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NVIDIA announces Grace: next-gen ARM-based CPU for giant-scale AI, HPC

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | Apr 12, 2021 3:00 PM CDT

NVIDIA has just announced its first-ever CPU with the introduction of Grace, a new ARM-based processor designed for AI and servers -- and not for your gaming PC.

NVIDIA announces Grace: next-gen ARM-based CPU for giant-scale AI, HPC

The new NVIDIA Grace processor has 500GB/sec of memory bandwidth thanks to the use of next-gen LPDDR5X memory, which is attached to the GPU through Cache Coherent NVLink to the GPUs at 900GB/sec, with CPU to CPU communications having up to 600GB/sec of bandwidth.

Huang explained: "Leading-edge AI and data science are pushing today's computer architecture beyond its limits-processing unthinkable amounts of data. Using licensed Arm IP, NVIDIA has designed Grace as a CPU specifically for giant-scale AI and HPC. Coupled with the GPU and DPU, Grace gives us the third foundational technology for computing, and the ability to re-architect the data center to advance AI. NVIDIA is now a three-chip company".

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Continue reading: NVIDIA announces Grace: next-gen ARM-based CPU for giant-scale AI, HPC (full post)

Why did Sony deny Days Gone 2? High budget was likely a big reason

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Apr 12, 2021 2:22 PM CDT

Days Gone 2 was never in production, and it wasn't actually greenlit by Sony. At a time where Sony is doubling-down on safer bets and bigger franchises, it's likely Days Gone 2 was shelved due to budgetary concerns.

Why did Sony deny Days Gone 2? High budget was likely a big reason

In a recent interview with God of War creator David Scott Jaffe, Days Gone director Jeff Ross gives valuable insight on the games industry and discusses the game's development process. Ross also indicates that it was budget, not necessarily Days Gone's Metacritic scores or reception, that led to Sony scrapping Days Gone 2.

Shortly after shipping Days Gone in 2019, Sony Bend pitched a sequel to Sony. The team wanted to make a second chapter to fit in everything that wasn't possible in the first game. "When you're making tough decisions when making a game, you go, 'oh, the sequel,' this thing we can't get to this time we'll put in the next one," Ross said. The sequel was meant to be a kind of definitive Days Gone experience that carried over the learnings from the first game.

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Continue reading: Why did Sony deny Days Gone 2? High budget was likely a big reason (full post)

NVIDIA teases Ampere Next GPU for 2022, Ampere Next Next GPU for 2024

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Apr 12, 2021 2:17 PM CDT

NVIDIA hasn't teased its next-gen GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards, but it has just teased its next two GPU architectures codenamed Ampere Next and Ampere Next Next.

NVIDIA teases Ampere Next GPU for 2022, Ampere Next Next GPU for 2024

Yeah -- Ampere Next should be the Lovelace GPU architecture we've been hearing about and drops in 2022 meanwhile NVIDIA's next GPU architecture after that is codenamed Ampere Next Next and could be the MCM (multi-chip module) or GPU chiplet-based Hopper GPU architecture.

During the GTC 2021 keynote NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang explained that the company will focus on x86 architecture one year, while the next year they'll focus on ARM -- with NVIDIA having a "2-year rhythm with a kicker in-between".

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Continue reading: NVIDIA teases Ampere Next GPU for 2022, Ampere Next Next GPU for 2024 (full post)

NVIDIA's new A30 Tensor Core GPU: up to 24GB of HBM2, PCIe 4.0 tech

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Apr 12, 2021 12:00 PM CDT

NVIDIA has just announced its new A30 Tensor Core GPU which the company calls its "most versatile mainstream compute GPU for AI inference and mainstream enterprise workloads".

NVIDIA's new A30 Tensor Core GPU: up to 24GB of HBM2, PCIe 4.0 tech

The new NVIDIA A30 Tensor Core GPU was built for AI inference at scale, packing an Ampere GPU with 24GB of HBM2 memory with 933GB/sec of memory bandwidth available. NVIDIA includes third-gen NVLink support here with 200GB/sec of bandwidth available between GPUs in multi-GPU situations.

We have peak FP32 performance of 10.3 TFLOPs, peak FP64 performance of 5.2 TFLOPs and peak FP64 Tensor Core performance of 10.3 TFLOPs -- all within a 165W low-power TDP. Not only that, but the NVIDIA A30 Tensor Core GPU runs on a regular PCIe 4.0 card which will slot into mainstream servers.

