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Giveaway: Win a GAMDIAS ATLAS P1 Case, HELIOS 750W PSU, and BOREAS Digital CPU Cooler
We're continuing our TweakTown giveaways, rewarding our registered members and newsletter subscribers with top-tier hardware every week. For our latest giveaway, we've teamed up with GAMDIAS to give one lucky winner a PC building bundle covering the case, power supply, and CPU cooling.
There will be one winner in total, and the prize includes a GAMDIAS ATLAS P1 case in black, a GAMDIAS HELIOS M1-750B 750W power supply, and a GAMDIAS BOREAS M2-51D WH CPU air cooler in white. This is a component bundle, not a complete PC.
The GAMDIAS ATLAS P1 provides the foundation for this week's bundle. Its front and side tempered-glass panels put the finished build on display, while a one-touch release mechanism opens the hinged panels for easier access during installation, cleaning, or upgrades. The case also supports compatible hidden-connector motherboards, allowing cables to connect behind the motherboard for a tidier main chamber.
Unlock desktop-class performance with these KAMRUI Hyper H2 Mini PC deals
The fact that you can get desktop-class performance from a palm-sized Mini PC will always be impressive, whether that's for productivity, creator-driven tasks, gaming, or local AI. The KAMRUI Hyper H2 Mini PC lineup falls into this category, with the compact size and stylish design still delivering the connectivity, expansion, 24/7 sustained performance, and cooling capabilities you'd expect from much larger devices.
For those out there looking for desktop-class performance in a compact and durable form factor, you've come to the right place. KAMRUI has partnered with TweakTown to offer you a fantastic deal on two of its powerful KAMRUI Hyper H2 Mini PCs on Amazon, where you can save up to 30% or $200 when you use the Promo Code at checkout. Both Mini PCs support up to three 4K displays, feature fast NVMe SSD storage and memory, and offer versatile connectivity, including wireless and wired networking, with the option to expand and grow over time like a full-sized desktop rig.
KAMRUI Hyper H2 Mini PCs also offer industrial-grade cooling with copper heat pipes, premium heatsinks, and silent fans, plus lifetime technical support and a 12-month warranty. With deals covering models with the powerful 14-core Intel Core i5 14500HX processor and the advanced 12-core Intel Core 5 220H processor, let's dig into the specs, features, and pricing.
New rumor suggests GeForce RTX 60 Series and RTX Rubin release date in first half of 2027
According to a new report by YouTube creator Moore's Law Is Dead, citing sources within NVIDIA, the company is planning to launch its next-generation GeForce RTX 60 Series in the first half of 2027. This is surprising because, compared to previous generations, there have been very few leaks related to the RTX Rubin generation, its architecture, and specs for its various models.
The report says the lack of leaks comes down to NVIDIA clamping down on leaked information, so the information presented here offers little beyond the expected first-half-of-2027 release window. That said, the quote attributed to a source within NVIDIA by Moore's Law Is Dead states that the previously rumored 2028 launch for "Gaming Rubin" is wrong and that even though it's been delayed from its initial 2026 launch to "allow AI to gobble up as much TSMC capacity as possible," the 2027 release was apparently greenlit months ago.
As for what RTX Rubin will look like, the report hints that "Big Rubin," or the GeForce RTX 6090, will differ from previous flagship designs in some interesting way. Whether that means a chiplet design or something else (like beefed-up AI hardware for Neural Rendering) remains to be seen. Of course, any GeForce RTX 60 Series news is always exciting to see, but as we're talking about a release window from a single source, this information should be taken with a grain of salt. On the flip side, if the first half of 2027 is the current plan for the GeForce RTX 60 Series, it raises several concerns.
MSI's new MEG EM9 is an open-frame chassis and test bench for PC benchmarking
MSI has launched a new chassis: the open-frame MEG EM9. Described as a test bench, it's built for enthusiasts, reviewers, and anyone looking for a case that streamlines PC benchmarking, hardware testing, and component validation. The open-frame design offers direct access to all components, and the MSI MEG EM9 supports E-ATX motherboards, as well as back-connect ATX and Micro-ATX boards.
The black, minimal design also supports radiators up to 420mm for liquid cooling and room for a single 120 or 140mm fan. The MEG EM9 also supports external storage via a dedicated bay for dual 2.5-inch SSDs. At 336 x 358 x 239 mm, the chassis isn't overly large, but from what we can see, it only supports a horizontal, laid-flat orientation. For GPU testers, the specs note no restrictions on GPU length, so you could easily connect the largest GeForce RTX 5090 to the MSI MEG EM9.
