The Linux kernel 7.4 is still a way out, with a late October/early November release anticipated, but it's already showing promising and usability updates for Linux PCs all around, with proper HDMI support with VRR and FreeSync support being just one example. A new patch called PerfOpt (Performance Optimization) is now slated to be merged into kernel 7.4, promising even more performance upgrades for AMD iGPUs.

Per the recent Linux kernel mailing list, PerfOpt "allows privileged integrated I/O devices (GPUs) to bypass the IOMMU when directly accessing system memory. The IOMMU only enforces the IR/IW permission bits without GPA->SPA translations." Effectively, the patch reduces the amount of system overhead for the iGPU, which should result in a performance boost for basically any application that's sensitive to latency or throughput.

AMD's update to the Strix Halo Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is the Gorgon Halo Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 495, which launched with 16 Zen 5 cores, a total of 32 threads, and AMD's Radeon 8065S iGPU. So far, Framework has been the biggest OEM to tease the new Halo APU, but it seems as though GMKtec will soon launch a new Gorgon Halo mini PC in the Evo-X5 Pro.

GMKtec's official X account teased the new mini PC, which the brand says will launch at IFA Berlin 2026, on September 5. Aside from this, not much is known about the mini PC itself, however, the GMKtec Evo-X3 launched not too long ago, stacked to the gills with pro-tier ports, a beefy cooling solution with a 140 W peak TDP, and triple cooling fans. If the Evo-X5 doesn't stray too far from its predecessor, we can expect an OCuLink port, HDMI 2.1, at least one USB4 port, and 2.5 G LAN—or faster—packed into an aluminium chassis. We can also expect to see the price of the mini PC climb to the $4,000-range, especially for the top-end variant with 192 GB of RAM.

AMD announced in May 2026 that the Ryzen AI Halo Developer Platform mini PC would arrive in June, and launch day has apparently arrived, with the Strix Halo-powered mini PC now available for pre-order via Micro Center in the US. The Ryzen AI Halo developer kit is mostly aimed at AI developers, and although there are two SKUs, both have identical hardware, featuring the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 CPU, with its Radeon 8060S iGPU, and 128 GB of LPDDR5x-8000 memory shared across both the CPU and GPU cores. The mini PC is launching with 2 TB of SSD storage, and it includes a 120 W PSU.

Pricing is set at $3,999, and the only difference between the two available SKUs is that one ships with Linux, while the other ships with Windows 11 Pro. No shipment date has yet been confirmed. Physical I/O is limited to USB Type-C, with three unspecified USB Type-C ports, likely USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 or USB4, one of which has DisplayPort Alt Mode support, an HDMI 2.1 port, a 10 Gbps Ethernet port, and a USB Type-C port for power input. It will also ship with both Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 7. The mini PC itself measures just 149 × 149 × 43.18 mm, and the chassis appears to be mostly aluminium.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced that power supplies in the Thor III and Strix Platinum series are now bundled with the ROG Equalizer 12V-2x6 PCIe power cable. This cable features a 17-amp peak capacity that maintains a critical thermal margin, even under extreme conditions. Current owners of these power supplies who made their purchase before the inclusion of this cable can enter the serial number of their power supply on this ASUS web page to see if their device qualifies for a special discount code. This offer runs from May 28 to November 28, 2026. The ROG Equalizer cable is backed by a three-year warranty, whether it is bundled with a power supply or obtained through the upgrade program. Both black and white versions of the cable will be available in Q2 2026.

What makes the ROG Equalizer cable different
For the ROG Equalizer, ASUS went back to the basics to establish a new GPU power cable design that is better suited for today's high-performance graphics cards. The patented redesign exceeds the current endurance of reference designs, maintaining connector temperatures below the material-rated threshold of 105°C to deliver a longer lifespan than conventional cables.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the ROG Crosshair 2006, a cousin of the Crosshair X870E Dark Hero that is an aesthetic throwback to the first motherboard ROG created 20 years ago.

