Author: Computer Tech

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The Empire Strikes Back: China Prepares One Trillion Yuan AI Plan to Rival $500 Billion US Stargate Project

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Sunday, January 26th 2025

A few days ago, we reported on the US reading a massive 500 billion US Dollar package called “Stargate Project” to build AI infrastructure on American soil. However, China is also planning to stay close behind, or even overlap the US in some areas, with a one trillion Yuan “AI Industry Development Action Plan”. Translating into around 138 billion US Dollars at the time of writing, the Chinese AI plan is similar to the US Stargate project: develop AI infrastructure through data center expansion and AI accelerator scale-up. Unlike the Stargate project, led by private initiatives and OpenAI at the helm, the Chinese AI Industry Development Action Plan is an entirely state-sponsored initiative that will fund firms like Baidu, ByteDance, Alibaba, and DeepSeek with additional AI accelerators (or sanction-abiding GPUs) to create more advanced AI systems.

Over the past few days, DeepSeek, a branch of a Chinese hedge fund, has not only open-sourced its R1 reasoning model but made it entirely free to use for everyone. This has challenged moat of Western competitors like OpenAI, pushing its CEO Sam Altman to offer an O3-mini reasoning model for up to 100 queries per day for the ChatGPT Plus user tier. Not only did DeepSeek provide a model equally intelligent to OpenAI’s best, but it also offered it completely free. This has stirred up the tech community quite a bit and showed that Chinese companies are not much behind Western competitors. With this AI action plan, the Chinese government wants to push its domestic AI makers even further ahead and allow them to overtake cutting-edge model development potentially. Of course, getting GPUs for these projects remains an intricate task, but with export control loopholes and domestic AI accelerator development, the AI arms race is picking up quite a bit.

Source: Ray Wang on X

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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090D Overclocked to a Staggering 3.4 GHz and 34 Gbps Memory

Yes, the title is correct. One of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090D “China” edition GPUs, not the regular RTX 5090, managed to run at 3.4 GHz under liquid nitrogen. With a staggering 575 W default TDP, Tony Yu, ASUS China’s general manager, has performed physical modifications that allow the card to run up to 1000 W TDP. The RTX 5090D is a China-exclusive variant with virtually no difference from the regular RTX 5090, just limited general AI capability due to US export regulations. ASUS China used its top-end Astral OC variant for this stunt, which, as we proved in our review of the regular ASUS RTX 5090 Astral OC, has some pretty good chip binning, allowing the card to reach the highest overclock. We pushed the regular RTX 5090 Astral OC GPU on air to 3086 MHz, a +277 MHz over the stock boost setting. However, the RTX 5090D equivalent under LN2 manages to reach 3,390 MHz at peak loads, which is a +581 MHz difference.

For memory, the overclock is equally impressive with 34 Gbps. Regarding performance, the LN2-overclocked RTX 5090D surpassed stock performance by approximately 16%. During benchmark tests, the GPU outperformed multiple previous-generation graphics cards, including a dual RTX 3090 Ti configuration in Port Royal and a quad GTX 1080 Ti setup in Fire Strike. Power consumption figures indicate that 1,760 W was used in total for a rig with ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090D, which is paired with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D on the ASUS ROG X870E Hero motherboard. This roughly yields a 1,000 W power consumption by the card, which has seen its PCB get physical modifications to output such high power.

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ASUS GeForce RTX 5090 Astral OC Review – Astronomical Premium

Introduction

ASUS Logo

We have with us the ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 OC graphics card, which debuts the new ROG Astral brand for ASUS. Designed to provide the best of ASUS thermal engineering and industrial design, the ROG Astral brand is positioned a notch above the ROG Strix brand, providing the company’s best air cooling solution, a premium set of materials, and the new Quad Fan Force arrangement of no less than four fans. Aesthetically, ROG Astral graphics cards pair well not just with ASUS ROG Strix series motherboards, but also the more premium ROG Maximus and ROG Crosshair lines. The GeForce RTX 5090 is designed to crunch through any of today and tomorrow’s games with maxed out settings, at 4K Ultra HD.

The Blackwell graphics architecture powering the RTX 5090 introduces neural rendering, a breakthrough new concept where generative AI works more collaboratively with classic raster 3D graphics. You’ve had a taste of generative AI, and its ability to conjure up photorealistic images and videos. Now imagine AI drawing parts of your 3D scene in real time, complete with geometric detail and ray tracing effects. Making this possible is API-level standardization that allows games to access Tensor cores, and the ability for the GPU to accelerate a generative AI model and render games in tandem, thanks to a new hardware scheduling component called AMP.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect about Blackwell is that GPUs in its generation do not introduce a new foundry node, all chips in the RTX 50-series are built on the existing TSMC 4N process, which is an NVIDIA-specific variant of the 5 nm EUV node. Whatever generational improvements in efficiency you see are purely thanks to advances made by the graphics architecture itself, and a re-architected power management system.

