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Sonic Origins' release date was announced earlier today. The game will release on June 23rd worldwide on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Nintendo Switch. However, there's some bad news attached to this announcement for PC players that might make them think twice about the purchase, and that is that the game will have Denuvo DRM. Denuvo, the DRM that has become infamous in the gaming community for the issues it brings to PC games, has been confirmed to be part of Sonic Origins on Steam. It's good to know that SEGA is pseudo-announcing this fact now than how they did so back in the days of Sonic Mania where the infamous DRM appeared after launch. Denuvo Anti-Tamper DRM is nothing new for pre-launch titles. Some of them have essentially removed the DRM a few weeks post-launch to prevent the performance drop from happening in the long term. However, it also is worth noting that the last case of a Sonic game that came with Denuvo ended with the said game (Sonic Mania) having the DRM removed a few years after release.In addition to this, the system requirements of the PC version were subsequently revealed on the game's Steam Page. Here are the recommendations. MINIMUM: OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel Core i5-2400, 3.1 GHz or AMD FX-8350, 4.2 GHz Memory: 6 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750, 2 GB or AMD Radeon HD 7790, 2 GB RECOMMENDED OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel Core i5-4570, 3.2 GHz or AMD Ryzen 3 1300X, 3.4 GHz Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770, 2 GB or AMD Radeon R9 280, 3 GB Sonic Origins is a Sonic the Hedgehog collection that includes five classic games which can be played across different modes. The game will let players experience various Sonic classics in high definition while completing various missions to collect coins to unlock new content, challenges, and Special Stages through the Museum. The collection will be available on June 23. https://wccftech.com/sonic-origins-confirmed-to-have-denuvo-drm-on-pc-system-requirements-revealed/

happy birthday !

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 Pokémon Edition is all set to go live in the company's home market on April 24 as a new variant of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3. Samsung has announced the arrival of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 Pokémon Edition through a dedicated banner on its website in Korea. The special edition smartphone will come bundled with a variety of accessories including a Pokémon pouch, Pokémon cards, a case with Pikachu stickers, and a Pikachu key chain among others. Apart from the accessories, the new Pokémon Edition is expected to have similar specifications as the vanilla Galaxy Z Flip 3 that launched globally in August last year. Samsung has a timer going on its website in Korea for the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 Pokémon Edition and it will take place on April 24. The website listing does not share any price details or specifications of the phone. But an image of the entire package shows that the phone comes with a Pikachu clear cover, a Pokémon pouch, a Pikachu key chain, a Poke ball-shaped holder, and a socket along with several cards. Those who are interested in purchasing the latest Galaxy Z Flip 3 Pokémon Edition can click the “Notify Me” button on the Samsung website to stay updated with the developments regarding its launch and availability. Although the company hasn't revealed anything about the smartphone, it is expected to include Pokémon themes, ringtones, and wallpapers. Last year, the vanilla Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 was launched in India at Rs. 84,999 for the 8GB + 128GB storage option and Rs. 88,999 for the 8GB + 256GB storage option. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 features a 6.7-inch primary full-HD+ (1,080x2,640 pixels) Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex Display with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. The phone also has a cover display that's 1.9-inch in size. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is powered by a 5nm octa-core SoC. A dual rear camera setup led by a 12-megapixel primary sensor, a 10-megapixel selfie camera, a fingerprint sensor, 3,300mAh dual-cell battery with support for 15W fast charging are the other major highlights of the handset. It offers up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage as well. The battery of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is also compatible with Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0.

NVIDIA's next-gen AD102 GPU is currently being tested for the GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, as reported by Kopite7kimi. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Rumors: Flagship AD102 GPU Enters Test Phase, 24 Gbps GDDR6X Memory Ready There has been speculation that NVIDIA might go for the GeForce RTX 50 series naming scheme instead of the expected GeForce RTX 40 series branding but it looks like Kopite7kimi has stated NVIDIA's decision to stick to the 40 series naming scheme. Other than that, one big milestone is that NVIDIA may already have started testing and evaluating its flagship Ada Lovelace GPU, the AD102, which will power a series of graphics cards such as the RTX 4090 and the RTX 4080. Now we don't know if NVIDIA has moved Ada Lovelace GPUs to mass production yet but that might be happening during the mid of 2022 as hinted previously. So the chips being tested here could be early samples. But if these chips are indeed out in the wild, then we might possibly see some leaks in the coming months. Of course, the performance figures won't look that great at first since these GPUs are yet to get finalized drivers but it might give us an idea of the sort of clock speeds we can expect in final variants. Another interesting thing that Kopite7kimi states are that NVIDIA is going to use 24 Gbps memory dies on its AD102 GPU. The leaker only mentions it for the RTX 4090 and we know that the 3090 is the only series that got the fastest GDDR6X memory solutions so far. Whether NVIDIA chooses 24 or lower pin speeds for the rest of the lineup is something that remains to be seen. One thing is for sure we will be getting over 1 TB/s memory speeds on consumer gaming graphics cards which are going to give us a 15% boost in bandwidth numbers and that's without accounting for the brand new compression technologies that will be onboard the Ada Lovelace architecture. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards equipped with the AD102 GPUs are expected to offer TDPs of up to 600W. That is at least what the current BIOS shipping to board partners is rated at so the rumors about 450-600W TDPs might be true but we haven't yet seen the final figures. The power ratings are usually on the high side during the testing phase so those could be optimized when the cards actually launch. The cards will be outfitted with the PCIe Gen 5 connectors and will ship with a 4 x 8-Pin to 1 x 16-pin adapter to support the huge power draw. The upcoming GeForce RTX 3090 Ti itself will be shipping with a 3 x 8-Pin to 1 x 16-Pin adapter. The leaked PCB design talked about the memory which will feature 12 solder points on the PCB and all are compatible with Micron's GDDR6X memory. Higher-end cards might go with single-sided and dual-capacity memory since that offers the best power/temperature balance and feature up to 24 GB capacities but at higher speeds (Up To 24 Gbps). As for the mainstream segment, we are likely to see 20 Gbps+ designs but in 8 GB and up to 16 GB flavors which can help reduce power since the power regulation will be dropped to 3 VRMs for the memory. As for cooling these monster PCBs, NVIDIA is reportedly going to reuse their triple-slot BFGPU design while board partners are going to utilize 3.5 and even quad-slot cooling solutions weighing over 2 kg. Most AIBs might just end up utilizing AIO and Hybrid cooling designs, something that you will be seeing in the RTX 3090 Ti. The cards are expected to feature up to a 28 phase VRM design on the flagship NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card so all that extra cooling will be put to good use. NVIDIA CUDA GPU (RUMORED) Preliminary: GPU TU102 GA102 AD102 Architecture Turing Ampere Ada Lovelace Process TSMC 12nm NFF Samsung 8nm TSMC 5nm Die Size 754mm2 628mm2 ~600mm2 Graphics Processing Clusters (GPC) 6 7 12 Texture Processing Clusters (TPC) 36 42 72 Streaming Multiprocessors (SM) 72 84 144 CUDA Cores 4608 10752 18432 L2 Cache 6 MB 6 MB 96 MB Theoretical TFLOPs 16.1 37.6 ~90 TFLOPs? Memory Type GDDR6 GDDR6X GDDR6X Memory Bus 384-bit 384-bit 384-bit Memory Capacity 11 GB (2080 Ti) 24 GB (3090) 24 GB (4090?) Flagship SKU RTX 2080 Ti RTX 3090 RTX 4090? TGP 250W 350W 450-850W? Release Sep. 2018 Sept. 20 2H 2022 (TBC)

