Gaming

At Computex 2018, HDMI showed off some new features of the HDMI 2.1 specification on the Xbox One X. The Xbox One X will be the first device to support HDMI 2.1 features such as Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). These features will be coming in an upcoming firmware update to the console and will require compatible TVs for the same.

Gigabyte was first to acknowledge the arrival of the GTX 11 mobile GPUs in Q4 2018, and now Lenovo is confirming that the next gen gaming GPUs from Nvidia should arrive in November/December. Among the first laptop to receive the GTX 11 treatment is Lenovo's Legion Y530, which will integrate the GTX 1160 6 GB VRAM version.

The Polaris 30 might come as a surprise, but AMD also neglected to mention the Polaris 20 GPUs in last year's roadmaps, so this looks to be business as usual for the red team. With a rumored 15% performance increase, the Polaris 30 GPUs will be comparable to the RX Vega 56 GPUs. AMD is also said to be preparing budget 7 nm GDDR6 GPUs for early 2019 and high-end HBM2 variants for late 2019.

Carry a 5.5-inch 1080p secondary display with you wherever you go with the Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580. On paper, the concept of having the trackpad be a second display would be immensely useful for multimedia and productivity purposes. In practice, however, there are some ergonomic stumbling blocks users should keep in mind.

The new Z390 platform from Intel will bring support for the gen 9 mainstream CPUs that should go head to head with the Ryzen 2000 series. While the Z390 does not bring significant improvements, the i9-9900K is expected to deliver decent performance gains over the i7-8700K, also positioning itself as the direct competitor to AMD's Ryzen 7 2700 CPU.

ASRock's foray into the GPU market started with the Radeon RX 570 and RX 580-based GPUs when they became available in the Asian market a few months ago. Now, ASRock is making these GPUs available for the European market starting July 1. While the Radeon RX 570 and 580 are starting to age, they are a perfect bet for ASRock to test the waters and offer great bang for the buck.

Even though the ROG Phone is not yet available for purchase, Asus fans are already coming up with interesting design ideas for the 2.0 version of the device. Concept creator's design includes a slimmer metallic case, red accents on the back, streamlined air vents, a repositioned dual rear camera setup, plus a sliding area housing a selfie cam, which allows for a truly bezel-less screen.

With the new Legion Cube C730, Lenovo is attempting to provide a hybrid between mini PCs and mini tower desktops. The portability is quite affected by the 20-pound weight, but Lenovo does offer a handle to move the system around easier. Users can choose between the i7-8700K/8700 and i5-8400 six-core CPUs, up to 32 GB of DDR4 RAM, up to 512 NVMe SSD plus up to 4 TB HDD storage, and a choice between the GTX 1060 and the Radeon RX 570 GPUs.

According to insider sources, Nvidia's desktop GPU team is already testing GTX 11xx prototype PCBs and the final specs should be announced in mid-July. One of these prototype PCBs was already leaked on reddit. The board does not feature the GPU, however the spec sheet includes 12 GB of GDDR6 VRAM with a 384-bit bus, three 8-pin power connectors and a second gen NVLink.

Designer Director of Undead Labs (recently acquired by Microsoft), makers of the hit game State of Decay 2, Richard Foge, feels that Microsoft is not fooling around when it comes to providing first rate gaming experiences to its customers. He feels that the company will continue to innovate with the best games and hardware and grow the highly successful State of Decay franchise.

NVIDIA's Add-in Board (AIB) partners are expected to receive the first shipments of NVIDIA's next generation 'Turing' architecture GPUs sometime in between late August to early September. The official nomenclature is yet to be made official but we can expect some leaks to crop up once the first shipments are out. The initial seeding to the AIB partners, however, is said to be in limited volumes.

The manufacturer is promising 64 GB/s from a single GDDR6 package for future applications in artificial intelligence, networking, automotive, and of course, graphics. Example modules will be on display this week at the ISC 2018 conference in Frankfurt, Germany. These same chips will very likely target the next generation of consumer graphics cards.

Microsoft is working closely with Razer to bring official support for keyboard and mouse input for the Xbox One. Long promised, but never delivered, the new partnership will give hardcore gamers the additional customization options that PC gamers enjoy from an input and control perspective.

In an interview to GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft's Chief Marketing Officer for Gaming, Mike Nichols, said that there are no immediate plans to bring VR/MR capabilities to the Xbox consoles. Nichols feels that VR/MR is more suited to the PC and the focus currently at Xbox is to enhance the experiences on the TV.

Nvidia may deny the imminent release of their next gen gaming GPUs all they want, however, more evidence for a Q3 2018 GTX 11xx release has recently been unveiled by Power Logic's CEO. The largest GPU air cooling provider on the market is expecting a considerable increase in cooler shipments in the second half of 2018, essentially confirming Nvidia's and AMD's next gen GPU arrival.

AMD will be providing Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition driver updates for its 'Raven Ridge' APUs in a quarterly cadence as opposed to more frequent updates for its Radeon GPUs. This was clarified by an AMD rep to a user's query on the OverclockersUK forum. The drivers, however, will be delivered as WHQL certified releases.

References to few upcoming AMD parts have been spotted in the Ashes of the Singularity DirectX 12 benchmark database. These include new 35W quad core chips such as the AMD Ryzen 7 2800H and Ryzen 5 2600H signalling AMD's arrival in the gaming laptop market. Some references to Vega 20 and Vega 12 GPUs were also spotted in the same database.

