TechPowerUP NEWS

[NextPowerUP]

Get ready to embark on a thrilling scientific odyssey! Expeditions: A MudRunner Game (https://www.focus-entmt.com/en/games/expeditions-a-mudrunner-game), the latest creation from Saber Interactive (https://saber.games/), the renowned studio behind MudRunner and SnowRunner, reveals Runners of the Lost Ark, a new action-packed trailer paying tribute to legendary tales of exploration and to adventurers from all around the world. The perfect way to pack your bag for Expeditions' arrival on March 5, 2024 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC. Feel the excitement of adventure in a journey filled with gripping moments and spectacular sceneries. Become a famous explorer trading a whip for a winch and a hat for a roof rack. In a pitiless wilderness, avoid all the traps, look danger straight in the eye and discover all the secrets of a thrilling world.

Your itinerary, your odyssey
You're not alone facing sharp cliffs and muddy terrain in Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, as you can always count on your equipment. Whip out your incredible tools and make your way in these gorgeous landscapes. Whether you're defying the law of physics with your winch, conquering the biggest precipices with your self-deploying bridge or scouting your path with your drone, you and your gadgets form an unbeatable team. Drive until the sun sets and make every bend an adventure.https://tpucdn.com/img/A136S6S6ev6q1JsH_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/A136S6S6ev6q1JsH.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/o2lNg9dz2UVVlAqQ_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/o2lNg9dz2UVVlAqQ.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/5sotI8hDlczUz9z5_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/5sotI8hDlczUz9z5.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/hTfCF79STOQPLNx7_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/hTfCF79STOQPLNx7.jpg)
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[NextPowerUP]

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (https://www.ageofempires.com/games/aoeiide/) had a landmark year in 2023 with the addition of the Return of Rome and The Mountain Royals expansions. More than four years after launch, the game continues to grow. Telling more stories from the world's rich history as well as bringing more civilizations to play. The next chapter for Age of Empires II: DE will be the single player focused DLC Victors and Vanquished, coming March 14th.

Introduced by its Creator, Ramsey Abdulrahim, this DLC will be like no other we've made before for AoE II: DE. Victors and Vanquished features 19 epic scenarios. Your strategy and choices will decide your fate: will you emerge as the ultimate victor, or fall as the vanquished? You'll play as Ragnar Lothbrok, Oda Nobunaga, Charlemagne and more. Each scenario features professional voice acting, new music, achievement and the quality you'd expect from an official Age of Empires scenario.https://tpucdn.com/img/ttrjJqzYPMZ46ciQ_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/ttrjJqzYPMZ46ciQ.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/WLj0s91vkQdMRY5g_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/WLj0s91vkQdMRY5g.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/nA6Ex0rFLg0gVtdy_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/nA6Ex0rFLg0gVtdy.jpg)
Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319633/age-of-empires-ii-definitive-edition-victors-and-vanquished-campaign-unveiled)

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[NextPowerUP]

Last October, Qualcomm introduced Snapdragon X Elite (https://www.techpowerup.com/315051/qualcomm-unleashes-snapdragon-x-elite-the-ai-super-charged-platform-to-revolutionize-the-pc) as its most powerful computing processor for PC, but the ARM-based mobile solution is still months away from launch—officially mid-2024. Company leadership has indicated (https://www.techpowerup.com/318784/qualcomm-believes-that-snapdragon-x-elite-launch-will-coincide-with-windows-12) that their custom Oryon CPU—for the "thin-and-light notebook market"—could be hitting retail at the same time as Microsoft's heavily rumored "Windows 12" inauguration. Several PC news outlets have picked up on a mysterious Qualcomm "ZH-WXX" platform appearing on Geekbench Browser—the February 22 entrant (https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/5019569) seems to be a prototype notebook that sports a "Snapdragon X Elite - X1E80100 - Qualcomm Oryon CPU," and 32 GB of LPDDR5x memory.

There are no next generation operating system revelations here—the system was running a 64-bit install of Windows 11 Insider Preview. Overall Geekbench 6.2.2 tallies are 2574 (single-core), and 12562 (multi-core)—positioning the 12-core Snapdragon X Elite engineering sample just above AMD's Ryzen 9 7940HS (https://www.techpowerup.com/cpu-specs/ryzen-9-7940hs.c3020) top-end mobility-focused "Phoenix" APU (https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/early-snapdragon-x-elite-benchmark-shows-arm-cpu-is-faster-than-amds-top-end-mobile-apu) in terms of performance. Geekbench Browser's "CPU Information" section identifies the alleged high-end Snapdragon X Elite processor as a "ARMv8 (64-bit) Family 8 Model 1 Revision 201" part. Average clock speeds were listed as 4.01 GHz (base frequency). Cluster 1 seems to contain eight Nuvia-designed Oryon processor cores, while Cluster 2 receives the remaining four units.https://tpucdn.com/img/W8alcgvK5B4v336Q_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/W8alcgvK5B4v336Q.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/kvRkztDxBOqKvhFh_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/kvRkztDxBOqKvhFh.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/9qLEdywSoRAZY1Dm_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/9qLEdywSoRAZY1Dm.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/7ZQH65gVBWGykc4D_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/7ZQH65gVBWGykc4D.jpg)

Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319630/qualcomm-snapdragon-x-elite-x1e80100-cpu-gets-geekbenched)

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[NextPowerUP]

Last year, it was revealed that the masters of remasters at Nightdive Studios (https://www.nightdivestudios.com/games/) have taken on the task of bringing the beloved 90s classic Star Wars: Dark Forces to modern audiences. The remaster (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2292260/STAR_WARS_Dark_Forces_Remaster/) is set to release February 28 on PS5 and PS4, nearly 30 years after the release of the original game from LucasArts in 1995 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Dark_Forces). Similar to Nightdive's previous endeavors with titles like Quake II and Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered, Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster honors the strong foundation of the original while updating it for modern consoles through the studio's proprietary KEX engine, allowing the game to run at up to 4K resolution at 120 FPS on PlayStation 5. With this, fans of the original as well as a whole new generation of gamers, will be able to experience Star Wars: Dark Forces and appreciate what made it such an essential title within LucasArts' (now Lucasfilm Games) impressive catalog. Further honoring the work that went into its initial development, it's been revealed that Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster will feature a special Vault jam-packed with never-before-seen content from the making of the 1995 original!

