NZXT on Friday confirmed a total recall of its controversial H1 case across North America. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) notes this as a voluntary recall by the manufacturer in light of the fire hazard posed by the mounting mechanism of its PCIe riser, an issue that came to light early since the case's February 2020 release, but was acknowledged by the company by November. At the time, the company released a fix that included replacing metal screws in the mounting mechanism with non-conductive Nylon ones.

As of now, NZXT has halted sales of the H1, and instructed retailers to send back inventory. The CPSC press release notes that about 32,000 units were circulated in the U.S. market, in addition to 1,024 in Canada. Health Canada issued its own notification announcing the recall. Both authorities directed users to seek a free repair kit from NZXT for the affected products, and dispose of the case (under existing recycling/e-waste management guidelines), if the user wishes to discontinue use. Canadian Law prohibits re-sale or giving-away of the affected product in the second-hand market.

As if CD Projekt Red needed any more problems on their plate that weren't of their own creation, it seems that the hackers who recently infiltrated the company's infrastructure have turned out a profit on sensitive data. After source code for CD Projekt Red's Red Engine, Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, and Gwent were stolen from the company's servers, the company announced they had gone to the relevant authorities, and that they wouldn't negotiate with the data terrorists. Now, according to Cybersecurity company Kela, the hackers have de-listed their auction for the data - after requiring a starting bid of $1 million, and expecting $7 million for the entire package.

The deal apparently went through, with a condition that bars the hackers from re-selling the data to any other parties. It remains to be seen whether or not the thieves will abide by their word and the conditions reportedly set upon the sale. Of course, it is in the realm of possibility that CD Projekt Red themselves acquired the data anonymously so as to protect their corporate and technology interests - one can only imagine the repercussions of the company's efforts being exposed this way. And despite any ill sentiment that can be levied at the company for the state of Cyberpunk 2077's last-gen versions, I'd say that respect for the company's developers and team should have us all on their side on this one.

Intel has apparently begun discounting its desktop CPUs, perhaps in a bid to try and maintain market share earning momentum the company garnered in the last few months. As AMD struggles to keep up with consumer demand for its latest Ryzen 5000 series, Intel looks to be capitalizing on its vertical integration (as well as the fact that Intel owns its own fabs and fabricates in a more than mature 14 nm process). A interesting move by the blue giant, who has generally opted out of a price reduction strategy - a move that might make Intel look on the back foot, and as an alternative budget brand, to the incommensurately smaller AMD.

Various retailers have been carrying Intel inventory with much reduced prices over their official MSRP. Amazon, for example, is offering the Intel Core i7-10700K for $344, down from its average pricing of $383. In the same retailer, the iGPU-less i7-10700F processor is down from $315 one month ago to just $229. Odds are that this is an Intel decision because if one considers the amount of demand on PC products and components due to COVID-19, it's very likely that consumers who can't get an AMD 5000-series CPU will still choose to purchase hardware - even if it has to be from Intel. So retailers eschewing part of their profits at a time like this seems slightly off-character.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) today announced it is accelerating space exploration and increasing self-sufficiency for astronauts by enabling real-time data processing with advanced commercial edge computing in space for the first time. Astronauts and space explorers aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will speed time-to-insight from months to minutes on various experiments in space, from processing medical imaging and DNA sequencing to unlocking key insights from volumes of remote sensors and satellites, using HPE's Spaceborne Computer-2 (SBC-2), an edge computing system.

Spaceborne Computer-2 is scheduled to launch into orbit on the 15th Northrop Grumman Resupply Mission to Space Station (NG-15) on February 20 and will be available for use on the International Space Station for the next 2-3 years. The NG-15 spacecraft has been named "SS. Katherine Johnson" in honor of Katherine Johnson, a famed Black, female NASA mathematician who was critical to the early success of the space program.

Samsung has been one of the world's biggest foundries and one of three big players still left in the leading-edge semiconductor process development and manufacturing. However, the Korean giant is always seeking ways to improve its offerings, especially for Western customers. Today, it is reported that Samsung has reportedly talked with regulators in Texas, New York, and Arizona about building a $17 billion silicon manufacturing facility in the United States. The supposed factory is going to be located near Austin, Texas, and is supposed to offer around 1800 jobs. If the deal is approved and Samsung manages to complete the project on time, the factory is supposed to start mass production in Q4 of 2023.

