Gaming

The Xiaomi brand Redmi has indicated it will launch its first-ever Android phone for gaming in 2021. According to the leaker Digital Chat Station, it might be here sooner rather than later. The device is also now slated to launch in India as well as China, and to start at a markedly low ~US$300.

Even though the non-X processors come with a 61.5% lower TDP, 700 MHz lower base clock and 100 MHz lower boost clocks, the performance loss is barely noticeable with the UserBenchmark suite versus the 5900X models. The Ryzen 9 5900 is an OEM-only model and is now available in select pre-built gaming rigs like the Alienware Aurora.

The OnePlus 9R was originally presented as a "gaming" alternative variant of the OEM's latest flagship Android smartphone series that was exclusive to India. However, the company has now announced that it is to be available in China as well. The Snapdragon 870-powered device will debut in its new market in mid-April 2021.

Creative has announced the new Sound Blaster GC7, its latest DAC. The company has tailored its premium DAC for gamers and streamers, but it has also included its Super X-Fi headphone holography.

Even if Intel manages to deliver on these impressive leaked specs, does it really matter when the cards are scheduled to release a year after Nvidia's Ampere launch? Still seems like a good start, considering Intel has not tried its hand at a gaming discrete GPU in decades. However, Intel needs to make sure we are not seeing yet another paper launch.

Renowned YouTuber and smartphone breaker JerryRigEverything put the newly-launched Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 through the paces. The smartphone was quick to break in his bend test, much like the Asus ROG Phone 5. The area around the antenna lines seems to be the weak point, and gamers would do well to avoid applying pressure to that area.

Various models of the upcoming Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 laptop have been popping up on a number of retailer sites around the world. The Zephyrus M16, which is a 16-inch laptop with a 16:10 display, will be fitted with Intel’s Tiger Lake 11th Gen CPUs and Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 30 series dGPUs. Prices currently reach as high as €2,699 (US$3,209).

The quality-of-life update turns the integrated controller into commonly used mouse and keyboard buttons. They're not easily customizable, however, which is a bummer.

The exterior of the Alienware m15 R4 remains unchanged compared to the predecessors, but it reveals new strengths on the inside. While performance is beyond reproach, old weaknesses are also present.

Nintendo has released firmware version 12.0.0 to the Switch and Switch Lite, which fixes a save data backup feature present on firmware version 11.0.1. However, version 12.0.0 also adds a new setting that may hint at a future Switch console's capabilities.

Eve Devices announced its Spectrum as the world's first monitor with a QHD/240Hz option back in January 2021. Unfortunately, the OEM has also just stated that this SKU will not ship until July 9, 2021. Furthermore, the 4K/144Hz model that was to start shipping in April of this year has also been pushed back again.

Lenovo's second gaming smartphone, the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2, is finally official. Some of its key specs include a 6.9-inch 144Hz AMOLED screen, up to 18GB of RAM, a pop-up selfie camera and a massive 5,500mAh battery. Prices start at EUR 799 for the base variant, which will be up for grabs in May.

The latest high-end video cards from NVIDIA are priced really high and the prices of custom designs make the US$2,999.99 tag on a GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition that has just been sold on eBay look like a bargain. For example, a German seller is down to the last ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG STRIX, after selling 11 for over US$3,900 each.

Patch 1.2 for Cyberpunk 2077 is slowly being dissected, but it seems to improve the game less on last-generation consoles than people had anticipated. In fact, most of the improvements are only noticeable on the PlayStation 4 Pro, and that continues to have its problems with playing the game properly.

An unboxed copy of the game Super Mario Bros for the legacy Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console has reportedly sold at auction for US$660,000. This is the largest final asking price for a video game yet. The item in question was a 1986 release in rare condition and packaging.

The HP OMEN 15z is coming to Europe following its US release, according to a new report. The 15.6-inch laptop combines AMD Ryzen 5000 APUs and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs with a 144 Hz display, which should deliver significantly better performance than current models.

The Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 includes AMD Ryzen 5000 APUs, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs and CherryMX mechanical keyboard switches. You can configure the 15.6-inch gaming laptop with up to a 1440p and 240 Hz display, 32 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and 6 TB of PCIe storage. Thankfully, Alienware has gone with the 115 W variants of the RTX 3060 and RTX 3070.

