Gaming

A Nintendo Switch successor has been mentioned in a new social media post from a user who has been nicknamed “retail uncle” or “buyer uncle”, but not in the form of the widely used "Switch 2" moniker. The source brings back the “Switch Pro” and even more puzzlingly also includes a mention for the PS5 Pro in a now widely discussed tweet.

A second Asus ROG Ally variant has been spotted on Geekbench running an AMD Ryzen Z1. It features a 6-core, 12-thread CPU and an iGPU with 2 WGPs (4 CUs).

Whether you're spending a weekend gaming with your friends, relieving some stress after work, or trying to keep the kids entertained on a rainy afternoon, multiplayer games are a sure bet for anyone looking to share their hobby. As part of Steam's April sales, there are a number of fun action games to be had for well under US$10.

Apparently, AYA NEO is set on releasing another new gaming handheld. Launching later this year, the AYA NEO 2S is expected to feature the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U, as well as various cooling, battery and speaker improvements. The AYA NEO 2S will do battle with various Ryzen 7 7840U-backed gaming handhelds, including the GPD Win Mini and the ASUS ROG Ally.

The Phawx has revealed new details about the Win Mini, GPD's answer to the upcoming ASUS ROG Ally. Supposedly, the GPD Win Mini will also combine an AMD Zen 4 and RDNA 3-based APU with a 120 Hz display but in a more portable form factor. The GPD Win Mini will launch for about as much as the ASUS ROG Ally too, albeit not in its most powerful configuration.

Acer has presented an AMD Zen 4-based version of the Swift X 16. Also equipped with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, the Swift X 16 features a 3.2K OLED display within a 17.9 mm housing.

The Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming console scored 35,489 on Geekbench's OpenCL benchmark. It features an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chips, a modified version of the Ryzen 7 7840U, and 16 GB of LPDDR memory.

Acer has unveiled the Predator Helios 3D 15 SpatialLabs Edition, a 15.6-inch gaming laptop with a 3D effect display. According to Acer, the laptop can simulate 3D content without using glasses. The Predator Helios 3D 15 SpatialLabs Edition should be powerful enough for modern triple-A gaming thanks to its Core i9 Raptor Lake processor and high-end GeForce RTX 40 series GPU.

Acer has presented the Predator Triton 17 X, a high-end laptop designed for gamers and creators alike. Powering Acer's new laptop is the Intel Core i9-13900HX, as well as an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU. Acer includes 64 GB of RAM and 4 TB of storage too, within the machine's unibody housing.

The Acer Predator Orion X is now official with up to an Intel Core i9-13900KS, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090, 64 GB DDR5 RAM and 2 TB storage. It will be available in September 2023, starting at €2,499 (US$2,742).

The Neo version of the Acer Predator Helios 16 features up to an Intel i7-13700HX CPU, up to 32 GB DDR5-4800 RAM and up to 2 TB NVMe SSD storage in RAID 0. Acer provides RTX 4050 / 4060 / 4070 dGPU options, as well as two IPS screen options with 1600p and 1200p resolution.

New for the 2023 Triton models is a Mini-LED display option with 2,560 x 1,600 resolution and 250 Hz refresh rate. The latest Acer Predator Triton 14 packs an Intel i7-13700H processor with up to 32 GB LPDDR5-6000 RAM and up to 1 TB NVMe SSD storage, plus up to an RTX 4070 dGPU. This model also comes with a Thunderbolt connector and a miniSD card reader.

The Acer Predator X34 V has been announced with a 34-inch UWQHD (3,440 x 1,440) OLED screen, 1000 nits peak brightness, 165 Hz refresh rate and 99% of DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. It costs €1,299 (US$1,424) and will be purchasable in November 2023.

The 12.3 update for Wargaming's World of Warships comes with quite a few noticeable changes, such as general access to British subs, the new Seychelles map, early access to Pan-American cruisers, the Allied Heroes collection, a fresh Battle Pass, as well as the usual set of multiple minor tweaks and fixes.

