Biostar Racing B460GTA and B460GTQ mainboards support new Intel CPUs

Shane McGlaun | Motherboards | May 19, 2020 12:02 PM CDT

Biostar has unveiled a pair of new mainboards that are designed to support 10th generation Intel processors. The new boards include the Racing B460GTA and Racing B460GTQ. Since both are Racing boards, they have the signature black, gray, and blue Racing colors. The boards are aimed at commercial and casual use and are designed with an eye towards power efficiency and cooling.

Biostar Racing B460GTA and B460GTQ mainboards support new Intel CPUs

Both boards have similar features, including Super Hyper PWM with DCR current sensing architecture offering precision in delivering stable power with 100% fixed voltage. Biostar says that the differences between the B460GTA and B460GTQ boiled down to the GTA offering additional ports and connectivity options thanks to the ATX form factor while the GTQ is a micro-ATX mainboard.

Biostar says that both boards are designed to be extremely affordable and feature a stylish Armor Gear enclosure on the motherboard, helping to dissipate heat and housing the LED Rock Zone RGB lighting. Both boards have customizable light settings via the Vivid LED DJ software. The boards support up to 128 GB of DDR for RAM with four DIMMs.

Continue reading: Biostar Racing B460GTA and B460GTQ mainboards support new Intel CPUs (full post)

Sony: We plan to reveal a compelling slate of PlayStation 5 games soon

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 19, 2020 11:31 AM CDT

Sony confirms new PS5 games will be shown "soon", reinforcing rumors of an early June event.

Sony: We plan to reveal a compelling slate of PlayStation 5 games soon

In its new Corporate Strategy Meeting, Sony outlined some important details on the PlayStation 5. Most of the info we already know--DualSense controller info, SSD specs, etc--but there's some new assurances around next-gen game reveals.

"By combining speed, haptics and sound, we can further improve on the wonderful experience available on PS4, making the PS5 a truly next generation console by providing game experiences that were not possible before," Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said in the presentation.

Continue reading: Sony: We plan to reveal a compelling slate of PlayStation 5 games soon (full post)

ADATA Falcon and Swordfish PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 SSDs debut

Shane McGlaun | Storage | May 19, 2020 11:01 AM CDT

ADATA has announced the launch of a pair of new solid state drives that it is aiming at creators. The new SSDs include the Falcon and Swordfish PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 SSDs. Each use 3D NAND flash memory and delivers a read/write speed of up to 31000/1500MB per second. ADATA says that using the 3D NAND flash memory allows higher efficiency and increased reliability compared to 2D NAND SSDs.

ADATA Falcon and Swordfish PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 SSDs debut

Falcon drives will be offered in capacities that range from 256 GB up to 2 TB and feature data protection and correction technologies to expand the life of the SSD. Falcon also has intelligent SLC caching, host memory buffer, and a random read/write of 180/180K IOPS. To help keep the SSD cool, it features an aluminum alloy heat sink.

The ADATA Swordfish SSD also features 3D NAND flash memory and uses the PCI Gen3x4 interface. The drive offers sustained read/write speeds of up to 1800/1200MP per second and SLC caching. Other features include a host memory buffer and random 4K read/right of 180/180K IOPS. ADATA offers the SSD in capacities of 250 GB to 2 TB. This SSD also features an etched aluminum alloy heat sink to keep the drive cool.

Continue reading: ADATA Falcon and Swordfish PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 SSDs debut (full post)

Someone hacked into the ARCHER supercomputer to mine cryptocurrency

Anthony Garreffa | Cryptocurrency & Mining | May 19, 2020 12:24 AM CDT

It seems as though some hackers got into the University of Edinburgh's ARCHER supercomputer, forcing administrators to recently shut it d own and look into the attack. It's forced them to reset all SSH passwords, too.

Someone hacked into the ARCHER supercomputer to mine cryptocurrency

Computer Security Incident Response Team (or CSIRT for short) for the European Grid Infrastructure (EGI) have released samples of the malware used, as well as network compromise indicators for some of the hacks on the ARCHER supercomputer. Other security researchers have since reviewed the samples and said hackers were successful in their infiltration of the ARCHER supercomputer through compromised SSH credentials.

ZDNet reports that the first report of an attack on ARCHER on Monday, reporting a "security exploitation on the ARCHER login notes". System administrators quickly shut the ARCHER supercomputer down, and reset SSH passwords to stop future attacks.

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Ex-WHO boss: coronavirus could 'burn out naturally', no vaccine needed

Well folks, it looks like we might not need a coronavirus vaccine after all -- as the former World Health Organization (WHO) director said that COVID-19 could "burn out naturally", thus, not needing a vaccine.

Ex-WHO boss: coronavirus could 'burn out naturally', no vaccine needed

The former WHO director tweeted: "There is a real chance that the virus will burn out naturally before any vaccine is developed. We are seeing a roughly similar pattern everywhere - I suspect we have more immunity than estimated. We need to keep slowing the virus, but it could be petering out by itself".

Professor Sikora replied to his own tweet, adding: "It is my opinion that this is a feasible scenario. Nobody is claiming to know what will happen for sure - I believe in an unknown situation this is a possibility. We need to continue to keep our distance and hope the numbers continue to improve".