Dell has launched four new gaming monitors to complement its Ryzen-powered line of gaming laptops. There four SKUs in total with screen sizes ranging between 24 and 34 inches. The monitors will be available for purchase towards the end of May 2021.

Dell has launched two new G15 gaming laptops, both starting at US$899.99. The G15 Ryzen Edition (5515) comes with newer processors though, but both it and the G15 5510 have the 115 W variant of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060.

Atari announced the creation of two new divisions under the main Atari Group. Atari Gaming will continue to manage the company's gaming division, including game development, the VCS console, and the licensing of recognizable Atari games. The new Atari Blockchain division will focus on blockchain and cryptocurrency opportunities, primarily Atari's Atari Token cryptocurrency.

The Lenovo Yoga Creator 7 offers a lot of computing power and a well-rounded equipment level. This is accompanied by a very good battery life and three-year warranty.

The Legion 2 Pro is touted to become the world's first dual-fan gaming smartphone on its launch. New leaks might partially confirm this tip while spoiling its unique design in the process. These images show a mobile device with the back-lit logo one might expect from this upcoming Lenovo product, contained in a highly distinctive rear panel.

Introduced in early March 2017 with a price tag that read US$699 and discontinued in the meantime, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is now apparently being produced again. For now, it looks like older units that were sent for RMA are being replaced with brand-new ones, so we might see them on the free market as well.

The Black Shark 4 Pro has topped the AnTuTu Android flagship smartphone performance chart for March, with fellow high-end gaming phones the RedMagic 6 Pro and the Asus ROG Phone 5 also prominently placed. The table solely consists of smartphones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888.

High prices and lack of marketing likely led to poor sales of the SC15 and SC17 series. Manufacturers looking to break into the gaming laptop world will likely face similar challenges and pushback from established makers.

Lenovo avoided punch-holes or notches in the display of its first-gen Android gaming phone by developing an innovative pop-up selfie camera, hidden in one of this device's sides rather than in its top edge, instead. Now, the OEM has revealed this feature is making a comeback in its upcoming Legion 2 Pro flagship, leaving its 144Hz screen free of any interruptions.

Steam has published its hardware and software survey for March and yet again AMD has pinched some more processor usage share away from Intel. However, there has been a small increase for Team Blue with Linux-based systems, and there must be some hope that Rocket Lake has the cash registers ringing soon.

The idea of a more portable refrigerator styled after the latest Xbox Series X console - one that you might be able to buy soon, moreover - sounds like the most April Fool’s Day thing ever. However, a Microsoft executive still states that it is real and will be available soon.

An image of an upcoming Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 laptop has been shared confirming that the device is seemingly almost ready for launch. On top of that, at least two models of the novel 16-inch Asus ROG Zephyrus appear to be in the pipeline, with a specs leak revealing an Intel Core i9-11900H CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU as headliners.

Lenovo is currently hyping the imminent launch of its second-gen gaming phone with some of its high-powered specs prior to this event. They include its generous FHD+ AMOLED display with its 144Hz refresh rate. It will be kept on with a 5,500mAh battery that will apparently charge at up to 90 watts (W).

Apple has announced an expansion to its Apple Arcade subscription gaming service. Along with new titles including NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition, Star Trek: Legends and The Oregon Trail, it has added two new categories called Timeless Classics and App Store Greats.

According to a new report, the upcoming PlayStation Store closures for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation Portable will result in the removal from purchase of over 2,200 digital-only games. Ironically, some of these titles will become Xbox exclusives due to this contentious decision by Sony. Even worse, apparently some games will be permanently lost.

Beoplay Portal is the first wireless gaming headset from Bang & Olufsen. With a rather sober design, the Beoplay Portal comes with an all-new virtual boom arm, adaptive active noise cancellation, Dolby Atmos for Headphones support, and up to 24 hours of autonomy. Those interested can already purchase it for US$499.

The inclusion of the RTX 3070 Max-Q mobile dGPU seems to be suggesting that Razer's thin and light chassis on the upcoming AMD-powered 14-inch models only allow for lower-TGP dGPU options. Can Razer also add an RTX 3080 Max-Q and are these options really making sense for such price premiums when Lenovo is offering the Max-P versions on the Legion 5 Pro and Legion 7 with superior price/performance ratios?

