Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls has been highly anticipated for some time and that's partly because it's from Arc System Works, the company behind the likes of Guilty Gear, Blazblue, and Persona 4 Arena. Yet Steam users are disappointed in its opening few days. That's because despite many praising the game itself, it reportedly has a litany of tech issues.

The game currently sits at a 'Mixed' (56% negative) rating on Steam with almost 1,600 reviews, and it appears to have around 10,000 concurrent players on SteamDB at the time of writing. Considering it's a $60 game, that's a pretty sizable number of people.

One of the top-rated negative reviews right now complains that they're getting 45 fps on the game, where they get significantly more on Tekken and Street Fighter. This would be the perfect chance to use the fairly new system for adding PC specs into Steam reviews, but alas, the user leaves none. Still, good performance is necessary for fighting games that rely heavily on reading moves and responding as fast as possible. Another popular negative review says, "either the netcode or the poor performance makes the online play very bad, with rollback spikes."

A user on the r/games subreddit echoes this same frustration with performance, saying "The CPU utilisation in this game is straight up bonkers. It tapers off a little bit after the tutorial, but there is no reason why this shouldn't be able to run on lower-end rigs."

This is all after the devs vowed to fix performance issues for launch day, at the end of July.

With its anti-cheat system (Kernel Level Easy Anti-Cheat), one Steam review says the game is "aggressively hostile to Linux players for absolutely no reason". It notes that, even though previous Arc System Works games with Easy Anti-Cheat work on Linux (like Dragon Ball FighterZ), Fighting Souls simply refuses to play.

The final common critique is that Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls forces users to sign in with a PSN login. This same critique hit Helldivers 2 back in May, 2024, when Sony added the login requirement months after the game's launch. In fairness, part of the anger around the Helldivers 2 update was that players who already bought the game, played it, and could potentially struggle to refund it felt like they had been tricked into making or maintaining an account for a console they don't even use.

Still, early player figures seem fairly strong, getting two-thirds of the peak concurrent players of the Fighting Souls Open Beta. That peak concurrent figure places it just below Dragon Ball Fighter Z and Guilty Gear Strive for opening day, and the weekend could shift those figures too. SteamDB tell an incomplete picture, so take those figures with a grain of salt, but there are enough players complaining that Arc System Works is likely very aware of what the mixed rating is all about.

Here's hoping we see fixes in the coming weeks, as it seems like a solid game. We even said it "has the sauce" just a few weeks ago, so it would be a shame to see that sauce go rotten for reasons beyond its gameplay.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 is a fantastic 16-inch gaming laptop. There you go, review over, we can all go home. But wait, because it's got a serious flaw that should make you hold your fire before pressing the order button. And that flaw, as those familiar with the ongoing memory crisis may have already guessed, is the price.

Asus has sent me a 64 GB DDR5, RTX 5080-equipped machine for testing, and the same-specced model is currently listed for an astonishing $4,800. Cheaper models with more reasonable amounts of RAM are available—but even the 32 GB, 1 TB version is currently listed at Best Buy for $4,400.

I'm sorry, but that's simply too much to pay for an RTX 5080 gaming laptop. Even one as lovely as this. Particularly as the phenomenal Razer Blade 16 (2026) in RTX 5080 trim is $400 cheaper, with the same Intel Panther Lake-based chip.

If you can find the new G16 for the same money as the Razer Blade 16 during the sales, the choice becomes a lot more difficult. The Asus machine is a worthy competitor, what with its excellent chassis design, stunning 240 Hz OLED display, and superb portability. It's a gaming laptop I've enjoyed testing, particularly as it's capable of knocking the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ for six in certain gaming benchmarks.

Better still, it's got excellent battery life. This is a machine I would happily take on the road with me, gaming in bliss as I go. But when it's this expensive, I can't give it the wholehearted recommendation my heart desires.

Money matters, and when the G16 is listed for such teeth-chattering prices, I have to dock some precious points off the score.

The memory crisis has affected gaming laptops particularly badly in recent months—and by the looks of things, it's not going to get better any time soon. My hope for the G16 is that the sales periods will bring it down to more reasonable figures, in which case you'll find me shouting its virtues from the nearest rooftop. But as things currently stand? It's simply too pricey to gain a top spot.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) features

The new Zephyrus G16 looks much the same as the old model, but under the hood it's had some significant tweaks. The largest of which is the addition of a Panther Lake-based Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor, the same as you'll find in the new Razer Blade 16.

It's a 16-core chip, breaking down into four Performance cores, eight Efficient, and four Low Power Efficient beasties. As with the new Blade, that core loadout might seem a little underpowered at first, but the Core Ultra 9 386H makes a compelling case for itself as a powerful gaming CPU tucked inside a slim laptop frame.

My particular review sample comes with a ludicrous 64 GB of LPDDR5X-8533, paired with a… 1 TB SSD. I'm not sure who'd spec out a G16 this way, as I'd much rather have half the RAM and double the storage space, which is more traditional for a high-powered gaming lappy. Still, that's what Asus sent me, so that's what I'll be testing.

The 2026 G16 comes in many flavours, with up to an RTX 5090 crammed within its aluminium chassis. This one's got an RTX 5080 mobile, with a raised TGP of 135 W compared to the older model's 120 W limit. It can be pushed all the way up to 160 W in Manual mode within the Asus Armory Crate software—but I've mostly tested it at 135 W in Turbo mode, as your average user isn't likely to dive too far into the manual settings.

That being said, on paper, it's an impressive max power limit for such a slim and sleek machine.

Asus has made a few tweaks to the keyboard, too. The deck has been reinforced to prevent flex, and the keycaps now have an anti-fingerprint coating, which feels rather grippy underneath my fingertips.

The hinge also uses two torsion springs to make it easier to lift, which is a nice touch. It's full of little bits of refinement, sprinkled on top of what was already an excellent design.

The 240 Hz OLED panel has also received some attention, as it now features a peak brightness rating of 1100 nits and VESA TrueBlack 1000 HDR certification. It's a sumptuous 1600p display, and a rival to the Blade 16's similarly-specced screen.

Overall, the G16 looks and feels near-identical to the old model when you pass it around in your hands. It's still got a large slash of tasteful LED lights on the lid, it's still one of the best-looking (and feeling) super-portable 16-inch gaming laptops you can buy, and this new version has received some tasty hardware upgrades. A strong start, I would say.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 performance

At 1080p, the new G16 puts on a good showing against the other RTX 5080-equipped, slim-as-you-like gaming machines in my charts—although the much chonkier Legion Pro 7i looms menacingly at the bottom.

Still, the fresh-faced Asus lappy is often significantly faster than the old model. This becomes obvious in our CPU-heavy Baldur's Gate 3 test, where the new Panther Lake chip beats the older Core Ultra 9 285 H quite handily.

1080p gaming performance

This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1080p resolution

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra)Baldur's Gate 3 (1080p Ultra)Black Myth: Wukong (1080p High)F1 24 (1080p Ultra High)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

52

39

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

50

44

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

55

32

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

66

44

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

68

38

020406080

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	52 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	50 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	55 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	66 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	68 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

78

43

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

69

41

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

68

39

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

83

41

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

96

55

0255075100

Baldur's Gate 3 (1080p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	78 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	69 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	68 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	83 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	96 Avg FPS, 55 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

102

83

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

88

64

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

73

47

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

110

84

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

99

84

037.575112.5150

Black Myth: Wukong (1080p High) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	102 Avg FPS, 83 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	88 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	73 Avg FPS, 47 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	110 Avg FPS, 84 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	99 Avg FPS, 84 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

101

76

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

93

60

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

100

50

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

120

92

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

126

51

037.575112.5150

F1 24 (1080p Ultra High) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	101 Avg FPS, 76 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	93 Avg FPS, 60 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	100 Avg FPS, 50 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	120 Avg FPS, 92 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	126 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

102

53

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

94

50

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

102

42

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

126

64

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

140

72

037.575112.5150

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	102 Avg FPS, 53 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	94 Avg FPS, 50 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	102 Avg FPS, 42 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	126 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	140 Avg FPS, 72 1% Low FPS

The 2026 version of the G16 handily beats its predecessor in every benchmark at 1080p, and often beats the similarly-specced MSI Stealth 16 AI+ to boot. The much-chonkier Lenovo, however, wins the day overall.

It also scorches ahead in Black Myth Wukong, beating the new, similarly-specced MSI Stealth 16 AI+ by a massive 29 frames. In fact, it's only eight frames behind the new RTX 5090-equipped Razer Blade 16. Admittedly, the G16 still gets mopped up by the Razer in many of my other benches, but still. Small wins for the 135 W RTX 5080 mobile, and all that.

1600p gaming performance

This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra)Baldur's Gate 3 (Native res. Ultra)Black Myth: Wukong (Native res. High)F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (Native res. Ultra)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

31

24

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

28

21

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

34

22

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

39

30

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

40

28

010203040

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	31 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	28 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	34 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	39 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	40 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

80

46

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

66

36

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

67

39

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

81

45

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

96

42

0255075100

Baldur's Gate 3 (Native res. Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	80 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	66 Avg FPS, 36 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	67 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	81 Avg FPS, 45 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	96 Avg FPS, 42 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

75

66

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

76

55

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

57

49

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

76

48

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

111

80

037.575112.5150

Black Myth: Wukong (Native res. High) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	75 Avg FPS, 66 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	76 Avg FPS, 55 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	57 Avg FPS, 49 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	76 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	111 Avg FPS, 80 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

63

53

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

57

44

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

62

43

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

78

67

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

77

55

020406080

F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	63 Avg FPS, 53 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	57 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	62 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	78 Avg FPS, 67 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	77 Avg FPS, 55 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

68

46

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

68

41

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

74

48

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

95

56

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

96

65

0255075100

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (Native res. Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	68 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	68 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	74 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	95 Avg FPS, 56 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	96 Avg FPS, 65 1% Low FPS

At 1600p, the 2025 G16 catches back up to its younger sibling in several of my tests. We're now out of CPU limited territory and into a zone where the GPUs can more freely compete, and as a result the mere 15 W difference between the two Asus machines means they track fairly closely. Apart from BG3, of course, which still takes all the CPU grunt you can throw at it.

The MSI Stealth, however, finds a sudden burst of speed in the Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition benchmark, jumping ahead of both G16s by a full six frames in the averages. It's still way off the pace in Black Myth, though, albeit slightly ahead in Cyberpunk 2077.

And yes, it's time to talk about those two beasts lurking at the bottom. Our Razer Blade 16 sample might be an RTX 5090-equipped monster, but it's worth mentioning that it's available for the same cash as this particular spec at the time of writing. It's got the G16 firmly licked in three of my benchmarks, although pulls roughly level in the averages in BG3 and Black Myth.

And then there's the rocketship that is the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10. It's not a slim model, and it's got pretty awful battery life, as we'll see in the charts later. But I've thrown it in as an example of what a much less portable, full-fat gaming laptop can do when pushed to the limit. Dare I point out it's significantly cheaper, too? Food for thought.

Real-world gaming performance

This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution with Quality upscaling enabled, and frame gen. where applicable

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + Quality upscaling, 2x FG)Black Myth: Wukong (Native res. High + Quality upscaling)F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High + Quality upscaling, 2x FG)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

95

79

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

85

48

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

97

53

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

112

75

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

124

83

037.575112.5150

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + Quality upscaling, 2x FG) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	95 Avg FPS, 79 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	85 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	97 Avg FPS, 53 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	112 Avg FPS, 75 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	124 Avg FPS, 83 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

84

72

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

76

55

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

87

74

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

98

59

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

111

80

037.575112.5150

Black Myth: Wukong (Native res. High + Quality upscaling) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	84 Avg FPS, 72 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	76 Avg FPS, 55 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	87 Avg FPS, 74 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	98 Avg FPS, 59 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	111 Avg FPS, 80 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

144

125

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

130

66

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

147

56

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

185

103

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

184

91

050100150200

F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High + Quality upscaling, 2x FG) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	144 Avg FPS, 125 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	130 Avg FPS, 66 1% Low FPS
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	147 Avg FPS, 56 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	185 Avg FPS, 103 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	184 Avg FPS, 91 1% Low FPS

Interestingly, with upscaling enabled, the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ inches ahead of the new G16 by a few frames on average. It's still miles off the pace of the Razer and Lenovo machines, though.

Turn on the upscaling (and frame gen, in certain benches) and something rather interesting happens. The MSI Stealth 16 AI+, a lappy that's performed rather inconsistently across our gaming tests up until now, suddenly comes out on top versus the other lightweight RTX 5080 machines—at least when it comes to average frame rate.

It's not by a whole lot when compared to the new G16, and the MSI's 1% lows are often all over the place, but still. Not too shabby. And yes, the Blade 16 and the Lenovo rule the charts once more.

The Razer lappy stomps ahead by 15 frames on average in Cyberpunk, but the Lenovo goes another 12 frames further than that. It's a shame it's harder to shove one in your shoulder bag, isn't it?

Overall, it's a fairly impressive set of gaming results for the new G16. However, the price of this particular model keeps ringing in my ears. Yes, it's got 64 GB of RAM, and yes, the 32 GB version is $400 cheaper. But squaring these prices relative to the performance? It's a lot of cash for these sorts of frame rates, even if the portability factor is off the charts.

CPU performance

CPU performance figures taken from the Cinebench R24 single-core and multi-core benchmarks

Cinebench 2024

Multi-core index score

Single-core index score

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

1215

124

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

1171

125

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

1221

124

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

1200

124

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

2039

138

07501,5002,2503,000

Cinebench 2024 Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	1215 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	1171 Multi-core index score, 125 Single-core index score
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	1221 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	1200 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	2039 Multi-core index score, 138 Single-core index score

The 2026 Asus G16, MSI Stealth 16 AI+, and the Razer Blade 16 all have the same CPU, and it's pleasing to see how closely they track with each other. The mighty 24-core chip in the Lenovo, however, flexes its muscles once more.

Hey, look at all those near-as-makes-no-difference Cinebench figures. All the Core Ultra 386H chips perform almost identically here, although the elder Core Ultra 9 285H in last year's G16 creeps ahead by a single point in the single-core scores, and drops slightly behind in the multi-core index figures.

Cinebench R24 can be a little twitchy, so I reckon if I ran all our Panther Lake machines through these benchmarks hundreds of times, you'd see them trade places by small amounts. One thing I would bet on, though, is that the 24-core Arrow Lake chip found in the Legion Pro 7i would beat them all no matter what.

Again, what we're seeing here is the difference between a chonky gaming laptop, and an ultra-portable machine. Larger chassis designs mean better airflow, and that means more thermal capacity for fire-breathing, ultra-fast components.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 thermals

One of my major issues with the 2025 version of the Asus G16 is the fan noise. That might sound slightly odd, as all gaming laptops can make a racket when pushed to their limits; however, the old G16 liked to spin up its fans at a moment's notice. Then spin them down again. Then back up. Then… you get the idea.

There was also a high-pitched, whiney note that sang out over the top of all the whooshing air, which proved rather irritating over a full working day. Thankfully, the 2026 G16 has no such issues, which makes it much more civilised to live with. It still sounds like a hairdryer in Turbo mode, but again, pretty much all gaming laptops do.

Real-world gaming temperatures

Gaming temperature results recorded during multiple Metro Exodus EE runs

Gaming temperatures

Avg CPU (°C)

Max CPU (°C)

Avg GPU (°C)

Max GPU (°C)

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

72

98

69

77

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

74

81

68

72

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

92

100

81

87

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

82

98

62

77

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

94

105

74

79

037.575112.5150

Gaming temperatures Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	72 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 69 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	74 Avg CPU (°C), 81 Max CPU (°C), 68 Avg GPU (°C), 72 Max GPU (°C)
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	92 Avg CPU (°C), 100 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 87 Max GPU (°C)
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	82 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 62 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	94 Avg CPU (°C), 105 Max CPU (°C), 74 Avg GPU (°C), 79 Max GPU (°C)

The new G16 is great at keeping its GPU cool, although the Panther Lake CPUs in each of our Core Ultra 9 386H machines like to run hot. The big Arrow Lake chip in the Lenovo is the toastiest of them all, though.

Not only is the G16 much quieter during day-to-day usage, but it's pretty good at keeping its GPU cool during gaming. The Core Ultra 9 386H, however, likes to run fairly hot when given the opportunity, as you can see across all our Panther Lake-chipped laptops.

You can also start to see where the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i gets its extra performance from. Its CPU is beefier, and occasionally jumps well over the 100 degree mark—while its 175 W RTX 5080 also likes to suck down power and turn it into heat, as well as frames.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 battery life

The new G16 manages an impressive 117 minute gaming battery life figure, sending it to the top of my chart. It's only five minutes more than the older model, but I'd still say that's a pretty good win. It's also relatively light on the battery during a regular working day, which means I haven't felt the need to lug the charger around as often as I would with other gaming laptops.

Gaming battery life

Results recorded in the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test, with screen brightness set to 50% and Wi-Fi disabled

PCMark 10 gaming battery life test (minutes)

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

117

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H

112

MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

104

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

102

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX

73

037.575112.5150

PCMark 10 gaming battery life test (minutes) Data

Product	Value
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	117
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H	112
MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	104
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	102
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX	73

The G16 reigns supreme in the gaming battery life stakes, and it's clear to see the portable advantage of our slim and light laptops over the much chonkier, slightly old-school Lenovo.

That 117 minute result equates to 13 minutes more than the MSI Stealth 16 AI+, 15 minutes more than the Razer, and a massive 44 minutes longer than the Lenovo.

Again I'm reminded of why you might want to sacrifice gaming performance for portability, beyond the convenience of shoving a slimmer machine in your bag. The Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 may be a lot quicker, but it's got a lot of disadvantages over the Asus G16, too.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 aesthetics

The aluminium G16 has always been one of my favourite laptop designs, and little has changed with the 2026 model. This version's silver-y frame (Eclipse Gray, if you ask Asus) is tastefully neutral to behold, looking more like an executive business laptop than a gaming machine.

Which means it'll look as good in the boardroom as it does on your desk. Many modern gaming laptops overplay their hand when it comes to the gamer aesthetic, which can leave you feeling like a bit of a plum when you want to answer some emails in an airport departure lounge.

No such worries here. The only hint that the G16 might be a gaming model comes in the form of the font on the keyboard, which still looks like it'd be better suited to a Star Citizen control panel than an all-business laptop design. I doubt anyone will really notice, though.

All this being said, if I had to pick the best looking laptop of the current crop (and the one with the better keyboard, thanks to its longer, more positive switch travel) it'd be the Razer Blade 16.

The Asus is a very pretty gaming laptop, but the Blade 16 is just plain purposeful. Moody, even. And as a tempestuous so-and-so myself, I like that. Plus, the Razer's trackpad is a little nicer to use, even if the G16's is also rather good.

The G16's 240 Hz ROG Nebula OLED panel, though, is a genuine competitor with the Blade's similarly-specced model. It's lush, vibrant, and delivers pretty much everything you could want out of a gaming laptop display. Sitting the two side by side, it's quite difficult to tell which has the better screen of the two.

Perhaps the Blade, if I was really pushed. Still, the G16 has nothing to be ashamed of in the display department.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 software

The Asus Armoury Crate software package isn't the most straightforward of affairs, I have to admit. Still, the switching options between power modes are easy to find, and a click on an image depicting the laptop itself (which isn't as obvious as it sounds) leads to plenty of extra options for customising the lighting, process handling, keybinds, and more.

The home page shows real time info for the CPU, GPU, and memory, along with readouts for the fan speeds. There's also a "Playground" menu in the sidebar that allows you to sync the lighting between various Asus products, adjust wallpapers, and all that sort of jazz.

If I had a major critique of the software (and Armoury Crate is far from alone in this regard), it's that it feels very… bitty. All the info and customisation options you can think of are in here. Somewhere. If you look hard enough.

A straightforward selection of menus, rather than a host of buttons, toggles, and sliders scattered all over the shop, would make the whole thing gel together a little more seamlessly.

