Razer Blade Pro 17 notebook debuts aimed at gamers and developers

Shane McGlaun | Laptops | May 21, 2020 1:02 PM CDT

Razer has announced the launch of the new Blade Pro 17 laptop that is aimed at gamers, designers, and game developers. The notebook is available with a 4K 120 Hz display for creators that need high resolution and has a full HD 300 Hz option for gamers. Buyers can configure the machine with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super GPU and the 10th generation Intel Core i7-10875H CPU.

Razer Blade Pro 17 notebook debuts aimed at gamers and developers

The full HD display is 17.3-inches in size, covers 100% of the SRGB space, and is custom calibrated for color. It's coated with an anti-glare, matte finish. The 4K display option has a 120 Hz refresh rate, and it also covers 100% of the Adobe RGB space. The Core i7-10875H processor can operate at speeds of up to 5.1 GHz with Turbo Boost and has a 16 MB cache.

The high-end RTX 2080 Super GPU offers 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and has more ray tracing cores promising up to a 25% increase in performance over the original RTX GPUs. To keep the high-end hardware running cool inside the notebook, the Blade Pro 17 uses a unique vapor chamber cooler paired with a dual-fan system for active cooling. Razer promises that the cooling system delivers the cooling performance needed to keep the machine performing without generating uncomfortable amounts of heat or noise.

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Take-Two is working on 93 new games, but not all of them will release

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 21, 2020 12:32 PM CDT

Take-Two Interactive wasn't kidding when it said its new games slate was the biggest in its history. The company is currently working on 93 new games (yes, ninety-three), but it's careful to say not all of these titles will actually launch.

Take-Two is working on 93 new games, but not all of them will release

In its latest FY20 earnings report, Take-Two confirmed a gigantic 93-game slate. It seemed beyond belief. Ideally, GTA parent company wants to launch 93 games in the next 5 years. Obviously this includes the entire spectrum of game type and platform. We'll see re-releases, remasters, streaming-only games, F2P games, mobile games, and the big AAA heavy-hitters like GTA 6 and BioShock 4.

"Across our internally owned labels and outside development studio partners, we currently have 93 titles planned for release over the next five years through fiscal 2025," Take-Two President Karl Slatoff said.

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Free GTA V expected to surge microtransaction earnings by 75%

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 21, 2020 11:33 AM CDT

Take-Two's free GTA V giveaway stunt on the Epic Store is expected to help boost Take-Two's microtransactions by 75%.

Free GTA V expected to surge microtransaction earnings by 75%

As soon as I heard about the free GTA V giveaway on the Epic Store, I knew microtransaction spending was about to jump. It wasn't hard to figure out. The idea here is make the game free to everyone, give them a bunch of GTA Online cash, and get them hooked. Once everyone's hooked, they're more likely to keep playing and pay money for more GTAO cash. And it'll work, too. Take-Two is counting on it.

In its recent earnings report, Take-Two says Q1'21 microtransactionss should jump by 75% year-over-year, and guess which game will contribute the most? Take-Two earned $313.78 million from in-game spending in Q1'20. A quick bit of math shows Take-Two expects to make $549.12 million from mTX in Q1'21.

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ASUS ROG Strix B550-E Gaming mainboard debuts

Shane McGlaun | Motherboards | May 21, 2020 11:01 AM CDT

ASUS has unveiled a new series of mainboards that are aimed at supporting the latest AMD processors. Sitting at the top of the line is the ROG Strix B550-E Gaming mainboard. The E version of the board is aimed at gamers wanting to use AMD Ryzen processors using the AM4 socket with dual or triple expansion cards. The CPU socket is flanked by a 14+2 power stage VRM for reliable performance.

ASUS ROG Strix B550-E Gaming mainboard debuts

The board also supports reinforced PCIe x16 SafeSlots for heavy GPUs in SLI or CrossFireX modes. The board has six fan headers an AIO and pump headers to allow for setups as simple or intricate as the gamer wants. Automatic fan speed detection is supported using Q-Fan software controls with multiple presets to keep temperature and noise levels down.

A pair of SSDs up to 110mm long can be fitted into the dual M.2 slots that are both covered by heat sinks to prevent thermal throttling under load. The board also features Intel-power 2.5 Gb Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6 controllers. Bluetooth 5.1 is also integrated along with the trio of three USB ports, including a single Type-C and two Type-A ports.

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Take-Two breaks $3 billion in revenue, sets new all-time high

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 21, 2020 10:32 AM CDT

Take-Two's latest yearly earnings jump across the board as it rides a big digital wave of game sales and monetization.

Take-Two breaks $3 billion in revenue, sets new all-time high

Grand Theft Auto owner Take-Two Interactive just released its Fiscal Year 2020 earnings report, and the results are fantastic. Thanks to heavy-hitters like NBA 2K20 and GTA V as well as the myriad of multi-platform titles, Take-Two generated consistent high earnings like a well-oiled money-making machine.

