For work, study, or play, Vivobook S14/S16 provide an immersive entertainment experience with stunning 16:10 FHD OLED or 2.5K 144 Hz IPS displays, along with Snapdragon Sound and Dolby Atmos audio. Designed for style and durability, these devices ensure effortless AI computing with premium metallic chassis, military-grade resilience, and advanced security features for total peace of mind.

Today marks the launch of the ASUS Vivobook S14/S16 series (S3407CA/VA and S3607CA/VA), 14- and 16-inch laptops crafted for everyone.

ASUS Vivobook S14/S16 deliver outstanding performance in a sleek, lightweight design, weighing just 1.40 kg and measuring 1.59 cm thin, and featuring a durable metal chassis that ensures style and reliability for users on the go. Powered by up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor (Series 2) and a 70Wh battery offering up to 20 hours of life with fast charging, they maximize productivity. The dedicated Copilot key provides instant access to Copilot's AI assistance, while ASUS AI noise cancelation and ASUS 3D Noise Reduction (3DNR) video technology enhance conferencing. Premium 16:10 display choices—up to a stunning WUXGA OLED or an anti-glare WUXGA 144 Hz IPS panel—deliver immersive visuals for work or entertainment, and make Vivobook S14/S16 the perfect choice for everyday life.

NVIDIA ACE is a suite of RTX-accelerated digital human technologies that bring game characters to life with generative AI. Earlier this year, we unveiled AI-powered NVIDIA ACE Autonomous Game Characters, adding autonomous teammates, NPCs, and enemies to games, unlocking a whole new set of gameplay possibilities. These ACE autonomous game characters make their debut later this month in two titles. In the life simulator inZOI, players can customize "Smart Zoi" NPCs with life goals that in turn use AI to guide behavior and interactions with other NPCs.

In NARAKA: BLADEPOINT MOBILE PC VERSION, NVIDIA ACE-powered teammates help players battle enemies, hunt for loot, and fight for victory. Additionally, NVIDIA ACE technologies continue to advance, incorporating new vision and audio language models, enhancing facial animation with new model architectures, and accelerating game development with updated ACE plugins for Maya and Unreal Engine for offline authoring.

ASUS today announced its showcase of comprehensive AI infrastructure solutions at CloudFest 2025, bringing together cutting-edge hardware powered by Intel Xeon 6 processors, NVIDIA GPUs and AMD EPYC processors. The company will also highlight its integrated software platforms, reinforcing its position as a total AI solution provider for enterprises seeking seamless AI deployments from edge to cloud.

Intel Xeon 6-based AI solutions and Gaudi 3 Acceleration for generative AI inferencing and fine tuning training
ASUS Intel Xeon 6-based servers leverage the Data Center Modular Hardware System (DC-MHS) architecture, providing unparalleled scalability, cost-efficiency and simplified maintenance. ASUS will showcase a comprehensive Intel Xeon 6 family of processors at CloudFest 2025, including the RS700-E12, RS720Q-E12. and ESC8000-E12P-series servers. The ESC800-E12P-series servers will debut the Intel Gaudi 3 AI accelerator PCIe card. This lineup underscores the ASUS commitment to delivering comprehensive AI solutions that integrate cutting-edge hardware with enterprise-grade software platforms for seamless, scalable AI deployments, highlighting Intel's latest innovations for high-performance AI training, inference, and cloud-native workloads.

The 8BitDo 64 Bluetooth Controller revives the iconic N64 layout, but wrapped in an ergonomic, updated body. A precision hall-effect joystick with the original gate and signature concave rubber joystick cap. Say goodbye to the infamous loose joysticks. We're bringing back the signature C-buttons, A/B and Start—with the button sizes, positioning and feel just like the original.

Multiplayer on the N64 defined an era, and now with Analogue 3D and the 8BitDo 64 Controllers, that era is redefined. The 8BitDo 64 Controller, designed hand-in-hand with Analogue, creates an experience like no other when paired with Analogue 3D. It's a celebration of the N64, the greatest multiplayer system ever. It's Bluetooth-ready, with vibration support and platform compatibility with the new Analogue 3D, Switch, (including N64 Online) and more. Play N64 games like never before—with the best of both worlds in your hands. Available to pre-order at Amazon—MSRP $39.99.

More than 700 games and applications feature RTX technologies, and each week new games integrating NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex, and advanced ray-traced effects are released or announced, delivering the definitive PC experience for GeForce RTX players. With the addition of the latest DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation games, our newest performance multiplier is now available in over 100 games and apps, making it the most rapidly adopted NVIDIA game technology of all time.

Additionally, we can today reveal that Lost Soul Aside, Mecha BREAK, Phantom Blade Zero, Stellar Blade, Tides of Annihilation, and Wild Assault will all launch with DLSS Multi Frame Generation, and our suite of other DLSS technologies, giving GeForce RTX gamers the definitive PC experience in each. Furthermore, today we released an updated Zorah demo, built in Unreal Engine 5, that showcases the latest advancements in neural rendering powered by GeForce RTX 50 Series and AI.

Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library. Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genres of real-time strategy (RTS), multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) and more. Classic Blizzard titles join GeForce NOW, including Heroes of the Storm, Warcraft Rumble and three titles from the Warcraft: Remastered series. They're all part of 11 games joining the cloud this week, atop the latest update for hit game Zenless Zone Zero from miHoYo.

Blizzard Heats Things Up
Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard's unique take on the MOBA genre, offers fast-paced team battles across diverse battlegrounds. The game features a roster of iconic Blizzard franchise characters, each with customizable talents and abilities. Heroes of the Storm emphasizes team-based gameplay with shared experiences and objectives, making it more accessible to newcomers while providing depth for experienced players.

NVIDIA today announced ahead of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) groundbreaking enhancements to NVIDIA RTX neural rendering technologies. NVIDIA has partnered with Microsoft to bring neural shading support to the Microsoft DirectX preview in April, giving developers access to AI Tensor Cores in NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs to accelerate neural networks from within a game's graphics pipeline. Neural shading represents a revolution in graphics programming, combining AI with traditional rendering to dramatically boost frame rates, enhance image quality and reduce system resource usage.

"Microsoft is adding cooperative vector support to DirectX and HLSL, starting with a preview this April," said Shawn Hargreaves, Direct3D development manager at Microsoft. "This will advance the future of graphics programming by enabling neural rendering across the gaming industry. Unlocking Tensor Cores on NVIDIA RTX will allow developers to fully leverage RTX Neural Shaders for richer, more immersive experiences on Windows."

NVIDIA has announced that the Half-Life 2 RTX Demo will be available on March 18th and include a two-hour gameplay demo with full ray tracing, remade assets, and animations. The demo is remastered with RTX Remix by Orbifold Studios and will be a free mod on Steam for all Half-Life 2 owners.

The demo will feature NVIDIA DLSS 4, NVIDIA RTX Neural Radiance Cache, RTX Skin, RTX Volumetrics, and other new NVIDIA technologies. The release of Half-Life 2 RTX Demo marks the official release of RTX Remix, which was released a year ago in beta. According to NVIDIA, over 30,000 modders have since used the platform to mod a bunch of classic titles, with over 1 million gamers playing those modded games like Portal with RTX and Portal: prelude RTX. As said, the new demo will go live on Steam on March 18th.

Global Unichip Corp. (GUC), the Advanced ASIC Leader, today announced the successful launch of industry's first Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) PHY silicon, achieving a data rate of 32 Gbps per lane, the highest speed defined in the UCIe specification. The 32G UCIe IP, supporting UCIe 2.0, delivers an impressive bandwidth density of 10 Tbps per 1 mm of die edge (5 Tbps/mm full-duplex). This milestone was achieved using TSMC's advanced N3P process and CoWoS packaging technologies, targeting AI, high-performance computing (HPC), xPU, and networking applications.

In this test chip, several dies with North-South and East-West IP orientations are interconnected through CoWoS interposer. The silicon measurements show robust 32 Gbps operation with wide horizontal and vertical eye openings. GUC is working aggressively on the full-corner qualification, and the complete silicon report is expected to be available in the coming quarter.

Antec Inc., a global leader in high-performance computer components and accessories, is proud to announce the launch of the Antec FLUX SE ATX Mid-Tower Case. This latest addition to Antec's chassis lineup brings the success of the FLUX and FLUX PRO products with a new style and focus of quiet computing alongside the cutting-edge modern performance the FLUX series is known for.

Flow Luxury
F-LUX Platform, abbreviation of Flow Luxury, features ultra case structure design for excellent airflow and 5 x 120 mm fans included, delivering enhanced GPU cooling performance.

TRYX, a leading innovator in PC cooling solutions and the PC chassis market, is excited to announce the launch of the new PANORAMA SE.

Building on the success of the TRYX flagship CPU liquid cooler, the PANORAMA, TRYX has been striving to bring its innovative AMOLED curved screen to an even broader audience. Introducing the all-new PANORAMA SE series, equipped with the newly launched ASETEK Adela cooling solution, engineered for reliable and stable performance. Now, PC DIY enthusiasts on a budget can enjoy the flagship PANORAMA experience, complete with a stunning 6.5-inch, 2K, 60 Hz AMOLED display.

YUNZII has introduced the MAD68 HE, a budget-friendly wired gaming keyboard featuring an 8,000 Hz polling rate and Hall Effect magnetic switches. Built for gamers on a tight budget, it does not lack premium-oriented features, such as a low latency of 0.125 ms and 0.02 mm actuation accuracy combined with Rapid Trigger technology. The Dynamic Keystroke (DKS) allows customization, enabling users to assign multiple functions per key press and adjust actuation points. For more advanced customization it relies on YUNZII's web-based software, which allows users to adjust Hall Effect settings, remap keys, configure macros, and personalize the south-facing RGB lighting effects.

The YUNZII MAD68 HE came in a 65% compact layout measuring 320 x 116 x 37 mm with the inclusion of directional keys being a nice touch. The MAD68 HE also features hot-swappable magnetic switches (Magnetic Amber Pro Switches) for effortless replacements. Also, it features N-Key Rollover (NKRO) for accurate key registration while a reinforced metal positioning plate and multiple layers of sound-dampening foam provide users with a stable and comfortable typing experience. Another little addition is the personalized strap that can be attached to the keyboard.

Cooler Master, a leading provider of PC components, gaming peripherals, and tech lifestyle solutions, today announced the HAF 5 Pro, a fully built gaming system designed to deliver robust performance and seamless gameplay. Powered by an Intel Core i7-12700F processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, the HAF 5 Pro leverages Cooler Master's expertise in high airflow cases, efficient cooling, and premium power delivery—paired with the enhanced gaming features of Windows 11.

"We've taken our hallmark high-airflow concept and built a system that's both powerful and visually striking," said Jimmy Sha, CEO of Cooler Master. "Our customers know and trust the HAF lineup for cooling prowess, so outfitting it with top-tier components, a dedicated VGA fan, and Windows 11's advanced gaming capabilities was a natural progression to offer an all-in-one experience."

AMD is not releasing any "Made by AMD" (MBA) reference designs of its latest Radeon RX 9070 XT GPUs based on the RDNA 4 IP. However, leakers in China managed to get ahold of what appears to be an MBA Radeon RX 9070 XT design, assumingly being used as a prototype. While there are custom designs by AMD's AIB partners, AMD itself hasn't released the reference design to the public. The latest leak from Chinese forums confirms that this GPU actually exists beyond the standard press renders/mockups, meaning that someone can get their hands on it. The seller is offering a brand-new reference edition of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT with a warranty for one year, with the second year requiring self-paid repairs. They specify no disassembly and no damage to the unit.