There's also a greyed-out "Manual" power option, which is adjusted via a separate menu. Here you can tweak the CPU and GPU clock speeds, along with the option to boost the TGP of the latter all the way up to a 160 W top limit. The Asus reviewer's guide recommends you do this with the fan speeds pegged at 100%— which, as you might expect, is very loud.

Armoury Crate also provides you with a warning screen as you confirm the settings, absolving Asus from any responsibility if things go wrong. Which is enough to make you cross your fingers when you're testing the limits of a $4,800 gaming laptop, let me tell you.

We don't normally test overclocked gaming laptops beyond the Turbo or standard Maximum presets, but I put in my earplugs and ran the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark regardless.

At top wattage settings (and at 1600p with DLSS Quality and 2x frame gen. enabled) this resulted in a 99 fps average, with 83 fps 1% lows. Essentially, a four fps gain in terms of average frames over the 135 W Turbo mode.

I also recorded an 84 degree peak from the GPU during the benchmark, which seems a little on the hot side to me. The marginal gains, plus the very loud fans and toastier peak GPU temps, don't endear me to the whole idea of messing with the GPU wattage in a machine this slim. It's a nice option to have, but I'd stick to the presets if I were you.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 value

And so we reach a crucial point. The concept of "value" and the term "gaming laptop" are two very difficult things to square in 2026, and the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 is a prime example of why. It's a lovely machine, and one I wish I didn't have to mark down over such trifling concerns as, y'know, money.

But the facts are simple. My review sample is $4,800, and that's far too much to pay for an RTX 5080 lappy. Even if it does come with 64 GB of RAM, for reasons that still elude me.

Luckily, the 32 GB version is a fair bit cheaper. I've found one for $4,400 at Best Buy, although it's still got a somewhat-miserly 1 TB SSD. For this sort of cash, I'd definitely be wanting more room for my games—and I'd want it included as part of the package, rather than having to make a pricey component upgrade for myself.

Here's another issue. The Razer Blade 16 2026, a laptop that, in my estimation, is even more desirable than the G16, is available in a RTX 5080 + 1 TB SSD config for $4,000. That's a $400 saving over the equivalent G16, and far from chump change. Plus it's got the same Intel chip, another excellent OLED panel, and a chassis, keyboard, and trackpad design that's got the G16 2026 beat. Even if it's just by a nose.

In previous years, both the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and the smaller, 14-inch G14 have been recurring entries on our gaming laptop deals page. I know, because I'm the one that updates it. Often, RTX 5070 and RTX 5080 variants have dropped down well below the $2,000 mark, and that's made them fantastic value for what you end up receiving.

This time around, though, I've got a feeling it might be different. The memory crisis continues to rip its way through the gaming laptop market, and I don't think we're likely to see such heavy price reductions on these new 2026 models.

Unless they stop selling entirely, or you're prepared to wait for the Black Friday sales. It's a hard thing to judge, but I don't think I've got that small crumb of comfort to lean on—at least not in the same way I might have done previously.

All of which is to say, I think the G16 is a fantastic high-end gaming device, with a gorgeous OLED display and plenty to recommend it for. But it's hugely over-priced as things stand, and that's a fatal flaw hanging over the head of what is otherwise a highly-recommendable gaming laptop.

If you can find one with a healthy discount? Go for it. At full price, though? I'd urge you to check out the Razer lineup instead. Your money goes further, and the machine you'll end up with… well, it simply has the edge.

If you spend your time editing videos, you may have already invested in a macropad. Or, you're probably used to the monotony of spamming shortcuts on your keyboard to swap between different tools. This can be a pain on the wrist because of the angle you hover over a keyboard, but there's now a new way around it—the humble Nintendo Wii Nunchuk.

As spotted by Hackaday, John Dingley, of YouTube account John's Projects, posted their latest creation last week. In essence, they've hooked a Wii Nunchuk up to their PC using the Anavi Handle to use it like a macropad.

The Anavi Handle is an open-source USB adapter for connecting the Nunchuk controller to a computer. The adapter uses the Seeed Studio Xiao RP2040, which, at just a couple of dollars, makes the entire setup surprisingly cheap.

You might be wondering why they used the Nunchuk, and it's not just to be a little geeky. The Wii Nunchuk is comfortable and light, as it was designed for a family-friendly console. And most importantly, you can hold it upright.

For a video editor who is likely spending hours at their desk at a time, the hope is that it won't cause pain in their wrist from holding it on the desk all day. John claims it is "super comfortable" and that it is "one of the most ergonomic things ever made".

Their current shortcut controls are:

• Lower end pushbutton = Split clip
• Upper end pushbutton = Not assigned yet (i.e. spare)
• Joystick-LEFT = Ripple Delete
• Joystick-RIGHT = UNDO (the previous action)

The Nunchuck plugged into the Anavi Handle won't work as a macropad immediately. It does require some coding, but Dingley has gone over that process in his video, too.

The use of the Nunchuck specifically came about because Dingley realised they didn't actually use all the buttons on their standard macropad. They still have a keyboard on hand for typing text, but the Nunchuck means they can put the macropad away.

Admittedly, this use case is a little niche. The reason one might opt for professional equipment like the DaVinci Speed Editor is partly due to the breadth of buttons available. The Nunchuk has a limited number of functions, so it will only really be useful to someone who only finds themselves needing a handful of functions for each edit.

But still, if you just want to cut clips, undo mistakes, and swap between a few tools quickly, it seems like a smart way of doing so, and it looks pretty neat at the same time. I'm sold.

ChatTJB, according to its Crunchbase profile, is a service that "provides a personal conversational response where an individual directly receives, processes, and writes answers to user inquiries". That's technically true, but not in the way you think… because it's just sorta some guy.

Futurism got to sit down with Tucker Bryant, the man behind ChatTJB, and as you might be able to expect, he admits, "I tend to overcommit to bits."

If you're wondering how far he's willing to commit to the bit, Bryant rented out a billboard for $6,000, which says ChatTJB is the "leading chat interface powered by AI". AI in this case stands for 'Average individual".

He has reportedly been personally writing responses to users over 1000 times a day since starting the project, answering questions on what to eat for dinner, what colour to paint their homes, and he has even given relationship advice.

As Futurism notes, "Like a chatbot, he can also generate images upon request— in the form of graphics that he hastily sketches, of course."

Bryant is a Stanford graduate and a former Google employee who claims the idea came off the back of his partner telling him about "cognitive surrender". Effectively, it's argued that those who use AI chatbots are likely to blindly trust the information given to them, even when the information is incorrect.

Bryant says, "We often, or increasingly, trust LLM outputs so easily that we stop bringing our own creativity or critical thinking into the responses we receive, and over time that weakens our ability to be fully-functioning, sovereign human beings in the world."

Though Bryant was expecting some trolls and acknowledges ChatTJB is a bit of a troll itself, he says it has been "really sweet" to chat with real people and even noticed some users asking more serious questions. One user reportedly said, "I’m on the first night of my honeymoon and I don’t feel relaxed, is that okay?" and Bryant "switched out of super-casual-mode into supportive-friend-mode.”

Though that does raise some concerns. If users are talking to ChatTJB and are under the impression they are talking to an AI anonymously, they could reveal personal information in the process to another human being. That could become more of a concern as ChatTJB has seen interest from users online who want to become the bot on ChatTJB.

However, Bryant is taking it slowly and figuring out how to get volunteers involved. "This was just intended to be an art project. I think it’s beautiful that people want to do something less ridiculous with it than what I had planned."

He continues, "I also don’t want people to get hurt, so I’d rather people wait a long time for their prompts than open the floodgates to anyone and everyone. So, a long preamble to saying: I’m starting to let some approved volunteers try answering questions while testing out some moderation tools."

Bryant argues that ChatTJB is a satire of AI and the culture surrounding AI advertising. “That’s the highbrow answer. But the lowbrow answer is just as authentic, which is that I also thought it would be funny."

Bryant is not explicitly anti-AI, though. He says on his Instagram, "AI can do some really cool things, but sometimes all you really need is to talk with an average individual."

If one thing is true about AI, it's that there's a lot of money in it. Nvidia became the first $5 trillion company because of its role in the explosion of AI data centers, and OpenAI has been rounding up tens of billions in investments. So you'd think AI companies could buy pretty much whatever they want—but one farming family in Northern Kentucky showed that's not the case by turning down a $26 million bid.

As reported by WKRC-TV Local 12, Ida Huddleston was offered the sum for half of her 1,200-acre farmland this year, which an unnamed company would turn into an AI data center. Huddleston's daughter, Delsia Bare, reportedly said she would "stay and hold and feed a nation" and that "$26 million doesn't mean anything."

AI data centers have become an ethical and ideological battleground, with Elon Musk's SpaceXAI only this week agreeing to take down 69 temporary methane turbines in Memphis over the next year in reaction to resident concerns over local disruption.

In this case, Bare claims there's history to the site that the data center company would be ignoring. She told Local 12, “My grandfather and great-grandfather and a whole bunch of family have all lived here for years, paid taxes on it, fed a nation off of it." She continues, “[They] even raised wheat through the Depression and kept bread lines up in the United States of America when people didn’t have anything else.”

Bare claims to be among "dozens of landowners" approached by the anonymous buyer, who reportedly represents a major AI company. Notably, Local 12 claims that the land where Bare lives is worth around $6,000 per acre, which makes the offer around ten times the actual value.

Huddleston tells Local 12, “They call us old stupid farmers, you know, but we’re not. We know whenever our food is disappearing, our lands are disappearing, and we don’t have any water—and that poison. Well, we know we’ve had it.”

Huddleston is also sceptical of claims of economic growth as a result of the AI data center. “I say they’re a liar, and the truth isn’t in them. That’s what I say. It’s a scam.”

Data center pushback has been a common theme of the growth of AI, with concerns of both an environmental and ethical nature being front and centre. And AI companies have a lot of money to throw around.

Even if you own a lot of land, $26 million must be a life-changing amount of money to anyone but the richest of the rich; it would even be enough to buy some of the RAM that AI data centers have been gleefully sucking up over the last few years. Just a thought.

Keeping on top of chipset driver updates is a boring, but necessary part of maintaining a modern PC. Unfortunately, both myself and fellow hardware nerd Jacob Fox have run into an issue with the AMD Install Manager, which attempts to install the latest chipset driver and fails miserably on both our machines.

Very unhelpfully, the failed installer points to a general error page, which blitheringly suggests a whole host of vague, unrelated PC update conflicts might be to blame. I even reinstalled the entire AMD Adrenaline driver package in the hopes of an easy fix, to no avail.

However, you'll be pleased to know that a manual chipset update package exists, as spotted by Reddit user Life_Recognition_963. Simply download the individual installer at the bottom of the 8.07.16.1035 release notes page, run and reboot, and voila, the tyranny of trying to keep your machine up to date is kept at bay once again.

It seems like the AMD Install Manager might be pointing at the wrong link, or providing a package that fails to install on a large number of machines. The accompanying Reddit thread is full of users complaining about the same issue, so the problem seems fairly widespread.

For what its worth, I'm running an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X on an ageing Gigabyte X670 mobo, while our Dr Fox is using a Ryzen 7 7800X3D with an Asus B650EM Max Gaming board. Looking at the reports, though, the issue seems to be chip and motherboard agnostic.

All's well that ends well I guess, but keeping your chipset drivers (and all the other drivers on your machine) in tip-top condition is a good way of getting ahead of future issues. Unless the drivers themselves have problems, in which case stuff might break.

It can be a minefield, maintaining a gaming PC in 2026. Still, if only all fixes were as easy as downloading a separate installer package, ey?

When I was a writer for The Wirecutter more than a decade ago, we were obsessed with finding and recommending the singular best version of any specific product, because it felt like there was so much crap to wade through online. Today I wistfully long for the Amazon of 2013, before it came to be overrun by endless samey garbage from alphabet soup "brands" called things like HORUSDY and EHEYCIGA.

If you're really looking for the cheapest thing you can get, you'll find those same products without the dropshipping markup on Aliexpress; and if you want the "best" thing, even seemingly personal recommendations on sites like Reddit are fraught as companies astroturf the site hoping to game AI search. So when I find a bit of kit that I really like that falls somewhere in the middle and is simply good, I feel like it's my duty to evangelize it a little bit.

That's the case with the Ceptics Travel Adapter, which has accompanied me to China, Korea, the UK, and Brazil in the last few years. There are a gazillion power adapter options out there that'll get the job done, but this is the only one I've owned that I can say I really like for international travel, and that's because it's simple and flexible.

If you own a travel adapter, chances are it's enormous. Almost every model out there is some variation of an oversized chunker that crams three or four different plugs into a single body, with one, maybe two sockets for you to plug your stuff into. And then they're usually chock full of USB ports that put out a measly few watts if you plug in more than one device.

The main reason I don't like these things is how bulky they are. They can be hard to fit onto a cramped socket, and there's also a chance the all-in-one approach won't actually work for the country you're traveling to. Annoying!

The Ceptics model is svelte by comparison and its sockets can be swapped out with a hearty click, so you can buy and pack just the specific plugs you need for your trip. I love that it takes up less space both in my luggage and at the wall socket, and its sole USB-C port delivers 30 watts—enough to quickly top up my phone without even bothering to plug in a proper charger. (Ceptics sells another model that also has a USB-A port on the side, but both ports are unfortunately limited to lower wattage).

The Ceptics travel adapter and its bafflingly named "SWadAPt" interchangeable plugs feels like a nice screwdriver kit with interchangeable bits instead of a freaky Leatherman with every tool combined into one. It just feels good to know I have the exact right tool for the job with none of the cruft, you know?

Depending on what I'm shopping for these days, I tend to either go for the high-end option that's more expensive than I really want to pay because I know the quality is worth it, or I go the really cheap, Aliexpress import route. For the former, I recently bought Peak Design's Slide Lite cross-body camera strap and a Cuff wrist strap, which were pretty expensive. But they come with a great warranty, are based in San Francisco where I live, and have some really clever design touches, like a magnet that holds the Cuff in place like a bracelet when it's not attached to my camera.

There are knock-off versions of Peak Design's gear on Amazon that cost like a third the price, but the quality difference for the real deal felt like it was worth the money.

What didn't feel worth the money, when I was looking for a fun little keychain camera to take on vacation, was the Kodak Charmera, which costs $35 on Amazon. I bought the same thing on Aliexpress for 10 bucks.

Ceptics' stuff lives in that rare middle ground that seems hard to find now. It's Chinese (despite claiming itself as a "USA-based" company), and it's not some super fancy but ultimately overkill GaN adapter with 100 watt über charging or whatever. It's just a good price, it's simple, and it saved me from ever having to use one of those clunky megabricks with annoying sliders for each plug type ever again.

Take it from me, a gamer rocking the last-gen Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super and still loving life: your rig doesn't need the most bleeding edge graphics card. That's especially true when the 50-series cards can easily set you back many more smackers than Nvidia's MSRP. The RTX 5090 is especially bad for this right now, with the cheapest deal I can find anywhere online still being $4,500/£3,499.

The company appears all too aware of the runaway pricing of these GPUs. Case in point, Nvidia set up 'Verified Priority Access IRL' at its QuakeCon booth this year, offering attendees the chance to buy either the GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5080, or RTX 5070 Founders Edition for MSRP "while supplies last".

Sadly, to get a decent deal on an RTX 5090 these days, flying out to Quakecon may actually not be the most outrageous idea. As I'm based in the UK, the cheapest round trip flight to Dallas, Texas I can find would cost me about $1,428. Add to that the RTX 5090's $1,999 MSRP, and the $16.50 price of admission to Quakecon, plus some no doubt hellish jet lag, and I will have only had to spend a little over $3,443 (or roughly £2,556) total on Nvidia's most powerful graphics card. That's ridiculous.

But let's say I actually carried out this still very expensive, hare-brained scheme. After a nearly 19-hour flight—with a self-transfer—I could rock up to Nvidia's booth only to find it sold out of RTX 5090s. The booth only has a limited amount of GPUs available for sale each day, after all.

That said, the booth is also offering a limited supply of "cool freebies," such as a pack of GeForce Trading Cards "showcasing 14 of GeForce’s greatest gaming moments." If I went to the Nvidia booth after a 19-hour flight, only to find these trading cards were left, I dread to think of the jet lag-induced rage monster I would become—rumours suggesting that Nvidia graphics card prices will increase by as much as 30% already have me howling.

Anyway, this late capitalist hell pit only gets better, because there's still another way to save on that MSRP. For one thing, Nvidia will be awarding a GeForce RTX 5070 Founders Edition GPU to the player that comes out top in its Quake III Arena RTX Remix and DOOM: The Dark Ages — Revelations challenges. Winners of the QuakeCon Mod Contest will also receive an RTX 50-Series GPU.

Uh, so yes, the tip here is either 'get good' or make a really cool rig if you'd rather not spend silly money on a 50-series graphics card. Or happen to live close by QuakeCon and chance a detour. If it's all the same to you, though, I won't be taking any of my own advice on how to get a more sensibly priced GPU.

The Steam Machine may be hard to get a hold of and prohibitively expensive, but as is ever the case with Valve, its community is very creative. It's not even been two months since its launch, yet someone has already made a faceplate that doubles up as a charging stand for the Steam Controller.

As shared on the Steam Machine subreddit, user NefariousnessWhole25 has shared their faceplate concept. Though an earlier prototype had a shelf to hold the controller in place, they say that the magnets inside the charging puck are actually powerful enough to hold the controller up. The puck is a small, well, puck that comes with the Steam Controller that functions both as a charger and as a connector to your PC. It's pretty neat.

The plate holds the puck in place with friction, and there's a small space to fit the end of the USB Type-C cable into. Importantly, it doesn't have the wire for the puck sticking out of the top of the plate either, giving it a pretty clean aesthetic. You can even use the faceplate by itself as a rudimentary stand, though I think it might look a tad funny given its size.

The creator says they are still finishing the final touches and also says they're open to DMs from Valve, Jsaux or Dbrand, if any of the companies want to chat about the design.

One commenter calls it "slightly ugly, and insanely functional", and that seems like a pretty fair description. With the controller in the stand, I personally quite like the look, but it does look a little hollow when the controller is taken off.

It solves one small issue I'd personally have using the Steam Controller day-to-day: the lack of a charging stand. I think the puck is great, and I wish more controllers came with a charger/connector combo, but the puck alone means I'd leave the Steam Controller just lying on a desk, often not charging. I use the GameSir G7 Pro 8K almost every day, and I've never had to charge it, because it just doesn't look right when it's not on its included stand.

I suspect the Steam Machine's front panel will be a source of creativity for those who actually buy the device over the coming years, because Valve has released the CAD design files for both the Steam Machine and Steam Controller, enabling modders to customise it to their heart's content. The only problem here is that it's shared under a "Creative Commons 'Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike 4.0 International" which means one can't sell their work.

Still, one doesn't always need a financial incentive to make something great, as is proved by this very mod.

The Steam Controller has a pretty niche feature called Grip Sense, which is a pair of capacitive touch sensors inside the handles that can sense when you are touching them. Though you may not use it, Valve thinks you should, "because it's, like, cool," and even recommends a couple of sweet shortcuts to use with it.

Valve notes that you could turn gyro controls off and on, depending on how your fingers sit on the controller, and it points out that the activation threshold is adjustable. That means you could activate a shortcut with only a slight lift of the fingers, or by taking the whole hand off the controller.

Activating and deactivating gyro controls to recenter your hand is apparently called "ratcheting". Valve likens it to picking up your mouse when it hits the end of your mousepad. Effectively, if your body or hands are at an uncomfortable angle, you can take your hand off the controller to turn off gyro controls, recenter your body and turn them back on again. It's a neat function, and one I wish I had while playing Splatoon Raiders on the Nintendo Switch 2 recently (that has a recenter, but it's less natural with a dedicated button).

Valve says, "While the original intent was for ratcheting (and it does work for that!) we have found a few other cool use cases, like using it to bring up a weapon wheel, map, or menu."

In the weapon wheel example, lifting your fingers from the rear of the controller brings up the wheel, allowing you to select your weapon or whatever, and then place your fingers back down to lock in your choice.

