One of the most debated questions surrounding AMD's AM4 platform has been the lack of support for AMD's Ryzen 5000-series CPUs on the company's 300-series chipsets. Now, in an interview with Tom's Hardware, AMD's Corporate VP and GM of the Client Channel business, David McAfee, has thrown some cautious words into the hellish debate on platform fragmentation (some even say artificial segmentation). "It's definitely something we're working through," David said. "And it's not lost on us at all that this would be a good thing to do for the community, and we're trying to figure out how to make it happen." It's not a promise, but it seems that AMD is indeed contemplating solutions that would enable first-generation AM4 chipsets to support AMD's latest Ryzen 5000 series CPUs.



The problem has mostly to do with storage space: there are only so much available bits to be used in AM4 motherboards' 16 MB SPI ROM, the read-only memory bank that stores BIOS configurations and the necessary instructions for processor support. As AM4 is one of the longest-lived consumer platforms ever, the number of CPUs has ballooned, which has led to difficult decisions as to which CPUs to support. However, some more creative board partners have resorted to interesting techniques that allowed them to free up space in the SPI ROM that could be used to add support for otherwise incompatible CPUs, such as simplifying the BIOS GUI and falling back on more traditional text-based UIs. That and other practices resulted in a number of vendors adding support for AMD's Ryzen 5000 chips on the most entry-level A320 motherboards, which left consumers that had opted for the more technically accomplished X370 motherboards high and dry - barring a few lucky, ASRock-toting exceptions.
Read full story

More...

MSI Teases RadiX AXE6600 Router at CES
Although not much is known about MSI's upcoming router, the company was teasing the RadiX AXE6600 during its virtual CES event. It's said to be a WiFi 6E router based on an unspecified 1.8 GHz Qualcomm SoC. The AXE6600 in the model name should break down to 600 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band, 1200 Mbps in the 5 GHz band and 4800 MHz in the 6 GHz band, if routers with the same speed rating are anything to go by. In fact, the specs seem to be similar to the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E, as it seems to be based on the same or at least a similar SoC from Qualcomm.



The one thing that is obvious, especially from MSI's teaser on Twitter, is that the router will have plenty of RGB bling built into the antennas. The MSI dragon logo on the router, is a button according to Tom's hardware, that is said to cycle through various "AI" QoS presets. How useful or practical this will be in reality, is up for debate. The router is still a good few months out, with an expected launch sometime in the second half of this year. And if you're wondering, yes, MSI have made routers before, but it was quite some time ago and they weren't particularly popular.

More...

(PR) Tobii Horizon will be available in the new Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Series gaming laptops
Tobii, the global leader in eye tracking and pioneer of attention computing, is pleased to announce that Tobii Horizon will be available in the new Lenovo Legion 5 Pro series gaming laptops starting in the first quarter of 2022. Tobii Horizon detects and tracks natural head movements via the built-in camera, extending the player's instincts and senses in several games. It allows the user to take control of the in-game camera by using head movements and experience a seamless expansion of their field of view.



"Tobii is pushing boundaries and relentlessly innovating to take game immersion to new levels by creating innovative game interfaces," said Ulrica Wikström, VP of PC Segment at Tobii. "With this collaboration, we will enable millions more gamers to take their first step into next-level gaming."
Read full story

More...

(PR) ViewSonic Releases Line-up of ELITE Monitors with Mini-LED Backlight Technology
ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual solutions announces several ViewSonic ELITE professional gaming monitors with leading-edge Mini-LED technology. Ranging from 27" to 34", the ELITE XG272G-2K, ELITE XG321UG, and ELITE XG341C-2K transform gaming with Mini-LED technology for optimized contrasts and greater details even in dimly lit environments.



"In gaming, image quality is king. As gamers demand more advanced in-game details and extreme clarity, our Mini-LED ELITE monitors surpass current gaming landscapes by delivering enhanced gaming features and innovative technology. We hope to push the boundaries of gaming displays to the next level." said Oscar Lin, General Manager of the Monitor Business at ViewSonic.
Read full story

More...

(PR) j5create Teams Up with Intel to Develop the Next Generation USB4 Peripherals
j5create, a world leader in high tech computer accessories, and Intel, the world's largest manufacturer of semiconductor chips, are working together to develop one of the worlds' first USB4 multi-port adapters. USB4 is the latest USB specification offering several improvements over legacy USB-C adapters including higher transfer speeds, more efficient bandwidth allocation between data and display protocols, as well as backward compatibility with older USB and Thunderbolt specifications.



