Gaming

The Acer Nitro 5 AN515-55 is a mid-range gaming laptop with a great price-to-performance ratio. However, to achieve a great level of performance at a low price, Acer had to cut some costs.

Asus touts the ROG Phone 5 as the most powerful Android gaming phone it has ever launched, due to its Snapdragon 888 processor and 144Hz FHD+ display. It is now available to buy in the United States, and is priced at $1,000 for its 16GB RAM/256 internal storage SKU.

OnePlus has announced a new promotion by which those who buy certain new smartphones in the UK, Germany or France can claim a new Stadia Premiere Edition from Google. The units included in this new deal are those of the new flagship 9 series, the 8 Pro, 8T or mid-range Nord. The OEM asserts that these combos will deliver "powerhouse gaming" for new customers.

The new A7 X1 is the first AMD-based mid-range gaming laptop from Gigabyte's new Gaming series. It features the Ryzen 9 5900HX processor with integrated Vega 7 graphics plus an Nvidia RTX 3070 Max-Q 140 W discrete solution. The display is limited to FHD resolution, but gets 144 Hz refresh rate, and there is support for up to 64 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and 6 TB of storage.

According to multiple sources, Valve is planning on releasing a handheld games console and as early as Q4 2021. The device, codenamed SteamPal, will reputedly run Linux using an AMD Van Gogh APU. The SteamPal is expected to launch for US$399.

CD Projekt Red's Adam Kicinski recently stated at a shareholder meeting that Sony has yet to reapprove Cyberpunk 2077, despite having been delisted in December. With patch 1.2 performance still not optimal on last-gen consoles, Cyberpunk's PlayStation remains an open question.

Razer's latest keyboard is the Blackwidow V3 Mini HyperSpeed. It has a 65% form-factor, which translates to a 60% form-factor that retains arrow keys. The new board also features the OEM's HyperSpeed Wireless Technology, an aluminium frame and a choice of 2 switch types.

The God of War sequel, also known as God of War: Ragnarok, has likely been delayed. On top of that, there is growing belief it will only be a PS5 exclusive, meaning no new appearance for Kratos on the PS4. A well-known leaker has also stated that there will be a PlayStation 5 exclusive Final Fantasy title revealed soon.

Razer has started taking pre-orders for pre-built systems containing the RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti, confirming the impending launch of both cards. Both will be available with AMD Ryzen 5000X CPUs.

The successor of the Ryzen 5 4500U-powered MINISFORUM HM50 is now available as the HM80. Inside it, there is a more potent Ryzen 7 4800U processor, alongside 16/256 GB or 32/512 GB of memory/storage. The prices of these two configurations, after the US$100 early-bird discount, are US$759 and US$829.

Verizon is offering up to one year of Apple Arcade for new Unlimited plan subscribers. Considering the cost of Apple Arcade ($5/month), this would save up to $60. As such, this new deal is really only good for those that are already considering opening an Unlimited plan.

Although there is nothing special about it hardware-wise, the Slim 1 TB PlayStation 4 autographed by the popular online player CoryxKenshin is now up for sale on eBay with a starting price of no less than US$25,000. However, there are two days left and no bids have been placed so far.

HP has introduced the Omen 25i gaming monitor recently featuring a VESA DisplayHDR 400 and AMD FreeSync support. The Omen 25i is a FHD 165 Hz display that offers several software enhancements including Dynamic Crosshair, Edge Precision, Eye Ease, and Shadow Vision. The Omen 25i also includes a Game Remastered mode for enhancing old school PC and console classics.

An AMD patent filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office offers a glimpse at how its DLSS-competitor, apparently named "Gaming Super Resolution," could work.

The ROG Flow X13 has received an upgrade to NVIDIA's latest RTX 30 series GPUs. The laptop remains available with AMD Ryzen 9 5000 APUs, which ASUS has paired with either the GeForce RTX 3050 or the GeForce RTX 3050 Ti.