Continue reading: Ex-WHO boss: coronavirus could 'burn out naturally', no vaccine needed (full post)

HBO Max: everything you need to know, Disney+ and Netflix competitor

Anthony Garreffa | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | May 18, 2020 9:33 PM CDT

HBO Max is about to launch and with it there will be millions of hours of your favorite TV shows and movies, and hopefully the launch of Zack Snyder's Justice League -- yeah of course I was going to say it.

HBO Max: everything you need to know, Disney+ and Netflix competitor

AT&T's Warner Media will be launching HBO Max on May 27 for a price of $15 per month, which is more expensive than the competitors and their cheapest plans. Netflix costs $9 per month, while Disney+ starts at $7 per month, and Apple TV+ at $5 per month. However, HBO Max launches out of the gate with some gigantic libraries of some of the biggest TV shows in history, as well as a gigantic library of movies.

HBO Max isn't just another quick streaming service being launched, rather the company has invested billions of dollars into HBO Max to make sure it is a success. This is why the company paid $1 billion to the streaming rights of The Big Bang Theory, a 5-year streaming deal for Seinfeld that cost over $500 million, and they signed Lost and Fringe creator, as well as Star Trek, Star Wars, and Mission Impossible director J.J. Abrams for $250 million.

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Zack Snyder to host Man of Steel Watch Party on May 20, Q&A included

Anthony Garreffa | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | May 18, 2020 8:27 PM CDT

Zack Snyder recently held an awesome and very casual screening of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on his personal Vero account, and now the director has announced a Man of Steel Watch Party. You can join the Man of Steel Watch Party (with a Q&A) right here.

Zack Snyder to host Man of Steel Watch Party on May 20, Q&A included

Snyder will host the Man of Steel Watch Party on his personal Vero account on Wednesday, May 20 @ 8AM PDT, where he will provide some live commentary on the movie. He tweeted: "Many of us are struggling during this difficult time. Felt it could be cathartic to come together now for a Man of Steel Watch Party and celebrate the ultimate symbol of hope. Submit some questions, I'll answer a few after".

Man of Steel was an important moment for Warner Bros. as it started the DCEU, in its battle against Marvel and the MCU. Snyder had much more control alongside Dark Knight producer Christopher Nolan, with Man of Steel being the start of a 5-part story arc from the director. The second movie was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the third was Justice League.

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Disney streaming boss leaves, is now the CEO of TikTok

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | May 18, 2020 7:28 PM CDT

It might not seem like it, but Disney has had a gigantic shake up internally in the last few months -- having its ex-CEO Robert Iger stepping down in February 2020, and now its head of streaming has left for TikTok.

Disney streaming boss leaves, is now the CEO of TikTok

Disney has lost its Head of Streaming to Chinese video giant TikTok (where influencers can make $1 million per post -- more on that here), with Kevin Mayer leaving as the boss of Disney's Direct to Consumer & International division. Mayer was recently passed over for the position of CEO when Iger stepped away suddenly, with now-CEO Bob Chapek replacing him.

Just as Disney+ is beginning its streaming dominance, and days away from the huge launch of HBO Max -- it loses its head of streaming to... TikTok. There's another few reasons why this is big: Mayer has been with Disney for over a decade, joining Disney in 1993 -- but left the company for Playboy.com, and then returned to Disney to run many websites for the company that eventually led him to strategic planning at Disney.

Continue reading: Disney streaming boss leaves, is now the CEO of TikTok (full post)

Intel Core i9-10900K review: early results against Ryzen 9 3900X/3950X

Anthony Garreffa | CPU, APU & Chipsets | May 18, 2020 6:31 PM CDT

We are not very far away from the official launch of Intel's new 10th Gen Core processor launch, with the Comet Lake-S processors led by the flagship Core i9-10900K -- which TecLab is reviewing early with some delicious results below.

Intel Core i9-10900K review: early results against Ryzen 9 3900X/3950X

TecLab secured themselves a retail processor, so it has not been cherry-picked like most of the review samples going out to the press. TecLab used an Intel Z490-based motherboard (but didn't say which board they used) against AMD's Ryzen 9 3900X and Ryzen 9 3950X processors inside of the MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE motherboard.

Both systems were powered with DDR4 memory with the AMD system using DDR4-3600 while the Intel system bumped it up to DDR4-4000, an 850W PSU, and EKWB AIO 360 D-RGB cooler. In terms of graphics cards, the systems were powered by the GALAX HOF GeForce RTX 2080 Ti.

Continue reading: Intel Core i9-10900K review: early results against Ryzen 9 3900X/3950X (full post)

Rumor: PlayStation 5 first-party game reveals happening in early June

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 18, 2020 4:32 PM CDT

Sony plans to start breaking its silence on PS5 games and hardware in early June, sources tell VentureBeat's Jeff Grubb.

Rumor: PlayStation 5 first-party game reveals happening in early June

We actually know a lot about the PlayStation 5, including its next-gen DualSense controller, the system's internal specs, how transformative the PCIe 4.0 SSD is, and how the system's SoC has been customized to push more performance at a steady rate of power. But the most important info still remains a mystery: Price, form factor, and the games. Sony will start revealing its hand starting in June.

Sony's June stream will focus on next-gen games, sources tell VentureBeat, but there's no word on whether or not the PS5 will be revealed in earnest.

Continue reading: Rumor: PlayStation 5 first-party game reveals happening in early June (full post)