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Black Myth: Wukong launches this week, one of the most anticipated PC game releases of the year, and ahead of the game's debut, NVIDIA has posted a new trailer and a deep dive into the game's Full Ray Tracing mode. Full Ray Tracing or Path Tracing is advanced ray tracing that renders all light, shadow, and reflections in a game with the sort of realistic detail you find in movies.

It's incredibly hardware intensive, so, like with Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk 2077's Pat Tracing modes, Black Myth: Wukong also supports DLSS 3 Frame Generation to boost performance and NVIDIA Reflex for latency reduction. Technologies like upscaling and frame generation are the key reasons Full-Ray Tracing modes like the one seen here are possible and playable.

Granted, Black Myth: Wukong looks lovely with or without ray tracing, but with full RT, the visuals take on a cinematic quality. For those who love being immersed in games, PC gamers with a high-end GeForce RTX 40 Series rig are in for a treat.

Developed by Blizzard North, the original Diablo was first released for PC in January 1997. Not only was it the first game in an iconic franchise that is still going strong today, but it also helped create a brand-new genre: action RPGs. Still playable on modern hardware, this latest version of the game lets you fire up and play the original Diablo on any capable browser.

With the source code for the game ported to WebAssembly via Git, you can now fire it up and enjoy exploring the multi-layered dungeon found underneath the town of Tristram while being able to alt-tab to work-related windows at tasks just to make it look like you're still working. Yes, even after all these years, the simple Diablo formula, as depicted in the first game, is still as highly addictive as ever.

To play the full version of the game, you'll need to upload the DIABDAT.MPQ file from your copy (or digital version found on services like GOG), and then you're good to go. Don't own a copy of the original Diablo? Or, more likely, you don't have a fresh install sitting somewhere on a hard drive. The good news is you can still play the Shareware version without uploading a file.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the latest release in the long-running RPG franchise from BioWare and the next major single-player game from the studio behind the original Baldur's Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, and Mass Effect. Fans have been waiting a long time for this, and that wait is set to end on October 31, 2024 - when the game launches on PC and console.

Powered by EA's Frostbite engine, the game sports a vibrant and detailed art style widely viewed as a departure from the franchise's gritty roots. The latest trailer for the game, which you can watch below, is easily the Dragon Age: The Veilguard's best showing to date - bringing the sort of epic vibes and visuals you'd want for an RPG franchise that has been missing in action for over a decade.

With pre-orders for the Standard and Deluxe Editions of the game now open, EA and BioWare have also unveiled the minimum and recommended hardware requirements for PC gamers. The good news is that the game should run smoothly on any gaming PC.

The new Colorful iGame DDR5 Loong Edition memory was created to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. It presents a stylish take on the popular all-white hardware look. The design also complements the company's Loong Edition GeForce RTX 40 Series GPUs and Z790 motherboards, which were announced earlier this year.

The DDR modules feature a layered RGB light bar on top of a tall aluminum alloy heatsink adorned with traditional Chinese decorative patterns "Xiangyun" (auspicious clouds) and "Yufeng" (gentle breeze). The taller body and heatsink design was chosen for thermal and heat dissipation and to highlight the limited edition design.

Hardware-wise, these DDR5 modules sport high-performance Hynix A-die chips, which Colorful says are great for overclocking. The PMIC components are covered with "thermal silica gel" to enhance cooling. Available in 32GB (2 x 16GB) and 48GB (2 x 48GB) kits, with speeds of up to 7200 MT/s, here's a closer look at the options.

If you thought you had a great gaming collection, sit down... and be prepared to be blown away by Ibrahim Al-Nasser for connecting 444 gaming consoles to a single TV, earning the gamer a Guinness World Record.

The organization behind Al-Nasser's setup is nothing short of astonishing, with cable management at peak here, with the 444 consoles connected through 30 x RCA switchers, and at least 12 x HDMI switchers. Al-Nasser explains: "I noticed that I had a big stack of gaming consoles that I couldn't play. The TV ports are limited, so I either had to unplug existing consoles or add more switchers and converters. I used all the tools available in the market in order to organize the cables".

