Gaming

More details about the Radeon RX 6700 XT have appeared online, with the latest leak seemingly confirming several aspects about AMD's upcoming RDNA 2 cards. Not only does the leak provide images of the Radeon RX 6700 branding, but it provides details about the card's VRAM capacity, its marketed gaming resolution and its expected release dates.

A PlayStation 5 restock and sale in a Tokyo retailer has ended in disappointment for many as crowd disturbance forced police to shut down the event. Sales figures for the PS5 in Japan have been reported at being over 44 times greater than those for the Xbox Series X|S, although both pale into comparison with the Nintendo Switch.

Another GPD Win 3 gameplay video has been posted online that’s a little different to the usual examples GPD shares. This time around, the Win 3 handheld console/mini laptop was turned into a PS3 portable thanks to the use of an appropriate emulator, and it was put through its paces via an action-packed turn on God of War III.

Although the "Max-Q" marketing term was flawed, it at least helped to differentiate the "slow" GeForce gaming laptops from the "fast" ones. The onus will be on the manufacturers to list their thermal graphics power (TGP) targets in the specifications now that Max-Q is no more.

Reputed benchmarks of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti have surfaced, showcasing the upcoming card against the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090. It is unclear why NVIDIA would choose to release the RTX 3080 Ti on these benchmarks, though.

The Xbox Series S console has been criticized by game developers due to its restrictive configuration. Memory and resolution limitations in comparison to the Xbox Series X have been highlighted, just as the next-gen enhancements for Control Ultimate Edition for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles are posted online.

CDPR was rightfully slated for the abysmal condition in which it shipped Cyberpunk 2077 to last-generation consoles. To its credit, the company has improved the game on the base PlayStation 4 though, with visual, stability and framerate gains all felt as of Patch 1.1. Hotfix 1.11 brings a few additional changes too, but Cyberpunk 2077 remains a mess on the original Xbox One.

The ODROID Go Super features a larger display than its predecessor, along with improved battery capacity and additional buttons. The handheld console is now orderable for US$89.95, but its price is expected to drop to US$80 following a restock in February.

The laptop versions of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 are yet to land, but the first gaming benchmarks are already online. The two videos compare the GeForce RTX 3060 against the GeForce RTX 2060 in nine games, including in CDPR's latest title, Cyberpunk 2077.

Tesla's upcoming Model S 2021 cars will integrate AMD's Navi 23 GPUs to power their onboard infotainment systems. The leaked block diagram reveals that the Navi 23 will get access to 8 GB of GDDR6 14 Gbps RAM and will be able to deliver 10 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance, which is close to what a PS5 console is capable of.

MSI has launched one of the first Mini-ITX compatible RTX 30-series GPUs. The MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Aero ITX card is ultra-compact, but delivers gaming performance that you would expect from a full-size RTX 3060 Ti.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 and AMD Radeon RX 6000 series has already received price hikes following its release, and not just from scalpers reselling the likes of the RTX 3070 for well above MSRP. Now, a report claims that scarcity of GDDR6 and GDDR6X VRAM will push the price of AMD and NVIDIA GPUs up even further.

MSI has defended its decision to omit GPU wattages from its new NVIDIA GeForce 30 series gaming laptops, despite the considerable differences in performance between some GPUs of the same name. Apparently, MSI believes that it would be unable to inform people that one RTX 3080 GPU has an 80 W TGP, while another has a 150 W TGP. Its justification has left us unconvinced, though.

The DCS feature was discovered in a recent Linux patch and it looks like it is designed specifically for laptop GPUs, even though it is supported on the high-end RX 6800 series, as well as the upcoming RX 6700 mid-range models. DCS reduces power consumption by turning the core off when thermal and power limits are exceeded.

With a tempting price tag of less than US$70, the new mechanical keyboard from Sharkoon comes with two switch choices - red or blue. The SKILLER SGK30 sports a classic design and its list of features includes n-key rollover, support for saving up to 20 game profiles via the companion software, 15 lighting presets, and more.

XMG has offered an insight into the availability of AMD Ryzen 5000 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series gaming laptops. Sadly, it is bad news for gamers, as companies are uncertain of the volumes of Cezanne APUs that AMD will be able to supply in the first half of 2021.

In what could come as a disappointment to GeForce RTX 3080 owners, recent Xbox and PC exclusive The Medium struggles to deliver a consistent 60 FPS, even at 1080p with ray-tracing effects disabled. Because the game readily scales to 4K, this could be an optimization issue Bloober Team and NVIDIA will soon resolve.

The AYA NEO Founder edition handheld console has had its release date postponed until March 10. The development process has been hit by some issues, leaving the AYA NEO portable in a situation that eerily echoes the apparent demise of the Smach Z console. The AYA NEO handheld is fitted with an AMD Ryzen 5 4500U.

Tesla often makes the headlines and the launch of the refreshed Model S has certainly got the automotive world talking. This time, however, it has also got the world of PC gaming talking too with the inclusion of a PS5-equalling 10 teraflop gaming PC built into the car.

The Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR is not directly aimed at gamers but rather at creative users. Consequently, a high frequency and good response rates are not the most important factors to consider.

There are pros and cons for sure, but the advantages arguably outweigh any losses especially since many retailers would avoid listing "Max-Q" anyway and that some Max-Q laptops would even outperform Max-P ones.

Rumours about Nintendo releasing a more powerful version of the Switch persist. Now, a leaker claims that the device will arrive as the Nintendo Super Switch. However, developers have questioned the benefits of Nintendo releasing a more powerful eighth-generation console. Nintendo has announced the release of Monster Hunter Rise special editions of the Switch and Pro Controller, too.