Its potent gaming power is draped in time-traveling retro style. Decked with eye-catching colors and materials that harken back to one of PC gaming's most important formative eras, the ROG Crosshair 2006 is the new motherboard of choice for gamers who demand the best of past and present. This special edition is armed to the teeth with 2026's most innovative gaming tech, with the latest refinements equipping users for a supremely easy PC building experience. Its marquee feature is a 2-inch OLED screen on the primary M.2 slot, which can display useful system information such as CPU clock speed, device temperatures, or fan speeds. Users can also personalize the OLED display with their own custom images or animations.

Shortly after announcing the OneXPlayer ONEXStation, powered by the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU, OneXPlayer is apparently planning to launch the OneXPlayer X2 Mini, a new gaming handheld powered by the same powerful AMD Strix Halo APU with its Radeon 8060S iGPU. The OneXPlayer X2 Mini features many of the same features and design cues as the X1 Pro that released in 2025, but in a more compact form factor, much like the OneXPlayer Apex that we saw at CES 2026. The new X2 Mini, however, also has a few upgrades over the Apex, including a slightly larger display, an optional exclusively air-cooled version, and a modular design. Pricing has not yet been revealed, although the X2 Mini is slated to launch on May 10.

According to a video posted by Nitrix on YouTube, the X2 Mini will have an 8.8-inch, 144 Hz, OLED display with VRR and HDR. It will feature an 85 Wh battery that is user-swappable, allowing users to keep an extra battery on-hand to swap in when the battery dies. The rest of the console is modular, as well. The detachable controllers will feature user-replaceable buttons, casings, joysticks, and vibration motors, and the display will also be user-serviceable. The Joy Con-like controllers will also have a frame to join the two halves into a single mini controller, and the X2 Mini will include two d-pad configurations—the standard cross and an octagonal pad, similar to Microsoft's Xbox Series Elite controller. One point of contention that has been mentioned on Reddit is that the X2 Mini will feature micro switches for the face buttons—although notably not the d-pad—which means the buttons will have lower travel and be slightly louder than a normal membrane switch. There will also be a magnetic connection with pogo pins to attach a keyboard accessory to the bottom of the gaming handheld. The full video showing off the device follows below.

Thermalright, generally known for making cooling hardware and DIY PC gear, has just announced the AI HydroNous R1, a 2.6 L mini PC powered by AMD's mighty Strix Halo Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU and cooled by a custom closed-loop water cooling system, which is said to be able to handle up to 176 W of TPD, thanks to a 180 mm radiator. Thermalright has so far revealed the mini PC (via IT Home), but it doesn't seem as though it is commercially available just yet, at least not outside of China.

The Thermalright HydroNous R1 has a fully CNC-machined aluminium chassis decked out with a full-color 4.6-inch LCD on the front for system monitoring. The IT Home post makes mention of dual USB4 ports and 10 Gb Ethernet, but no other ports are visible in the teaser images shared by the publication. Presumably, the rest of the I/O is on the back of the tower, which itself is designed to stand upright in a vertical orientation, sucking cold air in from below and from the left side and exhausting via the right side panel, where the radiator is located.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) is proud to launch the 2026 ROG Strix G16 and Strix G18, two incredible gaming laptops featuring the latest hardware and technology to deliver incredible performance to gamers everywhere. Boasting the all-new Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, these machines are built from the ground up for enthusiast gamers. Both the ROG Strix G16 and G18 feature the latest ROG displays, cooling, and tool-less chassis designs that allow gamers to seamlessly upgrade critical components. Later this year, the flagship ROG Strix SCAR 18 will also be unveiled, delivering flagship performance in an incredibly sleek ROG chassis.

Elite performance for every arena
The 2026 Strix G16 and G18 gaming laptops are engineered for players and creators who demand uncompromising performance across competitive esports titles, visually rich AAA games, and intensive content-creation workflows. Both models feature the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor, delivering exceptional multi-threaded power and next-generation AI capabilities.

