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GALAX GeForce RTX 3080 SG pushed to 2340MHz, breaks OC world records
NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card is here and while it might not have much overclocking headroom in stock -- and custom form -- that doesn't mean there's hard limits.
You just need the right mods and cooling and it can be pushed pretty high, with the folks at TecLab smashing another OC world record with a modified GALAX GeForce RTX 3080 SG graphics card. The card itself was cooled to sub 0C temperatures with liquid nitrogen (LN2) cooling.
TecLab used an Intel Core i9-10900K which was also LN2 cooled, and overclocked up to a huge 6.1GHz -- alongside the LN2 cooled GALAX RTX 3080 SG graphics card at 1749/2019MHz (base, boost) with a stable 2310MHz during the 3DMark testing.
Continue reading: GALAX GeForce RTX 3080 SG pushed to 2340MHz, breaks OC world records (full post)
VividQ, ARM bringing holographic display technology to mobile devices
VividQ, a software company specializing in computer-generated holography (CGH), and ARM, the worlds leading mobile processor maker, announced a partnership that would enable holographic displays next-generation mobile phones and AR device.
VividQ and ARM are working together to ensure that VividQ's computer-generated holography (CGH) software is compatible with ARM processors. VividQ works with a host of industries, including automotive, medical, and aerospace, and the company has now set its sights on the AR/VR industry. The partnership with ARM will ensure that VividQ's platform works on future mobile devices such as smartphones and AR smart glasses.
"Our hope is to jumpstart the expansion and adoption of AR, empowering it with a revolutionary new display technology," said Tom Durrant, Co-founder and Chief Development Officer at VividQ. "Our collaboration with Arm - an international player in high-performance integrated compute solutions - supports the ambitious roll-out of holographic display, powered by VividQ. The Arm Mali GPU is perfect for computationally intensive applications, such as Computer-Generated Holography. We are delighted to be working closely with Arm to bring truly realistic and immersive holographic experiences to life."
Continue reading: VividQ, ARM bringing holographic display technology to mobile devices (full post)
Empire Strikes Back returns to theaters for 40th anniversary
The Empire Strikes Back is returning to the big screen next Friday to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
In what could be an ill-timed event, Lucasfilm and Fandango are partnering to bring The Empire Strikes Back to theaters to commemorate the film's 40th birthday. The iconic film is regarded as the best in the series and was originally released in May 1980. Some theaters (like mine) are showing the film the entire week from Thursday, September 24 all the way to Thursday, October 1, so be sure to check your listings.
Fandango does a good job compiling everything here. Most theaters are requiring patrons to wear full facemask coverings while in the theaters, so keep that in mind too.
Continue reading: Empire Strikes Back returns to theaters for 40th anniversary (full post)
Sony's new PlayStation 5 games cost up to $69.99
Sony's new first-party PlayStation 5 games will cost up to $69.99, but not every game will be that much.
Sony recently confirmed the PS5's next-gen games lineup and price, which is varied in selection, length, and MSRP. Games like Demon's Souls will cost $69.99, but others like Spider-Man Miles Morales, which is a shorter spin-off experience, will only cost $49.99. Sony is clearly positioning its top-tier longform PS5 exclusives at a premium $69.99 price tag. Expect bigger games like Horizon Forbidden West and Ratchet and Clank A Rift Apart to likewise sell for this price.
This new $69.99 price seems to be the standard for AAA games going forward. Big publishers like Activision and 2K Games are charging $69.99 for frontline games like NBA 2K21 and Black Ops Cold War. Other developers like Ubisoft, EA, CD Projekt RED and SEGA are offering free next-gen upgrades for anyone who buys PS4 and Xbox One versions of their games. Sony is doing this too, and confirms anyone who buys Spider-Man Miles Morales on PS4 will get a free upgrade to PS5.
Continue reading: Sony's new PlayStation 5 games cost up to $69.99 (full post)
Cyberpunk 2077 PC requirements are incredibly lenient
Cyberpunk 2077 won't require a beastly PC rig in order to run--but it'll definitely flex the new RTX 3000 series cards.
Today CDPR revealed the PC spec requirements for Cyberpunk 2077, and they're pretty lenient. The game covers a wide spectrum of GPU/CPU configs, ranging from a GTX 780 GPU and i5-3570K GPU at the minimum requirement spec all the way to a GTX 1060 and Core i7-4790K at the recommended level. We're not sure what kind of perf the minimum and recommended specs refer to, but expect them to be as low as 720p 30FPS and as high as 1080p 60FPS.
