Latest News - Page 629

ASRock has released two new 700-series Intel series motherboards in Mini-ITX format, both optimized for Intel's latest 124th Gen Core "Raptor Lake Refresh" CPUs, and in particular, the new Core i9-14900KS special edition processor.

Overclocker "Splave" has got his grubby overclocking mits on the new ASRock Z790I Lightning Wi-Fi and B760I Lightning Wi-Fi motherboards, using the new Intel Core i9-14900KS processor and G.SKILL DDR5-8600 memory to break multiple OC world records.

ASRock announced that its new Phantom Gaming Z790I Lightning Wi-Fi motherboard has broken multiple overclocking records, with 4 new world records, 8 new global 1st place records, and 12 different 1st place world records for the Core i9-14900KS processor.

Yesterday, we got news that MSI was resurrecting its 'Duke' lineup of graphics cards with the arrival of a new 'Gaming Duke' GeForce RTX 4060. Today, a new wave of potential GPUs is coming from MSI and ASUS courtesy of EEC regulatory listings (via Videocardz), and for MSI, it looks like there's more Duke coming and more EXPERT GPUs.

MSI's EXPERT line-up debuted with the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER (check out our full review here), sporting a push-and-pull cooling design reminiscent of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 40 Series Founders Edition models. According to new EEC filings, MSI is on track to release a GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16G EXPERT and an EXPERT CLASSIC. There's also a GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER 'EXPERT CLASSIC' coming.

As for what CLASSIC means, it may signify the same all-metal build with more traditional cooling or something else entirely. We'll have to wait to find out.

Maxio Technology has just unveiled not one but three new PCIe Gen5 SSD controllers, with speeds hitting up to 14.8GB/sec (14,800MB/sec) reads and capacities of up to 8TB. Chcek them out:

The Chinese firm unveiled its new MAP1802 and MAP1806 consumer-grade Gen5 SSD controllers, as well as the new MAP1803 enterprise-class Gen5 SSD controller, all of which offer over 14GB/sec sequential reads. The new flagship Maxio MAP1802 features the standard NVMe 2.0 specs, with a 4-channel controller and 8 CEs that support up to 4800MT/s NAND flash.

This is damn fast, as the fastest Gen5 SSD controller is the new Phison E26 SSD controller, which features around 3000MT/s (compared to the 4800MT/s on Maxio's new MAP1802 Gen5 SSD controller). This new Gen5 SSD controller supports up to 14.8GB/sec (14,800MB/sec) reads, up to 14.4GB/sec (14,400MB/sec) writes, 3400K IOPS read, and 3500 IOPS write, while capacities will reach up to 8TB.

The Razer Blade 18 has been announced and is available now. It's a portable gaming monster. It will arrive with two impressive display options: the world's first 18-inch 4K+ 200Hz display (3840x2400) or an 18-inch QHD+ (2560x1600) 300Hz Mini-LED display. Both feature low response times and DCI-P3 100% color gamut accuracy.

The 4K option is also touted as the world's first Thunderbolt 5-equipped laptop. It offers up to 120Gbps of bandwidth - tripling what's currently available. CPU-wise, it uses the top Intel Core 14th Gen i9-14900HX processor with a fully unlocked 175W NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU variant.

It's also thin, at just 21.99mm or 0.86 inches, and includes the latest Razer Blade advanced cooling system. The Razer Blade 18 (2024) also ships with DDR5 5600MHz Memory and Windows 11 Home.

MechWarrrior 5: Clans was teased at GDC 2024, with developer Pirahna Games showing off new footage of the Unreal Engine 5-powered game, as well as juicy new info. Check it out:

The new MechWarrior 5: Clans game will feature a Clan Invasion story, which is the first time we've had a clan-based story since the 1995 smash hit MechWarrior 2 (which I still remember watching the intro to it with my brother over and over, hundreds of times). The plot of MechWarrior 5: Clans will see players following a new young pilot which has just finished their intensive training on Huntress, the homeworld of the Smoke Jaguar clan.

The main character joins a squad -- known as a Star -- which is made up of five pilots from the same clan, fighting side-by-side in a huge full-scale invasion of the Inner Sphere, which is an incredibly important moment in the BattleTech universe. Pirahna Games says that pilots will continue to grow stronger as they progress through MechWarrior 5: Clan's campaign, where you'll visit various plants with different biomes and a sandbox-style play like Mercenaries.

The latest NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 552.12 driver is here. It optimizes Season 3 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone, which features DLSS 3 and Reflex. The new driver also supports Diablo IV's new ray-tracing update, and NVIDIA's internal benchmarks showcase that you'll need to enable Frame Generation for playable performance.

On the plus side, at 1080p, it's playable with max settings and ray-tracing on a GeForce RTX 4050 or RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, with the latter hitting close to 100 FPS. Looking at Call of Duty: Warzone, with DLSS 3, the flagship GeForce RTX 4090 can hit an impressive 235.9 FPS at 4K, followed by the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER with 184.3 FPS.

In addition, the new driver adds more one-click optimal settings in GeForce Experience and the NVIDIA App for nine new titles, including Dragon's Dogma 2 and Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition.

