Gaming

There have been sightings of various PS5-related promotional materials going up in retail stores around the world as the wait for the full disclosure of Sony’s next-gen console continues. Some PS4 games have new labels on their boxes for PlayStation 5 preparation, and Sony appears to be performing quite a pantomime over at PAX Online.

Benchmark results for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 have started rolling in, and they show a notable improvement from Turing cards, but not at 1080p. The RTX 3080 even handily outperforms the RTX 2080 Ti, paving the way for the RTX 3090.

The VirtualLink connector has been killed off only two years after its announcement. NVIDIA introduced the VR connector with the GeForce RTX 20 series, but it is absent from the company's new RTX 30 Ampere cards. AMD, meanwhile, never released a card with a VirtualLink connector, despite being part of the VirtualLink Consortium.

Even the biggest and fastest laptops at the moment carry "only" the 150 W - 180 W TDP GeForce RTX 2080 GPU. Exactly how Nvidia will translate its massive 320 W desktop GeForce RTX 3080 to mobile form factors will be interesting to see.

The first picture of an RTX 3090 Founders Edition in a case has been published online, and it is huge. NVIDIA's new 12-pin power connector sticks out like a sore thumb, too.

A new report has claimed that Sony has had to revise planned prices for the PlayStation 5 consoles due to Microsoft’s attractive next-gen Xbox hardware price tags. A PS5 launch date in Japan may have been accidentally revealed, and a timely reminder of what future PS5 owners can look forward to has been circulating on social media.

Nintendo has unveiled a Fortnite Special Edition of the Nintendo Switch. The limited-edition console comes with exclusive Joy-Cons, unique Fortnite designs for the console and dock, along with 2,000 V-Bucks and the Wildcat bundle. The Fortnite Special Edition will be released in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Walmart is doubling down on laptops with new Gateway models spanning from $199 subnotebooks up to even gaming laptops north of $1000 USD with Ryzen 7 CPUs and GeForce RTX 2060 GPUs. If you ever wanted a cheap laptop without buying used, then these should fit the bill.

NVIDIA recently announced the GeForce MX450 based on the TU117 GTX 1650 GPU but was quiet about the specs or performance. Chinese publication Zhuanlan has managed to take the MX450 for a test ride and found that it offers a very good performance bump over the MX350. However, this is at the expense of reduced memory bandwidth and raster operator (ROPs) count along with surprisingly higher power draws compared to the GTX 1650 Max-Q.

The 3DMark results still seem suspiciously low, especially those related to ray tracing performance. This could be caused by unstable drivers or the benchmark tests are somehow faked. On the plus side, the new Ashes of the Singularity results are looking better, with 40% gains over the stock RTX 2080 Ti.

NVIDIA may be getting the plaudits for the GeForce RTX 3080, but a quirk in the Founders Edition card may deter perfectionists from dropping US$699 on the card.

The retail packaging for the Xbox Series X has started surfacing online. Unsurprisingly, the main photo focuses on the signature black ventilation grill at the top of the console under which lies a signature Xbox green colored circle.

The leaker is suggesting that this could be the Navi 21 flagship GPU, but, judging by the memory configuration and the thickness of the radiator, this may actually turn out to be the Navi 22 mid-range solution that is supposed to compete with Nvidia's RTX 3070 models.

More details about the EVGA NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 KINGPIN have emerged, confirming several aspects about the upcoming top-tier Ampere card. EVGA has published some RTX 3090 8K benchmark results too, and they point to the card being a performance monster.

Those God of War 2 rumors in regard to the PS5 just keep turning up, and apparently there will be a “whole mountain of exclusives” coming for Sony’s next-gen console. A new PlayStation 5 pre-order date prediction could be an immense misfire if accurate as it would seemingly give Microsoft the edge for attracting brand-indifferent consumers.

Unconfirmed leaked benchmarks by a Chinese tech website indicate that DLSS will deliver massive 4K performance gains with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 in titles like Control and Death Stranding. With DLSS enabled, both these titles cleared 100 FPS at 4K.

