We went butts on with Razer's Project Arielle gaming chair with active heating and cooling

Kosta Andreadis | Peripherals | Jan 14, 2025 12:01 AM CST

Razer always brings something interesting and a little out there to CES 2025, and this year was no different. The company showcased Project Arielle, a mesh gaming chair with integrated heating and cooling. The overall shape and design are based on its flagship Razer Fujin Pro mesh gaming chair.

We went butts on with Razer's Project Arielle gaming chair with active heating and cooling

At CES, we went hands-on (or is that butts-on) with Project Arielle, and outside of its heating and cooling capabilities, the overall comfort and build quality are up there. Even though mesh chairs are designed for breathability, Project Arielle Razer believes that slightly additional cooling (or heating) can go a long way when gaming.

The bladeless fan system pumps hot or cold air across the entire chair, which is impressive because it doesn't feel like Razer simply took a gaming chair and slapped on a few fans.

Continue reading: We went butts on with Razer's Project Arielle gaming chair with active heating and cooling (full post)

PNY announces its GeForce RTX 50 Series line-up, ARGB and non-RGB OC VERTO models coming

Kosta Andreadis | Video Cards & GPUs | Jan 13, 2025 11:31 PM CST

With NVIDIA set to debut its Balckwell-powered GeForce RTX 50 Series, four brand-new models will soon hit the market. The new GeForce RTX 5080 and flagship GeForce RTX 5090 will debut on January 30, with the GeForce RTX 5070 and GeForce RTX 5070 Ti following sometime in February.

PNY announces its GeForce RTX 50 Series line-up, ARGB and non-RGB OC VERTO models coming

All four will tap into the latest AI advances from NVIDIA, including the brand-new DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation technology that sees the GeForce RTX 5070 match the previous-gen GeForce RTX 4090 performance in specific titles. That said, the raw performance of the GeForce RTX 4090 is still unquestionably impressive, as we saw in our recent review of the PNY GeForce RTX 4090 24GB VERTO.

As a longtime partner of NVIDIA in data centers, workstations, software, and PC gaming, PNY is set to launch its GeForce RTX 50 Series in two flavors: ARGB and non-ARGB.

Continue reading: PNY announces its GeForce RTX 50 Series line-up, ARGB and non-RGB OC VERTO models coming (full post)

ENDORFY's new Celeris 1800 keyboard has a feature we want to see on all compact boards

Kosta Andreadis | Peripherals | Jan 13, 2025 10:56 PM CST

Compact TKL keyboards in 60%, 65%, or 70% sized form factors are everywhere these days, which means gamers are increasingly using smaller keyboards to game with. Most of the keyboards we've reviewed at TweakTown in the past year or so have been TKL, and the new ENDORFY Celeris 1800 is no different.

ENDORFY's new Celeris 1800 keyboard has a feature we want to see on all compact boards

With the European maker of everything from cases to cooling bringing its PC gaming hardware to the US market, there's more to the ENDORFY Celeris 1800 than meets the eye. This is one of those compact boards with no room for additional buttons or things like control knobs.

Compact keyboards have always looked clean, minimal, and stylish. Even though you lose out on dedicated media controls and extra keys, this functionality is often assigned as secondary key functions. In a simple and brilliant move, ENDORFY has added volume and mute buttons to the left side of the Celeris 1800 and mode/wireless controls on the right.

Continue reading: ENDORFY's new Celeris 1800 keyboard has a feature we want to see on all compact boards (full post)

MSI's new affordable FORGE TKL wireless keyboard and VERSA wireless mouse impress

Kosta Andreadis | Peripherals | Jan 13, 2025 10:28 PM CST

Keyboards and mice weren't on the top of our list when it came to checking out MSI products at CES 2025. Like many others - we couldn't wait to see the company's new GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs, laptops, and gaming displays. However, the company's affordable (it's set to debut for around $80) MSI FORCE GK600 TKL Wireless gaming keyboard caught our attention.

