HW News - Ubisoft Hates Ownership, MSI Claw Huge Patch, EK Updates, & Z790 Issues

Gamers Nexus
3 May 202426:03

Summary

TLDRThis Hardware News recap covers a range of topics from the past two weeks. It starts with an EK follow-up, providing additional insights into the company's complex ownership structure and financial documents. The host also discusses job opportunities for former EK employees and the positive response from the industry. Next, the video addresses updates to the MSI Claw handheld, rumored Intel CPU core configurations, AMD's Radeon 8000 GPUs, and Meta's decision to open its VR OS to other vendors, including Asus and Lenovo. The host also touches on net neutrality's reinstatement and its implications for internet service providers. The summary concludes with a discussion on the PS5 Pro's rumored specs, the potential impact on PC gaming, and a critique of Ubisoft's approach to digital game ownership and subscription services.

Takeaways

  • ๐Ÿ“ˆ MSI's Claw handheld has received an update claiming up to a 150% performance increase in some games.
  • ๐Ÿ” Rumors suggest Intel's next desktop CPUs will feature core configurations for high performance.
  • ๐Ÿš€ AMD's Radeon 8000 series GPUs are in development, potentially using slower GDDR6 VRAM for cost-saving.
  • ๐Ÿค– Meta (Facebook) is opening up its VR OS to other vendors, including Asus and Lenovo, aiming to create a larger ecosystem for VR.
  • ๐Ÿ’ป The FCC has restored net neutrality in a 3 to 2 vote, reclassifying internet service providers under Title II, preventing discriminatory access to internet services.
  • ๐ŸŽฎ Sony is reportedly working on a high-end version of the PlayStation 5, possibly called the PS5 Pro, with improved ray tracing and a more powerful GPU.
  • ๐Ÿ’ก Ubisoft has moved the game 'The Crew' to an 'Inactive Games' folder in their store, raising concerns about the permanence of digital game ownership.
  • ๐Ÿšซ Gigabyte warns against using the latest beta BIOS for their Z790 motherboards due to reports of the BIOS freezing, advising users to wait for a stable update.
  • ๐Ÿ“‰ The price of the PowerColor Hellhound Radeon RX 7800 XT has dropped to $470, positioning it closer to competing Nvidia products.

Q & A

  • What is the main topic discussed in the first part of the video?

    -The first part of the video discusses a follow-up on the EK (EK Water Blocks) story, including additional information and updates on the investigation into the company's ownership structure, financial documents, and global locations.

  • What is the claim made by MSI about the performance increase of their claw handheld device?

    -MSI claims a 150% performance increase in some games for their claw handheld device, which would be a significant improvement over its previous capabilities.

  • What is the update regarding Intel's next desktop CPUs?

    -There are rumors about Intel's next desktop CPUs, suggesting that the core configurations for these upcoming processors are being discussed, although specific details are not provided in the script.

  • What is the significance of AMD's Radeon 8000 GPUs in the context of the video?

    -The script mentions rumors about AMD's Radeon 8000 GPUs, indicating that these upcoming graphics processing units are part of the ongoing discussions in the tech industry.

  • What does Meta's opening up of its VR operating system to other vendors mean for the industry?

    -Meta's decision to open its VR operating system to other vendors like Asus and Lenovo suggests a move towards a more open ecosystem in the VR space, potentially making VR technology more accessible and fostering greater innovation.

  • What is the update on the employment status of the whistleblower, Dan Henderson?

    -Dan Henderson, the whistleblower who initially raised concerns about EK, has found a job at Antec, which is a positive outcome considering the challenges whistleblowers often face in finding employment within their industry after raising the alarm.

  • What is the current status of the investigation into EK?

    -The investigation into EK is currently on hold until there is a significant development or new information comes to light from EK. The video's host has compiled a list of EK's employees and contractors who have reached out and is helping to connect them with other companies in the PC industry.

  • How much did the investigation into EK cost?

    -The investigation into EK cost over $40,000, which is mentioned as an expensive endeavor for the content creators.

  • What is the update on the RX 7800 XT graphics card pricing?

    -The PowerColor Hellhound 7800 XT graphics card has seen a price drop to $470, which is $31 less than its original price of $500, making it a more competitive option in the market.

  • What are the reported specifications for the rumored PS5 Pro?

    -The rumored PS5 Pro is said to include a more powerful GPU with a 45% increase in rendering speed compared to the standard PS5. It will also feature a slightly faster CPU, a more powerful ray tracing architecture, and an increase in system memory bandwidth from 448 GB per second to 576 GB per second.

  • What is the issue with Gigabyte's latest beta BIOS update?

    -The latest beta BIOS update from Gigabyte is causing the BIOS to freeze, rendering it unusable. The update was intended to support Intel's 14900 K CPU and enable Intel APU but has instead led to stability issues.

Outlines

00:00

๐Ÿ“ฐ Hardware News Recap and EK Follow-up

The video script opens with a recap of the past two weeks in hardware news, highlighting a busy period. The host discusses a follow-up on the EK story, sharing extra information and an organizational chart that outlines the complex ownership structure of EK. The video also covers updates to the MSI claw, rumors about Intel's next desktop CPUs, AMD's Radeon 8000 GPUs, and Meta's decision to open its VR operating system to other vendors. The host emphasizes the depth of the EK investigation, which was costly and time-consuming, but yielded valuable insights into the company's operations.