The standard price is set at 5000 RMB, with a preference for local pickup. For buyers outside the city, shipping via SF Express is available with insurance, requiring a payment of at least 5800 RMB. The physical card matches the previously leaked render with its three-fan design, though with a notable color difference. Instead of the expected gray finish, the actual unit features a complete black design. Currently sealed in an antistatic bag, the card appears unused. The asking price of approximately $800 initially seems high but aligns with current market rates for custom versions. The listing has already disappeared, suggesting someone has already snagged this rare prototype. With serial codes visible, AMD can potentially trace the person who put it up for sales, so its not a good outlook for anyone that wanted to sell it.

Silicon Power (SP) is excited to launch the Endura series, a new SSD lineup featuring four models: E55, E60, ED90, and ES75. Designed with advanced 3D TLC NAND technology, these SSDs offer a comprehensive range of storage solutions catering to diverse user needs, all with the reliability- and performance-geared features that define TLC.

E55: 2.5" SATA III SSD
The E55 delivers robust and stable performance, making it an ideal choice for casual users and system integration builders seeking accessible, dependable storage. With a SATA III 6 Gb/s interface and capacities ranging from 512 GB to 2 TB, it offers broad compatibility for diverse devices and storage needs. Delivering speeds up to 500 MB/s read and 450 MB/s write - 15 times faster than a standard HDD - the E55 combines reliability and familiarity in a versatile, user-friendly solution.

QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, networking, and storage solutions innovator, has enhanced its 100GbE Lite-L3 managed switch, QSW-M7308R-4X. The 100GbE QSFP28 ports now has backwards compatibility with 40GbE QSFP+, and supports breakout cables to four 25GbE SFP28 ports. IT staff can also monitor multiple switches centrally via the AMIZcloud management platform, enabling efficient and flexible network deployment and device management, reducing initial investment and operational maintenance costs for enterprises deploying 100GbE networks. Users can enjoy these features by upgrading the QSW-M7308R-4X to the latest QSS Pro v4.1 software version.

"QNAP continues to enhance the advanced software features of our 100GbE switches to meet the high performance and flexibility required for enterprises expanding their 100GbE network infrastructure," said Ronald Hsu, Product Manager of QNAP, adding "The QSW-M7308R-4X is one of the few switches that supports 100GbE backward compatibility at an extremely low cost, along with MC-LAG fault tolerance, half-rackmount design, and cloud management capabilities, making it the most cost-optimized choice for small and medium-sized businesses upgrading to 100GbE."

MSI IPC, a global leader in industrial computing solutions, proudly unveils the MS-CF05, V2.0, a high-performance ATX motherboard engineered for industrial automation, edge computing, and embedded applications. Designed to support 14th, 13th, and 12th Gen Intel Core, Pentium, and Celeron processors, the MS-CF05, V2.0 delivers exceptional computing power, scalability, and I/O flexibility, including a PCI slot for legacy support, making it ideal for modern industrial needs.

Today marks the launch of the ASUS Vivobook S14/S16 series (M3407HA and M3607HA), 14-inch and 16-inch laptops crafted for everyone.

ASUS Vivobook S14/S16 deliver outstanding performance in a sleek, lightweight design, starting at just 1.40 kg and 1.59 cm thin, and featuring a durable metal chassis that ensures style and reliability for users on the go. Maximize productivity with up to an AMD Ryzen 7 260 processor and up to 20 hours of battery life with fast charging. The dedicated Copilot key provides instant access to Copilot's AI assistance, while ASUS AI noise cancelation and ASUS 3D Noise Reduction (3DNR) video technology enhance conferencing. Premium 16:10 display choices—up to a stunning WUXGA OLED or an anti-glare WUXGA 144 Hz IPS panel—deliver immersive visuals for work or entertainment, and make Vivobook S14/S16 the perfect choice for everyday life.

At the time of crisis for Intel and uncertainty with foundry goals, Intel has appointed a semiconductor veteran as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)—Lip-Bu Tan. In a letter to Intel employees, Lip-Bu Tan has quietly addressed Intel Foundry spinoff rumors, saying that his commitment as a CEO is to "restore Intel's position as a world-class products company, establish ourselves as a world-class foundry and delight our customers like never before." Hence, the foundry spinoff rumors are now not so certain. Previous industry rumors suggested that Intel may very well spin off its fabs entirely or get it in a joint venture that would see TSMC and US companies like AMD, Broadcom, and NVIDIA get a part of the say. That is still a possibility. However, Intel's new CEO understands the strategic importance of Intel's fabs, just like the previous CEO, Pat Gelsinger.

Intel moves a lot of volume with its products, most of that thanks to its internal manufacturing capacity. Without it, Intel would be forced to go to external fabs like Samsung and TSMC and deal with additional complexity, lead times, etc. With the 18A node, Intel plans to use it for its products and offer it to external customers. Some features like backside power delivery using PowerVia and RibbonFET are standout aspects that make its 18A node PDK much more attractive on paper than solutions from TSMC and Samsung. Keeping that technology and manufacturing ability inside Intel is strategically vital for both Intel and US-based advanced silicon manufacturing. The foundry has been burning a lot of cash, 13.4 billion in 2024 alone, but Intel expects it to be net positive by the end of 2027. After that, Intel's products and external customers should be keeping Intel's fab busy with enough revenue to offset losses in the coming years.

At Embedded World 2025, Congatec unveiled an acetone-based heat pipe cooling solution explicitly engineered for sub-zero operating environments. The system addresses thermal management challenges in extreme cold conditions where traditional cooling mechanisms risk freezing and component damage. Yes, even at sub-zero environments the CPU still needs a dissipation medium as its heat density is still a problem. Operating reliably at temperatures as low as -40°C, the technology utilizes acetone's -95°C freezing point to maintain thermal transfer functionality in arctic environments. The solution resolves a fundamental limitation of water-based systems, which become inoperable at their 0°C freezing threshold. Despite water's superior latent heat of vaporization (2,260 J/g), its physical properties render it unsuitable for extreme cold applications.

Acetone's thermal properties prevent ice formation and reduce condensation risks, creating a stable heat transfer mechanism for polar research, high-altitude infrastructure, cold storage, and industrial automation in harsh climates. Imagine an edge server operating in the North Pole, needing to collect and process data locally before getting it to the research/scientist team. The solution integrates directly with Congatec's Computer-on-Module (COM) portfolio, including COMe, COM-HPC, and COM-HPC mini designs, eliminating the need for custom cooling system development. An optional heat pipe adapter will be available for specialized implementations. The company clarified that acetone-based cooling is purpose-built exclusively for extreme cold environments rather than general applications, as water remains superior for conventional temperature ranges due to its greater heat dissipation capacity, lower cost, and widespread availability.

Assassin's Creed Shadows is just around the corner, launching on March 20 for Steam. To celebrate, the team released a new CGI trailer teasing Naoe and Yasuke's motivations on their journey through feudal Japan. Check it out below. Wishlist Assassin's Creed Shadows or pre-purchase it today! Everyone who pre-purchases the game will receive free bonus content, including the Thrown to the Dogs quest at launch, and the Claws of Awaji expansion when it releases later this year. You can also check all our recent Steam news, including more details about the Steam achievements and badges + trading cards available day one!

ENTER FEUDAL JAPAN
Explore the captivating open world of feudal Japan, from spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and war-ravaged landscapes. Adventure through unpredictable weather, changing seasons, and reactive environments. Become Naoe, a shinobi Assassin, and Yasuke, a legendary samurai, as you experience their riveting stories and master their complementary playstyles. As Naoe, use stealth to avoid detection and agility to confound your enemies. As Yasuke, strike your foes with lethal precision and power.

Many hardcore fans of the Roccat brand will lament last year's absorption of designs/IPs into the Turtle Beach product portfolio. Five years earlier, the German PC gaming accessory maker was acquired by the larger North American organization—at the time, mouse enthusiasts expressed worries regarding a sudden cut-off of popular models. The long-running Kone series was a main topic of conversation. Pleasingly, Roccat's engineering department continued to deliver new designs and refreshes of old favorites well into the early 2020s. The Kone Pure Air and Pure SEL were the team's last models to emerge under the banner of Roccat, prior to 2024's full Turtle Beach takeover. Confusingly, this somewhat unfaithful Kone design was only made available to a South Korean customer base.

Kone Pure models—in wireless (Air) and wired (SEL) forms—eventually trickled out to wider global market regions, albeit with Turtle Beach logos printed on their outer shells and packaging. A lukewarm reception from the gaming mouse community prompted further speculation—would the Kone lineage end in 2024? Chinese gaming mouse manufacturers have often "brazenly" cloned the designs of many Western-developed models. Loyal fans and brand purists would normally decry the emergence of a throwback to classic Roccat Pure times, but KYSONA's recently unveiled rendition is being celebrated. Their Uranus Pro wireless gaming mouse offering has gained traction in the West, thanks to a prominent YouTuber's recommendation and positive feedback from owners of early import units. KYSONA is hardly a big name, but they are involved in the contract manufacturing of peripherals for "visible" brands—including AJAZZ, Attack Shark, and DELUX.

Intel Corporation today announced that its board of directors has appointed Lip-Bu Tan, an accomplished technology leader with deep semiconductor industry experience, as chief executive officer, effective March 18. He succeeds Interim Co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle (MJ) Johnston Holthaus. Tan will also rejoin the Intel board of directors after stepping down from the board in August 2024. Zinsner will remain executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Johnston Holthaus will remain CEO of Intel Products. Frank D. Yeary, who took on the role of interim executive chair of the board during the search for a new CEO, will revert to being the independent chair of the board upon Tan becoming CEO.

"Lip-Bu is an exceptional leader whose technology industry expertise, deep relationships across the product and foundry ecosystems, and proven track record of creating shareholder value is exactly what Intel needs in its next CEO," Yeary said. "Throughout his long and distinguished career, he has earned a reputation as an innovator who puts customers at the heart of everything he does, delivers differentiated solutions to win in the market and builds high-performance cultures to achieve success."

We're excited to share this 1st look at the English voice cast for Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter! Starting with our energetic protagonist Estelle Bright, reprised by Stephanie Sheh! Our intelligent and level-headed protagonist, Joshua Bright, will be reprised by Johnny Yong Bosch! The seasoned mentor known as "The Silver Flash", Scherazard Harvey, will be voiced again by Michelle Ruff! Give it up for the insightful yet carefree traveling bard, Olivier Lenheim, with Matthew Mercer returning to the role! Kloe Rinz, beloved for her gentle and kind nature, will be reprised by Cristina Vee!

Though he can be harsh at times, the undeniably skilled "Heavy Blade" Agate Crosner will be voiced once again by Ben Pronsky! Everyone give some love to the ever-sweet Tita Russell, with Brianna Knickerbocker reprising her role! A martial artist from the Calvard Republic, "The Immovable" Zin Vathek will be reprised by Vic Chao! Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter reimagines the first chapter of a beloved series, infusing it with enhanced visuals and refined gameplay. Join Estelle and Joshua, partners bound by fate, as they unravel dark conspiracies threatening the peace of the Liberl Kingdom.

MSI presented next-generation MEG and MPG series power supply models at CES 2025; both being range-topping examples: MEG Ai1600T and MPG A1250GS. January press material advertised the forthcoming new candidates with all sorts of impressive credentials: "certified by 80 Plus, Cybenetics, and PPLP and fully compliant with ATX 3.1 and PCIe (CEM) 5.1 standards, ready the power of your performance." Around late February, a slightly less powerful (1000 W) option was added to the new MPG line. The very expensive ($699 MSRP) flagship MEG Ai1600T SKU is already in the hands of evaluators; as disclosed by Wccftech. MSI's MPG series sits a notch down from premium-tier MEG offerings—earlier in the day, three "cost-effective" power supply models appeared online. A handful of fortunate souls—including chi11eddog—were blessed with early access to the manufacturer's freshly-published new product catalog. The excited reader shared a compelling feature: "got new PSU brochure from MSI. The new MPG GS series models feature 235% Power Excursion. Looks pretty good!"

