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January 19
- The Asus RX 9070 XT TUF Gaming has allegedly been unboxed, suggesting ready stock at retailers
➀ A retailer in Ukraine has unboxed the Asus Radeon RX 9070 XT TUF Gaming, suggesting the GPU may be available at retailers ahead of its official launch.
➁ The GPU features a triple-fan design, 16GB of memory, and PCIe 5.0 support. It is expected to offer 4,096 Stream Processors and reach boost clocks near 3 GHz.
➂ The GPU's affordability will be crucial for its success, with expectations that it will cost around $500.
- RayNeo Air 2s Review: Truly basic AR glasses saved by affordable pricing
➀ Tom's Hardware reviewed the RayNeo Air 2s, a pair of augmented reality glasses from TCL's RayNeo subsidiary.
➁ The Air 2s offers attractive design and wide compatibility but lacks advanced features and has mediocre audio quality.
➂ Despite its drawbacks, the Air 2s is priced competitively, making it a good value for those seeking AR glasses.
- Trump administration will back CHIPS and Science Act hints outgoing Commerce Secretary
➀ The incoming U.S. Commerce Secretary supports the CHIPS and Science Act, indicating continuity despite political changes.
➁ Major semiconductor companies like Intel, GlobalFoundries, TSMC, Texas Instruments, and Samsung Foundry are investing heavily in U.S. fabs.
➂ Despite support from the new Commerce Secretary, some in Trump's team criticize the rapid distribution of funds before the transition.
January 18
- Thunderbolt 5 dock comes with built-in PCIe 4.0 SSD and four TB5 ports — pricing starts at $399
➀ Sonnet Technologies has announced the Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock, featuring a PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD and 6,100 MB/s data transfer speeds.
➁ The dock supports multiple Thunderbolt 5 ports, USB 3.2, Ethernet, and various other connectivity options.
➂ Pricing for the Echo 13 starts at $399 for the 1TB model, with higher-capacity versions available at different prices.
- AMD Ryzen 5 7400F sells for $115 in China — US availability and pricing remains a mystery
➀ AMD has quietly launched the Ryzen 5 7400F CPU in China with a price of $115.90 (including 13% VAT).
➁ The Ryzen 5 7400F is more affordable than the Ryzen 5 7500F and the upcoming Phoenix-based Ryzen 5 8400F.
➂ The Ryzen 5 7400F has specifications nearly identical to the Ryzen 5 7500F but with a slightly lower boost clock.
- Montech’s Heritage Pro case is like a designer handbag for your Micro ATX PC
➀ Montech's Heritage Pro case combines leather, glass, and steel in a unique design reminiscent of a designer handbag.
➁ The case supports full-size ATX power supplies, large graphics cards, and rear-connector motherboards, making it suitable for high-end builds.
➂ Despite its premium feel, the case lacks some thoughtful design elements such as easy-to-clean dust filters and RGB fans.
- RTX 5090 beats RTX 4090 by 36% in the Blender benchmark — RTX 5090D is 40% faster than RTX 4090D
➀ Nvidia's upcoming RTX 5090 and RTX 5090D GPUs have shown up in the Blender benchmark database, demonstrating a significant performance increase over the RTX 4090.
➁ The RTX 5090 is approximately 36% faster than the RTX 4090, and the RTX 5090D is 40% faster than the RTX 4090D in the same benchmark.
➂ Despite the promising numbers, the limited sample size and lack of detailed system information make it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the actual performance of these GPUs.
- Intel's Arrow Lake fix doesn't 'fix' overall gaming performance or match the company's bad marketing claims - Core Ultra 200S still trails AMD and previous-gen chips
➀ Intel's fix for Arrow Lake chips does not improve overall gaming performance.
➁ The Core Ultra 9 285K performs worse than previous-generation chips in gaming.
➂ Intel's claims about performance gains are misleading and do not align with real-world testing results.
January 16
- New export regs may see Israel requiring a license to buy U.S. chips developed in the country➀ The U.S. proposes new export rules for advanced AI processors, which restricts sales to certain countries. ➁ Israel, a close U.S. ally, is included in the restricted list, which could significantly impact the country's computing power. ➂ The proposed regulation categorizes countries into three groups with different import limits.
