Latest News - Page 515

Sabrent has been teasing its new Thunderbolt 5 external SSD for a few weeks now, but the company has it in-house and has tested it on an ultra-spec Razer Blade 18 laptop at over 6GB/sec reads.

In CrystalDiskMark, the new Sabrent Thunderbolt 5 external SSD was pumping away at over 6GB/sec reads, and around 3.8GB/sec writes (this is from the Razer Blade 18 laptop, the only Thunderbolt 5-capable laptop on the market right now, and into the Sabrent Thunderbolt 5 as an external SSD... 6000MB/sec is insanity).

Sabrent transferred 1TB file from a Rocket 4 Plus inside of the Razer Blade 18 laptop at 2.8-2.9GB/sec when it was filling the cache on the SSD, and was transferring at 1.4GB/sec sustained over the Thunderbolt 5 connection to Sabrent's new Thunderbolt 5 external SSD.

Gamescom 2024 has officially kicked off and ASUS has unveiled three brand new gaming monitors, with one of them being a world's first.

ASUS has officially unveiled the ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDP, the world's first 1440p 480 Hz OLED monitor, and it features a 26.5-inch anti-glare WOLED panel that ASUS writes in its press release uses a new RWGB subpixel layout for clearer text. Additionally, the PG27AQDP comes with AI Assistant, which includes a bunch of AI features such as AI Visual, AI Crosshair, AI Sniper, AI ShadowBoost and the MOBA Map Helper to "enhance gameplay".

Next is the ROG Swift OLED XG27ACDNG, another 26.5-inch 1440p gaming monitor, but instead has a QD-OLED panel at 360Hz refresh rate, and a different stand. The new stand comes with a mobile phone slot. Additionally, the XG27ACDNG has a 0.03ms response time, Dynamic Brightness Boost, AI Visual, a USB-C port with 90-watt Power Delivery, and much more.

The AVerMedia X'TRA GO is an impressive and potentially game-changing little unit (our full review is coming soon). It is a portable capture device and charging dock for a range of gaming handhelds that presents a simple one-button solution for recording up to 4K30 or 1080p 120FPS high-quality footage.

With support for the ASUS ROG Ally, Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, MSI Claw, Lenovo Legion Go, and iPhones and iPads, it's a dream come true for content creators, streamers, and gamers who are looking for an easy, painless, and tidy capture solution.

With a dedicated USB-C port with Type-C DP Alt mode compatibility and 64W charging, you can connect all these devices and stream direct-feed gameplay to a PC via an additional USB-C Port. The physical design looks excellent, too, but the port setup makes it the perfect-sounding capture device for portable and handheld gaming.

From what we can tell, Black State is a new action game from Motion Blur that looks to take inspiration from cinematic Hideo Kojima games like Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding. How it plays remains to be seen, and there's no release date. However, with NVIDIA dropping a new 'RTX Announce' trailer for the game - we can safely say that visually, it's stunning.

Seriously, a lot of the environment shots in this trailer are damn near photorealistic, with lighting, reflections, and detail that look like real-world photography. There aren't any characters in the trailer; it simply showcases indoor and outdoor locations like a science lab, museum, and cargo ship.

Unless someone told you it was a game, you'd think you were looking at real-life footage or high-end CGI for a film. Below are some of the most stunning examples.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard from BioWare and Avowed from Obsidian Entertainment are two big single-player RPGs from two celebrated developers on the horizon. As part of its Gamescom announcements, where NVIDIA announced no less than 20 new games that will support DLSS and other RTX technologies, we got confirmation that these two highly anticipated RPGs are launching with Ray Tracing, DLSS 3 Frame Generation, and Reflex support.

The good news is that we got 'RTX Announcement' trailers for both titles, showcasing these games with full, maxed-out ray-traced visuals and performance-boosting DLSS 3 enabled. Starting with Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which you can see above, the ray tracing looks impressive, adding depth and detail to the game's environments. From rain-soaked streets to dimly lit caves, it will look fantastic running on a GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU.

Performance-wise, with DLSS 3 enabled, the frame rate hits triple digits, hovering at around 140-170 FPS during action-heavy sequences with all sorts of spells and attacks going off. There's no word on what GPU we're seeing; odds are that as it's 4K footage, it's running on a GeForce RTX 4090.

NVIDIA has announced its latest GeForce RTX gaming bundle. For eligible purchases of a desktop GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU or GeForce RTX laptop, get a free copy of Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws with a bonus Forest Commando Character Pack. The pack includes a complete cosmetic outfit for the game's protagonist, reminiscent of Leia's outfit during the Battle for Endor in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

On the GPU side, qualifying cards include the GeForce RTX 4070, RTX 4070 SUPER, RTX 4070 Ti, RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, RTX 4080, RTX 4080 SUPER, and the flagship GeForce RTX 4090. Unfortunately, GeForce RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti cards are not eligible for the promotion, which is a shame. Getting a free AAA game with the $299 USD GeForce RTX 4060 would have been a sweet deal.

