Introducing the newest iteration of the Cipher series, Xbox Wireless Controller—Pulse Cipher Special Edition! Like its predecessors, Sky Cipher and Ghost Cipher, Pulse Cipher provides players with a nostalgic transparent look infused with a futuristic twist. Despite being third in the series, this controller is special in its own right. Players can catch a glimpse of the silver midframe through the red transparent top case to reveal the mysteries found within. This vibrant design and colorway make a bold statement where modern gaming meets enduring nostalgia.

Energize your play with the Pulse Cipher controller and all its features, including red, diamond-shaped rubberized grips, dark red accents across the bumpers, buttons, and two-toned thumbsticks, a metallic hybrid D-pad, and matching metallic triggers. You can easily swap button input profiles through the Xbox Accessory Hub, where you can also preview any of the screenshots or videos you take using the dedicated Share button found in the middle of the controller.

An industry mole—familiar with internal NCSOFT activities—believes that three game development projects have been cancelled: Pantera, H, and J. Past speculation has pointed to "Project H" being an announced Horizon MMO title—based on evidence that emerged shortly after the announced formation of a "strategic global business partnership" between Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and NCSOFT (back in 2023). Reportedly, Jim Ryan—the now former CEO and chairman of SIE—spearheaded PlayStation's concerted push into multi-faceted "live service" development cycles. Industry oracle, Jason Schreier, questioned the prioritization of "games as a service"—his late 2023 predictions seem very prescient, when looking at the present day landscape.

Last week, reports suggested two unannounced Sony-owned live-service games being placed on the proverbial chopping board. Bluepoint's much rumored "God of War" project was quietly canned according to Schreier's Bloomberg column, as well as a mysterious Bend Studios-produced title. NCSOFT's Project H—also known as "Skyline"—appears to be the victim of an internal "feasibility review." Target platforms were reported to be PC and mobile—therefore placing Project H/Skyline in a separate tranche; distinct from another online-oriented Horizon game. Franchise originator—Guerrilla Games—is reportedly still toiling away (with Bungie's guidance) on an upcoming multiplayer-focused release for PlayStation 5 home consoles.

SilverStone unveiled a new addition to its expansion card with the ECM40 PCIe 4.0 x16 to 4x M.2 NVMe SSD adapter card. This device supports 4x M.2 SSDs (M Key) in 2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280 form factors. The expansion card comes in a single slot format measuring 147.74 x 181 x 21.59 mm and is equipped with a 40 mm dual ball-bearing fan spinning at 7000 RPM to ensure better cooling of the SSDs. The fan can be turned on and off using the included power switch. A two-mode LED indicator provides additional operating status based on signals from the motherboard and SSD. The top cover is made from aluminium and acts as a radiator to dissipate heat. Moreover, thermal pads are included.

In terms of performance, the SilverStone product page informs us that the ECM40 is capable of achieving speeds up to 7,351 MB/s for continuous reads and up to 6,845 MB/s for write speed. These results were achieved using Kingston Fury 2T SSDs on a system built around an ASRock X570 Pro4 motherboard, with an AMD R9 5900X CPU and Micron Crucial DDR4 2133/8G (4Gx2) memory modules. The motherboard or add-on card must support PCIe bifurcation, allowing the PCIe x16/x8 slot to be split into 4x4 or 4x2 configurations. Currently, there is no information about pricing.

Sparkle's Arc B580 TITAN Luna OC graphics card model—featuring an all-white design—was discovered via leaked renders around mid-December. By that point in time, the Taiwanese company had already sent Intel Arc B580 "Battlemage" GPU-based products to market—most notably in the form of its Arc B580 TITAN OC SKU, bearing a signature blue design. W1zzard—TechPowerUp's resident evaluator of GPUs—honored this particular model with two awards: "Highly Recommended" and "Great Value." We expect the newly announced "Luna" (almost all-white) counterpart to perform nigh identically—Sparkle has simply rolled out a different color option for customers who favor pale-tinted PC builds.

The inclusion of a differently shaded I/O ruins the overall effect, but snow-white enthusiasts will be happy to discover that Sparkle has produced a white PCB design for its TITAN Luna lineup. Similarly, certain Chinese brands have consistently delivered many white-hued boards. Western PC gaming hardware enthusiasts have often admired the (more recognized) PowerColor Hellhound "Spectral White" aesthetic. A limited edition GPU holder will be bundled in the Arc B580 TITAN Luna OC's retail package—unfortunately, Sparkle has seemingly settled on including this all-blue accessory.

Polish your armor and sharpen your sword: Warhorse Studios and PLAION have released details of the post-launch roadmap for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. The game's upcoming February 4 launch signifies the start of an epic journey through medieval Bohemia, with a range of additional free and paid content set to arrive throughout 2025. From Horse Racing and Hardcore Mode to mastering blacksmithing and exploring compelling new quests, there is plenty for players to look forward to as they continue their adventure with Henry.

Alongside these expansions will be a number of free quality of life updates to further enhance the game experience. Unlock the full experience with the Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Gold Edition, which includes the base game, the Gallant Huntsman Kit and the Expansion Pass, which includes Shields of Season Passing and all three paid story expansions. The Gold Edition is truly the ultimate way to enjoy everything the game has to offer.

There are a substantial number of people who prefer to use an iPad for certain light-weight tasks over traditional laptops. For such folks, Apple's iPad lineup has always promised great performance and efficiency at reasonable prices, considering that they are willing to deal with the limitations of iPadOS. A plethora of recent reports have shed light on the expected release schedule for this year's iPads, including the entry-level budget iPad, the iPad Air, and the highest-end iPad Pro.

Of course, the iPad Pro is easily the most exciting among the bunch, although that does not seem to be the case this year. Multiple reports have pointed at a spec-bump for the iPad Pros, which will likely boast the Apple M5 SoC when it sees the light of day. Considering that the iPad got a major design overhaul just last year, no other major upgrades are anticipated for 2025. The entry-level iPad and iPad Air will witness a similar treatment, both getting an SoC upgrade to the A17 Pro and M3 respectively. This is particularly big deal for the entry-level iPad, which will now get to reap the benefits of 8 GB of memory, double that of the current generation, making the already budget-friendly iPad an even better value.

Vince "Kingpin" Lucido's latest "Let's Talk" video blog has revealed difficult circumstances—affecting the development of a new-generation "KP Card." The extreme overclocker has announced a planned move back to North America (prioritizing his family) around mid-2025—he has lived in Taiwan for fifteen years—along with a sad project cancellation. Kingpin stated that: "there's no 'my card' this generation. It can't come for Gen 5. It's impossible. There are just too many issues over here, and it would create a lot of problems if I jumped on board so quickly." Mid-last year, Kingpin partnered with PNY—this collaboration reached a "wishlist" phase following tests performed in 3D Mark, according to today's VLOG.

Timing is cited as a major factor in his decision-making—he did not want to sign a Taiwanese vendor's contract and commit significant man-hours during a trying life period. He reckons that he has options further down the line—potentially with US-based companies. His next Kingpin card design (skipping a generation) could be something "unbelievable" and he hinted about it being a surprise. On this subject he stated: "I can't really say much about that. Well, because it has to do with my previous contractual stuff. I love graphics cards. I love making graphics cards, and for sure, I don't think that's going to die. But I think we'll have to wait-still have to wait for another generation. And who knows? Maybe it won't be Team Green; maybe it'll be another color."

Phanteks is thrilled to officially release the Evolv X2 after unveiling it at Computex 2024. This innovative chassis redefines how a PC sits on a desk, blending cutting-edge functionality with premium aesthetics. Designed for PC enthusiasts and gamers, the Evolv X2 combines sleek design, superior cooling, and seamless hardware integration.

