Latest News - Page 176

Linus Torvalds threw a bit of a curveball when building his 'perfect Linux PC' by choosing an Intel Arc discrete GPU.

As VideoCardz reports, this was a feature run by Linus Tech Tips (LTT) - yes, this interview is Linus squared, essentially - with the YouTuber producing an Intel Arc B580 when it came to the selection for the graphics card in the Linux computer.

As Torvalds observes, he was 'famously' not a big fan of NVIDIA, and so there was never going to be a GeForce GPU inside the PC.

Ubisoft is moving forward with its new Splinter Cell remake and has re-hired key talent to make sure the game is as authentic as possible.

The Splinter Cell remake was originally announced in 2021, however Ubisoft appeared to have stalled the project in recent years. Reports indicate the game has had a troubled and rocky development cycle--which makes sense, given Ubisoft's current financial situation, much of which is a result of the company's risky over-spending on investments during COVID-19. Ubisoft has since accelerated the project and has secured a game director for the Splinter Cell remake--in fact, it's the same game director that was attached to the project before.

"Today, I am very, very happy to announce that I'm rejoining Ubisoft Toronto as Game Director on the Splinter Cell Remake! It's a very special team and project to me," Grivel said on LinkedIn last week.

Two hard drives containing early beta builds of Fallout New Vegas have been discovered and compiled so that anyone with a modded Xbox 360 or a dev kit can play pre-release versions of Obsidian's beloved classic RPG.

YouTuber Games' Past has unearthed some surprising new prototype builds of New Vegas. The channel was able to recover two working prototypes for New Vegas--one from July, which is roughly a month before the game was gold mastered and feature complete, and the other from August 2010, after the game was finished. The prototypes are roughly 6GB in size, two gigabytes larger than the retail game. The August version comes with the added bonus of having console commands enabled in the Xbox 360 version.

The main differences between the pre-release and public versions are the lighting effects and model designs--the final game has complete lighting added to various areas. Discovery of New Vegas' PDB files could also lead to mods on the Xbox 360 version.

RAM prices are so out of control that they're being stolen mid-delivery, with a Redditor in the UK having his 32GB of DDR5 memory kit stolen, but the courier delivered it 300 miles from his house... at 4:15AM.

The UK user had purchased a 32GB kit of DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM memory from Crucial on eBay, but the parcel was marked as "delivered" at 4:15AM, some 300 miles from his house, with a unique signature which looks absolutely nothing like a real signature, and more like a Pentagram.

It looks like this Redditor isn't the only one, as his post on Reddit attracted other people who reported similar things happening to them with their packages. Another issue is that in the UK, the seller is responsible for the package until it reaches the recipient, but people that have found themselves in this situation have said that they get pushed around to the retailer, courier, and then the police, with each side of the situation trying to hand off responsibility.

Microsoft's Windows 11 is widely considered to be in a pretty rough spot thanks to ongoing performance issues, unnecessary features taking up system resources, and bloat from AI, ads, and telemetry. One notable issue that many have been pointing out, which recently got a 'fix', was the slow performance of File Explorer, the main app for accessing files and folders.

Microsoft's solution was simple: pre-load the application at startup, have it sit there in memory so that when you click on the File Explorer icon or run the app, it fires up instantly or at least a lot faster than it used to. 'Just have it load into memory on startup' is not exactly an elegant solution, and per this new report from Windows Latest, the execution sounds a little half-hearted.

With the File Explorer fix available via Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7271 (KB5070307), the app's resource usage effectively doubles, jumping from 35MB to over 67MB. In the era of PC builds with 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB of memory, this isn't much and wouldn't be noticeable. However, it looks like doubling the amount of RAM used by File Explorer hasn't really solved the speed issue, as it's still slower than Windows 10's File Explorer.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released for the Nintendo 64 back in 1998, but it's still one of those games that regularly pops up on various 'best of all time' lists. The reason for this is simple: it successfully translated the classic 2D Zelda action from the 16-bit era into a massive 3D game that laid the foundation for third-person action-adventure games that you can still see today.