We're already expecting Apple to announce the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max later this year and while Apple has yet to confirm the devices - and likely won't until September - we've seen plenty of leaks. They started around the same time that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models were unveiled in September of last year, and now all four of the rumored handsets have appeared online in dummy unit form.

Dummy units are often used by accessory makers, like case companies, so that they can be sure that their products will fit with the new models. These companies normally get the exact dimensions of the new phones ahead of time, and it's thought that these dummy units have been manufactured based on those dimensions.

The dummy units were shared on the X social network by Sonny Dickson and match what we've been told to expect from previous leaks. The dummy units clearly show the rumored Capture Button on the right side of the iPhone, below the power button, and where the mmWave antenna would normally be.

Xbox highlights an important instance of case-by-case exclusivity with Sea of Thieves on PS5.

It's a real sea change at Xbox as first-party games break platform exclusivity and launch on PlayStation and Nintendo systems. Popular pirate sim Sea of Thieves was announced as one of the 4 Xbox exclusive games that would make the jump, and Microsoft is providing some extra small incentives for PS5 gamers. It turns out that some of these cosmetics are exclusive to PS5 and can't be acquired on Sea of Thieves' home port of Xbox.

PS5 gamers can get two sets of exclusive Sea of Thieves cosmetics, but you have to actually pre-order the game and participate in the beta to get them. The first is the Ruby Viper cosmetic pack which you get right away from pre-ordering. The second is a Dauntless Adventurer bundle (a sail and a title) that you can get from actually playing the closed beta--the beta is unlocked from pre-ordering as well.

If everything goes the way that we have come to expect, Apple will announce the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro later this year and we've been hearing all kinds of things about what Apple has been working on. The leaks began around the same time that the iPhone 15 models were announced in September 2023 and we're still seeing new leaks now. The latest of those comes via a Weibo post that was spotted by the X leaker ShrimpApplePro.

According to that leak, Apple could be about to bring the iPhone 15's color-infused back glass to the iPhone 16 Pro models this year, although that is obviously not something that Apple has confirmed so far.

The color-infused back glass was something that Apple made a big deal out of last year and uses a custom dual ion exchange process for the glass construction that creates a finish that is matte while the glass does indeed look like the color is deep within it. It's an interesting finish and one that stands out in a way no other iPhone's back glass has done to date, especially around the camera module.

There have been ongoing rumors that Apple intends to announce the Apple Pencil 3 alongside the updated iPad Air and new OLED iPad Pros within the next few weeks. Now, a new report has added further fuel to the fire following the discovery of code references to a new squeeze gesture.

MacRumors reports that the first iPadOS 17.5 beta includes references to a new V4 version of the Apple Pencil with additional code references that appear to suggest the Apple Pencil will gain a squeeze gesture for specific actions. There are currently no firm details about what that could be or how it might work, however. It's been suggested that users could squeeze the new stylus to quickly enter different modes or launch actions depending on the type of app that is being used at the time.

The Apple Pencil 3 is something that has been rumored for some time but details about what kinds of things that will be new tablet will have to offer.

Helldivers, rejoice! The Super Earth Government is issuing a new warbond that spices up your intergalactic bug-squashing.

Arrowhead Studios has revealed the next premium warbond (essentially a battle pass) for Helldivers 2. It's called Democratic Detonation and gamers are getting a ton of bonus extras...provided they're willing to shell out some dollars.

Democratic Detonation releases April 11 and comes packed with 3 new weapons, including a crossbow that fires explosive bolts, 3 armors, and 3 new secondary items. Another thing that stuck out is the Expert Extraction Pilot Booster that speeds up how fast exfil craft can swoop in and end the match in victory.

If you're hankering for a new game to play on your PC but are a bit short of cash, you're in luck - there's a great new freebie on offer at the Epic Games Store.

Epic is famous for high-quality giveaways and The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition certainly falls under that category.

It's a slick and thoughtful sci-fi RPG that received considerable critical acclaim, coming from Obsidian Entertainment, the force behind the likes of Fallout New Vegas. The Outer Worlds was praised for its storyline, depth and the freedom of choice available to the player.

Apple spent a decade and a ton of money trying to get a new electric car to the market before giving up on it, but that doesn't mean that the company has given up on moonshots. Now, a new report claims that Apple has turned its attention to a new robot that could follow people around their homes.

The robot, which Bloomberg's Mark Gurman calls "personal robotics," is just part of what Apple is working on, however. The report notes that Apple is also working on a table-top home device that would use robotics to move a display around as needed.

The report explains that Apple is also working on AI algorithms that would help such robots work their way around people's homes, much like a robot vacuum might do. It's also thought that Apple would like the robot to handle basic chores such as cleaning dishes.

If Apple follows the pattern that it has created for itself over the last few years it will surely announce the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro devices later this year, likely in September. We've been seeing various leaks about the new handsets for a while, with some having debuted just as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 Pro were being announced last year. Now, as we get to within six months of the new iPhones being announced we're seeing more leaks, this time surrounding the iPhone's bezels.

