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Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 inches closer to reality with an official rating

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 25, 2025 6:31 PM CST

If the recent teasers of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 wasn't enough to convince you a remaster was just around the corner, the unannounced title has now received an official rating by a statutory board.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 inches closer to reality with an official rating

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 is all but confirmed by Activision, with the publisher last week putting a mysterious countdown up on the official Tony Hawk game website with the date March 4, 2025. The potential remaster of the iconic franchise was first teased by professional skateboarder Tyshawn Jones, who said during an interview on the Breakfast Club that he was in a new Tony Hawk game that's "coming out" and that this game was a remaster. Presumably fans speculated it was Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4.

It was only a few days later that Black Ops 6 players discovered a mysterious date on the wall in the Grind map. The date was written the Pro Skater font and featured the Tony Hawk logo, and it was only a day after that countdown was discovered on the Tony Hawk game website. Now, the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, a body that gives official ratings to games has rated an unannounced "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4" for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.

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Framework's tiny new modular Desktop PC: 16C/32T AMD Strix Halo APU, 128GB RAM, for just $1999

Anthony Garreffa | Computer Systems | Feb 25, 2025 6:06 PM CST

Framework has just announced its new Desktop PC, a tiny Mini-ITX desktop system powered by AMD's new Ryzen AI Max series "Strix Halo" APUs.

Framework's tiny new modular Desktop PC: 16C/32T AMD Strix Halo APU, 128GB RAM, for just $1999

AMD announced its Strix Halo APUs earlier this year, with Framework saying it "immediately knew we had to use it" with up to 16 cores and 32 threads of Zen 5 CPU power boosting at up to 5.1GHz, discrete-level Radeon 8060S graphics, and up to an insane 128GB of unified LPDDR5X memory.

Framework is known for its modular laptops but what is a modular desktop? The new Desktop PC from the company has seen Framework leverage all of the key PC standards it could, with the Framework Desktop's Ryzen AI Max-powered motherboard being in a standard Mini-ITX form factor with regular ATX headers, a PCIe x4 slot, and a bunch of high-end I/O including 2 x USB4 ports, DisplayPort, HDMI, and even enthusiast-grade 5GbE wired ethernet.

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Continue reading: Framework's tiny new modular Desktop PC: 16C/32T AMD Strix Halo APU, 128GB RAM, for just $1999 (full post)

TSMC says plans for 2nd Japan fab remain unchanged after Japanese media reports of it delayed

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Feb 25, 2025 5:05 PM CST

TSMC plans for its 2nd fab in Japan remain unchanged, going against recent Japanese media reports that construction was being delayed at TSMC's new Kumamoto Plant 2 to "within this year".

TSMC says plans for 2nd Japan fab remain unchanged after Japanese media reports of it delayed

Japanese media reported earlier today that TSMC's new Kumamoto Fab 2 construction had been delayed from March 2025 to "within this year" but the production time remains unchanged. In response to questions from reporters, TSMC said that JASM's plans for the second wafer production facility in Japan is still happening, but had no further information to share at the time.

TSMC's goal of having its 2nd fab operational and put into production before the end of 2027, with the new Kumamoto Fab 2 plant to make 6nm semiconductor wafers in Japan.

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Continue reading: TSMC says plans for 2nd Japan fab remain unchanged after Japanese media reports of it delayed (full post)

WB Games narrows focus with 'fewer but bigger' strategy for its franchises

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 25, 2025 4:34 PM CST

WB Games is shutting down studios and cancelling games restructuring plan. The games lineup has been cut down to reflect a "less is more" approach that underlines WB's powerful IPs.

WB Games narrows focus with 'fewer but bigger' strategy for its franchises

Today it was revealed that WB Games shuttered Monolith Productions, WB San Diego, and Player First Games while cancelling a big-budget Wonder Woman game in the process. The goal is simple: WB Discovery is tired of losing money on bad bets. The combined bad performance of Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League and Multiversus led to a $335 million impairment charge for the games division.

The restructuring has also led to big changes in how money is being spent on new projects. In an internal memo acquired by Bloomberg, WB Games management says that teams will now focus on a handful of franchises and IPs, which are predictable: Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC Comics (with an emphasis on Batman), and Game of Thrones.

