TechPowerUP NEWS

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Ad blocking tools have become increasingly common as online advertising, tracking scripts, and pop-ups continue to expand across websites and apps. The AdGuard Family Plan is one such option, offering a combination of ad blocking, privacy protection, and basic security features in a single platform.

Currently priced at $15.97 for lifetime access (MSRP $169.99), the Family Plan supports up to nine devices under one license. It is available to new users only and must be redeemed within 30 days of purchase.

AdGuard's primary function is filtering out ads before they load. This includes banner ads, pop-ups, autoplay video ads, and other common formats. By blocking these elements at the network level, the app can help reduce page clutter and improve load times.
Get lifetime access to the AdGuard Family Plan for just $15.97 (MSRP $169.99) for a limited time.Read full story

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Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and Google today announced a multiyear collaboration to advance the next generation of AI and cloud infrastructure, reinforcing the critical role of CPUs and custom infrastructure processing units (IPUs) in scaling modern, heterogeneous AI systems.

As AI adoption accelerates, infrastructure is becoming more complex and heterogeneous, driving increased reliance on CPUs for orchestration, data processing and system-level performance. Through this collaboration, Intel and Google will align across multiple generations of Intel Xeon processors to improve performance, energy efficiency and total cost of ownership across Google's global infrastructure.
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According to the latest research from Omdia, total shipments of desktops, notebooks, and workstations in 1Q26 increased by 3.2% year-over-year to 64.8 million units. Notebooks (including mobile workstations) saw a modest year-over-year increase of 2.6% in Q1 to 50.8 million units. Meanwhile, desktops (including desktop workstations) performed slightly better, up 5.4% to 14.0 million units. Growth was supported by vendors and channel partners pulling orders forward ahead of a widely anticipated increase in component costs, the continuation of the Windows 10 replacement cycle that is still driving commercial refresh budgets, and by a heavier than usual slate of spring product launches across both Windows OEMs and Apple.

"With supply-chain pressures still building, Q1's modest growth is likely to mark the high point for the year," said Ben Yeh, Principal Analyst at Omdia. "Memory and storage costs are expected to rise further and more steeply than previously assumed from Q2, squeezing PC vendor gross margins and forcing them to pass costs through to channel partners and end-customers. AI data center build-outs are crowding consumer categories out of memory and storage supply, which have already seen roughly five-fold and three-fold cost increases respectively since Q1 2025. CPU prices are a smaller but compounding pressure, with Intel and AMD projecting increases of 10-25% into Q2."
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EIZO Corporation (TSE: 6737) today introduced the ColorEdge CS3200X - a 31.5‑inch 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) color management monitor joining the ColorEdge CS Series lineup. The CS3200X combines core ColorEdge technologies with added value for diverse workflows, supporting the shared needs of videographers, photographers, designers, and other visual storytellers who rely on consistency, precision, and dependable color.

As visual creation spans a broader range of practices and continues to shift toward higher resolutions, tools capable of supporting diverse needs have become essential to modern creative workflows. As the first 31.5-inch 4K model in the ColorEdge CS Series, the CS3200X provides a workspace designed for these requirements. Its generous screen size keeps timelines, layers, and tools comfortably in view, while the detailed 4K resolution renders images and video with crisp detail, allowing creators to discern fine textures and tonal transitions with greater precision.
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The K5 Pro TMR Compact takes CHERRY XTRFY's popular K5 keyboard to a new level. This gaming keyboard, featuring CHERRY MK Crystal Magnetic switches and TMR sensing technology, combines precise input and ultra-fast response times with a compact, stylish design.