A new Assassin’s Creed Valhalla title update is going live later today, introducing new content to the game as well as Dawn of Ragnarok expansion improvements and more. The 1.5.1 update, which will go live today at 12 pm UTC/GMT, 1 pm CET, 7 am EST, 4 am PST, and 11 pm AEDT, will introduce the Master Challenge Pack 2, which includes three new shrines and a new boss fight. By completing the new challenges, players will be able to unlock the Valkyrie Armor set and all-new weapons among other things. Added Mastery Challenge Pack 2 (Mastery Challenge: The Reckoning) to the game. Mastery Challenge offers the ultimate test of skill for combat, range, and stealth. Pack 2 introduces 3 new shrines and culminates in a boss fight which tests your abilities in each aspect of combat. Unlock unique rewards, including the Valkyrie Armor set, all-new weapons, a tattoo set, and new settlement cosmetics. Access requirements: To access Mastery Challenge Pack 2, players must be at least Power Level 221, have completed the Uninvited Guests main quest after reporting on Grantebridgescire and Ledecestrescire, and have completed the narrative quest from Mastery Challenge Pack 1. The new Assassin’s Creed Valhalla update also brings in-game support for the Ostara Festival, which will allow players to unlock even more new content. Added in-game support for the Ostara Festival to the game. Available from April 21 through May 12. Complete various activities to earn all-new weapons, available only during the festival. Rewards include all-new weapons at Norvid’s shop and 50 free Opals via Ubisoft Connect. Access requirements: Players must reach England and complete one of the first two narrative arcs (Grantebridgescire or Ledecestrescire) and have a settlement at Level 2 to participate in the Ostara Festival. The Assassin’s Creed Valhalla 1.5.1 update also introduces tons of improvements and fixes for the Dawn of Ragnarok expansion and more. You can learn more about these improvements by heading over to the game's official website. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is now available on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and Luna. You can learn more about the latest entry in the series by checking out my review. https://wccftech.com/assassins-creed-valhalla-1-5-1-update/

Apple is working on several new Macs and four different variants of the M2 chip. We are expecting the company to launch new Macs later this year which includes a redesigned entry-level MacBook Pro, iMac Pro, Mac Pro, Mac mini, and MacBook Air. Moreover, Apple's chipmaking partner TSMC is gearing up to move forward with its 3nm chip process to volume production in the second half of 2022. This will allow the supplier to be ready for Apple products launching next year. Scroll down to read more details on the subject. Volume Production For TSMC's 3nm Chips to Kick Off in the Second Half of This Year DigiTimes report that TSMC is on track to begin volume production of its 3nm chips in the second half of this year. The supplier is expected to process 30,000 to 35,000 wafers manufactured through the 3nm process technology. The publication cites that Apple will use the 3nm chip initially on its iPad but no models have been mentioned so far. "We expect the ramp of N3 to be driven by both HPC [high performance computing] and smartphone applications," said Wei during an April 14 earnings conference call. "We continue to see a high level of customer engagement at N3 and expect more new tape-outs for N3 for the first year as compared with N5 and N7." Apple will use the chips manufactured through TSMC's 3nm process in 2023. Apple chips based on TSMC's 3nm process will be used for the iPhone, iPad, as well as Macs. What users can expect is improved performance and better battery life due to the less power-hungry nature of the chips. Apple's M3 chips for Macs are rumored to have up to four dies which will allow up to a 40-core CPU. In contrast, the M1 chip only features an 8-core CPU while the M1 Pro and M1Max chip feature a 10-core CPU. We will share more details on TSMC's 3nm chips as soon as further details are available. What are your expectations from Apple this year? Let us know in the comments.

An Intel Raptor Lake-P 14 Core Engineering Sample CPU has been spotted within the User Benchmark database, showcasing performance faster than the existing Alder Lake Core i9-12900HK CPU. Intel Raptor Lake-P ES CPU With 14 Cores & 4.2 GHz Clocks Beats The Fastest Alder Lake Core i9-12900HK CPU The sample that has been spotted was evaluated on the 'ERB' Evaluation Reference Board. The processor itself is referenced as an Intel Raptor Lake-P chip with 14 cores and 20 threads. This is a 6 P-Core and 8 E-Core configuration. The P-cores are based on the new Raptor Cove cores while the E-Cores are based on the Gracemont architecture. Now Intel is expected to increase the E-Core count but that's not true for all SKUs. This SKU is the same configuration as the high end Alder Lake-P chips. The expected SKUs are detailed below: Intel Core i9 K-Series (8 Golden + 16 Grace) = 24 Cores / 32 Threads / 68 MB? Intel Core i7 K-Series (8 Golden + 8 Grace) = 16 Cores / 24 Threads / 54 MB? Intel Core i5 K-Series (6 Golden + 8 Grace) = 14 Cores / 20 Threads / 44 MB? Intel Core i5 S-Series (6 Golden + 4 Grace) = 14 Cores / 16 Threads / 37 MB? Intel Core i3 S-Series (4 Golden + 0 Grace) = 4 Cores / 8 Threads / 20 MB? Intel Pentium S-Series (2 Golden + 0 Grace) = 4 Cores / 4 Threads / 10 MB? The Raptor Lake-P CPU was running at a base clock speed of 2.5 GHz and a boost clock speed of 4.2 GHz. The platform itself was utilizing the onboard Iris Xe graphics and 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory running at 5200 Mbps speeds. A single OS drive was used which was a WD NVMe SSD. In terms of performance, the Intel Raptor Lake-P mobility CPU scored 202 points in single-core and 2052 points in the all-core tests. Now UserBenchmark is known for its bias against AMD's CPUs so we are not going to compare the performance of the leaked Raptor Lake part against any Ryzen CPUs but instead use Intel's own Alder Lake CPUs for comparison. The benchmark database includes results for Core i9-12900HK which has the same 14 core and 20 thread CPU config and runs at a higher base clock of 2.9 GHz and boost clock of 4.3 GHz. Despite that, the Intel Raptor Lake CPU ends up faster in both the single and all-core test results. The Raptor Lake-P ES sample also ends up faster than the much higher clocked Core i5-12600K in single and all-core workloads. This is impressive since the mobility chip is power limited whereas the 'K' series parts are fully unlocked. The CPU does lose against the Core i7-12700K but only in all-core performance since the CPU has more performance cores than E-cores. Intel has just recently introduced its Alder Lake-P family and will soon be introducing the high-end Alder Lake-HX parts for enthusiast-grade and workstation laptops. Based on this, we can expect Raptor Lake-P CPUs by the end of 2022 or early 2023. Improvements such as the new Raptor Cove cores and increased cache sizes are definitely going to help boost performance & final chips are also expected to run at very high clock speeds so consider this to be a teaser of what's to come on the mobility platform. Intel Mainstream Desktop CPU Generations Comparison: Intel CPU Family Processor Process Processors Cores/Threads (Max) TDPs Platform Chipset Platform Memory Support PCIe Support Launch Sandy Bridge (2nd Gen) 32nm 4/8 35-95W 6-Series LGA 1155 DDR3 PCIe Gen 2.0 2011 Ivy Bridge (3rd Gen) 22nm 4/8 35-77W 7-Series LGA 1155 DDR3 PCIe Gen 3.0 2012 Haswell (4th Gen) 22nm 4/8 35-84W 8-Series LGA 1150 DDR3 PCIe Gen 3.0 2013-2014 Broadwell (5th Gen) 14nm 4/8 65-65W 9-Series LGA 1150 DDR3 PCIe Gen 3.0 2015 Skylake (6th Gen) 14nm 4/8 35-91W 100-Series LGA 1151 DDR4 PCIe Gen 3.0 2015 Kaby Lake (7th Gen) 14nm 4/8 35-91W 200-Series LGA 1151 DDR4 PCIe Gen 3.0 2017 Coffee Lake (8th Gen) 14nm 6/12 35-95W 300-Series LGA 1151 DDR4 PCIe Gen 3.0 2017 Coffee Lake (9th Gen) 14nm 8/16 35-95W 300-Series LGA 1151 DDR4 PCIe Gen 3.0 2018 Comet Lake (10th Gen) 14nm 10/20 35-125W 400-Series LGA 1200 DDR4 PCIe Gen 3.0 2020 Rocket Lake (11th Gen) 14nm 8/16 35-125W 500-Series LGA 1200 DDR4 PCIe Gen 4.0 2021 Alder Lake (12th Gen) Intel 7 16/24 35-125W 600 Series LGA 1700 DDR5 / DDR4 PCIe Gen 5.0 2021 Raptor Lake (13th Gen) Intel 7 24/32 35-125W 700-Series LGA 1700 DDR5 / DDR4 PCIe Gen 5.0 2022 Meteor Lake (14th Gen) Intel 4 TBA 35-125W 800 Series? TBA DDR5 PCIe Gen 5.0? 2023 Arrow Lake (15th Gen) Intel 20A 40/48 TBA 900-Series? TBA DDR5 PCIe Gen 5.0? 2024 Lunar Lake (16th Gen) Intel 18A TBA TBA 1000-Series? TBA DDR5 PCIe Gen 5.0? 2025 Nova Lake (17th Gen) Intel 18A TBA TBA 2000-Series? TBA DDR5? PCIe Gen 6.0? 2026

