Tom's Hardware

Kickstarter campaign claims its $39 AI-powered PlayStation 5 add-on reduces exhaust temps by up to 9 degrees C

A Kickstarter campaign is touting its PlayStation 5 cooling unit that purportedly resolves overheating and instances where the rear I/O can melt. The campaign was at $89,000 when we wrote this, with a stretch goal of up to $125,000. Pricing for the cooling element starts at $39. The add-on is dubbed the Arctic PS5 cooler… Read more

Nvidia, AMD, and Intel all invest in light-based communication networks powering next-gen chips — Ayar Labs gets $155 million in funding

(Image credit: Ayar Labs) Ayar Labs, a developer of optical interconnection technologies for chip-to-chip and machine-to-machine connectivity, has received $155 million in Series D funding from venture capitalists, AMD Ventures, Intel Capital, and Nvidia. The participation of industry giants highlights the importance of optical interconnects for next-generation AI and HPC machines. Ayar Labs plans to start commercializing… Read more

Fanless Ryzen 9 9950X seemingly outperforms the same liquid-cooled chip in Cinebench R23 — flagship Zen 5 CPU hit 95ºC at full load

Tony Yu (via HXL), Asus China’s general manager, created a “fanless” Ryzen 9 9950X PC featuring Asus components that seemingly performed better than the same chip operating with a liquid cooler. Yu benchmarked the system in Cinebench R23. Temperatures were also in check, running at up to 95 degrees Celsius. Yu recorded a Cinebench R23… Read more

AMD to release the Krackan at CES — CPU rivals Intel Lunar Lake in new benchmarks, Ryzen AI 7 350 takes on the Core Ultra 7 258V

AMD (per VideoCardz) is expected to reveal its budget Krackan Point and flagship Strix Halo offerings next month at CES 2025. In addition to a previous leak, at least in the CPU department, another Krackan Point APU has surfaced at Geekbench, competing against Intel’s Lunar Lake Core Ultra 7 258V. The leaked benchmark features a… Read more

The world’s smallest arcade machine fits in the palm of your hand — Arduino microcontroller powers tiny Pong arcade machine

CBC reports that a Canadian engineering student has built what is claimed to be the world’s smallest arcade machine. Victoria Korhonen, who studies electromechanical engineering at Fanshawe College in London, Ont., 3D-printed, assembled, and programmed a fully functional miniature Pong arcade cabinet to achieve the record. Korhonen’s arcade machine measures approximately 64mm tall, 26mm wide,… Read more

US targets China’s solar dominance with 50% tariffs on solar wafers and polysilicon — tungsten products will see a 25% increase

According to Bloomberg, The United States Trade Representative (USTR) will double tariffs on solar-grade polysilicon, wafers, and tungsten products imported from China to 50% starting January 1, 2025. The decision reportedly underscores efforts to counter China’s dominance in the solar supply chain and strengthen domestic manufacturing, which aligns with the Biden administration’s clean energy goals…. Read more

Microsoft Recall screenshots credit cards and Social Security numbers, even with the “sensitive information” filter enabled

(Image credit: Shutterstock (1025458759)) Microsoft’s Recall feature recently made its way back to Windows Insiders after having been pulled from test builds back in June, due to security and privacy concerns. The new version of Recall encrypts the screens it captures and, by default, it has a “Filter sensitive information,” setting enabled, which is supposed… Read more

Raspberry Pi Zero 2W transforms broken Sony PlayStation 4 controller into a retro games console

We’ve seen some all-in-one Raspberry Pi gaming rigs before but this one definitely takes the cake. Maker and developer ConsciousFish6170 has put a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W inside of a video game controller. Everything you need from the games to the emulation software is contained in one, handheld device. This setup makes it easier… Read more

Nvidia denies cutting GPU supplies to China — chipmaker fires back at ‘recent false rumors’ aired on social media

Nvidia has issued a statement denying that it has cut off graphics card supplies for the Chinese market. In a post on the official Nvidia China Weibo account, the graphics chip maker has characterized talk of cutting supplies to China as “false rumors” and reaffirmed its commitment to provide Chinese customers with its products and… Read more

Intel Arc B580 review: The new $249 GPU champion has arrived

Tom’s Hardware Verdict Intel offers a great overall value in the Arc B580, sporting 12GB with a price that undercuts the competition while offering generally superior performance. Drivers still have occasional quirks, but things have improved a lot since Alchemist. Pros + Excellent value proposition + 12GB in a budget/midrange GPU + Attractive design with… Read more

Chinese Hygon 16-core chip trades blows with AMD Threadripper 1950X in Geekbench — Chinese chipmaker continues to leverage AMD’s Zen 1 architecture

A new 16-core processor from Hygon—a fabless chip maker in China that uses AMD’s first-gen Zen IP—has popped up on Geekbench. It offers 60% better performance than a similar eight-core Hygon processor we covered in the past. The performance bump isn’t substantial when you consider the chip has twice the number of cores, but since… Read more

Synopsys announces Ultra Ethernet and UALink IP to power the next-generation of AI datacenters

(Image credit: Synopsys) Synopsys on Wednesday announced the availability of its silicon-proven Ultra Ethernet IP solution for next-generation AI clusters with up to one million nodes, plus a UALink IP solution for linking massive pods with up to 1,024 accelerators. The IPs can be used to develop next-generation Ultra Ethernet network controllers, network interface cards,… Read more

Huawei sticks to 7nm for latest processor as China’s chip advancements stall

Last year, Huawei and SMIC made quite a breakthrough with the 7nm-class HiSilicon Kirin 9000S processor which powers Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro smartphone. However, this year’s Mate 70 Pro handset and its system-on-chip demonstrate limited progress in semiconductor manufacturing in China, as the processor continues to use a 7nm-class process technology reports Bloomberg citing TechInsights…. Read more

Google’s Gemini 2.0 AI agents are being trained to offer gameplay advice and suggestions

(Image credit: Google) This week, Google is adding to its Gemini AI model with the introduction of Gemini 2.0. One of many new Gemini features highlighted in the 2.0 Update blog post points toward a potential future where Google’s AI assistant even helps you while you’re playing games. Project Gemini 2.0 agents have been tested… Read more

Supreme Court shuts down Nvidia appeal — cryptomining class action suit will proceed

(Image credit: Nvidia) The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal from Nvidia, rejecting its request to shut down a class-action lawsuit that began in 2018. The suit, based on cryptocurrency mining, involves accusations that the company misled its shareholders. The Supreme Court first heard arguments from Nvidia’s attorneys in November and issued a one-sentence… Read more