It's a similar story on the laptop front, with qualifying systems having to include at least a GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU.

The latest GeForce Game Ready 560.94 WHQL driver is a big one for PC gamers. It's an 'install this one as soon as possible' situation as it adds day-one support for some massive AAA PC releases, all launching with RTX technologies.

There's Black Myth: Wukong with Full Ray Tracing and DLSS 3 support, a game currently breaking records on Steam as one of the biggest single-player games ever. Check out the RTX trailer above to see the difference the advanced visuals bring to the game. Then there's Star Wars Outlaws, the first open-world game set in the iconic universe, featuring Ray Tracing, DLSS 3.5, and Reflex.

Then there's support for the surprise Final Fantasy XVI Demo, which is finally coming to PC - it arrives with DLSS 3, DLAA, and Reflex. And it doesn't stop there, as the latest driver also supports Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and the new multiplayer PlayStation hero shooter Concord.

VideoProc Converter AI is an excellent choice for your video-related tasks. It packs real video processing power including AI enhancement capabilities and audio/video production features with Full Hardware Acceleration speed. It's incredibly easy to use. But is it safe to use or is it worth it?

Here's a full overview of VideoProc Converter AI, exploring every aspect of the program. Keep reading.

VideoProc Converter AI is a one-stop AI-powered video and image enhancement toolbox for superior image quality and processing speed. It features three AI modules for video/image enhancement and several tools for video processing.

Exascend might be a company you've never heard of, but they're a server-focused company that makes innovative storage and memory products, and have just announced a huge 15.36TB 2.5-inch SSD.

The company has announced the expansion of its 2.5-inch SATA SSD series -- the SA4, SI4, and SE4 -- to an unprecedented 15.36TB capacity. Exascend says that this advancement redefines the limits of SATA SSD storage, catering to demanding applications like digital and network video recorders, media post-production, and more.

Exascend's monster new 15.36TB SSD uses 3D TLC NAND flash technology, with the new Exascend SATA SSDs use direct write-to-TLC to maintain stable read and write performance, effectively mitigating performance drop-off when the SLC cache is exhausted. Exascend's new 15.36TB SSDs use high-density integration with 16 NAND Flash ICs, each with 1TB capacity, on a single PCB within a slim 7mm housing.

Overwatch 2 Season 12 is now here, with the introduction of a new support hero called Juno, two new maps, and a new game mode called Clash. Check out the trailer below:

Overwatch 2's new support hero is Juno, who is a new space cadet support character with a burst-fire primary weapon called the Mediblaster, which heals teammates and damages enemies, with a secondary Pulsar Torpedoes that lock onto allies and enemies, healing your teammates and damaging your enemies. Very cool.

The passive ability with Juno comes in the form of her Martial Overboots, which allow the space cadet to double jump and then hover in the air like she's kind of (but not fully) flying. The passive ability gels beautifully with Glide Boost, an ability that lets Juno glide above and around the battle horizontally.

We are in the Copilot+ AI PC era whether we like it or not, but x86-based AI PC processors from AMD and Intel will crush Arm-based Copilot+ AI PC laptop sales now, in 2025, and into the future.

In the coming months we'll see more and more Arm-based Copilot+ AI PC laptops launch, with analyst firm Omdia's new AI notebook PC shipment forecast expecting to see Arm-based Copilot+ AI PCs go from 800,000 units sold in 2024, to 5.2 million in 2025: an increase of over 533%.

We keep hearing about Arm breaking into the mainstream Windows market, but the hype of the Copilot+ AI PC laptop era is here and Qualcomm was first with Microsoft to launch the first waves of Copilot+ laptops being powered by company's Arm-based Snapdragon X series processor.

Funcom dropped a huge 5-minute gameplay trailer for its new Dune Awakening MMORPG, complete with info on the upcoming open beta.

Dune: Awakening is shaping up to be one of the more interesting MMOs on the horizon. Set in Frank Herbert's landmark sci-fi universe, the game takes place during an alternate timeline without Paul Atreide's bloody intergalactic jihad. Instead, players will take on the role of a survivor who's free to forge their own path on the deadly desert planet of Arrakis.

The gameplay footage showed everything from guild interactions, player discovery and exploration in cities across Arrakis, as well as frenetic combat complete with sniper rifles, rockets, and vehicles, and even how the ornithopter traverses the verticality of the skies of Arrakis. The open beta is set for early 2025, and Awakening is also coming to PlayStation and Xbox, but no date has been announced for those platforms just yet.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is the latest game from Machine Games, the talented studio behind the modern Wolfenstein reboot and reimagining. Developed in partnership with Bethesda Game Studios and veteran game director Todd Howard (The Elder Scrolls, Fallout), it's one of the biggest first-party Xbox releases on track for a holiday 2024 launch.

As part of Gamescom, we got an updated look at globe-trotting gameplay, including action, puzzles, and more. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is shaping up to be the sort of cinematic action adventure that is sorely missing from the Xbox lineup. Tech-wise, the game will be running on the latest version of id Software's id Tech engine, with NVIDIA confirming that the game will launch with a 'Full Ray Tracing' mode and DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction.