The RTX 5090 is based on the GB202 ASIC, a massive 750 mm² slab of silicon featuring over 92 billion transistors, 192 Blackwell streaming multiprocessors, a PCI-Express 5.0 x16 interface, and a mammoth 512-bit GDDR7 memory interface, belting out 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. The trend across the RTX 50-series is large increases in bandwidth thanks to GDDR7, because neural rendering and the new DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation are memory sensitive technologies. The RTX 5090 is carved out of the GB202 by enabling 170 out of those 192 SM, and enabling 96 MB out of the 128 MB on-die L2 cache available. This results in 21,760 CUDA cores, 680 Tensor cores, and 170 RT cores, across 11 GPCs, and this doesn’t even max out the GB202. The card comes with 32 GB of 28 Gbps GDDR7 memory.

The Blackwell graphics architecture introduces a new generation streaming multiprocessor with concurrent FP32 and INT32 capability across all its 128 CUDA cores, shader execution reordering with awareness for neural shaders, and the new 5th Gen Tensor core that’s capable of FP4 data formats for 32x the throughput of the original Tensor core. The new generation RT core has the hardware groundwork for Mega Geometry, the ability to give ray traced object significantly higher poly counts, or those many triangles onto which rays should interact with. DLSS Multi Frame Generation is a technology that uses AI to predict not just every other frame following a conventionally rendered one, but up to three frames following it, effectively quadrupling frame-rates (or at least the smoothness of output).

The ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC doesn’t just come with a heavy cooling solution that fits into the dimensions of the previous generation RTX 40-series ROG Strix graphics cards, but also dials things up a notch with the introduction of a fourth fan arranged along the tail end of the backplate where you normally expect a cutout to be, for airflow from the third fan to go through. This fourth fan acts as a “pull” fan, increasing the overall airflow volume of the heatsink by around 20%. There’s plenty of tastefully executed dual-tone surfaces, rich metal alloy textures, and ARGB LED lighting. Innovations you expect from ROG Strix series cards are also here, such as dual-BIOS, case fan headers, and ARGB headers. ASUS is giving the RTX 5090 a factory overclock of 2580 MHz compared to the 2410 MHz reference GPU Boost frequency. The cooling solution is tasked with ensuring higher boost frequency residency and lower noise. Since this is the company’s most premium air-cooled custom design RTX 5090, ASUS is pricing it at USD $2,800, an astounding 40% premium over the NVIDIA baseline price.

NVIDIA GeForce R0X 5090 Market Segment Analysis
 PriceCoresROPsCore
Clock		Boost
Clock		Memory
Clock		GPUTransistorsMemory
RTX 3080$4208704961440 MHz1710 MHz1188 MHzGA10228000M10 GB, GDDR6X, 320-bit
RTX 4070$4905888641920 MHz2475 MHz1313 MHzAD10435800M12 GB, GDDR6X, 192-bit
RX 7800 XT$4403840962124 MHz2430 MHz2425 MHzNavi 3228100M16 GB, GDDR6, 256-bit
RX 6900 XT$45051201282015 MHz2250 MHz2000 MHzNavi 2126800M16 GB, GDDR6, 256-bit
RX 6950 XT$63051201282100 MHz2310 MHz2250 MHzNavi 2126800M16 GB, GDDR6, 256-bit
RTX 3090$900104961121395 MHz1695 MHz1219 MHzGA10228000M24 GB, GDDR6X, 384-bit
RTX 4070 Super$5907168801980 MHz2475 MHz1313 MHzAD10435800M12 GB, GDDR6X, 192-bit
RX 7900 GRE$53051201601880 MHz2245 MHz2250 MHzNavi 3157700M16 GB, GDDR6, 256-bit
RTX 4070 Ti$7007680802310 MHz2610 MHz1313 MHzAD10435800M12 GB, GDDR6X, 192-bit
RTX 4070 Ti Super$75084481122340 MHz2610 MHz1313 MHzAD10345900M16 GB, GDDR6X, 256-bit
RX 7900 XT$62053761922000 MHz2400 MHz2500 MHzNavi 3157700M20 GB, GDDR6, 320-bit
RTX 3090 Ti$1000107521121560 MHz1950 MHz1313 MHzGA10228000M24 GB, GDDR6X, 384-bit
RTX 4080$94097281122205 MHz2505 MHz1400 MHzAD10345900M16 GB, GDDR6X, 256-bit
RTX 4080 Super$990102401122295 MHz2550 MHz1438 MHzAD10345900M16 GB, GDDR6X, 256-bit
RX 7900 XTX$82061441922300 MHz2500 MHz2500 MHzNavi 3157700M24 GB, GDDR6, 384-bit
RTX 4090$2400163841762235 MHz2520 MHz1313 MHzAD10276300M24 GB, GDDR6X, 384-bit
RTX 5090$2000217601762017 MHz2407 MHz1750 MHzGB20292200M32 GB, GDDR7, 512-bit
ASUS RTX 5090
Astral OC		$2800217601762017 MHz2580 MHz1750 MHzGB20292200M32 GB, GDDR7, 512-bit
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New Leak Reveals NVIDIA RTX 5080 Is Slower Than RTX 4090

A set of newly leaked benchmarks has revealed the performance capabilities of NVIDIA’s upcoming RTX 5080 GPU. Scheduled to launch alongside the RTX 5090 on January 30, the GPU was spotted on Geekbench under OpenCL and Vulkan benchmark tests—and based on the performance, it might not make it among the best graphics cards. The tested device was an MSI-branded RTX 5080 labeled as model MS-7E62. This setup had AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, which many consider one of the best CPUs for gaming. It also included an MSI MPG 850 Edge TI Wi-Fi motherboard and 32 GB of DDR5-6000 memory.