05:00

๐Ÿ” Deep Dive into EK's Business and Financials

The host details the extensive research conducted on EK, including the analysis of financial documents, tax filings, and ownership conflicts. They mention the creation of a 3D table of suppliers and discussions on EK's global locations. The video also addresses the positive outcomes for some former EK employees who have found new jobs in the industry, thanks to the exposure from the investigation. The host expresses excitement about compiling a list of skilled professionals from EK for potential hiring by other companies.

10:02

๐Ÿ’ก MSI Claw Performance Update and Industry Rumors

MSI's claw handheld device is reported to have a significant performance increase, which raises questions about its initial state. Rumors about Intel's upcoming CPUs and AMD's RX 8000 GPU series are discussed, with a focus on the latter's use of slower GDDR6 VRAM. The host also mentions Meta's decision to open its VR OS to third-party hardware makers, including Asus and Lenovo, and the potential for a more diverse and competitive VR market.

15:03

๐ŸŽฎ Asus and Lenovo's Upcoming VR Headsets

The script discusses the upcoming VR headsets from Asus, Lenovo, and a special Xbox collaboration edition from Meta. These devices will run on Meta's Horizon OS, which is being opened up to third-party hardware manufacturers. The host outlines the different focuses of each headset, with Asus targeting high-performance gaming and Lenovo aiming for mixed-use applications, including learning and productivity.

20:05

๐Ÿšซ Ubisoft's Changing Stance on Game Ownership

The host criticizes Ubisoft for its approach to digital game ownership, following the company's removal of the game 'The Crew' from players' libraries. They discuss Ubisoft's promotion of subscription models and the potential risks to consumers, emphasizing the importance of true ownership of digital games. The situation with Ubisoft serves as a reminder of the ongoing debate about the future of game ownership in the digital age.

25:08

๐Ÿ“‰ RX 7800 XT Price Drop and PS5 Pro Rumors

The price of the PowerColor Hellhound RX 7800 XT graphics card is reduced, making it a more attractive option for gamers. Additionally, there are rumors of a PS5 Pro with improved performance, including a more powerful GPU and faster CPU. The host speculates on the implications of these upgrades for game developers and the potential for increased system memory and ray tracing capabilities.

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Gigabyte Z790 BIOS Issues and Ubisoft's Subscription Model

Gigabyte warns users against using the latest beta BIOS due to freezing issues, especially on their Z790 motherboards. The host advises waiting for a stable BIOS release. Ubisoft's subscription model is revisited, with the host expressing skepticism about the company's promises of perpetual access to games through their services. The video concludes with a promise of more content to come and thanks to the viewers.

Mindmap

Keywords

๐Ÿ’กHardware news

Hardware news refers to the latest updates, developments, and discussions related to computer hardware components and technology. In the context of the video, it is the central theme as the host is recapping significant events and announcements in the hardware industry over the past two weeks.

๐Ÿ’กEK Water Blocks

EK Water Blocks is a company known for its customization and manufacturing of water cooling systems for PCs. The video discusses an in-depth investigation into EK's business practices, ownership structure, and financial documents, highlighting the company's operations and the impact on its employees and contractors.

๐Ÿ’กMSI Claw handheld

The MSI Claw handheld is a gaming device that has received updates claiming a 150% performance increase in some games. This is significant for gamers as it suggests a substantial improvement in the device's capabilities, which is a key topic in the video's hardware news recap.

๐Ÿ’กIntel CPUs

Intel CPUs, or central processing units, are the data processing components of computers. The video mentions rumors about Intel's next desktop CPUs, including core configurations, which are crucial for understanding the future direction of desktop computing performance.

๐Ÿ’กAMD Radeon 8000 GPUs

AMD Radeon 8000 GPUs are graphics processing units developed by AMD, which are vital for gaming and graphic-intensive applications. The script discusses rumors about these upcoming products, indicating their importance to the hardware news cycle and the anticipation among consumers for new tech releases.

๐Ÿ’กMeta Horizon OS

Meta Horizon OS is a virtual reality operating system developed by Meta (formerly Facebook). The video talks about Meta opening up this OS to other vendors, which is a significant move in the VR industry as it could lead to greater diversity in VR headsets and a more extensive ecosystem for developers.

๐Ÿ’กNet neutrality

Net neutrality is the principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally without any discrimination or preference given to certain types of content or platforms. The video discusses the reinstatement of net neutrality by the FCC, which is a critical issue for ensuring fair access to internet services.

๐Ÿ’กPS5 Pro

PS5 Pro refers to the rumored high-end version of the PlayStation 5 gaming console by Sony. The video mentions a report confirming its existence and detailing expected improvements in GPU and CPU performance, which is significant news for gamers and console hardware enthusiasts.