MSI's new affordable FORGE TKL wireless keyboard and VERSA wireless mouse impress

Available in multiple color styles, the FORCE GK600 TKL sports hot-swappable linear switches and premium features like a gasket mount design, multiple layers of sound-dampening, and dye-sublimated PBT keycaps. It's a modern keyboard that looks and feels impressive for its price.

Throw in tri-mode connectivity for wired, low-latency wireless, Bluetooth, and a high-capacity 4000mAh battery, and you might be wondering how MSI managed to pack all of this for around $80. Well, the answer to that arrives via the keyboard's plastic outer shell, but even so, this felt robust when we went hands-on with it at CES 2025.

Continue reading: MSI's new affordable FORGE TKL wireless keyboard and VERSA wireless mouse impress (full post)

AMD's gimped RDNA 4 launch at CES 2025 was a planned strategy, to hurt RTX 50 series launch

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Jan 13, 2025 9:11 PM CST

AMD was meant to unveil its new RDNA 4-powered Radeon RX 9000 series GPUs at CES 2025 last week, but delayed the unveiling... which is now being called a tactical move, to hurt NVIDIA's impending GeForce RTX 50 series GPU launch.

AMD's gimped RDNA 4 launch at CES 2025 was a planned strategy, to hurt RTX 50 series launch

In a new post on Chiphell, user "nApolean" said that this was a planned move by AMD, as they were waiting to see what NVIDIA was going to do with its GeForce RTX 50 series "Blackwell" unveil, and then come back with a bigger, and badder response.

The only option AMD has here is to absolutely nail the lower-end and mid-range markets with its new RDNA 4 GPU, where we could see the flagship Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card somewhere in the $500 to $700 range. NVIDIA has a starting price of just $549 for its new GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card, which the company says has "RTX 4090" levels of performance (with DLSS, etc enabled).

Continue reading: AMD's gimped RDNA 4 launch at CES 2025 was a planned strategy, to hurt RTX 50 series launch (full post)

NVIDIA's AI GeForce assistant Project G-Assist is launching into beta this February

Kosta Andreadis | Gaming | Jan 13, 2025 8:36 PM CST

NVIDIA's Project G-Assist was announced last year, and we went hands-on with a preview version at Computex 2024. The AI-powered assistant for GeForce RTX gaming rigs is designed to offer real-time performance analysis and optimization and Wiki-style assistance for gameplay, optimizing builds, or finding out more about what's on screen and what you're playing. It's fascinating tech, and it's going to be released in Beta form very soon.

NVIDIA's AI GeForce assistant Project G-Assist is launching into beta this February

With the GeForce RTX 50 Series getting its formal reveal at CES 2025 and the flagship GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 set to launch at the end of January, NVIDIA has confirmed that the new G-Assist System Assistant feature is launching into beta sometime in February 2025.

It's set to become available as an add-on within the NVIDIA App, and its features will be accessible via a chat or voice interface within the app's overlay. G-Assist System Assistant runs on a relatively small Llama-based Instruct model with 3 billion parameters so that it can run natively with minimal latency on a range of GeForce RTX hardware, not just the new GeForce RTX 50 Series.

Continue reading: NVIDIA's AI GeForce assistant Project G-Assist is launching into beta this February (full post)

NVIDIA Blackwell AI servers: overheating, architecture flaws see companies cutting orders down

Anthony Garreffa | Artificial Intelligence | Jan 13, 2025 8:08 PM CST

NVIDIA's new Blackwell AI servers reportedly ran into issues last year with overheating and an architectural flaw, and it seems these issues haven't gone away, leaving big customers (paying big bucks) stranded, moving back to Hopper AI servers.

NVIDIA Blackwell AI servers: overheating, architecture flaws see companies cutting orders down

In a new report from The Information, we're learning that the first significant shipments of NVIDIA's new GB200 AI servers have big customers experiencing overheating, and glitching issues, with the big problem being the "way chips connect". Big customers like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft have reportedly cut down their orders because of the issues.