Revolutionary Design with a See-Through Appeal
The Evolv X2 features a tri-panel glass chassis for a clear view of your system's components. With an aluminium interior and vertical cooling solution the X2, efficiently draws in air from the bottom of the chassis and exhausts heat through the top. The chassis is designed to not only look stunning but also ensure optimal airflow for your components.

Numem, an innovator focused on accelerating memory for AI workloads, will be at the upcoming Chiplet Summit to showcase its high-performance solutions. By accelerating the delivery of data via new memory subsystem designs, Numem solutions are re-architecting the hierarchy of AI memory tiers to eliminate the bottlenecks that negatively impact power and performance.

The rapid growth of AI workloads and AI Processor/GPUs are exacerbating the memory bottleneck caused by the slowing performance improvements and scalability of SRAM and DRAM - presenting a major obstacle to maximizing system performance. To overcome this, there is a pressing need for intelligent memory solutions that offer higher power efficiency and greater bandwidth, coupled with a reevaluation of traditional memory architectures.

Global technology powerhouse Lenovo Group Limited (together with its subsidiary, "Lenovo" or the "Group") has announced that its subsidiary has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Infinidat Ltd. ("Infinidat"), a global provider of high-end enterprise storage solutions. The acquisition is part of Lenovo's growth strategy to bring differentiated technology solutions to market. This move will further strengthen Lenovo's enterprise storage offerings globally and underscores a commitment to delivering innovative storage solutions that meet the evolving needs of modern data centers.

With the strong storage solutions and research & development capabilities of Infinidat, the transaction will create strategic synergies with the Group's infrastructure solutions business and enterprise storage capabilities.

Silicon Motion will expand its MonTitan lineup of SSD controllers—for datacenters and enterprise platforms—with the upcoming addition of a truly next-generation model. Wallace C. Kou (the company's founder and CEO) contributes to ChinaFlashMarket.com with a regular written column—his latest feature (posted on January 17) includes a short sentence dedicated to announcing his firm's new SM8466 design. This appears to be their first foray into PCIe 6.0-based interface territories—details are minimal (at this point in time), but the CEO divulged the very basics. Silicon Motion's engineering team is currently in the "development stage" with the SM8466 project—a: "4 nm PCIe Gen 6 SSD master chip."

It is not clear whether this next-gen PCIe 6.0 SSD controller will be heading to market anytime soon, but Kou's column mostly focused on current plans—likely signalling where priorities lie. Silicon Motion's "built-in PCIe Gen 5 SSD enterprise-level master chip" (SM8366) is in mass production—industry experts believe that the company's MonTitan PCIe 5.0 family has had a tough time keeping up with equivalent Phison products—in particular, the market leading PS5026-E26 (PCIe 5.0 x4) controller. The SM8366 could be potent enough to take the crown in higher-end enterprise segments, but the existence of a PCIe 6.0-based successor is bound to attract extra attention.

Blue Cheetah Analog Design today announced the successful tape-outs of its next generation BlueLynx die-to-die (D2D) PHY on Samsung Foundry's SF4X 4 nm advanced manufacturing process. The latest PHY supports both advanced and standard chiplet packaging with an aggregate throughput exceeding 100 Tbps while achieving industry-leading silicon area footprint and power consumption. BlueLynx D2D subsystem IP enables chip architects to meet the bandwidth density and environmental robustness necessary to ensure production deployment success while preserving use case flexibility.

Using Samsung Foundry's SF4X 4 nm advanced process, the latest BlueLynx PHY supports both standard 2D and advanced 2.5D packages and enables system designers to seamlessly change packaging technologies in current and future implementations. Customer deliveries started in 2024 with silicon characterization in both advanced and standard packaging applications expected in early Q2 2025.

We're back with the next wave of Game Pass reveals for January—and I hope you've cleared your schedule! If you're looking for day one releases, some fan favorites, or ready to discover your next favorite game, I come prepared. And while we're making room on schedules, I hope to see you all on January 23 for our Developer Direct for an inside look at a few upcoming games (not to mention those coming day one with Game Pass!). Now let's get to the news!

Available Today:
Lonely Mountain: Snow Riders (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)—Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Available on day one! Crash over and over until you master the mountain in the snowy follow up to Lonely Mountains: Downhill. Now supporting up to 8 players via cross platform multiplayer - work your way down the slopes as a group sharing a small number of checkpoints, or risk it all in a breakneck race to the base!

Shipping manifests at NBD.ltd have revealed the presence of Intel's "Nova Lake" test chips, providing insight into the development timeline of the company's 2026 processor platform. The discovery comes as Intel prepares for the launch of its "Panther Lake" CPUs on the 18A process node in late 2025. Nova Lake is positioned to replace both Panther Lake for mobile devices and "Arrow Lake" for desktop systems. The manufacturing process remains unconfirmed, with Intel potentially using either its in-house 14A node or TSMC's 2 nm technology. Following recent practices, Intel may split production between its own facilities and TSMC for different components. Rumored specifications show that Nova Lake will use Coyote Cove performance cores and Arctic Wolf efficiency cores.

Unlike Lunar Lake, it will not incorporate on-package memory, maintaining a more conventional design approach. The test chip's appearance suggests Intel is adhering to its development schedule. This timing aligns with the company's plans for Panther Lake's mass production in the second half of 2025, a structured transition between generations. Documents point to "Razor Lake" as Nova Lake's eventual successor, though detailed specifications are not yet available. Panther Lake, the immediate predecessor to Nova Lake, will focus primarily on mobile computing, with desktop variants limited to Mini PC implementations. This approach mirrors the Meteor Lake generation, which saw limited desktop release through the "PS" series for Edge platforms. The Nova Lake platform is expected to support DDR5 memory and may introduce PCIe Gen 6.0 compatibility, with final specifications unconfirmed.

Hello Riders, welcome back to the Lonely Mountains! After four years of hard work Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders is finally out today for Steam and Xbox! Thank you to everyone who showed us your support on this journey! The base price for the game is €24.99/$24.99, and it comes with a one-week 10% Launch Discount for you. If you like the game, please leave us a review. It would mean the world to us and it really makes a difference for the Steam recommendation algorithm. If you experience any bugs, have feedback or any other questions please let us know on the Steam Forums or even better in our Discord.

One important note: a lot of people wished for a better way to speedrun the game and while we have been working on a "Hot Start" feature, unfortunately, it didn't make it in time for release. We hope we are able to release it soon but of course, we will first take care of all high-priority bugs that come in. We—at Megagon Industries—really hope you all enjoy our snowy Lonely Mountains and see you on the slopes!

ENDORFY is unveiling the Crystal Series Mousepads as a new lineup of high-quality, visually stunning mousepads designed to elevate the gaming and workspace setups. These new mousepads not only mark ENDORFY's venture beyond the flagship Cordura series but also bring fresh designs and impeccable quality to the table, setting a new benchmark for affordable style and performance.

Eye-catching designs for every taste
The Crystal Series features an array of vibrant, printed graphic patterns, including the sleek Crystal Black, the elegant Crystal Onyx White, the vibrant Crystal Spectrum, and the soothing Crystal Blue, available in two versatile sizes (L and XL). Whether the user is into minimalist aesthetics or bold visuals, the Crystal Series adds a splash of personality to the desk while ensuring functionality remains paramount.

Earlier today, reports pointed to an intriguingly discounted Intel "Battlemage" GPU-based graphics card on the Mindfactory.de webstore—ASRock's Arc B570 Challenger OC 10 GB model was priced at €249. European retailers would normally charge €279 for this specific SKU, but the Germany-headquartered PC hardware retail outlet offered a discount of €30, albeit briefly. VideoCardz noted that the fairly new Arc B570 Challenger OC model has been listed on Mindfactory's site since late last year—following Team Blue's early December unveiling of second wave Battlemage GPUs.

