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AMD 24.3.1 Drivers Unlock RX 7900 GRE Memory OC Limits, Additional Per
Without making much noise, AMD lifted the memory overclocking limits of the Radeon RX 7900 GRE graphics card with its latest Adrenalin 24.3.1 WHQL drivers, TechPowerUp found. The changelog is a bit vague and states "The maximum memory tuning limit may be incorrectly reported on AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE graphics products."—we tested it. The RX 7900 GRE has been around since mid-2023, but gained prominence as the company gave it a global launch in February 2024, to help AMD better compete with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super. Before this, the RX 7900 GRE had started out its lifecycle as a special edition product confined to China, and its designers had ensured that it came with just the right performance positioning that didn't end up disrupting other products in the AMD stack. One of these limitations had to do with the memory overclocking potential, which was probably put in place to ensure that the RX 7900 GRE has a near-identical total board power as the RX 7800 XT.
Shortly after the global launch of the RX 7900 GRE, and responding to drama online, AMD declared the limited memory overclocking range a bug and promised a fix. The overclocking limits are defined in the graphics card VBIOS, so increasing those limits would mean shipping BIOS updates for over a dozen SKUs from all the major vendors, and requiring users to upgrade it by themselves. Such a solution isn't very practical, so AMD implemented a clock limit override in their new drivers, which reprograms the power limits on the GPU during boot-up. Nicely done, good job AMD!
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(PR) Ubisoft at GDC: How "Assassin's Creed Mirage" Grew from DLC to Fu
Assassin's Creed Mirage was envisioned as an homage to its franchise—a celebration of how it began and what it accomplished between 2007's Assassin's Creed and 2023's Mirage. Beginning as an idea for a DLC expansion that would take Eivor to the Middle East, it grew into a standalone prequel starring Basim, the enigmatic Hidden One from Valhalla. Developed as a shorter experience by Ubisoft Bordeaux, the return-to-roots game presented a distinctive set of challenges, which are explored in the March 22 GDC talk "Between Legacy and Modernity: Creating an Homage Game to the 15-Year-Old Assassin's Creed Franchise."
During the talk, Creative Director Stéphane Boudon and Lead Producer Fabian Salomon discuss the game's beginnings, its growth into a "remoot"—that is, something between a remake and a reboot - and how a streamlined approach helped them make tough choices and focus the game on the Assassin experience. To find out more, we spoke with Boudon and Salomon about some of the early concepts behind the game, a few features that didn't make the cut, and how Mirage re-introduced and redefined stealth as a gameplay pillar.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, 4060 Ti & 4070 GPU Refreshes Spotted in Leak
NVIDIA completed its last round of GeForce NVIDIA RTX 40-series GPU refreshes at the very end of January—new evidence suggests that another wave is scheduled for imminent release. MEGAsizeGPU has acquired and shared a tabulated list of new Ada Lovelace GPU variants—the trusted leaker's post presents a timetable that was supposed to kick off within the second half of this month. First up is the GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, with a current designation of AD104-251—the leaked table suggests that a new variant, AD103-175-KX, is due very soon (or overdue). Wccftech pointed out that the new ID was previously linked to NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER SKU. Moving into April, next up is the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti—jumping from the current AD106-351 die to a new unit; AD104-150-KX. The third adjustment (allegedly) affects the GeForce RTX 4060—going from AD107-400 to AD106-255, also timetabled for next month. MEGAsizeGPU reckons that Team Green will be swapping chips, but not rolling out broadly adjusted specifications—a best case scenario could include higher CUDA, RT, and Tensor core counts. According to VideoCardz, the new die designations have popped up in freshly released official driver notes—it is inferred that the variants are getting an "under the radar" launch treatment.
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"Alpha Protocol" Returns to PC - Exclusively on GOG
Obsidian Entertainment's Alpha Protocol was removed from Valve's Steam store back in 2019, due to an expiration of music rights. The Irvine, California-headquartered developer has worked quietly on a re-release of their third-person sci-fi espionage ARPG (originally launched back in 2010) alongside Sega and GOG. A DRM-free version is now available to purchase on CD Projekt's digital distribution platform—in upgraded form; involved parties have sought to improve performance on modern PCs. An achievements system has been added, along with support for all sorts of present day controller inputs (PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox). A cloud save feature has been implemented as well, but more goodies could be on the way—as teased in Raycevick's featurette (viewable below).