Cyberpunk 2077 requires at least 8GB of RAM and 70GB of install space, and ideally, CDPR wants you to play the game from an SSD.
Continue reading: Cyberpunk 2077 PC requirements are incredibly lenient (full post)
President Trump brings ban hammer down on TikTok, WeChat in the US
The Trump administration is bringing down the ban hammer on both TikTok and WeChat in the United States, starting this Sunday.
WeChat will be blocked from US app stores starting on Sunday, with the same bans hitting TikTok on November 12. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Russ explained in a statement: "Today's actions prove once again that President Trump will do everything in his power to guarantee our national security and protect Americans from the threats of the Chinese Communist Party".
President Trump signed an executive order on August 6, giving TikTok 45 days to GTFO of the United States -- well, Sunday is 45 days from August 6.
Continue reading: President Trump brings ban hammer down on TikTok, WeChat in the US (full post)
NVIDIA's new GeForce Experience update has awesome Performance Overlay
NVIDIA has just launched its new GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards, and with it we have some new GeForce 456.38 WHQL drivers right here.
It's not just the new drivers that you should be interested in, but the latest GeForce Experience update and its 'experimental features' tick box needing to be clicked. Once you've done that, restarted GeForce Experience -- you'll then be greeted with the option for the new in-game performance overlay.
Once you've done that, simply press Alt+Z and you'll have the Share overlay show up. Inside of that, you'll notice a Performance button in the top right -- click that and you'll be greeted with the Performance Monitoring tab.
Continue reading: NVIDIA's new GeForce Experience update has awesome Performance Overlay (full post)
GIGABYTE confirms GeForce RTX 3080 with 20GB model, RTX 3070 with 16GB
GIGABYTE seems to have found itself in a spot of trouble, seemingly confirming multiple unannounced GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards.
The above list is a pure smorgasbord of Ampere graphics cards from GIGABYTE, teasing the GeForce RTX 3060 with 8GB, GeForce RTX 3070 with 16GB and the GeForce RTX 3080 with 20GB. We could expect this to be the RTX 3060 SUPER or Ti, the RTX 3070 SUPER or Ti, and then maybe the RTX 3080 SUPER.
We should expect the GeForce RTX 3080 20GB model to be identical to specs with its GA102 GPU as the just-launched GeForce RTX 3080 with 10GB. But... the RTX 3060 with the GA106 GPU should feature 8GB of RAM while the GA104-based RTX 3060 SUPER/Ti will feature 16GB of GDDR6 memory.
Continue reading: GIGABYTE confirms GeForce RTX 3080 with 20GB model, RTX 3070 with 16GB (full post)
Crysis Remastered is now out on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4
The day has come: Crysis Remastered is here and now available for download on the PC through the Epic Games Store, and on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles.
Crysis Remastered weighs in at just 20GB, which is great to see in a sea of insanely huge games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare which is a mammoth 200GB download. The Crysis Remastered launch trailer is above for your viewing pleasure.
I just want to see what that 'Can it Run Crysis?' graphics mode is like, I guess we'll have to wait and see -- I've just purchased and downloaded it now and will be running it on my fresh new GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition graphics card (my review on that here).
Continue reading: Crysis Remastered is now out on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 (full post)
EKTO VR built a set of robotic shoes to solve VR locomotion
Locomotion in VR has been a problem since day one. How do you simulate moving a long distance, when you can't physically move a long distance due to space limitations or cable length restrictions? Many solutions have been proposed, including software methods like teleportation and hardware methods like omnidirectional treadmills. EKTO VR believes it has a better solution. Especially for enterprise-level training solutions.
EKTO VR's EKTO One is a pair of robotic boots that can transform a small VR training space into an infinite virtual environment that you can walk around naturally. The EKTO One boots use computer-controlled wheels that work against you as you walk to make it feel like you're moving forward when you're walking in place.
Each EKTO VR boot features four wheels, two in the front and two in the back, that roll against you when you walk and lock in place when you stand still. The system uses hip and ankle movement detection to determine when your walking, and the wheel react accordingly. The boots support forward and backwards movement, as well as side to side strafe movement. The wheels on the bottom rotate 90-degrees when you walk sideways. EKTO VR said the system uses four robotics-grade motors to control the wheels and four motors to handle the rotation. The boots are built from rugged materials, including a carbon fibre structure and industrial-grade electronics. EKTO VR uses the Vive Tracker platform to integrate the boots with HTC Vive or Valve Index VR headsets.