With improved spritework and remastered cutscenes, those looking to dig deeper into a truly unique story within the Star Wars galaxy will be able to enjoy a visually pleasing narrative experience as they join protagonist Kyle Katarn, a defector turned mercenary for hire working for the Rebel Alliance, in foiling the Galactic Empire and its secret Dark Troopers Project. As much as we'd love to continue gushing over why this has been such an exciting project for Nightdive and must-play title for fans and newcomers alike, let's dive deeper into the fascinating history and behind-the-scenes work of breathing new life into Star Wars: Dark Forces with Nightdive's Project Lead and Producer, Max Waine.https://tpucdn.com/img/TqCxfj8xD1eqzhdV_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/TqCxfj8xD1eqzhdV.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/g1K3oO4hvz01bH00_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/g1K3oO4hvz01bH00.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/WIjRvN2PgYkP8S0j_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/WIjRvN2PgYkP8S0j.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/AssOee16bQFwre9j_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/AssOee16bQFwre9j.jpg)
Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319629/nightdive-studios-discusses-remastering-of-star-wars-dark-forces)

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[NextPowerUP]

A Razer Viper V3 Pro wireless gaming mouse model appeared briefly in an Amazon France listing—the prematurely published page seems to have been deactivated since its discovery was shared (https://www.reddit.com/r/MouseReview/comments/1azorsz/razer_viper_v3_pro_leaked_on_amazon_france/) on the popular Mousereview subreddit. Internet sleuth, SwitchBoy500 managed to preserve details in a couple of posted screengrabs, although no product photos were included in the now removed Amazon.fr entry. The leaked price was €179.99 (~$195)—not surprising given that this resides within Razer's premium tier—although it is suggested that North American customers could be paying $159 on launch day, with a "HyperPolling True 8KHz Wireless Receiver Dongle" bundled in. The leaked release date was March 28—perhaps Europe specific (or subject to change). Many specifications seem to align with Razer's DeathAdder V3 Pro model, although one internal difference appears to be a choice of mouse sensor. Current "Pro" flagships are fitted with the Focus Pro 30K Optical (PixArt PAW3950), while the upcoming Viper could sport a fancy new "Focus+ Gen-2 Optical Sensor."

Several thread commenters are already familiar with the Razer Viper V3 Pro, albeit from a distance—commenters pointed out that pre-release samples have been spotted at competitive multiplayer gaming events. According to social media tips, Nexa (real name Nemanja Isaković) from G2 was observed using a "new Razer Viper V3 Pro with HyperPolling dongle" at a January 2024 "Blast CS2 LAN" tournament. Prototypes and preview units are often sent to professional Esporters, online influencers and reviewers—it is not a big surprise to see leaked examples appear online weeks or months in advance of an official product rollout. The Viper V3 Pro is believed to share the same overall design aesthetic as seen on the mid-range Viper V3 Hyperspeed (https://www.techpowerup.com/review/razer-viper-v3-hyperspeed/) sibling. Close analysis of blurry tournament footage or photographs suggest that the Pro model's DPI switch is positioned underneath, rather than on top (behind the mouse wheel)—as seen on Razer's current Viper Hyperspeed variant.https://tpucdn.com/img/D0Y8gv1YwjGpikJM_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/D0Y8gv1YwjGpikJM.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/heswThNSbHhQ9HIp_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/heswThNSbHhQ9HIp.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/pWZCX3DPhKODKoV0_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/pWZCX3DPhKODKoV0.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/RA2acCNK522yT53R_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/RA2acCNK522yT53R.jpg)

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[NextPowerUP]

Dell Technologies will introduce the broadest portfolio of commercial AI laptops and mobile workstations designed to bring organizations and employee productivity into the AI era. "The next generation of PCs is emerging at a pivotal time - with upcoming refresh cycles and new capabilities on the PC creating the perfect storm," said Patrick Moorhead, founder and CEO of Moor Insights & Strategy. "Dell's commercial AI PCs and workstations, coupled with its ecosystem of peripherals, software and services, offer an AI continuum designed to enhance the user experience today and set organizations up for success in the future."

"Every company that wants to remain competitive will have to implement AI in some way, and AI PCs will be central to that," said Sam Burd, president, Client Solutions Group, Dell Technologies. "From running complex AI workloads on workstations to using day-to-day AI-powered applications on laptops, the AI PC will be an important investment that pays dividends in productivity and paves the way to a smarter, more efficient future. Dell's advantage starts with offering more AI PCs across the commercial portfolio from day one, giving customers the ability to start future proofing for AI today."https://tpucdn.com/img/ce83N2A0rRWEeeM1_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/ce83N2A0rRWEeeM1.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/DCquFRqkYBcfnMTe_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/DCquFRqkYBcfnMTe.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/4SDAMwhZQCXeXJl7_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/4SDAMwhZQCXeXJl7.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/ehTVoK3aZpQa1sZF_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/ehTVoK3aZpQa1sZF.jpg)
Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319625/dell-broadens-portfolio-of-ai-workstations-and-laptops)

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[NextPowerUP]

Brett Simpson, Partner and Co-Founder of Arete Research, sat down with AMD CTO Mark Papermaster during the former's "Investor Webinar Conference." A transcript of the Arete + AMD question and answer session (https://seekingalpha.com/article/4671705-advanced-micro-devices-inc-amd-arete-investor-webinar-conference-transcript) appeared online last week—the documented fireside chat concentrated mostly on "AI compute market" topics. Papermaster was asked about his company's competitive approach (https://www.techpowerup.com/318652/financial-analyst-outs-amd-instinct-mi300x-projected-pricing) when taking on NVIDIA's very popular range of A100 and H100 AI GPUs, as well as the recently launched GH200 chip. The CTO did not reveal any specific pricing strategies—a "big picture" was painted instead: "I think what's important when you just step back is to look at total cost of ownership, not just one GPU, one accelerator, but total cost of ownership. But now when you also look at the macro, if there's not competition in the market, you're going to see not only a growth of the price of these devices due to the added content that they have, but you're -- without a check and balance, you're going to see very, very high margins, more than that could be sustained without a competitive environment."