A new book offers a fresh take on the most recent God of War game. Told through the point of view of Kratos' son Atreus, "God of War: Lore and Legends" covers the story of the game, includes a bestiary, and is littered with beautiful illustrations and concept art from Kratos and Atreus' journey.

AMD today tweeted out the official launch dates of their upcoming CPU and GPU platforms. Zen 3 and RDNA 2 will be the bases for AMD's next generation of CPUs and graphics cards, respectively. While the announcements didn't include many details, we now know that Zen 3 will officially launch on October 8 and RDNA 2 (with Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs) will launch on October 28.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 may offer considerably more performance than the RTX 2080, but it comes at the cost of efficiency, according to recent Geekbench OpenCL benchmarks. Still, the popular benchmarking website has shown once again that a mid-tier Ampere card can outperform Turing's flagship GeForce card.

Even though it hasn't been released yet, Super Mario 3D All-Stars is now the second best selling game on Amazon for 2020. The game is available for pre-order, and because of its limited run, gamers are snatching up copies as fast as they can.

MSI's all-AMD Alpha gaming laptop lineup is getting updated with Renoir-H and Radeon RX 5600M dGPUs. It also features larger 65 Wh batteries, bigger speakers and an improved cooling system. The IPS FHD displays come with 144 Hz refresh rates and AMD FreeSync Premium support. Users may add up to 64 GB of DDR4-RAM and up to 4 TB of NVMe SSD storage.

4K gaming could be on the way to the Nintendo Switch, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Apparently, Nintendo has asked developers to make their games 4K-ready, implying that the company could be bringing a 4K console to market for the first time. Production of existing consoles has been increased by 20%, too.

Rumour has it that NVIDIA is planning to release two variants of the RTX 3060 in November, including a Ti or SUPER edition. Details about the latter have now been leaked online, including its GPU, CUDA core volume and VRAM.

Truly Exquisite has announced that pre-orders for its gold or platinum custom PS5 consoles and accessories will begin on Thursday September 10. Wealthy gamers after some bling can place an order for an 18K rose gold PlayStation 5 for £8,199 (US$10,617) or make a reservation for a gold-plated DualSense controller at £649 (US$840).

An image header on Cory Barlog’s social media has some fans believing a God of War sequel announcement is incoming. A mysterious Xbox “Edinburgh” device has been spotted and a leaked expansion SSD for the Xbox Series X has a hefty price tag. More tenuous PS5 announcement and event date rumors have surfaced.

The GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition has a 12-pin power connector, despite the confusion sown by NVIDIA. However, AIBs are sticking with the trusty 8-pin connector, begging the question of the existence of the slimmer 12-pin one.

The new overclocking features for AMD's upcoming Zen 3 Ryzen 4000 CPUs include a Curve Optimizer and the Infinity Fabric dividers, and we also get a confirmation that the new CPU lineup will feature 10-core SKUs, as AMD has upped the number of cores per CCX to 8.

The Ashes of the Singularity tests are probably showing the absolute worst case scenario as far as performance differences between the RTX 3080 and the RTX 2080 TI go, at least when it comes to stock clocks.

Microsoft’s cheaper and less powerful Xbox Series S official. The new console sports a design that has elements of the Xbox Series X design and earlier Xbox One designs. It will also cost just US$299.

EVGA recently took the wraps off its upcoming GeForce RTX 3090 KINGPIN AIB graphics card. EVGA’s liquid cooled KINGPIN lineup has consistently featured some of the fastest and most expensive cards on the market. The GeForce RTX 3090 KINGPIN looks like it could turn out to be one of the fastest graphics card ever made.

Doritos, 4chan, Soony, and a parody song: PlayStation 5 waiting fatigue has really started kicking in hard, just as a likely controlled leak from Microsoft has given up the potential prices of the Xbox Series X and S. But to paraphrase a famous movie line, this exhausting wait for the full PS5 details and prices may end up being the greatest trick Sony ever pulled.

