Global Giveaway - Win 1 of 3 ID-Cooling High-Performance Coolers, open worldwide until Dec 9

Global Giveaway: Win 1 of 3 ID-Cooling High-Performance Coolers, open worldwide until Dec 9

Cameron Wilmot | Contests & Giveaways | Dec 2, 2024 7:00 PM CST

Global entry! We have teamed up with ID-Cooling to give away three of its awesome new coolers to three lucky winners. Everyone in the world can enter.

Global Giveaway: Win 1 of 3 ID-Cooling High-Performance Coolers, open worldwide until Dec 9

The ID-Cooling FX360 INF is designed for high-performance gaming and demanding computing tasks. With its 360mm radiator, three quiet 120mm fans, and a GEN 7 pump, it offers excellent heat dissipation, handling up to 350W TDP. It provides top-tier cooling for Intel platforms and delivers solid performance on AMD systems as well. Despite its powerful cooling capabilities, it remains impressively quiet-running at just 32dB during normal use and only reaching 48dB under heavy load. Thanks to its long tubing and easy installation hardware, it fits smoothly into almost any build. Plus, the ARGB infinity mirror on the pump and fans adds a stylish touch, making your rig look as good as it performs.

The ID-Cooling FROZN A620 Black is all about performance without the noise. It cools like a champion while staying surprisingly quiet. Its sleek all-black design, complemented by ARGB lighting along the edges of the heatsink and fans, creates a bold and modern look. Every detail is well thought out, from the top cover to the copper base. Installation is a breeze, and at just 155mm tall, it fits in most cases as long as your RAM isn't too tall. All in all, it's one of the best black dual-tower coolers around, offering solid cooling and a stylish design at a great price.

Continue reading: Global Giveaway: Win 1 of 3 ID-Cooling High-Performance Coolers, open worldwide until Dec 9 (full post)

Elon Musk has priority access to NVIDIA GB200 AI GPU delivery in January 2025, costs $1.08B

Anthony Garreffa | Artificial Intelligence | Dec 2, 2024 11:46 PM CST

Elon Musk has reportedly directly approached NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, offering a premium price to get priority access to its new GB200 AI servers, with a hefty $1.08 billion order.

Elon Musk has priority access to NVIDIA GB200 AI GPU delivery in January 2025, costs $1.08B

In a new report from DigiTimes, industry sources have said that Elon Musk's xAI startup wants its hands on NVIDIA GB200 AI servers, and it doesn't want to wait: with CEO Elon Musk stepping in and making a call to NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, waving $1.08 billion around for priority access to the most powerful AI GPU silicon on the planet.

xAI's huge $1.08 billion order for NVIDIA GB200 AI GPUs will be manufactured by NVIDIA's key partner, Foxconn, and should be delivered in January 2025.

Continue reading: Elon Musk has priority access to NVIDIA GB200 AI GPU delivery in January 2025, costs $1.08B (full post)

ASUS will have X870 BTF motherboards + Ryzen 9 9000X3D processors on show at CES 2025

Anthony Garreffa | Motherboards | Dec 2, 2024 6:36 PM CST

ASUS has confirmed that its new X870-based BTF motherboards will be on-show at CES 2025 early next year, launching alongside AMD's new flagship Ryzen 9 9000X3D series processors.

ASUS will have X870 BTF motherboards + Ryzen 9 9000X3D processors on show at CES 2025

In a new post from our friends at UnikosHardware, a post from Bilibili was spotted with the ASUS China General Manager confirming ASUS X870 BTF motherboards will be released soon. The GM didn't specify when the X870 BTF motherboards would be unleashed by the company, but he did confirm the new boards will launch alongside Ryzen 9000X3D processors at CES 2025.

AMD has released its new Ryzen 7 9800X3D, but it has its higher-end Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Ryzen 9 9950X3D processors waiting in the wings for CES 2025. The Bilibili post has the ASUS China GM asked "when will AMD's back-plug motherboard be released?" to which he replied: "everyone knows that the recent 9800X3D is really the strongest on Earth. There may be a more powerful CPU at CES later, by then you will see the new X870 back-plug motherboard".