Less than a week after the release of the driver for the new RTX 4070 GPU, Nvidia launches the GeForce Game Ready Driver software package with version number 531.68. This piece of code comes with Dead Island 2 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor optimizations alongside support for 5 new G-Sync Compatible gaming monitors.

While Steam seasonal sales often offer the best discounts on games, publisher sales and regular old promotions often bring equally spectacular bargains on some heavy-hitting titles. For the middle of April, Steam's discounts include two roguelites, an RPG, and a tactical first-person shooter.

NVIDIA launched the RTX 4070 on April 12 and reviews for the GPU went live on April 13. According to 3DCenter’s analysis of multiple launch reviews, the RTX 4070 matched the RTX 3080 10 GB in rasterization and ray tracing performance. However, the real competitor to the card seems to be AMD’s RDNA2 RX 6950 XT courtesy of street pricing around the US$650 mark.

Select RTX 4090 and 4080 cards are now available with a US$50 discount at Newegg and Best Buy. Nvidia is also expected to slash prices on the RTX 4070 / Ti models in the coming weeks.

The Nano IPS 34-inch 1440p curved gaming monitor LG 34GP950G-B is now 23% off on Amazon, so those interested can get it for US$996.99 instead of US$1,299.99. Its list of specs and features also includes a 1 ms response time, 144 Hz refresh rate, G-Sync Ultimate support, adjustable tilt/height, and more.

Another Nintendo Switch 2 release date rumor has surfaced but should be taken with a grain of salt due to its convoluted and questionable chain of sources. While it’s worth discussing the potential for when the Switch 2 or next-gen Nintendo console might be unveiled, it needs to be remembered that only the Big N itself will know for certain.

A new leak has highlighted the custom AMD Ryzen APU that will ship in the upcoming ASUS ROG Ally. While the APU is expected to be based on the Ryzen 7 7840U, ASUS will sell the ROG Ally as featuring the AMD Ryzen Z1 series instead.

AOKZOE is preparing to launch a new powerful 7-inch gaming handheld. Reportedly based on the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U, the AOKZOE A2 will also feature a 7-inch laminated IPS display and hall effect triggers, among other hardware.

According to new leaks, ASUS has based the ROG Ally on what is expected to become a popular AMD Ryzen APU among gaming handhelds, thanks to Zen 4 CPU cores and an RDNA 3-based iGPU. Seemingly, there could be two ROG Ally models, too.

It appears that AOKZOE is close to releasing the AOKZOE A1 Pro, one of two new gaming handhelds that the company has in the pipeline. The AOKZOE A1 Pro will be the larger of the two, but both are expected to launch with a Zen 4 and RDNA 3-powered AMD Ryzen APU.

After a 4-year hiatus, undervolting can again be safely performed on Intel's mobile CPUs. XMG is among the first to re-enable BIOS-based undervolting features for this year's NEO, PRO and KEY laptops.

We recently put the Aorus 17X AZF to the test with its Intel Raptor Lake CPU and the fastest GeForce RTX graphics card from Nvidia. Performance levels are excellent, but the noise under load is not insignificant.

Sega, one of the largest gaming companies in the world, is buying Rovio, the studio that created Angry Birds, for EUR€706 million (roughly US$771 million as of press time). The purchase is part of Sega's strategy to invest more heavily in mobile gaming.

The compact Cyborg 15 is not designed for the highest performance, but mobility, a long battery life, and a low power consumption also play a role. Nonetheless, the Core i7-12650H and GeForce RTX 4060 allow you to play all the current games smoothly with the Cyborg 15.

An interesting Nintendo Switch 2 dev kit substitute has been put together by the popular YouTuber Austin Evans to see what kind of performance a next-gen Switch console could potentially offer. Evans used an Nvidia Jetson Orin NX 16 GB kit for benchmarking and then built a “Switch 2” PC to replicate the performance in gaming tests.

ASUS has teased that its first Windows gaming handheld could almost be upon us, only a few weeks after teasing the device. The ASUS ROG Ally is also now expected to be priced at Steam Deck levels, despite featuring an AMD Zen 4 and RDNA 3-based APU.

