TechPowerUP NEWS

[NextPowerUP]

EK, the premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is proud to introduce the EK-Quantum Vector³ FE RTX 5090 - Plexi, our high-performance water block designed exclusively for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition. The EK-Quantum Vector³ FE RTX 5090 is the first water block to support the NVIDIA RTX 5090 Founders Edition three-part PCB design, providing a high-performance, fully enclosed liquid-cooling solution for NVIDIA's most powerful gaming GPU yet. This stunning EK-Quantum Vector³ FE RTX 5090 water block is fully EK-Matrix7 compatible, featuring a signature CNC-machined backplate with a sleek, ribbed design, a custom acrylic top and backlit EK logo. Founders Edition never looked this good.

Unmatched Performance and Cooling Efficiency
The EK-Quantum Vector³ FE RTX 5090 water block delivers high-performance liquid cooling, premium aesthetics, and precision engineering for NVIDIA's flagship RTX 5090 Founders Edition. Inside, you'll find an expanded cooling system, improved pre-cut thermal pads, alongside a precision-engineered gasket system, ensuring optimal heat dissipation for the GPU core, VRAM, and power stages.
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[NextPowerUP]

MSI, the world-leading gaming & creator laptop brand, today announced its groundbreaking RTX 50 Series laptops at MSIology: Dragonforged Dominance Launch Event - a new lineup inspired by the ancient Norse myth of Yggdrasil. Embracing the themes of renewal and resilience, MSI's innovative devices integrate three core principles: innovative technology, luxurious aesthetics, and extreme performance.

Dragonforged Dominance Launch Event
"Much like the mythic World Tree that connects the nine realms, our new laptops are designed to meet diverse user expectations—from immersive gaming to high-end professional work" said Steven Yang, MSI Notebook Regional Sales & Marketing Manager.
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[NextPowerUP]

Elgato, a Corsair brand, today announced it's sponsoring the OBS Project, developers of Open Broadcaster Software (OBS). With the sponsorship, Elgato will help fund new innovations on the free, open-source platform for streamers and video creators. Additionally, Elgato revealed a brand-new plugin, making it easier for users to add and share OBS Studio setups.

"This partnership builds on a long history of collaboration," says Taylor Ward, Director of Ecosystem at Elgato. "Elgato tools and OBS Studio have always gone hand in hand—now we're taking that connection to the next level. Together, we're excited to bring creators new ways to enhance and streamline their workflows."
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[NextPowerUP]

IBM today is announcing its intent to acquire DataStax, an AI and data solution provider. DataStax's technology will enhance IBM's watsonx portfolio of products accelerating the use of generative AI, helping companies unlock value from vast amounts of unstructured data. The acquisition also builds on IBM's commitment to open-source AI. DataStax is the creator of AstraDB and DataStax Enterprise, NoSQL and vector database capabilities powered by Apache Cassandra; and Langflow, the open-source tool and community for low-code AI application development.

IBM will continue to support, engage, and innovate with the open-source Apache Cassandra, Langflow, Apache Pulsar, and OpenSearch communities in which DataStax participates. IBM's long-standing commitment to open-source AI includes the open-source IBM Granite foundation models and Instruct Lab, a revolutionary approach to advancing true open-source innovation around LLMs.
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[NextPowerUP]

Cisco today announced plans for an expanded partnership with NVIDIA to provide AI technology solutions to enterprises. Enterprises recognize that AI is essential to growth but remain early in their adoption as they navigate the unique technical complexity and security demands of operating AI-ready data centers. The expanded partnership aims to give organizations flexibility and choice as they look to meet the demand of AI workloads for high-performance, low-latency, highly power-efficient connectivity within - and between - data centers, clouds, and users.