Back at CES this year, ASUS ROG announced the Strix OLED XG34WCDMS with an RGB QD-OLED panel and now the company has announced a variant of that same monitor, called the Strix OLED XG34WCDMTG, which oddly enough seems to be available ahead of the model announced at CES. The TG appears to stand for TV Google or something along those lines, as the XG34WCDMTG is ASUS's first gaming monitor with built-in Google TV support. We've already seen several monitors from both LG and Samsung that integrate TV functionality, but this appears to be one of the first, if not the first gaming monitor with Google TV support. The XG34WCDMTG comes with a version of Google TV based on Android 14 and comes with GeForce NOW as a pre-installed app, although we're unsure who would buy this to use the game streaming service over their PC.

Other Google TV specific features include Wi-Fi 6 support, a remote control, voice control and wireless projection. As far as the monitor specifications are concerned, the XG34WCDMTG sports a 34-inch, 3440 x 1440 RGB QD-OLED panel with an 1800R curvature with a typical brightness of 250 nits, but it can peak at 1000 nits in HDR mode. The panel has a maximum refresh rate of 240 Hz and it has a 0.03 grey to grey response time. The port selection consists of two HDMI 2.1 ports with FRL support, one DP 1.4, one USB Type-C with DP Alt mode and 90 W USB PD support, a pair of USB 2.0 ports and a headphone jack. The stand supports tilt, swivel and height adjustment. The XG34WCDMTG is currently sold on Amazon in the US for US$1,199, which according to Notebook Check is a US$200 premium over the XG34WCDMS.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the ROG Strix Aiolos SSD Enclosure, a premium external SSD enclosure built for gamers and creators who demand top-tier performance, seamless device management. Engineered for next-generation NVMe M.2 storage, the ROG Strix Aiolos delivers lightning-fast transfer speeds, enhanced thermal efficiency, and an exclusive ROG SSD Dashboard, which provides real-time drive status updates. Designed for life on the move, it also incorporates a durable metal hook with a fabric tag to ensure convenient and secure portability.

Ultra-fast transfers and smarter storage management
The ROG Strix Aiolos delivers high-speed portable performance with USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 connectivity supporting transfer speeds of up to 20 Gbps, enabling users to move large media files or entire game libraries with ease. Its versatile dual M.2 interface, compatible with both NVMe PCIe (2242/2260/2280) and SATA SSDs, offers flexible upgrade and expansion options for a wide range of user needs. For effortless oversight, the enclosure features the exclusive ROG SSD Dashboard, which features a custom UI that provides users with a complete real-time overview of SSD status, performance, and other key metrics. Tailored for ROG enclosures, it makes storage management simple and intuitive.

Intel apparently has no plans to compete with the high-power iGPUs in AMD's Strix Halo APUs. This is according to Intel's Tom Petersen, who recently spoke to Club386 about the potential for a Panther Lake Halo, as it were, explaining that there are many factors currently preventing Intel from going down that route. While Intel's Arc B390 iGPU currently appears to only be outmatched by AMD's Radeon 8060S in the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 and similar, it seems as though that's where Intel will stop for now, with Petersen reportedly saying that that sort of performance segment is "primarily discrete," and that those looking for that sort of performance "would be better served by a small, discrete GPU that's going to be provided by third parties."

He goes on to explain that AMD's Strix Halo APUs aren't as efficient, stating that "AMD's current product is not that competitive either, on a power or a performance-per-watt basis," and that Intel is "focused on integrated graphics performance, primarily for gaming." Much like AMD, Intel produces both integrated and discrete graphics solutions, with the latest Arc GPU rumors pointing to a workstation-grade Battlemage BMG-G31 GPU, which is supposed to arrive later this year in the form of the Arc Pro B70 GPU with 32 GB of VRAM. Currently, the Intel Arc B580 is Intel's most powerful gaming GPU, and that delivers markedly better performance than the AMD Radeon 8060S, depending on the specific workload.

When it first launched the Q-Release Slim PCIe mechanisms on its high-end gaming X870 Gaming motherboards, the new connector ended up causing scratches on the PCIe contacts of GPUs after repeated insertion and removal cycles. The connector was later quietly revised in March 2025 to remove the metal bracket that was blamed for the scratched contacts. Now, ASUS has once again revised the Q-Release Slim PCIe mechanism design for the latest Neo series motherboards, once again requiring a button to release PCIe cards from the motherboard.

