NVIDIA's issues with its new Blackwell AI GPUs in August caused an issue with its fab partner TSMC, seeing NVIDIA considering using Samsung to fab its upcoming GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs.

In a new report from The Information picked up by Business Korea, we're learning that "during testing of the Blackwell chips in the weeks after Huang's announcement, NVIDIA engineers discovered that the chips failed in the types of high-voltage environments that are common in data centers" according to "two people with direct knowledge of the problem".

Both sides are blaming each other: TSMC saying that NVIDIA rushing production of Blackwell, and NVIDIA saying the defects are from TSMC's advanced packaging technology. The Information reports that we could see NVIDIA moving its Blackwell-based GeForce RTX 50 series gaming-focused GPUs to Samsung, away from TSMC and enjoy a 20-30% discount moving to the South Korean fab.

This modded Xbox gaming handheld uses the original Xbox motherboard, with a 9-inch 480p display, pure digital video/audio, 100W USB-PD charge-and-play, Wi-Fi 6 upgrades, and more. Check it out:

Modder "Redherring32" posted on X that he had built a "portable Xbox" noting that this "isn't a PC handheld, it isn't emulation, this is a real motherboard from a real Xbox". Inside, the modded portable Xbox features a 9-inch 480p display, 100W USB-PC charge-and-play support, while Wi-Fi 6 support for wireless Xbox Live functionality is being worked on.

The modder explained: "I built a portable Xbox. This isn't a PC handheld, it isn't emulation, this is a real motherboard from a real Xbox. It has a 9" 480p display, pure digital video/audio, 100W USB C charge and play, and I'm currently adding Wi-Fi 6 for wireless Xbox Live functionality".

Intel limped onto the market with its Arc Alchemist GPU, but its next-gen Arc Battlemage has AIBs worried... AIBs support for Battlemage is expected to be "terrible with almost zero desire to gamble on Arc again".

In his latest video, leaker Tom from Moore's Law is Dead provided an Intel Arc Battlemage GPU update for October 2024, which said that the two SKUs expected are the G31 and G21. Starting with the Intel G31 which is expected to roll out with 32 Xe Cores, a 20Gbps GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit memory bus, PCIe 5.0 + DP2.1 support with RTX 4070 levels of performance.

On the other hand, the G21 GPU is expected with 20 Xe Cores, unknown speed GDDR6 memory (16Gbps, 18Gbps probably) on a 192-bit memory bus, also with PCIe 5.0 + DP2.1 support, and RX 7600 XT levels of performance. However, I found some of the comments from MLID's sources more interesting...

Intel's next-gen 2027 processor release is going to be something rather interesting, with a tease of next-gen Griffin Cove being a "Unified Core" that "eliminates" E-Cores from the roadmap.

In a new video from Moore's Law is Dead, Tom says one of his sources teased that at a minimum, Griffin-Next is expected to be a "Unified" architecture. MLID continues, saying that the "Unified Core" might get some architectural features that were expected with Beast Lake, but "which features it will get are not yet decided".

In general, his sources said they have "been warned that everything after Nova Lake is NOT finalized, and likely to have political battles fought over their final design choices". MLID's sources added that Cobra Cove was cancelled when Beast Lake was axed, but said it was "Royal Core 2.0".

Qualcomm has killed off its Snapdragon Dev Kit out of nowhere, with the huge Snapdragon on Windows and Windows on Arm projects taking a huge hit, with all orders being cancelled, and refunded immediately.

The company has killed its Snapdragon Dev Kit "indefinitely" in an email received by Jeff Gerling, who received an email from Arrow regarding the Snapdragon Developer Kit for Windows. This should come as no surprise to... well... virtually everyone because Windows on Arm is virtually useless outside of browsing, media consumption, very light gaming, and some work.

x86 processors are everywhere, while Arm-based processors are great for laptops, smartphones, and tablets... they're useless as desktop processors and laptop processors.

GMK has shown off its new EVO-X1 Mini-PC which is powered by AMD's new Ryzen AI HX 370 "Strix Point" APU, as well as an OCulink port for external GPUs.