If you have your hands on a Steam Controller, and you're wondering how to assign your Grip Sense to Gyro:

• Go to the layout editor in Steam
• Turn on the "Gyro To Mouse" option
• Click the button selector
• Select Grip Sense

The same process works for assigning other functions. You just need to set your keybind to "Press and Hold", so that, when you take your fingers off the controller, it holds the menu button or whatever else.

You could set Grip Sense without a hold, for jumping or shooting, for example, but that seems quite inefficient to me. You can even adjust Grip Sense sensitivity if you find the controls a little hard to hit. Personally, if I were lucky enough to have got my hands on the Steam Controller, I'd be using this feature straightaway. And with a little practice, it could make gyro adjusting feel more natural.

Earlier this year, Microsoft posted a support document titled "How to optimize your gaming PC setup" where it said that 16 GB of memory is "plenty for most gamers" but "32 GB is ideal for serious players who run the most demanding titles or use heavy mods". That document has since been deleted.

That's as reported by Windows Latest, who noticed the change this week. Now, clicking on the link address to the support document redirects you to the Windows Learning Center instead.

Interestingly, Microsoft, in a separate support document, declared 32 GB to be the "no-worries" upgrade back in May, and that support document has since been deleted too. Two separate documents that recommend 32 GB of memory being taken down is certainly strange behaviour, and implies it wasn't just an accident.

And it would make sense for Microsoft not to pitch 32 GB of memory, given that it just recently announced it would be bringing back 8 GB Surface laptops in May. Microsoft seemed to remove the 8 GB memory option in the 7th-generation Microsoft Surface and Microsoft Surface Pro 12th edition, which are the previous versions of both laptops.

These new laptops don't even meet the memory requirements to be labelled a Copilot+ PC, and they're mighty expensive, with the Intel Core Ultra 5 standard Surface with 8 GB of memory and 256 GB of storage being an eye-watering $1,299.

This is a shame as its initial assessment seems about right, in my estimation. 16 GB of memory is fine for most games, but 32 GB is ideal, especially for less casual gamers. I went for 32 GB of DDR5 memory in my own rig, and wouldn't want less, but I also reckon I play more than most.

The memory crisis may be a problem for Microsoft, as suggested by a dip in console sales (though this 29% decline could be somewhat attributed to the life cycle of the console and tariffs raising prices), but the company's AI usage is also one of the larger contributors to the mess in the first place. The end consumer is paying for the expansion of AI in many ways, but the most pressing to a PC gamer is the fact that they're paying more and more for less storage and memory.

As such, it would probably be a bad look for Microsoft to recommend 32 GB when its latest Surface Pro device will fetch a minimum of $2,750 to get so much memory. And Microsoft seems unlikely to backtrack on this pricing for some time. Samsung, one of the big three memory manufacturers, reckons we will see a "severe" memory supply crisis next year and "Beyond 2029, it is hard to say because of more limited visibility."

AMD did a similar thing recently. After arguing gamers should look to "Game beyond 4 GB [of VRAM]" back in 2020, it has just recently launched a 4 GB graphics card, the RX 9050.

While these big companies continue to put more and more funding into AI, we'll just have to sit with our meagre supplies of memory until it all blows over. Here's hoping 2029 is the year things get better. Or is it 2030?

It seems nearly every conversation about PC gaming hardware comes back to the memory crisis, and that's because it's such an all-encompassing problem for the industry. Though we don't appear to have a way out for the next year (at least), we've seen memory competition coming out of China, with Chinese company CXMT appearing to be getting a foothold in the market.

As noted by Counterpoint, CXMT seems to currently have a 7% revenue market share, with industry leader Samsung mopping up 39%, SK hynix taking 26%, and Micron getting 25%. If you haven't been taking in those numbers, that means just four companies have a whopping 97% of the memory revenue market share.

There are a few reasons for CXMT's seemingly meteoric rise. Early last month, component makers began validating their products for Chinese memory, in order to work with CXMT memory. Then, just last week, the company made its public offering to the tune of $8.6 billion, with shares surging by 466%. That means its market capitalisation was valued at just under half a trillion dollars, making it one of the most valuable companies in China.

To top this all off, CXMT memory has reportedly been landing in HP, Asus, and Acer notebooks, though not in the US. With the big three not having the memory capacity to meet the huge demand, CXMT seems to be making it big off the memory crisis. There's a significant hole in the market, with AI sucking up all that memory, and Chinese memory is rushing to plug it up.

Naturally, more competition is better for the market, in both pricing and production. Just two months ago, Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron were all accused of anticompetitive behaviour in a class action lawsuit, and more competitors would certainly quell any such allegations.

Still, even though CXMT might help ease the memory crisis eventually, it seems unlikely it is ending soon. Just last week, Samsung said there would be a "severe" memory supply crisis next year, and didn't comment on whether or not it will follow into 2029. And even SK hynix believes "Customer demand will remain higher than our supply capacity even beyond 2030."

For now, CXMT is reportedly making plans on making even more chip plants, with a second in Beijing, as well as one in Shanghai and Hefei. The plan is to double capacity up to 600,000 wafers each month, and if the memory crisis stays as it is, CXMT will likely have no problems selling those orders. There are clear winners and losers in the memory crisis so far, and with the cost of RAM for your rig, we PC gamers are currently losing.

How do you create a gaming mouse that sits comfortably in the palm of most gamers? With science, that's how. As such, Pulsar Gaming is taking matters into its own hands with a research study—and nine survey participants will get a gaming mouse for their trouble.

In collaboration with the High-Performance Human-Computer Interaction Lab at Yonsei University, Pulsar Gaming is setting out "to establish empirical design standards based on quantitative user data and actual behavioral patterns." In order to collect enough data, Pulsar has invited the "global gamer community" via X to fill out an academic survey.

You can find the survey in question here, and the response period is from August 5 until August 24. The survey is about 19 pages long, with questions available in English, Japanese, and Korean. Pulsar writes that responses will be used to create a "foundational baseline for engineering the next generation of gaming mice."

It's a fairly in-depth survey, with even just the first page asking everything from what sorts of games you play and how many gaming mice you've "meaningfully" used, to how long your phalanges are. Those are your fingers, not your toes, for those wondering.

If you fill out the 19-page survey, you'll be in with a chance of winning a random Pulsar Gaming mouse. Nine survey participants in total will be randomly selected, and these winners will then be contacted on August 26.

A survey is definitely one way to approach designing a fresh gaming mouse. The dedicated Logitech lab our Jacob visited in Switzerland is another. There, designers consider ideas such as 'making a lightweight mouse that is nothing but strands of plastic inside,' and use electrode pads to measure how different hand muscles interact with different mouse shapes.

Speaking of mouse maestro Jacob and Pulsar, it's worth noting he also highly rated the X3 CrazyLight Mini gaming mouse earlier this year—not to mention the many paragraphs he dedicated to his 'gaming mouse heaven', the Pulsar Playstore.

There's just one small problem: Our Jacob is based in the UK, and the Pulsar Playstore can only be found in Tokyo, Japan. Ah, well.

PC gamers (and PC users as a whole) find themselves in an increasingly expensive landscape, in part due to the AI data centre industry's apparently bottomless appetite for memory. And yet, AMD CEO Lisa Su reckons "AI PCs will become more important" for the average consumer.

Lisa Su told investors during AMD's most recent earnings call, "As we go into 2027, I think we have a strong product portfolio that is coming on board to address not just the traditional notebook and desktop markets, but also as you think about a more AI-centric PC experience, like what we have been talking about with the Ryzen AI Halo."

To be fair to Su, at the start of the year we did describe the Ryzen AI Max+ 388 as a chip that looks perfect for the ultimate in handheld PC gaming. For more context, AMD has just reported record-breaking total revenue of $11.5 billion in Q2 alone. A decent chunk of that is down to demand from data centres. Even so, AI PCs feel like an odd play when consumers are staring down increasingly runaway hardware costs.

Su seemed undaunted speaking to investors, saying, "I remain optimistic about the PC market as an important way for us to reach a broader set of users and our ability to grow ahead of the market."

For a little more context, the gaming section of AMD's business has shrunk by 31% in part due to high hardware costs (though the company likely saw that coming). It's perhaps less surprising then that AMD has been selling a lot of lower-end and mobile Ryzen processors this past quarter, rather than the newest gamer-geared GPUs and CPUs.

Su reflected on the current volatility of hardware pricing, saying, "The market itself will depend a bit on some of the components. We’re all watching the component costs and how that will play out over the next couple of quarters."

The client segment of AMD's business, "which primarily includes CPUs, APUs, chipsets for desktops and notebooks," made around $3.1 billion outside of gaming hardware (the client and gaming parts of the business "do not qualify as [...] separate reportable operating" segments, though AMD does still report their financials separately).

As such, Su told investors that the client business's "first half performance has been very strong." Though AMD expects the market to see a decline in the second half of 2026, Su went on to say she expects to see year-on-year growth in this more consumer-focussed sector. Even if it doesn't meet these expectations, data centre demand will likely more than buoy the company.

Su said, "I think our portfolio and our rising content in enterprise are very positive for our client mix."

That's all very well and good, but if big tech continues with its AI infrastructure build-out, that's just going to continue to drive up the price of memory and more besides. If AMD truly believes NPU-equipped AI PCs are the future, who does it think will be able to afford them?

For some time now, Battlefield 6 players on Nvidia cards were running into a peculiar crash when changing attachments on the SOR-300SC carbine, using custom server search, or "playing on maps with large bodies of water". If you have run into such a problem, you will be happy to know that it should now be fixed.

As announced over on X, Battlefield 6 game update 1.4.1.5 is a "smaller quality-of-life update focused on improving reliability, presentation, and moment-to-moment gameplay"

The specific Nvidia crashes were such a problem that the Battlefield Comms X account put out a separate tweet declaring the fix. If you were unlucky enough to have been hit by the crashes, the fix is in the update that launched on Tuesday, August 4.

Unfortunately, this crash came at a terrible time, because the game just launched Tsuru Reef, which is both the biggest map in the game and a return to naval warfare for the series. A Top Gun crossover, there is a lot of water on the map, which you can imagine would be a problem when paired with crashes that are more common on maps with big bodies of water.

Interestingly, reports popped up with these specific crashes just after the previous Nvidia driver update went live, and Battlefield Comms recommended that users roll back to Nvidia driver version 596.49. The Battlefield X account said that RTX 50-series owners were particularly affected by the problem. This means that if you previously rolled back Nvidia drivers, you should now make sure your card is up-to-date.

As well as fixing this Nvidia crash problem, Battlefield Studios has reportedly improved deployment, aiming, water transition and vehicle behaviour, plus several "UI, loadout, and customisation issues" have now been fixed.

The latest update also has a focus on map and Portal polish, addressing visual, collection, interaction, and audio issues across multiple maps plus through Portal, the community creation function.

Here's hoping the next Nvidia driver doesn't pose another problem for the game.

Nvidia hasn't been just a gaming-focussed company for a fair few years now, dining well off of the booming AI industry. AMD, one of its main rivals, is much the same, with the company feasting on the data centre segment in particular this past quarter.

In total, AMD reported record-breaking revenue of $11.5 billion in Q2 alone. Demand from data centres made up $6.7 billion of that, doubling what AMD made in the sector last year. So far, not so surprising as Q2 2026 financial results go—especially as gaming revenue apparently saw a year-over-year dip of 31%.

Instead of, say, GPUs or CPUs for gaming PCs, AMD has been selling way more lower-end and mobile Ryzen processors, with its client business raking in $3.1 billion as a result. That's a 23% increase compared to Q2 2025, with AMD attributing the uptick to "a 29% increase in unit shipments of client processors, partially offset by a 3% decrease in average selling price of client processors." Lower-spec processors generally have a lower asking price, after all.

In comparison, though, AMD's gaming segment only made $779 million in revenue. Gaming's dip is no surprise for a few reasons. For instance, a custom AMD SoC sits at the heart of the PS5; the console's age combined with how much its price has risen recently means that Sony is shifting fewer funky white boxes, and AMD is selling fewer custom chips as a result. Same goes for the Xbox.

To speak more broadly, the memory supply crisis has not been kind to PC gamers either. For those who have apparently been secluded under a cool mossy rock for the last year or so, AI data centres have been hoovering up all of the RAM and SSDs, driving up prices not just for memory but plenty of other consumer-geared components as a result. With high prices on consumer hardware—like AMD's higher-end processors and graphics cards for gaming—there's going to be much less demand.

Hence, the gaming part of AMD's business has shrunk, though the company continues to grow thanks to the continuing AI infrastructure build-out. Not only did AMD report record revenue for the second quarter of 2026, but it also sailed past Wall Street's no less eye-watering estimate of $11.25 billion.

In short, AMD isn't just a gaming-focussed company, and clearly hasn't been for a fair few years now.

Though I write a fair amount about AI agents, I do not use them. This is because agentic AI applications often introduce a more than medium-sized headache in terms of cybersecurity. For instance, one security research recently explained how a Word Doc could be leveraged to get Copilot to spread an AI worm.

AI researcher Håkon Måløy breaks down how the attack in a recent blog post, writing, "An attacker places hidden instructions in a document that is later used as source material in Copilot for Word. Copilot may interpret those instructions as part of the user’s request, causing it to manipulate the document being drafted or edited. Copilot may then also copy the hidden instructions into the resulting document, turning that document into a new carrier."

The attack involves a "JSON-formatted malicious prompt." From this prompt injection of JSON-formatted data, a chain reaction wriggles into action. The worm replicating through 'carrier' documents scooped up in further Copilot-assisted workflows—the original document that kicked off the whole thing doesn't even need to be present. Worse still, the attacker needs no special access, they just need to "share a malicious document with the victim."

This isn't the first AI agent cybersecurity threat we've seen. For instance, back in February Meta's AI safety director recalled how she 'had to RUN to my Mac mini like I was defusing a bomb' when her OpenClaw AI decided to start deleting all of her emails. Last year, Replit's LLM-based coding assistant deleted a dev's entire database during a code freeze. But on the subject of Copilot PCs more broadly, cybersecurity experts warn that Windows Recall may be far from secure when it comes to protecting your personal information.

As for the Copilot AI worm, Måløy first disclosed the vulnerability to Microsoft back in March, though the attack is still reproducible at time of writing. Måløy offers a detailed disclosure timeline, and explains, "Two mitigation attempts, including a model upgrade, did not close [this] class [of vulnerability]."

As such, Måløy's blog post only broadly describes the type of attack possible, rather than going into detail about the hidden prompt that triggers the AI worm. The way this prompt is hidden doesn't require anything fancy, though, and may even be familiar to those who have ever wanted to catch someone out for using AI; at minimum, an attacker could format the malicious prompt as tiny white text on a white background.

"The prompt can be rendered as white text on a white background and in a small font size to conceal it from the victim," Måløy elaborates, "Since Copilot for Word strips all text formatting like color and font size before passing the text into the underlying Large Language Model (LLM), this text remains fully readable to Copilot even though the victim cannot see it. The attack can be further concealed by embedding it in a seemingly benign document with task-relevant text."

Long story short, this is a fairly low effort, hard to trace attack without sufficient mitigation currently in place. Cybersecurity and antivirus company Malwarebytes offers a few tips on how to stay safe from this class of attack, including disabling Windows Copilot in Word or simply ditching the AI agent altogether.

Personally, I think Måløy's closing thought sums up the security risk of AI agents nicely: "Any system that integrates an LLM into a trusted workflow today must assume that attacker-controlled content entering the model’s context will result in compromise at some rate."

Chinese memory manufacturer CXMT is the fourth-biggest memory maker in the world, and, chances are you've only heard of it recently. That's because, just last week, its shares saw a 466% surge as it made its initial public offering, becoming one of China's most valuable companies in the process.

It seems like CXMT could be set to become even more valuable as Nikkei Asia reports HP, Asus, and Acer are all said to be using its chips. Last month, many component makers started validating their products for Chinese memory, and this reportedly set the groundwork for some PC makers to use a "limited amount in their notebook computers".

The limited quantity seems to be a decision made by both CXMT and partners. CXMT's side is prioritising Chinese companies it has had prior working relationships with, like Huawei. Then, PC makers are reportedly only getting limited supplies to avoid angering "leading global memory chipmakers Micron, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix."

Reportedly, the notebook models with CXMT chips are selling in non-US markets. Asus declined to give a comment to Nikkei Asia and CXMT, and HP did not respond to requests. However, Acer told the outlet, "We do not disclose our suppliers, but that we keep in close contact with multiple global manufacturers and suppliers to dynamically adjust operations to manage component prices changes. We work with multiple manufacturers and suppliers to enhance our supply chain resilience."

CXMT has been having a big couple of months and now takes up a 7% market share in Global DRAM revenue. The big three memory makers still account for more than 90% of the market share right now. Still, wider adoption of CXMT chips is good news for the Chinese company, and it seems like production could be getting bigger to accommodate the growth.

As reported by Reuters, CXMT is reportedly planning a second chip plant in Beijing. Reuters also claims it is building new plants in Shanghai and Hefei, and is looking to double capacity to 600,000 wafers per month.

Needless to say, that rapid expansion implies CXMT has long-term memory expansion goals, and that would make some sense as many major companies and analysts predict the memory crisis won't end until 2029 at the least. Even Samsung, one of the big three, reckons we will see a "severe" memory supply crisis next year and "Beyond 2029, it is hard to say because of more limited visibility."

SK hynix says "Customer demand will remain higher than our supply capacity even beyond 2030."

And, in a sense, CXMT likely owes a lot to the memory crisis. With demand far outweighing supply (and the RAM in your computer going up in price as a result), it has left room for new entrants in the market that may have struggled in an abundant market, as companies look elsewhere for supply. It's anyone's guess how much CXMT will be worth by the end of the memory crisis, but it's likely a lot higher than when it started.

Growing up in the '90s, good joysticks were strangely hard to come by. The stiff sticks on my local arcade cabinets, already inferior to their Japanese counterparts, always seemed to be so worn down that I'd have to smash them from edge-to-edge just to register an input. And yet the sticks attached to my friend's dusty Atari 2600, discovered in a box of his parents' old junk, still managed to make the arcade cabinet sticks look good. Those things were so atrocious it's a wonder videogames ever took off to begin with.

The Nintendo 64's analogue stick controller seemed like a marvel, at first—it was responsive, granular, and ushered in a whole era of 3D games. It also went to shit after a few months of use—I probably owned eight of those controllers over the console's lifetime and destroyed every one. There was only one joystick that never failed me: the beige and black, nondescript PC accessory my dad brought home one day, likely a hand-me-down from one of his computer geek friends.

As far as I was concerned, I was a real pilot when I grabbed that stick to boot up a game like LHX Attack Chopper. Nevermind that a real cockpit has a million buttons and switches, rather than just the trigger and the singular cute lil red button on top (for launching missiles, obviously). The branding was as simplistic as the design: it just said "FlightStick" on it.

I had no idea that the stick belonged to a decades-spanning lineage until I was digging through the very first issue of PC Gamer US—from May 1994—and came across this ad.

There it is, bottom right! That's my stick!

CH Products, it turns out, was a family business dating back to the 1970s, and was one of the go-to brands for flight enthusiasts throughout the late '80s and '90s. Their simpler designs—and connectivity options that gradually disappeared from desktop PCs—seemed to fall out of favor by the 2000s, as competitors like Thrustmaster, Saitek and Logitech made increasingly complex HOTAS setups. But Google them today and you'll still find loads of flight enthusiasts speaking about CH Products' rock-solid build quality (one of their later magazine ads even brags "We don't BREAK for anything!).

Go searching and you'll also find a Reddit thread where the grandchild of founder Chuck Hayes complains that her mother convinced him to sell the family business, which is why CH Products is no longer around today, even though its website remarkably remains online.

I had no idea what company made the stick back then, or that the CH FlightStick was actually a little older than me—the first model came out in 1987. "At the time of launch flight simulators on the PC were huge, and this peripheral was an incredibly realistic-looking analog joystick," writes the creator of DOS Days.

As quaint as the thing looks today compared to the best PC joysticks, it really did fly circles around all the console and arcade joysticks I used around the same time.

