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ASUS reveals new 34-inch curved 3440 x 1440 Designo ultrawide monitor

Derek Strickland | Displays | May 31, 2016 12:44 AM CDT

Computex 2016 - ASUS shows off its new premium curved 3440 x 1440p ultrawide Designo displays that will round out the company's new line of enthusiast hardware.

ASUS reveals new 34-inch curved 3440 x 1440 Designo ultrawide monitor

The new ASUS Designo Curve MX34VQ packs 3440 x 1440p into a stylish 34-inch curved panel at a 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratio. The panel features a curvature of 1800R, and sports two beefy 8W Harmon Kardon stereo speakers amplified with ASUS SonicMaster technology. As an added bonus, the display's circular base doubles as a wireless Qi charging pad for mobile devices.

ASUS also revealed the non-curved 16:9 27-inch Designo MX27UC 4K display. The MX27UC features a 27-inch IPS display at 3840 x 2160 resolution that features Type-C support with some surprising additions like DisplayPort Alternate Mode and USB Type-C Power Delivery (power and data over the same cord). The 27-inch Designo MX27UC 4K is also outfitted with a pair of 3W Bang and Olufsen speakers.

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Continue reading: ASUS reveals new 34-inch curved 3440 x 1440 Designo ultrawide monitor (full post)

Samsung PM971-NVMe shrinks the SSD in more ways than one

Sean Ridgeley | Storage | May 31, 2016 12:04 AM CDT

Samsung is mass producing a NVMe PCIe solid state drive in a single ball grid array (BGA) package -- an industry first.

The PM971-NVMe as it's known features 16 of Samsung's 48-layer 256Gb V-NAND chips, one 20nm 4Gb LPDDR4 mobile DRAM chip, and a high-performance Samsung controller. For storage, you get a maximum of 512GB; for speed, you'll see 1,500MB/s and 900MB/s read and write, respectively, with the aid of the company's proprietary Turbowrite technology, as well as 190K and 150K random read and write IOPS, making it 1500 times faster than an HDD.

Size and weight are some of the key draws: the drive measures 20mm x 16mm x 1.5mm, weighs just one gram, boasts a volume one-hundredth that of a 2.5" SSD or HDD, and a surface area one-fifth of what you'd see with an M.2 SSD. As such, it can fit just as easily in an ultra-slim notebook as it can your desktop PC.

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Continue reading: Samsung PM971-NVMe shrinks the SSD in more ways than one (full post)

New GIGABYTE BRIX mini-PC rocks a GTX 950 for quad-display FHD gaming

Derek Strickland | Computer Systems | May 30, 2016 11:11 PM CDT

Computex 2016 - GIGABYTE has unveiled its new BRIX Gaming UHD mini-PC that's designed for 1080p gaming and running applications in 4K UHD.

GIGABYTE's new BRIX Gaming UHD ultra-compact mini-PC sports a discrete NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 video card along with an Intel Core i7 Skylake-U processor to enable easy 1080p gaming across four displays, as well as applications in 4K UHD.

Users can slot in two DDR4 2133MHz SO-DIMM RAM sticks for high-performance speeds, and there's room for two 2.5" HDD/SSD's at 7 and 9.5 mm thickness via two 6Gbs SATA 3 slots. Ontop of those storage options, two M.2 SSD's can be equipped for high-speed storage.

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Continue reading: New GIGABYTE BRIX mini-PC rocks a GTX 950 for quad-display FHD gaming (full post)

GIGABYTE's new AIO features full-sized GPU slot

Sean Ridgeley | Computer Systems | May 30, 2016 10:29 PM CDT

Computex 2016 - GIGABYTE has a sweet looking new AIO for your system building pleasure. Dubbed the HKC X320 Plus, it features an R1800 Samsung curved panel, ultra thin PIO, a full-sized GPU slot, a backcover that's easy to take apart and put back together, and USB 3.0 support. Oh, and if you're worried about heat (as you should always be), it accommodates natural dissipation on top, while negative pressure dissipates the heat on bottom.

