NVIDIA settled in a 2015 class-action lawsuit against it, for misrepresenting the amount of memory on GeForce GTX 970 graphics cards. The company has agreed to pay every buyer of the card USD $30 (per card), and also cover the legal fees of the class, amounting to $1.3 million. The company, however, did not specify how much money it has set aside for the payout, and whether it will compensate only those buyers who constitute the class (i.e. buyers in the U.S., since that's as far as the court's jurisdiction can reach), or the thousands of GTX 970 buyers worldwide.

"The settlement is fair and reasonable and falls within the range of possible approval," attorneys for the proposed Class said in the filing. "It is the product of extended arms-length negotiations between experienced attorneys familiar with the legal and factual issues of this case and all settlement class members are treated fairly under the terms of the settlement." The class alleged that NVIDIA falsified the amount of memory a GeForce GTX 970 GPU can really use, when an investigation found that it could only address 3.5 GB of it properly. NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang apologized to buyers about the issue and promised that it would never happen again.

Here are some of the first pictures of XFX Radeon RX 470 Double Dissipation, the company's premium RX 470 offering. The card features a dual-slot custom-design cooling solution, featuring an aluminium fin-stack heatsink to which heat drawn from the GPU is fed by copper heat pipes; and dissipated by a pair of 90 mm spinners. Also featured is a back-plate running the length of the PCB. The card draws power from a single 6-pin PCIe power connector. Display outputs include three DisplayPort 1.4, and one each of HDMI 2.0b and dual-link DVI. The card is expected to launch on the 4th of August, 2016.

AMD's upcoming 14 nm Polaris 11 "Baffin" ASIC, which powers the Radeon RX 460, was pictured up close, and it's tiny! Pictured as part of a Sapphire Radeon RX 460 Dual-X disassembly by PCOnline.com.cn, the Polaris 11 chip features a tiny package substrate owing to its low pin-count, wiring out a 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface; a PCI-Express 3.0 x8 host interface (it fits into x16 slots but has wiring for just x8); and electrical pins to cope with its <75W TDP requirements. The card relies on the PCI-Express slot for all its power draw. Sapphire's Dual-X cooling solution looks beefy from the outside owing to its cooler shroud and pair of fans, but underneath is a fairly simple monoblock aluminium heatsink.

MSI, world leader in high-end gaming hardware, is excited to launch a new addition to the Aegis Series, MSI Aegis Ti. This is the ultimate gaming power supreme for gamers who want max performance and power. The Aegis Ti, uses a powerful unlocked Intel Core K-series processor to give gamers ultimate overclocking abilities. On top of that, Aegis Ti houses MSI's recently released full size MSI GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card.

But to give more power, the Aegis Ti is 2 way SLI Ready meaning you can double the GPU power for more details and supporting gamers with the best possible graphical performance. Besides all extreme hardware, Aegis Ti harnesses the Aegis series breathtaking case design that is unmatched and easy to upgrade. Coupled with its own Silent Storm Cooling 3 solution, not only the performance but also its unique interior layout is unmatched and provides gamers with a top-notch performance.

TechPowerUp brings to you a unique new giveaway! One lucky winner stands to win an ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 STRIX graphics card, autographed by W1zzard if they prefer! This giveaway is open worldwide, to sign up, simply fill up a short form. You can increase your chances of winning by sharing the giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media.For more information and to participate, visit this page.

The official specifications of two the two upcoming mainstream graphics cards by AMD, the Radeon RX 470, and the Radeon RX 460, were leaked to the web as slides from the company's official press presentation ahead of their early-August product launches. The RX 470 is based on the same "Ellesmere" Polaris10 silicon as the RX 480. It features 2,048 stream processors across 32 GCN compute units; 128 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 4 GB of memory across a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface.

The RX 470 features clock speeds of 926 MHz core, 1206 MHz boost, and 6.6 Gbps memory, working out to 211 GB/s memory bandwidth. The RX 460, on the other hand, is based on the "Baffin" Polaris11 silicon, featuring 896 stream processors, 48 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and 4 GB of memory across a 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. Its core is clocked at 1090 MHz, with 1200 MHz boost, and 7 Gbps memory, working out to 112 GB/s memory bandwidth. The RX 470 draws power from a single 6-pin PCIe power connector as its TDP is rated at 120W; the RX 460 relies entirely on the PCIe slot for its power, as its TDP is rated at <75W. The RX 470 will be available from 4th August, 2016; with the RX 460 following on 8th August.

A new tech firm is set to revolutionize the graphics card industry by purchasing GPUs directly from consumers through a fast, easy-to-use, and zero-risk process. SellGPU.com, a company of gamers, programmers, and hardware enthusiasts, was established to help individuals with the need for high-end PC components dispose of their old GPUs. Founder and CEO Said Hafez created the company in late 2014 after finding difficulty in getting rid of an old GPU batch.

"SellGPU is the first business of its kind to establish the re-commerce business model in the GPU industry," Hafez said. "We are giving individuals who need high-end graphics the power to safely and quickly sell their GPUs, making the upgrading process easier and more affordable." SellGPU offers its customers instant quotes. After the customer accepts the offer, he or she will have the option to receive a free anti-static foam box and prepaid shipping label with which to send the GPU. The customer then simply places the GPU in the box, tapes the box, affixes the shipping label to it, and drops it off at any local post office. Once the GPU reaches SellGPU, it gets inspected and tested. If it passes the testing process, the customer gets paid by PayPal or check within three business days. If the GPU fails the tests, SellGPU returns it free of charge.

Here's the first picture of Sapphire Radeon RX 460 NITRO OC, a premium RX 460 offering by Sapphire. The card combines a custom-design PCB with a larger than reference cooling solution that employs heat pipes, an aluminium fin-stack, and a pair of 90 mm spinners, to keep the GPU cool. The RX 460, based on the 14 nm "Baffin" Polaris11 silicon, features 896 stream processors spread across 14 compute units; and 4 GB of GDDR5 memory across a 128-bit wide memory interface. The NITRO OC, as its name suggests, features factory-overclocked speeds. The RX 460 is expected to be available from 8th August, 2016.

Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2016 third quarter ended June 25, 2016. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $42.4 billion and quarterly net income of $7.8 billion, or $1.42 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $49.6 billion and net income of $10.7 billion, or $1.85 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 38 percent compared to 39.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 63 percent of the quarter's revenue.

"We are pleased to report third quarter results that reflect stronger customer demand and business performance than we anticipated at the start of the quarter," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We had a very successful launch of iPhone SE and we're thrilled by customers' and developers' response to software and services we previewed at WWDC in June."

Tim Sweeney, a lead developer with Epic Games, behind the industry-leading Unreal game engine, once again raised concerns in a recent interview with print-magazine "Edge," that Microsoft is systematically killing digital distribution platform Steam, by deliberately eroding the reliability and longevity of the Win32 programming interface for PC versions of Windows, in favor of its UWP (universal Windows platform), through updates to the OS.

Microsoft, Sweeney argues, is carefully avoiding big changes to the way third-party software is distributed and used on Windows, but is definitely seen to be taking small strategic steps, "sneaky maneuvers," that could lead to Windows Store either monopolizing all third-party software distribution on the platform, or worse, making it the only way you can get third-party apps. The rising reliability issues affecting Steam, a Win32 API-based platform that distributes Win32 software, Sweeney claims are telltale signs of that dark future of the PC platform. Microsoft's biggest argument in favor of UWP is that software is inherently more secure, since it's sandboxed (covered in abstraction layers and virtualized by the OS) even further.

To fulfill the most demanding users, Thermaltake introduces its first digital radiator fan series - Thermaltake Riing LED RGB Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition, a patented LED circular 256 multicolored 120mm radiator fan with Riing RGB Software. Through the software, users can easily adjust fan speed as well as fan colors for up to 48 Riing RGB fans. Especially, users can switch between "Performance" mode and "Silent" mode by simply dragging the "FAN MODE" bar. In addition, the "Color Palette" enables users to set the fan color to whatever they want.

Users can also use "RGB Cycle" to switch to a 256 multicolored mode. The lighting effect of the patented LED ring is visible from all direction. Regard the fan design, the blades are optimized to generate large air volume and achieve the best cooling performance. Moreover, the fan features hydraulic bearing that promises ultra-low noise. To strengthen the stability during operation, the four corners of the RGB fan are special designed with anti-vibration pads. Light up your game world with Thermaltake Riing 12 LED RGB Radiator Fan TT Premium.

Seagate Technology plc, today unveiled a first-of-its kind, high-capacity drive that can help data centers more easily accommodate exponential data growth, while still maintaining high levels of computing power and performance. The two terabyte (TB) version of its Nytro XM1440 M.2 non-volatile memory express (NVMe) Solid State Drive (SSD) is the highest-capacity, enterprise-class M.2 NVMe SSD available today, making it well suited for demanding enterprise applications that require fast data access, capacity and processing.

As the latest addition to the Seagate Nytro SSD product line, the 2TB Nytro XM1440 M.2 NVMe SSD is designed to accelerate enterprise data access, with twice the density of prior M.2 NVMe environments. Optimized for read-intensive and mixed workloads, its high capacity and small form factor are ideal for today's cloud and enterprise data center environments, where speed and processing power in a small footprint are increasingly important. The drive can help meet the needs of demanding enterprise applications including online transaction processing, high-performance computing and big data analytics. It also helps manage storage growth with deduplication and compression, allowing data centers to easily create more virtual machines instantly without having to add additional servers - enabling today's data centers to more easily manage their ever-expanding storage growth.

Western Digital Corp. today announced that it has successfully developed its next generation 3D NAND technology, BiCS3, with 64 layers of vertical storage capability. Pilot production of the new technology has commenced in the Yokkaichi, Japan joint venture facilities and initial output is expected later this year. Western Digital expects meaningful commercial volumes of BiCS3 in the first half of calendar 2017.

"The launch of the next generation 3D NAND technology based on our industry-leading 64 layer architecture reinforces our leadership in NAND flash technology," said Dr. Siva Sivaram, executive vice president, memory technology, Western Digital. "BiCS3 will feature the use of 3-bits-per-cell technology along with advances in high aspect ratio semiconductor processing to deliver higher capacity, superior performance and reliability at an attractive cost. Together with BiCS2, our 3D NAND portfolio has broadened significantly, enhancing our ability to address a full spectrum of customer applications in retail, mobile and data center."