The Westworld game for mobile devices is supposed to launch officially on June 21st, but it can be downloaded, installed, and played already in some markets. This title is similar to Fallout Shelter and involves many characters and locations that are familiar for the fans of the Westworld TV series.

The Intel Hades Canyon NUC is finally getting a direct competitor in the form of the Chuwi HiGame. The manufacturer has gathered enough backers over the last few months to finally commit to an August launch window. Backers will be able to buy the Core i5-8305G SKU for $900 USD or a full $400 off the final retail price.

Sony’s first-party studio, Naughty Dog, has announced that its game, The Last of US, has sold 17 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games of all time. The game was released back in July 2013 and a sequel is in the works.

New leaks reveal that Nvidia's GTX 1180 will support higher refresh rates through one VR-friendly connection, making it possible to render 4K@120 Hz content for each eye, and this would also apply to the TV-sized G-Sync 4K monitors. Price-wise, the GTX 1180 will not match the original launch MSRP of the GTX 1080, as there will be two versions and the most affordable one is supposed to cost US$999.

The first new entry in the Quake family of first-person shooters since Quake 4 — which arrived back in 2005 — Quake Champions can be downloaded via Steam as a free-to-play trial and those who sign up until June 18 can keep playing after the official launch as well. Early access has been available for US$30 since August 2017.

AMD's semi-custom chipset technologies for Microsoft, Sony, and even Intel may be becoming too lucrative to ignore. If rumors are true, then the AMD Navi series will not be competing in the flagship space against the impending Nvidia Turing GTX 1180 or 2080 due to development commitments with Sony.

The new Pulse 15 customizable gaming PC from Maingear gets updated with all the current trendy options: thin bezels, 15.6-inch screen squeezed in a 14-inch chassis, six-core CPU, mechanical RGB keyboard, plus a generous 2 TB NVMe SSD. Users can also choose to customize the model with automotive paints and MARC II finishes.

Epic Games has announced that Fortnite's first World Cup will be held late next year. The tournament, which will be open to any and all gamers that want to participate, will offer $100 million in prizes, spread across various events and victors.

PCWatch reported that the first mainstream desktop 8-core Coffee Lake-S CPUs should be launched in September along with the Z390 platform. These chips should cost more than US$400 and will come in 80/95 W SKUs. Intel will also launch refreshed 22-core Skylake-X HEDT processors and ultra-premium Cascade Lake-X chips by the end of the year.

G.Skill's overclocking event during Computex 2018 saw 13 overclocking records set, among them were the fastest RAM frequencies ever recorded.

The first such accessory by Alienware in almost a decade, the AW988 is a wireless 7.1 surround gaming headset with LED lights, active noise canceling, and a frequency response range of 20 to 20,000 Hz. Covered by a two-year manufacturer warranty, the Alienware Wireless Gaming Headset AW988 can be acquired directly from Dell for US$229.99.

In addition to the upcoming release on the Xbox One, this major update for Gaijin Entertainment's popular cross-platform vehicular combat MMO title also includes various "X items" like the Fritz-X guided bomb, the AMX-40 and XM-1 tanks, and more. War Thunder 1.79 is now rolling out to Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, and Shield Android TV.

Maryland-based video-game developer Bethesda has released an official trailer for Fallout 76 at E3 and announced work on The Elder Scrolls VI. Other projects from the company discussed at the massive trade show in Los Angeles included an epic space game called Starfield and a new entry into the Doom franchise: Doom Eternal.

A Microsoft executive has confirmed that the company is working on new Xbox consoles. Phil Spencer, who is the Executive Vice President of Gaming and head of the Xbox brand, stated that the development team behind the highly successful Xbox One X console was already busy working on future iterations of the popular home entertainment device.

Compared to the cinematic trailer that has been available for a while, the first Shadow of the Tomb Raider gameplay trailer comes with more action and landscapes, as well as a lot of water. The game is being developed by Eidos Montreal and will hit Windows PCs, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles on September 14.

According to Lenovo, there will be no new additions to the ultra high-end Legion Y900 series as priorities have shifted to the mainstream gaming segment instead. The more affordable Legion Y530, Y730, and Y7000 will all be launching in the July to September time frame. There is potential in a proper Y920 successor further down the line when the new Nvidia GPUs become available.

Lenovo's Legion gaming series is getting a full-on makeover from top to bottom. The new streamlined designs incorporate per-key RGB lighting, narrow bezels, 144 Hz IPS panels, 10 percent stronger cooling, and a more business-appropriate matte look. Expect these systems to launch next month for a starting price of $930 USD and $1180 USD for the Y530 and Y730, respectively.

The 2017 15.6-inch Legion Y520 will split into two successors this year as the Legion Y530 and Legion Y7000. The Y7000 represents a more natural evolution of the existing Legion design while the Y530 will be more restrained in its looks to appeal to office workers. Both, however, are otherwise very similar in performance and internal options.

Microsoft has announced plans to introduce a game-streaming service that will deliver high-quality gaming to a broad range of devices. The as yet unnamed service will be a major entry into the cloud gaming industry and demonstrates a willingness for innovation that is normally associated with the Redmond-based company’s rival in Cupertino.

Microsoft and EA have announced that both the Halo and Madden franchises, respectively, will be coming back to the PC. Both titles have been restricted to consoles for the past several generations and will be welcomed by PC gamers.