Micron has announced it will discontinue its consumer-facing Crucial brand, marking the end of a 29-year run for one of the most known names in PC memory and storage. The company confirmed it will cease selling Crucial-branded consumer products through global retailers and distributors by February 2026.

Micron's decision represents a strategic pivot for the US memory giant, which is reallocating its manufacturing capacity away from the low-margin consumer market to satisfy the insatiable demand for enterprise-grade memory in AI data centres. Sumit Sadana, Micron's Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, stated that the AI-driven growth in the data centre has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage, necessitating the move to improve supply for larger, strategic customers in these faster-growing segments.

For PC enthusiasts and system builders, this marks a significant loss. Crucial has long been a go-to choice for reliable, affordable DDR4 and DDR5 memory kits and SSDs. While shipments will end in early 2026, Micron has assured existing customers that it will continue to honour warranties and provide service support for Crucial products already in the wild.

The move is not a total withdrawal from the memory market, but rather a realignment. Micron will continue to sell its Micron-branded enterprise products to commercial channel clients globally. To mitigate the impact on its workforce, the company plans to offer redeployment opportunities to affected employees, moving them into other open positions within the organisation.

KitGuru says: Micron is one of the biggest memory suppliers in the world by volume, so this is a pretty major blow to the consumer market. We can only hope that the likes of Samsung and SK Hynix don't go in the same direction, as consumers would be left with very few options if that were to happen. 

The post Micron kills Crucial brand to focus on AI data centre segment first appeared on KitGuru.

In recent years we’ve seen a surge in the number of successful indie rogue-likes, with titles including Hades, Balatro, Vampire Survivors and more all selling millions of copies while inspiring others to tackle the genre with their own unique twist. One such title is the brickbreaker-themed Ball x Pit, which has now sold over 1 million copies.

Releasing a trailer to YouTube, Ball x Pit publisher Devolver Digital confirmed that the game has officially sold over 1 million copies since its release on the 15th of October.

In celebration of this milestone, the team announced that Ball x Pit will be receiving 3 free major updates throughout 2026, writing: “With over 1 MILLION units sold, it totally makes sense to keep this ball rolling, right? Three major content updates are coming to BALL x PIT for free, bringing new characters, balls, passives, evolutions, and more!”

While hopefully the first round of many, Ball x Pit’s initial major update arrives in January of next year and is titled the ‘Regal Update’. This will be followed up by the ‘Shadow Update’ in April of 2026; concluding with the ‘Naturalist Update’ in July.

Despite there being so many different rogue-likes, Ball x Pit manages to put its own unique spin on the formula. Considering the fact that the title is also available on Xbox Game Pass, its swift success is notable. It will be interesting to see how future updates switch up the potential combos.

KitGuru says: Are you one of the 1 million? What do you think of the game? What’s been your favourite unique rogue-like of 2025? Let us know down below.

The post Ball x Pit sells 1 million copies as future updates officially confirmed first appeared on KitGuru.

The new Fractal Design Epoch XL is a decent case that delivers everything most people need, however it doesn't live up to its name. An Epoch is a new beginning, while this Epoch is a clear evolution of previous Fractal Design cases. Added to that, the XL tag doesn't really apply as a 360mm cooler will squeeze in the roof with a tiny amount of clearance, which makes this case ‘mid size' in our view. But enough quibbling, the Epoch XL has a questionable name, however the case is a decent piece of hardware.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:53 Versions and Pricing
01:28 Removing panels / filters
02:57 A look inside / Cable Management / Drive mounts
04:49 Front I/O / Straps
05:36 Installing Hardware
10:12 Noise / Performance Testing
12:05 Worth Buying – Leo’s Thoughts

Main features

• Clean, contemporary design with refined details such as a laser etched aluminium badge and textile pull tab
• Includes three Momentum 14 fans with LCP blades and FDB bearings for powerful, quiet cooling
• Supports GPUs up to 425 mm with front fans, or up to 395mm with a front radiator
• Cooler-compatible with space for up to 360 mm front or top radiators
• Ventilated mesh front and top panels designed for natural airflow
• Tool-free access with a slide-to-remove top panel and pull-to-remove front panel
• Tidy interior with cable grommets, fixed routing straps, and ample routing space for a clean build
• Supports ATX, mATX, and ITX motherboards with front-facing connectors, as well as ATX and mATX reverse-connector motherboards
• Accessible I/O with a 20 Gbps USB Type-C port, dual USB Type-A ports, and a combo audio jack

Specification:

• Motherboard support: E-ATX up to 275mm or ATX with Reverse Connectors.
• Power supply support: ATX.
• Expansion slots: 7.
• Included fans: 3x Momentum 140mm front intake.
• Fan mounts: 3x 120mm/140mm front, 3x 120/2x 140mm or 2x 180mm roof, 1x 120mm rear.
• Radiator mounts: 360mm/280mm front, 360mm/280mm roof, 120mm rear.
• 5.25-inch optical drive bays: None.
• Internal drive bays: 2x 3.5-inch/2.5-inch, 2x 2.5-inch.
• Front I/O ports: 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C 20Gbps, 2x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, audio.
• Dimensions: 509mm H x 503mm D x 240mm W.

Testing

To put this case through its cooling paces we will be using a test system consisting of an AMD Threadripper 9970X, Palit RTX 5080 Gamerock OC 16GB and an SSD. This system allows us to produce a substantial amount of heat and effectively test the Fractal Design Epoch XL‘s cooling capabilities.