NVIDIA released the GeForce 369.00 Beta drivers featuring three new OpenGL extensions released by its architecture review board (ARB), and NVIDIA in 2016. These include the "ARB_gl_spirv," which works on NVIDIA "Kepler" architecture and above; the "EXT_window_rectangles," extension, which requires NVIDIA "Fermi" architecture and above; and the homebrew "NVX_blend_equation_advanced_multi_draw_buffers," which requires NVIDIA "Pascal" architecture. These updates to OpenGL are also shipped for the Linux platform via the 367.36.02 drivers. Grab the drivers from the links below.DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 369.00 BetaImage Credit: DigitalTrends

Patriot, a leading manufacturer of high performance computer memory, SSDs, gaming peripherals, consumer flash storage solutions and mobile accessories, today announced the immediate release of its new extreme performance Viper 4 and high performance Viper Elite DDR4 in 3733 MHz dual kits.

Expanding Patriot's extreme performance and high performance DDR4 memory lines, the 3733 MHz Viper 4 and Viper Elite dual channel kits are designed for optimal use with the latest Intel X99 and 100 series motherboards. With consumers utilizing more taxing professional applications, large capacity PC games and having a need for higher memory optimization, the Viper 4 and Viper Elite will present unsurpassed performance and reliability that only 30 years of DRAM experience can deliver.

Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced additional capacities of the Crucial MX300 solid state drive (SSD). Built for speed and loaded with advanced features, the new drives deliver an immediate increase to system performance.

With read speeds up to 530 MB/s and write speeds up to 510 MB/s on all file types, the Crucial MX300 enables users to boot up almost instantly, load programs with ease, and accelerate demanding applications. The drive is engineered with Micron 3D NAND technology, resulting in an endurance rating of up to 220 TB total bytes written by leveraging larger NAND cells to deliver top-notch performance and prolong endurance.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it is shipping UV400 SSD. The "ultra value" UV400 SSD allows fast boot times, application loading and file transfers for mainstream users at a great price point. UV400 is powered by a four-channel controller for incredible speeds of up to 550 MB/s read and 500 MB/s write, and is 10x faster than a 7200 RPM hard-disk drive (HDD).

UV400 is rugged and more durable than a mechanical hard drive as it is shock and vibration resistant making it more reliable for use in notebooks and other mobile computing devices. It is available as a stand-alone drive or as a bundle kit with all the accessories needed (2.5" USB enclosure for notebooks and 3.5" adapter for desktop, SATA cable and Acronis data migration software download coupon) for easy do-it-yourself installation. UV400 comes in 120 GB, 240 GB, 480 GB and 960 GB (shipping soon).

Late last week, NVIDIA announced the TITAN X Pascal, its fastest consumer graphics offering targeted at gamers and PC enthusiasts. The reign of TITAN X Pascal being the fastest single-GPU graphics card could be short-lived, as NVIDIA announced a Quadro product based on the same "GP102" silicon, which maxes out its on-die resources. The new Quadro P6000, announced at SIGGRAPH alongside the GP104-based Quadro P5000, features all 3,840 CUDA cores physically present on the chip.

Besides 3,840 CUDA cores, the P6000 features a maximum FP32 (single-precision floating point) performance of up to 12 TFLOP/s. The card also features 24 GB of GDDR5X memory, across the chip's 384-bit wide memory interface. The Quadro P5000, on the other hand, features 2,560 CUDA cores, up to 8.9 TFLOP/s FP32 performance, and 16 GB of GDDR5X memory across a 256-bit wide memory interface. It's interesting to note that neither cards feature full FP64 (double-precision) machinery, and that is cleverly relegated to NVIDIA's HPC product line, the Tesla P-series.

AMD today announced that its powerful physically-based rendering engine is becoming open source, giving developers access to the source code. As part of GPUOpen, Radeon ProRender (formerly previewed as AMD FireRender) enables creators to bring ideas to life through high-performance applications and workflows enhanced by photorealistic rendering. Alongside Radeon ProRender, developers also have access to Radeon Rays on GPUOpen.com, a high-efficiency, high-performance, heterogeneous ray tracing intersection library for GPU, CPU or APU on virtually any platform. GPUOpen is an AMD initiative designed to assist developers in creating ground-breaking games, professional graphics applications and GPU computing applications with superior performance and lifelike experiences, using no-cost open development tools and software.

Radeon ProRender plugins are available today for many popular 3D content creation applications, including Autodesk 3ds Max, SOLIDWORKS by Dassault Systèmes and Rhino, with Autodesk Maya coming soon. Radeon ProRender works across Windows, OS X and Linux, and supports AMD GPUs, CPUs and APUs as well as those of other vendors.

AMD today announced it is developing a new Radeon Pro solution for large dataset applications, which will be available initially as a developer kit. Starting at a full terabyte of Radeon Solid State Graphics (SSG), this innovative Radeon Pro technology will provide more than an order of magnitude greater memory capacity compared to existing GPU memory implementations, enabling vastly higher performance. The new solution is ideal for the next wave of demanding use-case scenarios including real-time post-production of 8K video, high-resolution rendering, VR content creation, oil and gas exploration, computational engineering, medical imaging and life sciences.

During the world's first demonstration of a Radeon Pro SSG solution, 8K raw video timeline scrubbing was accelerated from 17 frames per second to a stunning 90+ frames per second. As content creators rapidly adopt 8K resolution to future-proof their content, a 5X performance boost will improve quality of life, productivity and efficiency in the editing process.

Thermaltake, a green pioneer in power supply unit, is proud to introduce the latest Toughpower DPS G RGB Gold Series (650W/750W/850W) that is pre-installed with an ultra-quiet 140mm patented RGB fan. To deliver unbeatable performance for Virtual Reality TT Power VR Ready, Thermaltake utilized the highest quality components and 100% Japanese capacitors to produce the Toughpower DPS G RGB Gold Series.

Furthermore, the fully modular Toughpower DPS G RGB Gold Series is not only equipped with a digital control board but is also installed with a 32Bit Microcontroller Unit (MCU) from Microchip Technology. The new Toughpower DPS G RGB Gold Series is a definite asset to your computer; serving all your security, financial, entertainment, and aesthetic needs.

Following the surprise TITAN X Pascal launch slated for 2nd August, it looks like NVIDIA product development cycle is running on steroids, with reports emerging of the company accelerating its next-generation "Volta" architecture debut to May 2017, along the sidelines of next year's GTC. The architecture was originally scheduled to make its debut in 2018.

Much like "Pascal," the "Volta" architecture could first debut with HPC products, before moving on to the consumer graphics segment. NVIDIA could also retain the 16 nm FinFET+ process at TSMC for Volta. Stacked on-package memory such as HBM2 could be more readily available by 2017, and could hit sizable volumes towards the end of the year, making it ripe for implementation in high-volume consumer products.

Here are some of the first pictures of the Radeon RX 470 Platinum Edition by Sapphire. The card design is a close variation of AMD reference design, with a silvery plastic panel on the cooler shroud, a metallic sticker on the fan hub, and a back-plate covering the length of the PCB. This PCB features two fewer power phases than the RX 480, and 4 GB of 7 Gbps GDDR5 memory. The RX 470 features 2,048 stream processors, 128 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and a 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface. It draws power from a single 6-pin PCIe power connector; and its TDP is rated at 150W. The MSRP for the RX 470 is rumored to be set at US $179.

GIGABYTE, the world's leading premium gaming hardware manufacturer, today introduced 4 models for its GeForce GTX 1060 lineup powered by the latest Pascal GP106 GPU. With the GTX 1060 G1 GAMING (GV-N1060G1GAMING-6GD) leading the charge, GIGABYTE also offers the GTX 1060 WINDFORCE OC edition (GV-N1060WF2OC-6GD) and the single-fan GTX 1060 Mini ITX OC edition (GV-N1060IXOC-6GD) at launch, as well as the GTX 1060 D5 edition (GV-N1060D5-6GD) aimed for value-seeking gamers, to provide maximized performance at each respective budget ranges and for each PC build requirements.

The GTX 1060 G1 GAMING raises the game with Super Overclocked GPU, the signature WINDFORCE technology, and RGB Illumination for gamers who crave superior cooling and overclocking performances for next-gen gaming with style. Through GIGABYTE's GPU Gauntlet Sorting technology, the top-notch GPU cores built in G1 GAMING cards push overclocking capability to the limit without compromising the system reliability. The highest-grade components augmented with 6+1 phase design make the MOSFET working at a lower temperature to provide more stable voltage output for superior overclocking.

Sapphire announced its premium Radeon RX 480 graphics card, the NITRO+. Featuring a completely custom design, the card features the company's latest Dual-X cooling solution that combines a dense aluminium fin-stack heatsink, with a pair of easily detachable 95 mm fans, and an air-channel that directs hot air towards the top; and a custom-design PCB with a strong VRM, which draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector.

The Radeon RX 480 NITRO+ comes in two variants, 4 GB and 8 GB. The 4 GB variant comes with clock speeds of 1208 MHz core, 1306 MHz boost, and 7 Gbps memory; while the 8 GB variant ships with 1208 MHz core, 1342 MHz boost, and 8 Gbps memory. Display outputs include two each of DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0b, and a dual-link DVI connector. The unique NITRO Glow feature lets you make the LED-lit Sapphire logo useful, by cycling it between its default blue color, to a random RGB color, gradients based on PCB temperature and fan-speeds, a Sapphire TriXX-set color, or stay off.

AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) today announced revenue for the second quarter of 2016 of $1,027 million, operating loss of $8 million, and net income of $69 million, or $0.08 per diluted share. Non-GAAP operating income was $3 million and non-GAAP net loss was $40 million, or $0.05 per share.

"In the second quarter we accomplished a significant milestone as we returned to non-GAAP operating profitability based on solid execution and strong demand for our semi-custom and graphics products," said Lisa Su, AMD president and CEO. "Based on the strength of our semi-custom products and demand for our latest Radeon RX GPUs and 7th Generation A-Series APUs, we are well positioned to drive growth and market share gains in the second half of the year."

In a show of shock and awe, NVIDIA today announced its flagship graphics card based on the "Pascal" architecture, the GeForce GTX TITAN X Pascal. Market availability of the card is scheduled for August 2, 2016, priced at US $1,199. Based on the 16 nm "GP102" silicon, this graphics card is endowed with 3,584 CUDA cores spread across 56 streaming multiprocessors, 224 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and a 384-bit GDDR5X memory interface, holding 12 GB of memory.

The core is clocked at 1417 MHz, with 1531 MHz GPU Boost, and 10 Gbps memory, churning out 480 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The card draws power from a combination of 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power connectors, the GPU's TDP is rated at 250W. NVIDIA claims that the GTX TITAN X Pascal is up to 60 percent faster than the GTX TITAN X (Maxwell), and up to 3 times faster than the original GeForce GTX TITAN.

