Latest News - Page 1604

We all know about the on-going protests across the United States (and now the world) over George Floyd, with a new photo going around social media showing armed gamers protecting a GameStop store.

The picture sees armed Americans which have been dubbed "rooftop gamers" with rifles, standing there to protect a GameStop store from being looted. The photo seems to have been taken in Pennsylvania, with the tweet reading: "If you're in the area of Aramingo and Butler: armed men on top of the Game Stop. STEER CLEAR. Photo was at 1430 or thereabouts".

Why "rooftop gamers" you ask? That goes back to the Korean business owners who pushed race rioters away from their stores with guns during the infamous LA riots of 1992.

A bit ago Linus from Linus Tech Tips called Tim Sweeney out and criticized the Epic boss' remarks about the PS5's SSD. Now Linus has apologized and delves deeper into the PlayStation 5's storage tech.

Tim Sweeney is a huge fan of the PS5's SSD, and went so far as to call it 'god-tier.' Sony's next-gen SSD is beyond the highest-level PC SSDs on the market today with best-in-class storage, Sweeney said. Like many PC gamers, Linus Sebastian was skeptical and made some comments about Sweeney shilling for the PS5. But now after actually watching Mark Cerny's presentation, digging through research, and checking out older Sony SSD patents, Linus is apologizing.

The apology video goes into depth about the PS5's SSD, but none of the details will be a surprise to anyone that's read our PlayStation 5 SSD deep dive coverage.

The custom Cyberpunk 2077 Xbox is the best-looking custom Xbox One X to date, and comes with a ton of extras to sweeten the pot.

The new Cyberpunk 2077 console will close out the Xbox One X's lifecycle, and Microsoft is making sure it goes out with a bang. The $300 limited edition Cyberpunk 2077 Xbox One X will be quite rare, limited to just 45,000 units worldwide, but that kind of availability allows for some pretty big extras like a free copy of Cyerpunk 2077 and free access to the game's first major paid expansion.

The news was confirmed in a recent Best Buy listing which reads: "Enjoy a full-game digital download of Cyberpunk 2077 (available September 17, 2020), as well as the future first expansion release, on the 1TB limited edition console that uses textures, glowing elements, bright panels, and color shift effects to capture the vibrant grit and technical enhancements of Night City."

A long-awaited feature has shown in up the latest Xbox App update: dedicated mod support.

Microsoft is finally enabling native mods in PC games sold on the Xbox store. Right now the feature is in beta testing phases and isn't ready for widespread public release (just like the app itself), and Microsoft warns users of certain restrictions while using mods. This is basically analogous to Steam Workshop mods, complete with in-app mod folder navigation. Right now only a few games support mods, including strategy game Into the Breach.

Enabling mods in the app could interfere with specific service functions and features, and could disrupt gameplay updates:

Thermaltake has unveiled a new range of all-in-one liquid coolers that fall into the Thermaltake ARGB TH120/240/360 AIO range. All of the coolers have fans with ARGB lighting to help draw people's attention and give the computer systems they're used in extra style. The surface of the copper baseplate is polished to a high sheen to guarantee performance and heat extraction.

Thermaltake says that it uses a top-quality pump hidden inside the glowing ARGB water block. The pump circulates the coolant to ensure that the copper plate stays cool at all times. The large surface radiator has fans to dissipate heat, and they support 16.8 million colors via LED lights.

The LEDs are compatible with the 5V RGB capable motherboards from ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI, and ASRock. The cooling systems support a smart fan controller that allows the user to switch among LED lighting effects, LED color distribution, and LED lighting speeds when using a motherboard without a 5V addressable RGB header.

EA games might be coming to Steam, but you'll still have to not only download the Origin client, but have it running at all times in order to play games.

EA is making a big push onto Steam and plans to simultaneously launch all of its PC games on both Steam and Origin. Apparently Valve wants Apex Legends, and EA wants more sales. But before we get too excited, there's one important caveat to remember: You can't completely dodge Origin. EA will use the Origin client as a DRM check for all of its games on Steam.

This message is nestled in the new EA game listings: "Incorporates 3rd-party DRM: EA on-line activation and Origin client software installation and background use required."

Lenovo has launched a new Chromebook laptop that aims to be portable and let users get everyday computing task completed wherever they may be. The machine is called the Chromebook 3, and it has an 11.6-inch HD resolution display with narrow bezels. The device is lightweight at 2.47 pounds and features integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2.

The processor is an Intel Celeron N4020 running at 1.1 GHz up to 2.8 GHz with two cores and two threads. As a Chromebook, naturally, it runs the Chrome OS. The native resolution of the display is 1366 x 768, with 250 nits brightness and an anti-glare coating.