Although the product page for the MSI MEG EM9 is live, local pricing and availability are still TBC. That said, the release should be relatively soon, as MSI is reportedly selling the MEG EM9 at its official Taiwan store (via VideoCardz) for $2,590 NTD, which works out to around $82 USD, with shipping expected to begin at the end of October. For more details, here's a breakdown of the specs.
Valve's Steam Frame launches at $1,059, but stock is limited, and waitlists are expected
Valve is finally ready to launch its highly anticipated all-in-one Steam Frame, a wireless VR headset built for VR and non-VR gaming. The company describes it as lightweight (440 grams with the headstrap), compact, and comfortable, with a design somewhat reminiscent of the latest Meta Quest headsets. Naturally, as it's coming from Valve, it includes native Steam integration that lets you wirelessly stream "your whole Steam library."
Interestingly, the Steam Frame handles wireless streaming via a dedicated link and an included Wi-Fi adapter. Wireless streaming also supports the Steam Frame's new Foveated Streaming technology, which uses built-in eye-tracking to enhance image quality where your eyes are looking.
The Steam Frame is also a standalone headset, powered by a 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and 16GB of Unified LPDDR5X RAM. Spec-wise, it features an LCD with a 2160 x 2160 per-eye resolution, a 72-144Hz refresh rate, inside-out camera tracking, dual speakers for each ear, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and UFS storage starting at 256GB with microSD expansion. Priced at $1,059 USD for the 256GB and $1,299 USD for the 1TB model, each Steam Frame also ships with a copy of Valve's Half-Life: Alyx.
BIWIN launches first AMD EXPO ULL DDR5-6000 kit, claims up to 18% higher minimum FPS
BIWIN has launched a new variant of its DW100 memory series, aimed squarely at AMD Ryzen gamers chasing every last bit of frame-time consistency. The DW100 24GB x2 DDR5-6000 CL28 kit is the company's first to carry AMD's EXPO Ultra Low Latency (ULL) certification, a newer standard AMD introduced at Computex 2026.
EXPO ULL builds on standard EXPO profiles without changing the headline numbers. The kit still runs at DDR5-6000 with a CL28 primary timing, the same as BIWIN's regular EXPO configuration. The difference comes from tightened secondary timings, such as tREFI, tRRDS, and tWRWRSCL, which are normally left untouched unless a user manually tunes the BIOS. AMD says certified ULL memory can deliver around 4% higher average gaming performance than standard EXPO memory running at the same speed.
BIWIN's own testing suggests the gains can run higher than that baseline, at least in select titles. Using an AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with a GeForce RTX 5070 at 1080p on low settings, a configuration designed to stress the CPU and memory rather than the GPU, the company reported an 8% increase in average FPS in Counter-Strike 2, along with an 11.91% improvement in 1% lows. Black Myth: Wukong showed an even larger jump, with BIWIN citing an 18.18% increase in minimum frame rate.
Grand Theft Auto 6 marketing surfaces in Miami after Rockstar paid the city $3 million
We have all been grooving ever since Netflix dropped the much-awaited GTA 6 extended look, and now Miami is getting in on it too. Just a few days ago, Miami Beach gave the green light to a large-scale advertising campaign for GTA 6 after considerable pushback over promoting a franchise where crime is quite literally the point.
Content creator Joel Franco has shared aerial footage showing large-scale signage preparations taking shape behind the Kaseya Center, home of the Miami Heat. Once assembled, the panels are expected to spell out "Welcome to VI," and the pink-and-white colour palette, the prominent VI, and the unmistakable Miami backdrop leave little doubt about what this is for.
According to Dexerto, the banners and logos will officially go live on October 10, as agreed in a deal between Rockstar Games and Miami officials. Rockstar is paying the city around $3 million as part of the promotional arrangement. Apparently the $3 million helped settle the debate about advertising a crime franchise in a real city.
King of the Hill's Stephen Root confirms his GTA 6 role after fans guessed it months ago
While we might have seen quite a bit of the in-game world of GTA 6, Rockstar Games has stayed tight-lipped about who's voicing the cast in the real world. Fans finally have their first confirmed name, though, and it turns out the internet had already figured it out months ago.
Stephen Root, best known for voicing Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland on King of the Hill, confirmed to the Associated Press that he's part of the GTA 6 cast. "Yeah, you're gonna see me in that," Root said. "It's coming out November 19th, is the latest I know of. But I think, from the first roll out of GTA that they were doing maybe almost a year ago, they had my character in there, and there were too many people who knew me from King of the Hill and my voice. So, I think that secret got divulged then."