Papermaster continued: "And what I think is very key with -- as AMD has brought competition market for these most powerful AI training and inference devices is you will see that check and balance. And we have a very innovative approach. We've been a leader in chiplet design. And so we have the right technology for the right purpose of the AI build-out that we do. We have, of course, a GPU accelerator. But there's many other circuitry associated with being able to scale and build out these large clusters, and we're very, very efficient in our design." Team Red started to ship its flagship accelerator, Instinct MI300X (https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-instinct-mi300x.c4179), to important customers at the start of 2024—Arete Research's Simpson asked about the possibility of follow-up models. In response, AMD's CTO referenced some recent history: "Well, I think the first thing that I'll highlight is what we did to arrive at this point, where we are a competitive force. We've been investing for years in building up our GPU road map to compete in both HPC and AI. We had a very, very strong harbor train that we've been on, but we had to build our muscle in the software enablement."https://tpucdn.com/img/tA2GK89wLAknVZid_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/tA2GK89wLAknVZid.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/n1JD5obeIy76RhfF_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/n1JD5obeIy76RhfF.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/Vz7ovJrlNWS0MH4Z_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/Vz7ovJrlNWS0MH4Z.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/GM66xVbM4Qdq9KBu_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/GM66xVbM4Qdq9KBu.jpg)

Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319624/amd-cto-teases-memory-upgrades-for-revised-instinct-mi300-series-accelerators)

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[NextPowerUP]

Hello there! Your friendly neighborhood Community Manager, Katten here, this time to introduce you to our CONFIRMED release date for Millennia (https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/millennia/about)! So, it's time to stock up on refreshments, order the pizza, and mark your calendars for March 26, 2024! Now, I am sure you are all super excited to see what has changed about the game, or for you newcomers, what the game is all about. Check out this amazing trailer below.

With this, Pre-Purchase is now live (https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/millennia/buy), with the Base game available for $39.99 and the Premium Edition for $59.99. The Premium Edition includes two skins for early game units as an instant unlock and our two planned upcoming expansions: Ancient Worlds & Atomic Ambitions! Now, don't those two sound like an "Explosive new start"? I now pass the microphone to the Co-Founder of C Prompt Games & Lead Designer of Millennia, Ian Fischer!https://tpucdn.com/img/du0nP3D38wevcFer_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/du0nP3D38wevcFer.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/aqaoPlLq1P2ALKCY_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/aqaoPlLq1P2ALKCY.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/WGO2nTuknuz70q8H_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/WGO2nTuknuz70q8H.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/7Jm5EfUJDWFW2GG6_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/7Jm5EfUJDWFW2GG6.jpg)
Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319623/millennia-release-date-confirmed-march-26)

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[NextPowerUP]

The University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (USST), Peking University and the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM) are collaborating on new Optical Data Storage (ODS) technologies—a recently published paper (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06980-y) reveals that scientists are attempting to create 3D nanoscale optical disk memory that breaks into petabit capacities. Society (as a whole) has an ever-growing data demand—this requires the development of improved high-capacity storage technologies—the R&D teams believe that ODS presents a viable alternative route to traditional present day solutions: "data centers based on major storage technologies such as semiconductor flash devices and hard disk drives have high energy burdens, high operation costs and short lifespans."

The proposed ODS format could be a "promising solution for cost-effective long-term archival data storage." The researchers note that current (e.g Blu-ray) and previous generation ODS technologies have been: "limited by low capacities and the challenge of increasing areal density." In order to get ODS up to petabit capacity levels, several innovations are required—the Nature.com abstract stated: "extending the planar recording architecture to three dimensions with hundreds of layers, meanwhile breaking the optical diffraction limit barrier of the recorded spots. We develop an optical recording medium based on a photoresist film doped with aggregation-induced emission dye, which can be optically stimulated by femtosecond laser beams. This film is highly transparent and uniform, and the aggregation-induced emission phenomenon provides the storage mechanism. It can also be inhibited by another deactivating beam, resulting in a recording spot with a super-resolution scale." The novel optical storage medium relies on dye-doped photoresist (DDPR) with aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIE-DDPR)—a 515 nm femtosecond Gaussian laser beam takes care of optical writing tasks, while a doughnut-shaped 639 nm continuous wave laser beam is tasked with retrieval. A 480 nm pulsed laser and a 592 nm continuous wave laser work in tandem to read data.https://tpucdn.com/img/wapFdxk3SMF7IhFx_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/wapFdxk3SMF7IhFx.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/r9Y2GRgkSEzf4SI6_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/r9Y2GRgkSEzf4SI6.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/bGyINQvXf8NMlxws_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/bGyINQvXf8NMlxws.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/8pbvhLCaNvBkK4hI_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/8pbvhLCaNvBkK4hI.jpg)
Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319618/3d-nanoscale-petabit-capacity-optical-disk-format-proposed-by-chinese-r-d-teams)

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[NextPowerUP]

Samsung Electronics announced that it is participating in the AI-RAN Alliance as a founding member, with the goal of promoting 6G innovation by combining AI technology and wireless communication technology. Officially launched at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2024 today, the AI-RAN Alliance is an organization aimed at revitalizing the convergence of AI and wireless communication and leading technology innovation through cooperation with related companies. A total of eleven organizations—including Samsung, Arm, Ericsson, Microsoft, Nokia, NVIDIA, SoftBank and Northeastern University—are participating as founding members. This new alliance will collaborate on the development of innovative new technologies, as well as the application of these technologies to commercial products in preparation for the upcoming 6G era.

"Emerging services in the 6G era will revolutionize the way people interact with technology, and AI will be an integral part of this trend," said Charlie Zhang, Senior Vice President at Samsung Research America. "The AI-RAN Alliance will foster collaboration, drive innovation and usher in a new era of transformation around AI and 6G networks. We believe this coalition will create new value for end users and operators through AI-based use cases and innovations."https://tpucdn.com/img/fFsKeH0Edd348kDl_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/fFsKeH0Edd348kDl.jpg)
Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319620/samsung-electronics-joins-ai-ran-alliance-as-a-founding-member)

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[NextPowerUP]

Samsung Electronics today announced the company has successfully completed the industry's first end-to-end call in a lab environment with a future Intel Xeon processor (codenamed Granite Rapids-D), on a virtualized Open RAN network powered by Samsung's vRAN 3.0. This achievement between Samsung and Intel is another milestone in the companies' multi-year collaboration and represents the companies' mutual dedication to advance virtualized Open RAN for enhanced performance and capacity.

