Latest News - Page 259

With the arrival of the latest AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 25.8.1 driver for Radeon GPUs, the final piece of the puzzle is now in place. Yes, FSR 4 support is finally officially available in Cyberpunk 2077, with developer CD Projekt Red confirming that Radeon RX 9000 Series gamers can now enjoy the improved image quality of the AI-powered FSR 4 in-game.

So if you've got a Radeon RX 9070 XT, RX 9070, or RX 9060 XT GPU, you've now got the option to choose FSR 4 Super Resolution instead of the inferior FSR 3. As noted in our reviews of multiple RDNA 4 GPUs in recent months, FSR 4 presents a massive improvement to image quality, so much so that it's finally a worthy competitor to NVIDIA DLSS.

FSR 4 being added to Cyberpunk 2077 is something we've wanted to see for a while now, as the improved ray-tracing performance that you get with RDNA 4 GPUs like the Radeon RX 9070 XT means that owners can now enjoy the title's impressive RT Ultra quality setting at 1440p and 4K with noticeably better image quality.

Those who find themselves spending a lot of time playing racing games like Forza Horizon 5, F1 25, and the dozens of other high-octane titles out there will often find themselves looking toward picking up a racing wheel or even putting together a full simulation setup. Playing a racing game with a dedicated wheel and pedals is the sort of level-up similar to finding a legendary weapon in an RPG. One that replaces a sturdy but not all that exciting blue or yellow-colored sword, aka your controller.

This week, Turtle Beach has announced a new range of simulation and racing game accessories for Xbox and PC, aimed at those looking to get their first wheel as well as those serious about racing sims. First up is the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race KD3 ($449.99 MSRP, launching September 9, 2025), which includes a high-quality force feedback wheel with a direct-drive motor, 2,160° of rotation, magnetic paddle shifters, and dedicated pedals.

Turtle Beach says this one is for "serious racers," and the modular design is suitable for a range of setups, from desks and temporary tables to dedicated racing rigs. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there's the more affordable Turtle Beach Racer ($179.99 MSRP, launching September 9, 2025), aimed at "aspiring drivers looking to level-up their laps."

If you haven't picked up a new gaming keyboard in a couple of years, here's what you need to know. The rise in popularity of customizable boards with high-quality switches and acoustics has led to everyone stepping up their game. With the arrival of the newMSI STRIKE PRO WIRELESS gaming keyboard, MSI is stepping into the ring with its latest silent pro-grade keyboard.

The STRIKE PRO WIRELESS ships with Kailh Midnight Pro Silent switches that balance comfort, responsiveness, and silent performance. Rated for 70 million keystrokes, they're also hot-swappable with the STRIKE PRO WIRELESS, supporting all standard 5-pin switches. The keyboard also features three programmable M or macro keys, a smart scroll wheel, and dedicated media controls. It's also a full-sized board, with a numpad, so you've got wider productivity support than what you'd find on a TKL option.

Underneath the hood, the STRIKE PRO WIRELESS also sports multiple layers of sound-damping for ultra-quiet performance, as well as gasket mounting. As a wireless keyboard, it also offers tri-mode connectivity so you can seamlessly switch between wired, 2.4 GHz wireless, and Bluetooth modes. And the large capacity 4200mAh battery provides up to 1500 hours of usage between charges.

Apple is reportedly planning to unleash its next-gen iPhone 17 family of smartphones, including the new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air, on September 9.

The company traditionally launches its new range of iPhones in September, with MacRumors reporting that this year will be no different for the iPhone 17. We are to expect the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Air, and flagship iPhone 17 Pro Max to be unveiled on September 9.

Apple will then open up pre-orders for the iPhone 17 on September 12, which will see Apple fans waiting around a week for pre-ordered iPhone 17 smartphones to reach them and get in-store. We should expect major markets like the US, Europe, China, Australia, and other countries to be included in that first week of iPhone 17 sales.

AMD's next-generation AM6 socket will house next-generation Zen 7 processors, and it'll feature 2100 pins with a higher pin density than the AM5 socket, but it won't be any bigger.

