Latest News - Page 301

ASUS has announced its latest gaming-focused router, the ROG STRIX GS-BE18000 WiFi 7 Tri-band Gaming Router. It is designed to deliver fast wired and wireless speeds using the latest tri-band WiFi 7 technology. One of the most interesting aspects of the physical design is its clean mini PC-like look with no visible antennas.

Instead, it features eight internal antennas with "cutting-edge copper tubes" that can support a massive 3,300-square-foot area without any dead zones. For those looking for a wireless router that prioritizes gaming traffic, the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 has got you covered, as it includes dual dedicated 2.5G gaming ports that automatically prioritize gaming traffic without any configuration required.

The ROG Strix GS-BE18000 is an impressive unit in terms of overall speed. It has up to 20G of wired capacity (over seven 2.5G LAN ports) and 18G of WiFi 7, including high-speed 320MHz channels, Multi-Link Operation (MLO), and 4K-QAM support.

The transition to the newer 16-pin power connector standard for the GeForce RTX 40 Series and GeForce RTX 50 Series has been rocky. From several cases of cables and connectors melting due to overheating, we've seen a cable and connector redesign, new safety measures implemented, and more. And yet, the problem hasn't gone away, with reports (albeit fewer) of cables melting on high-powered GeForce RTX GPUs still popping up.

With that, we've reached a point where anyone spending upwards of $1,000 or more on a graphics card for gaming will probably have some reservations or worry about a potential failure or issue related to power and the 16-pin power connector.

GALAX, the maker of the popular Hall of Fame (HOF) series built for overclocking, is taking an interesting approach to the 16-pin power connector issue for its GALAX GeForce RTX 5070 Ti HOF Gaming and GALAX GeForce RTX 5080 HOF Gaming cards. It uses the RGB lighting as a warning system.

Ubisoft announced the remake of The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in September 2020, with a planned launch in January 2021. The critically acclaimed game debuted in 2003, predating the publisher's Assassin's Creed franchise. It blends third-person action and exploration with gameplay mechanics that let you control time.

Fast-forward to 2025, and Ubisoft has posted an update to the Prince of Persia's social media account on X, confirming that the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake is still developing. The weirdly cryptic post says, "we're still deep in the game - exploring, building, and ensuring the sands move with purpose," and that the remake is being developed by a team "that truly cares."

The post includes some artwork from the game; however, there's no word on when we might see it. Initially, Ubisoft Pune, an India-based studio, handled the remake's development. However, after several delays, development was 'rebooted' in 2022, with Ubisoft Montreal taking over and starting over.

Bluetooth 6.0 is slowly rolling out to new devices. It will be included in the upcoming Apple iPhone 17 and Google Pixel 10 smartphones, which are on track for 2025. It will be a notable upgrade to the existing Bluetooth 5.x technology, which is over nine years old. Bluetooth 6.0 will take a little while to become mainstream, but its widespread adoption is approaching.

The most significant upgrade that it will bring will be in the latency department, which will be a game-changer for audio and other devices primarily used by gamers. The new Isochronous Adaptation Layer (ISO-AL) breaks data into smaller packet sizes that can be sent simultaneously to multiple channels. This means a faster and more reliable connection that dramatically reduces audio latency.

One reason wireless gaming headsets and audio solutions opt for 2.4 GHz is due to existing Bluetooth latency; however, as Bluetooth 6.0 cuts latency by more than half to somewhere in the 'under 20ms' range, versatile Bluetooth audio for gaming will become a thing.

Meta's first foray into a full-fledged ASIC is coming according to new reports, where it will reportedly compete (and beat) the specifications of NVIDIA's next-gen Rubin AI GPU.

In a new research report by Nomura Securities analyst Anne Lee and her team picked up by insider @Jukanrosleve on X, we're hearing that Meta's ambitions in the AI server business are "rapidly escalating". Meta's new proprietary ASIC server project codenamed MTIA, is expected to hit a significant breakthrough in 2026, where it has the potential to challenge NVIDIA's long-standing market dominance.

