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If you have a distaste for AMD rumors, well, don't worry—we have some new dirt about Intel's upcoming hardware today, too. The skinny is this: if the info is accurate, Intel will be branding its purported quad-core Kaby Lake-X CPUs as Core i7s, while the rumored six-, eight-, 10-, and 12-core Skylake-X CPUs on the same platform will be known as Core i9s. Watch your sodium level as we dive in. ...Read more...

Building and maintaining a nice gaming rig is expensive. So much that when you get the thing put together you might not cash left for games to actually play on it. It's a good thing that outfits like the Humble Store have our collective backs. The Humble Store Spring Sale is on until May 25, and it has tons of games selling far below their usual prices. ...Read more...

The folks over at Videocardz got their hands on what appear to be some decidedly non-video-card-related internal AMD roadmaps. The slides describe AMD's enterprise CPU and APU products, but given that they are dated February 2016, they could be quite out of date. Still, if accurate, the presentation gives us an interesting picture of AMD's future plans. Just ring up your local supermarket and ask for a truckload of salt before proceeding.

Good afternoon, dear sirs. We understand that some of you may still be gazing at the beautiful hues of Corsair's latest Dominator RAM kit, but would you kindly direct your collective attention towards the items on display? Our associates arrived recently with a distinctive collection of wares, carefully picked for your perusal. Right this way, please.There's a chance you're looking for something we haven't covered. If that's the case, you can help The Tech Report by using the following referral links when you're out shopping: not only do we have a partnership with Newegg ...Read more...

It's been seven years since we last reported on the Itanium line of processors, but it appears that article just wasn't destined to be our last on the subject. Intel has just added four new processors to its Itanium family. Now, this article does have a chance to be our last report on the ill-fated CPU lineup, since Intel confirmed to PCWorld that these processors will be its final Itanium chips.The new Itanium 9700-series processors are built on Intel's somewhat long-in-the-tooth 32-nm process. There are four variants: the quad-core Itanium 9720 and 9750, and the octa-core Itanium 9740 and 9760. ...Read more...

It's a good day for creators of virtual-reality workplace simulations and transdimensional hijinks. Wait—come to think of it, there might only be one company like that. That company is Owlchemy Labs, and it's definitely having a good day, as it's just been acquired by Google. ...Read more...

I suppose it's the nature of a napkin sketch to be a last-minute endeavor. That said, if you were thinking about entering our sketchy contest, time is nearly up. Entries need to be posted in the contest thread by 11:59 PM CT tomorrow night. When we announce the winners next week, we'll find out if my fake review of a fuzzy computer case actually convinces someone to choose it over more conventional options. ...Read more...

We've reported recently on a wave of low-profile graphics cards based on the latest generations of chips from both Nvidia and AMD. Inno3D's informatively-named GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (1-Slot Edition) is the first GP107-based card we've seen so far with a single-slot cooler, though. ...Read more...

HoloLens gear isn't widely known or at least talked about in the consumer space, but the mixed reality hardware and custom applications for it have apparently found a strong foothold in the corporate space. Microsoft still has a virtual eye set on the consumer space, though. Following in the footsteps of both Oculus and HTC, Microsoft has now designed a pair of handheld controllers for use with its consumer-focused Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) gear. Check out the video below to get a good look at them....Read more...

Microsoft's spokespersons spent most of the first day of the company's annual Build conference talking about Cortana and other AI-related topics. Today, the focus turned to Windows 10 and the improvements in store for the OS's next major update, called the Fall Creators Update. Windows 10 will get new applications, a new Fluent Design UI system, and a set of features to offer users seamless transitions between multiple devices....Read more...

PC hardware and computing

Dell EMC World 2017 is wrapping up today. Among the announcements of note came the news that Toshiba is beginning to use its third-generation, 64-layer BiCS flash memory in real products meant for end users. The company was showing off an XG-series NVMe SSD at the show, and says it intends to migrate every SSD product it sells to the new technology....Read more...

HP has a brand-new refresh of its Elite x2 convertible lineup. The Elite x2 1012 G2 is on the way and it looks like it will provide a nice alternative to anyone who isn't too impressed with Microsoft's line of convertibles. Like its previous iteration, the Elite x2 has one big advantage over the Surface Pro 4 and most other tablets: You can open it up and swap out parts yourself. ...Read more...

The job opening to be your AI assistant is growing increasingly competitive. Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung are all vying for that position by offering convenient, natural-language-based responses to queries and commands. Microsoft is now following in Amazon's footsteps in a couple ways. The company is partnering with Harman/Kardon for its Cortana-powered Invoke speaker, and it's also opening its AI platform to software developers with the Cortana Skills Kit. ...Read more...