Sharkoon expands its range of peripherals and introduces a programmable mouse for gamers, which is also suitable for left-handers thanks to its symmetrical design. The Sharkoon SHARK ZONE M50 Gaming Laser Mouse, with the typical yellow cable, offers subtle yellow LED lighting and technical advantages for gamers: Avago ADNS-9800 sensor with up to 8,200 DPI plus a polling rate of 1,000 Hz and a lift-off distance from one to five millimeters. Interchangeable side panels offer individual customization for best grip and ergonomics. Omron switches in the left and right mouse buttons ensure longevity, five mouse feet offer outstanding gliding performance, and the brushed aluminium alloy bottom ensures both stability and durability. The M50 has seven total buttons, all of which are programmable, plus a precision scroll wheel. The laser mouse connects via its textile braided, yellow cable with gold-plated USB plug.

The included gaming software allows adjustments to the DPI steps, polling rate, double-click and scroll speed, angle snapping and axis sensitivity. In addition, macros can be conveniently programmed, for example, for difficult key combinations for gaming or repetitive office work. Complete gaming profiles can easily be saved in the onboard memory of the M50. Thus, even complex key sequences, including delays and mouse clicks, can be easily executed. Thanks to its internal memory, no settings are lost within the extensive gaming software.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of highperformance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products, today unveiledthe SE730, SC660, and SV620 external SSDs. The three are compatible with Windows, Mac OS, and Android, thus bringing solid state storage expansion and convenience to the majority of notebooks, ultrabooks, desktops, and even media boxes and game consoles.

From the USB Type-C SE730with its IP68 dust and water proofing to the cost-effective SC660 and SV620, each offers at least four times the performance of an external mechanical drive while consuming far less power (excellent for portable device batteries), operating in total silence, and ensuring vastly better shock resistance. The drives are ideal for mobile or stationary scenarios. They use carefully-sorted and certified controllers and memory chips, undergoing rigorous ADATA testing. Likewise, PCB pr! oduction and enclosure assembly meet demanding ADATA standards, backed by a 3-year warranty. The SE730 and SV620 launch today while the SC660 will release in August.

TUL Corporation, a leading and innovative manufacturer of AMD graphic cards since 1997, has released a brand new video card in PowerColor Red Devil RX 480 8GB GDDR5. It is based on AMD's latest GCN 4 architecture designed for GloFo 14nm FinFET that delivers premium VR capability, increased level of performance, smooth VR, seamless support for next-gen gaming monitors, and CPU-free game streaming or recording. Furthermore, the model also supports AMD's newest technologies such as Direct 12 and Vulkan, FreeSync, and Liquid VR.

PowerColor Red Devil RX 480 8GB GDDR5 utilizes 8GB of GDDR5 memory with 2304 stream processors, ships with 1330MHz core clock speed, and has 2000MHz memory clock speed which is connected via a new high speed 256-bit memory interface. The 6+1 multi-phases board design enhances the power efficiency and stability, and also enables ultimate performance in overclocking mode with BIOS switch. In order to achieve better thermal solution in both ultra overclocking and silent overclocking mode, PowerColor Red Devil RX 480 adopts the newest fan technology called Double Blade III which increases airflows and prevents dust deposition on fans. The Double Blade III is made with triple 80mm 2-ball bearing fans, with 2pcs of 8mm and another 2pcs of 6mm nickel- plated heat pipe for the best heat dissipation.

Super Talent introduced the Nova line of SSDs in the 9.5 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor, which take advantage of the PCI-Express bus, over the SFF8639 connector, which either wires out as U.2 or SATA-Express. It provides the drive with 32 Gb/s of bandwidth on machines with PCI-Express gen 3.0, which the drive pays forward with sequential read speeds of up to 3,000 MB/s, and sequential write speeds of up to 2,000 MB/s. The drive comes in capacities ranging between 120 GB to 1920 GB.

Phanteks unveiled a new full-coverage water block for reference GeForce GTX 1080 graphics cards (Founders Edition), the PH-GB1080-X. The block is made of nickel-plated copper with a clear acrylic top over the coolant channel, and an opaque film linking the two ends of the acrylic top. The top features three LED mounts, from which you can insert 1 mm-dia LEDs. Available now, the block is priced at $129.99.

PNY today unveiled its GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card. Based on a custom-design PCB, the card sticks to NVIDIA reference clock speeds of 1506 MHz core, 1709 MHz GPU Boost, and 8 Gbps memory. The card features a custom aluminium fin-stack cooling solution with a pair of 70 mm fans. The card draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector. The card is expected to be priced around $279.

The popular frame-rate overlay, screengrab and recording utility FRAPS is set to make a comeback. The new version 3.6.0 comes with official Windows 10 support, with support for all of the utility's nifty features. FRAPS developer Beepa did not comment on when they plan to release version 3.6.0, only stating that they "hope to have it available as soon as possible," and that its development is in progress. Meanwhile we have a screenshot of a development build running on Windows 10 to chew on.

AMD on 19th July, released a WHQL-signed version of Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.2 drivers. The company first released the RSCE 16.7.2 as a Beta on the 12th of July. The change-log of the new 16.7.2 WHQL drivers don't say exactly what is different between the 16.7.2 Beta and the 16.7.2 WHQL; so we guess it's just 16.7.2 with WHQL certification. Grab the drivers from the links below.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.2 WHQL for Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 32-bit | Windows 8.1 64-bit | Windows 8.1 32-bit | Windows 7 64-bit | Windows 7 32-bit

Here are the winners of the ZALMAN Z9 NEO Giveaway, brought to you by TechPowerUp. Four lucky winners stood a chance to win a ZALMAN Z9 NEO White case, each. The Z9 NEO is an exquisite mid-tower by ZALMAN that covers all the essentials of this generation's gaming PC builds, and then some. Without further ado, the winners. A huge congratulations to you all!The Winners:

• Tiago from Portugal
• Tina from the United States
• Jan from Poland
• Meekyung from Canada

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced Strix RX 480, an all-new VR-ready gaming graphics card with ultra-fast gaming performance, advanced cooling and reliability, and personalized styling. Powered by the latest AMD Radeon RX 480 graphics processing unit (GPU), clocked at 1330MHz in OC mode, ROG Strix RX 480 delivers up to 15%-faster performance in 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme and 19%-faster gaming performance in Hitman and Doom.

ROG Strix RX 480 is packed with exclusive ASUS technologies, including DirectCU III with a patented triple wing-blade 0dB fan designed to deliver maximum airflow for 30%-cooler and three-times (3X) quieter performance, and ASUS FanConnect, which features GPU-controlled fan headers to connect to system fans for targeted supplemental cooling. Industry-exclusive Auto-Extreme technology with Super Alloy Power II components ensures premium quality and reliability.

GIGABYTE, the world's leading gaming hardware brand, today announced the launch of Radeon RX 480 G1 GAMING graphics cards that come in variants of 4GB (RX480G1 GAMING-4GD) and 8GB (RX480G1 GAMING-8GD) of GDDR5 memory. Based on the latest Polaris architecture with groundbreaking 14nm FinFET technology, the power-efficient RX 480 G1 GAMING cards up the ante with the cherry-picked GPU core, WINDFORCE dual-fan cooler and RGB illumination, delivering exceptional performance and value with style to gamers looking for smooth gameplay at superior frame rates, as well as those wishing to enter the world of VR for the first time.

Taking advantage of the renowned WINDFORCE 2X cooling system, the RX 480 G1 GAMING ensures cool and quietness when taking on the most graphics-intensive game titles. Two 90mm fans paired with three composite copper heat pipes which directly touch the GPU keep the card cool for extra overclocking headroom. The airflow is enhanced by the unique blade fan design to increase the cooling capacity by 23% while reducing turbulence to a minimum. The cards also feature silent semi-passive cooling as the fans remain off at idle or low loads, offering a complete silent, interruption-free experience during light gaming. The Fan Stop indicator provides a user-friendly, instant display of the fan status.

As the world's most popular GAMING graphics card vendor, MSI is proud to introduce brand new graphics cards based on NVIDIA's new Pascal GPU with fierce new looks and supreme performance to match. Featuring the same high build quality as its bigger brothers, the MSI GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G is kept cool by the impressive TWIN FROZR VI thermal design allowing for higher core and memory clock speeds for increased performance in games.

The famous shapes of the eye-catching TWIN FROZR cooler are intensified by a fiery red GAMING glow piercing through the cover, while the MSI GAMING dragon RGB LED on the side can be set to any of 16.8 million colors to match your mood or build. A completely new custom 6-phase PCB design using Military Class 4 components with an 8-pin power connector enables higher overclocking performance to push your graphics card to the max. The classy matte black solid metal backplate gives the card more structural strength and provides a nice finishing touch.

The EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card is loaded with innovative new gaming technologies, making it the perfect choice for the latest high-definition games. Powered by NVIDIA Pascal - the most advanced GPU architecture ever created - the GeForce GTX 1060 delivers brilliant performance that opens the door to virtual reality and beyond.

These cards also feature EVGA ACX cooling technology. EVGA ACX once again brings new and exciting features to the award winning EVGA ACX cooling technology. SHP gives increased heatpipes and copper contact area for cooler operation, and optimized fan curve for even quieter gaming. Of course, ACX coolers also feature optimized swept fan blades, double ball bearings and an extreme low power motor, delivering more airflow with less power, unlocking additional power for the GPU.

BIOSTAR is proud to announce its latest graphics card, the BIOSTAR GeForce GTX 1080. Designed for the latest generation of games and gaming experiences, the GeForce GTX 1080 takes gaming to the next level with performance and efficiency that beats everything before it featuring the all-new Pascal GPU architecture fabricatedon the 16nm FinFET process technology.

The BIOSTAR GeForce GTX 1080 will have an MSRP of USD $799. The BIOSTAR GeForce GTX 1080 features the GP104 GPU sporting 2560 CUDA cores and runs with a base core clock of 1607Mhz. Featuring GPU Boost 3.0, the BIOSTAR GeForce GTX 1080 can run up to 1733Mhz and features 8GB of GDDR5X video memory connected a 256-bit bus interface.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced Strix GeForce GTX 1060, an all-new VR-ready gaming graphics card with ultra-fast gaming performance, advanced cooling and reliability, and personalized styling. Powered by the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 graphics processing unit (GPU), clocked at 1873MHz in OC mode, ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1060 delivers up to 5%-faster performance in 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme and 6.5%-faster gaming performance in Doom.

ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1060 is packed with exclusive ASUS technologies, including DirectCU III with a patented triple wing-blade 0dB fan designed to deliver maximum airflow for 30%-cooler and three-times (3X) quieter performance, and ASUS FanConnect, which features GPU-controlled fan headers to connect to system fans for targeted supplemental cooling. Industry-exclusive Auto-Extreme technology with Super Alloy Power II components ensures premium quality and reliability.

