Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game is just around the corner, and as such, the developer Weta Workshop shared the PC system requirements to run it. As it seems, the barrier to entry for a life in Bywater is very low.

If you're aiming for a baseline experience at 1080p with 30 FPS on Very Low settings, you can dust off some old hardware. The minimum graphics card requirements point to an Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 or an AMD Radeon R9 270X. That's right, GPUs that are now well over a decade old will be enough to get you in the game, alongside a modest processor like an Intel Core i5-7600K or AMD Ryzen 3 1200.

Of course, for a much smoother and prettier experience at 1080p and 60 FPS on High settings, you'll need to step up to more modern kit. The recommended specs call for a significant jump to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti or an AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT. On the CPU front, you'll be looking at an Intel Core i5-10600 or an AMD Ryzen 5 8400F.

Both the minimum and recommended configurations call for 16GB of system RAM, which is pretty standard for modern gaming. This contrasts sharply with the game's tiny storage footprint, requiring just 3 GB of free space. This suggests the game's assets are highly compressed or that the world itself is not overwhelmingly large. Below you can see the detailed system requirements:

MINIMUM

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i5-7600K or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770, 4 GB or AMD Radeon R9 270X, 4 GB or Intel Arc A580, 8 GB
• Storage: 3 GB available space
• Additional Notes / Details: 1080p Very Low @ 30 FPS

RECOMMENDED

• OS: Windows 11
• Processor: Intel Core i5-10600 or AMD Ryzen 5 8400F
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, 8 GB or AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, 12 GB
• Storage: 3 GB available space
• Additional Notes / Details: 1080p High @ 60 FPS

Despite a reportedly challenging development cycle with several delays, Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game is set to launch on July 29th for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch, offering a peaceful escape into Tolkien's beloved world.

KitGuru says: Are you planning on trying Tales of the Shire? 

Following on from a reveal at Computex 2025, Phanteks is now launching its latest Eclipse case, the G370A. The Eclipse series has long been popular amongst system builders. Now, the Eclipse G370A looks to carry that legacy forward with a performance-first design.

The Phanteks Eclipse G370A features a complete front mesh design for optimal airflow, supports up to 7 fans, and offers 360mm top radiator support. It also accommodates both ATX and SSI-EEB motherboards, making it suitable for professional workstations without a premium price tag.

As you can see from the images, while budget-friendly, the case has a large tempered glass window for showcasing RGB lighting and other hardware.

The Phanteks Eclipse G370A is available starting today, priced at just £54.99 in the UK, $59.99 in the US and €59.90 in Europe.

KitGuru Says: Are you planning a new PC build for 2025? Are you considering a Phanteks case for it?

Despite the success of the films, John Wick Hex is a game that flew completely under the radar after its release in 2019. The game started off as an Epic Games Store exclusive but eventually came to Steam and consoles in 2020. Now six years on, the game is being delisted. 

Mike Bithell, a developer best known behind Thomas Was Alone and Volume was the creative visionary behind John Wick Hex. The game is a strategy game rather than a shooter, with levels based around carefully plotting Wick's movements to take out targets and avoid fire.

Unfortunately, as with any game based on a film property, the rights don't last forever. As a result, John Wick Hex will be removed from sale on all platforms on the 17th of July. Unfortunately, the developers left fans with very short notice and now, the game is no longer on sale at a discounted price, which it was just weeks ago during the Summer Sale. A lot of potential buyers likely would have pulled the trigger had this announcement been made just a bit sooner.

KitGuru Says: John Wick Hex is a fun little strategy game and it is a shame to see it being delisted. Perhaps it will return one day but given the success of the films, those franchise rights are not going to be cheap. 

Only a handful of major third-party titles have been announced for the Switch 2 so far. Apparently, there are a lot of ports waiting to be announced, but delays have taken place due to many studios getting their dev kits later than normally expected. 

Nate the Hate recently stated in a video that many third-party developers who released Switch 1 titles are looking to update their games for the Switch 2. However, some studios didn't get their dev kits until very close to launch, and some still don't have their hands on hardware to proceed with development plans.

