Latest News - Page 1299

Valve really doesn't want you to open your Steam Deck...but it shows you how to anyway.

Valve is warning gamers not to crack open their Steam Deck handheld PC-hybrids to replace parts, and even says doing so could start a disastrous fire. The reality is the Steam Deck is an extremely compact system with dangerous materials like a lithium-ion battery...but this really isn't different than, say, a Nintendo Switch. The main difference is just how much stuff is packed together in the Steam deck versus the Switch--Nintendo's handheld has a lot more room for components. The Steam Deck is pretty jam-packed together. Valve also also says it's very possible you could simply break the Steam Deck if you're not careful, which is a very real possibility.

PCIe 5.0 is right around the corner with it debuting on Intel's new Alder Lake platform, with the new 600-series motherboards led by the Z690 chipset rocking PCIe 5.0 slots and DDR5 memory support.

We're now hearing about a new PCIe 5.0 power connector that would be quite the leap from what we have now, with a new PCIe Gen5 power connector teased. The new PCIe 5.0 power connector would offer up to a huge 600W of power, up quite significantly from the 150W offered over the current 8-pin PCIe power connector.

The new PCIe 5.0 power connector has 16 lanes (12 power, 4 signal lanes) and is a totally new connector. You can see the 12 power lanes, but the strange new 4 signal lane position underneath the 12 power lanes is new. This new connector has smaller spacing than current connectors, down to 3.0mm from 4.2mm. The new connector is 18.85mm wide, making it much smaller than dual and especially triple 8-pin PCIe power connector setups.

NASA has posted a new article to its website that details a dangerous dance between two galaxies that are slowly colliding.

According to the NASA post, the galaxies are located 100 million light-years away from Earth, and according to NASA, both the galaxies are spiral galaxies. The galaxy at the bottom of the image is labeled NGC 5953, and the one above it is called NGC 5954. Since the two galaxies are interacting so much that they have been given a collective name - Arp 91.

Additionally, NASA says that NGC 5953 is clearly "tugging" at NGC 5954, which is a result of the immense gravitational attraction between the two galaxies. Astronomers speculate that on a long enough timeline, the galaxies will eventually collide with each other to form a new type of galaxy called an elliptical galaxy. If you are interested in reading more about these galaxies, check out this link here.

As you can probably imagine, astronauts aboard the International Space Station have an awesome view of the planet from their position, and sometimes they spot things that are strange.

Astronaut Thomas Pesquet recently spotted something of this nature and posted the image to Twitter, explaining the strange phenomenon that was seen over Europe. According to Pesquet, what was spotted was called a "transient luminous event" in the upper atmosphere, and according to the astronaut, it's a "very rare occurrence".

So what is it? Pesquet says that this phenomenon happens when there's lightning in the upper atmosphere that is occurring at higher altitudes than it normally does. Pesquet wrote on Flickr, "What is fascinating about this lightning is that just a few decades ago they had been observed anecdotally by pilots and scientists were not convinced they actually existed". Jokingly, Pesquet added, "Fast forward a few years and we can confirm elves, and sprites are very real and could be influencing our climate too!"

Steve Jobs first approached Dell back when he founded NeXT back in 1985, where he wanted Dell to partner with his new company and run the NeXT operating system on Dell PCs.

At the time, the former Apple CEO said that the NeXT operating system was superior to Windows, but Dell founder and current CEO Michael Dell said he told Jobs at the time that it just wasn't going to happen because there was no software for it and "zero customer interest".

Dell talked about Jobs in his new book "Play Nice But Win" where Dell talks about how as a teenager, he was in love with the Apple II. He talks about meeting Jobs and how he asked Dell to license the Mac operating system and use it on Intel-based Dell PCs. In the end, Dell and Apple became competitors and both have enjoyed meteoric rises over the last couple of decades since Jobs asked Dell to put Mac OS on Dell systems powered with Intel processors.

Intel's new Core i7-12700K processor is going to be offering some great performance under the flagship Core i9-12900K with some truly kick-ass performance.

In some new benchmark teases, the more "mid-range" Alder Lake CPU scores 800 points in the single-threaded CPU benchmark inside of CPU-Z, and 9423 points in the multi-threaded benchmark. This is compared to the 9544 on the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and 8162 on the Ryzen 9 3900X processors.

Remember, the new Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread CPU with separate high-performance, and high-efficiency CPU cores. The high-performance Golden Cove CPU cores are joined by high-efficiency Gracemont CPU cores, and then Hyper-Threading (HT) on top means we have 20 threads of Alder Lake ready to kick some AMD Ryzen ass.

EA DICE has just announced that the standard digital edition of Battlefield 2042 on the next-gen Microsoft Xbox Series X/S and Sony PlayStation 5 consoles will include the Cross-Gen Bundle.