Test System:

• Processor: AMD Threadripper 9970X
• CPU Cooler: Phanteks Glacier One 360D30
• Motherboard: Gigabyte TRX50 Aero D
• Memory: 64GB Kingston Fury DDR5-6000 RDIMM
• Graphics card: Palit RTX 5080 Gamerock OC 16GB
• Power supply: Montech Titan PLA 1000W
• SSD: Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 M.2 NVMe
• OS: Windows 11

Cooling Performance

Cooling Performance Overview

We hammered the Fractal Design Epoch XL with 800W of power and while it struggled with the fans turned down low, it performed well once we cranked them up a bit. We found the compromise setting of 1,400rpm worked well and was fairly quiet, and this in extreme circumstances. When you consider our combination of AMD Threadripper and Palit RTX 5080, it seems clear a regular gaming PC will work very nicely inside the Epoch XL.

Closing Thoughts

As we started our review of the Fractal Design Epoch XL, we were struck by the thoughts that made it into the introduction of our video. This case doesn't look very Epoch-y and neither is it especially XL.

Indeed, it lacks any obvious innovation so you can forget about rotating GPUs mounts or RGB lighting for the power supply housing. Having said that, the hardware is bang up to date and supports motherboards with hidden connectors, such as BTF and Project Zero.

As we worked through the review and built a PC it became clear the Epoch XL doesn't have any fundamental problems. Sure, it is built down to a price and it lacks noise deadening tricks and tweaks, but everything is in the right place and works very nicely. This case makes sense if you are using a 360mm AIO cooler along with a large graphics card, which is fairly elite in the scheme of things but slap bang plumb in the middle of the KitGuru audience.

You can buy the Fractal Design Epoch XL for £109.99 inc VAT.

Pros:

• Good value for money.
• Supports 360mm coolers in the front and roof.
• Supports hidden connector motherboards.
• Decent cable management.

Cons:

• Minimal noise-deadening features.
• It’s a mainstream case without any innovation.
• No support for a vertical GPU.

KitGuru says: The new Epoch XL from Fractal Design is a decent case at a fair price that has no obvious weak points.

 

The post Fractal Design Epoch XL Review first appeared on KitGuru.

One of Nintendo’s weakest first-party exclusives of the year is Drag x Drive. Released shortly following the launch of the Switch 2, this mouse-mode focused Basketball title failed to impress with relatively tiring controls and a strong lack of content. As they have been doing with many of their early Switch 2 releases however, Drag x Drive has now gotten a somewhat notable content update alongside a free demo.

Releasing the surprise update, Nintendo shared the full list of patch notes for Drag x Drive version 1.2.0. Available now, the most notable additions include the following:

• Added the chasing game ‘Survival Tag’ to friend parks, local wireless parks, and LAN parks.
  • Collision changes made to account for potential latency
• Made some adjustments to bots in friend parks, local wireless parks, and LAN parks.
• Changed the target of the Focus Cam when near the sumo ring to the sumo ring itself
• Added a feature to enable players to delete their own records
• Previous Drag x Drive: Global Jam renamed to ‘demo’ and is now available whenever
• Various bug fixes

While far from the most exciting update, it is somewhat encouraging at the very least to see that Nintendo haven't already abandoned the game.

Whether Drag x Drive will see any significant updates or additions to its content, we will have to wait and see, but this is still better than nothing.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this update? How have Nintendo’s post-launch updates been so far? Will Drag x Drive ever get any new substantial content? Let us know down below.

The post Surprise Drag x Drive update expands Survival Tag mod, offers free demo and more first appeared on KitGuru.

Black Friday has come and gone but there are still some good tech deals floating around for DIY PC builders. This week, MSI launched a new bundle, offering up a free 360mm AIO liquid cooler to those buying an eligible Intel Core Ultra CPU.

Over at Scan, if you buy an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K or Ultra Core 7 265K processor, you will also get a free MSI MAG CoreLiquid I360 AIO liquid cooler to go with it. That means you'll instantly have high-performance cooling to go with your new CPU upgrade.

The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K desktop processor is Intel's current consumer flagship model, offering up 24 cores and 24 threads, along with a 5.7GHz turbo boost speed. You'll have a much better chance of maintaining those higher clock speeds when pairing the CPU with a 360mm AIO liquid cooler. The Core Ultra 7 265K is one step down, offering 20 cores and 20 threads and a 5.5GHz max boost speed.

You can take advantage of the offer via SCAN for the Core Ultra 9 HERE and for the Core Ultra 7 HERE.

KitGuru Says: Both of these CPUs fall into the high-performance category so pairing them with a 360mm AIO makes perfect sense. Getting to do that for free is a very good bargain. 

The post MSI offers free 360mm AIO cooler with select Intel Core Ultra CPUs first appeared on KitGuru.

Each month, all those with a Humble Choice membership are able to get their hands on 8 or so titles as part of the company’s Choice subscription service. For the final month of 2025, Humble is offering a decent selection of games, including Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name; Streets of Rage 4 and more.