Continue reading: EKTO VR built a set of robotic shoes to solve VR locomotion (full post)
ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity graphics card on eBay for over $50,000
NVIDIA has now officially launched its GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition graphics card, but now a custom ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity graphics card hitting eBay for $50,100. Yeah, $50,100.
The card is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- but they'll ship worldwide for the low, low cost of $51,000. This is simply insane and no one is going to buy it at this price, but it sure beats the pants off of the $1200 price that scalpers were charging for the GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card.
You could buy 71 new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition graphics cards for $50,000. Hell, you could buy multiple next-gen rigs with RTX 3080 graphics cards and have change.
Continue reading: ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity graphics card on eBay for over $50,000 (full post)
NVIDIA apologizes for instant-sold-out GeForce RTX 3080 cards
I'm sure you have either experienced it yourself, or someone you know has -- tried to buy NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition anywhere in the world, and couldn't get your hands-on one.
If you were trying to buy an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 online at launch, retailers websites worldwide were crashing from the massive load of traffic of hungry gamers. I personally had multiple messages from friends here in Australia linking me to local retailers' websites that were dead.
VideoCardz reported the news, also noting that two weeks ago TweakTown had a story -- wait, that's me -- yeah, I said two weeks ago now that there would be low stock of GeForce RTX 30 series cards for the rest of the year. You can read more about that here.
Continue reading: NVIDIA apologizes for instant-sold-out GeForce RTX 3080 cards (full post)
Project ARIA takes Facebook's AR research to the next level
Facebook's Project ARIA is a research device that will set the stage for the future of everyday computing. The data that Facebook collects from this project will give them insights into building the infrastructure necessary to build contextualized, persistent, multi-user augmented experiences.
Facebook Reality Labs has big plans for augmented reality. The company envisions a future where always-on AR glasses could be an integral part of our every day lives. But before we got to that point, there's much research to be done and Facebook's XR research department, FRL Research, is about to take a significant step towards laying the necessary foundations for that future.
During Facebook Connect, Facebook Reality Labs revealed Project ARIA. This research device will enable Facebook to gather much needed egocentric (i.e., first-person) data to help lay the foundational pieces for a world-scale spatial map.
Continue reading: Project ARIA takes Facebook's AR research to the next level (full post)
Oculus Quest 2 doesn't support Ultraleap hand-tracking after all
A couple of weeks ago, Qualcomm and Ultraleap announced a multi-year deal that would see Ultraleap's hand-tracking technology integrated into Qualcomm's XR2 extended reality platform. We guessed that the upcoming Quest 2 would take advantage of this technology, but it turns out we were wrong.
Qualcomm's XR2 platform powers oculus Quest 2, but Facebook does not use Ultraleap's technology. Facebook Reality Labs put a lot of time and effort into developing its hand-tracking solution for the Quest headset, and it isn't about to throw that investment out the window.
Quest 2 utilizes the same tracking technology-albeit improved--as the first Quest headset. The new headset has different cameras, and obviously more power to process the hand-tracking data to provide a better tracking experience. Facebook Reality Labs developers and researchers also had more than a year to fine-tune the tracking software.
Continue reading: Oculus Quest 2 doesn't support Ultraleap hand-tracking after all (full post)
99% of PS4 games will be playable on PlayStation 5 at launch
Sony is making huge progress with PS5's backwards compatibility, and now confirms that 99% of PS4 games are playable.
Back in March, Sony claimed the PS5 would play thousands of PS4 games by launch. Now it's official. Sony confirms the next-gen PS5 will natively support 99% of the PS4's games library. How many games is that? According to Wikipedia, there's about 2,870 PS4 games on the market. 99% of that value is 2,841, which means roughly 29 games won't be playable.
The news was confirmed in a recent Washington Post interview with Sony's Jim Ryan. In another interview with Japanese magazine Famitsu, Ryan confirmed the PS5 won't play legacy PS1, PS2, and PS3 games. The next-gen PlayStation is only backwards compatible with PS4 titles.
Continue reading: 99% of PS4 games will be playable on PlayStation 5 at launch (full post)
Sony's Jim Ryan: PlayStation 5 won't play PS1, PS2, or PS3 games
Sony Interactive Entertainment President Jim Ryan re-confirms the PS5 won't support or play PS1, PS2, or PS3 games via backward compatibility.