Conducted in Samsung's R&D lab in Korea, the companies completed the end-to-end data call using Samsung's versatile and O-RAN-compliant virtualized RAN (vRAN) integrated with Intel's Granite Rapids-D, Samsung's Core and test devices. During the test, Samsung achieved significant gains as well as reduced power consumption. The test results will be demonstrated at Mobile World Congress 2024 (Samsung Networks booth, invitation-only).https://tpucdn.com/img/By4s0syM0fWeypNr_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/By4s0syM0fWeypNr.jpg)
Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319619/samsung-collaborates-on-vran-3-0-with-intel)

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[NextPowerUP]

NVIDIA released a Hotfix driver update to fix certain issues with the NVENC hardware encoder of GeForce GTX 16-series "Turing" GPUs, such as the popular GTX 1660, and GTX 1650 Ti, etc. Apparently, applications utilizing the hardware acceleration provided by the GPU's NVENC unit would result in corrupted videos or spring up error messages. The Hotfix driver is based on GeForce 551.68, and is not WHQL-certified. NVIDIA may include fixes contained in the hotfix in one of its upcoming GeForce Game Ready or Studio main trunk drivers. GeForce GTX 16-series "Turing" GPUs feature an NVENC unit that can accelerate H.264 and H.265 encoding.https://tpucdn.com/img/bkNKY6dulswCGjtC_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/bkNKY6dulswCGjtC.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/RuVqZQIf6VL294FE_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/RuVqZQIf6VL294FE.jpg)
DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 551.68 Hotfix for GTX 16-series NVENC Issues (https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5525/~/geforce-hotfix-driver-version-551.68)
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[NextPowerUP]

AMD announced three new entries to the growing list of games that support FSR 3.0, "The Last of Us Part 1," "Remnant II," and "RoboCop: Rogue City." The three will soon get patches from their developers that add FSR 3 support. "The Last of Us Part 1" is a particularly important title in the list. FSR 3 entails updates to the upscaling algorithm that provide more image quality at a given preset compared to FSR 2, but more importantly, it introduces frame-generation, with an interpolation technology that nearly doubles framerates. FSR 3 support will be available to those with Radeon RX 6000 series and RX 7000 series GPUs.https://tpucdn.com/img/3uJV8YQ9xh5Xbm58_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/3uJV8YQ9xh5Xbm58.jpg)

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[NextPowerUP]

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today unveiled two new additions to their audio lineup: the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma and the Seiren V3 Mini. These microphones are a fusion of Razer's iconic aesthetics with cutting-edge functionality, tailored to be the centerpiece of any gaming setup, streaming studio, or content creation space.

"We are thrilled to launch the Seiren V3 Chroma and Seiren V3 Mini, showcasing Razer merging top-tier audio quality with the dynamic flair of Razer Chroma RGB," says Nick Bourne, Head of Razer's Mobile, Console & Streaming Division. "These microphones are designed to cater to the multifaceted demands of modern content creators, offering unparalleled customization, control, and clarity that truly stands out."https://tpucdn.com/img/AcNAiI005LFrAYL4_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/AcNAiI005LFrAYL4.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/xxq3VTvZ3JfgTJTD_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/xxq3VTvZ3JfgTJTD.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/hKtC8QYyOIoWE23K_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/hKtC8QYyOIoWE23K.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/9KzBEZL3Xhiowq04_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/9KzBEZL3Xhiowq04.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/ckJP60zaz3yr3PJA_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/ckJP60zaz3yr3PJA.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/JtcFJYF7l897eBbh_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/JtcFJYF7l897eBbh.jpg)
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[NextPowerUP]

The existence of Intel's upcoming Core i9-14900KS processor has been confirmed by a series of insider leaks (https://www.techpowerup.com/319073/intel-core-i9-14900ks-draws-as-much-as-409w-at-stock-speeds-with-power-limits-unlocked) and premature retail listings (https://www.techpowerup.com/319723/intel-core-i9-14900ks-full-spec-sheet-leaked-by-canadian-e-tailer)—an "alleged" example was photographed (https://www.techpowerup.com/317288/alleged-intel-core-i9-14900ks-pictured) and appeared online right at the start of 2024. French e-tail listings (https://www.techpowerup.com/319217/intel-core-i9-14900ks-retail-oem-packages-listed-in-france) produced evidence of two packages (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000029613/processors.html)—a traditional retail box version, and a barebones tray option for OEM purposes. Earlier today, the I_Leak_VN social media account uploaded proof (https://twitter.com/I_Leak_VN/status/1763052242201100568) of a single "Special Edition" box sitting in an unnamed Vietnamese warehouse—it is not immediately clear whether units have reached retail facilities, or have just arrived on Southeast Asian shores. The embargo-busting post seemingly corroborates global insider information/whispers about distribution networks receiving stock—possibly in preparation for a rumored mid-March launch. VideoCardz believes (https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-core-i9-14900ks-spotted-in-vietnam-reportedly-costs-765-usd) that Vietnamese customers will be paying roughly $765 a pop—30% pricier than the current cost of 14th Gen Core flagship (https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i9-14900k/28.html) ownership.https://tpucdn.com/img/bOzzxridYX0VJeWV_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/bOzzxridYX0VJeWV.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/CwMsVeyX68IGqWYO_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/CwMsVeyX68IGqWYO.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/QPUyzWRVlnwpCxfY_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/QPUyzWRVlnwpCxfY.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/V4MdaAj983OPTIFW_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/V4MdaAj983OPTIFW.jpg)

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[NextPowerUP]

We're thrilled to announce the addition of Crossplay, a highly anticipated feature in Remnant 2 (https://www.remnantgame.com/en/)! Now, players can unite against the Root, irrespective of their chosen platform. Team up with friends or discover open games across platforms and embark on your journey together. Dev Note: For console players, Crossplay is set to on by default. This setting will affect your ability to see other games (including friend's games) within the game if their Crossplay setting is set to "off." If you can't see a friend's game in-game, then confirm that you have matching Crossplay settings. The "off" setting will prevent you from joining another game that have Crossplay enabled. Additional Dev Note: Settings on PC that use frame generation currently blocks the Epic Online Services Overlay, which is required for Crossplay functionality of joining friends in game. You can still accept invites using the Epic launcher prior to starting the game and join that way if you wish to use frame generation in game.

Aberration Domination Event
The Root have seized yet another opportunity to unleash a horde of menacing Aberrations across all worlds! From February 29th to March 5th, gear up and face this challenge head-on. Defeat these sinister foes and collect the elusive Corrupted Shards, a rare material with untold potential. Head over to the enigmatic Dwell in Ward 13, where you can trade these Corrupted Shards to craft corrupted versions of some NEW special weapons. Show the Root that even in the darkest of times, our resolve shines brighter than ever! Dev Note: This is our second big aberration event; we figured why not celebrate the addition of Crossplay with another Aberration event! We've added even more corrupted weapons to acquire, so group up and take on the Root!https://tpucdn.com/img/SWWYEqruo5kp6OGU_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/SWWYEqruo5kp6OGU.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/Wo6hG965HW8Y3T4w_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/Wo6hG965HW8Y3T4w.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/MDzwAieQMvnRfRDq_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/MDzwAieQMvnRfRDq.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/suFqSyg6vChhl2by_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/suFqSyg6vChhl2by.jpg)
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[NextPowerUP]

Building a new gaming PC or a just bought a barebones gaming notebook? Spend more on hardware by saving big on Genuine Software, thanks to the GoDeal24 Software Winter Sale. Get Genuine Windows 11 Pro at just $13.55, save big on multi-PC packs. Why subscribe to 365 when you can have the Office 2021 Professional Plus, the most powerful productivity suite, at just $26.75, with savings on multi-PC packs? Check out great deals on our combos and other editions of Windows and Office you might be interested in. Do also check out our bonanza large volume packs, which should help your business.

