Hardware News

ASUS has officially launched the ROG GR70, a compact gaming mini PC that packs high-end hardware into a chassis measuring under 3 liters in volume. First unveiled at CES 2026, the system is aimed at gamers and creators who want desktop-class performance without sacrificing desk space. Unlike many gaming mini PCs that rely on Intel processors, the ROG GR70 is built around AMD Ryzen hardware. At the top of the lineup sits the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D, a 16-core processor equipped...

New EU regulations are set to bring a major change to portable electronics, and Nintendo is already preparing for the transition. From February 2027, new rules will require portable devices sold in EU countries to feature user-replaceable batteries, prompting Nintendo to revise parts of its hardware lineup. The biggest changes will affect the Nintendo Switch 2 and the original Switch family. According to Nintendo, updated versions of the Switch 2 console and its accessories will begin rolling out this summer,...

Anyone who owned an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 probably remembers the dreaded Red Ring of Death (RROD) and Yellow Light of Death (YLOD), the infamous hardware failures that became synonymous with those consoles. While modern systems still have their own error indicators, few have reached the same level of notoriety. Valve's new Steam Machine might not be headed down that road, but one early adopter has already encountered a rather ominous-looking error. Over on the /r/SteamMachine subreddit,...

Sony's recent decision to phase out physical PlayStation games has reignited the debate around the future of physical media. While Microsoft hasn't made a similar announcement for Xbox, a new report suggests it may already have a plan to soften the blow if discs eventually disappear. According to The Verge, Microsoft has been testing a Disc-to-Digital feature internally that would allow owners of physical Xbox games to convert them into digital licenses. The system is reportedly compatible with...

Sony has confirmed what many gamers feared was only a matter of time: new PlayStation games will no longer be released on disc starting in January 2028. While that date is still a couple of years away, it marks the beginning of the end for physical PlayStation media - and it's a milestone that won't sit well with collectors. The announcement came via a brief PlayStation Blog post from Sony Interactive Entertainment's Senior Director of Content Communications, Sid Shuman, who...

ASUS has officially unveiled one of its most extravagant graphics cards to date: the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Edition 20, a limited-edition model celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand. First shown at Computex 2026, the card builds on the flagship ROG Astral RTX 5090 while adding exclusive styling, premium materials, and several collector-focused features. Powered by NVIDIA's Blackwell-based GeForce RTX 5090, the card packs 21,760 CUDA cores, 32GB of 28 Gbps GDDR7...

Hype surrounding Valve's Steam Machine inspired plenty of creative ideas, but one of the most eye-catching accessories has now been canceled before it ever reached customers. Accessory maker dbrand spent seven months developing a replacement shell that transformed Valve's compact gaming system into Portal's iconic Companion Cube, only for Valve to shut the project down over intellectual property concerns. Following the Steam Machine's reveal, fans jokingly dubbed the console the "Gabecube." dbrand leaned into the joke by...

Following Valve's announcement of the  $1,049 / 1,039€ / £879 Steam Machine featuring semi-custom RDNA 3 graphics, many wondered if a superior system could be built within the same compact dimensions. AMD engineer Jacob Terkelsen investigated this possibility, confirming that it is indeed achievable. A creator on Printables, known as 3DCatt, has designed a 3D-printable Steam Machine-inspired PC case that supports Mini-ITX motherboards and low-profile graphics cards, allowing enthusiasts to assemble their own compact gaming PC. AMD engineer...

Gaming continues to get more expensive, and Microsoft is the latest company to announce a major hardware price increase. Following Sony's PlayStation 5 price hikes earlier this year, Xbox consoles are now becoming significantly more expensive worldwide, with increases of up to $250 depending on the model. Microsoft confirmed that the new pricing will take effect on August 1, 2026, while also announcing that the 2TB Xbox Series X Galaxy Black Edition is being discontinued. The updated US pricing...

AMD has released version 2.3 of its FSR SDK, giving developers access to the latest iterations of its upscaling and ray-tracing technologies, including FSR Upscaling 4.1.1 and FSR Ray Regeneration 1.2. The updated SDK allows developers to integrate AMD’s newest FSR features directly into their games rather than relying on the company’s driver-level “FSR Upgrade” functionality. This should make implementation more seamless while enabling studios to take fuller advantage of AMD’s latest FSR Redstone technologies. One of the most notable...

Valve’s newly launched Steam Machine is an intriguing piece of hardware, but several factors may limit its impact on the gaming market. Chief among them is the ongoing memory shortage driven by the AI industry and expanding datacenter infrastructure, which has pushed DRAM and NAND prices significantly higher. As a result, Valve’s compact gaming system is more expensive than many expected and has also been affected from a performance standpoint. According to Digital Foundry, and in an interview with...

AMD has released a new Radeon driver update, bringing support for upcoming games while also expanding availability of its latest FSR 4.1 upscaling technology to an entire generation of graphics cards. The new AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.6.2 driver marks an important milestone in AMD’s plan to bring FSR 4.1 to older hardware. Support for Radeon RX 7000 series GPUs has arrived ahead of schedule, with AMD previously targeting a July rollout. Support for even older RX 6000 series...