Gaming

The latest Game Ready driver package from NVIDIA arrived yesterday and comes with day-one optimizations for Halo 3: ODST and Mafia: Definitive Edition, ray tracing and DLSS support for Fortnite, NVIDIA Reflex latency optimization in Fortnite and Valorant, support for the new GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090, and more.

Sony has published all of the official specifications for both the PlayStation 5 and DualSense controller. While no rumored spec bump materialized, at least gamers finally found out what was on the rear of the console. The dimensions section confirms the PS5 is even slightly taller than what was previously estimated.

We take a glimpse of what Intel's next generation of integrated graphics can do and it's pretty good for a 10 nm non-discrete solution. Now, Intel will have to price it just right to make it worth the purchase over existing Ryzen or GeForce MX-powered laptops that offer similar graphics performance.

The reseller hopes to accelerate the adoption of Advanced Optimus. The existing MECH-15 and MAX-15 laptops will get new Core i7-10870H processors in addition to the Nvidia feature in the next couple of months.

Details about the Radeon RX 6000 series have started flowing out, six weeks before AMD launches its next graphics cards. According to a new report, the RDNA 2 cards will offer up to 80 CUs, a 256-bit memory interface and 128 MB of Infinity Cache. 300 W will likely be a target TDP for high-end RX 6000 series cards, as will clock speeds that will rival the 2.2 GHz GPU clock of the PlayStation 5.

Photos of Radeon RX 6000 and RDNA 2 cards are starting to flooding out, this time from RedGamingTech. The triple-fan card features plenty of I/O and a thick design. Thought to be the Radeon RX 6900 XT, the card will be joined next month by lower-end SKUs, too.

An Epic Games account is now a requirement to play Rocket League, as of the latest update for the game. There is now no way to play Rocket League without having an Epic Games account, and Epic Games will happily break data protection regulations to get you to create one. Psyonix has overhauled the UI too, while removing the quick play button in the process.

The new RTX 3080 FE cards represent a reasonable progress for those looking to improve performance in 4K games, but the lower resolutions do not really benefit from substantial gains, unfortunately. Additionally, the 10 GB VRAM capacity appears to hinder the power of the new ray tracing cores.

The critically-acclaimed stealth-action shooter Splinter Cell is all set to make a comeback. However, it will be released exclusively on Oculus VR. We can expect Ubisoft to tell us more about the game in the coming weeks.

PlayStation 5 pre-ordering has become chaotic as fans desperately try to reserve one of Sony’s next-gen consoles. While prices for the PS5 console have tipped past US$2,000 on eBay, some have been left wondering if Sony’s pre-order plan was to simply beat Microsoft to the punch rather than give gamers ample warning time.

Sony has announced the official prices for the PS5 accessories and the launch games that will accompany the next-gen console on November 12/17. The retail boxes for the PlayStation 5 and Digital Edition have also appeared online, with the design remaining both understated and relatively minimalistic.

Intel's upcoming Tiger Lake-H and Alder Lake-P processors could launch with Intel DG2 graphics. According to rumors, Intel DG2 Xe-HPG could come in 128, 384, 512, and possibly even 960 EUs configurations with up to 256-bit 8 GB GDDR6 VRAM. A leaked PCB diagram of the 384 EU part on an MXM-type board indicates a die size of about 189 mm2 and shows six GDDR6 modules.

The news everyone has been waiting for is now official: the PlayStation 5 will be priced at US $499 and will launch on November 12. The Digital Edition is priced at $399. Some regions, including Europe, will unfortunately have to wait until November 19 to buy the PS5.

The new HP EliteDesk 805 G6 compact PCs can be equipped with up to a Ryzen 7 Pro 4750G APU, which in turn can be coupled with up to 64 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and up to 3 storage solutions, plus an optional GTX 1660 Ti dGPU. Additionally, the port selection is quite generous with 7x USB ports and up to 7 video outs.

Images of the AMD Radeon RX 6000 series have leaked online, including a dual-fan variant. Possibly called the RX 6700 or RX 6800, the card features prominent Radeon branding. Another render and a hands-on photo of the triple-fan model has leaked too, confirming a few aspects of the series.

Honor and Huawei's first gaming laptop is here, after many leaks and teasers. The Hunter V700 offers a 144 Hz and 16.1-inch display, along with a choice of Intel Comet Lake-H processors and NVIDIA GeForce GPUs. Honor has housed these powerful components in a comparatively thin chassis, but prices are high.