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Continue reading: NVIDIA's new A30 Tensor Core GPU: up to 24GB of HBM2, PCIe 4.0 tech (full post)

Check out this rumored first map from the next-gen Battlefield 6

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Apr 11, 2021 9:33 PM CDT

I don't think we're too far from an official reveal or teaser trailer to the new Battlefield, or Battlefield 6 -- with industry leaker Tom Henderson teasing a drawing of a new map inside of EA DICE's next instalment to Battlefield.

Check out this rumored first map from the next-gen Battlefield 6

Henderson notes that the map is a "literal storm" or tornado is flying towards the island, taking things to the next level in the new Battlefield. Henderson teases to "refer to old tweets to theorise what happens next" where if we combine what we know: next-gen destruction physics + natural disasters = storm damaging the island and building, changing the environment thus the map and the way you play once that happens.

I'd dare say that most of that jungle would be gone, visibility would suck (snipers, long distance weapons rendered useless) and if you took shelter in the building then the walls would possibly be destroyed. This would change the way you'd approach the game, with an actual tornado flying into the island and changing the entire environment, inside and outside -- all upside down and destroyed.

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Continue reading: Check out this rumored first map from the next-gen Battlefield 6 (full post)

Hasbro's new Transformers toy transforms on its own, costs $700

Anthony Garreffa | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Apr 11, 2021 9:11 PM CDT

If you're a huge Transformers fan then this new $700 "toy" is for you.

Hasbro's new Transformers toy transforms on its own, costs $700

Hasbro has announced a huge new 19-inch tall Transformers Optimus Prime Auto-Converting Programmable Robot - Collector's Edition that costs $700 and actually transforms from a car, into a robot -- it packs a huge 5000 components, 27 patented servo motors, and 60 connected microchips. Hasbro has 80 sound effects you can play around with, while you can control your new Optimus robot through the ROBOSEN Optimus Prime app on your smartphone.

Optimus Prime can be programmed to walk around, punch, blast, drive, and convert at just a swipe of your finger -- even better, you can control your Transformers robot with your voice, too. Insider you'll have a Battle Axe and Blaster for your new Transformers 'toy' Optimus Prime, too.

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Continue reading: Hasbro's new Transformers toy transforms on its own, costs $700 (full post)

Global chip shortage is now affecting routers: 60-week order delays

Anthony Garreffa | Networking | Apr 11, 2021 8:34 PM CDT

If you've been finding it hard to buy a new AMD Radeon RX 6000 series graphics card of one of NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards, or one of the next-gen consoles then you're not going to be happy about this news.

Global chip shortage is now affecting routers: 60-week order delays

We're now hearing that the global chip shortage is having an affect on the router market, with Bloomberg reporting that their sources have said that carriers are being told there is a 60-week wait on new router orders. That's over an entire year, double the normal waiting time of around 30 weeks (just over 6 months).

Taiwan-based router maker Zyxel Communications has chimed in, with head of European regional business Karsten Gewecke saying that they haven't run out of routers just yet but "it could still happen".

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Noctua: yeah, you can use our coolers on Intel's next-gen LGA1700 CPUs

Anthony Garreffa | Cases, Cooling & PSU | Apr 11, 2021 7:52 PM CDT

Intel will release its next-gen Alder Lake-S processors later this year with the new LGA1700 socket, DDR5 memory support, and so much more -- but what about your existing Noctua CPU cooler? You'll be fine.

Noctua: yeah, you can use our coolers on Intel's next-gen LGA1700 CPUs

Noctua confirmed the news on Twitter, when they were asked if Intel's new LGA1700 socket and Alder Lake-S processors would work with Noctua coolers. The company replied, tweeting that "We cannot disclose any details yet due to NDA, but we're working on it and you should definitely be able to keep using your NH-U12A via a upgrade kit!"

The new LGA1700 socket is the same width, but it is taller -- and will require some tweaks to coolers which usually come in the form of upgrade kits. Noctua is infamous for that, with the company all but confirming that their NH-U12A upgrade kit will give you the ability to use your Noctua CPU cooler (how good do the new all-black models look!) with your next-gen Intel Alder Lake-S processor.

