Gaming

An AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT desktop processor sample has been put through its paces on UserBenchmark, where it managed some decent scores and a respectable average bench result. However, the score of 91.8% would put the 12-core Matisse Refresh Ryzen 9 3900XT in 28th place in the UserBenchmark table, which is even behind the quad-core Intel Core i3-10320!

The latest Windows 10 Game Ready driver for NVIDIA GeForce cards unlock DirectX 12 Ultimate features on RTX GPUs. This may bring attributes such as hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading to certain games. The new driver also supports 9 more G-SYNC-enabled monitors from AOC, Dell, LG and other OEMs.

The Powkiddy V90 is another handheld retro games console. Styled on the Game Boy Advance SP, the Powkiddy V90 is available in red or yellow for US$39.99. The device comes with a 1,040 mAh battery, a USB Type-C port and a 3.0-inch IPS display.

Samsung unveiled its colossal 49-inch Odyssey G9 gaming monitor at CES 2020 this year. It has a resolution of 5120×1440 and comes with a QLED panel clocked at 240Hz. The monitor is now available for purchase globally at $1,699.

Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Switch is inarguably one of the biggest hits of “lockdown life”. However, its mobile titles (Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes, for example) have not exhibited the same level of success, to the extent that the company allegedly has no new titles planned for this platform.

The games industry is under the spotlight again due to a fresh wave of sexual harassment accusations and reports of inappropriate behavior. Companies that have been named in these reports include Ubisoft, Insomniac Games, Bungie, Paradox Interactive, Twitch, and the IGN media network. In some instances, there have been alleged threats of violence and even incidents of rape.

There aren't a lot of gaming laptops that come with the Ryzen 5 4600H or Ryzen 7 4800H to choose from at the moment. As powerful as the Renoir series may be, Intel still has a major lead in sheer volume and options.

Dell has announced two new gaming monitors that promise a smooth, stutter-free gaming experience. The Dell 27 Curved Gaming S2721HGF is a 1500R curved VA FHD panel with a 144 Hz refresh rate while the Dell 27 Gaming Monitor S2721DGF is a flat panel QHD IPS display with a 165 Hz refresh rate and true 1 ms GTG response time. The S2721DGF also features DisplayHDR 400 support and a plethora of connectivity options.

Alienware's new MK410K RGB Gaming Keyboard offers CherryMX Brown switches in a design that looks right at home with their new "Spaceship Engine" design. It would also be an interesting way to round out a future-themed custom build.

Dell has overhauled the G7 15 with a refined design and more powerful components. The G7 15 7500 will be available with up to an Intel Core i9-10980HK, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, 16 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. 144 Hz and 300 Hz IPS or 4K OLED displays are available too. The new Dell G7 15 has lost its numeric keypad, though.

Dell has unveiled the new G7 17. The device features a new design that includes full-sized arrow keys and eye-catching RGB LED strip. The new G7 17 comes with a choice between multiple powerful components too, including the Core i9-10980HK and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q. Update: Dell has since confirmed that it has also released an RTX 2070 SUPER SKU. This version will be available with 32 GB of RAM, too. There is no OLED option, though.

Dell has refreshed the G5 Desktop 5000 to feature Intel Comet Lake-S CPUs and a range of NVIDIA GPUs till the RTX 2070 Super while also offering an AMD Radeon RX 5600 option. The rest of the chassis and RGB lighting are similar to the previous generation. Dell will also be introducing a redesigned XPS Desktop later in July, which will be part of the NVIDIA RTX Studio Program.

QNAP's latest TS-x53D series of network-attached storage (NAS) products have 2, 4 or 6 bays and 4 to 8GB of RAM. They are also equipped with a PCIe Gen 2 expansion slot and 2 2.5 gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports. The user can also play videos at up to 4K thanks to its HDMI port.

Acer has announced a refresh of the Predator Helios 300. Now featuring Intel Comet Lake-H processors and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q. The latter is overclockable and can be paired with a 240 Hz, FHD and IPS 15.6-inch display. The new Predator Helios 300 will go on sale in China this month before reaching Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the US in July.

Acer has refreshed the Predator Helios 700, the gaming laptop with a slide-out keyboard and touchpad. The 17.3-inch gaming laptop has been upgraded to Comet Lake-H processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 SUPER series GPUs. The Helios 700 has gained faster RAM among other changes too.

