Gaming

AMD has silently unveiled the Radeon RX 6400 graphics card for US$159. It features 4 GB of 16 Gbps GDDR6 VRAM on a 64-bit bus, 12 compute units and a boost clock of 2,321 MHz. It will hit shelves starting today (April 20), with prices starting at US$159.

A new report says that Sony is working with ad tech companies to run ads in some PlayStation games. It will help developers of free-to-play games better monetize their creation. Players will also be able to engage with the ads and receive in-game rewards.

The OnePlus Ace is currently thought to launch as the Chinese-market version of the upcoming 10R flagship smartphone variant. The brand is currently hyping it as a device that will also debut a new kind of "supercrystalline" material for thermal management. It is tipped to help the Ace's new Dimensity-series SoC maintain performance while gaming.

Various leaks have demonstrated that Nintendo is working on expanding its Switch Online service. Soon, Nintendo Switch Online will be capable of emulating Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance classic titles, adding to the N64 and SEGA Mega Drive games that the service can already emulate.

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D, also known by AMD as the “world’s fastest desktop gaming processor”, has appeared in PassMark’s synthetic benchmark suite. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D lagged behind the Ryzen 7 5800X and Intel Core i9-12900K, but its unique L3 cache configuration should not be overlooked when it comes to gaming.

Sony has launched a new application for Windows that lets players update the firmware on their DualSense controllers. Until now, the only way to upgrade was to connect a controller to a PS5 console.

From Software has rolled out a new patch for Elden Ring. Update 1.04 brings forth several changes to the in-game combat system and lets users enable/disable auto camera rotation. It is now downloadable across all platforms, including PC, PlayStation and Xbox.

More handheld console makers are expected to make the jump to OLED displays, as Aya Neo plans to release a thin and light model integrating many world-first features this May. The teaser images reveal a smaller size compared to the NEXT model.

The performance margins between the RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 are so small that the RTX 3070 Ti can outperform the RTX 3080 in certain cases. If you want to avoid the slowest RTX 3070 Ti or RTX 3080 laptops, then this list might come in handy.

NVIDIA has heralded that its RTX 30 series graphics cards are finally available, some 18 months after early models debuted. The campaign points towards the end of NVIDIA's graphics card shortage, although many SKUs remain wildly above MSRP.

Tipster Enthusiastic Citizen recently claimed that Arc desktop chips, including the A780, could be delayed til Q3 2022. This would potentially put these parts into a difficult spot against RX 7000 and Lovelace chips which may deliver two times the performance, going by current performance rumors.

MOUNTAIN is an accessories OEM that makes its own "premium" switches. Three kinds of these can be used with its latest Everest-series keyboard - however, they can also be interchanged with Cherry MXs for improved flexibility in customization. The new peripheral is of the 60% category, yet has an optional numberpad that can click into it at either side.

Chinese gaming giant Tencent will be updating its games speed booster apps to restrict Chinese players from accessing unapproved foreign games. Tencent's move to block access to foreign titles may be the result of tightening regulations by the Chinese authorities.

Asus TUF Dash and Gaming laptops are often perceived as targeting lower tiers than their ROG counterparts; nevertheless, their latest iterations boast up-to-date Intel Alder Lake and RTX 3000-series graphics. They also now have prices and sales channels for the United States market.

Asus has announced some prices and availability info for its latest Republic of Gamers (ROG) laptops, its new 16-inch ROG Zephyrus Duo included, in the United States. The latest ROG Strix variants are also included in this new line-up, as are the ROG Flow Z13 and X13 convertibles. Some of the new gaming machines have been revealed as exclusive to 1 seller, while others will be more widely available.

Processor options include the i5-12600, i7-12700 and i9-12900 models that can be coupled with up to 64 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and up to 24 TB of storage. The dGPU selection is limited to the RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3060 models and there is no Thunderbolt 4 support.

Meta announced that version 39 for the Meta Quest will be rolling out gradually over the coming weeks, enabling a new multitasking interface for all users, a brand new virtual space, and enhanced sharing capabilities for iOS users via the Oculus companion app. Take a look at what’s coming to a Meta headset near you.

Realme has announced that it has a new limited-edition, Free Fire-themed version of the 9 Pro Plus in the works. The new variant - which seems to involve a very different color scheme compared to the original - is scheduled to launch in Thailand soon, although there are rumors of its becoming involved in other regions thereafter.

The Pico Neo 3 Link is a mid-range VR headset that can be used with or without a PC. The VR headset offers a 90 Hz refresh rate, up to 4 hours of battery life and can even stream uncompressed video from a PC via DisplayPort.

TheA500 Mini is a retro take on Commodore's classic console, which comes with peripherals and 25 pre-installed games. Like many retro consoles, it is also possible to expand the game library by downloading compatible games to a USB stick. TheA500 Mini is orderable now in multiple markets, including the US, where it retails for US$139.99.

The high-octane iQOO Neo series of Android smartphones is slated to get a new flagship very soon. However, the brand has decided to drop a teaser previewing a potentially crucial spec ahead of this event. It seems the Neo6 can add top-end charging to its arsenal of gaming properties.

Soulsborne veteran speedrunner Distortion2 successfully finished Elden Ring in six minutes and fifty-nine seconds, beating the previous sub-nine-minute record. The run was chock full of glitches and concluded without a single boss fight.