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Continue reading: WB Games narrows focus with 'fewer but bigger' strategy for its franchises (full post)

Xbox Game Studios boss comments on Microsoft's anti-exclusive multi-platform strategy

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 25, 2025 3:33 PM CST

Xbox Game Studios' new boss shares his perspective on Microsoft's multi-platform games strategy, ultimately saying that the plan is good for creatives and consumers alike.

Xbox Game Studios boss comments on Microsoft's anti-exclusive multi-platform strategy

Microsoft no longer believes in exclusive games and is now selling its first-party games on PlayStation and Nintendo to maximize revenues. It's part of a strategy that uses terms like "broad reach" to emphasize just how much opportunity there is on rival hardware. The move has been polarizing, with many feeling that having no exclusive content will jeopardize Xbox hardware from the inside out.

Whatever the case may be, for the near- and mid-term, Microsoft is getting a revenue boost from multi-platform releases. The unpopular decision appears to be good for business, at least for now. We've heard executives like Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty comment on this decision, but what about the people that're closer to the creatives?

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Continue reading: Xbox Game Studios boss comments on Microsoft's anti-exclusive multi-platform strategy (full post)

AMD's new bundle: get Monster Hunter Wilds free with RX 7000 GPUs and Ryzen 9000 and 7000 CPUs

Darren Allan | Gaming | Feb 25, 2025 3:00 PM CST

AMD has announced a new Monster Hunter Wilds game bundle with its RX 7000 GPUs and Ryzen 9000 and 7000 processors.

AMD's new bundle: get Monster Hunter Wilds free with RX 7000 GPUs and Ryzen 9000 and 7000 CPUs

The new bundle gives gamers a free copy of Monster Hunter Wilds (value: $70) with selected pieces of hardware in the usual manner.

The following AMD CPUs will qualify you for the freebie (but do note that as ever, you need to purchase from an eligible retailer that AMD has drafted into the scheme):

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Continue reading: AMD's new bundle: get Monster Hunter Wilds free with RX 7000 GPUs and Ryzen 9000 and 7000 CPUs (full post)

New Fable has the 'most beautiful and realized version of Albion you've ever seen'

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 25, 2025 2:31 PM CST

Fable has been delayed to 2026, but Microsoft softens the blow by revealing new pre-alpha gameplay footage for the anticipated RPG.

New Fable has the 'most beautiful and realized version of Albion you've ever seen'

The next Fable game will have an extra year for development, Xbox has announced, and developer Playground Games is reportedly making big strides with the game's progress. Aided with Eidos Montreal, Playground's new vision for Fable is touted as the "most beautiful" in the history of the series.

Alongside the game's delay announcement, Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan also teased new details about Fable, complete with pre-alpha gameplay footage. The sequences even included some bits of combat and apparently showcased Fable's seamless transitions between dialog and combat.

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Continue reading: New Fable has the 'most beautiful and realized version of Albion you've ever seen' (full post)

Samsung's new 9100 PRO Gen5 SSD launched: up to 14.8GB/sec, up to monster 8TB capacity

Anthony Garreffa | Storage | Feb 25, 2025 2:02 PM CST

Samsung has officially unveiled its next-gen 9100 PRO Gen5 SSDs, with read speeds of up to 14.8GB/sec and comes in up to a monster 8TB capacity. Check it out:

Samsung's new 9100 PRO Gen5 SSD launched: up to 14.8GB/sec, up to monster 8TB capacity

The new Samsung 9100 PRO Gen5 SSD has sequential read speeds of up to 14.8GB/sec (14,800MB/sec) and writes of up to 13.4GB/sec (13,400MB/sec) which is a huge 99% performance improvement over the last-gen 990 PRO Gen4 SSD. The random reads and writes are now also much higher at 2200K IOPS and 2600K IOPS, respectively.

Samsung has designed an advanced heat management solution on the 9100 PRO Gen5 SSD that improves power efficiency by up to 49% over previous-gen models, with its optimized thermal pad integrated 8.8mmT heatsink for 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities, with a thicker 11.25mmT heatsink for 8TB Gen5 SSD.