NVIDIA announced availability of the GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card. Targeted at the Radeon RX 480, the GTX 1060 is priced at USD $249, however, its own Founders Edition (reference) card is priced at $299, and available exclusively from the company website. The GTX 1060 is based on the new 16 nm GP106 silicon, featuring 1,280 CUDA cores, 80 TMUs, 48 ROPs, and a 192-bit GDDR5 memory interface, holding 6 GB of memory.

The core on the GTX 1060 is clocked at 1506 MHz, with a maximum GPU Boost frequency of 1709 MHz, and 8 Gbps memory, which puts out 192 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The card draws power from a single 6-pin PCIe power connector, as the chip's TDP is rated at just 120W. You get most of the features NVIDIA introduced with the "Pascal" architecture, but the biggest change is lack of NVIDIA SLI support. Even custom-design cards will lack SLI support. NVIDIA's add-in card (AIC) partners will launch their offerings today, alongside the Founders Edition SKUs.

Ultimate Ears today announced the first artist edition UE ROLL 2 speaker, Drippy UE ROLL 2, designed by renowned American artist Jen Stark. Created to celebrate the relationship between movement and sound, the limited edition Drippy UE ROLL 2 was inspired by prismatic colors and nature.

Using her vivid imagination to transform materials into fantastic, intricate works of art that mesmerize the eye, Stark's Drippy UE ROLL 2 patterns mimic the repetitive layers of plants, as well as the geometric framework she finds in the universe. In her work, she explores the juxtaposition of contrasting colors and repetition that give the impression of movement and vibration.

Toshiba Corporation and Western Digital Corporation today celebrated the opening of the New Fab 2 semiconductor fabrication facility located in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Expanded use of flash memory in smartphones, SSDs, and other applications is driving continued growth of the global flash memory market. The New Fab 2 facility will support the conversion of the companies' 2D NAND capacity to 3D flash memory, allowing realization of solutions offering higher densities and better device performance.

Construction of New Fab 2 began in September 2014. Following partial completion of the facility in October 2015, Toshiba and SanDisk (acquired in May 2016 by Western Digital Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Digital Corporation) worked together to implement leading-edge manufacturing capabilities for mass production of 3D flash memory, and first-phase production started in March of this year. The parties intend to further invest to expand production capacity over time, depending on market conditions.

ENERMAX new 80 PLUS Platinum certified power supply with up to 93% high efficiency, Platimax D.F. made its debut on CeBIT 2016 and is now available on the market with two models: 500W and 600W. Platimax D.F. is the successor of ENERMAX awarding-winning series, Platimax, with full modular cable design. Platimax D.F. capitalizes on 2016 ENERMAX innovation, patented Dust Free Rotation (DFR) technology which enables the PSU fan to spin in reverse for 10 sec. upon startup to blow away the dust swiftly for self cleaning. The DFR technology can reduce the dust accumulated on the fan blades and around fan guard to provide a smooth intake airflow path without obstruction.

Japanese conglomerate Softbank acquired British CPU architecture designer ARM in a USD $32 billion deal on Monday. Softbank's bid of $32 billion is a 43 percent premium over ARM's current valuation of $22.3 billion, and the Cambridge-based firm will recommend its shareholders to approve of its acquisition. Shares of ARM surged 45% on the LSE, adding £7.56 billion to its market value. The company reported revenues of $1.49 billion in 2015. ARM founder Herman Hauser, however, isn't happy with the board's decision. "This is a sad day for me and a sad day for technology in Britain," he stated.

ARM designs CPU architectures, which it then licenses to other processor and SoC manufacturers, many of which are fabless themselves, making it an intellectual property giant. None of ARM's products are "tangible" or physical. While Intel, for example, designs CPU architectures (eg: x86), implements it (eg: Core i7, Celeron), and manufactures it (at its Costa Rica and Malaysia fabs) ARM's product is not tangible. It has a CPU architecture, which clients such as Samsung, Huawei, and Qualcomm license, implement (eg: Exynos, Kylin, Snapdragon), and contract-manufacture, through fabs such as GlobalFoundries, TSMC, and ST Microelectronics.

Here are some of the first detailed pictures of XFX Radeon RX 480 Double Dissipation graphics card. The card combines a custom-design PCB with a meaty custom cooling solution by the company, to support factory-overclocked speeds and overclocking headroom further still. The cooling solution, from which the card derives its name, features two aluminium fin-stacks, to which heat drawn from a copper base is conveyed by four 6 mm-thick copper heat pipes, and ventilated by a pair of 90 mm spinners.

These fans can be detached from the cooler without needing any tools, and without even having to detach the cooler shroud. A back-plate finishes off the cooling solution. The PCB draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector, and uses a 6-phase VRM with high-end International Rectifier DirectFETs to condition it for the GPU. The card features factory-overclocked speeds in excess of 1300 MHz. The card features 8 GB of memory. Display outputs include a DVI connector, besides three DisplayPort 1.4 and one HDMI 2.0b. XFX could launch the card later this week.

Intel is preparing to launch its next-generation NUC (next unit of computing) compact desktops between 2016-17. A leaked company roadmap and slides revealed that the line of NUCs based on the company's higher-performance 7th generation Core processors could be codenamed "Baby Canyon," and the one based on its low-power Celeron processors could be codenamed "Arches Canyon." The company is readying five "Baby Canyon" NUCs under the NUC7 series, and two models under the NUC6C series.

The NUC7 series are driven by 14 nm Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 "Kaby Lake" dual-core processors, with support for dual-channel DDR4 SO-DIMM memory, and a unique USB type-C connector that routes 10 Gb/s USB 3.1, 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3, and DisplayPort 1.2. The platform's second USB 3.1 port is a front-facing type-A. The NUC6C series, on the other hand, is focused on legacy connectivity, and features an analog VGA port, besides HDMI 2.0, and a pair of USB 3.1 ports. The NUC6C series could make its debut within 2016, with the NUC7 following up in 2017.

With the UMX4 and the RM3, we present two outstanding cases, both of which stand out due to their appealing exterior. Due to the combination of high-quality materials, flawless manufacturing and an eye for details, our cases stand out from the grey mass of the case market. The UMX4 is the predecessor to the UMX2. It's designed to house ATX motherboards and offers an efficient ventilation system, as well as generous space for a powerful system with multiple VGA cards.

The UMX4 combines a classic exterior design and a very stable chassis made from massive steel. When comparing the UMX4 to the UMX2, it's obvious that the interior has been massively redesigned to offer a better hardware compatibility. There are four dedicated installation spots for 2.5 inch SSD as well as two 3.5 inch mounting frames are readily available. Three 120 mm fans (2 x top, 1 x rear) are already preinstalled, two additional 120 mm fans can be mounted at the bottom of the case.

Korean memory and NAND flash giant SK Hynix announced that it will have HBM2 memory ready for order within Q3-2016 (July-September). The company will ship 4 gigabyte HBM2 stacks in the 4 Hi-stack (4-die stack) form-factor, in two speeds - 2.00 Gbps (256 GB/s per stack), bearing model number H5VR32ESM4H-20C; and 1.60 Gbps (204 GB/s per stack), bearing model number H5VR32ESM4H-12C. With four such stacks, graphics cards over a 4096-bit HBM2 interface, graphics cards with 16 GB of total memory can be built.

Futuremark released the latest addition to the 3DMark benchmark suite, the new "Time Spy" benchmark and stress-test. All existing 3DMark Basic and Advanced users have limited access to "Time Spy," existing 3DMark Advanced users have the option of unlocking the full feature-set of "Time Spy" with an upgrade key that's priced at US $9.99. The price of 3DMark Advanced for new users has been revised from its existing $24.99 to $29.99, as new 3DMark Advanced purchases include the fully-unlocked "Time Spy." Futuremark announced limited-period offers that last up till 23rd July, in which the "Time Spy" upgrade key for existing 3DMark Advanced users can be had for $4.99, and the 3DMark Advanced Edition (minus "Time Spy") for $9.99.

Futuremark 3DMark "Time Spy" has been developed with inputs from AMD, NVIDIA, Intel, and Microsoft, and takes advantage of the new DirectX 12 API. For this reason, the test requires Windows 10. The test almost exponentially increases the 3D processing load over "Fire Strike," by leveraging the low-overhead API features of DirectX 12, to present a graphically intense 3D test-scene that can make any gaming/enthusiast PC of today break a sweat. It can also make use of several beyond-4K display resolutions.DOWNLOAD: 3DMark with TimeSpy v2.1.2852

Bykski, known as one of the biggest water block provider in China, releases the water block for AMD RX480 graphics cards, named Bykski A-RX480-X. The Bykski A-RX480-X is made of cooper of the base and designed as a full cover water block, and all the surface is nickel plated for anti-oxidation treatment. It provides direct cooling not only for the GPU, but also for RAM. And the transparent acrylic cover allows users to watch inside of the water flow. The tube connectors of the water block can be reverse installed for CrossFire. The water block will be on sale for both official online store and regions with BYKSKI distributors, the suggested retail price is $99 USD.

NVIDIA today shipped out the GeForce 368.81 WHQL drivers, which are optimized for a suite of VR-Ready games. To begin with, the drivers come with optimization for NVIDIA's VR Funhouse (a tech demonstrator that takes advantage of Simultaneous Multi-Projection); "Everest VR," "Raw Data," a hotly anticipated AAA VR title that made waves at E3, "Obduction," and "The Assembly."DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 368.81 WHQL for Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 32-bit | Windows 8/7/Vista 64-bit | Windows 8/7/Vista 32-bit

Colorful Technology Company Limited, professional manufacturer of graphics cards and motherboards, proudly announces the debut of the world's first GTX 1060 graphics card series. Colorful will be releasing a series of four custom-design GTX 1060 to satisfy gamers in every segment: Colorful iGameGTX1060 X-TOP-6G, Colorful iGameGTX1060 S-TOP-6G, Colorful iGameGTX1060 U-TOP-6G and Colorful iGameGTX1060 U-6G.

The newly released NVIDIA GTX 1060 is targeted for mainstream gamers looking for the perfect balance between performance and price. The GTX 1060 is based on the 16nm FinFET featuring NVIDIA's Pascal architecture. The GTX 1060 will sport 1280 CUDA cores, complimented by 6GB of GDDR5 video memory running at an effective clock rate of 8 Gbps on a 192-bit wide bus.

Thermal Solutions specialist GELID Solutions unveils the IPX 4 PWM, IPX 6 PWM and IPX 8 PWM - a brand new series of fans for industrial applications. The IPX Industrial Fan series provides protection against harmful deposits of dust and water from harsh environments. It is IP56 rated and allows continuous operation in extreme conditions and high humidity industrial environments.

