Tag: Tech news

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Sony Details Marvel Rivals PS5 Pro Enhancements Coming on December 6 Launch

Marvel Rivals is set to launch on PlayStation 5 at the end of this week, Friday, December 6, and Sony has finally revealed some of the technical details that will ship with the upcoming PvP shooter. On the base-model PS5, Marvel Rivals will supposedly run at a stable 60 FPS at 1440p resolution, with UE5 Lumen Global Illumination and Chaos Destruction tech. Meanwhile, High Frame Rate mode will deliver 120 FPS, likely dropping the maximum resolution and quality settings to reach the higher frame rate, although Sony neglects to mention the resolution in this mode.

The PS5 Pro steps things up somewhat, thanks to the improved processing power and AI enhancement features. On PS5 Pro, Marvel Rivals will run at up to 4K and 60 FPS in Pro Mode, with an optional 120 FPS High Frame Rate Mode promising higher frame rates and resolutions than on the base PS5, although again there are no specific resolutions quoted here. The PS5 Pro also adds Lumen Reflections, which is a ray tracing implementation that allows for better, more accurate reflections off of a wide variety of surfaces, theoretically enhancing things like water effects, diffuse reflections, and indoor and outdoor lighting, making all the aforementioned more realistic. In addition to improved visuals and performance, PS5 and PS5 Pro players will get access to two special skins as in-game purchases or PlayStation Plus add-ons, namely Peni Parker’s VEN#M skin and a PlayStation-exclusive Scarlet Spider skin for Spider-Man.

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Minisforum UM870 Slim Launched with Ryzen 7 8745H APU and an Affordable Price

Minisforum is a brand that is quite well-regarded by folks who are passionate about SFF/Mini PCs. Their latest offering, the UM870 Slim, continues to uphold that tradition, but with a relatively affordable price. With dimensions of 130 mm x 127 mm x 50 mm, the UM870 Slim boasts a volume of just 0.82 liters, staying true to its “Slim” moniker.

The UM870 Slim is powered by a 54 W Ryzen 7 8745H APU rocking 8 Zen 4 cores and 16 threads. This APU is basically a Ryzen 7 8845HS, but without the AI capabilities made possible by the XDNA NPU. The aforementioned 0.82 liter chassis means that the UM870 Slim lacks the luxury of discrete graphics, and relies on the integrated Radeon 780M GPU instead. Unlike some of its competitors, the UM870 Slim misses out on OCuLink support, which would’ve allowed for significantly faster eGPU connections as compared to USB4.

Apart from that, the UM870 Slim boasts a generous selection of ports, which include an RJ-45 2.5 G Ethernet port, dual USB 2.0, dual USB 3.2 Type-A, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, an audio jack, and a single USB4 port. The dual SO-DIMM slots can accommodate up to 96 GB of DDR5-5600 memory, while storage requirements are handled by dual M.2 2280 NVMe SSD slots. Prices start from $344 for the barebones version, while the 32 GB memory and 1 TB SSD configuration commands a $529 price tag.

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TSMC Could Bring 2 nm Production Overseas, Taiwanese Minister Confirms

Taiwanese political officials have agreed to discuss transferring TSMC’s advanced 2 nm chip technology to allied democratic nations, but only after establishing the main mass production launch in late 2025 in Taiwan. This new stance comes amid growing international pressure and recent comments from upcoming US president Donald Trump about semiconductor manufacturing. The announcement by National Science and Technology Council Minister Cheng-Wen Wu marks a notable departure from earlier statements by Economic Affairs Minister J.W. Kuo, who had previously emphasized legal restrictions on transferring leading-edge process technology overseas. Interestingly, these different positions aren’t so different from one point: timeline of node deployments. As TSMC produces latest nodes in Taiwan, overseas production will lag by a generation or two.

TSMC plans to implement its 2 nm technology in US facilities by 2030. The company’s Arizona facility, Fab 21, will begin with less advanced N4 and N5 processes in early 2025 and progress to 3 nm technology by 2028. However, this timeline could face pressure for acceleration, mainly if new trade policies are implemented. Industry analyst Dan Nystedt points out significant challenges in transferring advanced chip production. Integrating research and development with manufacturing processes in Taiwan provides crucial advantages for initial production ramps, making simultaneous mass production launches in multiple locations technically challenging. Simply put, there aren’t enough capable engineers, scientists, and factory workers capable of doing what TSMC accomplishes in Taiwan.