HP has upgraded the hardware on its Omen 16 and Omen 17 gaming laptops. One can configure the latter with an Intel Core i9-11900H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, while the former is restricted to an Intel Core 17-11800H/AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and a GeForce RTX 3070.

HP has announced a new sub-brand of gaming laptops to complement the Omen lineup. Victus by HP 16 will be available in both Intel and AMD options and offers display options up to QHD 165 Hz. Victus by HP 16 is designed to cater to those who want capable hardware without having to splurge too much on a high-end gaming laptop.

Opera asserts that it has been inundated with requests for a mobile version of its gaming-focused browser since launching the PC-compatible original. Now, it has delivered with the launch of GX Mobile. It shares many features with the desktop variant, its customized navigation controls and esthetics included.

Base specs for the upcoming GeIL DDR5 kits include 16 GB capacity per module, 4800 MHz speeds and CL40 timings. The overclockable modules will come with higher specs: 6 GHz CL32-36-36, 6.4 GHz CL32, 6.8 GHz CL36-44-44, and 7.2 GHz CL36. There will be RGB as well as non-RGB variants with black PCB and capacities will eventually go up to 32 GB per module.

Xbox Game Pass has been in the news a lot lately thanks to details revealed in the ongoing Epic Games v. Apple legal showdown. While this has stirred up rumors about a potential Nintendo union, Game Pass has also been connected with Electronic Arts by a somewhat hit-and-miss games informer.

The Huawei MateView GT features a soundbar, a lightbar and a 34-inch panel with a 21:9 aspect ratio. The 1440p display also runs at up to 165 Hz and has a 4,000:1 peak contrast ratio.

The RTX 3090 Ti could feature a full GA 102 die just like the A6000 professional cards, plus maybe some more VRAM and slightly higher clocks with raised TGP. This configuration would net a performance increase of around 15-25% over the RTX 3090 FE models. It is entirely possible this could also turn out to be an entirely new SKU produced on the 7 nm nodes from TSMC.

Tipster @SkullziTV recently outed another leaked image from a 2018 build of Bethesda’s upcoming space RPG, Starfield. @SkullziTV also claimed that Bethesda is aiming for a Q1 2022 release timeframe, nearly 7 years after the release of Fallout 4.

The Intel-based Neo M21 models might slightly lag behind those equipped with the Ryzen 7 5800H as far as CPU performance is concerned, but the addition of PCIe 4.0 and Thunderbolt 4 could be decisive for many users. Otherwise, the Neo 15 / 17 models powered by the i7-11800H seem to be mostly identical to the E21 AMD systems released earlier this year.

AOC has introduced a gaming monitor that could be ideal for those who own a Sony PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X. Not only does the Agon AG324UX support 4K natively, but it also runs at 144 Hz and has two HDMI 2.1 ports. A USB Type-C port with Power Delivery could be handy for laptops, too.

Lenovo has confirmed that it still plans to release the 18 GB version of the Legion 2 Pro, its latest gaming smartphone. The flagship will launch for CNY 5,999 (~US$932), over 60% more than the basic Legion 2 Pro costs.

NVIDIA has committed to releasing 'Lite Hash Rate' versions of the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, RTX 3070 and RTX 3080. The RTX 3090 remains unaffected, but all other desktop RTX 30 series cards shipping from this month onwards will be capped at half their theoretical ETH hash rates.

The Trust GXT 258W Fyru mic has a USB interface, thus making it compatible with PCs, Macs and other devices. However, given its styling, not to mention its LEDs for RGB, it is clearly intended to pair with the PS5, especially its white SKU. Then again, with its 4 choices of recording mode and decent sampling rate, the OEM asserts it is also ideal for streaming or collaboration.

Corsair has announced that it will start switching to DDR5 in its next-gen modules. It hails the upcoming standard as a significant upgrade for memory, as well as for PCs in general, due to its increased bandwidth, maximal density per die and speed compared to its predecessor.

The Chinese mini PC maker is breaking away from its usual square-shaped builds with modest specs and is presenting its first all-AMD gaming-oriented system featuring an open air case packing a Ryzen 5 5600X processor coupled with 32 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and 1 TB M.2 SSD storage, plus a Radeon RX 6700 XT GPU.