We're hearing about AMD's next-gen AM6 socket from the folks over at Bits and Chips, reporting that AM6 has a higher pin density than AM5, something that was pointed out in an AMD patent labeled "US20250149248". The new AM6 socket will have up to 2100 pins, up from 1718 pins on AM5, which is a 22% increase in pin density, all while retaining the same socket size as AM5.

This is great news for AM5-compatible coolers, as they should work, on the next-gen AM6 socket as well. It also technically means that AM4-compatible coolers should work with AM6, but that'll be harder as the next-gen Zen 7 family of CPUs could see cooling manufacturers needing to release new AM6-ready cooling designs depending on the chiplet layout of the next-gen Zen 7 chips.

Intel is reportedly struggling with its next-gen 18A semiconductor process that was meant to be one of the saving graces of the company but is delivering huge headaches for its next-gen processors.

In a new report from Reuters, the production process that Intel is using to work its way back into securing chip-making deals for high-end, high-margin chips is "facing a big hurdle on quality as it puts newer technologies to the test". Intel has been promising its investors for months now that it would be increasing manufacturing using its new Intel 18A process.

Intel has spent billions of dollars developing its new 18A process node, including the construction and upgrades of multiple semiconductor factories, where it wanted to take the fight to semiconductor dominator, TSMC. Intel wants to shift from solely designing chips that TSMC produces for them, to owning a competitive contract manufacturing business capable of rivaling TSMC.

With driver support and the official product page now live, AMD's new entry-level RDNA 4 GPU, the Radeon RX 9060, has launched. Although we don't have pricing and availability, it is expected that this new GPU will mostly be limited to budget prebuilt systems.

The Radeon RX 9060 non-XT features 28 Compute Units, down from 32 in the Radeon RX 9060 XT, with 8GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with a memory bandwidth speed of up to 288 GB/sec. It's also the most efficient GPU in the company's RDNA 4 line-up with a power rating of 132W, a similar power draw to NVIDIA's entry-level GeForce RTX 5050.

However, as highlighted by the product page for the custom 2.5-slot ASUS Dual Radeon RX 9060 model, it seems that the Radeon RX 9060's OC capabilities are essentially non-existent. All that's on offer is a paltry 10 MHz (first spotted by VideoCardz), which won't make any noticeable difference to gaming performance.

Sony's next-gen PS6 console will push 4K 120FPS all day long, with a huge 5-10x improvement in ray tracing (RT) performance over the base PS5 console.

We've been hearing more and more details about the next-gen PlayStation 6 console through leaks, with most of them coming from Moore's Law is Dead. MLID just posted his Broken Silicon podcast, providing more details on the PS6, where he said we can expect a whopping 5-10x performance leap in ray tracing over the base PS5.

When it comes to rasterization performance, the next-gen PS6 console has already had leaks that we can expect somewhere between 2-3x the base PS5 performance, putting it at Radeon RX 9070 XT and GeForce RTX 5080 levels of GPU performance.

AMD has released its latest financial report for the second quarter of 2025, with the company recording a record $7.7 billion in revenue. However, due to "inventory and related charges associated with US export control restrictions" for its Instinct data center AI GPUs, the company's operating income was in the red to the tune of $134 million.

However, it's all good news when looking at AMD's Client and Gaming Segment, which covers the company's lineup of Ryzen and Radeon products for consumers. With record CPU sales, "strong demand" for the company's new RDNA 4-powered Radeon RX 9000 Series GPUs, and increased demand for "console gaming products," revenue was up 69% year-over-year.

It's no secret that AMD's Ryzen range of processors is quickly becoming a go-to processor for all users, surpassing Intel in several markets. However, Q2 2025's Gaming revenue, which covers Radeon products as well as PlayStation and Xbox consoles, grew by a whopping 73% year-over-year.

Cooler Master's new MasterFrame 360 Panorama S Limited Edition Gaming Rig lives up to its name as only 100 units of this fantastic-looking PC are being sold worldwide. This custom, impressive, and powerful rig is a showcase for the company's modular, aluminum MasterFrame 360 Panorama chassis, which it developed in collaboration with acclaimed PC modder "AK Mod."