Trump’s recent criticism of the CHIPS and Science Act, suggesting tariffs as an alternative to current incentives, has raised questions about future US approaches to securing domestic chip production. The potential technology transfer faces practical limitations, including global shortages of fabrication equipment and the complex nature of establishing advanced semiconductor facilities. These challenges could impact any accelerated timeline for implementing 2 nm production capabilities outside Taiwan. However, the 2 nm node could come to US facilities by the end of the next decade. By then, more advanced nodes will be produced in Taiwan.

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Sony Handheld Gaming Console Reportedly Coming for Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch Market Share

It looks like Sony is joining Xbox in the development of a standalone handheld gaming console to compete with the likes of the Nintendo Switch and Valve Steam Deck. According to a Bloomberg’s insider sources, a Sony gaming handheld is already in development, and would be designed with Sony PlayStation 5 games in mind. Unlike the PlayStation Portal, the future gaming console wouldn’t be dependent on game streaming and would, instead, run games locally, meaning it would likely need significantly more powerful hardware than the Portal has. This would be Sony’s first true foray into the portable gaming console market since the likes of the PS Vita, which is largely considered to be a commercial disappointment.

Sony isn’t the first of the console giants looking into creating its own gaming handheld after Nintendo’s Switch. Obviously, Valve, traditionally more of a software company, already has the immensely popular Steam Deck, but we also recently reported that Microsoft is in the early stages of developing its own handheld gaming console. Details on the future Sony gaming handheld are scant, and there has been no official word from Sony about the console. That said, it wouldn’t be surprising to see it equipped with an AMD APU, similar to the likes of the Steam Deck and the PS5, since Sony already has history and a commercial relationship with AMD hardware.

The rise of the gaming handheld has had some unexpected side effects, like the rapid growth of the indie gaming space and an increased interest in games that can be run on less powerful hardware. It also seems like controller support has also taken more of a prominent role in the PC gaming landscape. Gaming-adjacent software, like the Xbox Game Bar on Windows have also received drastic redesigns and optimizations for touch screens as a result of the increased adoption of smaller-screen gaming hardware.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of Microsoft and Sony’s mobile gaming efforts. Since both gaming giants are also game developers or have development subsidiaries, we might see a shift to more efficient or more configurable AAA console games, which would generally be good news for PC ports, which have a bit of a reputation for poor optimization.

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No Man’s Sky Serves Live Service Master Class As Steam Reviews Tip Into ‘Very Positive’

It’s no secret among gamers that No Man’s Sky had a rocky launch. When the game launched over eight years ago, it was nearly universally slammed by gamers for its lack of completion and failure to deliver on lofty goals. Since then, though, the game’s developer, Hello Games, has issued several updates, adding content and improving mechanics to a point where most consumers—at least those on Steam—are apparently happy with the state of No Man’s Sky.

According to SteamDB, in January 2017, just three months after No Man’s Sky launched, it had more than twice as many negative Steam reviews as positive. That situation started to change in around July 2018, when a spike in positive reviews rolled in after the nearly revolutionary No Man’s Sky Next update. At that point, No Man’s Sky still had a roughly 50-50 split between positive and negative reviews, but it was already trending upwards after the initial wave of just over 55,000 negative reviews. Since then, with every major update, the number of cumulative positive reviews seemed to climb a little more. As of today, however, No Man’s Sky has an 81% positive review rating on Steam, having recently passed the 80% threshold to be considered “Very Positive.”

The news of No Man’s Sky’s long-term success after it flopped at launch comes shortly after news that Ubisoft disbanded the development team behind Prince of Persia The Lost Crown just 10 months after its somewhat disappointing commercial performance. In a similar vein, Sony recently axed its newest hero shooter, Concord, mere weeks after launch, due to abysmal reviews and player counts. With No Man’s Sky, however, Hello Games sort of proved that a dedicated development team that takes feedback and implements changes can turn things around, even if it takes a while.

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Rumor: Ubisoft Wants Valve To Disable Steam Player Count API Fuelling SteamDB

Steam is highly valued by many gamers, not only for being a fairly inexpensive, easy way to buy and manage games, but also because it provides statistics on player count and play times, via tools like SteamDB, which are a neat way for gamers to see how the community is participating in games before buying them. According to a post on the FandomPulse Substack, however, Ubisoft has taken issue with Valve’s player statistics.