Low-power CPUs have advanced so much these past few years that they can even run the latest games at 720p and decent frame rates. The AYA NEO will be one of the first handhelds to run on a 6-core Ryzen 5 4500U Renoir CPU designed for on-the-go gaming.

The Analogue Pocket is, arguably, one of the most exciting retro consoles thanks to its ability to play cartridges natively. Unfortunately, the ongoing chip shortage has delayed the console's release again, this time until October 2021.

MSI has unveiled the OPTIX MAG301RF, its latest ultra-wide gaming monitor. The MAG301RF has a 29.5-inch panel that runs at 2,560 x 1,080 pixels, with a 200 Hz refresh rate and 1 ms response times. The MAG301RF should be available in a month for about US$399.

Lenovo's upcoming gaming smartphone, the Legion 2 Pro, just showed up on the Master Lu benchmark database. It managed to defeat the Asus ROG Phone 5 by a somewhat narrow margin, with a total score of 962,115, which is a tad higher than the latter's score of 947,284. Lenovo will launch the smartphone in China on April 8.

Three SKUs from the AMD Ryzen 5000G desktop APU series have had their core specifications leaked. The three chips in question are the Ryzen 3 5300G, Ryzen 5 5600G, and Ryzen 7 5700G. The top-end Cezanne unit will offer eight Zen 3 cores and clock rates from 3.8 GHz up to a maximum boost of 4.6 GHz.

Please note this was a joke article posted on April Fools' Day in 2021.
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We can confirm that NVIDIA plans to release the GeForce RTX 3050 and GeForce RTX 3050 Ti in multiple configurations. The GeForce RTX 3050 series will replace NVIDIA's GTX 16 series, but early benchmarks show the RTX 3050 Ti outperforming even the RTX 2060 in Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

CD Projekt has revealed its 2021 update roadmap for Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher franchise. Revealed is stretching it somewhat in the case of Cyberpunk 2077 though, as its multiplayer modes and expansions are out of scope for 2021.

Besides storing more high-res textures and boosting the ray tracing performance, the 16 GB mod can also help improve framerate stability. Some games like Watch Dogs Legion can be less stuttery on the 16 GB mod, as the 0.1% Low and 1% Low framerates see considerable improvements, but other games like Godfall do not seem to take advantage of the increased RAM capacity and even perform slightly slower.

The Realme GT Neo has launched as the world's first Dimensity 1200-powered phone. This new MediaTek flagship processor has debuted in a chassis with many potential advantages, including an FHD+ AMOLED screen with an up-to-date refresh rate, Wi-Fi 6 and UFS 3.1 storage. It starts at about US$275 for a 6GB RAM version, although a 12GB option is also available for a good price.

The 2021 Ultra 17 models from XMG pack up to an i9-11900K 8-core / 16-thread CPU, which can be coupled with up to 128 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and 32 TB NVMe SSD storage. Users can choose among max TGP versions for the RTX 3060 / 3070 / 3080 mobile dGPUs that take full advantage of 16 PCIe 4.0 lanes. Screen options include 300 Hz FHD and 60 Hz 4K IPS panels and among the ports we find 2x Thunderbolt 4 connectors plus an HDMI 2.1 video output.

Major GPU OEM Colorful seems to have entirely omitted download links for Resize BAR BIOS updates on its technical support page. This leaves Colorful graphics card owners with no way to enable the feature, at least until the OEM fixes those broken links.

Resizable BAR is now available for NVIDIA's full RTX 30 desktop product stack, as the company promised earlier this month. Resizable BAR is available for most modern AMD and Intel chipsets and processors, including Zen 3 and Comet Lake-S CPUs. NVIDIA has expandable Resizable BAR support to 17 games, too.

Asus touts its new ROG Flow X13 as a Swiss army knife for consumers who are into content-creation as well as gaming, thanks to Ryzen 5000-series processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics. Initial European pricing and availability for this interesting 2-in-1 has now been announced; however, the OEM has yet to mention a release for its optional, RTX 3080-toting ROG XG Mobile eGPU in this market.