Massively popular Battle Royale title PUBG Mobile might make its highly-awaited comeback to the Indian market soon. The game's developer has terminated its agreement with Tencent, indicating that it is looking for another publisher.

Our first in-house Ryzen 7 4800HS benchmarks are in and they show much of an advantage AMD has over Intel in terms of performance-per-watt with its 7 nm Zen 2 Renoir series.

Crysis Remastered, which is set to be released on September 19, will include a graphics setting called "Can It Run Crysis," which will max out every graphics option available. Interestingly, the original game still holds up compared to the remaster.

Another rumor has emerged connecting a revamped PS Now service with the PlayStation 5, and specifically the question of full backwards compatibility with the PS1, PS2, and PS3 along with the expected PS4. On top of that, the same spurious source claims that some older games will benefit from upscaling when accessed via the PS5.

If the want the fastest there is, then you'll also have to get the hottest and loudest is well. The latest Alienware isn't afraid to run at extreme temperatures all in the name of maximizing raw performance.

Slimmer and more compact notebooks increase a trend that makes it harder or even impossible for users to perform maintenance tasks on their own device. However, those who don't appreciate this can still find laptops such as the Nexoc GH7 in the market.

Now with a — let's hope — final launch date set to November 19, Cyberpunk 2077 is expected to feature even more downloadable content than The Witcher 3, revealed CD Projekt's president and joint-CEO during a recent conference call on the first half of the year. Sadly, the release timeline for the additional content is not available yet.

The ZX Spectrum Next issue 2, a modern remake of the classic personal computer has almost achieved their final £1.5 mil (US$2.0 mil) stretch goal with only four days remaining on the campaign. Earlier goals included new games and improved hardware specifications.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card has been spotted being put through its paces on CompuBench 2.0 Desktop. The Ampere device demolished the RTX 2080 and also put the RTX 2080 Ti to the sword. With a price starting at US$699 for the RTX 3080, Nvidia has thrown down the gauntlet to AMD and its Navi range to counter this challenge.

The anticipated first-gen T15g is currently thought of as the "gamer's ThinkPad", due to the RTX 20-series graphics that, as some leaks have attested, is destined for this machine. Its maker Lenovo may have put this beyond a doubt with a full product specifications reference (or PSREF) for the device, including a raft of SKUs with specific processor and graphics options.

CD Projekt Red has announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition will be released in an enhanced form as a standalone purchase for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or PC. On top of that, the new and improved next-gen edition of The Witcher 3 will be offered as a free update to those who already own a copy of the game.

A new PlayStation 5 price rumor has been making the rounds on social media lately, with the all-important figures being considerably higher than those that have been generally predicted for the next-gen console. A likely fake but quite convincing example of the PS5 hardware has also turned up in a TikTok video.

The more relevant discussion points include new details on the HDMI 2.1 connectors, the new RTX IO feature that relies on SSDs, how the new Ampere architecture effectively doubles the performance of the Turing CUDA cores, PCIe 3.0 vs PCIe 4.0 performance difference, DLSS 2.1 features, power cable recommendations, new decoder capabilities and Nvidia Reflex compatibility for older cards.

The new 15.6-inch Polaris gaming notebooks feature AMD Renoir or Intel Comet Lake processor options, and users can add up to 64 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM plus up to 4 TB of NVMe or SATA III SSD storage. As far as discrete GPU options go, users can only choose between the GTX 1650 Ti and the RTX 2060 Refresh.

Speaking in the Triple Click podcast, Bloomberg analyst and tipster Jason Schreier stated that Ubisoft plans to announce a Prince of Persia remake at its Ubisoft Forward event in a week’s time. If confirmed, this would be the first new mainline Prince of Persia entry after Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands.

Initial 4K benchmarks of the GeForce RTX 3080 have been posted, and things are looking good for NVIDIA's new Ampere architecture. NVIDIA's latest US$699 card can outperform the GeForce RTX 2080 by around 80% in games like Borderlands 3, Control and Doom Eternal, which is a huge leap in one generation.