Latest News - Page 960

MSI is set to bring its first batch of Radeon RX 7000 series GPUs to market in January, with two models, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX Gaming Trio Classic and Radeon RX 7900 XT Gaming Trio Classic. In terms of cooling, these will not use the AMD reference designs that have recently been making the news due to vapor chamber issues but instead use MSI's recognizable Gaming Trio design.

Both cards use MSI's TRI FROZR 2 thermal system with TORX FAN 4.0 technology, enhanced PCB materials, and an anti-bend backplate. Both will ship with brackets for that extra dose of physical support, 325 x 141 x 56 mm dimensions, and 3 x 8-pin power requirements, and this puts their physical real estate in the 2.5-slot region.

In terms of clock speeds, there doesn't look like there will be any overclocking action out-of-the-box, with the RX 7900 XTX Gaming Trio Classic supporting up to 2500 MHz boost and 2300 MHz game. Though with 3 x 8-pin power connectors, there might be room to overclock manually.

It wasn't until recently that I discovered Chrome has an in-built feature to help protect your kids (and anyone, actually) while browsing the web with Google's popular web browser. A recent Facebook post from the Google Chrome page alerted me to its "Enhanced Protection" security mode and family DNS feature, which we dive into below.

In the simplest terms, when turned on, this feature proactively monitors the user's behavior in Chrome and blocks bad websites, downloads, and extensions before they can cause a problem on your device. For example, you or your child might be about to enter a harmful website that attempts to steal important information. Chrome blocks the website and presents a very obvious red screen warning you.

A little discussion with your kids would go a long way, alerting them if they see this obvious red screen, reminding them it's a bad site and they shouldn't visit it. Chrome can also scan any downloads before the files are executed for malware. Privacy advocates may not be impressed by the feature since some of your data and activity need to be processed by Google. Still, it should be a suitable compromise for most if security concerns you. Considering this free feature doesn't slow down your devices as external security monitoring software and apps can, it's well worth it.

In a recent interview with the Washington Post's Gene Park, The Last of Us writer Neil Druckmann praises Elden Ring's environmental storytelling and potentially gives clues on what to expect from his next game.

Naughty Dog games are famous for their immaculate attention to detail (which has come at a very real human price), crazy action sequences, and, in The Last of Us' case, riveting and emotional storylines. But what if these games had a more loose plot that's defined mostly by player experience?

The studio's next game could be more like FromSoftware's game of the year Elden Ring moving forward. Neil Druckmann, who serves as co-president of Naughty Dog, has expressed admiration for Elden Ring's interesting use of worldbuilding and storytelling not necessarily through cinematics or codices, but through exploration and player agency.

The recent release of the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti happened without a Founders Edition from NVIDIA, on account of the card essentially being the uncancelled GeForce RTX 4080 12GB renamed. So the odds are that NVIDIA didn't have enough time to create new branded coolers and packaging.

According to a new leak showcasing the packaging from the upcoming still-to-be-announced GeForce RTX 4070, it looks like Founders Edition cards are back on the menu, with the RTX 4070s following the design of the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 FE models.

The GeForce RTX 4070 is expected to be the next card in the GeForce RTX 40 Series to hit shelves, with a rumored Q2 2023 release window. As per another report, the GeForce RTX 4070 and the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti could end up using the same AD104 chip found in the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti - albeit cut down. Compared to the RTX 4070 Ti's 7680 CUDA Cores, the baseline RTX 4070 will potentially feature 5888 CUDA Cores

Jedi: Survivor will apparently require a day one patch before it can be played on PC.

EA and Respawn have revealed Jedi: Survivor's PC spec requirements on Steam, and they're showing a move forward for PC gaming. Game developers are pushing into GTX 10 series GPUs as minimum spec requirements now and it seems the days of getting away with a GeForce GTX 900 card are gone (which makes sense because the 10 series is now 4 generations old).

Before we take a closer look at the spec requirements I'd like to draw attention to one interesting snippet on the page. Respawn and EA confirm that gamers will need to be connected to the internet to download a day one patch. "Internet required for non-optional patching," the page reads. This isn't such a big deal since you're already connected to the internet to download the game from Steam anyway, but it's something to remember. Plus we have to wonder if consoles require a day one patch before they can play as well.

Jedi: Survivor will leverage AMD's gaming tech and will be bundled with the new Ryzen 7000 series processors.