The new GMK EVO-X1 Mini-PC is larger than the regular-sized 4x4 NUC-sized Mini-PC, where inside we've got the AMD Ryzen AI HX 370 "Strix Point" APU joined by LPDDR5X-7500 memory, and the OCulink connector. The Strix Point APU has a built-in NPU for AI workloads offering up to 50 TOPS of AI performance, while the RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 890M at 2900MHz GPU boost.

The company explained on its website: "GMKtec, together with the continuous winner of the German Red Dot Award, has created the EVO-X1 with dedication, polishing every detail to perfection Creating excellence, exploring and innovating, 'EVO-X1 Evolver Opens up a New Era'. GMKtec EVO-X1 HX370, equipped with AMD Ryzen™ AI 9 HX 370 processor, supports AMD Ryzen™ AI, NPU power up to 50 TOPS, AMD Radeon™ 890M, 16 cores/2900MHZ/RDNA 3.5, LPDDR5X 7500MHz, independent Oculink interface. The new look, stay tuned!".

Xbox has officially revealed the release date for Alan Wake 2's upcoming DLC "The Lake House" during the Xbox Partner Event..

Xbox has detailed the announcement in a new blog post. Alan Wake 2: The Lake House DLC will be coming to fans on October 22 and will take players to the Lake House, a research station located in Cauldron Lake. Xbox teases players in the blog post by describing the upcoming DLC is a "true survival horror experience," but will also be opening many more doors into the "wider Remedy Connected Universe." Moreover, Xbox writes that players will likely be left with more questions than answers.

As for Alan Wake 2, Xbox states that if you have finished that game, you will know that the events within it and the story are self-contained, which has left the developers in a unique but challenging position - should the expansion add story before or after the events of the main game? Remedy chose to add to the story in an unexpected way, and according to the blog post, the expansion doesn't impact the story of Alan Wake 2 as the events of the DLC have already occurred by the time the events of Alan Wake 2 take place.

The maker of Pokemon has confirmed it was a victim of a hack that resulted in a substantial data leak that has revealed details about the Nintendo Switch 2, employee personal information, game source code, new games, past projects, Pokemon designs and much more.

This leak isn't small by any means, as it's referred to as the "Teraleak," and with the more time that passes, more details seemingly emerge. Over three years since the last major Nintendo-related link, Game Freak, the developers of Pokemon, confirmed its databases were breached and the data acquired by the hackers include source code, concept art, placeholder assets, extensive write-ups on the series' lore, company meetings about possible multimedia adaptations, codenames for future Pokémon titles, and the codename for the Nintendo Switch successor.

The leak is estimated to be approximately 2TB of data, but at the time of reporting only 3GB has been released. Of that 3GB there are 2,606 items containing the names and email addresses of current, former and contract employees. Game Freak stated the hack occurred in August this year. As for the Nintendo Switch successor, the leak revealed the codename for the mysterious console is "Ounce".

A leaked invitation indicates that AMD's Ryzen 9000X3D processors are indeed about to be launched, as previous chatter from the rumor mill has suggested.

VideoCardz noticed the invite (aired by HXL on X) for a press event in Macau, on October 23 to 24, which is billed as the 'AMD A-Club Leaders Alliance Gathering' (according to the translation of the invitation, that is, but you get the drift).

The interesting part here is that the blurb indicates the event is about gaming, and the image which is embedded in the invitation is the box of a 'Ryzen 7' series processor.

There's a lot of anticipation around Ryzen 9000X3D processors - which are supposed to be imminent - and while some leaks have suggested that Zen 5 3D V-Cache might be on shakier ground, a fresh piece of spillage is way more optimistic.

We can thank GIGABYTE here for dropping a serious clanger in a press release (hat tip to VideoCardz) for its 'X3D Turbo Mode,' which, in what's seemingly a slip, mentions the incoming Zen 5 X3D spins.

Said Turbo Mode is described as a "revolutionary BIOS feature designed to maximize gaming performance" and upfront GIGABYTE notes that the functionality is supported by the Ryzen 7000 X3D and Ryzen 9000 series processors.