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Check out great deals on system utilities you may want.Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319769/godeal24-unveils-software-super-sale-genuine-software-at-deep-discounts)

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[NextPowerUP]

Intel has been hyping up their artificial intelligence-augmented processor products since late last year (https://www.techpowerup.com/316728/intel-accelerates-ai-everywhere-with-launch-of-powerful-next-gen-products)—their "AI Everywhere" marketing push started with the official launch of Intel Core Ultra mobile CPUs, AKA the much-delayed Meteor Lake processor family. CEO, Pat Gelsinger stated (mid-December 2023): "AI innovation is poised to raise the digital economy's impact up to as much as one-third of global gross domestic product...Intel is developing the technologies and solutions that empower customers to seamlessly integrate and effectively run AI in all their applications—in the cloud and, increasingly, locally at the PC and edge, where data is generated and used." Team Blue's presence at this week's MWC Barcelona 2024 event introduced "AI Everywhere Across Network, Edge, Enterprise (https://www.techpowerup.com/319577/intel-brings-ai-everywhere-across-network-edge-enterprise)."

Nikkei Asia (https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Intel-aims-to-deliver-chips-for-100-million-AI-PCs-by-2025) sat down with Intel's David Feng—Vice President of Client Computing Group and General Manager of Client Segments. The impressively job-titled executive discussed the "future of AI PCs (https://www.techpowerup.com/319688/samsung-intel-discuss-the-galaxy-book4-series-and-future-of-ai-pcs)," and set some lofty sales goals for his firm. According to the Nikkei report, Intel leadership expects to "deliver 40 million AI PCs" this year and a further 60 million units next year—representing "more than 20% of the projected total global PC market in 2025." Feng and his colleagues predict that mainstream customers will prefer to use local "on-device" AI solutions (equipped with NPUs), rather than rely on remote cloud services. Significant Edge AI improvements are expected to arrive with next generation Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake (https://www.techpowerup.com/319517/intel-ceo-discloses-tsmc-production-details-n3-for-arrow-lake-n3b-for-lunar-lake) processor families, the latter will be bringing Team Blue NPU technologies to desktop platforms—AMD's Ryzen 8000G series of AM5 APUs (https://www.techpowerup.com/317448/amd-announces-ryzen-8000g-series-desktop-apus-select-models-feature-ryzen-ai) launched with XDNA engines last month.https://tpucdn.com/img/3AtIDjXh846sfcr9_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/3AtIDjXh846sfcr9.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/7d7QomV3VhGvXGH2_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/7d7QomV3VhGvXGH2.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/BGu06cBArxZUFDaF_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/BGu06cBArxZUFDaF.jpg)

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[NextPowerUP]

Tiny Corp., a neural network framework specialist (https://tinygrad.org/), has revealed intimate details (https://twitter.com/__tinygrad__/status/1760988080754856210) about the ongoing development and building of its "tinybox" system: "I don't think there's much value in secrecy. We have the parts to build 12 boxes and a case that's pretty close to final. Beating back all the PCI-E AER errors was hard, as anyone knows who has tried to build a system like this. Our BOM cost is around $10k, and we are selling them for $15k. We've put a year of engineering into this, it's a lot harder than it first seemed. You are welcome to believe me or not, but unless you are building in huge quantity, you are getting a great deal for $15k." The startup has taken the unusual step of integrating Team Red's current flagship gaming GPU (https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-rx-7900-xtx.c3941) into its AI-crunching platform. Tiny Corp. founder—George Hotz (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hotz)—has documented his past rejections of NVIDIA AI hardware on social media, but TinyBox will not be running AMD's latest Instinct MI300X (https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-instinct-mi300x.c4179) accelerators. RDNA 3.0 is seemingly favored over CDNA 3.0 (https://www.techpowerup.com/318153/amd-instinct-mi300x-gpus-featured-in-laminiai-llm-pods)—perhaps due to growing industry demand for enterprise-grade GPUs.

The rack-mounted 12U TinyBox build houses an AMD EPYC 7532 (https://www.techpowerup.com/cpu-specs/epyc-7352.c2253) processor with 128 GB of system memory. Five 1 TB SN850X SSDs take care of storage duties (4 in raid, 1 for boot), and an unoccupied 16x OCP 3.0 slot is designated for networking tasks Two 1600 W PSUs provide necessary electrical juice. The Tiny Corp. social media picture feed indicates that they have acquired a pile of XFX Speedster MERC310 RX 7900 XTX (https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/xfx-speedster-merc310-rx-7900-xtx-black.b9926) graphics cards—six units are hooked up inside of each TinyBox system. Hotz's young startup has ambitious plans: "The system image shipping with the box will be Ubuntu 22.04. It will only include tinygrad out of the box, but PyTorch and JAX support on AMD have come a long way, and your hardware is your hardware. We make money either way, you are welcome to buy it for any purpose. The goal of the tiny corp is to commoditize the petaflop, and we believe tinygrad is the best way to do it. Solving problems in software is cheaper than in hardware. tinygrad will elucidate the deep structure of what neural networks are. We have 583 preorders, and next week we'll place an order for 100 sets of parts. This is $1M in outlay. We will also ship five of the 12 boxes we have to a few early people who I've communicated with. For everyone else, they start shipping in April. The production line started running yesterday."https://tpucdn.com/img/Kypqm6T7twEI5OYn_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/Kypqm6T7twEI5OYn.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/FGFjg8VpTwiZnuXs_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/FGFjg8VpTwiZnuXs.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/PjvlQzbal5WyJQeE_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/PjvlQzbal5WyJQeE.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/QQ09eGQ2FjQVJBmv_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/QQ09eGQ2FjQVJBmv.jpg)

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[NextPowerUP]

Team, we are entertaining, inspiring, and connecting more people with more content and deeper experiences than ever before. Over the last year, we have organized our company to further empower our creative leaders (https://www.ea.com/news/empowering-our-creative-leaders-to-drive-growth) to deliver our strategic priorities of entertaining massive online communities, telling blockbuster stories, and harnessing the power of community in and around our games. These actions have positioned us to build bigger, bolder experiences for hundreds of millions of players and fans around the world. We are also leading through an accelerating industry transformation where player needs and motivations have changed significantly. Fans are increasingly engaging with the largest IP, and looking to us for broader experiences where they can play, watch, create content, and forge deeper connections. Our industry exists at the cutting edge of entertainment, and in today's dynamic environment, we are advancing the way we work and continuing to evolve our business.

