Latest News - Page 49

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The infamous 12V-2x6 power connector has claimed another victim. This time it is the media outlet, Club386, whose GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition and their be quiet! Dark Power 13 PSU were both destroyed after a properly seated, single-cable 16-pin connection melted at both ends. The cable was not a third-party product, and the connector was fully seated. The team has been testing GPUs for decades, so it is unlikely to be user error, but none of that mattered.

NVIDIA has since replaced the GPU, but the damage was done, and the point stands regardless. The melting connector problem goes all the way back to the RTX 4090 launch in late 2022, when the original 12VHPWR standard started showing up in repair shops at an alarming rate. The root cause was uneven power distribution across the connector's pins.

Thermal camera testing by overclocker "der8auer" revealed one wire hitting 150°C on an RTX 5090 while other pins carried almost no load at all. When one pin absorbs the bulk of a 575W card's power draw, something burns.

SteamOS (or Linux, more specifically) has always had a rocky relationship with NVIDIA. While AMD and Intel graphics drivers are largely open-source and baked right into the Linux kernel via Mesa, NVIDIA keeps things proprietary. Newer GeForce GPUs do get open kernel modules, but the actual user-space driver stack, the part that does the heavy lifting for gaming, remains closed off. That fundamental difference is why SteamOS has historically worked well with AMD hardware and been a headache everywhere else.

This is also why the Valve x NVIDIA collaboration is bigger news than it might initially seem. In an interview with The Verge tied to the Steam Machine launch, Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais confirmed that the company has assembled "a growing team" focused specifically on NVIDIA support for SteamOS, adding that they are "collaborating with NVIDIA very closely." He also made clear that GeForce support is not arriving this year, making late 2026 optimistic and 2027 more likely.

The timing is important because SteamOS is no longer just a Steam Deck thing. With the Steam Machine now officially out and SteamOS 3.8 pushing expanded desktop PC compatibility, Valve is clearly trying to grow SteamOS into something bigger.

Virtuix's omnidirectional treadmill technology for immersive VR, which lets you move freely in 360 degrees, is something we've covered before as a complete system that includes a custom headset and a standalone treadmill designed to be paired with a PC and an existing headset. This week, Virtuix is announcing the new Omni One for Quest, which brings its impressive VR treadmill to the Meta Quest ecosystem.

The all-in-one Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3 headsets are the most popular VR headsets on the market today. Even in PC gaming, Valve's latest data show that these devices account for over 60% of all VR gaming on the platform. Although relatively expensive at $2,595 USD, the Omni One for Quest is all about unlocking full movement in a virtual space when paired with compatible games.

Virtuix notes that the growing library of Meta Quest games and experiences that will feature native Omni One for Quest support on day one include VAIL, Forefront, The Boys, and Star Trek: Infection. More titles are coming, and for multiplayer games, there's support for playing online with others, even those that don't have an Omni system.

Valve has released the Steam Machine, but now that the device has made its way into the hands of reviewers, we are beginning to learn that Valve may have fallen short in many areas other than price (and the inclusion of a controller).

In their recent review of the Steam Machine, Gamers Nexus discovered several Steam Deck-specific remnants while examining SteamOS within the new device. There are numerous directories and usernames that feature the word "deck". While these may appear as completely cosmetic mistakes leftover by Valve developers, they actually have real-world impact in games.

For example, when a game is first booted, it may believe the device it's being played on is a Steam Deck, which means specific inputs such as mouse and keyboard are automatically disabled at launch. Gamers Nexus discovered this was the case with Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. To remedy this, Valve has rolled out a per-game option that disables automatic Steam Deck detection, which will prevent the title from thinking a Steam Deck is being used to play it.

After teasing the design earlier this year at CES, and then showcasing a more final version at Computex, GIGABYTE's new AORUS GeForce RTX 5090 INFINITY graphics card has debuted with a unique physical design alongside rare double flow-through cooling. And with that, it looks like GIGABYTE is expanding its INFINITY lineup with a stylish white-colored AORUS GeForce RTX 5080 INFINITY WOOD graphics card, and two additional RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti models.

AORUS GeForce RTX 5080 INFINITY WOOD is certainly a looker, as it takes the darker INFINITY design and gives it a bright white makeover with added wood panels. Based on the specs found on the official product page for the card, it shares the same physical quad-slot dimensions as the GeForce RTX 5090 model and the same premium WINDFORCE Hyperburst cooling system.