The timing of this special offer is a tad surprising, given that Arc B570-based graphics cards only reached global markets late last week. A compelling discount could have been implemented to entice buyers away from more expensive (€299 MSRP) Arc B580-equipped products, but Team Blue and its board partners have struggled—as-of-late—to keep these items in stock. Budget-minded gamers have seemingly embraced the slightly less potent B570 GPU family, and German customers surely had a great opportunity to save some Euros (over the past day or two). Mindfactory's time-limited sale produced a €50 gulf between the ASRock custom design and Intel's Limited Edition B580 model.

The video game industry may be preparing for significant pricing transformation, with the prediction that Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) could set a new precedent for game pricing when it launches in the fall of 2025. According to a recent industry analysis by Epyllion Group CEO Matthew Ball, the current standard price point of $70 for premium games is becoming unsustainable given the escalating development costs of major AAA titles. Ball suggests that GTA 6, one of the most anticipated releases in gaming history, may need to retail for at least $91 to reflect its production value. The potential price increase could have ripple effects throughout the industry, with other developers and publishers likely to follow suit. Anticipated are price points between $80 and $100 for premium titles, with cascading effects on lower-priced games that could see increases of around $10 across different price tiers.

Michael Douse, Publishing Director at Larian Studios, has voiced support for price adjustments, noting that game prices have remained relatively stagnant despite inflation. "A good company raises salaries in line with inflation so that their staff don't die or something, but games prices haven't risen with inflation. This isn't the reason the industry is in the shit for now, but it is an uncomfortable truth. On the other hand, the responsibility for a game developer is to make sure that the game they show lives up to that promise, and that investment from the player," Douse stated on X. While development costs and employee salaries have risen with inflation, game prices have seen only minimal increases. Even multimillion-dollar productions maintain the $70 price point, a model the industry now views as unsustainable.

All hands, battle stations! 🚨 Tempest Rising pre-orders are now live! We are also very excited to announce that we are participating in the Steam Real-Time Strategy Fest with a new demo. Play the multiplayer demo NOW until February 3! Prepare for war games, Commander! Get ready to dive into the global battlefield during the Tempest Rising multiplayer demo—as a part of the Steam Real-Time Strategy Fest!

Classic RTS action meets modern production and performance in Tempest Rising. Inspired by RTS greats of the 90s and 2000s, Tempest Rising is a classic, base-building real time strategy game set in a modern day alternative history war scenario. It features 3 unique factions, each with its own approach to combat and economy and offering a variety of strategies for players of all stripes, deep and rewarding gameplay that keeps a focus on strategy while rewarding skill, and built-in customization options that allow players to approach the game their way in both single player and multiplayer game modes.

Is NVIDIA reviving the RTX TITAN brand of halo-segment graphics cards with "Blackwell"? A curious-looking GB202-200-A1 spy-shot making rounds on ChilHell hints at the possibility. The upcoming GeForce RTX 5090 is the company's flagship product from the RTX 50-series "Blackwell" generation, although it does not max out the 4 nm "GB202" silicon on which it is based. The RTX 5090 enables 170 out of the 192 SM (streaming multiprocessors) physically present on the "GB202." This leaves NVIDIA with a lot of room to carve out either a halo-segment SKU such as the RTX TITAN Blackwell, or a Pro-Vis (professional visualization) product that also targets the AI research community.

NVIDIA's top Pro-Vis product tended to have more SMs enabled than the top GeForce RTX product, while having lower clock speeds, so its target users have access to more FP64-capable CUDA cores, more Tensor cores, etc. However, over the past two generations, NVIDIA discontinued the practice of giving its RTX GPUs large numbers of FP64 cores that are disabled on GeForce RTX products, to make die-space for the Tensor cores. This hence makes it more likely that a maxed-out "GB202" is the RTX TITAN Blackwell, and not a Pro-Vis product.

AMD has finally made an official announcement regarding the much anticipated launch of RDNA 4 graphics cards. The first wave of next-generation models—Radeon RX 9070 XT and 9070 (non-XT)—are lined up for a loose "around March" release, thus conforming to recent company statements that pointed to a first quarter (of 2025) rollout. The rumor mill had Team Red strategizing a launch for later this month—potentially beating NVIDIA to the next-gen GPU punch, but "price hurdles" and other factors have allegedly contributed to a revision of tactics.

Yesterday, David McAfee—Vice President and General Manager of Ryzen and Radeon products—ended speculation with a social media post: "Radeon 9000 series hardware and software are looking great, and we are planning to have a wide assortment of cards available globally. Can't wait for gamers to get their hands on the cards when they go on sale in March!" Hardcore PC hardware enthusiasts will likely be left confused by this fresh proclamation—a steady flow of January leaks have provided evidence of Navi 48 GPU-based products sitting in retail storage facilities, unboxing of certain partner models, and insiders playtesting early samples. Industry watchdogs posit that AMD's "aggressive pricing approach" has rubbed retailers the wrong way—the extra wiggle room could be spent on negotiating wholesale costs.

In the early hours of Tuesday, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck near a remote mountainous region roughly 24 miles southeast of Chiayi in Taiwan, causing temporary operational halts at multiple TSMC facilities. The tremor occurred at 12:17 AM local time and was felt in Tainan, home to four of TSMC's manufacturing sites. Workers in both Central and Southern Taiwan were evacuated as a precaution, following standard company protocols designed to ensure employee safety. TSMC initiated thorough structural inspections immediately after the quake. According to company representatives, all crucial infrastructure, such as water supply and power systems, remained fully functional. With no significant damage detected during safety assessments, TSMC has gradually restarted its production lines, minimizing any long-term impact on its global client base.

Despite the relatively brief disruption, the incident exposes the fragility of the semiconductor manufacturing process. Taiwan's frequent seismic activity has the potential to affect the complex manufacturing processes crucial for producing silicon. Given the company's massive consumption of chemicals and silicon ingots, any significant production setbacks at TSMC can resonate through global supply chains. To reduce these geographical and nature-inspired risks, TSMC is investing heavily in new manufacturing facilities elsewhere, notably in Arizona. Although these sites are expected to enhance the company's resilience, they will only account for around 10% of TSMC's total production capacity. Additionally, as TSMC doesn't plan to bring state-of-the-art production to other sites, the company must implement safety features against earthquake protection in its Taiwan facilities to continue production. A minor manufacturing hiccup can equate to billions of losses across the supply chain.

The world of mini PCs keeps on growing, thanks to a boost in popularity made possible by the impressive efficiency and performance improvements brought to the table by the silicon giants, allowing compact systems to function just as well as full-fledged towers. The Morefine M6S Plus is yet another addition to the list of mini PCs, and it appears that the system prioritizes portability and compactness over raw performance. For a sizeable chunk of casual desktop users, even entry-level processors pack enough computing grunt to ease through their workloads, and that demographic is exactly what the M6S Plus targets.

With dimensions of 7.2 x 7.2 x 4.2 cm, the Morefine M6S Plus is commendably compact indeed. As mentioned, the computing horsepower offered is very limited, thanks to the quad-core Intel N150 processor that lacks Hyper-Threading. The memory is, unfortunately, not user upgradeable, so customers are will have to stick the 12 GB of LPDDR5-4800 memory on offer. The storage however, is upgradeable, thanks to the M.2 2242 slot which can accommodate up to 4 TB of storage. In terms of connectivity, the options are acceptable, including dual Type-C ports with DP, gigabit ethernet, triple USB 3.2 Gen 1Type-A ports (two on the front), HDMI 2.1, as well as a headphone jack.

On April 17, 2025, Origin will shut down, as Microsoft has stopped supporting 32-bit software. If you use Origin, you need to upgrade to the EA app, which requires a 64-bit version of Windows. Find out how to update your Windows operating system to get the most out of the EA app.

What is the EA app?
The EA app is our enhanced platform for PC games. Optimized for the best user experience, it lets you easily find what you need and get into the game quicker than ever. Don't have it yet? Download the EA app here. The EA app doesn't support 32-bit versions of Windows. You'll need to upgrade to a 64-bit operating system on your device to play your games. See if the version of Windows you're running is 32 or 64-bit.