The display is your stock 1920x1080 60Hz, but interestingly, the panel is VA, which generally makes for good viewing angles, blacks, and contrast compared to other popular panels, but poor response times and ghosting. Response time here is GTG 8ms, while colour is measured at 10.7B; viewing angle is measured at 178 degrees both vertically and horizontally.

See below for supported hardware. There's no word yet on launch date or pricing, but stay tuned.

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MSI's first Intel 200-series chipset motherboard is feature heavy

Sean Ridgeley | Motherboards | May 30, 2016 10:58 AM CDT

Computex 2016 - Last week we reported Intel was likely to unveil its 200-series chipset at Computex and while that hasn't happened yet, we have a tease from MSI. The motherboard manufacturer was seen showing off what it calls the Z2T0 Anniversary board (speculated to be a typo for Z270 Anniversary), which is believed to be a socket LGA1151 motherboard based on Intel's new technology.

The heat sink design and PCB markings are not finalized, but already the board is described by TechPowerUp as "pretty loaded with features that rival the current Z170A-Gaming M7."

Selling points for the 200-series include increased I/O performance and added PCIe 3.0 lanes, among other features.

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Continue reading: MSI's first Intel 200-series chipset motherboard is feature heavy (full post)

GALAX shows off Hall of Fame 4000MHz DDR4 RAM

Derek Strickland | RAM | May 30, 2016 7:59 AM CDT

Computex 2016 - On the heels of GALAX's new colorful Gamer Series DDR4 RAM announcement, the hardware-maker has now unveiled its new premium ultra-performance DDR4 system memory aimed at enthusiast gamers.

GALAX shows off Hall of Fame 4000MHz DDR4 RAM

GALAX's new Hall of Fame DDR4 RAM hits an impressive frequency of 4000MHz, sporting a pristine alabaster PCB with pulsing white LED's upon the stylish heatspreaders. The modules come in 4GB and 8GB single sticks with dual-channel kits available in 8GB and 16GB arrangements.

The HOF DDR4-4000 modules sport CAS latency timings of 19-25-25-45, and draw 1.4V of power. All-in-all GALAX's new Hall of Fame RAM matches high-speed performance with eye-catching flair, especially if you're looking for top-of-the-line RAM with a snazzy white paintjob. GALAX has yet to reveal pricing or availability details just yet.

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Continue reading: GALAX shows off Hall of Fame 4000MHz DDR4 RAM (full post)

GALAX unveils new prismatic Gamer Series DDR4 RAM lineup

Derek Strickland | RAM | May 30, 2016 7:33 AM CDT

Computex 2016 - GALAX has revealed its colorful new lineup of Game Series DDR4 RAM modules aimed at combining performance with accessibility.

GALAX unveils new prismatic Gamer Series DDR4 RAM lineup

At the Computex show floor in Taipei, hardware-maker GALAX unveiled a veritable galaxy of prismatic DDR4 RAM sticks in its new Game Series line. The modules are widely varying in speeds and sizes, with frequencies ranging from 2133MHz, 2400MHz, 2666MHz, 2800MHz, and 3000MHz. Single module densities include 4GB, 8GB, 16GB which are available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB kits. Power draw for the GALAX Game Series DDR4 RAM ranges from 1.2V to 1.35V, and CAS timings are CL 15-15-35 for the 2133MHz - 2666MHz modules, whereas the 2800MHz and 3000MHz sticks have a latency of 16-16-16-36.

Each of the Game Series DDR4 modules sport LED's that match the color of each stick's head spreader, and the lights pulsate to give a unique "breathing" effect for extra flair. GALAX hasn't announced official pricing or availability, but we'll be sure to keep you updated when more information comes to light.

