Latest News - Page 2192

Apple is expected to unveil its new iPhone next week, with the new iPhone 8 possibly costing north of $1200 for the 512GB version. But what if you want to spend $3000+ on the new iPhone? GOOOLLLDDDD.

London-based store Goldgenie is preparing for iPhone 8 orders, offering up new iPhone 8 smartphones in 24K gold, rose gold, and platinum. If you like bling, you'll be fine with the diamond-encrusted iPhone 8 that I'm sure costs an arm and a leg.

Goldgenie is also offering a service where they'll take your brand new iPhone 8 apart and replace the casing with a solid 18K gold version, just in case you like gold... like, a lot.

Battlegrounds has become one of the best PC gaming success stories of all time, selling over 10 million copies since it launched into Steam Early Access earlier this year, making over $300 million so far.

The success of PUBG isn't stopping, with nearly 1 million concurrent gamers on Steam playing the game to win that coveted chicken dinner. PUBG creator Brendan Greene thinks the game can reach the lofty heights of 100 million gamers, and if it did - it would well and truly be in the history books.

Greene explained: "Our sales curves are just going up. They're not slowing down. I'm still waiting for that plateau, and it's just not happening yet. When you ask about growth on PC, I just look at League of Legends. 100 million active users a month, I think, something stupid like that? If we play our cards right, maybe we can get to that level of users".

Game of Thrones' latest season has just wrapped up, with one piracy monitoring company stating the S7 of Game of Thrones was pirated over one billion times.

Andy Chatterly, CEO and co-founder of Muso, recently spoke with Torrent Freak where he said: "It's no secret that HBO has been plagued by security breaches throughout the latest season, which has seen some episodes leak before broadcast and added to unlicensed activity".

He added: "In addition to the scale of piracy when it comes to popular shows, these numbers demonstrate that unlicensed streaming can be a far more significant type of piracy than torrent downloads".

Destiny 2 might be out on consoles right now, but PC gamers will have to wait until next month to play the full game - but last week Bungie and Activision unleashed the PC beta, allowing gamers to try it out early.

Bungie has included 21:9 UltraWide monitor support, multi-GPU configuration support, HDR, 200FPS+, customized field of view settings (55-105), customized key mapping, and more. But the performance side of Destiny 2 on the PC is the most important thing, and that appears to be something that Bungie have utterly NAILED.

Digital Foundry has done a great job of putting Destiny 2 through its paces, with a single GeForce GTX 970 and low-end Intel Pentium G4560 @ 3.5GHz running Destiny 2 @ 4K and a "pretty much locked" 30FPS on the High preset.

As PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds continues its meteoric rise--the game has sold 10 million copies to date, pushing 2 million copies in just 2 weeks--the developers at Bluehole are having trouble keeping up with the growing playerbase. Until Bluehole gets more developers and staff, PUBG won't be coming to PlayStation 4 any time soon.

In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, PlayerUnknown himself Brendan Greene said PUBG is expanding too fast for the team to keep up with it. "Oh very much," Mr. Greene said when asked if his battle royale game was accelerating too fast for the dev staff to keep up. "Like, we have to keep reminding people that we've only been on Early Access for five months... The biggest problem we're having at the moment is the server platform, because we're trying to develop it on a production system, which is super hard because you've got millions of players - literally millions - coming through the doors every day."

PlayerUnknown says that Bluehole currently sits at 120 employees, and the studio is shooting for about 300 people. Make no mistake, though, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is a pure example of the new expanding Games-as-a-Service (GaaS) market that's taken the games industry by storm. "We're really focused on developing this as a service, and that needs a lot of staff," Mr. Greene said.

Bethesda's PR head Pete Hines spoke briefly about the publisher's overwhemingly unpopular Creation Club, asserting that it's something new for the company. And he's not wrong.

Here at TweakTown I've discussed the Creation Club at length, and even highlighted how the marketplace could be beneficial to gamers, mod-makers, and of course Bethesda themselves. But the Creation Club launched with disappointing results, offering paltry content fare that's mostly available for free and is overpriced to boot. But there's still a lot of potential with the service: if you're unfamiliar, Creation Club allows mod-makers to pitch their creations to Bethesda, and if approved, the content is sold for a set price on the storefront and a portion of the proceeds go to the creator--however most of the content sold on the marketplace is made by the publisher.