Available to add to your library from now until the end of the month, December’s Humble Choice line-up features the following:

• Nine Sols
• Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
• Streets of Rage 4
• Lost Skies
• Intravenous II
• Dungeon Tycoon
• Beholder Conductor
• Godlike Burger

Though far from the most exciting month, there is still plenty to enjoy, with the likes of The Man Who Erased His Name being an interesting spin-off of the Yakuza (Like a Dragon) series in which you once again “Jump into the shoes of Kazuma Kiryu, a former yakuza member who faked his death to escape a life of crime but has been dragged back into the game to protect his family.”

Streets of Rage 4 meanwhile is a worthy follow-up to the classic beat ‘em up series. Released over 25 years after its 3rd entry, SoR4 is just as good if not greater than the iconic trilogy which it is following up from.

As always, a portion of your subscription’s proceedings will go towards charity, with this month’s being Save the Children: Working “in more than 100 countries, including the U.S., to ensure kids have the education, protection, and support they need to thrive.”

KitGuru says: What do you think of December’s offerings? Have Humble justified their subscription price increase? Let us know down below.

The post December’s Humble Choice line-up available now first appeared on KitGuru.

For Day 4 of the KitGuru Advent Calendar we have teamed up with PowerColor to offer up THREE bundles. Each winner today will get a brand-new PowerColor Alphyn AH10 gaming headset and AM10 gaming mouse. 

The PowerColor Alphyn gaming peripherals became available in the UK earlier this year. The Alphyn AH10 headset is a great option, offering DTS-tuned audio profiles, low-latency wireless and up to 30 hours of continuous battery life with quick-charge capability so you can avoid downtime. The Alphyn AM10 mouse perfectly complements the headset with wired and wireless modes, a precise PAW3395 sensor and RGB lighting.

How to Enter:

To enter this giveaway, all you have to do is head over to our competition announcement post on Facebook, HERE. In the comments, leave an answer to the following question – What was your first gaming mouse?

This competition is open Worldwide.

The winners will be picked randomly shortly after 11AM GMT December 5th, and a new competition will be announced for Day 5. The chosen winners have 48 hours to respond, if we do not hear from them, a new winner will be picked.

Terms and Conditions: This competition is open worldwide, starting at 11AM GMT on December 4th and ending at 10:59AM GMT on December 5th. Due to the busy Christmas season, prize deliveries could take longer than usual, and some prizes may not ship until January. In compliance with GDPR, we will not collect or store any personal information as part of this competition. Once the winner has been contacted and their prize received, personal details will be deleted from our email servers. Your details will not be shared, we respect your privacy.

KitGuru Says: Good luck to all who enter, we'll be back tomorrow morning to announce a winner and turn the calendar over to Day 5!

The post KitGuru Advent Calendary Day 4 – Win one of THREE PowerColor Alphyn peripheral bundles! first appeared on KitGuru.

Mario Kart World has had an interesting life so far. Released alongside the Switch 2, the latest and greatest Mario kart racer saw plenty of praise but an equal amount of criticism due in part to Nintendo’s rigid approach to player options across the board. Though it should have been available from the off, Nintendo has now released a massive update for Mario Kart World, bringing with it a ton of requested features.

Sharing the full patch notes to their support page, the team at Nintendo detailed Mario Kart World’s update 1.4.0. Available now, the patch brings with it a ton of welcome changes and additions, including but not limited to:

• Added Custom Items to the item rules
• Music track name and source title of the track that is playing will be displayed on the Pause Menu
• Added ‘Music Volume’ to Settings/Controller
• Added ‘Restart’ and ‘Next Race’ in the Pause Menu for ‘VS Race’ in ‘Single Player’
• Changed the course layout of multiple intermission tracks
• Made it so you can join in with friends who are playing Knockout Tour from ‘Friends’ in ‘2p’ and ‘Online Play’
• Made it so players who gathered in a Room of Online Play can participate in Race, Knockout Tour, and Battle.
• A ton of bug fixes

While there is no denying that these fixes, changes and additions are all welcome to see, pretty much everything added arguably should have been available from day-one, with the omission of a restart option, a music volume slider and more being rather unacceptable.

Hopefully once they have added all the necessary quality-of-life improvements, we might start to get actual new content.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this update? Has it been a long time coming? Are all these changes too little too late? Let us know down below.

The post Mario Kart World update finally adds much-needed quality-of-life options and more first appeared on KitGuru.

Skyblivion is an ambitious game-sized mod which brings Bethesda Game Studios’ classic RPG Oblivion into Skyrim’s Creation Engine. After almost a decade of dedicated development from fans, the mod was finally confirmed to be releasing this year. As we near the end of 2025 however, the team has offered a notable update on the project – including the fact that it has now been pushed back to 2026.

Releasing a video to their YouTube channel discussing the latest updates to the project, the Skyblivion team confirmed that they are going to need a bit more time to bring the ambitious mod to fruition, writing:

“As a project by fans, for fans, we need a little more time to ensure Skyblivion lives up to the standards you all deserve. Our anticipated release window is moving into 2026.”

In an exciting bit of news however, the team have now published their interactive Skyblivion map online for all to enjoy, adding “you can now explore the full, finished world of Cyrodiil from the snowy Jerall Mountains to the sand-swept beaches of the Gold Coast.”

The map is exhaustive and includes all of the many different points of interest, from caves to cities; camps to Shrines; Oblivion Gates and everything in between.

While the surprise launch of Oblivion Remastered earlier this year could have put a damper on this long-running project, Skyblivion appears to be different enough to warrant its own unique playthrough or two when the mod hopefully launches next year.