Fans had already connected the dots after the game's second trailer featured a character whose voice sounded unmistakably like his. That character, Brian Heder, appears again in the recent GTA 6 Extended Look, offering advice to protagonist Jason. Rockstar's website describes Brian as "a classic drug runner from the golden age of smuggling" who still moves product through his boatyard with his third wife, Lori, and lets Jason live rent-free on one of his properties in exchange for help with local shakedowns.
NVIDIA's RTX 5090 cards are ending up in AI servers in bulk instead of gaming PCs
Photos shared by HKEPC on X show pallets of brand-new retail GeForce RTX 5090 cards being unpacked and slotted into multi-GPU AI servers. These aren't NVIDIA's workstation RTX PRO 6000 cards built for AI servers, but rather the same MSI and GIGABYTE RTX 5090 cards you'd find on Newegg under the "gaming graphics card" category, that is, if you could find them at anything resembling a reasonable price.
The cheapest RTX 5090 listings in the US have crossed $5,000, more than double the $1,999 launch price. European pricing has already cleared €5,200, and now we have a clearer picture of what's behind these skyrocketing prices.
Interestingly, the cards in these pictures aren't even the RTX 5090 D, the China-specific variant, which was deliberately nerfed for AI workloads at 2,375 AI TOPS compared to the standard model's 3,352, while keeping gaming performance largely intact.
New entry-level Ryzen 5 5500F outperforms Ryzen 5 5500 by up to 16% in new gaming benchmarks
AMD recently launched a third Zen 3 CPU in the Ryzen 5 5500 family dubbed the Ryzen 5 5500F for $99. But despite the fact that both chips belong to the "Ryzen 5 5500" series and have nearly identical specs, new gaming benchmarks have uncovered that the 5500F achieves noticeably higher gaming performance in CPU-bound games. RandomGaminginHD on YouTube tested the Ryzen 5 5500F in several games, showing up to a 16% performance improvement over its non-F counterpart.
The YouTuber tested the Ryzen 5 5500F against the Ryzen 5 5500 paired with an RX 9060 XT 16GB in Counter-Strike 2, Crimson Desert, GTA V: Enhanced, Battlefield 6, Forza Horizon 6, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Cyberpunk 2077. In the more CPU-bound titles, the Ryzen 5 5500F showed a noteworthy gap compared to the 5500. In Counter-Strike 2 at 1080p high settings, the 5500F was 8% faster than its non-F counterpart; in GTA V: Enhanced at the Very High RT preset, the 5500F was 9% faster; in Battlefield 6 at high settings, the 5500F was 16% faster, and in Cyberpunk 2077 at ultra settings, the 5500F was 11% faster.
In the rest of the titles, the GPU load was great enough to neutralize any extra performance the Ryzen 5 5500F might have on offer compared to the 5500. All of the YouTuber's benchmarking results were run at 1080p.
PlayStation blackout failed to cause 'significant change' in US Circana player counts or engagement
The PlayStation blackout apparently has not caused any real impact to player counts in the United States, according to data-tracker Circana.
In late August, enthusiast PlayStation gamers enacted a platform-wide blackout in an effort to send a message to Sony. From August 23 - 30, gamers would keep their PlayStation consoles off in protest of Sony's decision to phase out game disc production. On the surface, the campaign seemed to gather traction, amassing views on Twitter and a Reddit post with 4K comments.
However, data from US data-tracker Circana indicates that this may not be the case, and that most PlayStation users in the US, which is Sony's principal geography in terms of revenue, still turned on their consoles and played games. "No. There was no significant change at all in player count or engagement in our tracking," Piscatella said on BlueSky.
Googlebook pre-orders officially open September 21, pricing yet to be confirmed
Google is moving closer to the launch of its new Googlebook family, with pre-orders set to open on September 21 as the company shares more details about what buyers can expect from its Gemini-powered laptops.
Unlike traditional Chromebooks, Googlebook is built around Googlebook OS, which combines the desktop-focused experience of ChromeOS with Android's broader app ecosystem and integrates Google's Gemini AI features.
While Google has yet to reveal the full Googlebook lineup, leaked specifications offer an early glimpse of what to expect. Lenovo's Googlebook 15 is reportedly set to feature an 8-core Core Ultra 5 325 processor, a 120Hz 2.8K OLED display, a haptic trackpad, up to 32GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. However, these details apply to just one model, and the broader Googlebook lineup could differ depending on model and OEM.
