Latest News - Page 161

AMD confirmed at CES 2026 that its next-generation Instinct MI500 AI accelerator will be fabbed on TSMC's new 2nm process node, and be powered by the next-gen CDNA 6 architecture and next-gen HBM4E memory.

We will see AMD launching its next-gen Instinct MI500 series AI accelerators in 2027, as the company is moving into a faster annual cadence of releases in order to catch up with NVIDIA, and a similar way to how NVIDIA uses its standard and "Ultra" offerings. For example, NVIDIA has Blackwell and then Blackwell Ultra, Rubin and Rubin Ultra.

AMD provided some more concrete details about its MI500 at CES 2026 this week, confirming that it will be fabricated on an advanced 2nm process node at TSMC, the new CDNA 6 architecture (MI400 uses CDNA 5), and next-gen HBM4E memory (the next-gen standard after HBM4).

AMD showed off its impressive new Ryzen AI Halo Mini-PC at CES 2026, powered by its Ryzen AI Max series "Strix Halo" APUs, acting as an answer to the NVIDIA DGX Spark.

AMD's flagship Strix Halo APU features up to 16 cores and 32 threads of Zen 5 CPU power, 40 cores of RDNA 3.5 GPU power, an XDNA 2-based NPU for AI workloads, and up to 128GB of RAM. AMD has used the power of its Strix Halo APU and created the Ryzen AI Halo, which will take the mini AI supercomputer battle to NVIDIA's doorstep with its DGX Spark.

The new AMD Ryzen AI Halo has been designed as an AI Developer Platform, similar to how it works with the NVIDIA DGX Spark, designed to speed up AI development and workloads.

At CES 2026, Sandisk unveiled its new Sandisk Optimus line of SSDs for consumers. Well, new in the sense that Sandisk Optimus is the new name for the popular SSDs formerly known as WD Blue and WD_BLACK under Western Digital.

The Sandisk Optimus GX line-up represents high-performance SSDs for PC gamers that were previously found under the WD_BLACK brand, such as the WD_BLACK SN7100 NVMe SSD.

The flagship Sandisk Optimus GX PRO line is all about the best of the best and cutting-edge PCIe Gen5 speeds. Built for gamers, creators, and professionals, the Sandisk Optimus GX PRO line includes the lightning-fast WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD released in 2025.

SK hynix showcased its next-gen memory solutions for AI at CES 2026, showing off its new 48GB HBM4, LPDDR6, SOCAMM2, and more for AI platforms of the future.

SK hynix showed off its next-gen 16-Hi HBM4 with 48GB, newer HBM4 that will succeed the upcoming 12-Hi HBM4 with 36GB that will arrive this year. The faster 16-Hi HBM4 48GB modules are bloody fast, with 2TB/sec of memory bandwidth per stack, destined for NVIDIA's next-gen Vera Rubin AI platform.

The company had its new 16-Hi HBM4 48GB running at the industry's fastest speed of 11.7Gbps, and is still under development at SK hynix, and will be released in the nearish future.

ADATA XPG has showcased its latest in power supply technology at CES 2026, with the company unveiling the soon-to-be-released Cybercore III.

The Cybercore III is an 80 PLUS PLATINUM certified PSU, which comes with GPU Power Guard, a new in-system alert that is triggered when 12V-2x6 connectors exceed their power ratings. The Cybercore III features an enlarged FDB fan, which is 26% larger than the previous generation. The fan measures at 135mm, and has been paired with 8x industrial level protections with a 10-year warranty.

Additionally, the Cybercore III is compatible with an Intel ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 with a 12V-2x6 (600W) connector. The Cybercore III is coming in two wattages, 1200W and 1000W. ADATA ran us through the Cybercore III at CES 2025, and when held in the hand you can immediately notice the robustness of the PSU, particularly how well constructed it is.

At CES 2026, XPG (ADATA's high-performance PC hardware gaming brand) brought a new prototype modular open-frame chassis that it's calling the DOCK. The open-frame design, generally associated with test benches, is also a popular case style among enthusiasts. XPG's sci-fi-looking DOCK customization extends to changing the aesthetics and adding some personalized style.

The design utilizes XPG's 'Exoskeleton' design language, which translates perfectly to the DOCK's open-frame look. The panels are metal to support magnetic accessories, including an 11-inch vertical display and a headset holder. The frame's edge also includes clips for connecting the triangle-shaped panel you see, which will feature several designs - including wood paneling and different colors.

