Learn about how TweakTown tests and reviews hardware. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. TweakTown may also earn commissions from other affiliate partners at no extra cost to you.
Stay Updated
Follow TweakTown for breaking tech news, reviews, and daily updates.
Want to try VR? Get a free RX 480 with a Vive purchase
Keen on trying VR, but put off by the price? Newegg has your back with a special offer.
PC-powered virtual reality, while the definitive way to experience VR, is quite expensive. An HTC Vive costs $800, and an Oculus Rift will run you $599--and those are just the headsets. That price doesn't count the VR-ready PC you need to experience the new frontier. But Newegg's new promotion gives you a free GIGABYTE Radeon RX 480 GPU with the purchase of an HTC Vive.
AMD's Radeon RX 480 is two video cards above the Vive's minimum Radeon R9 290 requirement, but it's worth mentioning the free GIGABYTE RX 480 is a 4GB model and not the more expensive variant with 8GB of VRAM. Still, though, it's a pretty sweet deal for anyone who's on the fence about VR adoption, and the free GIGABYTE RX 480 is valued at $185 MSRP.
Continue reading: Want to try VR? Get a free RX 480 with a Vive purchase (full post)
HTC teases a surprise announcement on March 20
HTC has started teasing their "unexpected" announcement scheduled for next week, March 20.
The teaser, published on their Facebook page, doesn't reveal much. The image attached to the post says "Spring is coming."
Of course, the most obvious announcement would be the HTC 11. The company has yet to unveil their new flagship powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835, and it is possible that they will introduce the device next week.
Continue reading: HTC teases a surprise announcement on March 20 (full post)
Pixar's latest film 'Coco' releases first trailer
Disney-Pixar's 2017 film 'Coco' has just released its first trailer, and it's probably not going to get the seal of approval from President Trump.
Following the music obsessed 12-year-old Miguel, the musical journey 'Coco' sees the protagonist unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history, whilst following his dream to be an accomplished musician - which won't be easy considering music is banned in his family. The film is set to feature the voices of Benjamin Bratt and Gael García Bernal and helmed by 'Toy Story 3' director Lee Unkrich.
'Coco' hits theatres in 3D, 2D an IMAX from November 22 in the U.S. and in Australia sometime in December.
Continue reading: Pixar's latest film 'Coco' releases first trailer (full post)
Samsung to invest $7 billion in 7nm chips production
Qualcomm recently announced their Snapdragon 835, the first 10nm SoC, and here we are already talking about 7nm chips. Qualcomm's 10nm chips are being built using Samsung's newest 10nm processor, and it looks like there's better coming soon.
Samsung announced that they are planning to start producing 7nm chips in early 2018, meaning they could be ready for their next year's Galaxy S flagship.
In order to stick with their plan and time frame, the Korean company has announced that they will invest $6.98 billion to build new 7nm facilities in 2018, and extend the 10nm production lines.
Continue reading: Samsung to invest $7 billion in 7nm chips production (full post)
Collect 900 Korok seeds in Zelda for this special reward
Zelda: Breath of the Wild has 900 Korok seeds spread across the massive (and I mean massive) in-game world. Not even two weeks after the game's launch, a dedicated gamer has found all 900 of them, and unlocked the secret of Hestu's reward.
One of the main gripes in the new Zelda game is limited inventory space. The game quickly gives you a way to unlock more space, but only at the expense of time: you have to search for Korok seeds hidden throughout the game. To get these seeds you have to solve humorous little logic puzzles throughout Hyrule: puzzles like placing a rock in an incomplete ring of circles, putting an apple on an altar, things like that.
Solving these puzzles summons a cute little "child of the forest" who rewards you with a Korok seed.
Continue reading: Collect 900 Korok seeds in Zelda for this special reward (full post)
Mid-flight headphones explosion burns woman's face
On a recent flight from Beijing to Melbourne, a passenger experienced a misfortunate incident with a pair of headphones.
According to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, the passenger was listening to music using her own battery-powered headphones while sleeping. About two hours into the flight, the headphones exploded causing burns on the passenger's face.
The unfortunate passenger was awoken by a loud sound of an explosion. She explained that she turned and that's when she felt the burning on her face.
Continue reading: Mid-flight headphones explosion burns woman's face (full post)
TAG Heuer introduces Connected Modular 45 smartwatch
TAG Heuer has unveiled their new smartwatch - Connected Modular 45.
The company named it Modular since there are 56 different combinations you can create using their online tools. You can choose between different straps, buckles, and lugs.
The TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45 comes with a 1.39" AMOLED screen and is powered by an Intel Atom Z34xx chipset. The 410 mAh battery is good for up to 25 hours of regular use.
Continue reading: TAG Heuer introduces Connected Modular 45 smartwatch (full post)
Nintendo Switch always-on Wi-Fi may affect frame rates
Nintendo's new Switch handheld-console hybrid isn't without its flaws, and we've outlined quite a few of those in our official Switch review. Now it looks like the gaming community has found the culprit behind the Switch's in-game FPS drops: the system's always-on Wi-Fi.