What process is Samsung going to manufacture in the new fab? Well, current speculations are pointing out to the 3 nm node, with Samsung's special GAAFET (Gate All Around FET) technology tied to the new node. The fab is also expected to make use of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography for manufacturing. Samsung already has a facility in the US called S2, however, that will not be upgraded as it is still serving a lot of clients. Instead, the company will build new facilities to accommodate the demand for newer nodes. It is important to note that Samsung will not do any R&D work in the new fab, and the company will only manufacture the silicon there.

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DirectX 12 Ultimate adds powerful new features and capabilities to DirectX 12 including DirectX Raytracing Tier 1.1, Mesh Shaders, Sampler Feedback, and Variable Rate Shading (VRS). After DirectX 12 Ultimate was announced, we started adding new tests to 3DMark to show how games can benefit from these new features. Our latest addition is the 3DMark Mesh Shader feature test, a new test that shows how game developers can boost frame rates by using mesh shaders in the graphics pipeline.

Swedish audio technology maker Dirac partnered with Fujitsu to debut a new audio technology that claims to enable clearer voice in video-conferences, without needing a messy software setup, or use of discrete GPUs. This is one of Dirac's first deployments on a commercial notebook, it's makers claim that over 500 million smartphones use Dirac technology for clearer voice in phone-calls. Among the notebooks integrating Dirac technology are the Lifebook U9311 and U9311X.

At its core, Dirac is an audio DSP that works on top of your audio codec driver. It gives users three audio modes, namely Voice Mode, Music Mode, and Movie Mode. Dirac claims that the Voice Mode in particular, significantly improves the quality of speech audio in video calls. "Dirac's patented impulse and frequency response correction digitally upgrades the sound performance of laptop speakers, and creates an expanded, natural soundscape from small speakers placed adjacent to each other. Taken together, Dirac's sound technologies enable a richer sound experience from laptops - all without any expensive hardware upgrades," the company said.

The Alphacool ES fans have been specially developed for use in servers and workstations and, unlike usual, do not offer a 2 or 3-pin DC power connection, but a 4-pin PWM control. Via the 4-pin PWM connector, the fan always receives full voltage and is controlled by pulse width modulation. This allows the fan to be controlled over a much wider speed range. A considerable amount of energy can be saved whilst controlling the fans in server racks and with 0% PWM control, the fans can even be stopped completely.

Unlike classic plain bearing, Alphacool ES fans have a double ball bearing for increased service life under full load. Double ball bearings are generally regarded as the highest quality bearings in terms of durability and quality. All Alphacool Enterprise fans have multiple protection circuits. If the fans are blocked, they automatically try to restart at reduced speed after a few seconds. Thanks to the soft start, including the emergency start function, the fan can be blocked for up to 72 hours without suffering damage.

Lab501 posted the first comprehensive review of an Intel Core i7-11700K "Rocket Lake-S" engineering sample. The ES has clock speeds matching the rumored clock speeds of the retail version, and should give you a fair idea of how the finished product should perform. The i7-11700K, which is an 8-core/16-thread chip, was tested to be being consistently behind the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X in synthetics such as WPrime, rendering tests such as Blender, video-encoding tests such as Handbrake, and was negligibly trading blows with the 5800X at gaming ±1%. The chip does post leads over the previous-gen i7-10700K in all these areas, though.

Performance aside, the Core i7-11700K is shown to have significantly higher power draw, with the whole-system power draw being 27% higher than a 5800X-based whole-system, when measured using Prime95 (which only adds a CPU load). In a real-world scenario such as gaming, where GPU power draw is added, this whole-system power draw percentage difference should come down. Interestingly, the i7-11700K isn't a "hot" processor, running up to 18°C cooler than a 5800X under Prime95 load. Check out this, and other invaluable early insights into "Rocket Lake" by hitting the source link below.