KitGuru says: Are you excited for Skyblivion? How do you think it will compare to the recently-released remaster? Let us know down below.

The post Ambitious Oblivion Remake mod ‘Skyblivion’ pushed back to 2026 first appeared on KitGuru.

Cooler Master is preparing to launch the latest addition to its Cosmos series. Dubbed the Cosmos Alpha, this full-tower chassis appears to be the production version of the “Cosmos 2025” prototype that was showcased earlier this year at Computex. While an official release date has not yet been confirmed, the sudden appearance of retail listings suggests a launch soon.

According to Vortez, the Cosmos Alpha is designed to modernise the iconic line while retaining the massive scale that defined its predecessors. Externally, the chassis features the brand's signature curved aluminium handles and frame, as well as a “metal sponge” front panel. First teased on the prototype, this material reportedly outperforms standard mesh in both airflow permeability and ease of cleaning, offering a unique aesthetic for high-end builds.

The chassis is built around the new FreeForm 2.0 design philosophy, which emphasises modularity. The layout supports highly customised configurations, including adjustable channels so you can target your cooling towards hot zones. The case is confirmed to support back-connect motherboards (such as ASUS BTF or MSI Project Zero), allowing for a cable-free visual presentation in the main chamber.

Early store listings have provided a first look at potential pricing. An Indian PC hardware retailer listed the case at ₹32,699 (about £310).

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Have you ever owned a Cosmos case? If you didn't, does the Cosmos Alpha have a chance to be your first?

The post Cooler Master nearing launch for massive Cosmos Alpha PC case first appeared on KitGuru.

Analyst firm Jon Peddie Research (JPR) has released its Q3 2025 report on the AIB discrete GPU market, revealing a small but significant milestone for Intel. For the first time since its launch, the Intel Arc cards have cracked the 1% market share barrier, moving past the 0.5% mark it had previously been stuck at. 

Intel's growth has been slow due to its late entry into a highly established market. However, recent growth offers a glimmer of hope for Team Blue and its supporters. According to JPR's latest report on the discrete GPU market, Intel has grown 0.4%, breaking the 1% barrier for the first time.

The remaining 99% of the market saw a slight shift in power dynamics. Nvidia continues to dominate the market, holding a massive 92% share. However, this represents a 1.2% decline from the previous quarter. AMD capitalised on this dip, increasing its share by 0.8% to reach 7%. These fluctuations are often driven by inventory availability and pricing strategies from board partners, where even minor adjustments can lead to visible swings in quarterly percentages.

Broader market health appears mixed. Shipments for the quarter reached 12 million units, valued at $8.8 billion, representing a modest 2.8% growth over the previous quarter. However, JPR warns that this figure masks underlying volatility. The firm forecasts a long-term decline, predicting a -0.7% annual drop through 2029.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: The GPU market is in a weird spot right now thanks to the AI boom, so it will be interesting to follow numbers like this in the year ahead. 

The post Intel Arc GPU market share has grown according to analyst first appeared on KitGuru.

Earlier this year, following a publicly playable alpha test, Bungie was forced to delay Marathon after an artist noticed that their work had been included in the game uncredited. Now months later and seemingly ahead of Marathon's re-reveal, the artist has confirmed that the dispute has been resolved.

In an update shared on social media, the artist, who goes by the online handle @4nt1r34l, confirmed that “the Marathon art issue has been resolved with Bungie and Sony Interactive Entertainment to my satisfaction”. The statement doesn't reveal any more than that, but we would assume that the artist got paid.

Bungie spent several months over the summer removing the offending assets from Marathon and only just recently resumed playtesting. With this dispute now resolved and the new assets implemented in the game, Bungie should be free to finally show Marathon publicly again.

Marathon is expected to launch in early 2026, though an exact date is not yet known. Bungie could make some announcements before the end of the month, perhaps around The Game Awards on December 11th.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Bungie can now move on from this fiasco. Chances are, the agreement between the artist and Bungie included an NDA and likely included a clause to announce publicly that the dispute is resolved, so we'll never know the true details of what was discussed behind closed doors, or how the stolen assets made their way into the game. 

The post Marathon ‘stolen art’ dispute now resolved, artist confirms first appeared on KitGuru.

Helldivers 2 has always had a significantly higher install size on PC compared to the console versions. At launch, players needed around 70GB of free space to install the game but after more than a year of updates, the PC version has ballooned to a 150GB file size. Now, thanks to some intricate optimisation work, the PC version has been dramatically reduced by over 130GB.

Helldivers 2 fans can rejoice and reclaim some SSD space. In a recent update, Arrowhead revealed that with some help from Sony's PC-focused studio, Nixxes, they have managed to reduce the PC install size of the game all the way down to just 23GB.

This is a massive 85 percent reduction in file size. It turns out that the PC version of the game was so big because it had a ton of duplicated assets within the game files. This duplication was originally implemented to improve load times for players using mechanical hard drives, but in practice most of the loading delays came from level generation rather than asset streaming. As a result, the duplicated data wasn’t providing meaningful benefits, yet it caused the install footprint to balloon far beyond the console versions.

After coming to this conclusion, Arrowhead and Nixxes worked together to create a ‘slim' build of the game. The end result was SSD users experiencing no difference in load times, while HDD users should only experience a few extra seconds of delay. This change not only makes the game more manageable to install and update, but also ensures parity with console versions, which were much smaller all along.