Al-Nasser added: "By adding more switchers, the idea came to my mind to connect all of the gaming consoles I have to the TV then contact Guinness World Records because this project is unique. It includes hundreds of video game consoles, all different to each other. All of the consoles require a special set up and cable management as well".

Intel is reportedly gearing up to release its next-gen Core Ultra 200 series "Arrow Lake-S" desktop CPUs on October 10, according to the latest rumors.

Benchlife explained: "Although the Intel Innovation 2024 event has been postponed, the Arrow Lake-S for desktop computers, also known as Intel Core Ultra 2 series processors, according to the information we have obtained, Intel currently plans to release it on October 10".

We don't know if this purported October 10 event would be a hard launch or just a paper launch, but Intel did say its Arrow Lake-S desktop processors were on track for a Q4 2024 launch when it delayed its original Arrow Lake-S launch event, Intel Innovation 2024, from September 2024 to "sometime" in 2025.

Microcenter has stepped up to be the first retailer bundling free RAM kits with select AMD Ryzen 9000 series CPUs.

First up, Microcenter is offering AMD's new Ryzen 7 9700X processor with a free 32GB kit of G.SKILL Flare X5 series DDR5-6000 memory (you can check it out here), with the RAM alone worth $100+ and the Ryzen 7 9700X processor costing $360 on its own, means you're in reality, paying just $260 for the 9700X processor. Damn good stuff.

Moving onto the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and Microcenter is bundling in 16GB of the same G.SKILL Flare X5 series DDR5-6000 memory (check out this deal here), for $280. The 16GB kit of DDR5-6000 RAM costs around $50, so you're paying about $230 for the 9600X on its own, a great deal as well, but not as good as the 9700X + 32GB deal.

Bully has been rated by the Taiwanese ratings board, hinting at a potential re-release on Gen 9 consoles...but it may also be a nothing burger due to Rockstar's new games subscription.

Taiwan's Entertainment Software Ratings Board has greenlit Bully for release on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, as well as PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Interestingly enough, this version of Bully that was rated by the board is the European PAL version, aka the Canis Canem Edition (which translates to "dog eat dog").

The Bully Canis Canem Edition on the aforementioned platforms was approved on August 18, 2024, but before gamers get too excited, there's an important caveat: It's possible that these re-classification is for Rockstar's GTA+ subscription, and not for a fully-fledged re-release on Gen 9 consoles (oddly enough, the game was also approved for Xbox 360).

Consumers are willing to pay a premium for Nintendo hardware, potentially indicating at a higher price point for the upcoming Switch 2 console.

Nintendo's new Switch successor could be priced at a higher cost than the current Switch handheld-and-console family of systems. Data released by the Japanese company and compiled/analyzed by TweakTown suggests a clear trend: Consumers are more than willing to pay extra for upgraded hardware.

To get a better understanding of consumer habits, we took a look at historical Switch unit sales by model. The sales data, which is based on sell-in shipments, shows that retailers (and consumers who buy the hardware) are indeed confident in the higher-priced Switch OLED model.

Nintendo's new Switch successor is expected to cost less than $499, one Japanese securities analyst has predicted.

Similar to its predecessor, Nintendo's upcoming Switch 2 console may not be fixed at a more premium price point. Although the Switch 2 is expected to deliver higher-end 4K visuals via a new DLSS-enabled NVIDIA Tegra T239 chip, that doesn't necessarily mean the system will be sold at the upper $499 range where the PS5 and Xbox Series X currently sit.

Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda thinks it's more likely that Nintendo will price the Switch successor below $499, but by how much remains to be seen. Yasuda recently published a research note to investors (via financial site Kabutan) that laid out his predictions for the Switch 2 console.