The benchmark results show that the RTX 5080 scored 261,836 points in Vulkan and 256,138 points in OpenCL tests. Compared to the RTX 4080, its previous version, the RTX 5080 has a 22% boost in Vulkan performance and a small 6.7% gain in OpenCL. Reddit user TruthPhoenixV found that on the Blender Open Data platform, the GPU got a median score of 9,063.77. This score is 9.4% higher than the RTX 4080 and 8.2% better than the RTX 4080 Super. Even with these improvements, the RTX 5080 might not outperform the current-gen top-tier RTX 4090. In the past, NVIDIA’s 80-class GPUs have beaten the 90-class GPUs from the previous generation, but these early numbers suggest this trend might not continue for the RTX 5080.

The RTX 5080 uses NVIDIA’s latest Blackwell architecture, with 10,752 CUDA cores spread across 84 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs) versus the 9,728 cores in the RTX 4080. It has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus. NVIDIA says it can deliver 1,801 TOPS in AI performance through Tensor Cores and 171 TeraFLOPS of ray tracing performance using its RT Cores.

That said, it’s important to note that these benchmark results have not been fully verified so we should wait for the review embargo to lift before concluding.

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(PR) DOOM: The Dark Ages Gets Release Date, PC System Requirements, and New Gameplay Trailer

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Thursday, January 23rd 2025

The time draws near to Reign in Hell when DOOM: The Dark Ages releases May 15, 2025, on Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC. Preorder your copy today! For PC players, check that your setup is battle-ready by consulting our PC Requirements below, including listings for Minimum, Recommended and even Ultra 4K settings.

A NEW GENERATION OF IDTECH
id Software’s most ambitious title yet, DOOM: The Dark Ages pushes new standards in visual fidelity and performance with the power of idTech8. Taking full advantage of modern hardware on all platforms, idTech8 ushers in a new era of gameplay performance and visual fidelity featuring all-new dynamic interactive ray-traced lighting and shadows, higher-fidelity image quality, increased gore and destruction and so much more. With the largest environments ever in a DOOM game, DOOM: The Dark Ages delivers an epic experience full of worlds to explore, hordes of demons to destroy and an action story worthy of the Slayer’s legend. Whether soaring through the air with his dragon or smashing giant Titan-sized demons using his Atlan mech, the Slayer is taking on his biggest battles yet – all beautifully rendered and running at a buttery-smooth 60 frames per second on all platforms.

System Requirements
MINIMUM (1080p/60 FPS/Low Video Settings)

  • OS: Win 10 64Bit / Win 11 64Bit
  • CPU: AMD Zen 2 or Intel 10th Generation @3.2Ghz with 8 cores / 16 threads or better (examples: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or better, Intel Core i7 10700K or better)
  • GPU: NVIDIA or AMD hardware ray tracing-capable GPU with 8 GB dedicated VRAM or better (examples: NVIDIA RTX 2060 Super or better, AMD RX 6600 or better)
  • System RAM: 16 GB
  • Storage Capacity: 512 GB or higher NVMe SSD (100 GB Available)

RECOMMENDED (1440p/60 FPS/High Video Settings)

  • OS: Win 10 64Bit / Win 11 64Bit
  • CPU: AMD Zen 3 or Intel 12th Generation @3.2Ghz with 8 cores / 16 threads or better (examples: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X or better, Intel Core i7 12700K or better)
  • GPU: NVIDIA or AMD hardware ray tracing-capable GPU with 10 GB dedicated VRAM or better (examples: NVIDIA RTX 3080 or better, AMD RX 6800 or better)
  • System RAM: 32 GB
  • Storage Capacity: 512 GB or higher NVMe SSD (100 GB Available)

ULTRA 4K (2160p/60 FPS/Ultra Video Settings)

  • OS: Win 10 64Bit / Win 11 64Bit
  • CPU: AMD Zen 3 or Intel 12th Generation @3.2Ghz with 8 cores / 16 threads or better (examples: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X or better, Intel Core i7 12700K or better)
  • GPU: NVIDIA or AMD hardware ray tracing-capable GPU with 16 GB dedicated VRAM or better (examples: NVIDIA RTX 4080 or better, AMD RX 7900XT or better)
  • System RAM: 32 GB
  • Storage Capacity: 512 GB or higher NVMe SSD (100 GB Available)

Note: DOOM: The Dark Ages requires a hardware ray tracing-compatible GPU to play on PC, including Minimum Specifications. Details on Path Tracing specifications will be revealed at a later date.

DOOM: The Dark Ages launches May 15, 2025, on Game Pass, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC. Play up to two days early with Early Access by preordering DOOM: The Dark Ages Premium Edition.