But what does Bethesda have to say about all of this? I've reached out to my PR contacts for quotes and haven't heard anything back yet, but Bethesda's own VP of Public Relations Pete Hines briefly discussed the service on Twitter. Mr. Hines asserts that Creation Club is the company "trying something new," and yes, it is something new: it's not paid mods--although it resembles paid mods right now, and may continue to do so in the future--the actual business model is indeed something new for Bethesda. Essentially what the company is trying to do is monetize The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, Bethesda Game Studios' most popular franchises, in a way that's feasible and provides recurring value. Bethesda is simply taking a queue from the games industry's shift towards microtransactions and other in-game content purchases that fuel future endeavors and major content updates.

As demand for flash memory soars, Japanese storage-maker Toshiba has announced that it will build a new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Iwate, northern Japan.

Beleaguered tech giant Toshiba is currently negotiating a sale of its Toshiba Memory Corporation chip business for up to $8.8 billion to plug vast losses of revenue, but that hasn't stopped the company from laying plans to open a new fabrication facility in Japan. This new plant, which is planned to go up in Iwate sometime next year, would be the memory-maker's second such facility, with the first located in Yokkaichi, central Japan.

The conglomerate may partner with Sandisk, the Western Digital-owned memory company, to help raise investment funds for the plant. With flash memory in major demand for consumer electronics, it will be interesting to see if this new facility helps alleviate the memory shortage that plagues key segments as well as Japanese-owned companies like Nintendo.

ASUS' mixed reality headset will miss the launch of Windows 10's Creator's Update, and is schedule to launch in 2018.

In an effort to standardize both VR and AR and roll out affordable, accessible headsets to everyday consumers with productivity, gaming, and entertainment features, Microsoft has teamed up with a consortium of tech titans like Dell, ASUS, Acer, HP and Lenovo to make Windows 10-powered "mixed reality" headsets. While other companies have readied and solidified their respective mixed reality creations in preparation for the big Windows 10 Creator's Update, ASUS has pushed its MR headset back a ways.

The headset has twin 1440 x 1440 resolution display panels that support refresh rates up to 90Hz and a 95-degree field-of-view, and features two cameras for inside-out tracking, removing the need for outside camera sensors like high-end VR headsets such as the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. ASUS' mixed reality HMD also features sensors like an accelerometer, gyroscope, and a magnetometer. As with all Windows 10 mixed reality headsets, the ASUS model won't be wireless or self-contained, and requires a machine running Windows 10 to operate. But unlike the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, the Windows 10 MR HMDs don't require expensive graphics cards and can instead run on laptops using integrated graphics.

Logitech have announced a new addition to their MX range, and it's from way left field, the Logitech MX ERGO trackball mouse. In fact, it's their first trackball mouse in over a decade. The innovative MX ERGO offers personalized comfort with a unique adjustable hinge, precision tracking with multi-device connectivity. Logitech have targeted consumers searching for alternatives to mice and touchpads, as well as trackball enthusiasts.

"We are so excited by this new trackball. It is back, better than ever and the idea for this trackball innovation was inspired by our users, who invented creative ways to achieve their desired level of comfort, sometimes adding additional wedges under their trackball for elevated angles," said Anatoliy Polyanker, global portfolio and brand director at Logitech. "The MX ERGO is our first adjustable trackball that delivers on the need for elevated comfort in a beautiful design."

The wireless MX ERGO offers the latest tracking technology, allowing faster and more precise navigation with the ability to instantly change your cursor speed and accuracy for optimal control with the press of a button. The adjustable hinge allows users to increase the angle from 0 to 20 degrees which improves wrist posture and pronation, reducing muscular strain and fatigue. Backed with a rechargeable battery that lasts up to four months on a single charge, the MX ERGO is elegantly designed and takes full advantage of Logitech's software catalog with support from both Logitech Easy-Switch and Logitech Flow.