A screenshot showed a trio of MPG A-GS options—including another addition; in 850 W form. As highlighted by chi11eddog's enthusiastic social media post, 235% total power excursions are listed on all three model specification sheets. Interestingly, "superior" MEG equivalents are marketed as: "fully compliant with the ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 standards; hold up to 240% total power excursion to meet future-proof power requirements." MSI's web presences now list the MPG A850GS PCIE5 model, as well as the previously announced 1000 W and 1250 W SKUs. The three offerings are boldly provisioned with dual-native 12V-2x6 connectors and PCIe 5.1 compatibility—MSI reckons that the two power avenues are fit for purpose: "seamlessly supporting two NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards for AI and machine learning applications."

Not that long ago, an Xbox executive claimed that an Xbox handheld gaming device is still in the prototyping stage, with a launch expected to take place sometime in the next two to three years. There is no denying that the handheld segment is an incredibly lucrative space, boosted by the impressive performance and efficiency gains made by the chip giants in recent years. Microsoft clearly intends to take a piece of the pie, and as a recent report by Windows Central pointed out, the first Xbox-branded handheld is in development and may even see the light of day as early as the third or fourth quarter of this year. Now, a fresh report by The Verge has revealed that Microsoft might be collaborating with ASUS in order to bring the handheld gaming device to market.

This is quite interesting, considering that ASUS is one of the most well-known players in the handheld segment, thanks to its ROG Ally lineup. But the conflict of interest shouldn't be much of a hassle - Lenovo is also a major player in the segment, and did not hesitate teaming up with Valve to bring the first third-party SteamOS handheld to the market. Microsoft is likely targeting something similar, intending to combine Xbox and Windows platforms in order to improve the experience for developers and players alike, allowing better inter-compatibility of games between handheld, PC, and console platforms. Essentially, the handheld will reportedly feature an Xbox-like interface, but will be powered by Windows underneath. The aforementioned late-2025 launch timeline is still in place, but considering the very nature of early reports, accept this information with a grain of salt.

Ask a typical IT professional today whether they're leveraging AI, and there's a good chance they'll say yes-after all, they have reputations to protect! Kidding aside, many will report that their teams may use Web-based tools like ChatGPT or even have internal chatbots that serve their employee base on their intranet, but for that not much AI is really being implemented at the infrastructure level. As it turns out, the true answer is a bit different. AI tools and techniques have embedded themselves firmly into standard enterprise workloads and are a more common, everyday phenomena than even many IT people may realize. Assembly line operations now include computer vision-powered inspections. Supply chains use AI for demand forecasting making business move faster and of course, AI note-taking and meeting summary is embedded on virtually all the variants of collaboration and meeting software.

Increasingly, critical enterprise software tools incorporate built-in recommendation systems, virtual agents or some other form of AI-enabled assistance. AI is truly becoming a pervasive, complementary tool for everyday business. At the same time, today's enterprises are navigating a hybrid landscape where traditional, mission-critical workloads coexist with innovative AI-driven tasks. This "mixed enterprise and AI" workload environment calls for infrastructure that can handle both types of processing seamlessly. Robust, general-purpose CPUs like the AMD EPYC processors are designed to be powerful and secure and flexible to address this need. They handle everyday tasks—running databases, web servers, ERP systems—and offer strong security features crucial for enterprise operations augmented with AI workloads. In essence, modern enterprise infrastructure is about creating a balanced ecosystem. AMD EPYC CPUs play a pivotal role in creating this balance, delivering high performance, efficiency, and security features that underpin both traditional enterprise workloads and advanced AI operations.

Microsoft launched its Majorana 1 chip—the world's first quantum processor powered by a Topological Core architecture—last month. The company's debuting of its Majorana design was celebrated as a significant milestone—in 2023, an ambitious roadmap was published by Microsoft's research department. At the time, a tall Majorana particle-based task was set: the building of a proprietary quantum supercomputer within a decade. Returning to the present day; outside parties have criticized Microsoft's February announcements. The Register published an investigative piece earlier today, based on quotes from key players specializing in the field of Quantum studies. Many propose a theoretical existence of Majorana particles, while Microsoft R&D employees have claimed detection and utilization. The Register referred back to recent history: "(Microsoft) made big claims about Majorana particles before, but it didn't end well: in 2021 Redmond's researchers retracted a 2018 paper in which they claimed to have detected the particles."

As pointed out by Microsoft researcher Chetan Nayak; their latest paper was actually authored last March 2024, but only made public in recent weeks. Further details of progress are expected next week, at the American Physical Society (APS) 2025 Joint March Meeting. The Register has compiled quotes from vocal critics; starting with Henry Legg—a lecturer in theoretical physics at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. The noted scholar believes—as divulged in a scientific online comment—that Microsoft's claimed Quantum breakthrough: "is not reliable and must be revisited." Similarly, collaborators from Germany's Forschungszentrum Jülich institute and the University of Pittsburgh, USA released a joint video statement. (Respectively) Experimental physicist Vincent Mourik and by Professor Sergey Frolov outlined: "distractions caused by unreliable scientific claims from Microsoft Quantum."

Scientists from Beijing University have developed the world's first two-dimensional gate-all-around field-effect transistor (GAAFET), establishing a new performance benchmark in domestic semiconductor design. The design, documented in Nature, represents a difference in transistor architecture that could reshape the future of Chinese microelectronics design. Given the reported characteristic of 40% higher performance and 10% improved efficiency compared to the TSMC 3 nm N3 node, it looks rather promising. The research team, headed by Professors Peng Hailin and Qiu Chenguang, engineered a "wafer-scale multi-layer-stacked single-crystalline 2D GAA configuration" that demonstrated superior performance metrics when benchmarked against current industry leaders. The innovation leverages bismuth oxyselenide (Bi₂O₂Se), a novel semiconductor material that maintains exceptional carrier mobility at sub-nanometer dimensions—a critical advantage as the industry struggles to push angstrom-era semiconductor nodes.

"Traditional silicon-based transistors face fundamental physical limitations at extreme scales," explained Professor Peng, who characterized the technology as "the fastest, most efficient transistor ever developed." The 2D GAAFET architecture circumvents the mobility degradation that plagues silicon in ultra-small geometries, allowing for continued performance scaling beyond current nodes. The development comes during China's intensified efforts to achieve semiconductor self-sufficiency, as trade restrictions have limited access to advanced lithography equipment and other critical manufacturing technologies. Even with China developing domestic EUV technology, it is still not "battle" proven. Rather than competing directly with established fabrication processes, the Beijing team has pioneered an entirely different technological approach—what Professor Peng described as "changing lanes entirely" rather than seeking incremental improvements, where China can not compete in the near term.

As we have witnessed in the past few weeks, leaked retailer listings are undoubtedly an interesting way to gain more information regarding upcoming hardware. A set of recent listings by the retailer PC21, as well as Acer Hong Kong, have revealed some details regarding the upcoming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop and RTX 5050 Laptop GPUs. First of all, it appears that we now have concrete information regarding the launch date for the RTX 5060 laptop GPU. According to Acer, the RTX 5060 Laptop-equipped producs will start shipping sometime in May. Moreover, as the leaked listing has revealed, RTX 5060 and RTX 5050 Laptop GPUs will arrive with 8 GB of VRAM, both based on the new GDDR7 spec.

This is quite an interesting development, considering that the RTX 5050 Desktop GPU is expected to ship with GDDR6 memory, so it does appear that the Laptop variant will have superior memory speeds. Considering that the RTX 5070 laptop GPU will also boast 8 GB of GDDR7 memory, it is clear that the primary differences between the RTX 5050, RTX 5060, and RTX 5070 Laptop variants will be limited to core counts. Those who demand more than just 8 GB of VRAM will have to shell out extra for the RTX 5070 Ti Laptop, which is expected to ship with 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192 bit bus. As for pricing, the leaked MSI VenturePro 16 with a Core 7 240H CPU, 16 GB DDR5 memory, 512 GB SSD and an RTX 5050 Laptop GPU is seemingly priced at €1580, or roughly $1720. Clearly, even the lowest-end of Blackwell GPUs are all set to boast price tags lofty enough to make even those with deep pockets weep.

Compal recently showcased a concept for a laptop that can switch from a typical 14-inch laptop, to an ultra-wide 18-inch laptop with the help of foldable display technology. While the concept is undoubtedly quite interesting, there is no denying that the device is pretty far from mass-production. The company seemingly has yet another concept up its sleeve, which has also raked in an iF design award. Essentially, Compal's Hybrid AIO concept consists of an AIO desktop that can transform into a laptop, or even a tablet. Specifications and technical details are scarce, which is to be expected considering that the concept solely depicts the overall form factor of the product.

The AIO seemingly boasts an additional display mounted on one side of the monitor, which can be detached and used as a standalone tablet. This tablet, can then be attached with a keyboard base, which will allow it to function as a laptop. This keyboard base will also function as a wireless keyboard for the AIO, and judging by the images, it might also serve as a smartphone stand. It is not clear if the stand will have wireless charging, which should surely be a nifty feature. For those wondering where the actual guts of the AIO will exist, will likely be surprised to know that it is the tablet which will contain the computer. The AIO's primary display is simply a larger, secondary monitor for the tablet, and the keyboard base is just an accessory. Overall, the concept does look pretty neat, especially for those of us who prefer to switch up workstations every now and then, or are looking for a single system that can serve as a work, travel, as well as an entertainment hub.

ASUS executives have warned investors that consumers may face higher prices later this year as the company accelerates its manufacturing exodus from China in response to anticipated US tariff policies. Despite efforts to absorb costs internally, ASUS acknowledged during its recent earnings call that production relocation expenses could eventually impact retail pricing. This comes as the PC industry braces for trade policy changes under the new US administration. While competitors like Dell and HP have already established diversified supply chains outside China over several years, ASUS faces the financial pressures of rapidly developing alternative production capacity. Such transitions induce significant costs beyond facility construction, including workforce training, supply chain reconfiguration, and temporary production inefficiencies.

"We will try to limit these costs to within a reasonable level. However, as we make further adjustments to production lines, it may become possible that we need to offset some of these costs to our clients," stated an ASUS co-CEO during the call. The executive noted that several competing manufacturers have already implemented price adjustments to compensate for similar expenses. ASUS wants to maintain competitive pricing despite these pressures, indicating a willingness to accept margin compression in the short term. Component-level products may experience more immediate pricing pressure than fully assembled systems, where manufacturers can partially offset tariff impacts through internal efficiencies. ASUS's cautious messaging suggests the company is attempting to balance shareholder concerns about profitability with consumer sensitivity to price increases in the competitive PC market.

The highly anticipated remaster of a classic quadrilogy has finally arrived! FATE: Reawakened is now available for $24.99 on Steam! To celebrate the origins of FATE on PC, we're offering a special 20% launch discount for all PC players until March 19th! Are you up to the task? Your FATE awaits! Download today and start your epic adventure!

Choose your FATE
Reawaken the critically acclaimed FATE games like never before! Play all four classic dungeon crawler titles with enhanced graphics as you battle through challenging procedurally generated dungeons, learn powerful spells, and fish to your heart's content. Are you up to the task? Your FATE awaits! Re-experience the iconic FATE series like never before! Re-visit the quaint town of Grove and the realms beyond as you prepare to enter the Dungeon Gate once again! The award-winning FATE series has gotten a modern facelift while remaining true to the nostalgic dungeon crawler classic. Will you tempt fate on your journey to fame and fortune?