A new heavily-modded The Witcher 3 graphical showcase in 8K resolution has been released, and it has us thirsting for the official upcoming next-gen update even more.Some days ago, CD Projekt Red announced the delay of the highly-anticipated next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. As expected, this announcement had some believing that development on the update isn't going as planned. Luckily for the fans, as confirmed by the developer, this isn't the case at all. "I've been looking at the headlines that popped up here and over the Internet and I've seen one that really drew my attention, which is The Witcher 3 next-gen delayed indefinitely, which sounds like the game is in some sort of development hell", VP of Business Development and Board Member Michał Nowakowski said during an earnings call. "I want to say this is not the fact." Like most of this channel's showcases, this video uses the creator's own custom 'Beyond all Limits' Reshade ray tracing preset. In addition, this video has the game running with the BlitzFX mod, which integrates modern state-of-the-art rendering techniques into The Witcher 3, including Contact hardening soft shadows, Screen space contact shadows, HDR bloom, and motion blur, Improved water rendering, Improved sun rendering, Improved anti-aliasing on vegetation, Improved tone mapping, and Reduced color banding. As always, we will update you as soon as we learn more about the next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. For now, stay tuned and enjoy this beautiful graphical showcase. So, while we're still eagerly waiting for the next-gen patch for the game, YouTuber 'Digital Dreams' released a new next-gen The Witcher 3 showcase in 8K and plenty of mods. Needless to say, this stunning showcase has us thirsting for the next-gen update even more, although we're pretty sure that it won't look as good as this heavily-modded version of the title. Check out the new video down below: https://wccftech.com/witcher-3-8k-blitz-fx-next-gen/

Apple’s first AR headset is rumored to launch in late 2022. However, there are talks that the company has delayed its mixed reality wearable to early 2023. Despite this, the device is expected to sell particularly well in its first year of launch. Apple to Sell Between 1-1.5 Million AR Headset Units in Its First Year of Launch, in-House Chip to Be One of Its Key Selling Points Analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities believes that the AR headset may be delayed until 2023. A report spotted by 9to5Mac provides details that the device could face a slight delay in the first quarter of next year due to undisclosed reasons. Despite this small setback, Apple is expected to do well with its mixed reality headset, as the company will reportedly ship between 1-1.5 million units of the product. The estimated shipment figures may not appear as high when compared to how well the iPhone or iPad lineup does, but Apple’s AR headset is believed by many to be a niche product and according to previous reports, a fairly expensive one. Where one rumor claimed it could cost as much as $3,000, a separate account was a little conservative on the price, stating that it would cost $1,000. Pu also states that Apple will use its in-house silicon in the AR headset, and it will be one of its differentiating factors. For those that do not know, the device will reportedly ship with a 4nm and one 5nm SoC and, as such, should be able to match the performance of the M1. It could also have a combined ten sensors and cameras sourced from Apple’s partners such as Sony, Will Semi, Sunny Optical, and other suppliers. Sadly, as ambitious as the AR headset is sounding to be, it is not without its problems as Apple was previously experiencing overheating and software issues with it, forcing it to change its launch timeline to 2023. It is also unclear if Apple will proceed with an announcement in late 2022, followed by a launch happening next year, or proceed with an unveiling in 2023, with pre-orders starting shortly after.There is more to be known about the AR headset and its specifications, so stay tuned for more.

In cooperation with Razer, Lambda unleashed the new Lambda Tensorbook, hailed as the world's most powerful laptop conceived for deep learning, available with Linux and Lambda's deep learning software. The new notebook with the Lambda GPU Cloud installed provides engineers with the necessary software tools and compute performance they need to develop, train, and sample deep learning models locally. The Razer & Lambda Tensorbook presents a powerful mobile workstation to tackle deep learning projects remotely with the company's software and technology packages. Since its launch in 2012, Lambda has quickly become the de-facto deep learning infrastructure provider for the world's leading research and engineering teams. These teams use Lambda's GPU clusters, servers, workstations, and cloud instances to train neural networks for cancer detection, autonomous aircraft, drug discovery, self-driving cars, etc. Thousands of businesses and organizations use Lambda, including all of the top five tech companies, 97 percent of the top research universities in the U.S., including MIT and Caltech, and the Department of Defense. Most ML engineers don’t have a dedicated GPU laptop, which forces them to use shared resources on a remote machine, slowing down their development cycle. When you’re stuck SSHing into a remote server, you don’t have any of your local data or code and even have a hard time demoing your model to colleagues. The Razer x Lambda Tensorbook solves this. It’s pre-installed with PyTorch and TensorFlow and lets you quickly train and demo your models: all from a local GUI interface. No more SSH! The laptop offers elegant, high-performance hardware from Razer and is graphically powered by the NVIDIA RTX 3080. The new Tensorbook comes prepared out-of-the-box with a complete software environment directly from Lambda, including Ubuntu Linux added with the Lambda Stack for training extensive workloads no matter the location. The laptop is also compatible with TensorFlow, PyTorch, cuDNN, CUDA, and other ML frameworks and tools. “Razer’s experience in developing high-performance products for both gamers and creators has been a crucial building block for the Lambda Tensorbook, a deep learning system for engineers,” “The shared customer obsession is what drove us to collaborate with Lambda in developing this powerful, specialized device. We can’t wait to see the amazing breakthroughs that will be made by engineers and researchers while using a Tensorbook.” Specifications for the new Tensorbook include: Hardware 15.6” 2560x1440 165Hz display NVIDIA RTX 3080 Max-Q GPU with 16GB VRAM Intel i7-11800 Processor (8 cores, 2.3GHz to 4.6GHz) 64GB DDR4 memory 2 TB SSD storage Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2, HDMI 2.1 ports Slim 4.4 lb aluminum unibody chassis 1080p webcam Software Ubuntu Linux 20.04 LTS (Microsoft Windows dual boot optional) Lambda Stack with PyTorch, TensorFlow, CUDA, cuDNN, and NVIDIA Drivers One year of Lambda engineering support If you are interested in knowing more about the new Tensorbook and customization options, please visit lambdalabs.com. Tensorbook models start at $3,499.