- Intel Arc B570 review featuring the ASRock Challenger OC: A decent budget option with a few deep cuts➀ The Intel Arc B570 offers good value for a budget 1080p graphics card, but falls short of the Arc B580's standards due to reduced memory and bandwidth; ➁ Its performance at 1440p and above may be limited by VRAM; ➂ Driver concerns persist despite its overall good performance.
- Asus ProArt PA27JCV 5K professional monitor review: Redefining pixel density and color accuracy➀ The Asus ProArt PA27JCV offers exceptional color accuracy and high pixel density; ➁ It is a cost-effective option in the pro monitor category; ➂ The monitor is well-suited for content creators with its 5K resolution and extensive color modes.
- China's Cambricon posts first profit as demand for this Nvidia rival's AI processors explodes➀ Cambricon Technologies achieves its first quarterly profit in late 2024; ➁ Revenue surged nearly 70% in 2024; ➂ Cambricon's stock skyrocketed over 470% in the past year.
- US bans sales of 14nm and 16nm chips with over 30 billion transistors to China➀ The U.S. government plans to impose stricter export controls on advanced processors made by TSMC, GlobalFoundries, Intel, and Samsung Foundry. These rules target processors with 30 billion transistors or more on 14nm or 16nm nodes. ➁ Exceptions include chips with fewer than 30 billion transistors and those designed by companies based in the U.S. or Taiwan. ➂ The new rules may impact the sale of mainstream GPUs to Chinese entities, particularly in the AI and gaming sectors.
- Nvidia Blackwell for creators and professionals — upgrades for editing video, images, audio, and more➀ Nvidia introduces the Blackwell architecture for creators and professionals, focusing on video, image, and audio editing, 3D rendering, and more; ➁ AI and machine learning advancements, including the new LLM Flux and 3D scene-guided image generation; ➂ Improved video codec support and performance, with triple NVENC blocks on the RTX 5090 and enhanced AV1 and HEVC quality.
January 15
- In a private letter to U.S. President Biden, semiconductor industry groups blast incoming export rules➀ Industry groups criticize the lack of consultation on new US export controls for AI processors; ➁ The new regulations may negatively impact US companies and shift market share to international competitors; ➂ The restrictions could hinder China's development of AI processors and bolster the efforts of other countries to produce sovereign processors.
- Razer settles 'deceptive' marketing FTC lawsuit for over $1 million — 6,764 Zephyr mask buyers to get full refunds➀ Razer settles FTC lawsuit for deceptive advertising of Zephyr mask; ➁ $100,000 fine and $1,071,254.33 to be refunded to consumers; ➂ FTC warns against scams posing as agency representatives.
January 14
- Qualcomm hires Intel's Xeon architect to lead development of server CPUs➀ Qualcomm hires Sailesh Kottapalli, a former Intel Xeon architect, to lead its data center CPU development; ➁ Kottapalli joins as a senior vice president, bringing 28 years of Intel experience; ➂ Qualcomm's new server CPUs will use cores from Nuvia, acquired in 2021.
- China's SpacemiT develops 64-core RISC-V datacenter CPU — 12nm chip allegedly performs like a 10-year old Xen or Opteron but with higher core count➀ SpacemiT introduces the VitalStone V100 with up to 64 RISC-V cores; ➁ The processor is based on OpenC910 project design and is made on a 12nm process technology; ➂ Each core achieves a SPEC CINT2006 integer score of 9, placing it on par with older processors like the Intel Xeon E5520 and AMD Opteron 6212 but with a higher core count.
- Nvidia ARM SoC for Windows machines reportedly debuting in Q4, featuring N1X, with N1 to follow in early 2026➀ Nvidia is reportedly set to launch two new ARM-based SoCs for Windows machines, N1X and N1; ➁ The N1X is expected to debut in Q4 2025, followed by the N1 in early 2026; ➂ Nvidia will partner with MediaTek, with MediaTek receiving $2 billion in revenue from the venture.
January 12
- You can buy this AOC 27-inch Mini-LED 2K gaming monitor for just $249 at Amazon➀ AOC 27-inch Mini-LED 2K gaming monitor is on sale at Amazon for $249; ➁ The monitor features a 27-inch VA panel with 2K resolution, 180 Hz refresh rate, and 1 ms response time; ➂ This is the lowest price for this gaming display since its release.