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Continue reading: Noctua: yeah, you can use our coolers on Intel's next-gen LGA1700 CPUs (full post)

Samsung's new Odyssey G9 monitor: Mini LED + DisplayHDR 2000 tech

Anthony Garreffa | Displays | Apr 11, 2021 7:17 PM CDT

Samsung is about to unleash a monster new gaming monitor, with the new Odyssey G9 gaming monitor looking to be the first with VESA DisplayHDR 2000 certification.

Samsung's new Odyssey G9 monitor: Mini LED + DisplayHDR 2000 tech

We are still to expect the huge 49-inch super-ultra-wide Quantum Mini LED technology panel, with a native resolution of 5120 x 1440 and a refresh rate of a super-smooth 240Hz. But the big upgrade here is the DisplayHDR 2000 support, which is a big upgrade over the DisplayHDR 1000 certification on Samsung's original Odyssey G9 gaming monitor.

The bigger upgrade will be the fact that Samsung is using Mini LED technology that will be infused with the upgraded VESA DisplayHDR 2000 certification, the first monitor with this certification -- it should be a big, beautiful gaming monitor when the Odyssey G1 2021 is released.

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Continue reading: Samsung's new Odyssey G9 monitor: Mini LED + DisplayHDR 2000 tech (full post)

Third-party sales might've generated $795 million total on Epic Store

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Apr 11, 2021 6:52 PM CDT

Third-party game sales may have generated upwards of $795 million on the Epic Games Store since the storefront opened in late December, new Apple court documents suggest.

Third-party sales might've generated $795 million total on Epic Store

As the Apple vs Epic Games court case heats up, Apple today published a document that reveals tons about Epic's notoriously private business. According to the filing, Epic has paid out over $700 million to third-party studios in revenue shares since the store launched.

Since third-party developers keep 88% of revenues, and Epic keeps 12%, a quick bit of math shows that third-party game sales on the Epic Store have generated roughly $795 million to date. If the numbers are right, Epic has kept about $95 million of revenues.

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Report: Total Epic Store losses to reach $593 million by 2021

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Apr 11, 2021 6:06 PM CDT

New court documents filed by Apple reveal the Epic Games Store has yet to turn a profit, and the Fortnite titan could lose over half a billion dollars in total storefront investments by 2021.

Report: Total Epic Store losses to reach $593 million by 2021

According to Apple's lengthy new court document, the Epic Games Store hasn't been profitable since it launched in late 2018. Epic has reportedly sunken hundreds of millions of dollars into the storefront to secure publishing deals, payouts bonuses for developers, and timed exclusivity--not to mention the store's 88-12 revenue split that favors game developers.

The doc actually puts a total figure to the Epic Games Store's losses, which total up to about $593 million by the end of this year. The company spent many millions more on content deals than the storefront actually made; Storefront losses were $181 million in 2019, $273 million in 2020, and projections say losses will hit $139 million in 2021, the report states.

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Continue reading: Report: Total Epic Store losses to reach $593 million by 2021 (full post)

Report: Epic Games made $3.85 billion in 2020, $1.54 billion in profit

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Apr 11, 2021 4:27 PM CDT

New court documents filed in the Apple vs Epic lawsuit show that Epic Games made over $9.5 billion in total revenues last year.

Report: Epic Games made $3.85 billion in 2020, $1.54 billion in profit

Apple's new court filings reveal interesting tidbits on Epic's business. Although the games titan isn't publicly traded, Apple reveals potential earnings figures for the giant. According to the documents, Epic Games made $3.85 billion in revenues in 2020 at a 40% profit margin.

Assuming this is accurate, a quick bit of math shows Epic Games made about $1.54 billion in total profits in 2020. Total business costs were around $2.31 billion, which leaves $1.54 billion left over for profits. This revenue puts Epic Games in the #8 slot in gaming's top 10 best-earning games companies of 2020, behind EA.

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Continue reading: Report: Epic Games made $3.85 billion in 2020, $1.54 billion in profit (full post)

CD Projekt has been removed from Steam anti-trust lawsuit allegations

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Apr 11, 2021 11:40 AM CDT

CD Projekt RED is no longer being accused as part of the anti-trust lawsuit against Valve, the company today announced.

