It's been one of the biggest gaming hardware stories of the week (and month): Sony has officially announced the existence of the PlayStation 5 Pro console while offering a quick look at the specs and features. While most of the community's feedback has been focused on the hefty $699 USD price tag, the beefed-up GPU does represent a big upgrade over the baseline PS5 hardware.

Sony has confirmed that the GPU features 67% more Compute Units, faster memory, up to 45% improved performance, and two to three times the ray-tracing or RT performance. That last bit will be a proper generational upgrade compared to the RDNA 2.5 or the 'almost RDNA 3 hardware' inside the baseline PS5 console.

How Sony achieved this is pretty simple: the RT hardware inside the PlayStation 5 Pro comes from AMD's next-generation Radeon graphics hardware, or RDNA 4. This has been confirmed by Mark Cerny, Sony's lead PlayStation system architect.

Odds are, like me, you haven't heard of EVOTINCTION, a new stealth and hacking sci-fi game with a strange title but some super impressive visuals. Available this week for PC and PS5, the PC launch arrives with DLSS 3 support and Ray Tracing. This is one of those RT titles that required Super Resolution and Frame Generation, which boosts performance by an average of 3.9X at 4K.

This massive figure sees the GeForce RTX 4090's native 47 FPS skyrocket to 169 FPS. Lower the resolution to 1080p but keep RT enabled alongside maximum graphics settings, and every GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU from the RTX 4060 on up delivers a 100+ FPS experience.

Another game launching this week with DLSS 3 support is Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, the latest entry in the long-running racing series that features a 1:1 scale recreation of Hong Kong Island to race around in exotic cars from the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Dodge, and more.

Xbox and Activision have taken to social media to confirm that the recent Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Open Beta was the biggest in franchise history across various metrics. Per the post, it was 'the biggest Call of Duty beta ever,' breaking the record for most players, the number of hours played, playtime per player, and the most matches played.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 from studios Treyarch and Raven Software might be the latest annual release in the most popular gaming franchise on the planet, but after the lukewarm response to last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, it's set to be one of the most popular entries in years.

One of the biggest additions to Call of Duty's multiplayer with Black Ops 6 is the new 'omnidirectional movement' system, which allows players to sprint, dive, and slide in any direction. According to feedback from players, the press, and content creators, it makes for a fun multiplayer experience.

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 2080, the company's first consumer GPU to include dedicated AI hardware, launched in 2018. One of the flagship GPUs for the Turing generation (second to the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti at launch), it's still a powerful GPU in 2024. However, after six years, the mainstream GeForce RTX 4060 performs similarly in a much more efficient package.

Chinese chipmaker Loongson is rumored to be working on a next-gen 9A2000 graphics card for PC will perform similarly to the GeForce RTX 2080, making it roughly eight to ten times faster than the company's other rumored product - the 9A1000 GPU. This news arrives via ITHome (translated); however, there is one big caveat.

Like other Chinese GPUs from Moore Threads, DirectX 12 compatibility is a question mark, so performance might be able to reach the heights of the GeForce RTX 2080 - but in-game performance on a per-title basis will most likely fall very short of that target.

Recently, Microsoft announced that it was raising prices for its Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass subscription services while removing the current Xbox Game Pass for Console subscription tier and replacing it with the new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier.

The new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier for Xbox Series X|S owners is here. The $15 USD monthly subscription removes access to many titles that were previously available on the Console tier, including first-party heavy hitters like Starfield, Diablo 4, Forza Motorsport, Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and the recently released Age of Mythology: Retold.

Even third-party titles and indie games recently added to Game Pass, including Core Keeper, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Still Wakes the Deep, and many more, aren't available in the Xbox Game Pass Standard tier. Per this thread on Resetera, over 40 games have been scrubbed.

The Omni One from Virtuix is an all-in-one full-body VR gaming system that allows full 360-degree movement because you're on a treadmill. We've covered this product a few times here on TweakTown, as it solves one of the key issues with movement-based VR gaming: being limited to a very small play space.