When the Switch handheld is taken out of a Wi-Fi hotspot's range, it's always looking for new hotspots to connect to. An anonymous developer told NintendoLife that the Switch's constant Wi-Fi searching is taxing the device's NVIDIA Tegra X1 processor to the point where FPS drops, stutters, and hitches occur. Remember the Switch's Tegra X1 chip underclocks its GPU when taken on-the-go, which can lower in-game fidelity and frame rates, and it's postulated the always-on Wi-Fi is putting even more load on the processor.
As we've previously reported, the Switch features a 802.11ac Wi-Fi radio outfitted with both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. The 2.4GHz band is used exclusively for on-the-go outdoor play.
Continue reading: Nintendo Switch always-on Wi-Fi may affect frame rates (full post)
Capcom's retro NES games coming to consoles and PC
Capcom today announced that six of its most popular 8-bit NES classic games will be ported over to consoles and PC next month--all current consoles except the Nintendo Switch.
The Disney Afternoon Collection will include such classic NES Capcom games as the immortal Duck Tales (woo-ooo!), Darkwing Duck, TaleSpin and Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers. All of the titles will be preserved in their retro 8-bit form, without any Square Enix style remastering.
The Disney Afternoon Collection includes the following titles:
Continue reading: Capcom's retro NES games coming to consoles and PC (full post)
Diablo 3 Necromancer curses and skills preview
The Necromancer will soon return to the land of Sanctuary, and Blizzard debuts a closer look at the fell wizard's powers and curses.
If you've played Diablo II then you know exactly what to expect from the new necro class: bone spells, undead-raising spells, and deliciously fun curses like Amplify Damage, Decrepify, or Life tap. While Blizzard isn't ready to slap a release date or a price down on Diablo 3's new Rise of the Necromancer DLC pack, we do get a nice glimpse at the white-haired cultist's moveset.
Blizzard showed off five skill and rune combinations, including Grim Scythe, the necro's major melee-based Essence generator ability.
Continue reading: Diablo 3 Necromancer curses and skills preview (full post)
Nintendo Switch sells 1.5 million in first week
Nintendo's new Switch console-and-handheld hybrid reportedly sells 1.5 million units in its first week of availability.
According to reports from analyst firm SuperData, the Nintendo Switch has sold quite well in its launch week. The agency reports Nintendo saw 1.5 million Switch sales across the globe in its first seven days. Nintendo has also confirmed the Switch outsold the Wii at launch, and is now the company's best-selling system for two-day sales in the United States.
The Nintendo Switch sold the most in the United States by moving 500,00 units in the region, and Japan was behind at 360,000 units. European Switch sales tallied up to 195,000 units, with the bulk of the units sold in the UK and 85,000 sold in France.
Continue reading: Nintendo Switch sells 1.5 million in first week (full post)
CD Projekt Red wants Cyberpunk 2077 to be a huge success
CD Projekt Red has been one of the best AAA gaming studios in the world, and one of the most awarded and respected - especially with The Witcher 3. Now the developer is working on its next title, Cyberpunk 2077, and the anticipation of the game is reaching fever levels.
During an interview with Polish website Gazeta, CD Projekt Red co-founder Michał Kicińsk said that the team didn't expect The Witcher 3 to be so successful - but added that there's still room to grow and learn, so that the team can catch up with even bigger developers. He said: "I think that none of us expected such an unbelievable success of the game and CD Projekt itself. We're talking about a game, that has pretty much won every single award and accolade that you can in this industry".
Kiciński added: "If we're to expect something more, it would be even better sales of the game. My brother Adam (CD Projekt's CEO) spoke about it at one of the investors conferences. The Witcher 3 was of course a gigantic commercial success, but in terms of sales there's still a lot of room for growth. CD Projekt's ambition is to catch up with the largest developers in the world in that area".
Continue reading: CD Projekt Red wants Cyberpunk 2077 to be a huge success (full post)
Project Scorpio has built-in PSU, no huge power supply
The latest rumor on Microsoft's upcoming Xbox console is that it will have a built-in PSU, versus the gigantic power supply that has accompanied previous Xbox consoles.
Windows Central is reporting the latest rumor, that unlike the Xbox One - Project Scorpio will have a built-in PSU like the Xbox One S refresh console. This is great news, as the power brick on the Xbox One was absolutely ridiculous in size - but the built-in PSU on Xbox One S was welcomed.
Project Scorpio is Microsoft's next-gen Xbox console, which is a 4K-capable game console that will have some tricks up its sleeve - like we've reported previously with a 4K Game DVR recording function. This new feature will use the HEVC codec to encode 4K footage at 60FPS, for both the Game DVR and streaming.
Continue reading: Project Scorpio has built-in PSU, no huge power supply (full post)
'The Matrix' is about to reboot... without its creators
After laying dormant for nearly 15 years, it seems that Warner Bros are looking to bring back 'The Matrix' trilogy - without the involvement of director-creator duo, the Wachowskis.
In an explosive rumor from the very reliable Hollywood Reporter, it seems that 'Creed' star Michael B Jordan is being tagged to star in what's said to be very early discussions for a 'Matrix reboot. Warner Bros refused to provide comment to the publication.