PC Gamer's Andy Chalk swears he still has the CH Products FlightStick Pro in a closet somewhere, though sadly it's no longer easily usable without a game port adapter. But he swears it was great in its heyday:

Despite how much I loved the FlightStick, I don't remember it staying connected to our PC for long.

I think I only played a few games with it before it moved to its permanent home in a box somewhere in our office—either because my dad's new Pentium PC lacked the relevant port, or more likely because I became obsessed with real-time strategy games like Command & Conquer and didn't have much more use for the joystick. That seems more likely, considering the Thrustmaster HOTAS I bought for Star Wars: Squadrons has only come out of its drawer once in the six years since I reviewed that game.

These days I take for granted that a game controller is going to have nice-feeling analog sticks on it, even if they aren't using fancy Hall effect or (even better) tunnel magnetoresistance tech. But 30 years ago, the humble FlightStick was as good as it got. As far as I knew, at least.

Last week, Valve finally fixed a longstanding issue with users not being able to access local network game transfers, and all was right with the world. Well, not really, as it has now fixed even more problems causing that issue. But this time, it might be done… hopefully.

In a discussion board announcing a Steam Client Update on August 3, Valve said it has "fixed additional cases preventing local network game transfers from starting."

It doesn't say what exactly those problems are, but one can assume they were reported after the local game transfer fix last week. If you're wondering why people care about this issue, local transfers are a way of bypassing using the internet to transfer games.

For a long time, users would attempt to transfer game files, but only be greeted with the option to download it via Steam itself. If your bandwidth isn't very good or you are operating on limited data, this could be a problem. That's especially true for 100 GB+ games that could take hours over the internet.

So now, as long as your Steam Client is updated to the latest stable channel, you should be able to transfer games locally without a problem. Provided you have another system with them already installed and waiting to be transferred, of course. Luckily, to actually get onto the latest version of Steam, you don't have to do anything. It should install and update all by itself.

As well as fixing the local network game transfer problem, the latest Steam Client update has also fixed a problem where Steam asked players to choose a user on startup even if it wasn't requested. It's a fairly light update but, if it actually fixes the local network woes, a pretty good one all the same.

I haven't yet seen any reports of local network game transfers not working after the release of the update, which is a good sign, and one commenter even claims it fixes their issues on GNU/Linux. If you happen to have multiple rigs, or even both a home rig and a Steam Machine plugged into your TV, I could see this being a great way to get around bandwidth problems and get your games a little quicker, too.

Noctua is pretty good at this whole cooling thing. It takes one swing at a liquid cooler and nails it first time. To be fair, it's not done it alone. Noctua developed the NC-LC1 atop of a high-end liquid cooling platform from the company that literally invented liquid coolers, Asetek. Nevertheless, it's a potent combination, combining a performant pump with world-class fans and sound dampening.

The NL-LC1 is the best liquid cooler I've tested, and there's one reason for that. It's just how little sound it generates while running at full speed. It's incredibly quiet. So, if you value quiet above all else, you really should give this a look.

Of course, quiet comes at a premium. If you're looking for the best bang for your buck, the Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 is equally competent as the NL-LC1-36 (360 mm model) without the mega-bucks price tag. But the Arctic cooler is anything but quiet at full speed, and the NL-LC1-36 and NL-LC1-42 (420 mm model) are on another level when balancing acoustics with performance.

Features

Big, bold, and brown; that's the NL-LC1. It comes in three sizes, denoted by the two numbers at the end of the name. I've got the 360 mm and 420 mm versions for review, but here's the lot of them:

• NL-LC1-24 (240 mm)
• NL-LC1-36 (360 mm)
• NL-LC1-42 (420 mm)

Regardless of size, the NL-LC1 stands out. Not only for Noctua's fine taste in colour palette, but the oversized pump unit. Noctua calls this the NL-PNA1 pump noise absorber, but you don't need to remember that. It's very tall compared to your average liquid cooler, even a standard Asetek unit, and that's in order to cover up one of the NL-LC1's more special features. The pump has 3-layer soundproofing.

Starting closest to the high-purity copper coldplate, the first layer is acoustic foam intended to absorb high-frequency sound waves. The second layer is a thinner slice of high-density material that aims to block and reflect sound waves. Then, layer three is even more acoustic foam, a thick layer stuffed between the pump and the outer casing. Lastly, the pump itself is mounted via a floating silicone mount, to keep vibrations from travelling around those three layers and making a racket anyways.

Noctua being Noctua, this entire system also acts as a tuned mass damper with the hard outer shell. The best comparison I can give is the tuned mass damper in the Taipei 101, not far from the exhibition halls of Computex, which is a 660-ton steel sphere suspended at the top of the 101-story skyscraper. This tuned mass damper has a mascot called the Damper Baby. Noctua has no such thing for its own. It does, however, provide many diagrams all about it.

Asetek's Emma V2 takes care of the pump, as well as the coolant, plate, impeller, housing, tubes, and radiator. This is the company's high-end, performance platform. Let's stick with the pump for now, which has received a number of tweaks to improve balancing, reduce noise, and increase performance and efficiency. I'm not going to out-detail Noctua's own page dedicated to the platform, so take a look at that for more.

There's a small switch on the rear of the pump that lets you adjust between quiet mode, balanced mode, and manual mode. Noctua does not recommend running in manual mode, as it could lead to louder operation. By default, the pump is set to quiet mode. That's what I've tested.

Both quiet and balanced modes run on a curve, balancing pump RPM and the temperature of the liquid within the cooler. That's monitored using an integrated liquid temperature sensor. Quiet mode limits the pump to 2,100 RPM, and Balanced mode to 2,600 RPM. In both modes, the pump will run at max speed of 3400 RPM once the liquid exceeds a preset safety temp (varies by mode). Quiet mode seems sufficient anyways, as you can see in the performance section, though running in manual mode will help drop temps a little further.

You'll get a good idea of what the pump sounds like at 3,400 RPM every time your PC starts up, as the cooler will run at this speed for roughly 50 seconds at start-up to shift any air bubbles out of the pump.

A Noctua logo sticker is included, made to fit atop of the pump. It comes separately for good reason, however, as for an added $20/€20 you can install an optional fan atop of the pump unit in its place. Not to the benefit of the pump itself, but the motherboard VRM beneath it. I've had the fan on the pump for the duration of my testing.

Onto the radiator, and the one used here has 20 fins per inch. Noctua says that is optimised for quiet fans such as the NF-A12x25 G2 and NF-A14x25 G2 used on the NL-LC1. These fans spin up to just 1,800 RPM—or rather, they usually do. For this cooler, as with some of Noctua's other twin-fan kits, the fans are offset in speed to reduce 'harmonic phenomena'. Essentially, making more noise because they're interfering with one another. For the NL-LC1-36, two of its NF-A12x25 G2 fans run at 1,750 RPM and one at 1,850 RPM.

The tubing length varies depending on the model, with the NL-LC1-42 coming with 450 mm tubes; NL-LC1-36 with 410 mm tubes; and NL-LC1-24 with 400 mm tubes. Those are all decently-sized for the sorts of cases they're likely to land in, however, I am a fan of longer tubes considering my test bench is a bit of a stretch between mobo and mount . Both the 360/420 models fit just fine, anyways.

Noise

Noise

Fan noise | measured using a sound meter from 40 cm away

Fan noise | 40 cm away

Fans @ 100% (dBA)

Noise floor (dBA)

Noctua NL-LC1-36

41.5

36.5

Noctua NL-LC1-42

42.5

36.5

Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB

52

36

Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB

48

34

Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II

47.5

34

Corsair Nautilus 360 RS

49

35

MSI CoreLiquid P13 360

46

34

015304560

Fan noise | 40 cm away Data

Product	Value
Noctua NL-LC1-36	41.5 Fans @ 100% (dBA), 36.5 Noise floor (dBA)
Noctua NL-LC1-42	42.5 Fans @ 100% (dBA), 36.5 Noise floor (dBA)
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB	52 Fans @ 100% (dBA), 36 Noise floor (dBA)
Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB	48 Fans @ 100% (dBA), 34 Noise floor (dBA)
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II	47.5 Fans @ 100% (dBA), 34 Noise floor (dBA)
Corsair Nautilus 360 RS	49 Fans @ 100% (dBA), 35 Noise floor (dBA)
MSI CoreLiquid P13 360	46 Fans @ 100% (dBA), 34 Noise floor (dBA)

Results from TopTes TS-501B Sound Level Meter

I'm choosing to start with the test results for noise for this review as it plays a pivotal role in evaluating its performance. In simple terms, it's the quietest liquid cooler I've tested, and by some margin.

At 41.5 dB(A), the NL-LC1-36 is a whole 10 dB(A) quieter at full speed compared to the Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360, an excellent cooler in its own right with high-speed P12 Pro fans. It's also 5 dB(A) quieter than the Cooler Master MasterLiquidCore II, which was previously one of the better of the bunch for noise levels, and MSI CoreLiquid P13 360.

The NL-LC1-42 is a touch louder than the NL-LC1-36 by 1 dB(A). Larger fans are usually able to spin slower and produce less noise while producing ample airflow, however, that's not true for Noctua's G2 fans used here. The 140 mm model is rated to 24.8 dB(A); the 120 mm model to 22.5 dB(A). So, it checks out that there's a 1-2 dB(A) difference between them.

On an experiential level, I've tested all of the coolers included in the data within a couple of days of each other under the same conditions. I've been stood alongside each cooler running at 100% duty cycle for hour after hour, doing my best to focus on my work rather than the constant droning noise of fans whirring beside me. The Noctua is noteworthy for how little I noticed it. I had to double check my BIOS to ensure it was indeed running at 100%. It was, it's just incredibly quiet, and in such a way as to be far less noticeable to my ears than others.

Performance

Thermals

Evaluating cooler effectiveness with a Core i7 14700K

Prime95 @ 1.325 V | Normalised to 20 °C | ~230 WPrime95 @ 1.275 V | Normalised to 20 °C | ~180 WPrime95 @ 1.275 V | Normalised to 20 °C | ~100WX274 @ 1.275 V | Normalised to 20 °CBaldur's Gate 3 @ 1.275 V | Normalised to 20 °C

Max °C

Avg °C

Noctua NL-LC1-36

68

66

Noctua NL-LC1-42

68

65

Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB

70

67

Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB

73

69

Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II

73

69

Corsair Nautilus 360 RS

72

68

MSI CoreLiquid P13 360

71

68

020406080

Prime95 @ 1.325 V | Normalised to 20 °C | ~230 W Data

Product	Value
Noctua NL-LC1-36	68 Max °C, 66 Avg °C
Noctua NL-LC1-42	68 Max °C, 65 Avg °C
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB	70 Max °C, 67 Avg °C
Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB	73 Max °C, 69 Avg °C
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II	73 Max °C, 69 Avg °C
Corsair Nautilus 360 RS	72 Max °C, 68 Avg °C
MSI CoreLiquid P13 360	71 Max °C, 68 Avg °C

Max °C

Avg °C

Noctua NL-LC1-36

55

52

Noctua NL-LC1-42

55

51

Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB

55

52

Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB

60

55

Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II

58

54

Corsair Nautilus 360 RS

58

54

MSI CoreLiquid P13 360

56

54

015304560

Prime95 @ 1.275 V | Normalised to 20 °C | ~180 W Data

Product	Value
Noctua NL-LC1-36	55 Max °C, 52 Avg °C
Noctua NL-LC1-42	55 Max °C, 51 Avg °C
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB	55 Max °C, 52 Avg °C
Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB	60 Max °C, 55 Avg °C
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II	58 Max °C, 54 Avg °C
Corsair Nautilus 360 RS	58 Max °C, 54 Avg °C
MSI CoreLiquid P13 360	56 Max °C, 54 Avg °C

Max °C

Avg °C

Noctua NL-LC1-36

48

46

Noctua NL-LC1-42

46

45

Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB

52

50

Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II

53

49

Corsair Nautilus 360 RS

50

48

MSI CoreLiquid P13 360

49

48

015304560

Prime95 @ 1.275 V | Normalised to 20 °C | ~100W Data

Product	Value
Noctua NL-LC1-36	48 Max °C, 46 Avg °C
Noctua NL-LC1-42	46 Max °C, 45 Avg °C
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB	N/A
Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB	52 Max °C, 50 Avg °C
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II	53 Max °C, 49 Avg °C
Corsair Nautilus 360 RS	50 Max °C, 48 Avg °C
MSI CoreLiquid P13 360	49 Max °C, 48 Avg °C

Max °C

Avg °C

Noctua NL-LC1-36

56

49

Noctua NL-LC1-42

55

47

Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB

56

49

Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB

60

52

Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II

58

50

Corsair Nautilus 360 RS

58

51

MSI CoreLiquid P13 360

59

51

015304560

X274 @ 1.275 V | Normalised to 20 °C Data

Product	Value
Noctua NL-LC1-36	56 Max °C, 49 Avg °C
Noctua NL-LC1-42	55 Max °C, 47 Avg °C
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB	56 Max °C, 49 Avg °C
Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB	60 Max °C, 52 Avg °C
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II	58 Max °C, 50 Avg °C
Corsair Nautilus 360 RS	58 Max °C, 51 Avg °C
MSI CoreLiquid P13 360	59 Max °C, 51 Avg °C

Max °C

Avg °C

Noctua NL-LC1-36

47

42

Noctua NL-LC1-42

43

41

Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB

46

43

Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB

48

46

Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II

46

44

Corsair Nautilus 360 RS

47

45

MSI CoreLiquid P13 360

48

44

015304560

Baldur's Gate 3 @ 1.275 V | Normalised to 20 °C Data

Product	Value
Noctua NL-LC1-36	47 Max °C, 42 Avg °C
Noctua NL-LC1-42	43 Max °C, 41 Avg °C
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 A-RGB	46 Max °C, 43 Avg °C
Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB	48 Max °C, 46 Avg °C
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II	46 Max °C, 44 Avg °C
Corsair Nautilus 360 RS	47 Max °C, 45 Avg °C
MSI CoreLiquid P13 360	48 Max °C, 44 Avg °C

We measure the package temperature of a Core i7 14700K across various applications and games at three fixed voltages. This is normalised to an ambient temperature of 20 ℃ for consistency.

Looking over the charts, the NL-LC1-36 is among the top performers in every test. From gaming in Baldur's Gate 3, to X264 and Prime95, with a Core i7 14700K, the Noctua NL-LC1-36 maintains some of the lowest average CPU temperatures of all the liquid coolers tested. At 230 W, our most demanding test, it outperforms all other 360 mm liquid coolers.

I like to review 360 mm liquid coolers to keep things consistent. It's the most popular size, and I can get comparative results. Though I do have the NL-LC1-42 to hand, so I thought I'd best put it through the ringer, too.

The NL-LC1-42, unsurprisingly, delivers the lowest temperatures in every test. All except one, the noise test that I spoke about earlier, but that's within spec and still the second-lowest for noise of the lot. It's even a couple of degrees lower than the Liquid Freezer III Pro during our most demanding test, keeping a Core i7 14700K at a chill at 65 °C, even at a fairly steady 230 W thermal load.

Installation

Noctua packages everything neatly for ease of step-by-step installation with the NL-LC1. The fans come packaged separately, meaning my first job is to get those attached. These come with anti-vibration gaskets pre-applied on the correct side for a push configuration, and a push configuration is recommended. Noctua provides the screwdriver for the job, complete with Torx T20 bit, and screws to match. Yeah, Torx screws for everything.

There's no complicated cable runs with the NL-LC1. There's no RGB lighting, which halves the cable requirements, and Noctua provides just a simple 3-to-1 adapter and an extension cable in the box to help one run the cables to a motherboard header. The pump has a separate connector, and that's your lot.

Compatible with both AM5/AM4 and LGA 1851/1700 sockets, it will cover most modern Intel and AMD systems. I'm testing on Intel, which requires one extra step to AMD, but both are relatively simple. Just attach the backplate to the rear of the motherboard (this is the extra step on Intel; it's pre-applied on AMD), attach the four provided spacers, and then the two brackets on top of that. With that all screwed into place, the pump unit sits atop and is attached via two captive screws. Don't forget the thermal paste!

For AMD systems, there's a plastic surround included that prevents too much paste getting into every nook and cranny on that AM5 heatspreader. There's also a cleaning wipe included if you mess it up or need to reapply paste down the line.

Gallery

Value

The NL-LC1, in any size, is an expensive liquid cooler. For easy comparison, let's take the 360 mm version. Noctua suggests a price of $250/€250, which as far as I can see, is the exact price it's selling for right now. That's £217 in the UK.

Compare that to the Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360, and it's over three times the price. You can buy one of those for $70 at time of writing. Just $70. That's for a cooler that, for the most part, matches the NL-LC1-36 in my testing. But it's loud—loud as heck at full speed—and that matters to some more than others.

So, they say silence is golden. In this case, it certainly costs something equivalent to bullion. There's no doubt it's the best liquid cooler I've tested, with frankly incredible performance when normalised by noise, but it's far from the best value.

It feels like the AI industry is getting all the cool stuff right now (not that it necessarily knows what to do with it, but I digress). Besides hoovering up all of the RAM and system storage it can get its mitts on, data centres tend to be where we're seeing technological advancements in memory.

That brings us to High Bandwidth Flash (HBF), a fresh tech spec unveiled by SK hynix and Sandisk. The Korean memory manufacturer describes HBF as "a new memory layer between [High Bandwidth Memory] and SSDs," that should enable "high-speed data transfer similar to HBM while significantly expanding capacity by leveraging NAND technology."

At the risk of oversimplifying, you can think of HBF as a bit like HBM and NAND all rolled into one thing.

HBF is pitched as a solution to various "bandwidth and capacity scalability challenges," and emerges into a landscape where big tech is still very keen to throw money at its AI infrastructure build-out.

SK hynix says HBF will kick off with up to 512 GB of capacity, which isn't much by SSD standards but a fair chunk by HBM standards. Similarly, while lower than HBM bandwidth compared to some stacks of HBM4e memory, a bandwidth of 0.4 to 3 TB/s for HBF isn't too shabby.

Interestingly though, neither SK hynix nor Sandisk will be holding on to the HBF specification as proprietary tech—instead, it's been disclosed as an open standard via the Open Compute Project (OCP). That means any memory manufacturer could make its own HBF based on the open standard.

HBF tech will also appeal to manufacturers and hyperscalers alike as the specification uses the 'Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express' (UCIe) connection interface. Essentially, this would allow the fresh spec to be used with an array of processors, including CPUs and GPUs, within a single package.

Actually, let's talk about SK hynix in the context of the wider memory supply crisis for a sec. Company CEO Kwak Noh-Jung recently predicted that "Customer demand will remain higher than our supply capacity even beyond 2030." Similarly Samsung, another member of the 'big three' memory manufacturers, also recently warned of even more severe shortages ahead in 2027, and that this "will persist through 2028".

In a bid to combat this, SK hynix is set to invest over $60 billion in chip plants in its home of South Korea, though the supply crisis is still far from ending. Just for a start, memory prices are predicted to rise as much as 50% during Q3. As for memory manufacturer SK hynix, it just announced another record-breaking $55.6 billion quarter.

As an open standard, the HBF specification may not directly add to SK hynix's revenue pool—though any memory the company manufactures based on the specification surely will.

xAI has been at the centre of ethical and legal disputes over the last year due to the 69 mobile turbines it erected in Memphis to power AI data centers, and the environmental impacts of all that tech. Now, in accordance with an agreement with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, SpaceX and xAI have agreed to take them down over the next 11 months.

In a blog post, xAI says that it will be taking down all 69 mobile turbines that currently power its facility in Southaven, Mississippi, and will instead be swapping to power from a 1.2 GW power plant it is currently constructing. Between August 2026 and July 2027, it is expected to have removed all turbines.

The blog post says, "We care deeply about being good neighbors and we regularly reconfigure power operations to reduce noise from the facility and minimize our impact on the local Southaven community." One could suggest that if xAI really cared about being good neighbours, it probably shouldn't have, as the SLEC argues, "operated with a stunning lack of transparency that left impacted communities in the dark."

xAI also says that it will make investments to equip SpaceXAI mobile turbines with emission control technologies going forward. The 1.2 GW plant will reportedly consist of 41 permanent turbines, all of which are authorised under a Clean Air Act permit.