More than a gimmick, treadmill-based gameplay has seen several impressive VR games, including Amid Evil VR, Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, and Sniper Elite VR, optimized for the new Omni One system. The system ships with a customized Pico 4 Enterprise headset with controllers, a treadmill that can be packed away when not in use, tracking sensors, and 'overshoes.'

Orders for the Omni One, priced at $2,595, are now open, and Virtuix also offers the system on a $90 monthly plan. That said, with the company currently shipping out over 3,000 preorder units, this 'greater-than-expected' demand for the Omni One means those placing orders now can expect to receive their Omni system in January 2025.

Sony's mid-gen PlayStation 5 Pro will afford developers with a myriad of options on how to best utilize the console's new upgraded horsepower, including 8K gaming modes, 120FPS boosts, and more.

The PS5 Pro is on the way, coming November 7 for a steep $700 price tag. That cost comes with a number of high-end upgrades for existing and upcoming PlayStation 5 games, all facilitated via new hardware and software optimizations. In combination with new RAM upgrades, the Pro's turbocharged GPU can deliver up to 45% faster rendering and facilitates new technology like AI-enhanced PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) that allows for upscaled 4K gaming.

A new interview with CNET reveals some more specifics about PSSR and how it will work. According to the coverage, PSSR support will only be available to games that receive patch upgrades. As we reported previously, the PS5 Pro will raise in-game performance in two main ways: PS5 Pro Game Boost, which is native and does not require patches, and PS5 Pro Enhanced, which requires developers to release game patches.

When Microsoft announced its Windows Recall feature that was headed to the new Copilot+ PCs the feature was met with heavy criticism from users as it was essentially viewed as an invasion of privacy.

Here's how Recall works in a nutshell. Microsoft's latest AI feature in Windows 11 indiscriminately and continuously takes screenshots of a user's desktop to create a searchable index that has categorized all of the content the AI has seen on screen. Notably, the tool doesn't blur out any sensitive information a user may be looking at, such as banking information, private images, passwords, medical information, etc. Once users discovered this, the feature received extreme criticism as it raised concerns that Recall users would have their sensitive data stored on Microsoft servers.

Microsoft attempted to reassure users that all screenshots captured by Recall would be stored locally and wouldn't be sent to Microsoft servers. However, that prompted security concerns for users, as bad actors who gained access to a PC would simply need to navigate to the directory of this Recall feature and copy all of the screenshots to steal all of a user's personal information. How does this relate to Apple's new suite of AI features under Apple Intelligence?

Huawei has just unveiled the world's first dual-hinged, triple-screen foldable smartphone with the introduction of the new Mate XT Ultimate Design... a new tri-foldable smartphone that starts from $2800. Check it out:

The new Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design features an inverse dual-hinge design that folds into a "Z" shape, allowing users to use the tri-fold smartphone in many different ways. The OLED display measures 6.4 inches when fully collapsing as a traditional single-screen smartphone, but when unfolded, the display folds out to a behemoth 10.2 inches (2232 x 3184 resolution) and can be folded into a 7.9-inch size. Impressive.

Huawei says that it uses an ultra-modern three-fold large screen that can be folded and unfolded freely, and its composite ultra-touch laminated structure makes it slim and strong. Huawei is using a new silicon-anode-based large-capacity battery, that is bloody thin: only 1.9mm with a capacity of up to 5600mAh inside of a slim body with long-lasting battery life.

It's not often you see a 98% discount, but that's precisely what has happened with Ubisoft's open-world arcade racing game The Crew 2 - which is available on Steam forthe low price of $1. Ubisoft has confirmed that this deal will run until September 24, so be sure to head over and grab it.

Crew 2 launched in 2018, and I've played it and had a lot of fun with it. The Forza Horizon-style arcade racing game includes a large open-world USA to explore and race across, with cards, boats, planes, and various off-road vehicles. Although the game has a 'Mixed' user review rating on Steam, recent reviews are 'Mostly Positive.'

Since its launch, the game has amassed over 30 million players, and the good news is that Ubisoft plans to support it for years to come. The publisher has announced that the game's online modes will remain intact for a while and that, in the future, it will update the game with a specific offline mode - which will also be added to the newer The Crew Motorfest.