In a video previewing the updated 2026 motherboard line-up, ASUS North America explains that the Q-Release mechanism was revised because "some users were confused" by the connector, which didn't require any intervention beyond pulling the GPU out of the slot to remove it, while others simply wanted a button to be present—likely those who had heard about the aforementioned scratched PCIe connectors and didn't want the added risk. The new motherboard PCIe retention mechanism will be present on all of the new NEO motherboards ASUS announced for 2026, which includes more affordable gaming motherboards, like the ASUS TUF Gaming B850-Pro WiFi7 Neo and the creator-focused ProArt B850-Creator WiFi Neo and goes all the way up to the premium ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial motherboard.

At CES 2026, the Alphacool booth was brimming with a wide array of water cooling products. Among their staple offerings was the Core GPU AIO, part of Alphacool's Core series, providing a comprehensive cooling solution for various GPU models, including those from AMD and NVIDIA. This system is built around the Core GPU cold plate and features two Core DC-LT 2 pumps. A 360 mm radiator is included, enabling significant overclocking potential even for high-performance cards like the RTX 5090. It is planned for Q2 release of ths year. In addition to this, Alphacool showcased single-slot water blocks for NVIDIA's RTX 6000 Pro "Blackwell" GPU. These are available with either a transparent acrylic finish or a sleek opaque design. The single-slot configuration allows for multiple GPUs to be stacked together in a custom loop, making them ideal for dense AI workstation deployments.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today at CES 2026 announced a stunning array of gaming displays that are set to redefine visual immersion. ASUS and ROG continue to lead globally, holding the No.1 positions in OLED monitors and remaining the top choice for gamers. At CES, ROG unveiled its next-generation QD-OLED and Tandem OLED gaming monitors featuring revolutionary RGB Stripe Pixel OLED technology that reduces color fringing to ensure crystal-clear text and visuals. The new QD-OLED gaming displays also include new ROG BlackShield film that increases perceived black levels and upgrades the panel for improved toughness and scratch resistance.

ROG RGB Stripe Pixel OLED solutions
The latest ROG QD-OLED and Tandem OLED monitors feature revolutionary RGB Stripe Pixel technology that ensures ultrasharp imagery and crisp text for exceptional viewing experiences. The next-generation ROG monitors to feature this technology include the ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDN and Strix OLED XG34WCDMS (RGB QD-OLED panels), along with the ROG Swift OLED PG27UCWM (Tandem RGB OLED panel) monitor.

Republic of Gamers (ROG) is pleased to announce the availability of the ROG Strix XG248QSG Ace. The ROG Strix XG248QSG Ace is the world's fastest eSports gaming monitor and is designed to meet the highest demands of eSports gamers who value outstanding performance and maximum competitiveness. With the ROG Strix XG248QSG Ace, ROG is once again setting new standards in the field of eSports and reaffirming its commitment to developing products that meet the high demands of the eSports and gaming community.

Unparalleled speed
The ROG Strix XG248QSG Ace impresses with its ultra-fast 610 Hz refresh rate (OC), which provides smooth and lag-free display for an unmatched gaming experience. This high refresh rate allows gamers to react faster and gain a decisive advantage in competition. The extremely fast 0.1 ms (GTG) response time minimizes motion blur and ghosting, ensuring razor-sharp images in fast-paced gaming scenes. This allows gamers to keep track of even the most heated battles. The Super TN panel gives the XG248QSG an amazingly low input lag of just 0.8 ms, which is 56% less than other monitors in its class. This virtually eliminates the delay between control inputs and the subsequent action on the screen, allowing gamers to follow the game action in near real time and react faster than their opponents.

Without much fanfare, ASUS has listed the ROG Strix 5K XG27JCG on its ROG website and as the model name alludes, we're looking at a 5K gaming monitor. In this case, 5K equates to 5120 x 2880 pixels, or 2560 x 1440 in dual mode. The 27-inch fast IPS panel is capable of 180 Hz in 5K mode, or 330 Hz in QHD mode and it has a 0.3 ms response time (GTG). The panel also sports VESA DisplayHDR 600, a contrast ratio of 1500:1 and it supports 97 percent of the DCI-P3 colour space. More gaming specific features include ASUS's ELMB 2 technology, ELMB sync, FreeSync Premium Pro and G-SYNC compatible support, plus a host of other ASUS specific gaming features.