Intel representatives have placed a Panther Lake demonstration sample unit on an actual pedestal; as reported by PC Games Hardware (PCGH). German press outlets and other visitors were greeted by Team Blue's dedicated showcase plinth at this week's Embedded World 2025 expo/trade fair. The Nuremberg-based event is advertised as a "world-leading conference presenting state-of-the art technology and forward-looking research." Attendees and industry watchdogs reckon that the prominently displayed demo piece is an example of Intel's Panther Lake-H (PTL-H) mobile-oriented chip design. Last October, Pat Gelsinger (now ex-CEO) unveiled a physical PTL-H sample on-stage during his special guest appearance at Lenovo Tech World 2024. During a CES 2025 keynote presentation, Michelle Johnston Holthaus (Intel's interim co-boss) confirmed a 2025 launch window, while holding up another (or the same) Panther Lake chip.

Recent industry insider whispers have suggested that the Intel Foundry is encountering problems with their 18A node process; thus causing a shift in Panther Lake's release schedule. One prominent leaker claims that Team Blue's opening salvo of PTL-H products will roll out in 2026, but rumors were dismissed by an official source (last week). John Pitzer—Corporate Vice President of Investor Relations at Intel—insisted on multiple occasions, during a fireside chat, that his team's Core Ultra 300 series (aka Panther Lake-H) is on track for launch within the second half of 2025. Intel's Embedded World 2025 booth does not feature any technical rundowns relating to the showcased next-gen offering; their minimalist plinth is simply adorned with blue text spelling out: "Panther Lake." NDA-busting details have emerged online, courtesy of insider leaks—the top-most PTL-H SKU could appear with a 4P+8E+4LP+12Xe3 configuration.

With the release of the fighting action game BLEACH Rebirth of Souls nearing, it is almost time for players to grip their sword and reverse their fate! In a new cinematic trailer, BLEACH Rebirth of Souls offers an immersive look into the game adapted from Tite Kubo's legendary franchise, taking players deeper into the world of soul reapers where they will be able to impersonate iconic characters such as Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Sosuke Aizen and more. This cinematic brings the Bleach universe to life with its dark, foreboding atmosphere that sets the stage for epic sword fights.

BLEACH Rebirth of Souls will launch on 21 March 2025 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4 and PC—it is available for pre-order across three editions: Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate. Both the Deluxe and Ultimate Editions include the Season Pass, a 7-day early access to DLC characters, Soul Crystals and Thousand-Year Blood War playable characters. Any player pre-ordering the game will receive the Toshiro and Yoruichi Thousand-Year Blood War costume set as a bonus.

The rising prominence of Huawei's Ascend accelerator series has generated plenty of news articles over the past couple of months. Earlier in the week, reports suggested that the Chinese technology giant had circumvented international trade sanctions. Many observers will forget that parts of Huawei's portfolio contain "less ambitious" products; namely notebook PCs. Despite navigating tricky conditions in 2024, the manufacturer still has access to a supply of Intel-produced processors—but a contingency plan is reportedly in place. TP Huang (aka tphuang) reckons that a completely in-house formulated "domestic commercial PC" is due for release in China. The technology soothsayer's social media post mentioned a "7 nm Kunpeng-920 CPU" clocked at 2.6 GHz. Previously, Huawei's Kunpeng proprietary processor designs were deployed in server (2024) and desktop (2020) environments.

According to Huawei Central, company representatives have disclosed that the mysterious Kunpeng-920-powered AI laptop will be added to their "Qingyun" enterprise-oriented product range. TP Huang elaborated with additional leaked details—the forthcoming model is tipped to feature: "fully domestic power management integrated circuits (PMIC); including Unisoc CT100 replacing EPSON in clock generator. It is expected to run on HarmonyOS PC version and a localized dev tool chain." An extension of Huawei and DeepSeek's current relationship is anticipated to trickle down to portable devices—insiders believe that the new AI notebook will support DeepSeek's model on edge. TP Huang predicts an April launch window.

Precision made personal—introducing the QcK Performance Series, our first premium mousepad collection crafted to sync seamlessly with your unique playstyle. Your gameplay is personal, and now your surface can be too. Friction or Glide? You decide. Extra density. Extra consistency. High-grade neoprene foam creates a stable foundation for your mouse to move at high speeds with no sensor skip, round in, round out.

QcK Evolves Again
Introducing the next evolution in gaming—QcK Performance, the first family of performance mousepads engineered with one goal in mind: to elevate your gameplay. Developed in collaboration with top esports athletes, QcK Performance offers three meticulously crafted and unique surfaces: Speed, Balance and Control. Whatever your playstyle, discover the ultimate surface to push your performance to the next level.

A week ago, MSI introduced its lineup of custom GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card models—headlined by their premium VANGUARD option, with a product stack going down to a budget friendly INSPIRE 3X offering. Since then, the Taiwanese manufacturer has added another entry to its NVIDIA "Blackwell" GB205 GPU-based family. As observed by VideoCardz, MSI is overpopulating its GeForce RTX 5070 stack with two more models. The SHADOW 2X OC and SHADOW 2X (non-OC) have—very recently—popped up on the company's website, with absolutely zero PR fanfare. The triple-fan SHADOW 3X designs received a similar treatment last month—brand-new stealth-black GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti custom designs seemingly appeared overnight.

As befits the nomenclature, MSI's SHADOW 2X design sports a TORX 5.0 dual-fan cooling solution. As covered by TechPowerUp's news section in the past, the SHADOW series shares similarities with VENTUS—both families serve as "baseline MSRP" conformant products, due to a minimalistic aesthetic and barebones feature set (i.e. focused on the essentials). MSI marketing blurb describes SHADOW as: "a performance-focused design that delivers the gaming experience players want, making it the ideal choice when upgrading or building a gaming rig." The company has courted controversy in recent times; VideoCardz and other media outlets have leveled plenty of criticism throughout February and March—the lack of "MSRP" models and reported price hiking at launch became major sticking points. Industry watchdogs believe that the freshly unveiled SHADOW 2X models will be in short supply for the foreseeable future.

TSMC is still considering a strategic joint venture to operate Intel's manufacturing capacity, according to four sources close to Reuters that are familiar with the discussions. The proposed arrangement would limit TSMC's ownership to less than 50% and potentially distribute stakes to major American chip designers, including AMD, Broadcom, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm. The initiative emerged following direct intervention from the Trump administration, which has prioritized revitalizing domestic semiconductor manufacturing while maintaining American control of critical technology infrastructure. Under the proposed framework, Intel would spin off its Intel Foundry division, with TSMC acquiring a minority stake and bringing in partner companies as co-investors.

Apple, TSMC's largest customer, is absent from these preliminary discussions, suggesting careful strategic positioning within the competitive ecosystem—however, significant technical and operational challenges are facing the potential joint venture. Intel's manufacturing and real estate assets are valued at approximately $108 billion, requiring substantial capital commitments from prospective partners. More fundamentally, the technological integration presents massive obstacles, as Intel and TSMC utilize fundamentally different manufacturing processes with distinct equipment configurations and material requirements. However, the complex negotiations remain in the early stages, with significant technical, financial, and regulatory hurdles to overcome before any formal agreement materializes. Intel is still not giving the clear green light to spin off rumors.

Greetings, Creators! inZOI delivers high-quality graphics and realistic city-level simulations, which require higher system specifications to run smoothly. While the minimum and recommended system requirements are already listed on our Steam page, we wanted to provide a more detailed and comprehensible breakdown of these specifications and how they might impact your gameplay experience. As such, we've categorized the system requirements into four tiers and provided the optimal game settings for each tier.

What are optimal settings?
Optimal settings ensure you experience the game on your current PC in the best possible way. Since inZOI was developed using Unreal Engine 5, adjusting the game's settings can lead to significantly different experiences, even on systems with identical specifications. Let's explore how different factors impact gameplay and which settings you'll need experience inZOI in the best way possible.

TP-Link Systems Inc., a global leader in networking and smart home solutions, continued its expansion into the rapidly growing travel router market with the launch of a premium Wi-Fi 6 travel router, the TL-WR3002X. Building on the success of its predecessor, the TL-WR1502X, the TL-WR3002X delivers cutting-edge dual-band Wi-Fi 6 technology, enabling faster wireless speeds and greater capacity for a multitude of connected devices, whether at home or on the road.

The TL-WR3002X is designed to meet the needs of frequent travelers and families seeking reliable, high-speed internet access. Equipped with a 2.5 gigabit WAN port, a 1.0 gigabit LAN port, a USB 3.0 port, a microSD reader supporting up to 512 GB, and a USB-C power supply, this compact and efficient router boasts endless connectivity and versatility for any scenario. Its advanced VPN compatibility, supporting OpenVPN, WireGuard, PPTP, and L2TP standards, provides users with enhanced privacy and security, making it an ideal solution for staying safely connected anywhere in the world, whether working remotely abroad, browsing on public Wi-Fi or relaxing on your next cruise.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation ("Silicon Motion"), a global leader in designing and marketing NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices, today announced the sampling of its groundbreaking MonTitan SSD Reference Design Kit (RDK) that supports up to 128 TB with QLC NAND. Designed on the advanced MonTitan PCIe Gen 5 SSD Development Platform. This new offering aims to accelerate enterprise and data center storage AI SSD solutions by providing a robust and efficient RDK for OEMs and partners.

The SSD RDK incorporates Silicon Motion's PCIe Dual Ported enterprise-grade SM8366 controller, which supports PCIe Gen 5 x4 NVMe 2.0 and OCP 2.5 data center specifications offering unmatched performance, QoS, and capacity for next-generation large data lake storage needs.

TechPowerUp partners with gaming PC hardware specialists Valkyrie to bring you our Spring 2025 Giveaway. We are giving away a high-end mid-tower case and two AIO liquid CPU coolers to three lucky winners. The Giveaway is open worldwide. The first lucky winner drawn at random, wins a Valkyrie VK-02 mid-tower case with LCD screen. The case is an airy and spacious mid-tower for contemporary gaming PC builds, including room for large custom-design graphics cards. Perhaps the most striking feature is an LCD display that takes up the top portion of the front-panel, which can be programmed to display just about anything, since it plugs into your graphics card as a display; and the included software displays a purpose-built ACPI system monitoring utility on it. Two second-place winners get a Valkyrie V360 Lite AIO CPU Liquid Cooler each, a premium 360 mm AIO CLC with RGB LED illumination on the pump-block and the included fans. Three third-place winners get a Valkyrie V240 Lite AIO CPU Liquid Cooler each, which is essentially the same cooler, but with a 240 mm radiator. Hurry, entries close on March 19.

For more information, and to participate, visit this page. You can increase your chances of winning by sharing the Giveaway across your social media.

It seems that Sapphire is making a return to the Mini-PC consumer market as ComputerBase discovered during Embedded World 2025 event. There, Sapphire showcased engineering samples of its new Edge AI mini-PC family. These compact computing solutions are based on the latest AMD Ryzen AI 300 series processors.. The two models in this lineup—the Edge AI 340 and 350—feature AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 and Ryzen AI 7 350 processors respectively, with the former offering 16 GB of RAM and the latter providing 32 GB, both supporting impressive 5,600 MT/s memory speeds across two SO-DIMM slots. A more powerful model featuring AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 will also be available.

Even measuring just 117 × 111 × 30 mm in size (the power supply is just a regular external adapter), the Sapphire Edge AI series features a wide range of connections. They boast two HDMI 2.1 ports, two USB4.0 ports, 2.5 GbE LAN, Wi-Fi with Bluetooth, and two extra USB ports. As for storage, there's a regular 2280 M.2 slot for SSDs, plus another 2242 slot. Accessing internal components is easy; no tools are needed, as Sapphire makes use of a magnetic case-cover. This includes access to the SO-DIMM slots and storage areas. Sapphire says these mini-PCs will hit stores worldwide by late April (no word about pricing yet), however, some regions might get different setups or bare-bones versions without pre-installed RAM and storage.

