NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce teased as 'Ampere', unveil in 2018

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Nov 11, 2017 8:15 PM CST

NVIDIA shouldn't be showing off any new GPU technology during CES 2018, which is only 6 weeks away now, but now rumors are swirling that NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce graphics cards will use the 'Ampere' architecture.

NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce teased as 'Ampere', unveil in 2018

Heise.de reports NVIDIA's next-gen GPU architecture is called Ampere and it will be unveiled during GTC 2018. NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conference is not an event that GeForce graphics cards get unveiled at, so it would be a strange move - but remember, this is just a rumor.

We could see NVIDIA use its Volta GPU architecture for the datacenter/AI/cloud computing markets while the new Ampere GPU architecture will succeed Pascal on the consumer GeForce side of things. But a GTC 2018 unveiling? I don't think so. I think we'll see NVIDIA host another Editor's Day in March-May, leading into Computex in June with its next-gen GeForce GTX series, and I can't wait.

Continue reading: NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce teased as 'Ampere', unveil in 2018 (full post)

Go 'Atomic Blonde' in our Blu-ray giveaway!

Ben Gourlay | Contests & Giveaways | Nov 11, 2017 5:36 PM CST

To celebrate the home video release of 'Atomic Blonde,' we have one a huge giveaway for a lucky fan, which includes a copy of the source material graphic novel 'The Coldest City,' signed by author Antony Johnston and a Blu-ray copy of the film. 14 runners-up will all take home a copy of 'Atomic Blonde' on Blu-ray, courtesy of our friends at Universal Sony Home Entertainment.

Go 'Atomic Blonde' in our Blu-ray giveaway!

An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents. Oscar winner Charlize Theron explodes into summer in Atomic Blonde, a breakneck action-thriller that follows MI6's most lethal assassin through a ticking time bomb of a city simmering with revolution and double-crossing hives of traitors.

The crown jewel of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, Agent Lorraine Broughton (Theron) is equal parts spycraft, sensuality, and savagery, willing to deploy any of her skills to stay alive on her impossible mission. Sent alone into Berlin to deliver a priceless dossier out of the destabilized city, she partners with embedded station chief David Percival (James McAvoy) to navigate her way through the deadliest game of spies.

Continue reading: Go 'Atomic Blonde' in our Blu-ray giveaway! (full post)

Survive our huge 'Walking Dead' Blu-ray giveaway!

Ben Gourlay | Contests & Giveaways | Nov 10, 2017 2:14 PM CST

To celebrate the home video release of 'The Walking Dead: The Complete Seasons 1-7,' we have one huge Blu-ray boxset to give away thanks to our friends at eOne Home Entertainment.

Survive our huge 'Walking Dead' Blu-ray giveaway!

After waking up from a coma in an abandoned hospital, police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), finds the world he knew has gone - ravaged by a zombie epidemic of apocalyptic proportions. Nearby, on the outskirts of Atlanta, a small encampment struggles to survive as the dead stalk them at every turn. Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, written by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead vividly captures the tension, drama, and devastation following a zombie apocalypse.

To go into the running to win, post this article to your social media profiles and send your correct answer to the following question (along with your postal address), to ben at TweakTown dot com before the competition closes on November 17.

Continue reading: Survive our huge 'Walking Dead' Blu-ray giveaway! (full post)

OFM introduce the new RESPAWN range of gaming chairs

Shaun Grimley | Peripherals | Nov 10, 2017 6:15 AM CST

OFM have extended their product range into the gaming market with their new RESPAWN range. OFM have decades of experience in ergonomics and quality furniture, using this experience and knowledge to design their PC gaming chair range to cater for the long and intense gaming sessions. This experience provides gamers with everything they require- ergonomic comfort, 4D adjustability, beautiful aesthetics and premium materials that is backed with a limited lifetime warranty.

OFM introduce the new RESPAWN range of gaming chairs

"Gamers have specific ergonomic and aesthetic needs that aren't met by standard office chairs, and many of the seating options out there are outrageously priced or offer features that don't provide comfort in a stylish way," said Blake Zalcberg, CEO of OFM, Inc. "We knew that there was a need in the market that we could fulfill based on our 20 years of experience at OFM, and decided to create the RESPAWN brand. RESPAWN delivers an affordable and durable product designed specifically for gamers."

The RESPAWN series features eight gaming chairs in a variety of colors to suit each individual's preferred comfort, style and functionality. You can view the entire RESPAWN range here and is available now.

Continue reading: OFM introduce the new RESPAWN range of gaming chairs (full post)

Silicon Power reveal the Armor A75 portable hard drive

Shaun Grimley | Storage | Nov 10, 2017 4:39 AM CST

Silicon Power have added the A75 portable hard drive to their Armor series, this follows their recent release of the impressive Armor A62 portable hard drive. The Armor A75 is finished in a beautiful aviation-grade aluminium, crowning this slim-portable hard drive the world's thinnest hard drive in its category.

Silicon Power reveal the Armor A75 portable hard drive

To say the A75 is slim is an understatement, the A75 measures 124.4 x 82 x 12.2mm in size, weighs only 169g and is shockproof up to 1.22m. Unfortunately, Silicon Power's latest portable hard drive is only available in 1 and 2 TB variants, but the gorgeous exterior of the A75 more than makes up for the limited capacity when compared to the A62. Other features include USB 3.1 Gen 1, Free SP Widget software and a slim "L" shaped LED status light that can be seen from top and front view.