Take-Two pulled in $3.08 billion in net revenues during the yearly period, driven mostly by sharp upticks in digital game sales and a surge in microtransactions.

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AMD and NVIDIA to both launch next-gen GPUs in September 2020

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | May 21, 2020 7:48 AM CDT

We already know that both AMD and NVIDIA will be launching next generation graphics cards later this year, where we have already heard rumblings of NVIDIA launching its next-gen Ampere-based GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and other RTX 30 series cards at Computex 2020 in September.

AMD and NVIDIA to both launch next-gen GPUs in September 2020

Now we have DigiTimes with a report that teases: "With AMD and NVIDIA set to launch their next-generation GPUs in September, graphics cards vendors are expected to cut prices for older-generation products, stimulating demand further in third-quarter 2020".

There are some things to note here, as DigiTimes didn't say anything about gaming-focused graphics cards... but we all know that they're coming. We should expect to see NVIDIA unveil a slew of new Ampere-baed GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards towards the later half of the year -- with previous rumors pegging September 2020 for a Computex release.

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Intel gets serious about Wi-Fi, buys Killer NIC company Rivet Networks

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | May 21, 2020 4:51 AM CDT

Intel has made a killer acquisition today with the company acquiring Rivet Networks, the company behind Killer NIC networking products.

Intel gets serious about Wi-Fi, buys Killer NIC company Rivet Networks

Killer-branded NICs are pretty kick ass, and can be found inside of the best laptops from the likes of Alienware, Dell, HP, and others. Any gamer will know that Killer NIC-powered gaming rigs have gaming-focused features that keep lag at a minimum, network prioritization for your games, and more.

Intel has been competing against Rivet Networks for a while now, but this now ends now that Intel owns the company and all things Killer. We should see future Intel chipsets and platforms (laptops, NUCs) with Killer-infused networking connectiviy (be it wired, or Wi-Fi).

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AMD drops Ryzen 9 3900X price, as Intel launches its Core i9-10900K

Anthony Garreffa | CPU, APU & Chipsets | May 21, 2020 4:14 AM CDT

Intel might have just launched its new 10th Gen CPUs with the new flagship Core i9-10900K processor, but you didn't think AMD would take it sitting on their hands this time around, did you?

AMD drops Ryzen 9 3900X price, as Intel launches its Core i9-10900K

AMD's third-gen Ryzen 9 3900X processor can now be found on Amazon for just $410, its lowest price yet: offering 12 cores and 24 threads of Zen 2 processing power. AMD launched the Ryzen 9 3900X at $500 so this price drop to $410 is pretty hefty, while Intel intros its new Core i9-10900K at $500.

You're getting a 12C/24T with the AMD Ryzen 9 3900X having its base CPU clock at 3.8GHz and its max boost clock of 4.6GHz -- this lags behind Intel's new Core i9-10900K, a 10C/20T chip, but has its Turbo Boost Max 3.0 ceiling of 5.3GHz. Hell, someone has already pushed it right up to the dizzying heights of 7.7GHz using liquid helium cooling, too.

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Gran Turismo 7 teased again, could be PlayStation 5 launch title

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | May 21, 2020 1:28 AM CDT

Sony is ramping rather quickly into the launch for its next-gen PlayStation 5 console, with some more news nuggets on what could be one of the biggest launch games of all time: Gran Turismo 7.

Gran Turismo 7 teased again, could be PlayStation 5 launch title

We've been hearing about Gran Turismo 7 for a while now, with it rumored to be a PlayStation 5 launch title -- and now the Gran Turismo 7 logo has been teased on social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The post asks: "What racing game are you most looking forward to in 2020?"

It seems like an accidental leak from Australia-based professional racing cockpit manufacturer Next level Racing, which is an official PlayStation licensee... making a rather big boo-boo. The social post includes logos to Automobilista 2, F1 2020, and DiRT 5 -- but the third logo you can see there is for Gran Turismo 7.

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Antec announces new Katana DDR4 RAM, with RGB lighting

Anthony Garreffa | RAM | May 21, 2020 12:21 AM CDT

Antec has just unveiled its new Katana DDR4 memory, which the company designed with the inspiration of a Japanese Samurai sword and its blade.

Antec announces new Katana DDR4 RAM, with RGB lighting

The new Antec Katana DDR4 memory has a slick style with some not-so-over-the-top RGB lighting at the top, with Eric Chen, the Vice President of Antec, explaining: "With our Katana memory modules, Antec aims at enthusiasts buying their stylish gaming cases and looking to add stylish designed components by the same brand".

Chen continues: "Katana shows off a metallic shine on the silver lighting bar, while, lit up, Katana glows with soft and harmonious light effects". Antec took home a 2019 iF DESIGN AWARD for its design on the Katana DDR4 RAM. You will have RGB lighting control of the Antec Katana DDR4 memory with ASUS Aura Sync, MSI Mystic Light, and ASRock Polychrome Sync.

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