GALAX unveils HOF Pro PCIe 4.0 SSD: up to 5GB/sec speeds

Anthony Garreffa | Storage | Jul 9, 2019 10:37 PM CDT

AMD's new Zen 2 processors have opened up a totally new era for PC hardware, with companies tripping over themselves with new PCIe 4.0 capable SSDs. The latest company to jump into the crazy-amounts-of-bandwidth bandwagon is GALAX with its new HOF Pro SSD.

GALAX unveils HOF Pro PCIe 4.0 SSD: up to 5GB/sec speeds

GALAX's new HOF Pro SSD utilizes the bandwidth of PCIe 4.0 for insane speeds of up to 5GB/sec versus 3.5GB/sec on PCIe 3.0, while write speeds can hit 4.4GB/sec which is up from 2.5GB/sec on PCIe 3.0. Meanwhile, 4K random read IOPS burst to 750K compared to 500K IOPS on PCIe 3.0 while 4K random writes hit 700K IOPS versus 480K IOPS on PCIe 3.0.

This is all thanks to the impressive Phison PS5016-E16 controller.

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NVIDIA's new GeForce 431.36 drivers add support for SUPER

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Jul 9, 2019 9:39 PM CDT

NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX SUPER graphics cards are here (my review on the RTX 2060 SUPER, and my review on the RTX 2070 SUPER, oh and the MSI RTX 2070 SUPER GAMING X TRIO) we need some new drivers, right? Until now I've been using the press drivers NVIDIA supplies reviewers with, but now official GeForce 431.36 WHQL drivers are here.

NVIDIA's new GeForce 431.36 drivers add support for SUPER

The new GeForce 431.36 WHQL drivers add support for the new GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER and GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER graphics cards as both of them go on sale the day of the driver drop: July 9. The new drivers also include optimizations, SLI profiles, and fixes to games like The Division 2, F1 2019, and Metro Exodus. F1 2019 recieves an SLI profile -- something I'll be testing out in 8K and NVLink and SLI as I did with my RTX 2070 SUPER NVLink benchmark article).

There is also support for 3 new G-Sync compatible monitors, as well as some fixes for the FPS counter issues when upgrading to Windows 10 May 2019 Update and a bunch of other fixes resolved in the new GeForce 431.36 drivers.

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Intel Core i9-10900KF - 10C/20T @ 5.2GHz for $499 on 14nm+++

Anthony Garreffa | CPU, APU & Chipsets | Jul 9, 2019 7:31 PM CDT

A perfectly timed leak of Intel's new 10th-gen CPUs has hit with an exciting line up of 'Comet Lake' CPUs that will fall into 13 different chips, and will act as yet another refresh that will add on another plus bringing it up to a 14nm+++ node, up from the 14nm++ from the Coffee Lake refresh. Anyway, check them out:

Intel Core i9-10900KF - 10C/20T @ 5.2GHz for $499 on 14nm+++

You'll notice the flagship Core i9-10900KF (these names feel out of control now, Intel) which will arrive as a monster 10C/20T chip with a maximum single-core boost clock of 5.2GHz and all-core boost of 4.6GHz. It'll have 20MB of Intel Smart Cache, a 105W TDP, and come in at $499. The Core i7-10700K is an 8C/16T chip with 5.1GHz single-core boost and 4.8GHz all-core boost, with a 65W TDP and integrated graphics for $398.

Intel's new 10th-gen Comet Lake CPUs will reportedly come on a new LGA 1159 socket with new Z490 motherboards, and support DDR4-3200 natively. Intel will continue on its 10nm node meaning this is yet another refresh, with the 14nm+++ node to surely be the butt of many jokes in the 10th-gen CPU reviews. Especially when everyone will be writing 10 so much considering its the 10th generation Core CPU family, with the 10-series CPUs constantly being referred to, yet the 10nm node is nowhere to be seen. 14nm+++ still... interesting, Intel.

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Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 could have large-scale dungeons

Jak Connor | Gaming | Jul 9, 2019 5:00 AM CDT

Nintendo has revealed some new job listings on their official website and they suggest that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 will feature some form of dungeons.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 could have large-scale dungeons

According to the job listings found on the Nintendo of Japan website, Nintendo are in search for new 3D computer graphics designer that will be tasked with the games terrain. The other tasks include fields and dungeons. A second listing says that Nintendo are after a level designer to "work on the planning and implementation of dungeons in addition to events in-game".

If Breath of the Wild 2 has more of a concentration of dungeons we could see massive expansion of the game below the surface. At the moment we don't know when Breath of the Wild 2 will be released, but if its going to be anything like the first game we will be in for a wild ride of delving into a meticulously developed world.