This isn't an entirely new rumour. Prior to Nintendo officially announcing the Switch 2 console, reports indicated that just a select few studios received dev kits. Looking at the launch, it appears that CD Projekt Red, IO Interactive, SEGA, Square Enix, WB Games and Capcom did get access prior to the console's launch. This led to launch titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy, Yakuza 0 Director's Cut, Street Fighter 6, Bravely Default HD Remastered and HITMAN: World of Assassination.

Currently, a Nintendo Direct is rumoured to be taking place before the end of July, so we should get more news on upcoming Switch 2 games soon, both from first-party and third-party studios.

KitGuru Says: There are still a lot of Switch 1 games that I would like to see updated for the Switch 2. Based on the slow rollout of updates compared to the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S launch, it seems very believable that a lot of teams are still awaiting on a larger supply of dev kits. 

The second wave of Game Pass titles for the month have now been announced. With Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 now available, attention turns to the second big first-party game launching into Game Pass this month – Grounded 2. 

Grounded 2 is a surprise sequel from Obsidian. The sequel promises an even bigger playground for players to explore, but much like the first game, it will be launching in early access, so it will be a while before the game is in a complete state.

Here is the full list of titles coming to Game Pass over the next couple of weeks:

• RoboCop: Rogue City (Cloud, Console and PC) – July 17th
• My Friendly Neighborhood (Cloud, Console and PC) – July 17th
• Back to the Dawn (Cloud, Console and PC) – July 18th
• Abiotic Factor (Cloud, Console and PC) – July 18th
• Wheel World (Cloud, Console and PC) – July 23rd
• Wuchang: Fallen Feathers (Cloud, Console and PC) – July 24th
• Grounded 2 (Cloud, Console and PC) – July 29th
• Farming Simulator 25 (Cloud, Console and PC) – August 1st

As always, a small number of titles will be leaving Game Pass at the end of the month. From July 31st, the following games will no longer be available:

• Gigantic (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Turnip Boy Robs a Bank (Cloud, Console, and PC)

The good news is that if you do want to continue playing any of these games, you can buy it at a 20% discount before it leaves Game Pass.

KitGuru Says: Will you be installing any of this month's Game Pass titles? 

Each week, Nvidia provides an update on the latest games launching with DLSS. This week's list features some prominent names in the multiplayer space, including Marvel Rivals and War Thunder, both of which are getting the upgrade to DLSS 4.

While both Marvel Rivals and War Thunder already had DLSS support, new updates arriving this week bring an upgrade to DLSS 4. The latest version includes Multi-Frame Generation, allowing frame rates to be multiplied further. In Marvel Rivals, Nvidia claims up to 5x higher frame rates with the highest Multi-Frame Gen setting. These enhancements arrive alongside Marvel Rivals' Season 3 update. War Thunder's DLSS 4 upgrade also arrives alongside a major update – the Leviathans update.

RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business is the third game getting DLSS 4 this week. This standalone expansion to the excellent cinematic shooter, RoboCop: Rogue City now gets DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation, so RTX 50 series GPU users can get an even bigger boost to frame rates. In the case of all DLSS 4 titles, those with older RTX 40 series GPUs can still use Frame Generation, but only the lowest setting.

KitGuru Says: Are you playing any of this week's new DLSS titles?

Just when you think you've seen every possible AIO design, Thermalright, a brand never shy about trying new things, has updated the Aqua Elite with a rather interesting new CPU block. The new Aqua Elite V6 has arrived, and its most striking feature is a pump head designed to look exactly like a BBS car wheel.

The new Aqua Elite V6 is paired with a set of Thermalright's TL-N12-R5-S fans, which use S-FDB bearings. These 120mm ARGB units appear quite capable on paper, rated to spin up to 2000 RPM and pushing a claimed 70.84 CFM of airflow with a static pressure of 2.63 mmH2O. Thermalright rates the maximum noise output of these fans at 29.8 dB(A).

The rest of the unit is built on a familiar foundation. A standard 27mm thick aluminium radiator, with a subtle logo on the side, is connected to the waterblock by a 400mm pair of tubes. Moving on to the ARGB pump, this one is rated at a maximum speed of 2800 RPM and an MTBF of 40K hours.