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Continue reading: Samsung's new 9100 PRO Gen5 SSD launched: up to 14.8GB/sec, up to monster 8TB capacity (full post)

ASRock releases new BIOS to fix Ryzen 9000 CPU boot issues on A620, B650, B850, X870 mobos

Anthony Garreffa | Motherboards | Feb 25, 2025 1:47 PM CST

In news that AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D owners were experiencing CPU failures, with ASRock motherboard users finding it more common, ASRock is out and ahead of the issue releasing new BIOS updates for their fleet of AM5 motherboards.

ASRock releases new BIOS to fix Ryzen 9000 CPU boot issues on A620, B650, B850, X870 mobos

In an email sent to us here at TweakTown, ASRock explained it had "observed reports on Reddit from users experiencing unexpected boot issues and error codes when using ASRock AM5 motherboards paired with minority proportion of AMD Ryzenâ„¢ 9000 series processors. To enhance user experience, ASRock promptly released the latest 3.20 Beta BIOS for its AM5 series motherboards, further improving AMD Ryzenâ„¢ 9000 series processors boot issues".

"Users can download and install the BIOS from the official ASRock website or use the BIOS Flashback function on their motherboard for a quick update. ASRock also promises to continue enhancing the compatibility of its products".

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Continue reading: ASRock releases new BIOS to fix Ryzen 9000 CPU boot issues on A620, B650, B850, X870 mobos (full post)

WB Games just shut down one of its most acclaimed gaming studios

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 25, 2025 1:28 PM CST

Warner Bros Games is shutting down Monolith Productions, the developers behind the popular Middle-earth series of games, and the new Wonder Woman game has been cancelled.

WB Games just shut down one of its most acclaimed gaming studios

WB Games is making big changes to its games portfolio and talent roster. Sources have told Bloomberg'sJason Schreier that Warner Bros.' games division will close Monolith Productions, the high-profile studio responsible for big hits like the Middle-earth action-adventure duo, which introduced the iconic Nemesis system. The studio also made the popular FEAR first-person shooter series that blended action with horror. Monolith had originally been established in the 90s before being acquired by WB in 2004. The studio's website now redirects to the WB Games website.

Warner Bros. is also axing Monolith's turbulent Wonder Woman game, which had been in development for years and had reportedly been rebooted. Earlier reports paint a dismal picture for WB Games with big holes in the slate. Management had originally expected to achieve $3 billion from gaming, but this target remains in question as former WB Games president David Haddad prepares to leave the company.

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Continue reading: WB Games just shut down one of its most acclaimed gaming studios (full post)

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D experiencing 'CPU Failure' issues, more common on ASRock motherboards

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | Feb 25, 2025 1:01 PM CST

AMD's new super-popular Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor is now in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, with multiple people posting on Reddit reporting crashing and failure incidents on their new Zen 5-based X3D gaming CPU.

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D experiencing 'CPU Failure' issues, more common on ASRock motherboards

There is a huge megathread on the ASRock subreddit, with an "abnormal" amount of Ryzen 7 9800X3D processors failing inside of systems, and it looks like the issues are more common on ASRock motherboards. Moderators of the thread have reported that an "abnormal amount of 9800X3Ds that are dying, often (but not exclusively) on ASRock boards".

Redditor u/SoupaSoka says that the posts are "frequent enough that we'd like to consolidate discussion here as well as provide consolidated updates if any news comes from ASRock, AMD, or elsewhere". Well, here's another source for you guys.

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Continue reading: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D experiencing 'CPU Failure' issues, more common on ASRock motherboards (full post)

NVIDIA admits: yeah sorry, our new GeForce RTX 5080 has missing ROPs as well

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Feb 25, 2025 12:12 PM CST

NVIDIA has now admitted that its GeForce RTX 5080 graphics cards are also affecting by missing ROPs, joining the RTX 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti with the same issue.

NVIDIA admits: yeah sorry, our new GeForce RTX 5080 has missing ROPs as well

The company released a statement to The Verge, with NVIDIA GeForce Global PR director Ben Berraondo explaining: "Upon further investigation, we've identified that an early production build of GeForce RTX 5080 GPUs were also affected by the same issue. Affected consumers can contact the board manufacturer for a replacement".

NVIDIA has also amended its previous statement released when it was discovered that its new ultra-enthusiast flagship GeForce RTX 5090 (and RTX 5090D) and latest GeForce RTX 5070 Ti were missing ROPs in some cases.