Epic Games' costly antitrust lawsuits against Google and Apple could have reached nearly $1 billion in total spending and missed Fortnite revenues, company CEO Tim Sweeney says.

Epic's lawsuits against Google and Apple took years before decisions were made, and throughout that time, Epic Games spent hundreds of millions of dollars in expensive court and lawyer fees. Fortnite was also removed from both the Google Play and App Store, which significantly impacted Epic's revenues throughout the last few years--albeit less so on Android because Google allows side-loading of apps. Fortnite only just now made its way back on iOS, but only in the European Union thanks to the EU's new Digital Markets Act.

So that leads us to an interesting question: How much has Epic spent on these lawsuits? Epic Games remains one of the biggest games companies on the planet thanks to its stable of highly popular live games (multiple chart-topping Fortnite games, Rocket League, Fall Guys), and has also received multi-billion-dollar investments from companies like Sony, Disney, and even Tencent, who owns around 40% of the company.

OneXPlayer has just unveiled some new details about its upcoming OneXGPU 2: a new external GPU solution powered by AMD's new Radeon RX 7800M GPU, that's capable of playing AAA games at 60FPS+.

The new OneXGPU 2 is an external GPU that packs the latest USB4 and OCulink connectivity standards, and now we have some more details on its gaming performance. Inside, it's powered by the new Radeon RX 7800M GPU which is based on the Navi 23 die with 60 RDNA 3-based Compute Units for a total of 3840 stream processors, making it equivalent to the desktop RX 7800 XT.

AMD's new Radeon RX 7800M is tweaked on the memory side of things, with 12GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit memory bus, while the desktop RX 7800 XT has 16GB of GDDR6 on a wider 256-bit memory bus. The new RX 7800M GPU has support for up to 3 displays and a maximum TDP of 180W, while GPU clocks will be lower than the desktop variant, obviously.

Samsung is expected to have a new High-NA EUV lithography machine set up by the end of the year, as the South Korean giant wants to better compete with TSMC in the semiconductor manufacturing space.

In a new report from the SEDaily, we're hearing that Samsung Electronics' Semiconductor (DS) Division will have a High-NA EUV lithography machine set to receive one of ASML's bleeding-edge TwinScan EXE:5000 High-NA EUV (Extreme Ultra Violet) lithography machines.

Intel was the first customer of ASML's new High-NA EUV machines for use in the United States, as well as TSMC in Taiwan, and now Samsung in South Korea.

Chinese company Hygon has just teased its new C86-7490 CPU, which is based on the Dhyana x86 IP (AMD Zen architecture) in customized form: up to 64 cores and 128 threads, DDR5 memory support, and on the SP5 platform.

There has been a joint venture between AMD, HMC, Hygon, and Global Foundries for a few years now, with custom-designed chips to meet the domestic needs of Chinese companies. Hygon has a CPU family of up to 32 cores, based on the first-gen Zen core IP, but the new family of CPUs are going to offer upgrades across the board.

Hygon is now offering its new C86-7490 and C86-7390, which are CPUs based on the customized Zen 1 core very similar to Zen +. The first-gen Zen core architecture topped out at 32 cores and 64 threads max, but Hygon's new custom Zen 1-based CPU offers up to 64 cores and 128 threads of Zen 1 processing power.

ASUS is all set to unveil its next-gen ROG motherboards based on the new X870E and X870 chipsets, ready to offer the best of everything for AMD's new Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series CPUs.

The company teased its new X870E TUF motherboard at Computex 2024 earlier this year, but at Gamescom 2024 next week, ASUS has announced a special press event where it will unveil some new products from its X870E and X870 motherboard range.

We should expect new ASUS models in the TUF series, ProArt series, ROG Crosshair HERO series, and ROG STRIX series X870E and X870 motherboards.The special press event mentions that ASUS will also be giving away motherboard and CPU bundles as prizes during Gamescom 2024, with the ROG event penciled in for August 20.