The PS5's backwards compatibility support only extends to the PS4 era, and the next-gen console won't play legacy PS1, PS2, or PS3 games. Sony's Jim Ryan re-iterated the news in a recent interview with Famitsu:
"We have been building devices with a focus on PS5-specific engineering. Among them, PS4 already has 100 million players, so I thought that I would like to play PS4 titles on PS5 as well, so we introduced PS4 compatibility. While achieving that, we focused on incorporating high-speed SSDs and the new DualSense controller in parallel. So, unfortunately, compatibility with them has not been achieved," Ryan said.
Continue reading: Sony's Jim Ryan: PlayStation 5 won't play PS1, PS2, or PS3 games (full post)
Devil May Cry 5: 4K30FPS, 1080p60FPS with ray tracing on PlayStation 5
UPDATE:Capcom clarifies the exact performance and resolution modes in Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition on PS5 and Xbox Series X:
Devs are finally talking about the PlayStation 5's ray tracing capabilities in length, and Capcom is putting the console's high-end specs to good use with a new Devil May Cry 5 re-release.
Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition will flex the entirety of PS5's hardware and shows what Capcom's RE Engine is capable of. Capcom confirms the game can hit 120FPS with variable refresh rates over HDMI 2.1 capable displays, and supports ray tracing at 4K 30FPS and 1080p 60FPS.
Continue reading: Devil May Cry 5: 4K30FPS, 1080p60FPS with ray tracing on PlayStation 5 (full post)
PS4 will live alongside PS5 until 2024, Sony confirms
Sony isn't ready to flip the reset switch on the PlayStation 4's 110 million+ install base, and confirms the console will live alongside the PS5 until at least 2024.
The PS4 is too valuable to retire, and Sony plans to gradually pass the torch over to the successor PS5 in a span of multiple years. Sony's Jim Ryan says the PS4 will remain a big part of the PlayStation business at least until 2024. Previously, Sony said the PS4 would be supported until at least 2022.
"The PS4 community will continue to be incredibly important to us for three or four years. Many will transition to PS5, we hope, if we do our job well. But tens of millions will still be engaged with the PS4," Sony Interactive Entertainment president Jim Ryan told The Washington Post.
Continue reading: PS4 will live alongside PS5 until 2024, Sony confirms (full post)
PS Plus Collection is Sony's golden ticket for subscriber retention
Sony's new PlayStation Plus Collection is a golden ticket for subscription retention, and will anchor a new generation of console owners to the digital service.
The new PlayStation Plus Collection is a goldmine for retention, which is something Sony has struggled with. The PS Plus Collection is a vault of PS4 games included free with all active PS Plus subscriptions that mimics Microsoft's Game Pass. The addition adds tremendous value to the service, but it's exclusive for PS5 owners, and for good reason. PS Plus Collection is specifically designed to do many things at once--but all of them aim at keeping subscriptions active.
The PS Plus Collection only includes 18 PlayStation 4 titles. It's almost like an Xbox Game Pass lite. But unlike Game Pass, which includes a ton of live service-oriented games with microtransactions and monetization, the PS Plus Collection mainly serves up long-winded singleplayer-driven games (only 4 out of the 18 games have microtransactions).
Continue reading: PS Plus Collection is Sony's golden ticket for subscriber retention (full post)
NASA considers mission to Venus after discovery of possible life
If you happened to miss the news, it was only yesterday I reported about scientists finding traces in a planet's atmosphere that indicates life could be present.
That planet is Venus, and according to a study recently published in the journal Nature Astronomy, scientists researching Venus have found traces of phosphine gas, which is a life signature sign. The researchers believe that phosphine gas is an indicator of life because microbes that live in animals have been found to produce the gas in the intestines. An author of the study said that the researchers couldn't find any other reason than possible life for the detection of phosphine gas.
Now, NASA is considering approving two planetary science missions to uncover the truth of the gas. At the moment, there are four possible missions under review by NASA, and one of those is called DAVINCI+, which would launch a probe into Venus' atmosphere to perform testing. David Grinspoon, an astrobiologist working on the DAVINCI+ proposal, told Reuters on Tuesday, "Davinci is the logical one to choose if you're motivated in part by wanting to follow this up - because the way to follow this up is to actually go there and see what's going on in the atmosphere".
Continue reading: NASA considers mission to Venus after discovery of possible life (full post)





