Looks aside, the DOCK is designed to be highly modular, which means it can support vertical, horizontal, and corner installations and accommodate two systems. As for the 'Dynamic Breathing,' that arrives via XPG's latest Smart Fan technology.

GIGABYTE AORUS is officially expanding its OLED gaming monitor offerings as the company has unveiled four new additions to its expansive lineup at CES 2026.

GIGABYTE gave us a showcase of each of the monitors and explained how the company is focusing on exploring the space further with new OLED models. The showroom floor featured four new models: the 34" UWQHD MO34WQC36, the 32" MO32U24, and the 27" MO27Q28GR, and the 27-inch MO27Q2A ICE. Each of these monitors comes with AORUS' HyperNits feature and AI Picture Mode. HyperNits increases the brightness of the panel by up to 30% within the High mode, and 20% in the Medium Mode.

Starting with the MO34WQC36, this is a 34-inch 3440 x 1440p (WQHD) 360Hz QD-OLED gaming monitor. It features a 0.3ms (GtG) response time, 1x DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR13.5) and features Samsung's V-Stripe sub-pixel layout, which is set to improve text clarity significantly, specifically around the edges of text.

MSI has unveiled two new 5K gaming monitors at CES 2026, one is only capable of 75Hz at such a heavy resolution, but the other can push up to a 165Hz refresh rate.

CES 2026 is officially underway and MSI has showcased us two new gaming monitors it will be offering in 2026, the first the MAG 271KPD7, a 27-inch Rapid IPS dual mode gaming monitor that's capable of switching between 5K at 75Hz and 1440p at 300Hz. The 271KPD7 has a 0.5ms GtG response time, and 218 pixels per inch, making it an extremely impressive display purely based on image clarity.

The 271KPD7 also comes with an array of connectivity options, such as 2x HDMI 2.1 inputs, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB-C Type-C with 15W PD, 2x USB 5Gbps Type-A ports, 1x USB-B 5Gbps, and 1x headphone jack. The more premium model of the two is the MPG 271KRAW16, which is the display that MSI has claimed is the world's first 5K Mini-LED gaming monitor.

MSI has kicked off CES 2026 with a new generation of QD-OLED technology, marking the 5th iteration of the pixel technology.

MSI debuted the new QD-OLED panel generation with the MPG 341CQR X36, a 34-inch ultra wide that rocks a 3440 x 1440p resolution maximum refresh rate of 360Hz. The 341CQR X36 is debuting MSI's new RGB Stripe sub-pixel layout, which is a new design of how the sub pixels are arranged within an individual pixel. The introduction of Tandem OLED utilizing RGB Stripe technology is to improve color fringing and significantly enhance the clarity of text.

In addition to better color reproduction, the 341CQR X36, alongside the MEG X, will be receiving DarkArmor film, a new technology that is designed to absorb light and improve the deepness of blacks. MSI explains the film reduces purple or reddish tints that are commonly found across QD-OLED panels, and that it estimates the film can improve pure black levels by up to 40%. By reducing the black levels and significantly improving contrast MSI estimates DarkArmor film monitors will deliver superior image performance.

MSI has unveiled the MEG X gaming monitor at CES 2026, and the QD-OLED ultrawide display isn't just easy on the eyes, it is also equipped with an array of AI-powered features designed to assist a user while gaming.

The MEG X was unveiled alongside the MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36, with both of these new ultrawide gaming monitors rocking MSI's 5th generation QD-OLED panel that has taken advantage of Tandem OLED technology, resulting in improved color reproduction and accuracy. The MEG X is MSI's flagship gaming monitor, and comes with a suite of AI functions such as AI Tracker, AI Vision+, and AI Goggle.

Each of these features has a different impact on gameplay, with AI Tracker highlighting in-game characters, or AI Scope that automatically zooms in on targets for precision with optional Night Vision. There is also AI Goggle, a feature dedicated to improving the recovery time from flashbangs. Additionally, the MEG X comes with a SpectrumBar on the chin of the display. This light bar can be synced with an in-game status, such as health or stamina.