Sony and Sucker Punch Productions have rolled out Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut Update 2.18, addressing some single-player issues and packing various improvements and changes to standalone Legends mode. The latest patch for Sony's hit title updates the game to version 2.018 on PlayStation 5, and version 2.18 on PlayStation 4. In addition to item changes in the game's Legends multiplayer mode, the new update focuses on bug fixes and improvements. For Ghost of Tsushima's singleplayer mode, this new update addresses some dialogue and cutscene issues and increases the amount of held Silk inventory of the New Game + merchant. As mentioned by Sucker Punch, the team currently isn't working on any additional patches for the game, but they will monitor player feedback. "While we aren’t actively working on any additional patches at the moment, we will continue to monitor feedback on the community-run Gotlegends subreddit and messages sent to @SuckerPunchProd on Twitter for any high-priority bugs or issues that emerge", the developer writes. "We want to say a huge THANK YOU to the entire community for the incredible amount of support and feedback we’ve gotten since launch. When Legends launched in October 2020, we never expected to have such an active community more than a year and a half later, and we could not be more thankful to everyone who has been with us on this journey!" Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut Update 2.18 Release Notes Legends Fixed a bug where a teammate’s health could momentarily dip below zero, counting as a “death” in Custom Mode and Raid Trials that occasionally prevented the Hidden Heart cosmetic from unlocking Added a PS4 Save Import button to Legends standalone builds (Transfer PS4 console Save). Be sure to click “Yes” on the Legends import prompt Shared Wounds no longer breaks Assassin out of the Vanish skill Added a new Fill Party goal, Custom Mode - Perfect Completion. This will allow people looking to earn the Hidden Heart cosmetic to search for matches separately from those looking for a different Custom Mode experience Item adjustments: All Legendary Katanas gain Stance Master perks by default, including on stances unlocked via perks. If you already have a Stance Master perk unlocked, it will be free to reroll to a new perk Legendary Charms can now roll perks and properties previously limited to class exclusive charms, if the Legendary Charm is bound to the specified class. Significantly lowered resolve gains of Black Powder Bombs Skipping Stone Bow no longer generates extra resolve from the ricochet arrows Added Munitions perk to Caltrops and Demon Seeds Reduced the drop rate of Black Powder Bombs, Flash Bombs, Fire Arrows and Piercing Arrows dropped from the Munitions perk Melee Resolve Gain property maximum value increased to 25% Fire Damage property maximum value increased to 20% Assassinate From Above Damage property maximum value increased to 50% Samurai skill Deep Strikes increased to +25% Melee damage Fixed bug where Black Powder Bombs did not count for some Mastery Challenges Fixed a bug where Silver and Gold Survival missions showed incorrect mission modifiers Fixed a bug in Survival where a Ghost dying in the brief period after the final wave, but before the scoreboard caused some missing rewards Fixed a very rare bug where the Legends tutorial was impossible to complete Single-player Increased Silk inventory held by New Game Plus merchant Fixed dialogue and cutscene issues in single-player https://wccftech.com/ghost-of-tsushima-directors-cut-update-2-18-last-update/

CI Games has recently announced during their latest Consolidated Management Report that the sequel to Lords of the Fallen, appropriately named Lords of the Fallen 2, will be released next year. Another interesting tidbit is that the company also announced that Unreal Engine 5, the recent Epic Games graphical engine made available to the public, will be the primary engine for their Key IPs currently in development. Let's start with Lords of the Fallen 2. When talking about the success of the "Four Pillar Strategy" that CI Games has begun to implement in 2021, the company stated its next course of action. Lords of the Fallen: The sequel to this franchise has been developed by our internal studio Hexworks since 2019. Our studio of 60+ internal development team members has worked closely with other third-party developers across various disciplines in the development of the game […]We plan to start the global marketing campaign for the game during the third Quarter of 2022. Lords of the Fallen 2 is planned to be released in 2023 as a full-price game for the new generation of consoles and PC. According to the same report, Lords of the Fallen 2 will be CI Games' largest-ever project and one that seeks to capitalize on the continuing growth in po[CENSORED]rity of the genre around the world. The game aims to be released on the next-generation consoles and PC by 2023. This could mean that last-gen consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) will be left out of the picture for this entry.Now, CI Games also briefly mentioned Unreal Engine 5 during the report. According to it, CI Games will be using Unreal Engine 5 as the primary engine for all of the key IPs currently in development. In addition to the leading technology that the latest Witcher and Tomb Raider games will use, the engine will allow for better synergy between its internal teams. https://wccftech.com/lords-of-the-fallen-2-is-planned-to-release-next-year-ue5-will-be-the-primary-engine-for-key-ips/

iQoo Z6 Pro is said to be in the works as a successor to iQoo Z6 5G, which was launched in India in March. Ahead of the formal announcement, the key specifications of iQoo Z6 Pro, along with its pricing details, have leaked online. iQoo Z6 Pro is said to come as an upgraded variant of iQoo Z6. The handset is expected to be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 778G SoC. As per the latest leak, the upcoming iQoo Z-series phone scored over 550,000 points on the AnTuTu benchmark. The iQoo Z6 is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 695 SoC and features triple rear cameras with a 50-megapixel primary Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor. iQoo Z6 Pro price in India (expected) A report by 91Mobiles has suggested the pricing and key specifications of iQoo Z6 Pro. As per the leak, iQoo Z6 Pro will be priced around Rs. 25,000 in India. However, the colour options and RAM/storage configurations of the phone are not known at this moment.To recall, iQoo Z6 5G was launched in India with a price tag of Rs. 15,499 for the base 4GB + 128GB storage variant. The smartphone is also available in a 6GB + 128GB storage model, priced at Rs. 16,999, and a top-of-the-line 8GB + 1286GB variant, priced at Rs. 17,999. iQoo Z6 Pro 5G specifications (expected) The specifications of the iQoo Z6 Pro are likely to be an upgrade to that of the iQoo Z6. The dual-SIM (Nano) iQoo Z6 5G runs on Android 12 with Funtouch OS 12 on top. It sports a 6.58-inch full-HD+ (1,080x2,408 pixels) display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch sampling rate. The handset is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 695 SoC, coupled with up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM. The anticipated iQoo Z6 Pro could be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC. It is expected to run on Android 12 and feature an AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The iQoo Z6 Pro will reportedly offer 33W fast charging support.