Arrowhead is still testing the slim version of the game, but PC players can opt in via Steam and get immediate access to the smaller version of the game, all without giving up access to the usual matchmaking queues and game content. If you do encounter an issue, you can quickly revert to the ‘legacy' build by going into the Steam menu and changing your beta participation status to ‘none'.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I would like to see more game developers focusing their efforts on reducing file sizes. Many titles nowadays have large 100GB+ install requirements, despite the game content not necessarily justifying the install size. 

The post Helldivers 2 install size reduced from 150GB to just 23GB first appeared on KitGuru.

Today we look at a new flagship power supply from Antec –  a unit so important Antec call it their ‘Signature'. This 2,200 watt behemoth is going to hit the UK market in a few weeks priced at £449.99, offering Cybenetics Titanium certification and support for the ATX 3.1/PCIe5.1 spec. It also ships with a full 12-year warranty.

Antec literature on the product is keen to highlight the adoption of 105C-rated Japanese capacitors inside. While 2200 watts is a little much for gamers today, Antec say it is designed for workstations, ‘professional workloads' and ‘AI and EDGE computing'. Everyone seems to focus on AI today of course, so that's always going to be a key selling point. Perhaps if you are running multiple RTX 5090 graphics cards, it is also a solid option for consideration.

The OEM for this power supply is Seasonic, based on their Prime PX-2200 ATX 3 unit released earlier this year.

Antec Signature 2200W Features:

• 80 Plus Platinum.
• Cybenetics Titanium (230v).
• ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 Ready.
• 135mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing Fan.
• 12 Year Warranty Support.
• High End Components and Design.
• Highly Reliable aluminium electrolytic solid capacitors.
• Protection features: OPP, OVP, UVP, OCP, OTP, SCP.
• Fully Modular.

The post Antec Signature 2200W PSU Review (2025) first appeared on KitGuru.

Obsidian has been patching up Avowed with major updates every few months. Unfortunately, the Winter update, which contains new features like NewGame+ has been delayed at the last minute.

The Avowed Winter update was supposed to drop before the end of 2025, but the release date has now shifted to February 18th 2026 to coincide with the game's 1-year anniversary. It's not all bad news though, with the Winter update now transforming into an Anniversary update, Obsidian has also expanded the scope.

“If you've been following our Update Roadmap, you'll know we planned to release an update this fall. To break the bad news first: Avowed will not be receiving a fall update. The good news is that we're shifting our efforts toward a larger update coming next February, timed with the anniversary of the game's release.”

The new update will still include all of the features originally planned, like NG+ and Photo Mode, but with some added bonuses including more character customisation options, the ability to change appearance in the game world, a new weapon type and more.

We will learn more about the new additions to Avowed closer to the February 18th anniversary.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Out of the two games Obsidian released this year, Avowed edges out The Outer Worlds 2 for me, in large part thanks to the excellent combat. When it comes to dual-wielding and first-person spell casting, Avowed is in a class of its own.

The post Obsidian delays Avowed New Game+ update to early 2026 first appeared on KitGuru.

Today we’re taking a look at a prebuilt from Wired2Fire: the R7X3D 5080 Beast – MSI Edition. With a name like that it has to be good, right?! The components certainly back that name up on paper, with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming Trio OC, 64GB of Klevv Cras V DDR5 RAM and a 4TB Lexar NM790 SSD. Today we’re aiming to find out if the ‘Beast’ has any bite to go with its bark!

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
00:55 Pricing / Warranty
01:56 Hardware Specifications / Setup
07:27 Front I/O
08:00 Mat's thoughts so far
08:43 Fan configuration – some issues
09:15 Test setup
10:05 Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p and 4k)
11:19 Battlefield 6 (1440p and 4k)
12:17 F1 2025 (1440p and 4k)
13:07 Hogwarts Legacy (1440p and 4k)
14:07 Marvel Rivals (1440p and 4k)
15:06 Overall Gaming Experience
15:52 CPU and GPU Technical performance
16:55 Noise testing and Thermal Camera
17:25 Closing Thoughts

Specifications:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
• SSD: Lexar 4TB NM790 M.2 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD
• GPU: MSI RTX 5080 16G GAMING TRIO OC
• RAM: KLEVV CRAS V RGB 64GB DDR5 6000MHz
• Case: MSI MAG PANO 110R PZ White
• Motherboard: MSI AM5 X870E GAMING PLUS WIFI
• Cooling: MAG CORELIQUID I360 White
• PSU: MPG A1000GS 1000W

The core specs are confirmed in the following CPU-Z and GPU-Z screenshots:

 

I tested the R7X3D across 5 titles at both 1440p and 4K. Starting with rasterised performance before looking at the benefits to be gained when using DLSS on its performance preset and then also adding in frame generation. The below screenshots show some results, for a more in-depth look and more detailed breakdown, watch our video review on YouTube.

At 1440p, every title we tested ran exceptionally well with headroom to spare for high-refresh displays. 4K performance is strong too, though the most demanding games will dip under 60fps at native max settings. Enabling DLSS or Frame Generation quickly pushes those numbers back into very smooth territory, making this a system that can comfortably handle both competitive 1440p and visually rich 4K gaming without major compromises.