German laptop OEM Schenker/XMG reports that the i7-10875H CPUs will soon be facing severe supply issues and it looks like Intel is countering these problems by quietly launching the i7-10870H model along with a new entry-level i5-10200H quad-core processor.

Just days before its release, Super Mario 3D All-Stars leaked onto the Internet in full. While a leak of the game is bad enough, an intrepid data miner reports that the game uses emulators to play the three retro Mario games within. In other words, the games are not ports for the Switch but are rather original ROM/ISO files (with some patches applied) played in emulation.

After a few updates that failed to at least touch this area, Armored Warfare 0.33 comes with a major rebalance of the high-tier vehicles (tiers 7 to 10). In addition to these adjustments, the list of improvements also includes improved mobility of both wheeled and tracked vehicles, overhauled ammunition and ERA mechanics, a new Contract Mission, model updates, and more.

The PlayStation 5 Showcase takes place later today and millions of fans are expecting Sony to announce the prices and pre-order information for the next-gen console. It has now been reported that Amazon landing pages for the PS5 have started being taken down, with many believing this is a definitive sign that the price/pre-order wait is over. An updated list of potential retailers is included here.

The new Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card has made its way to the top of UserBenchmark’s GPU charts. The Ampere-based part stole the top spot from Nvidia’s Titan RTX, and it recorded an 11% faster effective speed than the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. The Founders Edition of the GeForce RTX 3080 costs from US$699.

Microsoft has released full specifications for the Xbox Series X and Series S, confirming that the Sony PlayStation 5 is better equipped with USB-C and Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) connectivity, while the more powerful competitor on this important front appears to have cut corners.

HP is introducing new peripherals to its gaming lineup. The Omen Spacer Wireless is a tenkeyless keyboard with Cherry MX Brown switches that offers great battery life, loads of key customization options, NKRO, and 100% anti-ghosting. The Vector Wireless is a 16,000 DPI mouse that HP says is the world's fastest USB-C charging gaming mouse with up to 180 hours of battery life.

A new report has stated that there have been issues with the yield for the SoC that will be the key component of the upcoming PlayStation 5 console, with Sony having to reduce the total hardware production. However, it seems the company has sufficient means of supply for the US and an analyst believes the PS5 prices are going to be affordable.
Sony has stated that there has been no change in production numbers.

HP has announced new additions to its gaming accessory lineup. The Omen Blast and Omen Frequency Wireless are designed to offer maximal comfort during extended gaming sessions while offering clear 7.1-channel surround. The Omen Blast comes with a 24-bit DAC while the Omen Frequency Wireless aims to offer low-latency high-fidelity audio thanks to Warp Wireless tech.

The gaming headset maker ROCCAT has collaborated with its new parent, Turtle Beach, on its new Elo series. It comes in cross-platform stereo, USB and wireless varieties, all of which are rated for 7.1 surround sound. The Elos also have their brand's AIMO lighting system and self-regulating metal headbands.

Leaked cryptocurrency mining benchmarks suggest that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is set to deliver record-breaking cryptocurrency performance among commercial GPUs. The benchmarks indicate that overclocked RTX 3080s offer nearly twice the hashrate of the Radeon RX 5700 XT.

AMD's "Biggest Navi" is rumored to be similar to the Radeon VII, featuring HBM2 VRAM and 80 compute units, and Nvidia is apparently planning to counter this with an RTX 3000 Titan GPU equipped with up to 48 GB of 21 Gbps or even 23 Gbps GDDR6x VRAM that may turn out to be only 10% faster than the RTX 3090.

HP has announced two new gaming monitors, the HP x24i Gaming and HP x24ih Gaming. Both are value orientated models with refresh rates to match the typical mid-range PCs they are likely to be used alongside.

HP's Omen 30L gaming desktop is now available with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090, RTX 3080, and RTX 3070. Everything else, including the CPU options, memory/storage configurations, and features, remain the same. The desktop will be available for purchase starting Holiday 2020.

The Dell G3 15 3500 shows that even a mid-range gaming device can have its merits. Hardly any of its features stand out - which is a good thing in this case.

Sony has created a new global brand spot for the PlayStation 5, which is entitled “The Edge”. The stunning clip is aimed at the promise of “undiscovered adventure” for gamers who take the leap and purchase the next-gen console. A comparison image of Aloy’s ears from the Horizon games highlights the power of the PS5 over the PS4.