Unlike most other gaming laptop sales for under $800, this MSI GL65 strikes a respectable balance between graphics performance, CPU performance, display, RAM, and storage. Owners will just have to live with average color reproduction and the lack of Thunderbolt support.

Lenovo's US webstore has begun what it calls a "You Pay What We Pay" event, which apparently entails the same kinds of discounts only normally available to the OEM's staff members. They include up to US$800 off an Intel 10th-gen Legion 7i laptop, as well as deals on gaming mice and headsets.

The ridiculous number would not really be a problem for end users if OEMs actually respected Nvidia's guidelines and provided clear info with the official specs. Unfortunately, very few OEMs are currently doing this, and we are seeing wild spec variations that allow lower-priced SKUs to outperform higher-priced variants.

First shipments are expected to arrive by February 15. The Asus model is notable for its next-gen components that were unveiled just a few weeks ago at CES 2021.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Max-P and RTX 3070 Max-Q differ by over 30% in benchmarks, early reviews of two MSI gaming laptops have shown. Many OEMs, including MSI, are divulging the minimum information about the RTX 30 series GPUs in their machines though, leaving people in the dark over what performance to expect.

AMD's support for USB4 and Thunderbolt is scheduled to arrive in early 2022, and, until then, laptop OEMs are trying out alternatives. One solution would be to implement a new type of connector, like Asus has done on its new ROG Flow X13 laptops. Lenovo, on the other hand, is exploring something more simple in the form of a cable that connects external video cards to the M.2 slot inside the laptop.

AMD won't be making the same exclusivity mistake again with the mobile Ryzen 5000 series. The chipmaker has confirmed that all of its mobile Zen 3 CPUs will be available for all major OEMs to deploy in contrast to the more limited approach with certain mobile Zen 2 processors the year before.

Dell has given almost 1000 Alienware gaming PCs, monitors, headsets, and peripherals to Team Liquid over the past 10 years. It's no surprise that league wants to continue working with Dell for the next 10 years moving forward.

NVIDIA has confirmed that it is encouraging OEMs to list TGP and clock speeds of their RTX 30 series laptops. Few OEMs have done so yet. Additionally, the latest GeForce Experience version brings WhisperMode 2.0 to RTX 30 series laptops. The feature utilises 'AI-powered algorithms' to balance acoustics and system performance.

According to a new report, Vicarious Visions will be developing Blizzard games from now on. The developer will commence with a remake of Diablo 2, which apparently was known as Diablo II: Resurrected. The merger of the 200-strong studio follows Blizzard Entertainment dismantling one of its internal development teams in the wake of the poorly-received Warcraft III: Reforged.

Is the GPU 90 W or 135 W? With "Max-Q" gone, performance hunters will be asking this question left and right to make sure they are buying the fastest possible laptop graphics. Fortunately, XMG is looking ahead by stating the numbers directly on the specifications list.

Tencent Holdings Limited is reportedly raising billions of dollars to acquire a US or South Korea-based gaming studio. Rumor is that the Chinese gaming major could be looking at acquiring Take-Two Interactive or Electronic Arts. There's also the other possibility that Tencent is raising funds to develop its own GTA competitor.

NVIDIA indicated that it would release the GeForce RTX 3060 with 12 GB of GDDR6 VRAM towards the end of February, following its announcement this month. New reports suggest that NVIDIA will begin selling the Ampere card in the final week of February, and that multiple embargoes are in place for the GeForce RTX 3060.

Intel may launch the 12th gen Alder Lake-S family as early as September this year alongside 600-series chipset-based motherboards, just six months after Rocket Lake-S becomes available. Alder Lake-S will feature a similar Xe LP iGPU as Tiger Lake and Rocket Lake-S but now, we may also get to see a GT0.5 variant.

IO Interactive's latest Hitman 3 title performs as intended on the Xbox Series X, Series S, and the PlayStation 5. While the quality of the game is great on all three consoles and is able to hit 60 fps throughout, the Series X is able to run the game at native 4K with high shadows while the PS5 drops the resolution slightly to 1800p with medium shadows.

The first major patch for Cyberpunk 2077 has arrived, with CDPR promising to have addressed numerous problems in its latest game. Sadly, the company has introduced a new game-breaking bug as of Patch 1.1, and it is one that is difficult to avoid.

Fifty gaming laptops featuring Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs from major vendors such as Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte have been listed on the Scan website. Many feature Ryzen 5000 APUs and there are a couple of Tiger Lake H-35 options too. Prices go from £998.99 (US$1,367) for an Asus TUF Dash RTX 3060 laptop up to £4,298.99 (US$5,882) for an MSI GS66 Stealth RTX 3080 laptop.

An Intel Core i7-11375H (Tiger Lake-H35) has appeared on Geekbench in an Asus TUF Dash F15 gaming laptop. The i7-11375H was measured reaching a clock rate of 5.0 GHz and produced a single-core score that beats out the i7-10750H by +24% and can even hold up against the incoming barrage from AMD’s Ryzen 5000 H-series Cezanne chips.

All configurations are expected to ship on March 3rd to be over a month later than competing models from Asus or MSI. The top-of-the-line GeForce RTX 3080 option will set users back almost $3000 USD.

NVIDIA claims that the GeForce RTX 3060 will start at £299 and US$329 when it launches next month, but early board partner pricing suggests otherwise. Instead, many custom GeForce RTX 3060 cards will sell for £499.99 through official channels, with prices varying between £457 and £513.

Capcom recently released Resident Evil Village Maiden as a surprise demo for PlayStation 5 owners. With just months to go before the game's May 7th release, Village Maiden gives us a (horrifying) glimpse of what's to come.