AMD released the latest version of Radeon Software Adrenalin drivers. Version 21.2.2 beta doesn't add any new game optimization (since there haven't been any big releases since the previous 21.2.1 driver release; but fixes a handful legacy issues. To begin with, 3D objects failing to render correctly with the EEVEE renderer in Blender, on "Polaris" GPUs, has been fixed. A performance drop noticed with "Wolfenstein: Youngblood" when Smart Access Memory is enabled, has been fixed. Lastly, AMD addressed a display corruption issue with "Quake III Arena" (yes, that 22-year old game). Apparently AMD discovered display corruption issues during game load and gameplay, with Q3A just now. Grab the drivers from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.2.2

With NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 30-series lineup of GPUs, laptop manufacturers are offered a wide variety of GPU SKUs that internally differ simply by having different Total Graphics Power (TGP), which in turn results in different clock speeds and thus different performance. ASUS uses NVIDIA's variant of GeForce RTX 3080 mobile GPU inside the company's ROG Zephyrus Duo (GX551QS) with a TGP of 115 Watts, and Dynamic Boost technology that can ramp up the card to 130 Watts. However, this doesn't represent the maximum for RTX 3080 mobile graphics card. The maximum TGP for RTX 3080 mobile goes up to 150 Watts, which is a big improvement that lets the GPU reach higher frequencies and more performance.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you manually applied vBIOS that allows the card to use more power? Well, Baidu forum users are reporting a successful experiment of transforming their 115 W RTX 3080 to 150 W TGP card. Using GPU vBIOS from MSI Leopard G76, which features a 150 W power limit, and applying it to the ROG's Zephyrus Duo power-limited RTX 3080 cards is giving results. Users have successfully used this vBIOS to squeeze out more performance from their laptops. As seen on the 3D Mark Time Spy rank list, the entries are now dominated solely by modified laptops. Performance improvement is, of course, present and it reaches up to a 20% increase.

OLED panes are expertise areas of display makers such as LG and Samsung, however, when it comes to Apple, they have to rely on external manufacturers to make a display. For years Apple has been contracting LG and Samsung to make the display for iPhones and Macs, but it looks like Apple is now collaborating with another firm to develop micro OLED technology. According to sources over at Nikkei Asia, Apple is collaborating with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to develop "ultra-advanced display technology at a secretive facility in Taiwan". Despite TSMC not being the traditional choice for panel manufacturing, there is a list of reasons why Apple chose its years-long partner to work with.

TSMC is known for manufacturing silicon chips, however, Apple envisions that the Taiwan maker will manufacture ultra-advanced micro OLED technology using wafers. Building the displays using wafers will result in much lower power consumption and far lower size. Why is this approach necessary you might wonder? Well, Apple is developing a new generation of AR glasses and there needs to be a solid display technology for them to exist. It is reported that the new micro OLED displays are under development and are about one inch in diameter. The source also adds that this is just one out of two projects being worked on inside of Apple's secretive labs located in the Taiwanese city of Taoyuan. What is the other project remains a mystery, however, with more time we could get information on that as well.

Intel's head for architecture, software, and graphics divisions, Raja Koduri, on Wednesday (10/02) teased a Xe HPG discrete GPU prototype running the upcoming 3DMark DirectX 12 Mesh Shaders feature test. Mesh Shaders are one of the four key features for graphics solutions to achieve the DirectX 12 Ultimate logo readiness, the other three being Real-time raytracing, Variable Rate Shading, and Sampler Feedback. Intel has already been supporting VRS tier-1 since Gen11, and the new Gen12 Xe LP carries forward VRS support.

The Xe HPG architecture is being pushed by Intel as the company's first high-performance gaming discrete graphics architecture. The company earlier released entry-level dGPUs based on the same Xe LP architecture as the Gen12 iGPU found in its "Tiger Lake" processors. The presence of VRS and Mesh Shader support, along with foundational work Intel has done in the area of real-time raytracing, hints at the likelihood of Intel gunning for DirectX 12 Ultimate readiness for the Xe HPG.

AeroCool today introduced the LUX RGB 850M power supply. This PSU delivers a high capacity of 850 W, and looks premium thanks to its addressable-RGB LED lighting elements, but packs some mid-tier specs. The PSU offers 80 Plus Bronze efficiency under 230 V EU conditions. It also features active PFC and offers most common electrical protections, against over/under-voltage, overload, overheat, and short-circuit; and uses a 120 mm fan to keep cool.

The AeroCool LUX RGB 850M features a addressable-RGB diffusers along the sides. You can toggle between 13 lighting presets by pressing a button near the AC receptacle; or connect the PSU to a 3-pin ARGB header for control using software or an ARGB controller. The LUX RGB 850M offers partially modular cabling. Fixed connectors include 24-pin ATX, one 4+4 pin EPS, and a pair of 6+2 pin PCIe power connectors. Modular connectors include an additional pair of 6+2 pin PCIe power, a cable with four SATA power connectors, and another with two each of SATA power and 4-pin Molex. Both the fixed- and modular-cables are black, flat, ribbon-type. The company didn't reveal pricing.