Hardcore custom-loop liquid-cooling enthusiasts tend to turn their noses up at closed-loop (or "all-in-one") coolers, but even they might want to have a look at Fractal Design's new Celsius lineup. The Celsius S24 and Celsius S36 use 240-mm (S24) or 360-mm (S36) radiators with integrated fan hubs and have standard G 1/4"-threaded fittings so that you can easily expand the loop to include a second waterblock. ...Read more...

Are you salivating over the Nvidia Tesla V100? If you are, then you best get a bib ready. Right after unveiling the V100, Nvidia showed the Volta-powered DGX-1 rack unit, the DGX Station, the HGX-1 GPU cloud computing unit, and a Volta-powered server add-in card. ...Read more...

Machine learning is one of the most demanding applications for GPUs today, and Nvidia has been riding that wave with huge graphics chips dedicated to compute tasks. The Tesla P100 was the crown jewel of the Pascal architecture for general-purpose GPU computing, and today, Nvidia took the wraps off its first Volta GPU to continue that mission. Say hello to the GV100 GPU aboard the Tesla V100 accelerator. ...Read more...

The lion's share of browser coverage around here seems to go to Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, with a hyena's helping left over for Mozilla Firefox. A meager market share never stopped the developers at Opera from throwing new features at the wall and seeing what sticks, though. The last round of feature additions included integrated VPN service and ad-blocking functionality. This time, the company has relaunched its flagship browser as Opera Reborn with baked-in support for a smattering of messaging apps. ...Read more...

We already have Dash Buttons, Echo, Echo Dot, and the Echo Look. The Amazon-ification of the contemporary household isn't over yet, though. The company's repertoire of internet-connected smart devices has a new member: the Echo Show, a device that combines the functionality of Amazon's existing Echo products with a 7" touchscreen. ...Read more...

As recently as a few years ago, getting a game ready to stream was a miserable experience. Now, both Nvidia and AMD are offering free, easy-to-use streaming utilities. Not every single game is easily streamable, though, and until today, GeForce Experience users could only record DirectX games. The latest update to Nvidia's GeForce Experience lets users record games using the OpenGL and Vulkan APIs, and it also boasts an improved user interface....Read more...

If you're running Windows Defender (quite a strong possibility if you're running Windows), make sure you've got all your updates. Microsoft issued a patch this past Monday for a vulnerability in its malware protection engine that could allow a remote attacker to gain control over any affected system simply by sending the victim a specially-crafted e-mail or instant message. The exploit can be activated when Windows Defender simply scans a piece of data, and doesn't require any action behalf of a local user to take effect.The vulnerability itself lies in NScript, a Defender component. NScript thoroughly checks in-flight data (whether on disk or network) that appears to contain JavaScript. The component runs completely un-sandboxed despite checking untrusted code. Given that Defender is one of Windows' most privileged processes, the ...Read more...

Nvidia's first-quarter financial results are in, and they'll probably continue to make other tech companies green with envy. The GPU maker raked in $1.94 billion in revenue for its fiscal 2018 first quarter, up 48% from a year ago. It also enjoyed operating profit of $554 million, up 126% from a year ago. Gross margin increased 1.9% from a year ago to 59.4%.Surprising nobody, Nvidia says growth in demand for its GPUs across all of its businesses drove these results. On the way to $1.56 billion in GPU revenue, the ...Read more...

To paraphrase my favorite cyclops, I'm going to "downplay the Fur E" in this reminder about TR's Napkin Sketch Contest. I realize some of you may prefur a less audacious home for your PC's internals than what our April Fool's invention serves up. That's why we teamed up with Fractal to give our top picks a choice between the wacky and the refined. ...Read more...

As a frequent laptop user, I pine for the four-panel array attached to my desktop PC in my basement. AOC's I1659FWUX USB monitor could knock down those screen-real-estate-withdrawal symptoms just a bit with its 1920x1080 resolution, single-cable operation, and supreme portability. ...Read more...

Full disclosure: this is not actually a lost sock

Apple A-Series and Qualcomm 800-series SoCs get the lion's share of attention in the mobile space, but not everyone buys an iPhone or a high-end Android device. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 630 and 660 SoCs are aimed at the soft center of the Android device market with their eight CPU cores in a big.LITTLE arrangement and upgraded graphics compared to the company's last round of mid-grade offerings. Qualcomm also touts the upgraded image signal processing, DSP, and Quick Charge 4 capabilities baked into the new Snapdragons. ...Read more...

Cooler Master's latest entry in its MasterBox series of cases is the MasterBox Lite 5. Like other cases in the MasterBox series, this ATX model has a wide-open interior to provide lots of room for big components and water-cooling hardware, or just to keep the path of airflow clear. The MasterBox Lite 5 also comes with a clear acrylic side panel that is attached with thumbscrews, much like many recent cases with tempered glass side panels. ...Read more...