As a premium GPU, the AORUS GeForce RTX 5080 INFINITY WOOD also arrives as an OC model with an out-of-the-box Boost Clock of 2,805 MHz, a sizeable increase over the 2,617 MHz reference spec and NVIDIA's Founders Edition model, which sports a similar double-flow-through cooling design.

Valve has recently unveiled the price of the Steam Machine, and as gamers are deliberating the value offering given the higher-than-normal price, it may be worth noting that not every Steam Machine will ship with the exact same component configuration, thanks to the AI boom.

In an interview with Gamers Nexus, Valve confirmed that the Steam Machine's official specifications list states it features 16GB of DDR5-5600 system memory, but that the total memory capacity will be available in two configurations: a single RAM stick or two sticks.

Why does that matter?Objectively, dual-channel memory configurations perform better than single-channel configurations. However, during the same interview Valve claimed the performance delta between the two memory configurations was negligible, enabling them to ship the PC/console hybrid in both configurations.

Back in the early 1990s, the idea of a gaming PC wasn't really a thing; you had a PC that could run games built for MS-DOS or early versions of Windows. And for those with 486 processors, some PCs had a Turbo button that pushed clock speeds from 33 MHz to 66 MHz. Which, naturally, came in handy for playing games while doubling as a primitive form of overclocking.

And as these machines weren't built for gaming but for offices, schools, and home studies, PCs were mostly beige, fully enclosed towers. Although we're now in the era of tempered glass panels, RGB fans, and panoramic views of internal components, there's a certain retro-inspired nostalgic charm to a classic beige PC from the 1990s, and it's this ideal that has inspired the look of SilverStone's new FLP03 Micro-ATX case.

This compact case looks like something from the era of Wolfenstein 3D, and it even features a front panel with a working lock (yeah, locking your PC with a key was a thing), red power switch, and Turbo button. Here, the Turbo button simply activates all PWM fans at full speed, so it's more of a novelty than anything else. Which extends to the fake floppy disk panel on the front 5.25" expansion bays for that authentic retro look.

MONTECH launched its new TG3 chassis, an ATX case that delivers premium aesthetics like panoramic views and lighting, but at an affordable entry-level price point. This makes it a potentially great option for those looking to build an efficient PC gaming rig that doesn't break the bank, while still leaving room to grow.

Impressively, the MONTECH TG3 case, available in Black or White, features a tiered, dual-chamber layout that minimizes cable clutter and highlights your components. It also comes pre-installed with a unibody MONTECH GF360 U REV side intake fan and a GF120 U rear exhaust fan for powerful, ready-to-go cooling right out of the box. The single frame design of the GF360 U REV also simplifies cable management with a single connection point.

Naturally, the fans are ARGB-ready, but one of the cooler, subtler touches in the design is the LED strip running along the PSU shroud, which keeps the power supply out of view of the transparent front and side panels. There's also support for additional cooling, with enough room for 9 fans, including mounting a 360mm radiator on top.

Earlier today, AMD released AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.6.2 for Radeon GPUs, which added FSR 4.1 Upscaling support to the RDNA 3-powered Radeon RX 7000 Series graphics cards. This earlier-than-expected release of FSR 4.1 for RDNA 3 is definitely welcome, as it will help breathe new life into previous-gen GPUs like the mid-range Radeon RX 7800 XT and flagship Radeon RX 7900 XTX.

To make FSR 4.1 compatible with RDNA 3, AMD had to develop a new version of the technology that uses the INT8 format, since the RDNA 4 version was built specifically for the new architectures' advanced AI hardware and the FP8 format. The good news is that FSR 4.1 for RDNA 3 delivers no quality loss compared to running on RDNA 4 GPUs. However, as per the Adrenalin Edition 26.6.2 release notes and word from AMD, this new version is limited to RDNA 3 desktop GPUs. At least, officially.

Turns out the new FSR 4.1 DLL leaked a little early, via Valve and the Proton Experimental channel for SteamOS/Linux, of all places. And, like the previous version, when paired with the OptiScaler tool to force it, it can run on systems and configurations that aren't desktop RDNA 3 GPUs. In fact, according to this thread over on Reddit, some users are getting it to run just fine on RDNA 3.5 GPUs.

With the Steam Machine finally here and the wider gaming community still wrestling with the higher-than-expected $1,049 price for the base 512GB model without a Steam Controller, there is some good news for the compact rig built for mainstream PC gaming that runs on SteamOS. As the Steam Machine features an RDNA 3-powered GPU that is equivalent to the Radeon RX 7600 XT, Valve has confirmed that AMD's new FSR 4.1 support for RDNA 3 and, by extension, the Steam Machine is coming soon.