Continue reading: ASUS will have X870 BTF motherboards + Ryzen 9 9000X3D processors on show at CES 2025 (full post)

NVIDIA's quad-slot RTX 4090 Ti prototype from dumpster being sent to GamersNexus for review

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Dec 2, 2024 5:55 PM CST

NVIDIA never released the GeForce RTX 4090 Ti, but a quad-slot prototype GPU was found in the dumpster last week... and now that card is being sent to GamersNexus for review.

NVIDIA's quad-slot RTX 4090 Ti prototype from dumpster being sent to GamersNexus for review

The experimental RTX 4090 variant has a unique design, and engineering tweaks that would've been nice to see materialize, with the RTX 4090 Ti prototype sharing the core specifications of the retail RTX 4090 Founders Edition. Inside, it features the PG147 SKU 330 board architecture, with power specifications at 450W typical draw, and 600W peak draw.

But, there are some slight changes: the BIOS version is 95.02.01.22.01 with operating frequencies of 2115MHz base, and 2335MHz boost, which means the GPU clock speeds are around 5% lower than the RTX 4090 Founders Edition graphics card.

Continue reading: NVIDIA's quad-slot RTX 4090 Ti prototype from dumpster being sent to GamersNexus for review (full post)

Amazon's best Cyber Monday deals on Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy smartphones

Jak Connor | Deals | Dec 2, 2024 4:57 PM CST

Cyber Monday has hit Amazon, which has continued the madness of Black Friday deals, but only for a limited time. Buyers are able to take advantage of discounts on various PC hardware, including gaming monitors, SSDs, headphones, and much more.

Amazon's best Cyber Monday deals on Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy smartphones

Cyber Monday is one of your final chances to snag fantastic deals to cross names off your Christmas shopping list. While Black Friday has now wrapped up, some retailers continue the sale madness this week, but only for select products. Online retailers are launching fresh discounts for Cyber Monday, with Amazon, known for its deals, fully immersed in the action. If you want to save hundreds on new headphones or other PC hardware, check out the details below.

Additionally, smartphones have been discounted in celebration of Cyber Monday, with discounts across Samsung devices, including the Fold and the Google Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 8a, and 8 Pro. There are also discounts on smartphone accessories.

Continue reading: Amazon's best Cyber Monday deals on Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy smartphones (full post)

AMD Radeon RX 8800 XT rumor: flagship RDNA 4 GPU is 45% faster in RT gaming than 7900 XTX

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Dec 2, 2024 3:54 PM CST

AMD's flagship Radeon RX 8800 XT graphics card will be the highest-end RDNA 4 SKU, with rumors of its performance and power consumption leaking with some rather surprising results.

AMD Radeon RX 8800 XT rumor: flagship RDNA 4 GPU is 45% faster in RT gaming than 7900 XTX

The new Radeon RX 8800 XT "RDNA 4" graphics card is the last RDNA 4 card we'll see before UDNA is introduced for the next-gen GPUs from AMD in the future. In a new post on the Chiphell forums, we're learning that AIBs will officially start mass production of the Radeon RX 8800 XT in mid-December, noting there are "still some minor bugs".

As for the power consumption, AMD's new RDNA 4-powered Radeon RX 8800 XT graphics card will consume 25% less power than the RDNA 3-powered flagship RX 7900 XTX. In some quick-and-dirty testing (I'm sure) in Resident Evil 4 Biohazard, ray tracing performance on the RX 8800 XT is reportedly 45% faster than the 7900 XTX.

Continue reading: AMD Radeon RX 8800 XT rumor: flagship RDNA 4 GPU is 45% faster in RT gaming than 7900 XTX (full post)

Corsair is working on Vengeance DDR5 CUDIMM memory, ready for Z890 motherboards

Anthony Garreffa | RAM | Dec 2, 2024 3:29 PM CST

Corsair is currently cooking its new Vengeance DDR5 CUDIMM memory, joining the ranks of its fleet of Vengeance DDR5 memory kits on the market today.

Corsair is working on Vengeance DDR5 CUDIMM memory, ready for Z890 motherboards

We've already seen multiple RAM manufacturers announcing and releasing DDR5 CUDIMM memory kits (a bunch of links on those stories below) but Corsair seems close to release with its own Vengeance-branded DDR5 CUDIMM memory modules, with some pictures shown by VideoCardz.