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Continue reading: GALAX unveils new prismatic Gamer Series DDR4 RAM lineup (full post)

New ASUS ROG Swift monitor can hit 180Hz with NVIDIA G-Sync

Derek Strickland | Displays | May 30, 2016 6:43 AM CDT

Computex 2016 - ASUS has revealed a new G-Sync ready ROG Swift monitor that can be overclocked to an insane 180Hz.

New ASUS ROG Swift monitor can hit 180Hz with NVIDIA G-Sync

ASUS has redefined the refresh rate threshold with its new 24-inch 1080p ROG Swift PG248Q TN display with NVIDIA G-Sync that's capable of hitting up to an incredible 180Hz. The new ROG Swift PG248Q not only packs in G-Sync for tear-free gaming and overclocks to 180Hz, but it also sports an amazing 1ms response time, offering up some of the smoothest and responsive 1080p gaming around.

ASUS affirms the PG248Q is designed specifically for pro eSports gamers as well as enthusiast gamers, serving up "unparalleled performance and innovation" in a smaller form factor that's designed to reduce the amount of time "your eyes roll across the screen". The ROG Swift PG248Q will be the exclusive monitor for major eSports events including ESL One 2016 and The International 2016. No pricing or availability details were announced just yet.

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Continue reading: New ASUS ROG Swift monitor can hit 180Hz with NVIDIA G-Sync (full post)

ASUS VR headset makes a surprise appearance at Computex

Derek Strickland | Extended Reality (XR) | May 30, 2016 6:10 AM CDT

Computex 2016 - The new ASUS VR headset makes a surprise visit on the Computex show floor in Taipei.

ASUS VR headset makes a surprise appearance at Computex

The ASUS VR headset has made a mysterious appearance at the company's Computex booth, showing off a first glimpse at the upcoming mobile-powered headset. ASUS has provided no context on the headset itself and didn't mention it at its Zenvolution reveal showcase. Despite the lack of details, we do know the ASUS VR headset will launch on the second half of 2017.

Since the headset has an apparent diagonal width of 5.7-inches, it could be powered by ASUS' newly revealed ZenFone 3 Deluxe flagship smartphone. We speculate that the ASUS-branded mobile VR headset could also be powered by Google's new Daydream VR platform.

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Continue reading: ASUS VR headset makes a surprise appearance at Computex (full post)

MSI wants to put a GTX 1080 in its new VR PC backpack

Derek Strickland | Computer Systems | May 30, 2016 5:13 AM CDT

Computex 2016 - MSI is the latest to join the VR PC backpack craze with a new prototype model that essentially lets uses strap high-end PC hardware to their back for portable VR gaming.

MSI wants to put a GTX 1080 in its new VR PC backpack

The aim of MSI's new VR backpack--and others like it--is to abolish the irksome cords that tether VR users to desktop PCs, thereby making the experience much more mobile. Now that your hardware is on your back, there's no worry about tripping over cords while wearing room-tracking HMD's like the HTC Vive. The form factor for MSI's backpack is actually smaller than mini-ITX, but it supports full desktop-grade video cards like the GTX 980. In fact, MSI plans to slot in desktop-sized NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 and NVIDIA's new VR powerhouse the GeForce GTX 1080 into the backpack.

MSI has yet to fully announce the VR PC backpack and the hardware is still in its early stages. The unit demoed to press was a sample, and sported an Intel Skylake Core i7 K-series processor paired up with a desktop-grade NVIDIA GTX 980. Users will also be able to swap out and upgrade hardware components like video cards and power supplies. The demo unit provided about 90 minutes of VR gaming on a single charge, but the backpack can be plugged into a wall socket to continue gaming.

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Continue reading: MSI wants to put a GTX 1080 in its new VR PC backpack (full post)

ZOTAC's GeForce GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme is a BEAST, and we love it

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | May 30, 2016 4:18 AM CDT

Computex 2016 - ZOTAC was one of the first companies I wanted to visit at Computex this year, purely to check out their new GeForce GTX 1080 range of cards. They were just setting up as we rolled past, but the one card they had in their hands was the new GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme Edition.