The IPX 4 PWM, IPX 6 PWM and IPX 8 PWM feature precisely balanced impeller which guarantees stable operation even at the highest rotation speeds possible. The IPX 4 PWM, IPX 6 PWM and IPX 8 PWM also integrate ultra-durable mechanics, a double ball-bearing configuration from the renowned Japanese manufacturer NMB Tech. The new Smart PWM IC, designed specifically for the IPX Industrial Fan series, eliminates any clicking noise and controls fan speed according to heat-source load. The IPX 4 PWM, IPX 6 PWM and IPX 8 PWM have comprehensively optimized blades, the result of software simulations and real-prototype test which provide higher performance and dramatically improved airflow distribution without increasing noise level.

AMD today announced that it is partnering with Firaxis and 2K Games on the development of "Civilization VI," the next addition to the smash-hit turn-based strategy franchise. AMD announced that it is helping the developer take advantage of DirectX 12, including API-standardized Asynchronous Compute, and Explicit multi-adapter (MDA). This will let the game use setups that are a mixture of discrete and integrated GPUs, and mixed multi-GPU. The game is also said to feature a benchmark tool.

ASUS introduced its fifth GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card, the GTX 1070 DUAL (model: DUAL-GTX1070-O8G). This card mates a custom-design PCB by ASUS with dual-fan (though not DirectCU II) cooling solution. This cooler features a cooler shroud that has the same design language as some of ASUS' mainline X99 II and Z170 series motherboards. The cooler features a pair of wing-blade fans that have low noise footprint. The card offers factory-overclocked speeds of 1582 MHz core, 1771 MHz GPU Boost, and an untouched 8.00 GHz (GDDR5-effective) memory. The card draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector. Display outputs include three DisplayPorts 1.4 and an HDMI 2.0b.

TechPowerUp today released the latest version of GPU-Z, the popular graphics subsystem information, diagnostic, and monitoring utility that no enthusiast can leave home without. With the latest version 1.9.0, GPU-Z is out of "beta." We chose 1.9.0 over the more sequential 1.0.0 as it presents better continuity and averts the confusion of 1.0.0 (read 1.0) somehow sounding older.

Version 1.9.0 adds support for NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, GTX 940MX, and GT 740 (GK107). On machines with GeForce "Pascal" GPUs, it can also tell if you have an SLI HB bridge installed in your machine or a classic SLI bridge. This way you know if your pre-built OEM has cut-costs. GPU-Z can now reliably extract video BIOS from AMD "Polaris" GPUs such as the Radeon RX 480. Improvements were made to the way it reads engine clock on AMD "Polaris" GPUs. All communication between GPU-Z and TechPowerUp servers (such as voluntary BIOS uploads, validations, etc.) now happens over secure HTTPS.

DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 1.9.0 | GPU-Z 1.9.0 ASUS ROG ThemedThe change-log follows.

Over the weekend, Bethesda shipped the much awaited update to "DOOM" which can now take advantage of the Vulkan API. A performance investigation by ComputerBase.de comparing the game's Vulkan renderer to its default OpenGL renderer reveals that Vulkan benefits AMD GPUs far more than it does to NVIDIA ones. At 2560 x 1440, an AMD Radeon R9 Fury X with Vulkan is 25 percent faster than a GeForce GTX 1070 with Vulkan. The R9 Fury X is 15 percent slower than the GTX 1070 with OpenGL renderer on both GPUs. Vulkan increases the R9 Fury X frame-rates over OpenGL by a staggering 52 percent! Similar performance trends were noted with 1080p. Find the review in the link below.

ENERMAX, the maker of high-performance PC hardware components, presents the ETS-T50 AXE series, the flagship air cooler equipped with 5x Ø6mm heat pipes. This high performance cooler lineup features 7 unique patents and supports 250W TDP. ETS-T50 AXE, the high-performance CPU cooler, is available in two colors, black and white. The black T50 (ETS-T50A-BVT) comes with ENERMAX patented VEGAS fan with 3-color LED, featuring Thermal Conductive Coating (TCC) in black. On the other hand, the white T50 (ETS-T50A-WVS) with TCC in white incorporates with ENERMAX VEGAS fan with white LED.

Cooler Master, a leader in design and manufacturing computer components and peripherals, today launched the MasterLiquid Pro 120 and 240 for gamers and casual users who seek to take their CPU cooling to the next step. With its advantage in thermal expertise, Cooler Master has applied simple yet effective insights into revamping the most vital part of an all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler; the flow. By optimizing the way liquid dissipates heat at every stage, Cooler Master has created FlowOp technology that quietly outlasts and outperforms.

Cooler Master, a leader in design and manufacturing computer components and peripherals, today launched the MasterLiquid Pro 120 and 240 for gamers and casual users who seek to take their CPU cooling to the next step. With its advantage in thermal expertise, Cooler Master has applied simple yet effective insights into revamping the most vital part of an all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler; the flow. By optimizing the way liquid dissipates heat at every stage, Cooler Master has created FlowOp technology that quietly outlasts and outperforms.

Samsung introduced a massive 4 terabyte variant of its popular SSD 850 EVO. The drive takes advantage of the company's latest 48-layer 3D V-NAND flash memory, and uses eight 2 Tb stacks driven by the company's existing S4LP052X01-8030 triple-core controller. The drive offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 540 MB/s reads, with up to 520 MB/s writes; up to 98,000 IOPS sequential reads, with up to 90,000 IOPS sequential writes. It's currently only offered in the 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gb/s interface. Backed by a 5-year warranty, the Samsung 850 EVO 4 TB is priced at US $1,499.

AMD confirmed specifications of its second and third "Polaris" architecture graphics cards in a leaked presentation, the Radeon RX 470, and the Radeon RX 460. The RX 470 will be AMD's attempt at a graphics card that plays everything at 1080p resolution, under $150. The Radeon RX 460, on the other hand, is based on the new 14 nm Polaris11 "Baffin" silicon, and could be ideal for MOBA games with light GPU requirements.

The Radeon RX 470 is carved out from the Polaris10 "Ellesmere" silicon that the RX 480 is based on, it features 2,048 stream processors across 32 GCN compute units, 128 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, holding 4 GB of memory. The card draws power from a single 6-pin PCIe power connector. The Radeon RX 460, on the other hand, features 896 stream processors across 14 compute units, 2 GB of GDDR5 memory across a 128-bit wide memory interface, and relies on the PCI-Express slot entirely for power. The reference RX 460 board looks quite similar to the Radeon R9 Nano, but features a simpler spiral heatsink under the fan. Despite rumors to the contrary, it looks like Vega is on-course for a 2017 launch after all.

Giada Technology, the industry leader in embedded systems and expert in server technology, today officially announces the N60E-O compact server for warm cloud storage applications powered by Intel Xeon-D processors which offer scalable performance on a tiny form factor.

Balancing value, performance and integration, the Giada N60E-O features an onboard Broadwell-DE based Xeon-D processor which is intended for entry-level enterprise storage applications particularly warm data storage. The Xeon D-1540 features 8-cores with 16 threads with an impressive TDP rating of 45W offering a great balance of performance and power draw making for a highly efficient setup.

AMD Monday released a small update to its Radeon Software Crimson Edition. Version 16.7.2 Beta addresses a minor user-interface issue which causes the "Compatibility Mode" global setting, which is "off" by default, to remain in its user-set state when the "restore factory defaults" function is used. AMD in its change-log for the drivers states:

In the previous Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.1 driver the "Restore Factory Defaults" option under Preferences of Radeon Settings Software would not set the "Compatibility Mode" UI toggle to its default "OFF" value. This is fixed in the Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.2 driver. The "Restore Factory Defaults" options resets all Radeon Settings to their factory default values.

The rest of its change-log appears to be identical to that of 16.7.1 drivers.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.2 Beta for Windows 10/8.1/7 64-bit | Windows 10/8.1/7 32-bit

CORSAIR, a world leader in enthusiast memory, PC hardware and components today announced the launch of its new range of ultimate, high-performance cooling fans, the ML Series. Equipped with a revolutionary new Magnetic Levitation Bearing and custom rotor design, the ML Series redefines fan performance to deliver higher airflow, lower noise and better cooling, whatever the requirement.

When powered, the magnetic levitation bearing completely suspends the fan blades from the motor housing, delivering almost frictionless operation. The huge reduction in friction, in comparison to all conventional physical contact bearings, allows the ML Series to offer lower noise at higher RPMs giving PC Enthusiasts a true no-compromise fan.

Palit Microsystems Ltd, the leading graphics card manufacturer, releases the latest Pascal architecture Palit GeForce GTX 1060 Series. With innovative new gaming technologies, GeForce GTX 1060 makes it the perfect choice for the latest high-definition games.

Palit GeForce GTX 1060 Super JetStream 6GB has 1280 cores and ships with 1847 MHz Boost clock, and 8 GHz (GDDR5-effective) memory clocks. Palit GeForce GTX 1060 6GB series provides 3X VR gaming performance than previous-generation GPUs. Equipped with the JetStream cooler and optimized product design, Palit GTX 1060 JetStream series offers the best graphics benchmark performance and great acoustics effect for PC users.

ZOTAC International, a global manufacturer of innovation, is pleased to change the playing field of graphics cards once more with a new member in ZOTAC GeForce GTX 10 Series. The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 series is the latest addition within the NVIDIA Pascal architecture, with superior performance that can drive the VR experience.

The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 series will be available in Mini and AMP Edition, both super compact short length cards. The Mini enables raw gaming power to come to smaller builds without compromising thermal performance and noise level. This is made possible with a single wide 90 mm fan helped with direct GPU contact and a carefully designed aluminum heatsink providing for even heat dissipation all within a 6.85-inch length.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced its newest embedded SLC NAND Flash optimized for the next generation of Internet of Things (IoT) and automotive applications. Available with differing interfaces to accommodate design, Micron's second generation Serial (SPI) NAND and fifth generation parallel SLC NAND, offers the industry's best-in-class reliability1 and read and program performance, ease of design and advanced security features.

Gartner projects that the IoT endpoint hardware and services market will rise to a $3.5 trillion industry by 20202. As system designers seek embedded solutions to power the performance for the connected home, wearables and the connected car, the technical demands have raised the bar for the security and seamlessness for ingredient semiconductor suppliers. Micron's newest SLC NAND addresses these needs for high-performance storage technology to propel the market forward.

"Micron works closely with chipset partners and customers within the ecosystem to design tomorrow's products that meet the complex NAND requirements fueled by IoT and automotive," said Aravind Ramamoorthy, product line director of NAND flash for Micron's Embedded Business Unit. "The new SLC NAND Flash technology enable a new category of embedded applications that need reliable, high-performance, low pin count and secure4 memory for code and low density data storage."