Source: Bethesda

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Quick Look: Logitech Wave Keys Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard

Introduction

Logitech Logo

Logitech is one of the largest peripherals company in the world, and has been so for well over a decade now. In fact, if you were to ask me who the largest non-OEM (Dell, HP etc.) peripherals entity was, I’d guess Logitech immediately. It is so large that we actually have multiple brands within Logitech, including the mainstream Logitech/Logi, Logitech G (Gaming), Ultimate Ears, Jaybird, Astro Gaming, Blue Microphones, Streamlabs, and others that have since been wholly absorbed by the giant company that exists today. Despite all this, we have only had a grand total of two Logitech keyboard reviews on TechPowerUp until now—the Logitech Craft in 2017, and the old-yet-incredible (for the time) Logitech G15 nearly two decades ago. It’s time to change this, and I figured we should start with some of Logitech’s consumer line keyboards.

Today we take a closer look at the Logitech Wave Keys, a keyboard released last year and part of the brand’s Ergo Series of peripherals. The Wave Keys, as with many other components including the famous Logitech vertical mice, were designed and developed with data from the Logi Ergo Lab, with the goal being to put out fairly affordable ergonomic keyboards and mice. We’ve seen our fair share of ergonomic keyboards here, most of which tend to use mechanical switches and are highly specialized. Many are even split into two or more pieces, with support for tilting, tenting, how far you move the split pieces apart, and even how you angle them so your hands are more naturally facing into the keys. These tend to cost in the hundreds of dollars though, and many simply prefer lower profile membrane switch keyboards regardless. This is where the likes of the Logitech Wave Keys comes in, and being sold in three colors—graphite, off-white, and rose—further helps fit this into your lifestyle. Thanks to Logitech for providing a sample to TechPowerUp, and we begin with a look at the product specifications in the table below.

Specifications

Logitech Wave Keys Wireless Keyboard
Layout:100-key, 96% form factor in a modified US ANSI layout, other options based on your region
Material:ABS plastic case and keycaps
Macro Support:No
Dimensions:376 (L) x 219 (W) x 30.5 (H) mm
Weight (including batteries):750 g / 1.65 lbs
Wrist Rest:Yes, integrated
Anti-ghosting:6-Key rollover
Media Keys:Available as a layered function
Cable Length:N/A
Software:Yes, Logi Options+
Switch Type:Membrane switches
Lighting:Indicator lights only
Interface:2.4 GHz, Bluetooth LE
Warranty:1-2 years depending on region

Packaging and Accessories

The Logitech Wave Keys ships in a large and slim product box, which already tells you what to expect from the keyboard itself. We see a clean packaging with a black base and green accents, as expected from a Logitech/Logi product. On the front is a large render of the keyboard, and this presumably will match the color of the keyboard inside too, with the brand logo and product name also seen here. Salient features and product specifications are found on the back to go with more renders of the keyboard as well as a reminder to perhaps pair this with an accompanying Logitech Ergo mouse too. There are seals on the side to help keep the contents in place during transit, as seen above.

The keyboard comes with paper wrapped all around for added protection, and a large quick start guide underneath walks you through the setup. Logitech also has a more detailed step-by-step guide online, in case you need more help. The pre-paired low profile 2.4 GHz USB dongle, which Logitech calls the Logi Bolt USB Receiver, is found in a cutout in the cardboard box itself, and that’s it for the unboxing experience!

Closer Examination

The Logitech Wave Keys is nearly a full-size keyboard, although I’d classify it more as a 96% form factor unit owing to how it has the arrow keys integrated with the alphanumeric section and a separate number pad cluster to the right. There are 100 keys in total, be it the US ANSI or in the UK ISO version I have here, which means you lose 4 or 5 keys compared to the full-size equivalent. With the US layout, those would be Print Screen, Scroll Lock, Pause/Break, Insert, and Menu. However, it’s not as trivial as simply getting used to a keyboard with everything else included, as the Wave Keys takes liberties in where and how these other 100 keys are placed. The arrow keys are an obvious hurdle for touch typists, and there’s also the Fn key placed to the left of the space bar. The various rows are also shaped to accommodate the staggered columns placed at a more natural typing angle for your hands, meaning the keycaps near the top on either end of the alphanumeric cluster are longer than those at the bottom. These keys are also placed on a gentle curve, as opposed to the number pad that is straighter, albeit with curved corners. Your hands would be more naturally positioned towards the middle of the left cluster of keys thus, and the integrated wrist/palm rest is meant to be used during typing. This is a generously-sized wrist rest with soft foam padding that works quite well too, and the end result is a keyboard which is fairly broad but shorter than a typical 100% keyboard. Your hands are thus more likely to be placed in line with your shoulder width for better ergonomics, and you will also now have more room to the left or right of the keyboard for the mouse.