๐Ÿ’กGigabyte Z790 motherboard

The Gigabyte Z790 motherboard is a product mentioned in the context of a warning against using the latest beta BIOS due to issues causing the BIOS to freeze. This is relevant to PC hardware users as BIOS updates are essential for the compatibility and performance of computer systems.

๐Ÿ’กUbisoft

Ubisoft is a major video game developer and publisher. The video discusses the company's approach to game ownership in the digital space, specifically addressing the removal of the game 'The Crew' from player access, which raises questions about the permanence of digital game ownership.

๐Ÿ’กDigital game store

A digital game store is an online platform where users can purchase, download, and manage video games. The video criticizes Ubisoft's handling of game availability in their digital store, particularly how they moved 'The Crew' to an 'inactive games' section, which impacts consumer trust and expectations of game ownership.

Highlights

Hardware news is recapping the last two weeks due to working on some projects.

Brief follow-up on the EK story with additional information.

MSI claw updates claim a 150% performance increase in some games.

Rumors on Intel's next desktop CPUs and core configurations.

AMD's Radeon 8000 GPUs and Meta opening up its VR operating system to other vendors.

The AK 620 digital aircooler by Deep cool is featured for its performance and price competitiveness.

EK's complicated ownership structure and financial documents were discussed in detail.

Whistleblower Dan Henderson has found a job at Antec, highlighting a positive outcome.

The investigation into EK cost over $40,000 and has led to a deeper understanding of complex content assembly.

MSI's MSI claw handheld update aims to address frame time pacing issues.

Gigabyte confirms the naming of AMD's Ryzen 9000 series processors.

Intel's Core Ultra 5 240f rumored to have an 8+16 and 6 Plus 8 core configuration.

NVIDIA's RTX 50 Series GPUs will use GDR 7 memory, while AMD's RX 8000 GPUs will stick with GDR6 VRAM.

Meta opens its VR OS, Meta Horizon OS, to third-party hardware makers like Asus and Lenovo.

The ASUS ROG edition of VR headset is aimed at high-performance gaming.

Net neutrality is reinstated by a 3 to 2 FCC vote, reclassifying ISPs under Title 2 provisions.

The price drop of the PowerColor HellHound 7800 XT to $470 positions it closer to NVIDIA's RTX 4060 TI.

Documents obtained by The Verge confirm the existence of the PS5 Pro, focusing on improved ray tracing.

Gigabyte warns against using the latest beta BIOS for Z790 boards due to freezing issues.

Ubisoft's approach to game ownership and access, with the removal of The Crew from libraries, is criticized.

Transcripts

00:00

[Music]