NETGEAR, Inc., a global leader in secure and high-performance networking solutions, is making next-generation Wi-Fi more accessible with the launch of the Nighthawk RS100—its most affordable Wi-Fi 7 router yet. Delivering ultra-fast speeds, robust security, and reliable performance, the RS100 makes it easier than ever for households to upgrade to the latest in wireless technology.

Why Wi-Fi 7 for Households?
As internet speeds surge and more smart devices connect to home networks, households need stronger, faster, and more reliable connectivity—not just for today, but for the future. Wi-Fi 7 delivers smoother streaming, lag-free gaming, and more stable connections across every corner of the home. With speeds up to 2.4x faster than Wi-Fi 6, it supports high-bandwidth activities like 4K/8K streaming, cloud gaming, and AI-powered applications—no buffering, no slowdowns.

Cooler Master, a global leader in PC components and tech lifestyle solutions, today announced a new range of products that enhance cooling efficiency, offer streamlined form factors, and deliver reliable power for diverse computing needs. From the space-conscious Ncore 100 Air case to updates in the MasterLiquid and Hyper series, Cooler Master continues its focus on performance-driven, user-friendly designs.

"We're excited to introduce a fully integrated lineup that supports PC builders at every level," said Jimmy Sha, CEO of Cooler Master. "From the compact Ncore 100 Air case to our latest MasterLiquid and Hyper coolers, SickleFlow Edge fans, and the MWE Gold V3 PSU, each product underscores our goal of blending performance, reliability, and style into every build."

Thermaltake, a leading PC DIY brand for premium hardware solutions, is thrilled to introduce the new-colored additions to the CT EX ARGB Sync PC Cooling Fan and CT EX Reverse ARGB Sync PC Cooling Fan in Racing Green, Gravel Sand, Bumblebee, and Pink. Thermaltake continues to merge style and technology, offering bold and edgy color options that allow users to personalize their setups.

The CT EX ARGB Sync PC Cooling Fan series is now available in eight colors: Black, White, Matcha Green, Hydrangea Blue, Racing Green, Gravel Sand, Bumblebee, and Pink. Furthermore, it includes 120/140 mm sizes in both standard and reversed blade versions. With these diverse selections, PC builders can effortlessly create unique aesthetics that perfectly complement Thermaltake's chassis lineup.

NVIDIA is set to unveil its RTX 5060 series graphics cards tomorrow, according to VideoCardz information, which claims NVIDIA shared launch info with some media outlets today. The announcement will include two desktop models: the RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti, confirming leaks from industry sources last week. The upcoming lineup will feature three variants: RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB, RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB, and RTX 5060. All three cards will utilize identical board designs and the same GPU, allowing manufacturers to produce visually similar Ti and non-Ti models. Power requirements are expected to range from 150-180 W. NVIDIA's RTX 5060 Ti will ship with 4608 CUDA cores, representing a modest 6% increase over the previous generation RTX 4060 Ti. The most significant improvement comes from the implementation of GDDR7 memory technology, which could deliver over 50% higher bandwidth than its predecessor if NVIDIA maintains the expected 28 Gbps memory speed across all variants.

The standard RTX 5060 will feature 3840 CUDA cores paired with 8 GB of GDDR7 memory. This configuration delivers 25% more GPU cores than its predecessor and marks an upgrade in GPU tier from AD107 (XX7) to GB206 (XX6). The smaller GB207 GPU is reportedly reserved for the upcoming RTX 5050. VideoCardz's sources indicate the RTX 5060 series will hit the market in April. Tomorrow's announcement is strategically timed as an update for the Game Developers Conference (GDC), which begins next week. All models in the series will maintain the 128-bit memory bus of their predecessors while delivering significantly improved memory bandwidth—448 GB/s compared to the previous generation's 288 GB/s for the Ti model and 272 GB/s for the standard variant. The improved bandwidth stems from the introduction of GDDR7 memory.

A global leader in intelligent IoT systems and embedded platforms, is excited to introduce its latest AIR series Edge AI systems, powered by the comprehensive AMD compute portfolio. These next-generation solutions leverage AMD Ryzen and EPYC processors alongside Instinct MI210 accelerators and Radeon PRO GPUs, delivering exceptional AI computing performance for demanding edge applications.

"Advantech and AMD continue to strengthen our collaboration in the Edge AI era, integrating advanced CPU platforms with high-performance AI accelerators and GPU solutions," said Aaron Su, Vice President of Advantech Embedded IoT Group. "This joint effort enables cutting-edge computing power to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving embedded AI applications.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is excited to announce the release of three new DDR5 memory specifications with AMD EXPO OC profiles for AMD platforms, including an extreme speed with low-latency at DDR5-8000 CL36-48-48 48 GB (24 GB x2), large-capacity & low-latency DDR5-6000 CL28-36-36 192 GB (48 GB x4), and a new DDR5-6000 CL26-39-39 with 48 GB (24 GB x2) kit capacity. Designed for PC enthusiasts, gamers, content creators, and AI applications, these cutting-edge DDR5 memory kits push the boundaries of speed, latency, and capacity on AMD AM5 platforms.

Pushing the Limits with Extreme DDR5-8000 CL36 24 GB x2
For users seeking top-tier performance, the new DDR5-8000 CL36-48-48 24 GB x2 memory kit with AMD EXPO OC profile is engineered for ultra-high memory speed at low CL36 latency timings. This extreme-speed and low-latency combination is ideal for exceptional system responsiveness and multitasking performance. See below for the Memtest validation screenshot showcasing its stability on the ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Hero motherboard and AMD Ryzen 9 9900X desktop processor.

AMD's Instinct MI355X accelerators for AI workloads are gaining traction, and Oracle just became one of the bigger customers. According to Oracle's latest financial results, the company noted that it had acquired 30,000 AMD Instinct MI355X accelerators. "In Q3, we signed a multi billion dollar contract with AMD to build a cluster of 30,000 of their latest MI355X GPUs," noted Larry Ellison, adding that "And all four of the leading cloud security companies, CrowdStrike, Cyber Reason, Newfold Digital and Palo Alto, they all decided to move to the Oracle Cloud. But perhaps most importantly, Oracle has developed a new product called the AI data platform that enables our huge install base of database customers to use the latest AI models from OpenAI, XAI and Meta to analyze all of the data they have stored in their millions of existing Oracle databases. By using Oracle version 23 AI's vector capabilities, customers can automatically put all of their existing data into the vector format that is understood by AI models. This allows those AI models to learn, understand and analyze every aspect of your company or government agency, instantly unlocking the value in your data while keeping your data private and secure."

AMD's Instinct MI355X accelerator introduces the CDNA4 architecture on TSMC's N3 process node with a focus on AI workload acceleration. The chiplet-based GPU delivers 2.3 petaflops of FP16 compute and 4.6 petaflops of FP8 compute, marking a 77% performance increase over the MI300X series. The MI355X's key advancement comes through support for reduced-precision FP4 and FP6 numerical formats, enabling up to 9.2 petaflops of FP4 compute. Memory specifications include 288 GB of HBM3E across eight stacks, providing 8 TB/s of total bandwidth. Production timelines place the MI355X's market entry in the second half of 2025, continuing AMD's annual cadence for data center GPU launches. By second half, Oracle will likely prepare data center space for these GPUs and just power them on once AMD ships these accelerators.

The Retroid Pocket Mini handheld was announced with an AMOLED display boasting a resolution of 1280 x 960, which was plenty for its tiny 3.7-inch display. However, the product has suffered from a pretty severe scaling issue, with the device extending a 1280 x 928 image to fit the panel's native resolution. While that may not sound like much, the scaling issues have adversely affected a sizeable chunk of is customers, particularly those who enjoy CRT filters, ultimately leading Retroid to issue a response. For a detailed understanding of the implications of the scaling issues, be sure to check out Retro Gamer Corps' detailed video on the matter.

According to Retroid, the aforementioned issue is not fixable, and requires hardware-level revisions for the next version of the system. For those with the current version, Retroid has announced a $10 discount coupon towards their future products for everyone who purchased the system. Moreover, those who simply do not wish to put up with the scaling issues, will have the opportunity to return the product and receive a full refund. The return window is valid only until 14th of March, and while the number of returns was capped at 200 previously, Retroid's recent statement, shared by RGC, contains no such indication.

ASML Holding N.V. (ASML) and imec, a leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, today announce that they have signed a new strategic partnership agreement, focusing on research and sustainability. The agreement has a duration of five years and aims to deliver valuable solutions in two areas by bringing together ASML's and imec's respective knowledge and expertise. First, to develop solutions that advance the semiconductor industry and second, to develop initiatives focused on sustainable innovation.

The collaboration incorporates ASML's whole product portfolio, with a focus on developing high-end nodes, using ASML systems including 0.55 NA EUV, 0.33 NA EUV, DUV immersion, YieldStar optical metrology and HMI single- and multi-beam technologies. These tools will be installed in imec's state-of-the-art pilot line and incorporated in the EU- and Flemish-funded NanoIC pilot line, providing the most advanced infrastructure for sub-2 nm R&D to the international semiconductor ecosystem. Focus areas for R&D will also include silicon photonics, memory and advanced packaging, offering full stack innovation for future semiconductor-based AI applications in diverse markets.

AMD's Radeon RX 9070 XT is demonstrating unexpected performance gains through aggressive undervolting, with overclocking specialists documenting significant improvements that push the GPU past NVIDIA's pricier GeForce RTX 5080 in specific benchmarks. Recent tests by Der8auer using a PowerColor Red Devil RX 9070 XT revealed a 10% frame rate increase in Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K Ultra settings by applying a -170 mV voltage offset while increasing the power target to 110%. This modification enabled the GPU to reach clock speeds of 3.36 GHz, compared to 2.90 GHz at stock settings, resulting in 66 FPS versus the RTX 5080's 65 FPS in identical testing environments. The undervolting phenomenon appears consistent across the product line, with YouTuber Alva Jonathan achieving similar 10% performance improvements on the standard RX 9070 using ASRock's Steel Legend model.

Both testers discovered that traditional core clock overclocking yielded negligible results, suggesting these factory-overclocked cards are already operating near their architectural limits. The voltage-frequency curve adjustments effectively lower the voltage required for higher frequencies. Memory overclocking proved counterproductive, with error correction mechanisms actually reducing in-game performance when pushed beyond stable parameters. These results come with important caveats—both tested units are premium variants with enhanced power delivery and cooling solutions that sell significantly above AMD's MSRP. The PowerColor Red Devil commanded a $200 premium over the RX 9070 XT's $599 launch price, while the ASRock Steel Legend carried a $90 markup over the RX 9070's base $550 MSRP. Even with these premiums, however, the high-end RX 9070 XT models remain approximately $200 less expensive than NVIDIA's RTX 5080 while delivering comparable rasterization performance after optimization, despite NVIDIA's ongoing advantages in ray tracing capabilities and software ecosystem.

Mini PCs have steadily increased in popularity in recent years, primarily thanks to the performance and efficiency improvements brought to the table by APUs from Intel and AMD. There is no shortage of such systems with commendable computing horsepower, but there also exists a certain segment which prioritizes compactness over anything else. The Topton M1 undoubtedly belongs to that category, boasting a chassis that is 7.8 x 7.8 x 5.5 cm in dimensions.

As can be expected from a system as diminutive as the M1 mini PC, the internal specifications are nothing to write home about. At its core, a Ryzen 3 5425U APU powers the system, paired with up to 32 GB of soldered LPDDR4X memory. The "Cezanne" APU is based on the Zen 3 microarchitecture, packing four cores and eight threads. The 15-watt APU boasts similar CPU performance to the Core Ultra 5 134U, which should allow it to chew through most non-intensive workloads. Needless to say, support for discrete graphics is absent, and the integrated 6-core Vega iGPU should suffice for video playback and extremely lightweight tasks.