This week, on another stacked episode of The TT Show, Kosta talks about all of the cool PC hardware he saw at PAX Australia - from custom builds to rigs to new gaming handhelds. There are a few not-as-new ones as Valve officially brings the Steam Deck to Australia.

On the topic of handhelds, Kosta and Jak discuss the possibility of NVIDIA releasing a PC gaming handheld with GeForce RTX hardware in the near future. This looks to be happening thanks to the recent partnership with MediaTek to develop chips specifically for portable AI devices like laptops. For Kosta, it seems inevitable because it's a growing segment and a corner of PC gaming where NVIDIA has zero presence.

Of course, NVIDIA dominates in the desktop space, and with the imminent arrival of the GeForce RTX 50 Series - there's been a lot of discussion surrounding how much the new flagship GeForce RTX 5090 will cost. Its MSRP will be higher than the GeForce RTX 4090's $1599 USD, but how much higher?

Twenty years ago, Western Digital released its first My Passport drive, an external storage solution for backing up essential or personal files without a power outlet on a compact 2.5-inch drive. For many, My Passport drives were a convenient and effective solution for storing photos, music, and video files. And it didn't take long for PC and console gamers to use them for game installs and back-ups, too.

The first My Passport drive from 2004 had a maximum capacity of just 40GB, which has increased by up to 150 times. Western Digital's current My Passport line-up includes a massive 6TB model, making it the world's highest-capacity 2.5" portable hard drive.

Western Digital has launched the new WD My Passport Ultra, 20th Emerald Anniversary Edition, to celebrate the milestone. It is available in 2TB (MSRP $89.99) and 6TB (MSRP $199.99) capacities.

SSD prices can be volatile, and like RAM and other forms of flash memory and storage, the question of 'how much' is influenced by various supply and demand factors. According to TrendForce analysts, "weaker-than-expected seasonal demand in the second half of 2024" could see NAND Flash wafer prices drop by up to 15% in Q4 2024.

The overall demand in the enterprise segment, driven by AI, remains high, and the SSD market there is profitable as drives are installed in countless servers and systems running generative AI workloads.

However, it's a different story on the client side, with the report indicating that retail demand for SSDs, memory cards, and USB drives "has remained sluggish since the beginning of 2024."

The Analogue 3D is not an official Nintendo product or release; it is a 100% compatible recreation of the classic Nintendo 64 or N64 console engineered in FPGA. This Field-Programmable Gate Array hardware is capable of recreating or emulating retro hardware with improved accuracy without the need for software emulation.

With hardware patents expiring and not actual code being replicated or copied, this is enough to avoid copyright infringement. The Analogue 3D features a custom UI and operating system with 4K VRR output over HDMI and Bluetooth controller support. It even includes Wi-Fi.

It's also region-free, meaning it can play every Nintendo 64 cartridge - no matter its source, with NTSC and PAL support. In addition to pixel-perfect upscaling or rendering N64 games in 4K, the console includes Original Display Modes that provide "meticulously reproduced, virtually indistinguishable recreations of CRT displays." Simply pop in a game like GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark, or Super Mario 64, and you're good to go.

OLED displays for gaming have been around for several years but have become more prevalent in 2024 thanks to new panel technology, which improves things like overall brightness and text clarity. OLED displays for gaming are also more affordable than ever, with seemingly countless models to choose from.

According to a new report by TrendForce analysts, OLED monitor shipments are expected to reach 1.44 million by the end of 2024, representing a massive 181% year-over-year growth. This includes all OLED displays, not just ones designed for PC gaming, with Samsung and its QD-OLED panels leading the charge.

"QD-OLED monitors are set to dominate the market, driven by Samsung Display's aggressive production ramp-up and multiple brands introducing QD-OLED models," the report writes. "QD-OLED's share of total OLED monitor shipments is expected to rise from 53.5% in 2023 to 73% in 2024."

Samsung has just announced that it has developed next-gen 24Gb GDDR7 memory modules, offering future GPUs larger VRAM capacity and speeds of up to 42.5Gbps.