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Continue reading: NVIDIA admits: yeah sorry, our new GeForce RTX 5080 has missing ROPs as well (full post)

AMD's AFMF 2.1 frame generation may arrive with RX 9070 GPUs boasting improved image quality

Darren Allan | Graphics Cards | Feb 25, 2025 11:35 AM CST

AMD is busy working on its next iteration of AFMF (AMD Fluid Motion Frames) and it should arrive alongside the RX 9070 graphics cards.

AMD's AFMF 2.1 frame generation may arrive with RX 9070 GPUs boasting improved image quality

That's the contention of a report from VideoCardz, which observes that AFMF 2.1 is inbound (taking the baton from version 2.0), and it promises to improve the image quality of the tech.

As a quick refresher, AFMF is Team Red's driver-level frame generation, which has the major advantage of not requiring the game developer to code in support. It works with everything (well, most games) via the driver, but at the same time, the weakness is that it upscales the full frame (interface and all the trimmings, which can make UI elements look shoddy).

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Continue reading: AMD's AFMF 2.1 frame generation may arrive with RX 9070 GPUs boasting improved image quality (full post)

Fable delayed to 2026: 'We can assure you it'll be worth the wait'

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 25, 2025 10:59 AM CST

The next Fable game has slipped into 2026, Microsoft has officially confirmed.

Fable delayed to 2026: 'We can assure you it'll be worth the wait'

Playground Games will have some extra time to refine their new high-fantasy adventure. In today's Xbox Podcast, Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan announced that Fable will no longer release in 2025, and will instead launch in an undetermined period sometime next year.

Management did not give an exact reason for the delay, but it's possible that the daunting sales-hungry juggernaut that is Grand Theft Auto 6 could have something to do with the delay. GTA 6 is expected to sell in the tune of billions of dollars at launch, and is forecasted to uplift the entire games industry through boosted software, hardware, and services. Publishers are wary of this level of competition.

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Continue reading: Fable delayed to 2026: 'We can assure you it'll be worth the wait' (full post)

Valve pressed to add new Steam filter for games made with AI

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 25, 2025 10:30 AM CST

With the rise of artificial intelligence-generated content, gamers are calling for Valve to implement a new filter into Steam so they are able to filter out generative AI games.

Valve pressed to add new Steam filter for games made with AI

A recent Steam forum suggestion thread has gained quite a bit of traction, suggesting Valve implement a new filter into the Steam store that filters out games that feature AI-generated content. Steam users have managed to keep the threat at the top of the page by using their Steam points to give it awards in hopes that Valve sees the thread and the support for the filter to be added. The filter wouldn't be unlike other filters Valve has added in the past, such as the option to hide NSFW games.

Many of the Steam users who are in favor of the new filter have taken issue with the AI models used to generate content and have likely acquired their training data illegally, which means other people who haven't consented to their data being taken. Valve has yet to respond to the popularity of the suggestion, but the company has already begun identifying games that contain AI-generated content on the Steam store listing for the game, which has set the precedent for other gaming storefronts to follow suit.

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New underwater data center capsule in China packs the power of 30,000 high-end gaming PCs

Darren Allan | IT/Datacenter & Super Computing | Feb 25, 2025 10:09 AM CST

Underwater data centers are not a new idea - neither are 'floating cities' of compute clusters, for that matter - but the scope of a growing initiative over in China is certainly impressive.

New underwater data center capsule in China packs the power of 30,000 high-end gaming PCs

Global Times (via TechRadar Pro) reports that a new data center capsule - measuring 18 meters long, and 3.6 meters in diameter - has been launched in Lingshui (a county in Hainan Province, China).

The new capsule is linked to an existing underwater data center, with this project in Hainan first kicked off by the data center firm Highlander back in 2023 (as the first commercial effort of its kind).

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Continue reading: New underwater data center capsule in China packs the power of 30,000 high-end gaming PCs (full post)

Monster Hunter Wilds performance on PS5 Pro stumbles and falls flat on its face

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 25, 2025 9:01 AM CST

It seems Monster Hunter Wilds has performance issues even on Sony's latest hardware, with an early analysis indicating the game is struggling to maintain a consistent 30FPS.