As a company full of creators and storytellers, we believe in the value of teams innovating together, and continue to learn and adopt new ways of collaborating to grow and serve our global communities. Given how and where we are working, we are continuing to optimize our global real estate footprint to best support our business. We are also sunsetting games and moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry. This greater focus allows us to drive creativity, accelerate innovation, and double down on our biggest opportunities—including our owned IP, sports, and massive online communities—to deliver the entertainment players want today and tomorrow. Lastly, we are streamlining our company operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans everywhere that build community, shape culture, and grow fandom.https://tpucdn.com/img/cSw7QXmWEDbCaHe2_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/cSw7QXmWEDbCaHe2.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/8bvLhADhtoRFhQYD_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/8bvLhADhtoRFhQYD.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/fVJKSovbMlL45GqI_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/fVJKSovbMlL45GqI.jpg)
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[NextPowerUP]

Nextorage (https://www.nextorage.net/en/) Corporation's President, Katsuyuki Honda, has announced that the company will start selling its PCIe Gen 5.0-compliant NVMe SSDs "X Series" this month. The PCIe 5.0-compliant X Series is equipped with a high-performance controller and advanced NAND flash for unparalleled high-speed performance, making it ideal for professional use cases that require high-load processing, such as 4K/8K content creators and data scientists, as well as for users pursuing high-end gaming environments. It is ideal for users who pursue high-end gaming environments.

The NN5PRO-2000 is ideal for professional use cases such as 4K/8K content creators and data scientists who require high-load processing, as well as for users pursuing high-end gaming environments. Maximum read speed of 12,400 MB/s, maximum write speed of 11,800 MB/s—this is the measured values of Nextorage's NN5PRO-2 TB model.https://tpucdn.com/img/3OpnsC0z2CZm3vO5_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/3OpnsC0z2CZm3vO5.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/agOk6uaYgpnAjP8E_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/agOk6uaYgpnAjP8E.jpg)
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[NextPowerUP]

Intel announced today that it is reviving the Altera brand name for its new standalone FPGA (field-programmable gate array) company. The business was previously known as Intel's Programmable Solutions Group before being spun off into an independent entity two months ago. The chipmaking giant acquired Altera in 2015 for $16.7 billion to bolster its FPGA capabilities. Using the well-known Altera moniker for the new standalone company signals Intel's confidence in the FPGA market opportunity, which it estimates to be over $55 billion across data centers, communications, and embedded segments. As a standalone company with its own board of directors, Altera will be able to focus exclusively on the FPGA market. Intel will remain a majority shareholder, but outside investment could help fund expansion plans.

Altera plans to build on the Programmable Solutions Group's recent efforts targeting lower-end and mid-range FPGAs for embedded devices in industrial, automotive and aerospace/defense applications. According to Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, independence will give Altera "the mandate, focus and resources to better capitalize on the attractive expected growth of FPGAs." The revival of the Altera brand and refocus on the FPGA market comes alongside Intel's plan to invest heavily in new chip factories and advanced manufacturing capabilities. With Altera as a standalone business, Intel aims to be a significant player in the expected high growth of the global FPGA industry. Alongside new naming, Altera is introducing Agilex 9, which is now in volume production; Agilex 7 F-series and I-series released to production; Agilex 5 now broadly available, and Agilex 3 coming soon, with functions for cloud, communications and intelligent edge applications. Below, you can see the specification table of the upcoming FPGAs.https://tpucdn.com/img/4X3cGA70tyD1J3GT_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/4X3cGA70tyD1J3GT.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/wx4K7DpD7816GmBB_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/wx4K7DpD7816GmBB.jpg)

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[NextPowerUP]

A South Korean website, gamma0burst (https://gamma0burst.tistory.com/m/1107), has combed through many LinkedIn profiles in an attempt to find unintentional technology leaks—last week's investigation targeted big companies including Apple, AMD, Google and Qualcomm. Employee work histories occasionally display confidential project information—gamma0burst's latest "hidden in plain sight" discovery has linked Apple a TSMC 2 nm process node. Late January reports (https://www.techpowerup.com/318304/apple-reportedly-in-the-vvip-lane-for-tsmcs-2-nanometer-gaa) suggested that the American multinational technology corporation was already queued up for an N2 process technology that utilizes gate-all-around (GAA) nanosheet transistors. Information gleaned from a severely redacted screenshot of an Apple employee profile indicates that work has started on 2 nm chip designs, in partnership with Taiwan's premier foundry. Additionally, the portion of revealed text also mentions that this unnamed Apple staffer is/was engaged in "TS3nm" and "TS5nm" designs.

Apple and TSMC's close relationship is well documented—the iPhone/iPad/MacBook maker enjoys preferential access to the latter's best fabrication services. The upcoming M4 and Bionic A18 chipsets have been linked to an "enhanced" 3 nm process node—as mid-February reports suggest. At the time, inside sources proposed that Apple had: "strengthened the AI computing performance of mobile devices (https://www.techpowerup.com/319122/apple-m4-a18-chipsets-linked-to-significant-neural-engine-upgrade) and greatly increased the computing power of its own processors, which has simultaneously increased its wafer investment in TSMC. According to industry sources, Apple's wafer production volume for TSMC's 3 nm enhanced version process this year is expected to increase by more than 50% compared with last year, making it firmly the largest customer of TSMC." DigiTimes Asia (https://www.techpowerup.com/318304/apple-reportedly-in-the-vvip-lane-for-tsmcs-2-nanometer-gaa) and MacRumors think that: "Apple is...the first company that will receive chips built on TSMC's future 2 nm process, which is expected to go into production in the second half of 2025. Known simply as 'N2,' it is expected to offer a 10 to 15 percent speed improvement at the same power, or a 25 to 30 percent power reduction at the same speed compared to chips made with the supplier's 3 nm technology."https://tpucdn.com/img/SUh6NX8aInAQdYvb_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/SUh6NX8aInAQdYvb.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/AgtcqmcCAAqOUcuz_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/AgtcqmcCAAqOUcuz.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/RBQg9NwpEV17Wrjx_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/RBQg9NwpEV17Wrjx.jpg)

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[NextPowerUP]

AMD recently tried to add support for key HDMI 2.1 features like 4K@120 Hz and 5K@240 Hz to their open-source Linux graphics driver called AMDGPU. They invested engineering resources over several months (https://www.phoronix.com/news/HDMI-2.1-OSS-Rejected) to prototype the necessary code internally before publishing. The goal was to showcase HDMI 2.1 capabilities and get the implementation approved by the HDMI Forum. Unfortunately, the Forum ultimately rejected AMD's request, blocking Linux users of new AMD Radeon GPUs from utilizing those cutting-edge display features over HDMI. In comments, AMD stated: "The HDMI Forum has rejected our proposal unfortunately. At this time an open source HDMI 2.1 implementation is not possible without violating HDMI Forum requirements." This outcome comes as a major disappointment given the time and effort AMD expended aiming to satisfy the Forum's guidelines. The months of work now feel wasted with this outright rejection. As reasoning, the HDMI Forum cited legal and compliance rules around not enabling open-source HDMI 2.1 code.