Meta is reportedly gearing up to debut with millions of high-performance AI ASICs (1 million to 1.5 million units) between late 2025 and 2026, with cloud service providers like Google and AWS also boosting the deployment of their in-house ASICs.

The new Nintendo Switch 2 gaming handheld has had a CT scan, showing what makes it tick inside and in the nude, layer-by-layer, check it out:

The new CT scan of the Nintendo Switch 2 was posted on Reddit by user "Scan-of-the-Month" who has routinely shared pictures of things under CT scan, including a bunch of electronics, using an industrial CT scanning machine. The CT scan labels everything to confirm the major components, with the largest block of them all being the 5220mAh battery, which sits to the left of the Realtek-based audio codec chip.

Nintendo's new Switch 2 uses a MediaTek-based Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module, with two SK hynix components inside of the new gaming handheld: a 256GB UFS storage module, and two 6GB LPDDR5X RAM chips. We also get an up-close-and-personal look at the custom NVIDIA Tegra T239 SoC which has been seen in other teardowns (in the links below) which was confirmed with the label "GGMLX30-A1", but in this CT scan, we get a sweet layer-by-layer look at the chip.

The US Navy Exchange store has a bunch of higher-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs at MSRP, with the flagship NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition priced at $1900 (after a bunch of store and credit card promotions applied).

In a new post by a Redditor who noticed the RTX 50 series GPUs priced at MSRP, the NEX store (US Navy Exchange) explains that "You Serve, You Save" and is for active and retired military families, offering RTX 50 series cards on the cheap (well, cheaper than some retailers at least). Each branch of the US armed forces has their own respective store, too.

Redditor "Accomplished-Feed123" noticed some "largeish brown boxes" but didn't know what was inside... soon enough noticing "several 5070s, 5080s, and one single 5090". The Redditor noted "all were priced at MSRP (550, 999, and 1999, respectively)" adding that it was hard to resist, so they "said YOLO and picked up the 5090".

WhatsApp is gradually rolling out ads, which can be viewed as Meta's attempt to generate revenue from the popular end-to-end chat service. However, those who use WhatsApp purely for personal messaging, group chats, and video calls don't have anything to worry about, as Meta says, "You won't see ads."

This is because ads are being rolled out in WhatsApp Status and Channels, a separate tab next to 'Chats' in the app. This social media-inspired section of the app lets you share status updates and follow different groups and channels related to specific subjects and interests. For many WhatsApp users, it's probably a section they rarely, if ever, see.

Meta adds that "personal messages, calls, and statuses are end-to-end encrypted and can't be used to show you ads," however, the country code of your account/phone number, device information, "general location," and the channels you follow will be used to deliver ads in WhatsApp.

Microsoft uses its Windows 11 Insider Preview Build program to roll out new Windows features, updates, and changes to a community of testers and early adopters before release. Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5651 is the latest preview release, and it's a big one, as it adds a few new Copilot+ experiences.

The big one is an AI agent integrated into Windows Settings. If you ask a question or describe an issue, like "my mouse pointer is too small," the AI will point you in the right direction. This feature is currently only available on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, with Intel and AMD systems set to get the AI-powered Settings update in the future.

Old-school Windows fans might be pleased to note that Microsoft is bringing back the bigger clock that shows seconds above the date and calendar when you click on the bottom right of the taskbar. That's not the only blast from the past featured in the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build. There's a bug that plays the "Windows Vista boot sound instead of the Windows 11 boot sound."

We are getting more and more details about Intel's next-gen Nova Lake-S desktop "Core Ultra 400" series CPUs, which will reportedly support DDR5-8000 memory natively, while also boasting 36 PCIe Gen5 lanes.

The new information on the RAM + Gen5 lanes for Nova Lake-S desktop processors is coming from leaker @jaykihn0 on X, after information was posted about the new Core Ultra 400 series CPUs featuring up to 52 cores (over twice the core count of Arrow Lake-S chips on the market today).