Many AI companies have been desperately expanding data centers in the hopes of catching up with the competition. Meta just last year was reportedly expanding AI capabilities by housing data centers in tents, and is continuing to throw money at its AI infrastructure buildout.

The rapid expansion of AI has not only led to environmental concerns and companies building regardless of whether the infrastructure is there to handle it, but it has also led to the memory crisis. The reason you won't get RAM at a reasonable price these days is because of how quickly AI has expanded and how little supply there is to go around. It seems AI is unlikely to go under soon, so the memory supply will be unlikely to meet demand for at least a few years.

Even Samsung, one of the three biggest memory manufacturers, reckons next year will see a "severe" memory shortage that will last until at least 2029.

Still, even if it took kicking up a fuss and legal threats from the NAACP to do so, xAI complying with the Department of Environmental Quality is still a good move long-term. It just feels a little rich for SpaceXAI to pat itself on the back while doing so.

After two former Apple employees started working for OpenAI, the Cupertino-based company alleged that trade secrets went with them and straight to the creator of ChatGPT. After it asked for a preliminary injunction to stop those employees and OpenAI from accessing confidential information, OpenAI publicly announced its defence, and followed that up with a blog post for good measure.

Titled "Apple is getting this wrong", OpenAI argues that Apple has built a reputation for obsession over small details, yet "this careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit sadly doesn’t live up to that reputation."

It notes that Apple claimed it contacted OpenAI in February, but that contact was actually given to the wrong person, as Apple's lawyers mixed two names up. It also notes that Apple claimed it talked to OpenAI's General Counsel, "which they now concede never happened."

The two former employees, named Chang Liu and Tang Tan, are both defended by OpenAI. OpenAI claims that Liu is accused of trying to access confidential information after leaving, though OpenAI shares text messages of Apple employees asking for Liu's help to locate files. OpenAI claims that the problem here is actually Apple failing to properly manage system access when people leave.

Apparently no such evidence exists for Tan, but OpenAI claims "Tang has always been clear with the team that we do not want, and must not use, any confidential information from other companies."

OpenAI claims that the preliminary injunction is "based on false information" and unnecessary, as it doesn't want Apple's trade secrets.

The blog post argues, "We wish Apple had raised these issues with us before they filed their lawsuit and would have been happy to clarify all of this with them. We have taken the allegations in the lawsuit seriously and offered to work with Apple to resolve this." It continues, "Instead, they’re trying to change their narrative, including by making vague accusations about other former employees, and will likely keep repeating this tactic."

Apple is yet to respond to OpenAI's public blog post, but the company is historically less likely to use the same tactic of publicly posting blog posts about ongoing court cases. In regard to Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, the AI company put up two separate blogs recounting its relationship with Elon Musk and Elon Musk's nonprofit claims.

Naturally, a blog post like this is intended to garner public support, which can then apply pressure to Apple. Apple will need to come back with a strong response, should it choose to give one publicly.

Though it's a chunky handheld gaming PC, we highly rated the original Lenovo Legion Go (though we liked the Legion Go S SteamOS a fair bit more). Unfortunately, owners of the two-year old hardware are now reporting that a recent BIOS update is bricking their handhelds.

The BIOS update in question is version N3CN42WW for the Legion Go 8APU1. At time of writing, this was still available from Lenovo's support servers, despite user reports of black screens and ineffective BIOS self-healing following the update.

In a recent post to the r/LegionGo subreddit, moderators have advised users to not update and to 'just comment with +1 if you are [affected].' Beyond this, the scope of the issue (and whether every Lenovo Legion Go is affected) is still unclear.

One Redditor claims that when they reached out to Lenovo directly, the company allegedly quoted them a little over €237 (about $273) to repair their Lenovo Legion Go (via VideoCardz). This was because the Redditor's device warranty had recently expired. Lenovo is otherwise still repairing or replacing handhelds free of charge for those whose devices still fall within warranty.

One commenter wrote, "Had the same issue, I just [paid around €120 to reactivate] the warranty, I want them to repair it, not at my cost. This is insane."

At least one other Redditor has taken matters into their own hands with a fairly non-standard recovery approach of direct SPI programming. PitStop Computers has also reported on its attempts to find a fix. Despite all of the aforementioned reports, Lenovo has not yet issued an advisory notice about the latest version of the BIOS.

Long story short, if you've not recently updated your Lenovo Legion Go, sticking with an older BIOS version is probably best for now. If you have updated and are experiencing issues on a device with active warranty coverage, reaching out to Lenovo remains your best bet. Should reaching out to Lenovo not be an option for you, you may want to explore rolling your device back to BIOS version N3CN40WW.

You don't need me to tell you the memory crisis is looking bleak, but, well, the memory crisis is looking bleak. So bleak, in fact, that Gigabyte has just unveiled a new series of AM4 motherboards. Yes, the socket we thought we'd be done with by now.

The B550 X Series, as Gigabyte calls it, is "engineered to be the most powerful refresh of the AM4 platform motherboard."

Gigabyte says it is perfect for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, which was a reasonably beefy chip back when it launched in 2022. Gigabyte claims the 5800X3D is "widely regarded as the best cost-to-performance processor on the market" and that the motherboard is purpose-built to handle its 8 cores, 16 threads, and 96 MB of L3 cache.

AMD decided to bring back the 5800X3D this year, which AMD claims was "very hard, actually, very, very hard" to do. When stacked up against the best CPUs right now, like the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, both chips have 8 cores, 16 threads and 96 MB of L3 cache. But the 5800X3D base clock of 3.4 GHz is outpaced by the 9800X3D's superior 4.7 GHz. That, and its newer architecture, translates to a performance uplift of around 30%.

The new B550 X series comes equipped with Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and comes with a 10-phase, 60A DrMPS VRM design. It's also got Gigabyte's own EZ PCIe latch and EZ-plug. It seems like it has some decent engineering features, but there's an elephant in the room here.

The reason PC builders are going back to AM4 is that the DDR5 memory needed to work with an AM5 motherboard is simply too expensive. Unfortunately, with DDR4 also seeing price increases, you will be overpaying no matter what build you make now.

Giving consumers more options is a decent way of handling some of the price increases, but ultimately it's a bandage on a much deeper wound. AI's growth has outpaced the hardware available, and it seems unlikely the memory crisis will be ending soon.

Even Samsung, one of the big three memory manufacturers, warns there will be a "severe" memory supply crisis next year and that "beyond 2029, it is hard to say because of more limited visibility."

So, if you want a rig that is anyway reasonably priced, you will either have to wait for a sale, or shop around for old parts, using old sockets and fitting in old memory. Naturally, an AM4 rig isn't the end of the world, and you will still get some good gaming on it, but it's a sign of just how big the memory crisis has become.

PC cooling company Arctic has secured a tariff refund from the US government. The company isn't simply content to sit on the cash, though. As a result of the refund, Arctic is rolling back prices on its cooling components for US customers. On top of that, the company has also pledged to put the money to use in a variety of community initiatives.

The company shared via its blog, "In addition to the price rollback, Arctic is investing in community initiatives that support technology education and grassroots PC communities in the United States through hardware donations and technical support—we remain committed to fair pricing and making things right for the builders who support Arctic."

The company has yet to release further information on the specific community initiatives it plans to aid. However, the price rollback is already in effect on its US Amazon and eBay store fronts.

The company said, "Rather than only adjusting the specific items that saw a price increase, every recovered dollar is returned to the market through across-the-board retail price cuts, fulfilling our promise to the PC building community. It will remain active until every single dollar ARCTIC received from the tariff refund has been paid back to our customers."

Considering both the Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro, and the Arctic Freezer 36 currently feature in our best CPU coolers guide, I'd call that good news indeed.

To recap, back in February the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to justify far-reaching tariffs was unconstitutional. As a result, Nintendo, Lenovo, plus a number of other affected companies have since applied for compensation. Nintendo and Lenovo at least are also looking for interest in addition to the tariff refund.

It will be interesting to see which other hardware and tech companies announce similar price rollbacks like Arctic. That said, it's not just tariffs driving up the price of hardware. To take Nintendo as one example, Switch 2 pre-orders were delayed last year 'to assess the potential impact of tariffs'.

The console went on to debut at $450 in the US despite tariff turmoil, though that will increase to $500 from September 1 this year due to "changes in market conditions" (ie, the still raging memory supply crisis). As such, I strongly doubt Nintendo at least will be following Arctic's example and rolling back its hardware prices any time soon.

It might sound like a cruel joke in a time where memory is costing hundreds of dollars more than it used to, and GPUs are getting price hikes, but there's a new bit of software called Nukemark that is designed to bring even the best graphics cards to their absolute limits.

Nukemark is based in Unreal Engine 5.7 with Nanite, MegaLights, and its Lumen hardware ray tracing going as hard as they can with up to 8K virtual textures. The RTX 5090 reportedly only gets 15-20 average fps at native resolution, and developer Ezbench seems proud of that.

Even the trailer on the Steam page calls it the "stress test your GPU hopes you never run". Not one to back down to trailer marketing, I've decided to boot it up on my humble rig and put it through its paces.

My rig is equipped with an RTX 4070 Super, matched with an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and 32 GB of DDR5. It's no slouch in the gaming department, and I rarely have problems running new games on it. I can often play games natively without upscaling or frame generation and get a solid experience. At 1440p, both of Nukemark's tests looked like a slideshow. You can see my results below.

Weirdly, the DLSS option seemed to make the tests perform worse, and I'm not too sure why. It could be some sort of bottleneck in my specific rig, or merely a software issue. Nukemark is an early access piece of software, which is expected to take 12-18 months to launch fully, so some hitches are perhaps to be expected.

I couldn't test the game at 4K as my max resolution at home is 1440p, but none of the tests ended with a result I would call 'playable'. In the best-case scenario (1080p on Pandora), an average of 23 fps looked so choppy that, if it were a game, I'd be asking for a refund already.

I suspect that when Nukemark says the RTX 5090 "sustains only approximately 15–20 FPS at native resolution", that native resolution is 4K. The two tests are full of the kinds of braggadocious visuals you would expect from stress-testing software. Emberhold, in particular, is drenched in lighting from magic, lava, and good 'ol ambience. It is littered with reflectable surfaces and fire. And, importantly, you are unlikely to get a 'playable' fps out of anything but the cream of the crop hardware right now.

So what's the point in Nukemark? Well, Ezbench Solutions says it's for system builders, overclockers, and gamers, but my gut says it's more for ego and for the curious. Nukemark rightly claims "Every scene is built to overload today's fastest GPUs" and it is "intentionally engineered to exceed the performance budgets of modern games."

So, in a sense, I suspect it will make for a better benchmark in the future. When some lucky gamer with far too much disposable income gets themselves an RTX 6090 and the 8 GB of memory they can afford from the leftover budget, they could be throwing it at Nukemark just to prove how powerful the next generation of cards is. My humble RTX 4070 Super and I, though, are just fine running the current crop of modern games at around 60 fps.

I've owned an awful lot of ethernet cables in my life, in all sorts of colors. Black, blue, white, grey, yellow, green… even brown and red, I'm pretty sure. If you asked me what's the most common ethernet cable color outside black and white, I'd probably go with blue—but this weekend I learned that when ethernet was first designed in the 1970s, the first cables to use it were all yellow, for two primary reasons.

The first was that one of ethernet specification's creators, Rich Seifert, really liked yellow.

"It's my favorite color. I drove a yellow car, I have yellow furniture," Seifert said in a presentation at this year's Vintage Computer Festival titled History of Ethernet: Musings of an Early Networker. During the presentation he held up an original ethernet cable, clipped off a spool still in storage at his house, to demonstrate how bright it was back in the early 1980s when the technology was first rolling out. Specifically, ethernet was "1968 Corvette yellow," a tone I've learned car dudes refer to as "Safari yellow" to distinguish it from the other Corvette shades of the '60s and '70s.

The second reason Seifert pushed for ethernet cables to all be this specific shade of yellow was more practical than aesthetic, though, and it stemmed from the installation process at the time. While today ethernet is typically run over small twisted pair cables, it initially used a much bulkier coaxial cable that had to be physically connected using a vampire tap that physically "bit into" the metal cable, through its rubber shielding, to make contact. Ethernet's creators were worried about what might happen if you used one of those vampire taps on the wrong cable by mistake—a power cable, for instance.

"This stuff was strung up in ceilings, and it'd run all over the place and you'd drop taps down from the ceiling," Seifert said. "To attach a transceiver to this thing, it would clamp on, so you'd literally have to drill into the cable. There are a whole lot of cables up there in the ceiling. I did not want anyone drilling into a power cable. This would not be a good idea. So I wanted to make sure you could distinguish the power cable from the ethernet cable, so I made this thing as bright as I could possibly make it."

While Seifert's presentation from this weekend isn't online, an older version of the talk is, which covers most of the same ground. Here's the bit in question:

The ethernet spec was remarkably ahead of its time when it was first codified, supporting a 10 megabit per second capacity that computers wouldn't be able to saturate for years. It was also, at the time, a seriously power-intensive bit of computing technology. Ethernet controllers are now ubiquitous microchip elements we barely give a second thought, but in the early '80s you needed a pair of 9x12-inch circuit boards to the tune of $3,000, and they used something like 60 watts of power.

Today a Raspberry Pi 5—a whole-ass computer, ethernet controller included—runs on a 27 watt power supply.

Remember those 'I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC' ad spots from years ago? Such platform rivalry feels like old, mouldering hat these days (especially to a console-gaming interloper like me). That said, we live in a world where both the MacBook Neo and the Dell XPS 13, two notebooks alike in dignity, are vying for the crown of 'most affordable entry-level notebook' at $699 a piece.

The rivalry is old news, though a fresh twist in the tale is that apparently large Microsoft Word files actually open faster on the MacBook Neo. Independent testing carried out by PhoneBuff found that the Neo opened a 500-page Word document in a hair over 7 seconds, whereas a similarly specced Dell XPS 13 took 12 seconds (via Windows Latest).

It's quite the upset—you'd think that after all these years, Microsoft would offer the optimum Word Doc experience within Windows. To add insult to injury, the MacBook Neo doesn't even have Apple's speedy M-series silicon, but instead features what is essentially a repurposed phone chip in the A18 Pro. Though, to be fair, this 'mere' phone chip is still comparable to older M-series chips.

Notebooks like this can handle more than just note-taking. The Dell XPS 13 features an Intel Core 5 320 (a stripped-down version of the Panther Lake chips we like a lot), which should offer plenty of other opportunities to shine throughout PhoneBuff's testing. For instance, on startup the Dell XPS 13 races to the desktop in 24 seconds. The MacBook Neo takes very nearly twice as long, clocking in at 40 seconds. Mind you, that may not really be an, ahem, apples to apples comparsion as the notebooks are running two different operating systems.

But as both of the laptops tested were configured with only 8 GB of RAM, you'd perhaps expect this to be a closer run thing. PhoneBuff's battery efficiency and creative workload tests are a lot more variable, but there's only one thing that I'm interested in here: gaming performance.

Cyberpunk 2077 on a notebook? It's more likely than you think—though with some caveats, obviously. The MacBook Neo loaded up CD Projekt Red's techno dystopia in a hair under 41 seconds, whereas the Dell XPS 13 managed it in 55. When it comes to the game benchmark, though, you can't even attempt to run it at ultra settings on the Dell XPS 13.

Otherwise, when running fullscreen, the XPS 13 averages 16 fps in the benchmark, whereas the MacBook Neo averages almost 20 fps. Now, the MacBook Neo outperforming the Dell was not something I was expecting. Though I also wouldn't necessarily call 20 fps 'playable,' let alone 'enjoyable'.

Our Ian managed to get the MacBook Neo to run Cyberpunk 2077 at 30 FPS in his own testing earlier this year. He writes in his review, "The downside is that to get this, you need to dip below Steam Deck settings, using the Low graphics profile, with the resolution at 720p, and with MetalFX upscaling in performance mode. That's not great, and looks a little soft thanks to all the upscaling going on, but at least it is technically playable."

Personally, I think I'll be sticking with my rig for Cyberpunk 2077—though either notebook might still get a look in for less hardware-intensive indie releases and visual novels.

If you manage your gaming expectations accordingly, then the XPS 13's 13-inch OLED touch display is nothing to sneeze at. The XPS 13's OLED also enjoys P3 colour gamut, meaning it supports a slightly wider range of colours than the MacBook Neo. Furthermore, its 120 Hz refresh rate is twice that of the MacBook Neo's screen—at the very least, scrolling through a webpage will feel a smidge smoother on the Dell, even if its Intel Core 5 320 chip will struggle to keep up with your competitive favourites.

My, how the world can change in a year. The previous version of the Razer Blade 16 shot to the top of our best gaming laptop guide upon its release in 2025, thanks to its fantastic chassis design, great performance, and battery-powered gaming abilities, among other virtues. Yes, it was hugely expensive. But thanks to a stunning all round package, it was worth the money if you had the cash to splash.

Now I sit with the Razer Blade 16 (2026) in front of me—and on the surface, not a whole lot has changed. I've been provided with an RTX 5090-equipped config with 32 GB of DDR5, a 2 TB SSD, and a 240 Hz 16-inch OLED display, all wrapped up in the same chassis as the old model. So far, so brilliant. The major change to this refresh, though, is the addition of one of Intel's Panther Lake-based laptop processors, the Core Ultra 9 386H.

It's a very speedy gaming CPU, and a worthy addition to the Blade 16's armoury. But the thing I'm struggling with, as I'm sure you might have already guessed, is the price. Prepare yourself, folks. This particular Blade 16 costs, and there's no getting round it, $4,900/£4,800.

That's $400 more than the previous RTX 5090-equipped Blade, and, as usual, you can largely blame the memory crisis. But for this sort of price, I'm not quite as convinced by the Blade 16 as I used to be. It's still a sumptuous, fabulous machine, and I'd have one in a heartbeat if I had all the money in the world. But I'd also have a gold-plated Lamborghini and a spare room made of chocolate, while I'm at it.

Which is to say, it's become more difficult to justify the Blade 16's value for this sort of moolah. It's super-portable for a 16-inch machine, and that's worth a lot. It's a wonderfully-premium object, too, with a fantastic screen. And it gets good battery life, all the while running relatively quietly if you drop it down into Balanced mode. It's very… civilised. And I love that.

But spending nearly five grand on an RTX 5090 gaming laptop that can be soundly beaten in the performance stakes by the often-cheaper, RTX 5080-toting Lenovo Legion Pro 7i? The idea of it stops me in my tracks. Is the Razer better in many other ways? Undoubtedly. But the price to performance delta is now skewed, and that gives me the odd doubt.

There are cheaper, lesser-GPUed models of the Blade 16 available, and if I was buying one with my own money, that's where I'd be looking. The Razer Blade 16 is an astonishing piece of engineering, and rarely have I wanted a gaming laptop more. But crucially, I think its MSRP across the range is now substantial enough to keep me awake at night—and as a result, I've got to knock it down by a peg or two.

Razer Blade (2026) features

The 2026 version of the Blade 16 is still a lush device, and my review sample has a specs sheet to be proud of. The major internal change over our previously tested model comes in the form of the Panther Lake-based Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor, which replaces the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 found in last year's top-spec config.

It's a 16-core CPU, which breaks down into four Performance cores, eight Efficient, and four Low Power Efficient types. That core distribution might sound a little weak on paper, but in practice it adds up to create a powerful gaming chip, with a 4.9 GHz max boost frequency and a maximum boosted power draw of 80 W.

Unfortunately, the iGPU here isn't the Arc B390 found in Intel's top-of-the-line Panther Lake chips, which feels like a bit of an omission. Instead you get a four Xe3-cored "Intel Graphics" tile, which means that for battery-based gaming you're probably going to want to lean on the dGPU. Which in this case is a beastly RTX 5090 mobile chip capable of maxing out at a 175 W TGP.

It'll sip much less power than that in practice, of course, and you'll need a Razer cooling pad to enable its potential top wattage figure. Still, the lack of a feisty iGPU is a missed opportunity for genuinely mobile gaming, if you ask me.