A number of years ago, it was reported that the Wachowski's were in talks with the studio for more 'Matrix' projects, but that appears to have stalled, as did a TV spin-off in more recent times.
Continue reading: 'The Matrix' is about to reboot... without its creators (full post)
Qualcomm using Snapdragon 835 to dominate Helio X30
Qualcomm is positioning itself in a big way for the mobile world with its new Snapdragon 835 processor, expanding its market share of the 10nm built chip - scooping up market share from MediaTek and its new Helio X30 chip.
DigiTimes reports that its sources said: "Despite reports of a low yield rate of the 10nm chips, Qualcomm has continued to land orders for its Snapdragon 835 from the global major smartphone vendors with shipments to grow significantly starting the second quarter".
Qualcomm is continuing to get new orders from customers for its Snapdragon 835, with improved software and firmware being released for the platform, according to the sources. I could place bets on Qualcomm owning the high-end smartphone processor game this year, as the Snapdragon 835 is shaping up into quite the beast, and will power Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones that will be announced later this month, and released in April.
Continue reading: Qualcomm using Snapdragon 835 to dominate Helio X30 (full post)
NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 1080 Ti sold out already
It shouldn't be too surprising at this point, but NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition graphics cards are sold out already - with NVIDIA seeing unprecedented demand for its $699 graphics card. This is both great news, and bad news.
First: the great side of it - gamers are starving for a super high-end graphics card, and NVIDIA over delivered with the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. We have similar performance to the Titan X which costs $1200, but NVIDIA crammed it all into the $699 graphics card that became the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. Demand is far exceeding the supply of GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards, with most e-tailers and retailers either having no stock, or quickly running out. New stock isn't expected until March 25, which is 10 days away.
The bad side of it: NVIDIA can't make enough GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition cards to keep up with demand, so what does this mean for AIB partners and their custom GTX 1080 Ti cards? This will mean we'll be waiting a little longer for the custom GTX 1080 Ti, possibly waiting until the end of April... which is 6 weeks away. That's a very long time in the gaming world, or in any sense - and the GTX 1080 Ti is so good that people want it now, not later.
Continue reading: NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 1080 Ti sold out already (full post)
AMD Radeon RX 580 delayed by 1 week, launch on April 18
AMD is expected to launch its new Radeon RX 500 series graphics cards next month, led by the Radeon RX 580 - based on the Polaris 10, alongside the RX 570 - also based on Polaris 10.
The new Radeon RX 580 and RX 570 will rock higher clock speeds than their RX 480 and RX 470 counterparts, but we shouldn't expect anything over the top with the RX 500 apart from some tweaks, this is a rebrand of the RX 400 series. But, the process has matured over the last 12 months, so AMD could squeeze some power efficiency and higher clocks without creating too much heat from the RX 500 series.
AMD's flagship Radeon RX 580 graphics card is expected to have its GPU clocked at 1340MHz under boost, offering up 6.17TFLOPs of compute performance. 8GB of GDDR5 will be used, at 8Gbps on a 256-bit memory bus. AMD is expeccted to launch the RX 580 at just $199, which will really heat up the mainstream graphics card market.
Continue reading: AMD Radeon RX 580 delayed by 1 week, launch on April 18 (full post)
GTX 1080 Ti hits 2.5GHz on LN2, breaks 3DMark record
NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the best graphics card on the market - yep, I recommend it over the Titan X which costs $1200 but barely outperforms the GTX 1080 Ti that costs $699 - and now, we have a new 3DMark Time Spy world record.
Legendary overclocker 'Kingpin' used an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition under LN2, hitting a huge 2.5GHz, with the 11GB of GDDR5X memory clocked from 11Gbps to 12.5Gbps. The memory being overclocked to 12.5Gbps is a big deal, as we're looking at over 500GB/sec of memory bandwidth - all without using the next-gen HBM2 standard that AMD will be using on their upcoming Radeon RX Vega graphics cards.
The overclock in question: with Kingpin using an Intel Core i7-6950X processor overclocked to 5.1GHz, EVGA X99 motherboard and one of EVGA's GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition graphics cards.
Continue reading: GTX 1080 Ti hits 2.5GHz on LN2, breaks 3DMark record (full post)
Xiaomi sells 1 million Redmi Note 4 devices in 45 days
Xiaomi has announced that the company sold 1 million Redmi Note 4 devices in 45 days in India, the fastest for any device sold in that country, or one device every four seconds.
The company has announced this news on their Facebook profile:
Continue reading: Xiaomi sells 1 million Redmi Note 4 devices in 45 days (full post)
'Rogue One' director reveals why third act changed
At this stage, fans know that the last act of last year's 'Star Wars' spin-off 'Rogue One' was heavily edited and changed courtesy of re-shoots and post production, but it was never really revealed why.. until now.
Speaking to Slash Film, Director Gareth Edwards revealed what didn't quite work with the original concept.
Asked if the original ending might someday end up on a more deluxe Blu-ray release than what we're getting next month, Edwards isn't sure. "That's a decision way above me! I don't think there's any plans to do it." As Trump would say, "SAD!".
Continue reading: 'Rogue One' director reveals why third act changed (full post)






