What does the Cross_Gen bundle in Battlefield 2042 let you do? You will be able to carry progression over from your PlayStation 4 for example, over to the next-gen PlayStation 5, if you were to upgrade your console around, or near the time Battlefield 2042 launches.

EA DICE explains: "We want as many Battlefield fans as possible to start the journey with us on day one, and we want to give those players the peace of mind that their progress carries over if they get a new system this holiday season, or beyond. Battlefield 2042 supports full cross progression, and alongside our Digital editions of Gold, and Ultimate, the Digital Standard Edition on PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S is also now able to access the Cross-Gen Bundle".

Intel has been struggling of late, but the right seeds are being planted right now -- ready for an improved battle in the years to come in all areas: especially semiconductor manufacturing.

Freshly-minted Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has teased a gigantic $94 billion investment in semiconductor manufacturing in Europe, a plan that would span for up to the next 10 years. This discussion was reiterated again, this time during the IAA Mobility Auto Show in Munich, Germany.

Gelsinger says this gigantic expansion project with $94 billion behind it would be "the most advanced chip fab anywhere in the world". It will be using ASML Holdings' EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography) tools for future cutting-edge components. This step would have Intel on the same footing as TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) and Samsung -- both of which are making advanced chips, and Intel wants to dominate in this area again.

AMD has just pushed out a new Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.10.1 driver, which packs support for Microsoft's just-released Windows 11, as well as some of the biggest games that were just released.

The new Radeon Software Adrenalin drivers pack Windows 11 support, as well as optimizations for Ubisoft's also-just-released Far Cry 6 and EA DICE's big Battlefield 2042 Open Beta. In Far Cry 6 we have up to 10% more performance on the Radeon RX 6700 XT at 1080p Ultra graphics with RT enabled, while at 4K Medium settings the Radeon RX 6800 XT is up to 12% faster, and at 1440p Medium settings the Radeon RX 6600 XT is up to 13% faster -- all with ray tracing enabled.

AMD provides built-in support for the Battlefield 2042 Open Beta, Naraka: Bladepoint, and gives up to 11% more performance in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds at 4K Ultra settings in DX12 mode on the Radeon RX 6800 XT. Not bad all-around, I'd say... especially if you're wanting to play Far Cry 6 or the Battlefield 2042 Open Beta.

I'm sure we all know someone who is still waiting for a GeForce RTX 30 series graphics card, with a gamer in Poland waiting over a year... and celebrating this in style.

A bakery in Poland called E-Torty posted a story to their Facebook page, explaining that a customer of theirs ordered an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card in September 2020 and has still not received it. The gamer asked E-Torty to make a 1-year anniversary cake, and then sent it to the retailer... to thank them for the year that they've spent together.

E-Torty said it was one of the funniest orders they've ever had, and once the cake was made and sent to the retailer, the Polish gamer received his GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards days later. Waited a year, sent a cake, received it days later... maybe the gamer should've gotten a cake in return?

China is continuing to put the big squeeze on cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, and other crypto mining operations -- whether they're Chinese citizens or foreigners.

Bitcoin.com is reporting that China's Development and Reform Commission is asking for public commentary on a list -- a negative list that the Chines government would see limiting, or outright banning investment into the crypto mining industry -- or any industry that the CCP doesn't like.

China has already stamped crypto transactions as illegal, which makes it hard for anyone in the country to use or adopt cryptocurrency. China -- of course -- has been testing its own cryptocurrency but doesn't want any other cryptocurrency to be used in the country it seems.

Nintendo pulls a 180 and now says its premium new $350 Switch OLED uses improved JoyCon controllers.

The Switch OLED model was believed to use exactly the same internal specs and peripherals as the 2017, 2019, and Switch Lite models. Now Nintendo clarifies that this isn't exactly true: The Switch OLED actually has better JoyCons than an older 2017 launch Switch.

The news comes from a Q&A with Nintendo executives who say (in vague terms) that improvements have been made to the JoyCons, and newer Switch systems actually come packed with these new analog sticks. JoyCon drift is a big problem with all varieties of the Switch however it seems this has been addressed to some degree by Nintendo engineers.

Halo Infinite's forge mode is extremely technical and gives players more control over custom games and parameters than ever before.

Based on new leaked info it's easy to see why Halo Infinite's forge mode was delayed. The reality is the new forge is almost like a mini games engine complete with its own scripts and nodes. It's more like Battlefield 2042's Portal mode--or maybe something like a basic Unreal Engine or even Bethesda's Creation Kit modding tools--than the forge modes in previous Halo games.