This new The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time "remake" is more of a reimagining of a specific section and area of the game, Gerudo's Fortress. Created by YouTube creator and artist RwanLink, it presents Ocarina of Time with a new look and feel that is more cartoon-like, blending The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker's cel-shaded look from the GameCube with a bit of Breath of the Wild and the N64 original.

Built with Unreal Engine 5 in three months, with a whole month of that time spent on animation, it's an impressive and cinematic look at a potential The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake that we'd love to play. If you're a Zelda fan, the 4K gameplay and cinematic video of the project in action is well worth a look.

We all know about skyrocketing RAM prices, but it looks like the huge leap in RAM prices is leading to a major drop in motherboard sales, forcing motherboard manufacturers to "significantly revise" their sales targets downward in the near future.

In a new report from GazLog from Board Channels, motherboard makers like ASUS, MSI, and GIGABYTE are noticing a whopping 40-50% reduction in motherboard sales compared to the same period of 2024. Motherboard sales are normally higher at this time of the year due to all of the festive season discounts -- Black Friday, etc -- but thanks to skyrocketing DRAM prices, it's now reported that motherboard vendors are completely re-thinking their sales strategies for the near future.

Taiwanese motherboard makers like ASUS, MSI, and GIGABYTE have reportedly decided to lower their sales targets for both November and December 2025, which will make for a very interesting (and hopefully not too depressing) CES 2026 which kicks off in January.

AMD is reportedly working on a couple of new Radeon AI PRO R9000 "RDNA 4" series consumer-grade AI cards, with a tease of the R9700S and R9600D leaking out.

AMD has officially listed its new consumer-grade Radeon AI PRO R9700S and Radeon AI PRO R9600D cards on its own support page, spotted by @KOMACHI_ENSAKA and @RubyRapids on X. We don't have any specifications on the new cards, and nothing official was posted on AMD's support page apart from the names of the two new Radeon AI PRO R9000 series "RDNA 4" cards.

Currently, AMD has its Radeon AI PRO R9700 workstation GPU on the market for $1299, featuring the full Navi 48 GPU core and up to 32GB of VRAM for the desktop. On the laptop side however, RDNA 4 hasn't graced any gaming laptops so far... so the new Radeon AI PRO R9700S could be a flagship RDNA 4-based offering for laptops, with the same Navi 48 GPU + 32GB of GDDR6 memory as the desktop R9700 variant.

AYANEO has officially lifted the lid on its next flagship PC gaming handheld, the AYANEO NEXT II. And yes, this is a Strix Halo machine with the powerful and impressive Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor with 16 cores, 32 threads, and integrated Radeon 8060S graphics with 40 Compute Units and a 2.9 GHz clock speed.

The AYANEO NEXT II is also set to feature a massive (and custom) 9-inch OLED display with a QHD-style 2400x1504 resolution and the ability to switch between multiple refresh rates: 60, 90, 120, 144, and 165 Hz. The HDR-capable display also features a peak brightness of 1100 nits. And with a TDP of sustained 85W, this flagship handheld also features a 115Wh ultra-large battery.

Cooling-wise, the AYANEO NEXT II has two large dual fans on the rear, drawing in air with "high-efficiency" fins to help cool components, and hot air is exhausted through the top of the handheld. Spec-wise, it's a beast of a unit, and the sleek, minimalist design has several gamer-friendly touches worth highlighting.

Overclocker "Der8auer" has shown how to run more than 600W of power through the 16-pin 12V-2x6 power connector without the need of BIOS flashes or shunt mods on the ASUS ROG MATRIX GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card. Check it out:

Der8auer used a modified BTF power adapter that is included with the ROG MATRIX RTX 5090, focusing his efforts into the MATRIX power configuration, with the GPU shipping with an 800W BIOS that requires both the 12V-2x6 power connector, and the ASUS BTF edge power connector.

The overclocker tried both ways, first using the 12V-2x6 power connector which limits the card to the 600W board power, and the same limitations apply for the GC-HWPR adapter. Der8auer used a riser and a cut-down test bench, probing the BTF adapter contact pins, identifying the shorter "presence" pin and ground pin, and first bridges those to the adapter.