The next-generation AMD SP5 socket featuring 6096 LGA contact pads to support AMD's future generation of EPYC CPUs has been pictured. AMD's Massive SP5 Socket That Will Power Future EPYC CPUs Has Been Pictured In All Its Glory The latest pictures come from forum member of STH (ServerTheHome, 111alan. This is the first close-up and physical look of the AMD SP5 socket that we have gotten so far. As expected, AMD's SP5 socket will feature 6096 LGA contact pads to support the future generation of EPYC CPUs such as Genoa (up to 96 cores) and Bergamo (up to 128 cores). The pictured socket is from a dual 2P platform which houses two SP5 sockets and a total of 24 DIMM slots (2 DIMMs per channel for a total of 12 channel memory support). The LGA 6096 socket will feature 6096 pins arranged in the LGA (Land Grid Array) format. This will be by far the biggest socket that AMD has ever designed with 2002 more pins than the existing LGA 4094 socket. We have already listed the size and dimensions of this socket above so let's talk about its power ratings. It looks like the peak power of the LGA 6096 SP5 socket will be rated at up to 700W which will only last for 1ms, the peak power at 10ms is rated at 440W while the peak power with PCC is rated at 600W. If the cTDP is exceeded, then the EPYC chips featured on the SP5 socket will return to these limits within 30ms. AMD EPYC Milan Zen 3 vs EPYC Genoa Zen 4 Size Comparisons: CPU Name AMD EPYC Milan AMD EPYC Genoa Process Node TSMC 7nm TSMC 5nm Core Architecture Zen 3 Zen 4 Zen CCD Die Size 80mm2 72mm2 Zen IOD Die Size 416mm2 397mm2 Substrate (Package) Area TBD 5428mm2 Socket Area 4410mm2 6080mm2 Socket Name LGA 4094 LGA 6096 Max Socket TDP 450W 700W The socket will support AMD's EPYC Genoa and future generations of EPYC chips. Talking about Genoa CPUs themselves, the chips will pack a mammoth 96 cores and 192 threads. These will be based on AMD's brand new Zen 4 core architecture which is expected to deliver some insane IPC uplifts while utilizing the TSMC 5nm process node. The physical chip is a gargantuan on its own with one of the largest CPU package ever as pictured below: Other than that, it is stated that AMD's EPYC Genoa CPUs will feature 128 PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes of which 112 PCIe Gen 5 lanes will be available since the remaining 16 are reserved, 160 for a 2P (dual-socket) configuration. The SP5 platform will also feature DDR5-5200 memory support which is some insane improvement over the existing DDR4-3200 Mbps DIMMs. But that's not all, it will also support up to 12 DDR5 memory channels and 2 DIMMs per channel which will allow up to 12 TB of system memory using 1 TB 3DS RDIMM modules. In addition to this, a leaked AMD slide also confirms future EPYC SOCs to feature higher DDR5 pin speeds of up to 6000-6400 Mbps. This could probably be referring to Turin or Bergamo as they are the ones that succeed Genoa. The main competitor of AMD's EPYC Genoa lineup would be Intel's Sapphire Rapids Xeon family which is expected to launch in 2022 too with PCIe Gen 5 and DDR5 memory support. The lineup was recently rumored to not get a volume ramp until 2023. Overall, AMD's Genoa lineup seems to be in great form after this leak and could be a major disruption for the server segment if AMD plays its cards right till Genoa's launch by 2022.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is by most accounts a decently-designed and deliciously campy adventure, but a bit of a technical mess. We’ve already reported on the game’s lousy PC port, but how does the game fare on consoles? Well, the folks at Digital Foundry have dug into all the console versions of the game, and the news isn’t good there either. If you have around 20 minutes to spare, you can check out the full video, below. Based on Digital Foundry’s analysis, Stranger of Paradise seems to be a dated product on almost all fronts. Lighting is fairly archaic and seems to lack TAA or even much of the way of basic anti-aliasing, resulting in jaggies and rampant shimmering. Damningly, even on next-gen consoles, DF compares Stranger of Paradise to an Unreal Engine 3 game. A clumsy version of checkboard upscaling further hurts image quality on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Oddly, Xbox consoles also lack ambient occlusion (which PS5 does have) giving the game flat look on Microsoft’s consoles. Of course, things are worse on Xbox Series S and last-gen consoles, where detail and texture quality drops to nearly PS2-levels in some places. Despite the iffy visuals, most versions of the game don’t perform particularly well. PS5 and XSX both offer Performance and Resolution modes. Both target (upscaled) 4K, but the dynamic range is larger with Performance mode. On PS5 both modes target 60fps, with Performance regularly dropping to around 50fps, while Resolution can dip all the way down to the low 40s. Oddly, the Xbox Series X only targets 30fps in Resolution mode, which it mostly hits (albeit with frame-pacing issues), while Performance Mode targets 60fps with frequent trips down to the low 50s. Both of the Series S modes only target 30fps, which the console fairly consistently hits, but again, there are frame-pacing issues. If you actually want a consistent 60fps, your best bet is actually the Xbox One X, which runs at a stable 60fps, although you’ll have to accept a sub-1080p resolution and the same visual downgrade seen on Series S. Playing the PS4 Pro version on PS5 via backward compatibility will also get you a solid 60fps, albeit with the same visual downgrade as the One X. So yeah, there really is no ideal option here. Personally, I’d say just play on PS5/XSX in Performance mode and learn to live with some a somewhat erratic framerates (pretend you’re playing an Xbox 360 game). Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is available now on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5. https://wccftech.com/stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin-analysis-ps5-xbox-series-x-series-s/