ZOTAC's GeForce GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme is a BEAST, and we love it

ZOTAC's new GeForce GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme Edition is the company's flagship card, with a triple-fan cooling system and a custom heat sink that is just gigantic. We're sure this card is going to have some serious overclocks applied to the GPU and the 8GB of GDDR5X, but we can't confirm it just yet - this is something we should be able to clarify tomorrow.

The card is absolutely huge, but it actually weighs less than the GTX 980 Ti AMP! Extreme Edition. What I want to know is, how much faster will it be than the GTX 980 Ti AMP! Extreme Edition, which we'll find out soon.

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Continue reading: ZOTAC's GeForce GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme is a BEAST, and we love it (full post)

ASUS crams a pair of GTX 1080s into beastly ROG G31 Edition 10 PC

Jason Evangelho | Computer Systems | May 30, 2016 3:47 AM CDT

Computex 2016 -- TweakTown is on the ground in Taipei for Day 0 of Computex 2016, and we just stumbled across a new, currently unannounced system from ASUS that stuffs a pair of NVIDIA's Pascal-based GTX 1080 video cards into its small-form-factor frame. Say hello to the ROG G31 Edition 10 PC.

While you drool over the eyecandy potential that a pair of GTX 1080s brings to the table, we'll tell you that the ROG G31 also contains an Intel Core i7 CPU (likely the 6700K) and up to 64GB of RAM, though we're not yet sure if it's DDR3 or DDR4.

ASUS is also cramming up to four M.2 PCIe SSDs into the G31, and a Blu-Ray disc writer.

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Continue reading: ASUS crams a pair of GTX 1080s into beastly ROG G31 Edition 10 PC (full post)

Go backstage with 'Steve Jobs' in our Blu-ray giveaway

Ben Gourlay | Contests & Giveaways | May 30, 2016 3:13 AM CDT

To celebrate this week's release of 'Steve Jobs' on Blu-ray HD and DVD, we have ten Blu-ray copies to give away thanks to our friends at Universal Sony Home Entertainment.

Michael Fassbender plays Steve Jobs, the pioneering founder of Apple, with Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet starring as Joanna Hoffman, former marketing chief of Macintosh. Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple, is played by Seth Rogen, and Jeff Daniels stars as former Apple CEO John Sculley. The film also stars Katherine Waterston as Chrisann Brennan, Jobs' ex-girlfriend, and Michael Stuhlbarg as Andy Hertzfeld, one of the original members of the Apple Macintosh development team.

To go into the running to win a prize, simply answer the following question in 50 words or less:

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Continue reading: Go backstage with 'Steve Jobs' in our Blu-ray giveaway (full post)

ASUS's new ZenFone 3 flagship rocks 6GB RAM, Snapdragon 820, USB C

Derek Strickland | Mobile Devices | May 30, 2016 2:25 AM CDT

Computex 2016 - ASUS has announced it's new ZenFone 3 Deluxe flagship model at the Zenvolution press event in Taipei, along with two other offerings.

ASUS's new ZenFone 3 flagship rocks 6GB RAM, Snapdragon 820, USB C

ASUS's new ZenFone 3 Deluxe is a pretty beefy flagship smartphone, sporting up to 6GB of onboard RAM system memory alongside Qualcomm's new powerful Snapdragon 820 processor. The ZenFone 3 Deluxe starts at $499, and features a 5.7-inch 1080p Super AMOLED screen wrapped in an all-metal unibody design. Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 over USB Type-C ensures the ZenFone 3's 3,000mAh battery charges super quickly, and the smartphone has 64GB onboard storage that's expandable to up to 256GB.