Another day, another Blackwell performance leak. As we inch closer to their official release, more and more benchmark results keep popping up on the internet. Now, a fresh Geekbench OpenCL listing seemingly sheds light on the performance brought to the table by the RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, housed in a Razer Blade 16 alongside a Strix Point APU. However, be warned - the following results depict the RTX 5090 laptop running at only 1515 MHz, which makes it significantly slower than what it is capable of when allowed to run at full tilt, likely to be somewhere around 2100 MHz.

As such, the RTX 5090 Laptop managed a score of only around 91,000 points - almost half that of its predecessor's typical score of 179,000 points according to Geekbench. This likely indicates that the laptop was running on battery power, which would make sense considering the abysmal result. At least, thanks to this listing, we do get to confirm the specifications of the RTX 5090 Laptop GPU - 82 SMs, which means a total of 10,496 CUDA cores, and 24 GB of GDDR7 VRAM. The RTX 4090 Laptop, on the other hand, packs 9728 CUDA cores, putting the RTX 5090 Laptop ahead by around 7.87%. The 150-watt RTX 5090 Laptop also clocks at 1455 MHz at an 80-watt TGP, and 2040 MHz at 150 watts. This does align with what we are witnessing from the aforementioned RTX 5090 Laptop listing, confirming that it is indeed in some kind of low-power mode.

Raijintek introduced the MGA-68 line of 65% wired mechanical keyboards. It features a 65% layout (69 keys), and uses magnetic key switches sourced from Hejin, with switch characteristics resembling MX Yellow, and a claimed endurance of 50 million keystrokes. These are capped by PBT+SUB keycaps. The keys are illuminated by an addressable-RGB LED setup. The star attraction with these keyboards is their CNC milled all-aluminium bodies, with some diamond cut edges. The keyboard comes in two color variants, black and silver. These are purely wired keyboards, with their USB interface providing a polling rate of 8000 Hz. The keyboard has a type-C receptacle, and a 2 m USB-C to USB-C cable, with a type-C to type-A adapter included. It measures 313 mm x 104 mm. The company didn't reveal pricing.

GAMDIAS, a premier brand in high-performance gaming PC hardware, is excited to announce the launch of the ATLAS P2 CG curved glass panoramic case. As the first product launch of 2025, the case embodies GAMDIAS's annual slogan, "GAMING REIMAGINED," redefining gaming setups with a sophisticated design and unmatched functionality. "The ATLAS P2 CG reflects our vision for 2025, offering gamers a seamless blend of cutting-edge design and exceptional performance that will transform their gaming experience," said Stimson Wang, CEO of GAMDIAS. Part of the highly acclaimed ATLAS series, the case features a striking fish-tank-inspired design with a seamless one-piece curved glass panel and an integrated system display, engineered to deliver limitless potential alongside a refined visual experience.

Immersive Panoramic View
The ATLAS P2 CG case features a stunning 270-degree curved tempered glass panel, offering an immersive panoramic view of the interior. This innovative design eliminates corner obstructions, creating a seamless showcase of internal components. Additionally, the case also supports connector-hidden motherboard (BTF motherboard), enabling cables to plug in from the rear for a clean and flawless front appearance.

Transcend Information Inc. (Transcend), a leading global manufacturer of memory storage solutions, introduces the ETD410T, a new U.2 enterprise solid-state drive (eSSD) designed for high-performance computing environments. Tailored to meet the stringent demands of enterprise users for ultra-fast data transfer and reliability, the ETD410T adopts the PCIe Gen 4 x4 high-speed interface and U.2 15 mm form factor, featuring a DRAM cache for exceptional performance and robust data protection. It is an ideal solution for data centers and enterprise applications.

Durable and Stable for High-Frequency Workloads
The Transcend ETD410T is a professional solution optimized for read-intensive workloads. Compliant with JESD219 standards, it offers a durability of up to 7,000 Program/Erase (P/E) cycles to withstand frequent use over long periods. With Quality of Service (QoS) consistently maintained between 99.9% and 99.99%, it delivers stable and reliable operation even in demanding enterprise environments, ensuring consistent and dependable data access.

Seagate Technology Holdings plc, an innovator of mass capacity data storage, today announced shipments of Exos M hard drive samples to select customers in industry-leading capacities up to 36 terabytes (TB). Based on Mozaic 3+, the company's breakthrough heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology platform, Exos M delivers unprecedented storage scale for large-scale data center deployments.

Key Takeaways

• Adopted by Cloud Service Providers: Seagate is currently ramping Exos M to volume shipments on capacity points up to 32 TB with a leading cloud service provider. Separately, Seagate is also sampling drives on the Exos M platform of up to 36 TB.
• Mozaic 3+ and HAMR Innovation: Based on Seagate's Mozaic 3+ technology platform, the industry's first implementation of heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), Exos M offers data center operators significant scale, total cost of ownership (TCO), and sustainability advantages, including 300% more storage capacity within the same data center footprint, a 25% cost reduction per terabyte and 60% reduction in power consumption per terabyte.
• Unrivalled Areal Density: Exos M, powered by HAMR-based Mozaic 3+ platform, now delivers capacity points up to 36 TB through a highly efficient 10-platter product design. Seagate is the only data storage company that can achieve areal densities of 3.6 TB per hard drive platter today, with a pathway to increasing per-platter capacity to 10 TB.

Global leader in storage solutions, Patriot Memory, proudly announces the launch of the iLuxe Stick, the latest addition to the iLuxe series of digital lifestyle products following the iLuxe Cube. Combining sleek design with high performance, the Patriot iLuxe Stick is a portable storage device that ensures you'll never miss capturing a precious moment due to insufficient storage. With the iLuxe app, photos and videos are seamlessly transferred to the iLuxe Stick in real time, providing effortless storage expansion for iPhones and iPads. The device also simplifies cross-platform file transfers.

The iLuxe Stick features a dual-connector design with both Type-C and Lightning interfaces, ensuring compatibility with Apple iPhones from the iPhone 6 to the latest iPhone 16. Its innovative Trust Circle encryption system supports up to 16 encrypted members, allowing users to select sharing permissions while maintaining privacy and security.

EasySMX, the Gamer's Choice for advanced gaming peripherals, is thrilled to introduce the D05 Gaming Controller. Engineered for peak performance and versatility, the D05 brings enhanced precision, seamless charging, and more customizable vibrant RGB style to gamers on PC, Switch, Android, and iOS.

"The D05 was designed to meet gamers' demands for precision, durability, and ease of use," said Gavin, Product Director at EasySMX. "We've created a controller that enhances gameplay across platforms while addressing the most common frustrations like stick drift and inconvenient charging."

Recent MAXSUN activities have been very Intel Arc "Battlemage" B-series GPU-focused—most notably, a leaked design that leverages dual M.2 slots. Earlier today, ITHome reported on the fresh retail release of two sort-of-new MAXSUN graphics cards in China (on JD.com)—MS-GT730 PH 4 GB (¥359/~US$49) and MS-GT730 PH 2 GB (¥329/~US$45). These super low budget offerings signal a dip back into technologies of old: NVIDIA's GK208 "Kepler 2.0" GPU—of 2014 vintage. This is a curious choice, given that Team Green's "Kepler" GPU generation has not received new drivers since the release of R470 (back in 2021), and the last security update arrived with NVIDIA's 473.47 WHQL driver.

ITHome reckons that MAXSUN has simply recycled its existing MS-GT730 Heavy Hammer 4G and MS-GT730 Heavy Hammer 2G card designs for an early 2025 market launch—TechPowerUp's GPU database produces another very similar looking model: the GT 730 Transformers III 2G. The online publication reached out to MAXSUN's JD storefront customer service for comment on the apparent refresh of old products. ITHome discovered that the renamed reissues are a result of demands generated by "internal supply chain management." MAXSUN stated that its production batch have changed, and it: "emphasizes that the performance (of their new models) is consistent with the old version(s)."