The cooler will be available in black and white with 240mm and 360mmradiators. As for compatibility, the Aqua Elite V6 supports all modern sockets, including AM4, AM5, LGA 115x, 1200, 1700, and 1851.

KitGuru says: How do you think the new Aqua Elite V6 coolers will compare to their predecessors?

In a move that has surprised the football gaming community, EA Sports has confirmed that the iconic Zlatan Ibrahimović is making a spectacular return to the virtual pitch, gracing the cover of the upcoming EA Sports FC 26 Ultimate Edition via multiple teasers.

The teaser, which dropped yesterday, confirms that two years after his retirement, the Swedish legend will be a central figure in the next installment of EA FC. Following in the footsteps of past legends like David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane, Zlatan's appearance on the cover strongly suggests he will also be added as an Icon card in the game's Ultimate Team mode.

The reveal came via the official EA Sports FC social media channels, which posted a teaser of the Ultimate Edition cover art with the simple message: “You asked. Zlatan is back”. The man himself followed up with his own characteristically confident post, stating, “FC without Zlatan is not complete. I'm back”. This marks a significant moment for the series, bringing one of modern football's biggest personalities back into the fold.

Fans won't have to wait long to see more. In keeping with their traditional July reveal schedule, EA has announced that a full reveal trailer for FC 26 is set to premiere tomorrow, Wednesday, July 16th. While an official release date has not yet been confirmed, the franchise has consistently launched in late September, a pattern that is widely expected to continue this year.

KitGuru says: What are you expecting from this year's EA FC?

G.Skill memory has been used to set many world records over the years and another has just landed. The overclocker known as bl4ckdot has just set a new overclocking world record for the fastest DDR5 memory frequency, with a 24GB Trident Z5 memory module pushed all the way to 12872MT/s.

bl4ckdot is an extreme overclocker from France. If you were following the G.Skill OC World Cup this year, you will have seen him in action during the live-qualifier stage. Two months on from Computex, bl4ckdot has succeeded in breaking the world record for DDR5 memory speed.

The 12872MT/s overclock was achieved using one 24GB module of G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5 memory, built with high-performance SK Hynix DDR5 ICs, running on the ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Apex motherboard with an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K desktop processor. Extreme LN2 cooling was also used to achieve these results so don't expect to be able to replicate this at home.

The new record has already been validated on HWBOT and CPU-Z. Speaking on the new record, G.Skill marketing manager, Frank Hung, said that the company is “proud to see Trident Z5 memory once again breaking the boundaries”. Given the history of world records here, it is only a matter of time before we see G.Skill memory used to set even crazier records.

KitGuru Says: What memory do you use in your system?

In the nearly a decade since the release of Destiny 2, Bungie’s live-service shooter has seen a ton of changes, additions, removals and overhauls – leading to a rather imposing experience for new players. In an effort to alleviate this stress, Bungie has claimed that they are working on “a more curated experience” for new players.

In an interview with Call of Duty / Destiny 2 YouTuber MrRoffleWaffles, Assistant game director at Bungie – Robbie Stevens – spoke on the new-player experience and how they hope to improve it in the future, stating (as transcribed by PCGamesN):

“We need to find a way to have a more curated experience for the early parts of the game. We also think, even for some core players, some curated experiences are things they also might just want for their average play session. But when we do that, we want to do it in a way that does not take away from all the depth and buildcraft agency that being a more veteran or hardcore player comes with.”

Stevens continued, “What's the right focus of a new player experience and getting you into the systems of the game? For us, we need to put more focus on a more curated experience that understands that people are smart for some of the basics of how videogames work and it's okay that they don't need a ton of handholding there,” while “[spending] a little more time getting your feet wet and giving you curated experiences that let you better understand how the systems of the game operate at the foundational level so you can grow into them.”

As mentioned, with each major update, Destiny 2 has changed and evolved in a ton of ways, leading to confusion for both new and returning players who’ve been gone for a while.