At CES 2026, AMD announced the new Ryzen 7 9850X3D desktop processor that takes the world's fastest CPU for PC gaming and makes it even faster by delivering Boost Clock speeds of 5.6 GHz, up from 5.2 GHz. Alongside this announcement, MSI has announced its latest flagship AM5 motherboard, the MEG X870E UNIFY-X MAX.

Perfect for the Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor and overclocking enthusiasts, this high-performance motherboard features a specialized 2-DIMM layout, making it the world's first motherboard to break the DDR5 10,000 MT/s barrier. According to MSI, its internal testers have already pushed DDR5 speeds on the MEG X870E UNIFY-X MAX to 10,200 MT/s - which is impressive.

The MEG X870E UNIFY-X MAX also doubles the BIOS ROM from 32MB to 64MB. It even features a dedicated tuning controller (and yes, it looks like a remote) that lets you adjust memory and CPU frequencies directly within the OS, bypassing the need to shut down, reboot, and enter the BIOS.

Dell has announced its new XPS 16 and XPS 14 laptops at CES 2026, with a tease of its new XPS 13 thrown into the mix, all powered by Intel's new Core Ultra Series 3 "Panther Lake" CPUs.

The new XPS 16, XPS 14, and XPS 13 laptops are a return to the original XPS branding, after Dell's major misstep in 2025 with its now gone Dell, Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Max naming... very Apple-like, but now the XPS brand returns in original form.

The new Dell XPS 16 and XPS 14 laptops are designed as a productivity powerhouse, with a premium design through CNC-machined aluminum used for the chassis, Gorilla Glass 3 production, and arriving as an ultra-thin, lightweight laptop that starts at only 14.6mm thin and 3 lbs.

At CES 2026, GIGABYTE unveiled a new custom GeForce RTX 5090 design from its team, dubbed the Infinity. The stylish, impressively compact design (a triple-slot RTX 5090 is rare) features a dual-flow-through cooling design similar to NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition.

The AORUS GeForce RTX 5090 Infinity is cooled by its unique WINDFORCE HYPERBURST Cooling System, which includes two Hawk Fans that pull air through the GPU, a direct-touch vapor chamber, superconducting heat pipes, composite metal grease, and a hidden third fan. Yes, the AORUS GeForce RTX 5090 Infinity includes a smaller fan at the center of the GPU, beneath the mesh panel, and it's barely visible.

At 33mm wide, this fan is known as the 'Overdrive' fan, designed to boost cooling and airflow for those looking to overclock the GPU or during those hardware-intensive 4K gaming sessions. As it features a dual-flow-through cooling design, it's presumed that the AORUS GeForce RTX 5090 Infinity uses a PCB layout similar to NVIDIA's Founders Edition.

Alienware stomped into CES 2026 with a bunch of new gaming laptops with new flagship Area-51 gaming laptops in 18-inch and 16-inch variants, a new 16X Aurora, and more.

Starting with Alienware's new Area-51 18 and 16 gaming laptops, they both feature upgraded designs with updated capabilities, both using the "Alienware 30" design language to celebrate the company's 30th anniversary. This new design includes Fluid Contours, Pillowed Palm Rests, and a Zero Hinge design.

Dell has tweaked the thermal design of the new Alienware Area-51 18+16 gaming laptops, with the latest cryo-chamber technology that's capable of up to 35% improved airflow, 15% improvement in acoustics, additional copper-based thermal modules in the form of heatpipes and a vapor chamber, as well as up to 20% higher volume on the bigger Area-51 18 gaming laptop.

Dell has announced its very latest Area-51 desktop gaming PC will arrive with the world's fastest gaming CPU: AMD's new Ryzen 7 9850X3D which just launched at CES 2026.

Dell launched the Alienware Area-51 desktop gaming PC at CES 2025 but only had Intel Core Ultra 200 series "Arrow Lake" processors, but in November 2025 it unlocked AMD Ryzen 9000 series "Zen 5" processors. At CES 2026 this week, the company announced the Alienware Area-51 would be available with AMD's new Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor.

You can configure a new Alienware Area-51 desktop gaming PC with AMD's new Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor, up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 with 24GB of GDDR7 memory... however, only 64GB of DDR5 (there are only two DIMM slots), and up to 12TB of SSD storage.