00:02

it's been a busy week welcome back to

00:04

Hardware news we are doing a recap for

00:06

the last two weeks actually because

00:09

we've been working on some things in

00:11

this one we're getting mostly back to

00:13

normal there's a brief followup on the

00:14

EK story it's mostly just some some

00:16

talking about some extra information and

00:19

then we'll also be going over some

00:20

updates to the MSI claw which now claims

00:23

a 150% performance increase in some

00:26

games so 92 people will be really happy

00:29

for some rumors on Intel's next desktop

00:32

CPUs and the core configurations rumors

00:35

of amd's radon 8000 gpus meta opening up

00:39

its VR operating system to other vendors

00:41

so soon we'll have the Asus Rog

00:43

expensive edition of VR uh and plenty

00:46

more stories let's get started before

00:48

that this video is brought to you by the

00:49

Deep cool AK 620 digital aircooler we

00:52

previously reviewed the Baseline AK 620

00:55

as a strong performer and extremely

00:56

price competitive now the new digital

00:59

variant includes to screen with a

01:00

display for some extra flare including

01:02

CPU temperature and high temperature

01:04

warnings on the display if you like the

01:06

AK 620's Performance but wanted more

01:08

visual pop without going liquid consider

01:10

the AK 620 digital at the link in the

01:12

description below all right first up so

01:14

quick EK followup we have a ton more

01:16

information we haven't published yet uh

01:18

but for now it feels like the story is

01:19

pretty well encapsulated in that part

01:21

two video check out this image though so

01:24

this was the org chart that we made it's

01:26

about halfway through the uh EK

01:28

investigation part two video

01:30

and we made this chart to explain the

01:32

complicated web of ownership and

01:33

conflicts we also made this table of

01:36

suppliers in 3D and We additionally

01:38

talked about ek's global locations in

01:41

this section of the video and then

01:43

finally we covered some of the finance

01:44

documents the tax forums the Secretary

01:47

of State filings uh the taxes owed in

01:50

various locations and also discussed

01:52

leans and Loans in the business the

01:54

reason I wanted to just sort of surface

01:56

all of these is for all of you who

01:57

didn't make it that far into the video

02:00

uh or who just haven't seen it yet

02:02

there's some really cool stuff in there

02:03

and if you only watch one section really

02:06

uh I would recommend somewhere around

02:07

the 16 to 18 minute or so Mark for the

02:10

starting point watch through till about

02:12

30 minutes or so uh you got a good 12 to

02:15

14 minute Chunk in there that's really

02:17

focused on sort of the business the

02:19

finance uh the strange structure of

02:21

owners and investors and all this weird

02:24

stuff going on uh that for me was the

02:26

most fun part of the video but we had to

02:27

sort of um establish the storyline of

02:30

what is this company what's it doing

02:32

what are it subsidiaries before we

02:33

really got there so you should check

02:35

that out if you haven't but I wanted to

02:36

surface those just cuz it was the most

02:39

intriguing part of it to me doing the

02:40

research on this and uh our business

02:43

analyst had a a pretty late night

02:45

working on the or chart I was on the

02:47

phone with them for several hours we

02:48

were trying to we're like wait so does

02:50

this this one connects to this one and

02:52

but then how does it cross over to this

02:54

one it really felt like we needed some

02:56

red strain actually I bought some red

02:58

strain but the gag didn't make it the

03:00

video cuz the video end up been pretty

03:02

long anyway we have received a number of

03:05

follow-ups and tips that are credible

03:07

however for now we're probably done

03:09

covering the story until we see

03:10

something major out of EK on the

03:12

positive side we've compiled a list of

03:15

ek's employes and contractors former and

03:17

current who've reached out to us uh and

03:19

for those of you who sent your resumรฉs

03:21

your contact information I've put it all

03:23

together before this video goes up that

03:26

we're filming right now uh I'm going to

03:28

be sending that out to a couple of the

03:30

companies in the space that have

03:32

requested uh basically a pool of good

03:35

talent in the PC industry that they can

03:37

try and FastTrack and hire from so cool

03:40

update on that uh I've spoken with star

03:42

Forge I know that star Forge systems has

03:45

an interview lined up with at least one

03:46

of the former EK cooling solutions Texas

03:48

staff which is awesome and it's great to

03:50

hear they're already trying to uh see if

03:53

they can create positions for people who

03:55

were affected by this and then I also

03:57

spoke with height uh and height has

03:59

started lining up who they want to

04:01

interview from the former EK staff both

04:04

HQ and cooling solutions in Texas so

04:07

there might be a positive ending for

04:08

some of those affected here

04:09

whistleblower Dan Henderson who kicks us

04:11

all off at LinkedIn has a job at antech

04:14

now which is actually also awesome to

04:16

hear because uh whistleblowers and other

04:18

Industries typically get forced out of

04:20

those Industries and don't find work in

04:22

them again after they raise the alarm so

04:24

the fact that he's found a job in

04:25

Industry at antech uh that's good news

04:28

on the GN side we have a pool of awesome

04:30

Consultants who can help with future

04:32

investigation so we've really learned

04:34

about how to piece this type of content

04:35

together it was really complicated uh I

04:37

was working every day all day like 20

04:41

plus hours a day on trying to sort the

04:43

story put it together understand it all

04:45

that everything um it was really fun to

04:47

work on it's an expensive way to do

04:49

things but I think the content speaks

04:50

for itself where we've never had this

04:52

level of sort of depth in an

04:54

investigation before and with this many

04:56

contributing experts both on camera and

04:59

behind the scenes

05:00

so I'm excited to apply that knowledge

05:01

to Future content uh for now though

05:03

we'll be moving on with our reviews

05:05

lineup now real talk we've made a lot of

05:07

specific enemies with people who are

05:09

Executives or high up at EK or in EK

05:14

subsidiaries with that video uh and

05:16

that's fine because I've had a lot of

05:17

people reach out the last couple days

05:19

alone like suppliers and other companies

05:21

in the industry where definitely an

05:23

overwhelming majority of what we've

05:25

heard has been from people I know in

05:28

director positions or

05:30

uh positions at other large companies

05:33

that deal with EK where they have

05:35

thanked us for exposing what they've

05:37

been dealing with for years so um

05:40

there's one supplier I just spoke to

05:41

recently that's owed a a singled digit

05:45

thousands amount of dollars uh for a

05:49

very long time now and that's like you

05:51

can't pay that and something's wrong so

05:53

anyway if you want to support our Deep

05:55

dive investigations and reports like

05:56

this one grab one of our limited foil

05:59

cyber skelet V2 t-shirts on store.