At CES 2023, AMD CEO Lisa Su made an interesting statement: The new Star Wars Jedi: Survivor sequel was "developed by Ryzen, for Ryzen," confirming that Respawn's team used Ryzen CPUs to make the adventure game. This isn't something that gamers really think about and we could see the game performing very well on Ryzen processors.

The new Jedi fantasy is an official AMD-partnered game and will actually be included with new Ryzen 7000 CPU purchases. The game's product page on AMD's website also confirms Jedi: Survivor will utilize Team Red's graphics tech, FidelityFX Super Resolution for boosted frame rates and FreeSync Premium Pro for more vivid HDR visuals with the added bonus of low-latency gaming.

Apple is reportedly set to unveil its first mixed reality headset, the Reality Pro, in the coming months ahead of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

The device is expected to be a high-end, premium device with a price tag of up to $3,000, making it more than twice the price of Meta's competing Quest Pro mixed reality headset, which when combined with the available software, was ill-received by users. Apple's headset will feature a hybrid of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology, giving it its 'mixed reality' label, and is said to be using a new operating called xrOS.

Reports indicate that third-party developers are already building apps for the device, which may be released later this year alongside new iPhones and other refreshed Apple devices. The Reality Pro will be a standalone device, with its own dedicated operating capable of overlaying digital imagery on users' views and handle immersive VR experiences that will range from games to productivity, communication, and much more.

Virgin Orbit's "Start Me Up" mission failed to reach orbit on Monday, January 9th, 2023, as the company informed the public over a webcast, resulting in the loss of nine satellites.

The mission, which was the company's sixth orbital flight, was launched from Spaceport Cornwall in the United Kingdom, using the company's carrier plane called Cosmic Girl. The LauncherOne rocket was dropped from the carrier plane at 6:09 p.m. EST (2309 GMT), while the plane was off Ireland's southwest coast, but suffered an anomaly which prevented it from reaching orbit.

The lost payloads included an in-orbit manufacturing experiment from the U.K. company Space Forge, several U.K. defense cubesats, and an experimental global navigation satellite co-funded by the European Space Agency. This was an important mission for Virgin Orbit as it marked the first time the company used Spaceport Cornwall and opened a new launch chapter for the company.

NASA's instruments have detected a strong solar flare erupting from an extremely active sunspot region, according to a recent NASA blog post.

The space agency took to its website to announce that its Solar Dynamics Observatory detected the strong solar flare being emitted on January 9 at 1:50 pm EST, and that the event was photographed as displayed by the above image. The flare was classified as an X1.9 flare, with 'X' representing the most intense categorization of a solar flare, followed by M, C, B, and A. The difference between each of the letters is a 10-fold increase in energy output. So an X is ten times an M and 100 times a C.

Solar flares are intense eruptions of energy that are released by the Sun after there is a massive build-up of magnetic energy that has accumulated in the solar atmosphere. Solar flares are also typically associated with sunspot regions, which are regions producing strong magnetic activity. These flares, along with other forms of solar activity, such as coronal mass ejections (CME), have the potential to disrupt various types of communication systems on Earth, depending on the severity of the event.

NASA has said a final goodbye to a vintage satellite that was launched back in 1984 in an effort to study how the Sun's energy was both absorbed and radiated by the Earth.

The 5,400-pound Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) was launched on the back of the space shuttle Challenger and provided researchers with lots of valuable information regarding the balance between the energy that the Earth receives from the Sun and the energy that the Earth radiates back into space, which allowed for a deeper understanding of Earth's climate and weather patterns.

Notably, ERBS was outfitted with many instruments that allowed it to measure the amount of incoming and outgoing radiation in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, which included visible light, ultraviolet, and infrared. Additionally, the satellite was also equipped with an instrument that allowed it to measure the temperature and moisture profiles in different regions of Earth's atmosphere, which, like all of the other data it acquired while it was operating, fed into researchers' climate models, improving their accuracy.

A team of researchers has designed a drone that they claim can stay airborne "forever", according to a recent report from The South China Morning Post.

The team of researchers is from Northwestern Polytechnical University located in China, and according to reports, the team has designed a drone that uses high-energy laser systems to continuously charges its battery. Engineers outfitted the drone with a photoelectric conversion module which converts light energy into electricity that is then fed into the drone's battery pack.