I have the Wave Keys in the graphite colorway, which feels more black than anything else. The other two colors are white and pink, so you can choose what works better with the rest of your desk/lifestyle. There’s a Logi logo at the top with an indicator light above to denote when the keyboard is on and connected. The bezels are generally small, except when the keys curve inward of course. The keycaps are opaque—there are no LEDs here for backlighting anyway—and the primary legends are placed in the middle on the top surface. Secondary legends push them down as applicable, and we also have some keyboard specific legends that shift the primaries to a diagonal corner. This mixing takes away from an otherwise clean and uniformly designed keycap set, although personally I am not a big fan of omitting the capital letters on the modifier keycaps. You will also note the Wave Keys supports both Windows and macOS, hence the dual OS legends in the bottom row, in addition to mobile devices that use Android/ChromeOS/iOS etc.

Turning the keyboard around, we see the case is composed of two pieces—both are injection molded ABS plastic in the same black color. The bottom panel is also quite large to also accommodate the space taken by the integrated wrist rest, which itself is multiple layers glued into the top panel. Despite the larger size, the Logitech Wave Keys is quite light at ~750 g. There’s a sticker in the middle with some basic keyboard specs and the usual certification logos. Two thin, long rubber pads at the top corners and four circular rubber pads elsewhere help provide friction against the resting surface and prevent the case from getting scratched. We also see a set of two keyboard feet at the top for a total of two elevation angles, and these come with rubberized bottoms too.

The side facing away from the user and near the indicator light/logo is where you will find a small on/off switch to turn the keyboard on, although you will also have to pull out the plastic tag near the battery compartment that keeps the batteries from draining before you start using the keyboard. The Logitech Wave Keys does not have any wired connectivity, meaning the batteries are critical here. I am pleased thus to see the use of two standard AAA size batteries, with Logitech even providing two good quality non-rechargeable batteries in the keyboard to get you going. Also note the cutout alongside which can easily store the 2.4 GHz USB dongle, I am not sure why it came separately placed in the cardboard box, thus risking someone missing it or even accidentally losing it during unboxing.

A look from the side shows the built-in elevation of the keyboard, which I would classify as low-medium profile at ~30.5 mm tall without the feet raised. You are meant to use the integrated wrist/palm rest on the keyboard here anyway, and this is also why the keys adopt a flat profile to minimize your fingers from going up and down too much. There is some contouring along the sides as previously mentioned, but otherwise this is a pretty easy keyboard to start typing on, which gets quite comfortable too when you are used to it. The Wave Keys uses membrane switches with very little to see beyond this point, even the keycaps are not easily replaceable even if you had aftermarket options to begin with. This is why it’s a bit of a shame that Logitech is using ABS keycaps with laser-etched legends that are more prone to wear, although the brand says there is a UV coating applied for added durability.

Software and Performance

The driver for the Logitech Wave Keys, and other recent Logitech/Logi-branded peripherals, is aptly named Logi Options+, and the latest version, 1.85.655119 at the time of this review, can be downloaded from this page. The installer is 34 MB in size, and the installed drivers take up slightly over 440 MB, although an optional plugin can add another ~300 MB on top. As seen above, there are hardly any options available during installation, so I definitely would have liked Logitech to show the terms of service as well as provide an option to choose the installation path. System utilization is otherwise minimal, and it is fairly obvious that the software has matured to its current stable state.

Once installed, you are prompted to open the software, and you would want to have the keyboard switched on and connected here. If you are using Bluetooth, then also make sure the corresponding Easy-Switch key (F1-F3) is active for the device you have Logi Options+ installed on. The Logitech Wave Keys allows for up to three Bluetooth connections on top of the 2.4 GHz connection. The software prompts you to go through a tutorial, which is handy if you are unfamiliar with the device or the customization features. This can be pulled up later also, and we see similar such tutorials for other features too, including Smart Actions—routines and macros—as well as an AI prompt builder that pulls up ChatGPT. I can already see the comments coming out about this, so all I will say is these are easy to ignore and you can even disable the latter. Click on the virtual keyboard and now you see the home page dedicated to Wave Keys, with the current battery level and connection status also seen in the program. One thing to note here is that the function key row is per default set to the assigned secondary functions, such that you do not need to hold Fn to actuate them. There are a grand total of 13 keys you can remap, and the video above showcases the various options available. Easy-Switch allows you to quickly change the client, and the keyboard settings are fairly explanatory, including allowing you to check and update the device firmware if available. Note that Logi Options+ will also enable an OSD for various functions, including Caps Lock on/off, which has been a Logitech feature for years now and seems divisive for most of that time too.

There is the basic 6-key rollover USB here out of the box in either Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz mode, as Aqua’s test confirms. This is fine with me considering the wireless nature of the keyboard as well as its target market. Similarly, no key chatter was detected on all the keys using Switch Hitter, and seen above are all the functions with dedicated keys on the base layer. This 100-key unit obviously gives you nearly everything you can expect on a keyboard, with only five keys missing from the standard 105-key UK ISO layout as previously discussed. As usual, the R. Win key is replaced by a Fn key so it’s not reflected above. Having the pre-programmed functions on the keyboard help bring back those missing functions in addition to providing some more to enhance your user experience too. I appreciate the keyboard has keycap legends for these, although these are primarily symbols that are not easily identifiable. Logitech should ideally have included a quick start guide in the box itself to explain what the various key combinations do, with the current best solution being the online setup guide and the FAQs page.