Acer has announced a new Predator Triton 300, the PT315-52. Upgraded to Intel Comet Lake-H processors, the new Triton 300 is available with a choice of two NVIDIA GeForce RTX or two GeForce GTX 16 series GPUs. The Acer Predator Triton 300 PT315-52 will start at US$1,299.99 or €1,399 in Europe.

The refreshed Acer Predator Orion 9000 gaming desktop comes with 10th-generation Intel Core i9 chips that can be paired with up to two NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, RTX 2080 Super, or RTX 2070 Super GPUs. One can add up to 128GB of RAM and up to four hard disks and three NVMe SSDs. It will be available in select regions in October and will retail at €2,799 ($3,155).

Acer has released a new version of its Predator Orion 3000 gaming desktop powered by 10th-generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 chips. One can choose from a wide range of NVIDIA GeForce GTX and RTX GPUs, starting with GTX 1650 and maxing out at the RTX 2070 Super. Prices start at $999 for the base variant, and the desktop will be available for purchase this August.

Acer has unveiled a new version of its Nitro 50 gaming desktop featuring 10th-generation Intel Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 CPUs. It can be configured with up to 64GB of RAM and a variety of storage options. The desktop will be available for purchase in Europe this August and in North America in September.

Acer has announced three ConceptD monitors, the CP3, CP5, and CM3, tailored at professional content creators. These monitors are PANTONE-validated, support 99% Adobe RGB, 98% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, and are DisplayHDR-certified. The ConceptD CP3 supports 4K resolution with a 165 Hz refresh rate.

Acer has launched the Cestus 350 as part of its new Predator-series gaming line-up today (June 23, 2020). It has a Pixart 3335 sensor, which, as the OEM asserts, will confer accuracy on the new device with minimal latency. It also has 8 programmable buttons and can be used in wired or wireless mode.

Tipster @CyberCatPunk leaked what appears to be a spec sheet for NVDIA’s upcoming flagship RTX 3080 Ti. If true, the 23 TFLOPs monster might be enough to take on AMD’s soon-to-be-launched Big Navi lineup.

The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M looks to be a good choice for MacBook Pro owners who like to game, according to benchmarks performed by Max Tech. The GPU yielded a performance similar to that of an RTX 2060 non-Max-Q laptop GPU in Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone, which makes it ideal for those who need power for both productivity and gaming even if it means spending an additional US$700.

The announcement trailer for Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time has been posted on YouTube and Twitter. The game is officially a sequel to Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, which was released at the end of 1998. Crash Bandicoot 4 is available for pre-order and will be released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 2, 2020.

The announcement trailer for the upcoming PS5 game Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales has been removed from the official PlayStation YouTube channel because of a copyright claim made by the French game publisher Gameloft SE. Gameloft was involved in the development of Spider-Man related games such as the endless runner Spider-Man Unlimited.
Update: The trailer has now reinstated on the PlayStation channel.

Are laptops really better with two displays? At least one manufacturer is insisting on it. The high-power Zephyrus Duo 15 will offer a primary 15.6-inch FHD or 4K UHD display alongside a secondary 14.1-inch 3840 x 1100 touchscreen that tilts when opened.

An early example of the RTX 3080 Ti may have been spotted on 3DMark Time Spy. The Ampere GPU, thought to be based on a GA102, posted over a 30% higher graphics score than the RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition and even managed to outperform the NVIDIA TITAN RTX.

It is now becoming increasingly clear that the purported NVIDIA Ampere GA102 flagship GPU will come in three variants with memory capacities between 10 GB and 24 GB. NVIDIA may launch the flagship GA102-400 variant as an RTX 3090 or a new second gen Titan variant. Also, whether Ampere would actually use GDDR6X VRAM is still anybody's guess at this point.

The Tiger Lake Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor has been spotted going through extensive testing on 3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark and the results have been positive for Team Blue. The Xe iGPU part of the chipset managed to outscore AMD Vega 7 and Vega 8 iGPUs, and the 4-core i7-1165G7 even tied with the 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 4700U in the CPU Score.

An image of an alleged real-life PS5 console being held in a factory has started appearing on several forums and sparking considerable debate. Fans seem to be divided over the veracity of the picture, which shows a man holding a substantially sized PlayStation 5 console while flanked by two other men.