Oddly enough, ASUS has only equipped the ROG Strix 5K XG27JCG with a DP 1.4 port, as well as two HDMI 2.1 ports and a USB Type-C port that either does DP Alt mode and 15 W power delivery, or is only for firmware upgrades, depending on where on the product page you look. There's also a 3-port USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) hub with a separate input, as well as a headphone jack. We should also point out that according to ASUS, to use the display at 180 Hz at 5K, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50-series card or an AMD Radeon RX7600 or better is needed. According to VideoCardz, the ROG Strix 5K XG27JCG is already listed by Hong Kong retailers for HKD 6,499, which equates to around US$840.

NVIDIA's "Ampere" generation of GeForce RTX graphics cards continues to attract buyers, albeit mostly across used markets. Certain discerning gaming GPU enthusiasts often consider newer "Ada Lovelace" and "Blackwell" architectures to be too expensive. Seninno, an AI PC hardware enthusiast, attempted to strike the right balance between price and past-gen performance. His mid-November video report focused on an unusual custom GeForce RTX 3080 card. Under normal circumstances, owners of RTX 30-series sub-flagships could play around with 10 GB of GDDR6X VRAM. Another unusual 20 GB example has come to light—courtesy of Seninno's search for a bargain. Historically, a handful of variants—mostly made by MSI—have turned up via used product channels in China. Seninno's video report delves into his acquiring of an ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080 20 GB card.

Weeks after performing an extensive teardown, Seninno's discovery gained wider press coverage—yesterday's Uniko's Hardware article weighed in on debates over the card's origins. Could it be an engineering sample, an OEM release, or a previous owner's modification project? The YouTuber stated: "I found it (for sale in a) Chinese flea market, I've never seen this model, and I can't found any info online, so I decided to try it, but the condition wasn't great, or I would've kept it." An inspection of printed material pointed to a fairly official looking "STRIX-RTX3080-20G" code. A "10DE 2206 -1043 87AA" device ID was detected by GPU-Z, with a "20480 MB" memory size. Seninno was not impressed with the card's scuffed condition, both externally and internally—it was likely hooked up to a crypto mining rig in the past—and aims to return it to an unnamed vendor. Upon examining the deshrouded card, he reckoned that the memory modules were intact and original, but there was evidence of thermal paste reapplications and screws being removed, and not replaced.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the availability of the ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W and ROG Strix OLED XG27AQWMG gaming monitors. These 27-inch 1440p OLED displays feature the latest Tandem OLED technology that delivers brighter visuals, larger color volume, and longer OLED lifespan compared to previous generation WOLED monitors. In addition, both monitors feature a TrueBlack Glossy coating for supersharp visuals and infinite contrast, along with VESA DisplayHDR 500 True Black compliance and a 99.5% DCI-P3 gamut. In addition, built-in ASUS OLED Care Pro with the advanced Neo Proximity Sensor helps protect and ensure the longevity of the panel. Both monitors include a three-year warranty.

ASUS ROG is currently the No. 1 OLED gaming monitor brand globally by market share, and with these two new additions, cements its position as the top choice for the gamers across the world.

OneXPlayer has officially announced its latest gaming handheld, the OneXFly Apex, which puts the exciting AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU and Radeon 8060 graphics into a compact handheld form factor with some interesting cooling and power tricks. The new Windows gaming handheld from OneXPlayer is clearly aimed to combat recent announcements from the likes of GPD, replete with a detachable battery, just like GPD's Win 5. Unlike the Win 5, however, OneXPlayer also saw fit to equip the OneXFly Apex with a liquid cooling system to keep the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 in check. OneXPlayer says that the powerful APU is capable of drawing as much as 120 W with this cooling solution, claiming that it is the first Windows gaming handheld to achieve this feat. The Apex will come with an 8-inch, 120 Hz IPS display with a maximum rated brightness of 500 nits and 100% coverage of the sRGB color space.