Typically, laser systems are used to zap drones out of the air, but this system would essentially be the opposite as laser systems would be able to lock onto the drone and keep it charged from a great distance. In order to put the drone and the laser system to the test, the team of researchers developed an algorithm specifically designed to track the drone, and after performing tests, the team reported the laser system was able to effectively track the drone across various environments, lighting conditions and weather conditions.

In addition to featuring a 13th Gen Intel Core i9 HX processor and support for up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 laptop graphics using the full 175W variant, the new Razer Blade 16 for 2023 has another high-tech feature up its sleeve. Thanks to its mini-LED display Razer has implemented a toggle that will allow it to seamlessly switch between two native resolutions - 4K 120Hz and 1080p 240Hz.

Of course, changing a display's resolution and refresh rate is not uncommon, but that's very different from what's happening here - as the two different modes listed above are the laptop's native resolutions. Razer calls it "the world's first dual-mode mini-LED display", and it's hard not to be impressed by what this sort of technology can bring to the gaming and creator laptop space. Effectively combining the two, in a best-of-both-worlds scenario.

GeForce RTX-powered laptops for creators and gamers are often separated by their display tech on account of the former being all about resolution and color accuracy, with the latter being all about refresh rates and response time. This makes the new Razer Blade 16 for 2023 perfect for both, which is bolstered by the sleek and minimal design of the Razer Blade range.

When it comes to PC sound there's no shortage of quality headsets and maybe a few decent speaker options. Thankfully we've seen the arrival of PC soundbars in recent years, with Razer's Leviathan range being one of the more notable offerings. The latest revision though is certainly the most interesting to date as it sports AI-powered head tracking that is then used to directly beam PC audio to your ears. Powered by Audioscenic technology it sounds very cool.

The head tracking in the new Razer Leviathan V2 Pro is handled via an IR camera that sits on top of the soundbar, which then uses the five full-range 2-inch speakers inside the soundbar for some adaptive beamforming action. Which is the process of firing and controlling frequency responses across multiple speakers to shape and direct audio. Or, if that description didn't make a lot of sense - chalk it up to audio magic.

With audio being directional for the most part, if it works as described then no matter where you are in terms of being in front of your PC, the Razer Leviathan V2 Pro will deliver consistent audio quality. In terms of the audio itself, the Razer Leviathan V2 Pro features THX Spatial Audio to simulate 3D sound, which makes full use of the speakers and in-built downward firing subwoofer. Bluetooth support is also included, alongside a handy 3.5mm headphone jack, and Razer Chroma RGB lighting across 30 distinct zones.

KIOXIA is no stranger to flash memory, with the company inventing NAND flash and being at the forefront of consumer and enterprise applications. At CES 2023, it brought its full range of next-gen SSDs with impressive solutions as flash memory and SSDs become the standard across vehicles, mobile devices, PCs, and more.

Being a leader when it comes to 3D Flash Memory technology, the company's BiCS FLASH 3D in particular increases density and reliability, making it a cutting-edge fit for data center, enterprise, and mobile storage.

"Whether it's the next connected vehicle, the next personal mobility device, or the next smart city - we keep advancing flash memory to make the next thing possible," said Alex Mei, vice president of corporate marketing for KIOXIA America, Inc. "Countless consumer devices and applications require flash memory and SSDs, and we are committed to continued innovation."

OLED display tech is pretty much the go-to for premium big-screen TVs, and it's not hard to see why. Vibrant colors and perfect black levels thanks to millions of self-lit pixels. But, there's also the added benefit of near-instantaneous GTG response times, which makes OLED technology pretty tasty for PC gaming when it comes to latency.

2023 is looking to be the year where PC gaming-focused OLED displays, are designed specifically for desktop rigs. With some impressive OLED gaming displays making their way to market over the past year, these new OLED displays from MSI, ASUS, and Acer are looking to redefine some of the most sought-after gaming monitors.

First up there's the new MSI MEG 342C QD-OLED a curved 21:9 ultrawide gaming monitor that features both a 3440 x 1440 resolution, 175 Hz refresh rate, 0.1 ms GTG response time, and 1800R curvature for total immersion. It features new calibration and even a new QD Premium Color standard exclusive to MSI that will deliver 99.3% DCI-P3, 97.8% Adobe RGB, and 139.1% sRGB. The MEG series represents the high-end, with the addition of a bright QD-OLED display being a natural fit for the best in MSI display tech - and will launch with a price of around USD 800.

