Latest News - Page 121

Intel recently expanded its Edge AI offerings by introducing brand new Bartlett Lake and Panther Lake CPUs. These CPUs are aimed at AI applications, with Bartlett Lake focused on the desktop market. Bartlett Lake CPUs are equipped only with P-cores (performance-focused cores), unlike the hybrid setup in Intel's other mainstream offerings.

The current Bartlett Lake lineup includes 11 total SKUs spanning from 8-core configurations up to the 12-core flagship, the Core 9 273PQE. This CPU has a 125W TDP with an all-core boost clock of 5.3GHz. The entire Bartlett Lake lineup is compatible with LGA 1700, so it's a good effort to keep that socket alive.

Now, the new Bartlett Lake flagship has been spotted on PassMark, which gives us a rough idea of where the CPU stands in terms of performance. The CPU scored a single-thread rating of 4,655, while the multi-thread score landed at 45,427. To put these numbers into context, we need to compare them with Intel CPUs in the same ballpark.

As if the current RAM crisis wasn't bad enough - with supply being consumed by AI needs and data centers therein - the future of cars is going to be an additional burden on memory production.

Fully autonomous cars could demand hundreds of Gigabytes of on-board memory, according to Micron's CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, who provided his thoughts as part of the latest fiscal report, after the firm had a booming quarter.

The Register reports that Mehrotra envisages "robust long-term growth in automotive memory demand", and that the amount of RAM used in a vehicle will go from 16GB currently to over 300GB with the advent of L4 autonomous cars.

ASRock has unveiled three new gaming monitor offerings targeting budget-level PC gamers looking to upgrade from 144Hz or a standard LCD monitor to crisper IPS.

The three new models coming to market are the PG27FFS2E, PG27FFS2E-W, and PG27FFS1A, each with identical gaming performance because they all use the same panel. The differences lie within the design, as each rock a 27-inch IPS panel with a 1920 x 1080p resolution, a 240Hz refresh rate, and 1ms MPRT response time. As for color, all three cover 99% of the sRGB gamut, have a typical brightness of 350 nits, and include AMD FreeSync Premium and HDR10 support.

So, what's the difference? The PG27FFS2E and PG27FFS2E-W are the higher-end variants, as each model comes with an adjustable stand that offers height, swivel, tilt, and pivot adjustability. The PG27FFS1A is the more affordable of the three; while offering the same gaming performance, it sacrifices ergonomics to achieve a lower price point.

PlayStation lead system architect Mark Cerny has sat down for an interview with Digital Foundry, where Sony's next-generation graphics technology was discussed, and it involves AI.

During the interview, Cerny said that PlayStation platforms will eventually get some form of machine learning-based frame generation, which involves an AI scanning the frames within the frame pipeline and creating entirely new frames between the natively rendered frames, boosting the total perceived frames in-game. The technology, while still quite controversial among the PC community for these AI-generated frames being "fake" frames, undoubtedly provides extra performance headroom and enables developers more creative freedom when it comes to performance and visual fidelity.

The technology already exists in its infancy on the PlayStation, with PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), Sony's version of NVIDIA's DLSS, or AMD's FSR. This upscaling technology is currently used on the PlayStation 5 Pro, with the difference between PSSR and AI-powered frame generation being that PSSR upscales natively rendered frames, while frame generation creates entirely new frames based on past and future frames. Enabling frame generation improves motion performance by artificially increasing the frame rate.

Intel's current Arrow Lake-HX lineup of mobile processors spans from the entry-level Core Ultra 5 235HX up to the flagship Ultra 9 285HX. Intel has recently added two more SKUs to this series bearing the "Plus" moniker. The Core Ultra 7 270HX Plus and Ultra 9 290HX Plus offer clock-speed improvements over their regular counterparts, rounding out Intel's high-end mobile lineup.