"The K5 has become an iconic keyboard in the CHERRY XTRFY range, and with TMR, we're taking it even further. As the next evolution in magnetic keyboards, TMR delivers higher precision and greater flexibility, while 8000 Hz polling brings you a faster, more responsive gaming experience than ever. With full customizability for every keypress and the features gamers need for a competitive advantage, the K5 Pro TMR is built for those who play for the win", says Joakim Jansson, Director of Product Management at CHERRY.
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In the latest series of leaks about Intel's upcoming "Nova Lake" chips, we learn that the desktop "Nova Lake-S" designs will feature a new socket mounting and independent loading mechanism (ILM). According to exclusive information from VideoCardz, the NVL-S desktop designs on the LGA-1954 socket will include a new 2L-ILM socket mechanism to improve contact with CPU coolers. Given that Intel's upcoming NVL-S desktop processors will have up to 52 high-frequency, power-hungry cores, a better mounting mechanism is definitely needed. This 2L-ILM is a two-level independent loading mechanism, using one lever on each side of the CPU to secure it into the LGA-1954 socket. Applying pressure on both sides of the socket ensures improved flatness while the locking mechanism does its job.

Intel categorizes its desktop sockets in various forms. One of the most basic is the Default-ILM, along with the RL-ILM. As seen with "Arrow Lake," Intel's motherboards divide the socket locking mechanism into the ILM and RL-ILM designs, applied depending on the sector. For the lower-end sector, the Default-ILM socket is used, while the RL-ILM is applied to higher-end overclocking motherboards, providing better pressure and ensuring a flatter surface contact for a cooler. Noctua and Cooler Master already differentiate these two in their CPU coolers, but the mounting hardware is generally the same for both. The RL-ILM is simply a better design for overclocking due to the improved surface contact it provides.
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Chieftec today introduced the DT-10B-300, a slim form-factor microATX case, with a volume of 8 liters. The case offers room for microATX (or smaller) motherboards, and even comes with a slimline optical disc drive bay. The case includes a pre-installed 300 W ATX 2.53 PSU that meets 80 Plus Bronze efficiency rating. Front panel connectivity includes three 5 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 1 type-A, and a USB 3.2 type-C port. The case has vents along the front and rear panels, and a prominent intake along the left side panel that lets top-flow CPU coolers up to 70 mm in height take in air.

A detachable flexible storage caddie lets you mount a 2.5-inch SSD, a 3.5-inch HDD, and a 5.25-inch slimline optical drive. The case enables low-profile (half height) add-on cards of up to 14 cm in length, with this drive caddy out of the way. You get four such low-profile expansion slots. The case measures 294 mm x 92 mm x 341 mm (DxWxH), and is made of 0.7 mm-thick SGCC steel. The company didn't reveal pricing.

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Apple's MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, and the latest MacBook Neo series of laptops are now susceptible to a significant performance drop if they remain powered on for 49.7 days without a reboot. Specifically, after exactly 49 days, 17 hours, 2 minutes, and 47.296 seconds of continuous operation, the entire TCP/IP networking stack shuts down and stops establishing new connections. This unusual bug stems from a kernel-level issue in Apple's XNU kernel involving tcp_now, a 32-bit unsigned integer that tracks elapsed milliseconds since boot for the TCP stack. When it reaches its maximum value of 4,294,967,295, the counter stalls instead of resetting, disrupting the arithmetic macOS uses to expire and discard closed connections.

These inactive connection sessions accumulate quickly, increasing CPU usage as the system struggles to handle an ever-growing backlog. Once the available port pool, typically around 16,384 ports, is fully used, no new connections can be opened. Applications that rely on network access begin to fail, although already-established sessions continue to function, and the machine still responds to pings, albeit much more slowly. This initially delayed the diagnosis of the bug. A reboot resets the counter and restores normal operation, but the issue will recur on the same schedule after another 49.7 days of continuous use. There are potential solutions to fix the bug by using larger 64-bit integers, but this would require more extensive code changes, performance testing, and additional work compared to a simple fix.
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Ahead of its April 22 retail availability, AMD confirmed the U.S. MSRP (pre-tax) pricing of its upcoming flagship desktop processor, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition. The chip comes with an AMD MSRP of $899, or $200 higher than the launch MSRP of the Ryzen 9 9950X3D. This doesn't necessarily mean that the processor will be available to buy at $899, retailers could mark the chip further up, and taxes could push its street price above the $1,000-mark. At launch, the processor will be sold both as retail PIB (processor in box) packages, as well as part of pre-built gaming desktops by popular OEMs and systems integrators.