The South Korean memory giant was one of the first to announce next-gen GDDR7 in 2024, with 16Gb (2GB GDDR7 memory chips) and speeds of up to 32Gbps. The new GDDR7 features 24Gb (3GB GDDR7 memory chips) and speeds of up to 42.5Gbps, a large upgrade... probably ready for NVIDIA's future-gen GeForce RTX 50 SUPER series graphics cards.

Samsung was already pushing upwards of 37Gbps with its new GDDR7, but the introduction of bigger 24Gb and faster 42.5Gbps GDDR7 memory speeds are a new milestone for the upcoming memory cstandard. Samsung has developed the industry's first 24Gbps GDDR7 memory using its in-house 5th Generation 10nm process node, with a 50% increase in cell density while keeping the same package size as GDDR6.

Remedy is known for creating engaging and memorable single-player action games, and 2019's Control is right up there as one of the studio's very best. Set in the claustrophobic underground Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) facility known as The Oldest House, the mind-bending story sees players use a shapeshifting gun and force-like powers to stop a mysterious threat.

On PC, Control is still a visually striking release. It incorporates a suite of cutting-edge ray-tracing effects, making it one of the first games to sell RT as the future of real-time graphics. It also debuted with NVIDIA DLSS 2, which kickstarted AI-powered upscaling becoming a mainstay in PC gaming.

Fast forward to 2024, and Remedy has finally lifted the lid on its first multiplayer game. It's called FBC: Firebreak, and it's a three-player co-op first-person shooter set in the Control universe.

Blizzard's Warcraft franchise is one of the most beloved in gaming history, from its roots as a strategy series to the ongoing success of World of Warcraft. Warcraft III: Reforged, the remastered release of the iconic 2002 real-time strategy game, was expected to be an easy win for the studio - instead, it became one of the most criticized releases in the studio's long history.

The game's initial reveal showcased rebuilt and extended cinematics with upgraded visuals, highly detailed character models, and more. The result featured none of this, with fans unhappy with the quality of the remastered 3D assets and multiplayer features that had been around for over a decade disappearing.

Yes, Blizzard chose to replace existing versions of the game with Warcraft III: Reforged, a decision that affected players enjoying a game for nearly 20 years. The good news is that there could be light at the end of the tunnel for Warcraft III, as the game could be getting a major update very soon.

NVIDIA has announced a new promotion for those who sign up for its GeForce NOW cloud gaming service. New and existing members who purchase six months of GeForce NOW Ultimate, the premium tier valued at $99.99, will get a free copy of BioWare's upcoming RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

The highly anticipated release is out on October 31. On PC, it will benefit from the full suite of RTX technologies: DLSS, Frame Generation, NVIDIA Reflex, and ray tracing. PC gamers with a GeForce NOW Ultimate subscription can access a GeForce RTX 4080 rig in the cloud to play the latest Dragon Age in 4K 120 FPS with max settings and features like G-SYNC.

Alongside the new promotion, available until October 31, NVIDIA announced that ten more titles will be added to the GeForce NOW library this week, bringing the total to over 2,000 games.

The NVIDIA App is not only a replacement for the aging GeForce Experience App for PC Gamers looking to update drivers and optimize their games, but it's also a replacement for the NVIDIA Control Panel. Yes, that thing has been a part of GeForce drivers for so long that right-clicking on your desktop to access the NVIDIA Control Panel feels more like a Windows feature than anything else.

Released into Beta earlier this year, the NVIDIA App is a brilliant and welcome overhaul combining the best GeForce Experience App and advanced Control Panel features with an intuitive interface and fast performance. The recent October update brought even more Control Panel features to the NVIDIA App, like G-SYNC controls, while enhancing new features like RTX HDR.

According to Team Green, the NVIDIA App will exit Beta before the end of the year and integrate the remaining NVIDIA Control Panel options. With that, the company's Community Manager has taken to Reddit to ask people which NVIDIA Control Panel "Manage 3D Settings" options are important to them.