Intel is reportedly gearing up to provide 50% higher native RAM speed support (DDR5-6400 on Arrow Lake-S, with DDR5-8000 on Nova Lake-S and up to DDR5-10000 also supported). Intel officially supports DDR5-6400 memory through DDR5 and CUDIMM modules on the 800-series and Arrow Lake-S, but you can squeeze up to DDR5-9000+ speeds, but natively, only DDR5-6400 is supported.

PlayStation 5 exclusivity has ended and Final Fantasy 16 is now on Xbox consoles, but apparently at inferior quality.

Early analysis of Final Fantasy 16's Xbox port show signs that the game may look better on PlayStation 5 with the frame rate priority preset. According to Digital Foundry, the PS5 version has better visual quality than the Xbox Series X version when running in the game's performance mode, with things like foliage standing out on Microsoft's console.

"Both versions seem to use the TSC MAA+FSR1 combo that the PS5 version shipped with at launch, but the Xbox version is consistently lower resolution," Digital Foundry's Ollie Mack said.

TSMC Arizona has reportedly finished its first run of chips made in the USA for Apple, AMD, and NVIDIA, marking a major milestone for the semiconductor giant, and the USA.

In a new report from Ctee picked up by insider Dan Nystedt on X, TSMC reportedly pushed out its first run of chips for the three US-based companies, with NVIDIA's new Blackwell AI GPUs made in Arizona being sent back to Taiwan for advanced packaging.

Apple's new A20 series processors for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max smartphones will be made on TSMC's 2nm process with WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) advanced packaging at its AP7 plant in Chiayi, Taiwan. WMCM capacity at the AP7 plant is expected to reach 50,000 wafers per month by the end of 2026.

Intel's next-gen Nova Lake-S desktop "Core Ultra 400" series CPU details have leaked, teasing that we can expect up to 52 CPU cores, with up to 150W TDP on the new LGA 1854 socket.

The new information on the next-gen Nova Lake-S desktop CPUs comes from leaker @Chi11eddog on X, reporting that motherboard makers are "very early" in the development of their next-gen platforms based on the new 900-series chipset and LGA 1854 socket. We can expect next-gen tech features and support for even faster DDR5 memory, with CUDIMM at the center for users who want ultimate performance out of their gaming PCs.

Intel is expected to support up to ultra-fast DDR5-10000+ memory on its new 900-series motherboards, with leaks of 7 new SKUs of Core Ultra 400 series with the flagship Core Ultra 9 SKU featuring 52 cores (16 P-Cores + 32 E-Cores + 4 LP-E Cores) with a 150W TDP. Compare this with the current-gen flagship Core Ultra 9 285K "Arrow Lake-S" desktop CPU which features 8 P-Cores and 16 E-Cores for a total of 24 cores (with no LP-E cores), meaning we're in for a 2.16x increase in core count, with 2 x more P-Cores and E-Cores.

Devil May Cry is the latest video game franchise to see a surge in sales thanks to TV show adaptations.

Capcom's multiplatform multimedia content strategy appears to be working as intended and synergistically driving up game sales. Little over two months after releasing the Devil May Cry TV series on Netflix, the franchise broke a sales milestone, with Capcom revealing that Devil May Cry 5 game sales have now broken 10 million. The total DmC series is at 33 million, meaning DmC 5 makes up roughly 30% of sales.

Capcom directly attributes the spike in Devil May Cry 5 game sales to the positive and popular reaction from the Netflix show; after all, the DmC show had 5.3 million views. This isn't the first video game series to be uplifted by big-budget adaptations, with Sony seeing a major jump from The Last of Us series on HBO, CD Projekt seeing the same in Cyberpunk 2077 from the Edgerunners series, and the Castlevania Netflix series also uplifted franchise sales across Konami's classics collections.

New Borderlands 4 pre-orders reveal the game won't be $80 after all.

Today, pre-orders for Borderlands 4 opened up on all platforms, revealing a base $70 price tag for the game. Fans were worried that Gearbox's new sequel could be $80, especially with Nintendo opening up a $80 price point for new Switch 2 games, and it just so happens that Borderlands 4 is coming to the Switch 2. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford was asked about the game's price, and his response didn't help the situation, actually kicking off a controversy with tidbits of rare insight into the video games industry.