Lenovo has released more details of a new addition to the IdeaPad Slim 7 line of notebooks. This one is powered by the Core i7-10750H processor, rather than the Ryzen 7 4700U like its 14-inch counterpart. However, the OEM has included dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics here...even if it is an older card.

Fancy upping the gaming capabilities of your Raspberry Pi? Well, a simple project can bring Google Stadia to the single-board computer. Even titles like Destiny 2 are reported to play well on the Raspberry Pi using Stadia.

EA Sports has teased FIFA 21 and Madden NFL 21 for next-generation consoles. Presumably launch titles for the PS5 and Xbox Series X, EA Sports has announced the release dates for both games on current-generation consoles and PC via Origin and Steam too. The Nintendo Switch continues to be overlooked by EA Sports, though.

In a consumer-friendly move, CD Projekt Red recently announced that Cyberpunk 2077 would be playable on both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X from launch and that game would be free for owners of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.

PUBG Corp. has released the Update 7.3 to all PC users after having evaluated it in the Test Server. Update 7.3 brings a host of new additions including a C4 throwable, a new train line in Vikendi, changes to vehicle explosion dynamics, parachute follow, and more apart from the usual bug fixes and performance improvements.

Plagued by server issues, Torchlight III was supposed to come out as a free-to-play title but it surfaced on Steam Early Access with a US$30 price tag. Even without any other problems — and there are other problems — these two issues alone are enough to get a title buried under a huge pile of negative reviews.

A leaked video has confirmed that the Asus ROG Phone 3 will ostensibly look like its predecessor, save for a few tweaks. The device, which is expected to feature an overclocked Snapdragon 865 SoC, 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512 GB of UFS 3.0 flash storage, will also have a 64 MP Quad Bayer primary camera.

There was a time when Flash was the go-to standard for online content building and support. However, other standards such as HTML5 have outstripped it considerably in the ability to deliver AV and interactive apps of all kinds. Therefore, Adobe has announced a definitive EOL date for this once-ubiquitous relic of the internet.

While still not a threat to any decent currently available laptop dGPU, the Xe iGPU that will be featured in the Tiger Lake processors launching later this year should still be quite a significant improvement over the Ice Lake iGPUs. Our tests show that the Xe iGPU could even beat the Vega 8 iGPU in the Renoir APUs.

The 2019 Blade Stealth was full of compromises. Want a faster CPU? Then you'll be stuck with integrated Intel graphics only. Want a faster GPU? Then here's a CPU that's even slower than before. Thankfully, you won't have to make such unnecessary trade-offs anymore with the latest 2020 Blade Stealth.

Microsoft could be planning on releasing the Xbox Series X at a surprisingly low price of US$400 according to a tipster. Even more astonishing is the suggestion that an all-digital Xbox Series S console (“Lockhart”) could be priced as low as US$200. Microsoft can afford to take a loss with its next-gen Xbox consoles and would likely hamper PS5 sales with these rumored prices.

The Pokémon Company has revealed three Pokémon games for the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. The new games, which include a New Pokémon Snap for the Nintendo Switch, coincide with the release of the first expansion pack for Pokémon Sword and Shield.

Need a supercharged AMD-based small form factor PC? Corsair has got you covered with the new One a100 mini tower system that resembles an Xbox Series X console. The One a100 systems feature high-end AMD Ryzen 9 3900X/3950X CPUs, RTX 2080 Ti / Super GPUs, plus Asus ROG Strix X570-I Gaming motherboards with 32 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and 1 TB Corsair Force MP600 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD + 2 TB Seagate Barracuda HDD storage combos.

Nubia’s RedMagic 5G is coming to the US priced from just US$579. Not only does the device support 5G networks, it also packs a Snapdragon 865 and an ultrafast 144 Hz AMOLED display.

PS5 exclusives such as Gran Turismo 7 and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales are going to be part of one of the key factors for the next-gen console’s success. A PlayStation executive has been discussing the performance abilities of the PlayStation 5, stating that “the loading times will be next to nothing” for games like GT7.

Google now offers the Stadia Premiere Edition, which includes a Stadia controller and Chromecast Ultra, for US$99.99. This is a $30 cut from its previous pricing. However, Google has also killed the three-month trial period of its Stadia Pro service that used to be included with the purchase of the Stadia Premiere Edition kit.