Halo Infinite's forge will let users control everything in the game, including weapon, vehicle, and character respawns, placements, events, bots--you name it. There's even options to tweak biomes, build customized structures with Infinite's assets. Conditions can be set--e.g. x event happens when you enter a specific vehicle or cross a doorway threshold--and also options for highly technical editing via vectors and math-based trigonometry.

Infinity Ward has opened a new studio branch in Austin, Texas to help development of its next AAA Call of Duty game, the company has announced.

Call of Duty 2022's development is underway, and while Activision will enlist most of its studios to help the game's development, the project is being led by Infinity Ward. Rumor has it the next game will be titled Modern Warfare II and be a sequel to 2019's reboot of the Modern Warfare franchise. While Infinity Ward hasn't confirmed any details yet they are ramping up for something big and have opened a new studio branch in Texas to help with the game.

The Austin, Texas branch will join existing teams based in California, Poland, and Mexico. The studio is currently on a massive hiring spree and has 111 jobs available across its offices, however there's no listings available for the newly-opened Texas studio.

Call of Duty 2022 will be named Modern Warfare II, games industry leaker Tom Henderson has said on Twitter.

Infinity Ward is currently developing a sequel to 2019's reimagined Call of Duty Modern Warfare, sources with knowledge of the studio's plans have told Tom Henderson, a trusted leaker in the Call of Duty and Battlefield space. The news aligns with Activision's current iterative structure which emphasizes Call of Duty above all other franchises.

While no official details have been confirmed, we do know that Call of Duty 2022 will utilize cutting-edge AI technology to bring "new AI characters and behaviors to life," possibly via machine learning (which both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles support).

Most of Destiny 2's Forsaken expansion will soon be rotated into the Destiny Content Vault, Bungie has announced.

Destiny 2's content is about to change. Unlike MMOs that continually add new content while preserving existing expansions and experiences, Bungie is archiving bits and pieces of Destiny 2 into a digital storage vault to help maintain the game. The content isn't deleted but it's put in cold storage to be thawed out later and re-introduced into the game. Starting February 2022, most of Forsaken expansion content will be archived into this vault and will not be playable.

Next year Forsaken's entire campaign will be rotated out alongside the Tangled Shore. Year 4 seasonal content like the Presage and Harbinger exotic quests are also leaving. Gamers will still be able to access the Dreaming City and the Proving Grounds strike and Battlegrounds content will also be playable.

UPDATE: D2R servers are back up in the Americas, but there was a server rollback of up to 40 minutes. Gamers are reporting the loss of items, level ups, and overall progress.

It's not just you: No one can connect to Diablo 2 Resurrectect's servers right now.

D2R gamers got a shock when trying to log into their accounts via Battle.net today. It appeared as if their characters had been wiped from the servers, but the reality is that Blizzard has taken Diablo 2 Resurrected's servers down for emergency maintenance. The servers have been down for more than an hour from the time of publication, and Blizzard hasn't clarified exactly what has happened.

Wait for it... the Biden administration is reportedly mulling over an executive order for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general that would push for crypto oversight.

The news is literally breaking, with Bloomberg reporting: "The Biden administration is weighing an executive order on cryptocurrencies as part of an effort to set up a government-wide approach to the white-hot asset class, according to people familiar with the matter".

The executive order would give the Biden administration and US government and its various agencies, to study and recommend various things in the crypto industry. This would include financial regulation, economic innovation, and even national security. Bloomberg added that their sources "who asked not to be named discussing plans that are still under consideration".

Bank of America is running right into the warm arms of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, with the BofA launching a new digital asset research with a new report called "Digital Assets Primer: Only the first inning".

The strategists at Bank of America said that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are simply "too large to ignore" and that their view is "there could be more opportunity than skeptics expect". The research group was led by strategist Alkesh Shah, who said that Bitcoin and other cryptos are "too large to ignore".

Strategists Alkesh Shah and Jessica Reif Ehrlich said: "Our view is that there could be more opportunity than skeptics expect". The report added that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are "gaining traction on Wall Street despite its many controversies". On top of that, the strategists said that regulation plays a key role and that "more regulation could be a positive for crypto in the long run. Once rules are established, the uncertainty over how to invest in crypto will be lifted".

LEGO has just unveiled its new 9090-piece scale model of the Titanic, which measures in at over 53 inches long and will cost $630.

The new LEGO Titanic includes 9090 pieces and is split into three sections: the interior, which includes the first-class grand staircase (that scene at the end of the movie Titanic, makes me cry). Not only that, but you get 6 decks, the Jacobean-style dining saloon, and the engine room.

Mike Psiaki, design master at the LEGO Group, explained: "At the time of its launch the Titanic was the pinnacle of nautical engineering, the largest moving vehicle ever created. It has been an incredible journey to recreate this iconic vessel from LEGO bricks, using blueprints created over a century ago".