Manli announced in a recent press release, which somehow went unnoticed most likely due to the CES 2025 event, that new Gallardo, Stellar, Polar Fox, and Nebula series graphics cards based on the NVIDIA Blackwell series are ready to join the GeForce RTX 50 lineup. While Manli didn't yet provide exact specifications, they showcased a bit more details regarding the design and the Drag Reduction System (DRS) feature that equips its Gallardo RTX 50 series.

The company seems to be a bit secretive at this moment, however, they say that the Drag Reduction System (DRS) has its inspiration in motorsports. Most likely this implies a dedicated design that use the heatsinks and spoilers to direct airflow towards specific areas. Manli Stellar, Polar Fox, and Nebula RTX 50 series are all based on a dual-slot format with triple fans on top. Although the press release mentioned that the new Manli 50 series graphics cards are available, there's no information about the exact lineup or pricing, and currently, the cards are not listed on the company website.

MicroProse, the legendary developer and publisher known for its mastery of simulation and strategy games, is thrilled to announce its partnership with Divio to publish Liquidation. This explosive real-time strategy (RTS) game thrusts players into the war-torn world of Veá, where advanced technology clashes with arcane power, creating a rich and dynamic battlefield for RTS fans to conquer.

Starting today—January 20—players can sign up for the upcoming open playtest via Liquidation's Steam page. This first-time event will offer players who sign up the opportunity to be among the first to command their forces and explore the game's unique blend of genres, offering invaluable feedback that will help shape the final release.

MSI is preparing a new selection of yellow-tipped 16-pin power adapters—as reported by VideoCardz earlier today—for inclusion with certain GeForce RX 50 series "Blackwell" GPU-based graphics card models. An official announcement has not been released—regarding the latest color coding for power connectors—but new product photos have appeared on the MSI website. The yellow sections provide a clear "visual guide" when hooking the relevant adapter up to a graphics card—full insertion is achieved when the yellow tip is fully obscured by its surroundings. MSI's latest image uploads indicate that dual 8-pin to single 16-pin adapters will likely be bundled with MSI's GeForce RTX 5070 models. The RTX 5070 Ti and 5080 product tiers will be getting three 8-pin ended adapters. A very busy-looking 4-way splitter is seemingly reserved for flagship GeForce RTX 5090 cards.

The MAG GL PSU series debuted back in 2023, featuring a similarly-tinted "dual color" safety measure—based on customer and community feedback. At the time, MSI stated that it had reacted to: "reported cases of power supply connectors being burnt when paired with high-end graphics cards. We've identified the main reason: the connectors not being plugged in properly and the connector pins suffering from fall outs. With this new cable, we successfully tackle both issues head-on." Manufacturers have continued to release new products that utilize the "problematic" 12VHPWR standard, even years after the introduction of a successor: 12V-2x6. NVIDIA and several of its board partners are reported to be sticking with the first iteration PCIe Gen 5 16-pin connector for upcoming GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards. The TechPowerUp team inspected ZOTAC's new 12WHPWR "Safety Light" feature at the recently concluded CES trade event—a visual warning will be displayed in the event of a connection problem being detected.

Energizer is a brand that is best known for its batteries, as the name would suggest. However, it now appears that the brand wants a piece of the consumer technology pie as well, but not exactly. The thing is, well-known brands often license out their brand name to other manufactures who make completely unrelated products, which are then sold with their branding. Energizer has done something similar, and licensed out its brand name to Avenir Telecom, who now plans on making and selling laptops with the "Energizer" brand. There are no concrete details on specifications yet, although we do know that the laptop lineup will be named "EnergyBook", and will ship in 15- and 17-inch sizes with either 128 or 256 GB of storage.

Clearly, the laptops are by no means aimed at users with heavy workloads, but rather casual users with extremely modest performance expectations from their machines. Unsurprisingly, the pricing reflects this strategy rather well, with the EnergyBook lineup being expected to start from just $199. We have no exact date in sight, although Avenir Telecom has revealed the laptops should be available in the first quarter of this year. That said, it should be noted that with laptops from prominent brands getting cheaper every year, ultra-low-end laptops from lesser-known manufacturers are often not very good deals, at least in terms of longevity or quality. Of course, the EnergyBook lineup might end up being a glaring exception to that rule, although that remains to be seen.

Recently, we covered a rumor arising from PCGH which stated that the RTX 5090, and perhaps even the RTX 5080, are gearing up to face an extremely stock-limited launch in Germany. Now, it appears that customers in North America will likely face very similar circumstances, if the claims made by tipster Moore's Law is Dead's sources are taken to be true. MLID spoke with several sources, including distributors and AIBs, all of whom had the same thing to say - it is going be quite hard to snag an RTX 5090 or RTX 5080 at launch.

One of the distributors that MLID apparently spoke with, went as far as to comment that they simply won't be having any RTX 5090s at all in the first month of launch. Further, while they received almost 200 RTX 4080s during the previous launch season, they only expect to get 20 units of the RTX 5080 this time around. As for the RTX 5090, they do not foresee inventory before late Q1, or even Q2 of this year. A second source, who claimed to be from an AIB partner, stated that while they will have RTX 5080s ready at launch, they are "only a fraction" of the RTX 4080s they had last time. Moreover, the number of RTX 5090s they claim to have matches that of the RTX 3090s they had, which, for those who don't remember, suffered from severe supply shortages at launch.

Bonfire Studios, an independent video game developer, is finally coming out of stealth mode, unveiling the name and first details of its debut project, Arkheron. Founded by industry veterans responsible for iconic franchises including Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo, Overwatch, StarCraft and World of Warcraft, the Bonfire team draws on the expertise and design principles honed on those titles to craft an innovative new PvP game. Private playtesting for Arkheron is already underway and will be expanding in the coming months with rolling invites. Players who love fast-paced PvP combat are encouraged to sign up now for a chance to be among the first to play Arkheron and help shape its later stages of development.

Bonfire has been playing and iterating on Arkheron behind-the-scenes for years and began private playtesting sessions with a small community in 2024. While players will find familiar ideas and concepts in Arkheron, it isn't about combining genres—it's about creating something entirely new; a dynamic, fast-paced PvP gameplay experience set in a dark and foreboding world. The team at Bonfire playtests the game every day, and attributes this aspect of their development process to helping them create a fun and unique game they believe will resonate with players.

A pre-launch unboxing the ASUS TUF GAMING Radeon RX 9070 XT OC graphics card model has been shared and documented online—courtesy of a video uploaded to social media over the past weekend. Artline, a computer hardware retailer based in Ukraine, seems to have at least one model in their possession—similarly, stock (from other brands) has been distributed across supply networks to locations around Europe.

AMD and its retail partners are reportedly at loggerheads over proposed launch pricing strategies—the first wave of RDNA 4-equipped products appear to be ready for launch, but debates over "excessive wholesale costs" could delay matters. VideoCardz has reached out to its contacts across distribution and insider networks—they believe that an official AMD announcement could be delivered at some point this week. Team Red representatives recently teased a forthcoming special launch event, but chose to not divulge a specific start date.

Hello everyone, check out the latest game from The Outer Zone and 11 bit studios. Journey the sorrowful spirit world in souls-like deck builder, Death Howl. Craft cards and claim powerful totems to defeat the woeful spirits lurking in the mystical lands. Unravel the tale of a grieving mother in her desperate attempt to defy death and bring back her son.

In forgotten lands shrouded by myth, Ro—a hunter from a small tribe—is overcome by grief following the death of her beloved son. Guided by voices from another world, she transcends into the realm of spirits, in hopes of bringing him back. Death Howl weaves an atmospheric tale of grief, healing, and resilience. As Ro, you'll face relentless spirits in turn-based battles that challenge your tactical sense and adaptability. To succeed, you must craft and master decks of powerful cards and use shamanic totems while unearthing forgotten tales and secrets that shape Ro's path.