Lenovo fits the machine with 4GB of LPDDR4 2400 MHz RAM that is soldered to the board and can't be upgraded. Storage is to a 64GB eMMC drive, and graphics are handled by Intel UHD Graphics 600. An integrated web camera with 720p resolution is built-in. Connectivity options include a pair of USB-A ports and a pair of USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 ports. The machine also has an integrated headphone/microphone combo port and microSD card reader.

Riot Games is currently testing and prototyping Valorant on consoles, but the devs aren't 100% sure the game will translate properly to more casual controller play.

In a recent interview with Gamespot, Valorant executive producer Anna Donlon said Riot is experimenting with consoles right now...but there's no guarantee the game will actually arrive on PlayStation, Xbox, or even the Nintendo Switch.

"We are definitely prototyping that right now, but there's a way to play this game and there's a way to experience this game that we're not entirely sure translates completely to console play."

Investment watchdog and Activision-Blizzard shareholder CTW Investment Group calls out Bobby Kotick's huge salaries, and prompts investors to vote against a new compensation package for the CEO.

According to the CTW Investment Group's director Dieter Waizenegger, Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick makes way too much money. In 2019, Kotick ranked #45 on the highest paid CEOs, and managed to rake in over $28 million throughout the year. As Activision-Blizzard's coffers swelled to billion-dollar proportions throughout the years, so too has Kotick's payouts, which grew to nearly $100 million across four years.

CTW, an activist firm aimed at equalizing pay and fair treatment of workers, owns active shares in Activision-Blizzard and called the company out in a recent SEC filing. The firm basically states that Kotick is raking in too much compensation in comparison to its workers. Waizenegger makes a compelling argument and puts numbers into perspective and gives a closer look at the inner workings of the company's executive structure.

Gamers and computer enthusiasts looking to build a new computer leaning towards AMD for the processor should check out a good deal that Micro Center has going for an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X processor. The CPU runs at 3.6GHz and is an 8-core AM4 retail boxed product.

It ships with a Wraith Prism Cooler and usually costs $329.99. During the special sale, a $70 discount brings the CPU to a sales price of $259.99. There is a bit of a caveat with the deal for the CPU. It's only in-store. It can't be ordered online, meaning that if you don't have a Micro Center in your town or near enough to drive to, you can't take advantage of the deal.

Shoppers are also limited to one processor at the discounted price per household. If you bundle the CPU with a compatible motherboard, Micro Center will knock another $20 off the retail price of the motherboard. Buyers can also add a two year or three-year replacement plan for the processor at $29.99 and $59.99, respectively.

New gameplay for this year's Call of Duty has leaked out, confirming a Cold War era setting for the upcoming shooter.

Activision has been busily scrubbing all instances of the Black Ops Cold War gameplay off the internet, but we found a rather janky and blurry re-upload that shows the basics. The movement schemes and interactions are lifted right out of the latest engine used to build Modern Warfare and show fluid physics systems. There's no actual combat, and the environments sport the unfinished multi-colored walls found in playtest builds.

What's most interesting is the gun and the tank seen in the footage. The gun is an AK5, which was made in Sweden in the early 1980s and used in the Cold War. The tank is an the American M1 Abrams tank, which was also used in the Cold War in exercises focused in Western Germany.

A UFO and alien 'expert' has claimed that he has found proof that aliens do exist and that they have already built structures on the Moon's surface.

According to Scott Waring, an 'expert' in aliens and UFO's, proof has been found of alien structures on the Moon. This 'proof' has been published in the form of an essay on his website titled "100% Proof Of NASA Taking Images Of Alien Structures On Earth's Moon". According to Waring, "I was looking in the old Apollo 15 mission photos when I came across this huge structure. The building is about half a kilometre long and looks like a recently used base. I say recently used because the other structures near it are 90 percent covered in a thick layer of moon dust."

In the above image you can see that Waring has circled what he believes to be alien structures, and as Waring explains, "I often only point out the highest detailed structures to insure the readers can also see it, but today I will circle the others to show you a bit more." On top of these published findings, Waring also posted the image that can be seen in the entirety of this article. Waring claims this is even more proof of alien structures on the Moon, and that NASA is going out of their way not to report these discoveries to the public.

In what feels like it was ripped right out of a movie script, the former head of MI6 has said that coronavirus may have "started as an accident" in a Chinese laboratory.

According to Sir Richard Dearlove, who has cited an "important" new study by British and Norwegian researchers that he says could "shift the debate" on COVID-19. The new research suggests something conspiracy theorists said many months ago, that key elements were "inserted" into COVID-19's genetic sequence, and it might not have actually evolved naturally like we've had shoved down our throats from the media and experts for months.

The Telegraph reports that the new research was published in the Quarterly Review of Biophysics Discovery, where co-author John Fredrik Moxnes who is the chief scientific advisor to the Norwegian military, reportedly asked for his name to be removed from the paper.