The team at GOG has admitted (to PC Gamer) that it took longer than expected to get Alpha Protocol relaunched—the "very long release" is the product of half a year of work. Zuzanna Rybacka—Communication Specialist at GOG/Projekt—stated that the game's relaunch is part of their initiative of: "going back to our core, to bringing back classics…basically, our point (is) to not let all those games that would go to perish, and make them accessible for younger generations." The store's main message/vibe of "Good Old Games" has been diluted in recent years, due to a platforming of very modern titles—GOG started to pivot back to that core philosophy two years ago, with a "return to its roots." The reappearance of Alpha Protocol is only one example of their fortified campaign to bring back classic games.
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Apple M-Series CPUs Affected by "GoFetch" Unpatchable Cryptographic Vu
A team of academic researchers has uncovered a critical vulnerability in Apple M-series CPUs targeting data memory-dependent prefetcher (DMP) that could allow attackers to extract secret encryption keys from Macs. The flaw, called GoFetch, is based on the microarchitecture design of the Apple Silicon, which means that it cannot be directly patched and poses a significant risk to users' data security. The vulnerability affects all Apple devices powered by M-series chips, including the popular M1 and M2 generations. The M3 generation can turn a special bit off to disable DMP, potentially hindering performance. The DMP, designed to optimize performance by preemptively loading data that appears to be a pointer, violates a fundamental requirement of constant-time programming by mixing data and memory access patterns. This creates an exploitable side channel that attackers can leverage to extract secret keys.
To execute the GoFetch attack, attackers craft specific inputs for cryptographic operations, ensuring that pointer-like values only appear when they have correctly guessed bits of the secret key. By monitoring the DMP's dereference behavior through cache-timing analysis, attackers can verify their guesses and gradually unravel the entire secret key. The researchers demonstrated successful end-to-end key extraction attacks on popular constant-time implementations of both classical and post-quantum cryptography, highlighting the need for a thorough reevaluation of the constant-time programming paradigm in light of this new vulnerability.
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Thermaltake Intros S250 TG ARGB Mid-tower Case
Thermaltake today introduced the S250 TG ARGB, a mid-tower case with a unique expansion slot feature, and the ability to mount large 420 mm radiators. The case comes in two color variants—black and white. It is characterized by a large mesh intake along the front, with three pre-installed 140 mm ARGB-illuminated fans. These can make way for a large 420 mm x 140 mm radiator, or something smaller. The case features a conventional horizontally-partitioned layout. The upper compartment with the motherboard tray offers room of up to 40 cm for graphics cards (with nothing in the way, or at least 32 cm with a radiator in place); and CPU coolers up to 16.5 cm in height. The PSU bay in the bottom compartment has clearance for 22 cm.
Right next to the motherboard tray are two 120 mm fan mounts that point toward right side panel, which is perforated in that area. You can mount another 240 mm x 120 mm radiator here. The top panel has an additional three 120 mm vents, and a 360 mm x 120 mm radiator can be mounted here. A unique aspect of this case is that its 7 expansion slots can be rotated 90° to create vertical slots, so you can vertically mount a graphics card that's as thick as 5 slots (think ASUS x Noctua RTX 4080). The drive cage in the bottom compartment holds two 3.5-inch drives, or two 2.5-inch drives, there are two additional 2.5-inch mounts. The left side panel is made of 4 mm-thick tempered glass. Front-panel connectivity includes two type-A USB 3.2 ports, and a 4-pole headset jack. The case measures 218 mm x 462 mm x 490 mm (W x D x H). The company didn't reveal pricing.
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This Dropbox Alternative Is Only $129.99 for Lifetime Use
While Dropbox, OneDrive, and iCloud Drive are beloved by many, they can end up costing you hundreds over a lifetime. If you're looking for a more sustainable storage solution, you should check out Koofr. With a one-time payment, you can own a 1 TB cloud for life and it's on sale at StackSocial for $129.99 (reg. $810) with code KOOFR.
Koofr is a high-rated cloud storage platform with 290+ positive reviews. Most buyers rave about its incredible lifetime value, and we'd have to agree: With other cloud storage solutions, you're paying around $10 each month which adds up to $120 every year; while, with Koofr, you only have to pay $129.99 once for lifetime use with code KOOFR at checkout. Your 1 TB cloud is capable of holding around 250,000 photos, 500 hours of HD video, or 6.5 million document pages. If this seems like an excess, remember that this space is intended to cover your needs for life.
Stop renting your cloud storage and own 1 TB for life with Koofr, now $129.99 (reg. $810) with code KOOFR at checkout.Read full story
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(PR) ViewSonic Launches VG2457V and VG2757V-2K Monitors with Videoconf
ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual solutions, introduces its next generation of video conferencing monitors. The VG2457V and VG2757V-2K docking monitors are available in 24- and 27-inch sizes and were developed with exceptional video conferencing features for enhanced productivity and security.