"We're thrilled to work with Intel to bring the latest USB peripherals to market." said Steven Lyu, Chief Operating Officer at j5create. "We are always innovating to deliver high-performance solutions users have been anticipating through a variety of products, technologies, and design collaborations." The USB4 multi-port adapters will be one of the first to incorporate the latest Intel USB4 controller, offering Thunderbolt compatibility and USB legacy support. Set to release in Q1 2022, these USB4 multi-port adapters provide efficient and dynamic bandwidth allocation up to 20 Gbps and dual 4K video support in addition to high-speed peripheral ports.

More...

(PR) Streamplify Enters the Market with Affordable Live Streaming Gear
As the internet becomes our primary place to chill, chat and play, Streamplify, a new German-based designer and manufacturer of affordable live streaming products, is making its global debut in stores and online retailers around Europe and the US. Streamplify wants to share the joy of live streaming by making it easier to share your passion in high quality with the world.



"Many established streamers have told us that, when they first started, they wished there had been a brand providing reliable, budget-friendly equipment to help them get off the ground. That's the gap we are trying to fill now with our product line," - Nils Klakow, Business Development Manager at Streamplify. The people behind the brand all hail from the gaming and PC hardware industries, and have been in the business of developing products for gamers - and being devoted gamers themselves - for upwards of 20 years. There is over two years of development, testing, and revision behind the line of products being presented today, with input from streamers, musicians, content creators, technicians, and video and photography professionals.
Read full story

More...

E3 2022 to Occur in Digital-Only Space Once Again as Omicron Surges
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has announced that the 2022 edition of the famous Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) show will once again occur in a digital venue. The decision has been justified due to the current Omicron infection waves sweeping across most of the world, and while recent studies place Omicron as a less severe variant, its extremely high infection rates should still give decision makers pause.



Interestingly, the ESA still hasn't confirmed the date in which this digital E3 is to take place - something the association always did at the close of each edition. Reports state that the decision to hold a digital-only event for 2022 might have been taken even before the current Omicron surge, and perhaps as early as last year. Should E3 2022 occur in an online format, this will be the second time this happens since the event's first edition back in 1995. In all these years, E3 has only ever been fully canceled in 2020, the year that COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.

More...

AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT Limited To PCIe 4.0 x4 Interface
The recently announced AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT only features a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface according to specifications and images of the card published on the ASRock site. This is equivalent to a PCIe 3.0 x8 link or a PCIe 2.0 x16 connection and is a step down from the Radeon 6600 XT which features a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface and the Radeon 6700 XT with a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. This fact is only specified by ASRock with AMD, Gigabyte, ASUS, and MSI not mentioning the PCIe interface on their respective pages. The RX 6500 XT also lacks some of the video processing capabilities of other RX 6000 series cards including the exclusion of H264/HEVC encoding and AV1 decoding.

More...

(PR) Thermaltake Announces ARGENT K6 RGB Gaming Keyboard and Damysus RGB Gaming Mice
Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Case, Cooling, Gaming peripherals and enthusiast memory solutions, aims at providing better gaming experiences to users by offering more advanced gaming peripherals. This time, the latest gaming peripherals ARGENT K6 RGB Low-Profile Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, Damysus Wireless RGB Ergonomic Gaming Mouse, and Damysus RGB Ergonomic Gaming Mouse were presented at the 2022 Thermaltake EXPO January Virtual Exhibition.



To give a more comfortable typing experience, Thermaltake introduces the first Low-Profile Mechanical Gaming Keyboard of the product line. The ARGENT K6 RGB Low-Profile Mechanical Gaming Keyboard features an aluminium top plate with a floating keycap design, incorporating Cherry MX Low-Profile RGB Red and Silver mechanical switches rated at 50 million keystrokes, offering the most durable, precise, and responsive tactile feedback. Moreover, the ARGENT K6 Keyboard comes with a wrist rest made with synthetic leather to give comfort support to your wrists.
Read full story

More...

(PR) Mad Catz Announces New Gaming Products
Mad Catz, is announcing an extensive array of gaming hardware due for release in Q2 2022. Products to be released include the S.T.R.I.K.E. 6 gaming keyboard, the P.I.L.O.T. gaming headset series, the S.U.R.F. RGB mouse pad, the G.Y.R.A. gaming chair, the C.A.T. 9 game controller, and a new fight sick—the T.E. 3.



The S.T.R.I.K.E. 6 mechanical keyboard combines the space-saving convenience of the compact 60% form factor with extreme customization and functionality. Built for gamers, Mad Catz's mechanical switches provide for a precise linear actuation, last up to 80 million keystrokes, and can be hot-swapped to match your personal preference. The S.T.R.I.K.E. 6 also has powerful RGB illumination with 26 RGB effects including sound effect synchronization.
Read full story

More...