In 2018, AMD has decided to introduce a neat concept. By combining HDD with SSD, the technology was named StoreMI. Last year, the technology got re-designed from the ground up and now it reflects a completely safe and efficient way to get a faster PC with little effort. Now, StoreMI is copying the most used files onto a faster drive (SSD), and all the Windows calls are redirected to the copied files on the faster drive. By providing optimizations for storage, AMD has managed to provide a nice performance uplift for all owners of AMD Ryzen processors. However, today the company has introduced another update to its technology bringing in even more features.

Starting with the support for Ryzen Threadripper Pro, AMD now supports these processors for TRX40 and WRX80 motherboard chipsets as well. Next in line is a feature that supports SSD partitions. Now SSD partition can be used as a cache device. If you have an AMD X570, B550, 400 Series, X399, TRX40, or WRX80 motherboard, you can use the StoreMI software, which you can download here.

PNY today introduced the CS1030 line of value M.2 NVMe SSDs. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, the drive takes advantage of PCI-Express 3.0 x4 host interface, and NVMe 1.3 protocol. The company doesn't mention controller or the type of 3D NAND flash memory used, but it's likely that the drive is using a 4-channel DRAM-less setup. Capacity-based variants include 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. Among these, the 256 GB model offers faster reads, with up to 2,500 MB/s sequential reads, but with up to 1,100 MB/s sequential writes. The 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB variants read at speeds of up to 2,100 MB/s, and up to 1,900 MB/s sequential writes. PNY is backing the drives with 5-year warranties.

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC) today announces that Toshiba, a committed technology leader, led all HDD companies in year-on-year Nearline HDD average capacity growth in 2020. Toshiba followed up an astounding 55% year-on-year growth in 2019 with an impressive 35% year-on-year growth in 2020 to lead the industry for a second consecutive year, according to TRENDFOCUS, Inc.'s data.

"Toshiba has done an admirable job of leveraging its industry-first 9-disk helium design to introduce competitive Nearline HDD products in a timely fashion. This has been the cornerstone in the company's ability to launch higher capacity Nearline HDD programs," stated John Chen, Vice President at TRENDFOCUS, Inc. "Toshiba's 9-disk helium-sealed HDD platform has enabled the company to achieve the highest five-year Compound Annual Growth Rates for Nearline HDD Units, Exabytes, and Average Capacity shipped through 2020."

Proliferation of digital content being created and replicated has led to an explosive growth of data centers around the world. Demand for storage has fueled HDD Exabyte growth, and for the first time in 2020, HDD Exabyte shipments topped 1ZB¹ across all storage applications, from edge to core. The meteoric climb in capacity shipped is a testament to the HDD industry's ability to deliver the most cost-effective and performance delivering storage medium in the market.

Yuzu is an experimental Nintendo Switch emulator from the creators of the Citra 3DS emulator. The emulator has come a long way since the early days with more games becoming supported and general performance improvements. The first major update of 2021 brings a rewrite of the buffer cache along with general bug fixes and stability improvements. The new buffer cache was tested with the Ryzen 5 3400G and resulted in an average performance improvement of 89% for tested games with the average FPS rising to 30. These improvements should greatly benefit those with lower-end hardware and are likely to increase in the future as the emulator is further developed.

EVGA has recently released the SuperNova 1300 M1 mining power supply for cryptocurrency mining rigs. The new fully modular power supply is rated at 80+ Gold efficiency and can support six GPUs. The power supply includes a single 4+4 pin CPU interface along with six VGA power cables which each include a 6+2 pin and 6 pin connector for high power graphics cards. The 1300 W power supply includes limited SATA and Molex connectors while forgoing the typical EVGA branding with a minimalistic cardboard box packaging. The EVGA SuperNova 1300 M1 is currently listed on Newegg.com for 299.99 USD, the product is not currently listed on EVGA's site.

Earlier this week, Intel shook the DIY PC market, particularly the vast mainstream segment, by revealing that its mid-tier B460 and entry-level H410 desktop motherboard chipsets will not be compatible with 11th Gen Core "Rocket Lake-S" processors, and that only its top-tier Z490 and H470, will. We have an explanation into what's going on, after consulting with people in the know, thanks to our friends at Hardware Zone Israel, who spoke with sources within Intel. It turns out, that some batches of B460 and H410 PCH dies are re-badged from older generations of PCH, and built on the 22 nm silicon fabrication process; whereas the Z490 and H470 are based on a newer generation that's built on 14 nm. This is similar to Intel's move to carve out the B365 chipset from the older H170.

