Latest News - Page 191

ASUS promised to have its super-expensive new ROG Matrix Platinum GeForce RTX 5090 on the market by now, but it has been delayed -- just like GTA 6, unfortunately -- until late November, and will cost close to $5000.

German retailer ProShop has the new ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum RTX 5090 graphics card listed for €4,099, which works out to around $4730 USD, with stock expected to arrive at the retailer on November 27, a few weeks away from now. The $4700+ pricing means that the ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum RTX 5090 is twice as expensive as NVIDIA's in-house RTX 5090 Founders Edition.

ASUS has fully tricked out the ROG Matrix Platinum RTX 5090 however, with dual power inputs: one 12V-2x6 power connector that provides 600W, while compatible BTF motherboards like some of the flagship ASUS boards, use a hidden high-power slot that can draw up to 800W total, providing around 10% more performance for tweaking the card through overclocking.

AMD has its new Instinct MI308 AI GPU in the ovens and ready to deploy into the Chinese AI market, after the Trump administration approved some licenses for its new MI308 chip to be sold in China.

During the record Q3 2025 earnings call, AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su said that the company had received approval for licenses to export its Instinct MI308 AI chips to China. We don't know the detailed specifications of the MI308 AI chip just yet, but it should be similar to NVIDIA's popular H20 AI GPU.

AMD CEO Lisa Su said: "So look, it's still a pretty dynamic situation with MI308. So that's the reason that we did not include any MI308 revenue in the Q4 guide. We have received some licenses for MI308, so we're appreciative of the administration supporting some licenses for MI308. We're still working with our customers on the demand environment and sort of what the overall opportunity is".

MSI Portal X is a web-based interface accessible via Chrome or Edge browsers on Windows PCs, designed to offer MSI hardware owners an easy and app-free way to customize their gear. After announcing the tool earlier this year, MSI has announced that Portal X is now live, letting users customize the lighting on MSI-branded motherboards, graphics cards, and "most memory modules."

Portal X is limited to current MSI Intel and AMD 800 Series motherboards, the company's lineup of GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards, and RAM from "most brands on the market." Portal X is presented as an alternative to the company's dedicated Mystic Light Utility and MSI Center apps for making changes to lighting.

However, as it currently stands, Portal X isn't a replacement, as the dedicated Mystic Light app supports all MSI products, as well as third-party gear, and offers deeper synchronization controls. Additionally, although Portal X allows you to make lighting changes through your browser, it still requires a one-time installation of the MSI Portal X Launcher app, available via the Microsoft Store.

Grand Theft Auto 6 has been officially delayed (again) from May 26, 2026, but will now release on November 19, 2026.

Rockstar took to its official X account to post the news, where the developer explains: "Hi everyone, Grand Theft Auto VI will now release on Thursday, November 19, 2026. We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait, but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve".

The news will surely send flames across the gaming industry, as GTA 6 had an original release window of Fall 2025, but was later delayed until May 26, 2026.

AMD has announced its Q3 2025 earnings with a record $9.2 billion in revenue, but its Client and Gaming segment reported $4 billion in revenue, which is up 73% year-over-year.

The company's Data Center segment revenue was $4.3 billion, up 22% year-over-year thanks to strong demand for AMD's new 5th Gen EPYC processors and AMD Instinct MI350 series AI GPUs. However, AMD's Client and Gaming segment revenue was $4 billion, up 73% year-over-year, with client revenue at a record $2.8 billion, up 46% year-over-year, mostly thanks to record sales of Ryzen processors.

Gaming revenue was $1.3 billion, up an even stronger 181% year-over-year, driven by higher semi-custom revenue (console chips) as well as "strong demand" for Radeon RX series GPUs. Impressive, considering that its Q2 2024 earnings report saw a 59% drop in gaming revenue, but now it's 181% higher than last year, with more on that story in the link above.

PC gamers looking for a mid-range GPU and preferring an NVIDIA graphics card will doubtless be interested to learn that the RTX 5070 just hit the lowest price we've seen it at, with a chunky discount over at Newegg.