Hogwarts Legacy (3840×2160 – Max Settings)

Hogwarts Legacy (3840×2160 – Max Settings, DLSS Performance, 4X Multi Frame Generation)

Battlefield 6 (2560×1600 – Max Settings)

Battlefield 6 (2560×1600 – Max Settings, DLSS Performance, 4X Multi Frame Generation)

Closing Thoughts

There’s a lot to like about the R7X3D 5080 Beast. The pairing of Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 5080 makes for a seriously capable gaming machine, delivering excellent high-refresh performance at 1440p and strong results at 4K when DLSS or Frame Generation are brought into the mix. Build quality is solid, cable management is tidy, and the all-MSI hardware gives it a cohesive look. The white theme with that frosted pump design makes for a smart-looking system. A sizeable 4TB SSD and a generous 5-year labour and 2-year parts warranty also help make this feel like a well-rounded package.

It’s not perfect, though. The case is clearly one of the areas where costs have been kept in check, and native 4K in the most demanding games still dips under 60fps with everything maxed. If you’re a purist who refuses to enable DLSS, you’ll end up tweaking some settings.

Pricing is very competitive when compared to building a system yourself to the same specification, but there's no getting away from the fact that this is still an expensive system whichever angle you look at it from.

Pros:

• The pairing of Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU and RTX 5080 GPU offers great gaming performance at both 1440p and 4K.
• Very competitive pricing compared to building the same system yourself.
• 4TB Lexar NM790 SSD is fast and spacious.
• 64GB of RAM will handle more than just gaming.
• Great setup and cable management.

Cons:

• The case is not as premium as I’d hoped from a build of this specification.
• The AIO fans were not connected to the internal fan hub for easy control with the case's physical ‘LED’ button.

KitGuru says: A powerful and well-balanced high-end gaming PC with great 1440p performance and strong 4K results, though the case choice reminds you it’s not without compromise.

The post Wired2Fire R7X3D 5080 Beast MSI Edition Desktop Review first appeared on KitGuru.

Samsung has officially announced its first foray into the tri-fold smartphone market with the Galaxy Z TriFold, a device that expands the company’s foldable portfolio to a new form factor. The handset features a dual-hinge design that allows it to unfurl into a massive 10-inch tablet-style display, positioning it as the largest screen available on a Galaxy phone to date.

The Z Trifold's design revolves around dual titanium hinges, which allow the main screen to fold inwards, protecting the panel when closed. Moreover, Samsung has placed the 6.5-inch cover screen on the back of the folded stack. This cover panel uses a 21:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 2520 x 1080 and offers a 120 Hz variable refresh rate, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2.

When fully opened, the main 10-inch display offers a resolution of 2160 x 1584 and a peak brightness of 1,600 nits. Like the cover screen, it supports a variable 1-120 Hz refresh rate. Samsung has kept the chassis relatively slender, measuring 12.9 mm when folded and slimming down to just 3.9 mm at its thinnest point when open. The device weighs in at 309 g and retains an IP48 rating for dust and water resistance.

The Z TriFold is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, paired with 16 GB of RAM. Storage options include 512 GB and 1 TB. Power is provided by a 5,600 mAh battery split across three cells, supporting 45W wired charging and 15W wireless charging. Camera duties are handled by a 200 MP main sensor (ISOCELL HP2), joined by a 12 MP ultrawide and a 10 MP 3x telephoto lens. Both the cover and main displays feature 10 MP punch-hole selfie cameras.

On the software front, the device runs OneUI 8 based on Android 16. The larger canvas supports running three full-sized apps side-by-side in portrait mode. Most notably, this is the first Samsung phone to feature a standalone Samsung DeX mode that operates directly on the device without an external monitor, allowing for a desktop-like experience when paired with peripherals.

Samsung will release the Galaxy Z TriFold on December 12th in Korea and expand availability gradually. Official pricing is still unknown, but Korean listings suggest a price of 3,594,000 KRW (about £1,800).

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Do you think foldable phones are the future?

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Update: This competition is now CLOSED. Our winners today are Bobby Hing, Alex Royle, Maria Asfalidou, Arnas Klimavicius & Charlie Parton! If you missed out this time then keep an eye out as we have a new giveaway lined up each day through December. Today's giveaway can be found HERE. 

For Day 3 of the KitGuru Advent Calendar, we have teamed up with Sudokoo to give FIVE lucky winners a cooling upgrade. The winners for this one will each get a Proteus 360 AIO liquid cooler and some extra Mach120 fans to go with it.

We reviewed the Sudokoo Proteus 360 AIO liquid cooler earlier this year and came away impressed by the cooler's thermal performance and the digital LCD display on the CPU block. With an extra Mach120 triple pack, you'll be able to pack your case with extra fans for more airflow.

How to Enter:

To enter this giveaway, all you have to do is head over to our competition announcement post on Facebook, HERE. In the comments, leave an answer to the following question – What CPU cooler are you currently running?

This competition is open Worldwide.

The winners will be picked randomly shortly after 11AM GMT December 4th, and a new competition will be announced for Day 4. The chosen winners have 48 hours to respond, if we do not hear from them, a new winner will be picked.

Terms and Conditions: This competition is open worldwide, starting at 11AM GMT on December 3rd and ending at 10:59AM GMT on December 4th. Due to the busy Christmas season, prize deliveries could take longer than usual, and some prizes may not ship until January. In compliance with GDPR, we will not collect or store any personal information as part of this competition. Once the winner has been contacted and their prize received, personal details will be deleted from our email servers. Your details will not be shared, we respect your privacy.