ASUS has a monster 2002W custom XOC BIOS that was made for its ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090D graphics card, which has now leaked online and you can use it... but we wouldn't recommend it.

In a new post on the Overclock3D.net forums, user "Carillo" has just posted the ASUS 2002 XOC BIOS file, with some users already playing around with it on their expensive GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards. The XOC BIOS was originally made for ASUS's ROG Astral RTX 5090D card for the Chinese market (which has been discontinued already), with the extreme XOC BIOS made for extreme overclockers, and not for the mass market as there are (incredible) risks using it.

There is up to 600W of power flowing into an RTX 5090 as it is, and even with this custom XOC BIOS, you won't be automatically chowing down on 2000W of power into your RTX 5090. Previously, we've seen YouTuber "JayzTwoCents" flash this 2000W XOC BIOS onto his GIGABYTE AORUS Master RTX 5090, with the GPU using close to 900W of power, and delivering only another 10% performance.

NVIDIA is reportedly telling its AIBs to get their own GDDR memory chips, as the company will only be supplying its GPU die without VRAM chips moving forward, and this has some dire consequences moving forward.

NVIDIA sources its VRAM memory modules from SK hynix, Samsung, and Micron, but those DRAM manufacturers have apparently had to also fulfill the memory demand from the unstoppable AI boom. The issue has caused skyrocketing RAM prices, but has spiraled into the point where NVIDIA can't get enough GDDR (GDDR7 on the RTX 50 series) memory chips for itself -- in order to bundle with its GPU dies -- that it's forcing its AIB partners to get the GDDR memory chips themselves.

In a new post from leaker "Golden Pig Upgrade" who has reported that NVIDIA has stopped bundling GDDR memory chips with GPU dies, he said: "The main previous AICs core memory was the old yellow bag circle. Now it is said on the internet that it is only for the core, and the memory is self-collected by AIC. For the small AIC, there was no connection before, and now people who talk about video memory don't give a shit about you at all, which is tantamount to not having to do video card business".

AMD's rumored Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor looks to be real given that it has been accidentally listed ahead of its release by Team Red.

Of course, that launch remains theoretical until we actually get official confirmation of the Ryzen 9850X3D, but as Olrak highlighted on X (via VideoCardz), there's an entry for drivers and downloads pertaining to this 3D V-Cache CPU on AMD's French website.

It'd be unlikely for this mistake to happen if AMD wasn't planning on wheeling out the Ryzen 9850X3D soon, but we still can't take this as cast-iron proof that the processor is waiting in the wings.

A curious trademark for something called Control Resonant has popped up on the European trademark office database, and it could be Remedy's new Control sequel, or it could be a new TV show that propels the franchise into an expanded universe scenario.

Remedy Entertainment has big plans for its Control franchise. The first game was one of the most bizarre and artistic titles of 2019, selling 5 million units and re-establishing Remedy's reputation for action games. The group has since acquired full publishing and IP rights to Control and wants to expand the series with TV shows and films, so they signed a multi-year deal with Annapurna Interactive in 2024 to make that happen.

Control 2 has been in full production since August 2025, perhaps before, with former Remedy CEO Tero Virtala noting: "Control 2 development is on track towards meeting its next milestones. The focus is now on the gameplay, environments, and missions."

Light No Fire, the new multiplayer fantasy sim from No Man's Sky developer Hello Games, may be a long ways away from release.

Light No Fire took the world by storm with its reveal at The Game Awards 2024. The new sim sees Hello Games trading sci-fi tech for sword-and-board fantasy; instead of flying around in spaceships, players will ride dragons Targaryen-style in Light No Fire. And it's also quite sizable, with Hello Games saying that the game's world is set on a "planet the size of Earth."

Fans are excited about Light No Fire, but it could be a while before the game is out. In a recent studio update, Hello Games CEO Sean Murray says that there's a small group working on Light No Fire in the background while the core focus remains on No Man's Sky.