Couple this with content being sunset only to be brought back later, and it’s safe to say that Destiny 2 does have a bit of an onboarding problem. Hopefully Bungie are committed to actually sticking with a system that works once they figure out the solution.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Destiny 2 in 2025? Is it less approachable than it used to be? How could they make the game’s MANY different campaigns and activities less confusing? Let us know your thoughts down below.

Following their big Nintendo Switch 2 Direct which showcased the likes of Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, there have been various leaks and rumours on when Nintendo will host its next video games showcase. Echoing reports from late last month, insiders are claiming that a Direct is set to take place during the final few days of July.

Following a report from late last month which claimed that a Nintendo Direct is planned for July, known industry insider NateTheHate published a video reaffirming this fact while narrowing down the window for when it will take place exactly.

According to Nate: “I have been told there is a Nintendo Direct this month, the month of July, but that Direct will not take place until AFTER Donkey Kong Bananza releases.”

Of course, Donkey Kong Bananza is set to arrive in just a few days on Thursday the 17th of July, and so in giving that game some time to breath, Nate believes that the showcase will take place “probably the last week of July because Friday of that week is August 1, which is a Nintendo Earning Report Day.”

Of course, all this should be taken with a pinch of salt, with Nate himself clarifying that “All I can say right now is that there is a Direct this month and it'll be after Donkey Kong Bananza releases.”

As with most showcases nowadays, Nintendo gives relatively little heads up prior to the show going live, and so we will likely have to wait until around the 26th-7th to hear anything official – assuming the timeline is as Nate believes.

KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to the next Nintendo Direct? What do you think the console maker will focus on? How many new first-party titles do you expect to see announced? Let us know down below.

Last year, in celebration of the PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, Sony announced and released a slew of limited edition PS5 consoles and accessories styled in the vein of the OG PSOne. Those who missed out on these anniversary items the first time round will get another chance to snag some limited edition systems – as Sony has now announced a “highly limited” restocking of its anniversary hardware.

Making the announcement on Twitter, the official PlayStation UK page revealed that ”The 30th Anniversary PS5 Digital Edition Console Bundle, 30th Anniversary DualSense Wireless Controller, and 30th Anniversary PlayStation Portal will have a limited restock, launching on September 29.”

As with many of Sony’s limited edition hardware, these 30th anniversary systems will be available to purchase exclusively though the console maker’s own PlayStation Direct site.

Interestingly, PlayStation Plus subscribers will gain early access to pre-orders; going live on the 21st of July at 10am BST. Everyone else meanwhile will have to wait until the 23rd of July at 10am BST. It is unknown how the stock is being allocated, and so if you are wanting to get a hold of any of these, your best bet will be through the PS Plus early access route.

PlayStation’s limited edition anniversary / milestone consoles have historically been some of its most popular – not only due to their limited nature, but also thanks to their sleek designs and colourways. As such, it is a welcome surprise to see some of the 30th anniversary consoles and accessories being made available once again – albeit in “highly limited quantities.”

KitGuru says: What do you think of the 30th anniversary PS5? Did you get any of the items the first time round? What’s your favourite limited edition console of all time? Let us know down below.

While IO Interactive continues to work on its upcoming 007: First Light game, the HITMAN creators have kept fans of the ‘World of Assassination’ satiated with content updates, new ports, limited time modes and more. As part of this effort to expand the game beyond its 75 million player mark, HITMAN: World of Assassination is now coming to iOS.

Over the past couple years we’ve seen an increasing number of AAA titles ported to iPhones/iPad, including but not limited to Death Stranding, Resident Evil Village; Assassin’s Creed Mirage and many more.

Joining this list soon will be IO Interactive’s HITMAN: World of Assassination. Teased last month, the team have now released their first official trailer for the port while reaffirming its Summer 2025 release window.

For the uninitiated, HITMAN: World of Assassination is a repackaging of IOI’s rebooted HITMAN trilogy. Initially released as three separate games, the titles were retooled and placed into a single package packed with a ton of content.

As mentioned, we’ve seen quite a few AAA games come to iOS at this point – to varying degrees of success. It will be interesting to see how IOI have approached this port and whether it will include as many options as some of the other iPhone releases.