With many virtual-reality headsets options already on the market, and Microsoft's mixed-reality devices potentially hitting the market later this year, consumers have no shortage of choices when it comes to immersive games and experiences. The folks over at VESA figure it's high time that somebody started worrying about interoperability and compatibility. To that end, the standards body has formed a special interest group (SIG) to explore standardization for the augmented and virtual reality market.As proposed by Analogix Semiconductor, one of VESA's members and a manufacturer of DisplayPort controllers, the SIG will have several goals. It will look to establish a structure for AR/VR services, define the communication channels, and study existing standards ...Read more...

The public broadcasting of gaming through Twitch, YouTube, and other streaming services has captured the attention of hundreds of millions of viewers across the globe. Twitch alone claims to have had 1.5 million broadcasters and 100 million visitors per month as of 2015, and those numbers have certainly grown with time. Many streamers have even been able to make a living broadcasting part-time or full-time, thanks to Twitch's paid subscriber system.That rise is partially thanks to the parallel explosion of interest in e-sports titles like Dota 2 , League of Legends , and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive . Of course, one doesn't have to be a superstar athlete ...Read more...

Both of Google's extant operating systems, the Android OS for mobile devices and Chrome OS for chromebooks, are based on the Linux kernel. In case you haven't heard, though, Google has another operating system under development—and it isn't based on Linux. Google says the so-called Fuchsia OS is meant for "modern phones and personal computers with fast processors [and] non-trivial amounts of RAM."...Read more...

Thus far, the virtual reality ecosystem has focused almost exclusively on single-user experiences. A few developers have made attempts to use things like HTC's Vive Tracker to bring additional participants without VR headsets into the main user's VR experience. Nvidia has now shown off a proof-of-concept system that uses virtualized hardware to bring four headset-wearing participants into a common VR experience. ...Read more...

Thus far, the virtual reality ecosystem has focused almost exclusively on single-user experiences. A few developers have made attempts to use things like HTC's Vive Tracker to bring additional participants without VR headsets into the main user's VR experience. Nvidia has now shown off a proof-of-concept system that uses virtualized hardware to bring four headset-wearing participants into a common VR experience. ...Read more...

BenQ is probably not the first brand mentioned when the topic of conversation turns to calibrated professional monitors, as it often does on relaxed evenings at Wayne Manor. The company is hoping to change buyers' perceptions with the PD2500Q professional monitor, which the manufacturer says is just the first in a series of factory-calibrated displays. As one might guess from the model number, the PD2500Q is built around a 25" panel, in this case an IPS unit with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. ...Read more...

As we and other sites have demonstrated, using fast memory can result in a significant performance boost on systems with AMD's Ryzen processors. It can be a trying task to actually get your Ryzen rig to make use of fancy overclocker memory, though. AMD's 1.0.0.4 AGESA microcode update seemed to help matters somewhat, and some users reported improved memory speeds after that update. Now we have word—by way of a Gigabyte employee's forum posts—that AGESA update 1.0.0.5 is on its way with further improvements for memory compatibility.Gigabyte rep Matt posted in the company's forums last Wednesday confirming that the company is working hard to use the new AGESA microcode in its BIOS updates to help improve its AM4-platform motherboards. The new updates should include fixes to IOMMU support, "soft brick" issues, and the ability ...Read more...

Over the past few days, some scary stories have been circulating the internet regarding a privilege escalation vulnerability in Intel's Active Management Technology suite, which provides out-of-band management capabilities—or hardware-based remote control of certain PC features—over a network, even when a PC is turned off. According to Google security developer Matthew Garrett, vulnerable systems that are set up to use AMT and have the feature provisioned by an organization could give an attacker serial console access, allow for arbitrary code execution in the operating system's kernel, or provide a way to boot a hostile operating system over a network.One of the headaches with this vulnerability is figuring out which systems are actually affected. According to Intel, only systems with support for its Active Management Technology , Intel ...Read more...

Over the past few days, some scary stories have been circulating the internet regarding a privilege escalation vulnerability in Intel's Active Management Technology suite, which provides out-of-band management capabilities—or hardware-based remote control of certain PC features—over a network, even when a PC is turned off. According to Google security developer Matthew Garrett, vulnerable systems that are set up to use AMT and have the feature provisioned by an organization could give an attacker serial console access, allow for arbitrary code execution in the operating system's kernel, or provide a way to boot a hostile operating system over a network.One of the headaches with this vulnerability is figuring out which systems are actually affected. According to Intel, only systems with support for its Active Management Technology , Intel ...Read more...