As spotted by VideoCardz, the model in question is the MSI Ventus 2X OC Black flavor of the GeForce RTX 5070, which has an MSRP of $559.99 but has been reduced to $479.99 and is in stock at Newegg (at the time of writing).

Note that part of this discount is a $20 rebate which you apply for after you've purchased the graphics card. (There's a form to print, and you need to get your rebate application completed three weeks after you've bought the GPU at the latest).

A company has unveiled a new generation of a humanoid robot with synthetic skin designed to make it feel warmer and more intimate.

The company behind the new robot is Chinese EV maker Xpeng, and at its AI Day in Guangzhou, China, Xpeng showcased its IRON humanoid robots, which are the company's eighth-generation and third-generation humanoid design.

Xpeng's new robots aren't headed to factories like many other robotics companies, but instead the company intends for them to be used as receptionists, tour guides, or even a personal shopping assistant. Xpeng wants these latest-generation robots to lead tours of its facility, and also present new products at its stores across China.

Snap and Perplexity AI have signed a $400 million deal to integrate the AI directly into Snapchat to introduce a new search engine to Snapchat users.

The deal was announced during Snap's third-quarter earnings, with the company explaining that Perplexity will pay Snap $400 million for the integration into Snapchat. Notably, Perplexity will be integrated directly into Snapchat's "chat" interface, enabling users to ask questions and receive clear conversational answers.

According to Snap, users can expect Perplexity to be successfully integrated into Snapchat in "early 2026," and that Perplexity will "begin contributing" to the bottom line also in 2026.

In what could be one of the most unlikely forms of collaboration, Netflix and A24 have teamed up to create a new TV show based on the video game Overcooked.

A24 has acquired the rights to Overcooked and will be creating a competition reality series alongside Netflix. The series won't be scripted and is said to be similar to Netflix reality shows such as Nailed It! and Floor Is Lava. According to a Deadline report, Overcooked intends to bring high-stakes kitchen challenges and aims to replicate the chaotic nature of the video game.

Gemma Langford, Oli De-Vine, and Phil Duncan from the Overcooked game developer Ghost Town Games and A24 are set to executive produce the show. For those who don't know, Overcooked is a multiplayer game traditionally played between 1 and 4 players.

Activision and Treyarch are scheduled to release Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 on November 14, but ahead of the release, copies of the PS5 version of the game have made it out into the public.

Images of the PS5 version of the game have been shared by the X account "CODIINTEL" and showcase the back and front of the title. Looking at the back of the physical edition, we can see that Black Ops 7 will weigh 166GB on PS5, which is quite substantial when considering the PC version of the game comes in at 116GB, per Activision's official PC specifications. Additionally, the back cover shows there won't be an offline mode for Black Ops 7.

As for the PC version of Black Ops 7, Activision released the specifications for it a few days ago, and we learnt there will be a few security requirements for players using Windows 11. TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot will be mandatory requirements for Black Ops 7, and players that are planning on jumping into the action on day-one should make sure both of these features are enabled in Windows before the game launches.

It was only recently that we heard Apple is currently in discussions with Google to gain access to Gemini and use it to upgrade Siri. Now, a figure has been thrown out, and it isn't small at all.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a known Apple insider with an impeccable track record of knowing what the Cupertino company is up to before it's public, Apple is preparing to pay Google $1 billion per year for access to Gemini, which will then make the AI responsible for generating summaries and performing other AI-related tasks.

Gurman writes that Apple will use a custom Gemini model and run it on Apple's Private Cloud Compute servers, while also using in-house AI models to power some of Siri's other features. The Bloomberg reporter writes that the Gemini-Siri integration will be powered by a 1.2 trillion parameter model, which drastically exceeds the 150 billion parameter model that is currently powering Apple Intelligence.

A new 3D V-Cache powered Zen 5 CPU from AMD has been spotted on PassMark, with a mysterious new benchmark result appearing for an unannounced Ryzen 7 9700X3D processor. The listing provides some specifications on the new CPU, indicating that it's an eight-core, 16-thread CPU based on AMD's Zen 5 architecture, featuring 96MB of L3 cache and a boost clock speed of 5.8 GHz.

With AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D being one of the best-selling CPUs and one of the best processors for PC gaming performance, it would make sense for AMD to release a Ryzen 7 9700X3D with slightly lower clocks but the same fantastic gaming performance, similar to the AM4-based Ryzen 7 5700X3D. And yes, this would mean a lower price point that would appeal to a broader audience.

Interestingly, the PassMark results for the Ryzen 7 9700X3D, which include a single-threaded score of 4,687 and a multi-threaded score of 40,438 points, sit slightly higher than the 9800X3D. The reason for this could be attributed to the specific result and the overclocked CPU, and the final retail 9700X3D version is expected to ship with a lower boost clock speed.

Sandisk's new Extreme Fit USB-C flash drives are compact, measuring 18.50 x 15.70 x 13.60mm and weighing just 3 grams. Small enough to plug into a laptop with no overhang, Sandisk's Extreme Fit flash drives have the look of a small wireless dongle (or button) with a reflective finish to make it stand out. Available in the standard capacities of 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB, there's also a 1TB option, which is massive for a flash drive.

In fact, this makes the Sandisk Extreme Fit USB-C Flash Drive - 1TB model the smallest 1TB flash drive on the market, and with a price of $119.99 USD, it also won't break the bank. For those looking for some sizable and portable storage, you'd be hard-pressed to find something this compact. Naturally, you won't achieve SSD-like speeds, but the 400 MB/s read speeds align with the USB 3.2 Gen 1 specifications.

Like all flash drives, this makes it better suited for storing documents, photos, and videos, freeing up space on your local machine. Sandisk Extreme Fit USB-C Flash Drives are compatible with a range of USB-C devices, allowing you to connect them to laptops, PCs, tablets, and other devices running Windows, macOS, or iPadOS that support USB-C storage.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced Fastnet, a new cutting-edge transatlantic subsea fiber optic cable that will connect the east coast of the United States to Ireland. The installation is expected to be completed and operational in 2028, with the project set to "improve global connectivity and meet rising demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI)."

The cable, which measures 37mm in thickness, surrounds its optical fiber core with tubing, steel strands, a copper conductor, polyethylene, more steel wiring, and nylon. Data-wise, it's designed to deliver speeds of 320 terabits per second (Tbps), equivalent to 40 terabytes per second (TB/s) or 40,000 gigabytes per second (GB/s).

"This scalable architecture is specifically designed to handle growing AI traffic loads," Amazon writes. "Allowing customers to rapidly expand their data demands while the system adapts to accommodate future growth."

AMD is reportedly cooking up a new "Strix Halo" APU with the purported Ryzen AI Max+ 388 processor spotted, an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 5 processor with half the CPU cores than the flagship Ryzen AI Max+ 395, but with the same powerful integrated Radeon 8060S GPU.

The new AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 processor is another member of the "Strix Halo" APU family, which will join the Ryzen AI Max 300 series chips including the Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 390, 385, and 380. The new Ryzen AI Max+ 388 processor has the same CPU core count as the entry-level 385 variant, but has the GPU core count of the flagship Ryzen AI Max+ 395.

It will feature 8 cores and 16 threads of Zen 5 processing power, with up to 5.0GHz CPU clock speeds, while on the graphics side of things, the Ryzen AI Max+ 388 processor ships with 40 Compute Units, the same number of RDNA 3.5-based GPU cores as the flagship Ryzen AI Max+ 395.

Google Maps is getting a Gemini and AI-powered upgrade with new features designed to simplify and enhance navigation and discovery. With the integrated AI assistant, you can communicate hands-free with Google Maps to discover specific points of interest on your journey or check for things like EV chargers. And if you're stuck in traffic or delayed, Google Maps can share your live ETA with friends.

With Google Calendar integration (an opt-in feature) and access to Gemini, you can also use natural language to add reminders, schedule appointments, and catch up on news. When it comes to specific Google Maps improvements and upgrades, the addition of Gemini will now use landmarks for guidance. So instead of saying "turn left in 300 feet," it will say "turn left at the BP gas station," restaurant, or clearly identifiable building, by name.