The AMD Radeon RX 6600M is an entry-level card in HP's gaming laptop. In the Omen, it meets an unrestrained Ryzen 7 that shows what it is capable of. The system looks convincing in combination with the QHD display, even if the weaknesses cannot be ignored.

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D outperformed the Intel Core i9-12900K in several AAA games tested at 1080p. Other test system components included DDR4 3,200 MT/s CL14 RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti.

Lambda, a company known for building deep learning-focused PCs, and Razer have teamed up to release a new version of the Tensorbook, a slim laptop with machine learning chops. The notebook is packed to the gills with hardware designed for AI development, comes preinstalled with lots of Lambda's software, and has some solid gaming capabilities.

TCL has now launched its latest C- and P-series Google TVs in the European market. These units are all 4K, although the OEM's miniLED technology is reserved for the new C93 and C83 lines. However, even the QLED C63 models feature HDMI 2.1 and ALLM, whereas those of the C73 level and higher feature improved variable refresh rates (VRRs) and gaming features.

RedMagic has launched the 7 Pro in several regions worldwide today (April 12, 2022). The gaming phone's new global edition boasts most of the latest performance boosts the brand has to offer, an under-display camera (UDC) for its AMOLED display included. On the other hand, it is missing some features from its top-end SKUs, which match even the iPhone 13 series in certain ways.

Tipster @kopite7kimi added to earlier AD102 leaks by providing further details about NVIDIA's upcoming Lovelace cards. Interestingly, the tipster referred to the top-end Lovelace card as "XX90," hinting that it might not be called the GeForce RTX 4090.

AOC and Porsche Design have unveiled the AGON Pro PD32M, a stylish external monitor that also packs plenty of gaming-focused features. Not only does the AGON Pro PD32M operate natively at 4K and 144 Hz, it also has mini-LED backlights to ensure a high peak brightness.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney unveiled Kingdom Hearts 4, the next mainline installment in the venerable franchise. Two other Kingdom Hearts-related mobile games are also headed to app stores soon.

RedMagic has confirmed that the top-end variant of its 7 flagship smartphone series is coming to international markets in April 2022. Furthermore, it is bringing its first-gen under-display camera (UDC) tech with it. This, according to the OEM, makes the 7 Pro a "next-level gaming beast".

During the State of Unreal 2022 event, Crystal Dynamics announced that it was in the early stages of working on a new Tomb Raider game. Per the developer, the upcoming Tomb Raider title will be built using Unreal Engine 5. After CD Projekt Red, Crystal Dynamics appears to be the second AAA developer in the past month to announce that it will be mothballing its in-house engine in favor of Epic’s latest.

The 165 W GPU version is faster than the 105 W version by about 20 percent when at higher resolutions and graphical settings. Gamers who prefer 4K resolutions will want to keep a closer eye on the TGP ratings of gaming laptops as a result.

First impression for the Matrix Awakens PC version is a bit lackluster, as the demo does not appear to be particularly well optimized. Even though the resolution is capped at 1440p, not even the RTX 3090 can hit 60 fps and the experience becomes stuttery when jumping into driving mode.

Japanese gaming furniture brand Bauhutte has revealed a new product, the BGB-100FA electric Gaming Bed. You can use a remote control to adapt the piece of furniture into a chair, with a 60° angle for your upper body and a 35° angle for your lower legs. The company said it had designed the gaming bed to save space in a smaller room or apartment.

Optoma has introduced the UHD55, a projector that can create over 300-inch projections at 4K/60 Hz or 1080p/240 Hz. The Optoma UHD55 contains plenty of other features too, including Google Home compatibility, and retails for €1,599.

A new report from Jon Peddie claims that the current GPU shortage is the result of rampant buying of cards by scalpers and miners, along with severe price gouging by retailers. The report also correlates the insane price hike with the rise of ETH mining.

The high-end AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT GPU can finally be had in certain markets at MSRP levels. The recommended US price tag for the RX 6900 XT is US$999, but it has rarely been seen at that price point as scalpers and retailers have taken advantage of sky-high graphics card prices over the last couple of years.

One-netbook has introduced a new version of the ONEXPLAYER mini globally. The ONEXPLAYER mini with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U starts at US$999 and is available with 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB of storage. All configurations come with a 1200p display and 16 GB of RAM.

Upgraded versions of Max Payne and Max Payne 2 are being developed by the games' original developer Remedy Entertainment. They will be sold as a bundle by publisher Rockstar, who has confirmed that the project is in development and will be available on PC, Xbox Series S|X and PlayStation 5 soon.

Dying Light 2 Patch 3 is slated to be one of the largest ones released for the game so far. It will add the highly-awaited New Game mode and a slew of bug fixes for single and multiplayer modes. Techland says that it will be rolled out to all three major platforms by the end of April.

Finding another 34-inch curved monitor with the same set of features as this Gigabyte in this price range would be tough. The VA panel and 1440p native resolution may turn off some buyers depending on the usage scenario.

Apple's Studio Display, which currently costs from US$1,599, is a weird mix of professional and consumer features that kind of put it in a class entirely on its own - too consumer-grade for professionals and too professional for most consumers. There is little direct competition, but knowing your needs can help you find a better solution.

Modder Sultim-t has released a path traced mod of the 1993 video game Doom. Available via GitHub, the mod allows you to play the first three episodes of Doom with real-time path tracing. Currently, the mod only works with Nvidia GPUs, plus you’ll need to have the original Doom.wad file.