TimeCheck On March 30, 2022, Intel finally did what it had long been rumored to by releasing several Arc dedicated graphics cards. The GPUs were to be unleashed on laptops first, with desktops left to wait for a couple of months. One year later, the product line Intel hoped to make waves with increasingly looks to be more of a Nay than a Yay.

A new leak revealed initial details about a dedicated gaming mode for Windows 11. Dubbed Windows Handheld Mode and showcased during a September 2022 Microsoft Hackathon, the gaming-focused mode may well still be in development, despite the original project lead's claims to the contrary.

This discounted model also packs 16 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM, 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD storage, a quality 16-inch IPS 2560 x 1600 165 Hz display, SD card reader and fingerprint sensor.

The 531.61 driver package has 735.7 MB in size and comes with full support for the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, a GPU that delivers top performance across multiple titles at 1440p resolution with all eye candy enabled. This piece of code also includes GeForce Experience optimal settings for an additional four titles.

The ROG Phone flagship mobile gaming devices is back in 2023 with a new series. It starts with the vanilla 7 with rear-facing RGB logos set into a new two-tone finish – and then goes right up to the 7 Ultimate with a rear-mounted OLED “ROG Vision” secondary display and an AeroActive port to augment the series' new GameCool 7 thermal management system for its “no-compromises” internals. The 7 and 7 Ultimate have debuted alongside the new AeroActive Cooler 7 accessory that integrates a sub-woofer for the first time.

CDProjekt Red has released RT Overdrive mode for Cyberpunk 2077 with the game's Patch 1.62 update. While still an early preview of what path traced lighting is capable of, comparisons with it and existing ray tracing showcase a leap in visual fidelity.

Nvidia launches the RTX 4070 with 12 GB VRAM, but AMD does not have the RX 7800 cards ready just yet. As a backup plan, Team Red is now lowering the prices on its high-end RDNA2 cards to match and even sink under the RTX 4070 pricing while offering 16 GB VRAM and a free game.

With a list price of US$1,799.99, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X-powered Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R14 gaming desktop PC also sports NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics, 16 GB DDR4-3200 memory, and a 512 GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD. Dell US slashed its price to a more wallet-friendly value of US$999.99, which translates to a massive US$800 discount.

PlayStation Plus Extra/Premium game catalogue for April includes Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Doom Eternal, The Evil Within, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and more. PS Plus Premium subscribers also get to play the original Doom Games and Dishonored. All the games will be playable on April 18.

Arkane has confirmed Redfall will run at 4K 30 FPS on the Xbox Series X and 1440p 30 FPS on the Xbox Series S, prioritizing visual fidelity over performance. A post-launch patch will add the 60 FPS option later.

NVIDIA has presented the GeForce RTX 4070, its latest mid-range graphics card. Based around the AD104 GPU and Ada Lovelace architecture, the GeForce RTX 4070 is billed as delivering strong value for money thanks to 5,888 CUDA cores, 12 GB GDDR6X VRAM and DLSS 3.0 support, among other features.

Available with three color choices, the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro wireless gaming headset is discounted between 11% and 38%. While those who choose the Six Siege finish have to pay US$178.57, customers who choose the black version only need to cash out US$111.99. The retail price is US$199.99, regardless of color.

Serial leaker Moore’s Law Is Dead has alleged in a recent video that AIBs partners aren’t stoked to see NVIDIA marking the RTX 4070 price down significantly from the initial US$749.99 to US$599.99. However, Team Green might have made arrangements to take some of the burden caused by this price adjustment off AIBs.

A job listing for the upcoming game Dune Awakening has triggered Nintendo Switch 2 speculation thanks to the platforms mentioned in the advert. Some intriguing detective work by a YouTuber points to the potential of the Switch 2 or next-gen Nintendo Switch coming out “soon”, with late 2023 still on the cards.

Dead Island 2 will run on a wide gamut of PCs thanks to its relaxed system requirements. However, those looking to play at higher resolutions will require some beefy hardware. The game launches worldwide across all platforms on April 21.