Inno3D, a leading manufacturer of high-end hardware components and computer utilities, introduces its new family of Inno3D GeForce GTX 1060 graphics cards. Just as the flagship line-up, Inno3D will launch its Gaming OC and flagship iChiLL series simultaneously. Based on NVIDIA's new Pascal architecture, the new Inno3D GeForce GTX 1060 graphics cards delivers outstanding performance in the latest games, severe applications and Virtual Reality.

GIGABYTE, the world's leading premium gaming hardware manufacturer, will be releasing its GeForce GTX 1060 G1 GAMING graphics card. Based on the Pascal architecture, the GTX 1060 G1 GAMING steps up further with Super Overclocked GPU, the signature WINDFORCE technology, and RGB Illumination, making G1 GAMING a winning formula for gamers who seek superior cooling and overclocking performances for next-gen gaming.

The GTX 1060 G1 GAMING edition will be featuring the WINDFORCE 2X cooling system, which incorporates dual 90mm alternate-spinning fans with the unique blade design and 2 composite copper heat pipes with direct touch to the GPU, together keeping the card cool and quiet even when heavily overclocked. The 3D Active Fan provides semi-passive cooling, which allows gamers to enjoy gameplay in complete silence when the system is running at low load or idle. An LED fan indicator provides a user-friendly, instant display of the fan status.

As the world's most popular GAMING hardware vendor, MSI is proud to unleash the ultimate premium Pascal-powered graphics cards. The highly exclusive MSI GeForce GTX 1080 GAMING Z 8G and MSI GeForce GTX 1070 GAMING Z 8G cards represent the absolute Zenith in custom GeForce GTX 10 Series graphics cards. As the last character of the alphabet, Z also represents the final form of MSI GAMING graphics cards.

Rocking the award-winning TWIN FROZR VI thermal design with supreme cooling power allows the GAMING Z cards to have extreme core and memory clock speeds out of the box. The renowned shapes of the eye-catching TWIN FROZR cooler are intensified by a fiery red GAMING glow piercing through the cover. A completely new custom 10-phase PCB design using Military Class 4 components with an 8+ 6-pin power connectors enables higher overclocking performance to push your graphics card to the max.

The German-based liquid cooling specialist Aqua Computer has added the kryographics RX 480 cooling block to its portfolio. The kryographics RX 480 is completely CNC manufactured. The production takes place in Aqua Computers own production facilities in Germany. The base is made of electrolytic copper with a thickness of 10mm.

A precise manufacturing allows using thermal grease not only for the GPU but also for the RAM. This ensures the best possible connection between the graphics card and cooler. For the voltage regulators a thermal pad is included in the scope of supply. The area above the GPU features a jet plate that pushes water into two directions through a micro structure. A side channel routes water towards the VRMs.

Earlier today, AMD has posted a new Radeon Crimson Edition Beta, 16.7.1, which actually includes two fixes for the reported PCI-Express overcurrent issue that kept Internet people busy the last days.

The driver changelog mentions the following: "Radeon RX 480's power distribution has been improved for AMD reference boards, lowering the current drawn from the PCIe bus", and there's also a second item "A new "compatibility mode" UI toggle has been made available in the Global Settings menu of Radeon Settings. This option is designed to reduce total power with minimal performance impact if end users experience any further issues."

Here's one of the first pictures of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founders Edition (reference) PCB. The PCB is about 2/3rds the length of the actual card, and despite that, it's pretty barren. Power is drawn from a 6-pin PCIe power connector, however, this connector isn't on the PCB, but is on a receptacle towards the end of the cooler. NVIDIA designed this in response to complaints that on cards with PCB shorter than the cooler, the power connector would be in the middle of the card. It would also block the illuminated GeForce GTX logo along the top.

The 6-pin PCIe power receptacle connects to the card at big solder points. This approach has one downside. If you want to change the cooler (to, say, an aftermarket air cooler), you will have to deal with that ugly cabling. The card uses a simple 3+1 phase VRM to power the GPU, with its TDP rated at just 120W. The GP106 GPU is neighbored by six 8 Gbps GDDR5 memory chips populating its 192-bit memory bus. There's no SLI support. Display outputs include three DisplayPort 1.4, and one each of HDMI 2.0b and DVI.

NVIDIA today announced its third desktop consumer graphics card based on the "Pascal" architecture, the GeForce GTX 1060. NVIDIA aims to strike a price-performance sweetspot, by pricing this card aggressively at US $249 (MSRP), with its reference "Founders Edition" variant priced at $299. To make sure two of these cards at $500 don't cannibalize the $599-699 GTX 1080, NVIDIA didn't even give this card 2-way SLI support. Retail availability of the cards will commence from 19th July, 2016. NVIDIA claims that the GTX 1060 performs on-par with the GeForce GTX 980 from the previous generation.

The GeForce GTX 1060 is based on the new 16 nm "GP106" silicon, the company's third ASIC based on this architecture after GP100 and GP104. It features 1,280 CUDA cores spread across ten streaming multiprocessors, 80 TMUs, 48 ROPs, and a 192-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, holding 6 GB of memory. The card draws power from a single 6-pin PCIe power connector, as the GPU's TDP is rated at just 120W. The core is clocked up to 1.70 GHz, and the memory at 8 Gbps, at which it belts out 192 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Display outputs include three DisplayPorts 1.4, one HDMI 2.0b, and a DVI.

Cooler Master, a leader in design and manufacturing computer components and peripherals, today launched a new mid-tower case that can fit the needs of casual users, gamers and hobbyists alike. The MasterBox 5's straightforward design and flexible interior makes light work of installing or expanding multiple configurations. The case comes with plenty of routing holes and covers for your PSU and drive bay to keep your system organized and clean. The internal layout flexibility of the MasterBox 5 is easy to configure with modular pieces that allow you to remove, slide and rearrange the interior, while at the same time being able to support larger, high-end components, air, all-in-one or DIY watercooling.

"The MasterBox 5 allows you to unlock your build's inner potential and create a design that follows your personality and preferences," said Wei Yang, North America Product Manager. "This case is designed for you to install your components with more freedom. With the MasterBox 5, you decide the inside."

BIOSTAR is proud to announce the release of the latest motherboard intended for people pursuining cryptocurrency mining. The new BIOSTAR TB85 motherboard features multiple expansion slots to allow usage of multiple cards simultaneous for maximum efficiency for cryptocurrency mining.The board supports Intel 1150 processors and features the B85 chipset. The MSRP for the BIOSTAR TB85 motherboard is $69.99 giving it a quick and high ROI.

The BIOSTAR TB85 supports 4th-generation Intel processors and allows home users, gamers and businesses to take advantage of its wide feature set for work or play. Support for Intel Rapid Storage Technology (Intel RST) for fast boot-ups and application load times, and Intel Small Business Advantage (Intel SBA), which delivers business-centric security protection, such as after-hours virus scans and data backup, and blocks recognition of unwanted USB drives. With up to 6 PCI-e slots, you can maximize this motherboard for cryptocurrency mining and earn back your investment quickly.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) today announced the appointment of Mark Long to oversee the company's finance organization as executive vice president, finance, in addition to his role as chief strategy officer. Long will succeed Olivier Leonetti as chief financial officer on Sept. 1, 2016. Leonetti is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities but will continue as CFO through Sept. 1, 2016, reporting to CEO Steve Milligan, and will oversee the completion of the company's fiscal year-end reporting requirements. He will continue in an advisory role to the CEO through Oct. 1, 2016.

"The company is going through a strategic and organizational transformation with the integration of our HGST and WD subsidiaries as well as integrating the recently completed acquisition of SanDisk," said Milligan. "Although in the early stages, we are already seeing the benefits of these strategic steps. As we build on our strategy-driven focus in a tightly integrated manner, it is the right time to combine the strategy and finance organizations and Mark Long is the right leader of this integrated team, with his extensive experience in financial and strategic planning. Olivier Leonetti has made a tremendous contribution to Western Digital in nearly two years as CFO. He played a key role through the successful planning, financing and completion of the SanDisk acquisition. The company is grateful for his contribution and his continued stewardship of our finances through the fiscal year-end reporting process."

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today unveiled the industry's first removable memory cards based on the JEDEC Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 1.0 Card Extension Standard, for use in high-resolution mobile shooting devices such as DSLRs, 3D VR cameras, action cams and drones. Coming in a wide range of storage capacities including 256, 128, 64 and 32 gigabyte (GB), Samsung's UFS cards are expected to bring a significant performance boost to the external memory storage market, allowing much more satisfying multimedia experiences.

"Our new 256GB UFS card will provide an ideal user experience for digitally-minded consumers and lead the industry in establishing the most competitive memory card solution," said Jung-bae Lee, senior vice president, Memory Product Planning & Application Engineering, Samsung Electronics "By launching our new high-capacity, high-performance UFS card line-up, we are changing the growth paradigm of the memory card market to prioritize performance and user convenience above all."

QNAP Systems, Inc. today announced the official release of the Enterprise ZFS NAS ES1640dc - a whole-new product line for mission-critical tasks and intensive virtualization applications. Representing a milestone for QNAP's step into the enterprise storage market, the ES1640dc delivers business-class cloud computing data storage with Intel Xeon E5 processors, dual active controllers, and full support for virtualization environments. The ES1640dc runs the new FreeBSD-based QES operating system that assists businesses in building the most cost-efficient VDI platform and storage for critical data with near-limitless snapshots, block-level data deduplication, and thin provisioning with reclaim.

The ES1640dc is powered by Intel Xeon E5-2420 v2 processors with 32GB RAM and features dual active-active controllers, providing businesses with near-zero downtime high availability. Other features include battery-protected DRAM write cache, dual 10GbE ports, optional 40GbE NIC, redundant power supplies, and a field-replaceable design for easier maintenance. The new FreeBSD-based QES operating system also provides advanced features including flexible storage pools, simplified management, high-performance SSD cache, near-limitless snapshots, SnapSync, block-based data deduplication, in-line compression and thin provisioning with reclaim for optimized utilization in virtual machine storage.

NVIDIA released its latest version of GeForce drivers. Version 368.69 WHQL comes game-ready for "DiRT Rally VR," one of the first AAA titles to make VR a key gameplay and experience component. The drivers also add SLI profiles for "Armored Warfare," "iRacing Motorsport Simulator," "Lost Ark," and "Tiger Knight." Interestingly, it does not include GeForce Experience 3.0 (new UI, mandatory login); and instead bundles version 2.11 of the app. Grab the drivers from the links below.DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 368.69 WHQL for Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 32-bit | Windows 8/7/Vista 64-bit | Windows 8/7/Vista 32-bit

NVIDIA released a major update to its GeForce Experience app, which significantly changes the user interface (UI). The new GeForce Experience 3.0 is being shipped as a public beta, and is currently not part of an NVIDIA driver installer. Its UI now has two key sections, one which deals with game setting optimization, and the other which lets users access NVIDIA GeForce features such as Ansel, GameStream, driver updates, etc. Perhaps the biggest change here is that having an online account with NVIDIA is no longer optional, if you want to use GeForce Experience.