KitGuru says: Are you excited to see more AAA games coming to mobile? How do you think the game will compare to its console counterparts? Will it include ray-tracing of any kind? Let us know your thoughts down below.

Samuel Herman and Alexander Baciu worked for a construction company that specialized in contracts with ISP companies to install their physical networks.  Just like many Comcast customers they were frequently disappointed with…

Not only do we talk about the things in the description, but we talk (oh so much) about many other things! See the time stamps below for a list of most of…

The Boulies OP300 is a simple office chair that aims to deliver great ergonomics and sensible styling without breaking the bank. Coming at £259.99 here in the UK, it’s certainly much more affordable than a lot of ergonomic chairs that are on the market. But does the low price mean low quality? We find out today.

Timestamps:

00:00 Start
00:31 Naming / Pricing / Warranty
01:39 Design and Materials
03:45 Comfort and Adjustability
06:58 Chair Dimensions
07:29 Real World Use – Mat’s Thoughts
09:46 Assembling the chair
10:16 Build Quality
11:15 Closing thoughts

Specifications

• Upholstery – Airy Mesh / Padded Mesh
• Frame – Reinforced plastic frame
• Five star foot base – Heavy Duty Engineering plastic Base
• Tilt mechanism – Multi tilt
• Casters – 6cm PU casters
• Hydraulics – Class 3 (Heavy Duty)
• Adjustability
  • 360° swivel
  • backrest recline (85°-113°)
  • Adjustable backrest Height
  • Seat rocking (9.5°)
  • Seat Tilt position Lock (-1.7°-7.8°)
  • Adjustable head support
  • Seat depth adjustment
  • Armrest 6 ways adjustable

You can buy the OP300 directly from Boulies for £259.99 (On sale from £289.99) HERE.

Pros:

• Mature design that will fit an office or gaming environment.
• Comfortable padding across the seat base, backrest and headrest.
• Seat depth adjustment is great to see at this price point.

Cons:

• Lacklustre build quality.
• No adjustable lumbar support.
• Plastic frame doesn’t feel very premium.
• Headrest too far back to be realistically useable.

KitGuru says: The OP300 (formerly known as the EP300) is comfortable where it matters, but has too many compromises in regards to build quality. The lack of adjustable lumbar support is disappointing for a chair aimed at ergonomics. 

Nvidia has dropped the first preview driver from its new 590 branch, and while it's officially aimed at developers, it contains a feature that gamers have been eagerly awaiting. Buried within this preview release is the first implementation of Smooth Motion, the company's answer to AMD's driver-level Fluid Motion Frames technology.

For those who may not be aware, Smooth Motion is essentially driver-level frame generation. Unlike DLSS Frame Generation, which requires integration into a game's engine to work, Smooth Motion is a simpler “one size fits all” solution. While this means the quality won't match a native DLSS implementation, it offers a considerable advantage: it can be enabled on virtually any game, bringing frame generation to titles that would otherwise never receive official support.

While the official toggle for Smooth Motion is not yet live in the Nvidia app, the community has already figured out a workaround. As discovered by user Macer (via Huang514613), the feature can be forced on for the RTX 40 series using Nvidia Inspector. The tool lists the feature as being for the RTX 50 series, but tests have confirmed it is functional on the RTX 40 series as well. These same tests also show the frame generation working as expected, doubling the FPS output on World of Warcraft.

Although the Smooth Motion was what caught our eye, the official purpose of this driver is to give developers a preview of the upcoming Shader Model 6.9. This new version includes advanced features like shader execution reordering for ray tracing and support for cooperative linear algebra operations, all of which are important for the future of game development, but not something end-users need to worry about. For those eager to experiment, the preview driver is available for download now directly from Nvidia's developer portal.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Do you have an RTX 40 series card? Will you try out Smooth Motion with the preview driver?

Nintendo has never shied away from fighting piracy. Following on from the takedown of two popular Switch emulators last year, Nintendo has now turned its attention back towards ROM sites offering free downloads of Switch titles. According to the FBI, a couple of recently seized domains enabled as much as $170M worth of downloads.