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Borderlands 3 ECHOcast Twitch stream gives gamers early loot

Jak Connor | Gaming | Jul 9, 2019 4:00 AM CDT

Borderlands developers Gearbox Software are in full-swing in terms of making sure Borderlands 3 players are looked after quality-of-life wise. That of course means loot, loot and more loot.

Borderlands 3 ECHOcast Twitch stream gives gamers early loot

Above we are introduced to the Borderlands 3 ECHOcast Twitch Extension which allows for Borderlands 3 fans who are tuning into the Borderlands 3 World Wide Gameplay Reveal get interactive with Twitch streamers. Fans will be able to see the contents of the streamers backpack, skilltrees, and even spawn special events in-game.

Of course Gearbox will be giving away some free early loot for Borderlands 3. Players will have to link their SHiFT and Twitch account to get access to the Rare Chest Events, but not to just use the extension itself. Check out the the listed features in the entirety of this post for a more official breakdown, or just watch the above video and listen to claptraps new voice actor walk you through it. Borderlands 3 is scheduled for release on September 13 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

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New Borderlands 3 footage shows Apex Legends pinging system

Jak Connor | Gaming | Jul 9, 2019 3:00 AM CDT

Gearbox Software has introduced Borderlands 3 players to a new pinging system that will make communication in-game much easier amongst teammates.

New Borderlands 3 footage shows Apex Legends pinging system

Above is a video released onto the Borderlands YouTube Channel that gives us as quick introduction to the pinging system. We can see that this new system is very similar to that of Apex Legends' pinging system. Players will be able to tag enemies, lootboxes, walkways, chests, players and other characters. While this system is used extremely frequently in Apex Legends and will no doubt be used extensively in Borderlands 3, there is already some issues I have with it.

Since the pings have an icon image over-layed on whatever object or character that has been pinged, it makes it quite difficult for players to see the pinged target if its far away. A prime example of this is at 14 seconds in the video, where the player tags the enemy from a distance. The ping actually cover the entirety of the enemy making it unnecessarily difficult to see. To solve is this issue I'd recommend Gearbox making the ping icon more transparent.

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CODE VEIN gets gruesome, but rocking opening cinematic intro

Jak Connor | Gaming | Jul 9, 2019 2:00 AM CDT

A brand new opening cinematic has been released for Bandai Namco's upcoming vampire slaying title CODE VEIN. Prepare for gruesome yet awesome anime cutscenes.

CODE VEIN gets gruesome, but rocking opening cinematic intro

The above trailer introduces us to some of the characters; Mia, Louis, Yokumo are spotted - as well as some others. We also see that each of the characters are equipped with their own weapon on choice as well as some sweet abilities to go alongside them. The trailer is quite bloodpacked, making the slaying of each of the vampires just that much better to watch.

The trailer was animated by Ufotable, who is the studio behind many other Bandai Namco game cutscenes such as Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Zesteria. If you aren't aware of what CODE VEIN actually is, the title is a "story driven connected dungeon experience" that players will take on "quests with your friends in online co-op". CODE VEIN arrives on PC, Xbox One and PS4 on September 27th.

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The new Joker Movie isn't based on the comic books at all

Jak Connor | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Jul 9, 2019 1:00 AM CDT

The upcoming new Joker movie is aimed at creating a fresh take on the character as recent reports have claimed its not based on the comic books at all.

The new Joker Movie isn't based on the comic books at all

According to report out of Empire, the movies director, Todd Phillips, has said that the Joker Movie won't be using anything from the comic books but instead the movie will tell the story of how a man would become the Joker. Here is the official quote: "We didn't follow anything from the comic books, which people are gonna be mad about."

Phillips continued and says: "We just wrote our own version of where a guy like Joker might come from. That's what was interesting to me. We're not even doing Joker, but the story of becoming Joker. It's about this man." Its very interesting to see the director choose to not use the comic books as a reference, and its even more interesting to see him recognize that this will cause potential blow back from fans.

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Cyberpunk 2077 graphics are 'quite amazing' even on consoles

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jul 8, 2019 11:11 PM CDT

Cyberpunk 2077 is shaping up to be one of the best-looking games of all time, with some of the exclusive gameplay shown off at E3 2019 (something I actually witnessed myself) looking absolutely delicious. But what will it look like on current-gen consoles and low-end PCs?

Cyberpunk 2077 graphics are 'quite amazing' even on consoles

During the show Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD PROJEKT RED's Alvin Liu was interviewed by WCCFTech, where they talked questioned "Cyberpunk 2077 could look and run on consoles and low-end PCs. Is that a challenge in terms of optimization for lower-end hardware?" The developer replied: "Actually no, we have a very custom engine, the RED Engine. And actually, we're targeting consoles as first class platforms and it looks amazing there".

Liu continued: "So obviously, if you spent, you know, $2,000 building your PC rig, it's going to look better on that. But the graphics are quite amazing for what you're going to get from Cyberpunk 2077 on consoles and low-end PCs".

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