The force is strong with DIY electronic toymaker, littleBits. They have just released an amazing toy that is supposedly aimed for users in the age bracket of 8-12 years old. Introducing the 11-inch tall, fully-functional R2D2 Droid Inventor Kit. The R2D2 Droid kit features everything you need to get your own R2D2 droid moving around your living room bleeping and whistling with 20 authentic sounds directly from the Star Wars movies.

The accessories kit consists of 20 parts that snap together magnetically, so no screws are required. 3 sticker sheets that allow yourself children to customize R2D2 to their liking. Electronically, we see DC and servo motors, 9V battery, proximity sensor that detects hand movements for Force Drive and also detects objects in its path and more.

The most interesting part is the control hub, effectively the Droid's brain that allows communications with your smart device using Bluetooth technology. With the use of the free Droid Inventor Training app, users can view video instructions ,program secret missions by drawing maps for their droid and simply control their droid, making this app an essential tool.

It was reported earlier today, that Oceania players wouldn't get dedicated first-person perspective servers in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds any-time soon due to the small player base. PUBG developers Bluehole, received quite the backlash from this, but they've clearly listened to their player base and promptly launched FPP Duo servers in the Oceania region.

"We are pleased to announce that first-person only servers for DUO will now be available for players in Oceania. Starting from 3 pm KST / 3:30 pm ACST today, players will be able to enjoy FPP DUO on OCE servers. For SOLO and SQUAD, we plan to introduce FPP at a later stage when we have an increased user pool on OCE servers in order to ensure a pleasant experience for all Oceanic players"- PUBG official announcement.

The announcement also includes some interesting statistics that back up Bluehole's decision to delay FPP servers. "One of our main concerns was the fact that it can affect the other group of players who do not play FPP. It has been proven by the data from other regions that we need at least 500 players for two game modes to ensure a reasonable matchmaking time. Currently, the number of concurrent users on OCE is sometimes lower than the threshold during certain times. "

GIGABYTE has reached out to TweakTown over our previous story, with the F5 BIOS on X370 motherboards from the company over-volting Ryzen CPUs, which we're going to clarify now. GIGABYTE released the iffy BIOS on 25/8, but on 31/8 the company realized there were some problems with the F5 BIOS.

GIGABYTE quickly pulled the F5 BIOS from their website, and on the morning of 9/1 they had the announcements on their forums, with information on the updated BIOS. GIGABYTE is reaching out to affected customers now.

be quiet! have released their white edition of their stunning, highly acclaimed Dark Base Pro 900 premium PC case, the appropriately named Dark Base Pro 900 White Edition. This limited-edition model will only see 2,000 made, perfect for creating a unique and eye- catching build. As expected with be quiet! products, this case features high-quality materials and beautiful design along with smooth aluminum surfaces and a robust steel construction lead to extraordinary elegance and stability.

Each case is unique as they're individually numbered with an aluminum badge to reflect the limited availability, together with a striking white color that's met with a light-grey tinted tempered glass side panel that really highlights the aesthetics of this case. Included is three pre-installed SilentWings 3® 140mm PWM fans that compliment be quiet!'s flagship case and contribute to its sophisticated cooling concept and perfect airflow.

The Dark Base Pro 900 White Edition offers extreme flexibility and compatibility thanks foremost to its modular design, this allows for numerous possibilities for optimal component placement. The removable motherboard tray can be installed in six different positions and accommodates all types of motherboard form factors, up to E-ATX or XL-ATX. With ample space provided to allow upto 15 solid state drives, seven HDDs, and two optical drives, there is still room that that allows this chassis suitable for powerful water cooling solutions using multiple radiators.

Intel is reportedly gearing up to launch its new Coffee Lake CPU architecture on October 5, with the flagship Core i7-8700K to be lead the pack with its 6C/12T of power.

The new Core i7-8700K and the rest of the 8000-series CPUs from Intel will use the 'new' 1151 socket, with new Z370 chipsets that will soon arrive as well from the usual motherboard makers in ASRock, GIGABYTE, ASUS, MSI and others.

The sped-up release of the new Core i9 processors with the hugely expensive and super-fast Core i9-7980XE flagship CPU nearly here, the new Coffee Lake CPU architecture being launched this early are two moves Intel has never pulled before. You can't say AMD's new Ryzen, Threadripper and EPYC processors aren't lighting a fire under Intel right now. Maybe it's time to sit down and have a coffee.