This is an impressive and welcome feature that adds a more human touch for navigation, which leverages Google Maps' updated and comprehensive information on 250 million places, as well as cross-referencing that data with Street View images to ensure that landmarks are visible from the street. This new landmark-based navigation is now rolling out in the U.S. on both Android and iOS.

Apple is reportedly making new Mac Studio systems that will be powered by its much higher-end M5 Max or flagship M5 Ultra processors, using next-level advanced packaging technologies from TSMC.

In a new post on Bloomberg from Mark Gurman, he says that the M5 Ultra processor will indeed launch in 2026, and it'll be alongside the launch period of Apple's new low-cost MacBook laptop, which is meant to drop in the first half of 2026. But first, Apple will unveil and launch its new M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, offering more CPU and GPU cores than the base M5 processor that just launched.

Apple used a multi-die design with the M3 Ultra, where it combined two M3 Max chips linked through its in-house UltraFusion connector, but hasn't done that with the M4 series as there is no M4 Ultra processor. In recent news (with more details in the links above), we heard that Apple's beefier M5 Pro and M5 Max processors will feature separate CPU and GPU blocks, allowing Apple to mix-and-match CPU and GPU core counts far differently than it has in the past.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is selling so well that the company is upwardly revising its full-year Switch 2 sales forecast to 19 million units, which seems to confirm recent reports of a major surge in production.

Nintendo's Q2 results are in, confirming major milestones for the company: the Switch 2 is the fastest-selling hardware of all time with 10.36 million consoles sold in 4 months on the market. The Switch 2 is selling so well that it's actually beaten the original Switch's 7-month shipments by 2.73 million units--and with 3 months of market sales to spare.

Predictably, Nintendo management were delighted by the results, and Switch 2 sales forecasts were raised by a substantial 4 million units on the confidence of the system's sales overperformance. Nintendo now expects to ship 19 million Switch 2 consoles in FY26, up from 15 million.

AMD has just posted its Q3 2025 financial report and during the earnings call, AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su, reaffirmed that the company's next-generation EPYC "Venice" CPUs fabbed on TSMC's new 2nm process node, will be launching in 2026.

AMD already has its next-gen EPYC Venice CPUs in the labs, promising big performance upgrades with up to 256 cores and 512 threads on a new EPYC Venice processor. We are to expect an impressive 70% performance boost with more memory bandwidth, too, with Lisa saying: "We remain on track to launch our next-generation 2-nanometer Venice processors in 2026. Venice silicon is in the labs and performing very well, delivering substantial gains in performance, efficiency and compute density".

Not only will AMD be launching its next-gen EPYC "Venice" CPUs, but it will simultaneously launch its next-gen Instinct MI400 AI accelerator series. During the earnings call, Lisa said that AMD's new MI400 series AI accelerators combine a new compute engine with industry-leading memory capacity -- 432GB of next-gen HBM4 memory and 19.6TB/sec bandwidth -- and advanced networking capabilities to "deliver a major leap in performance for the most demanding AI training and inference workloads".

Ghost of Yotei was the #2 most-downloaded PlayStation 5 game throughout October, with Battlefield 6's premium version and RedSec battle royale taking the top spots, Sony has confirmed.

The top PlayStation Store downloads of October 2025 have been revealed, showing what the PS ecosystem's 123 million monthly active users are playing. EA's new Battlefield 6 took a commanding spot as the #1 best-selling PS5 game of the month, coinciding with the game appearing at, or near, the #1 top sales position on the public PS Store charts since release. Battlefield 6's free-to-play RedSec battle royale likewise did well, and was the most-downloaded F2P game on the PS Store for October 2025.

Ghost of Yotei took a strong position as the #2 most-downloaded game of the month, which is a good sign for the first-party game, and potentially the PlayStation division's profit margins. While we don't know how well Ghost of Yotei actually sold--we may get that data in a matter of months with Sony's latest Q2 FY25 results--EA did confirm that Battlefield 6 sold 7 million copies on all platforms in 3 days. The majority of these sales are said to be on PC, and it's tough to make any kind of cross-platform approximation.