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition is a 16-core/32-thread processor powered by "Zen 5" microarchitecture and 3D V-Cache technology, with stacked 3D V-Cache on both its 8-core chiplets, resulting in an on-package L3 cache of 192 MB, and a total cache (L2+L3) of 208 MB. In comparison, the 9950X3D only has 3D V-Cache on one of its two CCDs, and relies on software-based OS scheduler guidance to ensure gaming workloads are directed to the CCD with 3D V-Cache. Besides cache, the 9950X3D2 Dual Edition is mostly similar to the 9950X3D, except its maximum boost frequency is 5.60 GHz, or 100 MHz lower than the 9950X3D; and it comes with a higher TDP of 200 W, compared to 170 W of the 9950X3D. While technically compatible with any Socket AM5 motherboard, support requires UEFI firmware updates from motherboard vendors.

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Nexon subsidiary, Neople, launched The First Berserker: Khazan on 27 March, 2025, and despite the game's impressive critical reception, it seems as though the ARPG never quite managed to reach the commercial heights expected by Nexon. According to a recent report by Korean news outlet, Yonhap News, the development team that was responsible for supporting The First Berserker: Khazan has been reassigned by Neople, due to the game's poor commercial performance. The development company says the project is in "completion stage" and the reallocation of workers is in the name of efficiency. The workers previously responsible for the ARPG will be working on other projects that require additional human resources.

According to SteamDB, The First Berserker: Khazan peaked at 32,929 concurrent players on Steam around the game's initial launch, but that number quickly fell to around 2,000 daily concurrent players, dipping to as little as 1,013 concurrent daily players more recently. Despite the low player counts, The First Berserker: Khazan still has a "Very Positive" 90% rating on Steam, and it generally scored well with critics, with a 78 Metacritic score and a user score of 7.9 on the same site.

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It has long been rumored that an Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake is in the works at Ubisoft, and those rumors have continued to surface, despite the recent shake-ups at the French gaming giant. The latest rumor out of Insider Gaming and a certain ResetEra user, BlackBate, who say that Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced would launch at an event on April 16, with the official retail launch not too long after that. That said, a recent online art book retail listing suggests that Black Flag Resynced was already pushed back from an initial launch date of March 31. It may be the case that the recent turmoil at Ubisoft has resulted in Black Flag Resynced being pushed back further to mid-April.

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Despite having a rather rough launch period, No Man's Sky has since earned a loyal fan base thanks to consistent updates that have dramatically increased the quality of the game. The game's latest update steps things up again, introducing a whole new gameplay loop for players to get into. The No Man's Sky Xeno Arena update allows players to collect the myriad alien creatures they encounter on their travels throughout the universe, raise, train, and battle them in turn-based combat arenas. The No Man's Sky Xeno Arena update is already available on all platforms, and Hello Games seems to have put a decent amount of thought and depth into the new game mode's mechanics.

Much like Nintendo's Pokémon, the creatures in No Man's Sky will have a specific type, which will here be dictated by the creature's native habitat and climate and their species. Abilities include attack, support, healing, and even the ability to transmute opponent creatures into more vulnerable forms. Players will also be able to see and augment their creatures' genetic profiles and breed different creatures to prioritize certain traits. The update also increases the number of creatures a player can tame from 18 to 30, allowing players to build a sizeable roster of battle monsters. Players will also have access to daily battle challenges with an online leaderboard, and players will also be able to survey wild creatures' battle capabilities with creature survey mode ahead of capturing them.
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Valve seems to be incorporating more AI integration into its Steam gaming platform to assist gamers with various aspects of their experience. In the latest development of this AI integration, Valve is reportedly developing the SteamGPT AI system to assist with customer support queries, while also integrating many additional features into the system. As you know, Valve's Steam platform receives thousands of support questions daily, ranging from refunds and platform issues to payment processing problems and many other inquiries. Valve's support staff is often overwhelmed, especially during major sales events. If Valve creates a customized AI system for chatting, support, and other infrastructure tasks, the company could alleviate a significant portion of the daily issues.