Continue reading: Silicon Power reveal the Armor A75 portable hard drive (full post)

Battlegrounds edging close to 2.5 million concurrent players

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Nov 10, 2017 2:42 AM CST

I think checking the Steam concurrent gamer numbers is becoming part of my daily ritual, with PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds now pushing a huge 2.43 million concurrent users on Steam.

Battlegrounds edging close to 2.5 million concurrent players

At the time of writing there were 791,589 current players and a new peak of 2,437,035 players. Comparing this against the mammoth Dota 2, PUBG blows it away, as Dota 2 only has 325,206 current players and 677,750 peak players. Another FPS powerhouse is CS:GO, which only has 159,526 current players and 486,491 peak players.

The first, second, and third positions have hundreds of thousands playing at once and for PUBG's case, millions playing at once. The games below that like TF2, Warframe, PAYDAY 2 and GTA V all have considerably less. PUBG truly is going crazy, where I think we'll see 2.5 million concurrent players over the weekend and then its into the 3 million stretch from there.

Continue reading: Battlegrounds edging close to 2.5 million concurrent players (full post)

Apple rumored to be preparing AR glasses and 'rOS' for 2020

We've heard it before, but Apple is working on augmented reality products with a new report from Bloomberg saying the company would be reading to show off its AR tech in 2019, shipping AR glasses in 2020.

Apple rumored to be preparing AR glasses and 'rOS' for 2020

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been into AR for quite a while now, with the first seed being planted in the AR garden with Cook revealing ARKit, allowing iOS devices to run augmented reality apps and experiences. Apple's release of AR glasses would drive this home, but the company needs its own custom chip that can handle the graphics and computational tasks required, which will be in real-time, and something that you wear.

The new AR glasses would be interacted with through head gestures, voice commands that you'd use Siri with, or a touchscreen-based remote. Apple is expected to unveil rOS with its AR glasses, which stands for reality operating system.

Continue reading: Apple rumored to be preparing AR glasses and 'rOS' for 2020 (full post)

Elite: Dangerous on Xbox One X runs at native 4K resolution

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Nov 10, 2017 12:18 AM CST

It feels like the Xbox One X is absolutely dominating the airwaves and headlines, with Elite: Dangerous teased as running at native 4K resolution on Microsoft's updated console.

Elite: Dangerous on Xbox One X runs at native 4K resolution

Michael Gapper, PR and Communications Manager for Frontier Developments, the developer behind Elite: Dangerous, explained to WCCFTech: "So, we've have added two new options for Xbox One X: Performance/Quality and 1080p/4K. We're letting players tailor their own experience. We'll have full details in the changelog when the update goes live. We're aiming to have this update live for the official launch of Xbox One X".

Gapper continued: "Elite Dangerous runs in native 4K @ 3840×2160 on Xbox One X if set to 4K mode. All I can say specifically regarding framerate is that Xbox One X owners will see greatly increased performance over a standard Xbox One whether they play at 1080p or 4K. We try to always give players the best possible framerate and adapt it to the content in the scene".

Continue reading: Elite: Dangerous on Xbox One X runs at native 4K resolution (full post)

Mafia 3 runs at 1728p on Xbox One X with improved graphics

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Nov 9, 2017 11:10 PM CST

Mafia 3 will soon have an Xbox One X enhanced patch pushed out, with developer Hangar 13 recently talking about what resolution the game renders at on the Xbox One X, and whether there will be HDR patches for other platforms.

Mafia 3 runs at 1728p on Xbox One X with improved graphics

In an interview with WCCFTech and Andy Wilson, Executive Producer at Hangar 13, Wilson said: "The game renders at 3072×1728 and is then upscaled to 3840×2160, via a full 4K output buffer. We're not using any form of checkerboarding as we were able to get the performance we needed out of the console for the desired resolution, as well as the various additional graphical enhancements we've applied".

As for the HDR feature of Mafia 3 being updated and applied to the PS4 and PC versions of the game, Wilson said: "As of right now we only plan to release the HDR update for the Xbox One X-enhanced version of Mafia III".

Continue reading: Mafia 3 runs at 1728p on Xbox One X with improved graphics (full post)

Uber teams with NASA to take to the skies with 'flying cars'

Anthony Garreffa | Electric Vehicles & Cars | Nov 9, 2017 9:31 PM CST

Uber doesn't know when to stop, so now that the roads have been dominated the ridesharing giant is looking to the skies with its latest partnership with NASA for self-flying transportation. Welcome to uberAIR.

Uber teams with NASA to take to the skies with 'flying cars'

Uber chief product officer Jeff Holden explains: "So far we've been focused on ground-based transportation. For us, the natural next step was flight". Flying vehicles would be better for the environment, with uberAIR not just for the 1% either, the company will be selling its uberAIR service at the same price as UberX at launch.

The new uberAIR service uses vehicles called Electric Vertical Take-Off And Landing Vehicles, or EVTOL for short. Uber Aircraft Systems boss Mark Moore explains: "They'll fundamentally change how are cities function and how we will live in them". Another Uber executive talked about how long it'll be until we get uberAIR into the skies, where he said: "It's very much the early morning on day one of this adventure".

Continue reading: Uber teams with NASA to take to the skies with 'flying cars' (full post)