06:01

Gamers access.net the last time we made

06:03

a design like this was for artisian

06:04

builds in this one we changed the colors

06:06

we tuned the foil material and shirt

06:08

fitment and we're using that brilliant

06:10

blue and gold foil for rib cage skeletal

06:12

outline including fittingly water

06:15

cooling parts like fittings the spine's

06:17

also pretty cool it uses vrm components

06:19

to form the structure and this directly

06:21

helps support expensive efforts like our

06:23

EK investigation which again cost us

06:25

around $40,000 or actually over that and

06:28

it supports our research editing teams

06:30

you can grab it for limited time on

06:32

store. gamas a.net all right let's get

06:34

back to normal we're going to do some

06:35

speedrun stories first these are rumors

06:37

and things without a whole lot of

06:38

content to them first up MSI posted

06:40

Updates this one's official for it's MSI

06:42

claw handheld that we reviewed a couple

06:44

weeks ago MSI claims an improvement

06:47

upwards of 150% which must have been

06:49

borderline broken before to get that big

06:51

of an uplift we're not sure if this fix

06:53

will fix the frame time pacing issues

06:55

that we saw now previously just before

06:57

review went live Intel post its own

07:00

update that recommended avoiding some

07:01

MSI Center M Power plans and stated its

07:04

own intention of improving performance

07:06

for Ark and we'll revisit the device

07:08

next time we do a handheld review amd's

07:10

ryzen 9000 series was in the rumor mill

07:12

this has been confirmed by gigabyte as

07:14

being the naming basically gigabyte

07:16

posted a press release that it has since

07:18

changed stating that its beta bios

07:21

supports quote the coming ryzen 9000

07:23

Series processors and video cards was

07:25

able to capture a screenshot of the

07:26

original posting the only news here is

07:28

that we now have have a confirmed name

07:30

and he leaving the 8,000 naming to

07:32

probably the apus in other news it home

07:35

picked up a rumor that Intel's core

07:37

Ultra 5 240f will be an 8+ 16 and 6 Plus

07:41

8 core configuration for what the poster

07:44

says is the entry level desktop skew we

07:47

look forward to motherboards running

07:48

them at 700 watts and related to that

07:51

comment hard run box posted a uh testing

07:54

video relating to Intel's motherboards

07:56

and the CPUs and how they get blasted uh

07:59

depending on the configuration of the

08:01

board and it various settings we did not

08:04

cover that story so that's related to

08:05

the stability story that's been in the

08:07

news for on and off couple months now uh

08:09

we haven't covered it because we're

08:11

buried in all this EK stuff and I'm

08:13

happy to defer to them for that one

08:15

since we kind of skipped that in favor

08:16

of the EK coverage so they've got a

08:18

report for you there if you want to

08:19

follow up on that all right next one

08:21

we've previously reported on rumors that

08:23

nvidia's at 50 Series gpus will be using

08:26

gdr 7 memory and this is showing that

08:29

AMD is currently cooking up unannounced

08:31

rdna 4 powered RX 8000 gpus that will

08:34

stick with slower gddr6 vram now this

08:37

comes by the way of Kepler L2 who

08:39

tweeted quote only 18 gbits per second I

08:42

don't know how to verbally quote the

08:44

Emoji that's in that is it is it like

08:47

it's

08:49

like I think that's how you quote it uh

08:52

this would indicate potentially a

08:54

cost-saving measure for amd's following

08:57

gpus going with an older memory

08:59

technology would definitely save money

09:01

it could also however create a memory

09:03

bandwidth issue depending on how Reliant

09:06

the architecture is on bandwidth uh and

09:09

that varies architecture architecture

09:11

the gdr 7 is expected to go into mass

09:13

production uh throughout and by the end

09:16

of the year companies like SK HX have

09:18

stated publicly that they are targeting

09:20

40 gbits per second performance out of

09:21

gdr 7 as it matures when it first comes

09:24

out it's going to be lower than that

09:25

it's typically how it goes now for

09:27

reference amd's rdna 3 based RX 7900 gr

09:30

and RX 7700 XT uh both carry 18 GB per

09:35

second memory and this would be slower

09:37

than the 7900 XTX which carries 20 GBS

09:40

per second for its configuration by

09:42

default now up next meta opens up its VR

09:45

OS to other vendors including Lenovo and

09:49

Asus in what feels to be a bid to be the

09:52

Android or Windows operating system in

09:54

the VR space meta has announced that

09:56

it's beginning to open up what it's now

09:58

calling the Met Horizon OS to other VR

10:01

headsets the company revealed that VR

10:03

headsets from Asus Lenovo and a limited

10:05

edition Quest headset made in

10:07

collaboration with Xbox are in the works

10:10

and in a company blog post meta wrote

10:12

this quote we're opening up the

10:13

operating system powering our meta Quest

10:15

devices to thirdparty Hardware makers

10:17

giving more choice to Consumers and a

10:19

larger ecosystem for developers to build

10:21

for end quote Zuckerberg posted to

10:24

Instagram referencing modding and

10:26

Hardware diversity as a key driver for

10:29

opening up the solution he specifically

10:31

cited apple as the Counterpoint to this

10:33

approach headsets that use meta Horizon

10:36

OS will have access to the features that

10:38

meta has built which include Inside Out

10:41

tracking as well as eye face hand and

10:43

body tracking the operating system also

10:45

supports mixed reality features like

10:48

they say quote pass through scene

10:50

understanding and spatial anchors with

10:52

these headsets meta is also pushing its

10:54