Additionally, recent source code leaks mention some connection to Valve's Trust systems, which enhance matchmaking quality by grouping players with similar levels of trustworthiness in games like Counter-Strike 2. This is an algorithmic process where an AI system could improve grading, as AI can naturally solve these tasks by grouping players more effectively than any custom algorithm. Furthermore, it could also detect cheating patterns performed by players and activate the anti-cheat system. However, while an AI system can assist with customer support queries, it may still make errors, necessitating human oversight to ensure the validity of support resolutions.
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It seems as though Epic Games is working on a way to increase player time and interest in Fortnite, following a massive round of layoffs at Epic Games that was blamed on a downturn in spending in the battle royale shooter. In the announcement of the layoffs, Epic Games CEO, Tim Sweeney, said that the studio would be looking to deliver "Fortnite magic" in upcomig updates, and shaking up the game with a handful of new game modes to see what sticks, and potentially diversifying the player base in the process, may be one way of doing that. According to frequent leaker @Loolo_WRLD on X, who data-mined a recent Fortnite update and discovered references to at least seven new game modes coming to Epic Games's flagship game.

The references, which are codenames, include "WickedSmoke," a social-first game mode similar to the previously available Delulu game mode that relied on proximity chat and on-the-fly co-operation or rivalries; UnableRoman, a team deathmatch game mode; Rivalry, a Lego mode with mechs; CurioBox, another Lego game mode; MatchMist, a new map or mode for the fast-paced Reload game mode; BabyCorgi, a new game mode seemingly related to the tactical FPS, Fortnite Ballistic; and Bulldog and Husky, which is related to Disney mode. It's unclear when these new game modes are slated to launch, if at all, but it stands to reason that if they're already in the Fortnite update logs, they should be making their way to the mainline game at some point soon.

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NuPhy has completed its Air V3 lineup by adding two new low-profile mechanical keyboards, the Air 65 V3 in a 65% layout and the Air 100 V3 as a full-size option joining the 75% model that launched earlier last year. Both keyboards use low-profile Gateron x NuPhy MX-style switches with 3.5 mm total travel, available in 42 gf light linear (Blush nano), 45 gf linear (Red nano), and 50 gf tactile (Brown nano) variants. Construction is aluminium on top and PC (Polycarbonate) on the bottom, with a PC plate and gasket mount for a softer typing feel. Keycaps are double-shot PBT, and both keyboards are hot-swappable with N-key rollover and north-facing RGB with 20 backlight modes. Connectivity covers all three modes, 2.4 G and wired USB-C both at 1000 Hz polling, and Bluetooth 5.0 at 125 Hz.

The NuPhy Air 65 V3 measures 318.9 x 109 x 13.2 mm and weighs 635 g, with plate-mounted stabilizers and a 2500 mAh battery rated for 15 to 67 hours with lighting on and up to 761 hours with no lighting. The Air 100 V3 has a 380.6 x 133.6 x 13.2 mm footprint at 950 g and features a 4000 mAh battery good for 24 to 73 hours lit up or up to 1000 hours with lights off. Both offer three typing angles at 4°, 8°, and 10°, and come in Nova White and Nebula Dark color variants. A few weeks after announcing the Air75 V3, NuPhy faced some criticism over its decision to ship the keyboard with only a tall rotary knob by default. The company has since revised the bundle, with pre-orders now including both a high-profile knob and a low-profile variant with a translucent ring, along with the knob base. All components are color-matched to the selected keyboard finish. The Air 65 V3 is priced at $129.95 and the Air 100 V3 at $149.95.

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