However, Intel might be keeping a few secrets from us. Recently, an X (formerly Twitter) user @Huang514613 spotted the previously unseen Intel Core Ultra 7 251HX processor on the product pages of two laptops. The new SKU was spotted in the marketing material for the Lenovo Legion 5i 2026 and the MSI Raider 16HX laptops.

Surprisingly, the product page for the Lenovo Legion 5i 2026 bearing the unreleased chip is still up on Amazon. The Core Ultra 7 251HX is also shown to have a 55W TDP on the page. The technical specs on the page simply list "‎2.9 GHz intel_core_ultra_7" before the processor category. Interestingly, the same 2.9 GHz clock speed was also listed on the MSI product page, further adding to the uncertainty.

YouTube creator PhasedTech, who previously modded an Xbox One S console, transforming it into an entry-level PC with a working disc drive and GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card, is back. This time, he's modding the larger Xbox Series X console into a fully functional desktop gaming PC with a working disc drive and a beefier GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card.

Although the tower-like chassis of the Xbox Series X resembles some compact PC cases, it's still not large enough to house a mini-ITX motherboard and build a relatively standard compact gaming PC. Instead, PhasedTech sourced an Intel NUC with a Core i7 12700 processor, 32GB of DDR4 memory, and 1TB of NVMe storage to serve as the PC hardware.

From there, combining that with a low-profile GeForce RTX 5060 (specifically this GIGABYTE model) on a base board with custom 3D-printed parts, brackets, and other bits, we see the Xbox Series X transform into a gaming PC.

Apple's recent announcement and launch of the new MacBook Neo range made headlines, marking the company's big entry into the affordable laptop market. With prices starting at $599 USD, Apple created one of its most affordable MacBooks to date by leveraging the A18 Pro processor that previously powered the iPhone 16 Pro.

And when you pair that with an impressive 13-inch Liquid Retina display, 8GB of memory, and storage options of 256GB or 512GB, the MacBook Neo instantly became as attractive as it is affordable to a large group of people. And with that, the launch has been a resounding success, because it looks like Apple has successfully appealed to the traditional affordable PC laptop market with a viable alternative.

According to a new post on social media by Apple CEO Tim Cook, "Mac just had its best launch week ever for first-time Mac customers." The takeaway here is "first-time," because it means the MacBook Neo has brought new people into the Apple ecosystem in a way not seen before.

Lenovo has jumped the gun a bit by posting specs and details for upcoming laptops that will reportedly ship with GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPUs featuring 12GB of GDDR7 memory, as opposed to the standard 8GB found on current RTX 5070 laptops. The models in question include the Legion Pro 5, with the listing (via Huang514613 on social media) detailing the new GPU and noting a Boost Clock speed of 2347 MHz and a TGP of 115W.

There are multiple Lenovo laptops on the way with the new and refreshed GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPUs, including productivity-focused Yoga devices. Although full spec details have yet to be confirmed by NVIDIA and these listings have been taken offline for the most part, the expectation is that these GPUs will feature newer 3GB GDDR7 memory modules, increasing VRAM capacity by 50%.

Huang514613, who spotted multiple listings, notes in his post that the embargo date for the new laptops is "around the end of April," so it could be a few weeks before we get any official confirmation.

There have been several strong rumours circulating about the existence of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2. One of the stronger ones is that a leaker on Geekbench recently benchmarked the CPU and found it to be around 7% faster than the Ryzen 9 9950X3D in multi-core tests.

Now, we have another incident that strongly suggests that AMD might be gearing up to launch the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2. As first spotted by Videocardz, motherboard manufacturer ASRock recently published a press release that shouts out the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 in all its glory.

Published on the 16th of March 2026, the press release acts as an announcement that all ASRock AM5 motherboards "fully support the newly launched AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 processor". The press release goes on to say that the newly introduced Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 processor "offers more cache than ever, giving it higher gaming performance on top of the already extremely performing predecessor".