meta Quest store which it has rebranded

10:56

to the metah Horizon store maybe

10:58

something of a steam play there as well

11:00

where valve benefits from being

11:03

effectively the publisher or at least

11:04

the the retailer of the games on its

11:06

platform and that's where the real money

11:08

is for them not the hardware as you see

11:10

with the steam deck and previously with

11:12

the original HTC Vive efforts so maybe

11:14

something like that now delving more

11:16

into the coming headsets there's the

11:18

Asus version which is supposed to be an

11:20

Rog branded device likely with Rog

11:23

pricing attached to it and this is aimed

11:26

at being what they say uh is a quote all

11:29

new performance gaming headset so Asus

11:31

has really taken the gaming side of it

11:33

and specifically cited high performance

11:35

as a key demand that they seek to fill

11:38

with that headset lenovo's headset seems

11:40

to be aimed at more mixed uses with the

11:43

blog post highlighting things like

11:45

learning and

11:47

productivity ew and also entertainment

11:51

as the key areas of focus of sarcasm by

11:53

the way before someone's like I thought

11:55

you liked learning uh the company

11:57

previously partnered with Facebook when

11:59

it co-designed the Oculus Rift s headset

12:02

so there's some history there as well

12:03

the limited edition Xbox inspired one is

12:06

pictured in black and green coloring

12:08

with the quest with the user holding an

12:10

Xbox controller which no doubt will be

12:13

targeted at streaming Xbox cloud gaming

12:15

titles this is currently available in a

12:17

beta State on existing Quest headsets we

12:20

recently reported on how the fccu was

12:22

going to vote to reinstate net

12:23

neutrality which has come to pass and uh

12:26

that was a 3 to2 vote restored net

12:29

neutrality as predicted this

12:30

reclassifies internet service providers

12:32

under the title 2 provision of the

12:35

communications act which is actually a

12:37

1930s act in law and this is after net

12:41

neutrality was repealed in 2017 so it's

12:44

kind of a restoring of that title 2 has

12:46

a common carrier aspect which would

12:48

allow the FCC to have authority over

12:52

those carriers so critically this would

12:54

mean public access to Internet would be

12:57

uh explicitly required to be a

13:00

non-discriminatory provision of that

13:02

service now in this instance the the

13:04

non-discriminatory applies to the type

13:08

of access so that would be things like

13:10

certain websites being faster or slower

13:13

uh maybe having throttling or other

13:16

restrictions placed on them so that's

13:17

what's meant here by that use of that

13:19

phrasing so net neutrality theoretically

13:22

aims to put all internet traffic on the

13:24

same playing field preventing potential

13:26

paid priority Lanes prior to the vote

13:29

opponent of net neutrality and FCC chair

13:31

Rosen warell stated that internet access

13:34

has gone from a quote nice to have to a

13:37

quote need to have adding that quote

13:39

Broadband is now an essential service

13:41

essential Services the ones we count on

13:43

in every aspect of Modern Life have some

13:45

basic oversight historically isps or

13:48

internet service providers have fought

13:50

this provision and it's mostly over

13:52

concerns that their pricing could become

13:55

regulated so not a big surprise they' be

13:57

against it now this would be similar in

13:59

some ways to utilities like power it's

14:02

not that far uh but that's I think what

14:04

they are maybe scared of as an ISP the

14:08

FCC has continued to push a national

14:11

security angle for this uh previously

14:13

they pushed a more consumer angle from

14:16

our observation of how things have gone

14:17

down so definitely a change in tone and

14:20

what they're focused on um the material

14:22

we saw was much less consumer focused

14:24

this time next one RX 7800 XT price

14:27

drops to

14:29

$470 so uh the powercolor hellhound 7800

14:32

XT has dropped to a new low with the

14:35

price of

14:36

$470 available from Newegg by way of

14:38

eBay this is $31 less than its original

14:41

$500 price that puts it in spitting

14:44

distance of nvidia's 4060 TI 16 gab

14:48

which currently retails for $450 and

14:50

remains a waste of money for anyone who

14:52

just wants it for gaming uh when we

14:54

reviewed the 7800 XT back in September

14:58

we concluded that it's one of the better

15:00

value cards this generation thus far

15:02

we've reviewed the powercolor hellhound

15:04

cards in the past so for the 7900 XT

15:06

model we found it to be a good cheap

15:08

performer and the cards official product

15:10

page for the 7800 XT Hound mentions that

15:13

it offers dual bio support and features

15:15

like a physical LED switch on the cart

15:17

after speculation that A PS5 Pro was

15:20

inbound it's inbound it's really only a

15:23

couple versions of consoles out there

15:25

there's Slims pros and bass models so it

15:28

wasn't inevitable at some point uh this

15:30

one comes from The Verge which reports

15:32

that it has obtained documents

15:34

confirming the console's existence and

15:36

The Verge says that those documents

15:38

indicate it'll be called the PS5 Pro

15:40

Trinity or in other words the PS5 3 Sony

15:44

allegedly views this as a quote high-end

15:46

version of the PlayStation 5 and says

15:49

that it's one that'll focus on improving

15:50

rate tracing so this would be a maybe

15:53

more typical mid generation refresh it's

15:55

a reminder the PlayStation 5 originally

15:57

came out in 2020

15:59

and it's approaching four years old at

16:01

this point so it's relatively new in

16:02

console years the PlayStation 2 is

16:04

something like a decade or somewhere in

16:06