RTX Video Super Resolution is like DLSS for watching videos on YouTube or other streaming platforms: it takes a lower-resolution video, like 720p, and leverages AI to upscale it to 4K, delivering a sharper, more detailed image. RTX Video like DLSS leverages the Tensor Cores on GeForce RTX graphics cards for real-time upscaling.

At CES 2026, as part of a wide range of updates for RTX AI on GeForce RTX GPUs, NVIDIA announced that RTX Video will be coming to the popular, open-source AI platform ComfyUI in February. This means users with GeForce RTX GPUs will be able to take 720p AI-generated videos and upscale them "to 4K in seconds."

With the sheer computational power required to generate 4K AI video and images, most AI enthusiasts with a standard PC or laptop built for RTX AI create this content at lower resolutions, such as 720p.

NVIDIA ACE, which is a toolset that leverages a range of AI-powered technologies to create digital humans, is something we've covered a few times here at TweakTown. After going hands-on with tech demos and short gaming experiences in the past, at CES 2026, NVIDIA announced that it has partnered with Creative Assembly to bring NVIDIA ACE to the Total War series.

Starting with Total War: Pharaoh, NVIDIA ACE is implemented in-game to add an AI advisor that players can engage with via natural language, running locally on a GeForce RTX graphics card. For those who have played a Total War game or two, you'll no doubt be aware that the game's blend of Civilization-style empire management and epic real-time battles makes it one of the more complex strategy games on the market.

As detailed by Creative Assembly, the AI advisor, represented in-game by an era-correct NPC, can be called on to answer questions related to the game as well as offer advice on strategy, explain why one of your settlements just revolted, and countless other situations. This implementation of an in-game AI assistant has been trained on all the ins and outs of Total War: Pharaoh.

NVIDIA has unveiled G-Sync Pulsar at CES 2026, and besides being able to turn 360Hz refresh rate monitors into 1000Hz refresh rate displays, Pulsar also comes with G-Sync Ambient Adaptive Technology.

The Ambient Adaptive Technology is very similar to the technology within most smartphones that automatically changes the brightness on a screen depending on the ambient lighting hitting the display. An example of this would be the screen brightness reducing when entering a dark room and then increasing when using the device in direct sunlight.

NVIDIA's Ambient Adaptive Technology brings those same principles to gaming monitors, with the technology being able to adjust the brightness and temperature of the colors the monitor is displaying based on the ambient lighting of a room. Every G-Sync Pulsar monitor will come with Ambient Adaptive Technology, which adds a sensor to the display that detects the level of brightness in the room and will adjust the brightness and color temperature of the display accordingly.

NVIDIA has unveiled G-Sync Pulsar, a new display technology coming to select 27-inch 1440p 360Hz panels, which NVIDIA claims achieves motion clarity performance equivalent to 1000Hz refresh rate displays.

NVIDIA explained during a press briefing that G-Sync Pulsar is one of the company's latest and most impressive technologies it's releasing at CES 2026. Pulsar is launching with select monitor brands such as Acer, AOC, ASUS, and MSI. The feature will be exclusive to 27-inch IPS WQHD 2560 x 1440p 360Hz refresh rate models, and availability is set right after CES 2026.

So, how does Pulsar actually work and how can it take a 360Hz monitor and make it feel like a 1000Hz monitor? NVIDIA explains Pulsar introduces a rolling backlight that when a single frame is produced initiates a scan when a frame is generated. Traditionally, during a scan out in VRR backlight strobing blur can be produced as the image within frames does not perfectly line up with the previous and next few frames, which is perceived as a blur effect.

CES 2026 is here and kicking off the week-long tech-announcement madness is NVIDIA and its unveiling of a selection of new technologies, and one standout on the list is DLSS 4.5, specifically its introduction of 6x multiframe generation.

NVIDIA confirmed via its online press conference that more features are coming with the release of DLSS 4.5, and some will be exclusive to NVIDIA hardware running Blackwell architecture, or in other words, exclusive to the RTX 5000-series GPUs. NVIDIA explains DLSS 4.5 being able to offer 6x multiframe generation (MFG) performance can be attributed to the second generation transformer model, which has increased the quality of the input frames, and therefore the generated frames.

Additionally, this improvement in MFG capabilities has been possible by several improvements to the way frame pacing works within the model, and the general image quality within the model itself. Together these improvements make 6x MFG, and NVIDIA stated that with it enabled it provides the smoothest path tracing-enabled gaming experience.