Microsoft is starting to share details on how it plans to improve Windows 11 this year, with Windows president Pavan Davuluri posting a new blog post titled 'Our commitment to Windows quality' over on the Windows Insider channel. According to the post, he and the Windows team have spent "past several months" analyzing feedback (and criticisms) surrounding the current state of the operating system.

And with that, the first round of updates and improvements is set to begin rolling out to Windows Insiders this month and throughout April, focusing on a few areas. This includes limited AI integration and even the removal or reduction of "unnecessary" Copilot features in apps such as Snipping Tool and Notepad. Another big one on the horizon looks to be a massive overhaul to how Windows Updates are handled.

The ability to skip updates, along with rebooting and restarting without updating, is coming, plus fewer automatic restarts and notifications. And when it comes to Windows 11 stability and speed, File Explorer is getting overhauled to deliver "quicker launch experience, reduced flicker, smoother navigation, and more reliable performance."

CD Projekt plans to make big profit gains thanks to new releases like Ciri's new Witcher trilogy and the upcoming Cyberpunk sequel.

The latest FY2025 earnings report from CD Projekt outlines some ambitious profit targets that the company hopes to achieve. The growth targets are quite substantial, and the company expects to cumulatively gain 1 billion PLN (about $270 million) every 4 years or so.

By the end of 2029, CD Projekt hopes to make a record 5 billion PLN ($1.35 billion) in net profit, with the performance spread across a 4-year period from 2026 to the end of 2029.

Nintendo is preparing a new special Switch 2 variant with a removable battery that conforms to new EU tech laws.

Nintendo will release a new Switch 2 model that adheres to the EU's revised right to repair laws, allowing users to easily swap out batteries for the handheld-console hybrid.

Asian publication Nikkei reveals that Nintendo will manufacture these new systems exclusively for the European market. The EU has mandated that all portable batteries in new consumer electronics be easily removable and replaceable by consumers, as part of EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542.

Polish games developer CI Games announces that its first Lords of the Fallen game is now profitable as the studio gears up for a Soulslike sequel in 2026.

After three years of sales, the original Lords of the Fallen game has now turned a profit. CI Games has delivered a series of studio updates, confirming the first LotF has now broken even by achieving 2.5 million game sales worldwide on all platforms. The developer also gives a complete budget figure for their action RPG--details that are rarely shared in the games industry--and revealing it took about $80 million to develop, market, publish, and distribute.

"CI Games' dark fantasy action-RPG, Lords of the Fallen (2023), has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide, officially breaking even at the end of February on a total budget of 298 million Polish złoty ($80.45 million, based on current exchange rates), including development and marketing."

Kingbull has established itself as a strong player in the fat tire electric bike category, and the newly released Hunter 2.0S builds on that foundation with practical upgrades focused on range, comfort, and safety.

Engineered for year-round riding, the Hunter 2.0S is capable across multiple terrains - including pavement, snow, sand, and trails. By combining a powerful motor, increased battery capacity, and a durable frame, it delivers a dependable all-terrain riding experience.

[Buy Kingbull Hunter 2.0S for $899]

Over the past decade or so, few technologies have been as polarizing as DLSS 5 has been since its announcement. It has only been a handful of days since Jensen Huang and his iconic leather jacket took to the stage to unveil the 5th iteration of Deep Learning Super Sampling, this time with a huge helping of AI for good measure.

Ever since the keynote, the gaming industry has been struggling to wrap its collective head around the technology. NVIDIA has since responded to criticism of the technology, saying it is NOT an AI slop filter and that gamers are mistaken.

Now, the industry experts are providing much-needed insight into the game development process and how DLSS 5 may impact it. In a recent interview with Wccftech, Eternal Darkness developer Denis Dyack had this to say about the technology.

Pearl Abyss is quick to respond to player feedback and has promised an official patch to address Crimson Desert's controls.