The Substack post quotes Ubisoft insiders who claim that the game developer and “other companies” want Valve to disable or restrict the APIs used by tools like SteamDB and Steam Charts as a direct response to the disappointing performance of Star Wars Outlaws. This news also comes ahead of the early 2025 launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which has already caused significant apprehension as a result of game previews. The claims also mention that Ubisoft seeks to control the narrative of its games and potentially present a rosier image to its investors. If Ubisoft has its way, the gaming industry would lose even more transparency, since tools like SteamDB are often used by game journalists to evaluate the popularity and commercial success of games.

“Ubisoft and other companies want to pressure Steam to stop the tracker from giving out info they want to keep to themselves… They want to be able to present findings to investors so they can make it sound good.”

It should be noted that, while this sort of behavior would not be surprising from a large corporation in the modern gaming landscape, the claims are also unverified, putting this squarely in rumor territory.

According to SteamDB, Star Wars Outlaws only managed to sell around 45,000 units on the PC platform, and other sources say that it only managed to sell around 1 million copies in its first month, falling well short of the profitability mark for a AAA game.

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Microsoft Office Tools Reportedly Collect Data for AI Training, Requiring Manual Opt-Out

Microsoft’s Office suite is the staple in productivity tools, with millions of users entering sensitive personal and company data into Excel and Word. According to @nixCraft, an author from Cyberciti.biz, Microsoft left its “Connected Experiences” feature enabled by default, reportedly using user-generated content to train the company’s AI models. This feature is enabled by default, meaning data from Word and Excel files may be used in AI development unless users manually opt-out. As a default option, this setting raises security concerns, especially from businesses and government workers relying on Microsoft Office for proprietary work. The feature allows documents such as articles, government data, and other confidential files to be included in AI training, creating ethical and legal challenges regarding consent and intellectual property.

Disabling the feature requires going to: File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options > Privacy Settings > Optional Connected Experiences, and unchecking the box. Even with an unnecessary long opt-out steps, the European Union’s GPDR agreement, which Microsoft complies with, requires all settings to be opt-in rather than opt-out by default. This directly contradicts EU GDPR laws, which could prompt an investigation from the EU. Microsoft has yet to confirm whether user content is actively being used to train its AI models. However, its Services Agreement includes a clause granting the company a “worldwide and royalty-free intellectual property license” to use user-generated content for purposes such as improving Microsoft products. The controversy raised from this is not new, especially where more companies leverage user data for AI development, often without explicit consent.

For the current LLM AI models, the data on which they are being trained is the key to distinguishing them from competitors. Quality data is the prize, and when a unique dataset like the one Microsoft has access to is collected, that AI model could outperform the competition by a mile in tasks like writing and basic reasoning. Especially with sensitive data not available to the public, Microsoft could extend its AI lead. However, LLMs are not immune to leaking a part of their training data, so a skilled professional could extract it. For now, users who wish to protect their intellectual property are advised to review their settings carefully.

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Fractal Unveils Holiday Deals—Great Prices on the Latest Fractal Cases

If you’ve been in the market for a new case, now’s the ideal time to pull the trigger on one of Fractal Design’s stunning products. Right now, Fractal is offering some the best deals of the year on a selection of its most popular cases at various retailers in the US, including Amazon, Newegg, Micro Center, BestBuy.com, and B&H. For those in Canada, check out Memory Express and Canada Computers.

Era 2 is an evolution of one of Fractal’s premier small form factor cases—melding design innovation with engineering prowess, resulting in a compact aluminium-skinned case that’s capable of housing top-performing parts without taking up much space. You can read all about the Era 2 on this page. The North XL, a slightly-enlarged version of the popular North enclosure, fuses that iconic wooden front panel with high-airflow engineering, which lets you make gaming a stylish addition to your living space. North XL boasts a spacious, flexible, and intuitive interior layout so you can make the most of your building and gaming experience, call all the excitement about the North XL here.