The Last of Us Part 2 multiplayer mod was just weeks from release before Sony shut it down
For those of you who have played The Last of Us series, the game's mechanics are some of the most satisfying you will ever come across. The tight over-the-shoulder camera, the dodge mechanic, the brutality of the melee combat, the realistic shooting, and the way animations blend seamlessly together make it a package you cannot find anywhere else. TLOU fans have been wanting to put it all to the test against each other in a proper multiplayer mode for years.
An unofficial PvP multiplayer project for The Last of Us Part 2 on PC had been that ray of hope. Sony, however, wasn't fond of the idea and has now shut the mod down. The creator behind the project, Speclizer, confirmed that plans have been cancelled after receiving a letter from Sony Interactive Entertainment.
The heartbreaking part is how close we came to getting the mod. Back in June, a full 25 minutes of gameplay showed how far the mod had come since January, with a release expected this month. Speclizer had been posting regular clips of in-development versions throughout the year, with the most recent video published on August 22. "We've gone from a buggy 1v1 test to something that actually feels like a real multiplayer mode," the modder said, highlighting newly added features like public matchmaking and a full loadout system.
Apple plans to launch its own gaming controllers under the Beats brand
Apple has reportedly been working on its own gaming controllers for the iPhone for more than a year, and surprisingly, they might not even carry the Apple name. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the hardware is being developed under the Beats brand, with Beats executives handling both engineering and product design.
The story builds on code found in a macOS 26.7 release candidate earlier this month, which referenced two unannounced devices identified as T6502 and T1057. Both appear to be conventional gamepads with a D-pad, dual analog sticks, shoulder buttons, and analog triggers. The T1057 reportedly adds an accelerometer and gyroscope for motion controls, while the T6502 does not, suggesting it might be the simpler, possibly wired option of the two.
Gurman says Apple has increasingly leaned on Beats to test unfamiliar product categories without risking the more premium Apple brand. Beats already sells cheaper accessories like USB-C cables and iPhone cases, and a controller would likely follow that pricing logic rather than Apple's usual materials and finish. There's no word yet on pricing or a release window.
Continue reading: Apple plans to launch its own gaming controllers under the Beats brand (full post)
Cooler Master officially launches its 16-pin GPU Shield Adapter in the US
Cooler Master's GPU Shield Adapter, unveiled at CES 2026, has finally launched in the US a month after availability began in China. Discovered by TechPowerUp, the new adapter is going for $49.99 on Cooler Master's store and will be shipping from a warehouse (or warehouses) in California.
As its namesake suggests, the GPU Shield is a device designed to prevent meltdowns from occurring on GPUs that run the modern 16-pin power connector. As we mentioned in previous coverage, the adapter sits between the power supply and GPU to monitor power and alert users through LED indicators and an alarm if adequate power or abnormal current flow is being fed to the graphics card. The adapter monitors each individual pin for abnormal current to ensure that the user knows if even one wire is pulling more current than it is rated for.
The adapter features a logo on the side mimicking Cooler Master's logo with three colors to indicate the state of power going to the GPU. Green is for normal operation with current flowing below 9 amps per pin; a flashing red indicator warns the user that high amperage between 9 amps and 12 amps has been detected per pin, and a solid red indicator stands for anything beyond 12 amps per pin. If the red solid indicator stays on for an extended period of time, the adapter will throttle power to save the GPU from potential damage.
YouTube, Netflix, Amazon form SACA coalition to represent streaming industry
The world's biggest video streamers--YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon--have formed a new coalition that will advocate for legislation around the interests of streamers, the industry, and viewers.
TechNet today announced the top video content streamers worldwide have teamed up to form the Streaming Access and Choice Alliance (SACA), a new coalition that has members from YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon. SACA will represent streaming alongside other lobby groups at a pivotal time when streamers are facing heat for recent sports broadcast contracts.
"The coalition, led by TechNet, will advocate for policies that expand consumer access to high-quality content, preserve choice, and support the innovative viewing experiences consumers value," reads the press release.
NVIDIA debuts RTX PRO 5500 Blackwell workstation GPU with 84GB of GDDR7 memory
NVIDIA has announced another member of its Blackwell PRO family of workstation GPUs: the RTX PRO 5500 Blackwell with 84GB of GDDR7 memory. The new card becomes the second-fastest model in the lineup, slotting between the RTX PRO 5000 and PRO 6000 to fill the sizable specifications gap between the two. Details on pricing and availability have not yet been disclosed.
The GPU initially surfaced on NVIDIA's regional websites, but its product pages have since gone global, alongside a now-removed but archived listing from PNY. NVIDIA now lists the full specifications on its U.S. website, and the GPU is listed as "Coming Soon".