NVIDIA uses this account to store your game settings and other preferences on the cloud, so they're portable between all your devices, and could be useful if you're a PC enthusiast that frequently changes hardware. On the flip-side, though, GeForce Experience becomes another app that dials home each time you start your PC, impacting start-up speed. The new UI does make things more organized, and labels your games much like a DRM client like Origin or Steam would. You don't need GeForce Experience to use NVIDIA graphics cards, though. The app's install is still optional, and can be unchecked in the "Custom install" screen of the GeForce driver installer.

Microsoft is sparing no efforts in promoting DirectX 12 native multi-GPU as the go-to multi-GPU solution for game developers, obsoleting proprietary technologies like SLI and CrossFire. The company recently announced that it is making it easier for game developers to code their games to take advantage of multiple GPUs without as much coding as they do now. This involves the use of a new hardware abstraction layer that simplifies the process of pooling multiple GPUs in a system, which will let developers bypass the Explicit Multi-Adapter (EMA) mode of graphics cards.

This is the first major step by Microsoft since its announcement that DirectX 12, in theory, supports true Mixed Multi-Adapter configurations. The company stated that it will release the new abstraction layer as part of a comprehensive framework into the company's GitHub repository with two sample projects, one which takes advantage of the new multi-GPU tech, and one without. Exposed to this code, game developers' learning curve will be significantly reduced, and they will have a template on how to implement multi-GPU in their DirectX 12 projects with minimal effort. With this, Microsoft is supporting game developers in implementing API native multi-GPU, even as GPU manufacturers stated that while their GPUs will support EMA, the onus will be on game-developers to keep their games optimized.

AMD today provided an update on how it is addressing the Radeon RX 480 power-draw controversy. The company stated that it has assembled a worldwide team of developers to put together a driver update that lowers power-draw from the PCIe slot, with minimal performance impact. This driver will be labeled the Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.1, and will be released in the next 2 days (before weekend). This fix will be called the "Compatibility" toggle in the Global Settings of the Radeon Settings app, which will be disabled by default. So AMD is giving users a fix, at the same time, isn't making a section of users feel like the card has been gimped with a driver update. The drivers will also improve game-specific performance by up to 3 percent.The statement by AMD follows.

A Chinese PC bulletin board member with access to a GeForce GTX 1060 sample, put it through 3DMark Firestrike (standard) and 3DMark Firestrike Ultra. The card was tested on a machine powered by a Core i7-6700K processor. The screenshots, particularly the GPU-Z screenshot, reveals something fascinating. It looks like the rumors of NVIDIA launching two distinct SKUs of the GTX 1060 could be true. The driver is reporting the GPU name as "GeForce GTX 1060 6GB." Mentioning memory amount in the name string is unusual for NVIDIA, in this case, it could point to the possibility of a 6 GB SKU, and another with 3 GB memory.

Moving on to the business end of the story, the card's 3DMark Firestrike scores are 11,225 points for the standard test, and 3,014 points for Firestrike Ultra. This isn't significantly faster than the Radeon RX 480 8 GB. Here are some 3DMark Firestrike numbers for the RX 480. NVIDIA is expected to launch the GeForce GTX 1060 later this month.

GIGABYTE announced availability of its first Xtreme Gaming series high-end power supply, the XP1200M. The unit was first shown to the public at the 2016 Computex expo, last month. As its model name suggests, the XP1200M is a 1200W PSU with fully-modular cabling. The unit boasts of 80 Plus Platinum switching efficiency, with an all Japanese capacitor design, single +12V rail, DC-to-DC switching, and most common electrical protections.

The unit has enough juice and straws for a high-end gaming PC build with 3-4 graphics cards. Besides the 24-pin ATX, you get a total of six 6+2 pin PCIe power connectors, two 4+4 pin EPS connectors, twelve SATA, eight Molex, and two Molex-to-Berg (floppy) adapters. The unit is cooled by a 140 mm fan, which stays below 20 dBA when the load is under 720W. It's 30 dBA at 1000W load, and 35 dBA at maximum load.

Cooler Master announced availability of its Master Air Maker 8 high-end CPU cooler. Designed to offer cooling performance rivaling 240 mm AIO liquid-cooling solutions (according to the company), this cooler features a large central aluminium fin-stack, to which heat drawn from the CPU by a 3D Vapor-chamber plate, is conveyed by eight 6 mm thick copper heat pipes, two of which are an extension of the vapor-chamber plate itself.

A pair of red LED-lit 140 mm fans in push-pull configuration ventilate the heatsink. These fans spin between 600-1,800 RPM, pushing up to 66 CFM of air, each. The typical noise output is rated a between 8-24 dBA per fan. Topping it off is a "monolithic" industrial design, including a tinted acrylic top for the heatsink. The cooler is game for all modern CPU socket types, including LGA2011v3, LGA115x, AM3+, FM2+, and upcoming AMD sockets. Measuring 145 mm x 135 mm x 172 mm (WxLxH), the cooler weighs 1.35 kg. The cooler is backed by a 5-year warranty.

Earlier this week, we heard reports of some early adopters of the 4 GB variant of AMD Radeon RX 480 claiming that their cards shipped with 8 GB of memory physically present on their cards, but their graphics card BIOS somehow prevented the GPU from addressing more than 4 GB of it. In its Reddit AMA, the company presented a vague answer to the question of whether such 4 GB cards are moddable to 8 GB by flashing it with the BIOS of the 8 GB variant, by stating that the ability to mod is restricted to review samples. This is both true and false. Short answer: retail 4 GB RX 480 can be flashed to 8 GB, and the modified card perfoms on par with the 8 GB variant.

AMD sent out review samples of the 8 GB variant, and to enable reviews to also put up reviews of the 4 GB variant, it sent a special BIOS that converts the 8 GB card to 4 GB, by reducing its address-space and memory clocks, perfectly simulating the 4 GB variant. AMD's claims of 4 GB cards with 8 GB physical memory being restricted to review samples was proven false when early adopters of retail 4 GB cards discovered eight Samsung 8 Gbit memory chips on their card amounting to 8 GB. We currently have an AIB partner-branded retail 4 GB Radeon RX 480 card which we bought online (invoice posted), and which we're using to prepare our 4 GB RX 480 review. We first discovered that our 4 GB retail card had the same exact Samsung 8x 8 Gb chips (including the same bin, specc'd for 8 Gbps) as the 8 GB card. We flashed this card with the 8 GB card's BIOS, and were successful in doing so. The trick here is to extract the BIOS of the 8 GB card with ATIFlash 2.74 and then transplanting that BIOS onto the 4 GB card. The 8 GB card BIOS image which we used, can be found here. Use at your own risk.

With the 2.5" solid state drive prices dropping and their capacity increasing, there are more and more computer users starting to upgrade their hard disk drive to SSD. If you are computer literate, you may have more than one 2.5" SSD installed in your system. Since every computer has limited hard drive slots, what will happen if you are running out of storage space but at the same time your system is out of physical drive slots for adding more drives? The ICY DOCK Flex-Fit Quattro MB344SP HDD / SSD bracket is your answer.

The Flex-Fit Quattro takes up to 4 x 2.5" HDD / SSD and only uses 1 x external 5.25" bay. The space saving design allows you to optimize your storage density and free up your valuable hard drive slots. With a tool-less drive installation design, the Flex-Fit Quattro lets you to easily insert or remove the HDD / SSD without dismounting the entire bracket from the system. This is extremely useful when adding additional HDDs / SSDs to your system, simply open the side panel of the PC case; insert the new HDD / SSD into the bracket and then plug in the cables and you are ready to go.

An accompaniment for all the computer gamers, X2 proudly presents the astounding RINDJA. The all new RINDJA 8020 full-tower PC enclosure is built for the sophisticated computer gamer that demands style and high performance. Not only is the design well thought out, the features are also something to look up to. Build out of strong SPCC 0.55 mm steel with more than ample room for up to 3 SSD drives, 7 expansion slots for the installation of long graphics cards (370 mm length VGA card) and superior cooling through divided PSU compartment and the support of 9 x 120 mm fan mount locations throughout this chassis.

The RINDJA 8020 offers easy upkeep shortcuts like tool-free removal of front panel and window side panels, hard drives, and graphics cards as well as plenty of room for cable routing and management. The new X2 RINDJA case is looking superb and is ready to be challenged your gaming power and skills.

Shuttle's popular series of robust, fanless, steel chassis Mini-PCs has been given a subtle make-over. Now the sixth generation of Intel Core processors (Skylake) is being used in five different model versions. This update brings 4K support, ac-WLAN and M.2 slot.

As with their predecessors, the five new models measure just 20 x 16.5 x 3.95 cm (DWH) and have 2x Intel Gigabit Ethernet, two serial interfaces, HDMI and DisplayPort, remote Power-ON and Always-ON jumper. New features include ac-WLAN with external antennae, support for DirectX 12 and 4K screens in all models. Up to 32 GB DDR3L memory can now be installed and the USB 3.0 ports have moved to the front panel. Each model comes supplied with a VESA mount that enables it to be attached to a suitable monitor or surface. At just 10 Watts, power consumption is just as miserly as before.

NVIDIA is preparing to launch its flagship graphics card based on the "Pascal" architecture, the so-called GeForce GTX TITAN P, at the 2016 Gamescom, held in Cologne, Germany, between 17-21 August. The card is expected to be based on the GP100 silicon, and could likely come in two variants - 16 GB and 12 GB. The two differ by memory bus width besides memory size. The 16 GB variant could feature four HBM2 stacks over a 4096-bit memory bus; while the 12 GB variant could feature three HBM2 stacks, and a 3072-bit bus. This approach by NVIDIA is identical to the way it carved out Tesla P100-based PCIe accelerators, based on this ASIC. The cards' TDP could be rated between 300-375W, drawing power from two 8-pin PCIe power connectors.

The GP100 and GTX TITAN P isn't the only high-end graphics card lineup targeted at gamers and PC enthusiasts, NVIDIA is also working the GP102 silicon, positioned between the GP104 and the GP100. This chip could lack FP64 CUDA cores found on the GP100 silicon, and feature up to 3,840 CUDA cores of the same kind found on the GP104. The GP102 is also expected to feature simpler 384-bit GDDR5X memory. NVIDIA could base the GTX 1080 Ti on this chip.

