News

A customer who ordered a low cost Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU cooler reportedly received a sealed AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D instead, turning a $26 purchase into a much more valuable delivery. The processor was not an older leftover unit either. According to the report, it was AMD’s newer 10th Anniversary Ryzen 7 5800X3D edition, which is selling for around $349 at major retailers.

NVIDIA’s major optics partners say their co packaged optics programs are progressing as planned, pushing back against recent rumors that broad CPO deployment had slipped by several years. Lumentum and Coherent both provided updated timelines during recent investor calls. Their comments suggest that early scale out revenue is beginning in the second half of 2026, while larger scale up deployments are expected to follow

A gaming laptop owner says changing the surface under the laptop from wood to metal reduced CPU temperatures by as much as 15°C while playing Cyberpunk 2077. The reported improvement did not require repasting, undervolting or any internal hardware changes. Instead, the cooler metal surface appears to have helped the laptop draw in lower temperature air through its bottom intake vents. Before the change,

Micron’s general purpose DRAM business could remain more profitable than its HBM operations even as demand for AI memory continues to rise. New estimates suggest that Micron’s gross margin on conventional DRAM could reach 95% in 2027, compared with an estimated 75% to 78% for HBM during the same period. The difference highlights a difficult tradeoff for memory manufacturers. HBM is essential for AI

AMD may eventually turn to Intel Foundry for advanced packaging as demand for AI hardware continues to strain capacity across the semiconductor supply chain. UBS reportedly expects AMD, Google, Apple and SpaceX to use Intel’s EMIB T packaging technology through future foundry agreements. For AMD, such a move could provide another option as it works to expand AI accelerator shipments while relying heavily on

ASUS says early demand for NVIDIA RTX Spark laptops has exceeded its expectations, with the company’s initial allocation already fully preordered by channel partners. The update came during ASUS’ latest earnings call, where the company said it is placing additional orders after the first planned quantities were taken up. ASUS is preparing RTX Spark based laptops under its ProArt lineup, with the first systems

NVIDIA’s A100 accelerator may remain commercially useful far longer than many expected, with CoreWeave reportedly planning to continue renting the six year old GPU through 2029. The A100 launched in 2020 as part of NVIDIA’s Ampere generation and uses second generation Tensor Cores. Despite being several generations behind newer Blackwell and Rubin products, continued software optimization and strong demand for AI compute are helping

Halo Studios reportedly relied on 15 external development teams for Halo: Campaign Evolved, while Microsoft is also said to be exploring whether Activision studios could contribute to future Halo projects. The claims come from an insider report and have not been officially confirmed by Microsoft. According to the report, outsourcing has become a major part of Halo Studios’ development strategy, extending beyond Campaign Evolved

Square Enix has confirmed that Kingdom Hearts IV is targeting a late 2027 release, giving the long awaited sequel a clearer launch window more than four years after its original announcement. The update came during D23 in Anaheim, where Square Enix also showed a new trailer featuring a world based on Pixar’s Coco. The timing places the game close to the Kingdom Hearts series’

Marvel’s Wolverine will run at 60 FPS with ray tracing enabled on the standard PlayStation 5, according to new details from Insomniac Games. The studio says this will be the default graphics mode at launch, making it the first Insomniac title designed from the beginning around 60 FPS gameplay with ray tracing active on the base PS5. Previous Insomniac games typically offered separate fidelity

Total War: WARHAMMER III will receive its largest DLC to date on September 24, with Lords of the End Times adding four new Legendary Lords, new units and major changes to the Immortal Empires campaign. For the first time, you will not need to own a Total War: WARHAMMER base game to access Immortal Empires through this content. Buying Lords of the End Times,

Embracer Group has confirmed that Darksiders 4 and the next Kingdom Come title are both planned for release during its 2027/28 fiscal year. That window begins in April 2027 and ends in March 2028, giving both games a clearer launch target even though exact dates have not been announced. The same financial report also places Tomb Raider: Catalyst in that fiscal year, meaning Embracer

Phantom Blade Zero has received its official PC system requirements, and the overall hardware demands are relatively modest until path tracing enters the picture. S GAME says the action RPG can run at 1080p and 30 FPS on hardware as old as a GeForce GTX 1660 or Radeon RX 5500 XT when upscaling is enabled. For 1440p and 60 FPS, the recommended GPUs move

Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious entries in the series, combining traditional tactical battles with four separate character campaigns, dungeon exploration and a large amount of optional activity between major fights. The Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive takes some inspiration from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, particularly in how much time you can spend outside combat, but it

Pearl Abyss is moving more development resources toward DokeV as work on Crimson Desert becomes more stable, with the studio now targeting a launch in the second half of 2028. The company also plans to begin a broader marketing campaign for DokeV in the second half of 2027. That effort is expected to include playable demos and a gradual release of new information. DokeV

Google is giving Gemini users more control over how AI generated media appears by adding an option to remove visible watermarks from supported images, videos and music. The new setting affects the visible Gemini branding that previously appeared on generated content. However, removing that logo does not make the media untraceable. Google will continue embedding invisible SynthID watermarks and metadata in generated files. The

Keychron has introduced an unusually large mechanical macropad aimed at enthusiasts who want a huge number of programmable shortcuts without paying premium Stream Deck prices. The Keychron C100 8K Giant Custom Macro Pad uses a 10 by 10 grid containing 100 mechanical keys. It connects over USB C, supports hot swappable switches, includes RGB lighting and can be programmed through QMK or Keychron’s browser

USB connectors have changed considerably over the years, but some designs have aged far better than others. A recent ranking of common USB connector formats puts USB C at the top, while MicroUSB takes the lowest position. The ranking focuses on the physical connector designs rather than USB generations or transfer standards. In other words, it compares the shape, convenience and everyday usability of

Travel is easier when your gear solves practical problems instead of creating new ones. A useful setup can keep devices charged, organize cables, improve entertainment on long flights, protect your data and help you work while away from home. A recent collection of travel focused technology highlights 24 products covering charging, connectivity, gaming, storage, security and entertainment. The list ranges from inexpensive accessories such

Microsoft is preparing to end feature updates for Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows 10, putting another firm deadline in place for people who still use Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Office apps on the older operating system. Once Microsoft 365 version 2608 is released, Windows 10 devices will stop receiving new Microsoft 365 features and Copilot updates. Security updates will continue for supported subscribers