Latest News - Page 1127

Intel is still preparing its Arc GPU family for the desktop, but now we have some unannounced Arc GPUs for the desktop that have appeared in the new beta GPU drivers.

Inside of the new v30.0.101.1723 drivers we have 5 new desktop Arc GPU SKUs: the A770, A750, A580, A380 and A310. The higher-end A780 isn't anywhere to be seen, nor is the A350 series GPU.

The list also includes the Intel Arc Pro A40/A50 and A30M GPUs for laptops, as they'll be destined for workstation and professional solutions in the future. All of this doesn't really matter, as Intel will be launching its new Arc GPUs as an exclusive to China at first... which I truly don't understand... I don't understand this entire launch from Intel to be honest.

AMD's next-gen Zen 4 architecture is shaping up to be a beast, with new rumors suggesting a flagship Zen 4-powered Ryzen 9 7950X processor with a huge 24 cores and 48 threads that boost up to an incredible 5.4GHz.

Can you imagine? 24 cores... 48 threads.. at up to 5.4GHz? Oh man. Intel's next-gen 13th Gen Core "Rocket Lake" CPUs will be competing directly against AMD's upcoming Zen 4 chips, with Intel's new flagship Core i9-13900K processor to be standing up for the fight.

In some new leaks with a huge sprinkle of speculation from RedGamingTech and Zhongzheng Evaluation, we're told to expect AMD's next-gen Zen 4-powered "Raphael" CPUs to be led by the Ryzen 9 7950X processor with 24 cores and 48 threads with boosts of up to 5.4GHz.

AYANEO has just announced its next-gen handheld gaming console, with the AYANEO 2 packing AMD's latest Ryzen 7 6800U "Rembrandt" APU.

The Ryzen 7 6800U "Rembrandt" APU is based on the refreshed Zen 3+ CPU architecture with 8 cores and 16 threads that boost up to 4.7GHz, which is a 300MHz boost over the AYANEO Next system. Inside, we have RDNA 2 graphics which brings the AYANEO 2 up to the same GPU architecture as Valve's Steam Deck.

AYANEO 2's new Ryzen 7 6800U-powered APU has the Radeon 680M integrated GPU, packing 12 Compute Units: which is a 50% upgrade over the GPU inside of the Steam Deck. The GPU can boost up to 2.2GHz which is a huge 600MHz higher than the Steam Deck GPU, making its integrated GPU twice as fast: 3.38 TFLOPs versus 1.6 TFLOPs.

EK continues to outdo itself with each product release, where today the watercooling company has just announced the combination of nature + technology with its new EK-Quantum water blocks that feature a gorgeous walnut wood top.

The new signature CPU water blocks - EK-Quantum Velocity² and EK-Quantum Magnitude Lignum edition. Lignum Lime, you say? Lignum Lime is inspired by Edvard Koning's love of woodwork, as well as modern computer technology, and is named after the Latin translation of the word "wood".

The new EK-Quantum Velocity² Lignum Edition - Walnut is available for both AMD AM4 and Intel LGA1700 sockets -- meaning no matter the PC you've got, you'll keep it cool (and woody). EK explains its specialized manufacturing techniques: "deployed to create this truly unique product. Not a single Magnitude component was made using mass production techniques. Instead, every single piece was CNC-milled separately out of a solid piece of material. At the heart of Magnitude lies the CNC-machined solid brass insert. This component made it possible to significantly enlarge and optimize the cooling engine".

NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs could be here sooner rather than later, with leaker "kopite7kimi" teasing a "Q3 early" release... meaning July/August (which would be early Q3) with September being the end of Q3.

I was personally in Cologne, Germany during Gamescom 2018 when NVIDIA announced its Turing GPU architecture and new GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs, back in September 2018. This would be earlier than regular scheduled releases from NVIDIA, but we are in a Bizarro GPU world... and next-gen GPUs would be welcomed right now.

NVIDIA would be out of the gate ahead of AMD and its upcoming RDNA 3 architecture and new MCD-based Navi 31 GPU. MCD being a multi-chip die, with a chiplet-based GPU design compared to NVIDIA's monolithic GPU design expected with Ada Lovelace and the new flagship AD102 GPU that should power the GeForce RTX 4090 Ti and GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards.