"A robust and scalable AI ecosystem is key to driving the transformative power of AI," said Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO of Verizon. "This expanded partnership between Cisco and NVIDIA, just like our Verizon AI Connect strategy and solutions, builds towards accelerating and enabling resource-intensive AI workloads at the Edge of the network."
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[NextPowerUP]

Silicon Labs, a leader in secure, intelligent wireless technology for a more connected world, today announced that its MG26 family of wireless SoCs is now generally available through Silicon Labs and its distribution partners. As the industry's most advanced, high-performance Matter and concurrent multiprotocol solution to date, the MG26 SoC features double the Flash and RAM of other Silicon Labs multiprotocol devices, advanced AI/ML processing, and best-in-class security to empower developers to design future-proof Matter applications.

"With MG26, we're not just setting a new standard in multiprotocol wireless performance for battery-based, low-power smart home applications—we're redefining what's possible for the future of IoT connectivity with Matter," said Jacob Alamat, Senior Vice President for the Home and Life business unit at Silicon Labs. "This device empowers developers to create smarter, safer, and more powerful solutions in an increasingly connected world."
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[NextPowerUP]

Earlier today, the AMD Rewards website was updated with a new marketing promotion—standard edition digital copies of Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds (due on February 28) will be bundled with qualifying purchases of select Ryzen processors, Radeon graphics card, as well as Team Red-powered gaming laptops. AMD's previous "Game Bundle Promotion" campaign rolled out last autumn—at the time, participating customers were gifted digital copies of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and Unknown 9: Awakening. Unfortunately, the latest iteration grants access to a single AAA title. Multiple hardware and gaming news outlets have advised prospective buyers to make use of the Monster Hunter Wilds PC performance benchmark utility; in preparation for the game's full release. Preview builds have reportedly brought fairly potent test systems to their knees.

Curiously, AMD's list of eligible products does not include any desktop (AM5) 3D V-Cache models—a glaring omission, given the nature of this promotion. Instead, various standard SKUs are listed; at the top we spotted their Ryzen 9 9950X CPU. The cheapest options seem to be the Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 7700 (non-X) models. Qualifying graphics card options are restricted to the Radeon RX 7000 series; there is no mention of next-gen candidates—terms could be amended later this week; AMD will be presenting its new Radeon RX 9070 series on February 28. Team Red board partners are expected to reveal their respective participations with this Monster Hunter Wilds promo campaign; Sapphire—a well regarded AIB—announced its involvement, as of this afternoon. Interestingly, ASUS has introduced a similar marketing initiative, also involving Capcom and its popular Monster Hunter franchise.

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[NextPowerUP]

Hey, Splitfam. We're doing an Open Alpha preview of the work we've done on Splitgate 2, available to everyone for four days from Feb. 27 to March 2. Come play with us! This is your first chance to check out our new Multi-Team Portal Warfare, 8v8v8 battles of colossal proportions set on a massive map. Plus, we've got new arena maps, new weapons, new gear, and hundreds of improvements based on community feedback. Anyone with a Steam account, a PS5, or an Xbox Series X|S can register and play—for free, as always. Read on for more details about what will be included in the Open Alpha.

Portals Change Everything
Portal into the action as an elite Ace in Splitgate 2, the only free-to-play shooter where you can teleport across the map to outsmart your opponents. Team up, customize weapons, and master portaling skills as you compete for glory in epic showdowns. This is the future of Splitgate, bringing fast-paced portal gunplay with objective-based game modes, distinctive new maps, and a wild collection of weapons. Dominate the competition with the ultimate tool: a portal gun. Flank your foes and turn the tide of combat by portaling across the map, or defy gravity to launch yourself for jaw-dropping aerial kills. Recruit your friends and compete for the respect of the entire galaxy. Take control of the Hotzone while your friends hold off enemies portaling in from all sides. Stand together and steamroll your opponents to win the match and claim victory.
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[NextPowerUP]

Back in 2021, award-winning development studio MercurySteam and publisher 505 Games announced an official partnership that would bring their latest title (codenamed Project Iron) to life. For several years, the talented team at MercurySteam have been hard at work forging their next adventure. The time has come to finally unveil what they've been up to behind closed doors.