In addition to being limited to an older version of Intel ME (Management Engine), the H460 and H410 PCH lack the ability to communicate with "Rocket Lake-S" processors over side-band, using PMSYNC/PMDN signals, a design change Intel introduced with the "Tiger Lake" and "Rocket Lake" microarchitectures. The chipsets faced no such limitation with "Comet Lake-S." Intel's decision to re-badge older 22 nm-class PCH silicon as B460 and H410 may have been dictated by the company's 14 nm node volume constraints. HotHardware reports that some motherboard vendors, such as GIGABYTE, found a clever (albeit expensive) way around this limitation, by creating "V2" revisions of their existing B460 and H410 motherboards, which actually use the 14 nm H470 chipset.

AMD is slowly preparing the launch of its next-generation Ryzen Pro 5000 series of APUs designed for desktop applications. The biggest difference over the previous generation Renoir 4000 series is that this generation is now offering a major improvement in microarchitecture. Using Zen 3 core at its base, the Cezanne processor lineup is supposed to integrate all of the IPC improvements and bring them to the world of APUs. Doubling the level three (L3) cache capacity from 8 MB to 16 MB, Zen 3 cores are paired with a good amount of cache to improve performance.

Thanks to a user from Chiphell forums, we have the first details about AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5750G APU. The new generation design is bringing a big improvement with clock speeds. Having a base frequency of 3.8 GHz, the Zen 3 based design now goes up to 4.75 GHz, representing a 350 MHz increase over the past generation Ryzen 7 Pro 4750G APU. For more details, we have to wait for the official announcement.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced the Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System, its fourth-generation 5G modem-to-antenna solution. It is the world's first 10 Gigabit 5G and the first 3GPP release 16 modem-RF system, which is currently sampling to OEMs and targeting commercial device launches in 2021. Snapdragon X65 is the Company's biggest leap in 5G solutions since the commercialization of its first modem-RF system. It is designed to support the fastest 5G speeds currently available with fiber-like wireless performance and makes best use of available spectrum for ultimate network flexibility, capacity and coverage. In addition to the Snapdragon X65, Qualcomm Technologies also announced the Snapdragon X62 5G Modem-RF System, a modem-to-antenna solution optimized for mainstream adoption of mobile broadband applications.

Moshi today launched the latest addition to its award-winning series of powerful, compact USB-C hubs. Joining the Symbus and Symbus Q desktop hubs, Symbus Mini brings powerful portable connectivity to the collection.

With modern laptops thinner than they've ever been, a key factor in reducing device thickness has been the implementation of USB-C ports to replace everything from video output to wired networking and charging. Although laptops less than an inch thick are undoubtedly better for portability, the lack of desktop-like connectivity could leave you hunched over your laptop for extended periods with limited connectivity and charging, which is good for neither productivity nor well-being.

ARCTIC, one of the leading manufacturers of low-noise PC coolers and components, is adding five new variants to its extensive fan lineup. The black case fans complement the F-Series, which is known for an excellent balance of efficient ventilation, quiet operation and affordable pricing.

With the F8 PWM Black, F9 PWM PST Black, F12 Silent Black, F12 PWM PST CO Black and the F14 Value Pack Black product variants, some of ARCTIC's best-selling standard models are now available in all-black versions. "By producing the black add-on models, we are responding to our customers requests for PC fans with sleek and classic design" said Vincent Andre, technical director at ARCTIC. The products can be found starting now in the ARCTIC webshop, on Amazon and in retail stores.

While AMD has only released a few Zen 3 processors which are still extremely hard to purchase for RRP we are already receiving leaks on their successors. Zen 3 Milan processors will likely be the final generation of AM4 processors before the switch to AM5. AMD appears to be preparing a bridging series of processors based on the Zen 3+ architecture before the release of Zen 4. Zen 3+ is expected to be AMD's first AM5 CPU design and should bring small IPC gains similar to the improvements from Zen to Zen+ in the range of 4% - 7%. The Zen 3+ processors will be manufactured on TSMC's refined N7 node with a potential announcement sometime later in 2021.