Supermicro, Inc. a Total IT Solution Provider for AI/ML, HPC, Cloud, Storage, and 5G/Edge, is introducing a wide range of new systems which are fully optimized for edge and embedded workloads. Several of these new compact servers, which are based on the latest Intel Xeon 6 SoC processor family (formerly codenamed Granite Rapids-D), empower businesses to optimize real-time AI inferencing and enable smarter applications across many key industries.

"As the demand for Edge AI solutions grows, businesses need highly reliable, compact systems that can process data at the edge in real-time," said Charles Liang, president and CEO of Supermicro. "At Supermicro, we design and deploy the industry's broadest range of application optimized systems from the data center to the far edge. Our latest generation of edge servers deliver advanced AI capabilities for enhanced efficiency and decision-making close to where the data is generated. With up to 2.5 times core count increase at the edge with improved performance per watt and per core, these new Supermicro compact systems are fully optimized for workloads such as Edge AI, telecom, networking, and CDN."

At Embedded World Germany, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced the entry into an agreement to acquire EdgeImpulse Inc., which will enhance its offering for developers and expand its leadership in AI capabilities to power AI-enabled products and services across IoT. The closing of this deal is subject to customary closing conditions. This acquisition is anticipated to complement Qualcomm Technologies' strategic approach to IoT transformation, which includes a comprehensive chipset roadmap, unified software architecture, a suite of services, developer resources, ecosystem partners, comprehensive solutions, and IoT blueprints to address diverse industry needs and challenges.

"We are thrilled about the opportunity to significantly enhance our IoT offerings with Edge Impulse's advanced AI-powered end-to-end platform that will complement our strategic approach to IoT transformation," said Nakul Duggal, group general manager, automotive, industrial and embedded IoT, and cloud computing, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "We anticipate that this acquisition will strengthen our leadership in AI and developer enablement, enhancing our ability to provide comprehensive technology for critical sectors such as retail, security, energy and utilities, supply chain management, and asset management. IoT opens the door for a myriad of opportunities, and success is about building real-world solutions, enabling developers and enterprises with AI capabilities to extract intelligence from data, and providing them with the tools to build the applications and services that will power the digital transformation of industries."

Getac Technology Corporation (Getac), a leading provider of rugged computing and mobile video solutions, today announced the launch of its next generation B360 and B360 Pro fully rugged laptops, offering professionals across industries including field services, utilities and defense two powerful, yet versatile solutions to overcome the daily challenges they face.

Next generation AI-ready performance
The next generation B360 and B360 Pro combine fully rugged build quality with a host of innovative new technology upgrades. This includes the latest Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors and Intel AI Boost technology, which enables users to leverage on-device Edge AI to quickly and seamlessly execute tasks. In a recent text-to-report evaluation test conducted with Getac industry customers using Llama 3.1 8B, AI applications running on the B360 were able to turn extensive texts into full reports in a matter of seconds. This powerful Edge AI performance offers significant operational advantages over cloud AI, particularly in scenarios requiring real-time processing, high levels of data privacy and security, offline capability, and cost efficiency.

According to Digital Chat Station—a repeat leaker of unannounced Qualcomm hardware—unnamed Android smartphone manufacturers are considering an eSIM-only operating model for future flagship devices. Starting with the iPhone 14 generation (2022), Apple has continued to deliver gadgets that are not reliant on "slotted-in" physical SIM cards. According to industry insiders, competitors could copy the market leader's homework—Digital Chat Station's latest Weibo blog post discusses the space-saving benefits of eSIM operation; being "conducive to lightweight and integrated design." Forthcoming top-tier slimline Android mobile devices are tipped to utilize Qualcomm's rumored second-generation "Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2" (SM8850) chipset.

Digital Chat Station reckons that: "SM8850 series phones at the end of the year are testing eSIM. Whether they can be implemented in China is still a question mark. Let's wait and see the iPhone 17 Air. In order to have an ultra-thin body, this phone directly cancels the physical SIM card slot. Either it will be a special phone for the domestic market, or it will get eSIM." The phasing out of physical SIM cards within the Chinese mobile market could be a tricky prospect for local OEMs, but reports suggest that "traditionally-dimensioned" flagship offerings will continue to support the familiar subscriber identity module standard. Physical SIM card purists often point out that the format still provides superior network support range.

Blades of Fire takes place in an age of petrified steel. An all-powerful witch queen's spell turns all the world's steel into stone, apart from that wielded by an army of brainwashed minions who once served her father. This one small technological twist changes everything for this unique fantasy world. Granted a legendary hammer, Aran de Lira is the only one who can forge new weapons and fight back, becoming an unwilling hero on an unlikely quest. MercurySteam's much-anticipated follow-up to Metroid Dread, Blades of Fire is a brand-new IP that aims to reforge the action adventure genre with strategic combat, the debut of a rich sword-and-sorcery fantasy world, and a deep weapon forging system that hopes to deliver unlimited customization. Each weapon you forge is one-of-a-kind, ready to carve out its own destiny. You don't build a character—you build an arsenal. We recently played the opening stages of Blades of Fire and spoke to the team about how they're reforging the action adventure and making players think about weapons from a fresh perspective.

Closing the circle
It was a long path to get here for Enric Alvarez, MercurySteam Co-Founder, CEO, and Game Director. Just as the age of iron and steel was preceded by 2,000 long years of the Bronze Age, Blades of Fire is the culmination of a 24-year journey, a period the Madrid-based studio spent sharpening their skills and burnishing a prestigious reputation. In 2001, the founding members of MercurySteam worked at Rebel Act. The studio only released one game: Blade of Darkness, a PC cult classic sometimes regarded as a precursor to the Souls games for its minimalist storytelling, challenging stamina-driven combat, and a dark fantasy world beyond redemption. The influence of Conan and The Lord of the Rings (pre-Peter Jackson adaptations, as The Fellowship of the Ring came out that December) was strong, pairing exhilarating sword-and-board action with epic grandeur. Perhaps too ahead of its time, Rebel Act closed its doors after Blade of Darkness failed to find a sufficient audience.

Retroid, a popular brand of retro gaming handhelds, has finally revealed the specifications for its upcoming product - the Retro Pocket Classic. As the name suggests, the product will boast a compact form factor that screams retro vibes. The company has revealed multiple teasers for the device in the past, and has now shed light on the detailed specifications of the same. As teased, the Pocket Classic will boast a 3.92-inch AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 500 nits and a resolution of 1,240 x 1080 allowing for an impressive pixel density of 419.

Internally, an undisclosed 4 nm Qualcomm SoC will sit at the heart of the device, paired with 4 GB of LPDDR4X memory and 64 GB of eMMC storage. The product will boast an active cooling solution, which should allow for longer play times without any severe throttling issues. Speaking of longer play times, the Pocket Classic will boast a 5,000-mAh battery with 27-watt charging support. At just 13.8 x 8.9 x 2.6 cm, the Pocket Classic weighs in at just 223 grams. As for connectivity, a USB-C port, a 3.5 mm audio jack, as well as a TF card slot. Wireless communications will be taken care of by Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 5. Pricing and availability details are under wraps for now, but when the time comes, the Pocket Classic will ship with Android 14 pre-installed.

Around late January, concerned owners of high-end ASUS motherboards uploaded photo and video evidence of alleged physical damage caused by the manufacturer's PCIe "Q-Release Slim" system. Social media and forum posts showed worrying scraping and scratching on graphics card interfaces. The North American branch of ASUS responded to reports with a public service announcement: "in our internal testing and evaluation of the extremely small number of cases reported, we found no damage to the motherboard or graphics card that would affect functionality and/or performance....However, it is important to emphasize that any type of PCIe add-in card will exhibit signs of usage and wear marking after 60 continuous insertions and removals." Rival brands have kept tabs on this sorry situation; many offer similar motherboard-mounted GPU quick release systems. Yesterday, GIGABYTE's Japanese office posted a very "on the nose" demonstration of their EZ Latch Plus design.

The AORUS Japan social media account's "Ultimate PCIe Scratch Test" video involved the repeated insertion and removal of a candidate card from a GIGABYTE Z890 AORUS ELITE WIFI7 ICE motherboard. An anonymous employee completed one hundred cycles. Upon the experiment's conclusion, the graphics card's interface displayed zero evidence of physical deterioration. The manufacturer's Japanese AORUS branch boasted (via machine translation): "start building your PC with confidence! GIGABYTE's renowned easy DIY and ultra-durable design ensures smooth, hassle-free builds and rock-solid reliability. No more worrying about peeling golden finger contacts or scratches from metal edges." Their sarcastic delivery seemingly pokes fun at ASUS and the "troubled" Q-Release Slim system; it should be noted that it is a relatively new design. As reported back in early February, ASUS China launched an extensive customer support/compensation program. According to user accounts, some very expensive custom GeForce RTX 50-series cards have suffered cosmetic damage on PCIe interfaces. GIGABYTE's Western web presences have joined in on the fun—the AORUS Official social media account delivered a slightly different spin on their overall message: "game on with confidence! With our renowned DIY-friendly and Ultra Durable design, you'll enjoy a smooth, hassle-free build with rock-solid reliability. No more worries about gold finger paint peeling or scratches from metal edges—our design provides complete protection for both your GPU and motherboard."

Software redesigns are often a polarizing affair. No matter how a company approaches the task, the final product will always please some people, while displeasing others. However, this fact has hardly ever hindered tech giants from tinkering - or 'innovating', as they call it - and the same is expected for this year's iOS 19 and macOS 16 operating systems. As multiple sources have pointed out, including the reliable Mark Gurman, iOS 16 is likely to receive a major redesign this year, which will include design elements borrowed from Apple's VisionOS - the operating system that powers the Vision Pro.

The same applies to the upcoming macOS 16, internally code-named "Cheer", which is also borrow inspiration from VisionOS. We have witnessed hints of this in iOS 18 already, which includes round icons in the control center, as opposed to its predecessor's square icons with rounded edges. Interestingly, Gurman did not confirm whether all app icons will switch to a round shape, which will be quite interesting since older macOS and OS X versions, all the way to Catalina, boasted round app icons. Of course, design changes are often cyclic, especially in the case with Apple. Moreover, increased translucency should also be prevalent throughout macOS 16 and iOS 19 - yet another design choice that is likely to be divisive in nature. Either way, both iOS 19 and macOS 16 are expected to debut in the summer at WWDC 25, which means we don't have much waiting to do before being granted a sneak peek into the future of macOS and iOS.

Handheld enthusiasts are likely quite familiar with tiny laptops that intend to function as handheld gaming consoles. The company Winstron has a different vision for the segment, however, which has been depicted by the company's latest concept - the Winstron Dual Fusion. Considering that this product is very much in the concept stage, we have no details regarding specifications, pricing, or availability. That said, the concept laptop sure does look quite interesting.

Instead of shrinking a laptop down to the size of a handheld, Winstron's Dual Fusion package consists of a typically sized laptop with a detachable palm rest area. This section, will include a display where the trackpad is present, flanked by controls on either side that disappear when the module is attached to the host system. The handheld module is not standalone, unsurprisingly, and is only meant to act as a streaming companion for the laptop. The handheld module will also include a 180-degree hinge, in order to allow for the display to flip and switch positions with the touchpad on the other side. As stated previously, Winstron has yet to reveal any plans for manufacturing the device, and as always, the rest remains to be seen with time.

Samsung Electronics and Logitech celebrate five years of partnership in video conferencing, combining their industry-leading solutions to enhance workplace collaboration and productivity. The integration of Samsung high-definition displays with Logitech's video conferencing solutions creates immersive, connected experiences ready to meet the needs of today's employees.