The VG2457V and VG2757V-2K come with Zoom and Windows Hello certified, 5MP pop-up webcam, which offers convenient facial recognition for a password-free, safe, single user sign-on and reliable video conferencing. Additional features include adjustable LED lighting, microphone, and front-facing 5 W speakers to ensure clear audio and optimal visual positioning. Both these monitors offer immense flexibility and functionality, whether working from home or in the office.
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Microsoft Copilot to Run Locally on AI PCs with at Least 40 TOPS of NP
Microsoft, Intel, and AMD are attempting to jumpstart demand in the PC industry again, under the aegis of the AI PC—devices with native acceleration for AI workloads. Both Intel and AMD have mobile processors with on-silicon NPUs (neural processing units), which are designed to accelerate the first wave of AI-enhanced client experiences on Windows 11 23H2. Microsoft's bulwark with democratizing AI has been Copilot, as a licensee of Open AI GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, Dali, and other generative AI tools from the Open AI stable. Copilot is currently Microsoft's most heavily invested application, with its most capital and best minds mobilized to making it the most popular AI assistant. Microsoft even pushed for the AI PC designator to PC OEMs, which requires them to have a dedicated Copilot key akin to the Start key (we'll see how anti-competition regulators deal with that).
The problem with Microsoft's tango with Intel and AMD to push AI PCs, is that Copilot doesn't really use an NPU, not even at the edge—you input a query or a prompt, and Copilot hands it over to a cloud-based AI service. This is about to change, with Microsoft announcing that Copilot will be able to run locally on AI PCs. Microsoft identified several kinds of Copilot use-cases that an NPU can handle on-device, which should speed up response times to Copilot queries, but this requires the NPU to have at least 40 TOPS of performance. This is a problem for the current crop of processors with NPUs. Intel's Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" has an AI Boost NPU with 10 TOPS on tap, while the Ryzen 8040 "Hawk Point" is only slightly faster, with a 16 TOPS Ryzen AI NPU. AMD has already revealed that the XDNA 2-based 2nd Generation Ryzen AI NPU in its upcoming "Strix Point" processors will come with over 40 TOPS of performance, and it stands to reason that the NPUs in Intel's "Arrow Lake" or "Lunar Lake" processors are comparable in performance; which should enable on-device Copilot.
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MSI Intros MAG 274UPF E2 4K Ultra HD Monitor with Rapid IPS Panel
MSI today introduced the MAG 274UPF E2, a 27-inch monitor offering 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixels) resolution, and a high refresh-rate thanks to its Rapid IPS panel. From the looks of it, this is a "lite" variant of the MPG 274URF that the company unveiled earlier this week, since the two appear to feature the same body design, and mostly the same specs sheet, with the exception of Quantum Dot and USB-C PD single cable input for the MPG display.
The supposedly more affordable MAG 274UPF E2 still gives you 4K Ultra HD with an impressive 160 Hz refresh-rate, and 0.5 ms (GTG) response time, VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification, VESA Adaptive Sync support, 178° viewing angles, and wide color gamut with its 10 bpc (1.07 billion colors) palette. Display inputs are similar to the MPG 274URF, with a DisplayPort 1.4a (needed for 4K @ 160 Hz), two HDMI 2.1, and USB-C. Unlike with the MPG 274URF, the USB-C input on the MAC 274UPF doesn't support 65 W PD, and hence single-cable operation isn't possible, you'll need to plug in the display to its own AC source. The company didn't reveal pricing.
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Microsoft Files to Patent a New Pixel Dimming Technology
Microsoft, in a patent application, revealed that it is developing a new pixel dimming technology that allows software to control the brightness of specific regions of a compatible display, to greatly enhance realism. Put simply, this is a means for software to tell a display to increase the brightness of specific pixels of a display, while dimming others.
This is accomplished more easily on some display types, such as OLED, where each pixel is its own source of illumination. LCDs rely on backlit illumination from usually no more than a hundred LEDs, and so they're not capable of this technology, at least the way Microsoft describes it. Patent applications tend to have oversimplified language, and here, Microsoft describes how a component called an EM gate driver sends a PWM signal to pixels to adjust their brightness. All modern displays rely on the concept of PWM to adjust brightness, where the number of pulses of energy in a time period define how bright a display gets; and so Microsoft's language is rather vague. What's important, though, is that the company is claiming that it found a way to dim individual pixels. The patent application was originally filed in 2022, but published on March 21, 2024.
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