- Thunderbolt 5 dock with MXM graphics, M.2 SSD slot, lots of I/O debuts at CES – J5Create's device offers RTX 3060 and RX 7600M variants for about $1,400➀ J5Create showcases a new Thunderbolt 5 dock at CES with MXM graphics and M.2 SSD slot; ➁ Two GPU variants: RTX 3060 and RX 7600M; ➂ Offers performance and silent modes, and includes high-speed I/O ports.
- Tetris packed inside a PDF file to run in any PC browser — Pdftris runs from a 60KB PDF➀ The classic Tetris game has been packaged into a PDF and called Pdftris, which can be played in most desktop browsers. ➁ Thomas Rinsma, a security analyst, created the game using modern PDF engines like PDFium and PDF.js. ➂ The game is simple to run and requires no special tools; it's just a 60KB PDF file that can be opened in a text editor.
- Intel to spin off RealSense depth camera business by mid-2025 — but it will remain part of the Intel Capital portfolio➀ Intel plans to spin off its RealSense depth camera business by mid-2025; ➁ The new entity will remain part of Intel's Capital portfolio; ➂ The move is a strategic decision to enhance RealSense's growth potential.
- TSMC ends contract with Singapore-based company over alleged Huawei ties➀ TSMC ends contract with Singapore-based PowerAIR over suspected Huawei ties; ➁ Concerns over potential violations of U.S. export controls; ➂ PowerAIR's lack of transparency raises suspicions about its end-user and technology transfer.
- Patriot celebrates 40th Anniversary with Viper Xtreme 5 DDR5-9600 CKD memory launch — Also has an Anniversary Special RAM kit alongside the iLuxe Stick C for Apple devices➀ Patriot Memory celebrates its 40th anniversary with the launch of the Viper Xtreme 5 DDR5-9600 CKD memory and iLuxe Stick C for Apple devices; ➁ The anniversary edition features a blue heatsink with '40 Years' label and RGB lighting; ➂ The iLuxe Stick C offers up to 2TB storage for iPhone and iPad, serving as a convenient media backup solution.
January 11
- Nvidia Hopper-based 100kW cluster deploys with 144 H200 GPUs — Exacluster features 192 96-core CPUs, 36TB DDR5 RAM, and 270TB of NVMe storage➀ ExaAILabs has deployed its Exacluster, a cluster based on Nvidia's H200 GPUs for AI and HPC; ➁ The cluster aims to build a search engine superior to Google's; ➂ The Exacluster includes 144 H200 GPUs, 192 96-core CPUs, and 36TB of DDR5 RAM.
- TSMC's Arizona Fab 21 is already making 4nm chips — yield and quality reportedly on par with Taiwan fabs➀ TSMC's Arizona Fab 21 has started producing 4nm chips; ➁ The chips are produced on TSMC's 4nm-class—N4 and N4P—process technologies; ➂ The project is part of the U.S. goal to produce 20% of the world's most advanced logic chips by 2030.
January 10
- MSI MEG X870E Godlike Motherboard Review: Seven USB-C and M.2 sockets, $1100 price➀ The MSI X870E Godlike is a premium motherboard with an array of features like 15 USB ports, seven M.2 sockets, and Wi-Fi 7; ➁ It offers excellent performance across the board, though its $1,000-plus price tag may deter some buyers; ➂ The board is packed with features but has a few drawbacks, including its high price and lack of native PCIe x8 or x4 slots.
- Razer showcases Project Ava AI gaming co-pilot and Project Arialle gaming chair with heating and cooling functionality➀ Razer showcases Project Ava AI gaming co-pilot at CES; ➁ Project Ava leverages AI for eSports coaching and hardware tuning; ➂ Razer also reveals Project Arialle, a gaming chair with heating and cooling features
- AMD's Instinct MI325X smiles for the camera: 256 GB of HBM3E➀ AMD showcases its new Instinct MI325X accelerator at CES with 256 GB of HBM3E memory; ➁ The new accelerator features 19,456 stream processors and 6 TB/s of bandwidth; ➂ AMD's move to 256 GB of memory from the previously announced 288 GB is unexplained.