The Terra ITX case is designed and engineered to reshape the small form factor gaming experience, with boutique design features such as thick panels cut from anodized aluminium, CNC-milled details, and FSC-certified solid walnut, and an included PCIe 4.0 riser cable. Read more about the Terra ITX here. Pop XL Air is the perfect pairing of style and functionality, opening up your options for some of the biggest components, without being unwieldy. Building in the Pop XL Air is straight-forward and fun, and its style appeals to gamers of all stripes. Head to this page to learn more about the Pop XL Air. If you’re looking to build a small-footprint PC, Fractal’s new Mood ITX case is going to be your ideal fit. It features a vertical sandwich layout, support for up to a 280 mm AIO, and an included PCIe 4.0 riser cable for handling the fastest modern graphics cards available.

These holiday deals end on December 9th, so act now!

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AMD’s Future Ryzen SoCs May Feature New Chip-Stacking Technology

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Friday, November 22nd 2024

AMD has recently filed a patent revealing plans to implement “multi-chip stacking” in future Ryzen SoCs, as Wccftech reports, quoting a post on X from @coreteks: “New patent from AMD shows how future Zen SoCs could look. Basically a novel packaging design that enables compact chip stacking and interconnection by having them partially overlap, as in this figure. The dotted line is a larger die stacked on top of those smaller ones”. The patent details a new approach where smaller chiplets partially overlap with a larger die, creating space for additional components and functions on the same die. This strategy aims to improve the efficiency of the contact area, thus making room for higher core counts, larger caches, and increased memory bandwidth within the same die size. The proposed stacking will reduce the physical distance between components through overlapping chiplets, thus minimizing interconnect latency and achieving faster communication between different chip parts. The design will also improve power management, as the segregated chiplets allow for better control of each unit through power gating.

Even if long-time rival Intel has lost some of its momentum (and market share) this year, AMD’s chance to push ahead with its intention to become number one in the market is to continue to innovate. In the same way that its 3D V-Cache technology made the X3D processor lineup so successful, this chip stacking approach could play a major role in future AMD Ryzen SoCs. It seems that AMD is committed to moving away from the monolithic design era and taking the road of multi-chiplet; however, it can be a long wait until (and if) this chip stacking will complete the journey from patents to design, production, and final product.

Sources: Wccftech, @coreteks

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(PR) GameMax Introduces Titan Silent 2 Chassis

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Friday, November 22nd 2024

GameMax, an emerging brand of PC gaming components including gaming cases and power supply units, introduces the Titan Silent 2 chassis designed for content creators. The Titan Silent 2 is designed to support multiple hard drives and up to E-ATX motherboards – ideal for building workstation PCs. The chassis also has eight expansion slots for multi-GPU configurations.

For storage, the Titan Silent 2 supports up to 8x 3.5″ HDDs on its tool-free drive bays and two 2.5″ SSDs. Designed for silent high-performance computing, the chassis features sound-dampening on its panels to reduce noise. The chassis also has three 5.25″ ODD bays for more expansions such as card readers, hot-swappable drive cages, and others. For cooling, the Titan Silent 2 comes with 3x pre-installed 120 mm cooling fans – supports up to 7x cooling fans. The chassis also supports liquid cooling solutions of up to 360 mm radiators to be mounted on top.

The Titan Silent 2 sports a very functional top panel I/O including high-speed USB-C and 3-mode fan control for the front and top fans of the chassis.

Key Features

  • Active Noise Cancellation and Silent Design: EVA soundproof foam on the inner panels and top, with sound-dampening PC boards on both side panels, actively minimizing vibrations and noise.
  • Full Tower with 8 PCI Slots: Supports E-ATX motherboards (305×280 mm) for superior performance.
  • Optical Drive Support: Accommodates up to three 5.25″ drives.
  • Ample Storage Capacity: Supports eight 3.5″ HDDs (also compatible with 2.5″ SSDs) with tool-free trays, plus two additional 2.5″ SSD slots.
  • Comprehensive I/O Ports: Includes 1 Type-C Gen 2 10 Gbps port, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports, and a combo audio/mic jack.
  • Powerful Cooling Performance: Supports up to seven fans, with three pre-installed. Two fan speed switches adjust airflow—one for front and bottom intake, and another for rear and top exhaust. Also supports a 360 mm radiator on the top panel.

The GameMax Titan Silent 2 workstation E-ATX chassis will be launched with an MSRP of $79.90.

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