The RTX PRO 5500 is based on a cut-down GB202 GPU with 21,760 CUDA cores across 170 SMs, leaving roughly 88% of the full chip's 192 SMs enabled. This also gives it the same CUDA core count as the GeForce RTX 5090. The GPU is paired with a massive 84GB of ECC GDDR7 memory, delivering nearly 1.4 TB/s of bandwidth, making it an attractive choice for those running local LLMs, if the pricing is right.
Diablo V has no towns, players share 'unique bond' with Lord of Terror in new doomed world
Blizzard reveals a ton of details about Diablo V, including the main character's storyline and background, and that the protagonist shares a direct link with the Lord of Terror himself.
The Diablo franchise is coming back in 2029 with a fully-fledged numbered sequel. Diablo V promises to be darker and more grisly than ever, showing a doomed universe where Diablo has already won. Now Blizzard has highlighted a few new story details and teased some innovative mechanics--it's even possible we will transform into a demon this time around, all thanks to our supernatural link with Diablo.
"You're going to have a unique bond with Diablo," said Diablo V narrative director Jennifer Hepler at the event. "As you play, you find out how and why it came to be. That's why you're in a unique position and able to face him; you have unique insight into him, but also vulnerability in what he can do to you."
Anthropic CEO warns that AI could 'take over' the entire internet within 12 months
With Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei calling for the pace of AI development to slow down to mitigate the growing risk of AI companies losing control of their creations, he provides a relatively frightening example of something that could happen within the next year - if the industry is left unchecked. And that is, AI taking over "the entire internet."
Dario Amodei believes that this possibility isn't science fiction, but is based on "AI's growing ability to build the next generation of AI." Yes, AI is currently improving itself, even at Anthropic, and, left unchecked, could remove Anthropic's ability to "control these systems."
As for taking over the internet, Dario highlights an OpenAI-Hugging Face incident where a swarm of agents began to act, as he puts it, like a "fanatically devoted collective" conducting cybersecurity attacks unrelated to the task they were given, which included hacking the "grader" that was tasked with evaluating their performance. Although no one was hurt or financially impacted in a severe way, a more advanced "swarm" could cause some pretty serious damage to the tune of hundreds of billions.
Anthropic CEO says it's time to 'slow the pace' of AI development, with Elon Musk and Sam Altman agreeing
Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei has posted a new in-depth 'We Must Pace the Frontier' article that argues that AI companies need to slow the pace of AI model development to address the increasingly serious risks posed by current advances. At a high level, the main risks are losing control of AI systems, misusing AI for cyberattacks and terrorism, and AI's potential to cause "serious economic disruption."
With the accelerated pace of AI, which Dario calls a "race to the bottom, spurred by commercial incentives," the call to action is less about pumping the brakes on AI model capabilities and more about using that time wisely to mitigate the risks. The article makes it clear he's not calling for a halt to model training or optimization, but for building AI at a "balanced rate that aims to ensure its safety while still achieving its benefits and grappling with important geopolitical dilemmas."
Since posting the article, both Elon Musk (xAI) and Sam Altman (OpenAI) have come out in support of the plan. Over on X, Elon Musk simply wrote "Dario is right," with Sam Altman expanding on his agreement by adding, "This has been a primary topic of discussions we've had at OpenAI in recent weeks." As for the three-step plan he lays out, Dario calls it a useful framework for achieving what "needs to be accomplished."
ASRock PSU meant to prevent melting 16-pin connectors still melted one on a $16,000 NVIDIA RTX Blackwell GPU
Another high-end GPU has fallen victim to the 16-pin connector problem, this time involving a $16,000 workstation card and a power supply designed specifically to prevent this from happening.
Reddit user u/ScientiEtRatio91 reported that the 12V-2x6 cable on their ASRock Taichi TC-1650T power supply melted into the PSU's modular socket while powering an NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell workstation GPU. The RTX PRO 6000 is NVIDIA's flagship professional Blackwell card, rated for up to 600W of total board power through a single PCIe CEM5 16-pin connector, putting it in the same power draw territory as the GeForce RTX 5090. The good news, if there is any here, is that the GPU itself survived.
The ASRock Taichi TC-1650T is an ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1-compliant 1650W power supply that ships with dual native 12V-2x6 cables equipped with ASRock's TempGuard feature. It uses a built-in NTC temperature sensor to monitor heat and trigger a system shutdown before the connector reaches dangerous temperatures. Both ends of the cable were fully seated, yet the protection still did not activate in time.
