Legal issues and compliance are major problems for open-source HDMI developers, as HDMI Forum has decided to make the HDMI specification private in 2021. This directly translates into the newest open-source driver developments, where the latest features will probably remain behind a closed-source binary. Consequently, AMD is advising Linux gamers to use DisplayPort if they want access to features like 4K 120 Hz gaming. Meanwhile, Windows AMD users still get full HDMI 2.1 capabilities. This dichotomy spotlights the ongoing obstacles around open-source driver development. The rejection also strains the AMD - HDMI Forum relationship. AMD hoped spearheading open-source HDMI 2.1 drivers would position them as leaders in the open-source community. Instead, their flexibility plea was denied by the rigid HDMI Forum requirements. Ultimately, whether Linux-based AMD owners can ever utilize next-gen HDMI 2.1 displays fully remains to be determined. For now, AMD continues pushing open-source as the best approach, while the HDMI Forum refuses to budge on compliance demands. Both sides seem firmly entrenched, leaving consumers caught in the middle.https://tpucdn.com/img/qkOWVWokrtnOjglG_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/qkOWVWokrtnOjglG.jpg)

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[NextPowerUP]

This announcement was shared with EA Entertainment employees by Laura Miele, President of EA Entertainment and Technology: "Hi Everyone, over the past six months, you've heard me talk about aligning our portfolio and organization to deliver on our ambitious growth strategy. One of the essential parts of delivering on our plans is making sure we are listening to our players and investing in the games they want to play. As Andrew noted in his EA Action, the reality of a creative business is that market conditions and players' needs are always changing. We're seeing a rapid player shift toward large open-world games, massive communities, and live services. With that in mind, we have shared the following updates with our teams:"

Respawn:
Respawn's unique ability to connect with players and create exceptional game experiences is unrivaled in entertainment. As we've looked at Respawn's portfolio over the last few months, what's clear is the games our players are most excited about are Jedi and Respawn's rich library of owned brands. Knowing this, we have decided to pivot away from early development on a Star Wars FPS Action game (https://www.techpowerup.com/319391/respawn-entertainment-reportedly-working-on-star-wars-mandalorian-fps-title) to focus our efforts on new projects based on our owned brands while providing support for existing games. It's always hard to walk away from a project, and this decision is not a reflection of the team's talent, tenacity, or passion they have for the game. Giving fans the next installments of the iconic franchises they want is the definition of blockbuster storytelling and the right place to focus.https://tpucdn.com/img/dSx969AoSv0EskwH_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/dSx969AoSv0EskwH.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/CfBih16XkBl6GYdY_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/CfBih16XkBl6GYdY.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/4sHB7GA5rQQcqo2i_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/4sHB7GA5rQQcqo2i.jpg)
Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319798/ea-axes-star-wars-fps-battlefield-single-player-project-reassigned-to-criterion)

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BIOSTAR introduced the A620MH Aurora, a Socket AM5 Micro-ATX motherboard based on the AMD A620A chipset. In case you're wondering, the A620A is a revision of the A620 that's based on the same physical chip as the ASMedia Promontory driving AMD B550 chipset, according to this user (https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/new-a620a-chipset-by-amd.2616583/) on the AnandTech forums. First party documentation from AMD is sparse (https://www.amd.com/en/products/processors/chipsets/am5.html#specs). The A620 (without the "A" suffix) is based on the newer Promontory 21 silicon, and is essentially a B650 with a few features disabled. The A620A, on the other hand, is practically a B550 on the Socket AM5 platform. Why this matters is that the chipset bus for the A620A (aka B550) is PCI-Express 3.0 x4; whereas the A620 uses PCI-Express 4.0 x4. The A620A appears to have the same downstream connectivity as the A620, and since even the A620 has PCIe Gen 3 for its chipset-attached M.2 NVMe slot(s), for the most part the performance difference will be negligible, unless there are other bandwidth-hungry devices connected to the chipset. On both the A620 and A620A, motherboard designers are allowed to wire out one CPU-attached M.2 NVMe slot capped at PCI-Express 4.0 x4.

The A620MH Aurora from BIOSTAR clearly mentions the A620A chipset on the box, and so you're making an informed buying decision. The board is built in the Micro-ATX form-factor, and draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors. You can only install Ryzen 7000 and 8000G series processors that have a TDP of 65 W. The processor is wired to two DDR5 DIMM slots for a maximum of 96 GB of memory capacity; one M.2 NVMe slot with PCI-Express 4.0 x4 wiring; and a PCI-Express 4.0 x16 slot. There are two PCI-Express 3.0 x1 slots from the A620A FCH. Storage connectivity besides the M.2 Gen 4 slot includes four SATA 6 Gbps ports. USB connectivity includes six USB 3.2 Gen 1 (including two from a header), and a handful of USB 2.0 ports.https://tpucdn.com/img/B6givVM10dNYTzka_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/B6givVM10dNYTzka.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/rkKCI86dN6JmKIJC_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/rkKCI86dN6JmKIJC.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/OoNDOEukeixDcq3O_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/OoNDOEukeixDcq3O.jpg)
Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319796/biostar-intros-a620mh-aurora-socket-am5-motherboard-based-on-a620a-chipset)

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Microsoft has just announced that their new DirectSR Super Resolution API for DirectX will provide a unified interface for developers to implement super resolution in their games. This means that game studios no longer have to choose between DLSS, FSR, XeSS, or spend additional resources to implement, bug-test and support multiple upscalers. For gamers this is huge news, too, because they will be able to run upscaling in all DirectSR games—no matter the hardware they own. While AMD FSR and Intel XeSS run on all GPUs from all vendors, NVIDIA DLSS is exclusive to Team Green's hardware. With their post, Microsoft also confirms that DirectSR will not replace FSR/DLSS/XeSS with a new upscaler by Microsoft, rather that it builds on existing technologies that are already available, unifying access to them.