Golden Emperor International Ltd have announced a new series for their gaming memory range, the Super Luce RGB Sync series. GeIL are one of the one of the world's leading PC components & peripheral manufacturers and with the announcement of the Super Luce RGB Sync series, only strengthens their position in the market.

These DDR4 dual-channel kits feature clock speeds of 2133MHz to 3200MHz, in addition to the mandatory RGB illumination for certified gaming credentials that is perfectly supported by the ASUS AURA lighting control app. The Super Luce RGB Sync Series is also available in AMD edition modules that have been verified across many AM4 motherboards and AMD Ryzen processors.

Available now, you can get more information from there website.

Sony has just unveiled a few new Home Cinema projectors at IFA 2017, with 4K HDR models that are sure to compliment - or be the star of your new HT room.

Sony's new Home Cinema 4K HDR projectors come in the premium but compact VPL-VW760ES, the mid-range VPL-VW360ES, and the cost effective VPL-VW260ES. All three of these new projectors feature "breathtakingly-real picture quality" according to Product Manager at Sony Professional Solutions Europe, Thomas Issa. Issa adds: "Whether viewers are watching the latest action film or a sporting event they'll feel truly immersed in the experience".

The new high-end VPL-VW760ES has "extraordinary cinematic detail, color and contrast" - even in well-lit rooms. This is courtesy of Sony's advanced ultra-pure last light source, as well as other Sony technologies including their impressive TRILUMINOS tech and Motionflow technology that reduces blurs and pixelisation.

Intel's newly-formed reaction against AMD's constant Ryzen threat is here, with the first of Intel's next-gen Core X processors now here; the first of which is the Core i9-7920X.

Legendary overclocker 'Der8auer' has his grubby hands-on the 7920X, so the first thing he did was delid it with his Delid Die Mate X tool that popped the lid on the 12C/24T processor. We now have some beyond sexy dieshots of the Core i9-7920X, which are doing some strange things to my body.

What we've learned from the Core i9-7920X being delidded is that there's a lack of solder, meaning Intel seem to have used thermal paste under the lid. We should expect high temps on non-delidded Core X processors, but this is going to be a new learning curve over the next few months... especially as people start getting their hands-on the 18C/36T beast, the Core i9-7980XE.

EK Water Blocks is continuing to fill out its exciting new EK Fluid Gaming range of products, a new family of watercooling products for PC gamers with the best price/performance ratio possible.

EK have released radiator expansion packs, with the EK-FG 120 Expansion Pack, EK-FG 240 Expansion Pack, and the EK-FG 360 Expansion Pack. All of these new expansion packs rock additional radiators, fans, and fittings for gamers who want to built onto their Fluid Gaming kit.

Alternatively, EKWB's newly expanded Fluid Gaming products let you build out an even more elaborate or higher-end liquid coole dgaming PC, especially with the upcoming 140mm series radiators that are coming in the next few months.

Last night I spent most of the full moon passing over me to test out Ethereum mining performance on AMD's best Radeon RX Vega 64 graphics cards, as well as the hugely expensive and amazingly fast TITAN Xp from NVIDIA.

I've got a detailed article coming soon, but I thought I would share preliminary results of these two cards with you now, before the big article goes live.

I used AMD's Radeon RX Vega 64 Liquid Cooled Edition, overclocking the 8GB of HBM2 from its stock 945MHz to 1100MHz, resulting in mining performance that went through the roof.

Final Fantasy XV will be one of the best looking games of this generation, with the new title hitting the PC in a big way, and Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One X console.

We now know that the Xbox One X version of Final Fantasy XV won't be rendering in native 4K, but will be rendering in 3K (1800p) and will be upscaled to 4K with checkerboard rendering. The news is coming directly from the Game Director for the game, Hajime Tabata.

3K rendering is the same resolution that the PS4 Pro version of hte game will render on its "High" performance mode, something that was made available in February for the PS4 Pro, as well as "Lite" performance mode. If you enable the High performance mode the resolution of the render increases, but has been dropping performance.