KitGuru Says: Good luck to all who enter, we'll be back tomorrow morning to announce a winner and turn the calendar over to Day 4!

The post KitGuru Advent Calendar Day 3 – Win one of FIVE 360mm AIO liquid coolers! (closed) first appeared on KitGuru.

The Game Awards 2025 has officially opened the polls for its Players' Voice category, the only accolade in the upcoming ceremony determined entirely by the gaming community. Unlike the primary categories, where a global jury of media outlets heavily weights the outcome, the Players' Voice award hinges 100% on fan engagement. This year's contest is particularly interesting as it sees the return of the roguelike survival hit Megabonk, which had previously been withdrawn from the Best Debut Indie category by its developer but is now eligible for this community-driven prize.

The voting process for the Players' Voice award is structured as a three-round tournament designed to whittle down the initial pool of 30 nominees. The first round is currently underway and will conclude on December 3rd at 2:00 AM BST. In this initial phase, users can log into the official Game Awards website via their social accounts or email to select their top ten favourites from the longlist. The nominees include heavy hitters such as Battlefield 6, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and Death Stranding 2, alongside older live-service titles like Genshin Impact and Warframe.

Once the first deadline passes, the field will be narrowed down to the top ten titles for Round 2, which is scheduled to kick off on December 4th at 5:00 PM BST. At that stage, voters will be limited to selecting just five titles. The competition intensifies for the third and final round, starting December 8th, where the remaining five nominees will face off for the single winning spot. The full list of nominees for the first round of The Game Awards 2025 Players’ Voice Award voting can be found below:

• Arc Raiders

• Battlefield 6

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

• Delta Force

• Dispatch

• Donkey Kong Bananza

• Doom: The Dark Ages

• Elden Ring Nightreign

• Final Fantasy XIV

• Fortnite

• Genshin Impact

• Ghost of Yōtei

• Hades II

• Helldivers 2

• Hollow Knight: Silksong

• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

• Mario Kart World

• Marvel Rivals

• Megabonk

• Ninja Gaiden 4

• No Man's Sky

• Peak

• R.E.P.O.

• Silent Hill f

• Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

• Split Fiction

• Warframe

• Wuthering Waves

Historical precedence suggests this award often favours titles with passionate, active communities. Black Myth: Wukong took home the accolade in 2024, following in the footsteps of Baldur's Gate 3 in 2023, Halo Infinite in 2021, and Ghost of Tsushima in 2020. The winner of this year's contest will be revealed live during the main ceremony at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on December 11th.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: What games are you voting for in TGA's Players' Voice category? Who do you think will win the award?

The post Voting opens for The Game Awards’ Player Voice category first appeared on KitGuru.

DICE is reactivating its Battlefield Labs initiative, a community testing program designed to gather feedback. Initially, the tool was created before Battlefield VI and Redsec was released, but now it will be adapted to test updates before they go live. While participation is strictly by invitation, players can register their interest directly through the Electronic Arts website.

Following a brief hiatus, Dice confirmed that Labs sessions will resume starting today. The testing window is notably short, running from 10 PM to 12 PM BST for PC players on Steam and the EA App. As with previous tests, participants will be bound by an NDA to prevent the sharing of footage or details.

The focus of this specific session is to trial changes arriving in the December 9th patch. DICE is targeting core gameplay pillars that the community has been asking to be improved, including visual clarity, audio, and networking. In this session, these tweaks will be tested across the Eastwood and Operation Firestorm maps in the All-Out Warfare playlist.

Specific technical improvements being trialled include a revision of the footstep audio engine. The goal is to provide more accurate distance cues and clearer surface identification to help players locate enemies more easily. Hit registration has also been tuned to offer a smoother experience during close-quarters combat.

Looking beyond this update, DICE plans to utilise Battlefield Labs more frequently. The studio intends to use the platform to try out map redesigns, new mechanics and modes, environmental changes, and experimental rulesets such as reduced squad sizes.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you registered on Battlefield Labs? Will you jump into the next test session or wait for the patch release to try out the changes?

The post DICE revives Battlefield Labs for upcoming Battlefield 6 patches first appeared on KitGuru.

Epomaker has officially released the QK108, a new mechanical keyboard that ignores the trend of shrinking form factors by offering a complete 100% layout, designed for users who require a numpad.

The QK108 offers plenty of customisation through the open-source VIA firmware. Unlike many pre-built keyboards that rely on proprietary software, the QK108 allows users to remap keys and record macros directly to the board's onboard memory using the web-based VIA interface. This ensures cross-platform compatibility, meaning settings are saved to the device rather than the specific computer it is connected to.

The chassis features a gasket-mount structure and five distinct layers of sound-dampening materials, including latex foam, PET sheets, and a bottom silicone layer. These layers promise to reduce hollow case ping and improve typing acoustics. Out of the box, it comes equipped with factory-lubed Wisteria Linear V2 or Sea Salt Silent switches and OEM-profile PBT keycaps. The PCB is hot-swappable, allowing users to replace switches without soldering.