Intel's Boyd Phelps has confirmed that 8-core Tiger Lake processors with up to 24 MB of low-level cache are in the offing soon. Rumors indicate that Tiger Lake-H will be available in 35 W and 45 W variants with four cores and up to eight cores, respectively. It will be interesting to see how the competition between Tiger Lake and AMD's upcoming Cezanne mobile APUs pans out.

A new and convincing PlayStation 5 price leak has appeared online, and if the figures are genuine then gamers planning on pre-ordering either a Blu-ray console or Digital Edition model are likely to be satisfied. Another IGN next-gen console poll shows huge popular support for Sony’s devices, regardless of the recent appearance of the Xbox Series S.
Another alleged price list has been leaked from the same retailer.

The Snapdragon 875G is a rumored high-performance variant of Qualcomm's 2021 flagship mobile processor. A new report asserts not only that it is planned for certain, but that Samsung will be the company to manufacture it. This contract is apparently worth approximately US$846 million to the South Korean giant.

The XV282K KV is Acer's first HDMI 2.1 and 4K/144 Hz monitor. The monitor also offers VESA DisplayHDR 600 support, AMD FreeSync, up to 550 cd/m² of typical maximum brightness and a host of connections.

Dell has now started selling its Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10 Gaming Desktops with a 17% discount coupon available. Shoppers can choose a mainstream Ryzen 5 3500 chip or go for a benchmark-breaking 16-core, 32-thread Ryzen 9 3950X CPU alongside 32 or 64 GB RAM and a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics card from Nvidia.

The PlayStation 5 Showcase will be taking place on Wednesday September 16. The much-anticipated event starts at 1:00 pm PDT, and we have provided a list of times for fans living in other zones here. Predictions of what could be revealed in the 40-minute Showcase have included the PS5 UI, news about God of War 2, and the all-important console prices.

Thanks to its powerful hardware, the soberly designed Schenker Key 15 brings all the latest computer games smoothly onto the matte 15.6-inch screen (Full HD, IPS, 144 Hz). The device can be individually customized to your own needs. In addition, the BIOS enables the undervolting of the CPU and iGPU.

More model numbers relating to the PlayStation 5 have appeared online. While many of the model codes are already connected to the console SKUs or PS5 accessories, a few unknown entries certainly hint at different types of DualSense controller. A black PS5 console also seems more likely than a PS5 Pro or 1.65 TB SSD premium pack.

Leaked overclock benchmarks for the upcoming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ampere graphics card were recently published. The tests showed memory clocks pushed 9 percent for a mere 2-3 percent performance gain. This raises questions about the RTX 3080’s performance gap with the RTX 3090, which delivers 936 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

Timed exclusivity may work in the world of consoles games, but limiting a great processor to just one laptop and one screen size isn't such a great idea. The limited press coverage and availability of both the Ryzen 7 4800HS and Ryzen 9 4900HS may be attributed to the fact that only just a handful of Asus laptops carry such options.

Mobile gaming is a growing industry as it can be a fun way to pass the time. However, the enjoyment titles made to be played on your phone can be curbed by the need to complete micro-transactions to proceed, or to watch ads to avoid paying for the same. The games-specific variant of the Google Play Store now has settings to help choose new apps without these drawbacks.

Today (September 12, 2020) is the US' National Gaming Day. Accordingly, the results of a survey involving 1000 residents of this country on the subject have been released. 47% of the group nominated Super Mario as the best franchise. Xbox and PlayStation tied for the best console, as Nintendo devices lagged behind with 21% of this vote.

A recent leak of benchmark scores from an unnamed AMD Radeon GPU in Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation may point to how well AMD's upcoming RDNA 2 "Big Navi" graphics cards will perform. While this leak should be taken with a grain of salt, the AMD GPU is about on par with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. However, this puts it roughly 55% behind Nvidia's new GeForce RTX 3080.

Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation 5 Showcase event will take place on September 16. It will likely focus on some current and yet-to-be-announced exclusive titles that will launch alongside the console. Most importantly, we'll finally get to know how much the PlayStation 5 will cost.

The model numbers and box contents for the upcoming PlayStation 5 consoles have been shared online by a games industry analyst. The details originate from a source in Hong Kong, so there may be regional differences encountered by future PS5 owners living in different areas. The good news is that there is a base included.