Lower-specced variants of the Blade 16 are available, going all the way down to an RTX 5060/Ryzen AI 9 365 config with 16 GB of DDR5 and a 1 TB SSD. Even this "bottom-spec" model, though, has an eye-watering price given the hardware inside. It's $2,400, to be precise. Oof.

Still, my top-end sample is well-equipped no matter which way you look at it. It's got 32 GB of LPDDR5X-9600, a 2 TB Gen4 SSD, and a truly stunning 240 Hz OLED display, complete with DisplayHDR TrueBlack1000 certification.

It's still one of the best panels I've had the pleasure of setting my eyes upon—although it's got some serious competition in the form of the new ROG Nebula OLED displays found in the latest Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 models.

All this high-end hardware comes wrapped in a chassis that still stands head and shoulders above the rest. The Blade 16 is astonishingly slim given the components inside, and its crisp-edged, all-business frame feels like the pinnacle of gaming laptop design.

I say all business, but it's still got a big, neon green Razer logo on the back and an RGB-lit keyboard. You can always turn the lighting off, but I quite like the contrast it creates. Gamer executive chic? Something like that, anyway.

The keyboard has more travel than you might expect from a low-profile unit, and my typing accuracy has noticeably improved when clicking away at its keys on the go. As for the trackpad? It's glorious, with a large, smooth-yet-tactile surface and ultra-responsive clicks.

Every other laptop manufacturer should take a look at Razer's efforts here and make notes. Simply put, every part of the Blade 16 looks and feels top notch. It's amazing what huge gobs of cash will buy, isn't it?

Razer Blade (2026) performance

Jumping straight into the 1080p benchmarks, it's clear that the new Intel chip has done the Blade 16 some good when it comes to gaming performance. In Baldur's Gate 3, the newly-sharpened Blade manages to pull an impressive 21 fps lead in the averages over its older AMD-chipped sibling, with substantially higher 1% lows to boot.

1080p gaming performance

This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1080p resolution

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra)Baldur's Gate 3 (1080p Ultra)Black Myth: Wukong (1080p High)F1 24 (1080p Ultra High)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

66

44

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

52

39

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

63

34

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

68

38

020406080

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	66 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	52 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	63 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	68 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

83

41

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

78

43

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

62

28

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

96

55

0255075100

Baldur's Gate 3 (1080p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	83 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	78 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	62 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	96 Avg FPS, 55 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

110

84

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

102

83

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

114

76

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

99

84

037.575112.5150

Black Myth: Wukong (1080p High) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	110 Avg FPS, 84 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	102 Avg FPS, 83 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	114 Avg FPS, 76 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	99 Avg FPS, 84 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

120

92

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

101

76

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

117

57

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

126

51

037.575112.5150

F1 24 (1080p Ultra High) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	120 Avg FPS, 92 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	101 Avg FPS, 76 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	117 Avg FPS, 57 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	126 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

126

64

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

102

53

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

117

64

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

140

72

037.575112.5150

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	126 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	102 Avg FPS, 53 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	117 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	140 Avg FPS, 72 1% Low FPS

The Blade 16 (2026) is comfortably faster than the previous version in most of my 1080p gaming benchmarks, although the Legion 7i Pro remains supreme.

In Cyberpunk 2077, though, that lead shrinks to a mere 3 fps average, albeit with 10 frames gained in the 1% lows. The Blade 16 also beats the new Asus G16 quite handily, although runs into some trouble when faced with the mighty Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10.

The Lenovo machine also scorches ahead in Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, leaving every other lappy on this chart firmly in its wake. It's a good example of how some high-wattage components in a chonkier laptop chassis can gulp down power, spin up the fans, and pull beyond their weight under duress.

1600p gaming performance

This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra)Baldur's Gate 3 (Native res. Ultra)Black Myth: Wukong (Native res. High)F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (Native res. Ultra)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

39

30

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

31

24

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

39

29

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

40

28

010203040

Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	39 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	31 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	39 Avg FPS, 29 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	40 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

81

45

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

80

46

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

61

33

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

96

42

0255075100

Baldur's Gate 3 (Native res. Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	81 Avg FPS, 45 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	80 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	61 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	96 Avg FPS, 42 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

76

48

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

75

66

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

68

45

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

111

80

037.575112.5150

Black Myth: Wukong (Native res. High) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	76 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	75 Avg FPS, 66 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	68 Avg FPS, 45 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	111 Avg FPS, 80 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

78

67

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

63

53

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

77

46

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

77

55

020406080

F1 24 (Native res. Ultra High) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	78 Avg FPS, 67 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	63 Avg FPS, 53 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	77 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	77 Avg FPS, 55 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

95

56

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

68

46

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

90

58

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

96

65

0255075100

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (Native res. Ultra) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	95 Avg FPS, 56 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	68 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	90 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	96 Avg FPS, 65 1% Low FPS

The 2026 Blade 16 beats its older sibling at 1600p, and gains a decent overall lead on the RTX 5080-equipped G16—but the Legion Pro 7i still rules the roost.

At 1600p, the 2026 Blade 16 is virtually tied with both the older model and the Legion Pro 7i in Cyberpunk 2077. However, the Lenovo lappy knocks all our other machines for six in Baldur's Gate 3 and Black Myth Wukong.

Despite the Legion being an RTX 5080-equipped machine, it's got a tendency to power ahead of many other gaming laptops (including some of the RTX 5090-equipped ones) thanks to a brace of very powerful cooling fans, a monstrous 24-core Intel CPU, and a larger chassis. Thermal throttling will hold back performance with any machine, and the Lenovo is better at letting its hardware run wild and free.

It's a much heftier beast, though. While you could certainly shove its substantial, 6 lbs, rear-lipped chassis into a backpack, it's a laptop that focuses on raw performance over portability. By contrast, what the Blade 16 and Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 are aiming for is a balance between gaming chops and day-to-day usability.

Real-world gaming performance

This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution with Quality upscaling enabled, and frame gen. where applicable

Cyberpunk 2077 (1600p, RT Ultra + upscaling, 2x FG)Black Myth: Wukong (1600p, High + Quality upscaling)F1 24 (1600p, Ultra High + Quality upscaling, 2x FG)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

112

75

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

95

79

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

104

73

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

124

83

037.575112.5150

Cyberpunk 2077 (1600p, RT Ultra + upscaling, 2x FG) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	112 Avg FPS, 75 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	95 Avg FPS, 79 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	104 Avg FPS, 73 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	124 Avg FPS, 83 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

98

59

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

84

72

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

97

82

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

111

80

037.575112.5150

Black Myth: Wukong (1600p, High + Quality upscaling) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	98 Avg FPS, 59 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	84 Avg FPS, 72 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	97 Avg FPS, 82 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	111 Avg FPS, 80 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

185

103

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

144

125

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

169

100

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

184

91

050100150200

F1 24 (1600p, Ultra High + Quality upscaling, 2x FG) Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	185 Avg FPS, 103 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	144 Avg FPS, 125 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	169 Avg FPS, 100 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	184 Avg FPS, 91 1% Low FPS

It's a pretty convincing win for the Blade 16 over two of our tested machines on average, but here comes the Legion to spoil the party once more.

Add some upscaling and frame generation into the equation, and the Blade 16 pulls ahead of both the Asus and the previous model by substantial amounts in two of my benches. The Legion Pro 7i, though, gives it a pasting in Cyberpunk and Black Myth once more, although drops a single frame behind it on average in F1 24, with worse 1% lows.

What we're seeing here is the difference between a full fat, slightly old-school gaming laptop design with modern components, versus three slim and light machines designed to be taken on the road. While the Blade 16's gaming performance has definitely been improved by the addition of a new Intel chip, it's worth noting that better raw performance (for cheaper) can still be found elsewhere.

Gaming GPU usage

Average GPU frequency and power usage recorded during multiple Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition benchmark runs

GPU stats

Avg GPU freq. (MHz)

Avg GPU power (W)

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

1853

143

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

1868.53

112

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

1874

106

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

2375

127

07501,5002,2503,000

GPU stats Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	1853 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 143 Avg GPU power (W)
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	1868.53 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 112 Avg GPU power (W)
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	1874 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 106 Avg GPU power (W)
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	2375 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 127 Avg GPU power (W)

The Blade 16 (2026) seems happier to send more juice to its GPU than the older model, but the average frequency is still significantly lower than the RTX 5080 in the Legion Pro 7i.

Looking at the GPU frequency figures, we can start to see where the Legion Pro 7i finds its extra grunt. While it's got toastier temps overall, the Lenovo machine's RTX 5080 is allowed to clock much higher than the other mobile GPUs on this chart.

CPU performance

CPU performance figures taken from the Cinebench R24 single-core and multi-core benchmarks

Cinebench 2024

Multi-core index score

Single-core index score

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

1200

124

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

1215

124

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

1246

118

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

2039

138

07501,5002,2503,000

Cinebench 2024 Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	1200 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	1215 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	1246 Multi-core index score, 118 Single-core index score
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	2039 Multi-core index score, 138 Single-core index score

The Core Ultra 9 386H found in both the new Blade 16 and the G16 is plenty quick—although the 24-core chip in the Legion Pro 7i is a genuine monster.

As for productivity, the Cinebench R24 benchmark shows the Core Ultra 9 386H tracking near-identically in both the Blade 16 and the new Asus G16. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is ahead by a nose in the multi-core stakes, but a little off the pace of both in terms of single-core performance.

But here comes the Legion Pro 7i once more, with its 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX streaking ahead in both benches. It's no great surprise given the big Intel chip's fearsome specs sheet, but it's still impressive to see how far one of Intel's higher-core-count Arrow Lake CPUs can pull ahead when given room to breathe.

Razer Blade 2026 thermals

When it comes to fan noise, the Blade 16 is a bit of a hairdryer in Turbo mode, which is where you'll get the performance figures above. It keeps its component temperatures decently in check while gaming, but the fan noise is very intrusive.

You can say the same about just about any gaming laptop running at full tilt, though, and I've certainly heard worse. Much, much worse, now I come to think of it.

Real-world gaming temperatures

Gaming temperature results recorded during multiple Metro Exodus EE runs

Gaming temperatures

Avg CPU (°C)

Max CPU (°C)

Avg GPU (°C)

Max GPU (°C)

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

82

98

62

77

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

72

98

69

77

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

86

95

82

86

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

94

105

74

79

037.575112.5150

Gaming temperatures Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	82 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 62 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	72 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 69 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	86 Avg CPU (°C), 95 Max CPU (°C), 82 Avg GPU (°C), 86 Max GPU (°C)
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	94 Avg CPU (°C), 105 Max CPU (°C), 74 Avg GPU (°C), 79 Max GPU (°C)

The new Razer Blade 16 is better at keeping its GPU chilled than our 2025 test sample, although the CPU runs a little hotter.

Drop the Blade 16 down into its Balanced power mode, and the fan noise, temps, and component speeds drop with it. It's remarkably quiet at these settings, although as you would expect, this does affect the gaming performance.

I recorded a 12 fps lower result in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1600p with Quality upscaling and frame gen enabled, resulting in a 100 fps average with 68 fps 1% lows. That's still plenty fast enough for me, and likely where I'd keep the Blade 16 at all times if I owned one myself.

And therein lies the Blade 16's party trick. When you combine its portability, good frame rates at Balanced power settings, and the still-decent battery life you'll see below, the whole package starts to make a lot more sense. It's capable of being civilised in a way most high-powered laptops are not, and that goes a significant way towards justifying the expense.

Razer Blade 2026 battery life

The new Blade 16 claims to have better overall battery life than the older model, but when it comes to my gaming test figures, that doesn't prove out. To keep things even, all of our laptops are tested by setting screen brightness to 50%, disabling the Wi-Fi, and unplugging them from the wall—which, in the Blade 16's case, causes the software to switch into a Balanced power mode.

A 102 minute score is pretty good going, but it's still significantly lower than the previous model.

Gaming battery life

Results recorded in the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test, with screen brightness set to 50% and Wi-Fi disabled

PCMark 10 gaming battery life test

Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

102

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H

117

Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

135

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX

73

037.575112.5150

PCMark 10 gaming battery life test Data

Product	Value
Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	102
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H	117
Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	135
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX	73

The new Blade 16 drops significantly behind the previous model in this particular test, although it's still a long way ahead of the Legion Pro 7i.

Synapse has an extra Battery Saver setting that lowers the power draw even further, though, so for extra points I enabled it and ran the test again. This resulted in an extra six minutes or so of battery life, which isn't exactly mindblowing. Given the limited gains, I'd prefer to keep the performance of Balanced mode while I was gaming on the go.

Regardless, although the 2026 version of the Blade can't match the older model for gaming battery life in my regular testing, it's still an impressive result when compared to the Legion Pro 7i—which puts the difference between these machines in stark contrast.

You might get more performance elsewhere for your cash, but if you want usable battery life and gaming chops, you'll be paying for it. The Blade 16 might not be the fastest gaming laptop on the planet, but when it comes to travel convenience, it's still a fearsome contender.

Razer Blade 2026 aesthetics

The Blade 16 is a truly gorgeous machine. The crisp chassis design, stealthed-out colour palette and trim corners create a moody, purposeful aesthetic that I can't get enough of. This Razer lappy is here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and guess what? It's all out of Hubba Bubba.

In all seriousness, this is a gaming laptop with the gamer aesthetic tastefully reigned in, which means it wouldn't look out of place in your next business meeting, or on the train to work. It's still got a big neon green Razer logo on the back and an RGB keyboard, but both can be turned off for the true stealth experience. It's lean, mean, and beautifully well-made.

And while we're on aesthetics, I have to rave about the Blade 16's 240 Hz OLED display. You can spot this panel from across a crowded room, as I have done at many tech conferences and events. It's stunningly vibrant without appearing over-saturated, and has caused me to stare gormlessly at benchmark demos running in the background that I'd ordinarily glance at with indifference. And the contrast levels? Sumptuous.

I've spent a lot of time gaming on many different OLED displays, and they're usually very impressive. This one, though? It still stands out from the crowd.

Razer Blade (2026) software

No laptop software is perfect, and Razer Synapse is no exception. Still, it's pretty straightforward to configure, with clearly laid-out presets for Silent, Balanced, and Performance modes to help reign in some of the fan noise (and the performance, naturally) when attached to the wall.

CPU and GPU power settings can be custom configured for the plugged in modes, but the battery options limit you to Balanced and Battery Saver power presets—although you can still switch the fans between an automatic mode and a fixed speed option within the menus.

I'd like to see some more manual power configuration options while on battery, but alas, the software suddenly changes from "do what you like" to "not on my watch, buddy." Otherwise, there are plenty of settings to play with. The display, speakers, keyboard, trackpad, and lighting can be tuned to your preferences, and there's a floating bar along the top showing you real time data for your CPU and GPU temps, fan speeds, and more.

There's also a Battery Health Optimizer, which can be manually set to prevent the battery from topping itself up to the maximum, extending its overall lifespan. It's nothing revolutionary, but the Synapse integration feels reasonably comprehensive and easy enough to mess with, even if it's not quite as granular as something like Lenovo's LegionSpace solution.

Razer Blade (2026) value

The Razer Blade (2026) is now substantially more expensive than the previous model, and the new CPU isn't really to blame. The memory crisis has torn its way through the gaming laptop market, and the Blade 16 is far from immune. Which means that many of the Blade 16's competitors have also jumped in price. But now it's sitting perilously close to the five grand mark, a gaming laptop I genuinely adore is suddenly a tougher sell.

Our Dave gave the previous version's performance a solid thumbs up, even though it was off the pace when compared to some heftier, far-less-portable machines. It was quieter, more refined, more pleasant to live with. And that offset some of the benchmark quibbles, an opinion I very much agree with for the newer model.

However, while the much-faster (and much chonkier) Lenovo Legion Pro 7i can often be found for significantly less, I can't help but wonder how much the Blade's ultra-premium, ultra-portable design is actually worth. More, certainly. But substantially more? It's a very difficult thing to square.

There is a silver lining, though. The RTX 5080 Blade 16, with the same speedy Intel chip (albeit with a 1 TB SSD), can be found for $4,000. The RTX 5070 Ti version is cheaper still, at $3,500. And while these are still eye-watering sums for a gaming laptop, you can buy a lot of the best things the Blade has to offer for a substantially lower price.

The Razer Blade 16 is a fabulous machine, there's absolutely no doubt. If I had a huge amount of disposable cash to spend, I'd spec one out with relatively little thought. It screams desirability from every angle, and I've loved spending time with my review sample. Plus, it's still one of the easiest 16-inch machines to stuff in your bag and take on your next flight.

But at these prices, I think some of the Blade 16's drawbacks start to weigh more heavily upon its svelte frame. It's still one of the best gaming laptops money can buy—but for this sort of cash, I think it's lost just a touch of its shine.

MSI has just announced the Pro Max OLED 271UPJW12, and if you aren't a monitor wizard who can make sense of all those numbers, that's a new 27-inch 4K inkjet-printed OLED monitor.

If you are unfamiliar with what that means, inkjet printing is a cheaper process than the traditional deposition process used by LG and Samsung. LG and Samsung produce almost every OLED screen for PC monitors right now, but TCL, the producers of this MSI panel, have been looking to burst into the market for some time.

The new MSI panel offers a 120 Hz refresh rate, up to 1,000 nits peak brightness, and an optimised RGB stripe subpixel layout that MSI claims "closely resembles the uniform RGB structure of traditional LCDs." This should eliminate colour fringing and enhance image clarity, and is something we've seen arrive on LG and Samsung-made OLED panels only recently.

As you might be able to guess from the 120 Hz refresh rate and 'Pro' moniker, this MSI panel is not traditionally intended for gaming. We don't yet have the response rate, but it's an OLED, so it's likely to be good. Yet the focus on colour precision over speed implies a use case for professionals. The monitor offers "99% of the DCI-P3 wide color gamut with an exceptional Delta E ≤ 2 accuracy."

In a way, this new monitor for MSI will be a good testing ground for what more OLEDs could look like in the future. If inkjet-printed screens get a foothold in the market, it could make for some more budget options, and a third option away from the duopoly of Samsung and LG.

Unfortunately, though, we are missing the two most pertinent bits of information about this monitor. We don't know when it's supposed to release or what pricing will look like. The MSI Pro Max 271UPXW12G, which appears to be the QD-OLED counterpart to the inkjet monitor, seems to sit around the $700 mark. If it can cut away substantially at that price, then the swap to inkjet will be well worth it.

Still, as it's an early model for inkjet tech, I'm not expecting too big of a price cut. And non-inkjet OLED monitors are becoming more and more budget-friendly. I check over our roundup of the best cheap gaming monitors every week, and regularly spot OLED panels around the $300-$400 price point.

Even Alienware put out a $350 OLED gaming monitor as recently as this year, so here's hoping OLED only gets more competitive in the pricing arena.

Valve's wireless VR headset, the Steam Frame, doesn't yet have a nailed down release date beyond the vague window of 'later this year'. I've got a hunch it'll drop soon though—and not because I put any stock in the Steam Frame subreddit's wild release date rituals. No, I'm instead feeling optimistic because both Lepton and FEX are now publicly available via Steam.

Both of these pieces of software are key for the Steam Frame and required for its operation. Lepton can be thought of as a 'container' for gaming on Linux that lets it run Android games inside of it. FEX is a similarly important tool for the Snapdragon-powered device, but a smidge more complicated.

At the risk of oversimplifying, FEX takes 32-bit and 64-bit x86 games and translates them so they can be understood by Arm-based systems. The Steam Frame uses an Arm-based Snapdragon SoC, hence why FEX is required. Without it, it wouldn't be able to play most of the VR games available on Steam.

To be clear, neither Lepton nor FEX have an easily accessible Steam store page. This 'public release' is mostly good news for developers. For instance, Android devs can easily create an Android depot containing an apk for their game on Steam (the first Android game to be purchasable on Steam popped up back in November, in the form of an apk file for Walkabout Mini Golf).

From there, devs can set the apk as the launch executable for players using the Steam client. Steam Cloud will even support save data stored in the external Android data directory—that's some thought out integration.