The report, courtesy of The Elec, claims that Apple's new iPhones will make use of Border Reduction Structure (BRS) technology with display supplier LG DIsplay working to make that happen. The report mentions the iPhone 16, but it isn't clear whether that will extend to the iPhone 16 Pro models. Given the fact previous leaks have suggested the Pro models will feature modest display size increases it seems likely that they will benefit from this BRS technology.

The new technology works by changing the way the display's electronics are laid out in a way to remove the amount of space needed. That in turn means that the displays can be closer to the edge of the smartphone, making for smaller bezels as a result.

Apple has long been heavily rumored to be working on brand-new OLED iPad Pros and a refreshed iPad Air with a potential all-new 12.9-inch variant, but when those tablets would actually launch has been a bone of contention. In just the past few weeks we've seen various claims of when they would arrive with March, April, and now May tipped as potential launch timeframes. But while it could be taken as leakers not really knowing what's going on inside Apple's supply chain, that same supply chain has potentially shed some light on the confusion.

According to Apple's suppliers, the new iPads have been "repeatedly postponed" with DigiTimes' report mentioning that a new product launch could potentially happen in May. That's the timeframe that we'd previously been given by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, suggesting that might finally be when the new tablets are unveiled officially.

Gurman had previously pointed to early May as a likely window and had said that Apple's supply chain partners had already started to ramp up production ahead of time. Both LG Display and Samsung Display have also been rumored to have started working on displays for the new tablets.

Windows 11 has a new preview build, and while there aren't any noteworthy changes - it's mostly about bug fixes and minor tweaking - there's a hidden change to the Microsoft Store which is very worthwhile.

This is preview build 26100 for the Canary and Dev channels, and testers in these channels are getting those changes plus a new Microsoft Store rolling out, as highlighted by Sergio Pedri, a Senior Software Engineer at the company, on X (formerly Twitter).

The store has 'major performance improvements' and as you can see in the video clip in the tweet, it loads up pretty sharpish - with the ability to skip the splash screen, to boot.

Microsoft has already announced that it was ending support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025 - where after this date, the company will no longer supply security updates or new features. With Windows 10 still the most popular Microsoft operating system and Windows 11 adoption slowing, there will be a way for users and businesses to get Extended Security Updates (ESU) after this date.

Microsoft announced this last year, easing some concerns for those who might not want to upgrade on October 14, 2025. However, it did mention that signing up for Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) will come at a cost. Today, we've got the costs - they're geared toward forcing users to upgrade to Windows 11 (or 12).

Paid security updates after Windows 10 becomes end-of-life will cost users and businesses $61 USD per device for Year 1. From there, the "price will double every consecutive year, for a maximum of three years," so that's $122 USD per device for Year 2 and $244 USD per device for Year 3.

MSI's Duke series of graphics cards was last seen during the Turing generation, with the flagship GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and GeForce RTX 2070. The Duke series slots between MSI's affordable Ventus line-up and the more OC-ready Gaming series. However, it was a no-show during the Ampere generation of GeForce RTX 30 Series cards, leading many to believe that MSI has simply retired the Duke in favor of the popular Ventus and gaming models.

Well, the Duke is back - at least for those in the Chinese retail market, with MSI launching a GeForce RTX 4060 Gaming Duke 3X in the region. As per the name, this new GPU features a triple-fan cooling setup with a physical design that is all-black and closer to the Gaming series than Ventus.

It's a long one, measuring 319 mm, but thankfully, it's a slim design with a two-slot thickness that includes a black brushed aluminum backplate for additional support. Three fans for a GeForce RTX 4060 is overkill, but that should mean that the Gaming Duke runs quiet and coolly.

NVIDIA has released a new version of its Streamline tool for developers (SDK 2.4.0), which includes DLSS 3.7.0 - the latest version of its upscaling and Frame Generation tech. Streamline is a tool developed by NVIDIA to make it easier for game developers to implement DLSS technologies in their projects.

It's also similar to Microsoft's upcoming DirectSR in that it's open-source and supports third-party plugins and upscalers like Intel XeSS and AMD FSR.

The updates were spotted by the creator of DLSSTweaks (on Reddit), a popular tool that lets users update a game's version of DLSS and add support for DLAA. So, the arrival of DLSS 3.7.0 is the more exciting update for gamers, and people are already testing it to see what difference it makes.

Google Podcasts is no more, with the app and podcasting service shut down by Google this week in the US and later in June for the rest of the world. Google announced last year that the dedicated podcast service app would disappear and be replaced by a dedicated podcast section within YouTube Music.

Google has a long history of unceremoniously axing what it deems unsuccessful services, apps, and hardware - from the video app Google Duo to Google Hangouts to its cloud gaming Google Stadia service. The list is long, to the point that sites like 'Killed by Google' keep track of it all, creating a virtual Google Graveyard. Check it out; odds are there'll be a few "Oh, I remember that" moments as you scroll.

The reasoning for Google Podcasts's demise makes sense when you consider that most notable podcasts with a video component are hosted on YouTube, so presenting an audio version on the YouTube Music platform and app feels more like a lateral move. So this isn't Google abandoning podcasts altogether.