While we have to wait until March 21 for more details to be revealed at GDC 2024, Microsoft's Joshua Tucker stated in a blog post: "We're thrilled to announce DirectSR, our new API designed in partnership with GPU hardware vendors to enable seamless integration of Super Resolution (SR) into the next generation of games. Super Resolution is a cutting-edge technique that increases the resolution and visual quality in games. DirectSR is the missing link developers have been waiting for when approaching SR integration, providing a smoother, more efficient experience that scales across hardware. This API enables multi-vendor SR through a common set of inputs and outputs, allowing a single code path to activate a variety of solutions including NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution, and Intel XeSS. DirectSR will be available soon in the Agility SDK as a public preview, which will enable developers to test it out and provide feedback. Don't miss our DirectX State of the Union (https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/directx-state-of-the-union-ft-work-graphs-and-introducing-directsr-presented-by-microsoft/903872) at GDC to catch a sneak peek at how DirectSR can be used with your games!"https://tpucdn.com/img/GX6hgVUAXPPqmV28_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/GX6hgVUAXPPqmV28.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/2eJbrpDGztledDCS_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/2eJbrpDGztledDCS.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/WEiZDyl5LHNBCrid_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/WEiZDyl5LHNBCrid.jpg)

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[NextPowerUP]

Corsair proudly announced the launch of two attention-grabbing additions to the M75 gaming mouse lineup: M75 and M75 WIRELESS. Blazing onto the scene with the same award-winning shape and match-winning performance established by the M75 AIR, these new mice deliver utmost comfort and control, while also infusing a streak of RGB into their lightweight designs. For the most competitive matches, M75 and M75 WIRELESS put you in fantastic shape to win, and look great doing it.

The meticulously sculpted M75 mouse design glides into the spotlight once again, with an unwavering focus on precision and ergonomics. M75 series mice are uniquely shaped from the ground up to comprise some of the most thoughtfully crafted gaming mice available. At 74 g and 89 g respectively, M75 and M75 WIRELESS are lightweight and agile enough to make deft flicks and microadjustments.https://tpucdn.com/img/iGJEvtNtqrlGX6BK_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/iGJEvtNtqrlGX6BK.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/qgPZ1BBRKZnupjhF_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/qgPZ1BBRKZnupjhF.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/ChrMX7xFqO3k8yJw_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/ChrMX7xFqO3k8yJw.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/RsWczb7bqZITOjeu_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/RsWczb7bqZITOjeu.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/711jWDqyskQdwni0_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/711jWDqyskQdwni0.jpg)
Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319795/corsair-makes-another-leap-in-fps-gaming-mice-with-new-additions-to-m75-family)

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[NextPowerUP]

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is excited to announce the 8th Annual OC World Cup 2024 extreme overclocking competition, which will begin with the Online Qualifier Stage, which will run from March 1, 2024 until April 3, 2024 on hwbot.org. The 9 finalists from the Online Qualifer stage are invited to compete on the Live Qualifier stage, during the week of Computex 2024 in Taipei, for a share of the total prize pool of $40,000 USD, with the OC Champion taking home $10,000 USD.

Considered to be one of the most challenging overclocking competition, the G.SKILL OC World Cup 2024 consists of three stages: Online Qualifier, Live Qualifier, and Grand Final. The top 9 overclockers of the Online Qualifier will be invited to compete against each other live during the week of Computex 2024 at the G.SKILL booth in Nangang Exhibition Hall, and the top 3 overclockers from the Live Qualifier stage will compete for the title of OC Champion in the Grand Final.https://tpucdn.com/img/prWU4kfLP5lMXzFU_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/prWU4kfLP5lMXzFU.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/MBue3O8HAIKweNQB_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/MBue3O8HAIKweNQB.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/r8w6uJb8woED1wWx_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/r8w6uJb8woED1wWx.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/05DPpmwBZDupq4UX_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/05DPpmwBZDupq4UX.jpg)
Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319794/g-skill-announces-oc-world-cup-2024-competition-with-usd-40-000-usd-total-cash-prize-pool)

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[NextPowerUP]

Sparing no effort in creating the cutting-edge mechanical keyboard for keyboard enthusiasts, Epomaker proudly presents the Brick 87.

TKL layout With Stackable Block Bar
In hopes of bringing better typing and visual experience to keyboard enthusiasts, the Epomaker Brick 87 features a concept of combining fun with a mechanical keyboard. To make the keyboard a perfect amalgamation of functionality and practicality, the TKL layout of Brick 87 conserves desk space without compromising usability. Users can now revel in an uncluttered and efficient workspace, fostering productivity and creativity. The Brick 87 was designed in a special angle, making it distinctive in the keyboard market. With the stackable block bar on the top, DIYers can put various blocks on it as decoration for the keyboard. Each Brick 87 will become unique and distinguished.https://tpucdn.com/img/5EO7eRqv1LPyd7HX_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/5EO7eRqv1LPyd7HX.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/1FXYUOc6swRvzzXk_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/1FXYUOc6swRvzzXk.jpg) https://tpucdn.com/img/CyiAtbC0XsvxjxLD_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/CyiAtbC0XsvxjxLD.jpg)
Read full story (https://www.techpowerup.com/319792/epomaker-unveils-the-brick-87-keyboard-with-a-creative-thumb-scroll-control)

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[NextPowerUP]

Some of the earliest signs are emerging that AMD's mobile processor or desktop APU silicon that succeeds "Strix Point" being codenamed "Sound Wave." AMD tends to come up with quirky internal codenames for upcoming projects, mostly to zero in on the source of leaks, so "Sound Wave" as a codename is subject to change with time. While the upcoming 4 nm "Strix Point" and "Strix Halo" chips implement the "Zen 5" CPU microarchitecture and RDNA 3+ graphics architecture, besides XDNA 2 based NPU with a generational tripling in AI TOPS; Wccftech believes that "Sound Wave" could be an AMD processor of comparable class to "Strix Point," which implements the "Zen 6" CPU microarchitecture, which AMD has planned for a 2025-26 timeframe.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this leak is the foundry node, with the original source over at Korean tech blog Gamma0burst referencing 3 nm. This is the final node family from TSMC to implement FinFET transistors before the foundry transitions to nanosheets with N2. It's likely that AMD chooses one of the more advanced variants of TSMC's 3 nm nodes, such as the N3P or N3X, because 2025-26 will see rival Intel get close to introducing the Intel 20A foundry node for mass-production. Not much else is known about "Sound Wave" besides the "Zen 6" CPU cores at this point.https://tpucdn.com/img/dTY42PYeWrFPfYpK_thm.jpg (https://www.techpowerup.com/img/dTY42PYeWrFPfYpK.jpg)

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