Budget AM5-based MSI A620 motherboard listed on retail sites for less than $100
Cheap AM5 motherboards are right around the corner, with the entry-level A620 boards for Ryzen 7000 CPUs set to launch soon. And we might be seeing prices drop below the USD 100 barrier, making them excellent options for budget-conscious gamers putting together a new build.
Retail listing for the new MSI Pro A620M-E motherboard, image credit: Momomo_US
Two overseas (or local, depending on where you're reading this) retailers have listed the new MSI Pro A620M-E motherboard - Polish site BuyIT and the Slovakian-based Edis Computers. The listings arrive via @Momomo_US.
With the price conversion to USD, you're looking at roughly $80 for the budget AM5 motherboard. No images or details for the MSI Pro A620M-E motherboard were listed, so we can only speculate based on our knowledge.
Forza Horizon 5 DLSS 3 update is available now, NVIDIA ICAT updated too
DLSS 3 support comes to the popular and critically acclaimed racing game Forza Horizon 5 this week, offering a massive performance boost to GeForce RTX 40 Series GPUs. NVIDIA notes that with DLSS 3 support available in 29 games, the adoption rate is seven times faster than the first six months of DLSS 2.
4K Forza Horizon 5 benchmarks with DLSS 3, image credit: NVIDIA
With the announcement, NVIDIA has showcased some internal Forza Horizon 5 benchmarks for the GeForce RTX 40 Series (RTX 4090, RTX 4080, and RTX 4070 Ti) with DLSS 3 enabled using max settings and the "Extreme" ray tracing mode.
At 4K (3840x2160), all three RTX 40 Series cards (with DLSS in Performance Mode) can deliver average frame rates higher than 120 fps. At 1440p, this number jumps considerably, with the RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 pushing past 200 fps and the RTX 4070 Ti hitting an average frame rate of 175 fps.
A new report states GeForce RTX 4060 Ti and RTX 4060 are both coming in May
A new report at Wccftech citing sources states that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti and the GeForce RTX 4060 are expected to launch in May. This follows several rumors that the GeForce RTX 4070 launch is happening on April 13. So we're only a month or so away from the bulk of the GeForce RTX 40 Series - including mainstream models - being available to purchase.
The info doesn't stop there, as the report also includes some information relating to the GPU specs, with the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti set to use the AD106-350-A1 GPU, which features 4352 CUDA Cores and 8GB of GDDR6 memory running at 18 Gbps on a 128-bit bus offering 288 GB/s of bandwidth.
The latter may sound like a massive step down over the high-end models, but the addition of 32MB of L2 cache presents a massive increase over the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti. Regarding performance, the numbers point to RTX 3070 Ti-like numbers for the RTX 4060 Ti.
Apple Music Classical finally launches, but only on iPhone for now
After months and months of rumors and the app making appearances in iOS beta code, Apple Music Classical is now available for download in the App Store.
The Apple Music Classical app is a free download, but you'll need to be an Apple Music subscriber in order to listen. You can be a subscriber at any tier, it seems, and you'll get access to Apple Music Classical as soon as you sign in.
Once you do sign in you'll notice an app that has been designed with Classical Music in mind. Apple says that everything has been built specifically for classical music, including new search capabilities that deal better with the unique nature of classical music.
Continue reading: Apple Music Classical finally launches, but only on iPhone for now (full post)
Apple's latest software updates fix dozens of security exploits
Apple released iOS 16.4 and macOS Ventura 13.3 to the public earlier this week and the two updates brought with them a number of new features and improvements - not least more than 20 new emojis. But there were more important things going on under the hood.
According to one report, Apple's security website details that there were dozens of security fixes implemented across iOS 16.4 and macOS Ventura 13.3. And because the rest of Apple's software is based on versions of those releases, those same fixes applied to watchOS 9.,4 and tvOS 16.4 as well.
One example of a fix related to a security threat that could leave an app able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, with Apple saying that it impacted the iPhone 8 or later, all iPad Pro models, and a number of iPad Air, iPad, and iPad mini tablets.
Continue reading: Apple's latest software updates fix dozens of security exploits (full post)
Japan approves Microsoft-Activision merger without conditions
The Microsoft-Activision merger has been approved without conditions by Japan's Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), the agency today announced.
Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard King made another breakthrough as another worldwide regulator has cleared the deal. The merger has been greenlit in Japan, with the JFTC saying that the combination is "unlikely to result in substantially restraining competition in any particular fields of trade." The regulators will not issue a cease and desist order (which seems to be analogous to the FTC's move to block the merger). Japanese regulators have now completed their review of the merger.
Japan is the fifth global regulator to approve the Microsoft-Activision merger. The list of territories that have cleared and approved the deal include:
Continue reading: Japan approves Microsoft-Activision merger without conditions (full post)
Diablo IV could get DirectStorage to run like a dream for those with fast SSDs
Diablo IV could get DirectStorage support eventually, if clues dug up by data miners are anything to go by.
Diablo IV just had its open beta test (Image Credit: Blizzard)
As highlighted on Reddit, support for DirectStorage was unearthed in the action RPG's beta test, which just completed the open beta phase this past weekend.
DirectStorage allows for faster loading times with NVMe SSDs (ideally on Windows 11 for the speediest performance), and also swifter loading of assets in-game, which facilitates smoother gameplay in big open-world titles.
WhatsApp continues testing editable messages with new alert box
WhatsApp users who look at competing messaging services like iMessage and wish that they too could edit their sent messages, relax. WhatsApp is working on making messages editable on your platform of choice as well. Now the company is reportedly getting closer to launching the feature and has begun to test a new alert message relating to edited messages.
While WhatsApp has allowed messages to delete messages for some time, the ability to actually edit them in place has eluded its users for even longer. Apple added the ability to edit messages with iOS 16 in 2022 and now WhatsApp is playing catchup. A new report by the WhatsApp watchers at WABetaInfo shows that the testing continues and that WhatsApp is working on a new alert that will show when a message has been successfully edited for all participants of a chat.
WABetaInfo has shared a screenshot of a message being edited in the latest beta of WhatsApp that is available in TestFlight. That screenshot shows an alert confirming the message has been edited so that the person who edited it can be sure the change was completed for everyone. That means we won't be left wondering if the edited version has been pushed to everyone in the chat, at least.
Continue reading: WhatsApp continues testing editable messages with new alert box (full post)
Ryzen 7800X3D spotted lagging behind other AMD CPUs - but don't worry about it
A leaked benchmark has appeared, showing one side of the potential performance of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D - and it looks shaky at first glance, but there's no need to be concerned here.
First, let's look at the leak itself, which comes from the SiSoftware database, and naturally bear in mind all the usual caveats about whether any spillage may or may not be genuine.
This fresh leak shows the Ryzen 7 7800X3D achieving a score of 395.07 GOPS in SiSoftware's 'processor arithmetic' benchmark.
Lifesaving iPhone 14 Emergency SOS via Satellite feature now live in 6 countries
Owners of the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max can now make use of the potentially lifesaving Emergency SOS via Satellite feature in a number of new countries as of today.
Apple's release of the iOS 16.4 update brings with it additional support for the important feature. Now, people in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal can all call for help even when they don't have access to a cellular or Wi-Fi connection.
Normally people in those situations are left with no way to summon the help that they need. Maybe they're at the top of a mountain or out in the wilderness. Now, they can use Apple's integration with Globalstar satellites to send information to emergency dispatchers that allows them to send help.