You probably haven't heard of Ola, but they're an Indian automotive manufacturer, which has just announced they're going to design, build, and launch India's first-ever in-house AI chip by 2026 powered by the Arm architecture.

India is now jumping into the AI semiconductor market, with its first-ever in-house AI chip aimed at self-driving vehicles of the future. AI inside of autonomous vehicles is a big business now, and will be even bigger in the future and India wants in on that market.

Ola CEO Bravish Aggrawal took the stage at an event recently, announcing multiple AI chips are coming from Ola, each specializing in their respective scenarios. Aggarwal underlined the importance of India creating AI chips in-house, instead of relying on third-party semiconductor companies like TSMC, Samsung, or Intel. The company showed off some of its Bodhi series of AI chips, including the Sarv-1-cloud-native CPUs and its new Ojas edge AI chip.

Texas Instruments has signed a preliminary agreement to receive up to $1.6 billion in CHIPS and Science Act proposed funding for semiconductor manufacturing in both Texas and Utah, in the United States.

The US Department of Commerce has proposed up to $1.6 billion for Texas Instruments through the CHIPS and Science Act to support three new 300mm semiconductor wafer fabs that are under construction in Texas and Utah.

Texas Instruments expects to receive an estimated $6 billion to $8 billion from the US Department of Treasury's Investment Tax Credit for qualified US manufacturing investments. The company also expects to receive $10 million in proposed funding for workforce development, as it creates over 2000 new jobs at Texas Instruments, and thousands of indirect jobs for construction, suppliers, and supporting industries.

Streaming platform Antstream Arcade is headed to PlayStation, bringing over 1,300 classic games to the PS4 and PS5.

Cloud game streaming service Antstream Arcade is coming to PlayStation alongside a multitude of old-school games. The platform had originally launched on Xbox in 2023 in a timely move for Microsoft's $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard King--MSFT used the move as a tactical strategy to illustrate its willingness to allow competing game streaming services onto its platform.

The streamer offers a unique selection of yesteryear titles that can't really easily be found in other corners of the internet, including hundreds of Amiga and ZX Spectrum games. It's important to note that not all of the games listed on Anstream's site may be available on PlayStation platforms, so keep that in mind.

Chinese chip-maker Weltrend (known as WeiQuan Electronics in China) has seen a quarterly spike in sales thanks to new PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch models.

Sony and Nintendo are gearing up for their respective new consoles, the PlayStation 5 Pro and the next Switch successor, formally called the Switch 2. Mass production of the new systems is apparently underway, with Sony having already shipped thousands of pounds of PS5 Pro development kits throughout 2022, presumably readying the new high-end souped-up raytracing machine for its purported 2024 launch.

While neither Sony nor Nintendo have really discussed either the PS5 Pro or the Switch 2, other companies are giving out a few clues. Chinese chip-maker Weltrend has apparently mentioned "new models of PS5, Xbox, and Switch" have boosted the company's Q3 power management integrated circuit (PMIC) orders.

Arm is working on its own consumer gaming GPU family of graphics cards, which would compete with the likes of AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel.

In a new post from Israeli website Globes, we're learning that Arm has a large team of up to 100 or so GPU and software engineers, at its development center in Ra'anana, Israel. Arm isn't new to the world of GPUs, as it has its in-house Mali and Immortalis series, which are offered to chipmakers as IP to license for their own chips, just like it does with its Arm-based CPUs.

Globes reported: "UK chip giant ARM is developing a graphics processor unit (GPU) in Israel that will compete with NVIDIA and Intel, sources familiar with the matter have told"Globes."ARM is estimated to be employing about 100 chip and software development engineers, in its global graphics processing group at its development center in Ra'anana. At this stage, ARM is reportedly engaged in graphic processing for the video game market, and at the same time - as was the case with NVIDIA - the technology could also be used for AI processing, if and when ARM decides to fully enter the field".