With the rise of flexible work environments, organizations require meeting spaces equipped with advanced video conferencing technology to enable seamless collaboration for distributed teams. Businesses can now leverage Samsung's high-definition displays with Logitech's conference cameras, webcams and audio systems to achieve crystal-clear video and sound, helping remote and in-person participants feel like they are in the same room. Samsung Interactive Displays also enable teams to connect, share ideas and whiteboard on a single screen. These meeting solutions make every participant feel equally engaged regardless of location.

As reported last month, GALAX had distributed prototypes of its upcoming flagship "Hall of Fame" (HOF) card—based on NVIDIA's Chinese market exclusive GeForce RTX 5090D GPU—to prominent figures within the PC hardware overclocking community. Earlier examples sported single 12V-2×6 power connectors, although GALAX's exposed white PCB design showed extra space for an additional unit. Evaluators conducted experiments involving liquid nitrogen-based cooling methods. The most vocal of online critics questioned the overclocking capability of initial GeForce RTX 5090D HOF samples, due to limitations presented by a lone avenue of power delivery. A definitive answer has arrived in the form of the manufacturer's elite team-devised GeForce RTX 5090D HOF Extreme Overclock (XOC) Lab Limited Edition candidate; a newer variant that makes use of dual 12V-2×6 power connectors. Several overclocking experts have entered into a GALAX-hosted competition—Micka:)Shu, a Chinese participant, posted photos of their test rig setup (see below).

Micka's early access sample managed to achieve top placement GPU on UL Benchmarks' 3DMark Speed Way Hall of Fame, with a final score of 17169 points. A screenshotted GPU-Z session shows the card's core frequency reaching 3277 MHz. Around late January, ASUS China's general manager (Tony Yu) documented his overclocking of a ROG Astral RTX 5090 D GAMING OC specimen up to 3.4 GHz; under liquid nitrogen cooled conditions. GALAX has similarly outfitted its flagship model with selectively binned components and an "over-engineered" design. The company's "bog-standard" HOF model is no slouch, despite the limitation imposed by a single power connector. The GALAX OC Facebook account sent out some appreciation to another noted competitor (and collaborator): "thanks to Overclocked Gaming Systems—OGS Rauf for help with the overclock of GeForce RTX 5090D HOF, and all of (our) GALAX products." The OGS member set world records with said "normal" HOF card—achieving scores of 59,072 points in 3DMark's Fire Strike Extreme project, and 25,040 points in Unigine Superposition (8K-optimized).

Beyond the Ice Palace 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 1988 platforming cult classic, launches today on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam, GoG, and Epic Games Store. Developed by Storybird Studio and co-published by PQube and PixelHeart, this modern revival of the legendary action-platformer delivers fast-paced combat, challenging traversal, and hidden secrets, all wrapped in a stunning gothic pixel-art world.

After an unprecedented 37-year wait, gaming history has been made with the release of Beyond The Ice Palace 2, shattering records as the longest gap between an original game and its sequel. When the first Beyond The Ice Palace captivated players on platforms like Amiga, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum in 1988, few could have imagined that fans would wait nearly four decades for a continuation of the beloved fantasy action platformer.

BlizzCon is back! The ultimate celebration of our games and the community that unites us is returning to the Anaheim Convention Center Saturday, September 12, and Sunday, September 13, in 2026. One of our favorite traditions, BlizzCon brings us together over our shared passion for Blizzard's universes, but at its heart, BlizzCon has always been about so much more. It's about you, the communities you are a part of, and gives us the chance to connect, build friendships, and create unforgettable memories together.

We've come a long way since our first event in 2005. Over the past nearly 20 years since its inception, BlizzCon has inspired us to innovate, push the boundaries of creativity, and deliver once-in-a-lifetime moments. It's important that we put on an event worthy of our community. For 2026, alongside BlizzCon staples like Opening Ceremony, in-depth panels, the Darkmoon Faire, friendly competition, hands-on gameplay, and more, we aim to meaningfully elevate this iconic celebration and create an unforgettable experience for all who take part in it. We are building this event just like we build our games: with a deep commitment to our players, with respect for your connections to our universes, and as a celebration of the strength of the bonds formed through shared adventure.

According to a Reuters technology report, Meta's engineering department is engaged in the testing of their "first in-house chip for training artificial intelligence systems." Two inside sources have declared this significant development milestone; involving a small-scale deployment of early samples. The owner of Facebook could ramp up production, upon initial batches passing muster. Despite a recent-ish showcasing of an open-architecture NVIDIA "Blackwell" GB200 system for enterprise, Meta leadership is reported to be pursuing proprietary solutions. Multiple big players—in the field of artificial intelligence—are attempting to breakaway from a total reliance on Team Green. Last month, press outlets concentrated on OpenAI's alleged finalization of an in-house design, with rumored involvement coming from Broadcom and TSMC.

One of the Reuters industry moles believes that Meta has signed up with TSMC—supposedly, the Taiwanese foundry was responsible for the production of test batches. Tom's Hardware reckons that Meta and Broadcom were working together with the tape out of the social media giant's "first AI training accelerator." Development of the company's "Meta Training and Inference Accelerator" (MTIA) series has stretched back a couple of years—according to Reuters, this multi-part project: "had a wobbly start for years, and at one point scrapped a chip at a similar phase of development...Meta last year, started using an MTIA chip to perform inference, or the process involved in running an AI system as users interact with it, for the recommendation systems that determine which content shows up on Facebook and Instagram news feeds." Leadership is reportedly aiming to get custom silicon solutions up and running for AI training by next year. Past examples of MTIA hardware were deployed with open-source RISC-V cores (for inference tasks), but is not clear whether this architecture will form the basis of Meta's latest AI chip design.

ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual and EdTech solutions, has been honored at the prestigious iF Design Award 2025 for its outstanding design excellence. The company earned accolades for its Mac-compatible 5K monitor, 16-inch 16:10 portable monitors, and ViewShare wireless screen casting kit, showcasing its dedication to innovation, sustainability, and user-centric design.

ViewSonic has been honored at the iF Design Award 2025 for its outstanding design excellence
"We're thrilled to see our focus on user-centric innovation—like the ColorPro monitor's stunning 5K clarity for creative professionals, portable monitors for productivity on the go, and ViewShare for seamless collaboration—recognized for the eighth consecutive year at the iF Design Award," said Bonny Cheng, COO at ViewSonic. "Our goal is to deliver comprehensive solutions across business, education, and entertainment while prioritizing sustainability."

A curiously-specced Acer Nitro N50 (N50-656) pre-built gaming PC system was spotted and then reported online, courtesy of momomo_us's diligent eye—trained on all manner of international retail and e-tail webstores. EvoPC—a small indie outfit, located in Nancy, France—has inadvertently hinted about a potential upcoming launch of NVIDIA's unannounced GeForce RTX 5060 model. VideoCardz believes that Team Green will be unveiling the lower end of its gaming-oriented "Blackwell" GPU product stack.

An imminent announcement—reportedly marked down for this week—could include another GB203-based variant; the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti—in addition, they reckon that NVIDIA will reveal a next-gen "entry-mainstream" offering; in the shape of GeForce RTX 5050. Comprehensive details leaked onto the internet over the past weekend. EvoPC's webshop advertises the "currently unavailable" Acer Nitro N50-656 system with a steep €1589 (~$1735 USD) price tag (subject to change). Their basic rundown of internal parts lists: an Intel Core i7-14700F processor, 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5 RAM, and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5060 GPU with 8 GB of GDDR7 SDRAM.

The time has come! Order 13 is now available. What a crazy ride it has been since we first announced the game back in January. We hope that you are ready for your fist shift in the warehouse. It is finally time for you to dive in and uncover the mysteries of the place. A huge thank you to everyone who played the demo, gave us feedback and sent us thoughtful messages on the game. It's also been mind-blowing to see creators like CaseOh, Tomato, Fooster, and Insym play, that's something to check off the bucket list.

Collect orders, pack them, and ship them out. Easy, right?
You wake up in a dark warehouse, tasked with packing orders while something lurks in the shadows. Work fast, stay safe, and protect your cat. He's all you've got. You're all alone working at a remote fulfillment center. Your only companion is your loyal cat—a comforting presence in the vast, dark warehouse you are stationed in. Start each shift by reviewing incoming orders, then venture into the warehouse to retrieve the items. Armed with a flashlight and basic tools, move quickly, avoid lingering, and complete your tasks while the shadows around you grow darker and more dangerous.

eveloper Ivy Road and publisher Annapurna Interactive are thrilled to release today a narrative-driven game about tea and change, Wanderstop, on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and Steam for $24.99.

Wanderstop's captivating original soundtrack by composer Daniel "C418" Rosenfeld (the music of Minecraft) is also available for purchase and wishlisting on Steam, Bandcamp, Spotify, and more music platforms. The score includes over 80+ songs, perfect to relax and reflect to.

In an exclusive report, Windows Central has claimed that Microsoft is collaborating with an unnamed "PC gaming OEM" on an Xbox handheld console. Jez Corden has heard from several insiders; they reckon that a "later in 2025" launch is possible, if development goes smoothly enough. A leak from Winter 2024 indicated that Microsoft's gaming division was "targeting a handheld gaming experience," but Phil Spencer has freely disclosed his ambitions for his team's portable project. Last November, he confirmed that something was in pipeline—with a view to take on very visible competition: Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go. The latest Windows Central investigative piece divulges some unprecedented details about: "codename 'Keenan,' this gaming handheld will look unmistakably 'Xbox' we're told, complete with an official Xbox guide button, and Xbox design sensibilities. Given that this is a partner device, similar to Lenovo's SteamOS partnership with Valve, I expect this handheld to be more PC-oriented. Keenan is almost definitely running full Windows, putting the Microsoft Store and PC Game Pass front and center, alongside the ability to install things like Steam."

Based on inside track knowledge, Corden anticipates operating system innovations: "I expect the handheld will test new Windows 11 'device aware' capabilities, while reducing third-party OEM bloatware that are typical of devices like the Lenovo Legion Go and ASUS ROG Ally. I expect Microsoft will leverage widgets on the Xbox Game Bar on PC for controlling things like TDP and fan speed, while hopefully having a more streamlined OS experience for controller use. Of course, existing PC gaming OEMs will benefit from these efforts as well—but the research will also help with Microsoft's further-out plans." Almost a month and a half ago, Spencer outlined a sort of wishlist for "innovative" future Xbox hardware—given that Sony is rumored to be devising a "standalone PlayStation handheld," he was likely envisioning next-gen home consoles. Windows Central's sources have provided additional insights into potential Xbox Series X|S successors.

Frostisen Studio today announced that Eydigard, its highly anticipated historical fantasy RPG, will launch into Early Access on Steam for Windows PC on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Set against the rugged landscape of 16th-century Northern Norway, players take on the role of shapeshifters tasked with cleansing and reclaiming haunted farmlands.

Eydigard places players in the role of shapeshifters in 16th-century Northern Norway, blending authentic Norwegian and Sámi folklore with dynamic action RPG gameplay. Players can transform between human form and powerful animals (bear, lynx) to overcome challenges in both single-player and 1-6 player cooperative modes

Kingston has introduced its new DC3000ME line of enterprise-grade PCIe 5.0 SSDs. These top-tier storage devices come in a U.2 15 mm form factor (100.50 mm × 69.8 mm × 14.8 mm) and use 3D eTLC NAND flash memory. The drives include built-in power loss protection and AES 256-bit hardware-based encryption. Kingston DC3000ME SSDs are designed for server applications such as AI, HPC, OLTP, databases, cloud infrastructure, and edge computing. As an enterprise-grade product, the DC3000ME SSDs also feature various built-in telemetry such as media wear, temperature, health, etc.