Zen 4 is expected to launch the next year in 2022 and will bring significant improvements potentially up to 40% over Zen 3 after clock boosts according to ChipsandChesse. A Zen 4 Genoa engineering sample reportedly performed 29% faster than an existing Zen 3 CPUs at the same clock speeds and core counts. The Zen 4 architecture will be manufactured on a 5 nm node and could potentially bring another core count increase. This would be one of the largest generational improvements for AMD since the launch of Ryzen if true. Take all this information with a heavy dose of skepticism as with any rumor.

L-com, an Infinite Electronics brand and a preferred manufacturer of wired and wireless connectivity products, announced today that it has introduced a new series of audio/video, active optical cables (AOC) that were developed to extend high quality audio and video signals up to 100 meters without the use of a repeater.

L-com's new AOC cables include HDMI 2.0 assemblies, DisplayPort 1.4 cable assemblies and DVI video cable assemblies. Each series features cable lengths ranging from 10 meters up to 100 meters off-the-shelf. These new long-reach AOC cables are lightweight and flexible, require no external power supply and are resistant to EMI and RFI.

Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory solutions, is proud to announce the new Lexar Professional 1066x SDXC UHS-I Card SILVER Series. Designed for professional photographers and videographers, the 1066x SDXC UHS-I Card SILVER Series lets you accelerate workflow from start to finish to maximize creativity. With speeds up to 160MB/s read, and up to 120MB/s write, the 1066x SDXC UHS-I Card is designed for your DSLR or mirrorless camera and allows you to quickly capture and transfer high-quality photos, including Full-HD and 4K UHD video with ease.

This Class 10 card leverages UHS-I, UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) and Video Speed Class 30 (V30) technology giving you the high-speed performance you need to stay on top of all the action even with sequential burst mode shots. The new 1066x SDXC UHS-I Card also provides the performance and durability needed to capture and store valuable data in a variety of elements as they are built to be water, shock, vibration and X-ray proof.

Members form the UK Parliament are apparently preparing to introduce a bill that would regulate the scalping phenomenon that's being witnessed worldwide. According to Scottish politician Douglas Chapman, in an interview to IGN, "The issue of scalping first came up with constituents contacting me to explain their frustration about being unable to get hold of certain games consoles or computer components pre-Christmas." He then expanded on that by adding that "On investigation, we uncovered more details of the unscrupulous practice of 'scalping' by automated bots to bulk buy these goods and sell them on at inflated prices." Oh, and this bill is unlikely to pass, by the way.

Scalping, however, isn't done only in the UK; it's a pervasive international issue that crosses borders. And scalping, as it is known, is nothing but a form of speculation, which some might say is part of the backbone that keeps the world's capitalist blood pumping through the economy - some might even argue that scalping occurs directly due to mechanisms of supply and demand, and thus, isn't an unlawful activity in and of itself. Companies, corporations, and all other legal entities, however, have to adhere to strict anti-monopoly/anti-cartelization laws, which deal with the same base issue, although in another facet of it. The problem is that it appears that in some countries, speculation is regulated at the enterprise level, but not at the citizen level. And herein lies the crux of it.

[Editor's note: Our review of the EVGA Z20 keyboard can be found here.]

Introducing the EVGA Z20/Z15 Series Gaming Keyboards, and X20/X17/X15 Gaming Mice. The Z20/Z15 Keyboard is powered by a 32-bit Arm Cortex-M33 core microprocessor to support a 4K Hz report rate. Offering the most advanced gaming keyboard experience, 4K Hz is 4x more responsive and inputs can be more precise. Five dedicated and programmable Macro E keys, customizable via the UNLEASH RGB Software. Dedicated volume wheel and media keys give you full control at your fingertips.

The EVGA Z20 Elite Keyboard brilliantly outshines the competition with fully-customizable Per-Key RGB LEDs, with left & right edge RGB Light bar customization to fit any color scheme. The Z20 Elite LED backlighting can be configured via the EVGA UNLEASH RGB software, and multiple lighting effects can be instantly dimmed or brightened via the LED brightness function combination keys.

In XMG's product line-up, the XMG CORE 15 and CORE 17 gaming laptops embody first-class hardware adoption in the upper-mid performance bracket. The new E21 model generation not only brings an update with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3060, but also introduces for the first time an optional 165 Hz IPS display with WQHD resolution. Featuring both current AMD and Intel 8-core processors, the laptops offer versatile memory and storage options. With their discreet and solid design, they provide a classic aesthetic counterpoint to the playful RGB lighting and aggressive gaming-biased design trend.