Following news of Crimson Desert's successful launch with 2 million copies sold in its first day, South Korean developer Pearl Abyss is now directly tackling some of the game's biggest friction points. The top complaint among gamers is Crimson Desert's wonky control scheme, which can become quite tedious. Luckily, the devs plan to make some fixes.

"We are aware of the discomfort many players have experienced with the controls, and we are currently preparing a patch to address this," Pearl Abyss said today.

2026 is proving to be a challenging year for PC gamers. We have already seen a massive price hike in DRAM thanks to AI data centers hogging all the memory, and now it seems like processors are the next component in line for a price bump.

According to a report by industry insider ET News, Intel has informed its major PC clients of a planned 10% price increase for its consumer CPUs, effective at the end of this month. These currently include the Intel Core Ultra processors, which have been quite popular among gamers over the past year or so. Moreover, the Core Ultra series has been widely used in OEM systems across a range of devices, from high-end applications to low-power office use.

The demand for semiconductors has been skyrocketing since the boom of mainstream AI products. AI data centers have created a supply-demand imbalance, and consumer products are the ones suffering the most. Intel seems to be doing what it needs to do to keep its products profitable.

MOZA Racing, one of the names behind a wide range of simulation hardware for gamers and racing/flight enthusiasts, has just announced a major expansion of its Flight Simulation Ecosystem hardware at FlightSimWeekend 2026, taking place right now at Lelystad, Netherlands.

For many, when they think about flight simulators, they think of the impressive Flight Simulator 2024, which delivers an accurate and visually stunning 1:1 recreation of the planet, along with countless realistic renditions of planes, airports, and more. And when you pair that experience with dedicated hardware, you've got a setup to make any aviation fan feel like they've become a virtual pilot in every sense of that term.

MOZA's latest gear is all about expanding its "complete modular flight sim cockpit ecosystem" with four new products: the MA3F Electronic Flight Control Module, MA3F Flight Computer Display, MGX1000 Instrument Panel, and FMP18 Panel System.

Crimson Desert, developed and published by Pearl Abyss, has become the talk of the town just days after its launch. The game is currently topping Steam charts and has made $20 million in pre-orders. While the reception is mixed among gamers, with some loving its jack-of-all-trades approach, others question the depth of the story, but a new, quite major issue has emerged.

If you are on an Intel Arc GPU and have tried running the game, you have likely encountered an error message that says "The graphics device is currently not supported." Tough luck, because this won't be fixed any time soon, as the studio has now officially confirmed that Crimson Desert is not supported on Intel Arc GPUs.

In its official Crimson Desert FAQ, the studio says the game "currently does not support Intel Arc graphics cards", and the only remedy it's offering players is a refund. Strangely, this wasn't communicated before launch, which would have saved Arc owners from the whole ordeal. There is also no mention of a support patch, a driver workaround, or even a timeline for future compatibility.

NVIDIA's latest DLSS 5 technology has been nothing if not controversial, with some hailing it as one of the most transformative leaps in real-time graphics, while others dismiss it as little more than 'AI slop'. In a conversation with YouTuber Daniel Owen, NVIDIA's Jacob Freeman has revealed a lot more about the specifics of the technology; details that would otherwise be veiled behind layers of marketing language.

NVIDIA has now confirmed that DLSS 5 takes only a scene's 2D-rendered frame and its motion vectors as input. This stands in contrast to marketing claims that the technology is 'anchored to source 3D content,' a phrase that suggested a deeper understanding of the game engine. In reality, as the model sits at the end of the graphics pipeline, it only sees the 2D frame and remains blind to the 3D geometry of objects.

Likewise, the model lacks access to PBR (Physically Based Rendering) properties provided by the engine. As a result, it is forced to infer what the material is supposed to look like rather than reading these properties directly from the game engine. This forces the model to rely on semantic labeling to identify clusters of pixels as eyes, cheeks, lips, etcetera. If the training data is biased toward perfect faces, the model risks reinterpreting or 'yassifying' a character's face to a generic standard, rather than preserving the developer's original intent.