Forget ray tracing. The biggest upgrade to the Xbox Series X will be storage
There's a lot of jargon floating around Microsoft's just-revealed Xbox Series X console. Sure, ray tracing is great, but it's not fun when load times seemingly last forever. The biggest feature packed into the upcoming console, in our opinion, is the solid-state drive. We explain why.
AMD’s insane 64-core Ryzen Threadripper 3990X processor to arrive in 2020
AMD confirmed that a third new Ryzen Threadripper chip will arrive in 2020. Called the Ryzen Threadripper 3990X, it will pack 64 cores and 128 threads. The company will provide additional information sometime next year. Meanwhile, the 3970X and 3960X chips are available now starting at $1,399.
Get paid in cryptocurrency for viewing ads in the new Brave browser
Brave Software officially launched Brave v1.0 on Wednesday. It’s based on Google’s Chromium browser and relies on Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) to generate revenue. Users can earn tokens by viewing ads and use those tokens to tip their favorite websites. 300,000 sites participate in the program.
Mass Effect skins breathe new life into Anthem — for a limited time
As part of BioWare’s annual Mass Effect celebration, N7 Day, the developer now offers four themed Javelin skins in Anthem, two of which BioWare pulls from Mass Effect 3. You’ll also find a new emote in the in-game store along with an Andromeda-themed wrap. You can grab these items for a limited time.
Gamers spent a staggering $9.18 billion in the third quarter of 2019
The video game industry is big business, and the latest report reveals that gamers spent $9.18 billion in the third quarter of 2019. That's up slightly compared to the same quarter in 2018. Digital sales were the biggest winners, along with gaming services and mobile games. Hardware sales declined.
Dell’s new monitor for content creators has a built-in colorimeter
Dell introduced the UltraSharp 27 4K PremierColor Monitor during the Adobe MAX 2019 convention. The company claims it’s the world’s first 27-inch 4K monitor with a built-in colorimeter paired with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. This CalMAN-ready display arrives in January 2020 at a starting price of $2,000.
This mechanical keyboard attaches directly to your MacBook or Surface
NuPhy kicks off a new crowdfunding campaign next month to produce the "world's first" mechanical keyboard designed specifically for MacBooks. It will sit above a MacBook's built-in keyboard and "click" into place using special grooves. It will be compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled devices.
Apple says developers shouldn’t need a separate Mac team, thanks to Catalyst
With the launch of MacOS 10.15 Catalina arrives a new tool called Mac Catalyst. It aims to bring MacOS and iOS closer together. allowing developers to easily port their apps from the iPad to MacOS devices. The initiative already sees Twitter's return along with apps from Rosetta Stone, Post-It, and more.
Google declares quantum supremacy in its latest research paper
Google published a research paper in the scientific journal Nature stating it achieved quantum supremacy. Google's CEO compares the breakthrough to the first flight, indicating that real applications taking advantage of quantum computing — like developing new drugs — won't happen for another 10 years.
Microsoft Stores can’t upgrade Surface Laptop 3 SSDs — for now
Technicians in Microsoft's brick-and-mortar stores say that, for now, they cannot upgrade the SSD inside Microsoft's new Surface Laptop 3. Technicians can, however, swap out the SSD with an identical storage capacity, or transfer the SSD to a new Surface Laptop 3 replacement if the original unit fails.
Intel’s Core i5 Comet Lake-S CPU spotted in SiSoftware database
An Intel Core i5 processor recently appeared in SiSoftware's SANDRA database. It's possibly a Comet Lake-S CPU packing six cores and 12 threads. It appeared on a motherboard using a chipset designed for Intel's Comet Lake-S desktop parts. The listing follows a Core i3 model from the same family.