FORGE YOUR LEGEND
Introducing Blades of Fire, an all-new action-adventure that takes you across a beautiful world full of uncertainty and challenge. You take on the role of Aran de Lira, firstborn of the King's Ward. The newly crowned Queen Nerea has cast a powerful spell that turns steel into stone and only her arms of abominations wield the divine metal against which other blades shatter. Get ready to forge your own weapons and put them to the test in a unique combat system, as you work towards becoming a master in forging. Develop your skills and craft weapons that suit your preferable fighting style. Remember, when facing your foes, your choice of weapon will be key to success! Only the right weapons will allow you to take down certain enemies.
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[NextPowerUP]

It seems like ads get in the way of everything, from targeted Instagram ads (which may slightly concern you) to video ads in the middle of a YouTube video (which can be incredibly annoying). Instead of slamming your phone to the table, consider investing in the AdGuard Family Plan.

This AdGuard offer is designed to eliminate ads while protecting up to nine devices and your personal information for only $15.97 (reg. $169) with code GUARD 20. Grab it before stock runs out. Distracting banners? Gone. Intrusive pop-ups? You can say goodbye to those forever. AdGuard offers advanced and unbeatable ad-blocking, working to rid your devices of every type of ad so you can go back to binging YouTube videos or reading Wirecutter articles in peace.

Improve your browsing experience and digital safety when you grab this AdGuard Family Plan lifetime subscription, now just $15.97 when you enter code GUARD20 at checkout. This price drop ends soon.
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[NextPowerUP]

SoftBank Corp., ZutaCore and Hon Hai Technology Group ("Foxconn") today announced they implemented ZutaCore's two-phase DLC (Direct Liquid Cooling) technology in an AI server using NVIDIA accelerated computing, making it the world's first implementation of ZutaCore's two-phase DLC (Direct Liquid Cooling) technology using NVIDIA H200 GPUs. In addition, SoftBank designed and developed a rack-integrated solution that integrates each component of the server, including cooling equipment with two-phase DLC technology, on a rack scale, and conducted an operational demonstration and performance evaluation at its data center in February 2025. The demonstration results indicated the solution passed NVIDIA's temperature test (NVQual), thereby confirming the compatibility, stability and reliability of this rack-integrated solution. The solution also achieved pPUE (partial Power Usage Effectiveness) of 1.03 (actual measured value) per rack for cooling efficiency

With the spread and increased adoption of AI, demand for AI servers and other computing resources is expected to expand significantly, further increasing power consumption at data centers. At the same time, reducing power consumption from the perspective of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions has become a pressing issue worldwide, requiring data centers to become more efficient, consume less power, and introduce innovative heat removal solutions. Since May 2024, SoftBank has been collaborating with ZutaCore, a global leader in the development and business deployment of two-phase DLC technology, to develop solutions optimized for low power consumption at AI data centers.
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[NextPowerUP]

Apple's new budget-friendly iPhone 16e model was introduced earlier this month; potential buyers were eyeing a device (starting at $599) that houses a selectively "binned" A18 mobile chipset. The more expensive iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models were launched last September, with A18 chips on-board; featuring six CPU cores, and five GPU cores. Apple's brand-new 16E smartphone seems to utilize an A18 sub-variant—tech boffins have highlighted this package's reduced GPU core count: of four. The so-called "binned A18" reportedly posted inferior performance figures—15% slower—when lined up against its standard 6-core sibling (in Geekbench 6 Metal tests). The iPhone 16E was released at retail today (February 28), with review embargoes lifted earlier in the week.