Realme GT 2 Pro is set to launch in India later today. The company's upcoming flagship smartphone was launched in China in January and made its debut in Europe in February. Alongside the Realme GT 2 Pro, the company is also expected to launch the Realme 9 4G handset in India. Meanwhile, the Realme Book Prime and Realme Buds Air 2 that were launched in Europe in February will also make their debut in India today, alongside the Realme Smart TV Stick. Realme GT 2 Pro, Realme 9 4G, Realme Book Prime, Realme Buds Air 3, Realme Smart TV Stick India launch livestream details Realme's launch event will begin at 12:30pm IST, and the event will be livestreamed on the company's YouTube channel. The company will launch the Realme GT 2 Pro, Realme 9 4G, Realme Book Prime, Realme Buds Air 3, Realme Smart TV Stick during the event. You can watch the Realme GT 2 Pro India launch event live below: Realme GT 2 Pro, Realme 9 4G, Realme Book Prime, Realme Buds Air 3, Realme Smart TV Stick price in India (expected) Realme GT 2 Pro price in India is expected to be in line with the pricing of the handset that made its debut in China in January. The smartphone was launched at CNY 3,899 (roughly Rs. 46,400) for the base 8GB + 128GB storage model, and CNY 4,299 (roughly Rs. 51,200) for a 12GB + 256GB storage option. The Realme GT 2 Pro is also sold in a high-end 12GB RAM + 512GB storage option priced at CNY 4,799 (roughly Rs. 57,100). The smartphone was launched in Europe at a starting price of EUR 749 (roughly Rs. 61,900) in February. Previous reports have tipped the Realme 9 4G to be priced below the Rs. 15,000 mark. Meanwhile, the Realme Book Prime and Realme Buds Air 3 price in India is expected to be in line with the pricing for European markets. The Realme Book Prime was launched in February in Europe, with a price tag of EUR 999 (roughly Rs. 82,600) for the 8GB + 512GB storage model, while the 16GB + 512GB storage variant is priced at EUR 1,099 (roughly Rs. 90,800). Meanwhile, Realme Buds Air was launched in Europe at a price of EUR 59.99 (roughly Rs. 5,000). Realme GT 2 Pro specifications (expected) The Realme GT 2 Pro that was launched in China and Europe runs on Android 12-based Realme UI 3.0, and sports a 6.7-inch 2K (1,440x3,216 pixels) LTPO 2.0 AMOLED display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus screen protection. The handset is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, paired with up to 12GB of RAM.The smartphone is equipped with a triple rear camera setup featuring a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 primary sensor, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide shooter and a 2-megapixel macro shooter. The Realme GT 2 Pro is also equipped with a 32-megapixel selfie camera at the front for selfies and video calls. The Realme GT 2 Pro offers up to 512GB of inbuilt storage. Connectivity options on the handset include 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.2, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, and a USB Type-C port. It is equipped with an in-display fingerprint sensor. The Realme GT 2 Pro packs a 5,000mAh battery with 65W SuperDart Charge Enhanced fast charging, according to the company. Realme 9 4G specifications (expected) Realme is yet to reveal the complete specifications of the Realme 9 4G, but the company's latest addition to the Realme 9 series is confirmed to feature a 108-megapixel ‘ProLight' camera. The handset will feature a Samsung ISOCELL HM6 image sensor. According to previous reports, the smartphone was tipped to feature a 6.6-inch IPS LCD display with a refresh rate of 144Hz, but the company's recently revealed that the Realme 9 4G will sport an AMOLED display. Older reports tip the smartphone to launch in a 6GB + 128GB storage model and 8GB + 128GB storage variant. Based on details spotted on certifications websites ahead of the Realme 9 4G launch, the smartphone could be launched with a 5,000mAh battery with support for 33W charging. Realme Book Prime specifications The Realme Book Prime was launched in Europe in February, and the Indian variant is expected to sport similar specifications. The laptop was launched in European markets with Windows 11 out of the box and sports a 2K display. The Realme Book Prime is powered by an 11th Gen Intel Core i5-11320H processor with Intel Iris Xe graphics, along with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.The laptop is equipped with stereo speakers with DTS audio technology. It also features a backlit keyboard with a touchpad. The laptop comes with a vapour chamber (VC) liquid cooling system to enhance heat dissipation speed. Connectivity options on the Realme Book Prime include Wi-Fi 6 and a Thunderbolt 4 port. It is claimed to deliver up to 12 hours of playback time on a single charge. Realme Buds Air 3 specifications, features Launched in Europe in February, the Realme Buds Air 3 TWS earphones feature 10mm dynamic bass boost drivers. They offer TUV Rheinland-certified active noise cancellation to reduce external noise by up to 42dB, and a transparency mode. The TWS earbuds are equipped with two microphones. According to the company, users can pair the earphones to two devices at the same time.The Realme Buds Air 3 are IPX5 rated for sweat and water-resistance, and are claimed to deliver up to 30 hours of total playback on a single charge, with 100 minutes of playback time with just a 10-minute charge. Realme Smart TV Stick specifications (expected) The Realme Smart TV Stick is tipped to run on Android 11 TV OS out-of-the-box, with support for full-HD resolution at 60 frames per second and HDR10+ support, according to alleged Flipkart promotions spotted online. It could be powered by a quad-core ARM Cortex-A35 CPU paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage.Meanwhile, the upcoming streaming device is tipped to feature an HDMI 2.0 port and support streaming platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, and Prime Video. The Realme Smart TV Stick is expected to allow users to access all their content on their TV, along with access to Google Play, Google Play Games, and other services, according to previous reports.

HotHardware recently interviewed Intel Graphics Fellow Tom Petersen about the recent Arc graphics card series release. Petersen shows an unreleased Intel GPU that features three 8-pin power connectors on the card during the discussion. Intel Graphics Fellow Tom Petersen displays the ARC GPU prototype during a YouTube interview, revealing triple 8-pin connectors During Intel's ARC Desktop "Limited Edition" teaser, Petersen ensured that the new graphics card was a standard ATX-powered graphics card. The Intel ATX 3.0 specifications state that new PCIe Gen5 power connectors are used with graphics cards above 300W of power. By the reveal Petersen shows in the HotHardware YouTube discussion, the card displayed might be under 300W but that is where most Arc graphics cards are expected to land, even those based on the top ACM-G10 die. Petersen shows the full-sized desktop GPU with a PCIe x16 interface below. This card is believed to be a prototype in development and not a complete graphics card. Since the card is unknown, we can only ascertain the card characteristics and design without any official word from Petersen or Intel. Intel has not stated any plans to add to the Xe-HPC/HC line, especially with a PCIe interface. The board that Petersen held up during the interview shows three 8-pin power connections, and it is mentioned that each connector can transfer the power of 150W. Due to the gaps between connectors, it is believed that the board is an engineering sample used for evaluations.The question remains, "What card is Petersen holding up if it is not part of the ARC Alchemist line?" There is a possibility the card could be the next in line to replace the Alchemist upon release. Intel has previously established Battlemage aimed at the "enthusiast" consumer levels. The only abnormality is that there are three separate 8-pin power connections, especially after the ATX 3.0 specification announcement demonstrating that the new specs offer equal to and over 300W of power to graphics cards utilizing the upgraded connector. The new 16-pin connections are said to replace previous generations of power connections. It is unknown why Petersen had the engineering model on the desk while on camera. Petersen shows the prototype briefly after HotHardware's segment about the new desktop GPU teaser video clip. There is a question about why Petersen decided to pick up the card while on camera.