The Wave Keys is wireless only, and thankfully uses easily replaceable AAA-sized batteries. The provided ones are rated to run for as long as three whole years of active use, and I must say after ~2 weeks of using the keyboard in both Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz modes for 5+ hours daily—the software still said it was at 100%. Suffice to say this is a keyboard that you will not really have to worry about for battery life. Charging is a non-factor too, simply replace the dead/low charge batteries with fresh ones and you are good to go in a few seconds. Connectivity was flawless in either mode, although I recommend using the 2.4 GHz option, if you can, to allow for lower latency and a more durable connection too. The other selling point is the ergonomic design, which feels like a decent place to start out if you want to explore ergonomic keyboards. The angled keys in the alphanumeric section, in addition to the curves used for the key banks, help guide your fingers more naturally to a general resting point that increases typing efficiency. You don’t get any tilting or tenting though, and I would have rather seen straight columns rather than the staggered ones, let alone with the uneven sizing going from the top row to the bottom one. The end result is a steeper learning curve than you might expect, with touch typing being optimistic to achieve even after two to three days. You are likely to keep looking down at the keycap legends to re-orient your fingers in the beginning, and there may well be some frustration early on as you get over the unforced errors and slower typing speed too. If you are going from a standard TKL or 100% keyboard to this, then the uneven spacing between the keycaps, their non-standard positioning, and the keys feeling more bunched up together are also going to be speed bumps to negotiate. The arrow keys were the biggest issue for me, and I really wish Logitech had gone with the more commonly used 96% layout here. These were harder to reach here with my thumbs thanks to the awkward location, and I was unintentionally moving my hands further than I’d like. With time things do get better though, and the keyboard can help lower the chances of poor typing posture-related medical issues.

As always, the sound of a keyboard is based on more than just the switch type. So when comparing sound clips, consider the keyboard as a whole. In this case, I have provided above an example sound clip of me typing on the Logitech Wave Keys keyboard sample at ~90 WPM as it comes out of the box with these membrane switches that provide some tactile feedback. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with tactile switches. I did bottom out constantly here, which is inevitable with membrane switches as the dome collapses inward upon actuation. The lower profile case combined with the membrane switches makes for a reasonably quiet keyboard, and I feel there are some damping materials included too given the relative absence of higher-pitched pings. Anyone who feels mechanical keyboards are too tall and/or loud will find this interesting thus, and this is besides the other features mentioned above. The Logitech Wave Keys comes in three colors and costs $59.99 from the Logitech store in the USA, with this UK ISO version comes in two colors and goes for much more by comparison at £69.99 (inc. VAT)—you do get a lot more languages/layouts from the Logitech store in Europe, yet I can’t help but feel Logitech owes the rest of the world better price parity compared to the USA.

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(PR) Samsung Galaxy S25 Series Sets the Standard of AI Phone as a True AI companion

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S25, setting a new standard towards a true AI companion with our most natural and context-aware mobile experiences ever created. Introducing multimodal AI agents, the Galaxy S25 series is the first step in Samsung’s vision to change the way users interact with their phone—and with their world. A first-of-its-kind customized Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy chipset delivers greater on-device processing power for Galaxy AI plus superior camera range and control with Galaxy’s next-gen ProVisual Engine.

“The greatest innovations are a reflection of their users, which is why we evolved Galaxy AI to help everyone interact with their devices more naturally and effortlessly while trusting that their privacy is secured,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “Galaxy S25 series opens the door to an AI-integrated OS that fundamentally shifts how we use technology and how we live our lives.”

Our Most Intuitive and Effortless Mobile Interactions Yet
With One UI 7, the Galaxy S25 series is a true AI companion that understands the context of your needs and preferences and provides personalized AI experiences with privacy in mind at every turn. It’s the starting point of a shared vision with Google to imagine Android with AI at the core, bringing together developers and partners from around the world.

AI agents with multimodal capabilities enable Galaxy S25 to interpret text, speech, images and videos for interactions that feel natural. Upgrades to Google’s Circle to Search make searching your phone screen more helpful, fast and contextual. Circle to Search now quickly recognizes phone numbers, email and URLs on your screen, letting you call, email or visit a website with a single tap.

With Galaxy S25 series, you can also perform actionable searches with context-aware suggestions for next steps. Plus, Galaxy S25 makes it frictionless to switch between apps for quick follow-up actions, like sharing a GIF or saving event details.

Galaxy S25 series also represents a breakthrough in natural language understanding, making everyday interactions easier. Simply ask and intuitively find a specific photo in Gallery or adjust the size of display fonts in Settings.

Just press and hold the side button to activate Gemini and perform seamless interaction across Samsung and Google apps, plus third-party apps such as Spotify. For example, find your favorite sports team’s season schedule and add it to Samsung Calendar—with a single voice command, after long pressing the side button.