Speaking with PC Gamer, Valve has confirmed that it has been "working with AMD on FSR 4 support for Steam Machine" and that it will be "coming soon." This probably means that, since the Steam Machine is currently available to order, FSR 4 support will become available shortly after the first units ship to gamers. Of course, with AMD officially launching FSR 4 for the RDNA 3-powered Radeon RX 7000 Series desktop graphics cards today, Valve might have the FSR 4 update already ready to go.

FSR 4.1 for RDNA 3 brings AMD's AI-powered Super Resolution upscaling technology to more gamers, delivering massive improvements in image fidelity while still boosting performance. For a relatively low-power device like the Steam Machine, compared to current-gen desktop GPUs, FSR 4.1 would immediately improve the gaming experience by delivering noticeable visual upgrades.

Microsoft has quite a few TV shows and films in the works, adding more value to the Xbox brand through indirect monetization and exposure to millions of viewers.

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly delves into Xbox's 25th anniversary, highlighting upcoming games and multimedia projects that are on the way--and there's a lot of them. It's been revealed to EW that Xbox and Microsoft currently have over a dozen transmedia productions in development across film and TV shows. That's a sizable array of adaptations for a gaming-first organization, and if done correctly, it could help change Microsoft's fortunes on the entertainment battlefield.

The news also comes at an interesting time when Xbox needs as much help as it can get. The group owns a bevy of billion-dollar IPs, including treasured gems like Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, Halo, Doom, Gears of War, and Fallout--most of which either had or are getting adaptations.

The use of AI in video games has been a hotly debated topic this year. Everyone seems to have a strong opinion on the matter, and the video game industry seems to be trudging forward without any care. Michał Nowakowski, joint CEO of CD Projekt Red, said this week that fully AI-generated games are coming, and he knows it for a fact because he's already been in the room with the people building them.

Speaking to Edge's Knowledge newsletter, Nowakowski recalled a conversation with the founder of a primarily AI-based studio:

Valve finally dropped the Steam Machine price today, and it's a tough pill to swallow. The base 512GB model starts at $1,049, with the 2TB version hitting $1,349 and a 2TB bundle with the Steam Controller reaching $1,428. Preorders open June 25 via a lottery system, with the device officially launching June 30.

Despite the price being deemed ridiculous by many, Valve never wanted it to cost this much. Engineer Yazan Aldehayyat told Eurogamer the final price is "significantly more" than the company had originally planned. So what was the plan? IGN's Jacqueline Thomas sat down with Valve engineers Pierre-Loup Griffais and Yazan Aldehayyat and asked exactly that.

Neither gave a hard number, but they said the price hike the Steam Machine experienced was "probably similar" to what the Steam Deck went through. The math is pretty clear from there. The Steam Deck 512GB recently jumped about 40% from $549 to $789, while the 1TB model went from $649 to $949.

Monitor maker iiyama has entered the OLED gaming market with its first-ever OLED gaming monitor, the G-Master GOB2701QSC-B1 Titan Falcon. The 27-inch flat panel offers a 2560x1440 resolution at 280Hz with a 0.03ms pixel response time, powered by LG Display's fourth-generation WOLED technology, also known as META 3.0 or Primary RGB Tandem OLED.

The fourth-gen WOLED panel uses a four-stack emitter architecture for better brightness and efficiency. Peak brightness reaches 1,500 nits in HDR with a full-screen SDR brightness of 335 nits, alongside DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification. Color coverage is rated at 99.5% DCI-P3, 95% Adobe RGB, and 150% sRGB, making it a strong option for color-accurate work alongside gaming. iiyama has also applied an anti-glare coating that reduces reflections without the grainy look of a traditional matte finish.

Variable refresh rate is covered on both sides, with NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility from 48 to 280Hz over DisplayPort and AMD FreeSync Premium certification. The connectivity package is generous, including two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4 with Display Stream Compression, a USB-C port with 65W power delivery, a USB 3.2 hub, a 3.5mm audio jack, two 5W speakers, and a KVM switch. All display inputs support the full 280Hz refresh rate.

You probably know Midjourney for generating AI artwork from text prompts. Now, the company is making a move so unexpected that it describes it as "a little weird and a little crazy." Through a new division called Midjourney Medical, it is developing a full-body ultrasound scanner that it claims can map the inside of your body in under 60 seconds.