Every major publisher has to have their own battle royale game now, but Ubisoft has had some trouble getting theirs off the ground. 2020’s Hyper Scape was largely a flop (it will shut down later this month) and the initial reaction to Ghost Recon Frontline was so negative the game has been delayed indefinitely for retooling. You’d think Ubisoft might just give it up, but apparently the lure of battle royale bucks is just too strong as the company is reportedly working on another BR-flavored project. According to prolific leaker Tom Henderson, Ubisoft is working on a new project codenamed Pathfinder, which will have a similar visual style as Hyper Scape (whether it’s being developed by the Hyper Scape team at Ubisoft Montreal is unknown). Apparently, the game is a PvPvE concept, with players fighting AI and other humans to get to the center of the map where a large boss fight will be waiting. The unique twist is that the map will be divided up by an outer and inner wall, and the places you can breach those walls will change from game to game, forcing you to find a new path each time. The game reportedly will also have a central hub and hero characters with the usual array of unique abilities. So, basically, it sounds like Pathfinder is a mashup of Fortnite, Overwatch, and PvPvE games like Hunt: Showdown, with a pinch of Ubisoft’s own Rainbow Six Siege thrown in for flavor. It certainly sounds like a more unique concept than Hyper Scape, which was a competent-enough game, but way too samey to make a dent in the very crowded battle royale market What do you think? Does the Pathfinder concept sound interesting? Will Ubisoft ever come up with a battle royale concept that works or is it time to give it up? https://wccftech.com/ubisoft-pathfinder-battle-royale-hero-shooter/

Samsung Electronics is likely to post its highest first-quarter profit since 2018, analysts' estimates showed, driven by brisk profits on memory chips as solid demand helped to keep prices firmer than expected. Operating profit for the world's biggest smartphone and memory chip maker likely hit KRW 13.3 trillion (roughly Rs. 82,750 crore) in the quarter ended in March, according to a Refinitiv SmartEstimate from 13 analysts, which is weighted toward those who are more consistently accurate. That would be up 41 percent from KRW 9.38 trillion (roughly Rs. 58,370 crore) a year earlier and the highest profit for its comparatively sluggish first quarter since 2018. The South Korean tech giant will announce preliminary results on Thursday. Samsung's Q1 chip profit is likely to reach KRW 7.6 trillion (roughly Rs. 47,290 crore), more than double the previous year's KRW 3.37 trillion (roughly Rs. 20,970 crore), according to an average forecast of six analysts.Its chip business contributes about half of the tech giant's profits.Chip prices held up better than expected in the first quarter, analysts said, despite pulling back after a surge over the past year when clients built up stocks to guard against supply chain bottlenecks. They noted that strong demand and cautious investment spending had given a boost to the sector. "Solid chip demand from data centres, chipmakers' conservative investment to defend against falling prices, and high-end product sales have limited the decline in memory chip prices," said Doh Hyun-woo, analyst at NH Investment & Securities.Samsung's mobile business profit is estimated at KRW 4.04 trillion (roughly Rs. 25,140 crore) according to an average forecast of six analysts, slightly down from the previous year's KRW 4.39 trillion (roughly Rs. 27,320 crore) but above its mobile profits during the same period in 2017-2020.Samsung released its flagship Galaxy S22 smartphone in February, which likely sold about 8 million units during the first quarter according to Greg Roh, head of research at Hyundai Motor Securities. Samsung has the largest share of Russia's smartphone market at about 30 percent, but Roh said a halt in shipments there would have little effect since Russia and Ukraine account for only an estimated 2 percent of Samsung's total, and this would be offset by sales to other regions.Samsung said in March that shipments to Russia had stopped after the invasion of Ukraine, although services such as Samsung Pay continue to be offered in Russia according to social media messages. Samsung shares have fallen about 12 percent year-to-date, hurt by worries over the impact of the Ukraine crisis on global tech device demand and concerns about low production yields at its cutting-edge contract chip manufacturing operation.Samsung's co-CEO last month addressed shareholder concerns about its manufacturing processes for chips with 5-nanometre or narrower circuitry, saying they were gradually improving

GRIID Infrastructure is joined by Argo Blockchain, Block Inc., and Hive Blockchain Technologies to become the first customers to work with the Intel Blockscale application-specific integrated circuit or ASIC. The new infrastructure will be able to power up to 580 GH/s hash rate for effective and efficient cryptocurrency mining on a large scale. Intel announces new block scale technology for energy-efficient blockchain hashing Intel reveals today information about the newest Blockscale ASIC. Utilizing several years of research and development, this ASIC will supply consumers with energy-efficient hashing for proof-of-work consensus grids. "Momentum around blockchain continues to build. It is the enabler of decentralized and distributed computing, making way for innovative business models. To power this new era of computing, Intel is delivering solutions that can offer an optimal balance of hashing throughput and energy efficiency regardless of a customer’s operating environment. Intel’s decades of R&D in cryptography, hashing techniques and ultra-low voltage circuits make it possible for blockchain applications to scale their computing power without compromising on sustainability.” Compute requirement for blockchains operating proof-of-work consensus tools is rising rapidly due to resiliency and capability to scale without surrendering decentralization. This increasing pool of computing power demands an immense quantity of energy, necessitating new technologies that can deliver the required capacity in a more energy-efficient way while also being stable enough to mitigate long-term e-waste circumstances. For proof-of-work algorithms consistent with ASIC-based systems and SHA-256 hashing, the Intel Blockscale ASIC will provide the power efficiency and computing capacity required to reach scalability and sustainability. Intel will be capable of offering it in magnitude without compromising the stockpile of new CPUs or GPUs. Intel is committed to advancing blockchain technology in a responsible way, and we’re proud to collaborate with and provide solutions to companies that are creating a more sustainable cryptocurrency ecosystem globally. The Intel Blockscale ASIC is going to play a major role in helping bitcoin mining companies achieve both sustainability and hash rate scaling objectives in the years ahead. — Jose Rios, general manager of Blockchain and Business Solutions in the Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group, Intel Some key features for the Intel Blockscale ASIC include: Dedicated Secure Hash Algorithm-256 (SHA-256) ASIC processor. Up to 580 GH/s hash rate operating and 26 J/TH power efficiency. On-chip temperature- and voltage-sensing capabilities. Support for up to 256 integrated circuits per chain. Reference hardware design and software stack to jump-start customers' system development. Customers of Intel Blockscale ASIC will begin to receive shipments starting in the third quarter of 2022. Beginning next year and into the future, Intel will be operating with and providing future customers who convey the company's sustainability ideals.

Escape from Tarkov is an FPS title meant to bridge hyper-realistic games like Arma with more round-based tactical shooters like Insurgency, bringing forth an experience, unlike most other FPS titles. The game’s currently out in beta form on Steam, and preordering the game gives access to this beta. A point of contention for the game lies in the performance aspect. Lots of it is centered on one feature that’s missing currently, being DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) support, meant to take full advantage of the capabilities of GeForce RTX GPUs. Given that it’s not here yet, one might ask when that will be here. As of a podcast from Battlestate Games (developers of Tarkov), DLSS will indeed be coming to the game, according to CEO Nikita Buyanov. The feature will be arriving in Escape from Tarkov sometime this week (or the week after, if any last-minute work has to be done), as it’s finally passed the testing phases. At least, that's what the wording of the stream that signaled the update's upcoming release would lead us to believe. Once the new update is installed, players will have a choice between one of four DLSS modes after enabling it: DLSS disabled DLSS Quality DLSS Balanced DLSS Performance Given the metrics shown in the podcast, it could be seen that Performance is meant to use DLSS and not care about quality, only framerate. Meanwhile, Quality tries to make the game use its maximum quality settings. Balance will try to utilize aspects of both, while not leaning into one or the other. Enabling the feature is as simple as going into the graphics settings. After applying the update, the DLSS settings will be between Resampling and HBAO. After this, you can pick whichever of the DLSS modes you prefer to use. Escape From Tarkov is available now on PC. You can view the game’s website here. https://wccftech.com/escape-from-tarkov-dlss-update/