A popular portable tech YouTuber—Dave2D (aka Dave Lee)—decided to pit his iPhone 16E sample unit against older technology; contained within the iPhone 15 (2023). The binned A18's 4-core iGPU competed with the A16 Bionic's 5-core integrated graphics solution in a 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited head-to-head. Respective tallies—of 2882 and 3170 points—were recorded for posterity's sake. The more mature chipset (from 2022) managed to surpass its younger sibling by ~10%, according to the scores presented on Dave2D's comparison chart. The video reviewer reckoned that the iPhone 16E's SoC offers "killer performance," despite reservations expressed about the device not offering great value for money. Other outlets have questioned the prowess of Apple's latest step down model. Referencing current-gen 3DMark benchmark results, Wccftech observed: "for those wanting to know the difference between the binned A18 and non-binned variant; the SoC with a 5-core GPU running in the iPhone 16 finishes the benchmark run with an impressive 4007 points, making it a massive 28.04 percent variation between the two (pieces of) silicon. It is an eye-opener to witness such a mammoth performance drop, which also explains why Apple resorted to chip-binning on the iPhone 16e as it would help bring the price down substantially."
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[NextPowerUP]

Vastarmor continues on its path to become a reliable graphics card manufacturer and AMD board partner (since the RDNA 2 days) and they are among the first to announce their own implementations for the latest AMD RDNA 4 graphics architecture with the launch of the Vastarmor Radeon RX 9070 XT Super Alloy and Vastarmor Radeon RX 9070 Super Alloy graphics card series. Both graphics cards are available in black and white versions and use 100 mm fans with ARGB lighting.

The RX 9070 XT Super Alloy has a three-fan design measuring 326.66 mm long, 59.4 mm wide, and takes up 2.8 slots. The RX 9070 Super Alloy uses a dual-fan approach and measures 281.44 mm x 50.15 mm, taking up 2.5 slots. Both graphics cards are equipped with a reinforced metal backplate. In terms of specifications, Vastarmor opted to tune up the clock speeds a bit: the RX 9070 XT Super Alloy features a 2570 MHz Game Clock (2.4 GHz reference) / Up to 3100 MHz Boost Clock (3.0 GHz reference), while the RX 9070 Super Alloy uses a 2210 MHz Game Clock (2.1 GHz reference) / Up to 2700 MHz Boost Clock (2.5 GHz AMD reference).
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[NextPowerUP]

Attention, for the Administration of New London bears tidings of utmost importance. Since the fateful September past, our City has endured, prospered, and expanded its dominion. In pursuit of greater foresight, our vigilant expeditionists have charted a course through the treacherous frostland. As fresh intelligence reaches us, we are pleased to provide an update on their tireless endeavors.

Moreover, scouts report that the arrival of Spring shall bring significant developments for the people of New London. They have also urged the Administration to observe a day of reflection on April 24th, in honor of the seventh anniversary of our first great expedition—an endeavor once guided by a departed leader of unwavering resolve. May light forever grace their steadfast soul.
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[NextPowerUP]

Samsung's foundry operation has experienced many setbacks over the past six months, according to a steady feed of insider reports. Last November, industry moles leaked details of an apparent abandonment of the company's 3 nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process. Significant yield problems prompted an alleged shift into 2 nm territories, with a next-gen flagship Exynos mobile processor linked to this cutting-edge node. According to a mid-week Chosun Daily article, Samsung and its main rival—TSMC—are in a race to establish decent yields of 2 nm wafers, ahead of predicted "late 2025" mass production kick-offs. The publication's inside track points to the Taiwanese foundry making the most progress (with an estimated 60%), but watchdogs warn that it is too early to bet against the South Korean competitor.

Despite murmurs of current 20 - 30% yields, the Samsung's Hwaseong facility is touted to make "smooth" progress over the coming months. Chosun's sources believe that Samsung engineers struggled to get 3 nm GAA "up to snuff," spending around three years on development endeavors (in vain). In comparison, the making of 2 nm GAA is reported to be less bumpy. A fully upgraded "S3" foundry line is expected to come online by the fourth quarter of this year. An unnamed insider commented on rumors of better than anticipated forward motion chez Samsung Electronics: "there are positive aspects to this as it has shown technological improvements, such as the recent increase in the yield of its 4 nm process by up to 80%." Recent-ish reports suggest that foundry teams have dealt with budget cuts, as well as mounting pressure from company leadership to hit deadlines.

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