You've heard of unlocking shaders with BIOS mods in the past, but how about doubling the memory on your card? That's right, owners of some 4 GB Radeon RX 480 graphics cards discovered that they can unlock 4 extra gigabytes of memory on their card by simply flashing it with the BIOS of the 8 GB variant. Some early batches of 4 GB Radeon RX 480 apparently have 8 GB of memory physically, but the BIOS prevents the GPU from addressing beyond 4 GB of it. Not all cards have such a weird contraption, and so AMD is drawing you into a lottery.UPDATE: We successfully flashed a 4 GB retail RX 480 to 8 GB and benchmarked it in our newer article.

Here are some more technical pictures of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 reference-design board, which reveals quite a few features about the card. The biggest revelation is that the card completely lacks SLI bridge fingers. We wonder if NVIDIA has innovated a bridge-less SLI for this card, although we find it unlikely given the amount of efforts the company put into marketing the SLI HB bridge, and the reason SLI needs a bridge in the first place. Meanwhile, the Radeon RX 480 supports 4-way CrossFireX.

Next up, the PCB is shorter than the card itself, and NVIDIA's unique new reference-cooler makes the card about 50% longer than its PCB. NVIDIA listened to feedback about shorter PCBs pushing power connectors towards the middle of the cards; and innovated a unique design, in which the card's sole 6-pin PCIe power connector is located where you want it (towards the end), and internal high-current wires are soldered to the PCB. Neato? Think again. What if you want to change the cooler, or maybe use a water-block? Prepare to deal with six insulated wires sticking out of somewhere in the PCB, and running into that PCIe power receptacle. The rear PCB shot also seems to confirm the 192-bit memory bus, given how some memory chip pads are blanked out by lacking SMT components needed by the memory chip.

MSI, the leading motherboard brand, is proud to announce the world's first channel motherboard that passed the NVIDIA Quadro SLI certification, the upcoming MSI X99A WORKSTATION. With server level design and reliable stability, the MSI X99A WORKSTATION is optimized for NVIDIA Quadro SLI and VR SLI, built for high-end content creation PCs and the best rendering efficiency.

Moreover, X99A WORKSTATION adopts the unique Steel Armor and optimized PCI Express slots placement as well, to ensure perfect stability and compatibility. Steel Armor on the MSI X99A WORKSTATION has more solder points on the PCB for more strength. It also protects the PCI-Express signals against electromagnetic interference for hassle-free rendering and stability during heavy tasks.

MSI unveiled a pair of APAC-exclusive DUKE Edition graphics cards, the GeForce GTX 1080 DUKE Edition, and the GeForce GTX 1070 DUKE Edition. The two are characterized by a large triple-fan cooling solution that's optimized for the tropical climate of its target markets; and features a custom-design PCB that appears to be similar in design to the Gaming X series cards.

The cooler is longer than the PCB itself. A back-plate covers the PCB. The cooler features a twin-stack aluminium-fin cooler that's ventilated by three 90 mm fans, an RGB LED-lit "DUKE" logo tops the cooler. The GTX 1080 DUKE Edition, in its "OC Mode" offers clock speeds of 1708 MHz core, 1847 MHz GPU Boost, and 10108 MHz (GDDR5X-effective) memory; while the GTX 1070 DUKE Edition, in its "OC Mode" offers 1607 MHz core, 1797 MHz GPU Boost, and 8108 MHz (GDDR5-effective) memory.

Here are some more pictures of the Radeon RX 480 Nitro by Sapphire, which was first pictured in June. This is the company's premium RX 480 offering, featuring a custom-design PCB, and a large new-generation cooling solution. Unlike its first pictures, which showed a silver/chrome color on the metal cooler shroud; the final design features a gunmetal finish. The cooler features a dense aluminium fin-stack heatsink to which heat drawn from the GPU by copper heat pipes, is dissipated under the airflow of two 100 mm fans, which stay off when the card is idling. These fans are easily detachable, letting you clean the heatsink underneath.

The card draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector, located along the rear side of the PCB, and not the usual top. The Sapphire logo along the top features RGB LED lighting, with a selection button on the PCB. The card is rumored to feature GPU clocks of up to 1350 MHz. Also featured is dual-BIOS. A back-plate runs along the entire length of the card. The card is listed for pre-order by OCUK for 249 GBP (incl VAT), a 20 GBP premium on the reference-design card.

AMD sent us this statement in response to growing concern among our readers that the Radeon RX 480 graphics card violates PCI-Express power specification, by overdrawing power from its single 6-pin PCIe power connector and the PCI-Express slot. Combined, the total power budged of the card should be 150W, however, it was found to draw well over that power limit.

AMD has had out-of-spec power designs in the past with the Radeon R9 295X2, for example, but that card is targeted at buyers with reasonably good PSUs. The RX 480's target audience could face troubles powering the card. Below is AMD's statement on the matter. The company stated that it's working on a driver update that could cap the power at 150W. It will be interesting to see how that power-limit affects performance.

"As you know, we continuously tune our GPUs in order to maximize their performance within their given power envelopes and the speed of the memory interface, which in this case is an unprecedented 8 Gbps for GDDR5. Recently, we identified select scenarios where the tuning of some RX 480 boards was not optimal. Fortunately, we can adjust the GPU's tuning via software in order to resolve this issue. We are already testing a driver that implements a fix, and we will provide an update to the community on our progress on Tuesday (July 5, 2016)."

A leaked slide from NVIDIA press-deck for the imminent launch of the GeForce GTX 1060 confirmed the reference board design, which first surfaced in Hong Kong. The slide also reveals clock speeds, and other key specs of the card. While it doesn't reveal the GPU nominal clocks, it mentions that the GPU Boost frequency will be set as high as 1.70 GHz. The memory is clocked at 8 Gbps, which over the GPU's 192-bit GDDR5 interface, puts out 192 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

The chip features 1,280 CUDA cores based on the "Pascal" architecture. The card draws power from a single 6-pin PCIe power connector, its TDP is rated even lower than that of the AMD Radeon RX 480, at 120W (vs. 150W of the RX 480). NVIDIA has been making huge (and successful) performance claims for its "Pascal" GPUs so far. The GTX 1060 is claimed to be faster than the GeForce GTX 980 from the previous generation, and "much faster" than the RX 480, which means that NVIDIA intends to price this card competitively to the RX 480.

Here's the first picture of a PowerColor Radeon RX 480 DEVIL. It turns out that the DEVIL-branded graphics card the company threw open a giveaway for, is in celebration of the RX 480 after all. Pictured below with its rear I/O shield removed, the card appears to feature a brand new triple-fan, dual-slot cooling solution by PowerColor, and a custom-design PCB that draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector. Display outputs include a DVI connector, besides the three DisplayPorts 1.4 and HDMI 2.0b. The card appears to feature dual-BIOS, looking at that tiny switch. The card is reportedly capable of GPU clocks above the 1.40 GHz mark.

Here are some of the first pictures of ASUS Radeon RX 480 STRIX, the company's premium custom-design RX 480 graphics card. Designed to overcome the power and noise shortcomings of the reference design, the RX 480 STRIX features a custom-design PCB by ASUS which draws power from a combination of 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power connectors, conditioning it with a strong VRM.

The Radeon RX 480 STRIX from ASUS features the same variant of the DirectCU III cooling solution featured on the company's GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 STRIX graphics cards, featuring a large aluminium fin-stack heatsink that's ventilated by three fans. This cooler features ASUS Aura compliant RGB LED lighting on not just the cooler shroud, but also the back-plate. Apparently AMD's AIB partners are having better luck at keeping the RX 480's engine clocks above the 1.50 GHz mark, with their custom VRM and cooling solutions.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is releasing a major software update for the RIPJAWS KM780/KM780R RGB series mechanical gaming keyboards that focuses on packing even more color customization options to each individual key.

In the SW0.104/FW57 update, the software color palette is now expanded with the ability to personalize the full range of 16.8 million RGB colors and your own customized layout of color lighting can be shared with your friends by simply exporting, sharing, and importing the keyboard profile. Next, the responsive lighting effects (Ripple and Reactive) can now enable a second layer of customizable background per-key lighting.

GIGABYTE is the first to market with a mini-ITX friendly GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card. The GTX 1070 ITX from GIGABYTE (model: GV-N1070IXOC-8GD), features a full-height PCB that's 16.9 cm in length, 13.1 cm in height, and is 2 slots thick. It features a single-fan aluminium fin-stack cooling solution that consists of a dense aluminium fin-stack to which heat directly drawn from the GPU is conveyed by three copper heat pipes, ventilated by a 90 mm fan.

The card draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector. You still get a neat factory overclock of 1531 MHz core and 1721 MHz GPU Boost in Gaming mode, and 1556 MHz core and 1746 MHz GPU Boost in OC mode. The memory is left untouched at 8.00 GHz (GDDR5-effective). Display connectors include two dual-link DVI, and one each of DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0b. The card is available in some parts of the EU, where it's priced at 485€ (including taxes).Many Thanks to P4-630 for the tip.

Calyos announced its flagship Fanless PC workstation. Its star attraction is a unique 2-phase cooling solution that has no moving parts, and instead a closed loop long heat-pipe cooling solution, which consists of a large heatsink that doubles up as the custom Lian Li PC-O7S case's right side-panel. The bore of the heat-pipes are filled with a refrigerant (R-245fa), which flows through the loop thanks to convection.

The cooling solution is so effective that Calyos is offering builds with the Intel Core i7-5820K processor (140W TDP), and the GeForce GTX TITAN X graphics card (250W TDP). Adding to its fanless credentials is a Super Flow Golden Silent PSU. The passive cooling is so effective, that Calyos is claiming better temperatures than even liquid cooling. Calyos is offering this desktop with various other CPU and GPU combinations.

TechPowerUp and ZALMAN bring you a chance to revamp your battlestations, with the new ZALMAN Z9 NEO chassis. When we reviewed this mid-tower case back in May, we found it worthy of both Best Value and Editor's Choice awards for its excellent price, five included fans, and features that punch way above its market segment.

Four lucky winners stand a chance to win a ZALMAN Z9 NEO White chassis, each! To drop your hat into the ring, simply fill up a short form (to help us contact you if you win), and that's it! Four winners will be randomly picked. The giveaway is open till the 15th of July, 2016.For more information, and to participate, visit this page!

NVIDIA has reportedly pulled the performance-segment GeForce GTX 1060, a possible competitor for the recently launched AMD Radeon RX 480, from its earlier reported Fall-2016 launch to early July. The card is expected to be officially launched on the 7th of July, 2016. Market availability is expected to follow a week later, on 14th July. This will be the third desktop graphics card based on NVIDIA's "Pascal" architecture, following the GTX 1080 and the GTX 1070.The rumored (and derived) specifications of the GeForce GTX 1060 follow.