FEX could be handy for any Arm system. Besides Valve saying it's 'definitely' already investigating an Arm-based gaming future, Nvidia's recently unveiled RTX Spark 'superchip' pairs an Nvidia GPU core with a MediaTek Arm chiplet.

Though I personally doubt an RTX Spark laptop or notebook will be the most affordable option, the SoC seems set to be a disruptive presence in the space no matter what. Our Dave has already played a native Arm build of Alan Wake 2 on an RTX Spark laptop, but that still leaves plenty of games that will benefit from Valve's work on the FEX translation layer in the future.

Noctua is one of the very best fan makers on the market, but introducing its fan into the Feinmann F01 Noctua Edition gaming mouse seemed to involve a truly horrible sequence of fan tests.

Noctua has "custom-built torture-test rigs", all designed to put fans through their paces to see if they can withstand how the average gamer treats their mice. One video of six fans getting rapidly from left to right says, "This is what 30 sideways movements per second look like."

Effectively, the new Noctua mouse has a fan inside, which then blows air on your palm as you play. I've had the chance to try it out in the PC Gamer office, and so far, it's surprisingly pleasant. But ultimately, if you are gaming, you will do a lot of sideways movement and will often pick the mouse up and tap the top of the table. Noctua wouldn't want its fan to break down in a game, and it has taken to its blog to go over its testing methodology.

One test, conveniently named the 'drop test', has a series of fans on a motor that is picked up by a wheel and then dropped rapidly. You can see a video of that particular test in action below.

The results, according to Noctua, are positive for both tests. It says, "The answer to the question of how long NF-A4x10 fans can survive this type of torture is simple: surprisingly long!"

The horizontal test, pushing 12 fans back and forth rapidly, stopped after 280,000 cycles as one of the fans had failed. However, that turned out to be a bearing issue with the tape that fixed the fan coming loose.

In the vertical drop test, all eight fans were still functional after 20,000 drops. "After another 5000 drops, all the fans had their impellers pop out due to failures of the bearing lock-ring, but by this time, the foam padding at the base of the test setup that we used to soften the impact was completely shattered, so the impact force had become much higher than our accelerometer could measure."

So it seems like the gaming mouse is ready for the big league (ie gamers throwing their mice around because a monster has popped up on-screen). We'll just have to see how it fares for gaming in its other aspects. I have my hands on one, so you can expect my thoughts soon, though I don't anticipate dropping it 20,000 times.

If you've ever felt like your bike trainer has a disturbing lack of Rocket League or Forza Horizon, you are in luck. One app called Deck de France can let you use your bike as a controller for games, though it's pretty limited so far.

Shared on GitHub (via Hackaday), Deck de France is technically compatible with any smart trainer that broadcasts Cycling Power Service over Bluetooth Low Energy. That means it can work with the following devices:

• Tacx — NEO, NEO 2T, Flux, Bushido, Vortex, Satori, Booster
• Elite — Suito-T, Justo, Direto, Drivo, Rampa, Sterzo Smart (steering plate)
• Wahoo — KICKR, KICKR Core (broadcasts CPS — untested but should work)
• Zwift Hub / Zwift Hub One (broadcasts CPS — untested but should work)
• CycleOps — Magnus, H3 (broadcasts CPS — untested but should work)
• Garmin — Vector 3 power meter pedals
• Magene — S3+ Speed/Cadence sensor
• Power meters — Any BLE power meter pedals or crank-based meters (4iiii, Stages, Favero, etc.)

Effectively, the app can translate your pedalling power into actions. Sukolupo, the creator of the app, says the original use case is the Tour de France games. The harder you pedal, the faster you go.

That makes sense as it's the closest video game to actually cycling without actually cycling, which has always been a bit of an oddity to me—especially when cycling apps such as Zwift and Rouvy exist.

It also has some rudimentary functionality in other games. In Rocket League, pedalling activates boost. In the Forza games, pedal power is equivalent to acceleration. You can even control the throttle of cars in Grand Theft Auto.

The catch here is that you need a Bluetooth controller to do everything else. That means in the likes of Rocket League, you'd play as normal on a controller and pedal when you want to boost.

As of right now, it is shown working with the Steam Deck, but Deck de France technically works with any Linux PC. It actually seems strikingly simple to set up, with Sukolupo saying you can get it working in just five minutes. The instructions are all on the Deck de France GitHub repository and easy to follow.

So, if you're an avid cycler, or just want the weirdest way to hog all the boost in Rocket League, this seems like a fun way to add a little bit of exercise into a gaming session.

If Microsoft gutting its Xbox division, laying off staff, and struggling to give its console a real unique selling point hasn't quite put you off the brand, you will now have to pay hundreds more for its devices if you live in Europe.

As originally spotted over in a Resetera thread, the prices of Xbox Series S and Series X have just gone up (the change is reflected on the Microsoft Germany website too). The new changes are as follows:

This means the 1 TB model of the Xbox Series S now costs more than the 1 TB Xbox Series X console. As well as this, in June, Microsoft started sunsetting the 2 TB model, citing component costs. And Xbox hardware is seemingly already struggling to sell. As revealed on the latest earnings call, Xbox hardware revenue decreased by a whopping 29% "driven by lower volume of consoles sold."

As pointed out by VGC, Microsoft did previously confirm price hikes, but only in the US. With increases of $100-$150 across the board, Europe actually appears to have been hit worse by the changes. The 512 GB Xbox Series S got a $100 rise in the US, but a £130 (around $175) increase in the UK

Even though higher-priced hardware is bad for pretty much everyone in the gaming industry, there is some schadenfreude to be felt here. That's because console pricing is only so bad because of the memory crisis, and AI growth has led to that memory crisis. In turn, Microsoft has put a lot of money into AI, so as our Tyler puts it, "Microsoft doesn't know what to do about the memory pricing crisis Microsoft is causing."

Unfortunately, all signs suggest the memory crisis isn't ending soon. Samsung, one of the big three memory manufacturers, has warned of a 'severe' memory supply crisis next year, and it will likely take some time for supply to catch up with demand.

With the next generation of consoles still expected to launch at the end of 2027, or perhaps into 2028, it seems likely that whatever Sony and Microsoft do next will be hit by the same memory pricing and supply issues.

Both companies will likely take some losses on consoles to make it back in software, but even a small loss is unlikely to make a big dent in the astronomical prices of memory for the foreseeable future.

Last month I reported that replacement batteries for the original LCD version of the Steam Deck would return to the iFixIt store after a brief absence. Well, Valve sent more batteries, and you can purchase these replacements from iFixIt right now. Unfortunately, the replacement battery alone now costs $130.

Purchasing a new L-shaped battery without the kit bundle used to only set you back about $80. These new replacement parts for the Steam Deck LCD are still rated for 5200 mAh, and have the same 40 Wh capacity like the old ones, though they cost $50 more. That's a nearly 63% increase (via VideoCardz).

If you don't mind picking up a non-OEM part instead, iFixIt also offers an aftermarket version of the LCD battery for only 80 bucks. This was introduced as a stop-gap while Valve's batteries were out of stock, but they feature the same Watt and Milliamp Hour capacity.

It's also worth noting that you can purchase replacement batteries for the Steam Deck OLED from iFixIt too, though these still only cost $80. As it's for a newer model, the OLED batteries instead enjoy 50.08 Wh, and 6470 mAh. That's about 20% more capacity than the LCD Steam Deck, though its OEM batteries still cost $50 more.

As disappointing as it is, this price jump is perhaps unsurprising. For one thing, Valve quietly discontinued the LCD Steam Deck late last year. For another, in the midst of a memory supply crisis which is driving up the price of new gaming PC components by the day, more and more folks may be moving to fix up older hardware instead.

I have an experiment for you. Right now, as you stare at this article on a phone, monitor, PS Vita, whatever, spin your head around. Oh, probably don't do that in public or while walking. Or do. I don't know, I'm not your dad.

But you will probably spot that the entire world doesn't go blurry as you spin. Now, a second experiment: wave your hand in front of you and tell me if your hand goes blurry. As you'll likely deduce from that very scientific experiment, motion blur (ie the entire world going blurry around you as you wiggle your head) is not a 'realistic' game setting.

One of the first things I do when I play a game is turn motion blur off. Given you are reading this on PC Gamer dot com, the likelihood is that you do the same. Recently, while playing Halo: Campaign Evolved, I realised it has one of the worst implementations of motion blur I've ever seen, and it even has the audacity to be on by default.

Now, I do acknowledge that motion blur serves a purpose. Calling it a "cure worse than the disease" back in 2023, we noted that motion blur can not only add a sense of speed and realism but can reduce the perception of artifacts. As you might be able to guess, that means motion blur is effective at obscuring faults at lower frame rates too.

And as such, it makes sense that it largely came about in the early 2000s. As 3D games became more popular, and hardware ramped up to attempt to keep pace with that innovation, motion blur helped to obscure low frame rates.

There is another purpose for motion blur. As pointed out back in 1999, Kong looks a bit weird in the 1933 King Kong movie, because the background shots are shot on camera and the titular great ape was animated with still photos. Cameras introduce motion blur, and many games attempt to mimic film, rather than real life. Nowadays, stop motion animators add artificial blur to make their pictures feel more like a movie.

So, in big-budget cinematic games, there are two built-in reasons for motion blur: to feel closer to a movie than real life, and to make up for poor performance.

But it's 2026, and modern hardware, especially with innovations like upscaling and frame generation, can get the average fps up into the hundreds for even modern titles. So my question is, 'why is motion blur the default?' Why is it the native way we are supposed to play games?

Now, motion blur absolutely has its defenders, and I can see the argument for it in sequences that are played at high speeds (like racing games). But, a study from back in 2013 shows that, even in racing games, players could reliably detect motion blur but did not report it having a positive effect on the game. It concludes, "motion blur effects, while useful for reducing artifacts and achieving a realistic 'look', do not significantly enhance the player experience."

While playing Halo: Campaign Evolved, I realised game capture looked significantly worse with motion blur on, regardless of the fps of the game. The blur tends to be at its worst below 60 fps, but it's not exactly pretty at 100 fps either. The game ultimately feels less immersive to me with motion blur on.

The thing is, motion blur's benefits, aesthetically speaking, are subjective. I hate it, and wish I'd never have to see it in a game again, but others like it. And that's part of the problem here. It has become the default, I think, in part because it was the default, and there's no point fixing it if it ain't broke.

But we have tools that are much better at making up for lower frame rates now. I'd opt for a little upscaling pretty much any day over motion blur, but I also don't expect that to be the default. There's also a little part of my brain that doesn't like tools that are used to mask performance issues being the expected way to play games. I want my first taste of a game to be as untreated as possible, where I then season it with as much salt and pepper as I like. And motion blur is simply too spicy for a first bite.

Here at Clanker Watch we're keeping a close eye on the burgeoning age of robotics, staring wide-eyed with equal parts horror and amusement at the hijinks those state-of-the-art automatons are getting up to.

July was a busy month, with robots doing everything from punching through walls (on purpose) and falling to pieces (accidentally), and one even trying to teach high school classes before getting expelled from school. Here's the top five robot sightings of the month.

5. The butler ate it

Robots abruptly shutting down is nothing new: we've recently seen one robot faceplant on the starting line of a race and another moonwalk itself to death, but this has to be my favorite yet. During a presentation at Computex, a 4NE1 robot designed by Neura Robotics walked on stage during a Qualcomm presentation, delivered an IQ10 processor on a tray, and turned to face the audience. Then, the magic happened.

Make sure you have your volume up.

Quick thinking having a tablecloth handy. I didn’t even notice the twitching from that dead robot.

— @rvbdrm.com (@rvbdrm.com.bsky.social) 2026-07-31T23:19:46.257Z

Wow. That bot ate it like it was taken down by a sniper. And after the deafening clatter of its knees connecting with the service tray, it politely raises its hand to signal for help. Classy.

Are robots really labor saving devices? Because it seems like for everyone one robot there's gotta be three dudes standing nearby to immediately cover it with a death shroud when it inevitably collapses. Seems labor intensive to me.

4. Over sea and air

In more terrifying robot news, engineers have solved a major problem: what if a human being is fleeing a flying drone and dives underwater? How can we invade their privacy or fire incapacitating darts into their necks if they're swimming?

No problem: here's a flying robot, supposedly designed to monitor birds, that can dive into the water, swim for a while, then leap back up into the air and resume flying. There is no escape.

3. Mech trek

I always thought mechs didn't do anything without their pilots, but it appears I was wrong. Unitree Robotics unveiled it's own mech recently, and it seems perfectly comfortable walking around without anyone inside it.

Also, you can just go ahead and buy one if you have $650,000 lying around. "Please everyone be sure to use the robot in a Friendly and Safe manner," says Unitree below a video showing the monstrosity punching a concrete wall to rubble.

2. Centaur of attention

"Hey, guys, we're going to design a robot that can use a chainsaw, what do you think it should look like? A terrifying obsidian death-centaur with horns on its head? Perfect, I'll get started."

As far as I can tell, "Threehalves" is just a concept at the moment, but what a concept. It's a "general purpose" robot meant to perform work in dangerous environments, but why they made it look like a literal demon is beyond me. If there's not an indie horror film called Threehalves starring Jack Quaid about a chainsaw-wielding robot in about two years, I'll be shocked.

1. Hot for teacher

Finally, how can we not include the weirdest robot story yet: a pilot program at a high school in Salamanca, New York, has put on hold plans to introduce an AI-powered robot teacher to the curriculum. Why? Well, in part because the robotics company, Realbotix, also has a division that makes sex dolls. Surprise: that makes a lot of people pretty nervous.

"Realbotix LLC and Intima LLC have different product offerings with no crossover," the Realbotix Corp said.

OK, but surely you can understand that it's hard for us to shake the idea you're just sticking a corduroy blazer on a sex doll and shoving into a classroom to teach economics, right? 'Cuz that's what we're all thinking.

As we reported last month, AMD is working on a low-power, compact range of Zen 6 CPUs, which should be perfect for inclusion in laptops and gaming handhelds. If you're wondering how it plans on doing that, it seems the answer is a collage of different Zen architectures from Zen 2 upwards combined.

As spotted by industry analyst InstLatX64 (via Wccftech), a Linux kernel patch from Vishal Badole, a member of AMD staff, notes that the low-power core is marked in CPUID. This designation, distinct from a regular Zen 'C' core, is necessary for the following reasons, according to the patch:

• "user space exposure via /sys/kernel/debug/x86/topo/cpus/*, which today reports cpu_type "unknown" for low-power cores
• amd_get_boost_ratio_numerator(): on every X86_FEATURE_AMD_HTR_CORES-capable AMD/Hygon part, low-power cores must scale by amd_get_highest_perf() rather than the fixed CPPC_HIGHEST_PERF_PERFORMANCE ceiling, matching the existing efficiency-core path"

According to InstLatX64, the low-power core is a "collage CPU", made up of a Zen 6 ISA, Zen 5 uArch [microarchitecture], Zen 4 FPU, Zen 3 L2 and a Zen 2 L3 cache. Leaker Gotou_3rd recently tweeted "Zen 6 LP => Zen 5 LP", which could be read as saying that Zen 6 LP outperforms Zen 5 C (as no Zen 5 LP exists). However, they clarified in a follow-up tweet, saying it was "just a naming switch."

This new low-power core type is there alongside AMD's Performance and Efficiency cores (not to be confused with Intel's Performance and Efficiency cores, which mean something different). The Performance cores are AMD's regular Zen cores, and they have the highest boost clocks. The Efficiency cores are a more compact type, with lower boost clocks, and (traditionally) less L3 cache. The new LP cores from AMD will be more similar in what Intel calls its 'Low Power Efficiency (LPE)' cores.

AMD's new LP cores could lead to a scenario where some gaming devices can work away with just a handful of watts, which would find a great purpose in gaming laptops. In particular, that could leave room for much better battery efficiency, especially with some smart software to best handle core priority.

Ultimately, the biggest test of these cores will be efficiency, power draw, and performance, all of which we don't have much information on right now. We have seen AMD Zen 6 server CPUs launch this month, and we are still expecting to see Zen 6 desktop chips launch this year, but the memory crisis naturally puts a big question mark over all major hardware releases.

Both AMD and Intel's next chips will be launching in a market with PC shipments on a decline, and that's naturally going to suck some of the wind out of the launch, even if they perform excellently. And that goes doubly so for laptops and gaming handhelds, both of which tend to require replacing the entire device to upgrade the CPU. Well, that's unless you're Framework.

I'm likely not the first to tell you that the memory crisis has really done a number on PC gaming, but nothing quite exemplifies this like AMD releasing a graphics card with 4-8 GB of VRAM in 2026. That card is called the RX 9050; it starts at $279, and it is limited to certain regions. One early review suggests performance isn't great, but its specs are looking a little funky.

That review is from Japanese hardware outlet Hermitage Akihabara, which managed to get its hands on an 8 GB-toting ASRock model. Testing the card in 3DMark, Hermitage argues it "falls short of the 30fps generally considered the benchmark for comfortable single-player gameplay. Furthermore, its performance is only about 75% of that of its competitor, the GeForce RTX 5050, and just over 60% compared to the higher-end Radeon RX 9060 XT" (machine translated).

The RX 9050 doesn't lag behind the RTX 5050 in absolutely all tests, though. The RX 9050 matches the RTX 5050 in 4K testing on Rainbow Six Siege X, and it performed better in Doom Eternal at 1080p and 1440p, though this was with the help of FSR, which is not an apples-to-apples comparison. Still, the RTX 5050 wipes the floor with the RX 9050 in pretty much every other test conducted by Hermitage.

At 1080p, Hermitage saw 192.4 average fps in Apex Legends, and 147 average fps on the 9050. In Cyberpunk, on Ultra, Hermitage saw an average of 142 fps on the AMD card and 240 fps on the Nvidia card. In fairness to AMD, though, this is with both cards using the frame generation and upscaling models of their respective cards, so not a 1-1 comparison.

With the RTX 5050, and its 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, launching at $250, that means that the RX 9050, according to these tests, is substantially slower than the Nvidia card. Of course, that's assuming you can get one at MSRP, but we can't assume you will find AMD cards at MSRP either.

The RX 9050's score of 4531 in 3D Mark's Port Royal and 1873 in Speed Way places the RX 9050 close to the RTX 3070, as noted by hardware analyst Harukaze5719. They also note a specs page with 32 ROPs on the card, which is half of the advertised 64 on AMD's own specs page. Fewer ROPs, or Render Output Units, in a card means worse performance, and that would be reflected in tests.

We saw a similar problem with eight missing ROPs in some RTX 50-series cards around their launch, which Nvidia claims only affected 0.5% of cards. If this s a defect in the tested card, one might expect better real-life performance.

That's assuming those ROPs are actually missing and it's not a defect in the software reporting itself, or some other problem in between. That's all to say that while early figures for AMD's latest budget card aren't looking very good, we'll have to wait for some more real-world testing from other outlets to see if it actually is so thoroughly outpaced by the RTX 5050.

Either way, early signs aren't looking great for the budget card market. That's especially true when you consider the AMD price increase rumours that dropped just today.

Sony is getting ready to end production of game discs in 2028, so it seems like physical discs are truly in the rearview mirror. But a recent report shows even buying a physical disc doesn't give you a great chance of being able to play the game without a download.

That's according to Does it Play (via Ars Technica), which is an outlet dedicated to testing the physical versions of games to see if you can play them offline or without a download. It has a statistics function on its home page that allows you to scroll through different consoles and check out how offline-friendly they are. As you might expect, Sony and Microsoft's latest consoles don't fare too well.

For PS5, Does it Play registers 792 games and states that 66% of them don't need any sort of download to play the game as intended. 17% are categorised as being beatable but being too buggy or missing central content, while a further 17% need some sort of download to actually play the game.

Microsoft fares even worse, with the Series X only getting the pass for 50% of tested games. 12% are in the too buggy to play or missing content but technically beatable camp, with 68% needing some sort of download to play. Admittedly, it takes from a smaller pool of games, at just 78 entries. With such a disparity between sample sizes, we have to take this figure with a spoonful of salt, but it's still indicative of a move away from discs that are playable without any downloads.

The Nintendo Switch 2 beats out both Xbox and PlayStation, with 75% being beatable and content complete (though that's from a mere 48 entries so far).