Noted technology tipster, Kepler L2, believes that the Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) engineering team has finalized the design of a PlayStation 6 (PS6) system-on-chip (SoC)—insider information was shared on the NeoGAF forum (a popular computer game discussion board) late last week. It would be natural to assume that Sony's gaming division is deep into the process of developing a follow-up to its PlayStation 5 home console, but Kepler L2's fresh revelation points to surprisingly advanced progress. Insider sources point to the PS6's chip design being: "complete and in pre-silicon validation already, with A0 tapeout scheduled for late this year."

Industry experts have analyzed PlayStation development cycles of days past—history has demonstrated a pattern of the A0 tapeout phase reaching completion around two years before the rollout of finalized products at retail. Kepler L2 reckons that this pattern will be repeated—indicating a possible launch of PlayStation by 2027. The rumored PS6 chipset has been linked to AMD's "gfx13" target—everyone's favorite Team Red tipster posits that Sony engineers are working with a "fork" of this next-gen "UDNA" graphics technology. The rumor mill has generated additional PS6 SoC-related internet chatter—last Friday, Chiphell alleged a possible adoption of Team Red's X3 V-cache technology.

According to a recent, global Recon Analytics survey commissioned by Seagate Technology, business leaders from across 15 industry sectors and 10 countries expect that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) applications will generate unprecedented volumes of data, driving a boom in demand for data storage, in particular cloud-based storage. With hard drives delivering scalability relative to terabyte-per-dollar cost efficiencies, cloud service providers rely on hard drives to store mass quantities of data.

Recently, analyst firm IDC estimated that 89% of data stored by leading cloud service providers is stored on hard drives. Now, according to this Recon Analytics study, nearly two-thirds of respondents (61%) from companies that use cloud as their leading storage medium expect their cloud-based storage to grow by more than 100% over the next 3 years. "The survey results generally point to a coming surge in demand for data storage, with hard drives emerging as the clear winner," remarked Roger Entner, founder and lead analyst of Recon Analytics. "When you consider that the business leaders we surveyed intend to store more and more of this AI-driven data in the cloud, it appears that cloud services are well-positioned to ride a second growth wave."

C.C. Wei, TSMC CEO and Chairman, has shared his latest views regarding his company's North American manufacturing center—Reuters cornered him for comment during a mid-week appearance at a National Taiwan University-held event. The Taiwanese government has recently lowered its "silicon shield"—following much (reported) deliberation over "legal restrictions on transferring leading-edge process technology overseas." This relaxation of rules has TSMC considering a new set of investments for operations outside of Taiwan—with an expansion into advanced node process manufacturing. Currently, 2 nm (N2) is a home turf-speciality—industry experts estimate an expenditure of $28-30 (USD) billion to bring this production technology over to the States. TSMC's CEO has described additional challenges—on top of (and impacting) finances—local bureaucracy is a big one.

Wei stated: "every step requires a permit, and after the permit is approved, it takes at least twice as long as in Taiwan." According Reuters, he reckons that it would be difficult for their North American sites to access the latest technologies ahead of teams in Taiwan. He detailed his company's recruitment of several experts—tasked with talking to local government; about regulatory issues. This was not a cheap undertaking: "we ended up establishing 18,000 rules, which cost us $35 million." TSMC's Arizona production hub will (eventually) consist of three large factories—despite long-term teething problems, Fab 21 is reported to be churning out the first wave of "Made in America" product for a very important client: Apple. Wei expressed positives views when asked about the USA site's prospects—during an earnings conference (Jan 16)—he believes that it will eventually produce the "same quality of chips as in Taiwan," through a "smooth ramp-up process."

NVIDIA has released urgent security patches addressing eight vulnerabilities in its GPU drivers and virtual GPU software that affect both Windows and Linux systems. The January 16 update targets multiple security flaws that could enable attackers with local access to execute malicious code, steal data, or crash affected systems. Two high-severity vulnerabilities stand out among the patches. The first (CVE-2024-0150) involves a buffer overflow in the GPU display driver that could lead to system compromise through data tampering and information disclosure. The second critical issue (CVE-2024-0146) affects the virtual GPU Manager, where a compromised guest system could trigger memory corruption, potentially leading to code execution and system takeover. For Windows systems, users must update to version 553.62 (R550 branch) or 539.19 (R535 branch). Linux users need to install version 550.144.03 or 535.230.02, depending on their driver branch.

The updates cover NVIDIA's RTX, Quadro, NVS, and Tesla product lines. Enterprise environments using NVIDIA's virtualization technology face additional risks. One vulnerability (CVE-2024-53881) allows guest systems to launch interrupt storms against host machines, potentially causing system-wide outages. To patch these security holes, virtual GPU software users must update to version 17.5 (550.144.02) or 16.9 (535.230.02). The vulnerabilities specifically target systems where attackers have local access, which means remote exploitation is unlikely. However, in virtualized environments where multiple users share GPU resources, these flaws pose a significant security risk. System administrators can download the security updates from NVIDIA's Driver Downloads page, while enterprise vGPU customers should obtain patches through the NVIDIA Licensing Portal. NVIDIA recommends immediate installation of these updates across all affected systems.

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. today announced the launch of TALES OF GRACES f REMASTERED, bringing the remastered version of the timeless action RPG to current generation consoles and PC. The title enhances a memorable entry in the Tales of series, letting players experience this classic with stunning visuals and new features. TALES OF GRACES f REMASTERED also adds more than 80 DLC packs and items released for the original, now included in the base game. The title is available now in Standard and Deluxe Editions for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.

TALES OF GRACES f REMASTERED is a remastered version of TALES OF GRACES f that released in 2010. Players will follow the adventures of Asbel and his friends as they embark on a world-spanning quest filled with unforgettable characters, shocking revelations, and unique companions brought together through promises made across time. Set in the lush and vibrant planet of Ephinea, players embark on a journey of intrigue across a world ruled by three great nations, each with the power of Eleth.

ONIX has quietly added Intel Arc B580 GPU-based models to its Newegg brand store—signalling the brand's arrival on North American's e-tail landscape. TechPowerUp first picked up on this new manufacturer's existence during Team Blue's introduction of Arc B-series "Battlemage" graphics cards—soon followed up with an updated version of TechPowerUp GPU-Z; adding "PCI vendor detection for ONIX." The emerging Chinese manufacturer's Odyssey OC and Lumi OC models are currently "out of stock" on the Newegg store, but compelling pricing ($10 above Intel's baseline MSRP) has attracted press coverage.

It is not clear whether initial supplies of the two ONIX cards were snapped up quickly, but Newegg states on both listings: "this product is temporarily out of stock because of high demand, we will replenish it as soon as possible." Currently, the Arc B580 Odyssey OC 12 GB (black) model is priced at $259.99, while its Lumi OC (white) sibling goes for $269.99—note: Newegg demands a $9.99 fee for shipping. VideoCardz reckons that ONIX is competing closely with Sparkle—a veteran Intel GPU board partner—and charging less than GUNNIR for equivalent specs/fittings. ONIX's official website features a product page for an Odyssey B570 10 GB model—not listed by Newegg, but we expect it to turn up soon. Intel and its AIBs declared B570's retail availability last week.

TechPowerUp and Chieftec brought our readers in the EU the Winter 2024 Mega Giveaway. Up for grabs were a Chieftec Iceberg 360 RGB AIO liquid CPU cooler; a Chieftec Iceberg 360 Black AIO liquid CPU cooler; a Chieftec APEX E-ATX mid-tower case, a Chieftec M2 Micro-ATX tower case; a Chieftec PowerPlay 1200 W power supply; and a Chieftec Atmos 850 W power supply—a comprehensive list of prizes spanning the company's cases, power supplies, and cooling products. The Giveaway closed recently, and we have our winners!