Above the number pad, Epomaker has integrated a smart screen and a programmable rotary knob. The screen can display system status, date/time, custom GIFs, or a new “Typing Mode” that visualises keystrokes in real time. The knob can be configured for various functions, including volume control, brightness adjustment, or playlist navigation. Connectivity is handled via a tri-mode system supporting wired USB-C, Bluetooth 5.0, and 2.4 GHz wireless. The unit is powered by an 8000 mAh battery, which Epomaker claims provides up to 229 hours of usage with the RGB lighting and screen disabled. The Epomaker QK108 is now available for $84.99/€76.95 at Epomaker's official website.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: With most keyboard brands releasing TKL, 75%, and 65% keyboards, it's nice to see something a bit more traditional but updated with modern features.

The post Epomaker launches QK108, a full-size gasket-mounted keyboard with VIA support first appeared on KitGuru.

This week Nvidia revealed DLSS upgrades for several titles, including a refresher on major updates coming to previously released DLSS-supported games. On top of that, Nvidia has announced that it is giving away a new RTX 5090 graphics card with a custom Arc Raiders decal across the GPU shroud.

The Arc Raiders RTX 5090 giveaway is running through Nvidia's own social channels, including Facebook, Instagram and X. You can quickly find all of those posts through this page if you would like to enter.

As for DLSS titles, Where winds Meet of the big headliner this week. The free-to-play action RPG has launched with full DLSS support, including the latest version, DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation, a feature that is exclusive to RTX 50 series graphics cards. If you have an RTX 40 GPU, you will still be able to activate standard Frame Generation. Another new game launching this month is Forest Doesn't Care, which is launching with regular DLSS Super Resolution, which is usable on all RTX series graphics cards.

HITMAN World of Assassination is an older title but it is still getting updates. Since launch, the game has been updated with DLSS 3 with Frame Generation, accessible on RTX 40 series GPUs and up. It is unclear if the game will eventually support the full DLSS 4 feature set, but the game just got its latest DLC, inviting players to take down Slim Shady, so there is a good chance the game gets future tech updates too.

Battlefield 6 is also entering the final part of its first season with the Winter Offensive content update. Battlefield 6 continues to support a wide range of Nvidia features, including DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation, DLAA, Reflex and more.

KitGuru Says: Have you tried Where Winds Meet since its launch late last month? 

 

The post Where Winds Meet and more get DLSS updates this week first appeared on KitGuru.

As part of CD Projekt Red's earnings report recently, we learned that the teams behind both The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 have continued to grow. Now, the company has revealed a few more interesting details about its upcoming plans as part of a call with shareholders.

During CD Projekt Red's recent financial call, co-CEO, Michał Nowakowski, reaffirmed the idea that The Witcher 4 will not be coming out in 2026. However, he also noted that the studio plans to release the entirety of its new Witcher trilogy within a pretty short time span.

Here is the full quote via Eurogamer: “As we had stated before, our plan still is to launch the whole trilogy within a six-year period, so yes, that would mean we would plan to have a shorter development time between TW5 and TW6 and so on.”

There is still no word on when the first game in this new trilogy, The Witcher 4, will release. CD Projekt Red has spent the last couple of years rebuilding itself into a true multi-game studio and re-training its developers to use Unreal Engine 5 rather than its own in-house tools, in part due to the delays managing the internal engine caused during Cyberpunk 2077's development.

If CDPR is intended to release The Witcher 5 just 2 years or so after The Witcher 4, then it is highly unlikely we see any grand expansions, which was previously a hallmark of The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077. However, the lack of DLC won't be too painful if the turnaround time is really that quick.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Few developers would be able to complete a whole trilogy in six years nowadays. The last successful series I can think of would be Mass Effect, where the first game released in late 2007, and wrapped up in March 2012 with the release of Mass Effect 3.

The post CDPR wants to complete its new Witcher trilogy within six years first appeared on KitGuru.

Microsoft has now revealed the next wave of titles coming to Game Pass over the next couple of weeks. This is likely to be the last major Game Pass update for the year, but the team has made the most of it with a large number of titles joining the library in quick succession.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion is one of the headlining additions for the December Game Pass update. This is a new beat em' up, with a select roster of Marvel heroes each with their own move sets and special abilities. The game is made by the same people who worked on TMNT Shredder's Revenge, so they are veterans of the classic side-scroller genre.

Other major titles listed this month include Mortal Kombat 1, which is replacing Mortal Kombat 11 in the line-up, as well as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which is now joining Game Pass Premium. Previously, the game had only been available to Ultimate tier and PC game pass subscribers.

Here is the full list of games along with dates and supported platforms:

• Marvel Cosmic Invasion – Recent release (Cloud, Console, Handheld, PC)
• Total Chaos – Recent release (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S)
• Young Suns (Game Preview) – Recent release (Cloud, Console, PC)
• Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – December 2 (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S)
• Monster Train 2 – December 3 (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S)
• Spray Paint Simulator – December 3 (Cloud, Console, PC)
• 33 Immortals (Game Preview) – December 4 (Cloud, Console, PC)
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – December 4 (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S)
• Routine – December 4 (Cloud, Console, Handheld, PC)
• A Game About Digging A Hole – December 9 (Cloud, Handheld, PC, Xbox Series X|S)
• Death Howl – December 9 (Handheld, PC)
• Dome Keeper – December 9 (Cloud, Console, Handheld, PC)
• Mortal Kombat 1 – December 10 (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S)
• Bratz: Rhythm & Style – December 11 (Cloud, Console, PC)

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: What do you think of this month's Game Pass line-up?

The post Xbox Game Pass line-up for December revealed first appeared on KitGuru.