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Much like some hobbits and creatures of Middle-Earth, NASA's Mars helicopter has been ordained with a special honor.

NASA's Mars helicopter named Ingenuity ended its mission after an impressive 72 flights on the surface of the Red Planet, and to celebrate its many achievements while also honoring its success, NASA has decided to nickname its final resting place. The choice of its final resting place is called "Valinor Hills," which is named after the fictional location within J.R.R Tolkien's legendarium that includes "The Lord of the Rings," "The Silmarillion," and more.

For those that don't know, Valinor is a place in Tolkien's epic fantasy that is exclusively returning to their homeland in what could be viewed as Tolkien's version of heaven (even though Tolkien hated allegory). The honor of stepping foot in Valinor was exclusive to elves, with a few exceptions, such as some hobbits and men. The location is briefly mentioned a few times throughout Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Triology, and is specifically mentioned by Gandalf to Pippin before the battle of Minas Tirith.

A Florida man has filed a lawsuit against the creators behind a robot surgeon that caused damage to a patient that ultimately led to their death.

Harvey Sultzer filed a wrongful death lawsuit that claims his late wife, Sandra Sultzer, suffered health complications following her procedure at the Baptist Health Boca Ration Regional Hospital in September 2021. The operation involved treatment of her colon cancer and included the use of a da Vinci surgical robot. For those who don't know, the da Vinci robot is a multi-armed, remote-controlled device that is used to assist in surgery.

The electrosurgical instruments equipped with the robot are manufactured by a company called ISI, with the University of South Florida confirming the system, which is used to mimic a surgeon's hand movements, was used during the operation. According to the lawsuit, Sandra suffered a thermal injury to her small intestine, which led to a perforation and further medical intervention.

A team of researchers located two ancient human artifacts within a treasure hoard, and after analysis, the team concluded the metal used to create the artifacts wasn't from Earth.

A new paper detailing the findings was published in the journal Trabajos de Prehistoria last year and concentrated on two artifacts that were pulled from the 3,000-year-old cache called the Villena Treasure. The paper focuses on two objects: what seems to be a portion of an iron bracelet or ring and a hollow iron sphere that's covered in gold. The paper states that these objects were of particular interest to researchers since they were made at a time before it was believed that iron-based craftmanship was possible.

Researchers from Spain and Germany took the objects and analyzed them using a spectrometer to determine their composition. The results proved extremely interesting as both objects appeared to be made out of the same stuff; a meteorite that fell from space. The similarities between the objects were so close that senior author and researcher at Spain's Institute of History Ignacio Montero Ruiz said to Live Science it's possible "both objects could [have] come from the same meteorite."

NASA has recently launched its latest mission to study the "invisible universe" on and around Earth, with the ultimate goal of studying the microscopic aspects of our planet that go unseen every day.

The new mission is called PACE, or the Plankton, Aerosol, Climate, ocean Ecosystem satellite (PACE), and it was launched into Earth's orbit on the back of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The space agency was able to confirm a signal from PACE approximately 5 minutes after launch, and according to NASA, the satellite is operating nominally.

So, what will PACE aim to achieve? NASA's newest satellite will study the impact of "invisible things," such as "microscopic life in water and microscopic particles in the air". The PACE satellite is equipped with a hyperspectral ocean color instrument that will enable researchers to scan bodies of water across the spectrum of ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light.

There has been no shortage of Nintendo rumors as gamers patiently wait to see what direction Nintendo will take for the successor to the incredibly popular Nintendo Switch.

The latest leaks come from the Portuguese website Universo Nintendo, which has previously been correct about some of the contents within Nintendo's Direct showcase. Previous rumors from other sources pointed to Nintendo's successor of the Switch utilizing a custom NVIDIA chip that would, for all intents and purposes, be a massive leap in power compared to the Nintendo Switch's Tegra X1 chip. This leap in processing power is reportedly going to enable developers to "enhance" Nintendo Switch 1 games on the next-generation console.

Furthermore, Universo Nintendo reports the next-generation console will come with full backward compatibility for both physical and digital copies of titles. It should be noted that all of the aforementioned information regarding Nintendo's next-generation console is merely rumors at this stage, with Nintendo remaining completely quiet on any information regarding its Switch successor.

Apple is expected to roll out a new feature for Apple Pay users who get stumped when attempting to checkout when Apple Pay online isn't available.

The new feature is currently available for iOS beta users who have downloaded the iOS 17.4 update, and according to reports, the new feature is a "Virtual Card Number". The new feature is somewhat of an extension of Apple's prepaid debit card called Apple Cash, which has historically been linked to Apple Pay.

However, Apple Cash doesn't require the user to hook up a card number and ultimately can be used to send money to friends, transfer to a bank account, or simply add money to an Apple Card balance.

One of the biggest features of the gaming industry was the introduction of super-resolution upscaling, and now that feature appears to be coming to all Windows applications.