While most of the tech-literate world knows that piracy often doesn't correlate to ‘lost revenue', the powers that be still like to use lost revenue figures when assessing the damage any one individual piracy site has caused. Following the FBI's seizure of the nsw2u domain, as well as a few other Nintendo Switch and PS4 ROM sites, it is claimed that as much as $170M was lost due to these websites.

“Between February 28, 2025, and May 28, 2025, records indicate a total of 3.2 million downloads occurred on these sites from the most used download service. These actions resulting in an estimated loss of $170 million.”

Naturally, this number will have been worked out using the full-priced retail cost of each game, multiplied by the number of unique downloads. To get a more accurate figure, you would have to rank each game based on the number of downloads, and then factor in the average selling price, rather than the MSRP, as games regularly get significant discounts within months of release.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: As always, when one piracy site goes down, there will be another ready to take its place. 

Google has had its operating system development split across two different systems for years – Android for mobile and ChromeOS for laptops. There has been an effort to unify these two systems in recent years, including Android emulation on ChromeOS. Google is looking to take things a step further though, according to a recent interview with Android president, Sameer Samat.

Speaking with TechRadar in a recent interview, Samat, the man in charge of the Android ecosystem at Google, stated that the company's goal is to unify ChromeOS and Android to enable a cross-device experience similar to the Apple ecosystem, where the MacBook, iPhone / iPad and Watch can all link together and share information and software.

“We’re going to be combining ChromeOS and Android into a single platform, and I am very interested in how people are using their laptops these days and what they’re getting done”, Samat said in the interview.

The full scope of Google's plans here has not yet been revealed, but with this information now out, we would expect to learn more details at next year's Google I/O event.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Would you be more likely to buy a Chromebook if it had more Android DNA under the hood? 

The Subnautica 2 drama continued over the weekend. Last month, two of the founders of Unkown Worlds, along with the CEO of the game studio, left the project behind, citing disagreements with the executives at Krafton, the publisher for Subnautica 2. The three former developers claimed that Krafton was intentionally holding the game back to avoid paying out a bonus, but a leaked document seems to indicate that numerous deadlines were indeed missed. 

Krafton is facing a lawsuit from the founders of Unknown Worlds, who claim that Subnautica 2 is ready to release in Early Access right now. As the game won't be releasing this year, Unknown Worlds will not hit a crucial financial target that would have unlocked a $250M bonus for the studio, a sum that was going to be split up amongst the development team.

While fans were quick to blame Krafton for the current issues, a new leak lends some validity to their argument. A document shared on Reddit shows the most recent ‘milestone review' for Subnautica 2. The document showed that milestones were missed repeatedly and details a number of pieces of cut content, including six hours worth of ‘narrative' content, multiple tools and vehicles, as well as an unnamed custom game mode.

In a statement sent to media outlets like IG, Krafton confirmed that this leaked document was legitimate but did not expand beyond that. As Unkown Worlds co-founders, Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, as well as former CEO, Tim Gill, are now suing Krafton, we'd expect public statements from both sides to slow down while the legal process plays out.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Assuming this lawsuit moves forward, more documents, like the one shown in the leak, will appear in court documents, so that is where the bulk of the information will be coming from moving forward. 

This year, Square Enix is releasing the Dragon Quest I + II HD-2D remake. As it turns out, there is more to come after that, as Square Enix is looking to invest more in growing the Dragon Quest IP.  

Dragon Quest is a classic RPG series, pre-dating the Final Fantasy series. While Final Fantasy ultimately ended up being Square Enix's flagship RPG series, the Dragon Quest franchise has maintained a strong fan base for decades. In particular, Dragon Quest 7 is widely regarded as a high point for the series by fans and it sounds like Square Enix is in agreement.

According to MP1st, Square Enix has begun work on a remake of Dragon Quest 7. The game first released for the PS1 back in 2000, and the remake is apparently being prepared for a 2026 release. This will be the first time that the game has been re-released since Dragon Quest 7: Fragments of the Forgotten Past for the 3DS. This version of the game first released in Japan in 2013 but didn't make its way to the west until 2016, the last year of the 3DS life cycle before the Nintendo Switch took over in 2017.