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G has been in rumours for quite a few weeks now. OnePlus is yet to confirm the development of the Nord-series smartphone, but ahead of it, the handset has allegedly bagged certifications from the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), pretty much confirming its imminent arrival in India and other markets. Past leaks have suggested a 4,500mAh battery with 33W SuperVOOC charging support on the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite. The handset is expected to come with an initial price tag of Rs. 20,000 in India. Known tipster Abhishek Yadav (@yabhishekhd) tweeted screenshots of alleged TDRA and BIS listings of OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G. As per the leak, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G comes with model number CPH2409 has bagged approval from TDRA. The alleged BIS listing also has a similar CPH2401 model number.Recently, the rumoured OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite appeared in a Geekbench listing with the model number GN2200 with a single-core score of 678 points and a multi-core score of 1,932 points. The listing suggested an octa-core processor. It is being speculated to be either Snapdragon 480+ SoC or the Snapdragon 695 chipset. As per the listing, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite may feature 6GB of RAM and run on Android 11. OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite was also spotted on multiple certifications and benchmarking websites, including the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Camerafv5, UL (Demko), as well as the TUV Rheinland certification site, suggesting some of its key specifications. These listings have suggested a 4,500mAh battery with 33W SuperVOOC charging support on the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite. It is also listed to feature a 64-megapixel main sensor. The handset could support 5G, Bluetooth connectivity, and dual-band Wi-Fi. Leaked renders of OnePlus Nord 2 CE Lite also tipped a hole-punch display design for the handset. It is expected to sport a 6.59-inch full-HD Fluid screen and a 16-megapixel camera in the front.

Chinese company Maxsun has a PC component branch, Meterstone, that develops devices such as Intel and AMD-based motherboards and graphics cards. Meterstone also focuses on hybrid systems that collect the more significant advantages of a DIY approach but the usefulness of a mobile chipset's graphics capability and power efficiencies. Maxsun sub-brand Meterstone discloses the strategy of its newest Intel 12th Gen Core-based desktop motherboard Twitter leaker HXL (@9550pro) tweeted yesterday of a new motherboard design from company Meterstone and provided a picture. The Meterstone H45 system showcases an Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake processor with two available desktop DIMM memory sections and a complete PCIe Gen4 x16 slot available for graphics processors. "HXL" took this information from the forums on the website Chiphell. While the company and the leading Maxsun brand have not mentioned the exact processor used on the new motherboards, we can tell that it is probably the Alder Lake-P series 14-core chips (which also has an iGPU with 96 EUs). We can see two visual evidence for this. 1) The iGPU is clearly visible in the picture and 2) the lack of a chipset (Alder Lake mobility CPUs have a chipset on the package). The thread on the website Chiphell specifies that the motherboard will be equipped with the Intel Core i5-12500H chip that offers twelve cores and fourteen threads. Maxsun released its first motherboard model in 2007 and entered the motherboard market. After years of rapid development, Maxsum motherboard won the recognition from users and media with its excellent design and cost-effective advantage. — Maxsun website Meterstone Alder Lake motherboards are unique in that the boards do not have a separate chipset like the other desktop Intel 600 series motherboards on the market. The Alder Lake-P series offers an integrated chipset that will not demand individual chips or thermal radiators to maintain the temperatures. However, the CPU cooling device may be a copper block supplied by MaxSun, similar to previous versions of the company's motherboards Maxsun has created hybrid motherboards previously. In November of 2021, the company revealed designs for the Tiger Lake series motherboards that would offer the Intel Core i7-11800H or Core i5-11260H processor chips. Maxsun's motherboard plans were the first in desktop computers that could be compatible with PCIe Gen4 graphics, predating the Intel Rocket Lake series.

Grand Theft Auto V launched on next-gen consoles last month, but those looking to pick up a boxed version of the game for Xbox Series X/S or PS5 were out of luck – for now, the game is only available as a digital download. Well, it seems that’s soon about to change. According to Rockstar’s official website, physical versions of GTA V for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S go on sale later this month, with pre-orders being available now. That said, you may want to hold back for now – the boxed next-gen version of GTA V is being sold for the full $40, while it’s only $20 on the Microsoft Store and a mere $10 on the PlayStation Store (the latter deal is only available to those browsing the store via their PS5). So yeah, if you really want a boxed version of GTA V for PS5 or XSX, perhaps wait a while, as it will likely also be discounted before too soon. The next-gen console version of GTA V has been met with somewhat mixed reviews. While the visual upgrade is solid, performance isn’t quite what it could be (particularly on Xbox). Here’s a rundown from a previous Wccftech article on the matter… The PS5 and Xbox Series X offer identical visual modes – Fidelity gives you native 4K, ray tracing, and 30fps, Performance offers native 1440p at 60fps, and RT Performance offers dynamic 1440p, ray tracing, and 60fps. Based on the analysis above, it seems PS5 holds pretty much rock solid in all modes, with only small 1 or 2 frame dips in Performance mode when things get crazy. Meanwhile, the Xbox Series X really seems to struggle in RT Performance mode, dropping all the way down to the 30 to 40fps range, and Performance mode dips to the low 50s. Things are even worse on Xbox Series S, which offers only two modes – Fidelity (1440p at 30fps) and Performance (1080p at 60fps). Fidelity mode does not consistently hold 30fps, dropping into the mid-20s, and Performance seems to hover pretty consistently in the 40fps range once things heat up. Grand Theft Auto V is available now on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5. You’ll be able to buy a physical copy of the game on PS5 and XSX on April 12. https://wccftech.com/grand-theft-auto-v-ps5-xbox-series-x-physical-release-date/

Moto G22 is tipped to launch in India next week, as the latest affordable smartphone from Motorola. The smartphone made its debut in Europe last month, and is equipped with a MediaTek Helio G37 SoC, paired with a 4GB of RAM. It sports a 6.5-inch LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate. The handset is equipped with a 50-megapixel quad rear camera setup and packs a 5,000mAh battery. Motorola is yet to officially announce any information regarding the launch schedule or specifications of the Moto G22 in India. According to a report by 91Mobiles citing unnamed sources, the Moto G22 will debut in India between April 4 and April 8. The handset was silently launched by Motorola in Europe on March 3, priced at EUR 169.99 (roughly Rs. 14,300) for the sole 4GB + 64GB storage model. It is available in Cosmic Black, Iceberg Blue, and Pearl White colour options.While announcing the launch of the Moto G22 in European markets, the company had revealed that the handset would be available in India, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East in "the coming weeks". Moto G22 specifications (expected) The Moro G22 that was launched in Europe last month is a dual-SIM (Nano) smartphone that runs Motorola's Android 12-based MyUX skin. The handset sports a 6.5-inch HD+ (720x1,600 pixels) MaxVision LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate. It is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G37 SoC with a PowerVR GE8320 GPU, along with 4GB of RAM.On the camera front, the Moto G22 is equipped with a quad rear camera setup, comprising a 50-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture lens, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera with an f/2.2 aperture lens, a two 2-megapixel depth and macro sensors with f/2.4 aperture lenses. The smartphone sports a 16-megapixel selfie camera with an f/2.4 aperture lens. The Moto G22 offers 64GB of inbuilt storage that can be expanded via (up to 1TB) via a microSD card slot. Connectivity options on the smartphone include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5, NFC, GPS/ A-GPS, USB Type-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The handset features a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, an e-compass, and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. The Moto G22 packs a 5,000mAh battery with support for 15W charging.