Claws of Awaji may be the only expansion coming to Ubisoft's latest samurai-based Assassin's Creed game.

Assassin's Creed Shadows won't be getting a second expansion any time soon. Ubisoft instead plans to focus more on smaller-scale content updates and tweaks, which coincides with two major changes at Ubisoft: First, the Assassin's Creed franchise itself is being handed over to an entirely new creative leadership team, and second, the publisher is still exploring the Assassin's Creed Infinity game launcher model to help wrap the series into a convenient one-stop shop for future titles.

The news was officially confirmed in a recent interview with YouTuber Jor Raptor, where Assassin's Creed Shadows post-launch content director Lemay-Comtois said there are currently no plans for an Awaji-sized expansion for Shadows.

Linus from Linus Tech Tips guesses that Valve's new Steam Machine could cost the same as a PlayStation 5 Pro when the mid-gen system originally launched.

Linus from Linus Tech Tips built a PC that mimics the Steam Machine's performance profile to give an idea of how much Valve's new mini PC could (comparatively) cost. Linus speculates that Valve's choice to go with a semi-custom chip for the Steam Machine and not a fully customized one like with the Steam Deck could indicate that Valve may not be targeting 10 million unit sales with the device--but that's based on reports involving AMD and Xbox's purportedly-canceled native handheld.

"Valve cares a lot about the perceived value of the experience using the Steam Machine, not just the raw specs," Linus said.

Ryan Montgomery, a renowned ethical hacker, penetration tester, and cybersecurity expert, revealed during an interview on the Shawn Ryan Show that an online group called 764 is targeting children online to force them into producing explicit content or even self-harming.

Montgomery explains the group known as 764 is a satanist cult group that focuses on extreme violence toward children. Law enforcement describes 764 as a "terror network" due to its immense size, harm it has caused children, and the lengths the group will go to impact children, such as sexual violence, self-harm, coercion, and threats of violence.

The hacker explains that 764 is a nihilist group, and the motive is recognition, with Montgomery saying whether it is positive or negative recognition. The hacker goes on to say 764 members extort children out of sexual material, which involves images and videos of self-harming, engraving names into the child's own body, animal abuse, bestiality, suicides, and more, many of which take place in front of live audiences online.

Capcom could have already dusted off one of the most legendary zombie IPs it has under its belt for another title. Reports indicate it's Dead Rising, and this time the game is set in Hollywood.

To be completely fair, Dead Rising hasn't been sitting on a shelf gathering dust, as Capcom did release the Dead Rising Remaster last year. But in terms of new releases, the franchise has certainly gathered some dust, as the last mainline game was Dead Rising 4 in 2016. However, MP1st.com has learned that a new Dead Rising project is currently in the works at Capcom, and it won't be a remaster or a remake. It will be a brand new Dead Rising game.

According to MP1st's sources, the new game has been in development since 2013 and is codenamed "Rec". Additionally, Frank West will be returning as the protagonist, and it currently appears the game will be a sequel to the first Dead Rising game. MP1st does state the latter point hasn't been confirmed by its sources, but it does appear to be the case.

In a bid to reduce its reliance on chips made abroad, China has placed significant focus on developing processors domestically. While China remains quite far behind in performance from its homegrown chips, the vice chairman of the China Semiconductor Industry Association has given us a peek behind the curtain at where the country stands in terms of performance compared to the competition.

According to Wei Shaojun, a new domestically made processor using a 14nm process and 18nm DRAM nodes can match the performance of NVIDIA's 4nm chips. Shaojun pitched the design of this chip as a catalyst for China to reduce its dependence on NVIDIA's CUDA ecosystem, and, more specifically, on US-made chips.

DigiTimes reports that Shaojun didn't reveal many technical specifications for the chip, but did say that the 14nm logic has been bonded directly to the 18nm DRAM, resulting in a substantial increase in memory bandwidth and a significant reduction in compute latency. Additionally, Shaojun states that the system achieved a total throughput of 120 TFLOPS and a power efficiency of 2 TFLOPS per watt.