The other mothers include the $249 ZenFone 3, which packs a 5.5-inch 1080p Super IPS+LCD display, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a Snapdragon 625 processor; and the $479 ZenFone 3 Ultra, a bigger handset with a 6.8-inch 1080p screen, 4GB of RAM, Snapdragon 652 processor, and a massive 4,600mAh battery that supports quick-charging over USB Type-C. The ZenFone 3 Ultra also sports "4K TV grade image processing", and two of ASUS's new five-magnet stereo speakers for cinematic 3D surround sound over DTS Headphone: X and virtual 7.1 surround. If that wasn't enough, the ZenFone 3 Ultra's 4,6000mAh battery supports PowerBank mode that can share power and "jumpstart other devices".

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Continue reading: ASUS's new ZenFone 3 flagship rocks 6GB RAM, Snapdragon 820, USB C (full post)

ASUS's ultra-thin ZenBook 3 is twice as fast as a MacBook

Derek Strickland | Computer Systems | May 30, 2016 1:36 AM CDT

Computex 2016 - ASUS has just revealed its new ZenBook 3 at the Zenvolution event in Taipei.

ASUS's ultra-thin ZenBook 3 is twice as fast as a MacBook

The ZenBook 3 is a direct competitor to Apple's MacBook, with an incredibly thin 11.9 mm lightweight frame and powerful specs that beats the MacBook's performance two-to-one. ASUS's Johnny Shih boasts that the ZenBook 3 is "the world's most prestigious laptop," with onboard specs ranging up to an Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 RAM, and a 1TB PCIE SSD. The sleek laptop features a 12.5-inch display and is powered by the "world's thinnest" 3mm fan for cooling.

The ZenBook 3 also sports fast-charging capabilities with built-in Thunderbolt 3/USB-C support. ASUS affirms the laptop can jump from a depleted charge up to 60% in just 49 minutes flat, with overall battery life ranging from 9 hours of use. The ASUS ZenBook 3 has three different pricing tiers: $999 for the Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 256GB SSD; $1,499 for the Intel Core i7 CPU and 512GB SSD; and $1,999 for the Intel Core i7, 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 RAM and 1TB SSD variant.

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Continue reading: ASUS's ultra-thin ZenBook 3 is twice as fast as a MacBook (full post)

IN WIN modders have created some truly beautiful custom PCs

Anthony Garreffa | Cases, Cooling & PSU | May 29, 2016 7:09 PM CDT

There's no better way to celebrate your 30th anniversary than inviting the world's best modders to Taiwan to have a modding competition, with IN WIN seeing some truly great results and amazing modded PCs. Remember you can vote for your favorite mod right here!

IN WIN modders have created some truly beautiful custom PCs

We have a round up of all of the designs, which you can check out below.

BSMods

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Continue reading: IN WIN modders have created some truly beautiful custom PCs (full post)

IN WIN's Mod in Taiwan event kicks off, with the world's best modders

Anthony Garreffa | Cases, Cooling & PSU | May 29, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

IN WIN has kicked off its 30th birthday in a serious way, kicking off its Mod in Taiwan live modding competition. The company called upon eight teams from seven countries, gave them all a new IN WIN chassis, some pretty damn good hardware, and all the tools required to make the best custom PC they could in 24 hours - split across 3 x 8-hour days.

The company hosted the event at their factory complex in Taoyuan, with the first day over and done with and pretty damn hectic. There are some big prizes up for grabs, with the public voting on the Best Design Award and the Innovation Award, with votes taking place online and on-site at Computex.

All of the completed mods will be on display, with IN WIN giving the winner $5000, a slew of hardware, and their choice of chassis from IN WIN's amazing line of products. IN WIN will be choosing a modder for its Choice Award, with the price consisting of $3000. The winners will also receive an all expenses paid trip to Las Vegas for CES 2017, where their mod will be on show. As for who is participating:

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Continue reading: IN WIN's Mod in Taiwan event kicks off, with the world's best modders (full post)

New 4K Xbox Scorpio targeting 6TFLOPs, 1.5 times faster than PS4K

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 28, 2016 1:55 PM CDT

Microsoft is plotting to overthrow Sony's console reign with a new high-performance 4K-ready Xbox console that's four times as powerful than existing Xbox One hardware.