In contrast to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, the RTX 3060 in the XMG CORE laptops from the new E21 model generation shows a significant performance increase: with 3840 CUDA Cores, opposed to previously just 1920, the GPU is prepared for more demanding tasks than simply Full HD gaming at high quality settings. This explains why, for the first time, XMG now also offers the CORE 15 and CORE 17 with optional high-resolution WQHD displays. Since the graphics card operates at the maximum TGP specified by NVIDIA of up to 115 watts, it can unleash its full potential. XMG continues to offer both models with processors from AMD and Intel. However, the Intel version gets an upgrade to the Core i7-10870H, meaning that 8-core CPUs are now used across the board. The AMD-based laptops will utilise a Ryzen 7 5800H in the future, but until the Cezanne processors are more readily available, XMG is still planning on offering a transitional generation that combines the GeForce RTX 3060 with a Ryzen 7 4800H.

Intel has reportedly caught an ex-employee stealing confidential company files for the Xeon processor lineup. Dr. Varun Gupta, who left Intel last year to join Microsoft as Principal for Strategic Planning in Cloud and AI, has reportedly walked away with over 3900 files of confidential information. The stolen files, contain information about Intel's Xeon processors, pricing data, corporate strategies, and Intel's manufacturing capabilities of the chips. Dr. Gupta is being sued by Intel for 75,000 USD and liability to not use confidential Intel information again. The security forensics team at Intel has discovered that Dr. Gupta downloaded almost 4000 files on multiple USB drives, however, Dr. Gupta is denying these claims. We are waiting to hear more information about the situation as it evolves.

CD Projekt RED just announced that it has been hit by a cyber-attack on its internal network, with the attacker having gained access to certain sensitive information belonging to the CD Projekt group. In a press note posted to Twitter, the studio included the screenshot to a plain-text ransom note left on its servers by the attacker, who claims to possess source-code of the company's most popular titles, including "Cyberpunk 2077," "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt," "Gwent," and an unreleased version of "The Witcher 3" (possibly a remaster). They also claim to have confidential documents related to CDPR's financial accounting, administration, legal, HR, IR, and more. The note ends with information on how to reach out to the attacker to discuss ransom within 48 hours. CDPR announced that it will not give into the demands of the attacker, and has reached out to law enforcement.

The availability of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3000 series "Ampere" graphics cards has been a problem ever since it launched. High demand paired with insufficient supply has caused quite some disturbance in the supply chain and has caused the MSRP of the GPUs to increase. Firstly, we were promised that the situation would resolve around May when NVIDIA is expecting to match the supply with the demand. However, according to the recent report, that might not be the case. Alternate, a European retailer operating in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, has spoken to NVIDIA about the supply of the GeForce RTX 3000 series Ampere graphics cards.

According to the retailer, the situation with the card is such that the availability is scarce. When it comes to the GeForce RTX 3090, there are very few deliveries, but only a few open orders. The RTX 3080 sees very few cards coming with many open orders. The RTX 3070 has few cards incoming, but few open orders. And last but not least, the RTX 3060 Ti has very few cards coming, and a moderately high amount of open orders. If you are aiming to buy a card, your best chances would be with RTX 3090 and RTX 3070, as they do not have such high demand. On the other hand, RTX 3080 and RTX 3060 Ti cards are almost impossible to source as they all have a big waiting list. Alternate says that they work on a "first in first out" principle of delivering cards to consumers, so if you are not on the list you are likely going to wait for even longer.

The PC Gaming and hardware industry generated 40 billion dollars in revenue in 2020. In 2021 hardware sales continue to rise exponentially, with an expected influx of $3.6 billion in revenue. With an unprecedented incline in new Gamers and hardware sales across all segments (entry to advanced); Gamers have a vested interest in protecting their significant investment (Source: Superdata). Go Chiller has been designed by FlexeGRAPH to provide the best PC Liquid coolant for Gamers who require the ultimate in performance.

The thermal conductivity of Go Chiller is the highest for a commercially available coolant and even out-performs water as a result of Flexegraph's proprietary nanomaterial additive package. A high thermal conductivity means rapid heat transfer from the processors giving an immediate fast reduction in temperatures. It has ultra-low viscosity ensuring high flow rates and low temperatures. this aids in heat rejection by reducing radiator heat soak and temperatures over extended gaming play.