The Australian government is set to propose a new bill that would force social media platforms to restrict children's access to them, with the specific age still to be confirmed. The legislation will be presented to the Australian federal parliament before the next election, with several reports indicating that the age restriction will be set to 16 and that online games will be included.

With chat functionality, games like Fortnite, Overwatch 2, and others will be treated the same as X, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. "No government is going to be able to protect every child from every threat - but we have to do all we can," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said ahead of the announcement. "Parents are worried sick about this. We know they're working without a map - no generation has faced this challenge before."

The bill would require social media platforms and game publishers like Epic to use available technology and processes to restrict access to games and platforms like Facebook. It sounds like it would be more than a simple, "Yes, I am totally an adult, so let me in" check.

Just like the last-gen to current-gen upgrade path, PS5 Pro's game enhancement patches will also be free.

Sony's new PS5 Pro will arrive on November 7 for a premium $700 price tag. The major selling point of the new system is that it can offer big in-game performance leaps in existing PS5 games through its combined trio of hardware and software innovations; new AI-driven upscaling via PSSR can be used in tandem with a new beefier GPU to actually double in-game frame rates and even triple raytracing performance.

But to get the most out of the PS5 Pro, developers will need to issue game-specific patches. Sony has confirmed that these patches, which are known as PS5 Pro Enhanced patches, will be free. Anyone who bought a PS5 during 2020 knows about this process--developers and publishers would roll out a series of free upgrade patches that would bring PS4 games forward to the new PS5 generation, complete with boosts in graphical fidelity and frame rates.

Sony has officially announced its PlayStation 5 Pro console, priced at $699 and launching November 7, 2024... with its high price tag not sitting well with gamers.

In a world where flagship smartphones debut with multi-thousand-dollar prices, high-end GPUs that are even more expensive, gamers aren't happy with the $699 pricing of the beefed-up PS5 Pro. In a new video, leaker Moore's Law is Dead thinks that the high pricing of the PS5 Pro is a test for even higher pricing of the next-generation PS6 console.

Sony's next-gen PlayStation 6 console is already in development, with AMD winning the contract to create a new semi-custom SoC for the PS6... but how expensive will it be? If the PS5 Pro is $699, could the new PS6 cost something like $999? If we're offered full 4K 120FPS+ and 8K 60FPS+ gaming out of the PlayStation 6, I would say so... and with Microsoft floundering with its Xbox, Sony can do whatever it wants if it has a powerful enough PS6 on offer.

SK hynix has just announced it has developed PEB110 E1.S (PEB110), a new high-performance SSD for data centers and the emergence of the AI era.

The AI era, customer demand for high-performance NAND solutions including SSDs for data centers, as well as ultra-fast DRAM chips including High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) is growing, says SK hynix. In line with this trend, the company has developed and introduced a new product (PEB110) with improved data processing speed and power efficiency, by using PCIe Gen5 specifications.

SK hynix expects to meet the "diverse customer needs" with a more robust SSD portfolio, following successful mass production of PS1010 with the introduction of the PEB110. SK hynix says it is currently in the qualification process with a global data center customer, with plans of mass production of PEB110 in Q2 2025, pending qualification.

Sony's new PlayStation 5 Pro reveal has proven to be unpopular among viewers.

Today Sony announced its new PS5 Pro console, a high-end mid-gen upgrade with a boosted GPU with +67% compute units, +28% faster RAM, culminating in a SoC capable of 45% faster rendering capabilities. The PS5 Pro also packs Sony's proprietary AI-upscaling PlayStation Spectral Resolution (PSSR) technology that potentially makes games look better without impacting frame rates to a heavy degree.

These new upgrades also come with a heavy price tag. The PS5 Pro will cost $699 in the United States, and will be a digital system by default--as we predicted, gamers will be able to buy separate PS5-compatible 4K UHD disc drives and slot it right into the Pro. Despite having a 2TB SSD, which is over double the 825GB available with the base model, gamers don't appear to be totally enthusiastic about the console.

Sony's Mark Cerny finally revealed the long-rumored PlayStation 5 Pro console, which will launch on November 7, 2024, for $699 USD. The PS5 Pro's most notable feature is its upgraded GPU, which features 67% more Compute Units than the baseline PS5 and 28% faster memory. According to Sony, this delivers up to 45% faster performance and a smoother experience.