MSI has teamed with Corsair to deliver its SeaHawk line of graphics cards with liquid all-in-coolers pre-installed from the factory. For some, strapping an AIO cooler and the accompanying 120 mm radiator to a range-topping Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is not enough. For these frenzied folks, MSI has worked with EK Water Blocks to release the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SeaHawk EK X, which appears to be an altogether different card with a different PCB and cooler. ...Read more...

Deepcool is at it again with its funky-looking liquid cooling pump-and-block combos. Nary a month after showing the refined Captain EX cooler to the world, the company's now taken that all-important step for popularizing a product: adding RGB LED lighting. Say hello to the Deepcool Captain EX RGB closed-loop liquid cooler. ...Read more...

Greetings, gerbils! Our deals posts tend to be short, but we have a total of eight deals for your perusal today, covering a wide range of PC hardware. Let's get started.There's a chance you're looking for something we haven't covered. If that's the case, you can help The Tech Report by using the following referral links when you're out shopping: not only do we have a partnership with Newegg ...Read more...

This year's Computex is close, and everyone's already tossing out tidbits of what they'll be bringing to the trade show. Gigabyte will assuredly be there with a bounty of RGB LED-encrusted hardware, though today's highlight is that it's jumping on the M.2 cooler bandwagon. The company tweeted an image of the Aorus M.2 Thermal Guard with the #seeyouatcomputex tag.:) (Y) Don't let heat limit the performance of ...Read more...

We cover new driver releases from AMD and Nvidia a few times per month, and review graphics cards bearing their chips on a pretty regular basis. It can be easy to forget that the lion's share of PC displays get their marching orders from the pixel pushers integrated into Intel's ubiquitous mobile and desktop CPUs. The graphics driver update du jour comes from the bunnysuits at Santa Clara and packs support for a couple of new games and fixes for a handful of problems. The Intel Graphics Driver for Windows version 15.45 is out now for the 64-bit flavors of Windows 10 and Windows 7. ...Read more...

The monitors best suited for play and work are different beasts. Acer's new display, the ProDesigner BM320, is most definitely in the latter category. This 32" 4K monitor is aimed squarely at content creators simultaneously worried about color reproduction accuracy and having tons of working space. ...Read more...

Since the primary victim of the phone thinness wars has been battery capacity (and because no-one seems to value user-replaceable batteries anymore), carrying around a backup battery has become the easiest way to make sure your phone stays ready to use all day. Adata's latest power bank, the D8000L, provides up to 8000 mAh for folks with no time to search for an outlet mid-day. ...Read more...

Just in case gerbils weren't aware that the Prey reboot is releasing tomorrow, AMD has a driver update out ready for the new game, right on the heels of Nvidia. AMD says the Radeon Software 17.5.1 should make Prey up to 4.7% faster on RX 580 cards when compared to the previous release. There's also CrossFire support for that title, a welcome feature for the multi-carded folks out there.

Regular readers will know that I like a mouse with a whole bunch of buttons. Corsair's latest mouse isn't looking to please me, though—it's for players who want top-shelf performance without all the extra clickables. The Corsair Glaive RGB is an aluminum-framed six-button gaming mouse that continues Corsair's pattern of naming its mice after medieval melee weaponry. ...Read more...

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I've got a fevfur, and the only prescription is more contest. Oh man, that was really bad, I'm sorry. I guess I used up all my "good" material in the Fur E review. What I'm trying to communicate here is that I have a silly fur-covered thing in my house that's just sitting around doing nothing but taking up space. Funnily enough, that also describes my real cats, but I'm keeping them. Anyway, I'm putting the Fur E up for adoption. However, any gerbil that wants to get their paws on it needs to prove they are worthy first.

For some years now, the voluntary 80 Plus certification program has been a handy tool to guide consumers interested in purchasing efficient power supplies. A new group called Cybenetics has emerged to provide a competiting certification program that aims to not only rate the efficiency of power supplies more accurately, but also rank their noise levels.The Cybenetics group includes the PSU reviewer over at Tom's Hardware . The group sees several issues with the 80 Plus certification program. In its opinion, 80 ...Read more...

Graphics card driver updates and big-budget game releases go together like peas and carrots. In today's case, the carrot is Prey, Bethesda Softworks' FPS franchise reboot, and the peas come from Nvidia's big green driver team. The GeForce Game Ready 382.05 driver release contains support for Prey, Battlezone, and the multi-GPU update for Gears of War 4. ...Read more...

Asus' latest high-end motherboard for liquid cooling fans, the ROG Maximus IX Extreme, has arrived and is available for purchase. Brace yourselves and your wallets, for this is a pricey one—though not without some good reasons. The Maximus IX Extreme will set you back a cool $630. If you're still conscious after that sticker shock, read on. ...Read more...