It is unclear if this new version of Dragon Quest 7 will use the HD-2D art style but for the sake of cohesion between this and the remakes of Dragon Quest 1, 2 and 3, I would hope they are.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I became a Dragon Quest fan through Dragon Quest 11, so I am very interested in revisiting the classics that I missed out on back then. However, none of this is as exciting as Dragon Quest 12, which has been M.I.A since its announcement several years ago. 

The next major desktop platform in Intel's client CPU portfolio, “Nova Lake-S”, has reportedly taken a significant step towards reality. According to a new report, a compute tile for the next-generation desktop processor has successfully “taped out” at TSMC's facilities in Taiwan.

Based on the new report from SemiAccurate (via HardwareLuxx), it seems Intel is pursuing a dual-foundry strategy for Nova Lake. The rumour mill has long suggested that the architecture would be a showcase for Intel's 18A process, but this tape-out on TSMC's cutting-edge N2 node suggests a hybrid approach is on the cards. This could be a strategic decision to mitigate risk and ensure a stable supply chain, or simply a way to guarantee enough volume to meet potential demand.

If previous architectural leaks hold true, Nova Lake-S is shaping up to be an absolute monster. The flagship desktop CPUs are expected to feature a highly complex, tiled architecture with a total of 52 cores. This is rumoured to be a breakdown of 16x P-Cores, 32x E-Cores, and an additional 4x low-power E-Cores located on the SoC tile to handle background tasks. This is all expected to be paired with a memory controller supporting speeds of up to 8,800 MT/s.

The graphics solution is equally ambitious, featuring a disaggregated design. The rumour suggests the main graphics rendering will be handled by the upcoming Xe3 “Celestial” architecture, while the media and display engines will be powered by the even newer Xe4 “Druid” architecture.

A successful tape-out is the first major step in a long journey to retail shelves. The freshly manufactured compute tiles will now undergo weeks, or even months, of “power on” validation and testing in Intel's labs. Once cleared, high-volume manufacturing can begin, which itself takes several months. All told, this timeline points towards a launch in H2 2026.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Can Intel Nova Lake-S help Intel recover its position in the desktop consumer market?

The blueprint for AMD's next generation of CPUs is beginning to take shape, with a new leak providing a detailed look at the process nodes that will work as the foundation for the upcoming Zen 6 architecture.

According to Kepler_L2 (via 3DCenter), AMD has shared its process node plans with partners, revealing a strategy that leans heavily on TSMC's advanced N2P node for high-performance parts, while utilising N3P for more mainstream and mobile products. Starting with the server segment, both the standard EPYC “Venice Classic” and the high-density “Venice Dense” processors are slated to use TSMC's N2P node. This aligns with previous rumours that AMD is looking to increase core counts, with the 2nm-class node providing the necessary transistor budget for the rumoured 12-core “Classic” and even 32-core “Dense” Zen 6 chiplets.

Desktop gamers and high-end chips will also probably be based on the same node as their server counterparts. The next-generation Ryzen platform, codenamed “Olympic Ridge”, is also set to have its core chiplets built on the N2P node. This will extend to high-end laptops, with the “Gator Range” platform also leveraging N2P for higher-tier mobile solutions.

Things get more mixed in the mainstream laptop segment with the “Medusa Point”, the successors to the current “Strix Point” family. Here, AMD will reportedly employ a mixed approach. For the top-tier Medusa Point SKUs, the processor will be a chiplet design, combining an N2P-based CCD with an I/O die (IOD) manufactured on the N3P node. Further down the stack, the lower-end Medusa Point SKUs are expected to be monolithic chips built entirely on the N3P process.

While this latest leak provides a great deal of clarity on the CPU side, other codenames like the high-end mobile “Medusa Halo” and low-end “Bumblebee” are also being mentioned, though details are scarce. As for the next-generation RDNA5 graphics architecture, sometimes referred to as UDNA, its process node remains unconfirmed.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: What are your expectations for the next generation of Zen-based processors?