Monster Hunter Wilds performance on PS5 Pro stumbles and falls flat on its face

According to French outlet GamerSyde, Monster Hunter Wilds on the PlayStation 5 Pro forces players to choose between different display modes, and when Resolution mode is selected, the game targets 30FPS and doesn't come with an option to disable raytracing, which, if disabled, would give more performance. Moreover, Resolution mode uses PSSR to upscale from a native resolution of 3072 x 1728p to 4K, and even with PSSR upscaling technology, Monster Hunter Wilds still isn't able to hit a consistent 30FPS on the PS5 Pro. GamerSyde speculates the inconsistent framerate or frequent drops in FPS are a result of incorrect frame pacing.

Moving to Balanced and Performance modes. Balanced mode hits an upscaled resolution of 2496 x 1404p and also doesn't have an option to disable raytracing. The report states the framerate in this mode is also quite inconsistent, with frequent spikes that can make the image lose quality. As for Performance mode, the early analysis found the PS5 Pro is capable of reaching 60FPs, but to achieve this framerate, the image quality has to be significantly reduced. The image quality hit can be attributed to PSSR struggling to upscale from the mode's native resolution of 1080p.

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Continue reading: Monster Hunter Wilds performance on PS5 Pro stumbles and falls flat on its face (full post)

Rumor: AMD to pitch RX 9070 XT under $700 as that's the price level where most gamers buy GPUs

Darren Allan | Graphics Cards | Feb 25, 2025 8:46 AM CST

We've just caught a hint about how AMD might be pricing its incoming RDNA 4 graphics cards, and it's supposedly from the horse's mouth.

Rumor: AMD to pitch RX 9070 XT under $700 as that's the price level where most gamers buy GPUs

This info comes from VideoCardz, and it should be regarded with caution as ever, in the form of a slide which is purportedly from a recent AMD press briefing.

It's a presentation slide about 'what gamers want' from their graphics cards and unsurprisingly, one of those factors is more accessible GPUs when it comes to pricing.

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Continue reading: Rumor: AMD to pitch RX 9070 XT under $700 as that's the price level where most gamers buy GPUs (full post)

Apple's iPhone Fold will fix the biggest problem with foldable devices

Jak Connor | Mobile Devices | Feb 25, 2025 6:50 AM CST

Apple has long been rumored to be quietly working on a foldable smartphone, and with multiple independent industry insiders confirming its existence, it appears the upcoming smartphone is all but officially announced.

Apple's iPhone Fold will fix the biggest problem with foldable devices

At the beginning of the month, reports surfaced that Apple was closing in on a display supplier for its upcoming foldable smartphone, presumably called the iPhone Fold. According to sources, Apple has a laundry list of technical requirements for the foldable display, which includes impact resistance and crease prevention. According to an insider who spoke to ETNews, Apple has made the decision to "eliminate creases completely, regardless of cost, in order to differentiate their foldable phone from existing models."

The insider told the publication Samsung Display will provide the foldable screen, and that Apple has been working with Samsung Display since last year on the design for the upcoming display, ensuring it meets all of Apple's technical requirements. According to the publication, Apple has acquired new materials to "make the crease disappear" and has taken a different approach to overcoming the crease problem by taking a step back perspective of the entire design of display, its materials, the hinge, and the smartphone body.

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Continue reading: Apple's iPhone Fold will fix the biggest problem with foldable devices (full post)

Microsoft launches a free version of Office apps with a big catch

Jak Connor | Software & Apps | Feb 25, 2025 5:40 AM CST

Microsoft has subtly launched a new version of Microsoft Office for Windows users, but it has arrived in an intentionally gimped state.

Microsoft launches a free version of Office apps with a big catch

The new version of Microsoft Office has been unsurprisingly paywalled by the Redmond-based company, with the suite of apps being based on their full counterparts, but access to the entirety of each app's features is locked behind a Microsoft 365 subscription. Additionally, advertisements are present on-screen at all times when a user is within each of the free apps, and this new free version of Office only allows files to be saved to Microsoft's OneDrive, which means users are unable to edit files locally stored on a device.

The list of limitations don't stop there, as the free Office apps don't come with support for add-ins, dictation, advanced formatting, designer, smartart, and many other features. Judging by what is available, Microsoft solely intends these free versions of the Office apps to be used in their most barebones state, with the lack of features being the enticing aspect of getting users to sign up for Microsoft 365.

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Continue reading: Microsoft launches a free version of Office apps with a big catch (full post)

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