The Midjourney Scanner works by submerging users in water at about 2 inches per second, using a ring of ultrasonic sensors. The current prototype uses 40 imaging modules, each containing 358,000 ultrasonic elements, that transmit sound waves through the body and record the returning echoes.

Since sound travels differently through fat, muscle, bone, and organs, the system reconstructs those differences into detailed 3D images. Midjourney describes the experience as being surrounded by half a million tiny dolphins using echolocation.

Last week, reports suggested that Intel will reintroduce its Core "Raptor Lake" client microarchitecture as "Raptor Lake Next" under a new Core (non-Ultra) naming scheme. Now, a new leak suggests that the platform will not be exclusive to desktop but will also extend to mobile.

According to leaker Jaykihn on X, Intel is also preparing HX mobile variants of Raptor Lake Next, bringing the refreshed architecture to high-performance gaming laptops with up to 24 CPU cores.

The lineup will be HX-only, meaning Intel currently has no plans for lower-power H, P, or U series variants. The flagship will be a Core 9 chip with an 8P+16E core configuration. This matches the layout of the existing Core i9-14900HX and delivers 24 cores and 32 threads with HyperThreading. Below that, two Core 7 variants are planned: one with an 8P+12E configuration for 20 cores, and another with a 6P+8E arrangement for 14 cores, a configuration that previously appeared in Core 5 territory.

AMD has officially pushed FSR 4.1 support out the door ahead of schedule to previous-generation RX 7000 series GPU owners through a new driver update. Adrenalin version 26.6.2 has been released with FSR 4.1 support for RDNA 3 GPUs, along with game support for Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations, and two bug fixes.

Adrenalin 26.6.2 marks the halfway point in AMD's endeavor to get FSR 4.1 working on older RX 7000 and RX 6000 series GPUs (RDNA 2 support is coming in 2027). Last month, AMD made the announcement to officially support FSR 4.1 on the aforementioned hardware, but confirmed a deadline of July for RX 7000 support, making AMD's latest Adrenalin driver arrival at least eight days early. AMD gamers won't have to worry about quality compromises compared to FSR 4.1 on RDNA 3 GPUs; AMD confirmed that FSR 4.1 on RDNA 3 will feature the same image quality as on RDNA 4 GPUs. The only caveat with AMD's current FSR 4.1 adaptation for RDNA 3 is that only the upscaling portion was ported over, leaving FSR 4.1 frame generation as an RDNA 4 exclusive feature.

Pressure to push FSR 4 to older hardware began almost a year ago when AMD accidentally leaked its own FSR4 source code featuring two versions of the upscaler: the out-of-the-box version with FP8 support and a second build using INT8 instructions. The second version with FP8 support was what grabbed everyone's attention, as it enabled FSR 4 functionality on non-RDNA 4 hardware. Afterward, modders were able to grab the INT8 version (before AMD took down the source code), and implement it in apps such as Optiscaler, enabling users to upgrade supported games from FSR 3 to FSR 4 with the INT8 build.

Ori and the Blind Forest developer Thomas Mahler shares strong criticisms about Xbox Game Pass, saying that the subscription is essentially a factory that belts out 'mediocre' games.

Game Pass has received lots of scrutiny lately and is often blamed for a portion of Xbox's current plight. The main issues with the service are cyclical and took years to develop, but the main gist is that Microsoft simply spent too much funding games for a risky business model--if subscribers ever leave, it'll be disastrous for Xbox, and that's partly what happened.

Developers have shared their views on Game Pass, with Arkane founder Raphael Colantonio saying Game Pass "damages the industry," and Journey to the Savage Planet developer Alex Hutchinson has also said that the service may harm indies in the long run. Others like Moon Studios' Thomas Mahler have harsher words about Game Pass; Mahler worked closely with Microsoft on two Ori games, both of which launched into Game Pass on day one, so he has a unique inside perspective.

The Steam Machine will start at over $1,000 for the 512GB system, Valve today announced.

Valve has opened sign-ups for Steam Machine purchases while confirming a shocking $1,000+ price tag for the system. There will be two versions offered; the 512GB option for $1,049, and a 2TB version for a whopping $1,349, with two separate bundles that include a Steam Controller. The prices reflect the ongoing RAM crisis that's driving up hardware costs, Valve says.

"The overall effect is that our original goal for the price of Steam Machine is no longer viable. So the prices we're sharing today reflect the state of the world for manufacturing; or, more accurately, it reflects the price of the components as we've secured them over the past 6 months."