Corsair's new Vengeance DDR5 CUDIMM memory modules are expected in both black and white (the only one pictured are in black, the white version could launch later), with an RGB strip on top of the modules. We already know that Corsair is working on Vengeance DDR5 CUDIMM memory kits, as the company itself teased 10,000MT/s speeds which you can read more about in the links below.

Continue reading: Corsair is working on Vengeance DDR5 CUDIMM memory, ready for Z890 motherboards (full post)

Apple won't use TSMC 2nm chip for M5 chip over high costs, will use SoIC packaging in late 2025

Anthony Garreffa | CPU, APU & Chipsets | Dec 2, 2024 2:47 PM CST

Apple has reportedly ordered next-gen M5 chips for its new iPad Pro and Macs from TSMC, with mass production expected in 2H 2025.

Apple won't use TSMC 2nm chip for M5 chip over high costs, will use SoIC packaging in late 2025

In a new report from TheElec, we're learning that Apple's new M5 chips will be made on TSMC's new 3nm process node, and not the advanced 2nm node that was previously expected. Apple's current-gen M4 chips are made on TSMC 3nm process node, but the new M5 chips are NOT being made on 2nm most likely because of the higher costs involved.

Instead, Apple is expected to use TSMC's new System-on-Integrated-Chip (SoIC) technology, with the 3D chip-stacking approach boosts thermal management and reduces electrical leakage compared to traditional 2D designs for its new M5 processors.

Continue reading: Apple won't use TSMC 2nm chip for M5 chip over high costs, will use SoIC packaging in late 2025 (full post)

Intel announces that CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired, and the search is on for his replacement

Darren Allan | Business, Financial & Legal | Dec 2, 2024 10:06 AM CST

Intel has announced that its CEO, Pat Gelsinger, has retired from the company effective as of yesterday.

Intel announces that CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired, and the search is on for his replacement

Gelsinger has vacated the chief exec post and stepped down from the board of the chip giant, following what Intel described as a "distinguished 40-plus-year career."

His temporary replacements will be David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, who will serve as interim co-chief executive officers, while Intel looks for another CEO to take the reins.

Continue reading: Intel announces that CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired, and the search is on for his replacement (full post)

Windows 11 spikes in popularity with PC gamers, with biggest increase we've ever seen on Steam

Darren Allan | Gaming | Dec 2, 2024 8:04 AM CST

Steam's hardware survey for November 2024 has arrived and there's been quite a surge in popularity for Windows 11.

Windows 11 spikes in popularity with PC gamers, with biggest increase we've ever seen on Steam

Valve breaks down all manner of stats as part of the monthly survey, and in this case, in the operating system category, Windows 11 has risen by the largest amount we can recall. As far as we're aware, the biggest previous rise was 3.4% which happened in the August 2024 survey. (Not counting months where weirdness has impacted the survey in some way, skewing some stats badly).

In November, Windows 11 rose by 4.18%, and now sits on 52.98%, with Windows 10 falling by almost the same amount - slightly less at 4.15% - to leave the older OS on 43.31%.

Continue reading: Windows 11 spikes in popularity with PC gamers, with biggest increase we've ever seen on Steam (full post)

Nearly 3 years after Intel Arc graphics cards arrived, they're finally on Steam's top GPU list

Darren Allan | Video Cards & GPUs | Dec 2, 2024 6:51 AM CST

You're doubtless familiar with Valve's hardware survey for Steam, and amongst the stats provided there is a ranking of the most popular graphics cards - with Intel's Arc brand finally making it onto that list.

Nearly 3 years after Intel Arc graphics cards arrived, they're finally on Steam's top GPU list

The revelation came via a post on X from Haze that VideoCardz spotted, and we should clarify that the new entry in Steam's GPU rankings (for November) is for 'Intel Arc Graphics' which is the collective listing for all Alchemist laptop GPUs. These now have a share of 0.18% of all the graphics cards used on Steam.

These integrated graphics solutions don't register as separate model names, they're all lumped under that one umbrella label, which obviously helps bolster their chances of appearing in the rankings.

Continue reading: Nearly 3 years after Intel Arc graphics cards arrived, they're finally on Steam's top GPU list (full post)

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