Back in October 2024, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said "we had a design flaw in Blackwell" noting that it was "100% NVIDIA's fault" and not anything to do with the rumored issues with TSMC's new CoWoS advanced packaging. A few months later in December 2024, we reported that NVIDIA GB200 AI server mass production and its peak shipments could be delayed until Q2 or even Q3 2025... and here we are with more issues.

Continue reading: NVIDIA Blackwell AI servers: overheating, architecture flaws see companies cutting orders down (full post)

Elon Musk deploys Tesla Cybertrucks with Starlink: free Wi-Fi for California wildfire victims

Anthony Garreffa | Connectivity & Cloud | Jan 13, 2025 7:07 PM CST

Elon Musk is helping California wildfire victims by deploying Tesla Cybertrucks around the area as mobile power stations using Starlink internet terminals to provide Californians with free Wi-Fi, as regular internet and phone services are down.

Elon Musk deploys Tesla Cybertrucks with Starlink: free Wi-Fi for California wildfire victims

Elon posted on X explaining: "We are going to position Cybertrucks with Starlinks and free Wi-Fi in a grid pattern in the areas that most need it in the greater LA/Malibu area".

"This was in reply to a previous post on X, where the SpaceX and Tesla boss said: "Apologies to those expecting Cybertruck deliveries in California over the next few days. We need to use those trucks as mobile base stations to provide power to Starlink Internet terminals in areas of LA without connectivity. A new truck will be delivered end of week".

Continue reading: Elon Musk deploys Tesla Cybertrucks with Starlink: free Wi-Fi for California wildfire victims (full post)

LG's new gram Pro 16 laptop teased: unannounced RTX 5050 Laptop GPU with 8GB GDDR6 teased

Anthony Garreffa | Laptops | Jan 13, 2025 6:06 PM CST

LG is cooking up a new gram Pro 16 laptop that features NVIDIA's unannounced GeForce RTX 5050 Laptop GPU, which uses 8GB of now older GDDR6 memory.

LG's new gram Pro 16 laptop teased: unannounced RTX 5050 Laptop GPU with 8GB GDDR6 teased

LG shared some new marketing materials for its new gram Pro 16 AI laptop, confirming that it will indeed feature the GeForce RTX 5050 Laptop GPU, as the RTX 5050 should be an easy upgrade for laptop makers already using the RTX 4050 Laptop GPU with pin-to-pin compatibility.

The board with the CPU and GPU -- Intel's new Core Ultra 200 series CPUs are supported -- has just been released, but the GPU will be swapped out from the RTX 4050 Laptop GPU to the RTX 5050 Laptop GPU in the coming weeks, maybe months. This explains why the marketing material says "RTX 5050" but also says "Ada Lovelace". Confusing, but not really.

Continue reading: LG's new gram Pro 16 laptop teased: unannounced RTX 5050 Laptop GPU with 8GB GDDR6 teased (full post)

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 review embargoes: RTX 5090 on January 24, RTX 5080 on January 30

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Jan 13, 2025 5:05 PM CST

NVIDIA's next-generation GeForce RTX 50 series "Blackwell" GPU embargo dates have been leaked, with the RTX 5090 embargo lifting on January 24, and the RTX 5080 embargo lifts on January 30.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 review embargoes: RTX 5090 on January 24, RTX 5080 on January 30

In a new post by VideoCardz, we're learning that "things went wrong" with the original release date for the GeForce RTX 5080 which was expected on January 21, "forcing board partners to work overtime to prepare for the upcoming launch". VideoCardz reports that NVIDIA was "persuaded by these AIBs to move the embargo date to January 30".

In previous leaks, it was expected that NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 5080 16GB graphics card would be launching first, while the new ultra-enthusiast GeForce RTX 5090 32GB would be launching after. It appears that things have changed, and now the RTX 5090 reviews go live on January 24, and the RTX 5080 reviews go live on January 30.

Continue reading: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 review embargoes: RTX 5090 on January 24, RTX 5080 on January 30 (full post)

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