The watercooling solution is a detachable tower containing the radiator, pump, and reservior, much like the XMG Neo 17's Oasis system we reviewed prior. In handheld mode, without the water cooling tower, the OneXFly's APU is said to be capable of sustained 80 W TDP with up to 100 W supposedly also possible. This is all powered by an 85 Wh external battery in a similar piggyback configuration to GPD's Win 5 detachable battery. OneXPlayer showed off some comparative testing putting the device up against another handheld equipped with the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme, and the Strix Halo-powered device expectedly blew the smaller APU out of the water when it came to gaming tests. As is the case with other portable devices using the same APU, the OneXPlayer OneXFly Apex will be available with up to 128 GB of LPDDR5x-8000 memory and a 2 TB NVMe SSD (with another M.2 slot available for upgrades). While the device is clearly intended primarily as a gaming handheld, OneXPlayer is openly marketing the Apex as a do-it-all machine, especially considering the water cooling dock.

We recently reported on a rumor that AMD would soon be launching desktop APUs based on its Krackan Point architecture that has until now only been featured in mobile parts. At first, it seemed as though Strix Point and its more powerful AMD Radeon 890M iGPU would be limited to the mobile side of things, however a well-known leaker, @9550pro on X, has recently pointed out that AMD's AGESA update version 1.2.7.0 does make mention of Strix Point in its code. This observation is backed up by further evidence shown in a post by @xgfancz on X, who pointed out that the list of architectures in the latest 1.2.7.0 AGESA beta update makes clear reference to "STX," presumably "Strix Point," alongside "PHX," which would be Phoenix Point, AMD's current Ryzen 8000G series of desktop APUs.

All of this suggests that AMD Ryzen 9000G desktop APUs may launch with Strix Point architecture instead of being limited to Krackan Point, as was previously the assumption. Stepping up from Krackan Point to Strix Point would mean that iGPUs in the Ryzen 9000G series may feature up to 16 CUs and RDNA 3.5 instead of RDNA 3 in the current APUs, which could mean gaming and iGPU performance right around the level of the likes of the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme now making its way to swathes of gaming handhelds. The AMD Ryzen 9000G desktop APUs aren't expected to launch until closer to the end of this year, and even if they do, there's no telling if they will launch at the same time as what is essentially the 8000G refresh we have seen in rumors before.

We have seen previous rumors claim that AMD would launch Ryzen 9000G series APUs for its AM5 platform sometime soon, although there has been no official announcement from AMD, yet. Most recently, though, data miners combing through AMD's AGESA 1207 code have managed to find evidence of new Krackan Point desktop APUs. Krackan Point has been spotted in MSI BIOS updates with references to the 00B60Fxx microcode, and the changelog for ASUS X870 beta BIOS versions mentions "new APU support," which could only really be Ryzen 9000G. These new APUs are said to be based on Zen 5, but previous leaks said that they would instead be a rehash of the 8000G APUs, making them a Zen 4 refresh. At any rate, it will likely still be a while before launch, since this is the first time the code has been spotted in desktop BIOS versions.

Until now, Krackan Point APUs have been limited to mobile applications, with the AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 and Ryzen AI 7 350 both coming to laptops earlier this year. Until now AM5 owners looking for an APU have been limited to something like the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G, which launched all the way back in January 2024. If the laptop silicon is anything to go by, Krackan Point will bring AMD's RDNA 3.5 to the desktop, although with iGPUs falling short of the powerful Strix Halo 8060S. We will likely see APUs top out at the same Radeon 860M iGPU as the laptop variants, or potentially step up to the Radeon 890M iGPU, where the Ryzen 8000G APUs topped out at the 780M. The 890M would bring 256 more shaders into the mix for a decent performance uplift, although this seems to be a GPU configuration reserved for Strix Point. Current speculation also suggests that CPU core counts will be limited to eight and six cores for the Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 CPUs, respectively.

ASUS late last week announced releasing BIOS updates for its 2023 ROG Strix SCAR (model: G533ZW) and 2023 Zephyrus M16 (GU604VI) gaming notebooks that address display stuttering and "performance interruptions" that had been affecting these notebooks. The BIOS updates are currently Beta, although ASUS encourages users to update their notebooks with them, and doing so will not void product warranty. For those willing to wait for non-Beta (regular) BIOS updates, ASUS says that such updates will be released in October.