Even though this is a complete PC with an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU and an ASUS ROG ASTRAL GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card with a custom Cooler Master fan shroud and thermal solution, it's still as much about in-depth customization options as it is style.

In addition to being able to display a statue or figurine in the dedicated "personalized exhibit space" at the front, with dedicated dual ARGB spotlights, you've also got support for a range of fan and radiator configurations. Even with its 360-degree panoramic views, the MasterFrame 360 Panorama chassis still supports up to four 360mm radiators.

Sony's next-generation PlayStation 6 console will be radically faster and more technologically equipped than its predecessor, with leaks suggesting the GPU power inside of the PS6 will be around Radeon RX 9070 XT performance.

In a new post on the NeoGAF forums, leaker Kepler_L2 has predictions of RX 9070 XT performance for the PS6, and that the next-gen Xbox will have performance close to NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card. AMD's new RDNA 5 GPU is being split into two dies: AT0 and AT2, with the next-gen consoles presumably having AT2 dies for their next-gen RDNA 5 portions of the APU.

AMD's upcoming AT2 die was leaked by Moore's Law is Dead, with the RDNA 5 family split into four different parts with the AT0 die used for the flagship RDNA 5 GPU and the purported Radeon RX 10900 XT (placeholder name) that would sport an incredible 154 CUs of RDNA 5 performance.

Reimagining Nintendo 64 classics, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, or The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask in Unreal Engine is something we've seen before. Often, these examples simply focus on recreating classic Zelda characters and locations with realistic lighting and more detailed models, which is why this new example from artist Benoit Bourgerie stands out.

The level of detail and high-quality Lumen-powered lighting is just the icing on the cake, as the real star of the show here is the art direction that pays homage to the Zelda franchise's cartoon and animated film roots. According to the YouTube description, Benoit Bourgerie spent over a year recreating the Clock Town and Termina Field locations from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask in Unreal Engine 5.

"This is a fan project done for fun, practice, and to pay homage to one of my favourite games ever," he explains. Unfortunately, this isn't a playable game, but merely a tech demo and art project that presents an N64 classic in a new light.

AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 25.8.1 is here, and the latest driver and software for Radeon GPUs is a massive one. It not only adds support for new games like Mafia: The Old Country and WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers, but it also adds optimizations and support for this weekend's big Battlefield 6 Open Beta.

The latest driver also adds support for the entry-level Radeon RX 9060 non-XT GPU, which has quietly launched this week as a budget 1080p gaming card for new builds. AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 25.8.1 is also a must for all RDNA 4 owners as it officially brings FSR 4 support to new releases like Mafia: The Old Country and WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers, while finally bringing the AI-powered upscaling solution to CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077.

There are also a few fixes in this driver release, addressing issues such as 4K video stuttering in Chrome and random crashes in titles like Battlefield 2042 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The driver is available to download right now. Here are the full release notes.

Battlefield 6 has been one of the most leaked games in recent memory, which is hardly surprising since the game was built alongside numerous alpha playtests from the public for its developers to receive vital player feedback.

With public playtests, you will always get leaks, and I think it would be safe to say that EA and the team at Battlefield Labs were aware that would be the case. But I can confirm they aren't thrilled about it, as in some cases where I have reported on leaked Battlefield 6 content, I have received emails from EA demanding the content be taken down. Of course, I complied. However, what EA can't stop is dataminers digging through publicly available files to find anything that hasn't already been officially announced.

It appears that is where the latest leak has come from, as it surfaced right after the pre-load for the open beta scheduled for this upcoming weekend was made available. However, the source hasn't confirmed where the video came from, just that it's a better look at the LA battle royale map for the unannounced battle royale mode in Battlefield 6. The video was shared on 1BF's Telegram account and showcases a wide open, vibrant suburban area that features destroyed buildings and structures.

Windows 10 turned 10 years old on July 29, marking the birthday of the extremely popular operating system ahead of its official decapitation.

In celebration of Windows 10's 10th birthday, Microsoft reminded users that it will be officially cutting off support for the operating system in October this year, which means it will no longer receive vital security updates.