that range of life but the Verge reports

16:09

that the new one will quote include a

16:11

more powerful GPU and a slightly faster

16:13

CPU mode elaborating on performance the

16:15

publication wrote quote Sony expects GPU

16:18

rendering on the PS5 Pro to be about 45%

16:22

faster than the standard PS5 adding the

16:25

PS5 Pro GPU will be larger and use

16:28

faster system memory to help improve R

16:30

tracing in games they say that Sony is

16:33

also using a more powerful R tracing

16:35

architecture in the PS5 Pro where the

16:37

speed here is up to three times better

16:38

than the regular PS5 the article

16:40

likewise claims a 350 MHz clock bump

16:43

which is pretty big and says that

16:46

developers may be able to pick between

16:48

modes for lower or higher frequencies

16:52

this uh could maybe make sense if the

16:53

developer is optimizing a heavier game

16:56

to spec down to better work on the older

16:59

device or on the other side of things uh

17:01

if they have a game that already runs

17:03

fine on the older device they could

17:05

maybe find ways to uh utilize The

17:08

increased memory from we'll get there uh

17:10

increased capabilities of the GPU

17:12

whatever with higher quality assets

17:14

things like higher resolution textures

17:15

things like that so there's a few

17:17

options there uh and the claim is that

17:19

there's going to be multiple modes for

17:21

which the games can be built now

17:23

elaborating to the ram changes The Verge

17:26

stated that quote the PS5 Pro will also

17:29

have some changes to system memory for

17:30

developers the standard PS5 memory runs

17:33

at 448 GB per second but Sony's bumping

17:36

it up 28% to 576 GB per second on the

17:38

PS5 Pro they say the Verge also claims

17:41

that quote developers will get more

17:43

access to overall system memory games

17:45

can use an additional 1.2 GB on the PS5

17:47

Pro so that's 13.7 versus 12.5 allocated

17:51

to games on the Basse PS5 now this could

17:54

manifest in a couple ways as well so

17:57

first again is for the p PC audience we

17:59

may see a kind of knock on effect to

18:02

this because a lot of games come from

18:03

console and are ported or uh they are

18:06

built for all platforms simultaneously

18:08

and in either case they're going to

18:10

build to the spec probably of the

18:12

consoles in some capacity so an increase

18:14

in memory available there might mean an

18:17

increase in vram as an example uh

18:20

requirements for games on the PC now in

18:22

this case that bump isn't massive it's

18:25

not the same as a generational bump but

18:27

1.2 GB increase

18:29

still a lot it's enough to push you into

18:30

another class of GPU depend on what you

18:32

have so we could see that pop up in a

18:35

couple years as developers have had time

18:37

to get games out to actually utilize

18:38

this memory change now another way this

18:40

could materialize is an increase to

18:41

Graphics quality on the PS5 Pro as

18:44

opposed to the PS5 if the developers

18:47

leverage that for say higher resolution

18:49

textures or something along those lines

18:50

now additionally if Sony's moving

18:51

forward with its pssr or its own super

18:54

resolution technology then GPU load

18:57

might decrease at least with relation to

18:59

resolution while the CPU capabilities

19:02

would be less constrained by the GPU in

19:04

that instance the increase in Ray

19:07

tracing Focus here uh maybe could mean

19:10

that super resolution instead could be

19:11

used to kind of free up some aspect of

19:14

GPU processing capabilities to instead

19:17

Leverage The GPU on allow it to

19:20

basically crunch on other things like

19:22

rate tracing well that one's interesting

19:24

because um the rate tracing is one that

19:27

that sort of maybe toggling or reducing

19:29

bounces or something like that it's just

19:31

seems like it'll be hard to fully

19:34

represent the same experience on both

19:36

devices if there's going to be this big

19:38

push for increased rate tracing

19:40

capabilities but we'll see how it pans

19:41

out the Verge also reports quote Sony

19:43

has built a custom architecture for

19:45

machine learning on the PS5 Pro which

19:47

support 300 tops of 8 bit computation uh

19:51

they say and we're not sure how that'd

19:53

be used at this point the publication

19:55

here's that game developers are able to

19:57

order test kits now that means that

19:58

there's going to be a lot of leaks in

20:00

the coming months as developers get

20:02

their hands on these the plan apparently

20:04

is to get this launched by holiday

20:06

season this year to be uh available

20:09

alongside the original PS5 not outright

20:11

replacing it up next if you've got a

20:13

gigabyte z790 board gigabyte is warning

20:16

against using the latest beta bios

20:19

apparently it's causing the BIOS to

20:21

freeze it's totally uncool while the

20:24

BIOS update was supposed to support

20:26

Intel's 14900 K CPU that just launched

20:29

and enable Intel APO which got updates

20:32

we talked about recently instead users

20:34

are experiencing Frozen bioses videoc

20:37

cards.com reports that this has impacted

20:39

more than just a single motherboard but

20:41

quote all boards that were recently

20:43

updated unfortunately it seems like

20:45

early adopters got the short end of the

20:47

stick with Taiwanese publication unico's

20:50

Hardware reporting negative feedback

20:52

from users who say things like quote if

20:54

I boot into BIOS I'm unable to change

20:56

anything no matter what I do or click

20:58

the first 10 seconds or so the BIOS

21:00

freezes other users also reported the

21:02

same and the UEFI has been called

21:05

unusable now gigabyte has followed this

21:07

up and has warned against using that

21:09