SSUPD, the sister brand of LIAN LI and developer of high-end PC cases introduces Meshlicious—a revolutionary ITX PC case built in collaboration with Ncase—that features three full mesh panels and a tempered glass panel to deliver unbeatable cooling while displaying the PC's internals. An optional fourth 1 mm thick steel full mesh panel can be snapped on to encase the PC in full mesh for maximum airflow with a functional, minimalist aesthetic. The Meshlicious is available in matte black and white finishes.

"For years, small form factor cases have been on the market for users looking for low-key, compact PC builds." says Ssu, Founder of SSUPD. "But with the Meshlicious, we aimed to push the boundaries of what's possible in a PC build by surrounding it in mesh. It's aiming to be the top full mesh-capable ITX case, and designed with user-friendliness in mind to the smallest details. With a clean and stripped down look and excellent cooling, DIY enthusiasts can take their PC builds in exciting new directions."

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, intends to acquire console accessories brand Controller Gear. The acquisition of Controller Gear, which specializes in creating licensed peripherals and merchandise for popular console brands including Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo, will strengthen Razer's position in the fast-growing premium console market as the entire gaming market is forecast to cross its first US $200 billion year in 2023.

The console gaming market is forecast to grow 21.0% year-on-year in 2020 to US $51.2 billion according to Newzoo, more than double the growth projection made before the COVID-19 pandemic. This considerable growth is a result of three factors: strong demand for the latest gen consoles, pandemic fueled demand for all consoles across generations, as well as the highly accessible, plug-and-play nature of console gaming being easy to pick up. In recognition of the high growth potential of the console gaming market, Razer has continually innovated in this category to introduce premium console peripherals, including the popular Razer Wolverine controller and Razer Kaira headset lineups. The acquisition is a testament to Razer's commitment to delivering high performance peripherals to all console gamers around the world.

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, at their February RazerStore Live event last night, announced their first external dock, the Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma, and an updated version of their laptop stand, the Razer Laptop Stand Chroma V2. The two new desktop accessories aim to provide a connectivity solution to every type of user, no matter their desktop setup, with an expansive selection of ports, premium aluminium build, and signature Razer Chroma RGB under glow.

The all-new Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma has been designed to expand desktop connectivity and empower users to do more - whether on a Windows or Mac¹ laptop or desktop. It features the latest standards in connectivity, including a UHS-II SD card reader to quickly transfer files from a camera, an Ethernet port for fast and stable internet connectivity, three USB Type-A ports for connecting legacy devices, and four USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports for connecting everything else.

NVIDIA is slated to launch its performance-segment GeForce RTX 3060 "Ampere" graphics card on February 25, 2021, according to a WCCFTech report. The company launches the card at an MSRP (starting price) of USD $329. 12 GB is the standard memory size for the RTX 3060. The card marks the debut of the new 8 nm "GA106" silicon, NVIDIA's 4th chip based on the GeForce "Ampere" graphics architecture.

While the "GA106" silicon features up to 3,840 CUDA cores across 30 streaming multiprocessors, the RTX 3060 is reportedly being carved out by enabling 28 SM, working out to 3,584 CUDA cores. It features 12 GB of 15 Gbps GDDR6 memory across a 192-bit wide memory interface, which means 360 GB/s memory bandwidth, slightly higher than the 336 GB/s of the RTX 2060. The card has a typical board power rating of 170 W, which means plenty of custom-design graphics card models should come with single 8-pin PCIe power connector configurations. NVIDIA's design goal for the RTX 3060 could be doubling performance over the GTX 1060 "Pascal," and a significant performance uplift over the RTX 2060.

Cougar today rolled out the Vantar AX Black slimline keyboard. This is a variant of the original Vantar AX keyboard the company launched in mid-2020, but with a big design change—the keycaps are finally legible. The original uses frosted, translucent keycaps with black lettering, which are hard to read with the lighting turned on. The new Vantar AX Black uses more sober-looking black keycaps with the letters being illuminated (like on most illuminated keyboards). The underlying scissor-type switches are unchanged from the original, as is the aluminium unibody with diamond-cut edges. The keyboard measures 445 mm x 127 mm x 15 mm (WxDxH), weighing 626 g. The company didn't announce pricing.