Elon Musk doesn't know how to stay out of trouble, but I wouldn't have him any other way... the world's richest man has had his Twitter acquisition deal put on pause, and now Twitter's legal team has reached out to him saying he breached his NDA.

The SpaceX and Tesla CEO wanted to know exactly how many of Twitter's purported (as we don't really know the exact number of Twitter users) are real: 229 million is the number for Q1 2022, and Musk wants to know just how many. In his first tweet, Musk said: "Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users".

Musk was asked about the "process", to which he said: "Any sensible random sampling process is fine. If many people independently get similar results for % of fake/spam/duplicate accounts, that will be telling. I picked 100 as the sample size number, because that is what Twitter uses to calculate <5% fake/spam/duplicate".

AUO has just teased an incredible display feat: 480Hz -- yeah we're talking up to 480FPS -- during the SID Display Week 2022. Check it out:

The company teased two panels: a 24-inch 1080p 480Hz display for the desktop and a 16-inch 1080p 480Hz display for laptops. The company is only tapping a 1920 x 1080 (1080p) resolution, but all next-gen panels start at 1080p before moving up to 1440p and then 4K -- just imagine 4K @ 480Hz. AUO is tapping a TN panel with an average 1ms response time.

My problem here is that the gaming monitor world moved away from TN a while ago, where VA, IPS, Mini-LED, and especially OLED display technology are vastly superior. Still, 480FPS would be an incredible thing to see, with the company showing off CS:GO which is a game people running a 480Hz monitor would play. Mostly esports-funded and sponsored gigs where they don't get an option of what display they're using.

Square Enix has invested a record-breaking $792 million into new projects and business models, including new games, studio ramp-ups, and emerging technologies like blockchain.

Square Enix just reported its best year ever. During FY22, Square Enix hit new all-time highs across sales, operating profit, and overall profits. The company raked in $3 billion in net sales thanks to strong over-performance in the MMO segment and consistent earnings in HD Games and mobile. What's even more interesting is how much Square Enix is re-investing into new projects.

Throughout FY22, Square Enix's production account spending grew to a new high of $792 million. Every year the company invests around 26-30% of its net sales into the production account, which is a big budget that's spent across all of its upcoming projects. As net sales rise, so too does production investment.

The Switch has shipped 107.65 million units to date, solidifying it as the third best-selling Nintendo system of all time.

Even with five years on the market, the Switch family of consoles shows no signs of slowing down. Nintendo has announced that total Switch shipments (sell-in) have reached 107.65 million between launch in March 2017 to March 2022.

The Switch family of hardware is quite diverse insofar as shipments, and the base model, handheld-only Switch Lite, and premium Switch OLED have all contributing strongly to overall results. The Lite and OLED have sold less units due to being on the market for shorter periods.

The Nintendo Switch family of hardware and software has helped Nintendo earn nearly $63 billion in games revenues since 2017.

The Switch is one of the most successful systems that Nintendo has released, combining the strengths of all platform types and revenue streams in one package (handheld + console, digital + physical game sales, and online services like Switch Online).

To date, the platform has made a considerable portion of Nintendo's games revenues. According to data provided by Nintendo and compiled by us, the company has generated $62.766 billion from its dedicated video games hardware and software division since the Switch released in March 2017.

Dune is coming back to the world of gaming in a big, big way (well, besides Dune Spice Wars, that is).

Funcom, the devs behind Conan Exiles, announced a new Dune game that could scratch all the itches that sci-fi nerds have had for decades. It's been 21 years since the last Dune game and it sounds like Funcom is going to make up for the lost time with this new project.

The studio says a new Dune survival game is in development, and that it's their "most ambitious project yet." It's to be a next-gen open-world multiplayer game, so expect the typical live services, evolving world/expansions/updates, and of course deep social interactions. The Dune game is also being built in Unreal Engine for PC and consoles.

Indie horror dev Bloober Team recently signed a "significant distribution deal" with Sony Interactive Entertainment for its upcoming games, and Silent Hill may be included.

Bloober Team has secured a worldwide distributor for its new games and it's one of the best in the business: Sony Interactive Entertainment.

The developer is currently working on four projects including a new game with Konami (believed to be Silent Hill), a new Layers of Fear, a project being funded by Take-Two Interactive's Private Division label, and a project with Rogue Games. Sony may be the distributor for a handful of these games both digitally via the PlayStation Store/PS Plus and through physical retail channels.