Windows 11 insiders have discovered an option for Super Resolution within the Windows settings, which is an indication that Microsoft, at the very least, is exploring the possibility of implementing upscaling technologies for applications. The new feature was found in the Windows 11 insider build of 24H2, the update that is pegged to be the company's big annual feature update slated to release in the second half of 2024. The update has been described as being so big it could even be called Windows 12.

As for Super Resolution within Windows, users discovered the options to enable "automatic super-resolution" that will "use AI to make supported games play more smoothly with enhanced details" or the option of enabling this setting per application. Reports indicate this new feature will run on NPU/AI-cores, which should include GPU tensor cores. What does super-resolution at an operating system level mean for Windows users?

This could very well be the most powerful desktop PC on the planet, and one that you can buy - if you happen to have a spare $41,500 USD sitting around somewhere. GTPShop has put together a brand-new high-end workstation that it's saying is the world's first to feature NVIDIA's powerful Grace Hopper Superchip GPU and CPU combo.

Featuring the high-end H10 Tensor Core GPU with NVIDIA's custom 72-Core Grace CPU, you're looking at some of the most powerful hardware on the planet for delivering high-performance AI acceleration.

Until now, we've only heard of the Grace Hopper Superchip being available in cloud systems and data centers, so seeing one inside a PC that can sit on a desk is pretty exciting. GTP offers multiple configurations covering GH200 576GB and GH200 624GB chips, priced at $41,500 and $48,500, respectively.

AMD's just-launched Ryzen 7 8700G "Hawk Point" APU has fallen into the hands of overclockers across the world, with professional overclockers pushing the integrated GPU inside of the Hawk Point APU up to a blistering 3300MHz (3.3GHz).

The integrated Radeon 780M GPU inside of the Hawk Point APU was pushed to 3300MHz, with the SoC temperature (the whole chip, it's an APU, so there's a CPU, GPU, and NPU for AI tasks) running at just 44C and consuming 82W of power through heavy benchmarking.

The GPU maxed out at 47C under these loads at 3300MHz GPU clock, averaging 36C while the CPU core maxed out at 81.8C, averaging 40C under load.

Samsung Magician Software is a powerful bit of software designed for Samsung's range of internal SSDs, external SSDs, memory cards, and USB flash drives. In addition to providing real-time stat on storage drive health and monitoring tools, there are benchmark options, diagnostic scans, optimizations, and a suite of secure data management tools.

Odds are, if you're rocking an SSD like the excellent Samsung 990 PRO, you've probably got Samsung Magician Software installed on your PC. According to our review, the Samsung 990 PRO is one of the "best-performing flash-based consumer SSDs" in the world.

So, if you're using a Samsung SSD, make sure you update to Version 8.0.1 because it resolves a security issue flagged as 'High Severity' on the NIST Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) with a score of 7.3.

NVIDIA has just launched the new GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER GPU; a $200 price cut to $999 USD alongside a small increase in performance has made it feel more like a relaunch than a refresh. Replacing the existing GeForce RTX 4080 as a powerful 4K gaming GPU, many retailers in the US are selling out of the flagship SUPER GPU - with MSRP models especially hard to find.

According to a report by Videocardz, retailers like BestBuy and MicroCenter are still offering models at the $999 price point. However, these are 'pick-up' only in stores with available units. It looks like the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is very popular with enthusiast PC gamers, especially with rising prices for GeForce RTX 4090 cards.

The report also notes that buying stock directly from vendors like ASUS, MSI, and Zotac is not an option, with many 'out of stock' GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER cards no longer available for purchase.

RuneScape developer Jagex is being acquired by a new capital investment duo, and some interesting financial info has been included in the press release announcement.

Jagex is one of the most well-known names in gaming. The name RuneScape sparks nostalgia in the hearts of countless gamers who grew up cutting willows in separate tab in computer class. While those gamers have grown up, Jagex has too, complete with a very adult-sized bank account.

RuneScape is a big part of Jagex's coffers, but the company was also just acquired by CVC Capital Partners and Haveli Investments. Nestled in the big acquisition news was a brief highlight of Jagex's financial performance. The results show that RuneScape is a member of the illustrations billion-dollar club enjoyed by the likes of Doom, Halo, Call of Duty, Diablo, and Warcraft to name a few.

The very latest on AMD's next-gen RDNA 4 GPU architecture and new Navi 48 and Navi 44 GPUs is here, where we're learning more about the two new GPUs and their rumored specifications.

In his latest video, Tom from Moore's Law is Dead covers the latest he's heard from his industry sources on Navi 48 and Navi 44 GPUs from AMD. Starting with AMD's new flagship Navi 48 GPU, which will be a monolithic die manufactured on TSMC's N4P process, with MLID hearing that Strix APU and RDNA 4 discrete GPU engineering samples have been boosting between 3.0GHz and 3.3GHz.

Not only that, but AMD has added FP8 and Matrix Hardware, with RDNA 4 reportedly "ready" to be "able" to launch in Q4 2024, but MLID notes that there is a "slim chance" for a Q3 2024 release or later Q1 2025 release. MLID adds that he has "no proof" that AMD ever planned to support GDDR7 memory on smaller configurations, with the company reportedly toying with GDDR7 on a multi-chip GPU, but for the monolithic Navi 48 and Navi 44 GPUs... we're looking at GDDR6 memory.