A Tesla owner has bragged online that he used his vehicle while intoxicated to make it back home after Christmas celebrations.

The Tesla owner, whose Twitter handle is @denguyen73 admitted to the act on Twitter Spaces, where he said that he was a little bit "tipsy" after Christmas day celebrations and that he was "probably drunk" when he got behind the wheel. The driver said that he engaged Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) after jumping behind the wheel and Tesla's autopilot driving software "flawlessly" took him home.

As you can probably imagine, driving while intoxicated, even with Tesla's FSD beta software engaged, is completely illegal, which led to many members of the public speaking out about the driver's admission. One Twitter user whose handle is @eriz35 simply booed the driver while the Twitter Spaces call and said, "Don't do that", adding, "please don't do that again".

For many MSI Afterburner is the tool of choice when it comes to overclocking and tweaking their desktop GPU, and has been a mainstay for several years. Although it falls under the MSI banner it works on pretty much any GPU as it "gives you complete control" and "lets you monitor your hardware in real-time". And it's reliable to boot, offering easy-to-use overclocking tools to anyone; which makes the news that its future is uncertain, a concern.

MSI Afterburner developer Alexey Nicolaychuk aka "Unwinder", is based in Russia, and in a recent post over at the Guru3D forums he outlines that funding has been a major issue due to the recent conflict in the region, the ongoing war, and the current tech ban imposed on the country. This has made it just about impossible for MSI to pay Alexey for his work, to the point where he notes that the "MSI afterburner project is probably dead". The silver lining, and that's a pretty grim way to summarize the situation, is that MSI has provided a statement to Wccftech advising that it's still working hard to try and find a solution.

Alexey Nicolaychuk's comments point to funding as the issue, and that work carried out over the past year has been done out of pocket due to the political turmoil in the region. "War and politics are the reasons," Alexey writes. "I didn't mention it in [the] MSI Afterburner development news thread, but the project is semi-abandoned." Adding, "I have a feeling that I'm just beating a dead horse and wast[ing] energy on something that is no longer needed. Anyway, I'll try to continue supporting it myself while I have some free time but will probably need to drop it and switch to something else, allowing me to pay my bills."

Worsening macroeconomic conditions are forcing big tech to fire thousands of workers, and this trend could continue through 2025. Will it affect Microsoft's aspirations of buying Activision?

Today's inflation market has triggered mass layoffs have in the tech sector, with Amazon shedding up to 18,000 people and Microsoft firing 1,000 workers. Structural reform is common in this industry but the economic environment is pushing companies to aggressively cut costs, especially after record highs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now companies are being hit on two sides with tougher comps and lower earnings as consumers move towards necessities like rent and food instead of new smartphones, services, and games. From the sound of it the layoffs may just be starting.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently told CNBC that the next 2 years will be the most challenging as companies like the tech giant stabilize and adjust to a new uncertain normalization of the market.

NVIDIA is supercharging GeForce Now with the raw power of GeForce RTX 4080 cards in a new Ultimate subscription tier for $19.99/month.

NVIDIA's GeForce Now game streaming service will soon leverage GeForce RTX 4080 graphics cards to deliver 64TFLOPs of high-end PC gaming performance wirelessly over the internet. RTX 4080 game streaming is available in a new Ultimate membership subscription, which replaces the highest tier that previously offered RTX 3080 game streaming quality.

With the might of GeForce RTX 4080 cards, the new GeForce Now Ultimate subscription boasts 4K resolution and up to 240FPS using DLSS 3.0, complete with NVIDIA Reflex integration to significantly reduce latency below 40ms, which is extremely important for any remote game streaming service.

First DLSS, now drivers: NVIDIA reportedly has plans to use its advanced AI tech to tweak graphics drivers to squeeze out more performance from its GeForce RTX video cards.

NVIDIA could use its ever-evolving artificial intelligence systems to tighten up drivers for its latest GeForce video cards, allowing users to glean more tangible performance across in-game and GPU workload applications. This is just a rumor and NVIDIA hasn't confirmed anything, and the report comes from frame rate expert CapFrameX on Twitter:

"NVIDIA is working on AI optimized drivers. Release maybe this year (Q1)," CapFrameX says. "Take this with a grain of salt. If true NVIDIA drivers will be real fine wine."