CD Projekt has been removed from Steam anti-trust lawsuit allegations

In January, five gamers banded together and sued Valve for allegedly creating an environment that suppresses competition. The allegations surround a specific clause in the contracts that developers sign to put their games on Steam--the Most Favored Nations clause, which essentially requires devs to sell their games for the same price as they do on Steam. If a game is $19.99 on Steam, it needs to be $19.99 on PS4 and Xbox One. The suit alleges that the MFN clause restricts other storefronts and inhibits competition:

"If this market functioned properly-that is, if the Steam MFN did not exist and platforms were able to compete on price-platforms competing with Steam would be able to provide the same (or higher) margins to game developers while simultaneously providing lower prices to consumers," the lawsuit says.

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President Biden wants GPUs and next-gen consoles in your hands ASAP

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 11, 2021 12:18 AM CDT

President Biden unveiled a huge $2 trillion infrastructure package back in March, inside of which were plans to build domestic (US-based) chip manufacturing plants with $50 billion of investment into the sector.

President Biden wants GPUs and next-gen consoles in your hands ASAP

The White House has asked for new funding to get through the continued semiconductor shortage, with the Biden administration requesting $150 million in funding for two new manufacturing programs. On Monday, the White House and cabinet officials will be hosting a virtual CEO summit on on semiconductor supply chain resilience.

President Biden and his team will talk with companies including Alphabet, AT&T, Ford, General Motors, Intel, and Samsung.

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Xiaomi's new 4K 120Hz TV with HDMI 2.1 can't actually do 4K 120Hz

Anthony Garreffa | Displays | Apr 10, 2021 11:33 PM CDT

Xiaomi announced its new Mi Q1 TV using HDMI 2.1 connectivity to drive what would've been a pretty good budget 4K 120FPS gaming TV -- but the TV will be limited to just 60Hz.

Xiaomi's new 4K 120Hz TV with HDMI 2.1 can't actually do 4K 120Hz

Sure, Xiaomi is using HDMI 2.1 which enables 4K 120Hz support -- but the company is using an on-board display controller that uses MEMC (Motion Estimation, Motion Compensation) which is in laymen's terms is totally shit and limits the TV to 60Hz. This means people are going to see "4K 120Hz" and "HDMI 2.1" and instantly think -- rightfully so -- that Xiaomi's new Mi Q1 TV will support 4K 120Hz, but nope.

Xiaomi is using a MediaTek MT9611 SoC and Mali G52 MP GPU that should be able to drive 4K @ 120Hz, but it seems you'll be hitting a 60Hz wall with the Mi Q1 TV. You might have 3 x HDMI 2.1 inputs, but they're all useless as they don't support 4K 120Hz -- alright, not useless but false advertising as there's some funky stuff going on here with Xiaomi limiting the TV to 60Hz.

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Continue reading: Xiaomi's new 4K 120Hz TV with HDMI 2.1 can't actually do 4K 120Hz (full post)

Seagate has shipped 3 zettabytes of storage since it was founded

Anthony Garreffa | Storage | Apr 10, 2021 9:28 PM CDT

Seagate was originally founded back in 1979 and has since shipped an unimageable amount of storage -- a number that has tipped 3 zettabytes which is an industry-first.

Seagate has shipped 3 zettabytes of storage since it was founded

The company took 36 years to reach 1 zettabyte of storage shipped, only another (just under) 4 years to hit 2 zettabytes and then just over another 2 years to reach the new 3 zettabytes milestone. It's a helluva lot of storage, with Seagate providing a great infographic that details that 3 zettabytes of storage can house over 30 billion (30,000,000,000) movies in glorious 4K resolution.

3 zettabytes of storage is enough for 1.5 quadrillion selfies (enough for nearly 200,000 of every single human being on the planet), 7.5 trillion MP3 songs, 60 billion video games (or 3 installations of Call of Duty) and 30 billion 4K movies which works out to around 5.4 million YEARS of binge watching.

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Continue reading: Seagate has shipped 3 zettabytes of storage since it was founded (full post)

AMD Ryzen 7000 'Raphael' CPU: Zen 4 cores + Navi2 GPU on 5nm

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | Apr 10, 2021 8:51 PM CDT

We've been hearing about AMD's next-gen Zen 4 architecture and Ryzen 7000 series or codename Raphael CPUs for over 6 months now, but now we have some more information thanks to new leaks.