It looks like the controversy may all have been for nothing--or maybe the high-combustion reaction from fans was the exact reason Borderlands 4 isn't $80. Whatever the case, it looks like the costs are being passed down through various editions. Borderlands 4 will have 3 digital versions: the standard edition for $70, a deluxe edition for $100, and a super deluxe edition for $130. Also, Borderlands 4 won't have a Switch 2 version at launch.

Gaming's top modding site, Nexus Mods, has purportedly been sold to a new mysterious owner that "gets" the modding community.

Today, Nexus Mods operator Robin Dark0ne Scott made a surprising announcement: Nexus Mods is being handed off to new management. Dark0ne says that he made this decision in order to focus on his mental health and relieve the stress of running such a gigantic ecosystem of content.

It's unclear what the terms of the deal are, and whether or not Black Tree Gaming Ltd, the current owner of Nexus Mods, has sold their ownership stake in Nexus Mods to another group or person. It's possible that this is an ownership change as in appointing new successors. Nexus Mods was created by Scott and managed under his company Black Tree Gaming Ltd. At the time of writing, Black Tree is still listed at the bottom of the Nexus Mods website.

ARK: Survival Ascended, the remastered take on Survival Evolved, has been in early access for a long time now, but the game has hit some fresh controversy.

Survival Ascended has always been under fire for its performance levels (with UE 5), and how far the graphics need to be notched down to get a smooth frame rate, and now we're told that the developer's solution is to enable frame generation - without informing the player.

As Sebastian Castellanos pointed out on X (see the above post), not only does ARK: Survival Ascended have FSR frame generation turned on, but you can't turn it off from the graphics settings. There's simply no option listed, so you wouldn't have a clue it's actually running.

Apple has said that a "very small percentage" of Mac mini computers with M2 chips suffer from a fault that means they don't power on, while letting affected users know how they can get a free repair.

This is the compact computer which was launched in 2023 and Apple clarifies that affected PCs were manufactured between June 16 to November 23 in 2024.

If you've got a Mac mini M2 and it's no longer coming on when you hit the power, you can use Apple's serial number checker (as flagged by Apple Insider) to see if your device is part of the free repair program.

AMD has a new budget gaming CPU option for gamers still on the AM4 platform, the Ryzen 5 5500X3D. This is the latest chip with the company's popular PC gaming-friendly 3D V-Cache technology, albeit the first-gen 7nm Zen 3 variant popularized by the Ryzen 7 5700X3D.

Like the Ryzen 5 5600X3D from 2023, the new Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core/12-thread CPU with a Base Clock speed of 3 GHz and a Boost Clock of a flat 4 GHz and the same 96MB of L3 Cache. It also sports the same 105W TDP rating and is based on the codenamed Vermeer architecture, as detailed in AMD's official product page for the new AM4 CPU.

According to reports, the new Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a new budget gaming CPU specifically for the Latin American market. It is the only piece of Ryzen hardware built for that specific audience. At this stage, it doesn't look like it will reach other regions.

Earlier this year, we reported on "Engineering Sample 34," an early Steam Deck prototype from Valve that sold on eBay for $2000 ($1000 less than the asking price of $3000). As seen in pictures, the prototype handheld features a different design than the retail unit with blue-colored buttons, more curves, and circular trackpads.

The buyer, SadlyItsBradley, loaned the rare piece of Valve hardware history to tech YouTube channel Bringus Studios for a deep dive into the hardware. That video is now online (you can watch it in full below), and it's a fascinating look at a very early version of what would become the Steam Deck.

The hardware inside has a late 2019 production date stamped on it, which suggests that it is more of a proof-of-concept device than a functional gaming handheld. In the video, we discover that the 'Picasso APU' is a Ryzen 7 3700U with integrated Radeon Vega 10 graphics, which is far less powerful than the custom Zen 2 APU with RDNA 2 graphics on the retail model.