version they're working on another

21:11

update that should fix all these issues

21:13

and then that'll roll out if it's not

21:14

already out might be by the time this

21:16

news video goes up with that said if you

21:18

own an AR z790 board probably best to

21:20

wait for the stable bios to come out

21:23

also just kind of a general commentary

21:25

here but uh whenever bioses come out

21:27

personally speaking as in on systems I

21:29

use but not for testing and things like

21:32

that it's good to stay updated for

21:34

security reasons at the same time I

21:36

personally still will wait like at least

21:38

a month to sometimes three months just

21:41

to make sure any issues like this have

21:43

been worked out because uh if there's

21:46

going to be a problem with a perfectly

21:48

working setup normally it comes from

21:49

either a Windows update thanks Microsoft

21:52

this actually this computer behind me

21:55

was stuck updating earlier it kept

21:56

rolling back or it comes from the uh the

22:00

bioses that come out and actually on the

22:02

count of this system behind me I I

22:05

considered just filming with a giant

22:08

windows's updating logo on that Center

22:11

screen right there and uh unfortunately

22:13

it sorted itself out before we started

22:16

we got a good one up next it's Ubisoft

22:18

they're back previously Ubisoft said

22:21

people should feel comfortable with not

22:23

owning their games direct quote by the

22:25

way and they cited that they intended to

22:28

make good on the gaming libraries and

22:30

gaming streaming services among others

22:33

and make sure you'd always have access

22:34

to your

22:36

games except for the ones they remove

22:38

like the crew which they just removed

22:41

but don't worry they won't take access

22:44

away to games people who purchased

22:46

copies of the online only racing game

22:48

got this message upon trying to launch

22:50

the game recently it says you no longer

22:53

have access to this game why not check

22:55

the store to pursue your adventures uh

22:59

here's why last time I did that you took

23:02

it away this is some of the most toned

23:04

deaf advertising for a digital game

23:07

store I think I've ever

23:09

seen just like sorry the one you clicked

23:12

on that you bought and paid for from us

23:15

is gone or that you've invested money

23:18

into somehow and um anyway how about

23:21

giving us some more of that money PC

23:23

Gamer reports that the crew has been

23:25

moved to a player Library labeled

23:27

inactive game which again is not

23:30

encouraging to have a entire subfolder

23:34

that exists for a store that can charge

23:36

you for games and then just dump them

23:38

into that folder whenever they feel like

23:40

it personally I just think that's how

23:41

they should work you buy the game and

23:44

then once you download it it just moves

23:45

it into that inactive games folder and

23:47

that's the end of the whole transaction

23:49

you've actually beaten the game it's

23:51

just the the part where you play it we

23:54

don't need to do that one takes a lot of

23:56

time anyway and so you get all of the

23:58

satisfaction of having defeated the game

24:00

without needing to sink all that time

24:02

into it but you still get to pay the

24:03

money for it so it still feels like

24:05

you've earned

24:07

something I think that's how I think

24:09

that's what I think that's how it works

24:11

we previously reported on how Ubisoft

24:13

director of subscriptions Philip tremble

24:15

stated quote I still have two boxes of

24:17

DVDs that's a hell of an appeal to

24:19

Authority I can trust this guy on

24:21

physical media quote I definitely

24:23

understand the gamers perspective with

24:25

that but as people Embrace that

24:27

subscription model they will see that

24:29

these games will exist the services will

24:31

continue and you'll be able to access

24:33

them whenever you feel like that's

24:35

reassuring they access them whenever you

24:37

feel like they maybe just strike that

24:40

part from the record it's you can access

24:42

them whenever Ubisoft feels like that's

24:44

what they meant so when they said

24:46

whenever you feel like it's just a typo

24:49

I actually was using Shand so uh

24:51

internally they everyone knows they just

24:53

shorten Ubisoft to just you the letter

24:55

and when the journalist transcribe the

24:57

statement didn't realize that it's

24:59

actually it's shorthand for Ubisoft you

25:01

can access it whenever Ubisoft feels

25:03

like and this all comes at a time when a

25:04

cured Farms is working on uh right of

25:07

ownership for games and if if ever he

25:11

needed more proof uh of the problem then

25:16

this definitely came to provide that

25:19

it's perfect timing for that discussion

25:21

all right next one we'll definitely have

25:25

we'll be back to this Ubisoft thing I

25:26

have a lot more thoughts on it uh we'll

25:28

let them we'll let them cook a little

25:30

longer all right that's it for Harbor

25:31

news this week we filmed it over 2 days

25:33

because we're in the middle of all the

25:34

EK stuff so that's everything for you

25:36

covers a wide span so the first half is

25:39

the most recent news St from the past

25:41

week and then you've got some from the

25:42

week before as well just because we

25:43

skipped there so uh that gets you all up

25:46

to speed thanks for watching we have a

25:47

ton of stuff coming out we're in the

25:49

reviews area of things now taking a

25:51

break from some of the investigations

25:52

although tips are still coming in so

25:54

we'll see if anything changes there but

25:56

uh largely pending ek's actions

25:58

decisions at this point so that's it for

26:00

this one thanks for watching subscribe

26:02

for more we'll see you all next time