The latest forecasts put Xbox Series X/S sales at nearly half as high as the PlayStation 5.

Since Microsoft stopped giving Xbox console sales data years ago, analysts have to make their own predictions and try to fill in the blanks. Sony, on the other hand, takes every opportunity to tout PS5 sales. In late 2023, Sony confirmed that PlayStation 5 sell-through reached 50 million. That means 50 million PS5 consoles have been sold to consumers (the other metric, sell-in, refers to shipments made to retailers).

What about the Xbox Series X/S? Thanks to a minor presentation slip-up at the BIG Festival in Brazil, we know that the Xbox Series X/S had a 21 million+ installed base as of July 2023.

ASRock creates many products, from motherboards to gaming monitors to graphics cards. Regarding graphics cards, ASRock is relatively new to the scene, where its range covers various AMD Radeon and Intel Arc products. Considering ASRock's history of creating various motherboard designs for many years, working with AMD and Intel in the GPU space was a lateral move.

The company already had an established working relationship with them, unlike ASRock working with NVIDIA to create GeForce RTX cards. In a new interview with QuasarZone (via Videocardz), an ASRock representative responded to the question of it potentially creating a few GeForce RTX graphics cards.

They didn't rule out the possibility. However, the ASRock rep confirmed it would be 'challenging' to start producing GeForce RTX cards immediately.

NVIDIA's current-gen GeForce RTX 40 "Ada Lovelace" GPUs at the high-end range of things use faster GDDR6X memory, while the lower-end offerings use regular GDDR6 memory.

We should expect a big shift up to next-gen GDDR7 memory for NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce RTX 50 "Blackwell" GPUs coming later this year and into 2025 and beyond. According to Moore's Law is Dead, NVIDIA is the only one buying next-gen GDDR7 memory from memory makers, including Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix.

NVIDIA is the only one buying faster GDDR7 memory, while AMD is securing itself faster GDDR6 memory modules, ordering 20Gbps GDDR6 memory for RDNA 4 GPUs and I'm sure, the upcoming PlayStation 5 Pro console from Sony. MLID says that GDDR7 memory makers have not received a single purchase order from AMD but have received "tons of purchases" for 20Gbps GDDR6.

Sony PlayStation's new live service model enjoys thunderous success with a new multiplayer sensation.

Helldivers 2 is all the rage right now. The game has amassed 155,926 concurrent players on Steam, and has been the #1 top-selling game on Valve's distribution service for a bit now. Yesterday, Helldivers 2 studio CEO Johan Pilestedt said the game had sold around 1 million copies on all platforms.

The game is so popular that Helldivers 2 had to be taken offline for server maintenance. The fixes didn't last for long, and the survival shooter had to be adjusted even more.

High-end graphics cards for desktop PCs have slowly but surely grown in physical size over the years, matching their growth in performance. It's not uncommon for a flagship GeForce RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 to feature three large fans and a chunky heatsink and be almost four slots thick.

This adds weight and puts additional strain on the now relatively small PCIe connector, leading to most enthusiast GPUs shipping with braces and additional support. However, this hasn't stopped issues cropping up with high-end GPUs like the GeForce RTX 4080 and RTX 4090, where PCBs are cracking near the PCIe lock.

With heavier cards putting additional strain on boards, leading to cracking and eventual returns and repairs affecting NVIDIA's partners - it looks like GIGABYTE has revised its PCB design with "a lot more surface area to distribute the weight."

The future of Xbox hardware may not just grow vertically with more performance and instead could grow horizontally with more devices than ever before.

With the release of OneCore in 2015, Microsoft changed the definition of its Xbox brand. Since then, Xbox evolved from a console into a cross-platform service. Using Windows to unify consoles and PCs was the first step, and the next step was introducing a high-margin subscription service to this new unified ecosystem. Expansion onto competing storefronts followed as Microsoft chased wide-spread game sales.

Now there's reports this business plan could expand even further. Microsoft will reportedly break Xbox ecosystem exclusivity for select games. Titles like Hi-Fi Rush are expected to release on PlayStation, with reports that other games like Gears of War have been brought up in discussions.Sources have also told Verge's Tom Warren that a "surprising" Xbox game is also coming to PlayStation.

Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer tells employees that Microsoft isn't giving up on console hardware.

Rumor has it that Microsoft will take select first-party Xbox exclusives to other platforms. Fans think this could kick off a death spiral that eventually gives Microsoft a logical and reasonable exit from the gaming hardware market. Apparently, this isn't true, and Microsoft has no plans to discontinue Xbox consoles.

The news comes from an internal all-hands meeting at the Xbox games division. Sources have told Inverse editor and games reporter Shannon Liao about Xbox's town hall gathering. In the meeting, Microsoft gaming CEO Phil Spencer says that Xbox hardware will "continue to be part of a strategy that involves multiple kinds of devices."