New 4K Xbox Scorpio targeting 6TFLOPs, 1.5 times faster than PS4K

According to recent reports, Microsoft will release a dramatically overhauled Xbox console (codenamed Scorpio) in late 2017. Inside sources told Polygon that Microsoft is targeting 6 TFLOPs of performance with the Xbox Scorpio, making the new Xbox 1.5 times faster than Sony's new upgraded PlayStation Neo (PS4K, PS4.5). Like the PS4K, the Xbox Scorpio will leverage its higher-end hardware to push 4K gaming and 4K video playback. It's likely the Scorpio will upscale 1080p to 4K instead of native 4K gaming, and the console is expected to be fully backward compatible with all existing Xbox One games.

Reports indicate the new Xbox will ship with Oculus Rift support baked in, with Microsoft partnering with Oculus to counter Sony's PlayStation VR headset. If these reports are true, the Xbox Scorpio would theoretically be capable of delivering desktop-grade VR performance with the Rift. PC-quality VR is quite demanding, so the Xbox Scorpio would likely need a dedicated video card solution, and we may even see the first-ever external console video cards with AMD's new GPU enclosure. Armed with powerful dedicated video cards or external GPUs the Scorpio could likely hit native 4K 30FPS depending on the card.

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Continue reading: New 4K Xbox Scorpio targeting 6TFLOPs, 1.5 times faster than PS4K (full post)

E3 site lists Xbox One VR category with Oculus Rift devs attached

Derek Strickland | Extended Reality (XR) | May 28, 2016 11:33 AM CDT

ESA's official E3 2016 website lists a "Xbox One VR" category, further hinting that Xbox will leverage the Oculus Rift to face-off against Sony's PlayStation VR.

E3 site lists Xbox One VR category with Oculus Rift devs attached

Earlier today we reported that the Oculus Rift headset may be supported on Microsoft's new upgraded 4K-ready Xbox (codenamed Scorpio). Anonymous devs confirmed Xbox VR projects to Ars Technica, adding further evidence to Kotaku's previous leaks. Now the official E3 site seems to corroborate those claims.

The E3 site lists four companies under the "Xbox One virtual reality" section, all of which are non-coincidentally working on VR games. The list includes Rebellion (Battlezone), Maximum Games (Loading Human), 3DRudder, who designed a feet-based VR controller, and Readily Studio, a Chinese outsourcing studio who builds VR games. What's more is that Rebellion's Battlezone and Maximum's Loading Human games are all confirmed for the Oculus Rift and PSVR, lumping on even more evidence the Rift could be used on the Xbox Scorpio.

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Continue reading: E3 site lists Xbox One VR category with Oculus Rift devs attached (full post)

New 4K Xbox to support Oculus Rift VR headset

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 28, 2016 8:16 AM CDT

We've heard lots of things about Microsoft's new upgraded 4K-ready Xbox console, aka Scorpio, and now we have more evidence that the new Xbox will support the Oculus Rift's VR headset.

New 4K Xbox to support Oculus Rift VR headset

Sources recently told Kotaku that Microsoft is readying its own powerful mid-cycle Xbox upgrade to counter Sony's PlayStation 4K console. And like PS4K, the new Xbox will leverage VR hardware: since Microsoft has no VR solution ready, the new 4K Xbox will reportedly use the Oculus Rift.

According to Ars Technica, developers are already working on VR games for Microsoft's new upgraded 4K Xbox. An anonymous dev at a "well-known European studio" corroborated reports that the new Xbox would use the same Oculus Rift HMD used by PCs. The game itself is "set in the universe of an established, long-running franchise," Ars reports.

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Continue reading: New 4K Xbox to support Oculus Rift VR headset (full post)

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