Indy's latest adventure joins Black Myth: Wukong and Star War Outlaws as a game that will push PC visuals with cutting-edge effects. 'Full Ray Tracing' or Path Tracing involves using RT for in-game shadows, reflections, lighting, and global illumination. The results will be stunning, as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a massive AAA release.

It's official: Starfield is finally getting a land vehicle in one of the most important updates that Bethesda has ever released for the game.

Starfield is about to get a whole new lease on life. Today Bethesda announced the REV-8, an interstellar dune buggy rover that can zoom at high speeds across planet surfaces. Gone are the days of legging it across biomes and moons, and jet-packing in between to break up the monotony. Now exploration is about to get much, much more enjoyable.

The REV-8 features both first-person and third-person views, similar to Grand Theft Auto, and it's coming to Starfield later today with a free update. It features nitro boosts, thrusters to minimize impact damage, and even comes equipped with explosive rockets that can fire at enemies.

BREAKING: Microsoft today announced the release date for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and also confirmed some recent reports of the game breaking platform exclusivity.

It's official: Bethesda's new Indiana Jones game is coming to PlayStation 5. Today at Opening Night Live, Bethesda and Microsoft revealed that Indy's new swashbuckling adventure will launch on PS5 in Spring 2025.

This confirms reports from The Verge's Tom Warren from February 2024 which said that both Indiana Jones and Starfield could arrive on PlayStation platforms, and more recent reports from Nate The Hate, who gave a more in-depth report that said Indy would launch on PS5 in early 2025.

AMD is supposedly launching a new 3D V-Cache processor from what's now the last-gen of its CPU line-up (namely Ryzen 7000).

According to a leaker on X, Hoang Anh Phu - admittedly not one of the more common names that crops up - AMD has a Ryzen 5 7600X3D in the works. This will apparently be a 6-core processor that is said to be arriving in early September, which means we should see this chip within two to three weeks, in theory.

Unfortunately, we don't get any info on the exact specs, or any other details at all in fact. We can, however, guess that the broad spec will be in line with the other chips in the 7000X3D range - VideoCardz (which spotted the above tweet) theorizes that it might run with 102MB of total cache, of which 64MB would be 3D V-Cache - and pricing has to make sense in that respect, too.

There's a new Dying Light game on the horizons, but it's a smaller-scale standalone experience starring Dying Light 1's Kyle Crane.

Techland's new Dying Light game is called The Beast, and it's a little bit like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. It doesn't require Dying Light 2 or even Dying Light 1 in order to play, but gamers who bought the Dying Light 2 ultimate edition will be able to play The Beast at no additional cost.

The Beast takes place in a "tightly-crafted rural region" and is built on Dying Light 2's engine, complete with four-player co-op play and weapons like bows and throwing knives. There's also vehicles, too.

Gearbox and 2K Games officially announce Borderlands 4 with a quick teaser trailer.

Borderlands 4 is coming in 2025, Gearbox today revealed at the Opening Night Live stream at Gamescom. Not much is known about the new project other than snippets of info gleaned in the trailer, like the moon of Elpis crash-landing on a new planet. Gearbox has yet to publish official press release details for the game, and apparently there's a wishlist page that will go live soon, but we did get a small bit of info from the trailer that confirmed Borderlands 4 will take players to a brand new intergalactic planet.

"In this next installment of the definitive looter shooter, players will assume the role of a legendary Vault Hunter as they blast their way through hordes of enemies in search of new treasures to loot on an all-new planet."

Microsoft today updated gamers on what to expect with its new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier.

A bit ago, Microsoft raised the price of its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to $19.99/month while simultaneously removing its $9.99/month Console tier. As it currently stands, console gamers cannot actually subscribe to a Game Pass tier that offers pooled access to hundreds of games outside of Ultimate.

That's going to change soon with the introduction of Xbox Game Pass Standard. The Standard tier will replace the Console tier and cost +50% more than its predecessor while offering the added bonus of online multiplayer. Microsoft still doesn't have an exact launch date for Standard, but the tier is currently being tested in the Xbox Insiders program.

Chinese action RPG Black Myth: Wukong has conquered Steam, becoming the most-played singleplayer game ever on the platform in just one day of release.

Black Myth: Wukong is the latest gaming craze, and has the might of China's 668 million strong playerbase behind it. Game Science's legend-based action RPG has hit an astronomical 2 million+ players in a 24-hour period. This makes Black Myth: Wukong the most-played singleplayer game in the history of Steam. And it's actually now #3 on the list of most-played games by all-time peak players, with PUBG at #1 and Palworld at #2.

As per Steam's official charts, Chinese RPG is currently the #1 top selling and #1 most played game on Steam, and based on numbers from Valve, Black Myth: Wukong's players made up around 6.3% of total players on Steam during the high point of August 19, 2024.