• Parham from France—wins a Chieftec Iceberg 360 AIO CLC-360-RGB cooler
• Arne from Germany—wins a Chieftec Iceberg 360 AIO CLC-360-BLK cooler
• Kristijan from Croatia—wins a Chieftec Apex Case GA-01B-TG-OP case
• Andreas from Denmark—wins a Chieftec M2 Case GM-02B-OP Micro-ATX case
• Pepe from Spain—wins a Chieftec PowerPlay PSU GPU-1200FC power supply, and
• MonteCristo from Greece—wins a Chieftec Atmos PSU CPX-850FC power supply

A huge Congratulations to the winners! Chieftec and TechPowerUp will return with more such interesting Giveaways.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, a leading brand in gaming PC components, gaming laptops, and Hi-fi audio products, proudly presents our lineup of Intel B860 Series motherboards in the ULTRA, CVN GAMING FROZEN, and BATTLE-AX models.

The Intel B860 chipset is aimed at the mid-range level price segment for the Intel Core Ultra 200 series desktop processors. The COLORFUL B860 motherboards features DDR5 memory support, support for up to PCIe Gen 5 SSDs, high-speed 40 Gbps USB4 ports, fast Wi-Fi 7 wireless networking, and more.

Level up your 2025 setup with MSI's latest and most powerful products! Purchase selected MSI products and unlock free Steam codes to elevate your gaming experience. Don't miss MSI's Power Up to New Era promotion to kick off an epic gaming year! MSI introduces a new range of DIY-friendly products — motherboards, liquid cooling systems, PC cases, and power supplies—making PC building easier than ever for both beginners and experienced builders!

The B860 & B850 motherboards offer greater convenience, featuring the EZ M.2 Clip II for effortless, tool-free M.2 SSD installation. Paired with the EZ PCIe Release, users can securely remove their graphics cards with just a single press, eliminating the usual hassle.

Accused of murdering her former mentor, Werner Von Croy, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness follows Lara Croft as a fugitive, unraveling an intricate web of secret societies locked in a centuries-long shadow war. Though initially divisive, The Angel of Darkness has developed a cult following over the years, with fans becoming digital archaeologists, delving into its cut content and unrealized potential.

Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered aims to realize the full potential of The Angel of Darkness by restoring much of the content originally envisioned for the game. The developers from Saber and Aspyr have focused on reintroducing elements that fans have long celebrated, enhancing the experience of this cult classic.

A fake AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor was recently discovered through AMD's after-sales service inspection in China after a customer reported their CPU wouldn't boot. The counterfeit unit revealed several technical discrepancies that distinguish it from genuine processors, though these differences are difficult to spot without detailed examination. While authentic Ryzen 7 9800X3D processors use PCB number 33050, the counterfeit unit featured PCB number 32546—a designation typically associated with Ryzen 7000 series R7 or R9 processors. This suggests the counterfeiters may be repurposing older generation chips or PCBs to create fake 9000 series processors. The physical appearance of the counterfeit unit showed additional inconsistencies.

Genuine Ryzen 9000 series processors feature a distinctive blue PCB, while the fake unit displayed a dark green coloration characteristic of older models. Component patches adjacent to the PCB also failed to match the standard configuration of the Ryzen 9000 series. In a notable error, some counterfeit units were mislabeled as "Ryzen 9 9800X3D"—a model number that doesn't exist in AMD's product lineup. For comparison, legitimate Ryzen 7 9800X3D units can be identified by their blue-tinted PCB, while older models like the R9 7900X and R7 7700X feature dark green PCBs. The information was initially shared on Chiphell by sources within the PCB manufacturing industry, who provided side-by-side comparisons of authentic and counterfeit units. AMD's after-sales service has confirmed that processors purchased outside official distribution channels will not receive warranty support or service protection. Buyers should buy CPUs only thought official sale distributors to avoid such cases.

NVIDIA's deep learning super sampling (DLSS) has undergone many iterations to the current version 4 with the transformer model, delivering new technologies such as DLSS Multi Frame Generation, predicting multiple frames in advance to generate the upcoming frame, and increasing the frame output per second. However, not every NVIDIA GPU generation supports these more modern DLSS technologies. In an interview with Digital Foundry, Bryan Catanzaro, VP of Applied Deep Learning Research at NVIDIA, commented on trickling down some DLSS technologies to older GPU generations. For example, DLSS Ray Reconstruction, Super Resolution, and Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing (DLAA) work on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20/30/40/50 series GPUs. However, the RTX 40 series carries an exclusive DLSS Frame Generation, and the newest RTX 50 series carries the DLSS Multi Frame Generation as an exclusive feature.

However, there is hope for older hardware. "I think this is primarily a question of optimization and also engineering and then the ultimate user experience. We're launching this Frame Generation, the best Multi Frame Generation technology, with the 50 Series, and we'll see what we're able to squeeze out of older hardware in the future." So, frame generation will most likely arrive on the older RTX 30 series, with even a slight possibility of the RTX 20 series getting the DLSS frame generation. Due to compute budget constraints, the multi-frame generation will most likely stay an RTX 50 series exclusive as it has more raw computing power to handle this technology.

AMD's upcoming Radeon RX 9070 series graphics cards have hit an unexpected roadblock, according to recent reports from PC Games Hardware. Despite physical units already reaching select retailers, the launch appears to be delayed due to ongoing pricing negotiations. Industry insider and forum moderator "pokerclock," known for accurate predictions about NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 series, reveals that AMD's initial pricing strategy has created tension with retail partners. While boxes bearing the RX 9070 branding have been spotted in retail channels, disagreements over costs have prevented an official release. The core issue stems from AMD's aggressive pricing approach for both the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT models. Retailers have pushed back against what they consider excessive wholesale costs, forcing AMD to reconsider its strategy.

The company now faces the complex task of potentially reducing prices while compensating retailers who have already purchased inventory at higher rates. Sources suggest AMD may offer marketing funds or cashback incentives to bridge the price gap, though negotiations have reportedly stalled. For example, we recently reported on the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT AIB model costing around $549. However, NVIDIA has announced its GeForce RTX 5070 at the same $549 price point, with potentially equal or higher raster, ray tracing, and AI capabilities across the board. For AMD to make the value case, the company would need to undercut NVIDIA's pricing. Until that is resolved, retailers aren't allowed to place RDNA 4 GPUs in general sale yet.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory, is excited to announce two historical overclock achievements of reaching DDR5-12052 and DDR5-12054 memory overclock speed records under air cooling with the G.SKILL Trident Z5 series DDR5 memory. Previously, reaching the DDR5-12000 milestone required a more extreme cooling method, such as liquid nitrogen or dry ice. These incredible achievements with air cooling demonstrate the amazing overclock potential of modern hardware. The DDR5-12052 memory overclock speed is achieved by "saltycroissant", an extreme overclocker from Canada, using the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K desktop processor and ASRock Z890 Taichi OCF motherboard. Meanwhile, the DDR5-12054 memory overclock speed is achieved by "speed.fastest", an extreme overclocker from Indonesia, using the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K desktop processor and ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Apex motherboard.

In earlier overclock records on the Intel Z890 platform, only extreme sub-zero cooling with liquid nitrogen or dry ice was used to achieve overclock speeds of over DDR5-12000. These memory overclock records, achieved with CPU on water cooling and memory on air cooling, is an incredible milestone for the overclock community. Both overclocking records on air cooling were achieved with one module from a G.SKILL Trident Z5 series DDR5-8000 CL38 2x48GB (F5-8000J3848F24GX2-TZ5K) memory kit.

AAEON (stock code: 6579), a leading provider of edge AI platforms, has announced the release of the BOXER-8654AI-KIT, a development kit equipped with either an 8 GB or 16 GB NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX module. While AAEON's BOXER series has become synonymous with NVIDIA-powered embedded AI systems, the BOXER-8654AI-KIT provides its customers with an avenue to develop embedded solutions from the ground up.