NASA's InSight Mars Lander detected the Mars temblor, or marsquake, on May 4th, 2022, or Sol (Martian day) 1,222 of the lander's mission.

The marsquake clocked in at a magnitude 5 on moment magnitude scale that is used on Earth. The previous record-holder for largest marsquake measured was a magnitude-4.2, which the InSight Lander detected on August 25th, 2021, using its seismometer called the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure.

A study on the algae-powered microprocessor titled "Powering a microprocessor by photosynthesis" has been published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science.

The widespread Synechocystis species of non-toxic, blue-green algae has been used by researchers to power a microprocessor by harnessing photosynthesis. The system is about the size of an AA battery, contains some water, and allows ambient light in to facilitate photosynthesis. Photosynthesis generates a small electric current that interacts with an aluminum electrode, in turn powering the microprocessor.

German YouTubers The Real Life Guys have effectively turned a Tesla Model 3 into a tank over a four-week project.

The project began with cutting and welding together two giant steel constructions around which they wrapped chain tracks, each weighing 1.3 tons. The group also added twelve suspension springs to each side's structure to make them suitable for offroad use.

The group then raised the Model 3 off the ground to match the height of the rather tall finished chain tracks, and took off all of its wheels in preparation for mounting the tracks to the vehicle. The final result has the Tesla, dubbed the Model T (presumably for "tank"), sitting 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) off the ground, weighing in at 6 tons altogether.

A study on the revived eyes titled "Revival of light signalling in the postmortem mouse and human retina" has been published in the journal Nature.

Researchers were able to revive function in cells from both mouse and human eyes obtained after death. Stimulating the postmortem retinas with light resulted in them emitting electrical signals known as b-waves, indicative of communication between cells, that are also emitted by living retinas.

However, USB-C ports won't be seen on any iPhone models released later this year and will instead be coming in 2023 at the earliest.

The move is likely due at least in part to looming regulations by the European Union that would mandate tech companies like Apple to adopt USB-C as a standard charging port for portable electronics, benefiting consumers and the environment.

Take-Two's mega merger with Zynga is expected to close on May 23, 2022, NASDAQ reports.

The convergence of Grand Theft Auto parent company Take-Two Interactive and mobile powerhouse Zynga may be finalized in late May. The news comes from NASDAQ Trader, who reinforces a recent definitive agreement SEC filing that assigns a May 23 closing date to the deal. Zynga's shares are anticipated to halt trading on May 20 in preparation for the closing date.

The merger is worth $12.7 billion and will combine the might of Take-Two's AAA empire with Zynga's mobile know-how. The synergies are expected to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in net bookings growth over time, complete with significant earnings potential with Zynga's ad tech platform.

AMD will be unleashing its next-gen Instinct MI300 product family in the future, the first CDNA 3-based product that will utilize 3D stacking technology.

3D stacking technology will allow AMD to use CPU and GPU dies in different configurations for customers of AMD, and now we have some new leaks making things a little clearer. From a leaked slide from a purported internal presentation on AMD's upcoming Instinct MI300, AMD says the Instinct MI300 is a "first generation Instinct APU".

AdoredTV details the slides (you should be able to tell their AdoredTV's slides, I don't know if it's obvious enough or not) that one of the CPU configurations -- leaker Tom @ Moore's Law is Dead said that recently, more on that below -- with Zen 4-based CPU cores, and CDNA 3-based GPU cores.

Update: More disappointment, as Koch Media PR reached out to clarify that "Intel XeSS support won't actually be available until some time in the Summer". An Intel representative also alerted my eyes to this story, so there's also Intel weight behind it, too.

Intel doesn't have their Arc Alchemist GPU on the market, with multiple delays and drama going on behind the scenes... but don't worry: Intel XeSS upscaling technology will launch in a week, on May 20.

The new Intel XeSS upscaling technology will officially launch alongside action RPG "Dolmen" that most people won't play, and will support all three super-sampling technologies: AMD FSR (1.0), NVIDIA DLSS, and Intel XeSS. There will be a day one update for Dolmen that provides it with Intel XeSS support, making it the first game in history to support Intel XeSS.