These intuitive interactions are elevated by expansions to Galaxy AI’s popular tools for communication, productivity and creativity. Galaxy S25 keeps calls organized with Call Transcript and summary when connected to the internet. Writing Assist features such as summarizing content or automatically formatting notes can be enabled where text can be selected, without needing to switch between applications. Drawing Assist unlocks fresh ways to bring ideas to life through combinations of sketches, text or image prompts.

Hyper-personalized Experiences built with Privacy
In the era of AI, personalization goes hand-in-hand with privacy. On Galaxy S25 series, the Personal Data Engine powers personalized features by safely analyzing your data on-device to deliver highly tailored experiences that reflect your preferences and usage patterns. These insights enable tailored experiences such as searching for an old photo in the Gallery using natural language, or being guided through the day with Now Brief, which proactively offers suggestions accessible via Now Bar on the lock screen. All personalized data is kept private and secured by Knox Vault. Combined with enhanced on-device processing capabilities, this creates a powerful, protected AI experience that is unique to Galaxy.

Galaxy S25 also introduces post-quantum cryptography, safeguarding personal data against emerging threats that could increase as quantum computing evolves.

Because there is no privacy without holistic security, One UI 7 laid the groundwork for these innovations by introducing an extra, fortified layer of device safety designed for the age of AI and hyper-connectivity. Additional updates include an updated Auto Blocker, added Maximum Restrictions settings, enhanced Theft Protection, and a new Knox Matrix dashboard to monitor the security status across a connected device ecosystem.

Galaxy’s Most Powerful Performance Ever
The Galaxy S25 series is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy. As the most powerful processor ever customized for Galaxy, it delivers a performance boost of 40% in NPU, 37% in CPU and 30% in GPU compared to the previous generation. This power fuels the Galaxy S25 series’ ability to process more AI experiences on-device without compromises, including previously cloud-based AI tasks such as Generative Edit.

Samsung and Qualcomm Technologies worked together to customize the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy. The Galaxy S25 series features advanced, efficient AI image processing with ProScaler on Galaxy S25 Ultra and S25+ to achieve a 40% improvement in image quality, while incorporating custom technology with Samsung’s mobile Digital Natural Image engine (mDNIe) embedded within the processor using Galaxy IP to enable greater display power efficiency.

Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy is also equipped with Vulkan Engine and improved Ray Tracing, which makes for smoother and more realistic mobile gaming.

All intense device usage and AI processing runs smoothly thanks to changed heat dissipation structure with a up to 40% larger vapor chamber and a tailored thermal interface material (TIM) that delivers extra improvement in thermal efficiency.

Unleashing Truly Pro Creation
The Galaxy S25 series delivers ultra-detailed shots from different ranges with high resolution sensors and ProVisual Engine, setting a new standard for mobile photography. With a new 50MP ultrawide camera sensor upgraded from the previous 12MP, Galaxy S25 Ultra provides exceptional detail and vibrancy.

10-bit HDR recording is now applied as a default, offering four times richer color expression compared to 8-bit. Galaxy S25 can thus capture details in any lighting conditions. Plus, low-light videos have never been clearer than with Galaxy S25.14 Based on its powerful processor, Galaxy S25 analyzes movement and time to reduce noise more effectively. This integration allows detecting both moving and static objects with greater precision, ensuring sharper, cleaner footage.

Galaxy S25 also introduces a range of tools once limited to specialized software, making advanced editing available to everyone. Audio Eraser simplifies the removal of unwanted noise in videos. By isolating categories of sounds—including voices, music, wind, nature, crowd, and noise—you can control what to tone town or eliminate entirely.

For a DSLR-like experience on mobile, Galaxy S25 introduces depth-of-field control with Virtual Aperture, integrated into the popular Expert RAW. Galaxy S25 also elevates cinematic creativity with Galaxy Log, enabling precise color grading options for more professional video production.

Portrait Studio17 has also been enhanced, allowing users to create personalized avatars with more true-to-life facial expressions. Filters is now updated with new, analog filters, delivering a film-like aesthetic for photos and videos.

Durable Design Embracing a More Circular Approach
The Galaxy S25 series builds upon Galaxy’s ‘Essential Design’ grounded in ‘Simple, Impactful and Emotive’ elements. Galaxy S25 Ultra boldly refines the essence of Galaxy design as the slimmest, lightest, and most durable Galaxy Ultra device ever, with a rounded edge for a comfortable grip that complements the series’ aesthetic identity.

Galaxy S25 Ultra features durable titanium and the new Corning Gorilla Armor 2, a first-of-its-kind material that is more durable than glass. It combines Corning’s glass-ceramic with a proprietary anti-reflective surface treatment, helping to ensure advanced drop protection alongside anti-reflection surface treatment and scratch resistance.

Every external component of Galaxy S25+ and S25 now includes at least one recycled material, as their metal frame incorporates recycled armor aluminium for the first time.

In addition, while 50% of the cobalt used in its battery is recycled, Galaxy S25 will be the first Galaxy smartphone to feature batteries made with recycled cobalt sourced from previous Galaxy devices or the batteries discarded during the manufacturing process. Samsung goes through multiple stages with its like-minded partners, from extracting cobalt from used batteries to re-using the recycled cobalt for the batteries of Galaxy S25.