Throw in more powerful ray-tracing hardware that can double or even triple RT performance and Sony's DLSS-like AI-driven upscaling solution called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, and Sony is positioning the hardware as a console that will let gamers play titles with increased visual fidelity at 60 FPS. Whether you choose a 'Fidelity' or 'Performance' mode, you will get a smooth 60 FPS.

In addition, one PlayStation 5 Pro console feature not mentioned (or brushed over) in the announcement presentation is PS5 Pro Game Boost, which allows the PS5 Pro to enhance over 8,500 games without needing a patch.

Sony's proprietary PlayStation Direct storefront will get first dibs on PS5 Pro pre-orders.

The new PlayStation 5 Pro has been announced with a steep $699 price point in the United States. The price tag reflects Sony's new efforts to boost per-console sales profit as the company tries to improve operating profit margins for its games segment, while also bridging the 9th and 10th console generations with new AI-enhanced hardware.

Reception on the price point has been mixed at best, and it's currently hard to gauge demand for the higher-priced and higher-powered system. Sony has revealed that pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 Pro will begin on September 26, but there's some stipulations.

Sony has made its beefed-up PlayStation 5 Pro console official, with a heavily upgraded GPU (it's 67% bigger, with 45% more performance, and 2-3x the RT performance) priced at $699, launching November 7, 2024.

Inside of the new PS5 Pro console you'll get a 2TB SSD and a wireless DualSense controller, as well as a copy of Astro's Playroom pre-installed on every PS5 Pro purchase. Sony is making its new PS5 Pro console available as a disc-less version, with the option to purchase the currently available Disc Drive for PS5 separately.

I'm sure we're going to see an even more expensive PS5 Pro with a disc drive in the future (ready for GTA 6, of course, and probably bundled with a special PS5 Pro + GTA 6 bundle).

AMD has just announced its new 10.10 "Advancing AI 2024" event, where we will be introduced to the EPYC "Turin" CPU, Instinct MI325X AI accelerator, and Ryzen AI 300 PRO series CPUs.

This could end up being one of AMD's biggest launches of the year, after its huge Zen 5 reveal over the last couple of months, we're looking at a new server CPU, new AI accelerator, and new PRO series Strix Point APUs. That's a lot of tech, all while providing the chips it does to millions of systems and devices worldwide, and Sony's just-announced PS5 Pro console. AMD isn't finished, and then we have CES 2025 where we'll be introduced to the new "Strix Halo" and "Krackan Point" APUs.

AMD explained on its website: "Today, AMD announced"Advancing AI 2024,"an in-person and livestreamed event on October 10, 2024 to showcase the next-generation AMD Instinct™ accelerators and 5th Gen AMD EPYC™ server processors, as well as Networking and AI PC updates, in addition to highlighting the Company's growing AI solutions ecosystem. AMD executives and AI ecosystems partners, customers and developers will join Chair and CEO Dr. Lisa Su to discuss how AMD products and software are reshaping the AI and high-performance computing landscape".

Technology has evolved at a breakneck pace over the past few decades, transforming from clunky computers to powerful smartphones and from basic internet connections to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and smart devices. For older generations, like Baby Boomers, the analog world was the norm for most of their lives, with rotary phones, snail mail, and typewriters shaping their daily routines. Meanwhile, Millennials grew up during the tech boom, embracing new tools like email, instant messaging, and social media with ease.

The shift toward a hyper-connected, digital world has been more natural for Millennials, who saw the birth of smartphones, Wi-Fi, and social media in their formative years. In contrast, Baby Boomers, who had to adapt later in life, often find technology more daunting. Despite this gap, both generations are now fully immersed in the digital landscape, but their comfort levels and usage patterns reveal some striking differences.

A recent survey from ExpressVPN sheds light on the vast generational gap in tech familiarity. The survey, which included respondents from the U.S., UK, France, Spain, and Italy, reveals that while Millennials generally have a solid grasp of technology, Baby Boomers struggle to keep up.