The reliance on downloaded software to play physical games is a problem for a few reasons: First, those with small download limits don't necessarily want to use all of their allocation up when they've bought a physical game to bypass that in the first place. Secondly, Xbox servers went down just a few days ago, leaving some unable to play their own games. Third, and most importantly for me, this is a nightmare for game preservation.

In the future, as servers go down, so too do the opportunities to download essential game files. The more games that rely on downloads to complete them, the more preservationists have to work to try and save them.

It's true that PC gaming hasn't had mainstream disc support for a long time now, but Sony getting rid of disc trays is quite different. If you want to, as a PC gamer, you can pick up a disc drive, buy a game disc, and play it. Though older discs will pose a problem if they're not compatible with modern Windows. You often need to run some sort of 32-bit/64-bit installer or compatibility layer on older games. Purchasers of the PS6 won't have such a luxury. This form of top-down change will inevitably make things much harder for the physical die-hards, and preservationists will have to work a lot harder too.

I've been a very happy chappy ever since discovering the wonders of the Chinese 'clone' mouse market. Brands in this market attempt to deliver quality gaming mice that take after popular shapes by mainstream brands, but for a lot less money. I was sceptical at first, but my experience with Mchose mice has squashed my scepticism, and this K7 V2 Ultra+ is a fine example.

It is, for all intents and purposes, a Razer Viper V3/V4 Pro clone, and the latter is currently the absolute best gaming mouse on the market today. I say V3/V4 Pro because it sits between the two, using an overclocked PixArt PAW3955 TI sensor that hits up to 50,000 DPI. That's PixArt's flagship market-available sensor, and the Razer Viper V4 Pro has its own top-of-the-line, custom PixArt sensor that has the same DPI as this but higher IPS capability and so on. Still, the K7 V2's sensor is flagship as far as what is actually on the market.

Regarding just the shape, I notice no difference between this and the Viper V4 Pro, which tracks, given EloShapes shows no difference either. There is, of course, a difference in build quality (and no optical switches), but that's less to do with the Mchose and more to do with the Viper being practically flawless—the best build quality I've seen in any mouse. The K7 V2 Ultra+ doesn't match that, but it does match other premium mice in terms of build quality.

To be more specific, it feels lovely under the palm, is sturdy, and I have zero complaints when actually using it in-game, but if I'm pulling out my metaphorical magnifying glass for inspection, it's not completely perfect. I've noticed there's a slight amount of friction to the left mouse button before it actuates depending on where I press it. Plus it is, of course, heavier than the Viper V3 Pro and V4 Pro as it weighs 59 g, whereas the former are 54 g and 49 g respectively.

But those are pretty small sacrifices to make for getting the same Viper shape and a very performant sensor for a little over half the price of a bona fide V3 Pro or V4 Pro. It's not as cheap as some of Mchose's other options—in fact, not even some rather premium-feeling ones—but for a flagship sensor and a Viper shape, it sits right with me.

There's another thing to note, which is that you're getting a wireless charger in the 2.4 GHz receiver, which is a fantastic choice and works really well. We've seen similar from the 8BitDo Retro R8, but this one connects and charges magnetically and wirelessly rather than via some pins. Both are good, but the magnetic system might have the edge for longevity (no pins to damage) and how easy it is to just slap on top. It's super convenient and has the added benefit of keeping the receiver weighty enough to stay put, in combination with its sticky base lining.

It charges pretty quickly when on the stand: about 1% every minute, if not a little faster. Not that that matters much, because after using this thing for three or four days of pretty extensive work and gaming it only dropped to about 80%. And chucking it on top of the charging stand is effortless, provided you remember to do so.

The lighting on the receiver looks gorgeous too, primarily because it runs around the bottom so it looks a lot like a more subtle underglow than anything too garish. Though it would be more useful if it changed colour based on the mouse's battery life rather than whatever colour(s) you set it to.

These colours and effects can be changed in the software, which is available either locally or online. It is of course great that there's a web-based version; however it does take a while to load. But once you're in, you get access to every setting you might want, including things like lift-off distance (LOD) and even sensor rotation.

Getting to the meat and potatoes of competitive gaming, which is the use case this mouse is aimed at given the Viper inspo, everything is flawless. Playing Counter-Strike 2, I've had zero problems with connectivity or tracking.

The Viper shape is wonderful too, keeping my hand nice and steady when holding angles, so I can say it's at the very least pleasant for a relaxed palm grip. And given it's the most-used mouse by Valorant pros and close to that for Counter-Strike pros, I think many others would agree.

The Viper shape is also good for claw and fingertip grips, making it pretty versatile, just like Logitech's G Pro/Superlight shape. In fact, it's often considered better for these than for palm grip, but I use a hybrid palm grip and do enjoy it.

The last two sprinkles of icing on the cake are its connectivity options and its aesthetic. Some competitive gaming mice don't bother including Bluetooth, but this one does and I found it to work very well. It connects to my laptop instantly and I can now immediately switch between laptop and PC by a flick of the underside switch from Bluetooth to 2.4 GHz.

Finally, although it's still a pretty plain mouse in black, it does have a little golden flair to it on the logo, side buttons, and scroll wheel. I think it looks rather classy, which isn't always the case with golden trimmings. The blue version also looks gorgeous just judging from the product photos, though I've not seen that one in person.

In all, I really can't complain about anything in this mouse for the price. It would be nice if there was that extra tidbit of attention paid to things like button click quality, and of course it would have been nice to see this closer to 50 g. But I don't think I can expect to get that without stepping up into the $100+ range, especially given the included charging stand and wireless charging internals.

Mchose has stayed on the right side of the mark here, and I'm especially looking forward to any potential discounts in future which sweeten the deal even further. Though even without that sweetening, it's got my approval.

Earlier this month, we noted that AMD was reportedly bumping the price of its GPU and VRAM bundles for its partners. Now it seems like that bump will be at least 10%.

That is according to industry analyst Harukaze5719, who has shared a report stating as such, claiming "information confirmed by AMD's internal supply chain". The report claims AMD finalised plans to increase the supply price of GPU and VRAM bundles but did not yet commit to it due to a "weak recovery phase in the consumer graphics card market, high price sensitivity at the end-user level, existing inventory still needing to be digested, and the fact that NV (Nvidia) series graphics card prices have not yet increased." (machine translated).

As you might be able to guess from that wording, Nvidia just yesterday reportedly implemented its own price bump, going as high as an extra 30%. Apparently AMD will implement a price increase of "at least 10%, and all brands will officially implement the price increase uniformly starting next month. At that time, the price positioning is expected to be similar to that of NV series graphics cards."

One thing worth noting here is that a price increase to partners does not necessarily mean that the same price increase will be passed to the consumer. However, if other partners follow suit, there's little reason for companies to eat the cost themselves. Especially given AIB partners' margins are apparently quite slim.

And though the price increase will not affect the base cost of cards that partners already have access to, a price increase might make them less likely to get rid of their inventory at their current price point. As noted in our Nvidia story, some Nvidia partners are in a "state of panic, reluctant to sell."

If you're wondering why AMD and Nvidia are in a state where they feel they have to raise prices, you can blame AI for that one. AI and the vast amount of data it needs for training are sucking up all of the memory, and taking components like SSDs and GPUs with it. And this is a shame, as graphics cards have been relatively stable in pricing for the past few months, according to our tracker of the best graphics cards deals.

Unfortunately, the worst news here is that the memory crisis is unlikely to end soon. Just yesterday, Samsung claimed in its earnings call that "the supply constraints are expected to become even more severe in 2027 than 2026, reinforcing our view that the supply shortage will persist through 2028. Beyond 2029, it is hard to say because of more limited visibility."

So, it's currently a bad time to build a PC, and it seems likely it will become even worse, and we don't know when things will get better. That's the unfortunate reality of the memory crisis.

The Steam Machine is finally here—though Dbrand's Companion Cube-inspired skin for it will sadly never see light outside of a test chamber. Turns out, the peripherals and accessories brand had 'built the idea into something real without ever asking Valve' for permission. But Dbrand has now rocked up with what it's describing as its 'backup plan.'

This week, Dbrand unveiled a suite of Steam Machine skins. The most expensive are the genuinely fuzzy 'Touch Grass' skin and the 'Real Black Leather' wrap, which each cost $60. Besides that, Dbrand's Steam Machine skins range in price from about $43 for the more complexly patterned wraps, to about $35 for the single colour skins.

I'm personally quite partial to this one with an all-over marbling effect—of course, it also helps Dbrand call it 'Cotton Candy'.

What I'm much less a fan of is some of the acerbic advertising copy on the skins' page. Dbrand describes its Steam Machine wraps as "Thin—Unlike you." C'mon, now. The skins' width is then described as about two hair's breadth thick, though this little factoid comes wrapped in digs about hair loss that are simply not funny.

Anyway, criticisms about 'brand personality' aside, these Steam Machine skins are scratch-proof. Should you need to readjust the wrap or want to swap it out for something else, Dbrand claims it shouldn't leave your game box covered in a sticky residue either (this bit of copy is followed by the words "dbrand: it's like getting away with murder").

If you recently picked up the new Steam Controller and would like to style your fresh Valve hardware as a matching set, you're in luck; Dbrand unveiled a bunch of similar skins for the controller back in April.

If you'd rather not drop $40+ on a controller wrap, there are other ways to customise the hardware. Chiefly, Valve has released the CAD files for the Steam Controller and its Puck. If you've been looking for a nudge to get into 3D modelling and printing, this could be it—may you make many unholy creations along the way.

Meta has just reported a second quarter revenue of $60.80 billion. Though this figure represents another record-breaking year-on-year increase of about 28%, shares are reportedly down by 10%. Seems like the AI money pits may be shifting beneath Meta's feet.

The company reported it had $784 million in free cash flow by the end of Q2 2026, but that represents a 91% year-on-year decrease compared to the $8.55 billion it had to throw around last year. Where did all that money go? Questionable spending on the company's VR and AR division, Reality Labs, is only part of the story. The rest can be attributed to Meta's AI infrastructure buildout.

Both Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CFO Susan Li projected optimism to investors during the latest earnings call. Zuckerberg told investors, "Our investments in AI are accelerating every major part of our core business."

Zuckerberg offers the example of advertising, explaining, "We are using LLMs to improve how our systems predict and rank the ads that we show. We've expanded the context that we can take into account around a person's organic and ads activity to determine an ad's relevance, driving significant increases in relevance and conversions on both Facebook and Instagram."

The company was somewhat buoyed this past quarter by making $59 billion in revenue from advertising. Zuckerberg went on to say, "On a dollar basis, our ads business is reporting faster year-over-year revenue growth than any other company's reported ad business—so these AI investments are paying off."

Zuckerberg then said, "We see a large enterprise opportunity to sell to businesses, including APIs, business agents, potentially selling compute directly, and other services that we're building for large customers."

'Selling compute' would be one way to potentially see a return on outsized AI investment. Li elaborates, "The industry has under-built historically for the wave of AI adoption, making existing capacity, including our own, extremely valuable."

As such, Meta may not be slowing down on its AI infrastructure build-out. The company predicts it will spend somewhere between an eye-watering$130 billion and a face-melting $145 billion this year alone.

Zuckerberg told investors, "As AI usage in our products and businesses continues to ramp, we continue to invest aggressively in infrastructure to meet the demand."

With Meta seemingly content to spend, spend, spend, will investors stay the course? Or will Meta's various money pits finally give way beneath it? Time will tell.

Meta's second quarter earnings are in, reporting revenue of $60.80 billion. That's another record-breaking year-on-year increase of about 28%, though shares are reportedly down by about 10%. Funny, that. Now, time to take a look at how the company's famous money-hole, its VR and AR division, Reality Labs, is doing while I take a big sip of my coffee…

A $4.6 billion income loss due to Reality Labs alone this quarter? Well, there goes my keyboard. That's compared to the division bringing in $431 million in revenue. I may have only got a passing grade in Math, but even I can see those numbers don't add up.

To be fair to this segment of the business, that $431 million represents a 16% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue. In Meta's latest earnings call, CFO Susan Li attributed these revenue gains to "strong growth in AI glasses revenue, partially offset by lower Quest headset sales." Company CEO Mark Zuckerberg was also keen to highlight the success of Meta's glasses, describing it as "one of the fastest-growing consumer electronics of all time."

Zuckerberg added that early sales of the frames the company designed in collaboration with Kylie Jenner "have been strong, exceeding our expectations" (As you may expect, the Meta execs had nothing to say about those They Live-inspired guerilla bus stop ads that recently popped up in London).

But, as the numbers show, that demand doesn't make up the shortfall. On the subject of wearables, spending on Orion, Meta's still unreleased AR glasses with an EMG wristband and a 'Compute Puck', likely also make up a decent chunk of the change spent on Reality Labs (despite Meta struggling to come up with 'killer use case' for the device). Last year, the company was also reportedly hard at work on developing the Meta Quest 4 VR headset, but has pushed back another Mixed Reality project, Phoenix, until 2027. All of these hardware projects would require considerable spend.

So continues a multi-quarter trend for this segment of the business. Meta lost $19.1 billion on its VR and AR division alone last year, then the company closed three VR studios and laid off roughly 10% of Reality Labs. This is far from just recent bad luck either, with Meta reporting significant VR and AR-related losses in 2024, 2023, and 2022.

It's not hard to understand considering that, for most gamers, AR and VR represent an expensive niche within an increasingly pricey niche. But will next quarter grant something of a sea change? Personally, I doubt it.

Despite the memory crisis continuing to rage, Nvidia graphics card prices have been relatively stable over the last 20 or so weeks, until Nvidia appeared to have raised the price of GPU kits for AIB partners last week. Now, it seems like that price increase is up to 30%.

This is according to the Taiwanese outlet, Economic Daily News, which claims Nvidia is raising the prices of its GPU bundles (the GPU and memory) by between 20–30%. This is set to affect both GDDR6 and GDDR7. The report claims that graphics card distributors in China are in a "state of panic, reluctant to sell".

Industry analyst Harukaze5719 places the price of the Chinese market exclusive RTX 5090 D at $3,843 and the RTX 5080 at $1,845, the latter just short of the MSRP of the RTX 5090 at launch. The RTX 5090 was already suggested to have received a price increase back in May, so, if proven true, this would be the third Nvidia price increase this year.

Naturally, Nvidia raising the prices of the components doesn't mean partners have to follow suit, but it's very unlikely they will eat that extra cost. If a graphics card partner can match that price increase and still sell the cards, it will.

A major problem with the graphics card market right now is the cost of VRAM to go inside the card. With the memory crisis ongoing, prices have only gone up, and chips are becoming harder to purchase. That's likely some of the rationale behind AMD launching a 4 GB RX 9050 this week. And why the likes of memory manufacturers SK hynix and Samsung have just reported record profits.

There were rumours late last year that Nvidia might stop bundling VRAM with GPUs, but that only really solves the problem for Nvidia. Partners would still have to source their own memory, which could be a problem for more budget-oriented cards and less well-known partners.

Graphics cards are already in a pretty ugly place. We round up the best graphics cards deals every week, and the best RTX 5090 deal currently sits at $4,200 over at Walmart, with the best price for a RTX 5080 being $1,250 at Amazon.

With the memory crisis not expected to end until at least 2029, it seems like it will only get harder and more expensive to build that gaming PC you've been pining after.

Samsung Electronics, one of the big three memory makers, is making a lot of money. So much money that its cash flow is multiple times what it was making just a handful of years ago. And despite much of its memory being fed straight to AI data centers, it is noting that memory supply will only get worse next year.

That's according to its latest earnings report, where it announced revenue of 171.5 trillion Won (around $119 billion) for the second quarter of 2026. That's a big jump from the 74.6 trillion Won (just under $52 billion) reported in Q2 last year.

The wins don't stop there for Samsung, as it also announced an operating profit of 89.5 trillion Won ($62 billion), which is a significant leap from the 25.5 trillion Won ($17.7 billion) it made during the same period last year.

Despite making more money with higher profit margins than ever before, Samsung highlights the ongoing issues for the future of the market. In the earnings call (via Investing), Daniel Oh, the head of investor relations at Samsung Electronics, says, "The supply constraints are expected to become even more severe in 2027 than 2026, reinforcing our view that the supply shortage will persist through 2028. Beyond 2029, it is hard to say because of more limited visibility."

Oh also confirms that customers are asking for multi-year supply agreements to get sufficient capacity going forward. These sorts of agreements make sense for customers as Samsung believes "it will be unlikely to see any significant increase in incremental supply through 2028", and it also means the company have guaranteed sales bookd in for 60 - 70% of its total production capacity with such long-term agreements.

Samsung has also said it's likely that unmet demand from 2026 will carry over into 2027, only compounding the supply problems. Samsung says it is open to multi-year arrangements as it hedges mid- to long-term risk for the manufacturer.

SK hynix, one of the other big three memory manufacturers, has also just announced its quarterly earnings, and despite making a whopping $55.6 billion, that's not enough to please investors. It was expected to have made $58 billion by the end of June, and analysts attribute that 'lacking' revenue to the slowing of HBM4 shipments.

The memory crisis has put constraints on all sorts of hardware in all sorts of ways, and those seeking to make the biggest profits are the memory makers and the AI creators. They are arguably both at fault for the crisis in the first place.

Despite concerns from SK hynix and Samsung around supply, both companies are seeing record profits and seem to be milking the memory crisis for all its worth.

Steam discussions can be the best route to a quick fix or otherwise answering your most burning gaming questions. These forums can also be a hive of scum and villainy. Case in point, bad actors have been taking to the Steam forums with fake fixes that end up installing cryptominers on your gaming PC.

An innocent Steam user will post on the discussion board, sharing an issue they're having with their game. A bad actor then replies in the thread, instructing the user to run PowerShell as an administrator, and then to enter a specific command. This will be presented as a fix, but executing the command will actually download and then launch an executable for an XMRig cryptominer.

Bleeping Computer was the first to report on this style of attack happening across the Steam forums. They note that threat actors had recently targeted posts asking for help with everything from missing in-game items, to crashes.

As the user is instructed to input the code themselves, the cryptominer download sidesteps the sort of security checks that would otherwise cut malicious executable code off at the knees. Called ClickFix, social engineering-style attacks like this are often so elegant, and so devastating to fall prey to. So, consider this your friendly reminder to not just execute operating system commands proffered by Steam forum randos. This trap is a specifically Windows attack, but the advice remains true if you are, say, new to gaming on Linux where trusting someone else's commands can sometimes feel like the only recourse.

Anyway, let's say someone takes this threat actor at their word and runs the command as instructed. That launches a PowerShell script calling itself 'msf utility \ PC Opt'. Pretending to be a Windows optimization utility, the hapless user will see various messages that claim to be updating drivers, defragging data, and even emptying their recycle bin—though obviously the script isn't actually doing any of that. To sell the deception, fake progress messages are set to appear randomly in intervals between 1.5 and 8 seconds.

The faux-utility's 'Advanced-Optimization' is where the bad actor's 'make sure you're running PowerShell as an administrator' plea comes into effect. Without admin privileges, the script displays an error message that says it requires these rights, and then closes. With administrator rights, TLS certificate validation gets disabled, and the script creates a 'C:\Windows\Background' directory that is excluded from Microsoft Defender's view.

The dubious script then tells Windows Firewall that it's totally chill to wave through a connection from 'msfconfig[.]icu,' and downloads the XMRig miner. The script then sets up a new scheduled task called 'XMRig-[your computer name here]' that ensures it starts up every time you launch Windows. It's pretty insidious!

If you happen to stumble across either this task, or the aforementioned Windows directory with the Microsoft Defender exception, you may actually be best off reinstalling your operating system from scratch. It's hard to say what other little nasties the script could be harbouring, and it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Simply not running random scripts on Windows may seem like a no-brainer for some, but it's a different ball game on Linux. For those that don't know, downloading and running random scripts from the internet is how a lot of Linux gamers get the most out of the open-source operating system. If you're new to gaming on Linux, and not yet down with the code, then this social engineering style attack is particularly scary stuff. Before running anything, make sure you do your research first.