AMD Ryzen 7000 'Raphael' CPU: Zen 4 cores + Navi2 GPU on 5nm

A new leaked AMD roadmap has been teased by @sepeuwmjh which teases the Zen 4-based codename Raphael CPUs, and has been tweaked into a detailed roadmap by @Olrak29_ that gives us a great look at what to expect from AMD's upcoming slate of Zen processors.

The new codename Raphael CPUs will reportedly use the Zen 4 CPU architecture, pack on-board RDNA 2-powered graphics, support DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 technologies, and arrive on TSMC's fresh new 5nm node. AMD will be shifting to the new AM5 socket for the Ryzen 7000 series CPUs according to these roadmaps. Before that we have codename Warhol which will reportedly use the Zen 3+ architecture, DDR4 and PCIe 4.0 technology and be made on the 6nm node.

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Continue reading: AMD Ryzen 7000 'Raphael' CPU: Zen 4 cores + Navi2 GPU on 5nm (full post)

Call of Duty 2021 Vanguard is a 'f***ing disaster' says leaker

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Apr 10, 2021 8:05 PM CDT

Activision is gearing up for Call of Duty 2021 that is being developed by Sledgehammer Games, set in World War II the game is reportedly called Call of Duty: Vanguard. Well, Vanguard is a "f***ing disaster" says industry insider Tom Henderson.

Call of Duty 2021 Vanguard is a 'f***ing disaster' says leaker

Henderson started out by tweeting on April 8 that he was sure the Call of Duty developers, saying they have a "bowl full of "things they can fuck up" and they randomly pick one with their eyes closed ready for the next patch/update". He then added: "Honestly at this point, it's just embarrassing and there's 0 justification for why these things are happening".

"It just feels like the passion has been sucked out of every studio and working from home has made everyone lazy". So the on-going COVID-19 pandemic and the entire work-from-home situation is adding serious fuel to the fire of game development across the industry, and Call of Duty 2021 which from the rumors isn't shaping up well.

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Continue reading: Call of Duty 2021 Vanguard is a 'f***ing disaster' says leaker (full post)

The next-gen Battlefield rumored to have a robotic dog you can control

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Apr 10, 2021 7:18 PM CDT

Well gosh, the new Battlefield is sounding better and better with each drip and drop of rumors on EA DICE's upcoming first-person shooter.

The next-gen Battlefield rumored to have a robotic dog you can control

In a new tweet, leaker Tom Henderson has teased the new Battlefield (which some are referring to as Battlefield 6 -- Henderson believes it will simply be titled "Battlefield") will have robotic dogs you can control. This would be a great tweak to the mechanics in the game, with Henderson teasing the "dog is more like Boston Dynamics Mule that can run really fast and potentially has a weapon on it. But it looks like it could be a new vehicle type instead of a gadget".

Henderson has teased that the next-gen Battlefield would be a "accurate representation of 2030's military combat compared to Final Stand. Everything in [the next Battlefield] is developmental weapons and vehicles being developed right now". That's exciting to hear, as we should have some great tweaked weapons of today through to 2030, as well as advanced vehicles, planes, drones, robotic dogs now, and more.

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Continue reading: The next-gen Battlefield rumored to have a robotic dog you can control (full post)

New Mass Effect remaster trilogy is now finalized and ready to ship

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Apr 10, 2021 4:17 PM CDT

The new Mass Effect Legendary Edition has gone gold, meaning it's 100% finalized and ready to ship and won't be delayed.

New Mass Effect remaster trilogy is now finalized and ready to ship

2020 was great for the games industry, but 2021 is shaping up to be a year of delays. Luckily the new Mass Effect remaster trilogy won't be pushed back. BioWare project director Mac Walters confirms the game is now complete and ready to be mass produced and shipped out to consumers.

The new trilogy makes big upgrades to the originals, including 4K 60FPS performance, ultra-fast loading on next-gen SSDs, improved shadows/lighting, and a bunch of quality-of-life improvements. This is especially true for the first Mass Effect game, which now has a ton of changes including sprinting outside of combat, individual controls over squadmates during combat, tweaked aiming, ADS, and more, and being able to use any weapon regardless of class type.

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Continue reading: New Mass Effect remaster trilogy is now finalized and ready to ship (full post)

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