The BOXER-8654AI-KIT's module is accompanied by an advanced carrier board featuring a full-function I/O boasting six USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, an Out-of-Band (OOB) management box header, and four LAN ports with optional power boards for PoE functionality. For display, the kit's carrier board offers one physical HDMI Type-A port, as well as two MIPI CSI connectors, each equipped with four lanes to allow for two MIPI cameras to be installed per interface. Other physical I/O features that stand out are its two DB-9 ports, one of which offers an RS-232 (RX/TX/GND)/422/485 signal, with the other providing a CANBus interface. Additionally, an NVIDIA Jetson-compatible 40-pin header offers I2C, SPI, UART, and other serial interfaces.

HAVN brings a breath of fresh air in the PC case market with its new HS 420 line of cases aimed to maximize the view of your gaming PC build. The lineup is led by the HAVN HS 420 VGPU series, and the regular HS 420 series. We had both cases and their color variants up for grabs in our recent Giveaway, for a total of four amazing prizes for our readers in the US and most of Europe. After a great response of over 3,000 entries, we have four lucky winners, and here they are!

• Paolo from Italy
• Lucian from Romania
• Boyan from Bulgaria
• Marcin from USA

Huge congratulations to the four of you! TechPowerUp and HAVN will return with more such interesting giveaways.

Samsung Electronics today announced a partnership with game developers Nexon Korea and Neople to deliver unparalleled 3D experiences in the upcoming game 'The First Berserker: Khazan.' The game's 3D elements are being specially customized and designed during development, utilizing Samsung technology and the advanced capabilities of the Odyssey 3D monitor to create an immersive 3D gaming experience.

Through this partnership, Nexon, Neople and Samsung have been working closely to tailor the 3D visuals, carefully adjusting them based on the composition of characters, backgrounds and cinematics throughout the game. This process gives the developers an unprecedented level of control over the 3D effects, enabling them to bring their creative visions to life with precision.

The market for gaming handhelds has been expanding at an unprecedented rate, largely thanks to the impressive performance and efficiency improvements brought to the table by modern APUs. AMD's Strix Point APUs are no exception, and are expected to power a multitude of high-end handhelds. Thanks to its 12 (4 Zen 5 + 8 Zen 5c) cores and RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 890M iGPU, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is an impressive performer for sure. The chip can already be found in a plethora of gaming-oriented handhelds and laptops, and now a fresh offering from AOKZOE is poised to join the list.

Of course, AOKZOE is not nearly as well known as some of its competitors, such as GPD and Minisforum. AOKZOE has revealed only a single image for the product so far, and the differences between the A1, A1 Pro, and A1 X are expected to be minimal, at least on the outside. The company has revealed that the handheld will sport the aforementioned Strix Point flagship APU, along with an 8-inch display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a 72.7 Wh battery. These specifications are nothing extraordinary nowadays, and further details regarding the product, such as thermal performance, display quality, battery life, and the like can only be established with proper hands-on reviews. There are is no information on pricing or availability as of now, and more such details should become available as we inch closer to the A1 X's release.

It's 2025, and we're looking to digitize everything. Yes, even physical gadgets. Like that clunky scanner taking up valuable desk space… why do we have those again? Right, so they can work about half the time and do a subpar job of scanning our documents. We're ditching ours for the iScanner document-scanning app.

This iOS app can digitize anything—contracts, receipts, handwritten notes, and ID cards—and save them as PDFs, JPGs, and other file types. The app uses AI-powered tools to automatically crop the borders and straighten the scan for perfect images every time. It also includes a mobile PDF editor if you need to add a signature, mark up a document, or manage files.

Use code SCAN at checkout to get an iScanner lifetime subscription for $24.99 (reg. $199.90). That's the app's lowest price ever.

MacBook Air aficionados, at least most of them, have been longing for an OLED-equipped variant for quite a while now. OLED displays, especially the tandem-style units that Apple ships with its iPad Pros, have undeniable advantages over tradition LCDs, such as a near-infinite contrast ratio, near-instant response times, and excellent color reproduction. The fear of panel burn-in does exist, although as OLED technology progresses, such fears continue to subside. That said, for those who are holding out for it, the grapevine indicates they will have to hold their horses for a while longer.

A recent report by The Elec has stated that the MacBook Air, which was previously expected to get the OLED treatment sometime in 2027, has now been delayed by another two years. As such, the MacBook Air is now not expected to boast an OLED display before 2029 at the earliest. The Elec claims that the primary cause behind the delay is the lackluster sales boost brought by the OLED upgrade to the iPad Pro lineup, which fell short of what Apple anticipated. That said, the MacBook Air will utilize "Oxide TFT" technology for its LCDs starting 2027, allowing for improved color accuracy, energy efficiency, and contrast. MacBook Pros have already utilized the technology since 2022, and are still expected to boast OLED panels by 2026.

As we enter the second to last week of January, we have another week packed to the brim full of new releases. The major release of this week allows you to walk around in 2016 km² of a mediaeval fantasy world with five different regions for some MMORPG action. This is followed by some 4X Roman strategy, a trip to Norse mythology hell or pretending to be one of King Arthur's knights. This is followed by a remake of another JPRG from a famous franchise and we end the week with an anime inspired PvP shooter.

The Quinfall / This week's major release / Friday 24 January / Early Access
Embark on an adventurous journey to explore the Quinfall universe. Be a part of unique battles and an immersive story with dozens of different professions in the depths of medieval times in an all-new MMORPG experience. Explore the world's largest MMORPG map with an area of 2016 km². Shape your adventure in five regions with their own unique, distinct climates. Steam link

AMD's most affordable AM5 processor, the Ryzen 5 7400F, has emerged in Chinese retail channels priced at 849 RMB (approximately $116 with taxes). The pricing suggests the processor could retail for around $100 in other markets before local taxes. The newest silently announced CPU features 6 cores and 12 threads, joining AMD's existing Zen 4 processor lineup. Operating at a base clock of 3.7 GHz with boost capabilities up to 4.7 GHz, the chip maintains the same 32 MB L3 cache as its predecessors while running at a 65 W TDP. Unlike the previous Ryzen 5 7500F, which was limited to system builders and OEMs, the 7400F will be sold directly to consumers through regular retail channels. The processor includes a basic AMD Wraith Stealth cooler in its retail package.

The chip supports standard features found across the AM5 platform, including memory overclocking through AMD EXPO and CPU performance tuning via Precision Boost Overdrive. Like other Ryzen processors, it maintains unlocked multipliers for manual overclocking. The 7400F's appearance follows AMD's recent pattern of quiet releases, similar to the Ryzen 5 9600 that appeared during CES 2025. No official announcement preceded the processor's retail availability. Early listings show the processor available through several Chinese retailers, though availability in other regions remains unclear. The competitive price point could make AMD's AM5 platform more accessible to users building on tighter budgets, though potential buyers will still need to factor in the cost of DDR5 memory and AM5 motherboards required by the platform.

GlobalFoundries (Nasdaq: GFS) (GF) today announced plans to create a new center for advanced packaging and testing of U.S.-made essential chips within its New York manufacturing facility. Supported by investments from the State of New York and the U.S. Department of Commerce, the first-of-its-kind center aims to enable semiconductors to be securely manufactured, processed, packaged and tested entirely onshore in the United States to meet the growing demand for GF's silicon photonics and other essential chips needed for critical end markets including AI, automotive, aerospace and defense, and communications.

Growth in AI is driving the adoption of silicon photonics and 3D and heterogeneously integrated (HI) chips to meet power, bandwidth and density requirements in datacenters and edge devices. Silicon photonics chips are also positioned to address power and performance needs in automotive, communications, radar, and other critical infrastructure applications.