OneXPlayer, famous for its super-sized gaming handhelds and the recent launch of the AMD Strix Halo-powered Super X gaming tablet, has officially confirmed that it will be putting the high-powered AMD Strix Halo APU into a compact gaming handheld with the OneXFly Apex. The Apex, officially teased by OneXPlayer, will be available with an AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 or Max+395, and exact pricing is yet to be confirmed, but a $1,000+ price point is fully expected, given its internals. No official release date has yet been announced for the OneXPlayer OneXFly Apex gaming handheld, either.

The OneXFly Apex will have a native landscape 8-inch display, so there will be no incompatibilities like there were in the early days of the Lenovo Legion Go, and that display will feature a 120 Hz refresh rate with VRR. The controller layout will be similar to that of the ASUS ROG Ally, with asymmetrical joysticks, and it will have two-stage triggers. It will also have a microSD card slot for storage expansion, but there is no word on what the internal storage size would be. OneXPlayer also mentioned what it calls the "ONE Dock silent liquid cooling system," but it has not provided any details about how the dock would work. The closest competitor to the OneXFly Apex is the GPD Win Max 5, which features a detachable 80 Wh battery.

According to the latest research published on GitHub by Zephkek, a cybersecurity enthusiast with experience in low-level programming, ASUS ROG gaming laptops have been riddled with buggy BIOS firmware, causing system hiccups. These hiccups occur in the form of stuttering when watching YouTube, pops on Discord calls, the mouse briefly freezing, and other annoying occurrences. According to this investigation, the issue is not any pre-installed "bloat," old drivers, or the operating system itself. The problem actually lies deeply embedded in ASUS BIOS design, where the system-level operations and component management occur.

To find out what happened, the researcher used the LatencyMon tool, which measures CPU interrupt latency. CPU interrupt latency is an important metric as it tells the CPU to stop its current program execution pipeline and move on to another, higher-priority task. On ASUS ROG laptops, like the Zephyrus M16, the first core in the CPU, which is first accessible by the application, is spending over 90 seconds processing interrupts. In that time that specific CPU core is blocked from doing any other work, which leads to stutter, when some time-sensitive workload is running on that core. Behind all of this is the ACPI.sys implementation of the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) standard, acting as the bridge between firmware and the OS to manage power functions (sleep, hibernate, battery, and thermal reporting) and to assist with Plug-and-Play device discovery and resource configuration. This ACPI.sys interprets ACPI Machine Language (AML), which is a code provided by every BIOS maker, including ASUS in this instance.

ASUS fleshed out its Socket AM5 motherboard lineup with the new ROG Strix X870E-H Gaming WiFi7. The AMD 800-series chipset generation is the first one on the AMD platform to get the Strix-H (hero) tier of motherboards from ASUS, which had until now had only the other levels—Strix-F (formula), Strix-E (extreme), Strix-G (gene), and Strix-I (impact). The Strix-H (hero) is not to be confused with the ROG Crosshair Hero tier, which is positioned above even Strix-E. ASUS recently rolled out the ROG Strix X870-H Gaming WiFi7 (a product exclusive to the Chinese market), and has now backed it up with a Strix-H product based on the more premium X870E chipset. The overall board design sees ASUS do away with the RGB-illuminated design elements found on even the Strix-F product.

The ROG Strix X870E-H Gaming WiFi7 is built in the standard ATX form-factor and pulls power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and two 8-pin EPS connectors. It uses a 16+2+1 phase CPU VRM that uses 80 A DrMOS on the V-Core phases. For context, the more premium ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi7 uses an 18+2+2 phase VRM with 110 A DrMOS on these phases. The processor is wired to four DDR5 DIMM slots, and a PCI-Express 5.0 x16 slot which offers an easy eject mechanism. There are four M.2 NVMe slots, two of these are Gen 5, and the other two Gen 4, one of which shares its lanes with the PCI-Express x16 (electrical x4) slot.