We all know the George Floyd protest are on-going in the US and slowly throughout the world, but now game developers and other companies are jumping in to support the cause: now, it's time for NBA 2K20.

In a tweet from ESPN, NBA 2K20 paused its entire online play operations for two entire hours, as well as gave out Black Lives Matter and I Can't Breathe in-game shirts to players. This is all done in the protests for George Floyd, where we can see players in the above tweet walking around in the game with their new BLM and I Can't Breathe shirts.

2K Games also announced that they were giving $1 million in additional funding to their 2K Foundations Program, which will expand its mission to "help fight racial injustice and inequalities in black communities across the globe".

LG had one of the best gaming TVs on show earlier this year at CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas -- with their new 2020 lineup of 4K TVs including a bunch of OLED panels.

The latest in LG's continued OLED domination is the 48CX, which is a 48-inch 4K OLED TV with a gaming-focused 120Hz refresh rate and NVIDIA G-SYNC support. It will cost $1499, and will go on sale in the US this month -- in June 2020.

LG's new 48CX model is the first time LG has sold an OLED panel that is smaller than 55 inches, and it comes packed with all the goodies you'd expect of a high-end OLED TV and gaming monitor. LG even says that with the 48-inch panel and 4K resolution, it has the same pixel density of a massive 96-inch 8K display. Wowzers.

The DRAM market is about to get hairy, with Chinese manufacturer Xi'an UnilC Semiconductors making its first DDR4 memory that is 100% made in China.

The 100% made in China part is interesting, as UnilC is using made-in-China parts from start to finish: all DRAM chips, PCB, drivers, and other required parts. It's a plain-looking stick of DDR4, with no RGB lighting or even a heatspreader -- but this is day one of making made-in-China DDR4 memory.

We have unbuffered DDR4-2400 and DDR4-2667 modules being made by UnilC in 8GB sticks. As for timings, we're looking at the DDR4-2400 module is timed at CL17 17-17-39, and the DDR4-2667 at CL18. Both of the modules use 1.2V. We're not going to see China take over the DDR4 market overnight, but this is a very big step in that direction.

I've been really digging the PlayStation 5 and its V-shaped design in its development kit form, secretly (well, probably not-so-secretly as I've said it here publicly working for TweakTown for years now) hoping the final PS5 has the V-shaped design.

Well, now we have a new patent for the PlayStation 5 development kit that has been uploaded to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The new patent shows us some more details on how the PlayStation 5 is being cooled, where that gorgeous V-shaped design is coming into play with Sony.

The new patent for the PlayStation 5 sees the next-gen console having two "wings" -- with 3 fans used to cool the APU, and 3 others to cool the PSU. Sony is using a vapor chamber, with Sony reportedly using an "advanced liquid cooling system" to keep the PlayStation 5 nice and cool.

CES 2020 came and went this year as it was before the entire world was under a global lockdown thanks to coronavirus, and while events after it were cancelled -- GTC, GDC, Computex, E3, and so much more -- it seems it will be business like usual for CES 2021.

In a new announcement, the Consumer Technology Association (the body that organizes CES) says that planning for CES 2021 was "underway". The post reads: Once again, we are focused on bringing you the most influential tech event in the world. Major brands are committed for the show, and we look forward to announcing another slate of top-tier speakers".

There will be many more livestreamed CES 2021 content, as well as "many other engaging digital and virtual opportunities, enabling you to connect with the world's leading technology innovators, thought leaders and policymakers. We will showcase our exhibitors' products, technology breakthroughs and ideas to the world, both physically in Las Vegas and digitally".

Activision recently halted the launch of Call of Duty's new seasons because of the unrest in the US, and now it is Epic Games that is delaying Fortnite events and its new season.

Fortnite's new one-time event dubbed The Device was meant to launch on June 6, and has now been delayed until June 15. Not only that, but Chapter 2 Season 3 has been delayed, and will now launch two days after The Device event, with Chapter 2 Season 3 of Fortnite now launching on June 17.

This isn't the first time Epic has delayed Season 3 of Fortnite, which was originally meant to start on May 1 -- but was delayed until June 4, then June 11, and now June 17.

Today EA made good on its promise and brought a ton of back catalog PC games over to Steam. This is just the beginning, and new PC games are also dropping on Valve's platform.

For the longest time, EA locked its PC games behind its own storefront-and-service ecosystem. But now that's all changed. EA is now eager to tap Steam's massive 95 million userbase and wants to maximize sales.

Increased sales by boosted availability is the main motivation behind the big Steam push. Today EA dropped over 25 of its best-selling PC games on Steam, including yesteryear hits Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age: Inquisition, a handful of Need for Speed games, and many more that're also on sale. The bigger news is EA confirming all future PC games would simultaneously launch on Steam as well.