Smach is on the verge of calling time on the Smach Z, nearly five years after taking it to Kickstarter. According to its founder, Smach is on the verge of bankruptcy, despite receiving over US$1 million from two crowdfunding campaigns.

Samsung has only just launched laptop-sized AMOLED displays in the Galaxy Book Pro line-up; now, the OEM has revealed another new party trick for these panels. They have attained an SGS certification that states they match up to this body's standards for use during gaming. They include certain levels of blur length and contrast ratio.

More GeForce RTX 30 series cards have been certified, this time the RTX 3050 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti. The RTX 3080 Ti has been certified once again too, as have numerous CMP HX mining cards.

The new Dell laptop is a full-on chassis update from last year's G3 15 series with features derived from the Alienware m15. Its thicker gen-to-gen design should hopefully provide superior cooling potential than last year's model.

The DualSense controller for the PlayStation 5 is now available in two new colourways, Midnight Black and Cosmic Red. Both variants will be available for purchase starting next month.

Intel seems to be a little more subversive than usual with the latest anti-AMD marketing ploys, as demonstrated by Alienware with the Aurora R10 AMD Ryzen 5000 systems that appear to be mismarketed in favor of the R12 Intel Rocket Lake models.

Online retailers have been trying to enforce special policies to prevent crypto miners and scalpers from wiping out GPU stocks in no time. GPUs are now usually bundled along CPUs, motherboards or SSDs, but crypto miners are obviously not interested in any of these, so they are expected to dump all non-GPU components at low prices on eBay.

GALAX has confirmed NVIDIA's plans to re-release the GeForce RTX 30 series with revised ETH mining limits. All cards bar the GeForce RTX 3090 have received new GPUs with a '2' suffix, replacing the '0' suffix from the original Ampere GPUs.

MSI has, perhaps unwittingly, listed the RTX 3080 Ti on its website. The blunder follows a crate of MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ti VENTUS 3X 12G OC cards being spotted last month.

Asus has refreshed its ROG Zephyrus S17 with new Intel Tiger Lake-H and NVIDIA Ampere RTX 30 Laptop GPU offerings. Unlike the previous generation, the 2021 ROG Zephyrus S17 uses a rising keyboard mechanism for enhanced cooling. Also, the new Zephyrus S17 offers QHD 165 Hz and UHD 120 Hz panel options with no FHD 300 Hz in sight.

Samsung has applied to trademark the term "Activate Fan Mode" in Europe. This possible new setting applies to smartphones and tablets, thus strongly suggesting these devices will start launching with physical fans soon. This would be a particularly advanced next step in mobile-device cooling, if so.

The latest form of NVIDIA's Studio standard for creator-grade laptops combine in-demand specs such as RTX 3000-series graphics, 1440p screens and device heights of as little as 16 millimeters in some cases. The company has also now officially announced the RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti platform for laptops, which are to be found in gaming machines as well as those for professionals soon.

GPD has upgraded the Win Max Mini, one of its handheld gaming PCs. The Win Max Mini 2021 will soon be available with Intel Tiger Lake and AMD Ryzen 4000 processors, which should both have improved gaming performance compared to last year's model.

An Intel Alder Lake processor showed up on CapFrameX's database running DOTA2. On average, the game ran at 189 FPS, which is somewhat low, given that it isn't particularly resource-heavy. It could have happened due to DOTA2's inability to recognize Alder Lake's core configuration properly.

The Nintendo Switch Pro has been namechecked in a Universal Display Corporation earnings call. According to UDI's CEO, Nintendo has chosen a display for its next handheld console, which would be a significant upgrade over the displays found in current models.

After recently introducing the Alienware m15 R4 and Ryzen Edition R5, Dell is offering yet another Alienware m15 laptop — the Alienware m15 R6. The Alienware m15 R6 offers several Tiger Lake-H and RTX 30 Ampere GPU options along with displays up to 360 Hz and an optional CherryMX ultra low-profile mechanical keyboard.