At this moment, they are offered in three sizes: 3.84 TB, 7.68 TB, and 15.36 TB. Each version has 1DWPD durability with a 5-year warranty. In terms of power consumption, we have 8 W when idle and up to 24 W during writing operations. Kingston points out the drives' steady I/O performance and quick response times, with read delays under 10µs at 99% and write delays under 70µs. (up to 14,000/10,000 MB/s sequential read/write and up to 2,800,000/500,000 4k random read/write IOPS). The drives also have NVMe-MI 1.2b remote management, end-to-end data safety, and support for TCG Opal 2.0. Exact pricing is still to be announced, however we found them online at €686,9 (3.84 TB), €1226,9 (7.68 TB), €2252,9 (15.36 TB).

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of IPC solutions, motherboards, graphics cards, and PC peripherals, is currently showcasing its latest technologies at Embedded World 2025, held from March 11-13 at Nurnberg Messe, Germany.

BIOSTAR's showcase features AI-powered industrial PCs and edge computing platforms that provide secure, efficient, and scalable solutions for industries like automation, smart cities, and human-machine interfaces (HMI) at this year's exhibition. With cutting-edge solutions such as IPC motherboards, panel PC, and edge computing systems, and NVIDIA Jetson Orin edge AI system, the products demonstrate BIOSTAR's capabilities on edge AI and edge computing area for critical industrial applications.

Today, KOEI TECMO and developer Team NINJA announced that their open-world action RPG, Rise of the Ronin, is now available digitally on Windows PC via Steam. Originally released for PlayStation 5, the epic Bakumatsu era tale takes players on a historic journey where a masterless warrior, a ronin, must fight to forge their own destiny through the chaos of war and political unrest. The Steam version supports various PC features, including ultra-wide monitor combatibility, 8K resolution, 120 FPS, 3D audio, and more.

In Rise of the Ronin, fans will play as a ronin in 1863 Japan in turmoil. With Japan's fate now in their hands, players will encounter various historical figures and factions with differing ideologies, and make significant decisions such as whether to confront or defend them. Players will also be able to form special relationships with some characters thanks to the "Veiled Vow" system, which will allow them to freely shape their own experience of the Bakumatsu period.

Technology advancements in AI, video, analytics, VR, photography, and media and entertainment (M&E) have rapidly increased the demand for more data storage. Every stage of professional workflows—production, analysis, editing, collaboration and archiving—demands more capacity, performance and flexibility. In response, Western Digital (Nasdaq: WDC) is unveiling several new product enhancements built to meet the growing need for higher capacity storage solutions for today's data-driven demands.

HDD Capacity and Performance for Creative Workflows
Western Digital has unveiled higher capacities across its Professional product suite. Solutions feature enterprise-class Ultrastar 7200 RPM HDDs for high performance, reliability and fast read/write speeds.

One of COMPUTEX's organizers, TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council), announced that NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang will deliver the first keynote at COMPUTEX 2025, outlining the latest advancements and breakthroughs in AI and accelerated computing technologies.

The keynote will take place at the Taipei Music Center and be livestreamed at 11 a.m. Taiwan Time on Monday, May 19 (Sunday, May 18, 8 p.m. PT), with a replay available on COMPUTEX Keynote website.

Today at Embedded World, Altera Corporation, a leader in FPGA innovations, unveiled its latest programmable solutions tailored for embedded developers who are pushing the boundaries of innovation at the intelligent edge. Altera's latest Agilex FPGAs, Quartus Prime Pro software, and FPGA AI Suite enable the rapid development of highly customized embedded systems deployed across a broad range of edge applications, including robotics, factory automation systems, and medical equipment.

Altera's programmable solutions meet the stringent power, performance and size requirements of embedded and intelligent edge applications. These hardware solutions, along with Altera's FPGA AI Suite, enable machine learning engineers, software developers, and FPGA designers to create custom FPGA AI platforms using industry-standard frameworks such as TensorFlow and PyTorch, and development tools such as OpenVINO and Quartus Prime software.

Infortrend Technology, Inc., the industry-leading enterprise storage provider, today announced the launch of its first NVMe all-flash expansion enclosure, or JBOF ("Just a Bunch of Flash") - the JB 4000U model. This new product provides an excellent storage expansion option for applications such as AI, Media & Entertainment (M&E), and Backup, where fast data access and large capacity are crucial.

Designed as a scalability solution for high-performance EonStor GS U.2 NVMe unified storage systems, the JB 4000U all-flash expansion enclosure features a 2U form factor, supporting up to 24 U.2 NVMe SSDs in a single appliance. In a dual-controller configuration, it delivers an impressive throughput of up to 24 GB/s, approximately 50% higher than that of the Infortrend's highest-performance SAS SSD expansion enclosure. JBOF offers superior performance at a lower cost compared to expansion enclosures supporting SAS SSDs, as U.2 NVMe SSDs are generally more affordable. Users can expand storage capacity with the JB 4000U, offering up to 1.47PB in a single unit. Adding up to three JBOFs can further increase the capacity to 4.4PB.

Giga Computing, a subsidiary of GIGABYTE and a pioneer in AI-driven enterprise computing, is set to make a significant impact at Supercomputing Asia 2025 (SCA25) in Singapore (March 11-13). At booth #D5, GIGABYTE showcases its latest advancements in liquid cooling, solutions for AI training and high-performance computing (HPC). The booth highlights GIGABYTE's innovative technology and comprehensive direct liquid cooling (DLC) strategies, reinforcing its commitment to energy-efficient, high-performance computing.

Revolutionizing AI Training with DLC
A key highlight of GIGABYTE's showcase is the NVIDIA HGX H200 platform, a next-generation solution for AI workloads. GIGABYTE is presenting both its liquid-cooled G4L3-SD1 server and its air-cooled G893 series, providing businesses with advanced cooling solutions tailored for high-performance demands. The G4L3-SD1 server, equipped with CoolIT Systems' cold plates, effectively cools Intel Xeon CPUs and eight NVIDIA H200 GPUs, ensuring optimal performance with enhanced energy efficiency.

Axiomtek - a world-renowned leader relentlessly devoted to the research, development, and manufacture of innovative, highly efficient, and reliable industrial computer products - is pleased to introduce the MMB566, a high-performance micro ATX motherboard designed for demanding industrial and commercial applications. Powered by the 14th/13th/12th Gen Intel Core i9/i7/i5/i3 or Celeron processors with the Intel Q670E, R680E, or H610E chipset, the MMB566 delivers exceptional computing power and reliability. Designed for precision and durability, it excels in remote control and automated test equipment, ensuring accurate system monitoring and control. Its high processing power makes it ideal for data processing and analysis, while its robust design guarantees seamless operation in ATM applications. With versatile expandability and reliable performance, the MMB566 is a future-ready solution for industrial computing needs.

"Axiomtek's MMB566 is engineered to provide exceptional connectivity, flexibility, and long-term reliability for industrial and commercial applications," said Irene Su, Product Manager of the IDS Division at Axiomtek. "It features two 2.5GbE LAN ports, with optional 10GbE LAN ports available to meet customer-specific high-speed networking requirements. Designed for versatility, it offers a rich array of I/O options, including up to six SATA ports, six COM ports, and twelve USB ports, ensuring seamless integration with various peripheral devices. With support for TPM and Intel AMT, the MMB566 enhances security and remote management. Furthermore, its guaranteed 10-year supply makes it a reliable choice for embedded systems requiring long-term availability. Ultimately, with highly customizable service options, the MMB566 delivers optimized performance and long-term value across diverse applications."

Embedded World is one of the most influential exhibitions in the global embedded technology sector, attracting numerous experts in industrial computing, automotive electronics, IoT, and AI technologies each year. Phison Electronics (8299TT), a leading innovator of NAND controller and NAND storage solutions, will participate in the Taiwan Excellence Pavilion at Embedded World 2025 in Germany from March 11 to 13.

Phison will showcase its exclusive AI solution aiDAPTIV+, the enterprise ultra-high-capacity PASCARI PCIe 5.0 122.88 TB SSD, and its latest automotive storage technology, the MPT5 Automotive PCIe Gen 4 SSD, demonstrating over 15 years of technical expertise in the embedded market.

Advantech, a leading provider of edge computing and edge AI solutions, is pleased to announce their high-performance server and network appliances are now powered by the latest AMD EPYC Embedded 9005 Series processors. By leveraging these cutting-edge platforms, Advantech is driving edge computing and AI to new heights—making solutions ideal for 5G edge cloud, AI, machine learning, and enhanced data security.

"We are excited about the launch of Advantech's latest generation of innovative edge computing and AI solutions powered by AMD EPYC Embedded 9005 Series processors," said Amey Deosthali, Senior Director of embedded core markets at AMD. "Optimized for embedded markets, EPYC Embedded 9005 provides exceptional compute performance for edge AI applications while delivering enhanced IO capabilities, product longevity, and system resiliency."

ASUS IoT, a global leader in AIoT solutions, today unveils its latest innovations at Embedded World 2025. Showcasing a comprehensive lineup of advanced Edge AI and embedded computing technologies, ASUS IoT empowers businesses to accelerate AI adoption and enhance efficiency across industries such as manufacturing, robotics, and smart city infrastructure.

Revolutionary edge AI computing
This year, ASUS IoT is showcasing the upcoming RUC-1000G, its rugged 19-inch 2U edge AI computer - the world's first to support a 600 W GPU and PCIe 5.0. Designed for mission-critical industrial applications, it features advanced thermal management to ensure superior real-time AI inference and deep learning performance. Enhanced data security with TPM IC and IEC 62443-4-1 compliance ensures protection, while the iBMC module enables rapid system recovery.

ADATA Technology Co. Ltd., the world's leading brand for memory modules and flash memory, today announced the launch of the SC730 external SSD, the industry's first ultra-compact drive featuring both USB-C and USB-A connectors in a lightweight 7.8 g form factor. Designed for seamless multi-platform connectivity, it delivers up to 600 MB/s transfer speeds, making it ideal for users on the go. The SC730 also stands out with its eco-conscious design, featuring an exterior casing made from 50% post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials, aligning with ADATA's commitment to ESG sustainability initiatives.

USB-C & USB-A Miniature Form Factor
The SC730's standout feature is its dual-interface design, supporting USB 3.2 Gen 2 to achieve 600 MB/s read and write speeds. Whether transferring high-resolution media files, gaming data, or large business projects, this SSD ensures a smooth and efficient experience. Measuring only 36 mm in length, the SC730 is even smaller than a typical USB flash drive yet delivers the advantages of dual connectivity and high-speed storage, setting a new benchmark for portable storage solutions.

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."

AMD today launched the EPYC Embedded 9005 line of server processors in the embedded form-factor. These are non-socketed variants of the EPYC 9005 "Turin" server processors. The chips are intended for servers and other enterprise applications where processor replacements or upgradability are not a consideration. The EPYC Embedded 9005 "Turin" are otherwise every bit similar to the regular socketed EPYC 9005 series. These chips are based on a BGA version of the "Turin" chiplet-based processor, and powered by the "Zen 5" microarchitecture. Besides the BGA package, the EPYC Embedded 9005 series comes with a few features relevant to its form-factor and target use-cases.

To begin with, the EPYC Embedded 9005 "Turin" series comes with NTB (non-transparent bridging), a technology that enables high-performance data transfer between two processor packages across different memory domains. NTB doesn't use Infinity Fabric or even CXL, but a regular PCI-Express 5.0 x16 connection. It isn't intended to provide cache coherence, but to absorb faults across various memory domains. Next up, the series supports DRAM flush for enhanced power-loss mitigation. Upon detecting a power loss, the processor immediately dumps memory onto NVMe storage, before the machine turns off. On restart, the BIOS copies this memory dump from the NVMe SSD back to DRAM. Thirdly, the processors in the series support dual SPI flash interfaces, which enables system architects to embed lightweight operating systems directly onto a 64 MB SPI flash ROM, besides the primary SPI flash that stores the system BIOS. This lightweight OS can act like a bootloader for operating systems in other local storage devices.