Machines that don't upgrade to Windows 11 will be exponentially at risk of security breaches. Moreover, some hardware manufacturers are going to be cutting off driver support and security support for their components around the time of the operating system's severing from Microsoft.

Sonos, the company behind the Roam Bluetooth portable speaker, has responded to several complaints from owners who have taken to social media platforms to share images of their now-melted device.

The reports from users date back to last week, when an image was shared to Reddit of a damaged Roam speaker. The user added they smelled burning plastic coming from the device, which they said wasn't used often, but at the time of the odor, the device was plugged into the wall outlet. Another user responded to the image and said, "Mine did the same thing a few days ago." Notably, both of the users said the smell occurred when the device was plugged into the wall outlet for a long period of time.

One user who said it also happened to them said Sonos replaced their speaker after requesting that they provide images and details of the device's failure. Reports indicate this isn't just a few isolated events, with other owners of the device sharing images to the /r/Sonos subreddit. In all of the reports of a failed device, the melting is occurring at the USB-C charging port.

The open beta for Battlefield 6 is scheduled to take place on the weekend, and ahead of the action, details have emerged regarding the matchmaking process for multiplayer games.

CharlieIntel has revealed in a recent X post that Battlefield 6 will include skill-based matchmaking that will also take into account several other factors, such as ping, player location, server availability, and the game mode. Ultimately, there will be a "skill" factor at play, but it will be a portion of the pie that makes up the matchmaking process.

What isn't known is how much of that "skill" factor makes up the matchmaking pie. CharlieIntel says the news was confirmed to him at the Battlefield 6 multiplayer press briefing, where he was also told that matchmaking will vary on the game mode and player count.

Microsoft has agreed to the demands set forth by Raven Software, a video game studio and subsidiary under Activision Blizzard, which is owned by Microsoft. The years-long debate between the developers and Microsoft has ended in a unanimous vote to ratify the first union contract between members of the studio's union and Microsoft.

The discussions between the two parties have been taking place over the past three years and have now resulted in Communication Workers of America (CWA) testers receiving a guaranteed 10% wage increase over two years, with other benefits such as a seven-day notice before any mandatory overtime is implemented, disability protection, a fair promotion process, and, probably most importantly considering the current climate at Microsoft, layoff protections.

Notably, Raven Software's quality assurance testers will be receiving these benefits, and for those who don't know, Raven Software assisted in the development of Call of Duty: Warzone, along with multiple single-player campaigns for Call of Duty, such as Black Ops 6 and the upcoming Black Ops 7. These new protections for employees come after Microsoft decided to layoff thousands of employees across its various companies under its extensive umbrella, with many of those companies impacted by the layoffs being under its Microsoft Gaming arm, and by extension, Activision Blizzard.

At the Washington AI Summit, President Donald Trump commented on NVIDIA, saying that he wanted to break up the company when he heard about its market dominance.

The remarks from Trump were made in a joking manner at the AI Summit, with the President saying that he had never heard of NVIDIA before and then learned about the company and its leader, founder, and CEO, Jensen Huang. Trump stated that he was informed it would be difficult to "break up" NVIDIA. He also noted that if Huang were to run the company "incompetently," it would take 10 years for any competition to catch up to NVIDIA's current position. Whether that be true or not, those were the comments from the US government.

What is true is NVIDIA's absolute dominance in both the AI GPU market and the consumer GPU market, with the green team being the leader in both of those spaces by a far and away margin. While Trump was joking about breaking up NVIDIA, presumably under antitrust laws or the monopolization of a market that's anti-competitive, it's not totally impossible for that to happen. As Trump even says, NVIDIA holds 100%, which is a red flag for regulators.

Grand Theft Auto 6 won't just be the biggest gaming release of 2026, but the biggest piece of anything in entertainment history, with a launch price of $100, says an analyst.

In a new interview with The Telegraph, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Patcher said: "I expect a $100 price point for the game. The game will be immensely profitable. It will likely generate $10bn lifetime and another $500m annually from GTA Online".

GTA 6 generating $10 billion over its lifetime and $500 million per year from GTA Online will sound like music to Rockstar's ears, but I'm sure it'll make even more than that.