Combined with seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates, the Galaxy S25 series ensures a reliable and optimized performance over a longer lifespan.

Availability & Offers
The Galaxy S25 series is available for pre-order starting today, January 22, at Amazon stores, Best Buy, Samsung.com, and from carriers nationwide, with general availability starting February 7. Those who reserved are eligible to apply their $50 Samsung Credit23 and save up to $1,250 with an eligible trade-in24 when pre-ordering on Samsung.com. Those who pre-order can also receive 15% off Samsung Care+ with Theft and Loss, which now includes unlimited same day $0 screen repairs.

Galaxy S25 Ultra starts at $1,299.99 with storage capacity options of 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB. It is available in Titanium Silverblue, Titanium Whitesilver, Titanium Gray, and Titanium Black color options. Those who order on Samsung.com can access exclusive colors including Titanium Pinkgold, Titanium Jetblack, and Titanium Jadegreen.

Galaxy S25+ starts at $999.99 with 256 GB and 512 GB storage options. Galaxy S25 starts at $799.99 with 128 GB and 256 GB options. Both come in Navy, Icyblue, Mint, and Silver Shadow colors, as well as Samsung.com exclusive colors Blueblack, Coralred, and Pinkgold.

With the Galaxy S25 series, we’re introducing the New Galaxy Club early upgrade program. Enroll for $8.33 per month for Galaxy S25 Ultra and S25+, or $6.20 per month for Galaxy S25, and you’ll get the chance to upgrade to the latest Galaxy device any time after 12 months. Samsung will pay your remaining installments or offer a 50% MSRP trade-in credit towards your next upgrade. New Galaxy Club members also receive one year of Samsung Care+ (without Theft and Loss) benefits on us.

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Pwnage StormBreaker Max CF Review

Introduction

Pwnage Logo

Established in 2004, Pwnage is a US-based peripheral company. After the magnesium-made StormBreaker, Pwnage once again turns to somewhat exotic materials for the StormBreaker Max CF. Similarly to the Finalmouse UltralightX, a carbon fiber composite is used for the shell, albeit of a different composition. While the top of the mouse still features cutouts similarly to the StormBreaker, the sides are solid now, and the StormBreaker Max CF is 5% larger than the StormBreaker. Yet, at 47 g, the StormBreaker Max CF manages to be 4 g lighter than the original StormBreaker. For the sensor, the Pwnage XERO sees use, which is a PixArt PAW3950 whose CPI range has been extended to 36,000 CPI. Optical switches from Omron (D2FP-FN2) are utilized for the main buttons, and much like on the StormBreaker, the sensor position may be adjusted vertically. For both wired and wireless operation, true 8000 Hz polling is supported, and at 1000 Hz, Pwnage advertises up to 90 hours of battery life. The feet are made of pure PTFE, and replacement sets are included with the mouse. Configuration is done conveniently through a web driver. The StormBreaker Max CF is available in black or platinum, as well as limited edition colors of Nacho, Carnage, Ninja, and Frostfire.

Specifications

Pwnage StormBreaker Max CF
Size:128 mm x 68 mm x 44 mm
Size (inches):5.04″ x 2.68″ x 1.73″
Ambidextrous:No
Weight:47 g
Number of Buttons:5 (including wheel click)
Main Switches:Omron D2FP-FN2 (China)
Wheel Encoder:TTC (Gold), 13 mm
Sensor:Pwnage XERO (PixArt PAW3950)
Resolution:50–36,000 CPI
Microcontroller Unit:Nordic nRF52840
Unidentified USB High-Speed MCU
Polling Rate:125/250/500/1000/2000/4000/8000 Hz
Cable:1.75 m, braided
Software:Yes
Price:$139.00
Warranty:One year
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(PR) Xbox Introduces Pulse Cipher Special Edition Controller

Introducing the newest iteration of the Cipher series, Xbox Wireless Controller—Pulse Cipher Special Edition! Like its predecessors, Sky Cipher and Ghost Cipher, Pulse Cipher provides players with a nostalgic transparent look infused with a futuristic twist. Despite being third in the series, this controller is special in its own right. Players can catch a glimpse of the silver midframe through the red transparent top case to reveal the mysteries found within. This vibrant design and colorway make a bold statement where modern gaming meets enduring nostalgia.

Energize your play with the Pulse Cipher controller and all its features, including red, diamond-shaped rubberized grips, dark red accents across the bumpers, buttons, and two-toned thumbsticks, a metallic hybrid D-pad, and matching metallic triggers. You can easily swap button input profiles through the Xbox Accessory Hub, where you can also preview any of the screenshots or videos you take using the dedicated Share button found in the middle of the controller.

For an enhanced gaming experience, wirelessly connect this new special edition controller to your favorite gaming devices, whether it be Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles, PC, iOS, or Android devices (see xbox.com/controller-compatibility for more details; use with controller compatible games). Pulse Cipher also features a 3.5 mm audio jack and a battery life of up to 40 hours (varies with usage and other factors).

The Xbox Wireless Controller Special Edition—Pulse Cipher is available today for pre-order in select Xbox markets worldwide for $74.99 USD ERP.